
Our Mission Statement
We
are a group of concerned members of the congregation who are exploring our
thoughts, feelings and knowledge about sexual orientation and gender
identification with the goal of raising the awareness of the congregation about
these issues and identifying ways to reach out to the gay, lesbian and
transgender community.
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Murray Church's Action Steps on becoming a Welcoming Congregation
- The winter of 2002, a core focus group of
8 members formed Toward a Welcoming Congregation, (TAWC for short).
- Immediate goals were to create a mission
statement, host videos series to make people think about what they know
about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, and how they learned
it. Workshops were used to educated and express our opinions in a safe
environment. We discussed the common elements of oppression, gender
socialization and homophobia, religion and homosexuality, and how
homophobia hurts us all.
- Newsletter articles, Sunday bulletin and
oral announcements were created to generate interest to join us and to
keep church members informed about our progress toward becoming a
Welcoming Congregation.
- Our bulletin board displays guidelines
and actions. Our "welcoming congregation in process" labels attached to
our nametags can identify members of TAWC.
- Murray Church is listed as a place of
worship in Options magazine that reaches the gay community.
- Tabletop rainbow flags were placed in the
John Murray room, on the welcoming table in our sanctuary, foyer, and at
the table in the Unity room during coffee hour. This is a gay symbol of
unity.
- An attitude questionnaire surveyed
congregation’s opinions. Results showed most people were familiar with
gays and lesbians as young adults but weren’t as informed about bisexual
and transgender issues until later in life.
- Congregation members were encouraged to
take action through website
www.lethimstay.com to voice opinion on a gay Florida foster care
family’s right to adopt. Also encouraged people to visit
www.massequality.org to contact
legislators to prevent a vote to allow a mean spirited ballot question to
be placed on Nov 5, 2002 ballot. This question would have legally defined
marriage as a union between a "woman and a man". Letters to the local
newspaper were also encouraged.
- In December 2002, guest speakers shared
some of their experiences with us. They were a parent from PFLAG, a
lesbian, a transsexual and a bisexual.
- Rev Sandra and Diane Beauvais were
interviewed for a Sun Chronicle article about churches being more open to
gays. A follow up story interviewed Eric Volk.
- The Board of Governors was very receptive
to a request for some minor changes to make Murray’s bi-laws language
inclusive.
- When some members were offended that
Murray celebrated Scout Sunday, a dialog immediately began around the
issue of Boy Scouts of America’s discriminating policy against
homosexuals. Derek Belt lit a candle of concern expressing his feelings,
others wrote comments on index cards, which were forwarded to the BOG.
- Monday October 20, 2003 Murray hosted the
greater Attleboro community to discuss civil marriage for same sex
couples. Guest speakers from Equal Marriage Coalition discussed why it’s
important for same sex couples to have equal rights, not special rights
that most of us take for granted every day.
-
Our journey toward becoming a
Welcoming Congregation reached an exciting milestone.
Murray UU Church officially voted to become a Welcoming
Congregation on April 11, 2004. The congregational vote was an exercise
in democracy that allowed us to formally state our desire to be intentionally
welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and/or transgender persons by intentionally
accepting their contributions to our congregational lives.
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Additional Resources
Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgender
Concerns
25 Beacon St.
Boston, MA 02108 USA
(617) 948-6475
Email:
obgltc@uua.org
Web: www.uua.org/obgltc
OBGLTC is part of the Faith in Action
Department at the UUA and administers the Welcoming Congregation Program, as
well as provides general b/g/l/t resources. |
Unitarian Universalist Association
(UUA) Bookstore
Email: bookstore@uua.org
Web: www.uua.org/bookstore |
Interweave:
Unitarian Universalists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns
167 Milk St. #406
Boston, MA 02109 USAWeb: www.uua.org/interweave |
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What is Interweave?
Interweave: Unitarian Universalists for Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns) The mission statement for Interweave
reads as follows: "Interweave is a membership organization affiliated with the
Unitarian Universalist Association. It is dedicated to the spiritual, political,
and social well-being of Unitarian Universalists who are confronting oppression
as lesbians, gay men, bisexual persons, transgender persons, and heterosexual
allies. It celebrates the culture and lives of its members."
Interweave membership is open to all interested UUs
of any sexual or affectional orientation. It has chapters in many Unitarian
Universalist congregations and districts, as well as a Continental chapter.
Membership in Interweave involves two primary goals:
• the creation of local groups for bisexual, gay,
lesbian, and transgender Unitarian Universalists for support, socializing, and
sharing life issues, and
• outreach to the larger bisexual, gay, lesbian,
and transgender community to publicize the religious alternative offered by
Unitarian Universalism.
Interweave is an affiliate organization of the UUA.
At both its annual Convocation and the UUA's General Assembly Interweave
sponsors worship and workshops that address b/g/l/t issues and their
interrelationship with other forms of oppression. Interweave also produces a
quarterly newsletter. For more information about the organization please write
to the address listed above.
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Symbols
Use of the
Rainbow Flag by the gay community began in 1978 when it first
appeared in the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade. Borrowing
symbolism from the hippie movement and black civil rights groups, San
Francisco artist Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in response to a
need for a symbol that could be used year after year.
The 6 Colors of the flag are
Red for life
Orange for healing
Yellow for sun
Green for nature
Blue for harmony
Purple for spirit. |
The Pink Triangle is easily one
of the more popular and widely-recognized symbols for the gay community. The
pink triangle is rooted in World War II times, and reminds us of the
tragedies of that era. Although homosexuals were only one of the many groups
targeted for extermination by the Nazi regime, it is unfortunately the group
that history often excludes. The pink triangle challenges that notion, and
defies anyone to deny history. |
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For more information, contact the
Church Office.
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