First Church has a long history of welcoming LGBTQ+ individuals. We’re proud members of the United Church of Christ (UCC) denomination, which ordained the first openly gay pastor in 1972, before most churches were even arguing about homosexuality. First Church voted as a congregation to be “Open and Affirming” in 1992, which is a UCC designation of explicit welcome to LGBTQ+ people at all levels of church life.
As we state in our church’s 1992 Open and Affirming covenant, “We recognize our need and desire to be a household of God where people may enter, be welcomed and grow in the body of Christ, covenant with God and one another to receive and accept persons as members, employees and friends without fear, prejudice or discrimination due to race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith tradition, nationality, marital status, physical condition, or financial situation.”