+ We delight in God -- the Creator of heaven, the earth, and all that inhabits it.

Every person is lovingly made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) and all humans are equally children of God, representing the great diversity, beauty, and interdependence of God’s creation. As God’s beloved children, every person is worthy of respect, dignity, and love regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, ability, nationality, or religion. God is not bound by the confines of human imagination. Therefore, the image of God is not limited to the biological constructs of male and female or to gender and sexuality. We celebrate God’s unbounded love for all creation, acknowledging God’s presence and creative Spirit dwelling in each person.

+ We follow Jesus, who suffers with those who suffer and welcomes those on the margins as hallmarks of his ministry.

In his ministry, Jesus sought out and lifted up those who were rendered invisible or forced to the margins at the hands of social, political, or religious forces (Mark 3:22-27, Mark 5, Luke 19:1-10, John 4:1-30). In his crucifixion, Jesus suffers in solidarity with, not simply on behalf of, all who experience the pain of exclusion and violence (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34). At every turn, Jesus widens the boundaries of God’s realm, erasing lines of division and welcoming all into God’s household. Taking up the mantle of the prophets, Jesus calls upon those who used their power to demean, exclude, and perpetrate violence to trade their ways for God’s love and justice. The first disciples and the early church continued to follow Jesus in this way. We seek to walk in discipleship as they did, standing in solidarity with those who suffer, binding up the brokenhearted, and proclaiming God’s favor (Isa. 61, Luke 4:16-30).

+ We participate in the work of the Spirit, who gives all people life and gifts that build up the body of Christ, the church.

In one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body, as individual members called, gathered, and gifted by God (1 Cor. 12). The Spirit continues to advocate on behalf of God’s people, moving us into a fuller and more equitable demonstration of God’s reign. To exclude and limit LGBTQ+ people serves to hinder the mission of God and silences the Spirit’s ongoing activity through their lives and witness. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead continues to enliven and empower us to operate as one body, testifying that all are God’s children (Rom. 8:11, 16, 26). This Spirit continually invites us to imagine a deeper unity in our diversity, as both unity and diversity strengthen the body of Christ. Therefore, we celebrate the faith, baptism, and spiritual gifts of all Christians regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, and advocate for their full inclusion in the life and leadership of God’s church.

+ We treasure the Bible, which deeply informs our faithful living but also must be read with care and discernment.

Scripture is the testimony to God’s liberating and reconciling activity throughout Israel’s history, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and by the power of the Spirit in the early church. Indeed, we believe that “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). However, scripture was written by human authors in various social and historical contexts. This complicates literal readings of texts such as Lev. 18:22, 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9; and 1 Tim. 1:10. Inadequate attention to these interpretive factors has often led the church to marginalize LGBTQ+ people rather than work with them to liberate and reconcile all people to God. When LGBTQ+ people find full welcome in the life and leadership of the Church, we move ever closer to the Bible’s witness to God’s liberating and reconciling love.

+ We affirm that human sexuality is a gift from God and that this gift is best expressed in loving relationships characterized by mutuality.

Human sexuality is a God-created gift, an integral component of our humanity. It is intended to be lived out with dignity and an ethic of equity, without shame or harm of neighbor. The church and other institutions of faith have often failed to provide members with adequate tools to navigate the overlapping terrain of sexuality and spirituality. This is particularly true for LGBTQ+ people. God’s aim for relationships is clearly expressed in Scripture: love (Matt. 22:36-40; John 13:34); compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness (Col. 3:12-14; Eph. 4:32); peace (Rom. 12:18; Eph. 4:2-3); companionship (Gen. 2:18, 20, 24; Ecc. 4:9); intimacy (1 Cor. 7:4-5; Heb. 13:4); mutual respect and service (Eph. 5:21); and individual freedom and flourishing (Gal. 3:28; 5:13-14, 22-23). All of these should be practiced in the spirit of the self-giving love that Jesus modeled in his life, death, and resurrection (Phil. 2:4-7). In embodying these qualities, we honor and live out God’s gift of human sexuality in right relationship with God and others.

+ We affirm that gender identity and expression exist on a spectrum and that this is part of God’s beautifully diverse creation.

God created this world and called it good (Gen. 1). The goodness of God’s care and affirmation is for all God’s people, including those who are LGBTQ+, who are created in the very image and likeness of God. The Genesis story narrates the parameters of creation: day and night, land and sea, plant and animal, male and female. However, our relationship to the natural world teaches us that between these poles exists space where elements of each coalesce: dusk, dawn, seashore, and coral. These variations are natural and part of the radical diversity of the created world, demonstrating the genius and playfulness of the Creator. Throughout scripture, Divinity encompasses both male and female, modeling similar possibilities for humanity in how we understand and express masculinity and femininity (Hos. 13:8; Deut. 32:11-12, 18; Matt. 23:37; Luke 13:34, 15:8-10). We recognize the value and beauty of these differences as the wondrous imagination and intention of the Creator. In awe of God’s handiwork, we honor the discernment of all people as they journey to a fuller understanding of their gender identity and expression.

+ We recognize the harm against LGBTQ+ people brought by the church and institutions of faith and, as people of faith, lament the deep pain that we and our siblings have experienced in God’s name.

Our faith compels us to speak firmly against the harm done to LGBTQ+ people and their families by the church and institutions of faith. Harm is perpetuated when these institutions have exclusionary policies, operate under heteronormative assumptions, refuse full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, or neglect to affirm their dignity and value. Such harm threatens the spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, social, and occupational wellbeing of valuable members of our community. We see and hear the pain felt by our siblings, and we lament with them when:

• their faith or ethics are delegitimized,
• their voices are silenced,
• their lives have been lost, from either violence against them or from self-harm and suicidality,
• they have internalized homophobia or transphobia,
• they struggle to resolve dissonance between their religious beliefs and identity,
• they experience faith crises related to these harms
• they are forced to resign positions in the church or religious institutions.

As scripture testifies, “when one member suffers, all suffer together with them” (1 Cor. 12.26). And, so, we weep with our siblings who are weeping (Rom. 12:15) and we call for all to repent in humility and to seek justice on behalf of those treated unjustly (Isa. 1:16-17).

+ We cultivate radical hospitality, which lies at the heart of God’s movement in the world.

Scripture envisions the fullness of God’s realm as a great banquet feast, where all are invited to taste the richness of God’s gifts (Isa. 25; Matt. 22; Rev. 19.19). Jesus’ own ministry testifies to this welcome, as he broke down barriers that divided (Luke 5:29-34; John 4:1-30; Eph. 2.14). The earliest Christians were exhorted to “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rom. 15.7), and they sought to extend the boundary-crossing nature of God’s love in its table fellowship and beyond (Acts 10, 1 Cor. 11:17-34). We rehearse God’s radical hospitality whenever we gather around the communion table as a central act of worship, and we extend that love into the world with our whole lives, knowing that when we do so, we participate in God’s vision for the world.

+ We practice graceful conversations as an expression of faith: listening deeply, speaking honestly, building up, forming relationships, and honoring one another.

We acknowledge that LGBTQ+ people have often born the burden of listening without being listened to in the name of graceful conversation. We further acknowledge that many have used conversation as a means to stifle the path to justice and inclusion. However, we also know that real change can only come from a place of deep listening. As we speak and listen to each other, we remember that conversation is a powerful tool that can be abused. It can also help us move forward together. We commit to postures of humility, grace, compassion, kindness, and patience toward one another as God’s children (Jas. 1:19). We commit to the work of understanding each other better, even as we seek to become a community that better reflects God's intentions for diversity and inclusion.

+ We commit ourselves to working for the recognition of the worth and dignity of ALL people, which is the work of love and justice characteristic of God’s reign.

We choose the way of love, which always builds up (1 Cor. 8:1), perseveres through hardship (1 Cor. 13:7-13), and in humility looks after the interests of others (Phil. 2:4). Rooted in love, we pursue justice (Mic. 6:8), working to help churches and institutions of faith recognize the God-given dignity of all people and, subsequently, enact meaningful changes. Our labor is defined by mutual affection and showing honor (Rom. 12:10), knowing that even our limited efforts participate in God’s justice and boundary-breaking love.