AREA MEETING- 12th January 2020
We seek to welcome everyone in Sheffield and Balby Area Meeting, being sensitive to the needs of each and “offering nurturing spaces for all” (QLCC statement)
We believe that ‘each person is unique, precious, a child of God’, (A&Q1.02:22) and desire to ‘know everyone in things eternal’ (A&Q1.02:18). We uphold everyone in their journeys in understanding and offer acceptance and respect that is safe from judgements and assumptions.
We affirm people’s right to self-identify, recognising that none of our identities are fixed and that we evolve and change over time. We concur with YFGM in their belief that ‘each member of our community has a unique and deeply personal experience of gender, and that the expression of this is a form of living truthfully and of witness.’ We extend an open and receptive spirit and a listening ear to what is in our hearts, knowing that the heart has no gender. We encourage everyone to use words with care and sensitivity, recognising that words have the power to hurt others. We commit to raising our awareness and consciousness of people we might be excluding, bringing our fears and prejudices into the Light. We recognise that this requires of us a willingness to face our fears and grow in truth, doing what love requires (A&Q1.02:28).