All God's Family Is Welcome

I am going to be published.

I'm very excited about this, as I was actually invited by the editor of a book on worship resources to submit several pieces of liturgy that I have written, and I get two free copies of the book and everything.

But it turns out there's a catch.

The publishing house is Judson Press, affiliated with the American Baptist Church, and they have made a decision about the content of the book based on the denomination's struggles - much like those of the United Methodist Church, and many other mainline Christian denominations - with the issues of inclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. The publisher has decided not to include any references to GLBT persons in this book of worship resources.

Of the five pieces I submitted, only one contained a specific reference, and it is very brief, not a focal point of the litany (but important in the theology of the litany, which is about God's Family). The book's editor/compiler, someone I know from Iliff, contacted me to apologize for the publisher's decision, and to get my permission to remove the reference so the litany could be included in the book. I thought and prayed a great deal before replying.

The editor's suggestion was that people who are on the inclusive side of the fence will naturally put the phrase back in if they use the piece in worship. My thought is that there are many people in the middle who, without meaning to be exclusionary or offensive, would not think to put the words in if they are not there to begin with. But if I refused, and withdrew either that submission or all of mine, no one would know what would have been in the book, and only the editor and I would know why.

So I wrote back and said, it's not okay, but go ahead. And, I said, I'll make the piece available to my online networks so people know where I stand, and what I originally wrote and used in worship. And the editor said, Good.

So here's my "controversial" litany, which we used in worship at Highlands UMC in Denver, on Sunday, August 21, 2005. It was read as a response to the Word, which that week was my sermon on "Family Ties": the joy of family of choice and the joy and challenge of the family we don't choose.

I grant permission for its use in worship (with an acknowledgment of my authorship) AS IT IS, because God's family includes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, gay or straight, bi or trans, as well as people of all sizes, shapes, colors, cultures, languages, political perspectives, and even people who are not ready to welcome, include, affirm, and celebrate all their sisters and brothers.

May God bless your reading and your speaking for love and justice.

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Litany for All God’s Family
by Kerry Greenhill


Leader: We come from many families, many different backgrounds, many different experiences of mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, children, grandparents, stepfamilies and co-parenting, extended families, adoption and guardianship, and families of choice.
People: We give thanks to God for all who have been family to us.
Leader: We come today with wounds unhealed, wrongs unforgiven, abuse or neglect unforgotten. Family has not always been a safe or supportive place, and we struggle to overcome old patterns and generational cycles.
People: We come seeking hope and healing, forgiveness and reconciliation for ourselves and our families.
Leader: We are gathered here as individuals with different gifts and graces, different callings and cultures; people of different ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities, different political and theological perspectives, following different paths at different paces.
People: We give thanks for the diversity within God’s family, and for the love and acceptance God extends to all of us as adopted children.
Leader: Let us open ourselves to seeing our sisters and brothers in all people, for we all share the same loving Parent. Let us learn to see all children as our children, and to care and provide for them as best we can, for all the people of earth are part of God’s family.
People: Let us follow Jesus, our brother, in extending the circle of care to all whom we encounter. May our God-centered lives bear witness to the God who is Mother and Father to us all.
Leader: May God help us here in this congregation to grow together, individually and collectively, to become a more loving and healthy family, where we celebrate diversity and nurture wholeness, comfort the afflicted and watch over one another in love.
People: We are God’s family. Let us give God thanks and praise.

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