Words
fail to express the sadness - and even despair - that comes as a result of today's
ruling by California's Supreme Court, one that takes away rights already
granted to its GLBT citizens. The pain
for me is still quite raw as I think about the same gender couples I have
married, and especially about those I have yet to marry who now must travel far
and wide to find the freedom to marry.
Don't forget the children of these families, who must live with the
legacy that separate is equal even
though their history books say otherwise.
 Our church community will not rest
until this immoral and unfair proposition is obliterated and our rights are
restored-this is my pledge to you as your minister. I believe that Unitarian Universalism's
redemptive message of radical inclusion makes us uniquely qualified to unite
people of faith and reason in the
name of freedom and equality. Soon, very
soon, we will rise up again (and again and again, if necessary), as we have
always done, on behalf of those pushed to the margins of the social landscape. If you ask me, we have no choice.
Yes, our time will come. Right now,
however, our church and its ministers are here for you in your time of
need. Call on us, knowing that we will
hold your hand, say a prayer, or join with you in letting off some steam. There is a place in our church for your
righteous anger as well as your skepticism about the future. I, too, would give up hope if it hadn't been
for the Unitarian Universalists in my life who refused to leave me standing
alone. So many of us wish to stand with you in your time of need.
Now is not the time to hate; it is
the time to heal. Now is not the time
to lash out; it is the time to listen to that still, small voice within. Now is not the time to blame; it is the time
to weep. I am confident that "weeping
may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Please don't let anyone ever steal your joy,
for it remains the catalyst to change the world.
-Greg
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