Welcoming Congregation

· Assume the presence of b/g/l/t people and celebrate this diversity by having inclusive language and content in our worship.

· Fully incorporate the experiences of b/g/l/t persons throughout all programs, including religious education.

· Include an affirmation and nondiscrimination clause in our bylaws and other official documents affecting all dimensions of congregational life, including membership, hiring practices, and the calling of religious professionals.

· Engage in outreach into the b/g/l/t community in advertising and by actively supporting b/g/l/t affirmative groups.

· Offer congregational and ministerial support for union and memorial services for b/g/l/t persons, and for celebrations of family definitions.

· Celebrate the lives of all people and welcome same-sex couples, recognizing their committed relationships, and equally affirm displays of caring and affection without regard to sexual orientation.

· Seek to nurture ongoing dialogue between bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, and heterosexual persons and to create deeper trust and sharing.

· Establish a chapter of Interweave.

· Affirm and celebrate b/g/l/t issues and history during the church year.

· Attend to legislative developments and work to promote justice, freedom, and equality in the larger society.

· Speak out when the rights of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people are at stake.

· Celebrate the lives of all people and their ways of expressing their love for each other.

 

Heritage is proud to have recently established an Interweave chapter. From the Interweave mission statement, “Interweave is a membership organization affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is dedicated to the spiritual, political, and social well-being of Unitarian Universalists who are confronting oppression as lesbians, gay men, bisexual persons, transgender persons, and heterosexual allies. It celebrates the culture and lives of its members.”

 

Interweave membership is open to all interested UUs of any sexual or affectional orientation. Membership in Interweave involves two primary goals:

· the creation of a group for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender Unitarian Universalists for support, socializing, and sharing life issues; and

· outreach to the larger bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender community to publicize the religious alternative offered by Unitarian Universalism.

 

For more information about Interweave or b/l/g/t support and issues at Heritage, contact the Heritage Social Action Committee.

 

- Adapted from UUA.org website. 

Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church received recognition as a UUA Welcoming Congregation in May 2004. This designation indicates that Heritage has completed the UUA program to become intentionally more inclusive of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people.

As a Welcoming Congregation, Heritage strives to:

· Include and address the needs of b/g/l/t persons at every level of congregational life—in worship, in programs, in social occasions, and in rites of passage—welcoming not only their presence, but the gifts and particularities of their lives.