By Jason Carson Wilson Justice and Peace Policy Fellow, Justice and Witness Ministries We asked Jason Carson Wilson from Justice and Witness Ministries’ Washington office to blog about “Creating Change,” the annual gathering of the National LGBTQ Task Force. Creating Change created community and connections. That…
We’ve just welcomed Open and Affirming church #1300! That means exactly 26 percent of UCC congregations are Open and Affirming. We’re the largest and fastest-growing LGBT-affirming church movement in the world! But 26 percent is not 100 percent. Let’s work together to build an Open and Affirming…
“Religious Exemption” laws—an attempt to give private business owners and public officials a legal basis for discrimination—is the latest threat to LGBT civil rights, says Andy Lang, executive director of the UCC’s Open and Affirming Coalition. The Coalition is asking General Synod to approve a resolution…
RIPPLES June 12, 2015 Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ Are you ready for marriage equality? The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on marriage equality. If the decision overturns the remaining state laws banning same-sex marriage, UCC clergy and…
The Open and Affirming Coalition Tuesday joined the Collegium of the United Church of Christ in a statement opposing Indiana’s law legalizing anti-LGBT discrimination on the basis of “religious freedom.” “Public businesses should not be allowed to deny service in restaurants, evict tenants from their…
Open and Affirming Coalition Executive Director Andy Lang at Friday’s vigil for Leelah Alcorn in Cleveland: “It’s critical for Christians and Jews and Muslims and other people of faith who know that the transgender community are made in the image and likeness of God not…
The United Church of Christ played a role in the decision Friday by U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby overturning the Utah ban on same-sex marriage. Shelby argued that marriage equality would protect the religious freedom of churches that want to marry gay and lesbian…
Dave Knapp, a member of First Congregational Church in Guilford, Conn., joined the Boy Scouts of America in 1938. He was expelled 55 years later when the Scouts learned he was gay. Since then, he’s campaigned tirelessly for a change in the Boy Scouts’ policy…
The World Council of Churches (website and Facebook page) is the largest international ecumenical body. Founded in 1949 in the aftermath of World War II, it unites Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox Christians. Its General Assembly is meeting this week in Busan, Republic of Korea. The…
The Open and Affirming Coalition advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in the United Church of Christ and beyond, and equips UCC congregations to become effective witnesses to Christ’s extravagant welcome. Read more 