The Unitarian Church of Evanston holds the status of a “Welcoming Congregation” within the Unitarian Universalist Association and continues to follow a course of study developed by the UUA to uphold that status. As a Welcoming Congregation, UCE pledges to address the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people at every level of congregational life, and celebrate the lives and loves of all people in the spirit of the first principle of Unitarian Universalism.The Welcoming Congregation program initiated by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a volunteer program for congregations to become more inclusive towards bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people. The goal of the program is to reduce prejudice by increasing understanding and acceptance among people of different sexual orientations.
UCE has followed the UUA program and has been granted the status of “Welcoming Congregation.” UCE has audited its practices of welcoming gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people and has worked toward increasing understanding and acceptance among people of different sexual orientations.
As the UUA states, “Our vision goes beyond the Welcoming Congregation Program. By taking this first step, we hope to explore more issues such as sexism, racism, ablesim, and others. Being a Welcoming Congregation can act as a catalyst to learning more about ourselves and to ending exclusion. Only when we are truly open to the wealth of diversity in our world will the inherent worth and dignity of every person be affirmed with a large voice.”
