50 Years of Not Being Alone

I want to share something personal with you — because this month, 50 years in, it still matters to me as much as it ever did.

When I first heard about SDA Kinship, I wasn't ready. I was married, trying to help God change me, holding onto the hope that somehow things would be different. It was a gay friend who saw a small ad in the back of a magazine and reminded me that an organization existed for people like us: Adventist and gay. I had heard about SDA Kinship before, in college, but I was far too scared to reach out.

This time, I did.

I subscribed to the Connection magazine and had it sent to my work address. I devoured every story, every picture, searching for people who were like me — or maybe totally different. What I found was that there truly were folks very similar to me. I was no longer alone. I found a community that understood me more than any other group could.

I also learned that not all LGBTQIA+ Adventists are alike and we don't all think the same, but we are there to encourage each other, talk about our similarities and explore our differences. Some are still very involved in the official (or local) SDA church community. Others may have been harmed and no longer feel safe within the church walls and have moved on to a different space. Yet, SDA Kinship is open enough to be a safe affirming space no matter where someone falls on this spectrum. SDA Kinship is for you.

That was the mid-1980s. Today, fifty years after Kinship was founded, it is still as important to me as it was then.

I still want what I wanted then: for the church to understand us better. For those who are just coming out to know they are not alone. For every person carrying what I carried — those feelings that are hard-wired inside of us, not chosen — to know it is safe to come out when the time is right. God still loves them. Life, when lived authentically, is safe and rewarding.

Kinship exists because someone placed a small ad in a magazine decades ago. It exists because people like you and me needed to know we weren't the only ones. It still does. Together as a community we are making a difference. Each one of us plays a role. Each one is immensely valued.

Thank you for being part of this community.

With love,

Floyd Poenitz,

President,

SDA Kinship International