Premier Kathleen Wynne thanked a historic Toronto church Sunday for being a place of refuge when she was coming out in the 1990s.
?I can remember the feeling of, this is a place that?s going to give me solace and strength,? Wynne, whose premiership has made history, told the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, where the country?s?first gay marriages were performed.
After a standing ovation, Wynne explained how when she was coming out, she would sometimes ?sneak? from North Toronto to the church near Gerrard St. E. and Logan Ave. Back when her kids were young, she and her partner, Jane Rounthwaite, would go to some evening services there, Wynne said, thanking the congregation for the ?strength? it gave them.
?There was lots of turmoil in that coming out; it was not easy to do that. Jane had known her whole life that she was a lesbian and I had not known until I was 37,? said an emotional Wynne, getting laughs when she called herself a ?slow learner.?
?The moment after I made the speech I thought . . . I absolutely want to win, but really it doesn?t matter because I?ve put the issue on the table,? she said, adding there was vindication in a poll that said most Ontarians ?couldn?t care less whether I?m a lesbian.?
She was invited to the Sunday service with guest preacher Right Rev. Gary Paterson, who was recently elected the first openly gay moderator of the United Church of Canada. Wynne, a United Church member, sat in a row second from the front, with family members including Rounthwaite, as well as local NDP MPP Peter Tabuns.
Senior pastor Rev. Brent Hawkes expressed excitement throughout the service about Wynne, who is recalling the legislature Tuesday.
?This is a moment for us, politically. This is a moment for our province and this is a moment for all three of our political parties in the provincial legislature,? Hawkes said, noting it?s the first time women and members of the LGBT community ?see themselves reflected in the premiership of our province.?
Not that long ago, the church couldn?t get most politicians at Queen?s Park to listen, he said. ?I remember when we had to chain ourselves to the legislature just to get our human rights,? said Hawkes, a long-time gay rights activist. ?We had to take the province to court just to get our marriages recognized and now, we?re here.?
After the service, while Wynne was having her photo taken with churchgoers, Sonja Mitrovic said Wynne?s election is a reminder of how much progress there has been. ?Being young, I don?t know a lot of the history,? said the 32-year-old.
As a teacher, she said she?s more interested in whether Wynne can improve government?s relationship with teachers than her sexuality, which she was unaware of until recently. But she and her wife said it doesn?t stop Wynne?s premiership being significant.
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