Published: January 30, 2008 12:26 am         

Acclaimed film reaches Mankato

'For the Bible Tells Me So' showing

MANKATO — A movie that challenges the way many churches portray the Bible’s teachings about being gay had its premier showing Tuesday in Mankato, former home of one of the five families featured in the film.

And it was a group of six local churches — along with the Human Rights Campaign and Minnesota State University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center — that has brought “For the Bible Tells Me So” to MSU’s Ostrander Auditorium and downtown’s Maverick 4 Theatre in the Mankato Place Mall.

“For me, it’s very important that this issue be addressed,” said the Rev. Dawn Carder of Mankato’s First Presbyterian Church. “It’s a very divisive in the church and this film is a long time coming.”

The Rev. Al Thompson of Mankato’s First Congregational United Church of Christ added:

“The word needs to get out that part of the cherished Gospel is all people belong; all people are created equal. That’s what we preach.”

The film features Jake Reitan, and his parents Phil and Randi, while telling the stories of religious couples who discovered one of their children was homosexual. Jake Reitan was 15 years old and a sophomore at West High School when he first told his sister he was gay. It was a year later before he told his parents.

During an interview in the film, Phil Reitan said he felt like he’d been hit in the gut the day Jake broke the news.

“I had so many dreams for Jake,” Phil Reitan said. “They were instantly shattered.”

Jake Reitan went on to found the Equality Ride through Soulforce, an organization that describes its mission as ending religious bigotry about homosexuality. He’s currently working on a master’s degree at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.

His parents’ views about his sexual orientation, and his future as an openly gay man, have changed dramatically as well. They’ve dedicated their lives to promoting gay rights.

Phil and Randi Reitan attended the Tuesday night showing of the movie, but Jake was unable to make it back to Mankato for the event. If he could have been there, Jake would have been there, Randi said.

“It’s good for our family, but it’s even better for closeted people who don’t feel they can be open about their homosexuality,” she said. “There are so many people in rural areas who are closeted.”

She knows because she’s been there, she said.

“If we could have seen this film before Jake came out to us, our journey would have been easier,” Randi Reitan said.

Anyone who showed up late for the start of the movie Tuesday night found a 137-seat theater that was filled to capacity. Some found a seat on the floor and others found a place to stand.

The film, which made the final 15 before it was cut from the final documentary list for Oscar nominations, will have two more free showings in Mankato. Once tonight at 7 p.m. at Ostrander Auditorium in MSU’s Centennial Student Union and again at 7 p.m. Thursday at Maverick 4 downtown.

“We’re walking the talk,” Tricia Nienow said while explaining why the Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship congregation pitched in to bring “For the Bible Tells Me So” to Mankato. “Not just for gays and lesbians, but for people of all types of diversity. We’re giving a voice to our ideals.”