Welcoming Congregation Renewal Article Newsletter
The Welcoming Congregation Renewal Committee has begun the process of updating our Welcoming Congregation status, and we wanted to give you an update on our progress.
The UUA developed the Welcoming Congregation program over 35 years ago to help UU congregations ensure their religious spaces were welcoming to all people, regardless of gender or sexuality, at a time when most religious spaces were not.
Our congregation has a history of welcoming people to our community regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. In 1989 First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, one of the forebears of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland (UUCC), was one of the first congregations to earn the “Welcoming Congregation” designation, while the Unitarian Universalist Society of Cleveland became a Welcoming Congregation in (c. 1995 – year to be confirmed).
When UUCC was formed by the reunification of First Church and the Society, our Welcoming Congregation status was assumed because of the status of our parent congregations. Times have changed since these original designations were created and we are long overdue for examining and renewing our Welcoming Congregation status.
The work of welcome is never done, and the UUA suggests yearly status renewal. So we are beginning the sacred journey of renewing our status as a vibrant and joyful Welcoming Congregation.
You’ll be hearing more about this in the coming months as we work to meet the UUA’s five practices of a Welcoming Congregation:
- Be a Welcoming Congregation
- Include at least two worship services in the liturgical schedule that uplift the themes of LGBTQ+/TGQNB welcome and inclusion
- Observe Welcoming Days — celebrating and reflecting on the Welcoming Congregation calendar throughout the year
- Provide Welcoming Religious Education — an educational program for the congregation and community that raises awareness of the needs of the LGBTQ+/TGQNB community
- Support a Welcoming Project — donating finances or time to an LGBTQ+/TGQNB project of the congregation’s choice
UUCC is incredibly fortunate to have leadership already driving this work. Rev. Randy, Jenni Papp, and active members, both those who identify as LGBTQ+ and allies, are already doing the work of welcome. We invite the whole congregation to continue growing and learning as we renew our status as a Welcoming Congregation.
Thank you for reading and for your work to be a Welcoming Congregation.
Helen Gutin
Laurie Holmes
Mark Assel
Mary Jo Maish
Kat Papcun
Jonathan Papcun
Ron McClellan
Linda Coulter