Voices of Witness: Onward and Upward!

Released in June 2006, "Voices of Witness" is making its way around the church and the communion ... a witness at a time, a heart & mind at a time, an inch at a time. Recently, Jeff Martinhauk, an Austin seminarian and member of the Integrity National Board led a presentation of "Voices" in Austin. From Jeff's opening remarks: It is an exciting time to be in seminary, in fact it is an exciting time in our church history- not just our church but the church catholic- the Body of Christ. We have, for the first time, begun to be recognized as members of the body as GLBT people. The Spirit is speaking, and She won’t be ignored.

It’s also a time of great pain for a lot of people. Like so many of us, those who are against us are now starting to understand the pain of the perception that the church excludes them. It doesn’t matter whether the church actually excludes them or not – what matters is that we share the perception that we are excluded.

That gives us something in common. Funny, isn’t it, that the very thing we fight about is the very thing which ties us together. But instead of focusing on the unity which is possible in that one thing we focus on the division. Unfortunately, that is just how we are as humans all too often. We forget that we are all the same: That we share a common humanity, a common plight, a common purpose, a common God.

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Read the rest on Jeff's blog ... Leaning Towards Justice ... and consider "going and doing likewise" ... leading an opportunity for a group to gather and view, study, reflect and be inspired by "Voices of Witness." The Reverend Dr. Gary Hall, Dean and President of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary has generously and happily written a wonderful study guide to accompany the documentary. Click here to download the PDF from the Voices of Witness website

Want to watch the video online? Click here to watch it on Google video.

Want to order a copy of the DVD? Click here to order one (or more!)