Inclusive Language, 1970s (ongoing process)
In the 1970s, some people within the congregation began moving toward using more inclusive language, but this was (to the best of my knowledge!) a loose movement. In the late 1980s, however, inclusive language became very important to the congregation as a whole. We looked for ways of singing, praying and speaking of God and humanity in a more inclusive manner. When the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible was published in 1989, it was more inclusive and we bought copies to be used for study and worship.

Hymns were also problematic, and to some extent, remain so. For several years, our worship bulletins had many inserts of hymns with lyrics re-written to be more inclusive. In 1995, after several months of studying two new hymnals, we purchased the one we use today. This hymnal is much more inclusive in both God language and human language.

This movement toward more inclusive language had come about for many, many reasons. Some people felt left out when all of the language referring to God and humanity was only male, but changing the language to female-only was just as exclusionary. For some, referring to God in parental terms simply brought up memories of abusive parents instead of a loving God. Likewise, others felt that using patriarchal terms of rulership (lord, master, king) also hindered some from fully believing in an all-loving God.

The emphasis of the congregation has always been toward making our fellowship more inclusive rather than excluding anyone. The issue of language may seem a silly discussion to some, but it is of prime importance to many here. This issue is a process with many members of the congregation being in different places at different times – particularly when considering favorite old hymns. We ask that those praying or speaking in an official capacity try their best to use the most inclusive language they can while acknowledging that this is a difficult process for many people. We do not presume to insist others change their visions of God, only that public language makes the attempt at inclusivity.