The session at its regular meeting on May 21, 1997, decided to declare our congregation to be a More Light church by passing the following motion:
"that Sixth Presbyterian Church affirm its desire to welcome all people who seek God's grace through acceptance and trust in Jesus Christ by becoming a full member of the More Light Churches Network and
"that the Sixth Presbyterian Church's present 'inclusion statement' be amended as follows:
"Even as the world seeks to divide us according to our economic position, racial and ethnic group, age, gender, abilities, theological position, marital status and sexual orientation, we believe that in Christ there are no such divisions. Our congregation is strengthened through its diversity. We welcome all to our church community and its activities. Our membership is open to anyone who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Any member who is duly elected will be ordained and installed to church office."
As you can see the statement is based on the "inclusion statement" adopted by the session in January 1995, and printed since then every Sunday in our worship bulletin. The elders believe that this expressed commitment to be an inclusive and diverse congregation has been most meaningful to our membership and has attrected new friends and members. The decision to be a More Light Church commits the congregation to further growth in this direction and joins us with over eighty other Presbyterian churches in working for the full inclusion of all people in our denomination regardless of sexual orientation.
This was not an easy decision because of the complexity of the issue and the differing points of views both among ourselves as elder and in the congregation. We are very grateful for the many personal communications, including all the letters we received expressing your opinions and feelings. Each letter was read by all the elders. The last three session meetings have been devoted primarily to discussing this issue. As you know, the congregation as a whole has been discussing since January of 1996, and before then had been dealing in various formats with issues of sexuality and the Church for over two years.
The Session of Sixth Presbyterian Church