Florida Bishop-Elect Responds To Concerns Over Positions On Race, Sexuality, and Equality
https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2022/06/16/florida-bishop-elect-responds-to-concerns-over-positions-on-race-sexuality/
My concerns are for anyone in church leadership are orthodoxy and inclusion. Bishop Coadjutor-Elect Holt defines marriage as between one man and one woman. As you all know, I believe that marriage should occur between two consenting adults, regardless of the sex assigned to them at birth, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Because of this, I could not support his election.
I grew up in an environment where same-sex attraction was never something you would admit to for fear of shame and ridicule. In 2012, I went to a church that openly campaigned for an amendment to the state constitution limiting marriage to only a man and woman, which is a concept I endorsed at the time. I was verbally attacked during a growth group (think Sunday School) at my church for being against the amendment, not because of the reasoning behind it, but because it was badly written piece of legislation that no one was being given full access to the entire language. Even with that reasoning, I had a religious target put on me for not being 100% in line with my church (Parkwood Baptist, #Gastonia, NC). Christianity, to them, was not just following Jesus, but also towing the Republican Party line. Secretly, I hoped that fighting for the definition of marriage to be between a man and a woman would somehow help me in my struggle. Of course, it did not.
In 2015, my world fell apart in spectacular fashion and I found that I could no longer be silent. God had lead me out of that church and into a deeper place where my faith and love for God was not nullified due to not being straight. I came to believe that being attracted to members of the same sex does not make me less of a person and does not condemn me to hell. I rejected the interpretation of the "clobber passages" in the Bible and began to accept that God loves me as I am. I came out of the closet as bisexual on New Years Day, 2016. I've honestly never looked back.
That same year, I met the first openly transgender person that I had personally known and jumped in full force campaigning against HB2, the infamous North Carolina "bathroom bill" that barred any person from using a public restroom that did not align with their sex assigned at birth. As a life-long conservative, I also watched in horror as the Republican Party moved closer and closer to nominating Donald Trump for President. I was a proud part of the #NeverTrump movement. Ultimately, HB2 passed and the economic fallout was disastrous for North Carolina and Governor Pat McCrory lost his bid for reelection. HB2 was partially repealed in 2017 and ultimately expired in 2020. We all know what happened with Trump.
With all of this being said, I believe in nothing less than full equality for LGBTQ+ people, both in the life of our country and in the life of our faith. I think there is way too much doubt here in regards to how Bishop Coadjutor-Elect Holt sees LGBTQ+ people and I do not think he should be considered as a Bishop because of this.
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