Respected sir/madam,
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
I joined this congregation almost four years ago. Since then I have come to know and love many of you. And I would like to believe the feelings are mutual. After being a member for two years, as some of you know, I began to feel called to ministry. After discussing it with our Pastor, I approached the church council and requested to be registered with our governing bodys candidacy committee. You unanimously agreed to register me and even offered me financial assistance if I needed it.
It is with great guilt that I acknowledge I forgot to thank you in writing or in person for your decision. I have no excuse and ask you to forgive me. The only reason I can offer you to begin to explain why you never heard from me was because my decision whether to go to seminary and seek ordination was wrought with serious internal conflict. I was struggling deeply with something. I did not even know how to deal with the issue myself, much less with others. It was that struggle that led me to decide not to attempt to go to seminary and seek ordination in our denomination. Some of you have heard that I have reconsidered, and some of you have not. But none of you know why. The reason is that I am gay.
I am telling you this because I think you deserve an explanation for my lack of response to your registration of me and your offer of financial assistance. But also because of the pain this parish, our governing body, and our denomination are causing me and other gay people.