Welcoming Cumberland Presbyterians is a grassroots ministry within the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination made up of clergy and laity which exists to increase participation in the church by welcoming and fully including people of all sexualities and gender expressions. We have read and studied the proposed Statement on Human Sexuality submitted to the General Assembly by the Unified Committee of Theology and Social Concerns. The following lines from the proposed statement wisely call for us to accept our differences while affirming our love for one another:  We acknowledge that within both Cumberland Presbyterian denominations there is a wide range of biblical understanding and interpretation. With that said, we should resolve – first and foremost – to love one another, and as an expression of that love to listen to each other, affirming the even greater common ground we enjoy and embrace as Cumberland Presbyterians. Our goal need not be one hundred percent agreement on biblical interpretation, but rather a mature awareness and consideration of the diversity of theological perspectives that a global and multi-ethnic denomination manifests However, despite it’s conciliatory parts, we find the statement exclusionary, divisive, contradictory and harmful. Below is a short list of concerns. It is not an exhaustive list, and we hope it will be a starting place for further conversation with LGBTQ+ siblings. The Statement fails to recognize that LGBTQ+ people and their faithful service are and have been gifts to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church throughout its history. The language used indicates a lack of understanding of LGBTQ+ Cumberland Presbyterians as well as the consensus science which demonstrates that same-gender sexual orientation (including identity, behavior, and attraction) and variations in gender identity and expression are a part of the normal spectrum of human diversity. We know that the committee received input from this community, but the

The signatories of this document wish to register the following Protest against the action taken today by West Tennessee Presbytery regarding the Resolution. Accordingly, we ask, a) that this Protest be entered into the minutes of West Tennessee Presbytery, and b) that this Protest be referred to the Committee on Judicial Concerns, as provided for in Section 5.64 of the Presbytery Manual of Operation and approved by the 158th General Assembly—or failing that, to the Synod of Great Rivers as provided for in Section 4.304 of the Rules of Discipline—with a request for a review and ruling as to the Constitutional and/or Confessional merits of our Protest. Our Protest is multi-faceted, being concerned with both the procedural legality of the Resolution and its disregard for our heritage—the very DNA—of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination. Procedural Objections The Resolution, in its opening paragraph, establishes the “1996 Statement of the General Assembly on Homosexuality” (“Statement”) as its starting point, and proceeds immediately to quote those parts of the Statement that support the Resolution’s intent, exclusive of the final paragraph of the Statement. In its subsequent Whereas statements, the Resolution goes on to affirm selected parts of our Confession of Faith, and uses passages of scripture that are interpreted in such a way as to support the intent of the Resolution. The excluded Statement passage (endorsed by 1996 General Assembly as part of the rest of the Statement), while inconvenient to the purpose of the Resolution, reads as follows: “This statement is to be understood as a theological and social statement and not to be understood as a rule or principle for ordination but never to usurp the authority of presbytery or session to ordain.” 1. While we have no quarrel with the freedom of conscience the Resolution’s author(s) have exercised in arriving at

Delegates at the June 2017 meeting of West Tennessee Presbytery received a “Statement on Homosexual Activity and Marriage in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church” and referred it to the October 7, 2017, meeting for discussion and consideration. The statement requested that ministers and elders who are “unable to agree with these statements” should “state their disagreements and be prepared to defend them, as we are....” This response is our attempt to answer that request. We do so, not because we need to justify our differences of opinion and insight to the signatories of the Statement, but because we share their concern for the unity of the church. REGARDING THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH The Statement notes, correctly we think, that the related issues of acceptance of LGBTQ+ leadership in the church and same-sex marriage clearly have been a source of controversy and divided opinion. The advisory statement adopted by the 1996 General Assembly did not produce the “unity and clarity” that was perhaps intended. Neither do we think the adoption of this Statement by West Tennessee Presbytery is likely to produce unity and clarity. Unity in the church is not accomplished by the adoption of position statements. In truth, seeking to bind the consciences of members of our church family by force of vote leads to disunity and damages the very relationships essential to our mission, relationships we hope to preserve. Our Confession of Faith says, “The church is one because her Head and Lord is one, Jesus Christ. Her oneness under her Lord is manifested in the one ministry of word and sacrament, not in any uniformity of covenantal expression, organization, or system of doctrine.” (5.02) It is worth noting that even the 1996 General Assembly statement affirmed that presbyteries and sessions have the authority to come to their own

Today, we're learning about the variety of groups that make up the rainbow community of people. The identities illustrated in this graphic help us to understand the differences or variations—the diversity—that exists in the arena of human sexuality. Through awareness of and respect for this diversity, we come to recognize people who are often too excluded and made invisible. According to the Cumberland Presbyterian Confession of Faith, “The church recognizes and ministers to people living in a variety of family patterns, including those persons who by choice or circumstances are single. It seeks to EMBRACE each person and all groups of persons within the family life of the covenant community.” COF 6.16 To “EMBRACE”, according to Merriam-Webster, is to hug, to cherish, to love, to welcome, to take in or include as part of an inclusive whole. What does it mean for the church to embrace all persons, including those who are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and pansexual? First of all it means cultivating and nurturing an appreciation for the vast diversity of God’s work in creation. It means loving all the members of every group represented in the rainbow community. It means befriending people who may be different from us, eschewing legalism and judgment. It means humbly putting ourselves in the shoes of the other. It means listening in order to understand, rather than listening in order to prepare our next argument or rebuttal. It also means recognizing that members of the rainbow community are faithful members of the body of Christ. Oftentimes we are blinded to their presence because of prejudicial attitudes and discrimination, even as the number of persons identifying with one or another segment of the LGBTQIA+ community within the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as a reflection of the broader human race, likely