In an April 28 sermon on the topic, our pastor Daniel Glaze encouraged and invited conversation about what it would mean for River Road Church to become more expansive in its welcome and affirmation of all people, especially LGBTQ persons, who have historically been ignored or even shut out of many churches. This summer many good conversations have taken place.
On September 22, Dr. Glaze presented to the Deacons a plan for a series of community conversations to further explore this topic, which they affirmed with some modifications for the congregation:
October 9, 2024—12pm and 6pm
What would it mean to become a Welcoming and Affirming Congregation?
October 23, 2024—12pm and 6pm
What does the Bible say about LGBTQ persons?
October 30, 2024—12pm and 6pm
Stories from among our congregation: what are your hopes? What are your fears?
A word about the times above: first, you need not attend both sessions on a given day; they will be identical. We are offering these at two different times for those who may not drive at night, and also for those who may work during the day. If you can attend in person, we highly encourage you to.
The pastoral staff will be present and listen well at each session. We will report back to the Board of Deacons what we believe the next steps should include. We ask for your prayers and full participation in these sessions. Thank you!
Zoom and Recordings
It is our hope that you will be present for these conversations in person, but we know some folks may need online accommodations. A Zoom option will be available by request, however, Zoom participants will be unable to participate in the table dialogue following the presentation.
You will need to contact the church office each week to request the Zoom link, no later than 2 hours before a session is supposed to begin—by 10am for the 12pm session and 4pm for the 6pm session. Each session will have a unique meeting ID that will be emailed to you 20 minutes before the start of the meeting.
During the Community Conversations, we will ask that all Zoom participants turn their cameras on and keep microphones on mute.
Before joining any of the sessions, please check your Zoom settings to make sure that your name is connected to your account. If we see ‘iPad (2),’ ‘iPhone,’ ‘Galaxy,’ etc. join and we are unable to identify you, you may not receive access to the meeting. Click here to for Zoom support instructions on how to change your name via web browser (Edge, Safari, Chrome, etc.), desktop application on Windows and MacOS, or Android or iOS (iPhone and iPad) mobile devices.
Recordings may be available at a later date, but the recordings will not include the discussion portion.