In our worship yesterday, we celebrated being an Open & Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ. Since I came to Calvary in 1999, I have been pushing the idea that we should be a place where all people feel safe, and in 2013 we voted to publicly, in a sense, come out. We lost some members, but our outreach has expanded in so many ways that the process was well worth it. In our worship yesterday, we prayed and recited words that reminded us just how much it matters to LGBTQ+ folks – and their families – and to all of us – that they are loved, welcomed, and accepted. And that God loves them as much as God loves each one of us. There is so much value in being told we are worthy of love, and that goes for all people.
Becoming Open & Affirming was not an easy process, especially since we were the first UCC congregation in this part of Pennsylvania to go through the process. Two years of discussing, reading, learning, listening, disagreeing – two years of hoping, encouraging, convincing, talking – it was an exhausting process, but well worth the sweat and tears (no blood was shed, thankfully!) We joined a handful of other congregations of different denominational flavors in this designation, and, together, we stand with non-straight people in their journey to be recognized as equals with the rest of us. That recognition is a political, legal, and societal process, and I truly believe that God sees all of us as equal. Human beings often need to catch up to God’s call.
When marriage equality became legal, many thought that the journey was over. They thought that the country had finally gotten to the promised land. As we have seen in recent years, this is not true. Branded as a form of “wokeness”, LGBTQ+ acceptance is under attack by fringe religious fanatics who think they know what God wants. They will do whatever it takes to remove equal rights from those they disagree with. Congregations like mine will continue to stand against the storms of bigotry and ignorance; we will continue to support those who are under attack. And we will lift up the value of ONA inclusion in everything we do, just like we stand with all people of good intent against hatred. To those who are under attack – thank you for your courage – and to those doing the attacking – we will continue to pray for you. Because God’s love is more powerful than your hate. And love will win.
Prayer – Holy God, in Your name we lift our voices to support one another against those who would destroy us. Thank You. Amen.