Who is My Daughter's Neighbor?

[kay_gmd]

 Take 2:
So far everyone who has responded to my emails has been supportive. The first one was sent to people who represent me. This time I emailed every Methodist Bishop with a listed email.FYI There are really a lot of Bishops in the Methodist church.

Good morning,

I apologize for sending this only in English, I don't have the language skills to provide it in any other language.

Normally I'd stick with my local bishop and pastor, but the global church is effecting my life, and I trust that my bishop is doing what she can to help, so I'm reaching out to all of you.

 

My name is Sarah I am active in Davis United Methodist Church (near Sacramento California) and as a bisexual who has grown up in the church I have grown up knowing that I am only partially welcomed by the church. 

 

But a few weeks ago I was the storyteller in my daughter’s room as I told the story of the Good Samaritan I encouraged my brilliant excitable transgender daughter and several other 5-8 year olds to wonder about who was the neighbor not only to the person who was robbed, but also to each of the other characters.  

 

Now if the church chooses the traditional option it seems that the church is choosing to be the high priest who walks to the other side of the road to avoid interacting with the robbed person at least if the robbed person is LGBT. 

This choice will mean that I'm even less welcome than I have been for the past 20 years since I came out, but more importantly it will be a clear sign that the church is not going to become my neighbor. Until now I have trusted in John Wesley's instruction to constantly strive towards perfection to bring the church to a more welcoming point, and now it seems that the church is not striving towards that perfection.

 

But I wrote this to ask about my daughter. She is brilliant and inquisitive, and deeply involved in her faith. Right now she wants to be an astronaut, an engineer (on a train), a scientist, and a writer, and I want all of that for her if that's what she wants when the time comes. But I know that as we grow up our career goals shift, and looking at the way she thinks about her faith, I would not be surprised  if she wants to be a pastor. 

 

Regardless of her career choices I imagine she will want to be married in the church, I don't even know how the church under the Traditional choice would address marriage of transgender people.

 

I love our church, there are many of the people there with whom we are close like family, but if the church will not be my daughter's neighbor I wouldn't be a responsible parent if I kept her here.  

 

So I'm asking where do I take my daughter where the church will be my daughter's neighbor?
 

Blessings and Prayers,

Kay