(hell, yeah) Scarleteen

We entered a smallish city and in moments were pulling into the parking lot of a Unitarian church. I went in with them and saw several people, many who had been at the conference the day before, rushing about decorating the sanctuary. Clearly I had come to a church where a wedding was about to be performed. I sat near the back with the group with whom I had travelled. When the music began the small crowd of about 50 hushed, an air of expectancy – no, reverence – filled the room. Then into the sanctuary, into the house of God, came a man with a developmental disability. He walked slowly, his gait that of one who had once worn the shackles of institutionalization. He looked to be near 60. I smiled, tears formed in my eyes. When I see people with disabilities marry, I recognize that the march to the altar to stand before God is long. They must march past societal bigotry, family disapproval, religious intolerance, and agency dictates. He finally reached the altar. The music stopped. Silence. The music began again.

From the other door came another man. He too was older. He too walked as if the chains that bound his feet had only recently vanished. I looked at the woman next to me and said, “What’s going on!?!” She smiled and said, “They are finally getting married.” She continued by telling me that they had met as young men in the state institution and had been caught together “engaging in sexual behaviours” (social worker for “making love”). They had endured years of punishment and separation. A staff member heard the story from one of the men and diligently set out to reunite them. When she found the other man living in a group home operated by the same agency in a different town, nothing could stop her. They would live together if they chose.

Read the whole (amazing, beautiful, so vitally important) thing here.  H/T to staff member Robin for this one.