Members of the Conference ONA Team have issued the following statement:
We, the members of the Wisconsin Conference UCC Open and Affirming Team, declare that recent Supreme Court decisions allowing states to restrict the rights of transgender women and girls to participate in sports run contrary to our faith.
To our transgender siblings, especially those who are feeling anxious, discouraged, or afraid: You are beloved by God. You are not alone. Our ONA congregations remain committed to welcoming you, standing with you, and celebrating the gifts you bring to the Body of Christ.
As followers of Jesus Christ and as a Conference committed to the ONA covenant, we believe every person bears the image of God and is worthy of dignity, compassion, and love. In moments when court decisions or public debate leave members of our communities feeling unseen, uncertain, or unsafe, the Church is called to embody Christ’s welcome. Our calling is not determined by political winds but by the Gospel’s command to love God and love our neighbors.
In Luke 10:25-27, Jesus speaks with a lawyer. When Jesus asks him what he reads in the law, the lawyer replies: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replies: “You have given the right answer.”
The politics and legal battles of 2026 have thrust transgender people into the center of public controversy, often leaving them feeling vulnerable, isolated, and unwelcome.
The Wisconsin Conference is home to more than 80 Open and Affirming congregations, with many more in the process of developing their own ONA covenants. We call upon every church and member to recall the promise made at Baptism “to be Christ’s disciple, to follow in the way of our Savior, to resist oppression and evil, to show love and justice, and to witness to the work and word of Jesus Christ as best [we] are able.”
The Open and Affirming Team of the Wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ