Open and Affirming?

I found myself drawn into a lengthy email conversation a week or so ago that I think the Shiloh community might be interested in knowing. It involved the United Church of Christ stance that many of us know of as "Open and Affirming (ONA)."

The "Open and Affirming" stance states that congregations are both open to and affirming of persons and couples in same gender relationships. It says that the doors of the church are open to persons from the LGBT community, and that we affirm that lifestyle. Shiloh is not technically an "ONA" congregation.

A colleague of mine was examining Shiloh's website recently and emailed me, shocked that Shiloh was not an official ONA congregation. She has known me for some years, knows many of my theological and social values, and had always believed me to be a person who was welcoming of all persons, regardless of race, creed, national origin, gender or lifestyle.

She went on to explain that some biblical models seem to exclude persons, mainly on a social/cultural basis, but that the contemporary church should not be a part of such exclusion. She included several links to sites where I could access more information on those (six) biblical texts and how we might better understand them in a contemporary setting.

She wondered how I, a pastor of pretty consistent thinking and theology, could serve a congregation that is not officially ONA. Quite frankly, she went on and on and on, trying to convince me that the congregation that I serve must have led me down a more conservative path than she assumed that I would have followed. She even said that she was disappointed in me.

Well...

It is true that Shiloh is not technically an ONA congregation. There are two factors that have led to that factor that my colleague has failed to recognize. I explained in my return email:

There are two reasons that Shiloh is not ONA, neither of them accounted for in your earlier email.
 1. ONA does not include all persons. How about issues of race, gender, national origin, economic status, social order, healthiness, residence, background or dress? None of these are addressed in the ONA stance. Shiloh believes in the equality of all persons, not just some. Therefore, the ONA stance does not go far enough for the way this congregation practices its faith.
2. Shiloh is radically welcoming. Ask the couples and families of every description who attend and who take part in the congregation's ministries. Ask our Indonesian, Hispanic, African-American, gay, artistic, conservative, progressive participants whether or not they are made to feel welcome as we work side-by-side in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Shiloh seeks to practice instead of taking political stances. We just do.

The remainder of the email was a request that perhaps we should gain information before judging or jumping to conclusion. Just because Shiloh is not technically ONA does not mean that we are not a welcoming community that stands in allegiance with persons of whatever description. This congregation prefers instead to claim that everyone is welcome here, no matter where they have been, what they have done, or where they might be on life's journey. Shiloh's doors are genuinely open and the congregation genuinely affirms every person. The congregation lives its faith. I am proud to serve here.