My hope is that this blog page will encourage open, honest questions and conversations. Everyone is searching for truth and meaning, and this blog is one place where we can embark on that quest together.
This summer my denomination decided in convention (the highest decision-making body)essentially that homosexual behaviour was not in itself sinful. There are many ways sexual behaviour can be sinful, whether hetero- or homo- sexual: ways that hurt others or ourselves, that exploit or demean others. So, having accepted this as a social statement, we accepted having our clergy perform same-sex weddings, according to the laws of our jurisdiction, and that gay people were permitted to become clergy.
One person who was against this, spoke up and said that he was conscious that someday he would have to stand before God's judgement. I thought about that, and I too, am conscious of this. I don't want to have to stand before God and have God say, "Do you remember that teenager who left the church because of people's attitudes towards gay people? I wanted him to be my servant, but he turned away from me because he was taught that I was forbidding and judgemental, and he was lost forever. And remember that young woman who visited your church and never came back? She felt humiliated about her sexual orientation and never dared to enter a church again. She died lonely and despairing, without anyone to pray for her." These are the things I don't want to hear God say to me. Therefore I want our church to be open to people, all sorts of people, people who are blind, people who are from other ethnic groups, people who are lame, people who are sexually oriented differently. God loves EVERYBODY! And God calls us to love everybody, too.
I concur Pastor Nancy, Really, I can't understand how another person's love life could possibly affect my relationship with my Creator. No one has been able to sell me on that one yet. Personally, I think one of the things we answer for is how we treat others, especially the ones we don't really like, or agree with.
This summer my denomination decided in convention (the highest decision-making body)essentially that homosexual behaviour was not in itself sinful. There are many ways sexual behaviour can be sinful, whether hetero- or homo- sexual: ways that hurt others or ourselves, that exploit or demean others. So, having accepted this as a social statement, we accepted having our clergy perform same-sex weddings, according to the laws of our jurisdiction, and that gay people were permitted to become clergy.
ReplyDeleteOne person who was against this, spoke up and said that he was conscious that someday he would have to stand before God's judgement. I thought about that, and I too, am conscious of this. I don't want to have to stand before God and have God say, "Do you remember that teenager who left the church because of people's attitudes towards gay people? I wanted him to be my servant, but he turned away from me because he was taught that I was forbidding and judgemental, and he was lost forever. And remember that young woman who visited your church and never came back? She felt humiliated about her sexual orientation and never dared to enter a church again. She died lonely and despairing, without anyone to pray for her." These are the things I don't want to hear God say to me. Therefore I want our church to be open to people, all sorts of people, people who are blind, people who are from other ethnic groups, people who are lame, people who are sexually oriented differently. God loves EVERYBODY! And God calls us to love everybody, too.
I concur Pastor Nancy,
ReplyDeleteReally, I can't understand how another person's love life could possibly affect my relationship with my Creator. No one has been able to sell me on that one yet.
Personally, I think one of the things we answer for is how we treat others, especially the ones we don't really like, or agree with.