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Sanctuary: Queering a Church in the Heartland
Sanctuary is the inspiring story of a church that left evangelical exclusion behind to become fully inclusive and wound up healthier, happier, and more deeply faithful than before. As they welcomed LGBTQ+ members, this Iowa congregation transformed into a more loving and caring Christian community.
As thousands of congregations nationwide are moving toward inclusion, the real-life story in Sanctuary is a unique companion for pastors, church leaders and members who are trying to reach out in welcoming ways, as well as all members of the queer community who long for a safe church home.
The Rev. Dr. Sherry Parker-Lewis, a United Methodist Elder from the Michigan Conference, is urging people to read this book and learn from the example of these Christian friends in Iowa. In endorsing the book to her friends, Parker-Lewis writes, "Set aside the 'How To' guides and experience an authentic narrative from those who led their church to thrive in full inclusion. Wassink, Imborek, and Wassink share deep self-examination, as well as biblical and theological reflection. In this story of celebration, readers will find a model to lead a congregation to lovingly welcome all people."
Among the other nationally known Christian leaders encouraging readers to learn from this book is bestselling author Brian McLaren, who "I am so grateful for churches like Sanctuary and for pastors like Adey and Tom Wassink, and for sincere and insightful people like Katie Imborek. They're telling us honestly about the intimate pain that has been and is still being inflicted on people whose only crime is being sexual. And thank God, Adey, Tom, and Katie also are telling stories of healing that pain, because they are living those stories. They're modeling what religion should have always been good at, but too seldom repenting, which means rethinking or changing our minds."
In addition to sharing their transformative journey in this inspiring, often humbling and sometimes downright funny memoir, the Wassinks and Imborek continue in active ministry in Iowa. Their congregation is easy to find and they welcome visitors, as well as inquiries from readers who may want to request a Zoom or personal appearance in the future. This book welcomes both church leaders and members of the queer community to be a part of this timely national conversation about the future of Christian churches.
As thousands of congregations nationwide are moving toward inclusion, the real-life story in Sanctuary is a unique companion for pastors, church leaders and members who are trying to reach out in welcoming ways, as well as all members of the queer community who long for a safe church home.
The Rev. Dr. Sherry Parker-Lewis, a United Methodist Elder from the Michigan Conference, is urging people to read this book and learn from the example of these Christian friends in Iowa. In endorsing the book to her friends, Parker-Lewis writes, "Set aside the 'How To' guides and experience an authentic narrative from those who led their church to thrive in full inclusion. Wassink, Imborek, and Wassink share deep self-examination, as well as biblical and theological reflection. In this story of celebration, readers will find a model to lead a congregation to lovingly welcome all people."
Among the other nationally known Christian leaders encouraging readers to learn from this book is bestselling author Brian McLaren, who "I am so grateful for churches like Sanctuary and for pastors like Adey and Tom Wassink, and for sincere and insightful people like Katie Imborek. They're telling us honestly about the intimate pain that has been and is still being inflicted on people whose only crime is being sexual. And thank God, Adey, Tom, and Katie also are telling stories of healing that pain, because they are living those stories. They're modeling what religion should have always been good at, but too seldom repenting, which means rethinking or changing our minds."
In addition to sharing their transformative journey in this inspiring, often humbling and sometimes downright funny memoir, the Wassinks and Imborek continue in active ministry in Iowa. Their congregation is easy to find and they welcome visitors, as well as inquiries from readers who may want to request a Zoom or personal appearance in the future. This book welcomes both church leaders and members of the queer community to be a part of this timely national conversation about the future of Christian churches.
244 pages, Paperback
Published October 8, 2024
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 9, 2024
It was uneventful when this book came to my attention. A book about the church I’d hoped would become my spiritual home? How it was queer affirming now and its journey to that place. Sure!
I was skeptical because one of the reasons we had stepped away was the hesitancy we’d felt when coming to church as two gay men at the formative steps of our life as a family. I’d heard from others things had changed… so why not read about how they’d changed?
Color me surprised when I opened the book and within the very first chapter, the first page, I read an email I’d written in 2010 to the pastor. I read the first 15 pages of the book probably 5 times. And my heart ached.
Unsure, but curious, I persisted. It didn’t take much really. The book was heartfelt, transparent and powerful. To me, on a very personal level, having lived through some of what was being shared.
This book made my heart hurt. I won’t go into that because much of it was very personal but some I think would be universal to LGBTQ+ people anywhere who have struggled with western Christian culture. Especially queer people who were or experienced evangelicals.
The amazing thing was that as much as it hurt it was even more healing. The transparency of thought on their journey was refreshing. Even the thoughts that hurt. There was an honesty I can’t fathom. To place their hearts on their sleeves and show the world the missteps as well as the accomplishments. It was definitely in line with the Tom and Adey I’d began to know.
The most powerful thing was though they struggled they found a way to say we choose not to allow God’s love to be contained. Seeing a church choose people over culture; my heart leapt.
This book was filled with a churches truth, soul, humanity. It got only one thing I could see wrong.
“But none of this apologizing will be enough for you, Alden and Adan and kids, because of course you won’t hear it,”….
We heard and it means more than you can ever know. ~ ’Alden’
I was skeptical because one of the reasons we had stepped away was the hesitancy we’d felt when coming to church as two gay men at the formative steps of our life as a family. I’d heard from others things had changed… so why not read about how they’d changed?
Color me surprised when I opened the book and within the very first chapter, the first page, I read an email I’d written in 2010 to the pastor. I read the first 15 pages of the book probably 5 times. And my heart ached.
Unsure, but curious, I persisted. It didn’t take much really. The book was heartfelt, transparent and powerful. To me, on a very personal level, having lived through some of what was being shared.
This book made my heart hurt. I won’t go into that because much of it was very personal but some I think would be universal to LGBTQ+ people anywhere who have struggled with western Christian culture. Especially queer people who were or experienced evangelicals.
The amazing thing was that as much as it hurt it was even more healing. The transparency of thought on their journey was refreshing. Even the thoughts that hurt. There was an honesty I can’t fathom. To place their hearts on their sleeves and show the world the missteps as well as the accomplishments. It was definitely in line with the Tom and Adey I’d began to know.
The most powerful thing was though they struggled they found a way to say we choose not to allow God’s love to be contained. Seeing a church choose people over culture; my heart leapt.
This book was filled with a churches truth, soul, humanity. It got only one thing I could see wrong.
“But none of this apologizing will be enough for you, Alden and Adan and kids, because of course you won’t hear it,”….
We heard and it means more than you can ever know. ~ ’Alden’
November 6, 2024
I once led the congregation I served through a process culminating in the congregation voting to become Open and Affirming. We took our time. While we lost a few members along the way, they were few in number. Our process was aided in part by the presence of staff who were gay, and numerous allies. In addition, the church was part of a Mainline Protestant denomination that had voted in a General Assembly to support inclusion. Not every church and faith community has the support of its denomination and yet it feels called to become inclusive of LGBTQ persons.
The recently published book "Sanctuary: Queeriong a Church in the Heartland" by Adey Wasink, Katie Imborek, and Tom Wassink, with a foreword by Brian McLaren, tells the story of a church affiliated with the Vineyard that took a similar journey. Vineyard is a charismatic/evangelical denomination that has taken a less-than-inclusive view of same-sex relationships and transgender identity. Thus, to take this journey was much more difficult than what my congregation took. Even if the majority of the congregants supported inclusion, they would have to buck the teachings of their larger community.
The authors include the pastors of that church, Adey Wassink and Tom Wassink, along with Katie Imborek, a lesbian member of that congregation who was, with her former wife, a leading participant in the journey that led to the congregation voting to be inclusive, and then leaving the denomination. The authors tell the story of their journey together, introducing us to different members and participants in the journey. Tom and Adey tell of their emergence out of an evangelicalism that excluded rather than included. It was encounters with gay and lesbian Christians, including Katie, who were seeking to find a safe spiritual home for their families. We learn of their own journeys as they sought to understand their own sexual identities. Much of the book takes place in Iowa City, a university town, that is a hub for LGBTQ persons in Iowa. Moving there from Evanston, Illinois, where Tom and Adey had been part of a Vineyard church, not only planted a church but encountered people like Katie, seeking a home. These encounters helped change the way Adey and Tom viewed sexual identity. They did so in the context of a denomination that not only deemed LGBTQ persons to be sexually aberrant but were less than welcoming of women pastors. Thus, in the beginning, Adey was told she could be the lead pastor, in practice, but that her husband, Tom, would need to be listed as the senior pastor.
A book like this can prove very helpful to congregations seeking to move toward a more open and inclusive position. They will learn of the challenges they face. That might be more true right now than it was a few years ago, as we are witnessing a significant backlash against LGBTQ persons, especially transgender persons. This is a very personal book. The stories are at times raw. But, sometimes this is what we need if we are going to move to a more inclusive vision of the church. Stories like this, including the stories that Adey and Tom tell of their own journey toward an inclusive position, which would lead to the separation from their denomination as well as breaking long standing relationships, what Adey calls Forever Friends. This is a reminder that not everyone will be able to join the journey. That is painful. We see that pain revealed. At the same time, we get to read of people like Katie who found a safe and welcoming home in this evangelical church that became postevangelical with time.
I appreciate the work done here. It reminds us that following pathways like this will not be easy. Relationships might get severed. Theological positions and views of the Bible can change, and that in itself can be difficult. I would say that this is a deeply theological journey because it ultimately involves our vision of who God is. With that, I offer this book to the larger church, but especially churches going through the process of becoming Open and Affirming. The good news is that while Sanctuary, the name the congregation gave to itself after separating from the Vineyard, had to leave its denominational home it found substance among other Vineyard churches that had gone through the same kinds of journeys. Today they are part of a network called Blue Ocean.
The recently published book "Sanctuary: Queeriong a Church in the Heartland" by Adey Wasink, Katie Imborek, and Tom Wassink, with a foreword by Brian McLaren, tells the story of a church affiliated with the Vineyard that took a similar journey. Vineyard is a charismatic/evangelical denomination that has taken a less-than-inclusive view of same-sex relationships and transgender identity. Thus, to take this journey was much more difficult than what my congregation took. Even if the majority of the congregants supported inclusion, they would have to buck the teachings of their larger community.
The authors include the pastors of that church, Adey Wassink and Tom Wassink, along with Katie Imborek, a lesbian member of that congregation who was, with her former wife, a leading participant in the journey that led to the congregation voting to be inclusive, and then leaving the denomination. The authors tell the story of their journey together, introducing us to different members and participants in the journey. Tom and Adey tell of their emergence out of an evangelicalism that excluded rather than included. It was encounters with gay and lesbian Christians, including Katie, who were seeking to find a safe spiritual home for their families. We learn of their own journeys as they sought to understand their own sexual identities. Much of the book takes place in Iowa City, a university town, that is a hub for LGBTQ persons in Iowa. Moving there from Evanston, Illinois, where Tom and Adey had been part of a Vineyard church, not only planted a church but encountered people like Katie, seeking a home. These encounters helped change the way Adey and Tom viewed sexual identity. They did so in the context of a denomination that not only deemed LGBTQ persons to be sexually aberrant but were less than welcoming of women pastors. Thus, in the beginning, Adey was told she could be the lead pastor, in practice, but that her husband, Tom, would need to be listed as the senior pastor.
A book like this can prove very helpful to congregations seeking to move toward a more open and inclusive position. They will learn of the challenges they face. That might be more true right now than it was a few years ago, as we are witnessing a significant backlash against LGBTQ persons, especially transgender persons. This is a very personal book. The stories are at times raw. But, sometimes this is what we need if we are going to move to a more inclusive vision of the church. Stories like this, including the stories that Adey and Tom tell of their own journey toward an inclusive position, which would lead to the separation from their denomination as well as breaking long standing relationships, what Adey calls Forever Friends. This is a reminder that not everyone will be able to join the journey. That is painful. We see that pain revealed. At the same time, we get to read of people like Katie who found a safe and welcoming home in this evangelical church that became postevangelical with time.
I appreciate the work done here. It reminds us that following pathways like this will not be easy. Relationships might get severed. Theological positions and views of the Bible can change, and that in itself can be difficult. I would say that this is a deeply theological journey because it ultimately involves our vision of who God is. With that, I offer this book to the larger church, but especially churches going through the process of becoming Open and Affirming. The good news is that while Sanctuary, the name the congregation gave to itself after separating from the Vineyard, had to leave its denominational home it found substance among other Vineyard churches that had gone through the same kinds of journeys. Today they are part of a network called Blue Ocean.
September 3, 2024
This book is deep, heartfelt, poignant, spiritual, and inspiring. It does not provide answers but it offers a frameshift which to me is more exciting. And it invites ALL people on a journey together. I am excited to join!
September 17, 2024
This book is a truthful, authentic story of how one formerly evangelical church didn't just welcome and include their queer siblings and selves, but found that their presence made the church better - more inclusive for sure but also more deep and good and faithful and loving and just. We all need each other, and churches for everyone serve us all better!
I was honored to read this book pre-publication and add my praises to it. Here's from my blurb on the inside of the book: "The authors write early on that God is still looking for a church home where she'll be safe. Sanctuary sounds like just such a home. Enjoy the story."
I was honored to read this book pre-publication and add my praises to it. Here's from my blurb on the inside of the book: "The authors write early on that God is still looking for a church home where she'll be safe. Sanctuary sounds like just such a home. Enjoy the story."
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews