Faith Family Fairness A l l i a n c e Expressing our Faith, Choosing our Families, Calling for Fairness
Home Links Take Action Talking Points Calendar Newsletter Bible Defense	Our Mission The Faith, Family, Fairness Alliance (FFFA) is a faith-based coalition of people in Minnesota from diverse religious backgrounds and beliefs. As people of faith we are committed to upholding the inherent humanity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) people as beloved children of God, and as Americans equally deserving of full rights, responsibilities, and legal protections for themselves and their families. So…what’s with the “T” in GLBT? Is it a drink with jam and bread?....... A note to follow “la”?………something that’s thrown in the sea at a Boston Party? Could your faith community unknowingly be unwelcoming…not including…actually discriminating against the “T” in your community? Did you know that there are unique health and social justice challenges faced by this important group of people? Want to learn more? So do we!! Growing with the Transgender Community This summer Faith Family Fairness Alliance (FFFA) was challenged at our annual meeting to look at transgender issues in faith communities. We’ve decided to take up that challenge. FFFA is connecting with people who identify as transgender to determine their suggestions for how to help faith communities to include trans people more effectively in their worship and activities. We are also learning what social justice issues are most important to those who identify as transgender and for which they would like to have support and involvement from faith communities. The recent developments regarding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) have heightened our need to support and advocate for the rights of all portions of our communities and to defend our transgender kin in their own struggles for equality. FFFA hopes to open wide this tightly closed door in faith communities. We plan discussion, information sharing, expressions of concern and challenges. We want to raise awareness and to offer encouragement to make our faith communities truly welcoming and inclusive of those who identify as transgender. See our Calendar Page for upcoming events discussing Transgender issues. Expressing our faith While each member of FFFA comes from their own respective faith tradition and spiritual belief, we are united in our common desire to affirm that all who are created are holy and loved, to support love and faithfulness in all relationships as a sign of God's love in our midst, and to create a society that promotes the rights and well-being of all of God's children. Throughout the ages people of faith have responded to the call of the Divine Spirit, working to create understanding between peoples, caring for and defending those on the margins of society and building more just and responsive communities. Again and again, people of faith have raised their voices against slavery, against segregation, and against the unfair treatment of women. It is in response to these same moral imperatives that we stand now in solidarity with our GLBT sisters and brothers to affirm them as Children of God and valued citizens. We affirm that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are full and equal members of our society and our communities of faith. We value and defend religious freedom and the separation of Church and State. We uphold the right of religious institutions to freely decide who they will marry in accordance to their faith convictions. Choosing our families We believe that civil [legal] marriages should be available to all those who choose to seek the legal support and recognition of their monogamous commitment to one another regardless of gender or sexual identity. We seek to preserve the separation of Church and State and believe that civil marriage should not be denied any person on the basis of religious belief. We believe civil marriage is intended to strengthen long-term committed relationships and to protect children within those families through legally binding rights, responsibilities and support. It would simply be unjust to deny same-sex couples their civil right to a civil marriage and to weaken their ability to be seen as a family in the eyes of the Law and State. While our concerns are not limited to marriage equality, we are working to defeat the proposed amendment(s) to the Minnesota State Constitution which would discriminate against a class of citizens such as gays and lesbians. We seek to support strong and caring couples and families by providing the legal recognition and rights they need. We believe in family values and we value all families. Calling for fairness in community We value a welcoming community that honors loving and committed covenantal relationships and their families of choice. We seek a society that will legally protect and support all families regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation or religious belief and practice. We believe to withhold civil marriage from any class of citizens, to build discrimination into our state constitution, is fundamentally unjust, and denies those faith communities who celebrate same-sex marriages the legitimacy and legal support deserved for those marriages. FFFA seeks just and fair treatment for GLBT Minnesotans: We help interested members of various Minnesota faith communities find and network with each other, for support around common issues and concerns of faith, justice and equality for all people. We seek to educate others through public forums, personal testimonies and workshops on issues of faith, justice, family life, and sexual orientation. We are actively involved in the legislative process, engaging our legislators in discussion of the issues, voicing our views, and voting according to our conscience. We also seek to help other people of faith express their concerns to their elected officials and be actively involved in the legislative process. We seek to preserve the freedom of religion for all people and the separation of Church and State that protects our liberty to worship and believe as our faith dictates. For more information e-mail us at FaithFamilyFairness Faith Family Fairness Alliance ~ PO Box 6285, Minneapolis, MN 55406 ~ site questions: fffawebguy <at> yahoo.com
Take Action! FFFA is looking for volunteers for events, and for our board. Visit the Take Action page for details. Events! Full details of these and many more events on our Calendar page:
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