Canadian "people of faith" to rally in favor of same-sex marriage

Hundreds of participants representing a broad range of faith groups, including Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Quakers, Sikhs, and Unitarians, are expected to rally in support of same-sex marriage in cities across Canada this weekend. In Halifax the Interfaith Coalition for Equal Marriage is holding a gathering at Brunswick Street United Church, 2107 Brunswick St., on Sunday, April 10, at 2 p.m. Atlantic to celebrate love, commitment, and equality through the inclusion of same-sex marriage. In Ottawa on Saturday, April 9, Unitarians and others will join Canadians for Equal Marriage in a demonstration on Parliament Hill. The group will meet at 12:30 p.m. Eastern at the bridge overlooking the locks on Wellington Street. Various church choirs and the Unitarian Raging Grannies will join the demonstrators to sing around the eternal flame. In Toronto a rally will take place at 2 p.m. Eastern at Metropolitan Community Church, 115 Simpson Ave., which is located one block north of Gerrard and one block east of Broadview. In Calgary there will be a multifaith news conference at 2 p.m. Mountain, on Sunday, April 10, at the Unitarian Church of Calgary, 1703 1st St. N.W. In Vancouver a rally will take place at 2 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, April 10, on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery (the Georgia Square side). Same-sex couples and the ministers who married them will talk about what the experience has meant to them as committed couples. The events, which are being organized locally, share a common purpose of demonstrating a wide range of faith-based support for civil same-sex marriage by individuals and religious groups. The goal, organizers say, is to dispel the myth that if you are a person of faith, you must be opposed to same-sex marriage.