dgaraetsIf you don’t think this is strange, it’s only because you haven’t thought of it yet.
Remember August of 2009, when the Lutherans were meeting in Minneapolis? They voted to allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy. During the meeting, a tornado hit the convention center and nearby Central Lutheran Church. The Rev. Tom Brock (who later turned admitted struggling with his own sexual orientation) called the tornado an act of God.
“It was God saying ‘hello,’ and sadly, the Lutherans ignored it,” Brock said on a radio show.
Jump ahead to 2011. Two nights ago, a vote by ministers and elders meeting in St. Louis Park cleared the way for the nation’s largest Presbyterian group to reverse its ban on openly gay members of the clergy. And what was the other breaking news story of Tuesday evening?
Minnesota’s first tornado of 2011, that’s what. It touched down in Wright County, a far piece from St. Louis Park. But still.
Now, people are just asking for trouble when they try to discern the hand of God in severe weather, let alone in natural disasters or terrorist attacks. Think of Pat Robertson’s pronouncements on Haiti and 9/11. Even so, this is a pretty big coincidence.
Wait a minute, though. Didn’t the Lutheran vote come AFTER the 2009 tornado? We should check the headlines from Wednesday, not Tuesday night. What happened on Wednesday?
Here it is: “Minnesota Senate OKs same-sex marriage ban amendment.”
Hmm. Maybe we should just agree that God moves in mysterious ways, and leave it at that.
