United Church of Ludlow’s Road to Open and Affirming
Our History
The United Church of Christ celebrates the varied contributions of the four streams that originally came together to form the United Church - Evangelical, Reformed, Congregational and Christian. In 1957, the new denomination came to embody the New Testament mandate "that they may all be one." After centuries of division among Christian communities, ecumenism was an articulated vision for disciples of Jesus.
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Eph. 4:4-6, NRVS)
As people around the world labor for justice for all, the United Church of Christ has led the way for many. Acceptance and justice for LGBTQ+ community is one of a number of initiatives that has propelled the denomination forward. In the USA, our predecessor denomination, the Congregationalists, ordained the first black man (Lemuel Haynes in 1785 - note that he served what is now the West Rutland United Church of Christ for 30 years beginning in 1788) and the first woman into authorized ministry.
In 1972, the Golden Gate Association ordained the Rev. William Johnson, the first openly gay man authorized for Christian Ministry in a mainline Protestant denomination. Ten years later, Rev. Anne Holmes became the first openly lesbian woman was ordained. In 1985, General Synod 15 (national meeting) urged congregations to declare themselves "Open and Affirming" and the National Coalition certified the first ONA churches two years later.
General Synod 25 called for equal marriage rights for all couples. The vision of inclusivity while fraught with difficult challenges that stretch us toward wholeness, remains. We are called out to love and serve others where we find them ever widening God's love for all of creation.
The process of becoming an ONA congregation is organic. The process grows in welcome and hospitality and will be an ongoing one. Like much in faith, we learn together as we listen and evolve as Christians. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and remains an example of unconditional love and extravagant welcome.
"There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Eph. 4:4-6, NRVS)
As people around the world labor for justice for all, the United Church of Christ has led the way for many. Acceptance and justice for LGBTQ+ community is one of a number of initiatives that has propelled the denomination forward. In the USA, our predecessor denomination, the Congregationalists, ordained the first black man (Lemuel Haynes in 1785 - note that he served what is now the West Rutland United Church of Christ for 30 years beginning in 1788) and the first woman into authorized ministry.
In 1972, the Golden Gate Association ordained the Rev. William Johnson, the first openly gay man authorized for Christian Ministry in a mainline Protestant denomination. Ten years later, Rev. Anne Holmes became the first openly lesbian woman was ordained. In 1985, General Synod 15 (national meeting) urged congregations to declare themselves "Open and Affirming" and the National Coalition certified the first ONA churches two years later.
General Synod 25 called for equal marriage rights for all couples. The vision of inclusivity while fraught with difficult challenges that stretch us toward wholeness, remains. We are called out to love and serve others where we find them ever widening God's love for all of creation.
The process of becoming an ONA congregation is organic. The process grows in welcome and hospitality and will be an ongoing one. Like much in faith, we learn together as we listen and evolve as Christians. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and remains an example of unconditional love and extravagant welcome.
The Road to the Open and Affirming Vote at the United Church of Ludlow
In 2009 this congregation voted to allow the pastor to perform Civil Unions. We have always declared ourselves to be a welcoming congregation that serves all.
In August of 2022, our Building Inclusivity Team (Over time, the following people have been involved on this team: Pastor Michelle, Bob and Ginny Kottkamp, Lisa Hamm-Greenawalt, Bill Kneebone, Christine Boardman and Fra Devine) began meeting to consider the process of preparing for a vote to become Open and Affirming. In our review of the church’s history and the process to prepare for a vote, we realized it would be better to start by developing a Mission and a Vision.
In March of 2023 a team of five members from the church (George Thomson, Pastor Michelle, Christine Boardman, Nancy Martel and )attended a Vital Church Workshop to consider what it means to be a Vital Church. This group also agreed we needed a mission and a vision. Out of this group emerged the idea of recording our services and sharing them through Okemo Valley Television which we have been doing ever since).
On May 7, 2023 we held “Conversation Church” with a focus from Matthew 22 of what it takes to love our neighbor as ourselves, what people’s hopes for the church were and what we do now (active verbs) and what we aspire to do (also active verbs). People then chose the verbs that they thought were most important for our church which led to the formation of our Mission and Vision below, which was passed at our Annual Meeting in January, 2024.
In August of 2022, our Building Inclusivity Team (Over time, the following people have been involved on this team: Pastor Michelle, Bob and Ginny Kottkamp, Lisa Hamm-Greenawalt, Bill Kneebone, Christine Boardman and Fra Devine) began meeting to consider the process of preparing for a vote to become Open and Affirming. In our review of the church’s history and the process to prepare for a vote, we realized it would be better to start by developing a Mission and a Vision.
In March of 2023 a team of five members from the church (George Thomson, Pastor Michelle, Christine Boardman, Nancy Martel and )attended a Vital Church Workshop to consider what it means to be a Vital Church. This group also agreed we needed a mission and a vision. Out of this group emerged the idea of recording our services and sharing them through Okemo Valley Television which we have been doing ever since).
On May 7, 2023 we held “Conversation Church” with a focus from Matthew 22 of what it takes to love our neighbor as ourselves, what people’s hopes for the church were and what we do now (active verbs) and what we aspire to do (also active verbs). People then chose the verbs that they thought were most important for our church which led to the formation of our Mission and Vision below, which was passed at our Annual Meeting in January, 2024.
Our Mission & Vision
MISSION:
Striving to live God’s message of inclusive love through Jesus Christ in our community, nation, and world.
VISION:
As we strive to live God’s message of love, we:
Welcome everyone,
Celebrate diversity,
Nurture spiritual growth,
Work toward peace and justice,
Serve our community, nation, and world.
After the Mission/Vision was passed, the Building Inclusivity Team came back together this summer to plan our work towards an Open and Affirming Vote at our annual meeting on January 26, 2025. This resulted in our Mission Moments from the Building Inclusivity Team, our Dine & Discuss Events as well as the Bible Study planned for Tuesday evenings over Zoom on Nov 12. 19, Dec. 3, 10, 2024, and Jan 7 and 14, 2025.
The Building Inclusivity Team also reviewed Open and Affirming Covenants from other churches and came up with the following draft for our church to consider for our vote:
Striving to live God’s message of inclusive love through Jesus Christ in our community, nation, and world.
VISION:
As we strive to live God’s message of love, we:
Welcome everyone,
Celebrate diversity,
Nurture spiritual growth,
Work toward peace and justice,
Serve our community, nation, and world.
After the Mission/Vision was passed, the Building Inclusivity Team came back together this summer to plan our work towards an Open and Affirming Vote at our annual meeting on January 26, 2025. This resulted in our Mission Moments from the Building Inclusivity Team, our Dine & Discuss Events as well as the Bible Study planned for Tuesday evenings over Zoom on Nov 12. 19, Dec. 3, 10, 2024, and Jan 7 and 14, 2025.
The Building Inclusivity Team also reviewed Open and Affirming Covenants from other churches and came up with the following draft for our church to consider for our vote:
Proposed Open & Affirming Covenant
“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34)
We, the United Church of Ludlow, value and welcome a diverse congregation. We are an Open and Affirming (ONA) church, believing that each of us is created in God’s image. We celebrate everyone, including: people of all ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, family configurations, economic circumstances, education, physical, cognitive, or emotional abilities, spiritual and religious traditions.
We welcome all to participate fully in the life, leadership, ministry, and mission of this church as we seek to grow together spiritually in an open, safe, and nurturing community of faith. We strive to live God’s message of inclusive love through Jesus Christ in our community, nation, and world
We commit ourselves to the ongoing work of being an ONA Congregation, seeking peace and justice as we live out the belief that God is still speaking. With God’s grace, we journey together in Christian faith.
We, the United Church of Ludlow, value and welcome a diverse congregation. We are an Open and Affirming (ONA) church, believing that each of us is created in God’s image. We celebrate everyone, including: people of all ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, family configurations, economic circumstances, education, physical, cognitive, or emotional abilities, spiritual and religious traditions.
We welcome all to participate fully in the life, leadership, ministry, and mission of this church as we seek to grow together spiritually in an open, safe, and nurturing community of faith. We strive to live God’s message of inclusive love through Jesus Christ in our community, nation, and world
We commit ourselves to the ongoing work of being an ONA Congregation, seeking peace and justice as we live out the belief that God is still speaking. With God’s grace, we journey together in Christian faith.
Learn more about the Open and Affirming movement here. We will vote on this covenant at the Annual Meeting after services on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. We encourage the entire congregation to attend in person or on Zoom.
