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at the ELCA (Lutheran) Conference |
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By Cindy Hadden Soulforce: Washington/Seattle Indianapolis, Indiana--Once again, members of Soulforce gathered from around the country in Indianapolis to bring "truth in love" this time to the ELCA (Lutheran) Conference.
Cindy Hadden (orange hat, front row) and other Soulforce members protest the ELCA Lutheran Church's continued gay discrimination
Primarily we went to assist the Lutheran Alliance for Full Participation in the hope that they would vote to allow openly gay people to become pastors. The alliance is made up of five internal Lutheran groups. They are Anita Hill's Wingspan Ministry (wingspan@aol.com), Lutherans Concerned (LuthConc@aol.com), Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries (LLGM123@aol.com), Extraordinary Candidacy Project (excp@dnai.com), and The Network for Inclusive Vision (network178@aol.com). I have never met a more loving, powerful & gifted resistance group as this. Together we trained in Soulforce principals, the signing of Martin Luther King's pledge to non-violence and stood vigils in numbers of 200 or more. WOW! As always, we respond to what is going on in the conferences around the country. This means "our agenda" for the day is continually subject to change. I have mentioned before in my stories of our Soulforce Journey since meeting Jerry Falwell in Oct. 1999 that Soulforce is a very fluid group. To "be" that (with a right and humble spirit) is testing, and true to past national Soulforce actions, this Soulforce/Lutheran Alliance Action understood that important component and we were "one." On Friday and Saturday, Fred Phelps' group showed up to do their part in God's plan by showing the violence our community faces. One from that group was arrested Saturday. This time they were greater in numbers and they were louder, driving quickly up toward us as we marched to and from the vigil site, screaming and threatening as if to run us over. As people attending the conference and those on the city streets realized what Soulforce was doing there, they would come up to us and thank us. A man came up to me with a check in his hand so his group could give us a donation. A taxi driver drove up to me and asked if I had a bumper sticker or something so he could show the city his support of us.
On Monday August 13, we stood in silent vigil from 7:30 am to about 12:30 pm, then marched to a press conference. Much time was spent inside the conference to "change" or "postpone" these issues on the agenda during the course of 3 days. At about 10:00 am Monday morning we got news that the "right" wanted again to change the agenda and talk about civil unions or marriage. Our focus was on ordination or gay pastors and this tactic was internally used to help confuse the issue of gay ordination and gays in the church. As a result, Lutherans decided for the third time, to incorporate a 4 year study on us. As Bishops, Pastors, Visitors and the like left the conference weeping, they re-joined our vigil line and we wept together at the news. My new friend, Greg Egertson (co-chairman of Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries in San Francisco) announced: "The Church still wants to treat us as an issue, instead of as real people. They want to talk about us, not with us. There has NEVER been a "study" as voted on at previous Lutheran conferences. When reporters pressed the newly appointed by 51% Bishop Hanson (an ally) what previous studies have shown, what this new study needs show, (what are they missing) he humbly fumbled in providing solid answers. Gandhi said that direct action must only be taken when all negotiations have failed. We held a press conference, only to see the reporters, policeman and women, and others weeping as we taught truth. We knelt on the sidewalks and refused to obey an officer to leave. Forty eight were arrested. Voting once more to study us was the WORST thing the Lutherans could have done. It serves only to postpone the decision that all churches face today: "Ordain us and Bless our Unions." While we all believed that the "train has left the station" on this issue from within the Lutheran Church, many of us also believed that we will not buy into this "study", but we will teach others, and we will step up the resistance. Also remembering not to support our churches our with tithes, offerings and gifts that contribute to suffering via law and bi-law language in the churches. I asked my new Lutheran Alliance friends to consider keeping 3 of their 5 groups working in the Lutheran Church and to give up 2 of them to find a home in 2 other denominations to teach resistance. Soulforce made many new friends and allies in Indianapolis. Dozens of Lutheran allies have promised to support us at the upcoming June 2002 Southern Baptist Conference. United we stand in resistance and love. Watch the website often and come join us or help us with a donation to do justice work. www.soulforce.org Cindy Hadden Washington/Seattle Soulforce Contact Articyn@aol.com |
