Solidarity Prayer

[Deleted]

Next week 24 of us have organized a 24 hour solidarity prayer. We will be praying for the spirit to rain down on the lost sheep who are ready to be found. We will be praying that their hearts will be softened and receptive to the Word.

We have set aside a special prayer room, each of us will pray for an hour each over the 24 hour period, we will not stop until our replacement comes to relieve us.

We are going in with full faith, and we know the Lord will answer.

[Deleted]

Everybody’s all gay now

By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist | 2:25PM - Tuesday, April 30th, 2013

IF YOU don’t think it’s a big deal, you aren’t paying close enough attention.

If you don’t think the cover-story coming out of Jason Collins, the currently active, black, veteran, mostly-unknown NBA player, is still historic and all kinds of pioneering, particularly in light of the fact that both big-league pro sports and its slightly skeezy neighbor, hip-hop culture, remain the most homophobic and dumbly macho of all American industries next to NASCAR and maybe professional bass fishing, you gotta check your Twitter feed.

While I don’t watch pro sports or have the slightest interest in the lives of its players or teams, I do delight when the open palm of raw history slaps an excessively masculine, long-repressed institution across the face (Catholic church, US military, Republican party), and I certainly recognize the awesome refrain currently being blared out far and wide right now in regard to gay athletes in pro sports in general: “It’s about goddamn time.”


Dear NFL — You’re next.

No kidding, right? I wrote about the obvious, closeted existence of gay pro athletes in this very column way back in 2005 (and again in ’11), how they must exist, in statistically significant numbers, back when such a possibility was complete cultural anathema, back when the big gay sporting news of the day was Sheryl Swoopes of the WNBA announcing, to no one’s surprise, that she was a lesbian. Yawn.

Prior to Swoopes, I think the only major gay announcement in the sporting world during the ’90s was the sweet, completely obvious gayness of… Greg Louganis, way, way back in 1995, on Oprah. But, really now — Olympic diving? Where you shave your chest, slick up your entire body and practice entering the water like a ballerina? Who isn’t gay?

Back in 2005, I was optimistic in my timeline guesstimate, but even I had little idea the pro athlete breakout would occur in well under a decade, or that a gay player from the Big Four would appear on the same cultural docket as gay marriage, gays in the military, gays all up in the bloated, pinched face of Antonin Scalia; I certainly had no idea any of it would happen under the calm, intelligent gaze of a black president who (finally) supports the gay thing all over the place, right along with nearly all Democratic and even a couple (very nervous) Republican senators. “Wow” doesn’t really cover it.

Fact is, many readers and gay rights supporters back then were convinced they’d never see gay marriage, much less a pro gay athlete (or a black president), in their lifetime. A full cultural awakening was at least 25 or even 30 years out, if that. And while Collins isn’t exactly Michael Jordan in terms of hero-worship celebrity, his decision earned instant support from many who are: Kobe Bryant, two living presidents, countless celebrities and assorted trailblazers who came before (Navratilova, Robbie Rogers, et al).

How delightful to be proven wrong. How amazing to to have underestimated the pace, and the attitude, and even the NBA’s response. How remarkable that all the major sports leagues have been preparing for this very day by hooking into sensitivity training and gay rights groups so as to better deal with the inevitable anti-gay backlash from not-very-bright players, thuggish fans and the various Christian family groups who will now likely “ban” the NBA for daring to allow Collins to spray his hot gay sweat near human children.

But even more wonderful to know that, while Collins might be the first active player to come out, he’s far from the last. Soon, gay athletes will be commonplace. Soon, no big deal. Soon, the NFL, NHL and MLB and (yawn) pro golf and even, maybe, a gay NASCAR driver, a guy who surely already exists and who is right now completely terrified of getting shot if he even dares to look in the direction of Jason Collins. Poor kid.

To me, this is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of all, this wild acceleration, the compounding energy, the quickening avalanche of turnabouts and awakenings, confessions, support. Even Collins made a point to say he’s glad he came out today and not in 2003, given how far we’ve come in the span of just a decade, in how gay rights have leapt from flame-baiting derogatory hot-button to front page, teary-eyed exclamation. Gay marriage? Gay military? Gay politicians? Gay sports? Everyone’s doing it. What’s next, a female president? Oh. Hell. Yes.

You are compelled to ask: How did this happen so quickly? Why the wild acceleration? That’s easy: Technology. Social media. Scared old white guys fading away and dying off en masse, which goes hand in claw with the end of the nasty, homophobic Bush era. All topped by the incredible hard work of countless gay rights activists and advocates in D.C. and everywhere else, for years, for decades, and still going strong.

Also, God not giving a damn about who you love, so long as you love. Also, younger generations not caring a whit about the sad “culture wars” of their elders. Simple, right?

You are almost be tempted to say that the walls are crumbling, glass ceilings are shattering and Obama’s rainbow coalition majority is already flexing its newfound, pro-gay pro-fem pro-variety muscle. You are tempted to see Collins’ handsome, smiling face on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and get all optimistic about the future, knowing that the last civil right has finally hit critical mass, and is fast heading toward the dustbin of history.

Don’t get too cocky. Such dazzling cultural momentum does not always work in our favor. From global warming to gun control, abortion rights to the bloody contortions of the Arab Spring, too many issues and needful cultural shifts are still stuck in the waiting room of momentous change, hoping for their big gay moment, for that time when it’s all obvious and positive and essentially done.

We’re not there just yet. Too much Tea Party. Too many not very bright people in the world, in Congress, in power. Ignorance and intolerance, fear and paranoia are not so easily defeated, can sneak and slither their way into the cultural consciousness via all sorts of nefarious laws, congressional subcommittees, hate groups and hate radio and hate speech galore. And they always will.

But really, who cares about them right now? Kids, look! A pro gay athlete, playing in the NBA! It happened in your lifetime! It happened in my lifetime. Who would’ve thought? It’s just sort of astonishing. It’s worth more than merely noting; it’s absolutely worth celebrating. Let’s get to it.

•

• Mark Morford on Twitter and Facebook.

blog.sfgate.com/morford/2013/04/30/everybodys-all-gay-now

[Deleted]

What does that have to do with prayer?

[Deleted]

May 2, 2013 21:47:18 GMT 10 @mattm said:

What does that have to do with prayer?

Well.....being arrogant enough to pray to thin air (an absolutely pointless and useless task) in an attempt to influence other people who have free will is a full-of-shit exercise.

So why not post anything at all to this totally stupid thread?

You might learn something from what I posted, Matty-boy. Perhaps it will influence your bigoted thinking!

[Deleted]

Every Sunday in all the Anglican Churches, millions of Church of England people pray for the health of the Queen.

She is no healthier than anyone else.

Prayer does not work.

Try to raise the dead.

People have said the Lords Prayer - Thy Kingdom Come.

Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

And that prayer has been said for 2,000 years - and it has still not happened.

And it never will.

[jody]

Good for you Matt....what you're doing will take a lot of effort

[slartibartfast]

And it's totally futile.

[Deleted]

I guess you have not seen prayer work.

[Deleted]

I have seen prayer work, I therefore cannot deny its power.

[jody]

same here...my son is alive today because of prayer.

[slartibartfast]

If prayer worked, there would be no sick people.

[Occam's Spork]

No, slarti. You are thinking of genies.

(I know with your limited understanding of theology it's easy to get confused)

Prayers are petitions, which gives God the right to accept or deny your request.
They aren't magic utterances to help you get what you want all of the time.

[Deleted]

May 3, 2013 9:52:23 GMT 10 Occam's Spork said:

No, slarti. You are thinking of genies.

(I know with your limited understanding of theology it's easy to get confused)

Prayers are petitions, which gives God the right to accept or deny your request.
They aren't magic utterances to help you get what you want all of the time.

So....in other words....when you pray to your imaginary god, there is a tiny chance that what you prayed for will happen. Which means that it is almost certainly mere coincidence when that thing you prayed for really does occur. Only an idiot would claim that is a god (imaginary in their mind) answering them praying to thin air.

Face facts....shit happens whether you pray or not. If you want to be delusional and them claim that shit happens because you prayed to an imagination, then you need to consult a psychiatrist to get help.

[slartibartfast]

It's an easy out. My prayer didn't work coz it wasn't my turn.

[Occam's Spork]

If God granted your every whim, he wouldn't be God; You would be.

[slartibartfast]

Name one whim he has answered. Just one.

[jody]

My son is still alive.

[slartibartfast]

That's not god doing it, sorry. Otherwise, no-one would die.

[jody]

yeah ok....like you know anything about it.

[Occam's Spork]

If prayer could be tested empirically and forced to yield conclusive results, it would obviate the need for faith.

[slartibartfast]

Jody, I know you have a sick child as you have stated this before, so I am not trying to be insensitive. If there really is a god, there would be no sick children. I just think that god doesn't make things better or worse for the simple reason that he or she just does not exist.

[slartibartfast]

May 3, 2013 22:10:16 GMT 10 Occam's Spork said:

If prayer could be tested empirically and forced to yield conclusive results, it would obviate the need for faith.

That just means that you can't prove that prayer does anything.

[Occam's Spork]

May 3, 2013 22:14:27 GMT 10 slartibartfast said:

Jody, I know you have a sick child as you have stated this before, so I am not trying to be insensitive. If there really is a god, there would be no sick children. I just think that god doesn't make things better or worse for the simple reason that he or she just does not exist.

Are you suggesting that sick children serve no purpose?

[Occam's Spork]

May 3, 2013 22:15:19 GMT 10 slartibartfast said:

May 3, 2013 22:10:16 GMT 10 Occam's Spork said:

If prayer could be tested empirically and forced to yield conclusive results, it would obviate the need for faith.

That just means that you can't prove that prayer does anything.

No, It means I can't prove anything outside of individual experience.
Even if I gave you an example of answered prayer, you are still free to reject that it occurred.

[Occam's Spork]

May 3, 2013 22:14:27 GMT 10 slartibartfast said:

If there really is a god, there would be no sick children.

What if sick children wasn't the fault of God, rather the consequence of something man (humans) did? ..Is God obligated to defend us against the consequence of our foolish choices? If He did, how would that be considered free will?