Opening & Affirming Committee
"Open and Affirming" means that we publicly declared that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people (or those of all sexual orientations) are welcome in the full life and ministry this church. The Open and Affirming Committee (ONA), a Committee reporting to the Board of Outreach and Social Justice, was created to continually develop the Open and Affirming stance of First Congregational Church, Long Beach .
The ONA Committee is responsible for the presence of the church at Long Beach PRIDE festival and parade. The committee sponsors forums for the congregation on issues of justice related to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities. Each year we sponsor a church-wide Mardi Gras party with food, dancing and fun! We have hosted an art show by Ivy Bottini, a noted Lesbian activist and artist, as well as a Lesbian theater troupe, Lavender Roses. The ONA committee sponsored a display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 2004.
The Committee was instrumental in developing the groundbreaking Resolution Affirming Equal Marriage Rights Regardless of Gender which was adopted by the United Church of Christ General Synod in July 2005.
The ONA Committee is currently working on education and programs for gay/lesbian youth, youth with gay/lesbian parents, and gay/lesbian parents.
