People — a mix of young folks with orange hair to those who have gone gray — congregated in the Denver Convention Center to chat. They just wrapped breakout sessions in which groups loudly discussed sexual ethics or quietly scribbled notes as a man dissected the Gospel according to Mark. The crowd gradually made its way into an exhibit hall filled with rainbow flags.
The Gay Christian Network, which announced Thursday that it’s now the Q Christian Fellowship, held its annual conference here during the weekend. It started in 2001 as an online community. In 2005, 40 people met up in Dallas. This year, more than 1,100 attendees from across the nation met up in Denver.
The event has bounced between the two coasts, and Denver was chosen two years ago. The location seems fitting. Organizers and locals said the Mile High City’s LGBTQ Christian scene is robust and growing. But even as more churches open their doors, some remain closed. And the damage of the past can be hard to fix.
“With the churches that have championed the LGBT community, again, there’s some weird vortex in Colorado where we have a very large Christian LGBTQ community,” said Isaac Archuleta, a Denver resident and interim executive director of Q Christian Fellowship
Iliff School of Theology, a United Methodist seminary that is next to the University of Denver, said about 20 percent to 30 percent of its students are LGBTQ. Regis University, which is Jesuit Catholic, has an LGBTQ group for students and a resource group for members of the faculty and staff.
Left Hand Community Church, an LGBTQ-affirming church with leadership that includes a gay man and trans woman, held its first service in Longmont recently that drew 120 people. Denver Community Church announced last year that it would become affirming.
They join three other progressive Protestant churches in the Front Range. The Rev. Paula Williams of Left Hand said Denver is becoming a hot spot with more progressive Protestant churches than other large cities, including New York City and Los Angeles.
Methodists in the Western Jurisdiction, which includes Colorado, elected the first openly lesbian bishop, Karen Oliveto. She co-wrote a coming-out letter that was signed by more than 100 Methodist religious leaders in 2016. Oliveto said churches are following a greater culture shift in the U.S. as misconceptions fade away as more and more people come out.
But then again, there are still problems.
Oliveto’s position was challenged by another region. The trial reached the United Methodist Church’s highest court, which ruled that her being openly gay violated a law barring “self-avowed practicing homosexuals.” The decision went back down to the college of bishops for the church’s Western jurisdiction — the same jurisdiction that elected Oliveto. She said they confirmed her election but no other openly gay bishop would be allowed after her.
Left Hand opened because Boulder County’s three mega churches are not truly LGBTQ-affirming, Williams said. In fact, none of the 100 largest megachurches were deemed LGBTQ-affirming, according to a recent report by Church Clarity.
Christians who are queer, a term that has been reclaimed by many in the LGBTQ community, say there isn’t much education about sexual or gender minorities in churches. Some, such as Oliveto, describe a “don’t ask, don’t tell” atmosphere. Other churches may appear affirming but won’t allow LGBTQ people to be in leadership, whether that’s volunteering to lead a group or preaching from the pulpit. At times, people describe feeling like they’re given two options: Change their sexual orientation, or live a celibate life.
Archuleta said many queer Christians become bruised. Some hide their sexuality or gender identity. Others turn away from faith completely.
“Their Christian community was so abrasive, so homophobic, so anti-gay (that) they created irreparable damage,” he said. “Individuals are unwilling to trust a God talked about as loving because the damage was so harmful.”
That’s why places and events that bring together LGBTQ Christians can be powerful, he said. For Archuleta, that happened for the first time when he attended Highlands Church Denver, where half of the membership is LGBTQ. It’s similar at the convention. People feel like they’re finally around people who get it, he said. They share a common history.
But finding an affirming church isn’t always easy. People describe scouring church websites for code language letting them know they’re welcome.
“One of the things churches need to know is that because LGBTQ people have been treated so poorly in so many churches that church isn’t perceived as a safe place,” Oliveto said. “Churches have to give some sort of sign or symbol and be intentional in their welcome of LGBTQ people and know there’s a lot of healing that has to happen.”
She said that could be as simple as putting up a rainbow flag or calling out an anniversary for a queer couple.
At Highlands Church, every service starts with the same statement that says all people, including LGBTQ, are welcome.
“If I was gay and had been told I was an abomination to God and I couldn’t ever serve in the church, I would just kind of go — well, I’d probably say worse than ‘screw you’ but you know what I mean,” said Mark Tidd, co-pastor and founder of Highlands Church. “Gee, really?”
He started Highlands Church eight years ago because he didn’t approve of the way his church treated the LGBTQ community. He thinks he was one of the first — if not the first — to open an affirming church here.
“What I’m amazed about,” he said, “is the number of LGBTQ Christians that despite how they’ve been treated, still have this deep and abiding faith in God.”
