Affirming Ministries

Rosedale United Church is an Affirming Ministries congregation. This means we embrace and welcome all persons of every race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity/expression, sexuality, marital status, physical and mental ability, and economic status. We are explicit in our affirmation of those in the LGBTQ+ community in the church.

Being affirming is a part of every aspect of our ministry. Some examples of what that means include:

• All people are welcome to participate in all parts of congregational life. LGBTQ2S+ Persons are welcome to be a part of communion, baptisms, weddings, and leadership roles in the church.
• Gender-neutral washrooms available to all.
• Our wedding policy includes same-sex/ same-gender weddings, and we use the term "spouse" instead of "husband/wife" on documents.
• We talk about God with masculine, feminine, or neutral pronouns.
• Spiritual care from our ministers embraces every identity and family structure.
• Children's lessons and sermons do not enfore gender norms (i.e. children do not play with "boy toys" or "girl toys," but with whatever they wish to play with).
• Pronoun options are available for nametags.
• We have zero-tolerance for harassment, mistreatment, or bullying, inlcluding based on one's identity or orientation.

If you have any questions about what an Affirming Minsitry is, or about how we may better serve you and your family, please contact us through the church office.

Gender, both in how we identitfy ourselves, and express it, is as wide and colourful as a rainbow. While many identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, not everyone does. They may identify with another gender, or both, or neither.

At Rosedale UC, we strive to respect the pronouns that everyone uses. Some are "he," others are "she," and others still are "they." It may take practice, but using a person's correct pronouns can be an easy and effective way of affirming their identity and including them in the church at large.

"This is their phone, I should return it to them."

"They are leading the children downstairs for the Children's Lesson."

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch with our ministry team.

For more resources on pronouns, please click below.

Time Magazine "Gender Neutral Pronouns"