Sample ONA Statements

Saint Paul’s United Church of Christ, St. Paul, Minn. – January 2000

We, the Congregation of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God’s grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation.

Little River UCC, Annandale, VA – October 2001

Little River United Church of Christ is an open and affirming church, embracing diversity in our congregation and community, and affirming the dignity and worth of every person created in the image of God. We continue to honor our founding principle that discrimination is incompatible with Christ’s Gospel of unconditional love. We welcome into full membership and participation in the Body of Christ persons of every race, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, economic or marital status, and faith background. We affirm and celebrate all loving and committed relationships. We acknowledge the history of the institutional church in condemning and excluding gay lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons, and in condoning such discrimination by its silence. We commit ourselves to work diligently to end such oppression and discrimination. Following the example of Jesus Christ, we hereby declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming Church.

Kanaana Hou – Siloama UCC, Kalaupapa, HI – March 1998

We the members of Kanaana Hou-Siloama United Church of Christ believe God’s Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ call us to love our neighbors as we would want to be loved. Jesus teaches us to welcome all God’s children into God’s covenantal community. We welcome our gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender sisters and brothers to join with us in hearing Jesus’ call to share God’s love in the full life, ministry and witness of our struggle for justice and peace. We believe God loves us all and calls us into community to covenant with one another to share the good news of God’s love. In covenant, as members of Christ’s church, we celebrate God’s love for people of different race, gender, age, sexual orientation, faith, nationality, ethnicity, marital status, physical disability, and mental and emotional disability. We the members of Kanaana Hou-Siloama United Church of Christ pray our sister churches will work with us to invite all God’s children into our “na ohana” (families). We believe it is time for our churches to open their doors to the movement of God’s Holy Spirit to be open and affirming of all people.

Old First Reformed Church
United Church of Christ
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Approved Open and Affirming Resolution
November 19, 1995

The people of God at Old First Reformed Church, United Church of Christ, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, affirm our regard for the worth and dignity of all persons as beloved children of God. We recognize, celebrate, and give thanks for the many diverse gifts of God among us. We declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming congregation, welcoming into full membership and participation in the Body of Christ persons of every race, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, and economic status.

We acknowledge that throughout history the Christian church has often condemned and excluded gay, lesbian and bisexual persons from the community of faith, or has condoned such condemnation and exclusion by its silence. We hold that such discrimination is incompatible with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We commit ourselves to work diligently and to end all oppression and discrimination which afflict God’s people in our society. We affirm all relationships founded on the principles of God’s love and justice.

We pledge ourselves to be a wellspring of fai

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