First Parish Church
Unitarian Universalist
Duxbury, Massachusetts

A Vigil for Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church  

On Sunday July 27, 2008, a madman with a shotgun killed two people and wounded six others at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist church in Knoxville, Tenn. The following Wednesday, our minister, Catherine Cullen, organized a vigil that took place in the early evening on the steps of our church. Also participating were our minister emeritus, Robbie Walsh, and Dan King, the minister at First Parish in Kingston. Before the vigil, Catherine asked if someone would speak on behalf of the Welcoming Congregation committee. As the chair of

the committee, I volunteered. I also talked by phone with several committee members and determined that it would be appropriate to hang the rainbow banner on the tree out front. (Coincidentally, the day it was hung was also the day that the Massachusetts House voted to repeal the 1913 law that had prevented gay and lesbian couples from other states from marrying in Massachusetts.) Below is a close approximation of the words I spoke at the vigil:

Our church, as many of you know, is a Welcoming Congregation. We voted to become one a little more than 10 years ago. Being a Welcoming Congregation has a special meaning for Unitarian Universalists. It means we actively encourage gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people to participate in the life of the church. Being a Welcoming Congregation is an important part of our church’s identity. First Parish Church is one of a few on the South Shore, and I believe the only one in Duxbury, that will perform same-sex marriages. It is clear from accounts of the shootings in Knoxville that anti-gay bias was part of the gunman’s motive.

The rainbow banner hanging from the tree behind you is a symbol of the church’s support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. We have hung it on the tree in celebration in the past, usually for the Welcoming Congregation’s annual worship service, but we also had it up after the historic vote last year by the Massachusetts legislature confirming the right to same-sex marriage in the state. Today, for the first time at this church, we hang it in mourning to acknowledge the tragedy in Knoxville. It has another meaning, too: solidarity. We feel such sorrow for the pain and anguish of our fellow Unitarian Universalists in Knoxville and today we grieve for them, acknowledge their loss and stand with them in this time of great suffering.

Jim Hamilton 

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