That All May Freely Serve

Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are traveling this journey with us. Oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind! That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS) was founded in 1992 to advocate for an inclusive and welcoming Church and for the ordination of qualified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGB... T) candidates for ministry in the Presbyterian Church (USA). We were formed in response to a 1992 ecclesiastical court decision by the highest judicial body of the Presbyterian Church (USA) which set aside the pastoral call of the Rev. Dr. Jane Adams (Janie) Spahr to the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY, simply because she was open about her lesbian identity. In a constructive response to this painful denial, the Downtown Church created a mission project, That All May Freely Serve, and called on Rev. Spahr, their traveling lesbian evangelist, to visit congregations with pastors and church members throughout the country, telling the stories of LGBT Presbyterians. We join in solidarity in making the connections with those disenfranchised by racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, ablebodyism, gender identity oppression, eco-exploitation, militarism, and all other structures of exploitation and oppression through the lens of our social location. We focus on the liberation from religious prejudice and exclusionary church policies.Read More