First Parish is proud to be a Welcoming Congregation. We welcome and celebrate the presence and participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

First Parish in Lexington, Unitarian Universalist, is a liberal church that seeks to recognize and support the worth and dignity of every human being, to embrace an evolving faith in harmony with reason, to comfort and encourage people in their times of sorrow and need, and to help its members live out their values in their daily lives.

In 1987 the Unitarian Universalist Association established the Common Vision Planning Committee. This committee found many negative attitudes, deep prejudices, and profound ignorance about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, which resulted in the exclusion of many people from their churches. As a result of these findings, the delegates of the 1989 UUA General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to initiate the Welcoming Congregation program to educate its members. Each congregation adapts the program to best meet its goals and each unique situation can bring positive changes to individuals and congregations.

The First Parish Welcoming Congregation Team provides educational opportunities within our church community several times a year for adults; we work with the religious education program to integrate intentional welcoming and education around GLBT issues into the curriculum; we take action to educate our community and support GLBT people, those who love them and all hurt by homophobia in our town through our participation in the Respecting Differences Coalition and in our state through actions such as letter writing and legislative contact.

For more information about the Welcoming Congregation program at First Parish, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .