Burgy
---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: xxx
TO: John W. Burgeson, 73531,1501
DATE: 7/31/96 7:36 AM
RE: Re: My Goodness! (2)
John,
Thanks for the reviews of Schmidt's and Helminiak's books on homosexuality.
Very helpful.
I belong to a church (xxx) that
invites gays and Lesbians to join our fellowship with full rights to any of
our church offices, including pastorates. We are also actively pressuring
our denomination to to the same, to no avail, so far. None of our
gay/Lesbian members, however, are married to each other.
My observation is that our gay/Lesbian members are very ordinary,
hard-working, middle-class folk, not much different, in most of important
ways, from any of us. They are, moreover, more sensitive, affectionate, and
open than many the other members. Good fellow Christians.
Further, when we declared ourselves an open church to people of
non-traditional sexual orientation, it was simply amazing how many gays and
Lesbians, even from prominent church families, came out of the closet. The
relief in their eyes and in their loved ones was a powerful witness of how
the church has hurt them over the years by not accepting their sexual
orientation.
When one becomes personally acquainted with a gay or Lesbian person, the
arguments of Schmidt and others seem abstract and harsh. I am coming to the
point where I say, Let's live and let live.
Shalom,
xxxxx