Open and Affirming
"With God’s grace, we resolve to be an open, inclusive, affirming, and
accessible community of faith."
Quote from FCC’s Open and Affirming Covenant
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FCC Manchester is an Open and Affirming (aka "ONA") church. Our congregation publicly affirms lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) people, welcoming them fully into the life and ministry of the church. Additionally, our Open and Affirming Covenant promises to fully welcome and affirm people of all ages, all races and ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, and “other diverse attributes that are woven into the fabric of humankind.”
News from the ONA Team
June 2024
“We light the flame of commitment,
To stand with and work to create change,
Until all know they are beloved.”
From the first stanza of “The Flames of Love,”
By Kim Lloyd Reisch, 2021
The Open and Affirming Committee is planning for FCC’s participation in the Manchester Pride Festival, coming on June 15th at Veterans Memorial Park on Elm Street, and for observing Pride in worship on June 16. Our faith community has been represented at Pride events since 2018. Each year brings new connections, new opportunities to grow in awareness and understanding, and many reminders of how important our messages of love, acceptance, and welcome are to the LGBT+ community.
Despite last year’s rainy weather, FCC volunteers had a great day, connected with scores of participants, and spread the word about our faith community. Please consider joining us as a volunteer. A sign-up sheet is posted on the office window. We have multiple shifts listed for the afternoon and arrange for small groups to work together during the various times.
During Pride Month, we look forward to displaying two new wind-resistant banners, designed by our own Adam Peithmann. We’ll also display the eye-catching banners at our booth on June 15th.
The Open and Affirming Committee has not planned for meetings during the summer months. However, the group is exploring further study and conversations about challenges for people who are mentally ill and those that are homeless. Some of us are reading the book recommended by Randy VanDeventer, Grace Can Lead Us Home. Author Kevin Nye shared thought-provoking points about what home means.
However crucial the role of housing in ending homelessness, we cannot forget that the experience of being homeless also means a loss or lack of the many things we associate with ‘home,’ things as indispensable as safety, belonging, dignity, and hope. p. 23
We will continue to ask ourselves how we, as Christians, can help transform lives and bring feelings of belonging, dignity, and hope to those that live on the margins of our society.
May 2024
Thanks to Covenant Partner Rev. Randy VenDeventer for leading a thought-provoking, faith-based, and inspiring Conversation on April 14. Randy invited us to engage in spiritual reflection - considering how we view those who are mentally ill and to focus more on their humanity rather than on the discomfort and fear we may feel. The participants asked great questions and Randy’s responses led us to deeper understanding and thoughts about what else we can do as a faith community.
The Conversation was recorded and is posted on the FCC website. This link offers you the chance to watch and learn more about the challenges of acute mental illness and how mental illness is tied to another of societal challenges - housing shortages. (Click here to watch). Randy also suggested several resources that may address the question, “What else can we do as a faith community?”
Grace Can Lead Us Home – A Christian Call to End Homelessness by Kevin Nye United Church of Christ Mental Health Network Mental Health Network - UCC
We are blessed that Randy is a Covenant member of First Congregational Church and the NHCUCC. We thank him for bringing his faith to his work as NH Hospital’s Chaplain.
The committee’s May meeting date and time will be announced in FCC publications. Volunteer opportunities and news of the Open and Affirming Committee’s plans for Pride Month in June will be published in Friday Link, Sunday News, the June Church Window, and on the website.
April 2024
Rev. Randy VanDeventer will join us during worship and for an after worship Conversation on Sunday, April 14 at 11:30 am in the Recreation Room. His focus will be on those who struggle with mental illness. When Randy preached at FCC in August 2023, he shared a story about Jesus that is relatable – where Jesus was learning, reflecting, and experiencing a time of growth in dealing with someone on the margins of society. We can relate – as we deal with our own discomfort, fears, and worries about mental illness that we encounter in our families, with our friends, and in the community.
Randy is an ordained UCC pastor and serves as Chaplain at NH Hospital, an acute psychiatric care facility. As with previous Conversations, he will offer a short presentation, followed by a time for Questions & Answers
and discussion. Once again, the Open and Affirming Committee will offer a light luncheon during our time
of Conversation. To help with luncheon planning, a sign-up sheet is posted on the office window. Everyone is invited to join us on April 14h, whether you’ve signed up or not.
If you would like to join us via Zoom, copy and paste this link in your web browser:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86908406921?pwd=cGtBdVM2amIvK0ovZTMzVTJDaUsxZz09
March 2024
Are you looking for ways to learn, grow in faith, and enjoy fellowship? The ONA Committee is offering two such opportunities this spring.
If you’re a music lover, save the date of Friday, April 5th. The critically acclaimed American Spiritual Ensemble will be performing at Concord’s Capitol Center for the Arts that evening. The Open and Affirming Committee invites you to attend the concert with us. Individual tickets are $43.75, but a 10% discount is available for groups of ten or more. We are offering free van transportation, sponsored by Outreach and ONA Committees. Look for a sign-up sheet on the office window. The deadline for sign-up is Sunday, March 24th. If you have questions, check in with a member of the ONA Committee.
Covenant Partner Randy VanDeventer will join us for an after-worship Conversation on Sunday, April 14th at 11:30 am in the Recreation Room. Randy is an ordained UCC pastor and serves as Chaplain at NH Hospital, an acute psychiatric care facility. As with previous Conversations, Randy will offer a short presentation, followed by a time for Questions & Answers and discussion. See the link for the sermon Randy preached at FCC in August 2023. The sermon was based on Matthew 15:21-28, in which we encounter Jesus our Savior as “both fully God and fully human.” In this season of Easter, his inspiring sermon has much to tell us about Jesus and his time, as well as the marginalized and outcasts in our world today.
Scripture and Sermon Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ6IiNA7VDM
(Listen to the scripture and Randy’s sermon beginning at 32:32).
Once again, the Open and Affirming Committee will offer a light luncheon during our time of Conversation. A sign-up sheet will be posted on the office window later this month. Everyone will be invited to join us on April 14h, whether you’ve signed up or not. We’ll also post a Zoom link so, if you prefer, you can join us online.
The committee will soon start planning for Manchester Pride, coming on June 15th and for observing Pride in worship on June 16th. Our next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 17th at
11:30 am. Please feel free to join us.
The Prayer of Dedication from February 18th is one that can call and guide us every day:
Caring God, help us to share your love with our world. Help us to be aware of the opportunities to be angels in the lives of another. Help us to see the need of our community and to act in order to lessen the struggle of those around us. Amen.