Washington Street United Methodist Church (WSUMC) will be holding a Service of Repentance and Healing For the Harm Inflicted on LGBTQIA+ persons on Thursday, October 13 at 6:00 pm at WSUMC in its historic sanctuary. The service will coincide with Pride Festival weekend which will be taking place in downtown Columbia on Oct. 14-15. Individuals from Reformation Lutheran Church will be participating in the service with testimonials on the topic. This is sure to be a very meaningful and spiritual experience for LBGTQIA+ individuals and their allies in the Columbia area.

Recognizing that if we do not acknowledge the sins of the harm done to our LBGTQIA+ siblings in Christ in both our past and present, individually and systemically, we cannot hope to understand and heal the wounds of hateful comments and actions. The service will include elements of confession and repentance, and the repudiation of the times when churches have been silent in the face of the harm caused by the church to LBGTQIA+ persons.

Recently, as a response to issues of safety and welcome raised by members of the LGBTQAI+ community through dialogues at WSUMC, the church has created a new location for a Sunday morning fellowship – the S.A.F.E. Space. Open from 9:45 to 10:45 am and hosted by LGBTQAI+ members of WSUMC, and other allies, the SAFE Space is located just inside of the Bull Street entrance of the church. There will be access to view the 11:00 am service from the room if anyone is interested. All are truly welcome here.