We belong to each other. We belong to God.

By the Rev. Marci Auld GlassA few weeks ago, protesters came to disrupt and harass our worship service at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco.  It was traumatic for the congregation. It was a fundraiser on Facebook live for the protestors, asking people to support them as they defended Christianity from heretics like us. They were opposed to us on a number of levels, starting with the audacity of a woman claiming to be a minister, and perhaps ending with their anger at our hosting of a Drag Queen Bible Hour during PRIDE month. We aren’t an open and inclusive congregation to be provocative, to anger neighbors, or to pick fights. We are an open and inclusive church because of God’s grace, which has reached into our lives and changed us. The voices of the world try to tell us we aren’t enough, we aren’t worthy, we aren’t accepted, we don’t belong. Grace is when we instead hear God’s voice calling us beloved children.We received an outpouring of support from the community when news of the protests was shared. The next week, when we gathered to worship, more than fifty visitors joined us. Our building is used by a number of community groups during the week, from the SF Gay Men’s Chorus to a Boy Scout troop. Members of all of those organizations were in worship that day. Members and faith leaders of other churches came to worship with us. Our congregation showed up too, all decked out in rainbow finery or Calvary t-shirts. One church member confessed to me that she had been afraid all week and wasn’t sure she was going to come back to church this week after the protests the week before. She was worried they might bring guns the next time. Sadly, in our country, her fear is completely sane and rational. She told me she realized that fear is what the protestors wanted, but her faith gave her courage. And so she came to worship. Two of the protestors came back too. This time, they stood across the street quietly, praying for us. In truth, we can use all the prayers we can get these days, right? I trust in the goodness of the God they were praying to more than I worry about the content of their prayers.  If the protestors were willing to talk to me,  I would tell them they are also God’s beloved children, which makes us family. And we know that it isn’t always easy to be family. But we’re called to keep at it, to keep in polite and respectful conversation, sharing stories about our experiences until we can find common ground.  We may not agree on the truth of each other’s conclusions, but I trust we can find the truth in each other’s experiences.People who read scripture differently than we do, and people who vote differently than we do, and people who see the world differently than we do are still people. People created by the same God who made you and me. Last week, I heard someone say “whoever is under represented in your life will be over exaggerated in your imagination.”We don’t know if the protestors will be back again or not. I do know their hatred and aggression have changed us. We’re working out additional safety plans and developing relationships with the SFPD we’ve not needed before, and we’re grieving the violation of the sanctuary-ness of our sanctuary. The love and support of our community has also changed us. By gifting us with their presence, we saw the communion of the saints with us in new ways. Never underestimate the power of showing up for other people. This past week also happened to be the 169th anniversary of the founding of our congregation. In 1854, five years after the gold rush began, when San Francisco was literally the ‘wild west’, people founded our congregation in hopes that we could help shape San Francisco into a place of justice, faith, and hope.After we took a birthday photo on the steps, a church member took the protestors some birthday cake and coffee. While the particulars of the work that started in 1854 have changed in the past 169 years, the bigger story is the same. We belong to each other. We belong to God. Thanks be to God. Marci Glass is pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church and a former moderator of the Board of Directors of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians.