So we had our meeting Wednesday, and two members of a Christian student organization showed up. It was wonderful. They were very respectful, non-judgmental, and they invited us to a picnic along with another LGBT org, and we hear that they may be inviting other student organizations in general, so luckily this time nothing negative happened.

In preparation to avoid any negative circumstances, our E-Board decided to make this meeting "Closing the Circle". For our organization, at the beginning of the year we do "Crossing the Line" and advertise it to get as many people as possible there, and then a moderator reads statements of identity such as "I have or have had an eating disorder" or "I identify as a person of color", and people step forward as they feel it applies to them, then those who have crossed the line are given a chance to speak, typically encouraged to make their statement "I never want to hear..." and whatever they would like to fill that with. For Closing the Circle, we do not advertise so that it is only those members who have been active in our organization over the past year, and it is a silent activity, meant more for personal reflection and quiet contemplation. We did it at the meeting when the Christians came largely because it is a silent activity to discourage any outbursts or anything of that sort, and for them to see who we are... more than just gay or heathens or however we may fear being seen, but rather as everything we are as people... and a lot of us had things in common with the two who came to our meeting. For me, I was excited to see one of them step forward for "I am an ally". I'm not sure he knew what it meant in the LGBT sense, but even the fact that they participated with us was encouraging.

So we're going to their picnic. This organization has been one which we have had no negative contact with in the past, and if there is at least one Christian organization on campus that simply wants to share their faith and is open and accepting, then I'm definitely all about supporting them. And maybe the other religious orgs who are less progressive (which is a term I find slightly ironic in this sense... love for your neighbor should not be progressive thought for a Christian) can learn from this example, and maybe things will turn around on both sides, rather that an "Us Versus Them" fight scenario.

Also, thank you all for your input and suggestions. Next week there is a speaker coming to campus to discuss Islam, so we're taking our members to hear him speak, and we're using that to open a religious dialog on our campus, and we're thinking in the fall of next year (because this quarter is packed as it is) organizing a panel or forum on religion and homosexuality, along with a speaker. Knowing there is one religious organization we can partner with on campus to reach a better understanding is definitely encouraging, and I know we can turn these past couple quarters around to create some education and positive change on our campus.