Second Stone #47 - July/Aug 1996

Second Stone #47 - July/Aug 1996

47

1996

July/Aug 1996

THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER FOR GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL CHRISTIANS 2 .95
Disney unaffected by
OOycott, analysts say
By E. Scott Reckard
AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) - To boycott Disney,
Southern Baptists will have to
do a lot more than just steer the kids
clear of Epcot Center; "The Hunchback
of Notre Dame," "Home
Improvement," "Monday Night Football"
and the Mighty Ducks.
There's "Live with Regis and
Kathie Lee." '.'.Siskcl & Ebert." "Bill
Nye the Science Guy." Hollywood
Records. Hyperion books. Discover
magazine. ESPN. Ten daily newspapers.
Ten TV stations. Twenty-one
radio stations.
And that's just a fraction of the ventures
Disney is involved in making it
tough for many to follow the boycott,
approved by Southern Baptist leaders
in June for the denomination's 16
million members. They said Disney's
tolerance of gay nights at its theme
parks and benefits for gay partners of
employees "disparages Christian
values."
Then again, if Wall Street and Hollywood
observers are right and his-
SEE BOYCOTT, Page 24
Baptist preachers a growing
fixture in political arena
By David Briggs
AP Religion Writer
SOUTHERN BAPTIST CLERGY
have come out of the political closet
and they're not going back.
In surveys of Southern Baptist pastors
over the past four presidential
elections, the percentage of clergy
desiring to be more involved in.social
and political action nearly doubled,
and the percentage who joined a
national political organization more
than doubled .
In what might be particularly troublesome
news for Democrats, the
political preferences of the spiritual
leaders of the nation's largest Protestant
church have almost completely
turned around.
In 1980, only 33 percent of_Southem
Baptist clergy expressed a preference
for the GOP; by 1992, more than 70
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New Orleans, LA 70182
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REQUESTED
TIME DATED MATERIAL
DONOTDELAY
percent leaned Republican, according
to James Guth, a political science professor
at Furman University in Greenville,
S.C.
Where once Southern Baptists traditionally
made their home in the
Democratic Party - a party that still
has a populist appeal on economic
concerns - issues such as abortion and
gay rights have not only alienated
many Baptists from the Democratic
Party but have pushed them away
from a sole emphasis on ''.soulwinning"
and into an active political
. role, observers said.
"Most of the involvement ... has
been defensive, not offensive," said
Richard Land, head of the denomination's
Christian Life Commission in
Nashville, Tenn. "Evangelical
Christians have been impelled into
SEE PREACHERS, Page 9
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Activists disappointed with 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy
Prooyterians: Gay
~must be chaste
- From Associated Press
and other reports
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Gays and
lesbians who abstain from sex can be
ordained in the nation 's largest Presbyterian
church organization. The
General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church (USA) approved the
policy July 5. Unmarried heterosexuals
who are ordained would also be
banned from having sex.
The 313-236 vote was watched by
about 4,500 Presbyterians attending
the session at the Albuquerque Convention
Center. Nineteen of the 568
voting delegates were absent.
Interview : Acceptance of
gay son a long struggle
for Christian dad
PAGE 6
National News
PAGE 8
World News
PAGE 14
Christian Community
News & Calendar
PAGE 18
The Rev. John Buchanan, the newly
elected leader of the Presbyterian
Church (USA), said prior to the vote
that he did not object to ordaining
gays and lesbians. Buchanan said he
was in favor of letting congregations
decide for themselves.
"I have come to the conclusion that
there is no scriptural reason that
homosexual persons should not be
ordained. I can live in a church that
trusts churches and presbyteries to
make their own decisions," Buchanan
said in a speech before his election.
After the ordination vote, hundreds
of gay and lesbian church members
and leaders gathered to sing, "We
Are Staying in the Church of God."
But opponents said the vote was a
step backward.
"We are asking people again: 'Don!t
ask. Don't tell. Let's live our lives in
secrecy.' I don't believe that is th e
Gospel," said the Rev. Myra Kazanjian
of Pittsburgh, who was among
300 people marching through the
hall to pr9test the vote.
One longtime Presbyterian gay rights
activist said he will leave the
church as a result of the vote.
"I do not like how this heterosexual
dictatorship treats my people," the
Rev .. Howard Warren said.
Warren told his Indianapolis con-
SEE PRESBYTERIANS, Page 8
SUBSCRIBE TODAY! See Pa e 22.
Welcome!
IF YOU FOUND this copy of Second Stone at a gay
pride event, a P-FLAG meeting, or some other event
or location, there's a Second Stone Outreach Partner
in your area. Their brochure is enclosed. They are a
Christian church or organization with a specific out reach
to gays and lesbians. We encourage you to visit
them for their next service or meeting. In the mean time,
you may be asking some questions like the
ones that follow.
When I told my church pastor I
was gay, I was referred to an exgay
program. What's that all
about?
Recent scientific research is indicating that sexual orientation
is innate and cannot be changed. EJ<-gay programs
are effective in redirecting a heterosexual person
who has experimented with homosexual activity
back to heterosexual relationships. For a gay or lesbian
person, however, an ex-gay ministry can only
teach one how to "act as if' heterosexual, often with
painful results. An ex-gay program cannot change
your sexual orientation. Remember that most ex-gay
church counselors are heterosexual and cannot speak
from the experience of being gay . Also, any psychol ·ogist
or psychiatrist who offers "treatment" for homosexuality
is not following guidelines established by
the American Psychological Association or the Amer- .
ican Medical Association .
After all the 'rejection I got from
my church, why should I even care
about God?
Your church may have rejected you, but God never
has . God's nature is to draw you closer to Him, not
to reject you. The church is administered by pastors,
bishops, lay people, committees; people like you and·
me - sometimes connected with God at work among
us, and sometimes not . Sometimes the people who
run the church, because of fear, selfishness or other
reasons, are not able to follow as God leads. In the
past, the church failed to speak out against the Holocaust
and slavery. At some point in the future, the
. church's present failure to affinn gay and lesbian people
and its failure to speak out against the homopho bia
that leads to discrimination and violence will be
seen as a terrible wrong. As Episcopal Bishop Barbara
Harris once said , the church is a follow"r of society,
not a leader.
Does this mean I shouldn't go to
church?
Absolutely not! (It means the church needs you probably
more than you need the ch10ch .) There is a place
for you in a ch10ch in your neighborhood. There are
many Christian churches and organizations around the
country that have a specific ministry to gay and lesbian
people . Even in the mainstream denominations
gay and lesbian people have prominent, although
sometimes closeted, places in the church as pastorn,
youth leaders, choir mastern, lay leaders, and so on.
Many mainstream ch10ches across the country have
moved into positions of welcoming and affinning gay
and lesbian people.
How do I know that God doesn't
reject me?
Even if you've never set foot in a church or thought
much about God, you were created by a loving God
PAGE 2 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
MY PARENTS KEPT TELLING
ME ABOUT THE TERR IBLE
'CHOICE' I WAS MAKING FOR
MY LIFE. I WAS REALLY
CONFUSED UNTIL IT
DAWNED ON ME THAT THE
'CHOICE' WASN'T MINE TO
MAKE . GOD MADE WHO I AM .
THE CHOICE I HAVE TO MAKE
IS HOW I AM GOING TO
LIVE MY LIFE.
who seeks you out. If there's a barrier between yourself
and God, it is not God's .responsibility. Blackaby
and King in Experiencing God say there are seven
realities of a relationship with God: I. God is always
at work around you. 2. God pursues a continuing love
relationship _with you that is real and personal. 3. God
invites you to become involved with Him in His
work. 4. God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the
Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal
Himself, His purposes, and His ways. 5. God's invitation
for you to work with Him always leads you to
a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. 6. You
must make major adjustments in your life to join
God in what He is doing. 7. You come to know God
by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes
His work through you.
If yoti've never really believed in God, and
want ·to know more, ask a friend or pastor
to talk to you. He or she may be able to
recommend a reading resource, a video, a
Bible study group or a church. And don't
be afraid or embarrassed to ask. Such a ·
friend or pastor will be glad you asked. It
is how God works among us , If you've
never read the Bible before, start with
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10; and
10: 13.
But can I really be gay and Christian?
Sexual orientation - either gay or straight - is a good,
God-given part of your being. A homosexual orientation
is not a sinful state. The Bible condenms some
heterosexual activity and some homosexual activity;
when someone gets used or hurt rather tl1an loved .
The Bible supports commitment and fidelity in loving
relationships.
Doesn't the Bible say homosexual
activity is a sin?
Daniel Helminiak in What the Bible Really Says
About Homosexuality says: TI1e sin of Sodom was
[not homosexuality.] Jude condemns sex with angels,
not sex between men. Not a single B ible text clearly
refers to lesbian sex ... Only five texts surely refer to
male-male sex, Leviticus 18:22 and 20: 13, Romans
1:27 and I Corinthians 6:9 and I Timothy 1:10. All
these texts are concerned with something other than
homosexual activity itself... If people would still
seek to know outright if gay or lesbian sex in itself is
good or evil... they will have to look elsewhere for an
answer ... The Bible never addresses that question.
More than that, the Bible seems deliberately llllconcerned
about it.
I would like explore further. What
can I do now?
While there are many good books and videos available,
there's something powerful in being "where two
or more are gathered." You may want to check out a
ministry in yo10 area with a specific outreach to gays
and lesbians, including Second Stone's Outreach
Partner. The worship style may not be what you're
used to, but the point is to connect with gay and lesbian
Christians with whom you can have discussions
about where you are. Or you may want to try a var iety
of ch10ches in your neighborhood, even those of
other denominations. (There is no "one true church.")
There are gay and lesbian people in almost every
church and God, who is always at work around you,
will co1mect you to the people you need to know - if
you take the first step .
Wouldn't it just be easier to keep ,
my sexual life a secret? ·
Some gay and lesbian people who are happy, whole
and fully integrated may have to be silent about their
sexuality because of their job or oilier circumstances.
(The day will come when that is no longer the case.)
But a gay'or lesbian person who cannot integrate their
sexnality witl1 the rest of their being faces a difficult
struggle indeed. To deny one's sexuality to oneself
while in ch10ch or at work or with straight friends,
and then to engage in periodic sexual activity is not a
self-loving, esteem-building experience. An inability
to weave yo10 sexuality into the fabric of your life in
a way that makes you feel good about yo10self and
allows you to develop relationships with others is a
cause for concern and should be discussed with
someone skilled in gay and lesbian issues.
the other
Front Page
cover items continued & late stones
Louisiancah urchre jects
"spirituaaln uganceo'' f
resolutiotno converJte ws
MONROE, La. (AP) - A resolution by
the Southern Baptist Convention
calling for members to work for the
conversion of Jews drives a wedge
deeper between conservatives and
moderates, a miraster at a northern
Louisiana thurch said June 24. · ·
"I think the move further reiterates
the split that was already there,"
said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, pastor
of Northminster Church. "We feel
it's another . step in a direction we
can't go."
The Northminster Church rejected
as "spiritual arrogance" a Southern
Baptist Convention opinion that
Christians should try to convert Jews,
and said it may break ties with the
convention.
Northminster Church congregation
members adopted a written statement
saying the convention does not speak
for the local congregation. Northminster
members will decide within a
few weeks whether to sever its affiliation
with the convention, Gaddy
said.
The Southern Baptist Convention
split after internal conflict between
theological conservatives - who
believe in a literal interpretation of
the Bible - and moderates erupted in
1979. Conservatives have taken over
the convention leadership since then
and moderates have stayed away
from the annual meetings, although
many, like the Northminster congre-
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE w HOLY TRINITY
COMMUNITY
CHURCH
A NON-DENOMINATIONAL
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
S.ERVING THE MID-SOUTH
Sunday School- I 0:00 a.m.
Morning Worship- I I :00 a.m.
Sunday Evening-,-7:00 p.m,
Wednesday Bible Study-7:00 p,m ,
1559 Madison Ave:il'Memphis, TN 38104
901/726·9443
Rev. Timothy Meadows, Sr, Pastor
gation, retained membership, Gaddy
said. uwe certainly are not · part of the
fundamental group still in the con :
vention, but most of the moderates ·
have continued to be part of the convention
even though they ha .ve gone
to other groups," Gaddy said.
The ·convention's resolut.i'on is not
binding on individual Baptist
churches, Gaddy said. But Northminster
felt it had to make a statement
"because of the national prominence
given to the statement and because of
local interpretations given to it. ...
We don't want there to be any misunderstandings
."
The local church sent a letter to
Monroe's Temple B'Nai Israel, reaffirming
its commitment to improve
Christian-Jewish relations .
Northminster's action comes in
response to the convention's mid-June
meeting in New Orleans. The Southern
Baptist Convention - the nation's
largest Protestant body - passed a resolution
calling for increased efforts to
convert Jews to . Christianity and
appointed a U.S. missionary for the
SEE ARROGANCE, Page 24
the NEWS continues
on Page 8
IRVINE, CALIFORNIA
IRVINUEN ITECDH UROCfHC HRIST
We are not a congregation
that tolerates difference, but
WELCOMES and Celebrates it.
We believe that the Heart of God is
Open to A 11, and do not ask
that each of us believes as the other,
or lives as the other, or
loves as the other.
WoRSHIP & SUNDAY ScHOOL 8:30 AM & 10:30 AM
WEDNESDAYS - OPEN MEDITATION - 6 P.M .
4915 ALTON PARKWAY • IRVINE • 733-0220
CHILDCARE PROVIDED
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'
;
Distribution of Second Stone in some
communities is sponsored by our
Outreach Partners. We invite you to
visit them for worship.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
ClrNrcolrf tireR tsHrrectio11
METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURC
5540 South Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637-1621
"Serving Chicago's gov
and lesbian community
for 15 years.·
Worship services
Sundays 10:30 a.m.
Sunday school
Sundays l 0:30 a.m.
Ask us about our house groups.
Give us a call at 312/288-1535
DES MOINES, IOWA
Church of the Holy Spirit
,MvetroCopmmoulniit~y C hurch
PO Box8426
Des Moines
IA 50301
Tel.(515)284-7940
Visit us this Sunday at 6pm. Our
worship & office location is at
1548 8th Street, Des Moines, Iowa.
Calling people to new life.
Confronting the injustice .
Creating a community.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Come share your ministry with us
at. ...
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
Everybody
needs a little
Tblnlti/dNOr...,c, h
l864ft~AVC!ft Uf!
loulsville, KY 402~
896-6383
Wor,hlp, S~nday I i AM
TJ1nltylu lherall Cl>ur<II
t432 Hlghland Ave nue
lou~lllc; KY 40204
587-8395
Worshfp: Sunday 9:30 AM
Rev. Phil Guber
Reconciled In Christ Congregations
Eveiyone is invited
You are invited
NATIONAL. W&A BAPTISTS
'Ifie .91..ssoc.iatoiofn
'Wefcoming&
.91.Jfinning
'.Baptists
Invites you to worship with a
lesbigay affirming American
Baptist congregation.
For a listing ofW&A churches orto locate an
affinning pastor near you see the Resource Guide
(Second Stone, May/June '96) or contact the
Association at:
.,:,P O Box 2596, Attleboro Falls MA 02763.0894
phone/fax: 508-226-1945
e-mail: WABaptists@aol.com
http://users.aol.com/WABaptists/
VANCOUVER, BC CANADA
~ Liberty
Community
Church
~ Vancouver, H.C.
Canada
!
~ 4th Intl. T.E.N. Conference
Aug. 30 - Sept. 2, 1996
Abiding Peace Lutheran Church
5090 NE Chouteau Trafficway Kansas City, MO 64119 "In His Image"
(816)452-1222
Caring for People and Creation For info and registration call
(Northo f theR iver) (604)254-0082, FAX (604)687-2610,
Sunday Worship: 9:30 am e-mail Church@XL.CA or write
(Summesrc ltedule) 402-2388 Triumph Str.,
Vancouver, BC V5LIL5
PAGE 3 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
•Prayer •The Bible •Words & Deeds
F.piscoJEI bishop detennined
to rem~ cancer
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The head
of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode
Island says her desire to watch the
children of her parishioners grow up
will carry her through a battle with
breast cancer.
In a letter read from pulpits June
16th, Bishop Geralyn Wolf told the
state's Episcopalians she will
undergo a mastectomy. The operation
was scheduled for July 3.
Wolf delivered the news in person
at St. Michael's Church in Bristol,
stepping down from the altar after
communion to share what she
referred to as the "sad news and the
good news ."
"What I need from you is your prayers,
your thoughts," she said. "What
I don't need from you is for you to tell
me every prognosis your cousin or aunt
had" and how it all went.
"I've already received that from
Diocese of Rhode Island," she said.
"And the children (of parishioners),
that I would see them grow up .
Things like that were in my mind, in
my heart."
Wolf said she is being frank about
her cancer because the church community
benefits when members "trust
one another with some of the more
difficult things."
"I've tried to do that in my life,"
she said, "and I hope you will try to
do that in yours."
■
\
"I was aware of
how much I had to
live for ... "
■
members of my family," she said, as Wolf, 49, was elected the 12th Episthe
congregation chuckled. copal bishop of the Rhode Island
Parishioners said they were Diocese last October and was
impressed by Wolf's words. installed in February .
"It was a shock, but she has such a Wolf, the -former dean of Christ
positive attitude that we're very Church in Louisville, Ky., said she
encouraged." said Marie Tucker, 70, of has been told that recuperation from
Bristol. the removal of her right breast and
Margaret Daniel, 16, the daughter several lymph nodes, and subsequent
of church rector Rev. Canon Clifton reconstructive surgery, will be long
Daniel III, said Wolf's illness is Ira- and uncomfortable.
gic, but added, "a lot of good may "I'm not looking forward to that, but
come from it. We will see her then, 'further down, there's life," she
strength through this, and we will said. "So it's a small price to pay - fo~
also coine together to support her as a seeing those children grow up ."
community." In her letter, Wolf said she needed
Wolf found a lump smaller than a time before sharing her illness with
pea during a self-examination in the church.
April. On June 5, !,he received results "I waited until now to share this
of a biopsy showing the lump is with you because I needed to intemalignant
. grate the many emotions which I
Her doctor has told her the chances have experienced," she said. "I have
for a full recovery are excellent, said found inner peace and resolve during
Wolf, who is only the second woman this time of prayer and preparation."
to head an Episcopal diocese in the Wolf said she will monitor the
United States. daily operations of the diocese while
She said she became determined to she is treated.
beat the cancer in the days after the The only other woman in charge of
diagnosis. an Episcopal diocese in the United
"I was aware of how much I had to States is Bishop Mary Adelia
live for - like all the people in the McLeod of Vermont.
PAGE 4 • SECOND STONE • JULY /A UGUST , 1996
"We're home now."
Burned black church rises
from the ashes
By Julia Prodis
Associated Press Writer
GREELEYVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Carrie
Wilson was the first to rise from her
pew June 16, though soi;newhat slowly
at her age, to sing out in thanksgiving
at the first worship service in her
newly built church.
"Holy Spirit, you 're welcome in this
place," she sang, swaying back and
forth in her white dress with a lace
cap delicately pinned on her head .
During this hour of hope and joy,
the congregation seemed to forget the
hatred that torched their old church
one year ago or the threats made just
weeks ago . While the Rev. Terrance
Mackey was inspecting the construction,
three young white men drove by
in a pickup truck and taunted him.
"We're going to get you, nigger!"
. They already had.
: A few blackened cinder blocks and
·burnt Bibles were all that remained
when Mrs.· Wilson arrived at the
Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal
church that sultry, summer
afternoon one year ago.
The 72-year-old woman cried
inside. For 90 years , the church next
to an expansive oak tree had meant
home, family and God to six generations
of her family. Her greatgranddaughter,
Sharon, was sup posed
to be married here in three
weeks.
Her grandmother, Chinnie Filmore,
was a slave .on this very land 140
years ago. She lived through the
Civil War here, bore children here,
and was freed here. Long after emancipation,
Chinnie remained on the
plantation living in a little board
house . Here she raised three children
and picked cotton, string beans and
garden peas.
In the early 1900s, the plantation
owner donated a small piece of land -
a plot hidden in the woods off a dirt
road - to the Mount Zion church. And
that's where Chinnie worshipped
every Sunday, walking seven miles
each way .
Chinnie died in the early 1950s at
the age of 103. By then, her greatgrandchildren
were being baptized
and attending Sunday school at
Mount Zion.
Amelia Dunmore, just 12 when Chinnie
died, is one of them . She's 56 now
and remembers well the picnics under
the shade of that old oak tree. As a
child, she played under that tree,
churned ice cream and drank lemonade
while a brass band played.
Amelia and her cousins came of age
during the civil rights movement of
the 1950s and '60s, and she knew of
Southern black churches being
torched by the Ku Klux Klan. But she
felt safe at Mount Zion here in Greeleyville,
a farming community ot
about 500 people in the South Carolina
lowlands.
■
A few blackened
cinder blocks and
burnt Bibles were
all that remained ...
at the Mount Zion
African Methodist
Episcopal church
that sultry, summer
afternoon one
year ago.
■ Whites and blacks didn't socialize
much but for Flag Day every year.
They didn't bother each other, either,
she said. After all, most of them
had one thing in common, poverty.
When a sewing and medical supply
company closed _ down last year, Wil·
liarnsburg County's unemployment hit
17 percent.
Amelia was somewhat surprised
when, just a few years ago, the KKK
marched through her town in white
hoods. They burned a cross -in th e
school yard and left.
"I think we still carry a bit of tllat
slavery on," she said .
Through it all, she said, Mount Zion
was a safe haven, a refuge from the
hatred.
On June 20 of last year it became a
target.
· Two white men with ties to the
KKK, Christopher Cox, 22, and
Timothy Welch, 23, were charged
with torching Mount bon and
another black church in neighboring
Clarendon County.
Welch and Cox lived in Bloomville,
SEE CHURCH RISES, Page 20
· Faith in Daily Life
Grandmother forges relationship between Baptist church, MCC
WHEN FRAN TAFT of Jamestown,
New York visited her grandson in
Wilmington, North Carolina in the
spring of 1995, she had no idea of the
lasting effects it would have on literally
hundreds of people.
While vacationing in Carolina
with her daughter and son-in-law,
she attended St. Jude's Metropolitan
Community Church with her grandson,
Dr . Matthew L. TenHuisen, who
is clerk of the board of directors of St.
Jude's.
"I received exposure to the gay and
lesbian community I had never had
before," said the 90( + )-year-old Taft.
Impressed with the spirit and worship
at St. Jude's, and the warmth
with which she was received, she
returned to her own church, the Judson
Fellowship (American Baptist), and
with the support of her pastor, Rev.
Margaret Monroe-Cassel, proposed a
"sister'' relationship between th e two
churches.
When presented at Judson for a congregational
vote, the proposal
became an official church action.
"I wanted to find a .way for our
church to express support for the
gay /lesbian qJmmunity in general
and the specific Christian community
of St. Jude's," Taft said. Both Taft
and Rev. Monroe-Cassel hope their
churches will be an example to American
Baptist and other churches that
have been struggling with the issue of
those who are both openly gay and
Christian.
St. Jude's congregants received the
suggestion with great enthusiasm .
"When Matt made the announcement,"
said St. Jude's pastor Kathi
Beall, "our people cheered and wept.
We knew Grandma Fran loved us, and
to get the additional affirmation and
support from her church as well
touched everyone."
It is the only such relationship between
an MCC and a mainline church
of which Beall has heard, although
many"MCCs get their start in worship -
space through opening and welcoming
congregations of other denominations .
Rev. Monroe-Cassel sai d she
believes that the relationship between
her church and one with a predominantly
gay congregation will do
more to open minds and hearts than
efforts to issue denominational policy
statements, which are typically met ·
with fierce opposition. Beall agrees .
Rev. Monroe-Cassel elaborated that
it is far easier for someone to object to
the concept of a gay Christian than it
is to reject someone who obviously
loves and serves God, no matter the
sexual orientation.
Mrs. Taft felt that others in her
church would benefit, as she did,
from seeing a side of the gay and lesbian
community that is seldom
depicted in the popular media . It
began as an attempt to help her
church of approximately 50 members
live up to its statement of purpose
which says "God calls us to be a community
of Christian love and to continue
Christ's ministry of building
the kingdom of God on earth. We will
respond!"
It has resulted in an "adopted" family
of children/ grandchildren numbering
well over 100. "When we
speak of her," Beall said, "we call
her Grandma Fran. It we said Mrs.
Taft, or Fran Taft, only a handful of
folks would know who we meant.
Everybody - even those who haven't
met her - know who Grandma Fran
ls."
If you're facing a life-threatening
illness, you know how precious time is.
Don't let money stand between you
~d the way you want to spend that time.
Faced with news of a tenninal illness ...
John paid off the mongage and bills, then set money aside for his future
personal care needs.
David rented a convenible, drove his mother to Disney World and spent a
week living a childhood fantasy.
Sue Ellen found the best doctor in the country and panicipated in a special
·treatment program.
At Christmas , Taft's grandson Matt
visited Judson, and was presented
with a banner made by them for St.
Jude's. The banner features the names
of Judson and St. Jude entwined and
the legend "Woven Together in
Love."
Months of planning and discussion
resulted in a visit by ten members and
friends of Judson making the 13-hour
drive to Wilmington in April. From a
tour of historic W ilrnington, to a traditional
"chicken bog," the visitors
enjoyed a sunny southern springweekend.
"We were treated like· royalty,"
one of the visitors commented.
"Isn't that just the point?" asked
Beall. "We' re all children of the
Most High. That's the way we
should all be treating one "another."
The weekend was the first of many
visits bad< and forth, hope both pas tors
and Mrs. Taft. St. Jude's MCC is
working on plans for a visit to Judson
in late summer . "You can escape Wil- .
rnington's summer heat and humidity,"
promised Rev. Monroe-Cassel.
Beall sees the relationship between
SEE GRANDMOTIIER, Page 20
Scott donated money to his community theater and attended the dedication
ceremony in his honor.
Eliz.abeth gathered her scattered family and childhood mends for a longoverdue
"reunion."
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Faith in Daily Life
Part One of an interview with Dave Ferrell
Acceptance of gay son a long
struggle for Christian dad
By Rev. Samuel Kader
Contributing Writer
H A VE YOU EVER wondered
how the church is ever going to get
the truth in their hearts that God
loves people without regard to sexual
orientation or any other condition?
The Gospel is so clear; that God so
loved the world that He gave His
only beloved Son tnat whosoever
believes on Him will not perish but
have everlasting life.
There is a great move of God in the
Earth among whosoevers! But the
traditions of our Elders are making
them miss this great truth.
Dave Ferrell is a case in point. His
30-year-old son Todd is gay, Christian,
and happily married to his
male spouse, Jose. Dave was raised in
the conservative, Bible-believing
Christian traditions of America . It
looked to Todd as if there was no
hope of having his dad understand,
much less accept him and his family.
DAVE: My name is David Ferrell and
my wife"s name is Becky. I am 54
years old. We have two children,
Shelli, and Todd. Our background is
Pentecostal. I was raised in the
Assemblies of God Church. My father
was a Deacon and a Sunday School
teacher in a small town in southern
Missouri. When I graduated from
high school I went to college in
Springfield, Missouri. At that time I
was young and immature and dropped
out for a semester and worked on my
uncle's farm. After a year I enrolled
in college again at Central Bible College
in Springfield. In 1962 I married
an Assemblies of God minister's
We had a normal life, working all
week and in church all day Sunday.
My wife and I worked with the youth
as one of the sponsors. Our kids grew
up going to church everytime the
doors were open.
Second Stone: DID YOU EVER SUSPECT
YOUR SON TODD WAS GAY?
HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THIS?
WHAT RE./\.CTION DID YOU AND
YOUR WIFE HAVE?
DA VE: When Todd was around 12 or
13 I began to get concerned because he
was not a "jock." I wanted him to do
"manly things" like play football,
baseball, soccer and run with the
guys. He liked to run with his sister
and her friends. These were good kids
but it was not manly to me. I bought a
football, a baseball, bat, and glove
and would ask Todd to go in the back
yard and play pitch and catch with
me. This was not his thing but I would
insist and he would humor an old man
Todd prayed as many of us have. He
wanted to do what was right before
God. Yet he knew he was gay and
that could not change. Since his family
was deeply steeped in the traditions
of the conservative Christianity
it seemed there was no hope of
having his biological family take
part in his life any more. Many of us
have faced this challenge, and
responded rather creatively. We
have tried in vain to present all the
right and persuasive arguments, but
families hearts seem unmoved and
even deeper entrenched in their position
. The Word of God shows us
another possibility: .
Dave Ferrell and son Todd
Zech 4:6: So he said to me, 'This is
the word of the Lord ... : 'Not by might
nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says
the Lord Almighty. (NIV)
We don't always recognize that all
our arguing, by all our power and
with all our might will never accomplish
what only God can do by the
Spirit.
I asked Dave Ferrell if he would
tell his story . Here is just one example
of what only God can do.
Second Stone: DAVE, TELL ME A LITdaughter
in St. Louis. On July 25, 1966
our daughter was born. Prior to my
wife and I marrying we were told we
would probably not have children.
Needless to say when after four
months of marriage we were told we
were going to be parents we were
happy and excited. I was in school,
my wife worked at the juvenile office
and brought home $210 a month. Our
big deal then was to go to A&W Root
Beer, get a papa and a mama cheeseburger
and a root beer. That was the
extent of our social life at that time. I
was working in the summer for an
ambulance company making 35 cents a
hour. I worked 100 hours a week and
made $35.00.
TLE ABOUT YOUR OWN LIFE. On March 27, 1966 our son Todd was
HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU born. When we brought him home
HAVE ALTOGETHER? WERE YOU from the hospital our daughter who
A CHRISTIAN WHEN YOU GOT knew she had a little brother didn't
MARRIED, AND THEN WERE expect him to be so little . When she
YOUR CHILDREN RAISED AS looked in the baby crib and heard
CHRISTIANS? him crying she said "Take him back."
PAGE 6 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST. 1996
as I referred to it and we would play
ball.
During Todd's high school days he
was in the school band and played
trumpet. I always encouraged the
kids to be in the band in high school.
In my youth I had been in the band
and had a lot of fun going places with
the school band. It was during Todd's
high school days he also got
involved with the theater group.
In February, 1988 I was transferred
from St. Louis to San Antonio, Texas
where I am a sales manager. I had
known prior to that move that our son
was gay but was praying and trusting
God to make it go away. In March of
1988 our son, and a friend who was a
girl, came to visit us.
The girl told our daughter that
Todd was gay and our daughter told
my wife the next morning . About 9
a.m. I got a call from my daughter
crying and wanting me to come home.
She told me what the problem was . I
, ,, i@·C\. :;~
always knew this day would come,
_but had hidden the fact that our son
was gay as long as I could. I knew
what it would do to my wife. It is normal
for a parent to blame themselves
when they find this type of
"problem" exists in their family.
Becky did go through this blaming
herself, searching her own life for
answers that did not come . It was my
intention to protect her as long as I
could . At first my wife was upset
with me not telling her.
At the time we moved from St. Louis
to San Antonio Todd was working in
St. Louis and finishing college at the
University of Missouri at St. Louis.
When Todd got back to St. Louis from
his trip, I told him what had happened
. My heart was broken. Becky
and Shelli were afraid for Todd to be
around Lara, my grand-daughter,
because of the AIDS scare. We only
knew that the possibility of AIDS
was something that .happened to
other families and not ours.
We went through several years of
depression, confusion, confessing the
Word of God and begging God to
change Todd . Unbeknown to us, Todd
was also praying and asking God to
take away the feelings he has for
men. I have since learned of times he
would beg God, cry and even thought
of suicide.
After finishing school, Todd moved
to San Antonio and worked for a
credit department. After a short time
there he went to work for a Hotel in
San 'Antonio. About a year later he
was transferred to San Francisco to
open a new hotel property there. I
questioned God as to why He would
let this happen. We were praying,
believing God for his deliverance and
God allowed him to be transferred to
the gay capitol of the world? I was
angry at God and felt that God had
deserted me and I was mad about it.
However, we continued to pray
although I must admit it was a
prayer of demands rather than a
prayer of love and peace. I knew all
the scripture and had beat my son up
with those scriptures.
Second Stone: HOW DID THE LORD
MINISTER TO YOU OVER THU,
SITUATION? WHAT THINGS DID
THE LORD DO TO CHANGE YOUR
HEART AND FEELINGS TOW ARD
TODD AND HIS FAMILY?
DAVE: I got a red letter Bible and
searched the scripture looking for
anything that Jesus might have said
on the subject. It seems this is a subject
Jesus didn't ,deal with . There are no
scriptures on gays or homosexuality
where Jesus said anything on the subject.
God through the ministry of the
Holy Spirit began to deal with me
SEE INTERVIEW, Next Page
Faith in Dally Life
Departing pastor was a prophet for community-
By Gary D. Robertson
AP Writer
RALEIGH (AP) - Jimmy Creech
defended gays and lesbians, and he
lost his pulpit. He visited brutal
killers on Death Row, and pleas for
clemency were turned down .
The victories were few a:nd the
'heartache great for Jimmy Creech, a
longtime minist er and activist who
left North Carolina the end of June
for a pastorate in Nebraska.
Creech started out as a rural minister
and evolved into a prophet -
raising his voice against society's ills
while knowing many people won't
listen.
"The church has to respond to the
problems of injustice in our society and
all over the world," Creech said . "As
long as there's someone facing oppression,
the church has to be at the forefront
advocating for their salvation."
Creech never thought he would
leave North Carolina. The Goldsboro
native, still boyish-looking at 51
except for salt -and-pepper hair, was
INTERVIEW,
FromPage6
about my attitude.
At this time there was very
little love, joy or peace in our family.
It was an uncomfortable time of being
together. We all tried to make it
through Christmas each year as best
we could. That was the only time w e
saw Todd during the year .
I feel God gave me a dream . I
dreamed that I had two grandsons in
California. I awoke the next morning
and was happy and excited and
finally felt I had some hope and
something to hang on to . I was
excited that I was going to have a
daughter-in-law . I thought about
what she might look like, what color
her hair might be, and what my
grandsons might look like.
About two months went by . I never
told Todd about my dream. I was confessing
it, claiming it, and reminded
God almost daily about it. One dayTodd
called and he said, "Dad, I've
met a man named Jose and he has two
boys and he is moving from Phoenix to
San Francisco and we are going to be a
family ." I felt like God was playing
a bad joke or at least allowed a bad
joke to be played on me . .
Once again I was frustrated and
upset and questioned God. Everything
I had been taught seemed to be crumbling
in front of me. Why God? Why
would you allow this to happen?
Where are you when I need you the
most? Don't you care?
content with his position as program
associate for the North Carolina
Council of Churches .
He and his wife, AIDS activist
Chris Weedy, only recently bought
their first home in downtown
Raleigh. Btit he had always longed
to return to parish ministry.
So when a church official in
Nebraska told him about the opening
as senior pastor of the progressive
First United Methodist Church in
Omaha, he knew it was time to make
the jump.
"This is the chance of a lifetime,"
said Creech.
Creech's last pastorate turned his
life upside down . The up-and-coming
preacher was drummed out unceremoniously
from his post at Fairmont
United Methodist Church in 1990. He
prompted controv ersy after aligning
himself with a gay rights group
formed by Raleigh ministers and participated
in gay pride parades.
"He is a man of principle and a man
of deep conviction," said Pat Long, a
A few months passed and Todd
asked me if he could bring his family
hom e with him for Christmas. I said
no, At this time I was rebuking the
devil out of everything I could. Out of
my home, behind that bush, anywhere
I thought he might be. I was
hurting bad . I know and knew how
much Todd loves his family. I was
hurting for him as well. It gives a
father joy to be able to give to his
children .and I couldn't give to Todd
the request he had asked for, and
bring his family home for Christmas.
Todd came home that Christmas by
himself and we all tried to make it
happy and joyful but it was uncomfortable.
A year went by, Jose and the boys
moved in with Todd in California.
Toward the end of the year we once
again began making plans for Christmas
. Todd again asked if he could
bring his family with him. I told
him no. Todd told me if he couldn 't
bring his family with him then he
wouldn't be home for Christmas.
This was like a knife and I felt like I
couldn't stand it. It was as though my
body would explod e with the hurt
and pain . I love my family and I
could see it coming apart. I was also
very angry, at God, at Todd, at the
world .
During this time I had stopped
praying about Todd and was still
angry about my dream . I felt I had no
one to talk to. My father-in-law
was in his 70's and still pastoring and
Raleigh gay rights activist. "He has
been an example of trying to take the
gospel seriously, despite years of
prejudice that's part of our culture."
But his work burned too many
bridges among Methodists in eastern
North Carolina, and no one would
take him as their pastor. Then single
and without a job for six months,
Creech was not without supporters .
One church provided food; another
paid for his apartment.
After coming on with the council in
1991, he took up more social justice
causes, including education, race and
gender equity.
Some of Creech's most public confrontations
came while he fought for
life sentences for death-penalty
inmates.
There was Kermit Smith, executed
last year for the rape and murder of
N.C. Wesleyan College cheerleader.
And he spoke on behalf of Philip
Ingle, who killed two elderly couples.
He wa s David Lawson's confidant
I couldn't go to him because of the
family ties. God through the prompting
of the Holy Spirit began to deal
with me. In desperation, I once again
turned to God.
As a Christian I would show love
and joy and peace to the men of Teen
Challenge, a group for men who have
primarily bee11 drug addicts. I would
work with them in the church but I
was showing contempt, unhappiness
and no peace toward my son . I was
convicted over this. After much
prayer and discussion with my wife I
called Todd and told him if he
wanted to bring his family home for
Christmas he could. It was like a
weight moved off my shoulders.
On the day that Todd and his family
were to come home I went to the
butcher shop and got a long piece of
paper and wrote on the paper,
"Welcome Home Todd, Jose, Jose Jr.
and Frankie." I taped this all across
the double garage of my home.
Everything went fine. On Saturday
night, I was considering taking the
boys to a different church than my
own. Todd knew that was not where I
went to church but I would tell him
we were goi_ng to visit another church
today. Beside, I had heard that pastor
was hard on the gay issue and he
might preach on it that Sunday. At
least I hoped and had told God it
would be all right with me if he
wanted the pastor to preach on that
subject. God began to convict me of
during the inmate's attempts to show
the inhumanity of the death penalty
before his 1994 execution. Death penalty
proponents scorned him. They
complained that he helped Lawson
tum his execution into a circus by asking
talk-show host Phil Donahue to
televise his death in the gas chamber.
Creech "tried to make sure that
every person had support," said
Leigh Eason, head of People of Faith
Against the Death Penalty, formed
after Lawson's death and co-founded
by Creech. "He tried to give people
the benefit of doubt, even the governor."
Lawson always will have a special
place in Creech's heart, adding that
the inmate found Christ during his
final days.
"Before his execution I saw a man
who had been radically changed,"
said Creech, fighting back tears. "He
was so clear on his purpose of life to
SEE CREECH, Page 20
would think . On Sunday morning, we
got up and away to the Assembly of
God we went. Church had already
started and we marched in all five of
us. The ceiling tile didn't fall off nor
did any of my fellow church members
pass out. Then came the end of the
service. I knew the pastor always
stands in the middle isle and greets
folks so I thought I would head out
the side door and we would be gone.
Well again God began to deal with
me. So I marched all of us to the center
isle and there .he was, the pastor .
I just said well, okay God this may be
my last day here but I'm going to be
truthful. I introduced my son and his
family by just those words to my pastor
. He welcomed them and didn't
flinch a muscle . I know I was watching
to see what he would do to me. I
have since had the opportunity to
talk with him about that day and he
asked me, "How did I do?" I told him
he did -great and his Christian con;
duct made it easier for me. I am proud
of him and will always be grateful
for the love and spirit he · demonstrated
that day. When we got to the
car Jose asked me if the ·pastor knew
about Todd and their family. I said
no . He began to cry when he realized
the love and acceptance I had shown
toward them .
In Part Two of this interview, Dave
Ferrell describes his entry into the
gay and lesbian faith community.
this for that would not be the truth. I Manna Weekly Devotionals will be
was concerned as to what my church back in our next issue.
PAGE 7 • SECOND STONE • J ULY/AUGUST, .1996
Pnsbyterians:Gay
pNOCSml.N beclme
From Pagel
gregation eight years ago he is gay.
He spent the week of General
Assembly wearing rainbow scarves
and hats with signs dangling around
his neck that say: "God cries that
the Presbyterian Church works for
civil rights, not spiritual rights for
lesbians, gays and bisexuals."
The Rev. Laurene Lafontaine of
Denver said prior to the vote that
the proposal was disappointing.
"We'd have to stop breathing to
comply," she said. "Being gay or lesbian
is who we are."
If more than half of the 171 presbyteries
in the nation approve the
policy within a year, the church's
Book of Order would be modified to
reflect the change .
Sandy Martin, a church elder from
Pittsburgh, said she believed the
policy would drive people away from
the church.
"Oh, yes, a lot of people will
leave," she said.
About 20 ordained pastors have told
their congregations they are gay or
lesbian, and 73 Presbyterian congregations
have declared themselves
More Light churches, meaning they
are willing to ordain gay and lesbian
members to church office.
Ileen Mitchell, a Presbyterian laywoman
from Webb City, Mo., said
the potential loss of members
shouldn't • influence the decision,
-- either way.
''The church is open to all, but I do
not believe that an avowed, practicing
homosexual should be a leader in
our church," she said.
The Pr(!sbyterian Church (USA) is a
3 million-member church formed by a
1983 merger of the northern and
southern branches of Presbyterianism.
It has long welcomed gay and
lesbian members, but has debated for
years whether · to change a 1978
policy that said "self-affirming,
practicing homosexuals" are ineligible
for ordination.
The church's Ordination and
Human Sexuality committee concluded
that the standards for ordination
should be "fidelity within the
covenant of marriage between one
man and one woman - or chastity in
singleness ."
The committee heard a long stream
of two-minute pro and con arguments
prior to the vote on the proposal.
Nearly 230 people signed up
to speak, but ,:inly 103 were able to do
so because of time constraints.
• Merrill Proudfoot, a pastor from
Heartland Presbytery who said he is
a gay man, described his 25 years of
struggling to overcome his sexual
feelings toward men "through all
kinds of counseling" only to have
them changed "not a whit." He
described how in 1978 he was overcome
by joy in accepting his gayness.
He said his neurosis was lifted.
"Please consider that God's will
might work for healing in this way
also," he said.
The last speaker, a 10-year-old girl,
spoke powerfully for ordination
rights for gay and lesbian people.
Danielle Thibeaux-Milner from Seventh
Avenue Presbyterian Church in
San Francisco, said: "In the past, the
Presbyterian church has found ways
to justify their prejudice towards
African-Americans and women. Now
African-Americans and .women can be
ordained. Does that tell you something?
My mom has worked her butt off
in seminary doing the same papers,
studying for the same tests, trying to
make good grades, trying to get an
internship just as well as straight,
white men, who get ordained . And I
know that women can be ordained.
But if they [men] aren't straight,
they have to lie about it, _lesbian
women have to lie about it. Gay men ·
have to lie about it, transgendered
people have to lie about it, and bisexual
people have to lie about it. The
Presbyterian Church says we
shouldn't lie, and they say God's love
is inclusive. My mom deserves to be
loved, to live happily, and she
deserves to have her call to ministry
recognized. You can vote no, and you
can justify your fears through Scripture
. When you vote no, you will hurt
us with your fears and condemnations~
PAGE 8 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
Prior to vote on ordination recommendation
Gay, lesbian Presbyterians have upbeat
gathering at church's general assembly
ALBUQUERQUE (PCUSA) - The
Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay
Concerns Celebration of Reconciliation
at the 208th General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (USA) overflowed
the ballroom of the Double tree
Hotel where three sides of the
room displayed a "Shower of Stoles."
Over 350 stoles have been given by
ministers, elders, relatives, friends
and churches on behalf of gays and
lesbians, many of whom cannot reveal
their true identity, or who have been
forced from the path of ministry and
service at every stage.
The mood was upbeat because of the
large turnout and the posifive feeling
about the election of Moderator John
Buchanan. PLGC's Inclusive Church
awards were presented to: Elder
James D. Anderson for his tireless
efforts in the publication of the
"More Light Update;" and Deb Price,
syndicated columnist, for her excellent
writing that has led to better
understanding of gay and lesbian concerns.
Moderatorial candidate, Norm Pott,
who attended, received a standing
ovation when he said to the large
crowd: "I would rather have the love
Seminary president
and respect of the people in this room
than to be moderator of the Presbyterian
Church."
Martha J uillerat introduced the
Shower of Stoles by relating the
response to a pamphlet requesting
stoles at last year's General Assembly
. Eighty stoles came in six weeks,
200 in one year, and more than 350
were received by the time of General
Assembly.
A sampling of the messages of the
stoles included the following: "John -
an ardent Presbyterian 'son of the
manse.' He might have become a_minister,
but the non-acceptance of his
sexuality by family and Presbyterian
Church has directed him into
another profession and another
denomination."
And from a lesbian: "You know me. I
am your daughter, your pastor. You
nurtured me, encouraged me, ordained
me. For over 20 years I have served at
every governing body level." And it
continued: "Yet I cannot tell you my
name. For me the risk is still too
great. I work and pray for the day
when . I am free to say who I truly
am."
Presbyterian church hasn't done 'theological
homewotk' on human sexuality
ALBUQUERQUE (PCUSA) - Keynote
speaker Rev. Jack Stotts told the
gathering at the annual luncheon of
the Witherspoon Society that the
real issues of the current debate over
ordination of gay and lesbian persons
are the church's theology of order
and its theology of human sexuality.
Stotts is the soon to retire president of
· Austin Presbyterian Theological
Seminary .
"It is a theological issue to discover
how . God is ordering the world
toward the fulfillment of God's
purpose," Stotts said. "And Christian
discipleship then becomes ordering
what we have been given in light
of God's ordering of creation." Stotts
said that order is "a community of
inclusive friendship."
"Human sexuality is part of that
ordering process, The issue is not
ordination," he insisted. "The issue
is how we order our lives as human
sexual selves." Stotts said the Presbyterian
Church has "not yet done
sufficient theological homework" to
produce an adequate theology of
human sexuality .
He said that theological work
needs to be done in congregations and
presbyteries - "in contexts where people
know each other as friends,
because ordination cannot be done by
strangers."
Friends, Stotts said, "are nurturers,
not adversaries. Friends treat each
other decently."
But now and then, he continued,
"theological vigilantes arrive - crusaders
for their own absolute truth."
Citing "The Presbyterian Layman" as
an example, Stotts said, "These vigilantes
seem to have forgotten tltat
Christians are friends. They loot the
time and attention of church leaders,
with the result that they scandalize
the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Stotts said he had just one question
. for "The Presbyterian Layman" - the
same question asked of Sen.
McCarthy during the witchhunts of
the 1950s - "Have you no decency?"
Decency and order - hallmarks of
Presbyterianism - "offer hope for the
future," Stotts said. "Hope," he concluded,
"is a stem taskmaster because
it requires us to stay together as
friends even when we are most
tempted to separate."
National News
After 25 year wait:
Ordination dreams come true for Baptist preacher
AMENS PUNCTUATED the dignity ·
of the worship, stately hymns
,resounded from the sanctuary rafters
and tears flowed freely during a twoand-
a-half-hour ceremony on June 30
when Randle R. "Rick" Mixon was
ordained to the Gospel ministry after
almost a quarter-century of waiting.
The ordination took place at the
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in
Oakland, one of four congregations
disfellowshipped by the Board of
Managers of the American Baptist
Churches of the West because it welcomes
gays and lesbians.
Representatives of the other three
disfellowshipped churches and members
of several sympathetic congregations
were present.
Although containing all the traditional
elements of a Baptist ordination,
the ceremony was unique in
several ways. In addihon to the usual
"Charge to the Church, " a "Charge
to the Community" and several
"Charges to the Candidate" were Jed
by Mixon's mother, Mrs. Loyce Frazier.
She spoke of God's words in Jeremiah's
call ("even before I formed
thee in the womb") and Hannah's
prayer for a son who would serve the
Lord. She charged her son to continue
faithfulness to his call.
Perhaps the outstanding mark distinguishing
this ordination from the
usual such service was the obvious
absence of denominational staff and
officers of the region. While there
were many present who hold office in
the American Baptist Churches of
the West none attended or participated
as official representatives of
the denomination. When pastor
James Hopkins commended Mrs. Rosa
James, president of the American
Baptist Churches of the West, who
was present although not an actually
participant in the program, for her
courage in being present, the congregation
gave her a standing ovation.
At the close of the service Mixon
received an extended standing ova tion.
An offering was received early. in the
service and designated for help in
rebuilding the churches recently
destroyed by acts of arson. The offering
seemed a silent reminder that the
burning of church building and the
disfellowshiping of churches both
stem from the same cause: the nottoo-
subtle attitude that prompts some
to be always ready to take judgment
into their own hands and attempt to
purge the Christian fellowship of
unwanted elements.
Since he attended and was graduated
from the American Baptist
Seminary of the West in the mid-
1970s Mixon had sought ordination.
Although meeting all specified
requirements for ordination in the
American Baptist. Churches of the
U.S.A. he has three times been
denied approval by a majority of the
Ordination Commission of the American
Baptist Churches of the West on
the grounds that he was openly
homosexual.
ELCA collllcil will consider 'self-asses5ment' on sexuality issues
After the most recent refusal of the
region's commission to recommend
Mixon, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist
Church, where he has been a member
for 23 years and which had sponsored
him for ordination, voted to proceed
with his ordination without regional
permission.
CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America will
have a "self-assessment" of where it
stands on certain issues of human sexuality,
said the Rev. Karen L. Bloomquist,
ELCA director for studies. A
message is being drafted for cqnsideration
this fall by the ELCA Church
Council. ·
The council gave the ELCA Division
for Church in Society the assignment
last fall to develop a message on
those areas where there appears to
be consensus in the church regarding
issues of human sexuality.
"It is clear that our purpose is not to
develop a new social statement," said
Bloomquist. "It is a kind of selfassessment,
trying to discern where
we as a church are and to do that in a
way that can be genuinely helpful for
people."
The ELCA has been studying the
topic of human sexuality since 1989
with the hopes of developing a social
statement on the subject. Two drafts
of a possible statement were met with
great interest and largely negative
response, but portions of the drafts
were praised for clearly stating the
church's opposition to abuses of
human sexuality.
''The message itself is building
upon and trying to gather some of the
consensus that has occurred through
that conversation," said Bloomquist.
It is also influenced by statements on
marriage and sexual behavfor that
former Lutheran churches adopted
between 1970 and 1982.
Bloomquist is writing the message
with the help of a ten-member advisory
committee and a consultant - the
Rev. Roland Martinson, professor of
·pastoral theology, Luther Seminary,
St. Paul, Minn.
"We have a_ good sense of the kind
of document that needs to be produced
- one that can speak to an anxiety in
our church in the face of our not having
adopted a social statement and
one that, at the same time, recognizes
the number of things we can say with
a significant amount of agreement,"
said Bloomquist.
Martinson said the advisory committee
offered several suggestions on
the language and length of the message.
They're hoping for a "modest" document
that's brief and clear, said Martinson.
"We need to say something
about who we are to ourselves in
PREACHERS,
From Pagel
the political arena by challenges to
what they consider their core
values."
Guth said he drew a random sample
of clergy from Southern Baptist publications
and mailed surveys just
after each presidential election.
In 1980, 460 pastors responded, representing
63 percent of those surveyed;
in 1984, 902 responded (56
percent); in 1988, 653 responded
(about 50 percent); and in 1992, 458
responded (47 percent).
In an article in a recent issue of the
magazine Books and Culture, Guth
and Lyman A. Kellstedt noted that in
recent years, researchers have lost
interest in studying conservative
religious clergy, with activist groups
on the right targeting their attention
toward people in the pew.
Some argued that clergy were an
regard to our faith and human sexuality,
as well as to say something to the
wider culture about what we stand for
and what we stand against in terms of
constructive and destructive forces
around us in society."
Drafting of the message will continue
this summer through a series of
revisions and conference calls. The
DCS board must approve sending the
message to the ELCA Church Council
.for action.
The advisory committee is made
primarily of people who serve on a
consulting panel the ELCA Church
Council assembled to assist it in the
development of a social statement on
human sexuality.
unlikely political base because they
would tend to emphasize "soulwinning"
over things of this world
and fear congregational resistance if
they took political stands.
But the surveys' of pastors show an
incr~asing political activism among
Southern Baptist clergy.
-In 1980, 25 percent said they
wanted to become more involved in
social and political action; in 1992, 48
percent.
-In 1980, only 14 percent said they
had formed an action group in church;
in 1992, 28 percent. •
-In 1980, only 4 percent said they
had participated in a protest march;
in 1992, 22 percent.
The most striking change, however,
might be in the political allegiances
of Southern Baptist clergy.
In 1980, 33 percent said they were
Republican or leaned Republican. By
1992, 72 percent identified with the
It is widely assumed that Mixon's
ordination will not be recognized by
ABC of the West or ABCUSA, but
that remains an open question.
June 30th marked the end of Rick
Mixon's quest for ordination, but the
questions his ordination raises for
ABC of the West and ABCUSA mean
the matter of ABC's inclusiveness has
not been put to rest.
Ecumenical & Inclusive
We are a Christian community of men
and women from various Catholic and
Protestant traditions involved in minstries
of love, compassion and reconciliation.
We live and work in the world,
supporting ourselves and our ministries
and are inspired by the spirit of St.
Francis and St. Clare. We are not
canonically affiliated with any denomination.
For more information or a copy of our
newsletter, Footsteps, please write us:
Vocation Director
Dept. 55, PO Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
Republican Party - even though Pres- Mercy of God Community
ident Clinton is a Southern Baptist.
PAGE 9 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
National News
Heresy saga ends in lxx)k deal for Righter
ALSTEAD, N.H. (AP) - Bishop
Walter Righter, almost tried as a
heretic for ordaining a non-celibate
gay man, says he's already made a
book deal.
Righter , 72, was only the second
man in the Episcopal church's 206-
year history to face the charge of
heresy for ordaining the Rev. Barry
Stopfel as a deacon in 1990 even
though he knew Stopfel was
involved in a long-term gay relationship.
Righter said he sold the rights to
his story to Knopf Publishing Group.
"My editor is an Episcopalian priest
who also edited the Pope's book . I
feel like I'm in good hands." Righter
said .
"It was really a test of optimism - a
test of my faith," said Righter. The
church says it wants to be allinclusive,
Righter said, and the
church court's decision not to try him
helps the organization uphold that
belief.
"They can't say 'Yes, we'll be all
inclusive except for you, you, and
you,"' said Righter . "This decision
has set the church free. There is no
deterrent now to ordaining gays and
lesbians - no violation of doctrine or
canon.~
Like many retired bishops, Righter
still performs confirmations, sermons
and other priestly duties. Had he
been tried and found guilty of being a
heretic, he would not have been
allowed to continue.
Before the ruling, the church
allowed only the ordination of married
heterosexuals, celibate single
heterosexuals and celibate homosexuals.
Righter's lawyer, Michael Rehill,
said the ruling clears the way for
gays and lesbians to participate fully
in the church.
Righter said that throughout. the
whole process, he never felt he would
be declared a heretic.
Righter said he now will be busy
attending monthly meetings of Integrity,
a national gay and lesbian
group within the Episcopal Church.
"I've always been a supporter of gay
No appeal in Righter case; bishops
tum efforts toward national meeting
NEW YORK (AP) - The ten Episcopal
bishops who charged a fellow bishop
with heresy for ordaining a noncelibate
gay man will not appeal the
church's decision to dismiss the
charges.
A. Hugo Blankingship Jr., the attorney
for the 10 bishops, said in a document
dated June 11, they would not
continue legal proceedings.
The 10 bishops want the church to
prohibit such ordinations when its
General Convention meets in July 1997
in Philadelphia. At the meeting, the
bishops plan to propose a ~hange in
church law requiring all ordained
clergy . to abstain from sexual rel alions
outside of a heterosexual marriage.
Retired Bishop Walter Righter of
Alstead, N.H., had been charged
with heresy for ordaining the Rev.
Barry Stopfel as a deacon in 1990,
even though he knew Stopfel was
involved in· a long-term relationship
with another man.
'Tm really on top of a mountain
now," Righter said after the
announcement.
'Tm glad it's over. I'm glad they're
willing to let it go to General Convention.
I'm sure there will be other
voices there as well," Righter said.
The
Word
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The Bible
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Author Chris Glaser fearlessly liberates the Bible
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SEEPAGE 22.
PAGE 10 • SECOND STONE • JU LY/AUGUST. 1996
and lesbian rights," said Righter.
"But in a quiet way. I'm a quiet man."
While his personal faith has not
wavered, his faith in the church has
suffered, he said.
"We've gotten obsessed with sexuality
and there are so many other
issues we should be concerned about
and spending time on," he said, citing
homelessness and spousal abuse as
examples.
"We're not being true to our mission.
It's time we stopped that."
Nevertheless, he said he hasn't
forgiven his accusers and won't soon
forget the ordeal that called his 45
years of ministry into question.
"There is no question about the fact
that I am angry," said Righter
The bishops who brought the
charges against him are "narrowminded,
mean-spirited, schoolyard
bullies wlio could not see beyond the
~nds of their noses," said Righter.
Righter said he was a pawn in a
failed power grab by his accusers
who sought to pressure the House of
Bishops into barring the ordination
of gay ministers.
"That's just reprehensible," he said.
In fact, there is precedent for Right-·
er's actlons. More than 100 gays and
lesbians with partners have been
ordain ,ed by about 40 Episcopal
bishops, according to Integrity.
"Because of this decision, the
church is a safe place for the gay
community," he said.
It also means the church is safer for
gay priests who have kept their lifestyles
secret in fear of censure, he
said . One such priest called to thank
him for enabling him to_ come out of
the closet, he said.
At the Church of the Good
Shepherd in Nashua, where Righter
was rector from 1954 to 1971, he is a
local hero .
"The majority of people here are
ecstatic about the decision," said
Rev. Robert Odierna .
A Righter defense fund has raised
about $110,000 to help pay the
$150,000 in legal costs. The Rev. Desmond
Tutu contributed.
Disappointed bishops hint of
schism following court decision
By Kevin O'Hanlon
Associated Press Writer
DALLAS (AP) - Ten bishops representing
about 10 percent of all U.S.
Episcopalians hinted that they
might break away from the church
because of a church court ruling that
may pave the way for ordination of
gays and lesbians.
"We will take steps to create a fellowship
of Episcopal parishes and
dioceses which uphold Scriptural
authority," the bishops said in a
document issued May 28, adding that
they would refuse to ordain, admit,
or license gay clergy.
The document was signed by the
bishops of the dioceses of Dallas and
Fort Worth, Texas; Memphis, Tenn.;
Orlando and Jacksonville, Fla.; Albu querque,
N.M.; Sacramento, Calif .;
and Eau Claire, Wis.; and the retired
bishop of Houston.
Those dioceses comprise about
250,000 of the church's 2.5 million
members.
Bishop James Stanton of Dallas
stopped short of saying the group
planned to break off from the church.
"We certainly have not talked
about it," he said. But "if the other
side continues to press this thing ...
they are really inviting division.
The seeds of disunity and division
are there and they are growing."
In a decision that averted the first
heresy trial of an Episcopal bishop
since the 1920s, a church court ruled
May 15 that church doctrine does not
explicitly bar the ordination of gays
and lesbians.
The decision was condemned by
church conservatives, who said it
could result in many lay people abandoning
a nationwide flock that has
dropped to 2.5 million from a high of
3.6 million in the 1960s.
The ruling by the panel of eight
bishops said the issue should be
dealt with by the full membership,
possibly at its next general convention,
scheduled for July 1997 in Phtladel
phia.
Before the ruling, the Episcopal
Church allowed only the ordination
of married heterosexuals, celibate
single heterosexuals and celibate
homosexuals. The ruling did not say
whether the church now condones the
ordination of gays.
Bishop Jolrn S. Spong of the 40,000-
member Episcopal Diocese of Newark
said the church should realize that
people cannot control their sexual
orientation .
"They are not evil," Spong said
after the ruling. "It's a given like
being left-handed is given or being
redheaded is given, and the churcl1
has got to learn how you live with
the givens .of life."
Lutherans ronsider outreach strategy for gays
MUNDELEIN, Ill. (ELCA) - The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America will develop "outreach
strategies to gay and lesbian people,
especially in communities where
there are large populations of homosexual
persons, either with new ministries
or through existing congregations."
Without dissent the board of
the ELCA Division for Outreach
passed a three-part resolution to that
effect when it met here May 8-11.
"The purpose is to ensure that we
get the basic gospel message of salvation
by grace through faith to the lesbian
and gay communities throughout
this country," said Joseph E. McMahon,
Washington, D.C. He said he
introduced the resolution "to engage
straight, lesbian and gay people in
reaching out to these communities, to
enrich peoples lives through the
Lutheran church and our traditions."
"Young men and women who are
lesbian and gay are welcomed and
affirmed by the bar crowd, by the sex
crowd and by the drug crowd," he
At last: Seattle couple gets longsought
blessing by church dean
By James Solheim
Episcopal News Service
THE TWO GAY men who sought a
blessing for their relationship in the
fall of 1994, and were blocked by the
bishop, stood before the altar at St.
Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, May 19,
surrounded by hundreds of friends and
parishioners who gathered to express
their support.
Citing his responsibility to respond
to a pastoral situation, Dean Frederick
Northup said in a Jetter to Bishop
Vincent Warner, Jr., that "nothing
could be more natural than for us to
gather as a community to thank God
for their 11 years together and to ask
God's continued blessing on their
future."
As Dr. James Black and Thomas
Monnahan exchanged vows and rings
and knelt, Northup said, "Let their
love be without shame, a sign of a
new world of justice and peace."
Bishop Vincent Warner, Jr., stopped
the blessing in 1994 because he said '
that the bishops had agreed to "stay
in community with each other" and
not move until the church as a whole
makes a decision on the issue.
In a letter to the diocese, Warner
said that a clarification at a House
of Bishops meeting in 1995 observed
that permission was "not in the
hands of anyone to give or
withhold." And he said that
"permission for this blessing was
neither sought, nor given."
Warner also pointed out that the
blessing "is not a statement on behalf
of the bishop, nor was it St. Mark's
acting as a cathedral, the seat of the
bishop. It was St. Mark's Parish
responding, in love, to the two men
whose committed relationship was
celebrated.
Northup acknowledged that "as a
church we are in a period of indecision,
testing, and searching." He
added that the parish has been discussing
sexuality for years. "It is
because of our long and deep involvement
in ihis area, and because of
their knowledge of Thom and Jim,
that the vestry voted 13-2 a year and
a half ago in support of the blessing
of their life together."
Monnahan, who is HIV-positive,
said that he and others may not be
alive by the time the Episcopal
Church reaches consensus on blessing
same-sex relationships .
Presbyterians oust gay elder
CINCINNATI (Reuters) - In a move
described as unprecedented within
the Presbyterian Church in the
United States, a governing body has
ordered an elder stripped of his
ordained office because he is gay .
The Judicial Commission of the Cincinnati
Presbytery voted 4-3 to annul
the layman's ordination as an elder
at Knox Presbyterian of Hyde Park,
one of the denomination's most
influential churches in the region.
The elder has not been identified.
The commission acted after another
elde~ at Knox complained about his
ordination.
The Rev. Lloyd Dunavent, stated
clerk of the Cincinnati Presbytery -
the church official in charge of record
keeping - told Reuters the action
marked the first time in the United
States that a Presbyterian judicial
body had overruled a local church on
the issue. '
The Cincinnati Presbytery consists
of 86 churches in southwestern Ohio,
northern Kentucky and southeast
Indiana.
said. "They are not welcomed by the
church crowd, and we have to reverse
that."
"We have to Jet these young people
know that they are every part of
God's creation as are all of us," said
McMahon. "We are their partners in
this journey, and we are going to be
with them into living lives that are
responsible and · respectful as we
respect them as young lesbian and gay
people."
"The resolution on gays and lesbians
simply called us to do what we
should be doing • to be open and
affirming to all people," said
Michael Kohn, West Columbia, S.C.,
board vice chair. The three parts of
the resolution direct division staff to
engage gay and lesbian Lutheran
organizations in dialogue, to develop
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National News
outreach strategies and to work with
new and existing congregations in
affirming and welcoming gay members.
"We have heen developing ethnic
specific strategies with the people in
various communities," said the Rev.
M.L. Minnick Jr., executive director of
the ELCA Division for Outreach .
"So, it's the right thing for us as a
division to be in dialogue with our
gay and lesbian members to see if
there are learnings to help us develop
strategies for outreach to gay and lesbian
people."
"The board was suggesting to the
staff · that we also do sensitizing of
the ministries that we relate · to," he
said. "A part of our inclusivity is an
inclusivity to persons of gifferent sexual
orientation."
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PAGE 11 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
National News
,._ ,gs;
"Time to make a statement"
32 Grand Rapids-area ministers aill for acceptance of gays
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - Some
local clergy released a statement
calling for acceptance of gays and lesbians
in churches.
"We believe it is to the peril of the
church that it neglects the humanity
and gifts of people strictly on the
basis of sexual orientation," states a
pastoral letter signed by 32 Grand
Rapids-area ministers.
"We call the church to nurture a
faith that is not so insecure as to be
threatened by human differences in
expressing committed love," said the
Jetter, according to a story in The
Grand Rapids Press.
The group drafted the statement in
response to local controversies over
gay issues. Those include the case of
Byron Center music teacher Gerry
Crane, a gay man whom some in the
community want fired ..
The statement's signers include pastors
from 18 West Michigan churches
totaling more than 9,000 members,
most of them United Church of
Christ, United Methodist and Presbyterian.
Others include the nondenominational
Fountain Street
Church and the Metropolitan Community
Church . No Catholic or
Christian Reformed clergy are among
the group.
The signers said they want to counter
a church response that has been
mostly conservative and judgmental.
"We wanted the area to know there
are some of us that are grieved by
some of the reaction to folks like
Gerry Crane, whom we consider to be
a good role model for our children, "
said the Rev. William Evertsberg,
pastor of the 1,300-member Westminster
Presbyterian Church . Crane is a
member at the Grand Rapids church,
and Evertsberg presided over a union
ceremony between Crane and his
partner.
Many clergy who "hadn't been making
much noise" felt it was time to
make a statement, said the Rev. Ronald
Skidmore, pastor of the 300-
member South Congregational United
Church of Christ.
"I felt personally like this was an
important thing to do for the integrity
of the church," Skidmore said.
"A lot of people in the gay and Jes-
Two ministers protest Methodist bishop's appearance
as convention speaker
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi
United Methodist Annual Conference
began June 10 without the support
of two ministers wha protested
the conference's guest speaker.
The Revs. Donald E. Wildmon and
Casey "Buddy" Smith of Tupelo did
not attend morning worship services
Monday and Tuesday because they
disagree with the beliefs of speaker
Bishop Mary Ann Swenson of Denver.
Swenson, formerly of Jackson, is one .
of 15 United Methodist bishops who
unsuccessfully urged the denomination's
1996 General Conference to
change church law to accept the ordi-
UNCOMMON
CALLING:A
Gay Christian's
Struggle to
Serve the
Church
BY CHRIS GLASER
Expanded and with a new
introduction, conclusion , and
photographs. In this book , Chris
Glaser describes his personal
journey of coming out to his family,
friends , church - and to himself.
nation of gays and lesbians.
She had been invited to speak at
the Mississippi meeting before taking
the stance, including publicly supporting
same-sex marriages.
Smith asked Bishop Marshall
"Jack" Meadors, Miss issippi's resident
United Methodist bishop, to
withdraw Swenson's invitation .
Meadors refused.
Wildmon said he and Smith "had
considered walking out when Bishop
Swenson began her sermon, but that
could be perceived as an attempt to
embarrass Bishop Meadors, who
invited her ·to preach."
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CHRIS Gl.A5JER
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PAGE 12 • SECOND STONE • J ULY/A UGUST, 1996
bian community have been hurt and
wounded by church judgmentalism."
However, another pastor who
urged Byron Center school board candidates
to publicly oppose homosexuality
insists the Bible clearly finds
homosexual activity "an abomination
in the sight of God."
"Many of the mainline denominations
have abandoned their commitment
to the authority of God's word
as entirely inspired by God," said the
Rev. Richard Gregory of Byron Center
Bible Church. "They feel free to
take what they will and dismiss
what they will."
Among those who signed are four
ministers at Christ Community
Church of Spring Lake - including the
Rev. Richard Rhem - who added
their names after the document was
drafted. Rhem, who believes homosexuality
isn't necessarily sinful,
faces expulsion from the Reformed
Church in America for his scriptural
views, the Press said.
They came together out of concern
for what Evertsberg called "class discrimination"
against gays, -such as
proposed state legislation outlawing
gay marriage .
"We're involved because we have
these folks in our churches," Evertsberg
said . "We love them and
they're contributing, faithful
members."
A few involved with the pastors'
group declined to sign the statement,
including two Reformed Church in
America ministers. One of them,
requesting anonymity, said they
feared signing would jeopardize funding
for an inner -city church agency.
Unitarians support recognition
of same-sex marriages
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Unitarian
Universalist Church has voted to
support legal recognition of gay marriages,
the first major religious
denomination in the United States .to
doso.
The vote in late June at the church's
annual general assembly made support
of same-sex marriages official
policy for 1,040 Unitarian congregalions.
Individual churohes, however,
may decide whether to have such
weddings.
The Bostoncbased denomination has
a history of support for gay rights . In
1970, it called for an end to gay discrimination,
and 10 years later said
gays should be allowed to serve in
the ministiy.
Jewish center starts anti-hate hotline
to find church bmners
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A noted Jewish
human rights group has announced a
national hate crimes hotline for
information on the wav e of black
church burnings.
Th e Simon Wiesenthal Center
launch ed an 800-number hotline and
an Int e rnet address, with a poster
campaign scheduled for major cities.
"Like everybody else in America,
we've b een quite concerned about the
recent spate of hate crimes. We
wanted to come up with something
that was more than just a gesture,"
said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, de a n of
the_ center .
The center will turn over anonymous
hotlin e information to authorities.
The posters show a burning church
and admonish : "Silence Only Fans
the Flames." Using $1.1 million in
donated space, they went up in July in
bus and railroad stations in 12 s tates
and in Washjngton, D.C., Cooper
said .
"This is a state ment of solidarity
with the African-American community
but it's also form of self-defense"
for Jews because tolerating hate
crimes against one minority group
eventually leads to attacks on others,
Cooper said.
The Rev. Rosie Grier helped
announce the campaign at the
Museum of Tolerance, which has
exhibits on the Holocaust and 'the
civil rights mov ement.
"We watched assassinations. We
watcl1ed the Holocaust. We watched
th e murd er of the rights of hum an
beings, civil rights and so forth, "
Grier said. "Yet many tim es people
stood by, they said nothing. They
said absolutely nothing. They say,
'It's OK because I can't get involved.'
"Well if you don't get involved,
your house is going -to go down in
flames."
Th e hate crimes hotlin e number is 1-
800-900-9036. The Internet sit e is
www.wiesenth al.com/ cyberwatch.ht
ml.
National News
North Georgia Methooists Sllp{X)rt gay anti-discrimination bill
"I work for a woman who is suppo~- The resolution easily passed by a sexuality incompatible with Chris- ROME, Ga. (AP) - North Georgia
United Methodists representing
287,000-church memb ers voted to support
legislation that would'bar most
job discrimination against gays and
lesbians.
tive of me personally, but I'm one show of hands during the group's tian teachings.
change in supervisor away from being annual meeting in Rome, attended by An unsuccessful push to change that
fired," said Harry Knox, a member of about 2,500 delegates from 937 north policy dominated · the 8 .6 million-
St. Mark United Methodist Church Georgia United Methodist churches, member denomination's annual meetin
Atlanta who is gay. said spokeswoman Alice M. Smith. ing in Denver last April.
---------------------------- It will be sent to Georgia's congres-
Call to Action banned from meeting
on Catholic church property
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - First it
was church leaders in Nebraska.
Now, the local chapter of a liberal
Catholic group has been banned from
meeting . on property owned by the
Catholic Diocese of Fort WayneSouth
Bend .
The ban on future meetings by members
of Michiana Call to Action
comes after a fall program at St.
Joseph Church during which they
discussed the issue of women in the
priesthood - a topic Pope John Paul II
has forbidden Catholics from discussing.
Sister Christine Schenk, of the
group FutureChurch of Cleveland,
also discussed celibacy in the
priesthood, granting the Eucharist to
all Catholics and other reforms.
Some Catholics, including those who
have divorced but have not had their
marriages annulled, are forbidden
from taking the Eucharist, which the
church teaches is the body of Christ.
Members of the group, who have
been invited to meet at a nearby
Lutheran church, issued a statement
declaring that it was time to
",edefine church property."
"We have now come to understand
that wherever we go, wherever we
worship, wherever we meet, becomes
church property. It is we, the people,
who make church, by gathering two
or more in the name of Christ," the
statement said.
A four-person commission formed to
investigate the issue recommended to
Bishop John M. D'Arcy that the
Homosexuality
and
Christian
Community
Choon -Leong Seow , editor
Contribut ors to this volume, all
members of the Princeton
Theological Seminary faculty,
addre;ss the various exegetical,
interpretiv e, and practical issues
pertaining to gays and lesbians in
group be banned from meeting on parish
property. The commission maintains
that Call to Action is at odds
with the church's teachings on
women priests and celibacy.
On April 24, the group was informed
of D'Arcy's decision.
Fran Boyce, a member of Michiana
Call to Action, said that while the
church has educated all its members
in theology, it now doesn't want them
to think and question the church's
teachings .
Ann Carey Schmiedeler, a member
of the church commission, says the
parish priest as well as the bishop
has the right to regulate what happens
on church property .
Call to Action is a liberal Catholic
organization with chapters in the
United States, Canada and Europe .
The group calls for such things as
equal rights for women in church
decision-making and in all ministries
and optional celibacy.
Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of the
Lincoln, Neb., diocese ordered hundreds
of Catholics to quit Call to
Action or risk excommunication from
the church. The bishop also ordered
church members to leave Planned
Parenthood, the Hemlock Society
and various Masonic groups.
Call to Action, a Chicago-based
group which claims more than 15,000
members - including a number of
bishops, priests and religious leaders
- also has come under fire in northern
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individuals engaged in theological $14.99
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sional delegation, she said.
Official policy of the United Methodist
Church, the second-largest
Protestant denomination in the
United States, still declares homo-
The north Georgia group, which
includes most of the state north of
Macon, says the church still supports
economic and civil rights for gays and
lesbians.
Priest hopes to offer~rspective on
Disney's trouble with critics
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - A theologian
anti educator named to the Walt
Disney Co.'s board of directors hopes
to use his experience to help the company
when religious values clash
with popular culture .
Father Leo J. O'Donovan, president
of Georgetown University, was named
to the board not long after Southern
Baptists and other religious conservatives
accused Disney of adopting
"anti-family and anti-Christian"
positions.
"I hope I would have some perspective
as an ·educator and a theologian
that would be helpful · to the company,"
said O'Donovan, a Jesuit priest.
O'Donovan, a professor of theology,
said that the values of "secular Hollywood"
are not much different from
those of popular culture in general.
"You look at painting, Sculpture,
theater and the movies - we don't
have an easily identified corpus of
religious art," he said.
"But we do have a recurrence of
religious themes in popular entertainment
because the American people
remain an intensely religious people
- more so than most every Euro- '
pean country," he said.
O'Donovan ,' 62, said it was "utterly
accidental" that his election to the
board was announced soon after the
company was hit with protests by
religious groups. He · said he was
asked to join the Disney board in
February by Chairman Michael Eisner,
who only last year had completed
six years on the board of Georgetown,
the nation's oldest Catholic university
.
Regarding the Southern Baptists'
principal criticism - Disney's extension
of insurance benefits to partners
of gay employees - O'Donovan called
that a humane policy.
lt11lli. of this
issue of
Second
Stone.
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An extr aordinary book ;.. a prophetic
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-James B. Ashbrook .
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
PAGE 13 • SECO N D STON E • JULY/AUGUST , 199 6
Fonner Archbishop of
Cantetbmy ordained gays
LONDON (AP) - A former Archbishop
of Canterbury says he knowingly
ordained non-celibate gays as
priests in the Church of England.
Lord Robert Runcie, the leader of
the worldwide Anglican communion
for 11 years until l 991~ said in an
interview broadcast May 15 that he
had a "don't want to know" policy
about ordaining gays.
His remarks revived debate over a
sensitive issue in the Church of England,
which is still raw from divisions
over a 1993 decision to permit
female priests.
The church allows gay relationships
among lay people, but
"practicing" gays may ·not become priests
- although some are.
Runde described this policy as
"ludicrous."
Asked if he ever knowingly
ordained "practicing homosexuals,"
Runcie, 74, replied: "Yes."
He added that he refused to ordain
anyone who "told me they were a
practicing homosexual."
"On the other hand, there have
been times in my ministry when I
have acted in a 'don't want to know'
way and 'why should I inquire?' way,
and I never liked the prospect of
inquiring into what happened in a
man's bedroom unless he's prepared to
tell me."
With attendance declining, conservative
clergy accuse the church of
dropping old tenets to try to be trendy,
while others say the church is out
of touch with ordinary people.
Hundreds of Anglicans, including
ministers, opposing the ordination of
women joined the Catholic Church . It
does not allow female priests and
regards all homosexual relations as,
sinful.
The editor of a leading Catholic
paper, The Tablet, said Runcie's
■ "A lot of blind eyes
are being turned
and that is one of
the reasons why
what [Runcie] has
said is so explosive." ■
remarks underlined "a general perception
of the Church of England as
being ruled by secular political correct
fashion."
But, editor Clifford Longley added,
there were also gay Catholic priests.
"A lot of blind eyes are being turned
and that is one of the reasons why
what Archbishop Runde has said is
so explosive," Longley said in a radio
interview .
The Rev. David Halloway, a conservative
clergyman, said Runcie had
"defied the Bible."
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PAGE 14 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST. 1996
NMM&◄i# t4W WE W1P¥%iM4
Presbyterians overturn ordination
of gay minister
CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward
Island (AP) - The Presbyterian
Church of Canada has overturned
the ordination of its first acknowledged
non-celibate gay minister in a
decision that has left the church
deeply divided.
The church's 300-member general
assembly supported by a wide margin
June 10 a committee report reversing
the ordination of Darryl Macdonald
by St. Andrew's Church in the Montreal
suburb of Lachine.
Macdonald, 32, was ordained last
year with support of 90 percent of St.
Andrew's congregation.
"It's very disappointing," the Rev.
Glynnis Williams, a supporter of
Macdonald's ordination, said following
the emotic;mal, day-long debate.
''Darryl's probably going to take this
better than the rest of us ... He had so
much support in the congregation."
Opponents such as John Allan, a
commissioner with the Vancouver
Island presbytery, warned that
homosexual ordination would tear
the church apart, driving conservative
members away.
Supporters saw the matter as a
measure of the value of human rights
in the church, which has about
800,000 members nationwide .
"W e should be trying to know the
mind of Christ here," argued the
Rev. Alan Stewart of Toronto . "What
woulcl he do?"
A special committee formed by the
church examined the matter last
year after angry members of the Presbytery
of Montreal appealed the
ordination.
The committee's report said Macdonald
shouldn't be ordained unless
he gives up his lover and remains celibate.
·
It acknowledged the decision would
hurt Macdonald and the congregation.
But such "hurt and damage to
the denomination as a whole would
be far more devastating should the
Presbyterian Church in Canada act in
discontinuity with its deeply rooted
understanding of Scripture."
The assembly also voted to direct
the Presbytery of Montreal to review
Macdonald's status in the church .
Macdonald wasn't present for the
vote and reportedly was on vacation
this ·week. He has been working at a
Montreal store selling compact discs,
and another minister has been
overseeing St. Andrew's cong regation
while the controversy has unfolded.
■
"It's very disappointing.
Darryl's
probably going to
take this better
than the rest of -
us ... He had so
much support in
the congregation." • MacDonald had stated publicly
that he had been in a gay relationship
for 2 1 / 2 years, saying, "I've
been .very honest with people."
His path-to becoming a minister
started with his home parish in
Nova Scotia, which gave him the
necessary go-ahead to study for the
ministry . After time at the church's
seminary in Montreal, he was examined
by the Presbytery of Montreal
, and found lo be a suitable candidate
for ordination.
There is no policy in the church
explicitly forbidding gay clergy,
although a report on human sexuality
adopted in 1994 declared homosexuality
is not a Christian option.
Gay ministry opens in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -A gay and lesbian
group has set up its own Presbyterian
congregation, but church officials
said they will not recognize the
group.
The Tungkuang, or Light of Fellowship
Church, opened in May in Taipei
with scores of gays and lesbians
attending a service presided over by
sympathetic missionaries, said
Cheng Yin-er, a Presbyterian Church
pastor .
He said the Presbyterian church
does not accept homosexual behavior,
and will not appoint pastors to minister
to the group.
"We will not accept them," Cheng
said of the new church. "But we can
understand that they were eager to
form their own group to avoid the
disapproving eyes of other members
of their congregations."
Gays and lesbians, once unseen in
Taiwan, have gradually begun to
participate openly in social institutions
. But the Light of Fellowship
Church is operating behind closed
doors at an undisclosed venue, the
United Daily News said.
Q '- y • d\ tz-., n: .w4ii ;'i *; t ,j.., Mtf oi#fl Wo r ld News
Assembly site iu;es risk to gays, WCC told
By Edmund Dooque
Ecumenicai News International
GENEVA - The World Council of
Churches (WCC) should change its
plans to hold its next world assembly
in Harare because "any person suspected
of being homosexual" will. be
at risk in the Zimbabwean capital,
according to a joint board of two WCC
member churches in the United
States.
The Common Global Ministries
Board - a joint agency recently set up
by two churches, the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) and the
United Church of Christ - has publicly
called on the WCC to relocate
the 1998 assembly because of the risk
to gays and lesbians and because the
views of the Zimbabwe president conflict
with the human rights policies
of the two churches.
However, a spokesman for the
WCC, which has 330 Protestant,
Orthodox and Anglican member
churches, told ENI on May 10 that
the WCC had been assured by the
Harare government that participants
at the assembly in September 1998
would have freedom of speech and of
entry into the country.
The Common Global Ministries
Board supervises the overseas activities
of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ. A Disciples of
Christ spokesperson in Indianapolis
told E~I that the board's views did
not automatically represent the
policies of the two churches. "The
actions of the · board represent the
feelings of the board," the spokesman
Australian church issues gayaffirming
report
By Michael Perry
Reuters
SYDNEY - Australia's third largest
Christian church has broken with
centuries of biblical tradition in issuing
a controversial report on sexuality
supporting gay clergy, same sex marriages
and relationships out of
wedlock.
''The historical distance between
our times and biblical times means we
cannot simply translate the writers'
conclusions about sexuality into our
own time," said the Uniting Church
report "A Journey Into Sexuality."
The report, which took four years of
biblical study and worldwide consultation
to complete, has been issued as
a discussion paper before a final
report is voted on by the church in
July 1997.
"We take the view that sexuality is
an int egral part of the human
person," the report said.
"Though it may include genital
activity, sexuality is much broader
and may involve many different
forms of awareness and expression," it
added. "Our task is to bridge the gap
between the ancient world from
which the scriptures come and our
contemporary situation."
Moderator of the New South Wales
Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia,
Reverend Dean Drayton,
urged church members to "break the
zone of silence". regarding sexuality
and respond to the controversial
report with an open mind .
"Sexuality is part of all our relationships,"
Drayton said.
"If the church is going to be responsible,
it must look at its own life with
openness. This interim report gives us
the opportunity to break through the
zone of silence about the nature of sexuality
in human relationships," he
said . ·
Drayton said the report does n ot
deviate from the Bible, but reflects
an understanding of the Bible and
contemporary society, which now
had to cope with AIDS and sexual
abuse of children.
The report supported gay relation ships
if they were right relationships.
"Right relationships are characterized
by agape, the love, caring and
compassion embodied in Jesus Christ,"
the report said.
"We believe that the critical moral
issue that faces the Church in the
field of sexuality is not homosexuality
but the unjust treatmenf of people
and their devaluation as sexualspiritual
per sons, " it said, adding
gay and bisexual people said the
clmrch penalized them for their sexuality
.
On the subject of gay clergy, the
report said : "The task group has
found no evidence that a person who
is a homosexual is less fit for ministry,
or that a homosexual minist er
damages the credibility of the ministry,
any more than anyone else."
''To reject a person from the ministry
because . that person is a homosexual
is a rejection of their personhood ."
Th e Uniting Church is Australia' s
third largest after the Catholic and
Anglican churches.
said .
The WCC assembly, held every
seven years, brings together thousands
of representatives and observers
from churches around the world
and elects the WCC's central committe
e, its governing body . The Harare
assembly will coincid e with the
WCC's 50th anniversary. Harare
defeated Amsterdam in a vote for the
assembl y site taken by the WCC's
central committee in January 1994,
and plans for the gathering are now
well under way, with conference
facilities already booked . The wee
told ENI that preparations for Harare
were continuing.
How ever the Common Global Ministries
Boa rd suggested that South
Africa, "where homosexual civil
rights are constitutionally protect -.
ed," be chosen to host the WCC
assembly .
In a press release issued by Disciples
News Service, the Common Global
Ministries Board quoted press reports
that Zimbabwe's President, Robert
Mugabe, had "made several public
attacks on Zimbabwean gays and lesbians,"
calling them "worse tqan dogs
and pigs. " (President Mugabe made
several speeches against homosexuals
in 1995, making it clear that they
were not welcome in his country and
that he regarded homosexuality as
an import from the West.)
According to the board, "such statesponsored
attacks could provoke acts
of violence toward any person suspected
of being homosexual, without
reference to due process of law ."
The board also said that several of
President Mugabe's anti-homosexual
statements "were allegedly made in
church settings and endorsed by religious
groups . One of them, the Zimbabwe
Council of Churches, is a
partner organization of the United
Church and th e Disciples of Christ."
(Officers of the Zimbabwe Council of
Churches were not available for comment
to ENI.)
President Mugabe's comments
"conflict with open and affirming
policies in the United Church of
Christ and the Disciples' commitment
to human rights in general,"
according to board members.
Homosexuaiity is a sensitive issue
for the WCC as there is a wide range
of moral views on sexuality among its
member churches . However after
some members of the WCC's central
committee raised concern~ at its meeting
at WCC headquarters in Geneva
last September, WCC officials drew
up·" a memorandum of understanding"
with the Zimbabwean government.
The memorandum was signed in
February this year .
The WCC spokesperson told ENI:
"The government of Zimbabwe has
agreed to facilitate the entry into the
country of all legitimate participants
of our assembly, and to respect the
freedom of the assembly to speak and
act on matters of its choice within the
premises in which the event will be
held .
"In response to an inquiry from Dr
Paul Sherry, presid ent of the United
Church of Christ, Rev. Dr Wesley
Ariarajah, deputy general secretary
of the World Council of Churches,
wrote to Dr Sherry on April 3, giving
details of the memorandum of understanding
.
"Our information is that Dr Sherry
found Dr Ariarajah's letter assuring.
We do not wish to comment on th e
decision of the Common Global Ministries
Board of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ, except to say that ·
preparations continue for our 1998
assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe," th e
wee spokesperson said.
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WE WERE
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This book challenges the church to take
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liberation for everyone ... includ ing its gay and
lesbian members.
$16.99 from Second Stone Press.
To order, see page 22. ·
PAGE 15 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
tf\•iihr,;, ' 5- $- :.::. :& ~ rlr:ato ' ::n:·'li: t 1 ! ~¥1 Oi f ' - ~ . i;; .~ ,t t
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to stricken man
By Anna Marie Lux
The J.anesville Gazette
JANESVILLE, Wis. - As Doug Cich
lay dying, he stroked his sister's
· hair, squeezed her hand and murmured
that he loved her.
He knew Cheryl Petersen for less
than a year.
But having her and her family in
his world gave him newfound inspiration
and unconditional ·Jove in the
final, hardest months of his life.
And for Cheryl, getting to know
Doug fiHed an emptiness that had
welled inside of her since childhood.
On June 2, Doug died of complications
from AIDS in Reno, Nev. But not
before he sent almost $3,000 to fly
Cheryl, her four sisters, her father
and four other family members from
Wisconsin to visit him one last time.
And not before he spent happy times
with a family he never knew he had.
Last year, Cheryl went looking for
Doug.
The Janesville woman neverforgot
the baby brother she held in her
arms. She was 5 when she last saw
the 3-month-old child. In the mid}
%Os, the former Cheryl Dary lived
in Edgerton with her family. She
had four sisters and two brothers,
including Doug and another brother
who died.
When her parents divorced, her
father got custody of all the children
except Doug, who was not his son.
Cheryl's mother couldn't care for
the baby. So Doug lived in a foster
home . A family adopted him at age
6.
Three years ago, Cheryl went into
recovery for alcoholism. As she faced
tough issues in her life, she thought
more and more about her lost brother .
She began searching · old records,
yearbooks and newspapers to find a
clue about where he went after adoption.
Eventually, Cheryl and her sister,
Diane Dary, tracked him down in
R1mo, where he was gravely ill at a
veterans hospital.
When they called Doug, he was
ready to die. No more blood transfusions.
No more painful medical procedures.
No more despair.
But when he heard their voices, he
found a reason to go on.
Within two weeks, Cheryl and two
other sisters were in Reno visiting
Bicyclists pedal 525 miles to raise
money for AIDS services
LOS ANGELES (AP) - More · than
2,000 bicyclists who pedaled for
seven days from San Francisco to Los
Angeles raised close to $8 million for
AIDS, crossing the finish line on June
8.
Hundreds of people lined the streets
of West Hollywood to cheer on the
riders as they finished the last leg of
the 525-mile ride.
Mayor Richard Riordan, an avid
bicyclist, rode the last leg of the
AIDS Ride 3, from Ventura, about 70
miles.
"We had great fun," Riordan said.
"I haven't had so much fun since I've
been mayor."
About 2,275 riders participated in
the event, raising $7.9 million for the
AIDS-fundraiser . The money will
benefit the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian
Center and the San Francisco
AIDS Foundation .
The mayor of West Hollywood,
Paul Koretz, pedaled the entire route
from San Francisco.
"The California AIDS Ride 3 is not
only a great way to raise funds for
AIDS services, but is also a way for
people to show their determination
to eradicate the scourge in our community,"
he said in a statement.
PAGE 16 • SECOND STONE • JULY/A UG UST, 1996
15-year-old who raised AIDS
awareness dies
PAYNESVILLE, Minn. (AP) - A 15-
year-old Paynesville boy who
helped his classmates understand
AIDS and the virus that causes the
deadly disease has died.
Jimmy Jimenez, who four years ago
told his fifth-gtade classmates he
was HIV-positive, died of complications
from AIDS at home on May 28.
"He was probably as courageous as
anyone could be," said Bob Bowden,
Jimmy's homeroom teacher four years
ago. "He always seemed to have a
smile or a kind word for people . He
was a remarkable little kid."
Jimmy was born in Los Angeles and
moved to Paynesville in west-central
Minnesota at age 10.
He contracted the HIV virus as a
newborn when he received a blood
transfusion. But his family did not
learn of his diagnosis until Christmas
their brother . They persuaded Doug
to come to Wisconsin to meet his biological
family.
Doug stayed in Janesville with
Cheryl, her husband, John, and their
four children for almost six months
from late September until March.
He met unknown relatives at a fam-
■
When they called
Doug, he was ready
to die. No more
blood transfusions.
No more painful
medical pro..:
cedures _. No more
despair. But when
he heard their
voices, he found a
reason to go on.
■
ily reunion, celebrated his 32nd
birthday and felt compassion from
newly found family members who
didn't know much about AIDS.
"! think we all learned a lot about
the disease," Cheryl said .
"There were times when Doug was
very sick and ne~ded a lot of atten-
Eve 1991. Three months later, he told
his classmates at Paynesville Elementary
School.
"It was his choice. But (first) we
had to educate ourselves before we
could educate anybody else," said his
mother, Julie Jimenez, at the time.
Bowden said classmates never
shunned Jimmy.
"The kids embraced him, and the
community embraced him," he said.
When he first went public, Jimmy
received sta~ew1de media . attention .
At the time, he and a Minneapolis
girl were the only grade scl1oolers in
Minnesota who had gone public with
their status .
Funeral services were held at St.
Margaret's Catholic Church in Lake
Henry, where Jimmy had volunteered
as a Mass server.
tion. My youngest children had to be
on their best behavior . They saw me
care for him . I didn't shoo them
away.
"Sometimes it was hard," she said.
"But, if I had to do it all over again,
I would ."
Cheryl's father, Eug ene Dary of
Madison, said the family made the
most of every day.
"Doug called me 'Dad.' We all
enjoyed each other's company so
much. It was both a happy time and a
.sad time," he said.
"Doug was like a magnet . If you got
to know him, you were drawn to him.
You couldn't help but love him."
Cheryl has photo albums filled
with pictures of Doug, his sisters and
other family members- laughing, loving,
living .
When Doug knew the end was near,
he returned to Reno ..
"He had made his funeral arrangements
out there," Cheryl said .. "He
told me it was cheaper to fly back
now than to ship back a dead body."
Cheryl flew out to say goodbye to ,
Doug in late May. After he saw his
family, he refused to take any more
intravenous nourishment.
The family combed Doug's hair,
trimmed his mustache and held his
hand as he faded in and out of consciousness.
Cheryl told Doug that he would s ee
a lot of people he knew in heaven .
That someday she would join him.
That God had provided him with a
final chapter.
"I think that meeting all of us completed
his life when he needed ii
most," Cheryl said.
'Tm so glad that God gave us some
time together ."
j- Chnst1an Responses to AIDS1
In family-centered Vietnam
Relatives often ahmdon AIDS victims
By Kathy Wilhelm
Associated Press Writer
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP)
Her son's forehead wrinkled in pain,
and Tran Thi Xuan leaned over to
massage his temples. Her largeknuckled
fingers moved vigorously
despite the weariness in her own
face.
"He misses me very much when I go
out," Xuan, a vegetable vendor, said
fondly. "He always wants me to stay
home, but I can't."
Her son, Pham Manh Cuong, was
dying of AIDS, apparently contracted
from a contaminated needle during
more than two decades of opium
addiction.
He didn't have medical insurance,
enjoyed mainly by those with government
or state factory jobs, and couldn't
afford the daily hospital fee of
20,000 dong, about $1.80. No doctor
came to call.
Still, Cuong was one of Vietnam's
luckier · AIDS victims - his family
took care of him until he died. Social
workers say most families desert
AIDS victims as soon as the disease is
confirmed.
In a society that traditionally
stresses family ties, the abandonment
betrays the terror AIDS inspires. It
may also reflect the fact that most of
the victims are drug addicts who long
ago wore out their families' patience.
"He is my son, so I must help him,"
Xuan said when asked to explain her
faithful care.
Vietnam's biggest holiday of the
year was nearing, Tet, the lunar new
year. She wanted all 10 of her children
there, including Cuong. "We want
to be close to him," said Xuan, a widow.
They almost made it. He died four
days before Tet, at age 41.
Nearly 3,500 cases of full-blown
AIDS or infection with the AIDS
virus have been officially reported in
Vietnam since the first case was
detected in 1990. But health experts
believe the true number is several
times higher, with most cases going
undetected because blood tests are
rare.
Over the past two years, the government
has undertaken large-scale
Woman with AIDS hopes to
educate others
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP)
Terry Gleason knows what it's like to
live with AIDS, and she wants others
to know.
The Morgantown woman works with
the Mountain State AIDS Network
and visits colleges, civic and church
groups to explain the disease and
how it affects her life.
"I'm proud to stand up and say Tm
HIV positive.' If I am just one ripple
that gets women to say, 'So am I,'
then it's made a difference," Gleason
said. "I've made somebody else's life
easier."
Gleason said she is surprised by the
reaction she receives.
'Tm amazed at the number of people
who come up to hug me, from medical
students to sixth -graders. They
want to touch. They've been afraid
long enough," she said.
"Of all the things I've done, this is
my last hurrah, by being an active
participant in my illness," she said.
Gleason, 47, a tespiratory therapist,
was living in New Jersey when she
learned in November 1994 that she
not only had acquired immune deficiency
syndrome but was in the last
stages of the disease.
For 14 years, doctors had misread
symptoms: swollen lymph nodes,
herpes, a reaction to medication, anemia
and a low white cell blood count.
She said the possibility of AIDS was
overlooked because she "didn't live
the lifestyle" of those most at risk,
such as gay men or intravenous drug
users.
Gleason said she had unprotected
sex because "I had a hysterectomy at
25. There was no reason for me to use
protection."
She refuses to blame the man who
gave her AIDS.
"I can't judge how he got it any more
than I would want anyone to judge ine.
I still care about the person who did
it. All I did was practice my humanity.
I laid down with the wrong
person," she said.
Gleason quit her job, gave away
most of her belongings and moved to
Florida to be with her mother. But a
visit with her sister in Morgantown
prompted her to move back to the
Mountain State, where she had lived
with her son when he was young.
'Tm exactly where I want to be,"
Gleason said. "I got my longtime wish
of living in West Virginia after raising
my son. It's a wonderful opportunity
to live with my best friend, gorgeous
surroundings and wonderful
people."
public education about AIDS through
street posters, television ads and
school programs. Worried by the diseas.
e' s rapid spread in nearby Thailand
and Cambodia, it has promoted
condom use with a frankness unusual
for an Asian country where talk of sex
is normally taboo.
■ In a society that
traditionally
stresses family ties,
the abandonment
betrays the terror
AIDS inspires.
■
Nonetheless, many people still fear
casual contact with AIDS victims.
Unlike many Western countries, no
public figures have stepped forward
to acknowledge having the disease
and give it a human face. There is little
public sympathy for victims.
The Binh Trieu drug treatment center,
one of the few places in Ho Chi
Minh City where AIDS tests are routine,
is building a new, separate
facility for AIDS victims. It's not to
segregate and confine them, authorities
insist, but to give them a place to
go.
"Once a (regular) hospital knows
someone has full-blown AIDS, they
try to push them out to another hospital,"
said Bui Quang Thuy, a center
worker. "They don't have separate
wards for HIV patients and they're
afraid of driving away other
patients."
Cuong and his mother never told the
neighbors why he was ill, unsure of
the reaction.
Cuong developed his drug habit in
the South Vietnamese army during
the Vietnam War. "I was 18 years
old, too ·'young to understand," he
said.
Like many soldiers, Cuong drove a
pedicab after the war. He bought
opium, grown in Vietnam's highlands,
from dealers who provided
needles.
Three years ago, during an anti-vice
sweep, police sent him to the Binh
Trieu center, where doctors found he
had the AIDS virus.
Cuong wasted away slowly after
release. He developed a fever and
skin lesions. His legs refused to support
him.
"I feel as if someone is pulling my
head ·apart," Cuong muttered.
"Especially at night. I can't sleep."
He sprawled on a thin straw mat ·
atop a metal bedframe, his limbs
poking stick-like from a faded green
workshirt and baggy brown pants.
·From a cassette player came the
sound of Willie Nelson singing, "You
were always. on my mind."
Tran Minh Hue, a patient at the
Binh Trieu center, would give anything
to spend his last months as
Cuong did - at home.
Like Cuong, he was brought to the
center by police and learned there
that he had AIDS.
His disease has followed a similar
path. Hue lifted his green uniform
shirt to show the bluish scars of
healed skin lesions.
"These · hives are the worst," he
said. "Some people have so many
they can't sit or stand. It feels like
insects crawling under your skin."
But Hue's experience took a different
turn from Cuong's. He wrote home
to tell his wife and two children
about his illness and ask their support.
He hasn't received a reply.
"We know we can get good treatment
here, but we want to be close to our
families," he said. "A counselor from
the center went to see my family and
asked them to visit me, but they
didn't come. I don't know what is
wrong."
HealingJo
·THE FLOOR OF HEAVEN·
Guided meditation and music for healing and restoration with vocals
by The Rev. Deanne Aime and music by James Bass. The power to
heal lies within the spiritual and psychological nature of every person.
Tap into your healing power and potential through the process of
spiritual deepening as you experience guided meditation .
J/,c l· luor r Jf Hearc11. S 12. rn,st'llc
OR\ll:I{ l ·RO.\I Sl:CO:\D SHJ:\\. l'l{l:SS
SJJ : l'\Cil: 22
Church & Or anization News
UFMCC gets
new headquarters
THE UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP of
Metropolitan Community Churches
has closed escrow on the $3.8 million
purchase of a complex of buildings on
Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood.
The property, which includes a
5-story office building and an adjacent
2-story building will be the new
global headquarters of the UFMCC
and the new .home of MCC Los
Angeles, whose previous church was
destroyed by the 1994 earthquake.
New Hampshire
.church becomes
Open & Affirming
ON A VOTE OF 123-26 at their
annual congregation meeting, the
South Congregational Church of Concord,
New Hampshire voted in favor
of becoming an Open & Affirming
Congregation. Only about 200 of the
country's 6,400 United Church of
Christ parishes have passed similar
resolutions. The vote came as a relief
to one lesbian couple who already
felt accepted at the church. "They've
given a bigger gift than they realize,"
said one of the women who
wished to remain anonymous. South
Congregational Church has spent
about five years studying the issue of
homosexuality through classes and
discussion . -
Presiding bishop
speaks at Oasis
anmversary
JOINING IN AN exuberant celebration
of the seventh anniversary of
Oasis, a ministry of the Episcopal
Diocese of Newark to gays and lesbians,
Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning
praised the organization for
offering "living water" to those struggling
in the "difficult and dangerous
desert ." "Oasis . The name is about
shelter, about nurture, about drawing
aside from the dusty and dangerous
road for refreshment, for rest _and cool
water," Browning s_aid in his sermon
at the service, June 4, at All Saints
Parish, Hoboken. A colorful procession
up one of Hoboken's main streets,
led by a troupe of African drummers,
opened the service and included banners
from many of the more than
three _dozens parishes that sponsor
the ministry .
- Episcopal News Service
Web page for
'green' Christians
WILDERNESS MANNA and Christians
in Communion with Creation
has opened a web site at
http:/ www.ecr .anglican.org/wm/.
Director Roger Wharton says visitors
will be surprised at the content and
the amount of information that is
available. He is seeking articles, sermons,
announcements, poetry, book
reviews; and links for the web site.
Names Iviakin News
Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish
THE EPISCOPAL Diocese of Utah
ordained Rev. Carolyn Irish, a former
Mormon, as its first female bishop.
With a rough-hewn cross as the backdrop,
Rev. Irish received her church's
blessing to become the nation's sixth
female Episcopal bishop. She took
office June 29. Irish, 55, was confirmed
as an Episcopalian 20 years ago. As
bishop, she will succeed the Rev.
George E. Bates, who is retiring to
Oregon after 10 years because of poor
health. The Most Rev. Edmond L.
Browning, the denomination's presiding
bishop, said that the Utah
diocese is "in good hands" with Irish,
who was the staff associate for spiritual
development at the National
Cathedral in Washington and has
taught ethics, philosophy and history.
Irish pledged to attack poverty
and violence, largely through supporting
the local community "as they
embrace those issues." The daughter
of the late Salt Lake businessman and
philanthropist O.C. Tanner, Irish
has been chairwoman of the O .C.
Tanner Co., a jewelry manufacturing
and sales company, since her father's
death in 1993.
PAGE 16 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
Events
Announ cements in this section are provided
free of charge as a service to Christian organizations
. To have an event listed, send information
to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Orleans, LA 70182, FAX to (504)891-
7555, e-mail secstone@aol.com .
Gay and Lesbian
Family Week
AUGUST 3-11, Toe Gay and Lesbian Parents
Coalition has declared the first week
in August "Gay and Lesbian Family
Week." Toe organization will celebrate the
week in Provincetown, Mass. GLPCI will
host a barbecue and the Provincetown
Chamber of Commerce will suggest activities
for families to enjoy during the week.
For information contact GLPCI, P.O. Box
50360, Washington, DC 20091,
(202)583-8029, FAX (201)783-6204.
World Gathering on
Bereavement
AUGUST 14--18, This international conference
brings together the bereaved,
bereavement support organizations and
professionals. More than 90 workshops
and sharing groups are offered. Toe Red
Lion Airport Hotel in Seattle is the setting
. The conference is sponsored by
Accord Aftercare Services of Louisville,
Kentucky and Family Services, Seattle.
For information call (800)346-3087 or
(206)246-6142.
First National Gathering
of Welcoming and
Affirming Baptists
AUGUST 16-18, Lake Street Church
(W &A), Evanston, Illinois, is the setting
for the inaugural gathering of the Welcom-ing
and Affirming Baptists . Keynote
speakers are Peggy and Tony Campolo.
Among the workshops and forums being
planned are discussions of the "disfellowshipping"
situation, resources for
W &A ministries and planning for the next
gathering at the 1997 Biennial. Toe organization
had not released registration information
as of press time.
Gay Male Rites of Passage:
Moving Beyond Coming
Out to Being Out
AUGUST 16-18, How can gay men ritually
negotiate their identity-development
tasks and spiritual challenges? This weekend
will channel joys, rages, griefs, and
powers of gay experience, providing spiritual
tools to nurture happy, open, successful
lives. Fee, $225. Contact: Kirkridge,
2495 Fox Gap Road, Bangor, PA 18013-
9359 (610-588-1793).
4th International
T-E-N Conference
AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 2, The
Evangelical Network will meet at Liberty
Community Church in Vancouver, Canada
for their gathering themed "In His Image."
Toe cost of the event is $40 per person or
$70 per couple. For information call Liberty
Community Church (604)254--0082,
FAX (604)687-2610 or e-mail
todd327@aol.com.
Gay Men of Color
AIDS Institute
AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 2, Toe Fontainebleau
Hilton Resort and Towers in
Miami Beach is the setting for this conference
sponsored by the National Task Force
on AIDS Prevention. It is the on! y
national conference focusing on the lllV
prevention needs of gay and bisexual men
of color. For information contact Willis
Johnson at (415)356-8134
Pentecostal Alliance
District Conference
SEPTEMBER 13-15, Toe Northeast District
of the National Gay Pentecostal
Alliance meets at Lighthouse Apostolic
Church in Schenectady, New York. For
information contact Lighthouse Church,
P.O. Box 1391, Schenectady, NY 12301-
1391, (5_18)372-6001.
Solidarity Sunday
OCTOBER.6, Roman Catholics and others
are asked to show their support for gay
and lesbian Catholics by wearing -a rainbow
ribbon to church and throughout the
day. For information contact Bmce S. Jarstfer,
P.O. Box 701592, San Antonio, TX
78270-1592, FAX (210)545-6906 or email
brucesj@aol.com.
Transitions
THE REV. JOHN KEENER MOUNT,
an Episcopal priest, died at his home
in Easton, Maryland on June 15 of congestive
heart failure . Mount shook up
the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in
1992, when he told church leaders he
Was gay during a task force report on
human sexuality. "For me, it's ov er·
the struggle, the deceptions. And it
was the deception that was the terrible
part," Mount said at the time .
Last year, Mount officiated at a
same-sex blessing in Talbot County
for two gays who were also HIVpositive.
As a result, Mount was
stripped of his license to preach or
serve communion in any church of the
Easton Diocese.
Mount was born in Baltimore, and
he earned his master's degree in English
in 1932 from the Johns Hopkins
University. In 1935, he received his
divinity degree from Virginia Theological
Seminary in Alexandria.
Ordained that same year, he served
at St. Stephen's in Severn, St. Bartholomew's
in Ten Hills, St. Barnabas
in Sykesville and at Tidewater
Parish Church in England . He retired
to Easton in 1972.
He was married in 1960, at the age
of 50, to the former Alice Thornton
Dashiell. She died in 1991 at the age
of 84.
Church & Or anization News
Group aims to increase dialogue
among ministers about gay issues ·
THE REV. KEN PRUNfY, a Church
of God minister who lives in Anderson,
Indiana, has formed an organization
dedicated to creating broader
communication among Christian
leaders about gay and lesbian people
and their issues.
In announcing the creation of SeaCom,
Prunty said that "religious communities
are torn over what · to say
and do about lesbian , gay and bisexual
persons. In every congregation
there are families with gay sons and
daughters, gay brothers and sisters
gay uncles and aunts and gay parents.
Closeted gay and lesbian persons are
active members of religious communities
and seek their ministries ."
The first SeaCom forum was held
April 12 in Columbu s, Ohio. It was
hosted by a local SeaCom organizing
committee and the Columbus PFLAG
chapter . Over 100 church leaders
came to the day-long presentations
and discussions. Th e evaluation s
were enthusiastic and positive.
Presentations were made by the Rev.
Howard Bess, American Baptist minister
and author of the book "Pastor , I
Am Gay" and the Rev. Dr . Edgar
Towne, Professor Emeritus of Theology
at Christian Theologkal Seminary
in Indianapolis and the author
of many scholarly articles about the
· Bible, theology and the gay population
.
One of the unique features of the
SeaCom forums is the insistence by
Prunty that gay persons and their
families be represented in the discussions
and that a variety of points of
view be welcomed.
SeaCom forum sponsoring committees
are presently being formed in
Chicago, Indianapolis, and
Washington, D.C. SeaCom W('··ks
with local committees, providing literature
and direction in the necessary
steps that must be taken to insure a
successful event. According to Prunty,
it takes a minimum of six months to
organize a successful forum event.
For information on organizing a SeaCom
forum, contact SeaCom, Attn:
Ken Prunty, 145 Nursery Rd., Anderson,
IN 46012.
Dignity/USA endorses national
Catholic reform referendum
DIGNITY /USA HAS announced its
endorsement of a nationwide referen·
dum calling for substantive reform in
the Roman Catholic church . . The
effort, sp earheaded by a coalition of
progressive Catholic groups called
We Are the Church, seeks to gather a
million signatures in support of a referendum
document addressing such
issues as the ordination of women,
local election of bishops , and reform
of the church's teaching on human
sexuality.
"This re ferendum effort gives
Catholics who love our church, but
who believe that some of the
church's teachings are inconsistent
with the messages of Christ, the
chance to express themselves," said
Marianne Duddy, president of
Dignity/ USA. "These issues represent
the real concerns of tens ·of thousands
of grassroots Catholics, concerns
that are often rtot reflected or voiced
by many church leaders ."
Among the issues addressed in the
referendum is a call for new thinking
on sexual morality, including homosexuality,
and for th e church to support
civil rights legislation that protects
all people, regardless of sexual
orientation.
"The forthright acknowledgement
of gay issues in this referendum marks
a real victory for Dignity and reformmind
ed Catholics, and truly, for all
people who work for justice for gay,
lesbian , bisexual and transgendered
people," Duddy said. "Equality for
gay and lesbian people · is now a
stated goal on the Catholic social jus tice
agenda, just like equality for
women.
"Every Catholic who signs this
document will make an act of conscience
in which · they acknowledge
that gay and lesbian people are part
of the Catholic church, and that our
church has a responsibility to act
justly toward us in the centuries-old
tradition of social justice that is at
the core of Catholic belief. Every
signer says 'yes' to freedom for gay
and lesbian people from discrimination
and violence."
Duddy contrasted this stance with
recent Papal pronouncements that
demanded American Catholic
bishops oppose legislation that
would ensure equal protection for gay
people. In one example, Maryland
Catholic bishops helped def eat two
anti-discrimination measures pending
before the Maryland legislature that
would have protected gay and lesbian
people in that state.
Chnst1an Commun1t News
Solidarity Sllllday set for
ilioref6
LEADERS OF DIGNITY / USA have
scheduled October 6 as the second
annual Solidarity Sunday, according
to Dr. Bruce Jarstfer, national coordinator
of the event. The day has been
set aside for all seekers of justice for
gay and lesbian people to wear a
rainbow ribbon to church and
throughout the day.
At its spring meeting back in 1995,
the board of Dignity/USA discussed
polls which showed that more than
70 percent of American Catholics supported
civil rights protection for gays
and lesbians . Considering the hatefilled
rhetoric and frequency of antigay
physical violence that had been
growing during recent years, the question
raised at the Dignity meeting
was whether such violent words and
acts could be countered by inviting
those inclined to support gay and lesb
ian people to show it by wearing
some token . The idea of Solidarity
Sunday, in which both gay and nongay
people are invited to wear a
short piece of rainbow ribbon, came
from these discussions.
Although th e project was started in
late June, by Solidarity Sunday,
October 8, 1995, tens of thousands of
ribbons, explanatory folders and
prayer cards had been distributed
across the United States. Most of
these materials were made and di stributed
by Dignity chapters .
"This project is a proactive effort to
increase the number of those who
know gays and lesbians and to give
our supporters an opportunity to stand
with us with the expectation that as
more straights know gays, anti -gay
rhetoric and physical violence will
decrease," said Jarstfer. "For too
many Americans it is a matter of life
and death ."
Cards with ribbons are available for
$15 per 100 plus postage and handling
. For information about Solidarity
Sunday or to purchase cards, "contact
Bruce 5. Jarstfer, MD, National
Solidarity Sunday Coordinator, P.O.
Box 701592, San Antonio, TX 78270-
1592, FAX (210)545-6906,
brucesj@aol.co m.
Can we do anyth ing to counteract
the homophobia rampant in the United States?
You bet we can!
Celebrate Solidarity Sunday, October 6, 1996 .
Solidar ity Sunday invites all Americans to stand together ahd say:
~enough is enough. Let us end verbal and physical gay bashing."
Wear a ra inbow ribbo n on Solidar ity Sunday and tak e the Solida rity Pledg8 .
Invite your friends and loved ones to join you!
Prayer cards and ribbons ar1=1 available from your local Dignity Chapter or
order them for $15.00 per 100 plus postage and handling from:
Bruce S. Jarstfer , MD
National Solidarity Sunday Coordinator, Dignity/ USA
P. 0 . Box 701592
San Antonio, TX 78270-1592
Fax: (210) 545-6906
Check. Visa or MasterCard accepted.
PAGE 19 • SECOND STONE • J ULY/AUGUST, 1996
Songs in the Night:
Sounds ofho~ resonate from
hymns born in suffering
By David Briggs
AP Religion Writer
THEY WERE PEOPLE who had lost
children at sea, who had gone from
being perfectly healthy to being bedridden
invalids, and who had their
faith tested amid the seemingly random
tragedy inflicted by deadly epidemics
and wars.
Yet they would go on to write some
of the most inspirational hymns in
Christendom - songs such as "Just As I
Arn;" "What a Friend We Have in
Jesus," "I Love To Tell the Story" and
"Shall We Gather."
For author Henry Gariepy, who
researched the stories behind popular
hymns that originated during
ARE YOU SPONSORING
A CONFERENCE FOR
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AND LESBIANS??
YOU CAN TAKE THE SPm.JT
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times of trial for their composers, the
experience kept bringing to mind the
observation of the theologian C.S.
Lewis: that God whispers when all is
well; God speaks with a microphone
when people are in trouble.
"There is a dominant note of hope
that resonates through these songs,"
said Gariepy, national literary consultant
for The Salvation Army in
■
"There is a dominant
note of hope that resonates
through these
songs ... All is not lost
in the midst of our
deepest despair."
■
the United States. "All is not lost in
the midst of our deepest despair."
His new book - "Songs in the Night:
Inspiring Stories Behind 100 Hymns
Born in Trial and Suffering," published
by Eerdrnans - takes readers
from the biblical struggles of Job
recounted in the -traditional hymn, "I
Know That My Redeemer Liveth" to
more modern musicians such as Joni
Eareckson Tada, whose "Joni's Song"
was written after a diving accident
made her a quadriplegic.
Gariepy said he hopes the book
will give a new appreciation of the
SEE SOUNDS, Next Page
BIBLICRL ETHICS RND HOMOSEHUHLITY
Listening to Scripture
Robert L. Brawley, editor
This bold new book offers a challenge to _the
church to give heed to the multiplicity of voices
that are engaged in biblically responsible and
constructive debates about the volatile issues
regarding sexuality.
Contributors include Robert Brawley , J.
Andrew Dearman, Elizabeth Gordon Edwards,
Dale B. Martin, Ulrich W. Mauser, Sarah J.
Melcher, Cheon-Leong Seow, Jeffery Siker and
Hennan C. Waetjen.
Biblical Ethics and Homosexuality,
$16.99, paperback
ORDER FROM SECOND STONE PRESS.
SEEPAGE 22.
c· x e fl ; ,tt::h • x h
CREECH,
FrornPage7
claim his humanity. He protested
until his last breath."
What Creech calls a -major success
was not with.out pain as well. He was
instrumental in letting the Metropolitan
Community Churches join the
· council in 1993. The decision led his
own Methodists to stop giving money
to the council. Creech felt betrayed,
but tried not to take it personally.
"It was a prophetic act for the council
to do. And it was groundbreaking,"
CHURCH RISES,
FrornPage4
a rural crossroads 10 miles away,
Greeleyville's while police chief is
quick to point out.
"There 's no racial tensions here.
Everybody speaks to everybody,"
Chier Daniel Mcfaddin said. "The
only time you 'II see segregation is on
Sundays ."
Weeks before the fire, Cox and
Welch attended a KKK rally at
Bloomville. James Dennis, a construction
worker who lives in Bloomville,
says he attended out of curiosity and
found that most of the people there
were the "low-lives" of the community.
He didn't join, he said, but sympathized
with some of the KKK's contentions,
that black people are living
off his tax dollars.
"There ain't nothing wrong with
them except the ones in the food
line," Dennis said, frequently interjecting
racial slurs. "Blacks are
treated good unless they ask for it."
In mid-June, President Clinton visited
the new Mount Zion church,
denouncing racism and calling for unity.
About 80 members of Mount Zion
GRANDMOTHER,
FromPage5
the two churches as a real boost for
many of her congregants, who feel
rejected by their own families and .
childhood churches. "For some of
them, the opportunity to say
'Grandma Fran, this is my spouse,'
and to be seen as an 'old married couple'
is such an uplifting experience,
they can't even begin to describe it.
The Judson visit was the family reunion
- sharing and joking with 'Mom
and Dad,' and aunts and uncles and
cousins - that some of them have not
had since they were adolescents."
Beall hopes the relationship between
the churches will encourage her
congregants to develop ways of reconciling
to the families from which
they have been estranged, and to
begin to heal the "us against them"
a·ttitudes. Mrs. Taft and her pastor
he said.
His new job also will give him the
chance to fight against social injustice.
First United Methodist in
Omaha is home to a support group for
parents and friends of gays and has
been on the forefront of racial reconciliation
in Nebraska .
Even as Creech enters a new chapter
in his life, he still wants to return to
North Carolina when he retires.
'Tm very grateful for what I've had
here," he said. "I look at a life as an
adventure, another part of being a
. part of God's plan in the world."
met under the old oak tree . They
· marched a mile down the dirt road
and onto the paved, two-lane highway
to their new church, three limes
the size of the old one.
"We're marching for the churches
tha t have not been built back,"
Mackey said.
Insurance covered half the cost of
the new church, with more than
$20;000 in donations and a $90,000
loan making up the rest.
While the old church with the oak
tree was isolated and easy prey for
arsonists, the new red brick church,
crowned by a white steeple, sits out in
the open along the highway, surrounded
by com fields.
"We'll plant an oak tree and come
back in 100 years and see the tree
spread" all over the church to . give
shade and comfort like the old one
did," Mackey said.
To Carrie Wilson, that Sunday 's
service was a day of renewal for the
congregation and a lime _lo pay
homage to her ancestors who built
the original Mount Zion.
As she walked across the new red
carpet and passed the new wooden
pews, she smiled and said: "We're
home now ."
are also looking to the experience as a
way to transform negative attitudes
into positive. They expect the rela.
tionship will also encourage them to
seek ways lo open doors to their local
gay and lesbian community.
QUOTABLE
"If I've seen this once I've
seen it a hundred times: God
made Adam and Eve, not
Adam and Steve. Well, then,
will somebody please tell me
who DID make Steve????"
-An internet post by Rev. Jan Nunley
, .... Gatherings
Lesbianlbisexuol/gay people within organized religion:
U~ntant, Self-Affinning, Practicing
Books
THE RELATIONSHIP between
homosexuality and religion · has
always been an uneasy one. Throughout
history, gay and lesbian people
have found themselves excluded,
vilified, and persecuted by centers of
worship w_hich consider homosexuality
to be unnatural or against God's
will. But the debate has risen to the
top of the agenda for virtually every
mainline denomination, thanks in
large part to the to gay, lesbian and . '----------'bisexual
people who have chosen to
stay within organized religion and
embrace their sexuality within their
particular faiths .
These are the people whom Gary
David Comstock has studied in his
new book, "Unrepentant, SelfAffirming,
Practicing: Lesbian/
Bisexual/Gay People within Organized
Religion.'' Comstock is also the
author of "Violence against Lesbians
and Gay Men" and "Gay Theology
without Apology."
Comstock, a Protestant chaplain
and associate professor of sociology at
Wesleyan University and a gay man
himself, has collated material from
27 different surveys of gays and lesbians
within various denominations
along with information from his own
SOUNDS,
From Previous Page
faith on which the songs were
created to contemporary churchgoers
who may at times take a glib attitude
toward some traditional hymns.
In story after story, Gariepy tells of
songs of faith being composed in the
crucible of tragedy and suffering.
In the late 19th century, Horatio
Spafford lost his four daughters on a
trans-Atlantic voyage when their
ship sank after colliding with
another vessel.
Spafford, who was not with his
family during tlie accident, took the
next ship out. When he arrived at
the approximate spot where his
daughters' ship had sunk, he composed
"It Is Well With My Soul."
Tending to the dying amid an epidemic
in New York in 1864, the Rev.
Robert Lowry would assure surviving
family members that they would be
reunited one day by the river of life
flowing from the throne of God
described in Revelation.
As he reflected on the suffering one
day in July, he composed the words
millions still sing today in affirma-
Author Gary David Comstock
questionnaires to produce the most
comprehensive examination yet of
how gay, lesbian and bisexual people
feel about their own religious expression
and the way their denominations
treat them and their sexuality.
Far from being either blanket condemnation
or unblinking acceptance,
the reactions of both gays and lesbians
and thei( churches are more
nuanced, casting light upon the often
confusing and seemingly contradictory
realms of spirituality and sexuality,
individual freedom versus group
cohesion, the private world and the
public sphere.
Words like "unrepentant," "selftion
of their belief in life after
death :
"Yes, we'll ·gather by the river;
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river,
That flows by the throne of God."
The ability to retain a sense of hope
amid tragedy is a common theme
behind the compositions.
. "In the midst of trial and suffering,
when our faith is strong, the Lord
does provide to us a sense of his
presence," Gariepy said.
Thomas Dorsey, the blues entertainer
who became a gospel singer,
composed his most famous hymn after
his wife died in childbirth and the
baby died soon after. He buried his
wife and son in the same casket.
In a state of despair, he began to
sing the words that would become
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand."
"When darkness appears,
And night draws near,
And the day is past and gone,
At the river I stand,
Guide my feet, hold my hand,
Take my hand, precious Lord,
Lead me home."
affirming/' and "practicing" have
been written into the doctrine of some
religious bodies to describe the kind
of gay person who is not accepted. To
be accepted one must be selfreproaching,
self-denying and celibate.
One is not to declare frankly
and openly love for or sexual intimacy
with a person of one's own gender.
These prescriptions have created a
dilemma for many lesbian/bisexual/
gay people who have been encouraged
by the gay liberation and civil
rights movements from the 70s to the
present to be more visible and assertive
throughout society.
Comstock argues that the issue of
homosexuality in many ways seems to
have galvanized churches into reexamining
their most sacredly held
tenets, and has often led to a painful,
but ultimately reinvigorating, change
in their outlook. Because churches
over the last 40 years have often been
the focus for progressive social
change - particularly in the area of
civil rights - it is not surprising that
they should also be the place which
mirrors most intensely the social
upheaval created by acknowledging
homosexuality's reality and taking
on the burden of past discrimination.
Particularly relevant here has been
the tragic irony of the impact of
AIDS on the gay community and
many churches' roles in - on the one
hand - ministering to the sick and
counseling the dying, and - on the
other - condemning the actions of
'practicing homosexuals' as sinful.
"Unrepentant, Self-Af(irming, Practicing"
covers all major religions -
from Protestant denominations,
Catholicism, the Orthodox churches,
Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism,
as well as Native American
spiritualities. It explores how each
religion accepts, half-accepts, or
rejects gays and lesbians and how
they themselves feel about their
religion. The book is also filled with
personal stories of how spiritual people
who discovered they are homosexual
came ·out within their community
and their congregation, and how
they feel about the central figures
and tenets of their belief.
The book comes with a chronological
index of events from 1946 to 1972
and the numbers of members of congre.
gations in the United States and
Canada. ·
Recent finding by top biblical scholars offer a
radical new view on the Bible
w~i!Bible and homosexuality.
Really Says
About
Homosexuality
-'"' .. "'""_ ,.,. __ _
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.
Joh!IS. Spor,g
Kr1ow
A Gay My liberation
Theology
Name
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D. , respected theolo-.
gian and Roman Catholic priest, explains in a
clear fashion fascinating new insig~ts.
" ... 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 Coun_tryman
What the Bible Really Says
About Homosexuality, $9.95, paperback
ORDER FROM SECOND STONE PRESS .
SEEPAGE 22.
Writer and activist RICHARD CLEAVER
talces a fresh approach to the ongoing
debate by examining the struggles of gay
men and lesbians in the church through the
lens of liberation theology. He offers a
"gay reading" of scripture, but one that is
also spiritually challenging to all readers.
Cleaver interweaves biblical reflections
with historical, social, political, and personal
commentary.
Know My Name, by Richard Cleaver
Now available in paperback, $15.99
Order from Second Stone Press, page 22
PAGE 21 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
The mailable, faxable and e-mailable form for just a.rout everything.
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Quantity Title Autlior/ Artist Price I The Wo,rd Is Out by Glaser, $12 paperback.
Biblical Ethics And Homosexuality by Brawley, $17 paperback.
What The Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Hehniniak, $10 paperback.
The Floor Of Heaven by Aime, $12 cassette tape.
) Pastor, I Am Gay by Bess, $15 paperback.
] Homosexuality And Christian Community by Seow, $15 paperback.
] Uncommon Calling: A Gay Christian's Struggle To Serve The Church,
newly expanded, by Glaser, $20 paperback.
] Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology by Cleaver, $16 paperback.
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PAGE 22 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996-
SINCE
1988, A
FRIEND
FOR THE
JOURNEY
Second Stone The National Ecumenical And
Evangelical Newspaper About Being
Gay And Christian
Slfif§ i WiSSE#4 ¥$#MMW!iiMM
Response ried life have not been good marriage
material themselves.
Co en In spite of marriage being held up
early on as the model for family life,
it is clear that many couples who
marry have not seen far beyond the
wedding day itself. They anticipated
booking the chapel and inviting
guests to hear their vows exchanged.
They were driven to the reception in
a limou sine and greeted guests in a
receiving line . They ate cake and
threw a garter and a bouquet. And a
few years later, the wedding
photographs also get thrown. There
is no magic spell cast from the altar
for any marriage lacking in essentials
like trust and commitment.
Back to basics in same-sex marriage debate
Don't be too quick
to say 'I do'
By Jim Bailey
Editor
THE DEBATE RAGES on in statehouses
and in newspaper columns,
churches and comer bars everywhere .
Should gay and lesbian couples be
given a shot at marriage?
It's amazing that those opposed to
the idea of two men or two women
exchanging vows in front of the altar
haven't brought out their E!ibles in
this debate as much as they have in
opposing other gay rights issues. In
not doing so, opponents of same-sex
marriage miss their best opportunity .
The Bible offers a very clear definition
of the wedded state as well as
succinct guidelines for making it
work.
First of all marriage is honorable,
says the Bible. It is a good thing.
Jesus attended the marriage feast in
Cana and there performed His first
SECOND STONE Newspaper, ISSN
No. 1047-3971 , is pub lished every
otper month by Bailey Comm unications,
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans ,
LA 70182, secstone@aol.com . Copy:
right 19% by Second Stone, a regis tered
trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $17 per
year . Foreign subscribers add $10 for
postage. All payments U. S. currency
only.
ADVERTISING, For display adver tising
information call 504-891-
7555 or write to P.O. Box 8340, New
Orleans , LA 70182. Classified advertising
information is found on the
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EDITORIAL , Send letters, event
announcements, church and organization
news to Second Stone P.O. Box
8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or via
e-mail to secstone@aol.com. Manuscripts
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addressed envelope. Second Stone is
otherwise not responsible for the
return of any material.
SECOND STONE , a national ecumenical
and evangelical Christian
newspaper with a specific outreach to
gay, lesbian and bisexual people .
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: iim Bailey
miracle - changing water into wine .
Jesus described marriage as a union
between a man and a woman in which
a man leaves his parents and cleaves
to his wife and the two become one
flesh. The guiding principle of mar riage
- fidelity - is set forth in the
Ten Commandments: Do not commit
adultery. Adultery is defined (then
and now) as sexual intercourse between
a married person and someone
. other than his or her spouse.
Marriage, then, is a commitment of
oneself in lifelong fidelity to · a
beloved mate ._ Children may be born
from this union and if so, marriage is
the ideal environment for childrearing,
however the wish to parent
in itself is not a reason to enter into
marriage. Nor is financial security or
any benefit of wealth which may
come from marrying a "good provider."
An envy of married couples and a
feeling of being "left out" is not a good
reason to marry nor is any thought of
attaining any benefit of marriage .
such as income tax breaks, dependent
benefits, or inheritance rights.
Perhaps the Protectors of Tradi- .
tional Marriage have come out in
such force against same-sex marriage, ·
crea_ting the "Defense of Marriage
Act," because marriage in America is
indeed in a fragile state, with fully
half of all marriages falling apart
within a few years, ending in divorce.
Many people who would deny gay
and lesbian people a chance at marr.._
ffl:.._ Pontius' Puddle
Can gay and lesbian couples do any
better? Can we stand ·before the altar
and promise an enduring commitment,
a life of fidelity, and faithful companionship
through the years? If not,
the great debate about same-sex marriage
is rather pointless .
Many gays and lesbians are no more
ready to "get married" than lawmakers
are to give us the chance. Indeed,
many of the activists who are pushing
for same-sex marriage would not
be willing to · make the commitment
marriage calls for.
Are we fighting for something less
than marriage? Is what we really
want the right to have a weddinglike
ritual and be given the extra
privileges we perceive married individuals
have and we don't? Jf that is
what we really are seeking then we
will fare no better at marriage, and
probably do much worse, than our
heterosexual counterparts. Gay
divorce court will be jammed. If the
same-sex marriage debate is really
more a concern about rights married
individuals have that singles don't,
perhaps we should work toward
eliminating discrimination against
single people.
Ultimately w,hat is lacking in the
debate on same-sex marriage is that
we have failed to seek clear direction
I.JE' C.1-\1:U':."fiM-IS.
1-t~VE ~ LE'I\~~
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HOW DOI.JC:
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f,\A't"TE~S
"U Cll:OC,1 .. \. '?
from ·God on how we are to structure
our lives in relation to someone who
we can indeed claim as our one
beloved and with whom we can live a
life of fidelity. Perhaps we are troubled
enough by Jesus' defining marriage
as a relahonship of fidelity
between a man and a woman that we
don't seek direction from God, fearing
that God may have planned something
radically and wonderfully dif ferent
for us.
Even after 25 years of liberation
many gay and lesbian people painfully
fret over their sexual orienta tion,
unable to find God in their being,
and often even tum to ministries who
promise to change them from what
God created them to be to what they
want to be for themselves.
That we are created by God to be
who we are is still a joyful new idea
for us. The process that has begun
with that wonderful discovery is lost
if we do not ask God the next question:
"What is our purpose in being gay?"
We need to be prepared to hear the
revolutionary answers . We need to
understand the plan God has for us as
a people may not be the plan we have
for ourselves. (And I believe God is
the better planner.)
Perhaps there is a better way for us
to celebrate and live out our relationships
than a heterosexua.l model of
marriage which works in only half of
all attempts.
We welcome your
letters and opinions
Write to Secone Stone. All letters must
be 01iginal and s!gned by the writer.
Clear(y indicate if your name is to be
withheld. We reserve the right to edit.
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(504)891-7555.
EU V. i'I-\E'l''1<.E
~E' 01\lES "T),(lt,"i
l<\1'~Ri0 1'\e"(
BOYCOTT,
From Pagel
tory repeats itself, there really won't
be that many people boycotting anything
for long anyway.
Sidney J. Sheinberg, the president of
MCA/Universal when it became the
first studio to offer health insurance
to partners of gay and lesbian
employees, said he knows of no case
in which boycotts have had a material
effect on an entertainment company
.
Universal Pictures was embroiled in
a bitter feud in 1988 when it released
"The Last Temptation of Christ,"
denounced by some conservative
Christians . for its portrayal of a very
human Jesus. ·
"I personally always love these
people who know what God wants
and likes and think others are misguided.
The humility of that kind of
thing always bothers me," Sheinberg
• said.
"They've spoken their little piece
and they've gotten their little headlines
and nothing's going to happen."
Analysts said repeated boycott
threats against Disney, many stirred
up by the gay-cleric film "Priest' ' and
other mature-themed offerings from
its Miramax subsidiary, have had no
discernible impact on the company's
results .
Indeed, despite earlier boycott calls
from groups like the American Family
Association, Disney officials say
demand for all their products is high,
with surging attendance at the theme
parks in Florida and California.
Disney limited comment to a statement
saying, "We find it curious that
a group that claims to espouse family
values would vote to boycott the
world's largest producer of wholesome
family entertainment."
The company said it would not
accede to demands to deprive people
of health benefits and said that to
ARROGANCE,
FromPage3
ta sk.
In its written response to the resolution,
Northminster states," Affirming
the historic Baptist principles of the
priesthood of every believer and the
autonomy of every local church while
seeking to be obedient to the truths of
the Bible and compliant with the
life of Jesus, Northminster Church
deny admission to a group, as the
Baptists wanted, was something no
tourist attraction anywhere would
do.
American Family Association President
Donald E. Wildmon said he
thinks the boycott is gaining momentum.
Accusing companies from TimeWarner
Inc . to AT&T and MCI of
catering to homosexuals, Wildmon
said Disney is the most appropriate
boycott target because it promotes
itself as a family-oriented company
while producing filth.
Disney recently purchased Capital
Cities/ ABC for $19 billion, adding to
its empire network television, cable
operations, television and radio stations
in most major markets, a newspaper
chain, and extensive publishing
operations.
Indeed, it's hard to imagine mainstream
America without Disney and
hard to imagine a successful boycott,
said JHI S. Krutick, a Smith Barney
entertainment analyst.
"They're very far-flung and it's
very hard to avoid Walt Disney,"
· she said. "They 're an important part
of our cultural fabric."
Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif
agreed. "Disney has a very highquality
product and I don't think consumers
want to butt into corporate
America, especially over healthcare
issues," she said.
Richard Jennings, executive director
of Hollywood Supports, a group that
lobbies for workplace rights for
homosexuals, said 40 entertainment
companies, including every major studio,
have extended benefits to samesex
partners of employees.
To boycott every such company
would essentially mean shunning
popular culture, he said.
"I think you'd sell your TV and not
go to any movies and not go to theme
parks. And probably noi listen to the
radio much either," he said. '
ham, 77, has also separated himself
from the convention, saying, "I have
never taken part in organizations or
projects that especially targeted
Jews."
American Jewish leaders say the
convention's resolution singling out
Jews for conversion is a setback in
Christian-Jewish relations .
refuses to identify with a spiritual In its letter to temple members,
arrogance that judges the acceptabil- Northminster says, "We see the spirity
of other people's relationship to itual arrogance implicit in the South-
God." em Baptist resolution as a reprehen-
The convention's resolution has sible affront to the mutual respect,
caused other conflids among Bap- shared freedom and cooperative
lists. vision which we continue to enjoy in
Well-known evangelist Billy Gra- relationship with you."
PAGE 24 • SECOND STONE • JULY/AUGUST, 1996
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