Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

Each Sunday morning members and visitors at Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ, Cleveland, Ohio, are presented with a vivid reminder of the pain of discrimination. On a stand in the chancel, a Boy Scout uniform belonging to Brooke Willis, an active member of the congregation who is openly gay, is displayed in plain view. According to Pilgrim's senior pastor, the Rev. Laurinda Hafner, the uniform will remain there until the Boy Scouts of America rescind their national policy of denying membership to gay individuals and open their programs to all boys regardless of sexual orientation. "The uniform reminds members and visitors that the policy affects real people who are known and loved by the Pilgrim congregation," she says. Pilgrim, an open and affirming congregation, is a member of Scouting for All and, until recent years, was sponsor of the city's oldest Boy Scouts troop. Boy Scouts leaders forced the troop to disaffiliate with Pilgrim rather than abide by the congregation's commitment to inclusiveness.