By Believe Out Loud

Next Tuesday, the United Church of Christ will announce the #1,000 Opening and Affirming church in the UCC. “Feb. 21 will be a family-wide celebration for Open and Affirming churches in the United Church of Christ!” they announced yesterday. If you’re looking for ways your congregation can celebrate this important milestone, the UCC offers some suggestions:

• Take some time during worship on Feb. 26 to give thanks for the Coalition’s ONA ministry and renew your own ONA covenant. Link to worship resources here.
• Renew your congregation’s commitment to live fully into its ONA commitment. Contact the Coalition for ideas.
• Pledge that you will join with other ONA congregations in your Conference to grow the ONA movement beyond its present boundaries. As we celebrate our 1,000 ONA churches and other settings, let’s not forget that 4,000 UCC congregations have not yet begun their ONA journey. Let’s pray for them, and for the LGBT youth who are growing up in all of our churches.
• Forward this post to your friends and family. Encourage them to subscribe to RIPPLES. If you haven’t already, “like” our Facebook page where we gather every day to welcome new ONA congregations into our growing family
• Plan to attend the Coalition’s National Gathering June 25-28 at Elmhurst College near Chicago. We’ll not only celebrate our ONA churches from 1 to 1,000, we’ll mark the Coalition’s 40th anniversary and honor those who planted our movement. It’ll be a celebration like no other in our history!

Learn more about being an Open and Affirming Church in the UCC

_________________
Image Wikipedia United Church of Christ