LGBTQIA+ Inclusion and Advancement at Lexington Theological Seminary

I support

As a senior who has experienced much change in our society and culture, I am a product of white privilege. It has been LTS that influenced and opened my eyes to much of the injustice in the world. I commend all of you for the courage and perserverance to address this glaring omission.

Through my studies at LTS, my worldview has been expanded exponentially and for that I am grateful. My understanding of who belongs., and more importantly who should be welcomed at The Table of Christ has also been expanded. I am grateful for this and pray for the day when my sisters and brothers in Christ feel that same welcome at the table of theological education at LTS. That welcome and inclusion should extend from the front door, to the books, the faculty (including adjunct), the student and faculty policies, and the language used in all interactions with each other.

Policy and accountability are the comingled foundations of institutions. We do not live into the fullness of our imago dei when we do not have the policy and accountability to be an actively inclusive incarnation of Christ.

When I transferred to Lexington Theological Seminary, I did so because they had just taken a bold step: the school had taken up the pioneer's journey, having faith that being able to better meet students where they are, and to figure out with them how to go forward from there. In the messy challenges of my life, here at Lexington was a school willing to meet me in my life's untidiness, offering to work with to clear a path through the underbrush to find a way forward. Along the way, I've been humbled to learn from many great folks, and I created community witn a lovely group of colleagues and companions, who, paired with the teachers, have offered opportunities to grow and thrive in ways I never expected. And for that, I'll be always grateful to LTS. That teaching, that collegiality that desire to meet people where they are has had a profound effect on me, helping me to appreciate both solutions and matters of significance that might otherwise have been impossible for me to come by. One of those areas of significance is my own gender identity and affectional orientation. For so long, I lived in the shadows of my own fear and cultural taboos. Charged by more than a few classes at Lexington to find ways to live authentically, I took major steps in that ongoing project by coming out this year as a transgender, queer, woman. But in doing so, at Lexington, I worry. What responsibility--what ownership--does the seminary take regarding folks like me; how will it seek to bolster dialogue, curb insults & omissions, expand learning, and as before, prove itself to be a pioneer of embracing students where they are, and in the fullness of who they are. As it stands, this petition doesn't even ask for anything quite that ventursome. It simply asks for what should have already been. So, I sign this petition today, asking for support and affirmation of the LGBTQIA+ communities; its appropriate inclusion of their voices in the curriculum, and defense of t

There may have been a time when silence made some sense?.... But, just as the seminary corrected in 2019 the grievous mistake of withholding a degree due to sexual orientation in the past, it is time to stop being silent, as our siblings who are part of the LGBTQIA Community are asking of us!

If we are going to be part of a denomination that proclaims "All means All," then we need to put our money where our mouth is...now.

As someone who identifies as queer, knowing that I am not an afterthought but someone being intentionally made to feel included or intentionally made to feel that I have a seat at the table is life-changing for me.

I have a trans son. This sort of affirming stance is something I would expect of an institution of the character and spirit of Lexington Theology Seminary.

LTS has an opportunity to lead our denomination towards better inclusion and a clearer understanding of scripture taken in the context of the entirety of Jesus’s teachings.

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” — Dr Martin Luther King Jr