What is the Sparkle Creed? Edina Community Lutheran Church woke video sparks online backlash

A viral video of a pastor at Edina Community Lutheran Church in Minneapolis reciting the Sparkle Creed has left netizens enraged. The clip shared by user @WokePreacherTV on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, was taken from a livestream uploaded on the church's YouTube channel.

The Sparkle Creed is a version of the Apostle's Creed modified to include the LGBTQ+ community. The incident took place on Sunday, June 25, with co-pastor Anna Helgen leading the congregation. She recites that God is "non-binary," that Jesus Christ had "two dads", and that "love is love."

Expand Tweet

Calling for inclusion and diversity, she adds:

"I believe in the church of everyday saints, as numerous, creative, and resilient as patches on the AIDS quilt, whose feet are grounded in mud and whose eyes gaze at the stars in Wonder."

"This is wicked and pagan.": Netizens slam the Sparkle Creed

As the video depicting the congregation went viral, internet users were left enraged. They called it blasphemy, heresy, and unforgivable sin.

Many criticized the church, stating it was corrupted by satan, and called Helgen a false prophet who is just a "mouthpiece in a building."

Here are some comments seen on Twitter:

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @drj_eminentia)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @d_rowland13)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @AlexanderC65628)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @CowdadTanner)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @Jgmfoxia89)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @Shannon31978016)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @kwitzats)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @PiperNadorff)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @VetoTheMatrix)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @SlimWiggy)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @Corvaiex)

A comment reacting to the news (Image via Twitter/ @ShannonFinn16)

What did Anna Helgen say? More about the Sparkle Creed

Anna Helgen is a co-pastor at the Edina Community Lutheran Church (ECLC). According to Church Leaders, the (ECLC is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) that has been active in including and fostering the queer community since 1985.

As part of her Sparkle Creed recital, Helgen stated:

I believe in the rainbow spirit, who shatters our image of one white light and refracts it into a rainbow of gorgeous diversity."

The Sparkle Creed seems to be created by Rev. Rachel Small Stokes of the Immanuel United Church of Christ in Kentucky, who first shared it in a Facebook post during the 2021 Pride Month.

Expand Tweet

Following the recital, Helgen led a prayer to the God of "expansive and inclusive love," and brought up the topic of honey bees whose population is "experiencing extreme loss." As part of her invocation, she addressed the subject of climate change and pride month.

She also referenced popstar Taylor Swift when she asked God to help people "shake it off" when the going gets hard.

Helgen has not commented on the recital going viral or the controversy.

About the author

Nirali has been a popular culture writer at Sportskeeda for the past 1.5 years, covering celebrity/influencer trends and profile/histories, political news, crime reports, and lifestyle. She completed her Bachelor's in Architecture from University of Mumbai and Masters in Heritage Conservation from University of Southern California. Professionally, Nirali has a strong 7.5-year experience working as an architect, an Assistant Archivist and a Digital Archivist across three companies.

Nirali’s educational qualifications and unique career trajectory put great emphasis on research and writing, which along with her personal interest in popular culture, led her to the current role at Sportskeeda. Her specialties are researching histories, crime stories, and developing general knowledge pieces.

The most crucial step in Nirali’s reporting is rigorous fact-checking, and she relies on information from primary sources only for her news. In the absence of a primary source, Nirali double, and even triple-checks information from multiple sources before presenting them to her readers. Strictly anti-AI, she believes in giving credits wherever necessary.

Nirali’s favorite celebrities are Mark Ruffalo and Dolly Parton, and she admires them for their support of humanity and advocacy for what is right. An avid reader, Nirali can be found nose-deep in a new book when she is away from her keyboard. Nirali also loves to illustrate in her free time.

Know More

Edited by Prem Deshpande