Dear Friends in Christ,

As anticipated, the state Supreme Court has made its decisions.  For many of us in this Conference and the United Church of Christ, the two decisions were expected and even understandable (from the court's view) but the one confirming Proposition 8 was nevertheless deeply disappointing and frustrating.  For some whose lives are directly impacted, the feelings run deeper and are profoundly painful. What in the world, we ask, does 'equality under the law' mean when some crucial rights are denied to a minority of folks?  How can it be in this country that a slight majority of people can deprive a minority group of rights which that majority enjoy?  What will happen if---or when?---'we' (Christians?) are the minority if we now tolerate majority discrimination?
 
The struggle will, of course, go on.  And most of us are confident, as one leader has said, that the tilt of history into the future is in the direction of full equality.  But every day that passes with families unable to make crucial medical decisions for one another or children denied married parents because of Proposition 8 is a day when justice has been deferred too long. Though some deny the analogy comparing justice for same gender loving persons with justice for people of color, as I turned again to the writings of Martin Luther King, I was encouraged anew by his passionate pursuit of justice for all people and his determination not to settle for 'waiting'.  At the same time, he was strategic as we must be.  And he was consistently filled with hope.  He often quoted Victor Hugo and once noted that Hugo had written, "There is no greater power on earth than an idea whose time has come..." (MLK, 1961 "The Time for Freedom Has Come"). 
 
I believe that the time for freedom and equality for all people in our country has come and that our nearest achievable frontier is this one of marriage equality.  There are other journeys to travel (women still earn on average less than men; too many immigrants are denied basic process and human respect and more...) but this one's time has come.  We who follow Jesus know of his extravagant welcome to all.  Never is he remembered as commenting at all on matters of same gender relationships.  How can we his followers not work for the rights of all of God's people?
 
Yes, I do know that there are some who will read this and disagree strongly with what I am advocating. And that's ok too.  I will forever defend your right to disagree with me, with this Conference's statements on marriage equality, with the United Church of Christ.  And I believe in the value of vigorous engagement around matters of justice.  We stretch and grow together in such engagement.
 
But finally I appeal to those on all 'sides' of this issue to put the same kind of energy you may be preparing to put into your own advocacy and activism on these matters into building relationships with those who disagree with you.  If your church had a 'Vote NO on 8" banner and your neighboring church had a "Vote Yes on 8" banner, go to your neighbor and say, "Can we talk and pray together?"  I am committed to justice in marriage equality but I am also committed to the hard work of building relationships across the barriers that divide us because we are called to "be one" in Christ.   Neither alone is an easy path and together they are a juggling act requiring extraordinary practice and inordinate effort.  I know this all too well and know I am not urging a simple thing. But if John 17 tells us anything about what Jesus asks of us, it is that the 'world' needs us to show the love of God in somehow, against all odds, 'being one', by the incredible power of love.
 
In prayer with you for justice and for love,

Jane