 |
Welcoming Congregation Committee
First Parish Church became a Welcoming Congregation in 1998 following a
lengthy period of education and discussion. The decision was made at an
annual meeting of the parish, on a secret-ballot vote of 52-4. To read
about the history of Welcoming Congregation at FPC, click here:
History.
Go to:
Standing
on the Side of Love
|
|
As a Welcoming Congregation,
we are committed to promoting the first Unitarian Universalist principle, which
recognizes the inherent worth and dignity of every person. We
strive to support civil rights and to foster understanding, and we welcome gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
people into our church
family. For more information on the Welcoming Congregation program,
click here: Welcoming
Congregation FAQs
On March 29, 2009,
Rev. Catherine Cullen and Sean Delmore, a transgender activist from
Boston, preached a joint sermon celebrating diversity.
Listen to it here.
The Welcoming Congregation
Committee of First Parish in Duxbury was invited by First Parish in Cohasset to
participate in a worship service on January 27, 2008. Jim Hamilton of
our committee joined Steve Brown and the Rev. Dr. Jan Carlsson-Bull of the
Cohasset church in their pulpit . To read more about that event, click here:
Welcoming Congregation in Cohasset
|
.jpg) |
 |
FPC Stands on the Side of Love
On Valentine's Day,
Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010, First Parish joined UU churches nationwide in
"Standing on the Side of Love," a public advocacy campaign that
seeks to harness love’s power to stop the oppression of gays, lesbians,
bisexual and transgendered people. The campaign was inspired by the
July, 2008, killings of two members of a Knoxville, Tenn., UU church by
a disturbed man who targeted the church partly because of its support
for gay marriage rights. At left, some of the more than 100
members, friends and young people who crowded our pulpit area at the
conclusion of the worship service. |
FPC Demonstrates Support
for Same-Sex MarriageOn November
9, 2006, a group from First Parish Church went to the State House to
demonstrate our support for same-sex marriage. It was a remarkable
experience that you can learn more about, in words and photos, by clicking on this link:
Demonstration |
 |
|
We support CIVIL RIGHTS FOR SAME-sex couples
Our second Unitarian Universalist Principle concerns our
search for justice. Attention is drawn to the 1,138 rights denied at the
Federal level to same-sex couples. Massachusetts has made some corrections but
more adjustment is needed in the areas listed below:
●
Laws relating to the acquisition, ownership or transfer of real or
personal property of estates or interstate succession.
● Laws relating to government protections, including worker’s
compensation, unemployment insurance, public assistance, transfer of licenses
upon death, and ability to apply for absentee ballots and other documents for a
spouse.
●
Laws relating to
domestic relations and family maintenance, including the rights and obligations
of support during and after relationship division of marital property and
evidentiary privileges.
Married couples have
many rights and obligations that are not available to unmarried couples. It
is also true that civil unions generally provide only a subset of the rights
and obligations of civil marriages. If you are interested in seeing an
excellent overview on this topic, we recommend that you look at a document
published by GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders). It's called
"Protections, Benefits and Obligations of Marriage under Massachusetts and
Federal Law: Some Key provisions of a Work-in-Progress." To read this
document, click here: PBOs Of Marriage
Welcoming
Congregation Committee takes a stand on Boy Scout issue The Welcoming Congregation Committee
believes Boy Scouts of America troops should not be allowed to meet at First
Parish Church on a permanent basis because of the national organization's policy
to exclude gays from its membership and leadership. Our position on this matter
is consistent with the Unitarian Universalist principles and our status as a
Welcoming Congregation. This issue was reviewed by an ad hoc committee of First
Parish Church and resulted in a new
Building Use policy. In December of 2009, the Welcoming Congregation
committee addressed the issue directly in a
letter to the Boy Scouts of America. Moving forward, the church intends to
work with the Unitarian Universalist Association to encourage the Boy Scouts of
America to change its discriminatory policy.
You Can Get Married Here
First Parish Church was the first
religious institution in Duxbury to perform a same-sex marriage.
We are one of the few churches on the South Shore that
conduct same-sex marriages in their sanctuaries. Alternatively, our
minister will officiate at a same-sex wedding at a place of your
choosing. For more information on using First Parish Facilities,
please see our Weddings and Rentals page.
|
 |
|
