Show caption Elijah Walker started Solomon’s Porch earlier this year because he said there were few ‘affirming’ churches in town. Photograph: Teresa Krug Arkansas ‘I try to spread the joy’: the trans pastor battling intolerance in the deep south Elijah Walker is seeking to carve out his ministry in Arkansas while gay culture, he says, is going back underground locally Teresa Krug in Jonesboro, Arkansas Sat 4 May 2019 07.00 BST Share on Facebook

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Parishioners and visitors wander in, many pausing at the buffet spread near the door of the dance studio in the town of Jonesboro, Arkansas, that also doubles up once a week as a church. Introductions and nice-to-meet-yous are exchanged. A few young girls run around underfoot, laughing and tugging at their parents’ clothes for attention.

The pastor, Elijah Walker, sits nearby at his laptop, finishing the day’s sermon.

It is not unusual to witness religious gatherings here in north-east Arkansas, where Walker grew up and moved back to last year. Jonesboro is often referred to as the City of Churches and it stands square in the Bible belt – a stretch of mostly southern states where evangelical Christianity plays a significant role in society.

But something is unusual here. Walker is trans, seeking to carve out his ministry in a region of the country not known for its tolerance towards the LGBTQ community.

Even with the sheer number of churches, Walker, who came out as transgender in high school, realized there were few “affirming” ones in the area who would welcome people like him. Yet for years he has felt a call to Christian ministry, and so last year he started the ball rolling and set up his own church right in the heart of the deep south.

“What I was ultimately called to do with my life was to create a safe and sacred spiritual community,” Walker explained. “Not just for LGBTQ folks, but for anyone who feels marginalized or excluded from the church.”

Earlier this year, Walker did a soft launch of his Jonesboro ministry – renting a dance studio room from the city each Sunday. The congregation is still small, but growing. Long-term, Walker hopes to have enough money to create a permanent space, including a youth drop-in center.

“Typically, people like us go to church in Arkansas and you get judged a lot,” said worshipper Jamal Bowler. “Here, you don’t have that problem at all. And that’s something I’ve been looking for 20-plus years, because I have such a strong faith in God.”

Elijah Walker started Solomon’s Porch earlier this year because he said there were few ‘affirming’ churches in town. Photograph: Teresa Krug

Walker said they’re paying too much in rent, but that few other options are available. Walker said most churches he has reached out to – upfront about the mission of his church – have ignored his requests to rent space.

Walker said the city has given him no indication it will stop renting to him, but that hasn’t stopped him from worrying. Because there are no anti-discrimination local ordinances or state laws that include LGBTQ individuals, the city could legally stop doing business with him at any point. That has affected how Walker conducts outreach.

“We can’t be as vocal in public spaces as we would like to be. It’s kinda held me back in some ways,” Walker said. “I’ve been afraid to get the word out, because I’m afraid we’ll get kicked out of our space.”

I’ve been afraid to get the word out, because I’m afraid we’ll get kicked out of our space

At a time when gay-hosted TV shows such as Queer Eye are experiencing national popularity and an openly gay politician is running for president, Walker said things in Jonesboro have actually trended in the opposite direction. He has witnessed much of gay culture go back underground locally. Many of his gay friends in the Jonesboro area have gone from “confidently out” 10 years ago to now identifying as “ex-gay” or celibate.

“Nationwide, the trend is definitely to be more inclusive of LGBTQ people, but here in Jonesboro, and maybe in the Bible belt in general, I think that the opposite is true,” Walker said. “The trend is either to buckle down to be more conservative and less inclusive, or to just be really vague. That’s not helping any more.”

Will Ed Green, a gay associate Methodist pastor in Washington DC, who wrote an op-ed last February about how the Methodist church “turned its back” on him during the last general conference, agrees inclusive ministry is needed in a place like Arkansas.

Green, who speaks affectionately about growing up in Arkansas, said he began working as an openly gay pastor at the age of 19 and said his parishioners “loved me well”.

“My experience is that the most dangerous people are the people in leadership,” he said, making a distinction between how people might view someone who identifies as gay or transgender when in their home versus when in the pew.

Because he was gay, Green was eventually told he would not be able to complete his ordination process in Arkansas.

Elijah Walker said Solomon’s Porch is one of the few ‘affirming’ churches in north-east Arkansas. Photograph: Teresa Krug

Walker’s presence in the town – even though not entirely known – has cast a spotlight on the spectrum of viewpoints among the other religious groups in Jonesboro.

John Miles, senior pastor at the First Methodist church in Jonesboro, said he was surprised to hear there was a trans pastor in town. Miles said although his own and several other churches in town welcome active gay members and couples, he can “see how someone could feel excluded, because we’re not gay affirming”.

At the same time, he has no intention of changing his stance on LGBTQ issues.

“The Bible is pretty clear and the church has been pretty clear across time that the only endorsed sexual practice is heterosexual monogamy, or celibacy. Those are our two choices,” Miles said. “And so it’s hard for me. I just can’t imagine diverging from that.”

His church does not have a formal policy on who can become a member. But Central Baptist church, the area’s largest church with more than 7,000 members and counting, does. In an emailed statement the church was clear where it stands on the issue of homosexuality, adultery and sex outside of marriage. In order to fulfill its mission to “glorify God by introducing Jesus Christ as Lord to as many people as possible”, the church can elect to deny membership to anyone “engaged in any sexual practices contradictory to scripture”.

Membership may be restored, however, if the person repents. Furthermore, Central Baptist church’s sexuality morality policy will not change based upon “popular vote referendum; prevailing opinion of members or the general public; influence of or interpretation by any government authority, agency or official action; or legal developments on the local, state or federal level.”

Miles said he “admires” Central’s consistent stance.

“I know they must struggle too. What sins to bar and how to deal with sinning members,” Miles said. “Just like the Episcopal churches in town do gay marriages … It’s just not my place to tell [other religious leaders] how they’re supposed to run their church.”

But Green takes issue with this approach.

“We can disagree about things, like about fiscal policy of the United States of America at a meta-level. We cannot disagree as Christians that we have a responsibility to care for and take care of the poor,” Green said, noting the high number of suicides among and violence toward members of the LGBTQ community. “What we cannot do is deny the right to life and abundant living for all people, regardless of their sexual or gender identity.

As for Walker, he said he is determined to “spread the joy” of God’s love as much as possible, no matter what comes at him in Jonesboro. Having arrived with his church in the city, he is not going anywhere.