Independence Day: Time to set the planet free from our destruction

Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune. 

The weather certainly made for a less-than-perfect weekend in the lead-up to the Fourth of July.

When the smoke from the Canadian wildfires first reached us, I was walking outside to get the mail from the day before and confused by the sweet smell in the air and the haze hanging in the air. At first, I thought it might be the smell of ozone in advance of an approaching storm. I had known, of course, of the smoke from Canada and its impact upon New York City, having seen photos and video of the haze that descended. But I hadn’t thought it had been blown in our direction as well.

However, as the news soon reported, I realized that the scent and the haze was indeed the smell of Canadian wildfires burning. I was struck by how this experience made manifest how very interconnected we truly are, no matter the boundaries of nation state. What affects one, eventually, will almost always affect us all – particularly when it comes to climate and the environment.

The wildfires are, of course, just the latest in a string of disasters and extreme weather events this year. This past January was the sixth-warmest January on record. My family had bought some new skis for the year and were looking forward to spending some time on the slopes. While we had one pretty good trip up north, anything local was far from ideal – a big blow on the winter tourism so many depend on in our state. In February, the temperatures across the country flipped between extremely cold and unusually warm.

The warmer-than-usual weather encouraged more tornado formation, with storms devastating some areas. In March, Cyclone Freddy hit Madagascar and Mozambique, lasting for more than a month, making it one of the longest-lived tropical cyclones on record, killing at least 400 people. A bomb cyclone hit California, killing two and leaving more than 100,000 without power. Hurricane-level winds affected 35 million people, resulting in the strongest March storm ever recorded in the Bay Area. Tornadoes continued, killing at least 25 people in Mississippi.

Another storm system moved through the country as we moved into April, killing at least 32 people. In fact, April 7 almost as many people had been killed by tornadoes in 2023 as are normally killed in an entire year. As April continued, we saw heat waves in Asia and the Mediterranean, with several Southeast Asian countries seeing their highest-ever recorded temperatures. In Spain and Morocco, the temperatures surpassed 101° Fahrenheit. In April.

And then, May arrived and Canada started burning. While wildfires in Canada are common in this time of year, this level of destruction in May is far from normal. Over five hundred fires have been reported, with nearly half of them burning uncontrollably – unable even to be responded to by firefighters due to location, severity, or some combination of both. A combination of record heat and drought is the cause and, with spring weather increasingly coming earlier and fall weather increasingly coming later means the wildfire season is also extending. Experts believe it is likely that this will be the most destructive wildfire season ever recorded in Canada.

At the same as the fires raged in Canada, Cyclone Mocha smashed Myanmar and Pakistan in the middle of May, killing hundreds and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless. A typhoon that was later classified as a Category 4 hurricane hit Guam resulting in a state of emergency declaration from President Biden. And, as we all know, in June the smoke from the Canadian fires began blowing into the northeast of our country before moving to the South, Midwest, and West as well, resulting in air conditions which made it dangerous for some people to even venture outdoors.

An article published by the American Meteorological Society early in 2023 described the way that these extreme weather events are caused and magnified by climate change. One author of the report who is also a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Stephanie Herring, noted “Extreme heat events are more extreme than ever. Research is showing they’re likely to become the new normal in the not-so-distant future.” Increasingly extreme weather events will be compounded by two events happening at the same time, making the devastation even more profound.

At the end of my ethics course for a degree I am doing at Nonprofit Administration at the University of Notre Dame, our professor had us watch and discuss the Netflix film “Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet.” Narrated by David Attenborough, it is a painstakingly researched film that highlights the various boundaries we have broken as a society by marching through climate change without halting the destruction being wrought on our planet. The film describes the science behind the planetary stability of the past 10,000 years and how that stability has enabled the development of human civilization as we know it. However, that stability is being undone by humanity as the natural processes we depend upon are increasingly eroded.

The Fourth of July holiday we celebrated yesterday commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. As such, it is a day that celebrates the freedom upon which our country was founded. And yet, as our planet, our neighbors, our very civilization is increasingly threatened by climate change we should be reminded about what sort of freedom we mean. There are many today who think American freedom means I can do whatever I want without thought or regard for the consequences my actions might have on others.

The Roman Catholic author Gloria Purvis reminds us that freedom is not actually doing whatever you want. Instead, she says, “Freedom is the ability to do what is good.” The human race’s refusal to be limited in the way we live is increasingly the cause of death and destruction through events linked to climate change. It makes me wonder if we need a new Declaration of Independence, a statement declaring that we are cutting the ties we have bound ourselves, ways of life that are killing the planet. It is time to ask how we can set our planet free from the ways in which we have enslaved it, used it, and thereby brought increasing destruction and degradation.

In some ways, it’s too late. By inaction over the past 30 years, we are now seeing the impact of climate change upon civilization. We must walk back from this brink. We must turn from a selfish concern for our own comfort at whatever cost. Otherwise, there won’t be much left for the generations who follow us to celebrate.

The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.

The importance of drag to the Pride movement (and the health of kids)

Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.

As so many are working hard to prepare for Grand Haven’s first Pride Festival, I have been struck by the outpouring of support and enthusiasm. We started with a fundraising goal of $20,000 and, as of this column, we have nearly $34,000 pledged from nearly 60 businesses, organizations, and supportive individuals. Nearly 150 people have reached out wanting to volunteer, ensuring this is a safe, fun, and affirming event for everyone who wishes to attend.

While the team working on the festival knew there would be some pushback, many of us have been shocked at the tone of the pushback. Christians have shown up at City Council meetings and not only spread patently false stereotypes about LGBTQ people (most perpetrators of child abuse are straight, not gay), they have also told lies about what our festival is planning (nowhere has a parade been a part of our plan or publicity).

As a Christian myself, I grieve for how these choices adversely affect the witness for Jesus in our community. On social media, we have been subjected to constant hate speech, some of it violent. One image which has been sent to us several times is a white stick figure kicking a rainbow stick figure in the gut, usually with some profanity attached. It is sickening to see.

A good portion of the vitriol has been because of the presence of drag performers at the festival. It is here I hope I can clear up not only some misconceptions about drag, but also be very clear about why the presence of drag performers is so often a key part of any pride festival or parade.

To start, it is important to know the history behind Pride month. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village of New York City. In this very different world over a half a century ago, this was the only bar for gay men in New York where dancing was allowed. It had no running water behind the bar and was run by the Mafia, who regularly blackmailed the wealthier customers. There was a smaller room near the back for “queens” – more effeminate men who wore makeup and teased their hair – but very few people in full drag were allowed.

Four undercover cops entered the bar that June night, while the “Public Morals Squad” waited outside for their signal. When the raid began, things went off the rails. One of the standard practices was for female police officers to take customers dressed as women to the bathroom to verify their gender. If they were men dressed in drag, they would be arrested. Those who were dressed as women that night, however refused to go with the officers. Men began to refuse to produce identification. Some of the police who were frisking the lesbians touched them inappropriately. The police decided to arrest everyone.

As those arrested were loaded into wagons, a woman was struck by an officer on the head with a police baton. She shouted to those still gathered, “”Why don’t you guys do something?” and then was picked up and heaved into the back of the police wagon. The crowd became a mob, and the Stonewall Riots began. During the course of the riots, self-proclaimed drag queens Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera played a central role.

The following year, to mark the anniversary of the riots, the first pride marches were held in several U.S. cities, as LGBTQ people refused to hide in dark illegal bars, subject to persecution by the police and violence by society. They demanded the right simply to be who they were, without shame or fear. The movement spread and on the 30th anniversary of the riots, President Bill Clinton declared “the anniversary of [the] Stonewall [riots] every June in America as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month.”

In the years since Stonewall, drag queens have raised millions of dollars with shows and fundraisers. They were particularly active in the early and dark days of the AIDS epidemic, when there were no corporate sponsors or major businesses supporting LGBTQ people.

Anyone who has spent any time around drag performers knows that the average drag queen wears more, not less, clothing than is typical of women in 21st century America. Indeed, one of the most telling comparison to me was a photo of several drag queens performing set next to the performance of several National Football League cheerleaders.

While some drag performances may include raunchy language and jokes, those are at adult performances. Think if it like the art form of standup comedy. Every performer knows the importance of ensuring your act is appropriate to your audience. As for the idea that drag includes nudity or stripping, neither are a part of drag shows.

Finally, the claim being put out there that drag performances are grooming is not only ignorant, but also a harmful misunderstanding of a real reality that does affect children. Grooming refers to the practices that child abusers use to entrap and manipulate children. There is no evidence that children who have attended a drag performance are in any way at a higher risk of abuse than other children. Indeed, by conflating the two, parents are not being accurately taught what real grooming is and how essential recognizing the signs of grooming are important for protecting children.

There is one final piece of drag that is important to know for the parents of kids and teenagers. Drag does not, of course, turn someone gay or transgender (that’s not how sexual orientation or gender identity work). However, seeing a drag performance can be reassuring to a kid who is already questioning their gender identity. In a recent essay in Psychology Today, therapist Joe Kort points out that through drag performances gender-nonconforming kids can have “other templates as they begin to sort out their feelings about who they authentically are.”

And, if they trust their parents (and their parents are safe people to be honest with) they can talk with them about what they see, questions it might provoke in their own mind. In the end, in all questions related to the healthy growth and development of children, having parents who are open and safe for questions is what is most important.

In the end, countless people who thought there was no place for them, that they were somehow wrong or broken, have gone to a Pride festival and (sometimes for the first time in their life) realized that they are not alone. Because no matter who God created you to be – straight, gay, bi, trans, or any of the other diverse and beautiful orientations and identities out there – you should not be afraid to go to a party downtown that celebrates who you know yourself to be.

Creating safe spaces, advocating for human rights locally and globally, in the end, is what all of this is about. And drag queens have long led the way in this congregation. I look forward to the shows this weekend – and I hope that all who come bring love, curiosity, and kindness in their hearts.

The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com. His church is hosting its third annual Pride Worship Service before the Pride Festival begins – all are welcome to join them for worship at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 10, at Waterfront Stadium. The Pride Festival will kick off at noon in the same location.

The Virtue of Pride

Below is the cover article in the June 2023 edition of our congregation's monthly Parish Page. 

In the weekly E-Newsletter for June 1, I wrote about the history and meaning of Pride Month for the LGBTQ community. In particular, I noted how the celebration of Pride has its roots in the Stonewall Inn riots of the late sixties, a time when LGBTQ people stood up and refused to continue to suffer the insults, violence, and discrimination that were prevalent in mid-twentieth century American society.  

We would like to think we were beyond the hate and discrimination that led to those riots over half a century ago. However, we have learned over the past several years that we have not advanced as far as we thought we had. Yes, marriage equality is the law of the land and we are seeing gender identity and sexual orientation being added to protected categories in non-discrimination laws, but that is not the only development over the past few years. As I noted in a sermon last month, hate crimes against LGBTQ people have increased 70% in the past three years alone. I have heard from gay members of our own parish who say that they once more are starting to feel uncomfortable, even afraid, to visit Grand Haven. 

Sometimes Christians, when considering pride month, will point out that pride is not a virtue but is actually one of the seven deadly sins. However, this confusion (as so many theological confusions are) is based upon a misunderstanding of translation from Greek or Latin and intot the English language. The Greek word for this vice in the fourth-century list compiled by Evagrius was Ὑπερηφανία, a word that is about seeing yourself as more than you truly are (a more accurate translation is self-overestimation). When John Cassian translated this list into Latin for Western Christianity, he used the Latin word superbia, a word that, once more, is about seeing yourself as more important than anyone else. 

This the profound irony of some Christians rejecting pride month. The fundamental reason for pride month is to advocate for human rights, to insist that to acknowledge your sexual or gender identity is good, that you carry the same worth as every other person. For Christians to attack LGBTQ persons celebrating pride month is for those Christians to participate in the true vice and sin of superbia—believing their cisgender and heterosexual experience is the one that should be privileged as normal, that those who do not conform should change to become cisgender or straight. 

So, I hope you will join me and the rest of SJE in combatting this false narrative with a different voice. In particular, I hope you’ll join us on June 10th as we participate in the pride festival. Because love needs action to overcome hate.

You can also find out more online here about the 2023 Pride Worship service at 10am, Saturday, June 10, right before the pride festival kicks off at noon! We hope you'll join us!

Lives are at stake in Ottawa County

Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.

Like many Ottawa County residents, I looked with trepidation to the swearing in of the new Ottawa Impact majority board of commissioners. I was sure I would disagree with some of their decisions, but was also hopeful they would stick with traditional conservative ideals of governmental transparency, limited overreach, and the other principals which have resulted in Ottawa County being such a successful and great place to live for decades.

I have been beyond disappointed.

I was shocked by the moves they made immediately upon taking office, without any opportunity for public input. I was offended that Chairperson Joe Moss has the gall to refuse any clergy to give the invocation at their meeting unless he personally approves of them (As a priest in the city of Grand Haven, I had offered to continue in that service as I had to the previous board, but was told that outside clergy were no longer able to pray before the meeting).

I was dismayed and deeply troubled when the new county administrator found himself so out of his depth on the job that he hired a high-priced assistant to do much of the work for him (work our previous administrator had no trouble handling).

I was floored when they actually leveled claims of unethical conduct against our Republican county clerk, Justin Roebuck, a dedicated public servant who has long had the respect of locals in both political parties. Those are just the lowest points of the past several months. Anyone who has been paying attention knows there has been much more.

However, all of this pales in comparison to the decision of the Ottawa Impact-led board to delay the funding agreement once more for our 2023 Community Health Needs Assessment. This is the nuts and bolt of what actually matters in county government – bringing local stakeholders together to meet the needs of citizens in doing work that doesn’t historically have any real partisan shade to it.

This assessment is something our county does in cooperation with Holland Hospital, Corewell Health Zeeland Hospital, Trinity Health Grand Haven, United Way of Ottawa and Allegan Counties, Community Mental Health and other organizations. It helps the three hospital meet the requirements they must meet in order to maintain tax-exempt status as nonprofit organizations. And it helps county officials in the Department of Public Health know what trends they should be watching for in Ottawa County.

Thankfully, the three hospitals are moving forward, whether or not the county partners with them in this work. They understand the importance of a community health assessment for any local area.

The refusal of the Ottawa Impact commissioners means the county cannot even pay the $29,000 invoice we’ve received (even though we have grant funds to cover it). Saying we won’t pay our bills is one of the choices that will directly and adversely affect what had previously been a stellar bond rating that we held as a county.

You may be curious why the majority of the commissioners continue to delay this agreement. It is because they do not believe in the conservative principle of limited government. Instead, they want the board of commissioners to micromanage tasks that are rightly done by trained professionals. The commissioners reject questions asking whether a respondent has contemplated suicide or had an adverse childhood experience (ACE), finding such questions potentially retraumatizing.

Our deputy health director patiently explained that the surveys are carefully crafted by trained professionals, all the participants are consenting adults and those who administer the survey are trained to explain the sensitive nature of some questions. No one is forced to answer anything and people can stop at any time. Respondents are also offered the opportunity to talk to someone from Community Mental Health, if they are having a difficult time.

But you cannot reason with people whose sole goal is to obstruct the work of the health department. They shouted in the hallways when the previous board noted that it is not the purview of a county board of commissioners to make public health decisions best made by trained and duly appointed professionals. They lost in the courtroom when they tried to interfere with best public health practices in Ottawa County.

So, they raised a heap of money and ran feigning conservative values, winning a majority in a primary that has historically very low turnout. And now that they have the power, they are using it no matter the cost.

But there will be a cost. If we do not know about the rates of suicidality and suicidal ideation in our county, we will not be able to respond adequately to help those at risk. If we do not know about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), we will not be able to build safety nets and support for the long-term impacts of those with ACEs. Why in the world would the commissioners not think this is important information for our Department of Public Health and our healthcare providers to know?

These commissioners need to get their hands out of these surveys. They need to let trained professionals do the work that we have already contracted to do, work that other counties do regularly to try and best serve those at the margins, those struggling in the community. If they do not, and because of this we cannot respond to issues like suicidality and ACEs, then the cost will be in human lives. Actual deaths that are preventable right here in our county.

I hope they will turn from this course and turn toward their fundamental call – serving the residents of this community. But so far, they seem content to play political football with people’s lives and livelihood. How much longer will the residents of Ottawa County let this continue?

The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.

A Queer Place on Holy Week

Below is my column in today’s edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.

Last year, when our church started hosting the Lakeshore GSA – Gender, Sexuality, and Allies – Youth Group (find out more at sjegh.com/gsa), I had the delight of coming in a few times to offer some teaching and connection with aspects of queer theology. In particular, I spent some time one night reflecting with them about the idea of finding “A Queer Place in Holy Week.”

Queer theology comes out of the same sources of Liberation Theology. In the middle of the twentieth century, theologians in Latin America (first within the Roman Catholic Church but then spreading to other protestant denominations), started questioning some of the assumptions of mainline theology. In particular, it noted how Scripture is often read (and theology is often done) from the perspective of those with privilege, wealth, and power in society. However, when those same texts are read by the marginalized, they tend to be understood quite differently. In particular, the socio-economic and political liberation of the poor can be seen as a dominant theme in Scripture, running through the Deuteronomic code of the Torah all the way to the teachings of Jesus himself.

Liberation theology since then has developed several sub-streams, including black theology in the United States, Dalit theology in India, and Palestinian liberation theology. (The bishop of my diocese, the Rt. Rev. Prince Singh, did significant work in his doctoral program on the Dalit class in India. You can hear him discuss some of this in a couple of podcasts produced by our denomination: sjegh.com/caste and sjegh.com/caste2). In the late twentieth century, Marcella Althaus-Reid drew from the liberation theology she had learned growing up in Argentina and began working in and developing both feminist and queer theology.


The basic argument of queer theology is similar to the original argument of liberation theology. Liberation theology had argued that Scripture and theology is too often done from a place of economic privilege and so ignores the way that power and socio-economic class misuse Biblical texts to further oppression and protect the powerful. Similarly, much of mainstream theology reads Scripture and does theology from a heterosexist perspective which assumes a heterosexual and cisgender identity. Because of that, it has often missed the way Scripture speaks to and for those of other sexual orientations and gender identities.

Some of the best known queer theologians, in addition to Althaus-Reid, if you want to explore this further, include Bishop Hugh Montefiore (Anglican Bishop of Kingston and Birmingham), John J. McNeil (and openly gay Roman Catholic priest, psychotherapist, and theologian who was expelled from his Jesuit order), and Shannon TL Kearns (the first openly transgender man to be ordained into the old Catholic priesthood and the co-founder of the website QueerTheology.com).

When Queer theology begins to explore the experience of Holy Week, several powerful points come to the fore that are often missed by mainstream theology. On Palm Sunday, when Christ rides into the city on a donkey instead of an imperial horse (which is what would have been expected for a triumphal king), he identifies with the poor, oppressed, and outcast. He refuses to participate in the systems of the empire and instead lays claim to non-violent reign. From this perspective, Palm Sunday pushes to ask if we are those who cheer the empire or those who stand with the oppressed and who actively resist their oppression. The call to resistance is seen when, after riding into the city, Christ actively resisted oppression by flipping tables in the marketplace of the temple.

When we look at Holy Thursday, this is the night that we remember Christ’s command that we wash one another’s feet. It is also the night we remember the institution of Holy Communion. Queer theology looks at Holy Thursday and reminds us that love – not judgment and exclusion – are at the core of the Christian faith. Jesus washed everyone’s feet, even the feet of Judas, his betrayer. The washing of feet is a truly intimate and humble act. For many LGBTQ people, physical touch and intimacy can be scary until you have claimed your identity. We are reminded that the grace of the sacrament of communion is a gift we receive because of God’s love for us, not because we fit into the boxes other people put us in. At the end of the liturgy, it is tradition to strip the altar as a reminder that Christ underwent a brutal and humiliating stripping and torture. Christ does this in solidarity with all of those who suffer, but queer theology sees this particularly as an act of solidarity with those who are the subject of homophobic and transphobic violence.

We come to Good Friday and remember Christ’s death on the cross. Queer theology reminds us that Jesus was killed by religious and political extremism that saw his extravagant love as a threat to their power. We can name doubt and fear on this day, remembering that even Jesus’ closest friends ran away. Knowing that he welcomed them back with love on Easter should give us room to know that if we also run away for a season in our lives, that does not have to be the end of our story.

On Holy Saturday, the church traditionally rests in stillness as Christ’s body lies dead and buried in the tomb. We are reminded on Holy Saturday that Jesus followers turned from their failure and reclaimed the body of their friend for burial—a painful echo of the victims of AIDS whose loved ones often had to fight for the right of their bodies to be honored. We are also invited, as a church, to acknowledge that no matter our theological hope in resurrection, death and suffering are still a very present reality today. Queer theology notices that sometimes when we risk, we also meet pain. When someone comes out, or wears clothes that match their gender identity for the first time, or speaks up against the anti-gay perspective of their church … and instead of being celebrated, they are rejected … or worse. When this happens Holy Saturday reminds us that even if it feels like death and hate is winning, love is at work.

When we finally arrive at Easter Sunday, Queer theology invites us to recognize the subversive nature of the resurrection narrative. Women were the first witnesses to the resurrection—and their voice and belief was at first dismissed by the dominant male disciples. The reality that those on the margins, those who were excluded by society and religion, were the first to bring the good news pushes mainstream Christians to look to our Queer siblings and to ask what good news of God’s love and grace they might offer to us.

As you walk this sacred time over the next few days, perhaps consider your own perspective, the lenses and privilege you might bring to the narrative. Perhaps queer theology can help you experience God’s grace anew. And if you are a part of the queer community, I hope you also know how very much this week is for you. Because it is in this sacred week that Jesus Christ insists you are beloved exactly as you are. And even though religion and politics killed Jesus, he stands with you resurrected, inviting you to claim your place as God’s beloved child no matter what misguided religion or politics might say.

The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.

More Pride Needed in Grand Haven

 Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune. 

Two years ago, in the summer, I stood on the stage at Waterfront Stadium and looked out over a crowd filled with rainbows.

When my parish, St. John’s Episcopal Church, had planned to host the first-ever Pride Community Worship Service, we were not sure how many people would come. We hoped to see around 50 or so people – about as many as we were seeing at in-person worship at our church at that point in the pandemic.

We did not expect over 200 people to fill Waterfront Stadium, people who gathered on the morning of the last Sunday of Pride Month to celebrate all of God’s beloved children, especially those members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have experienced such marginalization and discrimination from the church.

After the second Pride Community Worship Service last summer, several of those who helped organize the event – along with participants – had a sense that we were ready for more. Ever since then, that group has been working to plan for the first Grand Haven Pride festival.

Our application is winding its way through the city processes, and we are hopeful that it will be approved soon so that we can begin planning in earnest. Because it is so very important to have a fully supported community celebration, one that is not just a worship service but one that is a full pride festival that everyone can be a part of.

One of the reasons this need has become clear to me is the work I’ve done with other community leaders in the Lakeshore GSA Youth Group. Hosted by our church, the Lakeshore GSA Youth Group (http://sjegh.com/gsa) meets every Thursday night and is for any LGBTIA+ teens in the Tri-Cities area and any kids who see themselves as allies to this community.

Though our church hosts it in our space, the programming is not religious, and the leaders are drawn from adults around the community – not just members of our parish. Once a month, we offer a special add-on book discussion that is religious for the kids who want to grow in that side of their identity, but it’s not required. Our goal is to provide a safe space for kids. That’s all.

Having run this group for two years now, let me just say that these kids are amazing. Absolutely amazing. Their strength of identity and character inspires me to no end. They are funny, smart, curious and tremendously interesting to spend time with on Thursday nights. They are a big reason we are pivoting from the Pride Community Worship Service on Sunday to a full Pride festival on a Saturday. They have a passion for speaking out, being clear about who they are, and being bold advocates for other youth whose families or faith communities might not support their sense of gender identity or sexual orientation.

If you have a kid that you think would enjoy coming, feel free to contact me at rector@sjegh.com – I’d love to add you to our email group and put you in touch with our leadership.

As many of you know, I grew up in Grand Haven. I have friends I know from growing up here who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community and who have told me how massively difficult it was at times. When I was younger, a foolish middle school kid who should have known better, I know I was a part of making it hard for some kids. In some ways, as I work to support the Lakeshore GSA Youth Group, I feel like I’m trying to do penance for the sins of my more conservative and homophobic youth. I know God forgives me, but also know God calls me to make right the harm of the past.

My sense, from the crowds of people at our Pride Community Worship Services over the past couple of years, is that I’m not alone. There are lots of Christians out there who may not agree with their church’s position on this question and who want to be a bold and explicitly affirming voice. I also know that there are several business and organizations right here in Grand Haven who support the LGBTQIA+ community. And, most importantly, we have amazing LGBTQIA+ leaders in the Tri-Cities, people who already contribute so much to making this a great place to live.

My deep hope is that all of these people will come together and support the first Grand Haven Pride festival this summer. You can find out more about the planned festival at http://ghpride.org. The leadership team is still developing and, in addition to leads for a few programmatic areas, we are looking for a second member of the LGBTQIA+ community to serve as a co-chair alongside of our other co-chair, local social worker, educator, and minister, Jess Robinson.

To see what positions of leadership are open, go to http://ghpride.org/about. Our next meeting of the Steering Committee, where we will plan to lay the final groundwork for structure and planning, is next Monday, March 6. If you’d like information on joining, you can contact the committee at info@ghpride.org.

I am proud to call Grand Haven my home. I’m proud to have grown up here. I’m proud to be a Buccaneer. But I’ll be even prouder this summer when I see the many organizations, businesses and community leaders who I know will stand up and say Grand Haven is a place where you belong, no matter who you are, no matter who you love, and no matter your gender identity. You belong here.

About the writer: The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.

Combatting the corrosive power of Christian nationalism

Below is my column in today's edition of the Grand Haven Tribune. 

A few years ago, before the current debates and arguments about the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners, I attended a meeting where they were considering the question of refugee resettlement in our county. As the priest at a church that had helped a Sudanese family resettle here, and with a strong commitment to refugees in my own faith, I wanted to speak in favor of this important work.

The room was packed to overflowing so much so that we were not in the normal meeting room. Person after person got up to speak, and I was surprised how many spoke against refugee resettlement. I had not expected many people at all to do that, as refugee work was something that is generally bipartisan and a shared commitment of religious groups across the spectrum. Sure, many residents also spoke in favor of refugee resettlement, both on humanitarian grounds and with the belief that immigrants make communities stronger not weaker.

What truly inspired me, though, was the pastors. Every single pastor – no matter the denomination, no matter how conservative or progressive – every single one got up and spoke in favor of refugee resettlement. I breathed a sigh of relief as I went home that day, after seeing the county commission affirm that Ottawa County truly is a place “Where you belong” – and that this included the refugee community.

Relief is not the emotion I have felt this year, watching the newly elected county commissioners take office and get directly to work doing precisely what they said they would do. Though I knew they would dismantle our office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (even though it was local businesses who had asked for it so we could attract diverse talent to the area), and though I knew they would take several actions to reshape Ottawa County in their own image, I did not expect it to be so brazen and so absolutely uninterested in the principles of transparency upon which they had campaigned.

Decisions were made in advance, outside of the meeting, with no opportunity for public input. The very important position of county administrator was given to a candidate immediately after firing the current administrator – with no public posting of the job, no opportunity for others to apply, and no chance for public consideration of the candidates.

I was shocked that so many of the new commissioners felt comfortable ignoring the basic rules and practices of governance. As they fumbled with how to deal with a consent agenda, I realized that they didn’t even have a basic understanding of Robert’s Rules.

But what has turned my blood cold has been the very clear display of Christian nationalism since these commissioners took office.

Christian nationalists believe that our country is fundamentally a Christian nation, and they seek to use their understanding of the Christian faith to shape public policy with no regard to the variety of faith traditions (and variety of views within Christianity itself). Studies have also found a concerning link between Christian nationalism and white nationalism, as many Christian nationalists also share anti-diversity and anti-immigration views.

Philip Gorski (a professor at Yale University) and Samuel Perry (a professor at the University of Oklahoma) are authors of “The Flag and the Cross: White Christian Nationalism and the Threat to American Democracy,” have written, “We define white Christian nationalism and identify white Christian nationalists using a constellation of beliefs. These are beliefs that, we argue, reflect a desire to restore and privilege the myths, values, identity and authority of a particular ethnocultural tribe. These beliefs add up to a political vision that privileges that tribe.”

Those with Christian nationalist views twist the concept of liberty to make it mean their own freedom to discriminate or violate the law due to their religious beliefs. Thus, Christian nationalists believe they should not be bound by nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQIA+ people, women or religious minorities. The fact that Ottawa Impact started because the founders didn’t believe the government had the power to issue health orders during a pandemic, and that they based this freedom on their sense of faith, makes it clear that this is the viewpoint of this group.

And now, with their new proposed leader of our health department being someone who refused mask mandates and social distancing (and whose qualifications are woefully inadequate given the statutory requirements in Michigan for this position), there is a deep concern that the extreme views of this group may strike at the very core of the health of our community.

Amanda Tyler, an expert on religious freedom and a member of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, says that she believes the single biggest threat to religious freedom in our country right now is Christian nationalism. She is also clear that despite having “Christian” in the name, it does not have a lot to do with the actual teachings of Jesus Christ, “But the ‘Christian’ in Christian nationalism is more about identity than religion and carries with it assumptions about nativism, white supremacy, authoritarianism, patriarchy and militarism.”

If you don’t think that’s what’s happening in Ottawa County right now, listen to those who speak up to support the new commissioners. As reported by Sarah Leach in The Holland Sentinel, not only do we hear COVID-19 denialism and claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, but clear Christian nationalist ideas. They believe it is God who has put these commissioners in place to orchestrate their plans with comments like, “The power you have has been delegated by Christ.” In the opening prayer before a meeting by one of the pastors who support them, he prayed, “I pray for the chair and that you would bless him and the other council members, commission members. Again, knowing the only reason we’re here is to bring glory to you.”

The reason a county commission exists is not to bring glory to God. I say that as a priest who has taken lifelong vows to devote my life to God and his church. The reason a county commission exists is to enable the flourishing of all residents in an area through smart governance. It’s also clear that it’s not really about bringing glory to God anyway, it’s about enforcing their narrow view of Christianity and the government on all the residents of Ottawa County by destroying anything that stands in their way. And, let’s be clear, that certainly does not glorify a God who became human and who died at the hands of religious extremism and political cowardice.

I’m grateful that there are others increasingly joining the fight against this movement. People from the right and the left, from a variety of faith traditions and no faith traditions, are coming together as a part of the Unifying Coalition of Ottawa County (https://www.webelong-oc.org). Because this county should not be a place where freedom to discriminate rings. Together, we must work to restore it to a place where all people belong and can find home.

About the writer: The Rev. Dr. Jared C. Cramer, Tribune community columnist, serves as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Grand Haven. Information about his parish can be found at www.sjegh.com.