Yeah this is going to work

[map_of_the_world]

So there's a post over on neurotheologythat says:

Between May 17 and June 28, 2009, groups of LGBT and allied people around the country will attend worship services at the church of their choice wearing a lapel button that reads “gay? fine by me.” For less formal churches we also have a t-shirt with this message. The lapel button (or t-shirt) serves as a conversation starter – opening dialogue with people in the church about faith, sexual orientation, and gender identity. When that visible act of courage is paired with adequate training, then transforming hearts and minds becomes a bona fide possibility. That’s why we’ve designed this web page, as well as a three-part teleconference course that covers the essentials of Nonviolent communication, Media talking points, and What both the Bible and science really say about homosexuality. Those training teleconferences will be held on April 19, April 26, and May 3 at 4pm CST and are open to all our volunteers for this project. We hope you will consider organizing a Sundays of Solidarity project in your area. It simply involves choosing a church in your area that could benefit from an SOS visit, using your contact list to recruit others to join you, attending the teleconference training sessions, and then organizing your group to take action on a date, time, and church location of your choosing.

The training starts in a few days, don't miss it! If you haven't signed up yet, visit http://www.soulforce.org to sign up.

and I actually think this is an outstandingly bad idea. Going into a community that you don't belong to and telling them that they are doing things wrong is just going to royally piss people of and entrench their positions. It is also going to make them feel attacked and so feel that they are righteous in their prejudice. This really, really isn't going to work.

I really firmly believe that you can only change communities from the inside, if you try to do it from the outside you trigger a siege mentality, which means it is up to me and people like me who are either queer Christians or Christians who are queer allies to change things in the church. its going to be a long haul and its going to be hard work, but we absolutely have a responsibility to do it.

Comments

[kathie-d.livejournal.com]

At first I thought it meant Christians wearing a lapel badge when attending their normal church, which sounds fine and quite like something I'd like to take part in, actually.

But... going into a Church you are not a member of, and stirring? Organising a large group of people to go do this with you? Hmm.

I know in my old church, if a bunch of randoms turned up in t-shirt saying 'fine by me', it would NOT make me leap up, and scream "OH MY GOD NOW I AM LIBERATED, AND CAN COME OUT AT LAST." Personally I would feel like I didn't need their pity, or them outing me.

[exalta3.livejournal.com]

I went to a wedding recently, in a small town, where the Pastor (guy moderating.. not good with names) made not only a racist joke, but a sexist one as well in the middle of the service. I stood up and almost walked out.

I think the idea here is to tell people it's not okay to be homophobic anymore. And I fully agree with it - especially with the number of young people attending churches, they're our future? What do we want them to be?

Another example, I was standing at my check out lane at work, serving a young guy in a pink t-shirt. The older man behind him in line waits till he leaves and proceeds to say 'you know, men wearing pink makes me nervous.' I responded saying 'Okay, but I'm wearing pants, does that make you nervous too?.'

Churches, like other types of institutions set the rules for what's normal. So, if people want to make changes to those rules, where else are they to go??

[lost-letters.livejournal.com]

um, I think you totally missed my point. I'm not suggesting that prejudice in the church shouldn't be challenged, Just that the people doing the challenging should be those who belong to the church communities not people who have nothing to do with them

[exalta3.livejournal.com]

But if it were the majority of the church going population that had the problem we wouldn't be struggling with the societal effects of the church right now. Sure, like the other comment says, one day a bunch of random people show up saying that they're okay with homosexuality within a church - people are going to feel out of place, quizzical.. but they're going to think about it, and its going to sit on their mind.. and they're going to talk about it. Maybe that's all this group is trying to do, to just start the ball rolling.

I mean, if the bride and groom of that wedding were offended they did nothing to show it, neither did the people who went to his church, it took the outsiders to make them think and realize that what went down, offended people and was wrong. They didn't agree, but they thought about it.. You can't force people to change, but you can make them think about it.

*shrug*

[burningmarl.livejournal.com]

I don't agree with invading people's place of worship, especially if then it creates problems with how churchgoers see gay members of their congregation as an aggressive force.

But yeah, woo! for gay christians!!

[syvilan.livejournal.com]

It definitely is invasive. A level of invasiveness I'd never advocate. There's a difference between debating with someone out on the street, online, in a court room, and invading their spot of refuge when they want isolation from what's stressing them.

I guess it's one of my strongest personal morals that regardless of who they are, people should respect the concept of other people having homes where they can feel safe. Stepping inside a church you're not really a member of to argue about religion, is like carrying spiders into the house of someone afraid of spiders, or more accurately like carrying a Bible or Koran into an atheist convention.

It's just rude, fixes nothing, and counts as harassment if you ask me.