Our ONA Covenant

I was asked to give a "Mission Moment" at my church, First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, MA, about our ONA—Open and Affirming—commitment.  Here is what I said.

I.  Acronyms

• ONA = Open and Affirming
• LGBTQ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning

II.  First Church ONA statement

"Following the Spirit of Jesus, we embrace the diversity of God's creation.  As an Open and Affirming congregation, we welcome people of any sexual orientation, gender identity, family structure, race, ethnic or cultural background."

III.  My words

When James and I first got here to First Church, I wondered why you weren’t already an Open and Affirming congregation.  Your theology and mission understandings and social justice commitments seemed like the ONA piece would be a natural.  And it is.  What was lacking at that time was the public declaration of welcoming everyone to the Table.  As someone said to me, “Massachusetts is one of the leading states in terms of marriage equality and equal rights for gays and lesbians—it’s not an issue here.  So why do we have to go through a process and study it and make a public statement about it?” 

Fair enough, on the face of it.  This is quite a different context from the one we lived and worked in for 10 years in Arizona.  But when you agreed to enter the process of making the official ONA commitment, we had the opportunity to go deeper together into the continuing experience of the LGBTQ community in relation to the Christian Church overall, and here in Pittsfield.  And choosing to make that public ONA commitment has made a big difference for some, both inside and outside First Church.  One person from the LGBTQ community in Pittsfield who visited here said that coming into such a traditional old church building and seeing the rainbow hanging up front—from the pulpit no less!—made her feel immediately safe in a way she often doesn’t in churches and wasn’t expecting to in our church, given its traditional façade. 

Another young LGBTQ visitor wrote James and I this note after visiting, and gave me permission to read it to you today because it says all that needs to be said, I think.

My whole life I have felt many negative things from my church experiences.  Of course, there are many amazing, true people that I have met through my experiences growing up being a member of a church. But I have never felt like I was really a “member” of either church that I have so-called “belonged” to.   At your church, James expressed how he welcomes everyone. It is so warm. He really means everyone.  Anyone at all, without hate and without making anyone feel not wanted, not valued, not ‘right’… you can be black or white, rich or poor, gay or straight, etc.  I have never been to a church before that has said that out loud during a church service.  

First of all, growing up poor, I always felt like as a whole, my family didn’t quite fit into the cliques at the churches we went to. Most of the people that attended were middle class, or upper middle class.  We had nothing, had a single mother, and I felt very judged regularly.  

Throughout being forced to do all of the church routine as I grew up, I felt more and more and more distanced from it. It is so old…and so cold.  Cold for so many reasons. 

Being the minority in many of those categories, I have always felt not welcomed and not accepted or valued in a church, in a community, and in the main parts of my life.  I have lived through a lot of fear, anxiety, and depression for most of my life for several of these reasons.  I felt welcome and safe in your church.  It is a very new feeling.  It feels so good.  

I just really wanted to tell you how I feel, today, for you guys brought me some comfort.

 

So…I want to thank you all for doing the work to become a visibly welcoming presence here in this community and beyond, and for continuing to do the work to really welcome everyone to the Table.  It means the world to me, and to a lot of folks who often don’t feel welcome in this world.  

And if you ever find yourself thinking that this church doesn’t make a difference, just look at the rainbow hanging from the pulpit and remember how important that covenant is.