A new website sponsored by Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International, Intercollegiate Adventist GSA Coalition and the producers of the documentary "Seventh-Gay Adventists" claims lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) Adventists are being prevented from sharing their stories at the 'In God's Image:' Scripture, Sexuality, and Society Summit in Cape Town, South Africa, this month. The summit will discuss the challenges the church faces with issues surrounding alternative sexualities.
The website is called We Are Seventh-day Adventists, www.wearesdas.com, though not all the stories portray Adventists. Bartja says he doesn't identify as Christian, but still made references to following in the footsteps of Christ and being a child of God. Eddy's partner Bruce of 49 years also did not identify as Adventist, but the majority of stories did reflect on growing up Adventist, coming out, dealing with rejection or having gay kids.
The website invites readers to take action by sharing these stories, contacting church leaders, taking an LGBT person out for coffee, screening the film Seventh-Gay Adventist in your home or getting to know the Adventist LGBT community. The sponsors think the best way to respond to the exclusion from the Cape Town Summit is to share more stories. The summit begins Monday and runs for four days.