In this season of crisis for the United Methodist Church, which faces the possibility of transforming into a church no longer “united,” a number of congregations have decided that it is important to them, however the larger church acts on this issue, to determine their own stance toward the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LBGTQ) individuals within their faith communities. (See links below.) This seems an apt moment for our congregation to take the opportunity to seek our own path.
Here at St. Paul’s, a small group of us have formed an informal team, outside of the church’s administrative structure, to ask: How do we at St. Paul’s understand Gospel teachings on inclusivity?
The current members of this team are Scott Glancy, Rebecca Glancy, Steve Batch, Judy Waller, Abby Lagemann, and Claudia Mills.
We are using the resources provided by the “Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit” (https://www.reconcilingworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BIC-Toolkit.pdf). It is based on principles of respect for all voices and active, empathetic listening. Because we are seeking to formulate a position on inclusivity for our church, a church beloved by all of us, on this exploratory journey, our team is committed to hearing from all of you. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be inviting each of you to talk with us, one on one, to share your thoughts and feelings. Our goal is not to teach or to preach, but simply to listen, and to hear.
We ask for your prayers that we can undertake this journey together in a spirit of love: love for one another, and above all else, love for our Christ, whom we seek to serve in all that we say, and all that we do.
To learn more visit…
Reconciling Ministries website at https://rmnetwork.org
First United Methodist Boulder at https://fumcboulder.org/
Mountain View UMC at http://mtview.org/
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