When the Bishop of New York Mark Sisk declared, "They Are We", meaning the LGBT faithful within the Episcopal Church, he instantly broke through the current debate in the church over inclusion. He was saying, even if we wanted to, we could not lock out our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers because we would then be locking out ourselves.  It was that "moment of clarity" we'd all been waiting for. To get that message out, and to give people a way to show solidarity, we came up with the

THEY ARE WE

wristbands.  You probably know these flex-bands from other movements.  This one is "gay pink" and THEY ARE WE is imprinted on it.

The first wristbands were created as an independent ministry and a gift to the church, particularly our own parish community, The Church of the Holy Apostles in New York City. Since then, more and more people have asked for wristbands.

As you know, these projects usually have a fundraising initiative associated with them.  So far, with the THEY ARE WE wristbands, those who can have been urged to give at least $10 per band to an inclusive ministry.  Some thought-starters are included with the bands, but you are encouraged to seek out and support people locally, nationally and globally who see justice as an integral part of the mission of Christ's church to the world.

Welcome to the THEY ARE WE community.  Wear your wristband to show that you believe true unity includes all of us.

Peace:

Shirley Swardenski (973) 889-5498   s.a.swardenski@att.net
and
John Gibson  jhngb@aol.com.

Please remember, this is an independent ministry and has not been endorsed by any representative of the Episcopal Church.  Your donations stay entirely between you and the group you choose.