The Rev. Peg Chemberlin is back, and busy.
Chemberlin finished her two-year term as president of the influential National Council of Churches in January and has returned full time to her position as executive director of the Minnesota Council of Churches -- a job she's held the past 17 years.
One of the first projects she's tackling this spring is ambitious: getting churches and faith leaders to talk civilly about the marriage amendment on the November ballot. If passed, the amendment would effectively ban gay marriage.
"One of the things I was stunned to see was the way in which some places, even in the church, it's difficult to have a conversation that's respectful," she said. "We're saying ... churches can be a place to host conversation, not debate. Not taking a position on this amendment but to host a conversation about, how do you come at this question from your deeply held values?"
The goal of the project dubbed "Respectful Conversations" is not to influence voters but to "soften hearts."
"I think it could be a witness to the whole country, how to do this better than it's been done in some other places," she said.
Some 20 congregations have signed on to host talks about the amendment over the next several months, she said. The first one is scheduled April 14 at All Saints Lutheran Church in Minnetonka. Anyone interested can register to attend at www.startribune.com/a1173.
As president of the National Council of Churches, she found working with dozens of faith leaders across the country to be an uplifting but often challenging experience. It made Chemberlin appreciate all the more the "collaborative" spirit among churches, nonprofits and other community leaders in Minnesota.
