I want to express my appreciation and thanks

--- to my committee chair, Ted McIlvenna, and committee members Bill Stayton and Michele Angello, for their recommendations and encouragement in the process of writing this dissertation;

--- to my husband, Bill, for his long-suffering patience and understanding, for his astute editorial observations and suggestions, for his culinary skills and willingness to keep me fed during the dissertation process, for the purchase and installation of an air conditioner on the third floor so I could continue to write in my third-floor ‘office’ during the unseasonably hot weather of this past spring and summer, and for his unending love and support and encouragement;

--- to Bill Gallagher for the creation and maintenance of my initial research website;

--- to my readers and editors, Al Erlick and Chris Paige, for their acute and exceptional editorial skills and for their recommendations and suggestions that have helped me complete this dissertation;

--- to all of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered respondents without whom this dissertation wouldn’t exist, respondents who wanted to make their voices heard within the UMC, who trusted someone they didn’t know to create and maintain confidentiality, who cared enough for their church to want to share their feelings, who volunteered to be interviewed for this project;

--- to the many known and unknown pastors, bishops, and lay United Methodists who forwarded my questionnaire and research information to possible participants, put the information on websites and included information in church newsletters, and made the questionnaire available in their local churches;

--- to Beth (Babbitt) Borst, Director, Department of Statistics, General Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist Church, who provided me denominational statistics;

--- to the members of the Reconciling Ministries Network Board of Directors, who helped me reach the research participants, gave me guidance about developing this dissertation, who referred me to persons within the denomination who might have answers to my many questions;

--- to those who provided support and encouragement throughout the time I’ve been a student at IASHA, whose names are too many to list;

--- to Chris Paige, for her untiring, consistent, and generous giving of time, energy, and labor and patient endurance in the creation and development this web site;

--- and last, but probably most important, to my daughters and daughters in love, Ellen, Beth, Mary (Max), Kendra, and Chris, without whom this dissertation would never have been considered, let alone written. Thank you for sharing yourselves with me and deepening my understanding and appreciation of who you are as unique individuals: loving, valuable, creative, wise, brilliant, caring, supportive, feeling, beautiful, spiritual women. You are truly children of sacred worth, and my life is much richer for knowing all five of you

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