An Apology to the LGBTQIA Community
Monday Ministerial Musings
By Rev. Mark William Ennis
2024 Blog #24
June 16, 2025
An Apology to the LGBTQIA Community
I made the following apology to the LGBTQIA community at the June 15 worship service of the Community Church of Glen Rock in which we affirmed our alliance with the LGBTQIA community.
Community Church of Glen Rock
An Apology to the Pride Community
June 15, 2025
President Clinton declared June to be “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 1999. The month of June was picked because it commemorated the Stone-Wall raids and riots in 1969. I watched the news coverage of the Stone-Wall riots as members of the Gay community refused to be bullied anymore by the NYPD and reacted to a typical police raid at Stone-Wall.
When my family watched the riots on television, my parents, who claimed to be Christian, were happy that the police were finally cracking down on the people that they called perverts. Unfortunately, many people at my home church offered similar sentiments. Somehow over the years these people had traded the Love of Jesus of Nazareth, for a love of patriotic people who were straight and were of European background. They did this at the expense of anyone who was not straight and white. Other types of people too often were, at best, marginalized, and at worst, persecuted.
Instead of being the leaders in human rights for members of the Pride community, the church was too often the instigators of the abuse suffered by the community. The church forgot Jesus, and the Pride Community paid the price for that. As a result, I grew up in a church that excluded gays, and the members believed that they were Godly for doing that.
On behalf of main-line Christians and congregations, I apologize for the horrible way that members of your community have been treated. You have been treated despicably by the people who pledge themselves to be shining lights of the love of Christ. Apologies are not enough. There must also be repentance and restoration of relationships.
Twenty years ago, I joined Room for All. This is made up of a group of allies within the Reformed Church in America who wish to be fully inclusive toward the LGBTQIA community. I have been an ally for full inclusion for more than twenty years and I bring my allyship to you in Glen Rock this day.
I assure you folks from the Glen Rock Pride Committee and the broader LGBTQIA community, that you are always welcome here. When you need a place to pray, please come in. When you need allies, look around at the people here. If you are wounded and need people to walk with you on the road to healing, please call me and I will be here for you. When you need a place to connect with the divine, please use this place as a conduit.
Our work is not finished. A major Protestant denomination has voted this week to work diligently toward the end that the Supreme Court overturns the right of Gays to marry. Some folks, it appears, wish to return to the days of discrimination, and possibly to the actions of Stone Wall. We must stand together to prevent this. We, at the Community Church are your allies. We stand with you.
As we apologize for the past, we promise to stand with you in the future. May God bless you and may God bless our alliance.
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