Second Stone #9 - Mar/Apr 1990

Second Stone #9 - Mar/Apr 1990

9

1990

Mar/Apr 1990

THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER FOR GAV AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS $2.25
· ··· Many Gays & Lesbians 'Unreachable'
· By Churches' Best Efforts
By Jim Bailey
Editor
Even with the extensive
media coverage of recent
ordinations of gay and
lesbian clergy, many a
conservative church-goer
would still express surprise
that the words "gay" or
"lesbian" and "Christian"
could be spoken together.
What is unsettling is the
number of Gays and
Lesbians who express a
similar surprise, apparently
completely unaware of
resources that support Gays
and Lesbians of Christian
faith.
Although twenty years
have passed since the
founding of major Gay and
Lesbian ministries,
churches and religious
groups in many areas are
still struggling to find their
place in the community.
SEE COVER STORY, Page 9
·11 The 1990 Census: Im Transformation:
Tell The Census Bureau The Gay Community
Learns To Love Who You Really Are
I
Commentary by Ivy Young By Bill Urban
-
I
Fr. Joseph Leo Killian, Jr.
AIDS Claims First President
Of Dignity/USA
Father Joseph Leo Killian,
Jr. died in late December at
the Veteran's Hospital in
Westwood , California. In
1969, he was secretary, treasurer
and membership
director of the committee that
was to form the first Dignity
group . Two years later,
Killian embarked on an
outreach program, getting
Dignity to participate in the
· Cay and Lesbian Pride Parade,
arran - ging a retreat at the
remote St. Andrews
Benedictine Prio r y, and
combing the country in
search of similar groups.
To permit a branch .of the
organization to open in
Kentucky he created the
chapter program still in use,
making Dignity a national
organization. When . officers
were elected for Dignity/
National in 1972, Killian
became the group's first
elected president. At the end
of 1971, there were nearly 200
members. Today there are
about 7,000 members in 110
chapters, as well as affiliated
groups around the world.
Honored at Dignity's 20th
anniversary banquet last year,
he challenged members to be
open to the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit in the face of
official opposition and
reminded them that Dignity 's
original Declaration states,
"We believe that gay and
lesbian Catholics are
members of Christ's mystical
body, numbered among the
SEE KILLIAN, Page 20
Coalition for Traditional Values
Gays Rally .Against
Conservative Hate Group
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gay
and lesbian and . other civil
rights groups held a press
conference, rally and march
. in the nation's capital to
confront the prejudice espoused
by the Coalition for
Traditional Values (CTV) at a
CTV symposium entitled,
"The National Task Force for
the Preservation of the
Heterosexual Ethic."
Between 500 and 750 Gays
and Lesbians rallied against
CTV and its leader, the Rev.
Louis Sheldon, at a demonstration
against homophobia
in Washington's Dupont
Circle . The demonstration
was sponsored by a coalition
of D.C.-based gay and lesbian
groups, including the
National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force.
SEE COALIDON, Page 20
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In Our Next Issue:
P-FLAG
Mother's and Father's Day stories
from parents whose love overcame
their fears - and the group who helped
them do it - Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays.
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From The Editor
"To Champion The Cause Of Homosexuality"
AFA Doesn't Want Gays and Lesbians On The Tube
There is a continuing perception
among many Gays and Lesbians that,
for them, being a Christian is
impossible. Nowhere is this
perneption perpetuated any stronger
than through the work of
conservative Christian groups as they
continue their hate-filled campaigns
against gay rights, or anything gay.
They say they "love the homosexual,
but hate the sin of homosexuality;"
but their lie becomes obvious when
they find themselves unable to point
to a single aspect of their work
designed to draw Gays _and Lesbians
into the Christian community. -
Donald E. Wildmon, Executive
Director of the American Family
Association said in a recent editorial
that his group is doing "what every
person in a free democratic society
has the right to do, trying to
influence our society toward the
direction we feel is best." His
publication, The AFA Journal, started
in 1977 as a one page newsletter with
150 readers . The AF A claims its most
recent issue was the first to reach one
million readers.
revenues of other stores continuing
to sell them.
The AF A also does not like
programs that "champion the cause
of homosexuality." Any positive
portrayal of a gay or lesbian person or
couple or situation is likely to trigger
a campaign against advertisers. The
AFA wants homosexuality portrayed
on television as an immoral life, full
of despair. In the February issue, The
Journal informed its readers that 43%
of homosexuals have 500 or more
different partners in their lifetime
and that they meet their partners in a
city park (77%) or public restroom
(31%.)
any other image. They're comfortable
with miserable .. people meeting
anonymous sexual partners in a
bathroom or city park once a month
or so and troubled by Gays and
Lesbians being seen as happy,
well-adjusted, successful and
committed in relationship. What an
odd twist for someone promoting
family living!
The lesson of Christ was to lead
people fr~m despair. The right
wing's solution to homosexuality is
for it to disappear. It's the only
answer they have. They dispute the
estimate ·that 10 percent of the
population of the United States is gay
or lesbian. Okay - let's say that it's
In This Issue
FEATURES
COVER STORY
A TRANSFORMATION
five percent - or even one percent.
That's still a couple of million people.
And ex-gay ministries can't change
them. Certainly there is no answer
for these people in the hate that the
AFA displays towards Gays, Lesbians,
non-Christians and others.
Finally, in an editorial about the
December protests at New York's St.
Patrick's Cathedral The Journal says,
"Our enemies are out of the closet;
they are all in the open now." While
it sounds like the AFA would like to
line up Gays and Lesbians and shoot
them, God's call is for love,
compassion and reconciliation. For
the AF A, this is going to be a tough
one.
□
The AFA crusades against sex, Page9
violence and anti-Christian bigotry in
the media. Their letter campaigns to
adverti sers hit television executives
where it hurts - iri the pocketbook.
Their boycotts against 'retailers of
pornographic magazines have been
effective in getting magazines out of
some stores and hurting the
The same -issue also attacked ABC's
movie about Rock Hudson saying
that the movie "evidences · the
suffering that comes with AIDS, yet
never indicts the homosexual
lifestyle that has made AIDS
epidemic." And concerning an
episode of Doctor, Doctor, the Journal
says that in a "blatant insult to
viewers' intelligence" the show
spouted the "ludicrous falsehood,
'AIDS doesn 't discriminate' ... No
rational mind can truly believe that,
yet - the networks continue their
campaign to push that lie in family
time 'entertainment-' programming." IN TIIE GAY COMMUNITY Page 10._
Letters
Granville, North Dakota
Masthead Still
Not Inclusive
Dear Second Stone,
Thank you for a newspaper which
is always very informative. It is very
helpful to my ministry for me to
have a news.paper such as yours so
that I can find out about news
'The AFA, like so many other right
wing groups, is comfortable with
homosexuality being dismissed as a
life of despair, and very troubled by
□ speaking to me, although the
masfhad doesn't indicate it .
Yours Truly,
Rev. Grant Speece
Denver, Colorado
Reader Corrects
Our Mistake
affect ing Lesbians and Gays. I do, Dear Second Stone,
however, have one small suggestion.
In your masthead, could you _ This letter is intended to correct an
somehow indicate that your error made recently in your
newspaper ·is also for Christians who, newspaper. The Reverend Julian
while not lesbian or gay themselves, Rush is not the Senior Pastor of
are concerned about the Christian Metropolitan Community Church of
lesbian and gay community because of the Rockies . For the past sixteen
their friendships with . and ministries years the Reverend Elder Dr. Charles
to the lesbian and gay .commu p,ity? l , R. i>,Ar,ehart has ',,been our Senior
am a heterosexual, but my ministry is . Pastor and we are very proud of that
with people of all sexual preferences . fact. Within the UFMCC, Reverend
My friendships with some very A,rehart has .the second longest
compassionate Lesbians rtho I first pastorate, second only to the
met in seminary has allowed me to Reverend Elder Freda Smith.
have a special c9cncern for the civil Thank you for ·your attention to
rights of Lesbians and Gays. These this .matter.
friendships have also allowed me to In the Service of Christ,
discard any theological baggage I once
had with regard to Lesbians and Gays.
Because of this, I find your news paper
Dan Mahoney
Assistant Minister
COLUMNS
FROM THE EDITOR
COMMENTARY
CLOSER LOOK
FAMILIES
TRAVEL
PARTING THOUGHT
DEPARTMENTS
LETTERS
NEWS BRIEFS
- ORGANIZATION NEWS
CALENDAR
BOOK REVIEW
CLASSIFIED
fJ THE SECOND STONE
Page 2
Page 3
Page 14
Page 15
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Page 19
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Page4
_.'q
Page 12
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Page 19
Commentary · · , · □
Tell The Census Who You . Really Are
By IzyYoung
Director, National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force's Families Project
As you can see, 1990 ends in a zero.
That means it's time for the
decennial count, by the Census
Bureau, of the entire U.S. population.
Ordinarily, the Census Bureau
ritual would be of little or no
consequence to the lesbian and gay
community. But this year things are
slightly different. Unlike past
national counts, the 1990 census
could have a direct impact on some
of the issues affecting Lesbians and
gay men.
For the first time ever, the Census
Bureau has added the category .
"unmarried partner" to the relationship
section of the questionnaire.
Expanding the selection choice
beyond "ro.ommate/partner" or
"roomer/boarder," the new category
is, according to some sources, the
Bureau's attempt to get an accurate
count of the number of heterosexual
couples living together without
"benefit of marriage."
By simple deduction, however,
Census officials will also be able to
determine the number of same-sex
couples living together in committed
relationships. That same-sex cou.
pies information will be published
along · with the statistics on
heterosexual unmarried partners.
For those of us working in the lesbian
and gay families arena, that
information could prove vital to the
success of our efforts in the future.
The Census Bureau has been
round I y criticized · for its failure to
THE SECOND STONE Newspaper is
published every other month by Bailey
Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New
Orleans, LA 70182. Copyright1990 by
The Second Stone, a registered trademark.
ISSN No. 1047-3971
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PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
alert affected groups that the question
even exists, or, for that matter, what
"unmarried partner" actually means.
There has been no outreach effort, no
community education, no discussion
with lesbian and gay activists in
particular, about how best to ensure
that the question is understood and
answered accurately.
The Census Bureau does n(jt
perceive, or more likely, does not care
that for lesbian and gay couples
answering the survey hqnestly
involves more than a simple check
off. The issue of government
intrusion and privacy is a crucial one
for many Lesbians and gay men; yet,
census officials have ·made no effort
to counter the fear and apprehension
that could lead to a serious
undercount of same-sex couples. ·
Some .lesbians and gay activists have
predicted that as few as ten percent of .
those couples affected by the
"unmarried partner" question will
respond honestly. But, a recent poll
conducted by the Washington Blade
found that of the couples responding,
seventy-five percent said they would
answer the question truthfully.
Granted, the Blade survey was
conducted in a major metropolitan
area with a history of gay visibility.
Similar results may not emerge from
some small town or hamlet. Then
again; they might.
Our responsibility now is to provide
for our community what Census
Bureau officials did not - information
and education. Our community
must be persuaded to put aside the
fear of being exposed and answer the
Census · honestly. We have nothing
to lose by being truthful.
The struggle to have our
relationships and our families
recognized and protected will assume
much greater urgency in the decade to
come. Accurate statistics gathered
from the 1990 Census .could provide
us with a small, but important,
weapon to help wage that ,struggle.
New Report Highlights Homophobic Violence
ATLANTA - A new report from the
Center for Democratic Renewal ties
the rising tide of violence against
Gays . and Lesbians to far right and
white supremacist organizations that
are using anti-gay bigotry to attract
new recruits.
The report is entitled Quarantines
and Death : The Far Right 's
Homophobic Agenda. "Gay people
have increasingly become the target
of bigoted violence," explained
Daniel Levitas, executive director of
the Atlanta -based CDR. "This
report describes the theoretical
framework of the far right's
homophobic agenda and outlines the
basic steps needed to confront
anti-gay bigotry."
The 40-page monograph was written
be CDK research director Leonard
Zeskind and Mab Segrest, a long-time
hum .an rights activist, who is
currently director of research and .
publications for North Carolinians
Against Racist and Religious
Violence, based in Durham.
"Homophobic violence challenges
all citizens who wish to preserve the
fabric of democracy to act," says ·
Segrest, who serves on the board of
directors of the CDR.
The Center for Democratic Renewal,
formerly known as the National
Anti-Klan Network, was founded 10
years ago as the ·nation's principal
clearinghouse for information on
community-based responses to hate
group activity and bigoted violence.
Quarantines and Death examines
such issues as why gay men and
Lesbians have been targeted by far
right groups, t.he nature of
homophobic violence, and the
ideology of the new right and the far
right regarding homosexuality, AIDS
and civil rights.
According to Zeskind, white
supremacists believe that AIDS is a
"racial disease" carried by Jews and
Blacks.
"The Christian new right ·maintains
it is a punishment sent by God for the
sin of homosexuality," adds Zeskind.
"Whatever the perception, a steady
stream of murders and assaults has
been the result."
The Center for Democratic Renewal
is a non-profit organization with
offices in Kansas City, Missouri,
Seattle, Washington, and Atlanta,
Georgia. The CDR implements
programs of research, training, public
education, community organizing and
technical assistance to counter w.hite
supremacy, religious intolerance and
homophobic violence.
Quarantines and Death is available
for $5.00 (including postage and
handling) from the Center for
Democratic Renewal, P. 0. Box 50469,
Atlanta, GA 30302.
OPEN and AFFIRMING
REGIONAL CONFERENCES 1990
CONGREGATIONS
"ONA"
Open and Affirming (ONA) congregations
in the United Church of Christ ·
WELCOME gay, lesbian and bisexual
people into the church's life and ministry.
There are now more th~n 35 ONA
churches nationwide.
WHAT DO THEY SAY ABOUT BECOMING "ONA?" .
", .. one of the most interesting and worthwhile things we ever did." •
"It was the most spirit-filled experience our church has ever
been through."
COME AND FIND OUT MORE. JOIN IN .EXPLORING
and PROCLAIMING GOD'S INCLUSIVE LOVE!
For information I registration in your area:
ONA '90 - EAST: June 1 - 3 (Worcester, MA)
(Write: P.O. Box 403, Holden.MA 01520)
ONA '90 - MIDWEST: May 4 - 6 (Chicago, IL)
(Write: 1630 West Pierce, Chicago, IL 60622)
ONA '90 - WEST: April 29 ° May 2 (Burlingame, CA)
(Write: 751 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, .CA 94002)
ONA '90 ~resented by the United Church Coalition for LesbiaiVGay Concerns, (UCCUGC)
March/ April 1990
... ,
•
Newsbriefs
Vatican Will Let
Women Perform
Weddings
The Vatican has granted the far-flung
Roman Catholic archdiocese of
Alaska permission for six female
parish administrators to officiate at
weddings when priests or deacons are
not available.
The National Conference of
Catholic Bishops had asked for such
permission at its November meeting,
responding to a request from
Archbishop Francis Hurley of
Anchorage .
The Catholic Church "has a history
of adjusting to extraordinary
situations," Hurley was quoted as
saying in a church newspaper.
-Associated Press
Conservatives
Declare
"Spiritual Warfare" ·
On Gay Games
VANCOUVER , B.C. - Full page
advertisements calling for "spiritual
warfare" and attacking the 1990 Gay
Games III ran in the Vancouver Sun
and Province, identifying those
behind the anti-gay ads only as
"Christian leaders who live in
Gre ater Vancouver."
The ads, billed to Robert Birch,
pastor of the Burnaby Christian
Fellowship in Vancouver , were
denounced by mainstream church
leaders as well as some
fu ndamentalists who are also
pro t esting the 1990 Vancouver Gay
Games . .
Asked about the charges of
cowardice in not clearly identifying
those respons ible for the ads, a
spokesperson said the people who
placed the ad "might show their
courage in another way in the
future ."
-Pittsburgh 's Out
Lesbian Conference
Committee Meets
ATLANTA - The National Lesbian
Conference interim task committee
met here to further define the
membership of the steering committee
that will guide the planning
proce ss for the conference, which is
scheduled for April 24 -28, 1991 in
Atlanta.
Regional planners will be chosen at
meeting s which are being organized
before the next large national
planning meeting. The first steering
committee session is scheduled to be
I am with You
Fear Not!
(A Corrective Look
at the Lesbian and Gay
Clobber Passages)
Professionally produced Video-tape
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A new book by the Rev. Brnce Roller
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Grand Rapids, Ml
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Faithful Publications
P.O . Box 3701
Grand Rapids, Ml 49501
held in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday ,
April 27. . The third national
planning meeting, to which Lesbians
from around the country are invited ,
will be held in Kansas City the same
weekend, April 28 and 29.
For information about the
conference or to get involved, contact
Michelle Crone at (518) 463-1051.
HUD Chiefs Shun
Family Leave
Provision
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The two top
officials of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) recently denounced a labor
contract that would extend domestic
partnership benefits to the federal
agency's gay and lesbian employees.
Jack Kemp, Secretary of HUD, alo11g
with Under Secretary Alfred A.
DelliBovi, claimed the contract with
the HUD employee union illegally
"redefines the family ."
The controversy was sparked by a
clause in the contract of the
American Federation of Government
Employees . AFGE's proposed
definition of "family" would provide
lesbian and gay employees with
familial leave benefits identical to the
privileges already offered heterosexual
workers.
The AFGE contract is currently
under legal review. According to
Barbara · Davidson, AFGE union
representative, the portion of the
contract allowing employees in
non-traditional relationships to
receive equal familial leave benefits
should stand up to legal scrutiny .
NGLTF encourages Lesbia ns and
Gays to write HUD and urge the
department to include Gays and
Lesbians in its familial leave policy.
Write to The Honorable Alfred A.
DelliBovf, Under Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development,
Washington, DC 20410 .
New Legal Director
Takes Reins At
NGRA
SAN FRANCISCO- David A. Bryan,
former executive and legal director of
the Texas Human Rights Foundation,
moved into the top legal position as
Legal Director of Nationa l Gay Rights
Advocates.
Bryan helped prosecute the Texas
Human Rights Foundation's
disciplinary complaint against Judge
Jack Hampton of Dallas, who was
publicly censured last Novemb e r for
anti-gay bias .
Founded in 1977 in San Francisco,
N atio nal Gay Rights Advocates fights
for the r ig hts of gay men, Lesbians
and , through the AIDS Civil Rights
Project , persons with HIV disease .
NGRA aggressively pursues impact
litigation in employment and
.11 THE SECOND STONE
□ housing discrimination, family
partnerships, reform of sodomy laws,
anti-gay violence, and first
amendment rights.
Imani Temple
Will Ordain Women
The Rev. George Stallings, a Ca tholic
priest who last summer broke with
the Roman Catholic Church and
formed his own congregation said his
church will encourage the ord ination
of women and allow birth control
and abortion.
He also said the lmani Temple will
permit optional celibacy , which
means priests will be able to decide
whether or not they want to marry .
Stallings defended his church's
stance on birth control and abortion,
saying, "The Bible has nothing to say
about abortion or birth control. The
positions we are taking are not
counter-Biblical; they are allowed
within the expression of faith."
-Associated Press
Fathers' Stories
Sought
Tw o women are collecting short
stories written by fathers of gay or
lesbian children . The collection of
writings will be used to help other
families understand and accept a gay
son or da1,1ghter. , Thoughts from a .
variety of ethnic, cultural and
religious backgrounds are being
sought. Writers may contribute
anonymously under a pseudonym .
For information contact Ann
Davidson, P.O. Box 8265, Sanford, CA
94305 (415)857-1058.
Lutheran Churches
Face Disciplinary
Action
SAN FRANCISCO - Bishop Lyle
Miller of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America's Sierra Pacific
Synod has filed disciplinary charges
against two congregations that
ordained gay and lesbian pastors in
spite of a church policy against calling
"practicing homosexuals."
First United Lutheran Church and
St. Francis Lutheran Church were
charged with "willfully disregarding
and violating a criterion for
recognition" as a congregation of the
ELCA
The recently ordained pastors, Ruth
Frost, Phyllis Zillhart, and Jeff
Johnson, had at one time been found
qualified for the ministry by Lutheran
Church authorities, but newly
developed guid ,. foes by the ELCA
require homose xual clergy to abstain
from sexual activity . As a result, the
local Bishop of the ELCA had refused
to ordain the candidates or to
recommend them for pastoral
positions.
-The Lutheran and other reports
Newsbriefs , · □ ·Gay Ordination
A Top News Story
for Lutherans
The challenging by two San Francisco
Lutheran Churches of a churchwide
policy barring practicing Gays and
Lesbians from ordained ministry was
the number . two denominational
news story of the past year according
to The Lutheran, the magazine of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. The denomination's $15
_million deficit was the . number one
story.
World's Only Gay
and Lesbian Arab
Group Seeks
Members
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Gay and
Lesbian Arabic Society (GLAS) of the
U.S., the first such group in the
world, including the Middle East, is
looking for members and other
people interested in Gay Arab issues.
GLAS, formed in the nation's
capital a year ago, currently has
dozens of members around the
country. The group is open to Gays
and Lesbians of Arabic orgin or
descent, and their supporters. To
accommodate increasing West Coast
interest, GLAS has recently opened a
San Francisco chapter.
· For more information on GLAS or
to become a · member, write to The
Arabic Society, P.O. Box 4971,
Washington, D.C. 20008. In San
Francisco, contact Huda Jadallah at
(415) 864-3112: .
Farmers Insurance
' Company Faces
Gay Discrimination
Suit
SAN FRANCISCO - A Sacramento
Superior Court judge has turned
down a request by Farmers Insurance
Company to dismiss a lawsuit
alleging discrimination against a gay
couple. The couple, Boyce Hinman
and Larry Beaty, filed the suit after
Farmers refused to sell them a joint
"umbrella" liability policy.
Farmers has taken the position that
they will only issue Hinman and
Beaty separate policies - at twice the
cost - because they are not married.
In the suit, the National Gay Rights
Advocates contends that Farmers has
violated both the Unruh Civil Rights
Act and the anti-discrimination
provisions of the insurance code.
"Boyce Hinman and Larry Beaty
have lived together for eighteen
years," commented NGRA Executive
Director Leonard Graff. 'They own a
home, two cars, and all of their
furniture together; they share the .
common necessities of life and are
each others' primary beneficiaries in
their wills and insurance policies.
Farmers has already issued them
joint homeowners and automobile
insurance policies. Making them buy
two separate umbrella policies, at
twice the cost, is, quite plainly,
arbitrary discrimination."
Robinson New
Dean of Samaritan
LOS ANGELES - The Rev. Sandra
Robinson, Executive Director of the
Department of People of Color,
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches, has
been named Dean of Samaritan
College.
New Program
Targets Young
Activists
A new education and training
program for young lesbian and gay
activists has been launched by the
California-based Critical Literacy
Institu .te in the first national effort to
locate and encourage the next
generation of gay and lesbian leaders.
The New Pacific Academy for Lesbian
and Gay Community Service and
Activism will open in June, 1990,
with a one month intensive training
. program at the ·• University of
California campus in Berkeley,
California.
The 1990 "Basic Training" will be
offered to 200 young people, 18 to 30
· years old, with demonstrated
commitment to social service or
political activism benefiting the gay
and lesbian community. While no
tuition is. required of participants,
New Pacific is soliciting donations to .
help defray travel costs.
For information on attending,
presenting a workshop, volunteering
in support work, or making a
donation, contact Donna Ozawa at
New Pacific Academy, 2338 Market
St., San Francisco, CA 94114,
(415)252-1690.
Bon Jovi Sorry For
Calling N.Y.Giants
'Faggots'
A row over anti-gay comments ·made
in Dublin, Ireland, by the heavy
metal band Bon Jovi ended when
their lead singer apologized to the gay
community in · Ireland for his
remarks. Ireland's National Gay
Federation had asked police · to
investigate reports of the remarks,
saying they appeared to be a violation
of anti-hate legislation passed last
year. The comments were made by
group member Jon Bon Jovi at a
concert in Dublin before a crowd of
some 8000 people.
The remarks were reported in the
national media to have included
reference to the National Football
League's New York Giants as being "a
bunch of... faggots" among other
insults. Under the Prohibition of
Incitement to Hatred Act 1988, which
came into effect at the end of
December, it is an offense to make
public comments which are
threatening, abusive or insulting and
which also are likely to incite hatred
of certain groups, including Gays.
Following extensive media
coverage of the NGFs anger, Jon Bon
Jovi issued a statement two days after
the concert, saying he felt he owed
the NGF an apology. He said he had
never intended to arouse any hatred
or animosity toward the community
and explained that his remarks had
been in the context of hearing of his
favorite football team, the New York
Giants, losing to the Los Angeles
Rams.
Health Institute Has
Toll Free Number
The National Institutes of Health has
instituted an 800 number -
1-800-AIDS-NIH (1-800-243~7644) in
order to make information about
studies more readily available to
"An
indispensable
handbook"
health care providers and prospective
patients. A staff member will be
available to answer questions for
callers Monday through Friday, from
noon to 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. If a
patient is accepted for a protocol and
enrolls in the study, all· subsequent
travel expenses are paid by NIH. In
addition, all medical care provided at
NIH is free. The National Institutes
of Health has provided national and
international leadership in the fight
against AIDS.
Right Wing
Produces Slick,
Anti-gay Video
Jeremiah Films, a right-wing
fundamentalist film and video
production company has produced an
anti-gay video featuring misleading
information about AIDS. The
company managed to gain access to
gay and lesbian organizations by ·
adopting the phony gay lookalike
name of Pink Triangle Liberation
. Productions. The video,AIDS: What
You Haven't Been Told, contains
interviews with leaders of the
National March on Washington and ·
extensive footage of the protest and
people with AIDS.
-Pittsburgh •s Out
AIDS: SHARING THE PAIN
A Gulde for Caregivers
Bill Kirkpatrick
Practical and sensitive guidel.ines for the care of those
infected by human immuno-deficiency virus-HIV.
"An indispensable handbook ... positive, practical,
compassionate, pastorally sensitive and Christian:·
-WILLIAM D. HORTON in Franciscan
$8.95 paper
"Extrem useful"
AIS ISSUES Conlrondng tbe Challenge
edited by David G. Hallman
Drawn from the historic ecumenical consultation on AIDS which
included theologians, social ethicists, persons with AIDS; health
care professionals, community service representatives and
church denominational members, AIDS Issues argues for the
churches to take progressive steps and assist the reader to
confront the challenge of AIDS with intelligence and compassion.
"This book is extremely useful in helping people to identify
and become ilWOlved:'-DR. JONATHAN MANN, Director, Global
Program on AIDS, World Health Organization
$12.95 paper i, fol bool<Slores a d•oct~ from
•The Pilgrim Press
C 475 Riverside Dr.-10lh floor, New York, NY 10115
March/ April 1 .990
AT LAST.
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the English Riviera, an elegant Victorian mansion 1n San Fraoc1sco, a magnificent French chateau,
and more! • h nd
Investigate gourmet restaurants, intimate bars and glittering nightspots. Acquire first a
knowledge, travel tips, and up to date information from gay travel agents, and tour operators. . ,
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News briefs
Activists Aim For
Passage of Federal
Gay Rights Bill
in 1990's
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force will
celebrate on March 25-27 the 15th
Anniversary of the introduction of
the Federal Lesbian and Gay Civil
· Rights Bill with a series of
commemorative events designed to
increase momentum and awareness
of the anti-discrimination legislation.
Among other things, NGLTF will
launch a massive gay and lesbian
constituent post card campaign to
increase support for the bill in the
U.S. Congress. The objective of the
Task Force is to pass the bill during
this decade.
The bill, officially known as The
Civil Rights Amendments Act of ·
1990, was introduced into the 94th
Congress in 1975 by thenRepresentative
BeUa Abzug, the bill's
first sponsor .
Support for the bill has grown
steadily over the years. The act
would prohibit discrimination on the
basis of affectional or sexual
orientation in the areas of housing,
employment, credit, public · accomodations
and federally assisted
progr<1rns.
As part of its commemorative post
card campaign, NGLTF will distribute
thousands of cards to gay and lesbian
organizations nationwide. Constituents
are asked to complete the
cards and forward them to their
lawmakers, urging them to
cosponsor the bill. ·
For . more information and to
obtain lobbying kits and post cards,
contact NGLTF at 1517 U St. NW,
Washingotn, D.C., 20009, Attention:
15th Anniversary, or call
(202)332-6483.
Gays Protest at
California Churches
Greater Religious . Responsibility, a
group of gay activis _ts in the Los
Angeles area, claimed responsibility
for splattering red paint and posting
anti-church posters on church
buildings in California. Safe sex
posters and red handprints were
found on the exterior ·of the Catholic
Archdiocese of San Francisco
building.
-The Latest Issue
Exhibit Features
Lesbian Art
NEW YORK - The Lesbian and Gay
Community Services Center
National Museum of Lesbian and Gay
History is currently exhibiting
"Works By Lesbian Artists" curated by
LAV A (Lesbians About Visual Art).
II THE SECOND STONE
The exhibit, a national juried show
which includes paintings, drawings,
photographs, ceramic and mixed
media works created by
approximately twenty lesbian artists
from across the country, runs
through March 22nd. For furthur
information about LAV A contact
Kathryn Kirk at (718) 963-4712:
Survey Seeks Info
From Black Gay &
Bisexual Men
LOS ANGELES - AIDS in the United
States is disproportionately affecting
the Black community, particularly
Black gay men, according to the Black
C.A.R.E (Community AIDS Research
and Edu cation) Project, which is .
committed to the fight against AIDS
in the Black community . The group
is gathering information directly
from the community through a
national, anonymous survey, the
Black Men's Health Survey , of Black
gay an9- bisexual men. To parti"cipate
in the survey, write to Dr . Vickie M.
Mayes, Black C.A.R.E Project, 1283
Franz, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1563 or
call (213) 206-5162.
. Florida County
Extends Housing
Protection To Gay
Men and Lesbians .
Palm Beach County became the first
county in Florida to prohibit
discrimination in housing, the financing
of housing, and public
accomodations when the county
commission amended its fair
housing laws on January 16, 1990.
"For the first time since the anti-gay
Anita Bryant crusade in 1977, some
gay men and lesbian Floridians are
able to enjoy equal protection under
the law ," said Rand Hoch, attorney
for the Palm Beach County Human
Rights Council. The Council, along
with the gay oriented Atlantic Coast
Democratic Club, were the two
organizations instrumental in
lobbying for tl}e changes in the !aw.
A hearing related to the ordmance
on January 16 lasted almost four
hours . Thirty people spoke in favor
of the ordinance, while only 17
opposed it. Speakers from both sides
quoted the Bible. Only one member
of the clergy spoke against the
ordinance, while two rabbis, a
Presbyterian minister, an Episcopalian
Bishop, and a minister from
the Metropolitan Community
Church called for adoption of the
ordinance.
A law prohibiting discrimination
against gay men · and Lesbians was
approved in 1977 in Dade County,
Florida, but it was repealed at a
referendum later that year after a
bitter campaign mounted by singer
Anita Bryant.
Newsbriefs
ABA To Add
Discrimination
Protections
WASHINGTON , D.C. - Successful
lobbying by the National Lesbian and
Gay Law Association (NLGLA) caused
the American Bar Association to
include a ban against discrimination
based on sexual orientation in its
draft Model Code of Judicial Conduct.
Specific protection in the code means
that Lesbians and gay men can expect
and demand fair treatment in . the
judical system.
The code applies to judges
throughout the country and subjects
them to discipline if they violate its
ethical canons. It is hoped that this
action will send an explicit message to
judges that they will be held
personally accountable if they
discriminate against gay people.
Suzanne Bryant, one of
Washington's two regional board
members for NLGLA said that,
"Because Lesbians and gay men have
received unfair treatment in the .
court system, many have not availed
themselves of existing legal
protections. Finally, we can expect
and demand equal treatment under
the law."
For more information about the
Code changes or the NLGLA write to
14 Beacon St., Suite 720, Boston, MA
02108.
Texas Bishop
Opposes Ordination
Of Woman, Gays
Episcopal Bishop Clarence C. Pope of
Fort Worth has formed a new synod
in the church because he opposes
changes such as the ordination of
woman and gay people.
"We believe our seminaries,
bishops and standing committees
have not been overly scrupulous ... in
screening out some of those whom
are inappropriate for holy orders," he
said .
- Montrose Voice
Gay Activist's
Home Torched
After weeks of vocal opposition from
anti-gay Christians, the efforts of gay
activists, led by Brad Evans , were
successful in allowing the gay play ,
The Normal Heart, to be presented at
the Southwest Missouri State
University. As the curtain went up,
Brad Evan's home burnt down.
Investigators found evidence that a
flammable liquid had been poured
throughout the house. Evans lost all
of his possessions, including his two
cats.
Some 1,200 people showed up at the
college in support of a protest called
by the fundamentalist, antipornography
group, Citizens
Demanding Standards, to denounce
the play as "obscene."
State Representati ye Jean Dixon
protested the work saying its purpose
is "to promote the homosexual
lifestyle as a viable, legitimate
lifestyle."
-Latest Issue
National Gay
Family Registry
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Human
Rights Campaign Fund has decided to
develop a nationwide family registry
program to build grass roots support
for the concept of lesbian and gay
families.
The national group hopes the
Registry will play an important role
in building national support for
domestic partnership laws and
changes in federal law to end
discrimination against lesbian and gay
relationships .
"Many · Lesbians and Gays have
created true families, with strong .
bonds of love and commitment that
withstand society's pressure to
destroy them, " said Tim Mcfeeley,
executive director of the Human
Rights Campaign Fund. "While we
fight to broaden society's definiton of
the family to encompass lesbian and
gay relationships, we must provide
support and validation to our own
community," he said .
Lesbians and Gays who would like
to participate should contact Kathleen
Stoll at HRC in Washington,
(202)628-4160.
Senate Passes
Hate Crimes Act
WASHINGTON, D .C. - The U.S.
Senate voted 92 to 4 to pass the
Federal Hate Crime Statistics Act.
Before voting for passage, senate law
makers rejected, by 77 to 19, a move by
Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) to attach
a four-part anti-gay amendment to
the bill.
The landslide vote marks the first
time in the history of the Senate that
the pervasive problem of anti-gay
and lesbian violence has been
.addressed, the first time gay-positive
legislation has passed the Senate, and
the first time the gay and lesbian
community has defeated Helms on a
gay-related issue.
The bill requires the U.S.
Department of Justice to "acquire data
about certain crimes which manifest
evidence of prejudice based on race,
religion, sexual orientation, or
ethnicity."
Repeal Effort
Fails In Georgia
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Georgia House
of Representatives rejected a move to
repeal the state's "ancient statute"
that outlaws sodomy .
Before the vote, House Speaker ·
Tom Murphy told the Atlanta
Constitution/Journal he didn't
"know enough about sodomy to talk
about. Believe me, I don't know
about it." In response to an Atlanta
gay and lesbian demonstration
against sodomy laws, Murphy said,
"Those gay people, I didn't go around
them. I didn 't want to get too close."
In its post -vote editorial, The
Atlanta Constitution said of speaker
Tom Murphy, "Ignorance is a fully
plausible explanation for [the
sodomy] vote, though it is rio
comfort to be confronted so brazenly
by a legislator boasting of his
stupidity ."
Toy's Aren't Us
The Vice President of Advertising
and Marketing for Toys R Us has
apologized to a viewer who
complained that the company had
sponsored an episode of Thirty
Something in which two gay men
were shown in bed. Ernest V.
Speranza wrote, ''Needless to say, we
were very disappointed with the
content of the episode in question."
Toys R Us, whose Chairman is
Charles Lazarus, (461 Fram Road,
Paramus, NJ 07652, (210)599-6954) has
cancelled future •adverstising on
Thirty Something .
The American Family Association ·
has called on its members to
complain to other sponsors of the
show, American Home Products,
(Anacin, Dimetapp) and Beatrice
Companies, Inc ., (Hunt, LaChoy,
Orville Redenbacher, Wesson.)
Toys R Us President Robert
Nakasone said the company had
nothing against gay and lesbian
people and denied that the decision
to stop advertising on Thirty
Something was connected .to the
letters from APA members.
ACT UP Protests
At St. Patrick's
NEW YORK - Some 2000 demonstrators
gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral
. to protest . pronouncements by the
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
and the Vatican that condoms
should not be used as protection
<1-gainst AIDS.
-Baltimore Alternative
Andy Rooney
Reinstated
NEW YORK - CBS News reinstated ·
Andy Rooney three weeks into a
three month susp ension without pay
for .aHeg e.dly making anti-gay
remarks . Rooney denied making the
comments, which were reported in a
national gay magazine . Letters to 60
Minutes had been running in favor of
Rooney.
You spend only ·
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March/ April 1990 a
Gay Couple Serve As Godparents
Walter Baker and Gerald Bowman,
a gay couple who marked their 10th
anniversary last fall, served as
Godparents at the Baptism of
Margaret Catherine Twigs Sevco at
Christ Episcopal Church in
Coudersport, Pennsylvania, population
3000, in the Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania.
Baker, a member of Integrity, was
- :(,'-'
elected for a three year term on the
Vestry of Christ Church last year in
an open election with. six candidates
running for four open positions. A
year ago, the Vestry elected him to be
one of the two delegates to the
Diocesan Convention. He was also
nominated to the Standing
Committee and, although not elected
this first time around, continues to
Margaret Catherine Twigs Sevco with (left to right) parents Thomas and
Margaret Sevco, Godparents Walter Baker and Gerald Bowman, and the ·
Vicar of Christ Church, The Rev. Herbert Geer McCarriar, Jr.
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be active in parish life, serving as
usher and lector in tum with others.
Bowman, who is also active at
Christ Church, was confirmed this
past September. He is Vice President
of the Coudersport Fine Arts
Council. The two are co-owners of
the Hotel Crittenden in Coudersport ,
Both have found satisfaction in the
Episcopal Church, through the
supportive outreach and welcome by
the Vicar; The Rev . Herbert G.
McCarriar, Jr., who has for three years
presented more people for
confirmation/reception than any
other priest in the Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania.
The parents of the baby have been
active at Christ Church for more than
a year, and were confirmed/received
this past September. Thomas Sevco
is a hairdresser and Margaret is an
English teacher at Coudersport Ar.ea
High School.
Made "Dumb" Comments, Bishop Says
Newly Ordained Priest Fired
At the request of the board of Oasis,
a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese . of
Newark with the lesbian and gay
community, the Rev. J. Robert
Williams has resigned as its
Executive Director. He has also been
suspended from performing all
priestly functions by his bishop.
Williams addressed a conference in
Detroit in mid-January sponsored by
Integrity/Detroit and a local parish.
During his remarks , Williams
expressed the view that celibacy was
only rarely a positive option, and that
virtually all persons' lives would be
improved by sexual relationships. He
also said that, "Monogamy is as
unnatural as celibacy. If peole want
to try, OK. But the fact is, people are
not monogamous. It is crazy to hold
this ideal and pretend · it's what we're
doing and we're n bt."
Williams was ordained on
December 16, 1989 by the bishop of
Newark, the Rt. Rev. John S. Spong
in a highly publicized service. The
intense media attention was based on
the mistaken notion that Fr.
Williams' ordination was the first of
an openly non-celibate gay man in
· the Episcopal Church. It was, in fact,
merely the first such ordination in
the Diocese of Newark.
The widespread reporting of
Williams' remarks at the conference
led Bishop Spong to admonish
Williams, calling his remarks
"dumb." Williams refused to retract
his remarks. He said, "I'm not
making a decision to leave the
[Episcopal] church unless they force
me to leave." But he added, "Before I
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got ordained, I was thinking of
starting my own church, and that
may be something I'll have to do
after all, in order to tell the truth."
Various bishops have been calling
for a church trial for Bishop Spong .
Williams has accused Spong of _
"looking for someone to sacrifice to
take some of the heat off of him." On
January 29, a group of anti-gay
bishops met with the Primate of the
Episcopal Church, the Most Rev.
Edmond Browning. In a release at the
end of the meeting, Bishop
Browning expressed his "deep regret
and sorrow" over what he called "the
intemperate and tasteless comments
of Robert Williams." However, he
also said that "the issues for us as a
church are deeper" than the
ordination of Robert Williams or
"his demeanor, regardless of how
very sad that has been." Among the
deeper issues he cited were the
church's pastoral response to
homosexuals and the appropriateness
of ordaining them.
The board of Integrity, Inc., the
nationwide lesbian and gay ministry
of the Episcopal Church, issued a
unanimous resolution stating its
agony over the division among
Williams, a long-time Intergrity
member and founder of
Integrity /Dalla s; Spong, one of
Integrity's principal supporters in the
House of Bishops; and the board of
Oasis, which includes several
Integrity members, most notably
Integrity's founder, Dr. Louie Crew.
Kirn Byham, Integrity's president,
said, "The media created Robert
Williams and it destroyed him. He
was certainly not the 'first openly gay
non-celibate male to be ordained in
the Episcopal Church.' The other
bishops became upset only because
there was so much publicity about the
ordination. Bishop Spong became
upset only because there was so
much publicity about Robert's
remarks,"
Business or
Personal ...
Try a Second Stone
dassified Ad
II THE SECOND STONE
Cover Story
Let Your Light Shine
How To Get Mo·re Recognition For Your Church Or Group
By Jim Bailey
Editor
The good work your church
or group does to impact your
neighborhood and entire ·
community is newsworthy
and deserves recognition.
Food drives for the hungry,
emergency housing you
provide for the homeless,
disaster relief programs, and
important guest speakers or
· musical groups are examples
of things you do that would
interest people beyond your
immediate church
membership.
and information, regular readers may
already know about the church or
group. Here are some suggestions for
reaching new prospects. ·
The Daily Newspaper
group and your activity' in the
community. You may be invited to
discuss any number of topics
including the homeless, AIDS
projects, abortion, etc., depending on
your ministy. Don't limit your
interest to discussions on religion/
homosexuality. (And watch out for
"shock" radio and TV shows. Hosts
who specialize in confrontation have
their minds m;ide up - and so do
their listeners/ viewers!)
Mosf radio and television stations
accept and a,r free of charge Public
Service Announcements, PSAs, from
non-profit organizations. If
sponsoring an event to benefit some
community project, you may want to
investigate having a PSA produced
and aired . Plan well in advance.
church councils provides a valuable
interface with other clergy and .
congregations and displays your
willingness to work together for the
good of the entire community. Your
involvement . in softball leagues,
bowling tournaments, etc. keeps the
name of your church or group before
the community. It gives -others an .
opportunity to see that gay and
lesbian ministries are just like their
own .
The Yellow Pages
Make sure your church or group is
listed in the Yellow Pages. Insist on a
heading identifying your special gay
and lesbian outreach. Some
directories already have such a
heading. If your directory doesn't,
you may have ask - and you may
Leaders of local churches and
organizations with special ministries
for Gays and Lesbians too often limit
exposure of their hard work to the
media they are most comfortable
With: the local gay newspaper. While
this is an important outlet for news
Have you met the editor .or religion
writer of your daily newspaper?
While some writers may not be,
receptive to your gay and lesbian
focus, most will be very interested in
meeting you and learning of your
work. Cultivate a good working
relationship with the religion writer.
Keep him or her informed of your
church or group's impact on the
community. (But don't bother
him/her with in-house news such as
council elections, etc.) If your
newspaper has a religion page and
you can afford a small ad, it may
attract new members. Insist on
including copy on your special gay
and lesbian outreach in the ad.
Radio and Television
Make local radio and television talk
show hosts aware of your church or
Some tal e nted individual in your
group may want to consider putting
together a special program or regular
program based in your ministry for
community access TV.
Community .Events .
Participation in area wide
organizations such as interfaith
• have a battle on your hands. If so,
you should consult with a group like
the National Gay Rights Advocates
or the American -Civil Liberties
Union .
COVER
STORY
From Pagel
Church and organization
leaders may claim that
receptivity is a problem,
although a bigger problem
may be the ineffectiveness
of these ministries in
making the community
aware of their presence and
activities.
Christian outreach to Gays
and Lesbians is all too often
targeted toward those who
are already aware of
resources available to them:
uncloseted Gays and Lesbians
who take an active
part - socially, politically,
and otherwise- in the
established gay community.
But what about the
majority of Gays and
Lesbians - those who
remain closeted to some
degree; those who are
reluctant to stop at . a
bookstore or bar even for
the few moments it would
take to pick up a copy of the
local gay periodical?
Ranging in age from high
school and college students
to people well into careers
(which may be jeopardized
by their "coming out"), they
represent the silent majority
of Gays and Lesbians,
often scorned by , their
uncloseted counterparts.
They also represent the gay
and lesbian community's
greatest potential for
development, and for
Christian outreach, a particularly
difficult challenge. '
Although outreach in the
strictest sense - discovery of
and contact with a person
who is in need of a fellowship
of care, support and
spiritual growth - is perhaps
most effectively done on a
personal level by leaders
and members of local
churches and group chapters,
an important task of
national church and religious
organization execus
tives is to bring wide
recognition to their ministry
on a national level; to
stimulate inquiry by Gays
and Lesbians who have not
seen a community
churches' classified ad in
the back of the local gay
newspaper.
Efforts to do this on the
· national levei" have ranged
from stellar to lackluster.
A major outreach effort
was scheduled to be
launched by The Evangelical
Network at its
annual gathering in March.
According to TEN's
chairperson, Rev. Fred
Pattison, Senior Pastor of
Casa de Cristo Church in
Phoenix, Arizona, TAG
2000 (Tell All Gays by the
year 2000) will be a bold
effort during the decade of
the '90s to witness to the gay ·
and lesbian community
across the nation.
"The church is foreign to
alot of people," Patti~on
said. "A goal of TAG 2000 is
to challenge people to
evangelize within their
own communities . We're
developing teams to
provide workshops to help
local groups with their
outreach," he said. ·
TAG 2000 was developed
after the larger plan by
Evangelicals to "reach the
unreachable people of th'e
world by the year 2000" left
Gays and Lesbians out.
TEN's plan now is to bind
local churches together in a
solid push to witness to the
gay and lesbian community .
To be successful, however,
TEN will have to
concentrate now on
funding their effort and
making TAG 2000 known
across the nation .
Dignity /USA was
successful in running a full
page ad in a major
circulation national newsmagazine
and , making the
most of adversity, has
drawn media attention to
the banishment of the
group from Catholic
church- owned property
across the country. Not
March/ April 1990
only has Dignity been
successful in mal-:ing their
ministry known to the
wider public, they have also
seen anger over church
actions jar formerly
complacent gay and lesbian
clergy firmly into their
comer.
Lutherans Concerned of
North America will no
doubt benefit greatly from
their involvement in and
support of January's ordinations
of a gay man and
lesbian couple in San
Francisco . The ordinations .
received much media
attention, including an
inordinately long piece on
the CBS Evening News.
Although the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in
America has resisted the
ordinations, the message to
gay and lesbian Lutherans
is .that they are not alone in
the church; that there arli!
those willing to push for
fairness and inclusivity. As
with Dignity, Lutherans
Concerned is now is a
powerful position to push
gay and lesbian clergy and
church members from
straddling the fence into
concerned work.
Integrity , Inc. has an
active and effective media
office. With an increasing
number of events occurring
in the Episcopal Church
signifying a more
meaningful place for
women, Gays and Lesbians,
Integrity is also in a
position to garner coverage
of their ministry.
The Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches is largely
overlooked by the mainstream
media. Though
many wo ·uld blame
homophobic writers and
reporters, the fault may lie
with the UFMCC itself
which, like their local
churches, tends to restrict
coverage of their ministry
to the gay and lesbian press.
News of. last summer's
General Conference went
only to members of the Gay
and Lesbian Press Association,
not the nation's 500
plus religion writers and
reporters. The conference
was . held in a hotel
adjoined, by only a few
yards of walkway, by St.
Paul's d aily newspaper, The
Pioneer · Dispatch, yet the
conference received no
coverage even locally. The
UFMCC has depend ed
almost exclusivel y on local
churches for outreach
activity. And local
churches have depended
on adve r tising and stories
in the gay and lesbian press
to attract members - a
practice which explains, in
SEE COVER STORY, Page 11
No Cowardly Spirit
A Transformation In Th:_e
Gay Community
How long, 0 Lord? I cry
for help but you do not
Jisten! I cry out to you
•."violence!" but you do not
.intervene. Why do you let
me see ruin: Why must I
· look at misery?
-Habakkuk
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE,
· the more they remain the same. The
world of Habakkuk and the world.we
live in today are not -that much
different from one another. Just as
Habakkuk, we live in a world of wars
and pestilence caused by the .social
and moral corruption of a society out
of control. But a world that allows
that same society political control.
Habakkuk dares to take issue with
God. If God is so -almighty and good,
.then why does he aliow eVJi to exist
.and the righteous to die.. .
I was thrust foto the world of AIDS,
unexpectedly in 1982 when a dear
·friend was stricken by a'then
-"unknown" and "untreatable"
disease. I vividly remember walking
into the funeral home to find a closed
·casket placed strategically in an
·archway between two rooms. One
·room was assigned to family
-members, the other to his friends. I
was very hurt. My friend's death
·should have served as a catalyst to
·bring us together. Instead it was used
as a weapon to separate us. There we
were - divided by disease and death.
His family was shamed by his
death. Embarrassed by his
·homosexuality. ,
On that day it became my mission to
.fight - unashamed - the social and
political mores of a society so blinded
by fear and prejudice that it would
refuse to bury its own.
Here we are seven years and 60,000
deaths later. It has not been an easy
struggle, but like Habakkuk, "I look
over the nations and I see and am
.utterly amazed." I cast my eye about
and see the goodness of God at work.
I see a once narcissistic and
self-indulgent community
transformed. A hedonistic society
whose values - once based upon
:avarice and greed, changed into a
WI
BY BILL URBAN
community committed to the love and
care of their brothers. I see a
community renewed in - and
strengthened by - its faith. Most
importantly, I see how their love and
religious spirit has slowly modified
the masses. Politicians and religious
leaders who at one time were afraid
to even say the "A" word, are now
openly supporting our fundraisers and
assisting us in our causes.
Someone once gave me a button that
read: "Being gay is not for sissies!" I
certainly can vouch for that . Second
Timothy reveals to us that, "The
spirit God has given us is no
cowardly spirit, rather one that
makes us strong, loving and wise ."
I LIKE TO TELL the story of when
my parents arrived at Johns Hopkins
and the doctors were explaining my
diagnosis to them. I lay severely ill
in the Intensiv.e Care Unit and was
not expected to live through the
weekend. Upon hearing this, my
mother exclaimed, "He will not only
survive this pneumonia, but AIDS as
well!" The doctor, not wanting her to
be disillusioned, persisted, "I know
your son to be a strong-willed
individual, but he has never come up
against anything like AIDS before.
My mom, fully composed, looked that
doctor right in the eye and said,
"Well, AIDS has never come up
against anything like. my son before."
I did make it through that
weekend. For weeks thereafter, I
laid in my hospital room, frightened
. and depressed . Thinking how unfair
all this was. I was just getting my
life turned around, I had my own
newspaper and the life partner I had
always dreamed of. It just wasn't
fair. I contemplated my next
maneuver with a great deal of
consideration and discretion.
When I became ambulatory, I took a
walk to the top to the Hopkins
parking garage. Eight stories high . I
stared down at the ground for what
seemed like .hours waiting for and
desperately wanting one reason not to
jump , When I had my left leg over
the side, the Holy Spirit manifested
itself to me.
How long, 0 Lord, must I be beat
back by political zealots, and you do
not listen! I cry out to-you
"Discrimination!" but you do not
intervene. Why must I look at
sickness and death?
The Holy Spirit answered me with,
"As long as man allows the physical
and spiritual devastation of his
fellow man." It is for mortals to
resolve mortal problems.
Allow me to be so bold as to make a
comparison from a verse in Timothy
which says, "I have been appointed
preacher and apostle and teacher,
and for its sake I undergo present
hardships. But I am not ashamed."
The same firery Spirit which came
upon me that dismal day in-June of
1987 is with me today.
THE NAMES PROJECT QUILT now
covers 14 acres and represents the
lives of 15,000 men, women and
children. One of those quilts, ·
personally stitched by me, represents
the life of a man I once loved. A kind
and-decent human , being who never
hurt a soul in his entire life, and who
died, tragically and painfully, in my
arms.
I pray for a
miracle, but
instead I receive
smaller blessings
one at a time.
In 1983 there wasn't much hope for
people with PCP, (Pneumocystis
Carinii Pneumonia.) I watched as my
once strong and virile partner wasted
away to a mere 58 pounds. I sat by his
side reciting the rosary, and reading
prayers because the machines
attached to him did not allow the
benefit of speech. I called his family
upon his death and was told by his
father, "He's your problem now, you
handle it."•
This man's death was not without
merit. For four years following his
death I fought for a little known
treatm ent known as Areosolized
Pentemidine which prevents the
onslaught of PCP. Finally, in 1987,
Baltimore Medical Institutions
reluctantly began prescribing this
treatment. Today it is customary
practice. Deaths due to PCP are down
THE SECOND STONE
dramatically.
I pray for a miracle, but instead I
receive smaller blessings one at a
time. I have fought and prayed hard
for FDA approval of undergound
drugs. Even if combined with other
drugs they would at least prolong
life.
GREAT STRIDES HAVE . BEEN
made in science and medicine since
1983, but the political, social and
religious fronts still have a long way
to go. In his day, Habakkuk faced
the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were
a powerful, vicious, cruel and ruthless
people. There are no Chaldeans
today. We have the Jerry Falwells,
theJimmy Swaggerts, the Jesse
Helmses, and their supporters.
The ignorant and frightened need to
see for themselves that people like
me are intrinsically good and our
mission is simply to spread God's love
· -not AIDS.
When Iwas growing up and things
didn't seem to work out right; I would ·
complain to my dad that life wasn't
fair. He'd say to me, "No son, life
isn't always fair. But if you feel that
God has given you lemons, well then,
make lemonade. You have to do the
best you can with what you got where
you are."
The Holy Spirit l:)as helped me
realize that God has spared my life
for a reason. I understand that my
personal lemon is AIDS and I have to
make lemonade. Enough for all to
drink.
I make lemonade by my public
speaking. Speaking serves to educate
and sensitize people. It changes
public opinion. It allows
conservatives, evangelicals and their
fundamentalist counterparts to see for
themselves, the Holy Spirit that
dwells within me . That Spirit of
Strength - that Spirit of Love - that
Spirit of Wisdom! That same spirit
within each and every one of us.
Each one of us has been touched by
AIDS. Each of us has their own
personal lemon to deal with. Look
deep into your hearts. You will find a
way to make lemonade . Then, when
AIDS is eradicated from society as
we know it today, we can all say
with great pride and Christian love,
"We have done no more than our
duty,"
"In Every Classroom"
Rutgers Report Examines Lesbian and Gay University Life
NEW BRUNS\NICK, - N.J. - A
comprehensive study of the lesbian
and gay community at Rutgers,
released by the Pres.ident' .s. Select
Committee for Lesbian and Gay
Concerns, places Rutgers on "the
cutting edge of universities
addressing these issues nationwide,"
according to James D. Anderson,
committee chairman.
The committee, which · included
Rutgers faculty, staff, students and
alumni, studied the entire university,
Anderson said.
"In Every Classroom: The Report of
the President's Select Committee for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns, Rutgers
University;" includes the -results of a
survey of all university employees on
various issues impacting the lesbian
and gay community .
The faculty. and staff survey asked
about such issues as harassment and
discrimination in the work place and
the classroom, as wen · as integration
of the .lesbian and gay experience in
the academic life of Rutgers, the
State University of New Jersey .
"That's a first," said Anderson. "We
don't know of any other institution
that has surveyed every single
employee,"
Anderson is associat~ dean and
professor with the School of
Communication, Information and
Library Studies .
Kevin Berrill, director of the
Campus and Anti-Violence Project' of
the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force, called the document "one of the
most comprehensive studies to date of
lesbian and gay life on college
campuses" and predicted it will serve
as a model for other universities
throughout the country.
The report is among the first to link
student life, student policy, employee
benefits, curriculum , career
counseling, residence life and other
universitywide concerns in a broad
COVER STORY, From Page,)
study of issues impacting the gay and
lesbian community, according to Ron
Nieberding, committee member,
editor of the report, and a university
student.
The university must ensure an
environment in which all members of
the community, including lesbian and
gay people, can participate and
develop intellectually and emotionally,
free from fear, violence or
harassment, the report said.
It also includes a survey of similar
efforts under way throughout the
country. Offices and programs for
lesbian and gay concerns already
exist at the University of
Massachusetts-Amhe 1st, at the
University of Pennsylvania and at
the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor, Nieberding said.
The report, the result of more than
18 months of work by the committee,
recommends that the university
develop a similar office, with a least
one full-time staff person, to focus on
the concerns of the lesbian and gay
community and to coordinate efforts
already underway at each of _the
university's schools ..
Other key recommendations include:
Developing incentives for scholars to
pursue research:on the contributions of
lesbian and gay people to science,
history, literature and the arts;
Integrating the experience of lesbian ·
and gay people into all relevant
areas of undergraduate and graduate
curricula; Fighting homophoia with
sensitivity workshops aimed at
incomipg students, fraternities,
sororities, faculty, staff and
administration; Creating safe space ,
not exclusive space but an area where
Lesbians, gay men and bisexuals may
int e ract without harassment and the
threat of hostility; and providing
the same personnel benefits and
services to domestic partners of
lesbian and gay employees as are
offered to the spouses of other
employees.
"No one - whatever their race, sex,
.religion, ·color, national origin,
ancestry, age, disability or sexual
orientation - should be subject
to ... treatment that deprives them of
their dignity or humanity," the
report stated .
"It is psychologically healthier for
everyone not to hate," said committee
member Catharine R. Stimpson, vice
provost for graduate -education and
dean of the Graduate School -in New
Brunswick. "The hater gets hurt by
hating ."
The report - now goes to Rutgers
President Edward J. Bloustein for
review. Bloustein, in a letter to
Anderson, praised the - "comprehensive
scope and high quality"
of the committee's work.
"The report will be received
gratefully and will get the careful
and deliberate study it deserves,"
Bloustein said .
The material wili be sent to campus
provosts, deans, directors, student
leaders and governing bodies
throughout the university for furthur
study prior to any decision on the best
approach to implementing i t s
recommendations, Bloustein said .
The select committee was appointed
by Bloustein in the spring of 1988. He
directed the group to study the needs
of the gay and lesbian community and
to advise the administration on the
full implementation of the
university's 1981 policy that bans
discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
The - group and its various
subcommittees have met more than 70
times since then, Anderson said.
The committee's work is part of a
larger effort, the Program to Advance
Our Common Purposes, begun in 1987
at Rutgers to fight bigotry and
intolerance and to encourage a respect
for diversity at the university.
The lesbian and gay community has
been organized at Rutgers since 1969,
when a student organization formed
shortly after the Stonewall riots in
New York City.
Today, the Rutgers University
Lesbian/Gay Alliance, a student
organization, is the second-oldest
active lesbian and gay organization
affiliated with an American
universtiy, Anderson said .
The full text of the report is
available for $10.00 from the Rutgers
University Office of Student Life
Policy and Services, va ·n · Nest Hall,
Room 301, College A venue, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903.
Home For Clergy and Religious
With AIDS To Open Soon
A consortium of religious
communities, including the . Redemptorist
Fathers and Brothers, the
Missionary Brothers of Charity, the
Franciscan Friars, and the S,isters of
Mercy, are joining the Diocese of
Oakland in establishing an
innovative national center for clergy
and religious with AIDS/ ARC in
Oakland, California.
· Former Maryknoll Brother Jim
Mansmann has been charged with
getting the project off the ground .
The center will be called Bethany and
will house up to three
priests/brothers from anywhere in
the United States who have been
diagnosed in the early stages of the
HIV disease.
For further information about
Bethany, contact Jim Mansmann,
P.O. Box 5215, Oakland, CA 94605,
(415) 635-6341.
-Communication Newsletter
part, MCC's dominance in
the "openly" gay and
lesbian community. It also
explains why many closeted
Gays and Lesbians are
unaware of MCC.
For mainstream
Christians, evangelizing is
a difficult task; in the gay
and lesbian community it is
doubly so. Substantial
emotional barriers have
appear ed ov er the past
years betwe en those who
witness the gospel and
those are in need . Most
Christians today can hardly
make sense of the hateful
antics of the Traditional
Values Coalition, the
oppression of the American
Family Association, the
rise and fall of Jim and
Tammy and the sins of
Jimmy Swaggart .
Non-Christians , both gay
and straight, see these
examples as "religion": as
what it means to be a
Christian . Add to that the
fact tha t the church - the
oppressor of Gays and
Lesbians for centuries - is
only now, reluctantly,
beginning to address the
issue, it is easily seen why
non-Christians in general,
and Gays and Lesbians in
particular,.are not beating a
path to th e church doors.
Revealing to others that
these groups and
individuals are not t ruly
representative of Christ's
teachings is now a
necessary par t of outreach .
Also, according to Rev.
Pattison , outr ea ch in the gay
and lesbian community
suff e rs - because those not
involved in a worship
experience perceive those
who are as no different
from themselves. This
"inconsistency in living" is
an issue that church leaders
are reluctant to address but
one that they must face if
their ministry is to be seen
as credible by the
community.
It is ultimately an
outreach of deed, not word ,
that will guide a prospect
beyond all of the emotional
barriers and obstacles that
they may see in religion . It
is in having some ne ed
met, a friendly contact, or
warm support in a time of
crisis that outreach can
make a lasting impression.
And that connnection can't
be made if national and
local church and group
leaders fail to ke ep their
ministries in a highly
visible position.
March/April 1990 m
Church & Organization News _
Darlene Garner ,
New Pastor of ..
MCC Baltimore
Rev. Darlene Garner has been
installed as the new pastor of MCC
Baltimore. Rev: Elder Nancy Wilson
presided over the special ceremony
held at St: John's United Methodist
Church . Rev. Garner attended
Samaritan College in Los Angeles and
is currently working on her Master of
Divinity at Lancaster Theologcial
Seminary in Lancaster, Penn. , : ·.
-Baltimore Alternative
Southern California
Lesbian Catholic
Group Meets
Lesbian Catholics Together has begun
its fourth year as a group and
continues to offer monthly home
liturgies and paraliturgies in and
A
friend
for the
· journey.
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._ ______________________ ___
around the greater Los Angeles area.
The primary focus remains that of
providing spiritual support and
growth opportunties not currently
offered within traditional Catholic
ministries. The group is especially
sensative to the issues of woman and
homosexuality as they relate to
Roman Catholicism. In ad.dition to
liturgies and potlucks, LCT also
sponsors an on-going support group
with an open format and an annual
weekend retreat. All women,
including current religious, are
welcome. For more information and
a calender of 1990 .liturgies write to
LCT, 19942 Acre Street, Northridge,
CA 91324'.
Reconciliation MCC ,
Donates $iOOO
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Four AIDS
support organizations have benefited
from a $1000.00 donation from
Reconciliation MCC. Recipients were
People With People With AIDS, the
Grand Rapids Minority AIDS Project,
the AIDS Foundation of Kent
County, and the UFMCC AIDS
Ministry.
MCC Pittsburgh
Celebrates 15th
MCC Pittsburgh has been active for 15
years. Mid-Atlantic District Coordinator
R. Adam DeBaugh granted
charter church status to MCC
Pittsburgh in recognition of 15 years
of growth and commitment.
-Pittsburgh's Out
Lutherans
Concerned
Affirms Support for
Bay Area Lesbian
and Gay Ministry
SAN FRANCISCO - The Board of
Directors of Lutherans Concerned/
North America adopted an
affirmation of support for the
Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry, a
newly organized cooperative
ministry supported by several Bay
Area Lutheran congregations and
many individuals through the
United States and Canada.
The Board also sent letters of
commendation to two San Francisco
congregations which have
encountered disciplinary action by the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America by ordaining lesbian and gay
pastors without requiring a promise
of sexual abstinence, as required by
current ELCA clergy guidelines.
"Members of our Board were
moved to . learn of your support for
LLGM and its work," wrote the Board.
"Even more, we rejoice in your clear
and unequivocal commitment to
m THE SECOND STONE
justice for gay and lesbian people ."
Language of the Lutherans
Concerned Board's affirmation of
support is identical to the LLGM
"Covenant of Support" which has
been signed by more than 300 clergy
and lay people, except that the
paragraph endorsing the ordination
of Jeff Johnson has been broadened:
"Upon the issue of a call by a
congregation of the ELCA or ELCIC,
we commit ourselves to suppqrt and
participate in the ordination of gay
men and lesbian women who are
called to and qualified for the
ministry of word and sacrament. We
further support as appropriate and ilS
a gift their lives as celibate
individuals or lives in relationship
while serving as ordained clergy."
New Charismatic
Church For
Portland
Crown Of Praise, a charismatic
church with an outreach to the entire
community, has opened in Portland,
Oregon. Pastor Judy Allen feels that
"full gospel" is an appropr'iate
description for the beliefs of Crown of
Praise and Pastor Juanita Gates said
the church is not a "gay" church, that
"God calls peop!e to be spiritual
beings, not sexual beings." The
church is located at 2300 NW 30th
Ave, (206) 892-6861
-Just Out ·
Oregon Church
Joins Reconciling
Congregations
The 60 member Estacada United
Methodist Church in Oregon has
become the first reconciling
congregation in the Oregon-Idaho
Conference of the United Methodist
Church. Pastor B. David Williams
said, "This is God's good news to
Lesbians and gay men. Fear and
hatred do not reflect intent for his
commuity of faith."
-Just Out
Use Of MCC/
Pittsburgh's Food
Bank Doubles
MCC/Pittsburgh estimated use of its
food bank would double in frequency
over the preceding year. Chairperson
Rick Varner said, "Through increased
publicity, the food bank became better
known in the community. More
people realized we were available to
help and started to call on us." Of the
exceptionally supportive community,
Pastor Roberta Dunn said, "We are
indeed very appreciative of this
support be.cause that's what keeps the
food bank operating."
-Pittsburgh's Out
Calendar
The following announcements have
been submitted by sponsoring or
affiliated groups.
Southeastern
Conference
for Lesbians
and Gay Men
MARCH 22-25, "Working Together to
Strengthen Our Southeastern ·
·Communities" is the theme of the
15th annual SECLGM gathering to be
held at the Raleigh (North Carolina)
Civic Convention Center. A wide
variety of entertainment events,
major speakers, exhibits and workshops
will be offered . A large portion
of the Names Project AIDS Memorial
Quilt will be displayed. Registration
cost for the four day conference is
$80.00 if paid before March 20; $100.00
if paid at the conference . A brochure
detailing complete information about
the conference is available from
SECLGM, Inc. '90, P.O.Box 28863,
Raleigh, NC 2761H8636r (919)
833-1209. ·
Palm Sunday
Weekend for
Gay and Lesbian
Christians
APRIL 6-8, Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott and John McNeil
together lead a weekend retreat.
Fellowship, bjble study, worship,
reflection and healing. Cost
including accomodations and meals
is$165.00
Contact Beaver Conference Farm,
Underhill Ave., Yorktown Hts ., NY
10598 or call (914)962s6033.
Conference with
John McNeil
APRIL 20 & 21, Dignity /Westside in
· Los Angeles sponsors a conference for
the gay and lesbian community on
the topic of discerning God ' s presence
in life. The main facilitator will be
John McNeil, author of Taking a
Chance on God. The purpose of the
conference is to provide an opportunity
for Dignity members and for
Gays and Lesbians outside of Dignity
to come together and explore ways to
discern God's presence in life. For
information, call Dignity/Westside,
(213) 871-6930.
... ,
•
More Light
Churches
Conference
APRIL 27-29, Central Presbyterian
Church, Louisville, Ky., is the host of
this conference, themed "Integrating
Sexuality and Spirituality: A Call To
The Churches ." Six workshops will be
offered. For information call Jim
Oxyer, (502) 897-5719 / (502) 569-5005 or
Nick Wilkerson, (502) 635-7003/ (502)
568-7590.
Changing
Church Attitudes?
APRIL 27-29, A weekend residential
conference in Dunblane, Scotland
featuring four noted speakers, Mary
Hunt, Norman Shanks, Clare Sealy
and Harvey Gillman . The conference
will examine the churches' collusion
with all that causes discrimniation
against lesbian and gay people . A
reconvening of a pioneering
ecumenical conference held ten years
ago in Pitlochry, Perthshire. One
hundred participants spent a
memorable weekend meeting in
Scotland to discuss this important
subject. Who would have known the
sweeping changes that were to
reshape the lesbian and gay
community in the decade of the 80s?
Open to people of all sexualities and
Christian backgrounds. Contact The
Secretary, CCA 1990 Conference, 58a
Broughton St., Edinburgh EHl 3SA
England.
Open and Affirming
Conferences
APRIL 29 - MAY 2, The United
Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay
Concerns sponsors a. conference to
increase awareness bf the Open and
Affirming movement within the
United Church of Christ. There are 36
Open and Affirming congregations
presently in th 1.7 million member
UCC. For information on the
Western regional conference to be
held at Mercy Center, Burlingame,
Cal., contact Rev. Wendy Taylor, 751
Alameda .de las Pulgas, Belmont, CA
94002. Also, MAY 4-6, at St. Paul's
Church, Chicago, II. Contact Rev.
Talka Kreiensieck, 1630 W . Pierce,
Chicago, IL 60622, and JUNE 1-3, at
United Congregational Church,
Worcester, Mass . Corttact Rev. Ann
B. Day, P.O . Box 403, Holden, MA
01520. UCCL/GC welcomes
participants from other denominations,
as well as UCC pastors, lay
people, and conference personnel.
For more .information, contact
UCCL/GC's national office, 18 N.
College, Athens, OH 45701 or call
(614)593-7301. '
Sixth Annual Desert
and Mountain
States
Lesbian and Gay
Conference
MAY 11-13, A six-state Lesbian and
Gay conference themed "Growing
Together as Lesbians and Gays" will
be held at the El Rancho Hotel and
Casino in Las Vegas. Kay Weaver, a
major new talent in the gay and
lesbian entertainment industry, will
be featured in a major concert on the
second night of the conference.
Steven Tierney, PhD, an activist from
Boston, Mass., and Urvashi Vaid,
Director of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force, will be the
featured keynote speakers.
Workshops include Health and
Wellness, Politics and the
Environment ;: Spritt.tality and
Humanism and Racism, Oppression
and Privilege. Early registration is
$55; $65 at the conference. Contact
DMSLGC, P.O. Box 19360, Las Vegas,
NV 89132c..()360, (702)791-0083 or
(702)737-7780.
Conference for
Catholic Lesbians
MAY 25-28, The Conference for
Catholic Lesbians, a national
organiz;ition for women of Catholic
heritage, sponsors Conference '90,
"Power & Empowerment" to be held
in Estes Park, Colorado, featuring
workshops, liturgies, and entertainment.
Contact CCL Conference
'90, P. 0. Box 436, Planetarium
Station, New York, NY 10024, (212)
562-8922
Men and Masculinity
15th Annual
Conference · · ·
MAY 31- JUNE 3, "Ending Men's
Violence: Pathways to a Gender-Just
World" is the theme of this conference
of the National Organization for
Changing Men to be held at
Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Ga .
For information , write to: Men
Stopping Violence, 1020 DeKalb Ave.,
#25, Atlanta, GA 30307 or phone
(404)688-1376.
CMl's 1990
Retreats
JUNE 3-6, Co-dependency retreat in
Palm Springs, Cal., JUNE 11-14,
Embodied Spirituality and Sexuality
retreat for men and women at St.
Joseph's Retreat House, San Antonio,
Texas, AUGUST 17-19, Codependency
and Spiritual Wholeness retreat at
Weber House, Baltimore, Maryland.
For information on Communication
Ministries' retreats, write to CMI
Retreats, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660c..()125.
American Baptist's
National Retreat
JUNE 25 -27, American Baptists
Concerned, a national organization
of gay and lesbian Baptists, their
families and friends, will hold its
second national retreat in the San
Francisco Bay Area. The focus of the
retreat will be community building
among gay and lesbian Baptists. The
March/ April 1990
□ retreat facilitator will be the Rev. Dr.
Jane Spahr, a nationally known
resource person on issues related to
the gay and lesbian community. An
ordained Presbyterian minister, Rev.
Spahr is the founder of the Ministry
of Light, a ministry to gay men,
Lesbians and their familes in San
Anselmo, Calif. The retreat site is
Westerbeke Ranch, located north of
San Francisco. The retreat will be
proceeded -by San Francisco's annual
Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day
Parade. ABConcerned/SFBA will
help with transportation to and from
the retreat. Cost is $100.00, which
includes two nights lodging and six
meals . For information write to
ABConcemed National Retreat, 686
Waller St., San Francisco, CA 94117.
Thornfield
Workshop
on Sexuality
JULY 9-15, The .highly acclaimed
annual training workshop on
sexuality at the Thornfield
Conference Center in Cazenovia, NY
will focus on gender, orientation and
lifestyle and their relationship to
sexism, heterosexism and homophobia
. Designed as an advanced
course for both individual and
professional growth, the workshop
sttracts teachers, students, counselors,
clel"gy, hea:ltlfpersonnel and others.
Among the noted ·staff are Mary Lee
Tatum, nationally-recognized family
life educator, lecturer and consultant
from Falls Church, Va.; Brian
McNaught, consultant and author of
the book and video, On Being Gay:
and the Rev. Bill Stayton, author,
theologian and sex therapist .
Registration is limited to 60
persons. For further information,
contact Alison Deming, P.O.Box 447,
Fayetteville, NY 13066, or call (315)
637-8990.
Lutherans
Concerned
Assembly '90
JULY 19-22, Lutherans Concerned/
North America hosts the largest
group of gay and lesbian Lutherans
ever assembled. The setting is the
campus of University of Illinois at
Chicago. "I Ain In Your Midst" is the
theme . Assembly '90 marks
LC/NA's sixteenth year of working
for lesbian and gay understanding
within the church.The design and
intent of the assembly is to create an
atmosphere where people can
experience a familiar yet fresh
approach to spirituality and
community. Facilitator is Rev. Linda
Strohrnier. A variety of workshops
will be offered. Forinformation
write to: Assembly '90, P.O . Box 10197,
Fort Dearborn Station, Chicago, IL
60610. .
IE
Closer Look
Whither Thou Goest:
A Lesbian Love Story?
By Rev, Bruce Roller
Contributing Writer
In its introduction to the book of
Ruth, the PTL Partner's Edition
Counselor Bible (King James
Version), states, "When Naomi
turns again homeward to Bethlehem,
bereft of all she brought to Moab,
Ruth refuses to foresake her; and, in
her determination to stay with
Naomi, Ruth . spoke the immortal
words which have echoed across the
centuries at marriage altars: 'Whither
thou goest I will go .. .' Such · an
insight into the life of an ordinary
family of that ancient day is a'
priceless gift." By this statement the
ultra-conservative writer has inadvertantly
introduced an interesting,
and often invisible, highlight to the
story of Naomi and Ruth.
It is not my intention in any of
these articles to be controversial for
the sake of controversy so I will be
stating again and again that when I
speak of lesbian and gay love,
sensuality, and sexuality in relation
to the people . whose stories are
recorded in the bible, I am not saying
implicitly that these people engaged
in physical sexual expression with
each other. (Though I will st~te that
explicitly about some of those of
whom I write this year.) That the
physical expression of sexuality is
what makes an individual or
relationship homosexual is one of the
myths of heterosexism and
homophobia. The Reverend Sylvia
Pennington has made the truer
statement that homosexuality is
much more concerned about "with
whom one chooses to nest."
Notice the special courage of
For Work With Gay and Lesbian Youth
Leo Treadway Receives
Human Services Award
Leo Treadway, Ministry Associate of
St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran
·church, St. Paul, Minnesota, and past
Co -chair of Lutherans Concerned/
North America received a $5000.00
McKnight Foundation Award in
Human Services. He was one of ten
Minnesotans selected from nearly 200
candidates.
Ex-Gays?
There
Are None
Lambda Christian Fellowship is
pleased to announce a new book
by Rev. Sylvia Pennington - an
examination of ex-gay ministries -
what they do - what they don't do.
You'll meet people who, only
through God's grace, have survived
and stopped trying to be
ex-gays, because, in truth, there
is no such thing as an ex-gay
rx,rson.
Now Available From
Lambda Christian
Fellowship
P . 0 . Box 1967
Hawthorne, CA 90250
$15.00 plus $1.50 for postage and
handling. California residents add
6% sales tax.
In the award citation, the McKnight
Foundation recognized Treadway
"for his courage and commitment to
improving the lives of gay and
lesbian youth who are at risk of
exploitation and suicide.
Treadway and a number of social
service colleagues have established
gathering places for lesbian and gay
youth between ages 15 and 21 in both
St. Paul and Minneapolis. These
groups, which meet weekly, provide a
supportive atmosphere for youth
who identify themselves as gay or
lesbian to discuss being "out" in
school, relating to_ their parents, how
to know if you are lesbian or gay, and
how to deal with homophobia, as
well as issues of AIDS education. , ·
The McKnight Foundation Human
Serv'ice Awards have been given
annually since 1985. They are given,
acctjrding to the Foundation, to
individuals in Minnesota "who are
mak jng significant contributions to
the : human services by directly
assi*ing others to become productive
and I participating members of the
com~unities in wh ich they reside. ·
PATLAR
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Naomi, who, rather than staying in
Moab to which her late husband had
brought her, decided (very independent
ly for a woman of that day) to
go back to the land of her birth. Both
daughters-in-law had apparently
become close to their mother-in-law
Naomi; · both wept, but it was fairly
easy to convince Orpah to go back and
try in her own land to find another
husband . Her alliance with her
mother- in-law was important, but
her apparent connection with her
family and friends in Moab was more
comfortable .
Not so with Ruth. It was after
Orpah's departure, after much urging
from Naomi to do the "sensible"
thing and remain in Moab with her
family, friends, and familiar customs,
that Ruth spoke the words that
couples all over the world speak to
one another in weddings and other
commitment ceremonies, "Entreat
me . not to leave thee, or to return
from following after thee : for whither
'thou goest, I will go; and where thou
lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall
be my people, and thy God my God :
Where thou diest, will I . die, and
there will I be buried: the Lord do so
· to me, and more also if aught but
death part thee and me, (Ruth
1:16-17) ." Lovers the woi-id over,
committing themselves to one
another as a result of romantic love,
are correctly assessing these words, I
think, as the passionate response of a
person committing herself for life to
another person . The sentiments .
need not lose their romantic flavor
because they are spoken by one strong
woman to another.
Of course , because of the economic,
political, and religious system in place
in Israel at the time reflected in . the
book of Ruth, both women seem
particularly interested in Ruth's
gaining the favor of a powerful man.
There are, however, some interesting
gleanings even in this. For instance,
Boaz (the man Ruth eventually
marries) remarks to Ruth how all the
people of the city "know thou art a
virtuous woman, (3:11) ." (As a
teenager reading this passage, I was
struck with the 'resemblance to
myself. In a , very conservative
church I had a very strong reputation
for being "a perfect gentleman" on
dates with girls!) He further
commends · her for not running after
the young men, but choosing the
older, richer and more powerful
Boaz. Ruth "followedst not young
men, whether poor or rich, (3:10).''
Earlier when Boaz asked about Ruth
"Whose damsel is this?" the
servant's reply was essentially,
"Naomi 's, (2:5-6)." Certainly in what
could only be interpreted as a very
sexual situation with Boaz (lying at
his feet all night until morning),
m THE SECOND STONE
Ruth's virtue remains intact; and the
reward of the evening is offered to
Naomi. "These six measures of barley
gave he un to me; for he said to me,
Go not empty unto thy
mother-in-law, (3:17)," Ruth tells
Naomi.
The result of sexual intercourse
between Ruth and Boaz was the birth
of a, baby boy Obed who is listed in 4:22
as the grandfather of King David.
Notice, however, that the
recognition , particularly of the
women of the city, was an
understanding that Ruth loved
Naomi. Hear the · song of the
women: "There is a son born [not to
Boaz, but] to Naomi, (4:17) ."
What have our observations and
speculations in this -article shown?
Certainly there is no conclusive proof
that Naomi and Ruth had a lesbian
relationship. In fact, there is no
conclusive proof that Naomi and
- Ruth were actual people. Some
scholars believe that the little story of
Ruth was written after the return
from Exile to counter some of the
harshness of Ezra/Nehemiah's
inter-marriage reforms.
Some things we have seen,
however, that may be of particular
interest to lesbian women: 1.) The
Hebrew Scriptures include a:
wonderful story of loving
commitment between two strong,
courageous, and independent
women. 2.) Ruth is · portrayed as
having littl~ romantic or erotic
interest in men, and as being deeply
identified with and committed to
· Naomi . 3.) An overwhelming insight
for this ancient book is the realization
of the women of the city that Ruth's
child is truly Naomi's and Ruth's
(excluding the name of Boaz from
any of the birth celebration.)
The writer of this little book; under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
certainly makes a strong case for the
deep, loving, life-long commitment
of one strong woman to another.
Permit me a question for your
meditation. If , after the birth of Obed,
Ru th had had to choose between Boaz
and Naomi, would she have repeated
her statement to Naomi: "Whither
thou goest, I will go ... "?? ·
The Reverend Bruce Roller is
pastor of Reconciliation MCC in
Grand Rapids, MI . He has prepared a
workbook on 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
that is available for $3.50 plus 25%
handling and . shipping. This book
allows the student to draw
conclusions themselves from the
Word of God, and has helped many
people over the ir fear of
condemnation from this passage of
Scripture. The workbook is available
from Faithful Publications, P.O . Box
3701, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.
Families.
Holy Unions A Special Start For Gay/Lesbian Couples
By Rev. !eylvia Pennington
Columnist
I remember the first Holy Union
which I attended about thirteen years
ago. It was a ceremony for two
elderly white -haired gentlemen who
were celebrating the 37th
Anniversary of a union which had started
when Cardinal SpeHman
secretly married them in his private
chambers . At last, that which had
been done secretly, could be done
openly.
As people, most of us have a basic
need to "get married." Of course, in
the gay community, marriage isn't a
-contract between two people and the
state in which they live . That doesn't
make it any less a commitment to a
covenant relationship a
relationship, when inviting the Lord
to enter into, is called a Holy Union.
(A rose by any other name would
smell as sweet.)
In my early years of public ministry
with MCC, I always felt that we never
experienced God's presence in our
midst as much as we did during a
Holy Union ceremony .
One of the more joyful aspects oci:ur
when parents and family members
participate. I remember one dad who
stood up and said, "I never thought I
could be so happy being the father of
the grooms!"
Yet this family matter is often the
saddest aspect too . I found - it was
often impossible to start our services
on time, as one member of the
couple pleaded for us to wait just a
little longer - "My mom said she'd try
to come."
We'd wait - although I knew it was
probably futile . If they weren 't part of
the planning, or there early, most
likely they wouldn't come. Lack of
family participation was so frequently
the dark cloud hanging over us
amidst the love and joy we
· celebrated. This didn't mean that the .
non-attending family members had
rejected their kids. Often, the family
had worked through their initial
negative responses and were trying to
be as loving and supportive as
possible. They'd come a long way -
but not to the point where they could
handle something as potentially
life-time lasting as a "marriage"
inferred to them.
Balancing that were the people who
were there - often making a
commitment to be the couple's
family in their Jove and support.
As I travel most of the tlme now ,
. the Holy Unions I'm part of are oft~n
held in homes in areas where there 1s
not a church available, although
some wedding chapels are rented.
Usually no one is quite sure what to
expect. I always include traditional
vows so that the whole sense of it
being a real wedding in manifested,
but as often happens in today's
marriages, couples also say their
personal vows.
It's very important to me that in the
gay community our Holy Unions are
beautiful, inspiring and done in the
best taste we know how to present.
The occasion is real - it is a
celebration ,' it is a joy - not only to us,
but also I believe, to God and the
whole Heavenly Host.
If there are children, they actively
participate in the service - excited
little gremlins usually , delighting in
their families and the special
occasion.
Each Hol y Union is as individual as
are the people joining their lives
together, as each love story is special
and the participants "uncloned" but
we all have our favorite stories and
I'd like to close by sharing the tale of
two of _the most unique Lesbians I've
met .
Last year I received a Christmas card
from two women who live in a very
small town in Arkansas. They used
considerable space trying to remind
me who they were . I read their
message tearfully - could they
possibly believe I'd forget them?
From the time of our first phone
enco unter, they were "unique ."
My sister Jean answered the ir
original phone call, then called me to
say I needed to hear their story
personally, so I called them right
away . They'd me t ,-when they were
eleven and twelve years old . The
eleven year old's dad was the
Assembly of God pastor when the
twelve year old and her mother began
to attend their church. I heard from
them 27 years later . Two little
Christian girls who were "different."
God had done something special with
them because they always loved each
other rather than boys and men.
They'd questioned homosexuality
just once and knew that wasn 't them
because homosexuals were just sex
people but they deeply loved one
another. How shocking it was for
them, in their late thirties, to meet
two other women who also loved
each other and considered
themselves Lesbians.
The Le sbians went _ to work
enlightening the tw o unique oneseven
to the point of telling them that
there were churches where gay
people worshipped together, and
right there in Arkansas too!
Shocking!
The almost enlightened unique
women made an appointment to see
the MCC pastor in Little Rock. I'd
been to their church a week before
·and when the Pastor couldn't
convince the women, he gave them
my first book to read. They read the
book and called.
They were still shocked to learn that
they were Lesbians and not just
unique. What's mo re, it had to be
wrong because they weren't married.
I exp lained Holy Unions to them,
told them to pray about it and if they
wanted, I'd marry them on my
return to California a few months
later. One month later, they set the
date. I'd be stopping in St. Louis, Mo.
the day before the wedding and
would have a comfortable day's drive
to easily be in Arkansas for a 7:00 p.m.
wedding. ·
Enroute to this unusual Holy
Union the car broke down, I kept
calling the women as the repairs took
much longer than originally stated.
Finally, we were enroute, but we'd be
a few hours late. We hit torrential
rains for hours which slowed us
drastically, as we drove slowly with
almost zero visibility , We finally
found their little town ·and house. It
was 4:00 a.m.! The wedding party had
sat patiently waiting in their
beautifully wedding decorated house.
Everything was wonderfully planned .
Despite the hour and our tiredness, it
was one of the most glorious Holy
Unions I'd .experienced.
After we ate the wedding cake, we
sat and talked until 8:00 a.m. as they
still had many questions.
Forget them! How could I possibly?
A 4:00 a.m. wedding! God did a very
lovely thing for two beautiful
Christian women .
Isn't is always a wonder how much
our God does for us! For God's
special gay kids, a Holy Union is a
very wond erful gift, as two . "unique"
wome·n in Arkansas can testify .
Rev. Sylvia Pennington is the
author of But Lord, They 're Gay,
Good News For Modern Gays and
Ex-Gays: There Are None.
Rev . Pennington's · books ar e
available at most gay bookstores or
can be ordered from Lambda
Christian Fellowship, PO Box 1967 ,
Hawthorne, CA 90250.
Catholic Lesbians To Gather
Lesbians from all over the country
will gather in Estes Park, Colorado on
May 25th to celebrate the 5th national
biannual conference sponsored by the
Conference for Catholic Lesbians.
CCL is a natipnal orgahization _of
women who acknowledge the
importance ' of the Catholic tradition
in shaping their lives, and who seek
to develop and nurture a spiritual life
that enhances and affirms their
identity as Lesbians. The organization
wa s formed in 1983 as a result
of the historic first conference, which
was -held in Kirkridge in Bangor,
Pennsylvania in the fall of !he
THE
previous year .
Feminist liturg i es created by
members of CCL will be celebrated
each day of the conference . Ample
free time will be alloted during the
course o·f the conference for
participants to enjoy the available
recreational facilities as well as the -
chance to network with Catholic
Lesbians from around the country .
For further information, write to
Conference Coordinator, · CCL, Inc.,
P.O.Box 436 Planetarium Station,
New York, NY 10024 or call Erna at
(212) 562-8922.
BOOK SERVICE
Your Source for
Gay/Lesbian Christian Materials
Welconie to the expanding world of quality Christian
materials for gay/lesbian people and those who car e
about them. At THE BOOK SERVICE , we specialize
in fast, friendly services and provide materials usually
unavailable through other sources. Since the start of
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50,000 plus catalogs. Our primary goals are to provide
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support the growth of spirituality in the gay/l e sbian
community, support the integration of gay/le sbian
people within the traditional Christian community.
TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE CATALOG
CALL }-800-728-0038
March/ April 1990
Book Review
A Shallow Pool . Of Time
Fran Peavey, author; Introduction by
. Joanna Macy. Santa Cruz, Cal.: New
Society Publishers, 1990. 150 p.
$11.95, paper; $34 .95, cloth. ISBN
0-86571-166-6.
In 1984, AIDS was seen as a "gay
cancer" quickly spreading through
the homosexual community of San
Francisco . Little was widely known
about the AIDS virus at the time, and
false information and misconceptions
spr e ad faster that the disease itself .
Social change activist and worldtravelled
comedian Fran Peav ey
began to keep a journal on the
epidemic, explaining to her friends ,
"It will be interesting to keep track of
over time, and interesting to people in
the future - just as it would be for us to
have a journal of an ordinary person
who lived through the Plague ."
Four years later, and still working
on her journal, Peavey was diagnosed
as HIV positive, probably having
contracted the virus six years earlier
from a contamina .ted blood transfusion.
Her journal became intensely
personal as she continued to document
the epi<;lemic, but now with a new
understanding of the disease · and
those who ·have it. "I am embarassed
by my P!''ejudice, .especially toward
gay men.,:: and by my uncaring
attitudes '· toward friends who
suffered in the early history of the
disease," writes Peavey. "It is both
tragic and terribly wrong that people
already marginalized and oppressed
by society are not seen as victims , No
one deliberately brought this
suffering ori him or herself;''
Her captivating, ·
sometimes funny
and often moving
reflections pull us
through the
denial, anger, fear
and deep sense of
injustice she has
experienced.
A Shallow Pool of Time is made up
of Fran Peavey's journal through
early 1989, together with essays
focusing on the social aspects of AIDS
as reflected through personal
experience. Peavey shares many of
her most intimate moments in her
ongoing struggle to cope with the
fears, questions, lessons and
emotional swings that have come
·A Presbyterian Promise
"We will work to increase the acceptance and
participation in the church of all persons regardless
of racial-ethnic origins, sex, class, age,
disability, marital status or sexual orientation"
- 195th General Assembly (1983),
Atlanta, Georgia
If this is your promise, too,
we invite you to join
Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns
Write to Elder James D. Anderson
PLGC , P.O. Box ~8, New Brunswick, NJ
08903-0038, 201/846-1510
with the knowledge that she is
HIV+. Her captivating , sometimes
funny and often moving reflections
pull us through the denial, anger,
fear and deep sense of injustice she
has experienced . Reading A Shallow
Pool of Time we share Peavey's
s truggles with and insights into issues
such as telling friends, family,
co-workers and others; asking for and
giving support; deciding what and
whom to believe, and where and how ·
to find informat ion; facing ·both the
possibility of death and the
disheartening popular equation of
HIV+ with AIDS with death ;
exploring the dimensions of safe sex;
reassessing personal and social
responsibility; and discovering both
the types and potential limits to
socia l hysteria .
It is an important book because it
allows us to gain an inside awareness
and understanding of the experiences
of individuals who ?.re HIV+, while
at the same time dealing with the
iinpact of AIDS and AIDS hysteria
on society as a whole . Many readers
will remember Peavey's humorous
and .insightful first book Heart
Politics . Known worldwide as the
"Atomic Comic," Fran Peavey has
long been involved in grassroots
politics as a comedian, teacher and
activist .
Catherine Maier, Coordinator of
the Women 's Services Program, San
Francisco AIDS Foundation, notes
that "Building on her losses, Fran
chooses to look to the future with
hope and to live with lov e and
understanding for others and for
herself. A Shallow Pool of Time will
touch everyone who rea:ls it." Susan
Griffin calls A Shallow Pool of Time
"a de e ply moving soul-journey rich
with insight, complexity, and
courage ." ·
Faith, Love, AIDS, and the Catholic Church
An Angry Young Poet's
Discourse With God
Thomas O'Neil, author. Illustrations
by Ty Wilson. New, York, NY:
Indulgence Press, 1989. 107 p. $5.95,
paper. ISBN 0-9622398-0-1.
· Sex With God is an odyssey through
gay New York of the 1980s, a quest
through its "stand a:nd stare" bars
and other pickup spots until the poet
ultimately finds his future lover . En
route, Thornas O'Neil puts the story
in a religious perspective: the love
he seeks is condemned by the church
he loves. As a result , he rages
against it and calls God directly into
account. The title comes from the
book's opening poem, which . ends:
"There is nothing in the world/ like
talking/ sex with God ."
In one of the book's most angry
outbursts, O'Neil takes o.n Card inal
John J. O'Connor for closing . down ,
masses organized and attended by
gay men in New York City. In "Mass
Confusion," he writes : "Seems the
man who wears/ the most expensive
gowns in town/ wants to fortify the
gates of Heaven/ against thos e
femmes who ·exchange th .e sign of
peace on 13th Street./ Mass may now
be . offered/ again in cata combs, they
say ... "
It's the closed church doors that
.seem to trouble O'Neil the most,
particularly in the age of AIDS. In
"Open the Door: An Anthem," the
re ader joins AIDS sufferers in front of
·a church :
Open the door
God
Here on these steps
to an elusive Heaven
Your altar boys
are now grown up
and, felled by the Love Disease,
have come home to die ...
Open the door
God
Surely You remember
what death was like,
the seering flesh,
Your cry to Heaven:
Why have Ypu forsaken us?
Thomas O'Neil
Most shocking is O'Neil's subsequent
description of the end of the world,
followed by two outrageous post
scripts that close the book. H e then
graciou s ly gives God the last word -
and in the literal sense of ''The
Word" - but the ' biblical quote,
lineated in the form of a poem, is
stinging and pointed. Cl e arl y,
O'Neil's grudge is not ex clusively
with the Catholic Church, but with
Scripture, too. With God.
THE SECOND STONE
Travel
Where To Stay In L.A.
By Cynthia A. Marquard
and Danni Munson
Contributing Writers
Los Angeles is everywhere and yet
nowhere. By that we mean it is a
sprawling metropolitan area with no
real downtown. But there are so
many famous attractions sc~tter~d
over this part of southern Cahforn1a
that a visitor could stay anywhere in
the Los Angeles area and be close to
something they want to see, yet 50 or
more miles from something else. So
the big question is, where to make
"home base ."
The answer for Gay/Lesbian
travelers could very well be WEST
HOLLYWOOD. Incorporated only
five years ago, this new city is one of
the gayest spots on earth.
We did an in-depth exploration of
West Hollywood on a recent trip to
Los Angeles . Similar in size _ to
Chicago's Newtown area it covers 1.9
square miles. Restaurants here are
considered "food boutiques" where
each must offer very unique menus.
Shaped like a revolver lying on its
side, this area is bounded by
Hollywood on the East and Beverly
Hills on the West. Its often called
"Creative City". The fomous Pacific
Design Center, where -many design
professionals have offices and where
it is said "creativity gets down to
business," is in the center of the city.
Where To Stay
We stayed at the new Ramada
West Hollywood, the area's hottest
new and very gay-friendly property,
with 177 upscale rooms. The hotel is
all done in black and white with
· vivid primary colors for accent .. If
you want to impress your travelmg
· companion, order one of the loft
. suites. They contain on the first
floor, full living rooms with wet
bar/bath and pull out sofa. In
addition you climb to the loft where
there is a king bed and remote
control TV. Those with contacts in
Hollywood will like the fact there is a
telephone in all bathrooms and call
waiting on every phone. Room rates
start at $69 dollars per night, with the
loft suites going for $159 per night.
The hotel also provides
complimentary membership to the
largest health club in Los Angeles
which happens to be across the street.
...
If you like nothing but upscale
hotels, try the L'Ermitage chain. ~e
have seven hotels in this 1.9 mile
area. These are all totally renovated
condo buildings. All have a private
pool and jaccuzzi on t~e roof. Y_ou
receive a key to the private parkmg
lot undernea th the building when
you check in. You can enter the_lot
and go into the elevator anytime
without going . through the lobby
I
I
The movie stars love it ... you might
too.
If gay/lesbian bed and breakfasts
catch your _ fancy we recomme~d
Whittier House. Located m
Whittier, Calif., it is a stone's throw
from West Hollywood by the
freeways but has a ~onderf':11
spacious and relaxed settmg. It 1s
owned by two lesbians, Laurie and
Diane, and both men and women are
welcome. Whittier House has a great
video library, including the March
on Washington tape. The rates are
reasonable. They also give one night
free for every six booked.
Places To Eat
All up and down Santa Monica
Blvd. are great California eating
places . We dined at La Fabula, a Gay
owned Mexican restaurant in the
7900 block of Santa Monica. The
place was filled with gay and
lesbians, and excellent food was
served at reasonable prices. The
menu was simple--5 entrees--but
everyone agreed all were excellent.
Next door is the French Market, a
great "food to stick to your ribs"
place--also gay owned. Roast beef
and roast pork dinners were both
under 8 dollars, and the waiter
brought so much food that is was
impossible to join the clean plate
club.
A romantic stop if you are on a
holiday with a lover would be the
Rose Tatto on Robertson in West
Hollywood. This restaurant and bar
acquired this past year by three
women is very upscale. One of the
owners is Ginny Foat, part owner of _
the Langtry, the world's finest
women's guest house in San
Francisco. She has taken her
experience with the guest house and
applied it to the restaurant and bar at
Rose Tattoo. The main room of the
restaurant is done in rose, beige and
black and kept softly lit.
the "other" place
under the sun ...
:i~:~r.:~ts~' M; ~x~:=cb
• Pool & ·cozy Jacuz::r:I
•Frc-c contlnental bnakfast
Write or call for brochure.
120 E. Atol St., P. 0. Box 2326
South Padre Island, Texas 78597
(512)761-L YLE
Air connections via
American Continental Southwest
Things To Do
West Hollywood also has many
events geared to gays during the year.
The most famous is the fabulous
Gay /Lesbian Pride parade the last
Sunday of June. Halloween is also an
occasion for a big celebration . Santa
Monica Boulevard is shut down as
more than 40,000 people stroll the
avenue, most of them in outrageous
costumes.
From January 1990 though March,
the West Hollywood City Hall will
feature an exhibit of 20 women
artists, culminating in a grand
Women's History Month
Celebration. You can request a
calendar of events from the very gayfriendly
City Hall, 8611 Santa Monica
Blvd., West Hollywood CA 90069-
4109.
All in all we found WEST
HOLLYWOOD a great place to get a
taste of Los Angeles. And by the way,
their favorite saying is: "No one
walks in Los Angeles; everyone
walks in West Hollywood." So take
your best sneakers and have a look
around.
Cynthia A. Marquard is the
owner/manager of Envoy Travel,
Inc., in Chicago and vice-president of
the International Gay Travel Assn.
Danni Munson is the publisher of
The Lesbian and Gay Almanac and
Events of 1990.
March/April 1990
P. 0. Box 118 SL
Bethlehem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978
□
Lesbian and Gay -Chdstian Movement
U.K. Group Target of Church Harassment
In November, 1987, at a General
Synod meeting of the Church of
England, an Evangelical priest, Tony
Higton, put · forward a resolution
asking the Church to declare that
"homosexual acts are sinful in all
circumstances" and that clergy must
adhere to this belief as a condition of
remaining in the ministry. This
action over two years ago was the
first salvo in a debate and
controversy that continues to rage in
the United Kingdom and the Church
of England.
A 1978 Report of the Lambeth
Conference of Anglican Bishops had
given hope to Gays and Lesbians in
the Church, stating "Today we do not
expect everyone to conform to a norm -
a sort of _average humanness - but
rather to rejoice in variety; so the
status and rights of homosexuals are
being reconsidered." On August 4,
1988, the Lambeth Conference of
Anglican bishops meeting at
Canterbury reaffirmed this position
and called for "each Province to
reassess .. .its care for and attitudes
towards persons of homosexual
orientation ." In practice, - however,
Gays and Lesbians in the Anglican
Church were heading for some
setbacks.
Although Higton's resolution w11sn't _
adopted, a motion that said
"homosexual genital acts" fall short
of the ideal of sex "within a
permanent married relationship" did
pass and a resolution supporting all
committed relationships, without
specifically mentioning homosexuality,
was overwhelmingly
defeated.
The General Synod debate
unleashed a torrent of tabloid
homophobia. Although only four
percent of Britons attend church, the
press assumes that people are still
interested in whether the vicar is
gay. As a result, and on their own
inijjgl_tives, various bishops began
"gay hunts" to root out offending
clergy, to the humiliation of many
who had sacrificially served the
Church for, in some cases, 30 years
and more.
England 's Lesbian and Gay
Christian Movement was founded (as
the Gay Christian Movement) in
1976. It had two parents, a nebulous
liberal grouping called Reach and
people in the (radical) Student
Christian Movement grouped around
a . book and a conference called
Towards a Theology of Gay
Liberation.
Soon after it was founded the Vicar
of St. Botolph's Church, Aldgate,
Christian Study Group Formed
An initiative from leading figures in
Church life to create an organization
for promoting understanding of
sexuality and its theological meaning
has been launched in England. Over
60 supporters have begun The
Institute for the Study of
Christianity and Sexuality. The
Institute has no official connection
with the Church of England. · It brings
together an umbrella group of noted
Roman Catholics, Methodists, and
Anglicans .
The Institute sees itself as being the
focus for debate around the complex
and divisive issues of how the
churches should respond to changing
expectations in regard to gender roles,
a Christian ethic for both opposite
and same-sex relationships, Christianity
and the ·future of the nuclear
and .extended family, sexuality and
the- experience of power and the
power, potential and symbolism of
sex.
At a time of unprecedented
controversy in the churches, ·with
confusing if-not contradictory teachings
on many sex-related matters
coming from different sections of the
Christian community the ISCS is
clearly destined to have a crucial
responsibility to help heal divisions,
engage in research, provide
educational .material, and help
people become wholly self-accepting
while ·remaining God-loving.
Canon Rowan Williams, Professor of
Divinity at Oxford University and a
trustee and founder of the Institute
said, "Christian ·churches of all
traditions have been very slow in
developing any full~scale reflection
on how our sexual nature as human
beings relates to the whole business of
growing as a man or woman and
growing in fellowship with God -
everything that the word
'spirituality' normally sums up.
•:we have had a lot of thinking
aboμt the rights and wrongs of sexual
behavior; but this has often relied
eithbr on a somewhat legalistic use of
collf!ctions of biblical texts ·or else on
appjeals to 'natural law.' In either
case, there has not been .much attempt
to connect what has been said with
the central affir mations of Christian
faith ... "
Noted theologian and author Janet
Morley, also a trustee, added; "For
many years now, Christian feminist
women have been exploring a range of
issues to do with women's sexuality
Rev. Malcolm Johnson, was brave
. enough to offer the new Movement a
vacant room up a tortuous spiral
staircase in the tower of his church
for use as an office. It was the kind of
space not many would want, despite
its location in the heart of London.
(Reportedly their literature table
was quite visible when the Queen
made a visit to St. Botolph's a few
years ago.)
For 11 years the office operated
well. For nearly ten out of those
years Rev. Richard Kirker had
operated there as General Secretary
of the Movement - trying to ensure
that most church. leaders and Jots of
worried Christians knew where to
turn to, and trying to make sure the
lesbian and gay communities knew of
the Movement's existence.
Beyond the homophobia sweeping
the Church of England, Britons began
hearing of the now notorious Clause
28. Conservatives saw Britian's
excellent, widely distributed and
often graphic AIDS education
materials as "promoting" homosexuality
and a measure banning all
lo.cal spending for anything
supporting gay or lesbian concerns
soon gained the support of Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher and the
Conservative Party.
and the Christian faith - and this is
because our sexuality has
historically been used by the church
as a reason for excluding us: at times
from studying theology, still now
often from preaching in church or
from leadership positions, or from
ordination, and certainly from being
present in-any language we use about
God. So women can hardly avoid
contemplating the connections
between our faith and our sexuality,
because the latter has so often been
presented to us as a handicap. In ISCS
we shall want to challenge this
perception ."
Trustee -Canon Douglas Rhymes
said, "A major task of lSCS will be to
bring a realistic approach to pastoral
issues and counselling. We shall aim
for an affirmative and positive view
· of sexuality based up.on the needs of
the person for stable and loving
. relationship, whether opposite or
same sex, as the only true basis of a
Christian ethic."
For information on the Institute for
the Study of Christianity and
Sexuality, wrjte to ISCS, Oxford
House, Derbyshire St., London E2
6HG, England.
Im THE SECOND STONE
The Bishop of London, Graham
Leonard appointed as his Archdeacon
a hardline Ulsterman, George -
Cassidy. He was given lots of
encouragement and a free hand to
clean up the Church, starting with
the Gays and Lesbians in St.
Botolph's .
A long-ignored piece of church law
was unearthed. Apparently a formal
permission (a faculty) had to be
granted to allow any part of a church
building to be used for anything other
than things like worship. The
Bishop's lawyers presented the
matter to LGCM and to St. Botolph's
as being a formality, so an
application was made for a 'faculty.'
LGCM then discovered that the
Archdeacon, urged on by the Bishop,
had made a formal objection to the
application.
The Movement could not find the
enormous sum of money required to
fight the case. It was unwinable.
The judge's view of homosexuality
was made clear in private hearings.
So in September, 1988,LGCM vacated
its home in St. Botolph's with an
emotional liturgy of Exodus .
At the same time LGCM was gainjng
support among City clergy who· had
n0t previously realised , how
despicable the Church could be in the
way it treats Lesbians and Gays .
There was, however, one more 11ssault
on LGCM. A motion was put before
the General Synod that the Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement be
removed from the Church of England
Year Book. Muriel Curtis, who
proposed the motion told The
Observer. "For me this is a symbolic
gesture. I feel we must distan .ce
ourselves from people who are
promoting homosexuality in schools."
With a victory now Jong overdue,
LGCM won the right to· keep its name
in the Year· Book after a vote by the
General Synod.
The long conflict within the Church
of England has provided no answers.
An article in The Times by Cliff
Longley summed it up this . way:
"If the Church of England had
approached the matter in the logical
order, it would first have -sought a
theology of sexuality which would
have answered these objections (to
homosexuality) by finding
alternative Christian criteria for the
moral judgement .of sexual acts .
Instead it proceeded as if the problem
did not even exist. And so at the end
of it no-one is any the wiser ... and
some people got hurt.''
-From reports by Kim Byham,
Malcolm McCourt , and others.
Parting Thought □
Butterflies
By Dr. Martin Fowler
Contributing Writer
In the hymn, "It Is Well With My
Soul," one awkwardly constructed
verse has us singing, "My sin, 0, the
bliss of this glorious thought..." But
thinking about sin is no bliss for gay
Christians. Because we've been
unjustly condemned as "sinners" for
so long, thinking about sin only
makes us angry.
As a result, we're sick of hearing
about sins. We want reasons to
celebrate life. Several years ago, some
talented MCC members made
beautiful Easter banners graced with
butterflies and balloons. The
congregation liked the banners so
much that no one wanted to take
them down. After several months,
the pastor declared that the banners
had been on display long enough.
The church, she said, couldn't keep
celebrating Easter forever.
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However, sin keeps us from
celebrating Easter at all. We're so
preoccupied with · the fake · "sin" of
being gay that we forget to deal with
our real sins. We still lie about who
we are arid disqualify ourselves from
too many of the joys and
responsibilities of life. We complain
that living like this is unfair and that
it makes us feel lonely and ashamed.
But regardless of who's to blame,
lying and hiding is not just a
miserable way to live. It is literally a
sinful way of life because it is
dishonest and unloving. And that,
strangely enough, truly is a glorious
thought. Because Christ can handle
real sins. When we repent of lying,
Jesus gives us a new courage to be
truthful about ourselves. When we
repent of hiding, Jesus helps to makes us furious, but facing up to
change our fear of responsibility and real sins liberates us to celebrate
commitment into real love and care Easter with all the butterflies and
for others. Being accused of false sins balloons - forever.
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NEW YORK - The Lesbian and Gay
Community Services Center
National Museum of Lesbian and Gay
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of cartoon art called The Cartoon
Show. The exhibit will open on April
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Organizations
THE CO~FERENCE FOR CATHOLIC
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McNEIL together lead a weekend retreat
'PALM SUNDAY WEEKEND FOR GAY & ·
LESBIAN CHRISTIANS' on April 6-8, 1990. If
you tend to stay away from the holy
celebrations because of their exclusivity, then
treat yourself to a Palm Sunday weekend
celebration that won1 shut its doors on you.
Fellowship, bible study, worship, reflection,
healing. Room, Board, and Registration,
$165.00. Register by March 20th. Inquire at:
Beaver Conference Farm, Underhill Avenue,
Yorktown Hts., NY 10598; 914/962-6033 4/90
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Denver) seminaries. 30 ylo, single,.healthy,
will relocate. Seeks parish situation, either
staff or sole. Mark Lee, 2466 S. York,
Denver, co 80210. 6190
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Threat To 0 T~aditional Families'' . Comes ,Fr'om Within
By Ivy Young
Director, National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force's Family Project
The "traditional family'': father -
breadwinner; mother - ·homemaker;
and the children. That construct of
the nuclear family defines
approximately ten percent of
American families today. Ninety
percent of us, then, live outside Rev.
Lou Sheldon's view of how the
world should be.
So how do Americans define
family? According to a 1989 poll
conducted by the Massachusetts
Mutual Life Insurance Company, the
majority of those surveyed (74%)
defined family, not in a legalistic
sense, but by function, as a group of
people who love and care for one
another.
For Lesbians arid gay men that
definition is no different. For us,
family is a social institution of
inclusion, not exclusion. The
families we create are not, as
Representative William
Dannemeyer would have . you
believe, " ... filled with despair," On
the contrary, in our families there is a
keen sense of joy and celebration.
Because despite the revages of hatred,
·and in the face of virulent
homophobia, we create and sustain
gentle and nurturing unions.
As for our children, there are
thousands and thousands of them in
this country who are part of lesbian
and gay families: We hope we are
teaching our children · the values of
love and compassion, not bigotry and
hatefulness. We hope we are
teaching . our children not just to
tolerate, but tq respect. and celebrate
tl,,.e diversity of life on this planet.
What is happening in many of Mr.
Sheldon's "traditional families" in
America today?
Fifty percent of American marriages
e.nd in divorce. According to the
National Coalition Against Domestic
Violence, three to four million
women a year are abused by their ·
husbands . or boyfriends; every 18
seconds a woman is battered by her
spouse; thirty percent · of female
· homicide victims die at the hands of
their husbands or boyfriends. That's
four women a day who die as a result
of domestic violence. Spousal abuse,
according to the U.S. Surgeon
General, is the number one cause of
injury to women in the U.S.
KILLIAN, FromPagel
I won't burden you with all the
current statistics on child abuse and
sexual assault. Here are just a few:
according . to a survey conducted by
Richard Gelles .and Murray Strauss,
more than ten . parents per one
thousand said they · beat their child at
least once a year. And, ~very year,
orie child in one thousand faces a
parent with a . wei;ipon. According
to the National Coalition Against
Sexual Assault, the typical incestuous
family tends to be that family which
rigidly adheres to traditional family
roles and gender stereotypes. And
the upstanding, church-going,
traditional family man is the person
most likely to be a wife and child
abuser. ·
Unfortunately, the statistics I've
cited are the reality of what is
happening in thousands of homes
across the nation. These are not the
family values Lesbians and gay men
wish to perpetuate.
Here are some of the efforts the
Coalition for Traditional Values has
made in its attempt to "strengthen
and support" the family.
In California, CTV has urged its
followers to oppose a state child care
bill similar to the federal measure
that garnered overwhelming support
in Congress. Does that stance by CTV
aid the thousands of working parents
in California who struggle daily to
find adequate, affordable daycare for
their children? Does it strengthen
those families?
Again in California, the Coalition
for Traditional Values vehemently
opposes a bill that would recognize
Vesper marriages. The idea of Vesper
marriage had been put forward as a
way to resolve some of the problems
faced by, many of our senior citizens.
Widows and widowers who find
companions to share . the autumn of
their lives are threatened with the
loss of pensions and other
entitlements if they remarry. Vesper ·
marriage would recognize · the
relationships those elders create,
while not jeopardizing the benefits
they so desperately need. But, CTV
says absolutely no. Mr. Sheldon . says
he speaks for compassion and
righteousness. Where is the
compassion in that opposition?
Needless to say, CTV cohorts in San
Francisco led the charge against the
Domestic Partnership Ordinance that
was unanimm1sly passed by that city's
Board of Supervisors. (The law was
repealed by a mere 1700 votes.) What
was the danger as perceived by the
Coalition for Traditional . Values?
The ordinance provided only that
unmarried couples, heterosexual and
homosexual, could register as a
couple and declare their commitment.
It also provided bereavement
leave and hospital visitation rights to
those same committed couples. Is
that such an enormous threat?
Is Mr. Sheldon's "traditional
family" so fragile that it could not
survive the mere thought of an
unmarried partner visiting his or her
lover in a hospital?
Finally, I would ask you to think
back to other times when the call to
defend traditional values filled the
air : "Kinder, Kirke, Kuche"
(Children, Church and Kitchen) was
the cry of fascists in Europe as they
exterminated all those who were
different . Much closer to home, and
unfortunately, not too long ago men
like Bull Connor, Ross Barnett,
George Wallace and Lester Maddox
also urged their followers ,to uphold
the traditional values that ·allowed
racism and bigotry to flourish in this
country.
Threats to the American family do
not c.ome from the desire of Lesbians
and gay ·men to create loving
relationships. No, the threat to the
family is poverty and economic
injustice, ignorance and inadequate
education, homelessness and hunger.
Let Mr. Sheldon and the Coalition for
Traditional Values put what energy
and resources they have into
combatting these scourages of
American family life. We would all
·benefit from that agenda .
U.S. Civil Rights .. Chairman
In Anti-Gay Symppsium .
WASHINGTON, D.C. The
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
strongly condemned the appearance
of U.S. Civil Rights Commission
Chairman William Allen at an
anti-gay and lesbian symposium,
saying Allen's participation is "sad
and appalling','' and deeply
antithetical to principles of equality
and fairness."
Allen's pres ·entation, entitled
"Blacks? Animals? Homosexuals?
What Is A Minority?," was made at
the "West Coast Symposium on
Homosexuality and Public Policy
Implications" in Anaheim, California
.
The conference was sponsored by the
California Coalition for Traditional
Values, led by Rev .. Louis Sheldon, a
strident fo~ of gay and lesbian civil
rights . Sheldon is a proponent of the
belief .that homosexuality is an
"illness" that should be "prevented
and cured ."
In the . past, Allen · and the
Commission have been strongly
reprehended by the civil rights
community - in particular the lesbian
and gay movement - for their
controversia:l stands on various issues.
Most recently, Allen was quoted as
saying that "the issue of civil rights
for homosexuals is open to criminal
and psychiatric debate" (MG W
Newspaper). .
Allen's recent appearance at the
symposium sparked a fresh firestorm
of ·criticism in ·the national press and
on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Don Edwards (D-Calif./10),
who chairs the Subcommittee on
Civil and Constitutional Rights,
stated in a letter to Allen that his
participation in the anti-gay
conference "appear$ to· be outside the
scope of · the Commission's
jurisdiction, and is an inappropriate
use of limited Commission resources."
Many of Allen',s own colleagues on
the Commission rebuked the
chairman for appearing at the
conference · and called the title of his
speech "thoughtless, disgusting · and
unnecessarily inflammatory."
More than 150 Gays, Lesbians and
their supporters demonstrated
outside the Pan Pacific Hotel, site of
the c'onference, reported the L () s
Angeles Times . ·
people of God."
At the interment service at
the Wadsworth veteran's
cemetary in Westwood, his
friend, Fr. Ed Barrett, Jr. of the
Veteran's Administration
commended Killian's devotion
to service, which he
called "the essence of
Christian life" and called him
'"a fine Christian gentleman,"
one who "rose above the
scandal of the organized
church" and its exclusion of
Gays and Lesbians.
COALITION, FromPagel
The rally was followed by a
march up Connect\cut
Avenue to the SheratonWashington
Hotel, site of the
CTV symposium.
the domestic partnership
referendum in San Francisco,
which lost last November,
and the repeal of the Irvine,
Calif., gay and lesbian civil
rights ordinance. CTV, based
in Orange County, Calif., has
been the subject of recent
articles in the Los Angeles
Times and Los Angeles
magazine, which called
Sheldon the "Son of Falwell."
Gay and lesbian activists view
the Washington symposium
as CTV's bid for national Killian was born April 11,
1940 and is survived by his
four sisters and two brothers.
CTV has been involved in
recent gay and lesbian
political fights, in par~cular
March / A'.p r ii 1 9 9 0
attention. . ·