Cover Letter
Canadian Unitarian Council
Conseil unitarien du Canada
55 Eglinton Avenue East, #705, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4P
1G8
416-489-4121 www.cuc.ca
April 15, 2002
Canadian Unitarians and Universalists,
The Gender and Sexual Diversity Monitoring Group for the
Canadian Unitarian
Council is committed to supporting concerns of Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual,
Transgender and Queer communities in and out of our
congregations.
We are pleased that the CUC President, The Rev. Dr. Mark
Morrison-Reed, has
signed the attached statement after consultation with our
group.
This is being sent to national media by the CUC Toronto office
staff and
will be circulated via email and web site, as well as sent in
the next
society mailing that goes to all congregations, ministers and
directors of
religious education.
In the meantime, we hope that you and your congregation will
support this
statement in any way you see as appropriate. If you have
already been
certified as a "Welcoming Congregation", you might
consider a news release
or letter to the editor including that information in a cover
sheet and
attaching this statement.
You may want to outline your own congregation's history in
supporting gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights and any current
services you offer,
including services of union or small groups within your
congregation
specifically for bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender
persons.
If you do send out a letter or news release, we would
appreciate your
sending a copy to the CUC office for forwarding to our group.
And of course
if you receive media coverage, we would be pleased to hear
about that.
On behalf of the Canadian Unitarian Council's Gender and
Sexual Diversity
Monitoring Group,
Jamie Milroy, Chairperson
Members:
Jamie Milroy, Neighbourhood Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
Krista Taves, First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto
Linda Hicks, First Unitarian Congregation of Hamilton
Kristy Harcourt, Unitarian Church of Edmonton
Lyn McGinnis, First Unitarian Congregation of Waterloo
Art Brewer, First Unitarian Congregation of Toronto
Ann Cioppa, First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa
Press Release
Canadian Unitarian Council
Conseil unitarien du Canada
55 Eglinton Avenue East, #705
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4P 1G8
416-489-4121
www.cuc.ca
April 15, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
Among its other principles, the
Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC) specifically affirms and
promotes:
- the inherent worth and dignity of every
individual, and
- justice, equity and compassion in human
relations.
The CUC therefore expresses its
heartfelt and resolute disapproval of the decision recently
made by the Durham Catholic District School Board to refuse
Marc Hall permission to attend his high school prom with his
boyfriend.
By its action, the Board denies
Marc the right to participate fully and equally in the life of
his high school community simply because of his sexual
orientation. The Board’s decision perpetuates the historic
discrimination that sexual minorities face in many parts of
Canadian society and is an affront to the inherent worth and
dignity of all bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender
persons. In particular, the CUC condemns the exclusive,
discriminatory and homophobic attitudes this decision portrays
to Canadian youth.
The Canadian Unitarian Council
therefore urges the Durham Catholic District School Board to
immediately reverse its decision.
The Canadian Unitarian Council/Conseil
unitarien du Canada (CUC), is an association of forty-four
congregations located across Canada with 5,200 individual
members. Arising out of the work of outspoken reformers and
dissenters within the Christian tradition five centuries ago,
the Unitarian movement today flows in a broad religious stream
augmented by Universalist, Humanist, Pagan and other
progressive contributions.
Unitarian Universalists have
long upheld the principle that bisexual, gay, lesbian and/or
transgender persons are entitled to equal rights in society
and before the law. At its 1978 annual general meeting, CUC
delegates encouraged "all societies and individual
members to support all efforts to modify federal and
provincial codes of human rights to bar discrimination based
on sexual orientation."
In addition, Canadian and
American delegates to General Assemblies of the Unitarian
Universalist Association have approved fifteen resolutions
since 1970 calling for an end to discrimination against
bisexual, gay, lesbian and/or transgender persons.
Sincerely,
Dr. Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed
President
president@cuc.ca |
