What is goodsoil.org all about? goodsoil.org is the official website of the collaboration to overcome the policy and practice of discrimination within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) against lgbt clergy, same-sex marriages and covenanted relationships.It's About Transformation: Throughout all of goodsoil's efforts before and during the 2005 Churchwide Assembly, our primary concern is the transformation of all who participate. We are children of God, loved as we are, committed to justice in the name of Christ. We act with integrity and authenticity, proclaiming our message of freedom in Christ with boldness, experiencing the power within that will manifest itself wherever we are through whatever we do, the power graciously given us by the God who loves us unconditionally. It's About Evangelism and Revival: Our goodsoil work is one that proclaims our wholeness and develops power for the work of justice. Our outreach is to all, inviting the coming together and sharing of our lives as children of a loving God. -- We invite glbt clergy held captive by their fear to leave the dark of their closets. We commit ourselves to active support of these sisters and brothers and to all who step out of their closets. -- We proactively give witness at ELCA meetings at synodical and churchwide levels and develop personal contacts with voting members and church-wide leadership. -- We intentionally align ourselves with the justice-seeking efforts of youth, young adults and persons of color in the ELCA and invite them to become actively involved in our work and leadership. It's About Shining a Light on Injustice: As we carry out our witness and proclamation we boldly expose the untruths and lack of integrity demonstrated by ELCA leaders and imbedded in ecclesiastical structures and procedures. We do not ignore or deny the injustice implicit in the ELCA's carrying on of business as usual. We encourage our g/l/b/t/ colleagues to step away from participating in the activities that implicitly perpetuate the spiritual violence done to their g/l/b/t sisters and brothers. It's About Pastoral Care: We recognize the spiritual violence done to g/l/b/t persons and the pain experienced by many who work for justice in the ELCA. We also acknowledge the distress of many who struggle to hold on to the beliefs that hold them captive. We provide places and opportunities for healing at all CWA meetings. We invite the ECP roster to take leadership in this work. |