Hello Friends,

I've been think a lot about you all as you head towards the Conference's consideration of the resolution on marriage equality.  I commend all of you for the hard work and preparation that has gone into proposing the resolution.  It is a strong, well-written resolution worthy of serious consideration.

At the same time, I am also keenly aware of how well the message against marriage equality has been offered.  I want to emphasize and encourage the continued preparations necessary to effectively address the voices of opposition and those who are in the middle, struggling deeply with this issue.  I never ceased to be surprised at the energy and emotion this issue can bring.  In my experience, good preparation is the key to moving forward in healthy and positive ways.

I want to share some things I have found helpful in the various settings I have had the opportunity to participate in the debate.  I realize they are unsolicited, but hope you find them helpful and receive them in the affirming and supportive spirit in which they are offered:

• Keep it real.  Share the real-life stories of how marriage has to do with real people who are part of real families, emphasizing how these couples ought to be able to choose to avail themselves of all the legal rights, benefits and privileges that civil/legal marriage offers their relationship and their families.  Stay on message about the rights, benefits and responsibilities that civil marriage provides for families and children.  Why should any child be made vulnerable under the law because that child's parents happen to be the same gender?
• A variety of voices need to be heard, including both gay and non-gay voices, racial/ethnic voices, parents and grandparents, as well as young voices.  Encourage a variety of people to be prepared to speak out, and to engage in conversations in the hearing, around the edges, and in the plenary, especially with folks who are in the middle and struggling to decide.  Be a good listener and when you respond--keep it real!
• Work to understand where the opposition is and what their arguments are--spend time with them one-on-one.
• Be mindful of the power of language.  The terms "marriage" and "civil rights" are often emotionally debated.  Do some homework to be aware of why using the term "marriage" is important in both civil and theological contexts.
• In arguing over the use of "civil rights" language, it is possible to "win the battle, but lose the war."  Using terms such as equal rights and civil liberties will more often further the cause.  When civil rights language is used, distinguish between the historic Civil Rights movement and this civil rights struggle.  I have found it helpful to place marriage equality alongside the many struggles for equality in our nation and world, including the struggles of women, persons with disabilities and people of color.  There are civil laws that create the civil right to marry, and thus, the struggle to change these laws so that all citizens may have equal access to those rights is a struggle for civil rights, the civil rights of marriage.
• If appropriating language from Martin Luther King, Jr. and others from the historic Civil Rights movement, I am reminded that MLK appropriated a great deal from Ghandi's struggle for independence in India.  Rep. Byron Rushing, an African-American Mass. State Legislator, has also commented on this by saying that the power of language is not so much in the speaker, but in the hearer.  Throughout history, more and more people have heard themselves in the words, "We the people"--slaves and immigrants from Europe, women and persons with disabilities, and LGBT persons.  Many of us LGBT persons have listened to the words of MLK, Jr. and have marched in solidarity in the struggles of other people.  At the same time, we have heard ourselves as being among the people who are oppressed by unjust laws.  While there are important and significant differences between the struggles of the Civil Rights movement and the freedom to marry, the struggles are similar in at least one way, both are about justice for all.
• Human Rights Commission (HRC) and Freedom to Marry have a list of civil rights and racial ethnic leaders and organizations who support the civil right to marry.

Dealing with questions

Based on experience, you can probably count on people to ask certain questions.  Here are a few with talking points.  I encourage you to think about other questions or challenges that may be offered, and prepare to address them.

Why is it necessary for the Conference to adopt a resolution on this issue?

In the UCC no church can speak for another church, in fact, no particular setting of the UCC, such as an Association, Conference or the General Synod can speak for any other setting of the church.  But any setting can speak to any of the various settings of the UCC, from the local church to the national setting and beyond.  This issue has come to our nation, our state, our communities and thus, to our churches.  From the UCC's historic and prophetic voice on issues of justice, civil liberties and religious freedom and in light of our 25 plus years as an Open and Affirming Conference it is important for us speak out on this concern and to stand in solidarity with those are not being treated equally under the law.

Why marriage? Why not civil union?

• All states grant marriage licenses through which couples receive legal rights, benefits and responsibilities under both state and federal law.  Civil/legal marriage is the only way a couple's relationship may gain legal standing under both state and federal law.
• Under the full faith and credit clause of the US Constitution, marriages performed in one state are to be recognized and respected in every other state in the union, and through international comity laws, in every country throughout the world.
• Civil union is not recognized by federal law and does not, would not offer any of the more than 1,100 legal rights, benefits and responsibilities recorded in federal law.
• Civil union exists only in the state of Vermont and is not recognized across the state lines of Vermont.  In other words, it has no validity in any other state.
• Civil unions do not provide the same legal rights, benefits and responsibilities as marriage.  Any couple who chooses to have a civil union and remain in Vermont still receives fewer rights in comparison to their married friends and neighbors.
• In the words of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, when asked this question by the Mass. State Legislature, "The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal."

Just a reminder:  Religious institutions are not required to solemnize civil/legal marriages or civil unions.

Dealing with theological challenges

"But the Bible says..."  Be prepared to confront selective literalism.  A good resource to review is the UCC's Confirmation curriculum sections concerning the Bible, lifting up the critical, contextual way we study scripture.

Demonstrate how the values of the gospel speak to covenantal relationships beyond the gender binary, e.g., Galatians 3:23-28.  The gift of committed, loving relationships is something to be blessed and celebrate by the church.  Marriage is one of the rites of blessing which may be performed when two people decide to live in committed covenantal relationship with each other.

The General Synod Pronouncement, "Civil Liberties without Discrimination Related to Affectional or Sexual Preference" which was adopted in 1975, has been reaffirmed by many subsequent Synods.  The Religious Perspective from the pronouncement declares:

"Christian love for God and our neighbor compels us to cherish the life and liberty of all women and men.  We proclaim a unity under God which transcends our divisions, and find in Christ our measure for being human.

"As Christians, we seek to personify the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ and to follow Christ's example in our relationships with others.  This means that we try to have love and respect for each other--for individual well-being, quality of life, personality, dignity and self-actualization.

"The Christian churches have a long tradition of concern for human justice and civil liberties.  From the days of the Hebrew prophets, we have been charged to pursue justice for all who are oppressed.  In its most faithful moments the church has been recalled to the words of Amos, "I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies? But let justice roll down like the waters, and righteousness like a might stream."  (Amos 5:21, 24)  Insofar as the church has been concerned for social justice, it also necessarily has been concerned for civil liberties.  Historically, branches of Protestant churches have been the most significant single influence in the rise of concern for basic civil rights in the Western world.  The tradition of the United Church of Christ is a particularly rich heritage of such concern.  First suffering the denial of liberty at the hands of both civil and ecclesiastical authorities in the Old World, our ancestors claimed these rights for themselves in the New World.  Realizing that the rights of none were secure until the rights of all were secure, our ancestors-in-faith gradually extended their civil liberty concern to the whole of society.

"In faithfulness to the biblical and historic mandate, we hold that as a child of God, every person is endowed with worth and dignity that human judgment cannot set aside.  Denial and violation of the civil liberties of the individual and her or his right to equal protection under the law defames that worth and dignity and is, therefore, morally wrong.  Our Christian faith requires that we respond to the injustice in our society manifested in the denial and violation of the civil liberties of persons whose affectional or sexual [orientation] is toward persons of the same sex."

Blessings to you all!
--Mike
__________________________________________________
Rev. Mike Schuenemeyer

Executive Health and Wholeness Advocacy Office
Minister for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Ministries
HIV/AIDS and Global Health Ministries
United Church of Christ - Wider Church Ministries
700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115

UCC Marriage Resources now online

Soulforce talking points