To gain a deeper understanding of God’s Extravagant Welcome, and why we have renamed our committee, please read our latest newsletter article Spreading God's Extravagant Welcome. For more information you can also visit the UCC’s All The People page and God is Still Speaking page.
Follow these links to find pages devoted to the various elements of First Church’s Extravagant Welcome! Keep checking back as we will be adding more, and as always, contact us if you have ideas to contribute!
An Open &
Affirming Congregation – see news on the UCC standing with the gay
community in California after the passage of Proposition 8, which halts
gay marriages in the state.
Our Welcome Statement
Welcome to The First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Bedford (United Church of Christ). We welcome those of every color, culture, creed, physical and mental ability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and economic circumstance; we welcome young and old, married an single people into full participation in the life and ministry of this church. We celebrate family in all of its diverse forms, and support all loving and committed relationships. We rejoice in the presence of children among us.
We invite all to join in every aspect of the life and mission of this church. We commit ourselves to making justice and inclusion a reality in this congregation and in the world. We strive to serve others, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, as Jesus taught. We rely upon God's unconditional love and grace to be our help and guide.
Letter to the Extravagant Welcome Team
Dear Amy and Pat,
I just wanted to respond to you as members of the Extravagant Welcome Team regarding the article that appeared in our recent newsletter about the use of the word “extravagant” as it relates to the team name and mission. As you may know, I am a writer and as such, a great lover of words. My take on the team’s selection of the adjective “extravagant” GRAND!!
I took a quick peek at my trusty thesaurus and yes, I found synonyms like “gaudy,” “grandiose,” and “inflated.” But I also found a reference to the word “plentiful” and from there: “in plenty, in quantity, much, many, ample, all-sufficing, well-stocked, well-provided, well-furnished, abundant, abounding, copious, exuberant, riotous, flush, rich, full, replete, maximal…I could go on, but you get my drift. I for one am proud — thrilled — to associate myself with an extravagant welcome to a part of our community who I believe has long felt UN-welcome, or perhaps worse, coolly welcomed. Coolly welcomed, with all the marginalization and judgment that a lukewarm welcome so readily connotes. Yes, let’s be extravagant, truly, radically extravagant in our welcome to all. I believe your team is leading us into a new way of being present at First Church and doubtless that kind of effort will generate resistance. We can’t be insensitive to that — in fact, let’s be extravagantly sensitive — but we must keep moving forward to realize the mission of becoming an open and affirmative congregation. That not everyone will make this journey with us is a regrettable, but sustainable, cost of change. Thanks to you and others on the team for leading the way.
Again, great choice for a team name and I urge you to stay with it.
Regards,
Ginni Spencer
