Retired U.S. Army colonel and civil rights activist Grethe Cammermeyer will speak about her career, her life and the struggles of the LGBT community at 6 p.m. Sunday, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Oak Harbor.

The event will include a screening of the Emmy-award winning film, “Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story,” starring Glenn Close as Cammermeyer.

Cammermeyer will introduce the film, a biographical depiction of Cammermeyer’s struggle as the highest-ranking officer to successfully challenge the military’s discriminatory policy banning gay and lesbian individuals from serving. She will also take questions on her career, her life, and her continued fight for equality for LGBT individuals.

Cammermeyer, a decorated officer in the Army and chief nursing officer of the Washington National Guard, had been involuntarily discharged after coming out as a lesbian in 1989, nearly 20 years before the U.S. military ruled to allow gays and lesbians to serve openly.

Cammermeyer’s landmark 1994 Supreme Court case, in which a federal judge ruled that the military’s policy was discriminatory and unconstitutional, and subsequent activism paved the way for such monumental changes as the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) policy in 2011.

Now retired, Cammermeyer lives in Langley with her spouse, Diane Divelbess, and serves as an elected Whidbey General Hospital commissioner.

Divelbess and Cammermeyer were first in line to receive their marriage license in Island County when gay and lesbian marriage was legalized in Washington state.

Cammermeyer recalled feeling “ecstatic” to wed Divelbess legally after 26 years of engagement.

“We felt vindicated and part of the fabric of American life,” Cammermeyer wrote in an email. “The anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling that DOMA [the Defense of Marriage Act] was unconstitutional was as surreal as the repeal of DADT.”

There is still work to be done, however. Cammermeyer noted that the fight for transgender equality in the military is ongoing.

“The ban against transgender people in the military must be removed,” she said.

In the civilian world, she noted, there is also a ways to go despite the advances made in recent years.

“Although equality has been mandated by law and by the Supreme Court there are parts of the country where homophobia touted as religious doctrine persists,” she wrote. “Until sexual orientation and gender identity becomes irrelevant we continue to speak out and work for full equality.”

Rilla Barrett, reverend at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, said she and others at St. Stephen’s happily accepted PFLAG’s (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) invitation to coordinate on the event.

“We’re very welcoming,” she said, noting the church’s all-inclusive nature. “We’re excited about doing this.”

Barrett added that she hopes attendees take away a sense of openness and acceptance, as well as the recognition of Cammermeyer’s story and her accomplishments.

Larry Fox, chapter secretary for Whidbey PFLAG, said another organization had hosted a similar event with Cammermeyer on South Whidbey, at which about 15 people were present.

Sunday’s event will be an opportunity to extend PFLAG’s mission of support, education and advocacy to the north end of the island, Fox said.

“I think first of all that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people — anyone who is a sexual minority — needs to understand that there is support available for them. Despite having marriage equality become the law of the nation, there is still a lot of pushback,” Fox said. “Just because we have marriage equality, that doesn’t necessarily change people’s hearts and minds.”

Fox noted that this and similar events are useful in educating people about the LGBTQIA community, its history and its struggles. It is also a good opportunity for LGTBQIA individuals to recognize there are advocates on Whidbey.

Fox said Cammermeyer is an excellent role model for individuals of any sexual orientation or gender identity, and is a leader in the LGBT community as well as in the greater community of Whidbey.

The event is co-sponsored by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and the Whidbey chapter of PFLAG, as well as Langley United Methodist Church, the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Whidbey Island, Integrity of Whidbey Island and GLASS (Gay, Lesbian and Supportive Sailors).  Admission is free.