Robert Millner Adams

Statement of Commitment Testimony

I have signed the Statement because:

• my own gay son, now age 45, whom I dearly love and respect, has long ago shown me the worth and integrity of a person whom God has created gay.
• Current scientific research has led me to believe that homosexuality is NOT a choice, but a given of nature.
• Jesus, not Leviticus, is my guide in Biblical matters, and Jesus' own attitude to those deemed unclean by the self-righteous is forming my attitudes in this matter.
• If my denomination accepts liturgies blessings buildings, animals, ball parks, and church closures, I think it appropriate to bless covenants between persons who love each other and are making a lifetime commitment to each other. Such commitments are a rare gift.
• Not only do I BELIEVE in gay and lesbian clergy: I have SEEN them, HEARD them, and been blest by their spirituality.

I do not feel defiant about all of this. I just feel it is time to stand, as an expression of my lifetime commitment to Jesus of Nazareth and the One who is bringing us all into being. I pray daily for the unity of God's people in the Spirit that was in Jesus Christ.

I am a member of the Wisconsin Conference since 1950, retired and serving now and then as interim pastor where invited to do so. I am twice widowed, have three great sons and four grandchildren. I am more interested in building bridges than in erecting walls.

Robert Millner Adams
Wisconsin Annual Conference
March 31, 1998