As revealed in Christ, God, the Creator of all, ultimately is concerned about behaviors and relationships that uphold the worth and giftedness of all people and that protect the most vulnerable. Such relationships are to be rooted in the principles of Christ-like love, mutual respect, responsibility, justice, covenant, and faithfulness, against which there is no law.
Doctrine and Covenants 164:6a

GALA Retreat held in the early years of organizing and advocating for LGBTQIA+ full inclusion

Our Journey to LGBTQIA+ Full Inclusion
​
History
This history reflects the terms and nomenclature of the time and context, shared in the authentic voices of those who lived the journey.

Wallace B. Smith became prophet-president of the church in 1978. Smith was a medical doctor by profession, so it might not be surprising that one of his early actions as president was appointing a committee to examine issues of human sexuality. He indicated an openness to the church recognizing committed homosexual relationships, and that perhaps as a civil rights issue the church could or should advocate.

In 1982 the Standing Hight Council issued a new policy statement allowing homosexuals to serve as priesthood members in good standing if they led a celibate life. This represented a moderate improvement to the previous policy from the same body issued in 1962. A small step forward.

From that point on conversation, dialogue, education, and advocacy on the topic of homosexuality garnered increased attention across the USA as a nation, and among the membership of the church in general, especially in the Western nations.

The founding of GALA, "Gay and Lesbian Acceptance, an advocacy and support group for gays and lesbians within the church, played a critical and multidimensional role on the journey toward full illusion for LGBTQIA+.

"If one person can be cited as the 'founder' of GALA it would be the late Bob Swoffer of Kansas City. Swoffer happened to be the primary coordinator of the Kansas City chapter of the LDS support network called 'Affirmation.' In a November 1983 letter to a friend, Swoffer said the Affirmation group was meeting twice a month with twelve in the group, ages 21 to 40. He identified eight as RLDS (now known as Community of Christ) and four as LDS.

Meanwhile, David Gilfillan and others had begun meeting in the Bathurst RLDS Congregation in downtown Toronto. Gilfillan and several other Canadians who came to the biennial World Conference in 1984 made contact with Swoffer and Arthur Butler and others in the Independence area. This conference provided the first known opportunity for getting gay and lesbian saints together from divers geographical locations. Invitations were spread by word-of-mouth, inviting people to celebration at Arthur Butler's home during conference week. Thirty people attended, about one-third from Canada. We decided to do some organizing," recalls Ginger Farley. "Some of our friends were dying The AIDS epidemic spurred us forward. This church we love was ignoring that we have homosexuals and some have AIDS."

Each subsequent World Conference has provided important opportunities for GALA (now Harmony) members, friends, and allies to meet, plan, organize, worship together and support one another in meaningful ways.

In the Fall of 1984, about 40 people representing this group met in Independence, including significant representation from Canada. They organized themselves and chose the name GALA. Follow up meetings were held in Canada and the Kansas City area. In 1986, the group resident in Kansas City started publishing the newsletter AFFIRMATION/GALA NEWS. However, the relationship and connection with Affirmation dwindled and the group was known simply as GALA drawing from three geographical areas: Kansas City, Toronto, and southern Michigan, with California soon a major source of  both GALA leadership and members.

"In the early years meetings were usually held in private homes rather than in church buildings, partly because permission to use a church building was difficult to obtain, and partly because GALA members wanted more privacy."

Over the years weekend retreats offered significant support and fellowship for GALA members and allies. Receiving permission to hold the September 1987 retreat at church owned Camp Manitou was a major breakthrough moment marking the first allowed GALA use of any church campground. Important business took place at this retreat. GALA was formally organized, a constitution and bylaws were approved and officers elected. Allan Fiscus of Lansing Michigan was elected the first president of GALA.

Additionally the group identified three goals:

1. To accept and affirm the with of all persons without regard to sexual orientation, gender, race, or religious origins.
2. To offer spiritual ministry to other gays and lesbians through retreats and worship.
3. To work with the church and help educate it to the awareness of gay and lesbian members.

GALA's work, and other education and advocacy efforts in the general community, began to get traction and effect change in hearts and minds. After World Conference 1994 GALA President Ray Biller shared his observations in the May 1994 GALA newsletter, "GALA seemed to gain a legitimacy within the RLDS institution which moves us onto another plain. We were very OUT and visible, and very well accepted. We were sharing our testimonies with many listening with receptive ears."

GALA receive permission to share a booth with Urban Ministries Group at the 1996 World Conference marking another milestone. This provided an opportunity to share information and engage in conversation with members and conference delegates. At World Conference 1998 GALA hosted their own booth located across the street in the historic Stone Church, and at the subsequent World Conference in 2000, GALA's booth was in a prime location with all the other conference booths in the basement of the Auditorium.

W. Grant McMurray became the president-prophet of the church in 1996. In his 1998 World Conference sermon he shared that while the church doesn't have all the answers to the difficult issue of homosexuality, we welcome people into our fellowship with love, and want to hear their stories. In his 2000 World Conference sermon McMurray went further, sharing a strongly worded personal affirmation on homosexuality. Although this ruffled the feathers of many conservatives, it brought much needed balm and hope to the souls of the GALA community and their supporters.

In October 2002, when the World Church Leadership Council issued a statement reaffirming the 1982 Standing High Council policy, it was experienced as a sad step backwards by many and much uncertainty as to whether it represented second thoughts on the part of President McMurray or a yielding to pressure from other leaders.

Stephen M. Veazey was ordained the eighth prophet-president of the church 3 June 2005. Under his leadership the church chartered new waters of acceptance, inclusion, unity in diversity, and widening the circle of welcome in many spheres of church life. Two key changes include provision for membership through confirmation only based on the acceptance of other Christian baptisms at age eight or older, and provision for national conferences to address the "...timely resolution of pressing issues in various nations..." (Doctrine and Covenants 164:7a) which paved the way for nations to take up full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ in the sacramental life of the church (marriage/covenant commitment and ordination).

In the meantime our understanding of the magnitude of diversity present along the continuum of human sexuality and gender grew by leaps and bounds and we continue to learn more everyday. LGBTQIA+ persons are actively serving as disciples and leaders across the church. Our advocacy work has just begun both in and outside our walls. Our people are community leaders in the places they live and bring the prophetic witness and voice to a world in need of peace, reconciliation, and healing of the spirit. There is no peace without justice. The journey continues as we follow Jesus, the peaceful One.

The work of GALA has been critical to the journey of the whole church, and consistently offered support, education, advocacy, training, and consultation to LGBTQIA+ members, friends, and allies. By 2019 GALA accomplished 1) a merger of GALA and Welcoming Community Network (WCN) and 2) a powerful rebranding and promo campaign to officially launch HARMONY at the 2019 World Conference. (Scroll down for more information about Harmony.)

Read more about this journey through the powerful stories of members and friends.
Homosexual Saints: The Community of Christ Experience    
Touched by Grace: LGBT Stories in Community of Christ

Much of the history of GALA shared above leans heavily on the research of William D. Russell and his article, "Empowering Homosexuals in the Church: A History of GALA, " The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal, Vol. 26 (2006), pp. 214-221, Published by: John Whitmer Historical Association (JWHA)
Unless indicated otherwise, quoted material above is taken directly from this article.
​Read the full article HERE. 

A worldwide prophetic church must develop cultural awareness and sensitivity to distinguish between issues that should be addressed by the World Conference and those that are best resolved nationally or in other ways. b. Fundamental principles of ethical behavior and relationships should be addressed by the World Conference. The Conference should not decide specific policies for all nations when those decisions likely will cause serious harm in some of them. c. However, timely resolution of pressing issues in various nations is necessary for the restoring work of the gospel to move forward with all of its potential. Therefore, let the proper World Church officers act in their callings—as already provided in church law—to create and interpret church policies to meet the needs of the church in different nations in harmony with the principles contained in this counsel. d. Where possible and appropriate, convene national or field conferences to provide opportunities for broader dialogue, understanding, and consent. In those gatherings, let the spirit of love, justice, and truth prevail.
Doctrine and Covenants 164:7a

National Conferences
In 2012, National Conferences were held in Australia and Canada. The USA devoted two years to intentional education, dialogue, listening, and spiritual discernment as we embarked on our "Journey to the USA National Conference" from 2010 to 2013. The USA National Conference was held immediately following the 2013 World Conference, beginning on a Thursday afternoon and ending at noon the following Sunday. All three of these national conferences approved legislation—through the process of common consent and official legislative session—in support of full inclusion for LGBTQIA+ persons in the life of the church to include ordination and marriage (or covenant commitment depending on the law of the land).

Since 2013, National Conferences have been held in British Isles Mission Center and Western Europe Mission Center. Both conferences supported full inclusion for LGBTQIA+ persons as did previous national conferences considering the same questions. 

USA delegates willing to share their perspectives placed their names in the vase that matched their level of support for whatever statement was posed for delegate response: Full Support, Significant Support, Moderate Support, Little Support, No Support. Each person had three minutes to share while the entire conference listened. The names were drawn at random in equal rotation of the vase levels of support.

Part of the USA National Conference worship setting was an artistically designed grove of trees with long roots weaving themselves together across the stage. The grove reminded us of the prophetic vision that brought us to this place of decision. The roots symbolized the depth of community formed on our journey. A Restoration people yearning and longing to hear the voice of God call us into the future by name and endow us with the Holy Spirit that we might courageously respond and boldly venture forth always moving toward Jesus, the peaceful One. Our sacred story.

---

The 2019 World Conference worship celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and led by Harmony. Held at Walnut Gardens Community of Christ in Independence MO, the beautifully diverse and Spirit-filled worship held close the hearts of each one. All are invited to share and partake of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. All are welcome in this place.

GALA Annual Retreat 2018 held at Camp Red Cliffe near Huntsville Utah. GALA (now Harmony) annual retreats are often held over Labor Day Weekend.

Harmony

Harmony is here - not to speak for you - but rather to amplify your voices. We hope to foster dialogue concerning Queer voices in Community of Christ to ensure our denomination's future is a bright, affirming, and inclusive one.

Harmony is committed to working with Community of Christ members, friends and leaders to share information about the ministerial needs of persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI). Harmony is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the State of Missouri. Our mission is to provide advocacy, education, and resources for Queer voices* in Community of Christ with a shared vision of full participation.**

*The term Queer is being reclaimed by some who identify as LGBTQ+ and is used as an umbrella term for the LGBTQ+ community.  We use the phrase “Queer voices” to describe all person, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI), who have the courage to use their voice to speak for justice for the marginalized in the Queer community.

**Full participation in the life of the church pertains to all members, without exception, ensuring each person is fully eligible to participate in the sacraments, priesthood, all levels of church leadership, as well as any other benefits and responsibilities guaranteed to church membership according to the Membership Manual.

Read more about Harmony and explore all the programs and resources they offer HERE.