Executive Director Marilyn Paarlberg has written an Advent message to RfA supporters for several years. Since she will retire at the end of 2019, this is her final Advent greeting. If you would like to read previous greetings, as well as RfA newsletters dating back to the fall of 2010 when Marilyn began her tenure,…
DetailsThe May 2019 RfA newsletter is out, which celebrates several accomplishments and occasions, including our 40th rostered congregation, as well as a series of Regional Celebration Events scheduled for this fall! We invite you to keep up with our news, and watch this space for more information about the executive director transition and more!
I didn’t know Rachel Held Evans. Of course, I’d heard of her. She was a powerhouse in progressive churchy circles. She had done so much to expand the limited lenses we use to understand God. She was a voice (the voice?) for many evangelically-raised Christians, struggling in a modern world with what their faith means and should look like. And now she’s…
DetailsWhen a congregation goes through the learning process to become welcoming and affirming of LGBTQ people, they often end up learning a lot more about themselves and other marginalized groups within their communities. With that in mind, RfA is proud to offer* a new event-planning resource, “A Wider Welcome.” This document is a blueprint for…
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One of the gifts of God I am learning to receive is the ability to admit I was wrong. I may have been wrong for many reasons (fear, unwillingness to be open to new ideas, apathy, anger, unsure of where I would end up if I let other ideas go). About 4-5 years ago I…
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In June 2018, the RCA General Synod commended the “Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality” for consideration by the Commission on Theology (COT) and the wider RCA. In response, a diverse group of people from the LGBTQ community, parents, pastors, educators and others shared their thoughts with Room for All and the COT, offering alternative perspectives on a faithful…
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In June 2018, the RCA General Synod commended the “Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality” for consideration by the Commission on Theology (COT) and the wider RCA. In response, a diverse group of people from the LGBTQ community, parents, pastors, educators and others shared their thoughts with Room for All and the COT, offering alternative perspectives on a faithful…
DetailsToday’s e-newsletter reflects on transitions, and announces that Marilyn Paarlberg, RfA’s executive director since 2010, is stepping down at the end of December, 2019. Marilyn reflects on the important role of transitions in prose, noting, “A well-crafted transition builds on what has happened and seamlessly orients the reader’s curiosity toward what’s coming on the next page.…
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In June 2018, the RCA General Synod commended the “Great Lakes Catechism on Marriage and Sexuality” for consideration by the Commission on Theology (COT) and the wider RCA. In response, a diverse group of people from the LGBTQ community, parents, pastors, educators and others shared their thoughts with Room for All and the COT, offering alternative perspectives on a faithful…
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