2608 Browns Lane, Louisville, KY 40220 

Telephone: (502) 452-1777, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Sunday School 9:15 AM; Sanctuary Worship 10:30 AM

Open and Affirming Since 2009

On Sunday, April 26, 2009, Saint Andrew UCC, Louisville took a vote and passed to become an Open and Affirming (ONA) church -- the first UCC church in the Kentuckiana Association of the Indiana-Kentucky Conference of the United Church of Christ to do so. 

For more than 30 years the national setting of the United Church of Christ has been set on a clear course of welcome and inclusion of all people.  We have particularly called upon our local congregations to engage in serious studies of human sexuality, to support the civil rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons, and in 1985 embrace our General Synod's Open and Affirming (ONA) resolution.  For a ministerial setting within the UCC (a local church, campus ministry, etc.) to be designated as "Open and Affirming" means that it has "publicly declared that 'gay, lesbian, bisexual' (GLB) people (or those of all 'sexual orientations') are welcome in its full life and ministry (e.g. membership, leadership, employment, etc.)." ONA, is a special status that is then conferred by the denomination upon such a deciding local ministry.  This shows our spirit of Christian hospitality, and a willingness to live out our welcome to all people in meaningful and supportive ways.

The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns provides significant leadership in the ONA movement, developing resources and urging congregations to become ONA.  Since 1985, more than 1,100 UCC congregations have engaged in ONA study programs and voted to be ONA congregations and many of them are among the most vital and vibrant congregations in the UCC.

 

Our UCC Conferences, Associations, seminaries, and UCC-related colleges and universities are among the various other settings and related institutions of the United Church of Christ which have declared themselves to be Open and Affirming. 

What has made all the difference in this movement is the churches and other settings which have not only declared themselves Open and Affirming, but have faithfully lived into the values of a church with an extravagant welcome.  

Scores of people have been transformed by the ONA witness of our United Church of Christ. It is a witness that is changing the world, saving lives and helping to build God's community of inclusive welcoming, justice and peace.

For more information from the national UCC website about these concerns, click here:  Open and Affirming (ONA)