Second Stone #23 - July/Aug 1992

Second Stone #23 - July/Aug 1992

23

1992

July/Aug 1992

:AMERICA'S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL - · ,{·. ,.· ·. . . ~ .,. ....
I
J U L Y / AU GUST, 1 9 9 2
Stra ght activists
?ake up cross for
ay/ esbian justice
"I'm not gay, it's not my problem, I haven't walked in
thos& shoes. But then I realized that the griefs of
the world weren't Jesus' p roblem, either. .. Yet he
agonized in the garden of Gethsemane, he y earned
to pr_otect and gather his own ... " .
B Y JI M BAILEY
V erbal assaul t s against Gays
and Lesbians ar e a ll too
common but whe n a group
of teenagers driving by in a
jeep yelled an ti-gay epithets at one
particu lar couple, it was a case of
mistak en identity . The couple w as
str aight. Larke tt e Lei n and Paul
Cou rry h a d been give n their fir st
sam ple of an ti-gay hatred. An d, as
Christ ians , they knew something wa s
terribly wrong.
· On March 9, 1991, a grou p of about
80 people gat hered at Power Communi
ty Church in Anaheim, California
to hear Congressman William
Dannemeyer speak as part of a conferen
ce on the "Preserv ation of th e
He terosexual Ethic," spo nsored by the
Traditional Valu es Coalition. In the
m idd le of Dan nemeyer 's spee ch
about the power of the militant homos
exual lobby, two members of ACTUP
stood up and declared a non violent
protest. Lein and Courry follo
w ed the two ACT- UP member s
down the ais le of the church onto the
dias, where they knelt and unfold ed
smuggled s igns that read "Pray to
end gay-b ashing ."
SEE COVER ST O RY, Page 10
Larkett e Lein an d Paul Courry kn eel and pray on the lawn of
Traditi onal Values Coalitio n leader Rev. Lou She ld on. The
p rotes tors re ceive d death tlu:eats after the incident.
-Ph oto by the Orange Co unty Register I]] TROUBLE IN [i2] PRAYER: ~BOOKS:
'THE FAMILY' 12 God's Appointed Mary Hunt's
The Jim Ferry case Way Fierce Tenderness
Guest commentary . By Rev. Dr. Reviewed by
by Mayne E!Hs Fred C. Williams Andrea L. T. Peterson
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T From the Editor ..... "' . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Baptists don't hear
one 'rnessenger'
By Jim Bailey
T he radically . "indusive . Jesus attended . the . Southern Baptist
Convention's annual g<!-th~ririg this. summer .-
The Jesus of the o~lta~ed w~ there in a congregation who refused to
discredit a young man's gift f:ot the ministry because of who he was.
"Follow me, " thi:, yourtg man had heard Jesus say. "Follow me ."
Against everything they had always known and felt, the congregation
heard it too. So they ordained him to woo the ostracized to Christ.
The Jesus of the marginalized was there in a congregation who saw
love where others see darkness; blinded by deep fear within
themselves. (It alarms them that they could hate so much, when their
Bible says love. Says it over and over, many, many times. "Love the
sinner and hate the sin," they rationalize. Rational lies.) But here is a
North Carolina congregation who listened intently and heard the truth
quietly whispered amidst the shouting and condemning. Everyone is
worthy of the precious· gift of love. Love is worthy of recognition.
The Jesus of the meek w~ there in the messenger who, facing a wall
of blind and determined hatr!!d, simply -!>aicl, ''Let those among you
without sin cast the first stone.'.' And cast it they did .
Much like Zacchaeus, Gays and _Lesbians are struggling to get a
glimpse of Jesus. The church has made us_ feel slight of stature over the
years. But we have climbed the tree, even with the arms of oppression
pulling at us from tJ-\e sturdy branches, and we have Him in sight.
"Come down," he tells us . He will abide with us. And yes, the crowd
who thought they knew Him so well murmurs, that he would abide
with such.
The radically inclusive Jesus was there at the Southern Baptist
Convention's gathering this year. And they voted to expel Him.
rn isecond Stone• July/August 1992.
c_-=....,
Contents ........... . • ............ .
[I]
[[]
[I]
[[]
[IDJ
[IT]
From The Editor
Baptists didn't -recognize their Special Guest
Your Turn
Letters from readers
Commentary
Trouble in the family: The Jim Ferry case
Guest comment by Mayne Ellis
News Lines
Cover Story:
Straight - but not narrow
Poetry
The Shepherd, the Hireling and Me
by Kathryn Vivian Keating
1121 Prayer: God's Appointed Way
by Rev. Dr. Fred C. Williams
[ll]
[HJ
Sexual Addiction
Looking for love in all the wrong places
by Sean Avery
In Print
Coming Out Within: Stages of Spiritual
Awakening for Lesbians and Gay Men;
and Fierce Tenderness: a feminist
theology of friendship
Book reviews by William Day and
Andrea L. T. Peterson [16] Calendar
l17l Noteworthy L!lJ News about people, churches and groups
1107 Resource Gulde l!.QJ Connectedness
[ID] Just Out
120 I Classifieds
YourTurn ........ . .............. .
Power of the
people vs.
power of the
powerful
Baltimore, Maryland
Dear Second Stone,
What a very interesting world we
live in. From a corner of Christ endom
noted unfairly or otherwise for
its homophobia, we have headlinemaking
news of same-sex union ceremonies
supported by Baptist congregation-
level voting. And ordinationleading
action by another Baptist
congregation by an out-of-the-closet
gay man.
What makes this interesting is that
in churches with a hierarchy and
organizational structure that could
wipe out homophobia in its institutional
form, we get nothing but edicts
that proclaim our evilness and disord_
er as sexual beings. While
Lesbians and Gays have our sup porters
'(such as Bishop Sμong of an
Episcopal Diocese in New Jersey) they
in turn do not have a generally
favorable peer approval.
Perhaps all this says to us that our
ISSN No. 1047-3971
SECOND STONE Newspaper is
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Copyright 1992 by Seccnd ~lone, a
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SECOND STONE, an ecumenical
Chr is Lian newspaper commiucd Lo
informing the gay and lesbian community.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE :
Sean Avery
Rev. Dr. Fred C. Williams
. Kathryn Vivian Keating
Andrea L T. Peterson
William Day
salvation (pardon the unintended
pun) will come not then from the
calcified managers of the levers of
power with doctrinal authority, but
instead on a case-by-case decision
making power of the people on a
congregational scale who know the
individuals desiring their rights as
human beings. Will power by the
people as opposed to power by the
powerful do more to erase homophobia
than we have ever contemplated?
Respectju'zly,
Tom Myers
Write to Second Stone. All letters must
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Clearly indicate if your name is to be
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Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
QUOTABLE:
"If people can see
the sameness of me
to you, then perhaps
they won't have the
walls that makes it so
they have to hate us
without a cause."
-27-year Army veteran Col. Margareth~
Cammermey_er, chief nurse of the Washington
National Guard, a Bronze Star recip_ient
and 1985 Veterans Administration's Nurse
of the Year, after her discharge for being a
tesbian and her decision to fight to (ll)erturn
the military' s 49-year ban on Gays and
Lesbians. .
MURDER, From Page 11
"frankly disgusting" and said he
would continue a "housecleaning"
among the police force as necessary.
"I will never order (policemen) to
use methods of thugs to obtain documents
of civil rights organizations,"
Joxe said. 'The police can function on
a legal basis without using procedures
that are morally damnable."
The lesbian/ gay community in
France is tiny. It was virtually impossible
to replicate Pastor Douce's
church outside Paris. There would
have been no coverage of the murder
at all had not Inspector Dufourg
decided to go public to prevent
himself from being implicated in
Douce's murder. There has been no
constituency in France willing to
come forward to protect Douce's
memory .
-Kim Byham
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Second Stone• ·July/August 1992 rn
Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •-.... ·• ............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . .
The Jim Ferry case
A good kid in a .dysfunctional family
By Mayne Ellis
Guest Opinion
"T . he church is the family of God,
and in any healthy family there is a
need for both discipline and loving
care. As Bishop, I am to maintain the
unity and discipline of the church and
to exercise pastoral care."
Thus Bishop Terence Finlay,
Diocese of Toronto, Anglican Church
of Canada, on March 22nd, 1992. The
syntax and vocabulary are significant.
To me, this statement is an attempt to
claim the moral high ground, to cloak
autocratic behavior in unquestioned,
time-worn and often deceptive concepts.
Family means different things
to different people. What does it
mean to Terry Finlay? What kind of
father makes his child an outcast,
insisting that no one else in the
family may offer sanctuary to that
child? What kind of family must
unquestioningly obey, without fair
argument or recourse, every edict
and whim of the father? Based on
what Finlay and the Bishop's Court
have said and, more importantly,
done to one of its members (and, as
the Rev. Jim Ferry says, by
extension, many others), the prevailing
construct of the ·"family of God,"
and particularly of the bishops' role
within it, is markedly dysfunctional.
As every adolescent knows, you
can always count on your parents to
embarrass you. Finlay's humiliation
of Jim (outing him to his congregation
in a "pastoral" letter) was so masterful
some of us still find it difficult to
believe he didn't know what he was
doing. No one is that cruel by accident,
are they? Such acts, whether
understood consciously or not, are ·
quite usual for parents acting out
their own emotional or mental problems.
Alice Miller has brilliantly
identified the phenomenon: the need
to reenact one's own humiliation upon
the child, to be at last the punisher
and not the punished,
'Tm the head of the household and
what I say goes." .In the charges an?
trial, the bishops defined the terms 6f
the discourse with patriarchal absolutism.
They refused to consider any
factor but the purely legalistic (church
discipline and administration -
grounds on which they felt sure of
winning the argument). They even
defined how the charges should be
understood, as the discussion of the
Court's findings makes dear. Superficially
this may seem to have worked
for Jim, but the underlying principle
is a destructive one. There also
seemed to be no negotiation on their
[]J .Second Stone• July/August 1992
part about what they were prepared
to accept as evidence; they rejected all
· attempts to consider alternative or
additional viewpoints or information
(in this case, that the singular treatment
of lesgay clergy is discriminatory
and unbalanced). The Court
actually insulted Jim's legal counsel at
one point, if the reportage is accurate
(and I believe it is). What is this but
the behavior of a dogmatic parent
whose final and perhaps only argument
is "Because I say so, that's
why?"
Many heterosexual Christians
actually resent and hate their own
sexuality, though most are socially
conforming enough to now cloak that
to the bishop-father's will, because
Jim has insisted that he is an adult
with the right to fully adult choices
about his whole life.
I did not expect mercy, inuch Jess
justice, from the Bishop's Court, and
I'm sorry to say that I was not disappointed.
In the end, Jim was
convicted of "contumacy and disrespectful
conduct toward the Bishop"
and "wrongdoing by refusing to
. refrain from continuing a homosexual
relationship contrary to the Bishop's
instructions" - thus making it perfectly
clear that this trial and sentence
is really about-questioning authority.
Jim is being punished for challenging
Dad. This is how power is exercised
Family means different things to
different people. What does it mean
to Terry Finlay? What kind of father
makes his child an outcast, insisting
that no orte else in the family may offer
sanctuary to that child?
in conciliatory, albeit limited and
limiting, language. For such parents,
any manifestation of unsanctioned
sexual feeling or activity by a child is
a cause for alarm, resentment and
punishment, as R. D. Laing's work
with schizophrenic children made
clear . In fact, any sign that the child
is becoming sexually mature can be
threatening for a disturbed parent.
Finlay's choice about Jim's fate, as
discussed in the press release of
March 24, seems to me purely vindictive,
and fits perfectly into the
pattern of parental dysfunction: Jim
is denied any and all possiblity of
productive life within this "family"
unless he conforms unquestioningly
in the dysfunctional family . It's not
quite Deuteronomy 21:18-21, but
emotionally it's close enough, for the
shadow-life the Bishops offer is no life
at all for the committed Christian
clergyman we know Jim to be. We
are told that 'The Bishop of Toronto ...
took the positionthat Reverend Ferry
had disobeyed his instructions to end
his relationship ... " What is this but
the position of an Imperial Roman
paterfamilias who could legally force
his child to divorce a spouse the child
loved to take a spouse more to the
father's liking? We owe Jim a great
debt for his courage in being the light
that shines in the darkness of bigotry;
of demonstrating in his own flesh just
c,~ Pontius' Puddle
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what. the words of Bishop Finlay, in
particular, are worth; of showing us
the true nature of the "liberal" front
that the official church seems anxious
to present, to keep Lesgays quiet
while draining us of our money,
energy, gifts and time.
My mother always told me, "You
can choose your friends, but you can't
choose your family." Feminist and
Jesgay Christians have known for
some time that this church family is
profoundly dysfunctional. For those
of us who are choosing to stay and
work for healing and truth, I want to
say this. When I changed my dysfunctional,
self-denying behavior and
refused to play the tiresome, dishonest
games that families seem to
need to maintain the facade of
traditional order, it was hard. My
parents were upset, puzzled and
angry. They began to see that my
. new behaviors were actually more
honest, . rriore humane, more useful,
and much more loving. Because I
changed, tne dynamics of my family
relationships have changed, and for
the better, proving the truth of Mr.
Quentin Crisp's dictum (and I have
no doubt that Mr. Crisp knows
whereof he speaks) that homosexuals
"should · make no effort to try and join
society" but "stay right where they
are and wait for society to form itself
around them - because it certainly
will." John McNeill and Carter
Heyward have both suggested that
Jesgay Christians are the theological
trailbreakers, the explorers . We are
the dissidents, the questione rs of
authority. Remember Prometheus?
Jim, beloved brother, you must feel
as though your insides are being torn
out, day after day. But, o my people
- Jim has given us fire.
Mayne Ellis, the former convenor of the
Vancouver chapter of Integrity, lives in
London.
NO··S\i'OUT ENOLESS
SOUNO ~l•ES P-.~01.)T
FM~\L'I VALUES.
GEi RE·ELEC'fl!tl. E'OUC.ATIOM '?;•--!LI--III
nu~,•s w~v 'W&: g.
VICE'OTAtt t'l;)Lt'flCII.\.: , _
~ALLIES··TO V~OVE A.(,..._,
C.RIIII.E1.9 SS:li:11 COll\f,ll.1TTEP.
T NewsLin~s T ............... . ...................................... . .......... . .... .
L.A. riots
threathen UFMCC
headquarters
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Church offices are located
just two blocks from the area where
major fires and looting occurred as
part of the violence that erupted after
a jury found white police officers not
guilty in the highly publicized beating
of Rodney King. UFMCC offices
and staff were unharmed. Church
headquarters were closed for a day
and a half . Similar destruction
occurred near MCC/Los Angeles .
"UFMCC deplores the verdict and
the injustice it repres ents,"· said Rev.
Elder Troy Perr y, UFMCC founder
and mode rator. "We also deplore
violence of any sort."
-Keeping in Touch
during the Democratic convention
(call (212)337-1227 for details); ACT
UP / Republican National Convention
working group will sponsor an AIDS
rally and march to the Astrodome in
Houston on August 17 (call (816)
753-5930); and Queer Nation/Houston
will hold a "Marry-in'' in Houston on
August 19 (call (713)527-8674).
Federal gay rights
bill gains
moment u m
Supp o rt for th e Federal Gay and
Lesbian Civil Rights Bill continues to
build as members of Congress sign
on as sponsors in record -breaking
numb ers. In the House, 107 members
are sponsors of HR 1430 while in the
Senate, 16 members are sponsors of S
574.
Bush: No 'special Pre~byterians
rights' for Gays __ won t boot
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Washing- anti ... g-ay Scouts
ton Post has reported that President MILWAUKEE - Delegates to the 204th
Bush told ai1ti-gay fundamentalists he General Assembly of the Presbyopposes
"special rights" for Gays a nd terian Church (U.S.A.) voted 368-165
Lesbians and affirmed "his commit- against a resolution urging congrement
to traditional values ." Accord- gations to find out whether their local
ing to The Post, the fundamentalist Scout troops ban Gays and to bar
leaders, which include Jerry Falwell them from using church facilities if
and Beverly LaHaye, are concerned they continue to do so. Scout leaders
about the recent passage of a domestic and gay activists said it wou ld be a
partnership ordinance in the District hypocritical stand for a church that
of Columbia and want support for bans gay clergy.
House Republicans who may soon -Associated Press
attempt to convince Congress to .
repeal the legislation.
-Alabama Forum
Spong: Suspend
discussions with
Catholic Church
Episcopal Bishop John Spong of
Newark, N.J, has publicly attacked
the Roman Catholic Church, describing
the Church as "anti-woman,"
"authoritarian," hypocritical · and "in
danger of losing its soul." He called
for suspension of formal unity discussions
between Catholics and Episcopalians.
Bishop William Wantland
of the Diocese of Eau Claire, Wis.
called Spong's claims "appalling" and
"disgusting."
-The Lutheran
Events s lated for
pa rty conventions
Do zens of ga y/ lesb ia n and AIDSrelated
event s are s cheduled to take
pla ce dur ing and around Democratic
and Republican Nat ional Conventions
this sum m er. United for AIDS Action,
a coaiition of m or e than 70
organizations; will spon sor a massive
AIDS ma.rch and rally on July 14
We're glad
we're gay
Ann Landers . received her all-time
second highest ba tch of mail in
response to her March 8 column in
which she asked Gays and Lesbians
to write and let her know whether or
not they're glad they are gay. In her
April 26 column Landers reported
that she received 75,875 respon ses.
Thirty to 1 indicated that they were
indeed glad to be gay .
Catholic Bishops'
letter upholds
ban on women's
ordination
The third draft of the U. S. Catholic
Bishops ' P as toral Letter on Women's
Conc ern s ha s been released. "We
denou nce sex ism as a moral and
social evil" said t h e d ocument, wh ich
is th e produ ct of eig h t y ears of
cons ultat ion and severe criticism by
th e Vatic an . While th e doc ument
push <es for women's rights in the
church and society, it uphold s the ban
on women's ordination jn the Catholic
Church. The dr aft di scusses in some
detail the concerns of single persons,
· married couples , divorced persons,
parents and lesbian women. .
Ruth McDonough Fitzpatrick, .
national coordinator of Women's Ordination
Conference, praised the statement
for being "beautifully writt en
and good theology... They are
showing a great deal more compas sion"
than in earlier drafts. ''But they
refuse to s ay that the Catholic Church
hierarchy is sexist and sinful," she
continued . "Until they do that there
will be no major change, just more
nice-nice stuff to women." The draft
will be debated and voted on at the
National Conference of Catholic
Bishops' meeting in November.
-Dignity USA Journal
Presbyte rian
General Asse mbly
receives anti-gay
proposals
Two overtures (resolutions) have been
submitted to the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (USA) calling
for disciplinary action against
gay-affirming churches and offering
an amendment which would ba.n
ordination of non-celibate gay or !esbian
persons. The overtures, submitted
by the San Joaquin Presby tery,
call for reprimand of More Light
Churches and encourage "those .who
in good faith both approve and
practice homosexual behavior to
transfer their membership from the
Presbyterian Church to other
ecclesiastical bodies." The other overture,
calling for a constitutional
amendment states that "governing
bodies shall not ordain to church
office· persons who are in an unrepen
tant state of homosexual practice."
-More Light Update
Tal k sho w
stirs homophobia
Let's Talk Straight, a Hawaii talk show
expressly dedicated to stirring up
anti-gay hatred, airs twice weekly on
KGU-AM in Honolulu. Listeners are
subjected to the .homophobic views of
host Mike Gabbard, who is founding
member of the heterosexual supremacist
group "Stop Promoting Homo sexuality."
The Gay and Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation urges
readers to complain to Alan Zee,
Program Director, KGU-AM76, 2153
North King Street , Suite 303,
Honolulu, HI 98619.
dignit,,usa .,.--·· an oroamzation for gay ana 06ian CatfwGcs,
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If you'd like to support our ministry, please join Dignity/USA today by completing the form
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Second Stone• .Tu!yiAugust 199'.fr h . ; 01 L _
News Lines T ......................................................................
Reprimand
sought for
Catholic bishops
A campaign has been organi ze d to
remove three Catholic bishops who
participated in a national symposium
for gay and lesbian Catholics. Five
hundred people attended New Ways
Ministry's Third National Symposium
held March 27-29 in Chicago. According
to New Ways Ministry, the
Catholic Action League and the
Wanderer media base are upset at the
presence at the conference of Bishop
Thomas Gumbleton, Detroit, Bishop
Kenneth Untener, Saginaw, and
Bishop William Hughes, Covington.
Of those who attended "Lesbian and
Gay People and Catholicism : The
State of the Question," 54 percent
were male, 46 female; 34 percent
were sisters or nuns; 24 percent were
priests; 5 percent were brothers; and
37 percent laity.
New Ways Ministry is encouraging
letters of thanks and support for the
three bishops. (Most Rev. William
Hughes, The Catholic Center, 947
Donaldson Road, Erlanger, KY 41018;
Most Rev. Kenneth Untener, 5800
Weiss Street, Saginaw, MI 48603; Most
Rev. Thomas Gumbleton, 1234 W;ishington
Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226.)
Audio tapes of presentations at the
conference are available from
LeGrand Services, 333 West Irving
Park, Suite # 201, Roselle, IL 60172.
Church challenges
NJ gay rights law
TRENTON, N.J. - The Orthodox
Presbyterian Church has challenged
the constitutionality oi New Jersey's
new gay rights law . The church said
the law violates its pastors' First
Amendment .rights, because church
teachings state that homosexuality is
immoral and perverse. Religious
institutions are exempt from the
anti -discrimination law . Queer Nation/
New Jersey has charged that the
suit is an attempt to validate homophobia
as religious freedom .
-Outlines
Louisiana Baptists
reject pro-gay
churches
The Louisiana Baptist Convention
Executive Board has unanimously
approved a measure that would ban
from annual meetings and prohibit
donations by congregations in the
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~------------------------------~ [I]!second S~one • July/August 1992· . .
state that affirm Gays and Lesbians.
At the same time, it expresses love
and concern "for those persons who
have chosen to rebel against God by
participating in the abominable
practices of homosexuality."
The Louisiana Convention is the
first state organization to threaten
gay-affirming congregations with
expu lsion from the denomination.
The measure - approved in May at a
meeting in Alexandria - still must be
considered by the annual convention
in November.
-The Times
Archbishop Tutu,
President Carter
support HRCF
fund raiser
Former President Jimmy Carter and
Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop
Desmond Tutu of South Africa served
as Honorary Co-chairs of the Human
Rights Campaign Fund's Fifth
Annual Atlanta Dinner. Former
President Carter is the first President
of the United States to associate
himself with a fundraising effort in
the lesbian and gay community.
In a letter to the organizing
committee of the event, President
Carter praised the Campaign Fund
for "their outstanding efforts."
·-cruise
Lutheran·
study document
draws ire
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America's study document, "Christian
Faith and Human Sexuality," has
been criticized by the "Great Commission
Network," a group seeking "a
renewed commitment to biblical and
confessional authority" in the church .
Dr . Walter Sundberg, associate professor
of church history, Luther
Northwestern Seminary, St. Paul,
Minn. told a gathering of 70 pastors
and laity that "after much huffing and
puffing" the question that the ELCA
study finally asks is · whether or not
the church should "unsin" homosexuality.
The Forum Letter, published
in Delhi, N.Y., by the American
Lutheran Publicity Bureau, has also
criticized the document.
In San Francisco, however, a
gay-supportive group claiming more
than 100 members is "publicly challenging
the ELCA on all levels to
affirm committed and faithful samesex
relationships" and to "accept qualified
women and men - regardless of
sexual orientation, single or partnered
- as pastors and professionals of this
cl1Urch and as candidates for ministry
within it. .. "
-The Lutheran
Anti-gay group
running out
of money ...
The Chdstian Righhst crusade to
eliminate what it considers objectional
television and movie programming
appe ars to be losing momentum and
suffering from a Jack of unity. A
recent issue of the activist Donald
Wildmon's American Family Association
Newsletter says the organization
faces a major financial crisis.
Similar groups are asking the same
potentia l donors repeat e dly for support
- a situation which may lead to
the apparent decline in support for
each of them.
-Religion Watch
... but not
soon enough
The American Family Association has
called for a boycott against Levi
Strauss & Co. because the jeanmakers
philanthropic foundation will
not fund the Boy Scouts of America,
which discriminates against gay
members and leaders. Wildmon also
condemned Levi Strauss for its recent
announcement of benefits for the
domestic partners of lesbian and gay
employees.
-Southern Voice
Gay priest
loses license
Rev. James Ferry, a gay Anglican
priest, was stripped of his license on
March 20 after being found guilty by
a Bishop's Court of disobeying his
bishop's order to leave a gay relationship.
Toronto Anglican Bishop Terence
Finlay removed Ferry from his job at
St. Philip's-on-the-Hill in Unionville,
and from exercising his duties as a
priest.
While he is still regarded as a
priest, Ferry cannot preach, perform
marriages or celebrate other church
sacraments. He may · continue as a
priest without license until church
policy on the ordination of practicing
Gays changes.
-Outlook
Gay column
for Gannett
newspapers
"Life From A Gay Perspective;" a
weekly column written by Deb Price,
is now available for Gannett's eighty
newspapers across the nation. The
second largest Gannett newspaper
(after USA Today), the Detroit News,
will carry the column.
-Cruise
News Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Far right victory
in Oregon
The Oregon Citizens Allia_nce . was
successful in getting Springfield,
Ore., voters to approve an initiative
which forbids city government to
"promote, enc?,urage, or facilitate
homosexuality. Passage of the m1-
tiative means that the city may not
give permits for gay pride parades,
allow gay organizations to meet in
public buildings, or allow public
libraries to maintain.literature or publications
which are gay neutral or gay
positive .
The initiative can be interpreted to
mean that the city may not employ
Spahr. opponents
reveal homophobia
By The Empty Closet
The Permanent Judicial Commission
of the Synod of the Northeast,
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), met to
hear the case of the Rev. Jane Adams
Spahr on May 19. The Commission's
task was not to determine whether
self-affirming Lesbians or Gays
should be ordained as Presbyterian
ministers, that having been decided
in the negative by the General
Assembly of the Church in 1978,
which at the same time instituted
Paragraph 14, stating that the ruling
might not be used against those
ordained before 1978.
Rather, their job was to decide
whether the Presbytery of t~e
Genesee Valley had exceeded its
constitutional limit in twice affirming
the call of Downtown United Presbyterian
Church to Janie Spahr, who, in
the homophobic language of the
church's regulations, is a "practicing,
self~~dmitted, unrepentant homosexual.
The Commission had decided not to
call witnesses. Instead, advocates for
Spahr and for her opponents (a
minority of local congregations whose
spokesperson is the Rev. Ronald
Sallade) gave 30-minute statements,
followed by responses from each
advocate (although James Moore,
advocate for the Presbytery, declined
to make a response).
Julius B. Poppinga, a Neward, N.J.
attorney, advocate for the complainants
was first to speak. His statement
frequently mentioned "lordship,"
"authority," and "obedience," and he
stated that church leaders must .lead
"exemplary lives," and are "not_ free
to adopt a lifestyle of conscious,
continuous, unresisted sin in any
areas of life."
He made a cross out of yellow
circles on a blackboard, which he said
illustrated the intersecting lines of
rule and order within the church.
Commission member Alison Halsey
said that one of the things she appreciates
most deeply about her church is
that it is continuously forming, and
asked whether Poppinga was implying
that the church . was "in line."
Perhaps, she suggested, the Presbytery
felt that the church was_ out of
line on the question of acceptmg gay
and lesbian people, and that their
affirmation of the call of Janie Spahr
might be seen as an attempt to bring
the church back into line. Poppinga
disagreed.
Poppinga's statement included
numerous stereotypes about gay people,
as when he said emphatically,
"We're talk ing about erotic stimulation
of the genitafs by people of the same
sex," as if love betw·een Lesbians and
Gays consisted of genital se_xuali ty
and nothing more. He said that
"homosexuality is not God's wish for
humanity," linked the "sin" of being
gay with sins including child molestation,
and claimed that homosexuality
detroys families and society.
He was not able to respond to a
question from a Commission member
who asked him to cite one specific
precedent in church law in which a
higher authority had overruled a
decision by a congregation and
Presbytery.
Instead, Poppinga reiterated his
claim that "homosexuality is not
compatible with the Christian ~a)'. of
life," and said that the Commission
has the authority to overrule Presbytery
decisions. At one point he
stated that to accept an openly lesbian
minister would be "confusing to
ethnic groups within the church,"
who might not understand such a
"sophisticated" view.
Rev. Janie Spahr told the Empty
Closet, when asked about her reaction
to Poppinga's statements, "How painful
to hear this tremendous racism,
which is connected to heterosexism -
and to hear it right from his mouth!
Why I am a Christian lesbian has to
do with loving people for who and
what they are. And this is an
inclusive church." In response to
Poppinga's definition of gay
relationships as sexual only, Spahr
said, "Homosexuality is a way of
b_eing and loving another human
person."
James Moore, a Rochester attorney
who served as advocate for the
SEE SPAHR, Page 10
· openly gay or lesbian people. Gays
and Lesbians could be fired from
teaching positions, libraries, public
utilities, police forces, and any agency
that receives municipal funds.
The OCA is attempting to get a
similar initiative on the statewide ballot
for the November elections.
-Seattle Gay News
Violence shakes
MCC concert
Rocks were thrown through a window
at St. Mary's MCC, Greensboro,
N.C., May 8 during a .HeartSong
concert. Glass shattered over the congregation,
causing cuts and bruises.
One rock nearly glazed the head of
Rev. Christine Oscar, pastor.
-Keeping in Touch
Churches expelled
for pro-gay
actions
Two North Carolina Baptist churches
were expelled from their state Baptist
convention on May 20, 1992, for adopting
gay-affirming stances, Pullen
Memorial Baptist Church, Raleigh,
was expelled for blessing a same gender
union and Olin T. Binkley,
Chapel Hill, was expelled for licensing
a gay divinity student to preach.
Writer collecting
our . history
James Waller, a journalist in New
York City, is writing a book on the
lesbian and gay Christian movement.
He is currently collecting information
and is especially interested in hearing
from anyone who was involved in the
movement's early phase. Readers
who have information on the preStonewall
phase of the lesbian and
gay Christian movement are invited
to write the author at 120 Garfield
Place, Apt. C-7, Brooklyn, NY 11215.
Authors seek
gay testimonies
Authors compiling a collection of
positive accounts of what it means .to
be a Christian gay or lesbian person
want to hear from you. "We want to
reach out and tell others that it is
okay to be a dedicated, active
Christian and to be open and proud
of our God given sexuality," the
writers said. For information write to
P.O. Box 10242, Kansas City, MO
64111-0242.
· . A magazine of
RE. A 'rTiQ.l\.. 1 earthy wisdom for ril .1: '! "'I an evolving planet.
Matthew Fox SPIRITUALITY is editor-in-chief.
"The Cosmic Christ, I believe, calls us 10 embrace diversity as a
· civilizatia:n if our creativity is to emerge and if each person is to
truly live out her or his lifestyle and ~ocation with passion and
responsibility.
Matthew Fox, The Coming of the Cosmic Christ
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Sci:ond Stone• Jttly/A~gust 1992 Tl]
....
'
Methodists won't drop anti~gay poli~y
LOUISVILLE - Declaring homosexual
practice incompatible with Christian
teaching, the Unit ed Methodist
Church voted May 11 to condemn
gay sex despite an intensive study
urging that the church's anti-gay
policy be dropped.
Delegates at .the UMC quandrennial
General Conference voted
710-238 to maintain church rules
against gay and lesbian sex, refuting
a four-year probe that said the ban
should be dropped. The action came
after more than three hours of debate.
For your convenience
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Delegates did overwhelmingly
approve study "across t.he whole
church" of the report of the four-year
study of homosexuality.
It was the third major Protestant
body in the last year to uphold their
positions against homosexual activity,
but continuing study about it.
"We.Jost," said Tex·Sample, a Kansas
City theologian, who had backed a
failed move for the church simply to
state it lacked a "common mind" on
whether homosexual practice was
acceptable in Christian faith.
"ft will take another 10, 20 or 25
years to change our position," he told
a news conference. But he said the
churchwide study would "be helpful
to people who have deep fears."
Members of the gay and bisexual
caucus, Affirmation, unfurled a huge
~ ...
~ Evangelicals
IJ;; "1(/ Together me.
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"Churches are NOT hospitable places
for lesbians and gay men- RIGHT?"
WRONG!
is a quarterly magazine for and about
churches that welcome lesbians and gay men.
Each issue of Open Hands explores a particular concern of lesbians
and gay men in the church and includes feature articles by clergy
and laypersons, resource listings, worship/devotion.al ideas, and
news.from the lesbian/gay Christian movement.
Published since 1985 by the Reconciling Congregation Program. a
national network of United Methodist churches that welcome
lesbians and gay men.
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00 Second Stone• July/August 1992 ·
black-and-white banner in front of the
podium and stomped their feet on
metal bleachers, pushing debate and
a vote late into the night. 'The Stones
Will Cry Out," the banner read,
referring to Christ's saying that would
be the reaction if his message were
silenced.
Ai firmation leader Rev: Morris
Floyd predicted the vote will alienate
more Gays and Lesbians from the
church, who will leave for more
friendly denominations, or drop out
from mainstream r~ligions entirely.
"It's a tragedy," he said.
Affirmation leaders' efforts to win
time to counter UMC's _ legislative
committee 's anti-gay position were
stonewalled. A majority of the delegates
fear failure to underscore condemnation
of gay sex acts would
offend most of America's 8.9 million
United Methodists .
·changing Amerfran views could
pressure the UMC to alter its policy,
acknowledged the Rev. David
Seamands of Asbury Theological
Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.
'The climate in the U.S. will be the
main influence," the conservative
church leader told the Washington
Times.
- From Associated Press
and Southern Voice
Integrity to meet in anti-gay
bishop's backyard
Integrity, the lesbian/ gay justice
ministry of the Episcopal Church will
hold its national convention in
Houston July 9-12, 1992. This will be
the first time the 18-year old
organization has held its national
meeting in Texas. .
The arch-conservative Bishop of
Texas, the Rt. Rev. Maurice M.
Benitez, will be out of town and
unable to greet the convention.
Based on his longstanding and outspoken
opposition to the ordination of
openly gay lesbian and gay candi-
. dates for the ministry and to the
blessing of same-sex unions, Bishop
Benitez was not expected to be
welcoming. Indeed, Benitez had
always denied the requests of
Integrity's chapters in Houston and
Austin for display space at the annual
diocesan council (convention) and has
forbidden the diocesan newsr,aper to
mention the word "Integrity' - until
this year. .
The two diocesan chapters were
granted permission to distribute
Integrity materials at the councfl
meeting in February, and thei.r presence
was the subject of an article in
The Houston Chronicle. Bishop Benitez
was also widely credited with suppressing
proposed resolutions which
would have forbidden Integrity the
use of Episcopal property for the
convention. · ·
Integrity leaders speculated that _
part of the reason for Benitez's
unwelcoming position toward the
convention is that the Texas-born
head of the Episcopal Churclt will be
speaking at the convention. The Most
Rev. Edmund L. Browning, Presiding
Bishop and Primate of the American ·
branch of the Anglican. Church will
be celebrant and homilist at the
opening Eucharist and will respond to
the concerns of Integrity members at
an open forum. ·
The most notable non-America
guest will be the Rev. James Ferry,
the Toronto priest who was outed by ·
his bishop and, after the first church
trial in Anglican history in which
homosexuality was the alleged crime,
was prohibited from performing
priestly duties. Also present will be
the Hon. Barnaby Miln, the first
openly gay member of the Church of
England's General Synod.
The first . tw·o lesbian and gay
deputies to come out on the floor of a
General Convention of the Episcopal
Church, the Rev. Jane Garrett ·and
Mr. Pat Waddell, will also be in
attendance.
Coming out means telling the truth
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Baptistc hurchl icenseso penlyg ay clergys tudent
By Q~Notes
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - For the second
time in recent months, a Southern
Baptist church has affitmed the rights
of a gay member by a majority vote
of the congregation. Following on the
heels of the March decision by
Raleigh's Pullen Memorial Baptist
Church to recognize and host a holy
union between two male members,
Olin T. Binkley Baptist Church voted
on Sunday, April 5, at the evening
service to license John Blevins, a gay
clergy student and member.
Binkley's pastor, Rev. Linda Jordan,
explained licensure as "an endorsement
of someone's call to ministry,"
and stated that church leadership
became aware of Blevin's desire for
this formal sanction in August 1991 were held, including a couple by
when he approached the deacon staff Blevins himself.
with the request. He had been a Throughout this process, the
member of the church for approx- opinions of the 500-plus members
imately one year at the time and was were not the only ones being heard
due to graduate from Duke Divinity on the issue. Other Baptist churches
School in May of 1992, so the idea of and their leaders and even the
licensure was well within reason. Southern Baptist Convention itself got
After discussing the situation, the into the center of the debate.
deacons and Rev. Jordan took the Recalling the stance of many of the
matter before the members at a area ministers who contacted her,
special congregational meeting. The Rev. Jordan said, "Some of the
result of that meeting was a deter- churches were supportive, but many
mination to hold a series of church more were hostile."
forums utilizing open floor debates The Southern Baptist Convention
and guest speakers to lecture about denounced both Pullen and Binkley
the biblical and social aspects of in a press release in late winter,
homosexuality and what the impli- threatening to pull the membership
cations of the licensure might be. of both churches if they proceeded
Several of these evening -sessions
with their respective discourses on
homosex uality. However, they not
only continued, both wound up
ruling positively on their various
issues.
In reference to the Convention's
statement, Rev. Jordan would only
say, "We were trying to make an
honest decision, and now we'll take
whatever consequences that entails.
But, that resolution was sent back into
committee so nothing has happened; I
really don't want to 'make too big of
an issue out of this right now."
Blevins, a member of the Raleigh
Religious Network for Gay and
Lesbian Equa!Hy, was approved for
licensure by a vote 57% to 42%.
-David Stout
ReconcilingC ongregation
Program honored
The Reconciling Congregation Program
recently received two pres.
tigious awards c one for its quarterly
·magazine, Open Hands, and another
for the program's "outstanding
Christian social witness."
Open Hands was awarded the
Award of Merit for General Excellence
by the Associated Church Press
during its annual convention on May
5. Open Hands was one of four
·magazines to receive this esteemed
._ recognition as the winner in the
category of special interest publications
with circulation of less than
10,000. The Associated Church Press
is 'an association of 190 Christian
publications in the United States and
Canada.
The Methodist Federation for Social
Action presented one of its Lee and
Mae Ball Awards to the Reconciling
Congregation Program on May 9. In
presenting this annual award for
"outstanding Christian social witness,"
David Tatgenhorst, MSFA co-president,
noted that the Reconciling
Congregation Program "continues to
bear the hopes of Lesbians and gay
men and others who are alienated
from the church."
The Reconciling Congregation
Program is a national network of
United Methodist churches that have
publicly declared that they welcome
all persons, including Lesbians. and
gay men. Founded in 1984, this
growing movement currently
includes 54 congregations, four regional
-conferences, and one general
commission of the church. Open
Hands, the program's quarterly magazine,
began publishing in 1985 and
currently has 1,500 subscribers.
The program's 17-member board of
directors recently decided to open a
national office in Chicago and to hire
a full-time coordinator in order to
meet the growing demands upon the
program. The RCP may be reached at
3801 N. Keeler Ave., Chicago, IL
60641, (312)736-5526.
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Second Stone• July/Augu~t 1992 [[]
..................~.... ............C....o. .v.S..e.t.ro.. .r..y.. .......~.... .............
Straighta ctivistsb attlef or gay/lesbianju stice
FROMPAGE1
It was a protest from a comer of the
"homosexual lobby" that may have
taken Dannemeyer by surprise. Lein
are Courry are part of a growing
number of straight Christians who are
speaking out and taking action
against the church's injustice toward
Gays and Lesbians.
Lein, Courry and the two ACT-UP
members were arrested (by officers
wearing surgical gloves) for trespass
and disturbing the peace. Except for
one of the ACT-UP members who
was fined for disturbing the peace, all
were later acquitted.
"Paul and I participated as members
of the Coalition Against Christian
Violence, an interfaith group we
helped found to courtteract fundamentalist
groups such as Operation
Rescue and the Traditional Values
group," said Lein, who is Convener of
the Integrity/ Southland chapter of the
Episcopal church's national gay and
lesbian organization, Integrity, Inc.
Prior to her protest at the TVC
conference, Lein's interest in activism
had been heightened when she was
invited by the associate priest of her
Episcopal church to testify at a public
hearing on behalf of a gay rights
ordinance for the city of Irvin, California.
'The fundamentalists were
there spewing venom," she recalled.
'1 knew then that I couldn't let this go
on."
Courry began to understand how
difficult it can be for gay and lesbian
people when he met some gay
community members through the
leader of a 12-step program he
SP AHR From Page 7
Presbytery of the Genesee Valley, by
contrast with Poppinga did not dwell
on the issue of homosexuality, pro or
con. Instead, he focused on what he
qilled the only issue before the Commission:
whether or not the Presbytery
acted within constitutional
limits in approving and reaffirming
the DUPC call to Spahr. Moore said
that Spahr was ordained in a "lawful
manner consistent with the thenpolicy
of the Church."
He cited Church law stating that the
decisions of a Presbytery in respect to
a call, if within constitutional limitations,
shall not be set aside by
reviewing authority. 'The Church is
governed by Presbyters, who, acting
together, will find the will of Jesus
Christ and make decisions on that
basis," he said.
Moore's argument centered on the
[_jfSie.cJon d Stone• July/August1 992
attended. Like Lein, he was appalled
at what he calls "Bible-thumping
hatred" and felt he could no longer
stand by and be silent.
L~in recalls one particular incident
that solidified the pair's commitment
to activism . "We became gay rights
became very concerned," said
Courry. "He wanted to know if I was
straight. Although I reassured him I
am, I am working for the day when
that question need not be asked of
anyone." Lein said her parents support
her activism and respect her
"It is surprising how many straight
people just have no idea of what
being gay or lesbian is about.
Many straight Christians literally
shy back when they see our
Christian symbols. They thi~k
the battle for gay and lesbian
justice is strictly a fight between
the unchurched and the Christians."
activists when we got a death threat
as. a result of having our picture in
the paper, as Christians praying for
gay rights at a demonstration."
Fellow church members, coworkers
and family are generally supportive ,
of the activists' mission. "My dad
controversial Paragraph 14, which
states that the 1978 ruling against
Gays and Lesbians as ministers shall
not be used against those who were
ordained before 1978. He said that
this protection cannot simply be
removed, and asked, "Are Gays and
Lesbians to be forever locked in place
unless they repress and deny their.
sexuality - an aspect of life which the
last General Assembly decided was
God-given?"
In closing, he reminded the
Commission that "Jesus Christ's mission
was founded on principles of
love of God, love of fellow human
beings, and forbearance," and said
that Christ has never mentioned, let
alone forbidden, homosexuality;
neither does the Presbyterian Book of
Order prohibit or condone the calling
of a gay person. He asked th.at the
Commission dismiss the objection and
lift the stay which prevents Spahr
from entering into her ministry.
-Susan Jordan
acting out her faith. Coworkers, also
supportive of her activism, eagerly
examine the newspaper on Monday
mornings wondering if Lein had had
a printworthy weekend. There are
both elements of support and elements
of great discomfort at Lein's
Episcopal church and some members
of Courry's church are "nervous as
hell." But Courry continues to be a
powerful witness. "Many Gays and
Lesbians know that the church can be
their enemy. But sometimes people
who would otherwise never darken
the door of a church go to church with
me," he said.
Lein agrees that the church is very
often seen as the sour.ce of homophobia
but that her congregation is
supportive of her as a bridge to the
gay community and what she terms
"the church-damaged people." "It is
surprising how many straight people
just have no idea of what being gay
or lesbian is about. Many straight
Christians literally shy back when
they see our Christian symbols. They
think the battle for gay and lesbian
justice is strictly a fight between the
unchurched and the Christians." And
sometimes, as with the death threat,
which was followed by nasty letters,
the tension and conflict boil over. "I
feel sorry for the people who are
filled with so much hatred," said
Lein. Courry adds, "We pray for
them."
'Lein was surprised to be elected
Convener of Integrity/Southland, but
says there is no resentment that a
heterosexual was picked to lead the
· gay and lesbian group. "Sometimes I
am identified as a lesbian," she said,
· "but I have to confess that I am
straight and [she adds with a laugh]
hope that they don't hold my sexual
orientation against me."
'The people of Integri ty are
powerfully gifted," Lein said. 'They
have stories of injustice that will
knock your socks off, but they stay in
the church despite all the church has
done to them ."
The new c0nservativism and the
rise of traditional family values as an
issue in the presidential campaign
has created some nervousness in the
gay and lesbian community, according
to the activists, but there are too
many people who will say, "We won't
go back." Also, fundamentalis t
groups are just as concerned with the
rise in power . of gay and lesbian
groups. While picketing a church
that supports Operation Rescue,
Courry was approached by the
church preacher who said the church
feared such publicity because, he
said, "the next thing you know we'll
attract some of the gay groups."
Recalling the Traditional Values
Coalition symposium, Lein said, "It
was all so unfair, that so many hurts
could be inflicted in the name of
Christ. And in the name of 'traditional
family values.' And in just
plain bigotry and hatred. I felt so
helpless to help. And even helpless
to understand. I'm not gay, it's not
my problem, I haven't walked in
those shoes. But then I realized that
the griefs of the world weren't Jesus'
problem, either. He'd never sinned.
Yet he agonized in the garden of
Gethsemane, he yearned to protect
and gather his own ...
"God is on the side of the suffering,
not the oppressors," Lein said of the
Heterosexual Ethics conference.
"When the church gives its blessing
to the oppressors, to a political group
such as [the Traditional Values
Coalition], whose chief goal is to
silence the voices of my gay brothers
and lesbian sisters outside, then as a
Christian I cannot be silent."
Her activism has been the "most
fantistic" three or four years of her
life, according to Lein. "I wish I had
my eyes open sooner to the spirit of
people who have had to fight against
the church to find God," she said.
Added Courry, "I have received
much more than I've given."
''But actually, we're just evangelists,"
said Lein. "We're just trying to tell the
Good News.''
After two years
Murder of gay French Pastor unsolved
By The Voice of Integrity
ThReev . Joseph Douce, the founder
of the lesbian and gay Christian
movement in France, was brutally
murdered in Paris in the summer of
1990. Now two years later, despite
clear evidence of police involvement
in the murder, no arrests have been
made. The resulting scandal at one
'Ifies f iepfi ercft,f ieJ {ireung.
ana!Me
BY KATHRYN VIVIAN KEATING
~ TAKES A LONG
0
WHILE, for Christ to woo back
That sheep which the Hireling sold,
Escaping the slaughter, it wanders long
Until even its youth looks old!
The marks of sin that need not have been
Leave an open sore and shame;
And when trust is gone, what else lives on,
But expressionso f fear and pain.
Is Eternity long enough to mend
The bewildereda, nguishedd espair
That came when the Hireling first announced
That the 'Shepherd of Life' did not care?
That the Sheep could go, and need never return
to the arms it had come to trust...
That the Shepherd desired it outside the Fold,
And back in the barnyard's dust!
And where does one turn, when the Highest Known
For him, has been taken away?
Oh, it takes a long while for Christ to woo back
That Sheep, on the rocks astray!
And is the price from the butcher reaped
Sufficient, to pay for the tears
Which not only the Master. .. but othersh aves hed
In the horriblef,o llowingy ears?
Can there be a sermon, or poem, or song
anointed of God, to erase .
The change in the mind and heart of a Sheep
That's been sold from the Master's place?
Yet ... the day will come, when the Shepherd's call
Will drift o'er the jagged rocks,
And that Sheep-hearfta, int, will feel a stir
of remembrancea, nd even the shock
of being cast out, will fade from mind,
And on trembling legs and weak,
It will turn once more toward those days of yore
. When its strength, was to hear Christ speak!!!
The Shepherd of Life forgets not His Own,
And He'll search every black abyss,
To regain that one from His flock cast out
That He knows in His heart is His!
But what of the Hireling? Oh God, forgive:
Perhapsa ll the truth was not told;
But it takes a long while
For Christ to woo back,.
That Sheep, which some Hireling sold!
-Ezek. 34:22-16 Emp. verse 4
-Reprinted from the SDA Kinship Connection
point embarrassed the French government,
but the crisis seems to have
subsided and authorities, with the
help of the press, have defamed
Douce's memory.
The man who found the body while
searching for mushrooms thought at
first it was a deer. 'The animals had
eatell' away at it so much that you
could no longer distinguish it as a
human figure." For three months,
the body had !ain in the forest of
Rambouillet, about 30 miles from
Paris.
Police and pathologists concluded,
mainly from dental evidence, that the
body was of Pastor Douce, who disappeared
while under police surveillance
on July 19. The police were
from an undercover unit, the Groupe
des Enquetes Reservees (GER), which
specializes in handling cloak-anddagger
jobs within the Renseignements
Generaux, one of France's
numerous intelligence agencies. Most
Renseigneinents Generaux officers
gather information about subversion,
drugs, the press, foreigners, gambling
and finance.
A GER inspector, Jean-Marc
Dufourg, became himself the subject
of an internal police inquiry, not only
into the disappearance of Douce, but
also into Dufourg's more unusual surveillance
techniques, which included
firing a bullet through the front door
of a reluctant informant. Dufourg
denies any . part in Douce's disappearance
or death, and believes he is
being made the scapegoat for a
bungled inquiry. Strangely for a
secret policeman, he reacted by
talking publicly about his work.
Pastor Douce came to Paris from
Belgium in 1964 and opened his
Centre of Christ the Liberator. The
French Baptist Church expelled
Douce in 1975 for blessing gay
. unions. Undaunted, he expanded his
counseling mission to sexual minorities.
In an interview a few days
before his death, he estimated he had
worked with 15,000 homosexuals,
transsexuals, transvestites, sadomasochists
and paedophiles.
Once a month, Douce held a group
counseling session for paedophiles,
and this aspect of his activities is what
interested the police. In the spring of
1990, the GER began tapping his
telephone. Douce himself became
aware of their interest at 1:30 a.m. on
June 20, when a burly man shouting
insults and threats appeared at
Douce's front door. Douce called the
police, who were surprised to
discover that the "hooligan" was none
other than Inspector Dufourg.
At 8:30 p.m. on July 19, two men
arrived at Deuce's home and
introduced themselves as police.
They asked the minister to accompany
them. He went quickly, taking
only his diary, and he was never
seen again. The men have not been
· identified, but they did not include
Dufourg, who spent the evening at a
bar in Pigalle.
The Douce case might have faded
quietly from view had Pierre Didier
not told his story to the newspaper,
Liberation. On the night of July 3,
Didier, a former communist who had
been interrogated by police some
years earlier, was awakened by a
bang on his front door. It was
followed by the firing of a bullet
through the door at chest height.
Didier was so frightened that he lay
in bed and cut his wrists. He was
saved by a neighbor. "The shot had
been fired by Dufourg because he
wanted to intimidate Didier into
infiltrating Douce's paedophile counseling
session as an informant.
Didier's story put the mystery on the
newspaper front pages.
The GER handled only the most
confidential and sensitive investi- ·
gations. What was it after? One
possibility is that the GER wanted to
identify Douce's supporters . His
church was privately funded, and it is
suggested that his contributors
included some prominent names.
And Dufourg claimed he had
undertaken just such a mission at the
order of his own superior with the
Renseignements Generaux. He had,
he said, been ordered early in 1990 to
find a male adolescent who could be
"put into the hands of a serving
minister." The targets were Pierre
Arpaillange, who resigned as Justice
Minister, and the head of French
public television, Philippe
Guillaume.
Next, said the inspector, he was
ordered to "recruit a network of prostitutes."
Then came Douce. 'That
caused me to start wondering whe-ther
there might be some eventual
links between these affairs of a sexual
character."
Dufourg's allegations led to
numerous reports about the intelligence
service.
Interior Minister Pierre J oxe
authorized a parliamentary inquiry
into the intelligence agency. Afterward,
an independent body would be
created to oversee police activities.
. The allegations brought a
predictable torrent of protest from
opposition politicians and demands
for the abolition of what is being
described as the French government's
"political police." In fact, successive
governments have unashamedly
made use of the RG ever since it was
set up nearly 100 years ago to collect
information about groups which
might threaten the security of the
state.
J oxe described the climate of
scandal surrounding the incident as
SEE MURDER, Page 3
SecondSfone•July/Au:'1st 1992 l11l
If someone were to ask you
about your prayer life, what
would you say? Is prayer
something you talk about and
know about but you reserve engaging
in except in those emergency
situations when life deals you . a difficult
hand of cards?
And even then, do you really
believe that prayer can help you? Or
is it more an attitude of hope ... you
hope prayer can help you and your
situation?
George Gallop took a poll a few
years ago and it revealed that five out
of every ten people said they
believed in prayer. That seemed
pretty good until Mr. Gallop asked
these people another question which
revealed that four out of five said
they also observed the superstition of
throwing salt over their shoulder
every time they spilled it! So obviously
one has to question whether
these people really believe in prayer.
Recently I found a poem about
prayer life that I would like to share
with you . It's called the Yuppie's
Prayer .
Ncrw I lay me dcrwn to sleep .
I pray my cuisinart to keep.
I pray my stocks are on the rise, ·
And that my analyst will always be
wise.
I pray that all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub will remain
water tight.
I pray that my golf game won't get
too tough,
· And that all my sushi will be fresh
enough.
Prayer: God's
Appointed
Way .
BY REV. DR. FRED C. WILLIAMS
"Ask and it will be given to you ... "
becomes: "Pray and it will be given
to you."
"Ask and you shall receive ... "
becomes: "Pray and you shall
receive."
'1£ you have not, because you ask
not. .. " becomes: "You have not,
because you pray not!"
'1f you ask anything in my name, I
will do it..." becomes: "If you pray
anything in my name, I will do it."
Praying is simply asking.
However, we haven't always been
taught that. Some people have held
that prayer is meditation, communication,
adoration, praise, thanksgiving
or confession. But that's not ·
. what the scriptures tell us.
Scripture does tell us that we are to
meditate with God... we are to
communicate, adore, praise, thank
and confess to God. These are all
actions that we are called upon to do
as Christians. They are part of our
relationship with our God. But these
actions are not prayer.
Prayer is asking. Until we ask we
have not prayed! Read some of the
prayers in the New Testament and'
· each time you will witness those
people asking God for something.
Peter prayed: "Lord, save me!" And
on the cross prayed, "Lord, remember
me!" And right there Jesus forgave
him and gave him the gift of eternal
life. Yes, prayer is asking.
The second thing that needs
exploration in understanding prayer
is its power. Here again we are
sometimes given the misconception
that prayer has the power to change
things. But that's not what scripture
teaches. The Bible says that prayer
changes people ... and people change
things. That's the power of prayer. It
changes people so they can change
things .
Examine the scriptures revealing
the time when Jesus was in the
garden praying. He was praying
that he would not have to go to the
cross. But his prayer did not change
things; it changed Jesus . It changed
him so he. could be strong enough to
go to the cross and face death without
fear.
I pray my cordless phone still works,
And my career won't looe its perks.
I pray my micrcrwave won't radiate
And my condo won't depreciate.
I pray my health club doesn't close
And that my money market always
grcrws.
And if I go broke b., Jre I wake,
I pray my Volvo they won 'l take, Amen!
, Jesus lifted him up out of the water
into which he was sinking. The
Publican in the temple prayed: "God
be merciful to me, a sinner!" And we
are told that he went away from the
temple saved and forgiven. The thief
Over and over in scripture we see
this same power of prayer in action.
People were changed, so they could
change things. Paul was changed .
Peter was changed. The woman at
the well was changed. Mary
Magdalene was changed. And each
of them used their prayer power to
change things around them. One of
the difficulties most of us face is that
we really do not believe that prayer
has the power to change us.
The third thing we need to look at
in our efforts to understand prayer is
Prayer is serious business and we
need a clear understanding of what
it's all about. An exploration - of
prayer should encompass three
things: the purpose of prayer; the
power of prayer and the partnership
of prayer .
The purpose of prayer is to ask God
for something! That's what the Bible
says. In fact, the Greek word that the
Bible uses for prayer means to ask. ..
to desire ... to crave ... to call for. So if
we simply substitute the word "ask"
in the scripture with the word
"prayer," this is how some of the
verses would read:
'.12]· Second Stone • July/ August 1992
The Bible says that prayer changes
people ... and people change
things. That's the power of
prayer. It changes people so
they can change things.
. that prayer is a partnership . It is a
· partnership between God and us .
But never forget... God is the senior
partner. And sometimes we do forget
this. Sometimes we act like the senior
partner in our prayer life and try to
·'make .things happen the way we
think they ought to happen. That's
why so many of us have a fat file
'folder of "unanswered prayers."
We've asked God for the wrong
things. And God, with divine wisdom,
has refused to give them to us.
Notice Jesus' prayer in the garden.
He said: "My God, if it is possible,
. may this cup be taken from me ... but
not as I will, but as you will ... " You
see Jesus knew that God was the
senior partner in their relationship. ·
Jesus knew God would determine
how things had to be done. And
Jesus was willing to do them God's
way and forget about his own
feelings or personal desires.
And so must we! We ·must
recognize that prayer is a partnership.
And God is the partner calling
the shots.
Now there is another aspect of the
prayer partnership we need to look
at. While it's God's role to call the
shots, we also have a very important
role to play. As the junior partner in
this relationship we are to work out
the answers to our prayers. - That is,
once we've prayed, we need to get up
a changed person and use the power
God gives us to make the things we
pray for happen. And if what we
pray for is what God wants for us,
then it will happen.
There is sometimes an attitude
which goes something like: 'Well, I'll
just leave it in God's hands." Now
that's fine for a while. That's fine for
a start. But you can't leave it in God's
hands forever. You've got-to let God
put it back in your hands ... hands
which God fills with power so we can
do something about whatever it is we
have lo do. That's our role as the
junior partner in prayer. We are to
work so our prayer will indeed be
answered. So often we neglect to do
this. So often we don't want fo take
the time to work at something. We
want it to happen instantly, but it
doesn't. Getting answers to prayer
takes work.
Yes, prayer is asking. Prayer
changes people; and people change
things! And prayer is a partnership
between God and us. It is God's
appointed way. May it also be ours.
Rev. Dr. Fred Williams is pastor of King
, of Peace MCC in St. Petersburg, Florida.
' Reprinted from the church magazine,
Vision.
Looking for love in all the wrong places:
Gay sex addiction ·
comes out of
the closet
BY SEAN AVERY
ou get astronomical bills for
. calls made to phone sex
services, but you still spen1
hours and hours on "the
u drive around cruisy areas
late into the night. You have a
fortune invested in pornography.
You 're never sexually satisfied.
You're on what seems like an eternal
search but - for what - you're not
quite sure. You feel obsessed. You
can't get enough and you . can't stop.
You're out of control.
Sound familiar? If so, you are not
alone. Like many other gay men,
you're a sex addict. The widespread
and easy availability of sex enables it
to be easily · abused as a drug,
particularly by gay men. In addition
to bars and clubs, gay sex can be
found around the clock in men's
rooms, public parks and at highway
rest areas. And in the last few years
a new phenomenon, phone sex lines,
have risen in the ashes of the closed
bathhouses, creating the most convenient
tool ever for the sexually
compulsive. Thanks to the multi-million
dollar phone sex industry, gay
men can "hook up" (i.e. have sex) 24
hours a day, seven days a week, 365
days a year.
Is there an epidemic of gay sex
addiction? Many believe so, and that
such addiction is destroying the spiritual,
emotional and physical lives of
our gay brothers.
.For the sex addict, sex takes on an
entirely new dimension. No longer is
it an expression of love or response to
desire. Rather, sexual fantasies and
behavior become a drug - a pacifier, a
means of distraction from emotional
pain, a way to numb out and escape
from uncomfortable feelings, sugi as
repressed anger, anxiety and fear,
guilt, loneliness, shame and low
self-esteem and internalized homophobia.
When the sex addict feels an
emotion which is difficult to sit and
process, his mind instinctively thinks
of sex, just as the alcoholic reaches for
a drink.
"Acting out" describes the sexual
behavior pattern which the sex addict
engages in, a familiar rituar which
takes him to specific locations~as he
pursues a specific type of individual
to engage in specific sexual behaviors.
On phone sex lines this process
is facilitated, as it was in the days of
the color-coded hankies, by the fact
Ip.at callers bluntly ask each other
exactly what it is they're "looking
for." Callers reveal detailed descriptions
of their bodies. If two callers
like one another, -they "go private,"
which means the moderator, an
electronic bouncer, gives them a
"private line" where they make plans
to "hook up:'' The phone sex industry,
by providing a 24 hour a day
sexual outlet through which very
specific sexual fantasies can be
fulfilled by merely picking up the
phone, has become a powerful
magnet for the sexually compulsive.
A hardcore sex addict will spend
hours on "the line," having sex with
one person only to return home, get
back on "the line," and go out and
have sex again with another person.
Others will stay out all night having
sex with multiple partners at a public
cruise area. 'Matthew," a 30 year old
gay man recovering from sex addiction
says, 'There's no sense of time
when I'm on a sex binge. Ten
minutes on 'the line' turns into ten
hours. I've spent entire weekends
'hooking up' repeatedly, totally escaping
from reality." Although a less
severe sex addict may act out only
once a week, the behavior serves the
same purpose - to medicate feelings.
Sex addiction is very shaming, as
evidenced by the fact that most of it is
done anonymously. Sex addicts often
lead double lives, not telling their
lovers and friends about their secret
sexual exploits. Sexually compulsive
behavior oftentimes, but not always,
makes the addict's life unmanageable
to the point where he "hits bottom,"
signalling the point at which he finally
gets help. Fortunately, as
society begins to recognize that sex
can indeed be abused as a drug,
more and more gay men are identifying
their own sexually compulsive
behavior before their lives spin
totally out of control. Those who hit
low bottoms, on the other hand, have
lost careers, love.rs, friends and their
physical health to sex addiction.
Sex addicts, like alcoholics, drug
addicts, compulsive gamblers, food
addicts, workaholics or" even love
addicts (co-dependents) may come
from dysfunctional families for whom
· childhood abuse, whether it be emotional,
physical and/or sexual, manifests
itself later in life as addiction.
Although the cause of sex addiction is
still being studied, many experts in
the field have found a direct link to
incest and other childhood sexual
abuse. Nada Cox, a therapist at Our
House, a residential shelter for people
with AIDS, comments," "I would say
that 90 percent of the peoplein the
house were sexually molested a_s
children. We're startmg a group to
deal with sexual compulsivity. That
group is going to have to deal with
childhood molestation issues. Before I
started here, I worked in child
protection, so the connection between
sexual compulsivity and childhood
sexual abuse is very clear for me.
The reason that I know so many
people were molested as kids is I
asked. Most people don't ask." In
addition to such revealing statistics
and disturbing testimony from those
battling the sex addiction epidemic on
the front lines, the fact that sexual
acting out is anonymous and nonmutual
and involves dominant and
submissive sexual role playing,
including bondage and -discipline,
strengthens the hy.pothesis that sex
addiction is a manifestation of incest.
Today, a great deal of help is
available for those who feel they may
be addicted to sex. Self-help programs,
based on the twelve steps and
twelve traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous,
provide a non-shaming environment
in which sex addicts, with the
support and fellowship of others like
themselves, begin to "dry out" from
their sexually compulsive behavior.
As in AA, the first step in recovering
from sex addiction is admitting that a
problem exists, that one is indeed ·
"powerless" over the compulsive
behavior.
Self-help programs, however, are
just one of sever.μ healing vehicles
which have emerged in the later half
of the twentieth century, and are
particularly limited for -sex addicts.
Perry Tilleras, the late author of Circle
of Hope: AIDS, Addiction & Recovery,
reflecting on his own sexually com0
pulsive behavior, writes, "I think that
for the behavior to change, it is
necessary to get treatment for the
original trauma. The Big Boole of
· Alcoholics Anonymous explains that,
for the alcmholic, .the bottle is only a
symptom. For the sexually compulsive,
sex is only a symptom. To try to
change the symptom and ignore the
underly.ing cause is to stay in denial
and protect the secret. "Jason," a 35
year old gay man recovering from
sex addiction and an incest survivor,
shared, "An important step in my
healing journey has been to become
more aware of the reasons for my
compulsive sexual behavior. What I
found is that my promiscuous sexual
activities repeated my childhood
sexual abuse. As a child, I learned to ·
get attention, affection, admiration
and pleasure for being another man 's
sexual object. As an adult, I •
reenacted that pattern in my sexual
acting out."
Dealing with the underlying sexual
abuse is best accomplished working
with a knowledgeable individua l
therapist. .Furthermore, group therapy,
in conjuction wi .th individual
therapy, is considered the ideal
approach to· heal from the devastation
of such abuse. "Ken," a 27 year old
gay man recovering from sex addiction
and an incest survivor, said,
"Group was a turning point in my
recovery. As I stopped , being a
frightened victim and became an
empowered survivor, my lifelong
chronic depression lifted. In terms of
my sexually compul~ive behavior,
having sex with my father at age five
brainwashed me into thinking that
sex equals love. That's a pathological
lie. Today, I'm beginning to realize
that I'm not going to find intimacy
under the stalls in men's rooms!"
The bottom line is that recovering
from sex addiction is a terribly painful,
yet incredibly rewarding journey,
one which only the vast minority
embark upon. Sex addiction can be
compared to drinking salt water to
quench an insatiable thirst. In
recovery, however, with the help of
therapy and program, God's modemday
channels for healing, the sex
addict quenches his thirst with the
pure water of unconditional love,
finally finding that which he had
been looking for in all the wrong
places.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Sexaholics Anonymous
. P.O. Box 300
Simi Valley, CA 93062
(805)581.,334
Sexual Compulsives Anonymous
(212)439-1123
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous
P.O. Box 119 .
Boston, MA 02258
(617)332-1845
Survivors of Incest Anonymous
P.O. Box 21817
Baltimore, MD 21222
(301)282-3400
(800)845-8495
Incest Survivors Anonymous
P.O. Box 5613
Long Beach, CA 90805
(213)428-5599
Out Of The Shudows: Understanding
S.exual Addiction,
Patrick Carnes
Compcare Publications, Minneapolis,
MN.1983
Victims No Longer: Men Recovering
From Incest and
Other Sexual Child Abuse, Mike Lew
Harper & Row Publishers, New
York, NY. 1990
Second Ston~• July/August 1992 [jJ]
........ ~ .... ~ .... • .................................... ........... ........ .
How Gays and Lesbians deal with disaster
By William Day
Contributing Writer Gays and Lesbians experience
the same tragic losses
as heterosexuals - loss of a
mate through separation or
divorce, death of a lover, spouse,
parent, or child, facing one's own
death in a terminal illness, professional
or business ruin - but often
with the added dimension of rejection
iif ·· !:tt:-~~•',r
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pool, hot tub, siding and more.
Innkeepers Judith Hall and
Grace Newman invite you to
write or call for a brochure.
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Bethle,hem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978
by church, family and trusted friends
because one's sexual orientation is
perceived as evil. As the authors of
Coming Out Within: Stages of Spiritual
Awakening for Lesbians and Gay Men
remind us, Gays and Lesbians "are
despised by a significant segment of
society."
It is to help individuals caught up
in such situations that the authors
have written this book. Craig O'Neill,
a Catholic priest, leads workshops
and retreats and has a practice as a
spiritual director in Los Angeles.
Kathleen Ritter, a university professor
of counseling, has a private psychotherapy
practice. Their book has the
endorsement of such well known
figures in lesbian and gay studies as
Virgina Ramey Mollenkott, Mary E.
· Hunt, Chris Glaser, James D. and
Evelyn Eaton Whitehead, Kittredge
Cherry, Melvin I. Pohl, Richard J.
Woods, Dick Hasbany, John M.
Schneider, Jeannine Gramick, and J.
Michael Clark.
The writers employ the case
method to illustrate how Gays and
Lebians experience their losses and
how they react. Some find their way
out and deepen and enrich their
inner selves. 'The concept of the life
image is crucial to understanding gay
losses," they write. But for Gays and
Lesbians the heterosexual life image
conveyed to them as they grew up
doesn't work. They may try to fit into
the usual model of the family,
husband or wife, but very often this
effort fails . They face a horrible
reality: they are different!
In order to convey the flavor of this
work, I marked some passages and
pass them along:
• When Caroline r ealized she was a
homosexual, "the threat of losing her
image as a wife, mother, and good
Christian woman was imminent. She
knew she had to bargain for her very
soul [and] she brought h er everpresent
born-again smile to numerous
church gatherings to speak about a
Christian's responsibility to turn
homosexuals from their sinful paths."
This example is one of the ways
people seek to cope. For me, it
offered affirmation of the contention
that homophobes are often those who
seek to deny their own homosexuality.
•Donna, a successful riursing ·supervisor,
began to pick up rumors about
her relationship with her lover,
Bianca. She had returned to her
home town with Bianca to look after
her father. One day he said: 'They
, may not love or respect you because
you are a lesbian, but I do." "His
words penetrated ... and enabled her
to begin to gain some perspective ...
· [She] sensed she needed to take time,
be willing to live with the vulnerability
that comes with ambiguity
and be patient with herself and not
rush toward some facile but
premature resolution of the situation."
. Key idea here: Take time!
•Gordon was crushed when he
learned he had the virus. Then a
friend dragged him to an AIDS
support group and he volunteered to
speak on a panel about his
experience : Other such engagements
followed. "Gordon's image of a Jong,
healthy, and meaningful life was
challenged by the AIDS virus. By
accepting the invitation to educate
others, he was able to recognize new
meaning in the face of his precarious
health status."
• Acceptance of a loss can lead to a
transforming experience. "Connection
or attachment both to God and to
others appears to be a crucial element
at this stage. All of the individuals
[described in a closing chapter] in
some way gave back to others and
served to affect the lives of others."
•Ultimately, most Gays and Lesbians
must meet and overcom!! "the dragon
of fear." Gays and Lesbians by
· "confronting individual dragons and
learning that the dragons · cannot truly
destroy ... can come to believe that the
world that seemed to have so bitterly
betrayed them is indeed worthy of
trust."
Chapters are constructed to mark
stages to wholeness: initial awareness, ·
holding on, letting go, awareness of
SEE COPING, Page 20
Novel tracks source of hate
'The Drowning of Stephan Jones" is a
true story of the violent death of a
-young gay man who was living with
his Jover in a small town in Arkansas
and was drowned when two members
of a gang were persuaded by a
third to throw him into the water.
Author Bette Greene looked at a
picture of tli.e three ordinary-looking
young men. arraigned for the crime
and began to wonder where such
hate comes from. After spending 20
months in eight states interviewing
some 400 people - victims, perpetrators
and members of both the
religious and gay communities,
Green discovered that much of the
hate could be .traced back to one
source - the· church.
Many of the perpetrators had been
taught their prejudices in church.
What struck her about the perpetrator's
justifications for what they
had done was their self-righteousness,
their feeling that they were doing
something society would approve of -
or at least silently condone.
Green said her interviews brought
her to the conclusion that "churches
can do two things better than
anything else - bring people together
in a circle of brotherhood, or tear us
apart."
-Boston Glche
In Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fierce Tenderness: a feminist theology of friendship
The spiritu.al dimension of friendship
By Andrea L. T. Peterson
Contributing Writer Readers whose past exper"
ience with anything lab- -
elled "feminist" was especially
favorable or particularly
negative should be neither
encouraged nor dissuaded hastily by
Mary E. Hunt's Fierce Tenderness: a
feminist theologrJ of friendship. The
author, who ·considers friendships
across racial and cultural lines an
essential, but unlikely (i.e. unusual,
not improbable) coalition, actually
considers her theology "feminist ['the
theory and praxis of change based on
sexual equality that has emerged
primarily from white women's experience']
influenced by womanist"
[which "describes the struggle for
survival that African American
women know best... and which
emphasizes the survival needs of
women and their dependent children"].
Thus, readers will likely find it
refreshingly different from most
so-called feminist literature.
While Fierce Tenderness does not set
out to redefine friendship, rather it
aims to shed light on the meaning
friendship has had for women, whose
experiences of friendship have been
omitted from any supposedly
informed discourse on the subject,
prior definitions of friendship quickly
become inadequate.
Hunt offers Fierce Tenderness in an
attempt to stimulate "serious grappling
with the religious or spiritual
dimension of friendship" as experienced
by women and in an effort to
help empower women to name their
own experiences on their own terms,
and to make their own decisions
based on those experiences, and to
live in relationships and communities
of accountability on the basis of those
choices.
Two basic premises of Fierce
Tenderness are that theological literature,
in general, and theological
exploration of friendship, in particular,
is rooted in a patriarchal
worldview that systematically ignores
_ the unique experience of women, and
that human friendship, particularly
friends .hip between women, is the
most appropriate and most useful
paradigm of right relation for the
whole of creation.
Why friendship and not marriage?
Among Hunt's reasons for recognizing
friendship as the more appropriate
paradigm is that friendship
clearly represents the most desirable
human relationship. Even Jesus told
his disciples, "I call you friends."
(Although Hunt believes that a
female savior would not have died for
his friends since her friends would
not have turned her over to be killed
in the first place, and it is more likely
that a group of women would be
killed, together, for what they
believed) she does believe that
friendship implies equality in a
relationship that is voluntarily
entered into by two - or more -
individuals seeking the well-being of
Ethics in the Present Tense
Christianity & Crisis magazine, in
celebration of 50 years of publication,
has published Ethics in the Present
Tense, edited by Leon . Howell and
Vivian Linc'lfrmayeCr; reprinting a
-selection of-articles since 1966. Of
particular interest to gay and lesbian
readers is !I., section dealing with
sexual ethics"irn!l AIDS. Included is
James B. N;fson's -thoughtful article
on "Homosexuality and the Church,"
April_ 1977, and John Fortunato's
biting explanation of why he refuses
to serve on any more church
committees studying sexuality ('The
Last Committee on Sexuality (Ever)"
Feb. 1991. The 256-page book is
published by Friendship Press and
distributed from P.O. Box 37844,
Cincinnati, OH 45222-9844. The book
is being given to financial contributors
to the magazine; no price is
shown.
the other(s) and justice for themselves,
the larger human community, and
the rest of the created order.
· Furthermore, friendship is
potentially available to everyone; it is
dynamic, not static; and it is measured
by quality rather than
quantity. The greatest gift that
friends give one another is attention,
and they attend consistently to their
relationship. "Attention," Hunt maintains,
"is a legitimate expectation in a
friendship."
The relationship between friends
generates something new and/ or
creative : it inspires the friends; ~d
the love and affection of friends is
turned outward rather than inward.
In the feminist sense, the love
between friends urges the friends out,
into the world, seeking justice.
Unlike marriage, friendship is a
relationship that may be accessible
and conceivable to any and all people
regardless of race, class, age, gender
or sexual orientation, or cultural
framework.
Although most people do not
consider the components of friendship
before entering into it with others,
there are; according t6 Hunt, certain
features of friendship the absence of
which can explain failed relationships
. According to her model of
friendship, there are at least four
elements which must remain in (or
regain) balance: love, power, embodiment,
and spirituality . While other
elements are frequently present, it is
the delicate balance of these four that,
SEE FRIENDSHIP, Page 20
1990 Lambda Literary Award
for Science Fiction
Secret Matter
Toby Johmon's novels tell gay-positive,
life-affirming stories with happy endings
that will leave readers touched and glad
to be alive. They're romantic, sexy,
spiritual, occasiona//yprofound:-and ;ust
all around good en;oyable reading.
Getting Life in
Perspective
A spiritual romance novel
FromlavenderPt8N. 90.thbooks SlO.OOea. Atyourlocolgoy
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OPEN AND AFFIRMING:
A JOURNEY OF FAITH
An Open and Affirming Video Resource
from the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries
"It brings to life tM prinUd words I ha,e nad
about the ON A process.
Real people, Real churches. Really valuable!" UCC Clergyperson
"An excelknt video. I look.forward to using it
in our local church." UCC Laywoman
Open and Affirming: A Journey of Faith
Color, 55 minutes; VHS; Purchase only- Not available for rental
Documents the experiences of three United Church of Christ
congregations deciding whether or not to declare themselves open
to and affinning of lesbian, gay and bisexual persons. Different
approaches to the ONA dialogue are documented as are candid
comments from church members about personal experiences with
the ONA process. Video package includes printed resources.
To order send $25.00 to: Rev. Bill Johll80II
ONA Video Resourcu · UCBHMIDAMA
700 PrGllped Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115-1100
All onlen mu• be pre-paid by d>ect or money ooler payable to •ucBHM".
Forfunherinfomwion c:aU (216) 736. 3%70.
The Jo/lawing annauncements have been
submitted by spansoring or affiliated
groups.
13th Annual Gay
& Lesbian Parents
Conference
JULY 2-5, the Gay and Lesbian
Parents Conference meets in
Indianapolis for Celebration '92 at the
downtown Hyatt Regency. "Come
Home to Indy" is the theme. For
information write to GLPCI
Celebr.:ition '92, Box 831, Indianapolis,
IN 46206. -
connECtion '92
JULY 3-6, "Standing Confident in
God's Light" is the theme of this
year's gathering of Evangelicals
Concerned. Chapman College,
Orange, Calif., is the setting. Keynote
speakers are Dr. Douglas J. Miller
and Kathryn Lindskoog. For information
contact Evangelicals Concerned,
P.O. Box 4750, Denver, CO
80204, (303)830-2823.
Spiritfest '92
JULY 3-4, New Creation Christian
Fellowship, St. Louis, Mo., hosts
Grace Ministries' annual Celebration
of the Holy Spirit. The S.LU.
Conference Center is the setting .
Spiritfest has been expanded from
two to three full days . For information
contact New Creation
Christian Fellowship, 2138 Orgeon,
St. Louis, MO 63103, 1-800-945-1992.
SDA Kinship
Kampmeeting
JULY 5-12, Seventh-day Adventist
Kinship International meets at
Temescal Canyon (near Los Angeles)
for a week of fellowship and relaxation
which includes a trip to Disney
Land. A victory celebration for the
favorable outcome of the group's
trademark infringement lawsuit filed
by the denomination's General Conference
will be held. For information
call Rob Peterson at (818)837-7782.
Health Conference
& AIDS/HIV Forum
JULY 8-12, The Los Angeles Airport
Hilton and Towers is the setting for
the 14th Nationa l Lesbia n and Gay
Health Conference and 10th Annual
AIDS/HIV Forum sponso red by the
National Lesbian and Gay Hea lth
Foundation and the George
Wash ington University Medical
Center. More tha n 220 works hops
focus ed on lesbian and gay health ,
inen ta1 health, substance abuse, and
AJDS/H! V will be presented. Also
discussed will be the impact of age,
: };~T s ;~~nd Stone• July/August 1992
! 5L(Y i
. . . . . . . . . . . .C . . .a .. lendar ~ .... . . . . . . . . . . .
gender, race and sexual orientation
on the delivery of health care . For
registration information and a
program brochure contact Daniel E.
Reichard at (202)994-4285.
Lutherans
Concerned
Assembly 192
JULY 9-12, Lutherans Concerned/
North America meets at the
Philadelphia College of Textiles and
Science for Assembly '92. ''Free to
Celebrate: We are the church" is the
theme. For information write to
LC/NA, Box 10461, Fort Dearborn
Station, Chicago, IL 60610-0461.
Integrity
National
Convention
JULY9- 12, Integrity, the lesbian/
gay justice ministry of the Episcopal
Church gathers in Houston, Texas, for
its 14th annual national convention.
The Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning,
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal
Church is scheduled to attend. Featured
speakers include Dr. Louie
Crew, founder of Integrity. For
information contact Integrity, Inc.,
P.O. Box 19561, Washington, DC
20036-0561.
1992 Gentle
Warrior Retreat
JULY 13-16,a retreat for gay Catholic
priests and brothers to be held at
Temenos, a 78 acre forested and
cabined preserve which deliberately
J;I1_<1intaian ss imple environment free
of cars, phone and electricity, located
north of Amherst, Maine. For information
write to Theo Foros: Gentle
Warrior Retreat, c/ o Communication,
P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125. Registration is $50.
CCL 10th
Anniversary
National
Conference
JULY 17-20, The Conference for
Catholic Lesbians meets in the Boston
area. CCL is a national organization '·
for Lesbians of Catholic heritage. For ·
information contact CCL-SS, P.O. Box
435 Pla netarium Station, New York,
NY 10024.
1992 GLAD
Alliance Event
JULY 17-20, The Gay, Lesbian and
Affirming Disciples, Chris tian Church
(Discip les of Christ) meets for its 1992
GLAD Event. The Fort Worth
campus of Texas Christian University
is the setting . A long weekend of fun,
friendship and inspiration is promised.
Featured guest is well-known
author Chris Glaser. For information
write to the GLAD Alliance, P.O. Box
19223, Indianapolis, IN 46219-0223 or
call Randy Palme r at (319)324-6231.
Chris Glaser
Retreat
AUGUST 14-16, a retreat for gay and
bisexual Christian men at Mt. Calvary
Retreat House in Santa Barbara,
Ca l., led by popular gay Christian
author Chris Glaser. For information
wri te to Chris Glaser, 7614 Hampton
Ave., 113, West Hollywood, CA 90046.
Spirit in Health
Conference
AUGUST 26-29, The San Diego
Hospice Center for Palliative Studies
presents a. conference for hospital and
hospice chaplains, clergy, social
workers and others involved in
spi ritual ministry to people in health
crises . Leaders in the spiritual health
field from around the country will be
among the presenters. Topics include:
Communicating with the Seriously Ill;
Rituals and Ceremonies in the Healing
Ministry; Does the Diagnosis
Make A Diffe rence?; Releasing Oneself
from the Compulsion to Be Perfect
and The Meaning of Suffering. For
information call the conference line,
(619)688-1500, ext. 799.
11th Annual
PFLAG Convention
SEPTEMBER 4-7, "Love in Action,
Joy in Diversity" is the theme for the
Parents and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays Federation covention to be held
at the Hilton Hotel in Seattle, Washington.
Over 300 participants are
expected, Registration is $ 1'50 per
person. Speakers include Pepper
Schwartz, Ph.D., co-author of the
best-selling American Couples. An
excursion to Mt. Rainier and a cruise
on Puget Sound in planned. For more
information contact Ardyce Fish, 7737
-14th S.W., Seattle, WA 98106,
(206)763-4575.
National
Skills Building
Conference
OCTOBER 8-11, The Sheraton
Washing ton, Washington, DC, is the
setting for this gathering sponsored
by the AIDS National Int erfait h
Network, National Association of
Peopl e with AIDS, and the National
Minoriiy AIDS Council. The focus of
the progra m in on producing resul ts.
The date s coincide with the NAMES
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Project AIDS Memorial display. For
information contact Carol Coy,
(20~ -1076.
5th Annual
Creating Change
NOVEMBER 13-15, The National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy
Institute presents its annual national
conference for gay and lesbian organizing
and skills building. The Los
Angeles Airport Hil ton is the setting.
For info rmation contact Creating
Change 1992, National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute,
173414th Street NW, Washington,
DC 20009-4309, (202)332-6483, TTY
(202)332-6219.
Common
Boundary Annual
Conference
NOVEMBER 13-15,Common
Boundary presents its 12th annual
conference at the Hyatt Regency
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
"Invisible Threads: Exploring the
Fabric of Our Relationships" is the
theme for this one-of-a-kind gathering
of therapists, artists, educators and
spiritual teachers. Participants are
invited to come and explore interconnectedness
through music, art,
dance, movement and the spoken
and written word. For information
contact Comm.on Boundary, 4304 East
West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814,
(301)652-9495.
Ghost Ranch
Retreat
NOVEMBER 19-22, "Who's God?
Whose God?" will provide an opportunity
to enjoy community, express
doubts, explore faith and understandings
of God from various
perspectives, in the beauty and
serenity of Ghost Ranch, the
Presbyterian Conference Center in
New Mexico. Co-leaders are Rev. Lisa
Bove and Chris Glaser. For information
write to Ghost Ranch Center,
Abiquiu, NM 87510.
Send calendar items to:
Second Stone
Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
or FAX to:
(504)891-7555
T · Notewort~y T .............................. ...... ·• ~ ................... ................ .
Charles Curran
to be honored
The Board of New Ways Ministry has
announced that Fr. Charles Curran
has been selected as the first recipient
of the organization's Bridge Building
Award . Curran was selected based
on the contribution he has made in
theological exploration and pastoral
care for lesbian and ·gay rersons. As
a world-renowned mora theologian,
Fr. Curran has called the theological
community and the church to address
the need for a viable sexual ethic for
single and married persons, as well
as for lesbian and gay individuals.
New Ways Ministry is a national
Catholic organiztion which seeks tp
promote discussion, understanding,
and reconciliation between the
Catholic Church and the lesbian/ gay
community. The award will be
presented in W ashingon, D.C. on
September 13, 1992.
Dignity national
editor mourned
Michael J. Bushek, Dignity /USA National
Editor, died of cancer on March
28, 1992 in the Bronx, New York. He
was 50 years old. For over 12 years,
Bushek served at the chapter, regional,
and national levels of Dignity
as a Board member ·and delegate of
Dignity/New York, .public rel ations
chair of the 1985 Dignity /USA
convention and as informal advisor to
many Dignity leaders. Bushek . was
editor of the organization's national
journal for ten years. "Mike kept the
good news flowing," said Dignity
President Kevin Calegari, "and good
news he could always share with us,
· even when times were bad."
First woman
Anglican priest
dies
The first woman in the Anglican
communion to be ordained a priest,
. Florence Tim Oi Li, died in Toronto
on February 26 at the age of 84.
Born in Hong Kong, Li studied
theology in Canton and was ordained
a deacon in the Portugu ese colony of
Macau during the Japanese occupation
of China during World War IL
Her work with refugees fleeing Hong
Kong captured the attention of Bishop
R. 0. Hall in 1944, who decided to
ordain her a priest. Hall was censured
for performing the ordination
and ~.; was told not to function as a
priest, but she did not resign her
orders.
Archbishops of Canterbury Temple
and Fisher refused to recognize :her
· orders and so did the Lambeth Conference
of 1948. But 40 years later, in
a special service at Westminster
Abbey, she was hailed by Archbishop
Runcie for her "selfless ministry."
-The Witness
Dignity/USA
names executive
director
Barry P. Goodinson has been hired as
executive director of Dignity/USA.
Goodinson is the former Director of
Development for the AIDS Action
Council/ AIDS Action Foundation .and
House of Ruth. J:Ii_s_ responsibilities
include increasing membership,
expanding fundraising efforts and
helping the movement gain national
prominence and exposure . Goodinson
also hopes IQ build better
cohesiveness between the national
office and the 85 local chapters, as
well as.to bridge the diversity of local
chapters .
Lay woman
elected MCC
pastor _
Lay pastor Cheri Starchman was
elected Senior Pastor of MCC/Seattle
by unanimous congregational vote .
The vote was taken after a search of
almost two years. Starchman is studying
for the clergy of UFMCC. ·
Ministry_
roundtable in DC
The Washington DC chapter of Parents
and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays has launched an interfaith
roundtable designed to expand the
local clergy's knowledge and understanding
of their gay and lesbian
congregants .
Baltimore church
celebrates
20 years
MCC/Baltimore celebrated in midMay
its first 20 years of serving the
spiritual needs of the gay community .
The church is the oldest gay and
lesbian organization in Baltimore.
Ann Arbor
welcomes
new MCC
Tree of Life Metropolitan Community
Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan has
held its first public worship service.
Over 200 people attended. Rev. Troy
Perry, founder of the Metropolitan '.
Community Churches and featured
speaker for the inaugural service,
installed supervising pastor Rev. Paul
Turner to lead the new church. Perry
was presented with proclaimations
from Clyde King, mayor of Ypsilanti,
Michigan, and Elizabeth S. Brater,
Mayor of Ann Arbor, honoring - him
for his I;tuman rights activities on
behalf of the lesbian and gay community.
The service was covered by
one television station and the Detroit
News.
Seattle church
observes fifteenth
anniversary
Grace Gospel Chapel of Seattle,
Washington, celebrated its fifteenth
anniversary on June 14, 1992. The
evangelical, independent congregation
was founded in 1977 when a
small group of evangelical women
and men gathered with the intent of
forming a new, conservative Christian
fellowship for the Puget Sound
area. The late Rev. Vic Vancampen
was the chapel's first and founding
pastor . Pastor Jerry Lachina is the
-current minister. Grace Gospel
Chapel, located at 2052 NW 64th
Street in the Ballard area, is one of
only a handful of ministries within
the gay and lesbian community who
owns its own building. ·
Dignity/Chicago
celebrates two
decades
Dignity /Chicago is celebrating 20
years of ministry to gay and lesbian
Catholics. The milestone is reached
four years after a bitter and hurtful
split in the organization's membership.
After the Archdiocese of Chicago
kicked Dignity out of its meeting
place at St. Sebastian Church some
members began ·attending the Archdiocese-
backed Gay and Lesbian
Outreach/ Chicago.
-Outlines
Brethren/
Mennonite
f am i I ies meet
"Listening, Learning, Loving" was
the theme of the third annual Connecting
Families retreat recently held
at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center.
The retreat, sponsored and
planned by" Church of the Brethren or
Mennonite families with gay or lesbian
members, was attended by 35
people. Participants listened to the
stories of two families with gay sons
and learned from keynote speaker
Michael King about how one Mennonite
congregation elected to receive
-gay/lesbian worshiper,;.
Connecting Families provides a
forum for families dealing with issues
related to homosexuality to meet,
share and learn from each other. A
fourth retreat is planned for March
12-14, 1993 at Laurelville Mennonite
Church Center. For information write
' to Brethren/Mennonite Parents, P.O.
Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802.
MCC·opens
thrift shop
River City MCC in Sacramento
recently opened a thrift shop in their
church building. "Out of the Closet"
was opened to help fund the church's
programs. River City has a meal program
which assists 200 people on
weekdays and part,icipates in the
Loaves and Fishes project, ail
ecumenical meal program which
feeds over 1000 people each day. The
church is seeking clothes, toys, furniture
and other goods for "the thrift
store. Call (916)454-4762 to help.
ANIN launches two
new programs
The AIDS Nationallnterfaith Network
has received funding to establish two
national advocacy programs: The
AIDS Housing Advocacy Project and
the AIDS Advocacy in African American
Churd1es Project. For the first
time, issues surrounding AIDS housing
and AIDS in the African
American church will be addressed
on a national level.
Funded by a grant from the
American Foundation for AIDS
Research (ArnFAR), the goals of the
AIDS Housing Advocacy Project are
to establish an effective national AIDS
housing network among the 3,000
persons nationwide working in the
field of AIDS housing and to insure
the implementation of the AIDS
Housing Opportunities Ad within
1992.
The AIDS Advocacy in African
American Churd1es Project will bring
national attention to the positiv e
contribution made by members of the
African American religious community
in the fight against AIDS. Funded
by a grant from New York Community
Trust, the project's goals are to
establish a national network of
African American clergy who curfently
have AIDS ministry experience
and to provide information on
establishing AIDS ministries and
AIDS advocacy resources to 2,500
African American congregations.
Volunteer
openings
Invest Yourself, a catalog listing more
than 40,000 volunteer positions in
non-profit, non-governmental organizations,
is available from The Commission
on Voluntary Service and
Action, P.O. Box 117, New York, NY.
~econd Stone• Jul~/August 1992 [jz]
Resourc_e Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lislings in the Resource Guide are free to
churches . organizations, publications and
community services. Send information to
Second Stone, Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70182 or FAX to (504)891-7555.
National
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North
Bellmore, NY 11710. A newsletter monitoring
trends in contemporary religion.
LUTHERANS CONCERNED I NORTH
AMERICA, Box 10461, Fort Dearborn Station,
Chicago, IL 60610-0461. Publi cation:
The Concord
PRESBYTERIANS FOR LESBIAN & GAY
CONCERNS, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick,
NJ 08903-0038. Publication: More Light
Update ·
UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP OF METROPOLITAN
COMMUNITY CHURCHES 5300
Santa Monica Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA
90020, (213)464-5100 . Publication: Keeping
in Touch
BRETHREN / MENNONITE COUNCIL
FOR LESBIAN AND GAY CONCERNS.
Box 65724 , Washington, DC 20035.
Publication: Dialogue._
. UNITED CHURCH COALITION FOR
LESBIAN / GAY CONCERNS , 18 N.
College, Athens, OH 45701, (614)
593-7301. Publication: Waves
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS KJNSHIP
INTERNATIONAL. Box 3840, Los Angeles,
CA 90078, (213)876-2076. Publication:
Connection
RECONCILING CONGREGATION PROGRAM.
P.O. Box 23636, Washington, DC
20026, (202)863-1586. Publication: Open
Hands
INTEGRITY. INC.. P.O. Box 19561, Washington.
DC 20036-0561, (718) 720-3054.
Publication : The Voice of Integrity
ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC CHURCH, P.O.
Box 32, Villa Grande, CA 95486-0032.
Holy Spirt Church, East Moline, IL,
(309)792,6188 . St. Michael's Church, .
Russian River. CA. (707) .865-0119.
Publication: The Tablet
LIVING STREAMS, P.O. Box 178, Concord,
CA 94522-0178. Bi-monthly publication.
AIDS NATIONAL INTERFAITH NETWORK,
300 I St.. NE, Ste. 400, Washington,
DC 20002. (800)288-9619, FAX
(202)546-5103 . Publication: Interaction.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN
RIGHTS - 1663 Mission St, 5th Fir., San
Francisco, CA 94103.
GAY AND LESBIAN PARENT COALI TION,
P.O. Box 50360, Washington, DC
20091. Publication: Network.
THE WITNESS, Published by the Episcopal
Church Publishing Co., 1249 Washington
Blvd .. Ste. 3115, Detroit, MI 48226-1868.
(313 )962-2650 .
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN
ARCHIVES , The Natalie Barney Edward
Carpenter Library, P.O. Box 38100,
Hollywood, CA 90038. (213)854-0271.
Publication: Bulletin.
COUPLES Newsletter , Published by TWT
Press, Inc .. P.O. Box 253, Braintree , MA
02184-0003.
WOODSWOMEN - Adventure travel for
women, 25 W. Diamond Lake Rd.,
Minneapolis, MN 55419, (800)279-0555,
(612)822-3809 , FAX (612)822-3814.
DAUGHTERS OF SARAH - The magazine
for Christian Feminists, 3801 No. Keeler,
Chicago. IL 60641, (3!2)736-3399.
CHI RHO PRESS - A special work of the
UFMCC Mid-Atlantic District Publisher of
.religious books and materials. P.O. Box ·
7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898 ,
(301)670-1859.
COMMUNICATION MINISTRY, INC.Dialogue
and support group for gay and
lesbian Catholic clergy and religious. P.O. i
Box 60125, Chicago , IL 60660°0125.
Publication: Communication
WOMEN'S ALLIANCE FOR THEOLOGY ,
ETHICS AND RITUAL, 8035 13th St.,
Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301)589-2509, il8: Second Ston~ • Jwy /August 1992
l:' , __ ,
FAX (301)589-3150 . Publication: WATERwheel.
AFFIRMATION/United Methodists for Gay
& Lesbian Concerns, P.O . Box 1021,
Evanston , IL 60204.
ST. TABITHA'S AIDS APOSTOLATE ,
Christian AIDS Network of the Merican'
Orthodox Catholic Church of St. Gregorios.
P.O. Box 1543, Monterey , CA 93940.
( 408)899-0731.
THE WOMEN'S PROJECT, 2224 Main St.,
Little Rock, AR 72206. (501)372-5113.
Workshops on women's issues, social justice,
racism and homophobia.
NATIONAL GAY PENTECOSTAL
ALLIANCE (also Pentecostal Bible Institute
[Ministerial training]) P.O. Box 1391,
Schenectady, NY 12301-1391.
(518)372-6001. Publication: The Apostolic
Voice.
FEDERATION OF PARENTS AND
FRIENDS OF LESBIANS AND GAYS. INC .
. P.O. Box 27605, Washington, DC 20038.
Send $3.00 for packet of information.
· HONESTY: Southern Baptist Advocates for
Equal Rights, P.O. Box 7331, Louisville. KY
40257 .
EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr.
Ralph Blair, 311 East 72nd St., New York,
NY 10021. (212)517-3171. Publications:
Review and Record.
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS,
P.O. Box 436 Planetarium Stn .. New
York, NY 10024. (607)432-9295.
NEW WAYS MINISTRY . 4012 29th St., Mt
Rainier, MD 20712, (301)277-5674. A
gay-affirming organization bridging the
lesbian/gay community and the Roman
Catholic Church .
CHRISTIANITY & CRISIS Magazine, 537
, rzm6l1~;~o~t.. New York, NY 10027.
BLK Magazine, Box 83912, Los Angeles, CA
90083-0912 : (310)410-0808. .
GAY, LESBIAN AND AFFIRMING
DISCIPLES ALLIANCE. P.O. Box 19223,
Indianapolis, IN 46219-0223 .
(319)324-6231. For members of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
· Publication: Crossbeams.
PARTNERS Magazine for Gay & Lesbian
Couples, Box 9685, Seattle, WA
98109-0685 . . (206)784-1519.
NEW DIRECTION Magazine for gay/lesbian
,Mormons, 6520 Selma Ave., Ste. RS-440, Los
Angeles, CA 90028.
WOMEN'S ORDINATION CONFERENCE.
P.O. Box 2693, Fairfax, VA 22031-0693 .
(703)352-1006.
·EM!:':RGENCE International: A Community
of Christian Scientists Supporting Lesbians
and Gay Men. P.O. Box 9161, San Rafael, CA
94912-9161. (415)485-1881. Publication :
Emerge!
GAYELLOW PAGES-P.O. Box 292, Village
Sin., New York, NY 10014. (212)674-0120.
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM - THE ALABAMA FORUM;
P . O. Box 55894, 35255-5894.
. (205)328-9228.
Arizona
TUCSON - Casa De La Paloma Apostolic
Church , 1122 N. Jones Blvd .• P.O. Box
14003, 85732-4003. (602)323-6855. Rev.
Margaret "Sandy" Lewis, pastor.
MESA - Boundless Love Community
Church, 431 S. Stapley Dr.. 85204.
(602)439-0224. P.J. Fousek-Gregan, pastor .
Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
California
SAN FRANCISCO - DIGNITY . 208 Dolores
St., . 94103. (415)255-9244 . Publication:
Bridges.
SACRAMENTO - THE LATEST ISSUE, P.O.
Box 160584, 95816. (916)737-1088.
WEST HOLLYWOOD - Evangelicals
Together, Suite 109-Box 16, 7985 Santa
Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046,
(213)656-8570. Publication: ET News
SAN FRANCISCO - Lutherans Concerned,
566 Vallejo St., #25, 94133-4033,
(415)956-2069. Publication: Advent.
SAN FRANCISCO - Gay and Lesbian
Historical Society of Northern California,
P.O . Box 42126, 94142. (415)626-0980.
Publication: Our Stories.
SAN FRANCISCO - The Parsonage. 555-A
Castro St., 94114-0293. Publication: The
Parsonage News
GLENDALE - Divine Redeemer MCC, 346
Riverdale Dr., 91204. Sunday, 10:45 a.m.,
Wed ., Fri., 7:30 p.m. Rev. Stan Harris, pastor.
Publication: From Mary's Shrine.
Colorado
DENVER - · Evangelicals Reconciled, P.O.
Box 200111, 80220. (303)331-2839.
Colorado Springs: (719)488-3158.
DENVER - Evangelicals Concerned /
Western Region, P.O. Box 4750, 80204.
Publication: ThBCable .
District of Columbia
Integrity/Washington. Inc., ·P.O. Box 19561,
20036-0561. (301)953-9421. Publication:
Gayspring.
MCC of Washington. DC. 415 M St , N.W ..
20001. Rev. Larry J. Uhrig, pastor.
Florida
FORT MYERS - St John the Apostle MCC,
2209 Unity at the comer of Broadway.
(813)278-5181. Sunday, 10:00 a.m. , 7:00 •
p.m. Rev. James Lynch.
ST. PETERSBURG - King of Peace MCC,
4825 9th Ave. N.. 33713-6135.
(813)323-5857 . Sunday, 10:00 a.m. & 7:30
p.m. Rev. Dr. Fred C. Williams. _Sr .. Pastor.
ATLANTA - SOUTHERN VOICE, P.O. Box
18215, 3ffi.16. (404)876-1819.
ATLANTA - All Saints Metropolitan Community
Church, P.O. Box 13968, 30324 .
(404)622-1154
Hawair
KAHULUI - BITTH SIDES NOW Newsletter,
P.O. Box 5042, 96732.
Illinois
CHICAGO - OUTLINES. Published by
Lambda Publicatioris, - 3059 N. Southport,
60657. (312)871-7610. FAX (312)
871-7609 . .
Louisiana
BATON ROUGE - Dignity, P.O. Box 4181,
70821. (504)383-6010 : ,
NEW ORLEANS - Just For The Record, .
gay/lesbian cable TV. Box 3768, 70177.
Maryland
THE BALTIMORE ALTERNATIVE. P.O.
Box 2351, Baltimore. MD 21203.
(301)235-3401. FAX (301)889-5665.
Massachusetts
CHERRY VALLEY - Morning Star MCC,
231 Main St., 01611. (508) 892-4320.
Publication: Morning Star Witness.
Michigan
DETROIT - CRUISE Magazine, 19136
Woodward North. 48203 . (313)369- 1901.
FLINT - Redeemer MCC. 1665 N. Chevrolet
Ave ., 48504. (313)238-6700 . Sunday , 6:00
p.m. Publication: Sounds of Redeemer.
ANN ARBOR - Huron Valley Com- munity
Church meets at Glacier Way UMC, 1001
Green Rd. , Ann Arbor, 48105-2896.
(313)741-1174 . Sunday, 2:00 p.m.
DETROIT - Integrity, 980 Whitmore . #205,
48203 .
GRAND RAPIDS - Bethel Christian
Assembly, 920 Cherry SE, P.O. Box 6935,
49516. (616)4.59-8262. Rev. Bruce
Roller-Pletcher, pastor. Publication: Bethel
Beacon . Television: Channel 23, Sun., 10:00
p.m.
ANN ARBOR - Tree of Life MCC, meets at
First Congregational Church, 218 N. Adams.
Ypsilanti. P.O . Box 2598, 48106.
(313)665-6163. Sunday, 6:00 p.m .
EAST LANSING / Lansing - Ecclesia.
Affirming church meets al People's Church,
200 W. Grand Riv.er. Sunday, 8: 15 p.m.
Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS - All God's · Children
Metropolitan Community Church, 3100
Park Ave . S. (612)824-2673 . Publication:
The Disciple.
MINNEAPOLIS - EQUAL TIME, 310 E.
38th St., Room .207, 55409. (612) 823-3836.
Published by Lavendar, Inc.
New Jersey
HOBOKEN -The .Oasis. 707 Washington St.,
P .O. Box 5149, 07030. (201) 792-0340 .
New Mexico
SANTA FE - THE CATSBY CONNECTION.
551 W. Cordova, Ste. DIE, 87501. .
(505)986-1794.
New York
SCHENECTADY . - Lighthouse Apostolic
Church, 38 Columbia St., P.O. Box 1391 .
12301-1391. (518)372-6001. Rev. William
H. Carey, pastor.
NEW YORK - Lesbian and Ga y Community
Services Center, Inc., 208 W. 13th St., 10011.
(212)620-7310. Publications: Center Stage.
Center Voice.
NEW YORK - lntegrit1, P.O. Box 5202,
10185-0043. Publication: Outlook .
ROCHESTER - THE EMPTY CLOSET, 179
Atlantic Ave., 14607-1255. New York State's
oldest gay newspaper.
NEW YORK - AXIOS, Eastern and Orthodox
Christians. P.O . . Box 756, Village Sin.,
10014. Second Friday, 8:00 p.m., Community
Center, 208 West 13th St
ALBANY - Community of St John, Christian
Orthodox Churcl),. P.O. Box 9073, 12209.
(518)346-0W/7. · Father Herman, CSJn.
Guardian. Publication: Metanoia .
North Carolina
WILMINGTON - GROW Community
Service Corporation, P.O. Box 4535, 28406.
(919)675-9222. Youth outreach: ALIVE for
gay, lesbian, bisexual youth.
RALEIGH - Raleigh Religious Network for
Gay and Lesbian Equality, P.O. Box 5961,
27650-5961. (919)781-2525.
CHARLOTTE - Metrolina Switchboard .
(704)535-6277. P.O. Box 11144, 28220.
Ohio
COLUMBUS - Metropolitan Community Church,
1253 North High Street, 43201.
(614)294-3026. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
Publication: The Beacon News.
COLUMBUS - STONEWALL UNION
REPORTS, Box 10814, 43201-7814. ·
(614)299-7764.
Pennsylvania
ALLENTOWN - Grace Covenant Fellowship,
247 N. 10th St., 18102. (215)740-0247 .
Bryon Rowe, Pastor. Thom Ritter, Minister of
Music. ·
Tennessee
NASHVILLE - Integrity of Middle Tennessee,
Inc., P.O. Box 121172, 37212-1172 .
(615)383-6608. Newsletter.
NASHVILLE - Dayspring Fellowship, 120-B
So. 11th St.. Box 68073, 3720 6 .
(615)227-1448. Publication: Son Shine.
SEE RESOURCE GUIDE , Next Page
JusOt ut ............... ·• ..................... .. ' ............................... .
Desire
Video traces Nazi oppression of Gays, Lesbians
NEW ·YORK - Water Bearer Films
under an exclusive agreement with
Jane Balfour Films of London, has
licensed for the home video rights to
the previously unavailable film,
"Desire." The video marks the fifth
release in the Water Bearer Films line
of "Film Festival Favorites" targeted
for the gay and lesbian community .
A thriving gay culture, as shown in
the film "Cabaret," emerged in Berlin
RESOURCE GUIDE,
From Previm1s P~ge
Texas
DALLAS - White Rock Community Church,
P.O. Box 180063, 75218. (214)285-2831,
(214)327-9157. Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Jerry
Cook, Pastor.
AUSTIN - Joan Wakeford Ministries, Inc.,
9401-B Grouse Meadow Ln., 78758-6348,
(512)835-7354. .
DALLAS - Silent Harvest Ministries, P.O.
Box 190511, 75219-0511. (214) 520-6655.
MIDLAND - Holy Trinity Community
Church, 1607 S. Main, 79701.
(915)570-4822. Rev. Glenn E. Hammett,
Pastor. Publication:Trinity Tribune
DALLAS - Holy Trinity Community
Church, 4402 Roseland, 75204.
(214)827-5088. Rev. Frederick Wright,
Pastor. Publication: The Chariot
LUBBOCK - Lesbian/Gay Alliance, Inc.,
P.O. Box 64746, 79464-4746.
(806)791- 4499 Publication· Lambda Times ·-
Virginia
R OANOKE - MCC of the Blue Ridge, P.O.
p
Box 20495, 24018, (703)366-0839.
ublication: The Blue Ridge Banner
ROA.NOKE - BLUE RIDGE LAMBDA
PRESS, P.O. Box 237, 24002,
(703)890-3184.
FALLS CHURCH - MCC of Norlhern
Virginia, 7245 Lee Highway, 22046.
Washington
TACOMA - Hillside Community Church,
2508 South 39th St., 98409. (206)475-2388.
SEATTLE GAY NEWS, 704 E. Pike, 98122.
(206)324-4297. FAX (206) 322-7188.
SEA TILE - Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW
64th St., 98107. (206)784-8495. Sunday,
11:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m., Wednesday, 7:30
p.m. Jerry Lachina, Pastor.
International
LONDON - Lesbian and Gay Christian
Movement, Oxford House, Derbyshire St.,
London E2 6HG, UK, 071-739-1249.
Listings in the
Resource Guide
are free at the
request of the
organ_ization.
Send to
Second Stone
Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
orFAX to
(504)891-7555
during the heady years following
World War I, and it seemed that
homosexuals might at last be moving
toward acceptance by _the culture at
large. The early signs of a conser- '
vative backlash, ignored by many,
grew with the increasing strength of
the Nazi party. Eventually, these
early warnings evolved into official
policies advocating the oppression
and ultimate elimination · of all
homosexuals.
The film examines the "discovery"
of homosexuality by the medical and
· psychoanalytic professions in the
1890's, and the gradual emergence of
a strong movement for the recognition
of the rights of homosexuals ih
Germany during the early years of
this century. Simultaneously, the
body culture movement - with its
idealized premise of "platonic" love
between members of the same sex -
was redefining the sex and gender
roles among Germany's youth.
'Desire" chronicles the events leading
to a crucial chapter in the gay and
lesbian movement's history - the
_imprisonment of lesbian and gay
men in Nazi concentration camps
during World War II.
Stuart Marshall makes a complicated
issue clear with archive film and .
photographs, and through interviews ,
with the women and men who _'
survived Nazi oppression. Their
stories of strength and survival
contribute to the film's ultimate effect
- which, perhaps surprisingly, in one
of empowerment, enrichment and
inspiration.
By award-winning Turtle Creek Chorale
Sales of new recording benefit AIDS research
DALLAS - One of the nation's leading
men's choruses has announced that
royalties from their new recording
will be given to the American
Foundation for AIDS Research
(ArnF AR), as part of the effort to find
a cure for the disease. The music
deals with the loss of a loved one.
Dr. Timothy Seelig, artistic director
of the Turtle Creek Chorale, said that
the recording, "When We No Longer
Touch: A Cycle of Songs for
S urv1va, 1 " I.S d e d.1 cat e d t 0 th e
members of the group who have died
of AIDS since its founding.
'This entire project evolved through
a series of open doors and miracles,"
Seelig said. 'The result is a magnificent
recording which chronicles the
stages of grief: denial, isolation,
anger, bargaining, depression,,
acceptance and hope."
The music is by Kristopher Jon
Anthony. Peter McWilliams wrote
the lyrics - excerpts from his
bestselling book Hcrw to Survive the
Loss of a Love - which are interspersed
with traditional phrases from the
Latin Requiem Mass. An orchestra
and soloist Nancy Keith accompany
the 190-voice chorus.
Richard M. Nordin, AmFAR's
director of development for the
Western United States, observed that
the project was particularly appropriate.
"Not only is the recording
moving, but in helping us to deal
with tragedy of loss caused by AIDS,
it hastens · the day when we can
conquer this deadly force."
In its 13-year history, the Turtle
Creek Chorale has gained national
recognition. A 1990 recording, "From
the Heart," was named best choral
recording by Chorus! Magazine. The
group performed the world premiere
of "When We No Longer Touch" in
October 1991. Recent performances
have included the inauguration of
Texas Governor Ann Richards and a
-- .. . · --· -- . . ----· - - ·· ..
command performace before the
Queen of England.
AmFAR is the nation's leading
not-for-profit organization dedicated
to the support of AIDS research - both
basic biomedical research and clinical
research - education for AIDS
prevention and sound AIDS-related
public policy. Since 1985, AmFAR
has provided over $43 million to
-
more than 680 research teams.
AmFAR mobilizes the goodwill,
energy and generosity of caring
· Americans to end the AIDS epidemic.
"When We No Longer Touch" is
available on CD for $16 and on
cassette for $11 from the Chorale by
mail at P.O. Box 190806, Dallas, TX
75219-0806, (214)526-3214.
■
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shine for someone
you love.
Second Stone is a gift of love, comfort,i nspirationa nd
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EDITOR (part:time for Open H~n4s,
quarterly magazine addressmg mm1s_t~1es
with lesbians and gay men. Reconctlmg
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Avenue, Chicago, IL 6064\; 31_21736-5526.
Deadline - 7131/92.
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FRIENDSHIP, From Page 15
according to Hunt, make or break a
relationship . . .
Love is the commitment to deepen
in unity while retaining individuality
which , ideally , generates newness .
Power, the ability of women to make
their own choices for themselves, ·
their dependent children, and their
community; must be freely ex changed
within th e context of
friendship - if the relationship is to
work,
Because who we are and what we
do is determined and influenced by
our physical bodies, it must be
· understood that friends "relate in an
, embodied [t houg h not necessarily
genital sexual] way ." Frie.ndship
encourages the acceptance of embodiment
- our friends are enfleshed
beings who make their own choices.
Friends, Hunt insists, must accept,
love, and encourage one another just
the way they are (embodied}.
In this model, spirituality is given a
meaning which, at least at first, seems
somewhat unconventional: making
choices about the quality of life - for
self and community . While one's
understanding of God may or may
not influence spirituality in this sense,
greater value is clearly placed on
choices that increase the quality,
rather than the quantity of life of the
individual, of the community, and,
ultimately, of all life (including plants
COPING, From Page 14
loss, gaining perspective, integrating
loss, reformulating loss, and transforming
loss. The book is carefully
annotated, and a brief list of
additional readings is offered.
In the context of Second Stone,-a
resource for gay and ·1esbian
Chris tians, may I say I find it very
disconcerting to read of instances
and animals.}
Stressing th_e availability of
friendship, a positive relationship that
is personal but not intrus ive, Hunt
demonstrates the suitability of friendship
as descriptive of the relationship
between humans and the Divine.
"Friends," she says; "is useful iii the
language of prayer and worship .
Friends speak to friends in terms of
endearment; ... tum to each other in
moments of need; ... expect comfort
... appreciate stimulat ion. 'Friends'
conveys a sense of trust and
disappointment, of serendip ity and
betrayal," In sum, "friends" is the .
''best anthropomorphic choice, since it
represents the most accessible and at ,
the same time most desirable human .
relationship."
While Hunt readily acknowledges
that her model is limited - perhaps
even flawed - it is her conviction that
such unlikely coalitions as friendships
between women; as defined and
characterized in Fierce Tenderness,
perhaps first of similar circumstances,
then of different races, classes, and
cultures may be the only hope for
global salvation.
Fierce Tenderness, which is both
innovative and inspiring, is a long
overdue entrance of women into the
dialogue about human friendship.
Mary E. Hunt, author. Crossroad
Publishing Co.; 1992; PB; 190 pp.;
$11 .95.
where those who need healing turned
toward a church or a pastor and were
told they were vile and were turned
away. What has happened to Jesus'
invitation, "Come unto me all ye that
are heavy laden and I will refresh
you?"
Craig O'Neill and Kathleen Ritter,
authors; Harper San Francisco; 1992;
' pb; 236 pp; $10.
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