A Pastoral Letter About Orlando
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A letter from our Senior Pastor to our LGBTQI folk (and everyone else),
In the wake of the hatred and gun violence in Orlando that has left fifty dead and countless injured and traumatized, and in the wake of the division and spiritual violence in our own United Methodist Church following the General Conference at which full inclusion and recognition of lesbian and gay people was yet again denied, I want to say clearly on behalf of your pastors and your church -
You are loved. You are honored. You are a child of God.
For those in our church community who are not queer, they may think that this goes without saying. Similarly, for those in our community who are not people of color, they may think that our antiracist commitment goes without saying.
But in a time when religion - and Christianity in particular - is used as a justification for judgment, contempt, exclusion, fear, and violence against LGBTQI people and is used to unconsciously perpetuate racial privilege, it has never been more important for those of us who are part of the church to speak out loudly and clearly even if we think it goes without saying.
We need to be saying it. Even if we are shy. Even if we are reticent. Even if we don’t know much about our faith or don’t name ourselves as Christian. Even if we are anxious that using religious language or identifying ourselves as part of a church will make others think we are trying to convert them. In fact, we are. We are trying to convert people to the notion that Christianity and the church do not need to be equated with hatred, or judgment, or violence. If we do not speak up and use our faith to proclaim love, others will use it to proclaim fear. We cannot be silent.
We need to let people in our lives and our communities know that there are churches that are working - in our own sometimes meager and awkward ways - to confront homophobia and transphobia, to confront racism, and to acknowledge that Christianity is one way but not the only way to be spiritual. We need to let them know there are places where they can feel safe, loved, find connection, discover the strength to face the brokenness in life as well as the beauty.
Your pastors will continue to say this, even if you have heard it before. We will say it again because the person who walks through the door for the first time and has been judged and condemned in the name of the church may never have heard it before. The person who has all but given up on church because the church is perceived as being judgmental, hypocritical and anti-gay may never have heard it before. The person who needs a place where someone will pray for them may never have heard it before.
So, even if it goes without saying - to our LGBTQI folk (and everyone else) -
You are loved. You are honored. You are a child of God.
Linda
