The Church Confesses Sexual Shame

We often begin Christian worship with a leader up front who invites the assembly to confess their sins before God and neighbor. The idea is that we cannot sing and pray and hear the word with honest hearts until we have told the truth about what brings us here. And that’s a beautiful thing.

But tonight, confession looks a little different. It is the leaders, the church, who offer a confession to you, the assembly and to God. If you are a clergyperson and you’d like to join us in this confession, I invite you to come forward at this time. And if you are a clergyperson who needs to receive an apology more than you need to give one tonight, I encourage you to stay where you are with our gratitude and love. 

We wait for clergy persons to join us up front.

We have declared the importance of confession week after week for thousands of years…and yet our institution, our “Big C” Church, has not modeled confession very well. So this is one attempt to practice corporate apology on behalf of the Church.

Clergy will respond to each petition by saying, “We are truly sorry and humbly repent.”

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that we have taught human sexuality in ways that have promoted 

shame and embarrassment instead of power and beauty.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that we have misused the gospel of Jesus 

to decimate cultures and languages around the world, 

and to condone oppression, racism, and misogyny for generations. 

We are truly sorry and humbly repent. 

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that we have pitted the fullness and mystery of God’s creative image 

against its own self.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that we have too often described the feminine helper in Genesis 

as a foolish temptress and less than equal.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

the limitations of our lectionaries, and the insufficient time we spend 

with women and their stories in worship.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church,

the purity culture that narrows and simplifies the virtue 

of women, girls and femmes to their chastity. 

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that our systems have been complicit in protecting predators 

in churches and communities.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that we have kept silent when oppressed people 

have asked the Body of Christ to say something with compassion 

and to do something with our power.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

We confess, on behalf of the whole Christian church, 

that some of our history, our theology, and our leadership 

has caused people on the margins pain and suffering, 

that we have chosen the status quo of our systems 

over God’s beloved ones.

We are truly sorry and humbly repent.

For these things and many more, we are truly sorry and humbly repent. 

May the Church repent more boldly in these days, 

daring to practice what we preach, 

embodying humility in a proud and aching world, 

learning to trust that grace might be real for us, too. Amen.

Helping Survivors is an organization designed to help individuals who have experienced sexual assault and abuse. The resources we provide are intended for individuals who have experienced sexual assault or abuse who are seeking support or for those who are seeking to learn about how to best help survivors of sexual violence.

Child Sexual Abuse - helpingsurvivors.org/child-sexual-abuse/