Before getting on a cross-country bus tour with 26 other people whose homes are hotel rooms in the vast urban sprawl that surrounds cities as varied as Minneapolis and Malibu, my partner and I lived with about 80 other people in a little mountain village called Holden in the North Cascades. Though the two experiences both offer deep learning about what it means to be in community, there are some major differences. Holden, for example, being situated literally in the middle of a wilderness area, is a whole lot quieter. There are no phones there, no television networks or ring tones. At night, after a full day of work at the hydroelectric plant or the compost piles or the kitchen, people return to their rooms in huge old chalets and the valley hushes. Occasionally, as part of our daily communal worship, we would walk to the creek that wound through ‘town’ and listen for the word of the Divine in the sound of the water going over rocks. Even our songs and shouts of greeting were muffled by the endless silence of mountains standing all around us.

Noise has been one of the hardest things for Allison and me as we’ve moved from Holden to the ‘outside world.’ Semis passing on the highway, twelve different phone conversations when we step into a restaurant, sirens of all kinds that always make us feel as if we need to jump up and report for fire brigade duty, which is the only explanation for sounds as piercing and horrible at Holden.

Maybe that’s why this morning at Yellowstone Baptist College was so powerful for me. Our vigil the day before had been difficult––the school’s refusal to engage in dialogue, weather, the occasional hostile passerby. Yesterday had been raw and challenging, a clear picture of what we’re up against as activists when so much of the Christian community isn’t ready to accept the reality that LGBT people have been created good. Today, we wanted to come to campus with the intention of honoring what was beautiful about our time there. We decided on a shorter vigil and we decided on silence. We wanted to reaffirm our loving intentions for YBC and its students in a way that would open a space for the Spirit to continue her work. In silence, in single file, we walked from the bus to the gates of the school. In silence, we faced the school and opened our hearts to our hopes for change.

As I prayed for guidance about what could move YBC and the Equality Ride out of our present impasse, I thought of Jesus and the clarity he brought in situtations where church doctrine was crowding out God’s good intentions for humankind. I thought of Earth, how she teaches that it is our interrelatedness that makes us whole. In silence, the two teachers brought me to a place of peace and as I imagined the hearts of my fellow riders filling the way mine was, I was grateful. Grateful for truthspeaking in bad weather. Grateful for quiet. Grateful for schools where LGBT students will someday see their hopes for change fulfilled.

On Thursday, April 19th, the Westbound 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride visited the smallest school on its itinerary, Yellowstone Baptist College. YBC holds a student population of approximately 50 students and is affiliated with the Montana Southern Baptists. As one might imagine, it was an interesting day in Billings, with half as many Equality Riders as students, driving wind and rain, and a parade of mixed emotions from community members and students.

In keeping with the school’s ecumenical focus, stop organizer Emil Pohlig decided to send a scripture-focused message to the YBC community. Each Rider stood along the school’s driveway holding a lily and a scripture reference of their choice. We began our vigil at approximately 10:00 AM. It was 35 degrees, with rain and winds at 28 miles per hour to the northwest.

We stood there until 1 PM.

Yellowstone Baptist College President William Phillips made this statement on Wednesday, before our arrival: ‘”The students at Yellowstone Baptist College are adults who believe in our mission and agree to uphold our stated policies. Our policy affirms the biblical standard that human sexuality is God’s gift to human beings and is to be expressed only within marriage between one man and one woman. We do not discriminate–all sexual intimacy outside of marriage is wrong.”

I agree that human sexuality is a gift given by God. And since all people are made in the image of God, every person’s sexuality is a gift from God. Are God’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children not as gifted? Are we less than? No, we are not. I take my inspiration from Romans 12:4-7. “A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. God has given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do so according to the amount of faith that we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.”

I have great faith that every part of me was fearfully and wonderfully made by God. I have great faith that every part of me, and every action I take within a truly loving relationship, is affirmed and looked upon with honor by God. My faith is not measured by an allegorical Creation story. It is not measured by social constructs. It is not measured by misinformed interpretations of Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic biblical texts. It is measured between myself and my God.

When President Phillips came to the gates of the school, welcomed us to Montana and let us know how sorry he was that we had to stand in the cold and rain before going back inside, my heart broke.

We concluded the vigil by delivering our scripture verses and lilies to the steps of the chapel, then left the unwelcoming doorstep of Yellowstone Baptist College for our bus, which had no heat due to a long-broken valve. A deputy from the local sheriff’s department boarded the bus and informed a group of wet, cold but determined Equality Riders that the act of leaving fifty-two lilies on campus was considered trespassing, and if it was done again, we would be arrested.

Those could have been fifty-two lilies presented to the students of YBC as a gesture of peace and reconciliation. Instead, they represent for me the fifty-two lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth who take their own lives every thirteen days that people are barred from having this conversation. They represent fifty-two children who will never grow up. They represent fifty-two families ripped apart by hate. They represent fifty-two people who stand outside the gates of their communities and churches, as we stood outside the gates of Yellowstone Baptist College.

In light of the horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday, we made the decision not to return to our vigil line at the Brigham Young University-Idaho campus. Instead, we chose to use that time to reflect, mourn, and re-focus. I, personally, spent a few hours on Monday night staring at the television screen, which was probably more time in front of that contraption than I have spent collectively on the ride thus far. The scenes of students being carried out of Norris Hall by police officers, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, put a feeling in my stomach that I would compare to burning acid. I thought hard, and remembered the faces of the many friends that I have made on this trip… college students, just like the ones on the TV screen. I came to the conclusion that it is not even possible for me to imagine what this tragedy is like to the students on the campus, the families of the victims, and to the city as a whole. I won’t even try to imagine. But my thoughts and prayers are with them.

At 12:30 p.m., we gathered on the Big Gay Bus and headed to Nature Park to do some community service. Our projects included trash pick-up, leveling the ground around some trees, and trimming foliage. It was an enjoyable opportunity for us to be outside, in nature, working with the soil.

Afterward we visited another park, Porter Park, to eat some light snacks with students and community members. We had chips and strawberries, candy and cookies, juice and soda. We played ultimate frisbee and had good conversations with BYU-Idaho students and many allies from Rexburg and nearby cities. This blog would not be complete, however, without noting that the police chief, who has been exponentially helpful and kind during our visit to Rexburg, surprised us with fried chicken to feed the whole group. I want to take this opportunity to express appreciation to that man, who showed us a compassion and hospitality that we would have otherwise missed out on completely while in Rexburg. The community of Rexburg owes this man much respect. If not for him, I would have seen little resembling Christ in that town.

Rexburg’s slogan is America’s Family Community, so we held pictures of our families as we stood in a vigil line outside of BYU-Idaho’s campus today. These were great ways to start conversation with the students who came to speak with us.

Several community members joined us. One woman had grown up in Rexburg and came back to participate in the vigil today. She and the Rexburg chief of police realized they had been next door neighbors when she was a child. She also recognized our sole major heckler as a teacher she’d had in 4th and 6th grades.

In the afternoon, eight riders walked onto campus holding their family pictures. There was definitely a hush as they entered. Though riders have been arrested before, this was the first one I’d been able to see in action. I found myself getting a little teary-eyed as one by one, they put their pictures down on the walkway and were led away by BYU-Idaho security.

There seems to be a certain theme running through many of the conversations at the schools that we visit. This is the idea that we all can agree to disagree on the issue of LGBT rights on college campuses. I have been part of so many conversations on these campuses that revolve around the idea that we can get to know one another, find out similarities and talk about our faith and still disagree on whether or not it is a sin to be LGBT. This was definitely the theme of many of the conversations I had at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho.

The day started with a quick briefing and breakfast with our hosts. My host’s name was Trish and she was great. We shared similar tastes in music and it was cool to hear of her future plans in the music business. After breakfast she gave me a quick tour of the campus. After the tour we moved back to the Brandt Center and watched “In God’s Image,” one of our presentation groups. Mike asked me if I would help out in the question and answer period. I agreed and this is when the theme of “agree to disagree” started. The man who was moderating the Q & A portion asked the question “Is it possible for two people in a relationship to disagree on subjects and still love one another?” My response was “Are you asking if it is okay for someone to love a LGBT person but ‘disagree’ with the fact that they are LGBT?” He responded, “No. I was just wondering if there can be disagreements and love in a relationship. My wife and I have disagreements and we still love each other.” Well obviously I wasn’t going to let him get away with this. “Of course it is possible to have a loving relationship with disagreements,” I responded, “but when it comes to the issue of being LGBT, you cannot love us and not accept all of our being.”

This was the answer I ended up giving two young women at lunch as well as a young man in the afternoon. It was the same answer we as a group gave to the chaplain of the college when he said that we need to agree to disagree on this subject so that we can have dialogue. No, we don’t need to agree to disagree. We need to agree to learn from one another. We need to agree to see each other as full humans. We need to agree to accept and love all of God’s creation regardless of our gender identity or sexual orientation. That’s what we as children of God need to agree to: equality.

In the evening we visited the UCC church in town and had supper. It was so refreshing to be around a group of people who not only said that they welcomed our visit but actually showed us this welcome through true hospitality and support. We were able to fill our bellies, have conversation and play Frisbee in the back. Eventually, some NNU students showed up and we went to the school across the street to play Ultimate Frisbee. Now, I haven’t worked out since Milwaukee but I was still able to keep up with most of them. Most, I say. The kids from NNU were really good at the game and definitely were welcoming of us. We had a great time and were able to connect as people. I must say that during our game of Ultimate Frisbee there was no need to agree to disagree. We needed only to see each other as human beings who are created in the image of God and loved by that God. We needed only to see each other as equal.