From Within These Walls Celebrating 100 Years at 10 South Gilbert

June 2008

UUSIC – A WELCOMING CONGREGATION Tova Vitiello Celebrating the lives of all people and the ways in which they express their love for each other.

On Friday, May 18, 2007, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City celebrated its tenth anniversary as a Welcoming Congregation, and the tenth anniversary of our Interweave Chapter, with a concert featuring The Quire and performances by members of our UU congregation. Eighteen years earlier, in 1989, the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association approved the "Welcoming Congregation" program, a program that confronted heterosexism and the oppression of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in the United States. While we assumed that our own congregation was inclusive, members of UUSIC believed that it was important to formally welcome lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender people because much of the justification for their oppression was and still is ''religiously'' motivated. We wanted to provide an environment where people could feel safe and "tell the truth of who they are." So, in the spring of 1995, the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Task Force was formed at UUSIC. Within the year, it became the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Task Force (in fact, UUSIC included transgender people before the UUA did). The members of the original task force were Charles Eastham, Miriam Kashia, Virginia Melroy, Gay Mikelson, Virginia Lee Stamler, Sheila Streeby, Theresa Ullerich, Tova Vitiello, and Mark Yuskis. The primary focus was to organize and help implement the Welcoming Congregation process. In preparation, the task force met regularly for two years. We completed a series of 10 workshops with our UU Society. In addition, we provided forums, showed relevant films, held discussions, sold t-shirts whose logo affirmed all people, and kept UUSIC informed through newsletter articles. We also sponsored a First Sunday Breakfast, made a UU banner, and marched in Pride Parades with others from our congregation. On May 18, 1997, when our congregation voted unanimously to become a Welcoming Congregation, the task force evolved into the UUSIC Interweave Chapter. UUA official recognition  of  our  work  soon  followed.  During   the   next decade, our Interweave Chapter and our congregation have continued to carry out the commitments and actions inherent in being a Welcoming Congregation. Interweave serves as a resource for RE, and provides adult forums and service programs on LBGTQ concerns.  We oppose all legislation that discriminates against people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Interweave also continues to support and sponsor a wide range of LBGTQ events and activities, many of which are listed above. Because the Unitarian Universalist Society of Iowa City is a Welcoming Congregation, lesbians, bisexuals, gays,  and  transgender  people have a safe place to develop mind and spirit. UUSIC  affirms and promotes the inherent worth and dignity of every person; we enter into a "covenant, promising to one another our mutual trust and support." For some of us, this is the only place where we can laugh and relax, sharing picnics, games, concerts, dinner parties, and other social events with our heterosexual allies. But more importantly, for some of us, this is the only place where we can share our stories and be ourselves. Here at UUSIC, we feel more than tolerated or accepted -- we feel celebrated!	Since 1997, Interweave  has: Marched each June in the annual Pride Parade behind our "UUs Affirm All People" banner Donated 20 books dealing with LBGTQ issues to our UU library, choosing books on a variety of topics and written for audiences of all ages Maintained an LBGTQ bulletin board in Channing Hall Written a monthly Interweave article for the UUSIC News Supported the annual Pride Talent Show Participated in Lobby Day in Des Moines   Presented Sunday services on LBGTQ issues and experiences: A Not So Straight Political Journey Welcoming Ourselves Celebrating Our Pride Beyond Blue and Pink: When Gender Betrays Us Courage from Necessity, Standing on the Side of Love Presented forums: Homophobia and Other Forms of Oppression Gender Socialization Transgender: Expanding Gender Awareness Civil Rights for LBGTQ People National Coming Out Day Shown movies: Desert Hearts The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love Boys Don't Cry Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Commermeyer Story Gay Couples: The Nature of Relationships Special events have included: 1998  UUSIC-sponsored Ferron concert 1998  Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are, by Tova Vitiello, performed at UUSIC 2001  Experiential workshop, Transgender and   Gender Awareness 2006  UUSIC receives F. Joseph Wilson Award  for Best Community Service Group 2007   The Quire
TAKING A STAND AGAINST NUCLEAR ARMAMENT Marilyn Jennewein
At a special congregational meeting on February 3, 1985, UUSIC passed the Nuclear Free Zone Declaration. This resulted from an effort by the Unitarian Universalists for Social Action, chaired by Martie Olson, to “actively and openly involve the Board of Directors and the entire Society in an informative and meaningful dialogue on the nuclear free zone movement.” Through forums, discussions, newsletter articles, and a special Sunday service speaker, 50 members of UUSIC participated in presenting information to the congregation. The declaration stated, “The act of declaring a Nuclear Free Zone is intended as a moral statement and public witness. …We feel strongly that the moral dimensions of this issue are sufficient cause for the congregation to communicate its concern to the large society.” This may have been the first time that the congregation as a whole took a formal public stand on a major political and moral issue, for a concern expressed before the vote was that the declaration ran counter to “the past policy of individual voice and action in our local Society and not Society public witness.” Nonetheless, the congregation approved the declaration by a vote of 80 to 9. The declaration also stated, “To give our declaration maximum effect, we instruct our Board to post a symbol of this action on our property, to convey this declaration to appropriate governments and representatives, and to commend it for publication.” Following adoption of the declaration, the Society worked for adoption of a similar resolution by the City Council of Iowa City, and this was accomplished later that year.
Check it out …	From Within These Walls is a project of the UUSIC Building Centennial Team: Jeanette Carter, Susan Eberly, Marilyn Jennewein, David Martin, Betty McKray, Charity Rowley, Faye Strayer, and Mark Yuskis, with the help of many others in our UUSIC community.
UUSIC timeline - Decade by decade historical highlights, located on the south wall of Channing hall, and updated monthly. FWTW web page, with new information every month. UUSIC historical resources available at the State Historical Society of Iowa.

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