Civil rights activist recalls days of danger, victory

[kweerwolf]

He was the only white member in a group that touched off the civil rights movement in the 1950s.

Today, he carries his story to students at Bridgewater College, along with a message that tolerance is about more than skin color.

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But while he acknowledged that great strides have been made in bringing equality to blacks, he said other minority groups had not received the same attention — specifically gays and lesbians. He continues to push for tolerance and acceptance of homosexuals through organizations inside and outside the Lutheran church, he said.

The issue of gay rights came to a head locally in July. A vandal set fire to St. John's Reformed United Church of Christ in Middlebrook and spraypainted the building with anti-gay graffiti after the denomination voted to allow individual congregations to decide whether or not they would marry gay couples.

"They are one of the few minorities that are systematically denied rights by law," said Ed Piper, pastor of Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Waynesboro. "I was disappointed that there were not more religious leaders in the Valley, in the Staunton area, that would speak out against what happened in Middlebrook."

http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS01/509290316/1002

With so much emphasis on the fundies and there perversion of what Christianity means, it's nice to see some straight persons of faith really do understand the struggle for LGBT rights.