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Welcome to the homepage for Lutherans Concerned/Twin Cities (LC/TC)
We are a local group of Lutherans committed to realizing full inclusion in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) of all people, including persons of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Our efforts support over 30 Reconciling in Christ parishes in the Twin Cities Metro area, as well as the work of our national partners in Lutherans Concerned/North America(LC/NA). Whether you have come for information about our events, find a welcoming church or ministry, or to join in our continuing work beyond the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, we welcome you in the name of Christ.
Next up: TWIN CITIES PRIDE
June 23-24 – LC/TC at Twin Cities Pride is our annual presence in both the Pride Parade and Pride Festival. Interested in helping coordinate our volunteers this year? Let us know, and we’ll get you set up. Contact comm.lctc@gmail.com. We’ll be actively recruiting participation soon.
Looking ahead
July 6—10, 2012 – Reconciling Works 2012 is the biennial assembly of Lutherans Concerned/North America and Reconciling in Christ conference. Reconciling Works 2012 will be held in Washington, DC. More info …
Metro-wide Reconciling in Christ Festival Worship: Largest Ever!
On Saturday, January 28, about 180 persons gathered for worship and to celebrate God’s welcome at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. This was the 7th annual Reconciling in Christ Festival Worship hosted by Lutherans Concerned/Twin Cities. The service is held each year to coincide with the national celebration of welcoming churches at the end of January, recognizing faith communities that bear a public witness to God’s love for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities.This year’s event included an over-dinner debut of a Reader’s Theater play developed by William Randall Beard, “Families Valued,” which supports marriage equality.
We thank all who helped make the evening a success, especially Phil Holzman, music minister at Gustavus Adolphus (lead planner) and Rev. Justin Lind-Ayres of Bethany Lutheran Church (co-planner and preacher). The Metro-wide RIC Festival Worship brings together members from the 31 RIC congregations of the Minneapolis and St. Paul Area Synods, as well as other individuals who support RIC ministry.
LC/TC responds to proposed constitutional amendment
Lutherans Concerned/Twin Cities laments the decision by the Minnesota Legislature to put a constitutional amendment defining marriage in a discriminatory way on the ballot in 2012. We recognize that among Lutherans (indeed among Christians and other religious persons) a wide range of opinion exists on the moral and spiritual status of same-sex relationships. Yet in 2009 the ELCA adopted a social statement, Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust, that calls ”upon congregations and members to welcome, care for, and support same-gender couples and their families and to advocate for their legal protection.” We believe that a constitutional amendment like the one now proposed will unequivocally make it harder for to insure the legal protection of these couples and their families — and that the acrimonious debate that will ensue over the next eighteen months will do tangible damage to their well-being. Please watch for our plans to respond. In the meantime, we share with you the powerful and thoughtful letter written by the Joint Synod Committee for Inclusivity, Minneapolis and Saint Paul Area Synods and mailed to each member of the Minnesota House and Senate in the days leading up to their recent vote.
LC/TC member Paul Nixdorf created this poster for his congregation, as a way to visualize their support for marriage equality. For help creating your own congregational poster, contact: pn@paulnixdorf.com.
Click here to read LC/TC’s Statement on the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
Lutherans Concerned/Twin Cities has a Facebook group where you can find our latest news, share comments, and feel the pulse of welcome. When you get there, click the “Join” button.
