WHAT IS THE WELCOMING TEAM?

The Welcoming Team consists of Shepherd Members who are doing the hard work of listening and guiding our community into authentic welcome. 

WHY DO WE NEED THEM?

Here at Shepherd we say that All Are Welcome. But what does that mean? Do we live into that authentically? These are the questions that sparked our Welcoming Team. 

Sin causes us to create bias and prejudice in our communities and within society. God's love calls us out and into authentic relationship with our neighbor. 

It is our calling as people of Christ to educate ourselves, to listen, to learn, and to grow. We are starting with how we welcome LGBTQ+ peoples and we look forward to expanding as time goes on.  

WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN DOING?

Your Welcoming Team has been leading Shepherd through Reconciling Works journey through the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) process. This process guides congregations through self examination, authentic listening, and deep learning as they come to an understanding of what it means to welcome, include, and celebrate LGBTQ+ people. 

We are currently in the process of listening and learning. On our way to making a public statement of our welcome in this place. 
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RESOURCES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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OTHER WAYS WE ARE SEEKING TO BE A WELCOMING COMMUNITY AT SHEPHERD

​SHEPHERD BOOK STUDY
​There are many ways to learn and one is by reading and discussing. We have had many members show interest in doing a book study to learn more about how we as individuals and as a community step into the conversation on racism and anti-racism. Our high school youth are also interested in these conversations and out of a long list of potential books have chosen this one to read and study this summer.

We invite you to join us in reading, learning, and holding space for these hard conversations.

We will meet via Zoom for conversation, with the possibility of moving to in person with social distancing in the future. Our meetings will be every other week on Wednesdays at 2:30pm OR Thursdays at 6:30pm. Join in whichever time works best for you. Our Zoom links will be available in the eNews and Facebook. However, if you wish to receive direct emails with study questions and more you can sign up HERE

SCHEDULE:
June - Purchase or Borrow "I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World made for Witness" by Austin Channing Brown

Wednesdays at 2:30pm or Thursdays at 6:30pm

July 1st at 2:30pm or July 2nd 6:30pm - Join us for an hour long discussion
Having read chapters 1 and 2

July 15th at 2:30pm or July 16th at 6:30pm - Join us for an hour long discussion
Having read chapters 3 and 4

July 29th at 2:30pm or July 30th at 6:30pm - Join us for an hour long discussion
Having read chapters 5, 6, and 7

August 12th at 2:30pm or August 13th at 6:30pm - Join us for an hour long discussion
Having read chapters 8 and 9

August 26th at 2:30pm or August 27th at 6:30pm - Join us for an hour long discussion
Having read chapters 10, 11, and 12

September 9th at 2:30pm or September 10th at 6:30pm - Join us for an hour long discussion. Having read chapters 13 and 14