Faith In America today released a series of videos and letters that it hopes will help Rev. Rick Warren and other non-accepting people of faith understand the harm caused to gay Americans by religion-based bigotry, prejudice and discrimination.
The project, entitled “Can You Understand the Harm?”, includes videographed open-letter segments from Faith In America Founder Mitchell Gold of Hickory, N.C., who in September released his transformative expose about the personal, social and religious pain and trauma of growing up gay in America; and Tracey Zoeller of Chicago, Ill., author of a recently published young adult novel entitled “A Pastor’s Daughter.” Both titles were presented to Warren.
In addition, the organization collected letters from its supporters who address Rev. Warren about the harm that they have experienced as gay Americans or as parents and friends of gay individuals. Examples of those letters, along with the video segments, are being delivered to Saddleback Church in Forest City, Calif. Read letters.
Gold said the project is an attempt to assist Rev. Warren in understanding the harm that is caused when his words and actions promote an attitude that gay Americans are somehow unworthy and inferior and therefore underserving.
“While there has been much controversy over Mr. Warren’s invitation to deliver an inaugural prayer, our organization believes these circumstances have created a much greater opportunity for Rev. Warren,” Gold said. “He has the opportunity to help millions of gay Americans, particularly gay youth, who are hurting inside because of a societal climate of rejection and condemnation – a climate that his words and actions have promoted.”
Gold said the organization has asked Warren to view the material and at some point afterwards conduct a panelist forum at Saddleback Church with Faith In America representatives and several of the contributors of Gold’s book “Crisis” to discuss the harm that is experienced in the lives of gay Americans.
“Four years ago, we started this dialogue in communities across America,” Gold said. “Today, we’re have invited Rev. Warren to begin this dialogue within his community.
“Some individual within the Southern Baptist Convention several years had the fortitude to suggest that the organization apology for its role in promoting and justifying bigotry, prejudice and discrimination toward people of color,” Gold said. “We hope that Rev. Warren will search for that same fortitude in helping bringing about the end of religious communities’ embrace of bigotry, prejudice and discrimination toward people who are gay.”
In the video segment, Gold states that such bigotry and prejudice has no place in the soul of America nor the soul of the church.
Tracey Zoeller, in her video statement, entitled “If I Were Your Daughter?”, asks Warren to consider the spiritual violence that is inflicted upon her and others because of their sexual orientation. “If I were your daughter, she asks, could you accept me just as I am?”
In addition to delivering the material to Warren’s Saddleback Church, the organization has posted the video segments and letters on its websites, FaithInAmerica.com. and Crisisbook.org. The segments have also been posted on YouTube as “Letters to Pastor Rick Warren.”
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• Mitchell Gold, a home furnishings business owner and longtime civil rights advocate, founded Faith In America in 2005 to educate Americans about the harm caused when religion is misused to justify prejudice, discrimination and violence against people based solely on their sexual orientation. In September 2008, Gold published “Crisis: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America” to help bring awareness and understanding to one of the greatest moral failures of our time: Misusing religion in a way that subjects gay teens to traumatic depression, fear, rejection, persecution and even physical violence. The book offers understanding to parents, teachers, and religious leaders about the harm being done and how society can end it. For more information, visit www.crisisbook.org.
• Tracey Zoeller, is the author of the young adult novel, “The Pastor’s Daughter.” Much like the heroine in her book, Tracey grew up on the south shore of Long Island and was raised in a born-again Christian household in which religious rules and regulations governed everyday life. Tracy currently lives with her girlfriend in the south suburbs of Chicago and works as a social worker in a nursing home.
2 responses so far ↓
1 myoutspirit // Jan 15, 2009 at 8:58 am
RICK WARREN COMES OUT FOR GAY RIGHTS
This SHOULD have been the headline around the world after the Rev. Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church and author of The Purpose Driven Life, gave this significant interview to Beliefnet.
Unfortunately, a misunderstanding of Warren’s comments has been widely and loudly disseminated by my fellow progressives, describing Warren as bigoted and hateful, when, in fact, his comments reflect an unusual depth of understanding about gay marriage as a civil rights issue.
Warren may be, as The Task Force warns, an outspoken opponent of reproductive choice and stem-cell research, and that should concern us, but he has never equated marriage between same-sex couples with incest and pedophilia.
In this video, posted on the Saddleback website on December 22, the Sunday before Christmas, Warren says, flat-out, “I believe no such thing. I never have.” In the video, Warren explains again that he has always firmly believed that gay couples – and other non-traditional families – should have equal access to the rights and responsibilities of marriage. He just doesn’t think it should be called “Marriage.”
Does this necessarily mean he is ready to give up his legal marriage and go to the wall for civil unions for everyone, as MyOutSpirit.com wondered in “Reconsidering Marriage: Are Gay Activists Fighting the Right Fight?”
Probably not.
At the same time, framing this passionate and unrelentingly civil Christian leader as a hateful bigot in the style of Jerry Falwell is unacceptable and counter-productive.
I take that back. Attacking Warren is only counter-productive if you value dignified and thoughtful coalition-building for the long-term success of our movement for the equal rights and recognition of LGBT families.
If your priority is increasing year-end fundraising, riling up your base, or keeping your issues in the news, then attacking Warren makes perfect sense.
We should be better than that, especially as spiritual LGBT people. We should educate our community to have deep perspicacity about our issues, and to have the maturity to do the long-term work of creating change.
LGBT activists from around the country will convene in Denver, CO, at the end of January to train and network and get inspired at The Task Force’s Creating Change conference, and I hope the messages that emerge will reflect the world as it is, and not the twisted sound-bites and caricatures that too often define the discussion, as in the case of Rick Warren.
Let’s resolve to do better in 2009.
[source: http://gayspirituality.typepad.com/blog/2008/12/rick-warren-comes-out-for-gay-rights.html ]
2 pinetree3 // Oct 9, 2009 at 11:46 am
“an outspoken opponent of reproductive choice and stem-cell research, and that should concern us…” Why? You must understand that men like Warren hold to moral absolutes, not moral ambiguity. Therefore, just as it was wrong for the Supreme Court in slavery times, in its Dred Scott decision, to declare that blacks were not fully human and Nazi Germany to declare, in law, that Jews were sub-human, Warren would say that a fetus is a human life, unprotected in the mother’s womb, helpless, as it were. His faith drives him to protect the most helpless, he believes that God is absolutely clear on this. I really like the tone of your post, well said. However, adding abortion to the discussion will really muddy the issue, because Evangelicals, and most Christians will be uncompromising on protecting the unborn.
Best to you and again, very positive worthwhile post.
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