Am I Really Welcome Here?

When we say, “No judgment, only love,” we mean it. It is sad to say that a lot of churches advertise that all are welcome but they don’t spell out exactly what that means.  You can walk into a lot of churches and know right away what kind of church it is. It’s a black or white church, it’s conservative or liberal, it’s formal or informal, or they believe this or that.  It’s funny how we tend to draw dividing lines and then pick the side that most conforms to our preferences. In this extremely polarized time in which we live, we don’t want to add to the division. Jesus welcomed and engaged with people from all backgrounds and walks of life.  We seek to be a community which is centered around the radical hospitality and grace of Jesus. We want to be defined by the love and grace of Jesus rather than lines that divide us by religious doctrines, how we interpret scripture, partisan politics, race, ethnicity, economic status, sexual orientation, gender, and abilities.  You are welcome here if you seek to know more of Christ and have a desire to live in love and peace with everyone. You do not have conform in any other way. 

To our LGBTQ+ friends.  We are saddened that some of you may have had an experience where you thought you were welcomed and fully included in a church only to find out later that not to be the case.  We don’t consider it to be a loving act when churches lie by what they fail to say. We are not going to be that kind of church. So here is the truth right up front. All people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identification, are welcomed at MCF to participate in the full life of the church, including baptism and taking communion.  However, our denomination does not allow its ministers to perform gay marriages and does not ordain LGBTQ+ people as clergy unless they are celibate. We know that there is robust debate among many Christians on this issue. However, Jesus never saw people as an issue and we try not to either. On this, like any other area that divides people, the only thing we require of those at MCF, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identification, is to seek to live in love and peace with everyone as Jesus commands.  John Wesley, the founder of Methodism said this:

“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?"

MCF is a diverse church which seeks unity around the radical grace, love, and hospitality of Jesus.