During the past year, the O & A Ministry Team received an email from the Reverend Ron Frazier, Interim Pastor, Cherokee Christian Church, Prairie Village, Kansas, asking why their congregation was not listed on the GLAD website. He informed the Team that he discovered the following paragraph in the congregation’s Constitution and By-Laws that had been adopted in 1996:
The membership of this Church shall consist of those persons who are now identified as members of the Congregation and those who shall unite with it by confession of faith and baptism or transfer of membership, without regard to gender, race, color, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
Our response was this: do you believe the congregation is already and desires, in the future, to live according to this membership statement? He reported that in the congregation’s recent Cottage meetings, attended by 90 percent of the congregation, members specifically affirmed this membership article. After Ron informed us of this process and sent a copy of the Constitution and By-Laws to the Team, the Team was delighted to welcome this congregation as the 63rd O & A congregation/ministry among Disciples.
This Team experience, however, raises three issues for the Team and for congregations: First, congregations craft Constitutions and By-Laws or Mission/Vision statements as a reflection of who they are. However, they forget or do not know to inform the Open & Affirming Ministry Team that they have an open & affirming statement in their public documents and consider themselves to be O & A. The Team cannot publish the name of a congregation as Open & Affirming without some written statement that has been affirmed by the congregation (not just the Board or the Elders or the pastor), making public their commitment to welcome all persons regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We have to maintain this guideline so that, to the best of our ability, we can declare that the congregations on our website list are safe space for all persons.
Second, we have discovered that there are congregations who have designed welcoming mission and vision statements or membership articles in their constitution/by-laws that do not reflect the present reality in the congregation. While the goal is laudable, such a declaration could be misleading to persons who have already been wounded by the church’s rejection of their gifts and graces. If your congregation says it is Open & Affirming, be sure this is an accurate, current reflection of your congregation’s ministry.
Third, if your congregation is already Open & Affirming, plan an annual celebration and reaffirmation of your commitment to welcome all persons. You may want to make this part of your ministry a focus for worship on or close to the anniversary of when you became O & A. You may decide to plan a special Pride event to celebrate your being an O & A congregation.
Regardless of what fits best in the life of your congregation, be diligent in reaffirming your O & A ministry regularly. A reaffirmation of your O & A ministry is especially important as your congregation begins a search process before calling a new pastor.
For more information about becoming O&A, contact Casey Williams, O&A Ministry Team Liaison, at cwilliams@gladalliance.org.
Click here for a list of O&A Congregations. Is your church on the list?
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