UPCOMING EVENTS
On Sunday, June 22, there will be a vote on a Affirming Statement.
Congregation members are invited to attend an information meeting on Monday, May 26, at 7:00 pm. There will be an opportunity to view a DVD about 3 Affirming congregations in 3 provinces of Canada, and meet with representatives from Calgary’s other Affirming congregations This is an opportunity to discuss questions about the practical implications of adopting an Affirming statement.
A potential Hillhurst statement is posted below, and all comments are welcome. In May 2008, the latest draft of the statement will be circulated in the bulletin each Sunday.
Should a majority support adoption of the statement, we will proceed with an application to Affirm United; their involvement ensures that the Affirming name identifies a congregation that is truly a place where people will find hearts that are open as well as doors that are open. A service of celebration would follow that, likely in the fall. Our website and other publications would identify us as Affirming thereafter.
ONGOING WORK
Our ongoing work of learning will continue in the fall of 2008 with a focus on hearing one another’s stories, creatively managing conflict, and seeing God’s light in one another. The learning gained through our discussion of sexual minorities will take us into our efforts to address homelessness in Calgary and much much more.
There will be further opportunities to learn how to provide a welcome to, and receive the spiritual gifts of, those who may not be able to count on a welcome in all churches, and in particular those who are bisexual, transgender, lesbian or gay.
There will be continued opportunities to view the Afifrming DVD, and the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So, both of which are on loan here.
And - whatever else the Spirit brings our way…..What do you see as future possibilities?
HISTORY OF AFFIRMING AT HILLHURST
An introductory message was delivered at Hillhurst’s 2006 Annual General Meeting on Pentecost, June 2006. A group of congregation members interested in participating in a process of discernment met over the course of the subsequent 7 months, holding informal conversations regarding the nature, need and process of an affirming initiative. Representatives from this group first met with the Hillhurst Church Board on January 17, 2007 and preliminary authorization was granted for the Affirming Committee to proceed with exploratory discussions, and to make known to the congregation that such discussions were underway.
The formal aspect of the discussion was launched on February 13, 2007, when written information was made available to the congregation outlining the basis and aims of the Affirm United program, and a sampling of Affirming Statements was posted and circulated. At the March 18, 2007 Annual General Meeting, there was a discussion of the role of the Affirming discernment process at Hillhurst. Written information was provided. Educational events on sexual orientation and gender identity, led by the Calgary Sexual Health Centre, were held on May 10 and 13, 2007 and on January 13, 2008.
On March 31 there was a gathering which emphasized listening to the stories of others' lived experience.
In addition, informal discussions have continued, and worship services have included a variety of opportunities to meditate both on our own inclusiveness generally and on our openness to GLBT participation and ministry specifically.
WHAT ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?
The congregation’s leadership made a decision on this before the introduction of Affirming in June 2006. The Board of Hillhurst United passed a vote in April 2006 to make this a church that will solemnize same-sex weddings. The Affirming statement would be a sign of the congregation’s commitment to full inclusion in marriage as part of full participation in congregational life.
On Sunday, June 22, there will be a vote on a Affirming Statement.
Congregation members are invited to attend an information meeting on Monday, May 26, at 7:00 pm. There will be an opportunity to view a DVD about 3 Affirming congregations in 3 provinces of Canada, and meet with representatives from Calgary’s other Affirming congregations This is an opportunity to discuss questions about the practical implications of adopting an Affirming statement.
A potential Hillhurst statement is posted below, and all comments are welcome. In May 2008, the latest draft of the statement will be circulated in the bulletin each Sunday.
Should a majority support adoption of the statement, we will proceed with an application to Affirm United; their involvement ensures that the Affirming name identifies a congregation that is truly a place where people will find hearts that are open as well as doors that are open. A service of celebration would follow that, likely in the fall. Our website and other publications would identify us as Affirming thereafter.
ONGOING WORK
Our ongoing work of learning will continue in the fall of 2008 with a focus on hearing one another’s stories, creatively managing conflict, and seeing God’s light in one another. The learning gained through our discussion of sexual minorities will take us into our efforts to address homelessness in Calgary and much much more.
There will be further opportunities to learn how to provide a welcome to, and receive the spiritual gifts of, those who may not be able to count on a welcome in all churches, and in particular those who are bisexual, transgender, lesbian or gay.
There will be continued opportunities to view the Afifrming DVD, and the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So, both of which are on loan here.
And - whatever else the Spirit brings our way…..What do you see as future possibilities?
HISTORY OF AFFIRMING AT HILLHURST
An introductory message was delivered at Hillhurst’s 2006 Annual General Meeting on Pentecost, June 2006. A group of congregation members interested in participating in a process of discernment met over the course of the subsequent 7 months, holding informal conversations regarding the nature, need and process of an affirming initiative. Representatives from this group first met with the Hillhurst Church Board on January 17, 2007 and preliminary authorization was granted for the Affirming Committee to proceed with exploratory discussions, and to make known to the congregation that such discussions were underway.
The formal aspect of the discussion was launched on February 13, 2007, when written information was made available to the congregation outlining the basis and aims of the Affirm United program, and a sampling of Affirming Statements was posted and circulated. At the March 18, 2007 Annual General Meeting, there was a discussion of the role of the Affirming discernment process at Hillhurst. Written information was provided. Educational events on sexual orientation and gender identity, led by the Calgary Sexual Health Centre, were held on May 10 and 13, 2007 and on January 13, 2008.
On March 31 there was a gathering which emphasized listening to the stories of others' lived experience.
In addition, informal discussions have continued, and worship services have included a variety of opportunities to meditate both on our own inclusiveness generally and on our openness to GLBT participation and ministry specifically.
WHAT ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE?
The congregation’s leadership made a decision on this before the introduction of Affirming in June 2006. The Board of Hillhurst United passed a vote in April 2006 to make this a church that will solemnize same-sex weddings. The Affirming statement would be a sign of the congregation’s commitment to full inclusion in marriage as part of full participation in congregational life.
“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
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