What Would *insert name* Do?

"God enters by a private door into every individual." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hey, it's Megan.  I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you.  This post will be a little bit longer because frankly, I need it to be, and I feel these issues are important to our global society as well as my home state of MN--now more than ever.

The subject of interfaith interaction and dialogue has been the topic of the week, starting with the above quotation I stumbled across a few days before moving. It didn't hurt that I love Emerson. Here's a recap of my interfaith activities in the past week. I was blessed to hear Dr. Eboo Patel, founder of the  Interfaith Youth Core and author of Acts of Faith, speak on campus on Thursday during both our convocation as well as a book talk, then on Friday I had my first religion class which felt as glorious as History Channel programming in the early 2000s, and later that night I had a two hour conversation with Malyn (fellow blog writer!) on the intersection of religion and politics.

After reading Acts of Faith, finding that quotation, and hearing Dr. Patel speak, I couldn't help but think about getting more involved with interfaith activities on campus, after all interfaith has always been important to me, especially growing up in a very culturally diverse city where I regularly heard five languages being spoken in the hallways of my high school. I put my thoughts aside on Saturday as I went to dinner with some of my freshman friends. Our conversation turned to the finer differences between Christian denominations.  In short, two people in the conversation grew up with the ELCA, though one in a church that was more traditional than the other, one person grew up in an Evangelical Free church, and then there was me with a background in Catholicism.  After the conversation I realized that those kinds of interactions are precisely what interfaith is all about.  I might not be able to fit another club into my schedule, but at least I know I can participate in interfaith dialogue every time I open up a respectful discussion. Oh, and I went to worship services on Sunday morning and Sunday night.

My heart is heavy though as of late.  A student from Concordia has hit the web running, expressing their view that the ELCA and as a result, Concordia, are too flexible in their acceptance of same-sex relationships and LGBT lifestyles. SAGA, Concordia's Straight And Gay Alliance, of which I am an active member, sells t-shirts that simply say "love is love." on the front as our annual fundraiser.  The shirts are quite popular on campus and in opposition, this student is creating and intending to distribute shirts that say "sin is sin." on the front, along with several bible verses that appear to condemn homosexuality on the back.

I don't know how to feel or react, all I know is I'm sad that we have to navigate this issue. The responses of SAGA and other students have ranged anything from saying "Guess we'll just have to be EXTRA loving :)" to suggesting we make new t-shirts with bible verses about love, to calls to volunteer for Minnesotans United  for All Families to creating a "Concordia Votes No" facebook event.  My question is where does interfaith fit into this situation?  How do we create a productive dialogue when we know each side probably won't be swayed and it honestly feels like we're speaking completely different languages.  One side says they are showing love by accepting people for who they are and another side says they are showing love by trying to prevent someone from living in a sinful way. It is honestly difficult for me to extend a hand of peace when these sorts of attitudes are, as my friend puts it, a stepping stone towards violence and other extreme reactions towards LGBT individuals. Nothing worth doing is ever easy though I suppose. So, campus is now dealing with this in addition to the MN marriage amendment with clearly religious undertones. We're busy.

My heart is heavy.  Mostly because I've spent a decent chunk of the last few years fighting for equality and acceptance on behalf of my friends and family.  It can be sometimes hard to see the progress or avoid discouragement when the setbacks hit so close to home.

I'll end with this.  During Dr. Patel's book talk, he told us we are only as loud as the noise we make.  It is our job to be loud when it comes to interfaith cooperation and in this case, love and acceptance of our fellow humans.  Those who feel God condemns homosexuality and LGBT individuals as sinful have spoken loudly, I hope those of us who oppose those sentiments can raise our own voices with tones of peace and love to a level of equal or greater volume. I have faith we will rise to the challenge.

I wish you a peaceful week.

-Megan