The Open and Affirming (ONA) ministry of the United Church of Christ (UCC) has made all the difference in the world to my spiritual and emotional life. After 25 years of writing off organized religion, I discovered the UCC through Glade Church in Blacksburg, VA. Starting then and continuing to this day at United Church of Chapel Hill, there are times I’ll be worshipping and say to myself, “I cannot believe there is a Christian church like this!” A spiritual home that accepts me the way God made me, where I can both live honestly and be active in the full life of the church, where I can attend Bible study and safely express doubts and questions. Thanks to the UCC and ONA, my life is so much fuller than it once was — with regular worship and prayer, and the opportunity to serve through music. During the years I didn’t attend church, I stopped making music. Having had it back in my life since 2005, I know now that my life was lacking something it dearly needs to be full — music making, in particular as a means of worshipping God.

Thank you, UCC, for giving me my life back.