A Letter From The President
Our Response to Focus on the Family
Bob Dorr, PFLAG Omaha
Posted on March 19, 2007
Several weeks ago, an email from National PFLAG staff member Elizabeth Brown alerted Omaha PFLAG that Focus on the Family’s one-day Love Won Out conference will come to Omaha on April 14.
The anti-gay conference goes from city to city, drawing crowds of 1,000 or 1,500. Here, the host is Trinity Church at 156th St. and W. Dodge Rd. A lineup of speakers will try to make the case that, as the Love Won Out web site puts it, change is possible and “you don’t have to be gay.” That message unfortunately is welcomed by many parents who become confused and frightened when their child comes out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The Love Won Out message is wrong, and it is harmful. As our mission statement says, PFLAG members “celebrate diversity and envision a society that embraces everyone, including those of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.” At PFLAG’s support meetings, parents new to our group sometimes ask, “what did we do wrong?” From our experience, we can confidently say, “nothing.”
Shortly after National PFLAG’s alert, a small Response Team representing several secular and faith groups began meeting. In contrast to the lineup of outside speakers at Love Won Out, our response will be all local. Our theme is: Got God—Got Love! We are planning these events:
--An ecumenical worship service at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 13, at 1st Central Congregational Church, 36th and Harney Sts., that will be joyful and affirming. Spiritual leaders of at least eight congregations will take part. A young man who went through the agony of “reparative therapy” at Trinity Church in an effort to change his sexuality will give his witness. The River City Mixed Chorus and First United Methodist Church ’s choir will sing.
--A bowling tournament entitled Bowling for Gandhi from noon and 5 p.m. on April 14 at Maplewood Lanes, 101st and Maple Sts. This will be a benefit for college scholarships and a fun family event for our diverse GLBT/Ally community. A per-person benefit donation of $15 also covers three lines of bowling and shoe rental. For those on the PFLAG email list, expect to receive a more detailed announcement with a link to a signup form. If you’re not on the email list, just come to Maplewood Lanes on April 14.
--A letter-writing campaign. If you or a family member has been hurt by the anti-gay message of a church or faith community, please share your story. You have a story that the leaders of Trinity Church need to hear. Pastors from churches taking part in our worship service will carry your letters to the Trinity Church leaders. To make this a little easier, Metropolitan Community Church pastor Rev. Tom Emmett has prepared a form. A copy of the form appears at the end of this article or e-mail me at bobcdorr@cox.net and I can e-mail you back a PDF document of the form.
Help us send our message by writing your own story and by setting aside the April 13-14 weekend to attend our worship service and bowling tournament.
LEGISLATIVE GAINS: The GLBT community has hopes of making legislative gains in Nebraska this year, and in Iowa a long-hoped-for anti-bullying law has become reality. The Iowa Legislature has passed, and Gov. Culver has signed, the Safe Schools Bill. Iowa joins just nine other states and the District of Columbia with safe schools policies that specifically protect GLBT students from bullying and harassment.
Along with passage of the legislation, the GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force has announced that it will hire a full-time education and outreach specialist. The new staff person will help implement the new Safe Schools Law through training and professional development within school districts and educational organizations. The job description is available at: http://www.iowasafeschools.org/joboutreach.htm
In Nebraska, the bill that would add “sexual orientation” and “marital status” to the state’s jobs anti-discrimination law has advanced out of committee and has status as a priority bill of the Judiciary Committee. The bill unfortunately doesn’t give protection to transgender persons.
As this is written, the anti-bullying bill was awaiting action by the full Legislature. The bill is thought to have received a boost from a recent Nebraska Supreme Court decision that found an Omaha Westside High School student guilty of stalking for his harassment and bullying of another student—including yelling at her nearly 200 times in front of her friends, throwing food at her and shoving a chair in her path.
And in Congress, there is optimism that a federal hate crimes law will pass this session.
Bob Dorr,
Omaha PFLAG President
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Share Your Story
Dear Friend: Trinity Church, in West Omaha, has chosen to host the Love Won Out Conference. This one-day event, sponsored by Focus on the Family, seeks to promote “the truth that change is possible for those who experience same-sex attractions.”
The clergy of Trinity Church need to know that this sort of attitude toward gay and lesbian people is hurtful, harmful and seen by many as an attack upon what God has created and called “good.” Below please share your story. It is important for Trinity to understand the harm that the attitudes and assumptions behind events like Love Won Out cause. The leaders of Trinity Church need to know they are hurting people in the name of Jesus Christ.
INSTRUCTIONS: Please share, in legible writing, how the anti-gay/lesbian message of some in the Christian community has affected you. How did it feel? How did that negatively impact your life? How as a GLBT person or someone who cares about GLBT people would you like to be treated by Evangelical Christians?
My name is: _______________________________________________
____I choose not to share my name with Trinity Church.
_____I will permit the use of my story and name on a web site.
_____Please withhold any use of my name on your web site.
Please return this form to Rev. Thomas Emmett, MCC-Omaha, 819 South 22nd St., Omaha, NE 68108 no later than April 15th.
Thank you for your courage.
