At Sellwood Faith Community we are a people who try to embody a sense of welcome. We don’t require a belief in God to engage in service or come have a conversation over dinner. We’ve welcomed atheists, Buddhists, humanists, and others into our midst and been the richer for those interactions. Throughout our time of existence however we have struggled with being welcoming to the people who at least on paper are the most like the leadership of this community, conservative christians. Our leaders and other Christians share a belief in God and Christ, so why does it feel like there is a bigger gulf with our brothers and sisters in the church than with those outside of it?
Some of the folks in our community have fled churches where they have been hurt by doctrines of exclusion and otherness. Others have gotten bogged down in endless circular debates about the bible which only serve to sap spiritual energy rather than being spaces where actual listening takes place. While we may have our reasons to approach these interactions with caution if we truly believe that God is bigger than we are it is imperative that we actually do work to welcome anyone and everyone.
To do this means first being aware of who are the people that we avoid or would have a difficult time welcoming. It takes reflection to figure out why our reaction is one of less than open hospitality and then a community discussion of what is the way forward. This does not mean we simply become doormats. It means we long to fully embody who we say we are in a way that is healthy and consistent.
Here at SFC we believe in conversation. Our boundary is that everyone must be able to respect the conversation. If any one person or group gets too directive or domineering than the work of the whole community is to call that person back to the conversation. It’s a work in progress, but one that we feel is important work.
Each of us have had been in important conversation with all kinds of Christians and folks of other beliefs. We have friends and family members who we love who are conservative Christians. There have been good moments of growth and learning. Yet it seems we often default to our fears of what an interaction might become instead of letting it be what it is. As we seek to grow spiritually and to live out our faith we attend to the places where we feel there is a tension between who we say we are and how we behave. Together we can hold each other accountable as we try and fail and try again to live as the people we want to be. That is good news.
-Eilidh
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