St. Luke's Welcoming Statement

St. Luke's Welcoming Statement

History of Our Journey to Welcoming

Believe out loud square episcopal with tag line.jpg

The St. Luke's Vestry has voted for St. Luke's to become a "Believe Out Loud" church, that is, a church which openly welcomes Christians who identify themselves as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.).

The Believe Out Loud program started with a process of discernment for the congregation, so that the Parish could explore together how our church could be a more welcoming community.

The “Believe Out Loud” discernment process started October 9, 2016. The vote took place on October 16, 2017. If you would like to be part of our journey of widening our welcome, see the resources below or contact Ryan Hogan.

Resources for Widening Our Welcome

Sessions in Our Sacred Journey

  • October 9, 2016: Opening this Sacred Conversation with Covenant and Reflection, led by Jana Parker.

  • November 10, 2016: The History of Same-Sex Relationships in the Episcopal Church, led by Corinne Wieben.

  • December 4, 2016: Reflection on Scripture in the Episcopal Church, led by Dina Strong Grimmett

  • January 12, 2017: Guest speakers Howard and Randi Robinson, “Sharing our Story,” introduced by Ed Gregori. Randi and Howard will share their inspiring journey following their son’s coming out as a gay man and how this deepened their understanding of scripture and transformed their Christian faith.

  • February 26, 2017: Dina Strong Grimmett returns. Join us as we go deeper in conversation about scripture and same-sex relationships in our Episcopal tradition.

  • June 25, 2017: The Celebration & Blessing of a Marriage. Led by Fr. Abshire.

  • September 17, 2017: For the Bible Tells Me So: An exploration of what the Biblical writers actually said about same-sex relationships and marriage. Led by Fr. Abshire.

Resources for Discussion