What Is a Welcoming Congregation?
A congregation that publicly and successfully welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) people has the following qualities:
Includes and addresses the needs of LGBTQ persons at every level of congregational life, welcoming not only their presence but the gifts and particularities of their lives as well.
Assumes the presence of LGBTQ people and celebrates this diversity by having inclusive language and content in worship.
Fully incorporates the experiences of LGBTQ persons throughout all programs, including religious education.
Includes an affirmation and a nondiscrimination clause in its bylaws and other official documents that affect all dimensions of congregational life.
Engages in outreach to the LGBTQ community.
Offers congregational and ministerial support for rites of passage for LGBTQ persons, including services of union and memorial services.
Celebrates the lives of all people and welcomes same-gender couples, recognizing their committed relationships.
Seeks to nurture ongoing dialogue among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual persons and to create deeper trust and sharing.
Affirms and celebrates LGBTQ issues and history during the church year.
Keeps watch on legislative developments at all jurisdictional levels which affect LGBTQ persons.
Speaks out when the rights of LGBTQ persons are at stake.
Celebrates the lives of all people and their ways of expressing their love for each other.
The History of MUUS as a Welcoming Congregation
Feeling the need to become more responsive to the needs of LGBTQ people, a group of MUUS members came together as a committee in 1999 to explore the possibility of our congregation becoming a Welcoming Congregation.
Guided by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) handbook published for this purpose, the committee members learned about the effects of homophobia on LGBTQ people through a series of workshops, panel discussions, and sensitivity exercises over a period of approximately 18 months.
Also during this period we sponsored a panel whose members explained what effect their sexual orientation had on their lives and how a child’s sexual orientation affected a parent.
Our minister at the time, Reverend Bonnie Vegiard, facilitated two discussions for the congregation which explored the religious roots of homophobia.
On November 5, 2000, the members of the Mattatuck Unitarian Universalist Society unanimously supported by our Board of Trustees, voted overwhelmingly to become a Welcoming Congregation.
In 2019 MUUS renewed its commitment as a Welcoming Congregation and continues promoting LGBTQ rights.
