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Valiant Men & Women of Faith Speak Up for Equality 'No on Knight' Campaign Getting Much-Needed Support |
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Compiled By GayToday
The National Religious Leadership Roundtable is an interfaith network of more than 45 leaders from pro-gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) faith, spiritual and religious organizations. NRLR works to amplify the voice of pro-GLBT faith organizations in public discourse. The Roundtable is convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Equal Partners in Faith. Participants in the NLRL include people from a diverse array of faith traditions -- Catholic, Mormon, Episcopal, United Methodist, Reform and Reconstructionist Jewish, Southern Baptist, Quaker, Pagan, Evangelical, Unitarian Universalist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Church and Buddhist. "Tonight we do not stand alone against Proposition 22. The hundreds of people in this room, faith communities across this state, and the growing movement in religious communities across the country all stand for equal justice for GLBT people," said Urvashi Vaid, director of the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Monday's event raised more than $2,300 for the No On Knight Campaign. More importantly, local Orange County volunteers mobilized to distribute lawn signs, operate phone banks and canvass voters to encourage a "No on Knight" turnout on March 7. Speakers at Monday's event also included Rabbi Denise Eger, founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood; Dr. Robert Goss, author of the highly regarded book Jesus Acted Up and Professor of Religion at Webster University in St. Louis, MO; Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches national headquarters in Southern California; Rev. Elder Nori Rost, Metropolitan Community Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado and representative of the National Religious Leadership Roundtable; Rev. Scott Anderson, California Church Impact; Mike Fuhr, Interfaith Director of the Orange County Federation of Gay, Lesbian and AIDS Organizations; and Shamey Cramer, No On Knight organizer for Orange County. Religious communities across the state are increasingly coming out against Proposition 22. Some examples: California Church Impact will be distributing a "Statement of Conscience" to faith communities statewide against Proposition 22. Some 24 religious organizations and congregations and a group of 88 California clergy have endorsed the No on Knight Campaign. More than 77 Jewish rabbis, Catholic priests and United Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist and Presbyterian ministers signed an open letter to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asking for a dialogue regarding Proposition 22's impact on California families. Bishops from three major mainline denominations joined rabbis and other clergy on January 23 at a "teach-in" at All Saints Church in Pasadena. |
