RIC Service Last Night and Congratulations from Christian

I know many of you wanted to attend the RIC service last night. Mt. Carmel was packed. Ten of us from Creator were there out of a total of about 150 people.

The liturgy felt like a big "yes we can and will". We all enjoyed being gathered together. Pr. Susan Kitner, the assistant to the bishop, delivered the message and Robyn Hartwig, newly installed at St. Andrew in Beaverton, and Ron Nitz, pastor at Mt. Carmel in Portland, co-presided.

Kelly's Free To Be Me was a definite highlight. I know the Creator contigent was recognized. We clapped while we sang songs, quietly sang Hope for Resolution under our breath as their choir sang and were generally over-the-top in our enthusiasm for all that was happening. When Creator was announced as the newest RIC congregation in our local LCNA Chapter during the service it was a huge moment of joy we couldn't let pass without being boisterous in our cheers.

There were snacks and a couple of cakes afterwards, one spice cake for decorated for Robyn and a chocolate cake decorated with "Welcome Creator".

There were four congregations in our LCNA region who became RIC congregations yesterday. More celebrations in Washington: Seattle, Pullman and Shoreline.

I sign off with kudos to the team. I heard many compliments about the way we all worked with the congregation this past year. Many came up to me after the congregational meeting and said they had waited for this kind of affirmation of welcome for a long time.

Giving God Praise and Prayer for the day,

Gary


Below I will pass along congratulations to you from Christian:

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HOW EXCITING, Gary! I am so thrilled for the Creator community and pleased that it is now officially an RIC congregation. Since I do not have everyone's email, can you please pass on my congrats to the RIC team and all who have been closely involved in the process?

This is a great news to be another welcoming and safe place for worship for lgbt people in the greater Portland area!

Peace, joy and blessings to you,

Christian

Last Night's Council Meeting regarding RIC proposals

With one council member abstaining, all other council members voted yes on the two proposals presented by the RIC team last night.

The first proposal was that the council recommends passage on the vote to adopt the Affirmation of Welcome that would make Creator an RIC congregation.

The second proposal was that passage requires an 80% yes vote by voting members present at the congregational meeting.

The council recognized the team's work last night. There was thoughtful debate and questions, particularly around the percentage that required for passage. That both proposals were accepted by the council without substantive modification was a testimony to everyone's efforts.

Looking forward to Sunday's vote and the two worship services,

Gary

RIC Team Meeting Agenda - January 8, 7:00 PM at Creator

We will have a meeting tomorrow and below is our tentative agenda:

Agenda

* Plans and preparation for Congregational vote. Specific language to the resolution to bring before the congregation December council presentation (currently requesting council recommendation for passsage).

* RIC Team Talk on Affirmation language

* Next newsletter article

* RIC Sunday - Promoting and volunteering for event at Mt. Carmel 515 SW Maplecrest Dr.

* Post congregational vote plans - Plans for presentation of certificate - Possiblity of Creator hosting 2010 RIC Sunday

* RIC Team transition after January

Asking for Agenda Items for next RIC Team Meeting

Since we didn't meet on Thursday New Year's Day the first question is "Who could meet this Thursday?" If a meeting makes sense the next question would be "What is on the agenda?"

The council meeting was called on account of snow. There will be a council meeting prior to January 25th. We still plan to ask the council to recommend passage on the question of becoming an RIC congregation.

I sent our explicit welcome statement to LCNA who confirmed our statement would make us an RIC congregation.

Just to be up front in reactions from the congregation, someone is still suggesting we reword the statement. Her recommendation changes the punctuation of the explicit welcome and drops the youth's "come as you are, where you are and who you are". It is late to make changes, but since we did talk about the punctuation in the explicit welcome, I include her entire recommendation here:

Creator Lutheran Church welcomes you to join us in worship, fellowship, and ministry.

The Gospel reveals God's grace as an unconditional gift of love for all people. Ethnicity, socioeconomic status, physical ability, mental ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status are not barriers to our invitation. As an inclusive community grounded in God's love, we follow Jesus' example and celebrate the diversity of God's creation.

There are agenda items for the meeting. Let me know if you have anything additional you think should be included.

Thanks,

Gary