One Family Tree Worship Service

The One Family Tree Worship Service occurred at First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth. From gay bashing to being an advocate, Rev. Dr. Don Guest, Co-Pastor of Glide Memorial UMC in San Francisco, told of his being challenged by Dr. Traci West (now Associate Professor of Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School) to look at his Moody Bible Institute training differently. She challenged him to see that full inclusion of persons into the church was simply the right thing to do!  He learned three things from her: We are all subject to the reproof, the correction, and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit

Our personal preferences, feelings, and beliefs can never be decisive in ethics, that we need to be transformed by the heart of the gospel. The grace of the gospel is more important than all else. He said that Wesley "risked tearing up his own movement,” risked splitting the church, losing members, and the entire South, because the grace of the Gospel was more important to John Wesley than the Methodist movement. All those who hear, believe, and act on the unconditional love of God are Jesus' family. 

"Stop excluding folks! … It's one table, one Lord, one baptism, and one human family!"

Worship Bulletin

Photo Set

Rev. Donald Guest's Sermon:

Rev. Donald Guest from Reconciling Ministries Network on Vimeo.