Why Heather Miner is a Safe Haven for LGBTQ+ Community
- Meda Thompson
- Nov 30, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 11, 2024
Heather Miner is a cherished safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community, embodying the principles of love, understanding, and non-judgment. The church actively fosters an environment where everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, feels welcomed, valued, and embraced in their spiritual journey. Reverend Heather Miner's coming out not only reflected her personal authenticity but also transformed the church into a beacon of acceptance and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Check out our Community Spotlight and see what Reverend Heather Miner says along with a few members of the congregation where she formerly was stationed
Community Spotlight
Reverend Heather Miner
"As one who fell in love in mid-life, and is in a committed relationship, with one of my gender, I know how difficult it is to be in an uncommon relationship. I also know a deep and abiding love without which my life would be so much less."
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"I was called to Wright UCC in October of 2022. I came because I saw a community that was honest and worked well together in faith for the sake of embodying God's love for all. There are men and women, married and singles, gay and straight of all ages worshipping together. Even our music is diverse, mixing traditional hymns with songs you may hear on Christian radio. Nothing stands in the way of our living out Jesus' call to love God and love neighbors as ourselves. Our congregational worship is marked by joy and prayer for all of creation. Our service to the world includes a community garden that supports an immigrant family, a food pantry, people who work, on this side of the pond, for peace in Israel/Palestine, Quilters who make beautiful blankets for hospitals, and a safe space for LGBTQIA to find their way with God."
"As one who fell in love in mid-life, and is in a committed relationship, with one of my gender, I know how difficult it is to be in an uncommon relationship. I also know a deep and abiding love without which my life would be so much less."
"The most important love of all, however, is that of God. It tickles me to see people open their hearts to one another in Bible Study and Small Groups. That is God-inspired conversation! I wish all to know God's abundant love and, once felt, to live out that love as did Jesus. In this way, I believe, individuals and, thus, our world will begin to heal. "
April Alves
"They are a safe haven where I can be myself without judgment. In this tribe and church community, I find understanding and support in good times and bad times."
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"In a world that often feels fast paced and disconnected, finding a sense of belonging and a community that supports your values and beliefs can be a challenging endeavor. For many, the search for a like-minded group of individuals leads them to their local church. I originally come from a small town where, once you come out of the closet, church is no longer an option for you. That was one of the main things I was looking forward to when moving to Boise. When I first moved, I looked on the Community Center website for open and affirming churches. Wright Congregational United Church of Christ was one of the churches listed on the website. I had gone through the listed churches’ statements of faith and found that I liked the sound of the UCC. I attended Wright Church first and have never gone anywhere else."
"The congregation at Wright is brimming with smiling, friendly faces. You are greeted by several people and made to feel so welcome. It took me a few months to actual admit to anyone there that I was a lesbian, and it made no difference. I am generally a reserved person and don’t really have friends, but I have grown so much from my attendance there. I have helped organize a Trunk-Or-Treat, spoken in front of the congregation, run social hour after church several times, and attended a couple of bible study groups. It is in one such study group that I found my tribe. Being authentic allows you to connect with people who appreciate your sincerity and share common experiences. Vulnerability can lead to profound connections and personal growth. It wasn’t until the study group was over that I realized how much I missed my meetings with these two lovely ladies. We knew deep things about each other from attending the classes and we built a bond from that. Now we try to do something with each other every week. We even got baptized together. I have not laughed as much in years as I have these last few months. I am not currently in a romantic relationship, yet I feel less lonely than I felt when I was in a relationship. They have become my tribe. This is how we became the church chicks."
"They are a safe haven where I can be myself without judgment. In this tribe and church community, I find understanding and support in good times (when my oldest daughter got married) and bad (when my 7-week-old grandbaby passed away). This has created a vital safety net for my emotional and mental well-being. I do not know where I would be without them."
"I have discovered a couple of amazing women who resonate with my soul and uplift my life. In a world that can sometimes feel isolating, my tribe has become my refuge, my sounding board, and my source of joy and inspiration. "
- April Alves, a member of Wright Congregational, United Church of Christ
Denise Minard
"The sermon was delivered by a female pastor, new for me, and was given with such passion and conviction that I truly believed her heart was full of GOD."
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"I am a recovering Catholic and I have always felt myself to be spiritual by
nature, but I stopped going to church when I was 16. Church always felt cold and
impersonal to me, and the priests were someone to be respected and feared as
the middleman between me and God."
"I started going to the Maranatha church with family in 2022 when I was still
in Anchorage. At first it was nice, until the pastor told the congregation that
LGBTQ…. Pride week was not something he felt was appropriate and that all of us
who were LGBTQ…. were misguided sinners and needed their prayers to help put
us on the right path to God. I got up and walked out in the middle of his sermon."
"Moving to Boise in November of 2022, I decided to try again to find a church, I went online looking for an open and affirming church, Wright UCC was the first one on the list. The first day I was greeted at the door by two gentleman and directed upstairs where I met a very wonderful women who made it a point to make me feel welcome and took me under her wing to introduce me to the congregation during social hour after church. The sermon was delivered by a female pastor, new for me, and was given with such passion and conviction that I truly believed her heart was full of GOD. I have never felt as close to him as I did with that first sermon. I truly felt welcomed into the church not only by the congregation and pastor but by God as well. I started with a couple classes offered by the church, one helped me realize that I could make the Bible a “friend” and the other was to help see how to let the ego go so that my heart
would be more open to God’s will. During these classes I met some wonderful
people from the congregation and got to know them better and specifically two
individuals who helped make me feel like I was not alone. They have become
my support, my laughter and my heart, they are my tribe and I thank God every
day for them. Wright UCC has given me a church, a home and a family where I
am welcome, and I am a child of GOD. Anyone who is looking to belong, this it
the place to be."
- Denise Minard, a member of Wright Church Boise
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