Rev. Lee J. Milligan 

Open and Affirming Statement: 

We proclaim ourselves to be an open and affirming congregation, accepting all people who affirm their faith in Jesus Christ, and who take Christ as a guide for their living.

We acknowledge the image of God in every person. We rejoice in the sacredness of Life and we proclaim and celebrate God's wondrous love for all persons. We seek to follow the principles of love and justice in all of our relationships.

We believe that, although we are many members, we are one body in Christ. As such, we are called to love one another, to do justice, to bring release to the oppressed and to walk humbly with our God. Our goal of ministry is to heal the brokenness that we experience in ourselves and in our relationships with God and with each other. We recognize that within the Church each of us can be transformed as we learn obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

We believe that the spirit of Jesus' message and life is an affirmation and vision of the unity of all creation, expressed in His prayer, "That they all may be one."

Neither approving nor disapproving, we declare that we the Congregation of the Church of the Painted Hills welcome all persons regardless of marital status, cultural heritage, ethnicity, theological viewpoint or economic status as well as gay, lesbian and bisexual people into the full faith and fellowship of this church.