A week ago I
attended an LGBTQ affinity group meeting on campus.
Before you ask,
let me say for the record that I am unequivocally straight.
But that doesn't
mean I can't support inclusion and equity for my LGBTQ friends and
family.
Some of you will
be horrified that I have taken such a simple step in this direction.
I know others of you would like to give me a pat on the back. And others would
probably respond, "So?"
To be
transparent, I must admit that on a faith level, I am really no longer sure I
understand what God's take is on homosexuality. I used to be so absolutely
sure that the conservative Christian community was the only group to be
correctly interpreting the Bible in its brief discussion of sexuality. I used
to be sure about lots of things that I discover I am now examining with much
more depth and intensity than ever before. So I'm shelving my
understanding of scripture and how it relates to the LGBTQ community. For now.
Regardless,
my understanding of Jesus as a compassionate, loving teacher led to my
decision to participate in this affinity group. The fact is that the LGBTQ
community--especially in a place as right-wing as Bakersfield--is persecuted,
and my role as a Jesus-follower is to help end persecution. Prejudice and
bigotry toward a particular people group is never right, whether you're against
people of color, Muslims, Republicans, Catholics, the homeless, socialists, the
intellectually challenged, or those with different gender preferences than you,
just to name a few.
And for the first
time last week, I asked myself, "What if it were I? What if I had
found myself, growing up in a conservative Christian community, to have
feelings for other girls or women? What if?" And I knew that my experience
would have been nothing short of miserable. I might not even be alive
today.
My LGBTQ
friends deserve to feel safe, included, and supported, just
like the rest of the community. They should not stand alone or be made to feel
less, and they certainly should never have to fear for their
safety.
Just within the
past week since I attended my first group meeting, two amazing young women
I know have come out, and when I think about them, the idea that
people would make slurs about them or treat them differently because of their
gender preferences – it just makes me angry. I love them and want to walk
beside them. One of them is a college student, and while I'm too far away to
offer in-person support to her, I can offer in-person support here on her behalf.
So I'm going to participate in this affinity group, get Safe
Zone training, and cooperate to create ways to make our LGBTQ community
members feel at home, that they belong. And I will keep on trying to show
love.
