Family-friendly?

Along with “family values,” the descriptor “family-friendly” gets tossed around when considering something’s appropriateness. The recent decision of my Alma mater, South Williamsport Area Junior/Senior High School to drop its planned school musical was made, in part, out of concern that the musical might not be “family-friendly.” One of these potentially non family-friendly dimensions was the musical’s brief portrayal of a gay wedding (We seem to have no qualms about the pervasive violence in “family-friendly”media, but that’s a post for another day).

What astonishes me in all the media attention that this situation has already received is how love can be perceived as threatening and unfriendly to families. In 2010, my children attended their first wedding, the wedding of a pastor to a musician. Our kids were ages 2 and 4, hence they didn’t really “get” the whole thing, but our family had no qualms about supporting this gay couple in their commitment to one another before God and those gathered to pray, sing, and share Holy Communion. We are so proud to call them friends of our family.

We have other friends, a lesbian couple, who have been such lights in our lives, remembering our children on their birthdays, sending children’s books and Christmas gifts. When we lived in rural Minnesota, these friends made the long trek to visit us in our home. They are friends to our family and we are so blessed. 

I could go on, of course, about those many gay and lesbian friends who have enriched our family’s life, but the point is clear enough: Their love for each other causes no offense to us. It is nothing to fear but cause for celebration.

I hope and pray that South Williamsport’s schools can be motivated not by fear but by love for their neighbors, especially those families they’d rather not befriend.