Reconciling Works

Dear ReconcilingWorks friends, members, and Reconciling in Christ communities,

On June 12th, 2016, our community was rocked by the massacre that claimed the lives of 49 people. The horror unfolded in the middle of Pride month on Latin night at Pulse Nightclub, a popular gathering place for young LGBTQ people of color.

Shock and disbelief turned to grief and anger. And at a moment when some sought to meet fear with fear and hate with hate, we saw a community pull together across difference, united in a commitment to challenge bigotry and hatred, not nourish it. A deep resilience emerged from survivors, the victims’ loved ones, Orlando residents and leaders, and LGBTQ people and our allies across the country and around the world. People held vigils and fundraisers to directly aid the families of those killed and the survivors and committed to combatting hatred of all kinds. The Orlando community was buoyed by the outpouring of generosity, as cities, towns, churches, and families stood with us in our grief.

ReconcilingWorks also experienced an uptick of engagement with new communities reaching out for resources about how to extend a welcome to LGBTQ people. The traffic on our web page tripled, and ReconcilingWorks quickly scheduled a Building an Inclusive Church (BIC) training that fall in Orlando. At that point, there were no Reconciling in Christ (RIC) communities in the Orlando area. Now there are two RIC communities and several starting their journey to become RIC.

As the one year mark of Pulse approaches, ReconcilingWorks invites you to join with Orlando’s LGBTQ community and Equality Florida to #HonorThemWithAction.

Here is our request:

1. Use the hashtag #HonorThemWithAction on social media to share stories to raise awareness about the work you are doing to uproot anti-LGBTQ bias and bigotry. We want to encourage actions large and small that make a difference. Here are some ideas:
   • “I finally came out to my Aunt”
   • “I began the RIC journey by talking with people in my congregation about extending a specific welcome to LGBTQ people”
   • “I pledge to use ReconcilingWorks Advocacy Guide to dismantle LGBTQ discrimination in church and society: RWKS.org/Advocate.”
2. #HonorThemWithAction by helping others start the RIC conversation Reach out to a nearby church not yet on their journey and point them to ReconcilingWorks’ resources: RWKS.org/resources/RIC. Then let ReconcilingWorks know!
3. Share your faith community's plans to #HonorThemWithAction and your projects and events from partner organizations.

Together we must ensure the lasting memorial is the real change of uprooting anti-LGBTQ hatred, discrimination, and violence in our church and in our society.

Thank you for standing together to do the work of fully addressing and combating hatred wherever it exists.

In God's Spirit of radical welcome,

Aubrey Thonvold
ReconcilingWorks, Executive Director

P.S. Don't forget to share with ReconcilingWorks how your community will #HonorThemWithAction. We would like to share these ideas on our social media pages.