FW: Thank You from More Light Presbyterians
The message below went out on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 to Standing on the Side of Love supporters. You can sign-up for these emails here.
I wanted to share the lovely note below with you from our More Light Presbyterian friends. After a month of anti-gay religious rants gone viral (emanating from so-called Christian congregations), it’s so inspiring to see the interfaith spirit of our Standing on the Side of Love movement in practice. I believe the radical inclusivity found in Unitarian Universalism–and increasingly in other denominations–for those who are same-gender-loving and/or gender-non-conforming will eventually overwhelm the “fear-based theology of the unlearned,” as Bishop Carlton Pearson so eloquently puts it.
Do you have a More Light congregation in your community? If so, consider partnering with them in the coming months for a Pride-themed service, an LGBT advocacy witness, or some other exciting endeavor. You can find a list of More Light congregations by state here: http://www.mlp.org/index.php?topic=churches.
Happy Pride Month!
Dan Furmansky
Campaign Manager
Standing on the Side of Love
Dear Dan,
Grace and peace to you. I wanted to thank you for the permission and support in the utilization of the language and educational resources of the Standing on the Side of Love campaign in our work for LGBT equality and marriage equality in both Church and society.
We have an annual tradition encouraging churches to celebrate the gifts of LGBT persons in their local congregations in addition to community action or service. It is called More Light Sunday. Our mission theme this year is inspired by your campaign, Standing on the Side of Love, More Light Sunday 2012. We recommend that Presbyterian congregations celebrate More Light Sunday in June as this is LGBT Pride Month. We encourage congregations to participate in their local LGBT Pride celebrations as part of their More Light Sunday observances and community outreach.
http://www.mlp.org/article.php/MoreLightSunday2012
The inspirational nature of the campaign’s language works perfectly for this national organizing project of More Light Sunday 2012. The educational resources from the campaign are incredibly helpful as well.
We are also employing the language of “Standing on the Side of Love” in our national marriage equality petition campaign leading up to the marriage equality work at the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) next month in Pittsburgh, PA. This project is called “I Do!” Stand Up for Marriage Equality at the 220th General Assembly.
http://www.mlp.org/article.php/idoga220
Dan, we are so grateful for the generous sharing of both the campaign’s language and its educational resources. In powerful and concrete ways, the Standing on the Side of Love Campaign is an inspiration and a partnership with the work for justice we are doing within the Presbyterian Church (USA) and across the country. Moreover, this inspiration is a global one because there are Presbyterians in over 100 countries.
Dan, on behalf of More Light Presbyterians, please do share our gratitude to the Standing on the Side of Love community and the national staff of Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Sincerely,
Michael
Dr. Michael J. Adee
Executive Director
More Light Presbyterians
www.mlp.org
