Affirmations of Welcome

We gather as people with great faith, little faith, different faiths and sometimes no faith. It is together where we find beloved community and where we can encounter the Sacred in each other. 

In this community we do our best to welcome all because we believe God welcomes all. God’s love is meant to be shared here. We welcome people of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. We welcome regardless of relationship status or ability. We welcome those who wrestle with addiction, physical or mental health, socio-economic challenges or anything that too often divides us. 

We are committed to the work of racial equity and specifically affirm and uplift the leadership and faithful gifts of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) students, LGBTQIA2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, Two Spirit, Plus) students and those who too often find themselves on the margins of our churches and society.

These are the ancestral, current and future homelands of the Anishinaabe and Dakota people. 

We acknowledge the painful history of genocide, forced assimilation, and efforts to alienate the Indigenous inhabitants from their territory here. 

We honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land, retained tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, and cultural resilience. 

This is a starting point, not an ending point, for our work as Bemidji Lutheran Campus Ministry as we strive to follow Jesus alongside our neighbors of the sovereign federally recognized tribes of the Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth bands of the Ojibwe people.