Since I moved to Portland, I have been attending Sunday Mass almost every week at St. Andrews Catholic Church with my housemates. At first I was a bit nervous about whether or not the parish would be welcoming, but I had a hunch that if L'Arche attended the services, it must be a good place. Still, as an openly gay man I am always a bit on edge when I enter any new religious community or space—you never know how people will react. Thankfully I quickly realized I had no reason to be nervous at St. Andrews. In fact there are some parts of the liturgy that even I would like to be more conservative!
Over the months I have discovered the parish to be a lovely, relatively diverse community of spitfire Christians who have taken God's messages of love and social justice to heart. There are people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, and races represented in the pews, and they are less concerned with dogma and the patriarchal drama of the Catholic Church, and more concerned with the issues Jesus himself would be paying attention to such as justice for the poor and marginalized. Many Sundays the priest steps back, and a lay member of the parish gives a homily on the readings or a pertinent topic of their choice. Most weeks these are wildly well prepared, educational, and touching.
It has been quite the experience for me to be so very myself at this Church. I remember bringing Zack for the first time, and introducing him to some of the other parishioners (some of them members of religious life), and not even blinking an eye when I called him my boyfriend. Somehow I knew it wouldn't be a problem. Maybe it was the big rainbow banner hanging in the Church, the other queer couples and families in the congregation, or the fact that the parish has an LGBTQ+ inclusion committee that all made me feel confident.
But there is one member of the parish who really reminds me that I am welcome. It is Winnie the Pooh. Every Sunday my housemate, Adam, brings his Winnie the Pooh bear to church. Every Sunday Pooh stretches out his short, plush arms to participate in the Our Father. And every Sunday it makes me and many others smile.
This is what I am talking about. This moment is what community, the Gospel, and the Church are all about. All are welcome—and not only welcome, but loved, lifted up, and celebrated as equals.
St. Andrews is one of the few Catholic churches I have ever been to that could sing the traditional hymn "All Are Welcome," and actually mean it. Don't get me wrong. This church isn't perfect, and it has plenty to improve upon, but it is definitely one of the most loving, energizing, and welcoming churches I have ever attended.
Keep peace and keep creating,
Parker <3
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