ONA News
ONA Team News
The First Church ONA Team has been
very busy helping other churches in their journey toward becoming Open and Affirming congregations:
• First Congregational Church in East Longmeadow, the Church in the Rotary. Congratulations to them on becoming an Open and Affirming congregation
in January! Our team has met with them several
times and look forward to continuing to share resources & best practices in order to help them live more fully into our radically inclusive welcome!
• Pilgrim Church in Duxbury, MA (current church of long-time First Church members Lucy and Dwight Shepard). They are on the journey toward becoming officially Open and Affirming and our team has been consulting with them.
• Feeding Hills Congregational Church. We are jointly planning an event for the Hampden Association of the UCC on Sunday, April 15. The program will feature Dr. Elijah Nealy, author of Transgender Children and Youth. Stay tuned!
Other plans include a movie night in March (see page 15 for details) and participating in the Pride March in Northampton on May 4–5. Stay tuned!
The LGBTQ Support Group meets on the first Wednesday of each month
at 6:30 pm with a light supper. This group is for parents, family, friends and members of the LGBTQIA community
with a goal of “providing a safe place to
ask questions, share concerns and
experiences and to learn from one
another.“ Confidentiality is strictly
observed. New members always
welcome.
The ONA Team: Pastor Marisa, Marieke Burt, Sandy Turner, Thomas Kubrik and Mary Friedman look forward to working with the newly formed Social Justice Team to increase awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQ community, learn how to be more welcoming and discern how we can stand with those who are victims of injustice.
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ONA Quote of the Month
Love has no gender - compassion has no religion - character has no race.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Either Civilized or Phobic: A
Treatise on Homosexuality