Solidarity Picnic Reflection: Texas AC via Al Jasra, Bahrain

by Stacy Anzick

I am a United Methodists clergy person from the Texas AC currently on family leave while my family lives in the Middle East for my partner Robert's job. Robert works in Saudi Arabia but Bahrain is a much friendlier and safer place to live, so his company has the families living in Bahrain while the men (yes, all male employees) cross the boarder and work in Saudi Arabia.

I have been a part of RMN (or previous incarnations) since signing the "Reconciling United Methodist" statement/pledge back in 1993. I graduated from Garrett-Evangelical in 1994 and returned home to the Texas Annual Conference where I was naive enough to bring a stack of Reconciling United Methodist forms to my first Clergy Women's lunch thinking that my mentors would be thrilled and ready to sign! This small, select group of the more "radical" Clergy women in my conference politely declined and let me know that being that "out" wasn't a good idea! It hasn't always been easy being a Reconciling Clergy person in the Texas Annual Conference but I have had GLBT folks in EVERY ONE of my congregations and they need our voices and our children need to hear about loving all in God's Kindom. For me the Gospel is clear about love, acceptance, community and speaking out against hate and sin regardless of the consequences of speaking truth! Would the attackers in the park have done what they did if they had grown up in worshiping places and communities that spoke kindly about our GLBT brothers and sisters?

My daughter Ramsey was baptized into the Beloved Community (by Rev. Troy Plummer) surrounded by our diverse group of family and friends who include singles and couples that are GLBT and Straight, Conservative and Progressive, more and less Religiously minded, and everything in between. We made promises to her that day - promises that need to be lived out regardless of our location and comfort level. So, now I find myself in another physical location where it isn't always safe or a good idea to be so "out" in my beliefs but I want my daughter to be surrounded by grace, love, and diversity. It was important for us to participate in the Solidarity Picnic because my daughter doesn't yet know about the kinds of prejudice and hate there are in the world but when she starts to ask those questions, I want her to know that our family doesn't play those games and that we instead choose love. We choose love and homemade mini-pizzas!