Rainbow Ministry
Commission for Intercultural Ministries
Our Mission Statement
The Rainbow Ministry exists to celebrate and embrace the fabulous gender and sexual diversity of all God’s people, fostering education, invitation, and connection throughout the diocese.
Community Engagement/Ground Rules
- Everyone may be as open or as anonymous as desired
- Everyone may speak or not speak as desired
- Everyone will be respected and will be respectful
- Everyone should assume good intentions
- Personal experiences and expressions shared in the meeting stay in the meeting, unless permission is given to share elsewhere
- Everyone gets a chance to speak once about a topic, before anyone speaks a 2nd time on the same topic
Our Vision Statement
Under the sponsorship of the Diocese of Northern California’s Commission for Intercultural Ministries, in coordination with the Diocesan Missioner for Church Life, we envision:
- Celebrating the fabulous diversity in the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California.
- Fostering the development of Ministries of Presence in the communities of TwoSpirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Questioning+ and allied people.
- Calling forth visible 2S/LGBTQIAQ+ communities where no community exists, with the goal of fully embracing our siblings, by creating safe places to meet, learn, explore, celebrate, and grow together.
- Growing in conversation with each other and reflecting on the needs of 2S/LGBTQIAQ+ Episcopalians in our diocese, acknowledging that there are 2S/LGBTQIAQ+ members already here, and so inviting a conversation with, and not about, these parishioners.
Resources
General
- 2S/LGBTQ+ in the Church
- Gender Justice Jam: The Episcopal Church’s 12-week virtual education and formation series designed to inform and equip advocates for gender justice:
- Episcopal Migration Ministries Rainbow Initiative
- Rainbow Ministry Oasis Support Group
- Rainbow Ministry Vision and Mission Statement
- Rainbow Ministry Ground Rules
Community
- GALIP (“God’s Agape Love (put) Into Practice”) affirming churches
- Church Clarity database of Christian congregations
- The Trevor Project
- Sacramento Area Rainbow Faith Alliance
- PFLAG
Photo: Daniel Quasarquasar
Security
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) offers safety advice for houses of worship
- The Power of Hello Guide for Houses of Worship
- CISA House of Worship Self-Assessment Guide
- CISA 6 Steps to Enhance Security
- CISA Houses of Worship Security Practices Guide
Rainbow Ministry Leadership Team
- Steve Preston
- Rev. Mach Olson
- Michael Adams
- Kenny Pierce
- Anne Seed
- Karen Nolan
Please contact the Rainbow Ministry Team at RainbowMinistriesEDNC@gmail.com
