Voices for an Open Spirit

A grassroots movement
in the Church of the Brethren
fostering openness and inclusion,
building bridges, and
seeking common ground

Welcome to the table!

Welcome to Voices for an Open Spirit (VOS), a network of people who want to give voice to a progressive spirit in the Church of the Brethren, who want to encourage dialogue, and who believe there is a place for everyone at God's table.

About Voices for an Open Spirit

Voices for an Open Spirit began with an informal gathering at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in July 2002 and was given shape and direction at a weekend gathering that November attended by over 100 Brethren and friends from all over the country.

Guided by a Coordinating Council of seven to ten persons, VOS now hosts an annual booth/welcome center, meeting, and dinner at Annual Conference. VOS also publishes an occasional newsletter, the VOS Journal, and gathers and distributes resources that encourage dialogue and inclusion in the Church. While there is no official membership process, VOS communicates through a gently moderated listserve with several hundred subscribers. Donations of time, talent, and treasure to support the work of VOS and the creation and distribution of resources are always welcome!

To learn more about the mission of VOS or to read a more complete narrative history of VOS, please click on the links to the right.

A Statement of Respectful Opposition
to the decision of the 2002 Annual Conference on
Licensing/Ordination of Homosexual Persons to the Ministry
in the Church of the Brethren

We are members of the Church of the Brethren. We are loyal and committed to the ideals of the Church of the Brethren. We believe that the church of Jesus Christ welcomes all persons and calls out leaders according to their gifts for ministry. Therefore, we express our opposition to the decision of the 2002 Annual Conference to categorically exclude some persons, namely "persons who are known to be engaging in homosexual practices," from set-apart ministry.

Our opposition is based on the following:

1. Our understanding of the Biblical witness — God created all humanity in God's image (Gen. 1:27). God loves all people (John 3:16-17). And God desires righteousness and justice (Micah 6:8).

2. Our understanding of human biology — Homosexuality is a form of human sexuality. It is a natural and normal orientation for some people.

3. Our understanding of call — All members are ministers of the Gospel. We should not limit God's call by decisions of Annual Conference, but must listen to and consider, on its own merits, each call that comes through the church or to an individual (1 Cor. 12).

4. Our understanding of decision-making — We do not push for action on controversial and troubling issues without study and thoughtful discussion where all voices are heard in love. Foremost to this discussion is an atmosphere of prayer, humility and discernment of the Spirit (Romans 12).

We urge Annual Conference to reconsider this decision, following procedures for handling strongly controversial issues as established in "Guidelines for Special Response Queries" found in the 1988 Annual Conference Minutes.*

We also urge districts to refrain from implementing this decision. We support congregations and individuals who, as a matter of conscience, refuse to participate in its implementation.


*This paper was updated in 2009. The link will download the current version of the paper.

Join the VOS Listserve!

The VOS listserve is made up of approximately 340 subscribers who actively exchange ideas, convictions, and resources through a Google group. The list is very active and it is not uncommon to receive as many as 20 or 30 messages a day. You can choose to recieve these posts individually, in a daily digest, or to read them on demand online.

Moderation and Listserve Covenant

The list is moderated to provide "safe space" for all of the participants and is governed by the VOS Listserve Covenant and by our Anti-Harassment Statement:

Harassment of anyone on the bases of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, physical or mental disability, or marital or family status will not be tolerated on this List.

There is a process in place for dealing with abusive posting and language on the Listerve that you can read about here: Moderator Response to Listserve Covenant Violations

As sponsors of this listserve, the VOS Coordinating Council reserves the right to remove persons from this list after repeated or serious violations of the covenant and spirit of the list. The Coordinating Council affirms and encourages openness to the Spirit in ongoing dynamic sharing which includes remarkably self-correcting interaction.

Digest Option: Please note that you can choose a "digest" option when you subscribe. (Or you can choose this later, after you've experienced the listserve for a while.) With this option all messages each day are gathered into a "digest" and sent to your email address in one file. Instead of getting several dozen emails on a busy day, you will get one big email.