When Northampton residents Gary and Barbara Maursky attend Christmas church services next week, they will feel welcome.

Their two grown daughters, who will be visiting from out of town, also will be welcome.

That feeling of being welcome is not found in every church, say the Maurskys, who moved to the Lehigh Valley from Albany, N.Y., in 2007.

"I was uncomfortable in church," said Gary, referring to another local congregation he and his wife tried to join after moving to the area. "It just became more and more difficult [to go]."

When daughters Jennifer and Christine visited with their families, no one wanted to go to church, despite a strong family tradition of Christian faith, Gary said.

Their discomfort comes from some churches' inability to accept all members of the Maursky family.

During Easter dinner in 2003, Christine, now 36, introduced the family to Diana. Everyone was fine with the fact that Christine had chosen another woman to be her spouse.

Churches in Pennsylvania were not quite so accepting, however, the Maurskys said.

Barbara remembers one local church service during which a prayer mentioned accepting everybody.

"They say the words but they don't mean them," Barbara said. "They will accept [you] as long as you're like them."

For a year and a half, the Maurskys didn't attend church at all. This bothered them, Barbara said.

Gary found information on Trinity United Church of Christ in Coplay, which had just become "open and affirming." In order to earn this designation, a congregation goes through an extensive educational program and then must choose the designation by a vote of at least 80 percent of the members.

"Open and affirming [is] embracing the differences in sexual orientation, gender, age, mental and physical abilities, race, ethnicity and socio-economic background," said Steve Hummel, Trinity U.C.C. pastor.

Gary discovered Trinity while surfing the Internet.

"So he turned around and said, 'You want to go?'" Barbara said.

"Right from the minute we walked in, everybody was extremely friendly, extremely welcoming," Barbara continued. "[They] made us feel very comfortable and didn't pressure us in any way about deciding to join."

The following week, their older daughter, Jennifer, 37, and family visited from Maryland and attended Trinity services.

Church members welcomed the visitors openly, despite the fact that the Maurskys' grandson was crawling around on the floor, said Barbara.

The couple decided they wanted to join the church.

Both daughters and their spouses and children will be visiting for Christmas this year.

"They're all going to church with us on Christmas Eve," said Barbara. "And this is what is important to me."