Why we need to say "gay"

Some years ago, a young friend of mine --- not yet out of the closet --- thought for a time that he had found a home in the United Methodist Church. Then he went along as an observer to an annual meeting of the Iowa General Conference where considerable time and energy were invested by delegates in wrangling about the place of LGBTQ+ people in the church --- a debate conducted as if there were no gay people in the room.

And then one Sunday his local pastor launched into a sermon focused on the dangers presented by LGBTQ+ people and our "sinful lifestyle" --- as if there were no gay people in the room.

And so my friend exited that church and found a more congenial home elsewhere --- one less gay person in that particular room.

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I've been thinking about this during a winter when Iowa United Methodist congregations have been gathering to discuss potential congregational votes to leave the United Methodist Church to function as independent congregations or as members of the new Global Methodist Church, a denomination tailored to fit Methodists who wish to continue to behave as if there are no gay people in the room.

This has also been the winter when our Republican-controlled state legislature (with Gov. Kim Reynolds as cheerleader) has moved from legislation targeting transgender children to targeting books related to all  LGBTQ+ issues to proposals now on the table that would make Iowa a "don't say gay" state --- banning discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in public schools, including safety measures intended to protect young people from HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.

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Here's a link to a piece written about a year ago by John Pavlovitz, whose career as a progressive preacher and writer was launched by the United Methodist congregation that fired him because he was too progressive on LGBTQ+ issues. It's entitled, "Why We Need to Say Gay."

I'd suggest it also would be productive if we all stopped pretending that there are no gay people in the room. Because we're here and we're listening.