Open and Affirming Coalition United Church of Christ’s Collection, 1969-2015.

Collection

Identifier: RG4924

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Types of material include council minutes; correspondence to and from leadership (national coordinator and some chapter representatives); events; subject files and resources; regional chapters; public relations; publications; and news articles related to Coalition interests. Due to the nature of the donations and record-keeping by individuals, there are unpredictable focal points and gaps in the records. The nature of the Coalition was very de-centralized for the first decades of its existence. It evolved to have an office in the late 1990s and is now incorporated into the United Church of Christ headquarters. Leadership was responsible for maintaining their own records until that office was created, and only a few people have shared their files with this central archive project. When material has come in, if a clear creator or collector was present, it’s noted on the folder. This sometimes informs organizational choices. This can result in multiple folders per topic when multiple contributors hand similar content. Contributors to this collection include:

Administrative office (Mitzi Eiltz)
Susan B. Echo
Jan Griesinger
Richard Taylor
Marnie Warner (and rose ann olmstead)

Dates

1969-2015

Creator

Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is unrestricted and open to the public.

Historical Note

The Gay Caucus was founded in 1972 by Reverend William Johnson, the first openly gay minister ordained in the United Church of Christ, Nancy Krody and others to advocate for the inclusion of gays and lesbians into the life of the United Church of Christ. The Caucus evolved into the Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns. The Coalition made its first appearance at the 1973 General Synod in St. Louis, MO with an objective of making sure that when discussions about gays and lesbians took place that gays and lesbians were included. In 1997, the Coalition changed its name to the United Church of Christ Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns. In 1981, annual National Gatherings started taking place as a way to provide personal support to gays and lesbians, their families and friends. In 1985, General Synod passed a Resolution urging local congregations to Declare Themselves Open and Affirming. The Coalition took on the responsibility of implementing this resolution. The ONA program included resources and personal guidance to any UCC church willing to go through a discussion process with the goal of adopting a statement that welcomed gays, lesbians, bi-sexual and transgender people into their congregations. By 2012, the 1,000th UCC congregation declared itself as ONA. In 2015, the Coalition changed its name to Open and Affirming Collation of the United Church of Christ.

Extent

8.3 Cubic Feet (7 record cartons, 1 document case, 1 shoebox)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This organization, originally called The Gay Caucus when it was founded in 1972, was created to advocate for the inclusion of gays and lesbians into the life of the United Church of Christ. Types of material include council minutes; correspondence to and from leadership (national coordinator and some chapter representatives); events; subject files and resources; regional chapters; public relations; publications; and news articles related to Coalition interests.

Arrangement

Processed by Jessica Steytler, July 2015, using DACS Second Edition. Accruals added by Jessica Steytler May 2017.

Arrangement

Series I: Administrative, National Series II: Events Series III: Correspondence Series IV: Regional Chapters Series V: Subject Files and Resources Series VI: Allied Groups Series VII: PR and Publications

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

CDs and DVDs require an optical disk drive to view files; VHS video tapes require a VCR to view.

Accruals

There have been several accruals since the original deposit in 2009 and further accruals are expected periodically.

Related Materials

Robert Wood papers, 1920-2014 (MS4704) Raymond H. Bradley, Jr.'s Collection on marriage equality in Rhode Island, 1977-2013 (MS 5066) Waves. The national newsletter of the United Church Coalition for Lesbian / Gay / Bisexual / Transgender Concerns Coalition News. United Church Coalition for LGBT Concerns, Rocky Mountain Chapter.

Deaccessions

Waves. The national newsletter of the United Church Coalition for Lesbian / Gay / Bisexual / Transgender Concerns
duplicates, material not created by organization, otherwise not meeting requirements for collection