Please Forgive Us

Dearest Brothers, Sisters, Family, and Friends,

We recently posted a blog regarding the controversial issue of abortion. Our intent was to have a loving and honest forum for thoughts and concerns regarding this issue. Unfortunately, this is not what happened. We unintentionally gave birth to a great amount of dissension within our church family as well as our extended brothers, sisters, and friends. Please believe us when I say that this was not our intent and we really feel awful that this is what occurred. To clarify, I want to make a few simple statements regarding what Jade was attempting to say, but was gravely misunderstood.

We do NOT support abortion, NOR would we ever advise this course of action to anyone no matter what the circumstance. We DO support the persons who are going through the decision process of whether or not to abort with love, compassion, and encouragement. We will NOT make the decision for them, NOR will we judge, shun, or withhold grace from someone who has had an abortion because we realize that sometimes people make unChristlike decisions in their lives that seem best to them at the time given their life circumstances whether it is abortion, alcohol, drugs, sex, adultery, stealing, lying to their boss, or insulting a friend (we are/were all guilty sinners undeserved of Christ's grace). We WILL embrace everyone with compassion guided by grace, love, and humility.

We are deeply sorrowed at the direction that this discussion has taken. We are deeply sorrowed at the dissension and anger it has caused within our church family and beyond.

We humbly ask for your forgiveness for all of our part in creating this rift. I hope that each of you will receive and accept our apology. I know that we unintentionally cut deeply into many of you. Again, that was not our intent.

For the sake of unity in our church family and friends, we have deleted the posts and comments from both of our blogs. We pray that this will be accepted as our sign of our understanding of the covenant relationship we have with each of you and that we believe that relationship to be more important than anything else as it is a relationship, a community, bound by, in, and through Christ. We pray that this marks the end of the rift, or at the very least, the beginning of the healing process for the wound of which we were the knife.

We truly love you all!

humbly His, emman and jade chapman