Apply for Official Renewal of Your Welcoming Congregation Status

For the first time, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Ministries (LGBTQ Ministries) is offering the opportunity for Unitarian Universalist congregations to officially renew their Welcoming Congregation designation!

Action Steps for Renewing Your Welcoming Congregation Status

1. Revisit the Guidelines and Action Steps for Welcoming Congregations. Identify areas to engage further, create new goals, and make a plan to carry them out.
    
2. Offer new opportunities for your congregation to make measurable achievements around LGBTQ issues through education, congregational life, and community outreach. Check out our refresher program page for ideas.
    
3. Do specific work around transgender identity and welcome, and bisexual and queer identity and welcome.
    
4. Take steps to deepen and broaden your congregation’s welcome and inclusion of all. Consider additional programming around how sexuality and gender intersect with race, class, age, and/or ability.
    
5. Have a congregational vote in favor of renewing your Welcoming Congregation status!

How to Apply for Renewal

To apply for renewal of your Welcoming Congregation status, any member of your congregation may send LGBTQ Ministries the following information:

• Name of congregation and mailing address
• Name, phone number, and email address of the person submitting the application
• Date and results of congregational vote for renewal
• A summary of the work done in service of renewing your status, specifying what has been accomplished since your congregation was initially recognized, including:
  • Details around your additional work in the areas of education, congregational life, and community outreach
  • What specific work you've done around transgender, bisexual, and queer identity and welcome
  • The steps you have taken and continue to take to identify and address areas where you can deepen your welcome of people of all races, ethnicities, economic status, abilities, ages, sexual orientations, and gender identities

Send your application to: lgbtq @ uua.org or LGBTQ Ministries, Unitarian Universalist Association, 25 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02108. Please allow one month for review.

Upon renewal, you will receive a formal letter of renewal and two new Welcoming Congregation posters.