Rev. Mia MiKyung Park, Lynne Onishi, Rev. Karen Yokota Love, Barbara, Miriam, and Anne Arakaki-Lock participated in a Zoom Reconciling Ministries Bible Study.
Listen, Discern, and Dream
By Lynne Onishi, B.Y.G. Co-Director
What does new life look like to you? As we welcome the Easter season and see signs of new life springing up around us, what are you noticing about the world? What are you noticing about yourself? What are you noticing about God?
Our Innovation Hub Team and Reconciling Ministries Task Force continue to wonder about new life in the context of this Church. What is God calling our church to do or be, but in ways that are new? Recently, we’ve learned how to foster community and belonging for young adults through our monthly activities and how to be both inclusive and faithful people of God through our Reconciling Ministries Bible study series. And yet, we know God has many more dreams for new life in this community! It is up to all of us to listen, discern, and dream alongside God in this innovative work!
Reconciling Ministries Q and A:
We are bringing back our Reconciling Ministries Q and A series this month! In previous newsletter articles, we explained what the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) is and how joining the RMN would change things at Blaine Memorial UMC. This month, we would like to share more about the process of becoming officially reconciling and lay out our reconciling journey at Blaine Memorial thus far.
Q: What does a church have to do to become reconciling? Where is Blaine Memorial in this process, currently?
A: All churches who are discerning whether to become reconciling are first advised to form a team of congregation members to steer their church’s process. Because each church is unique, the team plays an important role in shaping their unique church’s reconciling journey. The team’s task is to help the congregation make informed decisions about joining RMN. This might mean answering questions from church members or providing education around LGBTQIA+ issues in the church. Churches join the RMN by voting to adopt a reconciling statement, which must receive support from 75% of the congregation. When the team feels like the congregation is ready to take a vote, they help the church set up protocols for voting.
Our Reconciling Ministries Task Force formed July 2022. Since then, we have been dialoguing with you all about what it means to be an accepting and affirming church. We surveyed dozens of you in August and September to hear your questions and concerns about becoming reconciling. We have hosted film and discussion events throughout the year to provide a space for candid sharing and processing. We are currently leading a Bible study that explores how United Methodists can be faithful and inclusive at the same time. We hope these have been meaningful and thought-provoking opportunities for you to share and learn alongside one another. This spring, we will prepare to take a vote. Before we do, we’d like to take a closer look at the Reconciling Statement with you all. Please stay tuned for more news on this!
The IH team and RM Task Force are always looking for new folks to join us. If you feel called to lend your voice to these important ministries, we invite you to join us for future Zoom meetings. Please contact Lynne or any of the other team members for more information.
On Wednesday, April 5 we met for our third Reconciling Ministries Bible Study Session over Zoom! At a future date, we will have a RM/Young Adult event to be announced soon!
Contact Lynne Onishi with questions about the IH team or Reconciling Ministries, lynneonishi@gmail.com. Onishi serves as the convener of the Innovation Hub Team.