Full & Equal gathering celebrates 50 years toward full inclusion, looks to future work

The useful part

Instead, Full & Equal: 50 Years in Pursuit of a Promise was "another leg on the relay race as we tell the stories of the past, as we reflect on where we are in the present, and as we look ahead to God's future," said the Rev. Susan Russell, chair of General Convention's Task Force on LGBTQ+ Inclusion, which organized the Sept. The nearly 200-participant gathering was held at the Sheraton Minneapolis Downtown Convention Center.

How it works

• It fulfilled part of the task force's mandate to conduct a churchwide audit of how The Episcopal Church has lived into its commitment made here in 1976.
• The task force is also charged with beginning a process of creating an archive of the history of the work for LGBTQ+ inclusion in The Episcopal Church.
• "We, as the church, have an opportunity to give an example to a culture right now where there are forces at work trying to push us back on everything," she continued.

Details worth keeping

[Episcopal News Service – Minneapolis, Minnesota] A gathering to mark the half-century since General Convention declared that "homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church" was not a victory lap. 3-5 gathering with the support of the presiding bishop's staff.