I am profoundly sorry, from Doug

I’d like to tell gay, lesbian and trans Christian people that I am profoundly sorry that I have not heretofore been more proactive in hearing your stories and learning from them. I regret that you have suffered at the hands of your church but am heartened by your courage and your persistence.

I commit myself to be more positively engaged in walking with you in any ways that you deem appropriate. And I aspire to try and understand and address the resistance of people in the church who appear to me to be in bondage to long held stereotypes and misunderstandings.

I am hopeful by the initiatives happening in the church, to right old wrongs, to foster understanding, to build new communities of inclusion, acceptance, and love.

I also acknowledge my own need to grow. I have been on a learning path for over 30 years. It has required me to gain a more Christ-like spirit, to interpret scripture through the heart of Christ, to examine my own attitudes… for I acknowledge how much I have been shaped by old cultural mores.

Signed, Doug Kaufman

[Shared with permission. Photo credit: Wix stock photo.]