In Our Community
Pride This Year
During this season filled with protest in the midst of a pandemic, we also are celebrating the 50th Anniversary of LGBTQ+ Pride. Not really sure how great it will be to “march” virtually, but it is an important milestone for our communities. The Good Table UCC (Mira Vista UCC) became an “open and affirming” church in 1994 and has been marching with United in Spirit for over 25 years!
Personally, I am delighted that my dear friend and mentor Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr is an elected community grand marshal! This honor for her is way overdue and I’m glad we finally got her voted in! I have so many wonderful memories of Janie, but one that sticks out this year comes from a civil disobedience action in San Francisco on May 27, 2009 after one of the many negative court reversals leading up to marriage equality.
Janie, and a whole lot of interfaith clergy friends, including me, gathered at St. Mark’s Lutheran and then marched to City Hall and then sat down in the intersection of Van Ness and Grove. I chose to “hold the bail money” for my friends, work the press, and lead singing around the circle. Also, it was really hot that day to be in liturgical garb and we were a bit concerned about some of our elder clergy, including Janie.
As I scanned through the really mellow detachment of San Francisco police, I saw that a female lieutenant was in charge. I went to her and asked when they planned to start making arrests. She told me soon. I then pointed over to the clergy group and asked if they could be arrested first. I knew that it would make better press to have them arrested first AND I was also hoping to spare some of our elders from developing heat stroke. The SFPD lieutenant then looked again and asked me, “Is that Janie Spahr?” I told her it was and the cop lit up and said, “She was my youth pastor!” and rushed over to hug Janie and thank her for being there for her when she was coming out in high school. Janie was one of the first arrested that day.
Clergy protesters included: Jana Drakka, Michael Mallory, Jay E. Johnson, Dawn Roginski, Will McGarvey, Danika Askanidóttúr, Annie Steinberg-Behrman, Jane A Spahr (in purple cassock), Denis Letourneau Paul and Penny Nixon
Obviously, this is NOT the experience most people of color have with the police and this protest would not have been handled this way by most cops in most places. Like Janie, I know the value of white privilege — especially when dealing with cops. And plenty of LGBTQ+ folks have been brutalized by cops for years. But on that hot day in San Francisco, we saw a small glimpse of what “community-based” policing could look like, when cops look more like you and maybe even “know you” too. It was also a glimpse into what value diversity brings to all organizations. The church that allowed Janie Spahr to be a beacon of hope to a young lesbian was a better church. And the police department that put an out lesbian lieutenant in charge of an LGBTQ+ protest did a better job of serving the public, too.
This year’s Pride celebration will hopefully be more diverse than ever and will add a bit of rainbow to all of our protests for justice and peace.
Erasing Medical Debt Campaign Update
We are so pleased to be able to say that our combined efforts with other East Bay UCCs, and generous support from our national denomination, have erased $4.4 million in medical debt for our neighbors in Alameda and Contra Costa counties! In this effort, The Good Table UCC gave $3,500.
“As a diverse group of churches, we all knew that medical debt was a big problem for the most vulnerable in our communities: the sick, the elderly, the poor, and veterans. In addition, we learned that medical debt seriously impacts the middle class, driving many families who were formerly stable into poverty. By forgiving this debt, we hope to give struggling individuals, and their families, a fresh start. “
You can read the full Press Release from First Church Berkeley here: UCC Churches Erase $4.4 Million in Medical Debt in the San Francisco East Bay