Home from the Board Meeting…never bored! (well, almost never)

We had one of our two annual Fortunate Family face to face board meetings in Baltimore this weekend.  We find it easiest to piggyback our events on those of our sister organizations, so that we can travel less often and spend a little less money and spent a lot more time in our advocacy mission.  Being on a national board can be expensive, and we are all aware of trying to cut costs where ever we can. 

The first part of our weekend was presented by New Ways Ministry. They put on a national symposium every 5 years, and this was my first one.  The speakers were folks of national importance, who spoke eloquently about the need for inclusion for all in our church. Theologians could explain the clobber passages in context of time, experience and audience. Others working for justice gave us a template of history and advocacy. 

Each time a speaker did a q & a someone asked…what do we do next. Bishops??? Family members??? Folks in the pew??? The Vatican??? To whom do we turn to share our experiences of love for our children, the love between partners/spouses, the love for our parents who might happen to be lgbt. And then there was the question from my friend and fellow bod Tom Nelson, how do we stay silent and watch the holocaust of our lgbt children? The deaths by suicide, the abandonment by parents, the loss of innocence at such an early age....

Each speaker struggled with the question.  Some were sure that bishops who share our ideals of love and inclusion will not speak up until they retire, because it is harmful to career to do so. Others felt that the isolation and power keeps bishops from even hearing us.  You have to wonder.  Some suggested that we simply share our stories, our children's stories with our friends...that the hearts we need to work on sit next to us in the pew.

So, where do we go next? What to do, who to talk to?  The consensus for most of us was to encourage those we love to live authentically, love deeply and work for justice.  One heart at a time… one day at a time.