Essay Contest
When I first imagined Clergy United for the Equality
of Homosexuals, I foresaw a mighty contingent of
hundreds of clergypersons who would enter the gay
rights fray alongside me and actually make a
difference in this struggle to make our churches not
only hospitable, but affirming and nurturing of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians. Was I
in for a big surprise and disappointment. Clergy,
in the main, do not see the struggle for gay rights
as the moral equivalent of the civil rights struggle
of the 1950s and ‘60s.
Nevertheless, the intent of Clergy United remains
the same: to convince all Christians, and clergy in
particular, that the gospel of Jesus Christ compels
us to make the same commitments to the gay rights
movement as our predecessors did in the struggle for
civil rights. I’m amazed that those of us today,
who would not have sat on the sidelines then and
watch as others did the heavy lifting, could
conceive of sitting out this enormously important
struggle. Yet we do, in the vast majority. This is
tragic and needs to change.
So,
here is my challenge to you, my pro-gay clergy
colleagues: Clergy United will award $500 to the
clergy author of a 2000-2500 word essay that best
develops the theme, “Why the gay rights movement IS
the moral equivalent of the civil rights movement.”
By “moral equivalent,” I mean that the moral
imperatives that drove the civil rights movement,
including (but not limited to) justice, equality,
dignity and repentance, are just as meaningful and
operative in the gay rights movement. Ultimately,
it means that anyone who accepted the moral
imperatives of the civil rights movement was willing
to put life, limb and career at risk for the sake of
the movement. Therefore, as its moral equivalent,
the same sense of sacrifice should obtain today for
gay rights.
Also, Clergy United will award $500 to the clergy
author of a 2000-2500 word essay that best develops
the theme, “Why the gay rights movement of today IS
NOT the moral equivalent of the civil rights
movement.”
Rules
1.
The
prize will be awarded on December 15, 2007. (Just
in time for Christmas)
2.
Submission deadline is October 31, 2007.
3.
Submissions will be accepted beginning August 15,
2007.
4.
There must be at least 25 submissions in each
category for the prize to be awarded.
5.
The prize will be awarded to the best of those submitted, given the minimum of 25 submissions, regardless of the ability to persuade Clergy United staff.
6.
Clergy United, Inc. staff will be the sole judges.
7.
Submitter must be or have been an ordained
clergyperson.
8.
The
negative submitter must otherwise be affirming of
gay Christianity and spell out why in the first few
paragraphs.
9.
Submissions may be anonymous to the public, but not
to Clergy United, Inc.
10.
Submissions must be in MS Word or other data format
and e-mailed as an attached document to revkindle@clergyunited.org
with SUBMISSION FOR or SUBMISSION AGAINST in the
Subject line.
11.
There is a $5 submission fee. Clergy United
members, exempt. No refunds made.
12.
The
winners will be posted to our website and comments
will be solicited.
13.
Winning submissions will become the property of Clergy United, Inc.
Positive submissions will be evaluated on the basis
of how well the parallels are articulated and how
stirring a call to enlist the sideliners is made.
If
your submission is to uphold the negative side, you
don’t have to prove us wrong to win the prize. All
you have to do is make the best argument among the
submissions.
Mail submission fee to:
Clergy United, Inc.
P.O. Box 1823
Newark, CA 94560-1823
OR
Click Here to Use Paypal. If you are not a PayPal subscriber,
you can still use the service with a credit card.
Simply put Essay Fee in the Item box and $5 in the
Unit Price box.
Thank you for your interest and best wishes for a
thoughtful essay.
Rev. Steve Kindle
Executive Director
Clergy United for the Equality of Homosexuals
www.clergyunited.org
revkindle@clergyunited.org
