A Special Appeal

Dear friends,

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN is an educational and advocacy initiative of the Twin Cities-based Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM). Currently, the initiative is in need of major funding.

We are attempting to raise $5,000 by September 20 so as to (i) make our last payment to the filmmaker who has been working on our "video project" (to be launched September 29 at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis) and (ii) pay for a new Catholics for Marriage Equality MN website. Our old site was created and maintained by the late David McCaffrey. It is no longer being maintained and will shortly be removed. We have a web-designer willing to work with us to create a very professional-looking and user-friendly site, but we require an injection of funds in order to pay him.

As I'm sure you are aware, a ballot measure to constitutionally limit civil marriage to heterosexual couples will be voted on by Minnesotans in November 2012. Opponents of marriage equality – including the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the Minnesota Conference of Catholic Bishops – are actively supporting “Minnesota for Marriage,” the ballot campaign promoting the amendment. They are spending millions of dollars to ensure that the amendment passes.

Catholics for Marriage Equality MN is comprised of Roman Catholics who advocate for civil marriage for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. We are called to such advocacy by the Gospel message of liberation and our Church’s teachings on justice and human rights. As Catholics we value compassion, justice, family, truth-telling and love, and we witness all of these qualities and values in the lives and relationships of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. In other words, we see the face of God in the love of same-sex couples and families, and we are dedicated to spreading the good news of this to our fellow Catholics.

We've already been hard at work – see, for instance, here, here, here, and here. And of course we have many ideas and initiatives in the works and want to continue our efforts right up until next November – as both an independent organization and a member organization of Minnesotans United for All Families. But we need your help to do so!

Of course, first and foremost, we welcome and appreciate your prayers of support. In addition, if you would like to contribute financially to our efforts, please send a check (for whatever amount you can afford) to:

CPCSM
4001 38th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55406

Please note that because Catholics for Marriage Equality MN is an initiative of CPCSM, checks need to be made out to CPCSM.

CPCSM is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Your gift is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

If you have any questions about this appeal, please e-mail me at mbayly1965@yahoo.com.

Also, if you know of any individuals, groups, or funding organizations that would be interested and willing to support Catholics for Marriage Equality MN, please send them the link to this post or contact me at the above e-mail address.

Thank you for whatever support you can give.

– Michael J. Bayly
Executive Coordinator, CPCSM
Convener, Catholics for Marriage Equality MN