When controversy erupted in the early 1990s surrounding the Cobb County Commission’s official stance against the “gay lifestyle” that eventually cost it an Olympic event, a modest United Church of Christ decided to make a political — and spiritual — stand.

Pilgrimage UCC in Marietta, founded in 1978, elected to become “open and affirming” — an official designation by the UCC that indicates a congregation embraces gay men and lesbians and honors their relationships with pastors performing same-sex unions.

The church’s decision, reached in 1996 and finalized in 1998, made it first UCC church in Georgia to become open and affirming, known as ONA. Of the 18 UCC churches in the state, five are officially designated as open and affirming by the denomination.

“Inclusivity is a really important part of our message,” said Pilgrimage Pastor Kimberleigh Buchanan, who has led the congregation for four years. “Unfortunately, this is fairly unique among mainline Christian denominations, and unfortunately, among the rest of the world.”

Pilgrimage was not only making a political statement in the midst of the Olympic controversy: It was also heeding the call of the UCC General Synod, which, in 1985, declared the United Church of Christ open and affirming and called on all local churches to do so, too.

Since then, 563 of the UCC’s 5,750 churches have been designated ONA. Numerous others function as open and affirming, but have not completed the process to earn the designation. Pilgrimage and four other congregations in Georgia — Central Congregational, Virginia-Highland Church and Sankofa Church, all in Atlanta; and Church of the Savior in Roswell — are ONA.

UCC OKs gay marriage
The United Church of Christ took another leap forward for gay rights on July 4 during the UCC General Synod conference in Atlanta, when roughly 80 percent of the 884 delegates approved a resolution that “affirms equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender.”

“This vote was essentially a decision around our theological understanding of God’s justice,” UCC President and General Minister John H. Thomas said after the vote.

The General Synod does not mandate UCC churches follow its resolutions and no disciplinary action is taken against those that decide not to follow it.

Pilgrimage UCC members in Marietta were essentially ahead of the game when the vote was taken earlier this month — same-gender couples were already being blessed in holy unions in the church, which cites 215 members and about a 25 percent gay population.

At Sankofa Church in Atlanta, a 40-member open and affirming church, co-pastor Derrick Rice is quick to point out the General Synod resolution was not about same-sex marriage.

“The vote was about equality,” he stressed.

Sankofa Church, which includes some gay couples, joined the UCC over its dedication to social justice issues, including its past support for abolishing slavery, equal rights for women and, in recent years, support for gay civil rights, Rice said.

“At the risk of sounding trite, one of the many things the Bible says is, ‘Whosoever will let him come,’ — and you are hard-pressed to find someone outside that realm of whosoever,” Rice said. “Everyone is a child of God.”

Rev. Timothy Shirley of the open and affirming UCC Virginia-Highland Church said its 100 members, about 50 of whom are gay, are very supportive of marriage equality and welcomed the General Synod’s vote.

“One of the reasons we joined the UCC is because it has gone on record with an open and affirming policy,” Shirley said.

The church joined the UCC in 2002 and earned the official ONA designation last year, he said. The July 4 vote meant “little difference for us, because we were already there,” Shirley said.

Central Congregational UCC in Atlanta, with some 650 members, has been open and affirming for several years, said Rev. Budd Friend-Jones.

“The church has been holding ‘union services’ between gay couples since before my arrival in 1996, [and] we baptize babies in gay families. The General Synod vote was an extrapolation of the Gospel of inclusion. The vote is very consistent in going back to our beginnings,” Friend-Jones said.

‘Not able to stretch that far’
While many UCC congregations supported the General Synod’s resolution to affirm marriage equality, the denominations leadership knew there would be fallout from the vote.

Center Congregational UCC in Buckhead voted July 24 to part ways with the UCC.

“The desire to try and remain in communion with the UCC was really stretched so far, and we are not able to stretch that far,” said Rev. J.R. McAliley, pastor of the 100-year-old church.

“We are open, but we will not be affirming. We are open to all people, but we will never condone sin,” he said. “How can we continue to be Christian in the middle of all that?”

In Savannah, Rev. Rod Sprauve said his 75-member First Congregational UCC church opposed the General Synod’s vote, but hasn’t decided whether to leave the United Church of Christ.

“More important than the vote on same-sex marriage is that the national leadership on such an issue of such volatility should have taken the vote to the entire membership,” Sprauve said. “Instead, they took it upon themselves — and 884 members are not speaking for 1.3 million members.”

‘Forefront of social justice’
Rev. Tim Downs, minister of the Southeast Conference headquartered in Atlanta, acknowledged some churches are leaving over the denomination’s openness to same-sex marriage.

Earlier this month, 130 members of the UCC’s Southern Conference — which includes 300 congregations in North Carolina and Virginia — declared their belief that biblical scripture defines marriage as being between only one man and one woman.

But Downs added, the Southeast Conference — which includes more than 60 established congregations in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and Mississippi — was founded in 1966, at the cusp of the civil rights movement, and is known for taking progressive positions.

When the General Synod voted to affirm integration between African Americans and whites, numerous churches left at that time as well. Placing women in leadership roles also led many UCC churches to leave its fold.

“In the Southeast Conference, we are on the forefront of social justice,” Downs said. “This is not new — this reaction [to the marriage equality resolution] is not unexpected. When the vote occurred, people understood this was something that would cause tremendous turmoil, conversation and affirmation.”

And while some churches are voting to leave the UCC because of the General Synod’s vote on marriage equality, many other churches are seeking to join, said Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer, minister for the national office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Ministries.

“I know my office is busier,” he said, noting also that the UCC Web site has been inundated with hits from people seeking more information about the denomination.

As many as 15 different churches and groups are considering affiliating with the UCC due to the national visibility gained by the General Synod conference, Rev. David C. Schoen, the UCC’s minister for evangelism, said this week.

“It has to do with the necessary and needed voice that we provide to the religious landscape,” Schoen said in a statement. “What I am hearing from people is that the interest in us right now is a result of the UCC’s witness, our justice-mindedness and our courage and willingness to speak to culture and to take risks.”

Two-year process
In metro Atlanta, the five official open and affirming churches have completed the nearly two-year process of praying, discussing, and even holding panel discussions with gay people who felt shunned by other Christian churches. It’s part of the process to understand the struggle gay people oftentimes undergo in their spiritual journeys, said Rev. Ann Day, national open and affirming program coordinator.

“What sets ONA congregations apart is that they make a public statement to express a welcome to LGBT people into the life of their congregation,” Day said.

In Georgia, there are other UCC churches that function as open and affirming and welcome gay members, but have not taken an official congregation vote to receive the designation, Day said.

These churches include Victory Church in Stone Mountain, an African-American mega-church with some 5,500 members led by Dr. Kenneth Samuel.

“The General Synod’s vote was in keeping with the UCC’s bold stance on social justice issues. It speaks to the liberation of all people,” Samuel said.

Dyana Bagby can be reached at dbagby@sovo.com.

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