Reconciliation Ministry Network Western Jurisdiction - January 2015 Update

Ministry Without Fear in the New Year! Dear Gary Lee, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear" -- Mark Twain This year we celebrate RMN's 30th Anniversary with an emphasis on engaging in ministries without fear. As Mark Twain said, courage is not the absence of fear but the mastery of it. We have seen acts of biblical obedience in the past that have conquered fear, and look forward to bolder witness that will shake the foundations of discrimination and inequality in The United Methodist Church and in our local communities. Let us know what you are doing in your local churches and conferences and we will promote it. Share your witness through RMN's Blog to inspire and challenge others. We currently have over 28,000 reconciling United Methodists (RUMs) signed up. It would be great to have over 30,000 by the end of 2015 - 30 years and 30K RUMs!Forward this email to others and sign up new reconcilers here. We also encourage you to give to RMN. We need to put our resources where our witness is at. The cost of one soul embraced by our movement is priceless! Contact us on how you can share your gifts. What is in this month's update? Learn about the state of our movement in numbers. Read about the story of a queer woman of color working at the intersections of justice. Check out learning opportunities this year, and know where you can order reconciling stoles. This year I start full-time ministry with RMN, supported and appointed by my bishop from the Philippines Annual Conference. Super excited! Let us have faith and courage that 2015 will usher another year of witness that knows and acknowledges fear but resists it, and has growing mastery over it. In solidarity, Rev. Dr. Israel I. Alvaran Western Jurisdiction Organizer Phone: 510-717-4894 izzy@rmnetwork.org Correction: In my previous email I listed down all the new reconciling communities in 2014. Please note that the Inclusiveness Committee of Lake Oswego, OR is the reconciling community that was inadvertently listed as Lake Oswego UMC. The State of our Movement in Numbers The reconciling movement in our denomination is an ever-growing body of believers in the full inclusion of all people in the life and ministry of The United Methodist Church. The charts below show the current state of our movement in the number of reconciling communities (RCs) and reconciling United Methodists (RUMs) nationally and by jurisdiction. Next month we will show RCs and RUMs by annual conferences of the Western Jurisdiction. Current Total Number of Reconciling Churches / Communities and RUMs Reconciling Churches/Communities and RUMs by Jurisdiction What YOU can do to help grow our movement RMN encourages reconciling leaders to do a RUM sign-up drive in your church. Online sign-ups can be done here, or you can download and print RUM sign-up cards here and mail them to RMN at 123 W. Madison Street, Suite 2150, Chicago IL 60602. Together, we are building power as we head to General Conference 2016 in Portland, OR! Our Witness @ Intersections of Ministry Inspiring us and challenging us to remain faithful to our witness are prophets crying out in the wilderness of injustice. Opportunities to be in intersectional ministry offer fresh ways we can be in solidarity with the LGBTQIA community.   How I became brave enough to share my story: Notes by a queer woman of color By Erica Granados De La Rosa In the wake of mass resistance and protest to police brutality and systemic violence in this country, I remain grounded in the belief that alternative narratives must be shared for us to better understand each other and the earth. I believe we as marginalized peoples  (Women, Queer Folk, People of Color, Other Abled,.. etc) play a particular role in the transformation of a culture that is grounded in white hetero-normative patriarchal privilege.   We walk on a path of uncovering and healing ourselves from the doubt that makes us distrust our own truth. We also face the reality that our truth comes as an inconvenience to those who profit comfortably from our exclusion, our silence, and or the superficial tokenizing of our bodies. We find little support in connecting and articulating truth in our own lives let alone in the process of sharing it with others in significant ways.Click here to read more. How I became brave enough to share my story: Notes by a queer woman of color By Erica Granados De La Rosa In the wake of mass resistance and protest to police brutality and systemic violence in this country, I remain grounded in the belief that alternative narratives must be shared for us to better understand each other and the earth. I believe we as marginalized peoples  (Women, Queer Folk, People of Color, Other Abled,.. etc) play a particular role in the transformation of a culture that is grounded in white herteronomative patriarchal privilege. We walk on a path of uncovering and healing ourselves from the doubt that makes us distrust our own truth. We also face the reality that our truth comes as an inconvenience to those who profit comfortably from our exclusion, our silence, and or the superficial tokenizing of our bodies. We find little support in connecting and articulating truth in our own lives let alone in the process of sharing it with others in significant ways. This is a reality both in the church and within every facet of our society. The courage that was born in me the day I decided self publish my first book She Speaks | Poetry reflected a personal desire to see models of what a Queer Women of Color artist like me could do and be. I was tired of being invisible, I was tired of my sisters not having models of what they could do with their spiritually grounded love of expression and healing. So one day I finally stopped waiting for someone else to tell me I was good enough to share my work on a larger scale. I decided I was intelligent enough to learn how to publish and share my words even if I made a few mistakes along the way – I am human after all. But I also decided to humbly recognize I could not do this on my own, because this was not for me alone. The courage to share our stories is for the benefit of all of us. I considered and still do consider this project as more than a book. It is a form of spiritual ARTivism. It is an example of what can be done in resistance to violent forms of erasure found in mainstream media, culture, politics, and mainline institutions. I am currently fundraising to self publish my first full length book of poetry because I believe we can be a world dedicated to the idea that diverse stories and perspectives matter. In addition, I believe we as marginalized peoples (Women, Queer Folk, POC.. etc) must reclaim our agency and be producers our own media reflections. Yet to do this, we must believe and trust enough in our own stories and we must celebrate the courage and faith it takes to do this type of work. In the words of poet Lucille Clifton:  won’t you celebrate with me/ what i have shaped into/ a kind of life? i had no model./ born in Babylon/ both nonwhite and woman/ what did i see to be except myself?/ i made it up/ here on this bridge between/ starshine and clay,/ my one hand holding tight/ my other hand; come celebrate/ with me that everyday/ something has tried to kill me/ and has failed. Erica Granados De La Rosa also known as Erica GDLR is a national spoken word artist, writer, and activist. She is currently in her last week of fundraising for her first full length book of poetry. You can learn more abou the project and support here https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/she-speaks-poetry/. You can also fallow here work on her website http://ericagdlr.blogspot.com/ and on twitter @ericagdlr.   Learning Opportunities Register Now! "Building an Inclusive Church" Trainings   Do you want to help increase the number of Reconciling churches, communities and campus ministries? Please join us at one of our upcoming trainings to make a difference locally. In the past year we trained over 250 United Methodists on how to be Reconciling Process Coaches. RMN has identified over 500 prospective Reconciling congregations – we need your help to engage them in widening their welcome to our LGBTQ sisters and brothers. Each process coach training will include skills building around topics common in the Reconciling process including: complex identities, framing, steps of the Reconciling Process, graceful engagement, and conflict management. We have confirmed trainings in California, Arizona, and Colorado. These events are free, and donations are welcome. Please register online or contact your jurisdictional organizer, izzy@rmnetwork.org. March 7, 2015 (Saturday, 10am – 4pm) Wesley UMC – San Jose, CA Register here March 21, 2015 (Saturday, 9am – 3pm) Park Hill UMC – Denver, CO Register here April 25, 2015 (Saturday, 10am - 4pm) Desert Southwest Conference Center - Phoenix, AZ Register here We are also looking forward to confirm training dates in Redding CA, Honolulu HI, and Salt Lake UT.  We will have more information in the coming months. Check here for training events across the country.   Email Izzy to host a training in your area The Gathering: A Pacific Northwest RMN Event THE GATHERING "Biblical Obedience and Inclusion: Learning, Engaging, Taking Action" Bellevue First UMC, 1934 108th Avenue NE, Bellevue WA 98004 March 21, 2015 / 9:00am - 6:00pm The Pacific Northwest - Reconciling Ministries Network (PNW-RMN) will host "The Gathering", an annual event for learning and fellowship. One of the keynote speakers is Jennifer Bird, author of a forthcoming book "Permission Granted: take the Bible Into Your Own Hands." Workshop offerings include: Helping Families with Coming Out Issues Beyond Marriage: Queer Issues in the 21st Century Sexuality: What we Don't Discuss - Looking at the Rest of the Spectrum Living Your Welcome Transgender 101 Stepping Up as an Ally Online information, fees, and a registration link will be up soon. If you have inquiries, please contact Jane Brazell, m.jane.brazell@gmail.com.   Email Izzy with conference or local church updates and news Stole Project of Parents' Reconciling Network You've seen these colorful stoles at many RMN events and during annual and general conference witness actions, and are probably wondering how you could order them for your congregation. Well, look no further. The Parents' Reconciling Network (PRN), an RMN extension ministry, has a Stole Project which you could support and get your stoles in time for annual conference. PRN is also looking for volunteer sewers for this project. To volunteer and/or to order your stoles, please contact Anne Lewis of Woodland Park UMC, WA at woodlandparkumc@gmail.com. Connect with Your Local Team Contact your conference's reconciling team leaders below to know how you can participate in local activities and witness.   Alaska: Rev. Cindy Roberts Desert Southwest: Rev. Stephen Govett California-Nevada: Rev. John Oda California-Pacific: Jason Takagi Pacific Northwest: Rev. Vince Hart Oregon-Idaho: Deborah Maria Rocky Mountain: Rev. Jaime Nieves Yellowstone: Mary Maheras   Sign up as a Reconciling United Methodist (RUM): http://www.rmnetwork.org/join-us/ Download RUM cards here, print and sign up your congregation!   Email Izzy with questions on how to get connected to your local team

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