BROADCASTS.com

b'The first four months of my tenure in the Mountain Sky Area were spent traveling with each of the district superintendents through their districts. It was a grueling schedule as we covered the 470,000 square miles of this area, but it was necessary if I was to get a clear picture of the state of the United Methodism in the Mountain Sky area\\u2026As the first openly lesbian bishop, I knew people had to meet me. In many small communities, LGBTQ people are rare\\u2014most leave as soon as they can to move to cities where they can find community with others like them. People had an understanding of what they thought an LGBTQ person was like, but not necessarily from a first-hand encounter\\u2026Robin frequently made these trips with me\\u2026As my spouse, we knew it was important for people to see us together. For many in these small towns, we would be the first married lesbian couple they had ever met. We wanted to dispel any misconceptions about who we were, and to stand authentically and vulnerably before them.\\n~ Bishop Karen Oliveto'