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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

 

Read our 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

JULY AND AUGUST 2025

“Each person is a unique and beautiful expression of God’s divine light and love.”

Words from a prayer, published by the ONA Coalition 2023

 

The words from the prayer opened our June meeting:

The message continued as our theme during the month of June. On June 1, a group of FCC members and friends attended the powerful, meaningful, and still relevant oratorio, Considering Matthew Shepard, performed by the Manchester Choral Society. Greetings and socializing before the concert moved into a kind of sacred silence, as the story unfolded in song and the music of the orchestra. MCS President Elizabeth Shiel expressed the experience of the performers and the audience so well. She wrote, “…Telling Matthew’s story through music allows us to feel what headlines cannot: the sorrow of a family, the brutality of silence, the dignity of a life lost too soon. And the hope that, by remembering, we might change.”  The program notes, including an interview with Matthew Shepard’s mother, are worth reading, even if you didn’t attend. A copy will be available in the office, if you’d like to borrow it. You may also experience the oratorio online. There are several free versions posted.

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Committee members and FCC volunteers were excited to once again host a booth at the Manchester Pride Festival on June 28. That event, held downtown at Veterans Park, supports FCC connections with the Manchester community and beyond, offering opportunities to personally share God’s love and acceptance to each person that stopped by. In addition to displaying our FCC banner and passing out items with FCC’s logo and “All Are Welcome” messages, the team of volunteers led some new, engaging games, activities, and offered fun prizes. Thanks to committee members and FCC volunteers who spent the day in service to the mission expressed in FCC’s ONA Covenant.

 

On Sunday, June 29, FCC’s worship service connected with themes of being yourself, loving yourself, and loving others. Justin May delivered the sermon. Karen Hawver, Jeffrey Frye, and Barbara Brawley assisted along with Pastor Chris.

 

The Open and Affirming Committee plans to work with Manchester’s Homeless Coalition this summer, to support and participate in an interfaith event at the Engagement Center, scheduled for August 14. Further information will be published in Sunday News and Friday Link.

 

Plans for summer Open and Affirming Committee are not finalized, but we’ll be back in the fall. The next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 21 at 11:30 am. Let’s continue to lend our heads, hands, and hearts to the work of building the Beloved Community that Civil Rights activist John Lewis spoke about.

JUNE 2025

You’re invited to participate in two special and meaningful community events in June:

Manchester Choral Society will perform Considering Matthew Shepard on June 8 at The Venues at the Factory on Willow Street. The Open and Affirming Committee is offering discounted tickets to FCC members and friends for $20. FCC’s own Michelle Harrington will be singing in the concert. A sign-up sheet for tickets is posted on the office window.  Who was Matthew Shepard? In 1998, the 21-year-old college student was fiercely bludgeoned, tied to a rail fence on a lonely Wyoming prairie and left to die on a cold October night. His murderers were two meth-fueled young men who hated him for being gay. While the choral storytelling recounts Matthew’s brutal and tragic death, the oratorio and the Matthew Shepard Foundation also seek to find balance with love, kindness, and tolerance. The messages of the oratorio remain relevant today.

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The committee is also seeking volunteers for the Manchester Pride Festival, which will be held at Veterans Memorial Park on June 28. FCC will host a booth, extending our invitation and welcome to all. Our church’s presence has been noted and much appreciated at past Pride Fests. We’d love to have you join us. Look for a sign-up sheet on the office window. We’ll contact you about a preferred time to help. Thanks to Adam for collaborating with the committee to design a new banner to display at the Pride Festival. We’ll also display the new banner in our sanctuary for several weeks in June. You’ll notice in the sidebar photo that Adam prominently included the FCC logo and key information about our church. The key message on the new banner is, “All are Welcome Here.” NHCUCC Conference Minister Gordon Rankin recently shared an interesting post about the meaning of “welcome” in his NH Conference newsletter. Several of his points to ponder are included below:

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  • When we promise welcome to all, what does it mean in practice?

  • Welcome is about so much more than just saying you are invited to come gather with us.

  • Welcome is about more than telling others that you can come be with us as long as you are like us. That is assimilation.

  • Welcome involves stretching ourselves and growing to fully incorporate all of who the others are who are becoming part of our community. If we truly welcome, we cannot stay the same. Welcome inevitably involves change.

 

Please join us for Worship on June 29. The service will include elements celebrating Pride, featuring Jeffrey Frye, sharing his musical composition, “We Are Unbroken – Even After All,” and Justin May will deliver the sermon.  Both events and worship on June 29 will connect us to words of FCC’s covenants that appear on our website - to love God, Jesus, and live out our faith in the here and now. We’ll share additional information via Sunday announcements, the Sunday News, and the June Window.  

The next committee meeting will be held on Sunday, June 1 at 11:30 am.

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