Uncomfortable Church (continued)

A few weeks before the meeting one young man wrote a message for our church newsletter urging us to take the vote and to vote to become a RC. I agreed with his article and felt he was right, but I still worried about the process and that it was important to go through it. Becoming a Reconciling Congregation is a commitment and a big one - churches that become a RC are supposed to have ongoing visibility in the community that they are a Reconciling Congregation. It isn't just something that a church puts in the newsletter.
At the meeting several people who seemed anti got up and spoke, but there wasn't a huge amount of discussion. A few people who think that education and process is important got up and spoke (including me). I was torn, as I did want the vote and I wanted to vote for it, but ultimately I voted to table. It felt uncomfortable, but I felt okay about how it went and the outcome.
Then the next day I found out that the young man, who wrote the article for the newsletter, and his family are leaving the church. I also found out that other younger people were very upset. And, I did notice at the vote that some that I knew were for becoming a RC voted against tabling. I had been so focused on those against that I didn't think as much about many people being for - even though I did have a feeling that if a vote was taken it might be supportive, but then we wouldn't have gone through the process! (my thought)
Oh, uncomfortable church - sometimes one thinks it is uncomfortable one way, when it turns out it is uncomfortable the other way. Maybe I should have had more faith that we could have taken the vote, passed it and then been equal to and up to what becoming a Reconciling Congregation means.... Maybe, I was too worried about trying to not get too many people upset and I contributed to upsetting the people I stand with...
Once again I am uncomfortable - I am trying to learn from it, grow from it and struggle through it.

Uncomfortable Church

Uncomfortable Church
I am a person who believes that church shouldn’t be comfortable. If church is comfortable or too comfortable for me, then I am not thinking deeply about issues or struggling with my beliefs or who I am. I need to be able to struggle with myself, God and sometimes others to learn and grow.
Last Sunday was a day of very uncomfortable church. We had our Charge Conference and at that meeting we were supposed to have a vote (put off from June) about whether or not to become a Reconciling Congregation - becoming a church without outward and visible signs that we are welcoming to GLBT persons.
I am in total support of our church becoming a Reconciling Congregation and that is what I want and what I am working for. The vote came up (last June) rather quickly and without a lot of preparation. I have always thought that becoming a RC takes a lot of dialogue, education and time - so I was rather dismayed that it came about the way it did.
It became apparent there were some people who were upset and did not want education or a process to work toward this. We have a new chairperson for our Ad Council and she was surprised by the controversy - but supportive.
I continued to feel that any church needs lots of time to get ready for the process of becoming a Reconciling Congregation and for people to "get on board". This church is a welcoming and friendly church and many people did not see the need to become a Reconciling Congregation and didn’t understand what it means. They did not see the need to go that one step more.
At one of the Ad Council meetings several people who had concerns - on the side against becoming a RC came and spoke. It seemed that it might be too soon to take this vote - that maybe tabling the vote for a time would be the better course. It wasn’t that tabling meant this issue was going to go away, just that the process would continue and opportunities for education and dialogue would be provided.

Wondering

Lately I have been wondering why I feel I always have to mention to people that I am from Maine. And, when I created this blog why I immediately wanted to associate it with Maine. When people ask me if I miss Maine, I say no, but I would if I could never go back. I am lucky that I can travel and I can go back to Maine at least once a year.



I guess, even though I am happy here in Nebraska and I love the opportunities that I have to travel and live in another part of the country - my roots are deep and I want to keep that connection to Maine. For a while I think I was glad to not be in Maine, but now that time is healing things I want to honor my love and commitment to Maine.



As I have come to realize, there is beauty in every state. I love Nebraska the wide open prairie and the sky that goes on forever. And I love Maine for the trees, the big lakes and the ocean. I am also lucky to have many people back in Maine that mean so much to me and to have a second home with wonderful people here in Nebraska. I guess this is one Maine pine that likes it on the prairie.

Here I am

This is my first blog - my first real blog. I tried doing just one post on My Space, but it didn't feel right. This feels better. I love to read other people's blogs, so I wanted to try it for myself.

This has been a day of getting ready for Christmas. My husband, Larry,and I boxed up lots of presents that are going from Nebraksa to the east coast - mostly Maine. Two boxes are going to Connecticut where my daughter and her husband live. I love Christmas, but sometimes it gets stressful.....don't have to tell anyone that.

Last night we went to a worship service called "Light for the Journey". About twenty of us gathered to worship together and pray for a more inclusive church (United Methodist). One person shared the story of his gay brother and the spiritual journey they both have been on - the gay brother making his way in the world and his sibling watching, caring and learning to be more open himself. In this time of Advent waiting and watching for the light of the birth of Jesus and change can give us all hope.