In
my personal life and in my work as a physician, I have met many gay and lesbian
men and women. It is clear to me that sexuality and sexual orientation is not a
choice, but a central part of our being that we come to know as we grow into
our adolescence and adulthood. I have watched and witnessed, especially in my
work as a psychiatrist, the suffering and fear experienced by gay and lesbian
people who have been rejected in our society. I have seen them disowned from
families. I am aware that this is a major part of our nation’s problem of
bullying. Many have died by suicide as a result of this rejection by families
and society. It pains me that many Christians and Christian churches are
complicit in this suffering. This is not God’s direction for us; to cause the suffering
of others is not part of Christ’s teaching. The interpretation that
homosexuality is a sin is as grave an error as using verses in the Bible to
justify slavery.
I
was raised a Methodist, and for my faith and spiritual development I owe so
much to the church, my peers, and my mentors. I want my children to have the
same opportunity. Our church has so many gifted leaders who provide a safe and
loving community for our children to grow up in. I drifted away from the church
in the years before I had children. I struggled not with my faith but around
whether to return to a church that has a discriminatory stance towards my gay
and lesbian brothers and sisters. How could I participate in an organization
that does nothing to stop the pain that so many people I know suffer? After
much prayer, meditation, and discussion with those I love, I decided that it
was more important to return to my church to give my children the opportunities
for growth in their faith that I had.
Equally
important to me was to be a part of a movement in Methodism to become a truly
welcoming place as I know Christ wants us to be. I want our children to be
welcome and to participate fully in the church without fear of judgment,
discrimination, and rejection. Ours is God’s house—let our church be a leader
in making the United Methodist Church a truly welcoming, open, and loving
community of faith.
