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Affirming Welch College

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Affirming Welch College

We are here to show love & respect to all LGBTQIA+ students, faculty, and alumni of Welch College.

01/20/2025

Please read the full letter here: https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

“The contemporary church is so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. It is so often the arch-supporter of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s often vocal sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I meet young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright disgust.” — from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

11/08/2024

Affirming Welch College (AWC) recognizes and is saddened by the election results of 2024, due to the negative impacts it will continue to have on the controversial intersection of Christianity and politics.

With Welch College's ties to Marsha Blackburn, the Alliance Defending Freedom hate group, Mike Pence, and other political involvements, we strongly urge these ties be publicity cut for the reputation of Christianity and what it is supposed to stand for. We strongly urge Welch College to look back on its history of racial segregation, women's rights to education and employment, it's current discriminate legalism around LGBTQ people's existence, and deny that these heinous acts are excusable Christian behavior.

More than this condemnation, support is needed for those who require help, whether that be academic, emotional, physical, or financial. Value should not be placed only on people who have the "right kind" of Christianity or to be seen as potential converts. All people have value. Support for the lowest on the social class is support for all.

Remember to take care of yourself, and each other.

1 Corinthians 13:13

Support , or an affirming church near you.

06/21/2024

Happy Pride Month from AWC! As far as we are aware, this is the first pride flag to have ever been publicly flown on the grounds of Welch College or Free Will Baptist Bible College. It is a reminder that we are here, and we will always be here; no matter how many q***r people or allies Welch College kicks out, denies education, denies service, fires, insults, or discriminates against. We have always been here. We will always be deserving of Christian dignity.

04/21/2024

At our meeting, we discussed the difference between morals, values, ethics and how they govern religious bureaucracy. We talked about how money influences the change in ethics for Christianity - Jesus upturned tables surrounding the temple in anger, yet we allow Christian colleges to be run as businesses, which influences legalistic outcomes. Profit is the pushing mechanism for Welch College.

Why do we have certain hours/days for wearing jeans? Are these hours less or more sinful than others? No - it's for the tours that are undertaken during these certain hours to influence more people to give them money, either through donations or more students, by forcing unnecessarily strict dress codes. As a result, people are punished if they do not respond to this ruling, even though it's prime mechanism is not Christian morality. This is one of many examples of profit corrupting religion. The separation of church and state is for the benefit of the church.

04/16/2024

Part 01: How do I change culture?

We have tons of ideas, so we're making this question a series! Feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments.

Community: Host a local LGBTQIA+ space to help build moral, gain support, and organize protest movements that affirm and celebrate the dignity of q***r identity. This can vary from sending out letters together to public marches.

Individually: One of the most common objections to running for office is "I'm not qualified." Newsflash: We have tons of unqualified people already on school boards and in Congress! Talk to your local political chapter on the necessary steps to get your name on the ballot.

03/06/2024

In our little workshop, we talked about the negative expectations and experiences we had and continue to have in our religious circles. We divided them based on Physical, Emotional, Social, and Economic groups as we laughed, cried, and yelled about our experiences with Christianity that remained unseen until we decided to come together to talk about purity culture, racist actions, exploited labor, cry nights, invasions of privacy, and forced conformity. Remember: You are not alone! What on this board stands out to you?

02/24/2024

Here is a list of just a few of the churches within 30 miles of Gallatin, TN that affirm LGBT+ congregates and perform same-sex marriages! Remember: Affirming churches do NOT believe in conversation of q***r identity, but they are called to take joy in and uplift all identites, as well as have them take official positions in the church such as pastor, priest, etc.

If we missed a church, put it in the comments!

02/15/2024

This is a statement shared to spread the personal stories of Welch College (formerly Free Will Baptist Bible College) alumni, students, and faculty. If you would like to share your story, message or email us. Disclaimer: These statement stories do not always personally reflect the thoughts of AWC owners. Some information may be excluded or changed in brackets in order to protect the privacy of the individuals.

"I'm an alum of Welch College … You shed light on something that is keeping people oppressed and voiceless. What you did will save people's lives in the Free Will Baptist sphere which needs to happen and in greater spheres because this is a universal issue. I have so many friends from Welch who were closeted by the same tactics." — A

02/09/2024

This statement is reposted in conjunction with HIGH CONTROL FLAGS AND WELCH COLLEGE: Curfews

"...I was paying my way on my own [because] I thought God wanted me there. I worked full time and had to pick up night shifts because with Welch’s insane class schedule, plus mandatory volunteering, chapel attendance, church attendance, and event attendance, night shift was the ONLY WAY I could get enough hours to afford tuition. So I had to go to the [Dean of Students] Forlines to get it approved because night shift was forbidden at Welch. I explained my situation, and they told me that they couldn’t trust me to work night shifts because what if I was “lying about where I was and secretly out partying every night and being promiscuous” I was FLOORED ... I was literally a personal care assistant taking care of old people in their homes at night. They had ZERO trust in their students.When I asked them to please make an exception for my financial situation and begged them because I had never caused any trouble before. I was a 4.0 goody two shoes who just needed the money to pay tuition. They said “well then we’d have to take it up with the board and we might lose funding. We can’t risk that. So no.” oh yes, they can’t lose the funding that went to sending the damn sports teams to Disneyland or giving the rejoice teams outrageous amounts of money to spend on food and travel." - G.E.

02/06/2024

"...I was paying my way on my own [because] I thought God wanted me there. I worked full time and had to pick up night shifts because with Welch’s insane class schedule, plus mandatory volunteering, chapel attendance, church attendance, and event attendance, night shift was the ONLY WAY I could get enough hours to afford tuition. So I had to go to the [Dean of Students] Forlines to get it approved because night shift was forbidden at Welch. I explained my situation, and they told me that they couldn’t trust me to work night shifts because what if I was “lying about where I was and secretly out partying every night and being promiscuous” I was FLOORED ... I was literally a personal care assistant taking care of old people in their homes at night. They had ZERO trust in their students.When I asked them to please make an exception for my financial situation and begged them because I had never caused any trouble before. I was a 4.0 goody two shoes who just needed the money to pay tuition. They said “well then we’d have to take it up with the board and we might lose funding. We can’t risk that. So no.” oh yes, they can’t lose the funding that went to sending the damn sports teams to Disneyland or giving the rejoice teams outrageous amounts of money to spend on food and travel." - G.E.

02/03/2024

It's meme Saturday folks, saddle up 🤠

01/31/2024

In case you haven't seen our Instagram page, check it out! https://www.instagram.com/affirmingwelchcollege

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