Reconciling Ministries Network
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| Founded | 1984 |
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| 52-1696721 | |
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| Website | http://rmnetwork.org |
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Formerly called
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Reconciling Congregation Program |
The Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) is an organization dedicated to the inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in both the policy and practices of United Methodist Church. It is one of many Welcoming Congregation organizations to emerge in American Christianity in the 1980s. The ministry currently has approximately 761 affiliated congregations and 32,681 affiliated individuals.
The group was founded in 1983 as the Reconciling Congregation Program as part of Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian/Gay Concerns. It was created as a system for congregations to publicly support lesbians and gay men, and welcome them to full participation in the life of the church both locally and beyond the local congregation. The group was named "Reconciling Congregations" in reference to discussion regarding the need for reconciliation between gay people and the church.
In 1984, the United Methodist Church, at its General Conference, added to its Book of Discipline the statement that "no self-avowed, practicing homosexual shall be ordained or appointed in the United Methodist Church." Affirmation members gathered outside the meeting hall, inviting churches to join the Reconciling Congregations. Soon after, the first two congregations declared themselves to be part of the movement: Washington Square United Methodist Church in New York City, and Wesley United Methodist Church in Fresno, California.
As the program grew, it broke away from Affirmation, becoming autonomous in 1989. The name changed to its current name in October 2000 as a recognition that the diverse ministries the program was serving went beyond congregations.
RMN members have challenged United Methodist policies on same-sex relationships. After pastor Jimmy Creech officiated at a union ceremony for two lesbians, the church in 1996 adopted a policy forbidding any same-sex commitment ceremonies to be celebrated in United Methodist churches or by United Methodist pastors.
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