VISION

Participation in communities celebrating the creative spirit from within each heart and honoring the blessings of diversity in gender expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity and race.

MISSION  

Serve as a resource with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning people to promote community reconciliation and enlarge the scope of spiritual expression within organized communities, as the Source of Life is experienced daily and in connection while caring for neighbor as self.  


PROGRAMS

A critical part of RCCares’ ministry involves community reconciliation. We co-lead a forum that addresses the need for working toward being a loving and just community following the desire to care for neighbor as self. The work of the forum participants is about co-creating safe space while living in the reality of community. It’s about having the space to be able to think about what a person values, to hear what others are thinking, and coming to better understand the comfort of making informed choices. Automatic responses providing protection in turmoil and conflict present in life create barriers.  In a safe space, taking down those defenses put up for protection can provide  opportunity for calm reflection. The safe space is especially significant now when anti LGBTQ hate based religious rhetoric threatens our lives and well being. We meet in the strength and love of community, attesting to how shame and guilt are disarmed.

Our goal is to be a place of radical hospitality acting for community healing and reconciliation. Affirming Faith Forum is held every fourth Friday of the month at the LGBT Center of Raleigh from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The most recent forum, “Empowering Action for the Common Good,” is described in this article.

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Workshops - an overview of the workshops that can be arranged with RCCares clergy and members.

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Regularly occurring monthly activities:

  • Participating in 2 to 4 transgender support group meetings
  •  Board conference calls with Church Within A Church and Rainbow Access Initiative
  • Volunteer library assistance at the LGBT Center of Raleigh every Monday
  • Several conference calls as a member of National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
  • Staff & volunteer meeting at North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition   

Some other things we do are:

  • Pastoral care to LGBTQ persons in times of difficulty or change.
  • Arrange and perform religious rites of passage and celebrations.
  • Assist with writing liturgy in the language of the community.
  • Investigate community equity in daily life.
  • Scripture studies from the view of queer community and advocacy.
  • Examine fiscal practices in light of faith ethics and mission involvement.