I heard about the UCC today through a coworker who said she was planning to take an internship to help with GLBTQ communities and AIDS awareness and the first thing that came to mind was "what church is doing that kind of work?".

Growing up Catholic and having been introduced to the Disciples of Christ ( a Christian Church my sister belongs to) i noticed that there is one similar theme amongst those religions; to fear God and his wrath. Recently in the past year I have had a closer relationship to God but it has been very personal like praying and having conversations with him while i was driving to work but beyond having that personal connection I wanted to get to know people who share the same feelings toward religions in general.

As a young gay man I found it hard to adjust to a church when I knew some condemned homosexuality; it was hypocritical of me to attend somewhere where iw asnt wanted. Not only that but I also noticed how distant members are and I wanted to find a way to be closer to God and to other people who share that same love for him.

Just sharing my experiences and hoping that some day soon I attend a service.

Much Love 

Victor aka BrAT

baronsabato had a good answer re Other communities:

"GLBTQQIA students- students who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, intersex, and allies of all the above"

Please understand that it isn't just fear and apprehension of going to a new church. I haven't been to any kind of church for years. I suppose I might need to divulge a lot of my self history, thoughts and experiences to fully explain. For the moment, let's live with knowing that I've had some really truly horrible experiences. I have sat in the ejector seat and experienced it fully, and being a stubborn woman with an unusual history, I have experienced it more than once.

It is a testament to UCC's advertising that I would even come here and check out what's going on. I already know (and believe me very fully experienced) that I am not welcome in a Christian church, even one that says it is open and affirming.

I have well learned to trust churches in a way that they do not wish to be trusted.

I stopped claiming to be a Christian years ago. When asked, I now say that I am a student of an ancient school. Enough good Christians and churches convinced me that I can never ever be a Christian nor that I would ever be welcome in a Christian church of any kind.

So, I am doing my utmost to maintain a good mood, and be a good guest at this party you have going on here, while I gain some understanding about the UCC, its theology, diversity, and all things UCC - and if I might ever be able to bring myself to walk into a church ever again.

I hope that helps explain at least a bit of the vector.

I'm not sure that I have specific questions that I want to ask at this moment. I suspect that I may present tough questions. Maybe not. Here is a question that I would ask:

I have found that a good number of Christian churches support legally mandated surgical genital mutilation of infant intersexed individuals for cosmetic purposes in order to conform to a physical gender stereotype, without regard to the individual's future psychological and possibly physical well-being.

What is the UCC stance?

I have found that a good number of Christian churches support legally mandated surgical genital mutilation of infant intersexed individuals for cosmetic purposes in order to conform to a physical gender stereotype, without regard to the individual's future psychological and possibly physical well-being.

What is the UCC stance?

My, you do like to ask tough ones. ... Theoretically, I can see a case for medical necessity, but on a practical level, I can't imagine a situation where surgery couldn't be postponed ...

As for joining a UCC church, or even just visiting, no worries. This isn't "hard-sell" evangelism. It'll happen organically, if it happens at all. Certainly, no one wants to re-open old wounds.

Yes, sir, I strongly suspect you are not alone in any of those thoughts. :)

Let's grant there may be unusual cases and hope for the best. I've written responses to Christian organizations' statements supporting this practice; I guess you could say I have some knowledge available to me on the subject. My apologies for throwing you a hard curveball like that. Please forgive me.

As I have said, I'm doing my best to keep a good mood and be a good guest. I'm sorry that I can't help it: some questions will be tough and some may be alien. Answers may be tougher. I am happy to learn the answers to my questions just by being a good guest at this fine party.

It is also interesting to me to see if some answers will come of their own accord. Who are the people that go to UCC churches? What are they like? Is there a place for me there? And if so, what do I choose to do?

See? I have my own tough questions to answer, too. You are not alone. :)

Victor, welcome to this site.  I'm so glad you are sharing your experiences here.  And I'm glad you are checking out the UCC.   We do strive to be open and loving to all God's children, and GLBTQ are definitely God's children!  (the Q on the end is new to me also.)    So again I say, Welcome!  I look forward to getting to know you.

Lisa (i.guide)

Thank you. Very much. Your post speaks volumes to me. That is surely an extravagant welcome, and I truly appreciate it greatly.

Dan did give a very good answer. Let's hope I am not sent here as practice for really tough questions. ;)

It sounds as if you've had your share of painful church experiences, Shahrazad. However, I invite you to take another step forward. As you say, you've already taken a bold step by checking out our website, and another by deciding to join the conversation.

As a pastor, I've served a GLBT congregation where most of the people had been thrown out of their churches for being gay. They were told they had to confess before the congregation, to stop behaving that way, to change their ways--to conform to a heterosexist norm, in other words. This didn't stop them--it simply encouraged them to seek the church in which people were accepted the way Jesus accepted people. In the Gospels, we're told that Jesus met everybody where they were--wherever they were. He saw them in the midst of their lives, offered them hope and promise for the future, and gave them the respect and honor they each deserved. I encourage you to read Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John just looking for stories of Jesus' interaction with others.

Then I encourage you to attend a ONA UCC church. Just go, smile, sit down, shake hands if one is offered. Observe. Watch the people around you. Do they come in and sit down and never look to see who else is sitting in the pew with them? Do they greet their neighbors, wave to someone, introduce themselves? During worship, do they just sit there, or do they stand when invited to do so as part of the dance of the liturgy? Do they pray with prayers are being offered? Do they sing the hymns? Do they listen to the sermon and respond to what is being said? Listen to the announcements of joy and concern, of activities for the coming week. Is this church doing its job? Is it truly a community of people gathered to worship God and to work for the betterment of the world?

You can attend and give the church this kind of test. Every time a new person comes into our sanctuary, we're taking a test: will we meet the needs of this person, or are we missing the boat entirely? However, please, for your own spiritual health, don't go to church every Sunday with this kind of test on your mind. Go with joy, go because you desire a closer relationship with God and with God's human followers. Go in thanksgiving, go in peace, go in search. May you find a place where you feel at home. May you find a place where you can join the seekers and askers of hard questions, where your questions will be heard and where others will help you work on the answers. We're not the Church of Short Answers. We do, however, enthusiastically work together on finding better questions, and faithful seeking after truth.

One suggestion: saying "never" often keeps us from exploring a path when we are otherwise ready to do so. If I say I'll never darken the door of any church again, then I can use that as an excuse to do just that. Probably a more healthy way to express frustration with a particular entity at a particular time in our lives is to say I'll give this a pass for now, and wait for a better time and place to try again. It may take years, but "never" is way too long to wait. God bless your search.

Pastor Barbara

Auntie Mame said that life is a banquet and most poor slobs are starving to death. I agree. You can think of the UCC as the banquet hall. The banquet is starting, and we're all invited. We each have a place at the table, and our companions are interesting people who are care bout each other. We talk about God and Jesus, the world and ourselves. We work on how we might make the door to the hall more accessible to more people. We tell and listen to stories about the history of the church, the history of the world, the possibilities for the future. We laugh and weep together. We wash each other's feet and help those who need their food cut into smaller bites. We wonder what's next on the menu, and discover it with delight. We help God plan the menu, shop, cook, and serve the banquet. And we all sit down together at the table. All of us. From all times and places and situations. And we all thank God for blessing this good world.

Pastor Barbara

The "Q" is for questioning. 

While some people know from the time they are very young (4-5 years old) that they are gay or straight or bisexual or transgendered some do not.  I've heard people say they were well into adulthood before they knew. 

Another excellent movie is about orthodox Jews who are GLBT, called "Trembling Before G-d". The search for spiritual acceptance, for spiritual life, is universal.

Let's all pray, next time we talk to God, for all seekers, for those who have not yet found a place to call home, for those who bar the doors to keep people out, for those who are blind and deaf to the possibilities for abundant life, for those who cripple or who are crippled by unhelpful representations and unwelcoming assumptions about God, people, and faith.

Pastor Barbara, i guide for Opening the Bible