This morning on the radio news I heard two gay men in Chechnya share their stories of violence and abuse in Russia because of the fact that they’re gay.

How can the church speak into this world of violence???

We can share what we know of ourselves as children of God and how it is that we’ve developed our lives to reflect that truth.  The Episcopal Church took action to affirm God’s blessing upon LGBTQ people by establishing a liturgy for the blessing of same-sex couples: The Witnessing and Blessing of a Life-long Covenant.  (You can find this liturgy under the “Services” portion of the Welcome tab)  The following is an excerpt from the introduction:

Christian Life and Covenants

All Christians are called to bear witness to the good news of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are empowered for such witness by our covenantal relationship with God.

Baptism initiates us into that covenant, making us Christ’s own forever and members of Christ’s Body, the Church.  The Eucharist sustains us in that covenantal life and strengthens us to be Christ’s witnesses in the world.

Our covenantal life with God is expressed in relationships of commitment and faithfulness, including those of same-sex couples. It is the Church’s joy to celebrate these relationships as signs of God’s love, to pray for God’s grace to support couples in their life together, and to join with these couples in our shared witness to the gospel in the world.

In Matthew’s Gospel, at the very end,  

Jesus came and said to (the disciples), “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

We have Good News to share—That God loves all that God has made.  God invites all humanity into covenant relationship with Him/Her.  Go into the world and let people know that God has not forgotten them.  They—YOU—are loved.