Love All People
Testimonies
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Christian Marriage Listening
and Sharing Sessions
Seek God. Love All People. Change the World. Our church community aims to live out that mission every day, in every way.
As a Reconciling Congregation, marriage presents a special challenge. How can we be faithful to our values and reflect the radical inclusiveness of Jesus, given that the policies of The United Methodist Church prohibit gay marriage ceremonies?
Other Reconciling Congregations have responded to this challenge by:
- Performing gay marriages in defiance of Church policy
- Performing no marriages at all, gay or straight
- Seeking a middle ground that honors, blesses and recognizes covenanted relationships while maintaining a connection to The United Methodist Church.
In January 2009, Holy Covenant’s Reconciling Committee convened a Task Force on Christian Marriage. After a year of study, research, deep prayer and reflection, the Task Force seeks your input in shaping Holy Covenant’s response to the marriage challenge.
Please sign up for one of the 12 listening sessions on Christian marriage happening in the city in small group formats. At these sessions, you can:
- Read a draft policy prepared by the Task Force (copies available in advance at Holy Covenant, or by contacting Lay Leader David Braden or Rev. Kate Floyd).
- Ask questions about the work of the Task Force, what it means to be a Reconciling Congregation and the policies of The United Methodist Church.
- Share your feelings about this policy—or other potential responses—in safe, open space.
- Pray for our congregation and for the Church.
If you like, you download pdfs of the agenda for each listening session and the feedback form we will be using.
The Task Force will present findings from the sessions at an all-church conversation on the policy on Sunday, April 18, after the 11:15 service. Please mark your calendars and join us for this conversation as well.
There is no set timeline for action after April 18. The next step is for the Task Force to prayerfully review the comments and feedback from the congregation. Based on whether there is consensus around the issue, we may then recommend:
- Additional listening and feedback sessions.
- An all-church conference to vote on adoption of the current policy or a revised version.
- Re-drafting of a completely new policy that would then undergo a similar listening and feedback process.
Information about next steps will be provided at service, in the e-news and on this website.
If you have any questions about Holy Covenant’s response to reconciling issues that you want to discuss individually, please do not hesitate to contact Lay Leader David Braden or Rev. Kate Floyd.
