April Message from our Conference Minister - Tyler Connoley

Christians teach that people come in only two genders, which are visible and fixed at birth, and they teach that sex and romance should only occur between a man and a woman. Christians teach that women have a proper role in society, which doesn't include leading men or making complex ethical decisions about sex and pregnancy. Christians operate as if White lives matter more than Black and Brown lives. Christians embrace war as God's will, and support the Israeli government as the only legitimate ruler of the ancient territories given to Abraham, no matter what that government does within those borders. 

To be clear, I teach none of these things and embrace none of these ideas. I oppose everything I said in the paragraph above! However, I would be naive if I claimed Christians don't embrace those ideas. 

The fact is that, in America, the most-common forms of Christianity are explicitly anti-trans and anti-gay, overtly male supremacist, inherently white supremacist, and vocally pro-war and pro-zionist. When someone meets a Christian in the United States, they assume that person will be all of those things, and they will probably be right. 

I say this as bluntly as I can, because I know that most of you reading this article are the exception to the rule. You represent a form of Christianity that embraces the fullness of God's love for the sexual and gender diversity of God's creation. You value the leadership of women. You trust people with uteruses to make decisions about sex and pregnancy. You try to root out white supremacy in yourself and in your institutions. You fervently desire God's just peace for Palestinians and for Israelis, and you grieve the wars of vengeance being waged in Israel and Gaza. 

We in the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ are called to the uncommon task of representing the love and justice of Jesus in the world. In a society where Christianity has been warped to a point where Jesus would not be welcome in most of his own churches, we are the voice of one crying in the wilderness. But most people will never hear our voice unless we speak loudly and proudly and unceasingly. 

So thank you for hanging a Progress Pride flag on the outside of your building. Thank you for wearing a clergy collar to an abortion rights march. Thank you for pointing out white supremacist practices in your own council meetings and church book groups. Thank you for demanding the just-peace of true shalom in Israel and Palestine -- and for letting your representatives know you are a Christian when you do so. 

Continue resisting an American Christian culture that draws us away from the Way of Love. Continue claiming Christianity while also following Jesus. Continue being visibly the Church God needs for this time and this place, and know that I am always with you in the struggle. 

Blessings, 
Tyler