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 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way

you will fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2  

Gay Chorus, Deep South

This coming Monday, March 14, is PIE Day. Serena tells us, “Affirm United, the advisory organization that works with the United Church of Canada to advise and guide churches that choose to be Affirming ministries, has designated March 14 (Pi day, or 3.14) as PIE day, a day for engaging in ministry that is Publicly, Intentionally, and Explicitly inclusive. The 2022 theme of Pie Day is “Everyone Gets a Slice,” referring with wit and reverence to the evolving and diverse spectrum of identities that make up the community.  

As a way of acknowledging that we are an Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Canada, we are going to celebrate by showing, in our Church Hall this coming Monday at 7:00 pm, the Movie/Documentary, Gay Chorus, Deep South. I suspect many of us are wondering why we would like to attend this event.  The first two reasons are pretty obvious. It’s a great documentary with some awesome music and we get to eat pie!   

I believe that there is more to being an affirming congregation than hanging up a rainbow flag. We are called to be a radically welcoming community and that includes, but is not limited to the Queer Community.  I believe that the first step to being in relationship with a marginalized community is to educate ourselves about that community and the challenges that it faces. This award-winning documentary does a really good job of offering us a window into the Gay Community.  

It is an upbeat, yet moving, documentary, which follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus — along with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir —  on a concert tour of America’s Southern states in hopes of changing hearts and minds. It is a daunting task!  Did you know that it is still legal to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation in over 30 states in the U.S.? Some of the attitudes that they face along the journey are shocking.  Other encounters leave us with hope for a changed world.  

David Lewis, a Bay area freelance writer and movie reviewer, tells us, “What makes the film emotionally satisfying, beyond the stirring music, is that we witness the healing and enlightenment of chorus members, some of them bearing scars from their oppressive red-state upbringings.”  

This is a good opportunity for members of Comox United Church to come, and perhaps, invite someone they know to join them, as we learn a little bit about what it means to be gay, to be involved in conversation about how that affects us as individuals and as a faith community, to engage with members of the wider community, to hear some good music, and of course, to eat pie!  

Hope to see you there.  

Blessings, Wayne