Arts & Entertainment

Leading the way

Local Methodist church hopes to change denominational law on marriage

Published

14 years ago

April 5, 2012

Dionne Walker

Palm Sunday at Foundry United Methodist Church. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

A Washington church hopes a campaign using video testimonials from gay and lesbian Methodists will help push through a resolution sanctioning marriage equality in the church later this month, reversing more than 30 years of anti-gay sentiment in the nation’s third largest denomination.

DoorsToEquality.org, described as a national, laity-led campaign for marriage equality, uses personalized stories and grassroots advocacy to encourage church leadership to revise what some are calling discriminatory language included in the Book of Discipline, according to organizers at Foundry United Methodist Church.

The book, which lays out the tenets of the faith, prohibits United Methodist ministers from performing same-sex marriages and churches from hosting them. Foundry leaders and campaign supporters say they don’t want a sweeping change to the tenets, rather, a compromise.

“Our resolution was what we thought was the most modest resolution that we could present, which is simply where marriage is legal, our clergy can conduct them and they can be held in their church buildings,” says Rev. Dean Snyder, senior pastor of Foundry.

The campaign, introduced in February, comes as delegates from across the globe prepare to attend the church’s General Conference, a denomination-wide planning meeting, later this month.

Snyder, who’s straight, believes the simple resolution could be a first step for the church, likely to bend further as more states legalize marriage.

“If that happens, four years from now we believe a resolution would pass allowing all churches to conduct the ceremonies,” he says.

For now, organizers are focusing on influencing some of the 1,000 delegates set to gather in Tampa from April 24 through May 4 to discuss church policy and vote on any revisions. That push includes building awareness through Twitter, Facebook and traditional press, as well as calling delegates and holding coffee-shop discussions.

But perhaps the campaign’s most impactful arm is its most visible one: a series of YouTube videos featuring gay and lesbian Methodists sharing their experiences with building families, coming out and the importance of their church and faith in their lives.

In one video, soft music plays as a transgender man describes a warm childhood relationship with the church and its painful end.

“As I got older, into middle and high school, I started to feel somewhat alienated because of my sexual orientation also just my gender expression and so I kind of walked away from church,” Ty Trapps tells the camera. “From there, I just sort of searched knowing that I wanted to go back to a church but not really finding the right fit.”

In another video, a lesbian couple embraces as they describe feeling invisible without the church’s recognition of their year-old marriage.

The women close the video shouting in unison “As Methodists, we believe that unity of love will open the doors to equality.”

“One of the things we strongly believe is that personal stories are very powerful here,” says Ann Brown Birkel, convener of Foundry’s LGBT inclusion advocacy group. “We need to connect with these people in parts of the country who don’t think they know any gay people. The more you personalize an issue, the easier it is to understand.”

If the campaign is successful, it will bring to an end an anti-gay doctrine that’s persisted since the early ‘70s.

At the time, “there was a group of bishops who knew that they had gay pastors serving in their areas, who suffered from the homophobia that much of society suffered from and they began to become worried that their service would be a problem,” Snyder says, adding the result was the 1972 statement that homosexuality was not compatible with Christian teaching.

The topic has since become the perennial subject of debate at the conference, with delegates voting related resolutions down every time, according to Wayne Rhodes, director of communications at the General Board of Church and Society for the United Methodist Church. The language persists, but Rhodes says there’s evidence Snyder and his supporters’ cause could have a shot.

“It has been getting closer and closer in the votes,” Rhodes says.

Surprisingly, a major hurdle has come as the faith spreads. A large percentage of the church’s expansion is in Africa, where conservative attitudes about homosexuality persist, Rhodes says.

“They get more delegates and if they are not in favor of homosexuality-positive language, they have more votes with which to defeat it,” says Rhodes. “But this all started long before Africa had as many delegates.”

Indeed, Snyder estimated much of the ground-level opposition is longstanding and is linked to baby boomers raised in a more conservative era.

Among younger people, however, Snyder said attitudes are more liberal. That combined with pressure as smaller denominations like the Episcopalians and Lutherans become more gay friendly could help trigger change.

“Larger organizations often change much slower,” Snyder says. “But when it changes, the larger the institution is, the more impact it has on the society.”

Foundry has always had a higher-than-average number of LGBT members, which church staff attributes to its location near Dupont Circle and 14^th Street. The church has been “open and affirming” for years.

Related Topics:Dean Snyder Foundry United Methodist Church

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What ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ can still teach us

Producer David Collins on lasting impact of hit series

Published

7 hours ago

August 20, 2026

Joel Medina

David Collins (Photo courtesy of Collins)

It’s hard to imagine where LGBTQ+ television would be without “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” the trailblazing reality series that premiered in 2003.

Each episode of this Emmy-winning show saw a group of gays converge on a struggling man — the titular straight guy — and offer nonstop wit while organizing his endlessly messy life. This program about a group of homosexual helpers took the world by storm, furthering the love of gay television begun by shows like “Will and Grace” but bringing it into the growing medium of reality TV. Of course, it wasn’t perfect; “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” often cast its experts less as multi-faceted queer folks and more as sources of early 2000s gay jokes. But despite these pitfalls, it’s undeniable that the original program explored the realities of being gay in a way audiences had never seen before. It was a monumental piece of LGBTQ+ representation, and its success is largely owed to the man who fought to get this show made: producer David Collins.

Collins spoke with the Blade from his Los Angeles home, where he’s spent the past few years living with his husband and his two daughters. David spoke fondly of his many years in the industry, detailing how it feels to be such a huge part of LGBTQ+ history. He explained, however, that he didn’t initially set out to alter how queer people were seen on television. “I never went out to make gay television,” said the producer. “I went out to tell great stories.”

“I’m a hillbilly from Ohio, and I thought I was going to be an editor,” David laughed, looking back on his career. “I interned at the Cincinnati Film Office, and I showed up to work my very first day, and the film commissioner was like, ‘Get to the airport right now and pick [someone] up. Don’t talk to them.’ Well, I ended up picking up Jodie Foster.” Collins raved about this car ride that changed his life, with the pair becoming friends and Foster pushing him to become a producer who puts their own media out into the world. Eventually, he did just that, and after learning about the wild new genre that was reality TV, he pitched a series to Bravo: “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”

“I was obsessed with Esquire magazine, and they had five categories: fashion, grooming, interior design, culture, food, and wine. So I gave them each a gay, and the Fab Five were born!” Collins said, describing how viewers quickly fell in love with the concept and earned the program four seasons and an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program. He spoke about how proud he felt creating a show that centered real gay people, not characters in a story, remembering, “To stand in the middle of Times Square and look up and see this massive billboard with the original Queer Eye guys…it wasn’t even a dream come true, because it wasn’t a dream I had even fathomed.”

With his series, people were watching actual gay men and learning the realities of a queer culture that had always been portrayed as a danger to society. Collins tearfully recounted hearing about queer people using the show as a way to connect with their family, saying, “What I’m most proud of that’s come out of Queer Eye [are] the conversations that that series has allowed to have people around their kitchen tables with little boys in Ohio like me who were scared to death that they were going to burn in hell because their pastor was telling them that they were a sinner.”

Now, for all of its trailblazing, the program wasn’t wholly positive; the show’s focus on the central ‘straight guy’ meant it rarely delved into the lives of its Fab Five. Collins regretted that lack of depth but understood that earlier audiences weren’t accustomed to such a nuanced look into queerness — that would have to wait for the reboot.

When “Queer Eye” came out in 2018, audiences were introduced to not only a new Fab Five, but a whole new format (that didn’t rely on a straight person). Now, the series would assist queer folks and allies alike, spotlighting these individuals as well as the queer experts helping them improve their lives. The show has been applauded for its amazing makeovers, but where it truly stands out is its representation, offering a look into individuals across the country and the struggles — along with the immense joys — of being queer in America today.

Fans were disappointed to hear that “Queer Eye” would be ending after its 10th season, but David stressed that they wouldn’t have to be sad for long. “What I will say to you is this: hang tight,” he teased. “There’s yet another version of ‘Queer Eye’ to come, and we’re working on that now.” In the meantime, Collins is continuing his work with new shows like the “House of Stassi,” a series centered on “Vanderpump Rules’”prolific waitress. He’s excited about these new projects, but emphasized that his heart will always belong to “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” and all that it continues to do for viewers 19 years after its finale.

“It’s not about your new outfit or your new couch or your new whatever. It’s about your humanity,” said Collins, speaking about the core lesson he hopes people take away from the Queer Eye franchise. “It’s about seeing yourself. It’s about dignity. It’s about how confidence breeds success.”

A valuable message that queer folks can benefit from even more now than they did in 2003. And, while it’s unclear just what lies ahead for this franchise, one thing is for sure: “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” helped people everywhere understand the power that exists within our queerness. It’s a truth that has impacted countless pieces of LGBTQ+ television today, and it’s one that Collins promises to keep alive through whatever hit show he creates next.

Celebrity News

Madonna nominated for 11 MTV VMAs

Musical icon has been nominated in every decade of her career

Published

2 days ago

August 18, 2026

Christian Cintron

While Michael Jackson is the uncontested King of Pop, Madonna can easily be considered its queen. She has managed to maintain relevancy throughout the decades and borrowed from different genres and even cultures. There was Puerto Rican freestyle-inspired early Madonna, the “Evita” moment, Madonna as a guru with “Ray of Light,” and more.

Regardless of how you feel about her acting, she has consistently performed hits for films, garnering her multiple awards.

Her follow-up to the wildly popular “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” “Confessions II” has managed to snag her 11 VMA nominations, more than any artist this year. This brings her total up to 80 nominations, and whatever she takes home will add to her 20 wins.

Madonna’s relationship with the VMAs has consistently included history-defining moments. In 1984, she performed at the first VMA ceremony dressed like a bride, emerging from a cake singing “Like a Virgin.” It was provocative and, of course, got conservatives into a tizzy.

One of her most memorable performances was her 1990 performance of “Vogue” in full Marie Antoinette regalia, which is forever etched in history. She also sang “Hollywood” in 2003 and famously kissed both Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. She even eulogized Michael Jackson at the 2009 ceremony.

Fans have long awaited a follow-up to this monumental album. Despite her long career, “Confessions” marked her second Grammy for music achievement. Her follow-up album has delighted the gays and gone viral on social media with LGBTQ folks reigniting their love of Madonna with “I Feel So Free.” She is giving us what we need, much like Lady Gaga dropping “Chromatica” post-pandemic.

Since the album has been released, Madonna united with pop royalty, Kylie Minogue, on a remix of her song “Love Sensation.” The two appeared together on the stage for her set at World Pride in Amsterdam.

(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)

Rather than releasing a plain old music video, she released a film which strings together multiple celebrity appearances including collaborator Sabrina Carpenter, Benedict Cumberbatch, her longtime friend Debi Mazar, Honey Dijon, Kate Moss, Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie, and even her daughter Lourdes Leon. While the state of her biopic is in limbo, Julia Garner appeared in Madonna drag for the video. This video is the lion’s share of her nominations and could lead to an epic performance at the ceremony.

Time will tell how she will top these history-defining moments, but one thing is for sure … it will be a show. This year’s nominations include:

Artist of the Year
Video of the Year (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Song of the Year (Bring Your Love with Sabrina Carpenter)
Best Collaboration (Madonna & Sabrina Carpenter)
Best Dance (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Best Choreography (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Best Editing (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Best Visual Effects (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Best Direction (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Best Art Direction (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)
Best Cinematography (CONFESSIONS II – THE FILM)

You can vote for Madonna on MTV’s website and find out how many awards she takes home and see her soon-to-be-legendary performance at the 2026 VMAs on Sunday, Sept. 27, on CBS, MTV, and Paramount+.