Dear GLAD,
Central Christian Church of Decatur, Illinois had one discernment group which met from September through December of this past fall. There were about 10 of us, including our Associate Pastor, a member of our local GLAD group, and our group leader who is a progressive retired Methodist minister. We covered all of the Bible study and worshiped with a communion service each week. We are going to convene again sometime later this spring.
We felt it was successful in many ways, especially because we sent letters and had conversations with many people about what this process is and why we are doing it. Also, the articles and announcements in our church newsletter were a way of breaking the silence in our local congregation. However, we did not have many conservative voices who wanted to participate, and the one member who planned to participate had things come up that kept him from attending. But it was a beginning, and we do plan on having more sessions.
Our new Peace and Justice Task force is very supportive of the process and further education that will hopefully some day lead to an "Open and Affirming" congregation. The great news is that our task force group along with the Peacemaking group of a local Presbyterian church is co-hosting the Shower of Stoles project in April. We are so excited! For our conservative community, this is a good step.
Peace,
Kathy Pepper
| GLAD Alliance Inc. P.O. Box 44400 Indianapolis, IN 46244-0400 |
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