Love One Another: National Day of Prayer
Support Group members went to Cole Valley to spread good vibes
Members of the Cole Valley Speaks movement and Support Group have been talking for a long time about wanting to reach out more to staff, students, and leaders at Cole Valley. We met this weekend for a potluck and discussed the idea of doing something for National Day of Prayer. This year, the theme is Love One Another…something that I think is so fitting for this movement! We decided to take the opportunity, and planned a gathering outside of Cole Valley to talk face to face.
The goal of our gathering was to reach out, make contact, and show that we want to work with the school, and that we just want to talk. Our message was one of love and peace. And we had a great time! Atheists, Christians, and everyone in between gathered to share common ground and reach out with a positive message for the school.
Five supporters of our message gathered outside the school before classes began. Hundreds of students and parents drove by and checked out our sign as they passed. Our white-board read: “We Care, We want to help. Let’s Talk”. While most people passed us by, some parents and staff came over to talk with us and we really appreciated that!
Two of Cole Valley’s bible teachers (who are alumni themselves) also came out to say hi. We didn’t talk issues, but shared hugs and smiles. We thanked them for coming over before they headed to class. It felt good to see them in person and we hope it’s the start to more communication moving forward.
A parent stopped by who hadn’t yet heard about Cole Valley Speaks. We explained what our movement is about and asked them to check out the Joint Statement. The parent asked what kinds of topics the Joint Statement covered. We mentioned a few goals, such as improving transparency and procedures for handling assault. When we brought up our goal of preventing suicide in LGBT students of Cole Valley, the parent was taken aback and told us that they believe homosexuality is wrong. The parent was surprised to learn that some Christians don’t view homosexuality as a sin. They tried to take the conversation down the route of debating this issue, but we kept bringing the conversation back to the issues we address in the joint statement.
We shared with the parent that our goal is not to change Cole Valley’s mind on doctrinal issues. We mentioned that our goal is not to make them change or re-write their statement of faith. We shared that we believe that we can still make Cole Valley a safer place for LGBT students. Regardless of whether we believe homosexuality is a sin or not, we believe we can come together with the common goal of unconditionally loving students. This was certainly the least-positive interaction we had at our gathering, but we were still very glad to get the chance to talk with a parent and share information about our mission.
One of Cole Valley’s most beloved long-time math teachers came out to see us (with my mom ❤). We shared hugs and hand shakes (of course!) and touched on a few issues. We talked about aspects where we shared common ground (Such as suicide prevention. Something we can all agree on!). He has been praying for us, but mentioned he has been too busy to read our Joint Statement. We encouraged him to check it out soon, and told him a bit about the content of the joint statement and our intent in writing it. He encouraged us to talk to administration and leadership of the school.
We ended our gathering with a group hug among all the supporters. I left breathing a sigh of relief that we were able to share a positive message and hopefully ease some tensions between both sides. In all this I am holding on to any bit of positivity I can find. I look forward to more positive interactions and open communication in the future! Another small step forward…
If you’d be interested in attending future positive gatherings like this one, please email us.
