People of Faith for Equality in Virginia

An Unconditional Day

Mothers-Day-Gift-2011 It is a day that has become so over commercialized since 1914, that its own founder, Anna Jarvis, even turned against it. Mother's Day is certainly special to America, especially considering the $2.6 billion we spent last year on flowers alone, but for me it is a day to celebrate unconditional love.

It was my mother who taught me the meaning of unconditional love, and through her I have glimpsed the love I know God has for me. I knew this first, not because the Bible told me so, but because my mother did. Even as I doubted that her love would withstand my coming out, she met my fear with even more unconditional love. She has supported me through my faith and my activism, even breaking her thirty year old pledge not to vote just to help ensure my rights. I never felt so proud or so loved as the day she voted for my future.

mothering_day_angel Being a devout anglophile, my mother would want me to say: that in England, Mother's Day, is known as Mothering Sunday, and started as a time during Lent when children would come back to their "Mother Church," where they grew up. Thanks to the people in my congregation who over a long and hard road pulled us towards love and acceptance, I am still at my Mother Church. Just last Sunday, my mother, with tears in her eyes told me how proud I made her serving as a warden of our church, and working for equality. I work for equality as a person of faith because I know that many GLBT people do not have the blessing of being able to remain in or return to their Mother Church. This needs to change. And POFEV is working to make this change happen in Virginia.

The Power of Silence

day_of_silence_2011 For a movement that spends all it's time trying to be heard, is it strange to spend a day being silent?

We are usually telling everyone to speak up, and if they are being bullied or harassed we want them to tell someone all the more. But this is one day where our faith and our cause intersect beautifully. In 1996 the young people at UVA recognized this- that silence can bring awareness.

The Day of Silence began on April 15th, 1996 at UVA to call attention to the silence gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people face when subjected to anti-gay bullying or harassment. Hundreds of high schools and many universities observe the day, that is organized by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network). Participants take a vow of silence, often wearing tape over their mouth or handing our speaking cards. Their silence is a visible reminder that harassment and bullying should not be met with silence anymore.

interfaith_circle_symbols On the Eve of the Day of Silence, the night of Thursday April 14th, we are calling to people of faith who stand for equality for all creation to join us at an invocation to pray for all those who will be taking a vow the next day. The service will be a short interfaith gathering "Invoking the Silence" for the next day.

From Hill and Dale: A Time of Heroes

4931871347_4be274e8d3_m We live in a time of heroes. I've often looked into the past, at the time of Martin Luther King, or Martin Luther, or the time of Origen, or Hillel and thought, "What a great time to be alive, what a chance I would have had to make a difference." But doing this, I have risked missing the opportunities that are present right now. Only a couple of decades ago, we never could have imagined the sea-change that has occurred in our country, a time of revolution and reconciliation that we all have a chance to be a part of.

Of our 13 potential victories in the General Assembly this year, three passed the Senate, but none made it into law. We stand in the abyss, but our transformation is near at hand. Like David, Siddartha, or Heracles, every hero's journey includes a time of despair, a wilderness place where hope seems to be lost. However, the challenge in such moments is not to despair. But instead to await the transformation, where God will lead us out. I really feel we are on the cusp of such a transformation.