Leaving the Bubble: thoughts from the airport.

I'm in the Chicago airport, waiting for my connecting flight, and reflecting on something Stephanie said last night at the service when the congregation gave a blessing to everyone travelling to GALA. She mentioned something that has been on my mind. How do I say this? Well, San Francisco is kind of a bubble, and homophobia is alive and well where we are going. The legal protections (employment, housing, etc), basic rights (like visiting your spouse in the hospital), and social climate (lots of supportive straight people) that we enjoy and sometimes take for granted in SF are only a distant dream for LGBT people in some parts of the Southeast. I know the MCCs will welcome us warmly, but how will the people we meet on the road react to several vans of San Francisco queers? We say we are bringing a message of hope and liberation, but I know that the people we meet will also minister to us, and give us some equally important messages to take home. This trip will change lives: ours and others.