The Dear Dr. Taylor Campaign

Dear Dr. Taylor,

I am a graduate of Samford University. During my time at Samford, I participated in the University Fellows Program, the Preministerial Scholars Program, and was the co-director of the Samford Sunday preaching program. I proudly graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Family Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, with a specialization in Congregational Studies. I am currently an ordained Baptist minister, an endorsed pastoral counselor, and a licensed clinical mental health counselor in the state of North Carolina. As you can see from what little I've shared, I was deeply invested in the academic rigor and substantive faith life, and ministerial support that Samford University had to offer. Samford was one of the few Baptist academic institutions that practiced ecumenism while aligning with the rich history and tradition of Baptist life, practicing freedom of conscience in a way that drew me in and nurtured me into my next steps of ministry.

Therefore, I'm sure you can understand my complete dismay at learning about the recent decision of the University Minister, Bobby Gatlin, and the support of those decisions by the VP of Student Affairs, Phil Kimrey, whom I have sat in class with and had deeply respected until this incident. After reading Dr. Kimrey's statement, I particularly take offense that the inclusion of Christian denominations that support LGBTQ+ persons both existing in the church and becoming leaders in the church is not in line with Samford's mission, vision, or core values.

Reviewing that in more detail, I have some clarification questions that I feel need to be addressed. I've addressed specific statements from the mission, vision, and core values statements and would like to understand how this decision aligns with these statements.

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President Taylor,

When I arrived at Samford, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. I thought the world was mine to seize, and Samford would equip me to accomplish all God has for me. I quickly learned the “Samford Bubble” they kept mentioning during my orientation and my connections weekend, wasn’t just a phrase tossed around but almost something that was instilled in the Samford Student.

I learned that you are almost looked down upon if you associate with people not like you. I learned as soon as you step foot off of Samford’s campus, you may be entering into the pits of hell. I learned from an RA that there would be tiers of inclusivity on my 2nd floor dorm room in Smith Hall. I learned that if you want to start a Bible study on Samford’s campus, then you MUST get approval from the Campus Minister to make sure you aren’t influencing those around you, negatively.

Ultimately, I learned that Samford prides itself on maintaining this crisp, near perfect exterior; however, internally, you will find some of the most wicked and divisive practices.

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Dear President Taylor,

My name is R.G. Wilson-Lyons and I'm a 2003 graduate of Samford. I grew up in a small town United Methodist Church in northeast Alabama where I developed a deep love for God and a relationship with Christ. It was in my freshman dorm room at Samford that my commitment to faith was questioned for the first time by a group of students who were part of an outside campus ministry. You see, my faith development was a journey rather than a one-time moment when I prayed the sinner's prayer. They told me my journey and confirmation as a United Methodist wasn't authentic, that I wasn't saved because I had not experienced that one-time moment of conversion.

Thankfully, that experience was the exception rather than the norm for me at Samford. I started attending Quest, the weekly worship service led by Student Ministries, under the umbrella of University Ministries led by Jim Barnett at the time. I had some of my most profound encounters with God in Reid Chapel and it was in that space that I heard a sermon that, to this day, is the most impactful sermon I've ever heard. That sermon began the journey for me to realize that God was calling me to be a pastor, a vocation I've had for sixteen years now.

My sophomore year, I applied for and was accepted to be a part of the Student Ministries leadership council where I was the co-director of local ministries. It was through Student Ministries that I started working on Habitat for Humanity houses and getting to know kids in Loveman's Village public housing community. Through that experience, my call to ministry was further clarified and I realized God was calling me to be in ministry alongside those living in poverty. The first ten years of my ministry was planting a church in the neighborhood with the lowest median income in Alabama.

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Dear Dr. Taylor,

My name is Brad Landry and I serve as the rector at All Saints Episcopal Church here in Homewood. I am also an alumnus of Samford. We have a good number of Samford faculty and students who are members or attend our parish on a regular basis. I know you have taken the reins of the university at a difficult time, and you are in our prayers as you lead the Samford community.

I became an Episcopalian in college during a time I was unsure whether I could remain Christian while also being intellectually honest. The Episcopal Church has been a place of deep spiritual growth for me and my family. It is my deep conviction that what unites us as Christians is greater than what divides us. As one theologian of the Second Vatican Council has said “The walls of our divisions do not reach to heaven.”

There is a paradox in ecumenism: one could view the diversity of churches as a gift, which represents the uniqueness of God’s creation. One could also view denominations as the sad result of our divisions. I remember Jesus’ high priestly prayer that we all would be one as he and the Father are one.

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Hello Beck,

I hope all is well for you. Suzan and I so enjoyed seeing you in New York City.

I am writing to express my dismay and sadness in regard to the article in yesterday’s al.com titled “Samford turns away Episcopalians, Presbyterians from event due to LGBTQ views”.

Today I speak to you not only as a Samford graduate, but also I speak as an Episcopalian and as a Father in an LBGTQ family and member and advocate of the LGBTQ community in Alabama, in New York and in the world.

The first thing that came to mind was Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave or free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ”. I would hope that Samford has not lost sight or would ever lose sight of this theological cornerstone of our faith.

I have not shared with you that Suzan and I quietly “stepped away” from Samford several years ago. We had proposed to Samford that we would fund a scholarship for an LGBT student or LGBT purpose. It did not go well. After more than a year, we withdrew the proposal. It had become evident to us that there would not be a place for our son, or anyone’s son or daughter who might identify with being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer at Samford as a student, faculty member or on staff. We determined if there was not a place for those, there was not a place for us. It cannot be those and us, it is we, “for you are all one in Jesus Christ”.

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Dear Dr. Taylor,

My name is Carlson, and I am (twice) an alumna of Samford University. I am writing to express my outrage regarding the current direction of Samford in relation to religious freedom.

I received an excellent education from Samford—one that I have defended to this day. In addition to graduating summa cum laude with an University Fellows Honors diploma and with a M.S.E. in education, I was able to study English and biology, study abroad in London, be involved in a sorority, and, as a graduate student, work as a recruiter for the honors college for two years. I am currently a doctoral candidate studying Educational Research at The University of Alabama, and I credit a great deal of my academic and professional success to the professors at Samford who supported my development as a student, scholar and teacher.

However, I am running out of reasons to defend Samford.

I am, frankly, embarrassed.

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President Taylor, Vice President Kimrey, and Rev. Gatlin,

When I arrived at Samford, my faith journey instilled a deep sense of shame, fear, and internalized homophobia. I chose to attend Samford because I thought it’d be an excellent place to “re-orient” my life. Praise God, it was! By the grace of God through Jesus Christ, a tenured professor told me that I wasn’t going to hell. Talk about Good News and peace beyond understanding!

When Paul exhorts us to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” that is not hyperbole for gay Samford students. I spent my time at Samford doing so with the support of beloved friends, loving professors, The Episcopal Church, and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The first place I felt the all-encompassing love of Jesus was at an Episcopal church. (To this day, that church does not celebrate gay marriages, although many others do.) Grieve not the Holy Spirit. Let God speak to Samford students—don’t pick and choose who he can work through. Samford students are intelligent enough to discern a Gospel-filled community: love over fear, peace over discord, dignity over shame.

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Dear President Taylor,

I am writing to you to express my disappointment in The Guidelines for Guest Ministry Organizations which led to the annual Ministry Fair’s becoming a by invitation only event excluding churches and ministries which are welcoming and affirming.

Since we’ve never met, here’s some of my Samford story: I earned a BA in Religious Education (‘86) and MDiv from Beeson (‘91). I was Timothy’s George’s first administrative assistant. I was with him from day one in a small office in Samford Hall. While an undergrad, I was on the Campus Ministries Executive Council. In my last semesters at Beeson, I was hired by Paul Basden as interim Director of Campus Ministries for three semesters. While in that position, I was responsible for the event that is the subject of folks’ present concern. I am a lifelong Baptist who has experienced an evolving faith. I grew up at FBC Selma. Through the years, I have belonged to the following area churches: Dawson, Brookwood, Shades Crest and now Baptist Church of the Covenant. I am a hospital chaplain for Ascension St. Vincent’s East.

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Dear Dr. Taylor,

My name is Julia ,and I am a graduate of the class of 2017. I was class president, served actively in student government during my time, co-ran a non-profit on campus, was involved in executive council in my sorority, participated in the University Fellows program, and was a tuition exchange student.

I went to Samford, but I was not me at Samford.

I was not able to be my authentic self while in school. I saw no other women like me - devoted to their faith and also interested in dating and marrying other women as a part of that faith. Not in spite of it, but because of it, just as our straight peers did. I chose to remain closeted and continued on to Christian higher ed where everything eventually came crashing down, as I was forced out of Christian university life due to policies around same-sex dating.

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Dr. Taylor,

I am writing to you to express my disappointment in the recent moves to restrict religious liberty on campus and to ask for a reversal of this decision.

I am a 2016 graduate of Samford and am grateful for my time there. I attended on a debate scholarship and Presidential Scholarship as a University Fellow. I graduated summa cum laude, was appointed to the U.S. National Debate Team, received a Fulbright grant to Germany, and was selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. I credit the education I received at Samford with these accolades.

I am also a queer woman.

I firmly believe that were such policies in place when I attended Samford, the climate of the school would have been even more hostile to LGBTQ students than it was from 2012-2016. I was able to flourish at Samford precisely because the educational mission of the university was of paramount importance, far beyond religious training or taking a side in a political culture war. I fear that this educational mission is no longer the priority, and students like me will suffer. I could not have achieved all that I did without the system of support in place I had from particular faculty members, the University Fellows program, and affirming Christian ministries. I am sure you're aware of the increased risk of mental health problems and suicide that LGBTQ teens face—any action that increases the stress or perceived hostility to your students is thus an extreme detriment to student success at Samford.

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Dear Dr. Taylor,

I am an alumna of Samford and have supported the university, financially and otherwise, since my graduation in 2008. Today, I am writing to document my disappointment with Samford’s exclusion of LGBTQ-affirming churches and groups at its ministry fair.

I’m sure you have heard from many other faculty, staff, students, and alumni about the problematic nature of the new guest ministry organizations policy, and I hope you have listened as current and former students tell you about how similar policies and practices at Samford (e.g., rejection of the “Samford Together” group) have caused them harm.

In case my peers’ appeals to your humanity do not resonate with you, I would like to offer an appeal to your rationality. I am a researcher by trade, inspired by my professors to become one myself, and I have been trained to privilege the intellectual over the emotional. I understand that you, too, are trained in the fields of economics and finance, so I hope that what follows demonstrates, in no uncertain terms, what policies like Samford’s are doing to your LGBTQ+ students.

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Dear Dr. Taylor:

My name is Greg Barnes, a Samford alumnus from the Class of 1981. I have been reading media reports regarding the controversy surrounding the Campus Ministry Fair held on campus on August 31. I find the University's actions and behaviors in this situation deeply troubling. It seems to go against the goal of improving diversity in all aspects of the University.

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland, 

I graduated from Samford University in 2006 with a degree in journalism and mass communication and a hope that I would proudly represent the school I loved. I also hoped that the same commitment would be made on the university's part to represent its students and alumni. 

One of the best pieces of feedback I got from a Samford professor came while I was working on The Samford Crimson. Dr. Dan (as he was lovingly called) looked at me while we were trying to come up with a headline in the wee hours of another Tuesday morning. With slight affection but more so exhaustion, he said "ya know, if there's a complicated way to say something, Melissa, that's how you word it." 

In my professional and personal life, I think of that line often. So without cluttering this letter up with a lot of rambling, I'll get to the point. I believe that denying a board vote to the Samford Together group was wrong. I know that by denying that opportunity, as it was promised to them, it creates even more fear, frustration and displacement. I can say with certainty that for every traditional conservative you pacified, a group of students were harmed. 

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland,

I graduated from Samford in 2010. I was involved with the SGA as a senator, served on a search committee to name a new Dean of Students, was president of my fraternity and served as an orientation leader for two years. Every moment of my undergrad is a moment I cherish and would not take back for anything. I have given back financially and through my thoughts to my school, my fraternity and the orientation program as an alumnus as religiously as I give to any organization I am proud to be a part of. I have always been proud to be a Bulldog.

That feeling was strengthened when I came to Homecoming a few years ago, and I saw some rainbow flags and an organization that supported the LGBTQ+ community at Samford. I actually teared up. If that would have been there earlier, maybe feelings of low self-worth, isolation and general depression I dealt with would have been avoided. I never knew there was someone else like me at Samford. To see a group of people willing to come together and not be alone…was simply, sweet. 

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland,

Until I was given a platform to write anonymously, I was hesitant to send you this letter.  I am a current faculty member. I have spent most of my career here, and I love Samford. When people who know me - who know that I vote progressively, and that I am an LGBTQ ally – ask me why I work here and why I love this place, I have said:

·       I love the rigorous coursework that happens at Samford. Samford is a true university environment in which ideas are explored without fear for anyone’s faith. Or,

·       I love the way the administration at Samford cares about the students and their individual needs. Or,

·       I love the freedom Christians (of all types as well as those of other religions) feel at Samford to explore science, philosophy, art, literature, whatever they choose.

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland,

I received much from Samford, and for many years I attempted to give back. Mindful of the important role Samford played in my own educational journey as a first-generation college student, I served as an admissions counselor and later helped bring the Fellows Program to life. Over time, though, I became increasingly aware that I no longer “fit” at Samford. It wasn’t just that I leaned too far to the left politically.

The longer I spent at Samford, the less faith I had.

There are many reasons why my time at Samford led to a crisis of faith -- among them was the university’s response to homosexuality. I was raised in fairly conservative churches, but I also had an insatiable desire to learn, so I came to Samford with many questions. That’s why I loved Biblical Perspectives. My professor, a local pastor, welcomed and encouraged my questions. No matter what I asked, he responded thoughtfully and with great care. He was unwavering in his faith in Christ. At the same time, he had an appropriate sense of humility about his own capacity to fully comprehend the mind of God, so he never hesitated to consider other perspectives or interpretations or to admit that he was wrestling with an answer himself.

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland,

I write to you today, as so many others have already done, to urge you to reconsider your decision regarding Samford Together. I have read each of the letters written to you by faculty, staff, alumni, and current students. As an alumnus from the class of 1997, I fully support this initiative and I hope that, in time, you will be able to lend your support to this student organization as well.

Like so many who have already written you, I too, loved my time at Samford. I had an educational experience that was unparalleled, and my time at Samford literally changed the course of my life, both personally and professionally. For this, I am forever grateful.

However, I have always held my alma mater at “arm’s length” knowing that Samford, and many of my peers, did not understand the journey of an LGBT student on her campus. I suspect that I am not the only student who arrived at Samford as a freshman not knowing they were gay, but in time, came to learn this truth. On one hand, Samford was a tough place to figure out this life lesson. On the other hand, I had some of the greatest times of my life during my four years on campus, and would not trade my Samford experience for anything in the world.

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Dr. Westmoreland,

I hope that you have read each word in each letter submitted here. They are heartfelt pleas to your humanity embedded in deeply personal, and often deeply painful, experiences. These stories are touching and transformative.

My approach here is different. I am a researcher by trade, and it is in that vein that I offer this account. I watched the video message that you released on July 7, 2017 several times in an effort to understand your decision. Your reasons for keeping Samford Together from going before the Board of Trustees were twofold: (1) that the group would be focused on advocacy work rather than discussion and (2) that the group is polarizing. I will address each of these in turn.

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland,

I am a young trans student at Samford. You might be surprised to hear this, as trans students are often even more closeted than gay and lesbian students at Samford, but there are quite a few of us.

I am extremely disheartened by your decision to block Samford Together. The group wasn't even presented as an advocacy group, just a group where LGBT students could discuss their lives without fear on a campus that stifles that conversation. Suicide rates among LGBT youth are very high, being especially high among trans youth. In opening up to my peers about my gender dysphoria at Samford, I have lost a lot of friends. I believe that a student body often reflects its administration. An administration is supposed to lead by example, and the current position held by Samford's administration is only further engraining many students' hatred and intolerance for people who different from them.
 

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Dear Dr. Westmoreland,

I am writing this email to extend my regrets that you felt you had to deny Samford Together a vote before the Board of Trustees, despite support from every level of campus previously. I do understand that you serve at the pleasure of the Board and that you must do what you believe is necessary to keep the University open and safe from a split that could tear it apart. However, I certainly feel that if you had allowed many faculty who spoke in the faculty meeting a chance to talk with the trustees in a low key atmosphere, that we could have helped them see that this group is not an advocacy group and is the lowest-key group to talk about LBGTQ questions I've ever heard of, much less encountered.
 

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