…as good stewards of God’s varied grace…
Any Body — Part I
What We Believe
For many years Washington Park UCC has been known in the Denver area for being involved in the local community as well as for being deeply committed and actively engaged as a Just Peace, Open and Affirming, Whole Earth, and Restorative Justice Congregation. In other words, they have a reputation! One of church’s lay leaders was at a Colorado UCC Conference meeting during which a seminary student inquired about a good place to be “in care” as part of the ordination process. When this lifetime member of “Wash Park” eagerly volunteered her church, another person at the meeting immediately said, “You don’t want to be a member there. They’ll take anybody”. The story, when told the following Sunday during announcements, was met with grand applause.
How would that look on the sign in front of your church? “We Take Anybody!” Could there be a simpler way to express Jesus’ invitation to us all? Let’s examine what it might look like for our church to be the one that is meant for anybody, or even more specifically, any BODY. It is a challenge. We can meet that challenge only if we are willing to listen to one another, learn together, work together, and continue to move ever closer to the vision of love, relationship, justice, and inclusion revealed to us in the life and ministry of Jesus.
It is, after all, our earthly bodies that serve as our ways of being. The reality of our bodies must be taken into account as we develop our theology of access. Our faith stories have many things to say about our bodies and our brokenness. Our culture has many more messages about appearances, mobility, abilities, and disabilities. If our bodies generally don’t cause us a lot of problems, we may not even notice these messages. If we have a more unconventional body, we might receive these stories and messages on a very deep and sometimes painful level.
This first section – ANY BODY is divided into three parts:
- What We Believe
- What We Know
- What We Do
Each one would make a substantial group study session and will be presented that way.