My internship is working with Highlands UMC, doing research on LGBTQ+
inclusivity. There is an obvious social issue here, that of LGBTQ+ rights, but
if we look a little bit deeper, there are many other social issues connected to
the church.
I have collected
stories from a variety of LGBTQ+ christains as part of the project for my
internship, and one of the most common threads throughout these stories is that
these people really did not feel accepted in a church setting. I am religious,
and I can attest to this. More often than not, if someone is in a minority
group, they will feel out of place, or even isolated, when they are around
others. This does not strictly have to be in a church, but I have observed this
during my church work.
Whether it’s
race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, people that do not
belong to these minority groups tend to isolate those that do belong to them,
even if they do not mean to. As I was reading the stories I had collected, the
thing I kept thinking of was the scene from Mean Girls, where Jannis and Damian
were showing Cady the groups in the cafeteria. Janis pointed out all of the
cliques and groups that had formed, and Cady made the observation that it was
nearly impossible to get involved with any of these groups. I admit this is a
weird connection, but it proves the point that I had been pondering throughout
my internship.
We, as humans,
have a habit of breaking off into small groups of people that are similar to
us, and it is extremely difficult for someone to enter one of these groups.
People will isolate themselves and not allow themselves to meet anyone
different. It is not a bad thing to want friends that are similar to us, not at
all; however, when we refuse to accept anyone who does not look like, talk
like, or get around like us, it becomes an issue.
Whether it’s a
church, a business, or even a group at a lunch table, we need to be more open
to meeting and learning about different people. This type of group isolation is
extremely harmful, and we cannot keep it up.
My organization,
as well as my specific project, need to exist because they bridge the gap
between the majority groups and the minority group. In this case, the minority
group is the LGBTQ+ community. The novel “Getting to Maybe” discusses the ideas
of creating your own door in the last chapter. This applies almost perfectly
with what the church has done. They noticed a problem within the church, and
there was not a direct way to fix it. Instead of admitting defeat, they found
their own path to walk down. This path is allowing for previously excluded
members of the church to know that they are welcomed with open arms.
After
college, I want to go into some form of advocacy, so this internship was
perfect for me. My experience this month has only increased my desire to bridge
the gap between majority groups and minority groups. I do not want to change
anything about these groups, far from it,I want to do work that helps people
see and respect the differences among them, and understand that these
differences are vital and one of the best parts of ourselves.