Inclusiveness Committee Update: 9/22

Our Inclusiveness Committee met on 9/22/19 to go over next steps on our path to becoming a Reconciling Church (for background please read the blog post Process to Becoming a Reconciling Church).

We discussed the “When, What, Why and How” of this process and what it means for us as individuals and as a congregation. The Committee agrees that the most important piece of this puzzle is the “WHY.” Why are we becoming a Reconciling Church?

Becoming a Reconciling Church means that we are celebrating and affirming Jesus’ example of love without reservation. We welcome and invite all people to join us on our faith journey, regardless of differences among us. You can read the entire Inclusiveness Statement on our website.

Becoming a reconciling church means we openly disagree with the passage in the Methodist Book of Discipline that states “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” and that “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” cannot be ordained as ministers or be married in the church.

Our “Why” is that at the highest level, Methodists believe all creatures are loved by God and that all people are God’s children. We firmly believe if we deny people God’s Love – in the form of the right to employment, the right to marriage, the right to love – then we deny Christ.  

Many in our congregation, larger community and families are discriminated and marginalized by upholding this passage in the book of discipline, and we are banding together with many other churches (not just Methodist churches!) in the Nation to say “Enough.”

The Inclusiveness Committee believes it isn’t enough to simply adopt a statement and call ourselves “welcoming.” We want to officially join the Reconciling Ministries Network (RCM) and truly practice what we preach.

You might be wondering what it means to join the RCM, or even what RCM is.

RCM is a network of over 40,000 Reconciling United Methodists and over 1,000 Reconciling Churches and Communities. By joining the RCM we join this growing community that “is committed to reconciliation that leads to the healing and transformation of animosity into honest relationships that respect all God’s children. Reconciliation is a profound ongoing individual and collective commitment from all those affected to establishing new relationships embedded in mutual recognition. Authentic reconciliation requires the naming and the speaking of truth to create relationships and communities grounded in peace with justice.”

The California-Nevada Annual Conference (to which we belong) is a reconciling community along with many of our neighbors including Los Altos UMC, First UMC of Palo Alto, Berkeley UMC, Glide Memorial, Bethany UMC in SF, First UMC San Jose, Ukiah UMC, Walnut Creek UMC and so many others.

Officially joining the RCM does not mean we are leaving the Methodist Church. Our Conference supports becoming a reconciling ministry and our Bishop stated in an open letter “I believe that the full inclusion of ALL God’s children is the necessary first step to being the Church God calls us to be”. All this means is we become part of an “organization seeking the inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in both the policy and practices of United Methodist Church.”

Those who were present at the recent Inclusiveness Committee meeting are warmly open to discussing this process with anyone in the congregation. We can meet for coffee or a walk or chat before or after Sunday worship. If you are interested, please reach out to: Patty B., Kim H., Becky R., Amber R., Sue H., Emily G., Elaine R. and Irene.

Our next steps as a congregation are to converse, listen, and educate one another about this process, about how to welcome LGBTQI+ persons in our church, and why we are choosing to become a member of RCM.

In addition, special guest preacher Rev. Dr. Israel (Izzy) is scheduled to speak with our church on Sunday, 11/17. Please attend either the 8am or 10am worship for this amazing opportunity to hear him. He is the Western Regional Organizer for RCM and a resident of San Francisco; read his bio here.

This education process is followed by a  “poll” to see where the hearts and minds of our congregations are before taking a formal vote to become a member of RCM. The vote needs to be passed by 75% in order to submit our formal application and complete this process.

We pray this is a peaceful path we walk together with God's love in our hearts and acts of justice in our minds!

In the meantime, here are next steps you can take as an individual:

CUMC HMB