Upcoming virtual offerings from the Open and Affirming Coalition

February 14, 2026 in Faith In Action

In this season, LGBTQ+ people and our allies and accomplices need spaces to connect, encourage one another, and remember we are not alone. We are in the midst of a movement—and movement work calls us out of our silos and into community.

These offerings are opportunities to learn, grow, and build relationships with people across the country who are committed to justice, affirmation, and faithful resistance.

Come build community with us. Come be strengthened for the work ahead.

Click on the graphics below for more info or to register.

New Webinar: Strength in Our Stories: A Workshop for LGBTQIA+ Christians’ Spiritual Self-Care

February 08, 2026 in Faith In Action

From the Open and Affirming Coalition UCC:

Practicing Sacred Storytelling in a World That Tries to Erase Us

In a world of systemic and intersectional injustice that often tears LGBTQIA+ communities down, having confidence in the knowledge of who we are as God’s beloved creations is essential to our survival and flourishing as LGBTQIA+ Christians. As a result, personal storytelling and testimony is a vital spiritual practice of self-care and rootedness that enables us to explore our identity, learn about ourselves in prayerful conversation with God, prepare to engage with an unjust world, and discover ways to thrive and flourish. This session will lay a scriptural, theological, and experiential framework for storytelling as a spiritual practice of self-care and rootedness, provide three opportunities to practice storytelling through creative writing activities, and generate safe space for sharing together.

Tickets are offered on an honor-system sliding scale. Please choose the rate that best fits your circumstances.

• Student Rate – $15 (For students and seminarians.)

• Sages Rate 65+ – $15 (For participants age 65 and older.)

• Standard Rate – $30 (Helps cover the true cost of the workshop.)

• Pay-It-Forward Rate – $45 (For those who are able to give more and help expand access for others.)

Click through for more details.

Help Build a National ONA Movement for Justice — Take the A.C.T OUT Survey Today

November 15, 2025 in Faith In Action

Across our nation, LGBTQ+ people are under attack. Trans and nonbinary youth are being targeted by cruel legislation. Inclusive books and curricula are being banned. Families and faith communities are being silenced for affirming love and dignity.

In moments like these, the Church must rise — not with fear, but with faith. Not with silence, but with love in action.

That’s why the Open and Affirming Coalition is launching A.C.T OUT: Advocacy, Community, and Transformation — a national, faith-rooted movement committed to resisting hate, protecting our neighbors, and organizing for a just and inclusive future.

Please take 5–10 minutes today to complete our A.C.T OUT – Building a National ONA Movement Inventory & Interest Survey:
https://forms.gle/Ci4nA6kPwMGKyXXNA

It’s Time to ACT OUT: From Welcome to Action

August 09, 2025 in Faith In Action

The A.C.T OUT Initiative is the next chapter in the Open and Affirming movement—calling churches to move beyond symbolic statements into Advocacy, Community, and Transformation. As hate rises and justice is under attack, we’re organizing a national team to build toolkits, trainings, and campaigns that move churches into real-world activism and faithful advocacy.

Want to be part of it? Fill out the form to get involved: openandaffirming.org/actout

In Response to Supreme Court Decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti

June 18, 2025 in Faith In Action

Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth is a moral failure and a heartbreaking injustice. This ruling abandons vulnerable children and their families to the political whims of state governments, disregarding the lived realities, medical consensus, and human dignity of transgender youth.

As people of faith committed to justice and radical inclusion, the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ grieves this ruling and the harm it inflicts. We reject the idea that any government has the right to deny life-saving, evidence-based healthcare because of a young person’s gender identity. We reject a theology that would permit such cruelty. And we reject the misuse of power that seeks to control, erase, and endanger trans lives.

MLK Day Message from Rev. Dr. Katrina Roseboro-Marsh, ONA Coalition Executive Director

January 21, 2025 in Faith In Action

Today, and in the days to come, know that you are loved, you are valued, and who you are and how you show up in the world, no one gets to decide anything about it.