We are boldly standing on the side of love in the face of fear.
On February 14th, Loudoun County will be one of over 80 communities across the nation holding a Re-imagining Valentines Day event. Especially after the damage and embarrassment caused to our county by the behavior of the Sterling supervisor, this healing event is very welcome.
National Standing on the Side of Love Day…
…Valentine’s Day Re-imagined
Sunday, February 14th, 2010 will be ‘National Standing on the Side of Love Day.’ Join us and celebrate a Valentine’s Day re-imagined. Love is about more than romance, greeting cards and chocolates. We want to celebrate love’s power to transform communities!
Sunday February 14th, 12:30-2:30 pm
Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, 22135 Davis Drive, Sterling VA
Contact: Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael
703-731-9018 (cell)
minister@uusterling.org
Standing on the Side of Love, Panel and Public Forum
Standing on the Side of Love in Loudoun County Virginia means healing old wounds of oppression and exclusion and building a welcoming community. This event is open to all, especially those who are wondering why some ministers, elected officials, and other community leaders have chosen to speak up for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning citizens and their rights.
Too much of our public discourse is driven not by love but by fear, which often scapegoats particular people and deems them somehow less than human. This forum will invite participants to engage in a civil discussion in the hopes that we will all learn a bit more about what it means to be partners in our shared humanity by moving as a community beyond tolerance toward welcome and acceptance.
This is an opportunity to ask questions of these leaders whose work shapes our Loudoun County:
Stevens Miller (Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Dulles District who recently submitted the successful proposal to amend the county government’s policy on equal employment opportunity, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity), Wendi Manuel-Scott (Professor of African American Studies at George Mason University who recently produced a documentary on the lives of GLBTQ African Americans on Campus), John Stevens (Loudoun County School Board Chair), Joy Cobb (PTA president, and lesbian parent,) and Lori Stevens (president of Loudoun Education Alliance of Parents, and Board member of PFlag.)
Facilitator: Rev. Lisa Kemper, The Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun
Sponsored By: The Standing on the Side of Love Campaign, The Unitarian Universalists of Sterling and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun.
What: Reimagining Valentine’s Day by Standing on the Side of Love, Panel and Public Forum: to heal old wounds of LGBTQ discrimination in Loudoun and to rally support for creating a more welcoming community.
Where: The Unitarian Universalists of Sterling, 22135 Davis Drive, Sterling VA.
When: Sunday February 14th, 2010 / 12:30-2:30.
Contact: Press, RSVP to Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael at 703-731-9018 or minister@uusterling.org
The Standing on the Side of Love campaign, sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association, seeks to harness the power of love to stop oppression, exclusion, and violence.
In the course of a hilarious ongoing blog marathon in which “conservatives” are insisting that “nobody cares about this,” my wording above has been misrepresented to mean that this event was somehow sponsored by our county government. If it were not faith-based, I think it would be a very good sort of event for our county government to sponsor; however, it is clearly stated to be sponsored by the Unitarian Universlists of Sterling and Standing on the Side of Love, which are religious organizations. “Loudoun County” refers to Loudoun County, VA, a place where people live and whose borders define the geographic area to which this organization’s mission applies. Yes, I am laughing out loud as I type this.
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