Have You Been Turned Away? asks the UCC

[Rose Siding]

There's a potential for great power on the moral left. I'm a church-free Christian but I applaud the UCC's efforts here in confronting intolerance.

Accessible Airwaves Blog

The United Church of Christ’s ad has received abundant support from faith-based organizations and individuals from all walks of life. However, some groups, specifically the Association for Church Renewal and the Institute on Religion and Democracy--widely identified with the religious right--are calling our ad, "dishonest and insulting to other Christian churches."

The ad is clearly allegorical. In the same way Jesus used startling symbols in his parables—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into heaven—it contains arresting imagery, taken from the point of view of those who have felt excluded. In focus groups held in preparation for the production of this ad, non-church goers cited again and again that the reason they didn’t attend church was because they had been wounded or rejected in the past. We are simply trying to reach out to this group in a language they can understand and invite them to give the church another chance.

Were our focus groups on target? Have you been hurt by a church? Your stories will help illustrate the need for inclusion and highlight the importance of our message. The attacks on the UCC’s campaign deny the truth that many people face. Please post your stories as comments as a way of serving witness to the truth. We’re interested in your experience as a way of personalizing the realities our ad reflects.

Please post comments here on this blog that reflect how your experience made you feel towards church in general and whether or not it impacted your participation in church. Please refrain from posting specific information about individuals, specific churches or religious groups – our mission is to encourage inclusion.....

http://accessibleairwaves.org/2004/12/have-you-been-turned-away.html

[Lerkfish]

1. yup, the UCC is one of the liberal christian churches I've been

telling people here about....we exist, but we usually don't get the same press as the fundies. Its nice to see some press about us for a change.

[wicket]

2. kick

:kick: