Whenever there is extreme weather, some religious leader gets airtime for blaming someone. Whether it's a tsunami, an earthquake, a heat wave or a drought, someone will say it's God's way of getting our attention and therefore it has to be someone's fault.
When Disneyworld introduced "gay days," Pat Robertson ominously reminded the people of Orlando that they were in a hurricane zone, and speculated, "It'll bring about terrorist bombs; it'll bring earthquakes, tornadoes, and possibly a meteor."
This weekend, as the Gay Christian Network meets for their annual conference in Chicago, record-breaking below freezing temperatures have almost shut the city down.
I wondered if someone would claim there was a connection. So, as a local religious leader, I decided to stop by the GCN conference in person to see if any of the gay people there were controlling our weather.
Here is my report: United Church of Christ power preacher Christine Wiley got us fired up for the theology of Howard Thurman. GCN founder Justin Lee heated up the room with a hilarious welcome speech on how to survive the cold, complete with power point pictures of chic winter wear. After hugs from old friends like Justin, and warm smiles from new ones, I felt the frostiness of the last week falling away.
So here's a big thank you to the Gay Christian Network for creating a little warmth in our windy city.
Turns out gay people control the weather, after all.