Report This Post

I was surprised to get the invitation, and, like many of them, it came just days before the event, so we had to do some scrambling. Since it was the first time I could bring a guest, that made it all the more exciting. I visited the White House earlier this year for the Easter breakfast, which was televised because the President used that opportunity to talk about a mine disaster that was underway. We had brunch in the East Room, and I was introduced to the President by a White House staffer.

Later this year I met with White House staff and lgbt religious leaders, which was the first time in over 30 years (I was the only one from our group of 25 or so that had attended the one with President Carter’s staff in 1979!)

Paula and I got to DC in the late morning and got to have some time with Governing Board member John Hassell and MCC DC board member Kareem Murphy, both of whom are members of our MCC Public Policy Team, who helped us think about the context of the visit (and share DC gossip!)

We got to the White House early, as they suggested, and stood outside in 20 degree weather, with the wind whipping all around. We finally got inside. The White House was gorgeous, and we were ushered into the East Wing. They had champagne, sparkling water, and warm welcomes. We were able to wander through the rooms, beautifully decorated for Christmas. A Marine band was playing holiday jazz. There was a splendid buffet in the East Room and State dining room. PJ Crowley, the press officer for Hillary Clinton at the State Department, and his wife, also Paula, sat with us for about 20 minutes – we talked about DADT. We commiserated over the loss of ambassador Richard Holbrooke, a huge loss for the country and the State Department. I thanked Mr. Crowley him for how supportive his boss and the State Dept have been around human rights concerns for lgbt people.

Out of about 200 plus people, I was one of three people in a clergy collar. We came out over and over again to dozens of people, which Paula loves to do!

I introduced myself and Paula to Cokie Roberts, which was my celebrity “hit.” There were very few religious folks, and Mitchell Gold and his husband Tim were the only lgbt leaders I recognized. It was a pretty straight, racially diverse crowd. We came out to everyone, held hands in the White House, enjoyed crowd watching. I met Bishop Minerva Carcano, who I have wanted to meet for years – she is a Methodist Bishop from Arizona who is very active in immigration reform, who was in DC for the “Dream Act.” She had just met with Rev. Harry Knox that morning, and heard that he was going to pastor Resurrection MCC in Houston. She was very supportive of and interested in MCC. It would be great to have her as a General Conference speaker, and she seemed open to that for 2013!

The President and Mrs. Obama joined us, he spoke for about 15 minutes, then shook hands behind a rope. We were able to get close to the front, and Paula got to connect and shake hands with him. She also got some excellent pictures, which she is putting on Facebook. The First Couple looked great, after who knows how many holiday parties (I heard there are 20). Michelle is even more beautiful in person, and they were hugging people, and were warm and generous. The President thanked the crowd, and focused on the children’s nutrition bill, which will help more than 2 million children get better nutrition. I felt like he was particularly happy to have gotten that through in this session, something aimed at improving the lifelong health of Americans.

From the State Dining room, we could see the kids’ swing set. The White House chocolatier had been very busy, they thoughtfully had non-alcoholic eggnog as an alternative . . .it was all very elegant.

At one point a White House staffer took me aside and said he was on his way to a DADT meeting, as if he wanted me to be sure to know that they are working on this.

We were also invited to a White House staff briefing, with about 150 people. The one on health care drew the most questions and suggestions, particularly that the White House should market all the benefits of the programs, bring it close to home for ordinary people, and blunt all the intentional dis-information. We got together with Rev. Candy Holmes (Rev. Darlene had to many church phone calls to make), John Hassell and his boyfriend Scott before we went to the airport.

We returned home feeling fortunate, and blessed to be a part of history.

Report This Post

Rev. Elder Diane Fisher’s sabbatical
Rev. Nancy Wilson, Moderator

Dear Saints:

I am pleased to announce that Rev. Elder Diane Fisher will begin a well-deserved sabbatical of three months beginning September 1, 2010. She has served more than seven years as an Elder, and, prior to that, many years as an MCC District Coordinator.

The purpose of a sabbatical is refreshment and renewal, and, hopefully some well-deserved rest. In addition, Rev. Elder Fisher wants to use this time to improve her command of French, which will help in her work in Canada, Europe, and in the world of Human Rights.

Rev. Elder Fisher has made arrangement for Elder coverage of her networks and the churches she has been serving, and for the support of her capable staff. Rev. Fisher is sending out a special communication with the particulars.

Join me in praying for Rev. Elder Diane Fisher, and that she will return to us with energy and renewed passion for the global ministry of MCC!

Report This Post

What I look forward to the most is seeing people, some of whom I will have never met before, some of whom I have not seen in many years. That sensation, at the opening worship, where I am always teary. Watching the weariness wash away as the sound lifts, as the praise begins. As we become One Body.

This time, we will be three years older – and, for some of us, it is showing!

There will be people I miss seeing – who have answered the roll call up yonder, or who are not well enough to come; or for whom the finances or circumstances just didn’t add up. We carry you to Acapulco in our hearts this time.

And, the laughter, the intense discussions, the solemn times of Spirit-led (we pray) decisions. The music! The preacher we never heard before who dazzles us. The familiar faces that reassure and push us forward. the workshop that challenges us, the speaker who we resisted, but who impresses.

I am looking forward to sharing General Conference with Fellowship friends — we have had an interesting time explaining to members of “The Fellowship,” (led by Bishop Flunder) that “the Fellowship” is a nickname we use for MCC. Some say it is now “old fashioned,” and maybe we have handed it on, I am not sure. But, it still comes out of my mouth all the time. It is a prayer, and a hope.

I look forward to touching and being touched. I want Conference to inspire and change me, not just everyone else! I want the Holy Spirit to “come by here,” to surprise us, to visit us. I want Visitation. I want Transformation. I want to be shaken to my roots, and turned inside out for what’s next, for what God wants to do with us. Jesus and justice, hand in hand.

There I go, preaching already.

I want us to see something of the amazing work going on around the world, the light that is shining with consistency and brightness in Latin America.

Pray, by the way, that visas come through – we are having such a struggle.

For traveling mercies. For those who arrive today, for pre-conference institutes, to learn, to be prepared to serve in new ways. For our staff, who have been working on this moment for years.

For the God who has never failed us, and who will not fail us now!  Lift up your hearts, MCC, to Acapulco, to a future we will IMAGINE together.

Report This Post

Reflections on the Nate Phelps Topeka Debut

Rev. Nancy Wilson

I found that I have had a lot of reactions to the event with Nate Phelps in Topeka, yesterday. I am grateful to MCC Topeka for inviting me to participate in this event. I just felt that I wasn’t quite finished, and wanted to expand my remarks from earlier this weekend.

Almost 700 people filled much of the ground floor of the Topeka Performing Arts Center on Saturday. There was a lot of security, though, we had no problems whatsoever. Fred Phelps and his family didn’t show up at all, and the crowd was very supportive. There were TV cameras, and reporters there. AP did not show up, I understand because they refuse to cover anything about the Phelps, which, in this case, was a shame.

In the crowd were MCCers from Topeka, Wichita, Kansas City and Tulsa; lgbt activists; people from other faith groups, mostly Christians and Jews; quite a showing from a couple of atheist groups, and ordinary folks from Topeka, just curious.

When I introduced Nate, they gave him a standing ovation before he said a word. And, then he spoke, slowly, deliberately for almost an hour. He is a big bear of a guy, but gentle, and, really, humble and even. He was so non-violent in his speech, story-telling and analysis of one of the most violent stories I have ever heard.

The hour with him was riveting. You could hear a pin drop most of the time, some sniffles here and there, and gasps as few times, as he described some of the cruelty imposed by his famous father.

In some ways, in that hour, we descended into hell with Nate Phelps, and saw his childhood through a child’s eyes. He took on the Calvinist origins of his father’s theology, and really took on extreme fundamentalism. He spoke very poignantly of trying, as an adult, to attend church, and bring his children up in a more moderate church, but it sounded to me as if church of any kind is a trigger for him that is not very bearable.

His legitimate questioning of Bible verses and theologies has lead him to be an atheist. However, he was very moderate, and humble in this too. He stood up for religion that contributed to the common good, and that taught love and compassion. When I spoke with him personally, he commented on my remarks, saying, if all religion could be like this, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

When he took questions and answers, a more militant atheist asked him, “My religious friends say about religion, ‘Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.’ Is there a baby?”  Phelps thought for a minute, and, to the disappointment of the questioner, said, yes, he thought there was a baby, but wasn’t sure he could say what it was. He was gentle, and kind, kinder than he needed to be, about those of us to claim faith. Even though he is personally an atheist, he clearly wants to build bridges with a broad range of people, who have common cause.

He was very clear about his solidarity with the lgbt community, and talked movingly of wanting to make his first event in partnership with MCC and the lgbt community, because we had been the most injured, for the longest, by his father’s bizarre cult of one family.

At the end of his talk, he told the story of leaving home at 18, at the stroke of midnight. The story of his liberation at that moment, from a lifetime of beatings, unending verbal and psychological abuse, was moving beyond words. If his whole book is written that well, I can’t wait to read it.

He talked a lot about healing and hope, about recovery from abuse, and the lifelong struggle that he has had. When people asked questions, for nearly an hour, he was patient, and expressed kindness towards other members of his family, who are still imprisoned in the Phelps “compound,” just blocks away from the MCC Church. The poignancy of the questions, and the civility of the crowd was a beautiful thing to behold. I was so proud of him, of MCC.

This is a person with a mission. He brought up the fact that 39 states in the US still have laws that insulate religious groups from prosecution when they abuse children for religious reasons, or do not allow them to get proper medical treatment. It is astonishing that 13 children grew up in the Phelps home, enduring that level of violence, and no one has been able to do anything about it. After some early attempts, I guess, fear of reprisals, lawsuits (for which they are famous) have deterred anyone from intervening.

The whole community of Topeka lives in a kind of state of mild PTSD when it come to the Phelps. It is a small town, you can’t totally avoid them. They mar the image of this decent community. People talk of their embarrassment when people around the world only know Topeka for one thing – “God hates fags,” or “God hates America,” or, now it seems, “God hates the world.” 

That is their new slogan on their website, “God Hates the World.” It is the evil reversal of John 3:16, the gospel in miniature that proclaims a God who “so loved the world.”

Nate Phelps, by miracles he claims not to understand, resisted his father’s indoctrination, and eventually planned his own escape. Over the years, he has done the personal work of healing, and managed have loving relationships, and a sense of self and purpose. I feel privileged to have met him, and heard him in Topeka.

Report This Post

As I share the stage today with Nate at the Topeka Performing Arts Center, these are my remarks:

Reflections on Nate Phelps’ Story

April 24, 2010, Topeka, Kansas

Rev. Nancy Wilson

In a way, I am sorry to have to be here today. No one should have had to suffer and struggle to recover the way Nate Phelps has.  No child should have to grow up in that environment. As pastor in Metropolitan Community Churches for 38 years, I have heard many stories of pain and rejection, of religiously-based abuse of children. This story is equally disturbing.  

Nate, I am proud today to call you “friend,” and to celebrate your act of courage that is contained in the telling of your story.

I am proud of Nate’s willingness to stand in solidarity with communities, like the lgbt community, and others, that have been so impacted by the rhetoric of hate that the Phelps family, a la Westboro Baptist Church have been fomenting for so long. You didn’t have to do this, and we know that, and we are grateful today.

This is a complicated and tragic story. Those of us who claim to be people of faith have to be outraged by the way in which religion is used as a way to abuse and control. It only reinforces my belief that religion has the potential to harm or heal, to divide or unify, to foster hate or foster love.

It makes me very angry to know that tender hearts and minds are poisoned in this way. And, as a minister, to know that people would be lead to believe in a God who would terrorize us, who is hateful, and bent on punishment and destruction. I think the world has had all it can stand of this kind of religion. It is so clear that  much of the terrorism that has marked this young century is rooted in bad theology and misguided religious bigotry.

I have the privilege of being the leader of a denomination that has helped many people who have stories not too different from Nate’s: of young people driven to  suicide because hateful religion said that who they were, to their core was unacceptable to God. My hope is that people of good will, whether they are religious or not, whether they believe in God or not, can agree that this kind of religion does nothing to improve communities or lives. People of good will need to unite behind the idea of mutual respect, justice and peaceful co-existence.

Walter Brueggman said that changing attitudes, healing, on any issue, starts with “the public processing of pain.” We are witnesses of that process today, and I am humbled and honored to share this time and space with one as courageous and dedicated as Nate Phelps.

Our response today, must be first, of rejoicing, that Nate is claiming his truth and his freedom. Only good can come from that! For us to see someone who has survived, who is recovering, who is claiming his truth, speaking up for children, and seeking to contribute to the public good is healing. Secondly, we must be bold in our support and compassion for Nate Phelps and all who have suffered so needlessly.

Nate, even as you come home to Topeka, to state your case, we declare that you have a safe home among us. Maybe as people around the world think of Topeka, Kansas, from now on, they will not say, “That’s where Fred Phelps lives,” but rather, “That’s where Nate Phelps came home to help so many heal.”

Report This Post

I am pleased to share with you a resource from Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman on church finances in tough times, that I hope you will find encouraging, timely and useful. (see below)

As I travel around to MCC churches, and have contact with so many of you, I want to share some brief thoughts, reflections and encouragement:

This January, the amount of tithes to MCC you reported was excellent, an improvement over last year, and yet, we received only 80% because we know churches are facing tough times and some are delaying paying tithes.

Churches are much better at sending in reports, which helps us understand where you are, and the trends – thanks to church treasurers and boards for keeping in touch.

Even all the cuts we made to MCC budget last year has not kept up with this shortfall in tithes, due to the economy. We are continuing to monitor diligently, make cuts responsibly, and struggle with not undercutting services to our churches.

You gave $33,000 to our efforts for Haiti!! In must one month – amazing! And, many churches are signing up for the Easter offering, believing that giving MCCers a chance to give over and above does not negatively impact tithes. MCCers are givers, and we give with our hearts.

Some churches have told me they assume they cannot vote at conference if they are behind in tithes, and are not planning to come. Please know, we will work with you, and help you in this time of great challenge! Of course we want you to pay your tithes, but, we really want you to come to conference. Talk to us!

Airfares are coming way down to Acapulco, and our room rates are phenomenal! Someone in your church or community has frequent flier miles they may be able to donate. We hope you will make sure your church is represented. We are very close to meeting our baseline goal for conference registrations, our hotel room block, and we have a quorum in both houses of General Conference. We have amazing worship, training and inspirational opportunities for MCC.

Pray with me, that we will do everything we can do to be both responsible and full of faith and hope in these times where our people need to trust and rely on our leadership, locally and globally. Pray for me, and our leaders, as we tighten our belts, ask fewer people to focus and do more.

I will pray for you, that the generosity of our people, and the grace and abundance of the wonder-working God we know in Jesus, will sustain you, and give you great hope and peace today.

If there is something in particular that you want me to pray for, contact me today, and I will promise to be praying for your intention through Easter. (RevNancyWilson@mccchurch.net)

And, pray for me, and our Elders and leaders as we look ahead to General Conference, our global family reunion — to a time of sharing a new vision of ministry, deep personal connections, renewed friendships, and honest dialogue. I am confident that the Holy Spirit God will lead us and provide for us at this crossroads.

——————————

Resources

Stewardship and Church Finances in Hard Times

There is no question that we have been experiencing challenging financial times globally. Many people have come into our churches with the norm of our culture in terms of having debt, whether small or large. Many others have no knowledge of tithing or having a spiritual financial discipline. Fortunately, there are others in MCC who are highly committed to God and who see making a financial commitment to the life of the church as one part of their spiritual growth.

Here are just a few resources:

“Creating Congregations of Generous People: Money, Faith, and Lifestyle Series,” Michael Durall published by Alban.

Asking parishioners for money is very different from creating congregations of generous people. In this provocative book, stewardship consultant Michael Durall argues convincingly that annual pledge drives inadvertently perpetuate low-level and same-level giving in congregations. Written with the voice of experience, this book will help clergy and lay leaders initiate and sustain effective stewardship programs. Durall believes that asking for money eventually becomes routine, even tedious-but creating a congregation of generous people becomes ever more meaningful with passing time.

Net Results: For clear and helpful articles on stewardship and much more subscribe to Net Results, a quarterly digital magazine that speaks to pertinent issues faced by churches today. Cost is $19.95 per year. www.NetResults.org <http://www.netresults.org/> . The May – June 09 issue is dedicated to the topic of Stewardship with many excellent articles.

“What About Tithing,” an article by Rev. Elder Don Eastman helps those of us in North America understand how tithing is viewed today and offer some thoughts on moving forward within MCC. http://www.minxcenter.org/minxcenter/blog/tithingEastman.htm

Report This Post

______________________________________________________________

Walk for Tolerance on April 7, 2010,
Marked a Historic First for Montego Bay, Jamaica
MCC Delegation Participated In First-Ever Public March
Rev. Nancy Wilson Arrived In Jamaica Directly From
White House Easter Prayer Breakfast With U.S. President Obama
______________________________________________________________

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA — The Rev. Elder Nancy L. Wilson, moderator of the international movement of Metropolitan Community Churches, participated in the first-ever public HIV/AIDS march in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, along with a delegation of MCC leaders.

The public event, known as the Walk for Tolerance, was sponsored by Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, the largest and oldest Jamaican non-profit organization providing support services to persons with HIV and AIDS. The goal of the public walk in Montego Bay was to engender goodwill, support and tolerance for persons living with HIV and AIDS. The march, which drew 150 participants was a historic first for the Montego Bay community.

Joining Rev. Wilson were Rev. Pat. Bumgardner, chair of MCC’s Global Justice Team, Rev. Robert Griffin, MCC Liaison to Jamaica and Staff Pastor for Sunshine Cathedral Jamaica (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Rev. Michael Diaz, volunteer coordinator for Sunshine Cathedral MCC (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), and Rev. Jim Birkitt, communications specialist and writer.

Prior to arriving in Jamaica, Rev. Wilson was a guest of U.S. President Barack Obama at a White House Easter Prayer Breakfast at which she spoke with the U.S. President, members of the current U.S. administration, and religious leaders from numerous faith communities.

“The members and adherents of Metropolitan Community Churches stand in solidarity with all persons with HIV and AIDS,” said Wilson. News articles published in the Jamaican press in the days leading up to the Walk for Tolerance addressed the discrimination that is often experienced by Jamaicans living with HIV/AIDS.

“Jesus stood with those who were marginalized and rejected by their societies. Jesus loved those who had been made to feel like outcasts; Jesus welcomed such, embraced them, loved them and cared for them. Those who would be Jesus’ followers today must show God’s same extravagant love,” added Wilson.

Following the march, Rev. Wilson preached at a worship service of Sunshine Cathedral Jamaica.

Other participating groups included Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition, Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network, International Association of Pride Coordinators, Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays (JFLAG), Women for Women, and the Jamaica Red Cross.

Since 1997, Amnesty International has documented the murders of 35 gay Jamaicans and since 2008 has catalogued more than 30 incidents of anti-gay mob violence.

MCC’s participation was made possible in part by a grant of $30,000 (USD) from the Arcus Foundation’s Religion and Values Program to organize and train indigenous Jamaican leadership and create a strategic plan for ending religiously-sanctioned violence against LGBT people in Jamaica. Leaders from Sunshine Cathedral MCC Jamaica and Sunshine Cathedral MCC Fort Lauderdale are directing the planning project in conjunction with MCC’s Global Justice Team, the MCC Office of Formation and Leadership Development, MCC Moderator Rev. Nancy Wilson, and other international allies. The Arcus Foundation funds efforts to achieve social justice inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity and race. Grants provided thorough its Religion & Values Program are targeted to build a faith-based progressive social justice movement that is inclusive of GLBT human rights and refute beliefs that portray gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people as sinful and immoral..

Metropolitan Community Churches, founded in 1968, is a human-rights movement and ministry operating as a Christian denomination in 25 countries around the world. MCC is an international advocate for vulnerable people in places where religious orthodoxy, sexism, and homophobia can result in violence and death. MCC’s promise is stated in its tagline “Tearing Down Walls. Building Up Hope.” For more information about MCC visit http://www.MCCchurch.org <http://www.mccchurch.org/> .

______________________________________

Press and Media Coverage
Members of MCC’s delegation to the Walk for Tolerance were quoted in Jamaica’s national newspapers, appeared on Jamaican television and radio, and participated on talk radio.

Among the media in which Metropolitan Community Churches’ delegation was quoted or cited were:

BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY RADIO SHOW – KPWR FM RADIO
Michael Anthony Cuffe, host
Interview with MCC’s Rev. Robert Griffin

CHANGE.ORG
Title: A Bold Move for Equality in Jamaica | Gay Rights | Change.org <http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/a_bold_move_for_equality_in_jamaica&ct=ga&cad=7:2:0&cd=6StqFdP16E4&usg=AFQjCNH1R5lzzINX1Qtq5o5YFJLJQc4udg>
Excerpt: “The Walk for Tolerance was organized by Rev. Nancy Wilson, a presiding bishop in the International Movement of Metropolitan Community Churches. It was focused on building support for sexual minorities in Jamaica, as well as drawing attention to the scourge of HIV/AIDS. For Rev. Wilson, spreading tolerance when it comes to LGBT issues and HIV issues shouldn’t be a foreign concept inside the island nation. “We have ministries all over the world that are open and accepting of all people including persons with HIV and AIDS and we know it is important to teach the love of God and Jesus; and acceptance of God for all people,” said Rev. Wilson. “We believe that love and grace and mercy and tolerance are so important in today’s world.”
http://gayrights.change.org/blog/view/a_bold_move_for_equality_in_jamaica

THE COLORFUL TIMES
Title: A Bold Move for Equality in Jamaica
Excerpt: “Around 100 people took part in the walk, which was headed by Reverend Elder Nancy L. Wilson, the openly lesbian presiding bishop of the International Movement of Metropolitan Community Churches.”
http://www.colorfultimes.com/2010/04/lifestyle/sexuality/bold-move-for-equality-in-jamaica/?ec3_listing=posts
EDGE of Boston
Article Title: A First for Jamaica: 100 March for Gay, HIV+ Tolerance
Excerpt: “This is an amazing event,” said Wilson, going on to call the march “a day of standing up with people with HIV and AIDS, their families and friends and saying all people deserve justice and health care and dignity and to be free from stigma or hatred just because of who they are or who they love and because of their HIV and AIDS status.”
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104399

GAY JAMAICA WATCH
Article Title: The Walk for Tolerance
Excerpt: “The Walk for Tolerance (April 7, 2010) as launched by Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) and The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) group from Florida and the Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) went on unimpeded… the [TV news] footage clearly highlighted the LGBT elements of the event pointing out the openly lesbian MCC leader Nancy L. Wilson and Reverend Robert Griffin.”
http://networkedblogs.com/2ILKD

JAMAICA OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
Article Title: Over 100 Support Historic Tolerance March in Mobay
Excerpt: “Nancy Wilson, the openly gay leader of the Metropolitan Community Churches, also used the opportunity to send a message: “We have ministries all over the world that are open and accepting of all people including persons with HIV and AIDS and we know it is important to teach the love of God and Jesus; and acceptance of God for all people. We believe that love and grace and mercy and tolerance are so important in today’s world,” Wilson declared.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/westernnews/Jas-march_7523951

JAMAICA OBSERVER NEWSPAPER
Editorial Title: On Tolerating Homosexuals And Such…
Note: This editorial does not quote MCC, but is a relatively positive voice, noting “…A change is gonna come. Maybe the change won’t take the drastic and sensational format of a complete overhaul of the buggery laws just yet, but over time the dialogue will become more informed and the stigmas which have undermined our progress will continue to fall away. Wednesday’s walk was but another stage in the process. In time there will be other such events. It is our hope that they will meet with the same amount of tolerance, not because we carry any brief for them, but for the sake of our development as a nation. Because whether we like it or not, the fact is that even as we continue to hang on to the past, the world is moving on… without us.”
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/Editorial-for-April-9–2010_7524315

JTV – JAMAICA TV
The march was carried on Jamaica TV and news reporters quoted Rev. Nancy Wilson.

OVER THE LIMIT ENTERTAINMENT BLOG (Jamaica)
Note: Negative feedback to the Walk for Tolerance
http://www.overthelimitentertainment.com/profiles/blogs/report-014-gay-rights-groups

POWER 106 FM RADIO (Jamaica)
News Story Title: March for Tolerance in MoBay
Excerpt: “American lesbian bishop Nancy Wilson is leading a public march now underway in Montego Bay, St James dubbed ‘walk for tolerance’… According to Miss Wilson, the aim of the activity is to highlight the need for tolerance of marginalised groups like homosexuals. Miss Wilson agrees with the AIDS support groups that discrimination and stigmatisation of marginalised people hinders the fight against HIV/AIDS.”
http://go-jamaica.com/news/read_article.php?id=18249

RADIO JAMAICA (RJR Group)
News Story Title: Lesbian US Bishop Leads Tolerance March in MoBay
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/26397/26/

UK GAY NEWS
Title: Jamaica Stages First Gay Pride
Excerpt: “Around 100 took part in the walk, which was headed by Reverend Elder Nancy L. Wilson, the openly lesbian presiding bishop of the International Movement of Metropolitan Community Churches.”
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/10/Apr/0801.htm

Report This Post

Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson represented MCC two amazing events this past week.

On Tuesday morning, April 6th, Nancy and other religious leaders had breakfast with the US President.

Directly from there, Nancy went to Jamaica to walk in the March for Tolerance, organized to raise awareness of the need for outreach and understanding of those living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaica. Nancy was there in person, but we were all there with her in spirit.

Learn more here: http://networkedblogs.com/2ILKD

Thanks to Nancy, the Global Justice Team of MCC, and all the others who participated and helped organize these events!

Blessings on our efforts to “Tear Down Walls, Build Up HOpe”.

-Metropolitan Community churches

Report This Post