Less than a year after producing a gay-inclusive television ad rejected by the major television networks, the United Church of Christ is at it again, with a second ad deemed inappropriate to air by broadcast officials.

The new advertisement is set to be shot in Vancouver next week, and while UCC officials are not yet disclosing the ad's content, the TV spot's theme is said to be similar to last year's ad, which showed bouncers not allowing various people of color from entering into a church. The commercial ended with a message from UCC that it welcomes all comers to its churches, and showed a lesbian couple embracing. The new commercial will also include images of a gay couple, this time being rejected due to their sexuality.

"We hope to reach 70 percent of the population with this message. We want to raise questions in people's minds about their preconceived notions about homosexuals," said Ron Buford, coordinator and team leader of UCC's Still Speaking initiative.

Buford, 49, who is gay and African American, said the commercials are meant to brand UCC as a church open to all and to differentiate the denomination from the Church of Christ, a more conservative faith. The ads are part of the church's Still Speaking campaign, meant to inform nonmembers about UCC's lineage stretching back to the Pilgrims and its history of being a leader in supporting progressive causes from abolishing slavery to women's suffrage to the civil and gay rights movements.

"We've been very silent, thinking people know who we are. The Still Speaking campaign is focused on teaching the world about us and our church. As a result of the ads the Church of Christ in some places have had to put up signs saying 'We are not the United Church of Christ,'" said Buford, who was in town last weekend to talk up the campaign.

While the ads are merely meant to alert LGBT people that they will not be ostracized from UCC – and do not directly touch upon such controversial topics as same-sex marriage or gay clergy members – the three major networks see the ads differently. In meetings with him last month, Buford said network officials deemed the new commercial as an advocacy ad and declined to air it.

The networks used a similar stand last year in rejecting the first ad, though CBS officials went even further, citing President Bush's position against gay marriage as one of their reasons for not airing the spot. In a statement to UCC, the network said "Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations, and the fact the executive branch has recently proposed a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks."

"CBS said to us it was continuing to hold its position that our ad is an advocacy ad and they don't do advocacy ads. I asked them what will it take for our ad not to be an advocacy ad and they said when acceptance of gay people has been accepted generally," said Buford. "Gay people, we can do their hair, entertain them, sing in their churches but who we are is a morality issue. We are saying your sexuality is not a barrier between you and God. People are challenged by it."

ABC, which ran the ad on its ABC Family channel on cable last time, continues to reject the spot for the network station because it has a policy of not running religious commercials, said Buford. Of the three networks, he said NBC seems willing to reconsider its position that the ads are too controversial to air, though as of now the station has not decided to run the new ad.

"With NBC I made the case it may not be as controversial as you think. Even Jerry Falwell said while he disagrees with the message he thinks we have a right to air it," said Buford.

Networks officials did not respond to requests for comment by press time. The controversy – and consequent media coverage – surrounding the commercial last fall resulted in a bonanza of free advertising for the church. Since the launch of the campaign, UCC Web sites received 5 million hits, with 500,000 people entering their Zip codes to locate the nearest church.

UCC hopes to air the new commercial in early November and Buford has been barnstorming the country to raise $1.5 million from church members to help pay for the media buy. The national church office has agreed to kick in another $1.5 million to cover the total $3 million cost. As of Monday, October 3 Buford had raised nearly $700,000 toward his goal. He remains confident he can raise the rest of the money by November.

For more information, visit www.stillspeaking.com.