SILVER CITY, NM – The members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Silver City voted unanimously last Sunday to seek formal recognition as a Welcoming Congregation from the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). The Fellowship has historically tried to be a place where people of all sexual orientations and gender identities feel welcomed, and the formal steps required for recognition will help the Fellowship be more intentional in welcoming people of all gender and sexual identities, and to build welcoming into its services, education, and outreach.

“For much of the Fellowship’s history, there have been LGBTQIA+ persons on the Fellowship’s Board or in other leadership positions. Yet, although we have practiced welcoming, it was not fully evident from our website or social media that we are a place where people are welcome whatever their orientation or identity. By working through the UUA’s action steps over the last nine months, and voting unanimously to seek recognition from the UUA as a Welcoming Congregation, our Fellowship will be able to make clear to all people seeking a spiritual home that they are welcome here,” said Joanne DeMichele, the Fellowship’s treasurer and co-chair of the Welcoming Congregation Committee.

The UUA’s Welcoming Congregation program began about 35 years ago when it became clear that—despite supporting the rights and worth of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people since 1970—negative attitudes, deep prejudices, and profound ignorance about lesbian, gay, and bisexual people persisted within UU congregations. The UUA saw these negative attitudes and ignorance as antithetical to its desire to make UU congregations welcoming and inclusive places for all people—especially minority groups who have traditionally experienced exclusion, discrimination, and misrepresentation within our society. Over 800 UU congregations are now recognized Welcoming Congregations, and about 300 are not yet formally recognized.

“Today’s vote is only the first step in our Fellowship’s commitment to be a place where persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities can feel welcome and where issues of concern to the LGBTQIA+ / TGQNB community are an important part of our programs and social justice focus,” added Victoria Reese, Fellowship vice-chair and a member of the Welcoming Congregation Committee. Reese added, “Being welcoming is a never-ending commitment, and our intention is to keep learning and working to undo homophobia and transphobia in our hearts and minds, our congregation, and our community. And we also intend to keep exploring other ways that we can be more welcoming to people of all life experiences and diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds.”

"The application process and formal recognition as a Welcoming Congregation is expected to take about two to three months, and, once obtained, will be posted on the Fellowship’s website at uufsc.com," according to Dave Becker, another Welcoming Congregation Committee co-chair.