Truth is, we're still figuring that out ourselves. By becoming a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation, we're committing ourselves to an ongoing discernment about how we can ensure that all of God's children feel welcome and celebrated in our church and community. We'll cover some big questions and issues below, but you can also visit the Reconciling in Christ website by pressing this button.
Simply put, it means that when we say that "All are welcome," we mean that everybody is welcome in this congregation. Specifically, we are extending a welcome to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, because they have historically been excluded from Christian spaces. And we also extend a welcome to people of color and ethnicities other than European, because of the oppression they have faced in American society. Press this button to watch a video about why just saying, "All are welcome" isn't enough, and why it was important to put together a specific statement.
The short answer is: nothing! This statement was crafted to reflect the values of inclusion and acceptance that Grace Lutheran church holds and has held for a long time. Our worship, traditions, and programs are not suddenly going to transform into something unrecognizable.
But the longer answer is that we will want to change some of our practices to become more inclusive to people to have often felt excluded from the church. We might change some of the wording of our liturgy to be more gender-inclusive. We might sing hymns from areas other than the United States and Europe. We will work to deconstruct patterns of racism in our words and actions to become better at lifting up and supporting people of color. We will work to make sure that people of all abilities can worship safely with us.
While it's true that the rainbow flag is a sign of the LGBTQIA+ community, that is not the only reason that it is used in the logo for Reconciling in Christ! At the end of the story of Noah and the flood, God created a rainbow as a promise of steadfast love and protection for all people on the earth. Therefore, the rainbow is an encouraging and hope-filled sign for many people and communities that have long been excluded from the church. For LGBTQ+ people who were told that they were sinful because of who they love or who they are, it's a reminder that God loves them because of who they are and who they love. So Reconciling in Christ congregations use this sign to affirm our belief that God loves all people, and to join in the work of making sure that all people are able to receive and feel the love of God.
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By no means! You are welcome here. When we commit to being an inclusive church that welcomes all people, we need to live by that for people of all beliefs, backgrounds, lifestyles, and opinions. Holding so much difference together is not an easy task in modern American life, but it's what we are committed to doing as a church.
However, we are a church that believes that all people deserve respect, acceptance, and safety. So while we will never ask members to pass some kind of ideological test, we do request that you offer respect, acceptance, and safety to every other person in the church. So even if you don't fully understand what being transgender or gender-nonconforming means, we still ask that you show transgender people respect through your words and actions. Even if you don't fully support same-gender marriage, you accept that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer people are people who deserve and receive God's love just like you. Even if you don't support the Black Lives Matter movement, you don't make a black person feel unsafe.
Sometimes, someone might ask you to change a practice or behavior to better show respect, acceptance, or safety. In such a case, we ask that you refrain from becoming defensive, and instead learn how to better create a safe, respectful, and accepting environment for everyone at the church. People who ask you to change are not saying that you are a bad person. Rather, they know that you are a good person and are merely asking you to make some adjustments to better show them the love of Jesus Christ. If you are ever feeling disrespected, unsafe, or unaccepted, you have the right to make that known as well in a respectful manner.
Is this a challenge? Yes! We're entering into a bold new way of expressing and proclaiming God's love! That comes with making some changes to how we act, speak, and live as a community. But we trust that God loves us enough to give us the strength we need to hold our differences together in a community committed to the grace of Jesus Christ. We hope that you will join us in this work of being transformed by God to provide hospitable welcome to all people.