Reconciling Works

RIC Sunday 2027

ReconcilingWorks is excited to announce that the
Reconciling in Christ (RIC) Sunday Worship 2027 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 31, 2027. 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.

Theme: Love Builds Up

Over and over again we hear in preaching and read in scripture how God loves all living things without limits. “For God so loved the world . . .” begins a familiar and oft-quoted verse from the Gospel of John. In a country and a world being torn apart by hate and violence, and when institutions that could make a difference like the Church are undermined by apathy and fear, it is good to remember God’s unconditional love and the strength it can give us to use our hands to build up communities that affirm, include, celebrate, and advocate for people whom society has pushed away. It is God’s love that builds us up, inspiring us to become our best selves instead of our worst selves. It is God’s love that becomes the rich soil building up our communities. It is God’s love through Jesus that provides a vision of a Blessed Community where all are welcome, no exceptions, and where justice leavened with mercy prevails.

2027 RIC Sunday Resources

To request access to the 2027 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 2027

Para solicitar acceso al paquete de recursos del domingo RIC 2027 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.

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 Love Builds Up as we join collectively with our 1,200+ partners across the United States and Canada through this celebratory service.

A special thank you to our planning team:

Contributors – Students from Wartburg Theology Seminary, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and United Lutheran Seminary at Philadelphia and Gettysburg
Worship outline: Emma Esanbock [they/them]; Ingrid Kieffer [they/them]; Samuel Martinez [he/him]; Lael Maddox [she/her]; Jonathan Smith [he/him]; Dcn. David Behling [he/him].
Sermon: Ingrid Kieffer [they/them].

Find an RIC Sunday Service

Please reach out to the individual faith communities for more information.

INFO COMING SOON!
This page will be updated frequently as faith communities let us know about their RIC Sunday services.

United States

 

Canada

Previous RIC Sunday Worship Materials

Click on any title to request access to previous years' RIC Sunday worship materials.

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.

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

Dare to dream of a church and a world transformed by the bold celebration of transgender and gender-diverse children. 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.

Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke; Updated and Expanded Edition with Study Guide

In 2014, Time magazine announced that America had reached "the transgender tipping point," suggesting that transgender issues would become the next civil rights frontier. Years later, many people – even many LGBTQIA+ allies – still lack an understanding of gender identity and the transgender experience. Into this void, trans biblical scholar Austen Hartke brings a biblically based, educational, and affirming resource to shed light and wisdom on gender expansiveness and Christian theology. This new edition offers updated terminology and statistics, plus new materials for congregational study, preaching, and pastoral care. Transforming deftly weaves ancient and modern stories that will change the way readers think about gender, the Bible, and the faith to which Jesus calls us. Hartke helps readers visualize a more inclusive Christianity, equipping them with the language, understanding, confidence, and tools to change both the church and the world.

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

As we seek to deepen and expand the holy work of welcome, inclusion, and celebration of LGBTQIA+ people in the church and society, we can find ourselves asking, “What does LGBTQIA+ mean?” This booklet provides a basic introduction to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE). You may also be interested in the Let's Talk about SOGIE! Training offered by ReconcilingWorks.

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.