Greetings Wholy Grounders!
I am excited about the future for Wholy Ground Spiritual Center. On April 9th at 6:30 pm EDT we will have a Wholy Experience Service launch as the first Virtual Church Plant in the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ.
We also begin our Radically Inclusive theme for April, May, and June.
While congregations are focusing on Holy Week and preparations for Easter, celebrating our transgender and nonbinary members and neighbors remains critical. Projected laws in many states would deny transgender youth life-saving medical treatment, undermine the rights of parents to support their transgender/nonbinary children, and deny the right of transgender/nonbinary students to participate in school sports. In 2020, a record number of transgender/nonbinary Americans were lost to violence—almost all of them Black, Indigenous and Latinx.
There are also other individuals that can use friendship, community, love, and affirmation.
The homeless community- Immigrants and Refugees- Asian community- Queer, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Intersex, and Asexual community- Minority religious communities-Women of Color- and individuals that have experienced religious trauma.
If you are an individual that often feels excluded…
It is ok to find organizations and persons that will advocate for you. It is also ok to gather the necessary items to equip you for a life of wholeness such as research, confidence, and a healthy well-being being to stand up for yourself. This was recently expressed by Lil Nas X in his new music video, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name). I will just say that once an individual has been fed up some will suppress their emotions and retreat in silence and then there are some of us that will express our truth in the best way the creator has given us to release it.
“I grew up in a pretty religious kind of home—and for me, it was fear-based very much. Even as a little child, I was really scared of every single mistake I may or may not have made. I want kids growing up feeling these feelings, knowing they’re a part of the LGBTQ community, to feel like they’re O.K. and they don’t have to hate themselves.” Lil Nas X
Opportunities to create a radically inclusive environment
Reflect on communities that make you feel uncomfortable. Ask yourself: Why am I uncomfortable? Is it because I am being marginalized by this community? Or is it because I do not understand this particular community and I have more of my own internal work to do? I invite you to sit with these questions this month, and next month we will discuss what it looks like to move forward.
Invite a transgender or nonbinary speaker from your church or community, and renew your commitment to stand with the transgender/nonbinary community.
Include women of color in your programming for events and especially dialogues.
If there is a community that peaks your interest follow them on social media and support their vision.
Create an opportunity for persons who are differently abled to be seen and heard.
Build and maintain healthy relationships with people that do not look like you.
My hope and prayer is that one day we will all be able to find a community that fulfills your entire being as each individual stands in their truth and their purpose.
Wholy Ground Spiritual Center is a radically Inclusive place of faith.
We hope you can experience the Beloved Community with us on April 9th.
