Ordination — Pomomusings

Out of Order: Challenging Homophobia in the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Out of Order is a documentary about homophobia in the Presbyterian Church (USA) that you might be interested in supporting. They are currently running a support campaign on Indiegogo (similar to Kickstarter) and as of right now, they’ve received $9,419 toward their goal of $20,000. This is some information from their website:

Out of Order is a feature length documentary following the journey of three queer members of the Presbyterian Church (USA). With unprecedented access, the groundbreaking documentary Out of Order is the first film of its kind to positively portray queer people of faith actively changing the meaning of Christianity.

This important film is about people making a stand for what they believe in. It’s not merely about Christians or gay and transgender people. It’s about wider humanity and doing what’s right, despite institutions telling you you’re wrong, broken and don’t belong.

The characters in our film are on the edge of a big cultural change, one which the President is talking about, the church is talking about and society is talking about. Out of Order is a story of empowerment and inspiration. It invites everyone, gay, straight, faithless or religious to challenge exclusion and intolerance.

If you’re interested in supporting this documentary, you can do so here.

Why the PC(USA) Ordination Process Sucks…

I’m guessing that most people who have gone through the PC(USA) ordination process (and likely, many other mainline processes) can relate, to some degree, with the photos above. Regardless of what anyone says about it, or what it’s supposed to be like, many would agree that it can be a depressing, lonely, frustrating, soul-sucking process. A great journey for folks who are going to be spiritual leaders of communities, right?

Unless you’re new to Pomomusings, you know about my own struggle through a 7 year ordination process. If you’re new to that aspect of my story, you might want to check out these posts:

Now, it’s easy to say when you’re on THIS side of the ordination process, but I think it is in serious need of reform and rethinking. I know there are a lot of people who are rethinking theological education, and that’s a good thing. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a process which people go through to get ordained, as opposed to just going online and doing it. But when the process itself can turn away people who are gifted and talented for the ministry, and when people describe it as an endless series of jumping through hoops…there has to be a better way.

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