Churches in four Catholic dioceses in New Jersey focus on tolerance and acceptance among their 16,000 parishioners. It is because many church attendees do not feel the presence of a welcoming atmosphere.
Welcoming Marginalized Church Attendees
Four dioceses of New Jersey were surveyed as part of a synod organized by Pope Francis. The purpose of the study is to know the opinion of approximately 2.5 million Catholics in New Jersey.
The result of the consensus says that churches must embrace and welcome attendees from different backgrounds like immigrants, LGBTQ members, and toe who are often judged and criticized by society, according to a Yahoo report.
More calls for a welcoming church have been reported in different states. One of the focuses of the New Jersey diocese is to give women the chance to lead. Also, they aim for the laity to be more involved in making decisions.
A few young people these days allocate their time to attend churches and participate in church activities. Another goal of catholic churches in New Jersey is to make the youth more attached to the church.
Racism and Hate Crimes Against Churches
Rev. Megan Rohrer was appointed as Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Sierra Pacific Synod last year, but he was asked to resign after a year. Rohrer was removed from his position without due process.
ELCA leaders apologized to Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina and their denomination's work on anti-racism issues.
On Aug. 3, the statue of Shri Tulsi Mandir outside Queens Hindu temple in Richmond Hill was vandalized. The figure fell, and some of its parts were damaged, and it is not the first incident of vandalism of A Gandhi statue in New York, and the Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the crime.
As anti-LGBTQ legislation spreads across the United States, black religious leaders and advocacy groups are urging churchgoers to show their support for the LGBTQ community.
In an online panel last week, advocates emphasized the importance of passing bipartisan federal legislation to safeguard religious freedom and LGBTQ rights.
Ending Church Discrimination
During the meeting, Rev. Cedric A. Harmon said that religious leaders must express their opinions supporting the Equality Act to protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination.
According to Williams Institute, the data confirmed that about 70 percent of Black LBTTQs are religious.
The Reservoir Church in Cambridge is a Christ-centered congregation, and it was initially affiliated with the Vineyard Churches Association. In 2015, they decided to cut ties to the association since they are restricted from getting involved in the LGBTQ+ community, according to the source.
Pope Francis met with the fourth group of transgender people who had sought refuge in a Rome church. During the coronavirus pandemic, the Blessed Immaculate Virgin community in Rome's Torvaianica neighborhood welcomed transgender people.
