The Rev. Lizzie Gillman is an Episcopal priest in Des Moines serving St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and the Beloved Community Initiative of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. She recently sent versions of this message to Republican members of the Iowa House, after the chamber approved House File 856, banning public entities and institutions from diversity, equity, and inclusion activities.

Dear Iowa House Republicans,

Your brilliant and faithful colleague, Representative Rob Johnson, shared a photo of today’s vote on HF856, and I see that you once again voted against Iowa being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive state. With your “green” vote, you joined those who continue to deny the truth that every Iowan, no matter their race, gender, or background, belongs and deserves dignity.

I am a woman who is able to serve as an ordained Episcopal priest because the Black Church – rooted in resilience, liberation, and justice—affirmed the gifts and calls of women long before many white institutions did. A few faithful white men stood in solidarity, helping to open the doors of pulpits and altars that had long been closed to women. The progress that allowed me to stand at the altar and proclaim God’s Word was born not from exclusion, but from courageous inclusion.

Perhaps you heard the Episcopal Church recently announced the end of its decades-long relationship with the federal government over the refugee resettlement program, specifically, the government’s preferential treatment of white Afrikaans refugees. In his recent NPR interview, our Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, rightly called this what it is: racism. The Episcopal Church cannot, and will not, be complicit in systems that value white lives over others.

This is not a new stance for us. During the apartheid era in South Africa, the Episcopal Church stood in solidarity with those fighting systemic racism. We bore witness to the Gospel truth proclaimed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu: that God is not neutral in the face of injustice. Our faith demands that we side with the marginalized, not those who wield power to suppress them.

I wonder, GOP representatives, why are you against diversity, equity, and inclusion? What is it about these sacred values that offends your political or moral sensibilities? Is it that the fullness of the image of God expressed in all people threatens the narrow image of Iowa you seek to preserve?

The first person to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ was not Peter, not John, but Mary Magdalene, a woman once dismissed, now forever named Apostle to the Apostles. In John 20, Jesus does not appear first to the powerful or the privileged, but to a woman weeping in the garden. She is entrusted with the Good News: “I have seen the Lord.” Hers was the voice of inclusion, of restoration, of hope.

That is the voice I strive to echo in my ministry. And that is the voice your vote tries to silence.

But the Gospel has never been silenced by unjust votes, nor will it be. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not political conveniences, they are divine imperatives. And they will continue to rise, just as Christ did and does, regardless of how you vote. 

Lizzie Gillman

Des Moines, IA

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Top image: Republican State Representative Henry Stone floor manages House File 856 on May 13, when the House approved the Senate amendment to the original version of the bill. Screenshot from official legislative video.