Posts Tagged ‘Open and Affirming’
10 Ways To Include LGBTQ People In Your Congregation
1. Hire LGBTQ leaders to serve in your congregation: 2. Host small groups conversations on LGBTQ inclusion: 3. Denomination-wide policy changes can lead the way: 4. Organize your congregation to show up at LGBTQ events: 5. A note to LGBTQ people—our presence makes a difference: 6. Believe Out Loud with inclusive language and church-wide statements: 7.…
Read MoreI am Angry, & My Faith Tells Me I Can Do Something About It
I am very angry, and I am usually the consensus builder. The racial tension, violence, and the growing backlash to marriage equality and trans visibility makes the everyday life feels like a powder keg. There needs to be some kind of release from all the pain, anger, suffering and injustice. This summer I reached the…
Read MoreWhen Christians Erase My Bisexuality
It’s hard on the heart to realize you’re invisible. That realization has fallen on me in all too many spaces: At school and work, among friends, and within the confines of the church. I am bisexual, and I have largely been blessed with accepting people surrounding me. I have only rarely been subject to violence…
Read MoreThe Body Of Christ Includes Bisexuals
Shortly after coming out to my church, I began to notice just how many LGBTQ people our congregation had. While my time prior to deciding to come out had been full of nerves and worry, my time after was filled with new friends and role models. In particular were two couples, both made up of…
Read MoreWhen Good Intentions Aren’t Enough: Microaggressions In Our Churches
“We’re worried that our children’s program won’t grow. Parents won’t bring their child to a church with lesbian pastors and so many gay people,” a deacon stated woefully. “Isn’t she pretty?” he said as he pinched my cheeks and introduced me to a prestigious male academic, “you’d never know she’s smart.” “It’s fine that you’re…
Read MoreRev. Dr. Karen Oliveto Becomes United Methodist Church’s First Openly Lesbian Bishop
Reconciling Ministries Network celebrates with great joy the election of the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church (The UMC). This is an historic moment in the movement of LGBTQ persons for spiritual and civil equality both in the church and the public square. The election of Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto of Glide…
Read MoreA Path Forward For LGBT United Methodists
There was no headline proclaiming, “Methodist Church OKs Marriage Equality” or “Methodists Finally Embrace LGBTQ People.” Your newsfeed wasn’t lighting up with “Methodists Go Gay!” or, frankly, anything that looked like victory for LGBTQ people in the third-largest Christian denomination in the United States. Instead, after two weeks of the United Methodist Church’s recently wrapped…
Read MoreHow This Transgender Latina Found Her Way Back To Faith
Nicole Garcia created and donated a religious stole to the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Shower of Stoles, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary of telling the stories of LGBTQ people of faith. Click here to see how you can bring the Shower of Stoles project to your community. On Friday, as we celebrated Good Friday, I wore my…
Read MoreThe Importance Of LGBTQ-Affirmation To A Grieving Family
At the time of my brother’s death in 2007, it was very important that our family be spared rejection by the church in a time of grief. Some people have said to me, “Well, you could’ve had Warren’s memorial service at our church.” But—their churches are not Open & Affirming. In the Christian Church (Disciples…
Read More10 Reasons Christians Support Transgender Students In South Dakota
Last week, the South Dakota state legislature passed one of the worst anti-trans bills in the country—a bill that singles out trans students by forcing them to use separate restrooms and locker rooms from their friends and peers. These legislators are sending a message that it is okay to ostracize, humiliate, and bully trans students.…
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