We are a Welcoming Congregation
If you are lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, or if you think you might be, NSUC welcomes you to join with us. We are a Welcoming Congregation.
The term “Welcoming Congregation” has a special meaning in our congregational life. It means that our church has voted (in 2004) to actively welcome people of all sexual orientations and gender identities as full participants in the congregational life of our church. It also means that our community has undertaken a number of commitments in this regard.
Our History of Support
Unitarian Universalism is very supportive of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender (BGLT) people and their families, and has officially welcomed this community since 1970. 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.
Unitarian Universalism is one of the few religions that ordain openly Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender people. We encourage our BGLT clergy to participate as fully in our faith as our heterosexual clergy.
In addition to welcoming BGLT people into our religious community, we also work to protect 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.
Commitments of a Welcoming Congregation
- A Welcoming Congregation is inclusive and expressive of the concerns of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender persons at every level of congregational life – in worship, in programs, and in social occasions, welcoming not only their presence but the unique gifts and particularities of their lives as well.
- A Welcoming Congregation does not assume that everyone is heterosexual. Vocabulary of worship reflects this perception; worship celebrates diversity by using inclusive language and content.
- An understanding of the experience of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender persons will be fully incorporated throughout all programs, including religious education.
- The bylaws and other official documents of a Welcoming Congregation include an affirmation and non-discrimination clause affecting all dimensions of congregational life, including membership, hiring practices, and the calling of religious professionals.
- A Welcoming Congregation engages in outreach into the bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender communities, both through its advertising and by supporting actively other gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender affirmative groups.
- A Welcoming Congregation offers congregational and ministerial support for services of union and memorial services for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender persons, and celebrations of evolving definitions of family.
- A Welcoming Congregation celebrates the lives of all people and welcomes same-gender couples, recognizing their committed relationships, and equally affirms displays of caring and affection without regard for sexual orientation.
- A Welcoming Congregation seeks to nurture ongoing dialogue between gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual persons, and to create deeper trust and sharing.
- A Welcoming Congregation encourages the presence of a chapter of the Unitarian Universalists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender concerns.
- A Welcoming Congregation affirms and celebrates gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues and history during the church year (possibly including Gay Pride Week, which is in June).
- A Welcoming Congregation, as an advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, attends to legislative developments and works to promote justice, freedom, and equality in the larger society. It speaks out when the rights and dignity of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people are at stake.
- A Welcoming Congregation celebrates the lives of all people and their ways of expressing their love for each other
For More Info…
Please also visit the Canadian Unitarian Council's very informative page: Gender and Sexual Diversity Issues.
