Does Your Church Sign say "ALL ARE WELCOME"


It's encouraging to see a sign, "ALL ARE WELCOME" on some churches. Often there is a backdrop of the rainbow flag.  Anyone who follows religion in the U.S. knows this sign is code language for "gays, trans, bi, whatever, we will not condemn you or consider your sexual orientation a 'sin'." It's sad all churches cannot put up such a sign.

The signs are usually there, I've learned, because of votes by Board members or entire congregations. Maybe there are many times when some members wanted the sign but it was voted down. When majority votes were for the sign probably many others in the church were angry. Maybe some left that church. 

Decades ago I was on the "Outreach Committee" in First Presbyterian Church in Fargo ND. A matter reached us, perhaps from the Assistant Pastor, that another downtown church had been hosting monthly gatherings a local gay group for some time. This was quite gutsy in the 1970's when it was still OK to bash gays at every opportunity. The other church felt some concern within the congregation that the church would become known as a "gay church" and its numbers would be harmed. So, the someone from church, I suppose a pastor, brought it to one of our pastors who brought it to our Outreach Committee. Our Committee talked about it and thought, yes, that would be the logical thing for a downtown church like ours to do. Our decision was forwarded to the Board governing the church. The answer was absolutely not. The welcoming church had created a problem for itself, the governing Board said, and it needed to deal with it. So much for "ALL ARE WELCOME" at First Presbyterian Church. Years later I was the Mayor in Fargo and my Pastor told me my Gay Pride proclamations were wonderful.

For some reason, it is hard for many Christians, especially many Christian churches, to connect the dots. One dot is there are gay people in every community in the U.S. The second dot is the majority of them would like to join a church like the one they grew up in but they are scorned by that church. A third dot is church membership is falling. Accepting one gay person in a church brings his/her family and friends. Yes, other members may not like it, maybe some would leave, but they need to connect the dots.

Hopefully, one day all churches will welcome ALL so no one needs to wonder if he/she will be accepted. We're not there yet.   

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