WestM has a long tradition of being radically inclusive of the many people, groups and identities that enrich our community. THANK YOU!
Obviously it is at the very heart of who we are.
Honoring the radically inclusive ministry of Jesus, we seek to cultivate a progressive Christian community that welcomes all students in celebrating the diversity of race, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability, financial circumstance, and faith tradition.
We also want to speak into two particular facets of this diversity.
- While we spring from four progressive Protestant Christian traditions (Disciples, PCUSU, UMC, & UCC) we are decidedly welcoming of ALL faith traditions and also persons with no stated faith tradition. Our ministry springs from Christian love and hospitality, but you will not be pressured to believe or join any tradition. This means we are also a home for Jewish students, Muslim students, native American spirituality, the Contemplative Studies Institute, Atheists, Agnostics, and everyone else.
- We are emphatically welcoming of LGBTQIA+ persons at all levels of the WestM organization. We recognized that Christian churches and ministries have an ugly history both in the past and in the present on LGBTQIA+ issues. We are both embarrassed and appalled by what has been said, and far too often is still being said, under the “Christian” name. We seek to be a place of support and encouragement for all LGBTQIA+ persons.
WestM is honored to be the first off campus meeting location of the Gay Student Alliance beginning in 1979. Further, WestM (and our 4 supportive churches) are on the forefront of fighting for the dignity and rights of all people in our churches, in our country, and in our world. Every entrance to our building includes rainbow logos as a constant reminder and sign of welcome.
Here are some links that many have found helpful in understanding and fighting for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons.
“No Being Gay (lesbian, bisexual, or transgender) is not a Sin” – . John Pavlovitz pulls no punches in this post that is a great place to begin if you need to hear a no nonsense affirmation. https://johnpavlovitz.com/2017/07/21/no-gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender-not-sin/
“What the bible does and doesn’t say about homosexuality” (12 page pamphlet) – An older resource but it can be helpful for evangelical persons who really think they know what the bible says and may open them up to new readings of old texts. https://melwhite.org/wp-content/uploads/WhatTheBibleSays…AboutHomosexuality-byMelWhite.pdf
If you find yourself surrounded by conservative Christians, Soulforce.com has some great little studies to help you navigate some hard conversations “Across the Divide” and also lifting up the deeper issues of Biblical Inerrancy (the belief that there is absolutely no error of any kind in the bible) and Biblical Literalism (the belief that every passage in the bible that can be taken literally must be taken literally). They also have some nice well grounded Chapter Verse Studies. These resources can be downloaded for free from them but you must provide an email. https://www.soulforce.org/resources If you are leery to share your email with them, you can contact WestM and we can email them directly to you.
Brief Overview of Churches and LGBTQ+ issues – Granted it’s wikipedia but it is usually the most up to date and has a clean chart. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominational_positions_on_homosexuality
United Methodist Reconciling Ministries https://rmnetwork.org/
More Light Presbyterians https://mlp.org/
DOC- Disciples Alliance https://disciplesallianceq.org/
UCC- Open and Affirming https://openandaffirming.org/
WestM is UNABASHEDLY fully inclusive and affirming of LGBTQIA+ people!
Indigenous Land Recognition Statement
WestM and the OSU community acknowledges that our building and ministry
is located within the traditional homelands of the Mary’s River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians (https://ctsi.nsn.us).
For help in pronouncing these terms please visit the OSU website. https://asosu.oregonstate.edu/land-rec
WestM 