#BRAVE CHURCH DENOMINATION FULL#

Even if we should leave and you seek more restrictive language against LGBTQI persons, know that God will continue to move mysteriously in the hearts of LGBTQI young people and adults and will call them to serve within this denomination. Foremost, we want you to know we still love you and seek to remain in a relationship with you. We are coming out as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex persons at this moment for several reasons. We are here because God has called us to serve in this denomination, and our souls are fed by the theology in which we’ve been raised. Is leaving home ever that simple? We are United Methodists because there is no other denomination with our unique connectional polity and distinctive Wesleyan spirituality. From bishops, Boards of Ordained Ministries, and other leaders, we are told to simply leave. There are many voices within The United Methodist Church who want us to break up with them.

While some of us have been lucky to serve in places where we could serve honestly and openly, there are others in places far more hostile, who continue to serve faithfully even at tremendous cost to themselves, their families, and yes, even the communities they serve, who do not receive the fullness of their pastor’s gifts because a core part must remain hidden. As long as we did this, you gladly affirmed our gifts and graces and used us to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world in the varied places you sent us.

#BRAVE CHURCH DENOMINATION FULL#

While you have welcomed us as pastors, youth leaders, district superintendents, bishops, professors, missionaries and other forms of religious service, you have required that we not bring our full selves to ministry, that we hide from view our sexual orientations and gender identities. However, while we have sought to remain faithful to our call and covenant, you have not always remained faithful to us. You embraced us, affirmed us, ordained us, and sent us to serve throughout the connection. We responded, finding that we were most faithful when we gave our lives over to full time Christian service. You cradled us into the body of Christ, helped us know the grace that invites us to move more deeply into relationship with God, and invited us to listen for God’s call on our lives. We share with you the covenant of baptism which has knit us together as one family. Believe Out Loud is honored to host a copy of this historic letter, and we stand in solidarity today with the 111 LGBTQI clergy and candidates below.Īs we gather in Portland to begin the 10 day discernment of God’s leading for The United Methodist Church known as General Conference, we, your Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer/Questioning, and Intersex (LGBTQI) religious leaders-local pastors, deacons, elders, and candidates for ministry-want to remind you of our covenant with you. Originally posted by Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), the letter below caused RMN’s website to crash due to an overload of traffic just hours after the letter’s release.

Brave church denomination