Religious doctrine "should not be used to deny rights or to promote discrimination in the civil arena," says one speaker at a news conference organized by Rhode Island Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice.

08:52 AM EST on Wednesday, February 25, 2004

BY ALICE GOMSTYN
Journal Staff Writer

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl Partners for 16 years, Anne Bouldrey and Carol Reed, of Cumberland, hold hands during a news conference at the Westminster Unitarian Universalist Church in support of equal access to marriage for same-gender couples.

EAST GREENWICH -- In what some are hoping will spur a larger movement in support of same-sex marriage, religious leaders from several Rhode Island communities joined together at a news conference yesterday morning to voice their support for gay marriage.

"There is no godly reason, in my mind, why one group of citizens shouldn't have the same rights as any other," said Deborah Mero, the interim minister at the Westminster Unitarian Church, in East Greenwich, where the event took place.

The news conference was organized by Rhode Island Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, a social-advocacy group claiming about 70 members from six Unitarian Universalist churches in the state.

David Gleicher, a co-chair of the group's steering committee, said he hoped the event would serve as a first step toward building a coalition of religious groups in support of gay marriage.

"We're looking forward to the possibility of other religious organizations and community organizations coming together with a shared commitment to advocate the passage of legislation" that would allow same-sex couples to marry, Gleicher said.

Sen. Rhoda E. Perry, D-Providence, who spoke at the news conference, called the event a "watershed moment."

She said that, while religious leaders have come together at rallies for gay-rights before, yesterday's event was probably the first specifically endorsing gay marriage.

"This group of clergy got together to announce and demonstrate to the public that they, a respectable church, and members of other respectable churches -- in distinction from only the Roman Catholic Church -- were in support of this change in social policy," Perry said after the news conference.

Earlier this month, a spokesman for Bishop Robert Mulvee, the head of the Providence Catholic Diocese, said the bishop would work to oppose any bills legalizing gay marriage.

While most speakers at the event yesterday did not specifically refer to the Catholic Church, some urged legislators not to oppose gay marriage on religious grounds.

"Each religious tradition has its own interpretation and understanding of texts it considers sacred or foundational," said the Rev. William P. Zelazny, a district executive at the Unitarian Universalist Association, the national organization of Unitarian Universalist churches. "That is well and good for religous practice. But those interpretations should not be used to deny rights or to promote discrimination in the civil arena."

Perry yesterday submitted a bill to the Senate that would legalize gay marriage. She said the East Greenwich event was not scheduled to occur in concert with the submission.

Perry, Mero, and other speakers at the event -- including leaders from several Unitarian Universalist, Methodist, Episcopal and Reform Jewish congregations -- said that denying same-sex couples marriage rights amounts to "shameful" discrimination.

Journal photo / Gretchen Ertl IN AGREEMENT: Front from left, the Rev. Deborah Mero, interim minister at the Westminster Unitarian Church, in East Greenwich; the Rev. Dr. William C. Trench, senior pastor at the United Methodist Church, in East Greenwich; and the Rev. Al Barnaby, of St. James Episcopal Church, in North Providence, listen to speakers at yesterday's news conference in support of same-sex marriages.

The Rev. Amy A. Freedman, of the Channing Memorial Church in Newport, said performing commitment ceremonies that fall short of marriage is a "bittersweet" experience.

She noted that, by law, same-sex couples cannot qualify for the same health and financial benefits as married heterosexual couples.

"My heart is always heavy," she said, "with the knowledge that they do not have the equal rights they deserve."

For another speaker, the Rev. Al Barnaby of St. James Episcopal Church in North Providence, the issue is personal.

Mr. Barnaby was the first openly gay Episcopal priest in Rhode Island. When he and his partner of 20 years tried to finance the purchase of their house, Mr. Barnaby said, they ran into problems a married couple wouldn't face.

"Don't forget about us," he said. "Don't forget about my people."

The Rev. Dr. William C. Trench, of the United Methodist Church in East Greenwich, said his support for gay marriage is based on his religious beliefs.

Marriage, he said, "is a promise made before God and the community to love one another forever."

"At a time when heterosexual commitment seems to be in short supply," Mr. Trench said, "I find it incredibly moving to see gay and lesbian couples lined up at city halls to promise their love to one another."

Also speaking at the event was the Rev. Stephen A. Landale, of the Bell Street Chapel, a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Providence; the Rev. Mary Beth Hayes, executive director of The Chaplaincy Center, in Providence; the Rev. Brian Merritt, co-moderator of Presbyterian Promise, a Southern New England organization advocating gay rights; and the Rev. Craig Burlington, of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, in East Greenwich. A representative from Temple Sinai, a Reform temple in Cranston, presented a statement from the temple's rabbi, Peter Stein.