"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Soup Supper &
Guest Author Book Signing
Thursday, November 6th at 6:45 pm
in Fellowship Hall
Sponsored by Social Justice Ministry
Join us for this soup supper followed by a discussion and presentation by author Malcolm Himschoot. HIs book is entitled, Reading Secrets: A Queer Inheritance of Life & Scripture. Sign up at the welcome desk or church office. A pastor and educator, Rev. Himschoot lives in Maine and was ordained in the United Church of Christ. This is his first book. Copies are available at the welcome desk or church office for $20.
Faith and queerness don’t often coexist harmoniously. Yet when we strip away the layers, love and acceptance lie at the heart of faith. In Reading Secrets: A Queer Inheritance of Life & Scripture, Malcolm Himschoot explores the complexities of faith, queerness, gender, and identity while navigating the painful relationship with his father, a man whose own repression of his queerness led to harm. Through his exploration of family, faith and self, Himschoot challenges societal norms and allows his faith to embrace and celebrate human differences.
Click on the links below to discover how you may be unconsciously speaking with racist language.
https://www.rd.com/article/phrases-to-avoid-in-conversations-about-race/
https://www.rd.com/article/small-ways-you-can-fight-racism-every-day/
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- God calls us to love our neighbor and to reach out to those in need. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
- God calls us to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or political beliefs. “The second is this ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31
- God calls us to listen to those who struggle for equality. “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his neighbor in need, yet closes their heart against the neighbor, how does God’s law abide in that person?” John 3:17
Therefore, with the hope and promise of our Still Speaking God, we commit the resources of the church to create and support a new Social Justice Ministry that will educate our church community about racism and its ills, while seeking to improve race relations in our community and beyond.