St. Luke's Hosts Phone Banks for Marriage Equality

by Rev. Erik ChristensenJust over a month ago, St. Luke's co-hosted the 4th annual Boulevard music festival with our partners, ALSO (the Alliance of Local Service Organizations) and LSNA (the Logan Square Neighborhood Association). At our booth, we installed a giant banner with the words "Logan Square Supports Marriage Equality" surrounded by plenty of white space for people to sign their names that was created on a similar platform to this banner maker that offer many templates as well as complete design freedom to create as you please.The results were astounding. Church members and neighbors, parents and children, straight and gay, singles and couples ... hundreds of people stopped by our booth to sign the banner and to talk with members and friends of St. Luke's, who were able to share our testimony, our story of a loving God whose church is large enough for everyone, a justice-making God who stands with all who suffer and are excluded.When the Illinois legislature gathers for the veto session later this month, it has the opportunity to pass legislation that would make marriage equally available to couples, regardless of the gender of the partners being wed. This legislation faces an uphill battle, as communities around the state weigh in on how they want to see marriage defined in the state of Illinois.At St. Luke's we've already made our position on this matter known. We passed policies related to weddings and marriage years ago that state our conviction that

"relationships are a blessing not only for couples, but for the wider communities that surround and support them. Therefore, we welcome all couples, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who are in, or are entering into, publicly accountable, life-long, monogamous relationships..."

Now it's time for the next step.

St. Luke's has been invited to host a series of phone banks by Illinois Unites for Marriage, the statewide coalition fighting for marriage equality. On Wednesday, September 9 and Wednesday, September 16 we will be opening our doors to people from around the neighborhood and across the city looking for a chance to make a difference in this campaign.Here's what we need:1. We need people to come and phone bank for marriage equality. All that's needed is a laptop computer and a cell phone. There will be a brief training from 6:30pm to 7pm for those who are new to phone banking, then we'll be on the phones from 7pm - 8:30pm.For those who can make it, we also offer a free, hot meal through our Community Dinners program so that volunteers can come straight from work without having to worry about how they'll get dinner.2. We need a couple of people each night to be "hosts" for the evening -- making sure guests and visitors are welcomed and directed to the fellowship hall, where the phone banking will take place.The phone calls volunteers will be making are not "persuasion" calls. You won't be asked to change anyone's mind. You will be asking the people you call a.) if they support marriage equality, and b.) if so, if they would be willing to be transferred to the voice mail of their state legislator in order to make their opinion known.You can sign up for the phone banking events on their Facebook event pages. This is not necessary, but will help us estimate how many people to prepare for.To sign up for October 9th, click here. To sign up for October 16th, click here.If you're interested in being a host for one of these two nights, email Pastor Erik.