Testimony: Megan Moran; Sunday, October 18, 2015

St. Luke's member, Megan Moran, at a #BlackLivesMatter gathering in Logan Square earlier this year.

My name is Megan and I just became a member of St. Luke's. This occasion has me both excited and so deeply uncomfortable.

I am uncomfortable because I could not imagine myself making such a statement even a year ago, let alone hosting a women's bible study group later this week. From the age of 3, I was baptized and grew up in the same small town Lutheran church in Washington state. It wasn't until high school when I began to think more critically about my religious upbringing, which ultimately led to my denunciation of Christianity as polluted. Being Christian no longer felt sacred. I couldn't reconcile the atrocities committed in the name of God nor accept that the Bible was truly God's word.I still attended my hometown church because I loved the people who had been a part of my life for as long as I could remember. They were my community. When I moved to Seattle for college, I did not seek out a church because I found community around me in my fellow students.So when I moved to Chicago a little over a year ago to serve with the Lutheran Volunteer Corps, one thing I wanted to commit to was giving my faith another shot. Enter St. Luke's, a congregation that has supported LVCers in Chicago for a number of years. Over this past year, I have been welcomed here by people who maybe didn't know my name until two minutes ago, but loved me all the same. I have seen and experienced the commitment of many of you to our neighbors in Logan Square fighting for their dignity, livelihood and social equity. If I am to be part of any faith community, I want it to be this one that strives to truly embody Jesus' teachings of radical love.I want to tell you about a friend of mine. His name is Max. One of his favorite quotes is from Lord of the Rings and it goes: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." This quote could not embody Max more. He is known for showing up at your home unannounced with a bag of fresh produce to cook you and 5 strangers dinner; he is known for storytelling; he is known for being an avid cycler and an activist; he is known for being way too excited to randomly run into you; he is known for diving deep and showing genuine love to everyone he encounters.Max was attacked and killed 2 weeks ago on Friday while visiting his girlfriend in Tanzania. At the time we wrap up our worship here today, Max's community will be gathering in Seattle to honor his life that was lost so tragically and far too soon.I'm telling you about Max's life and death for two reasons. One, to acknowledge my own grief and the grief of others here today. Whether you are mourning the loss of your lover, your father, your friend or this very building in which we worship, I want to take the time to invite us to truly feel whatever it is we are feeling as we find ourselves so near to our final Sunday in these pews.The other reason I've introduced you to Max is because I hope to carry his spirit with me moving forward in my relationship with all of you in this community. His uncanny ability to see and love the authentic self of everyone he met is an ideal that I aspire to. I see a kindred spirit in many of you and what we aspire to do here with our ministry and the power and privilege we have as part of this faith institution. If that spirit is not the Divine, then I don't know what is.I am here today, declaring my membership among you, as someone who is excited for future possibilities; as someone who is grieving and heartbroken; as someone who is still deeply uncomfortable with my Christian-identity and as someone with a thirst for justice and radical change in our community and the world.Likewise, there is no one way that anyone here should be feeling as we make the transition out of this space. In anticipation of today, I have been meditating on what brought me to St. Luke's and what made me stay. I've learned that one thing among many that makes me want to be a member here is that each of us are not just tolerated but embraced and welcome here exactly as we are.I invite all of us to lean in to ambiguity. To lean on each other. And to give thanks to what brought you here and what compels you to stay. Thank you.