December 11, 2022

 

Intro

Good morning! The Reconciling in Christ “RIC” Core team is back with another RIC Ministry Moment!

First, we want to thank everyone who participated in the congregational survey. Your feedback was greatly appreciated and respected. Today we want to introduce ourselves to you again and answer some specific questions that you brought to us through your responses.

Trinity's core RIC team is currently made up of Sue, Wendy, Phil, Tricia, Sarah, Kathy, and Pastor T. Membership is always open and anyone is welcome to join at any time.

Two important questions some of you asked are, “What exactly is RIC?” and “Why are we doing this?”

In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus was asked which commandment is the most important. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second [most important is] ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Why

Reconciling in Christ is an ELCA supported journey of education, discussion, and introspection meant to engage congregations in thinking more deeply about what it means to truly love one another just as God loves us. Participating in the RIC program is both a recognition and an acceptance of our differences and our similarities. Through this program, we strive to live up to the Christian standard of loving our neighbors, regardless of religious beliefs, race, ethnicity, age, physical or mental ability, socio-economic status, previous or current life experiences, sexuality, gender expression, or the extent of our faith. It is not a tool for recruitment, rather it is intended to bring us closer together as a community and family of God.

What

Our Core Team's role is to plan and lead a series of discussions, activities, and Bible study. We will move at the pace that best suits our congregation's needs. Together, we will learn how to nurture safety, acceptance, understanding, and love in our community. The purpose isn't to check some boxes so we can announce ourselves “officially inclusive!” The purpose is to BE inclusive.

Creating an official welcome statement is one way that we will show our progress. This is done to remove the uncertainty felt by many people who have been ostracized, mistreated, or condemned because of who they are. We want all of our siblings in Christ to see that, whether within or outside of Trinity Lutheran Church and School, we love, care about, and provide a safe space for everyone to learn about and worship God. We often have little control over the outside world, but we can change how we receive people at Trinity. We can change how we accept and welcome people—both new and current—as our neighbors, and in our church family.

We know some of you are energized and excited about this process. We know some of you are unsure why we feel a need to go through this process at all. We know some of you are resistant to the process. That's all okay. We want to talk about all the feelings and thoughts that surround these issues and relate them back to God's teachings. We look forward to being on this journey with each of you.