I was grooving this morning on the new ad from the United Church of Christ. The denomination, of which I am part, is famous for its great, cutting edge, ads that offend the overly religiously sensitive.
The Language of God from United Church of Christ on Vimeo.
Take the “Bouncer” ad (below) for instance. Two burly men stand at the entrance to the church behind the velvet rope deciding who is worthy to enter. The lily-white couple, with the 2.5 children, get in easily. The gay couple? Move along. The disabled person? You gotta be kidding me.
The ad was so controversial that several television networks refused to air it, claiming a ban on such advocacy ads, but many still approved ads from Focus on the Family that were just as advocacy oriented.
I was so proud of my denomination for making that ad, along with others like the “Ejector Seat” which proclaimed the same message that not all churches are as welcoming of diversity as they may claim.
I was ready to be proud once again, but about 30 seconds into the new ad, I was appalled and disappointed. The ad, set to some rockin’ acoustic guitar music, is bouncing along wonderfully, highlighting the diversity of the UCC. Then, a man and a woman share a prolonged kiss. The next scene is a pastor pronouncing two women married – the women turn to one another and … cut to the next scene. Wait! What? I get to see two hot young heterosexuals kiss, but when the moment comes for two women to celebrate their union I get … a quick cut away.
Avert your eyes, people … the lesbians might kiss! You’re welcome here, just don’t do THAT!
Oh, UCC … how you have disappointed me. Was the kiss in the original cut and then left out because someone said, “Oh, we can’t cross that line”?
The UCC is the only mainline church to give its denominational support to same-gender marriage, but it’s too squeamish to show a lesbian kiss in their new ad?
Punked, by my own denomination. Et tu, UCC?
