Sufficient Grace

I would like to recognize Dan Savage for founding the It Gets Better Project in response to the tragic increase in LGBT teen suicides. The point of this project is for people to upload videos to let these teens know that, yes, it does get better.

A lot of us at Brite Divinity School have been moved by Dan’s project, and we are also cognizant of the fact that part of the “better” is not just social love and acceptance, but spiritual love and acceptance.  To help meet this need, several Brite students and faculty (myself included) have recorded our own messages of hope for the It Gets Better Project:

As Harvey Milk so famously said, “you’ve got to give them hope.”

Please spread the word, and vote for your favorite video by sending an email with the video link as the subject line (just the link) to: IGBP@savagelove.net.

God bless you and keep you.  All of you

Over the weekend, I attended TCU’s glorious gridiron triumph over Oregon State.  It was a beautiful, moving experience in many respects.  Right at the outset, the TCU marching band’s complex, expertly performed arrangement of the Star-Spangled Banner left a lump in my throat.  And the game itself was magnificent, as were the TCU Showgirls.*

But one moment in particular stuck with me.  I was seated on the border between the TCU and OSU sections, and there was a lot of ribbing back and forth between the two factions – some of it good-natured, some less so.  And when an OSU fan proposed to his girlfriend on the Jumbotron, a couple of the TCU contingent behind me started booing.

Almost immediately, the rest of our section let the boo birds know that their efforts weren’t appreciated.  After all, love is sacred.  And that made me think – what if that hadn’t been a straight couple?  It was a sobering moment in an otherwise delightful evening.

As a straight man, I can walk into a stadium full of my enemies,** secure in the knowledge that my love will be celebrated and defended.  I thank God for that privilege and pray that it will soon be extended to all His children.

*Yes, yes, objectification, heteropatriarchal hegemony, etc. etc.  They’re still amazing.

**As anyone familiar with Southern football culture is aware, this usage is not a particularly large overstatement.