But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act, they will be blessed in their doing.
James 1:25

St John's Church strives to be a church which welcomes all people. We see ourselves as a community of seekers grappling together with the great questions of life and faith. As a congregation we have put a lot of prayer, thought, and planning into ways in which we can remove barriers preventing people from finding their place amongst and contributing to the rich diversity of common life as Jesus People, seekers committed to his vision of God, humankind, and the future of creation.

The people of St John's Church have understood that while all churches say everyone is welcome, it is clear that in practice this is not so. In many churches some people are more welcome than others. St John's has been intentional in asking itself the question, "who does not feel welcome here and what can we do about it?"

As a result, over the decades, St John's has extended a special verbal welcome accompanied by gestures of reassurance to various groups of people who have experienced marginalization and/or rejection by the church and society as a whole.

In Ottawa, we were and continue to be pioneers.

Sixty-eight years (1938) ago this season, St John's Church introduced the Parish Communion to provide a worship service welcoming people of all ages and promoting the eucharist as a classless, community service, vision of God's people.

In the forties St John's welcomed the hundreds who poured into Ottawa to work for the war effort and went so far as to found the St John's Business Women's Club at a time when most considered the proper and only place for women to work was in the home.

In the fifties and sixties we were first in welcoming women into church leadership offices previously restricted to men, and we founded the Community Shop as an outreach ministry to the neighbourhood poor.

In the seventies we were first in welcoming young children to communion. We advocated strongly for the ordination of women and encouraged members to appreciate feminist perspectives in theology. We began our remarkable ministry of refugee sponsorship and remain to this day the most active parish in the diocese in doing this work. We also pioneered in the use of contemporary eucharistic rites.

In the late eighties and early nineties we enthusiastically welcomed The Well/La Source on to our premises, and we began our ministry to persons affected by HIV/AIDS. We intentionally extended the hand of Christ's fellowship to gay, lesbian and transgendered people.

In the mid-nineties we initiated Circles of Support and Accountability to support the social re-integration into society of high-risk sex offenders, and our ministry of advocacy for the homeless and the provision of affordable housing.

Every one of these "special" ministries has required of us learning and risk-taking. Every one has been controversial and often caused some people to leave St John's in protest. Every one has been undertaken because the people of St John's believed them to express this church's understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These ministries were sometimes controversial, but each one has brought us a wonderful diversity of people and many other blessings.

With regard to the inclusion of the GLBT community (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people), let us remind ourselves of the numerous events in our history which have deepened our understanding and resolve:

• 1986 - hiring of an organist in a committed same sex relationship
• 1991 - establishment of the St John's AIDS Ministry
• 1993 and 1995 - parish and community consultations on homosexuality
• 1995 - rector blesses the union of Gordon and Gaston
• 1996 - parish study program Diverse Voices undertaken
• 1997 - St John's members found the diocesan Gay & Lesbian Task Group
• 1998 - first St John's observance of Gay Pride Week
• 1999 - St John's declares itself an "Open and Affirming Congregation"
• 2000 - Rector presents diocesan synod resolution affirming same sex blessings resulting in the creation of the Diocesan Task Force on the issue.
• 2004 - two consultations provide parish input into diocesan task force report
• 2004 - Rector moves successful resolution at General Synod on affirming the sanctity and integrity of committed/ same sex relationship
• 2005 - parish welcomes the priestly ministry Linda Privitera with her spouse Melissa Haussman
• 2006 - parish members found Ottawa Chapter of Integrity

Today, the 19th of March, 2006 we remember this journey of risk-taking and faithfulness to the gospel of Our Lord, we offer thanksgiving for the blessing of GLBT members who are part of St John's Church, and we give thanks for the leadership of our bishop and all who stand in solidarity with us.