Welcome to Technicolor Ministries

Technicolor Ministries is a new faith community in the Southwestern Texas Synod, ELCA for the LGBTQIA2S+ community and those that love them. We walk with LGBTQIA+ people and allies in faith communities across the Southwestern Texas Synod, educate clergy, and congregations about LGBTQIA+ matters, and work to create local communities of support and prayer. More on this below! This ministry is intended to be a supplementary ministry for those that are already part of a congregation and is happy to be a primary ministry for those without a church home.

We believe that LGBTQIA2S+ people are made in the image of God, that no part of us is a mistake, and that God plans for people to grow and transform in their self-understanding over time, coming to rest in the beautiful reality of their full selves.

We believe that LGBTQIA2S+ people, their family, and their allies should be able to exist as whole and integrated people in the church. We recognize that in many places this is not a reality. We pray for and work towards a world where this reality is so plainly true that it goes unquestioned and unchallenged.

We believe that LGBTQIA2S+ people should be able to lead in the church, whether as lay people or clergy. We believe that God's calling does not discriminate on the basis of gender or sexual orientation.

We believe that God wants us to love people, all people. We also believe that there are many marginalized peoples for whom life in the United States and in Texas is more difficult; trans people, migrants and asylum seekers, and so many more. We believe that God calls us to pour out an extra measure of love for those who suffer, no matter their demographics.

The church hasn't always been friendly and has often spent a lot of time trying to "bring Jesus" to queer people. Technicolor is a new model of church where we recognize that queer community is what Christian community should be. We're taking the church from grayscale to technicolor one community at a time!

We aim to support and accompany LGBTQIA+ people and those that love them across the Southwestern Texas Synod of the ELCA and beyond, to bring them the spiritual care that recognizes their full selves and full lived realities. We also support and accompany clergy in navigating issues of gender and sexuality in the church and growing this aspect of their ministry.

We aim to educate anyone who is receptive to learning, working towards having common language and understanding of LGBTQIA+ matters and vocabulary across our synod territory in order to facilitate conversation, debunk unhelpful myths, and clear misunderstandings.

We aim to create community, bringing people together, both online and in physical spaces across the synod, to create local groups of people practicing their faith, raising their families, and walking through their lives in full color.

By requesting to join Technicolor Ministries you agree to:

• Be Present - A community relies on the participation of its members. You might participate by being active in conversation or attending events, or you might prefer to just keep up with what's going on - participating in a less interactive way. Both of these styles and everything in between are totally acceptable forms of presence.
• Create Space for Multiple Truths - None of us experiences being LGBTQIA+, a parent, an ally, or anything else in exactly the same way and that doesn't make anyone's experience any less real or true. In fact, the more variety we have in experience, the more we learn about each other and our world.
• Call Each Other In - We may have occasions where it feels appropriate to challenge someone's words or behaviors. We will always do this respectfully and expect that, when being challenged, we will receive feedback respectfully.
• Assume Best Intentions - In the Lutheran world, we talk about Luther's interpretation of the 8th Commandment, that we place the best construction on our neighbors' actions. While we acknowledge that impact is important and needs to be addressed, if people show their humanity in a way that's hurtful, we agree to assume that they didn't mean to hurt anyone.
• Recognize That Intent Is Different from Impact - We might say or do things that have a negative impact on others even when we have the best intentions. We agree to be accountable for the impact of our words and actions.
• Share Gratitude for Feedback - When people provide us with feedback it shows us that they believe we have the potential to be even better than we are. We agree to thank people for their feedback and the learning opportunity that they're providing us.
• Notice Power Dynamics - Power can show up in a variety of different ways. It's the intent of this community to include lay people, clergy, and synod staff. This alone brings complicated dynamics. There may also be other power dynamics at play as you interact with other people that you might know. This is especially important as we consider that some people may acknowledge their identities differently in different contexts. We agree to consider how we might be unconsciously using our privilege and power in this space. 
• Place Learning and Growth at the Center. Technicolor is all about how we can come together to learn more and grow into our full selves. This can be messy work and we may not always have all the answers. While we won't be able to fix everything that goes wrong, we will continue to grow and make progress towards a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable community.

We also acknowledge that there might be people who want to participate in this community in full color while not being able to be out in other parts of their lives. We respect the choice to use a pseudonym in this community in order to retain a level of anonymity. We do ask that you not create an entire other identity that might take the photos or name of another person.

Huge thanks to the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Bishop Sue Briner who had the brave vision and committed follow through to launch this mission development and to see the relationship between LGBTQIA2S+ people and the church differently. An additional big thanks to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for taking a shot on this unusual ministry model.