A story from Western North Carolina AC ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­    ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­  
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As It Should Be. Stories from across the movement. Light blue background with faded words: Hope, Restoration, Jesus, Celebration, Affirmation, Pride, Love, Justice, Queer, Joy, Grace, Healing, Peace. A Progress Pride flag color bar sits beneath the title, with a rainbow Methodist cross-and-flame symbol to the right. Below in a light yellow banner: We are actively collecting stories to share over the next few months. If you have a story from your Annual Conference or your local congregation, please email taylor@rmnetwork.org.

Friend,

"This week, we're introducing something new: As It Should Be — a storytelling campaign to share what's happening across this movement, conference by conference, congregation by congregation. It is worth noting that something is happening: people are coming home to the church. People are being welcomed back into ministry and finding, in pockets all across the connection, that the church can be exactly what it's supposed to be. This week, a story from Western North Carolina Conference, The United Methodist Church. At this year's Western North Carolina Annual Conference, Rev. Lauren Scruggs (she/her) was reinstated to full connection as an elder — her credentials restored after being taken from her because of her gender identity. Bishop Ken Carter (he/him) placed the stole back on her shoulders. The room rose to its feet. After Bishop Carter apologized, Lauren had the floor for fifteen minutes. She shared about the thirty-two years between today and the day she came out, and about how her family has chosen to journey with her along the way. Photo: Bishop Carter and Rev. Lauren Scruggs, photo from Western NC Annual Conference."
"Lauren said something that needed to be said, 'Reconciliation isn't supposed to work this way. The person harmed should never be responsible for seeking restoration.' She issued an invitation for us to consider what it would have looked like if it had been the other way around. What if we had been the ones seeking to remedy the pain we caused? Lauren reminded us that staying teachable — allowing our understanding of welcome to keep growing — is part of what reconciliation actually requires. We shouldn't skip ahead to the celebration without acknowledging the cost. She wasn't simply naming what the church got wrong; she was asking us, as the church, to do better for whomever comes next. What would it look like, if indeed the church said: 'Hey, we still love you. Can we come and talk with you?' Button below: Watch Lauren's reinstatement on YouTube."
"Rev. Kelly Dotson (she/her), chair of the Western North Carolina Inclusion Team, put words to why this moment matters beyond one pastor's story: 'The reinstatement of Rev. Lauren Scruggs was a sacred and long-awaited moment for many of us in Western North Carolina. It was more than the restoration of one pastor's credentials; it was an acknowledgment that the harm endured was real and that the church is capable of choosing a different path.' Kelly also named something we want to be honest about with you today: this moment, as beautiful as it is, is not the finish line. 'My hope for our Annual Conference is that we continue moving beyond symbolic gestures toward the deeper work of repair... The work before us is not simply inclusion; it is transformation.' Two photos: Rev. Lauren Scruggs speaking at a podium with green and yellow fabric draped nearby, and Lauren Scruggs speaking at a wooden pulpit in front of a seated audience with orange, yellow, and purple banners and painted church scenes behind her."
That's the whole heart of this campaign. The vote was not the end. The work of welcome is just beginning. Full affirmation of LGBTQ+ people is still not a mandate across the UMC. Conference by conference, congregation by congregation, the work of becoming a church for every child of God is still being done. As It Should Be. Stories from across the movement. We're going to spend the next few months sharing these stories. Not because the work is finished, but because it isn't — and because every story like Lauren's is proof of what's possible when the church chooses repair over silence. This work continues because of people like you. Will you help us keep telling these stories — and keep doing this work — until every church is a church for every child of God? Button: Make a gift to RMN today! Do you have a story to share about your Annual Conference or radical welcome in your community? Email taylor@rmnetwork.org so we can include you in this series!
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