Transcript: Inclusion Task Force Report to Diocesan Convention
Below is a transcript of Mother Brenda’s remarks to the Diocese of San Diego diocesan convention earlier this November, made as part of her report on the work of the LGBTQI Inclusion Task Force. It has been lightly edited for clarity.
I'm Brenda Sol. Along with Susan Jester, I serve as co-chair of our Diocesan LGBTQI Task force. As Bishop Susan requested of us, we are seeking to figure out how to create tools and support so that all of our congregations can move toward the full inclusion, acceptance, and affirmation of members of the queer community.
Although it's a very broad vision, Bishop Susan was clear that the parameters for this specific work do not include being advocates out in the community, but we are imagining that our work will ripple out into the surrounding neighborhoods.
We began meeting monthly in February with four to six people, depending on vacation schedules, and we were supported by Rachel Ambasing from the diocesan office. We decided it would be important to ground ourselves in a mission statement and in scripture, so we created this mission: “To assist the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego in becoming congregations where all God's people in the fullness of their gender identity, expression, and sexuality are celebrated for who God has created them to be.”
The scripture we chose is from Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Because so many people who identify as LGBTQI don't have places where it's safe to be who they really are, especially in churches, where the queer community has not only been excluded but has actually been persecuted, we knew that some of our primary work was to build a community of trust.
Also important to us was to establish a sense of collaboration, where curiosity leads to the next question, where we watch for the movement of the Holy Spirit, and where there is an openness to having ourselves and our work be transformed as we learn from each other and as we discover new insights from those who join the task force.
We started out considering whether we might be designing a curriculum or a team of speakers to go around the diocese or an online support community. Then we realized that until we know more about the readiness of the various parishes, we can't move forward with our work.
And our suspicion was that this can't be a one-size fits-all solution, so at one point in one of our late summer meetings we realized that we were putting too much emphasis on figuring out the product before knowing the needs of the diocese. So, we began focusing on the goal of expanding representation from across the diocese.
Last month we hosted a summit in Temecula and 16 people, representing 10 congregations, from the desert to North Park to North County to Temecula, were in in attendance, and six or seven others told us they weren't able to attend but they want to participate.
We talked about where we've been, where we think we're headed, and of course did more work in building a trusting community. About four of us in attendance identify as straight allies and the rest identify as part of the queer community, so part of our time was spent hearing the personal stories of four of those folks. There was a lot of energy and excitement in the room about how we move from being simply congregations who say we are welcoming to congregations that are actually affirming and accepting.
Our suspicions were confirmed about different stages of readiness. As you all know full inclusion in some churches is simply part of their DNA. Some congregations still have a “don't ask don't tell” kind of atmosphere, and some have well established affirmation of one group (gay men, for example) but have little experience in what inclusion means for those who identify as trans or non-binary.
Some of the stories we heard reminded us of the importance of this work. We will quite literally be saving lives, especially among our LGBTQI kids, in whom isolation and rates of suicide are skyrocketing; but studies show that having a safe place to belong and be one's true self can make all the difference in the world.
So, if you want to know more about the spectrum of becoming welcoming, accepting, and affirming, or if you already know the difference and you want to help bring that to life in your congregation or throughout the diocese, talk to me or Susan Jester or send us an email. You don't have to make a commitment to serve on the task force, we just want to have as many voices as possible contribute to the process and representation from all of our congregations.
If you have questions, you can also look for this button this weekend, our task force members are wearing this button and they'll be happy to answer questions. Thank you in advance for your support and your interest.
