Anonymous Female Dialogue Response

From: [name withheld: female, 50’s, member or friend for 5-10 years]
Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008
Subject: Refection Response

1. What are your thoughts about the above revised mission statement?
I feel the current mission statement says it all. We are suppose to reach out to all who seek a deeper relationship with God. So, I am not sure why it is important we change it. I don’t believe we need to get into all of the wordiness of the new statement when the current statement states very clearly we need to reach out to others. I do not like the proposed mission statement.

2. How would you feel if our church adopted the above revised mission statement?
I would not like it at all. Once again, the current one says it all. I believe the proposed statement is a round about way of saying to the congregation we are going to become a RMN church and this mission statement supports it 100%. I think it is a play on words and I don’t like it.

3. How would the revised mission statement impact you, the members of your household, our church and our community?
I would be very disappointed with the mission statement changing. I feel like there has been far too much emphasis on RMN. I feel like the move to change the church to RMN has had more emphasis on same sex partners than on God. I think our focus has not been on God and I think this is the reason why there is so much strife and failure at Skyline. I feel as far as a community is concerned, I believe if the church was labeled RMN it would be known strictly as church for GLBT and not be reflected any other way. It disappoints me to see how far we are going to push this and see the damage it is causing. Our current mission statement very clearly states what we should be doing as followers of Christ. If we can’t welcome and accept others into our church for who they are it is not because of our mission statement, it is because of ignorance.

4. How do you sense God is calling you to behave toward seekers and followers of Jesus Christ who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender?
As far as my beliefs are concerned in how God is calling me, I feel that I have the ability to love others regardless. I do not look at someone for their sexual preference, I look at them for the person they are. I know that there is so much more to all of us than our sexual preference. This is just a small part of who we are as individuals. We are suppose to love others unconditionally and I feel I do this already. Changing a mission statement is not going to change those who don’t love unconditionally. What bothers me tremendously is that we are not putting our focus on God first, I believe we are putting it on sexual preference. Huge concern!!!