LGBTQ Affirming Statement
Eugene Friends Church is committed to being a voice of love and a place of welcome. 

OUR STATEMENT ON HUMAN SEXUALITY

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APPROVED AND MINUTED: DECEMBER 4, 2016

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Eugene Friends Church affirms that God created humans with a desire for connected community, for friendship, for family, and for loving sexual intimacy, all of which are part of God's love and God's good creation; and we commit to teach and encourage those values that strengthen and support committed sexual relationships: love, commitment, respect, equality and fidelity.

We will not exclude any person from full participation in the life and ministry of Eugene Friends Church solely on the basis of their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or commitment to a lifelong monogamous same-sex relationship.

What we learned about ourselves and God’s call through our discernment process: In the process of listening and laboring together, we have discerned the following:

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• We affirm that the Kingdom of God is all-embracing, and the call of Christ is for every person to follow.

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• We maintain our unity through our common commitment to Christ and to this particular Christian community.

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• We respect that all those participating in these discussions affirm a belief in the authority of the Bible, but that on some matters our conclusions differ. As a community, we conclude that biblical texts are not condemning of monogamous, committed same-sex relationships while accepting in love and humility that some individual members do not concur.

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• We recognize that many persons have suffered great harm and shame as a result of having been excluded from full participation in the Christian community on the basis of their sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or commitment to a lifelong monogamous same-sex relationship; and we desire to avoid such harm in the future, and to help heal injury from past rejections.

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• We commit ourselves to treat one another with love, respect, openness, and humility, despite differences of understanding.

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• We have become stronger as a community and more committed to each other as a result of this group discernment experience.

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• We affirm each person’s privilege and responsibility to seek God, honor the leading of the Holy Spirit, search the scriptures, pray, consult with other Christians in the community, and make decisions according to individual conscience.

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• We realize that God may still have much to teach us in this area, and so we commit to continue to listen for the voice of God as we make this journey.