Standing on the Side of Love Day Shines a Light on Committing Love in Public with Courage
Monday, February 14th is the 2nd Annual “National Standing on the Side of Love Day,”
As the AP reported in a story carried in the Washington Post and other newspapers:
When an out-of-work truck driver opened fire in a Tennessee church because it welcomed gay and multiracial families, the congregation met that hatred with love. In the process, it inspired a national campaign centered around Valentine's Day to promote tolerance.
Unitarian Universalist churches across the country will be holding events on Sunday and Monday promoting civil political discourse, gay rights, humane immigration reform and ending what it calls the demonization of American Muslims as part of National Standing on the Side of Love Day.
The idea is to take a day that is already about love, albeit the romantic variety, and expand it into a day when people seriously consider the implications of loving your neighbor as yourself….
Over the last year the Standing on the Side of Love Campaign has responded in many creative ways to injustice and discrimination. The bright yellow T-shirts and banners worn and carried by campaign supporters have attracted a lot of attention standing up for marriage equality for all, protecting grieving families from having to see or hear the hateful messages of the Hillsboro Baptist Church’s funeral protests, standing up to bullying in high schools and college campuses, and participating in mass civil disobedience in Phoenix to protest a vicious new state anti-immigrant law.
This year the Campaign is using National Standing on the side of Love Day to recognize and celebrate acts of courageous love. This is how the Campaign explains it:
Standing on the Side of Love Day, Unitarian Universalist congregations will uplift stories of courageous love by offering personal thanks and public recognition to extraordinary individuals, faith groups, and community organizations across the nation who exemplify the values of inclusion, diversity, community, and equality.
In response to bullying and name-calling, partisan divides, labels and stereotypes, and political decisions motivated by fear, National Standing on the Side of Love Day celebrates those who lead by example and support the most vulnerable and marginalized amongst us every day. National Standing on the Side of Love Day is when the very core of the Standing on the Side of Love campaign comes to life. On this day, and the days surrounding, we re-imagine Valentine’s Day as a holiday of love and acceptance for everyone. Rather than uniting to influence a single target nationally, we will support individuals and groups who confront oppression in our own communities, whether it is marriage equality, immigration reform, hiring practices, or any other form of identity-based discrimination and oppression. These local events will bring to life the spirit of the Standing on the Side of Love (SSL) campaign, promoting respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every human being, and reinforcing the work already being done in local communities.
Those in our communities who are most oppressed are in greatest need of our love, voice, and action. Standing on the Side of Love Day honors, recognizes, and reinforces the voice of those who are working to overcome identity-based discrimination and oppression.
In all of the world’s religions, love is upheld as a central tenet. We seek to harness this unifying and transformative power of love to stop oppression.
Scores of congregations, including the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Woodstock (UUCW), 221 Dean Street, will hold special worship services today. In Woodstock the service will presented by the Social Justice Committee. Speakers will be Sue Rekenthaler, Molly McQueen, Cheryl Niemo, Glen Ward, and Pat Young. Special music will be provided by Carrie McDonald, Cheryl Niemo, Andy Andrick, Scott Brix and Dave Dreyer. The service begins at 10:45. Child care is available.
On Valentine’s Day and over the next week or so local groups and congregations will be standing vigils, showing The Laramie Project and other films, putting on public education forums, facilitating community dialog, and promoting civil discourse. The list of events is long and creative. To find one near you visit the Standing on the Side of Love Site Here