Letters of Support

Plymouth Church has received many letters following our Open and Affirming declaration. The letters below are available for you to view with permission from the people who wrote them.

Dear Plymouth Congregation,

I belong to a PFLAG chapter in Oklahoma and have just heard about your congregation's vote to take an official stand to be welcoming and affirming. Thank you so much for your moral courage to stand in the storm with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons and their families and friends. It is a cruel thing to have your life or your loved ones demeaned for cynical political reasons. You are truly living your faith and I hope it's contagious for your community.

A. G.

Norman, Oklahoma

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Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Word has come to us here at First Congregational UCC of Naperville that you recently voted to become an "Open and Affirming" Congregation. We are a congregation that became ONA about seven years ago. We cheer you in your courageous decisioin to consciously and deliberately offer support and care for Gay persons, especially In the heated atmostphere of controversy, concerning Gay marriage and related matters which have long precluded people from fair and equal treatment.

We offer prayers and encouragement to you as a congregation as you continue to seek ways to affirm God's love of all people and desire for justice and peace.

Blessings in Christ,

G. S.

Naperville Illinois

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Dear all,

I am writing from your sister church in Naperville after hearing the news that your church community recently voted to become an Open and Affirming congregation. While initially it may bring unwanted attention to you, please know that your role as a safe church community is SO important to bringing God's message of love and justice to people during these trying and decisive times.

Our church struggled with this issue - not sure if it was necessary to make this distinction. "Weren't we already open-armed and inclusive?" The story that convinced many people that we were doing the right thing was this: a mother and father, members of our congregation, shared the story of their son's struggle with his sexual identity. They said, "when he was baptized in this sanctuary you said you would love him and care for him.... I cannot imagine that you would go back on that word." The human face on these kinds of issues is often the proof we need that we're making the right decisions when faced with difficult issues.

You will be in our prayers. When people argue against what you've decided, please remember that you are boldly demonstrating the popular adage - What Would Jesus Do? Jesus, I believe, would not make a decision that some people are welcome in His church... and others are not.

Blessings to you. L. S.

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Dear Plymouth UCC,

You are blessed to be a blessing, and that's just what you're doing by taking this courageous stand to be open and affirming to your gay/lesbian/bi sisters and brothers. What a scandal those who are protesting you make of themselves ... but that mentality is just what Jesus struggled against and was crucified by. That mentality lurks in all of us - and you redeem it by defying the pietistic uncomprehending status quo. Bless you, bless you, bless you.

I was raised in the church, was confirmed, took my faith so very seriously - and went on to seminary, where I just about committed suicide in the face of the church's homophobia. Judgment deals out death, according to Paul. And you have chosen life. And that abundantly.

Bless you.

C. D.
Longmont, Colorado

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Dear friends at Plymouth,

When our son Christopher was associate pastor at Plymouth, we came to know and enjoy the congregation very much. Now we want you to know that you all have our prayers and support as you embark on the Open and Affirming journey.

Our congregation, First Congregational Church in Naperville, IL, has been Open and Affirming for several years. We held our breath a bit at first, but we have found our church enriched and strengthened by our position.

We will pray for you, especially tomorrow, knowing that God will embrace and comfort you.

Yours in Christ,

P. & R. G.

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I received e-mail indicating that there may be some who will be

staging protests at your church this Sunday because of
your Open & Affirming decision. I am saddened to hear that there are
people who are so filled with hate or have so much time on their hands
that they feel compelled to disrupt your worship. Please know that you
are doing the right thing. By all accounts, Jesus' ministry was an
inclusive one, and by voting to become Open & Affirming, you are
emulating Him. Because of your decision, people who have no other place
to go will be able to worship God in a community of fellow believers.
We will be praying for you and your ministry.

D. L.
Naperville, IL
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Dear Members of Plymouth,

We support and appreciate your vote to become an open and affirming church. We also realize that this action is going to expose you to conflict, hate, and other "Unchristian" attitudes. We pray that you will become a wonderful example to other churches in Lawrence and the rest of Kansas to remind them that God loves all of us.

Prayerfully,

B. and C. V.

Members of First Presbyterian Church of Norman, Oklahoma

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Peter and friends at Plymouth-
I just wanted to let you know that you have my support and prayers in your decision to become an open and affirming congregation. You are making an important statement about not tolerating discrimination and bigotry and also showing that the church is a place for all people. You might have protesters and you might get criticized but you are doing the right thing - the Christian thing.

Please know that I admire and support you and you'll be in my thoughts.

Sincerely,
D. M.
(Plymouth alumnus :)

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Thanks for the stand that you are taking as a Christian congregation.
The world would be a better place if more of us who call ourselves
Christian cared about other people.

Blessings,

B. R.

First Presbyterian Church, Norman, Oklahoma
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Dear Friends,

It's only today that I've learned of the vote you people
have taken to be recognized as an open and affirming
congregation (probably just making official what you already
are) and that there are protests planned against you for
this coming Sunday. My thoughts and prayers for peaceful
discussions are with you, together with those of thanks for
your moral strength. Please remember, particularly if things
go sour, that there are many of us out here who respect your
courage and would be with you to show the importance of your
statement. It's from those like you who take positions
against hatred and persecution that others will eventually
understand how simply human and completely normal these
ideas are.

Sincerely,
T.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters of Plymouth Church,

Please know the prayers and support of the pastors, staff and members of Northfield Community Church are with you these days as you witness the marvelous news of God�s love. I commend your decision to proclaim in your part of the world what surely from the beginning angels have declared in all of heaven: the Creator�s reach exceeds creation�s (our) grasp. Such bold proclamation of God�s reckless, extravagant love should rattle us all, and surely must shake us to our foundations. It seems to me that, particularly in these days, a little shaking is in order both by and in the church.

Thank you for standing up and for opening your doors as and �Open and Affirming� congregation of the United Church of Christ.

Now the iron bars are broken Christ from death to life is born.

Christ has triumphed, and we conquer by his mighty enterprise

We with Christ to life eternal by his resurrection rise!

D.R.M.

The United Church of Christ

Northfield, IL

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To our many dear friends at Plymouth,

I saw Peter Luckey at a conference recently, and heard of your decision to become an open and affirming congregation. My sincere congratulations to you. May God continue to bless your ministries of grace, enabling you to overcome fear with love, and hostility with hospitality.

I can only guess that there will be protestors, and comments from co-workers, and who knows what else. I know that the days ahead may bring new challenges, but I wanted to write and let you know that I, for one, am proud to have served as an associate pastor at Plymouth. I fully believe that you have moved in a direction that aligns with the radical grace and welcome of the gospel.

I know that one of Plymouth's strengths is its diversity of opinion. I'm sure that, despite the vote, that diversity of opinion remains. I hope that you will persevere in your own sense of identity, as a diverse community gathered around scripture and table, and remain the thinking, diverse community that you are, despite attempts to cast you as monolithic or extreme.

We will be praying for you at our house. Best wishes for the ministry ahead.

In faith and service,

C.R.G.

Garrett Seminary, Evanston, IL. USA

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Friends in Christ:

I am writing in support of your recent decision to be an open and affirming congregation. That witness of your understanding of Christian hospitality in the spirit of Jesus is so much needed in the troubled, hate-filled world in which we live. As agents of reconciliation, may God give you strength, courage, and blessings as you live out what it means to be part of God's kin-com of love and justice.

Your brother in Christ,

D.W.V. (graduate of Abilene, KS, High School!!)
Styberg Professor Emeritus of Worship
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

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Dear Peter and Plymouth congregants,

I just received an email informing me of your courageous vote to become an open and affirming congregation. As a former Plymouth member, I am proud of your decision. While some may consider it radical, I am not sure that being open and inclusive is such a radical idea. Jesus stood for this very thing and I don't think would accept any less of his followers. Please know that there are a lot of people out there who stand behind you and believe in you. Thanks for carrying out God's wishes for peace among all of us, even when striving for peace may mean catching a lot of heat.

Blessings to you all.

W.M.

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Greetings -

We read of your O&A declaration in the ONA Communique' and simply wanted to lend our name to your list of supporters. We here in the San Francisco Bay Area probably can't grasp the courage it took to make your proclamation in Kansas but we imagine you've been receiving some negative mail as well and we just wanted to voice our support and appreciation.

We all have a lot of work to do...more it seems that even just a few years ago...but as we all know, with fiath in God we can do anything. Our prayers are with you in Kansas.

Congregational Community Church of Sunnyvale, CA