NEED INSPIRATION?
WE HOPE THESE QUESTIONS 
HELP YOU REFLECT & SHARE

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Questions for ministers about 1988 and the 'issue years', click here

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WHERE WERE YOU IN THE 1980s?

Where were you in the 1980s? What church or community of faith were you part of? How long had you been there? Say a bit about your general experience of your church at that time.

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The Decades Leading up to
the 1988 Decision

How was it for you in the decades leading up to our 1988 decision, and through “The Issue Years” (1988-1998)? Maybe you were a member or a church or ordered ministry, and needed to remain in the closet, were outed, or were persecuted. We need to hear these stories.

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Family, Friends & Allies

What was it like to be an ally, friend or family member of an LGBTQ2 person, leading up to the 1988 decision, and through "The Issue Years" (1988-1998)? What is it like for you since then, and today? What are (or were) the challenges you faced? the sacrifices you made? the consequences that resulted? We need to hear these stories. 

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People in Churches and
Communities of Faith

Perhaps you were in a community that was (or is) discerning this issue during 1988, "The Issue Years" (1988-1998), up to today? Maybe there was conflict? Perhaps you felt unsure about things? and didn’t understand why we had to talk about it at all? How did you deal with that? We need to hear these stories.

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People Who Left the Church,
and Maybe Returned to Church

Maybe you (or someone you know) left the church during 1988, or the decades that followed? Where did you go? What did you do? Did you return? Why? We need to hear these stories.

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People Opposed to Full Inclusion

Or, maybe you were opposed the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church? Maybe you took active steps to ensure that a welcome wasn’t extended? Maybe you’d like to share your story… of regret, or of transformation? We need to hear these stories.

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Your Experiences Today…

Maybe today your experiences as an LGBTQ2 person or ally does not live up to the expectations of our national policy, or do not quite live into affirming practice? Or maybe they do, and you want to share your appreciation! And to celebrate! We want to hear the truths about how ministers, students in ministry, volunteers, lay people, and people just going to church… From 1925, to 1988, to today: How welcoming has our welcome been? We need to hear these stories.

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Questions for ministers about 1988 and the 'issue years'

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1. What church were you at in 1988? 

2. How long had you been there?

3. Say a bit about your general experience of pastoral ministry at that time. 

4. Please describe at least two stories from that time that you would call positive or hopeful, if any.

5. Please describe at least two stories from that time that were negative, if any.

6. What are your memories of Presbytery life at that time?

7. How would you say your pastoral identity and practice have been affected by 1988?

8. How would you say we as a denomination have been affected by 1988?