LGBT History Month
St.
Stephen’s Reconciling Story
(As printed in the Oct. 4, 2011, Shield Newsletter)
Sunday marked the beginning of LGBT History Month, a
nation-wide celebration of the lives and achievements of the LGBT community.
The Reconciling Ministry Committee has created a bulletin board in the loggia
which introduces LGBT Americans you may or may not have heard of. There were
many to choose from, and the biographical sketches will change throughout LGBT
History month. We hope it will be a place to browse each October Sunday
morning. This Shield article outlines St. Stephen’s history and our shared
story of welcoming ALL. In other weeks, we will remember the contributions of
some special St. Stephen’s leaders, LGBT and straight allies, whose contributions
and leadership we celebrate.
1996-1999
On May 2, 1999, St. Stephen’s passed a resolution to make
an addition to its mission statement to welcome and affirm all people without
regard to differences, including sexual orientation. The journey had begun 2 ½ years
earlier when the Challenges and Choices Sunday School Class planned a
several-week focus, The Church Studies Homosexuality. Three months later, the class had moved from an
educational “head” focus to a powerful “heart” sharing of personal story. Soon,
the class was inviting ALL of St. Stephen’s family to join the conversation!
Church-Wide
Conversations and
The Administrative Council sponsored four church-wide
discussions on homosexuality and the church in April/May of 1997. Sessions
included individual reflection on personal feelings and open conversations
about differences, the sharing of personal story by family members of LGBT persons,
and visits from Dr. Brandon Scott of Phillips Theological Seminary who talked
about the Bible and homosexuality and a representative from the national
Reconciling Ministries Network who introduced the mission and work of RMN.
A Gay/Lesbian Task Force was established to help St.
Stephen’s continue the conversation. This group educated itself, explored
curriculum resources on homosexuality, surveyed the attitudes of church members
with a five-page questionnaire, offered another all-church workshop led by Dr.
Victor Paul Furnish, a professor at Perkins School of Theology, and decided on
a “consensus” approach to reaching a decision. The hope was that all voices and
feelings would be listened to and valued, and the church would model
inclusiveness in its decision making.
In November 1998, a church-wide vote to achieve full
“consensus” failed with a handful of individuals indicating that “they could
not live with” such a decision. In the spring of 1999, the Administrative
Council voted to revisit the proposed change in the church’s mission statement
using a regular majority vote this time. At this meeting on May 2, nearly half
of the voting members of the congregation were present, and the resolution
passed by a large majority. Other Administrative Council action included
invitations to PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and YOTSO (Youth
Open to Sexual Orientation) to hold their regular meetings at St. Stephen’s.
1999-2008
Living Out Our
Intentionally Inclusive
St. Stephen’s continued to live out this statement of
inclusion in our church, embracing a “Theology of Welcome” and offering people
of all sexual orientations a place to worship and be celebrated as active
members of a progressive faith community. Three pastors have nurtured the
journey, Rev. B. Craig Stinson, Rev. Dianne Peters and Rev. Amy Venable.
2006 - First
Reconciling Group at St. Stephen’s
On Sunday, November 5, Challenges and Choices Adult Class
signed a “statement of reconciliation” formalizing their decision to be a
“reconciling group” in connection with the Reconciling Ministries Network of
the United Methodist Church. Other individuals also signed the statement. “We, the members of the Challenges and Choices Sunday
School class at St. Stephen’s UMC in Norman, OK, in keeping with the global
mission statement of our church – to welcome and affirm all persons without
regard to any of the divisions which have been used to separate God’s family
such as ethnicity, race, color,
ancestry, national origin, religion, age, gender, physical or mental ability,
and in particular, sexual orientation – seek to join the Reconciling Ministries
Network of the United Methodist Church. We are ALL invited to God’s table. Period.”
2008 – An Official
Reconciling Congregation
In August 2008, St. Stephen’s became an official member of
the Reconciling Ministries Network and amended the mission statement to also
include “people of all gender identities”. Led by our Pastor
and our Reconciling Ministries Committee, co-chaired by Steve Davis and Marilyn
Nicely, St. Stephen's works for full participation and acceptance of ALL people
in the
October 2011
St. Stephen’s family is moving beyond our walls as
advocates for and models of “A Theology of Welcome” for our United Methodist
family. We find ways to actively, openly, and intentionally tell the story of
St. Stephen’s inclusive welcome of people of all sexual orientations and gender
identities. As members of the Reconciling Ministries Network, St. Stephen’s
continues the work of “Creating space at the table for all
God’s children, mobilizing United Methodists of all sexual orientations and
gender identities to transform our Church and world into the full expression of
Christ’s inclusive love.”
(Researched and
remembered by Kay Antinoro, updating our historical document “Can We Discuss This
& Grow As A Church?,” 2000.)