Two Rays of Hope

Both, via Box Turtle Bulletin.

First, from the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox:

I grew up in a small town. I went to a small rural high school. There were some kids in my class that were different than me. Sometimes I wasn’t kind to them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I know now that they were gay. I regret not treating them with the kindness, dignity and respect — the love — that they deserved. For that, I sincerely and humbly apologize. Over the intervening years, my heart has changed. It has changed because of you. It has changed because I have gotten to know many of you. You have been very patient with me as I went through this change.

There's a lot more, and it's pretty potent. There's a transcript of his full speech at the link.

And from evangelical pastor Joel Hunter:

When they asked me to pray for the LGBTQ community, at first I was honored and thrilled, and then I was convicted. I‘m not sure how to do that. I‘ve never been a part of a vulnerable community. I‘ve been a part of powerful communities all my life and never been a part of a persecuted community.

Considering the usual cries of "persecution" coming from "Christians" who don't get their way, that's a surprising admission.

And more, via Christianity Today:

Speaking in the aftermath of the massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Hunter told RNS that he had “to go back and examine my own heart, starting tonight in services.

“I’ve got to confess to my congregation that if there’s anything I’ve said that could have ever led to anything — the dismissal or denigration of any other population — God, I am so sorry for that.”

He admitted that “many of us, especially those in the conservative evangelical branch of the faith, don’t normally think of the vulnerability of many of the communities around us…but this has put it on the agenda.

This is such a contrast to those "Christian leaders" who are elbowing their way to front and center to mouth empty platitudes without ever admitting their part in the Orlando atrocity and the persecution (I hate to use that word, but it's the only one that fits) of gays. Maybe Christians are redeemable.

Baby steps.