Good morning to the entire United Church of Christ! The United Church of Christ Coalition is alive, well, and awake to the concerns of the LGBTQ Community, as well as the greater mission of Extravagant Welcome. Today is the end of our conference and the beginning of San Diego Pride. Many participants are planning on staying in San Diego for the fabulous pride events. It just so happens that the LGBT-neighborhood called Hillcrest is just over the hill (literally) from our hotel.

Last night (Friday) we had our banquet (with adequate vegetarian options). It was a gracious event filled with the Spirit of Love. General Minister and President of the UCC, Geoffrey Black, helped us envision a church living in a state of growth and plenty, instead of fear and disintegration. It is that future of the uniting and United Church of Christ that he encouraged us to feel as possible and present. It was an outstanding event that filled us with hope and encouragement after a day with challenges.

This morning we concluded our last small-group sessions. At the start of the conference, we were assigned groups to meet with each morning. These were times of reflection and fellowship where everyone could be heard and respected. We had a great plenary session that focused on the question, "Who has been left out?" as the question of judgment. That is extremely powerful! It was the perfect summary of the event.

We are all so blessed and have too much. All we can do is love and give and love and give. The theme of this week really is, "I loved you, because you loved me." One must learn to love well. Stories—this has been a week of stories of love, concerns, and grace. We are so blessed to be in the UCC Coalition, and, moreover, we are deeply blessed to be members of the loving body of Christ called the UNITED Church of Christ! AMEN!

Report by Jake Joseph, July 17, 2010

ONA Congregations were keeping busy in June with LGBT Pride Month.  You may enjoy reading the profile from UCC News, highlighting how several ONA churches observed the occasion. You'll hear about politics in Boston, MA, rowdy cheers and rain delays in Portland, OR, and squirt guns in Columbus, OH. Read it for yourself and see more photos at www.ucc.org/news/ucc-messages-of-equality.html.

In this year, when we are celebrating 25 years of Open and Affirming Ministry in the United Church of Christ, it's a great time to look back over your own congregation's history of inclusion (as well as that of Coalition chapters, ONA Task Forces, and other sites of UCC or local history in motion).  The following suggestions come from the LGBT Religious Archvies Network (http://www.lgbtran.org/). Use your creativity to apply them to your local setting!

• Form an archives or historical team and start the process of getting your group's records into a repository (http://www.lgbtran.org/Repositories.aspx);
• Develop biographical statements of some founders and/or leaders of your group and submit these to the LGBT-RAN Profiles Gallery (http://www.lgbtran.org/ProfilesGallery.aspx);
• Record oral history interviews with one or two of your early leaders (http://www.lgbtran.org/OralHistory.aspx);
• Organize some artifacts (newsletters, photos, flyers, correspondence, media articles) from your early history into a display or exhibition (http://www.lgbtran.org/Exhibitions.aspx); OR
• Arrange for a presentation about LGBT-RAN at one of your meetings.

This is also a great time to help the UCC Coalition to share the great journey we have been on.  If you would like to be involved in a UCC Coalition history working group, pleas contact the Coalition office at 800-653-0799 or office@ucccoalition.org to express your interest.