Resources on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity for the Church

There are many great resources for those who are interested. Here are some to start:

Mt. Kisco Presbyterian Church of New York has put together an excellent document called “The Blue Book”, or “What We Wish We Had Known”. This is highly recommended, it is very comprehensive. It is on Mt Kisco Presbyterian’s website under “Resources”, then Blue Book:

http://www.pcmk.org/

Another terrific resource is Out In Scripture, this is from their home page:

Out In Scripture provides distinctive insights into the Bible, week after week, from a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight-supportive perspective

The writing teams for Out In Scripture listen for how God is connecting the world of the Bible, the world of LGBT people, with church and society. There is a rhythm, a back and forth, an out and in, between Scripture and our lives. The weekly commentary is a summary and celebration of their prayerful — at times comforting, often challenging — conversation.

Out In Scripture is developed by teams of skilled and prayerful scholars. They include a diverse group of professors of Bible, ethics and preaching from leading theological schools. The teams are also composed of LGBT and straight-supportive persons who explore the Bible together. They are drawn from the Editorial Advisory Board and others from around the country. These teams affirm both the power of Scripture and the authentic real life experience and faith of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

This is the website for Out In Scripture:

http://www.hrc.org//scripture/about.asp

For The Bible Tells Me So is a 100-minute DVD available for borrowing through the church office. From its website:

Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.