Good stuff

Kevin Powell is a Lutheran minister in Canada. He has commented here several times--always making great points. Here he really nails it:

Kevin G Powell: High Anxiety: "Jesus wept.

Its no wonder my gay brother-in-law doesn't go to church. They hate him there. But of course they cloak it in the "love the sinner hate the sin" nonsense, which is often Christian shorthand for, "hate the sinner because of the sin."

Church should be a resting place for the weary, a sanctuary for the oppressed, a place of healing and restoration for the broken. The church should be a place of welcome and freedom. The church should be the great leveller; a place where we remember that we are ALL sinners; that we're all in the same boat; that none of us is righteous on our own.

Church should be a place of celebration that God love us, because there is too much hatred, anger, competition, cruelty, ache, judgment, and nastiness in the world and in people. People come to church searching for good news. Sadly, many gays and lesbians leave church feeling more abused than when they walked in. There was no good news for them to hear.

Thankfully, my congregation is a place where good news is shared freely. This is not to say that same-sex blessings is not a controverial issue here. But these are grown-up Christians. They know that baptism trumps politics. They know that gays and lesbians are people, not sin personified. Many of them may have moral qualms about homosexuality, but you dare not make a homophobic remark around them. They won't tolerate bigotry. "