“You know, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender - people are people. ”

“Everyone has people in their lives that are gay, lesbian or transgender or bisexual. They may not want to admit it, but I guarantee they know somebody.”

“There Comes the Strangest MomentThere comes the strangest moment in your life,when everything you thought before breaks free--what you relied upon, as ground-rule and as ritelooks upside down from how it used to be.Skin's gone pale, your brain is shedding cells;you question every tenet you set down;obedient thoughts have turned to infidelsand every verb desires to be a noun.I want--my want. I love--my love. I'll staywith you. I thought transitions were the best,but I want what's here to never go away.I'll make my peace, my bed, and kiss this breast…Your heart's in retrograde. You simply have no choice.Things people told you turn out to be true.You have to hold that body, hear that voice.You'd have sworn no one knew you more than you.How many people thought you'd never change?But here you have. It's beautiful. It's strange.”

“If you are a woman, if you are a person of colour, if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, if you are a person of size, if you are person of intelligence, if you are a person of integrity, then you are considered a minority in this world.”

“ Prayer is so simple. It is like quietly opening a door and slipping into the very presence of God. There, in the stillness, to listen to His voice, perhaps in petition or only to listen. It matters not. Just to be there in His presence is prayer.”

“To those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender -- let me say -- you are not alone. Your struggle, for the end to violence and discrimination, is a shared struggle. Today, I stand with you. And I call upon all countries and people, to stand with you too.A historic shift is underway. We must tackle the violence, decriminalize consensual same sex relationships and end discrimination. We must educate the public. I call on this council and people of conscience to make this happen.The time has come.”

“Some of the most unkind,judgmental people I've ever known go to church every Sunday and read the Bible.I don't know how some people are able todisassociate their own cruelty and shortcomings from their religious obligations and convictions, but many are able to do that.”