Reconciling Works

RIC Sunday 2026

ReconcilingWorks is excited to announce that the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Sunday Worship 2026, Celebrating Diversity as God’s Children, is here!

ReconcilingWorks wants to celebrate with your faith community and is excited to offer these resources. Many RIC communities celebrate RIC Sunday on the last Sunday in January. This year, that lands on January 25, 2026. ReconcilingWorks encourages you to celebrate on a date that is meaningful for your community. Be sure to use this day as a time to recommit to your partnership as a RIC faith community, discern ways to live into your RIC partner commitments, and set new milestones for the year to come.

2026 RIC Sunday Resources

To request access to the 2026 RIC Sunday resource package in English and Spanish, click the image above or the button below. You will be directed to a Google Form to submit your faith community's information.

Recursos dominicales de RIC 2026

¡Recursos en español próximamente!

Para solicitar acceso al paquete de recursos del domingo RIC 2026 en español y inglés, haga clic en la imagen de arriba o en el botón de abajo. Se le dirigirá a un formulario de Google para enviar la información de su comunidad religiosa.

Theme: Celebrating Diversity as God’s Children

Why celebrate?
We believe that the Gospel is built upon a foundation of diversity. We believe that the Creator gifted us a universe infused with beautiful diversity. We believe the Blessed Community is strongest and most faithful to Jesus when we invite everyone to the table. Throughout his ministry among the peoples of Roman Palestine and in his teaching, Jesus was always reaching for those on the margins of society and religious institutions, pulling them back into the center of the life of the community. Because it is rooted in the teachings and ministry of Jesus, the work of full inclusion is something that God’s beloved children can celebrate. No hiding in the shadows for us! Let us dance in the light of God’s love, singing songs of liberation, justice, and inclusion.

Use of Language
While this worship service primarily uses the acronym LGBTQIA+ or uses language that specifies identities and orientations when referring to people most of the time, you will also find the word “queer” employed as a more universal identifying term. As you adapt and shape the materials to fit your context and worship styles, please feel free to use whatever language and labels are considered the norm in your community but also be mindful of those for whom the word “queer” remains harmful.

What is RIC Sunday?
Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Sunday is an annual worship celebration created to share in the commitment our organization and partnering faith communities have in the ongoing work of welcome, inclusion, celebration, and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ people in the life of the church. While historically this day is celebrated on the final Sunday in January, many RIC partners will celebrate on their date of affirmation, or on other days meaningful to their communities rooted in this commitment to radical hospitality. We hope you enjoy Resilient Community as we join collectively with our 1,140+ partners across the United States and Canada through this celebratory service.

A special thank you to our planning team:
Rev. Liza Hawkins (she/they) Rev. Mack Patrick (he/they), Rev. Robin Lovett Owen (she/her), Rev. Keats Miles Wallace (they/them), and Deacon David Rask Behling, ReconcilingWorks Program Coordinator.

Recommended Reading and Continuing the Conversation

To continue the conversation of Reconciling in Christ Sunday, ReconcilingWorks encourages RIC Communities to learn and grow in welcome, inclusion, and celebration of LGBTQIA+ folks. The following book recommendations lift up the diversity in the lives of LGBTQIA+ people and your community can read them together or through individual study:

Guide to Welcome LGBTQIA+ Youth & their Families

Do you have questions about how you can best serve the young LGTBQIA+ persons in your ministry setting? We took a few of the most frequently expressed concerns and created this simple resource to help youth ministry professionals and lay leaders provide hospitality and welcome to LGBTQIA+ youth and their families.

Lutheran Guide to Advocate for LGBTQIA+ People in Church and Society

This resource is a starting point for you and your Lutheran faith community as it seeks to advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual/aromantic (LGBTQIA+) people in church and society. It is ReconcilingWorks’ hope that tools and answers in this guide will give your community the boldness to proclaim Christ’s gospel of radical inclusion and hospitality to your neighbors, our church, and our world.

Lutheran Introduction to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, & Gender Expression

Since 1974, ReconcilingWorks: Lutherans for Full Participation has advocated for the full welcome, inclusion, and equity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual/aromantic (LGBTQIA+) Lutherans in all aspects of the life of their Church, congregations, and community. The Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Program of ReconcilingWorks is for congregations, synods, colleges, seminaries, and other Lutheran organizations that publicly welcome LGBTQIA+ people. As a way to deepen and expand that welcome, we offer this resource as a basic introduction to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Raising Kids Beyond the Binary: Celebrating God's Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children

Raising Kids Beyond the Binary: Celebrating God's Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children (by Jamie Bruesehoff)

Dare to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children. The debate around transgender children rages, with some Christians being the loudest voices against loving and supporting these young people. So, now more than ever, people of faith need to be grounded in God's call to love and affirm young people in who God created them to be. Raising Kids beyond the Binary bypasses the sound bites to give readers a vivid picture of who transgender, non-binary, and gender-expansive young people are and what they need to thrive.

Rich with personal stories, research, and practical steps, this book dares to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold and joyful acceptance and celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children and youth. These children need us, and the world needs them.

Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry

Through the debates about the inclusion of LGBTQ people in the life of the church, one overlooked community is LGBTQ youth. Made, Known, Loved: Developing LGBTQ-Inclusive Youth Ministry (by Ross Murray) builds on experience and wisdom cultivated through The Naming Project, a ministry created at the intersection of youth, faith, and LGBTQ identity. Made, Known, Loved shows congregations how to create a program that affirms LGBTQ youth in their faith and their identity, accepts and welcomes diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, and equips future leaders for the church and the LGBTQ community.

ReconcilingWorks Online Trainings

ReconcilingWorks now offers four Online Trainings, to help you continue your learning in how to welcome, include, and celebrate all of God's Beloveds. Register for a training today!

For Additional Support

If you should need additional support accessing the RIC Sunday resources, please connect with ReconcilingWorks staff at Info@ReconcilingWorks.org.