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Reconciling Ministries Network
@rmnetwork.bsky.social
550 followers 200 following 130 posts
Reconciling Ministries Network is committed to intersectional justice across and beyond the United Methodist connection, working for the full participation of all LGBTQ+ people throughout the life and leadership of the Church.
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Before we are consumers, we are kin.
Before we are consumers, we are siblings.
Before we are consumers, we are of earth + spirit.

Sometimes, we find ourselves having to rely on imperfect options. Those of us who live in rural places or experience poverty, or those of us trying to survive a crisis.
image contains two buttons – one pink with the label "local economy," and the other blue with the word "billionaires." text says: this last day of amazon’s annual sale is a prime reminder: how we spend our money is one way to live out our prayers. local economy: * build a healthier community * nurture economic creativity & cooperation * foster trust & civic participation * support your neighbors * safeguard local jobs, making it attractive for people to stay billionaires: * subsidize wealthy shareholders and executives * drain dollars out of publicly funded safety nets & projects * reward dishonest business practitioners and abusive employers * invest in a fractured global economy
July 11, 2025 at 8:21 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
independence, we ask of you God, from bondage of all kinds. from apathy from savage cruelty (we do this to each other, to our own – we do this) from amnesia (are we first neighbors or are we consumers? and who/what are the consumed?) from despair, which looks like anger. from distance, from separateness, the one-act play of independence, deliver us, loving God.
July 4, 2025 at 5:17 PM
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If you don't know who your representative is, that's okay! You can look them up here: www.house.gov/representati...

No need to be polished or speak steadily. Simply tell your elected official, who works for you and your neighbors, to reject this bill on account of the suffering it promises.
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed a budget bill that will endanger U.S. lives. The bill strips $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP food assistance funding. 17 million more Americans will lose life-sustaining healthcare. Families will go hungry. And yet, the national debt will increase by $4.5 trillion – all to pad the pockets of the hyper-wealthy. The bill now returns to the U.S. House for consideration. If passed by the House, it will become law, casting Americans into poverty and injustice. Today is a good day to call your U.S. representative – especially Republicans. It is an act of faithfulness to reject the suffering of our neighbors.
July 2, 2025 at 8:23 PM
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🌎 WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHT

Immigration Justice & Congregational Care
Led by Rev. Becky Schofield Motter (she/her)

How can your church move from compassion to action when it comes to immigration justice?

🧡 Wonder. Discern. Act.
🗓️ Join us at Convocation 2025!

Register today: rmnetwork.org/uncharted
June 13, 2025 at 2:13 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
📣 CONVOCATION WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHT

🕊️ Come ready to imagine sacred disruption.
🔥 Leave ready to lead with bold, embodied gospel.
🗓️ Join us at Convocation 2025!

Register now—both in-person & virtual tickets available!
👉 rmnetwork.org/uncharted
June 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
If you see today's issue of @usatoday.com on newsstands, flip it open and you'll find Rev. Dr. Izzy Alvaran (RMN's Director of Mission Impact) in the middle, speaking about the sacred responsibility of churches.
A screenshot of Rev. Dr. Izzy Alvaran's photo with the USA TODAY article around it.
June 3, 2025 at 4:46 PM
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At Uncharted, we're blessed to look forward to preaching from Rev. Andi Woodworth – a gifted speaker and compassionate thinker.

You may have seen Rev. Andi highlighted earlier this year in The Advocate and LGBTQ Nation where they lauded her as the first out #trans person to address...
A photo of Rev. Andi Woodworth smiling into the camera and the following text: with preaching from Rev. Andi Woodworth. Uncharted. Andi is originally from Atlanta proper. She is an ordained elder in the UMC and has served churches in various roles in Atlanta, Aragon, and Rome. Andi loves helping people and communities grow through creativity, courage, and cooperating with God.
May 27, 2025 at 8:40 PM
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Uncommonly, needlessly cruel – a bill banning gender affirming care for adult Medicaid recipients has passed the U.S. House. It now proceeds to the Senate.
A photo of Harvey milk against a bold background. A caption on top says: Harvey milk day. Honoring those who exhibit, political bravery for the freedom and the dignity of us all. "I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted."
May 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
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Crucifixion was a thousand different horrors. And among those horrors – its normalcy.

The folklore of the cross, the image that many of us conjure today on Good Friday, is of three crucifixes on a skull-shaped hill.
April 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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You may have this coming Palm Sunday on your mind – a ritual of scripture and community to remind us that Jesus was about our liberation. Our holy scriptures are full of histories of ordinary courage and extraordinary grace.
A photo of the tearful eyes of a child with the following text beneath it: What use is a strong dollar in the hands of someone who has none? What is a king but a terrorist if he disappears your parents in the dead of night? What is a king but a fool if he wields holy scripture, upside down, like a weapon? What is a king but a thief if he lines his friends’ pockets with the savings lost by a nation’s families? On Palm Sunday, we remember: No empire will overcome the kin-dom of God. No empire can take from us our inheritance of philia – love between kin. No empire will last. One day this, too, will be ashes.
April 11, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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Journalist @erininthemorning.com reported that 17 MT Rep. representatives crossed party lines to help defeat a bill that would've threatened trans children's lives by targeting their caretakers. Before the vote, Rep. SJ Howell moved hearts with their speech, advocating for their own community.
A photo of a Montana landscape with a headline from Erin Reed from Apr 8 2025 in front: 17 Montana Republicans Cross Party Lines, Defeat Anti-Trans Bill After Nonbinary Rep's Speech Then the following text above and below: You're never "too old," "too old-fashioned," "too uninformed," "too entrenched" to let God change your heart.
April 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
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The way of Jesus promises neither prosperity, health, nor safety. In times that test the texture and timbre of our faith, who do we say Jesus is? Where would Jesus be found today?
Photos depicting people harmed by this regime's actions including kidnapped Americans and green card holders and those mourning the demolishment of USAID. The following text from prosperity preacher Paula Williams says: "an angel assigned to you God as your enemies' enemy prosperity sickness removed long life increased inheritance a special year of blessing" These were things she said would alight on those who made a $1k donation to the Trump campaign At the bottom of the image is a paraphrase of scripture: "what do we gain in exchange for our souls?"
April 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
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Convocation registration is live! Early bird pricing for a limited time.

"Uncharted" will be a sanctuary in time and space, fueling and connecting people committed to LGBTQ+ justice at a time when our Church and our world need prophetic guidance.

More info & registration: rmnetwork.org/uncharted/
A testimonial from a 2023 Convocation participant with the Uncharted logo on it and the tagline "Becoming the Church We Need Right Now" “My hope has increased because your support gave me the reasons to believe there is a history, there is a future, there are chances to be and believe. Thank you. Gracias. I have no words to add my gratitude.” Attendee of Onward to Perfection: RMN’s 2023 Convocation
April 1, 2025 at 1:37 PM
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In this evening's Virtual Porch, 3 brilliant #trans #UMC pastors connect the dots between trans-antagonism and the current U.S. legislative landscape. And they show us a roadmap for the collective resistance needed right now.

Sign up for free here. Hope to see you tonight! hubs.li/Q03f8dsN0
Upheld in Love: a Gospel Call for Trans Flourishing Trans Day of Visibility Monday, March 31, 7pm ET | 4pm PT An RMN Virtual Porch feat. Pastor Katelyn MacDonald of Duke Memorial UMC in Durham, NC, Pastor Ben Weger of Trinity UMC in Madison, WI, and Rev. Andromeda Woodworth of Neighborhood Church in Atlanta, GA.
March 31, 2025 at 6:03 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
In this Virtual Porch gathering, 3 brilliant transgender #UMC pastors connect the dots between trans-antagonism and the current U.S. legislative landscape. They show us a roadmap for the collective resistance we need right now.

Sign up for free here: www.eventbrite.com/e/upheld-in-...
Upheld in Love: A Gospel Call for Trans Flourishing
RMN hosts 3 trans United Methodist pastors to illuminate the landscape of trans-antagonism today and a roadmap for progress and protection.
www.eventbrite.com
March 27, 2025 at 12:46 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
Convocation registration is now LIVE! rmnetwork.org/uncharted/

Uncharted is going to be a rich time of Reconciling fellowship, worship, and education. Together, we're going to learn to better embody Christ’s love and justice for LGBTQ+ people in the Church and beyond.
Convocation 2025: UNCHARTED - Reconciling Ministries Network
Photos from Convocation 2023 by Joscie Cutchens & Jennifer Von Essen
rmnetwork.org
March 26, 2025 at 6:55 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
Many thanks to Jesi Lipp @artzfreak.bsky.social for this Affirmation of Faith to accompany this year's Trans Day of Visibility. Let this statement ground and encourage your congregation this Sunday!
A baroque-looking background with an angel whose color changes from pink to blue through 7 slides. The following text is split amongst the 7 slides. We believe in the Creator, who made the day and the night, not separate but continually transforming into each other, and thus also gave us the dawn and the twilight, neither day nor night. We believe in Jesus, the Child of the Creator, who is fully human and fully divine, challenging our simple understandings of biology; who before his disciples was wholly transfigured beyond their comprehension and beyond ours; who was tortured and murdered by religious authorities and the government for being who he was called to be; who was resurrected and returned to a body so changed that his dearest friends did not recognize him. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who does not take one shape but many, coming to us in the form of a dove and of wind and of fire; who guides us into being the truest version of ourselves. We believe in the God who revealed to Abraham and Sarah and Peter and Paul that their true name was not the one they had been assigned at birth; a God who does not make mistakes, because transgender people are not a mistake, but in their transness show us the image of a transformational and transcendent God. We know that each of us, as the Church, is called to continual transformation so that we may transform the world. We know that, in that calling, we must work to dismantle systems that attempt to erase our beloved trans siblings from existence. We believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, which unite us in a new understanding of what it is to be human. We believe in eternal life, in which we will all be made wonderfully and queerfully new in the Kindom where God reigns forever. A baroque-looking background with an angel whose color changes from pink to blue through 7 slides. The following text is split amongst the 7 slides. We believe in the Creator, who made the day and the night, not separate but continually transforming into each other, and thus also gave us the dawn and the twilight, neither day nor night. We believe in Jesus, the Child of the Creator, who is fully human and fully divine, challenging our simple understandings of biology; who before his disciples was wholly transfigured beyond their comprehension and beyond ours; who was tortured and murdered by religious authorities and the government for being who he was called to be; who was resurrected and returned to a body so changed that his dearest friends did not recognize him. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who does not take one shape but many, coming to us in the form of a dove and of wind and of fire; who guides us into being the truest version of ourselves. We believe in the God who revealed to Abraham and Sarah and Peter and Paul that their true name was not the one they had been assigned at birth; a God who does not make mistakes, because transgender people are not a mistake, but in their transness show us the image of a transformational and transcendent God. We know that each of us, as the Church, is called to continual transformation so that we may transform the world. We know that, in that calling, we must work to dismantle systems that attempt to erase our beloved trans siblings from existence. We believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, which unite us in a new understanding of what it is to be human. We believe in eternal life, in which we will all be made wonderfully and queerfully new in the Kindom where God reigns forever. A baroque-looking background with an angel whose color changes from pink to blue through 7 slides. The following text is split amongst the 7 slides. We believe in the Creator, who made the day and the night, not separate but continually transforming into each other, and thus also gave us the dawn and the twilight, neither day nor night. We believe in Jesus, the Child of the Creator, who is fully human and fully divine, challenging our simple understandings of biology; who before his disciples was wholly transfigured beyond their comprehension and beyond ours; who was tortured and murdered by religious authorities and the government for being who he was called to be; who was resurrected and returned to a body so changed that his dearest friends did not recognize him. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who does not take one shape but many, coming to us in the form of a dove and of wind and of fire; who guides us into being the truest version of ourselves. We believe in the God who revealed to Abraham and Sarah and Peter and Paul that their true name was not the one they had been assigned at birth; a God who does not make mistakes, because transgender people are not a mistake, but in their transness show us the image of a transformational and transcendent God. We know that each of us, as the Church, is called to continual transformation so that we may transform the world. We know that, in that calling, we must work to dismantle systems that attempt to erase our beloved trans siblings from existence. We believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, which unite us in a new understanding of what it is to be human. We believe in eternal life, in which we will all be made wonderfully and queerfully new in the Kindom where God reigns forever. A baroque-looking background with an angel whose color changes from pink to blue through 7 slides. The following text is split amongst the 7 slides. We believe in the Creator, who made the day and the night, not separate but continually transforming into each other, and thus also gave us the dawn and the twilight, neither day nor night. We believe in Jesus, the Child of the Creator, who is fully human and fully divine, challenging our simple understandings of biology; who before his disciples was wholly transfigured beyond their comprehension and beyond ours; who was tortured and murdered by religious authorities and the government for being who he was called to be; who was resurrected and returned to a body so changed that his dearest friends did not recognize him. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who does not take one shape but many, coming to us in the form of a dove and of wind and of fire; who guides us into being the truest version of ourselves. We believe in the God who revealed to Abraham and Sarah and Peter and Paul that their true name was not the one they had been assigned at birth; a God who does not make mistakes, because transgender people are not a mistake, but in their transness show us the image of a transformational and transcendent God. We know that each of us, as the Church, is called to continual transformation so that we may transform the world. We know that, in that calling, we must work to dismantle systems that attempt to erase our beloved trans siblings from existence. We believe in forgiveness and reconciliation, which unite us in a new understanding of what it is to be human. We believe in eternal life, in which we will all be made wonderfully and queerfully new in the Kindom where God reigns forever.
March 26, 2025 at 12:49 AM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
This afternoon + on April 8th, enfleshed, Soulforce, and @queertheology.bsky.social are teaming up to put on an educational webinar re. trans lives and trans rights at stake. Learn how your church can extend welcome and safety.

Register here: www.transformingheartscollective.org/people-of-fa...
People of Faith: Defend Trans Lives — Transforming Hearts Collective
www.transformingheartscollective.org
March 25, 2025 at 1:17 PM
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"I’m not scared in the least. Because we have fought so many battles — the elders. We have fought so many battles, with medicine, with HIV, with marching on Washington, with watching our friends die,” [says Renata Ramos, a 63-year-old trans Latina]. From @19thnews.org
From Stonewall to now: LGBTQ+ elders on navigating fear in dark times
LGBTQ+ elders share what survival looks like under a hostile political regime and their advice to young people on taking action, even when they're afraid.
19thnews.org
March 20, 2025 at 12:34 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
If you're at the Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) General Meeting, we'd love to see you! Come by the RMN table for some merch and good company.

#faithfullylgbtq #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch #bmcr
A photo of a hand holding the RMN bookmark that came in the BMCR tote bag A photo of the swag at the RMN table at the BMCR General Meeting
March 19, 2025 at 5:56 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
Our homes of worship are special places in our communities – full of potential for transformation and healing. Here are some attainable ways to extend an invitation when many are looking for religious community as a shelter for the soul.

#faithfullylgbtq #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch
What can your Reconciling Church offer a hurting world right now? There are lines connecting to 9 photos representing the nine ideas on the next slide] [text on second slide includes the following ideas: - host a gentle movement class - lead a group study with Reconciling resources - host a sober meet-up like a game night or drag performance - provide a basic legal clinic with church or community experts - host a dance party - offer cover letter & resumé review for people recently fired - provide childcare so LGBTQ+ parents can have a date night - put on a queer/trans-focused worship service - watch a queer/trans movie or show & discuss]
March 18, 2025 at 4:54 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
One of our top 10 reasons why your church or community should still consider becoming Reconciling is that it's a way to extend God's love.

Did you know that only 2-3% of United Methodist churches around the connection are Reconciling? That means that in up to 97% of United Methodist churches:
The following text in speech bubbles: - Wait, didn’t they vote out the anti-LGBTQ+ policies at the last General Conference? So... - Why should we become a Reconciling Ministry? - 1. To extend God's love Like all of us, LGBTQ+ people deserve a place where they can worship, serve, and find faith community. Jesus intentionally invited all and uplifted those who were downtrodden. As followers of Jesus, so should we. Especially in a time of heightened cruelty against LGBTQ+ people, it is countercultural and sacred to live in the courageous spirit of love. Stay tuned for all top 10 reasons
March 17, 2025 at 7:02 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
With Lent already underway, we don’t want you to miss out on what this Lenten devo has to offer – centering, invitation, delight, and gentleness.

Use the code devo50 to take 50% off now. If price is a barrier for you, then DM us. We’d love for you to have it: hubs.li/Q03bT8xL0 #devo #umc #lgbtq
Into the Wilderness: a Reconciling Lenten Devotional - Reconciling Ministries Network
Through this devotional, you will explore what it means to be a people of justice, mercy, and love in the face of discomfort and uncertainty. In the wilderness, transformation is possible, both in us and in the world we are called to help shape.
hubs.li
March 14, 2025 at 12:44 PM
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Congratulations, @pcusa.bsky.social, and thank you for your example! We affirm that the mere elimination of explicit discrimination is not enough. Repentance, learning, and change must follow.

pcusa.org/news-storyte...

#faithfullylgbtq #lgbtq #umc #unitedmethodistchurch #pcusa
Amendment 24-A wins approval from a majority of presbyteries
LOUISVILLE — Covenant Network of Presbyterians and others are hailing presbyteries’ approval of Amendment 24-A, enshrining, for the first time, recognition of LGBTQIA+ people in the Constitution of th...
pcusa.org
March 13, 2025 at 3:41 PM
rmnetwork.bsky.social
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has put out a #Surveillance Self-Defense guide to protecting ourselves from online spying by government entities and others.

If you're a justice-seeking church or individual, check out the guide for free here: ssd.eff.org #faithfullylgbtq #lgbtq #trans #queer
Surveillance Self-Defense
We’re the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an independent non-profit working to protect online privacy for over thirty years. This is Surveillance Self-Defense: our expert guide to protecting you and y...
ssd.eff.org
March 12, 2025 at 3:44 PM