c. 1999 Religion News Service
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ The Rev. Felicia Fontaine’s voice quivered and her eyes misted as she recalled an event that had both historical and spiritual significance in her life.”It was Feb. 14, 1987, and I was attending the March Against New Racism in Montgomery (Ala.),”said Fontaine, retired pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church in Huntsville.”I was the only white speaker there. You could just feel the spirit. It was thick and palpable. It was then I heard God speak to me. It was a very audible voice that said, `Your people will never be free until they can come together in the spirit you feel in this place.’ It was a very emotional time for me.” Fontaine’s”people”are gays and lesbians. She hopes to experience that peace as one of 200 gay and lesbian activists invited to meet with the Rev. Jerry Falwell and 200 evangelical pastors and religious leaders at Falwell’s Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., in an anti-violence forum Saturday (Oct. 23).
The unprecedented event is drawing attention from national news media as well as groups opposing the forum who have requested protest permits.”The goal of this meeting is to address issues of hate speech,”said the 45-year-old Fontaine, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years ago. Fontaine said she doesn’t believe Falwell is hosting the event as a publicity stunt, but rather because he is concerned about the rise in hate crimes in America.”I think he’s beginning to realize words have enormous power, and it’s time to turn down the volume,”said Fontaine.”We just have to approach it as a genuine effort to stop the hate crimes and rhetoric.” The idea for the event came from the Rev. Mel White, a gay minister who worked with Falwell decades before acknowledging his homosexuality in 1993. He was a ghost writer for Falwell, Pat Robertson and Billy Graham, and later wrote”Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America.””The meeting is history … we are euphoric,”White told reporters this past summer when he announced the meeting.
White is the chairman of Soulforce, a group of people dedicated to alleviating violence against gays and lesbians. He has actively campaigned for this type of dialogue with leading evangelical Christians, especially after the rising number of violent acts against homosexuals in the past couple of years.
In a press release, Falwell said,”This forum is important because innocent people _ homosexuals and Christians _ have increasingly had their lives violently ended by those with opposing views and beliefs.” In a more recent e-mail message to his supporters, Falwell said he is”calling for all Christian ministries to halt any rhetoric that might engender violence against the homosexual community, and vice versa. As I have reported, I remain committed to preaching that homosexuality is sin, as described in the Bible. However, I feel compelled to lead this charge of anti-violence from the conservative Christian perspective. We will never reach homosexuals with the gospel of Jesus Christ if we preach from a malicious standpoint.” In order to be one of the invited guests, Fontaine had to complete a 17-part e-mail study developed by White, which included writing a letter to Falwell.
Fontaine, who left the ministry to become an activist for gays and lesbians, will be accompanied to the forum by her partner of 20 years, Barb Collins.”I never believed Barb and I would celebrate our 20th anniversary having dinner with Jerry Falwell,”she said with a laugh.
But Fontaine turned serious when discussing the importance of an event of this magnitude.”I believe God’s hand is in this and something good will come out of it _ what it is, I don’t know,”she said.”We have hope that we are building bridges of understanding. Our goals are to turn down the hate speech on both sides, establish a model for dialogue, and find a way of being respectful to each other. I still have a lot of anger, and we need to understand our anger. What we do with it is what matters.” DEA END WHITE
