Episcopal Church of the Incarnation Considers Intersectionality, Justice as New Leader Set to Step Up
Outgoing and incoming reverends share a goal to center and uplift non-normative voices
After serving as pastor of Episcopal Church of the Incarnation for 36 years, Reverend Joe Summers, an outspoken ally of the LGBTQ+ community, is retiring. Stepping into the role is Reverend Dean Aponte-Safe, whose husband is also a newly ordained Michigan Episcopalian priest.
Reflecting on how he secured the position at the progressive and welcoming Ann Arbor congregation, Aponte-Safe says, “It’s a funny story.” Mainly because his husband, Gerardo Aponte-Safe, actually interviewed for the same spot first, but ended up taking a position at St. John's Episcopal Church in Royal Oak instead.
“Being leaders of spiritual communities, it really comes down to a desire to help people know that they are loved, using spirituality as a vehicle to address the injustices of our society,” Aponte-Safe says. “We both find that work deeply compelling and that really forms the basis of our relationship, how we think about our spirituality as a lens to improve people's lives.”
Hoping to instill this belief during his time at Incarnation, Aponte-Safe has been serving as co-pastor at the church for the past nine months to learn from Summers while allowing the church community to get familiar with him.
“I deeply appreciate Joe's mentorship, this dance that he takes each and every time in thinking about liberation and how liberation is inherently intersectional,” Aponte-Safe says. “I deeply appreciate that reminder and how he preaches and lives his life. That's something that I hope to carry forward too. He has been a pastor that really, I find, leads from those convictions, and that underscores the work that he does.”
When Summers arrived in 1987, Incarnation was already committed to inclusion, he says, but one story created nationwide change. In 1992, Jennifer Walters, Summers’ co-pastor at the time, made history as the first openly partnered lesbian to be ordained in Michigan, and one of only a few across the country. Walters’ story made it to the front page of the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and Ann Arbor News.
“It caused our bishop to be one of three bishops that was brought up on charges that, because he did this, he had somehow violated the church's rules,” Summers says. “It was his being found innocent of that, that helped open the door to bishops around the country being able to ordain gay and lesbian people.”
Beginning with a focus on criminal justice reform, Incarnation has consistently aimed to uplift marginalized communities. Over the years, they have advocated for women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights and have actively worked toward ending climate change and gun violence.
“Our congregation was founded by a group of 10 to 15 Black construction students at Washtenaw Community College and our building is built out of recycled and reclaimed materials,” Aponte-Safe says. “So we really strive to be telling the story correctly of who needs to be heard. What needs to be addressed in our society?”
Currently, Aponte-Safe is continuing to expand his knowledge as a Doctor of Ministry student at the Pacific School of Religion, writing his dissertation on rurality, spirituality and sexuality. “In my experience, those three things have always been interlinked,” he says. “I knew from the age of 13 I was different, but didn’t have language for what that meant. I grew up in a very rural, very conservative community, but I also knew from my experience at church, as a baby, as a child, as a teenager, that church was a very safe place.”
Aponte-Safe acknowledges, though, that many people, whether religious or not, may perceive churches as judgmental and unwelcoming due to the harm they have caused. However, both he and Summers are dedicated to changing this perception by opening their doors to all, including those who have been hurt by religion in the past.
“Because of the harm that churches have done, it's very understandable why people would want nothing to do with churches,” Summers says. “On the other hand, for people like me, I want to go to where the problem is, because it's when I'm close to the problem that I can do something about it.”
Aponte-Safe agrees, and says he is aiming to cultivate a space that goes beyond traditional notions of sexuality and challenges dominant narratives.
“I think it's so incredibly important that we offer progressive religious spaces because you can walk into the vast majority of congregations and experience a sense of shame, a sense of 'you need to change,' a sense of these are the rules you need to abide by in order to be loved or accepted,” Aponte-Safe says. “There are other voices who affirm and love and accept who you are. And I think we have an obligation to at least speak back to the dominant narrative.”
One big question that Aponte-Safe wants to address in his work at Incarnation is: “How do we create spaces that are queer beyond sexuality?” which he says means anything that is against the norm.
One step he is taking toward this goal is learning about polyamorous relationships. “I have seen in my own life relationships that adhere to ethical non-monogamy, and it contributes to how we understand what it means to love each other, what it means to be in community,” he says. “There are ways that we theologically can honor people in polyamorous relationships, so that's an area that I hope we can move into next.”
Aponte-Safe's initial contract with Incarnation spans three years, with the possibility of extension through a community decision. He looks forward to the journey ahead with the congregation and expresses gratitude for the privilege of leading them through this transitional period. “I feel it's quite a privilege to be with the community in this time as they are entrusting themselves right to their next leader,” Aponte-Safe says. “I want to honor them as a congregation, in who we will become together.”
As Summers moves into retirement, he plans to write a book exploring the paradigm of domination within the Bible. He aims to critically examine and challenge opposing visions of religion and God presented in scripture.
“All the world's major religions are now divided between a pole that's about inclusion, justice, equality, compassion, versus an opposite pole, that's about kind of upholding patriarchy and purity codes,” Summers says.
This intersectional perspective that Summers brings to issues of liberation is one Aponte-Safe expresses gratitude toward. He strives to carry forward Summers' commitment to preaching and living by convictions that promote justice and equality.
“Dean has incredible depth, sensitivity, is really articulate, is really committed, so it's been mutual learning,” Summers says. “Our congregation is involved in so many different things. I just appreciate Dean's willingness to leap into the fire and help lead us.”
As Aponte-Safe will represent a new generation at Incarnation, Summers adds: “It's going to be a new day at the church.”
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