Lance, I'm so glad you brought "grace" into the conversation. I often wonder how so many Christians "know" these ideas we were taught in Sunday School—God is love, Amazing Grace, love your neighbor—but don't really embrace them. I wish I could pinpoint where and why things got so off track. 

ginabad, you are obviously thinking, reflecting, searching, and remaining open. Those are all such important things. I feel quite certain God is leading you to an understanding about him, and a community that embraces that understanding, and who you are. Try to not let the "crazies" distract you from your search!

Jason, thanks for your comment. I completely see what you're saying. There is a danger of that. But in this case, my gut tells me that every little bit of progress we're able to make as a church community—in terms of love and forgiveness and grace—will manage to ripple out in positive ways. I just wish we could see some waves at times, rather than so many almost imperceptible ripples. 

Lorna, you're so right. We've come very far, but there is always more to learn. I have to admit, I was really nervous, too. I get in "mother bear" mode, just knowing that there were probably people in church during the dedication who were feeling uncomfortable and others who were less than supportive about what was going on. All I can hope and pray is that each experience like that one will work to soften people's hearts, not harden them.

martinj, you've introduced into the conversation some very important ways to examine hypocrisy. I am guilty of all the angles of hypocrisy you brought up, and many more. This is both brilliant and humbling: "We all are judgmental of the people who cannot live up to the morality that comes easily to us, and outraged by people who can’t offer grace to failures that hit close to home. We probably just need to work on extending grace to the people we least want to give it to. (gay people and judgmental Christians included)" I definitely need to practice extending grace to judgmental Christians.

stef, I hear you. It has taken me a very long time to find a church that fits so well with how my head, heart and soul seem to be wired. The church I go to is a non-denominational church with many Mennonite ties and a whole slew of really good people. Unfortunately, there seems to be no perfect church shopping method, other than praying about it a lot and being open. 

jenx67, thanks for the sweet encouragement. Sometimes I feel like I'm getting too heavy here, but I also feel absolutely convinced that I'm supposed to be writing about these things, so what can I do? :) If I have to live this crazy life, with all of its unexpected twists and turns, I'm at least glad it can all be turned into stories and shared with people who might need to hear them.