On Sunday our friends at All Souls Church in Belfast held their annual Pride Service. These are fellow Christians, extending the love and acceptance of Christ to all those who would embrace it.
At the same time, a number of folks (who also identify as Christian) decided to hold a loud and judgemental demonstration of scriptural ignorance and targeted intolerance directed at those who simply wished to gather in worshipping God and furthering their faith in Christ.
Words such as “wicked” and “sinful” were on garish display, deliberately chosen to cause hurt and alienation.
Firstly, as a Christian church ourselves, we would like to say to our LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters in Christ how sorry we are for the actions of these individuals. We hope you know that they do not represent the authentic voice of Christ or of the Christian church as a whole.
Their anger and intolerance usually comes from a deep place of hurt and insecurity which they themselves carry and which they project onto others. This, combined with a toxic form of religious fundamentalism, is what causes them to so badly misrepresent the cause of Christ.
They know not what they do.
Secondly, the majority of normal churches and Christian bodies in Northern Ireland would probably not promote or support the actions of these kinds of “protestors”. Even if they agree ideologically, they know that such ugly displays of antagonism don’t serve anyone.
However, they hardly ever say so – and their silence breathes life into the cause of the more extreme fundamentalists bent on espousing hate and intolerance.
So, for other churches out there who value love, inclusion and respectful dialogue, we are asking you to stand in solidarity with All Souls, with LGBTQIA+ people of faith and with the wider gospel message of love and inclusion for all.
Will you speak up on behalf of those Christians being consistently targeted by the intolerance and ignorance of parts of the wider church?
If you know any of the individuals involved in this appalling “demonstration”, will you enter into a conversation with them regarding their actions, or at least attempt to offer some helpful guidance and direction?
Are you willing to use your platforms to say to the wider community that the actions of these few “protestors” do not reflect the posture of the Christian church as a whole towards the LGBTQIA+ community?
Will you reach out to All Souls and acknowledge that this was wrong and that you are there to support them as fellow Christians?
On behalf of the wider church, will you make any sort of apology or acknowledgment towards those LGBTQIA+ people of faith, who continue to be denigrated with impunity by other Christians?
At the very least, are you willing to publicly acknowledge that, whilst theological differences may abound, this kind of behaviour is not Christ-like and is harmful to any respectful discourse on such theological differences?
If you choose not to challenge this behaviour, can you see how such silence could be interpreted as “tacit permissioning” by folks who wish to impose their intolerance on others?
As always, the world is watching to see if our claimed allegiance to a God of love is actually reflected in the way we treat each other. Let us not be among those who “who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle.” ~ Brennan Manning
May love, grace and peace abound.
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