A Personal Proclamation & Statement of Conscience
( a renewal to be effective July 4, 2009)

by Rev. Rhett D. Baird, minister
High Street Unitarian Universalist Church - Macon, Georgia (’04-present)
& Minister Emeritus, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Fayetteville, AR (’94-’04)

revrhett@aol.com 478-737-8644 (cell)
Originally issued March 24, 2002 and renewed annually
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Based upon my experience, my well considered deliberations, and the values which shape my life, I have come to believe that the state of Georgia has no right to withhold the legal protections of the status of marriage to persons because of their gender.
I have come to believe that the state of Georgia has no right to say that a love that exists between two adults has no standing in law because the gender of one of the persons is not pleasing to the state.
I have come to believe that love does not come into being nor thrive and grow and sustain the lives of people to please the state.
The state, I believe was created and exists to serve the people — all of the people — and to promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — of all its citizens.
Therefore, effective July 4, 2009, I will recommit to live out, for the seventh consecutive occasion, a one year moratorium on my acting as an agent on behalf of the state. During that period, I will honorably and joyfully create and officiate at religious ceremonies that honor and celebrate the love between two people, but I will not sign marriage certificates legalizing a bond that is not accessible to all persons, without regard to gender. Couples eligible for such legal sanction may choose to seek out the nearest civil office to do the duty of the state.
During this self-imposed moratorium and protest against what I have come to believe are unjust laws in this state on this subject, I shall function only in my ecclesiastical role as an ordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and shall respectfully refrain from acting as an agent of the state.
This is a thoughtfully considered private act of conscience, a symbolic gesture of values held that must be lived out, and is not intended to represent any other person or group other than my authentic self. I am grateful to my faith community and a 500 year liberal religious tradition which affords me freedom of the pulpit and freedom of conscience without fear or favor of persons or position.
@ 2009 Rev. Rhett D. Baird
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