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The Open and Affirming Journey
One of the most positive and rewarding processes I have ever participated in was
First Congregational’s two year journey in becoming an official Open and
Affirming congregation. A primary role of mine was to be a Biblical and
theological resource. What follows are eight chronological sermons and articles
of mine that served this pilgrimage of ours. Nearly a decade has elapsed and
weekly this congregation is blessed by its openness, diverse people, which
includes gay and lesbian people, serving and enriching our life together. We
feel the “Jesus Spirit,” like never before.
If you are relatively new to this community of faith you may not know about some
of the Biblical and theological underpinnings buttressing this decision of
ours. I have tried to avail myself of the best scholarship I know regarding the
difficult and troublesome passages of scripture that are often cited on this
subject. And, I have tried as well to be honest about my own progressive
journey around the subject of homosexuality. I offer these articles not as a
last word but as a credible word worthy of consideration and dialogue.
Some of us found that it was very difficult to reconcile our cultural
conditioning with the Open and Affirming status. Furthermore, we had to work at
hearing the relevant Biblical passages again and resist lifting a phrase or
story from its context to verify the position of our cultural conditioning. Old
ways of thinking and interpreting die slowly but our decade of being an Open
and Affirming congregation has wonderfully enriched us and moved us, we think,
deeper into the heart of love.
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The documents below are in Adobe Acrobat PDF
format. If you don't have the Adobe PDF Reader program, then
click the button at the right to download a free copy:
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| Date | Sermon | Biblical Text |
| Oct 4, 1992 | The Bible Revisited: Part 3 - Difficulties [PDF] | Genesis 19:1-1; Matthew 15:21-28; 1 Corinthians 14:33b-35; 11:2-6 [Read Verses] |
| Mar 14, 1994 | Biblical Exegesis and Theological Positions on Homosexuality [PDF] | Genesis 19:1-29; 38:1-11; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; Galatians 3:28 [Read Verses] |
| Mar 15, 1994 | To the Church Council on "Open and Affirming" [PDF] | John 2:9-11; 3:11-18 [Read Verses] |
| Oct 2, 1994 | Troublesome Bible Passages: Part 3: About Homosexuality [PDF] | Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:8-11 [Read Verses] |
| Oct 30, 1994 | Presentation at class on "Open and Affirming" [PDF] | Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:8-11 [Read Verses] |
| Aug 20, 1995 | Hospitality to Strangers [PDF] | Hebrews 13:1-8; Luke 14:1, 7-14 [Read Verses] |
| Jan 21, 1996 | Everybody’s Church-house [PDF] | Psalm 27:1, 4-9; Micah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 [Read Verses] |
| Jan 26, 1997 | Open and Affirming One Year Later [PDF] | Ephesians 2:11-22; Psalm 62:5-12 [Read Verses] |
Biblical text courtesy of:
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Open and Affirming Statement
Adopted January 21, 1996
As a diverse people who united to form the United Church of Christ,
As a pilgrim people who on our journey of faith pray for "courage in the
struggle for justice and peace",
As a compassionate people who continue to seek justice and mercy for all who are
oppressed,
We declare ourselves an Open And Affirming congregation who recognize all
people are uniquely loved and valued by God.
We welcome diversity of race, abilities, sexual orientation, gender, age,
religious backgrounds, opinion, marital status, and economic condition.
As an inclusive Christian community, we affirm each person's unique
contributions.
In our journey of faith, we seek to be responsible to God and one another.
Acknowledging the silence and discrimination that the gay community has
experienced in Church and society, we commit ourselves to continue exploring
what it means to be faithfully Open and Affirming in a changing world.
In this process, we shall strive to love each other more fully as God has
enabled us to love, rooted in an honest and compassionate relationship with one
another.
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