Social Justice at the Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Our church's mission includes making Unitarian Universalism a vital
presence in our community, promoting justice and compassion in human
relations, promoting the peaceful resolution of conflicts in our
individual and communal lives, and promoting efforts to bring human
existence into greater harmony with our environment.
The Social Justice council of committees work with our
members and friends to fulfill those goals.
We extend outreach to the community by supporting
various organizations with a portion of our collections,
As a Welcoming Congregation, we strive to
be an advocate for equality, justice and freedom in the larger society
and to speak out when the dignity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender persons are at stake.
And with our
Partner Church program, we have built strong
personal connections with our sister church in
Mészkõ, Transylvania over the past two decades. Another
pilgrimage is planned for July, 2010: we're
travelling to Budapest and
Transylvania!
"Queer" is a term that has been reclaimed by some in the LGBTQIA
community and is now their preferred identifying term. "Questioning" is
a stage many go through while sorting out their inner reality in a
culture that has taught them from birth that there are only two genders
and one appropriate sexual orientation.
"Intersex" people are those whose biological gender is ambiguous
because of genetic, hormonal or anatomical factors and who therefore do
not identify with either of the two genders generally accepted in our
culture.
"Allies" are people who identify as "straight" and who actively
support and relate to the LGBTQI community.
A
Welcoming Congregation is wholly inclusive and celebrates the lives
of all people. In particular, it welcomes lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and allied (LGBTQIA) persons,
and affirms their committed and familial relationships. It includes
them and expresses their concerns at every level of congregational life.
A Welcoming Congregation, as an advocate for LGBTQIA people, attends to
legislative developments; works to promote equality, justice and freedom
in the larger society; and speaks out when the dignity of LGBTQIA people
is at stake.
The Rainbow Outreach (formerly Welcoming Congregation) Committee is the
Fellowship's liaison with the LGBTQIA community.
Its responsibilities include communicating to the LGBTQIA community that
the Fellowship is a safe, welcoming, inclusive religious home for
LGBTQIA people; creating and maintaining relationships with LGBTQIA
organizations; and identifying opportunities for the congregation to
assist the LGBTQIA community in achieving its goals within the larger
society.
The Rainbow Outreach Committee also sponsors workshops and other
educational opportunities within the Fellowship on topics related to
LGBTQIA concerns and issues. It partners with the Membership and other
committees to enhance the wellbeing of LGBTQIA people and their families
both within the Fellowship and in the larger community.
For more information, contact
Michael Stevenson (562-7053 or
) or Amy Stinnett
(794-5018 or
).
Partner Church
The sixth principle of the
Unitarian Universalist purposes and principles is "the goal of world
community with peace, liberty, and justice for all." Being a partner with
the congregation in Mészkõ, Transylvania, has
helped our fellowship realize this goal. It has been the bridge that
connects our congregation to the world. Our fifteen-year partnership with
Mészkõ has helped our congregation to grow in understanding
of the impact of social action.
The Reverend David Keyes notes: "Churches involved in global
political and economic concerns become more involved in local political and
economic concerns. An opening-up occurs in congregation after congregation...
Global action often results in correlated local action, as a global
partner... increases its commitment to fund social justice projects, or
forms a new committee to provide local services to those less
fortunate."
One of the major current goals of the congregation in Mészkõ
is to help
preserve the legacy of Ferenc Balazs, the young minister who served the
congregation in the 1930s. Balazs' vision of community building is as
relevant today as it was 75 years ago. His legacy includes his teachings
and the historic church and parsonage which the congregation hopes can be
used for youth camps for Unitarian youth from Transylvania. Our
relationship and our financial assistance can help the Mészkõ
congregation realize their goals.
