“I didn’t know there were actually churches like that.”
I was both shocked and proud when she said:
“I didn’t know there were actually churches like that.”
I also felt angry and wondered how God felt when God heard her say it aloud.
“I didn’t think there were actually churches like that.”
She was young, academically successful, and delightful to visit with over coffee on a sunny spring afternoon. She told me about her rural upbringing in a family that practiced a very strict and narrow theology. She had even worked for the church, trying to help start a new church. But now she was toying with law school. One church after another had broken her heart.
In an off-handed way, she mentioned that she and her girlfriend had recently gotten engaged. We discussed theology and philosophy and then I told her about you. I told her that I serve a church that is open and affirming. Because she didn’t know what that meant, I told her that in our congregation, we have ordained gay people to serve as ministers, elders, and deacons. I told her that we are led by board members who are qualified to serve because of their excellent leadership skills and that being gay or straight is not a reason to exclude anyone from what God calls them to do in church. I told her about my former colleague who is in grad school studying queer theology. I told her that when gay marriage became legal, our church was one of the first to say, “of course we will marry those who choose to marry”.
But I could still see the sadness in her face: the pain of rejection from close family members, the void left by that exclusion from God’s people. I wish all churches proudly welcomed all people into the house of worship. I wish all people knew that our congregation, like many others, welcomes and affirms the rainbow of God’s human community. I wonder how many other people, like my new friend, are waiting to hear the good news and be invited to the table?
Grace and Peace,
Carla
