The Institute for Welcoming Resources

In Room for All, we believe that the Gospel compels us to welcome and affirm Christ-followers of all sexual identities and gender expressions. So we decided to invite the reflections of some LGBTQ Christians in Reformed Church settings across the country.

Body and Soul: We Belong

In increasing numbers, Christians are searching for a faithful response in the church’s conversation about what it means to welcome and affirm people of all sexual identities and gender expressions. This video resource invites viewers to explore that question through six themes central to the Reformed tradition that are woven through the liturgies and confessional standards of the Reformed Church in America. We have created a downloadable discussion guide and encourage you to make use of it as you view the accompanying videos, pausing after each section to engage in reflection and conversation. The questions provided are based on the video content, Scripture, and Reformed confessions or liturgies. Download the discussion guide (pdf) and the complete video series (mp4 files). The series is also available on DVD for $15 plus shipping.

Why One of the Biggest LGBT Orgs Has Stopped Supporting ENDA

The morning the sun rose after the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling, we all woke up in a changed and intensified landscape of religious exemptions being used as an excuse to discriminate. The reality is that while politics is about compromise, some compromises are too great.

After much soul searching, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund has decided to withdraw its support for the current version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. As one of the lead advocates on this bill for 20 years, we do not take this move lightly but we do take it unequivocally — we now oppose this version of ENDA because of its too-broad religious exemption.

Frank Schaefer's Defrocking Overturned By United Methodist Church

A pastor who presided over his son's same-sex wedding ceremony and vowed to perform other gay marriages if asked can return to the pulpit after a United Methodist Church appeals panel on Tuesday overturned a decision to defrock him.

A nine-person appeals panel ordered the church to restore Frank Schaefer's pastoral credentials, saying the jury that convicted him of breaking church law erred when fashioning his punishment.

More religious groups to join suit against same-sex marriage ban

Additional plaintiffs – including two national clergy groups – are expected to join a lawsuit next week that claims North Carolina’s ban on same-sex marriage is a violation of religious freedom.

The Central Conference of American Rabbis and the Alliance of Baptists are going to become part of the lawsuit, along with additional individual pastors and rabbis, said Luke Largess, co-lead counsel for the legal challenge.

The lawsuit is the nation’s first faith-based challenge to same-sex marriage bans, claiming North Carolina laws block clergy of various faiths from exercising their freedom of religion.

Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible

Based on his one-person play, theatrical performance activist Peterson Toscano unearths transgender Bible characters - those people who do not fit in the gender binary - and who, in transgressing and transcending gender, find themselves at the center of some of the Bible's most important stories. Over five sessions, you will watch videos of Peterson's Bible study sessions at RMN's national convocation. It is designed for small group sessions in which discussion will play a major role. Discussion Guide available for free download.

Rachel Harvey Moving on from RMN

Reconciling Ministries Network celebrates the service of a prominent staff leader as she announces her departure.

After five years of service and the Called to Witness and Love Your Neighbor campaigns to mobilize United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to work for full LGBTQ inclusion in The UMC, RMN program director and UMC deaconess Rachel Harvey will be leaving RMN at the end of May. Prior to joining RMN in the fall of 2009, Rachel spent five years organizing in local conference Reconciling teams in South Dakota and New York. She also worked with the General Board of Global Ministries, Response magazine/United Methodist Women, and was a US-2 missionary serving as the director of a Reconciling campus ministry.

NEW DOCUMENTARY!

"In Our Fullness: Faith and Activism Across Difference"
presents conversations with activists about faith-based work for radical social change around issues including sexuality, gender, race, class, and age. The video includes powerful testimonies from activists representing Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Native spiritualities, presenting challenges and successes in faith-based progressive-left coalition building.

Produced by the Institute for Welcoming Resources, a Project of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in partnership with the Macalester College Chuck Green Civic Engagement Fellowship.

Additional Ecumenical & Multi-Faith Groups Convened by IWR

Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays Vs. Christians Debate

As a teenager and young man, Justin Lee felt deeply torn. Nicknamed “God Boy” by his peers, he knew that he was called to a life in the evangelical Christian ministry. But Lee harbored a secret: He also knew that he was gay. In this groundbreaking book, Lee recalls the events–his coming out to his parents, his experiences with the “ex-gay” movement, and his in-depth study of the Bible–that led him, eventually, to self-acceptance. But more than just a memoir, TORN provides insightful, practical guidance for all committed Christians who wonder how to relate to gay friends or family members–or who struggle with their own sexuality. Convinced that “in a culture that sees gays and Christians as enemies, gay Christians are in a unique position to bring peace,” Lee demonstrates that people of faith on both sides of the debate can respect, learn from, and love one another.

Your People Shall Be My People: Ministering to and with Same-Gender Couples and their Families

Your People Shall Be My People opens with several models for conversation and some helpful practices to shape discussion. You will meet six Lutherans from a variety of backgrounds, each with a story to share about how support for marriage for same-gender couples matters. Following these stories you can find a collection of answers to common questions about marriage in the ELCA, as well as a list of resources for study, pastoral care, wedding liturgies, and widening the church’s welcome.

Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible

Puzzles: When Hate Came to Town

The film follows the story of a violent hate crime that occurred in New Bedford, MA, when an 18-year-old entered an LGBT bar and brutally attacked three patrons with a hatchet and a gun. In response, the community came together to establish greater understanding and connection. PUZZLES is a deeply human exploration of the roots of hate crime, and the intersections between joblessness, homophobia, intolerance, alienation and violence.

Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism

Attorney, historian, and novelist, R. W. Holmen brings a unique voice to the conversation of gay clergy in the pulpits. Queer Clergy: A History of Gay and Lesbian Ministry in American Protestantism provides a detailed history of the ways in which the United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have dealt with the issue of ordaining Queer clergy. Queer Clergy will prove to be an historical reference book for years to come.