June 28th will be Open and Affirming Sunday, a day when the United Church of Christ is invited to remember who we are. As people of God and disciples of the Risen Christ, we are worshiping God who sets the captives free and we are followers of Jesus who constantly affirms and ministers to people who have been cast out by others. We the Church are a people sent to witness to the world that God is loving, welcoming, and embracing everyone, not just the folks in our cul-de-sac who live our lifestyle in our “tribe.”

In 1985, the gathered UCC General Synod, our national church congress with delegates from every U.S. Conference, prayerfully passed a resolution calling on local congregations to “Declare Themselves Open and Affirming” to LGBT+ people in the full life of the church. Two years later the Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC certified the first 15 ONA congregations. Over the ensuing decades the courageous witness of the Coalition and of the UCC changed the national conversation and called the Church to exemplify Jesus’ all-encompassing love in our faith communities, for the world to experience.

This year is Grace’s 20th anniversary of answering the call to be ONA. On Monday evening November 20, 2006, the Grace Church congregation voted 126 in favor of and 54 not in favor of the Covenant of Openness and Affirmation. “Viewpoints representing all sides of this issue were expressed with all sides respecting one another,” according to one writer. Here is text from the covenant resolution:

Grace Congregational United Church of Christ
Covenant of Openness and Affirmation

” … and one of them, a lawyer, asked Jesus a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and the first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40)

In light of the Bible’s teaching, following the lead of the United Church of Christ, and reflective of our own mission, we the members of Grace Congregational United Church of Christ strive to be open to all regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disabilities, economic status, marital status, age, faith perspective, or any distinction that is a barrier to the love we are commanded to embody.

We acknowledge that, historically, churches and society have often perpetuated exclusion, discrimination, persecution, and prejudice against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people based upon their sexual orientation. We believe such discrimination and continued silence is incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We affirm that all are children of God created in God’s image and all are welcome in the full life and ministry of the church.
Recognizing that we are not of one mind, yet called to ministries of reconciliation and wholeness within our church and in the world, we covenant to be an Open and Affirming congregation. With God’s help, we will work “… to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.” (Micah 6:8)

What this means is that the Council, Diaconate, and Ministries of Grace Church are fully authorized to affirm marriage, membership, leadership, and full participation in the life of Christ’s Church for ALL. We can be proud — and thankful to God — that so many of our LGBT+ spiritual siblings who have dealt for years with judgment, secrecy, rejection, and outright religious persecution, find the joy and freedom offered by Christ, here in the United Church of Christ!

If you are struggling, questioning, wondering, anxious, or want to talk to someone about God’s love for you, no matter what you believe, who you are, how you’ve been hurt or ostracized, or how distant you may feel from the love of God, please come and talk to me. I will be open to listening to your story and your journey, and I will be affirming of God’s extravagant love and Grace for you and for everyone, based not on our sexuality or our skin color, not on our music preferences or our age group, but on God’s goodness and Christ’s resurrection. And I will happily show you a church that welcomes, embraces, and openly affirms you for who you are, because of who we are, and most importantly, because of who God is!

Blessings, — Terry