Second Stone #12 - Sept/Oct 1990

Second Stone #12 - Sept/Oct 1990

12

1990

Sept/Oct 1990

R
THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER FOR GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS $2.25
TONE _8000 Readers Across The _USA _
Teens, Young Adults Swelling Ranks
Membership In Hate Groups Is Rising
By Jim Bailey
Editor
_ _ If -everything went as _.,
· planned, the "body count" -
the number of people .
oblile rated by the blast -
would be many. Indeed, the, ·
"kill zone" - the location in
which the blast would ·
- ,_,._
Calendar(
de~·troy the most lives -
tj.ad. been meticulously
-selected following underctiver
reconnaissance.
ft is not a military
offensive on some distant
shore . The mission would
not be executed by frighte-
ned ,, camouflage-clad
1,
teenagers with pa-inted
faces blindly following the
barks of a commanding
officer. Although terminology
like "body count"
and "kill zone" may conjure
up black and white images
of a late sixties news
SEE COVIHl STORY, Page 9
-- -
Two Dads: DJ m An Indian Summer ~ Washington Couple
Full Of Actlvity - -- I·- Adopt A Son
" . By Matt Nagle
. !
Two Churches Face Expulsion
Lutherans Given Five Years
To Overturn Church Policy
Two -San Francisco churches
will be expelled from the
Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America in five years if a
policy barring Gays and
Lesbians from ordination cannot
be overturned by that
time. That is the ruling of a
discipline committee investigating
charges filed by
Bishop Lyle Miller against
First United Lutheran
Church and St. Francis
Lutheran Church. The
churches had ordained a
"practicing" gay man and
lesbian couple in spite of a
churc hwid e prohibiti ng such
action. The churches are ·now
under suspension. While
under suspension, the congre gations
cannot send voting lay
delegates to synod assemblies.
Over 100 members of
Lutherans Concerned/North
America demonstrated outside
the national headquarters
of the ELCA in
Chicago to protest the decision
to suspend the churches.
A spokesperson representing
LC/NA said, "This decision
is an act of violence against
gay and lesbian people,
clergy and non-clergy alike.
· The church continues to
devalue our lives, our relationships
and our presence in
the church. We call the
church to repentance for its
lack of vis_ion and courage, for
its postponement of justice
and for its irrelevance in the
lives of Lesbians and gay men
hungering for righteousness
and truth."
Gay and lesbian church
members have turned their
attention to the two national
church assemblies and numerous
churchwide council
meetings and synod assemblies
that will be held
within the next five years as
opportunites to get the
SEE LUTHERANS, Page 18
Gays Want Close Senate
Scrutiny of Judge Souter
Gay activists are calling for
close Senate scrutiny of
Supreme Court nominee Judge
David Souter's commitment
to the protection of individual
liberties enshrined in
the U. S. Constitution. The
Senate confirmation hearing
is scheduled for September
13.
The concern arises in light of
Judge Souter's concurrence
with a 1987 New Hampshire
Supreme Court opinion which
excludes Gays and Lesbians
from qualifying as adoptive
parents. The New Hampshire
House of Representatives
had sought the
Supreme Court's opinion of
the constitutionality of a bill
specifically "excluding
SEE SOUTER, Page 18
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From The Editor
Thanks, Joe
The Story Of A Good Nay-baa
I had the opportunity of speaking
to the Religion Newswriters
Association this summer. They held
their annual meeting in New Orleans
a few days before the Southern
Baptists met in the Superdome . I was
excited about the opportunity to meet
and chat with religion writers from
some of the nation's largest daily
newspapers. Their clear understanding
of the issues facing gay and
lesbian Christians and their fair and
objective reporting on those issues is
critical in presenting the general
public with accurate information on
our struggles in society and the
church.
During the course of my address, I
wanted to demonstrate the rejection,
hostility and injustice Gays and
Lesbians suffer at the hands of many
so-called "Chris tians ." I thought
about my friend Joe, who was at the
time I was speaking laying seriously
ill in the Veterans Administration
Hospital a few blocks from the hotel
where the RNA was meeting. He
had been hospitalized at that point
for a month, suffering from
thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura,
a very rare blood disease.
During the Mardi Gras season of
1989, Joe was walking with a friend
through the French Quarter when he
was confronted by one of the hundreds
of fundamentalist Christians who
come to canvass the Quarter during
Mardi Gras every year. Perceiving
Joe to be gay, this person taunted him,
saying; "Thank God for AIDS."
I shared only a few more thoughts
about this incident with the RNA,
which I'll. come back to, but let me
give you the rest of the story .
Joe and I first met in late 1984, when
he bought the house next door to me.
First he was my neighbor (that's
pronounced nay-baa if you live in
some of New Orleans' naybaahoods
for too long) and then he became my
friend . He was the first gay man I
ever dared allow myself become
friends with. He was comfortable
with himself, so much so that he was
overly self-confident. You could take
him or leave him. And he could do
the same with you. Corning out at age
13 in an all-male school probably
had something to do with shaping
that attitude .
On Christmas eve the year Joe
moved next door, I was sharing time
and gifts with family and friends,
including a straight friend with
whom I had experienced a long and
enjoyable friendship, his new
girlfriend, and an old high school
girlfriend of mine, who was in the
throes of a painful divorce. My
friendship with Mike had changed
from one of almost constant companionship
to an occasional phone
call or rare get together. But I was
happy for him because I had
watched him search for so long for
the relationship that was finally
becoming a reality for him. I think
Mike believed that I might help
Dondra through her divorce and the
two of us would get together and all
would live happily ever after. In a
room warm with the presence of a
flickering orange fire, a Christmas
tree decorated with handmade
ornaments, and filled with the love
of family and close friends, I felt an
intense loneliness. The wan I had
carefully been erecting around me for
12 years cracked a little that night.
During the next year, Joe helped me
demolish that wall altogether. He
sho.wed me how to simply be myself.
Take me or leave me.
has brought a scattered and unfocused
group together to work with singular
purpose. It's focused church
attention, negative and postive on
being gay and it's jarred closeted gay
clergy and church officia!s from
secrecy into action. Many years from
now, when the pain and suffering of
our sacrifice and loss today is a
memory, we will underst and these
days as a time when we learned we
could finally love ourselves because
we had learned how to love others.
Professor Jon Bailey, the director of
the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles
In This Issue
FEATURES
COVER STORY
HE'S GOT TWO DADS
COLUMNS
FROM THE EDITOR
COMMENTARY
FAMILIES
CLOSER LOOK
1RAVEL
DEPARTMENTS
LETTERS
NEWS BRIEFS
□
says, 'AIDS is our Passover. It's the
fire this community has got to go
through to come of age. As horrible
as it is, AIDS has given us life and
pride,' says Professor Bailey.
"Thank God for AIDS," I repeated
i'1 closing my talk to the RNA. 'To a
fundamentalist Christian, those were
words uttered in hate . But even in
those cutting words, we find hope and
reason to rejoice."
□
Page 9
Page 15
Page2
Page4
Page 10
Page 14
Page 19
Page3
Pages
" ~ Evangelicals
It was during a chilly winter
evening out and about with Joe that I
ran into a man with whom I had
worked at a weekly newspaper a few
years earlier. And the next
Christmas eve (same living room, CHURCH & ORGANIZATION NEWS Page 11
11.' 'II/ logethSJ' Inc.
SUPPORT
COMMUNITY
& SERVICE
FOR Gay& Lesbian Christians
In Southern California ... since 1979 ·
Su/t0 1O9-Box 16
7985 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90046
~ 213/656-8570..,
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liiil
. same orange fire, mo.re handmade
ornaments) this man, Eric, and I
exchanged · gold bands and made a
commitment that is now almost five
years stronger. I may not have the
love, fulfillment and happiness that
I experience today if not for Joe. That
was his gift to me. Joe passed away
on June 28th.
"It's hard to see why anyone would
thank God for AIDS," I told the
RNA. "But then I think how AIDS
CALENDAR
ESSAY
BOOKS
CLASSIFIEDS
THE SECOND STONE
Page 12
Page 13
Page 16
Page 20
Letters
Sacramento, California
River City MCC
Not Media Shy
Dear Second Stone,
MCC's are truly a diverse group
with varied experiences. We have no
such apprehensions, as expressed by
Sue Read (Letters, Jul/ Aug '90) about
using the mainstream media,
although we do not neglect the other
options either. We had over 500
Lesbians and Gays in conference at
the Beverly Garland Hotel, and
publicized the event in the
Sacramento Bee and the very conservative
Sacramento Union, without
adverse effects. We advertise on the
"Religion Page" of the Bee weekly,
right next to our fundamentalist
critic, stating up front that we have a
ministry to Gays and Lesbians, and
have had nothing but positive
feedback. Indeed, we are finally
overcoming the "gay church" label
and have become the Christian
church ministering to Gays. We also
have news releases in the smaller
local and neighborhood papers as
well as the gay press.
When we install the dedication
plaque on our church in September, it
will be Sacramento's first, specif-
ISSN No. 1047-3971
THE SECOND STONE Newspaper is
published every other month by Bailey
Communications, P. 0 . Box 8340, New
Orleans, LA 70182. Copyright 1990 by
The Second Stone, a registered trademark.
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THE SECOND STONE, an ecumenical
Christian newspaper committed to
informing the gay and lesbian community.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
MARKETING DIRECl'OR: Eric Hess
CONTRIBUTORS: Rev Bruce Roller,
Rev Sylvia Pennington,
Cynthia Marquard, Danni Munson,
Dr. Martin Fowler, David Rickey,
Robert McKnigh~ Jim Roche,
Michael Blankenship, Dan Grippo,
Dr. Louie Crew, John-Michael Olexy,
Dr. Buddy Truluck, Chris Glaser,
Rev. Gail A. Van Buren
ically mentioning the gay and lesbian
community. No more "hiding our
light under a bushel."
Sincerely,
Lynn Strawbridge
Publicity/Outreach
River City MCC
Boston, Massachusetts
Monogamy Significant
To Growing
Number Of Gays
Dear Second Stone,
Thank you! Your publication is an
answer to prayer! I am thrilled to be
able to read a publication exclusively
for Christian Lesbians and gay men.
The Second Stone is long overdue.
In particular I want to thank Sean L.
Avery for his outstanding article
(July/ August '90) on monogamous
relationships. This is the first
article I have read that boldly says
"Yes" to the significance of
monogamy . I, too, believe, as a
Christian I need to "express my
God-given sexuality in a manner
which is consistent with the Gospels
of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
God has blessed me with the
partnership of a wonderful man. Our
unofficial vows say, "for better or for
worse, for richer or for poorer, in
sickness and in health, to love and to
cherish, till death do us part,
according to God's holy ordinance." I
believe we are a part of a pioneering
minority that is growing!
Thank you,
James Ellibene
New York, New York
"Sex Prophets" As
Wrong As Fundamentalists
Dear Second Stone,
I appreciated the article "Gay and
Lesbian Couples: Is Monogamy a
Requirement?," which appeared in
Issue #11 (July/ August 1990). It is
interesting, I think, how the "sex
prophets" on one side of the spectrum
in Christian thinking seem as seduced
by a dualistic notion of body and
spirit as the fundamentalists on the
other side of the spectrum. For the
fundamentalists, the body, quite .
simply, is evil and must be
transcended. The sex prophets, in
contrast, correct this fundamentalist
misconception by proclaiming the
body as good, only to slip back into it
again by reducing the body to a sort of
pleasuring machine , a dull, blunt
instrument with no purpose bey ond
short-term, physical gratification .
As Christians, I believe we are
called to be whole human beings,
which includes the integration of our
sexual activity into our capacity to
love. I agree with John McNeil that
a committed, faithful, loving
relationship is the ideal context for
doing this.
Sincerely,
Kendall W. Zellmer
Baltimore, Maryland
Article On Steffan
Out Of Place
Dear Second Stone,
The article on Joe Steffan, "Out of .
the Navy and Into The Courts " in
your July/ August issue was excellent.
The implications go beyond Mr.
Steffan as his actions will
undoubtedly be felt not only
throughout the Armed Forces but in
the Courts as well. Mr. Steffan has
become "hot" material and, in
evidence of this, a letter attributed
to him was enclosed in re-election
campaign mailouts of Gerry Studds.
However, as a newspaper with a
religious focus, I found no reference to
Mr. Steffan's religious leanings or
what part the church has played in
his life. Was there something edited
out, or is there no religious bent
intended? If so, then may I ask why
this article would appear in The
Second Stone? Newsworthy, yes.
Religious, no.
Respectfully,
Thomas J. Meyers
Roanoke, Virginia
Where Are
Pro-Lifers At
Adoption Time?
Dear Second Stone,
The letter from Rev. N . F. Thompson
in the July/ August issue did, as he
predicted, make me very nervous.
His opinion was that abortion rights
should not be an issue for homosexuals
because it fractures the gay /lesbian
community. The point I would like to
make here is that abortion rights is
not the issue at all, the real issue is
that ALL people should have the
sovereign right to do as they wish
with their own bodies. In my own
state it is a felony for me to make
love to my lover of eleven years, so I
fully sympathize with women who
are denied their right to their own
bodies.
Since when did the lesbian/ gay
community become so ingrown and
September/October 1990
□ self-serving that we have failed to
support other oppressed segments of
society? Gays and Lesbians of all
races were in the forefront of the
fight for civil rights for Black
Americans , and Lesbians have
always been the leaders and champions
of the Women's Movement. I
am not just a gay man with a narrow
agenda for gay rights, I am also a
Christian, sensitive to the inequity,
abuse, and neediness I see in the
world. If we as Christians don't
reach out to fight oppression, then we
have failed to keep Jesus'
commandment to love others .
In my view pro-lifers are only
pro-birth. If they were truly
interested in the quality of life for
all God's children then the focus of
their combative attitudes should be
destroying prejudice and selfishness
in this nation. Of all the tens of
thousands of children available for
adoption each year there are two
major groups: black children, and
those who are physically,
emotionally, or mentally inpaired.
Where are all the compassionate
white pro-lifers who would accept a
black child into their homes . There
are none. Where are all the pro-life
parents who would accept a child
with special needs into their
families. There are none. I think
these people honestly think that
every embryo will develop into a
perfect white child. It doesn't work
that way. Of course, there are any
number of gay and lesbian couples,
with stable, durable relationships,
who would love to adopt a child of
any race, but surely the pro-lifers
would object to this as well.
The real Christian calling for us is
the fight for justice and the
education of these twisted zealots
who, in their blind obedience of the
religious leadership, would take
away individual -rights, not only for
abortion, but also for the sexual
expression of the readers'hip of this
paper. As part of the oppressed Body
of Christ, we're all in this together.
Sincerely,
Michael Blankenship
We welcome you to share your views,
opinions, feelings and experiences
with our readers. Send letters to:
LETTERS, The Second Stone, P. 0.
Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
All letters must be original and
signed by the writer. Clearly
indicate if your name is to be
withheld. We reserve the right to
edit.
■
Gay Terrorism?
Dragging The Unwilling Out Of Their Closets
ByMe1 PahJ
Contributing Writer
Gay liberation. I should really say
something about the progress of the
gay liberation movement, how
wonderful it is to be gay, how far we
have come, and how, with a little
more time and organization, most of
our goals are within striking
distance. It so happens I believe all
of that. But that isn't what I am
compelled to write about.
The theme of gay liberation - and
black liberation and women 's
liberation, for that matter - is the
right to make choices about one's life,
and the right tc;, be whatever one
wants to be. Rather than believing
diversity to be a liability, we
consider it a benefit. Rather than
glorifying conformity, we glorify
individuality. The theme of gay
pride is rightfully: Dare to be
Gays Get Second White House Invita tion
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Despite a
conservative backlash following the
appearance of gay and lesbian
activists at the Hate Crimes Bill
ceremo ny at the White House last
April, the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force was invited . back for the
pr eside ntial signing of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July
26.
The ADA, a legislative priority for
NGLTF, extends broad antidiscrimination
protections to
handicapped persons, including
people with AIDS and HIV. The bill
prohibits discrimination in public
services, transportation, public
accommodations, telecommunications
and private sector employment.
Peri Jude Radecic, NGL TF
legisl a tive director and an ADA
lobbyist, represented the Task Force
at the signing ceremony. The Human
Rights Campaign Fund, along with
other AIDS and civil rights groups,
also sent representatives .
I am with You
Fear Not!
(A Corrective Look
at the Lesbian and Gay
Clobber Passages)
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yourself.
Imagine my mortification, then, to
learn that some gay activists, falsely
so called, have taken it upon
themselves to engage in a new sport
called "outing." The game, which is
actually a variation of another game
called "up roar," consists in dragging
the rich and famous out of their
closets and publicizing the homosexuality
of celebrities just because
they are celebrities .
Now, while I enjoy gossip as much
as the next person, I am entirely in
sympathy with celebrities who
believe that their status as
celebrities does not make their
private lives the world's business. It
is fun to speculate on who is and who
isn't, but the bottom line is that the
theme of our movement is that people
have the right to make choic es. A
choice not to come out of the closet is
every bit as valid a choice as the
choice to shout from the rooftops.
Conformity for the sake of conformity
is just as evil regardless of whether it
is conformity to the expectations of
straight society or of gay terrorists.
Just as women's liberation means
that a woman who wants to be a
full-time homemaker and mother has
the same right to make that choice as
the woman who wants to be a rocket
scientist, and just as black liberation
means that a black who wants to be a
janitor has the same right to make
that choice as the black who wants to
be a physician, so gay liberation must
- it can be no other way - mean that
the choice to remain quiet is as valid
a choice as the choice to be public.
The bottom line here is that an
individual enjoys a fundamental
right to make decisions about his or
her own life. Others may not agree
with those decisions, they may urge a
different decision, they may even
believe with some plausibility that
those decisions are socially harmful.
But after all of that has been said,
the bottom line is still that each
individual has the full right to make
decisions about personal sexuality:
when and how and in what manner it
will be expressed .
I wish that every gay person would
be public about his or her sexuality.
It would do wonders, both for the
movement and for their own self
esteem. I have never met anyone out
of the closet who regretted that
decision. If I had my life to do over
again, I would come out five years
before I did. But having said all of
that, there are many gay people who
II THE SECOND STONE
have reasons that they consider
entirely valid for remaining hidden.
Those who engage in outing will
argue tha .t there is no right to be a
hypocrite, and that there is a duty to
expos e hypocrisy. But where is the
hypocrisy in deciding not to share a
certain portion of one's life with the
rest of the world? All of us have
things about ourselves that we keep
private. Except with close friends, I
won't talk about how much money I
make in a year, my health, or the
details of my sexuality. Those parts
of my life are private. Other people
don't consider those parts of their
lives private, and will cheerfully
tell anyone who wants to know how
much they make, the details of their
recent operations, and what exact ly
it is they like to do in bed . In both
cases, a choice has bee n made: I view
those parts of my life as private;
others don't. Am I a hypocrite for not
announcing ·10 the world my annual
salary?
Hypocrisy consists of actively
perpetuating a lie, of saying one
thing and .doing another. I think if
(God forbid) Jesse Helms or Bill
Dannemeyer or Jerry Falwell were
gay, a good argument could be made
for exposing that fact, not because of a
notion that a celebrity's sex life is
public property, but rather because
those gentlemen have actively
declared war on the gay community,
and it is proper to return fire when
fired upon. And therein lies the
difference: a gay person, whether a
celebrity or not, who is quietly
minding his own business has the
right to live his life as openly or
quietly as he likes. A gay person,
whether a celebrity or not, who has
actively declared war on the gay
community, should expect that all's
fair in love and war, and our
movement combines both.
I publicly implore those who have
anointed themselves to babble about
private matters which are none of
their business to find some more
constructive place to channel that
energy, The gay celebrities have
done nothing to deserve this
treatment, and our movement has
done nothing to deserve this treatment.
Don't expect respect for your
own privacy if you aren't willing to
respect that of other people.
Mel Dahl is a regular columnist for
Patlar Magazine, P.O . Box 22402,
Sacramento, CA 95822, from which
this commentary was adapted.
Newsbriefs : □ Baptists Call For
End To NEA
The Southern Baptist Christian Life
Commission will call for abolishment
of the National Endowment for the
Arts unless the U.S. Congress takes
action which · will prohibit the
funding of obscene, highly offensive,
morally repugnant and sacreligious
art, said Richard Land, CLC
Executive Director.
-Baptist Press
Boycott Of Philip
Morris Products
Gains Momentum
The gay and lesbian community's
boycott of Marlboro cigarettes has
reached another product of the
Philip Morris Company, Miller Beer,
the top selling beer in gay bars across
the country.
Gay activists have called for a
boycott of Philip Morris products
because of the company's financial
contributions to Senator Jesse Helms.
"We asked Miller representatives
lots of questions about their
self-proclaimed support of the · gay
and lesbian community," said Bruce
Monroe, president of the Dallas Gay
Alliance. "But we found that it was
not so much a commitment to our
community as it was marketing
strategies to sell more beer. We need
Miller to stand up to Jesse Helms and
let the country know that bigotry and
hatred will not be tolerated by
corporate America," he said.
Miller has tried to avoid a national
boycott, saying a decision to boycott
in Dallas was merely a "local service
problem," but activists claim that
the incentive to include Miller has
been brewing for several weeks and
that Miller's time had run out.
'Lord's Balloon
Company' Wouldn't
Float Sodomy Law
Repeal Message
(319)354-3471) rejected their order .
In a letter from the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force's Privacy
Project Director Sue Hyde, Balloon
House manager Lynn Griebahn was
asked to explain "this outright act of
censorship by your company."
Griebahn replied, "Because we are
Christians, we do not print any
material that is lewd, offensive,
racist, immoral, wicked or evil. It is
our opinion, from reading the word of
God, that homosexuality is immoral,
lewd, unclean and unrighteous.
Because the Lord owns this business,
we cannot accept business which
displeases Him ... Homosexuality is
your game and it is filthy, disgusting
and wrong. And you know it's wrong."
In Iowa City on June 23 for that
community's gay and· Jesbian pride
rally and march, Sue Hyde quipped
at the rally, "I was not aware that
the Lord owned a balloon company or
any other earthly commercial
concern. If He did, however, I feel
confident that He would consider this
display of bigotry filthy, disgusting
and wrong. And Lynn Griebahn knows
it's wrong."
Seventh-day
Adventists Rule Out
Women Preachers
INDIANAPOLIS - Delegates to the
55th world conference of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
voted to accept a commission's report
that ordaining ,omen would be
disruptive to the world church and
should not be allowed.
During a two-hour debate before the
vote, many of those supporting the
ordination of women referred to Ellen
White, an early church leader
thought by some Seventh-day
Adventists to be a phophet.
-Associated Press
· Navratilova Poor
Role Model,
Says Court
A Christian-owned and operated Former Grand Slam winner Margaret
company which fills orders for Court said that Wimbleton champion
customized balloons refused to print Martina Navratilova is a poor role
several hundred balloons intended t0 model for aspiring professional tennis
raise visibility for the Georgia players because she is a lesbian.
Privacy Coalition's campaign to "She is a great player," Court said,
repeal that state's sodomy law. The "but I'd like to see somebody at the
Privacy Coalition planned to float top whom the younger players can
their sodomy repeal-message at the look up to. It is very sad for children
Atlanta gay and lesbian pride march to be exposed to it."
and rally a-Hhe-erid-of-iune:--'fhe-~ - Court said that Navratilova is a
Coalition's-balloon plans were burst, "nice person" whose life had "just
however, when the Balloon House gone astray."
(918 Dearborn~IOF.il City, IA 52240 -Associated. Press
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September/October 1990 II
Newsbriefs
Dignity Appearance
Protested
Carrying a sign that read
"Compassion, Yes - Dign ity, No," six
members of a Knights of Columbus
chapter recently picketed a Grosse
Pcinte, Michigan, church's Sunday
Masses. The group was protesting the
appearance, earlier this year, of a
guest speaker from Dignity.
The six protesters were froin the St.
Francis Knights of Columbus, and
were at St. Ambrose "to inform the
parishioners of the true teachings of
the Catholic Church regarding
homosexuality," according to Earl
Amoyette, the group's spokesperson .
"Dignity must not be given a platform
in the Catholic Church," asserted
Amoyette.
Reaction of the Parishioners at St.
Ambrose to the picketing was mixed -
some took the picketer's fliers while
others took issue with the "outside
agitators" being at the church.
Newsletter Out For
College Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Campus
Project of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force has released a
new edition of its newsletter,
Organizing For Equality . The
publication includes a questionnaire
on campus policies, the 1990 hate
crimes reporting form and the
updated Film Resource Guide.
The newsletter, authored by NGLTF
Campus Project Director Kevin
Berrill and intern Bryce Avery, may
be ordered by sending $1.00 to NGL TF
Campus Project, 1517 U St., NW,
Washington, DC 20009.
Rhode Island
Bigots React
Discrimination against Lesbians and
gay men is correct because of their
lifestyle, members of a group of
churches and conservative organizations
said in denouncing a gay
rights bill in the Rhode Island
legislature.
· The group, calling itself the
Coalition to Preserve Traditional
Values, demonstrated at the
Statehouse, and promised a
grassroots lobbying campaign during
the final weeks of the General
Assembly in an attempt to kill the
bill in the House.
"I think when it passed the Senate,
people woke up," said the Rev.
Joseph Green of the Gospel Temple
Assembly of God in West Greenwich.
The measure passed the Senate
24-22. It prohibits discrimination
based on "sexual orientation" _in
housing, public accomodations,
employment and credit.
Judith F. Ryder, president of Eagle
Forum of Rhode Island, and other
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"
members of the coalition lambasted
the legislation as a way to force
employment of homosexuals, even by
religious schools and service
organizations, even though the bill
specifically exempts religious groups.
"We know there are many
homosexuals- working in these jobs
now and as long as they are afraid of
discrimination because of their
behavior, they won't act up," Ryder
said.
Religious people also would be
forced to hire gay people in their
businesses, charged the Rev. David
K. Gadoury of the Cranston Christian
Fellowship.
The reply from legislative backers
was equally sharp.
" I think they definitely are
mounting a scare campaign and a hate
campaign," said Representative
Linda Kushner, D-Providence, who
has sponsored the bill in the House.
The Senate-passed bill is broader
than legislation that passed the
Rhode Island House in 1988 and 1989,
but died in the Senate. That bill
applied only to credit and public
accommodations.
-Cruise
Network Created
For Individuals,
Families Affected
By HIV/AIDS
Citing a need for support within the
church for persons who are HIV
positive or living with AIDS, a group
of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania,
Mennonites, Brethren, and concerned
individua ls has started a continent wide
hotline . The "Brethren/
Mennonite Connection" is for any
individual who feels isolated or
needs additional support in dealing
with AIDS.
"HIV+ individuals, persons with
AIDS, and their relatives need a
group to which they can turn for
information, emotional and spiritual
support, and other kinds of
assistan~e," explained Urbane
Peachey. ·:he group's facilitator and
senior pastor of Akron Mennonite
Church . "One should not need to go
through this traumatic experience in
isolation. We want lo let families in
our churches know there are groups
where it is safe to discuss the
situation."
Doris Kolb, a public health nurse in
Lancaster, initiated the group in
November, 1988. Kolb called the
group together at the request of her
friend, David Dutcher, who was
living with AIDS at the time. After
Dutcher's death the following
January, the group continued to meet
THE SECOND STONE
□ and explore ways -in which it could
respond to AIDS.
The group hopes to expand its
knowledge of individuals across the
country who can provide emotional
support to those in similar situations.
If an individual is in need o.f basic
information about AIDS, he or she
will be referred to the closest local
resource. The phone number for the
"Brethren/Mennonite Connection" is
(717)393- 7140. All calls are stictly
confidential and a caller need not
give his or her name.
Massachusetts Gay
Rights Law Spared
Ballot Challenge
The state supreme court has ruled
that the Massachusetts Gay Civil
Rights Law will not be subject to
referendum on the November, 1990
ballot. The court ruled that the law
was ineligible for the referendum
process because of an amendment to
the law which exempts religious
organizations. Attorney General Jim
Shannon ruled last December that a
referendum would be unconstitutional.
The ruling was brought before the
Supreme Court and upheld by a 5-2
vote.
The Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian
Civil Rights Bill was signed into law
by Governor Michael Dukakis on
November 15, 1989, after a seventeen
year struggle. The day after the
signing, a group called "Citizens for
Family First" began a campaign to
repeal the law. CFF gathered over
60,000 signatures, partly through
disseminating misinformation about
the nature of the law and about gay
people in general. Their campaign
was effectively put to an end with
the court ruling.
Give Gays 'Careful
and Broadminded'
Welcome, Catholic
Church Says
A leaked draft of the Roman
Catholic Church's new "universal
catechism" refers to homosexuality
as "an offense to the dignity of
marriage" but urges that Gays not be
discriminated against. The document
suggests that persons with
homosexual-drives be given a "careful
and broadminded" welcome in the
church, but emphasizes that sex
between same-sex friends "degrades
friendships."
-Outlines
;Newsbriefs
UFMCC Seeks
National Council
Membership
The Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Churches is making a
second application for affiliation
with the National Council of
Churches. The UFMCC made its
initial application in 1983 when the
Council membership voted to
postpone its decision indefinitely.
The vote was taken after some
denominations threatened to leave
the Council if the UFMCC was
admitted.
-Religious News Service
Gay/Lesbian
Community Center
For Dallas
The Dallas Gay Alliance has
announced the formation of a steering
committee to undertake a capital
funds campaign to purchase the MCC
Church building in Dallas. Plans call
for the building to house most DGA
functions and serve as a center for
Dallas' gay and lesbian community .
Only two other major cities, New
York and Los Angeles, have a
self-owned gay and lesbian
community center.
Gay/Lesbian
Veterans Form
National
Organization
Gay, lesbian and bisexual veterans
from throughout the country met in
Washington, D.C., and formed a
national organization to continue
their fight to end the military's
policy of discrimination based on
sexual orientation.
The group unanimously elected
former Staff Sergeant Miriam-Ben
Shalom, whose 15 year legal
challenge against the military
policy was rejected by ·the U.S.
Supreme ·court in February, to chair
the organization .
Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans
of America will work to support
student and faculty groups on
university and college campuses in
opposing the continuation of Reserve
Officer Training Corp (ROTC)
programs and military recruiting on
campuses which have policies of
non-discrimination.
The veterans .will also continue to
work with the Military Freedom
Project and Congressman Gerry Studds
to lobby Congress and the Department
of Defense to repeal DOD Instruction
1332.4, which contains the
discriminatory policy, and amend
sections to the Uniform Code of
Military Justice which are
discriminatorily enforced against
Gays, Lesbians and bisexuals.
The group plans to establish a
"Witch Hunt Strike Team" to help
organize resistance wherever and
whenever witch hunts ·occur. Ken
Veterans, based in Fort Worth, Texas,
called the formation of such a strike
team "vital." Huntington ' s
organization was born out of necessity
when a vicious witch hunt started at
Carswell Air Force Base last year .
"They literally put people in rooms
the size of closets, gave them paper
and pen and told them they could go
when they'd written a confession and
named names," said Huntington . "We
called everyone we could think of,
and no one could help."
For information on the Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual Veterans of America
write to 1350 North 37th Place,
Milwaukee, WI 53208, or call
(414)342-6543.
ACT-UP: Remove
Bishop From AIDS
Alliance
HOUSTON - The local chapter of
ACT-UP wants Bishop San Pedro
removed from the board of the
Greater Houston AIDS Alliance. A
demonstration was planned to "zap"
the Sacred Heart Cathedral during
the International Summit of
Industrial Nations to protest the
church's stance to AIDS, homosexuality,
women's issues, condoms
and birth control.
Catholic Group
Wants IDs For
Gays/Lesbians
A group of Catholic parents in
Queensland, Australia says Gays and
Lesbians should be required by law to
wear visible identification and be
counseled on "the depravity of their
actions."
The call for ID cards is part of a
10-point program presented by the
Queensland Association of Catholic
Parents. The group does not have
official church backing.
-Associated Press
Hong Kong Lifts
Old Taboo On Gays
Sex acts between same-sex consenting
adults have been decriminalized in
Hong Kong, ending one of China's
oldest taboos and opening the way
toward a broader interpretation of
human rights in the British crown
colony.
The new ordinance, which passed by
a margin of 31-13, removes all
"criminal penalties relating to
homosexual acts committed in
private by consenting men who have
reached the age of 21," and extends to
men and boys protection from sexual
exploitation similar to that afforded
women and girls by criminal laws.
The new law does not mention
relations between women.
-Knight-Ridder Newspapers
Falwell Targets
HRCF In Helms
Fundraising Letter
Rev. Jerry Falwell has targeted
what he calls "the political
committee of the homosexual activists,"
the Human Rights Campaign
Fund, in a recent letter supporting the
reelection of Senator Jesse Helms
(R-NC) . The founder of the
now-defunct Moral Majority lashed
out at several other tagets including
the National Endowment for the Arts
and the American Civil Liberties
Union .
Describing J:Ielms as a "friend who
is very dear to my heart, " Falwell
praised the North Carolina
Republican for his opposition to
taxpayers' money being used to fund
controversial and homoerotic art.
Integrity Founder
Begins Fast
In a letter to the Most Rev. Edmond L.
Browning , Presiding Bishop of the
Episcopal Church, Dr. Louie Crew,
founder of Integrity, advised that he
will no longer receive communion
"until the Episcopal Church makes
all sacraments available to lesbian
and gay persons." Crew said that
fewer than one-tenth of one percent of
all Episcopal Church congregations
have listened to the issues facing
Gays and Lesbians and that he
looked forward to the time when the
governing body of the church, the
General Convention, no longer stages
exclusion. He invited heterosexual
Christians to join in his fast.
"Experiencing the denial of a
sacrament - even if just once or twice a
year and even if only voluntarily -
heterosexuals will sample the hunger
and spiritual malnutrition which the
Church now systematically imposes
on a11 Lesbians and gay people,"
Crew said. ·
He _ aske.d _Bishop Browning's
blessing on "the millions of persons
whose exclusion the Church now
underwrites, expecially those whom
September/October 1990
□ our unlove drives to loneliness,
depres .sion, suicide, lethal sex, and
all other forms of abuse."
Crusading UMC
Pastor Without
Church
The Rev. Jimmy Creech, who
received wide publicity for his
participation in a 1988 Gay Pride
parade in Raleigh, North Carolina,
is now a pastor without a church.
Rev. Creech gave his final sermon
on June 24 at Raleigh's Fairmont
United Methodist Church. He had
requested reassignment by his
denomination after facing petitions
demanding his removal. Since his
appearance in the parade, Fairmont's
donations had dropped and about 20
members had quit.
He was reassigned as pastor of two
rural churches but was rejected by
both church congregations . Rev .
Creech said, ''The two churches had
second thoughts about it and asked
that I not be appointed. My future is
uncertain."
-Cruise
Boothman Resigns
From Samaritan
Rev. Sherre Boothman, credited as
being a building force behind
Samaritan College, the educational
arm of the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches,
has resigned as President of the
college in order to devote all of her
time to her ministry as pastor of MCC
in the Valley. Rev. Sandra Robinson
continues as dean of Samaritan .
Author Shilts Seeks
Military Interviews
Best-selling author Randy Shilts is
seeking interviews with lesbian and
gay military personnel for a new book
to examine the issue of Gays in the
armed forces.
Shilts is the National
Correspondent of the San Francisco
Chronicle and author of And The
Bllnd Played On: Politics, People &
The AIDS Epidemic and The Mayor
of Castro Street: The Life & Times of
Harvey Milk.
"I can't think of an issue that more
clearly illustrates the human
damage created by prejudice than
what goes on in the military," Shilts
said.
Shilts asked that people interested
in providing information for his
project write him at the San Francisco
Chronicle, 901 Mission St.,-- San .....
Francisco, CA 94103 or to leave a
message on his voice mail at (415)
777-7220. a
'' Great
Response!
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It's Easier To Question
In the shadow of the redwoods
which reminded me
that yesterdays can never be forgotten
as we live today and look forward
to the joys of tomorrow,
alongside the ducks quietly preening themselves,
their heads tucked beneath their wings
in modesty.
I look into the neatly mfrrored sky
which has reached down
nnd touched this murky lake
lifting my gay spirit
higher than it's been before.
The quiet of the day is a gift to my troubled heart
torn three times this year by infatuation
. disguising itself thinly as first love.
Once the vow that tempers such impetuosity
has been breached,
the fabric of my life has unraveled
and I sit here
with multicolored, loose ends in hand.
Can I juggle these two balls
or must I cease to play this game
wtih other men's hearts, with my vowed life?
Can I pray, confident that a heart listens
allowing me to forgive myself when I stray
because with Him there is no need to forgive?
Can I live my vowed life and still be
totally for and with another
or will the forced duality destroy
what has so long been cherished?
It would be easy to play games in the dark; .
it would be easy to cut corners with my brothers;
it would be easy to lie to myself
-that's been done before.
So here 1 set
-questioning is so much easier
than finding answers
but for the first time I'm living the quesiions
and not setiling for the glib answer-
/ am hurting but I'm confident that now
· there is a cure
and it lies with the men
who share my journey with me.
-ETS
from Communication Newsletter
II THE SECOND STONE
Cover Story
From Pagel
broadcast, two nations are
not at war. And everything
did not go as planned .
A three month
investigation by the FBI
foiled the carnage planned
for Seattle's gay and
lesbian community by two
Aryan Nation white
supremacists, who had
hoped for a massacre in
their calculated bomb blast
of a popular disco on a
crowded Saturday night in
May. The two men were
arrested en route to place
the bomb.
Although hateful sexist,
racist and homophobic
jokes can fill a packed
comedy club with sidesplitting
laughter these
days, some people aren't
laughing. Just beyond the
degradation that so many
find amusing lies the
dangerous attitude that
some people are worth less
because they're different -
ali attitude that has for
decades been the central
focus of a variety of hate
groups.
Membership in organized
hate groups has been
increasing over the past ten
years, according to
Sociologist Dennis Kalob of
Loyola University. The
rise in membership of such
groups accounts only in part
for the apparent rise in
hate crimes, cautions
Kalob, because most hate
crimes are commi tied by
individuals not affiliated
with hate groups.
"Although the Ku Klux
Klan docs not have the
numbers it did in the
1920's, membership appears
to be on the swing
back up," Kalob said.
"There may be as many as
20,000 people active in
hate groups, but for every
one person actively involved
there may be ten
supportive."
The rising number of
people affiliating with
hate groups may be the
result of more sophisticated
recruitment techniques,
according to Kalob. Once
promoted mainly by
personal contact, the KKK
now seeks members through
magazine articles, distri-
One Community's Response:
bution of circulars, and even
cable televisions shows. In
Bossier City, Louisiana,
the KKK was successful in
distributing over 5000 fliers
at the city's municipal
complex . Appearing on the
flier was an argument,
written over 30 years ago,
that black people are
genetically closer to apes
than to white people .
Although rhetoric about
the inferiority and
immorality of othe_r people
is still part of the KKK's
message, much of today's
Klan material is toned
down, with more emphasis
placed on electoral politics .
Kalob said that young
people in their teens and
early twenties are ripe for
recruitment into hate
groups, with the neo-Nazi
skinheads being the fastest
growing wing. "Some come
from families with bigoted
attitudes," Kalob said,
"and others, who may have
just become alienated from
their family, school, jobs,
and society, come from
average American homes.
They are frustrated at
their position in life. With
job prospects rather
limited, they have genuine
problems in their lives.
When someone involved in
a hate group tells them
that their problems are the
result of blacks on welfare
or Jews controlling too much
wealth, in the absence of
any other solution, they
latch on to the group that
purports to have the
answers . Young people
today will be lucky to
maintain the ·standard of
living of their parents. As
conditions become more
desparate for working class
youth, they become very
vulnerable to purveyors of
this ideology ."
Although the April
signing of the Hate Crimes
Statistics Act (the first
legislation ever signed into
law specifically mentioning
Gays and Lesbians ) is a
significant victory for the
gay and lesbian community,
Kalob cautions against
being too optimistic. "The
problem with this greater
visibility," he said, "is
that it has strengthened
□ some folk's attachment to
these groups. Remember,
they are looking for some
sort of power in their lives.
Th e government is now
acting more agressively
toward them. The attention
may serve to strengthen
the core group.
They're under attack and
they're going to circle the
wagons."
Kalob said that the real
solution is in educating
people about the various
individuals that make up
our diverse society . "The
underlying socio-economic
problems must also be dealt
with. People are living in
desparate times," he said.
Church
Perpetuates
Attitudes of Hate
Toward Gays
A visiting missionary
from France recently described
what he called the
"sad state" of the Catholic
Church in that country . He
SEE COVER STORY, Page 18
Birthplace Of The KKK Says "No More!"
ByJimBailey
Editor
The townfolk of Pulaski,
Tennessee are not exactly
accustomed to seeing network
news camera crews
milling about. So it was
with great excitement that
residents of this small,
economically depressed
city south of Nashville
near the Alabama border
gathered around their
television sets on the
evening of Friday the
thirteenth of October, 1989.
"We're on the news!
We're on the news," ten
year old Lisa called out to
her family as ABC Evening
News anchor Peter Jennings
announced that the 7600
citizens of Pu0laski were
being honored with the
"Person of the Week"
award, one of the rare
times the honor went to an
entire community. Lisa was
too young to fully
understand what was
happening in Pulaski.
On the previous weekend
the white supremacist
Aryan Nations, Ku Klux
Klan and neo-Nazi skinheads
marched through
town to honor executed
Confederate spy Sam
Davis. The scant 200 or so
participants, including
well known Georgia bigot
J. B. Stoner, marched
through a ghost town.
'!'he people of Pulaski just
didn't show up for the
march . Businesses around
the town were closed .
Instead of encountering
anti-Klan protesters, the
marchers met only a
prominent display of
neatly tied bright orange
ribbons all around town.
The message: "Hate doesn't
thrive here anymore." A
frustrated skinhead told a
Nashville television
reporter, "We're here for
unity. But there's nothing
to unify with."
Pulaski is the birthplace
of the KKK. Walk through
town and you'll come across
a building upon which
these words are inscribed:
"Ku Klux Klan, Organized
in this the Law Office of
Judge Thomas M. Jones,
December 24, 1865." It is
through association with
this Christmas Eve
gathering 125 years ago
that Pulaski has even since
been labeled a racist town.
Several years ago, in what
has become an annual rally,
white supremacist groups
march in protest ·on Dr.
September/October 1990
Martin Luther King's
birthday. With the newly
organized march to honor
Sam Davis, Pulaski
citizens had had enough.
So on Saturday, October
7th, 1989, the people of
Pulaski took a stand
against hate. A proud Hal
Stewart, Pulaski's mayor,
hopes that the nation will
sec the town differently
now and that the image
they ' ve had to struggle
with for so long will
dissipate. "It just shows it
a community will unite,
they can get things done,"
the mayor said . "I'm just so
proud of the people of Giles
County ."
The mayor was also
quoted at the time of saying
that he had received a call
from a frightened Washington
state resident asking
for advice on handling
white supremacists groups,
only seven months before
neo-Nazi skinheads came
up with a plan to bomb a
popular Seattle gay disco.
Despite Pulaski's bold
public statement, the
legacy of prejudice lives on
powerfully there and
throughout the South,
according to an article in
The Witness written by
Rev. Scott A. Arnold, rector
of Church of the Messiah in
Pulaski. "It is true that the
racism of the lynch mobs of
just a few years ago has all
but disappeared," he
writes, "but the silent
racism which has replaced
it is just as murderous to the
spirit."
·11
Families □ Get Set To Explore Our Families!
Hy Rev Gan A. Yan Duren
Family Editor
This past July another dear friend
died from AIDS complications. As
always, it was devastatingly sad.
Recently, I went to see the movie,
"Longtime Companion." I was
overwhelmed once more with grief
for all the lost friends and loved ones.
One of the striking and important
messages of the movie was how one
particular segment of the gay
community formulates family. As the
new editor of Second Stone's Family
and Relationship columns, the topic
of how gay and lesbian people form
families is of prime interest.
In the movie, at the memorial
service, one friend eulogized David's
classiness by telling of David's
willingness to accept his friend's new
lover, "Immediately, from the
beginning, David brought Fuzzy into
the family!"
Have you ever had the experience
of walking with a friend and
encountering a stranger, you both look
at the stranger, then at one another,
and say almost simultaneously,
"Think they're family?" Family has
long been an euphonism for describing
other lesbian or gay folks.
Just how many configurations of
family there are for us is probably
unknown. During the next several
issues I would like to explore some of
them. I'd like to hear from you about
your own family system or style and
share your comments with other
readers.
Once there was another family,
Scripture tells us, the male parent
was a king. Saul was his name. Saul
had a son named Jonathan. One day
Saul and Jonathan met a young
shepherd/warrior named David.
From the beginning, they took David
into the family. Jonathan loved
David, Scripture says. But there was
friction in the family. Saul was
jealous of David and of Jonathan's
relationship with him. After much
heartbreak and battling, Saul and
Jonathan both died. David's lament
for them is recorded in II Samuel
1:17-27.
As I grieve over the deaths in my
family of friends, I can relate to how
Thinking
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Welcome,
Rev. Gail Van Buren
Rev. Gail V. Van Buren, M.Div., is
the new Family Editor for The Second
Stone. Rev. Van Buren is an ord~ined
minister in the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches. Readers are encouraged to
write her with family and
relationship concerns, challenges and
triumphs . (c/ o The Second Stone, Box
8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.) Rev.
Van Buren · resides in Virginia with
her spouse and two dogs.
David must have felt at the senseless
deaths of Jonathan and Saul, of the
terrible waste of God's anointed. I
feel angry that our young lesbian and
gay family must suffer all this loss.
Yet, I also know that in many ways
AIDS has given us a way to show all
the world our families: the loving
care lovers have shared, the
Gail A. Van Buren
obituaries left behind from all the
longtime companions.
With a grief that is too big for any
of us to bear alone, we need families
to help us unravel this mystery - to
work, love, grieve, but most of all to
live together . I share with you my
lament based on David's lament for
Jonathan and Saul.
A Lament: The Gay and
Lesbian Community
Grieves
After the death of Paul, when we
had returned from the March on
Washington, we lamented over Paul
and Jonathan, his lover, and we all
said, "This should be taught to the
people of America. It should be
written for all to see:"
Your glory, 0 America, is slain upon
your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Arcadia, Florida, publish
it not in the streets of
Kokomo, Illinois-
Lest the daughters of the red-necks
rejoice,
Lest the sons of the pharisees exult.
You mountains of West Virgnia, of
Colorado, of California •
Let there be no dew or rain upon you,
no upsurging of the deep!
For there the hearts of the beaufiful
were mistreated,
The body of Paul not anointed
with oil.
Yet, from ridicule of the judges,
From the fists of the fag-bashers,
The head of Jonathan turned not
back, and the word of Paul
returned not empty.
Paul and Jonathan, beloved and
lovely! In life and in death
they were not divided.
They were swifter than eagles;
They were stronger than lions.
Sons and daughters of America,
weep over Paul,
Who clothed you brilliantly in
scarlet, over Jonathan, who put
ornaments of gold in your hair.
How the mighty have fallen!
How the migh ty have fallen in the
midst of AIDS!
Jonathan lies slain upon your
high places .
We are distressed for you, our
brothers - our sisters;
Very pleasant have you been
to know.
Your love was wonderful to see,
Passing the love of Adam and Eve.
How are the mighty fallen,
How the beauty of life
is perishing!
THE SECOND STONE
Church & Organization News
Lutherans
·Concerned/South
Carolina Meets
Lutherans Concerned of South
Carolina, a society of gay, lesbian
and non-gay Christians is now
holding regular monthly meetings.
The group welcomes all who will
"work to foster a climate of understanding,
justice and reconciliation
among all people." For information
write to P.O. Box 90537, Columbia, SC
29290.
Truluck New Pastor
of Golden Gate
Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck has been
installed as Senior Pastor of Golden
Gate Metropolitan Community
Church of San Francisco. Truluck is
the second pastor of the church,
which was founded in 1982 by the
late Rev. Elder James E. Sandmire.
Rev. Chuck Larsen, Chaplain to the
San Francisco Police Department, has
served as interim pastor since Rev.
Sandmire's death a year ago.
Dr. Truluck was a Southern Baptist
Pastor for 15 years and was Professor
of Religion at Baptist College of
Charleston, South Carolina, for eight
years. He wrote adult Sunday School
lessons for Southern Baptists and is
author of A Fresh Look: The Bible As
Friend of Lesbians and Gays. to be
published soon . Truluck graduated
from Furman University and has
three degrees from the Southern
Baptist Seminary in Louisville,
Kentucky, including Doctor of Sacred
Theology. Since 1981, Truluck has
been with MCC and was on the staff
of First Metropolitan Community
Church of Atlanta, Georgia, until
December of 1989, when he joined the
clergy staff of Golden Gate MCC.
Speaking of the future, Truluck said,
"Golden Gate MCC can lead the way
in telling the world the good news of
Jesus Christ. San Francisco is the
whole world in one city. This new
beginning for the mission of Golden
Gate MCC to include all people of
every race, age, ethnic origin, sexual
orientation, and religion is one reason
why the future is ours."
Dignity Chapter
15th Anniversay
Dignity /Central Pennsylvania
celebra led its 15th anniversary in
mid-July. The chapter is central
Pennsylvania's oldest continually
operating lesbian and gay organization.
-The Alternative
MCC/Dallas
To Build New
Church Facility
The Metropolitan Community Church
of Dallas, in conjunction with its 20th
year anniversary, has announced the
construction of a new 1200-seat
facility . The 2000-member congre
gation is the largest of the UFMCC's
308 churches around the world. The
new church building will be located
on Nash .Street in Oak Lawn.
Completion is scheduled for early
1991. Rev. Michael S. Piazza is
pastor.
MCC/Detroit
Has New Home
The Metropolitan Community Church
of Detroit has purchased a new
church building. The first service in
the building, located in Roseville at
- 18000 Glendale, was scheduled for
mid-July .
River City MCC
Dedicates New
Church Building
The River City MCC, Sacramento,
was scheduled to celebrate its . 19th
anniversary and dedication of its new
building, located on the corner of
Broadway and 3rd Avenue, during
festivities planned for September
7-9. A concert, barbecue picnic, street
fair and dramatic presentation was
planned, as was a service conducted
by the Rev. Delores P. Berry. For
information call (916)454-4762.
Parsonage Seeks
Executive Director
The Parsonage, an organization of the
Diocese of California and a Jubliee
Ministry of the National Episcopal
Church, is accepting applications for
its newly created position of
Executive Director. The Parsonage in
located in San Francisco and serves
the entire Diocese. Its ·newsletter has
a national circulation of 1400. The
Parsonage is a ministry called to
advocate justice for gay /lesbian
people and to witness to the
Godliness of lesbian/gay love.
Candidates should have experience
in gay/lesbian ministry and advocacy
inside and outside the Church, strong
administration skills, ability to
attract and train volunteers and an
ability to articulate Christian
theology and witness in the light of
lesbian/gay experience and faith.
Laypersons and clergy are
encouraged to apply. For more
information and an application,
write to Deborah Frangquist, Chair,
Search Committee, The Parsonage,
555-A Castro St., San Francisco, CA
94114. The application deadline is
October 1.
Bruce Garner New
Integrity Chief
Bruce Garner of Atlanta has been
sworn in as Integrity's ninth
president, succeeding Kim Byham of
Guttenberg, New Jersey. Garner, a
native of Atlanta served two terms as
president of AID Atlanta,Jnc:, one of
the largest AIDS service
organizations . in the country. He
served as Integrity's National AIDS
coordinator and represented Integrity
on the planning team for the Second
National Episcopal AIDS
Conference.
Raised a Baptist, Garner was
confirmed in the Episcopal Church in
1965, and has since been an active
member of various parishes .
HVCC To Sponsor
Fall Ball
The Huron Valley Community
Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan will
□ repeat its highly successful "Spring
Fling" chemical-free dance for th e
lesbian and gay community. The
"Fall Ball" is tentatively scheduled
for October 20th. For information call
(313)434-1452.
Ex-Gays?
There
Are None
Lambda Chrisffan Fellowship is
pleased to announce a new book
by Rev. Sylvia Pennington - an
examination of ex-gay ministries -
what they do - what they don't do.
You'll meet people who, only
through God's grace, have survived
and stopped trying to be
ex-gays, because, in truth, there
is no such thing as an ex-gay
fl]ISOf1.
Now Available From
Lambda Christian
Fellowship
P. 0. Box 1967
Hawthorne, CA 90250
$15.00 plus $1.50 for postage and
handling. California residents add
6% sales lax.
A Presbyterian Promise
"We will work to increase the acceptance and
participation in the church of all persons regardless
of racial-ethnic origins, sex, class, age,
disability, marital status or sexual orientation"
- 195th General Assembly (1983),
Atlanta, Georgia
If this is your promise, too,
we invite you to join
Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns
Write to Elder James D. Anderson
PLGC, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ
08903-0038, 201/846-1510
September/October 1990 m
Calendar . Thef ollowinga nnouncementhsa ve □
beens ubmittedb y sponsoringo r
affiliatedg roups.
13th Annual
Affirmation
General Conference
SEPTEMBER 7-9, Affirmation, the
national organization for gay and
lesbian Mormons will meet in
Scottsdale, Ariwna. UFMCC leader
Rev. Troy Perry will be the keynote
speaker for the gathering, themed
"Let Our Light So Shine." A variety
of workshops will be offered including
"Child Custody Issues for Gay
People."
For information write to
Affirmation Conference, P.O. Box
26488, Tempe, AZ 85285-6488 or call
(602)396-6950.
Reconciliation MCC
Campmeeting 1990
SEPTEMBER 13-16, Reconciliation
MCC, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
sponsors a gathering for "Powerful
. and Positive Messages" featuring two
dynamic speakers, Rev. Delores P.
Berry, co-founder of the National
Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays
and an organizer of the first Gay and
Lesbian March on Washington, and
Rev. Elder Freda Smith, who has
appeared on local and national
television in the United States and
Canada as a spokesperson for numerous
gay rights activities. Cost is
$35.00. For information write lo
Reconciliation MCC, P.O. Box 1259,
Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
Affirmation Fall
National Meeting
SEPTEMBER 14-16, Christ United
Methodist Church in Washington,
D.C. is the setting for the 1990
meeting of Affirmation. 'To Everything
A Season ... A Time To Grow" is
the theme of the gathering, hosted
by Mid-Atlantic Affirmation, The.
meeting will be a special time of
reflection and renewal and a celebration
of the history and future of
Affirmation.
For information write: National
Meeting, P.O. Box 23636,
Washington, DC 20026.
Second National
ANIN Conference
SEPTEMBER 16-18, The Second AIDS
National Interfaith Network
HIV/ AIDS Ministries Conference
II
will offer opportunities for persons
committed to HIV/ AIDS ministries
to learn, share experiences, dicuss
mutual concerns, strengthen networking
relationships, consider
advocacy strategies, worship
together and nurture and inspire one
another. The Bismarck Hotel,
Chicago, is the setting.
Faith Temple's
Advance
SEPTEMBER 28-30, Faith Temple in
Washington, D.C. sponsors a three
day event themed "Advance to
Wholeness in Christ" for the gay and
lesbian community lo discover and
celebrate wholeness in spirit,
sexuality and individuality. The
National 4-H Center in Chevy
Chase, Maryland, is the setting.
Workshops include Sexuality and
Scripture, Relationships and
Ministry in the Black Gay and
Lesbian Community. Fee of $90.00
includes food, housing and transportation
during the conference. For
information contact Faith Temple,
c/o 1313 New York Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20005, or call
(202)544-2766.
Advance '90
OCTOBER 3-8, The Community
Gospel Church of Houston, Texas
hosts Advance '90 sponsored by
Advance Christian Ministries. The
program through October 5th is
designed for pastors and their
partners. October 5-8 is the fifth
annual Advance Weekend. For
information write to Kris Waggoner,
cf o 4001-C Maple Avenue, Dallas, TX
75219 or call (214)522-1520 or
(214)943-8081.
Brethren/Mennonite
Convention
OCTOBER 5-7, "Building Our
Community: Strategies for the 90's" is
the theme for the Brethren/Mennonite
Council for Lesbian and Gay
Concerns international convention to
be held in Philadelphia, Penn.
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author
of numerous books on theological,
feminist and gay /lesbian issues, will
keynote the conference. For more
information write: BMC Conference,
Box 65724, Washington, DC 20035.
Kansas City
GLAD Event
OCTOBER 5-8, The Gay, Lesbian and
Affirming Disciples Alliance, an
organization of laity and clergy of
the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in the United States and
Canada, holds its 1990 conference at
the Tall Oaks Conference Center,
near metropolitan Kansas City.
Themed "Lift As We Oimb", the
event will be .keynoted by Rev. Jan
Griesinger, Co-moderator of the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns.
Optional workshops on gay and
lesbian parenting, liturgy, creative
movement, coming out, and health
and nurture are planned . .Strategy
and organizational groups will
discuss regional and local GLAD
chapter development, Open and
Affirming Congregation development
and preparing for the denomination's
1991 General Assembly in Tulsa.
Early registation fee of $90.00
includes dormitory lodging and all
meals except Saturday dinner. For
more information or to register, write
to GLAD, P.O. Box 19223,
Indianapolis, IN 46219-0223 or call
Randy Palmer, (309)755-2498.
Second National
Conference On
Lesbian and Gay
Legal Issues
OCTOBER 5-8, Sponsored by the
National Lesbian and Gay Law
Association, the I..avcndar Law II
Conference will feature experienced
panelists from around the country
who will provide insight into the
struggle of Lesbians and gay men for
fundamental civil liberties, and
equal rights to personal affairs,
employment, government services,
public accommodations, health care,
along with many other issues of
concern to the community.
Nationally known lecturers and
authors will present substantive
workshops and will provide insight
into instituting change.
Registration fees are on a sliding
scale by income levels. Special
reduced rates are available for
students and low income
practitioners. Registration materials
can be obtained by contacting
Conference Co-Chairs Jeff G. Peters
and Abby R. Rubenfeld at P.O. Box
120795, Nashville, 1N 37212-0795.
Third Annual
'Creating Change'
Gathering
NOVEMBER 9-12, Lesbian and gay
THE SECOND STONE
activists from around the nation will
meet in Minneapolis for the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force's third
annual Creating Change conference.
The Holiday Inn Metrodome is the
setting. The conference will feature
leading activists from the national
and grassroots gay and lesbian scene,
prominent and provocative speakers,
42 skills-building workshops, social
events, organizing sessions and more.
Plenary speakers will be Barbara
Smith, black lesbian feminist writer
and activist, Dr. C. T. Vivian, civil
rights activist and Center for Democratic
Renewal chairman and Kate
Clinton, popular feminist humorist.
Early registration is $120.00. The
Chicago Resource Center has provided
a grant to help fund a scholarship
program for people of color and
people with disabilities. Contact
NGLTF, 1517USt. NW, Washington,
DC 20009 or call (202)332-6483.
Women's
Thanksgiving Cruise
NOVEMBER 17-24, Robin Tyler
Productions presents a seven night
women's Thanksgiving cruise to the
Mexican Riviera on the SS Bermuda
Star, a magnificent luxury vessel that
has all the spaciousness and ambiance
of the dassic era cruise ships.
Join over 800 other women from all
over the world on the high seas on a
cruise from San Diego to Cabo San
Lucas, Puerto Vallarta and
Mazatlan. For furthur information,
write to Robin Tyler Productions,
15842 Chase St., Sepulveda, CA
91343 or call 1-818-893-4075.
Robin Tyler is now producing two of
the major women's music and comedy
festivals (7th Annual Southern and
11th Annual West Coast) as well as
this cruise, thereby producing the
highest number of national women's
events.
SEND EVENT NOTICES TO:
CALENDAR, TiiE SECOND STONE,
P.O. BOX 8340,
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
1991 Gayellow
Pages Released
The 18th edition ofthe USA/Canada
Gayellow Pages has been released by
Renaissance House. Copies are on
sale at most gay, feminist, and
alternative bookstores, or may be
ordered by mail from Renaissance
House, Box 292, Village Station, New
York, NY 10014. USA cost for
discreet first class mailing is $10.00.
Essay □ Jesus and Self-Esteem
Biblical Primer On Coming Out
By Dr. Budc!y Truluck
Columnist
Who can I tell? What if my
parents find out? Will I lose my job if
my homosexuality is discovered at
work? Does this cut me off from God?
These are some of the most crucial
and perplexing questions faced by
Lesbians and Gays.
"Coming out" means to admit and
accept the fact that you are
homosexual and to tell at least one
other person. Coming out can involve
a lot of uncertainty and stress and can
take a long time. It can be planned
and voluntary or sudden and
involuntary. Later stages of coming
out can take a lifetime and can
include letting your family . know,
going to openly gay places, telling
your friends, identifying with the
lesbian/gay culture, openly living
with a lover, telling your boss and
co-workers, and becoming an activist
for lesbian/ gay causes.
You cannot decide whether or not to
be homosexual. You can only decide
how you will handle it. The Bible
offers help in handling every aspect
of life. How can the Bible be a friend
of Lesbians and Gays in handling the
stress and decisions of coming out?
Begin with your firm conviction that
"God didn't make no junk!" Selfhate,
denial and low self-esteem are
persistent enemies of the "love, joy
and peace" that God promised. You
cannot come out to God. God already
knows every,.thing about you.
The "Serinon on the Mount" in
Matthew 5,6 and 7 is about being
honest with yourself, honest to God
and honest with others. Self
acceptance begins with being willing
to face and admit the truth about
yourself. Self awareness and self
acceptance are the basic aims of both
modern psychotherapy and the
Sermon on the Mount! Just as you
cannot "love your neighbor as
yourself'' until you love yourself, you
cannot be honest with · others until
you are honest with yourself.
"To your own self be true" is the
preface to all meaningful programs of
recovery from addition. The Twelve
Step Program in Alcoholics
Anonymous begins with "We
admitted ... " Denial is the deadly
enemy of recovery. Denial deprives
the individual of the first step
towards a full and meaningful life.
Denial says NO to the t:~th by
saying NO to the self.
Living is the closet is a life of fear
and deception. In the closet, you
learn to lie to those you love the most
to "protect them from being hurt."
You lie to your parents, to your
Gay/Lesbian Mormons
To Meet In Arizona
SCOTTSDALE, Az. - Affirmation,
the national organization serving gay
and lesbian Mormons, their families
arid friends, will hold its 12th
Annual Conference September 7-9,
1990.
In announcing the conference theme
and individuals who have accepted
the invitation to par.ticipate as
speakers, panelists, and entertainers,
the planning committee expressed
enthusiasm for the overall program
and anticipated attendance. "We
wanted to. create a weekend agenda
with diversity," said Co-Chairman
Keith Johnson, "and each guest will
bring to the conference a wealth of
personal experience, spirituality, and
insight that will address a broad
range of issues of importance to gay
and lesbian Mormons.
Co-Chairman Irwin Phelps added
that "this conference builds on the
successes of previous conferences and
we welcome . all, both members and
non-members who are interested in
attending."
"Let Our Light So Shine" is the
official Affirmation Conference
theme and workshops, panel
discussions, and addresses will
expand to this overall ·concept. The
keynote address will be delivered by
The Rev. Troy D. Perry, foun<;ler of
the .. Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches.
Carol Lynn Pearson, author, actress
and poet will perform her critically
acclaimed one woman show, "Mother
Wove the Morning." See Calendar.
Business or
Personal ...
Try a Second Stone
Classified Ad
family, and to your closest friends "to
protect them from being hurt." Or is
it just the easy way out to protect
yourself? Lying becomes a way of
life. Later, after you come out, it's
hard to quit lying. You are addicted
to lying. You lie to your Jover "to
protect him or her from being hurt"
too. No matter how you slice it, the
closet is a lie.
Jesus met the issue head on . "Let
your word Yes mean Yes and your No
mean No. Anything beyond that is
evil." Does that seem extreme and
harsh? Not if your goal is to become
like God! Remember that the
demands of Jesus are not hard: they
are impossible! What is not possible
for you is possible with God. The
New Testament says everywhere
that the love that makes life new
and wonderful for believers is given
by God.
Jesus rejected violence and deceit
and chose the way of love and truth.
The word hypocrite is from the Greek
word for "mask" and means to wear a
mask or pretend to play a part that is
not the real you. "Hypocrite" is one
of the few words that is exactly the
same word in Greek and in English
and was Jesus' harshest label for
religious leaders who were dishonest,
mean, unjust, insensitive, judgmental
of others and blind to their own
faults.
Psychiatrist Harry Stack Sullivan
concluded that what people fear and
avoid most fo life is a clear and
honest look at themselves. What do
you fear seeing in yourself? What
forms of denial have you developed
to protect yourself from the real you?
Have you come out? What did it cost
you? Have you stayed in the closet?
What has that cost you?
Buddy Truluck is a former Southern
Baptist pastor. Presently this
energetic Bible scholar is teaching a
series entitled "The Bible As A
Friend of Lesbians and Gays• at San
Francisco's Golden Gate MCC, where
he serves as p~tor. He was educated
at the Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Back Issues
NOW AV AILABLE ... in case you missed them! A great
way for new subscribers to find out what we've been up
to! All orders shipped promptly by first class mail.
Outreach ... is the light under a bushel for Gays &
Lesbians? Newbriefs. travel & book review.
More from Bruce Roller, Bill Urban. m Dr. Virginia Uribe's program for gay teens under
attack by religious conservatives. Plus ... are you
supporting causes that discriminate against Gays?
A change of -heart? Ex-gay ministries say there is
another choice •.. an ex-gay's story. More from
Martin Fowler, Michael Blankenship. m Aft.er the AIDS·death of her son, Beverly Barbo
set out to change church attitudes towards Gays ..
More from Louie Crew, Sylvia Pennington.
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-'~·
Septe -m ber / October 1990 II
;,Closer Look
The P rophe t J erem iah and Hi s Scr ibe, Baruch
Longtime Companions
l!y Rev. Bruce Roner
Contributing Writer
Was the prophet Jeremiah gay?
As I have written before in the
introduction to this series of articles ,
I do not have enough information · ..
about the ancient Biblical characters
about whom I write this year to say
what any of their gender orientations
may have been. Instead I write my
reflections about some of the people
in the Bible who . help to tell the
story of the relationships of gay and
lesbian people. Jeremiah is one such
person.
The prophet Jeremiah has revealed
his personal life and struggles to us in
greater depth and detail in Scripture
than any other Hebrew prophet.
Jeremiah was a priest from
Anathoth, an unpopular prophet
whose ministry must have made him
seem quite eccentric and certainly
dangerous to his comtemporaries.
Jeremiah never married.
Jeremiah 16:1-4 records that the
word of the Lord came to Jeremiah
saying, "Yo.u must not marry." "For
this is what the Lord says about the
sons and <laughers born in this land
and about the women who are their
mothers and the men who are their
fathers: 'They will die of deadly
diseases. They will not be mourned or
buried but will be like refuse lying on
the ground. They will perish by
sword and famine, and their dead
bodies will become food for the birds
of the air and the beasts of the
e<1rth."'
Jeremiah's willingness to obey God's
command not to marry certainly does
not signal that he is gay. It does ,
however, place him firmly in the
tradition of modern gay and lesbian
Christians whose refusal to follow
oppressive traditional religious
beliefs about who and when to marry,
sets us apart as targets for further
attempts at oppression and judgment
from our peers.
The "confessions" of Jeremiah, in
which he exposes the deep spiritual
- the one that deals
most honestly with how men relate to each
other, to women, and to kids; the one that's
gay-affirmative and opposes sex-role
stereotypes, . . . the one that movingly explores
men's hurts and joys . . .
______________ State_ Zip __ I
Moll to: Chon 1n Men 306 N Brooks 305A Madison WI I ------~------------------
and theological struggles in his spirit
make him perhaps the most human of
the Hebrew prophets. Reading these
in Jeremiah 11:18-23; 12:1-4; 15:10-21;
17:12-18; 18:18-23; and 20:7-18, one is
struck by Jeremiah's honest feelings
about God, his ambivalence toward
his calling, his frustration with his
enemies, his pain at being a "prophet
of doom." The anguish of his spirit is
evident throughout his writings.
Indeed he is rightly called the
"weeping prophet." His honest,
questioning loyalty to God, however ,
continually makes him courageous in
his service to God.
Jeremiah's loyalty to God is nearly
matched by the service to Jeremiah of
his. closest companion and faithfu I
secretary, Baruch. Baruch is seldom
spoken of in fundamentalist circles .
Little is known of him . In fact,
nothing unrelated to the life of
Jeremiah is recorded about this
faithful man, though it is possible
that Baruch was responsible for. the
final compilation of the book of
Jeremiah itself.
If God ever overcame obstacles to
put two people together in a longterm
committed relationship, Jeremiah
and Baruch are the perfect examples.
Jeremiah had only four "friends" of
whom we are told in his book.
Certainly his introspective and
· self-critical manner was not
conducive to long and happy friend-
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ships. Yet Baruch remained with
him even accompanying him on the
long road to exile in Egypt (43:6-7).
Jeremiah 45 makes clear that
Baruch shared to some extent the
anguish and calling of Jeremi ah , and
Jeremiah 43 :3 indicates that Ba ruch
was recognized, not just as Jeremiah's
scribe and companion, but as someone
with a great influence on Jeremiah.
Some hostile leaders seemed to think
that Baruch was the power behind
the u tteranccs of the great proph et.
It was Baruch that Jeremiah trusted
faithfully to write the utterances
that eventually made up the book of
Jer e miah (36:4-32). Not only was
Baruch faithful to write the
prophetic words that he certainly
knew would be deemed treasonous, but
he willingly went to the temple and
read the words, finally reading them
again in the presence of the king's
highest officials. He was willing to
risk his life for his friend Jeremiah .
Jeremiah also trusted him with his
personal business, giving him a deed
of purchase to deposit for safekeeping
for Jeremiah (32:11-16).
Is the story of Baruch and Jeremiah
so often untold because it has so many
lessons in loving and intimate
companionship between two people of
the same gender? In sermons and
lessons where faithfulness is the
central idea the story of Baruch's
lifetime commitment to the prophet
Jeremiah seems a perfect illustration.
Nobody knows if there was ever
physical or "romantic" expression of
the commitment of Jeremiah and
Baruch, but for affection, shared
interests and concern, faithfulness to
death and beyond (if Baruch was
indeed the compiler of the current
book of Jeremiah), trust, and oneness,
there is no question that these
"longtime companions" were an
inspiring couple. The help us to tell
and hear our stories as gay and
lesbian believers .
The Reverend Bruce Roller is pastor
of Reconciliation MCC in Grand
Rapids, MI: He has prepared a
workbook on 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
that is available for $3.50 plus 25%
handling and shipping. This book
allows the student to draw
conclusions themselves from the
Word of God, and has helped many
people over their fear of
condemnation from this passage of
Scripture. The workbook is available
from Faithful Publications, P .O. Box
3701, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.
Two Dads
Washington CoupleAdopt A Son
BY MATT NAGLE
For the first eight years of his life,
Gene was passed around to various
families through Washington state's
foster care system . Gene is slightly
developmentally disabled, afflicted
by fetal alcohol syndrome. Instead of
being given love and attention during
those years, Gene was given drugs
that kept him sedated during the
day, but awake and hyperactive at
4:00 a.m. He wasn't hugged when he
needed it or talked to when he
wanted it. He was just another face
in the system .
Then, in 1989, Gene's life changed
when he was legally adopted by
Michael and David Serkin-Poole, his
two new Dads.
"It really is possible," said David.
"There was a little more paperwork
we had to go through, a few more
hoops we had to clear, but we did it.
We dotted every 'i' and crossed every
't' and we did it ."
"We've always wanted a child, "
Michael said . "We have the time,
the resources and the support system.
There are a lot of kids out there who
would be great sons and daughters
and given the amount of Gays and
Lesbians in this country, we could
empty the entire foster care system."
The Serkin-Poole's adoption may
have been the first time in
Washington state and the nation
that two gay men have adopted a
child not related to either adoptive
parent. However it is difficult to be
sure of this.
According to Shelly Cohen, the
Serkin-Poole's attorney, and attorney
Eric Watness who also works on
adoption cases, adoption records and
paperwork arc sealed and closely
guarded by the courts. Therefore,
even attorneys are not allowed to dig
through the records for research.
"All we know is what we hear or
read about," Cohen said.
Gay and lesbian adoptions in
themselves are nothing new, but so
far, the market has been cornered by
Lesbians and in every case known by
Cohen and Watness (of which there
are 11), the child was the biological
child of one pa rtncr or one pa rtncr
was artificially inseminated and she
and her partner co-adopted the
child.
Cohen said that even though the
Serkin-Poole's adoption was not
difficult, it may be too early for other
gay male couples to run out and expect
to be able to easily adopt children.
"The Serkin-Poole's were the perfect
test case," Cohen said. David is a
' <
The Serkin-Pooles: Michael, Gene and David
Cantor and director of education at a
local synagogue and Michael has
worked for years with
developmentally disabled adults.
Therefore, it was natural for Gene to
be placed with them.
Despite the statistics, the
Serkin-Pooles firmly believe that
gay and lesbian couples can adopt
children in Washington state and
Michael and David hope that they
will set an example for others .
"Washington is one of the few states
where same sex adoption is possible,"
David said . "From .a legal standpoint,
Michael and I are single. But
the law says two single persons may
adopt a child if it is in the best
interest of the child. It d oes n ' t
specify sex; it just says two single
persons."
Gene loves having two Dads.
"They're fun. They play Nintendo
with me," he said as he hugged
Michael. Gene plays baseball on a
special olympics team and his
parents belong to the PT A. ·
"We were real comfortable adopting
a child who doesn't fit ' the norm,'
w hatever tha t is, " David said. "We
were comfortable with a wide range
of possibilities in age and disability.
There are tons of children out there if
you are willing to take a non-infant.
There are so many children in foster
care just being bounced around."
With the Serkin-Poole's open minds
and hearts, they were able to adopt
Gene in nine months (just like a
pregnancy , joked Michael.) The
majority of straight couples ha ve
been known to wait years wading .
through the adoption process in
search of that "perfect child."
As a direct result of living with
Michael and David, Gene no longer
has a need to be m edicated . "He's on
his last medication now ," Michael
said. "We're willing to manage his
behavior without medication by
using positive reinforcement and a lot
of love and attention he never got
being in a foster home with 11 or 12
kids."
Gene is also working with a speech
therapist . "When he first came to us,
all he could do was point and grunt/
David said. "He couldn 't even speak
a full sentence:" No w, Gene talks up
a storm.
An occupational therapist is
helping Gene gain dexterity in using
his hands. He is learning to read and
write and is revealing a creative
nature . For Father's Day, Gene and
his classmates made their fathers a
booklet entitled "The Important
Thing About My Dad ." But Gene has
two Dads so, since the title page on
the cover of the booklet was computer
printed for all the children, Gene's
teacher helped him pencil in an "s"
September/October 1990
on the end of the word "Dad."
Another interesting aspect about
this family is that Michael and
David had their last names legall y
changed. "We did that as a way of
getting around the issue that we
cannot be legally married," David
explained . "A symbol of family in
this society is to have the same last
name, so that's why we did that
because it felt as close as we could get
to signifying this is one family."
Serkin was David's last name and
Poole was Michael's so they just
combined the two with a hyphen .
Gene's last name is also Serkin-Poole.
Both Michael and David were
impressed with the support th ey
received from Gene's foster hom e, his
teachers and the court system
throughout the adoption. The two
were investigated thoroughl y, but "I
think all couples should be
investigated that closely," David
said . " If alJ parents went through
what we did , it would be great . We
would have a lot less child abuse and
children put in unfit homes."
David said he and Michael, among
other things, were put through
psychological evaluations and home
studies that they passed with flying
colors.
"We had social workers from the
state representing us and Gene,
writing up th es e glowing repo rts
about us, that this is the best place
for the child . Certainly, Gene had a
tough beginning in life, and needs
parents to give him attention and
love," David said.
"Even Gene's two teachers went to
court with us prepared to testify for
us, but it never came to that,"
Michael said.
Gene has been accepted by Michael
and David 's families, too, although
Michael 's parents were initially
shocked . "I told my mother for a year
we were adopting, but she wasn' t
listening. She never thought is was
going to happen . So one day I called
and said, 'It happened! He's in our
house!' And she said, ' Who's in our
house?' And I said, 'Our son!' 'What
son?' And she still believes I told her
for the first time . But she's great no w
and she loves Gene .
David's immediate family liv es in
Los Angeles , and they, too, embr ace d :
Gene from th e moment they sa w him.
"It was a real nice experience,"
David said. "That unconditional
love ." Of cou rse, the Serkin-Poolcs
took their son to Disney Land and d id
"that whole tourist thing," accord ing
SEE ADOPTION, Page 20 m
, Books □- .
Miracles, She Claimed .
Immodest Acts, The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy
By Michael Blankenship
Contributing Writer
Certainly one of the most
fascinating books I've read is one
entitled Immodest Acts, The Life of a
Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, by
Stanford University history professor
Judith C. Brown. It is a book that
takes the entire spectrum of the
church's oppression of homosexuals
J\11 angry young poet's intimate discourse
with God on faith, gay love, AIDS and the
CaLholic Church's controversial stand
condemning homcsexuality.
.. S:mlonic, sophiSlicatcd ... There is so much
to be enjoyed here, t his reviewer ex.hons
rcaJcrs lo add Sa With God to thei!" list of
gifLs for special friends." -Lambda Rising
Se~ Witfi (jocf
Dy Thomas O'Neil
Ulustrations by Ty Wi.l!-or,
Send SS.95 plus $1.50 for postage and handling to:
Indulgence Press, P.O. Box 965, Dept.V, N.Y.,
N.Y .. 10023. Add 50¢ forN.'(. State orders.
during the Reformation and puts a
face on it, making it a personal
account that brings our history to life.
The transcripts on which this book is
based were discovered, purely by
chance, by Brown while researching
some other aspects of Florentine
history, and the account which she
has produced reads with the flow
and excitement of a historical novel.
Her well-researched introduction
"Sweet, 1exy and tlQpemeful, Secret Matter affirm, a
tranacendeolAl ·vi,ion of being gay,"
M.,1,Tl,.._,c.,,,1',i,,W,..,.<llf--:.O,
... sci1mcs fiction as conlempora,y religious myth.
n!:~n~~ "C::r~~:i~f
gay spiritualities, was a
friend & student of Joseph
Campbell. ~ !hi, delitnvl, ~~PJ.::ii:=;;,~j~:
to gay e~rience & 9ives
lhe world o new hero in o
·.~~~e o~I :~~~,!
thotfe~ Story of Creation
01 yoo always woniad it k>ld.
.. . o ouli 1lolemenl of gay spiritual cooKiousnen
in a poge-fvrning plot you'H foll in IO¥e wiln
,. ..• a book from the heart ••. ■ J.o a very intriguing,
captivating rud." o-..c..i..., ...,....~.• 1Anoa.,-,
Avoilobi. ct you loeol booksfo!9 Of by molfl om lberty Soob:,
1014"BN.Lomor,Aurih.TX78703. s.ndS10+Sl.50P&.H(Texaw
odd81ol'clX. Ore onVlso/MC OYOf. Cole008281279.
A Provocative New Look at
Sexuality and the Church
LIVING IN SIN?
A Bishop Rethinks
Human Sexuality
John Shelby Spong
• Should the chu rch receive homosexua
ls into its fellowship and
support responsib le, committed gay
and lesbian coup les?
• Should the w idowed be allowed to
form intimate re lationship s without
remarrying?
• Shou ld congregations publicly and
I iturgically witness and affirm divorces?
In his most controversial book ever,
Bishop Spong calls for a new moral
vision to empower the church with a
more inclusive teaching about equal, loving, nonexploitative human
relationships . Addressing the concerns of real people in real situations,
he w rites with candor, courage, and compassion.
Paperback, $9.95
Available at your local bookstore.
Also available from HarperCollins Canada Ltd.
iM1i1 HarperSanFrancisco
- A. Division of H:uperCollinsPNblisbm
offers a concise history of the
Christian church's stance toward
"the sin which can not be named."
This leads into the lifestory of
Benedetta Carlini, an impressive and
controversial sixteenth century nun,
who could possibly have achieved
sainthood, had not her secret been
revealed.
Benedetta's life began in a remote
mountain village to the north of
Florence.· Her birth was a difficult
one, and fearing that both mother
and child might die, her father _
beseeched God to spare their lives,
prqmising to dedicate the child to
the religious life. Almost
miraculously both survived, and the
newborn girl was named Benedetta,
meaning blessing.
At the age of nine she was taken by
her father to become a member of the
Theatine Community, a group of
religious women organizing their own
convent at that time. Benedetta was
placed in this newest of the local
religious institutions because dowries
at the more prestigious convents were
too expensive. This might seem
shocking by today's standards, when
free choice is very much a part of an
individual's commitment to the
religious life. But, at this time when
women had no power and few options
for their lives, they did as their
families (fathers) directed. Many
unmarried or widowed women entered
the convents, not out of any sort of
religious conviction, but merely as a
way of survival. Women were also ·
taught that only through suffering
could they attain spiritual purity, so
we find them in the book literally
flagellating themselves with short
whips .
Sister Benedetta's first years with
the Theatines were unremarkable,
but about the age of 23 she started
having mystical visions which drew
the attention of the other nuns. Her
visions began as beautiful meandering
through highly symbolic gardens, but
these rapidly progressed to
nightmares of being savagely beaten
by gangs of handsome young men. It
soon became apparent to the Mother
Superior that Benedetta was being
seriously disturbed by these
supernatural apparitions, and it was
at this time that she assigned a
young companion named Bartolomea
to assist when Benedetta's visions
would violently erupt during the
night. This unwittingly gave
II THE SECOND STONE
Benedetta the means to act out her
erotic visions.
After the visions had become
somewhat commonplace, other marvelous
things began to occur, which
were always witnessed and
corroborated by Bartolomea . While
visions and trances were considered to
be miracles of a sort, it was when
Benedetta received the stigmata, the
signs of the holy wounds of Christ,
upon her body that the church
officials took notice. The stigmata
was a miracle of another sort, and
demanded an appropriate elevation
in rank . She was immediately
appointed to the position of Abbess.
As her control increased so did the
miracles. "By the direction of
Christ" she planned an elaborate
wedding ceremony in which Christ
took her as his bride. Later as a sign
of the wedding a golden "ring"
appeared on her finger. She was abo
allowed by the Bishop to preach to
the other nuns while under the
influence of a male angel named
Splenditello (as long as the
masculine traditions were upheld .)
And, while there is no explanation as
to what was happening over the
skies of the convent, a "comet" came
to rest over the convent for several
days .
Jealous competition, of course, can
ruin even the best laid plans, and
such was the case with Benedetta .
During an investigation of the
supposed miracles some of the fellow
nuns revealed what they had seen
while peeking through her keyhole.
The wounds were self-ipflicted, and
the gold ed "ring" received a little
help with a pinch of saffron.
Bartolomea was brought forward to
testify and she told how Benedetta,
under the power of Splenditello, had
repeatedly embraced her, speaking
words of love, and forced herself upon
her "until both corrupted
themselves." Considering the fact
that this had been occuring for a
period of two years, as least three
times a week (as the investigation
revealed), it is amazing that the
horrified Bartolomea had not
reported these attacks sooner.
Benedetta's charade had come to an
end, and what followed was a 35 year
imprisonment, the terrors of which
we can only imagine. And while her
many miracles were explained away
we're still left with ·one small
mystery: exactly what was the
"comet" that halted for several days
over the convent?
The Ca regiver s' Journey
First Guidebook For AIDS Caregivers
Mel Pohl, M .D ., Deniston Kay ,
Ph.D. , and Doug Toft, authors ;
Hazelden, Center City , MN. 249 pp.
$9.95, paperback.
The Caregivers' Tourney: When You
Love Someone with AIDS, is the first
AIDS resource to explore the question,
"What about the caregivers?" The
authors address the feelings and
experiences common to AIDS
caregivers, such as guilt, sham e, fear
and ang er and loss of health, friends,
family relationships and jobs .
The authors draw parallels between
coping as as AIDS caregiver and
Secret Matter
recovery from chemical depen de ncy
and apply the same idea s used in
recovery from chemical dependency
to AIDS caregivers . "We can suffer
emotionally from th e presence of
AIDS in our loved ones much like the
perso n who lives with an alcoholic or
other addict," write the authors.
"That suffering is real and is
intensified by two kinds of
relationship problems: trying to
control our loved ones' lives and
well -being, and basing our serenity on
their serenity." The Caregivers'
Tourney offers · a solution through
interdependence or "the art of loving
New Gay Sci Fi Novel
Secret Matter is a gay science fiction
roma nce with a delightfully
positive message, a cap tiva tin g and
moving plot, and an unforgettable
alien. The new novel by Toby Johnson
has just been released by Lavendar
Press.
When aliens arrived from space,
Kevin Anderson had no idea the
Visitors' real reason for coming to
Earth would ever affect him. He
was, after all, just a young architect
fresh out of college. But one bright
summer afternoon at Lands' End,
Kevin met a Visitor. And hrs life
was never the same again.
As Kevin uncovered layer after
lay er of the secrets of the Visitors'
lives, the secret about his own life
he'd been hiding even from himself
became more obvious and more
compelling. And he began to realize
that his telling the truth about
himself might help the Earth
discover the truth about the Visitors
- before it was too late.
Secret Matter is a delightful
romantic comedy with an
'Wha t Did Miss Darrington See?'
Wins Lambda and Readercon Award s
What Did Miss Darrington See? An
Anthology: of Feminist Supernatural
Fiction, edited by Jessica Amanda
Salmonson and introduced by
Rosemary Jackson, has been honored
with two awards. The book received
the Readercon Small Press 1990
Award for Best Anthology, followed
by a Lambda Literary Award in the
lesbian sdence fiction category,
presented June 1 at the American
Booksellers Association convention .
The 24 entertaining and haunting
stories collected in What Did Miss
Darrini:ton See? make available a
literary tradition that has long been
overlooked. Included are stories from
the United States, from England , and,
in translation, from Latin America .
Many of the authors' names are
familiar - Elizabeth Stuart Phelps,
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Olive
Schreiner, Anne Sexton, Joanna Russ,
and · Luisa Valenzuela, for example .
Others less well known are now
accessible to the modern reader .
Whet her writing about supernatural
phenomena or applying the
techniques of magic realism, allegory,
and surrealism, these diverse
talerits focus on female cha racters and
treat a variety of traditional themes
in inventive and provocative ways.
without being consumed ." Outlining
the tools used by such self-he lp
groups as Al-Anon, The Caregivers'
journev takes readers through the
initial shock of the AIDS diagnosis,
through the stages most caregivers
commonly experience, to acceptance of
what is happening to them and their
loved one.
The book covers codependency and
interdependence , coping with HIV
illness, learning about AIDS, dealing
with misin formatio n, going beyond
the facts and working with th e
multitude of feelings the caregiver
has. This coping process is captured
undercurrent of dramatic tension and
suspense, the right touch of science
fiction, and, as fans of Toby Johnson
will recognize, just the right measure
of mystical wisdom to make this a
novel you'll long remember - and feel
a pang of fondness and pride.
Secret Matter combines the gay and
science fiction genres into a satisfying
hybrid that 's bound to appeal to gay
readers and science fiction fans.
E mpathy is a journal that d eserves our
.>upport for th e o riginal and creative work it
does an the inte res t of truth and justice.
.f. Rev. Malcolm Boyd, author of 23 books
including Are You Running with Me,jwu?,
Take Off the Masks, and Gay Priest
· E mpathy provides a mui:h~needcd a nd
welcom ed communication link for persons
involved in education about homophob ia. At its
best it will kee p us informed and in much,
supponed and challenged, excited a nd pro ud.
;,f. Brian McNaught, lecturer and author of On
Being Gay: Th oughts on Family, Faith, and Lov e
September/October 1990
□
at the beginning o(eac h chapter in·
vignettes tracing t he real - life
journeys of three families - a gay
couple, an extended Latin o family
and a heterosexua l coup le - living
with AIDS.
These stories dispe l myths about
who gets AIDS, and shed light on the
challenges common to all AIDS
caregi vers. For laypersons or
prof essional s, this boo k sends an
empowering message to its readers:
tha t th ey are not alone in their
struggles, and that they can take care
of themselv es whi le cari ng for
someone w ith AIDS.
Unlike many of the nove ls in the
science fiction sections of lesbian and
gay bookstores which earn their
place simply by having a gay
charac ter somewhere in the plot,
Secret Matter skillfully an d
surprisingly incorporates t he issues of
sexual orientation directly in to the
science fiction premise of the plot,
SEE SECRETM ATIER ,Page20 -
Empathy
vfn
Interdisciplinary
journal
for Persons
Working to
End Oppression
on the Basis of
Sexual Identity
PUBI.ISHED TWICE A YE.AR, EMPATHY INCLU DES
SCHO V.RLY E.SSAYS, PROSE AND POET RY, PRACTITIONER
ARTICL£S, ANECDOTA L ESSAYS, AND RESEARCH REPORTS
AS WELL AS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAl'H IES FOR
RESOURC E MATERIALS, RECENT RESEARCH AND BOOKS.
THE JOURNAL SERVES PEOPLE WORKING IN EDUCATION,
COUNSELING , HE.AL TH CARE, SOCIAL WORK,
COMM UNITY ACflVlSM, AND THE MIN ISTRY
NATIONALLY AND JNTERNATIONAUY.
One year (2 issu~s) individua l subsc ription
s10 (sis institutional )
Make checks payable to Gay and Lesbian Advocacy
Research Project (GLARP) arid mai l to:
· Empathy, PO Box 5o85, Columbia, SC 29250.
m
Conventions May Skip Sodomy Law States
Episcopalians Fight Sodomy Laws
Integrity . the lesbian and gay justice
ministry of the Episcopal Church,
has called upon the denomination to
refuse holding its triennial General
Conventions in states with so-called
"sodomy" laws.
At its national convention in St.
Louis, held in conjunction with the
Under One Roof Conference which
brought together various Episcopal
social justice and social action
ministries, Integrity passed a
resolution calling "upon the General
Convention of the Episcopal Church
to honor its commitment to full civil
equality for Lesbians and gay men
and to oppose heterosexism by
meeting only in states .which do not
have 'sodomy' laws, beginning with
the 1994 General Convention."
Luther King, Jr. Holiday while
saying nothing about the fact that
many of us attending the convention
will face possible criminal charges
for what we do with our life partners
in the privacy of our hotel rooms,"
said Fr. Woodrum.
"It would be highly appropriate for
the Episcopal Church to play a role
in abolishing 'sodomy' statutes,"
Woodrum said, "since its parent, the
Church of England, played a
significant role in their institution . It
would held redeem the church for its
years of persecution of Lesbians and
gay men."
England abolished its "sodomy"
statute in 1967, with the full support
of the Church of England. The
Church's Assembly (now called the
General Synod) first called for repeal
in 1957 . The Archbishop of
Canterbury, Arthur Michael Ramsey,
said in the House of Lords debate on
the issue in 1965 that not all sins are
properly given that status of crimes .
Lutherans Release AIDS Report
The resolution, authored by
Integrity's outgoing national
treasurer, the Rev. L. Paul Woodrum
of New York, was a response to the
perceived hypocrisy of the General
Convention repeatedly calling for
civil rights for Gays and Lesbians
since .1976, but continuing to meet in
states which palpably deny those
basic rights.
OAKLAND, CA. - A report just
released here and in San Francisco
marks the first time that the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America has developed a strategy for
responding to the AIDS epidemic,
either on the local or national level.
The report, prepared by the Sierra
Pacific Synod's Living With AIDS
Task Force, calls on the church to be
an example and lead the way in
protecting the rights and dignity of
people with AIDS.
The report is designed to equip the
church in Northern California and
Northern Nevada to deal with AIDS
in a variety of ways that include
public policy advocacy, education,
provision of direct services, and a
welcoming attitude to all those
affected by the disease.
The Sierra Pacific Synod will begin
implementing the recommendations
contained in the report by declaring
that members of the clergy or
employees of the synod who contract
the disease will be protected from
discrimination in the church's
employment policies. The report
also calls on the national church to
adopt the same policy . Michael
Pozar, head of the Living With
AIDS Task Force, said, "I'm so proud
that our report is already being
implemented in this important way.
An epidemic of fear and
discrimination is growing right along
with the AIDS epidemic and this
synod has made a resounding
proclamation that it will be an
example of courage and love in the
face of this tragedy."
Other important recommendations
contained in the report · call for
promoting AIDS education in grades
K-12, establishing universal access to
health care for all people, having
congregations "adopt an AIDS
agency" by raising funds and
supplying volunteers, providing
housing to benefit homeless people
with AIDS, clearly affirming that
AIDS is not a curse from God and
creating more skilled . nursing
facilities for people with AIDS.
The report is the result of a two year
process of study and public hearings
at which people involved with the
AIDS epidemic testified as to how
the church could best respond to the
disease.
"It angered me that the Episcopal
Church came very close to canceling
the 1991 convention in Phoenix
because of Arizona's lack of a Martin
COVER STORY,FromPage9
said the churches are
opened for two occasions:
weddings and funerals. In
most Christian churches in
America, the church is open
to Gays and Lesbians only
for one of those occasions.
Many feel the church is
undeniably responsible for
sewing the seeds of hate
toward the lesbian and gay
community. Jimmy
Swaggart once told his
Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
congregation and worldwide
television audience
that scripture says Gays
and Lesbians are worthy of
death. And indeed many
hate crimes committed
against Gays and Lesbians
do end in death.
But the church remains
the greatest single potential
catalyst for changing
attitudes of hate and
disgust toward Gays and
Lesbians, attitudes which
could be boldly challenged
LUTHE RANS From Pagel
ordination policy overturned.
Bob Nelson, a spokesperson
for Lutherans Concerned of
San Francisco, said that
making the change will take
much work on the local,
synodical, and national
level. "We cannot just sit
back and wish things to
happen our way. Or worse,
pretend that they already
have," said Nelson . "We, all
of us, have to energetically m
work toward our goal of total
inclusivity . We have to
become the 'militant homosexual
lobby' that Jesse
Helms is always ranting
about."
Nelson said there is a
variety of ways individuals
may influence change in the
church including getting
involved in a local congregation,
speaking up at
conference meetings and synod
from America's pulpits.
But the impact of the
religious right continues to
be felt, with fewer
resources being directed
toward the needs of the
hungry, the homeless and
the sick, and more attention
and donation dollars being
!}irected toward boycotting
television shows, labeling
records, censuring the arts,
and lobbying against
"threat groups" like Gays
and Lesbians.
assemblies, op ening dialogue
with local candidacy
committees and becoming a
part of Lutherans Concerned .
Nelson urg e d gay and
lesbian Lutherans to come out.
"Perhaps the single most
important thing our church
needs to und er stand is that
we are not the perverts some
think we are," he said .
THE SECOND STONE
Gay and lesbian activists
hope for passage in this
decade of a federal law
protecting the · rights of
Gays and Lesbians . But, as
many black leaders will
now attest, almost 30 years
after the passage of the
bill protecting the civil
rights of African-Americans,
much of the hate
towarp blacks in this
country still simmers . The
church, rather than taking
the lead in changing racist
SOUTER FromPagel
homosexuals from foster
parentage, adoption, and as
operators of all types of child
care agencies." The House
avowed that the purpose of
the bill was "to protect
children rather than to
punish homosexual conduct."
Although the opinion
upholds, to an extent, the
right of Lesbians and gay men
to serve as licensed childcare
attitudes over the past
three decades, continues to
be one of the most
segregated institutions in
America .
There is little doubt that
the church, which could, in
the decades to come, play
the largest role in changing
the hateful attitudes that
lead to gay bashing, will,
itself, be the most
vindictive basher.
providers and teachers, it
denies the right to become
adoptive parents .
"Gay men, Lesbians, people
wi th AIDS and HIV and
other Americans cannot
afford any further erosions of
our rights by the U. S.
Suprem e Court," said
Urvashi Vaid, Executive
Director of the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force.
Travel □
Tucson: Reminder Of The Old West
By Cynthia A. Marquard
and Danni Munson
Contributing Writers
. Although it is home to the
University of Arizona and the site of
several deluxe resorts, Tucson has
managed to retain the feel of a good
old western town. In and around
Tucson you can experience 18th
century Spanish Missions, visit
western movie sets, explore the desert
and its wildlife, yet also play golf or
tennis or just lounge around the
swimming pool. The city also has a
respectable amount of gay/lesbian
night life. So for those seeking a
vacation at some place other than
the usual gay /lesbian resort areas,
such as Key West or Provincetown,
Tucson is worth a try.
The Spanish Past
What is now Tucson was first settled
in the late 1600s by Spaniards, and
the area most definitely reflects the
early Spanish influence. With the
settlement came Spanish priests, who
built missions of adobe brick. One of
the best preserved examples of an old
Spanish mission is San Xavier de!
Bae (White Dove of the Desert),
about seven miles outside Tucson.
Unlike so many historic landmarks
crowded by other buildings in urban
settings, San Xavier stands alone,
starkly white, on acres of open desert.
The mission here was established in
1692 and the present stnictu°re was
built between 1783 and 1797. There is
iI'credibly ornate bride-and-plaster
work on the external facade, behind
the altar, in the sanctuary. Visitors
can listen to lectures on the history of
the mission every day except
Sundays, then leisurely enjoy the
building and its surroundings, which
include a replica of the Our Lady of
Lourdes Shrine.
We also enjoyed the concessions
outside operated by members of local
Indian tribes. We sampled Indian
fried bread prepared on a small
metal stove under a primitive lean-to
made of spiny Ochoa branches.
Across the way from San Xavier
there are several Indian-owned shops
where we found excellent examples of
Navaho and Hopi silver jewelry.
Reliving the Wild West
Another major attraction in the area
is Old Tucson, a replica of an 1860s
town, recalling the days of gunslingers,
cowboys, and shoot-outs.
Old Tucson is part amusement park,
part movie set, and part outdoor
museum. It has been the location for
many famous western movies and TV
programs, including Rio Bravo, El
Dorado, High Chaparral, and Little
House on the Prairie. Anyone even a
little bit interested in how westerns
are made will enjoy the guided tour of
the sound stages at this "Hollywood
of the desert."
The dusty main street is flanked by
wooden sidewalks. Interspersed with
replicas of old west institutions, such
as the dentist's office, jail, and other
buildings, are shops where you can
buy souvenirs, jewelry, and even
models of-guns. There are also several
restaurants.
Visitors can also enjoy a ride
through a haunted mine shaft and a
mini-train trip around the property
to view the outdoor movie sets.
Exploring the Desert
One of the truly remarkable
museums in the world is the AriwnaSonora
Desert Museum. The museum
is really a zoo, botanical garden, and
earth sciences exhibit. The exhibits
are all designed to present the
wildlife of the desert-from mountain
lions and birds to snakes and lizardsin
their natural settings. Docents are
readily available to explain what
you are looking at. Museum visitors
are also invited to gaze out over the
Sonora Desert and imagine how in
1540 the Spanish explorer Coronado
and his troops marched up from
Mexico and across this vast expanse
of sand and desert. On the · day we
visited and engaged our imaginations
the temperature was well above the
100 degree mark, and Coronado's trek
thus seemed all the more impressive .
Surely they didn't wear those vest of
metal armour.
Besides the museum, there is ample
opportunity around Tucson to
experience the desert. . The drive to
· the "other" place
under the sun ...
:t~J.5 ~=-~i~ \iest:cb
•Pool A co:r:J J•uzzl
•Free c011tlu11tal bnakrut
Write or call for brochure.
120 E. Atol St., P. 0. Box 2326
South Padre Island, Texas 78597
(512)761-L YLE
Air connections via
American Continental Southwest
the museum is through Saguaro
National Monument, a forest of giant
cactus. You can also go a few miles
outside town and take a walk along
the hiking trails in Sabino Canyon, a
lovely park area. Good hiking boots
_are recommended, and be sure to take
along · plenty of drinking water.
Dehydration can happen very
quickly in the dry desert air, and you
might not even feel thirsty.
Tucson Dining
For those who enjoy Mexican food,
Tucson promises many gustatory
delights. There is a unique "wherethe-
natives-go" spot in the downtown
area called El Minuto. It is named for
a soup made of cows stomachs. Try
some, if you dare . All the food is
good and quite inexpensive.
La Fuente (The Fountain) is a less
casual restaurant where you can
listen to a full mariachi band while
enjoying a before-dinner cocktail and
cheese crisp (a large flour tortilla
smothered in melted cheese and
flavored with green chiles, if you
like). This style of cheese crisp is a
Tucson original.
To find out what's going on when you
visit Tucson, pick up a copy of the
local paper, The Observer.
Cynthia A. Marquard is the
owner/manager of Envoy Travel,
Inc., in Chicago and vice-president of
the International Gay Travel Assn.
Danni Munson is the publisher of
The Lesbian and Gay Almanac and
Events of 1990.
P. 0. Box 118 SL
Bethlehem, NH 03S74
(603) 869-3978
OURWORLD
The International Gay Travel Magazine
Month by month, we invite you to explore the exciting world of
travel available to gay men and lesbians. Each month we help you to
discover the multitude of interesting hotels, inns and resorts that
. welcome the gay traveler.
Enjoy articles and color photos of a
romantic hotel in Spain, a secluded retreat
in Hawaii, a manor house in the English
countryside, a Greek pe!l5ion overlooking
the sea, a rustic resort in Colorado, and
more --all catering to our lifestyle!
Plus, every month, regular departments
provide you with valuable information on
gay events and festivals, . travel updates
and tips, interviews, and the latest gay
trips and tours-sail the Caribbean on a
private yacht, join an expedition to Nepal,
cruise the Mediterranean on a luxury liner
or fly to Sydney for the Gay Mardi Gras.
~--------~ Whatever you're looking for, let OUR
WORLD be your ticket to adventure.
1 year (12 colorful issues) only $ 44 (in the USA) - US$ 52
(Worldwide). First issue mails in 4-6 weeks in plain sealed envelope.
Sample copy US$ 5.
Mail To: Our World Publishing
1104 North Nova Road, Suite 251
Daytona Beach, Florida 32117 USA
TEL: (904) 441-5367
September/October 1990 m
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CHRISTIAN'NEW AGE OUARTERL Y explores
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and .New Agers with authentic information,
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UNIQUE STUDY PACKET: Thinking It
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theology, AIDS ministries, further
resources. $10.00 postpaid from the
Methodist Federation for Social Action, 76
Clinton Ave., Staten Island, NY 10301. 12/90
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mustache, masculine, smoke and drug free,
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SECRET MATTER,
From Page 17
and in so doing reveals insights about
traits and virtues that characterize
lesbian and gay people in the present
real world.
Toby' Johnson, 45, is a cultural
activist working to create positive
lesbian and gay identities. A
gay-iden _tified psychotherapist , he
was trained in San Francisco during
the 1970s when modern gay-oriented
therapy was deyeloped.
General Interest
GAY/LESBIAN CATHOLIC Traditionalists ·
Gay is great! 'Dignity' is fine. BUT do you
really/secretly miss the 'old' pre-Vatican II
church, liturgy, devotions, etc.? Tridentine/
Traditionalist Gay Catholics unite, write for
support: Catholic Tradition • B. Gatzke, P.O.
Box 9631, Minneapolis, MN 55458-9631.
10/90
LISTENING .. .LEARNING ... LOVING. Parents
F.L.A.G./Detroit's 30 minute video about
parents learning about homosexuality and their
relationships with their sons and daughters is
ADOPTION, From Page 15
to David .
David and Michael said, however,
that gay men give them the least
support. "We understand their shock,
but we don't understand their
insensitivity," Michael said. "One
man curled his lip after we told him
we adopted a son, and he said, 'Why
would you want to?' I can't imagine
him doing that to a heterosexual
woman. Some have been supportive
and some have congratulated us, but
as a group, gay men have not been
supportive."
Michael's hypothesis of w hy gay
men respond negatively to child
adoption stems from our centuries of
being conditioned to believe that we
can never have children . "It's
embedded in our heads," Michael
said. " To some degree, I bought into
that as well. It's a consciousness
thing we just have to get over."
David and Michael celebrated
their ninth anniversary on July 4.
(Gene celebrated his ninth birthday
this month, so Michael said he tells
people he and David had to get
married.)
Bringing Gene into · their lives has
made their relationship much
stronger. "But we had a strong
relationship to begin with," David
Classified Order Form
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FLAG/Detroit, P.O. Box 145, Farmington, Ml
48332. 10/90
Real Estate
Key West women's bar/deli priced at
$299,000. Owner negotiable • land, buildiQQ,
and business. BENDER-TAN IS ERA REAL
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said. ''That was something we really
had to consider: if we were stable
first . I don't think an unstable
relationship is going to be made more
stable when you have a kid.
"With all the investigations, the
home study, the social workers, the
probing, we had to reflect where
exactly we are in our lives. It was a
really good process. It made us think
about ourselve s and who we are as a
couple ."
"Parenting is harder than I thought
it would be," Michael said. "Try to
imagine the harde st and double it."
A question the Serkin-Pooles hear
often is, "Isn't it going to be confusing
having two dads?" Their answer:
"There are a lot of things that are
confusing to a child struggling to grow
up in a hostile world. Nowadays,
families come in a lot of different
con figur athns. We believe the
essential elements of love,
commitm ent and respo nsibility are
more important than deciding which
version. of faniily is 'correct.' We
plan to surround our child with Jots of
people who share that conviction."
Matt Nagle is a staff writer for the
Seattle Gay News, from which this
article is adapted.
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