Pictures! General Assembly! Decatur GA! Columbus IN! Nashville TN! Atlanta GA!
Several congregations have shared pictures with us lately – here are some of the best! – and our booth at General Assembly! (Click on the pics for larger images!)
AllianceQ booth at General Assembly had t-shirts and resources for ALL!
At the Des Moines General Assembly, the AllianceQ booth had plenty of t-shirts and the new edition of the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit!
Pastor James Brewer Calvert and Elder Tom Rosenberger share their handiwork on the church sign in Decatur, GA, sharing their message for the Sunday sermon.
Eastwood Christian Church’s first official participation at Nashville PRIDE
Eastwood Christian Church tells us that “Visioned by Eastwood Associate Pastor, Rev. Christy Jo, we had our first official presence at Nashville Pride. Church staff, members, and Vanderbilt and Lexington interns worked the booth giving out water, communion, and an abundance of glitter blessings.”
Open & Affirming Team Cookout
The AllianceQ Open & Affirming Team in Georgia hosted a cookout at First Christian, Atlanta, inviting all to come hear more about Open & Affirming Ministry and to share resources and support. Apparently, 20 people RSVPd and 60 people showed up – yet there were still enough hamburgers for all!
North Christian Church celebrates Pride in Columbus, IN
North Christian Church shared with us this picture of their table on Pride Sunday, and this Call to Offering and Communion Prayer
CALL TO OFFERING
What do you see in a rainbow:
God’s covenant of rebirth and renewal with all of creation?
God’s desire of abiding relationship with all humanity?
God’s everlasting love for the earth and its people–the universe that God pronounced as good at the birth of all life?
And the colors of the rainbow: aren’t they glorious in their individuality, but even more magnificent when they come together as a bow across the sky–that interconnection of light and color drawing us closer to the Divine!
In our souls we are imbued with these rainbow colors of light–effervescent lights that make up our Divine Spirit–that sacred light we manifest to the world with the God-given gifts with which each of us has been blessed. Whenever all of us connect our sacred lights in unity, we live God’s peace and wholeness.
Looking at the rainbow that dresses Christ’s Table and the rainbow flags that also grace this holy space today, I am reminded that each of those stripes represents God’s people throughout the world–people God has created, shaped, formed, and knitted together–people who have not always been seen or heard or welcomed–all peoples carry God’s divine light–all ethnicities are heirs of God–all are brothers and sisters together. Let us embrace this rich diversity and walk boldly, hand-in-hand with our extended family.
In the bringing forth of our tithes and offerings and in the sharing of our special gifts to Love Chapel and Week of Compassion, we not only model Christ’s love and discipleship but we make a stronger, more vibrant, more inclusive world.
COMMUNION PRAYER
Creator of color and light,
Adorned in the symbolic redness of birth that gives us life, we come to your rainbow-swathed Table to be rooted in your presence.
Bathed in your orange fires of healing, we stand around your Table of prismatic light, ready to release our pain and anger at those who have clobbered us with the scripture, who have beaten and punched us until we could not stand, and who have caused us emotional and mental stress because of the love we live.
Infused with your inner yellow glowing flames, we nurture our confidence and self-worth to come out of the shadows to be seen, to be heard, to be accepted for who we are and to live as the people you created us to be.
Wrapped in the green of new life and your all-encompassing love, we fill ourselves with fervent compassion for this glorious world and the possibilities it offers.
In the sharing of your bread and cup, we see you in the faces of those we serve. We hear your voice calling us from our comfort zones of hearth and home to step out into the spacious blue skies of your creation to speak out against oppression wherever we see it and to stand up for your justice.
At this rainbow-splashed Table, you remind us we can become community, one with each other, living the fullness of relationship and connection as deep and strong as this hue of intense purple.
You are the rainbow light of the world–made up of all the colors of humanity. Whenever we see you arc and unfurl across the sky, let us remember in you we are fearfully and wonderfully made, regardless of our color, gender identity, class, sexual orientation, age, or ability. You call us all by name. We all are yours! We are one within your light!
In you, O Christ, who embraces all the colors of creation, we pray, Amen.