The weekend before last, I went to Boston for a speaking engagement about my book sponsored by PFLAG Greater Boston. It was a great trip, and I got to meet a lot of really good people. Pam, Arnie, Sam, and Jude were some of them.
Sam and Jude took me to breakfast Sunday morning at a little place owned by a Brazilian woman and her Russian husband (who knows how they met). Arnie, Pam, and I had sushi Sunday night and talked for almost two hours about God, the Universe, and everything, which of course I loved. I also got to talk about theological science fiction with another guy named David -- Battlestar Gallactica, where the evil robots are monotheists and the humans are pagans.
The pastor of Arlington Street Unitarian, where I spoke, told me that our presentation drew the most people she remembered having for a non-musical special event, "well . . . except for Jesse Jackson." That was fun. In my head I heard, "Only Jesse Jackson is a bigger draw than John Tyler Connoley and Jeff Miner."
I also got to preach at MCC Boston on Sunday night. Since the next day, November 20th, was the Transgender Day of Remembrance, I decided to preach on Hathach the eunuch: One of my favorite Bible stories, which is about someone who I believe is a transgender hero.
Finally, I managed to overlap with the start of Mit Romney's presidential campaign. The Mormon governor and social conservative kicked things off with a religious anti-gay rally at the Massachusetts Capitol. From his vantage on the steps, Romney could see down into the Boston Common, where Mary Dyer was hanged for being a heretic, inspiring the First Amendment. That seemed appropriate to me, and a good reason to hope Mit's campaign fizzles.
Incidentally, the Globe published an article about my visit in yesterday's edition.