Dear Friend, First of all, I’d like to thank you for letting me march with you at Pride. The amount of love that I felt as I walked with that parade was so powerful. The feeling of total acceptance and love that I felt from everyone was something I will never forget. I truly felt welcomed as part of the family, so thank you.
Now I want to say sorry. Sorry for the times that I have mistreated you, misinterpreted the Bible and misrepresented God to you. Sorry for seeing you as an issue to argue against or a problem that needs to be solved; instead of a person with a face, feelings and even a faith. I’m sorry for telling you that you are not welcome in my church, for saying things without thinking and for being so insensitive with the comments I have made. I’m sorry for using phrases like “love the sinner, hate the sin”, for labelling you as a sinner, and for telling you that the way that you are wired is wrong. And I’m sorry for claiming to love you despite my actions not matching up. I am sorry for misquoting the Bible, and I’m sorry if I made you think that God hates you, and the Church has no place for you. And I’m sorry for all the times that I did nothing when I saw others doing the same. I’m sorry that it’s taken me this long to realise that I was wrong.
I want to tell you that you are loved. Those aren’t empty words, I really believe it. I am absolutely certain that God loves you and accepts exactly as you are, and nothing you do can change that. The Bible says that you were created by God, he knew you and loved you before you were born and you are not a mistake. It says in 1 John chapter 4 that all love comes from God. God is the personification of love, so who am I to deny you that? Whatever your sexual orientation, love is love and love never fails. I believe that it is possible for everyone to find home in the love of God. I believe that Jesus is inviting everyone to the table, whatever your sexual orientation, whatever your theology, whatever your background. You are invited to the table of grace, you’re invited into the family of God. There are churches where you can find Jesus, you can find a hope and a home. I want to say that not all Christians think that the Bible condemns you, I truly believe that it affirms you and that it’s possible to find love and have relationship whatever your sexual orientation. Not all Christians are there yet, but please don’t let that put you off, we are getting there. We all have stuff to work on, I believe that even though God loves us as we are, he doesn’t want us to stay as we are. But I want to tell you that I do not think your sexual orientation is a sin, your orientation is not your choice and nobody has the right to tell you that you need to change it, least of all the church.
Not everyone agrees with me on this, not all Christians are on the same page about this and a lot of other issues. But I want you to know that if you’ve been presented with a version of Christianity that tells you that you are not loved, not welcome or not accepted, that there is an alternative. The God that I believe in, and the faith that I follow, teaches that the love of God is available to all of us, it tells us the grace of God is available to all of us, and promises that there is hope in God available to all of us
With all my love,
Gordon x
(If you are a Christian and identify as a member of the LGBT community, please know that you are not alone. There are lots of groups and organisations which are dedicated to helping and supporting you, whether you are out or not. Diverse Church, and Changing Attitude are two great examples of this.)
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There is a great gathering for Gay Christians and straight allies, meets in London, called two23, more details two23.net.