“Open and Affirming” is a designation used in both the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ by local churches as a way of saying, “This congregation welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning people into the full life and ministry of the church.” Niles Discovery Church is an Open and Affirming congregation.
The Open and Affirming programs of our denominations are administered by the national lgbt advocacy groups of each denomination: The GLAD Alliance and the United Church Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns (The Coalition).
As an open and affirming congregation, we want all LGBTQ people to know that there is nothing wrong with them. They do not have a spiritual problem, nor do they have a mental problem. We know that there are Christians who claim that gayness can be ‘cured,’ that it can be ‘prayed away.’ We reject that claim. God has no interest in ‘healing’ a problem that doesn’t exist. Furthermore, the one reputable study that suggested that homosexuality might possibly be changed in some patients has now been repudiated by its author. See the video below for more information on this.