Dear Cis Straight Christians,
The older I get the fewer things there are that really get me riled up. It has dwindled down to about 3:
1. the correct use of there, their, and they're
2. individuals who believe teenagers are a burden rather than blessing on our society
3. the affirmation, celebration, and support of LGBTQ folk especially within Christian communities.
I am a former English teacher and current minister to teenagers so the first two fall in line with what people can glean from my resume. The third... it's a result of showing up.
From a young age I was lucky enough to be raised in a home and community full of queer and trans folk. Hawaiian culture has always embraced a third gender and as the granddaughter of artists and daughter of a flight attendant the subcultures my family was entrenched in were often safe havens for LGBTQ folk. I realize that most people are not raised as I was. I am aware that as a society and as a Church viewing LGBTQ friends as whole and worthy beings has been a rough road. Secular communities seem to have moved at a more rapid pace in understanding the complexities of human beings than churches.
I was in college when Gene Robinson was elected the Bishop of New Hampshire and the collective freak-out the Episcopal Church had was eye opening for me... we were not as far along as I had been led to believe as a child. A friend on my hall my freshman year at Gonzaga came out. I felt lucky to have a friend who felt safe with me so when she told me, I bought her flowers. When she told her parents, they disowned her. They 'loved' her but couldn't accept who she was.
I watched as the double-door slam happened left and right around me.
1st door: Family
2nd door: Church
There's a million ways I can phrase this but I'm going to be blunt:- God made as many people as there are combinations of gender and sexuality.
- God wants all Her people to give and receive love in meaningful and fulfilling ways.
- Getting in the way of another person's ability to honor the Holy within them and be affirmed in their religious community because of their gender or sexuality is not of God.
As simple as it sounds the past has taught people that are not cis and straight that church is not a safe place for them. They have been shown that the community of Christ is for them only if they pretend to be different, or are closeted, or stay quiet.
They are welcome as long as they don't reveal their whole selves.Welcoming isn't enough.
We have to celebrate. We have to honor. We have to name.
We have to affirm their creation and completion as beautiful creations of God not despite their gender or sexuality but BECAUSE of it.
We have to show up to Pride and be trained in terminology and statistics. We have to bless the marriages and preach it from the pulpit. We have to get loud and clear because otherwise our LGBTQ friends who are hungry for Christ are still not sure if they are safe with us. The onus of this is on you and I. Straight cis Christians are the people that have shunned, humiliated, and even killed... there is repair work to do. Church has done a world of hurt -- we have to do some healing.
This one is on us. We need to continue to be loud voices of the Loving God that created us and dwells within us. We need to step out in support, in love, and in affirmation.
We need to BE CHRIST; unafraid of who we anger when we swing the doors open wide.
Sincerely,Emily (a riled up ally)
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