Georgia's AllianceQ O&A Team and O&A Christian Churches Host Booth at Atlanta Pride Festival 

Beneath a bright banner featuring a red Chalice and rainbow colors that proclaimed: “WELCOME HOME!  OPEN AND AFFIRMING CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN GEORGIA”, 50,000 Atlanta Pride participants were greeted warmly, loved as they are, and offered stickers, brochures, and Holy Communion.  On Saturday and Sunday, October 12 and 13, 2019, three Disciples congregations (Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, Decatur First Christian Church, & Johns Creek Christian Church) and the Disciples on Campus at UGA Athens – all Open & Affirming Ministries of the Christian Church – co-sponsored a booth on a busy thoroughfare in Piedmont Park.  Dozens of church members and friends shared shifts to serve as greeters, including clergy, elders, deacons, seminary interns, and members of our Disciples youth and young adult ministries.

Standing in the pulpit at Decatur FCC, Sr. Pastor James Brewer-Calvert preached on Sunday morning, saying, “Mission is not what we do; it is who we are.  We live our mission and identity in Christ from the inside-out.  I was not sure what to expect at Atlanta Pride. To my surprise and joy, my personal encounters and open invitations were received with curiosity, gratitude, delight, and even a tear. Two young adult women holding hands and in matching t-shirts accepted the stickers, read the brochure, and listened to this modeler of Jesus Christ say that God loves them as they are, love always wins, and that all means all. “It’s only 10 AM,” one said, “and I’m going to start to cry.”

Thank you, one and all, for your prayers and participation.