FAIRLAWN: Kim Mosyjowski was horrified when she saw the rope burn on her daughter’s neck.
“She was acting really weird, wearing scarves all the time, just not really herself,” said Mosyjowski, of Randolph Township. “When I saw the rope burn, I knew she’d tried to hang herself. We immediately got the counseling and medical help that she needed. But she needed community — a safe place where she could be herself.”
Mosyjowski and her 17-year-old daughter, Joan, found that community at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron, where they have been instrumental in organizing an outreach to LGBT teens.
The outreach to teens is one of three main focuses of the church’s social justice ministry. The other two focal points of the ministry are outreach to migrant farm workers from Central and South America and a food justice program.
This summer, the local church, located at 3300 Morewood Road, was honored by the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly with the denomination’s annual award for social justice — the Bennett Award for Human Justice and Social Action.
“The goal has been to help others, but we have been transformed in the process, building relationships, growing in knowledge and strengthening our spirituality,” said the Rev. Tim Temerson, pastor at the church.
Lending a hand
Brenda Whitmore, who leads the immigration ministry, is one of the people who believe that she has gained more than she has given. The ministry started three years ago via a partnership with the Immigrant Worker Project, based in Canton.
“It’s really powerful when you meet people who are doing everything they can to be safe and have a better life for themselves and their families,” Whitmore said. “I met a 64-year-old lady who works hard all day. Her hands are stained black from the earth, but she still comes to practice her English after working all day. That is the kind of dedication that has inspired me.”
Whitmore and other volunteers from the local church teach weekly English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), citizenship and GED classes at the Hartville Migrant Center. Their work includes online research to help immigrants going through asylum and deportation hearings; writing letters of support; hosting legal clinics; providing transportation to places like court, doctor appointments and advocating for immigration reform.
Green for a cause
UUA’s food justice ministry grew out of the congregation’s commitment to environmental justice. After getting certification as a Green Sanctuary in 2012, church members expressed interest in ethical eating, community gardening and hunger. That interest led to an organic community garden being planted on church property that same year.
The garden has grown from four raised beds to 16. It has been incorporated into the religious education curriculum of the summer camp program and harvested food from the garden is used for a hot meal program offered at the church every fourth Sunday. Dinner guests are invited to take fruits and vegetables from the garden, toiletries and gently used clothing home with them.
“The overall goal of the food ministry is to help our members and general community members move toward a healthier, more just relationship with food and the food system,” Temerson said. “We offer classes on food, health and the environment. We have learned about the huge disparities in access to food, globally and in our own community — that has been a major motivator for advocacy work.”
Advocacy is also a major part of the LGBT outreach. Over the years, the congregation has hosted film nights, workshops, forums and discussions addressing inclusivity of the community and a vigils for Transgender Day of Remembrance and participated in the Cleveland Gay Pride Parade, lobby day for LGBT equality at the statehouse and letter writing campaigns calling for equal rights.
Finding a home
When the Mosyjowskis visited the church more than three years ago, they immediately felt accepted. For Joan, the atmosphere was a lifesaver.
“When I told my family that I was gay, they were instantaneously accepting but it was not the same at school,” Joan said. “I had the love and support of my family. But at school I was bullied, harassed and pushed around. One girl, who I thought was my friend, said ‘you can’t be gay. It’s a sin.’ I began to believe ‘they hate me. They hate me. Nobody is ever going to accept me.’ That’s when I tried to harm myself.”
Joan spent about three months saying her goodbyes and giving things away. She said she developed a web of deceit to make people think everything was OK, when in reality she was embroiled in turmoil.
“I did not want to come to this church — a lot of the people who were giving me a hard time were using religion as the reason they couldn’t accept me,” Joan said. “When we walked in, it happened to be the Sunday when the service focused on outreach to the [LGBT] community. The rainbow flag was on the stage. Rabbi [David] Horowitz [current national president of PFLAG] was speaking.”
The Mosyjowski mother and daughter said they locked eyes and saw a knowing look of acceptance.
“We both knew we had found ‘home’ — a place where we could live out loud and be who we are. This church saved my daughter’s life and it saved my life because how was I going to live if my daughter didn’t? It is so important for the teens to have a safe place so that they don’t feel isolated. That sense of isolation has killed so many teens,” said Kim Mosyjowski, who is also president of the Akron Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
The church’s outreach to the LGBT teen community has included an anti-bullying campaign; a Pride Prom for local youth and their allies and a collaborative initiative, with PFLAG Akron and CANAPI (Community AIDS Network and Akron Pride Center) called Teen Pride Network. The network hosts regular events where LGBT teens can create fellowship.
“Everyone here at this church is absolutely accepting. They have this amazing way of letting you be who you are,” said Joan, whose high school now has a gay-straight alliance. “I was in a terrible place ... I am glad I wasn’t successful in harming myself because I’m now at a place where I can help other people.”
For more information about the local church, go to www.uuakron.org or call (330) 836-2206.
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com. She can be followed at www.twitter.com/ColetteMJenkins.