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THE WELCOMING CONGREGATION

Purpose and Background

The Welcoming Congregation is over ten years old at First Unitarian Church.  We are affiliated with the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual and Trans Gendered (LGBT) Concerns of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).

First Church began its journey to full inclusion in the early 1990’s with workshops and occasional programs describing how to qualify as a Welcoming Congregation.  In 1977, the congregation voted unanimously to petition the UUA for status as a Welcoming Congregation. In the years since then we have sponsored a Rainbow Sunday featuring a guest speaker or The Reverend Dittmar speaking on LGBT issues. 
Church members, under the leadership of the Welcoming Congregation Committee, provided both hands-on and monetary support to Citizens to Restore Fairnes, for the repeal  of Article 13 of the City Charter, which had made it legal in Cincinnati to discriminate against LGBT persons.


Current and Future Activities

 First Church is firmly entrenched as a Welcoming Congregation. We realize, however, that we cannot rest until society as a whole is "welcoming" and assures equity in every respect for all its people.  

Although the Welcoming Congregation Committee is no longer active, the program is still alive and ready to mobilize as needed.  
Rainbow Sunday will continue, but one day a year fails to meet our commitment as a Welcoming Congregation.  We stand prepared to sponsor educational and inspirational programs, and to regroup if church or community situations call for it.



Contact



Tommie Thompson, Coordinator, 541-6518, 
tommie@nuvox.net