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Our New Justice and Inclusion Team
Gethsemane has formed a new Justice and Inclusion Team made up of eight members from multiple generations of our congregation, with Pastor Lydia serving as a liaison to the team. The purpose of this team is to help our congregation continue the work we named in the welcome statement we adopted several years ago. The Justice and Inclusion Team has begun exploring what it means to live more fully into that commitment. As part of that work, the team is exploring a program that helps ELCA congregations live out a public commitment to inclusivity.
Since 1974, ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation has supported ELCA congregations committed to actively welcoming people of all backgrounds into all aspects of the church’s life to achieve the designation of being a Reconciling in Christ, or RIC, congregation. To date, about ⅓ of the congregations in the Twin Cities area are RIC.
Currently, the team is focused on learning and listening. Team members are beginning their own education using resources from the ELCA, and we hope to invite the congregation into that learning as well. Over the coming months, there will be opportunities to:
Share your thoughts and questions (in person and anonymously)
Learn more about Reconciling in Christ (RIC)
Participate in conversations and forums
This process is not about rushing toward a decision. Instead, it is about faithfully exploring together how we can continue removing barriers so that all people know they are welcome in God’s love at Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Martin Luther sought to reform the church because he believed barriers were being placed between people and God. In that same spirit, we hope to listen, learn, and discern together as a congregation.
Your voice matters in this process!
We invite you to walk with us by completing a short survey
At Gethsemane, we are called as followers of Christ to move in solidarity & mutuality with our neighbors, especially those most- vulnerable, to faithfully bear witness to injustice, and commit ourselves and our resources to actively rejecting and resisting oppression every- and anywhere it takes form.
At Gethsemane, we are called as followers of Christ to move in solidarity & mutuality with our neighbors, especially those most- vulnerable, to faithfully bear witness to injustice, and commit ourselves and our resources to actively rejecting and resisting oppression every- and anywhere it takes form.
We believe every person of every race, religion, gender, sexuality, age, ability, economic/immigration/transition status, from every region of the world, is created in God's Image (Gen. 1:27) and shows us who God is and what God looks like. Christ still walks among us, reminding us that whatever we do (or do not do) unto the least of these, we do unto Him (Matt. 25:31-46). We are fully divested from culture wars, and committed instead to creatively cultivating Beloved Community with all our neighbors in the present circumstances.
We believe every person of every race, religion, gender, sexuality, age, ability, economic/immigration/transition status, from every region of the world, is created in God's Image (Gen. 1:27) and shows us who God is and what God looks like. Christ still walks among us, reminding us that whatever we do (or do not do) unto the least of these, we do unto Him (Matt. 25:31-46). We are fully divested from culture wars, and committed instead to creatively cultivating Beloved Community with all our neighbors in the present circumstances.
To that end, we will share resources here to empower each other to know our rights, be in solidarity with our vulnerable neighbors, embrace strangers among us, and Love others without condition or caveat.
KNOW
KNOW
YOUR RIGHTS
YOUR RIGHTS
No matter who holds elected office, everyone in the USA has rights! If you're concerned for yourself or your immigrant, refugee, and non-citizen friends & neighbors, knowing your rights and helping your neighbors know theirs is one of the most impactful ways to advocate!
LEARN MORE & GET INVOLVED: ILRC | ILCM | ACLU-MN | UNIDOS | GLOBAL REFUGE
RED CARDS:
Free downloadable Red Cards are available in most languages to print and carry (and hand out to neighbors). Find them here.
RED CARDS:
Free downloadable Red Cards are available in most languages to print and carry (and hand out to neighbors). Find them here.
WORKPLACE RIGHTS:
If ICE or Police show up at your workplace, you have rights and so do your co-workers. Learn more & find resources here.
WORKPLACE RIGHTS:
If ICE or Police show up at your workplace, you have rights and so do your co-workers. Learn more & find resources here.
LGBTQIA+ INCLUSION
LGBTQIA+ INCLUSION
All are Welcome at Gethsemane where we are committed to the hard work of learning to be actively welcoming to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions. All are wonderfully and beautifully made by God.
Read GLC's full Statement of Welcome & Inclusion here.
TRANS LIVES ARE SACRED.
Unequivocally. Undeniably. Unquestionably.
TRANS LIVES ARE SACRED.
Unequivocally. Undeniably. Unquestionably.
In their resplendent, transfiguring beauty,
Trans people bear God to us.
In their resplendent, transfiguring beauty,
Trans people bear God to us.
We stand with, for, and around our Trans siblings and proclaim loudly their inherent Belonging & Belovedness in the Body of Christ and to the Kin-dom of God.
We stand with, for, and around our Trans siblings and proclaim loudly their inherent Belonging & Belovedness in the Body of Christ and to the Kin-dom of God.
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