The Cathedral of Hope, known as the "world's largest gay church," has been accepted into the United Church of Christ (UCC), becoming the fourth largest congregation in the 1.2 million-member denomination.

"This is a historic day in the life of the Cathedral of Hope," said Rev. Dr. Jo Hudson, senior pastor and rector of the cathedral, in a media statement. "We are blessed to be a full partner in ministry with the North Texas Association and the United Church of Christ. We celebrate that our values of compassion, inclusion, tolerance and hope in service to the world by following Jesus are consistent with those of the UCC."

The Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC general minister and president, said he welcomed the decision of the North Texas Association.

"We will be enriched by the vitality of Cathedral of Hope's ministry even as we hope that incorporation into our 50 year history will be a gift to them," Thomas said, in a media statment issued over the weekend.

In accordance with the denomination's grassroots governance style, issues related to congregational standing and ministerial authority are dealt with at the association level, meaning that associations act on behalf of the UCC nationally when it makes decisions, such as receiving churches or ordaining ministers. Decisions by associations cannot be overruled by the denomination's Conference or National settings.

The Cathedral of Hope touts itself as "the world's largest liberal Christian church with a primary outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people." Its local and national ministries, outreach programs, pastoral counseling and web-based and TV media touch thousands each day. The Cathedral of Hope began exploring UCC affiliation many years ago when, in 1997, a congregational vote authorized consideration of the move. Over the years, various lay leaders gathered information on the UCC and completed preliminary evaluations.

In 2003, consideration of the UCC was again discussed by the congregation when the church voted to disaffiliate from the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. In January 2005, the church's board of directors instructed its affiliation and expansion committee to resume exploration of affiliation in earnest. A congregational vote to request UCC affiliation was overwhelmingly approved on Oct. 30, 2005.

Since the UCC's national General Synod approved a resolution supporting same-gender marriage equality in June 2005, more than 100 local UCC churches, in addition to the denomination's Puerto Rico Conference, have voted to leave the denomination. At the same time, about 65 churches, such the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, have sought UCC affiliation.

Until next time!