We Are a Welcoming Congregation
On October 14, 1992 the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Concerns notified our congregation that we were officially recognized as a Welcoming Congregation. In his message to OUUC, the Reverend Keith Kron, the Office’s director, wrote, “Our history shows that the liberal religious tradition is affirmed every time another congregation commits itself to being a human place that affirms, welcomes, and celebrates the presence of gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons.”
OUUC is one of 653 Welcoming Congregations in the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC).
OUUC’s designation as a Welcoming Congregation was the culmination of a process beginning in 1990 that involved the whole congregation. The by-laws were changed in 1991 to incorporate an affirmative non-discrimination clause, and inclusive language is used in all worship services, public presentations, and publications. The certificate designating OUUC as a Welcoming Congregation is displayed on the social justice bulletin board in the Religious Education wing hallway.
Services of union are performed by the minister. OUUC’s Religious Education program includes Our Whole Lives (OWL), a series of sexuality education curricula for six age groups founded on values that promote self worth, sexual health, responsibility, justice and inclusivity.
OUUC members, carrying the congregation’s banner, join gay pride parades and rallies, and are active participants in the ongoing work in the state legislature for marriage equality and full legal rights of GLBT persons.