The thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love

I resist his fundamental belief entirely, as someone trying to follow Jesus: Christ is the Foundation, not gender dysphoria or heterosexuality.

I am glad and encouraged by what Johnny McCambridge said in his comment on making his son’s birthday cake.

‘I’m reminded once again of the importance of seeing the world through other people’s eyes of not just listening to the voices inside my own head...’ (‘Even messy days can have a sweet topping,’ June 3)

For me, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. We would do better to listen to other people’s stories.

What re aligns people’s foundational identity is a direct encounter with Jesus, not because its less repugnant to ‘churchies’ but because He Loves each one of us and delights to show mercy and compassion on all that He has made, including practising homosexuals and lesbians and people who do not consider themselves binary.

There are plenty of testimonies from practising homosexual and lesbians to finding their own sense of peace,strength and identity with a direct encounter with Jesus and then renouncing their former practices.

I find it presumptuous to assume that God hasn’t maybe already left some or all aspects of the Church of Ireland. Who knows? Ichobod will leave me too if I don’t listen to another with humility and stoop and bend an ear to listen to him rather than bigoted dogma.

That said, if I have misunderstood what Dermot O’Callaghan was conveying I am sorry: open dialogue is good.

Be loved,

Jo Loney, Dungiven