RECONCILING IN CHRIST (RIC)
Our Commitment
On October 15th, 2017, Messiah Lutheran Church took a near unanimous voted to become a part of ReconcilingWork's Reconciling in Christ (RIC) certification program. ReconcilingWorks "advocates for the acceptance, full participation, and liberation of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions within the Lutheran Church," and its RIC program certifies that individual Lutheran congregations are working to become ever more welcoming, including and celebrating of all our LGBTQIA+ siblings in faith, and indeed, everyone, without exception.
On June 6th, 2021, Messiah Lutheran Church took a unanimous vote to expand our RIC commitment by adopting the following welcome statement as one of its five core values:
Grounded in Ephesians 2:14, "For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us," in response to God’s unconditional love for all people, and in our belief that all people are beloved of God and made in the image of God, we therefore welcome and actively invite people of all ages, races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, relationship statuses, socioeconomic statuses, disabilities, and mental and physical conditions into full participation in the body of Christ. We believe that these things make the church diverse, beautiful, and reflective of God, and we therefore affirm the beauty, value, and gifts of each and every person.
We commit to striving continually to become a welcoming, affirming, and celebrating community. We commit to the work of anti-racism, in institutions and internally, interpersonal and structurally. We commit to breaking down dividing walls and building a community where each and every person would know they are loved, affirmed, and celebrated by God.”
On June 6th, 2021, Messiah Lutheran Church took a unanimous vote to expand our RIC commitment by adopting the following welcome statement as one of its five core values:
Grounded in Ephesians 2:14, "For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us," in response to God’s unconditional love for all people, and in our belief that all people are beloved of God and made in the image of God, we therefore welcome and actively invite people of all ages, races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, relationship statuses, socioeconomic statuses, disabilities, and mental and physical conditions into full participation in the body of Christ. We believe that these things make the church diverse, beautiful, and reflective of God, and we therefore affirm the beauty, value, and gifts of each and every person.
We commit to striving continually to become a welcoming, affirming, and celebrating community. We commit to the work of anti-racism, in institutions and internally, interpersonal and structurally. We commit to breaking down dividing walls and building a community where each and every person would know they are loved, affirmed, and celebrated by God.”
Our Actions
Living into our RIC commitment however is not just about making statements, but taking concrete action to be a more welcoming, inclusive and celebrating community. Here are just a few of the concrete actions we've taken in recent years:
Here are a few additional goals for the near future:
- Installed permanent Progressive Pride flags outside our Faith Center and Community Center.
- Broke ground on our over $500K "A Place at the Table for Everyone" Accessibility Project that will add two fully accessible, all-gender restrooms to our newly fully ADA compliant Faith Center.
- Celebrate an annual Pride Month Mass in June and Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Sunday in January.
- Actively participate in Schenectady Pride and Capital Pride with Schenectady Clergy Against Hate.
- Regularly preach and teach on issues related to welcome, antiracism and diversity.
- Provide financial support for ReconcilingWorks.
- Developed a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Policy for the Rotterdam Community Center.
Here are a few additional goals for the near future:
- Complete our "A Place at the Table for Everyone" Accessibility Project.
- Upgrade our t-coil hearing loop and other supports for members and visitors with various disabilities.
- Develop a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) Policy for Messiah Lutheran Church.
- Install a Peace Pole and Little Free Library featuring children's books to promote diversity and welcome of LGBTQIA+ individuals outside our Faith Center.
- Greater participation and support for local and regional pride events.
Additional Resources
Finally, for our LGBTQIA+ siblings in faith looking for additional support, you may wish to check out the following organizations and resources: