Nothing Personal

So it was 1998 and I was the Associate Rector at St. Peter's in San Pedro. The Inclusion Wars in the Episcopal Church were heating up with a resolution from the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops declaring "homosexuality incompatible with Scripture" -- a resolution the Diocese of Los Angeles immediately "declined to receive."

A "concerned parishioner" made an appointment to come and and talk ... and we met in my office. He started out by saying he wasn't anti-gay ... "but the thought of two homosexuals standing in the same place where my wife and I stood and made our marriage vows makes me sick to my stomach -- nothing personal."

Yeah. "Nothing personal." Except, of course, it was. How is the fact that your relationship with the love of your life makes someone sick to their stomach not personal?

That story came right back to me when I read this in the LAT article about the protests today in North Hollywood:

“We want to reiterate that our protest is in no way an attack on the LGBTQ community,” the group wrote. “We recognize the importance of promoting equality and acceptance for all individuals.” The group, however, had set its sights on Friday’s Gay Pride and Rainbow Day assembly and urged other parents to keep their children home that day. “Keep your kids home,” a flier posted by the group said. “Videos will be shown to the students including one where it says, ‘some kids have 2 mommies, some have 2 daddies.’ This has caused outrage among parents.”

Yeah. This "is in no way an attack on the LGBTQ community." Except, of course, it is. How is the fact that the very existence of LGBTQ families causes outrage and protests not an attack?

La lucha continua -- the struggle continues. But we're in it to win it, so we'll just keep doing what we've been doing before, during and after 1998. Showing up. Supporting each other. Giving thanks for our allies. Returning again and again like the persistent widow in Luke's gospel ... until liberty and justice for all truly means all becomes not just a pledge we make but a reality we live.

Eat your Wheaties, friends. There's a lot of work left to do.