Thanks to Box Turtle Bulletin, I found what I felt is a truly Christian response to the "Day of Silence" observed in many schools around the nation last Friday--a response bereft of judgement and full of love. Here is an excerpt:
Yesterday morning, when I went to the SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Alliance) table to receive my piece of duct tape, I showed them my slips and told them that several ministries would be participating as well. The look on their faces was priceless. They were shocked, but ecstatic. This alone would have been enough to make my day.
People came up to me shocked. Over and over, people said to me, “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me. I’m amazed. Thank you!” The students seemed really surprised that a ministry, especially a Christian ministry would do that. I talked with several students, but one student spoke with me for a while. She told me that she was so surprised and couldn’t believe her eyes that she had to read the card twice even before it was read aloud. I’m so grateful for the relationships that were begun yesterday just by pledging to be silent for less than 24 hours. Later that night I went to eat with several of them and hung out until the wee hours of the morning. It was wonderful.
To those of you reading, I wish I could tell you in person because this day deserves more than a short summary. Yesterday, the LGBT community saw something revolutionary- they saw Christians loving them and more than that, they saw the love of Christ. What would happen if next year, hundreds of Christian students walked around with duct tape in silence?
I have to tell you about how I felt yesterday walking around in silence with duct tape. I felt humiliated at times, and other times proud. You see, everywhere I went, people stared. I felt like a leper, completely stigmatized from people. In fact, I was experiencing what the LGBT community has experienced for decades.
Walking in someone else's shoes is a great way to learn and empathize, but one has to be willing. It's great to see that students at Appalachian State, and I'm sure at many other campuses nationwide, took that step on Friday.
After all, that's an ultimate example of what Jesus did, coming down to earth and walking in our shoes, and anytime we can follow His example everyone involved is blessed.
Here's a link to the entire letter on Warren Throckmorton's site.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Funny I read this right after I see the movie "JESUS WAS A TERRORIST"
ReplyDeleteAs a member of a liberal religious denomination (Unitarian Universalist), a straight person, and friend of many in the GLBTQQ community, I am so grateful to have found this blog! One thing that is probably, somewhat common amongst the UUs that I know is a distrust of those who identify as Christians. Yes, there are certainly Christian UUs, but I would guess Christians are in the minority in our church. However, GLBTQQ folks are not really a minority with us, mainly because they don't feel welcome in the churches they grew up in. One thing I try to remind my fellow congregants of is that Christianity is *NOT* compatible with discrimination of any sort, and that if we're all God's children, made in His image, then doesn't that include EVERYONE?
ReplyDeleteI know in my heart that Jesus would have been the first to support and affirm any community as ostracized as the GLBTQQ community can be. I also know that, amongst Biblical scholars, there is quite a bit of difference between what more Fundamentalists believe that the passages in the Bible mean and what scholars have come to understand. The sin in Sodom wasn't homosexuality -- it was inhospitality to the visiting angels. Think about it...Lot offered his (probably)teenaged daughters as "replacements" for the visitors (angels).
Also, fwiw, I have bumper stickers on the back of my car that say: "I may be straight, but I'm not narrow."; War is NOT the answer; and the "coexist" sticker. Twice since putting these on my car have I received notes from (gay) strangers, thanking me for being supportive of them and for not being someone who promotes hate. Those notes have touched me very deeply -- it makes me even more committed to promoting love.
Again, thank you for being a voice of reason and of hope in the religious community and the blogosphere. I subscribe to your feed, having your postings delivered to my feedreader so I don't miss one.
In peace,
Suzanne in Nashville
indeed, a hopeful glimps into what the future could hold.
ReplyDelete