Long-time listener, first-time delegate

Finally got into town, still stuck at the hotel waiting on a shuttle. But here's a little about me, a first-time delegate to General Conference and why I wanted to run:

I grew up in Wichita, Kan., have been part of the UMC my whole life, and after going to a conservative Christian college because they gave me a scholarship, I got married and moved to Chicago in 1999. I never thought about church being inclusive or exclusive - my church was a small one that was mostly seniors and a few young families. In my personal life, I had no real experience with GLBT folks, so inclusion was never an issue, one way or the other.

After seeing the ugliness at my Southern Baptist university around issues of sexuality and gender, however, I became convinced that equality and inclusion were important values for me, and i was happy that my wife and I found a church in Chicago - Holy Covenant UMC -  that had all different types of people in it.

However, one experience changed my perspective forever, and it is this experience that encouraged me to run for General Conference in the first place:

Soon after starting to attend Holy Covenant, we were at a service where one of the parishioners shared during Joys and Concerns that he and his partner of 10+ years were splitting up. As a newlywed of 22, I had no concept of being with someone 10 years, and I could see in this person's face how bad the pain was from the separation. When he asked for support and prayers, I knew that all of the people in that sanctuary were praying for him and loving him, not questioning his sexuality or judging him.

And that's what Church should be.

Love is part of the human condition, and so is suffering. Church should be there for everyone so we can share in both of them together.