Hebrews 10:19-25Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Gay and bisexual Christians understand that they are part of three communities at once. They are part of the church community, the straight community, and the queer community. They understand that they are called to be responsible and active members of each community, contributing to the well-being of the church and society through each community.
Some gay Christians are active in the gay community by helping with the planning and administration of gay community organizations and events. They might donate time to present lectures about bullying in schools, how to treat gay youth or AIDS. A few gay Christians have a significant amount of work and business contacts within the gay community. Those gay Christians who are not living in an area where there are enough gay people to have a gay community may choose to be part of one of the many online gay Christian communities.
While being responsible, contributing members of the gay community, queer Christians are also contributing to the church. Their contributions to the church depend a lot on the specific talents and interests they have. Many gay Christians are sources of tremendous strength in local churches.
Because most people are straight, gay people interact as part of the straight community too. Gay people do not live their lives in total isolation from the straight community. In fact, it would be difficult for a small group comprising no more than about 10% of society to live without regularly coming in contact with the remaining 90% of society. Gay people go to straight schools, often work for straight businesses, firms and social service agencies. Many gay Christians are very dynamic, giving members of the straight community too. You may find them contributing to straight society by volunteering time as coaches, teachers and care-givers.
Queer Christians recognize they have responsibilities in three communities, the Christian community, the gay community and the straight community. They contribute to all three communities and are proud to be able to be part of the three communities.
2 comments:
An interesting post, although somewhat spoilt by the sweeping generalisations which make it reads like a guide to those awful 'gay' people for homophobic church people. Patronising much?
It was not meant to be patronizing in the least. It was only meant to illustrate how we are all a community of believers and how we should work together for a better world. It was supposed to be more inspiration than patronizing. I apologize if it did not come across the way I intended.
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