Believe Out Loud

Launching Believe Out Loud!

Believe Out Loud, a trans-denominational effort to promote LGBT equality, has just been released! It is here--among congregations who are committed to full inclusion of queer people--that the center of this new movement will gather its strength. This is a movement for LGBT equality seeks to emerge from Christian congregations instead of over and against the religious community.

Do you wish to become involved? Here are some resources for your own congregation:

1.Use illustrations about the importance of a public witness for LGBT equality in sermons, prayers or liturgies (look for liturgical suggestions in the next edition of OUT Loud news) so that it is clear that your congregation's leadership supports equality for queer people and that there is an openness to expanding the dialogue among those who, for whatever reason, are struggling with this issue in their lives. Announce that a new resource, www.believeoutloud.com, is available to help with this conversation. Print the announcement in your morning bulletin or newsletter.

2.Use your Sunday gathering-when the largest number of your congregants are present--to introduce an ongoing educational, programmatic or social action initiative that will help move your members from fear to compassion, from ignorance to understanding or from apathy to action. Announce this publicly in your congregation.

1.Use Believe Out Loud T-shirts, buttons or pins now available for sale (see article below) in worship. Affix name tags to the T-shirts that say, "Ask me about…" or put a notice in your bulletin encouraging those without the pins or shirts to ask about them; equip those wearing the articles with a standard answer, which is the theme of the Believe Out Loud effort: "Believing that LGBT persons should be welcomed is not enough; we need to Believe Out Loud." You might choose to give a gift of an enamel pin or a T-shirt to a member or members in your congregation who have worked hard for LGBT equality. Have all members of your choir or youth group wear the T-shirts together as a visible witness to the cause. Use a flip video camera or take digital stills of your efforts and send them to believeoutloud@intersectionsinternational.org so that they can be included on the website

And, of course, be creative. Your congregational leadership is in the best position to understand the hopes and expectations, needs and fears among your members. Use this occasion to set the issue of LGBT justice squarely on the front burner, and know that thousands more will be doing the same across the denominational landscape and throughout the country. For those who have been engaged in this effort for a long time, this marks a new way of working together. For others, it is just the beginning. Together, we can change the equality equation and people of faith can lead the way.