Q & A with Oprah Winfrey

Q. "So what exactly did you mean by that ["being gay is a gift from God"] comment?

A.



And a bulk of my day today will be spent answering mails in response ... including this one:

I wanted to take the time to share with you my great appreciation for the words you expressed on The Oprah Winfrey Show both last Thursday and this past Monday. “Being Gay is a Gift from God”, I cannot even type it without blurring my eyes from an unknown well of emotion and satisfaction. It is interesting and very surprising to me that I could live my life today (for the last 40 years) and for the last 17 years (being out) never crossing the threshold you pulled me through last Thursday. If you asked me last Thursday I would have said that I was a happy, confident, contributing member of society. A man blessed with so much love.
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I have to tell you, no one has ever spoken so directly to the part of me that needed to hear those words of love, acceptance and inclusion. I didn’t even know I needed to hear them until you said them. It is an odd experience to find myself sympathizing with a guest on the show and in the course of one sentence being transported to another level of enlightenment. It was tangible. In that instant I felt the change manifest within me. I was different. I was unlimited potential. The weight of a new responsibility to myself and the world was now present, welcomed, and totally within my power to command.
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I held my breath on Monday in fear for what I thought would be the inevitable step back; a softer version, an apology of some sort for loving with an intensity not yet recognizable by others. What came was the assertion that there was no misunderstanding, that the words are simple truth, and there will be no apology. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.
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I'm trying to imagine what it must be like to "hold your breath" for fear that someone "take back" the message that you are unconditionally loved by God.

Wow. We CAN make a difference by getting our voices out there and THANKS BE TO GOD that Orprah Winfrey offered this national platform for the Good News of a God who loves absolutely everybody to get out there!

Take a minute to thank her ... click here to send a message through her website ... because you KNOW she's getting emails from "the other side." Let's make sure she hears from us as well!

And now, back to answering emails!

"Dear Oprah Watcher, Thanks so much for taking time to write ..."
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Shout out to Al Sharpton!

Posted last night to "The Southern Voice:"

Sharpton decries churches pushing Prop. 8

Atlanta alliance forms to counter anti-gay religious rhetoric

“It amazes me when I looked at California and saw churches that had nothing to say about police brutality, nothing to say when a young black boy was shot while he was wearing police handcuffs, nothing to say when the they overturned affirmative action, nothing to say when people were being delegated into poverty, yet they were organizing and mobilizing to stop consenting adults from choosing their life partners,” Sharpton told a packed audience on Jan. 11.

“There is something immoral and sick about using all of that power to not end brutality and poverty, but to break into people’s bedrooms and claim that God sent you,” Sharpton added.

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Here's what CBN (that's "Christian Broadcast Network") had to say ...

... about today's announcement about the Inauguration.

Link to video

"I meant exactly what I said."

From the Oprah.com website:


Another hot-button issue that sent viewers straight to our message boards was a comment made by the Rev. Ed Bacon during a discussion on spirituality.

After hearing from Sedrick, who says he had a tough adolescence growing up as a gay teen in rural Alabama, the Rev. Bacon said something Oprah says she has never heard a minister say. "Being gay is a gift from God," the Rev. Bacon said. "But our culture doesn't understand that. And consequently, the culture sends messages that you ought to isolate. And isolation is the antithesis of what all of us need."

To further explain his comment, the Rev. Bacon joins Oprah via satellite. "I meant exactly what I said," he says. "It is so important for every human being to understand that he or she is a gift from God."

Just as the Oprah.com message boards were buzzing, the Rev. Bacon says he has been receiving plenty of feedback. The majority of it, he says, is positive. "My e-mail was full of comments, and what I gather is that it simply unleashed a flood of healing throughout the country and Australia and Great Britain, across the continent. It was amazing."

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Stay tuned for further news on this ... and do consider logging in to register for the webcast Wednesday night when I guess the panelists from last week's show -- including Ed -- will take questions.

What an interesting beginning to the New Year, eh? Who REALLY thought they'd live long enough to see Ed Bacon on Oprah AND Gene Robinson giving the opening prayer at the opening event at the Lincoln Memorial for the Inauguration Celebration of a 44th President of these United States named Barack Hussein Obama?

My, my, my!
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First Oprah, then O'Reilly ... what's next????

In other news ...

Pasadena Pastor back on Oprah today to explain why "Gay is a gift from God"

Media Advisory: For Immediate Release

Monday, January 12, 2009

The Reverend J. Edwin Bacon, Jr., rector of All Saints Church, Pasadena will make an encore appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show today, Monday, January 12, to respond to the controversy around his statement in a January 8th segment on the Oprah Show that "being gay is a gift from God."

It was no surprise at All Saints Church that the show's producers asked for some follow-up time with Reverend Bacon. "The volume of email we're getting here in Pasadena tells us that Ed Bacon's message -- the good news that God loves absolutely everybody -- is one people are hungry to hear," said the Reverend Susan Russell, All Saints Senior Associate for Communication.

"We are deeply grateful for the national platform Ed Bacon's appearance on Oprah has given this message of love, inclusion and tolerance that we hear preached here in Pasadena 24/7. We look forward to welcoming those coming toward us who are hearing for the first time that the abundant, inclusive love of God includes them!"

For more information contact Keith Holeman, Director of Communications at All Saints Church, Pasadena, at kholeman@allsaints-pas.org, or 626.583.2739.

Keeping an eye on the "breaking news"

It's a VERY busy Monday here in Sunny Pasadena but here's my shot at compiling some of the news items around today's announcement of +Gene Robinson's role in the upcoming inaugural celebrations. Stay tuned for more!


NEWS:

Gay bishop will open inaugural -- Politico

Can anybody be "America's Pastor" now? -- USA Today

Gay bishop get role in inauguration event -- Reuters

Gay Episcopal Bishop Tapped for Obama Inauguration -- US News & World Report

Bishop Robinson gets inaugural role -- Boston Globe

New Hampshire Bishop invited to offer prayers -- Episcopal Life

Openly gay bishop to offer first inaugural invocation -- CNN

N.H. bishop invited to D.C. to give prayer --Concord Monitor

Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop to Deliver Invocation at Lincoln Memorial -- New York Times

BLOGS:

Huffington Post

Episcopal Cafe

HRC: Human Rights Campaign

GLAAD Blog