Rev. Dr. Lee Albertson

Open and Affirming Statement: 

First Congregational United Church of Christ in Albuquerque, New Mexico, seeks to serve as a sign and symbol of God’s love for the world. We are a people of hope, who reach out with a radical openness to the diversity of God’s gifts.

 In this spirit, we seek to reconcile with those who have been condemned and injured by the Church, and covenant to stand with them in their struggle for equality and justice. We lovingly welcome all who have suffered discrimination or have been disenfranchised from the religious community into the full communion and ministry of this church.

We confess that the Church has often judged and excluded gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered people, and those individuals who are questioning their sexual orientation. We confess that we have been complicit by our silence. We confess the presence of ignorance, fear, and hatred – in ourselves, in the Church, and in society.

We ask the grace of God to overcome this complicity of silence. We ask the grace of God to overcome ignorance, fear, and hate. Our fervent prayer is that all people in our congregation will stand firm in the assurance that Christ’s redemptive love enfolds us all.

We affirm diversity in our members, in our staff, and in our leaders. We believe that diversity brings us strength and a greater awareness of God’s creation.

Therefore, we declare ourselves an Open and Affirming Congregation in the United Church of Christ.