In his sermon of Sunday, November 9, 2008, Rev. Dr. Neil G. Thomas, Senior Pastor of the fully-inclusive Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles (www.MCCLA .org) responds to the passage of Proposition 8 in California last week.
He urges transgender, bisexual, gay and lesbian people to do the hard work of community-building, noting that the (temporary) loss of same-sex marriage in California shows that "we have so much more work to do. We have so much more sacred conversation to have with one another. We have so much more work to do in communities of color. We have so much more work to do in our own community, in our own fears of reaching out to communities besides those that just look like us."

Over
the past 72 hours I have spoken with you, cried with you, prayed with
you, marched with you - sharing your pain, your frustration and your
anger.
I have also had the opportunity to help shape the conversation that is
being had post elections here in the United States and some of you have
heard from me, on both local and national television and radio
stations, as well as stood with me at the rallies that have been staged
here in Los Angeles.
And I intend to continue to be as present as I possibly can be as the
fight to bring about equality for all people continues in the coming
days, weeks, months and years. I sincerely hope that I have your
support as your spiritual leader in our community.
Below you will find responses from the Moderator of our denomination,
Reverend Elder Nancy Wilson as well as the leadership of the No on 8
Campaign to this week's outcome on the vote for Marriage Equality. You
will also find a letter that was sent out to the congregation of Kol
Ami, one of our sister Jewish congregations here. Rabbi Denise Eger is
both a friend and a colleague and we have had the honor or standing
together these past few days to help our community understand that not
all religious peoples are against freedom and equality.
As LGBTQI people of faith it is important that we stand together at
this time of increased persecution and discrimination. It is
imperative that we reveal the God that we know and understand who, in
Jesus preached love and hope. The Jesus who calls us to love one
another as I have loved you - not just some of you.
In the coming days, in fact it is already happening, we will be tempted
to blame one another or to point the finger at one group or another.
This is a symptom of grief and anger. However, we must resist this
temptation and instead, channel our frustration and disappointments to
work for the good of the whole and to resist the polarization of our
own community. This does none of us any good and only further damages
us a people.
My hope is that as a community of faith we can stand strong together.
Here at MCCLA, we have certainly learned that our diversity is a
strength and that we can learn so much more from one another by being
together. Together, we are better!
Let us come together on Sunday in worship. Let us hold
one another. Let us value one another. Let us celebrate one another.
As we have done so many times before, we come to give thanks for this
community of faith in its entirety and its diversity.
As the end of a wedding service the words, "What God has joined together, let no one put asunder" are often said.
Friends, we have been joined together: people of all colors,
backgrounds, ethnicities, age, ability, health status, economic status,
Republican and Democrat, straight and gay. That is our strength. If
we are faithful to the journey, no one can put us asunder.
On Sunday we will continue our theme of Sacred Conversations and I hope that you will be here to hear more.
Love and blessings, my friends,
The Reverend Dr. Neil G Thomas Senior Pastor

The
last few days have been difficult ones. We've had to come to terms with
the passage of Proposition 8 and all that it may mean for our
community. We've also had to deal with our frustration, pain and anger.
As we have often done throughout the history of our movement, we first
came together at a rally on Wednesday night in West Hollywood.
Afterwards, thousands of people were not ready to go home and several
groups spontaneously began marching.
Yesterday we
called a press conference at the Mormon Temple. In addition to over a
dozen media outlets, more than 1,500 people showed up! After the press
conference, we marched around the perimeter of the Temple grounds.
Then, as had happened on Wednesday, people were not ready to go home
after the "official" march concluded. So, they went off on marches of
their own, reconvening at the Temple many hours later and staying long
into the night.
The protests and rallies here are sparking actions all over the
country. We are receiving calls and emails from LGBT people and our
straight allies throughout the nation who are angry and want to show
their support. Plus, hundreds of people are contacting us to find out
what is happening next-people who want to express their feelings and
take action.
Future Actions
Many events are being planned in L.A. and around Southern California.
For example, some are planning a march tonight in Long Beach at 7:00
p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Redondo. Another group is planning a
march tomorrow in Silverlake at 6:00 p.m., beginning at Sunset
Junction. These are not Center-sponsored events, but certainly many of
us will be there to show our support to make ourselves a visible part
of this growing movement.
The Center is maintaining a list of actions that are being planned. To see that list, or to submit something, visit: www.lagaycenter.org/Prop8Actions.
So far, our marches have been peaceful. Only a few people have gotten
carried away-and some have been the victims of Yes on 8 supporters who
got carried away. We want to ensure that our actions remain peaceful.
While marching, please keep in mind a couple things:
- The
Mayor of Los Angeles is our friend. So are the heads of the police and
sheriff's departments (and on those occasions when they don't act like
that, we're the first to let them know). But over the last few days,
almost to a person, police officers and sheriff's deputies have been
extremely patient with protesters, and in many, many instances very
supportive of our cause. They have blocked off streets and have tried
to do their jobs to protect marchers and to protect the communities
impacted. Please, please be respectful of them. If an individual police
officer does not behave as s/he should, call our legal services
department at 323-993-7670
- The media are not our enemy. I was disturbed to learn that there were verbal attacks yesterday against a reporter from KCBS/KCAL and Hal Eisner, a reporter from FOX TV. Hal has fairly and accurately covered LGBT issues for many years and is a trusted and highly regarded reporter. A few people, however, saw fit to verbally attack and confront him with vicious slurs. If you see someone confronting press, please do what you can to stop it.
Why the Mormon Church?
We rallied in front of the L.A. Mormon Temple yesterday because it is a
symbol of the reprehensible role that the Church hierarchy played in
directing members to fund the campaign of lies and deceit promoted by
the Yes on 8 leaders. Please do not forget that there are many
fair-minded Mormons who are with us - many have actually marched and
rallied with us and they are appalled at the actions of their Church
leadership and the Yes on 8 campaign.
Further, as I said at yesterday's gathering, the Mormons are not the
only outside organization that has tried to strip us of our rights in
California. While they funded the majority of the campaign, other
groups also were involved, like Focus on the Family, the Knights of
Columbus Headquarters, and more.
Next Steps
In addition to our rallies and protest marches, we've been taking other
action. On Wednesday morning our legal groups (Lambda Legal, National
Center for Lesbian Rights, the ACLU) filed suit in the California
Supreme Court to invalidate Prop 8 as an inappropriate revision of our
state constitution. A similar action was filed by the L.A. City
Attorney, San Francisco City Attorney, and others.
On Thursday, we launched www.InvalidateProp8.org.
Let's show the President of the Mormon Church how many people are angry
by their support of Prop. 8 and, in the process, raise money to support
our community's efforts to invalidate the initiative and promote the
freedom to marry in California. Please visit the site, make a donation,
and encourage everyone you know to do the same.
We're
also at the very early stages of planning a statewide action with
colleagues from across California. We are bringing in some of the new
leaders that are emerging in the aftermath of Prop 8 and inviting them
to help us conceive and execute this plan. Stay tuned for more
information.
The Big Picture
Finally, as badly as we all feel about the results on Tuesday, let's
try to keep the big picture in mind. The LGBT community and our
straight allies pulled together an amazing and powerful coalition of
people to fight this initiative. We fought the most successful fight
ever mustered against an anti-marriage ballot measure-we raised more
money for television and radio ads, we built a larger field team, we
got more mainstream support. As a result, instead of losing by 22
points as we did 8 years ago when prop 22 was passed, we lost by less
than 5 points. That's enormous progress. No campaign against an
anti-marriage ballot measure has ever won. We did everything we knew
how to do, to be the first. But a slight majority still voted against
us.
Sadly, some now want to play the blame game (usually people who did not
choose to get actively involved in the No on 8 campaign but who now
have a lot to say about it). They want to turn on our own community and
each other rather than focusing our anger where it is deserved-the Yes
on 8 campaign. What's important now is to learn what lessons we can
from our efforts.
How can we ensure that other
states under attack replicate the unprecedented successes we had? What
lessons did we learn that could enable other states under attack to be
more successful? Clearly, we all have work to do in our own communities
to get our neighbors, friends and colleagues-and people who should be
our allies--to support us and our full equality. That's what we must
focus on now. This is a time for unity and focused action, not for
division. As soon as the plan is formulated for the statewide action,
we'll let you know. Until then, do not lose heart! Ultimately, the
freedom to marry will be ours!
Fondly,

Lorri

STATEMENT:
Tuesday's vote on Proposition 8 marks a sad day for California's LGBT families, and a sad day for justice and fairness.
By a narrow majority, the citizens of California voted to take away the
legal right to marriage from gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender
persons – a constitutional right the California Supreme Court ruled was
guaranteed in this state. That right, misrepresented by some of our
opponents as forcing faith communities to abandon their commitments or
traditions, or robbing heterosexual couples of the sanctity of their
vows, in reality left unchallenged the separation of Church and State
as guaranteed in this nation's Constitution, and perhaps more
importantly, made good on the promise we hold dear: that human equality
is self-evident.
Though we lost this particular vote, our hope for the future remains
strong. The number of Californians who support anti-gay laws continues
to decline and the percentage of citizens who support fairness and
equality continues to rise.
Even as LGBT people across California and this nation are experiencing
pain and loss, sadness, grief, and even anger, we are also in touch
with our strength and the legacy of our history and our pioneers ---
leaders such as Rev. Troy Perry and Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon ---
who steadfastly held to the conviction that we shall, indeed, overcome.
I call on my LGBT brothers and sisters to honor that legacy and to do
what we have always done in the face of every setback in our struggle
for human rights: take our anger and grief and rage and channel it in
ways that will advance equality for all people.
Our reality is this: the journey toward justice in this world is seldom
an easy one; too often it moves too slowly. We may often encounter
roadblocks and detours, but no permanent delays. We already know the
heights of great achievement, including that pinnacle moment in May of
this year when California's Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage
equality, and we know the depths of disappointment with Tuesday's
outcome. Our struggle, like all human rights struggles, has always
involved steps forward and occasional steps backward. Through it all,
we have prevailed and we will do so again, for we believe in the
prophetic vision of justice rolling down like a mighty river and human
equality prevailing.
As a religious leader, I have been heartened by the way many of our
ecumenical partners engaged deeply held disagreements with great
civility and respect, and equally dismayed by the vitriolic way some
colleagues in the faith used religion as a wedge to divide us.
Misleading claims and the use of fear only serve to inflame bigotry and
bias between those of differing sexual orientations, and among people
of racial and economic divergences.
In my faith tradition, I find strength in these words from the Christian Scriptures:
"Let us not grow weary in well-doing
for in due season
we shall reap
if we faint not."
(Galatians 6:9)
We must not -- we will not -- faint or fail in our quest for equality!
Tuesday's vote is not the end of this story. Now, a new chapter opens.
We will once again tell our stories. We will talk about this loss and
what it means. We'll write letters; we'll talk to the media. We'll
attend vigils. We'll renew our commitment to participate in political
organizations and community groups, and we'll educate those who were
swayed by a misleading campaign that promoted fear and hysteria at the
expense of the truth. We will honor the legacy of leadership that
brought us to this place in history, and "act up" and "fight back" in
ways that promote justice and combat the strategies of division.
The English poet, John Dryden, wrote:
"I am wounded,
but I am not slain.
I shall lay me down
and bleed awhile.
Then I shall rise
and fight again."
Tuesday, we lost a battle.
Now, we grieve our loss.
Tomorrow, we will "rise and fight again" until justice and equality prevail for all of us.
Momentum, time, the arc of history and hope are in our favor.
/signed/
The Rev. Nancy L. Wilson
Moderator
Metropolitan Community Churches www.MCCchurch.org <http://www.mccchurch.org/>
Dear Friend, We had hoped never to have to write this email.
Sadly, fueled by misinformation, distortions and lies, millions of
voters went to the polls yesterday and said YES to bigotry, YES to
discrimination, YES to second-class status for same-sex couples.
And while the election was close, and millions of votes still remain uncounted, it has become apparent that we lost.
There is no question this defeat is hard.
Thousands of people have poured their talents, their time, their
resources and their hearts into this struggle for freedom and this
fight to have their relationships treated equally. Much has been
sacrificed in this struggle.
While we knew the odds for success were not with us, we believed
Californians could be the first in the nation to defeat the injustice
of discriminatory measures like Proposition 8.
And while victory is not ours this day, we know that because of the
work done here, freedom, fairness and equality will be ours someday.
Just look at how far we have come in a few decades.
Up until 1974 same-sex intimacy was a crime in California. There wasn't
a single law recognizing the relationships of same-sex couples until
1984 -- passed by the Berkeley School District. San Francisco did not
pass domestic-partner protections until 1990; the state of California
followed in 2005. And in 2000, Proposition 22 passed with a 23%
majority.
Today, we fought to retain our right to marry and millions of
Californians stood with us. Over the course of this campaign everyday
Californians and their friends, neighbors and families built a civil
rights campaign unequalled in California history.
You raised more money than anyone believed possible for an LGBT civil rights campaign.
You reached out to family and friends in record numbers -- helping
hundreds of thousands of Californians understand what the LGBT civil
rights struggle is really about.
You built the largest grassroots and volunteer network that has ever
been built -- a coalition that will continue to fight until all people
are equal.
And you made the case to the people of California and to the rest of
the world that discrimination -- in any form -- is unfair and wrong.
We are humbled by the courage, dignity and commitment displayed by all who fought this historic battle.
Victory was not ours today. But the struggle for equality is not over.
Because of the struggle fought here in California -- fought so
incredibly well by the people in this state who love freedom and
justice -- our fight for full civil rights will continue.
Activist and writer Anne Lamott writes, "Hope begins in the dark, the
stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing,
the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up."
We stand together, knowing... our dawn will come.
Dr. Delores A. Jacobs,
CEO,
Center Advocacy Project
Lorri L. Jean,
CEO,
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center
Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
Geoff Kors, Executive Director, Equality California

Thanks for having so many letters from clergy. It is important for people to know that, despite some very loud words against Proposition 8 from some religious quarters, there are many Christians who believe the message of Jesus is inclusion for all (http://blogs.pioneerlocal.com/religion).
Posted by: Brett | November 18, 2008 at 07:48 PM
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Posted by: niki sister taylor youngest | March 06, 2009 at 02:43 PM