The 2009/2010 Bridge of Light tradition is part of the 7th annual World Spirituality Day, an event sponsored by an unaffiliated group: Integrative Spirituality, a not-for-profit omni-denominational spiritual organization based in San Francisco, California. World Spirituality Day is regarded by some as "The Earth Day for the Spirit."
Joe Perez, founder of the Bridge of Light holiday, said: "Today, New Year's Eve is a mostly secular experience, yet for centuries the world's wisdom traditions have recognized this one day as a special gateway between the old and the new, the sacred and the profane. Bridge of Light honors the unique way that Homophiles throughout the centuries have lived with spiritual dignity and beauty."
Perez added, "The Bridge of Light is a symbol recognizing the hidden unity veiled by the many colors of the rainbow, the symbol most closely associated with the gay rights movement worldwide. As important as it is to appreciate the diversity of unique colors, it is also important to recognize our commonalities and dignity as human beings."
The first Bridge of Light events were celebrated by small clusters of people on at least two continents in 2004. Today, nobody knows how many people celebrate the tradition. A Facebook group "Bridge of Light" was launched in December 2009 that anyone can join and upload ideas for celebrating the tradition. The group is at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=188851789242.
Endorsements of Bridge of Light (Partial List)
Greg DiStefano, a spiritual explorer and national book award-winning author of the gay spiritual memoir "Breakdown, Diamonds, Death, and Second Chances," said: "Bridge of Light is a wonderful way to add a greater depth of spiritual meaning to the New Years occasion. For GLBT people, their supporters, and the wider global culture, the Bridge of Light celebration will help keep focus on universal spiritual values while honoring diversity, unity and equality."
Toby Johnson, the author, gay spirituality activist, and former editor/publisher and current contributing editor of White Crane Journal, said: "Throughout the past people we'd now understand to be gay/queer were the creators and stylers of religion and culture. As we continue in that sacred role in the evolution of consciousness, it is only consistent that gay culture would offer a gay -- and modern, secular, liberationist way of understanding the winter solstice celebration of rebirth of the year and the archetypal myth of the Eternal Return."
David Rappaport of Bowdoinham, Maine has joined the roster of endorsers for Bridge of Light. David is the Senior Program Officer of a healthcare foundation and a mystical seeker. He said, "In these post-postmodern if not exactly post-Biblical times in which Christian and other fundamentalists seem to seek to create separation -- spirituality from religion, reason from belief, individual from community -- I believe it is important to counterbalance by working towards integration. Bridge of Light is a welcome step towards wholeness."
Jacob Staub, a Reconstructionist rabbi, a member of the faculty of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and the co-author of "Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach," has endorsed Bridge of Light. He said, "I endorse the new Bridge of Light celebration as an opportunity for queer people and their allies to focus on their values and their spiritual lives."
Jari Dvorak, a seeker and spiritual organizer living in Toronto, is one of the founders of Dharma Friends. He endorsed Bridge of Light by saying, "I say yes to a holiday that celebrates our spiritual diversity while affirming our fundamental unity! In keeping with integral values, GLBT people need to be embraced as spiritual equals. It's not only because of our rights, but because it is important for the whole of humanity. Everyone is invited to travel on the path of open ended spiritual development. I trust the Bridge of Light will become the seed for a wonderful worldwide holiday."
Scott Dillard, an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric at Georgia College and State University, said: "As an advisor to the Gay Straight Alliance at Georgia College and State University I am eager to help my students connect to their uniqueness as GLBT people and to their past and future. This sort of celebration is just the thing that young people need to help them feel a part of an emerging tradition."
Rev. Koshin Paley Ellison, a Zen Buddhist priest in New York City, a poet, a hospital chaplain, and a psychotherapist with the Psychotherapy & Spirituality Institute, said: "I think the Bridge of Light is a wonderful offering to these times."
Paul Browde, M.D., a psychiatrist in New York City and a participant in the Gay Spirit Culture Summit, said in his endorsement of Bridge of Light: "I think it is important that we are clearly not denominational in any way. We are everyone; we live in all communities, all spiritual and faith backgrounds, and all families. We are part of the greater humanity, yet we express a very particular, very unique spirit."
Cami Delgado, a psychotherapist in private practice in Miami and pioneer of AIDS care in Miami-Dade County, said: "I'm excited about the new holiday. It's a concept whose time has come. As a psychotherapist who works with gay men, I am well aware of how healing and powerful gay-affirming rituals and events can be. Bridge of Light brings new meaning and purpose to the holiday season."
Other endorsers of the Bridge of Light include: Carolyn Baker, Ph.D., an adjunct professor of history and author of "Coming Out from Christian Fundamentalism"; Andrew Ramer, author of "Two Flutes Playing" and other books; Jim Marion, author of "Putting On the Mind of Christ"; Fenton Johnson, author of several books including the Lambda Literary Award-winning memoir "Keeping Faith"; Daniel Helminiak, author of "What the Bible Really Said About Homosexuality" and many other books; Kip Dollar, partner of Toby Johnson, and half of one of the couples featured in Merle Yost's "When Love Lasts Forever: Male Couples Celebrate Commitment"; Ko Imani, author of "Shirt of Flame: The Secret Gay Art of War", founder of MyOutSpirit.com and and editor of the "MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog. A complete list of endorsers is available online. See http://www.integrallygay.com for more details.
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