Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate

Practicing Radical Inclusion

Radical inclusion, based on God’s love for all people, is a central belief and practice of Allendale UMC. All are welcome into the life and ministries of our congregation. With a 34,000 gross square foot facility, Allendale extends free meeting space to community groups resisting hate in all its forms. Since 2016, hundreds of groups and organizations have accepted the invitation, leading to the creation of a vibrant community hub. People come to Allendale to learn how to cook healthy food. Immigrants learn to sew to make a living. People organize around issues: voting rights, reproductive justice, land justice, racial justice, and immigrants’ rights, to name a few. Some may say that hosting outside groups is not the role of a church, but through this practice, Allendale is becoming more of the church we are called to be.

 In the face of the hate that eventually took his life, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proclaimed, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Allendale UMC’s Welcome Statement honors Dr. King by explicitly claiming the power of unconditional love. In 2024, Allendale will build Dr. King’s vision of the Beloved Community by creating a greener, more welcoming and safer campus, accessible to all. 

 An Act of Resistance

 Allendale’s commitment to hospitality for those not welcome elsewhere, for those advocating for affordable housing, racial equity, LGBTQ+ rights, etc., has led to repurposing our campus as a home for Beloved Community. Recent examples include:

• Redeveloping former preschool classrooms for expanded community use, including the Allendale Equity and Justice Center, and a coworking space;
• Investing in technology upgrades throughout the campus;
• Creating Allendale’s Counseling Center from the shell of a former storage building;
• Replacing wooden pews in the sanctuary with multi-purpose moveable seating, and adding a wheelchair lift to make the sanctuary a truly accessible place for gathering throughout the week;
• Planting a community garden, despite NIMBY opposition.        

 Our work is just beginning. The church campus has an aging infrastructure in need of significant repairs. Some of the facilities built between 1955-1982 remain intact, including doors, windows, restrooms and more. Designed long before the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and awareness of environmental impact, Allendale’s facilities await further renovation. 

Improving, protecting and repairing the Allendale campus for the work of liberation is one way we change the world. The more Allendale can create welcoming multi-purpose spaces for connection and collaboration for social justice, the more we drive hate away with love. In this way, improving our facilities is not an end in itself, but an act of resistance. 

How You Can Build Allendale’s Capacity for Love

This campaign will support facility improvements in four areas:

• Green energy: Reducing Allendale UMC’s carbon footprint and operating costs;
• Accessibility and safety: Removing barriers to access across the campus;
• Essential repairs such as weather-proofing the exterior; 
• Renovations that will create welcoming multi-purpose spaces that serve the community today and for years to come.

 We will achieve this goal by joining together as a congregation with our community partners. Capital campaign gifts are explicitly intended for facilities, not the operating budget. These donations represent a second mile of giving beyond our annual pledge drive. It is all pointed toward a single goal: resisting hate through love.

Creating Momentum for Success: Make an Early Pledge!

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