The people who make real change in the world are those who advocate with compassion and lead advocacy efforts with understanding - those who carry controversial views into the light with gentle hands.
On July 3, Muncie's first gay church quietly opened its doors to all members of the community.
The Rainbow Cathedral was founded by Joe Mumpower, who said he began the church in an effort to change the world, to make it better and more tolerant than it was when he entered it.
The church welcomed four people at its first services, and the congregation now stands at about 25 members. Mumpower's activism has become a growing, positive-minded place of worship.
The existence of the Rainbow Cathedral shows that when a person cares enough about a cause, isn't afraid to speak out for it, doesn't shy away from working hard for it and approaches advocacy with kindness at heart, that person can achieve impressive feats.
It doesn't matter if the issue is religion, sexual orientation, politics, race or any other hot-button issue. If we can approach awareness efforts with the desire to make the world better - not worse - we can bring people together, rather than stretch them apart in anger. With compassionate speaking up for a cause and tireless effort toward that which matters to us, this campus can improve for everyone - and maybe eventually the world will too.
But it takes that one person to stand up and stand tall, without standing over others to get there.
As Mumpower said, "No one's free until we're all free."
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