On Monday night Police officers stood guard as students, faculty, and outsiders entered the MSC Oval Theater. Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield was introduced, and then she walked onto the stage. Many different people were in the audience including: homosexuality supporters, Christianity supporters, and some supported both. For some people, the shirt they wore placed them on a side, when the point of the lecture was to have a conversation, not a debate. Dr. Butterfield told her story of conversion to Christianity and then offered up the floor for a question and answer session.
Dr. Butterfield told her story beautifully, as if she was reading poetry. She was open and honest about her life. Not soon after she began her talk the front row of students stood up and took off an outer shirt to expose a white t-shirt with a saying written on it. Some included: you don't have to change, love wins, Rosaria does not speak for us, and more. They wrote these messages on their shirts before they even heard Rosaria speak. My question is, how would they have known what she was going to say? I think they made an assumption that her words were going to be hateful and rude to any person who identifies as a homosexual. This is completely understandable, since the media sometimes falsely and sometimes accurately portrays Christians in this light. Then as soon as she was done sharing her story they walked out peacefully and did not stay to ask questions or listen. I respect their opinions. I respect their right that they respectfully and silently protested, but I think they should have at least listened to her words. Rosaria was in their shoes before. She would have hated her new self only a few years ago. She said nothing disrespectful because she was that person.
What saddened me most about the night was the way the Christian group who planned the event did nothing to show their love and support for the students. Upon exiting the lecture the LGBT club and other organizations had tables with info set up, were playing happy music, and were there if people needed to talk. I believe that the Christian group should have done the same thing. In Dr. Butterfield’s book she talks about one of the hardest parts of leaving her past lifestyle was leaving the community. The LGBT community is like nothing I've ever experienced, even in the many church communities I have been a part of. They care for people and accept people in a way that is hard to describe. I had heard this from Dr. Butterfield’s book, but it wasn't until I saw it for myself that I understood. They gave hugs and passed out notes of encouragement to everyone walking out of the lecture. Christians could learn a lot about love, acceptance and community from them. As a Christian, I need to learn how to truly welcome everyone.
There are many things I learned from this lecture. I walked away heavy hearted and honestly saddened. This topic is so heavy, but I think the heart of the topic is love. It made me really ask myself am I loving people like Jesus did? Is the church? Jesus loves everyone. He loves everyone who was in that lecture no matter what their beliefs are. I have to take a look at my life and ask myself if I am also loving everyone the way Jesus does.
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