WELCOMING STATEMENT

Adopted May 5, 2019

Welcome to Court Street United Methodist Church!

We want to be a family-a fellowship of warmth,

a place where your hungers are fed,

whether they arise from your growling stomach, aching heart, or adventurous mind.

We want to be a welcoming household,

where we celebrate our differences,

enjoying the diverse members of this Body of Christ-

those of low-income and those with plenty in savings,

folks with three jobs and folks with no job,

the newborn and the aging, the sick and the recovering, the foolish and the wise.

We are parents with children, adopted and birthed,

We do ministry regardless of disabilities in our bodies or in our minds.

We are single, divorced, and married.

We are straight, gay, male, female, or not using labels these days.

We see God at work in all of our sexual orientations, gender identities, and callings to serve.

Some of us live in prison, and some are readjusting to life after incarceration.

We are of many different races, and some of us are biracial with interracial families.

We are proud of our diversity.

We don't all think the same way about sexuality, politics, or theology,

and we benefit from our diversity of thought.

We need diverse ideas,

because I might be wrong, so I need you to correct me,

and you might be wrong, so you need me to show you the truth.

What we know for sure is this:

All people are welcome into God's family.

The biggest challenges are these:

to love with all of our compassion, generosity, wisdom, and creativity,

to provide spiritual formation that changes us for the better,

and to uplift and empower anyone more vulnerable than we are.

Everyone falls under the grace of God,

the mothering wings of our savior Jesus,

and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

And so, we want to be a nurturing family,

a fellowship of warmth.

We want to love God and our neighbor,

and sometimes we fail.

But a school is not for those who know everything,

a hospital is not built for the healthy,

and a banquet table is not set for those whose hungers are already filled.

Amen.