Open and affirming

Many faith communities advertise that "all are welcome." However, for most churches "all" does not include full acceptance of members from the LGBTQ+  community. This is often justified by the premise: "hate the sin, love the sinner." But at Church of the Covenant, we do not consider being LGBTQ+ a sin!

His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born that way?" 

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned."  John 9:2

Jesus said, "For there are non-binary persons who were born that way... The one who can accept this should accept it."  Matthew 19:12

Here we believe that you were lovingly and intentionally created by God, and this includes your sexuality, gender, gender expression, and whether you identify as binary or non-binary. These are critical aspects of who you are!

"God, you made all the delicate parts of me and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in secret, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."    Psalm 139:13-16                                                                                                                                                                                                     

To be a truly Open and Affirming (ONA) community, we understand the importance of creating and maintaining a safe space for LGBTQ+ members and visitors. Though we take great care to hold space for one another from all backgrounds, and do so intentionally, we also recognize that opportunities to increase our level of safety and care is an ongoing process. If you have suggestions for how we can make our space more "safe" for all in our community, please let us know.