🏳️‍🌈 What Open and Affirming Means to Me

By Eric Miner

At Holy Covenant United Church of Christ, we say “Open and Affirming,” but what we mean is: you belong here. All of you. Without condition, without apology, without fear.

I came to this church with a lifetime of practice in hiding. Like so many LGBTQ+ folks, I’d learned early that many church doors say “welcome,” but mean something much smaller. So when I discovered Holy Covenant was an Open and Affirming congregation, I hesitated. Could this place really mean it?

Now, years later, I can say without hesitation: yes. We mean it. And so do I.

Being Open and Affirming, or O&A, isn’t a banner we hang once a year. It’s a covenant we live daily. It means we don’t just tolerate difference—we celebrate it. We don’t just allow LGBTQ+ folks in the pews—we trust them at the table, in leadership, and in the pulpit. This church isn’t just a sanctuary—it’s a home, and it’s changed my life.

When Holy Covenant voted in 2000 to become an O&A church, we were the 342nd UCC congregation to do so. Today, there are more than 1,700. That’s a movement of love. And I’m proud to be part of it.

“Being Open and Affirming is more than a stance. It’s a spiritual discipline.”

That little red comma I saw when I first arrived at Holy Covenant moved me deeply. It told me something no sermon ever had—that God was still speaking, even if I wasn’t. That message cracked something open in me, and I’ve never forgotten it.

There’s another journey I’ve been walking—sobriety. I’ve been in recovery seven months now, and what I’ve learned is this: healing requires belonging. And that’s what I found here. Not a perfect church, but a people who chose love again and again. Who see my story and still say: yes, you are beloved. Yes, you belong.

Open and Affirming means we show up for justice. In 2005, we celebrated when the UCC called for marriage equality. In 2014, when NC tried to silence clergy and block same-gender weddings, Holy Covenant stood tall. Two of our members joined a historic lawsuit. Our pastor stood with them. The UCC recognized that courage at General Synod in 2015. That’s part of our DNA now.

But being Open and Affirming isn’t just about what happens inside the sanctuary. It’s about who we are outside these walls. That’s why “being the church everywhere” matters so much to me. On social media, in the streets, in everyday conversations—we carry the message that every person is sacred. Every story is holy. Every expression of identity is God-breathed. We don’t wait for people to come to us. We go out, with joy and intention, to meet them where they are.

Open and Affirming means:

• 🌈 A queer teen can walk through our doors and hear, “You are already loved.”
• 🧡 A parent can ask hard questions and find hope.
• 💜 A trans person can live their truth without having to defend it.

“Come as you are. Stay as you are. We’ll walk the journey together.”

This is what Open and Affirming means to me. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.