Poll Results with Comments
Hello Everyone,
Below you'll find the results of the poll.
First, thank you to everyone who participated! We had a very good number of responses.
Second, thank you to Donna and Kathy for counting the responses (and for everyone that volunteered).
Below I'll show you the results the questions, and then I'll summarize the comments.
1) Would you be okay with our church hosting same sex weddings?
Yes: 29, 47.5%
No: 27, 44.3%
Undecided: 5, 8.2%
2) Would you be okay with having a pastor who is gay?
Yes: 28, 45.9%
No: 32, 52.5%
Undecided: 1, 1.6%
Comments:
The major theme of the comments (overwhelmingly) is that all people are welcome to come to church and we're glad that they are here.
Beyond that, the comments fell into one of the categories below
Not comfortable with someone who is gay being in a leadership role
All are God's children and deserving of full acceptance and participation in the church
Don't feel like this is an issue that should split the church
Gay pastors and/or same sex weddings are okay, but sex and sexuality (gay or straight) is not a topic of primary concern
Having a gay pastor or hosting same sex weddings goes against Biblical teachings
The church's role is not to judge others based on who the love and commit to
As we look to the future, these responses will help us better communicate with the Conference. They also tell us that we are going to continue to be who we are. We are not in agreement on these specific issues, but that hasn't kept us from being church together in the past, and it shouldn't in the future. It also tells us that we are in no rush to make any decisions until General Conference meets and gives us further instructions.
If you would like to talk more about these results, please feel free to contact me, and I’d be more than happy to visit with you about them.
Peace,
Pastor John