The Open & Affirming Ministry Team Celebrates the addition of three ministries to the O&A Ministry Program.
The new additions are
Pastor Susan Parsley, Forest Hill Christian Church, San Francisco, writes:
It was the consensus of the Board of Elders that we are an Open & Affirming congregation. The Elders started the discussion over the summer months of 2004 reading the book Listening to the Spirit, talking, and praying -- and decided at the September meeting to take it to the congregation for discussion in November.
Before that gathering, we wrote articles in our newsletter, talked with small groups and preached about declaring that we are called by the good news of Jesus Christ to be Open & Affirming, and that in truth, we were -- so why were we hiding our light under a basket? The consensus of everyone at our conversation, held right after worship on November 14th, was that it is time to declare to our wider community and to the world that we are O&A.
Our board met on November 17th and decided to proceed with writing our official statement and celebrating at our congregational meeting in December, which we in fact did.
On January 19, 2005, our Board of Elders officially adopted the following statement: "Forest Hill Christian Church is an open and affirming congregation, sharing God’s love and the Good News of Jesus Christ with all people. We value human diversity by welcoming persons of every age, national origin, economic status, religious and educational background, race, gender, sexual orientation, family configuration, difference in ability or other distinction."
It is with joy that the Open & Affirming Ministry Team and GLAD welcome this congregation to the growing number of Disciples congregations who are no longer willing to hide their light under a bushel.
Sixty-six Disciples congregations and ministries are publicly O&A and specific in proclaiming to the Church and to the world their solidarity with sisters and brothers in Christ who are marginalized because of their differing sexual identities.
These congregations, along with the congregations who are in the midst of their journey to become O & A, are a source of hope and justice love among Disciples and in the wider community. The wind of the Spirit continues to move mightily in our midst.
Complete contact information for these and all the O&A Ministries can be found at http://www.gladalliance.org/oaa.html.
| GLAD Alliance Inc. P.O. Box 44400 Indianapolis, IN 46244-0400 |
glad@gladalliance.org | return to www.gladalliance.org |