What It Means to Be a Reconciling Church
The people of Friendship United Methodist Church in Bolingbrook, a Reconciling community, aim to move from saying “all are welcome” to living “all are home.”
Location: Jessie Cunningham, Elisa Gatz and Mark Manzi, NIC Co-Lay Leaders
Laity Sunday celebrates the ministry of all Christians. The theme for Laity Sunday this year on October 18 is, “Therefore, Go! With HOPE Through Engagement.” On Laity Sunday, we embrace our shared vocation (laypersons and clergy) to proclaim, grow in, and embody the good news of the saving love of Jesus Christ. As we welcome and offer the good news of Jesus to all, we commit to grow in love and respond to a world that needs God’s life-mending, justice-creating grace. Therefore, go (with hope) through purpose!
Some may think that we won’t be able to have Laity Sunday this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but we think we need to celebrate Laity Sunday more than ever. On Laity Sunday, we celebrate that we are all called, laity as well as clergy, to go and make disciples. We are called to be the church together in a world so desperately in need of hope. We need to embrace the shared partnership in ministry that must occur for our church to be as vital as possible. This is a time we step together, laypersons and clergy, to let all know that the church is alive.
More information about Laity Sunday can be found at umcdiscipleship.org under the “Equipping Leaders” heading.
As your conference lay leaders, we encourage every church in our conference to celebrate the ministry of the laity on Laity Sunday. We, too, say, “Therefore go!”