LGBT Ministry at South Church gets a new name!

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Ministry at South Church has unanimously voted on a new name.  After careful consideration of several other names, the “Seventh Angel Ministry” — A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Christ-Centered Community took all votes.  The Seventh Angel Ministry invokes powerful and beautiful imagery from the Book of Revelation.  Here, John of Patmos describes a vision of seven angels coming to announce the fulfillment of God’s promise of justice.  We might imagine each of the seven angels as announcing the erasing of a boundary that his historically divided God’s children:

First Angel – Religious Background
Second Angel – Gender
Third Angel – Class
Fourth Angel – Race and Ethnicity
Fifth Angel – Nationality
Sixth Angel – Physical and Mental Ability
Seventh Angel – Sexual Orientation

Note that South Church’s Open and Affirming Statement, likewise, erases each of these boundaries.  The seventh, and last angel represents the fulfillment of God’s promise of love and justice, not only for LGBT people, but for all people.

The Book of Revelation describes the seventh angel this way:

"And I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire."  (10:1)

The seventh angel comes down from heaven „with a rainbow over its head.”  In addition to being a recognized symbol for gay pride, the rainbow has biblical significance where it represents the glory and majesty of God, and the promise of love and justice for all.  So, this name coupled with the powerful symbolism of the biblical verse seems to be a perfect fit for a ministry that proclaims God’s love for everyone.