Open and affirming churches/religions of all types

[iamkeri1]

There have been a few threads posted recently dealing with one aspect or another of religion. I thought I would start a thread where those of us who are interested in attending church for whatever reason, can post a church that we find to be open to us as queer folk. It would help if the church has a written declaration that they are open and affirming to show that they are committed rather than just accidentally or intermittantly open.

Entries are not limited to christian churches - muslim, jewish, buddist, jain, pagan, wiccan, confucian, etc, etc, etc are welcome.

If we could keep the arguments out of the thread, I would really appreciate it. If you disagree about a particular church, fell free to tell us, but please tell us politely. This is an open an affirming thread. Let's affirm each other.

In the marriage equality thread Jess posted two equality resolutions that were just passed by United Church of Christ. I would NEVER have thought to attend a church with the work "Christ" in it because of my reaction to the "Christians" in the far right. However, the local MCC Church (which I was not attending) recently changed affiliations and joined UCC national. While local churches are allowed to have their own position on any particular principle, the national church is very OK with many issues close to my heart. Including you don't actually have to believe in god.

I started attending this church about two months ago and really like it. The pastor is trans - M2F. The congregation is pretty evenly split between men and women. The members are very friendly and I have already begun to make friends there. A large group goes out to lunch together after church almost every Sunday. We have a pot luck every month. The choir is pretty good.

Well that's enough on this particular church.

I hope you can tell us about others you have attended or know of.

Smooches,
Keri

[Jess]

Another example of a very welcoming church is within the Unitarians. I don't generally like to use Wiki as a resource, but this seems pretty thorough:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Universalism

I have also felt very much welcomed at Friends meetings. A little info about Quakers:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_quak.htm

[WhiteTigress]

I have a friend who is a UCC pastor, and she's a lesbian. She guided me to consider going to UCC churches, but it helps if you look at their website and look for the abbreviation O.N.A in a congregation's listing. That actually translates to the words "open and(N) affirming".

WT

[Hack]

I have attended off and on a United Methodist Church in a community near where I live. Some UMCs have an open and affirming policy. I encourage you to check first before attending.

I enjoyed the fellowship and volunteer opportunities the church offered. I was partnered during most of the time I attended this church, and it was important to my then-girlfriend that we attend church. I was raised Catholic, with the full load of guilt and everything, so attending church was not something I was keen on at first. However, this church excelled at welcoming queer couples. I have recently given thought to going back to that church, as I have enjoyed the people there very much.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Threecrossesministries.org

Westminister, CA

Great website, you can hear a few sermons and find out if you like what you see. Something it says on the website that speaks to me:

We are a First Church of the:

Outcast, Fat Chance, No Chance, Families, No Families, Broken Families, Any Kind of Families, Big Sinners and Perfect Winners.

We can't promise to heal you mentally, emotionally, or spiritually or make you better, brighter, or born-again but, We will introduce you to THE ONE WHO CAN...

God's only Son, JESUS CHRIST.

We like it here and you are welcome here too!

If there is anyone in the Southern California area interested in attending and you don't want to walk in by yourself, send me a PM and we can meet up ahead of time and maybe do lunch when we are finished.

[Andrea]

My honey and I attend a Religious Science church (do not confuse with Christian Science or Scientology). The church honors all types of religions. For example during December and January we celebrate Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Bodhi Day. I may be leaving something out.

Our minister is lesbian and we have a large variety of people from many walks of life. We also have a great number of talented people that share their magic with us in song, dance, the band, etc.

Andrea

[ladytiger]

I have attended several church's but I was raised up in the Community of Christ church. I just recently started going there again. I went to support my mom (a ordained minister) and my kids, but my partner and I were accepted and enjoyed that. The church is currently considering allowing homosexuals to not only be wed but also to become ordained ministers in the church. I will be sure to come back and post when it does happen.

[aishah]

i'm muslim but i go to a wonderful ucc church. it's one of the biggest churches in the area and is one of the most welcoming churches i've ever experienced. the denomination as a whole tends to be pretty liberal and welcoming, although only a fraction of ucc churches actually have an open and affirming policy in place. our church has some issues - many people apparently left when they adopted the ona policy and we still don't have gender neutral bathrooms, for example (i'm working on that). but generally speaking people are very kind and supportive there.

my experience of the ucc is that people are committed to being on a spiritual journey together to follow jesus, but that they are extremely open-minded when it comes to liberal theological interpretations, disagreements, etc. - just because we support one another doesn't mean we have to agree. they are also very much committed to social justice and building/creating change in the local community.

i have many friends who are queer and muslim and go to unitarian universalist and/or unity churches (some are ordained in the uu). i've had great experiences in both kinds, and also with the society of friends/quaker groups.

[Ciaran]

I am a Roman Catholic and sometimes go to the following service here in London:

http://www.sohomasses.com/

It's a service for LGBT folk, their families and friends. It is a mass organised by the Diocese of Westminster (effectively, the Catholic community serving central London). Unsurprisingly, it's not something that has been welcomed by sections of the Roman Catholic church but, for me and others who attend, it is very reaffirming.

The church attracts a wide variety of worshipers, including many non-LGBT folk and people of all ages and backgrounds.

[iamkeri1]

I am so glad you found a place in the Catholic Church where you feel comfortable.
Smooches,
Keri

[Nat]

I've been to Trinity United Methodist in Austin a few times and found it very affirming. I grew up Methodist, and it felt good being around Methodists who weren't dicks about orientation.

But as a non-Christian, I've started to gravitate to occasionally going to the local unitarian church. They seem pretty cool. Tiny congregation though. I may start trying to go there more regularly, though I hate getting up on sunday mornings. I hear they have a drum circle some nights.

I'm a pretty solitary pagan, so I find my fellowship in my 12 step (oa) and online I suppose.