From the awesome people at the Human Rights Campaign

It's easy to be angry when...

...the Vatican instructs Catholic Seminaries to look for "evidence of homosexuality" in seminarians and priests.

...pastors in West Virginia and Massachusetts are ousted by their churches for supporting GLBT rights.

...a child is expelled from a Christian school because her parents are lesbians.

The truth is, religious fundamentalists are controlling the conversation about values in America. And right now, it is only getting worse.

The Human Rights Campaign is done with being angry about the hateful actions of so-called religious leaders. And we're done with letting them do all the talking. We're launching an unprecedented campaign to "change the conversation" with our new Religion and Faith Program. Will you help? Click here to make a contribution to take the program from a plan to reality.
The Religion and Faith Program is best described by a conversation I had earlier this year, when I began crossing the country to talk about equality. When I spoke with a legislator from a heartland state about marriage between same-sex couples, he said, "Joe, I am ready to help you. But you and I will get nowhere if we can't start really talking to the people in my state, and talking to them in the language of values and faith. Until you can do that, we won't make a difference."

When I returned to DC, we got back to work. It wasn't easy - but we were determined to start changing the conversation. You see, for many of us at HRC, religion has not been a source of solace but, rather, a place of rejection and anger. But we've had to put those powerful emotions aside in order to work with courageous, fair-minded faith leaders from all walks of life to put together a plan for this program. Every day the need for this work becomes clearer. And here's what we're doing, with your help:

Finding and promoting the many equality-minded faith leaders like Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite of Chicago, Bishop John Selders of Hartford, CT, and Rabbi Denise Eger of Los Angeles. It's time we heard their courageous voices in the media to counteract the closed-minded sound bites of extremists like Pat Robertson, James Dobson, and Fred Phelps.

Creating preaching guides and resources about how to talk about GLBT equality with congregations, and then putting them in the hands of pastors, priests and rabbis who are hungry for this help. They WILL preach fairness if they have our help.

Under the leadership of our new Religion & Faith Program Director Harry Knox, we are working closely with individuals and groups who attend temples, churches, and mosques across the country, people who are changing their religions from within. They need our materials, our strength, our support. They need to know that HRC members are standing with them.

This program is the most important campaign that HRC has launched in a long time - and we're doing it on top of our other critical work. Please help us hit the ground running with the full force of HRC's membership - make a contribution today.

I am personally so excited about "changing the conversation." I hope that you are, too. I believe this is the right strategy to fling open the doors of our nation's churches, synagogues and mosques, and to open minds and hearts as well. Thank you in advance for your support, once again.

Warmly,

Joe Solmonese, HRC President


P.S. Do you have a story to share about your religious community? Or perhaps you know of a faith group that is courageously standing up to religious leaders. Let us know. Click here.