A Church ‘Welcome To All’

DAYTON - Welcome to all. Dayton's new Pastor Marj Johnston at Dayton's First Congregational Church says that is the no. 1 message she wants to convey.

Johnston, who grew up in the small town of Raymond on the coast, is 52 and has already lived more than most people her age. Johnston, who grew up in a Christ-loving household, fought the ever-present desire in her to become a pastor for most of her life. Her journeys down other roads working at a funeral home and later with the homeless and in human services have made her who she is, just as much as her journey as being an out-lesbian serving Christ has influenced her.

"It was one of those things that never really went away," Johnston said of her desire to be a pastor. "At some point, something snapped."

Johnston was officially installed in the Dayton church as its pastor on May 12.

Her Journey

Johnston describes herself as a tomboy. She said she has always been that way. She remembers a photo of herself from when she was young wearing a t-shirt and jeans, a cowboy hat on top of her head and her nose buried into a comic book. She is one of three sisters in a family that attended church on Sundays, but a family she considers pretty open-minded.

Johnston said she hasn't lead a charmed life. She didn't have a full grasp on what she wanted to do for some time. She obtained her associate's degree. She moved to Washington, D.C. She was (miserably) engaged to a man for six weeks. She worked and lived in a funeral home. She went to Western Washington University and studied human services, which led her to run food banks and help those less fortunate than she.

But, the one constant along Johnson's path was God.

"Boys go to seminary and girls go to Bible school," she recites from her childhood memories. She was taught to sit at home reading scriptures while she supported a man. But, that wasn't the life for Johnston.

Finally, after mentors and friends encouraged her for years to go to seminary, in 2001 at age 41, Johnston finally went.

And as she and some friends made the trek by car to Chicago for seminary, terrorist crashed planes into the World Trade Centers.

After "tense conversations over doughnuts and coffee," Johnston's friends wouldn't let her back out and kept driving.

The eerie feeling of Chicago and the hard work ahead didn't deter Johnston when she got to seminary.

"You kind of just tie your shoelaces and move on," she said of the obstacles.

Even after exploring the area and making a life for herself in Chicago, she said she always knew she would end back in Spokane where she had previously worked. She said she knew the culture and people there and that was very comfortable for her.

She became a case manager for homeless individuals and families while she finished her ordination to become a pastor. She enjoyed being able to help and talk with the homeless.

"It's a way of living," she said of her preaching style. "It's not about beating people up with a Bible."

And even after going to seminary, Johnston still wasn't convinced she belonged in a church pulpit. She said she would rather be out in the community connecting and working with the people.

If Jesus was still on earth, she said, she believes that is where He would be. So from 2004 through 2011, she stayed in Spokane. And after those seven years believing she didn't need to be in a church, something changed.

"I didn't feel like I was going to find what I needed personally," she said.

Welcome To Dayton

Johnston decided to find a church to call her own. She put out applications all over the country, she said. One day, she got a call about an opening in Dayton, and having been through the area before and having an uncle who lived in the town, it was easy to throw her name in the hat, she said.

Kathy Blake, a member of the church's search committee, said after listening to Johnston preach once last winter and having a conversation with her, she knew Johnson was what the church needed.

"It was just a great fit for us and I was smiling the whole time," Blake remembers.

Another committee member John Laib said filling the opening left by the previous long-term pastor who died of cancer was simple when he met Johnston.

"She's very outgoing and enthusiastic," he added.

He liked that she had lived all over the country and had tackled big-city issues like homelessness.

"You can't meet a better person than Marj," Laib said.

"Very Open"

Johnston being an open, lesbian pastor is not something she is shy to talk about. She simply says that being part and preaching in a church that is welcome to all is the most important factor.

"I'm not in the closet, but I'm not leading my own gay pride parade," she said with a laugh. "I don't have rainbows all over everything."

Laib said Johnston's preference in her partners was not an issue, in his opinion.

"We have been very open for a long time," Laib said of his church. "We hired a minister first."

Johnston's openness on the topic stems from her coming out experiences with her family. No, being gay hasn't always been easy, she said she certainly hasn't lived a "charmed life." But when she came out to her mother while watching a Seattle Men's Chorus program on TV, she said her mother really wasn't bothered or surprised by the conversation and her family has always embraced her.

When her sisters, their husbands and kids are visiting her parents, they don't make any fuss about Johnson being present with her partner, Cindi Abbott. Johnston and Abbott have been together for 11 years.

Johnston said her father may have been a little disappointed when she admitted she is gay, but her family and the Baptist church members she grew up with remain dear to her.

"Nobody thought anything of it," Johnston said. "Or if they did, they just didn't say anything of it."

In Dayton, while Johnston is working on figuring out how to overcome the differences and connect with her clergy colleagues, there has already been some disappointment. One of the local churches decided not to join with the First Congregational Church for vacation Bible school this year because of her leadership, Johnston said. And a couple of church members have decided to not attend regularly any longer, she added.

Blake said she knows there is some negative feedback in the community about Johnston's new position, but Blake said she hasn't personally heard any comments.

She is focusing on the positives - such as how many more children are now attending services because of Johnston's enthusiasm.

"That's a great gift she has," Blake said.

Johnston said there are about 52 members in her church and on average about 40 to 45 attend on Sundays.

As for Johnston, she won't likely be found hiding out in her beautiful brown church with teal trim on Third Street. She can be found tromping around local parks with Abbott, having a coffee at Skye Book and Brew or sitting on a bench in the sunshine in front of the Village Shoppes to simply have conversations with those in her community - just as she believes Jesus would have done.

"It's really sweet to be back in a smaller town," Johnston said. "It's a phase I needed. I've had an incredibly blessed and orchestrated-by-God-kind of life."