WE ARE AN OPEN AND AFFIRMING (ONA) CONGREGATION OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
WHAT IS AN ONA CHURCH?
“Open and Affirming” (ONA) is a movement of more than 1,500 churches and other ministries in the United Church of Christ that welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) members.
"Everyone is Welcome..." WHY WE BECAME AN ONA CHURCH
LGBTQ persons are so accustomed to being the exception to that stated “everyone” that they and their loved ones must overcome a tremendous barrier to take a chance on being open to a church. A statement lessens that barrier. Intense debate about the place of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and gender non-conforming people in our society has occurred for many years. Widespread discrimination and hostility continues. Amid this, many Christian churches proclaim that homosexuality is sinful. Not all Christians agree. Many Christians believe that persons of all sexual orientations are part of God’s good gift.
OUR COVENANT
The people of God at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Mechanicsburg, 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 identity or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, and economic status.
We acknowledge that throughout history, the Christian church has often condemned and excluded gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and non-heteronormative people 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 to end all oppression and discrimination that afflict God’s people in our society. We commit ourselves to nondiscrimination in the full life, ministry, and sacraments of this church, including membership, leadership, and employment practices. We will condemn all acts of harassment, discrimination, and violence against God’s people. We will seek to include and support those, who, because of fear and prejudice, find themselves in exile from a spiritual community. We affirm all relationships founded on the principles of God’s love and justice. We pledge ourselves to be a wellspring of faith for a diverse people.
ABOUT OUR COVENANT
On May 18, 2003, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ declared itself an Open and Affirming congregation, after a period of prayer, study, and conversation. On May 20, 2018 we reaffirmed our Covenant at our 15th year ONA celebration. With this reaffirmation, we updated terminology that has changed over the past 15 years since St. Paul's UCC became Open and Affirming.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE OPEN AND AFFIRMING COALITION OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, HEAD TO THEIR WEBSITE.
11/13/2025
To The American Public, Its Political Leaders, and Moral Teachers,
As heads of diverse religious traditions in the United States, our faiths call on us to proclaim that transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people deserve respect, love, and equal rights. During a time when our country is placing their lives under increasingly serious threat, there is a disgraceful misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender – a great many of us do. Let it be known instead that our beloveds are created in the image of God – Holy and whole.
Our religions vary, yet we share a fundamental belief across our traditions that all people hold infinite value and dignity, and we are morally compelled to care for those living under persecution. Our scriptures vary, but they share a common conviction. As we make justice our aim we must give voice to those who are silenced. Our shared values, held across many faiths, teach us that we are all children of God and that we must cultivate a discipline of hope, especially in difficult times. As such, we raise our voices in solidarity to unequivocally proclaim the holiness of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, as well as the recognition of the entire spectrum of gender identity and expression.
Too many entrusted with positions of power are demonizing transgender people, blaming them for acts of violence, and criminalizing their very right to occupy space in our common life. The fear that many transgender children, their families, and their loved ones experience is unacceptable. The drive to limit the ways that transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people authentically live their lives – by limiting the medical care they receive, ignoring and sometimes provoking acts of violence against them, preventing them from traveling freely, or keeping them from participating in public activities — is a betrayal of our deeply held values as people of faith.
As a nation, we have often failed to live up to the ideals of equality and justice that safeguard the foundation of a free society. Yet throughout our history, in periods of great struggle and division, people of faith and good will have come forward to defend the very values that define American democracy. It is from that religious legacy that we speak today.
When people of faith and conscience stay silent in the face of oppression, we are all made less whole. When people of faith and conscience speak out against that which violates the sacred in its own name, we have the power to stay the hand of sin. Transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people are vulnerable today. Our faiths, our theologies, and our practices of prophetic witness call on us to say with one voice to transgender people among us: “You are holy. You are sacred. We love you. We support you, and we will protect you.”
Our transgender, intersex, and nonbinary beloveds offer a singular gift. They invite us to witness our broken world through the knowledge that, when we lead in truth and love, nothing is beyond transformation.
Signed,
The Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, President
Unitarian Universalist Association
The Rev. Elder Cecilia Eggleston, Moderator
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC)
Presiding Prelate Yvette A. Flunder
The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM)
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President
Union for Reform Judaism
The Rev. Jihyun Oh, Stated Clerk and Executive Director
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Rev. Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada
Presiding Bishop Sean W. Rowe
The Episcopal Church
The Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, General Minister and President / CEO
United Church of Christ
Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., President and CEO
Reconstructing Judaism
United Church of Christ Statement
The United Church of Christ (UCC) celebrates the many diversities among us as a blessing of our Creator God and stands with those who are targeted by hate and injustice. In 2003, the General Synod of the United Church of Christ resolved “to take the lead in ending discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons and to actively counter public perceptions that view the Christian community as supporting such discrimination.” Demonizing and dehumanizing treatment of transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse persons is anathema to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who teaches us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In 2023, the UCC reaffirmed that transgender and nonbinary persons are beloved by God who bear “unique gifts and graces from the Divine for the life of the church and society.” The UCC embraces the gifts and the very being of transgender and nonbinary persons as blessed children of God.