After a year of discernment and learning and conversation and connection, led by the Reconciling in Christ Core team (Michelle, Scott, Adrienne, with support from Holly and Anni), we voted on a welcome statement for Spirit Garage, which also means we voted to officially be a Reconciling in Christ Community! This means we are committed to a few things:

  1. We clearly state a welcome to people of “all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions” or “LGBTQIA+” and name our commitment to anti-racism in our welcome statement.
  2. When seeking leadership for this faith community, we are open to calling an LGBTQIA+ and Black, Brown, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC) Rostered Leader.
  3. We will allow our spaces to be used for LGBTQQIA+ weddings and blessings.
  4. We will make a meaningful contribution to Reconciling Works each year. (They helped train and support us in this process, and they serve as a resource for queer faith leaders).

And you’ll see our welcome statement appear in various places, and you’ll hear it in various ways in church.Yay for us!
Plus, did you know October 11 is National Coming Out day? So it’s appropriate for us to also come out as an RIC church. This weekend we will celebrate! There will be a potluck-we’ll have Chili dogs and a rainbow of veggies and fruit, and a rainbow cake, and whatever else you decide to bring to share.

And this is the Spirit Garage Welcome Statement:

At Spirit Garage, all are welcome, and all means all. No matter who you are, where you come from, who you love, or what identities you hold, you are welcome here. God is love and God’s love knows no bounds—so show up as who you know yourself to be, because you have sacred worth.

Our community is full of creative, quirky and curious people. We may be under-churched, over-churched, never-churched, or somewhere in between. Some have sincere beliefs and some have sincere doubts. Some of our folks are sober and some are not. There are single people, families and relationships of all sorts. All of us are on journeys towards healing and wholeness.

Let’s show up with open hands and hearts, committed to anti-racism and inclusion, ready to learn from each other. With love and respect, let’s affirm the spectrum of gifts in race, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, neurodiversity, economic circumstance, faith, and all kinds of things we haven’t thought of yet.

All means all. What will you bring to the table?