Date: Fri, 05 May 2000 21:23:19 -0500
From: Jim Bailey <jbailey777@earthlink.net>
Subject: News Advisory: Activists face arrest at UMC conference

MEDIA ADVISORY
Contact: The Rev. Dr. Mel White
(949) 933-3592 or (216) 861-0001 (May 1-12, in Cleveland)
Diana G. Westbrook
(804) 837-1568 (May 5-12 only, in Cleveland)

May 5, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

LEADERS OF THE '60S JOIN GAYS AND ALLIES IN
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT UNITED METHODIST EVENT
Hundreds face arrest in Cleveland Protest May 10

CLEVELAND (May 5, 2000) - Gandhi's grandson, Arun Gandhi, Dr. Martin
Luther King's eldest daughter, Yolanda King, and notable civil rights
leaders of the '50s and '60s will join hundreds of gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered people of faith and their allies in a
Soulforce nonviolent action against the anti-homosexual policies of the
United Methodists at the denomination's General Conference, May 2-12 in
Cleveland, Ohio.
   "The United Methodist Church has a history of social concern,"
explains the Rev. Dr. Mel White, a co-founder of Soulforce,  "and yet
they begin this Conference in Cleveland with anti-homosexual policies in
place that lead to discrimination, suffering, and even death.  We've
waited  patiently for more than three decades for truth to prevail.
This debate must end.  We are God's children, too."
   Civil rights leaders joining the Soulforce civil disobedience in
Cleveland include the Rev. Dr. James Lawson, a United Methodist pastor
and close friend of Dr. King.  Lawson, the man who trained the young
people who staged the lunch counter sit-ins and the Freedom Rides in the
'50s and '60s, will be training the Soulforce delegation for their civil
disobedience in Cleveland, May 10.  Lawson will be joined by the Rev.
Dr. Robert Graetz, the white Lutheran pastor whose home was bombed
because he took a stand with King during the Montgomery bus boycott.
Dr. Rodney Powell and Dr. Gloria Johnson-Powell, leaders in the
nonviolent student movement of the '50s and '60s, will also be present
to inspire and train the delegates.
   Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi and founder of the M.K.
Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence in Memphis, and Yolanda King, Dr.
King's eldest daughter, will also be present to address the Soulforce
delegates and stand with them in their struggle for justice, May 9-10 in
Cleveland.
   The May 10 civil disobedience will coincide with the appearance of
the Archbishop of Canterbury and other heads of denominations with
anti-homosexual policies in place.  "We are not in Cleveland to protest
the presence of these Christian leaders," White explains.  "They are our
sisters and brothers.  We are marching on the Convention Center to
protest their tragic policies against God's gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender children."

###

   Press are invited to attend the May 9, 7-9 p.m. training in
nonviolence at the Cleveland State University Auditorium (2121 Euclid)
and the early morning press conference and civil disobedience on Mall B
at the Cleveland Convention Center, May 10, 7-9 a.m.  Gandhi, King, and
the civil rights leaders will be available for interviews on both
occasions.
***********
   Soulforce is a coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and
heterosexual people of faith who are dedicated to bringing about justice
for sexual minorities.  Founded in 1998, Soulforce teaches and applies
the nonviolent principles of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
************
For more information, contact The Rev. Dr. Mel White Co-Founder, (949)
933-3592 [cell] (216) 861-0001 (May 1-12, in Cleveland) or Diana G.
Westbrook, Media Coordinator, (804) 837-1568 [cell] (May 5-12 only, in
Cleveland)

Full data on the Soulforce web page: www.soulforce.org