Welcoming Congregation Article
First Parish Chelmsford Annual Town Meeting
June 2007

We, the First Society Congregational (Unitarian) of Chelmsford, MA (also known as First Parish), declare our intent to be a Welcoming Congregation consistent with our Unitarian Universalist Purposes and Principles, the current guidelines of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, and as we define below.

First Parish affirms and declares that we actively welcome gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) persons as full participants in the life of the congregation. Recognizing that to be welcoming is neither static nor a state of being, we commit to an ongoing process of:

• Using inclusive language as appropriate in worship, religious education, and other areas of our congregational life.

• Educating our children, youth, and ourselves with respect to GLBT relationships, events, issues, and history, including through the "Our Whole Lives" human sexuality curriculum.

• Celebrating our diversity in both worship and social activities, including services of marriage and child dedication for same-sex couples and their families, and the inclusion of worship services, such as "Love Makes a Family," which honor and celebrate the sacred in our unity and our diversity.

• Reaching out to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons to let them know that First Parish is a safe religious and spiritual home that celebrates their lives and stands with them in their struggles. Reaching out includes advertising in media that reaches the GLBT communities and putting a rainbow flag symbol on our signage and website.

• Speaking out in the broader community in support of justice and equality in consideration of GLBT civil rights, safety, and other issues. This includes attending and carrying the First Parish banner at GLBT rallies and parades.

In order to facilitate being a Welcoming Congregation, we will form a broad-based Welcoming Congregation Committee to offer programs, alert the congregation to legislative initiatives that provide the opportunity to express our support of GBLT persons to legislators, and communicate with the appropriate church committees. Decisions about speaking publicly or acting on behalf of the congregation as a whole will be brought before the Standing Committee.

First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church, Chelmsford, MA