Our Mission

 The mission of the GLBTi network is to provide a support system and fellowship opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals.

 It is our belief that we are all wonderfully created in the image of our God.  Regardless of our  sexual orientation, we are all part of the full spectrum of God's human creation, a rainbow of diversity.  Sexuality is a gift from our Creator, not a choice we consciously make.  Rather, a choice is the decision of how we express who we are.

 As Christians we believe we are empowered to be a model of the Gospel, loving our fellow human beings and promoting justice for all.

Committee on Ministry with Gay and Lesbian Persons

The Committee on Ministry with Gay and Lesbian Persons was formed by Bishop Chip Marble in 1997 and is charged with the support of gay and lesbian Episcopalians in their lives in the Church.  The committee meets regularly to discuss issues of human sexuality and seeks ways to assist parishes and communicants throughout the diocese in struggling with these issues.  Each year, the committee sponsors a booth at Annual Council where it offers a variety of educational materials on human sexuality.  In 2000 the committee published Voices Rising, a collection of personal accounts of gay and lesbian Episcopalians from Mississippi.  (Provide a link to this collection of stories.)  Beginning in 2006, the committee began sponsoring an annual retreat designed for gay and lesbian individuals and their allies.  (website)

 Committee Members

The Rev. David Lemburg, McComb, MS
The Rev. Janet Ott, Jackson, MS
Van Bankston, Carrollton, MS
John Lever, Jackson, MS
The Rev. Craig Gates, Greenwood, MS
Ed Oliver, Jackson, MS
Katy Watkins, Meridian, MS
Debra Young, Oxford, MS
The Rev. Dr. Lynn Barker, Grenada, MS
Dr. Robin Webb, Jackson, MS
The Rev. Ed Lundin, Woodville, MS
The Rev. Shannon Manning, Jackson, MS

Ministry with Persons with AIDS

The Mississippi Episcopal AIDS Committee was formed in 1988 with focus on three principal areas related to AIDS:

 Spiritual support for people with AIDS, their caregivers, families, and loved ones, education and prevention, and emergency financial support for those who have no other funding source for medicine, transportation, food and utilities.  (website)

Psalm 139:  1-10

¹O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
   you discern my thoughts from far away.
³You search out my path and my lying down,
   and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
   O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵You hem me in, behind and before,
   and lay your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
   it is so high that I cannot attain it.

⁷Where can I go from your spirit?
   Or where can I flee from your presence?
⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
   if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
   and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me,
   and your right hand shall hold me fast.