West Michigan Faith-Based LGBT Group Plans New Community Initiative

GIFT provides pastoral care, support groups for gay and lesbian youth and their family and friends, and educational seminars, including a workshop last year for gay couples on building healthy relationships.

Cara Oosterhouse, president of GIFT’s board, said the new campaign is geared toward helping local churches learn how they can be more inclusive of members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, their family and friends.

She said the idea came from an in-depth look at the organization’s mission.

“We needed to shift our focus a little, but we still wanted to be there — providing the one-on-one type programs where people can feel safe and explore (the idea) of being Christian and gay, and what that meant for their lives,” Oosterhouse said.

GIFT will use the grant to hire a part-time coordinator to lead the campaign: Theresa McClellan, who retired last year from The Grand Rapids Press after 28 years covering criminal justice and education.

McClellan said she’ll focus on increasing awareness of the group’s programs and making them more accessible to churches.

“The idea of being gay and Christian is foreign to many people — that’s not my reality,” said McClellan, who announced she was gay years ago.

She said it’s important “to be able to say, ‘Yes, I’m gay and I’m a Christian. God said ‘yes’ to all of me.’”

Board members hope GIFT is out of business in five or 10 years because gays are able to live out their faith without denying their sexual orientation, Oosterhouse said.

But they don’t think that will be the case, she said.

“Usually the process of changing hearts and minds of a congregation can be a long process, a long journey,” Oosterhouse said.

“That’s opened up new possibilities for us to finance and be able to lay the groundwork to spark those conversations and start to gather support.”