Cassie Hopkins, a young bisexual woman, had volunteered at Yoke Youth Ministries in Jefferson County.  The program is interdenominational and draws on the work of young adults to mentor middle-school students.  She had gone through the screening process and there were no complaints about her work as a volunteer.  After disclosing her sexual orientation on Facebook, her supervisor told her that she would no longer be allowed to volunteer, even though there is nothing in Yoke's written policies about sexual orientation.  Her supervisor compared bisexuality to alcoholism and drug addiction.

Let's show support for Cassie and remind our fellow Tennesseans and especially Yoke that people can serve and contribute to enriching the lives of youth in our state regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.  This is a message Yoke and many others need to hear.  Please, add your voice. 

We are glad to partner with the LGBT Alumni of Carson-Newman on this project.  They first brought the case to our attention.

Note:  We are not arguing about whether anyone has the legal ability to discriminate in Tennessee.  What we are contesting is whether it is right to exclude talented people from helping youth simply because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

This week the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is holding a conference in Nashville on marriage, sexuality, and gender.  Add your voice to urge them to consider the impact of their teachings on violence against LGBT people and LGBT youth homelessness.  According to national estimates, up to 40% of the youth homeless population is LGBT.  Many of those youth were turned out of their homes because of certain kinds of religious bias.  We believe that rather than holding conferences on how to preserve marriage discrimination, the Southern Baptist Convention's leadership should begin to address the ways in which their teachings contribute to harms to LGBT people. 

TEP joined OutCentral and Vanderbilt Divinity School in organizing a protest of the event outside the Opryland Hotel.  TTPC and PFLAG also participated.  Your voice can help highlight needed changes in the Southern Baptist Convention's approach.