Resources

Sexuality & Faith

Cathedral of Hope is an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ. We practice extravagant welcome and many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender folk have found their spiritual home here. It is said that CoH is the largest open and affirming congregation in the world.

As Christians, we profess that we are created in the image of God. In this image, we make a lifelong journey toward deeper faith, faithfulness, and wholeness. As a church, we seek continually to integrate God’s ongoing revelation with new knowledge and understandings of our lives and times. In our religious life and education, we seek to equip the faithful for this journey in all its possibilities.

As people in the United Church of Christ (UCC), we affirm that sexuality and a spirituality are intricately connected and that both are gifts from God. The actions of our General Synods, conferences, associations, congregations, and councils support this.

The following principles from the UCC’s Created in God’s Image: A Human Sexuality Program for Ministry and Mission, expresses what many in the United Church of Christ believe about faith, spirituality, sexuality, and justice.

Useful Links

Believe Out Loud

We believe that each of us is made in God's image — beautiful and beloved, unique and whole. We work for the day when all are treated as equals in our families, churches and communities.

Lambda Legal

Founded in 1973, Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.

PFLAG

PFLAG is the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies. With nearly 400 chapters and 250,000 members and supporters crossing multiple generations of families in major urban centers, small cities, and rural areas across America, PFLAG is committed to creating a world where diversity is celebrated and all people are respected, valued, and affirmed.

Resource Center Dallas

Resource Center is a trusted leader that empowers the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQIA+) communities and all people affected by HIV through improving health and wellness, strengthening families and communities and providing transformative education and advocacy.

Dallas Voice

The premier media source for LGBTQ Texas.

GLSEN

Every day GLSEN works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Together, we can transform our nation’s K-12 schools into the safe and affirming environment all youth deserve.

Human Rights Campaign

The Human Rights Campaign envisions a world where every member of the LGBTQ+ family has the freedom to live their truth without fear, and with equality under the law. We empower our 3 million members and supporters to mobilize against attacks on the most marginalized people in our community.

The Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people.

LGBTQ+ Family Support Guide for Birth Injuries

Get practical information to help LGBTQ+ parents overcome unique challenges, find essential medical, financial, and emotional support, and deal with discrimination.

LGBTQ+ RESOURCES - BOOKS

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DOWNLOADABLE ARTICLES

ADDITIONAL LGBTQ+ RESOURCES

PRINCIPLES GUIDING THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST COMMITMENT TO SEXUALITY EDUCATION

  • Sexuality is a God-given gift.       

  • The purposes of sexuality are to enhance human wholeness and fulfillment, to express love, commitment, delight, and pleasure, to bring new life into the world, and to give glory to God.

  • When making decisions about sexuality, the primary guide is God’s call to love and justice as revealed in both Testaments.

  • From a biblical perspective, sexuality is intended to express mutuality, love, and justice. In judging whether behavior is ethical or unethical, the norms of mutuality, love, and justice are the central criteria.

  • From a biblical perspective, sexuality is distorted by unethical behaviors, attitudes, and systems that foster violence, exploitation, infidelity, assertion of power, and the treatment of persons as objects.

  • In developing a just sexual morality, we need to avoid double standards.

  • A responsible and mature sexual ethic respects the moral agency of every person.

  • The church, at all levels, ought to be a context for discussion about human sexuality.

  • The church ought to encourage and support advocacy with those who are sexually oppressed or the victims of sexual violence and abuse. The church can and must have a role in defining and implementing public policy.