{"id":30841,"date":"2018-12-14T09:46:23","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T09:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jomec.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=30841"},"modified":"2018-12-14T09:46:23","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T09:46:23","slug":"gods-love-is-for-all-lnside-the-welcoming-lgbt-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2018\/12\/14\/gods-love-is-for-all-lnside-the-welcoming-lgbt-church\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s love is for all: lnside the welcoming LGBT+ church"},"content":{"rendered":"

IT is a mild Sunday evening in Cardiff. The streets are rather crowded, yet none of the passers-by seem to have heard of an “LGBT friendly” church.<\/span><\/p>\n

I am about to meet Nici Lintern-Gittens, a leader at the Gathering; a group of LGBT+ people, including allies, who are adopting a different approach to their religion.
\nFollowing 10 minutes of waiting, a little nervously, people of varying ages and ethnicity begin to arrive. They immediately put me at ease. Not too different to a welcome at any other church, I am sure. But the special significance about this church is in the service that follows.
\nI am relaxed, offered a drink, and politely asked not to photograph members of the congregation; this is a safe space.
\n\u201cEveryone is quiet, how off-putting,\u201d jokes Nici. She sees to that with a rendition of Rend Collective\u2019s “My Lighthouse”, followed by “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”.
\nOpposite ends of the hymn spectrum, you may think. It is a telling insight into the Gathering\u2019s take on worship. They recognise the benefits of traditional Christianity, but merge that with a dose of modernity.
\nNici sends an advent calendar around the congregation, and asks what the doors represent for us.
\nOne member asks, \u201cHow many doors before we are welcomed, as LGBT+?\u201d
\n\u201cChurches are keeping themselves in,\u201d says another. \u201cBut you can choose which side of the door to be on.\u201d
\nChurches in Wales have seen a 15 percent decline in attendances in the last five years, while numbers at the Gathering have seen a steady increase. That is not something that completely satisfies Nici.
\n\u201cWe are on a mission to make sure that one day we are out of a job,\u201d she says. \u201cBut I cannot see that happening in my lifetime.\u201d
\nThere is some smaller group discussion, before Nici reminds us that the Bible is not to be read \u201cfor every dot and comma. It is just not possible to follow a text so strictly that was written so long ago\u201d.
\nShe is keen to point out, though, that at no point in the Bible does the scripture criticise homosexuality.
\nFollowing the service, I talk to another group leader, Samuel Johnston, and Nici, about their experiences as part of the Christian LGBT+ community.
\n

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