August 10:Summary send to the congregation

A summary of our concerns was sent to the entire congregation.  Much of the note repeats entries already on this blog.  Therefore only the summary is included here.

Summary

Since April 27^th the group has repeatedly asked for a conversation with the council to discuss the policy change and the process by which the policy was changed.    This council has refused to have this conversation. 

When the new policy was originally announced on March 11, we were informed that we were welcome to renew our social contacts with Mike and Richard.  This is no longer the case.  Mike and Richard have been told not to have any social contacts until this matter is resolved.   As of this writing there is no timetable for a resolution of this issue.

Until recently the group communicated its concerns through Phil.  We had hoped that he would inform the entire council and that would bring our concerns to the congregation so the congregation as a whole would be informed of our concerns.  Since this has not happened, we are communicating directly with you.

We initially hoped to resolve this internally within the church.  Most of us now agree with Phil and the council that engaging an outside consultant to heal the wounds may be necessary.  But we see a change in the policy needs to happen now to begin the healing process.

We are deeply concerned that our church is departing from the teachings of Jesus; that of radical love, acceptance, and forgiveness; rejecting no one.  We have differences at present with the decisions of our church leadership.  We maintain love and respect for them but not for this new policy.  If you are not aware of the issue, we have taken it upon ourselves to share what we know with you.  You may or may not agree with the policy but we want you to be informed about it and the challenge we experience in having a conversation with church leadership.

We are hopeful that we can exercise our congregational voice and once again be a united, open and affirming congregation, committed to compassion and inclusion.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact anyone in our group. 

JB Note: This was signed by 38 members of the group.  A few of the original members of the group have already left the church.

August 10: Summary sent to Karla and Phil

On Aug 10 the group decided to send a summary of our concerns to the entire congregation.

Before the email went out to the congregation this note was sent to Karla and Phil along with an attachment of the summary of concerns.

Karla and Phil,

As members of the congregation, we have been disappointed with the lack of discourse and interaction made available to the congregation about the Former Pastor Policy generated by the HMR and adopted by the Church Council.

FCUCC is a Congregational church.  As such, the congregation has the responsibility to make important decisions. This fundamental element of our denomination has been sorely missing during this process. 

To address that issue, we have drafted this "Summary of Concerns” to send to all members of the congregation.  That document is attached. 

                                          

As uncomfortable as it is for us as members to reach out to the congregation independent of church leadership, we believe that it is now the right and necessary to do. 

We believe that only with transparency and clear communication between all involved can real healing take place. Recognizing the responsibilities you have as Pastor and Moderator and respecting your need to be informed in advance, we are communicating with you before we communicate with the entire congregation.

Please know that we recognize how difficult this situation is for you as leaders of FCUCC as it also is for those of us expressing concerns.  However, we continue to believe, as Jesus asked us to do, that, although we may disagree, we are indeed "one body;" and we need to work together as best we can to bring his message of justice, mercy and forgiveness to the world. 

Respectfully,

Ben Coonrod

Diane Rhodes

FCUCC Open and Affirming Statement

 From the church website this is our Open and Affirming Statement:

OPEN AND AFFIRMING STATEMENT

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:28

As Christians and members of First Congregational United Church of Christ, we are a diverse group of people.

We are persons of various ages, races, gender identities, accomplishments and goals, abilities, sexual orientations, theological and political beliefs, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.

In our diversity we find strength and a way to understand the inclusiveness of God. We recognize each individual as a child of God. We welcome all people to join in our common mission through participation and leadership in this communion of faith.

JB Note:  

Two salient points: 

1. We were not becoming open and affirming we already were. 
2. The statement  went well beyond the LBGTQ community, e.g.   “races … theological and political beliefs, socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.”