The Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ offers our deepest sympathies to the Rev. Ann B. Day and all who mourn the passing of Donna Enberg. We hold Ann, their loved ones, and all who grieve in our hearts and prayers, asking for peace and comfort during this time of profound loss.
Donna, along with her wife, Ann, created the UCC's Open and Affirming (ONA) program in 1987. Enberg continued as the program's treasurer for 20 years until her retirement in 2007.
Together, Ann and Donna were instrumental in developing the most successful and fastest-growing LGBTQ+-affirming church movement in the world.
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From the UCC Open and Affirming Coalition:
Join Us for #GiveOUTDay and Our #Pride Fundraiser!
We are excited to announce that the Open and Affirming Coalition is participating in #GiveOUTDay, the only national giving event for the LGBTQ+ community. This is our chance to make a real difference and we need the help of our amazing supporters to reach our goals!
Donations are now being accepted and every contribution counts. Not only do your donations directly support our work, but they also help us compete for Leaderboard prizes through friendly competitions with other LGBTQ+ organizations! These are thousands of additional dollars awarded to organizations with the most unique donors in their category. Your donation could be the one that helps us win!
Click the headline to see how to help.
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ONA NEXT is a powerful webinar that shares best practices we’ve learned from thriving Open and Affirming churches, including tips on marketing, communication, ministry and advocacy. Learn how other ONA congregations are attracting new members, building relationships with their LGBTQ+ neighbors, and making a difference in their communities.
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The Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ has opened applications for a new Executive Director. The application deadline is Nov. 25. The start date is Dec. 19.
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National Open and Affirming Gathering brought together ONA activists from across the country. For some, it was an opportunity to learn that the United Church of Christ is not yet “100% Open and Affirming.” With 35% of our congregations certified as ONA, we have both room and moral urgency to grow. For others, National Gathering was an introduction to new voices as we began to imagine together what our movement could become over the next fifty years.
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From the UCC Open and Affirming Coalition:
Join us Aug. 5-7 for our first National ONA Gathering since 2019! Our virtual event celebrate the 50th anniversaries of the ONA Coalition and Bill Johnson's ordination as the first openly gay man authorized to serve an historic Christian church as a minister of word and sacrament.
From Friday to Sunday evenings, our celebration will offer inspiring worship, powerful testimonies, and stories from our growing movement. We'll honor the past, lift up the present, and claim our visions for the future.
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This year's National ONA Gathering will celebrate this milestone in our beloved church. We'll celebrate the past 50 years and the extraordinary growth in our movement from small beginnings, honor our elders, and learn from each other the ways our movement needs to expand its vision at the beginning of our second half-century.
Join us on Zoom August 5, 6, 7 for this once-in-a-lifetime event.
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