Take a Stand

Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, Elie Wiesel encouraged listeners to "Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." We, too, must be willing to take a stand.

At Church of the Valley (COV) and The Little Brown Church (LBC), we celebrate a welcoming and inclusive fatih. We value our diversity and see our differences as gifts from God. At the same time, however, we also realize that our openness and diversity may drive some people away. For those who pursue an exclusionary, closed-minded faith, COV will never be a comfortable place to worship. Most who feel this way will simply find another place to worship. There are others, however, who may believe that they have a duty to change COV with regard to these issues. Obviously, our love of diversity does not require us to accommodate such people and their actions. If we did, then we would be abandoning the very inclusive spirit that defines us as a church. Like Elie Wiesel, we know that our welcoming spirit and openness to all people sometimes requires us to take a stand against closed-mindedness, bigotry, prejudice, and repressive forms of religion.

The truth is that COV is not neutral when it comes to those who are included in the life of our congregation. Just a cursory glance at our congregation makes it clear that we have already staked out our territory on this topic. Our members, friends, leaders, and staff represent a wide array of human experience. We are a congregation made up of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, nationalities, socio-economic levels, and sexual orientations. We do not merely "tolerate" our differences, but we rejoice in them. By existing as we do, therefore, COV automatically operates in opposition to those other groups that take hard-line stances against such diversity and acceptance.

We do not take such a stand as a matter of pride. Rather, it is a matter of faith. We operate the way we do because we believe in a God who not only participates in the diversity of human experience but who also affirms that diversity as something good and wonderful. By remaining open, inclusive, and welcoming to all, we are putting our faith into action in an important way. And, we stand as a living example of the love and acceptance that God wants the entire world to experience.