Social Justice within our Congregation
Inclusivity: USH became a Welcoming Congregation in 2004, when the congregation voted to officially and fully welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to USH. Similarly, USH is committed to racial inclusion and diversity.
The Accessibility and Inclusivity Ministry (AIM) has assured that no one is excluded from full participation in the life of our Meeting House. The Sanctuary, including the chancel, Fellowship Hall, and religious education classrooms are fully accessible to those using wheelchairs or having limited mobility.
- Handicapped parking spaces
- An elevator enabling access to Fellowship Hall.
- Pew cuts to accommodate wheelchairs or chairs.
- Large print hymnals and Order of Service
- Amplifying headsets for services or meetings
- A hearing loop in the Sanctuary, which is compatible with hearing aids with a T-switch.
- Encouragement of our members and friends to refrain from using strong perfume/aftershave
- Service animals permitted
- A disability support group meets monthly online and is open to all.
For more information email Gloria Bent at bentgloria@gmail.com
Disability Justice: USH embraces the worth and dignity of all bodies.
“Ableism is the process of favoring, fetishizing, and building the world around a mostly imagined, idealized body while discriminating against those bodies perceived to move, see, hear, process, operate, look, or need differently from that vision.”
Rebekah Taussig, in Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body
As Unitarian Universalists learn to understand the intersecting and interlocking oppressions that harm us all, we’re also developing a more nuanced understanding of ableism. The Social Justice Council is committed to further that learning within our spiritual and religious values.
Education
The Social Justice Council takes a leading role in educating members of the congregation on current areas of inequality. These include leading a Sunday service on Reproductive Freedom as Social Justice and hosting a racial justice theme movie and discussion.
The weekly Enews publishes articles about social justice activities and opportunities for volunteering for the congregation.
Over a dozen members of the Social Justice Council have completed the Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA) training on community organizing. Others have completed the GHIAA racial justice training.