urbandale united church of christ
3530 70th Street, Urbandale, Iowa 50322 | phone 515.276.0625
fax 515.276.2451 | e-mail: staff@urbucc.org

Urbandale UCC's Open and Affirming (ONA) process unofficially began sometime in 1989, when a man with AIDS asked the pastor, Rev. Patricia de Jong, if she would help him die. Many in the congregation got to know this man through praying and caring for him. He put a human face on the AIDS issue.

A Long-Range Planning Committee, which had been formed in 1989, recommended as one of its goals in its Report issued in early 1990 that "this church engage in a process of education and dialogue to become an 'Open and Affirming' congregation." In the several months following the congregational vote accepting the Committee's Report, adult education sessions were held on issues including the spectrum of human sexuality, gay/lesbian experience in the church, and AIDS. The Community Concerns Board supported and helped co-sponsor various programs and conferences in the community relating to gay and lesbian issues.

In May 1991, the Community Concerns Board discussed becoming an ONA church; several on the board thought we already were. By this time, a few gay or lesbian people had joined or were worshipping at our church regularly.

In early 1992, the Community Concerns Board decided it wanted to go further with ONA. It voted to sponsor a resolution at the Annual Meeting in Grinnell calling on the Iowa Conference to study becoming ONA for two years, and encouraging local churches to do the same. Following a positive vote at the Annual Meeting in June 1992, the consensus of the Community Concerns Board was to press ahead with our own ONA study. In late 1992, questionnaires were sent to all members to gauge congregational support for taking a vote on ONA, to measure support and opposition to becoming ONA, and to review the need for additional educational opportunities. Although the response was very positive, the return rate was somewhat disappointing. The Community Concerns Board formed a task force to plan several adult education sessions for the spring.

In January 1993, the following adult education sessions were planned by the task force and sponsored by the Church Council: (1) Chuck Briem, from the Conference staff, talked about his daughter's coming out and the response of his family and church; (2) Don Gall, Conference Minister, presented biblical and theological views on homosexuality and their implications for ONA; (3) Sylvia Thorsen-Smith, a member of the Presbyterians' committee on human sexuality, facilitated a workshop on awareness of homophobia and heterosexism; (4) "Open and Affirming: A Journey of Faith," a video on three UCC churches' ONA processes; and (5) the pastor and two laypersons from Faith UCC in Iowa City spoke about their ONA process before and after the vote.

Following the adult education sessions, the Community Concerns Board recommended to the Council, and the Council voted, to present an ONA resolution to the congregation. The resolution modified the language in the church's existing Mission Statement. The pertinent paragraph as modified reads:

We covenant to be a community that remains open to the challenges of the Christian faith. We welcome into this community of faith, and affirm the participation in all aspects of church life, persons of every age, race, gender, nationality, ability, and sexual orientation. We will continue our efforts toward inclusiveness, and stand against all forms of discrimination. We will empower ourselves, our children, and one another to be fully present in the world, living in Christ's image, and striving for justice and peace.

On May 16, 1993, the congregation voted to become an ONA church by a vote of 101 yes, 2 no, and 2 abstentions. After the vote, the congregation gathered in a circle around the altar and sang "Amazing Grace." Urbandale UCC was the 103rd church to become ONA in our denomination.

Since the vote, the congregation learned that the process of becoming open and affirming is an ongoing process. Members, straight and gay, have continued to dialogue about what it means to be ONA. Members of the congregation have:

• participated in gay pride parades with the church's ONA banner
• spoken at other church, association, and Iowa Conference meetings
• served in leadership roles in the Conference's ONA Committee
• been in dialogue with the Boy Scouts concerning their policy banning gay members and leaders
• sponsored a statewide ecumenical gathering, "Voices of Faith: Rejoicing on a Journey Toward Wholeness," in the hope of engaging other members of the faith community in a dialogue about becoming welcoming and inclusive communities
• participated in "Solidarity Week" with the gay and lesbian community by providing rainbow ribbons to members to wear all week and tell others what the ribbon represents
• held an adult education series on "The Bible and Homosexuality," addressing Old and New Testament passages that are affirming as well as those used to condemn gays and lesbians
• celebrated the fifth anniversary of the ONA vote in a special worship service and commissioned teams of people who were willing to share our story with other interested churches and groups in Iowa
• voted on a four-year plan in 1998 that established mission priorities, one of which is to "continue to provide safe space and continue our commitment to Just Peace, inclusiveness, and Open and Affirming, while showing more sensitivity to those who are not comfortable with our openness"
• elected and encouraged gay and lesbian members as leaders and active participants in the life of the church
• sponsored and celebrated the ordination of one of our gay members in an ordination worship service-the first ordination of an openly gay man in the Iowa Conference-UCC
• sponsored a training for facilitators of the UCC sexuality curriculum, "Our Whole Lives-Sexuality in our Faith"
  

*Phil Porter designed this logo for the ONA Program of The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns; it was used with permission.

top

just peace

The Urbandale United Church of Christ has long been active and committed to justice and peace issues. In the early 1980s, members of the congregation, the Community Concerns Board, and the Church Board selected peace as a theme for the church's work, and the congregation formally and unanimously affirmed peace as a congregational priority. Several women, including Roz Ostendorf, Roselyn Harbart, Jeanne White, and Amy Christensen (then Couch), came together to write a peace prayer, and the Board recognized "People Praying for Peace" as an official ministry of our church. The Peace Prayer was distributed to all members of the congregation, and received interdenominational attention across Iowa.

In 1983, the church's Community Concerns Board sponsored a float in Urbandale's Fourth of July parade entitled: "Urbandale: The Nuclear Freeze City."

At the annual church meeting in January 1988, the congregation voted to work toward becoming a Just Peace Church as defined by the General Synod UCC. To this end, a "Covenant for a Just Peace Congregation" was prepared and those in agreement with its tenets were requested to sign the covenant. In January 1989, the congregation voted to become a Just Peace Church.

In 1990, the Strickler Just Peace Fund was established and is a functional and operating special fund of the church. At the end of June 1995, the congregation dedicated the Strickler Peace Garden on the south side of the church in honor of the long-time peace ministry of a beloved pastor emeritus and his wife, Gayle and Beth Strickler. The garden features flowers and plants and a peace pole.

top