Are there churches that accept gays

At the same time, in the past two decades, several other religious groups also have moved to allow same-sex couples to marry within their traditions.

Another mainline Protestant denomination, the Presbyterian Church U. Among the four largest mainline Protestant churches , the same-sex marriage debate has not been simple. And the debate within the Presbyterian Church has already led some congregations to break away and join other, more conservative Presbyterian denominations. Both denominations allow clergy to opt out of performing same-sex marriages, while the ELCA allows ministers and their congregations to determine their own policies.

The United Methodist Church does not allow same-sex blessings or marriages. But the United Methodists also have been intensely debating the issue, particularly in the past year or so, after a church court tried, defrocked and eventually reinstated the Rev.

Frank Schaefer , a Methodist pastor who had performed a same-sex marriage ceremony for his gay son. This is an update of a post originally published June 18, and previously updated on July 2, The organization trains clergy and lay leaders as well as hosts advocacy campaigns to make progressive change in the ways that U.

Petty has been instrumental in mobilizing progressive faith communities across the nation from behind the scenes to articulate their vision for a more just and faithful world. In a conversation with the authors, she said:.

Early in her time at Masjid al-Rabia, Lynn helped create the Black and Pink Crescent , a prison ministry and outreach program that is the only one of its kind in the world. The program provides direct services such as a pen-pal program, library resources, religious resources, and advocacy to incarcerated and detained LGBTQ Muslims.

In her communication with the authors, she said:. I believe that our identities are experiential, not chosen. Faith is a practice, and love is action. This is my best me. This is the path set before me to change the world for the better. Frederick Davie is widely recognized as a faith leader who has centered his career around a commitment to social justice and public service.

In his public service work, the Rev. He also serves on the board of directors at the Interfaith Youth Core, on the advisory board of the Interfaith Assembly for Homelessness and Housing, and as an ordained Presbyterian minister in New York City. Previously, the Rev. During his time there, the Rev. She leads the congregation in advocacy for anti-racist criminal justice reform, calling for safer and more fair treatment of youth through the Raise the Age campaign and the Bail Reform campaign.

In , she partnered with New York City Council Member Brad Lander D to establish GetOrganizedBK , which organized thousands of Brooklyn residents of diverse faith and ethnic backgrounds to take action for democracy and human dignity and against racism, misogyny, and xenophobia.

In addition, she serves on the leadership team of the New York Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, a statewide coalition of Reform congregations.

Although Rabbi Timoner experienced some pushback early in her rabbinic career due to prejudice against her identity as a lesbian, she remained determined to continue her work for social justice. She told the authors:.

Whenever I face any form of discrimination or bias as a lesbian, a woman, or a Jew, it reminds me of my interconnection with all oppressed people. Drew Konow is a scholar of religion, a cultural critic, and an activist. His current scholarship teases out the interplay of religion, sexuality, and capitalism in artifacts of popular and queer culture, and his earlier scholarly work examined the activist histories of gay and lesbian Catholics during the early years of the AIDS epidemic.

As a queer Catholic layperson, he has worked for several years at the intersection of religion and LGBTQ activism, bringing both personal experience and issue area expertise to his advocacy for progressive policy.

In his former role as the director of communications and LGBTQ programs at the Religious Institute , he helped lead several national, faith-rooted advocacy campaigns on issues surrounding LGBTQ rights, often from behind the scenes. He was a key leader in organizing faith leaders in support of the historic passage of the Equality Act this year as well as in opposition to state-level anti-LGBTQ legislation and in response to the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ ordination and affirmation in the United Methodist Church.

In personal communication with the authors, Konow emphasized his commitment to centering the voices of queer people, transgender people, and people of color in his activism. She is a Black, mixed-race, queer woman and American Buddhist, a religion in which only 3 percent of its affiliates are Black.

She is the second Black woman ever to be recognized as a sensei, a teacher in Japanese Zen tradition. In particular, the Rev. They are not perverts nor are they abnormal, as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental health experts once declared them to be.

The threat is particularly ominous given that the denomination — rather than the local congregations that paid for them — hold title to the church buildings. Read more commentary:. Easter question: What can Christians on the left and right do about the evil of our world?

The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it. Yet, the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures did not float down from heaven perfect and without error. They were written by men, and those men made mistakes. The most difficult challenges arise when the teachings of Scripture are contradicted by reason and experience.