2009 Spring Katalyst

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NEWSLETTER OF RECONCILING MINISTRIES NETWORK

KATALYST VOL. 26 NO. 2

WWW.RMNETWORK.ORG

Justice & Joy! by Sue Laurie For we are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10 One year has passed since the General Conference. Wow. We have not been resting in recovery during these last twelve months. Actually, it is rather amazing how focused and productive we have been! As athletes train and become “physically fit”, their performances in events improve and their recovery time diminishes. It is not long until they are ready to go again. Reconciling United Methodists have become veterans of General Conference; we are better prepared, less surprised by the experience, and so more resilient to the challenges. We are “spiritually fit”; our recovery time is shortened. Now, upon the shoulders of faithful disciples and previous seasons of Reconciling, we can see wider horizons of God’s love. Thanks be to God for a larger vision.

SPRING, 2009

Mission: Mobilizing United Methodists tered in the full inclusion of God’s With a sense of humor and strong children. Reconciling Ministries Jewish faith, Beth Zemsky a longNetwork is committed to making distime “professional” lesbian and past ciples of Jesus Christ for the transco-chair of The Lesbian and Gay formation of the world by living out Task Force board was exactly the the Gospel’s teaching of justice and right choice to facilitate RMN’s strainclusion. tegic planning process. With prayer MISSION: CORE VALUES: and creativity, the Reconciling Ministries Network board engaged both mobilizes United Methodists of Spiritually Grounding all of our challenges and all sexual orientations and our work in the jusour celebrations. In gender identities to transform tice imperative of brief, you can see our Church and world into the the gospel, respectsome of our work full expression of Christ’s ing diverse aphere. inclusive love. proaches to scripThe full text is at ture, and using www.rmnetwork.org/mission.asp inclusive language (for both people and includes the mission, vision, and God) in all of our work. history, strategic directions, guiding • Reconciliation through just, principles, organizing criteria, and peaceful relationships which lovsix strategic directions. We continue ingly transform animosity into to clarify a specific implementation love. plan for each strategic directive. VISION: Reconciling Ministries Network envisions a renewed and vibrant Wesleyan movement that is biblically and theologically cen-

Overcoming Oppression by focusing upon heterosexism, homophobia, sexism, racism & Continued on Page 6

This vision is not to be welcomed in just a few congregations in big cities that LGBT people have migrated to ~ it is for us to walk into any United Methodist Church anywhere and be welcomed. It is for inclusion in the small town where I was born and the church where I was baptized. This vision is not only for United Methodist Churches in the United States, it is for our siblings around the world ~ together we stand on Continued on Page 3

Spring 2009 • Katalyst | 1


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