More Light Presbyterians screened Love Free or Die at the 220th General Assembly, a film about Bishop Gene Robinson directed by Macky Alston. If you have not had an opportunity to watch the film, it airs on PBS tonight. Check your local PBS listings for the exact time.
About Love Free or Die
Love Free or Die is about a man whose two defining passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Gene Robinson is the first openly gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir.
The film follows Robinson from small-town churches in the New Hampshire North Country to Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to London’s Lambeth Palace, as he calls for all to stand for equality – inspiring bishops, priests and ordinary folk to come out from the shadows and change history.
A Note from Macky Alston
This Monday, October 29, at 10 p.m. on PBS, people all over the country are going to watch the national premiere of my film “Love Free or Die,” the story of the first openly gay person to be elected a Christian bishop.
Can you believe how far we’ve come on the issue of LGBTQ dignity and rights?
Now, you and I have an opportunity to mark this moment in history.
If all you do is watch the film, wonderful!
Join us live-tweeting using the hashtag #lovefreeordie. You don’t even need Twitter to follow along: just visit https://twitter.com/search/realtime?q=%23lovefreeordie.
If you want to go a step beyond and use the screening as an opportunity to open someone’s heart and mind on the LGBT issue, here are our three simple suggestions:
1. Watch the national PBS broadcast of “Love Free or Die” this Monday at 10 p.m. (Be sure to check your local listings; times and channels may vary.) The documentary won the Special Jury Prize for an “Agent of Change” at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. To date, Auburn has helped to screen the film in over 300 community groups. But you won’t have to leave your living room to watch the film!
If you’re ready today, invite your friends who are not so sure about this issue, who perhaps have never met an out gay clergy person who speaks proudly about being Christian and gay, to watch with you.
2. Listen to our webinar designed to help you invite conflicted Christians to explore the LGBT issue more deeply for themselves so they can stand for equality too.
3. Check out the new website, The Friends & Family Plan, which provides you with practical ideas to engage your Christian friends to stand for equality, complete with the best research to address the concerns of each friend you may have in mind: www.friendsandfamilyplan.org.
We’re proud of the fact that, since our founding in 1818, members of the Auburn community have spoken out for abolition, for suffrage and women’s rights, for civil rights, and for the poor, the incarcerated and other oppressed people.
In America, many believe LGBT equality is the civil rights issue of today. So it’s time. Time to stand for justice. Time to bring God’s realm to earth in the here and now–a world in which diversity is celebrated, abundance is shared, and we are working together to build a tomorrow that is better than today.
Best wishes to you,
Macky Alston
Director, Love Free or Die
Senior Director, Auburn Media
Auburn Theological Seminary