The butterfly has emerged and is flexing its wings (see previous review).
After 4 years and about 14 vacancy pastors, Christ Lutheran has healed a lot of their former divisions and hired a new permanent pastor who is well-liked so far.
There are pleasant, generous, and liberal people at this church. I regularly participate in the music program and attend services here, due to my friendship with the choral conductor and his smart and caring wife (both very progressive and dedicated to equal rights), and the excellent organist. Locally this church has some really nice elements.
I still can't bring myself to fully commit and join them as a member due to their Missouri Synod denominational affiliation. (Christ Lutheran is the only Lutheran church in town so they attract all local Lutherans, both ELCA and Missouri Synod.)
They want young people to get involved, and for members to reach out and bring their friends, yet seem oblivious to the fact that an eventual conversation would go something like this: "oh, yeah, come to my church, it's awesome, really nice people, oh yeah, well, yes, the denomination they belong to on the mainland believes in literal creationism, that the bible is infallible word for word, that women cannot be equal and serve as ministers, because the Bible says that men should be in charge, and LGBT people are inherently sinful for living their lives openly and honestly as God created them, "because, the Bible," so if you're conservative like that, great, but if you really believe in equal rights for women, or are female and want to be a pastor, or have a daughter who loves the church so much she wants to become a pastor, she'll have to switch denominations; if you are openly and honestly LGBT, by all means please come, we definitely welcome you, just don't try to get married, because we won't marry you in your own church, maybe in the future, some day, but not right now." So it's kind of a hard sell to younger people who do believe in equal rights for women and the LGBT community (most younger people according to statistics). People half expect LGBT discrimination from a Christian church but when you tell people the denomination doesn't even consider women to be fully equal they really shake their heads.
I mentioned to a friend on Oahu that I sing in the choir at a Missouri Synod church in Hilo and his immediate response was "oh, they're the scary Lutherans, right?" Another friend chimed in "it's pronounced Misery Synod but they're not even the worst one, the Wisconsin Synod is even worse!" Yay.
When I recently asked a church elder what Christ Lutheran's same sex marriage policy is, now that same sex marriage is legal nationwide, I was handed a sheet of paper saying in fine print that all marriages would be in accordance with Missouri Synod policy (that means no) and then was reassured verbally that "this will change but it's going to take some time."
As much as I like and respect the church elder who told me this (A devoted Christian, I see he's made the world a better place in many ways), yet it's also the familiar statement provided by those in power to those without ... trust us, don't rock the boat, be patient, change will come in time. Easy to say when you are an old heterosexual married white man; harder to hear for people who have not enjoyed the same advantages and power in our society. It reminded me instantly of when nice white people urged Martin Luther King JR to back off and stop demanding equal rights and just be content for it to happen slowly over time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_Birmingham_Jail
At one point when they were having trouble finding a Missouri Synod pastor who could bridge these local differences of opinion (it took 3 years of searching), I asked why they didn't switch denominations to ELCA and open up the pool of applicants to those who might be more suited to the local membership. "It would be too complicated" was the reply. So this is the type of institutional cowardice that I find hard to buy into as a member. I don't remember Jesus saying "you may recognize injustice, but don't worry about it, if taking a stand would be too complicated and it doesn't personally affect you." And then churches (in general) wonder why attendance is dwindling.
You know, when it's not YOUR life, you're content for change to happen slowly over time, and avoid complications. But that's not really inspirational.
IN SUMMARY : All that critical stuff being said, there is a lot of good work going on at Christ Lutheran, and there IS also value in promoting social justice from WITHIN an organization, even though that can be uncomfortable at times. So, if you do believe in contemporary social justice, by all means come join the like-minded people at this church who are in fact doing their part to drag the Missouri Synod into the 21st century, from a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And, there's a strong music program. read more
