This Site Aims to Promote the Historic Oil Region of Northwestern Pennsylvania as a Welcoming Place for All and to Challenge the Bigotry of Those Who Seek to Exclude Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender People from Open and Equal Participation in Community Life, particularly the Venango County-based Hate Group known as the American Family Association of Pennsylvania. Learn more at OutintheSilence.com
Friday, October 2, 2009
Film: CALL ME TROY
Call Me Troy is the truly inspirational story about a remarkable and dynamic individual whose activism was decades ahead of its time; the Reverend Troy Perry.
Rev. Perry is perhaps best known as the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church - the first church to recognize the spiritual needs of the gay community - but his “firsts” don’t stop there. He was the first openly gay person to serve on the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations. In 1969, Perry performed the first public same-sex wedding in the U.S., in 1970 he filed the first-ever lawsuit seeking legal recognition for same-gender marriages and he was instrumental in turning back the wave of intolerance that swept the nation in 1977 that began with Anita Bryant’s Save the Children Campaign. From presidential advisor to outspoken advocate, Perry has been on the front lines leading the charge for equal rights and protections for gay men and lesbians the world over as well as providing a place for all people, gay and straight, to worship side by side.
Call Me Troy celebrates Rev. Perry’s life as a civil rights hero and his legacy of spiritual service to the GLBT community where he had the audacity to claim Christianity for himself and his community. Documenting four decades of unwavering service, this film is a nostalgic reminder of where we come from for some, and an astounding story of our roots for others.
See more at Call Me Troy
gawd, is he still around. I feel so old. He was the first to come out of the closet and push for gay and christian reconciliation.
ReplyDeleteI have been torn about this issue for years. Part of me feels like yes, go into the churches, be yourself and question, openly, the bigotry as a member of a congregation.
Use the teachings of Jesus to promote tolerance and love.
The other side of me feels like the church is so corrupt with greed, money and power that it will always pander to the lowest common denominator, which of course means preaching fear and using scapegoats.