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Northshore Unitarian Universalist Church
A liberal, welcoming congregation serving the North Shore of Massachusetts since 1966

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Social Action

Welcoming Congregation

For more than 20 years, NSUU has been certified as a Welcoming Congregation  https://www.uua.org/lgbtq/welcoming/program by the Unitarian Universalist Association. This represents our commitment to be welcoming and inclusive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We fly the original Pride flag every Sunday in our meeting room and have recently acquired the new, more inclusive “Progress” Pride flag that we proudly fly outside our building. This flag celebrates black, brown, and transgender members of the LGBTQ+ community.

 Every year in June, a group from NSUU marches in the North Shore Gay Pride parade in Salem. Recently NSUU’s Share-the-Plate program donated money to NAGLY (Northshore Alliance for GLBTQ+ Youth) whose mission is to honor, respect, educate, and empower GLBTQ+ youth.

 Welcoming Congregation Renewal/Recertification

 Honoring our original pledge to the LGBTQ+ community has become more complicated in the past 20 years. During the 1922 – 23 church year, the Social Action committee is leading the congregation in becoming a Welcoming Renewal Congregation. Our goal is to honor our original pledge in the Welcoming program while learning about the current needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ people. Transgender Unitarian Universalists (UUs) are still struggling to find community in UU congregations. Bisexual UUs suffer from invisibility while asexual, intersex, and polyamorous communities are wrestling with a progressive faith that does not privilege their truth.

 Over the course of the church year we will work to educate ourselves as we complete the following steps in recertification:

  1. Plan two Welcoming Sunday Services.
  2. Make note of Welcoming Days of Observance to keep this effort in front of all of us.
  3. Implement a Welcoming Congregation Module, a seminar or webinar to inform, educate and raise awareness about the needs and issues of the LGBTQ+/TGQNB community.
  4. Undertake a Welcoming Project to support LGBTQ+ organizations.

 For a detailed description of the five principles, see https://www.uua.org/lgbtq/welcoming/program/five-practices-welcome-renewal

We look forward to achieving a truly welcoming, accepting, and comfortable church experience for all people.