In the United Church of Christ, we have a designation for churches that have publically declared their full inclusion of the LGBTQ community that is known as being “Open and Affirming” (ONA).
Usually congregations will gather together at a congregational meeting and take a vote of whether they want to adopt this label. It is a beautiful display of a church’s dedication to being a welcoming presence.
The first time I heard “Your grandson is so cute!” I was in the Village, at Wells Fargo with my newborn son. I was peeved. Couldn’t the teller see that my little toe-headed mini-me was mine?
Nowadays? Meh. I take it as a supreme, albeit backhanded compliment that a man of a certain age (I’m 53 as of press time) has the stamina to parent a now seven-year-old son, let alone the subtext of having the juice to help make that human happen in the first place.
Claremont Courier on Social Media