Annual Church Conference

Building a Beloved Community – Next Step: Building a Reconciling Church!
At our annual Charge Conference our church will vote on joining the United Methodist Reconciling Network as a Reconciling Church – the next step toward building our church identity as a Beloved Community. A vote of 75% of members present at the Charge Conference is required to join the Network. We encourage you to attend the annual Charge Conference and support this important step for our church in building a Beloved Community!

What would it mean to become a Reconciling Church?
The Reconciling Network is an organization of Reconciling United Methodist churches that seeks to include, support and advocate for the LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities.
We would join other United Methodist churches across the country that have made the same commitment, including the Mequon and Brown Deer United Methodist churches, and churches
in other denominations that have similar networks. The Reconciling Network provides training, resources and support that make us all more effective in affirming and advocating for the
LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities.

As a Reconciling Church, we would commit to the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized persons into the life and ministry of our church through:
a) outreach, affirmation and intersectional ministry, and
b) creating opportunities to engage in dialogue, build relationships and advocate for their justice.
We would actively support LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities with events, outreach and allyship. In particular, we would partner with Zao MKE United Methodist Church to support
and participate in their ministry. In this way, we would more fully live into our vision of building a Beloved Community and Jesus’ call to love and serve the marginalized.

Finally, we would also adopt a Foundational Statement stating that we “welcome and affirm people of every gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation” and commit to “the
pursuit of justice [for] all who are marginalized and oppressed.” This Statement, shown below, could supplement or replace our current Welcoming Statement.

We encourage you to attend the annual Charge Conference and support this important step for our church in building a Beloved Community. 

Foundational Statement of Reconciling Network:
“We, the congregants of the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay, believe God’s grace is available to all, and all persons are individuals of sacred worth. We celebrate
God’s gift of diversity and value the wholeness made possible in a community equally shared and shepherded by all. We welcome and affirm people of every gender identity,
gender expression, and sexual orientation, who are also of every age, race, ethnicity, physical and mental ability, level of education, and family structure, and of every
economic, immigration, marital, and social status, and so much more. We acknowledge that we live in a world of profound social, economic, and political inequities. As
followers of Jesus, we commit ourselves to the pursuit of justice and pledge to stand in solidarity with all who are marginalized and oppressed.”

Our Current Welcoming Statement:
“God’s grace is available to all, and all persons are individuals of sacred worth. The congregants of the United Methodist Church of Whitefish Bay seek to live in Christian
community, welcoming all Christian seekers and believers regardless of age, gender, marital status, race, sexual orientation, social or economic status, gender identity, and
physical or mental ability.”