A Letter To My Methodist Daughter

A woman holding a baby in a park.

These are the words I spoke to my sleeping daughter upon returning home from Birmingham, Alabama, this weekend after witnessing the marriage of Joe Openshaw and Bobby Prince, performed by Bishop Melvin Talbert. Dearest child of mine, I wish you could have been there yesterday, as I sat in a church and witnessed history in the making.…

Read More

Love: Before It’s Legal

A man kisses a woman in a church.

When Alex and Jeremy got engaged in the spring of 2010 and set their wedding date for July 16, 2011, they had no idea their marriage could be legal in New York State on July 24, 2011. By example, Alex and Jeremy demonstrate the importance of living out our vision, our love, and our passion…

Read More

Movement for Justice: Our Testimonies Can Change The Story

A group of people standing outside of a building with bubbles.

Thank you, God! What a joyful day. I am so excited about the historic Supreme Court rulings for marriage equality. When I began advocating publicly for gay rights, my parents wanted to talk to me about “What the Bible says…” They are Christians, and their faith and the Bible sustain them. Even so, they stand…

Read More

Church Of England Abandons Fight Against Marriage Equality

A large group of people in red robes sitting in a large room.

The Church of England has issued a statement officially declaring that they will no longer work to obstruct the passage of the marriage equality bill that is currently going through Parliament. Though the Church of England will not support the bill in its current form, sentiments from Church leaders on the matter are ambiguous. On Monday, the Archbishop…

Read More

Confronting Injustice In My Childhood Church

A little girl in a white dress holding a frisbee.

“The Church” is a somewhat scary and intimidating phrase to me. I grew up in a “Christian family,” but that phrase means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I used to love going to church with my grandparents. I liked to hear people talk about God and I enjoyed the sense…

Read More

A Blessing In Disguise: My Accidental Entry Into SCOTUS

A group of people standing in front of a group of people.

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17) It was Tuesday, March 26th, 2013, the First Day of Passover and Holy Tuesday. The night before, I did not dream that soon I would be anywhere close. And yet, here I was, in the back row of the Highest Court in the United…

Read More

Love Rising Up, To Break Every Chain

A large group of people standing in a church.

This piece is an excerpt of a sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Sidney Fowler at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C., on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013.  Very early last Tuesday morning, several hundred folks gathered from around the US at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation here in DC. An Interfaith…

Read More

The Catholic Activists Behind The Supreme Court DOMA Fight

A group of people posing for a picture at an event.

Millions who watched the news Wednesday undoubtedly saw photos of Edie Windsor walking into the Supreme Court with her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, prepared to challenge the injustices that the Defense of Marriage Act have levied against gay and lesbian couples since it was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996. What most people…

Read More