NATIONAL OPEN AND AFFIRMING SUNDAY WORSHIP RESOURCES
Every fourth Sunday of June—June 27 this year—is National Open and Affirming Sunday! This opportunity—to celebrate your ONA covenant and renew your commitment to its values—is needed now more than ever. We live in a time when national campaigns to limit LGBTQ+ freedoms and reverse our gains are gaining momentum. Our community needs ONA churches to remember the promises they made when they adopted their covenants, and to celebrate in worship and song that we are one family in Christ. Especially in a time like this, we need these occasions of celebration.
Visit the Coalition website for ONA Sunday worship resources written and edited by the Coalition’s ONA program minister, Kimi Floyd Reisch. We also offer our ONA Sunday video which congregations are welcome to use at any time. Additional resources here. And if you celebrate a Pride or ONA Sunday at a different time of year, you’re welcome to use these resources anytime!
LAST CHANCE TO BUY ‘THRIVE’ T-SHIRTS!
This is a great opportunity to get this year’s design which affirms that when we resist, we persist. And when we persist, we thrive in community as Same-Gender-Loving, Gender-Expansive and LGBTQIA+ people. Sale ends tomorrow!
RURAL PRIDE
A trend throughout the country: ONA congregations in rural communities that are organizing local Pride events—a sign of solidarity and hope for LGBTQIA+ neighbors who are often isolated and alone. One example is First Congregational Church UCC in Sheridan, WY, which helped organize their community’s Pride festival on June 5. And read this story about the Pride event in Ashtabula County, OH, cosponsored by First Congregational UCC in Jefferson.
UCC MENTAL HEALTH NETWORK IS NOW ONA!
Our newest Open and Affirming ministry is the UCC Mental Health Network, which advocates for the inclusion of people living with challenges to mental health, cognitive disabilities and brain disorders. Rejection by families and churches is a threat to the mental health of LGBTQIA+ people, and MHN is joining with the Coalition to confront these injustices. Read their inspiring ONA covenant: it's a compelling summary of the harm homophobia and transphobia have caused in the lives of our community. And learn more about MHN‘s “WISE” program for churches—an opportunity for churches to expand their ONA covenant.
DECISION DAY ON LGBTQ+ ADOPTION RIGHTS
The Supreme Court decision on a case that could curb the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans could come as early as this week. “Fulton v. Philadelphia” aims to give religious adoption agencies the right to refuse services to LGBTQ+ parents, and still demand millions in public funding. The UCC national setting and the ONA Coalition endorse the virtual “Decision Day Rally and Town Hall” that will take place on the day the ruling is released in June or July. Even if the decision favors discrimination, a high turnout will strengthen momentum for laws that protect our community. For more background, read the General Synod resolution, drafted by the Coalition, on the “Right of LGBT Parents to Adopt and Raise Children.”
ONA CALENDAR
Taizé Morning Prayer for the ONA Family
Monday through Friday, 9 and 11 am EDT
Sunday, 10 pm EDT
National ONA Sunday
June 27
General Synod (and ONA Love Feast)
July 11-18
HELP ONA GROW!
The ONA Coalition serves the largest and fastest-growing LGBTQ-affirming church movement in the world! But this mission depends on financial support from ONA churches and individuals. The Coalition is an independent non-profit: although we work in close partnership with the UCC’s national office, funding from national ministries accounts for less than five percent of our budget. Will you help us reach our goal: a church that isn’t just 33% but 100% Open and Affirming? Help us help the ONA movement grow! Your safe online contribution is tax-deductible.