''A Union in Wait'' is a 2001

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

about

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

directed by

Ryan Butler Ryan Townsend Butler is an American politician and filmmaker. He directed the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States, is the former president of the LGBT Democrats of North Carolina and is a ...

. It was the first documentary about same-sex marriage to air on national television in the United States.

Summary

Susan Parker and Wendy Scott are members of Wake Forest Baptist Church. In 1997 the couple decided they wanted to have a union ceremony in

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

's Wait Chapel, but the traditionally

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

university told them no. Susan Parker, Wendy Scott, their church, and many others joined to fight the school's decision in what would become a controversy that divided a community in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

and made national headlines. Eventually (in 2000) Parker and Scott did have the ceremony at the chapel.Burger, Mark (23 February 2001)
Film tackles controversy around same-sex ceremony
, ''

Winston-Salem Journal The ''Winston-Salem Journal'' is an American, English language daily newspaper primarily serving Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina. It also covers Northwestern North Carolina. The paper is owned by Lee Enterprises. ''The Journa ...

''Cridlin, Jay (8 February 2001)
Film on same-sex union controversy to debut in Pugh
, ''

Old Gold & Black The ''Old Gold & Black'' is the student-run newspaper of Wake Forest University, named after the school's colors. The newspaper was founded in 1916 and is published every other Thursday with the exception of school holidays and exam weeks. The ...

''Bland, Elizabeth (22 February 2001)
Film revisits same-sex union controversy
, ''

''(26 September 2000
Couple 'united' at Wake Forest's Wait Chapel
, '' The Chronicle (Duke University)'' The film includes interviews with

Andrew Sullivan Andrew Michael Sullivan (born 10 August 1963) is a British-American author, editor, and blogger. Sullivan is a political commentator, a former editor of ''The New Republic'', and the author or editor of six books. He started a political blog, ' ...

Barney Frank Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committ ...

, Robert Knight,

Jimmy Creech Jimmy Creech is a former United Methodist Church minister who was defrocked for marrying same-sex couples. He was a founding member of the North Carolina Religious Coalition for Marriage Equality, an interfaith same-sex marriage advocacy group, c ...

, Fred Phelps,

Candace Gingrich Candace Gingrich (; born June 2, 1966) is an American LGBT rights activist at the Human Rights Campaign. Candace is the half-sibling of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.Seelye, KatharineSpeaker's Sister Now Speaking Out ''The New York T ...

, Wake Forest University students, and local ministers. The film was shot primarily in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

, on the campus of

; but portions of the film were shot in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

, at the

Millennium March The Millennium March on Washington was an event to raise awareness and visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and issues of LGBT rights in the US, it was held April 28 through April 30, 2000 in Washington, DC. The Mill ...

on Washington,

Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against: access to pornography, emb ...

headquarters, and

's house.

Distribution

In 2001, the

Sundance Channel Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly known as Sundance Channel (United States). * Sundance Channel (Canada) * Sundance Channel (Netherlands) * Sundance Channel (Europe) Sundance Channel can refer to: * Sundance TV, formerly kno ...

licensed the film for television in the United States. ''A Union In Wait'' was also shown at numerous festivals around the world and distributed on video by

Frameline The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...

.(21 October 2001)
Documentary on conflict over gay union being aired
, ''

''Covington,Lewis
National Coming Out Day on Sundance
, ''etcetera'' (Retrieved February 20, 2012, notes film playing on Sundance channel)(9 February 2001)

, ''

''9 August 2002. RHODE ISLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL - What's showing, ''

The Providence Journal ''The Providence Journal'', colloquially known as the ''ProJo'', is a daily newspaper serving the metropolitan area of Providence, Rhode Island, and is the largest newspaper in Rhode Island. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspape ...

'' (confirming that film was presented at the

Rhode Island International Film Festival Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. History Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the ...

in 2002; "A Union in Wait, documentary about a lesbian couple whose attempt to have a union ceremony in a college chapel divided a North Carolina town.")(3 May 2001)

''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' (confirming presentation of film at

Maryland Film Festival The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each May in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival ...

in 2001)Jenkins, Mark (October 2001)
A Union In Wait (brief review)
, ''

Washington City Paper The ''Washington City Paper'' is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The ''City Paper'' is distributed on Thursdays; its average circulation in 2006 was 85,588. The paper's editorial mix is focu ...

'' In 2015

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

made the film available online.

Subsequent developments

Susan Parker now serves as the associate pastor of Wake Forest Baptist Church.Parker, Susan & Yarber, Angela (3 February 2012)
Opinion: Joining Baptists in defeating NC Amendment One
, ''

Associated Baptist Press Baptist News Global is an independent Baptist news agency. It was founded in 2014 as a merger of Associated Baptist Press (ABP), which was founded in 1990, and the ''Religious Herald'', which was founded in 1828. The ''Herald'' served as a journal f ...

worked as a television editor in Washington, DC, after the release of ''A Union In Wait'' for

WJLA-TV WJLA-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Washington, D.C., affiliated with ABC. It is one of two flagship stations of Sinclair Broadcast Group (alongside dual Fox/ MyNetworkTV affiliate WBFF hannel 45in Baltimore), and is also s ...

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...

, and CNN. He was also elected to Washington's

Advisory Neighborhood Commission Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are bodies of local government in District of Columbia, in the United States. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a District referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. ...

. In 2009 he moved back to North Carolina where he worked for the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Caroli ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Union in Wait, A 2001 films Documentary films about same-sex marriage in the United States American LGBT-related films American documentary films Documentary films about lesbians 2001 LGBT-related films 2001 documentary films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films