Wrote an email to my (Unitarian Universalist) minister a few weeks ago -- I had already told her that I was poly. Now I told her that I wasn't sure I was welcome in our congregation. That was hard for me to say.
We've been doing these "Radical Inclusion" meetings -- talking about how we accept GLBT people, all races, all economic classes, all generations, etc. I feel more optimistic now about poly acceptance than I did in years past.
But I have a long history with this congregation. I "came out" to them about 15 years ago. I wrote a full-page article on polyamory for the church newsletter. And then -- I got depressed. One response to my article was a letter -- "Polyamory is clearly just a code-word for promiscuity". A second was a letter along the lines of "How can I invite my neighbors to visit our church if we allow people like that into the congregation?".
But now, the new minister...who knows? She asked if I wanted to talk -- I said yes. Guess I'll give her my whole long history with them (I've been a member of this congregation since 1985) -- my fears and hopes.
We'll see what happens.
I told her, "It's hard to say 'Love is the Doctrine of this Church' when you feel you can't name the people you love" (whether Love can be a "doctrine" at all will remain an issue for me).
Fingers crossed.