|
A Recent History of the United Church of Christ and Sexual Minorities:
-
1969 Two months before the Stonewall riots, the UCC Council for Christian Social Action opposes laws criminalizing private homosexual relations between adults and the exclusion of homosexuals from the military.
-
1972 The Reverend William Johnson is ordained by the Golden Gate Association of California and becomes the first openly gay man ordained by a mainline church.
-
1973 The UCC Executive Council, the main deliberative body of the church between General Synods, recommends that sexual orientation should not bar qualified candidates from ordination. The UCC Gay Caucus receives official standing at the General Synod.
-
1974 The General Synod declares that sexual orientation is not a legitimate ground to deny civil liberties.
-
1977 In Virginia, the Reverend Anne Holmes becomes the first open lesbian ordained in the UCC.
-
1983 The General Synod passes a resolution recommending to UCC associations that sexual orientation should not be grounds for denying a request for ordination nor for employment of staff and volunteers.
-
1985 The General Synod calls on UCC congregations and bodies to study homosexuality and declare they are "open and affirming."
-
1987 The General Synod opposes all sodomy laws.
-
1991 The General Synod "boldly affirms, celebrates, and embraces the gifts of ministry of lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons."
-
1993 The General Synod denounces the Clinton ban on homosexuals in the military.
-
1994 The president of the UCC urges the House Armed Services Committee to lift the ban on homosexuals in the military. UCC leaders, including its president, join the "March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation." A Seattle congregation calls the first gay clergy couple in history to serve a mainline church.
Note: Congregations govern themselves. They come together in local associations, such as the Hampden Association, which ordain clergy. Associations form statewide or regional conferences, such as the Massachusetts Conference. Representatives of all associations and conferences gather every two years in General Synod, which recommends but does not impose policy.
|
