It
was the first week in my new appointment at First United Methodist Church in Charlotte
when the secretary informed me that a young man named Bill had called and made
an appointment to see me that day. When he arrived, he came into my office and
introduced himself as a member of the church who had not been very active. After
the typical introductory chit-chat, he said, “The reason I’ve come today is to
meet you and let you know that I am gay and I have AIDS, and I want to know if
you will be my pastor.”
My previous two appointments had
been in suburban churches where it seemed every family unit was a mommy and a daddy
and two children. Here in the center of uptown Charlotte was my introduction to
a different cultural setting and an important new kind of ministry.
“Of course I will be your pastor!”
was my immediate response. We went on to talk about his situation and his
having to live back at home with his parents because of his illness, and then
we prayed together. Over the coming months I hope I was able to be a pastor to
him until he succumbed to the disease.
It did not take me long to get to
know many of the gay men in that congregation, each with a unique story. Many
had come to Charlotte from small towns in North Carolina to work in this center
of the banking industry. While they found many churches not welcoming to them, they
had found in our uptown church a place they could feel comfortable and be
involved in a worshipping community.
Over the six years of my ministry in
that place, I came to know and appreciate many of these individuals. On our
church staff were two gay men who shared with me their stories of struggles in
their lives around relationships and identity. One had been married at a young
age and had fathered a son who was now an adult and from whom he was estranged.
My wife and I had the privilege of
being dinner guests in the homes of several gay couples who offered us their
hospitality. A number of these gay church members assumed positions of
leadership including teaching Sunday School, assisting in worship, serving on
such committees as Staff-Parish and Trustees, and supervising the church
kitchen.
I came away from those six years as
pastor of that congregation grateful that I had had the opportunity to come to
know these children of God and realize how many gay persons are deeply
spiritual and hungry for a worshipping community where they are fully accepted.
I sincerely believe God’s love is inclusive of all his children who share life
with us in this world. Jesus modeled that love in his acceptance of all persons,
often those shunned by the society of that day.
I want very much to be part of a church
community that is truly welcoming to all persons, including those of the LGBT
community who so often feel rejected by the church in many ways. Let us truly open our doors and hearts in
reconciliation and be a church welcoming all persons!
