Distill the Sermons

Discernment.
Guidance
from poisoned pulpits
and layered lies of liturgy.

Wash away
years of mis-teachings.

Distill the sermons.

Widen the words to
include All.

Orphaned LGBTQ Christians
have wandered in the desert
long enough.

Call us All to Christ.

Coming Out Every Day

Today on Coming Out Day I don't feel compelled to make a huge statement about who I am. Rather, it is in my daily life that I come out. In daily conversations sometimes guarded with hiccup answers when I use the phrase "my wife" in a hushed tone. I'm envious of those who can openly refer to their spouse without fear of judgement. It is in my daily living when my children's two moms show up to events that my hawk eyes peer for judging glances to protect them from bigotry.

It is our life. It is my children's lives.

Today we will run errands like others, buying things we need to make lunches and family dinners. We will get some festive fall things like pumpkins or maybe a craft. We will follow our agenda. We will do the usual things families like mine do on a Saturday when we're plotting to destroy "traditional marriage"and other guarded doctrine of our society. Our agenda includes a trip to Target, Home Depot and a local farmers market.

Today I thank all of you who support my family and all families who demonstrate the beautiful tapestry of our human landscape as we show the world what love looks like. Whoever you are, either allies or LGBT family, thank you for standing with my family today and everyday.

www.hrc.org/resources/category/coming-out

There's No Place Like Home--TRP--September 18-22, 2013

Words are inadequate to describe the beauty of God's creation I witnessed the several days I spent working at the Reformation Project at Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village, Kansas. I saw that beauty of His creation not in a sunset or mountain top but in His people who are able to hear God calling them to show an offering of His Grace. God's intricate patchwork of his love is evident in each of the 50 Reformers.

Conference notes don't capture the intellectual debates and theological inquiry we saturated our minds in with the guidance of Matthew Vines, TRP Founder. After spending months preparing for our conference by intensely reading over 1,400 pages of diverse theology that represented both sides of the LGBT issue from a biblical perspective we finally got to meet in person. Where keyboards and profile pictures connected us before, now conversations and facial gestures joined us. We were fortunate to be led in some of our studies by respected theologian and Christian scholar, Jim Brownson. He told us, "You are here in the midst of pain. Let's face it LGBT people have experienced pain from the church and I think it's miraculous you are here in spite of that. . . There are new questions we are asking now because there are LGBT Christians and because the spirit is doing something." Dr. Brownson put into words what we all were feeling. Yes, we connected online before meeting in person. We read each other's biographies; we saw a few short video clips and read our classmate's responses to our reading assignments. Nevertheless, it was a substitute for face-to-face human interaction. Because we knew so much about each other before meeting in person, we felt an instant connection, deeper than most would have after only knowing someone for a few days. The Holy Spirit working among us made that connection. Where we felt pain and abuse from our past church experiences, our new Christian faith family healed us. Where we felt abandonment and exclusion from our biological families, our new Christian faith family healed us.

Our worship, fellowship and learning space

Our faith in the American family has been renewed too in that we are privileged to live in a country that is moving toward acceptance of LGBT people that was recently affirmed by the passing of same-sex marriage equality in the United States. But after meeting my fellow Reformers who reside in all areas of America in some states that do not yet have marriage equality laws or workplace discrimination laws, I was soberly reminded how unequal some Americans live every day. Though some may want to ignore LGBT equality, the people and more importantly our Supreme Court wrote that support into law. That statement supporting marriage equality solidified relationships beyond the gender and heterosexual normative we are presented with as the only way for one's life. It also has been opened beyond black and white to the reality that God's creation is revealed in the variety of colors that span the spectrum of the rainbow.

Though we treasure the U.S. victory for marriage equality, the road to LGBT acceptance has been paved with pain, emotional scars and violence; we are beyond fortunate that our alienation has not resorted to a form of sexual genocide, as is the case in Uganda. While at the Reformation Project conference in Kansas, I horrifically witnessed hate-filled speeches given in the form of sermons to try to save lost souls when we watched the film God Loves Uganda. Sadly, I learned that hate is not confined by geography.

When one hears hate-filled sermons whether the words specifically call for violence against LGBT people or the words just imply bigotry and exclusion, both styles of sermons speak the same hate. Both styles of sermons create an atmosphere of alienation both spiritually from God and physically from the community of faith. Both cause LGBT people to leave their church and to lose their faith. Both cause splintering in our community of faith. What is worse-both create an atmosphere of disowning part of God's family-of disowning part of our Christian family of faith.

People in the LGBT community are faced with few choices when they are cast out of their community of faith and if their alienation is compounded with being cast out of their family remaining options are usually detrimental. Isolation. Depression. Drugs. Alcohol. Or, all of them in a destructive, downward spiral away from Christ. If churches aren't welcoming to all who enter their doors they cut off a part of the body of Christ and leave it outside the doors of worship. Cutting off the eyes to not see their brothers and sisters. Cutting off the ears to not hear their crying out. Cutting off the hand to not hold in strength. Cutting off the voice to not communicate the Good News.

How can we be a complete family of faith if we exclude certain Christians?


Praying for Jane Clementi after her profound message

Surrounding yourself with loved ones creates your home; it creates your safe space. Family has nothing to do with geography because even when we are on vacation if you are with loved ones you can feel at home because you are with family. We enjoy ourselves more when community surrounds us because we gain joy when others surround us. When we commune with each other, we exchange laughter and love. During our participation in the conference for The Reformation Project in Kansas with fellow Reformers, we found family. We formed our family of faith and developed a kinship bond. We joined as one body worshiping Christ.

As I reflect on what is next for us and as I ponder my next steps, I know that prayer will guide me. My prayer for all fellow Reformers is that God will guide you to strengthen your gifts to allow you to show more of the unconditional love of Christ to those who need to see it. Be safe, be well, and be in love as we journey to different parts of our world but remind us we are all one connected in our faith as we journey to you God. Remind us that we only need to click our heels three times to transport us back to Kansas where we found home in one another, our family of faith. May God guide us all, 50 Reformers, as we build our family and welcome more of our brothers and sisters home who will see us, hear us, hold our hands as we tell others about the love of Christ.



A hymn from the service on our last day



The Rooster Test

The following is the nineteenth installment of the “Out of the Closet and Into the Pews” series. The series features members of The Reformation Project’s Inaugural Conference - a leadership conference for 50 straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Christians who are committed to reform. Thank you, AnaYelsi Sanchez, for allowing me to be a guest writer on your site, Brown-Eyed Amazon.

I was raised in the church. As the daughter of a minister and an organist, I mean that I was literally raised in the church. My earliest memories are of me crawling on the altar steps, hearing the choir practicing while my mom was accompanying on the organ. Every Sunday, just below the massive wooden cross, I sat next to my mom during services to turn the sheet music for her while she played. I can still smell the worn pages of the Bible my dad used to prepare for his sermons and I often wore his collar as a headband. My dad didn’t mind and he always encouraged my inquisitively playful side. It was in this environment when I was a child that I learned about a loving, forgiving God.



Family photo

It wasn’t until my teenage years that I heard the fire and brimstone sermons designed to get me back on the path of righteousness according to my father. Not God my father, but my father the minister. I remember many times in my life that I truly felt as if God was more of a loving father than my biological father could ever be. That idea was formed with the clarity of hindsight as I battled for my father’s approval for years. I wondered how God accepted and loved me unconditionally when my own father could not. 

My dad conditionally accepted me for a while, he came to my college graduation, he met a few of my girlfriends and he even got along quite well with one of them. She was the one I would eventually marry. In some ways, I knew she was “the one” because she passed my father’s chicken test. Well, I guess you could technically call it a rooster test. See, my father and my grandfather raised Bantam chickens. They raised them for eggs but also for show at fairs. I assume it is the Ohio code for raising chickens but for my family, they prefer to cut the comb down off from the rooster’s head, as it shows better at the state fairs. Or, in my opinion it was a fowl way (pun intended) to torture the poor chicken and shock onlookers. Cutting a chicken’s comb is a bloody, precarious mess. Sure enough, when my girlfriend used scissors to cut the comb of my father’s prized rooster the geyser of blood shot into the air and onto shirts and faces. Without wincing, she passed my father’s rooster test and was now one of us. For the first time in forever, I felt close with my father and I had my soon to be fiancé to thank for bridging the gap between us.



Beginning the Rooster Test

My father welcomed us on many family occasions and treated us as equals to my stepsisters and their boyfriends. But, as soon as I told my father that we were going to get married and that we wanted his blessing, it was as if time reversed and I was a teenager he was admonishing for deviant behavior. He spouted verses; he used the Bible to explain his hatred for me. I ran away from it and from God. I didn’t think I had a choice, my father was telling me I was no longer welcome in his home or in God’s home. This sparked a period of atheist and agnostic musings in my life. I felt abandoned and unwelcomed in organized religion. When I drove by churches I felt as if the people inside were staring at me and judging me through the stone walls.

 

It took me a few years of healing to bring myself to go inside the walls of a church again. I lived my life backwards, living for things that I only hoped of and dreamed for—not truly living within the moments God intended my life to be. Looking back on the past I see how much passion and happiness was missing in my life. I put myself on autopilot after plotting the course I thought would lead me toward the “right” way to live, ignoring the truth of myself and not seeing the only way for me to be was open and free from societal expectations and my father’s demanding sermons. I am thankful for churches like the Metropolitan Community Church who provide healing spaces and spiritual renewal to people who have suffered spiritual abuse from their home churches. I also admire those LGBT people who remain steadfast to their faith despite being ostracized from their church. God speaks to me so profoundly and to all Christians with open hearts seeking spiritual growth.



Wedding at First and St. Stephens UCC 

 

Therefore, I want to build a welcoming place for LGBT Christians in the church. I believe God has placed possibilities within our grasp and I have been called to act on them in a few ways. One of my visions for reform is to initiate and be a resource for leading my church, Zion United Church of Christ and other nearby churches, to becoming Open and Affirming, which is a designation for congregations that make public statements of welcome into their full life and ministry to persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions. Declaring ONA status at Zion UCC will provide a beacon of light for LGBT people to see and know they are welcome to worship with us. This designation will also affirm them as Christians. Moreover, completing the steps to becoming ONA will be significant to Zion church members as well because they will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue and study about the inclusion of LGBT people in the church.

 

I think in thunderous ways and wish to speak like lightning about the non-affirming church’s role in excluding LGBT people from worship and from God. Today I am disappointed to know that my father and other ministers still choose to exclude me and all other LGBT Christians. However, the unconditional love of my Father, my God is stronger. My prayer is to be filled with the Holy Spirit as I bring the light of love to all who may seek it. Though my voice may just trickle like rain, in time, it will fill the pews with loving affirmation for LGBT people in the church and quench the seeking souls of our brothers and sisters.

In her native Maryland, Suzanne Lindsay is a veteran English and Graphic Design teacher. She is an Equity and Diversity Liaison where she teaches, and she had the privilege of repeatedly speaking and teaching at Columbia University’s National Journalism Convention. As a writer and photographer, Suzanne strives to connect her creativity with the world to communicate positive ways we can act to bridging the gap between us. Suzanne trusts that Christianity is acting on the belief that you are unconditionally loved. She believes that as Christians we’re called to demonstrate unconditional love to all through our actions as Jesus tells us in Luke 6:17-49. We are called to connect with other Christians and to demonstrate purposefully what Jesus intended for His people. We are also called to connect with others who have yet to discover the exponentially positive power Christianity can have in one’s life.

Do not be afraid, I am with you

 ¹³ Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done in love. 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NRSV)

Be courageous, be strong. When do we have to be courageous? When do we have to be strong? And, why? What emotion creates those feelings? Fear. We all experience fear. Sometimes we brush the past into our future to make it feel comfortable. Sometimes our fear is trivial. Like our fear of being late, our fear of wearing the wrong outfit or our fear of spilling milk. Sometimes our fear feels huge. Like our fear of not being hired, our fear of failure, or our fear of not being loved. Our camp volunteers probably experienced some fear this past week at about 11am wondering how they would make it to the end of the day without the fear of being painted on or falling asleep from exhaustion. Our camp children may have experienced fear on their first day wondering what to expect. They may have feared they wouldn’t find a friend. They may have feared they wouldn’t have fun. But despite our campers’ fears, when their families dropped off their children, I heard words of comfort spoken to little ears in similar fashion of our Scripture today saying, “Don’t be afraid, you will have fun.” Or, “don’t be afraid, I will see you soon.”

And just like God, our Lord reminds us, “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” It is God’s way of comforting us and reminding us that we always have the presence of the Holy Spirit with us. The passage in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 reminds us that God is our parent and we are bound as a family of faith when we trust in this and in the assurance of God’s presence in our daily lives. If we give in to our fears and forget that “God is with us” we lose sight of the guiding navigational power God has in our life. Like a lighthouse, God is our beacon of light within our own darkness of fear. God is our beacon of light in a fearful world.

The words we heard our children speak this past week made us laugh despite our fear of maybe “not adding up” in the sight of God through the mission of the camp. We heard the wisdom of a child in Gus when he said, “God made the number two.” Though simple, his words are a microcosm of the craftwork of God, that yes indeed God made the number two and everything else in our world. It was a blessing to see campers make connections to other things in Creation too. Like when campers learned about Diwali, the festival of light, they compared it to the 4^th of July since both celebrations use fireworks. They were able to see that though we were learning about a country on the other side of the world, that we still have many things in common with the people of India. Our campers learned that the beautiful colors in Rangoli designed artwork can be just as unique as each one of us. And, my fear as we closed camp on Friday would be that it would rain and wash the incredible Rangoli artwork off the sidewalks that we created.

Some volunteers may have had the fear of not making this camp experience good enough since some volunteers qualified their participation by saying, “You should have screened our artistic skills before letting us do this craft!” Or, “Are you sure you want me to do this?” I repeatedly remember saying things to people to quell their fears. And just as God will be pleased with our actions done in love, I was astounded at the outpouring of love shown by all the volunteers who came to Zion this past week to help with our camp. All that they did, they did in love. I was just grateful for them showing up and ecstatic that they wanted to do something as well. –I experienced what I presume to be God’s feelings for us when we not only show up but when we are active participants with our actions by showing love.

Now, how poignant God’s Word is for us today as we revisit today’s scripture.

We know that God is shaping Christianity and us today by His word. Though we learned about India this week in Zion’s Arts Adventure Camp, our campers were reminded that, “We are the Church” when we practiced singing that song this week. The church building, our church building and our facilities exist because of the people, if not for the people of Zion, we would have to put a For Sale sign on it. After all, it is not a church building or church organizations that bind us as Christians. What binds us as Christians is our walking within our faith to navigate our world today with the hopes of finding Grace. Let us remember to see the sparks of light in our daily lives that serve as God’s way of telling us, “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” Let us remember that God is our beacon of light on our journey. But, just as important that we can serve as one another’s light when we reflect God’s love to each other. May all that we do be done without fear but in love for one another. All who follow Jesus all around the world, yes, we’re the church together.

 

Message I gave at Zion United Church of Christ in Nottingham, MD

Are You Brainwashed?

I’m just doing some light summer reading. You know, the usual beach books. Catching up on Plato’s Symposium, The Dead Sea Scrolls, and biblical theology. Cue record scratch. Huh? If you think sultry summer and this type of literature isn’t what you’d normally expect to find in a typical beach book, you are wrong. I’ve read more about sex and sexuality in a few weeks than what sits on beach towels down the entire eastern shoreline.

Some of you may be thinking, well of course, the Bible is full of sexual references. Right? Isn’t it? Well, I suppose that depends upon which version of the Bible you read. And, which of the “clobber passages” exist in your index referring to homosexuality. Historically the concepts of heterosexuality and homosexuality did not exist as we understand them today. Those labels and concepts were later added into certain translations of the Bible. Moreover, the word homosexual wasn’t constructed until 1869 when Karoly M. Benkert wrote about it in German. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word appeared for the first time in English in 1912. And not until 1946 was the earliest use of it in an English Bible, 1^st edition RSV.

The concept of what some people consider to be “traditional marriage” doesn’t at all include what you presume it means. Instead, according to ancient traditions the woman is considered to be property and is absent of all rights we know of today. Now I want to believe that women have achieved equality. I want to believe that we consider women to be complete people. I want to believe we value the multitude of gifts that women bring to our society. I want to believe that we don’t make judgments about women’s capabilities based upon their physical beauty. But, as one male honestly admits that isn’t always the case.

In this interview with AFI archives from late 2012, actor Dustin Hoffman remembers the initial planning for Tootsie, the film in which his character disguises himself as a woman for a job. It was the first makeup test which led Hoffman to break down in tears over a huge revelation about men and women in our society. Take a look.

http://www.themarysue.com/dustin-hoffman-tootsie/ 

Now that you’ve seen this video consider compliments you have given women or girls recently. Even think about those private thoughts you had when you noticed a female recently. Were you complimentary to her physical beauty or to her mental or physical ability? If not, think about what you could say. If your daughter does something well instead of saying “beautiful” why not say that was courageous, caring, or clever.  Focus on her physical ability not her appearance and encourage her mental ability as well.

One of 50

I have some exciting news to share. I have been selected as one of 50 people in the country to serve as a member of the inaugural leadership group of The Reformation Project, which is a Bible-based, Christian non-profit organization that seeks to reform church teaching on sexual orientation, and gender identity. If you are interested in learning more about the project and our goals, please read about The Reformation Project.

I know that some of you may be too conservative to wish me well on my venture. Honestly, some of you may“unfriend” me or block my posts. That’s okay because I know that God is with me and I have the support of many friends and my family. But, before you do, I ask that you open yourself to the possibility of what you may find to be unfathomable right now.

 

Be open and read my posts either here or follow me on Twitter @suzlindsay. You may find that we have more things in common especially if you are one who seeks the truth as a Christian.

 

Be prepared to witness history in the making. My allies in the group of 50, from across the country, will be transforming viewpoints as we bring about equality for LGBT people in the church.

 

I ask that you pray for us on our journey together and with those we encounter. Pray for those who have narrow minds and who cannot accept us as fellow Christians. I ask that you grant us knowledge and patience as we read theology, research Biblical history and investigate opposing viewpoints. I ask that you be in prayer with us that we are led by the Spirit and that God’s will is done as we journey together to include our Christian brothers and sisters into churches of all denominations.

 

Why do we believe in this cause? We are standing up for LGBT equality in the church because no one can separate us from the love of Jesus as we know from Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.

Seeking fulfillment

If we seek God based upon our own selfish reasons—for the reasons of not going to hell, out of fear of condemnation, to serve as insurance that we are guaranteed a place in Heaven, then we are missing the point. God wants us to have a relationship with him and with others in the world. We are to be active Christians in this world. Not just to collect and archive our good deeds in order to one day gain admission into Heaven.

No valuable relationship in life happens instantly. We build them. Think about your own superficial relationships, the ones we created on a weak foundation. Did they fulfill us? Did they sustain us for very long? No. We moved on, searched, and searched for a relationship that fulfilled us. God does not want his and your relationship to be instant either. Although he is there in an instant, God is also leading us on a journey with him so that we may fully know his love. God is leading us so that as we are driving to work we can feel the touch of his hand on our face. So, that as we think of God watching over us, we feel his arms protecting us. So that when we hear singing, we can feel the Spirit’s presence in our lives.

We are all so unworthy of God’s time, patience and grace yet our Creator fills us with love. I know that I am never able to deserve what has been done for me. In a lifetime of understanding, I will never know, but all I can do is try. I ask for God’s guidance and I have given my life to God. I often ask, “How shall I live? How shall I work? Tell me what path you’d like me to seek and I will. I will do your will in my life and help those I encounter on my path.”

Looking for the reason or the meaning of life? Seeking? Questioning? The meaning is God. The purpose is God. We wander and wonder most of our lives waiting for the big moment to slap our senses to life and we think the miracle will solve our problems. But, the miracle, the miracle is us! We are living, breathing testimonies of the miracle of life. Our strife is nothing compared to the pain God has seeing us living a wasted life.

Fill me Lord as a vessel of your love. Send the ones you wish me to minister to, the ones you would have me guide, the ones you would have me share of your love and your Word. I believe Lord I am a small example of your love, a minute speck of your endless love. Teach me, remind me it is through my daily life that I am fulfilling your purpose in my life. Put those in my path who need to know you. For I may not know the reason for my traffic jam, or long checkout line or cancelled meeting, but you do. Remind me that it is your plan. My life is yours. Lord remind me to be patient awaiting your instructions for my life. Help me to take solace in glory slowly revealed. 

Reformation Project

Participating in the reformation project is important to me because I want to work towards preventing any further injustice that some churches are inflicting on LGBT Christians. I want to reclaim my faith in the mechanism of Christianity and restore it to a desirable, honorable and worthy position in our culture. Our faith has been hijacked by hate. Believers are questioning. Seekers are wandering elsewhere.  

I’ve heard a lot of sermons pertaining to reaching the community outside of the church with the main question usually being, “How do we reach those outside of the church?” I would like to know, to whom are those sermons directed? Are ministers looking for certain type of person? Is there a quota that needs to be filled? Churches surely want members who fit the traditional family mold. Right? Okay, so are any churches looking for me?

Well, I was once outside of the church. It was not because I didn’t want to go to church and not because I didn’t believe in God. No, quite the opposite. I was pushed out of the organized church simply because of who I am.

No matter what one’s political and spiritual beliefs are I can only vouch for myself in saying, I was born exactly as I am today. God created me as He did every other living thing on this planet. How then can anyone tell me I do not belong in “your” church? After all, isn’t it God’s church anyway? How can man tell me I don’t deserve the same spiritual nourishment that I require as a Christian? How can man deny me the ceremonies, rites and rituals that any other Christian seeks in his or her walk in faith? How can man deny me? Though now a cliché, what would Jesus do? Would Jesus deny me? Would he tell me I am not worthy? Would he scorn me for my sins and not offer me salvation? Is my believing in His power as Lord and Savior not enough? Does John 3:16 apply only to some of us?

We are doing a poor job of worshiping in God’s church if we only seek those who look like, think like and believe like ourselves. If we only fellowship with those like us, how do we grow and learn from all of God’s creation? If we are the body of Christ, why are so many of his appendages paralyzed?

I believe there has never been a better opportunity in our country to formulate a strong dialogue with each other about full inclusion for LGBT Christians in our churches. I am confident that I can be one of the speakers to defend our rights as God's children to explain why and how we deserve a place at Christ's table.

(The statement for my video submission to the Reformation Project.)

 

With anticipation

With anticipation, I’ve been watching the debate of same-sex marriage for over a decade progress in America. All the while, I’ve wondered why so many still don’t get the fact that supporting same-sex marriage is actually a very conservative position to take. We are not advocating marrying more than one person. We are not advocating living in communes separate from society. (Jerry Falwell's followers and others don’t get any reparative therapy ideas with this previous statement.) We are not even asking for special treatment. We only seek equal treatment under the law of the United States of America.

We are seeking to marry the person we love. Shouldn’t we honor those willing to make that kind of commitment to each other in a culture famous for divorce and splintered families?

Some are seeking to build a family. Some are doing that in desperation to find our place in the world because our own family or a part of it has abandoned us. Now some of you may envy this opportunity—to pick a new family! However, it is not as easy as it sounds. Combine the fact that Aunt Nancy and Grandpa won’t acknowledge you anymore in a country that won’t give you equal rights causes quite a conundrum.

Some are seeking community. Whether we find that community in a church, a synagogue, a mosque, a recreation center, or a bar please know that we are just like you in that we are seeking life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in a country we call home. Talk to us and you will find that we have many things in common with one another. After all, if we see you in these places we already have one thing in common. Let’s build upon that.

We are seeking your support. Though it seems to be the trend to support this issue only if you are personally affected by it. In some ways, I understand if you. I understand because you believe you can only support same-sex marriage if you know someone personally whose lives are affected by this inequality. You need to put a face on the issue and see it firsthand. I’m sorry we don’t have a telethon sponsored by musicians and actors to pledge their support and encourage you to do the same. But I believe the hundreds who’ve lost their lives in the face of hate are reason enough that we should stand together as Americans and demand equality for all. Moreover, if the conservative ideas of marriage, family and community are not enough to persuade you then I welcome you to meet me here and now. Hello, my name is Suzanne Lindsay; please know that you should support same-sex marriage because it is a stand for equality.