About Our Wide Welcome Initiative
This effort is a five-year focus to work on developing Englewood’s welcome-wide as an authentic faith community. This effort will begin in 2025.
In that time, we will be intentional in the areas of:
Becoming an Open and Affirming Congregation through the Disciples of Christ.
Being aware of and confronting our internal biases and areas of privilege.
Having honest conversations to confront racism in our community, region, and nation.
Becoming more bi-lingual in our communications and activities.
Deepening our involvement and connection with our community and our neighbors.
On January 12, 2025 our Pastor Christie Love formally introduced our Wide Welcome Initiative and our entire service that day centered on our intentional efforts to expand and extend our welcome. We invite you to watch this service to understand the heart behind our efforts in this area. You may need to advance the recording to the 4:00 minute mark to get back the scrolling announcements to the start of the service.
Our Proposed Wide Welcome Statement
This statement was approved by Englewood Christian Church leadership in November of 2024 and will be voted on by the congregation for adoption in June 2025.
Proposed Englewood Welcome Statement:
Englewood Christian Church has long declared that all are welcome. When we make that declaration, we mean:
Every age group is appreciated and welcomed.
Your questions, your doubts, and your skepticism are welcome in this space.
We respect all races, cultures, and ethnicities here, and all are welcome.
Married or single, you are welcome.
Straight or LGBTQIA+, you are welcome.
People of all gender expressions and gender identities can be their authentic selves here and are welcome.
Varying abilities are acknowledged, and we desire to be intentional in our accommodations so that all people feel comfortable and welcome.
People of all economic situations are welcome.
God's love is global and not nationalistic. In this community, immigrants and refugees are welcome.
You do not have to pretend to be okay in this space; your emotions, good or bad, are welcome.
If you need a place to heal from past religious trauma; your wounds, triggers, and fears are welcome.
All are welcome to observe, listen, engage, serve, lead, work, and partner with us to make a positive impact on the community and the world around us.
Our Upcoming Learning Events as part of the Wide Welcome Initiative are:
In March, we are hosting two Zoom conversations to address concerns or questions that members have about our proposed Wide Welcome Statement. Contact Christie Love for the Zoom login for those meetings.
In April, we are partnering with NAMI of Yakima to host a Faith and Trauma workshop to help us all better understand the impact of trauma and negative religious experiences. You can learn more about this event by clicking here.
If you have questions about these events or would like to help plan future events, please connect with Christie Love