As Christians, we intend the church to be a community that embodies love, grace and justice for all people. We are distressed by the presence of homophobia within the United Methodist Church and our society. As a sign of faithfulness to God's covenant with all humankind, we recognize that God is challenging the Christian community to welcome lesbians and gays as sisters, brothers and co-workers in the household of faith. We affirm the participation of lesbians and gays in all aspects of our life together. We seek to address the needs and concerns of gays and lesbians in our church and society. We strive to utilize the gifts of all persons in our ministry. We hope that our affirmation of the wholeness of all persons will bring reconciliation to all people within the church, who because of prejudice, homophobia or ignorance find themselves in exile from the family of God.
