2020 Issue 6 Nov/Dec - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

from religious trauma as well
as find and create meaningful
ways to engage with their
faith as they understand it.
“I’m ordained to the Ministry
of Word and Sacrament —
which basically means if we
can dream it, I can do it, as far
as the Church is concerned,”
she explained.
Cultivating her Truth
Pastor Dawn said, “As
Pastor, there’re really only
two questions I seek to
learn: 1) what do you need,
and 2) how can I help. That
said, some of the greatest
needs I know about involve
safe places for us to ‘be us,’
whatever that looks like for a
person.”
She’s learned that most of
us practice some sort of faith
and many of us come from
Christian traditions that have,
in some way, harmed us.
One of the most important
needs she sees is what she
calls bridge-building. “That
is, building bridges to span
the gap between the hurt
and the healing. My Bishop,
Rev. Kevin Strickland, gave
me permission to ‘get as
radical as necessary to help
those who have need.’ He
knows what the needs are,
perhaps better than I do
in fact. Before becoming
Bishop he was a pastor here,
in Nashville. By calling me as
a pastor to serve here, he’s
helped create an opportunity
for the ELCA Lutheran
church to become part of the
remedy,” said Pastor Dawn.
She continued, “The
‘Church,’ that is the whole
Christian church, all
denominations, has done
great harm to LGBT+ folx
over the centuries — this we
know. The Table aims to help
heal some of those wounds.”
She said they aim to be a
place where one’s authentic
self, in all their beautiful mess,
can come together and
create something new and
beautiful.
Sharing Her Truth
When asked for advice for
someone who is struggling
with balancing being true
to their identity and their
spirituality, she said, “God,
created you AS you are.
You’re loved and beautiful
in your Creator’s eyes. I
believe this so deeply and
my claim is evidenced by the
Prophets of old; Jeremiah
1:5 says, ‘I knew you before
you were formed.’ There’s no
expectation on God’s part for
us to be anyone other than
who we’re led to be. We all
know our truth. It sits deep
within us. Some call it a gut
feeling, some inner knowing,
some intuition, some the
Spirit within. All of these are
correct and they all speak the
same Truth.”
She went further to say, “If
you know how you are called
to live, lean gently into it. If
your faith tradition does not
lead you deeper into yourself
and further toward love, you
have likely outgrown that
part of your faith journey.
God has not made any
mistakes and God does not
make any junk. God is love
and we are love. The risk and
reward is in keeping on the
path of learning how to carry
those realities in tandem.
And, for me, that’s why we
call ourselves the Beloved
Community.”
Faith is Like a Garden
Some groups are more
vulnerable than others
when it comes to finding a
welcoming spiritual family.
Pastor Dawn said, “The
Table provides ‘grace and
a place for you.’ What this
means is, wherever you
find yourself on the path
of faith, you are welcome.
But more importantly,
you are affirmed.” She
points out that welcoming
and affirming isn’t the
same. This is an important
distinction when someone
of the LGBT+ community is
looking for a faith home.
“It can be a slow crawl
back to a sense of safety.
Many of us, particularly in
the trans* community, have
been so hurt and harmed it
feels impossible to heal. But
as scripture says ‘nothing is
impossible with God,’” she
said.
The Table will be a place
of healing and reconnecting
back to a life-giving place
to practice faith. She wants
to tell people that it’s okay
to talk, rage and inquire;
that God can handle it. The
Table will provide a place of
freedom to explore those
areas of life and death where
faith is concerned.
“Pruning is a spiritually
sound principle. I hope to
illustrate an example of faith
like a garden: some things
have to die before others
can come to life; sometimes
weeds and flowers grow
together in the same plot;
something is always in
bloom. At the minimum, The
Table hopes to be a place
to work the soil of your
faith. At most, we hope to
be a garden,” stated Pastor
Dawn.
Looking Forward
She planted the
roots and really started
growing the community
at the beginning of this
year — and then COVID
hit. That hasn’t stopped
The Table from moving
forward. On December 4,
at 7 pm, they’re hosting
“Drag Wership - Live” in
collaboration with Mac
Productions. They also
have the Community Hope
Chest which provides free
clothing and accessories
to transgender individuals
who experience a barrier to
resources. In January, they
plan to begin live Queer Mic
Nite.
They’ll soon begin a
Wednesday evening adult
scripture study twice
monthly via zoom. It’ll be a
place to bring your doubts,
fears, questions and hopes.
Rainbow Connection is
an LGBT+ youth group via
zoom (for now) aimed at
providing a place for youth
who have more questions
than their current youth
group serves and a place
where they can be more
fully themselves. Pastor
Dawn has begun posting
a monthly newsletter on
social media and all events
are on The Table’s website.
“Since our activities grow
out of need, we create
new opportunities to meet
people where they are to
help them make meaning of
life and faith,” she said.
If you have a dream, Pastor
Dawn urges you to talk to
her to see how she can help
make it come to life. She
equated a pastor to a cruise
ship captain saying, “I only
drive the boat. Everyone
knows it’s the crew who
runs the place and the
people on board who make
it a collective life-giving
experience.” She does need
your help in however God
moves you to be involved.
Most importantly, she wants
you to know: “God loves you
as you are, for who you are
and where you are. Wherever
you are, it’s okay. You are
beloved.”
The Table always needs
volunteers and funding. For
more information on how
you can help or how to get
involved in the services, visit
thetablenashville.org.
CHEERS! / NOV+DEC 2020 / focusmidtenn.com / Page 29