A message to the LGBTQia2+ Community:

‘All Are Welcome’ isn’t enough


LGBTQIA2+ people of faith often experience emotional and spiritual injury in churches that condemn their capacity to love and seek love. Because many have learned the hard way that “All Are Welcome” usually doesn’t apply to them, these folks can’t assume that every church will be safe for them and their families.


A public welcome by an Open and Affirming (ONA) church sends a clear message to LGBTQIA2+ seekers that they have a home in the United Church of Christ.


A public welcome to LGBTQIA2+ seekers helps churches grow. When ONA congregations attract new members, many of them are LGBTQIA2+ people and allies who value the congregation’s commitment to inclusion and justice.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "OPEN AND AFFIRMING"?

An Open and Affirming covenant is more than a statement, policy, declaration, or an amendment to a congregation’s by-laws. A covenant is an act of faith, a solemn promise to God in response to God’s holy Word. An ONA covenant is a serious step for a congregation in its life of faith.

In a church covenant, a congregation seeks “to walk together in all God’s ways” (Constitution of the United Church of Christ).


LEARN MORE ABOUT THE OPEN AND AFFIRMING COALITION HERE.