HRC Back Story

This evening, HRC will host a town hall meeting in Rochester, MN to empower people of faith to take action on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender equality.  LGBT people of faith and their allies will learn to engage their respective religious communities and elected officials by speaking from their own traditions about the gifts LGBT people bring to congregations and communities. The session will also address ways to combat misleading information from the religious right about LGBT people.

The town hall will feature keynote speaker Rev. Cindi Love, an ordained minister in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) who serves as the Executive Director of MCC worldwide. MCC, in 25 countries and 251 cities in North America, is the largest international ministry serving LGBT people. A panel of leaders from various faiths will also be on hand to discuss the role of LGBT people in religion today. HRC Foundation Director of Religion and Faith Harry Knox will moderate the discussion.

To learn more about the HRC Religion & Faith Program, visit: www.hrc.org/religion.

WHAT: “Faith and Fairness: Finding Strength and Tools for Advocacy in your Faith Tradition”

WHEN:  Monday, October 6, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Christ United Methodist Church, 400 Fifth Ave., S.W. in Rochester

WHO: 

Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. Cynthia Love
Prior to her ordination, Dr. Love was a professional educator and therapist, an INC 500 company founder and senior executive for NYSE corporation The TORO Company. GO NYC Magazine recently listed her as one of the 100 Women We Love Class of 2006 (out women making a difference across the continent). She is the author of Would Jesus Discriminate: The 21st Century Question (2008).

Panelist: Rabbi Michelle Werner was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2006. She is a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the international movement of Reform Judaism.

Panelist: Rev. Dr. Nancy Horvath-Zurn has been an ordained clergy for Metropolitan Community Churches since 1991. She currently pastors Healing Spirit MCC in Rochester, Minnesota and is the owner of a spiritual consulting business, Horvath-Zurn Consulting.

Panelist: Father Nick Mezacapa has been ordained to the Episcopal Priesthood for the last 25 years. He has served as the rector of Calvary Episcopal Church for the past 20 years.

Moderator: Harry Knox, Director, Religion and Faith Program, Human Rights Campaign
                                                   
Co-Sponsors of the “Faith and Fairness” event include:
-Human Rights Campaign Foundation
-B’nai Israel Synagogue
-Christ United Methodist Church
-Diversity Council
-Dignity Twin Cities
-Faith Family Fairness Allliance
-First Unitarian Universalist Church of Rochester
-Gay Lesbian Community Services of South Eastern Minnesota
-Healing Spirit Metropolitan Community Church
-Lutherans Concerned
-OutFront Minnesota
-Peace United Church of Christ
-People of Hope, ELCA
-PFLAG