Last Updated:  Monday, 02 April 2007

Other Church's Open & Affirming Statements

 

Westmoreland UCC, in Bethesda, Maryland (just outside DC):

 

Westmoreland is an Open and Affirming Church.

 

Our Declaration of Purpose states:  "Our ideal is a church of the open mind, the warm heart, the aspiring soul and the social vision which seeks in all its ways to express the mind and spirit of Jesus."

 

To that purpose, through the life and history of our congregation, Westmorelanders have sought to respect the differences among us while attempting to bridge the barriers which have divided and estranged us one from another.

 

As members of the United Church of Christ we believe that God has bestowed on us the Holy Spirit, binding in covenant all faithful people.  As Paul wrote, "There is no such thing as Jew or Greek, slave and free person, male and female, for we are all one in Jesus Christ."  Galatians 3:28.

 

In keeping with our faith and the purpose of this Church and the whole Church:

  • We Honor each human being as a child of God;

  • We Believe, through Jesus Christ, God calls all persons to worship together;

  • We Welcome into our community of faith anyone who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ;

  • We Acknowledge our diversity as a congregation of the United Church of Christ;

  • We Respect the privacy of our fellow worshippers; and

  • We Cherish the family in all its different forms and celebrate all loving, committed relationships.

 

Accordingly, we wish this 6th day of June 1999 to declare that:

We are an open church, affirming the dignity and worth of every person as created in the image of God, welcoming into our fellowship people of all ages, races, abilities and sexual orientation who acknowledge Christ as our foundation and who seek to embody the mind and spirit of Jesus.

 

St. Paul's United Church of Christ, St. Paul, Minnesota:

We, the congregation of St. Paul's United Church of Christ, declare ourselves to be open and affirming.  With God's grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background.  We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation.

 

First Church, Fairfield, Connecticut

    "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell in unity."  Psalm 133:1

 

We recognize that scripture calls us "to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with our God."  (Micah 6:8)  We cherish our congregation's tradition of enlarging the community of faith by welcoming all those who come to worship God and to seek truth.  We celebrate our Covenant "to labor for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, and the reign of peace."

 

We acknowledge that, all too often, some churches have sanctioned discrimination against and fostered the fear and hatred of many groups of people considered to be different, including our gay, lesbian and bi-sexual brothers and sisters, causing them physical, emotional and spiritual pain.

 

Therefore, First Church Congregational of Fairfield, Connecticut declares itself to be Open to all for participation, membership, leadership and employment, regardless of race, ancestry, class, gender, physical/mental ability or sexual orientation, thereby providing a safe physical, emotional and spiritual haven.

 

We further declare ourselves to be Affirming of each individual as a child of God, celebrating the total identity of each person including his or her race, ancestry, class, gender, physical/mental ability and sexual orientation.

 

As a declared Open and Affirming congregation, we commit ourselves to work toward ending ignorance, fear, hatred, prejudice and discrimination against people considered to be different, including our lesbian, gay and bi-sexual sisters and brothers.  We pray for God's help in this journey of faith.  Amen.

Adopted at the Annual Meeting of First Church Congregational, Fairfield, CT on January 16, 1994