Nine Facts About Tim Walz’s Church
Walz does not often discuss his faith, but he occasionally mentions that he attends Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minn.
By Joshua Arnold
Vice President Kamala Harris selected Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.) as her running mate on Tuesday, and many Americans are naturally curious to know more about him, including his religious beliefs. Walz does not often discuss his faith, but he occasionally mentions that he attends Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minn. (both instances are from 2020). Here are nine facts about Walz’s church.
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a liberal association of Lutherans in the United States.
In 1976, Pilgrim Lutheran left the LCMS to join the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC) over “views on the inerrancy of the Bible,” the church explains on its website. “The Missouri Synod was quite firm in the belief that the Bible was without error. Others — pastors, scholars, and lay persons — felt that the Bible, while inspired, had portions where informed people could have differing opinions.” The AELC later merged with other groups to form the ELCA.
- The lead pastor of Pilgrim Lutheran Church is Jen Rome.
According to the church website, Jen Rome (“she/her”) “received her Masters of Divinity Princeton Theological Seminary in 2000” and “has 17 years of experience in bringing people of all generations to deeply experience and creatively connect with God, the world, and each other.” She is married with two daughters, and the family lives “inter-generationally” in a duplex with her in-laws.
On Sunday, August 4, Rome delivered a homily based on a reading from John 6, in which, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus teaches that he is the bread of life. “Jesus goes on and on forever, it seems,” said Rome, but “what Jesus is talking about is setting aside or being healed from what causes you and the ones around to perish, to receive what is life-giving.”
Drawing an object lesson from a fictional, young-adult book series in which a young girl studies dragon science in defiance of societal expectations, Rome urged all her hearers to free themselves from the “garbage” of societal norms. She discussed her struggle with aging, saying her body no longer attains what she believes society expects from the female figure, adding that “it is amazing garbage that can go through this feminist’s head.”
“We humans love to make systems or hierarchies, whether that’s government, or religion, or gender, or race. We just live in all that stuff. We breathe it in, and the dynamics just circulate around in ourselves,” she said. But she imagined that Jesus would deliver quite a different message: “You, with the sick body, you are important. You, who do something for a living that others don’t appreciate, you are my child. You, who have been excluded by society for simply being who you are, whatever shape your body took, you are God’s child.”
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church pursues a ‘varied and creative’ liturgy, particularly at evening services
“Evening worship at Pilgrim is varied and creative, focusing particularly on contemplation and a sense of calm mindfulness, most notably in the music, readings, use of silences, and lighting,” the website explains. “There is no sermon, so the Celtic Contemplative Communion and Contemplative Prayer from Nordic and Other Lands services use a unique style of ‘Word Weavings.’” The church website lists multiple staff experienced in Celtic and Nordic music, led by Composer-in-Residence Dick Hensold (“he/him”).
The church’s “word weaving” aims to “combine scripture and poetry in a way that is inspired by the ancient practice of ‘Lectio Divina.’ These ‘weavings’ juxtapose phrases from the readings in new ways to inspire deeper experience with the texts.”
While most deliberate in its evening services, Pilgrim Lutheran also embraces an open-ended worship liturgy in its Sunday morning gatherings. In the most recent service on August 4, for example, Pastor Rome announced a “U-pick hymn sing” after the conclusion of her homily and prayer, inviting attendees to select their favorite hymns out of the hymnal.
- At Pilgrim Lutheran Church, anyone may partake in the Lord’s supper.
“All people are ALWAYS welcome to receive Holy Communion,” announced the church newsletter. Rome confirmed this at the most recent service, declaring, “You are all welcome at this table. Whatever your age, wherever you are at in your life of doubt and faith … you are welcome at Christ’s table.”
This differs from the practice of many churches that restrict the Lord’s table to baptized believers, based on Paul’s warning to the Corinthians:
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church recites a modified version of the Lord’s prayer.
After reciting Jesus’ instructions about the Lord’s supper from Matthew 26:26-28, Rome led the congregation in a modified version of the Lord’s prayer. “And now,” she said, “we pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us, saying, ‘our guardian, our mother, our father in heaven, hallowed by thy name …’”
According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name …’” (Matthew 6:9). The gospel of Luke contains a similar, but slightly abbreviated, teaching, in which Jesus says, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name …’” (Luke 11:2).
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church welcomes and affirms people who identify as LGBT+ and follow those lifestyles.
“Pilgrim is a Reconciling in Christ church,” their website states, “which includes a partnership with Reconciling Works, a ministry devoted to welcoming, celebrating, and advocating for the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ individuals in Lutheran faith communities.”
“Reconciling Works advocates for the acceptance, full participation, and liberation of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions within the Lutheran Church,” according to their website.
Reconciling Works offers trainings with titles such as “Lutheran Introduction to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, & Gender Expression [SOGIE]” and “Let’s talk SOGIE.” It directs youth and families to PFLAG, an LGBT activist group that lobbies for explicit books in school libraries and against legislation to protect minors from gender transition procedures.
All six members of the Reconciling Works Board of Directors identity as LGBT, not including their non-binary chaplain. The current chair of the board has three children, two of whom (ages nine and 14) also identify as LGBT, while she considers the youngest, age four, to be “he/him until otherwise declared).
In addition to their partnership with Reconciling Works, Pilgrim Lutheran also incorporates LGBT-inclusivity throughout their church culture. Their staff page lists the preferred pronouns of every team member, including one, a Kindergarten teacher, who identifies as "she/they.” The church also hosts a trans-friendly, monthly event for mothers, advertising, “All those who identify themselves as mamas from Pilgrim are invited to a Pilgrim Mamas get together approximately once a month in the later evening.”
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church promotes at least five anti-racism initiatives.
On its “ministries” page, Pilgrim Lutheran Church lists an Advocates for Racial Equity (ARE) team, which works “to overcome white supremacy by aligning with Pilgrim’s ‘Mission of Outreach and Welcome’ and ‘Doing Justice’ as we live out the counterculture values of the gospel through education, relationship building and advocacy.”
The ARE team developed a land acknowledgement statement “to acknowledge the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the land we are on, inspiring us towards ongoing awareness and action. The full land acknowledgment is below (the ARE team also approved a shortened version that omits the bracketed material):
"This land is not just this address. From time immemorial the Dakota people’s lives and stories have been woven together with this land. [They were forcibly exiled from their land starting with the treaties of 1837 and 1851 and were nearly exterminated after the 1862 US Dakota war. We acknowledge the Dakota people, past and present, for their ongoing story and care of this land. We condemn and lament the way colonialism pillaged both the land and the Dakota way of life. Pilgrim Lutheran Church commits to ongoing efforts to recognize, support, and advocate for the Dakota and other Indigenous peoples.] Let us take a moment of silence to honor the Dakota people, their heritage and resiliency.”
Additionally, Pilgrim Lutheran Church maintains a reparations fund “directed specifically to respond to inequities in homeownership for BIPOC families.” The ARE team has led the church in a “process of making reparations for its tacit participation in the system of housing segregation.”
Pilgrim Lutheran Church also participates in a Joint Church Anti-Racism Team (JCART), “a collaborative effort of study and action” of four local mainline churches. JCART studies varied topics and is currently engaged in studying “Indigenous/Native understanding and issues.”
Most broadly, Pilgrim Lutheran Church participates in “a multi-racial, state-wide, nonpartisan coalition” called ISAIAH, which is “fighting for racial and economic justice in Minnesota” through “activism, organizing, and political action.” ISAIAH celebrated the “bold, progressive agenda” that passed the Minnesota legislature in 2023 and laid out its 2024 legislative priorities: expansion of green energy, publicly-funded daycare, publicly-funded health care, rent control, and trimming down voting requirements.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church also offers a Pilgrims Caring for Creation group, which aims “to reduce material and energy waste on our church campus” and sponsors “education and public events on issues of environmental justice.” The Environmental Justice Movement battles “environmental racism” by working “to improve and maintain a clean and healthful environment, especially for communities of color.” Pilgrim Lutheran has been designated a “Caring for Creation” Congregation by Minnesota Interfaith Power & Light.
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church emphasizes social issues in its prayer requests.
On the penultimate page of its church newsletter, Pilgrim Lutheran Church lists concerns for prayer. The lower half of the page lists ongoing health concerns, those mourning the loss of loved ones, and ministry partners. The upper half of the page reads as follows:
“We pray for God’s loving presence for these Pilgrims who need healing, hope, comfort, and care:
"We pray for the people of areas torn by war and violence, including Gaza and Ukraine, for peace and safety. We also pray for those who are refugees fleeing violence seeking help and hope.
"We pray for the loved ones and communities of all victims of gun violence across our country.
"We pray for our governor and all elected officials and public servants. Guide them and support them in their work to care for our cities, our state, and our nation.
"We pray for those whose lives are altered by climate events. We pray for creation and for an increased will to care for it.
"We pray for all in the LGBTQIA+ community who face bias, rejection, and violence. We pray that we may all grow in acceptance and each become a voice for acceptance, advocacy, and support as an expression of Pilgrim’s status as a Reconciling in Christ community of faith.
"We keep in prayer our Native, Asian, Latino, and Black siblings who continue to face the legacy of racism. We pray for change in systems of oppression and injustice, and that we all may learn to follow the path of anti-racism, and each become a voice for inclusion, equity, and justice.
"We pray for our Muslim and Jewish siblings, as well as our siblings of other religions, in our country, state, and community facing prejudice, threats, and destruction of their places of worship.”
- Pilgrim Lutheran Church maintains a partnership with a Lutheran Congregation in Tanzania.
Pilgrim Lutheran has maintained a partnership with the Luganga Lutheran congregation, of the Iringa Diocese of Tanzania, since 2002. Luganga Lutheran is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT).
In contrast to its mainline American counterpart, the ELCT prominently displays on its website its mission “To make people know Jesus Christ and have life in [his] fullness by bringing to them the Good News through words and deeds based on the Word of God as it is in the Bible and the Lutheran teachings guided by the ELCT Constitution.”
Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.
