Acceptance of the LGBTQ Community

Within the United Church of Christ, the terms of art which describe our uncompromising acceptance of the lesbian, gay, bi-, transgender, and questioning community are "open and affirming."  We come to these understandings by hard work with God in discernment.  That means we turn to those places which have helped us discern God's historical truth in the past--Biblical study and interpretation, relationship and experience, prayer and spiritual solidarity, reason and reflection upon our tradition.  That all boils down to hard work in faith.  We do not take our faith lightly though we tend to be people who believe fun and laughter to be important parts of our faith. 


We want to engage you in this dialog and discernment.  Much as people in the LGBTQ community have enriched our faith and tradition, we know that everyone brings a perspective that may very well enrich our own.  

Hear this though.  We are confident of God's love and compassion.  We will not blink when confronted with hatred and a lack of hospitality.  We recognize that proper boundaries and limits are an important part of good love, but we do not believe those boundaries and limits should be invoked for people who are living out their sexuality in adult and responsible ways.  

If you need resources, here are some I would offer:  

From a Biblical scholar, Walter Wink:
Biblical Perspectives on Homosexuality

From the Westar Institute:
David Loves Jonathan
What the New Testament says about homosexuality
When a man lies with a man

From the Religious Institute, a compendium of resources:
LGBT Equality
Deb Haffner, Blogger and Religious Institute Executive Director

From The God Article's Mark Sandlin:
Clobbering "Biblical" Gay Bashing
10 Anti-Gay Things You Can't Do While Following Jesus

A blog seeking to repair the breach between the Christian Church and the LGBTQ community:
Canyonwalker Connections

Another reflection on the Bible and Homosexuality:
The Bible and Homosexuality

Please feel free to share with me your own resources, and I will gladly add them to the list.   If you would like curriculum or other resources for group study, please let me know.