MANY of us welcomed the statement from Pope Francis concerning our LGBT+ community. It was refreshing to hear him say: “They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out.”
 
The reality is the Church has a long history of throwing out our LGBT+ community.
I have listened to story after story from my LGBT+ brothers and sisters who have been rejected and damaged by the Church. This constant calling out of our LGBT+ community, and subjecting them to our theological understandings/debates as to whether they can be included in the Church or not, is simply wrong. We must remember that when we talk about our LGBT+ community we are talking about people, about fellow humans.

The Church must own up to its wrongdoings. The words from Pope Francis provides the Church with an opportunity to do better. We cannot champion a gospel that excludes others.
 
We do not get to decide who’s in or who’s out.
We do not get to cast judgement on others.
We do not get to decide who is worthy and who is not.
We do not get to decide who can come to the table
and who can’t.
 
How different the island of Ireland would be if our gospel preached was truly inclusive, the very attribute of Jesus. The rhythm of inclusivity leaves nobody behind.
There’s room at the table for everyone – pull up a chair!

Humility

I always get nervous when Christians use the ‘You don’t go to Church’ card. When I was a teenager an elderly man noticed I had skipped Church for a number of weeks. He did a pretty good job of guilt-tripping me back with his words, “Karen, I’m not sure you really are a Christian, if you don’t go to Church.”
 
Recently, when I read similar remarks made by Minister Edwin Poots, my mind immediately transported me back to that awful memory. Thankfully, I am now older and wise enough to detect when something spoken reeks of arrogance.
 
It is not our job to judge others concerning whether they go to Church or not.
 
Not attending Church does not mean abandoning faith. In fact, some of the most humble and deeply spiritual people I have met do not attend Church. Goodness, if we ever need a dose of humility from our Leaders it is now. This is not the time for cheap political point scoring. I love the words of the Dalai Lama: “If one assumes a humble attitude, one’s own qualities will increase, whereas, if one is proud… one will look down on others, and due to that there will be unhappiness in society.”
 
We are in the midst of a pandemic, and we have enough unhappiness in society. A little humility could go a long way for us today. We can do better. None of us is exempt from a spirit of pride. Pride is so often hidden in the unseen realms of our heart. We have all spoken words we wish we could take back. We all make mistakes. Cultivating a rhythm of humility requires us to keep our egos in check, but the reward is always life giving. So let’s feast on some humble pie!