Contact: Laura Montgomery Rutt
Cell: 717-278-0592
email:
soulforcemedia@aol.com
On June 11, hundreds of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals and allies will converge on the America's Center during the first day of the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC's) annual meeting to distribute flyers, hold a press conference, and conduct civil disobedience. This is the third year in a row that Soulforce has been present to protest anti-gay Southern Baptist teachings during their annual meeting.
http://www.religionnews.com/press02/PR060402.html
Soulforce, the gay rights group that led a protest resulting in 191 arrests and led by the Rev. Mel White--who is not a United Methodist--has already said it will bring 1,000 people to the 2004 meeting to be arrested, maintain a financial and talent boycott of the church and picket Methodist congregations that do not accept gays and lesbians.
Conservatives, meanwhile, leave the Cleveland convention with a sense of affirmation. They say the gay votes signal that the church is unwilling to move toward the left, and that their hold on the vast middle will continue into 2004 and beyond.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/24/story_2463_1.html