Open and Affirming

A. Unabashed Pacifist:

If God wanted us to go to war, we would not bleed so easily.


B. Unabashed Christian:

Holy One,
All is grace – what I see, hear, taste, smell, touch, feel.
All is blessing – what I love, despise, enjoy, admire, reject, seek.
All is gift – talent, intelligence, beauty, strength, weakness, vulnerability.
All is yours. Thank you for sharing it with me. It’s absolutely marvelous.
Amen

C. Unquoting Jesus:

“I feel your pain.”

[Not in so many words...]

D. Blog: Open and Affirming

I think an Open and Affirming congregation allows for much freer conversation and other interaction among its membership. I imagine the effect is similar to that produced by the practice of mutual confession among old time Methodists. People feel they don’t have as much to hide, that some of those normally hidden/closeted things won’t matter to people here. If our homosexual members find open acceptance here, others can expect to find acceptance without judgment, condemnation or shaming for most of the potentially negative things about us. We’re much more likely to be accepted and, if necessary, forgiven.

If in our society GLBT folks can be open and accepted among a group of Christians, what other things would people feel they need to keep hidden lest they face rejection or condemnation? As a pacifist, I find it very liberating to worship in an open and affirming congregation. Even when I belonged to a tradition that espoused the Christian pacifist position, I sometimes had people judge/condemn me for openly advocating pacifism. In this Open and Affirming faith community, I have experienced none of that. So, even as a 99% straight male, I feel much greater acceptance in communion with GLBT sisters and brothers.