Rev. Nelson Rabell’s Church Restored to ELCA. What’s Still Needed for Justice?

Rev. Nelson Rabell’s church has been recognized and restored to the ELCA.  But key issues of accountability and justice still remain.

On Sept. 15, 2023, at the Sierra Pacific Synod (ELCA) Synod Assembly, the Synod Council introduced a motion to recognize and receive La Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina, The Lutheran Church of St. Mary the Pilgrim, pastored by Rev. Nelson Rabell González.

Interim Bishop Claire Burkat introduced the session with a brief explanation of what happened to Rev. Nelson and his congregation nearly two years ago:

In December of 2021, at the direction of the former bishop, the synod council took action to remove Rev. Nelson Rabell-González as pastor of Misión Latina Luterana Synod Authorized Worship Community in Stockton, Calif.  The community was informed of this on a festival Sunday which the bishop and members of the staff attended, but the pastor was absent, with no explanation and no advanced warning to the worshiping community at the time.  Shocked and alarmed, the community left the building during the service.  No arrangements were made for a future supply pastor. The synod discontinued financial support and left the worshiping community to fend for itself.

How did we get to this point?

What precipitated these events actually took place twenty-eight months ago, when unfounded allegations were leveled against Rev. Rabell during the May 2021 Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly. The former bishop then amplified these allegations into a deluge of groundless accusations and defamatory insinuations against Rev. Rabell, propagating throughout the ELCA and beyond.

All of this was orchestrated to silence Rev. Rabell, an outspoken Afro-Latiné pastor and advocate for social justice who fearlessly exposed the racism within his community and his former congregation, St. Paul Lutheran in Lodi, California. Simultaneously, it served as a diversion from the former bishop’s questionable history and the ELCA’s concealment of injustices against Rev. Rabell.

The power of public pressure

Some have complained that “social media” has been the primary problem with the case of Rev. Nelson and his congregation.  But this is both untrue and a red herring distracting from the real issues.

First, we must note that Rev. Nelson attempted to use the proper channels of the church to alert those in power about harassment directed at Latina members of his congregation by a layperson at St. Paul’s. He reported these allegations to eight people or groups within the church governance structure, but no one followed up on his concerns.

Second, after allegations were made against him, Rev. Nelson attempted to work with the denominational process for six months.  During that time, he saw the process weaponized against him until it came to a head on Dec. 12, 2021, when he was fired and his congregation was driven out of the ELCA. Only then did he ask me, as a friend and pastoral colleague, to write about what had happened to him and his congregation.

Since then, thousands of individuals, both from within and outside the ELCA, undertook an extraordinary endeavor to pave the way for Rev. Rabell’s case to be given due by the ELCA. They’ve lent their signatures to petitions, composed emails, and engaged in phone outreach. Additionally, they’ve actively participated in social media discussions, voiced their support in public forums, and labored tirelessly behind the scenes to champion justice for Rev. Rabell and his congregation.

Only after two independent investigations found that both the congregation and Rev. Nelson were, in fact, telling the truth, have we arrived at this point.  One of those was conducted by an ELCA Listening Panel in 2022.  The other was a synod Investigative Panel convened by Interim Bishop Burkat which released its report on March 30, 2023.

The apology to Rev. Nelson

One of Panel’s recommendations was for the Sierra Pacific Synod Council to “Issue a full and unreserved apology to Nelson Rabell-Gonzáles, his spouse and family for the synod council’s role in the racist and destructive actions of the synod.”  That apology was given both in person and in writing.  But a public apology at the synod assembly was also needed.  Especially after the public excoriation of Rev. Nelson at last year’s assembly – when he was neither present to defend himself, nor even on the roster – a public apology was essential to the healing of Rev. Nelson and his family, as well as the synod.

And, I am relieved to say, the Synod Council did, in fact, issue a full, sincere apology at the opening of this year’s assembly.  The session began with reading aloud the apology sent to Rev. Nelson in April.  Here is the text of the apology:

Pastor Nelson Rabell-González, Dr. Fabiola Ramos-Mercado, Sofia, and Hiram,

We are sorry:

For the harm, trauma, and grief we caused, and the damage to your reputation.

For the suffering you all have endured, and continue to endure, as a result of both our action and inaction.

For our participation in systemic racism and prejudice.

For failing to raise our voice and de-escalate the conflict.

And for how long it has taken us to get to this place.

We will be reaching out to the congregation of Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina to provide an apology to them for the trauma, loss, and grief they have suffered as well. We want to assure you that these apologies will be followed by action.

We are working to prevent this type of harm from happening to others. We commit to forging healthy systems and processes in the Sierra Pacific Synod to ensure due process is exercised, and to combatting racism and prejudice. We hope our work will inspire the church to be and do better.

We are grateful for your willingness to continue to work toward restoration of our mutual relationship and reconciliation in the name of Christ.

 The Members of the Sierra Pacific Synod Council, April 18, 2023

The Apology to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina

Following the apology to Rev. Nelson and his family, two members of the Synod Council read the apology to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina, one in English and one in Spanish.

To the members & community of Santa María Peregrina:

We have trespassed against you. Though we call you as siblings in Christ, with our actions and because of our frequent inaction, we have caused you harm. We did not step in to defend your community’s integrity and, thinking we knew best, we acted arrogantly across economic and racial lines.

With defensiveness and delay we have often prioritized systems over the concrete needs of your people. We did not sufficiently challenge our leaders, nor did we express solidarity with you when you most needed accompaniment.

We have not communicated well nor promptly, nor have we demanded consistent and accountable communication from our church leaders, which has led to further and understandable doubt and distrust. We have heard the trauma, loss, and grief you have suffered, individually and as families, including the suffering of your children.

We repent of any and all ways we have left you to feel other than beloved members of the Body of Christ. We commit to ongoing accompaniment and to continued funding of your ministry, knowing that you cannot forget what has transpired.

We commit to further contribute to a stable, sustainable, & ongoing church home for your community. As we continue to forge healthier systems and processes in the Sierra Pacific Synod, we pledge to face and dismantle racism and prejudice where we find it, including within ourselves, and to examine our synod council structure.

We are grateful for your willingness to continue to work toward restoration of our mutual relationship and reconciliation in the name of Christ.

Anatomy of a good apology

What made these apologies appropriate were three things.  First, they did not offer any excuses, shift responsibility away from themselves, or turn it back around on the ones they had wronged.  They owned their stuff, so to speak.  Second, they specifically acknowledged what they did wrong.  Third, they named what they will do to try to make things right again, and they did that with specific examples.

How did Rev. Nelson and the delegation from Santa María respond?

As I watched the livestream of the apology and saw Rev. Nelson standing with his family and a delegation from Santa María, it was an emotional moment for me and, I’m told, for many people who were there.  Rev. Nelson, his wife Fabiola, their children Sofia and Hiram, and the congregation have endured so much racist calumny, mistreatment, character assassinations, and blatant lies, it is amazing that they even wanted to return to this denomination.  The fact that they never lost hope for justice is a testament to their courage and determination to combat racism within the Church.  And it is a witness to the power of God to sustain beleaguered people and communities who endure racism, xenophobia, colorism, and economic injustice every single day.

The members of the congregation responded with their own written statement, of which I want to highlight three things.

One is that they did not mince words when it came to naming the trauma they have endured at the hands, tongues, and keyboards of people who purport to following the teachings of Christ.  They pointed out that two years after being forced out of the ELCA, they still do not have a permanent church home.  This is something that the leadership of the ELCA and the Synod must rectify in order to make good on their promises of action and not just words.

Second, they pointed out that they have told ELCA and Synod leadership about the trauma they have experienced, but still feel ignored.  Why is this?  Because the people who made to initial accusations against Rev. Rabell, as well as the person who harassed the Latina women, still have faced no accountability for what they have done. There are people in leadership positions in the Synod and ELCA right now who have heard the women’s testimony.  But they refuse to address the situation.  We must ask why this is the case and demand that action is taken so that no more vulnerable people are targeted, especially while trusting the church to protect them.  How many more women must suffer until action is taken?

Third, despite their misgivings and lack of trust, they graciously accepted the apology due to their faith in Jesus Christ.  They concluded their response saying, “We are also willing to work with you towards mutual restoration, as we trust that it will be a new beginning, where together we will work guided by the love of God. We hope that we all can be God’s instruments to foster peace, justice, and love.”

The motion to recognize and receive La Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina passed with an overwhelming majority.

Rev. Nelson’s congregation is now a full-fledged church in the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA.  They are no longer a synodically-authorized worshiping community.  They are, at long last, recognized for the vibrant, vital, and invaluable church that they are.

Still much work to be done

Despite the heroic efforts of Rev. Nelson, his family, his congregation, and the many allies who have stood with them and agitated for justice, there are still kernels of injustice embedded within our ecclesial system that remain and need to be addressed.

1 – Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

One of the issues with Rev. Nelson’s case was that he was pressured to sign an NDA by his former congregation.  Despite a churchwide memorial passed in 2022 to limit the use of NDAs, they are still being issued in some synods and congregations.  (See The NDA, the Church, and the Attempt to Silence Rev. Nelson Rabell-González.)

2 – The Conference of Bishops

The Investigation Team report did not just focus on the problems with the Sierra Pacific Synod.  They realized that the scope of the issues surrounding Rev. Nelson’s case involve entities and individuals within the ELCA that failed to rein in a problematic bishop.  One of those entities was the Conference of Bishops.

The Investigative Team issued four recommendations for the COB. Two had to do with accountability for incoming and outgoing bishops who “willfully or negligently fail to participate in an orderly transition” following an election.  And two were about transparency, open communication, public admonishment of fellow bishops when necessary, and ending their practice of “secret covenants” to protect each other.

But what was the response from the Conference of Bishops?

Nothing but a bland “we concur with the team about their importance” and suggestion that they “may have further conversations about these recommendations.”

That’s it?

It took months for the courageous efforts of the Latina/o bishops and a few key allies to convince their peers to speak out publicly about Rohrer’s deplorable behavior and practices and hold Rohrer accountable.  Now it appears the Conference of Bishops wants to wash its hands of any future abuses of power by one of their own.

3 – ELCA Synod Council

The Investigative Team issued four recommendations for the Churchwide Council.  One was to equip interim bishops with “extraordinary support and resources” when assigned to struggling synods such as Sierra Pacific.  A second was to “establish or adopt policies that forbid the use of Non-Disparagement Agreements and restrict the use of Non-Disclosure Agreements.” And to decouple such agreements from severance considerations or a leader’s “on leave from call” status.  All of this is in response to the NDA Rev. Nelson was pressured to sign by his former congregation, St. Paul in Lodi.

The third recommendation was about the need to standardize the disclosure process during a bishop election process.  This is due to the lack of disclosure about a lawsuit involving Rohrer while running for bishop and the accusations of financial malfeasance against Rohrer.

The fourth recommendation was to require all synods to have updated written policies for discipline of a rostered leader.  It was because such policies were not followed in the case of Rev. Nelson that he did not receive due process according to the ELCA’s stated constitutional process.

But how did the Executive Committee of the Churchwide Council respond?

They essentially complained that the recommendations would be too difficult to undertake given the significant changes that would be needed.  And they leaned on the polity of the ELCA to absolve themselves of any responsibility to require ethical procedures of all synods when it comes to bishop elections and misconduct policies.

All this to say that the Churchwide Council, like the Conference of Bishops, either passed the buck, side-stepped, or outright refused to take action.  “Thanks.  Thoughts, and prayers,” was about all we got.

3 – Office of the Presiding Bishop

For the Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, the Investigative Team made a recommendation to issue a full and unreserved apology to Nelson Rabell-González, his spouse, and family, for the Churchwide expression’s role in the racist and destructive actions of the ELCA in the Sierra Pacific Synod over the past two years. “Make special note of how long it took you to make this apology to him personally despite recognizing the pain of lay members and others much sooner,” they wrote.

This was not an unreasonable recommendation, especially given the ways in which Bishop Eaton contributed to this fiasco: 1) refusing to act on Rev. Nelson’s request for assistance back in November of 2021; 2) initially refusing to release the report of her own investigative panel about the actions of Rohrer; 3) declining to demand Rohrer’s resignation even after learning about Rohrer’s racist actions; 4) neglecting to stop the barrage of lies and character assassination against Rev. Nelson at the 2022 synod assembly; 5) offering a milquetoast apology to representatives from Rev. Nelson’s congregation – and not including him in that apology.

But how did Eaton respond?

“Thank you for the faithful and thoughtful work of the investigative team leading to these recommendations. I agree that reconciliation is needed in the church, which is why I apologized to the community of Santa María Peregrina at the Churchwide Assembly last summer and why I have been and will continue to be in conversation with Nelson Rabell González regarding reconciliation . . .. Please know that you, the synod, the investigative team, and Megan and Nelson and their families are in my prayers.”

That’s it?

Even after visiting with Rev. Nelson and his congregation and hearing directly from the women in his congregation who had been harassed by someone at St. Paul – and that Rev. Nelson was targeted because he was a whistleblower about this – she still can’t bring herself to apologize publicly to Rev. Nelson?

It does not bode well for a leader who purports to lead a denomination with integrity and Christ-like humility to side-step a simple call for a public apology to a beleaguered pastor harmed by the church in all of its expressions.  If she would like a model for doing a public apology to Rev. Nelson, she can look to the Synod Council’s.

A pattern of attacking Hispanic and Latino/a leaders in the church

It’s worth noting that at the same time Rev. Nelson was enduring his struggle against false accusations and injustice, another Hispanic church leader in that area of the country was also facing charges and an extended process for justice.  Bishop Minerva Carcaño of the United Methodist Church was recently acquitted of charges of harassment, financial malfeasance, and violating church law.

Bishop Carcaño is the first Latina bishop in the denomination and has been a prominent voice on behalf of immigrants.  According to U.S. News and World Report, “The jury of 13 clergy members reached its unanimous verdict after about four and a half hours of deliberation Thursday evening. Carcaño will resume her position as head of the church’s California-Nevada Conference on Tuesday, according to her counsel, the Rev. Scott Campbell.”

Interestingly, these are the same kinds of charges brought against Rev. Rabell, though under very different circumstances.  It raises the question about why Latino/a leaders in the church appear to be targeted while they work on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Voting to call Rev. Nelson Rabell González

What is next for Rev. Nelson and the people of Santa María Peregrina? The congregation will vote to call Rev. Nelson as their pastor on Oct. 1, 2023.  When that happens, he will be fully restored to the roster of word and sacrament ministry in the ELCA.  It will certainly be a day of celebration, giving praise to God who has sustained them all this time.

In the meantime, we pray that the momentum for justice will “roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24).

Read also:

From a Moment to a Movement: Rev. Nelson Rabell’s Saga and the ELCA Churchwide Assembly

Pastor Nelson’s Spouse Speaks: The Year of Pain

End the NDA in the Church: ‘Confidentiality’ is a Cover for Toxic Secrets

The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is ordained in the ELCA. She does not speak for the ELCA; her opinions are her own.  She is the author of Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her newest book is Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation, co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).