St. Louis Area Open & Affirming Congregations of the United Church of Christ
A message from andy lang
Coalition 50th Anniversary National Gathering in August!
Dear Open and Affirming family! Fifty years ago, in 1972, a courageous and visionary band of queer leaders in the United Church of their Christ (with their straight allies) founded the "UCC Gay Caucus," the forerunner of the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ. Earlier that year, the Golden Gate Association in California ordained Bill Johnson—the first openly gay man to be authorized for ministry in an historic Protestant denomination. This year's National ONA Gathering will celebrate this milestone in our beloved church. We'll celebrate the past 50 years and the extraordinary growth in our movement from small beginnings, honor our elders, and learn from each other the ways our movement needs to expand its vision at the beginning of our second half-century. Join us on Zoom August 5, 6, 7 for this once-in-a-lifetime event. Events will be scheduled in the evenings, enabling Hawai'i and western time zones to participate. We'll announce registration in the spring, but in the meantime please mark these dates on your calendar! As with National Gatherings in the past, there will be soul-expanding worship and mind-expanding keynotes. I'm looking forward to seeing each of you! With every blessing, Andy Lang Executive Director Open and Affirming Coalition United Church of Christ A Message from Sharon Love:DonationsAs a non-profit group, we welcome and appreciate any donations you wish to send. Checks can be made payable to "Gateway ONA" and sent to:
Mr. Greg Schmelig, Treasurer Parkway United Church of Christ 2841 North Ballas Road Saint Louis, MO 63131 Other communications may be sent to Gateway ONA 3510 Giles Avenue Saint Louis, MO 63116 |
Join us for our third annual Drag Queen Bingo!
Rainbow Comma T-ShirtsGateway ONA now offers year-round online t-shirt sales! We have a RedBubble account where you can order the classic rainbow comma logo, or the UCC's new "3 Great Loves" rainbow comma logo. Standard shipping is 5-9 days, the products are delivered straight to your home, and we have all sorts of shirt styles as well as mugs and other items!
Classic Rainbow Comma "3 Great Loves" Rainbow Comma We are selling the shirts at cost, so Gateway ONA makes no profit on them. You pay only for your shirt and its shipping cost. Due to limitations in Redbubble's interface, some of the shirt styles allow you to select white or grey background colors. We ask that you choose a "rainbow" color as the background color of your shirt. This is both so that the white writing on the shirt is readable, and so that we look colorful in the PrideFest parade. Thank you, and please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Gateway ONA Resource line
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WE ARE UCCThe United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse community of Christians that come together as one church to join faith and action. We believe in a God that is still speaking, a God that is all-loving and inclusive. We are a church that welcomes and accepts everyone as they are, where your mind is nourished as much as your soul. Our faith is over 2,000 years old...our thinking is NOT.
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WE ARE OPEN & AFFIRMINGTo say that a UCC church is “Open and Affirming” means that it has publicly and specifically declared that those of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions (LGBTQ) are welcome in its full life and ministry. ONA congregations offer a spirit of hospitality and show a willingness to live out that extravagant welcome in meaningful ways.
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WE ARE GATEWAYGateway ONA is a coalition of LGBTQ Open & Affirming congregations of the United Church of Christ (UCC) in the St. Louis area. We provide support to our member churches, run a resource hotline, host annual events to educate on LGBT issues and have a presence at PRIDE.
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