Welcoming All People
Posted on Mar 12, 2025 by Shari Van Baale
Salem’s Welcome Statement: We, the members of Salem Lutheran Church, affirm the belief that we are all created in God’s image and are called to love one another as God loves us. We are a community that welcomes people of all ages, cultures, economic statuses, ethnic backgrounds, family blends, gender identities, physical and mental abilities, races, and sexual orientations. We seek to provide a safe and caring community where all people can grow in their faith. We encourage you to join us as we develop relationships with each other and discover the depth of God’s love for us all.
It's tempting for us to read this statement and think: Of course. Naturally. What faith community could NOT be in favor of this statement? This is a fundamental part of who we are at Salem, right?
Well yes, but I’m also here to tell you this statement is radical. Even today, even when Pride flags are fairly common and students with disabilities are mainstreamed in public school classrooms and parents and stepparents cheer together at Saturday morning soccer games, our statement is not commonplace.
There are churches where my big, noisy, messy, blended family would be treated as second-class citizens. Where my inability to turn in a pledge card with a lot of zeros would affect whether I am asked to serve in a leadership role. Where my LGBTQIA daughter would get the up-and-down once over from other members when she shows up with her blue hair, not to mention her pajama pants and slippers. Where my disabled daughter would not be invited, much less celebrated, for exactly who she is. And it’s not just other types of Christians who treat people this way. Did you know there are Lutheran churches in the United States where my intellectually disabled daughter would not be offered communion because she “could not understand it”? I mean, how many of us really understand it?
Salem’s welcome statement is why I am here. It’s why I stay. It’s why this community is my family and one I am proud to invite friends and family to visit and explore.
When we adopted this statement, it had a whole lot to do with the “sexual orientations” part. It’s an important thing, to be a faith community that is open and affirming of queer folks, a community that has been repeatedly beaten and bruised and abused by “church” in all its forms. It’s a life-giving thing, for the queer folks we encounter, and for us, too.
Being open and affirming is important to the Brown-Fox crowd too. We’ve been involved in Salem’s presence at the KC PrideFest since our youngest kid was a toddler. When that toddler grew up to be a tween who was exploring her gender identity and discovering who she is and started to think she might identify as part of the LGBTQIA community, I was so grateful that she grew up here. That she never had to question whether she would still be welcomed and accepted and loved and celebrated here. That she never had to question whether we loved her for exactly who she is, or to wonder if God does.
But our welcome statement, it says a whole lot more than “sexual orientations,” doesn’t it? It throws the flaps to this tent open wide and says, “Come on in, everyone! That’s right — we mean EVERYONE!”
It says that we believe age doesn’t determine a person’s value. That children and youth aren’t just future leaders of the church but leaders today AND tomorrow — leaders who have a lot to teach us about how God is working in the world. That older adults don’t just have nice stories to tell but have experiences in life and the church that can inform us about how we can move forward today.
Our statement says that for us to truly reflect the body of Christ, our community needs to reflect all cultures, ethnicities, and races. That the experiences of people from communities other than our own deepen our understanding of faith and widen the path that encompasses the mission God gives us to share. I’ve been a midwestern Lutheran all my life; I grew up on Jell-o salad and crockpot casseroles and watered-down Kool-Aid. But my exposure to other people’s radically different experiences of faith — especially those of people of color and from parts of the world different than my own — has fundamentally changed how I hear the word of God and how I work for God’s peace and justice in the world today.
Our statement says that physical and mental abilities may vary but that God’s gifts to each of us don’t. I’ve spent more than half my life learning about life from my disabled daughter. Along the way, I have learned a whole lot about advocating for those living on the margins in our society, and that includes in the church. Within these walls, Ruth is celebrated for the whole entire person she is, who God made her to be. Here no one talks about her mental age or what she can’t do or what she’ll never do. Thanks to you, she never leaves here feeling less than or patted on the head or ignored.
In fact, the almost 20 years she has spent in this community have taught her what she deserves, and she has carried that out into the world and demanded it. You taught her she is valued and loved and matters, and she took that sure knowledge and went out into the world and demanded that others treat her with respect and dignity. She taught her parents and siblings to do the same. And what I learned here I have gone out and demanded in all the other areas of her life — school, work, in her medical care, in life. What we’ve demanded for her through advocacy — what you taught us she deserves with the love and care you’ve shown her — has changed the world for others in our community with disabilities too.
We, the members of Salem Lutheran Church, affirm the belief that we are all created in God’s image and are called to love one another as God loves us. We are a community that welcomes people of all ages, cultures, economic statuses, ethnic backgrounds, family blends, gender identities, physical and mental abilities, races, and sexual orientations. We seek to provide a safe and caring community where all people can grow in their faith. We encourage you to join us as we develop relationships with each other and discover the depth of God’s love for us all.
Of course. Naturally. This is a fundamental part of who we are at Salem. This radical statement serves as our roadmap. In a world broken and bruised by hatred and fear, this radical statement leads us into the darkest places to shine the light of God’s radical love as we live into the relationships God seeks with each of us and seeks for us to have with each other.
Lorel Brown
Salem Church Council President and Children’s Ministry Leader