Is this project for me? I'm not sure. I am right behind Chris Fox in many of his statements about the harmfulness of religions and the flakiness of belief in God. Honestly, I've never been able to "discuss" issues for long with very religious people (i.e. anyone with belief in Deity/Prophet similar to God/Christ). Contrast that with my belief that people cannot claim to be "open-minded" and at the same time dismissively "flame" intolerant Christians. In this sense, I have always believed myself to be more "Christian" than any Christian who accepts church-based intolerance. 

So what intrigued me most about the Oct/Nov. posts on pflag-talk was Steve C.'s gentlemanly & Christian, in the sense of kind/open/unjudging/self-aware, style. It led me to read Mitzi's speech at the website. I 100% agree with Mitzi. 

I have an article (AP) from Sept. 5, '95 -- about a family which discovered the black branch of the family had been slaves owned by the white branch. They ultimately decided they would not stay in denial, and would admit their blood relation, which so many of the similar cases do not, because the pain (of slavery history) is too great... 

Another example of what heartens me as to the potential of dropping ideological differences in the interest of true humaneness. Around Christmas, though, someone sent out a poem/story about the WW I soldiers stopping to exchange Christmas with the enemy...I didn't keep it, because I couldn't bear the end: the soldiers go back to killing each other the next day. Not my concept of conflict resolution !! 

A lot of what Maggie has posted about Bridges Across has meant nothing to me. I don't "get" what Sojourners is, I cannot relate to "church community" as a definition of us here. I want to observe a while, and see how it feels to be here. I suspect the ideas will be too focused on Religion for me to feel safe. But I adore C.S. Lewis...so maybe, just maybe, we can find something in common :-D 

Karen 

Subj: Why Am I an Ally? 

Because I never suspected that my best friend in college could love me. She is Bi and married, but my wake-up call to the needs of GLBT folks was when she topped off a long coming-out process (the last 2 years of our college or so) with a letter saying she had fallen in love with me when we first met. I was clueless. There was no reason, except for the fact that I was fairly unprepared to be the best friend of a woman who might love me, for her not to have told me. 

I believe Love is too precious to be wasted due to ignorance and easily-cured fears. I believe young adults, of whom I was one of the least prejudiced, should know what I didn't know--g/l/b/t folks are everywhere--don't ever, ever make the Heterosexual Assumption. (Someone might be making the Homophobic Assumption about you!) 

I believe the beauty GLBT people have been responsible for creating and leaving in this world is irreplaceably precious by ANY standard. I believe sexuality is a private issue, and I believe in separation of Church and State. I believe there is that of god in everyone. I believe homosexuality is not a choice, and that Nature is the strongest factor in creating our sexuality, not Nurture. I believe in my best friend's reasons for writing me the letter that she did. We have never lived in the same town/state/timezone again, yet she *needed* to tell me within a day of our final close contact (graduation day) who she had been all those 4 years---the part that I didn't know about. 

I believe there was a reason for me to learn that. Her love, and those of so many others who never told their beloved deserves to be given a home. I hope I do that be being an Ally.