Viewpoint: Jon and Ted

When Jon and Ted started dating back in 2010, one of their first conversations was about church.

Ted grew up in a Unitarian Universalist congregation and found his way to UUSGS shortly after moving to the area in 2003. He quickly came to love the Sunday services, which he says “led to so much personal development,” and singing in the choir.

Jon grew up in a different faith and had a longer journey to finding a good fit. “Coming out as a gay man and finding a spiritual home can be kind of difficult,” he says.

Jon started coming to UUSGS with Ted, and he never stopped. The two married in 2014 and now have two young kids.

At UUSGS, Jon says, “we [don’t] have to explain who we are. We are just accepted for who we are. We can raise our family in a safe, loving, compassionate environment.”

“Supportive,” Ted adds.

Their family is deeply involved in the congregation. Ted served as Treasurer and as a Board member for several terms. Jon was President of the Board for a time. He’s now on the leadership team for our capital campaign, which the family has donated to.

The campaign is about a lot more than cosmetic building upgrades, Jon says. He describes it as an investment in “our mission and our vision and our values, and trying to help others have better access to those.”

Jon points to some of the improvements donors already made possible, like technology that allows people to join our Sunday services online. He also highlights our goal to overhaul the main entryway so “people can actually get into the building in an easy way that’s welcoming.”

Ted talks about the campaign in terms of the congregation’s future, saying the changes “will invite in who we want to be as a group.”

The new screen in the sanctuary is one of Ted’s favorite upgrades so far. One of its many uses is displaying lyrics while the congregation sings. “We're not sticking our heads in a hymnal. … We're looking up and we're singing out into the space. … It really changes the sound and the energy of how we are together,” Ted says. “It's glorious!”

As donors help make the sanctuary more welcoming and accessible, Jon thinks living our values through this campaign will have ripple effects beyond our walls.

“As we show up in our community,” he says, “whether that's for racial justice, refugee justice, environmental justice, I think the more we invest in ourselves and in our congregation, the clearer and louder our voice can be for good and for change.” In so many ways, Jon and Ted have invested in this community to extend the safe and loving environment their family has found to others. UUSGS is fortunate to have this family as part of ours.