At our Quarterly Church Conference on Jan 30, 2022, FBCP voted unanimously to adopt an inclusivity statement, which will be included in our church covenant. This statement is the result of many months of prayer and conversation.

Just before the church conference, Pastor Jennifer Rygg preached a sermon on Luke 4:14-30, describing the purpose and hope in adopting this statement, which included the following:

Friends, if we want to be a community based on the teachings of Jesus, then we too must believe and proclaim and live this good news – the good news that God cares about everybody.

    • God cares for those who feel forgotten.
    • God cares for those who, like the widow at Zarephath, do not know how they are going to feed their children tomorrow.
    • God cares for those who, like Naaman, are suffering from a debilitating illness and are desperate for a cure.
    • God cares for those who do not know or do not follow God.
    • God cares for those who want to follow God but have been told by God’s followers that they are somehow not good enough.
    • God cares for those who feel lost, broken, and alone.
    • God cares for those who do not check all the boxes of what we think good Christians are supposed to do and be.
    • God cares about everybody.

–Excerpt from sermon by Jennifer Rygg at FBCP on 1/30/22

The full worship service (the sermon begins around 33 minutes) may be viewed on our YouTube page (click here for link to video).

FBCP Inclusivity Statement, adopted 1/30/22:

We are a community of believers in the one true, living God, who is manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We strive to welcome all people to join us on our faith journey. Our desire is to embody the inclusive ministry of Jesus Christ, recognizing that all people are created in the image of God and that church attendance, participation, membership, and leadership are open to all, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, mental or physical ability, sexual orientation, education, economic circumstances, marital or family status, or any other distinctions of society. We endeavor to be a welcoming and affirming community of grace for all people, loving our neighbors because God first loved us.