Pullman Church leaders support drag queen show and LGBTQIA+ individuals

Editor:

It has come to our attention that there has been some concern regarding a planned drag show at The Lockstone in Albion on Sunday Oct 1. As a faith organization with deep roots in the Orleans County community for the last 129 years, we, the Pullman Memorial Universalist Church, would like to address this.

We acknowledge the right of others to believe and worship differently than we do, but we feel this discrimination and narrow mindedness is detrimental to our community.  We are happy to represent those who feel as we do.

Freedom of expression and freedom to love are foundational to the pursuit of happiness.  Allowing space for LGBTQIA+ individuals to express themselves and serve as role models for young people learning about themselves and their way of loving is essential to reducing stigma and increasing safety, especially in an area where many may feel isolated and even unsafe.

According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQIA+ youth are more than four times as likely than their counterparts to attempt suicide.  If we are concerned about our youth, certainly making a community safe for them to express themselves and their identity is a much more helpful way to do so than to call for the cancellation of an adults-only drag show at a private venue.

As Susan B. Anthony once said, “I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.”

At Pullman, we trust individuals to find their own paths through life and seek to provide loving fellowship and community as we seek truth together, in love.  We applaud those that have begun this journey and continue on it in love, as well as those that seek to be beacons and advocates for others who may be struggling.

The previous “local faith leaders” do not speak for us. We support the venue, the performers, and the show.

May the show go on.

Respectfully,

The Board of Pullman Memorial Universalist Church,

Jessica George

Dylan Miller

Chris Loss

Alan Nugent

Carol Taillie

Sylvia Goodstine

Reverend Susan Frawley