"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." (Psalm 139:113-14)
God Loves ALL People
We love, honor, and celebrate our LGBTQ+ siblings in Christ. Jesus teaches us to defend and lift up the ostracized and marginalized. God loves all people, and so do we. Our community does not tolerate any kind of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
We joyfully welcome people who are LGBTQ+ in our congregation: in congregation, clergy, or anywhere else. We grieve for the way the United Methodist Church has excluded members of the LGBTQ+ community from full participation and support efforts underway to separate the UMC so we may continue to practice the love of Christ, especially for our LGBTQ+ siblings.
Definitions and Terminology
"By not running from books that pain us, we can allow them to change us." -Ibram Kendi, author of How to Be an Anti-Racist.
Where Do I Start?
"It is time for LGBT people to take back the words 'sin' and 'grace' in the same way we have taken back the word 'queer'!" Rev. Dr. Patrick S. Cheng author of Radical Love
Each month, the Social Justice Task Force highlights a series of recommended books as we seek to engage and celebrate the spectrum of human sexuality. A list of these books can be found here. Additional book recommendations can be found in the suggested resources and links below.
This month we are reading
Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology by Patrick Cheng
Our Strangely Warmed Hearts: Coming Out Into God's Call by Biship Karen P. Oliveto (Bishop Oliveto was the first openly lesbian bishop in the United Methodist Church)
Living Through This: Surviving the Intersections of Sexuality, God, and Race by Clay Cane
Red: A Crayon's Story by Michael Hall
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
Additional Resources
Sexuality is an important part of the multi-faceted, God-like creation that is humanity. This revolving list of resources includes queer theology, memoirs, support groups, and activism tools.
Q Spirit: questioning spiritual assumptions for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender & queer (LGBTQ) people and allies
Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns
Believe Outloud - Empowering Christians to Work for LGBTQ Equality
National LGBTQ Task Force Institute for Welcoming Resources
What About the Book of Discipline?
The New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, along with Bishop Devedhar, the Board of Ordained Ministry, and extended cabinet, firmly believe in the radical inclusion of all people in the kingdom of God and the ministry of the United Methodist Church.
In preparation for General Conference 2021 (rescheduled from May of 2020), we have compiled a list of resources articulating the possible future of the church and the dedication to boundless love at Carter Memorial United Methodist Church.
The Future of the UMC
