BY AJ TRAGER
Rt. Rev. Wendell Gibbs pondered what the "sanctity of marriage" is that the current Michigan ban on LGBT marriage is trying to protect? Gibbs described it as the love shared between two people, no matter what their chosen gender identities are. BTL photo: AJ Trager
To oppose the current proposed legislation allowing legal discrimination under the guise of religious freedom sign this petition
ROYAL OAK –The 10th Bishop of the Diocese of Michigan for the Episcopal Church delivered a speech of peace, love and change Dec. 9 before many community members of faith.
Gathered in St. John's Episcopal Church in Royal Oak and hosted by the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, community members heard Bishop Gibbs speak on the sanctity of marriage, the harms currently being done by the Michigan Legislature against LGBT and religion and how the state is attempting to control the actions of and speak for the Church.
"Growing up as a baby boomer, I saw marriages: happy marriages, bad marriages, folks who should never have gotten married, folks who never did get married, folks who got married too many times, folks who got hitched but didn't know anything about marriage and folks who found somebody to say a few words to but didn't know anything about sanctity."
So what is this sanctity of marriage that the current Michigan ban on LGBT marriage is trying to protect? Gibbs described it as the love shared between two people, no matter what their chosen gender identities.
"You know what I think the sanctity of marriage is? When two people love each other and trust each other enough to be able to have a conversation about their life and what it means, future and what it means, especially together; when two people, who know of the love of God, want to share that love with each other and family – however they define that – and they want to commit to one another for life. That's sanctity."
Currently, a couple cannot get married in Michigan without the state's approval because it is a state contract. Too often, the state asks faith leaders such as Gibbs to work as an agent of the state.
"I didn't get ordained to be an agent of the state; I am an agent for God. Since when did God's agents need the state to do anything?" Gibbs asked the crowd.
"The recent activity in Lansing scares me a little bit, because they are trying to make it legal for anyone to turn down a sale simply because it would be against their religious beliefs. And that worries me," Gibbs said. "Even with the conversation we're having, this is one short step away from saying, 'Oh, you're black, we're not going to sell to you. You're Asian, we're not going to sell you a house.' It's a very short step."
What came out of the Q&A section of the conversation was a call for a Religious Leader Policy Network. This would serve as a group of religious leaders that keep tabs on legislative policy that is being pushed through Lansing, who would organize the religious response to any bill that threatens the civil rights of all "God's children," in this particular instance, protecting the LGBT community.
In the example of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), passed by the State House on Dec. 4, members of the audience expressed concern that legislators in the state Capitol are seeking to pass such a bill allowing for legal discrimination. Together they asked what could be done in the days remaining before the end of the lame duck. Gibbs, and other community voices from the crowd such as Kevin Hogan of the Michigan Round Table, suggested calling state senators and Gov. Snyder to express concerns and to get the word out to family and friends about MiRFRA.
"What I want to see happen, particularly here in this state, is to gather up some of the energy that we have used to help change the Episcopal Church and change this state. I have learned in the 15 years I've been here to be very afraid from Election Day to Jan. 1. Some of what goes on in Lansing is unbelievable. Some of what is done in the name of representative government is pure evil. The good news is we get a teeny, tiny hint right before they go into vote and we can go show representation. We have to do more."
A petition gathering signatures of support for stopping MiRFRA has already, as of 4 p.m. Dec. 10, gathered 42,000 signatures since Dec. 9 and will be delivered to the Michigan State House, State Senate and Governor Rick Snyder. Sign the petition at: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/michigan-citizen-against.fb51?source=s.fb&r_by=12028607.
