Be Part of the Movement
Open and Affirming (ONA) is the United Church of Christ’s (UCC) designation for congregations, campus ministries, conferences, and other settings in the UCC that make a public, collective commitment to welcome, affirm, and celebrate persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. ONA churches commit to the work of Building an Inclusive Church and creating a culture within the Church that extravagantly welcomes people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) as a part of the Church’s love for all people.
The Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota Conferences joined this growing movement with a public commitment to be LGBTQ+ Inclusive Conferences and Open and Affirming settings of the United Church of Christ. The Conferences invite all congregations to be a part of the holy work of Building an Inclusive Church, participating in Brave Spaces for dialogue and learning, and embracing similar covenants of inclusivity and welcome in their local church.
What’s the Next Step?
- Connect with a Collaborating Partner
- Read the “Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit”
- Join in with others in the Building an Inclusive Church Online Training
- Participate in BRAVE SPACE: Open Conversations for LGBTQ+ Inclusive and ONA Congregations in the Making
- Explore additional LGBTQ+ Inclusive and Open and Affirming Church Resources to inspire your next faithful step
Download the Building an Inclusive Church Toolkit
Building an LGBTQ+ Inclusive Church is about creating a culture within your congregation. The Building an Inclusive Church toolkit is a step-by-step guide to help facilitate a journey in your faith community and extend a specific welcome to people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. Download a copy of the Toolkit specifically adapted for the Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota Conferences of the UCC.
Building an Inclusive Church Online Training
Join in with others exploring how to build an inclusive church in this day-long online training. Building an Inclusive Church (BIC) training helps your church team learn to design and implement a journey for your faith community to publicly and intentionally welcome people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. Building an Inclusive Church Training equips you with ways to create dialogue, deepening relationships throughout your faith community rather than sparking debate and division.
More Resources for Becoming an LGBTQ+ Inclusive and Open and Affirming Church
Collaborating Partners
The Conference’s Collaborating Partners are available to help your congregation with creating Brave Space, moving towards being an inclusive church, and striving to be an anti-racist church. They collaborate with leaders via phone or video conference to help a church create a culture for Brave Space, plan, answer questions and dialogue about best practices and resources, build momentum, and expand programs for learning and action. Request to be connected with a Conference Collaborating Partner by emailing [email protected] or by calling the Conference Office 515-277-6369.