wfn.org | Bishop Yvette Flunder To Receive MCC Clergy Credentials

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>
>N E W S   R E L E A S E
>>From Metropolitan Community  Churches
>For Immediate Release: April 27,  2009

Bishop Yvette Flunder To Receive Clergy Credentials
in  Denomination of Metropolitan Community Churches

May 3rd Event  In Washington DC Another Step In Deepening
The Relationship Between MCC,  The Fellowship, Says MCC Moderator

WASHINGTON, DC–Bishop Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of  The Fel lowship,
a movement of churches and faith leaders built on God's  radically inclusi ve
love, will receive clergy credentials in Metropolitan  Community Churches
during events in Washington, DC on Sunday, May 3,  2009.

Metropolitan Community Churches is the world's largest and  oldest
Christian denomination with a primary affirming ministry to lesbians,  gay s,
bisexuals, and transgender persons, along with their families, friends,   and allies.

Bishop Flunder, an internationally-known preacher,  educator, conference
speaker and singer, holds clergy credentials in the United  Church of Chri st
and founded City of Refuge United Church of Christ in San  Francisco in 19 91.
In 2003, she was consecrated Presiding Bishop of The  Fellowship, a
multi-denominational movement of more than 50 churches and faith  organiza tions in
the U.S. and Africa.

Rev. Flunder has served as a  consultant to the Centers for Disease Contro l
and Prevention, the Congressional  Black Caucus Health Brain Trust and the
Department of Health and Human Services.  She is the past board president  of
Justice and Witness Ministries for the United  Church of Christ. Bishop
Flunder currently serves as a board member of the  National Sexuality Reso urce
Center and is a trustee of Pacific School of  Religion.

Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, moderator of Metropolitan  Community Churches,
said, "We share a deep connection with Bishop Flunder and  The Fellowship;  we
share a common calling and a common ministry of inclusive  Christianity.  In a
very real sense, she has been part of our movement for a long  time." Both
The Fellowship and Metropolitan Community Churches offer positive,
welcoming ministry to the LGBT community and preach an inclusive gospel   message.

For additional information on the intentional  relationship-building
between the two faith organizations, read _"From  Cooperation to Collabora tion:
Growing Relationship Between MCC and the  Fellowship."_
(http://www.mccchurch.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProgramsandInitiatives/Pa rtnersinJustice/MCCandThe
Fellowship/MCC_and_Fellowship.htm)

"In ordaining Bishop Flunder as clergy  within Metropolitan Community
Churches, we affirm our trust in her ministry in  the Fellowship," added  Rev.
Wilson. "We know that the same Spirit that animates  MCC animates the
Fellowship; we are one in Christ. We value Bishop Flunder's  ministry, cel ebrate her
calling, and honor her contributions to us."

In  remarks this week, Bishop Flunder noted, "For years I have deeply
appreciated  the contribution of Metropolitan Community Churches to the 'J esus'
work of  ending injustice everywhere. The justice work of MCC has not been
limited to  extending God's Extravagant Grace to sexual minority communiti es;
it has also  made a significant impact in bringing an end to racism, sexis m,
patriarchy and  war. This is a Church that had its beginnings in the fire
of Pentecostalism and  political awareness...Spirit and Truth. I am thrill ed
to embody a connection  between the United Church of Christ, The Fellowshi p
and Metropolitan Community  Churches...great justice movements of our time ."

Rev. Wilson  indicated that she will also seek clergy credentialing with
The Fellowship "as  part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen and deepe n
the relationship between  our two movements."

Bishop Flunder is a graduate of the Ministry  Studies and Master of Arts
programs at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley,  California, and hol ds
the Doctor of Ministry degree from San Francisco  Theological Seminary, Sa n
Anselmo, California. She is the author of Where The  Edge Gathers: Buildin g A
Community of Radical Inclusion.

MCC  clergy credentials will be conferred upon Bishop Flunder during the  11
am  worship service of Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, DC, 47 4
Ridge  Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 where Rev. Dr. Charlie Arehart is
interim  pastor. The occasion will mark the first time since 2005 that MCC  has
extended  extraordinary credentials, and the first during the tenure of
Rev. Nancy L.  Wilson as MCC Moderator.

>( E N D  )

>To Arrange Media Interviews
>With Bishop  Yvette Flunder, Contact:
>Franzetta Houston
>Assistant to the  Bishop
>Tel. (415) 350-3350
>E-mail: _TheFellowship@pacbell.net_ (mailto:TheFellowship@pacbell.net)

>To Arrange Media Interviews
>With Rev. Elder Nancy  Wilson, Contact:
>Jim Birkitt
>Communications Director
>Metropolitan  Community Churches
>Tel. (310) 625-4177
>E-mail: _info@MCCchurch.net_ (mailto:info@MCCchurch.net)

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