When I was asked to share my personal witness about why I joined the Affirm Council I must admit I felt a bit overwhelmed. It has been a journey.
A number of years ago, pre-Covid, one of my children let us know that they were gay. I was surprised and I felt a number of emotions. Why did they wait so long to share this with us? How will they be treated moving forward? How would my extended family behave? I was worried.
After much thought, I came to the realization that what really matters is that my child is a unique human being and they deserve to be loved, respected and live their best life.
After a time, I was sad to learn that they felt the need to hide their true self throughout high school and did experience some bullying. I also became increasingly uncomfortable with the way the Queer community were treated by my previous church home. Queer people were allowed to attend the Church but they were not allowed have any significant other relationships. This is not acceptable.
After I did some research, I learned that the United Church was a church that welcomed the LGBTQ+ community. I also learned about the Affirming process and what that entailed.
Soon after, I met Rev. Cindy. Her passion for welcoming the Queer community and creating a safe and respectful environment is what I believe all Churches should incorporate. This to me, reflects Christ’s teachings.
Earlier this year, I officially joined join KUC. I needed to find my niche and contribute to the Church in some way. Since hearing what my child experienced and hearing about other LGBTQ+ issues in the news, I felt the need to be a part of positive change. The Affirm Council seemed a good fit, it would provide a way for me be an agent of change and represent Christian values.
I will leave you with this verse from scripture:
1 John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves in born of God and knows God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
And to quote Ru Paul:
If you can’t love yourself how in the world are you going to love somebody else? Can I get an amen up in here?
Thank you.
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