Official Report of the Consultation Written by Rev. Donald Kuhn
Dublin Core
Title
Official Report of the Consultation Written by Rev. Donald Kuhn
Description
Published by the Council on Religion and the Homosexual. Phyllis Lyon & Del Martin Papers.
Source
Repository: GLBT Historical Society
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Page 1: "The Church and the Homosexual. A Report on a Consultation Prepared by Donald Kuhn."
Page 2: "CONTENTS
How It Started
a brief history .............................................................................................................................................. page l
Before the Consultation
a tour of gay bars and a picnic ............................................................................................................... page 1
The Opening Session
structuring for conversation ...................................................................................................................... page 3
Monday Morning
Kim Myers on "how churchmen view homosexuals" ......................................................................... page 3
The Male Community
Don Lucas on "how homosexuals view churchmen" .......................................................................... page 4
The Women Came Last
Billie Talmij presents demolition fuses ................................................................................................... page 11
After Formal Presentations
small group discussions ............................................................................................................................ page 18
The Right to Hide
Guy Strait's view of homosexuals and the law ..................................................................................... page 18
Biblical and Theological Bases
Kim Myers on relationship between churchmen and homosexuals ................................................ page 21
The Last Day
Ted Mcllvenna prepares for final discussion ...................................................................................... page 29
Small Groups Report
brief summaries from three groups .................................... . ................................................................. page 30
The Council on Religion and the Homosexual
a new San Francisco organization - its purposes, and its progress .................................................. page 31
The Participants .................................................................................................................................................... page 34
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................... page 35"
Page 3: "HOW IT STARTED
"Forget who you represent. We represent the human race. Let's start there." This is how Ted McIlvenna began his presentation to thirty informally dressed men and women
sitting around a fire at a retreat center outside of San Francisco. The persons to whom he spoke represented churches and homosexual organizations.
It was 10:00 p. m. on Sunday, May 31, 1964, but the consultation started much earlier. To list the exact steps would be difficult. Yet one fact was clear. The man standing before the group, Ted McIlvenna, started it all.
Earlier, as director of The Young Adult Project in San Francisco, Ted met persons for whom homosexuality created problems. Next he hunted for groups which were providing services for these persons. He found four organizations: Daughters of Bilitis, Mattachine Society, Inc., League for Civil Education, and The Tavern Guild. During his exploration
Ted learned that many homosexuals sensed a sharp division between themselves and the Church.
Ted told Charles Mowry of Methodism's Older Youth/Young Adult Project what he had learned. Charles, in turn, conferred with Roger Burgess and Dale White of the Division
of Alcohol Problems and General Welfare of The Methodist Board of Christian Social Concerns. These two agencies decided to join the Glide Urban Center in sponsoring
a consultation which would include representatives from homophile organizations and churches. Glide Urban Center's Lewis Durham and Ted McIlvenna were asked to prepare for a San Francisco consultation and extend invitations. Lewis and Ted worked closely with Daughters of Bililis, Mattachine Society, League for Civil Education and Tavern Guild in developing plans for the meeting.
BEFORE THE CONSULTATION
Before beginning the regular sessions of the consultation, many of the delegates had developed a common vocabulary on the basis of their first-hand experiences which included a tour of gay bars on the previous night. Starting from the Precarious Vision, a church sponsored coffee house on Bush Street in San Francisco, leaders of the Mattachine
Society took small groups of delegates to bars which cater to male homosexuals. Only in their loud music were the bars similar. Otherwise they were quite different and appealed to varied male clienteles."
Page 4: "In one small bar, attractive, informally dressed young men visited in a manner similar to a typical evening in a fraternity house club room. By contrast, a second bar was
frequented by the black leather jacket crowd who stood silently along the bar and around the walls. Motorcycle tracks crossed the spot on the ceiling where white sneakers
were the only remains of a splattered man. All eyes and solemn faces greeted each newcomer.
Still another bar was well lighted. Its appearance and clientele seemed somehow to have "class." This place served only wine and beer. Its walls were covered with relics reminiscent of San Franciso's pioneer period. Patrons joked with the owner who wore shirts with humorous local jokes embroidered on them.
A quite different wine and beer bar (very dark and with very few patrons) featured a "drag show" on a low, small, well lighted stage facing the bar's entrance. The show featured
three men tastefully dressed in women's clothing. To scratchy records of female recording artists they mouthed lyrics and danced. Here all eyes focused on the stage rather
than on each new patron.
At one large place crowds rushed three bars. In the milling mass which included muscle men in tee shirts and professionals in expensive business suits, a native San Franciscan recognized a few entertainers, a respected psychiatrist, and a successful writer. One girl-young and movie-star beautiful-held the devoted attention of at least six handsome young men. But some observers referred to her as a "fruit fly."
When San Francisco's bars closed at 2:00 a.m. the remaining unmatched men moved to coffee houses where they joined teenage boys restricted from bars by ever-cautious
owners intent on keeping their beverage licenses. As the early morning hours passed, the coffee house crowd swelled. Finally, the foot-sore churchmen unaccustomed to the bar circuit retreated to their silent hotel rooms. Early Sunday morning the seemingly unsleeping homophile population departed for a picnic. Sponsored as a money-making project by the League for Civil Education, the picnic's fare included unlimited food, beer, and soft drinks. After lunch the consultation participants still bleary-eyed
from their late-night tour gathered to depart for the picnic already in progress. Many, many miles and a few hours later the delegates passed through a bumpy pasture
to the secret oceanside location. There about a hundred men and women talked quietly in clusters on the ground. A few"
Page 5: [to finish]
Page 2: "CONTENTS
How It Started
a brief history .............................................................................................................................................. page l
Before the Consultation
a tour of gay bars and a picnic ............................................................................................................... page 1
The Opening Session
structuring for conversation ...................................................................................................................... page 3
Monday Morning
Kim Myers on "how churchmen view homosexuals" ......................................................................... page 3
The Male Community
Don Lucas on "how homosexuals view churchmen" .......................................................................... page 4
The Women Came Last
Billie Talmij presents demolition fuses ................................................................................................... page 11
After Formal Presentations
small group discussions ............................................................................................................................ page 18
The Right to Hide
Guy Strait's view of homosexuals and the law ..................................................................................... page 18
Biblical and Theological Bases
Kim Myers on relationship between churchmen and homosexuals ................................................ page 21
The Last Day
Ted Mcllvenna prepares for final discussion ...................................................................................... page 29
Small Groups Report
brief summaries from three groups .................................... . ................................................................. page 30
The Council on Religion and the Homosexual
a new San Francisco organization - its purposes, and its progress .................................................. page 31
The Participants .................................................................................................................................................... page 34
Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................... page 35"
Page 3: "HOW IT STARTED
"Forget who you represent. We represent the human race. Let's start there." This is how Ted McIlvenna began his presentation to thirty informally dressed men and women
sitting around a fire at a retreat center outside of San Francisco. The persons to whom he spoke represented churches and homosexual organizations.
It was 10:00 p. m. on Sunday, May 31, 1964, but the consultation started much earlier. To list the exact steps would be difficult. Yet one fact was clear. The man standing before the group, Ted McIlvenna, started it all.
Earlier, as director of The Young Adult Project in San Francisco, Ted met persons for whom homosexuality created problems. Next he hunted for groups which were providing services for these persons. He found four organizations: Daughters of Bilitis, Mattachine Society, Inc., League for Civil Education, and The Tavern Guild. During his exploration
Ted learned that many homosexuals sensed a sharp division between themselves and the Church.
Ted told Charles Mowry of Methodism's Older Youth/Young Adult Project what he had learned. Charles, in turn, conferred with Roger Burgess and Dale White of the Division
of Alcohol Problems and General Welfare of The Methodist Board of Christian Social Concerns. These two agencies decided to join the Glide Urban Center in sponsoring
a consultation which would include representatives from homophile organizations and churches. Glide Urban Center's Lewis Durham and Ted McIlvenna were asked to prepare for a San Francisco consultation and extend invitations. Lewis and Ted worked closely with Daughters of Bililis, Mattachine Society, League for Civil Education and Tavern Guild in developing plans for the meeting.
BEFORE THE CONSULTATION
Before beginning the regular sessions of the consultation, many of the delegates had developed a common vocabulary on the basis of their first-hand experiences which included a tour of gay bars on the previous night. Starting from the Precarious Vision, a church sponsored coffee house on Bush Street in San Francisco, leaders of the Mattachine
Society took small groups of delegates to bars which cater to male homosexuals. Only in their loud music were the bars similar. Otherwise they were quite different and appealed to varied male clienteles."
Page 4: "In one small bar, attractive, informally dressed young men visited in a manner similar to a typical evening in a fraternity house club room. By contrast, a second bar was
frequented by the black leather jacket crowd who stood silently along the bar and around the walls. Motorcycle tracks crossed the spot on the ceiling where white sneakers
were the only remains of a splattered man. All eyes and solemn faces greeted each newcomer.
Still another bar was well lighted. Its appearance and clientele seemed somehow to have "class." This place served only wine and beer. Its walls were covered with relics reminiscent of San Franciso's pioneer period. Patrons joked with the owner who wore shirts with humorous local jokes embroidered on them.
A quite different wine and beer bar (very dark and with very few patrons) featured a "drag show" on a low, small, well lighted stage facing the bar's entrance. The show featured
three men tastefully dressed in women's clothing. To scratchy records of female recording artists they mouthed lyrics and danced. Here all eyes focused on the stage rather
than on each new patron.
At one large place crowds rushed three bars. In the milling mass which included muscle men in tee shirts and professionals in expensive business suits, a native San Franciscan recognized a few entertainers, a respected psychiatrist, and a successful writer. One girl-young and movie-star beautiful-held the devoted attention of at least six handsome young men. But some observers referred to her as a "fruit fly."
When San Francisco's bars closed at 2:00 a.m. the remaining unmatched men moved to coffee houses where they joined teenage boys restricted from bars by ever-cautious
owners intent on keeping their beverage licenses. As the early morning hours passed, the coffee house crowd swelled. Finally, the foot-sore churchmen unaccustomed to the bar circuit retreated to their silent hotel rooms. Early Sunday morning the seemingly unsleeping homophile population departed for a picnic. Sponsored as a money-making project by the League for Civil Education, the picnic's fare included unlimited food, beer, and soft drinks. After lunch the consultation participants still bleary-eyed
from their late-night tour gathered to depart for the picnic already in progress. Many, many miles and a few hours later the delegates passed through a bumpy pasture
to the secret oceanside location. There about a hundred men and women talked quietly in clusters on the ground. A few"
Page 5: [to finish]
Citation
“Official Report of the Consultation Written by Rev. Donald Kuhn”, The Council on Religion and the Homosexual, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed May 18, 2024, https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/crh/item/1751.