We are a Welcoming Congregation
In the fall of 2008, Gaia Community received recognition as a Welcoming Congregation, which is the UUA's designation for congregations that are inclusive towards LGBTQ folks. In practice, we have felt ourselves to be welcoming to those of all sexual orientations and gender identities since our founding by a lesbian and a straight woman. Many of our officers, committee chairs, members and attendees have been LGBTQ over the years, but now the paperwork is complete, officially.
Our community's approach to the curriculum of the Welcoming Congregation Program was a little different than some other congregations, and we hope to make those experiences available here online eventually. They include:
- a modified ritual on LGBTQ deities and heroes of pagan faiths, to replace the workshop on the sociosexual content of the Bible;
- a presentation on the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, prepared primarily by a member of the community who has lived with HIV for more than a decade;
- a class on polyamory, alternate family structures, and other modifications/expansions of the invitation to be "welcoming" to all;
- a reminder to ourselves and to others that becoming a "Welcoming Congregation" has nothing to do with becoming
unwelcoming to heterosexual people, those of a traditional family structure, or anyone else who shares our values!
More soon!
