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Welcome to All things… Episcopal where we talk about anything and everything related to the Episcopal church. This podcast was designed with young people ages 18-39 in mind and a place to learn more about The Christian faith with the Episcopal lens.
>> Father David Kendrick: Hello, everyone. Welcome to all things Episcopal, where we talk
about anything and everything related to the Episcopal
Church. This podcast was designed with
younger folks in mind and as a space to learn more about the
christian faith with the episcopal lens. So, in
traditionally episcopalian greeting fashion, the
Lord be with you.
>> Claire: Hey, friends. Welcome back to all things
episcopal. Today, we are bringing
you a bonus episode. This is the
first time we're doing this type of episode out of a regular
season, but we thought that this
particular topic of policy
was really important to address,
and it's going to be jam packed with a
lot of good stuff, and hopefully it will be
enriching and insightful and enlightening
to all of the,
um, folks that are in conversation today, as
well as to, um, the listeners.
So today, like I said, we're talking about
policy. Specifically the policies and stances
of the Episcopal Church, and more specifically,
the policies within the Diocese of
West Missouri surrounding women's, uh, reproductive
health, gun safety, and gun reform.
And while we have addressed this in previous episodes, the
inclusion of members of the LGBTQIA
community, not just as members of the
church, but in all ordained orders of
ministry in the church. With that being
said, while we are speaking about policies that
are made known publicly by the Episcopal Church,
the thoughts and the opinions of the speakers of this
podcast, to include co hosts and guests,
are that of the individual and not on behalf
of the entire Episcopal Church. These
topics are some of the most debated in the
church, but also much of society in the
context of the United States of America. Please
know that we have tried our very best to have a meaningful
and rich conversation. It will not be
perfect, but at the heart of it, we seek to practice
civil discourse and remember our baptismal covenant
to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our
neighbor as ourselves. At the time of the
release of this podcast episode here in the Diocese of
West Missouri, we will be observing Pride month, as
well as wear orange weekend, which we will
talk about a bit further in this episode.
Links to the policies and community organizations
that the Diocese of West Missouri supports will be provided in
the show. Notes on to the show
we are in conversation today with Tara Bennett
and the Reverend Robin Rusconi,
who serves as a deacon in the Diocese of West
Missouri. Tara and Deacon Robin
serve on the peace and justice committee of the
Diocese of West Missouri. And of course, my
co host, father, uh, David Kendrick, will be joining us in
conversation. Hello to you
all.
>> Tara: Good morning.
>> Robin: Good morning.
>> Father David Kendrick: Good morning.
>> Claire: Tara and Robin, if you would tell us
a little bit about your story and
how you came to the Episcopal Church. And what inspired your
work in the areas of peace and justice? And
I'll let you all decide who wants to go
first.
>> Robin: Tara, I'll defer to you.
>> Tara: Great. Hi, I'm Tara Bennett.
I am a cradle Episcopalian. So
I came to the episcopal church because my
parents and grandparents did, um,
my work with peace and
justice was, uh, inspired
by my daughter being scared
after the parkland shooting. I'd always been politically
active, but she was scared that she was
going to be shot in her school and became active
within Kansas City, um, leading some
student walkouts, vigils,
and, uh,
advocation for policy reform. And
I decided to get involved as well. After
the Uvalde shooting, the
bishop asked me to help form the peace and
justice committee for the diocese of West Missouri.
>> Robin: I'm Robin Rusconi, and
I am a, uh, deacon in the diocese of West
Missouri. And I came to the
Episcopal Church when my husband and I started talking about
getting married. Both of us weren't,
um, we were born and part of
the Roman Catholic Church and
did not feel comfortable raising children in that environment.
And so we came to the Episcopal Church because it was
something that appealed to both of us. And I
became involved in peace and justice
activities in the early nineties. I was
politically active before that, but more active starting in the
early nineties and joined the,
uh, the peace and justice committee when
the, um, reproductive rights,
um, lawsuit was filed in the state of
Missouri, um, in early
2023, I believe.
And that became a part of the peace and justice
committee's activities.
>> Tara: Thank you both.
>> Claire: So, as we said before, much of this conversation
will focus on three areas. Women's reproductive
health, gun safety and reform and inclusion of
the LGBTQIA community. But before
we begin, I think it's important for our listeners to know
how policies are developed, decided on,
and ultimately voted on in order,
um, to become policy
within the church. And I'm actually going to defer
to Father David, um, to talk a little bit more
about that.
>> Father David Kendrick: Thanks, Claire. Um. Um, you've
been. You might have been hearing about, I don't know how much on this
podcast, if you've been listening to us, how much you've heard
about general convention. What in the
world is that? Um, well,
general convention is the main decision making body
of the episcopal Church. It was created
when the episcopal church was, uh, formally
begun around the year 1789.
Um, general convention meets every
three years, it turns out this year it is
meeting in, uh, Louisville, Kentucky. It tends to
rotate around, uh, the country.
So general convention meets every three
years. And, um,
sometimes folks say it was modeled on
congress. Technically, it was really modeled more
on the british parliament.
So, you know, the british parliament has a house of
commons and a house of lords.
So the episcopal church has
two houses. There is a house of deputies,
and the house of deputies is made up of laypersons, priests
and deacons. And then there is the
house of bishops. Now,
in a sense like congress, there no
resolution. Nothing can pass general convention
unless it's approved by both
houses. So when I say that general
convention is the main decision making body of the church, the
kinds of decisions it makes. First of all,
it sets the budget, the triennial budget,
of the national church headquarters, which is. Which
is located at 815 2nd Avenue.
Sometimes in the episcopal church, if you know enough, after a while, you might just
say 815 and people will know what you mean.
So it's. It's at 815 2nd
Avenue in New York City, just a couple of blocks from
the United nations. Uh, I found this out with our
family a few years ago when we were. Our son
was in working in New York City and we went to the UN and
we were making our way back to a subway station.
I passed a street and I suddenly saw the
episcopal flag flying from a building. I thought, this
is it. This is the mothership. Um,
so it's the budget for the national church that general
convention sets. It's also important to know
that general convention approves any
revisions or changes to the Book of Common
Prayer and any other, uh, church
wide liturgical resources. And
then, more specifically for the purpose of this
episode, a, uh, general convention approves
resolutions that are intended to express
the official position of the Episcopal Church
on the most pressing issues of justice and
peace. And, you know, we. At one
point, I know we've had a podcast on baptism, and you might remember
that we have this thing called the baptismal covenant.
And one of those vows that all
baptized Episcopalians make is to,
and I'm quoting, strive for justice and
peace among all people. So here we
are talking about justice and peace, and we have
representatives of our diocesan peace and
justice committee. So
that's general convention in a nutshell.
>> Claire: Thank you for that quick rundown, uh, on
what general convention is and how policies are
made and decided on. Um, I want to
first touch on gun safety and gun
reform. So, in the Episcopal Church,
we've had a long history of seeking to respect the
constitutional rights of an individual
while also being deeply concerned with the
community welfare, particularly as
it pertains to the children and use of our
communities. Um, the first
resolution on gun safety and reform that
came to the floor at general convention was actually
all the way back in the seventies,
1976, at the 65th
General Convention. However, I want to
start a bit more, um,
recent with our resolutions,
um, starting with resolution number,
uh, c zero zero five, which
was established in 2015, also known
as resolution implement laws to
decrease gun violence, if you would, Tara,
uh, tell us a little bit more about this particular
resolution and its impact on the Episcopal
church and broader community. As you are able.
>> Tara: The 2015 gun violence and gun
safety resolution really
was a catch all for
good gun policy that has been
advocated, um, by
groups across the spectrum, from
Brady and Giffords and Sandy Hook
promise. It calls for
people to have to
have permits for concealed carry. It calls for
universal background checks, including at gun
shows. It calls for a ban on military
style assault weapons and high capacity
magazines. It calls for a ban
for the import and manufacture of full
automatic conversion kits. It
calls for the tightening of laws on gun
trafficking and stock purchases.
It requires people who possess guns to have
gun safety training. And it
advocates for more funding for
research about gun violence, all of
which are very important.
And I'm glad to say that
some of those things have actually been implemented
since then. We still have a long way to go.
But nationally, a good number
of those policies, between
the bipartisan Safer Communities act
in 2022 and
changing of the
funding understanding for
the CDC and the NIH to actually do some
funding into research
and guns as a public health
problem, those have all.
Uh, we're making some progress, and I think
the episcopal church's advocacy has helped.
>> Claire: Oftentimes, we don't see the intersection
of public health and faith based
communities. Intersectional. Um, I'm
wondering if you can talk to us a little bit more about how
addressing gun violence as a matter of public health
is also a matter of being faithful to our
baptismal covenants. You touched on it a little
bit earlier, but if you can expand,
well.
>> Tara: Gun violence is a public health
issue. The number of people
who are killed, the
families who are traumatized,
the people who turn
to guns because we have a proliferation of
them, and they're easy to access when they're
in a mental health crisis,
and those who
don't see any other form of
conflict resolution other than pulling out a
gun, all of those things are
adversely affecting our
communities.
The actual economic
cost is huge that
those resources that could be put into
better healthcare are instead being used to
treat victims of gun violence, not just
homicide, but suicide. Keeping in
mind that over half of the deaths by guns in
our country and our state are
both due to suicide, not homicide.
>> Claire: Thank you. In the state of Missouri,
in particular, um, more
specifically, Kansas City, gun violence is
a very concerning issue. Can
you share a little bit more about the statistics
about gun violence in Kansas City,
um, and where the church is striving to stand
in solidarity not only with government officials, but
also with nonprofits in the area and
nationwide?
>> Tara: Absolutely. Thank you, Claire. Really,
we are an outlier. Um, Missouri has
the fifth highest gun death rate in the
country. Uh, so far
this year, 53 people have died in homicides
in Kansas City. Last year, Kansas
City alone had 182 homicides, which was
the highest on record ever in Kansas
City. And since we are the diocese of West Missouri,
I have to note that Springfield also has a
disproportionately high number of per
capita gun deaths
compared to other similar cities across
the country. In the gun deaths in
Kansas City, a firearm was used in 89% of
the killings we've had.
Also this year, while our
homicide rate has slowed, we've had
an almost 40% increase in nonfatal
shootings. Those are still families and lives
that are upended by
people being shot.
In Missouri, as I said, 53% of, um,
gun deaths are suicide. So that
looks at. We've had, last year,
733 gun suicides
in our state. It's the 10th
highest in the country. Wow. A
suicide occurs every 12
hours in our state, and
63% of the people, uh,
who try suicide use a
gun. Our rates of gun suicide
and homicide from 2013
to 2022 in Missouri
have increased at almost double the rate of
nationwide. This is why it's
important we don't live like
other areas. I've lived in
five states and two additional
foreign countries. I have to tell you,
other people don't live like this. They don't live with the
gun violence we do. Which is why it's so important
as a, uh,
diocese that we work
with organization who look at the
local level, because we can see that there's a difference in
policy. We can talk about nationwide policy all we want,
but really, policies made at the state level,
and in our state, it's. At the state level, it's very
rarely because of preemption able to be
made at the city level. So
we work with organizations that are
advocating for data
proven gun safety
policies, like many of them that
I just discussed, that the national convention has
called for things like, moms
demand action for gun sense.
We have, uh, worked hand in hand
with some of their calls to
action, particularly when gun policies will affect us in the
church. We also. There are violence
and eruptor organizations throughout
both the southern and northern part of our
state that are doing the work in communities
to stop the cycle of violence before
it continues to escalate. Like aim
for peace or a
few other great organizations within Kansas
City.
>> Claire: Gun violence is a very
personal experience for many, um.
For myself, um, my youngest
brother and my cousin were involved in the
episcopal high school shooting
many, um, years back, or several years back. I shouldn't say many, just
several, um. And
it can be
devastating. I mean, there's no other
way of saying it. Devastating, overwhelming, um,
grief. And one of the
ways we can remember and find our
onward, um, for lives lost
is by participating in community
gatherings such as wear orange. Can you
talk a little bit more about, uh,
where orange is and,
um, how the church
is supporting ware Orange? Um,
yeah.
>> Tara: Well, where Orange is a
nationwide movement, it
is the first week,
first full weekend of June,
and it is a
remembrance. National gun Violence
Awareness Day will be this year
on Friday, June 7.
It's a remembrance for the victims and survivors
of gun violence. As you said, Claire,
it's devastating
for entire communities
and were. Orange is not
a political event. It is a remembrance
event. And in the diocese of
West Missouri, all of our churches have been
invited by our bishop to
participate in wear Orange to encourage that
Sunday. All, um,
everyone. To all parishioners to wear orange.
Orange vestments, light churches,
orange, if possible, orange flowers.
And we have a set of prayers
to be implemented. Prayers praying
for all those affected by gun
violence, all of the families, and for the families of the
perpetrators, and for the perpetrators themselves,
because more than likely, they've been a
victim of violence themselves.
We're Orange was started
after a young woman was
shot after being, uh, the
week previous in President Obama's
inaugural parade. She went home to Chicago,
was out on a playground, and
was shot and killed. And her family decided
to start a remembrance,
a yearly remembrance. And it's blossomed into a full
nationwide event. You will see
civic buildings and
proclamations up and down our state,
throughout all of our cities. Um, lighting
orange and recognizing national gun violence
survivors League or national gun violence
Survivors Day, and wear Orange
weekend. We also have, which I hope you'll link in the
show notes, a list of daily activities, things
that can be done. The
diocesan suggestion is to do them the week leading up
to wear orange, but they can be done
at any time. Things to learn about the
scourge of gun violence and the toll that it's taking
on our community and how you can be part of the
solution and turn your thoughts and prayers
into action.
>> Claire: I love that there is a sense
of remembering
someone's life and
the healing component of
taking time, uh, to be in
community, to share story, um, but
also to say, enough is enough,
and to do the little bit of good
that we can in the ways that we can.
And one of the ways
that I see the Diocese of West
Missouri doing that work through the peace and
justice committee, with the support of the bishop, has
been supporting the Be Smart program,
the, um, last few years. Can you tell us a little
bit more about what be smart is and what
its mission and vision is to end gun violence and how
folks can, can get involved?
>> Tara: Absolutely. Be Smart is a
nationwide program that we are
implementing in the Diocese of West
Missouri. And I have to say also, the Diocese of Missouri, on
the other side of our state, is also following our lead.
And we work very closely with them in many things
with the peace and justice committee. The
Be Smart is a program
about gun safety for kids. It is not a
political program. It is not
advocating for any of the gun
policy issues that we've discussed already.
It's just making people aware
that guns
are the leading cause of death of children and youth in our
country and in our state.
And by keeping guns out
of the hands of children, it's an adult's
responsibility to do that. Then
we can at least
start lowering those deaths.
In Kansas City, in the
last, uh, so far, we've had seven
children, just within the city limits, ages eight weeks
to 17, who've been killed in gun homicides.
There was one that was killed in an unintentional shooting
where he found a gun in his mother's bedside table.
These can be prevented if adults keep
guns on the hands of children. Make sure that children don't
go to homes where there are unsecured
guns, and that
we recognize the role of guns in suicide,
particularly in our teen.
It's a full presentation. We can come
to coffee hours, to adult
forums, talk to Sunday school parents,
just bring a table to a trunk, or treat and
pass out information. Um, so we can
either give a full 20 minutes presentation with
discussion, or just be there and provide you
resources within your parish
to talk about gun
storage, safe storage, and keeping guns out
of the hands of our children.
>> Claire: And correct me if I'm wrong,
but, um, normally at, ah,
diocesan convention, the peace and justice
committee has a table. And,
um, be smart is kind of
a focal point for that. Um,
so if you're in the diocese of West Missouri
and you're curious and want to meet Tara in person
and Deacon Robin and want to know
more. You can have conversation with
them, um, at diocesan convention.
>> Tara: Um, feel free at any time to
contact me directly. My information is on the
diocesan website and we'd be happy to
be in conversation with you both for be smart
or to add you to our list to advocate
for policy.
>> Claire: Fantastic. And we'll also link, um,
the peace and justice committee page in the show notes as
well. Switching topics,
um, we're going to move towards talking about women's
health and access, um,
to abortion services and
birth control without restriction. Um, and I'm
actually going to let Father David, um,
lead the questions on this segment of,
uh, the podcast. Father David, thanks.
>> Father David Kendrick: Hey, so, first of all, just
to set the ground, um, you know, the Episcopal
Church has been, um,
issuing general convention. There are
resolutions from general convention that go
actually all the way back to
1967, even before
the Roe versus decision.
Um, and if you look at all those, and there is actually
an excellent summary of those resolutions, I
think will be in the show notes that the
Episcopal Church has, um. And in many
respects, I think the episcopal Church really
has tried to take a balanced view that
really does respect all viewpoints on
this issue. For instance, one, uh, general
convention resolution states, all human life is
sacred. Hence it is sacred from its inception until
death. The church takes seriously its
obligation to help form the consciences of
its members concerning this sacredness. Human life,
therefore, should be initiated only advisedly
and in full accord with this understanding of the power to
conceive and give birth, which is bestowed by
God. Okay. But at the same
time. And this, and this, what I'm about, the next thing I'm
about to quote here is from the very first resolution passed
by general convention on this issue in the year in
1967 in which
the Episcopal Church stated
or stated, and I'm now quoting, it's, quote,
unequivocal opposition to any
legislation on the part of the national
or state governments which would abridge or
deny the right of individuals to reach
informed decisions about the
termination of pregnancy and to
act upon them. So I think that
those are really the two. Those are. And when I, when
I look at all of the resolutions, uh, that
general convention has passed on resolution, those are the two statements that
jump out the most at me, uh, a clear
understanding that abortion is a very
serious matter for the human conscience, while
at the same time saying the, the
individual conscience of the woman has to take
priority in terms of what decision is made.
Now we know, of course,
um, that is not now the case
in many parts of the country, because
we know, for instance, you know, we're in the diocese
of West Missouri. So
the Missouri had passed the laws a few years
ago that basically banned
abortion. Um, and I think
it's, uh, in cases, except in the cases of
a medical emergency, where a delay would create a serious risk
of substantial or irreversible.
Irreversible. Irreversible
physical impairment of a major bodily function.
And that law also had a provision that
basically said it would take effect the
moment that Roe versus Wade was overturned. And
so it took effect on the day of the Dobbs
decision in
2022. So
there are other things that could go on, but let me turn it over to Tara
and Robin and ask you guys,
um, how is the diocese
of West Missouri, uh, responding
now? In what ways are we still trying to. Can we
support reproductive rights in this legal
climate?
>> Robin: Um, the first thing that the bishop did was
she, um. Immediately after the
Dobbs decision, she
issued a letter, um, basically,
um, father,
um, citing pretty much what she
just cited from
the general convention and just letting
people know the position of the episcopal church,
um, just so that there was clarity,
so that throughout the diocese, people
knew, um,
what, you know, just where the church was, because
I think that that's something that. That
people don't know, you know, just. Just
because, frankly, up until Dobbs, it
wasn't. There wasn't a reason for people to really have
a lot of discussion about it.
>> Father David Kendrick: Right. Uh.
>> Robin: Um, and then we have. Because
she is sensitive to the fact that there are pretty high
emotions. We have taken a pretty
low stance on it, but she is
encouraging individual action
on this topic and a lot of education.
And so a lot of members of the
committee have been, um,
active in the pursuit of getting
signatures with the initiative, um,
movement. And so we have been educating
people so that they knew that there was
an initiative petition out there, um,
getting signatures for that initiative
movement, um, which just.
Well, recently. So, in the beginning of
May, there were signatures set up,
or, um, turned in for the initiative
to get, um, reproductive rights on the
ballot in Missouri. And so now what we will
be doing is trying very hard to educate people
about what that initiative,
um, that is going to be on the. Well, that will hopefully be on
the ballot, um, what that
includes. So we'll be doing some educational pieces
for that.
>> Father David Kendrick: So just to
let people know what this means. So there was a
group that collected, and they collected enough signatures.
Now we have, uh. To be honest,
we have a, ah, secretary of state, who. Whose
views are very clear. And,
uh, unfortunately, there may be
other attempts to try to keep this off the ballot, but
hopefully there will be on the ballot a
measure that would amend the Missouri constitution
to provide for the right for reproductive freedom, which is
defined as, and I'm quoting, the right to make
and carry out decisions about all matters relating to
reproductive health care, including,
but not limited to, prenatal care,
childbirth, postpartum care, birth control,
abortion care, miscarriage care, and
respectful birthing conditions. The, uh, amendment
would further provide that the state legislature
could enact laws that regulate
abortion after fetal viability.
So that would be the big change. Only after fetal
viability, which is defined in the initiative
as in the good faith judgment of a
treating healthcare professional. And
based on the particular facts of the case, there is
a significant likelihood of, uh, the fetuses
sustained survival outside the uterus
without the application of extraordinary
medical measures. So, so
basically, hopefully that will be on the November ballot. And
so, um, our members of the peace and justice
committee working on that. Then I guess you said, Robin.
>> Robin: Yes, we will, we are waiting now. We
have, we will know, hopefully,
by the,
basically this should be figured out by
the end of July, beginning of August.
Um, that's when the local authorities should
have determined if there's sufficient signatures that can
be verified. And then we will start
information campaigns to,
um, let people know that this is out there and what that
means, because there's going to, as you can
anticipate, there's going to be two sides to all of
this. Um, and
basically we want people to understand this false
amount of what this is because it's not just
abortion, because a lot of this. And then
you read it in those words, this is the full gamut
of reproductive care.
>> Father David Kendrick: True.
>> Robin: You know, this is the right to be able to have
access to birth control.
>> Father David Kendrick: Mhm.
>> Robin: This is the right to be able to have access
to all sorts of reproductive,
um, tools,
you know, and reproductive ability. And, and
there are, if you look at what the
Louisiana legislature just did, they banned all,
they just made certain types of
what we would consider basic
reproductive care, uh,
uh, um, banned or a higher
level of medical
care, a.
>> Father David Kendrick: Controlled, they mean it.
>> Robin: A controlled substance.
>> Father David Kendrick: Controlled substance. Like an illegal drug.
>> Robin: Yeah. And so we need to be able to
protect women's healthcare, and that's what this is
about. And so we need, so that's
what we want to be able to educate people about, that this is a
bigger, broader women's
reproductive health care, not just
abortion.
>> Father David Kendrick: Absolutely.
>> Robin: And that's, that's the, uh, that's the message we have to get
out because this is. This is a bigger issue than
that.
>> Father David Kendrick: Absolutely. Is there anything else that,
um, folks out there ought to know about what the peace and
justice committee for the diocese of West Missouri is doing
on for reproductive rights? That's a lot. I just wanted to
make sure there's anything I hadn't mentioned that you could bring it
up.
>> Robin: Tara, do you want to? The only
other thing I can think of is, is that we're following a lawsuit,
but the lawsuit pretty much is
not, um.
The lawsuit, I think, is going to remain
dormant until,
um. Until this runs. The initiative runs its
course. There, um, was a lawsuit filed in
January of 2023, and actually, um,
Bishop Dion out of the diocese of
Missouri is a plaintiff in it
challenging, um.
Challenging pretty much all of the abortion laws
in Missouri, and specifically the trigger ban
that went into effect, um, on the
basis of, um, that
it violates their freedom of religion.
Because the basis for the
legislative record specifically on
the trigger ban is egregious
from the perspective of just how religious
some of the testimony was.
Um, and so. But there are.
>> Tara: There.
>> Robin: Now, the last I heard, there were 14 different
plaintiffs from seven different denominations
that were challenging it, but. And they were supposed to
be a decision by the
judge this January, and
there has been absolutely no movement on the
lawsuit. What people
believe is happening is, since the
initiative language got cleared up
and started moving, that the judge is just sitting on it.
Um, there's been no actual statement
to that effect. But
speaking as a former attorney, that there is always a
preference in the judiciary to
have matters like this decided
by. By vote as opposed to by
the judiciary. So the. The common opinion is
that he's just going to let it hopefully be settled by
the voters as opposed to by him.
>> Father David Kendrick: Got it. Well, thank you, Tara, do you have.
>> Robin: Anything you want to add?
>> Tara: Um, I think you covered it very
well. When the peace and justice committee was
formed, the bishop specifically
said she wanted to address gun violence and
reproductive rights, and those are
the major issues we've discussed today.
>> Father David Kendrick: Great. So, switching gears one more
time, uh, going to our
LGBTQIA siblings and their
struggles, and, um,
those of you who are faithful listeners of this podcast, forgive
me if I'm repeating some of what was already said with
Father David Wilcox, but just to set the ground
here, because, uh, of the US Supreme Court's
Obergefell decision in 2015, same
sex marriage is legal in all 50 states.
In that same year, general convention authorized
same sex marriage liturgies as what were called
a trial use. Um,
but. So clergy can use those
liturgies for same sex marriage.
But, uh, the prayer book has not yet been
revised in order to remove
gender specific language in its marriage service.
Now, general convention has also barred
discrimination within the episcopal church in
any hiring or decisions about ordination
on the basis of sexual orientation and gender
identity. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of
the state of Missouri. In, uh, fact, the law
was recently just enacted. This year, I believe
that bars physicians and other health
care providers from providing gender
transition procedures to any
minority. And I've seen some reports that
because of some of the restrictions they have put on insurance coverage,
that even adults are having
troubles accessing gender transition
care. So. And of course, I say this
with. It's today is may, um,
28th. Uh, pride month begins in just
a few days. So, first of all,
um, how is the diocese of West Missouri
participating in pride monthly?
>> Robin: Well, we have any. We have a number
of activities that
we participate in. I want to first say that this will
be our third year, that as a diocese,
that we are showing up and showing out
at pride. Um, in the
past, we've had individual
churches that have been there, but we
are. We are coming together as an entire
diocese, and this is our second year.
Um, and the Kansas City pride fest that we
are a sponsor. And so we are.
We are not just as a. As a vendor,
but we are. We are tabling as a sponsor in the sponsor
tent. Um, so
we will be at Pride Fest at both. In both
Springfield and in Kansas City.
Um, and so pride fest for Kansas
City is Friday night, Saturday, all
day Saturday and Sunday. Um, we will.
In both Kansas City and Springfield,
we will have a pride mass that starts at 930.
Um, and then for both, we will
have pride parades, and we
will be marching in those pride parades. Um, proud.
And a very vocal vocal group.
>> Father David Kendrick: And, uh, I'll ask Springfield. Let me go ahead. And we,
um. So I think it was in 2016,
the. My parish, St. John's, uh,
was the first to be a sponsor of our local pride
fest, which back then was on Father's day weekend. It was.
Used to be Springfield's pride fest was between,
um, Kansas city's and St. Louis's.
And so St. John's, um,
we have been sponsoring Pride Fest since
2016. Um,
2022 was the first year that we
had, um, the other Springfield
Episcopal churches join in, along with some other episcopal
churches. And we did that again, uh, last
year. And then this is the first year that the diocese is officially
sponsoring the, uh, pride fest in Springfield.
And this year, just so we know, Springfield and Kansas City are
taking place on the same day. Um,
actually, at one point,
there was a period there where Springfield tried to have theirs in
October because they
decided they did not want to
interfere with juneteenth celebrations that were taking place
in Springfield always around Father's Day
weekend. And so for a while, they tried in October
and then realized people really wanted to do it in June.
So in 2022, we went back to doing it in June, and
now we do it the same day as Kansas City. Um.
Um, I'm m proud to say, uh, our bishop
will be in Springfield, or, ah, Springfield
best. So,
um, on top of that,
I mean, what is it? What can. I
mean, given the climate, particularly for
transgender persons now, um, where
they're just being scapegoated,
what can we do in terms of peace and
justice for those folks?
>> Robin: I think we need to speak out as often.
Speaking as a parent of, um,
uh, LGBTQ, um,
children, we, um, need to
be as vocal as humanly possible, um,
and we need to tell their stories.
>> Father David Kendrick: Amen.
>> Robin: I, um, have seen a transformation
in an LGBTQ
child, um, that
is unbelievable as I watch
her become who she really
is, and
I am unbelievably grateful that
she has been able to get the treatment that she has
gotten. And, um,
so far, we have not had trouble with insurance
and we have not had trouble,
um, with anything, but
we. I am anticipating all sorts
of challenges changing id
and changing, you know,
all of that, and I've had to make
plans for where she might go live,
and it's ridiculous.
>> Father David Kendrick: Yeah.
>> Robin: Um, and I just read this morning,
um, that the attorney, ah, general in
the state of Missouri is
investigating, you know, social
workers at Washington U. Because of
different stuff. And, you
know, I'm sorry, you, uh, know, my.
Fortunately, my child is getting treated
in Kansas, and I can't
say enough good things about the staff
that have treated her at Ku and that
they have been a blessing for her. And I
feel so awful for whatever is
happening to the staff in St. Louis because I
can only imagine that they have
been a, uh, blessing for a lot of
people in that area, just like
the people who have treated mine. And now
there are countless youth
and others that are not getting that care, and that
is abhorrent to me, and it is
not what God wants
in my mind for. For our
trans brothers and sisters.
>> Father David Kendrick: Can you elaborate a little bit more on that? Um,
that was a reminder to me that, you know, here in Springfield,
it's. We're surrounded by Missouri, whereas you've
got Missouri and then.
>> Robin: And we have an outlet.
>> Father David Kendrick: Yeah.
>> Robin: Right now for adults
um, you know, because we can't cross
the state line. Um, yeah, I
mean, you know, and I
guess it really was brought home to me. I was listening to NPR,
and there was this woman who was talking
about her trans sibling, and she was
telling the same story about her sibling
that I feel about my child,
that she saw this. This. This
child, that she saw her sibling bloom
when they became themselves.
And it was just so much the same
story I feel for my daughter.
And there are all of these
people now in Missouri who
either have to leave to be who they
are or
cannot be who they are.
>> Father David Kendrick: Mhm.
>> Robin: And that. That is not
what God would want for them. I mean, they're
forced to live in a way that is
not truly who they are. I mean, I had
no sense of that with my
child. They were just very quiet. And
Tara can tell you that they barely talked,
and Claire can, too. They were just, like, super
silent. And now you cannot shut this
child up. And, um,
praise God. But they're happy,
and they are coming out of their shell,
and they suddenly care what they
wear. And
it's like a whole new
human m. And
it's beautiful.
>> Father David Kendrick: Yeah.
>> Robin: But I would never have seen that
coming had they not had the courage
and the trust in us to say, this is who
I think I really am.
>> Father David Kendrick: Yeah.
>> Robin: And then you, you know,
you trust in that, and you. You follow with
faith that they know who they are.
And. And then you. You
do that and you see this
beautiful person come out,
and now, you know, it's
just helping them,
you know, discover all, uh, this. This
person who's just been hidden there for so
long.
>> Father David Kendrick: Well, I'm glad to hear. Thank you for sharing that. I mean, it's a
story every people need to hear to actually,
that transgender persons are real people, you
know, with.
>> Robin: You know, and real feelings.
>> Father David Kendrick: Real feelings. That's right. And, uh, I almost hate to
ask. Go ahead. You go ahead.
>> Robin: No, I said. And potential. I mean, we're. We're missing
out because we're not. We are not
experiencing them as their true selves.
>> Father David Kendrick: Right. So that does it for issues. I
do want to ask one more question, and.
And, uh, I have to admit I'm
a little uncomfortable asking it, but I kind of feel like
I. So I. I'm in my 17th year of ordained
ministry. I've been episcopalian for 40
years. I've been around.
And so the
question of general convention and the decision and the
resolutions that they pass on issues of justice
and peace, uh, I'm certainly
aware, and I suspect you all are, too. There are significant
numbers of our fellow Episcopalians
who perceive general
conventions, resolutions on peace and
justice to be partisan.
Um, and so I kind of feel like,
just because I know there are people who, even people I
serve who have these opinions, I feel like I
need to at least throw it out there and
ask you all whether.
And feel free to jump in, all three of
you. I assume you've heard at least some of
these opinions. And how do you respond to
the question of partisanship
or the argument that the Episcopal Church is
being too partisan?
>> Tara: We are living out our baptismal
covenant. We are
following what
Jesus taught. Jesus
taught us to take care of the least,
to protect children, and to
love everyone. There's
nothing partisan, as
Presiding Bishop Curry would say
about, if it's not about love,
it's not about Jesus. And mhm.
That's. That's what we're called upon to do.
That policy
swings from party to
party. There are some of the policies
that we were discussing today with regards to
guns that were
originally supported by
one party and then swung to
another. Policy can change.
Parties can change. But
protecting and loving everyone
is universal.
Mhm.
>> Claire: Well said.
>> Tara: Well said.
>> Claire: Thank you. Uh, my
two cent is,
um. If our listeners don't know
this, my, um, spouse and
I, we typically vote
differently. Um,
and one of the things
that the Episcopal Church has
done for us is a
reminder of the importance of civil
discourse. And,
um, the
undercurrent of that importance of civil
discourse is the baptismal
covenant to seek and serve Christ in
all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself, to
honor the dignity and humanity of all
persons. So when you have a
disagreement with someone over
policy or a resolution,
you have to remember that
that individual is your sibling
in Christ. That is where you
have to remember to be your teammate, not just like in marriage,
but as friendships. Cause we've
seen more and more and more
people are disassociating from
long term friendships because of,
um, political stances
that an individual or
individuals. Okay,
so remembering to
Tara's point, to love your
neighbor as themselves. And
I've often heard from, uh, some
mentors of mine,
um, specifically in the context
of addressing,
um, the topic of
LGBTQIA inclusion,
and, um, sometimes
the challenges that go with that, to love your
neighbor as they wish to be
loved, not necessarily how you wish
to be loved, but how they wish to be
loved, so that their
dignity and humanity can be
honored to the best of
our ability to find two cent.
>> Father David Kendrick: Good. So I'm
good. Thanks.
>> Robin: What Tara said.
>> Tara: Just.
>> Claire: Just copy paste what Tara said.
Well, thank you both so very much. Thank you, Father
David. Um, and,
uh, this is such a meaningful
conversation. We will post all
the things, um,
concerning resolutions, ways to
get involved, um, information about
Wear orange pride month, all the things that you
can possibly want in the show notes,
and, um, yeah, we wish you all
well. The Lord be with you all.
>> Father David Kendrick: And also with you.
>> Tara: Thank you for having us.
>> Robin: Yes, thank you.
>> Claire: Hey, friends, thanks for listening. Please like and
subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen.
Podcasts. To learn more about all things
Episcopal, visit
campusministry
diowestmo.org,
allthingsepiscopal all things
Episcopal podcast is a production of the Diocese
of West Missouri in association with
resident media. Uh, the Lord be with you all.