The following letter appeared in this month’s issue of the Covenant Companion under the READERSWRITE heading. (Image from May/June issue. Letter from July/August issue. Current image was unavailable.)

Inviting Dialogue

We write to affirm the sentiments of the David Smith and Kass Anderson in “Readers Write” in the March/April issue. Their concerns are ones we share.

We would welcome a more open dialogue regarding full inclusion of our Christian LGBT friends in our Covenant fellowship. This is an issue that profoundly affects the lives of gay and lesbian children as well as adults in our Covenant churches. We have been troubled by recent directives from our church regarding human sexuality and what appears to be the loss of community dialogue and discernment concerning how God’s Spirit is leading the church today.

What we cherish about Pietism, the movement that shaped the Covenant Church, is its respect for diversity of thought and interpretation within biblical borders. Pietism affirms the central features of our faith while allowing refreshing freedom at the margins. The topic of homosexuality does not seem to us to rise to the level of cardinal verities of our faith. It is one open to differing interpretations, something for which our Covenant needs to make allowance.

How we handle this topic deserves the thoughtful reflection of the whole church, a reflection that takes into account the biblical material, the insights of reputable psychology, and the voice and stories of the Christian LGBT community in our midst.  We long to see that kind of shared Christian inquiry, mutual listening, and a genuine openness to what God may be saying to the church today, rather than a declaration of the way things will be. We hope these letters to the Companion will promote a more expansive conversation, one respectful of the character of the Covenant Church we treasure.

Craig E Anderson, Philip J Anderson, Jolene Bergstrom Carlson, George B Elia, Herbert M Freedholm, Herbert J Hedstrom, Janet R Lundblad, Arthur AR Nelson. Kent D Palmquist, Philip N Stenberg, Krista Brumberg Stevens, Ralph W Sturdy, Glen V Wiberg.