Second Stone #38 - Jan/Feb 1995

Second Stone #38 - Jan/Feb 1995

38

1995

Jan/Feb 1995

OUR SEVENTH YEAR JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 1995 ISSUE #38
Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing·stream. - Amos 5:24
DESTINATION. OVETT, MISSISSIPPI
Gay and lesbian Freedom
Riders to hit the road
across America will ride to complete their dream of building a G ays and Lesbians from . all _.own hands so that the camp . -can
the aid of a lesbian family feminist lesbian folk school (an eduand
their besieged property cational and cultural retreat center
outside Ovett, Mississippi on Memo- that makes available an opportunity
rial Day weekend, May 26-30. for learning non-oppressive lifeways)
Since November, 1993, lesbian and having food and clothing availp
art ners Wanda and Brenda Henson , able to addres s the realities of po verty
along with numerous volunteets, in the area. .
have defended their 120.acre "Camp Robin Tyler, a prominent lesbi an
Sister Spirit" folk school from an activist who originally called for and
ongoing, religiou s right inspired emceed the first March on Washingcampaign
of violence, harassment, Ion for Lesb ian and Gay Rights, and
intimidation and death threats. There subsequently produced the main
have been over 60 inddeats to date, • stage for the - second . and third
including telephone · de-ath th feats, 'matches, a'n'd Rev. Troy Perty, founmail
bomb thr eats, explosives found der of the Universal Fellows hip of
at their gate and a d ead dog tied to . Metropolita11 Community Church es,
their mailbox. The Mississippi Fam- · the largest organization of Gays and
ily Values org.anization was created lesbians in the world, announced on
for the purpose of finding ways to Jan. 9 that an interfaith coalition of
oust Sister Spirit from their land. The Gays and Lesbians involved in th e
clim a te of hatred that has been religious community will go to Camp
spawned in the s urr..rnnding com- Sister Spirit over _ Memorial Day
munities is palpable and deadly . weekend.
The climate of aggression briefly - Perry said that World Community
attracted the attention of Attorney Builders, a group of women and men
General Janel Reno who sent Justice who contribute their time and talent
Department representatives to Ovett to flying to countries outside the U.S.
to investigate the situation last year. to build homes and churches, a
The Justice Department conduded division of the UFMCC World Church
that the Federal government could Extension, will be involved in helpnot
help because Gays and lesbians ing with the remodeling of five
are not covered under the current existing barns on the property.
civil rights laws. In addition to help i ng build the
With no help from the government property, money will be raised to
in sight, veteran gay and lesbian help Camp Sister Spirit pay for exactivists
have d_ecided to take the
defense of Camp Sister Spirit in their
P.O. Box 8340 _
New Orleans, LA 70182
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/////////////////1////// TIME DATED MATERIAL - DO NOT DELAY////////////////////////
Those p>e()Jl)l,e
At That Church
The folks dt St. Francis Lutheran Church in ·
San Francisco are ·pretty good at cooking up
controversy in the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America. · They can also cook up a mean batch
of Berlinerkranswer. SEE '1N PRINT," Page n
Photos from the_ cover o f "Tho se People At That Church" by Joyce Oudkerk Pool
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THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents .................... ., .....
[I] From the editor
AMA takes steam out of ex-gay
movement, reparative therapy .
[I I Commentary J 1994 was a good year for us.
[I] Letters to the editor _
r-~5 l_ill News Lines
l--s·--1 Loneliness I It affects us all. Dr. William Howland
1 • suggests spiritual ways to cope. L ___ __ _ , .
I Videos 00]
'
10 Queer Son, Vickie Seitchik's new video.
[II]
1fl lf! _
In Print
Bound By Diversity ,
Mark Thompson's Gay Soul
and The St. Francis Cookbook
Calendar
r ·-:i 115 I Noteworthy
[6 ~I Classifieds
SECOND STONE -
W From the Editor W . . . ........................... .
Religious right can't
afford new AMA policy
By Jim Bailey
The American Medical Association's policy change made in Dece mber
regarding sexual orientation should - be the deathblow · for the so-called .
"ex-gay" ministries - counseling services offered by some churches and
religious organizations who claim to be able to change one's sexual orientation
from homosexual _to heterosexual. Until Dece mber the AMA officially
supported the position that one's sexual orientation could be changed. The
AMA did away with that policy last month when the organization adopted a
report caJling for "nonjudgmental recognition of sexual orientation."
This report officially reduces the counseling services of ex-gay ministries to
what they have really amounted to all along - quackery - and it greatly
increases the liability counselors face from what may be the results of .the
misguided services they provide . One "change minister" from Glendale,
Calif., has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the case. of
a man who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after receiving counseling
to change his sexual orientation.
The more truthful ex-gay counselors have been known to tell their clients in
privat e what they will not acknowledge in public: that they indeed . cannot
change a gay or lesbian person's attraction to a same-gender partner. In the
wake of the AMA report, perhaps it is time for them to publicly admit the -
only thing th ey really can do, which is to teach a gay man or lesbian how. to
fake a heterosexual lifestyle.
But that won't happen. And the AMA change in policy regarding
reparative therapy might not be the deathblow for ex-gay services after all._
Look for an amazing amount of support for ex-gay ministries in the months to
come from large, well-funded religious right" organizations. -The concept of
the "chosen lifestyl e" is a-necessary and vital element of the religio_us .right's
strategy in attacking the gay and lesbian community. If unabl e to continue to
promote th e idea that heterosexuals evolve into their sexuality . but that
homosexuals "choose" theirs, the religious right will lose the cornerstone of it's
anti 0gay political agenda. (Gays and Lesbians might even start looking like a
bona fide minority, deserving of equal rights prot ections .)
After the "choice" theory is scientifically debunked beyond question, and
most believ e it soon will be, the religious right will be confronted with the
uncomfortable reality that God made gay and lesbian people .to be who they
are. Then the "choice" will be their s. As Christians, they ·can welco_me their
gay brother s and lesbian si"sters to sit in their pews, to stand behind their
pulpits and to stand hand-in-hand in front of their altars - or, as hypocrites,
they can continue to reject gay and lesbian people for the same reason they'v e.
had all along, which is hatred.
Bob Davies, ihe executive director of Exodus International, a network of
ex-gay ministries, was quoted this week as. saying the change in the AMA
policy was a "giant step backward into ignorance," That will be loudly
echoed during the next months by leaders of the religious righ~. They can't
afford for one of their mainstay programs -to slip into quackery.
(
--1:-;
7l-n1v--,, --
SECOND STONE Newsjournal, ISSN No. 1047-3971 , is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1995 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
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SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian socia l justice newsjournal
with a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
- CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Dr. William Howland , Johnny Townsend,
Edouard Fontenot, Tim McFeeley
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
.
' ~
Comment ....... -• .................................... ~ .................. .
1994 a good year for our community
By Tim McFeeley
Guest Comment
C
. onsidering the progress
we've made in the past 12
. months, 1994 may go down
in history as one the the
most productive years since the
beginning of the modern movement
for lesbian and gay equal rights .
Despite some setbacks and disappointments,
1994 produced many
more victories than defeats for the
lesbian and gay community on the ·
national political scene . Along the
way/we hav1f shown ourselves to be
more · sophisticated and effective · in
educating the general public about
our issues and building support for
equal rights.
We had some major victories in
1994. We kept anti-gay initiatives off
·ballots in eight states, and defeated
those that appeared in Idaho and
Oregon. We · were . instrumental in
denying .Oliver North a seat in the
jJ.S. Senate. In Congress, we beat
anti-gay legislation introduced by
Sen: 'Jesse ·Helms (R-N.C.) that targeted
gay youth for discrimination in
schools and restricted ·access to condoms
in •high school health clinics.
We also shot down an attempt by
anti-gay extremist Rep·. Bob Dornan
(R-Calif.) to summarily dismiss HIVpositive
service members from · the
military. ·
We made progress toward equal
rights. The Employment Non-Discrimination
Act (ENDA), a new
federal bill to prohibit anti-gay job
discrimination, gathered more
cosponsors i•n · four months than the
Gay Civil Rights Bill did in the
previous 15 years. ·ENDA put on
track. the long:term · strategy that will
bring about . equality under federal
law. The Senate hell:I its first ·hearing
ever on legislation that would extend
any form of civil rights protections to
lesbian and gay people.
We earned a place at the table of the
civil rights movement. Mrs. Coretta
Scott King spoke at th.e introduction of
ENDA, calling the bill a priority for
the civil rights movement. The Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights,
which is the nation's largest and
oldest civil rights coalition , invited
the Human Rights Campaign Fund,
the largest national lesbian · and . gay
equal rights organization, to serve on
its executive committee.
In 199 4, we
received broader
s upport among
non-gay
Americans.
In 1994, we received broader
support among non-gay Americans.
A series of polls on public attitudes
showed consistent, bipartisan support
for equal rights and against discrimination
on the basis of seJ<cual orientation.
Majorities of Republicans,
Democrats and Independents polled
this year said that no one should be
singled out for discrimination, particularly
in the workplace, merely for
being gay, lesbian or bisexual. Retired
Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz .)
and Gov . Barbara Roberts (D-Ore.)
co-chaired HRCF's Americans Against
Discrimination program to defeat
anti-gay ballot initiatives .
We realized achievements from the
Executive Branch. President Clinton
issued a letter condemning discriminatory
· statewide ballot measures,
signed the Hate Crimes Sentencing
Enhancement Act into law, thereby
strengthening federal penalties for
bias-motivated crimes, including gay
QUOT ABLE
A matter of be!:,towed identity ...
"As for the wrenching issue of homosexuality, I myself have ·undergone a
shift in conviction. When I called for a ministry of homosexual healing and
re-orientati .on 14 years ago as Bishop of. Atlanta, the only response from the
gay community in the diocese was wounded silence, punctuated by overt
expressions of disappointment in their bishop. Not rejection; but patient
disagreement - with an invitation to sustained dialogue. Since then I have
come to know a large number of homosexual men and women, many of them
priests .. !no longer believe, as I did in 1977, that homosexu:31ity is primarily
an amenabl.e dysfunction, a stubbol"I) but changeable dev1ahort from created
.norms. In my view it is a matter of bestowed identity, not a self-chosen
orientation an.d behavior pattern ... When I wrote that Pastoral Statement Ill
1977 I ·knew only one homosexual person up close. He scared me to death
with his penetrating chall~nge that he was as complete a human being as_ l
was - actually more complete, because in order to be openly honest about his
identity he had 1o face wide public contempt and the narrower .scorn of his
own church." ·
-The Rt. Rev. Bennett J. Sims, retired Episcopal Bishop
SECOND STONE -
bashing, and appointed Deborah
Batts as the first openly lesbian or gay
federal judge . The Justice Department
issued a temporary waiver of
the HIV immigration ban for athletes
attending the 1994 Gay Games in
New York.
There was unprecedented visibility
of the gay community. More than
250 National Coming Out Day events
were held in all 50 states, generating
•an unprecedented level of media
coverage. To lobby at the federal
level, HR<::F enlisted more than 4,000
local activists in all 50 states through a
new Federal Advocacy Network. A
travelling computer generated 60,000
personal letters to Congress, · and
messages sent by participants in our
Speak Out program topped the 1.2
million mark.
Gay and lesbian organizations
cooperated on a national scale. The
five largest gay, lesbian and g<1y-supportive
organizations in the country
pooled their resources for the first
time ever and raised funds nationally
to defeat state anti-gay initiatives . A
people of color summit held at HE.CF
brought together more than a dozen
groups representing African-Americans,
· Latinos and Latinas, Asians,
Pacific Islanders and N alive Americans
to discuss strategies for countering
the radical right. More than
two dozen lesbian health profes- .
sionals gathered in Washington for
the first-ever "Lesbian Health Roundtable,"
bringing formidable expertise
and knowledge to bear on lesbian
health issues.
The list goes on .. Taking stock of
our accomplishments is not about
taking credit and feeling good. As
we enter a new era of unprecedented
challenges, we need to know exactly
where we . stand. An assessment of
1994 shows that we can face adversity
and win, find new allies for our
cause, and build the groundwork
necessary lo advance from a position
of strength . As I leave my position as
the head of the largest national
lesbian and · gay equal rights organization,
I see a future full of hope and
confidence for our · movement and our
community.
Tim Mcfeeley has served as director of
the Human Rights Campaign Fund
since 1989. He retired from that post in
January.
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Editedbv
Helping -Christians
Debate· Homosexualtiy
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, writers
with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
p1;0-gay and anti-gay believers.
Sallv B. c;eis &
Donald E. MessPr
Edited by Sally 8. Geis. director. Iliff
Institute. Lay and Clergy Education, The
Iliff School of Theology. Denver. a11d
Donald E. Messer. preside111. The Iliff
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk ___ _
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FROM,: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
JANUARY/FEBRUAR . Y 1995
...... .......... ....... .........Y...o...u..r...T. .u..r..n.. ......................
Bossier City, Louisiana
Appreciating our
early leaders
Dear Second Stone,
Your review by William Percy of the
Dorr Legg book Homophile Studies in
Theory and Practice was the best
review I have seen. Many people in
our movement have not even heard
of Dorr. Having been there when
Dorr was planning and giving his
classes, I feel that people today don't
really understand and appreciate the
work done by our early leaders, nor
do they yet understand the need to
support our movement libraries and
archives.
We must get publishers, authors
and everyoi:ie to save and preserve
all our material. And that is where
fine publications like Second Stone
help, because you have news and
views that years from now will help
future homosexuals and leaders and
educators know what we did and
thought during these early days.
It is exciting being here in the days
when homosexuals, and our families
QUOTABLE
"Always be sure that you
struggle with Christian
methods and Christian
weapons. Never succumb to the
temptation of becoming bitter.
As you press 011 for justice, be
sitre fo move with dignihJ and
discipline, using only the.
weapon of-love. Let 110 man
pull you so low as to hate him.
Always avoid violence. If you
succumb to the temptation of
using violence in your struggle,.
unborn generations will be the
ricipients of a long and
desolate night of bitterness;
and your chief legacy to the
future will be an endless reign
of meaningless chaos. In your
struggle for justice, let your
oppressor know that you .are
not attempting to defeat or
humiliate him, or even to pay
him back for injustices that he
has heaped upon you. Let him
know that you are merely ·
seeking justice for him as well
as yourself.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
SECOND STONE
and friends and neighbors are
working to bring equal treatment to
our part of the American dream as set
forth by the founders .
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Bill Glover,
HomosexuaIl nformationC enter
Daly City, California
"News Line"
article unloving
end outdated
Dear Second Stone,
I wanted to write you and tell you
what a blessing and education your
newspaper has been to my family
and I. I am a Christian gay man and
my parents struggled many years to
understand that they had a gay son.
Praise God! It has now been several
years that my parents are entering a
new facet of their life. They are
beginning to work with : and counsel
parents who are finding out about
their gay children. My parents' love
for me is and has always been
unconditional. I realize how lucky I
am because I'm involved in ministry
in San Francisco . and see the many
people who have been kicked out of
their churches and family for being
themselves.
I have to tell you I'm concerned
about a few items that appeared in
the Nov /Dec issue.
On page 6. an article ran titled,
"Anti-gay activist has AIDS." First,
whoever wrote this article wrote it in
a spirit of anything but love. There is
an obvious overtone d cynicism by
the writer. Second, I have to object to
Second Stone -being used as a method
of "outing" people. We get enough
abuse from our mainline Christian
brothers and sisters . Why must gay
and lesbian Christians stoop to that
same level? At some point someone
has to represent Christ, and He had
compassion on all: Third, I happened
to have known Frank Shears. Frank
very likely was involved in the
ex-gay movement at once, but that
had to have been sometime ago as I
met him in February 1993 and he
was not involved in ex-gay then. He
was involved with the church you
mentioned in your article. Lastly,
Frank has been healed from AIDS for
almost a year now, when he went
home to be with the Lord.
· In ·closing I • would again like to
stress that I'm very concerned about
the timeliness ·-of your information
and the validity of your information.
Obviously, this information is very
old and I have to wonder about the
rest of the information that is in here.
God bless you all as you continue to
serve and share Christ with our
community.
Sincerely,
Todd Ferrell -
West Hollywood, California
Update
on Methodist'
judicial procedures
Dear Second Stone,
I am writing to update your story on
the United Methodist Church's attempt
to clearly define exactly what a
"self-avowed pradicing homosexual"
is in relation to clergy policy.
In the fall of 1993, the UMC's
Judicial Council ruled that, for implementation
of the Book of Discipline's
rule that bars "self-avowed practicing
homosexuals" from candidacy, ordination,
and appointment as clergy,
the phrase has to be defined. · In
response to this ruling, the Council of
Bishops developed ·what they considered
to be a model definition. A
few Annual Conferences, including
the West Virginia Annual Confers
ence, adopted tl).is definition . The
California-Pacific Annual Conference
developed and adopted its own definition.
Requests for rulings regarding
the legality of these definitions
were made in both Annual Conferences.
In both cases, the Bishops
involved ruled that the definitions
passed were legal within the framework
of the UMC Book of Discipline.
Meeting in · late October, 1994, the
Judicial Council officially overturned
both of those rulings. In the case of
the d€finition drafted by the Council
of Bishops and adopted in the West
Virginia .Annual Conference, the
Judicial Council ruled that since the
definition included the possibility that
a minister .could be declared a
practicing homosexual on the basis of
testimony from a third-party witness,
such could -not constitute "selfavowal."
The Judicial Council went
on to say that any defipition which is
adopted must be based on the
personal avowal of the clergypetson
that he/she is a "practicing homosexual"
and that the definition must
make clear to whom the "self-avowal"
may or may not be made to be
considered valid.
In the case of the defintion adopted
by the California-Pacific Annual Conference,
the definition was thrown out
because it included in its definition of
"practicing homosexual" sexual acts
with a person of the same gender
which a clergyperson admits he/she
has engaged in, or intends to engage
in. The Judicial Council ruled that
the legislation in the Book of Discipline
only contemplates acts which have
occurred . or ·are occurring;- and that
the rule does not include future . possibili_
tiesw hich may or may not occur.
The result of these decisions is that
most of the definitions which have
been officially approved by UMC
Annual Conferences have been -invalidated.
In practice, there are a numJ,er of
UMC clergypersons who are homo0
sexual. Many of them, in the words
of one such clergyperson, "live in
glass closets with mylar doors." The
fact that these clergy are gay or
lesbian often is known, even by the
denominational hierarchy, but few
Annual Conferences are seriously
taking any action against these
clergy, as long as they "officially"
keep quiet about their orientation
and/ or discreet in their practice, The
reality is that most Annual Conferences
have adopted a UMC version of
a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Sincerely,
Thomas H. Griffith
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NewE LCAs ynodb ishopa gayr ightsa dvocate
LITHE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA-West Synod of the Evangelical Lu.theran Church in
' America elected a new bishop, the Rev. Paul Egertson on Nov. 6. He is a North
Hollywood pastor and university professor who advocates opening the ministry to Gays
and Lesbians. Egertson said he was "surprised" when he was elected bishop of tne
synod's 152 congregations. "My identification with a minority position in the midst of the
nationwide controversy made me think that a majority of de[egates would not vote for
[me]," Egertson said. Egertson won the six-year term as bishop on the seventh ballot,
222-201. Egertson, 59, has been well-known to Southern California Lutherans for his
continuing education work at Cal Lutheran University, .but he also has been a part-time
pastor for two years at St. Matthew's parish in North Hollywood, which has welcomed
gay and lesbian congregants since 1985. The new bishop is the father of an openly gay
son. Greg.Egertson was one of several gay seminarians who came out in the late 1980s.
A graduate of Pacific Lutheran Seminary in Berkeley, he is now an adminstrator at
Golden Gate University in San Francisco. - Los Angeles Times, Reconcile
Activistcsh alleng"ec urec" onference -
LITHE BRIGHTONPRESBYTERIAN Church in Rochester, New York was the host of a
conference on "curing 0 gay and lesbian people on Nov. 8-12. The Gay Alliance of the
Genesee Valley responded at a press conference on Nov. 12. During the press conference,
GAGV repre .sentatives and others challenged the idea that gay and lesbian people can or
need to be cured. They pointed out that you can change a person's behavior, but not their
sexual orientation. The conference was a project of Malachi, a ministry of. the Brighton
Presbyterian Church which encourages gay men and Lesbians to "leave the homosexual
lifestyle.'' GAGV members who openly attended the conference said .that conference
pa,ticipants . not only condemned,lwmosexuality, but claimed that the many local
churches of different denominations which welcome Lesbians and Gays are "not true
Christian people." Conference participants blamed. parents for "making their childre.n
homosexual" through neglect and abuse. The orgaruzers stated that one of therr goals is
to reach the larger community and try to spreaa their ideolog)' beyond "those few who
are inspired to-have such a ministry." The GAGV, Parents, Friends and Families of
Lesbians and Ga)IS and other gay community groups fear that ministries like Malachi
will use what the P-FLAG newsletter called "coercive methods on vulnerable or isolated
individuals.'' Many n1embers of supportive churches were present at the GAGV press
conference, including representatives from the United Church of Christ, St. Mary's
Downtown (Catholic), Unitarian Universalists, Downtown United Presbyterian
Church, and other More Light Presbyterian churches. - T1zeE mpty Closet
Anti-gapyr ofessoartt ackgsa y-friendlcyo lleague
LIACCORDING TO A story in the Raleigh, N.C. News & Observer, professor of Old
Testament and United Methodist minister Lloyd R. Bailey has attaci<ed Presbyterian
feminist professor Mary McClintock Fulkerson for her views on the Bible and its
appropriate interpretation and for her participation in a "public homosexu .al rights
event. Both are faculty members at Duke University's Divmity School. Bailey sent a
40-page packet to United Methodist leaders all over North Carolina, claimin& that his
evidence "should prohibit Fulkerson from getting tenure ... at Duke.'' Bailey also 'used the
opportunity to sound an alarm overfocreased support for gays and· lesbians on campus,
including a.movement to expand insurance ana other benefits to domestic partners of
homosexual employees.'' - Mor_e Light Update
SmalWl estV irgnicah urchca llso penllye sbiapna stor
LICHERYL BURKE _was cal.led .this past fall to pastor First Congregational Church of
Huntington, West Virginia, by a 97 percent vote of the 100-member congregation. At least
five other lesbian and gay people -were already members of First Congregational when
Burke applied for the pastorate, and she herself .had worshipped tfiere a few times.
According to former pastor R<1ymond Woodruff, the congregation has a high level of
social concern and involvement in a variety of arenas. When Burke was introduced to
the congregation at a potluck dinner, she spoke open!)' about her life and how she came to
that i:,lace. No·one voiced opposition to her call. Burkehad felt called to rriinis(ry while
still'ln ·high school, but resisted because of the barriers she percieved to women in
minisl:\Y. - Waves
GermaLnu theranusrg edto ·recognizgea yl,e sbiapna stors
LIGERMAN LUTHERAN BISHOP Maria Jepsen has urged the church and congregations
to:, ecognize .male and female homosexual pastors . Jepsen, who is bishop of Hamburg,
said one should be pleased that women and men who are not heterosexual can at last
exe~cise profes~ions in the church without fear , . Addressing the synod ?f the North
El.bian Evangelical Lutheran Church; held m Rendsburg Sept. 23, J. epsen said the church
must not only orient itself by "traditional. dogmatic statemenfs and forms." The church has
to take care of that whichfa .old;but also needs a keen, creative interest in that which is
new, she said. - Lutheran World Information
Newspap.reerP.Ortthsa tF ECis i nvestigatiCnhar istiaCno alition
LITHEST ATE_,a C olumbia, S.C.l½'wspaper, has rerorted that, acting OO•a complaint from
the ·Democ_rahc National Committee, the Federa Election Commission is investigating
televan. g ehst Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition chapters in 35 states. The · paper
reported that three members of the Coalition's South Carolina chapter ha\ie been called to
a federal court to explai11 how the arch-conservative group operates and that Roberta
Combs; the South Carolina ch~pter's state director, has been asi<ed by the FEC to give the
feder~l watchdog agency copies of financ ial records and wntten correspondence with
. political ca~didates. _Officials with the Coalition's headquarters in Chespeake, Va.,
~efused h, discuss the iss,ue and FEC off1crnls·say they do not comment or even confirm
.mformation about pendmg matters. The Democrats .charge that.the Coalition raises
tax-exempt funds as a non-partisan orgaruzation l,ut backs only Republican candidates.
Th<J De_mocrats say R?bertson:s Christian Coalition should be forced to register as a
political action comnuttee, which would severely restrict the group's .fundraising ·and
spending activities. - Outlines ·
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Gay pastor cut from ministerial association
tlTHE SNOQUALMIE VALLEY Ministerial Association, an ecumenical group in
western Washington , voted to redraw its boundaries to delibe rately exclude one single
church, Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ in Carnation, Washington. The 8-2
vote .means that Jeff Spencer, Tait's Of,enly gay pastor, will no longer be allowed to
attend association meetings. The church's youth liasketball team will not be allowed to
participate in the ministerial association's leag ue without special permission . Spencer
and others believe that the church was gerrymandered out of the association because he
is gay. Three of the pastors who voted for exclusion were quoted in the -area's
newspaper as being opposed to homosexuality. Spencer began his ministry at Tolt in
September, 1993. The church celebrated its centennial in October, 1994. - Waves
Bishop halts same-sex union
M SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, which would have taken place at St. Mark's Cathedral in
Seattle, was cancelled after objecfions from Episcopal Bishop Vincent Warner, head of
the Diocese of Olympia for Western Washington. The couple , Dr.James A. Black, M.D.,
who has served as president of the board of the Northwest AIDS Foundation, and
Thomas W. Monnahan, political activist and former aid to Seattle Mayor Norm Rice,
cancelled their ceremony three days prior to the event. The ceremony would have
celebrated their long-terin commitment before 450 guests, including local and state
offici.als and people from throughout the U.S. and· from overseas. Warner , who has
opposed local churches performing same-sex unions on their own, told The Seattle Times
tliat it was "painful'fpr me to be in a place where I can't be more supportixe" of lesbian
and gay marriages . In contrast, the Very Rev. Frederick Northup, dean of St. Mark's,
statea that refusing to bless the lifelong commitments of gay and lesbian couples denies
those couples the full pastoral care allowed.them by resolutions of the Episcopal Church
at both the national and local levels. - Seattle Gay _News ·
Residents rally against change ministry .
MBOUT 40 RESIDENTS of Oak Park in Chicago attended a press conference on Nov.
12 to protest a planned conference on ex-gay ministries at C;,lvary Memorial Church in
Oak Park. Representatives from the MCC, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation, Oak Park Lesbian and Gay Alliance and local Episcopal and Methodist
churches spoke against efforts to "stra ighten" Gays and called for religious acceptance of
Gays. "It's a victory that the conference was cancelled, and we'll be certain to respond to
every future attempt to define what people should be," said MCC pastor Rev. Bradley
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i Michelson of Oak Park. "We're in a rage that they use the word 'Christian' to push
intolerance. They need to learn that diversity is th e intent of a God of love." The
conterenc e_ was scheduled to feature keynote speaker Dr. Bill Consiglio, director of
HOPE Ministries of Connecticut, a board member of Exodus International and author of
Homosexual No More. The change conference was cancelled, allegedl y becaus e of low
registrati on.
Church leader calls for harsher anti-gay laws
t,.ROMANlA'S ORTHODOX PATRIARCH Teoctist has called on the parliament to
reverse itself and bring back the nahon:s harsher Communist-era anti-gay laws, with
5-year prison sentences. Teochst said m a written request for reinstatement of the
country's older anti-gay laws · that Romania's forefathers "knew how to distinguish
between sin and v irtue, natural and unnatural , normal and abnormal."
Con1ested bishop calls for new policy on Gays
llM ICHAEL TURNBULL, the newly enthroned Anglican Bishop of Durham who was
' convicted i n 1968 of "gross indecency" for having sex with another man in a public
; restroom, has called upon the church to re-evaluate its.ban on gay priests. The gay rights
· group ·Outrage protested Tur-nbull's enthronement. Prior to the-revelation of the sex
charge, T~rnbull had said that homosexuality was incompatible with th e Church of
England.' I know some homosexual clergy who are among the most committed and loving
m the Church," Turnbull said. "The last thing I want is for them to feel marginalized or
put in a ghetto." - Outlines
Pastor's removal from commission okay, judge says
llA PASTOR'S REMARKS that homosexuality was an "abomination to God" and his
refusal to disavow violence against Gays and Lesbians were grounds to fire him from the
San Francisco Human Rights Commission, a federal judge has ruled. Because Rev. Eugene
Lumpkin's comments could reas onably be interpr eted· as obstructing the goals of the
commi ssion, his firing by Mayor Frani< Jordan did not violate his rights of free speech
and religion, said U.S.District Judg e Fern Smith. The ruling dismissed Lumpkin's lawsuit
over his August 1993 remo val. ·
Group forms to counter Rev. Phelps
llFAITH IN FREE SPEECH is being put to the test among members of a coalition who
believe Rev. Fred Phelps has stretclied the limits with his verbal attacks on ~ay men and
Lesbians. "The message of love will be stronger than the message of hate, .said Ginger
Ashmore, one of the coalition leaders who met Nov. 26 to discuss ways to reply to
Phelps, whose small Baptist congregation consists mainly of family members. The
catalyst for the meeting was Phelps' verbal attad ; on poet Maya Angelou,. who is known
for her civil rights work, which has included standing up for gay rights. Angelou, whose
car was surrounded by Phelps supporters after an appearance m Topeka recently,
canceled a speech at Emporia State University after she was shouted at by the group.
The coalition claims more than 70 groups as members. Their first action was to send an
open letter to Angelou, urging her to come back to Kansas.
Quaker group supports same-sex marriage .
t,.A CONGREGATION OF Quakers in Vermont is calling on state lawmak ers "to open th e
institution of legal marriage to all couples, same sex and opposite sex, who apply for a
state marriage license." The word .came in an open letter the Quakers of Ifie Putney
Friends Meeting has sent to legislators and local re1igious groups, decrying "the injustice
of Vermont law which does not allow a same-sex couple to obtain a marriage license ."
The Quakers said they may. start refusing to sign the sfate •license of any marriages they
perform . The Putney Friends Meeting does perform marriages for same-sex couples.
- Southern Vorce
Chicago Theological Seminary and Samaritan share resources
t,.CHJCAGO THEOL(X;!CAL SEMINARY and Samaritan College, th,:, educational arm
of the UFMCC, formalized a dual enrollment program on Nov.· 18. The program is tl1e
first of its kind in which openly gay and lesbian people who are training for the ministry
have access to non-homopbobic theological education through Samaritan and also access
to an accredited Master of Divinity program through Chicago Tneological Seminary.
Samaritan, founded in 1970, is the only institution in the world dedicated solely to gay
arid lesbian theological education.
Cathedral of Hope picketed · ·
t,.CATHEDRAL OF HOPE MCC, Dallas, Texas, was _picketed Nov. 11-12 by Rev. Fred
Phelps, a fanatical minister from Topeka, Kansas, who preaches a message of hat.red for
Gays and Lesbians. Rev. Phelps lecf about 15 other protestors in picketing a funeral and
a holy union at the church with signs such as "God hates fags" and "God's hate is great."
He has gotten national media attention for picketing funerals of individuals who have
died of AIDS. "Our strategy was ·that we would siml;'lY look like the normal Christian
people we are and allow the contrast to speak for itself," said Rev. Michael Piazza,
pastor. "People ·could see women and men inside worshipping God and women and men
outside hating people, and draw their own conclusions.' He noted that neighbors and
public officia[s ralhed to support the church. "We got very good support from the city
and the police department, and he got a great deal of ridicule," Piazza said. He added that
the protest did not hurt church attendance. More than 1,450 people attended Sunday
morning worship on Nov . 13, when Phelps was expected to picket agairi, but failed to
show : Because the church is situated far from the road, it was difficult for the protesters
to get .near the church building, and they ended up looking like they were picketing a
nearby gas station and steakhouse. "Some people mistook them for anti-beef activists,"
said Randy Sparberry , Cathedral of. Hope director of administration ."We had gone to
great lengfhs to educate the congregaton and we were prepared for a really ·unpleasant
situation, and then it ended up being a comedy of sorts. They didn't achieve what they
wanted, which was to provoke us." - Keeping in Touch
JANUARY/FEBRUA ,RY 1995
Gay, .lesbian issues escape
religion writers' top news picks
MEMBERS OF THE Religion News writers
Association did not select any
news stories with specific gay /lesbian
themes as their top stories of 1994,
according to a national poll conducted
by Willmar Thorkelson. The RNA
selected the role of the religious right
in the November Republican victories
as its top story of the year and named
Pope John Paul JI newsmaker of the
year, citing, among other things, his
silencing discussion of the ordination
of women priests.
The most votes for the association's
"Into the Darkness" award, give.n for
attempting to conceal information
from the pub lic, went to the Episcopal
Church's House of Bishops for its
efforts to keep secret its draft state ment
on human sexuality.
Backlash to the "Re-Imagining"
conference held in 1993 was the number
three story according to the poll. .
The conference provided an opportunity
for women to rethink their
concepts of God and drew criticism
from church conservatives.
Also making the list of top stories
was the ordination of women to the
priesthood in the Church of England .
The action ended a long struggle for
activists supporting ordination of
female priests and prompted some
conservative church members to
convert to Catholicism.
Gay Catholic group welcomes
retirement of Cardinal O'Connor
THE LEADER OF Catholic Advocates
for Lesbian and Gay Rights says his
organization welcomes the retirement
of New York Cardinal John J.
O'Connor. "We hope the Vatican accepts
his resignation and replaces. him
in a timely manner," said Br. Rick
Garcia, director of Catholic Advocates,
a national pro-gay Catholic group that
is funded by 70 religious orders of
nuns and priests.
Cardinal O'Connor has vocally
He's a familiar face, but ..
opposed gay civil rights legislation
and has clashed repeatedly with .gay
rights and AIDS activists . O'Connor
has also expelled gay Catholic groups
from church property.
"O'Connor's antagonism and lack of
pastoral concern toward the lesbian
and gay community will not be
missed," said Garcia. "We look forward
to the. day when his bigotry and
insensitivity no longer occupy the See
of New York."
Due to a production error at our printer, a cutline was omitted
from the cover of our last issue. Pictured was Dr. Mel White,
UFMCC National Minister of Justice, delivering the keynote
address during a forum on religious communities confronting
the radical religious right, held in conjunction with the National
Council of Churches General Board meeting in New Orleans.
QUOTABLE
"For me, revolution was never an interim 'thing to do' before settling down: it
was no fashionable club with newly minted jargon or a new kind of social life
- mage thrilling by risk and confrontation, made glamoro us by costume.
Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary's
life. When one commits oneself to the.struggle, it must be for a lifetime ."
-Angela Davis
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JANUARY/ FE BRUARY 1995
-,
We fear it more than death ...
LONELINESS
BY DR. WILLIAM HOWLAND
Among all of the trauma and
the torments, the hurts, pains,
and problems facmg us md1-
vid uall y and corporately,
there is one which we need to
recognize and acknowledge in order
to help one another seek ways to
cope.
The Wall Street Journal recently
reported what I thought was an unexpected
series of results of a survey
taken in which the question asked
was, "What is it you fear most?"
Surprisingly, death was a distant
third in the responses to that question.
Fear of failure was the number
one answer and fear of loneliness·was
number two.
Fear of loneliness is related to fear
of failure, for if we do-fail we fear the
risk of ridicule and rejection by others
and the temptation to withdraw into
ourselves out of a kind of embarrassment
and shame. · Fear of loneliness
is also related to fear of death. We
don't know absolutely what the
experience of death involves. We do
know that nobody can take our hand
:1n-d accompany us in death. Ultimately
we do die alone. .
Loneliness is a longing for that
sense of fulfillment that is so satisfying,
so enduring, so sustaining that it
never departs from us. We do not
want to feel that ache and pain, that
discomfort that comes from being
alone.
Describe it as you will, define it as
you may, none of us are totally immune
from the experience of loneliness.
Loneliness may arrive at any
moment, sometimes for no reason that
we can identify, and other times for
reasons which we can logically and
rationally explain. For many of us, in
our society, loneliness is a debilitating,
agonizing, hurtful condition
which hounds us and haunts us often
with emotions whose full meaning we
are reluctant to admit to ourselves.
'And we are hesitant to acknowledge
such emotions to any other person
Tallulaho n high mass.. .
because they are so deep and so
painful.
What an irony, what a paradox, that
in a time of instant communication,
when we know what's happening
almost in seconds in every corner of
the globe, the technology that links
our lives together in such formidable
ways gives us little real understanding
of ourselves and others. In a time
when we are i1o longer isolated by
geography, but literally crowded
together by a burgeoning population,
a shrinking globe, and a universe
which is not totally devoid of some
understanding in the face of all of
this, in our moment of history, we are
lonely.
One has written, "Loneliness - like
pollution - is a problem which has
crept upon industrial society until it
now plagues the whole spectrum of
life trom the cradle to the grave.
Industrial society unwittingly managed
to create a lonely world and
nowhere is it lonelier than in advanced
countries , People lack !he
familiar and spiritual ties which
would alleviate the unwanted loneliness
and aloneness in which people
find themselves."
There are degrees of loneliness. We
do not all experience loneliness in the
same way. For some of us loneliness
comes and goes. But for some of us,
loneliness seems to take up residence
within us and remain with us no
matter what we try to do. There are
wavs of loneliness with a multipiicity
of causes and factors which are unique
to us and whom we are, and what our
life experiences have been. And
those experiences can cause a loneliness
that is so intimate we find it hard
even to articulate.
On a somewhat superficial level,
Wade Hewey, professor at Columbia
Seminary, has compiled this list of
what he says it is to be lonely.
"Loneliness is a six-year-old who does
not know the name of any other first
grader. Loneliness is hearing the
It was said that Tallulah Bankheai:1, the fog-horned voiced actress of a
generation or so ago, once went to a Catholic cathedral for a high mass in
New Orleans, though she herself was not" a Catholic, and therefore could not
understand either the symbolism or the ritual . Toward the end of the service
the archbishop wearing his fanciest vestments swept grandly up the .center
aisle waving that censor on a chain that was emitting billows of incense
smoke. As he swept past the pew where Bankhead was seated, she was heard
to say to him, "Dahling, your gown is divine, but your purse in on fire."
-Tell Us
SECOND STONE -
umpire call 'Strike three, _you.'re out'
when the winning run in on third
base. Loneliness is a mother whose
children are all away at school. Loneliness
is a conscientious objector who
is called a 'draft dodger .. .' Loneliness
is watching a TV commercial of a
fully-stocked refrigerator while serving
your children crumbs and scraps.
Loneltness is lying in a hospital bed
looking at the ceiling and asking,
'how long, how long? .. .' Loneliness is
realizing in some ways you can never
go home again."
In a time when we
are no longer isolated
by geography,
but literally
crowded together
by a burgeoning
population, a
shrinking globe,
and a uni verse
which is not
totally devoid of
some understanding
in the face of
all this, in our
mon1ent in history,
we are lonely.
But that iist only tells part of the
story, doesn't it? It doesn't tell your
story or my story.
The Christian Science Monitor
printed a story not so long ago that
said "Loneliness has been observed as
the one thing that falls through the
state social welfare net. There are
·cues, application forms, coupons and
cash for almost every human need.
But the clerk behind the desk, the
social worker who visits the home,
cannot by official servic.es or practiced
technique fill the emptiness in the
heart."
Friendship, even at the lowest level
of acquaintance is beyond the power
of all requisitions. Yet. a growing
body of self-help literature treats
loneliness as a- matter that can be
cured by the approach of cruise directors,
instant communities and plastic
name badges. And if all else fails,
lose weight and change your hair-style.
But to be lonely is deeper business
than a Saturday night with no place
to go. To be lonely is to be without
strings because nobody needs the
other end of your string. To be lonely
is a state that requires the scrutiny of
more than the psychologist and the
sociologist. Not even to mention
cruise directors.
No single solutions, no quick and
ready answers, rio easy escapes.
The parable Jesus tells in John
15:1 c 11 speaks about the vine and the
vine dresser and the necessity of
being in relationship, that life is a gift
given by oi1e who loves, and that life
if it is to be fulfilled has to be lived in
relationship and cannot be lived
isolated, cut off, and alone. There's
·danger in disconnectedness. That life
and health is dependent on being
centered on the God of creation, who
nurtures and loves, and that
ultimately as hard as this may be for
us, even in those moments of desperation,
we are not alone, dependent on
our own resources, but at the center of
creation, the center of life, the center
of history. There is a power, a God, a
Divine Companion, who seeks to be
present to us, for us, around us, and
within us.
Fortunately we are not like one
young boy who I read about recently.
According to Max Eastman, who was
a teacher and an assistant at Columbia
University in pre-World War I
years, the philosopher John Dewey
.on one occasion left the campus and
was walking with ·a colleague. And
as he was walking along, a young lad
rushed up to him and asked for a
nickel. John Dewey was incensed.
He gave the boy a coin and then
walking away, wondered out loud in
a kind of hostile voice and angry
posture, what the world was coming
to that children could go about
begging in the streets.
"John," replied the colleague, "that
was your son."
The Divine Parent of ·us does not
forget us. The Divine Parent of us
knows our name ... knows who we
are ... knows our hurts, our longings,
our hopes, our dreams, our successes,
our joys, and shares in our life
experience with us moment by
moment, hour by hour, day by day,
week by week. And it is in that
affirmation of trust and hope that the
ultimate answer may come for our
loneliness. ·
But the God who knows us calls us
to do more than simply acknowledge
that there is a God who .knows us and
loves us . That God through the
parable and the whole gospel impact
SEE LONELY, Next Page
J A N U A R Y I F E B R U A .R Y 1 9 9 5
LONELY
From Page 8
of its message says that if we are
really to discover God, to know God,
we do it in our love of self and love of
one another as God loves us .
The way to fill the voids and the
empty places and to bring solace and
comfort is to be available and present
to ourselves in ·love, and to be
availabl e and present to one another
in love . ·
The New York Times. tells about a
small boy who was riding in a
cross-town bus, and as the bus moved
along, the little boy kept inching
closer and closer to a woman in a
grey suit sitting beside him on the
seat. Other riders thought that
because he was so close to the woman
that he must b·elong to her. And
when he was completely snuggled up
n ex t to her with his feet upon the
·seat, his shoes began to rub the dress
of th e woman on the other . side of
him.
She leaned forward and said to the
woman in the grey suit, "Pardon me,
but would you please ask your little
boy to take his feet off the seat. His .
shoes are getting my dress dirty."
The woman in the grey suit just gave
the little boy a gentle shove and said,
"He's not my boy, I never saw him
before ." The boy squirmed uneasily.
He was so small that his legs. dangled
ov er the edge of the seal. He lowered
his eyes and tried desperately to hold
back some ~obs. 'Tm sorry !got your
dress dirty," he said to the woman. "l
didn't mean to."
"Oh, that' s all right," she answer ed,
a little embarra sse d. And then, since
his eyes were still fashioned upon
her , she asked him , "Are you going
somewhere alone?" "Yes," he nodded.
"I always go alone. There isn'.t
anyon e to go with me. I don't have a
mommy or a daddy. They're both
dead. I live with Aunt Clara and she
says that Aunt Mildred ought to take
care of me part of the time, so when
. she gets tired of me, and wants me to
go some place, she sends me over to
stay with Aunt Mildred."
"Oh, " said the woman, "you 're on
your way to Aunt Mildred's now? " ,
"Yes," the boy continued, "but sometimes
Aunt Mildred isn't home. I
sure hope she's there today, because
· it looks like it's going to rain, and I
don't want to have to stand out in the
street when it rains ."
The woman, with a lump in h er
throat, said, "You're a very little boy
to be shuffled around like that."
"Oh I ·don't mind," he ·said. "I
never get lost, but I get lonesome
sometimes. So when I see someone I
think I would · like to belong to, I sit
close and snuggle up and pretend
that I belong to that person. I was
pretending that. I belonged to that
other lady when I got your dres s
dirty. I forgot about my feet."
Le t us by God's grace be bold
enough symbolically to snuggle a bit,
and · receptive enough to respond
enough when someone snuggles.
Then that God in us an<;! among us
may help us with our lostn ess and
our loneliness.
Excerpted witlz pennission from Tell Us,
the newsletter of Telos Ministries for
Baptists, P.O. Box 3390, Falls Church,
VA 22043. Dr. Bill Howland is sponsoring
pastor of Telos.
. FREEDOM RIDE
From Page 1
pens es for a Federal lawsuit to be
filed under the anti-Klan act for the
harassment they have recieved.
Because of the escalating violence
against Lesbians and Gays all over
tl1e world, an international lesbian/
gay version of the Clothesline Project
will occur during this time at the
camp. The purpose of the Clothesline
Project is to bear witness to the
survivors and victims of the war
against women, both the casualties of
the war, and the wounded. This
display will show the extent of the
problem with a visual impact similar
to the AIDS quilt. Another purpose
of the Clothesline is to help with the
healing process for people who have
lost a loved one or who are survivors
of violence.
The Destination : Ovett/Gay Freedom
Riders Coalition will contact gay
and lesbian groups all over the world
to send in tee shirts bearing the
nam es of Gays, Lesbians and others
who have suffered violence or death.
These will be displayed at .camp
Sister Spirit.
SECOND STONE
Perry ·stated that -for him and other
religious people this should be a
matter of really living what the
religious life should be for four days .
"Instead of just praying for these
women, we are putting legs on our
prayers and inviting people to join us
in Mississippi."
Robin Tyler, Gay Freedom Ride
coordinator, who is Jewish, says that
the Jewish community has always
been on the forefront of civil rights,
and once . again, this will be their
opportunity to confront injustice.
Tyler states that the action also sends
a message that Gays and.Lesbians are
prepared to defend themselves. "For
decades Mississippi has been th e
battle ground for civil rights," says
Tyler . "Following the tradition of the
1960's, the community of faith must
rise once again. And we need to let ,
gay bashers and h.omophobes know
that when they attack isolated Gays
and Lesbians, they aren't.just taking
on one or two p.eople, they are taking
on the entire gay and lesbian movement."
-
EQUAL
RI IE ~
lesbian and Goy Worship.
NEW TITLES
Equal Rites
Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and
Celebrations
Kittredge Cherry and
Zalmon Sherwood, editors
Paper $14.99
January
Equal Rites is a much-needed collection of worship services,
ceremonies, and celebrations that is attuned to the unique needs of
sexual minorities. The selections, written primarily by lesbians and
gay men, include rites of spiritual beginnings, healing, blessings,
holy communion, and pride and empowerment. Also included are
funeral and memorial services, seasonal and holiday rites, and
covenant rites for couples. More than a collection, Equal Rites can also
serve as a referenc~ book for creating unique and meaningful
worship services that address significant aspects of lesbian and gay
spirituality. Contributors include Malcolm Boyd, Chris Glaser, Carter
Heyward, Diann L. Neu, and Troy D. Perry.
Ceremonies, and Cel ebrolions
Killredge Cherry &
Zolman Sherwood, edilors
"It is time and past time for Equal Rites. This remarkable collection ol
liturgies demonstrates the spiritual courage, liturgical creativity, and
rich diversity the churches are denying themselves in denying
lesbian and gay Christians a voice. What a gift!" - Marjorie
Proctor-Smitlt, Perki//S School of T/reology
Know My Name
A Gay Liberation Theology
Richard Cleaver Paper $15.99
April
The place of gay men and women in the community of faith has
become one of.the most divisive debates in the church today. Roman
Catholic writer and activist Rich;ud Cleaver takes a fresh approach to
this issue by examining the struggles of gay men and lesbians in the
church, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, through the lens of
liberation theology. He offers not simply a "gay" reading of scripture,
however, but one that is spiritually challenging.
Coming Out to God
Prayers for Lesbians and Gay Men, Their Families
and Friends
Chris Glaser Paper $9.99
Now available
"A. wonderful collection of compassionate prayers." - Tire Other
Side
"Here is a collection of prayers through which bisexual, lesbian and
gay persons, as well as their loved ones, may voice their questions
and issues to God." -Friends Jounral .
"Chris Glaser, in his exquisite little devotional book Comi"g Out to
God, gives us the tools we need to learn to talk to God on levels that
go beyond the mundane ... Comi//g Out to God is a book that every
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Will At your bool<store, or call toll-free 1-800-672-1789
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396
JANUARY/FEBRUA~Y 1995.
Videos ......................................................... ........ . ......
Queer Son: Family Journeys To Understanding And Love
W ith the family experience of
holiday gatherin .gs still a
fresh memory, now might
be a good time for many
Gays and Lesbians to sit down with
their parents and watch Queer Son:
Family Journeys To Understanding And
Love. This new documentary video
by Vickie Seitchik, the mother of a
gay son, shows through interviews
with parents of Gays and Lesbians
how they were able to move from
doubt and fear to understanding and
unconditional love of their children.
Queer Son gives the viewer an
intimate glimpse into the homes and
lives of families from diverse ·racial,
ethnic and social backgrounds. In its
48 minutes, the video moves from
every parent's first halting question,
"Are you sure?" to show families who
are indeed sure - sure of one another's
love arid acceptance. The parents talk
candidly from their hearts.
Seitchik herself appears in the video
along with her son, his lover and
other family members. Dinner table
conversations between Seitchik and
her son reveal years of worry,
concern and struggle - and resolution.
One of the other parents interviewed
says that many parents are
afraid of what the neighbors and
family will think. "You have a gay
child?," Dorothy Beam says neighbors
will ask. "Whatever happened in
your life?" She recalls a mother
claiming her daughter went to a
"lesbian college" and became a les-
In the epirit of 5t. Frlillci5 atJ St;,
Clare, wdre ~ ~ builders
atJ peac:e nmrs to jourrey with
w h the foot6t.q,e of Jeoos Christ.
~~ We are an ecumenical,
· · · inclusive; non-clerical
· · •. •~ ccmmunit'fof-baptized men
, . ~ and. women from various,
· Christian tracfltioris who
• chose to worship and live in
,./!.O f 'th- h . . . . ~ ~v· aA:~o~~~:;~ a:n;;~~ an
program leading to the
profession of vows as a
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,lf!!2 religious Brother or Sister.
Ask to receive ournewsletter,
"Footsteps."
We work in ministries
of love, care and reconciliation
nationwide.
For more information,
please write to:
MERCY OF Goo COMMUNITY
Att: Vocation Director
P. 0. 6ox 41055
Providence RI 02940-1055
SECOND STONE
bian. 'The daughter was a lesbian
before she left home," says Beam,
"but when she got there [to college]
she could be herself." Beam says the
issue of homosexuality seldom came
up in her Baptist church and when it
did, it was discussed as sin.
Beam knows that nothing she could
have done would have changed the
sexual orientation of her son, activist
Joseph Beam, who died several years
ago of complications due to AIDS..
She says she is taking up the torch so
· that her son will not have died in
vain . "I am going to let the world
know that being gay is good," she
says.
Another parent interviewed, Paul
Yee, says the part that hurts most is
when rejection and condemnation
come from the community that is supposed
to share God 's love, the Christian
community. "On the one hand
they preach God is all love," says
Yee, "but action indicates that their
God loves conditionally . . They won't
admit that, but that's how they feel."
Yee's eyes well up as he proudly
talks about raising a beautiful boy.
"My son's gay," he says. ''Does that
make him less a person? I have two
other kids, but because they're
heterosexual , they are . going to have .
a much easier life." Yee knows that
his gay son is. not gay by choice.
Says Yee, "Why would he choose that
whert life is so much more difficult
being a gay person?"
Also interviewed are David and
Claudia von Savage . They are the
parents of a small baby girl, who
they hope, they say, with the proper
raising, will turn out to be heterosexual.
"I'rri a Christian," says
Claudia von Savage. 'The Bible says
train up a child in the way he shall
go and he will not depart ·from it."
She says she does not think she could
have a gay child;;although she knows
there are. Christian families with homosexual
children. Claudia believes
that if she raises her child with
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values, standards and guidelines,
homosexuality will not be part of her
thinking. 'Tm not sure what actually
goes into a person's decision to be
homosexual, but there seems to my
mind it must be something that w~nt
wrong in the family life," she says.
But Dorothy Beam wou ld disagree
with that. She says her son was gay
from the time he came into the world
and she couldn 't change that any
more than she could change the color
of her skin. "You cannot change what
is to be."
And then there's Mary Griffith's
deeply moving story. As a child, her
son Bobby liked to do what she
described as quiet, gentle things -
read and color. ·But Bobby's grandmother
warned Griffith, "If you don't
do something with Bobby, he's going
to be a sissy." She quietly talks about
how, during his teens, Bobby was
filled with self hate and worried that
he was going to go to hell. Her
tormented son eventually . killed
himself by jumping into traffic from a
freeway overpass . During the tim e of
Bobby's anguish, she was not able to
help him because s 11e too felt that one
couldn't be homosexual and go to
heaven. Says Griffith, "When Bobby
was alive my beliefs formed my
reality and now reality forms my
beliefs." Griffith says that her son 's
suicide started her on a journey that
brought her to a decision that God
could accept Bobby the way he was.
· Amy Ashworth felt ashamed and
guilty about her gay son, Tucker.
She didn't know how she could tell
her family and worried that she had
done something wrong in raising
him. She says her son knew for sure
he was gay at age 13 and he su spected
at age seven or eight. She
recalls asking Tucker why he had not
told his parents earlier. "He said he
was 99 percent sure they would
accept him," says Ashworth, "but
there was that one percent he couldn't
risk b~cause home was his only safe
place. .
Beam, Ashworth and Griffith now
have only memories of their sons .
Another parent interviewed for the
videosums it up this way: 'To me it's .
about love." "I Jove you," she says, as
she hugs her son. ·
As for the von Savages, they believe
that the line has to be drawn
somewhere. They believe that homosexuality
is destructive to society and
leads to the breakdown of the family
and should therefore "be discour- .
aged ." There's a good chance - most
would say nine out of ten - that their
baby girl will grow up to be
heterosexual. But if she doesn't, the
von Savages have ahead of them one
of Go<;l's greatest lessons of love.
Queer Son can be purchased from
Vickie Seitcliik, 19 Jackson St., Cape
May , NJ 08204, (212)929-4199 , FAX
(609)884-0264. $19.94, plus $3.95
shipping.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 199 .5
w ' \! In Print · ····"·• • e1e>•••• ' ••···· ...... . ................. . ...... ................ . ...
St. Francis Lutheran Church cooks
Those People At That Church
0 n the verge of getting expelled
from the Evangelical
· Lutheran Church in America
for violating church policy
regarding the ordination of noncelibate
Gays and Lesbians, the folks
at St. Francis Lutheran Church in San
Franciso have done what any creative,
radical church would be expected
to do. They've published a
cookbook.
The cookbook's title, I11oseE eopleA t
That Church, comes from a comment
overheard at the time St. ·Francis,
along with First United Lutheran,
ordained an openly gay man and
lesbian couple in January 1990, thereby
challenging the ELCA policy of
not ordaining openly homosexual
candidates to become certified pastors
in the 5 million-member denomination.
Vwse People At That Church contains
In Print, briefly ...
TheL ambdDa irectoroyf
Religioann dS pirituality
BrianC ranfordh ase ditedt hisb ook,
subtitled"S ourceosf SpirituaSl upport
for GayM ena ndL esbiansS."a ys
Cranford",I thinkt heb ests erviceth is
providesis creatingg reatera warenesso
f thew ider angeo f support
available.T" heb ooki s a thorough
guidet hroughth e gaya ndl esbian
Christianc ommunity.
-FromP ryamiPd ress,1 3237M ontfortD
r.,S te.8 10,D allasT, X7 5240$.9 .
Clergya ndR eligiouasn d
theA IDSE pidemic
ByJ esuitF atheJr onF ul)ert,h is
updateto an earllerr esourcein cludes·
twop er:spectivoens t hei ssueo f testing
for HIV.
-FromN FPC1, 337W .O hioS t.,
ChicagoIL, 6 0622-64$970 .
Thes eculaSr queez·e
JohnA lexandern'se wb ooks hows
howW esterncu ltureg o)to thep oint
of beings hallowe, mptya, ndf lat and
presenths is argumentht att he only
.effectivere sponsies refillinge verydayl
ifew itht hee xcitemenatn d
mysteryth, ep aina ndl oveo f Jesus'
story.
-Fromln tervarsitPy ress
With' Magazine
''Them agazinfeo r radicaCl hristian
youth"is an excellenrte sourcfeo r
youth,a lthoughth eyseemre luctant
to dealw iths exualitiys sues.
-FromM ennoniteP ublishingH ouse,
616W alnuAt ve.,S cottdale,
PA1 5683-19$9198. 95yr.
SECOND STONE
over 200 recipes from members of the
congregation, their families and
friends, as well as many contributions
from San Francisco Bay Area chefs,
restaurants and food professionals .
The 256-page, paperback has a full
color jacket incorporating numerous
snapshots of members of the diverse
congregation.
In additiona to featuring recipes
like Caribbean Corn Cakes with
Shrimp/ Avocado Salsa, Breakfast
Pasta, Aunt Jane's . Fiesta Mexicali
Corn Salad, and Anise Seed Cookies,
Those People At Th~t Church includes
reflections and anecdotes frqm the
members of the congregation as well
as dcscriptiol)S of the ministries of this
extremely active church. Woven
throughout the book is The Prayer of
St. Francis of.Assisi, along with. contemporary
.prayers written by congregation
members, reflecting on
their lives and iss:ues.
· St. Francis Lutheran is· a small,
red~brick neighborhood church which
sits in the heart of San Francisco, four
subway stops from the city's financial
district and three blocks from Castro
Street. The church was dedicated by
Danish immigrants just 12 days
before the 1906 earthquake and was
honored as San Francisco Historical
Landmark No. 39 in 1971. The congregation
of 150 people is committed
to caring for their neighborhood and
its people.
In. 1990, St. Francis Lutheran
ordained an openly lesbian couple,
Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart, and
another San Francisco congregation,
First United Lutheran, ordained Jeff
Johnson; an openly gay man. That
summer the congregations were put
on ecclesiastical trial artd subsequently
suspended by the ELCA. The
churches may be expelled at the end
of 1995 if the ELCA does not change
its policy regarding the ordination of
openly gay and lesbian pastors or if
St. Francis does not rescind the calls to
Pastors Frost · and Zill hart. On
August 28, 1994, the congregation
voted unanimously to extend a
permanent full-time call to Zillhart
and a permanent part-time call to
Frost.
Wayne A. Strei, editor of Those
People At That Church, has been the
food and/ or entertairi.ment critic on
numerous San Francisco Bay Area
television and radio shows . . Ten
years ago, Strei began to feel the
tragedy of HIV and AIDS, and has
lost many friends, including two ct
the most important people in his life,
John David Hanson and Bradley Scott
DeWinde. It was John's funeral that
brought him to St. Francis Lutheran
Church for the first time in 1987, and
although it took him two years to
return, it now exists as the most
impo.rtant community in his life,
Those People At That Church is
available at bookstores or directly
from St. Francis Lutheran Church,
1-800-779-7179. Profits from the sale
of the cookbook go toward ministries
of the church both in the congregation
and in the .community. To order by
mail, send check or money order for
$18.95 per book, plus California sales
tax, if applicable, and $4.75 shipping
for each address, to Those People .At
That Church, St. Francis Lutheran
Church, 152 Church St., San
Francisco, CA 94114~1111.
QUOTABLE
"You can become a Christian by going to church just
about as easily as you can become an automobile by
sleeping in a garage."
-Garrison Keillor
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
In Print •• •• • • ••••••••••• 0 •• • •••••• • .-, • • ••• - • ••••••• . ••••• • •• • • . .• ·• ••••• ••••• • • •• . • •••
Soul Gazing
By Edouard Fontenot
ContributingW riter
Gay Soul: Finding the Heart of Gay
Spirit and Nature with Sixteen Writers,
Healers, Teachers and Visionaries,
Mark Thompson, author. HarperSanFrancisco,
1994. I
. n his latest book, Gay Soul,
Finding the Heart of Gay
Spirit · and Nature with
Sixteen Writers, Healers,
Teachersa nd Visionaries,a uthor; jour-
Selectio~zs for your
library available from
Second Sto11e Press. :.
DEFECTING IN PLACE: Women
Claiming Responsibility for Their
Own Spiritual Lives
By Miriam Therese Winter,
Adair Lummis, and Allison Stokes
Based on a nationwide survey of more than 7,000
women, this book explores women's attitudes towards the
institutional church
$22.95, hardcover.
SHE WHO IS: The Mystery of God
in Feminist Theological Discourse
By Eliz.abeth A. Johnso11 _ .
Library Journal says •perhaps the best book of femuust
theol.ogy to date ... grounded in cla~cal Christian
thought.. rooted in women's experience ...
$15.95, piper.
WOMEN AT WORSHIP: Interpretations
of North American Diversity
Edited by Marjori e Procter-Smith and Janet R. Walton
A remarkable collection of eSSllysw hich probe the
meaning and the many shapes of contempomy feminist
worship. ·
$15.95, paper.
SEASONS OF THE FEMININE DIVINE:
Christian Feminist Prayers for the
Liturgical Cycle
By Mary Kathlten Speeg1e Schmilt
Graceful prayers written by the·first y,,oman deacon
ordained in the Anglican-Diocese of Quebec.
$11.9.5, paper.
SEXUALITY AND THE SACRED:
Sources foTrh eological Reffection
By Janus B. Ntlson Md Sandra P. Lon&fellow
A comprehel1Sivrees ourcea ddressing human sexuality as
a critical.part of.divine rev~lation.
$2,.99, paper.
IN THE COURTS OF THE LORD
By Jim Ferry ·
A gay priest is put on trial
by the Episcopal Church
$22.95, hardcover,
MURDER AMONG.FRIENDS
By Chuck Fager
1 A prophetic and scary murder mystery about a gay
Quaker activist.
$13.95, paper.
Place your order today!
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SECOND STONE
nalist and former Advocate editor
Mark Thompson has assembled a
collection of interviews which ciy out
at the marriage of convenience between
the gay rights movement and
a scientific positivism which largely
abjures a spiritual dimension. Gay
Soul recalls gay, "two-spirited" people
to their historic spiritual role
described alternately as trickster,
shaman; poet, catalyst, stoiyteller and
always as Other.
The publication of Thompson's
collection reflects a renewed cultural
· willingness to entertain the idea that
human beings inay be more than the
sum of their biochemical parts, perhaps
a response to the · corning millennium.
It also recalls the fact that
gay and lesbian people - though
perhaps not elites - have always been
a church, temple and mosque-going
people, indeed .leaders in the sacred
sphere, possibly, as Thompson's subjects
suggest, because gay and lesbian
people, in the absence of socially
sanctioned roles, must constantly
contemplate their personhood and
reinvent themselves as they move
through lives for which scripts are not
provided.
The renewed. interest in existential
questions · has created a new stratum
in gay and lesbian literature, one
concerned with the elements of gazing
·at the entirety of homosexual
selves and beyond. Gay Soul is a
stellar example of how gay people
have ,begun the constructive Dpiritual
work which will finally · - or again -
art,iculate our vitality, purpose and
worth . ·
In the debate between social
constructionism and essentialisrn,
Thompson's subjects would .be considered
essentialists; Thompson acknowledges
. the liberating impact of
Foucault's radical social constructionisrn,
but argues -in his, short introduction
. that this perspective has
largely exhausted itself as .a philosophy
to power the gay and lesbian
movement forward into the next
, centuiy. The new fuel is not political
· activism, but the interior journey.
Thompson's subjects include a
Native America scholar, a Jungian
therapist, a novelist, a Christian
priest, a Taoist, a poet, an astrologer
and a Freudian analyst. Many of his
subjects, activists Hariy Hay and
Malcolm .Boyd for example, are gay
icons. Though Thompson's subjects
come from different starting points
and reveal a variety of emotional
perspectives, some joyful, others melancholic,
others determined, several
striking themes emerge across the
conversations. The principle theme is
a quality of personhood unique to
gay men (and, as many imply but
most do not develop, Lesbians) out of
which rises a singular spiritual
perspective. This quality, perhaps
biological and certainly environmental,
is reflected in the idea of
"otherness" or "neitherness." There
exist, according to these theorists, not
two, but three, four or more genders.
Because gay men constitute a third
gender, they experience the suffocating
effects of truncated identities
and insufficiently diverse categories.
Thompson's subjec~s are clearly not
seeking any existing "place at the
table ." They issue a common call to
rearrange the chairs.
Thompson's
subjects are
clearly not seeking
any existing
"place at the
table." They
issue a common
call to rearrange
the chairs.
Poet James Broughton is a delight to
read. His words sing from the page
and his joy is palpable and infectious.
He exhibits a "gaiety of soul" and an
amazing amusement about life where
"everything is going nowhere, beautifully."
As with all of his subjects,
Thompson is interested here in the
poet's understanding of soul, which,
for Broughton, is "Wherever I hurt,
wherever I tingle, whenever I weep,
whenever I guffaw, my soul is
humming. It flexes With my desires
and responses, . my longing and my
ailing. It operates in my heart, my
deep guts, my genitals ."
The importance and celebration of
physical eroticism is another important
theme, articulated not only by
Broughton, but also by Joseph
Kramer, the founder of the Body
Electric School, who reveals a fascinating
Jesuit heritage and, influence;
and 5-M theorist and practitioner Guy
Baldwin, whose reflections on S-M as
"burning away of impurities" in
which the "self becomes stripped of
all its external trappings" recall
nothing so much as the mystical
Christian desert Fathers and Mothers,
and Thompson's interview with
Buddhist teacher Ram Dass. The
formative role of gay suffering is
ecl1oed by Episcopal priest Malcolm
Boyd's identification of the gay
experience "as a wounded, broken
person with the wounded, broken
person of Jesus."
Any discussion of meaning at the
end of the millennium must acknowledge
the forbidding presence of
AIDS. This third pervasive theme
peeks around the edges of eveiy
exchange about purpose and
possibility. Says Paul Monette, who
has AIDS, "One of the ways in which
AIDS has purified so many of us-is in
how much it tells us that this is not a
dress rehearsal. We are being tested
by something as deep in ourselves as
we could ever be." Many of
Thompson's subjects reflect this
understanding of AIDS as a fire
which has tested and tempered the
steel of gay men who, having come
through it, live purposefully but with
the "flagrant joy" of self-awareness.
· These thinkers celebrate the
reclamation of the history of a "gay
tribe," a communal remembering of
history which recalls a past of
spiritual leadership by · gendervariant
people. In an especially
compelling reflection, gay scholar
Will Roscoe discusses the crippling
cultural assumption that gay Reople
are without social purpose. Roscoe's
purpose has been to unearth the
profoundly important -social role
gender variant people have played
historically in order to restore their
power and self-esteem. Lament ing
"all these [gay people] running
around sharnanizing and berdacl1izing,
and wanting to be nothing so
much as as average person," he calls
for gay people to reclaim thei r
spiritual roles. Teacher, storyteller
and writer 'Andrew Ramey believes
'
SEE SOUL, Next Page
In Print, briefly ...
The_H omophobHieca ler
Dr. Sandra St. John's book discusses
the fears commonlyh eld by the gen·
eral populationa bout homosexuality
as well as the fears held by Gays and
Lesbiansw hicht end to keep themi n
the closet. She offers ideas and.
techniquesf or-both groups.
-FromT heG oddesEs xpress,
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L3 3707$.1 0.45,$ 11.1i8n R a.
Substancaeb usree source
guidfeo rG aysL, esbians
The Center for Substance Abuse
Preventionh as releaseda new guide
called" AlcohoTl, obaccoa, nd Other
DrugP reventionR esourceG uide
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The 50-page guide identifies
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J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A ,R Y 1 9 9 5
..
In Print ..................... . .... . ... •·• ....... .
Divisively Bound By Diversity
By Johnny Townsend
Contributing Writer
B ound by Diversity (Sebastian
Press, 1994) is an odd title
for editor James· T. Sears'
collection of essays by
members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay
and transgender· communities because
if anything, the variety of
viewpoints expressed show that these
groups are far from being unified,
and· it is doubtful that these essays, as
good as most of them are, will
succeed in binding those groups,
together. In fact, Sears himself in his
essay calls the groups "tribes," each
mistaking "self-interest for the common
interest." Sears unleashes the
tribespeople to have their say in this
anthology. .·.
The book is divided into sections on
family, HIV, politics, the arts, adolescence,
teaching, and two sections on
dialogue between opposing groups.
This was the section which seemed
most disturbing because despite an
introduction claiming that the book
"embraces dialogue and debate in the
interest of creating a community
strengthened by our differences,"
what happens too often is · that the
various authors are so convinced that
they are right and others are wrong
that, notwithstanding the "dialogue,"
no one is really listening to anyone
else.
SOUL,.
From Page 12
th.e "gay tribe" to be "biologically
separate from the child rearing pool,"
separated by nature to "do soul work"
and· act , as a mirror for the larger
culture. Harry Hay echoes this
und~rstanding in his discussion of the
"spirit children" - 'poetry, art, teaching
- · that he and his partner, gay
"specialists of the spirit," have
created. The idea of non-biological
procreativity is shot · through these
' interviews.
Thompson's interview with Hay,
the unapologetic and irascible Dean,
or perhaps Queen, of the gay rights
movement, is enough to justify the
price of the book. · Still filled with an
adolescent enthusiasm for Marxist
theory, Hay is perhaps the most
ardent advocate of gay social purpose
beyond consumption and biological
procreation. · His gay mythos can run
a bit thick at times; and even those
inclined towards concepts of the
''.natural" and the "intrinsic" may find
themselves exasperated by Hays
pedantic certainty.
Thompson clearly has his own ideas
about gay soul, which he tries to
sketch out in the introduction and in
short reflections at the beginning of
SECOND STONE
This was partly evident in a discussion
of pedophilia but even more
striking . in an almost violent debate
between feminist Amanda UdisKessler
and men's rights advocate
Frederic Hayward. Hayward puts
forth an interesting argument of how
women are to blame for homophobia
because it keeps straight men dependent
on them for emotional c'ontact,
but ultimately he seems to deliberately
distort almostall the statistical
evidence he uses for his various
claims. Udis-Kessler does a little misrepresentation
herself in responding, .
but she is dearly the one. who is at
least attempting to legitimately communicate.
Hayward .absolutely
refuses to allow her to, however, and
the ''.dialogue" of 25 pages does
anything but create the sef\se of unity
the book is after. It all but makes
unity appear impossible.
However, most of the rest of the
essays are much less hostile and do
show sincere attempts both to express
a point of view in a way that others
can understand, and also to attempt to
understand other points of view. The
long section of adolescents and teachers
is perhaps most promising.
Essays by deaf .Gays, women prison.
ers, African-Americans, Hispanics,
white males ( even a couple of straight
ones) border on tokenism, but a·work
each interview. The reader is left
wishing that he had developed these
ideas more completely, perhaps in a
final epilogic chapter. Thompson
provides his own black and white
photographs of his subjects which are
in turn delightful, powerful, humorous,
and soulful.
Gay Soul will challenge and
infuriate ardent social constructionists
and hearten those who have longed
for authentication of a uniquely gay
spiritual awakening.
Gay Soul is the type of book we will
see more of as we advance into the
21st century. It urges us past
reductionist positivism and issues an
invitation to spiritual journeying
informed by a history of religious
oppression and the paradox of
existence . Says Paul Monette, "I've
been furious and blunt... in my
impatience and rage with churches
and religions. But I have refined that
rage ... In the midst of this nightmare
and calamity of AIDS, I have seen
such eloquent work done by people
who are part of the clergy or part of a
religious commitment or calling.
Here I am close to the end of my life,
and I somehow think that I am an
atheist, who is,. for better or worse,
still an Episcopalian."
about diversity almost inevitably
faces that criticism. Unfortunately,
many of the "tokens" exhibit loo
much hostility for any unity to
emerge.
Robert Vasquez, for example, of
Puerto Rican descent, refuses to "sleep
with the enemy," meaning any white
person . All whiles are his oppressors,
even the ones who pretend to be nice.
They are just voyeurs out for adventure.
If whites aren't interested in
him, they're prejudiced, and if they
are int,erested, they just want to use
him. He leaves no room for any
white person to be a decent human
being.
· Similarly, Aaron T.aub argues
against chants such as "We're your
family, not your enemy; someone
you· love is queer" and "Gay, straight,
black,white; same struggle; same
fight." He doesn't want us to be
friendly with "the enemy" or try to
find common ground . He also talks
of the "glorious" burning in effigy of
Cardinal O'Connor, surely a divisive
action.
Even authors who attempt to talk of
unity often do so in bizarre ways,
such as when Walter _Williams sug -
gests that one of the things that will
help heterosexuals overcome their
prejudice and finally find a warm
place in their hearts for us is by our
teaching them about safer sex. I just
find that verv hard to believe. He
also sugg e ~ ,hat many women may
soon "choose" lesbianism to avoid HIV
from straight male partners, which
again sounds unlikely.
Certainly, many of the essays were
interesting and well-written , though
numerous irritating typos plagued
the book; but it seems that if. Sears
were truly trying to create unity,
'including so many negative views of
people who felt it was hopeless may
not have been the best choice. Of
course, he isn't just trying to show a
"nice" face but is attempting to show
the reality of the divisions which do
exist, and I suppose that no real
progress can be made unless we face
up to those unplea~ant realities.
Bound By Diversity then isn't the
answer to the problem but perhaps
helps us see things from enough
different perspectives that we can
start trying out our own ideas on how
to bring unity to a truly diverse
group.
Now available from Second Stone!
The Word Is Out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
liberates the Bible from those
who would bold it hostage to
an anti-gay agenda. In this
inspiring collection of ~65
daily meditations, theBible's
good news "comes out" to
meet all of us with love,
justice, meaning, and hope.
Chris Glaser is the author
of Uncommon Calling and
Coming Out to God. He is
a graduate of Yale Divinity
School.
The Word Is Out,
$12, paperback.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan. Titie
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TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED-----
NAME ________________ ...,;_ ____ _
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ORDER FROM: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
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Calendar-........................................................................
Healing the Wounds
of Heterosexism
FEBRUARY 10-12, "Creating a Home
in the Church: Healing · the Wounds
of Heterosexism," with Presbyterian
evangelist Janie Spahr, will be a
weekend of worship, workshops and
. frivolity focused on helping congregations
become more welcoming of lesbian,
gay and b_isexual Christians. To
be held in various St. Louis metropolitan
area churches, the event is sponsored
by Other Sheep, an international
and ecumenical ministry actively
proclaiming God's love for all people.
For more information, contact Other
Sheep at 319 North Fourth St., Ste.
902, St. Louis, MO 63102,
(314)822-3297, (314)776-4483.
11th Annual
Interweave
Convocation
FEBRUARY 17-19, Interweave, Unitarian
Universalists for Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Concerns
sponsors its annual gathering in
Raleigh, North .Carolina. Over 200
participants are expected for three
days of celebration, worship, pro- ·
grams, workshops, and more. Included
is a workshop on ecumenical organizing
presented by Rev . Morris
Hudgins, a Unitarian Universalist
pastor, and Rev. Jimmy Creech, a
United Methodist pastor and staff
member of the North Carolina Council
of Churches. For information contact
Bonnie Blue Crouse, 2001 Boone
Ave., Winston-Salem, NC 27103,
(910)722-0421.
8th Annual
T-E-N Weekend
FEBRUARY 24-26, The Evangelical
Network has announced an intense
three days of workshops and activities
for this year's gathering. The call is
to "Come Alive in '95!" and the theme
is 'Thanksgiving, Praise & Worship."
Cost for the weekend which includes
materials and meals is $40 per individual,
$70 per couple. For infomation
contact The Evangelical Network,
P.O. Box 16104, Phoenix, AZ
85011-6104, (602)265-2831, FAX
(602)265-2918.
Building Bridges for
an Inclusive Church
FEBRUARY 25, A workshop for
persons of all sexual orientations,
sponsored by American . Friends
1service Committee, Detroit Presbytery
Metropolitan Mission and
PLGC/Detroit. Keynote discussion
led by Chuck Collins on how sexism,
heterosexism and homophobia affect
us all. Westminster Presbyterian
Church in Detroit is the location . For
information call Ken (313)886-6486.
Annual Institute
of the Son
FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 3, An
SECOND STONE
extension of the T-E-N weekend, the
Phoenix Evangelical Bible Institute
will feature the course, "Christian
Gay and Lesbian Ministry," which
was developed by Pastor Fred L.
Pattison. The fee for the entire week
is $50. For information write to
PHEBI, Pastor Fred Pattison, 1035 E.
Tumey, Phoenix, AZ 85014.
Brothers Together
vacation
MARCH 4-11, Brothers Together
sponsors its second annual Brothers in
Paradise vacation/ retreat for gay men
on St. John in the Virgin Islands. This
organization was started in 1991 by a
group of friends who felt their gay
community was lacking something
personal and . spiritual and that it too
often left people feeling alone and
unfulfilled. Since then, over 500 men
have attended the group's events. ·
Single cost for this event is $1,299. For
information contact Brothers Together,
115 Newbury St., #304, Boston, MA
02116-2935 ot call 1-800-462-9962.
Rural AIDS Conference
MARCH 10-13, "Sowing Knowledge,
Harvesting Care " is the theme of this
national conference on rural Americans
living with _AIDS/HIV. St.
Cloud State University, St. Cloud,
Minn. is the setting. For information
call (612)255-3082.
Midwest
PLGC Conference
MARCH 10-12, Presbyterians for
Lesbians and Gay Concerns sponsors
its mid-winter midwest gathering at
Stronghold Conference Center near
Oregon, .Illinois. For information call
Sue Jones, (608)244-4820.
Clergy, Women . andMen
Religious and the
HIV/AIDS Pandemic
MARCH 24-28, The National Catholic
AIDS Network sponsors ihis conference
for religious personnel on
HIV/ AIDS at 'the Kenrick Conference
Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The
mission of the network includes a call
to assist Catholic leaders and congregations
in responding to the impact of
HIV/ AIDS as well as to support theological
reflection and dialogue relating
to the pandemic. For information
contact the National Catholic AIDS
Network, P.O. Box 422984, San
Francisco, CA 94142-2984,
(707)874-3031, FAX (707)874-1433.
Affirmation·
National Gathering
APRIL 21-23, Affirmation: United .
Methodists promises a challenging
keynote, workshops, mutual support
and sharing, festival worship and a
Texas-style banquet at its 20th anniversary
gathering to be held in
Dallas. For information contact
Affirmation, P.O. Box 1021, Evanston,
IL60204.
Communication
Ministry Convocation
APRIL 27-30, Convocation is a
national gathering of Catholic priests,
brothers and nuns, Last year, just
over 100 gay and bisexual priests and
brothers and lesbian sisters, and
friends, met in Orlando to explore
'The Goodness of Being Gay." For
many participants, it was the first
time they had ever been able to be so
open about their sexuality and to
experience an empowering atmosphere
of acceptance. The theme of
this year's gathering is "New Expressions
of Being Gay or Lesbian in the
Catholic Church: Our Myths and Our
Stories." Presenters include Patricia
O'Donnell and Richard Woods. The
convocation will be held at the Radisson
Inn at the Greater CincinnatiNorthern
Kentucky International
Airport. For information on this
conference write to CMI, P.O . Box
60125, Chicago, IL 60660-0125.
National More Light
Churches Conference
APRIL 28-30, The 11th Annual More
Light Churches Network Conference
will be held in Baltimore, Maryland
at First and Franklin Street Presbyterian
Church. For information contact
Presbyterians for Lesbian and
Gay Concerns, P.O. Box 38, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038.
Retreat for HIV-positive
religious and clergy
MAY 8-12, The Marianist Center in
Cupertino, California, is the setting
for a five day retreat for religious and
clergy who are HIV-positive. For
information contact John McGrann,
Kairos Support for Caregivers, 114
Douglass, San Francisco, CA 94114,
(415)861-0877.
Religious Life Weekend
JUNE 1-4, The Mercy of God Community
sponsors its fourth annual
Religious Life Weekend for those
considering religious life. The
LaSalette Center for Christian Living,
Attleboro, Mass ., is the setting. For
information contact the Mercy of God
Community, P.O. Box 41055,
Providence, RI 02940-1055.
American Baptists
Concerned
National Retreat
JUNE 24-27, The annual retreat of ·
ABC will be held at Thomfield
Retreat Center in Syracu_se, New _
York. Cost is $175. For information
contact ABC, 872 Erie St., Oakland,
CA 94610-2268, (510)465-8652.
J A N U A
CMI Retreat
JUNE 27-30, Communication Ministry
sponsors a retreat for Catholic lesbian
' nuns and gay priests and brothers.
The Serra Retreat House, Malibu,
Calif., is the setting . For information
contact CMI, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago,
IL 60660-0125. .
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Coalition
Conference
JUNE 30-JULY 3, Gay and lesbian
parenting groups from Southern
California will host the 16th Annual
Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition
International Conference at the University
of California at · Los Angeles.
Part of the conference will focus on
issues of relevance to ·those who are
currently parents, those who function
in a parenting role, or those who wish
to become parents. Two other subconferences
will examine topics of ·
importance to the children of lesbian
or gay parents. Conference fees
include all meals and three nights
lodging at UCLA's Sunset Village.
For information write to GLPCI '95,
7985 Santa Monica Blvd., Box 109-346,
West Hollywood, CA 90046 or call
(213)654-0307, FAX (310)652-7584.
Convocation of
Reconciling
Congregations
JULY 13-16, ''Bound for the Promised
Land" is the theme for the fourth
national gathering of Reconciling
Congregations, to be held in Minneapolis.
A youth and ·student rally
and a special gathering of.the Reconciling
Pastors' Action Network is
planned . Individual fee is $165, $85
for children ' and youth. For information
contact the Reconciling Congregations
Program, 3801 N. Keeler
Ave., Chicago, IL 60641,
(312)736-5526.
The UFMCC
General Conference
JULY 23-30, the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community Churches
will gather at .the Westin Peachtree
Plaza Hotel in Atlanta for its 17th
conference. "All Things Are Possible :·
is the theme for this conference which
offers a discounted rate of $180 for
non-delegates. A special gathering
will be held at the Martin Luther
King, Jr . Center for Non-Violent Social
Change: For information, contact
UFMCC GCXVII, 5300 Santa Monica
Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA 90029,
(213)464-5100. .
Announcements of interest to gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians are welcome
and will be included free of charge.
Send to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Orleans, LA 70182 or FAX to
(504)891-7555.
RY/FEBRUARY 1995
••••••••••••• ~ ••••• I:' •
Noteworthy W
&Q•a1o,;,~c;c;i-:::'='~•'!'•t1"••••••••••••c•••••••• ..... . ......
John Boswell passes
tiJOHN BOSWELL, Yale University
professor and author of- two books
about religion and homosexuality that
rocked the church establishment, died
of complications from AJDS Dec. 24 in
New Haven. He was 47 years old. In
1980 Boswell gained attention with
the publication of Christianity, Social
Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay
People in Western Europe. From the
Beginning of the Christian Era to the
Fourteenth Century. Last June, he
published the long-awaited follow-up
to his first book, Same-Sex Unions in
Premodern Europe, based on his
research of more than 60 manuscripts
from the 8th to the 16t h century. He
is survived by his life partner, Jerome
Hart, his parents, Col. Henry Boswell,
Jr. and Catharine, a sister, Patricia,
and two brothers, Wray and Henry
Ill.
Catholic organization
receives award
tiDIGNITY /USA, the world's largest
gay, lesbian and bisexual Catholic
organization received the 1994 Call
To Action Award. Call To Action, a
national organization of Catholics
committed to church reform in the
spirit of the Second Vatican Council,
presented the award to -Dignity on
Nov . 4 during its annual conference
in Chicago. Marianne -Duddy, presi- dent
of Dignity /USA said the award
comes at a time when gay Catholics
are increasingly under attack - from
Pope John Paul II's criticism of the
European Parliament for protecting
gay rights and his denouncing lesbian-
headed families, to the fact that
more than 40 Dignity chapters have
been expelled from Catholic church
facilities since 1986.
Reconciling Congregation
Program adds churches
tiSIX CHURCHES declared them-selves
Reconciling Congregations
near the end of 1994. They are St.
Paul's Ul\c1C, San Jose, Calif., Broadway
UMC, Chicago, Centenary UMC,
St. Louis, Clinton-Camanche Subgroup
of Iowa MFSA, Clinton, Iowa,
Trinty UMC, Kansas City, and
Chenango Street UMC, Binghamton,
New York, making a total of 83
Reconciling Congregations and 5
Reconciling Campus Ministries.
West Hollywood church
"bar hops" on Christmas eve
tiTHE PASTOR, MEMBERS and
friends of Crescent Heights United
Methodist Church of West Hollywood
went out to the bars and restaurants
of Santa Monica Boulevard to round
up people for their midnight Christmas
Eve service. 'This -is no t a
community which has traditionally
supported churches," said Pastor Tom
Griffith. "It is, though, a' community
SECOND STONE
which is heavily populated by singie
persons, many of whom are homosexual.
Many of them, gay or
straight, do not have families whom
they can easily visit, or who will even
let them visit, at Christmas." So for
the sixth consecutive year, a group
from the church passed out "complimentary
tickets" in the bars for their
Christmas Eve service.
MCC pastor becomes columnist
tiREV. TYRONNE SWEETING, pastor
of MCC at Boise, Idaho, has been
selected by the Idaho Statesman to be
one of the featured columnists on the
paper's religion page. After being
ousted from its home on the campus
of Boise State University, MCC at
Boise relocated in October to a church
building owned by the R~organized
Church of the Latter-Day Saints.
Ft. Worth church
calls first pastor
ti WHITE ROCK CHURCH WEST, Ft.
Worth, Texas has called its first
pastor, Rev. William R. Prickett .
Prickett comes ·to Ft. Worth from
Orange County, Calif., where he was
actively involved with the leadership
of Evangelicals Concerned in Laguna
Beach. Prior to that, he was a Southern
Baptist pastor in his hometown of
Birmingham, Ala., for 11 years,
where he led the congregation from a
membership of 100 to more than 700.
Prickett was installed on Dec. 11.
White Rock West is a mission work of
the White . Rock Church in Dallas.
Late last year the church organized as
a separate congregation from the
founding Dallas church. In the
future, the congregation will change
its name to reflect an identity with
and commitment to Ft. Worth, according
to a church spokesperson. For
information on this ministry call
(817)451-7880.
New ministry in Louisiana
tiABUNDANT GRACE Christian Fellowship,
a Bible-based, spirit filled,
non-denominational church has begun
meeting in Covington, Louisiana.
Pastors Lee Thompson and
Yolande Yaeger, formerly of Grace
Fellowship in New Orleans, are
providing spiritual leadership for the
fledging church. For information on
this ministry call (504)893-9098.
Kentucky church becomes RIC
tiTHIRD LUTHERAN CHURCH,
Louisville, Kentucky has become a
"Reconciled in Christ" congregation,
one of more than 100 congregations
and ministries in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America which
affirms and welcomes Lesbians, gay
men and bisexual persons into its
parish life. Third Lutheran is the
third congregation of any denomination
in _ the Commonwealth of
Kentucky to make such a declaration,
following Central Presbyterian, Louisville,
1983, and Zion United Church
of Christ, Henderson, 1994. It is the
first congregation in the KentuckyIndiana
Synod of the ELCA to become
RIC. (The Lutheran Campus Ministry
in Bloomington, I11diana, is also a
Reconciled in Christ ministry.) The
decision to become RIC was reached
at Third Lutheran's monthly council
meeting on Nov. 10, 1994.
Newsletter for pastor's spouses
tiP.S., YOU'RE NOT FORGOTTEN
is a newsletter for spouses of pastors.
The newsletter began as a result of a
course called "Spouses in Ministry" at
the 1993 Advance Christian Ministries
conference. Robyn Brown, coordinator
of the support letter, said "I
have been a pastor's spouse for 13
years of my 16 year relationship . .
There were times that I needed a
confidant." Brown is the spouse of
Rev. William Memmott, pastor of
· Agape Church in St. Louis. For
information on the newsletter, write
to Brown at 2706 A Armand Pl., St.
Louis, MO 63104-2214.
Agape installs assistant pastor
a pastor and installed as assistanf
pastor of the Agape Church of St.
Louis. Part of Gaile's work will be in
Christian outreach to people in the St.
Louis area who are HIV-positive.
And from our
Christmas card newswire ...
tiAUTHOR CHRIS GLASER and his
mate Mark King had a commitment
ceremony on Oct. 30. The couple
have bought a new home in Atlanta.
Glaser has published his fourth book,
The . .Word Is Out, and .King has begun
consulting ' on HIV f AIDS in the workplace.
tiJOE GALLE IV has been licensed as Chris Glaser, standing, and Mark King
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical 'new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
WhatUible the LJ
Really Says
About
1-lornosexuality
. I• \-le\minial<., Ph.D.
oame ,..,.
Daniel A Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed.''
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Gre.ed and Sex
" ... the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
summary I know of current bibli'
cal scholarship relating to homosexual
issues ... eminently useful..."
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□
WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
Postage/Handling $3 first book, $1 each additional ____ _
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OPEN HANDS, an ecume11ical quarterly
maga~ine on ministries · with gays, lesbians
and bisexuals. $16/year. Free sample. 3801
N. Keeler Avenue, Chicago, IL. 60641. ·
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HOMOSEXUAL? The Lambda Directory of
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Pyramid Press, 13237 Montfort; Ste. 810J ,
Dallas. TX 75240. 9195
SEEKING PASTOR for small independent'
liturgical church in Dallas, Texas. Present
pastor retiring ' January, . 1995. Mainline ' ·
church backgrourd and seminary graduate
preferred. Contact: Pulpit Committee, Fr.
Frederick Wright, c/o Holy Trinity Community
Church, 4402 Roseland Avenue,
Dallas. TX 75204. Telephone: (H)(214)
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GAY EPISCOPAL PRIEST seeks church
position with loving, inclusive Community
that respects the dignity of all: Write to 431
Gravier St. #300, New Orleans, LA 70130
'I
MWBM, Christian, 52 years old, 5'5", 165
lbs., HIV-, non-smoker seeks other Christian .
bisexuals, gay men for casual relationship.
Come to Oregon Ce.ntral Coast. J .. Nolan,
Box 2263 Florence OR 97439. 4195
ClilCAGO GWM, 41, 155 lbs., 5'10",
ICJ<?~mfgo r a so~l mate. I am emotionally,
spmtually, and fmancially secure and seek
the sa~e in my rriate. Open with my sexuality,
masculine, not riamboyant, HIV-,
mvolved in the Episcopal Church, and
dedicated lo my friends. You have similar
qualities, do no_t abuse alcohol or drugs, and
love . hie. Wnte with recent photo: B.R.,
4422 N. Greenview, 2E, Chicago, IL 60640.
GWF, 44, professional, feminine , well
e_ducated, kindly humorous, talkative,
fmanc,ally s_table, no drugs/smoking, little
dnnk111g, faithful Presbyterian, liberal in
o.utl_ook, conservative in lifestyle. ISO truly
s,m1lar lady living within 2-3 hours: GWF
good listener, feminine, 3~-49, interested it;_
commitment \'.S, casual relationships. Write:
Sarah. P.O. Box 14163, Augus1a. GA 30919.
6/95.
GWM, Christian, professional educated 35
6'2", 160 lbs., blue/brown (balding) no f;ciru'
~atr, lursute . ISO a non-smoking, drug-free
hfemate, monogamous relationship. Inter-
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New Orleans, LA 70182 I
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appears
·l
ests:. music, t.heatre, outdoors, travel, quiet
evenings , cards, volleyball, dancing. P.O.
Box 59, Hummels Wharf, PA 17831-0059.
ACTIVE CATHOLIC (Orthodox, Anglican,
or Roman Catholic) male wanted. Serious
but jovial and sensual and masculine"! ... in
the ·s01.1thwest or: San Diego. Weight in
proportion to height. Music and animal
lover. Around my age range: 53. No smoke
or dope, moderate drink! Frank B., P.O. Box
62. Blue Srrings. MO 64013
I'M ATfRAGTEDTO WV, TN, OK, TX. AR.
VA, KY Southern boys. Like them Christian
.or _other beliefs who are very romantic,
lov!ng, - g~ntle, cari•ng, masculine, straightacting,
111c.e, personality. Honesty counts.
Must be very loving, sexua l. I like slender
types 24-40's, long haired, dark, redhead,
blondes. Little Teddy Bear wants a country
boy. I'm 37, 5'7, 155 lbs ., hairy, HIV-. No
drugs, games, bar types. Photo to M. Barrett ,
6244 Corson Ave. So., Seattle WA
98108-3442. '
BUYING FOREIGN/USA stamp collections /
accumulations. Professional appraisal /offer;
excellentreferences; Rob Gesell, Box 8248,
Ann Arbor MI 48107. (313)662-5460. 2/95
IS. Y_OUR CHURCH welcoming and
affirmmg to lesbians and gay men? _ I'd like
to know. l 1m compiling a national list.
Please write to Ken Lewis, Box 1452, Laguna
Beach. CA 92651. 4/95
"AIDS AWARENESS" stamp pins. $3.50.
Quality made of solid brass. Proceeds benefit
PWAs. Volume discounts. Eastern Maine
AIDS Network, P.O. Box 2038, Bangor, ME
04402. .
CREMATION URNS: Int,roducing the
Lambda Pride .Um. Celebrate Life with an
um that reflects personality and style. Call
for free brochure. LifeStyle Urns
1-800-685-URNS. 8/95. .
GAY PRIDE FLAGS, Banners, Lapel Pins,
Wall Clocks, Tote Bags, Bumper Stickers
Wind Socks & More. Free Catalog:
tfi~f;te:"i~3s8 (24 hrs. - 7 days.) Retail &
LIVE OPERA performances on audio /video
casette. lncredibl.e selec tion s ince 1930's,
world-wide. (?ver 7400 items . Magnifi~ent
free computenzed catalogue. Live Opera,
P.O. Box 3141, Steinway Station, Long
Island City.NY IH03. 12/95
PIANO FOR SALE. Wanted: a responsible
person to take on a low monthly payment on
a beautiful console piano, no money down.
Call toll free: 1-800-533-7953 . 6195
REV. N. A. LLOY_D, C.M., spiritu al medium
and ad visor. Sp1ntual counsel ino. Call
( 5 I 6)736-1058 . P
ATTENTION CHRISTIAN songwriters: I will
typeset your manuscript music. $20 first
page, $2 each additional stave. For info
write: Eric Bicknell, 23244 Almira, Southfield.
Ml 48034. 4195
RETREATS FOR GAY monks focusing on
copmg techniques in repressive communities
at. Saint Benedict _Monastery. Information
wnte: Dan, 1012 Monastery Rd., Snowmass,
co 81654. 6/95
IWf@l@l @)©
"WHAT THE BIBLE Says and .Doesn't Say
About H~mosei~ality 11 by Rev. Nancy
Hor~ath. ~rofess10nally produced, studio
quality videotape or audiocassettes in
attractive package. Well researched,
uplifhng perspective from UFMCC minister.
Excellent ad_dition -. to · personal library.
Wonderful gift. Video: ,$34.95. Audio:
$24.95. Plus $3.95 P&H per order. Credit
card orders: 800-370-7483. Or mail
payment to H&B Video, JDVMCC, P.O. Box
. 64996 Baton Rouge LA 70896.
WARNING REGARDING PRISON CORRESPONDENCE:
While most priso11ers
seekrng correspondence are genuine in
their intent, some are not. Readers are
·cautioned to protect themselves from
scams: 1. Do not . send· checks or money
orders to prisoners and do not cash checks
or money ord~rs from prisoners. PersOns
· cashing altefed checks or money orders are
respo11sible for the difjere11ce betwee11 the
issue amount and the altered amount. 2. Do
not reveal pe rsonal information about
you rself that would be hannful to you if
passed on to employer, family or others.
ARE YOU
MOVING?
The Post Office will not
forward The Second Stone.
You must notify us for
uninterrupted service if you move.
Please notify us four weeks in advance for
uninterrupted deliyery . Send both old and new
addre_sses. H possible attach mailing label in
space provided
PRINT
.NEW ADDRESS
u, n ~ z p· ~ ~
Send completed form to:
THES ECONDS TONE
Box8340
NewO rleansL, A 70182
JANU A RY/FEBRUARY 1995