https://rmnetwork.org/storiesofbecoming/
Stories inform, reform and transform both tellers and hearers. To be given the opportunity to tell one’s story can be life changing. Listening to those stories is to receive a very special gift. How often do we on the Shenandoah River District find ways as LGTBQ+ individuals, Allies, the Reconciling Community, and our faith communities to live into those stories? Although the 2024 General Conference legislative changes to the Book of Discipline removed barriers to full inclusion in the UMC, the fact remains that Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors could be more loving, compassionate and spacious. The doors open in both directions, and the opportunity is to risk entering into conversations with hearts and minds intentionally present to one another outside of our comfort zones.
The Reconciling Ministries Network, https://rmnetwork.org, has been in existence for over 40 years. To listen to the stories from those years to the present – Stories of Becoming – accessible from the RMN website as well as found on YouTube or in Podcast form, opens a door to greater awareness and connection even in our diversity. Accept the invitation to “wonder” beyond thought or imagination. Many call the UMC a “big tent” denomination, but the image of a “big table” brings us even closer together as we experience God’s love as the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of ALL. Prayerfully ponder and anticipate that the answer to our prayers transcends our ability to know or imagine God’s gifts of love and relationship waiting to be claimed.
For many, the arts serve as a path to the Spirit. Music, dance, poetry, the visual arts, and so many other expressions take us outside the box of what we know and feel to a way of experiencing something greater than limiting words or emotions. One of the most beloved songs of the reconciling movement is Crowded Table by the Highwomen
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBWXtSyWnoA). Perhaps you already have favorite “tent,” “table” or “wonder” songs we could add to a playlist to companion us on the journey together. Please send your contributions to lauradouglass@vaumc.org, and I’ll share the playlist in the next newsletter.
Laura Douglass, DFC, retired and RMN member
lauradouglass@vaumc.org