An Open Letter to President-elect Obama

Dear President-elect Obama: 
 
I have been one of your supporters from nearly the beginning. I was first impressed with your emphasis on changing the nature of public discourse and discussion so that different and diverse peoples could be heard and, hopefully, find ways to greater social harmony. As the campaign went on you sometimes had difficulty avoiding the hateful and vicious tactics of past campaigns, but I believe you succeeded.
 
Your selection of Pastor Rick Warren to offer an opening prayer at your inaugural gives me pause. I know that you are asking all of us to sit down together, to talk out our differences, and to at least honor each other’s humanity if we cannot come to agreement on certain issues. I have been committed to this kind of reconciliation for most of my adult life. However, I want you to know that I am unable to share a prayer with Pastor Warren.
 
The reason is simple. Including Pastor Warren in the inauguration is a political initiative, the kind of initiative that will be necessary if you are to bring the kind of change you promise to our public discourse. However, prayer is not public discourse or discussion.
 
If you had invited Pastor Warren to sit next to you at your inaugural I would have understood that you were trying to reach out to others. But inviting him to pray on your behalf and on behalf of the country trivializes the use of prayer at the event. Pastor Warren's prayers have never been inclusive of GLBT people. In fact, his teachings denigrate and deny our very creation, suggesting that GLBT folks are a danger to society and something less than human. Unfortunately, through television news and talk shows, your invitation has given him a much larger national audience for his message of bigotry and hatred.
 
It is worth pointing out that his tactics are the same as those used against every oppressed group in history. First, you create fear by identifying a group as a threat to family and society. Then you identify that group as the enemy, something to rally your followers around. The identification of enemies leads to fear. That is followed up with the judgment that your target group is something less than human. The hatred combined with the dehumanization gives license for violence and even murder.  
 
So tell me, how can I pray with a person who is responsible for encouraging violence and death among GLBT people? I don’t know how to do that without extreme resentment. I can and will pray for him, but not with him. Unfortunately, for many of us the opening of your inauguration will not be a hallmark of the reconciliation that you have promised to pursue.
 
Rev. Peter L. DeGroote
Pastor, The United Church
Washington, DC