DUNCANVILLE, Texas — The sanctuary of Trinity United Methodist Church in Duncanville is a safe space. Its pastor and members want people to know all are welcome.
“I just know God is with us, because of everything that we’ve been through,” said Rev. Jane Graner.
Graner, or Pastor Jane, as she’s commonly called, is the lead pastor at Trinity UMCD. She knows a lot about church and acceptance.
“I have a real passion for this, because I grew up in the church, and I was in high school when I began to realize that I was gay,” Graner explained. “I knew that being gay in the church is not usually something that is accepted.”
The path to the pulpit wasn’t smooth. Graner believed by the time she finished college and seminary, gay clergy would be more accepted in the church. She found out that journey would take much longer than expected.
“Every door was closed to me. I would try to go to this door, and it was closed. And I sat there I the dark for a while with all the doors closed, but before any windows were opened,” Graner remembered.
By the time Graner had her first call to preach to the time she was ordained in 2019, it was 40 years.
Many call her a pioneer, believed to be the first openly gay pastor ordained in the southern jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church.
“One of the things I really want is for young people who are part of the LGBTQ community to know that being in ministry in the church is a possibility for them,” Graner said.
Trinity UMCD members said the church’s mission is to be inclusive, accepting and welcoming of a variety of people from different races, cultures, backgrounds and experiences.
For the first time, Trinity UMCD will participate in Dallas’ Pride Fest activities at Fair Park this weekend. The church is also planning to launch a podcast, asking members of the community what they think the church needs to hear. No question, they said, is out of bounds.
“What I want the community to hear is that there are churches out there that are fully inclusive and fully welcoming,” Graner said. “We need to get the word out, better than we do now.”