Today at Montreat was great, especially as our fourth school visit that welcomed us on as guests to talk with students. We arrived in Montreat, a hamlet in the mountains of North Carolina, at 7:00 am. During our campus tour we learned that Montreat was not only a school, but also a convention center and small town. All property in Montreat is privately owned, so it was quite fortunate for us that it was a welcoming school. The campus is beautiful, mainly composed of stone from the surrounding region. After our tour, we were allowed to spend time on campus and talk to students. This is always a bit of a nervous time for me, wondering if students will want to talk at all, but of course there are always more students wanting to talk to us than we could possibly meet in one day. Montreat has fewer than 500 students at their main campus, and I feel like we met more than half of them.
Unfortunately, while some at the school were welcoming, we did not get to meet all the students who hoped to speak to us. Several members of the girls’ softball team advocated for our visit and were excited about us coming. We were told that, in response, the school changed the game schedule sending the girls to an away game. Had they missed the game, scholarships would have been lost. Even though we didn’t get to meet them, I do hope the friends we met and the change we made will help them in the end.
I had an amazing conversation with one student over breakfast. The only exposure he really had to LGBT people before was a lesbian couple who were his neighbors growing up. Although they had been rejected from their church, he remembered that they were amazingly devoted Christians. We talked about classes and theology and such, but I think he was surprised to learn that many of the Riders are Gay Christians. He was even further surprised that we hold that being LGBT and Christian are not, and should not be in conflict. I don’t think he really understood until he heard our stories and how we came to our conclusions though. For me, it comes down to loving God and loving my neighbor as myself. I shared with him that while I was closeted, I spent so much time and energy being afraid and self-loathing that there was no way I could have the energy to really love. Just like any relationship, if we don’t love ourselves it makes it impossible to show true love to others, including God.
We hung out for the rest of the day, met other students and played foosball. Many of the other students I met had spoken to other Equality Riders earlier in the day and came to me with specific questions, clarifications, or just to thank me for coming to campus. We heard throughout the day that some students were not happy we were there, but most of my interactions were really positive.
At 2:00 we went to the presentation where members of our group spoke and presented on spiritual violence and how often violence of the tongue often leads to physical and emotional violence. As Matt later summed up, “As people who have been violated, had violence committed against us from religious representatives, we only asked that they listen to us for once and hear our stories from our perspective.” Unfortunately, the faculty chosen to speak in response didn’t really listen. One professor, in fact, presented an extensive paper he had written on why we are wrong and, as “unrepentant homosexuals” should be disciplined or excommunicated from the church. I found his paper rooted in traditional patriarchy found in far too many communities. Basically, gay and lesbian relationships do not allow a woman to properly submit to a man “as the church submits to Christ,” which, according to this perspective, is the entire purpose for women having been created at all. He also challenged our view of love, showing that Christ himself rebuked those doing wrong. In an ironic turn, he read how Jesus refuted the Pharisees for turning people away for legalistic reasons that were actually the opposite of the law Jesus lived and fulfilled. I think the irony was lost on him, however.
Luckily, like at the other schools we visited, many students were able to see our basic humanity. Even those who yet may not be able to agree with us theologically were able to understand that exclusion and spiritual violence have divided and hurt the Body of Christ and were able to see us as fellow Christians and people.
After our school visit, we went to a dinner hosted by the local Unitarian Universalist Church, which several students attended. We were able to recap our day with students and really begin to see the lasting impact our visit will have on the campus. Bringing the movement for LGBT equality directly to the Montreat campus and providing examples of young gay and transgender people who take their faith and lives seriously will prove to be a great service to the students we met and the entire community.