Sedona Unitarian Universalist Congregation became a Welcoming Congregation in 2014. A Welcoming Congregation is a Unitarian Universalist designation that specifies the LGBTQ community has a safe space in our congregation and is welcome to all our activities.

SUUF has LGBTQ themed worship services twice a year–once in the spring and once in the fall. Our guest speakers for these services have been transgender allies, transgender people, as well as activists in the community who support LGBTQ organizations. The goal is to deepen the awareness and understanding of the complexities of sexual orientation and gender identity. We also strive to keep our members up to date on current issues and challenges for this group.

We show up at Pride events like the St Patrick’s Day parade where we march with the Sedona /Verde Valley PFLAG group. SUUF donates money to Sedona/VV PFLAG every year.

Some of us also attend their monthly meetings to become educated on the needs of our local LGBTQ community. SUUF has an ongoing commitment to always be welcoming.

A video was created in 2014 sharing SUUF’s path to becoming a welcoming community:

Welcoming Congregation Commitments

At the annual meeting on May 19, 2024, the congregation voted unanimously to adopt the following commitments:

• A Welcoming Congregation is inclusive and expressive of the concerns of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer at every level of congregational life—in worship, in program, and in social occasions—welcoming not only their presence but the unique gifts and particularities of their lives as well.
• A Welcoming Congregation does not assume anyone’s affectional/sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Vocabulary of worship reflects this perception; worship celebrates diversity by inclusivity of language and content.
• An understanding of the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons is fully incorporated by a Welcoming Congregation throughout all programs, including religious education. 
• The bylaws and other official documents of a Welcoming Congregation include an affirmation and nondiscrimination clause affecting all dimensions of congregational life, including membership, hiring practices, and the calling of religious professionals.
• A Welcoming Congregation engages in outreach into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities, both through its advertising and by actively supporting other lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer affirmative groups.
• A Welcoming Congregation offers congregational and ministerial support for services of union and memorial services for persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer, and celebrations of evolving definitions of family.
• A Welcoming Congregation celebrates the lives of all people and welcomes same-gender couples, recognizing their committed relationships, and equally affirms displays of caring and affection without regard for sexual orientation.
• A Welcoming Congregation seeks to nurture ongoing dialogue between people of different affectional/sexual orientations and gender identities, and to create deeper trust and sharing.  
• A Welcoming Congregation affirms and celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer issues and history during the church year.
•  A Welcoming Congregation, as an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, attends to legislative developments and works to promote justice, freedom, and equality in the larger society. It speaks out when the rights and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are at stake.
• A Welcoming Congregation celebrates the lives of all people and their ways of expressing their love for each other.