In Love and Together

Our good friends Terry and Greg exchanged rings during a very touching commitment ceremony in their backyard recently. They are special people, and I was honored to be asked to give a toast in their honor. This is what I said:

Tonight we’re here to celebrate something very special. Terry and Greg made their own private commitments to each other over the past six years, but this evening they decided to state them publicly, in front of all of us.

My partner Terry and I were together 30 years before we had our commitment ceremony in 2005…so congratulations, you two, on getting it together a lot sooner than we did!

There is something very profound and spiritual, I think, about making a solemn commitment to the one you love out loud, in front of your friends and family. It’s a testament to the pride and love you feel for each other; you want the world to know this is a lifetime commitment – thick or thin, rich or poor, flabby or buff, or even when one of you is flat on his back on a gurney in the ER.

That’s what so many people who are opposed to same-sex marriage miss. It’s not just about a piece of paper called a license, or a tax deduction – although that would be nice, or even a holy sacrament. It’s about two people in love who want to be together, and who also want the world to know, in some formal and public way, that they’ve found something very special with each other.

I’ve known Terry for more than eight years since our paths first crossed at work. He’s everybody’s friend, a bundle of energy who’s incredibly organized. He’s always eager to help solve your problems. Or act as your father confessor. Or give you free counseling for all that dysfunction in your life. Whether you want it or not. In the corporate world you meet a lot of sharks and phonys. But I knew right away that Terry was a loving, genuine, caring person with a real passion for everything he does.

When Terry introduced us to Greg a bit later, we couldn’t help but see what a perfect match he was for Terry. A quiet and generous man of integrity and honesty, who cares deeply about other people and never stops giving of himself to the things he believes in. Terry and Greg truly are a match made in heaven. It’s obvious that they were meant for other – no matter what the Pope and James Dobson think.

Love is what holds two people together. It’s a gift that helps us see what God intended in this world. It is also a wonderful mystery, but it what demonstrates is simply this: being together is better than being alone. Congratulations, Terry and Greg on finding each other and for showing all of us, through your relationship, a bit more about what love is.

So, ladies and gentlemen, I would ask you raise your glass with me in a toast to our dear friends, Terry and Greg…..in love and together.