Open and Affirming – ONA

Our church welcomes everyone.  We are one of a few “LGBTQ friendly” churches in Greensboro, and have been for over 20 years.

Open and Affirming is a bit of church-speak from the days when it was controversial for churches to welcome LGBTQ community to worship.  ONA, like the rainbow flags symbol, was code for, you are welcome here.  We meant it then and we mean it today.

Our denomination, the United Church of Christ, was the first denomination in the U.S. to embrace full participation by everyone, including people in the LGBTQ community.  We were the first to ordain a gay man.  We were the first to officially recognize and advocate for gay marriage.   In 2014 the UCC was the lead plaintiff in the North Carolina case that led to the 4th Circuit Court to strike down “Amendment One”, which sought to constitutionally ban gay and lesbian marriage in North Carolina.  That case was one of number that stemmed from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2014.