has to do with showing active support and ministry for those same sex couples who were planning to go to California to be married---until the Grinch stole the marriage licenses and burned them.
What if our congregation did something really kind of drastic and announced to the community that, in defiance of Prop 8 in CA, we are enacting Proposition 2009 and during the year 2009, we at UUCWI will donate the use of our sanctuary and the services of our minister (me) to celebrate the life commitment and marriage of same sex couples in our community.
As I'm considering how to carry this idea out (after running it by the board and congregation), I think I could write an editorial for the local paper announcing our opposition to marriage INequality and our invitation to same sex couples who live in our county to celebrate their marriages (because they are married in their hearts, whether the county clerk agrees or not) in our sanctuary, with the blessing of our congregation and the use of my services as officiant.
I don't know if we'd get any takers, but the lesbian couple I ran the idea by this morning liked it a lot. One young couple's plan to marry next August is what got me taking this brainstorm seriously. I think I'd need to limit it to Island county residents, to keep it manageable. But we have a very large, strong BGLT community on the south end of the island and I would like us to reach out to them.
We are already a Welcoming Congregation and have always been supportive of civil rights for sexual minorities, but I'd like to see us do something really concrete, both as a statement and as a service.
5 comments:
Is the church ready to be actively hated by the fundies & mormons? They don't like you now, but this might move some of these "good christians" to violence.
I know it's a possibility but I don't think we ought to let it stop our taking a stand, whatever that stand might be.
Dan, I very much doubt it. These days the violence seems more likely to go the other way.
If your religion permits it (as obviously it does) and you're not trying to force any other religion to change its tenets, I don't see why either Fundies (what a convenient and nebulous term!) or Mormons would care.
One new member (ME!) is strongly behind you on this idea! BRAVA!!
Vicky P.
Thanks, Vicky! Missed you yesterday--were you snowed in? Lots of folks were gone but we had a good service.
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