🌈 Happy Kinship Awareness Month 🌈

Floyd Poenitz
15 hours ago
3 min read

October is my favorite month! I know, I know…. I say that about most months. But October holds a special place in my heart and that is because October is Kinship Awareness Month. I love sharing the positive and good-news message of SDA Kinship:

We are wonderful just the way we are.
We are not broken. We are not sick. We are not inferior for being LGBTQIA+.
We do not need to be healed or changed by any church ministry.
We are exactly the way God intended.

That is really good news!

SDA Kinship has a wonderful redemptive message to share with those around us. Kinship is the Adventist church's best kept secret and it wants to keep us a secret. The less the church has to talk about gender and sexual orientation, the easier it is for them to ignore us and to condemn things they don't understand.

We have a lot of misinformed folks to share this with. It will take each of us sharing with our friends, family and church connections to get these folks to step back and actually think about what it means to be LGBTQIA+ and how the "Clobber Texts" have nothing to do with our modern understanding of sexuality and gender. The more I study, the more I am thankful that we no longer live under the (mis)understanding of gender roles, and societal status of ancient times.

During Kinship Awareness Month we would love to hear from you. If you are comfortable sharing your story of self awareness, coming out, or other story you'd like to share, please contact us (info@sdakinship.org). We would love to create a short video clip or meme about your journey that we can share on social media and inspire others. As a community we want to get to know each other better and to let others know about this wonderful gem and treasure that is SDA Kinship. Together we can make an enormous difference for other LGBTQIA+ current and former Adventists, their parents and their supportive friends.

Let's get the word out so we don't continue to be a church secret.

— Floyd Poenitz

President

info@sdakinship.org

@KinshipPrez on X

Another Note

Last year a shadow of doubt was cast by some on SDA Kinship, questioning how safe it truly is, specifically for those who have experienced sexual abuse. SDA Kinship has always strongly stood against abuse of any kind. It takes reports of victims or anyone reporting abuse very seriously. There is no tolerance for abuse or harm towards any person or entity. If you experience any abuse, please report it immediately to the authorities who are trained to handle this. If you feel unsafe or threatened by someone in Kinship, please contact a Kinship board member who can help you resolve it. Your safety is top priority for SDA Kinship, particularly surrounding an in-person Kinship event or on any of our online communities. SDA Kinship is and must remain a safe community for all members to be and live out their lives authentically. All Kinship leaders are committed to ensure this.

If you have any thoughts, concerns, or questions please let us know. You can always email us at info@sdakinship.org or send a message to any of our social media accounts.