This Sunday, your energetic and growing Pride + LGBTQIA+ Gender and Sexuality Justice team is offering a free
Big Gay Ice Cream Social to our members, friends, and visitors. It’s just one of the ways that we’re working to make sure there’s a big-welcome feeling about our congregation – and to let folx know how we work together to remain one of the Unitarian Universalist Association’s official Welcoming Congregations. We hope you’ll make time for your friends and UUAvl family this coming Sunday, and join us!
One thing I know about UU Avl is that it’s invested in being a warm and welcoming congregation. It’s one of the (many) things that drew me to you, and also one of the descriptors we hear often from people who know us. But being welcoming is a big and never-ending job. Communities of friends and folx who know each other can quickly fall into “insider” behavior before they know, and create barriers to a genuinely inclusive atmosphere. Sometimes we use lingo, like saying “UUA” or “23” around newcomers. Sometimes we gather with our friends in coffee hour without making sure to “say hello to three” – taking a look around and saying hello to three people we don’t know or haven’t had a chance to speak to personally as yet. As an introvert, I get that this can be tough for some folx – but also as an introvert, I know how wonderful it feels when someone takes the time to break the ice, so when it comes to the communities I am a part of, I push past any discomfort – because I want to be sure others feel safe and included when they enter in. We are ALL on the welcome team.
Welcome means other things, too, of course. It’s always wearing your name tag. It’s using and asking for pronouns. It’s making sure the path to the accessible bathroom remains open and untrammeled during coffee hour, so anyone with mobility issues can access it easily. It means parking a little further away, so visitors or newcomers can find a parking spot. It’s volunteering to make coffee or staff our welcome table. It’s offering childcare for activities that are adults-only. It’s paying attention to our practices of accessibility in worship and everyday activities. And more.
We will always be about the work of learning, growing, and doing more. I am just grateful to be able to serve a community where this is an active practice and an ongoing conversation. So tell me: how will you help build our Big-Welcome this week?
See you Sunday – love,
Rev. Audette