As storms began forming through

the Atlanta region last Wednesday, Fayetteville's Jeff and Patti Ellis

took their message of inclusion to an ancient church on a rapidly gentrifying

corner of Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta.

Jeff and Patti made the journey

last week to St. Mark United Methodist Church to share a simple tale of

family love. Last year, the Fayetteville couple won the church's Cordele

Award for helping to support diversity in the community.

In December 1997, the Ellises

learned their son, Adam, was gay.

"It was an extremely lonely

time. I stayed in that dark closet for three years," said Patti.

The crowd of nearly 100 sat

rapt as Patti and Jeff spun their journey of acceptance. After searching

the Internet and looking for other families with similar situations, the

Ellises started their own Web page in 2001-familyacceptance.com.

Since the start-up, their Website

has received more than 3.5 million hits, which is probably one of the

largest numbers for a Fayette-based site.

Jeff and Patti have also personally

answered more than 3,000 e-mails, which have ranged from heartbreaking

to anger-inspiring.

The e-mails have come from

around the world, including Bombay, India and the United Kingdom. Many

of them come to the Website seeking knowledge on how to deal with a gay

family member.

During their journey of acceptance,

the Ellises have been shunned by some in the community, but refuse to

give up the fight.

"I'm not leaving Fayetteville

because of it," Patti said.

When it was Jeff's turn to

address the crowd, he said how he couldn't understand the churches reluctance

in not reaching out to the gay population.

"Why shouldn't every church

be inclusive?" he asked.

The Ellises go around the country

and speak to different groups and deal with troubled kids and parents

on an almost daily basis. They see kids killing themselves because their

families won't accept them. They hear anguished cries from mothers who

wonder why they were "cursed" with a gay child.

But through it all, the Ellises

keep their heads up and spirits high and preach the gospel of inclusion.

Jeff told about the recent

controversy surrounding Sen. Rick Santorum's recent anti-gay comments.

He said it's a good sign that many agencies and leaders have denounced

the comments, because 10 years ago it probably would not have happened.

As Jeff recounted the pain

of parents he'd talked to, many of the audience had tears in their eyes

and you could see a glint of recognition on their face. They had been

down the same path, but some looked like they had different results than

the acceptance Jeff and Patti provided their son.

When they finished their presentation,

many in the audience rushed up to the stage and thanked them for their

inspiring words.

Outside the storm promised

dignity and composure. This Fayetteville couple had survived a storm far

more harmful than anything Mother Nature could throw at them.