02/02/2023 - For the Old Order of Things has Passed Away – (Queer) Apocalypse and the Call to Abolition
By: Michael Streib - Conference staffThen I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had ...
Blogs
Blogs
12/08/2022 - An Advent People: Queer Christians in Times of Violence
By: Michael StreibIt was a sunny Sunday morning, and I was getting ready for church and our observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance when I heard the news from Colorado: A gunman ...
11/18/2022 - The Power of Remembrance: Joy in the Midst of Grief
By: Michael Streib - Conference programmingOn this Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), I am excited to share a small collection of comments and perspectives of transgender and non-binary people as they discuss ...
10/31/2022 - Local Pastor Takes a Stand for LGBTQIA+ Youth
By: Michael Streib - Conference staff"This is why my Christian faith requires that I speak out to remind us that human rights belong to everyone as equally beloved of God. No exceptions. This knowledge is ...
10/26/2022 - LGBT Asylum Task Force will Visit Churches
By: Judy Hanlon - Conference programmingIn the work of the LGBT Asylum Task Force, our Open and Affirming commitment combines with our desire to be an Immigrant Welcoming Church. And in the process, lives are ...
10/11/2022 - “Letting In” Instead of “Coming Out” – Thoughts on National Coming Out Day
By: Michael Streib - Conference staffOne of my friends told me about her wishes for a coming-out party when she was growing up....
08/30/2022 - Local Church Asylum Program Takes In 38 People
By: Judy Hanlon - Church InnovationHenry, from Uganda, was a pastor’s son. When his father discovered that he had a boyfriend, the family and church ‘sentenced’ him to conversion therapy. Henry suffered ...
06/28/2022 - PRIDE & Mental Health
By: Deborah Ringen - Conference staffFor all my life I have believed that all people deserve equality of human rights, access to healthcare and fair, equal treatment under the law and basic humanity of our ...
06/23/2021 - Today's Open and Affirming is More Than Just Queer
- Conference programmingAn SNEUCC Annual Meeting Conversation led by the Rev. Dr. Fran Bogle and Kathie Carpenter Holy One, we are working for justice. Fill us with your love each day. Amen ~ ...
06/22/2021 - Just Peace Players: We're Still Here!
By: Frances BogleNancy Reed, Martha Crawford, and Fran Bogle Just Peace Players is a liturgical drama troupe committed to sharing its many visions of peace and justice through the ...
07/30/2019 - LGBT Asylum Seeker at the Border Released to UCC Church
By: Judy Hanlon - Justice and WitnessIn the middle of May, I received an email from Paralegal Erin Anderson from Al Otro Lago, an agency that works at the border to free folks in detention and provide ...
07/11/2019 - Celebration and Pride
By: Kathie Carpenter - Justice and WitnessCelebrate, Agitate, Activate - ONA35 On June 15, supporters of Open and Affirming gathered from around the Mass Conference to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the ...
11/07/2018 - A Place to Call Home
By: Karen Methot - Justice and WitnessCommunity – that basic human impulse to be part of a group, particularly one that understands your struggles and offers support and friendship.
11/09/2017 - Time for Churches to Mark Transgender Remembrance Sunday
By: Thomas Gregory Gray - Justice and WitnessIt is hard to believe how time has flown by since we all met together in June for Annual Meeting in Hartford. At Annual Meeting we accomplish many things for the work of ...
02/08/2017 - The Importance of an Extravagant Welcome
By: Cecile Gilson - Church Innovation Justice and WitnessIt is more important than ever for us as people of God to welcome all into the safety and embrace of our church communities. Our LGBTQ friends are hungry for a place to ...
11/28/2016 - Post-Election Vigil Spurs Increased Worship Attendance
By: Todd Weir - Church Innovation Justice and WitnessWe discovered that many who attended our post-election vigil were looking for a safe place in the midst of uncertainty.
11/17/2016 - Guest Blog: Community Listening Sparks Hope and Healing
By: Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager - Justice and Witness"Offering a space for folks to come together, mourn, and speak their own truths is an act of resistance in itself." - Rev. Laura Fitzpatrick-Nager
06/29/2016 - A place of anger as well as grief
by Rev. Andrea Ayvazian Haydenville Congregational Church Friday, June 17, 2016 On Monday evening, our church in Haydenville held a service in response to the shootings...
07/17/2015 - Are We Over the Rainbow Yet?
By: Kathie Carpenter - General SynodThe U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming marriage equality came down on June 26, 2015. It was approaching twelve years since the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling of ‘...
07/06/2015 - I'm a Christian, Therefore I Support Same-Sex Marriage
Last week, in a landmark opinion, the US Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples would be allowed to marry in all fifty states. And that banning them would violate the ...
06/26/2015 - First Day at Synod
By: Tracy Keene - General SynodThe first day of General Synod was a bit hazy for me, having driven straight from Boston with my husband and two children and arrived in Cleveland at 2 AM. Despite the ...
06/26/2015 - God in Unexpected Places
By: Christina Walker-Morin - General SynodHow appropriate that this year's theme at General Synod 30 is Unexpected Places and that today the Supreme Court solidified marriage equality through out the United ...
09/17/2014 - A New Church for a New Generation
By: Donna Spencer Collins - Church InnovationThere is a church in Haverhill embarking on a path towards a new rebirth for this generation. Who is this generation? These are the children who heard a splintered and ...
04/28/2014 - UCC's landmark lawsuit is an important step in defense of freedom
By: James AntalUCC files suit against North Carolina contesting the constitutionality of their state laws on marriage.
02/27/2012 - Celebrating 1,000 ONA Churches...it all began here!
By: Kathie CarpenterTwenty-eight years after the first ONA resolution was passed by the MA Conference, there are 1,000 ONA churches nation-wide.