Reconciling in Christ (RIC)

Empowered by the Gospel, as a Reconciling in Christ synod, we work for the equality and full inclusion of people of all sexual/affectional orientations and gender identities in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

As a community of the people of God, we are called to minister to all people in our world, knowing that the world is often an unloving place. Our world can sometimes be a place of alienation, brokenness, and multiple forms of oppression. Christ calls us to reconciliation and wholeness. We are challenged by the Gospel to be agents of healing within our society.

We, the Greater Milwaukee Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, affirm with the apostle Paul that in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female” (Galatians 3:28). Christ has made us one. We acknowledge that this reconciliation extends to people of all sexual/affectional orientations and gender identities.

Because members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their families are often scorned and stigmatized by society and alienated from the Church, we wish to make our caring, concern, and compassion known to all people. It is for this purpose that we affirm the following:

• that all people of all sexual/affectional orientations and gender identities share the worth that comes from being unique individuals created by God;

• that all people of all sexual/affectional orientations and gender identities are welcome within the membership of the Greater Milwaukee Synod upon making a common, public affirmation of faith; and

• that as members of the Greater Milwaukee Synod, people of all sexual/affectional orientations and gender identities are expected and encouraged to share in the sacramental and general life of the Greater Milwaukee Synod.