One of the various search models I use to find stories and ideas to write about turned up an op-ed article in the Watertown Daily Times. Watertown is in the far north of New York State roughly 44 miles from my family's summer home in the Adirondack Mountains about which I have written before. Located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario Watertown is not really close to anything and with a population of less than 27,000, it is a whole different world from New York City located hundreds of miles away to the south south-east. One of the area's claims to fame is that Frank Winfield Woolworth - the founder of the F. W. Woolworth store chain - was born in nearby Rodman, New York, in 1852. Suffice it to say I was surprised to find such a thoughtful and progressive column arguing for gay rights in the Watertown newspaper. Would that more parts of small town America were as enlightened. Here are some highlights:*
On March 31 Mary Lou Wallner made the conservative case for gay equality at an event hosted by the LGBTA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Association) at SUNY Potsdam. Hers was a message that should be heard far beyond the walls of the SUNY campus — especially by those individuals who feel their faith prevents them from seeing the humanity in everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.
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In February 1997, after a long battle fighting to gain the acceptance of her family after coming out to her parents as a lesbian, Wallner's daughter Anna took her own life. While living the life of a devout Christian, Wallner struggled with both Anna's homosexuality and suicide and began to question her own faith and the words she had been taught all along that fostered a hatred in her toward the gay community and her own daughter.
In February 1997, after a long battle fighting to gain the acceptance of her family after coming out to her parents as a lesbian, Wallner's daughter Anna took her own life. While living the life of a devout Christian, Wallner struggled with both Anna's homosexuality and suicide and began to question her own faith and the words she had been taught all along that fostered a hatred in her toward the gay community and her own daughter.
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Wallner eventually came to a powerful conclusion: God's love did not discriminate and she shouldn't either. It took the tragic loss of her daughter to teach her that profound lesson, but in the years since Mrs. Wallner has become evangelical about inclusion. She now strives to make the case for equality of all people across the country through her advocacy organization TEACH Ministries (To Educate About the Consequences of Homophobia).
Wallner eventually came to a powerful conclusion: God's love did not discriminate and she shouldn't either. It took the tragic loss of her daughter to teach her that profound lesson, but in the years since Mrs. Wallner has become evangelical about inclusion. She now strives to make the case for equality of all people across the country through her advocacy organization TEACH Ministries (To Educate About the Consequences of Homophobia).
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Members of conservative congregations should realize the consequences of homophobia — both active and passive. Now is the time for local churches to speak up and embrace equality. Conservative Christians often cite the Bible in their defense of exclusionary, homophobic attitudes toward gay men and women, but the Bible also states that "God is love." Like Mary Lou Wallner, we would all do better to recognize the nature of God in others.
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