Dear Bishop Lowry and Central Texas Conference Cabinet Members:

Grace and peace to you, in the name of Jesus the Christ.

As concerned lay members of United Methodist congregations across the Central Texas Annual Conference, we write to express our support for full inclusion in the life and ministry of our church for all persons who profess their faith in Jesus Christ and are, or seek to become, members and ministers in our congregations.

We have been and continue to be faithful United Methodist Christians and believe as Bishop Bruce Ough stated: “We should be open to new ways of embodying unity that move us beyond where we are in the present impasse and cycle of action and reaction around ministry and human sexuality.” We support all of our clergy, including those who seek new ways to be fully in ministry with people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

We celebrate the election of The Rev. Dr. Karen Oliveto as bishop in the United Methodist Church and ask fellow United Methodists in our annual conference and throughout the connection to respect the Western Jurisdiction’s recognition of her gifts and graces for this position of pastoral leadership among them.

Our hope is that the leadership of our Central Texas Annual Conference will continue to recognize that for many in our churches this is a very real and personal concern. We seek to do no harm, to do all the good we can, and to love God. We seek to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Just as the General Conference sought leadership from the Council of Bishops on a global scale, we ask that you lead us in conference-wide study and healthy, respectful dialogue so that we might build relationships, learn from each other, and discern how to be engaged in relative and vital ministry with each other and our communities even when we disagree. We ask you to accept this letter with our respect and our prayers for your leadership among us.