Dear Friends of Room for All:
From his first incarnate breath drawn in the stable out back to his last on a cross outside the city walls, Jesus experienced “no room.” God-with-us knew what it was to be an outsider, and it was especially to those rejected by society that he showed God’s heart of love, including the excluded in his word-pictures of what God’s “outside in” design looks like. The line many of us will sing in a few days, “Let every heart prepare him room,” implies that in God’s floor plan, there is room for everyone who makes room for God.
Those who were able to attend “Making Room for All 2011” were reminded that we live in a now/not yet tension. There are hopeful signs of opening doors in the Reformed Church in America for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities; especially exciting is a growing list of RCA congregations who have become publicly identified “Room for All Churches.” But the “not yet” is still very much evident: LGBTQ persons are told that they are outside of God’s created order, outside of grace unless they deny their own identity, outside of being able to participate fully in the life and ministry of the RCA.
Many spoke about the wonderful atmosphere of trust and affirmation that was present at the national gathering, especially when the full spectrum of God’s people gathered for worship. Some wondered wistfully if they would ever experience such a welcome in their home churches. That’s what Room for All’s ministry is all about, and we welcome your partnership. A year-end gift in any amount will enable us to broaden our efforts in 2012. Thanks to a generous challenge grant, gifts from new donors or increased gifts from previous supporters will be doubled!
Thank you for all the ways you have supported Room for All this year—with words of encouragement, participation in our efforts, and financial gifts. With your help, we will continue to support, educate and advocate for full inclusion in the RCA, compelled by the outsider who lived among us, “full of grace and truth.”
In Christ’s Inclusive Love,
Marilyn Paarlberg
Executive Director