Prayers for the LGBT community

Praying for all the family and loved ones of this tragic incident. (((hug)))

Praying for the victims and their families.

Gays don't deserve this. It is an absolute outrage and in a supposedly tolerant democratic country such as the U.S.!

bettercallpaul said:

Gays don't deserve this. It is an absolute outrage and in a supposedly tolerant democratic country such as the U.S.!

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With respect to the OP, maybe we should take your statement to a new thread and leave this thread for prayer alone.

This thread may go downhill really quick if we are not careful.

Prayers for everyone

hey red fox
that's a prayer back there , though it doesn't look like one, I admit.
expressing outrage to God is a form of prayer , to my way of thinking.

bettercallpaul said:

hey red fox
that's a prayer back there , though it doesn't look like one, I admit.
expressing outrage to God is a form of prayer , to my way of thinking.

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Then I humbly apologize for the misunderstanding, Paul. Thank you for your explanation.

Praying (((hug)))

and more prayers

I pray for the families and the healing of heavy hearts.

I do not mean to hijack a thread, but perhaps I have an issue that needs prayer. Yesterday the pastor at the local church, so close to the epicenter of the recent tragedy gave a sermon about the texts from the Revised Common Lectionary. It was about the "clobber passage" about Paul telling us what sort of persons could not inhabit the Kingdom. And the pastor seemed to not be aware of how sensitive an issue this is, and how inappropriate his choices of words seemed to be... it just felt like the wrong time and place for that reading.

I just am in a difficult place. I left feeling wounded, not healed. I'm guessing since most of the congregation is over 50, that they won't have a clue what the issue is. what do I do? I want to confront the pastor, but I also do not know how to confront him in a constructive, loving, Christian way. I don't know what to say. I realize I'm a minority at that church but its precisely this sort of moralistic "Law" approach without much "Gospel" that is responsible for the despair that motivates people to hate themselves and lash out violently. Especially the subtle critique of "self-love" so common in Protestant jargon, the appeal for "sacrifice" and "suffering", did not soften the message, indeed, it muted justice, self-respect, and the dignity that is every human being's birthright. Part of the problem is that congregations need to be taught to see the world through the eyes of the oppressed, not merely exhorted to a bland, universal guilt-trip.

What made it all the more sad was that the pastor opened the service talking about even more letters the congregation has received from New York, from a congregation affected by 9/11. In some sense, the sermon seemed like a betrayal of their goodwill and prayers.

Praying for the hurt and may they heal.

I really need wisdom... I don't know what to do. How can you tell somebody "That wasn't quite the right thing to say" without hurting somebody else? Or is the issue simply, that I am in the wrong church after all, and that it is something the pastor cannot budge without failing in his pastoral duty to many elderly people? There's a huge cultural divide in how young people and old people perceive the world, I know, and some people just aren't ready for it.

You seem to be in an ELCA church in Orlando. This isn't a highly conservative denomination, though it varies, and Florida is no doubt one of the more conservative places. Still, for an ELCA pastor *in Orlando* to do that this Sunday suggests an incredible lack of sensitivity. How might that affect the willingness of members or potential members to come to him for help? I sure would hesitate. Most churches don't want to drive away everyone except conservative elderly members, and even elderly members don't benefit by a pastor who simply reinforces their prejudices. I think I'd talk with him. He needs to think more carefully about the implications of his words.

There are people who meet the criteria of that passage with a lot more potential to damage the US than gays.

It's also worth noting that a pastor doesn't necessarily know the personal situation of all members. Admittedly we're in a much more liberal area, but a lot of our congregation has children and grandchildren that they care about who are gay. Your church members could well include people who children or grandchildren were killed. The pastor wouldn't necessarily know. But he should have considered that. It's not like it was a minor, back-page story, or something that happened off at the other end of the country.