2592 West 14th Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
216-861-0779
office@ucccoalition.org
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2592 West 14th Street
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| What do you want to find? | Blest Be the Tie That Binds | ||
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Blest Be the Tie That BindsReflecting on National Gathering 2008by TJ McGiffert who is a chaplain in Atlanta, GA. In a historic worship service in June 2008 held jointly by MCC, The Fellowship and the UCC Coalition, leaders of each body of believers tied themselves together with symbolic knots, demonstrating a common bond in the mission to move the churches to more and more welcoming for LGBT folk and our families. This service was moving for me and emblematic of our best hope and work together. In the days that followed, many of us were stretched as our differing expectations of worship coalesced. I experienced a sense of immersion; we participated, sometimes awkwardly, in a worship style that was not our own flavor, seemingly patriarchal, and sometimes just plain chaotic. Immersion is rarely comfortable or convenient. It’s work. We found warm and loving personal relationships as we reached out and risked vulnerability. But then I have to be honest about some of those moments in worship when I felt bewildered, pressed to over-extend hospitality. But most of us are also accustomed to a one-hour service and we don't expect clergy to test our limits! We tend to cultivate a private experience of the Holy, internalized and digested with perhaps no one else knowing what we are feeling. We are accustomed to the “Amen” shouting at conferences and retreats, but even on this we have set tribal boundaries. At some point I asked “How did we get tied up in this?” Dissent over who should lead, and how, lulled just beneath the pleasant public demeanor. Nonetheless, friendships still blossomed, the tenacity for the larger cause was completely embraced, and the less dramatic gifts of the Spirit flourished in abundance: there was ever-flowing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control. And that’s where I was able to find my grounding. The knots that were tied at the first service were not about conformity. They were about survival. Seafarers and fishermen of old knew the pragmatic use of a knot. It was tied a certain way to steer the boat, to weather the storm and meet the resistance of the wind and waves. In a storm in the night a properly tied knot can mean survival on board. There are dozens of knots in ancient lore, each having its own spiritual, pragmatic significance. I believe our knots symbolized a covenant of survival. The New Testament reflects this interdependence of differing tribes as well. When regional Christians came together it would be patently untrue to say that they all worshipped the same, or agreed on every doctrine and creed. The epistles make clear that there was consistent tension and resistance and it would be years before the Emperor’s sword demanded a position of conformity. The rest of Christian history illustrates all too well that conformity and unity are not at all the same bond. We share a common vision of full inclusion in the churches. We are unified by that truth. Although our language and the particulars of our theologies may differ, we confess with our mouths and bodies that Jesus is our Lord & Savior, who loved us without reserve, and died for us to have equal access to God our Creator. The knots we wore that first night were loosely tied, but they will remain powerful against the resistance and oppression we agree must be confronted and dismantled. We have covenanted ourselves to this cause without insisting on what will be our most comfortable worship style. We must continue to joyfully sing of needing each other to survive. Blessed be the tie that binds us together in this cause, heals our wounds and allows us to be healers to one another in this historic struggle. |
National Gathering 2011Join us June 27-30, 2011, in Tampa, FL! National Gathering 2010The Coalition celebrated 25 years of ONA at National Gathering 2010. Participants explored the theme, "Any Body, Everybody, Christ’s Body," July 14–17, 2010, in San Diego, CA. National Gathering 2009National Gathering 2009 was held June 22–25, 2009, in Grand Rapids, MI, with the theme "Growing BOLD." These were the days immediately before Synod. National Gathering 2008National Gathering 2008 was held June 25–29, 2008 in Dallas, TX, in conjunction with The Fellowship. The theme was "One Tribe, One Table." National Gathering 2007National Gathering 2007 was a great success! |
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| Contact the web manager | The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns 216-861-0779 office@ucccoalition.org |
Copyright 2008 | |
