Blog
Reimagining Valentine’s Day Check-In
Feb 03, 2010
Adam Gerhardstein, Campaign Manager, checks in about the momentum building for the Reimagining Valentine’s Day National Day of Action. Are you going to host or attend an event?
More >The Momentum is Building
Feb 03, 2010
The message below went out to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. Sign-up for these emails here.
Dear Friend,
Our message of love and inclusion calls us to act when the human dignity of anyone is at stake. A few weeks ago, I wrote to you saying that if we are bold enough, our love could define this decade. Unquestionably, that boldness is emerging.
On February 14 in Potsdam, New York the only Republican Senator who voted for marriage equality will speak from under a Standing on the Side of Love banner. In Oakland, California, an identical banner will be carried through the streets, and that very same message will be on Valentine’s Day Cards addressed to legislators in Massachusetts, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, and beyond.
Over 70 communities across the nation are Re-imagining Valentine’s Day as a time when we move beyond flowers and chocolates and strengthen the bonds between communities.
With one and a half weeks left, it isn’t too late to host an event or RSVP for an event near you.
While every event will look different there’s one thread that will tie them all together: a picture. Worth a thousand words, the pictures you upload will show us what it looks like to stand on the side of love. Whether your event is big or small, take a photo and together we’ll watch the online gallery grow.
Love,
Adam
Adam Gerhardstein
Campaign Manager
P.S. We’ve pulled together all the resources you’ll need to pull off a successful event!
Grandchildren ask Obama to get rid of Don’t ask, Don’t tell
Feb 02, 2010
Susan Smith is a former Army Nurse and now lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.
My five grand kids have written to Obama a couple of times expressing their desire for equal rights for folks like their gay grandmother. I have told them about my experiences in the military and those of people like Joan Darrah under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. When one of my granddaughters heard what Obama said in his State of the Union about ending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell but not when he would do it, she called me and said, “Guess we’re going to have to write another letter to Obama and remind him to hurry up and sign that paper, Grandma.” So she did.
![me a j march[1]](http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/me-a-j-march1.jpg "me a j march[1]")
Love is a Verb
Jan 30, 2010
The message below went out to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. Sign-up for these emails here.
Dear Friend,
Utah is a state where you can be fired from your job or evicted from your home simply because of your sexual orientation or gender identity. Knowing this, we feel our congregation must do more than just preach to the usual choir within our sanctuary walls.
That’s why we’re Reimagining Valentine’s Day this year with the Standing on the Side of Love campaign.
I am so proud to be serving as the minister of my 110-member congregation in Ogden, Utah. We are a fairly small but growing church, and we have big dreams. We imagine a day where no one is judged by their gender identity or oppressed because of their sexual orientation. We understand love to be a verb, an act that transcends fear and extends beyond individuals to embrace a community.
So we are holding a worship service, and we have invited the mayor, the city council, and the general public to attend. After worship, we will hold a town hall style meeting with speakers from Equality Utah and other organizations. We will propose that the city adopt local ordinances providing legal protections for all who work, live, study or worship within our city.
We are doing this because our message of love and inclusion calls us to act when the human dignity of anyone is at stake.
Will you stand with us?
Please register your events, both big and small, on the Standing on the Side of Love website.
You could hold an event of your own, addressing your local issues. Participation could simply mean ceremonially hanging a “Standing on the Side of Love” banner outside your building. No matter how large your event on February 14, it really helps to know we are a part of a much larger movement, and that people all over the country are standing on the side of love with us.
Take action: register your events on the Standing on the Side of Love website.
Love,
Rev. Theresa Novak
Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden, Utah
P.S. We got a nice little piece in our local paper over the weekend about our upcoming event. Standing on the Side of Love has resources to help you get media, as well as worship materials, a religious education curriculum, banners, signs, shirts, and much more.
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