In October at Emmanuel, we have a tradition of sharing our “Emmanuel Stories.” These are stories of impactful ministry shared by our members during the sermon time. Lois Bohnsack shared this story on Sunday, October 12th:
I didn’t know Patrick Farlow when I first read his comment on a Facebook post, but I liked what he said. Patrick and I have a mutual friend, and he’s on Facebook. Our friend is an overall great guy; he just has some wacky political ideas. So when he posted a deranged missive about his candidate and party, Patrick took exception. His comment was factual, logical, and completely debunked our friend’s post. So I liked it. I didn’t think too much about it.
However, it wasn’t long before our friend again posted a “shake your head, roll your eyes, I can’t believe it” post, and again Patrick responded. Again, his comment was factual, logical, and a complete rebuttal of the post. This time, not only did I like his comment, but also I sent him a friend request. And much to my delight, he accepted.
Now Patrick’s posts would pop-up on my feed. It didn’t take long before I learned about Stan and the love they had as a married couple. Then, much to my surprise, Patrick posted about Emmanuel Lutheran Church. Patrick and Stan weren’t just members of the church; they were actively involved in the life of the church and the leadership of the church. I thought “Wow!”. “Isn’t that refreshing? A church that accepts you the way God made you!”
So, when the church my husband and I belonged to voted to disaffiliate with the United Methodist Church over inclusion of LGBT+ people, we knew it was time to look for a new church home. We decided to give Emmanuel Lutheran a try.
On our first visit, we walked in the front door and a man came up and said, “Welcome. I’m Patrick.” “Are you Patrick Farlow?” I asked. And he was. Some may say, “What a coincidence!”, but I have found in my own life that what we often dismiss as a coincidence is actually God giving us signs and
directions.
Now, I knew that Emanuel welcomed the LGBT+ community, but what about me? Some churches would look askance at an octogenarian suddenly attending services. For “conventional wisdom” says that old people are high maintenance; old people utilize more resources than they contribute. The church’s resources are limited. The church needs young people. We have enough old people.
Ageism is alive and well, but fortunately not here at Emmanuel Lutheran. I have been welcomed and
accepted. I realized I was welcomed when I was invited to have coffee with a member after worship, when I was offered a ride to the Christmas party, when I receive a weekly hug from my pew partner.
I believe that God loves us and accepts us for who we are, whom we love, or how old we are. And I am proud that at Emmanuel, you and I are accepted for however God made us, or however God aged us!
To God be the glory!