As expected, there was a wide range of comments:

	Steering committee member Mary Smith said: "My position is that homosexuality is a sin, but one that will be forgiven in light of confession and repentance." She said she believes people can choose "to change from the homosexual lifestyle [to] serve the Lord as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, in heterosexual relationships."
	Pastor Rev. Alvin O. Jackson, formerly of Memphis, TN had believed that homosexual behavior was an "abomination in the nostrils of God." His church had a large counseling service to help gays and lesbian change  their sexual orientation. Jackson said: "It was done out of love and concern, but I have since concluded that those efforts were largely misdirected. If we have to err, isn't it better to err on the side of being too inclusive rather than being too exclusive?"
	Rev. Mark Johnston, a Boston, MA, pastoral psychiatric counselor said: "To be honest, I'm tired of it. I'm tired of having my faith and my ministry questioned because I'm gay. I have learned that the support offered by the church is not trustworthy. I have learned to make sure I place my faith in God, not in the church."

Committee member Gregory Alexander of Lexington, Ky., told the  convention that: "Discernment always occurs in stages. This process cannot be an end in itself. Further reflection, prayer and spiritual examination will be required."  Leaders of the Church said that there is no timetable, nor inclination, to settle on a firm denomination position. _1,8
 

2002-DEC: Church performs same-sex unions: The National City Christian Church (NCCC) is a Disciples of Christ congregation in Washington DC. It has been the home church of many politicians including President Lyndon Johnson. About the year 2000 they began discussions about the inclusions of gays and lesbians into the congregation. In mid-2002, they began welcoming openly gay members. Agape Press stated that in 2002-DEC, the congregation's "... 20 elders voted unanimously to allow homosexual wedding ceremonies in the sanctuary." [This appears to be an error because same-sex marriages were not valid in DC at the time and still are not legal in 2009-JUL. However, the District began to recognize legal same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The "weddings" referred to were probably union ceremonies. Phil Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition said that it is just a sign of the "... decay and demise of this church." It is a church, Sheldon says, that has "left behind Christianity and the Bible." He is apparently referring to the conservative wing of Christianity, because other liberal denominations like the United Church of Christ and the Episcopal Church, USA have matched or gone further than the Disciples of Christ. ₂