What do we mean when we say we are inclusive?

We accept everyone into our faith community with unconditional love.Jesus broke down the barriers that separated people into acceptable and unacceptable, worthy and unworthy, “clean” and “unclean”, righteous and sinner. The only requirement necessary to connect with God is a willingness to open one’s heart to receive God’s unconditional love and forgiveness, or what is termed grace. Any faith community that excludes, divides, judges, or is intolerant, is doing so outside of the model given to us by Jesus.

We accept that there are other paths that also lead people to an experience of God. Through his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus teaches us that we must die to our self-centered ways, our focus on wealth and materialism, our need to condemn others. We must begin a new life living through love, peace, compassion, forgiveness, and generosity. This way of reconnecting with God and living in community with one another in the way God intended is also taught in religious communities outside of Christianity. We should respect and be tolerant of the different ways people experience God in their life. Our ability to live in harmony in a diverse world depends on it.