Subject: UM BISHOPS JOIN CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT GC
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 9 May 2000 13:10:43 EDT

SOULFORCE MEDIA ALERT:

METHODIST BISHOPS JOIN CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS AT METHODIST CONFERENCE IN CIVIL 
DISOBEDIENCE IN SUPPORT OF GAYS AND LESBIANS 

    CLEVELAND (May 9, 2000) ¾ In an unprecedented step last night, bishops of 
theUnited Methodist Church at its General Conference decided to join an act 
of civil disobedience in protest of the church's current policies on sexual 
orientation.  For nearly 30 years, the church has denied full participation 
of persons in the based upon their sexual orientation.  The bishops announced 
their decision in a meeting with the Rev. Dr. Mel White, co-founder of 
Soulforce, an interfaith coalition of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender 
people of faith and their allies dedicated to working for social  justice for 
sexual minorities.  

WHO:    
· Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi
· Yolanda King, eldest daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
· The Rev. Dr. James Lawson, United Methodist pastor and friend and co-worker 
with  Dr. King
· The Rev. Dr. Robert Graetz, the white Lutheran pastor whose home was bombed 
because of his stand with Dr. King during the Montgomery bus boycott
· Dr. Rodney Powell, a leader of the nonviolent student movement of the '50s 
& '60s and co-worker with Dr. King
· Bishop C. Joseph Sprague from the Northern Illinois annual conference and a 
number of other bishops
· The Rev. Dr. Mel White, co-founder, Soulforce
· At least 200 members of the Soulforce delegation, all of  whom have signed 
a pledge of  nonviolence

WHAT:       
Gandhi and the other civil rights leaders, the United Methodist bishops and 
the Soulforce delegation will carry their silent prayer vigil on behalf of 
sexual minorities to the floor of the conference center.  Cleveland police 
are standing by to arrest those who participate in the action.   Participants 
will conduct themselves according to Gandhi and King's  principles of 
nonviolent civil disobedience, and all participants are required to sign a 
pledge of nonviolence before participating.
 
WHEN:       
Wednesday,  May 10, 7 a.m.

WHERE:      
Cleveland Convention Center, 500 Lakeside

WHY:        
To protest the United Methodist Church's current policies on sexual 
orientation, which are used to exclude gays, lesbians, bisexual and 
transgender people of faith from full participation in the church.  The civil 
disobedience will also signal to all of Christendom that this tragic debate 
on sexual minorities must end.  Sexual minorities areGod's children, too.

HOW:        
Civil rights leaders will  train participants in the nonviolent methods of 
civil disobedience in a session at Cleveland State University, University 
Center Auditorium, 2121 Euclid.   Other participants who are unable to attend 
the Tuesday evening session will be trained on Wednesday beginning at 6 a.m.

Media are invited to attend the Tuesday evening training on nonviolence, 
which will begin with a press conference at 7 p.m. at Cleveland State 
University, University Center Auditorium, 2121 Euclid.  The press conference 
will include interview and photo opportunities with Gandhi, Ms. King and the 
other participating civil rights leaders.  

Media also are invited to attend the civil disobedience on Wednesday morning, 
beginning with a rally at the Convention Center, Mall B, at 7 a.m., followed 
by the civil disobedience action at 8 a.m.

Media coordinators:
Diana G. Westbrook                      Laura Montgomery Rutt
 (804) 837-1568 [cell]                      (949) 233-3592 [cell]