"A good day for the church and for God"
The Rev. Stephanie Kendell (she/elle/ella) brought the word–and pom poms!–for the Pentecost Sunday virtual celebration honoring the 30th ordination anniversary of the Rev. Allen V. Harris. Stephanie began:
“I am the Executive Minister of Park Avenue Christian Church, the very church that ordained Allen, 30 years ago. My first Sunday at The Park was Pride Sunday and as I sat in a sanctuary covered in rainbows and filled with people being their authentic selves, a beloved elder of ours leaned over to me and the first thing she ever said to me as her pastor was, ‘You know we ordained Allen Harris, don’t you? It was a good day for church and for God.’ And friends, here we are 30 years later, and it is still a good day for the church and for God.”
Friends, with your generosity, we exceeded our $30,000 fundraising goal for the Allen V. Harris Open & Affirming Ministries Endowment Fund! Thank you for your gifts.
On Pentecost Sunday, May 23, we dedicated and blessed the financial gifts and the gifts of every body. Every body is a gift! What an honor — what a joy and inspiration — to receive the gifts and stories of so many as we celebrated the 30th ordination anniversary of Allen V. Harris.
AllianceQ promises to put your gifts to good use. Additional gifts have been made since the close of our campaign! We’ll provide updates and we will invite you to continue this work with us. Let us be the church we say we are! Thank you to our Pentecost Sunday worship leaders: Rev. Luther Young, Jr., Rev. Sara Nave Fisher, Jonathan Fisher, Sophia, Ransom and Lenora Fisher, Dann Bain, Rev. Nathan Russell, Rev. John Payne, Maria Cuca Perez, Rev. Stephanie Kendell, William DeShay C. Jackson, Rev. Chaim (C.J.) Rodriguez, Rev. Melissa Guthrie Loy, and Rev. Terri Hord Owens. Thank you to Robin Knauerhase who hosted and provided technical support. Download the event program book here.
Stay tuned for a recording of the worship service + celebration.
Yes! You can still donate to the Allen V. Harris Open & Affirming Ministries Endowment Fund. Mail gifts to Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance, Allen V. Harris Fund, P.O. Box 44400, Indianapolis, IN 46244 or give online using this secure link.
From Allen
“Thank you. From the depths of my heart, I thank you for your generosity. For your gift to the Allen V. Harris Open & Affirming Ministries Endowment Fund and for so much more grace and love throughout your life. I am profoundly grateful. Along with the Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance I appreciate your recognition of the 30th anniversary of my ordination to ministry in this most significant way.”
Who is Allen Harris? What is this Open & Affirming Ministries Endowment Fund?
Allen was an early leader with the Alliance. While Allen was not the “first” in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to be ordained openly LGBTQ, nor was he the “first” to be hired in a parish setting as openly LGBTQ, he does appear to be the first to do both, and has been out as a fully-embodied queer man in all of his ministerial settings since graduating seminary. Allen has been dedicated to local, regional and general expressions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Find the full story and all campaign news articles here: https://disciplesallianceq.org/allenvharris/