Affirming Churches...or at least one that won't try to burn me at the stake!?

[Cleis_the_11th_Muse]

As you can see this is my first time posting, based on the description this seems to be the appropriate place to post this question. If not let me know.

I'm relatively new to Oakhurst and have someone in my family wanting to try out some of the churches in the area. Despite being spiritual and coming from a Protestant Christian background I have resisted attending any churches in Oakhurst because, lets face the truth, most small town churches(and honestly even large city ones) have a well deserved repuation for having small minded members and leaders. However I also know that this is never necessarily true, just likely.

So in short my question is are there any churches in Oakhurst that are either 1.) Fully accepting of gays and lesbians , 2) Semi-Accepting i.e. they may not throw a pride parade but they skip the fire and brimstone speeches.

Thank you for you time.

Cleis

[Mysteefied]

This is a good questions. While not gay myself, I would like to attend a church that is accepting...of EVERYONE. So far, I've only been to a few churches and the one I've felt most comfortable with was Sierra Pines Church. The people there seemed more down to earth and non judgemental. PM me if you want info about some of the other churches I've been to and I'll tell you what the experience was. Not posting here....Don't care to be burned at the stake. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/cool4.gif

[Dodgergirl]

Originally posted by Mysteefied:
This is a good questions. While not gay myself, I would like to attend a church that is accepting...of EVERYONE. So far, I've only been to a few churches and the one I've felt most comfortable with was Sierra Pines Church. The people there seemed more down to earth and non judgemental. PM me if you want info about some of the other churches I've been to and I'll tell you what the experience was. Not posting here....Don't care to be burned at the stake. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/cool4.gif


I was attending Sierra Pines regularly, we tried many of the different local churches & found that one to be the friendliest. We stopped going because of some personal reasons, but the reason for this post is, I have a neighbor whose son has realized his homosexuality. He was about 17 when it became clear to him, and he shared it with us. He felt safe talking to his youth pastor about it & their response was something to the effect of "we can fix you, or you're outta here" (not an exact quote)
Since your post appeared to be about acceptance of Gay/Lesbian lifestyles, thought you might use this information. You can PM me & I'll explain my problems if you're interested. but otherwise I won't go into them.

[Sandman]

I wish you the best of luck. In general, the Oakhurst Area people can be very small minded when it comes to homosexuality. I had a few friends in high school that were gay, but they quickly left town after graduation.

I'm not sure there is a church in the Oakhurst Area that is accepting of your lifestyle, but I sure hope you are able to find one.

Most of the people here on Oakhurst Area Forums are very open-minded, however, so I hope you stick around and join in some of our other topics.

Welcome!!! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[monkey]

Welcome to the Forums and Oakhurst! You may have better luck in Fresno finding a church that will be accepting. Best of luck!

[Patagoniamaniac]

sierra pines. I have a gay friend thats attends there. They are accepting of anyone. with a come as you are atmosphere.

[Cleis_the_11th_Muse]

Thank you all for your answers I will definately take all that was said under consideration.

Also thank you for the welcome to the forums. I'll definately be lurking around and posting every so often http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

Cleis

[EdBailey]

New Community United Methodist Church is an Affirming Church and everyone is welcomed without exception. Go to our web site: www.newcommunityumc.net (http://www.newcommunityumc.net)

[monkey]

I went to a "Celebration of life" there and it felt very warm, friendly and accepting to me. If I didn't work every Sunday, I would certainly consider becoming a member there.

[Mysteefied]

I haven't been to one of the sevices yet, but I know a few people who go there and they are very nice!
I just went and checked out the website, the 11:45 service looks like the one I'll check out.

I found this on the site:
The Reconciling Congregation Movement was conceived in 1983 by members of Affirmation, a group of United Methodists for lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns. The program was publicly announced at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church in May of 1984.

The Reconciling Ministries Network is a national grassroots organization that exists to enable full participation of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the life of the United Methodist Church, both in policy and in practice.
The Reconciling Ministries Network in an independent, not for profit organization with no official ties to the United Methodist Church. However, the work of the RMN and our decision to affiliate with the RMN is supported and informed by a long tradition of social justice work by United Methodists over the last few centuries.



At New Community United Methodist Church our do our best to live out our statement of inclusivity because we believe it is part of God's hope for all God's people and a very important part of living out our church's mission statement.

[Mr. Man]

My advice is stay in the closet and don't trust any of the two faced church going people here in the mountains. They are not what they seem or pretend to be. They will say anything to lure you into their particular cults. But there are many fine people who live here that have moved from Bay Area, and down south and belong to the forum who are honest and open minded. I just don't trust the "locals". Just my experience. Maybe your best bet is with the Positive Living Center. I only hear good things about that, but I don't belong to any group.

[rimalicious]

Originally posted by Mr. Man:
My advice is stay in the closet and don't trust any of the two faced church going people here in the mountains. They are not what they seem or pretend to be. They will say anything to lure you into their particular cults.

What????

[jakobscalpel]

Your post is an instant classic, Mr. Man!

[Coldwolf]

I just don't trust the "locals".


I will reitterate Rimas. "WHAT"? I think I am a local, although not a born here local. I have many gay and lesbian friends and family. It might be hard to be out of the closet here, but only because of small minds. And Mr Man, anyone who tells someone to stay in the closet has a small mind.

[Kim]

Originally posted by Mr. Man:
My advice is stay in the closet and don't trust any of the two faced church going people here in the mountains. They are not what they seem or pretend to be. They will say anything to lure you into their particular cults. But there are many fine people who live here that have moved from Bay Area, and down south and belong to the forum who are honest and open minded. I just don't trust the "locals". Just my experience. Maybe your best bet is with the Positive Living Center. I only hear good things about that, but I don't belong to any group.
And we're the ones who are accused of being intolerant........