What Good Shepherd’s Welcome Statement Means to Me
Reflections from the people of Good Shepherd
The Welcome Statement means we really DO practice and announce what Jesus did and said in his life, “Do unto others...,” and “Others” means ALL other people. It means we’re not an exclusive “club” for a few but rather a community of all that welcomes ALL. I’ve belonged to churches that practiced homogenous exclusivity and I left them for this home which walks the talk. My friends who are divorced, who have mental and physical challenges, who are of varied sexual orientations and gender identities and ethnicities and nations all know and appreciate that they’re embraced here in the love we all share in God’s house. — Gery Gerst
I would not be at LCGS had I not read and believed in YOU through your Welcome Statement. It gave me the courage to affirm how much it meant to me when I came out to you as my transgendered self this past July. “Gender identity” are only two words in the statement. There are quite a few other words there which I, you, those we know and those we haven’t met can also identify with. We are not here just for ourselves in the circle of folks we’ve known for some time but for those yet to come into our presence, for those who need to find the welcome we can give. Let our beliefs and actions continue to keep this statement alive! — Amanda Dlugo
