12/15/2025
At our annual meeting held on December 14, 2025, we officially approved our new welcome statement!!
Welcome Statement & Reconciling in Christ Public Commitments
In 1859, a northern German Lutheran pastor traveled into the Deep South as the Civil War was about to unfold. In the congregation, he openly spoke against secession and urged young men in the congregation not to enlist in the rebellion. Though he knew his stance was unpopular and personally costly, he chose to stay.
We understand our present commitments to justice, welcome, equity, and reconciliation to be part of this same courageous tradition: a faith that stands with the vulnerable, tells the truth, and chooses love even when it is costly.
At First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Nashville, we strive to welcome all of God’s children. As Martin Luther teaches in the Small Catechism, it is faithful to ask, “What does this mean?”
For us, “all of God’s children” means all people.
This includes people of all ages, ethnicities, skin tones, races, sexual and romantic orientations, gender identities, gender expressions, immigration statuses, economic situations, and all physical, intellectual, emotional, and neurodiverse abilities.
All are welcome here…
Whatever your age.
The color of your skin.
The content of your wallet.
No matter whom you love.
How you speak.
Or the abilities or disabilities you carry in your body or in your heart.
For we are one in Christ Jesus
And all are to be reconciled to God.
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Land Acknowledgment
We recognize that First Lutheran Church resides on the ancestral homelands of the Tanasi— lands stewarded by Cherokee and Shawnee peoples before their forced removal through the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
We acknowledge that our community continues to benefit from this land, and we commit ourselves to remembrance and relationship.
We affirm Indigenous sovereignty and seek to be a community that learns, advocates, and practices respect toward Indigenous peoples past and present.
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Commitment to Racial Equity and Repair
We acknowledge that Christian communities have caused harm, especially to LGBTQIA+ people and communities of color.
Therefore, we commit to racial equity, to building relationships of trust, restoration, and dignity, and to being a people who practice God’s widening love in tangible ways.
We firmly stand against racism and all forms of exclusion.
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Commitment to Inclusive Leadership
We affirm that God calls LGBTQIA+ people and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to lead in the Church.
Therefore, we commit to being open to calling LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC rostered pastors, deacons, staff, and lay leaders.
We give thanks for those who have shaped the radicality of our life together:
• First women elected to Council (1964)
• First woman Council President (1989)
• First openly gay staff member (2012)
• First openly gay Council President (2025)
We give thanks to all in our congregation who help us reflect the diversity of our community with families from as far as India and Madagascar and invite opportunities for global and international partnership.
Commitment to Marriage & Blessing
We joyfully affirm and bless LGBTQIA+ marriages and unions in our sanctuary, continuing the commitment this congregation made in 2018.
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Commitment to Shared Justice Work
We commit to supporting ministries and organizations that labor for equity, dignity, belonging, and liberation, including financial support of the Reconciling in Christ Program.
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Scriptural Grounding for Inclusion
We continue to invite the curiosity of those still discerning. Questions are holy, and faith deepens when we study Scripture together. We warmly invite exploration of these passages:
All three persons of the Trinity affirm the inclusion of the eu**ch:
• Isaiah 56:3–5, 7
• Matthew 19:12
• Acts 8:26–39
Additional texts:
1 John 4:7–12, 16 • 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 • Galatians 3:27–28 • Ephesians 2:14–19 • Genesis 1:27 • Acts 10:34–35 • Romans 8:38–39
All of Scripture points to this truth:
God’s welcome is wider than human boundaries. The Church is called to recognize God’s image in every person.
By the grace of God, we seek to be a community where all people can belong, be known, be loved, and be transformed.
