Central St. Matthew United Church of Christ
Open and Affirming Covenant
The Central St. Matthew United Church of Christ,
in the name of Jesus Christ, welcomes ALL who seek to know God.
We Recognize
We recognize that we are called to be one body with many members.
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”
[1 Corinthians 12:12]
We Affirm
We affirm that each individual is a child of God, created in God’s image, blessed and loved equally by God.
“Love comes from God,”
[1 John 4:7]
We value love as a unifying and strengthening force that binds us together in our Christian faith.
We Welcome
We welcome fully into our community persons of every gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, mental and physical ability, age, race, nationality, economic and social status, faith background, marital standing and family structure. In welcoming all persons, we accept, affirm, and support everyone in the joys, trials, and transitions of their loves, relationships, unions and marriages. We fully affirm and enthusiastically celebrate each and every one to share in the life, leadership, ministry, fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities, blessings and joys of our congregation as we continue “bringing New Orleans together” in faith and love.
As we all journey together to fulfill God’s mission for this church, we commit ourselves to making justice and inclusivity a reality in this congregation and in the world. We rely upon the healing, unconditional nature of God’s love and grace to be our help and our guide.
Open and Affirming (ONA) is the United Church of Christ’s (UCC) designation for congregations, campus ministries, and other bodies in the UCC which make a public covenant of welcome into their full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God… We love because God first loved us.
Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.