United Methodist Church vote, and a Reaffirmation of our commitment and support of the LGTBQIA+ Community

By Pastor Danielle Miller

Together, we are the body of Christ across denominational boundaries.  When one member of the body of Christ is hurting, we are all hurting.  The United Methodist Church this week narrowly voted to affirm their opposition to same-sex marriage and LGBTQIA+ clergy.  This has been a traumatic encounter for not only the United Methodist community, but for the entire body of Christ, and especially for our queer siblings. 

We at Advent Lutheran Church take this moment to reaffirm our commitment and support of the LGBTQIA+ community,  LGBTQIA+ clergy, and all who chose to come together in love through the gift of marriage.  We celebrate God’s love for persons of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

We hold our United Methodist siblings in prayer and ask for God's compassion and justice, remembering that it was only 10 years ago that the ELCA voted to open the door wide to LGBTQIA+ clergy in committed relationships and 17 years ago that Advent officially became a Reconciling in Christ congregation.

We also recognize that we at Advent Lutheran, and in the larger Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, still have a great deal of work to do as we grow into our identity as an open and affirming denomination. May God make us bold to dismantle injustice and proclaim the radical and inclusive love of God for all people. To learn more about LGBTQIA+ justice and inclusion in the Lutheran church, go to ReconcilingWorks (https://www.reconcilingworks.org/) and Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (https://www.elm.org/)