And to add more fun to this right wing hate fest, it's being protested for some yet unannounced reason by the Phelps Phamily. My educated guess is because of who's sitting in the mayor's chair right now.
If you have a problem with me calling it a hate fest, too bad. The American Family Association that is sponsoring this event is a documented hate group
So as I continue to tell you peeps, some Texas cities are oases of tolerance in our red state full of conservafools Houston is one of those oases of tolerance and this statement calling out the event was recently released by the Houston Clergy Council
June 13, 2011
As Houston clergy, we write to
express
our deep concern over Governor Rick Perry’s proclamation of a day of
prayer and
fasting at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on August 6th. In our role as faith leaders, we
encourage and support prayer, meditation, and spiritual practice. Yet our governor’s religious event
gives us pause for a number of reasons:
We believe in a healthy
boundary between
church and state. Out of respect
for the state, we believe that it should represent all citizens equally
and
without preference for religious or philosophical tradition. Out of respect for religious
communities, we believe that they should foster faithful ways of living
without
favoring one political party over another. Keeping
the
church
and
state
separate
allows each to thrive
and upholds our proud national tradition of empowering citizens to
worship
freely and vote conscientiously.
We are concerned that our governor has crossed the line by
organizing
and leading a religious event rather than focusing on the people’s
business in
Austin.
We also express concern that
the day of
prayer and fasting at Reliant Stadium is not an inclusive event. As clergy leaders in the nation’s
fourth largest city, we take pride in Houston’s vibrant and diverse
religious
landscape. Our religious
communities include Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews,
Muslims,
Sikhs, Unitarian Universalists, and many other faith traditions. Our city is also home to committed
agnostics and atheists, with whom we share common cause as fellow
Houstonians. Houston has long been
known as a “live and let live” city, where all are respected and
welcomed. It troubles us that the
governor’s
prayer event is not open to everyone.
In the publicized materials, the governor has made it clear that
only
Christians of a particular kind are welcome to pray in a certain way. We feel that such an exclusive event
does not reflect the rich tapestry of our city.
Our deepest concern, however,
lies in the
fact that funding for this event appears to come from the American
Family
Association, an organization labeled a hate group by the Southern
Poverty Law
Center. The American Family
Association and its leadership have a long track record of anti-gay
speech and have
actively worked to discriminate against the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender community. The
American Family Association and its leadership have also been
stridently
anti-Muslim, going so far as to question the rights of Muslim Americans
to freely
organize and practice their faith.
We believe it is inappropriate for our governor to organize a
religious
event funded by a group known for its discriminatory stances.
As religious leaders, we
commit to join
with all Houstonians in working to make our city a better place. We will lead our communities in prayer,
meditation, and spiritual practice.
We ask that Rick Perry leave the ministry to us and refocus his
energy
on the work of governing our state.
Signed,
Rev. Dr. Jeremy Rutledge,
Minister,
Covenant Church, Alliance of Baptists/American Baptist Churches
Rev. Douglas Anders,
Conference Minister,
South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ
Rev. Paul Beedle, Unitarian
Universalist
Rev. Dr. Ginny Brown Daniel,
Minister,
Plymouth United Church, UCC
Rev. Beth Ellen Cooper-Davis,
Minister,
Northwoods Unitarian Universalist Church
Rev. Michael Diaz, Director of
Connections, Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
Rev. Pat Farnan, Resurrection
Metropolitan Community Church
Rev. Lura Groen, Pastor, Grace
Evangelical Lutheran Church
Rev. Teddy Hardy, Minister,
St. John
United Church of Christ
Rev. Lori Keaton, United
Church of Christ
Rev. Harry Knox, Senior
Pastor,
Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
Rev. Janice Ladd, Executive
Pastor,
Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
Rev. Dr. Becky Edmiston-Lange,
Co-Minister, Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church
Rev. Mark Edmiston-Lange,
Co-Minister,
Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church
Rev. Dr. Margie Latham,
Minister of
Administration, Covenant Church, Alliance of Baptists/American Baptist
Churches
Rev. Mona Lopez, Volunteer
Staff Clergy,
Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
Rev. Laura Mayo, Minister,
Covenant
Church, Alliance of Baptists/American Baptist Churches
Rev. Dr. Daniel O’Connell,
Senior
Minister, First Unitarian Universalist Church
Rev. David Pantermuehl, Grace
United
Church of Christ
Rev. Adam Robinson, Assistant
Minister,
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Rev. Ken Richter, Senior
Minister, First
Congregational Church, UCC
Rev. Bill Royster, United
Church of Christ
Rev. Sam Schaal, Transition
Minister, Bay
Area Unitarian Universalist Church
Rev. Robert Tucker, Executive
Director,
Foundation for Contemporary Theology
Rev. Ernie Turney, Pastor,
Bering United
Methodist Church
Rev. Bonnie Vegiard, Unitarian
Universalist
We add our names in support of
the
Houston Clergy Council statement released June 13, 2011
Rev. Katherine Fox, Christ United Church of Christ, Garland, TXLeif Hatlen, Board Member, Houston Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and StateMichael Pardee, Executive Director, Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance at Rice UniversityDr. Linda Piper Price, Houston, TXRev. Paul Walley, National Campus Ministry AssociationRev. Kevin Young, Pastor, Linden United Methodist Church, Linden, TX
