Date: Sunday, November 15, 2020, 2:00 pm EST

With the continued assault on black lives in our country as demonstrated recently by the killing of citizens such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, our congregation agreed to put up a Black Lives Matter Banner.  Our Unitarian Universalist Church is a Welcoming Congregation and the Rainbow Flag is an insignia of our inclusiveness.  This banner is a visible statement of our faith.  Originally a BLM flag was installed in July, 2020. A replacement Rainbow Flag (Gay Pride) in support of the LGBTQ+ community had been vandalized and it was replacedat the same time.  By the next Wednesday morning, both flags were stolen.  This new banner is being installed to show, as Unitarian Universalists (UUs), our dedication to global justice, equity, and dignity leads us to join hands across lines of race, class, age, gender, and geography and work for an end to the injustices faced by black people and other groups in our communities, so that every person is treated equally under the law and has a fair chance at life.A special committee worked for several months on the design of the banner.  It was designed by one of our congregation members.  The banner is part of our effort to reach out and affirm Black Lives Matter and to support the LGBTQ+ community. while waiting for the permanent flag to be created, the church also installed security cameras and lighting, replaced light bulbs, and removed some tree limbs so that the banner could be placed higher on the building and still be visible from the road. A special committee worked for several months on the design of the banner.  It was designed by one of our congregation members.  The banner is part of our continuing effort to reach out and affirm Black Lives Matter and to support the LGBTQ+ community.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbJ79jyHgSk 

Links to news coverage: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/16/unitarian-universalist-church-uti…

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/human-interest/2020/11/15/…