On Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. in Atonement’s Fellowship Hall, we welcome you to hear from Reverend Bill Beyer on what Reconciling in Christ is, and what it could mean for us as a church community!
What does it mean to be Reconciling in Christ (RIC)?
As a church, becoming a Reconciling in Christ community means we will actively take steps to include all of God’s children in our church body.
Why are we talking about becoming an RIC community?
Atonement has always been proud of being a welcoming and friendly church.
As part of searching for a pastor, our church’s regional body asked us if we would consider LGBTQIA+ pastors for the position. We realized in answering this question that, as a church, we haven’t had conversations around this topic in a meaningful way. We want to change that. Can we truly consider ourselves a welcoming and open congregation if there are groups of people we might be willing to exclude?
A task force was developed to begin having conversations about increased inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people at Atonement. This task force believes our synod’s Reconciling in Christ team can help us explore the option of becoming an RIC community and that this process will help us clarify the importance of stating a specific welcome to LGBTQIA+ individuals, and our greater community at large!
Reverend Bill Beyer is part of the ELCA’s Reconciling in Christ team, and he has agreed to come to Atonement to help us learn more about becoming an RIC community. He is a great resource for any questions or curiosities around this topic, so if you have questions, this is the event for you!
Additional Resources
Greater Milwaukee Synod: Reconciling in Christ
Reconciling Works: How to Become RIC
Pastor Gene Talley’s Reconciling in Christ article from the January 2023 Bell
What is it? Why is it important?
On Tuesday, January 24, at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall we will welcome The Rev. Bill Beyer to Atonement for an evening of conversation around the topic of Reconciling In Christ (RIC). What does it mean for a congregation to be RIC? If we already say that we welcome everyone, why would it be important to adopt a welcome statement that mentions some people specifically? The Rev. Beyer has lots of experience answering these and similarquestions. We are sure you will find the time spent with him useful, whether you are about to go Google “Reconciling In Christ” or could present about it yourself. We hope you will set aside the time to attend.
The Ministry Site Profile that was shared with me and other pastoral candidates this past summer included the following: “We have recently begun conversations about inclusion and welcome that educate and involve the whole congregation. We recently formed a task force for inclusion and have begun conversations with our synod’s Reconciling in Christ team. We look forward to calling a Senior Pastor who is eager to accompany us through these conversations.”
This task force has continued to meet, and several members attended a fall RIC synod event. We now feel it is time to widen this conversation again and invite the whole congregation into dialogue. Please join us on January 24 at 7:00 p.m. in
the Fellowship Hall to welcome the Rev. Bill Beyer as he helps us begin to develop a deeper understanding of the RIC process together. I look forward to seeing you there. – Pastor Talley