News

With Gratitude from the Widening Our Vision Team… The Widening Our Vision  team was formed in the spring of 2021, with the blessing of the Church Council, to explore becoming an Open and Affirming church.  This Open and Affirming (ONA) initiative provided an opportunity for our church to deepen and expand our welcome to people…

Pastoral letter responds to attacks on transgender and nonbinary people…”We want every person of transgender or nonbinary experience to know this: you are beloved by God.” Trans and Nonbinary Pastoral Letter from the UCC and ONA Coalition

Saying “the stakes have never been higher”… A letter from the national setting of the United Church of Christ is calling the entire denomination to a special focus during Pride Month. UCC churches receive June call to stand with transgender, nonbinary people

From the Widening Our Vision (WOV) Team… Our Journey to Becoming Open and Affirming The Widening Our Vision team thanks those of you who responded to the exploratory survey.  The results indicated to us that the vast majority of members support becoming an Open and Affirming church, but there are still a number of members…

From the Widening Our Vision (WOV) Team… A Look Back at Where We’ve Been and What’s Next? Widening Our Vision Timeline: More than a Year in the Making… March 2021 – Church Council approved formation of Open & Affirming (ONA) task force April 2021 – Call for interested individuals to join ONA task force June…

Parents Group Fighting New Anti-Trans Laws…“It is painful to have your child rejected”  As more Republican states target trans youth, a group of parents meet to push back on discriminatory legislation, share stories and celebrate. In the News: Parents Group Fighting New Anti-Trans Laws

Amtrak Responds to verbal assault of gay couple…Amtrak says it “strongly condemns” an act of hate that occurred on board one of their trains last week after an unruly passenger directed a hate-filled rant at a gay couple and their children. In the News: Amtrak responds to verbal assault of gay couple

Fight LGBTQ Discrimination: We MUST Pass the Equality Act…While there have been important gains over the last several years in securing LGBTQ civil rights protections, there remain significant gaps in the law that leave LGBTQ Americans vulnerable to discrimination. In the News: Fight LGBTQ Discrimination

Terrible Time For Trans Youth: New Survey Spotlights Suicide Attempts — And Hope Forbes.com May 19, 2021 Dawn Ennis, Contributor:Diversity, Equity & Inclusion In the News: Terrible Time for Trans Youth

Open and Affirming Churches of the New Hampshire Conference, United Church of Christ – 1992 to 2021 NH UCC Open and Affirming churches

Comprehensive List of LGBTQ+ Related  Vocabulary Definitions excerpted from The Safe Zone Project curriculum LGBTQ+ Glossary

This document contains a timeline of significant LGBTQ+ events in the United Church of Christ, New Hampshire and the United States LGBTQ+ Historical Timeline 1985 to Present

From the Widening Our Vision (WOV) Team… Mr. Rogers and our Open and Affirming Journey Beloved children’s television show host Fred Rogers donned his trademark sweater and sneakers at thestart of each episode and asked, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”  He had much to teach generations of children about acceptance, caring, inclusion, being ‘helpers’  —…

From the Widening our Vision (WoV) Team… SOGIE and LGBTQ+ … That’s A Lot of Letters – What Do They All Mean? At the moment of birth, there are three people (the person giving birth, the newborn, a medical professional/midwife) and the first question: “Is it a boy or a girl?” This question reflects the…

From the Widening our Vision (WoV) Team… “Never place a period where God has placed a comma.” Gracie Allen, half of the husband-and-wife comedy team of Burns and Allen, wrote these words in a letter she left for her husband, George Burns, upon her death.  They provided the gentle nudge George needed to keep going,…

From the Widening our Vision (WoV) Team… Q & A – You ask, WoV answers: Why do we need to pursue Open & Affirming designation? Why single out LGBTQ+?  Can’t we just welcome everyone? Good questions! The sign at our meeting front door proclaims, “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s…

Introducing … Widening our Vision (WoV) “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,  there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”   Galatians 3:28 Hello! The purpose of this communication is to share information about an initiative for our church to deepen and expand our…