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A nationally recognized leader in the furniture industry as well as civil rights advocate for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community will be the guest speaker for a thought-provoking discussion at the Fayetteville Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 11 a.m.

Gold, both a highly-acclaimed furniture designer and founder of Faith In America, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of the harm caused to gay Americans by religion-based bigotry and prejudice, will lead a discussion about his transformative book "CRISIS: 40 Stories Revealing the Personal, Social and Religious Pain and Trauma of Growing Up Gay In America."

In addition, Gold will make a special presentation to Will Phillips, the 10-year-old at West Fork Elementary School near Fayetteville who recently made national headlines when he took a courageous stance for justice and equality for LGBT citizens by refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in his fifth-grade class. (CNN link:  http://us.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2009/11/16/am.boy.no.pledge.cnn).
 
Gold, who started Faith In America in 2005, received a "Visionary Award" at the Stonewalll Foundation’s dinner at the United Nations building in New York this year for his work with the organization and for publishing CRISIS, which has also helped increase understanding of the immense harm to gays and lesbians when prejudice, discrimination and violence toward them is given a moral and religious stamp of approval.

"Following the story of young Will Phillips, I was immediately struck by his ability to understand a message so many in America have failed to grasp – that it is simply wrong to treat others as unequal and inferior based on their sexual orientation," Gold said. "It truly is a message that even children can understand, yet so often anti-gay religious groups tell us such a message is a threat to our children. I want to express my appreciation to Will and his family for helping others understand that very simple lesson – one that history has repeatedly shown. It certainly is no threat and, in fact, uplifts our society and our humanity."

Published in September 2008, CRISIS' message has been shared with millions through media interviews, special events like the one scheduled for Fayetteville and book distributions.  It presents personal stories of rejection within families, religious institutions, schools and the workplace and calls for understanding and compassion. The book has been distributed across the country to families, educators, clergy and elected officials – including President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.

A resident of Hickory, North Carolina, Gold is co-founder and chair-man of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, a nationally recognized business with over 600 employees and a family-friendly work environment that includes an onsite not-for-profit child care center.

Gold will also make an appearance at the dedication and open house at Temple Shalom in Fayetteville at 2 p.m. that day. The Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams company has donated furniture for the temple.

The temple, whose construction was made possible through a joint effort between the Jewish community and a Palestinian-American Muslim, exemplifies the bridge-building philosophy that Gold is committed to with his company and his advocacy work.

“Mitchell’s definition of comfort goes far beyond his wonderful furniture,” said Judith Levine, an organizer of the temple dedication and whose board is a co-sponsor for the CRISIS event at the library.

"He recognizes how our humanity can achieve a wonderful level of comfort when we look beyond past prejudices that have divided us – whether it is the type of division that exists between people of different religious affiliations or the division that exists so often today between people of faith and their gay and lesbian neighbors."

Jimmy Creech, co-founder of Faith In America and a former United Methodist minister who has long advocated for full equality for LGBT individuals, will also attend the events in Fayetteville.

"It is an honor to join the Fayetteville community on this very special day," Creech said. "While religion-based bigotry, prejudice and violence are the worse religion has to offer, the Fayetteville community is coming together with these two events to exemplify the best - the peace or shalom that is experienced when we overcome long-standing prejudice and discrimination that has caused so much division and harm in our world.

"That is in essence the message behind Will Phillip's story and the message contained in the extraordinary story about the building of Temple Shalom. I am thankful to be part of the celebration of this message in the Fayetteville community this weekend."

For further information, you can visit  Faith In America's website at http://www.faithinamerica.com/
 

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