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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.

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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