(Not Mennonite Brethren, but what another Canadian denomination did recently about this subject.)
At its July 15-16 online national convention,
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) has apologized for how it
treated members of the LGBTQ+ community in the past.
The apology was delivered by ELCIC Bishop
Susan Johnson.
“Today I apologize to the members of the
2SLGBTQIA+ community for the ways that we have not lived up to our commitments
and to the ways we have treated you in the past and even now,” she said.
“I want to acknowledge the harms that
members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community have experienced in our church.”
Johnson acknowledged the times members of
the 2SLGBTQIA+ community did not receive welcome, were denied sacraments,
vocation, marriage rights, and didn’t have their proper gender identity affirmed.
She also acknowledged those who had been harmed but
not said anything, including Lutherans who felt they needed to stay in closet “and
not live out their full identity in our church.”
Looking ahead, Johnson said the ELCIC has
“work to do. I cling to a hope that the entire church will learn from the past
and work toward a future where all generations will feel acceptance,
affirmation, and celebration for the gifts they bring our church as valued
children of God.”
The vision of the ELCIC is to a “diverse, inclusive community that celebrates all and
upholds life-giving relationships.”
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