AN INCLUSIVE PEOPLE
Listening to the Spirit Discernment Process--Lent 2007
How does our Vision Statement call us to relate to gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) Christians?
In keeping with the tradition of the Disciples of Christ and with our core values as a congregation, we believe God calls us to welcome anyone into membership who professes Jesus Christ as Lord, including GLBT people.
We have to admit that some of us are uncomfortable with couples (both homosexual and heterosexual) showing affection in public, but we do not believe God calls Central Christian Church to require GLBT people to keep secret their sexual orientation, to seek to change their sexual orientation or to practice celibacy in order to be welcomed in our congregation.
We believe God calls us to offer pastoral support rather than condemnation to all who come to Central Christian Church, including GLBT people.
We believe God calls us to support civil rights for GLBT people and we encourage individuals within our congregation to work for such rights.
We believe God does not call us to practice church discipline or judge the sexual behavior of any individuals who are part of our congregation, including GLBT persons; we believe God does call the church to provide education about helathy relationships.
We believe it is the task of the Region's Commission on Ministry to determine fitness for ordination; our congregation does not consider being GLBT to automatically exclude someone from ordination or licensing for ministry.
We believe God calls us to invite pulpit guests who will preach the Christian Gospel and who will not publicly oppose our core values; if invited to preach, the Rev. Gina Hartung of the Metropolitan Community Church would be no exeption to such standards.
We believe God calls us to be open and respectful of GLBT relationships but we do not believe God calls us to advertise that we welcome any single group, including GLBT people.
We do not believe God calls our congregation to celebrate Holy Unions for gay couples who are not church members.
Before asking anyone to serve in a leadership position in the congregation, we believe God calls us to appraise that person's gifts, skills, Christian maturity, knowledge of Disciples tradition and ability to maintain appropriate boundaries to keep our church a safe place for all people; we would make the same assessment of any GLBT Christian before asking him/her to take on a leadership role in the congregation.
We do not believe God calls us to begin the formal process of becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at this time.
We believe God calls us to list Central Christian Church on the http:www.gaychurch.org website as a safe place that welcomes GLBT persons along with everyone else, as long as agreeing to such a listing will communicate that message and as long as the church's name will only be listed at that address. Chuck, Roxanne, Kasey, Ariel, and Margaret will look into the actual website in order to bring a recommendation to the church board.
We look to the Bible as the normative, authoritative book of our faith and we believe God calls us to continue to consider the whole context of scripture whenever we study it.
Many Members, ONE TABLE
Radical Hospitality - Reconciliation,
Relationship and Remembrance
Reconciliation Ministries is sharing our story with Disciples across the U.S. and Canada.
Every Wednesday evening, members of Central Christian Church in Great Falls, Montana gather for mid-week worship at 7:00 PM much like many of our churches. Their service is affectionately named ROC which is short for Rely on Christ. One would think that ROC refers to the praise band that offers the musical complement to the service. However, in the telling of the experience of both members and participants, this service really embraces its handle. You see before worship, the community gathers for a meal. This community is inclusive of church members and members of the immediate community which is located in an urban, downtown setting. Every Wednesday evening, a small group of volunteers gather to prepare a meal for their guests who are sometimes homeless, hungry, un-churched and unfamiliar with the hymn "The Church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord".
Initially the meal was intended as a potluck for church members who attended Wednesday night service. Community members seeking out a meal were welcome to share the food. Eventually, the meal was intentionally prepared for and served to those members of the community who "lived" nearby as well as church members. This service of outreach to the community would be unlike that provided by the local mission who requires sobriety and cleanliness before a participant would be served a meal. The ROC fellowship meal only requires respect. Participants in the meal are asked to exercise respect for all persons participating in the meal as well as to respect the facility. "This is simple, radical hospitality" Pastor Greene informs me. He is also very keen to remind me that such hospitality does not always model harmony and peace. According to him, members have been known to break up a fight or two since he has been a part of the fellowship. Nevertheless, the fellowship continues and glimpses of grace abound.
This story of grace and withess that the power of love at God's table is able to bring together people from every tribe and every nation comes to mind: The majority of the community members who attend the meal and the subsequent worship are members of the Blackfeet nation. Some of the participants are Chippewa or Cree from the Rocky Boy Reservation. They have family on the Reservations. And yet they find community at Central every Wednesday when they come to have their evening meal.
The Rely on Christ dinner fellowship is just one example of Disciple's living into our identity as a Pro-Reconciling/Anti-Racist Church. As Disciples, we understand who hosts each of us at communion tables all over the life of our Church. It is at the Table where we meet Christ again and again and who gives us life through relationship, reconciliation and remembrance.
Will you give to the Reconciliation Offering which equips our churches to live into our identity of wholeness, unity and inclusion by offering radical hospitality and affirming the humanity of each member of the whole family of God?
We are "many members (yet) one Table!" Many Members, ONE TABLE
Radical Hospitality - Reconciliation, Relationship and Remembrance
Reconciliation Ministries is sharing our story with Disciples across the U.S. and Canada.
Every Wednesday evening, members of Central Christian Church in Great Falls, Montana gather for mid-week worship at 7:00 PM much like many of our churches. Their service is affectionately named ROC which is short for Rely on Christ. One would think that ROC refers to the praise band that offers the musical complement to the service. However, in the telling of the experience of both members and participants, this service really embraces its handle. You see before worship, the community gathers for a meal. This community is inclusive of church members and members of the immediate community which is located in an urban, downtown setting. Every Wednesday evening, a small group of volunteers gather to prepare a meal for their guests who are sometimes homeless, hungry, un-churched and unfamiliar with the hymn "The Church's One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord".
Initially the meal was intended as a potluck for church members who attended Wednesday night service. Community members seeking out a meal were welcome to share the food. Eventually, the meal was intentionally prepared for and served to those members of the community who "lived" nearby as well as church members. This service of outreach to the community would be unlike that provided by the local mission who requires sobriety and cleanliness before a participant would be served a meal. The ROC fellowship meal only requires respect. Participants in the meal are asked to exercise respect for all persons participating in the meal as well as to respect the facility. "This is simple, radical hospitality" Pastor Greene informs me. He is also very keen to remind me that such hospitality does not always model harmony and peace. According to him, members have been known to break up a fight or two since he has been a part of the fellowship. Nevertheless, the fellowship continues and glimpses of grace abound.
This story of grace and withess that the power of love at God's table is able to bring together people from every tribe and every nation comes to mind: The majority of the community members who attend the meal and the subsequent worship are members of the Blackfeet nation. Some of the participants are Chippewa or Cree from the Rocky Boy Reservation. They have family on the Reservations. And yet they find community at Central every Wednesday when they come to have their evening meal.
The Rely on Christ dinner fellowship is just one example of Disciple's living into our identity as a Pro-Reconciling/Anti-Racist Church. As Disciples, we understand who hosts each of us at communion tables all over the life of our Church. It is at the Table where we meet Christ again and again and who gives us life through relationship, reconciliation and remembrance.
Will you give to the Reconciliation Offering which equips our churches to live into our identity of wholeness, unity and inclusion by offering radical hospitality and affirming the humanity of each member of the whole family of God?
We are "many members (yet) one Table!"