In April, 2008, a small group of supporters of Welcoming Community Network (WCN) began a process of introducing information about WCN to our local congregation in Fort Collins. The growing group now realizes that a frequently heard question is “Why do we need to be public about our welcoming of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in particular? We already welcome everyone who comes through our doors!” WCN hopes that you will attend this special presentation, bring your questions, and listen with an open mind to find answers to that question. No decision will be made that evening about whether or not our congregation decides to officially affiliate with WCN.

A panel of six people has been invited to help us better understand what it means to have a church community that openly welcomes gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons and how their faith life has been affected by their experience.
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Since gender identity is not the same as sexual orientation, we are particularly grateful that Kim Dower, a pharmacist from Aurora will talk about the broader topic of Transgender and share what it has meant to her to transgender from male to female, including the impact at her workplace.
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Kim’s adult daughter, Rochelle, from Wheaton, Wyoming will talk about having a parent go through this process and the impact it has had on her life.
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Dawn and Jim Stahl, from Greenwood congregation, will individually share what it was like when their son, Dale, come out to them as gay.
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Hal Chorpenning, Senior Pastor of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ, will talk about what it is to pastor a congregation that is Open and Affirming, signifying their affiliation with an organization like WCN in Community of Christ. .
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Carol Halac, Plymouth UCC member, will describe what she faced when her church went through a process of education on the above topics.
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Sharon Troyer, Pastor, will moderate the panel.

You are invited to visit the Welcoming Community Network (WCN) webpage at http://www.welcomingcommunitynetwork.org/. There you will find their mission statement, brochure and extensive educational information, including Frequently Asked Questions.

WCN Committee: Tom Beck, Kathy Bridwell, Kay Bunch, Rick Bunch, Max Coopwood, Dick Foster, Julie Foster, Bob Fulton, Sharon Fulton, Betty Jones, Jon Mendenhall, Nancy Mendenhall, Shirley Remmenga, Dave Simons, Voni Simons, Bonnie Thomas & Steve Thomas

Notes: The panel was excellent. Unfortunately only 22 from the Fort Collins congregation attended (total attendance was 36). Of the 22, 13 were members of the WCN Group. This event was publized a month in advance in weekly bulletins, e-mails, the Communicator and a letter from Debbie Jones. Still only a fraction of the congregation took advantage of this opportunity. Some were out of town, some had other committments. There is no way to know if and why others chose not to attend.