UCC has been progressive pacesetter

Two days after the U.S. Supreme Court issued two rulings favoring marital rights for same-sex couples, the largely liberal United Church of Christ was in a celebratory mood as its biennial national convention opened June 28 in Long Beach, California.

Only hours after a U.S. district court permitted a quick resumption of same-gender marriages in California, a UCC pastor from nearby Torrance and his partner of ten years were married June 30 at the Long Beach Convention Center in a ceremony witnessed by many delegates.

The UCC was the first mainline denomination to ordain an openly gay person in 1972, and in 2005 the UCC General Synod voted overwhelmingly to endorse civil same-gender marriage, encouraging local churches to celebrate and bless those marriages.