WE ARE FAMILY!
We are a progressive church in Atlanta that is beyond inclusive and affirming of LGBTQ+ equality. We understand the words “inclusive” and “affirming” are code words that are useful for now to communicate that the Village is a safe space, but we work to help all churches to fully celebrate our LGBTQIA+ siblings just as we are.
We celebrate all diversity and uniqueness, and we apologize to anyone who has been rejected by any church. God’s love doesn’t have limits and neither should ours.
Your gifts are celebrated at the Village regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. We won’t use you or abuse you or expect you to be anything or anyone you are not.
We proudly celebrate our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters and stand together in the fight for equal protection under the law and unconditional acceptance everywhere.
If you’re skeptical, we hope these three glimpses of the Village in Atlanta will tell you everything you need to know about who we are and who we are working to become…
COURAGE & JUSTICE
Following this recent message, a relatively new member of the Village shared the video in a Facebook post. She wrote this…
“Shame. Guilt. Unworthiness. They are all incredibly powerful feelings that can hold you down and make it feel impossible to rise up.
I have always been a woman of faith but never felt fully welcomed or loved in different houses of the Lord I once worshiped. I was someone who felt that I was under constant judgement by fellow family and friends that worshiped in the house of the Lord. Before I came out, I would sit and listen to sermons and find that my lifestyle* would be the butt of a joke or I would leave feeling more shame than when I arrived.
For the first time in my walk with Christ as a Christian, I feel that the shame of who I love, the guilt of who loves me, and the idea that I am unworthy of love has finally been destroyed. Thank you, Pastor Ray for being a true man of God and an amazing brother!”
(*We know it’s not a choice or a “lifestyle”)
Here’s that message…
OUR ASSUMPTION…
If you’ve found this page, our assumption is that you may have been wounded or even abused by church, and you want to make sure you and your family will be safe here.
We hope you’ll take a risk and give us the chance to be part of your chosen family.
We’re not perfect, but we try to be good at empathy and loving each other, and we look forward to learning about life from you.