Does anyone in here go to church? We are having a hard time finding a religion that is gay accepting. I was raised Catholic so I am use to the Mass...I would like a religion close to that. My partner even said to me maybe we shouldnt be gay so we can fit in. No Jesus did not teach that. I just find it hard to believe as Christians all about love and accepting people but do not accept gays. I feel like I have no home...I have to be either gay or Christian. Can anyone give me advice? Thanks.

www.episcopalchurch.org . . .

en.wikipedia.org . . .

The Episcopal Church welcomes all orientations

Thank you so much.

Didn't your partner at one point say she diidn't want to be with you because of what it said in the bible? Because it sounds like she's got some MASSIVE hang ups when it comes to religion...

I used to go to an Evangelical Lutheran Church, and they were very accepting of gay people. I found a page that allows you to search for churches in your area that are "reconciled in Christ" (that's the term they use for not being haters). lcna.org . . .
I honestly know very little about religion, but I think that Lutheranism is similar to Catholicism, just not as strict and scary.

Yeah, Lutheran or Episcopal. If you grew up Catholic, you'll feel right at home in either one. Although you need to check your particular parish's lgbt policy because there are still some Lutheran and Episcopal churches that aren't gay-friendly. I'm so sad to hear you feel like you have no spiritual home. You absolutely should NOT feel like that, and these are two HUGE Christian denominations that will welcome you.

Thank you all. I will check them out.

You could also give methodism a try. Not sure what country you are from but I know that the United church of Canada is accepting of gays, and I think they are the Candian version of what is Methodism in the UK. I went to a United church in Montreal and they specifically said that they welcome everyone regardless of sexual orientation.

But be aware that in the USA the Lutheran Church has several independent branches called synods. (I happen to be Lutheran, mostly by my ethnic origins - German.) The one most accomodating is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA.) This is by far the most liberal of the three major Lutheran synods. The other is Missouri Synod (the geographic names mean little, it is nationwide in scope and it is quite conservative and I suspect that while they would be welcoming to gays and lesbians, they probably prefer you not talk about it. Far more conservative is the Wisconsin Synod, more or less limited to the upper Middle West and they fall into the "Don't even think about it category." At sometime or another I've belonged to all three Synods. I was born into the Wisconsin Synod but kicked out at age 11 because I was a Boy Scout (they do not permit their members to be members of groups which have oaths e.g. fraternal organizations such as Scouts, Elks, Eagles, Masons etc.) As a kid through early adulthood I was in a forrunner of the ELCA (itself a product of several mergers.) I am currently a member of a Missouri congregation in Maryland simply because it is the only game in town in the village I live in. I would prefer to be in an ELCA congregation. More of an issue of whether membership can be gay is whether clergy can be. This is really true with most Protestant churches. It is less of an issue with churches in big metropolitan areas, where it so happens more openly gay and lesbians live. This can also vary by geography. Missouri synod Lutheran churches tend to be far more liberal directly proportional to the distance they are from their Missouri headquarters.

As a musician, I play often at a church in Washington DC which is of the Disciples of Christ denomination. Despite it's Southern roots, it is comparatively liberal and the particualar church I play in (not as part of their ministry, it is a rented venue for an orchestra I play in) has among its ministries a GLBT ministry, not one trying to "reform" anyone. It happens to be in a part of Washington, DC with a significant GLBT population and they attend there quite openly. Whether one can be clergy garners more attention. Many just recently permitted female clergy, rather kicking and screaming, and many other Protestant denominations wouldn't even consider this. Probably every Christian Church will give the spiel of "We hate the sin, but love the sinner." "Loving the 'sinner' can mean anything from acceptance for what a person is to "come let me pray with you to become heterosexual."

Jon

I emailed a bunch of Luthern and an Epsicopal chruch. Only one replyed saying they accept everyone but than started quoting from the Bible about sin and between a man and a woman thing. Eo it was mixed messages. How does that sound to you? Thanks.

Where do you live? Episcopal churches in more conservative parts of the country often reflect conservative views on homosexuality. I grew up attending an Episcopalian/Anglican church in central Maryland, a somewhat liberal area, and it is officially fully accepting of homosexuality, gay rights, all that good stuff. We have, however, had some extremely conservative new members and seminarians in the past ten years or so, all of whom are immigrants from a few countries in Africa, but my priest is very liberal and thus the church is fully accepting of gay members. She will never ever preach against it (unlike one of the aforementioned seminarians--I almost got up and walked out, but the priest looked as upset as I felt!).

It sounds like you need to keep looking. Why don't you visit the churches and talk to the celebrants afterward? It will also help you get a good feel for the church itself. Also, the Episcopalian service is very close to the Catholic Mass (though with better music, if you like the awesome old stuff!).

If you end up wanting to try something that's less of the traditional service, the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Unitarian Universal Church are both very, very liberal. I went to Quaker school and happen to prefer Quakerism's actual philosophies and dogmas to those of the Episcopal Church, but I will always love Episcopalian history and music.

Many of these churches have autonomy to some extent...the views of the local congregation sway the views. As celestia386 points out some supposedly liberal denominations Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian will vary widely in their attitudes, often depending upon whether they are rural or urban. Some Episcopal congregations split from the national church over the issue of ordaining a gay bishop (and even others over ordination of female clergy.)

Here in rather liberal Maryland (same general area Celestia386 is from...she's from the next county over from me) we are having a fight in our legislature about permitting legal gay marriage. The Catholic church, rural legislators, and the Black community are fighting this tooth and nail. It has passed the state Senate but is being challenged in the assembly. (The governor says he will sign the measure.) Black preachers were preaching against it in church yesterday (Oh the irony!!!) One legislator opposed to it wants to petition the issue to referendum if it passes.

We are all far too quick to pass judgement upon people who have lifestyles different from our own.

If you don't want a gay marriage...don't get one!

Jon

I think it was the Angligan church in Toronto that did one of the first gay marriages here.

I really don't know why more churches aren't accepting... It's not our job to judge.

I went to Universalist Unitarian Church when I was a child. Since the whole premise of the church is that you have to find your own path to enlightenment, I don't see how they would have a problem with anyone.

It depends more on the individual community than on the brand of Christianity, I think. I've known gay Catholics.

Unitarian Universalists are super super open and welcoming. (NOT just the singular "Unitarians," who are different!) So are Quakers, aka the Religious Society of Friends (though if you're not from the Northeast, they may be difficult to find).

UUs are your best bet though. They're pretty awesome.

Thanks everyone. We have found a welcoming Methodist preacher. Also, I am going to check out the UUs. The Quakers, too far from me.