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The Open and Affirming Coalition is honored to share these heartfelt tributes celebrating the life and legacy of Donna Enberg, contributed by some of the incredible torchbearers of the Open and Affirming movement.

Donna Enberg was a quiet and vital presence in The Coalition’s earliest days. I am grateful for her analytical thoughtfulness, her genuine care concern for people and her passion for The Coalition’s mission. As Treasurer for 20 years, she meticulously oversaw our finances, kept the membership well informed, offered realistic budgets and inspired giving.  Donna was a serious, faithful steward and when she spoke, we listened…not just about finances but about resourcing, outreach, new directions in mission, caring for ourselves, and the need to have fun even in the struggle. Though some thought her stern, Donna was a strong woman with a soft heart full of compassion. Without the creative hard work that Donna and Ann did in leading The Coalition’s Open and Affirming program, The Coalition, the United Church of Christ, and the Ecumenical Welcoming Church Movement, would not be what it has become these many years later — a dynamic force for inclusion, pastoral care, education and advocacy. In large measure, because of Donna’s  ministry, we are better equipped to meet the challenges of the oppressive times in which we live.   Donna believed sharing personal stories is transformative.  It is a lesson and a legacy that, taken to heart, can change the world.  

May Donna’s buoyant Spirit rest serenely with power.  

Bill Johnson, Founder of The Coalition

Donna Enberg embodied faithfulness in her commitments to The Coalition, the Open and Affirming program, her local church and the UCC, and especially to her wife Ann B. Day. Donna supported the Coalition through critical tasks that she handled consistently and often unobtrusively. I feel privileged to have worked with Donna through my years as member, Council member and Coalition staff.

—Rev. Ruth Garwood

Donna Enberg was, if nothing else, stoic and straightforward. She and her spouse, Ann B. Day (which we always called her) were instrumental in establishing and maintaining the Open and Affirming movement in the UCC for many of its formative years. Donna handled the money part as Treasurer for the Coalition and never was there a question that this task would not be done with integrity. Ann was the one who gave a report during the business sessions of Coalition national gatherings and Donna always was there by her side. Ann has the driest sense of humor of anyone I know and we would all wait for her report, trying not to chuckle until she came out with some line that catapulted us all into laughter. A smile would come across Donna’s face. Never one to seek the limelight but always one to attend with care and compassion the work that needed to be done, Donna gave her heart not just to the Coalition but to other organizations as well, steadily helping them succeed. And she was kind and thoughtful behind all that stoicism, a genuine woman of God who embraced the practical matters necessary along the journey for justice. 

—Loey Powell, Former National Co-Ordinator of the Coalition

The Open and Affirming Coalition was wonderful support for us when J-MO encountered difficulties in the ordination process after coming out in Illinois South Association in the 1980’s. We started attending National Gatherings, beginning with the amazing experience in the shadow of Pike’s Peak at Camp LaForet in summer, 1988. At the Gatherings, we formed a deep friendship with Donna Enberg, the Coalition treasurer, and her wife, the Rev. Ann B. Day. Their deep love and commitment to each other was apparent in every minute that we enjoyed with them. Oh, that everyone could have someone look at them with the adoration with which Donna looked at Ann.

Over the years, we shared many meals with them and always delighted to hear Donna’s distinctive New England accent, to experience her very dry wit, and to wonder what was coming when she smiled her mischievous smile. We also spent days with them in Massachusetts and in Maine while on vacation, and they were wonderful and generous hosts.

What a gift Donna was to the Coalition as treasurer. Although she was a fundamentally shy person, she was competent and confident at understanding budgets and made sure we understood our financial reality before we made any decision. Donna’s honesty and hard work as treasurer gave the Coalition stability in its early years, contributing to our long-term viability. We admired her willingness to generously used her God-given talents in service to the Coalition and to the church, her part of building the kin-dom.

—Rev. Dorothy M. Gannon and the Honorable Jeanette (“J-MO”) Mott Oxford

I first connected with the Coalition in the early 80s not too long after I had come out. I was at a General Synod for other reasons and (providentially?) had an opportunity to connect with some of the members of the group. The emergence of queer issues in the church was a newer thing then and to find a critical mass of LGBTQ folk (although admittedly, we weren’t using all the letters then) meant meeting at the national level. The group became an important community of support for me and the yearly national gatherings were a powerful experience. I can’t really think about those times without thinking of Donna Enberg and Ann B. Day. To talk about Donna is also to include Ann because they were such an important “team” together. They were committed, productive and fun. Donna faithfully shepherded the finances of the organization for many years and it was so helpful to have someone who was both knowledgeable and willing to do this day-by-day, week-by-week work. She was a valued member of the Coalition board. Donna was direct, even acerbic. She would “tell it as it is.” I considered that one of her great gifts. I so appreciated my connection with her, and to be on that journey with Ann and her for so many years. My heart is warmed just thinking of them. So blessings on you, dear Donna, and my heart goes out to Ann.

—Phil Porter

I first met Donna at National Gathering in 1991 or so. I remember her tennis shoes, Coalition-logo golf shirt, and canvass bag. I also remember her Massachusetts accent, her not-suffering-fools-lightly, her wry sense of humor, and her unwavering commitment to The Coalition. In 1994, when my parents moved to the Massachusetts Conference, I heard lots of stories about Ann-and-Donna (their names were almost always spoken as a single phrase) and the ways they, together, embodied vision and practicality, humor and faithfulness and commitment.

In 2003, I began my stint as Interim National Coordinator. One of the blessings of that period was that I got to go from knowing about Ann-and-Donna to really knowing them. Donna was always present; always brought reliable, organized data; had always done everything she said she was going to do—all of these were gifts for a mostly-volunteer, national organization.

The other gift was that Ann and Donna became friends. And Maggie, Shannon, and I vacationed with them, experiencing Donna’s love for Ann, and Ann’s for Donna in more relaxed settings. One of my favorite memories is when we agreed that each couple would cook a favorite dish. We chose an enchilada recipe. After complimenting us, Donna went to clean up and we heard her exasperated voice, “Haven’t you ever heard of Pam?!” (When I heard that Donna had died, we made enchiladas in her honor.)

We had the honor of visiting Donna in the summer of 2023 and singing some National Gathering favorites, including In the Midst of New Dimensions. As I sit in the reality of a Coalition, an LGBTQ+ movement, Ann-and-Donna world without Donna, I feel a great loss and a great gratitude. And I pray, God of Rainbow, Fiery Pillar, lead your beloved child, Donna, unto eternal rest.

—Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel

The Open and Affirming program grew into the largest and fastest-growing movement of LGBTQ+-affirming churches because Donna Enberg and Ann B. Day had a vision of a revived church where everyone was welcome and needed, where no one was lost or left outside. 

Like all great visionaries, Donna and Ann knew how to transform their dream into practice. They realized that an inclusive church movement could not take root in the UCC unless it took every congregation seriously. How could we expect churches to respect difference and diversity unless we accepted them “where they were?” They knew that every congregation already had within its culture the seeds of LGBTQ+ inclusion, through their love for Jesus and their belief in biblical values. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that tens of thousands of LGBTQ+ seekers have been restored to the Body of Christ because Donna and Ann served the ONA movement for 20 years. My ministry with the ONA movement was possible because I was able to build on their foundation. Thank you, Donna, good and faithful servant. May you rest securely in the arms of your beloved Savior.

—The Rev. Andrew G. Lang, OCC
Executive Director, Open and Affirming Coalition (2010-2022) Pronouns: he, him, his

I attended my first National Gathering of the UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns (as it was known then) in the summer of 1988.  As I boarded the plane in Boston with both excitement and trepidation (since I was keeping my trip “under wraps” as a seminarian seeking ordination) I was delighted to see the two familiar faces of Donna Enberg and her beloved Ann B. Day seated near me. They were veterans to the annual pilgrimage to the beloved Coalition community and welcomed me on a journey that would change my life.  They were a dynamic duo on a mission! I would come to learn that their vision, passion and commitment were key to giving birth to the “Open and Affirming” program of The Coalition of the United Church of Christ. Over 35 years have passed since that flight and I now find myself serving as the treasurer of the ONA Coalition, a position in which Donna served with dedication for so many years. I am both honored and humbled to carry on this work. The image of boarding a plane feels appropriate as we bid farewell to Donna, recalling the blessing that she has been to us. May she be welcomed and embraced by that great cloud of queer witnesses as she takes her final flight.  Soar in power, good and faithful servant!

—Craig Hoffman