Welcoming is a journey!
We welcome those of you who are beginning the welcoming journey to partner with us in dialogue and discernment to understand why we uphold the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people.
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welcoming congregations
We celebrate the lives of people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expression.
We are affirmatively inclusive and welcoming of the concerns of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ+) through our congregational life, education, outreach, and advocacy.
We are Welcoming Congregations because our congregations have made the following commitments:
- We advocate for and uphold the rights of LGBTQ+ people by promoting justice, freedom and equality in our congregations, institutions, and broader society.
- We create educational programming around LGBTQ+ themed events, such as LGBTQ History Month, National Coming Out Day, Pride Month, and Transgender Day of Remembrance.
- We are always learning about the lived experiences of people of all sexual orientations and genders, including transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and genderfluid individuals.
- We encourage questioning and learning from one another. We take time to ask, and then always respect each person’s multiple identities, self-labels, and pronoun preferences.
congregational life
- To hold services and incorporate LGBTQ+ concerns into our sermons.
- To use gender-neutral language within our liturgy and preferred pronouns for everyone as a matter of policy.
- To offer our LGBTQ+ members the full range of lifecycle service such as gender affirmation, marriage and union rites, newborn naming, and memorials.
- To include a nondiscrimination statement about membership and hiring of LGBTQ+ individuals in our guiding policies.
Outreach
- To engage our LGBTQ+ members and neighbors by sending affirming media messaging.
- To use inclusive language and LGBTQ+ affirming media messaging in social media, publications and websites.
- To support CoastPride’s mission and convene quarterly events in collaboration with CoastPride.
Education
To reflect LGBTQ+ diversity in our stories, readings, and educational programming.
Advocacy
To advocate, as appropriate, for changes in our denominational,
social, business, and government institutions toward affirming LGBTQ+ rights and dignity (for
example, all LGBTQ+ individuals who are called to serve as spiritual leaders should be affirmed and celebrated in their religions).
affirming and welcoming faith organizations on the coastside
CoastPride invites you to ask whether your congregation is both affirming and welcoming of our LGBTQ neighbors and to share this information with us so that we may list all welcoming congregations here:
- Pescadero Community Church