(NewsSpace.com) – Typically, when people go to church, they listen to a priest or pastor talk about the words of God. Per scriptural understanding, the Lord is often referred to as masculine in nature, though it’s held that He has no literal gender since He doesn’t have a body. However, one church is going viral after supposedly discarding these teachings in favor of a more woke explanation—and it’s causing quite a stir.
What Is the “Sparkle Creed?”
The Edina Community Lutheran Church abides by what it calls the “Sparkle Creed,” which was first penned and posted on Facebook by a gay minister named Rachel Small-Stokes in 2021. She drew inspiration from Apostle’s Creed and wanted to create a version for the LGBTQ community. It sparked a lot of controversy then, and it’s still doing so today. Basically, it refers to God as a non-binary being with plural pronouns and says Jesus Christ is the Lord’s child who has two dads.
Naturally, this goes against the teachings of the Bible, which says that Christ is the child of the Virgin Mary, and he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, making him a son of God. The teachers also acknowledge that Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was the true father in every way but biologically. That didn’t stop Pastor Anna Helgen from leading the congregation in chanting the creed. She also spoke out for honey bees and climate change.
A video of the pastor reading the creed has gone viral on Twitter.
"Let us confess our faith today in the words of the Sparkle Creed" pic.twitter.com/CXeQQZvhbC
— Woke Preacher Clips (@WokePreacherTV) June 27, 2023
The church is also controversial in that it actively promotes its commitment to woke issues, such as acknowledging it stole the land it sits on from Native Americans. It also combats discrimination against the LGBTQ population and racism on its website. It even offers anti-racism vigils once a month and was very pro-Black Lives Matters back in 2020 following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis, Minnesota police.
The Reactions
The reactions to the viral video on social media were very mixed. Some were in favor of the creed, saying they would rather commune with that congregation over those who preach but don’t practice. Others said the naysayers were overreacting.
However, many were against it. Many Twitter users called it blasphemous, and even Sean Hannity referred to the creed as a “blatant attempt to push woke ideology through religion.”
Neither the pastor nor the church have responded to media requests for comments.
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