The Rev. Carly Stucklen Sather of the First Congregational Church in La Grange said she has received calls from church members who are worried as a result of the election.
Four people planning same-sex marriages in the next year have asked to have them by moved up and done by the end of this year in response to Donald Trump’s election, she said.
“They’re afraid their right to marry will be revoked by the new order,” she said.
Getting four such requests in a week “is a huge surge,” said Stucklen Sather, who noted that the church usually takes about a year to help people plan and prepare for marriage.
She said she has heard from a 13-year-old black child who’s worried about her safety.
“She told me she doesn’t feel safe being black,” Stucklen Sather said.
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Like her church members, Stucklen Sather said she is concerned about an increase in violence that the election may spur.
“What this election has done is give a license to anyone who is angry to transfer that anger toward individuals in (expressions of) misogyny, racism, homophobia and xenophobia,” she said.
Since Trump’s election, she said many people in her 460-member congregation feel “they’ve lost the floor beneath them. They feel very unsafe.”
Her response, she said, is to tell them, “if you wear a hijab, are trans, a person of color, a person with a disability, an immigrant, a refugee, a veteran, a survivor of abuse, or are LGBTQ or if you are just tired or need a hug, I will be there for you. We will be there for you as a progressive voice.”
Philip Bruening, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in La Grange, said there are only about five Hispanic families who are members of the church and a small number of Hispanic students in their school. Nonetheless, he is concerned for them and plans to talk with them individually about any concerns they may have.
“I’m planning to let them vent to me about what their concerns are on a personal level,” he said.
Though St. Cletus Catholic Church in La Grange has a ministry for Hispanics, Father Bob Clark said he has not yet been approached by any Hispanic members of his congregation with concerns about Trump. He also said no programs or worship focused around the election are planned.
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