Reverend Ref +

"I BELIEVE THOSE PEOPLE CHOOSE TO BE THE WAY THEY ARE"

And so one of my parishioners started off yesterday when we were discussing homosexuality and how it will affect the church, ie +Gene Robinson, the Canadian church's development of same sex blessings, the AAC and "orthdox" Anglicanism, the fallout from the Windsor Report, etc.

He splits his time between SW Montana and central California. He grew up in this town, and the only reason he has any connection to CA is because that's where his kids and grandkids live. According to him, there is a "homosexual agenda" and people are choosing to be a part of that lifestyle because it is becoming a major voting/political block.

Now, he and I obviously have a different set of ideas about all kinds of stuff. He's a Rebublican, I'm not. He's conservative, I'm more liberal. He can be loud and obnoxious, I can be quiet and obnoxious. Okay, so we're similar on that last point. But the fact that we were talking about this stuff is good news.

Tying it back to my sermon (see "Lent IIIA" below), I said, "Bill, I don't care if you don't agree with me. And whether or not you ever make the move to see homosexuality as genetic and accept gays as leaders in the church doesn't concern me. What concerns me is this: Are you willing to come to church on Sunday, exchange the Peace with me, come to the same table with me and share the Eucharist with me? Are you willing to accept the fact that Jesus can love 'those people' as much as he loves you? That's what I care about. So my question is, can you do that?"

He sat back for a minute and finally said, "Yes."

That seems to be my big push here. "You don't have to like me. You don't have to agree with me. You don't have to like every single member of this congregation. But you do have to be willing to accept the fact that God loves them just as much as he loves you; and you have to be willing to share a meal."

So far, it seems to be working.