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Welcoming Congregation Activities
2012-2013
Our Welcoming Congregation activities are well integrated with our Church Life. All Church Members watch to ensure that we continue to welcome our LGBTQQI brothers and sisters in the church, and concentrate on supporting community activities through strong community organizations like Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) and SCEquality (South Carolina Equality Coalition is a statewide non-partisan coalition of local and state social, religious and political GLBT organizations and allies with a mission to secure civil and human rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender South Carolinians). The highlights of our year include: Increasing number of LGBTQQI members, LGBT discussion in the curriculum of the Our Whole Life (OWL) teen religious education program, the Demonstration in March 2013 for Marriage Equality with 500 Charlestonians on the steps of the Custom House, Over 50 Church members marching and riding on a float in the 3rd Annual Charleston Gay Pride Parade, and most importantly, the lovely wedding in October between church members Sue Weller and Jen Bennett.
Our congregation is a Welcoming Congregation for gay, lesbian, bisexualand transgender (GLBT) people. This congregation became a Welcoming Congregation in 2007 after a multi-year period of study and reflection by congregation Members.
We fulfill our role as a Welcoming Congregation by offering GLBT persons a religious home free of discrimination. Whoever you are, wherever you come from, you are welcome in our faith community.
Unitarian Universalist congregations, especially the Unitarian Church in Charleston, extend a warm welcome to bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender (BGLT) people and their families. We are a caring, open-minded faith community that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path.
We believe that our first Principle, respecting “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” applies equally to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities/ gender expressions. Unitarian Universalism has intentionally reached out to BGLT people and their families. Our Welcoming Congregations have completed a program to enhance their welcome of all people.
Unitarian Universalism is one of the few religions that ordains openly bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people. Our BGLT clergy (who are permitted to partner or marry) participate fully in our faith community as pastors in some of our largest congregations.
We work to promote acceptance, inclusion, understanding, and equity for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender persons of all colors, races, and ethnicities, both within the UUA and in society at large. We are committed to protecting the civil and legal rights of BGLT people and families across the country. Unitarian Universalists have been at the forefront of the same-sex marriage debates, advocating for the right for each person to marry the partner of his or her choice. Our congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities—and the world—a better place.
Learn more on the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) website.
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Virginia Delegation Rejects Gay-Inclusive Guidebook
The Virginia delegation to the Republican National Convention had to brave the Minneapolis–St. Paul area without a handy guidebook, all because the guide included information on gay-friendly local attractions. According to ABC News, a campaign official from the Virginia lieutenant governor's office canceled an order for 150 of the guidebooks because they included six to eight pages dedicated to gay and lesbian nightclubs.
"Having a section dedicated solely to GLBT will be a BIG problem for many of our folks," office aide Melissa Busse wrote to Rake Publishing, who distributed the guides. "We simply can't hand them out."
Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling later told ABC News he was unaware of the decision and said later in a statement he wishes "it had not happened."
Even without the books, owners for LGBT clubs in the Twin Cities say that they've seen an uptick in business during the convention.
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| Senate Committee to consider benefits for Gay Federal Employees
By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade | Sep 4, 12:57 PM
The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Sept. 24 on the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act.
The legislation would grant the partners of gay federal employees the same benefits that are available to the spouses of straight counterparts.
The committee, which is chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), has yet to finalize its list of witnesses, according to Seamus Hughes, a committee spokesperson. read more ...
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Welcoming Congregation is a way for a congregation to come out, a way of standing tall in the community and saying to our neighbors, we are a church that tries, in every way possible, to embrace people of all sexual orientations . (Thomas Mikelson)
Unitarians oppose anti-gay marriage ballot measures
Unitarian Universalists ended their annual General Assembly meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with a call to oppose ballot measures in Florida and California that would outlaw same-sex marriages.
Delegates also called for an end to what they called the ''present day slavery'' of undocumented immigrants. ''Our vision of justice is not limited to concern for one oppressed group,'' said the Rev. William Sinkford, president of the Unitarian Universalist Association, at a rally. ''It's a vision of justice in which all American families are valued. We say that the Beloved Community must have room for all of us.''
UUA members, who have historically been vocal advocates of progressive social justice causes, voted to oppose initiatives in Florida and California that would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. California began allowing same-sex marriages on June 17.
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