LGBTQIA+ FAQ

Frequently asked questions for first-time visitors to Edgehill who identify as LGBTQIA+ or allies

Two women dressed in white lace dresses holding bouquets, smiling, as bubbles float around them during a celebration.
Edgehill's Queer History

  • Yes! We affirm, celebrate, and welcome LGBTQ+ people as beloved children of God—created in God’s image and deserving of dignity, joy, and belonging. You are welcome here, just as you are.

  • Absolutely. LGBTQIA+ people are full members of Edgehill. Your sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression is not a barrier to membership, participation, or leadership.

  • Yes! LGBTQIA+ people are fully welcome to receive both of our sacraments— Baptism and Holy Communion. God's grace is for everyone, without condition. We do not withhold the means of grace from anyone.

  • Yes! Edgehill UMC joyfully officiates and celebrates same-gender weddings. We believe marriage is a sacred covenant and a means of grace available to all loving couples.

  • Yes! LGBTQIA+ people can and do serve in leadership roles at Edgehill, including in staff positions and lay leadership. We believe gifts for ministry are not limited by gender identity or sexual orientation (or anything else!)

  • We understand that the Bible has been used to harm LGBTQIA+ people, and we reject interpretations that dehumanize or exclude. At Edgehill, we read scripture through the lens of love, justice, and liberation. We believe God affirms queer people and calls the church to do the same.

  • Yes! Edgehill UMC was the first reconciling church in the southeast. In fact, our reconciliation work in the 70s was used as the blueprint for RMN. Our commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion is not new—it is rooted in decades of prayer, study, activism, and community.

  • We hear that. Many of us have also experienced spiritual trauma at the hands of the church. At Edgehill, we honor those wounds and do our best to offer a safe, loving, and healing spiritual home. You are not alone.

  • Yes! We are a community of LGBTQIA+ believers, nonbelievers, allies, friends and family, activists and seekers. If you long for a community that practices justice, mercy, and radical welcome—you’ll fit right in.