Report of Second Sermon in Series by Rev. John Moore
Dublin Core
Title
Report of Second Sermon in Series by Rev. John Moore
Description
San Francisco Chronicle, January 19, 1965, page 3.
Source
Repository: San Francisco Public Library
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
A Spirited Seminar on Homosexual Integration
PAGE 3
Monday, Jan. 18, 1965
San Francisco Chronicle
By Donovan Bess
A prominent Methodist pastor, the Rev. John V. More, made an appeal to heterosexual men and women yesterday to devote some of their spare time to "a dialogue" with overt homosexuals and lesbians.
The appeal was made during a spirited seminar in the Glide Memorial Church following a sermon by the Rev. Mr. Moore on the need to integrate homosexuals into the community.
Nearly 150 men and women remained after the service and spent an hour wrestling with such questions as (1) What is normal in bed? and (2) When is a seduction antisocial?
The pioneering pastor won an ovation from the group—many of whom are homosexuals.
Furor
One woman created a furor when she declared: "I'm heterosexual, but I have many homosexual friends. Why do they defend an act that is not considered normal?"
Evander Smith, an attorney, leapt to his feet and told the woman he was going to buy her a copy of "A Quaker View on Sex."
"This will be an education," he told her. "...You will find that homosexuality exists in every form of animal life. It just so happens that whales have the highest form of homosexual conduct of any."
Chided
The Rev. Mr. Moore was chided by some men present for depicting homosexual seduction as a special danger because some young persons "might go one way or the other"—and could be railroaded out of heterosexuality.
"Sometimes," said one man, "the younger person does the seducing."
Smith said "gay" people were particularly averse to child-molesting of any kind.
The pastor received another ovation for his initiative in opening his church to such discussions. He expressed hopes that those present would participate in the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, which was established recently by ministers of four Protestant denominations.
Homosexuals, he said, "have got to fight to be a human being," in the same way women fought for the vote, and Negroes now seek equal opportunity.
"I want to encourage you," he declared, "to move into larger community matters where you will be absorbed by issues other than 'the homosexual in society.'"
To help carry this out, he proposed projects that would involve heterosexual "laymen who are comfortable enough in their own sexuality to do this."
PAGE 3
Monday, Jan. 18, 1965
San Francisco Chronicle
By Donovan Bess
A prominent Methodist pastor, the Rev. John V. More, made an appeal to heterosexual men and women yesterday to devote some of their spare time to "a dialogue" with overt homosexuals and lesbians.
The appeal was made during a spirited seminar in the Glide Memorial Church following a sermon by the Rev. Mr. Moore on the need to integrate homosexuals into the community.
Nearly 150 men and women remained after the service and spent an hour wrestling with such questions as (1) What is normal in bed? and (2) When is a seduction antisocial?
The pioneering pastor won an ovation from the group—many of whom are homosexuals.
Furor
One woman created a furor when she declared: "I'm heterosexual, but I have many homosexual friends. Why do they defend an act that is not considered normal?"
Evander Smith, an attorney, leapt to his feet and told the woman he was going to buy her a copy of "A Quaker View on Sex."
"This will be an education," he told her. "...You will find that homosexuality exists in every form of animal life. It just so happens that whales have the highest form of homosexual conduct of any."
Chided
The Rev. Mr. Moore was chided by some men present for depicting homosexual seduction as a special danger because some young persons "might go one way or the other"—and could be railroaded out of heterosexuality.
"Sometimes," said one man, "the younger person does the seducing."
Smith said "gay" people were particularly averse to child-molesting of any kind.
The pastor received another ovation for his initiative in opening his church to such discussions. He expressed hopes that those present would participate in the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, which was established recently by ministers of four Protestant denominations.
Homosexuals, he said, "have got to fight to be a human being," in the same way women fought for the vote, and Negroes now seek equal opportunity.
"I want to encourage you," he declared, "to move into larger community matters where you will be absorbed by issues other than 'the homosexual in society.'"
To help carry this out, he proposed projects that would involve heterosexual "laymen who are comfortable enough in their own sexuality to do this."
Citation
“Report of Second Sermon in Series by Rev. John Moore”, The Council on Religion and the Homosexual, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed May 18, 2024, https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/crh/item/1740.