Dear fellow Christians,

So often the stories we hear about the LGBTAQ+ community have to do with harassment, discrimination, and injustice. We see change happening, or not happening, with great difficulty and struggle. This struggle is especially obvious within Christianity. There are many stories of conflict between these two “sides,” but this story is different. This is a story of gratitude.

I know that issues facing the LGBTAQ+ community can seem dangerous. I realize that in the perspective of many Christians, these topics hold a scary power which has the potential to undermine, corrupt, and even destroy many things that the Church stands for. However, the destruction of the Church, the downfall of Christianity? These are not our goals. We do want change, but it is equality we strive for, not the oppression of others’ rights.

I know that in the Church especially, change will be slow, if it comes at all. But in the meantime, I want to thank everyone who has stood beside us in our journey, everyone who has listened to our stories, heard us speak. That’s not always an easy thing to do, especially when we disagree.

So thank you to everyone who disagreed but still managed to be compassionate and loving. Thank you for not trying to love us while hating our sin. Thank you for loving and supporting us as we are, as whole people who cannot be divided into good and bad pieces. Thank you to everyone who agreed with us and not only agreed, but took up our cause and flew a rainbow flag with pride, no matter what others thought of you. Thank you for acting faithfully in love, with empathy and understanding, and not with judgment. Thank you for not using religion as a justification for mistreatment, discrimination, or abuse.

Change will be a long time coming, and the conflict has no end in sight, but please accept our genuine gratitude for not contributing to our struggle and for treating us like the people we are and not as a problem. Thank you for supporting our “gay agenda.”

Sincerely,

an LGBTAQ+ Christian