DeLyn Celec on naming people “beloved children of God”

DeLyn Celec, one of two women to be ordained by the Church Within A Church Movement on October 23, 2011 shares her experience and hopes.

DeLyn says:

It is my job to look into the eyes of another, learn who that person is, and ask how our needs, gifts and graces might meet in order to bring hope and healing. I am committed to carefully naming myself and others “beloved children of God.”

Transcript of video

Hi, I’m DeLyn Celec. I’m grateful to soon be Rev DeLyn Celec because of Extraordinary Ordination of the Church Within A Church Movement. In fact, my ordination will take place Oct. 23rd at St. Mark’s Presbyterian church in Tucson and you are invited to be there.

Over the last 10 years or so of working in music ministry, I have become acutely aware of our carelessness in naming groups of people by statuses that only acknowledge a small piece of who they are: “the poor,” “the hungry,” “the homeless,” “the Muslims,” “the African Americans,” “the women,” “the gays” ... the list is endless. Though well-intentioned in many cases, that is not in keeping with the example of Jesus, who would look into the eyes of a person and knew her and meet her need and heal her.

Church Within a Church offers me the freedom to live into my call to ordination, even though I fit into the category of “the lesbians.” Members of Church Within a Church have looked into my eyes and learned who I am as a partner in a loving, committed relationship with Sarah, as a faithful-but-imperfect practitioner of music and ministry, and as a beloved child of God. They, too, know me to be called to serve the people who comprise our communities and our world.

It is my job to look into the eyes of another, learn who that person is, and ask how our needs, gifts and graces might meet in order to bring hope and healing. I am committed to carefully naming myself and others “beloved children of God.” I have the freedom to do that with the Church Within a Church movement, and I am honored to be ordained and endorsed by it.

I hope to see you in Tucson in October, or to hear that you attended via live stream at the CWAC website.

What is your identity? What is your call? How can you and Church Within A Church work together to build the Commonwealth of God?