Thank You, Western Kentucky

Hello, Fair-minded Friends:

I write to say thank you to everyone that partnered with the Kentucky Fairness Alliance (KFA) and the Murray State University (MSU) Alliance student organization to show Dan Karslake's "For the Bible Tells Me So" in Western Kentucky. And for every one of you that attended, I hope that you left the theater feeling good about the information the film presented and more confident in yourself to discuss the cross-section between religion and sexuality.

I must say that as plans were coming together, I was a bit unsure what the turnout would be. I was pleasantly surprised to see over 125 of you in the audience and overwhelmed by the diversity among the communities present.

Each time I checked my e-mail on Wednesday (actually beginning late Tuesday night), I began receiving very kind and inspiring thank you messages.

I received one from a colleague that said the following after childcare plans fell through, "I'm thankful that my babysitter didn't show up, because it gave my son and me the chance to have a good long conversation -- and for me to instill in him that his sexual orientation is his to discover."

"I was delighted with how well the movie presented so many aspects," came from one of Murray's own religious leaders.

Less than an hour later, a public relations student wrote saying, "Hopefully, it has helped many people to come to terms with who they are and helped them to realize that they deserve to be loved regardless."

I've pondered the messages throughout the day, along with my own feelings from last night's post-film discussion, and must say that "For the Bible Tells Me So" was probably one of the best public education events organized for the fair-minded community in Western Kentucky in several years.

As I said in the media advisory two weeks ago, the film raised serious questions about the compatibility of prejudice with loving your neighbor, and attendees Tuesday echoed that thought.

I, personally, recommend seeing it if you have not. To help those in the Murray State community and to show our appreciation, KFA will purchase a copy of this award-winning documentary and donate it to the MSU Library to be entered into their circulation for future use by students, faculty, and staff.

Again, thank you to everyone that supported the showing and those that attended! It was great to see you at the movies!


PS -- A special thanks to Rev. Ferguson of Metropolitan Community Church of Paducah for moderating the post-film discussion.