Sexual Orientation

Family Matters Part 2: Family Origins

Family Matters Part 2: Family Origins

As individuals, we may value freedom from attachment and for self-determination. But as human beings, we are born into relationships of mutual care because we need each other to survive. Human families exist because we need each other, because “it is not good for human beings to be alone.”

Family Matters Part 1: Valuing Families

Family Matters Part 1: Valuing Families

“If by ‘family values’ we mean valuing one kind of family over others, then we have misunderstood the radically welcoming teachings of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we are called to build faith communities where our differences are embraced, where all families are valued.”

Part 8: Love, Not Domination

Part 8: Love, Not Domination

“From the perspective of the Beloved Community, our goal is not to determine who belongs or define the type of relationships in which sexual intimacy can occur, but to establish principles of justice within all our relationships, especially those that are the most private and intimate.”

Part 7: The Kindness of God

Part 7: The Kindness of God

"To follow Jesus and become a radically inclusive faith community, we must resist the temptation to judge others. Instead, we must be willingly be a radically repentant people, witnessing to the power and love and radical kindness of God.”

Part 6: The Beloved Everyone

Part 6: The Beloved Everyone

"When we let the gospel of God’s radical welcome redefine for us who and what is sacred, we begin to declare our collective belovedness in our behavior, in our language, and in our attitude. We begin to practice it with such intensity that it becomes central to how we see ourselves, and it begins to influence how people in the world around us see themselves."

Part 5: Creating a Culture of Radical Welcome

Part 5: Creating a Culture of Radical Welcome

"A truly inclusive community is one that welcomes the excluded by affirming them as bearers of the image of God."

Part 4: God Images

Part 4: God Images

"To be a community that faithfully follows Jesus, we must begin with the confession that all human beings are bearers of the image of God. This means that we cease being stone throwers and dedicate our lives to becoming faithful stone catchers."