So on a slight tangent
Today me & my dearest Finny (Chavery) went on a photoshoot rendezvous in the heart of downtown Toronto, where acceptance levels are high & the churches have even lent a helping hand to the queer community. Originally, the plan was to find a decrepit church or abandoned building & to have her in her old ballet getup. But, we got sidetracked & would up in the Eaton Center, right next door to my old church where one of my moms met her partner (before converting to Judaism) & my godfather still reads the narrator lines for the oldest Christmas play in the GTA (113 years running?). The Holy Trinity has a pride parade car float that I rode upon as a child, & when we came in an exceptionally nice (exceptionally gay) man gave us a warm welcome & a minitour. We asked permission to shoot a roll of film & he was all for it. He even said "If I had known the National Ballet would be stopping by I would have cleaned up a bit!". So with this encouragement we continued on our merry way. As Chaves was lighting up a prayer candle for my camera, an old homeless man walked into the church, shouting imperceptible things. As he drew nearer with his accusatory finger, my stomach gave a lurch, he was shouting out our disrespect in the House of the Lord, & what the fuck was this disgraceful whore doing in this getup, etc... The nice man tried telling him that all was well but he raged, gave us a fright & all but chased us from the threshold. He hadn't even meant to pray bcause he chased us right out, we weren't making noise, a fuss, or disturbing him. He shouted at us from across the church courtyard, maybe, maybe not noticing Chaves' rainbow satchel.
I'm an atheist. I can't imagine anything existing beyond whatever this is, I believe we rot etc...
I'm posing a question for you, readers. Where do we cross the line? Would a school photoshoot in a leotard, tights & pointe shoes be pushing your tolerance limits? & Where do we gays fit into the religious circle?
Awaiting your opinions,
No disrespect,
Lovely day,
-Cadence Lee
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Hi Cadence,
ReplyDeleteI'm the exceptionally (?) gay man who was privileged to welcome you to Holy Trinity on Saturday. Thanks for coming in. As for our other visitor when you were there, when we open our doors we accept whomever wishes to enter, and for whatever reason. I'm sorry he disturbed your delightful photo shoot. We never deny entry to anyone, although unfortunately a very few have to be asked to leave. In the 1970s, Holy Trinity was one of the few safe places in the city for gay and lesbian people to gather, and there were week-end dances right within the church. This is an important part of our heritage, and a warm welcome still awaits our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.
Regards,
Bob S.
www.holytrinitytoronto.org