Posted by : Shawn in (Stuff I Do)
Can your church help stop a suicide?
At our church tonight the Peacemaking Committee held a showing of “For the Bible Tells Me So.“ It’s about the church and homosexuality and I recommend it to everyone.
Here’s a question that’s been nagging me since then: Imagine there is a gay youth in your church (most churches don’t need to imagine it because it’s true whether you know it or not). What is that youth’s perception of how their church is going to accept them if it was known that they are gay?
Many Presbyterian churches are somewhere between tolerant to unoffocially welcoming. In many of these churches a lot of the adults know that gay people are welcome in the church, but if it’s never publicly said then I wonder how many of the youth know? And given that gay youth are more at risk for suicide I wonder if it is a gross sin for quietly welcoming churches to remain quiet about their welcome?
I think this is where the rubber really hits the road. I have asked many gay friends of mine what they think about the welcoming but not affirming position that, I think, most tolerant church communities operate with. Their view is that it is actually somewhat worse than a community that rejects outright. The reason that it is worse is that it is a view that is not clear and invites as it rejects. In other words, it would be like inviting a friend over for dinner, but then telling them that they kind of have to eat in another room. So not affirming is that same thing as not welcoming. I do think that if you are truly welcoming as a community, you need to be clear about what it is that you are welcoming. You also need to be clear about what it is that you affirm and not.