I’ve formatted our West bus Equality Ride videos for iPod. You can download them using the links below and then all you have to do is add them to your iTunes Library. They’re all ready to go. Thanks to Adam Britt for hosting the files.

University of Notre Dame
Wisconsin Lutheran University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University – Idaho

West Bus Photo Slideshow

I will add videos from other stops as soon as they’re available.

Enjoy!

First of all, I apologize for the severe delay in bringing you this video. It was completed while I was still on the ride but a series of unfortunate events delayed the release. Thanks for sticking with us and continuing to be interested in the Equality Ride.

As a note, Soulforce will be co-sponsoring a New York Marriage Ride this summer from July 14-27. You can visit the site for more information. Soulforce also has an important Ex-Gay Survivors conference coming from June 29 – July 1. Many Soulforce participants have experienced the pain caused by so-called ex-gay therapy. Hopefully this conference can be a place to start the healing process for the many people who have been victims of anti-gay rhetoric.

And here our video from BYU-I

How does a journey like the Equality Ride end?

Maybe with a colon introducing a list of things to do: “get your evaluations in, write in everyone’s affirmation book, get in that one last smoker caucus, pack, and say ‘good-byes’.”

Or maybe with a dash that completely disrupts our lives and inputs a thought where no thoughts outside of exegesis and vigils have been since February—a plane trip away from a life on the road and schedules that now seem calm comparatively.

It may end with a period that finalizes one moment in time and introduces the next moment. Yes, I can’t wait to see my friends back home.

It seems that it could end with a question mark. What did I learn from the Equality Ride? Whose hearts were changed? What do I/we do now?

I can see how the journey might end with a semi-colon; let’s continue to be Equality Riders wherever we go.

Maybe the Ride ends with a comma, because this is all a work in progress, and God is still speaking.

An exclamation point seems conclusive enough. WE DID IT!

All of these seem appropriate, but, to me, it seems like, although seeds must be planted, progress simply happens. Fears subside as knowledge is gained. And if we were to look at the big paragraph of our experience and turn it into a quote we would need to end with ellipses. “Equality Riders arrested at Brigham Young University and Patrick Henry…city proclamations in Seattle and New York City honor Equality Riders…Equality Ride 2007 ends…Equality Riders continue on to seek equality everywhere they go…”

Yes, that seems about right. Goodbye for now.

Coming to the end of the road has been quite the experience. It is so nice that our co-directors have given us free time on Saturday and Sunday because we all really needed a break! It has been so nice to meet up with the East Bus and hear about their experiences and to just hang out with them on our days off.

On our second day back in Minneapolis, the West Bus sat in a circle and talked about the experiences we had on the Ride. We talked about what we learned and what we will miss most about the Ride. When it came around to me I really had to think. I ended up explaining to everyone that it will probably take about two months for everything to really hit me. It took about two months on the Ride to figure out how much I missed my friends and family at home. I think it will take about the same amount of time for me to figure out how much I miss my friends and family on the Equality Ride.

We have been through the ups and the downs of two months on the road. We know each other so much better than we could have ever imagined at the beginning of January in Austin. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, life stories, and hygiene rituals. Most importantly, I know that each person on this Ride has a deep passion for seeing equality for all people. My family on the Equality Ride has shown me that the fight for justice is not an easy one, but together we can make it happen. I really don’t know what else to say. Call me in two months and I’ll tell you.

It was the final stop of the Equality Ride. For the first time, both buses were going to be visiting a school together. It was almost surreal. Seeing over fifty Equality Riders instead of just twenty-six was amazing. Looking to my left and right, it was great to see two people from the westbound bus. It was beyond a beautiful moment–it was a moment in time that cannot be replaced.

After standing in vigil for over an hour, all the Riders and many community members prepared to step onto campus. It was a beautiful thing to see over eighty people start walking onto campus because they felt the need for this conversation and truly wanted to deliver a message of love, only to be stopped by law enforcement and administration and turned away. Ten Riders kneeled in front of them–this time, half from the West bus and half from the East bus. It was incredible to see the symbol of unity in this message and effort. Many of us were brought to tears.

Many students soon came to engage in conversations with us about how they felt about the topic of “homosexuality.” Some of the students were being friendly, others not quite so. I personally met some students that were very fixed on the thought that we were basically satanic. But I could see how all the Riders were really demonstrating this amazing message of love. It was quite interesting to see how these students were reacting to how loving and polite we were. It was almost as if they didn’t expect us to be courteous.

This stop was really intriguing for me. It challenged me in many ways to know how to express the love I want them to see in me. They recognized this love in us. Although they weren’t returning the same love entirely, they surely noticed that we were seeing beauty and humanity in them. In the end, I feel they noticed the same in us, but were unable to show they noticed it.

Through the conversations that I had with students, I could get a sense of the environment that exists on campus. Hearing what they were taught about homosexuality makes me fear for the LGBT students on campus. But they got the message they really needed when we came. They heard it too.