First
Congregational United Church of Christ Mankato, Minnesota
OPEN AND
AFFIRMING RESOLUTION
In 1991, the
membership of First Congregational United Church of Christ of Mankato,
Minnesota adopted a new Mission Statement which proclaimed, in part,
that...
In order to
further our purpose we, as a community of faith in God - creator,
redeemer, and sustainer - take as our mission:
付o
promote personal spiritual growth and stronger faith through
education, prayer,
challenging each other in love, and struggling and searching for a greater
understanding of God
付o
proclaim the gospel of Jesus the Christ by word and deed
付o
further social and economic justice for all people
付o
engage in the church's wider mission to those who suffer from
ignorance, hunger, illness, poverty, and homelessness in this
community and
throughout the world
付o
be a church which invites and welcomes all persons, celebrates their
diversity of background, and protects their dignity and worth as
humans
付o
rejoice that God has yet more light and truth to give to the world.
We, the membership
of First Congregational United Church of Christ of Mankato, Minnesota
on this twenty-third day of January, 1994, re-affirm our Mission
Statement and acknowledge that it provides the foundation for the
following statement in support of the Open and Affirming resolution
regarding the church's response to persons of gay, lesbian, or
bisexual orientation which was adopted by the 15th General Synod of
the United Church of Christ in July, 1985.
As a community of
faith in God, we acknowledge our tendency to focus inward and we
reaffirm Christ's charge for us to actively reach out and welcome all
persons who wish to be a part of our community and affirm their faith
with us in worship, study, prayer and service.
As a community of
faith in God, we acknowledge that the Church has often intentionally
judged and excluded persons of gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation
from full participation in the life of the church or, by its silence,
acquiesced in that judgment and condemnation.
As a community of
faith in God, we invite and welcome all persons without regard to
sexual orientation to join with us in a faith and life journey; where
there remains continuing misunderstanding, fear and condemnation
towards persons of gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation among us, we
pray for God's grace and strength to overcome them.
As a community of
faith in God, we will actively and openly seek to address the needs,
advocate the concerns and redress the wrongs (such as discrimination
in the workplace, housing, religious expression) committed against
persons of gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientation in our local
community and in society at large.
Adopted 01/23/94
The Coalition
