Reconciling Ministries Network

Please give a warm welcome to the newest Reconciling Ministry of the movement: Chapel Hill UMC in Battle Creek, MI! You can visit their website here: https://www.thehillbc.com/ #faithfullylgbt #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch

Please give a warm welcome to the newest Reconciling Ministry of the movement: Ballard UMC in Asbury Park, NJ! You can visit their website here: https://lnkd.in/eZDBTs3p #faithfullylgbt #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch

Come visit us at the RMN table at the North Central Jurisdictional Conference! Many thanks to Vermillion UMC for generously hosting. #faithfullylgbt #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch

Please give a warm welcome to the newest Reconciling Ministry of the movement: San Carlos UMC in San Diego, CA! You can visit their website here: https://lnkd.in/gEqbEX7J #faithfullylgbt #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch

"With conferences recently commissioning and ordaining LGBTQ+ clergy, both [Derrick Scott III] and [Angie] Cox said it doesn’t guarantee a congregation will accept a pastor assigned to that community. “'People going into ministry now that the rules have changed will probably have an easier time legally, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will change practically,' Cox said. 'Just because the rules have changed doesn’t mean hearts and minds have.' "Also, many LGBTQ+ clergy will be in a similar position to Cox, who has started a two-year approval process to becoming a fully ordained elder. Once fully ordained, they can serve as clergy delegates at regional and denomination-wide legislative assemblies and 'have the ability to order the life of the church,' Cox said. "That future work of shaping the church will only grow more demanding, especially at the local level, when local conferences face votes this next year to ratify the regionalization plan." Liam Adams reports for The Tennessean. https://lnkd.in/eMFnA6jV

"In addition to helping to align voices and identities — possibly avoiding unpleasant questions or interactions — gender-affirming vocal coaching can also help people move more comfortably through the world, confident enough to do things that seemed too fraught to attempt before." https://lnkd.in/ejHyZGDn

We're grateful to Discipleship Ministries and the team behind this project for vetting some popular Christian contemporary music from 2024 for a Wesleyan audience. Thanks especially to the LGBTQ+ members of the team and allies who combed through the music for inclusion! https://lnkd.in/eD9ujyea

“It’s a wonderful thing to be in a place where you’re totally accepted for who you are,” said Andre Simpson, 67, about the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s senior prom. An LGBTQ+ prom – or a summer soiree – is an event that Reconciling Churches have held. And yours can, too! https://lnkd.in/e378EPkJ

"Bishop elections in The United Methodist Church are typically the kind of institutional politics only those with a major stake in the organization care about," says reporter Cynthia Astle for Baptist News Global. This week, however, voting delegates "face a new set of challenges that will affect UMC workings down to the smallest congregation." https://lnkd.in/exM3f3mh #faithfullylgbt #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch

When it feels like the walls of justice are crumbling all around us, here are three lessons that RMN Communications Director Ophelia Hu Kinney keeps in mind: - Let yourself be guided by hope, not despair - Make banana bread - Participate in the group activity that is kin-dom empowerment Banana bread recipe included. https://lnkd.in/eMRYK8Xc