Pastor Jermell Witherspoon Talks His Journey to Overseeing LUCC's Ministry on We Live In Color
Photos by Susan Fried
In the second episode of the second season of "We Live in Color," host Deaunte Damper welcomed Jermell Witherspoon, a pastor from the Liberation United Church of Christ (LUCC), renowned for its radical progressivism within the Pentecostal tradition. This segment delves into Witherspoon's poignant journey from his formative years grappling with his sexuality in a religious environment to discovering his calling as a pastor. With heartfelt sincerity, he emphasizes the impact of LUCC's inclusive ethos on the community it serves, underscoring a commitment to acceptance and empowerment.
"Liberation is a place where everybody is welcome no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey," Witherspoon said. "You are welcome."
Witherspoon's religious upbringing involved regularly attending Mount Calvary Christian Center in the heart of Central District. Coming from a lineage of preachers, he was steeped in a ministry environment from a young age, often accompanying his grandmother to worship services, someone he fondly recognizes as a profound influence in shaping who he is.
"Living with her, being at her hip, I saw all the facets of her, and I always saw her be kind, and I always saw her be loving, and I always saw her defend people in the church, often people who were queer and I know that she also was in spaces where she right was in a system," Witherspoon said. "I know how she worried about me because she knew who I was growing up in a system that wouldn't always honor me, [and] so I appreciate the beauty she's given me."
As for his family background, Witherspoon commented, "I grew up amongst a people who, at one point in time, were called Holy Rollers. People who were made fun of sometimes for the conviction they had from their God and the outward displaying of their God's love."
Expanding on this, he said, "I come from a people who deeply seek and have been seekers of what and who God was, and I am just living that out and in ways that I think are most fruitful to my being and to those who I love."
Witherspoon's formative years within the church instilled in him enduring values that ultimately shaped his current calling.
"I learned how to love God deeply and radically, and I learned the importance of loving my neighbor, and I learned to seek God," Witherspoon said.
Simultaneously, alongside these invaluable lessons, the church was the root of many challenges growing up as Witherspoon had to navigate his sexuality within a deeply religious environment, often feeling like an outsider.
"I've experienced what I felt was this way of being ostracized and this way of being cast out just as much as I felt this way of being loved, and cherished and honored," Witherspoon said. "There were people who walked in these spaces that I walked who didn't understand and were not willing to understand."
This directed sense of exclusion wasn't confined to members of the church congregation alone but seeped into his relationships with family and friends, intensifying his sense of alienation. Ironically, this sense of isolation deepened Witherspoon's connection to a higher power.
"God kept calling me and didn't call me as one who needed to succumb to what people thought I should be. God called me as the beautiful "tambourine playing" queer boy who loved to carry his grandmother's purse behind her," Witherspoon said. "Who indeed was her shadow, as she said. One who did not necessarily play football but sang in the choir. One who embodied and embraced the outward representation of the Spirit on me that caused my shoulders to shimmy a little bit more. That brought out even some of the feminine energy in me that the women of the church taught me: how to pray, live, and love. So those are some of the best times and most loneliest times of my life."
This cumulative experience of navigating his identity and spirituality within the confines of traditional religious norms ultimately propelled Witherspoon toward preaching.
"Very early on, I had to shut down the idea that I was sinful. That my love, that my life, that my wrist because I "played the tambourine" a little different than the other little boys, that there was something unnatural about me," Witherspoon said. "Me being alone with my God showed me that I was made in her image, and me being made in his image showed me that there must have been more than I needed to seek of them in order for me to really see the truth of how I wanted to navigate my spirituality. There was never a time where I did not think that I would be doing this work for God; however, the work was to be done."
Regarding the LUCC, Witherspoon underscored that it serves as a sanctuary for those who have felt marginalized and excluded from traditional religious spaces, often providing a space for BIPOC LGBTQ individuals who have struggled to find an accepting congregation anywhere else.
"My church is not only for my community. My church is for me. I don't just serve a community of ostracized people and people who've been cast aside in so many ways," Witherspoon said. "I am a me who has been ostracized and cast aside in many ways, and I see people in ways that I know I also need to be seen."
Reflecting on his family's longstanding legacy of preaching, Witherspoon contemplated his journey into the ministry. He acknowledges that while some within his family find it challenging to grasp his work, the undeniable call to preach is integral to who he is.
"Nobody has been able to deny the call of God on my life, though there are a few who cannot really stomach the way by which God is doing God's work," Witherspoon said. "But there are not many who deny, and honestly, there are not many who are against what I do. We are minoritized people, but we are not the minority. Even as Black people, as queer people, as women, as folks who have been pushed to the margins, we are the global majority. It's much like that in our spaces of spirituality in church."
Witherspoon highlights his authentic approach to being a pastor while being part of the LGBTQ community, emphasizing that he never felt compelled to alter his identity for his role but instead leveraged his background to enrich his pastoral duties.
"I wasn't ever really concerned or wanted to be a different person inside of church than I had to be outside," Witherspoon said. "That's why I had to get to a space where I could be the fullness of who I was. Because what I knew was that if I was going to worship God, and if I was going to be true to God, that I would have to do it as the scripture says, in Spirit and in truth."
In addressing the clash between his values and those of traditional church doctrines, Witherspoon challenged the judgment and hypocrisy he has encountered.
"Our work in theology is often different than what we say we believe. How we actually walk out life is different because when I love you, then your queerness looks a little different to me on an everyday basis than it does when there's somebody in the pulpit saying that all queer folks are going to burn in hell," Witherspoon said.
Continuing, he said, "Because I know you, and I can't imagine you going to hell and a God who would send you to hell, I have to start questioning. But then when you ask questions, especially in our traditional church spaces that are unlearned, often you get answers that are angry, answers that are ignorant because often they can't explain to you what their feeling is because their feeling is actually not one that's backed up by what is truth."
Damper recalled a recent ceremony he attended at LUCC, which Witherspoon oversaw. The heartfelt event was dedicated to honoring transgender members of the congregation. Among the rituals was a name-chanting ceremony.
"We wanted them to know that they are free to operate in our ministry as who God has called them to be as who they are. They are free to be in our space," Witherspoon said. "They are free to hold leadership roles in our space, as who God has called them to be, as the beautiful queer folk that God had called them to be."
For those interested in learning more about Pastor Jermell Witherspoon and his ministry, attend one of his sermons every Sunday at 2 pm at the Liberation United Church of Christ!
Join Deaunte every Thursday on all Converge Media Platforms for discussions with exciting guests, as they shine a spotlight on inclusivity, diversity, and living life in color!
