Homosexuality and gender identity have been contentious subjects, hotly debated in our denomination for decades. As of May 3, 2024, at the United Methodist Church General Conference in Charlotte, NC, delegates overwhelmingly voted to repeal its ban on LGBTQ clergy as well as prohibitions on its ministers from officiating at same-sex weddings.
Asbury First affirms that no one – irrespective of age, racial identity, gender or gender identity, or sexual orientation – is incompatible with the church's ministry and teaching. LGBTQ+ persons are a Good expression of God’s diverse creation and we advocate for the affirmation of all of God’s children in the Church and the world. We now celebrate the potential for full participation of all LGBTQ+ people throughout the life and leadership of the Church.
Saturday, January 13, Asbury First celebrated the wedding of Christopher Gold and Cory Tylenda, an important milestone as this was Asbury First's first same-sex wedding.
WHEC News 10 reported on this historic ceremony. Watch the clip by clicking HERE
The Gold-Tylenda Wedding was truly an accomplishment due to the continued support and resolve of inclusiveness on behalf of all members of Asbury First.
Rochester Rainbow Union (formerly Out Alliance): rochesterrainbowunion.com/
Rochester LGBTQ+ Together: rochester.lgbt/business-directory/
Kat’s Big Gay Yard: www.katsbiggayyard.com/resources/roc-lgbtq-resources/
City of Rochester LGBTQ+ Liaisons Office: www.cityofrochester.gov/LGBTQLiaisons/
ROC Pride: www.trilliumhealth.org/patient-and-community-services/pride
Trillium Health: www.trilliumhealth.org/patient-and-community-services/lgbtq-resources
The Community Foundation LGBT+ Giving Circle: racf.org/collaborations/lgbt-giving-circle/
ImageOut LGBTQ film festival: imageout.org/
The Center for Youth: www.centerforyouth.net
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI offers specific LGBTQ support groups): namiroc.org
Rochester Pride Events: www.visitrochester.com/blog/post/guide-to-pride-in-rochester-ny/
UMC Reconciling Ministries Network: rmnetwork.org/
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD): glaad.org
The Trevor Project: www.thetrevorproject.org
For comprehensive sex education resources for young people: www.scarleteen.com
List of affirming denominations: www.gaychurch.org/affirming-denominations/
The Queer Bible Commentary, by Deryn Guest, Robert E Goss, Mona West, and Thomas Bohache
Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens, edited by Leigh Finke
Welcoming and Affirming: A Guide to Supporting and Working with LGBTQ+ Christian Youth, edited by Leigh Finke
Queer Ducks (And Other Animals), by Eliot Schrefer
A Quick and Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns, by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson
A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities, by Mady G and J.R. Zuckerberg
A Quick and Easy Guide to Sex and Disability, by A. Andrews
Queer Hands of God, edited by Crystal Cheatham, by Will Remigio And Adam Evers
Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry, by Ross Murray
Queer Theory and Social Change, by Mac H. Kirsch
Queer Methods and Methodologies: Intersecting Queer Theories and Social Science Research, edited by Kath Browne and Catherine J. Nash
The Invention of Sodomy in Christian Theology, by Mark D. Jordan
The Bible’s Yes to Same-Sex Marriage: An Evangelical’s Change of Heart, by Mark Achtemeier
Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology, by Patrick S. Cheng
Queer Theologies: the basics, by Chris Greenough
Sexual Ethics: A Theological Introduction, by Todd A. Salzman and Michael G. Lawler
Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? A Positive Christian Response, by Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
Coming Out Young and Faithful, by Leanne McCall Tigert and Timothy Brown
s.e.x. the all-you-need-to-know sexuality guide to get you through your teens and twenties, by Heather Corinna
Wait,what?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up, by Heather Corinna, Isabella Rotman, and Luke B. Howard
Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, by Austen Hartke
Transfigured: A 40-day journey through scripture for gender-queer and transgender people, by Suzanne DeWitt Hall
Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology, by Pamela R. Lightsey
Queering Wesley, Queering the Church, by Keegan Osinski
Reclaiming Church: A Call to Action for Religious Rejects, by J. J. Warren
Homosexuality and Christian Faith – Questions of Conscience for the Churches, edited by Walter Wink
No Religion by Social Religion: Liberating Wesleyan Theology, by Joerg Rieger
Unity of the Church and Human Sexuality: Toward a Faithful United Methodist Witness, edited by General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Church
Holy Contradictions: What’s Next for the People Called Methodists, edited by Brian K. Milford
United Methodists Divided: Scripture, Tradition, Experience, Reason, Understanding our Differences over Homosexuality, by Dale McConkey
Still Time to Care: What We Can Learn from the Church’s Failed Attempt to Cure Homosexuality, by Greg Johnson
The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics, by Robert A. J. Gagnon
The Deconstructionists Playbook, edited by Crystal Cheatham and Theresa Ta
Damned Nation: Hell in America From the Revolution to Reconstruction, by Kathryn Gin Lum
Decolonizing Christianity: Becoming Badass Believers, by Miguel A. De La Torre
Dear Revolutionaries: A Field Guide for a World Beyond the Church, by Lenny Duncan
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, by Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Black Theology and Black Power, by James H. Cone
Jesus Takes a Side: Embracing the Political Demands of the Gospel, by Jonny Rashid
Why I Left, Why I Stayed: Conversations on Christianity Between an Evangelical Father and His Humanist Son, by Tony Campolo and Bart Campolo