Welcoming Congregation

Eliot Chapel welcomes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. We believe in the worth and dignity of every person and value diversity in our congregation. The Welcoming Congregation program is an opportunity to live our faith.

On May 21, 2006, the congregation of Eliot Chapel voted to be a Welcoming Congregation at the annual meeting. We are proud that we have made this commitment and public declaration after a 2 year process of workshops, meetings, reflection, education, discussion and social action.

Being a Welcoming Congregation is an ongoing process. We will continue to educate ourselves and grow in our understanding and support of each other. We also intentionally extend our welcome to those of varing abilities, age, race, and cultural backgrounds.

What is a Welcoming Congregation?

The Welcoming Congregation is a UUA program designed to assist congregations in fostering welcoming behavior towards gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people (GLBT). The goal is to reduce prejudice by increasing awareness, understanding and acceptance of people of different sexual orientations.

Resources

History

In many ways Eliot Chapel was already a "welcoming congregation" before programs leading to the official designation. There was a workshop here several years ago on sexual identity. The innovative Our Whole Lives sex education curriculum is offered to our children. We officiate union ceremonies for same sex couples and dedication ceremonies to bless the children of same-sex relationships. We have statements against discrimination in our by-laws and in our hiring practices.

These are all accomplishments that reflect the commitment to gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered (GLBT) people that has existed at Eliot and within the UU movement for decades. However, given the stigma of being GLBT in the majority of religious communities and in the larger society, Eliot Chapel has a unique gift to offer. The Welcoming Congregation program challenged us to assess if we were truly giving this gift, and if so, how could we invigorate our generosity?

The Welcoming Congregation program was created by a group of UU congregations and offers suggestions for adult workshops, congregational life enrichment and community outreach. By participating in this program, we keep our commitment to GLBT people as an on-going, vibrant part of our congregational life while living lives that are an expression of our spiritual values.

As it says in the Welcoming Congregation program description: "Only when we are truly open to the wealth of diversity in our world will the inherent worth and dignity of every person be affirmed with a large voice."

A committee formed at Eliot to plan and promote the Welcoming Congregation program. The committee was originally facilitated by Susan Maginn, Intern Minister and later by Lynn Murphy. The committee met monthly from fall 2003 to spring 2006 and planned the Welcoming Congregation workshops and other events. After that time, Welcoming Congregation was integrated into other areas of church life, particularly ministry, Covenant Groups, Religious Education, Adult Education and Social Action.

As a first step, the committee developed the Welcoming Congregation Survey to gauge how we, as a congregation, feel about LGBT people. The survey was distributed at Sunday Services January 11, 18 and 25, 2004 and on this website. Survey results were posted on the bulletin board.

Workshops

The Welcoming Congregation workshop series is "an introspective and interactive educational journey into the issues surrounding the lives of bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people." Some goals were to "explore thoughts, feelings, and current knowledge about sexual orientation (homosexuality, bisexuality, heterosexuality) and gender identification (transgender); and also to probe the origins of our beliefs about sexual orientation and gender identification."

The purpose of these workshops was to provide a format for open dialog, exploration, and learning in a safe environment. We used and adapted many workshops from the Welcoming Congregation Handbook and developed others of our own.

The workshops provided a safe environment for the exchange of ideas and knowledge. We have found that no matter whether participatants were a gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual or transgendered person, they learned more about themselves and others. Self-discovery is one aspect of the workshop series. Compassion and understanding are also part of the final result of a church's becoming a Welcoming Congregation.

Refreshments were provided and childcare was available if requested two weeks in advance. Workshops were held in Adams Hall from 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.

Events

DATE	TIME	DESCRIPTION
November 11, 2006	6:30pm	Potluck dinner and viewing of the documentary "All Kinds of Families". This documentary will be a starting point for discussion of the kinds of issues a "non-traditional" nuclear family may experience. The movie is a positive one about the power of love.
June 25, 2006		Eliot members and friends participated in the parade at Gay Pride Fest and helped staff the Unitarian Universalist booth. Over 100 UUs (local and GA attendees) marched, making the Unitarian Universalists the largest contigent from a religious organization.
May 21, 2006	11:00 am	The Eliot congregation voted to be officially designated as a Welcoming Congregation.
April 26, 2006	7- 8:00 pm	An open meeting was held to discuss what becoming a Welcoming Congregation means to Eliot. Come learn more about the program, ask questions, offer your opinion and to hear others. The session is repeated on April 24.
April 23, 2006	12:30-1:30 pm	An open meeting was be held to discuss what becoming a Welcoming Congregation means to Eliot. Come learn more about the program, ask questions, offer your opinion and to hear others. The session is repeated on April 26.
April 9, 2006	7-9:30 pm	One of the topics to be discussed at the noon Town Hall meeting was becoming an official Welcoming Congregation.
March 26, 2006	7-9:30 pm	Workshop: Part II of gay/lesbian comedians and their look at the lighter side of life. We will meet in Adams Hall.
~~February 11, 2006~~	~~6:00 - 9:00 pm~~	~~Valentines Day Dinner Dance~~ (cancelled)
December 16, 2005	7:00 - 9:00 pm	Holiday party
November 13, 2005	7-9:30 pm	Workshop: Video of gay and lesbian comedians
October 16, 2005	7-9:30 pm	Workshop: Bisexuality. Included viewing the movie "Kissing Jessica Stein," a romantic comedy about two women who have dated men, date each other, and become romantically involved.
September 25, 2005	7-9:30 pm	Workshop: History of the GBLT civil rights movement
June 26, 2005		Eliot members and friends participated in the parade at Gay Pride Fest.
April 10, 2005	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: Movie Classics from the Gay/Lesbian Community
March 13, 2005	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: Religion and Homosexuality
February 13, 2005	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: Film Night
January 9, 2005	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: Gender Socialization and Homophobia
November 14, 2004	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: The Common Elements of Oppression
October 10, 2004	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: What We Know and How We Learned It
September 12, 2004	6-9:00 pm	Workshop: Introduction and Expectations
March 27, 2004	3:00 pm	Rev. Dr. Daniel Ó Connell married Sally Nelson and Lesley Proud, a same-sex couple, and signed an affidavit of marriage, which testified that he believes the marriage ought to be considered legal. See Gay Marriage Ceremony for more information.
March 4, 2004		Attendees at the February 26th meeting reconvened and formed a community group called Straight People for Gay Marriage. This group meets every Thursday at various local churches.
February 26, 2004	7:00 pm	“Same Sex Unions: Legal Status in Missouri” was presented by Rob Black from PROMO at Eliot Chapel