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First Parish in Needham Unitarian Universalist
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Welcoming Congregation

The Welcoming Congregation Program is a completely volunteer program for congregations that see a need to become more inclusive towards bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people. It consists of a series of workshops developed by the UUA. The goal of the workshops is to reduce prejudice by increasing understanding and acceptance among people of different sexual orientations. Some of the workshop titles include: How Homophobia Hurts Heterosexuals; Connections to Other Forms of Oppression; Gender Socialization and Homophobia; and Biblical Perspectives on Homosexuality.

We are among the many Unitarian Universalist congregations that have voted to welcome and celebrate the presence and participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons.  We also strive to welcome persons of any race, age, ability, or economic circumstances to full participation in our community life, programs, and ministry.

This Unitarian Universalist Community welcomes and celebrates the presence and participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons.

View the Overview of Welcoming Congregation presented by
The UUA’s Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns

For more information please contact the Church Office at 781-444-0823.

The Welcoming Congregation Committee Survey (Fall 2005)

We are very pleased with the results of our survey and would like to thank all who responded.  The survey results were collected and analyzed by John Gallo, who has collated the results into an 18 slide PowerPoint presentation.  The results were shared at coffee hour in February and are now available on-line.

View the survey results online (requires Microsoft PowerPoint or the free PowerPoint viewer). Results are also available on our bulletin board in Parish Hall (next to the kitchen door).

In our recent meetings, we have been reviewing the results and considering program ideas and responses as we move forward in our goal in promoting respect and celebrating the presence of LGBT persons in our congregation and community.

  • Our congregation strongly affirms our commitment to being a welcoming congregation.
  • Our congregation strongly believes in having informal talks about LGBT issues and promoting positive messages about LGBT persons.  We are currently working on a number of program ideas, including a discussion about Brokeback Mountain (the film and short story) and its approach to LGBT issues for late spring. 
  • The majority of respondents indicate that more informational programming on transgender issues would be helpful.  We are currently planning a program for 2006-2007.
  • Most respondents believe that Needham is not as welcoming for LGBT persons as First Parish.  We have promoted our events in the community, such as our Movie Night in January, and received a number of attendees from the area.  We plan to continue promoting events in the local community and work with area organizations to help promote their LGBT events as well as participate in area events, such as March’s “No Place for Hate” month and June’s Needham sidewalk days.
  • First Parish respondents overwhelmingly agree that LGBT persons deserve marriage and adoption rights.  We sponsored a Lyceum with Hillary Goodridge last October and plan to continue to work to promote equal marriage and keep our congregation up-to-date on key events on this issue.
  • First Parish respondents agree that our youth should learn positive messages about LGBT persons.  We are currently working to present a Lyceum this spring on “Raising Non-Homophobic Kids” and plan to invite Gay-Straight Alliances from local public schools.
  • Some respondents expressed concern about the statement in our services and order of service about our commitment to “welcome and celebrate the presence and participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons” when compared to the statement that we “strive to welcome persons of any race, age, ability, or economical circumstance to full participation....”  We wish to clarify that the wording indicates only that we have, as a congregation in 1996, voted formally to be a “Welcoming Congregation” for LGBT persons.  There is no formal procedure to affirm our commitment to welcoming other groups and to do so would require efforts that our congregation is not yet fully able to mobilize, such as providing full accommodations for persons with differing abilities like sign-language interpreters and Braille texts.  Opportunities to support and educate our congregation and community about these other important issues will continue through Social Action, the R.E. Program, and the Needham Lyceum.  The Welcoming Congregation statement and commitment is intended not to exclude or denigrate these other groups but instead to highlight the need to affirm and advocate for LGBT persons and LGBT issues.  More information on what it means to be a Welcoming Congregation can be found on the UUA’s Office of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Concerns website.