Dear Friends,

I wish I could write a personal, hand-written letter to each one of you, but so many of you have sent your support that I simply cannot do that. I hope you will still receive this letter as one especially written for you.

I cannot express what it has meant to hear from you, to receive in hundreds of different ways your love, concern, encouragement and wisdom for this moment in my life journey. It is like walking surrounded by a cloud of hopefulness, an armouring for the next part of the journey. Even though I mention “armour”, it is not one which I need for attack, but for protection as I walk this next path. I can do that for the first time clothed in truth, and nothing but that. As usual, I find that this is indeed a powerful freedom. Funny how I am always surprised to discover that yet again!

The Assembly was probably my finest experience of the church. It was interesting that numbers of the journalists present said things like “If this is the church, we could imagine being part of it”. All that happened was that people looked each other in the face and grappled authentically, respectfully and with costly honesty in relation to things that were important to them. Because we did that, there was a powerful sense of the Spirit of grace set free among us, not to solve all the problems neatly, but to keep us on a journey together in a remarkable way. Really makes you believe!

Those who now make their moves against me were not part of that, and probably can’t even imagine what it would be like. It is hard to relate to them because they are really coming from another world view of the Christ, the church and the faith. It is interesting to see that the wider community response has often indicated a sense of seeing the Gospel, and calling the church to see its own vision of that Gospel again. I am not troubled about my future. It will unfold before me and I wait expectantly for that.

To those of you who are in the church, mine or another, I give grateful thanks to God for being the true church for me over and over again. To those of you who are not part of the church, I give thanks for people of goodwill and truth who are prepared to travel with one whose path meets yours at this moment, and I hope we travel a long way together. To those who have shared moving experiences in their own lives with me, especially those who have lived in my experience as a homosexual person, or whose families have done so, I give thanks for your special journey with me.

Whoever you are, we will all keep renewing the hope in each other and the affirmation that we are the loved people of God, or the source of life, and called to love in return. True life is always stronger than death and it flies free into the cosmos, like the bird on this paper.

Grace and peace to you my friends,

Sincerely,

Dorothy McRae-McMahon

Grace of God overwhelms

Minister facing action