Last week I had an opportunity to have coffee with a men's study group. The speaker was Wendy Gritter. She is the director of a Canadian organization called New Direction. It is a conservative Christian group set up to minister to gays and lesbians. I must explain that this is one of the groups targeted in the past by the gay community as being anti-gay and homophobic, because of their previous stance of seeing homosexuality as something that needed to be changed or cured.

My interest in hearing her is that in a speech she made to a convention of similar groups, she was saying some remarkable things that stood in stark contrast to the organizations' previous stance. She began with an apology to the gay community for the hurts caused by uncharitable Christian attitudes. She said, 'I believe we have a long way to go to eradicate hateful and homophobic environments and responses in the Christian community. We have a long way to go to demolish the pervasive hierarchy of sin. And we have a long way to go to counter-act the perpetual sense of shame that many experience due to the reality of their same-gender attraction.' She went on to make three remarkable statements.

1. We have been distracted by the politics around homosexuality. Unfortunately, in many of the Christian political efforts regarding homosexuality there is little evidence of shalom [peace]. The result is that many who need to hear a gospel of good news perceive God's people to be hypocritical and unloving ("you say you love us - but you're fighting to prevent/take our rights"). This has perpetuated a sense of alienation that I believe, grieves the heart of God.

2. We have been distracted by a focus on orientation change. The heart of Christian ministry was summed up by Jesus when he said, "Go, make disciples, teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you". So at the end of the day, "change is possible" is not really the main point. Life in Christ is.

3. We have been distracted by the question of causation. Because there is currently such inconclusiveness on this question, conservative Christians would do well to humbly acknowledge that rather than being perceived as illinformed, blinder-wearing, or agenda-promoting.

I find these statements remarkable coming from the Christian right, and view them as evidence that the Spirit is working and that perhaps Christians are at last coming to a place of rediscovery of God's grace. Through this issue we are reminded of higher principles of grace that apply to us all. God is the judge and not us. We have no right to pick up stones and throw them at other people, especially since there is none of us without sin. According to St. Paul, the whole purpose of the Old Testament law is to demon- strate our need for grace, not to hit each other over the head with selected laws, while ignoring other ones.

God loves all of us and deems us acceptable through Christ and his grace, and not through our own merits or lack thereof. We are not called to give condemnation and accusation. Even Jesus stated he did not come to do that. We are called instead to simple love one another. It is the only command Christ gave us besides loving God.

We are called to reach out to everyone with the message that we are all valuable and people of worth in the eyes of God. If the church does not provide a safe place where all who are searching can come and be loved and accepted unconditionally as they journey, then where else might that safe place be?

God's grace is indeed so amazing. Like tidewaters that cover the muck of an exposed harbour bottom, God covers each of us with his grace and love. Who of us is qualified to take off the cover?

Edward Bellsmith is the minister of Shelburne's Trinity United and Primrose United Churches. He invites your comments at trinity.minister@bellnet. ca. The full text of Wendy Gritter's speech may be found at http://www.exgaywatch.co m/wp/2008/02/wendy-gritter of-exodus-memberministry new-direction/