"Teaching and Listening : Christian Education and Homosexuality" was an afternoon of workshops for youth, families, friends and Christian educators that was held on Saturday, January 26, 2002 at the Takoma Park Presbyterian Church. This event was co-sponsored by Takoma Park Presbyterian Church and the More Light Presbyterians of the National Capital Presbytery.
Churches who are inclusive and affirming of gay and lesbian folks often are at a loss as to how to be truly supportive of their youth, adults, and families. Youth who think they may be homosexual go through an intense process of internal struggle. Family relationships, friendships, and conceptions of the future all face dramatic change. Churches are too often silent even when their own youth are wrestling with their sexual identities, sexual role modeling and the achievement of spiritually fulfilling patterns of their own sexuality. This silence can be interpreted as indifference or rejection by the church as well as society. Similarly, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) adults often interpret the Church's silence as lack of support or even condemnation - that the church cannot or will not speak to their spiritual development and needs as Christians. Even children, in their Christian education, need to start understanding these issues in a way that combats the bigotry and misinformation they may encounter outside the church.
At the Teaching and Listening event, we learned what churches are doing about these issues now and talked about what needs to be done. We discussed ways of helping GLBT youth and adults learn that there is a way to a healthy mature life that is supported by the church -- that they too are embraced by God's love, that God wants them to fully flourish and grow into the complete persons God intends them to be, and that their brothers and sisters in Christ continue to love them and support them as GLBT persons. We invited young people, families, friends, Christian educators and everyone else to come and talk about the church's Christian Education mission with respect to homosexuality.
Another article describing this event can be accessed on this website.
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