So much good stuff going on.  Where to begin?
 

MY SONG SUNG BY PRIMARY CHILDREN IN INDIA ON "NATIONAL LEPROSY DAY."

Well, this one might make you cry.  It did me.  After tracking down a report that a song I wrote, "I’ll Walk With You," found on page 140 of the Primary Children’s Songbook, was sung by children in India, I received this great email from Becky Douglas, who has created an awesome organization to serve the leprosy-affected in that country.   After telling me she has been one of my "most devoted groupies for years," she wrote:

Our children in India learned your song from attending Primary. We decided to have them sing it for the first National Leprosy Day in India. Our partner, Padma Venkataraman, was instrumental in getting India to pass a National Leprosy Day. We sponsored a large function in Tamilnadu, with the Governor and other governmental authorities in attendance. We had some of our patients come and talk about the change in their lives as they moved from begging in the streets, to becoming small business owners through micro-lending.

 We had worked hard to make sure they were presentable. They all had new clothes and had been cleaned up. But when they came in the room there was an audible reaction of shock and anger that we would bring them into the same room with these Brahmin government leaders (on National Leprosy Day, no less. Duh!!).  As they presented their stories, each patient talked about the stigma they faced and how hard they had worked to become successful in spite of the stigma. They told of the joy and pride they felt at being able to support their own families through their new small businesses.

 When they finished we had our children (about 125 at that point) come in to sing your song. They were dressed beautifully! The girls were wearing their "Indian Princess" outfits, and the boys were dressed in white tunics. We had to alter some of the words, because the government leaders were Hindu, and there are very strong resentments against Western Charities that come into India and convert Hindus. Basically we just changed the name Jesus to "God."

 After the children finished singing, our director, Gopi Sundaram, translated the words into Tamil. There was a hush that fell over the audience. These were the very people in India that supported the stigma. Afterwards the governor stepped forward and shook the hands (stumps) of the patients who had come. This was unheard of!  Then he shook the hands of the children. There was an uncomfortable shuffling in the room. The other government leaders were conflicted as to what they should do. One by one, they each came up and congratulated the patients on their new businesses. A few of them even shook the hands of our patients. They all shook the hands of our children. The song had melted their hearts. This was a great moment in our quest to end the stigma of the leprosy-affected in India... Thanks for your song that helped with this wonderful event!

How GREAT is that????

Read of Becky’s amazing work and perhaps get involved at http://www.risingstaroutreach.org/ 

PROPOSITION HEALING:
Breaking Bread and Building Understanding
for
Mormons and Gays
Gay Mormons
Families and Friends
http://propositionhealing.com

You’ll find an inspiring invitation to do something simple and important on this critical topic.  On Facebook, see http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=369368072221&ref=ts   

In the words of one of our participants: "I would never have believed that I could sit down with a group of Mormons and feel understood and even appreciated.  I am feeling very hopeful."

Please join us in this effort and let me know how your own event goes!  This is how we make walls fall down, just a few people at a time.

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=118689&catid=14

Now hundreds of thousand of readers know about the great work done by my fabulous stake presidency in making presentations to each of the wards in our stake on the subject of better understanding and reaching out to our gay brothers and sisters. Reporter Peggy Fletcher Stack wrote:

Oakland Stake President Dean Criddle, a respected lawyer and gentle leader, sensed the ripples of collective pain and wanted to reunite his flock, says Matt Marostica, bishop of the Berkeley Ward.  So Criddle and his counselors assembled quotes and speeches from LDS general authorities that stressed love and compassion for those with same--sex attraction.  They then asked each of the 10 wards in the stake to hold a joint meeting of adult members during church services on either Aug. 30 or Sept. 6 to hand out the quotes and listen to personal stories from area members.

            The response in [Diane] Oviatt’s ward was electric, Oviatt says.  [After her talk telling of the anguish of her gay son], "Everyone in the audience was weeping.  Men came up to my husband, crying, and hugged him, saying, ‘We love you and we love your son.’"

            ...One woman said, "I’m so glad we did this.  This is the church I know and love."

Anyone desiring to receive a "syllabus" of the presentations, put together by the stake president, along with four of the short talks given by members, email me at clp@clpearson.com.

Only if God is revealed in the history of the Syrians and Philistines can He be revealed in the history of Israel.  Only if He chooses all men for His own can He choose any at all.  ~William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury

Outside my window I see a clear blue sky, a flowering tree, and a world that asks us every moment to choose between fear and love. 

Thanks for being part of the love.

Your friend,