Second Stone #48 - Sept/Oct 1996

Second Stone #48 - Sept/Oct 1996

48

1996

Sept/Oct 1996

THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER FOR GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL CHRISTIANS . 2.95
Lesbian and gay Christians
prayed for OOMA defeat
WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Sunday,
September 1, in Metropolitan Community
Churches and other churches
across the country, lesbian and gay
Chri stians were asked to fast and
pray for the defeat of the Defense of
Marriage Act. · ·
Rev. Troy Perry, founder and Presid- ·
ing Elder of the UFMCC called
DOMA, " ... one of the most dangerous
and misleading bills in the nation's
history. To say that Congress and the
President can permit one state to disregard
a legal marriage from another
is to ignore the spirit and the letter of
the U.S. Constitution and its full
faith and credit guarantees. Of
Dr. Mel White, Justice Minister for
the Uni versal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches began a
fast in front of the Capitol on Sept. 4
to pray for the defeat of DOMA. SEE FAST, Page 10
tz,t-@li i§%'. Ji@:1 1li\;it"m:i~,1!/!Jffli41l ial!t it! @@MM\il@t!l1>1 !!'4itl!l1Wi-'#4/M¾ ·!:#£1'11
Anti-gay marriage bill will \
not stand, activists say
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Senate 's
passage of the anti-gay Defense of
Marriage Act is nothing more than
election-year gay bashing and is destined
to be undone, a spokesperson for
the Human Right s Campaign said
Sept. 10.
First time?
Second Stone's about being gay and
Christian. If this is the first time you've
seen Second Stone, turn to page 2 to
read more about being a gay Christian.
You 're also invited to visit an
Outreach Partner near you:
Richmond, Indiana
Long Beach, California
Memphis, Tennessee
Louisville, Kentucky
Kansas City, Missouri
Dayton, Ohio
Dallas, Texas
(See page 3 for inform.ation .)
m~~ [ NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
ADDRESS CORRECTION
REQUESTED
TIME DATED
MATERIAL
''The Human Rights Campaign is
appalled over the passage of the
Defense of Marriage Act," said Elizabeth
Birch, executive director of
HRC, the largest lesbian and gay
political organization . "Denying lesbians
and gay people equal marriage ·
rights will not stand . HRC vows to
continue . to fight this legislatively
and in our country's courts of law and
public opinion ."
Birch also deplored the Senate's
failure to pass the Employment NonDiscrimination
Act (ENDA), a bill to
outlaw discrimination against gay
people in the workplace . However,
she said some important accomplishments
were achieved nonetheless.
"We are saddened by today's vote
and believe that it underscores why
we must stay focused and engaged
this el ection year and elect a Congress
that supports treating people
SEE DOMA, Page 3
By Rev. Dr. Rembert S. Truluck
Contributing Writer
F EAR OF RELIGION and the
used the Bible to justify the Jewish
holocaust of pain and destruction and
death during World War II. Slave
merchants and owners used the Bible
Bible has often developed among to justify and maintain slavery in the
people who hav e been abused and United Stat es up to and beyond Presioppre
s sed by religion: women, gays · dent Lincoln's Emancipation Proclaand
lesbians, divorced • people, mation . Racial segregation was and
racially mixed couples, people of col- still is · defended and preached by
or, and many other minorities. Jesus many ignorant Bible abusers.
came to set people free from sick and The history of Bible abuse against
abusive religion. oppressed people has come to climac-
The Bible has been used for centuries tic expression in the outpouring of
to control and injure misunderstood
and oppressed minorities . The Nazis SEE RECOVERY, Page 7
J BU.K RATE
US POSTAGE
PAID
NEW ORLEANS LA
PERMIT No. 511
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
Please see page 22 for information
on becoming a new subscriber.
Welcome!
IF YOU FOUND this ropy of Second Stone at a gay
pride event, a P-FLAG meeting, or some other event
or location, th.ere's a Second S.tone Outreach Paru1er
in your area. Their brochure is enclosed. They are a
Christian church or organization with a specific outreach
to gays and lesbians. We encourage you to visit
them for their next service or meeting. In the meantime,
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. Ex-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 ·ir' heterosexual, often with
painful results. An ex-gay progran1 cannot change
your sexual orientation. Remember that most ex-gay
church couuselors are heterosexual and cannot speak
from the experience of .being gay. Also, any psychologist
or psychiatrist who offers "treatment" for homosexuality
is not following guidelines established by
the Ameri can Psycho logical Association or the American
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 natur e 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, selfislmess or other
reasons, are not able to follow as God leads. In the
past, the church fai led 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 homophobia
that leads to discrimination and vi9lence will be
seen as a terrible wrong . As Ep iscopal Bishop Barbara
Harris once said, the church is a foliowcr 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 church.) There is a place
for you in a church in your neighborhood. There are
many Christian churches and organizations arouud 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 pastors,
youth leaders ; choir masters, lay leaders, and so on.
Many mainstream churches 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
MY PARENTS KEPT TELLING
ME ABOUT THE TERRIBLE
'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: 1. 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 \!trough 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 you'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
PAGE 2 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
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; S:8; 10:9-10; and
10: 13.
But can I really be gay and Christian?
Sexual orientation - either gay or straigh t - is a good,
God-given part of your being. A homosexual orientation
is not a sinful state. The Bible condemns some
heterosexual activity and some homosexual activity;
when someone gets used or hurt rather than loved.
The Bible supports COlillnitment and fidelity in loving
relationships .
Doesn't the Bible say homosexual
activity is a sin?
Daniel Helmiitiak 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 Bible 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 1 Timothy l • 10. All
these texts are concerned wi t11 something ot11er 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 d eliberately unconcerned
about it.
I would like explore further. What
canl'donow?
While there are many good books and videos available,
t11ere' s something powerful in being "where two
or more are gathered ." You may want to check out a
llli1tistry in your area with a specific outreach to gays
ai1d lesbians, including Second Stone's Outreach
Partner. The worship style may not be what you're
used to, but the point is to co1mect with gay and lesbian
Christians with whom you can have discussions
about where you are. Or you may want to try a variety
of churches 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 al ways at work around you,
will connect 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 silen t about their
sexuality because of their job or other circumstances.
(The day will come when that is no longer the case.)
But a gay or lesbian person who cannot integrate t11eir
sexuali ty with the rest of their being faces a difficult
struggle indeed. To deny one's sexuality to oneself
while in church 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 your sexuality into the fabric of your life in
a way that makes you feel good about yourself 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 * &54' ¥·
Protesting passage of DOMA
Front ~ag~
cover items conunued & late stories
Episcopal priest won't sign maniage licenses
THE REV. JAN NUNLEY, redor of situation as an opportunity to teach
DOMA,
From Pagel
· equally and fairly," she said at a
· news conference after the two votes.
"The civil rights struggle in this
country has been a long journey and we
will, with steadfast commitment,
continue working toward the day
when America's promise of life; liberty
and the pursuit of happiness
will be true for gay Americans as
well."
The vote on ENDA "represents a
small but profound victory ," Birch
said. "The U.S. Senate, for the first
time in the history of this country,
debated and voted on a major piece of
civil rights legislation for gay
people," she said. "Though the outcome
is not what we had hoped, it
lays a strong foundation for work in
the next Congress."
The Senate voted 85 - 14 on the
Defense of Marriage Act, a bill to
RICHMOND, INDIANA
NOW FORMING
Other -Sheep
Ecumenical Christian Ministry
Richmond, Ind., Chapter
Write or call
Other Sheep
P .O. Box 2448
Richmond, IN 47375-2448
(317)966-4458
LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
LONG BEACH
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
An Open and Affirming Congregation
We welcome you to worship
in a nurturing environment.
241 Cedar Ave , Long Beach CA 90802
(310) 436-2256 • fa~ (310) 436-30H
http://usars.aol.comlravmekflndax.html
allow states to ignore same-sex marriages
performed in any other state.
No state currently recognizes samesex
marriages.
Shortly after passing the anti-gay
marriage bill, the Senate defeated
the ~mployment Non-Discrimination
Act by a vote of 49 - 50. Currently, it
is legal in 41 states to fire employees
merely for being gay or lesbian.
"With today's vote, the struggle for
gay rights has been embraced by the
longstanding civil rights struggle in
this country," Birch said. "We have
also established bipartisan support
for treating gay people fairly . And
finally, it is no longer a question of if
we will win equal rights, it is a question
of when."
Birch also called on President Clinton,
''in the strongest possible terms,"
to veto the Defense of Marriage Act.
"This bill is discriminatory, unconstitutional
and nothing more than
election-year gratuitous gay bashing,"
she said. "The Defense of Marriage
Act violates a cornerstone of our
nation's most basic principal of fairness,
that all people are equal in the
eyes of the law."
St. Peter's and St. Andrew's Episco- all couples about the covenarttal
pal Church in Providence, R.I. said nature of Christian marriage, which
following the Senate's approval of she said transcends the contractual
the Defense of N\arriage Act .that she aspects of a legal relationship.
would no longer sign marriage . "Maybe this is the shot heard round
licenses or act in any way as an agent the block," Nunley reflected, "but
of the State for mixed-gender couples. it's one small way I can say no."
"I've been praying about this for
quite a while," Nunley said, "and
after passage in the Senate I've been
led to take action."
Nunley said she would not sign marriage
licenses until same-gender couples
are respected "on an equal footing
in both Federal ·and State law."
"I will continue to bless the Christian
relationships of couples of mixed
gender just as: I will bless couples of
the same gender, as is fitting for a
priest," the pastqr said. "It is, after
all, the couple who act as the ministers
in Holy Matrimony . The
ordained convey blessing on what
already exists by the grace of God."
Nunley also said she viewed the
the NEWS continues
on Page 10
DALLAS, TEXAS
Holy Trinity
Community
Church
If l/4me,
/oF
EIH,FJ l!e-aFt/
4402 Roseland Ave.
Dallas, Texas 75204
, (214) 827-5088
The Rev. Chuck Campbell,
Pastor
DAYTON, OHIO
COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHURCH
P.O. BOX 163-4 • DAYTOll', omo 45401
Distribution of Second Stone in some
communities is sponsored by our
Outreach Partners. We invite you to
visit them for worship.
DISCOVER YOVR DESTINY!
ALL ARE WELCOME
m H ts: 546 Xenia Ave.
Dayton, Ohio
Sunday 10 am
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
W HOLY TRINITY
COMMUNITY
CHURCH
A NON-DENOMINATIONAL
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
SERVING 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.
IS59 Madison Ave.'ii'Memphis, TN 38104
90 I /726-9443
Rev. Timothy Meadows, Sr. Pastor
LOUISVILLE , KENTUCKY
Everybody
needs a little
Third Lutll.er.m Church
t 864 Frankfort Avenue
Loulsvlllc, KY 40206
896-6383
Worship: Sunday 11 AM
Trinity Luther.m Church
1432 Htghland Avenue
Loulsvllle, KY 40204
587-8395
Worship: Sunday 9:30 AM
Rev. Phil Garber
Reconciled in Christ Congregations
Everyone is invited
You are invited
Ew MAIL: Rl!l'SamuelK@aol cam
vi~it our WebSite!
http://www.home.aoLcomlrMa1TtJ1elk
~ 513-252-8855
REV. SAMUEL KADER, PASTOR
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Come share your ministry with us
at ...
~
Abiding Peace Lutheran Church
5090 NE Chouteau Trafficway
Kansas City, MO 64119
(816) 452-1222
Caring for People and Creation
(North of the River) ·
Sunday Worship: 10:30 am
Sunday School: 9:00 am
PAGE 3 • SECOND STONE• SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
-- - --·- ·-- --'-- • - -- -
1m . t #M¥+f4?Wr e *¥ 1 ¥ .'A ⇒ 1 _i , 8f # ·"
• Prayer •The Bible • Words & Deeds
Frred fiom his diocese, 'vn;tual
bishop' reaches out by internet
By Mort Rosenblum
Special Correspondent
PARIS - The pope took away Jacques
Gaillot's flock, but fate gave him a
Macintosh. No longer a rural bishop,
he is monsignor to the masses, championing
the downtrodden with a
worldwide reach via the Internet.
"I don't know much about this electronic
.business, but it seems to work,"
said Gaillot, .who as a 60-year-old
politically active priest still likes
noisy street ll\arches and living with
squatters . "Maybe this will help."
He offered a technophile's tally of
who has approached his "virtual
diocese" on the information superhighway.
In just the first six weeks of
1996, his Web site had a quartermillion
"hits."
The number of interactive readers
now soars. From Sydney to Sitka, he
is consulted on everything from poignant
spiritual dilemmas to matters
better left to an advice columnist.
Gaillot, still a Roman Catholic
bishop, planned to be among the prelates
welcoming Pope Jean Paul II to
France on Sept. 19. He did not expect
overwhelming warmth.
"I miss my parishioners, but now I
can address people · everywhere," he
said, . irony playing across the soft
features of a round, gentle face. "I
must remember to thank the Holy
Father."
In January 1995, Gaillot was fired
from his post as bishop of Evreux, a
diocese of 550,000 Catholics northwest
of Paris, an area that includes
desperate ghettos of Arab and African
immigrants.
No explanation was given, but the
______________ hierarchy apparently had enough of
Gaillot's outspoken and muchpublicized
stands against French
policies on immigrants, the homeless
and others known as the excluded.
Ecumenical & Inclusive
We are a Christian community of men
and women from various Catholic and
Protestant tradition s 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
M~rcy of God Community
• • •
Gaillot also defends gays and lesbians,
supports marriage for priests and
speaks out on other matters that he
says involve individual choice
rather than religious doctrine .
Reaction was lively, and mixed.
Thousands thronged the majestic
SEE BISHOP, Next Page
)ltlli. of this
issue of
Second • Stone. t•o111es Ideal f.or
study
II groups
and bar
ministry!
sale SEETHE
ORDERFORM .
ON PAGE22
• . : ...
Teenager heading offto;:
college reflects on life
with lesbian mother
By Anne Wallace Allen
Associated Press Writer
CLARENDON SPRINGS, Vt. - Erin
Gluckman didn't know it when .she
stood up before a hall full of
strangers at a public hearing last
summer, but she was coming out of the
closet - a place she'd hidden as the
child of a gay parent.
Gluckman was 16, and the occasion
was a June 1995 hearing on one woman's
campaign to move a children's
book about two gay men to a special
shelf in the public library.
"I did not choose to be straight, just
as my mother did not choose to be a
lesbian," Gluckman told the crowd.
Until that night, Gluckman hadn't
told many people that she grew up in
the home of her lesbian mother,
Lynne Barton, and her mother's
partner Lynn Reardon. 'From the age
of 10, when she found out her mother
was gay, she had kept her home life
private.
"I was scared that people who I
knew would find out. I was afraid my
teachers would grade me lower
because of it," said Gluckman, now a
poised and athletic 18-year-old
starting her freshman year at
Hampshire College in Massachusetts.
"I wa·s very paranoid about it
for the longest time." ·
But when about 400 people
gathered last summer to give testimony
for and against relocating a
book about gays out of children's
reach, Gluckman was moved to say
she had turned out just fine.
"Let me get one thing straight: I
like men," Gluckman told the crowd.
The Rutland library hearing was a
turning point for Gluckman. It was
the first time she had told her
friends her mother was gay. And it
wasn't nearly as hard as she
thought.
"I guess it's a lot easier to say in a
public place where a lot of strangers
are listening ," Gluckman said .
In fact, telling turned out to be a
relief.
"I really wanted not to hide. It kept
me so uptight," she said. "After the
hearing, the next day I went into
school and all my friends were cheering
for me and saying great things . It
was terrific ."
Gluckman's story isn't that unusual,
said Stefan Lynch, the director of a
San Franci s co-based group called
Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere,
or Colage.
· Children of gay parents usually
hide . the truth about their family
until they feel secure enough to come
out, often in their late teens, Lynch
said.
"A lot of kids kind of fear these terrible
reactions, and sometimes they
materialize, and often ·· they don't,"
said Lynch, 24, himself the child of a
lesbian and a gay man who separ<!ted
when he was very young. "Because
what you hear about lesbian and gay
.people from some sources ... is not necessarily
what everyone thinks."
Gluckman's parents got divorced
when she was 8 years old, and she ·
grew up with · her mother, who is an
artist and a teacher. She was about
10 when she found out her mother
was gay. She didn't tell anyone.
·"I was · very into normal when I was
younger," said Gluckman.
But hiding her mother's sexual orientation
"was a strain. It kept me so
limited," she said.
Even though she didn't tell, Gluckman
thinks some of her friends figured
it out.
"Lynn was always here when they
came over," she said.
Gluckman remembers kids in school
making jokes aboul gay people in general,
but she doesn't remember anyone
harassing her family because her
mother was gay.
"For the most part people who knew
were supportive," she said. "And if
not supportive, respectful."
And she doesn't remember how she
first found out that some people
thought being gay was wrong . But
over the years, she did find out.
"I remember one year my mother
marched in a Halloween parade in
Rutland with the Rutland Lesbian
and Gay Coalition and people threw
eggs at them," said Gluckman. "I was
watching and I thought, 'You know,
this is not something I want to tell
people if they're going to throw eggs
at me."'
She was quiet at school, with just a
very small, dose circle of friends, and
she was a good student, focusing on
art and running cross-country . She
liked writing poetry, and she stayed
home a lot. And after tenth grade,
she switched largely to homeschooling,
earning her GED last year.
But after she spoke at the library
hearing, she became more socially
active. This summer she had a boyfriend,
a job at a bookstore and a car.
SEE TEENAGER; Next Page
--.._ ~ . . .. .. ·._ .. Faith In Daily Life
- .,, ..
.· :':,:.:B·· ·•1:s···:u:- 0 P
·. . .. . V ,
From Previous Page
Evreux Cathedral for ·caillot's last
Mass, a day that he remembers as the
most moving of his life. Polls said
two-thirds of French Catholics
opposed the dismissal.
But many traditional-minded
Catholics declare themselves out.
raged at unorthodox views that some
call apostasy .·
"Many strangers wish me well, but
you cannot imagine the looks I still
get in the street," Gaillot said, with
a touch of rue. "If eyes were pistols,
I'd be dead."
Having removed him from Evreux,
the Vatican had to find Gaillot what
it calls a titular see. Bishops,
ordained by God, cannot be stricken
from the rolls unless excommunicated.
They need a diocese, even if it is a
symbolic one.
The answer was the "Diocese of Partenia,"
a no-longer-existent territory
somewhere in the dunes of southern
Algeria that ceased to be a real place
inhabited by Catholics in the 5th
century.
Soon, a political philosopher and
Internet whiz named Leo Scheer
· .offered Gaillot ·an idea: If Partenia · ·, a . small stylized crucifix.
·was nowhere, then it was also every- Mostly, he is out on the street or in
where. If he had no pulpit, he could the Metro .
have a home page. When 300 illegal African immi-
Anyone who taps out grants spent two months camped in a
http :/ /www.partenia.fr calls up the church demanding visas, he went to
face that France knows so _well: laugh visit almost ~very day and then
wrinkles, gold wire-rimmed glasses, joined the vigil of sympathizers who
sparse panels of graying hair flank- stood guard out front.
ing a shiny bal4 pate. He is a fixture at protests for hous-
A map shows a patch of Sahara. ing an4 human rights, a slight, short
Users can download the bishop's lat- figure in basic black. He favors Test
book, "Friends of Partenia," in shirts an4 turtlenecks . Sometimes a
Fren _ch or English. A newsletter discreet silver cross rides on his
reports on little-known and lost caus- lapel.
es. Gaillot is unsure where he stands
In a defense of the German theolo- with ·Rome. He receives a bishop's
gian Eugen Drewermann, Gaillot ech- salary, if no· expense money. Last
oes his own main theme: "He allows December, he had a friendly but
people who are disappointed with frank chat with the pope, which
the church, or are far away from it, to brought neither a new post nor a repbe
free to speak." rimand.
All e-mail gets an answer, hunted At a recent funeral in Algeria for a
and pecked by Gailiot's own index bishop murdered by Islamic milifinger.
tants, the senior cardinal simply
"I spend hours a day at it/' the avoided him . "He just didn't see me,"
bishop said at the single room where Gaillot said, with another of those
he lives and works. ironic twinkles.
The tidy room, above the less tidy When he is not talking into the
office of Partenia 2000, is· decorated mobile phone pressed to his ear, the
only with the icon of a black Madon- bishop of Partenia is questioning,
na, a gift from priests at Evreux, and encouraging, or plotting. Often, he is
suir.ounded by a crowd of ecumenical
admirers.
During a tumultuous demonstration
to support Africans in the Paris suburb
of Montreuil, an elderly Arab in a tie
and a Muslim skullcap approached a
reporter.
"Where can I find Monsignor
Gaillot?" he asked eagerly. "I just
want to shake his hand."
Not long after, yet another well-
. wisher shook Gaillot's hand cybernetically.
The virtual bishop found a
message on his screen from an admirer
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota: "Stay
strong, brother."
TEENAGER,
From Previous Page
"Once I left school I started to learn
a lot more about my life, about trusting
myself and taking risks," she
said. "I started making some serious
commitments, like being honest and
saying, 'This is who I am, and this is
who my mother is."'
These days, college is far more on
Gluckman's mind than family matters.
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Faith in Daily Life
Patt Two of ai'r fnterview with Dave Ferrell
Struggle to accept gay
son o~ns ministly doors
for Christian dad
By Rev. Samuel Kader
Contributing Writer
In Part One of tlzis interview (Jul/Aug
'96) Dave Ferrell, an Assembly of God
Christian, described lzis journey
toward acceptance of lzis gay son. In
tlzis conclusion of Ferrell's interview,
he talks about his growing involvement
with the gay and lesbian Cliristian
community.
Second Stone: WHERE HAS THE
LORD LED YOU IN THIS JOURNEY
SO FAR? WHERE DO YOU THINK
THE LORD IS LEADING YOU WITH
THIS? IN WHAT WAYS HAS THE
LORD USED YOUR EXPERIENCE
TO TOUCH OTHER FAMILIES OR
INDIVIDUALS?
understand in the gay community.
But, there are some things I don't
understand in the religious heterosexual
community. I don't understand
how good Christian people can treat
their pastors the way some do. I
don't understand how people in
church can gossip, run down and
a young man and the Spirit impressed
me that he was. the one. I was sitting
and the service was going on and I
prayed for God to tell me at what
point. A few minutes later the pa stor
asked for the me mbers of th e panel
that were to spea k on Saturday to
come forward and pray with anyone ·
who wanted to· be prayed for. 1 went
to the front and the Spirit said now,
so I motioned for the boy to come to
the front. He came up to the front and
I took both of his hands and began to
give to him what I felt God had
asked me to give him. He began to
weep and the spirit of the Lord was
so strong. After a time of prayer he
went back to his seat. After the serv-
DAVE: From that small beginning
has come a wonderful relationship.
My son and I have grown closer than
ever before. We love Jose and the
boys. We have now enjoyed three
Christmases together. Those Christmases
have been three of the happiest
in our lives. I will never forget
that first Christmas. It was like we
were in the presence of the Holy
Spirit all during Christmas. It was
the feeling of revival. There is a lot
of things we don 't understand, but
have left these in the hands of God.
There is a lot of things I cannot
explain but God has not called me to
give a theological explanation. He
has called me to be a Christian dad
Dave Ferrell, standing in front of the Christmas tree, with so~ Todd next to
him, and their families during one of the "happiest Christmases" of their
lives. There was a time when Dave wouldn't let Todd bring his family home
for Christmas.
sometimes spiritually kill new baby
reaching out to my hurting brothers Christians . There is one thing I do
and sisters. know and that is God is a God of love
and mercy. I believe that I am a spir-
Since that time I have had the itual being as well as an earthly
opportunity to speak at a camp meet- being. The Bible talk$ about the
ing in Houston conducted by Advance fruits of the spirit. I believe those
Christian Ministries. I arrived not fruits will be a part of my life if I
knowing anyone . I had met Thomas truly am born again .
Hirsch on America Online and he was On Friday Feb. 23, 1996 I flew from
the only one I knew ot' all the people San Antonio to Phoenix to attend my
there. On Saturday night I was asked first TEN [The Evangelical Network]
to speak to the group. I began by con- conference. The service was outstand -
fessing ,!11y unconditional love to my ing. The music of praise and worship
son. There were men and women there was wonderful. It was during this
who knew Todd. service-that the Holy Spirit began to
1 have also been a part of a panel impress me that I was to personally
discussion in Phoenix in February, minister to someone there. This is
1996 and was asked to speak at the something that happens not very
Spiritfest meeting in Arkansas in often and I am scared and nervous
May, 1996. I accepted those invita- when ii' happens . First I want it to be
tions and have been in those services, God and not David. Second I don't
also. want to offend anyone. As I looked
There are a lot of things that I don't across from me the Spirit zeroed in on
PAGE 6 • SECOND STONE • SE.PTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
ice a man came up to me and said
before clrnrch tonight I went to the
altar and prayed that God would
send someone to speak to this young
man as he has many needs. I didn't
know this man and was amazed at
what he was telling me . Later that
same night the young man I had
prayed for talked to my son and confirmed
what I had told him was true.
I had never laid my eyes on this
young man in my life. This is not a
special thing nor am I special. God
wants to use his children in ministry
and he will do it where there is a
willing vessel.
Saturday was a good day. The services
just seemed to build with each
service and the blessings and presence
of the Lord was just wonderful. Saturday
afternoon was to be a panel discussion.
On the panel was Peggy
Campolo, wife of noted author Tony
Campolo. Also Dennis and Evelyn
Schave, Pentecostal evangelists from
Washington, and me. Prior to the
panel discussion Peggy Campo lo gave
a stirring message on her life and how
God had led her to begin a ministry
with gays and lesbians. Dennis and
Evelyn shared how they began to
minister to the gay community and
how this had affected their lives
and caused them to be re moved from a
mainlin e denomination where Denni s
was a church official.
Soon it was my time to share the
things that we had been through. I
began by telling the congregation
that there was something I wanted to
do before I began to talk. 1 wanted to
profess my unconditional love for my
son and his family. niis is something
that I feel God would have me do for
He has brought me from a place
where I was very angry at my son ani:i
ju st praying that God would get to
him. Well, littl e did I know that God
was going to answer that prayer so
forcefully but the "him" in that
prayer would not be my son but me.
After the time of sharing was a time
of questions. There were several qu estions
asked of all the panel members.
Sunday morning was to be the crown
on the trip. Jose's ,mother came to the
service and Jose was one of the worship
leaders during praise and worship.
As I sat next to Jose's mother I
noticed her begin to cry. There was
such a sweet spirit ,and God was all
over that place. Brothers and sisters
were singing, some crying, some praising
and some just standing in awe of
the mighty presence of the Lord. During
the service communion was
served. Pastor Fred Pattison came up
and took a loaf of unsliced bread and
broke it into several pieces . As I sat
there in that service the spirit of God
came over me and I began to weep and
I was afraid I couldn't weep quietly
as the emotion was coming from deep
within. Finally it was time for the
four of us, Todd, Jose, his mother and
me to go up for communion. As we
approached the table I began to weep
in the presence of the Lord again. In
the front of the church are three
crosses. As the four of us stood there,
shoulder to shoulder, the presence of
the Lord just became even more real.
Very few times in my life has the
presence of the Lord been that strong.
It was like I didn't know if I could
stand it... When each of us had taken
communion we stood there and
prayed. I again was crying tears of
joy. The music was softly playing and
it was like all at once the four of us
turned toward one another and stood
before the cross, weeping and embracing
one another. What a beautiful
time of fellowship, what a presence
SEE CHRISTIAN DAD, Page 24
Recovery from Bible phobia and abuse
13 steps towanl getting
over badreligion
From Pagel
,fear, hate, alienation, rejection and
torment of gays and lesbians by millions
of otherwise loving and caring
church-going people . The result of
this evil abuse of Scripture has been
to deny to millions of suffering people
the love and comfort of God in Jesus
Christ.
Robert is a 35-year-old man who
called me to ask for help in dealing
with his suffering as a church-going
gay male. He was a Southern Baptist
living in a small town near Nashville,
Tenn., where I was pastor of a
Metropolitan Community Church. He
was very depressed and confused
about being gay and hearing what he
heard in church about homosexuality.
We talked a while about how the
Bible does not condemn anyone for
. their sexual orientation and how the
Bible passages used against gays and
lesbians are taken out of context and
incorrectly translated in order to hurt
people not intended in the original
text. He had never heard any of this
before. I asked him if he had ever
invited Jesus into his life. He said,
"No. I did not think that Jesus
wanted me."
I was very touched by this answer.
He is not the only gay person w.ho has
been convinced by abusive use of the
Bible that God does not love them
and does not want them. We prayed
on the phone and Robert invited Jesus
into his Ii fe.
Robert's experience was one of hundreds
of similar situations that
finally convinced me that the abusive
a·nd oppressive power of religion
against lesbian and gay people
needed a clear, reasonable, Christ centered,
and workable approach.
About a year ago, I began to develop
steps to recovery from Bible abuse and
religious oppression, and I have put
together a book of 52 weekly spiritual
studies to help individuals work
through these steps to recovery. Most
of the material was used in a weekly
spiritual group that I led at my home
for over two years in Nashville. Here
are the steps with brief scripture and
comments:
Step one : Adrni t tlrat you /,ave been
lrurt by religion. Read what Jesus
said about abusive and oppressive
religion in Matthew 23. In John 10:10,
Jesus said "All who came before me
are thieves and robbers . The thief
comes only to steal and kill and
destroy . I came that you might have
the abundant life.'' When Jesus told
religious people that the truth will
sef them free, they denied that they
had ever not been free (John 8:33), yet
they had been slaves in Egypt, captives
in Babylon, ruled by many foreign
nations, including the Romans
who ruled them at the time, and were
under the control of sick and abusive
religion even as Jesus spoke to them.
Even if you have not been rejected and
abused by religion, you are surrounded
by other gay and lesbian people who
have.
Abuse is the use of power by th e
strong to control and oppress the
weak. Religious abuse begins early in
life and often is caused by parents,
pastors, teachers, and friends . We
accept it as okay or deserved. Abuse
is never okay and is not deserved!
Step two: Turn to God as yo11r guide
to recovery. Pray and ask God to
guide you into a healthy spiritual
life and into a Christ-centered use of
the Bible. "Be anxious for . nothing,
but in everything by prayer and sup plication
with thanksgiving, let your
requests be known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ." Philippians
4:6-7
Step thre e: Invite fesus Clrrist into
your life. You cannot win this battle
by yourself . Jesus faced and won the
victory for all people over abusive
and oppressive religion. "If you confess
with your mouth that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God
raised Jesus from the dead, you will
be saved (set free)." Romans 10:9
Step four : Face and deal witli your
anger. Anger toward people and
toward God or yourself can delay your
recovery. Resist seeing yourself as a
victim. "Let everyone be quick to listen,
slow to speak, slow to anger; for
human anger does not achieve the
righteousness of God;" James 1:19-20
Step five: Avoid negative people
and churches. Listening to legalistic
and abusive fundamentalists can
undercut and delay your recovery.
"Paul in all his letters said some
things hard to understand, which the
ignorant and unstable distort as they
do also the rest of Scripture, to their
own destruction. You, therefore, -
beloved, knowing this beforehand, be
on your guard lest, being carried away
by the errors of unprincipled people,
you· fall away from your own steadfastness
." 2 Peter 3:16-17
Step six: Face tire Scripture used
against you .. Learn the facts. The
truth ·will set you free! Jesus said,
"You search the Scriptures, because
you think that in them you have
eternal life; but it is these that bear
witness of me . You shall know the
truth, and the truth will set you
free." John 5:39; 8:32 Take the time
you need to learn the facts about the
incorrect translations and out of context
use of .Genesis 19:5; Leviticus
18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians
6:9; I Timothy 1:10 against
lesbian and gay people. The most
thorough and accurate treatment of
this is still John Boswell in
"Christianity, Social Tolerance, and
Homosexuality ."
Step seven: Find positive, supportive
Scripture. Make a list of the
Bible passages that especially speak
to you and give you hope and encouragement.
"God so loved the world
(you) that God gave God's only begot-
Faith in Daily Life
ten child, Jesus, that whosoever (you)
believes in Jesus should -not perish,
but have eternal life. For God did not
send Jesus into the world to condemn
the world (you) but that you through
Jesus should be set free (saved .)" John
3:16~17
Step eight: Read and study tire Gospels.
Learn the content of the Gospels,
especially Luke and John. Become
your own expert on what it means to
"follow Jesus ." "These have been
written that you may believe
(continuously) that Jesus is the
Christ, the child of God; and that
believing (following) you may have
life in Jesus' name." John 20:30
Step nine: Corne out and accept yourself.
You can't change your world
from the closet! Accept yourself and
connect with others like yourself .
"Let your light shine before people in
such a way that they can see your
good works and glorify your God in
heaven." Matthew 5:16 "Speak the
truth in love. Laying aside lies,
speak truth eacl1 one of you with your
neighbor, for we are members of one
another ." Ephesians 4:15,25
Step ten: Develop a support system.
Find accepting and affirming people
who can e.ncourage you and share in
your spiritual recovery. Others also
need y\iur support. Start your own
spiritual recovery group. "We who
are strong ought -to bear the weak nesses
of those without strength and
not just please ourselves. Therefore
accept one another just as Christ also
accepted you to the glory of God."
Romans 15:1,7
Step eleven: Learn to slrare Clrrist
witli otliers. Write out your own
experience with God and share it.
Your spiritual confidence will grow as
you give your faith in God to others.
Jesus said, "Follow me, and I will
make you fishers for people." Matthew
4:19
Step twelve : Become a freedom missionary.
Encourage others to accept
and feel good about themselves .
Develop and share with others your
new joy and freedom. Grow through
daily study and meditation. Jesus
said "Heal the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, cast out demons;
freely you received, freely give. As
you go, make disciples of all people.
I am with you always, even to the
end of the age." Matthew 10:8; 28:19-
20
Step thirteen: Give yourself time to
SEE RECOVERY, Page 24
PAGE 7 • SECOND STONE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER. 1996
What if we ,were
to root ourselves
in God's promise
of good things?
0 God, whose gift it is, that the rain
doth fall, the earth is fruitful, beasts
increase, and fish do multiply ...
GOD !NfENDS GOOD things for us.
And s_till, we find ourselv es living
.without the depth of that promise.
Pr e tty soon, we will be making New
Year's resolution s. The real gogetters
have already started.
If you have ever wond ered why
New Year's resolves are often high on
the joke circuit, won der no more .
Glenna Salsbury, in her book 'T he
Art of the Fresh Start," gets to the
root of our per ennial failure to become
who we wan t to become. She roots our
resolves in our fears and anxieties .
Fear can't. motivate us, and thus
every time we even think of our
resolve, we become more afraid.
What if we were to root our resolves
in God 's promi se of good th ing s?
What if we were to root ou r resolves
in our hopes and our calm? From
there we can become who we wan t to
be.
"T he good that I would do, I do not.
And the evil that I would not do, I
do." So said St. Paul. We are in good
com pa ny living in fear instead of
h ope. Some live eve n more cynically:
"Wo uld that I didn't know now what
I didn't know then." I found that on a
coffee mug .
Human being is deep complexity .
When we move to the place where we
can just be - without becoming "better''
- we can become, slowly and
carefully, who we want to be.
I think of Elizabeth Barrett
Browning, "All that I wanted to be
and Am Not/Comforts Me." If we
live in promise, we can keep
resolutions. If we live in fear, we
cannot.
PAGE 8 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
"Love is a mugger,
striking without
warning and
ov~rwhelming us."
,.,Behold, we beseech thee; tire
afflictions of thy people ...
THROUGH A TERRIBLE brush with
str ee t crime , Tracy Cochran found out
that "moments of clear attention" ar e
ordinary. She experienced a
protecting light one night in Hell 's
Kitchen in New York City - and went
on to show how many others hav e
ex perienced the sam e thing. The
mystical expe rience s of Wordsworth,
Helen Keller, Augustine, Ram Das s,
and Petaga, a Sioux Medicin e Man
are all real. No one doubts that what
happened to ordi('\ary Tracy Cochran
genuinely h appened. Wi th her
partner, Jeff Za lesk i; she came away
from this exper ienc e knowing ab ou t
th e ordinary so urce of safe ty, which
is inner not outer.
T hese ordinary people wrote a book
abou t their experiences called
" Tr a nsform a tion s ." What are
ordi nary people? They drink deep
coffee with friends; they have
encount ers with former lovers . They
drop in and out of what mo st
Americans call normal life .
Can these people count on God?
Absolutely.
Jeff describes the death of his
father as a gateway to life and joins,
of all people, Scrooge and other
imagined characters throughout
time, as a fellow traveler . Ordinary
people can make the extraordinary,
ordinary, and vice versa. Tracy uses
the subject of love to show how love
sneaks up on people and wakes them
·up. "Love is a · mugger, striking
without warning and overwhelming
us."
Rather than being afraid of being
overwhelmed, we should welcome
the experience . "Give the dynamite
room to explode, and tben it can't do
any harm," a friend told Tracy.
How can we become more open to the
dynamite of religious experience?
One way is to spend a week doing one
thing very carefully, like making
breakfast or undressing and then to
conclude the week, Sabbath like,
with a meditation on what our
attention taught us. The capacity to
attend to matter is what these
ordinary people recommend .'
God uses friends to
turn scarcity into
plenty. God uses
friends to turn
anxiety into calm.
... Grant that scarcity and dearth
...may through thy goodness be turned
into ... plenty ...
MY SEVENTH GRADE son told me,
when asked about his accelerated,
careerist math test, "at least I wasn't
nervous." I asked who wa s . He
described the girl sitting next to him
as "going to the bathroom thr ee
times, her hands shaking so much,
and biting her pencil." This girl is
eleven y ea rs old. Why weren't you
nervous, I asked my son. "Because I
have friends ."
The connection between math and
friendship, accelera tion and
accomplishment, p e rformance and
anxiety are all part of the tool box of
God. God uses friends to tum scarcity
into plenty. God uses friends to turn
anxiety into calm.
When community is not a part of
people's lives, peop le embody their
loneJiness and anxiety. They drink
too much. They get nervous. Th ey
become part of their own obstacle in
developing the _ very community that
could calm them. ·
Why is there so much substance
abuse? It is the absenc e of community
and the "meaninglessness" of many
lives. I am not talking about Camus'
old fashioned, now shabby sounding,
existential angst so much as about
careerism as a falsely posed but
controlling value .
There is a tremendous paradox in
today's human being. He/she is lazy
- and works too hard . He'/ she is eager
for ecstasy and meaning - and looks in
all the wrong places for it. He/she is
lonely - but operates as a unit in a
kind of conformist horde.
Too many prayers ask that God
"make me a money making machine ."
Instead we shou ld pray for friends.
. ;z · > ~ : - .;tp;, '1?fc:4.~4· fdi .,. \'l+P t> •{
What we call
God matters less
than the fact
that God calls us.
O God, the creator and preserver of
all...
WE NEED SILENCE, sense and
spontaneity, according to Ruth Duck,
liturgist, to be able to pray. She
recommends several pointers to
prayer. They include imagination
and brainstorming, focus and flow,
then stepping away and coming back
to revise. .
But who do we call God? How do we
name God's name? Yes, God is the
Creator and Preserver of us all. But is
that all we can call God? Don't we
need more?
No serious theologian claims that
God is male. But still lots of people
can't pray to a God without_gender.
Such prayer is too impersonal. •
I often image God as an old woman
fumbling for her keys in a parking lot.
I think of God as more like us, than
not.- I don't believe God is all
powerful. I hope I'm wrong. I just can't
imagine a big sky God. The earthy
ones warm me.
How do I pray? Like the Hebrews .
By breathing. By silence_. By sense.
By spontaneity. -
A long time ago, I wrotea poem . It
began,
"God, I cannot -call you Father ... "
It ended,
"But still you call me Daughter."
What we call God matters less than
the fact that God calls us.
"Recognize -your
faults as
your best
ingredients."
... We humbly beseech thee for all
sorts and conditions of men (people)
THIS EPISCOPAL PRAYER really
means inclusion, only to exclude!
Anyway, "all sorts and conditions"
is a wonderful phrase to catch life's
experience, both inner and outer. We
are so many different things, all at
once.
Some . of us are ZeMy. In a new, very
· inclusive book about Zen, Bernard
Glassman encourages us to eat as a
way of knowing God. Eucharist is at
the heart of Zen, which is another
way of reminding us of all sorts and
conditions.
Glassman tells us that Zen is the art
of eating the supreme meal, that we
may prepare this meal for o_urselv~s
both in our kitchen and outs ide of 1t,
that nothing should be wasted, that
all should be savored, and that good
food comes from the right mixture in
life and at the table.
Glassman is an unusually interesting
person. Raised Jewish, and attracted
at an early age to the teachings of
the thirteenth century Japanese
monk, Dogen Zenji, Glassman has
taken his large spirit to the poor just
this year by celebrating an open
street Seder for homeless men in New
York City's Bowery. He is also one of
the founders of a profitable bakery in
Yonkers, which is an economic
development project which employs
and trains the poor\ He has just begun
an HIV/ AIDS ministry in New York
City as well . _
His witness is not just social or
economic. It is also personal and
meditative. "Use what you have."
"Throw nothing away ." "Recognize
your faults as your best ingredients."
Life has at least five main courses:
spirituality, study, livelihood,
social action, and relationship and
community . The art of living involves
a good mix of these five ingredients.
Roshi Glassman is a spiritual
leader of the White Plum Sangha
and Abbot of the Zen Community of
New York and the Zen Center of Los
Angeles . He is also an aeronautical
engineer, an entrepreneur, and social
activist who founded the Grcyston
Mandala of soc ial service
organizations in Yonkers, New York.
For all sort and conditions of p<'ople!
Amen.
God's goodness
is weird. It's not
what the Christian
Right~ wrongly,
thinks it is.
... that thou would be pleased to make
thy ways known to them
IF YOU ARE ONE of the many
people who find yourself using the
made up word "Zenny" more often
that not, you have already "grocked"
the matter of understanding God. God
behaves in wild ways. God combin es
things that are not normally
combined well, like socia l action and
meditation, or eating well and living
spiritually . God's goodness is weird .
It is not what the Christian Right,
wrongly, thinks it is.
Imagine being opposed to services of
gay union! Does that mean they are
in favor of sex outside of marriage?
God favors fidelity.
Imagine being self-righteous in the
service of Jesus, as though welfare
mothers had done something wrong
by being poor. God favors the poor .
Imagine the plight of the writer of
these sentences . She knows she is to
love her enemies and be good to those
who hurt her. How can she find the
compassion to love the so-called
Christian Right.
O God, if you would be pleased,
make your ways known. Even if they
are Zenny.
Faith in Daily Life
The healing touch: -
Hands don't have to
be expert: -they are
-ancient healers ...
. .. Thy saving health unto all the
nations ...
IF THERE IS ANYONE left in
America who thinks that medical
methods alone lead to healing the
sick, Deborah Cowens' book on
"Healing Touch" should be handed to
them. Cowens artfully uses a
both/ and method to show just how
simple touch can enhance scientific
heatings. Cowens combines over
twenty years of experience as a nursepractitioner
with now available
scientific research . This combination
makes her book an enriching read for
either the "home-made" health
crowd or the medical crowd. Both can
benefit: both can leave the book with
greater re~pect for the other . The
saving health of the nation will also
benefit.
Practical, hands-on guidance is
given for "building the energy b_all"
and applying it to appropriate
chakras or points in the body
particularly open and availabl_e to
healing touch . Ministers and pnests
have long known the value of holding
hands during hospital visi\s or
saying-prayers while laying hands on
the head. The healing power that
comes from religious faith is given
further affirmation by the medical
and biological data in this book. ·
Hands don't have to be expert : they
are ancient healers and _ have been
used by people throughout history.
The average person can learn from
this book how to be useful to members
of their family and to their own
comfort when sick.
People are more afraid -of pain than
death - and healing touch can · do
more to stop one than the other! For
the terminally ill, the connection of
healing touch can help them ma_ke
the transition to the other side with
ease . Healing touch can .also help the
newborn, those who are HIVpositive,
those who have just had
surgery, and those who _are facmg
chronic, undiagnosed pam. It can
contribu te to the health of the whole
nation .
Prayer excerpts are from the Book of
Common Prayer.
Tire Rev. Donna E. Schaper is
Associate Conference Minister with
tire J\,fossaclr11setts Conference of tire
U11ited Clr11rclr of Christ.
PAGE 9 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER , 1996
Activists plan to try again on
job discrimination bill
By Marcy Gordon
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate
Democratic leader said Sept. 11 there
is little chance a bill prohibiting job
discrimination against gays and lesbians
will be revived quickly.
In a double setback to gay-rights
activists Sept. 10, the Senate voted
50-49 to kill the anti-discrimination
bill and to reject same-sex marriage in
federal law, 85-14.
Heartened by the closeness of the
vote on job discrimination, activists
said they would lobby supporters to
pass the bill before Congress adjourns
this fall. But Senate Minority Leader
Tom Daschle, D-S.D., asked whether
Senate s..1pporters would try again,
said, "I don't think so. I suspect that
given the time that we have and the
realization that it's not likely to
pass in the House, that we'll try to
find more votes and make an even
more concerted effort next year." .
sign it. The House passed the same
' bill by a 5-to-l margin in July.
Conservatives cheered the Senate
action.
But gay rights activists said the
same-sex marriage vote amounted to
gay-bashing.
"This vote is a deplorable act of
hostility," said Matt Coles, director
of the Lesbian & Gay Rights Project
at the American Civil l,iberties
Union in New York. 'This bill does
nothing to defend marriage."
Clinton cautioned that congressional
approval "should not be cause for any
sort of discrimination or gaybashing,"
adding that he regretted
the discrimination bill had failed.
But the one-vote margin of the bill's
defeat emboldened supporters to try
again quickly for its passage, perhaps
as an amendment to another
Senate measure.
Americans "want to free the workplace
from discrimination," Sen.
Edward · Kennedy, D-Mass., the bill's
Earlier, Candace Gingrich, \he Jes- author, told reporters after the votes.
bian half-sister of House speaker Had Sen. David Pryor, D-Ark., been
Newt Gingrich, said congressional present on the Senate floor, he likely
battles over gay rights are far from would have voted for the bill, makover:
ing the vote 50-50, said David Smith,
"In the loi:tg run, the things that spokesman for the Human Rights
have transpired over the past two Campaign, one of the country's larmonth
s are going to produce a whole gest gay political groups .
new generation of active, involved "We could pass this with Pryor's
gay and lesbian Americans and our vote and with Vice President Al Gore
allies," she said on ABC's "Good breaking the tie," he said. "We are
Morning America." going to consider moving this on
Twenty-six of the Senate's 47 Demo- another bill this Congres s."
crats joined Republicans in voting for Pryor was at the bedside of his 33-
the marriage bill but also voted for year-old son, who had cancer surgery
the j_ob discrimination measure - Sept. 9, said Bo Morrison, Pryor's secunderscoring
the political predica- retary.
ment faced by senators who have sup- "He felt he could not leave his son's
ported gay rights. bedside during the very critical
Across the country, meanwhile, a recovery period on Tuesday," Morrilawsuit
went to trial that could lead son said.
Hawaii to become the first state to The Defense of Marriage Act defines
issue marriage licenses to gay cou- marriage in federal law as a legal
pies. Supporters of the same-sex mar- union between one man and one woman
riage bill said the Sept. 10 vote was a and allows a state to refuse to honor a
pre-emptive strike against such same-sex marriage performed in any
action by states. other state. States still would have
The Senate's overwhelming appro- the · authority to legalize gay marval
of the Defense of Marriage Act riages, but the federal government
sent ii to Clinton, who said he will would not recognize them.
PAGE 10 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
Mel White 'fasts fortn1deIBtanding'
during
DOMA vote
Marriage Act" lands on your desk.
You have promised io sign it. Please;
course," he added, "undermining the reconsider. We thank you for all the
Constitution and replacing it with costly steps you've taken on behalf of
ancient biblical law is exactly what •. justice for lesbian and gay Americans.
the religious and political extremists Take one more. Veto OOMA. Help us
are trying to accomplish." hope and dream again.
White was scheduled to continue For ten days, Gary and I, wi.th our
his fast until President Clinton took friends and allies have fasted and
action on the bill. Clinton was prayed for justice on the Capitol
expected to sign it. steps . Millions of gay and l.esbian
Following OOMA's passage, White people of faith are praying with us.
sent an open Jetter to President Clin- Today, on Day 11 of our Fast for Justen
urging him to veto the act. The lice we move to I..:afayette Park across
letter reads: from the White House.
"Dear Mr. Clinton, · Please, Mr. President, as.you con-
Yesterday, injustice flowed like template the fate of God's lesbian
mighty waters from the floor of the and gay children, look out your windU.
S. Senate, sweeping away the ow. Every day froml2 noon until 1 pm
hopes and dreams of millions of Jes- you will see millions of us out there,
bian and gay Americans. We shall in the Park and across the nation,
hope and dream again, but we will praying for justice. And justice, sir, is
not forget this tragic Tuesday, Sep- in your hands."
tember 10, 1996, the day the so-called The Rev. Elder Darlene Garner, a
"Defense of Marriage Act" - a mean- UFMCC Elder and the Africanspirited,
unnecessary, and ultimately American pastor of.an MCC congregaunconstitutional
attack on same-sex tion in Falls Church, Virginia,
marriage - was passed by the Senate said, "Not since the Jim Crow laws
(85-14) in a landslide of intolerance segregating and demonizing Africanand
misunderstanding. Americans has the legislative and
My partner;Gary Nixon, and I sat the ·executive branches · of" the U.S.
in the . . Senate Ga llery during the government combined their forces in
entire OOMA 'debate,' blinking back such an aggressive, hostile action
tears of anger and grief while Senator against an entire American minoriafter
Senator stood to taricature and ty ."
condemn our loving, committed rela- "OOMA," claims the Rev. Candace
tionship. We could not believe how , Shultis, Pastor of the MCC congregaeasily
these distinguished Americans tion in Washington, D.C., "is just one
abandoned truth, ignored the histor- more step towards achieving the
ic, scientific, and biblical data, and ultimate goal of the extremists: to
rushed to echo the false and inflam- single out homosexuals for secondmatory
rhetoric of Pat Robertson, class c;itizenship, to rob us of our legal
James Dobson and the other religious .. rights, to force us back into closets and
extremists who have declared war on ghettos, to criminalize our loving
God's lesbian and gay children. relationships, and to eliminate
Please, Mr. President, declare a
day of mourning. Lower the flags.
Bow your head in shame and weep
real tears, for God's gay and lesbian
children have been betrayed by the
highest legislative body in this land.
It wasn't enough that the U.S. Senate
passed a bill that would deny us
hundreds of Federal rights granted
automatically to support and sustain
heterosexual relationships. The Senators
also. seemed determined to use
the occasion to demean and dehumanize
all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgendered people and to diminish
and degrade our relationships.
Today, ·sept. 11, the 'Defense of
homosexuality and homosexuals
altogether ."
0.nce an Evangelical pastor, seminary
professor, filmmaker and ghost
writer for leading conservative
Christians (including Pat Robertson),
Mel White battled his own homosexuality
for 30 years with various exgay
therapies, exorcism and even
electric shock. After attempting suicide,
White decided to accept his
sexual orientation as a gift from God.
· In 1995, Dr . White was arrested
and jailed while trying to meet with
Pat Robertson in Virginia Beach.
White refused to pay the $50 fine
SEE FAST,Page 15
National News
Episcoμd church head
dismisses romplaint against
bishop who ordained gay man
By James H. Thrall
Episcopal News Service
PRESIDING BISHOP Edmond
Browning has announced that he will
not proceed with an investigation
into a complaint brought agalnst
Bishop Allen Bartlett, Jr., of the
Diocese of Pennsylvania for ordaining
a non-celibate gay man as a deacon.
Two priests - one from Pennsylvania
and one from another diocese - and
more than 100 lay people signed a
complaint in June, 1995, charging that
Bartlett violated the discipline of
the Episcopal Church when he
ordained the Rev. David Morris as a
deacon in 1994.
Browning postponed action on the
complaint pending the resolution of
an ecclesiastical court trial of Bishop
Walter Righter, retired bishop of
Iowa, for ordaining a non-celibate
gay man as a deacon in 1990. The
charges against Righter, l>rought by
10 other bishops, were dismissed by_
the. court in May. ·
In a letter in late August to Bartlett
and those bringing the complaint
against him, Browning said that he
would not be taking the next step in
the investigation of convening a
panel of bishops to review the allegations.
Based on the Righter court ruling
and an . earlier decision by a fivemember
panel of bishops that dismissed
similar charges against
Bishop Stewart Wood of the Diocese
of Michigan, Browning _~aid, ''I conclude
that the paper submitted to me
by the complainants regarding the
QUOTABLE
"The las_t time anyone cared
about me in this religion, I
was a fetus!"
-A post on pflag-talk
ordination -by Bishop Bartlett does
not on its face charge any 'offense,"'
under church canons.
"These rulings have . '. . definitively
established for the church at this
time that the ordination by a bishop
of a non-celibate homosexual person
is not a disciplinary 'offense' for
which a cha~ge may be brought"
■ .
" ... the Episcopal Church
has a better way of
addressing serious
disagreements .. : than
presentments and trials."
■ under the canons covering discipline
for dergy,- Browning said . "It would
be an unwarranted use of the church's
procedures - and resources - for me to
convene a panel of bishops to consider
this matter further." ..
The Righter court in particular
r;nade dear, he said, that the issues
raised by bishops ordaining noncelibate
homosexuals "are · appropriate
for consideration by the General
Convention and not our ecclesiastical
courts."
General Convention, the chief legislative
body of the Episcopal Church
which meets every three years, is
neJ(t scheduled to be held in Philadelphia
in July, 1997.
In a letter to clergy in his diocese
dated September 5, Bartlett welcomed
the decision saying that it
"means that those of us in this
diocese and the wider church as well
can devote all our time and energies
to ministei;ing in the name of Christ
to a confused and hurting werld,
without the distractions of a lengthy
investigation and possible triai."
Acknowledging that "some in the
diocese . and beyond · may disagree
with the presiding bishop's decision,"
Bartlett added that "thanks be
to God, the Episcopal Church has a
better way of addressing serious disagreements
about matters of faith
than presentments and trials."
Bartlett noted that "some of . those
most concerned with these matters
have already announced plans to
bring resolutions" to General Convention
. ;,I have faith that the church
gathered in legislative session can
discern the voice of the Spirit,
through faithful listening to one
another, honest sharing, and prayer,"
he said.
SEPfEMBER/OCfOBER '96 OUfREACH PARTNER REPORT
The Sept/Oct issue of Second Stone was distributed free in seven communities by
seven Outreach Partners. Nine hundred fifty copies were distributed •. down from the
1150 copies of the Jul/Aug issue which were distributed in seven cities in the United
States and one city in Canada
· Partners considering outreaching with the Nov/Dec issue should have their free ad to
. us by October IS: 1996. (Ad size is 2 _1/2" wide by 3" tall.) Be sure to include in your
ad your logo, address and phone, service or meeting times, and A CALL TO ACTION
like "Come visit us at..." or "Call for information about.."
In determining the number of copies you need, consider stacking 10-20 copies at
gay pride events , PFLAG meetings, gay bars, etc, Multiply every location you think
of by at le.ast 15, And remember · how advertising works. Most often it takes 100 peo
·--ple to s.:e your ad before you get your first response. And remember how outreach
wo_rks. You may not get a response right away. You are planting seeds.
'f-he Out·each Partner program is a community fund which looks like this right now:
MARCH/APRIL
Church of the Resurrection MCC
First Congregational UCC
Church of the Holy Spirit MCC
Freedom in Christ Evangelical Church
St Peter's St Andrew's Episcopal
Church of the Resurrection MCC
Community Gospel Church
Mercy of God Community
MCC Bridgeland Logan
Rev . Pamela White
W&ABaptists
200 copies
100 copies
MAY/JUNE
100 copies
250 copies
200 copies
200 copies
JOO copies
75 copies
150 copies
200 copies
50 copies
52.80
30.31
20.48
57.<J7
41.<J7
38.50
20.48
17,05
34.14
28.40
15.10
JULY/AUGUST
Holy Trinity Community Church
Irvine United Church of Christ
Abiding Peace Lutheran Church
Liberty Community Church
W&A Baptists
Church of the Holy Spirit MCC
Third/Trinity Lutheran Church
Church of the Resurrection MCC
CONTRIBUflONS
Community Gospel Church
Name of Jesus Church
St. Peter's St Andrew's Epis
Mercy of God Community
Church of the Holy Spirit MCC
Thirdrfrinity Lutheran Church
Community Gospel Church
Irvine United Church Christ
Rev, Pamela White
First Congregational UCC
Abiding Peace Lutheran Church
MCC Bridgeland Logan Uf
Holy Trinity Community Church
W&A Baptists
100 copies 22.86
100 copies 26.47
200 copies 45.12
100 copies 33.81
250 copies 58. 90
100 copies 23.79
100 copies 23.79 ·
200 copies 45.12
TOTAL EXPENSES635.26
25 .00
25 .00
41.07
17.05
25 . 00
25 .00
25.00
21.00
50 .00
30.31
45 .12
34.14
22.86
74 .00
TOTAL CONTRIBlITIONS 460.55
EXPENSES LESS CONTRIBUflONS - (174.71) .
Please support the Outreach Partner program fund in whatever way you are able. If your
church or organization would like to participate in this program, please follow the
guideli~es above (send in your ad or ad copy and let us know the number of copies you \
can distribute in your community) For information call (504)899-4014 , write to P.O. )
Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or e-mail secstone@aol.com.
PAGE 11 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
)
National News
Tern~ over Monnon same-sex histoiy delays publication·
By Vern Anderson
Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY - It isn't often that
a respected university publishing
house replaces 5,000 book covers,
razors out a page of photographs and
fields nasty calls and letters about a
scholarly work its critics haven't
even seen.
But that was what it took for the
University of lllinois Press to get
"Same-Sex Dynamics among Nineteenth-
Century Americans: A Mormon
Example," out to bookstores, months
behind schedule. ·
"I knew that this would be troubling
to some of the Mormon community,"
said Liz Dulany, associate director of
the press in Champaign, Ill. "I didn't
anticipate these kinds of mine
fields."
Neither did the book's author, D.
Michael Quinn, a Yale-trained historian
and former Brigham Young
University professor who was excommunicated
from the church in 1993 for
research on women and Mormonism's
male priesthood.
"There is a level of hatred among
otherwise good people in Mormon culture
that is very disturbing," said
Quinn, who still considers himself a
believing Mormon. "It's ·a gut reaction
they have to these isSues, and it's a
blind spot for them."
Likely to enhance the high feeling
is the 53-year-old Quinn's first public
statement about his own sexuality in
the August issue of Out magazine.
atives of the late Evan Stephens,
composer of many of Mormonism's
most cherished hymns and director of
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for 26
years.
Stephens, who died in 1930, never
married and spent much of his life
■
"There is a level of
hatred among
· otherwise good
people in Mormon
culture that is
very disturbing ...
It's a gut reaction
they . have to these
issues, and it's
a blind spot
for them."
■ Though once married for 18 years and with a succession of young male comthe
father of four children, Quinn panions he called his "boy chums,"
said, "I am overwhelmingly all of whom later married. In his
attracted to men." book, and in an excerpt printed last
The brouhaha over the book was winter in the independent Mormon
touched .off in.early March by a pub- journal Dialogue, Quinn raises the
lished article based on a pre- possibility Stephens had erotic interpublication
copy of the work, which est in other males. He stressed, howexamines
all types of same-sex rela- ever, that the composer may never
tionships and attitudes among early have acted on the impulse .
Mormons, both erotic and platonic. "When I encountered the (Dialogue)
The story triggered a flood of angry article my first reaction was that I
calls and letters .to two newspapers in had before me a 'case study' in the use
Utah, which had 25-30 subscription of innuendo to vilify the dead,"
cancellations apiece. George L. Mitton of Provo wrote
"It's the most letters we've received Dulany in ·a letter urging the press to
about a single news story in the two cancel publication of the 416-page
. years since I've been here," said Stan- book.•
<lard-Examiner Managing Editor Ron Mitton, a grandson of one of Ste-
Thornburg in Ogden. phens' young friends, Samuel Bailey
"I've had that kind of reaction on Mitton, called Quinn's premise
subjects before, but I've never had it "categorically false," and .accused
last that long," said Bruce Smith, him of misconstruing and taking quopublisher
of The Herald Journal in tations out of context and of "finding
Logan. "I received some nasty, vile homosexual allusions wherever he
comments, both written and verbal. looks."
Most of those kinds of comments were Mitton also pointed out a problem
anonymous." with the book's dust jacket, or cover.
Later, the newspapers printed guest It featured a photograph of Stephens
columns and letters, several from rel- and One of his companions, Noel 5.
PAGE 12 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
Pratt, that had been cropped to
exclude a woman, Stephens· longtime
housekeeper, Sara Davis, standing at
Pratt's side.
Although the photograph was
obtained by Quinn from the Utah
State Historical Society, which
cropped it at his request, it originally
had appeared uncropped in a laudatory
1992 biography of Stephens.
When the owner of the picture, Stephens
relative Don Noble, learned of
its intended use, he threatened the
press with legal action.
The result: The U of I Press faces the
tedious task of ·removing the dust covers
from 5,000 already printed books
and replacing them with another
title-only cover. It also is cutting out
of the book a single page of photographs
that includes the disputed
portrait.
"We didn't want to further delay
the book" by seeing the copyright
issue settled in court, Dulany said,
· even though copyright law generally
gives .ownership to the photographer,
not the owner.
Quinn said the cropping was
intended merely to illustrate Evans
with one of his chums, not as evidence
of the nature of their relationship,
which he said was amply supported
in the text and notes.
But Mitton and others cite the
cropped photo as proof of what they
claim is Quinn's use of innuendo "to
reinforce the false premise on which
this work is based." ·
If Quinn is receiving rough treatment
in Utah, early reviews of his
book elsewhere have been glowing ,
Publisher's Weekly called it "a
model of critical religious history"
and Library Journal "nothing short of
astonishing."
But Quinn's quarter-century of Mormon
scholarship, often sharply at
odds with official histories of The
Church cif Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, is viewed by many mainstream
members as anti-Mormon. And
in the case of "Same-Sex Dynamics,"
the author's homosexuality is now
fodder for his critics.
Even before the Out interview,
Rhett James, another Stephens relative,
had accused Quinn in guest
newspaper columns of engaging in gay
apologetics.
Asked about the magazine interview
and its timing, Quinn said that
when he began research on the book
he decided he would make no secret
of his sexuality if asked, and Out
asked first.
"l just assumed that was common
knowledge already," said state
archivist Jeffery 0. Johnson. "It's
hard for me to see this as anything
more than creating interest in the
book ."
Johnson, who will critique Quinn's
book at the upcoming Sunstone Symposium,
has not yet seen a copy. But
he doesn't believe Quinn's research in
the Dialogue excerpt proves Stephens
was gay.
"I have deep respect for Mike's historical
work," Johnson said . "I
believe, though, to prove his point or
issue, he will sometimes not be careful
about whether the sources really
prove what he's saying."
Though Quinn concedes his book is
fair game for critics, he believes some
have been quick to ignore the weight
of his sources in favor of folklore,
poor research methods and claims of
personal bias.
"Inevitably you have to interpret at
certain points," he said, "but on controversial
' issues I do my best to lay
out the evidence and let the readers
come to their own conclusions."
Sheriff dismisses chaplain in dispute over gays
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Outspoken
televangelist John Butler Book will
no longer serve a~ the sheriff's office
volunteer chaplain because of his
criticism of gays and lesbians .
Book, a longtime supporter of
Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary,
recently argued that the department
violated its own policy 1,y allowing a
patrol car and deputy to be part of a
gay-pride parade , in downtown
Orlando.
Book called the parade a political
event, and said the sheriff was
quietly reversing his stand on gay
rights .
Beary responded by sending the
preacher a letter, telling Book his
public stand against gays means he
can no longer be a counselor for deputies
and their families.
Those who work with the sheriff's
office must serve all people and not
show bias against any group, sheriff's
spokesman Steve Jones said.
"If they had a Jewish parade, the
sheriff would be . involved even
though he's a Christian," Jones said
July 22 in Beary's absence. "He's not
endorsing the parade . .. The sheriff
is the sheriff for all people."
Book said he had been so dismayed
by the handling of the gay-pride
parade that he sent the sheriff's
department a letter of resignation
before Beary told him to step down.
National News
SDA book calls {X)~ the . devil's ally
By Jan Cienski
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. - Roman Catholics
and some Protestants are denouncing a
book published by a major Protestant
evangelical denomination that
claims the pope is in league with the
devil.
"God's Answers to Your Questions,"
likens the papacy to the beast in the
book of Revelation, an ally of Satan
in the world's final days. The Seventh-
day Adventist Church publishes
the book and distributes it
nationally door-to-door.
"That the seventh head (of the
beast) represents Antichrist, or the
papacy, there can be little doubt,"
the book asserts.
The book's conclusions have no biblical
basis, said Catholic clergy and
lay officials and a Protestant Bible
scholar .
William Donohue, president of the
Catholic League for Religious and
Civil Rights in New York, said he
often sees anti-Catholic literature
but was surprised to see it coming from
a major denomination.
"For this to come from the Seventhday
Adventists and not from a
splinter group makes this offense particularly
egregious," he said. ''This
raises the ante and makes it all the
more serious."
"It's typical anti-Catholic bigotry,"
said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman
for the United States
Catholic Conference.
· Sibley Towner, professor of biblical
interpretation at Union Theological
Seminary, a Presbyterian .institution
in Richmond, said he was surprised
the Adventists published the book.
"It's· outrageous and inflammatory
and untrue biblically in any sense."
George Reid, head of the Biblical
Research Institute of the Seventhday
Adventist Church, said the book
merely follows the lead of such Protestant
reformers as Martin Luther and
John Calvin.
Assemblies of Goo jmnps on Disney
ooycott lmdwagon .
By Karen Testa
Associated Press Writer
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Assemblies
of God, a promoter of the Walt Disney
Co. for 25 years, asked its 2.5 million
members Aug. 14 to boycott Disney
for "abandoning the commitment
to strong moral values ."
In urging its members not see Disney
movies, visit Disney theme parks or
buy its other products, the Pentecostal
denomination became the third
religious group to criticize the company
in recent months.
"In recent years we have watched
with dismay the productions of the
Disney Corp. abandoning the commitment
to strong moral values, and have
noticed this moral shift in a number
of Disney-sponsored films and
events," the church's General Presbytery
said.
Disney said it had no comment.
The General Presbytery criticized
"Growing Up Gay," a book for teenagers
published by Disney-owned
Hyperion Press, and Disney's acquisition
of Miramax, which then distributed
the movie "Priest," about a gay
cleric.
The Assemblies also · criticized Disney's
Orlando, Fla., theme park,
which has been the site of a Gay and
Lesbian Day for several years.
Though Disney does not sponsor the
event, the church said it should have
warned families.
In June, the 16-million-member
Southern Baptist Convention
threatened a boycott because Disney
extends benefits to companions of gay
employees and releases R-rated
movies. And in April, the Roman
Catholic group Knights of Columbus
sold $3 million worth of Disney stock
to protest "Priest."
Disney said it was hardly affected
by earlier calls for boycotts. In June, it
said demand for its products was
high, .with .surging attendance at the
theme parks in Florida and California.
The General Presbytery adopteA the
anti-Disney resolution Aug. 6 during
its annual meeting.
For more than 25 years, · the church
offered free Disney discount cards to
employees, missionaries or anyone
related to its 11,800 churches or 17
colleges. That program was discontinued
in May.
Carol Maxwell, who works in the
James River Assembly's children's
department, said she has noticed a
deterioration in Disney's morals.
"It's real subtle," said Maxwell,
mother of a 6-year-old boy and 8-
year-old girl. "It's like putting a lot
of satanic things into . the movies. A
lot more evil is prevalent, with the
good guy not always being able to be
identified as the good guy."
Maxwell said she lets her children
watch Disney movies, but they discuss
the content.
"We still believe that it's the reasonable
way to understand ihese
prophesies, arising f.rom. the text
itself and not political correctness,"
he said.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
is based in Silver Spring, Md., and
■
"That the seventh
head (of the
beast) represents
Antichrist, or the
papacy, there can
be little doubt."
■
traces its origins to William Miller of
New Hampton, N.Y., who predicted
that the world would end in the
1840s. The Church says it has 9 million
members worldwide.
The book is published by the
Review and Herald Publishing Asso- ·
ciation in Hagerstown, Md., one of
denomination's the : main · publishing
houses. ·
Richard Coffen, vice president for
editorial services at the publishing
house, said he did not know how
many copies of the book had been distributed
.
Coffen said the book was a critique,
not bigotry, and that it attacks the
papacy, not specific popes. "Our position
is that we are criticizing the system
and not individual Catholic
Christians."
Donohue said he has heard that
argument before.
"It's like saying to children, 'I hate
your father and I hate your mother
but I don't hate you,'"
The book says those who follow
papal teachings are Satan 's allies.
''Those who acknowledge the
supremacy of the beast by yielding
obedience to the law of God as
changed and enforced by the papacy
... worship the beast. ... Such will
take the side of Satan in his rebellion
against God's authority," the book
says.
Linking the pope to the Antichrist
springs from the days of the Reformation
500 years ago when new Protestant
churches were battling Roman
Catholics, Towner said.
"In the Reformation, Protestants
threw the word Antichrist around a
lot," he said. "But that has not been
done in mainline Protestant circles for
centuries."
Anti-Catholic language these days
usually comes from small sectarian
groups affiliated with right-wing
political causes such as the Ku Klux
Klan, Towner said.
The book· comes at a time when relations
between evangelical Christians
and Catholics have been improving.
In 1994, Southern Baptists, the country's
largest Protestant denomination,
and the Catholic Church endorsed a
dialogue between the two denominations.
The Christian Coalition also has
been trying to build ties to socially
conservative Catholics .
"There have been a number of
attempts to build political coalitions
between Catholics and conservative
Protestants," said William Dinges,
professor of religious studies at the
Ca.tholic University of America in
Washington. "Conservative Catholics
who would move to the right on
cultural issues might be offended by
this."
Some Quakers.sup{X)rt same-sexrnaniage
THE PACIFIC YEARLY Meeting of
the Religious Society of Friends
released a statement Aug. 9 supporting
same gender marriage . The
Pacific Congress of Quakers represents
Quakers from California,
privileges to couples who legally
marry, we believe that a commitment
to equality requires that same-gender
couples have the same rights and
privileges."
Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico. The Pacific Congress of Quakers
The statement said it is fundamen- said they recognize marriage in genial
to Quaker faith and practice that era! as a way to affirm individuals in
the equality and integrity of all their choice, to support loving
human beings be honored. "Therefore, families, and to strengthen spiritual
it is our belief that it is consistent community. This recognition should
with Quakers' historical faith and be extended to gay and lesbian
testimonies that we practice a single families as well, the organization
standard of treatment for all couples said, and they called on states to perwho
wish to marry," the statement mil gay and lesbian couples to marry
reads . "Given that the State offers and "-share fully and equally in the
legal recognition of opposite-gender rights and responsibilities of marmarriage
and extends significant nage.
PAGE 13 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
Zimoobwe Council of
ChUIChes president replaced
By Noel Bruyns
Ecumenical News International
GENEVA - The Zimbabwe Council of
Churches [ZCC] has replaced its
president, Anglican Bishop Jonathan
Siyachitema, of Harare. .
Bishop Siyachitema has recently
caused controversy in Zimbabwe by
publicly criticizing gays and lesbians,
but this was not, a ZCC official said,
the reason for his .replacement
ZCC vice-president, Enos Chomutiri,
moderator of the -Reformed
Church in Zimbabwe, was elected
July 3 as the new head, according to
Densan Matinyani, administrative
assistant to the ZCC general secretary
. ··
Speaking to ENI on July 10, Matinyani
denied that Bishop Siyachitema
had been replaced because of
his close support for President Robert
Mugabe's strong opposition to homosexuality.
'This [the homosexuality debate]
has nothing to do with his presidency
of the ZCC," Matinyani said. 'The
bishop was president for two fouryear
terms, so the council felt a
change was needed."
Bishop Siyachitema recently
repeated remarks in support of President
Mugabe, whose sharp criticisms
of gays and lesbians last year were
followed by protests in many countries.
President Mugabe was reported as
saying to journalists: "We do not
believe they [homosexuals] have any
rigqts at all. They can demonstrate,
but if they come here, we will throw
them in jail."
Many church leaders in the country
have supported President Mugabe's
stand. The ZCC, which has 20 Protestant
churches as members, said in a
statement last year that homosexuality
was "totally new and out of step
with the Zimbabwean tradition and
culture."
Some of Zimbabwe's church leaders
- while condemning homosexuality as
a sin -have described President
Mugabe's "witch-hunt as "regrettable."
Bishop Siyachitema was quoted in
a Harare newspaper in June expressing
gratitude for the government's
strong stand against homosexuality .
The stand, he said, was in line with
the principles of the church . The •
Bishop Siyachitema
was quoted in
a Harare
newspaper.,.
expressing
gratitude for
the government's
strong stand
against homosexuality
... The bishop
also told the newspaper
that there
was no way of preventing
homosexuals
from attending
the next World
Council of Churches
assembly ...
• bishop also told the newspaper that
there was no way of preventing
homosexuals from attending the next
World Council of Churches' assembly;
which will be held in Harare in
1998. The ZCC is playing a major role
in helping to arrange the assembly.
"Homosexuality is a sin, and there
is no way we can compromise on that
SEE PRESIDENT, Next Page
PAGE 14 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
Evangelism ad camixrign
provokes a row
By Russell Jenkins
The Times
LONDON - Church leaders are setting
out to shock this Christmas with
a deliberately provocative poster
campaign aimed at young nonchurchgoers
which its creators admit
will alienate traditionalists .
The poster shows three kings,
depicted in somewhat graffiti-ized
style, and the caption reads: "Bad
hair day?! You're a virgin, you've just
given birth, and now three kings
have shown up ... "
Passers-by, attracted by the poster 's
arresting streetwise argot and zany
line drawing of three cartoon kings,
are invited in small print to "find out
the happy ending at a church near
you." -·
The campaign has provoked a furious
row . The Archbishop of York, Dr.
David Hope, is leading opposition
against a message that he believes
demeans the Christian faith. The
Archbishop of Canterbury has pointedly
given only his "guarded support"
and senior clergy are refusing to
use the material.
Dr. Hope is said to be "livid" and
has written a strongly-worded letter
to the Church of England's communications
department with a copy to
the Archbishop of Canterbury complaining
that it is a "step too far"
from the real meaning of Christmas .
The Rev . John Broadhurst, national
chairman of the influential Forward
In Faith and Bishop-designate of
Fulham, said, "It is slick and supercilious
. It is about time that trendy
liberals realized the world is not
interested in gimmicks."
The campaign, created by The
Churches Advertising Network, is a
conscious attempt fo get away from
"authoritarian and preachy" campaigns
of previous years, to court controversy
and "create a media
splash ."
Its supporters say that the poster is
not designed for the fai.thful but aims
to use the language of the streets as
part of the Church's mission to draw
non-believers into the fold.
The Churches Advertising Network
is sending brochures containing the
artwork to 40,000 ministers in the
Anglican, Roman Catholic and evangelical
and Baptist churches. Roads
·side and bus stop posters, radio spots,
T-shifts, flyers, badges, Christmas
cards and wrapping paper bearing
the copy will start appearing in
October in the run-up to Christmas. It
is the work of Christians in the
Media, a group of committed Christians
who work in the higher echelons
of the advertising industry and
give their time and expertise voluntarily.
Dr. Tom Ambrose, vicar of Witchford
in Cambridgeshire, who is the
campaign coordinator, said that this •
"Bad hair day?!
You're a virgin,
you've just given
birth, and now
three kings have
shown up ... Find out
the happy ending
at a church near
you."
• year they set out to provoke discussion
among congregations. They
wanted to get away from the "safe"
campaigns of recent years.
He said: "It will be a struggle for
some people in the Church to cope
with this. We want it to be talked
about and the more people who discuss
what it is about the better."
John Griffiths, a London-based
advertising executive who led the
group, said it was important to adopt
a different "tone of voice" and one
immediately recognizable as everyday
speech .
. The phrase "bad hair day" - it is
transatlantic-speak for · a lousy day
where everything goes wrong - was
thoroughly researched. It is an Americanism
that was once used in the
1988 cult film "Hairspray," directed
by John Waters, and is now creeping
into everyday parlance in Britain .
Television commentators used the
SEE CAMPAIGN, Next Page
FAST,
FromPagel0
(for trespassing) and spent the next 21
days fasting in jail, waiting for Mr.
Robertson to hear his case.
"When he finally came to visit me
in jail," White recalls, "I asked Pat
to tell his 700 Club viewers about the
terrible rise of hate crimes against
God's lesbian and gay children, to
condemn anyone who incite or commits
those crimes, and to meet with
P-FLAG parents whose children have
been bashed and murdered in the current
hostile climate created in part
by Pat's anti-gay words and political
actions supported by his Christian
Coalition. Robertson refused ."
CAMPAIGN,
From Previous Page
phrase several times in -their commentary
on the Olympics in Atlanta,
"It is not some bastardized form of
street-speak,''. Mr. Griffiths said, "If
we had said 'Happy Christmas is
wicked or crucial' we cou_ld have been
accused of going for the -youth vote
with borrowed clothes. We have not
simply picked up on a buzzword. It
co ·MMENTARY,
FromPage23
riages is to be construed and understood
in relation to those persons only
to whom that law relates," thundered
a Virginia judge in response to a
challenge to that state's nonrecognition
of same-sex unions. "And
not," he continued, "to a class of persons
clearly not within the idea of
the legislature when contemplating
the subject of marriage."
To sum up: Legal recognition of such
,marriages would offend tradition,
God, the sensibilities of the majority
· and the natural order while threa-
LETTERS,
FromPage23
tion, adoption, inheritance and, yes,
taxes. For what purpose are lesbians
and gays excluded from entering such
binding contracts? This is just everyday
heterosexism. Whert you are
denied the right to apply for immigration
of your partner just because
you are not a heterosexual couple,
this is not a fluffy "extra privilege."
Nor will laws "eliminating discrimination
against single people" be an
adequate salve .
Sincerely,
Scott Shippy
ctr
White said that the Fast for PRESIDENT,
Understanding would not a hunger From Previous Page
strike b11t rather a fast in the tradition
of the Jewish and the Christian
prophets who prayed and fasted that
the Creator's loving Spirit would
break down the barriers of intolerance
and discrimination and open
stubborn minds to justice and to truth.
As the fast began, it seemed certain
that DOMA would be ·passed by the
Senate and signed into law by the
President. White said he still hoped
"that God will use our small sacrifice
to advance the truth that lesbian and
gay Americans love and serve the
nation, too, and that we deserve the
same rights, not special rights,
enjoyed by heterosexual Americans."
has integrity. It is supposed to ruffle
a few feathers and to unsettle them."
Some dioceses like the new theme .
In Oxford, the youth officer is organizing
"bad hair day" events. The
Bishop of Aston, the Rt. Rev. John
Austin, said: '.'It is a measure of the
Church's commitment that they want
to engage with 16 to 25 year old_s."
tening conventional marriage, children
and the future of our civilization.
The quotes are culled from a Boston
University-Law Review artide and a
brief filed with the U. S. Supreme
Court, though I did take the minor
liberty of changing the subject of the
strangled rage, fear and righteous
indignation.
Everywhere I quoted the speakers
referring to same-sex marriage,
homosexuality and heterosexuality,
they were actually referring to interracial
marriage and their views of
black people, white people and the
proper interaction thereof . And yes,
that includes statement No. 6, which
in original form articulated the old
white . supremacist belief that offspring
of whites and blacks were -
like mules that result when horses
mate with donkeys - sterile.
The quotes date from 1823 to 1964
and, though the sentiments look
hatefully ridiculous to us in 1996,
they had sufficient appeal and staying
power that 15 states still criminalized
black-white marriage until
the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously
overturned those laws in the appropriately
named 1%7 case, Loving vs.
Virginia .
Those whose unaltered words today
resemble statements 1 through 12
above, take note. The stench is familiar.
The future is listening.
. .. [but] when they arrive atthe airport
there is no way their passports
will indicate that they are homosexual,"
Bishop Siyachitemil said. .
Church spokespersons in Harare in
early July accused Bishop Siyachitema
of "going too far" and of
"political appeasement." Jonah
Govoka, coordinator of Ecumenical
Support Services, was quoted as saying
the bishop's remarks were "most
unfortunate, and compromised the
pastoral responsibilities of the
-church."
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PAGE 15 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
.Mary Fisher returns to Republican Convention
Activist seeks leaders with
'moral courage' to fight AIDS
AIDS does not keep 10-yearold
:from living life to the fullest
By Karina Bland
The Arizona Republic
PHOENIX - Stephanie Ray has
short, red hair that curls at the nape
of her neck, freckles across her nose
and huge brown eyes. The 10-year-old
has so much spunk, you'd swear she
had Tabasco for blood.
But it's not Tabasco in her blood. It's
AIDS.
The Glendale girl was born with
full-blown AIDS, not just infected
with HIV. Stephanie shouldn't be
alive.
Stephanie plays softball and isn't
much interested in Barbies. She loves
in-line skating . And she delights in
the briefest of touches from people
who aren't afraid of the disease
inside her.
"I tell people, 'Don't be afraid of it
because you're not- going to get
infected,"' Stephanie said . .
But people are afraid. Her school
principal in New York was so afraid
that she pretended Stephanie had
cancer.
By Connie Cass
Associated Press Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Four years after
she brought delegates to tears with
her story of life as a mother infected
with AIDS, Mary Fisher returned to
the Republican National Convention
seeking le_aders with the "moral
courage" to fight the disease .
"I mean to live and will die a
Republican," Fisher said, choking
back emotion . "But I also live and
will die in the AIDS community - a
community hungry for the evidence of
leadership, and desperate for hope ."
She brought onto the podium 12-
year-old Hydeia Broadbent of Las
Vegas, a black girl who has been
infected with AIDS since birth and
who read a poem that ended, "You
can't cru .sh my dreams . I am the
future, and I ha:ve AIDS.''.
If you had one wish, Ms. Fisher
asked the girl, what wouid it be? "To
have a long and healthy future and
to live, because life is a precious
Her mother didn't know she had
contracted the human immunodeficiency
virus from a blood transfusion
until after her baby got sick. The
average life expectancy for children
infected at birth is two to three
Neighbors in New York and then in
Florida tormented Stephanie and her
parents after going through their
mailbox and trash and figuring out
that the girl and her mother had where Stephanie will be in fourth
AIDS. grade, she was welcomed.
One neighbor screeched, "Get off "No one teases me or any thing,"
that girl's bike! You'll get '·AIDS!" Stephanie said.
years . when Stephanie swapped bikes with And, now, ~he little girl who got so
"For a 10-year-old to have been the woman's daughter . The mother good at keeping her secret travels all·
infected at birth and to still be alive, demanded to know who would pay for over the country talki_ng to other, kids
that is pretty out of the ordinary/' ■-----------------------------said
Bert Jacobs, an Arizona State
University microbiologist and nation"
ally known expert on AIDS.
In fact, doctors at the National
Institutes of Health in Bethesda,
Md., have been studying Stephanie
since she was a toddler.
"I don't know what it's like io not
have AIDS," Stephanie said .
But she is living with AIDS at a
time when doctors, for the first time,
"For a 10-year-old to have been
infected at birth and to still be
alive, that is pretty out of
the ordinary ... "
are hinting at a cure.
At the 11th annual international
AIDS conference, held this past summer
in Vancouver; British Columbia,
doct;ors hailed a combination of three the bike.
drugs that reduce HIV concentrations "I just forget about them," Stephain
AIDS patients, sometimes to below nie said . "Like a bug on a windshield,
detectability. I just wipe it off."
It could work · for Stephanie, said It's not that Stephanie doesn't want
Dr. Janice Piatt of Phoenix Children's people to know. It's been a hard secret
HospitaJ,, /one of the child 's many for a little girl to keep .
doctors. "I would go to tell someone, then
4"t PCH's pediatric-AIDS unit, the pause and not tell," Stephanie said.
fjlrst center in Arizona solely for "It's like taking a breath and then
children with HIV and AIDS, the you can't ever breathe again."
patient load has doubled since it When she moved to Glendale a year
opened more than a year ago, to 28 ago with her father, Robert Ray, 35,
fron;i 14. she decided she no longer could keep
Asear before that, the hospital her secret.
saw ·~y eight children with AIDS. At Discovery School in Glendale,
PAGE 16 '.' SECO.ND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
■
about AIDS, which killed her mom
four years ago .
"She's not going to live in a closet,"
said Ray's sister, Cathy Stelter.
"She's got the guts to do it. And if she
can handle all she's had to handle,
we can handle it, too."
Stelter's children, Scott, 12, and
Ryane, 6, are learning what to do
when other kids taunt them about
their cousin with AIDS.
"If they're talking, you 're
walking," Stetler tells them.
Twice, Ray has been taken aside by
doctors and told to plan for his
daughter's funeral. So, for. him, every
thing," answered Hydeia .
The delegates in front r ose to their
feet when Ms. Fisher came on stage,
and many who had been milling
about festively paused to listen somberly
to the pair.
But the hall was not hushed as in
1992, when delegat es seemed stunned
by the words of the mother of two
from a wealthy and politically
prominent Florida family. She riow
lives in New York.
"I may lose my own battle with
AIDS," said Ms. Fisher, whose
former husband . already has died of
the disease . "But if you would
embrace moral courage tonight, and
embrace my children when I'm gone,
then you and Hydeia and I would
together have won a greater battle,
because we would have achieved
integrity," she said.
Afterwards, Gerti Thomas of Albany,
Calif., a California delegate ,
said, "Uwas a good thing for a lot of
these delegates t~ see. A lot of people
still think it's a moral disease .'.'
day with Stephanie is a gift.
"He always gives me hugs and kisses,
and he doesn't have AIDS"
Stephanie said. "I Jove him." '
Ray, a former military man, loads
plastic syringes with medication
every morning and puts them in a
backpack ·for . Ste; hl!nie.
Twelve times a day, she takes a
combination of drugs - AZT, DOI, an
anti-retroviral drug, and bactrim, an
antibiotic. Twice during the night,
her dad gets . up to feed them to his
sleepy daughter.
It all tastes nasty, but Stephanie
takes it without complaining.
"I know it keeps me alive," she
said.
In the United States, an estimated
650,000 to 900,000 people are infected,
according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
Of those, 20,000 to 30,000 are children,
and most take AZT, which can
knock down the viral concentration
for a while. Eventually, however,
the virus becomes resistant to it.
That hasn't happened to Stephanie.
She keeps taking iron, magnesium
and other vitamins. Her dad
makes sure she eats the right foods,
even bananas, which she hates but
eats anyway .. .
And, every month for four hours,
Stephanie gets a drug through a chest
catheter to boost her imrnune system.
"When she was a baby, she was
feisty," Ray said. "Now, she doesn't
know anything else but fighting."
.; ,·, AIDS Warriors & Heroes
North Carolina man bas lived for 15 years with AIDS
By Nicole Brodeur
The News &· Observer
RALEIGH - F-1. F-2. F-3.
So read the ent ries. on the pages of
Bill Brantley's pocket calendar, the
one he used to keep his business
appointments. The one where he
recorded his sons' birthdays. His
wedding anniversary.
F-4. F-5.
The "F" was for Fred. The numbers
kept count of their encounters.
They met on a sidewalk in New
York City. Brantley, in town on business,
was standing outside a restaurant
at 57th Street and Sixth Avenue,
reading the menu taped to the window.
A man walked up and stood next
to him.
"See anything that looks good?"
the man asked.
Brantley turned and looked at him.
"Not until right now."
Fifteen y ears later, Brantl ey is
celebrating a bittersw eet anniver sa
ry: That is the night he believes
he contracted HIV.
But this is a story of hope, for Brantley,
62, is alive - the longest-living
AIDS patie n t in Duke University
Medical Cen ter's Adult Infectious
Disease Clinic.
"I have very mixed feelings about
this anniversary," Brantley said on a
recent afternoon at his home ir, East
Raleigh. "It's a time of looking back
and regretting, bu t it' s regretting
something I didn't know was happening."
How could he know? No one knew
about AIDS back then. How it was
spread . How deadly it was.
"On the other hand," Brantley
said, 'Tm celebrating that I'm still
'alive to take notice of it."
Indeed, Bill Brantley is very much
alive, doing what he has done .all
along: Talking too much; quoting the
Bible, favorite authors and poets;
cooking gourmet meals; laughing a
lot; painting; pontificating; and caring
for his roses.
He also takes 80 pills a day.
Brantley is thin, with white hair,
a white beard and clear brown eyes.
His voice comes from deep-down and
40 years of Kool Milds. It is authoritative,
stubborn and poetic, all at
once. Used to hold entire meeting
rooms rapt when he was vice president
of investor relations for the
Lowe's Companies.
Now, instead of schmoozing investors,
he is advising everyone how to
live. And every day he is alive,
Brantley shows that living with
AIDS can be a pretty wonderful, . fulfilling
adventure. AIDS is, Brantley
believes, freeing in its finality.
"Finally getting to be honest with
myself is what has made me tile most
happy ," Brantley said. "And AIDS
rnade me do it. I know who I am,
what I am, how I am and why I am."
First of all, he has come out as a gay
man - a fact he finally faced wholeheartedly
when h e was officially
diagnosed with HIV in 1988. He had
been married for 28 years before that.
Raised three sons and was a good provider
- everything they told him to
do back at Bunn Baptist Church, his
childhood congregation.
In 1987, he paid off the mortgage on
his house in Wilkesboro, gave his
wife the deed and moved to Raleigh
to star t life over on his own terms.
Two years later, when he found he
had bee n HIV-positive for eight
years, Brantley divorced his wife, so
she would not be financially responsible
for him.
■
Disease Clinic, where he became a
volunteer and peer counselor.
"It's a joy when Bill comes in," said
clinic manager Robert Dodge, who
has been caring for - and studying -
Brantley for almost five years.
"I think the .big thing is Bill's mental
attitude. He's not letting the disease
ccntrol his life, and the other
patients see that."
And, because he has lived so long
with the disease, Brantley is also
one of the clinic's guinea pigs, giving
blood, answering que stions, trying
new treatments.
Last May, Brantl ey was told he
could live another five ye ar s. "But
that'.s the mean," he said.
When a new patient comes in, Brantley
offers to take him or her to the
N .C. State University Arboretum,
where they walk and talk about
nothing for a while, just look at the
·ward to.''
His experience has fueled his activism
and his desire to make things
better for those who may take up the
fight after he is gone. ·
fn 1987, he co-founded the AIDS
Service Agency of North Carolina in
. Raleigh and served as its first director.
"Bill was right there telling us
what we needed to do," said Beth
McAllister, the agency's former executive
director.
"He did get frustrated with us in
the beginning, saying 'Hurry up and
get busy! Hurry up and get organized!'
"I understood," McAllister said.
· "People were .dying.
"Bill is one of those memorable people
that you meet," she said. "He's a
remarkable man, not only for fighting
this d isease, but for what he's been
able to accomplish. He's helped a lot
of people understand HIV. He is
extraordinarily compa ssionate."
"There is nobody in the world who is
more fortunate than I am ... It is just
incredible . God said, 'OK, you have this
disease, but I am going to give you
something no one has ever had and
that's friendship beyond belief."'
Once a jet-setting executive and
before that a vital Midwestern newspaperman,
Brantley has retired and
lives modestly on Social Security and
disability. He lost 30 pounds with in
six months of his diagnosis. He also
suffers from AIDS-related fatigue,
memory loss and confusion.
Recently, Brantley addressed a
class of psychology students. His s ubject:
death and dying.
"Death is a wonderful climax to
what we've got here," he said. "It's a
continuation of life. Who is to say
that it's not a continuation of the natural
order?"
He thought he was being kind .
"Well, I'm glad you got it," she said
when he told her he was ill. "You
chose it. I hope you die and I hope
you die painfully."
She then announced it to everyone in
the annual Christmas letter.
The fallout has been painful. Two of
Brantley's sons stopped speaking to
him, as did his sister, who lives in
Cary.
Only his eldest son, John, maintains
any semblance of family ties. Along
w ith the beefcake postcards friends
send from their vacations, Brantley
keeps "grandson art" on his refrigerator.
So Brantley made a new life, a new
family for himself .
· He started where his journey
through HIV began: At Duke University
Medical Center's Infectious
■
flowers . Then, in the shade house of
the Japanese Garden, Brantley sits
He recalled the night he sat with
40 Seconals and · a glass of water,
ready to commit suicide.
"Somehow, I decided it wasn't time
because I still had something to do,"
he said.
them down. Recently, Brantley's oncologist told
''Tell me your story," he will say . him that the AIDS-related cancer he
"And then we'll sit there until we run had suffered with for almost three
dry." years was gone. Gone.
When someone is told he has HIV, And so Bill Brantley continues on,
Brantley believes, he will often living with AIDS.
fashion his life after the first person That means savoring every moment
he meets with the virus. in the garden, every prayer in
For Brantley, that person was Se!- church, every face at the clinic .
den Cuniff, who returned Brantley's Every bowl of chocolate ice cream.
desperate call to an AIDS service Every morning. Every friend.
agency after he had been diagnosed. ''There is nobody in lhe world who
Cuniff, who died in 1990, is one of is more fortunate than I am," he said.
the only people for whom Brantley "It is just incredible . God said, 'OK,
still cries. you have this disease, but I am going
"I think it was his courage and con- to give you something no one has ever
fidence that stayed with me," Bran- had and that's friendship beyond
tley said. "You don't have to give up. belief.'
Even on bad days, you have the good "You can live a long time off of
ones to look back on, if not to look for- that.''
PAGE 17 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER. 1996 . .
-..:·:-::• N S M Wi
.........
Church & Or anization News
Led Casa de Cristo for 19 years
Pastor Fred Pattison retires
MORE THAN TWO decades ago,
there was a little church started in
downtown Phoenix, Arizona called
·Casa de Cristo. On one Sunday in
October, 1977 - 19 years ago - Fred
Pattison was installed as the pastor
of that assembly. Little did anyone
realize what was to happen over the
next several years with the littl e
church.
"God gave Pastor Fred visions,
plans, and insight that would lead to
changed lives, renewed . hearts, reconciled
families, and restored communities
in places we could have never
imagined," said Chuck Jorgenson,
moderator of Casa de Cristo Evangelical
Church.
Pattison is retiring on October 6. His
congregation and many friends in ministry
set aside September 21 as a celebration
of Pattison's work and
achievement at Casa de Cristo .
Many of the visions that Pattison
had were birthed at Casa and
Transitions
DAVID HOGAN, former organist
arid choirmaster at St. Francis
Lutheran Church in San Francisco,
died July 17 in the explosion of TWA
Flight 800. Hogan was a published
composer of church music as well as
an accomplished performer . He
served on the faculty of the Peabody
School of Music for nine years. For
the past three years he had been living
in Europe, writing music for the
thea,ter. He was enroute to his home
in Paris after a trip to the Bay Area
and Florida. He worshipped at St.
F rands the Sunday prior to his
death. During his time at St. Francis ,
David wrote a "Mass for St. Francis"
in which he set to music the text of
the liturgy used by the church .
Hogan, an Episcopalian, is survived
by his former wife and 14-year-old
daughter who live in Walnut Creek,
Calif., and his partner who lives in
Paris,_ France. ·
became instruments of God ' s service to
the community. Through Cristo Press,
The Evangelical Network, Phoenix
Evangelical Bible In stitute, Cristo
AIDS Ministries, and hundreds of
writings, Pattison kept writing, kept
preaching, and kept' the faith.
"I am in church today because of
Fred Pattison," ·Jorgenson said. "He
was like a lighthouse for me back in
1988 ... It is very bittersweet to think
of Fr ed retiring. However, it is also ·
an exciting, wonderful time of beginning
for Fred and Joseph, a new
chapter in their service to God."
New church opens
in Chattanooga
JOYFUL SOUND Christian Fellowship
in Chattanooga, Tenn. began
worshiping on June 30. Rev. Church D.
Thompson is pastor . For information
on the church call (423)629-0887, or
write P.O. Box 8506, Chattanooga,
TN 37414.
KELLEY COMBS, coordinator arid
chaplain for the San Francisco
chapter of Evangelicals Concerned
(EC) for the past 12 years, died
peacefully at home on August 15, 1996
after an eight year battle with a rare
form of lymphoma complicated by
HIV . He passed from .this life into
the next in the arms of his beloved
spouse of twelve years, David Kincaid.
From 1992 to 1995, Kelley was
on the Board of Directors of EC for
the western United States, serving as
Vice President._ One of Kelley's missions
in life was to help people reconcile
a strong Christian faith with a
healthy gay sexuality.
Kelley received a Bachelors of
Theological Studies in 1988 from the
School for Deacons, a program of the
Episcopal Diocese of California . He
was an active member of St. Gregory's
Episcopal Church. He is survived by
his mother, Doris Williams, and
brother Tim Combs of Karnack, Texas,
and _brother Pat Combs of Waco,
Texas .
PA&i 8,, • SECONP_SJONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
Attendance up 60 percent at
disfellowshipped Baptist church
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH of Granville,
Ohio, kicked out of the Columbus
Baptist Association for welcoming
gays and lesbians, has been blessed by
the punishment, according to Rev .
George Williamson, pastor of the
church. Since the church was ousted
from the CBA, gays, lesbians aqd
bisexuals from around the state have
joined First Baptist. Now attendance
is up 60 percent, and the congregation
has become stronger and more enthusiastic.
''.I think w_hen we got thrown
out of the church, that was what had
Events
Announcements in this section are provided
free of charge as a service lo Chrisrian organizations.
To have an event listed, send information
lo Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340 ,
New Orleans , LA 70182, FAX 10(504)899~
4014, e-mail secstone@aol.com.
Pentecostal Alltance
District Conference
SEPfEMBER 13-15, The 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, (518)372-6001.
Advance '96
OCTOBER 2-6, Advance Christian Ministries
sponsors its tenth annual conference
at New Caney, Texas, just north of Houston.
"A Call to Repentance" is the theme,
based on the promise and hope of II
Chronicles 7: 14. Advance Christian Ministries
has a primary goal of supportin_g
local ·pastors and churches. For over ten
years it bas been a leader in building fellowship
among independent, denominational
and support ministries. For information
contact Advance Christian Ministries,
4001-C Maple Ave., Dallas, TX
75219, (214)522-1520, FAX, (214)528-
1070.
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 Bruce S. Jarstfer,
P.O. Box 701592, San Antonio, TX
78270-1592, FAX (210)545-6906 or email
brucesj@aol.com.
Brethren/Mennonite
Biennial Convention
OCfOBER 11-13, "Piecing New Patterns
from Old Cloth" is the theme for the 1996
Brethren/Mennonite Council for Lesbian
and Gay Concerns (BMC) biennial convention
to be held at the Hotel Washingt6n
in Washington, D.C. With this conhappened
to all of them, and that
made it possible for them to think of
us as someplace safe they could
come," Williamson said. In June 1995,
the CBA voted 101-34 to revoke the
membership . The decision was
acknowledged by the Granvillebased
American Baptist Churches of
Ohio in September . News of the
CBA's decision brought gays and lesbians
to the church "very tentatively,"
Williamson said . They soon
becam e "just so enthusiastic and so
thrilled and so grateful."
vention, BMC celebrates 20 years of
building community and creating dialogue
within the church . The Names Project
AIDS Memorial Quilt will be in D.C.
during this weekend and a wide variety of
· events are taking place around the Mall
and the city . The facilitators of the General
Sessions and the Worship on Sunday
will be Cynthia Winton-Henry and Phil
Porter. Phil and Cynthia are teachers, performers,
lecturers, and philosophers.
They have co-directed WING-IT! Performance
Ensemble since 1989, and have
developed a · technique and philosophy
called "Interplay," a combination of
improvisation, spiritual discipline, and
play, which they teach to groups of all
sorts. In addition to the general sessions,
other activities will include workshops,
dinner, and an auction. The workshops
will address topics such as art, relationships,
racism & heterosexism, and spirituality.
Conference participants include lesbian,
gay, and bisexual people, their
families and friends. Registration fees are
based on each participant's income level.
For more information, write BMC, Box
6300, Minneapolis, MN 55406-0300 or .email
BMCouncil@aol.com or call (612)
305-0315.
Mothers & Sons Campout
OCTOBER 12- 13, Camp Sister Spirit
sponsors a campout for mothers and sons.
Registration fee of $10 includes food and
tent or RV space. For infonnation contact
Camp Sister Spirit, P.O. Box 12, Ovett,
MS 39464, (601)344 - 1411,
sisterspir@aol.com.
Mission to Mexico
NOVEMBER 23-31, Camp Sister Spirit
sponsors its annual trip to lsla Mujeres,
Mexico. The organization is seeking donations
of medical supplies, small toys, and
school and craft supplies to take to Mexico.
Departure is from New Orleans and
lodging is at a hotel on the island. Right
and accommodations are very reasonable.
For infonnation contact Camp Sister Spirit,
P .O. Box 12, Ovctt, MS 39464 ,
(601)344-1411. sistcrspir@aol.com.
Church & Or anization News
More Light churches
receive Witherspoon
Society award
THE 73 MORE LIGHT Presbyterian
congregations across the nation were
given the Witherspoon Society's Congregation
Award at the society's
annual luncheon in Albuquerque on
June 30.
About 75 members and p_astors of
More Light churches came forward to
receive the award . The Rev. Byron
Shafer presented the award on
behalf of the sodety to Virginia
West Davidson, a member ·of Downtown
United Presbyterian Church in
Rochester, N.Y. "The More Light
churches are demonstrating the advent
of a new heaven and a new earth -
. one of full inclusion and participation
for all Presbyterians," Shafer said.
Davidson said "the heart of the
[More Light) movement is hospitality
- loving each other as we love
ourselves." She said that "as love
grows, mistrust and fear melt away."
The society gave its Andrew Murray
Award to the Rev. Bruce Rolstad, a
Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) minister from nearby Santa
Fe. For more than 33 years, Rolstad
has been active in economic and social
community _ development, rural
health and housing d'evelopment and
various social welfare ministries.
Welcoming and
Affirming Baptists
hold first
national gathering
THE LAKE STREET Church of Evanston,
Illinois was the host of the first
national gathering of Welcoming and
Affirming Baptists, August 16-18.
Over fifty people registered for the
conference, representing the 27 congregations
and 4 organizations that compose
the Association of Welcoming
and Affirming Baptists.
The conference began with a strong
presentation by Peggy and Tony
Campolo. They modeled how to disagree
and remain in relationship.
On Saturday morning, members of
disfellowshipped American Baptist
churches participated in a panel discussion
about their experience and
where they are now. Nearly every
church has experienced a new sense of
vitality and growth. Budgets have
increased, worship attendance has
grown and enthusiasm has exploded.
The afternoon session was divided
between a panel that explored the
wider implications of Welcoming and
Affirming and a time to develop strategy.
UFMCC founder
honored by Human
Rights Campaign
REV. TROY PERRY has been selected
to receive the 1996 Human Rights
Campaign Equal Rights Award. He is
being honored for his "commitment to
fairness, dedication to equal treatment
of all people, and zealous and
remarkably successful efforts to help
everyone better understand gays and
lesbians," according to Keeping In
Touch.
"I am deeply honored by the
award," Perry said. "I look forward
to sharing with gay brothers and
sisters who will be in attendance to
this first-ever gay and lesbian political
convention." The award was
scheduled to be conferred at the
Human Rights Campaign's first lesbian
and gay political convention,
OUTVOTE '96, at an awards dinner in
Chicago.
Long-time lesbian
leader ordained
REV. JUDY L. MAYNARD, a minister
at Metropolitan Community
Church of Richmond, Va., was
ordained to the gospel ministry on
Aug. 10. The long-time leader and
activist in the lesbian and gay· community
said that she was "committed
to taking our message outside the four
walls of the church, !l)ld committed to
building bridges of understanding
through every creative means God
opens to us." · Rev. James Birkitt, Jr., a
former staff member of MCCRichmond
and executive director of
the Lamba Church Growth Institute
said, "Judy's ordination is especially
significant, first becaus.e it was celebrated
in historically conservative
Richmond and, secondly because the
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ordination . site was geographically
equidistant between two of America's
most notorious gay television preachers,
Jerry Falwell to the west /Ind Pat
Robertson to the east." Presiding at
the ordination were Rev. Arlene Ackerman,
Mid-Atlantic District Coordinator
for the UFMCC, and Rev. Thomas
Bohache, associate minister of
MCC of Northern Virginia.
Mercy of God
Cominunity has
new web site •
THE MERCY OF GOD Community
has joined the Internet by launching
its new site on the World Wide Web.
The URL is http://mgc.org/mgc.
MGC is a Christian, ecumenical,
inclusive, non-canonical, and nonresidential
religious order. The main
purpose of the website is to extend
the community's outreach and set the
stage for "cyberministry."
St. Michael ECC
reopens
ST. MICHAEL ECUMENICAL
Catholic Church in Monte Rio, Calif.
was scheduled to begin holding serv-
Christian Communit News
ices. on Sept. 1 at the Monte Rio Community
Church. St. Michael parish
was started in 1994, but services were
ended when the lay minister in
charge as well as many members of
the congregation were displaced by
the January, 1995 flood. Lyle Dotson,
the parish's pastor, was scheduled to
be ordained at the church on Sept. 8.
He is a graduate of Presbyterian
seminary and a resident of Guerneville.
For information about the
church call (707)869-3781.
I PACT
lesbian & gay
News & Entertainment
for New Orleans since 1977
Wicked Stage Lesbian Voices
QuarterScenes Movie Police
HIV News Realpolitic
Directory Queer Planet
and more
phone 888-944-6722
fax 504-944-6794
email impactmail@eor.com
www.eor.com/impact/
Can we do anything to counteract
the homophobia rampant in the United States?
You bet we can!
Celebrate Solidarity Sunday, October 6, 1996.
Solidarity Sunday invites all Americans to stand together and say:
•Enough is enough. Let us end_ verbal and physical gay bashing."
Wear a rainbow ribbon on Solidarity Sunday and take the Solidarity Pl6dge
Invite your friends and loved ones to join you!
Prayer cards and ribbons are available from your local Dignity Chapter or
order them for $15.00 per 100 plus postage and handling from:
Bruce $ . Jarstfer, MD
National_Solidarity Sunday Coordinator, Dignity/USA
P .. O. Box 701592
San Antonio, TX 78270-1592.
Fax: (210) 545-6906
Check, Visa or MasterCard accepted.
PAGE 19 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
RightroJs Religion
By John L. Holleman
Contributing Writer
Righteous Religion: .Unmasking the
Illusions of Fundamentalism and
Authoritarian Catholicism by Kathleen
Ritter and Craig O'Neill ·
Haworth Press, New York, 1996
IT IS CURRENTLY fashionable in
some circles to speak of the Roman
Catholic Church in the United
States as being a "dysfunctional family"
without much specific content
beyond an expression of dismay about
personal experiences or tales one
hears. If one does not hear this
phrase applied lo fundamentalist
Protestant Christ ianity, it may well
be due to the congregationalist polity
which discourages us from thinking
of an extended family beyond the
local congregation . Nevertheless,
this does not preclude the experience
of dysfunctionality by a number of
people devoted to both brands of
Christianity.
This book has been written for such
people . . By delineating the character
of that experience, and offering
insight into the depths from which it
springs, Ritter and O'Neill hope to
Books
help such people transform their confusion
and bewilderment into an
opportunity for spiritual maturation.
Their effort will be dismissed by
some as "heresy" or "humanism," but
such people will be poorer for the
preemptory reaction . For those who
have ears to hear, let them hear.
If there is a common denominator to
these two seemingly disparate
approaches to Christianity, it might
be summed up in the word
"authoritarian." Now, this has
always been a tempting choice when
chaos and forces beyond our control
threaten to overwhelm us. Thomas
Hobbes, for example, · reacted to the
English Civil War by arguing for a
strong central authority (monarchy).
We instinctively rally to a strong
leader or a clearly formulated teaching
when there is social distress and
the old familiar guide mark ers no
longer seem to be in place. Even in
the calmest of times, there is plenty
in life to make us uneasy about our
Jives and what they might signify.
Coming Outof Shame:
So far, so good . If there is one thing
the human psyche cannot tolerate, it
is confusion. Gen. 1:2 even describes
creation as the initiation -of order out
of chaos (formless void). But there is
a danger here. If concern is allowed
to become desperation, tyranny of
whatever , description too easily can
■
see the insensitivity toward other .
people so often associated with
"control freaks" and "Bible-bashing."
Such insensitivity is the font of the
abuse of legitimate power and the
obsessiveness with loyalty and conformity
that can occur in authoritarian,
or righteous, religion. One of the
One of the oldest control techniques is to
induce what John Bradshaw calls "toxic
shame," the conviction that one is worthless
and fatally flawed, which renders the victim
dependent upon the overseer of salvation,
be it a priest, pastor, bishop ...
be chosen as the way out. That such a
fateful decision can have highly
destructive consequences is borne out
in the personal stories illustrating
this book.
At the very least, the embrace of
absolutism can dehumanize us,
devaluing the authentic "inner
voice" of a person to the point of
extinction. When that happens, we
■
oldest control techniques, of course, is
to induce what John Bradshaw calls
"toxic shame," the conviction that
one is worthless and fatally flawed,
which renders the victim dependent
upon the overseer of salvation, be it a
priest, pastor, bishop, or Board of
Deacons . The result is a dutiful, obedient,
docile slave - not a child of
God.
Transfonning Gay and -lesbian Lives
If one were to offer a criticism of
this book, one might be that it too
easily glosses over the profound mistrust
of human beings that underlies
so much of righteous religion. Individualism
may indeed be a problem
in this country, but going to the
opposite extreme only produces people
so devoid of any self-worth that
they become self-destructive and
torch others in the process of selfimmolation.
Of course, one could also
argue that this book is only for those
with enough emotional health to
overcome denial and awaken to the
serious dysfunction in the religious
beliefs they have so fervently held .
The trick is not to be destroyed by the
experience .
AN EMPOWERING GUIDE to living Kaufman, one of the nation's leada
healthy, proud, gay life was ing experts on the subject, and
rather quietly released almost a year Raphael, an award-winning fiction
ago and deserves revisiting. "Coming writer, charted their way out of
Out of Shame" shows gays and lesbi- shame by having "the courage to
ans how to reclaim self-worth, using suffer and the determination to
tools of awareness and self- endure." The key, they say, is to
acceptance. break the silence that is the hall-
By; its very nature, shame damages mark-of shame.
self-esteem and disrupts intimacy, Their book is unique because it is the
leading to a crippled identity. Trans- first to systematically apply shame
forming shame's inherent self- theory to th~ lesbian/ gay experience
loathing and self-destructiveness, in order to illuminate how shame
two men began a deliberate journey impacts the lives and development of
toward wholeness and self-respect. lesbians and gay men.
Gershen Kaufman and Lev Raphael "Coming . Out of · Shame" takes
illuminate that path for the gay and several approaches: The book traces
lesbian community in this book . how gays and lesbians have been
Everyone has felt the sting of shaped by society's historical and
shame to some degree or witnessed cultural shame; explores the sources
the subsequent loss of dignity and of shame directly connected to being
honor. Tragically, for so many in the gay; examines how shame becomes
gay and lesbian community, these internalized and why; probes the
feelings have become a way of life. four critical emotions that make -up
PAGE 20 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
homophobia; offers strategies for
healing; shows how to collect and
store self-esteem; and reveals how to
enhance self-esteem, deepen intimacy,
and strengthen identity .
In "Coming Out of Shame," the
authors spotlight society's obsession
with perfection and difference and
challenge the perception that gays
and lesbians ,are somehow flawed . To
remove gay men and lesbians from
the line of fire, they construct a
model for change that supports,
defends, and empowers the gay community.
Self affirming and inspirational,
this book transforms gay shame into
gay pride, breaking down the wall of
silence that has imprisoned the gay
community. Finally -free to _ travel
the path to personal growth and
acceptance, gay men and lesbians can
begin a profound process that is nothing
less than reinventing themselves.
In that regard, "Righteous Religion"
is certainly a step in the right
direction. It seeks to help those
wounded by their experiences of
authoritarian religion by means of
revealing the source and nature of
.their trauma and giving them hope
that their disillusionment need not
be the last word . Spiritual maturity
is not a luxury, but a necessity, if
"religion" is not to become an obscene
word in our vocabulary .
. . .
,a@ iv re,;,'f:it%~t%@P!HitiMM MMM M !®bMMm · Gatherings
By Robert A. Bernstein
Contributing Writer
THE STORY OF Jane !1fld Jim Spahr,
told in a compelling new video, casts
a _wry light on the n,ational "family
-values" debate.
Jim and Jane wer.e married in 1964,
and they celebrated · the 30th anniversary
of the event in late 1994 with
a gala weekend - fete at the Silver
Penny Farm, a Northern California
resort. The ambience was pure Norman
Rockwell. Celebrants spanned
four generations, including Jane's
twin sister and their parents, Jane
and Jim's two sons, and the sons'
wives and children. All joined in ·
hailing the constancy of Jane and
Jim's commitment to one another; arid ·
the richness of their contribution to
the lives of others. ·
That celebration forms the backdrop
of the video, and ii opens with
Jim reprising his wedding toast to
Jane of 30 years before. The toast, -he·
says, "was really corny, sexist,
r.eally terrible - but I really like it."
And indeed, even Rockwell himself
·inight have blushed at the sugary
prose: "She's true/ she's sincere/ a
perfect dear almost divine./ All the
others are fair/ but none can compare/
to that dear old girl of mine.'.'
But the Rockwellian blush presumably
would soon turn to bewilderment.
For as the video goes on to explain,
Jane and Jim were divorced in 1977.
The video's title - ''_Your Mo.m's a
Lesbian, Here's Your Lunch, Have a
Good Day at School" - suggests the
reason. What the improbable title
fails to convey, however, is the
astonishingly candid spirit that converted
potential family tragedy into
gentle drama.
"Mom" happens also to be the first
openly gay minister ever to be called
as pastor of a Presbyterian church.
After nearly two years of often-bitter
litigation before church courts, however,
the denomination's highest
judicial commission in 1993 denied
Jane's right to serve, and . her case has
become a kind of metaphor for the
tensions cleaving mainstream
churches over the role of gay clergy.
Through her ordeal, Jim remained ·
one of her staunchest supporters,
along with sons Jimmy and Chet,
Jim's second wife Jackie, and Jane's
mother, father and twin Joan . All of
whicl1 could of course be rather unsettling
to the "traditional family values"
crowd.
But to the Spahrs - after the initial
Videos
. angst accompanying Jane's coming out
13 years into the marriage - it shakes
down to a few simple points. One is
that they made a vow at their wedding
to love one another forever, and
they -refuse to treat the pledge as
mere formality. So when they
divorced, as Jane puts it in the video,
"you just keep loving one another into
the next part of your life." Another
of their ·guiding tenets has always
■
"A sorority sister
of mine ... saw me at
a funeral. She said,
'I saw some information
about your
sister in the paper.'
And I thought oh,
God ... Now people
will know. And she
looked at me and
said, 'Aren't you
proud?"'
■
been "truth-telling" - a term that
has become a sort of family mantra
and the quintessential Spallr family
value.
Absent truth-telling, they say,
Jan e's lesbianism would have
brought disaster to the entire family.
"I probably would have died an
alcoholic or something," Jim says. •
And both he and Jane marvel at how
Jane's coming out seemingly cured a
facial skin infection that had
resisted prolonged medical and psychiatric
treatment. As Jim recalls: .
"I don't mean a little red mark here
and there ... .I watched her face rotting
off her bones. Then Janie said,
'Jim, I'm a lesbian,' and out walked
this healthy-skinned, mentally
alert human being . And I want a
refund of all those doctor bills."
Their sons, only 9 and 7 at the time,
also credit openness and honesty as
their life lines during that crucial
period . As Jimmy, the then 9-yearold,
remembers it, in the remark that
spawned the video's title: "It wasn't
like, 'Your ~om's . a ,le,sbia9, here's ,
your lunch, ' have a good day at
school.' It was, 'Your mom's a lesbian,
. your dad's heterosexu<1l, and
here's what that means .': .. So there
was a lot of tru"th-tellirtg, and we
were prepared for whatever might
happen ... .If you're honest with
your kids and show them the world
[as it is), they're going to turn out a
whole lot better than if you teach
secrecy, teach them lying."
Chet agrees: 'The scandal would be
then to lie to us and to each other and
be totally phony and totally
unhappy in their relationship and
think that the kids would not see
that.'' And Jimmy sums up, "If you
want a wealthy family, not in cash,
but boy, we were wealthy in terms of
spirit and love." Jimmy is now a
New York documentary film producer,
and Chet is in law school.
A particularly touching moment in
the video is sister Joan's description ·
of her own personal moment of truth
that occurred during Jane's litigation
with church authorities. Joan had
told few people about her sister's lesbianism
and so was unprepared when
the story hit the nation's front pages .
"A sorority sister of mine, a lovely
elegant woman, saw me at a funeral,"
Joan recalls. "She said, 'I saw some
information about your sister in the
paper.' And I thought oh, God . .. it's
finally come .. . Now people will
know. And then she looked at me
and said, 'Aren't you proud?"'
At this point, Joan's eyes mist <!S
she relives the emotion of the
moment. "Hah, man, aren't I proud?
I said, 'Yeah , thanks.' And I
thought, oh, you idiot, you've been
hiding this wonderful person, and
people are saying, aren't you proud?
I said [to my husband), 'Did you hear
,•t,!'"
,,i.-.•
;2:~ ~.;..; . .,, i....:-c-.r;;,,.:-a.=..-.,;:_ ~.: ... ~,
~ ·~, . .,. ··,fl';!-:--~--·_.,.-,._
what she said. She said, aren't you
proud?' ... I started coming out . .. ..
And p'eople ... wer~ really nice about
it, saying, '(Janel really is
wonderful."'
Jim and Jane laugh togethe r -as they
recount the boys' reactions to the
news that their mother was a lesbi
· an . Jimmy _said, ''Mommy, you love
people and that's what really
matters." Little brother Chet added,
"Oh, Mommy, you love people, let's
go tell the church ." Jane chudUes.
"Jim and I said, well, we don't think
the church is going to be as excited as
we are.''
True. _But video viewers, I predict,
will be excited by what Producer/
Director Ann Macksoud has fashioned
into a poignant, moving tale of
genuine family values. It's avail able
for $32.25 ( or $25 each for orders
of two or more) from Leonardo's
Children, Inc., 26 Newport Bridge
Road, Warwick, NY 10990, (914)986-
6888, e-mail Jobywan@warwick.net.
,..
Catchup
on the,
newsyou
nlissed!
...
New subscribers can order a complete
set of six back issues - and read up on
a year's worth of information of
intere s t to gay anQ lesbian Christians .
See the order form on Page 22.
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Complete gay-frlendiy resources and businesses: accommodations, bars, bookstores, dentists, doctors, lawyers,
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:::i~t~!7J,f;;~~!!:;i;,g2z th~1t~ik7s Y:J~~e":~~~:: 1Ki~~v~inw~i7:~;~;t~~i~7~~'~~~ t;:;:;~:/~~e
the information contained in the Gayeflow Pages.• Pat Csllfla, The Advocate Advisor
•ay far the most comprehensive and up-to-date gay guide . . . Gayel/ow Pages . . . includes the standardentries for
bars and restaurants . . . But the Gayel/ow Pages excels thanks to its additional alphabetized listings by city for
AIDS and HIV se!Vices, legal resources, organizations (C8tegorized by purpose or interest), religious groups,
publications, businesses and more. In short, if an entity welcomes gay, lesbian and bisexual people, no matter how
unlikely the service or remote the town, it's probably listed in the Gayelfow Pages . ... Hardly a week goes by that it
is not consulted in the Out offices.• Reviewed by Jeff Howolls, OUT (Pittsburgh, PA), December 1994
•For over 12 years Gayel/ow Pages has been our most-used resource book. We recommend it to every pet1ormer, ;~~:i, ~~':Yn~edu1~Jk'J~sRg;,zg;v~r;r;:u,,tr,,;~'E,a~;~h J:::,~s~:cn:r:~'l:~~~;~;3;e in contact wlth. It's the
PAGE 21 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
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PAGE 22 • SECOND STONE • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
SINCE
1988, A
FRIEND
FOR THE
JOURNEY
Second Stone The National Ecumenical And
Evangelical Newspaper About Being
Gay And Christian
Orangevale, California
Article on
Episcopal
bishops incorrect
Dear Second Stone:
The Associat ed Press article on the
Episcopal bishops who signed a document
indicating that they may break
away from the church because of the
church court's decision in the case of
Bishop Walter Righter got the facts
wrong as to who signed and where
they were from.
H ere are the corrected dioceses/
cities and .the correct names of the
people who signed Hie document calling
for schism: Dallas, Texas - James
Stanton; Fort Worth, Texas - Jack
Ike r; Eau Claire, Wisconsin - Wil
·liain Wantland; Memphis, Tennessee
- Jim Coleman; Orlando, Florida -
Jack Howe; Jacksonville, Florida -
Stephen Jecko; Albuquerque, New
Mexico - Terence Kelshaw; Houston,
Texas.- Maurice Benitez (retired};
San Joaquin, California - John-David
Scofield.
Sincerely,
Paul Co1my
SECOND STONE Newspaper, ISSN
No. 1047-3971, is published every
other month by Bailey Commu nications,
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans,
LA 70182, secstone@aol.com. Copyright
1996 by Second Stone, a registered
trademark.
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SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical
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newspaper with a specific outreach to
gay, lesbian and bisexual people.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
*' Maniage ~jHSt-esiJlaifl
as black and white
Urbana, Illinois
The difference
between church
weddings and
civil marriages
Dear Second Stone:
Unfortunately, I am not- surprised by
Jim Baile'y's editorial in the July/
August 19% edition of Second Stone.
Heterosexist / homophobic opponents
to gay /lesbian marriage almost without
exception equate church weddings
with state -recognized marriage. Mr.
Bailey's editorial starts with this
same assumption. To illustrate that
in fact there is a difference I need
only point to those ministers who will
perform weddings but will not sign a
marriage license. Until the couple
has an agent of the state sign their
license, they are not yet married legal
I y.
From the perspective of the church,
a commitment_ ceremony - what the
minist er does excluding signing
the license - is a sacred and spiritual
ceremony that should not be entered
lightly by any couple. Clearly, what
God's purpose is for queer persons can be
open to interpretation with respect to
the religious ritual and the purpose
and meaning of having a wedding. It
would also be beneficial for heterosexuals
to do the same given their
abysmal record of long term commit ment.
However, the marriage license is
merely a legal contract binding · two
individuals. This contract allows the
government to recognize . "familia l
units" for the purposes of immigra -
SEE LETTERS, Page 15
By Eric Zorn
The Chicago Tribune
STATEMENT NO. 1: Same-sex marriage
must be forbidden, said the
Republican senator from Wisconsin,
"simply because natural instinct
revolts at it as wrong."
No. 2. An organization opposed to gay
marriage claimed legalizing them
would result in "a degraded and ignoble
population incapable of moral
and intellectual development," and
rested this belief on the "natural
superiority with which God (has)
ennobled heterosexuals."
No . 3. "I believe that the tendency to
classify all persons who oppose gay
marriage as 'prejudiced' is in itself a
prejudice," grumped a noted psychologist.
"Nothing of any significance is
gained by such a marriage."
No. 4. A U.S. representative from
Georgia declared that allowing gay
.marriages "necessarily involves (the)
degradation" of conventional marriage,
an institution that "deserves
admiration rather than execration."
No . 5. "The next step will be that
gays and lesbians will demand a law
allowing them, without restraint,
to ... have free and unrestrained social
intercourse with your unmarried s~ns
and daughters," warned a Kentucky
congressman . "It is bound to come to
that. There is no disguising the fact.
And the sooner the alarm is given and
the people take heed, the better it
will be for our civilization."
No . 6. "When people of the same sex
marry, they cannot possibly have any
progeny," wrote an appeals judge in a
Missouri case. "And such a fact sufficiently
justifies tho se laws which
forbid their marriages ;"
No . 7. Same-sex marriages are
"abominable," according to Virginia
law. If allowed, they would
"pollute" America.
No. 8. In denying the appeal of a
d~:. Pontius' Puddle
WE $C.1Et(n&,s ARE" ~IN~TO
SPENt> i:\ ~ILL\0t-,\ !)0U .. 11.~S
SEA.RCl--\lN~ FOR L\i=E l=ORl'I\S ON
MARS ,1-\AT" 1,HWE: LON~ SINCE
BEEN l=0SS,IL\'1.EO At--10 INMnVE".
same-sex couple that had tried unsuccessfully
to marry, a Georgia court
wrote that such unions are "not only
unnatural, but. .. always productive of
deplorable results," such as increased
effeminate behavior in the population
. "They are productive of evil,
and evil only, without any corresponding
good ... (in accordance with)
the God of nature."
No. 9. A gay marriage ban is not discriminatory,
reasoned a Republican
congressman from Illinois, because it
"applies equally to men and women."
No. 10. Attorneys for the state of Tennessee
argued that such unions should
be illegal because they are
"distasteful to our people and unfit to
produce the human race ... " The .state
supreme court agreed, d eclaring gay
marriages would be "a calamity full
of the saddest and gloomiest portent
to the generations that are to come
after us ." ·
No. 11. Lawyers for California
insisted that a ban on same-sex marriage
is nec es sary to pr e vent
"traditional marriage from being contaminated
by the recognition of relationships
that are physically and
mentally inferior ... (and entered into
by) the dregs of society."
No. 12. "The law concerning mar-
SEE COMMENT ARY, Page 15
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RECOVERY,
FromPage7
grow, heal, and learn. Love is
patient. Lo ve yourself. Be patient
with yourself . Growth takes time .
Give yourself and others time and
space needed for growth, healing and
recovery. "Jesus kepi growing in wisdom
and stature and in favor with
God and people." Luke 2:52 "We are
to grow up in all things unto Christ."
Ephesians 4:15
These steps to recovery are just a
beginning .. You can follow through in
CHRISTIAN DAD,
From Page 6.
of the Lord. As we began to return to
our seat one of the men came to me and
laid hi s head on my shoulder and
cried. What he had just witnessed
with the four of us at the altar he
want s to see in his family. He doesn't
hav e that now from his family. I felt
God would havl) me encourage him
though . I told him that God is no •
your own spiritual growth into self
esteem and effective Christian living
and sharing by finding a group or
starting your own spiritual support
group in your home. Be creative. Let
the Holy Spirit guide you into whatever
is fitting and workable for you.
God wants you to be whole and happ y
even mor e than you do! ·
"13 Steps to Recovery from Bible
Abuse" is soon to be published by Chi
Rho Press, P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg,
MD 20898.
in their church . One young man told
me of the time his pastor called him
into his study verbally abused him,
took him by the ,arm and showed him
the door and as the young man was
going out the door kicked him in the
seat as he left the church . That isn't
God.
When I got on the plane Sunday
evening to fly back home, I noticed
my eyes were stinging from all the
tears. But my heart was full of love
· and admiration for the group of men
classif.
BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS
ENLARGiNG THE CIRCLE: Pullen's Holy
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Send $10 plus $1.25 postage to BOOK, Pullen
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for information write: David, Apt. 124, 2900
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20008. E-mail: Mrblanc@aol.com. B
"One young man
told me of the time
his pastor ... showed
him the door and ...
and women that I had spend the week- - HURTING - SEEKING real friends and perend
with. What a precious bunch of haps that special person to share my life
friends, with. l'ni 40, blue eyes, brown/gray hair, 6',
WARNING REGARDING PRISON CORRESPONDENCE:
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harmful lo you if passed on to employer,
family or others.
kicked him in the
seat as he left the
church. That
isn't God."
■
respecter of persons or families and
what He has done in oudamilyHeis
able to do for his. The theme I feel
God wants me to share is the responsibility
that the gay person has
toward their family. It's normal to
get upset when we are mistreated, but
I feel God would have us show Christian
love and kindne ss when mistreated.
The fruit of the Spirit that
come from a Christian's life is to be
Mercy has become one of the most
beautiful words in the _ English language
to me. Recently 1 got a message
over America Online from a Christian
young man who told of the times
he has prayed, begged God, confessed
it and still God never made him heterosexual.
One day I felt God gave me
a thought. I-didn 't one day decide I
was going to be heterosexual. It was
natural and the way I felt . I don't
believe that the kids in the gay community
one day wake up and decided
they will be gay.
Second Stone: Thank you, Dave for •
sharing your story. It gives many people
the hope they need to see that not
only is our Sovereign God able to open
some hardened hearts in the chu rch,
but that God is busy doing just that!
God bless you !
"Love and Joy and Peace ... " So many REV. SAMUEL KADER is the Senior
Christians in -their frustration in Pastor and co-founder of Community
having a child that is gay want to Gospel Church in Dayton, O/iio. This
·spiritually beat them up -with scrip - gay-positive, full-gospel clzurch has
lure . If scriptur e could change the reached out through televised serfeelings
and desires of the homosex- mons to the greater Metropolitan
ual then we would see gays becoming Dayton area, and is now 10 years old.
straight overnight. I have talked to Previously, Pastor Kader·· · also
young people that have been kick ed founded Reconciliation MCC -in Grand
out of their churches, relieved of Rapids, Michigan, and pastored
the ir Sunday School classes, asked to other MCC churches in Dayton, Ohio,
leave the choir. I have met so many and Melbourne, Australia. Samuel
wonderful musicians that have such Kader has been a conference speaker
talent with the p,iano and organ only and has written several articles in
to be told they are no longer welcome the gay press since 1975.
PAGE 24 • SECOND STONE• SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1996
195, incarcerated. Love the L9rd! Believe in
real love like Grandma and Grandpa shared.
Play guitar/sing, -art, lift weights/work out.
Please give me a chance. Thank you. Please
write: Michael David 648558, Eastham P.O.
Box 16, Lovelady, TX 75851. 101%
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Seeking midwest women, over 51,
classified ad oraer rorm
When? [ ]Jan/Feb [ ]Mar/Apr [ ]Mat/Jun [ ]Jul/Aug [ ]Sep/Oct [ ]Nov/Dec
Where? [ ]Books/Pubs [ ]Business Ops [ ]Employment [ ]Friends/Relationships
[ ]Genl Interest [ ]Mail Order [ ]Merch [ ]Organizations [ ]Prof Services
[ ]Real Estate [ ]Retreats [ ]Roommates [ ]Travel [ ]Videos
Your name, ___________________ _
Address, ___________ ~------
City/State/Zip'------------------
Your ad copy ________________ _
How much? Count the number of words in your ad and multiply that figure by .35.
Send a check in that amount and this form to: Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New
Orleans, LA 70182. If your ad has less than 20 words, think of some more words. If
today is after th e first of the month, it's too late for the current issue . Just like the
grocery store, you have to pay for it before you get it. We'll send you a copy of the
issue (s) in which your &d appears . TO ORDER BY FAX OR E-MAIL, SEE THE
INFORMATION ON PAGE 22.