Care for Families
Our Christian care and concern should include not just LGBT people, but their families and friends as well. These families and friends often feel excluded and set apart too. Many do not feel free to share the joys and struggles related to their LGBT friend or family member in their church community. We're quick to shower care on some church members—"Blessed are those who break a leg, for they shall receive a casserole," quips Bishop Ray Chamberlain. But he goes on to ask whether we're as quick and open with our caring responses to a parent asking prayers of support for a gay son.
It was a lonely day when our daughter came out to us as a bisexual. I knew immediately that she was still the child we'd loved and cherished for 25 years and was totally accepting of what she'd discovered about her sexual identity. Yet I still felt isolated and alone—worried for her safety and praying that she would find acceptance in her world—and, yes, wondering what my friends and fellow church members would think if I told them. (Adapted from Helen Andrew, "The Story of a Stole," The Kindred Connection, Newsletter of the Parents Reconciling Network, Winter 2009, p. 3)
Our initial excitement at the birth of our long-awaited baby quickly turned to confusion when the doctor told us the child had ambiguous genitals. It wasn't immediately evident if the child was a girl or a boy. Everyone is acting like our baby is shameful and we need to keep this secret, but what will we tell our family or people at church? We're not prepared for this and feel so alone.
I just got a phone call telling me that three people were beaten by a gang screaming anti-gay/lesbian epithets. One of the victims, my sister, is in critical condition. No one at church even knows that I have a lesbian sister. (Adapted from Ann Thompson Cook, And God Loves Each One. Washington, DC: Dumbarton United Methodist Church; 2004, p. 13)
| < Prev |
|---|
