First Christian @ Twin Cities Gay Pride

I remember attending the Regional Assembly in 2006.  General Minister and President Sharon Watkins was the keynote speaker at that event and she said something that has stayed with me.  She said that the business of the church is not to bring the world to the church, but to bring the church into the world.

On June 27, we saw an example of First Christian Church, Minneapolis bring the church into the world.

For the first year, First Christian particiapated in the Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival.  The Downtown congregations have a tradition of having a booth in Loring Park where they offer information of each church.  This year, First took part with a new brochure about the church as well as cookies!

Warren and Karen Westphal volunteered to staff the booth on Saturday, June 28.  They did an amazing job!  They were signed up for a two-hour shift and ended up working twice as long!

Will this bring more people into the doors of First?  I don’t know.  But the important thing is that we were a presence at Gay Pride, a witness that followers of Jesus Christ can be welcoming to all of God’s children.  In short, we brought the church into the world.

I am thankful for the Westphals as well as for Ann Wolverton who bought the cookies and for the hospitality of Phil Asigan an elder at Westminster Presbyterian in Minneapolis and the coordinator for the downtown churches’ booth.  May God bless our work of hospitality and welcome.

Dennis Sanders
Associate Pastor for Diversity and Mission