Martin Kelley

She was rigid, she was impossibly idealistic, she made people intensely uncomfortable when she felt they were bowing to compromise at the expense of their ideals. She was loved, she was a force of nature, and she made amazing things happen. - Martin Kelley

I told them that working with Bonnie Tinker changed me--changed us, because they were along much of the time. Sometimes I dreaded a call from Bonnie because she was involved with hard, hard stuff and was calling to involve me and my family in it. And I knew we had to be there, that we wanted to be there; it's just that it was so hard, what she took on, it demanded so much. Sometimes I wasn't strong enough (yet?) to be responsible--to respond as I wanted to--to her call. And sometimes I was. - Martin Kelley

The loss of Bonnie Tinker is tragic, heartbreaking and will be felt by the progressive, radical, and queer communities for a long time to come. Please honor Bonnie by doing your most envelope-pushing, authority-challenging work to make our community a better place. She deserves it. - Martin Kelley

In my history of being part of faith communities I realized that those who are “group”-oriented seem more clubish, more “come in, be one of us”, more fractured, more self-interested. Those that were “ministry”-0riented thought of the bigger picture, had more awareness of the each other, practiced more over-arching hospitality. And in my faith gathering we have many ministries, but not a lot of groups … but the places where there are groups, we seem to have more lack of communication and conflict with each other. - Martin Kelley

[It] struck me last night was the clarity about what’s important. When people were remembering Bonnie, no one said, “What a beautiful house she had,” or “What fine clothes.” They remembered her spirit, her dedication, her passion—things that don’t add to one’s carbon footprint. As I try to figure out how to wrap up a workshop on the Serenity Prayer, I’m left with the thought that in addition to grief, the loss of a friend can give us clarity about our priorities and our purpose. - Martin Kelley

There's more about this tragedy on various Facebook pages and Twitter streams. Bonnie is most well known for her work with Love Makes a Family. - Martin Kelley