GREEN BAY, Wis. — Trinity Lutheran Church in Green Bay is setting itself apart from other places of worship. It aims to spread a message of being open and affirming.
Rachel Knoke has served as the church’s first gay female pastor for the past nine years.
Knoke said she was inspired to become a pastor after some deep soul-searching.
“What is the thing that gives us value and purpose? There’s no greater authority than God and to hear in that this joyful message of hope, reconciliation, grace, love, mercy. That’s what I wanted the foundation of my life to be,” Knoke said.
While the congregation inside Trinity Lutheran has been supportive of her and her family, Knoke said outside the church, that’s not always been the case.
“I grew up after the time when the fight for gay rights was the worst and most violent, but I grew up before this modern time,” Knoke said.
Knoke said she’s uniquely able to give spiritual guidance to the LGBTQ+ community who are often shunned away from religion by some Christians.
“You start to recognize the language people speak when they’re feeling apart and I don’t think I would have been attuned to that had I not sort of had that foundational experience of being outside and not quite knowing where my place was or if I belonged, or where to find that place,” Knoke said.
Parishioner Cindy Bischoff said the church should be like a hospital — open to all. Bischoff said Trinity Lutheran is blessed to have someone able to welcome those who feel like outcasts.
“It feels great since Pastor Rachel came here. It’s just hard to believe what churches can do to individuals, and it shouldn’t happen, because we’re all God’s children. We’re all created in God’s image. So, it’s just that simple,” Bischoff said.
Knoke said her message is for everyone.
“I kind of tell people, if you want to belong to a church that is going to be discriminatory, that is going to be closed in, throw a rock, you’ll hit one. To find a church that is genuinely open and affirming and welcoming, that’s a diamond in the rough and I’m proud to be the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church because I truly believe that Trinity is a place where people are welcome,” Knoke said.