Submitted by the Church and Society Committee and the Reconciling Team
I. Life does not just happen
In the beginning the breath (or Spirit) of God swept over lifeless and formless nothingness and so informed the Creator that out of love God’s infinite possibilities created all that is and all that lives. God creates unto eternity thereby sustaining all. Through Noah, God promises every generation that God creates but does not destroy, that God loves but will not hate, that God reconciles and redeems. Thus, at the right time God sent Jesus of Nazareth, our human example of the Godly life, our savior. He loved those who are helpless, fragile, from the very young to the very old, and did not let his love be limited by social conventions and values. In accepting people of all ages, of all physical or mental conditions, of any social standing, or of no social standing, the mighty and the weak, the lovely and the unlovable, Jesus accepted and respected all life as it is, finding in each the image or likeness of God. As our lives are his, his life is ours. (Genesis 1:1-5, 8:20-9:17; the four Gospels, Romans 8:26)
II. Life is redeemed by God
Many find God’s high standards of righteousness impossible to attain. Few if any of us can earn or merit God’s love or approval, and yet from the very best to the very worst we discover we are loved, reconciled and redeemed by God. And God does this before we sense our need. Long ago Paul of Tarsus confessed to God that he was nothing and that his loving intentions, could never make him anything more than that nothing. Paul was astonished to learn that in Christ Jesus God accepted him (Paul) and loved him, God redeemed him and was reconciled to him. In light of such love Paul urged others to take on the values Jesus revealed: acceptance, love and compassion for all, without exclusion. Paul wrote when we live as we understand Jesus to have lived, we visibly become Christ Jesus to all whom we love. (Romans 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27)
III. As the children of God / disciples of Christ / people of the Spirit
We see God’s work all about us. Inspired by God’s love, Jesus’s example, and the Spirit’s empowerment we know God sees possibilities for and in anyone, … everyone. Therefore,
- we care for children: in our traditional church-based ministries: by a ministry of presence and protection for the children of Esmond School; by becoming “safe sanctuary” for any child in trouble or danger; and in our ministry to the teenagers of the Morgan Park community …
- we house our community’s food pantry and support the South Suburban PADS through which we shelter the homeless and feed the hungry …
- we host “12 step” groups for those who would escape life-crippling addictions …
- we support the world-wide missions of the United Methodist Church and we participate in other missions here and abroad …
- we widely and lovingly open our doors, our hearts and our lives to welcome persons of every – age, gender identity, racial or ethnic origins, marital or social-economic status, citizenship (including those some brand as “illegal”), sexual orientation, physical or mental ability – into this faith community.
To paraphrase Paul, “In Christ there is neither gay nor straight, believer or non-believer, native or alien, for all are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28; Romans 10:12)
