Cindi Love
Encyclopedia
Cynthia "Cindi" Love is an American businesswoman, academic administrator and clergymember who served for four years as the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Community Church
(MCC), a denomination run predominantly by and for lesbian
, gay
, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT
) people. In this position, Love was the denomination's chief operating officer and business manager; she was thus one of the denomination's top leaders and played a role in the spiritual lives of LGBT Christians around the world. Love has also served on the "Faith and Religion Council" for the Human Rights Campaign
.
Love currently serves as the Executive Director for the LGBT
nonprofit Soulforce (organization)
.
, Love holds Bachelor of Science
in Education from Abilene Christian University
, a Master of Arts
from Louisiana Tech, and a Doctorate
in Educational Administration from Texas Tech University
. She applied her educational training to using technology in the classroom and to forming community-school partnerships; her efforts were recognized by the Texas legislature and by Governor Ann Richards. She was later named the Executive Dean of Brookhaven College
in Dallas, Texas
.
Love also spent many years in the business sector, founding such companies as Ecommune, a business intended for advising Fortune 500
companies and technology ventures in Israel
, School Vision of Texas, INC 500
member C.H. Love & Co., which was later bought by New Mexico Information Systems, and ICSS, Inc., which was acquired by The Toro Company
, for which she guided a project that created a world-wide Intranet network, and served as both director of customer service systems and manager of global customer information systems. From Toro she moved on to other projects, including being the CEO of Friendly Robotics
(USA). Her experience with technology was also called upon by NASA
and by the Texas legislature. For her business work, she was named one of the "Top 50 Entrepreneurs" in North America by Inc. Magazine, MIT
and YEO
in 1990. She has served on numerous not-for-profit boards and committees for educational, business, and LGBT interests.
She has been the CEO and founder of a number of other corporations, including School Vision of Texas, Network in a Box, Apple Education Assistance Network, New Mexico Information Systems, and Integration Control Systems & Services.
denomination, was active in city-wide ministry programs from a young age, and married a minister from the church, but transferred to a Southern Baptist church after her divorce. She was also active in local advocacy groups on issues regarding rehabilitation and disability services, workplace discrimination and HIV/AIDS issues; for instance, she was a long-time director of one of the West Texas Rehabilitation Center's advocacy programs, and she and her wife later founded the Abilene Community Advocacy Program. She later founded FAMLO, a non-profit organization addressing health issues around drug addiction and HIV/AIDS.
After leaving Toro and while working at Brookhaven, Love began serving on the MCC Board of Administrators; during this time, she completed her credentials for ordination in the denomination and took an interim post at MCC of Greater Dallas. Between January 2005 and May 2009, Love served as the Executive Director for the MCC denomination. Love was appointed Executive Director
of the liberally
-oriented (although still based on the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds) Metropolitan Community Church in January 2005. She left that position in May 2009 although she continued to remain a minister with the church, and later that year she moved her career down a different path by purchasing an organic food shop.
Love is also the author of Would Jesus Discriminate? The 21st Century Question. This book is part of a broader campaign to prompt churches to consider the ways that religious attitudes against homosexuality may contribute to wider discrimination against gays and lesbians. Although the campaign began in 2006, it continues to influence the discussion; news articles from 2009 show that churches are still hosting "town halls" on the issue in places like Anchorage, Alaska, and that people are still using the slogan at marriage-equality rallies in Bloomington, Indiana and in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
after the country introduced legislation permitting same-sex marriages
. They later announced plans to marry under Californian law
at a ceremony to be conducted in Los Angeles
on June 24, 2008.
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches is an international Protestant Christian denomination...
(MCC), a denomination run predominantly by and for lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) people. In this position, Love was the denomination's chief operating officer and business manager; she was thus one of the denomination's top leaders and played a role in the spiritual lives of LGBT Christians around the world. Love has also served on the "Faith and Religion Council" for the Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest LGBT advocacy group and lobbying organization; according to the HRC, it has more than one million members and supporters...
.
Love currently serves as the Executive Director for the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
nonprofit Soulforce (organization)
Soulforce (organization)
Soulforce is an American social justice and civil rights organization that supports acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people through dialogue and creative forms of nonviolent direct action...
.
Education and early career
A native of Abilene, TexasAbilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, Love holds Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in Education from Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
, a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from Louisiana Tech, and a Doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Educational Administration from Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
. She applied her educational training to using technology in the classroom and to forming community-school partnerships; her efforts were recognized by the Texas legislature and by Governor Ann Richards. She was later named the Executive Dean of Brookhaven College
Brookhaven College
Brookhaven College, located in Farmers Branch, Texas , is one of seven colleges of the Dallas County Community College District . Brookhaven opened in 1978 and is the newest DCCCD college....
in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Love also spent many years in the business sector, founding such companies as Ecommune, a business intended for advising Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
companies and technology ventures in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, School Vision of Texas, INC 500
Inc. (magazine)
Inc. magazine, founded in 1979 and based in New York City, is a monthly publication focused on growing companies. The magazine publishes an annual list of the 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., the "Inc...
member C.H. Love & Co., which was later bought by New Mexico Information Systems, and ICSS, Inc., which was acquired by The Toro Company
Toro (company)
The Toro Company is an American manufacturer of turf maintenance equipment , snow removal equipment and water-saving irrigation systems for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential lawns, and agricultural fields...
, for which she guided a project that created a world-wide Intranet network, and served as both director of customer service systems and manager of global customer information systems. From Toro she moved on to other projects, including being the CEO of Friendly Robotics
Friendly Robotics
Friendly Robotics is a retailer of autonomous Lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners . It was founded in Pardesia, Israel in 1995, by Udi Peless and Shai Abramson. It supplies its products to the markets of the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Future plans for the Company...
(USA). Her experience with technology was also called upon by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and by the Texas legislature. For her business work, she was named one of the "Top 50 Entrepreneurs" in North America by Inc. Magazine, MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and YEO
Entrepreneurs' Organization
The Entrepreneurs' Organization is a global non-profit organization, whose stated mission is to "Engage leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow." EO was formerly known as YEO .- Founding Members :...
in 1990. She has served on numerous not-for-profit boards and committees for educational, business, and LGBT interests.
She has been the CEO and founder of a number of other corporations, including School Vision of Texas, Network in a Box, Apple Education Assistance Network, New Mexico Information Systems, and Integration Control Systems & Services.
Ministry
Love grew up in the Church of ChristChurch of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
denomination, was active in city-wide ministry programs from a young age, and married a minister from the church, but transferred to a Southern Baptist church after her divorce. She was also active in local advocacy groups on issues regarding rehabilitation and disability services, workplace discrimination and HIV/AIDS issues; for instance, she was a long-time director of one of the West Texas Rehabilitation Center's advocacy programs, and she and her wife later founded the Abilene Community Advocacy Program. She later founded FAMLO, a non-profit organization addressing health issues around drug addiction and HIV/AIDS.
After leaving Toro and while working at Brookhaven, Love began serving on the MCC Board of Administrators; during this time, she completed her credentials for ordination in the denomination and took an interim post at MCC of Greater Dallas. Between January 2005 and May 2009, Love served as the Executive Director for the MCC denomination. Love was appointed Executive Director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the liberally
Liberal Christianity
Liberal Christianity, sometimes called liberal theology, is an umbrella term covering diverse, philosophically and biblically informed religious movements and ideas within Christianity from the late 18th century and onward...
-oriented (although still based on the Apostle's and Nicene Creeds) Metropolitan Community Church in January 2005. She left that position in May 2009 although she continued to remain a minister with the church, and later that year she moved her career down a different path by purchasing an organic food shop.
Love is also the author of Would Jesus Discriminate? The 21st Century Question. This book is part of a broader campaign to prompt churches to consider the ways that religious attitudes against homosexuality may contribute to wider discrimination against gays and lesbians. Although the campaign began in 2006, it continues to influence the discussion; news articles from 2009 show that churches are still hosting "town halls" on the issue in places like Anchorage, Alaska, and that people are still using the slogan at marriage-equality rallies in Bloomington, Indiana and in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Personal
Love has two children from her first marriage. In 2005 she married Sue Jennings in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
after the country introduced legislation permitting same-sex marriages
Same-sex marriage in Canada
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition...
. They later announced plans to marry under Californian law
Same-sex marriage in California
The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so...
at a ceremony to be conducted in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on June 24, 2008.