Clergy Drag
I was sharing a story with a yoing friend the other day about one of the more successful lobbying efforts I had been involved with in the 1980's. And he suggested this was a story and a tactic that could be still used.
Thise of us involved called it "clergy drag day".
Fow whatever reason, in the USA, the "clergy shirt" (usually black with a little square of white) seems to "command respect".
Really.
Just let a person wearing such a shirt walk into a room and watch how many people will suddenly change their behavour, usually for the better.
People will at least politely listen to folks wearing those odd shirts!
So we decided that when we would visit legislators and key politicians regarding GBLT issues, we clergy folks would wear "clergy shirts" even if those shirts weren't a part of our "Tradition".
Imagine the surprise of a politian when he was told that a group of clergy wanted to speak to him about a "gay rights" issuem - a group that looked like clergy, and talked like clergy - that was in favor of the issue!!
No, we didn't change everyone's mind then and there. Some people we talked to do had minds already made up. But more often than not we at least started a dialouge, abd some minds we did change over time.
With the Religious Right making the claim that they are the spokesmen (and yes they are mostly White MALES) maybe this a tactic we progredsive-moderate=leftwing clergy-types can use for our issues?
It couldn't hurt, could it?
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Ninure did you see this?
Thought you might find it of interest. It's very much aligned with your post from earlier this week.
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The Religious Institute would love your help getting the word out about the Family Pride Coalition's plans for the Easter Egg Hunt at the White House. Please feel free to pass this on or to direct people to my blog on it (http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com) It would be great if you could participate directly or invite your congregants and friends to do so.
Do you live in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and support the rights of all families? Do you have a child (or a friend with a child) who is seven or younger who might enjoy the White House Easter Egg Hunt on Monday, April 17th? Here's your chance -- in the spirit of this season of liberation and the triumph of hope over struggle -- to speak out for all families, regardless of the sexual orientation of the parents.
The Family Pride Coalition is organizing GLBT families to attend the Easter Egg Roll to celebrate their families. I called their Executive Director Jennifer Chisler and asked, "What if all the families at the Easter Egg Roll were wearing rainbow leis, whether or not the parents were gay? What if the lawn of the White House was a sea of rainbow leis, bandanas, and t-shirts? What if instead of 200 GLBT families the majority of the folks on the lawn, regardless of the sex of their co-parent, indicated their support for gay people to have and adopt children?" (In the interest of full disclosure, the idea came to me from that 1997 Kevin Kline movie, "In and Out".)
YOU can make that happen. Here's my challenge. Go the Family Pride web site and find out how to get tickets. (It means standing in line on Friday night.) If you don't have a child, volunteer to stand in line on Friday night to get tickets for families that do but can't be there. If you are a member of the clergy in the DC area, send out an alert to your congregation. Show up on Monday wearing clerical garb and a rainbow lei. Let people know in the words of my UU bumper sticker that as people of faith we believe, "We are all family and we all have value."
It's Holy Week and it's Passover. Let us send a message that we affirm the dignity and worth of all persons and we recognize sexual difference as a blessed part of our endowment. What better time to speak out for liberation and rebirth for us all?