Decades of Support and Advocacy

We became a More Light congregation in 1988.

More Light Presbyterians follow the risen Christ and seek to make the Church a true community of hospitality. The mission of More Light Presbyterians is to work for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) people in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society.

St. Luke Presbyterian Church repeatedly brought to the Presbytery an amendment to allow churches to ordain all people, regardless of sexual orientation, only to be turned away year after year.  Finally in 2010, the Presbytery passed the amendment and St. Luke Presbyterian had the honor of casting the vote that put it over the top.  In the following year, the amendment was ratified.

From The Atlantic Monthly, July 2012

 In the bedroom communities of Eden Prairie and Minnetonka, billboards promoting right-wing candidates and talk show hosts frequently pop up between car dealerships and golf clubs. A sudden proliferation of rainbow flags has made these neighborhoods into unexpected battlegrounds in the state's marriage fight.

 It started with Gwin Pratt, a senior pastor at St. Luke Presbyterian Church, which has a long history of advocating for gay rights. After the Minnesota State Legislature voted to include the amendment on the ballot, the congregation began an outreach plan to oppose it. Cindy Eyden, a member of St. Luke, suggested buying rainbow flags in bulk and distributing them to anyone in the community who was interested. What she didn't know was that her idea would go viral.

Maureen Henderson, a fellow St. Luke congregant, was quick to follow Eyden's lead. "They were selling these rainbow flags, only $2.50 for this full size, beautiful flag, and I looked at it, and bought a whole bunch of flags." Henderson told herself "I'm going to go home to my neighborhood, and see, in our community, if one by one we can hand them out and then together start to address this issue." So off Henderson went to her home in Eden Prairie, a suburb of 60,000 filled with white-collar professionals, 94 percent of whom are Caucasian. That afternoon, she started going door to door with flags in hand. She was quickly joined by her neighbor Wendy Ivins. They took the picture-perfect neighborhood by storm, engaging their neighbors in respectful conversations. Soon, more and more rainbow flags began to appear in the sleepy cul-de-sacs, planted on large lots and hanging from wood porches.

On August 17, 2013, St. Luke became the first Presbyterian church to host a same-sex wedding.  Pastor Gwin Pratt presided over the marriage of members Kim Capel and Shey Lyon in our sanctuary.

In 2015 the United States Supreme Court ruled that prohibitions of gay marriage were unconstitutional.  

We advocate for LGBTQ+ rights as human rights

“There’s no such thing as a passive ally or advocate. If we want a world where all are welcome, loved, and affirmed, then we must all join in making that hope a reality.

As a cisgender white male faith leader, I may not always know the right words to share or actions to take. Thankfully, we are approaching this work in the context of beloved community! With humility and purpose, we all can be an active part of working for a more equitable and inclusive world.” - Rev. Dr. Brennan Blue