when I was involved in the Open and Affirming (ONA) study process at my church, the First Congregational Church of Reading, U.C.C., I wrote a set of answers to frequently asked questions about Open and Affirming [or if you want a nicely formatted version for your very own, download the .pdf version (74 kB)]. I wrote them between October, 2001 and February, 2002 during the time we were studying the issue, but have tried to keep the references up to date. I am thankful that we voted to become Open and Affirming in May, 2002.
Open and Affirming, or ONA, is a movement in the United Church of Christ wherein churches explicitly pledge that they will include all people, including those who happen to have been born gay, lesbian or transgendered, into the full life and ministry of the church. Other denominations have similar movements, although named differently. It's very sad that ONA is not a given in all our churches whatever the denomination. Jesus Christ welcomed everyone to join him at his table, and so should we.
I also wrote several other documents for our church's web site about our ONA process and have reproduced them here for those who might be interested:
- What is ONA?
- History of the ONA process at First Congregational Church of Reading
- Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about ONA
- ONA Statement of the First Congregational Church of Reading, U.C.C.