Our guest speaker, Jason Xiong, is currently serving as Pastoral Intern at Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mt. Horeb. Jason is in his third year of study at Wartburg Theological Seminary working towards a Master of Divinity degree, after which he will become an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ELCA is the largest Lutheran church denomination in the United States. Jason grew up going to church and after high school went on to college with a degree in Hospitality Management and spent 14 years in the hotel industry while also working in several church congregations before deciding to follow a call into full-time ministry.
As an out gay man, justice in the community is something he sees not as something we "do" but something that is embodied in us as Christians. He believes that all people are created in the image of God and, therefore, all people are welcome into the church regardless of the divisions and labels placed on people in our society. God's love is for all of us. Jason knows that this is not the message that many LGBTQ+ people have received from the church at large and he works hard to try to begin to repair the relationships many LGBTQ+ people have with the church. Jason will share more of his story along with being open about the struggles, joys, and all things in between that come with being an out and proud gay pastor.
Jason's presentation runs from 6 - 7 PM followed by a confidential sharing/support circle from 7 - 8 PM.