 |
of Millennium March Oppose 'Christian' Agenda of Metropolitan Community Church Fear Rally Speakers May Attempt to Lead Crowds in Prayer |
|
Compiled By GayToday
The withdrawal of these gay and lesbian freethinkers also follows that of other major organizations including the National Association of Black and White Men Together and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The GALAH Board of Directors is condemning what it calls a "self-appointed pair of organizations," one of them a "narrowly based religious sect," asserting their "hegemony over the public life and activities of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. " The MMOW is still named, complain GALAH officials, for a "Millennium" that has "no real meaning or significance, unless one is a Christian. Ten out of the 37 national groups listed as organizers for the MMOW are religious groups, raising state/church separation issues and concerns that speakers at the rally will try to lead attendees in prayer."
The gay and lesbian atheist and humanist group also believes that The MMOW as organized by the HRC "has all the marks of a slick ad campaign. The feel-good slogan 'Faith and Family,' the original theme of the MMOW, would have a sexual minority attempt to convince the general population and itself that they share the same capacity for self deceit." A GALAH press release states: "This campaign has involved a partnership with the Metropolitan Community Church, posing as just another Christian denomination. Although the MCC shares with the HRC the obvious vested interest in memberships and donations, the MMOW provides it with the opportunity, unusual for a sect in the evangelical Protestant tradition, to satisfy its cravings for respectability. "This march is the moral and political equivalent of a circuit party, a feel-good event for the affluent that attempts to justify itself by the pretense that it is a charitable and community event," explained GALAH Vice Chair Christopher Arntzen. "In an election year that may occasion dire emergencies in the immediate years to follow given the gains the Religious Right is poised to make, the HRC and the MCC propose diverting community resources and attention to this march. The MMOW is not in response to an emergency: the occasion is the millennium, another event on the circuit for some, a cause of religious fervor for others. "It is possible, at least in theory, that the community would need to mobilize in response to a broad-based call to action. However, it would at the minimum take an emergency, and the mobilization would need to be inclusive, regardless of whether people have any religious faith. "The HRC's hold on community resources and affections, hitherto the consequence of its marketing prowess, is seriously compromised by its alliance with the MCC and its effort to anoint the MCC as THE church for the queer community. The American public pieties place great stock in the ill-defined, sentimental notion of "spirituality." However, proposing the MCC as the standard bearer of these sensibilities represents a deplorable lapse of judgment.
"Even if Perry were a more sensible choice as a spokesperson for religious lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders, a national march is an inappropriate venue for selecting such a spokesperson. The presence of Rev. Troy Perry of the MCC on the Board of Directors for the March also is problematic, given the need to get preachers out of politics altogether." "The MMOW started out making holy roller statements that it thought should apply to the entire gay community, but more recently has revised its message to make it seem more palatable," says GALAH Chair Kevin Giles. "It's just another marketing ploy." "Throughout history," say the atheists and humanists, "the intermingling of churches with politics or the state has led to division and discrimination. The MMOW is no different. National marches should be based on clearly articulated needs, not on the desire of a small minority of lgbt Christians who would like to impose their religious beliefs on people who do not share them." |
Washington, D.C.—Following the untimely resignation of yet another executive co-director
of the Millenium March on Washington, Malcolm Lazin, Gay and Lesbian Atheists and
Humanists (GALAH) are calling for outright opposition to the March, urging cancellation of
the event and non-participation in MMOW-related activities.
