ALL are Welcome - A Letter to Newman Center LGBTQIA+ Persons
August 26, 2022
All Are Welcome. These three simple words change everything. At King Avenue Church we continue to do our very best to live by these three words. They are reminders to us of the love that Christ offers to the entire world, the love that has been offered to us.
We have been dismayed as we have watched the St. Thomas More Newman Center on The OSU campus experience concerning changes. After 66 years of faithful service to the Catholic community at Ohio State and in Central Ohio, the Paulist Fathers are no longer serving as leaders at the Newman Center. The Paulist Fathers have cultivated a loving and accepting environment for all and have been known to be especially inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Along with this change of leadership has come some visible shifts. They will soon host meetings of Courage International, an organization that requires that Catholics refrain from attending same-gender weddings, that LGBTQIA+ people embrace chastity, and that LGBTQIA+ people deny their fundamental identities. In addition, the Newman Center sign, which read “All are Welcome,” has been painted over and been replaced by the words “Home of Buckeye Catholic”.
Many of you were present when King Avenue hung our banner that proclaims boldly All Are Welcome. A couple of years ago we literally fought City Hall for the right to keep those 3 words intact on our church building. Again, those three words change everything and express the love of Christ for our community and beyond.
We are actively working with other churches and organizations to express our frustration with this situation, but also to express our love and openness to anyone who might want to join King Avenue for worship and to find a place of respite. Our doors continue to be open to ALL and will remain so.
Peace,
Rev. Becky Piatt, Senior Pastor, King Avenue UMC
The Staff of King Avenue UMC