Open + Affirming Ministries are encouraged to participate in the Open + Affirming Ministry Program of AllianceQ and to further the Mission of the Open + Affirming Ministry Program in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the church ecumenical.
There are many ways to participate and widen the welcome. Here are just a few ideas:
Hold at least one event per year celebrating your Open + Affirming commitment. This might be the anniversary date of your decision to become O+A or join with our ecumenical friends and celebrate International Welcoming Church Sunday on the fourth Sunday in January:
Include a special bulletin insert;
Use scripture, prayer, music, dance, and liturgy to highlight your O+A commitment;
Discuss your O+A commitment during a sermon;
Re-affirm your church’s O+A statement by reading it in unison during worship;
Take up a special offering to support AllianceQ;
Include an article in your church newsletter;
Celebrate with a colorful O+A anniversary cake;
Revisit your O+A statement to make sure it includes gender identity and gender expression and any other aspects of welcome that your congregation is discovering;
Consider what steps might be helpful to reinvigorate or extend your commitment to the LGBT community. For instance, is there a local LGBT community center that could use support from your mission funds?
Attend AllianceQ events.
Include a regular contribution to AllianceQ in your congregation’s annual mission and outreach budget.
Join AllianceQ as an individual and encourage others in your congregation to do the same.
Reach out to another local congregation that might be considering the O+A process.
Expand your understanding of welcome, increasing your understanding of your members and neighbors, striving to overcome barriers that separate us from one another.
Write articles for the Alliance newsletter and website:
About your congregation’s process of becoming O+A;
About your congregation’s experience after becoming O+A;
About why being O+A is important to you;
About what being a member of an O+A church has meant to you.
Be AllianceQ’s eyes and ears on the ground. Let the Alliance know when there’s a congregation that may be ready to become O+A, when there’s a need that we can attend to, when you learn more about welcome.
Make sure AllianceQ has your email address so that you get the newsletter and learn more ways to get involved and widen the welcome.
