- Cindi Love
-
Cynthia "Cindi" Love is an American businesswoman, academic administrator and clergymember who served for four years as the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), a denomination run predominantly by and for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In this position, Love was the denomination's chief operating officer and business manager; she was thus one of the denomination's top leaders and played a role in the spiritual lives of LGBT Christians around the world. Love has also served on the "Faith and Religion Council" for the Human Rights Campaign.[1]
Love currently serves as the Executive Director for the LGBT nonprofit Soulforce (organization).
Contents
Education and early career
A native of Abilene, Texas,[2] Love holds Bachelor of Science in Education from Abilene Christian University, a Master of Arts from Louisiana Tech, and a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Texas Tech University.[2] She applied her educational training to using technology in the classroom and to forming community-school partnerships; her efforts were recognized by the Texas legislature and by Governor Ann Richards.[2] She was later named the Executive Dean of Brookhaven College in Dallas, Texas.[3]
Love also spent many years in the business sector, founding such companies as Ecommune,[4] a business intended for advising Fortune 500 companies and technology ventures in Israel, School Vision of Texas, INC 500 member C.H. Love & Co.,[4] which was later bought by New Mexico Information Systems, and ICSS, Inc., which was acquired by The Toro Company, for which she guided a project that created a world-wide Intranet network,[5] and served as both director of customer service systems and manager of global customer information systems.[4][6][dead link] From Toro she moved on to other projects, including being the CEO of Friendly Robotics (USA).[7][8] Her experience with technology was also called upon by NASA and by the Texas legislature.[2] For her business work, she was named one of the "Top 50 Entrepreneurs" in North America by Inc. Magazine, MIT and YEO in 1990.[2] She has served on numerous not-for-profit boards and committees for educational, business, and LGBT interests.[2]
She has been the CEO and founder of a number of other corporations, including School Vision of Texas, Network in a Box, Apple Education Assistance Network, New Mexico Information Systems, and Integration Control Systems & Services.[2][9][dead link]
Ministry
Love grew up in the Church of Christ denomination, was active in city-wide ministry programs from a young age, and married a minister from the church, but transferred to a Southern Baptist church after her divorce.[2] She was also active in local advocacy groups on issues regarding rehabilitation and disability services, workplace discrimination and HIV/AIDS issues; for instance, she was a long-time director of one of the West Texas Rehabilitation Center's advocacy programs, and she and her wife later founded the Abilene Community Advocacy Program.[4] She later founded FAMLO, a non-profit organization addressing health issues around drug addiction and HIV/AIDS.[10]
After leaving Toro and while working at Brookhaven, Love began serving on the MCC Board of Administrators; during this time, she completed her credentials for ordination in the denomination and took an interim post at MCC of Greater Dallas.[2] Between January 2005 and May 2009, Love served as the Executive Director for the MCC denomination.[1] Love was appointed Executive Director of the liberally-oriented (although still based on the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds[11]) Metropolitan Community Church in January 2005. She left that position in May 2009 although she continued to remain a minister with the church, and later that year she moved her career down a different path by purchasing an organic food shop.[12]
Love is also the author of Would Jesus Discriminate? The 21st Century Question.[1] This book is part of a broader campaign to prompt churches to consider the ways that religious attitudes against homosexuality may contribute to wider discrimination against gays and lesbians.[13] Although the campaign began in 2006, it continues to influence the discussion; news articles from 2009 show that churches are still hosting "town halls" on the issue in places like Anchorage, Alaska,[14][dead link] and that people are still using the slogan at marriage-equality rallies in Bloomington, Indiana[15] and in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[16]
Personal
Love has two children from her first marriage.[2] In 2005 she married Sue Jennings in Canada after the country introduced legislation permitting same-sex marriages.[17][dead link] They later announced plans to marry under Californian law at a ceremony to be conducted in Los Angeles on June 24, 2008.[18]
References
- ^ a b c "Religion Council". Human Rights Campaign website. 2009. http://www.hrc.org/about_us/religion_council.htm. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Biography". Metropolitan Community Churches. http://www.mccchurch.org/AM/TextTemplate.cfm?Section=Workshops1&Template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3302. Retrieved 2007-07-04.
- ^ "Dr. Cynthia Love has been named executive dean of corporate and continuing education at Brookhaven College in Dallas". Community College Week. April 1, 2002.
- ^ a b c d Derocher, Anna L. (July 9, 1999). "Internet service allows woman to reach out to community". Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas). http://www.texnews.com/1998/1999/local/net0709.html. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ Paul, Lauren Gibbons (March 1, 1999). "Linking Up". PC Week: pp. 124–124, 131.
- ^ Gibbs, Mark (February 22, 1999). "Grace Under Fire". Network World (IDG Network World Inc.) 16 (5): 46. ISSN 0887-7661. http://www.networkworld.com/ec/0222grace.html. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
- ^ Read, Brendan B. (March 5, 2001). "Winning Outsourcing Plays". Call Center Magazine. http://www.callcentermagazine.com/shared/article/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=SCIM2HZ5WGUD1QE1GHPCKH4ATMY32JVN?articleId=8701732. Retrieved September 6, 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Jones II, Roy A. (March 5, 2000). "A 'Love' affair with a robotic lawnmower". Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas). http://www.texnews.com/1998/2000/biz/robo0305.html. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
- ^ Schultz, Beth; Watt, Peggy (October, 1998). "Legacy Lessons". Network World Fusion (Network World). http://www.networkworld.com/intranet/1026legacy.html. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
- ^ "About Us". FAMLO.org. http://www.famlo.org/about_us. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "MCC's Statement of Faith...". Metropolitan Community Churches. http://mccchurch.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=695. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ Adame, Jaime (August 31, 2009). "New owners step in to run Abilene organic food shop". Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas). http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/aug/31/new-owners-step-in-to-run-organic-food-shop/. Retrieved September 6, 2009.
- ^ "Would Jesus Discriminate?" (Press release). Metropolitan Community Churches. June 7, 2006. http://mccchurch.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Search&template=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm&ContentID=1963. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- ^ Lamb, Jason (June 5, 2009). "City to introduce substitute gay rights ordinance". KTUU News Alaska. http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=10487773. Retrieved 5 September 2009. "There was another meeting Friday about the issue hosted by the Metropolitan Community Church of Anchorage; it's [sic] theme was "Would Jesus Discriminate?""
- ^ "Protesters Rally Against 'Unfair' Marriage Laws". Rev. Evan McMahon was on hand at Thursday's rally, holding a sign that asked, "Would Jesus Discriminate?". July 2, 2009. http://www.theindychannel.com/news/19933353/detail.html. Retrieved 5 September 2009. "Rev. Evan McMahon was on hand at Thursday's rally, holding a sign that asked, "Would Jesus Discriminate?""
- ^ Barnes, Tom (March 17, 2009). "Groups rally to support state anti-discrimination bill". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09076/956281-100.stm. Retrieved 5 September 2009. "People shouted, "End discrimination now." A little girl held a sign, "My 2 Mommies Deserve Equal Rights."' A man held a sign, "Would Jesus Discriminate?""
- ^ Batsell, Jake (June 1, 2008). "Texas gay couples heading to California for licensed marriages". Dallas Morning News. http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/060108kvuegaymarriage-mm.50b2b124.html. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
- ^ Bethel, Brian (June 2, 2008). "Abilene women plan to marry in California". Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Texas). http://www.reporternews.com/news/2008/jun/02/abilene-women-plan-to-marry-in-california/. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
External links
Categories:- LGBT Christians
- LGBT clergy
- LGBT rights activists from the United States
- Living people
- Metropolitan Community Church clergy
- Abilene Christian University alumni
- People from Abilene, Texas
- Louisiana Tech University alumni
- Texas Tech University alumni
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