Beloveds of God,
I am beyond words! I am sure by now you have heard many versions of what happened at the special called General Conference. Some of you perhaps followed the live stream, others may have followed social media interpretation of the proceedings. It has taken me a couple days to figure out what to say, because words seem to be inadequate to express the level of pain that was caused, and the harm that has been done! Personally, I feel embarrassed and ashamed to even claim to be part of this church that has loudly proclaimed, all over again, the message of unwelcome and exclusion.
So, where do we go from here? I don’t know! I do not have an answer for that! I am not ready to think about it yet! The pain is too raw to think of anything else.
But this is what I want to say to you- I want to say sorry-
- I am sorry to each and every one of you on behalf of the church!
- I am sorry for the pain we have caused you!
- I am sorry for the demonstration of power by the church!
- I wish I could have done more, different, or something to have a different outcome, but I failed you!
And, here is what else I want to say-
- We, at Broadway will do nothing different than what we have been doing!
- We will welcome and love all of God’s beloved!
- We will not allow any law to stop us from following the God whose message is LOVE!
- We will continue to create a space that will be safe for all of God’s people!
People of God, the best thing we can do in these troubled times is to be a true witness of God’s love and welcome. So, let us truly BE church- let us move lovingly, courageously, but also honestly into BEING a church that is intersectional and committed to work against racism, colorism, and colonialism. Let us come together on this Sunday- to cry, to lament, to support one another!
Thank you all for your faithfulness to the gospel of LOVE! With deepest appreciation, I remain, your partner in justice,
Rev. Alka Lyall
