At a recent Sunday dinner, my newly acquired son-in-law relayed his surprise when he discovered I had participated in the Thompson Rivers University Students' Union Pride Parade.
"How could that be?" he asked.
"I thought if you were Christian, then you would be against that sort of thing."
I explained I wasn't "that kind of Christian."
I explained my church, Kamloops United Church, is an affirming church, which means we are fully inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Being fully inclusive isn't just posting signs that welcome everyone.
We have an obligation to be public, intentional and explicit about our commitment to being affirming.
We have a responsibility to be not just passively welcoming and accepting, but explicitly invitational and loving.
Historically, "church" has participated in much of the hurt inflicted on the LGBTQ2+ community.
"Church" has willfully ignored the facts of biology, sometimes characterizing gender queerness and same-sex attraction as lifestyle choices or something that requires fixing.
"Church" has pushed parents into disowning children and forced many to live a lie.
"Church" has denied couples the right to marry and even been a proponent of discredited treatments, such as conversion therapy.
It is important for us, as "church," to be among the voices speaking up about those injustices.
We must also be a part of creating safe spaces for all.
"But doesn't the Bible say being gay is wrong?" my son-in-law asked.
There are some passages in the Bible that have been cherry-picked and used as clobber verses to justify discrimination against LGBTQ2+ people.
However, the 2,000-year-old scriptures some claim to be about homosexuality are not at all related to the consensual, committed LGBTQ relationships of today.
Two millennia of translation and revision, often of terms whose meanings do not easily translate, makes relevance difficult to recapture.
Some scriptures were concerned with ritual purity and include many rules that make no sense in today's world.
For example, it was considered an "abomination" to sow a field with two different seeds or to weave cloth from mixed fibres.
The real sin of Sodom? Probably not what you might be thinking. That story was actually about insult to the traveller and inhospitality to the needy.
But even the staunchest biblical literalist should not be able to dismiss the most important lesson.
Jesus (you know, the guy who put the Christ in Christian) taught that loving each other is far more important than following the old laws.
Jesus did not place conditions on that love.
To say "love the sinner, but not the sin" is reprehensible. Love is unconditional. Love is love is love.
Demonstrating that unconditional love, Kamloops United Church voted unanimously in 1996 to officially become a member of Affirm United.
Twenty years later, the celebration of our commitment to being affirming and fully inclusive for those who are LGBTQ2+ continues.
A new banner with the beautiful Affirm United logo hangs on the corner of our building at St. Paul Street and Fourth Avenue.
On Sunday at 10 a.m., our church is having a special Affirming and Welcoming Sunday.
This Sunday, like every Sunday, all are welcome, all are invited, all are included and all are loved exactly as they are.
Christine Dolson is a member of Kamloops United Church and responsible for its Marriage Ministry. KTW welcomes submissions to its Faith page. Columns should be between 600 and 800 words in length and can be emailed to editor@kamloopsthisweek.com. Please include a very short bio and a photo.
