Media roundup: UUs celebrate SCOTUS marriage decision

Media roundup: UUs celebrate SCOTUS marriage decision

A weekly guide to stories about Unitarian Universalists from other media sources.

Rachel Walden

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Tobin Grant’s research on public responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s (SCOTUS) ruling on same-sex marriage links the overwhelming Unitarian Universalist support to the fact that UUs are broadly united in their acceptance of gay and lesbian individuals in society. (Religion News Service - 6.30.15)

In Texas, the Rev. David Green of Amarillo Unitarian Universalist Fellowship clarified that his congregation’s support of the SCOTUS ruling does not mean that his church is a “gay church.” Though some members identify as gay and lesbian, his entire congregation celebrated the ruling. (connectAmarillo.com - 6.29.15)

Don Morrison, a member of the Bismarck-Mandan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in North Dakota, expressed his congregation's pleasure at the SCOTUS ruling, noting that it affirms principles of justice with which any American can identify. (The Bismarck Tribune - 6.29.15)

The first same-sex couple in the nation to receive a marriage license, Susan Shepherd and Marcia Hams, are members of First Parish UU in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They celebrated the ruling in church last Sunday while the Rev. Colin Bossin noted in his sermon that the LGBT community still had hurdles to face. (The Boston Globe - 6.29.15)

The Rev. Molly Housh Gordon of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbia, Missouri, views the SCOTUS ruling as a small step toward achieving a vision of a Beloved Community where every individual flourishes. However, she feels that LGBTQ people still face discrimination of all kinds, especially in the workplace. (The Columbia Daily Tribune - 6.30.15)

In the congregations

First Unitarian Church of Cleveland in Shaker Heights, Ohio, has hired two goats to serve as an environmentally friendly solution to their lawn maintenance needs. In addition to supporting a local goat rental business, church member Tom Gibson says that the goats add fertilizer that is easily compostable. (Cleveland.com - 7.1.15)

The predominantly white Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Jersey Shore voted unanimously to form a racism task force. The congregation’s minister, the Rev. Cynthia Cain, says that the demographic makeup of the congregation is a big part of why they feel the need to have a task force. (pressofAtlanticCity.com - 6.28.15)

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