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Reconciling Ministry Exploration
In July 2011, a group of EUMC members and some EUMC staff began a series of informal meetings to discuss ways that our church might hold respectful congregational conversations to explore how EUMC can be more welcoming to all of God’s children, including people of different sexual orientations and gender identities, and, in particular, whether EUMC should adopt a Welcoming Statement and identify itself as a Reconciling Church. This page is dedicated to aiding our congregation in the exploration of this idea.
For more information about why emmanuel is having these forums, read the Reconciling Exploration Team Report.
Upcoming Exploration Forums
Biblical Understandings/Ethics of SexualitySunday, February 5, 2012 Noon - 1:30 in Emmanuel’s SanctuarySpeaker: Dr. Denise Hopkins Professor of Biblical Theology - Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC.
Dr. Denise Dombkowski Hopkins serves as the Professor of Biblical Theology at Wesley Theological Semi-nary in Washington, DC where she has taught since 1986. Dr. Hopkins has authored Journey through the Psalms (Chalice Press, 2002), “Judith” in Women’s Bible Commentary (Westminster John Knox, 1998), and co-authored with her colleague Michael Koppel Grounded in the Living Word: The Old Testament and Pastoral Care Practices (Eerdmans, 2010). She has also written numerous exegetical articles for Feasting on the Word and Lectionary Homiletics (Good Preacher). She is particularly interested in the Psalms and the intersections between the Bible and pastoral care. The mother of two children, Denise is a gardener, hiker, and bicyclist who loves to teach and bring people’s individual stories into connection with the biblical story.
Medical/Psychological Understandings of Sexuality Sunday, March 4, 2012 Noon-1:30 in Emmanuel’s SanctuarySpeaker: Dr. Ralph Scoville Psychiatrist – Upper Bay Counseling and Support Services, Havre de Grace MD.
Ralph D. Scoville, M.D. is the Medical Director, Havre de Grace Clinic for Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services. Dr. Scoville is a Psychiatrist who specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry and human sexuality. Dr. Scoville was raised a Baptist and is now an active United Methodist. He is married to Rev. Roberta Scoville, a United Methodist pastor in the Baltimore Washington Conference.