Marriage Equality Creeds

My mother, a UCC minister, has been on sabbatical for the last month and a half. Over that time, she has been studying the concept and meaning of covenant. Each week, she shares some of her thoughts from her studies on her blog, and each week I have to fight the temptation to share her blog with you. I especially wanted to share with you her post on the covenant of marriage, and the things she happened upon when researching that particular subject. I resisted the temptation, because I didn't want to be nepotistic.

This week, I just can’t resist drawing from her writings to start a conversation with you. Here’s an excerpt:

I don’t think I made it clear that while I understand our churches to be non-creedal, I recognize each Christian’s creed as essential to the health of their faith. Creeds in this sense are central to the life of covenant churches because part of what we covenant to do in loving each other in the way of faith, is to honor each other’s journey of faith and our creeds are the markers of where we have come on our journey.... Just because we don’t share the same confession doesn’t mean it isn’t important for us to share our own creeds with each other. Our UCC description of creeds as “testimonies not tests” of faith clearly implies that we are to be sharing our testimonies of faith with each other.

Now, many of your may be asking, “what does this have to do with marriage equality” or “hey, is this Faithful Voices post only directed to Christians?”
The answer is that her discussion on testimonies of faith, and her subsequent sharing of her own personal creed, got me thinking about how important it is that we each have our own personal creed when it comes to Marriage Equality. When I was interviewing for my position here, our Executive Director Connie asked me “if you were in an elevator with someone and had one minute to describe your support for same-gender marriage, what would you say?” I have to say, at the time I was totally at a loss for an answer. As an organizer I am always telling stories, listening to stories, seeking out stories. Stories by their nature are longer than an elevator ride. I still think they have a very important role in the movement we are creating, but I realize now how important that short answer is as well. Boiling something down doesn’t dilute, it makes it stronger! I realize now that what Connie was asking me for was my testimony, my creed. I have spent a lot of time thinking about it and I want to share my creed with you. I would then like to hear your creeds on why you support and defend Marriage Equality. Please share them here in the comments. I’m looking forward to seeing the variety of responses!

My Marriage Equality Creed:
I believe in God, who created me and loves every person unconditionally, as a parent loves a child. I believe in Christ, who redeems me, and every person, with a grace that surpasses our understanding. I trust that God intended for us to read the scriptures with not only our hearts, but our minds as well. I do not believe same gender affection is a choice, just as it is not my choice to have opposite gender attraction. We are all perfect, as God has created us.
I believe also that the United States Constitution grants equal protection to every citizen. I know that the right to marry gives couples the opportunity to provide for each other, care for each other, and create families together. I know that what happens in the court house is separate from what happens at the altar. I know that I will fight to protect the rights of others, as we are none of us safe until we are all safe.