Stories

Hi, I’m Holly, and I’ll be your wedding coordinator for today. That means you have to give me your undivided attention for the next ten minutes. This is a really special day for all of you, for all of us, for Iowa, and the nation. And I’m here to help make it as beautiful and wonderful as possible. So, listen up. You have a ...

LEADER: Because our love for one another is often not recognized, because our commitments are not yet legal, ALL: We witness your commitment to one another. We validate your love, and support you in your lives together. We testify that today you have bravely formed an authentic bond, worthy of respect. LEADER: Because our families often reject us, ALL: We accept you as a ...

Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley October 3, 2004 © The Rev. Judy Welles Invitation to Worship Christopher Lemelin, Worship Associate Three years, three months, three weeks, and three days ago, I became real.  When I calculated that time period, I knew exactly what I would say this morning—the magic in those numbers was unavoidable. Three years, three months, three weeks, and three days ...

I was a surprising, and surprised participant in some important moments in the LGBTQ history of the UUA. I say surprising because I had a heterosexual upbringing and identity that did not prepare me to meet gay and lesbian people in the larger world of Unitarian Universalism beyond my home church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As I emerged into leadership in Liberal Religious Youth, and ...

From the report of Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz UUA President, to the 1987 General Assembly: We Unitarian Universalists have been the religious leaders in [the area of gay and lesbian rights]:  in our establishment of a denominational office; in our support of ministers who perform services of holy union. But at the moment our values and principles are being sorely tested: not just ...

Singing for Our Lives The First Out Lesbian and Gay Unitarian Universalist Ministers[1] Celeste DeRoche ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS I set out to interview the first LGBT[2] Unitarian Universalist ministers and the non-LGBT people who helped them achieve these settlements.  The first filter I used was to search for those clergy who were out through their first search and settlement. I interviewed lesbian and gay ...

Issued at Convocation in Birmingham, Alabama March 10, 2002 During Convo, with the leadership of Alabama Unitarian Universalist ministers, we issued a statement of concern about recent homophobic comments by Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Supreme Court of Alabama.  Kendyl Gibbons, acting in her role as UUMA President, invited those assembled at Convocation to endorse the following statement, initially formulated by the Rev ...

TRANSCRIPT: I'm Dawn Sangrey. I'm the Minister Emerita of the Mohegan Lake New York Congregation. When I was just beginning my ministry ... I was ordained when I was 59. I came to the Metro district, which was where we lived and I told Howell Lind that I wanted a job. He arranged for me to have the only job there was, which was ...

by the Rev. Eugene B. Navias Associate Minister Emeritus, Arlington Street Church, Boston October 23, 2003 I am the Rev. Eugene Navias, a retired minister.  I am seventy five years old.  I have been an ordained minister for fifty-two years.  And I am gay. My long term partner, Stanley, died of cancer and as he wished, he died in our home and in my ...

Dee Graham: All right, so we want to start by saying our names. I'm the Reverend Dee Graham and I'm here from Bradenton, Florida. Dorothy Emerson: I'm the Reverend Dorothy Emerson. I live in the Boston area, Massachusetts. Meg Riley: Reverend Meg Riley from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Doddie Stone: Reverend Doddie Stone, Terre Haute, Indiana. Ann Tyndall: Reverend Ann Tyndall, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Dee Graham: ...

Interview presumably conducted by Lee Paczulla December 6, 2010 Q: Was the issue of homosexuality already being talked about within the congregation when you were called to serve as minister? If not, how did it come up? A: When I first came to the church, it didn’t come up in the search process – but after I appeared, a member who had been absent ...

Personal Reflection - by Pat Sullivan Offered at UURMaPA Conference, October, 2019 I met Kay in 1986, and after a year, she moved to Columbus, Ohio, and we officially became partners.  She worked in the social services and had gone to a UU society in her hometown.  After settling into our new home, we started looking for someplace to meet our spiritual needs.  We ...

When I moved back to my home state of Kansas in 2009, I began providing monthly pulpit supply at the Salina Fellowship.  I moved to Salina in 2011 and retired from congregational ministry in 2016.  During these years, I intentionally supported LGBTQ members personally and politically.  I directly encouraged leaders in Equality Kansas and participated in meetings and political activities as appropriate.  I officiated ...

TRANSCRIPT: In 1987 I was invited by Bill Schulz to be part of a colloquium on “Is the Body the Primordial Sacrament?” And this was with Bill Hough and Roy Phillips, ministers also. My particular topic was, what are the theological grounds upon which we establish and defend the body, our physicality, as a basic value. How do we recognize the exploitation of the ...

Offered by Rev.  F.  Jay Deacon, D.Min. Keynote Address, UURMaPA Conference, October, 2019 (Note:  This is not a word-for word transcription of Jay's talk.  Some asides have been omitted.  For the full flavor of his presentation, we recommend that you also view the video.) Guess I’ll start this with 1969, the year of Stonewall, when Rev.  Jim Stoll came out publicly at a UU ...

I was a surprising, and surprised participant in some important moments in the LGBTQ history of the UUA. I say surprising because I had a heterosexual upbringing and identity that did not prepare me to meet gay and lesbian people in the larger world of Unitarian Universalism beyond my home church in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As I emerged into leadership in Liberal Religious Youth, and ...

Offered at UURMaPA Conference, October, 2019 In January 1982, I began my extension ministry in North Hatley, Quebec, and West Burke and Derby Line, Vermont.  I considered myself in the closet with the door open.  If anyone asked, I promised to myself that I would speak honestly and openly.  This is the most conservative part of Vermont, so I was discreet.  The only “gay” ...

Thank you for all your efforts to gather stories for the Rainbow History Project. I’ve appreciated reflecting on the South Valley congregation’s involvement. Rainbow History Project – South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, Salt Lake City, Utah In the summer of 1987 I began serving as a New Congregation Extension Minister at the South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society in Salt Lake City, Utah. Soon after ...

A Sermon offered by the Rev. Mark Belletini First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, Ohio June 10, 2012 Greeting, Centering, ...

Rev. Sean Parker-Dennison Preached many times Sean says, “Here is a version of the "coming out" sermon I've been preaching ...

Rev. Keith Kron Reading “Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you ...

A sermon offered by Rev. Roger Fritts Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington, Kentucky November 4, 1979 One Monday evening in ...

This sermon won Kathleen the Interweave sermon contest, and she delivered it again at the Interweave gathering at General Assembly ...

by Rev. Diane Miller UU Fellowship of Salina, Kansas September 15, 2019 Change happens.  (This is an ancient religious truth).  ...

A sermon by Rev. Jaco B. ten Hove Last preached at Paint Branch UU Church, Adelphi, MD, January 8, 2006 ...

A Sermon Offered by Stephen C.  Kraynak Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, AZ November 18, 2012 “The hand you take ...

A sermon delivered by Rev. Josh Pawelek Unitarian Universalist Society, East Manchester, CT November 2, 2003 When I initially planned ...

B = Dr. Benjamin Maucere     H = Rev. Dr. Holly Horn B: On April 3, 2009 the Iowa State Supreme Court unanimously legalized same-sex marriage! Soon after that, I got a call from Ed Reggi, an activist based in St. Louis. He planned to bring a bus to Iowa City with 18 same-sex couples, and the several clergy who would officiate at some of ...

Offered by Rev. Leslie Westbrook Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, Bethesda, MD July 20, 2003 I officiated at my first lesbian “Celebration of Love” in 1973. After performing the ceremony, I registered the religious event in the records of the church I served with the required documentation: the date, the place, the couples’ full names, and myself as the officiating minister. I had no ...

Prior to the legalization of marriage During the 1990s while I served May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society in Syracuse, I did many services of Holy Union for gay and lesbian couples. Most of the lesbian services were small, often the couple and two friends, and had deeply painful histories that brought them to me for their wedding. There were far too many women who ...

Be it known that on October 28, 2000 Rose ________ and Harriet ________ were joined in Holy Union by the Rev. Dr. Elizabeth M. Strong at May Memorial Unitarian Universalist Society in Syracuse, New York. Let it be known that on this day ________________ in the year _____________________ Rose ________ and Harriet ________ dissolved their Holy Union by divorce. The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth M ...

Assembled by Elizabeth Strong in the 1990s OPENING WORDS 1)     Friends, we are gathered here at this hour to witness and to celebrate the coming together of two separate lives.  We have come to join these two, to be with them and rejoice with them in the making of this important commitment.  The essence of this commitment is the taking of another ...

Hi, I’m Holly, and I’ll be your wedding coordinator for today. That means you have to give me your undivided attention for the next ten minutes. This is a really special day for all of you, for all of us, for Iowa, and the nation. And I’m here to help make it as beautiful and wonderful as possible. So, listen up. You have a ...

DOCUMENTS FROM REV. MARION VISEL SAME SEX WEDDINGS NEW PALTZ, NY, MARCH 2004 (Chronological Order) 1. Marian Visel papers 1 - HRC letter, "Lambda Legal Files Historic Lawsuit Seeking Full Marriage for Gay Couples in New York." March 5, 2004. (Good outline of events that lead up to UU Ministers officiating weddings for same sex couples in New Paltz, NY later in March 2004.) ...

I knew that New Paltz Mayor Jason West had been performing same-sex weddings, but I learned of the ceremonies officiated by Rev. Katherine Greenleaf and Rev. Dawn Sangrey at a UUMA New York Metro District Chapter cluster meeting in Mt. Kisco, March 9, 2004.  Kay told us about the ceremonies and the legal entanglements that ensued.  I immediately volunteered to join Kay and Dawn ...

LEADER: Because our love for one another is often not recognized, because our commitments are not yet legal, ALL: We witness your commitment to one another. We validate your love, and support you in your lives together. We testify that today you have bravely formed an authentic bond, worthy of respect. LEADER: Because our families often reject us, ALL: We accept you as a ...

Unitarian Universalists of the Cumberland Valley October 3, 2004 © The Rev. Judy Welles Invitation to Worship Christopher Lemelin, Worship Associate Three years, three months, three weeks, and three days ago, I became real.  When I calculated that time period, I knew exactly what I would say this morning—the magic in those numbers was unavoidable. Three years, three months, three weeks, and three days ...

From Pat Sullivan, about the advocacy work of her spouse the Rev. Kay Greenleaf. The Advocate, March 17 2004 Two ministers in Kingston, N.Y., were charged with criminal offenses on Monday for marrying 13 gay couples in what is believed to be the first time in the United States that clergy members have been prosecuted for performing same-sex ceremonies. District Attorney Donald Williams said ...

Richard S. Gilbert – Rochester, NY – April 13, 1975 READING: CALL TO THE LIVING This is a call to the living, To those who refuse to make peace with evil, With the suffering and waste of the world. This is a call to the human, Not the perfect, To those who know their own prejudices, Who have no intention Of becoming prisoners of ...

by the Rev. Eugene B. Navias Associate Minister Emeritus, Arlington Street Church, Boston October 23, 2003 I am the Rev. Eugene Navias, a retired minister.  I am seventy five years old.  I have been an ordained minister for fifty-two years.  And I am gay. My long term partner, Stanley, died of cancer and as he wished, he died in our home and in my ...

This is how it happened, from my perspective, and my most likely imperfect memory. I was the Executive Vice President of the University Student Council in for 1966/67, when I was a senior at the School of General Studies. One day the President, David Langsam, said to me, "I've got a good one for you. You probably don't know this, but you are on ...

Submitted by Rev.  Richard A.  Kellaway, minister at Fourth Universalist Church from 1968 to 1973. (At that time, the church was called The Universalist Church of New York City.) The interview was presumably conducted by Lee Paczulla when she was a student at Harvard Divinity School.  Edmund Pease was a member of the church.  Q:  Was there any public conversation on homosexuality at Fourth ...

Keynote Address given by Meg Riley UURMaPA Fall Conference, 2019 Note that this is not a word-for-word transcription of Meg's address.  We recommend watching the video in addition to reading this document. I want to start with gratitude to UURMaPA for doing this, for caring about this history; to all of the people who went before me, who made my life possible; and for ...

Although UUs had been officially engaged in working for gay, lesbian, and bisexual rights since the 1970 General Assembly resolution to end discrimination against “homosexuals and bisexuals,” it wasn’t until 1985 that the grassroots movement of queer UUs became a national/continental presence. That February 50-100[1] LGB UUs (others not yet acknowledged) and a few allies gathered in Houston at one of the few UU ...

In 1974, after the worship service in our Quad Cities (Iowa) UU congregation, a member approached me with a challenge: “Tom, thus far you’ve tackled every social justice issue except mine. I’m a gay man, and I invite you to become our ally. Let’s come out of our respective closets here in this mid-western parish!” And we both did. I preached a sermon on ...

What follows are some of my GLBTQ+ experiences between my birth in 1935 and today, when I am 83 years of age. I grew up in a UU minister family that was not homophobic, which is not to say that GLBTQ+ persons were looked on exactly like heterosexual persons. They were “different,” “exotic,” “interesting,” “artistic.” In the context of the church those who were ...

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