It's Oscar Season! Have You Seen LOVE FREE OR DIE?

It's Oscar season. Everybody is thinking about the movies. The Sundance Film Festival just ended and one of the acclaimed documentaries that came out of it was LOVE FREE OR DIE. It  is about our own Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, a man whose two defining passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Gene Robinson, as we know,  is the first openly gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir, and he has lived with death threats every day since.
 

LOVE FREE OR DIE follows +Gene from small-town churches in the New Hampshire North Country to Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to London’s Lambeth Palace, as he calls for all to stand for equality – inspiring bishops, priests and ordinary folk to come out from the shadows and change history.


Integrity member Donald Snyder recently saw this film and graciously allowed us to share his thoughts:

 I was fortunate enough to be invited to the premiere of the documentary, "Love Free or Die" at the E Street Cinema on Mon. evening. +Gene Robinson was in attendance (leg still in a cast) for the screening and the pre-screening reception held nearby at Chef Geoff's. Integrity was one of the co-sponsors of this event, along with the Center for American Progress and the Human Rights Campaign.


The film is a is an enlightening and inspiring work. I myself laughed and cried at various points through the showing. The audience gets to experience several notable events in +Gene's life, beginning with his consecration in 2003 and ending with the wedding of our own Betsy and Ellie+ in 2010. Viewers experience the events surrounding +Gene's "non-invitation" to Lambeth in 2008. Several of Integrity's current and former leaders are shown in the film. At the conclusion of the showing, +Gene, Makey Alston, the film maker, and Alyssa Rosenberg, from the Center for American Progress were on hand to conduct a Q & A for the audience.


The panel strongly encouraged the audience to arrange for private showings in their homes, faith communities, and community groups. The movie makes an extraordinarily powerful statement about marriage equality. I strongly encourage everyone on the list to create an event for showing the film. It will be a truly memorable event.


If you would like to arrange a showing in your neck of the woods, contact david@intergrityusa.org. In the season which honors films, you don't want to miss a film that honors our beloved Bishop Gene Robinson.