Metropolitan Community Church – Detroit will host a webinar on Saturday, Sept. 19. The topic is Radical Inclusion in the Age of COVID-19 and the guest speaker is the Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder, founder and senior pastor of City of Refuge United Church of Christ in Oakland, California. Flunder is also the presiding bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a multi-denominational coalition of over 56 churches and faith-based organizations from all over the world.
"We all need community," said Flunder, in her pastor's greeting on City of Refuge's website. "When access to existing communities is not available, marginalized people must seek to develop community for and among themselves. We at City of Refuge UCC are giving birth to a fresh, emerging Christian community. We believe that now, as in the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, seemingly marginalized people respond to a community of openness and inclusivity, where other people from the edge gather. City of Refuge UCC welcomes people to be who they are by embracing a theology of acceptance – a radical inclusivity that leaves no one behind."
The Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow, senior pastor and teacher of MCC-D, was instrumental in arranging the webinar.
"Bishop Flunder will conduct a virtual conversation with religious leaders on how to think about the future of congregational ministry in the age of COVID-19," Stringfellow said. "Although our methods must change, our mission does not have to. No matter if you are a leader in a family-sized congregation or a megachurch, this information will help you consider planning for our 'new normal.'"
The webinar will take place Saturday, Sept. 19, from 3 to 5 p.m. Attendees must register. To do so, visit mccdetroit.org.
