Testimonies from St. Louis

It Can Happen

1979 Berlin, Germany
The Army sends me here, to The Wall.
It's not like the old Wall, hastily constructed,
brick piled on brick,
cement dripping out between each one.
No, the new Wall is an engineering perfection,
tested so the best athletes in the East
could not climb it,
a smooth, rigid line snaking through fields and city streets.
"Die Mauer Muss Fallen".
A nice sentiment, I think.
But it will never happen
in my lifetime.

A decade later, it is gone.

1985 Newspapers: South Africa
The fight against Apartheid goes on,
the tension growing daily.
"Aluta Continua."
Indeed, the struggle continues
and will not end
without rivers of blood
in my lifetime, I think.

A few short years later, it is gone.

2002 St. Louis, Missouri

I stand with Soulforce
outside the convention center.
Inside, the Southern Baptist Convention is meeting.
They use hateful words against us,
stoning us with passages from the Bible.
We stand in vigil outside,
praying, singing, crying.
I think they will never change
in my lifetime.

Then I remember The Wall.

Kay Teeters, 2002

So Great A Cloud of Witnesses

When I walked into the sanctuary that was serving as Soulforce Central in St. Louis, I was immediately surrounded by an intense cloud of witnesses. Laminated pictures of people who were murdered or committed suicide because they were transgendered, lesbian, bisexual or gay hung at regular intervals along the outside walls, and on the ends of the pews. We took some of those pictures with us each time we vigiled outside the convention center where the Southern Baptists were holding their yearly meeting. And on Tuesday, the day of the direct action, Soulforcees were lining one side of the sidewalk approaching the center with those pictures while several of us were offering "Why We Vigil" pamphlets on the other side.

Seared in my heart with those photos is the image of a Southern Baptist family in their church clothes walking between those two lines. Trailing behind the parents was a girl perhaps 10 years old. She took the pamphlet I offered her. I pray to Godde that someone who needed that pamphlet desperately was able to read it. I will probably never know. I do hope that some day that little girl will understand why we were there. My dream is that she will experience adulthood in a world where Soulforce will no longer have to vigil with churches over just treatment of lesbian, transgender, bisexual and gay people because folks with a rich diversity of gender and sexual orientations will be welcomed and celebrated fully in faith communities around the globe.

We proceeded from that vigil line to the press conference across from the convention center, and then in two lines across the street to reform in front of the building facing the center on the opposite corner. Those of us who planned to be arrested were in the front of the vigil line. We had a very good view of the police officers massed in front of the main convention center doors. Many were wearing full riot gear with face shielded helmets, and intimidating batons. At first I was overwhelmed, but members of my small group were close beside me, and eventually, other Soulforcees stood at our backs holding umbrellas to shield us from the sun after we had surrendered our caps, sunglasses and all other extra items as preparation for the arrest.

The four of us from my small group crossed that turn-around together, holding hands tightly. The police quickly surrounded us, placed glasses, shoelaces, etc in sealed plastic bags with our names, which were then put beside us on the seats after we were loaded into air-conditioned buses, separated with men in one and women in the other. Once at the jail, the police processed us quickly and efficiently. The eighteen women had a wonderful time swapping stories in the holding cell - and if anything, it was over too quickly. There was a car caravan waiting outside to take us back to Soulforce Central, where we were greeted with an even greater outburst of clapping and cheering than had greeted us many times along the way.

The high point of the day, however, was being at the downtown jail when the 12 brave souls who'd done their direct action *inside* the convention center were finally released around 8:30 at night. They were treated to a banquet back at Soulforce Central, and regaled us with stories about the witness they made ... both inside the center, and inside the jail.

So great a cloud of witnesses - those in the photos, those in Soulforce, those for whom we vigiled, and all who held us in prayer, enabling us to do what we did.

May shalom transform us all -
love -
Sylvia

Maybe it was because I was so busy and preoccupied most of the days in St Louis; but this Action just had a whole different feel for me. I felt it was a real Action of Futility. Those people are so closed minded that I often wonder if they even now accept that maybe they were wrong about Slavery and so many other things. I saw in the Paper this morning that an SB minister is calling Mohammed "demon-possessed pedophile" ; and is being backed up by the Powers That Be in the conference. I'm not sure if you can ever get through to people who are so in lock-step with Ignorance!! But, we'll keep nailing our Petitions on their doors; in the hope that maybe one day, some of them will begin to question the Authority of their church.

On the day of the Action, 3 of our Squads were walking over to the Marriott to be a presence as the delegates left for their meetings. As we were crossing the street; I noticed a car sitting at the cross-walk, and the driver had "that look". Just as I got in front of him, he reved the engine and lunged forward. I continued to walk, eyes forward, with no reaction. My walking partner was a first-timer; and nearly freaked. She said: He almost hit you. I told her to not react and to keep walking; that thats what he wanted. At the hotel, several said they admired my cool. I said: hey, when you've been Queer for ages, you get used to Hate. They cracked up!

Take care, friends. It was so great to see you again, if only briefly. See you in Lynchburg??? Love ya's

Larry and Larry

Soulforce St. Louis by Cris Elkins

This was the first time Soulforce has tried to take our message inside a convention. For 3 years the Southern Baptists have refused to dialogue with Soulforce. We had no choice but to escalate our nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience to achieve our goal of reconciliation. I was honored to be one of the 12 that infiltrated the Southern Baptist Convention. We were arrested trying to reach the podium to deliver a prepared statement from Soulforce. I was privileged to spend 8 hours in a cell with Rev. Jimmy Creech, who sacrificed his calling as a Methodist minister for our cause. Jimmy defines love! This was an experience I will never forget and perhaps the highlight of my life.

We were also inspired by the presence of Mahan Siler, who performed the first same-sex ceremony in a Baptist church in 1992. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh was subsequently kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is now retired and writing a book about his journey of acceptance and affirmation of GLBT people. Pullen Memorial has just installed a lesbian to co-pastor with Rev. Jack McKinney, who arrived on Monday to be a part of the Soulforce action. This church is serious about doing justice. I should also mention Rev. Gwen Trullinger and Centenary United Methodist Church, our host and Soulforce Central in St. Louis. The St. Louis chapter of PFLAG provided coffee, tea, juice, soda, bottled water, and thousands of doughnuts and assorted pastries the entire 5 days of our action. What an example they set.

A memorable event was the showing of "This Obedience", a 90 minute documentary about Anita Hill that is sure to win awards. Anita Hill, whose ordination as a lesbian in the Lutheran church caused so much joy and controversy, was also there to inspire us. The Soulforce action at the ELCA Convention in Indianapolis is part of "This Obedience" and many of us had a chance to relive this emotional experience. Included was the Soulforce press conference with Phil and Randi Reitan and their gay son Jake. This Lutheran family had everyone in tears. I heard that one of the most touching moments in St. Louis was the arrest of the Reitan family as they marched arm in arm to the doors of the America's Center, pleading for Dr. Merritt to hear their story.

"Son Led Journey from Grief to Pride", an article by Randi Reitan, was featured in our June PFLAG newsletter and I got an emotional hug when I gave her a copy of the newsletter. Jake Reitan is now young adult coordinator for Soulforce. He had everyone in tears again in St. Louis during the young adult caucus. Corey Hidelbaugh, another young adult, had us alternately laughing and crying. These passionate young people give me great hope for the next generation.

As always, there were lots of tears and hugs during "telling our stories" in the sanctuary at Centenary UMC on Monday before our action. The Southern Baptists had been invited but, to my knowledge, none came. The stories were recorded and we plan to send tapes to as many of the Southern Baptists as possible. Hopefully our stories will change some hearts and minds.

The next Soulforce action will be our return to Lynchburg, Oct. 25-27. It will have been 3 years since our first Soulforce action in Lynchburg when Jerry Falwell promised to tone down the hateful rhetoric. The anti-gay rhetoric and untruths continue. We intend to hold him accountable. Nov. 10-14 will mark our third presence at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington D.C. If you feel the call to do justice, go to www.soulforce.org and register.

My Thoughts on SBC - St. Louis June 2002

How do I convey how important returning to St. Louis became as the date came closer and closer. St. Louis is a City where so many important changes in my life have taken place.

St. Louis is the place where I came to realize myself as a lesbian and the city where I met Jean, my partner of 25 years. It was important for me to remember why I was returning at this time to this place. Not to come face to face with my history but to do Justice with my sisters & brothers in Soulforce.

Jean and I had volunteered to help Judy with registration but the horrors of trying to check into the hotel left us to late for that by the time we reach Centenary. The stress of the check-in and getting to the church was totally erased when the greetings and the 'family reunion' aspect of Soulforce gatherings began.

Two days of workshops, music (Bless you David North & J.D.) put us all in the spirit of task we were all about to take on. Philip Lawson and Arun Gandhi being there to raise our spirits and encourage our hearts eased the sadness of not having Bob & Jeannie Graetz with us. Bless you both.

There were odd moments of great joy like walking into a restaurant in our Soulforce t-shirts and having the wait-staff greet us as though we were family or friends. One place even let us know that their employees would be coming to stand in support of us. The manager's partner is on the police force. I introduced her to Diana so that she could thank someone in the core group personally for the video that Soulforce had sent to the St. Louis Police Department letting them know who we are and why we were coming. That had never been done before.

Then we were into the streets to vigil and hopefully dialog with the SBC Messengers. This year was different in that more of them stopped to let us know that they were sorry that we (Soulforce ) had to be subjected to the presence of the Phelps' and their signs.

I even had a young man who came back two days in a row to speak with me and to get a hug. He & I agreed that if all the tenets were followed and he didn't also love me, he had wasted his time. In his words the second day when I brought it up again, he said that if he followed it all and didn't love me that he didn't love God. He also said that he would seek out Gay Christians in Dallas, the city where he lives, and open dialog with them. If you look at Chuck's photos on the website he is the man in the black shirt talking with me.

Originally I didn't think that I would be able to be arrested but was told that the monies would be made available. Mahalo (thank you) to whom ever made those funds available to me. It was so emotional passing the Swat team members on the way to line up with others who were going to cross the street and be arrested and then looking across the street at the police officers in full riot gear was a bit scary. Knowing the history of racial problems in St. Louis made me reach out and touch Tony's hand before we started out across to attempt entry to the Center.

My plastic handcuffs were (unnecessarily) tight leaving indentations on both wrists for a day but I chalked that up to voluntary redemptive suffering and accepted help getting onto the bus. The policewomen and the driver were pleasant and the Officer in charge at the workhouse made sure that we didn't get to hot waiting our turn to drive in (turning off the bus would cut off the air conditioning). It was a bit chaotic in the beginning getting us all (first the men, then the women) booked in and the cuffs cut off and ID bands put on. The men went into one holding cell and the women another. Someone realized that there were first time Soulforce arrestees among us and began introductions. We didn't do any singing but there were some interesting conversations while we waited for the attorney to arrive. Unlike those arrested inside the Center, we in the workhouse weren't offered anything to eat or drink but the facilities were better than Cleveland (toilets with some privacy & 2 benches for sitting).

When the process for release began I was ready to go but even being the 4th woman in I was the last out and had started to wonder if something had happen that was going to keep me there. I think the policewoman realized my fear when she came for the last woman in the holding cell with me and said to bring the last two together (bless her though I don't know her name). Walking out into the sunlight and into hugs and shortly after bottles of water was wonderful.

Arriving back at the Church and into my partner Jean's arms was more welcome than I can begin to tell. I know how hard it is for her to watch the process of my arrest and I want to say Mahalo me kealoha for your own voluntary redemptive suffering.

Looking forward to Lynchburg, not knowing how I will be able to raise the funds for such a long trip but I was part of the promise to return. Falwell didn't keep his word so we must keep ours.

See you all in Lynchburg!

Sandy (back on Maui & missing all of you)

Dear Friends,
Bob and I will never forget how we spent our 35th wedding anniversary. Doing justice warms our hearts. Nothing is more important than the physical and spiritual safety of our children.
Jeaneane

Infiltrating the Southern Baptist Convention
June 13, 2002

My husband and I spent June 7-11 with Soulforce studying the nonviolent teachings of Martin Luther King and Gandhi. One of our teachers was Arun Gandhi, the fifth grandson of Mohandas Gandhi. We were choosing to spend our own thirty-fifth wedding anniversary preparing to bring to the Southern Baptists our message that their practices and teachings about homosexuality causes spiritual and physical violence and death to our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender friends and pain to their families. We were determined to do something to help make this a better world for our gay son.

On June 10th our actual anniversary Bob and I attended separate trainings. He prepared to vigil outside the Southern Baptist Convention while I prepared to infiltrate the convention itself. During this time 12 Soulforce trainees were isolated from the main group and trained by our lawyers, policewoman and our spiritual leaders. I began to feel some of the fear, anxiety and stress that I have heard expressed by my glbt friends when they must hide who they are. We were preparing to trespass.

Together we appeared as six heterosexual Southern Baptists couples. We proudly represented the glbt community and allies. We wanted to fit in so we were naturally concerned about our clothing. Sunday best was suggested. We planned strategic seating positions. We practiced nonviolent ways to defend ourselves if we were physically attacked. We prepared mentally to control our own violence of tongue and heart.

For three years we have sent our stories in letters, tapes, and emails to all the messengers that come to the convention asking them to simply meet with us. This year we asked them to denounce Judge Roy Moore, a Southern Baptist for his life threatening statements that included execution of glbt people. They refused. By their silence the Southern Baptists teachings perpetuate killing, intimidation, and hate crimes against people that I love.

My partner was Jimmy Creech, the straight Methodist minister who lost his church and ordination in 1999 when he performed a holy union for a gay couple. Both of us spent restless nights. We were anxious but determined to do our parts. Per instructions we made no eye contact with our Soulforce friends stationed at the entrance to our hotels. We felt guilty and pained when we deliberately turned our eyes away from our comrades.

Purposely ignoring our orderly Soulforce friends Jimmy and I entered the arena expecting to be snatched away by security at any moment. It occurred to me that this must feel somewhat similar to hiding your sexual orientation or gender identity at home or work or church. My palms were wet and my mouth dry. We were prepared to cover up our participation in Soulforce for only a few hours. How horrible it must feel to have to hide everyday.

We found seats where we had planned. We discussed whether we should lie about who we were if someone asked our names. Should we invent more things. We decided to be as truthful as we could. My stomach churned. The music was beautiful and very energetic. I felt Jimmy about to break into dance and thought if he wiggles just a little more we will be caught. As I looked around people were reacting to it very conservatively and there was no dancing. We conformed.

We clapped when everyone else clapped but even in our clapping we were lying. We did not agree with statements denouncing our glbt friends. We did not agree politically etc but we clapped. We endured the verbal insults from the speakers and from those behind us. Then it began and our first couple which included a transgender woman started yelling their message. We were in front and could barely hear them. The ushers and police were swift and removed them.

By the time it was our turn Jimmy and I had a little different plan. We were the last couple to go. We wanted to reach the podium and deliver our message but we could see that it would be nearly impossible. So instead of going together we decided to deliver ours a few seconds apart. With our hearts racing, palms sweating we began. Jimmy started forward. I waited a few seconds and while seated I simply turned to those around me and deliberately looking each person in the eyes said “My gay son is not sick.” The Southern Baptists were polite and shocked. I stayed down in my seat delivering my message over and over face to face until one woman started waving her hand and then I stood up yelling for all I was worth. In seconds a hand firmly grabbed my elbow and quickly rushed me from the auditorium. I continued to shout my message.

I joined my Soulforce friends in a back hallway and was handcuffed. We were joyful and thrilled. Our fear and anxiety was gone. We were doing justice and willing to pay the consequences. Eventually we were booked on a felony charge with discrimination. It constituted a hate crime to disrupt and point out that Southern Baptist teachings kill our glbt friends and children. The charges were later reduced. We had complete confidence in our Soulforce lawyer who works with the city attorneys. Eight hours in smelly jail cells, singing freedom songs was little to pay to help get the truth to our Southern Baptist friends.

We were able to tell our stories to many people while in St. Louis. We talked to police, waitpersons, hotel clerks, store clerks and many more on our plane ride to and from St. Louis. We told our stories to each other. When glbt people are called unfit parents, pedophiles, murderers or unchristian, etc it is our moral obligation to show and tell the truth. My husband and I are determined to remain on this journey of justice until our son has a safe and equal place in this world.

We are determined to let our faith community know that their silence also contributes to this spiritual violence. We invite you to see the Soulforce website, www.Soulforce.org and see how we have been inspired. There were 50 arrested in St. Louis but hundreds stood outside in solidarity. We need those who will stand in support and make a difference. I do this not with numbers in mind but for the strength and pride that I feel when I know that this is just and right. "My gay son is not sick". He makes me proud just the way he is.

By the way my straight son is just as beautiful and should anyone treat him unfairly I would be back on the battle lines for him too. Bob and I agree that this was a memorable anniversary and we would not have wanted to celebrate it anywhere else with anyone else.

Seattle can be proud that four participants were from here. Mike Perez, Judy Osborne, and myself Jeaneane Hill were arrested from inside the Southern Baptist Conference. Just as important the fourth Seattle participant my husband, Bob Hill stood in solidarity with hundreds in vigil in front of the hotels, and at the conference.. Please help grow this movement and join us in local training. Soulforce In Washington is officially formed and we are prepared to train in nonviolence. We intend to focus on these issues locally and support our national movement too.

Thank you,
Jeaneane Hill
Soulforce In Washington
hotpotswa@hotmail.com

Jeaneane has given a wonderful report from inside. Let me see if there is anything I can add in terms of the experience. Chris Elkins (from Fredericksburg, Va) and I went into the convention together. We boarded the shuttle bus at the hotel and sat in the middle of the bus, so as to be able to go into the center with a crowd of people. We heard a number of negative comments about the folks vigiling as we entered. The twelve had all agreed that we should be in place around 8am. I was worried that I might be identified since there are pictures of me, as Core Team member, but we had no problems getting in. Chris and I were both a bit nervous making a number of runs to the bathroom. I did chat for a bit with a couple next to me who seemed very pleasant. As Jimmy put it in his debriefing after about an hour and a half he looked at his watch and it said 8:20 a.m. The time inside did seem interminable. Finally the time arrived that we had all agreed upon to start.

It was hard to hear anything, but I knew the different routes that we had discussed so I kept my eye out and while I didn't hear anything I could see Steve and Judy being escorted out. We tried to allow approximately two minutes between each couple, so just as things would appear to be calming down, another wave would come forward. We were supposed to be the fifth couple, but we couldn't tell if Mari and Mark had simply been taken custody without our being able to tell, so Chris and I started down the steps and once we reached the middle section each of us began to try and get Dr. Merritt's attention asking him to listen to us. It took very little time for the security to get to us, but we continued asking Dr. Merritt to listen to us, clear up to the door out of the auditorium. We both seemed to go on auto pilot once we began calling Dr. Merritt's name and neither of us have much memory of what was said. We were blessed to have our wonderful film chronologer, Ruben inside and he caught almost all of it on film.

As we were waiting to be transported to the jail, we chatted with everyone who came by, and had a wonderful conversation with the local police. We continued that discussion with everyone we met as Jeaneane said, we engaged almost everyone in a dialogue about why we were there. None of the police could believe we were being charged with a felony trespass and kept putting in the codes for misdemeanors. When it became clear that they did intend to charge us with a felony and to add the hate crimes part to it, you could tell from the faces of the police how amazed they were. Several said they had never seen such a thing before. As we were processed, we could hear people screaming from their cells in agony, evidently going thru drug withdrawals. The screams were heartbreaking. We took some time to pray together for the person who clearly was in so much agony.

The guys got to stay in the general population and be together, but the women were each separated into individual cells where we were not able to even see one another, but could hear one another's voices. We kept our spirits up by talking and singing but 10 hours eventually wears down the voices, and some of us were able to take short naps on our steel cots. Because they had taken even our glasses, none of us were able to see the innumerable forms they kept requiring us to sign.

Finally about 8pm they told us that the charges had been reduced to a misdemeanor and that the paperwork was being done that would get us released that night. Up until then it looked seriously like we would be spending the night. This experience was in some ways a lot like Cleveland and in other ways much worse than Cleveland.

Shortly after we got there they offered us plain baloney sandwiches with wonder bread. I turned it down, remembering the green baloney of Cleveland, but Jeaneane, trooper that she was, said it tasted really good, and I did take a sandwich. It did taste good, but the by the time we got the second one around 5 or 6 pm, it nauseated me. This, for me was much harder time then Cleveland, because I wasn't able to be in the same cell as any of the others. I kept thinking of the other women who were in here. Women who had no support system like I did. I knew that whenever I was released there would be a crowd to welcome me home. But what about those women who had no one waiting for them? And I kept reminding myself however much harder this one was from the previous ones, this was clearly lightweight compared to what so many of the prisoners go thru.

By 9:30 our attorneys had gained our release and we left the jail, singing We Shall Overcome, into the waiting arms of our Soulforce family. We returned to Soulforce Central for our "first supper" and shared our experiences and watched the video that Ruben had so amazingly been able to take right in the midst of our adversaries.

I suspect we can expect that things will probably get a bit tougher, before we win this fight. But win it, we will.

Kara Speltz

Journey to St. Louis: Delivering the Pro-Gay Message to Southern Baptists
Laura Montgomery Rutt
June 12, 2002

As I sat in the office at my home in Lititz, PA on the first day of June, I contemplated what was going to happen in the coming week. As media coordinator and spokesperson for the national organization Soulforce, I knew I had my work cut out for me: we were planning a civil disobedience at the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in St. Louis to protest their anti-gay policies.

Soulforce, an interfaith movement committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people (GLBT), was founded when co-founder Rev. Mel White organized a meeting of 200 gay-rights activists with 200 followers of Jerry Falwell in October of 1999. The next month, Soulforce supporters converged on a small town in Nebraska for the United Methodist Church's trial of Rev. Jimmy Creech.

I had been Rev. Creech's spokesperson and media coordinator when Soulforce decided to protest the United Methodist Church for the anti-gay policies that brought a compassionate and dedicated minister to trial for performing a holy union for 2 men. In a decision that shocked and saddened many people, Rev. Creech was found guilty of violating the Discipline of the United Methodist Church and stripped of his ordination. I have been with Soulforce ever since. I now serve as media coordinator for Soulforce, and Rev. Creech serves as chairperson of the Soulforce Board of Directors.

Since then, I have been to and helped organize, recruit, and promote protests at the denominational meetings of the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church in America, and the Southern Baptist Convention, as well as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and even the Vatican in Rome.

Our message is that anti-gay church policies, teachings, and rhetoric lead to suffering and death for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. We believe that religion is the root of suffering and prejudice against GLBT people.

This is the message we tried to carry to the Southern Baptists for three years in a row. We have asked the President of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to join us at press conferences to denounce violence against GLBT people, as well as repudiate hateful rhetoric by prominent Southern Baptists against GLBT people. Not only has he refused, he has added his misguided rhetoric to the cacophony of voices that continue to contribute to the physical and spiritual violence against GLBT people.

Centuries ago, churches believed that the earth was flat, based on the Bible. Years ago, churches believed that slavery was ordained by God, based on the Bible. The church was wrong then, and it is wrong now. Homosexuality is NOT a sickness, not a sin. I believe that homosexuality is morally equivalent to heterosexuality and homosexuality is no more of a "sin" than being left-handed.

I have met and protested with countless Christians who believe that church teachings about homosexuality are absolutely wrong. I have heard story after story about suicides, gay bashings, and violence that were motivated by what the church and church leaders have said about homosexuality. I have become convinced that what I am doing is absolutely the right thing to do.

I landed in St. Louis on June 6, anxious and excited. We had 3 days of training in the nonviolent principles of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. before our direct action on June 11. In fact, Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, lead the trainings. Most of us have been through these trainings before, and some of us take part in training others who are with us for the first time. Many have been to Soulforce actions in the past, many have not.

Soulforce was also present at the SBC's annual meetings in Orlando in 2000 and New Orleans in 2001 to protest their antigay policies and teachings. Soulforce participants were arrested at both those meetings as well. However, this marks the first time that Soulforce has participated in a direct action that took our message opposing anti-gay rhetoric, policies, and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) inside a meeting.

I watched with extreme pride as 200 Soulforce participants lined the entrances to the America's Center and watched and cheered while the 38 people were arrested outside the convention. Many carried signs that said, "Stop Spiritual Violence." A banner that said, "Southern Baptist Teachings are Killing God's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Children" was prominently displayed for all those who were watching.

I walked inside the convention center and watched as twelve Soulforce protesters were arrested, two by two, as they stood on the floor of the convention delivering our message to the thousands of people at the SBC's annual meeting during an anti-gay speech by SBC President James Merritt. All those arrested were trained in nonviolence and did not resist arrest. All were lead away by security and/or police without incidence.

Those arrested on the outside were charged with 2 city ordinance violations, and released after a few hours. Bond was set at $200, and court cost will be added.

The 6 pairs of Soulforce protesters who stood and addressed James Merritt and the Southern Baptist Convention were escorted out by security and booked on a felony charge of "Ethnic Intimidation" and a misdemeanor trespassing charge. The felony charge was dropped, and arrestees were allowed to go on their own recognizance after several hours in jail.

Some people criticize us, saying that we will never change the Southern Baptists. This may be true, but the work we are doing is empowering people, gay and straight, to stand up against injustice. Working for justice is powerful work, and its rewards are many.

Many of the people there have been arrested many times. Their courage emboldens me. Unfortunately, I am not one of the lucky ones who get to go to jail. My job requires me to stay out of jail, so that I can keep the local and national media informed about what is going on. Sometimes I feel left out, but I know I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing, using my skills to do justice, promote equality, and empower others to stand up for what is right.

Laura Montgomery Rutt

AND FROM AN ANONYMOUS SOUTHERN BAPTIST

I learned about your organization during your work in St. Louis this week. As a Southern Baptist, I just wanted to share with you my support of your work and my continued hope that some day our denomination will quit being hateful about so many things and will stop the subjugation of so many of God's people. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you as we continue in this struggle.

Printer Icon Printable version Email Icon E-mail this article 

Email Article: Testimonies from St. Louis

Friend's Name:
Friend's Email:
Your Full Name:
Your Email:
Send a copy to yourself
These email addresses will be used to send on your behalf the Soulforce article titled Testimonies from St. Louis along with any personal message you add below. We will not add either of these email addresses to our email list from this form.
Add a personal message: (optional)