The barometer for judging the character of people, in regard human rights, is now those who consider themselves gay, homosexual, lesbian. The judgment as to whether you can trust the future, the social advancement—depending on people—will be judged on where they come out on that question. … It is in this sense that gay people are the new barometer for social change. The question of social change should be framed with the most vulnerable group in mind: gay people.”—Bayard Rustin

Our experience has been that spiritual gifts are not distributed with regard to sexual orientation or gender identity. Our spiritual work is dependent on recognizing all people, including those who identify as LGBTQIA+. We are all equal and beloved, as God made us, and the gifts of the Spirit are ours to joyously share. Flushing Monthly Meeting is all of us. We celebrate, worship, wed, work, mourn, and rejoice together in all the “diverse liveries we wear.”

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word ‘love’ here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace – not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.”—James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time