If this email is not displaying properly, click here to view the online version in your browser.

Soulforce Email Letterhead Image

Soulforce Observes the Passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell

Today, the staff and board of directors of Soulforce observe the passing of Rev. Jerry Falwell and offer our sincere condolences to his family, the members of Thomas Road Baptist Church, and the students at Liberty University.

"While Soulforce has a long history of nonviolent direct action at Jerry Falwell Ministries, our adversary was never Jerry Falwell, but rather the misinformation about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people espoused by Falwell and so many others," said Soulforce Executive Director Jeff Lutes.

Soulforce was founded in October, 1999, when Rev. Dr. Mel White and his partner, Gary Nixon, took 200 delegates to meet with Rev. Falwell and his representatives. The purpose of the meeting was to help end hate speech and violence against sexual minorities. Prior to coming out as a gay man, White ghost wrote two books for Falwell (If I Should Die Before I Wake and Strength for the Journey).

Upon hearing the news of Rev. Falwell's death, White said "It breaks my heart to think that Jerry died without ever discovering the truth about God's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender children. I sincerely hope that one day his school and his church will have a change of heart."

Soulforce remains committed to changing hearts and minds and ending the political and religious oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

Soulforce and Jerry Falwell at the Habitat groundbreaking in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1999.

The goal of Soulforce is freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious and political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance.

Thank you for your continued interest in the important work that Soulforce is doing. You received this email at %BASIC:EMAIL% because you are subscribed to the Soulforce Email List.

To read past Soulforce email alerts go to www.soulforce.org/email.

To modify your account details, please click here.

To unsubscribe please click here or simply reply to this email with the word REMOVE in the subject line.

If you received this email from a friend, you can sign up for the Soulforce email list by going to www.soulforce.org/subscribe.

To donate to the ongoing work of Soulforce please go to www.soulforce.org/donate.

Soulforce, Inc., P.O. Box 3195, Lynchburg, VA 24503