This past Sunday, something pretty scary happened at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans (First UUNO). Operation Save America, a fundamentalist anti-abortion organization that is known for descending upon abortion clinics and making life a living hell for anyone coming or going, chose to land in one of our congregations. Several members of OSA showed up at First UUNO as if there to attend worship, and during the service stood up and began verbally accosting the worshippers and pushing anti-abortion pamphlets into their hands.
I don’t think they were prepared for what followed. That Sunday, First UUNO was commissioning the College of Social Justice youth leaders who had been gathering all week. The youth leaders immediately circled in and began singing. Rev. De Vandiver, a New Orleans-based Community Minister who was leading worship that morning, asked the protesters to please respect the worship space and if they couldn’t…
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Sex, Gods, and Rock Stars 
It’s disturbing that it happened, but I think the UU minister and her congregation reacted in the right way. Groups like OSA thrive on opposition; they feed on the hatred and rage of their opponents, no matter how justified it is. The UU folk refused to give them that energy, and at the same time acted to protect their safety and integrity.