We are an open and affirming congregation.
Our Covenant of Inclusion
We, The First Congregational Church of Western Springs, United Church of Christ, strive to be people of extravagant welcome. We affirm that all people are created in the image of God, and we celebrate the diversity of God’s creation.
As we seek to become faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and endeavor to live out our shared mission, we respect and gladly receive persons of every race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, mental and physical ability, age, socioeconomic status, marital standing and family structure, and religious background.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit gathers us as a congregation in which all persons are invited to participate in the life, leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings, concerns, and joys of our community of faith. We hope and pray that by establishing and embodying this covenant of inclusion, we might fully follow Christ’s commandment to love God and neighbor and be a safe place where God’s love abounds.
If you’d like to learn more about how we arrived at this covenant, click the link below.
The Road to Becoming Open and Affirming
June 19, 2022 marked a truly glorious and historic day in the life of our family of faith. Our congregation overwhelmingly approved our Covenant of Inclusion. And just a few days later, our denomination, the United Church of Christ, approved our Covenant, granting us standing as an Open and Affirming church. Open and Affirming (ONA) is the United Church of Christ’s (UCC) designation for congregations, campus ministries, and other UCC bodies that make a public covenant of welcome into their full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. We will now be listed on the UCC church map at ucc.org reflecting our ONA status.
Please take a moment to hear the meaningful words of some of our members as we celebrated the First Anniversary of being Open and Affirming:
What does it mean to be an Open and Affirming Church?
“Open and Affirming” (ONA) is a movement of more than 1,500 churches and other ministries in the United Church of Christ that welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQIA+) members. More than 350,000 members of the UCC belong to ONA churches—and our movement is growing rapidly.
After a time of study, dialogue and prayer, churches adopt an Open and Affirming covenant (or promise) committing their members to welcome LGBTQIA+ members, support their relationships, and advocate for their human rights. All sacraments and rites of an ONA congregation are available to LGBTQIA+ people, including baptism, confirmation, communion, and marriage. ONA churches take seriously the Bible’s admonition to “accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” (Romans 15:7, NIV)
Our Justice and Inclusion Work Continues
Our vote to become Open and Affirming was not the end of our efforts to become a more welcoming and inclusive congregation. In fact, it was just the start.
Our real work began after we made that promise—to ourselves and to each other—to make our church a safe space for all. Since then, our Justice & Inclusion team has continued seeking new ways to drive greater inclusivity and advance social justice initiatives within and outside of the walls of our church. Some of our recent achievements have included:
- Staff, church committee and youth group inclusion trainings
- Accessibility audit of our grounds and online resources
- 11:10 sessions on justice and inclusion topics
- New Mission & Outreach sponsor: Youth Outlook
- Wedding intake form audit
- Gender neutral bathroom signs
- “Embracing Our Differences” art display and coffeehouse
The Justice & Inclusion Team Mission Statement
The Justice and Inclusion Ministry’s mission is to drive greater inclusivity and advance social justice initiatives both within and outside of the walls of our church. In doing so, our goal is to make First Congo a more welcoming place for all who seek to walk with Christ, and advocate for greater equality in our communities at large.
Our focus areas include:
- Partnering with community organizations to support local and national diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts
- Following the Holy Spirit as we are called to support and love each other, serve through mission and foster relationships that build up the beloved community here and beyond as disciples of Christ sharing God’s good news with the world.
- Improving our church’s internal operations, procedures and facilities to make our space more accessible and affirming for all people
- Educating members on timely social justice and inclusion topics
Join the Justice & Inclusion Team!
The Justice & Inclusion team meets once per month to discuss current social justice issues, explore how to make our church more inclusive, and plan educational events for our congregation and community at large.
Reach out to our co-chairs, Rachel Shaw Callahan, Terri Rivera, or Alex Onion, to join in! We’re happy to welcome you to the team at any point in the year.
Rachel Shaw Callahan at rshawcallahan@hotmail.com.
Terri Rivera at the.riveras@sbcglobal.net.
Alex Onion at aonion19@gmail.com.
It takes each and every one of us to make our church more inclusive.
That’s right — we’re counting on you, too! Here are just a few ways you can join in our justice and inclusion work on your own:
- Find a new favorite book, movie or other content on our Justice & Inclusion bibliography
- Explore common LGBTQIA+ topics, like sex vs. gender and how to use the right pronouns
- Learn about Autism Awareness with this quick graphic
- Check out this Disability Etiquette Guide
- Learn how to lead an inclusive meeting
- Read about our Justice & Inclusion community partners
VIDEOS FROM OUR INCLUSION TEAM
Please join us every Sunday for worship at 8:45AM & 10AM in the Sanctuary. The 10AM service is live-streamed on our YouTube channel. During the summer months, our worship times change to one service only at 9:30am.
