An LGBTQ+ Welcoming Congregation
As a Welcoming Congregation we have pledged to:
- honor and listen to the individual lives and stories of our LGBTQA+ members and friends;
- care for the particular needs of those in our community who are LGBTQA+;
- officiate ritual celebrations, including all weddings or union rituals and transitioning rituals such as re-naming and coming out ceremonies;
- incorporate an understanding of the experience of LGBTQA+ persons throughout all of our programs, including religious education;
- speak out publicly and loudly as people of faith when the safety and well-being of LGBTQA+ folks is being threatened locally or nationally;
- celebrate our diversity in worship by using diverse and specific, as well as universal, language and content;
- engage in an ongoing process of listening to LGBTQA+ individuals and communities in and outside of our congregation, to ensure we are providing safety, spiritual sustenance, and growth for all LGBTQA+ folks who are seeking this with us.
We know that folks who experience intersecting identities face particular oppression in our society. Those of us who are gay and disabled, trans and black, or bi and Muslim can experience the erasure of some of our identities, and the oppression of all of our identities. At All Souls, we work to be a place where all of everyone is safe and celebrated, and where all can experience liberation. Some ways we live this welcome include: a gender-neutral bathroom, a commitment to run educational programming that supports LQBTQ+ welcome, and intentional Sunday services centered on themes affecting the Queer community.
We invite you to read more about our work to dismantle racism and white supremacy and to be accessible for all. All Souls has recently been certified as a UUA Welcoming Congregation in 2018 and plans to recertify in 2022.