Since I was walking to church from my dorm, I had to walk right by them, and when I read what their signs said I was filled with anger, frustration, pain, and sadness. They saw my face (let's be real, I gave them a look that said "go to hell") and proceeded to tell me that I "had that Jezebel" in me and that I was a "whore" and "dressed like one, too." Let's all take a minute and laugh at the absurdity of someone calling ME, of all people, a whore.
I walked into my church parking lot with teary eyes, not because their words stung me but because their words made me hurt for them. How can someone profess to follow a religion built on love and acceptance of the ostracized and go around spewing hatred and intolerance? How can they call themselves Christians? I'm pretty sure being a decent human being is a prerequisite to being a part of most religions (though unfortunately, lots of people don't get that).
Well, jerks, there are a few things this whore has to say to you:
You will not change me. I believe in God and in Jesus just like you do, and I know I am right for spreading love to all people and not hatred. To my LGBTQ brothers and sisters, I love all of you people. And I don't mean the whole "I love you but not your sin" thing because that's crap. I love you as beautiful children created by our loving God.
You will not hurt me. There is nothing you can say or do that can harm me when I have the love of God on my side. I am not afraid of you, but I do pity you.
You are wrong. Sorry. Jesus loves everyone, and that doesn't mean "everyone except the people who are different from you..." You can't decide who gets God's love and who doesn't. Spoiler alert: that's God's job, and I'm pretty sure it's mentioned a few times that he loves all of his children. Also, scripture doesn't justify your hatred, so stop quoting that stupid passage in Leviticus. A) The bible was written by PEOPLE, so it is *gasp* fallible on occasion B) You're misusing a tiny passage to justify the persecution of an entire community and C) You can't pick and choose passages from the bible to skew until they're unrecognizable just to fit your idea of religion and faith. That's not how this thing works.
I hope you allow the love of Christ to enter your lives. I sincerely do. I hope that someday, something happens that will change your perspective and you will realize just how wrong you are, and you will let yourself be made new in the love of God. God loves you too, and while I can't bring myself to say that I love you, I do forgive you. You know not what you are doing.
For me, this was a wake up call. I've heard about protestors like this and read about their hate-filled shouts, but never before have I been so closely involved. Though it was unsettling at first, I feel so immensely blessed to be a part of such an incredible church community. I felt so much love and such a powerful connection to my church family today during the service. You are an amazing bunch of gay-people loving, Jesus following weirdos, College Park.
Who knows? Maybe some college kids saw it and thought "Dang, that church is getting protested...LET'S GO THERE!"
I love you people.
~Hayley