It has been over a year since Parkrose Community United Church of Christ voted to become Open and Affirming.  Yesterday I used my time in the pulpit to reflect back on that decision.  After my remarks the congregation held a discussion - reflecting on the Scripture reading for the morning - about how we can better live out our shared goal of truly becoming a church open to all. 

The reading this morning from Matthew brings us back to the heart of Jesus’ inclusive ministry: it didn’t matter who you were or where you were on life’s journey, as we’d say today in the United Church of Christ, Jesus welcomed you to the table. This was enough to drive legalistic religious types crazy. He eats with tax collectors? Women? The unclean? How dare he!

Jesus responded in that way of his that confounded many then and today: we’re all sinners, he would say, so sit down and enjoy the meal. We’re all broken, let God heal you.

It has been over a year since Parkrose Community United Church of Christ made what I believe to be our second most controversial decision – to become Open and Affirming. (The most controversial decision, of course, was to change the direction of the pews…)

When we adopted our Open and Affirming statement it was a faithful attempt to take the teachings of Jesus seriously. The statement was not a declaration that we had done everything needed to be the kind of open community that Jesus hoped for but rather a declaration of our intent to try better to become that community.

Let me read you the statement:

In Galatians 3.28 we are reminded that despite our differences we are all “one in Christ Jesus.” Therefore, we, the people of Parkrose Community United Church of Christ, declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God’s grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of that includes all persons, embracing differences of   sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, religious, political or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation. This is God’s church and no matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome here.

When the statement was voted on – with a affirmative vote of the congregation that nearly reached 90% - there was joy among many. Some wondered why a vote was necessary, however. Weren’t we just saying what we already were, some asked? Others, of course, were angry. A few even left the church.

Paul and the early church faced the same kind of questions and had the same kind of problems. Who should be accepted into church membership? For Paul and his contemporaries the questions were just as hard and the discussions just as heated. Should Gentiles be welcomed or was the church just for Jews? What about the uncircumcised? Women?

Jesus himself was so clear about these issues that you would have thought the debate would be unnecessary but here we are two thousand years later still basically debating the same questions (or at least variations of the questions).

Some have asked since we voted to become Open and Affirming why our membership has not grown. Wasn’t that the issue? Weren’t people walking away from our church because we hadn’t voted to become Open and Affirming? The answer to that question is yes. But we spent nearly 25 years intentionally not voting to become an Open and Affirming church and that history and that reputation wasn’t erased in a single vote. And like I said, we did not and we cannot simply declare ourselves to be Open and Affirming and then assume that we really are. It takes time. Like any faith decision, we have to be willing to let the Spirit move us in new ways. Instead we took a vote. End of story. That wasn’t enough. And the truth of the matter is that I was so taken aback by some of the reaction to that vote that in over a year I’ve not done more than offering a passing mention of the issue. Some of you might be happy about that but the truth is as a pastor I’ve let you down. If we are really going to be Open and Affirming we need to keep the issues in front of the congregation. How do we live out our deepest hopes? How do we – a church that has long been a strong support system for people who look and act like us – start to accept people who will change us? We have a lot to offer but we have room to grow as a community of faith. Will we sit down with the tax collectors? The unclean?

It will take us time to truly become the people we hope to be.  But to get there we need to keep reflecting on where God is calling us and thinking each and every day about how we build up the community around us.  We're all on a journey.