WHAT IS AN AFFIRMING CONGREGATION?

Affirming Ministries are local churches, presbyteries, conferences, educational centres, theological schools and outreach ministries which have made a public statement that they will welcome bisexuals, transgender people, lesbians, gay men, and their families in all areas of ministry; promote reconciliation for lesbian, transgendered, bisexual and gay people in Church and society; and minister to and with people of various sexual orientations and gender identities.

Affirm United is a national program for United Church congregations and ministries that has been in place since 1992. This program is envisioned as a means of support and education for justice-seeking Ministries. (Their website is http://affirmunited.ca/)

To be Affirming is to affirm that each individual in our community is worthy of being ministered to with respect to who they are, seen in light of the teachings of Jesus. Social constructs of any kind (see below for discussion of other minorities) may blind us to the individuality of another person, preventing us from seeing them as Jesus taught us. The national program recognizes that ministries with all persons who may feel separated from the church are important. In our time, the exclusion of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals is one of the largest tests of the of the inclusiveness of the church, and we are better equipped to face other issues of separation when we have faced this one.


WHAT IS REQUIRED TO BECOME AN AFFIRMING CONGREGATION?

A. A statement of faith concerning the inclusion of bisexuals, transgender individuals, lesbians and gay men in the life and work of the Ministry
B. A continuing plan of action for the Ministry
C. A commitment to the Affirming Ministry Program nationally
D. An inclusive marriage policy (required since February 2007)

WHAT ABOUT OTHER MINORITIES – IS THIS A PROGRAM FOR THEM, TOO ?

In order to become an Affirming Ministry, a congregation must go through an educational process that reflects on what it means to be inclusive and evaluates our openness to the ongoing work of being intentional about how we both welcome and include others within the life and work of our ministry. The national kit says “We hope that you will look at a variety of areas that may be barriers to those coming to your community, agism, sexism, racism, ablism, classism and in particular to the Affirming Ministry the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity. The advice we have received from many Affirming Ministries is that this discussion must include as many groups as possible.“ This is borne out by Affirming Statements adopted across Canada.


HOW MANY AFFIRMING CONGREGATIONS ARE THERE IN CANADA?

Of approximately 4000 congregations in Canada, 38 are designated Affirming.

HOW HOW MANY AFFIRMING CONGREGATIONS ARE THERE IN ALBERTA?

3 are in Edmonton. Deer Park, Knox and Wild Rose United have become Affirming Congregations in Calgary. Scarboro has recently adopted an Affirming statement. There are several other Calgary congregations that have a group looking into this.

WHAT MAKES AN AFFIRMING CONGREGATION DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER CONGREGATION IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE UNPREDJUDICED AND WELCOMING?

As the national program reminds us, to be in ministry to and with all involves an attitude of sensitivity and openness to the gifts and graces of each person in the body of Christ. It requires an appreciation that teaching and learning are a two-way process of mutual listening and understanding. This is not always easy and takes some specific efforts to hear others’ stories.

When a congregation is designated as Affirming, it is showing to all who arrive there that it has taken on a period of reflection regarding barriers to participation and belonging. This can be an important reassurance to someone who is unsure of whether the church is a place in which they can feel safe to be themselves, and where they will not be required to hide a minority sexual orientation. In the past, the Church, in its broadest definition, has actively sought to exclude members of the GLBT community. The Affirming process seeks to reconcile the wrongs of that active exclusion.

“In God's family, there are no outsiders. All are insiders. Black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, Jew and Arab, Palestinian and Israeli, Roman Catholic and Protestant, Serb and Albanian, Hutu and Tutsi, Muslim and Christian, Pakistani and Indian, Buddhist and Hindu - all belong....God's dream wants us to be brothers and sisters, wants us to be family...In our world we can survive only together. We can be human only together..”.
Desmond Tutu