This May, something I thought impossible happened: through the action of a federal court in Pennsylvania and the 221st General Assembly of the PCUSA, I was, for the first time, allowed to pursue my freedom of conscience to preside at weddings of loving same-gender couples in my home state. Freedom of conscience is often cited […]

It was 36 years ago that I shared my statement of faith during my ordination process. I’ve been reflecting on what I believed then and what I believe now. How has your faith changed over the years?

It’s an exciting day—Alex McNeill’s first as Executive Director of More Light Presbyterians! Alex brings immense gifts and preparation to this call to inspire the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the world to embrace and proclaim in word and deed the Gospel of God’s love for all, especially for God’s LGBTQ children.

This Sunday, April 15, 2012, Katie Ricks will be ordained to the office of teaching elder, becoming Associate Pastor of the Church of Reconciliation, a Presbyterian church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Katie’s call to ministry was loud and clear—to both herself and to her congregation. But for the past 10 years, because of Presbyterian Church rules, Katie had been barred from ordination. Why? Because Katie has been honest with herself, her God and her church that she is lesbian.

This Thanksgiving, I have pledged to embrace the challenge of our differences, hold close our disagreements, and then see what God can make of us being together.

This Thanksgiving, I have pledged to embrace the challenge of our differences, hold close our disagreements, and then see what God can make of us being together.

After reading Archbishop Tutu’s letter I was moved by the Holy Spirit to reach out to try and continue this important conversation. I could only imagine how busy the Archbishop is, so when I asked him to join me in the regular conversation series I host on www.TimeToEmbrace.com, I was surprised and deeply humbled when he agreed to my request.

In the spring and summer of this year, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on and then made a historical change in policy; one that allows openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members to become ordained ministers, elders and deacons. In July, when the policy went into effect, no one knew exactly what the new world we were entering would look like. This weekend, we begin to see the joy and extraordinary gifts that our church will receive.

This past Tuesday, the highest ranking court in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission, rendered decisions in cases concerning the long-awaited ordinations of two devout Presbyterians; Scott Anderson who is gay and Lisa Larges who is lesbian.

How we see God at work in this may vary but we can pause for a moment on the blessed common ground of acknowledging God at work in the church and the world in this vote. We can join together in keeping our eyes on God’s presence and inspiration and move ahead.