No one should be excluded, oppressed

It is with a heavy heart that I have followed the controversy within the Episcopal Church over the status of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. I had considered the dispute to be an internal one. However, when three churches placed an ad in this paper and declared that "issues of such substance naturally transcend denominational boundaries," they brought the issue to the public square, and their position warrants a response.

It is important to know there are liberal and liberating religious alternatives in Beaufort County. I am privileged to serve a denomination with a more welcoming view. As president of the Thomas Jefferson District of the Unitarian Universalist Association, I serve 63 congregations throughout the Southeast that affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, race, religion, ability level, political view or immigration status. We believe no one should be dehumanized or marginalized through acts of exclusion or oppression.

Like our Episcopal sisters and brothers, Unitarians and Universalists have a unique place in American history. We were there at the nation's founding and have long been at the forefront of efforts to ensure equality for all people. We hope to go beyond trying to achieve "legal equality" to the more difficult task of changing hearts and minds.

We hope to do that by being a public witness, working to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice and standing on the side of love.

James C. Key

Beaufort