… written and performed by Susan Werner on her “Gospel Truth” CD kept hitting home for us…
“Sunday morning
there is someplace that I’m supposed to be
keeps returning
the feeling keeps coming over me
just like music
or like sunlight on a distant memory
Sunday morning
Sunday morning…”
While the topic of many discussions for several years, our actual involvement in a church community was a frightening thought for us. Belonging to a church community was something that we felt was missing from our lives, but where to find a community accepting of two gay men in a covenant relationship was going to require a bit of research. This was an important step in our lives, both for us as individuals and as a couple, so we began looking for a church that would bring us the spiritual nurturing and community fellowship that we hungered for.
As Christian gay men, we knew there were certain things we needed to find in the place we would eventually want to call our church home. We needed an open and affirming church community, but we weren’t looking for a “gay church.” We wanted a place where the grace of God was taught, where we would feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, where we’d look around us and into our hearts and “know” that we’d found our home. But for both of us, we felt finding what we wanted might be easier said than done. Then we walked through the doors of Holy Covenant UMC. From the first song to the sermon to the benediction, the authenticity of the Spirit’s presence and the pure, honest love and joy of the congregation swept us up. The warmth with which the church family has welcomed us and the exhilaration we feel in worship service with our new church community has told us that Holy Covenant UMC is, indeed, the place we can call home.
-Mark Owen & Jeff Rossen
