First Unitarian is a 2SLGBTQIA+ Welcoming Community

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has made a commitment to opening its doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, offering an online gathering and pastoral care space for trans and nonbinary+ people lead by a chaplain or facilitators with time for sharing and connection.

As Unitarian Universalists (UUs), we not only open our doors to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, we value diversity of sexuality and gender and see it as a spiritual gift. We create inclusive religious communities and work for LGBTQ justice and equity as a core part of who we are. All of who you are is sacred.  All of who you are is welcome. Our welcoming congregations engage in intentional Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) welcoming ministry.

Let us say it unequivocally and without hesitation: affirming the inherent worthiness and belovedness of transgender people is an expression of our Unitarian Universalist faith. The safety and well-being of trans and nonbinary beloveds is not someone else’s work, it is ours: both those of us whose gender identity makes us most acutely vulnerable and those of us to whom allyship is central to our being. We are all part of one family. We are parents, children, siblings, chosen kindred, and we are one another’s people.

Affirming and defending trans lives is, in and of itself, a moral duty prescribed by the values that lie at the heart of our faith. Our core understanding of profound interdependence also reminds us that our struggles are inextricably linked. Any attempt to undermine the bodily autonomy of one group is part of a larger authoritarian agenda to exert control far beyond the bounds of the law. The times are perilous, and the risks are only growing. And yet the moral imperative to embody our values and protect our beloveds is clearer than ever: The UUA Pushes back on misinformation whenever and however you encounter it.

As a Welcoming Congregation First Unitarian Church explicitly welcomes people who are two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (genderqueer)/questioning, intersex, and asexual/agender plus all other sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQIA+). We recognize that many 2SLGBTQIA+ people have experienced rejection and pain in other religious settings, so we have to be clear about our welcome.

In 1998, we proudly completed the UUA’s Welcoming Congregation program. and continue to annually update our status as a Welcoming Congregation. Welcoming Congregations are committed to being warm and welcoming to all 2SLGBTQIA+ people. First Unitarian is striving for radical inclusion and creating spaces that honor and support every part of our identities, backgrounds, and experiences. We value diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity and see it as a precious gift. Ours is an inclusive religious community that works for 2SLGBTQIA+ justice and equity as a core part of who we are. We honor intersectionality and strive to be part of the beloved community.

All of who you are is beautiful, honored, welcome, and will be affirmed and supported when you step through our doors.
As a Welcoming Congregation we pledge to:

• Honor the lives of all people and equally affirm displays of caring and affection without regard for sexual orientation or gender identity
• celebrate diversity by using inclusive language and content in worship and our religious exploration program
• Incorporate an understanding of the experience of 2SLGBTQIA+ persons throughout all of our programs, including religious exploration
• Affirm and celebrate 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, history, and days/weeks/months of observance
• Affirm peoples’ gender identities and conduct transgender/non-binary/genderqueer re-naming ceremonies
• Affirm marriage equality and conduct weddings for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people
• Respect and use everyone’s pronouns and share our pronouns with each other, ask an usher for pronoun stickers for name tags
• Ensure restroom comfort and safety, all are welcome to use the restroom that best fits their gender identity and/or where they feel safe, there are all-gender
  restrooms on each floor of our building
• Advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ people, promoting justice, freedom, and equality in the larger society. We speak out when the rights and dignity of 2SLGBTQIA+ people are at stake.

The UUA declares that “our message to every American child should be simple: you are perfect exactly the way God made you.” So let us proclaim with unwavering clarity to our young people: If life, and Love, and all that is holy made you transgender, that part of you is also part of the Divine. You were not made wrong — you were made sacred, and through you we are all made more whole.

Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives. For these reasons and more, we are proud to offer Our Whole Lives (OWL), a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality offering K-1, 4-6, and 7-9 education curricula for use in both secular settings and faith communities.

Our Whole Lives helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their relationships, sexual health and behavior. With a holistic approach, Our Whole Lives provides accurate, developmentally appropriate information about a range of topics, including relationships, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, sexual health, and cultural influences on sexuality.

Our Whole Lives covers topics and skills that both parents and children want covered but which schools often exclude or address only briefly. National surveys show that most parents, along with educators and children and youth, want to expand sexuality
education.

Within First Unitarian Church, the Radical Welcoming Team’s purpose is to work towards 2SLGBTQIA+ welcome, justice, inclusion, support, joy, affirmation, and equity as a core part of our congregational community and in society at large. We are striving for radical inclusion and intentionally creating spaces that honor and support every part of all identities, backgrounds, and experiences. We value diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity and see it as a precious gift. We honor intersectionality and strive to be part of the beloved community. The Radical Welcoming Team (RWT) is continually working on the ongoing goal of yearly renewal of our Welcoming Congregation special designation through the UUA and other projects that support 2SLGBTQIA+ people in
our congregation and community.

This church year the Radical Welcoming Team:

• Organized First Unitarian participation in the OKC Pride, Inc. Pride on 39th Parade (June 2024 and June 2025).
• Completed the Welcoming Congregation renewal process and submitted our application to the UUA for our fifth year in a row!
• Organized First Unitarian participation in the Oklahoma City Pride Alliance Parade (June 2024) and are working on First Unitarian participation in the 2025 Pride Alliance parade.
• Incorporated 2 specifically Welcoming Worship Services in our church calendar.
  • Created and led a full Sunday service titled “Transforming Hate to Compassion: Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR),” consisting of a  reflection by, RWT co-chairperson, a collective responsive reading honoring TDOR by RWT members, and a sermon (11/17/24).
  • Our RWT co-chairperson, created and led a Sunday service titled “Do You Think They See?” in honor of Transgender day of Visibility with a sermon with a reflection from the Director of the Oklahoma Action Chorus, and special music from the Oklahoma Action Chorus (3/30/25).
• An RWT member, represented First Unitarian at Transgender Day of Remembrance event at the Diversity Center in support of the area transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit community.
• Represented First Unitarian and provided sponsorship for the interfaith Pride Community Worship Service at Mosaic Community Church (UCC Church), where an RWT member did a reading.
• Hosted/sponsored the interfaith World AIDS Day Service at First Unitarianincluding a reflection and music in collaboration with the 1UC choir.
• Organized and facilitated two 4-session “UU Common Read, Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families” religious education(RE) course, with the First Unitarian Director of Lifespan Religious Education.
• Continued education regarding the importance of pronoun usage and the dangers of deadnaming and outing at First Unitarian with a special newsletter
  article, educational email to the staff, and in Sunday services.
• Nominated First Unitarian for the 2024 Rainbow Awards in the Hot Pink – Sex Education category. RWT co-chairpersons represented First Unitarian at the awards gala.
• Nominated the Campaign for Southern Equality as First Unitarian’s Change for Change partner in March 2025.
• Honored and recognized Welcoming Days/Weeks/Months of Observance that bring visibility and affirmation after generations of invisibility and erasure to
  2SLGBTQIA+ communities through newsletter articles, posts on our Facebook page/group, posts on our Instagram page, and commemoration in Sunday services.* These include:
  • Bisexual Visibility Day (Celebrate Bisexuality Day)
  • 2SLGBTQI+ History Month
  • National Coming Out Day
  • Matthew Shephard death anniversary
  • International Pronouns Day
  • Ace Week
  • Intersex Awareness Day
  • Trans Parent Day
  • Transgender Awareness Week
  • Transgender Day of Remembrance
  • World AIDS Day
  • National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • National Women & Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • Trans Week of Advocacy and Action (TWOAA)
  • International Transgender Day of Visibility
  • International Asexuality Awareness Day
  • International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia
  • Pride Month
  • Non-Binary Awareness Week
  • International Non-Binary People’s Day
  • International Drag Day
• RWT planned and organized the first ever “Pride Without Prejudice – A Safe Space All-Ages Party” at First Unitarian. It was well attended and this year’s party will be on Saturday, June 21, 2025.
• Shared ways to take action in the Facebook group to oppose the bills in Oklahoma targeting the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
• Advertised “Defend Trans Lives” for UUs by the Transforming Hearts Collective in the 1UC Facebook group. Multiple RWT and other First Unitarian members attended.
• We are still working on adding permanent signs to the binary restrooms near the church office, denoting, “Gender diversity is welcomed here. All are encouraged to use the restroom that best fits their identity. A private all-gender and accessible restroom is located next to the kitchen.
• RWT members attended national and UUA-specific education events on the 2SLGBTQIA+ issues.
• RWT members have attended the majority of Freedom Oklahoma’s weekly
• Legislative Update sessions.
  • Participated in many protests, marches, rallies, board of education meetings, and community events in support of our local 2SLGBTQIA+ community as well as writing letters, emails, and/or called their Senators or Representatives in opposition to the anti-2SLGBTQIA bills that were put forward by our state legislature this year.

We recognize that there’s always something more to learn and remain open to deepening our understanding of the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Each member of the RWT brought unique talents, perspectives, and vitality that created a strong collective of people who have made great positive change and progress for 2SLGBTQIA+ people at First Unitarian. We look forward to more positive changes in the upcoming year and continue to learn and grow as we welcome diverse individuals and families.