Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities 1997 Business Resolution

BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists affirm the inherent worth and dignity of every person; and

BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations; and

BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists believe in the importance of religious community; and

WHEREAS people with physical, psychiatric, and developmental disabilities are becoming more involved in all areas and levels of the Unitarian Universalist Association; and

WHEREAS people with inabilities to see, hear, or maneuver around allotted space are often excluded from full participation in and leadership of our worship services and other activities because of the inaccessibility of our buildings;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 1997 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association undertakes an aggressive plan to address accessibility within the Association for people with disabilities by:

  1. Establishing written policies and practices, providing staff training, and creating an accessibility manual for the Unitarian Universalist Association, allowing the Association to serve as a model of physical and attitudinal accessibility for its member congregations;
  2. Encouraging congregations and districts to become more accessible by providing a variety of resources, including information on the Internet; and
  3. Assuring that a Board-appointed standing committee, supporting congregations in their efforts to become more accessible, address matters of disability concerns and report annually to the General Assembly on these issues.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Unitarian Universalist Association acts as an advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities both within its own association and globally.