Our church is committed to the extravagant welcome and inclusion modeled by Jesus Christ. As disciples, we are called to find ways to continually expand our welcome so that all of God's people can be included in the life of the church. In response to this call, a board-appointed Open & Affirming (O&A) Taskforce led our congregation through a three-year process of assessing our inclusiveness, identifying areas for growth, providing educational opportunities, and putting the taskforce findings into practice. Though the O&A process primarily focused on LGBTQ+ inclusion, we also sought ways to be more inclusive of people with differing abilities, vision/hearing impairment, food allergies, neurodivergence, and other differences that often lead to feelings of exclusion in church.

On November 6, 2022 our congregation voted to publicly identify ourselves as an Open & Affirming church, and shared the details of our O&A process with Disciples AllianceQ (our denomination's LGBTQ+ advocacy organization) to receive their official designation and listing as an O&A congregation. We hope that you feel welcome at Ridglea Christian Church, and that you will help us share the good news of God's amazing love for all with those who need to hear this life-changing message!