FEATURE STORIES: June 10, 2007
PRIDE WEEKEND “OVER THE TOP”
by Rev. Dan Hooper
The Christopher Street West Pride Parade was a big blast for those who watched - and those who paraded! The Lutheran marching unit, almost bringing up the rear of the lengthy parade, included 2 vehicles, an enormous banner saying “Lutherans Love .com” and more than a dozen decorated signs bearing the names of twelve Reconciling in Christ congregations.
Before the parade, Rev. Jim Boline (St. Paul's, Santa Monica) celebrated for a joint Lutheran/Episcopal Eucharist service in the parking lot of Bank of America at Laurel and Santa Monica Blvd.
Lutherans got good coverage by local media covering the parade, as the emcee announced the presence of Bishop (Rev. Dr.) Paul Egertson (below, at right) and his wife Shirley over the loudspeakers, also speculated whether next year we’d see Cardinal Mahoney in the parade! (Don’t hold your breath, folks; he has bigger brush fires to put out!)
Tired feet and sunburns were one result for those who walked and rode to make up the Lutheran parade “presence.” But a better result is the satisfaction of reaching out to strangers and telling anyone who’d listen that Reconciling congregations are places of welcome, safety, and hospitality.
As usual, free ball-points and frisbees were given out along the parade route on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, as crowds looked on. Our marchers all wore matching rainbow T-shirts making our faith statement visually: “Lutherans Love.”
The parade generates it’s own energy. For church groups, all we need is to remember that some of the people in our pews—and on our church councils—came to church because we first came to them in the Pride parade.
The Big Fat Gay Church Wedding booth at the Festival was an overwhelming success during the entire Pride weekend!
In the midst of relentless rock sounds from two stages, over-the-top outfits and acres of sunburned flesh on the street, the Lutherans Concerned/RIC congregations’ booth was overrun with visitors all weekend!
No other religious group’s information booth drew as much attention; some sat virtually empty much of the festival, their staffers as lonely as the proverbial Maytag repairman.
Some 350 couples, some with friends, children and even babies in arms, had their pictures taken in our miniature wedding chapel—many of them waiting in line to try on the wedding outfits we supplied—beautiful white wedding gowns for the ladies (or the men!) with elegantly long trains, tuxedo shirts, bow ties and smart jackets for the men (or the women!).
“Free wedding photos!” and “Are you in love? Want to get married?” were the hawkers’ lines as people streamed by. But people stopped to see what was going on, because of the bright photographer’s lights, the huge baskets of wedding flowers, and miniature altar complete with white paraments and linens and flickering candles.
Hundreds of people stopped long enough to enjoy a piece of wedding cake and sip fizzy cider from a bubbling fountain. We distributed a lot of literature, ballpoint pens and customized frisbees each with this web address: “LUTHERANSLOVE.COM”. All told, we went through five sheet cakes decorated with “My Big Fat Gay Wedding.”
But it was the costumes and photography that drew the people. Whenever somebody really cute was posing under the lights, a line began to form behind them. On average, we took a photograph every 4 minutes from Saturday noon when the Festival opened until 9:00 p.m. Sunday night. Each couple (or pair or trio of friends) gave us their names and e-mail addresses so that the photos can be e-mailed out. LC/Los Angeles will also be able to send out more complete information about our churches, our RIC congregations and their LGBT ministries.
Moving Stories. Wedding clothes transformed people. In the midst of hilarity in dressing up for photos, couples—lesbian, gay, and heterosexual—beamed with love and joy at the thought that their love was valued, celebrated, worthy of recognition.
Smiling for the camera, many people were filled with pride and joy. I talked to couples who have been together for as little as 4 months, or a year, all the way up to 30 years. Some had visible tattoos and piercings, others had visible disabilities. Some took to the formal clothing with relish, others wanted to show their buff bodies instead.
People came from at least five counties. Some from as close as West Hollywood, others looking for a tolerant and accepting church in San Bernardino.
Perhaps most remarkable were people who stopped to ask if we were ELCA (they even know the initials!), or if we really would do perform a gay wedding in church. Or if we thought they would go to hell for being lesbian or gay.
One, a graduate of Lutheran Bible Institute, told the sad story of his painful decision not to go on to seminary when he realized he was gay. Another man told me joyfully of his conversion from Baptist to Lutheran in Mississippi— without the approval of his father, a Baptist minster.
Still another told me that her parents would not talk to her for six years after she came out to them. Now that her aging mother is fighting cancer, she feels she cannot be open and honest about the love she has for her partner. Another claimed to be a total atheist but respected other people’s faith. And still another said she was completely confused about which religion to pursue.
Not everyone wanted to share their stories. One man told me, “I still haven’t gotten over what the Lutherans did to me in Minnesota”— and he kept on walking. Another man wanted to pose alone, in a formal suit and bow tie. When he left he almost whispered, “I’m a Catholic priest.”
What is This Marriage Thing? The Lutherans were not the only ones at the Festival promoting same-gender marriage. The good folks at Marriage Equality were there in force to remind people that marriage rights will be broadened in California only with huge efforts from the voters. (See also the important California Faith for Equality at www.cafaithforequality.org --an effort to unite churches in favor of marriage equality.) A westside hotel representative alsostopped by to hand us literature about their great same-sex wedding “packages.” My wallet is stuffed with the business cards of groups wanting to be in touch with us.
State Assemblymember Mark Leno (D–San Francisco) reintroduced the marriage equality bill again this session after Governor Schwarzeneggar vetoed it last year. Last week Leno’s bill passed the Assembly again, by a wide margin, but the governor has already indicated he will veto it again, and wants the people to decide the issue.
In the meantime, the California Supreme Court has yet to render a decision on the lawsuits resulting from Mayor Gavin Newsom’s courageous authorization of Marriage Licenses in San Francisco in 2004. It is still possible that California will legally recognize same-sex marriage.
California already has strong Domestic Partnership legislation that offers many rights and includes binding responsibilities for same-gender couples (or heterosexual couples over age 62).
But why? Traditional marriage is disparaged by many people, from sociologists and philosophers to ex-wives and commitment-phobic men. Is marriage a right, or a recognition, which the LGBT movement should even bother with?
We could see the answer in the eyes of many couples, whose love and joy were unconcealed. We saw the freedom (within the fenced festival grounds) to be themselves, to hug, kiss, hold hands or bump hips as expressions of romance and commitment.
The desire to be in love and feel the safety and security of having a life partner was quickly shared by many people I spoke with. Some couples desperately desire the rights and are ready for the responsibilities.
We did this—under a wedding theme—to show the LGBT public that there are Christian churches out there whose doors are wide open to them, and that we believe God’s blessing comes to those who love. A festival’s party atmosphere isn’t the best place to talk deep theology. But our message came across clearly: “Lutherans love.” We are not the right-wing loonies who hate, and who worship a God of hate.
Huge Efforts, Many Thanks. The weekend was enormously successful and totally exhausting. Our feet are still stinging, our ears still ringing.
More than 25 volunteers, primarily from St. Matthew’s Lutheran (North Hollywood), Hollywood Lutheran (Hollywood), and St. Matthew’s Lutheran(Burbank/Glendale) provided rotating coverage for all hours—even up to midnight Saturday. We packed in our supplies, food, literature, ice chests, posters, banners, flowers and furniture, lights and cameras. Then Sunday night, we had to pack it out again.
Now there’s laundry to do! The wedding gowns will be cleaned, the tuxedo shirts pressed. The photos will be sent to 350 individual addresses over the next few weeks.
Dozens of observers offered congratulations on our booth and theme. One friend told me that “My Big Fat Gay Church Wedding” was all the talk at the Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce booth elsewhere on the festival grounds.
What’s next? I’m not sure we could “top” this idea next year—or duplicate it at other pride festivals because of the enormous logistical burden. But the Wedding Chapel might be back in WeHo next year. We’ve gathered suggestions from volunteers, and from amateur advertising experts who commented. And I have a hunch if we do it, people will come looking for it.
Photos of the parade can be seen on one of the websites of Hollywood Lutheran Church at www.hollywoodlutheran.net.