Signoff from Maine

From the hospitality of Rev. Stephen Carnahan and his wife Judith to the 15 Bangor clergy who stood together for equality, my experience in Maine was overflowing with examples of hospitality, of kindness, and certainly of justice.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have supported Katy Jayne and the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry. A growing progressive voice of faith, the Coalition looks to California Faith for Equality as a model of faith-centered organizing for LGBTI equality.

As the model, CA Faith for Equality is responsible for supporting the work of the Coalition, and as a an organization of shared values, it is (read: we are) responsible for acting those values. To find out how you or your faith community can support the freedom to marry in Maine, contact Katy at kjayne@mclu.org.

Organizer Artwork

We're hard at work in Maine. The Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry has three BIG events coming up:

• Oct. 15th: Bishop Gene Robinson speaking in Portland
  
• Oct. 18th: Interfaith rallies, marches and services in Portland, Auburn and Bangor
  
• Nov. 1st: Interfaith vigils as the intensity of the campaign increases

Katy Jayne, Maine Civil Liberties Union and Religious Coalition Organizer, and I spent Sunday afternoon coming up with a gameplan to develop, support and promote these events. The process was exhausting, but we made organizer art.

Kerry

Shabbat Shalom and Hag Sameach from Maine!

Shabbat shalom and hag sameach from Maine!

We are entering the Jewish holiday, Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, during which Jews traditionally take our meals, even sleep, in temporary shelters reminiscent of the transitory wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
On Sukkot, it is traditional to read Psalm 27:

• 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.
• 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
• 13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

While reading this passage at Temple Beth El in Portland this evening, I thought of our oppressors, those who hold us LGBTI people and allies down, especially those who are currently doing so in Maine. In the Portland Press Herald this morning, Bill Nemitz described a marked difference between the Yes on 1 campaign and the No on 1 campaign: while the Yes campaign puts forth the same 4 spokespeople, uses website images from online stock photo galleries, and ultimately lacks realness, the No on 1 campaign speaks in diverse voices, uses photos of real Mainers on its website, and thrives on the authentic drive of Mainers, not agendas.

Even in the two days since I arrived in Maine, it is clear that our oppressors are using the same language to bear false witness against us. The Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry in Maine is standing for what is just and fair, led by that which is Holy on a path toward goodness.

On this Sukkot, let us all have the courage to be led to goodness in the face of our oppressors.

shabbat shalom and hag sameach,

Kerry Chaplin

Bangor, Maine

15 clergy from a diversity of faith traditions stood for marriage equality in Bangor, Maine, on the northern edge of U.S. wilderness. 7 of those clergy drove nearly an hour to participate. 5 spoke, saying, "Our Religious Coalition opposes Question 1."

When asked why she participated this time, but hadn't before, one clergyperson said, "It's their issue, so it's my issue." Because her congregants had shared with her the significance of marriage equality in their lives, she stood publicly on the lobby stairs of that Bangor church and, with her colleagues, acted for what is right and just in the spirit of her religious tradition.

May we each have the courage to know courage through the practice of compassion.

Kerry Chaplin

Just Arrived in Maine!

Arriving at midnight characterizes the campaign life. Thanks to the hospitality of Religious Coalition organizer Katy Jayne, who picked me up from the airport (at midnight!), and Rev. Stephen Callahan, who opened his beautiful home to me, I'm ready to get a little rest before jumping into the mix tomorrow by helping with a Religious Coalition press event. Looking forward to my first day and CA Faith for Equality's opportunity to support the Religious Coalition.

Peace and Blessings,

Kerry Chaplin