Our outgoing co-president Tarja Pyykkö wrote a beautiful text in our Annual Report which was presented during our Annual General Meeting in Turku, Finland in May 2025.

Today, we gather not only as friends, as family, as siblings in Christ — but as witnesses. Witnesses to a world that still struggles to understand that every human being is made in the sacred image of God. Witnesses to injustice. Witnesses to hope.

In recent months, we have seen setbacks in human rights across Europe — laws passed that seek to silence us, policies that attempt to erase our dignity, and leaders who weaponise faith against the very people Christ came to embrace. It hurts. It is tempting to despair.

But friends, remember: our God is no stranger to setbacks. From the Israelites wandering in the desert, to the early Church hiding underground, to every movement for justice that has ever marched forward two steps and been shoved back one — God has never abandoned the oppressed. God is with us in the struggle.

As LGBTI+ Christians, we live at the beautiful, painful intersection of faith and identity. Some say we do not belong — but we know the truth: we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). We are called. We are cherished. Our identity is not an obstacle to God’s love; it is a reflection of it.

And so today, I call us not to despair — but to resilience. To love defiantly. To organise boldly. To pray with our feet, our voices, and our hearts.

We must remember that no law can outlaw the Spirit. No politician can undo the cross and the resurrection. No prejudice can cancel out the radical, inclusive love that Jesus lived and died to proclaim.

They can pass laws. They can build walls. But they cannot stop the dawn. And beloved — the dawn is coming.

We will keep loving. We will keep building safe spaces. We will keep lifting up the broken-hearted, welcoming the outcast, and proclaiming a gospel bigger than hate.

Because we are the Church. We are the Body of Christ. And we are not going anywhere.

So take heart. Grieve when you need to. Rage when you must. And then stand back up. Because the world needs us — fierce in faith, and fierce in love.

May the God who parted seas, who raised the dead, who names us Beloved —strengthen us for the road ahead.

We are not alone. We have each other. We have our ancestors in faith. And we have a promise: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20).

Thank you. Stay strong. Stay holy. Stay proud.