Christmas Letter – Year End 2014

Dear Friends,

All of us at That All May Freely Serve wish you a Merry Christmas and Holiday Season! This mission that you support with your prayers, presence and resources continues to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. Deep and heartfelt is our gratitude for you and our many friends who walk this Emmaus Road with us.

It is remarkable to write to you during this Advent-time in the life of the denomination. Decades of charges against our community and the endless associated trials have all but dissolved in the Presbyterian Church (USA), being replaced by a growing congregational welcome of our sisters and brothers who identify Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Non-Gender Conforming and Otherwise (LGTBTQ). We are changing the church and the world.

We are in a time of kairos – the “right and opportune time” for us to witness the presence of God in our midst in stunning ways. It is true: When the process of ratification to change to the definition of marriage in our constitution is approved by a majority of the presbyteries in the months ahead (Amendment 14F), virtually all of the discriminatory polity and language that has been used to divide us will have been removed from an otherwise Christian and affirming constitution.

This prophetic witness to the world by a mainline Protestant denomination, the PC(USA), has only just begun. The spiritual repercussions of this new era of Justice and Love in the opening of the PC(USA) to all – is life-giving and a tribute to you and the too many who have sacrificed too long to bring us to this point in God’s plan. It is a new beginning in a new time of reconciliation and healing; a ministry we continue to embrace.

To read the full newsletter, including pictures and links, please click here: That All May Freely Serve Christmas Letter 2014