I was proud of our Helena St. Paul’s United Methodist Church when we became a Reconciling Congregation some years ago. That means we declared that we welcomed LGBTQI+ people into full participation in our congregation, despite the excluding and judgmental stance of our denomination.<\/p>\n
We intend to remain welcoming, denomination or no. Still, we have something to learn from the Green Street United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem North Carolina. Here is their welcome statement:<\/p>\n
“Welcome to Green Street, where the Kingdom of God is breaking through!<\/em><\/p>\n “We practice the radical welcome of God:<\/em> “We love crying infants and wiggly toddlers<\/em> “We welcome friends of Jesus and church-phobics,<\/em> “We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t care if your family came here<\/em> “We believe that black and brown lives matter<\/em> “You are welcome<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was proud of our Helena St. Paul’s United Methodist Church when we became a Reconciling Congregation some years ago. That means we declared that we welcomed LGBTQI+ people into full participation in our congregation, despite the excluding and judgmental … Continue reading
Whether you are<\/em>
single, married, divorced, widowed,<\/em>
black, brown, white, or mixed,<\/em>
straight, gay, bi or confused,<\/em>
transgender, cisgender or non-binary,<\/em>
born in the USofA, or undocumented,<\/em>
we welcome you.<\/em><\/p>\n
athletic moms and out-of-shape dads,<\/em>
immature gray-haired people<\/em>
and children with old souls.<\/em><\/p>\n
religious refugees and agnostic doubters,<\/em>
corporate executives and starving artists,<\/em>
tree-hugging vegans and red-meat eaters.<\/em>
the unemployed and over-employed,<\/em>
Republicans, Democrats, independents and anarchists,<\/em>
the tattooed, pierced, both or neither,<\/em>
people who know it all<\/em>
and those who have hard questions.<\/em><\/p>\n
on the Mayflower or came across the border,<\/em>
came through Ellis Island,<\/em>
were brought here as slaves, or seek refuge.<\/em>
Everyone is welcome.<\/em><\/p>\n
and that white privilege is real.<\/em>
We welcome the least, last, losers and the lost,<\/em>
upper class, middle class, working class,<\/em>
or people with no class at all.<\/em>
If a crowded room gives you an extrovert buzz,<\/em>
or if silence soothes your inner introvert,<\/em>
there’s a place for you here.<\/em><\/p>\n
if you have sobered up or are still using,<\/em>
in recovery or thinking of rehab.<\/em>
We love sinners and saints,<\/em>
neighbors, strangers and enemies.<\/em>
Your presence enriches us.<\/em>
Thanks for visiting,<\/em>
and welcome home.”<\/em>
Now that’s a welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n