welcoming-congregation

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Rock Tavern is pleased to be a Welcoming Congregation

We are a Welcoming Congregation, recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association. This means we affirm and include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer at every level of congregational life—in worship, in program, and in social occasions—welcoming them as whole people.

As a Welcoming Congregation we have pledged to:

  • honor the lives of all people and equally affirm displays of caring and affection without regard for sexual orientation.
  • celebrate diversity by using inclusive language and content in worship.
  • incorporate an understanding of the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual,  transgender, and queer persons throughout all of our programs, including religious education.
  • affirm and celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues and history.
  • affirm marriage equality and conduct same-sex weddings.
  • advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, promoting justice, freedom, and equality in the larger society. We speak out when the rights and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are at stake.

The Welcoming Congregation Program is a volunteer program for Unitarian Universalist congregations that want to take intentional steps to become more welcoming and inclusive of people with marginalized sexual orientations and gender identities.

First launched in 1990, the program grew out of an understanding that widespread prejudices and ignorance about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people existed within Unitarian Universalism, which resulted in the exclusion of LGBTQ people from our congregations.

Today, 66% of U.S. Unitarian Universalist (UU) congregations and 94% of Canadian UU congregations are recognized as Welcoming Congregations. The program is supported by LGBTQ Ministries.