Dear Family,

This past weekend I got on a plane Friday morning, flew to the Twin Cities, stood on the lawn of the St. Paul, MN State Capitol on Saturday for the No Kings action, and then turned right back around to make it home for church in Cincinnati on Sunday morning.

It was bold. It was joyful. It was powerful. Over 200,000 people in one place and millions more across the country showing up with courage, clarity, and love.

And then, just days later, on Transgender Day of Visibility, we were gut punched. The Supreme Court struck down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy.

In the span of a few days, we experienced both the power of the people and the weight of decisions that cause real harm. That contrast is exactly why this moment matters, and why we cannot step back now.

And I know the question some of you may be asking: why go there when we are called to show up in our own communities? The answer is simple. I went to learn, to witness, and because Minnesota has something to teach the rest of us right now.

The No Kings action in St. Paul was the flagship gathering, with tens of thousands present and millions participating across the country in what became the largest single day of protest in U.S. history. But what matters most is not just the size of the crowd. It’s what the people of Minnesota have been building and practicing for years.

In the face of violence, fear, and escalating immigration enforcement, communities in Minnesota have been choosing to show up for their neighbors. Not just people who look like them or share their identity, but their neighbors. That’s what I saw.

I had the honor of being there with Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel and her family, leaders and activists who have been part of this work for a long time. What is happening in the Twin Cities didn’t start on Saturday. It has been building through years of organizing, through the pain of Philando Castile, Justine Damond, George Floyd, and others, and through a sustained commitment by faith communities to stay present and engaged.

There is a word for what they are modeling: neighboring. And it is deeper than kindness. It is a commitment to stand with people even when their struggle is not your own, because their humanity is bound up with yours.

That’s what I learned, and that’s why I went. Because if we are going to call churches into deeper public witness, then we need to see what that actually looks like when it is lived out.

For years, when churches became Open and Affirming, they would ask me, “What’s next?” My answer used to focus on continuing the work internally: keep your team together, keep learning, keep the covenant alive. That is still true. But now, before I say anything else, I say one word: witness.

Our communities need our witness. Not just what we believe, but how we show up publicly. In a time when immigrant communities are under attack, when trans and queer lives are being targeted, and when fear is being used to divide us, silence is not neutral. It is a choice.

Yesterday was Transgender Day of Visibility, a day to honor the lives, courage, and sacred worth of trans people. And on that same day, the Supreme Court struck down Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy. Let us be clear: this is harm, not care.

This is what we are up against. Moments of powerful witness in the streets, and decisions that cause real harm to vulnerable people. And even now, we are witnessing violence and loss in our own time, including the lives of Renne Goode and Alex Pretti. These are not distant stories. These are present realities.

That is why we cannot treat this work as a moment. It is a movement.

The Open and Affirming Coalition is rooted in LGBTQ+ justice, but our work has always been connected to something larger. Across the country, and in places like the Twin Cities, queer clergy and Open and Affirming leaders are helping to lead this work in deeply intersectional ways because we know what it is to be rejected and vilified. We know what it is to be marginalized, to be pushed to the edges, and to be treated as less than human.

And because of that, we do not only show up for ourselves. We show up for our neighbors. Always.

That is why we are inviting churches into public witness through A.C.T OUT — Advocacy, Community, and Transformation. This is how we move from affirmation to action. We are not asking every church to do the same thing, but we are asking every church to do something. March. Teach. Host. Speak. Organize. Support. Show up. Name it, claim it, and live it as part of your covenant.

Being in Minnesota reminded me that this work is not abstract. It is embodied, relational, and rooted in showing up for one another in real time. Because we are neighbors.

If you were at a No Kings action this past weekend, I would love to hear from you. Please share your stories and photos by emailing office@openandaffirming.org, submitting here https://openandaffirming.dm.networkforgood.com/forms/no-kings-3-28-2026-follow-up, or texting NoKings1 to 855-589-2210 to submit from your phone.

Submitting content, you confirm that you are the creator or have permission to share it, and you grant the Open and Affirming Coalition permission to use it in our communications.

This is our moment. To move beyond affirmation, to practice neighboring, and to show up in public witness.

Grace and peace,
Rev. Derek Terry
Acting Executive Director
Open and Affirming Coalition

Click here to pledge to participate as a public witness in a No Kings event on March 28, 2026.

Over the past year, I have been asking a question that many pastors and people of faith are asking right now:

How should the people of faith be responding in this moment?

At the Open and Affirming Coalition’s National Gathering last year, I issued a challenge to our churches. I said it is time for us to move beyond safe statements and symbolic gestures. It is time for us to A.C.T OUT.

A.C.T OUT stands for Advocacy, Community, Transformation. It is our invitation to move from affirmation to action in a time when so many of our neighbors are experiencing fear, exclusion, and injustice.

This invitation is not about being loud for the sake of being loud. It is about being faithful. And faithfulness sometimes asks us to show up.

I Am Encouraging Coalition Supporters to Participate in No Kings Events.

On Saturday March 28, 2026, communities across the world are organizing public gatherings through the No Kings movement. These events are meant to affirm democratic values and resist the growing normalization of authoritarian power.

As a pastor, I want to be clear: participating in peaceful public witness is not a partisan act.

IT IS A MORAL ACT!

Scripture reminds us again and again that people of faith are called to stand with those who are pushed to the margins of society, silenced, or harmed by unjust systems of oppression. The prophets confronted kings. Jesus spoke truth to power. The early church refused to bow to empire.

Faith has never been about passive comfort. It has always been about courageous love.

That is why I am encouraging supporters of the Open and Affirming Coalition to consider participating in a No Kings action wherever you are located.

The Rainbow Coalition and Our Shared Struggles

The recent passing of activist Rev. Jesse Jackson reminded us of his vision of a Rainbow Coalition. Rev. Jackson helped articulate something that movements for justice have always known: that communities who experience injustice in different ways often share a common struggle. The Rainbow Coalition brought together Black communities, labor movements, farmers, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and poor communities under a shared vision of dignity and justice.

That vision matters now more than ever.

Today we are witnessing policies and rhetoric that target people living at the margins of society (immigrants, transgender people, LGBTQ+ communities, people of color, unhoused people, poor people, and others perpetually struggling economically.)

These are not isolated issues. They are connected and our response must be connected as well.

An Intersectional Moment of Concern

Recent developments across the country highlight how serious this moment has become.

Efforts to remove LGBTQ+ visibility from public spaces, including the removal of the Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument, signal attempts to erase the presence and history of queer people.

Researchers and advocates are also warning that federal datasets containing LGBTQ+ information are disappearing, making it harder to track discrimination and health disparities.

At the same time, cuts to public health funding and social support programs disproportionately affect the very communities already living with the greatest vulnerability.

When we step back and look at the whole picture, it becomes clear that what we are witnessing is not a series of unrelated policy debates. It is a broader struggle over whose lives are valued and whose voices are heard and people of faith are called to sound the alarm!

A Public Witness of Faith

Participating in a peaceful demonstration is not about anger or spectacle. It is about bearing witness. It is about standing in public and saying:

God’s love belongs to everyone.
Human dignity is not negotiable.
Justice matters.

Jesus told his followers, “You are the salt of the earth.”

Salt preserves. Salt protects. Salt transforms. Salt melts.

In a time when cruelty and indifference can harden hearts like ice, the faithful are called to be the salt that melts it.

How You Can Participate

If you feel called to participate in a No Kings action, you can begin by visiting:

https://www.nokings.org

There you can find events happening across the country, including both in-person and virtual opportunities.

If you decide to participate, we invite you to also register with the Open and Affirming Coalition No Kings Circle so we can stay connected, support one another, and gather stories after the events.

This is the first call of a broader movement into faithful advocacy as we continue building the A.C.T OUT initiative.

Signs You Can Print and Bring

To help make our witness visible, we have created a series of printable 11×17 public witness signs that you can download, print, attach to foamboard/poster board/ cardboard and bring with you to your event.

Low ink Versions Here:

Salt of the Earth Melts Ice (low ink)

Affirming Trans Lives (low ink)

Stop Kidnapping God’s People (low ink)

Liberty and Justice for All (low ink)

James Baldwin (low ink)

Full Ink Versions Here:

Salt of the Earth Melts Ice (full ink)

Stop Kidnapping God’s People (full ink)

Liberty and Justice For All (full ink)

Affirming Trans Lives (full ink)

James Baldwin (full ink)

A Few Practical Suggestions

If you attend a No Kings event, consider these simple practices:

Attend with a friend or small group if possible.
Wear clothing that reflects your values or faith community if you feel comfortable.
Bring water, sunscreen, and comfortable shoes.
Follow the guidance of event organizers.
Take photos and share them so others can see the presence of affirming faith communities (AFTER THE EVENT. NOT DURING)

If you do take photos, we would especially love to see pictures that include the Coalition signs and logo. Share them: Office@openandaffirming.org

Stories matter. Witness matters. And seeing people of faith standing publicly for justice matters.

A Final Word

In every generation, people of faith must decide whether they will remain quiet in the face of injustice or whether they will step forward with courage.

This is one of those moments.

Participating in a No Kings event will not solve everything. But showing up can remind the world—and ourselves—that the struggle for justice is not finished.

And that people of faith are still part of it.

Grace and peace,

Rev. Derek Terry
Acting Executive Director, Open and Affirming Coalition

Click here to pledge to participate as a public witness in a No Kings event on March 28, 2026.

Click Here to Register!

A Supportive First Step for Churches Exploring the ONA Journey

Walk With Us: A Roundtable to Start your ONA Journey

At a time when many LGBTQ+ people are seeking safety, dignity, and belonging, churches are being invited to respond with brave intention. This guided roundtable offers a supportive, practical first step toward becoming an Open and Affirming congregation.

About This Roundtable

Walk With Us: A Roundtable for those Starting their ONA Journey is a guided, conversation-based gathering for churches and individuals who are ready to begin their Open and Affirming journey.

This is not a lecture or slide presentation. Instead, this is a facilitated, small-group learning space where participants can ask questions, receive guidance, and begin working through what the ONA process looks like in their own context. You will be accompanied step-by-step through the early stages of the journey in a way that is clear, practical, and grounded in real congregational experience.

What You Can Expect

• A guided, facilitated conversation with an experienced ONA coach
• Time to ask specific questions about beginning the ONA process
• A structured introduction to the Building an Inclusive Church toolkit
• Practical insight from churches that have already completed the journey
• Space to discern next steps for your own congregation

Who This Is For

• Churches ready to begin the ONA process
• Pastors and lay leaders seeking structured guidance and clarity
• Individuals helping their congregation take the first step

Meet Your ONA Guide

Barbara Biedenstein (she/hers) is a long-standing member of and serves as the secretary of Gateway ONA, the coalition of UCC churches in the St. Louis area. She has attended and studied the Building an Inclusive Church training. For the past 15 years she has served as the ONA coach for UCC and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) churches in the St. Louis and eastern Missouri areas. She has walked dozens of churches through their ONA journey and brings deep wisdom, care, and practical experience to this space.

Registration Rates (Honor System)

Individual Registration
• Standard Rate – $30
• Pay-It-Forward Rate – $45

Church Registration (per congregation)
• $75 for small churches (under 75 members)
• $125 for churches with 75 or more members

Church registrations are on the honor system and cover anyone in the congregation or on your ONA team who would like to participate. The person who registers will receive the webinar link and is responsible for sharing it with others in their church or ONA team who should attend.

These registration fees help support the ongoing work of the Open and Affirming Coalition, including coaching, training, and resourcing congregations across the country.

Scholarships are available. If cost is a barrier, please reach out to office@openandaffirming.org

Click Here to Register!

Click Here to Register!

What happens when Jesus crosses boundaries, tells the truth, and turns gossip into gospel?

Join us for a one-night online Drag Queen Bible Study with Rev. Marge Erin Spread (she/her), also known as Rev. James Admans (they/them), as we explore John 4:1–30 — the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well — through the lens of queer theology.

Participants can expect:

• Scripture explored through a queer lens
• Historical and cultural context made clear and accessible
• Academic queer scholarship explained in plain language
• Space for honest questions, reflection, and discussion
• A brave, affirming digital gathering space

This event reflects our commitment to creating spaces where LGBTQIA+ people and allies can engage the Bible as a source of liberation, not harm.

About Rev. Marge Erin Spread / Rev. James Admans

She’s living proof that faith and fabulousness can coexist.

Rev. Marge Erin Spread is a dynamic drag minister, theologian, educator, writer, and creative leader whose work boldly proclaims love, justice, and collective liberation. Her alter-ego, Rev. James Admans, currently serves as Pastor at the Church of Christ, Congregational in Millis, Massachusetts.

Originally from Connecticut, Marge earned degrees in Anthropology and Forensic Anthropology before completing her Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she focused on Biblical studies, social ethics, and queer theology. During her final year at Union, her advocacy was honored with the Malcolm Boyd Veritas Award for impactful LGBTQIA+ justice work.

She is the editor of Beyond Worship: Meditations on Queer Worship, Liturgy, & Theology, which received a 2023 Independent Publishers Bronze Medal for its contributions to religious thought by queer and transgender theologians from diverse faith traditions.

Rev. Marge is widely known for her vibrant drag ministry, demonstrating that serious theology and bold self-expression belong in the same space.

Learn more at theologyqueen.com.

Registration & Contribution

We believe deeply in accessible spiritual formation, and we also believe in paying queer leaders and trained theologians fairly for their labor. Rev. Marge prepares original teaching materials and brings professional theological scholarship to this event. Your contribution helps sustain this work.

Click Here to Register!

Registration is offered on a sliding scale (honor system):

• Student Rate – $15
• Sages Rate (65+) – $15
• Standard Rate – $30
• Pay-It-Forward Rate – $45

Church Rates (per congregation registration):

• $75 for small churches (under 75 members)
• $125 for churches with 75 or more members

We trust you to choose what’s right for you.

Scholarships are available to reduce the registration fee, including a limited number of 100% scholarships. These are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

If cost is a barrier, please contact us at office@openandaffirming.org. We do not want finances to prevent anyone from participating.

Come ready to learn, reflect, and engage scripture in a way that is honest, liberating, and unapologetically queer.

Faith and fabulousness belong in the same room.

Recording & Privacy
This session will be recorded for registered participants only and will not be posted publicly. You are welcome to keep your camera off if you prefer. To maintain a safe and respectful space, AI meeting note-takers and transcription bots are not permitted.

Click Here to Register!

Click here to register!

Practicing Sacred Storytelling in a World That Tries to Erase Us

In a world of systemic and intersectional injustice that often tears LGBTQIA+ communities down, having confidence in the knowledge of who we are as God’s beloved creations is essential to our survival and flourishing as LGBTQIA+ Christians. As a result, personal storytelling and testimony is a vital spiritual practice of self-care and rootedness that enables us to explore our identity, learn about ourselves in prayerful conversation with God, prepare to engage with an unjust world, and discover ways to thrive and flourish. This session will lay a scriptural, theological, and experiential framework for storytelling as a spiritual practice of self-care and rootedness, provide three opportunities to practice storytelling through creative writing activities, and generate safe space for sharing together.

Tickets are offered on an honor-system sliding scale. Please choose the rate that best fits your circumstances.

• Student Rate – $15
For students and seminarians.

• Sages Rate (65+) – $15
For participants age 65 and older.

• Standard Rate – $30
Helps cover the true cost of the workshop.

• Pay-It-Forward Rate – $45
For those who are able to give more and help expand access for others.

We trust you to choose what’s right for you. If the cost is prohibitive, please reach out to us (office@openandaffirming.org)—we do not want finances to be a barrier to participation.

About Our Facilitator: Bio: Grant is a PhD: Theology and New Testament candidate, as well as the Assistant Director of Admissions and Recruitment, at Garrett Seminary. An ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church who serves at Urban Village Church: Chicago, Grant and his husband Connor live with their cat-children, Maple and Little Floof. Born in Omaha, NE, Grant holds a BA in English from North Central College, a MA in English from Middlebury College, and a Master of Divinity from Garrett. Between degrees, Grant taught sixth grade elementary on the Rosebud Reservation, worked as an education ranger in Yellowstone, and taught eighth grade Reading/Language Arts at the Chicago Jesuit Academy.

Click here to register!

Dear friends,

With only 10 days until Christmas, we wanted to pause and share a word of gratitude, reflection, and hope with you.

We’re grateful to share this year’s Open and Affirming Coalition Christmas card artwork, Beloved and Affirmed, created by our Acting Executive Director, Rev. Derek Terry. As both an artist and a pastor, Derek found himself returning again and again to the image of the Madonna and Child during this difficult year. The image draws on one of the most tender and enduring symbols of the Christian faith.

In this season, we remember Mary not as a distant or idealized figure, but as a young, vulnerable mother holding a child the world would one day reject, threaten, and try to silence. She cradles him with fierce love, courage, and trust. For centuries, the Madonna and Christ have reminded us that God enters the world not through power or domination, but through vulnerability, relationship, and love made flesh.

This image also calls us to remember that Jesus and his family were refugees—forced to flee violence, dependent on the kindness of strangers, and shaped by displacement. In a moment when immigrants and refugees are being dehumanized, criminalized, and scapegoated, this truth matters. God chose to enter the world through a family on the move.

For the Open and Affirming movement, this image speaks directly to our present moment. God’s beloved LGBTQ+ children are facing renewed attacks through legislation, rhetoric, erasure, and violence. Like Mary’s child, they are precious and holy, yet treated as threats simply for existing. The rainbow colors wrapped around mother and child are not decoration; they are testimony. They proclaim that LGBTQ+ lives are held, honored, and named as beloved by God.

In a time when fear and exclusion are too often mistaken for faithfulness, this image stands as a quiet but defiant witness. God is still choosing love. God is still drawing close. God is still holding those the world tries to cast aside.

Because we operate with a very small budget, we weren’t able to mail cards to everyone on our list this year. We sent printed cards to covenant partners and supporters who help sustain this ministry. Some of you gave generously this year but did not receive a card simply due to the limits of our budget. Please know how deeply grateful we are for you—and know this without hesitation: you are beloved and affirmed.

As we close out the year, we are also in the midst of a powerful opportunity. Through December 31, 2025, the Coalition has received a 2-for-1 matching grant. When our community raises $10,000, a generous donor will add $20,000—bringing $30,000 of support to this movement.

These funds sustain the coaching, resources, advocacy, and accompaniment churches rely on to live out God’s radical affirmation—especially in a time when LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, refugees, and so many of God’s beloved are facing renewed harm and exclusion.

At the heart of the Open and Affirming movement is a simple truth: every person is BELOVED.

You can learn more about this opportunity or make a gift here:
https://openandaffirming.networkforgood.com/projects/265515-the-beloved-fund-2-for-1matching-grant

Grace and peace,
Rev. Derek Terry
Acting Executive Director
Open and Affirming Coalition of the UCC

At the heart of the Open and Affirming movement is a simple truth: every person is BELOVED!

Click here to Donate to help us unlock our Matching Grant Goal!

IT’S GIVING TUESDAY! 

Today is Giving Tuesday, a day when people across the country invest in the causes and communities that matter most. For us in the Open and Affirming Coalition, this day is about strengthening a broad and growing LGBTQ+ movement of faith—one rooted in affirmation, justice, and the sacred dignity of every person.

This year, your generosity goes even further.

From now through December 31, every gift to the Coalition will be tripled through a 2-for-1 matching grant. For every dollar you give, a generous supporter will contribute two more—up to $10,000 raised. If we meet our goal, the match will add $20,000, bringing $30,000 into this movement at a time when it is urgently needed.

Today, we’re also excited to offer something special in gratitude.

A Giving Tuesday Thank-You Gift

The first 30 people who give $250 or more will receive a complimentary copy of The Story of Bob | The Life and Times of Rev. Robert W. Wood by Steven C. Law.
You can see the flyer for this campaign above and share it widely.

Who Was Rev. Robert W. Wood?

Rev. Robert Wood was one of the earliest and most courageous pioneers of LGBTQ+ faith activism in the United States. In 1960—decades before “affirming” language entered church life—he published Christ and the Homosexual, the first book by a Christian pastor openly affirming LGBTQ+ people without demanding their silence or celibacy. He marched in early gay-rights protests, preached inclusion from the pulpit, and lived openly with his partner Hugh at a time when such visibility was nearly unheard of. Rev. Wood’s ministry helped lay the foundation for the LGBTQ+ faith movement we inherit today, and the Coalition has long regarded him as one of our most prophetic ancestors. Honoring his legacy this Giving Tuesday is a reminder that our movement exists because brave leaders paved the way with truth, courage, and love.

The biography releases in February 2026, and we will ship copies to qualifying donors as soon as it is available.

Click here to read Bob’s Biography from the LGBT Religious Archives Network website

Why Your Giving Tuesday Gift Matters

Your support today strengthens a national movement that:
• Accompanies congregations committed to LGBTQ+ affirmation, not mere welcome
• Supports ministries across traditions working for justice and inclusion
• Provides coaching and care when churches face hostility or backlash
• Equips leaders, volunteers, and communities with resources and training
• Builds networks of advocacy, solidarity, and transformation
• Helps queer and trans people find spiritual homes where they are fully known and celebrated

This work extends far beyond any single denomination. Your gift strengthens a movement of faith rooted in liberation, courage, and radical affirmation.

Give Today and Triple Your Impact

Your generosity on Giving Tuesday keeps Rev. Wood’s legacy alive and fuels the next generation of LGBTQ+ faith leadership and justice work.

Click here to Donate Now!

Thank you for standing with us—and for strengthening the movement so LGBTQ+ people everywhere can live, lead, worship, and thrive with dignity and joy.

With deep gratitude,
Rev. Derek Terry, Acting Executive Director
Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ

On this Thanksgiving Day, I want to take a moment to speak directly to the heart of our community. Today is a day of gratitude for many, but for others it can be a day of loneliness, grief, or quiet hurt. For LGBTQ+ people who have been rejected, excluded, or made to feel unwelcome at the tables where they hoped to belong, this week can be especially heavy.

So hear this clearly:
You are beloved by God.
Your life is sacred.
Your truth is a gift.
And you are not alone.

As an Open and Affirming movement, we hold space today for every person who is struggling. And we invite you—wherever you are—to help build the kind of community we all need. Check on your friends. Reach out to the people you love. Send a message, make a call, or offer a place at your table. A small gesture can remind someone that they are seen, valued, and held.

This is what ONA community looks like: choosing love, again and again, especially when the world feels loud with fear and division.

We are grateful for you—your leadership, your prayers, your courage, and your commitment to a church where every person is affirmed and welcomed at the table. Nearly 1,950 ONA congregations now carry this message of belovedness across the country. Your witness matters.

And as you reflect on what you’re grateful for, we invite you to support this movement that supports so many. A few reminders as we near the end of the year:

1. Individuals: Join the Sustaining Circle

Sustaining Circle members commit to a monthly gift that provides steady, year-round support for our work. Monthly giving helps us plan ahead, respond quickly to urgent needs, and build long-term movement resilience.
And right now, every new monthly gift is being matched up to $250 through 11/28—we’re already close to reaching the match!

Click here to join.

2. Congregations: Become a Sustaining Church

Sustaining Churches give once or twice per year—often in June and December—to help keep our coaching, training, and resources accessible for the churches that need us most.
We encourage congregations to include the Coalition in your annual budget, and to share our ministry in your newsletters and worship materials.
Becoming a Sustaining Church is simple: fill out this brief form, and we’ll add your congregation to the growing list of supporters. A suggested gift is at least $1 per active member a few times each year, though many give more as they are able.

Every contribution makes a meaningful difference.  Click here to Signup.

3. Give to Our 2-for-1 Matching Grant

We are also blessed with a 2-for-1 matching grant: for every dollar given, a generous donor gives two more—tripling your impact, up to $10,000 raised.
A $25 gift becomes $75.
A $100 gift becomes $300.
A $1,000 gift becomes $3,000.
These gifts directly strengthen the coaching, training, and support that congregations across the country rely on.

Click here to donate now. 

With gratitude,
Rev. Derek Terry
Acting Executive Director
Open and Affirming Coalition
United Church of Christ

Let’s keep this movement alive and strong.

Today we honor the courage it takes to live openly and authentically—especially in a time when coming out can still be risky, and sometimes even dangerous.

In 1988, artist Keith Haring created the first official image for National Coming Out Day: a single bright yellow figure stepping boldly out of a dark closet. His art transformed visibility into celebration and made activism something you could feel in color and motion.

As an artist, pastor, and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I wanted to honor that legacy with my own reinterpretation—a digital watercolor inspired by Haring’s style, filled with figures of different sizes and shapes joyfully coming out of a closet bursting with the colors of the Progress Pride flag.

Because closets are for clothes—not for people. They’re dark, cramped, and confining. And yet, even now, coming out can be dangerous.

Across the country, LGBTQ+ people—especially trans and nonbinary youth, queer parents, and teachers—face growing hostility, restrictive laws, and targeted hate. For many, living openly is still not safe. For others, it’s an act of holy defiance.

So today, we celebrate every kind of coming out:
Those who come out boldly and publicly.
Those who come out quietly to a few.
Those who come out only to themselves.
And those who can’t yet—whose truth still matters, and whose safety comes first.

As the Open and Affirming Coalition, we also pray that our churches continue to “come out”—publicly and joyfully proclaiming that LGBTQ+ people are beloved, whole, and fully part of the Body of Christ.

Coming out should never be an act of survival. It should be a celebration of life. And every day, your support helps us build brave, affirming spaces where people of every age, background, and identity can live fully and freely as God created them.

Please consider celebrating National Coming Out Day with a special donation to the Open and Affirming Coalition. Your gift will help us continue resourcing congregations, training leaders, and creating communities where everyone can come out safely, joyfully, and without fear.

Let’s keep building a world where closets are for clothes—and churches are for love.

— Rev. Derek A. Terry
Artist • Pastor • Acting Executive Director
Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ

Click here to Donate Now

On July 10, 2025, during the 2025 National Gathering in Kansas City, Missouri, the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ led a public witness march from the Downtown Marriott to Ilus W. Davis Park. There, we joined local activists and organizations for a powerful teach-in addressing the urgent issues facing LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities in Missouri and across the nation. In preparation for this witness, senior leaders of the Coalition met with local organizers, advocates, and community members to listen deeply and learn how we could amplify their efforts and elevate their calls for justice. What follows is our official public witness statement—an affirmation of solidarity and a call to action grounded in faith, justice, and our shared ONA commitments.

Jesus’ ministry was a bold declaration that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love. He stood with those on the margins, healed those denied care, challenged unjust power, and affirmed the sacred worth of people pushed aside by religion and empire. His message was, and still is, one of justice, belonging, and liberation.

To be faithful now is to refuse neutrality in the face of injustice. It is to speak out when policies target transgender youth, strip away bodily autonomy, silence queer and trans voices, and endanger the lives of BIPOC LGBTQ+ people.

Across the country, we are witnessing the erosion of rights and critical institutions that all Americans depend on. Make no mistake, the intention of this wave of regressive policies is to harm LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC populations, under the guise of religious liberty.

Missouri, like many other states in our union, has sought to ban abortion care and gender affirming care for Transgender people. Both valid forms of life-saving healthcare are now endangered by actions recently taken by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) and the Missouri General Assembly.

In 2022, the In the Dobbs decision by SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling which guaranteed the right to an abortion for nearly 50 years.

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order 14168, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, withdrawing federal recognition of transgender people. A series of additional executive orders has continued the ongoing assault on transgender individuals—particularly targeting transgender military personnel, athletes, and others across various spheres of public life.

On May 14, 2025, the Missouri Senate voted to move House Joint Resolution 73 (HJR 73) to the ballot in Missouri by 2026. HJR 73 creates a state constitutional amendment to ban abortion in Missouri without the ballot clearly stating that such a ban will happen. HJR 73 would also make Missouri the first state with a constitutional prohibition on medical care for transgender youth, a cynical and very dangerous use of transgender kids as “ballot candy” to leverage yes votes for the abortion ban. 

On that same day, the Missouri Senate also passed House Bill 567 to nullify the paid sick days and cost of living increases to the minimum wage passed by nearly 58% of Missouri voters on November 5, 2024, as Proposition A. 

On June 27, 2025, in a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents must have the right to opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQIA+ subject material because of their right to direct their children’s religious upbringing. 

On July 4, 2025, Congress enacted H.R. 1—the grossly misnamed “One Big Beautiful Budget Bill”—triggering an unprecedented transfer of resources from our most vulnerable neighbors to the nation’s richest elite. By slashing Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding while handing out massive tax breaks to the super-wealthy, this law puts profits before people. It is projected to add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, strip health coverage from up to 17 million Americans, deepen hunger in communities already living on the brink, and drive rural hospitals—our last line of defense—into crisis. This bill betrays our collective promise of solidarity and equity. We stand united in demanding a federal budget that honors human dignity, safeguards health, and invests in the well-being of every person.

All of these actions will disproportionately impact LGBTQAI+ and BIPOC people who are already burdened by discrimination, anti-blackness, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, etc. In addition to challenges posed by poverty, under the weight of tremendous income inequality.

The Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ calls for the following actions by UCC congregations:

Educate their members about these recent decisions in state and federal branches of government and to mobilize members to advocate for justice.

UCC congregations in Missouri are urged to invite members of their congregations and communities to sign the PROMO Missouri solidarity pledge to work together to defeat the HJR 73-related constitutional amendment at the polls.

UCC congregations in Missouri and the eight states that border Missouri are called to deepen their relationships with social justice organizations addressing the issues of LGBTQIA+ people, as well as issues impacting low-wage workers. Especially the Kansas City-area organizations listed here whenever circumstances demand a united front for safety and for progress toward justice and to raise funds to support their vital missions.

BlaqOut – Learn More / Give

PROMO Missouri – Donate Here

Missouri Jobs with Justice – Donate Here

Nafasi Trans Care Collective – Donate Here

Reale Justice Network – Donate Here

Trans Women of Color Collective / Dee Dee’s House – Donate Here

Current Open and Affirming congregations are called to recommit to the work of justice named in their ONA covenants—not as a static identity, but as an ongoing, active practice, including advocacy and activism. This means educating themselves about the current threats facing LGBTQIA+ individuals—especially those living at the intersections of poverty, racism, and gender-based violence—and taking faithful, public action in response.

It also means shifting power: making intentional space for BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ people to lead. When we follow the wisdom of those most impacted, our movements are more truthful, more just, and more life-giving. Too often, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals are harmed or sidelined in justice efforts that claim to serve all—for example, during the organizing around Missouri’s Amendment 3 on abortion access. Justice demands more than inclusion. It requires shared leadership, real accountability, and deep trust in the voices of those most affected.

UCC congregations that have not yet voted to become ONA are asked to undergo the ONA study process. It is important that all UCC congregations adopt resolutions calling for an end to discrimination and for full participation by LGBTQIA+ people in church and society.

Please consider supporting this following digital Baby Shower by purchasing much needed items for birthing people here.