Second Stone #26 - Jan/Feb 1993

Second Stone #26 - Jan/Feb 1993

26

1993

Jan/Feb 1993

. • I
f AMERICA'.S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN-t4~WSJOURNAL , . . _ . :· . ,, - . . . ._ .. ~,. .' - ------. ,
- - . BUILDING -"-.COMIIIIUNITY
Voluntee rs bring
fa ith and mortar;
leave buildings·
BY CANDACE CHELLEW
and JIM BAILEY
esidents of a poor community in the
Dominican Republic have a new worship facility
thanks to labor donated by a group of 18 volunteers
from the Atlanta-based World Community Builders.
The group returned Nov. 30 after spending ten days
· assembling donated construction material into a worship
structure in El Tamarindo, a small village adjacent
to the capitol city of Santo Domingo.
The ministry of World Community Builders is
carried out through missionary work camps, where
volunteers offer their labor to help people in a foreign
culture wi th a construction project. Local leaders
determine the work to be done, which may be
construction of a church , school, clinic or orphanage,
the refurbishing of an existing structure, or assisting a
community clean up and recover after a natural
disaster. The organization is affiliated with the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches.
The organization's name was chosen to reflect the
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
MAKING A WCB Volunteer Helene Loper helps
DIFFERENCE: lay the foundation for a building in
a village in the Dominican Republic.
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· [g]i S"':ond Stone•January/February, . 1993 _
~· ' .
T FrotmhEe ditoTr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....
Web egino urf ocuso nc ommunity
W 1TH TH IS EDITION, we begin a series of issues, perhaps all six for this
year, which will focus on community. I extend my call from the Nov/Dec
issue for your input on what community means to you - how you or people
you know are connected in some way to others in the gay community; how
you live and love together; and how you work toward common goals.
Our first look at building community is a report on a group that. actually
took that concept as its name - World Community Builders. Members of this
organization have just returned from the Dominican Republic where they
volunteered their time and labor to build the first MCC church structure
there. More such missionary- work camps are planned. (For information
contact WCB, 1120 Morley Ave., S.E., Atlanta, GA 30312.) We also report on
two Sacramento agencies who are helping people who are suffering with
AIDS - and are homeless . And then there is the story of Hutsville, a
community of homeless living in make shift huts in Atlanta. Within that
community there is another - homeless Gays who have taken up residence at
Hutsville. You'll be wondering what you can do for these folks as you read
this article. And then there's the surprising epilogue.
IntroducinSge conSd.t one'Cs ommuniFtyo rum
REV. STEVE FUND, director of World Community Builders, says his
organization came about as the result of a conversation with friends. Great
accomplishments always have their roots in a few people getting together and
discussing ideas. When was the last time you got together with a few people
just for the purpose of discussing ideas and concerns? With the belief that
one person can make a significant difference in a cQmmunity (and that that
person is you) and that great things do happen when caring people get
together, Second Stone in this issue puts forth our idea for community
building ... Second Stone's Community Forum. Modeled after Utne Reader's
Neighborhood Salons, our Community Forum is an opportunity for one
person - you - to connect a group of gay and lesbian Christians in your
community. The result may simply be good conversation; it may mean the
end of isolation for someone you reach out to; the result may even be a project
like World Community Builders (and your photo on the cover of Second
Stone?)
There may not be a place in your community where people can come
together just to talk and exchange ideas. Try putting a community forum
together. My feeling is that there are people in your community who will be
responsive - and appreciative! Second Stone will help you every step of the
way. (See page 16 about getting started.) We will have followup reports
(including what you tell us about your forum) and recommendations in issues
to follow.
Yourm ailboixs o ur" suggestiobno x"
WE WANT TO do a good job with Second Stone. Have you noticed that there
is very little advertising in Second Stone? Practically all of our revenue comes
from readers, NOT advertisers. Your personal subscription, and your gift
subscriptions, pay for this publication. If we're not doing the job, don't give
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My very best to you during the new year!
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
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Copyright 1993 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
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SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjoumal for the national gay and
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PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Andrea L T. Peterson, Mayne Ellis,
Johnny Townsend, Kevin Calegari, Candace Chellew
NOTE: The article "Uncle Fred's Ministry" in the Nov/Dec, 1992, issue was edited
without the permission of the author.
Contents
[[]
[I]
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[20]
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From The Editor
Commentary
Unity is on the way, says Rev. Sam Kader
News Lines
Bishops, Queens & Pawns
Kevin Calegari, president of Dignity/USA
reflects on the Catholic Bishops Conference
Cover Story .
World Community Builders finishes first mission
camp in the Dominican Republic
Families
The late Rev. Sylvia Pennington'sla st article
written for Second Stone
The Gay Homeless
Nestled between two ,"straight neighborhoods"
of make shift shacks is the "gay neighborhood"
In Print
Out of the Bishop's Closet reviewed by
Johnny Townsend; Sensuous Spirituality
reviewed by Andrea L. T. Peterson
Second Stone's Community Forum
Get to know the gay and lesbian Christians in
your neighborhood. Put on some coffee.
Calendar
Noteworthy
News about people, churches and groups
Classifieds
Second Stone•January/F!'bruary, 1993:[JJ
.. I
I
Comment .............. . ... ............................................... ·• ...... ·~
Unity is on the way
By Rev. Samuel Kader
Guest comment F or a few decades now, the
gay and lesbian Christian
community has acknowledged
Isaiah 56:3-5 as a
prophetic word regarding sexual minorities.
When the Bible mentions
sexual minorities it is not the arsenokoites
of I Cor. 6:9 (abusers of
themselves with mankind) referred
to, but the eunuchs of Matthew 19:12
and Isaiah 56:3. The eunuch of Isaiah
would try to say, "Behold I am a dry
tree."
Over centuries of oppression the
person of non-mainstream sexual orientation
begins to feel they've been
shut out of the church, and therefore,
spiritually speaking, are a dry tree.
They feel they will just wither and
die since so little of their contribution
to the church is accepted when their
secret is out. So often they are outright
rejected as persons of value and
worth when their orientation is
known.
But for 25 years or so, God has been
faithful to the promise to "pour out
My Spirit on all flesh." Not only has
there been revival in the non-gay
community during this century but
all flesh has been included as the Holy
Spirit has brought revival in the gay
community as well. From Isaiah
56:3-5 over the 1-ast 25 years, the
eunuch has grabbed the promise
which says, "I will give them a name
which is better than that of sons and
daughters. Sons and daughters are
identified as the traditional non-gay
church members. We have been
comforted thinking somE\how God has
seen our plightand one day God will
give us a 'name better than that of our
oppressors. We have waited and
waited and waited.
In the meantime, in the rest of the
church world, the promise has been
that the miracles of the book of Acts
and in the Gospels would be restored
crusades took place in North America
and other parts of the world as well.
But unlike in the Gospels, when Jesus
had compassion on the multitudes
and healed them all, not every person
received a physical healing.
Some died. And in the last 20 years
people have been asking God,
"When will you do it again, like in
the book of Acts?" One major key,
however, was that in the book of
Acts, the believers were all in one
accord.
. Does it seem like a miracle today
This same pastor from Pittsburgh
told the pentecostal pastors assembled
in Dayton that he had a problem
with people making statements like
"if God doesn't judge San Francisco
for its homosexuality, He'll have to
apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah ... "
to the church. We likewise have held
-to that promise, and expect AIDS and
the other enemies of God to be made
God's footstool, to be put under the
feet of the church, Christ's body.
Beginning in the late 1940's
through the 1970's great healing
for the church to ever be in one
accord? People do not come into
unity about various doctrines, and
styles of worship. Yet they do come
together in the true church, around
the person of Jesus.
As a result, Jesus declared to the
The exultant misdiagnosis
By Johnny Townsend
. Guest comment P.n a Donahue show discussing
the marriage of two
Lesbians in Austin, Texas, a
woman in the audience
p to declare to the couple in
front of a nationwide audience, "I
think you're sick!" Then, smiling
broadly, she sat down again. The
camera focused on her for several
more seconds and returned to her
briefly a few more times during the
show. Always, she was smiling
triumphantly.
My question is if she really believes
her own opinion, why is she smiling?
What decent person would go up to
someone and, smiling happily, say,
"You have leprosy!" or "I think you
have cancer!" or "I know the truth!
You have the flu!" If these people
who claim to sincerely believe
homosexuali ty is an illness are in fact
sincere, what does the fact that they're
gleeful about their opinion say about
them?
[I] Second Stone•January/February, 1993
A "Christian" on the same show
insisted that he loved Gays and.
Lesbians, but that out of love he was
also obligated to tell them the truth.
Is this love the basis for the smirking
expressions of those who are sensitive
and honest enough to know and
declare the truth? If the smile means,
'Tm so good and clever to have
figured this out," isn't the focus on the
wrong person?
Let's imagine this scene: a woman
goes from doctor to doctor with her
puzzling symptoms. No one can find
anything wrong. They tell her, •in
fact, that she is fine. But eventually
one doctor does find something
wrong with her, by virtue of being
more clever than the other doctors.
"My dear," she says, smiling warmly,
"I'm happy to say I've discovered the
problem. You have an incurable,
terminal illness ." And she smiles
even more broadly and sits down
without another word.
How would we feel if a doctor gave
us his diagnosis in this fashion?
Now let's consider a different
situation. A woman feels perfectly
healthy, but she has some odd symptom.
Perhaps she has gone prematurely
gray at the age of 20. She
dyes her hair for a few years so no
one will know, but eventually justs
lets the natural color show. Some
think she looks "handsome," while
others think she looks awful. Some
tell her that it's simply a ni,ltural
phenomenon which happens to some
people. But one woman, with absolutely
no medical training, stops her
on the str<'!et and insists majestically,
"I think you're sitk!" and walks off,
smiling as if she'd just won an award.
There are really two issues here.
The first is that it's awfully hard for
Gays and Lesbians to believe they're
sick when they feel · fine, and the
second is that it's hard for them to
accept that critics truly believe they're
ill either when they announce their
diagnosis in such an odd manner. In
fact, Gays and Lesbians are downright
mystified that heterosexuals can
believe such a ridiculous tactic could
have any effect on them. And they
first disciples, "And other sheep I
have which are not of this fold."
'Them also I must bring in, and there
shall be one fold and one shepherd
(John 10:16). He also revealed that
when the church comes together in
unity Gohn 17:21) then revival would
break out globally because the world
would believe that God sent Jesus.
So the promise to the eunuch to
have a name better than that of sons
and daughters is not isolated and
separated from sons and daughters.
For it also declares in Isaiah 56:5 to
the eunuchs who take hold of my
covenant, that "even unto them will I
give in my house and within my walls
a place and a name better than that of
sons and daughters. The name God
gives us is not separated but within
the confines of the church. Amazing?
Too impossible? Amos 3:7 says the
Lord God will do nothing in the earth
except He reveals it to His servants
the prophets. So what are the
prophets saying?
On February 28, 1989, on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network, Rev.
Benny Hinn, pastor of the several
thousand member Orlando Christian
Center in Orlando, Florida, stated
that God showed him that the largest
revival to ever hit the earth was
going to come to our planet, splashing
on every continent. He said that
SEE COMMENT, Page 20
wonder if helping them is really a
goal for these exultant quacks in the
first place.
If "helping the sick" is truly the
motive for the diagnosis, perhaps
these self-appointed physicians need
to learn a more appropriate bedside
manner. After all, it's useless to have
knowledge that will never reach the
patient because the patient can find
no way to trust the doctor .
But still I can see the exultant face of
the woman on the Donahue show, the
foce of someone who believed she'd
actually done something positive by
making her claim. Was sill' smiling
victoriously becausl' slw had really
done anything usl'ful? Or Was sill'
just happy that slw had a w,1y of
"proving" lwr supniority, of congratulating
lwrsl'lf on lwr own s,·xual
orientation, ·over which :slw hi\d no
control? Tlw qu,•slions r,1is1•d by
smiling critic:•; an• intriguing. Bui
al1no:·,l non{· of lhl' aw1w1·rH .in·
lwlpful to .1nyo11t.·i t ,,II.
T News Lines T
Presbyterian leader predicts ordination of gay ministers
llNON-CELIBATE GAYS AND LESBIANS will likely be admitted to ordained ministry
in the Presbyterian Church some time this year, the head of the denomin ation predicted.
The Rev. John Fife, the church's highest elected official, said the decision denying .Rev.
Jane Spahr the pastorate of a Rochester, N.Y., church would lead to a re-examination of a
14-year-old church policy barrini; sexually acti ve Gays and Lesbians from ordination . If
the policy doesn't cliange, Fife said "Presbyterians are only going to be the know-nothing
party of prayer." He made the comments while addressing students and faculty at
Princeton Theological Seminary.
-The Star-Ledger
Virginia Baptists won, exclude Gays
t.A CONVENTION OF VIRGINIA'S South e rn Baptists have decid e d that the
denominati on shou ld reach out to Gays and Lesoians . Repre sen tatives at the
association's two day m eeting rejected an amendm ent that would have excluded churches
that confirm, approve or end o rse homosexual behavior. -Associated Press
Christian, Jewish leaders: End military ban
llLEADERS OF THREE Christian denominations and a Jewish organization are urging
President-elect Bill Clinton to follow through on a campaign promise to end the ban on
Gays and Lesbians in the armed services. fn an open letter to Clinton, United Church of
Christ President Paul H. Sherry wrote , "Refusal to induct a person into th e milita r)', or
discharg e of a person, solely on 'the basis of sexual orientation, is intol erable. " President
C. William Nichols of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , the United Church's
ecumenical partner , endorsed the letter, as did Bish op Melvin G. Talbert of the United
Methodist Church and Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, president of the Union of
American Hebrew Congreg ations. The letter says the military 's policy of discri mination
based on sexual orientation plays on the prejudices of civilians, encouraging "other acts
of discrimination against gay and lesbian persons in our society which, at times, have led
to harassme nt, violence, even dea th ." The r eligiou s leaders commended Clinton's
"cour ageo us commitment to end injustice in the military with regard to Gays and
Lesbians ." They added "we encourage you to fulfill your pledge as quickly and as clearly
as possible following your inauguration. "
Southern Baptists ask Clinton to rethink stand on gay rights
llSOUTHERN BAPTISTS oppose a public policy that would add sexual orientation as a
protected status unde r civil rights laws, the head of the convention 's ethi cs agency said in
a lette r to Bill Clinton . "We fear the wrath of God on our nati on if our gover nment
pursues this path," said Richard Land , director of the conven t ion's Cliristian Life
Commission, in a letter to the president-elect on Nov. 12. -Associated Press
Seven major demands outlined by March committee
llTHE SEVEN MAJOR DEMANDS for the 1993 March on W ashin gton were presented
by the Executive Committ ee at the Na tional Steering Committee meeting held in Denver on
October 3 & 4. The demand s bring focus and priority to the '93 March agen da. "The
dem ands prior itize our fight for civil right s, access to health care, recognition of our
family relat1onsh1ps, ou r rightfu l mclus1on m educatio nal systems as well as our
commitmen t to fight racism ani:1 sexism," said a spokesperson for the committee.
Gav-friendly church censured
llTHE ORGANIZATION THAT GOVERNS Presbyterian churches in the Cincinnati
area ha s censured a chur ch th at permits Gays and Lesbians to b ecome deacons and
eld er s. Lea ders of the Presbytery voted by a mar gin of nearly 2-1 to censure the Mount
Auburn Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Harold Porter, pastor of Mount Auburn, said the
church rule forbidding th e use of Gays and Lesbians in church lead ership is unjust and
demeaning. -Associated Press
NC Baotists uoholdecision to oust churches
t.DELEGATES TO THE Nor th Carolina Baptist State Convention's annua l session
vot ed overw helmingly Nov. 10 to r eaffirm a decision by its governin g board to exclude
Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, ani:I Pullen -Me!llonal Baptist
Church, Raleigh, for affirming the worth of gay and lesbian people. Speaking agams t the
motion, Tim Moore of Sham rock Drive Baptist Church in Charlotte reminded members
that the convention once exclud ed black churche s. -Associated Press
Malta Catholic priest suppressed for views
ll FATHE R MARK MONTEBELLO, 29, a Dominican priest who sai d in a radio
broadca st that Christ should have experienced the state of marriage for him self and that
if homo sexual couples loved each other in .the same way as heterose xuals th ey should
also be allowed to marry, has been banned by his Roman Catholic superiors from
speaking or writing about his views. Church officials said Montebello had drawn the
prohibihon for what officials said was misr epresen ting church teac hin gs, distortin g
biblical facts and scandalizing his audience. -GayNet
Norwegian politician comes out
t.ANDERS GAASLAND, the 24-year-old leader of the yout h organi _zation of Norway's
anti-gay Christian Democratic Party, came out on a nahonal telev1s1on news broadcast
October 17. Gaasland said he wanted to come ou t so he could help ot h ers m the same
situation as himself, an ambiguous statement th at may have meant that other lesbian and
gay P'?liticos in the_ country should follow .his examp le and come out. as we ll. Th e
Clirishan Democratic Party makes a d1stmchon between sexual on entahon and sexual
behavior in supportin g or opposing rif$hts measures, a distinct ion· Gaa.sl~nd said is
"artifici.a l" in his eight-minute TV talk. If you t ake away a person's poss1b1hty to love
someone, t here isn't much left,'' he said. -GayNet
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Integrity calls for replacement of NCC delegates
t.THE NATIONAL BOARD of Integrity, in a special meeting on December 3, called for
the immediate replacement of the Rev. William Norgren as Ecumenical Officer of the
Episcopal Church and the replacement of four other members of the Episcopal delegation
to the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA with, among others,
"persons with ecumenical experience who are active in lesgay ministries in the Episcopal
Church." Integrity's board also dissociated itself from the action by the majority of the
Episcopal delegation who opposed granting observer status in the NCCCUSA for the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Norgren was the only
representative from a mainline denomination to speak in opposition to UFMCC s
application. Integrity claims that the delegation's vote violates "the stated and
authoritative goal of. the [Episcopal] church" which is to encourage dialogue with the
lesbian and gay community. Tlie Episcqpal delegation at the NCCCUSAignored the
mandates of several General Conventions encouraging dialogue, the Integrity resolution
said.
Gav help not needed, savs Nashville organization
t.AN ORGANIZATION OF NASINILLE churches has rejected the membership bid of a
small congregation of gay and lesbian people. "Basically, we were taking the position
that the practice of homosexuality isn't consistent with Christianity," said the Rev. Bob
Jared, president of the East Nashville Cooperative Ministry board of directors. Jack
Gregory, a leader of the congregation of Dayspring Christian 'Fellowship, said the group
had sought membership to help with the organization's social work, but that Dayspring
accepted the group's decision and does not want to start a controversy.
-Associated /Yress
Far right working on new anti-gay measures .
MAR-RIGHT LEADERS connected with Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition have made
it clea r that Colorado's newly pas sed anti-gay Amendment 2 has become the model for a
state-by-state campaign that may eclipse abortion as its premiere issue for the next
several years. -GayNet
No gay unions, Episcopal clergy savs .
t.BISHOP A THEODORE EASTMAN, head o( the Epis.copal Church in Maryland, has
ordered the clergy not to follow the example of the Rev. William W. Rich, who blessed the
union of two women in_a cerem ony last summer. "Because the Episcopal Church has made
no official provision for the blessing of same-gender covenants, and because there is
clearly no consen sus locally or on the wider scene about the significance of these rites, I
have directed the clergy of the Diocese of Maryland to refram from such blessings,"
Eastman said. The Rev. William N. McKeachie, rector of Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
Baltimore, critici ze d the bishop's reaction, saying that Eastman should ha ve more
strongly condemned the union. -Baltimore Alternative
•E mpathy is a journal that deserves our
.>uppon for the original and creative work it
does m the· interest of truth and justice.
;.f.. Rev. Malcolm Boyd, author of 23 books
including Are You Running with Me, Jesus?,
Takt Off the Masks, and Ga:y Priest
E mpathy provides a much-needed and
welcomed commu~ication link for persons
involved in education about homophobia. At its
best it will keep us informed and in t0uch,
supported and challenged, excited and proud.
a. Brian McNaught, lecturer and author of On
Being Gay: Thoughts on Family, Faith, and LO'l.'I!
[I] Second Stone•January/February, 1993
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Helms, Wildmon attack AIDS project
&ROJECT ARIES, a telephone counseling service and research program out of the
University of Washington, Seattle, is under attack by right wing activists who are
portraying the program as a federally funded phone sex line for gay and bisexual men.
The program targets men who continue to have unsafe sex despite the risk of contracting
HN or transmitting the virus to their partners. In .September, 1991, Project Aries
received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health. A right wing
newspaper in New York, I11e New York Guardia11, ran a September cover story calling
the program a "homosexual hotline." The article quoted Rev. Donald Wildmon, president
of the American Family Association, who said about the project, "If it wasn't so serious it
would be funny. The National Institutes of Health is part of the homosexual lobby like
PBS and the NEA, a lobby that has extraordinary influence in the media and the highest
levels of government."
Pentaaon nixes aav chaolains
t.THE P'tNTAGON DE~ERRED action on a · request by the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches to have chaplains in the U.S. armed forces until the
church presents a candidate who is heterosexual. The church's current candidate, the
Rev. Carolyn D. Pruitt, was dismissed from the.Army after announcing that she is lesbian.
- The Lutheran
Michigan bishop warns pastors
t.LESS THAN TWO MONTHS after taking office, Donald Ott, Michigan United
Methodist Bishop, has barred his clergy from blessing gay couples. At the same time he
urged his church to continue its discussions on the issue. Bishop Ott banned his clergy
from conducting "an event in which a public covenant is made between same-sex people,
akin to marriage, impl ying blessing or endorsement." Ott also inform ed the clerg y that he
expects them to call him or their District Superintendent if they are consider ing attending
or taking part in any kind of blessing. H e said that the was trying to set up some clear
boundaries for his cler11y as the church continues its dis.cussions on gay and le sbia n
issues within the denomination. - Cruise
Clergy group opens dialogue on gay issues
t.A CLERGY ASSOCIATION in Charlotte, North Carolina, ha s met with Gays and
Lesbians to dialogue on issues that have separated the two groups. Rev. Dick Little, of
Advent Lutheran Church, said that the decision to begin sucn dialogue sprang from last
year's · Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays' International Convention held in
Charlotte . Rev. Jimmy Creech, a heterosexual minister from Raleigh who was removed
from his church for supporting Gays and Lesbians, encouraged the focal ministers to meet
with the gay and lesbian community. Charlotte Area Clergy Association member Rev.
William Medlin said of the meeting, "We can't be in ministry and stand in judgment at the
same time. We have to choose." -Q Notes
Anti-gay activist links gay rights with Dahmer
t.A VIRGINIA ANTI-GAY ACTNIST has kicked off his latest national "Emergency
Campaign" to stop the lesbian and gay rights bill, this time linking gay rights to the crimes
of mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer and accused Philadelphia sex offender Ed Savitz.
Longtime anti-gay fundraiser Eugene Delgaudio issued his six-page direct mail assault on
lesbian and gay Americans under the banner of his Virginia-based Public Advocate of
the U.S. The right-wing organization was responsible for the abundant signs on the
floor of the Republican National Convention proclaiming "Family Rights Forev er, 'Gay'
Rights Never." Del gau dio said that if the "twisted bill" becomes law , "radical
homosexuals and lesbia ns will be free to prey on small children to replenish the
'homose xua l community.'" -Baltimore Alternative
Falwell mav revive Moral Majoritv .
MDDRESSJNG A GROUP OF evangelica1 ministers in Burlingame, Cahf., Jerry Falwell
said that if President Clinton fulfills his campaign promises to lift the ban on Gays and
Lesbians in the military, lo sign a federal gay rights bill and to support pro-ch01ce
legislation , he may rev ive the now-defunct Moral Ma1onty. Falwell said the country 1s
"on the verge of moral collapse" and made it clear that his decision will depend on how
the Clinton adminstration deals with the nation's social issues. - GayNet
New Catholic catechism urges respect for Gays
t.THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH in November unveiled a ne w catechi sm that is
more tolerant of hom osex uality. Seven years in the making, the new catechism follows
traditional teachings in condemning homosexual acts and in instructing Gays to practice
chastity. But it adds that since most Gays do not willingly choose their sexual
orientati on, they "must be welcomed with respect ; compassion and delicacy." The
676-page b oo k continues, "One must avoid all un1ust discrimination against them." It is
the first new catechism since 1566. -11,e Lutl1eran
Far riaht suffersetback in California assembly races
t.CAPI'l'OL COMMONWEALTH GROUP'S big bucks strategy failed in the effort to win
California Assembly seats for candidates who are committed to the agenda of the
theocratic religious right. Of the 20 Republican candidates backed and banl<rolled by the
group, only six won election to the Assembly. The election cost the Capitol Commonweal!
h Group, which in May became the Alhed Business PAC, at least$ 2 million. Rev.
Jerry Sloan, Co-Chair of Pro!ect Tocsin, said, "While we're pleased with the results of the
election, we hope people wi I not be lulled int_o a false sense of security . Our people need
to realize that the theocratic right will not be deterred by this election setback. They're
like chameleons which change colors to fit their.surroundings.''
Politically incorrect anthology seeks submissions
t. WE'RE NOT WHO YOU THINK, an anthology for those who feel excluded because of
beliefs o r affiliations, is seeking submissions from Gays and Lesbians who are "not all
Democrats, vegetarians , or Queer Nation members." For information, send a selfaddressed,
stamped envelope to P.O. Box 2745, Quincy, MA 02269.
Clinton: Victory. not possible without gay, lesbian support
WASHINGTON, D.C.- To the wild
applause of gay, lesbian and bisexual
activists from around the country, Bill
CHnton, in a letter of support,
acknowledged his <!ebt to the gay
community and thanked gay voters
for making .his presidential campaign
victory possible. The surprise Clinton
letter was read by former National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force chief
Urvashi Vaid at the opening of the
1992 NGLTF Policy Institute Creating
Chang~ Conference. The 5th annual
conference was held in Los Angeles,
Nov. 13-15.
'To my friends al the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force," said Clinton
in his letter, " ... Hillary and I would
like to thank you all for the hard
work you have done for the advance- ·
ment of human rights for gay and
lesbian people everywhere. It is an
inspiration to us all.
"I would also like . to take this
opportunity . to thank .every one of
you for your tremendous support
during our campaign for change -
without your support our victory on
November 3rd would not have been
possible. I now ask you again for
your help and support in implementing
the changes that are needed
to get America moving forward once
more," Clinton wrote.
Peri Jude Radecic, NGLTF acting
executive director, said, 'This conference
took on heightened significance
as the first national gathering of the
gay and lesbian community following
the presidential elections. We stand
as a people at a dramatic turning
point."
Next year's Creating Change
conference will be held in November
in the Washington, D.C. area. For
information, contact Ivy Young,
NGLTF Creating Change Coordinator,
1734 14th St. NW, Washington,
DC 20009, (202)332-6483.
Hundreds gather to launch banned prayer ·book
By Mayne Ellis
Special to Second Stone
Daring to Speak Love's Name, a gay/
lesbian prayer book compiled by Dr .
Elizabeth Stuart, and banned by the
Anglican Church's publishing house, ·
was the focus of a remarkable launch
on October 27. Over 300 people filled
Westminster Auditorium, London, for
an evening of worship and protest.
John S. Spong, Bishop of Newark,
New Jersey, delivered the keynote
address .. 'To preserve unity," he
observed, "the church plays to fear
and prejudice." "God works in such
strange ways to draw t_his broken
world into the wholeness for which it
was created. The Christian Church so
frequently raises its institutional voice
to offer support to the forces of
oppression and prejudice. When that
happens the wide disparity between
the Gospel of God's love and the way
the church actually lives out that
Gospel, when its institutional vested
interests are threatened, becomes
obvious." ·
Spong noted that Archbishop
George Carey, in his address to the
American House of Bishops, criticised
"one issue Christians," citing feminism,
biblical fundamentalism and
homosexuality as "tangential issues ."
Spong noted his s.urprise that any
thinking Christian could consider the
status of women, th e abuse of scripture,
and human sexuality to be
marginal issues. They are interlocked,
he said, defining basic struggles
in the Christian church, and he
resoundingly affirmed his ongoing
support on these issues. To a standing
ovation, he called the church to
open its heart and mind to gay and
Little Rock congregation sets
progressive pace for Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK - Pulaski Heights
Christian -Church (Disciples of Christ)
has become the first Arkansas congregation
in the mainline tradition to
name itself "Open and Affirming" of
all persons, including lesbian, gay,
and bisexual Christians . Responding
to the defeat a year ago of Michael
Kinnamon ii;I his bid for the top post
of the 1.1 n,.illion member denomination,
the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), due primarily to his
support of iesbian and gay persons in
the church, .the congregation felt compelled
to , make explicit its position .
The Little ' Rock congregation has
formally_. joined with . thirteen other
Disciples of Christ congregations and
campus ministries to join the Open
and Affirming Ministries Program
coordinated by the Gay, Lesbian, and
Affirming Alliance (GLAD).
Writing in the church's newsletter
the week•'following the vote, Pastor
Arnotd Nelson reflected that the
congregation, in seeking to remain
inclusive, had become a meeting
elace for ·a ri~h diversity of people .
We've made quite an amazing
patchwork quilt of saints and sinners,"
wrote Nelson, "and I love us for
it." The congregation proudly touts
the maxim, ''This church has no
doctrine but Christ, preaches no
gospel but love, and has no purpose
but to serve."
The official statement reads, in part:
'We welcome all who profess Jesus of
Nazareth as the Christ, Son of the
Living God. We affirm the value and
dignity of all without reference to
other tests of fellowship or any life
condition . We celebrate Christ's call
to all his disciples and in his name we
embrace each other as brothers and
sisters."
The Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming
Disciples Alliance was formed in 1979
to maintain a visible presence in outreach
to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
affirming members and congregations
of the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ). The organization
established the Open and Affirming
Ministries program after the Findlay
Street Christian Church in Seattle ,
Washington announced its inclusive
vision 'in 1987. The Christian Church,
the largest North American-born
mainline tradition, has over 4,000
congregations throughout the U.S.
and Canada.
lesbian people .
The gathering featured readings
and scripture from Daring to Speak
Love's Name, a blessing of relationships
performed by the Rev. Jean
Elder and Fr . Bernard Lynch, and
music performed by the MCC
Women's Choir and the London Gay
Men's Choir.
Dr. Elizabeth Stuart,
lecturer at St. Mark's and St. John's
Theological College and editor of
Daring to Speak Lave's Name, took the
podium to massive applause and told
of the dramatic events surrounding
the book's publication . Initially, she ·
had been commissioned by the
Society to Promote Christian Knowledge
to produce Daring to Speak
Love' s Name. Early last year, someone
on the editorial board alerted the
Archbishop of Canterbury, President
SEE LAUNCH, Page 20
LGCM to investigate "ex-gay" movement
LONDON - The Lesbian and Gay
Christian Movement has appointed
a commission to investigate
Christian-inspired attempts to
"heal" or "convert" Gays and
Lesbians to heterosexuality. The
ex-gay programs in England are
being described as a "new, alarming
trend."
Taking note of the obvious
need to examine and evaluate the
claims and m ethods of ex-gay
organizations LGCM's team has
been asked to consult extensively
with all interested parties and
publish their findings . LGCM
has appointed Tony Green as
secretary of the commission.
Commenting on the launching
of the commission, LGCM's General
Secretary Rev. Richard
Kirker said, "We take the view
that to coerce anyone to abstain
from a sexual relationship, solely
because . of sexual orientation,
leads to a profoundly distorted
and incomplete life. Rather than
offering true healing to the
sexually confused or vulnerable
the ex-gay movement simply
crea te s an illusion of false hope.
People who are inisled in this
way are denied the chance of
finding sexual wholeness and
God 's unconditional love. We
must warn of these dangers."
The controversy has been
gaining momentum as a result of
several newspaper articles and a
television documentary appearing
within the last year.
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Second Stone•January/February, 1911·1
UFMCC rebuffed by .
National Counci.l of Churches
ANGRY LESBIAN AND GAY Christians
demonstrated on the floor of the
National Council of Churches meeting
in Cleveland on November 12 after
NCC's General Board rejected by a
vote of 90 to 81 the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches' application for observer
status.
"It's easier to get into heaven than
into the NCC," said the Rev. Elder
Nancy Wilson of Los Angeles, Ecumenical
Officer for the UFMCC, who
was invited to the dias to speak after
the vote.
"We have come to this point after 11
years of relationship with you," she
continued. "And now we have had to
endure this experience of hearing you
have a conversation about us, but not
with us."
The vote touched off an emotional
demonstration by UFMCC members,
as well as by members of gay and
lesbian caucuses from denominations
that already belong to the council and
from other non-member denominations.
Leaders from these groups
were meeting in Cleveland in conjunction
with the NCC meeting.
The vote came nine months after
Orthodox churches resumed ties with
the NCC after a 10-month split to
protest liberal positions of the council
and member denominations on
homosexuality and other issues.
After the meeting, Elder Wilson
rejected the NCC Membership Committee's
recommendation that talks
continue between the council and
UFMCC, saying there would be no
point to such talks after the church
had been so severely rebuffed.
The predominantly lesbian and gay
UFMCC had applied for observer
status in May, 1992, following the
termination of an 11-year prncess of
investigation and. dialogue which
followed UFMCC's application for
NCC membership in 1981.
Observer status, which confers only
the opportunity to attend meetings
and speak with the chair's permission,
had previously been given to
Muslim and Jewish groups and to the
Unitarian Universalist denomination,
which ordains openly gay and lesbian
persons and blesses same-sex
unions. NCC spokesman J. Martin
Bailey said the primary opponents to
granting observer status to the
UFMCC were the Eastern Orthodox ·
churches, some of the historically
African-American denominations and
the Korean Presbyterian Church in
the United States. 'There were 12 [of
a total of 32] denominations which,
according to an informal poll in the
corridors, said that if observer status
was granted they would be forced to
leave the council,': he said.
At the same meeting the NCC
voted to seek better ties with Roman
Catholic, Pentecostal and evangelical
churches, groups which strongly
oppose equality for Lesbians and
Gays. To build ties with them, the
General Board extended its ecumenical
committee's work through
1995 and added five employees for
relations with those groups. "We will
be making much closer contact with
them and inviting them to our
meetings so we would have much
closer relationships with them and a
fuller understanding of each other,"
said NCC presiden.t, the Rev.
Syngman Rhee.
Lesbian/gay religious leaders
meet during NCC gathering
REPRESENTATIVESO F MOST of
the nation's gay and lesbian
Christian caucuses and the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches met in
Cleveland November 10-13 in
conjunction with the meeting of
the General Board of the National
Council of Churches. More than
25 representatives from 13 organizations
attended. The group,
which last met in 1989, shared
concerns among the various
groups struggling for equal rights
within their respective denominations.
The gay and lesbian
leaders also wanted to be present
at the NCC meeting to support
the UFMCC's request for observer
status and to remind delegates of
[]] Second Stone•January/February1. 993
the presence of gay and lesbian
members in their own denominations.
The meeting on Tuesday,
November 10 was held at the
national headquarters of the
United Church of Christ in downtown
Cleveland.
· In other action, the gay and
lesbian leaders made plans to
meet again in November, 1993
and also sponsor a joint presence
at the March on Washington in
April, 1993. They expressed
outrage at Rev. Jane Spahr's rejection
as pastor of the Downtown
United Presbyterian Church in
Rochester, New York, and called
for action against the state of
Colorado. ·
Lesbian, Gay and
Bisexua\ ·
We Are J\\read)1In
The church
Lesbian and gay Christian leaders protest at the NCC General Board meetinr
after the vote on the UFMCC observer status on Nov, 12, 1992. R@. Nancy
Wilson, Ecumenical Officer for the UFMCC, is second &om right.
PhotoK: ittredgCe herryU, FMCC
Free ticket to DC for three longest term couples
Love and fidelity to be
celebrated at March
AMERICA'S LONGEST TERM lesbian,
gay and bisexual couples will
be honored at The Wedding, a
massive ceremony of commitment to
be held April 24, as part of The
March on Washington. Rev. Troy
Perry, founder and moderator of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches has announced
that the UFMCC is launching a
national search for the lesbian, gay
and bisexual couples who have
stayed together the longest. The
UFMCC will give the three longestterm
couples a free round-trip airline
ticket to Washington to attend the
ceremony.
"I want to celebrate the love and
fidelity of these three extraordinary
couples and show Middle America
and the world that our relationships
last as long as · those in the heterosexual
community, even with all the
cultural pressures against us," Perry
said. "I have already received a letter
from a gay male couple who just
celebrated their 46_th year together. I
am sure there are many, many
couples out there who have been
together for decades. I want to hear
from them." ·
Rev. Perry· will conduct the
wedding ceremony at 11:00 a.m.
Saturday, April 24. He expects the
ritual to set a world record as the
largest ceremony of its kind ever
held, with at least 4,000 gay, lesbian
and bisexual couples exchanging
vows.
Long-term couples may contact Rev.
Perry by writing to The Wedding,
UFMCC, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd.,
Ste. 304, Los Angeles, CA 90029.
·•@ii·)!EID:ttiNHitail·lifflD!BD:l=ma•i·t◄?!mi•m-
Bishops, Queens and Pawns
By Kevin Calegari
Special to Second Stone
Ed. Note: The National Conference of
CatholicB ishopsm et in Washington,D C
in mid-November to discuss issues
facing the AmericanC atholicC hurch. In
this article, Dignity/USA president
Kevin Calegaris haresh is reflectionso n
the gathering.
I didn't have any illusions. I didn't
expect to see centuries of sexism
and homophobia overturned. But
somehow, I thought that four
days with 275 Catholic bishops at the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
meeting in mid-November would
be fun. What better opportunity to
schmooze and buttonhole and put "in
their face" the story of lesbian, gay
and bisexual people?
Yes, it was fun. There were
moments of humor, and there was a
bit of a thrill to be in the middle of it
all. But after four days of wading
through a sea of black suits as it
rolled, crested and · crashed through
the halls and ballrooms of the Omni
Shoreham Hotel, I know one thing. I
don't want to have to do it again.
Now, don't get me wrong. I haven't
lost my faith. They say that a trip to
Rome can make one lose one's faith.
Well, I've been to Rome too many
times, and I still believe. In God,
yes. In Christ,yes. In God's people
and their work for peace and struggles
for justice, yes. But I know better
than to look to my bishops for clear
guidance and moral leadership wheri
it comes to gender and sexual justice.
I look to the work and faith of all the
women and men of our tradition, of
which I am a part. I believe not in it
petrified tradition jealously guarded
by those in power . I look to a living
. tradition, handed on by those who
struggle with the big questions in
their lives, the tradition handed on
especially by those not in power. · I
believe, for all its sexism and
homophobia, racism and classism, the
Christian tradi lion can be redemptive.
And I believe, somehow, that
the tradition can be redeemed. God
speaks a word of challenge in the
lives of my powerless sisters and
· brothers. This is where I find hope.
On November 16, the first day of
· .the meeting, over 100 Dignity
members and New Ways Ministry
supporters gathered outside the Omni
Shoreham for a prayer rally. We had
with us over 12,400 petitions gathered
from across the country, rebutting last
summer's dastardly memo from the
Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith. This document instructed
bishops to oppose our civil rights,
resurrecting old myths and tired
stereotypes and, in the process, violating
several principles of Catholic
theology: so much for a magisterium
.which carefolly guardsand preserves
the. tradition. After weeks of negot1ahons
ai1d heated debate in the
bishops' administrative committee,
the conference agreed to acknowledge
our presence and delegated Bishop
James Malone to meet us and receive
the petitions.
A small victory. But a significant
one, since this is the first time the
bishops conference has acknowledged
that we exist, let alone sent a bishop
to meet with us. It follows on an
unprecedented meeting I had last
summer at the Vatican, and numerous
private meetings with bishops
around the country. In fact, Dignity
has met with more church officials in
the last four months than in the
previous six years.
Why all this "dialogue" after so
many years of stalemate? The
famous Ratzinger Jetter of 1986,
which banned Dignity and made
"intrinsic disorder" a household
phrase, had a chilling effect on lesbian/
gay ministry and theological
reflection in official church circles.
While discussion was cut off or
· limited by official guidelines, ministry
and reflection continued to
flourish in liminal communities such
as Dignity.· However, the outrageous
statements in the recent CDF memo
has pushed members of the hierarchy
to join in conversation once again.
While it was prompted by certain
American -prelates (our sources
indicate that Francis Stafford,
Archbishop of Denver, and Cardinal
James Hickey, Archbishop of Washington,
were involved in its drafting),
few bishops or other Catholics, for
that matter, agree with the fundamentalist
ideology prominent in the
memo. The consensus is that Rome
has gone too far. Even a Gallup
survey commissioned by Dignity and
other groups last spring shows that.78
percent of U.S. Catholics support
equal rights for lesbian and · gay
people.
Unfortunately, the bishops did not
take up the issue of lesbian/ gay
rights in floor debate. Their energies
were consumed by the pastoral on
women's concerns and, in executive
session, by the Vatican deficit and by
the clergy pedophilia problem.
While I received numerous words of
encouragement, even praise from
individual bishops, no one was willing
to stand up to Rome publicly
with blunt words of criticism. It is a
sorry state of affairs, this conspiracy of
fear and silence. Clearly, the bishops
are divided on our concerns, powerless
to combat the violence and
bigotry we face, even when some are
so inclined.
If there was too much silence on
lesbian and gay issues, there was no
dearth of discussion on the proposed
women's pastoral. Since sexism and
homophobia are linked and intertwined,
I did not feel as if lesbian/
gay concerns were -ignored. The
debate on "women's concerns" was,
by extension, a debate on lesbian/
gay concerns as welf. After all, how
can a church even consider affirming
its lesbian, gay and bisexual members
if a "natural resemblance" to
Christ (understood in the Vatican's
1976 Inter Insigniores as possession of
a penis) is a prerequisite for priesthood?
The nine-year effort was
probably doomed to failure from the
start. How could a group of men
write about women's concerns without
looking paternalistic? The fourth
draft, after numerous interventions
from the Vatican, virtually obliterated
the voices of women which had been
part of earlier drafts. The eventual
137-110 vote, short of the 190 votes
required for approval, showed a rift
among bishops never before exposed.
While not a debate on women's
ordination per se, the issue was clearly
on their minds. Courageous progressives
appealed for openness to further
dialogue, and spoke of women's
alienation and anger. Bishop Thomas
Costello called the prosposed draft
"intrinsically and internally inconsistent."
Conservatives trembled, fearing
that a failure of resolve now
would open the floodgates to worse
heresies. Bishop Austin Vaughan put
. a new twist on "anatomy as destiny"
by moaning, "a woman can no more
be a priest than I can have a baby."
Hearing the frank and often opposing
statements was refreshing, even a
cause for joy: here one could actually
observe the painful retirement of one
paradigm and the slow emergence of
another. The floodgates were
opened, and the sea of black suits was
leaking out in every direction.
Imposed unanimity, the "unity of
uniformity" which is antithetical to
Catholic tradition, fell apart. One
bishop noted, "the genie is out of the
bottle." Added a waggish observer,
"and it's a girl." ·
Admittedly, these changes come too
slow for many of us. But cl1anges are
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afoot in Catholicism, which is good for
Catholics and their neighbors alike.
At their November meeting, the
bishops heard the voices of women
loud and clear, whether they liked
what they heard or not. The bishops
met the gay and lesbian Catholics for
the first time. They also met with
survivors of clergy pedophilia, thus
ending years of denial of a problem
stemming from the church's sexual
dysfunctionality. The bishops faced
not only those seeking justice, they°
faced their own limitations. Any
pastor would call this a valuable
lesson in spiritual development. .
While the feminist and lesbian/ gay
movements have been saying for
years that "the emperor has no
clothes," it was remarkable to see, in
the bishops' admission of failure, the
emperor himself acknowledging his
nakedness and vulnerability. Mary's
words come to mind: "God .has
brought down the powerful from
their thones, and lifted up the lowly"
(Luke 1:52). The powerless have
confronted the powerful, and the
tradition lives on; to be reformed,
enriched and redeemed by the lives
and voices of those who can no longer
be ignored. In the end, the women's
pastoral lost. The Body of Christ, and
especially its female, lesbian, gay: and
bisexual members, won an important,
if interim, victory.
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Second Stone•January/February'. 1993' [I]
Cover Story .................................... •- ................................... . .,
World Community Builders completes
mission in Dominican Republic
COVER STORY
From Page 1
vision of building community with
those in need, wherever the need
might be, as opposed to just building
structures, according to Rev. Stephen
Fund, founder and director of World
Community Builders. He is sometimes
asked whether it would be
better to just send money and let
locals do their own construction but,
says Fund, the work project can be
thought of as an excuse for being with
the people. "People often come away
from cross-cultural experiences with a
new perspective on life, a new
understanding of one's self, and a
stronger commitment to serve others
as Christ would serve," Fund says.
Reclining on the couch at his
Atlanta home, which serves as the
headquarter s for World Community
Builders, Rev. Stephen Fund reflects
on the ministry he has long dreamed
of.
"This is a faith venture for me," he
begins io exp lain. "When I resig ned
as p as tor of All Saints Metropolitan
Comm uni ty Chu rch (in Atlant a), people
aske d me, 'What are you gonna
do?' and I answered, Tm going to hy
to dev elop the mission prog ram,' and
people would say, 'Yeah, b ut what
ar e you goin g t 9, do?' They meant
how was I g oing to pay the bills."
So far, it seems God has provide d
fo r the ne e ds of World Community
Builders as they come off their first
ten day work camp . Many temporal
needs still exist, like money for more
camps, a photocopier and other busc
iness office expenses, but all evidence
suggests a spiritual need has been
met by World Community Builders.
The pavilion built at the El
Tamarindo site will serve as a community
center and as a meeting place
for MCC El Tamarindo.· It is the first
UFMCC church building in the
Dominican Republic. The 18 volunteers
represented ten churches, nine
cities, and eight states . Eleven were
men and seven were women with
ages ranging from 30 to 65. Rev.
Howard Williams, pastor of MCC
Santo Domingo and Francisco
Barrera, student cleric and pastor of
MCC El Tamarindo, provided local
coordination of the project.
Fund gets the same gleam in his
eye when he talks about World Community
Builders that a proud parent
gets when pictures of his kid s are
passed around. The seed of WCB was
planted when Fund was only 17.
While attending high school in
southern California, he went on his
first work camp to Mexico in 1970
[fill' Second Stone•January/February. 1993
with a Church of God organization
called Vacation Samaritans. "It just
rang my b.ells," he recalls: The next
summer, he went to Panama with the
Samaritans and a pattern was
established.
''Between those two work camps, I
really sensed that I was being called
into missionary work," he says. 'The
program was very significant for me
in identifying where I was to head in
the future."
But, it would be ten years before
WCB came into existence. In that
time, Fund became a pilot and
worked for Vacation Samaritans until
1977, when he began to realize he
was gay. His corning out process was
very slow, he says, as he struggled to
reconcile his gayness, his Christianity
and his calling . By 1984 he had
begun his journey into the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Church es and was called to be a
lay leader at thei r Tacoma , Washington
con grega tion . Th ere he
became s tu dent clergy, earni ng his
licensur e b y 1987. Tha t year als o
marked his first fulltime pastorate at
All Saints MCC in Atlanta.
All du ring th at time, his heart and
mind never st rayed far from m issions
and outreach.
"I tr ied ver y hard to keep my
congrega tion involved in mis sions,"
says Fund. "While I past ore d in
Tacoma, we supported MCC in
Nigeria. At All Saints, w e sent support
to Santo Domingo."
World Communit y Builders was
born at a dinner table in Phoenix,
Arizona in 1991. While at the
UFMCC General Conference that
year, Fund went out to dinner with
several old friends.
''The conversation turned to
missions, and it was like the table lit
up," he remembers, with that gleam
in his eyes, "there was a spirit there.
We all had a burden for missions and
wanted to see MCC do more in the
international community."
On that same trip, Fund visited
with his old friend, Dr. Darrell Jones,
leader of Vacation Samaritans . He
ran the idea past Dr. Jones, who was
supportive and continues to be a
resource for World Community
Builders.
Now, Fund looks to the future of
WCB, dreaming of four w ork camps a
year . Through the UFMCC World
Church Exiension, there is no shortage
of areas that can use their help.
And, with Fund's gift of faith,
hopefully there w ill be no shortage of
people to help him build a true world
community.
Those attending a work camp are
responsible for their own expenses,
including travel and a donation
toward building supplies, although
church and community service
g_roups sometimes raise funds to
sponsor volunteers. Although some of
. the work is stren uou s, support jobs
·such as food preparation provide a
place to contribute for those who are
not physically strong. Workers need
not be familiar with the local
language. A lot of communication
can take place without words, says
Fund. "Love is a universal language."
Fund explains his philosophy on
missions this way. "Abraham and ·
Sarah were blessed to be a blessing.
God didn't intend for them to keep
the blessing to themselves or to Israel,
but that through their descendents,
meaning Jesus, the whole world
would be blessed. We, in America,
are bless ed, and we need to spread
that blessing ."
Mary Bologna didn't know she
wanted to go to Santo Domingo. The
47 year old medical secretary from
Atlanta is a member of All Saints
MCC. While at the denomination's
District Conference in Chattanooga,
Tennessee in November of 1991, she
says she was praying for God's will in
her life .
"I prayed that God would put me
where I was supposed to be," she
recalls. "When I came home from
conference, and went to church there
was a presentation on World Church
Extension that included a small part
about Santo Domingo. It was like a
lightbulb went on and I said, 'That's
where I'm going."'
The very next day she got a
passport and began searching for
more .information on how she could
get to Santo Domingo . She began
writing to Rev. Howard Williams, the .
minister at the . Santo Domingo
church, and they kept regular corres
pondence. A few months later,
SEE WCB, Next Page
Stacking blocks for posts, left to right, Carson Malcomb Charlie
(Dominican worker), Mary Bologna, Dan Leary '
Helping the PWA homeless ,
By The Latest Issue
IN A LARGE SENSE every
American with AIDS is homeless.
Federal funding ' and polices governing
treatment and research are
shamefully inadequate. The sad
reality of the 90s is that more and
more people with AIDS are
becoming homeless not only in
the symbolism of a nation's neglect,
but in physical terms as
well.
The causes of homelessness
among people with AIDS are in
many ways similar to the causes
of homelessness among the general
population. "People who
cannot work, who have no assets
or strong family connections are
at risk of becoming homeless,"
says Dan Delaney, administ rator
of Loaves and Fishes, a Sacramento,
Cal., organization supported
by the Catholic Church.
The program serves the poor and
homeless through a variety of
community based programs,
includ ing Hope House, a home
for people with AIDS.
to actually receive the grant can
be from six to eight months. This
is more than enough time to
exhaust · the resources of most
people and head them into the
downward spiral of homelessness.
'The federal housing budget ·
was cut by 75 percent during the
Reagan-Bush era," Delaney said.
"All the money that we've gone
into debt for during the last
twelve years went into the military
budget and they tried to gut
everything else.
"When the economy is good
there are a lot of people who just'
hang on by the edge, but when ,
the economy contracts some people
fall off the edge," Delaney
said.
While the federal Supplemental .
A scenario of a person with
AIDS sliding toward homeless0
ness was offered by Carlo Parker,
a community outreach worker to
the Sacramento AIDS Foundation.
"Some people get a positive diagnosis
and panic," said Parker.
'The person may think, I'm going
to die anyway, and then may go
off on a tangent of alcohol and
drug abuse. They lose their self
esteem and the wreckage that
they create in their life creates
WCB,
Security Income prog ram provides
individuals approximate ly
$675 per month, the waiting time
From Previous Page
Stephen Fund, then minister at AH
Saints, announced the first WCB work
camp would be in Santo Domingo.
"I was the first to sign up," says
Bologna.
When the plane landed in Santo
Domingo in November of 1992, her
year of waiting was over. "It was like
going home to a family," she says
smiling. 'There were no barriers,
even though we didn't speak the
same language. We just communicated."
There was a bit of a culture shock.
Most Dominicans live in abject
poverty. Their homes are small
shanties with no doors or windows,
and only occasional electricity. There
is no running water or air conditioning.
But, what struck Bologna
was the spirit of the people.
"I've never seen so much laughing
and singing," she .exclaims. Each
night, after working hard all day to
build the church in El Tamarindo,
they would sit under the stars and
sing. "Now, when I leave work at 7
p.m., I think, They are singing
now,"' she smiles. 'These people are
so happy and they don't even know
they are poor. They are so peaceful."
The culture also identifies homosexua
ls in a different way. Those
men considered exclusively gay are
those who cross-dress or act effeminate.
"Most of them don't fit these
categories," explains Fund. "Most of
them are or have been married and
have children. They are not
considered gay although they may be
involv e,d with other men and prefer
that." '
Fund estimates that 95% of the men
in the Santo Domingo -church are
what we would call gay. Most of the
women attending are wives, mothers
and sisters of the men and as in many
cultures, what the women do sexually
is largely ignored, so it's hard to say
how many Lesbians are in the
congregation.
But, cultural definitions didn't seem
to make much difference in how
people treated one another, or their
American guests . Bologna says the
hard work of building a pavilion at El
Tamarindo brought everyone
together .
"Men, women, and children were
all helping. We dug ditches, we
hauled cinder blocks and more," she
remembers. 'Tve never done construction
work before. The dirtiest
my hands ever get is when I repot a
plant. But I worked hard, we all did.
I've never seen such a dedicated
more wreckage - which makes natives to ·the lifestyles they are
the compulsion to 'use' even leading.''
stronger - and the wreckage even While the poor economy of the
greater." Bush administration and the sub-
The harsh reality of life on the sequent unraveling of our social
streets also causes difficulty for fabric are undoubtably a root
those with HIV. Like some sad, cause of the homelessness among
weird reflection of "normal" soci-, : HIV sufferers, . Dan Delaney
ety, the homeless HIV sufferer : , believes that the true problem
fears discrimination. lies somewhere within the col-
"Even among those who have lective American psyche. 'There ·
been tested, homeless HIV vie- is some part and parcel of the
tims don't admit that they have American mentality that leaves
HIV, because the street culture the poor and the sick behind,"
will discriminate against them," . said Delaney. "Most other counsaid
Parker. ' tries who are generally recog-
The young constitute still nized as civilized don't allow this
another group of homeless HIV type of thing to occur."
sufferers whose numbers continue If what Delaney says if true, if
to grow. They are the runaways there is some tragic crack, some
or throwaway kids whose lives Achilles heel in the American
often become an incoherent jum- character which allows us as a
ble of hustling ~d drug abuse. society to throw the dying on the
Jerry Love, a health education
worker for the Sacramento AIDS:
Foundation believes that the
number of younger homeless
people is indeed growing. "Outreach
to the young around so
called 'public sex environments' is
very impo rta nt," said Love.
'They need to know that there is
hope and that there are alterstreet,
then surely now is the time
for us to come together and
attempt to correct that deficit.
Dan Delaney, Jerry Love, Carlo
Parker and countless others are
doing their par t to end the plight
of homeless HIV sufferers. It's
time for the rest of us to find ways
to join the fight. -Dave Roelke
Reprintedw ith pennissionjl 'om
.. , The Latest Issue.
, bunch of people, both Americans and
Dominicans."
The sweat, laughter and love
produced an open air pavilion and
the village's only flushing toilet and
runni ng water sinks. The building
doesn't look like an American idea of .
a church, but it's just what the
community needs. .
'They don't need walls and glass in
their humid climate," explains Fund.
'They need a place for the breeze to
come through and a roof to keep the
sun off their heads.
It also produced a long lasting ' ..
friendship between those who went
and the Dominicans. Bologna says
she will keep in touch with her new
family, writing to them, and trying to
learn Spanish in time for the next
trip.
World Community Builders plans
to return to Santo Domingo in Marcl1
to help fix up the San Salvador• ·
Orphanage and build a lean-to at the
El Tamarindo site. Bologna says she
will be there.
'The bonding that we did was
unbelievable," she gushes, trying to
recapture the feeling in words. "I
never anticipated that. I was afraid of
talking to people because I didn't
speak the language, but you didn't
have to. What comes from a heart,
goes to a heart."
WCB director Re·v. Steve Fund
carries cement to worksite
SecondS tone•Jaimary/refmiiiry1;9 '93'![]]]
......... Families _. ........ ....... ........... ........ . . ......... • .• ........ .
Buildingg ay and lesbianf amilies
By Rev. Sylvia Pennington
Contributing Writer
Ed. Note: The late Rev. Sylvia Pennington
filed this article with Second Stone
in November, 1990.
-~onsiderable progress has .
been made over the past
· two decades allowing gay
and lesbian people to parent,
ave nests and live more of the
kind of family life they grew up in.
It's commonly known that many gay
people sort c,f merge into their own
families with one another. Some parents
cannot accept a homosexual
child. Others are able to accept their
homosexual child, but not the child's
mate. I know of a gay male couple
who in their 25 year relationship
have never spent a Christmas - or
any holiday or major family event -
together. Members of the younger
generation usually will not put up
with this. If they cannot attend family
functions as a couple, they just
don't go at all.
Does this mean that they do not
have a family in the larger sense?
Not really. Many people in this situa-
■
tion seem to be able to find other
couples facing the same problem and
together become extended family.
And while many couples are content
in their relationsh ip with, each other
and extended family, others seek to
include children, either their own or
adoptive, in their family unit. Today,
many lesbian mothers and some gay
fathers are given custody of their
children, with the other parent hav-
.; ing visitation rights.
A while back, a 16 year old boy
hung himself in the basement of his
mother's home in a small town in
Missouri. The boy's father , a gay
man, married at 18 years of age in an
attempt to "do the right thing" and,
perhaps, to get "straightened out." At
19 he became a father and at 21 he
realized he could no longer keep up
the pretense of being heterosexual.
During the divorce hearing, his
homosexuality became a major issue.
The judge granted very minimal
visitation rights and the visits had to
be chaperoned . The child had heard
about "faggots" and "queers" and how
they couldn't be trusted to be alone
with even their own child. Despite
this the boy loved his father and
■
Let a new light
shine for someone
you love.
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■ . - rrn~ Sec.onoStone January/February , 1993
"
enjoyed his visits with daddy. But
the child's early years of hearing so
much negativity of what gay people
were like traumatized him when, in
his early teens, he began to realize
that he, too, was gay. Unable to deal
with the persecution he knew his
father had lived with, he opted to
take his own life.
every sense a family and the children
usually leam at a fairly young age
that they simply have two mommies
and two daddies. If it's a well bonded
unit, the children will be able to pass
through the peer pressure of adolescence
and know they have a
healthy, normal, good home.
I know of one family in Colorado
The need and desire to be a parent
is being realized in a number of
ways by gay and lesbian people.
Thank God that what this child
experienced through years of brainwashing
has become much less the
norm More often than not if a gay
parent does not have custody of the
children, they're at least given liberal
visitation rights and custody privileges
during summer months and
major holidays . In most cases now
the jay parent remains active in the
chi! 's life and so the child is free to
learn and understand both sides of
the picture.
The need and desire to be a parent
is being realized in a number of ways
by gafE and lesbian people. As single
peop e are often given adoption
rights today, many childre n are
adopted by what appears to be a
sing le parent but, in actuality, the_
single parent is part of a gay or
lesbian couple.
Also, it is not uncommon for a
lesbian couple to have one partner
artificially inseminated by the other
partner's brother so that the blood
lines are mixed. Other lesbian coupies,
primari ly in major cities, will
find doctors who are willing to
artificially inseminate them as an
openly gay couple. .
I know a great many men today
who have been used to artificially
inseminate a lesbian woman with the
understanding that, though the
mother will have the primary
physical custody of the offspring, the
child will know who their father is
and spend considerable time with
him.
I am aware of other couples where
both the daddies and the mommies
share one large home . They are in
where a gay man and lesbian married
in order to have a child. During
the first two years of the child's life,
daddy was th e prima ry child care
parent. The couple divorced after a
few years and each parent entered
into a gay relationship. The child
had two homes . When I met him at
six years of age, he was a bright,
spunky little guy who didn't appear
in the least confused over the family
arrangement. After school he went
home to his daddies where he
played, did homework and had
dinner. After dinner, he was taken
home to his mommies where he was
bathed, read to, and tucked into bed.
After breakfast, mommy took him to
school.
The child was fortunate that both
sets of parents were nurtur ing,
loving, Christian people. Today, at
almost 15 years of age, both his
tea cher and the school counselor
consider him to be a very happy,
norma l youngster. At the present
time, he lives primarily with his dads
who are now in the 12th year of their
relationship. His mother's relationship
didn't last and, since she's back in
school and also working, it 's more
convenient for him to stay with his
dads , but he still sees his mother a
Jot.
I'm not sure how it comes about,
but I know of many gay and lesbian
couples today who get babies shortly
after the baby's birth. Most of these
babies are of mixed racial background
and from single parents who
have chosen to give their babies up to
what they consider to be a healthy
environmen t for the child.
By Southern Voice It's 10 am on a weekday morning.
Curtis builds a fire in a garbage
barrel for the morning coffee.
People come out of their homes,
squinting at the morning light. They
close doors behind them, doors that
latch perfectly. They spill into wide
streets filled with dirt and . gravel.
Chelsea, the dog, roots around for
scraps. Somewhere a pair of cats
searches out breakfast.
This is morning in Hutsville, a
"homeless" community in Atlanta, in
the shadow of the Georgia Dome.
And this is the gay neighborhood of
Hutsville, up on a slight hill centered
between two "straight" neighborhoods.
Today is a little different from most
mornings - a city of Atlanta sanitation
crew is bulldozing Hutsville's woodpile
about 20 yards away. Curtis is
animated.
'They come to take all the wood,"
he says. "All the wood. You tell me.
How we supposed to cook with 110
wood? How we gonna cook?"
"They say it looks like trash to
them," he continues. ''But it's our
wood. How we gonna cook?"
Other residents are nodding and
talking in agreement, but no one has
any ideas of what to do. With the
bulldozers droning in the background,
life in Hutsville goes on.
"We're a community just like
anybody else's commun_ity," s.~~s
Dale Mines, a four year resident. Its
just that when you moved into yours
the homes were already built and
you had to go into your pocket and
pay to stay there."
"Us," he continued, "when we got
here, there was nothing and we had
to go into our muscles and build."
And build they did. Out of scraps
from the dumps of the Dome construction
and whatever else is
available, they have built about 20
huts that house over 70 people.
'There's always 72 people," says
Mines, "All the time you have some
go to jail and at the same time some
get out, but basically it's 72 people."
Like the individuals who live there,
each hut has its own personality.
Residents take pride in their huts,
keeping them neat and organized.
On the door of B. J. Byer's hut is an
"Andrew Young for Mayor" sticker.
Inside is a table, a camp stove, a full
size bed with a patchwork quilt. And
burglar bars on the windows.
"I've lived here going on 3 years,"
he says. 'This is my home, but I
spend weekends with friends. I live
here with a friend of mine, and when
we have to go, we'll move together."
According to those who live here,
the gay community is strong.
"It's the gay individuals in this
community who hold all the
strength," says Mines. 'They're not
afraid-to stand up_. The heterosexuals
PhotoS: kyeM ason
The
gay
homeless
Memories of Hutsville
just kind of hang their heads."
Mines, who is known as the Mayor
of Hutsville, shares his home with a
partner.
"I didn't run for Mayor," he laughs.
"I was just elected."
Life in Hutsville is not easy.
Residents collect cans to sell for
money. They rummage garbage·
cans for food. Winter time is cold,
meaning more fires for warmth, and
often burned huts.
Mines' hut, with a stone fireplace
and a fence made of pallets surrounding
a patio, burned a year ago.
He tells the story like this: "Right
here, as we sit, this is my patio porch
now. This used to be another hut and
my house was where you see ·it. His
hut caught on fire. And by the Wind
being that strong that night, it ignited
mine. It was.quite innocent, actually.
He went to sleep, he was a little tipsy.
The wood fell out of his barrel which
was inside his hut. It burnt his and
mine went with it. So it's really
nobody' fault."
While Mines regards his misfortune
as "nobody's fault," fires like the one
that took his hut are common.
'They get drunk and pull garbage
barrels with fires in them into their
huts and fall asleep," said Mark
. Usserie, a friend of Hutsville's residents.
Usserie visits the community
several times a week, bringing them
food and clothing.
'These peole are driven by crack,"
he said. "But they're not seedy.
They are young intelligent men with
high school educations. They don't
see beyond today and satisfying their
crack addiction ."
"Church groups bring food and
clothing to them and they turn
around and sell them for crack. A
few have jobs but most just live,
colle~.ting enough cans for crack or
beer. ,
The residents themselves deny any
serious addiction problems.
"Some of them have an alcohol
problem, some of -them have a drug
problem," says Mines. "And some of
them are just misfits. Do you know
you find the most bri!liantist people
in trouble?"
The residents of Hutsville are, on
the most part, unskilled, unprepared
for the job market and in need of
substance abuse treatment. The
population represents the hardest
people to place in housing,
· "I'd go for transitional housing,"
said a friend of B. J. Byers,
'That's you," Byers replied. "I want
to have my own apartment by
myself."
"A shelter won't do," said Mines.
''You're under somebody else's roof,
there's no privacy."
''You'd have to see what it's like in
a shelter to understand this," said
Sherry Siclair, housing coordinator for
AID Atlanta, which offers support
services to HIV+ residents. 'The
quality of life at Hutsville is much
better than in the shelters. They
have a home base, something that's
intrinsic to being a human being."
"Which would you choose," she
added, "sleeping on a cot with 200
other people in_ a_ big room or living
SEE HUTSVILLEP, age 19
Second Stone-iiinuary/February, 19931ll]
.f-n-t~.f- ·1··n.· a. ? .. ··~ ...... . ..... ~ .. ......... . ........... ~ .............................. . .
Out of the Bishop'sC loset
By Johnny Townsend
ContributingW riter Another religious person realizes
the error of his ways
and comes out. Ho hum.
Out of the Bishop's Closet,° from
Alamo Square Press, is not, however,
a ho hum book. Antonio Feliz was
not only a Mormon bishop, which
alone makes his experience more
interesting, but he also worked in the
Church Office Building in Salt Lake
City, interacting daily with the
highest officials at the Latter-day Saint
Church headquarters. We thus read
of personal 'encounters with the Prophet
and Twelve Apostles, plus we
see the research Feliz has dug up in
the closed off Church Archives,
material which suggests rather
strongly that Joseph Smith, the
Church's first prophet, fully accepted
homosexuality as being in accordance
with God's will.
This is what really makes the book,
originally published in 1988 and now
updated, truly intriguing. Certainly,
it is always useful to read of another
account of a religiously devoted person
who comes to accept his or her
homosexuality, and this is the first
book-length account from a Mormon
perspective. Naturally then, any gay
or lesbian Mormon should find this
account by a former missionary and
then husband and father of four
children helpful.
But the book actually is insightful
for a more generalized audience as
well, as it illustrates the workings of
church politics, how even "men of
God," whom Feliz believes to the end
truly are men of God, are still human,
very human, something certainly
not unique to the Mormon
Church. Sneaky financial dealings,
and the manner in which doctrine or
scripture is "approved" or altered
throughout church history throws
further light on a church which, like
many others, considers itself perfect
and the "only true church on the face
of the earth."
Feliz's experiences as a temple
worker who has the power -to marry
heterosexual couples "for time and all
eternity.,. also put him on a higher
level for Mormons, and his dilemma
as a bishop who must hold court and
excommunicate gay members (one of
whom then commits suicide) is also
enlightening in how not only internalized
homophobia but also the idea
of obedience to authority at all cost
works.
In fact, this leads to a discussion of
the famous Milgram experiment, in
which subjects were told to inflict
electric shocks upon other people and
who continued to inflict those shocks
despite the agonizing cries of the
himself out of school, with the reality
that less than half his credits . will
· transfer elsewhere. . ·
This theme . of · "security" runs
throughouJ the_book, as Feliz himself
is asked by the Apostles to spy on
several church members in Salt Lake
(for their · opposing doctrines other
than the church position on homosexuality).
Feliz must follow these
members, befriend them, and write
down names and license plate numbers,
and then report back.
The most interesting · material,
however, has to be that about the
early church reaction to gay members.
When a missionary, Lorenzo D.
Barnes, dies in England and is buried
When they were both seniors at the LOS
Brigham Young University, one of them,
tracked down at a gay meeting by campus
security under direction of the university
Standards Office, is coerced to name everyone ·
else he knows at the school who is gay.
"victims." Feliz compares this both
with church hierarchy ('The Prohpet
will never lead you astray." "If you
obey the Priesthood leaders even
when they're wrong, God will bless
you.") and with society in general.
Other "shocking" stories include
that of two gay lovers together for
several years, one of whom must
finally confess a terrible sin to the
other. When they were both seniors
at the LDS Brigham Young University,
one of them, tracked down at a
gay meeting by campus security
under direction of the university
Standards Office, is coerced to name
everyone else he knows at the school
who is gay. He has only one class left
to take before graduation and is
threatened with expulsion. He gives
the name of his future lover, who,
with only one semester left, now finds
in Illinois on April 16, 1843, Joseph
Smith comforts Lorenzo's '1friend,"
reflecting that they shared something
special, that 'Two who were vary [sic]
friends indeed should lie down upon
the same bed at night locked in each
other's embrace talking of their love
& should awake in the morning
together that they could immediately
renew their conversation of love even
while rising from their bed ... "
Book denounces biases
of writers of the Bible
Feliz then points out how Wilford
Woodruff, who recorded the above
statement, two years later, after
Smith's death, and after an official
effort to rewrite church history,
revised the statement to include a
female. Woodruff was the prophet 50
years later to rescind the long
standing practice of sealing (marrying)
men to men in the temple (now
never mentioned as having ever
taken place), despite the assertion of
Brigham Young Qoseph Smith's successor)
that "Men will be sealed to
men in the Priesthood ."
The discussion is too. involved to
convey completely here, but Feliz
shows that in other sources, the "vary
friend" is referred to as a "sealed
Lover" and by Joseph Smith himself
as the "Lover" of Barnes, while in the
same discussion, Smith talked of the
wives and husbands of other people.
The chauvinistic-patriarchal mind ·
set of the writers of the Bib le is
responsible for the institutionalization
of male dominance over women, the
discrimination and fears of people
affected by AIDS, the discrimination
against blacks and other minorities,
and the discrimination, religious persecution
and disrespect for the human
dignity of Gays and Lesbians, says
the author of The Love Forum, Rev.
Dr. Emilio E. Marquez,. Pastor and Iii Second Stone•January/February, 1993
Dean of the Independent Church of
Religious Science, Long Beach, Cal.
One of the main purposes of the book
is to neutralize the patriarchal lies of
the past, according to Marquez, and
to make Lesbians and Gays feel
welcome at the church again. He
hopes that readers are inspired to
respect the Bible for its spiritual
treasures, and not be intimidated by
the historical biases of Bible writers of
the 10th Century B.C.
One last bit of history is that of
Joseph Smith's interaction with the
new convert John C. Bennett.
Joseph's brother tells Joseph that
Bennett has been driven out of over
twenty towns for "buggery," and yet
Joseph still appoints Bennett as the
first ,mayor of the Mormon town of
Nauvoo: Joseph's brother later complains
about Bennett's sexual activities
with cadets in the Nauvoo Legion,
and Joseph refuses to take any action
against Bennett. He even makes
Bennett the assistant president of the
church.
All of this, obviously, is repressed
by the church today, and Feliz calls
out for historians to do further
research. The bits we get here are
certainly tantalizing, and we can only
hope someone takes up his challenge,
since Feliz; now excommunicated, has
no further access to the archives.
There are, despite the jewels in the
book, still a few rhinestones. Gram-
. matically, Feliz has an infuriating
habit of putting a comma after the
word "but" or "and" rather than
before it, creating odd pauses in flow.
More problematic is his assertion that
he ·not only receives inspiration from
God but actual revelation, and he
.recounts a couple of these for us. He ,
is still convinced that he holds the
actual priesthood authority of God,
and he talks of heatings he's taken
part in. For anyone expecting his
leaving the church to mean he's
really made a break with it, or with
religion in general, the book would
be disappointing. But for those who
want to see spirituality in action even
outside of organized religion, or who
want to see insights on church
hierarchy or into history, the book
offers much on which to reflect.
In Print, briefly. ..
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Ousted cadet: Sensuous Spirituality:
Out from Fundamentalism New military policy won't change much
By Andrea L. T. Peterson
Contributing Writer
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Crossroad
Publishing Co.; 1992; PB; 204
pp. (including appendices and notes)
V irginia Ramey Mollenkott,
who has been trying to shed
light on women's, Gay's, and
Lesbian's reality since the late
70s, seems to have upped the wattage
with her newest book, Sensuous
Spirituality. Her struggle is to get
"out from fundamentalism," under
which she was raised - to answer the
question "How does a fundamentalist
who believes she is essenti~lly and
totally depraved become transformed
into a person who knows she is an
innocent spiritual being who is
temporarily having human experiences?"
· Mollenkott , who aligns her
· theology/ ideology most closely with
liberation theology, echoes the core of
that theology: "spiritual beings who
are having human experiences ...
demonstrate love for their ultimate
and eternal context by enacting
tender concern for penultimate and
the apparently temporary." In other
words, a geniune concern not for self,
but for all others (people as well as all
other living creatures) and for the
planet and its resources is an
automatic, almost involuntary
by-product of those truly at one with
God.
To support this thesis, Mollenkott
considers and incorporates a number
of simple premises. Among them,
these three. First, God is "neither
male nor female nor ne uter, and yet
all-inclusively male and female and
neuter." Second, "everyone else at
their core is exactly who I am:
undivided from God Herself, ulti-
In Print, briefly ...
Resource for gay and
lesbian Mormons
No More Strangers and Foreigners is a
helpful resource for gay and lesbian
Mormons, their friends and family members
and also for those who counsel such. The
24-page brochure was written by Robert A.
Rees, who served as bishop for five years of
a Mormon congregation for singles in Los
Angeles. Bishop Rees developed an insight
and understanding of gay and lesbian
people which is representative of the growmg
awareness among members ahd leaders
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. Single copies are available for $3.00
each, including first class postage. Bulk
discounts also available.
-From Grand Teton Graphics, P.O. Box
1826-A, Idaho Falls, ID 83403-1826.
mately secure in a love that can never
be broken." And third, "we must not
measure God's nature by our own."
Her initial discussion of the
language which we use to name/
describe God is eye-opening as well
as entertaining. It would not do her
justice to try to thoroughly outline
that discussion here. Suffice it to say
that since Goddess, Her, She, female,
and woman all incorporate the words
which refer to males, it makes at least
as much sense to use the "more
inclusive" words. In addition, since
male terms have been considered
both normative and inclusive for at
least 2000 years, why not give the
other set of terms a millennium or
two! Mollenkott is not unaware of her
humor - nor is she unaware of the
true validity of the arguments, in
spite of the humorous approach.
Hers is, in fact, one of the best - and
most convincing - arguments for
inclusivity around . Readers may
judge for themselves.
Sensuous Spirituality is not,
however, a treatise on inclusive language.
While this discussion of.
language is important, the thrust of
the book lies in concept of inclusivity
implied by the notion of justice .
Mollenkott manages to transform the
golden rule from "do unto others as
you would have others do unto you"
into do unto any other as you would
have others do unto you if you and
"After President Clinton rescinds the
military ban on gay personnel, the
big news will be how quickly
everything returns to normal," pred1ct_
s a former ROTC cadet. Jim
Holabaugh was thrown out of ROTC
and told to repay his $25,000
scholarship after he came out. He
tells about his experiences in Torn
Allegiances: The Story of a Gay Cadet
(Alyson Publications, 1993.)
"There will not be a mass
coming-out of Lesbians and gay men
in the service," says Holabaugh. "For
the most part, those who feel they'd
be accepted by their peers are
already out, on some level. Those
who feel they'd be harassed if they
came out will remain invisible, even
after the policy cl1anges."
Holabaugh has spent much of his
time working to abolish the policy
that led to his discharge . On Dec. 12,
the generals saw one more line of
writing on the wall when they
opened the New York Times and
found a full page ad, signed by over
rules for some futuristic society -
using biblical justifications for each
rule.
The difficulty arises when each
participant is told that there is no way
of knowing "whether you yourself
will be born into that society as
female or male; black, yellow, red, or
white; homosexual, bisexual, or
Suffice it to say that since Goddess,
Her, She, female, and woman all
incorporate the words which refer
to males, it makes at least as much
sense to use the ''more inclusive"
words.
he (or she) were to find yourselves,
by whatever quirk of fate, living each
other's lives.
One of the most effective tools
Mollenkott presents for simulating the
establishment of a truly just society,
built upon this annotated golden rule,
in which diversity is not only
tolerated or accepted, but respected, is
a little exercise of the imagination.
Each participant is asked to imagine
that she or he is charged with
formulating the moral and ethical
heterosexual; able-bodied or physically
handicapped; mentally capable
or incapable; poor or wealthy; nor do
you know whether your nation will
be powerful or weak."
Choosing between such passages as
1 Tim. 6:1 (which urges slaves to
honor their masters) and Deut . 23:
15-16 (which admonishes against
returning or oppressing runaway
slaves); Gen . 3:16 (which subjects
women to the domination of their
husbands) and Eph. 5:21 (which
Jim Holobaugh
Photo: Mark Gilbert
100 college and university presidents,
urging a cl1ange in the policy. The
ad was orchestrated · by Holobaugh,
who, told he could not serve his
country, had become a volunteer at
the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of
the American Civil Liberties Union.
subjects husbands to wives as well as
wives to husbands in mutually
· respectful relationship) becomes a real
challenge.
Likewise, determining which better
gmdes, Deut 23:1 (which prohibits
emasculated men -from entering the
temple) and Matt. 19:11-12 (which
elevates eunuch who have made
-themselves such for God's kingdom);
1 Cor. 6:9 (which list all who will be
prevented from entering heaven) and
Romans 8:38-39 (which affirms that
nothing can separate us from the love
of God); and Mark 7:27 (which
distinguishes between between the
Greeks and God's chosen, the
Hebrews) and Acts 17:26-27 (which
claims all nations for God); may seem
to be impossible. ·
And impossible it will be, unless
each of those planners chooses to
assume that he or she will be born
into the worst set of circumstances (by
1990 standards) and selects those
scrjptural passages that will enable
him or her - as wells as all others
born into the same or "better" circumstances
- to live tl1e best possible ... in
the most just world possible. It would
behoove each reader to put him or
herself to the test (p. 56), although it
is likely that readers of Mollenkott
have already considered such things
as they approach life in the world
around them.
There is really so much that can be
said about Sensuous Spirituality. In
sum, it is an invaluable resource to
any serious student of the world that
will - regardless of the roles _individuals
choose to or choose not to take
- birth the 21st century!
Second Stone•January/Februa~, I 993 _ [fil
..
•
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Put on some coffee
Can We Talk?
Get ready to meet the gay and lesbian Christians
in your community.
· Announcing Second Stone's Community Forum
Is there· a place in your community to go to meet interesting and caring
people like yourself ... to engage in stimulating conversation and share
interests and concerns? No? Well, YOU can change that! Make life more fun
and more interesting. Empower yourself with new ideas. Meet wonderful
new people. Listen. Learn. Laugh. With the rise in popularity of Utne
Reader's Neighborhood Salons, Second Stone thinks it's time for gay and
lesbian Christians to have their own version of saloning. We're calling it
Second Stone's Community Forum. One person (YOU!) can make a difference
in your community. With a little effort, you can connect a small group of
thoughtful Christians in your area for discussion and community.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY FORUM?
A community forum is a small group of individuals who meet on a regular
basis for good conversation and fellowship. Although the focus is on
discussion and debate, some such groups develop into book and video
exchanges, travel groups, and other kinds of sharing experiences.
... AND WHAT IS IT NOT?
The forum is not a church or worship group. The focus is on discussion, in an
ecumenical fashion, of issues of importance to gay and lesbian Christians.
Participants from all faith backgrounds should be welcomed and included.
The forum is not a support group to help deal with personal issues.
WHAT DO YOU TALK ABOUT?
Discussion topics may include hot issues in the news such as abortion and the
environment, issues peculiar to your community, and, in particular, national
and local issues pertaining to gay and lesbian Christians. Articles from
Second Stone or some other periodical may be discussed. CARE SHOULD BE
TAKEN THAT DISCUSSION OF PERSONAL ISSUES NOT TURN THE
FORUM INTO A SUPPORT GROUP.
· GETTING 'STARTED
Assembling a handful of people for your forum may be very easy or near
impossible depending upon who you know and where you live. If you are a
well connected ·gay or lesbian Christian you need go no further than your
address book, call two or three acq11aintances, tell them what the forum is all
about, set up a time, and ask them to invite a friend. If a scan of your address
book produces no candidates, and you live in an area where there is an
established gay community, there are a few things you can try . If there is a
local gay /lesbian newspaper, you should approach the editor about your idea
of putting together a community forum. She/ he will probably run a notice
for you at little or no cost. A small circular, such as the one illustrated, may be
posted at a gay business. If there is a gay and lesbian ministry in your area,
the pastor may allow you to post your circular at their meeting place and may
make an announcement for you as well.
POSTING A CIRCULAR
Always get permission before posting an announcement on someone's
bulletin board. Some folks who see your announcement may not be
gay-friendly. If you are worried about prank phone calls, you may want to
use a post office box for contact. (This, howe ver, makes contact a bit more
difficult and may cause some interested parties to put it off, or even forget
altogether.) Do not include an actual meeting date on yo ur circular. Just
announce when your forum meets (first and third Wednesdays, etc.) This way
your notice will not become dated, needing replacement.
tlfiJ Second Stone•January/February, 1993
WHEN OPENNESS IS RESTRICTED
Perhaps you live in an area where there is no established gay community,
and an idea such as posting a circular is out of the question. REMEMBER:
THERE ARE GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS IN THE SMALLEST OF
COMMUNITIES. You will have to seek them out. Contact local pastors and
inform them that you are planning a series of meetings to discuss "how the
clrnrch can respond with compassion and affirmation to homosexuals in the
church" and whether or not she/he may know .of someone who might be
interested in such discussion. Attend local meetings of peace and social justice
groups, such as Pax Christi, and announce your forum there. Contact hospital
chaplains and health department social workers. Discuss your plan with
everyone who might be interested, or know someone who might be
interested, in attending the forum. Don't give up.
WHERE DO YOU MEET?
Initial meetings may be held at a coffee house, cafe, community center, or
church space. As members of the forum get to know one another, meetings
may rotate between members' homes. In meeting in the homes of members,
take care that small children are well occupied or being sit with so as not to
interrupt the conversation.
You may want to consider a meeting space that relates to the topic to be
discus se d. If the forum is discussing homelessness, you may want to meet m
<I shelter for the homeless: If the discussion is on emergency relief for some
disaster, you may want to meet at drive headquarters.
SEE FORUM, Next Page
SECOND STONE'S fflirUtt
Gay & Lesbian Christians
(and friends, family and supportive others)
MEET TO SHARE IDEAS,
CONCERNS, DISCUSSION
AND GOOD FELLOWSHIP
Group meets:
For information contact:
Second Stone, the national gay and
lesbian Christian newsjournal
Bor. 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182
TIIlS CIRCULAR CAN BE USED TO POST OR TO HA VE
AVAILABLE AS A HANDOUT TO PROMOTE YOUR
COMMUNITY FORUM, FITS TWO-UP ON 81/2 X 11,
FORUM,
From .Previous Page
HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU MEET?
Ask for input on meeting frequency from participants. It is probably best to
meet twice monthly on a schedule that is easy to remember, such as the first
and third Tuesday. Your forum may meet once a month, but cohesiveness
may suffer. The more frequent the meetings, the better everyone gets to
know each other. Recall from the previous meeting will give the group
momentum.
DIVERSITY OF THE GROUP
Every . pa;ticipant in your forum will show up with different needs and
expectations. Some will want the group to be oriented toward Bible study,
others toward social concerns, still others, political issues. If the common ·
ground cannot support the range of discussion interests, another forum, or
two, can be organized along the lines of discussion desire.cl. Forums should
not split because of disagreements on issues, however . Such disagreement
insures lively-discussion from all sides.
SIZE OF THE GROUP
Everyone should have a chance to be heard. If more than ten people attend
your forum there may not be time for all to have input. A forum regularly
attended by mor e than ten people should consider splitting into another
group.
tell us about the talk of your town.
Second Stone wants to know about your Community Forum.
We'll list your meeting in a future issue. ,
CITY _ ________________ _
MEETING SCHEDULE _________ _
CONTACT _____________ _
I
What is your vision for the Community Forum?
Tell us about your recent discussions.
Send Second Stone a photo of your group.
Would any member of your forum like to be added
to our mailing list? Include names and addresses.
• : • : ~ I . I . ,
Bulk Copies Available
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
OF THIS ISSUE OF SECOND STONE
For church /group distribution. conferences . bar ministry, etc .
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Limited quantity of back issues available FREE ;
add $5 . 00 postage for every 50 copies
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P.O. Box 8340. New Orleans. LA 70182
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Second Stone•Janua;/February , 1993 [II]
y Calendar Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •••• 1 • •••••••••••••••••••
The foll(TU)ing announcements have been
submitted by sponsoring or affiliated
groups.
Intimacy
with God
JANUARY 7-10, 1993, This retreat for
gay men will explore how gay love
and gay spirituality contribute to
cultivating the experience of God's
love. The retreat process will include
presentations, dialogue, small group
work, prayer, play, and worship.
Facilitator is John McNeill, Catholic
priest, psychotherapist, co-founder of
Dignity , and author of The Church and
the Homosexual and Taking a Chance on
God. Fee is $275.00. Kirkridge, a
mountain retreat.center in Eastern
Pennsylvania , is the setting . For
information contact Kirkridge,
Bangor, PA 18013-9359, (215)588-1793.
Annual T-E-N
Weekend
FEBRUARY 26-28, The Evangelical
Network has selected ''Keeping the
Church Alive" as the theme for its
For your convenience
you may now FAX:
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(504)891-7555
annual gathering in Phoenix. The
congregation of Casa de Cristo Evangelical
Church is the host. The Evangelical
Network is an alternative fellowship
of biblical churches, minis tries
and individual Christians.
Workshops will include: Discipleship/
Equipping , Pf"!!!i_ng, Prayer ,
Communication, Leadership, Commitment/
Dedication, and Accountability
. Support groups will include
Pastor's Spouses, Pastors, AIDS
Ministries, Christian 12-step and
Ex-gay Recovery. For information
contact T-E-N, P .O. Box 16104,
Phoenix, AZ 85011, (602)265-2918.
Sixth National
Black Gay
and Lesbian
Conference
FEBRUARY 11-15, 1993, The Hilton
Hotel in Long Beach, Cal., is the
setting for "Black Lesbians and Gays :
Building Bridges, Making
Connections," a conference to focus on
the inherent need to bridge the gaps
that separate around issues of gender,
Wa.mingtollDC
APRD., 25, 1993
GAYELLOWm
s~~~; PAGES ~
Accommoclatlo .. , AJDSMIV ..... -. ...... bookat-, varlouo-. hoalth care, legal
OOMCOO, Dfll_,lz.ltlonl, publlc:atlolW, rolgloua groups, -chboanll, thonptltl, travol agontl, &
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[18]'-Second Stone•January/February, 1993
race, and sexual orientation. Topics to
be discussed during the five day
conference include leadership,
culture/ arts, family/ youth, heterosexism,
health, public policy, economics
, women's/ men's issues and
spirituality . For information _write to
the Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership
Forum, 2538 Hyperion Ave., #7, Los
Angeles, CA 90027, (213)666-5495.
CMI
Conference '93
MARCH 4-7, 1993, Communication
Ministry, Inc., presents a conference
on 'The Goodness of Being Gay:
Spirituality for Lesbian and Gay
Religious , Clergy and Seminarians."
Besides major addresses and celebratory
litur_gies, workshops will
mclude: Celibacy as a Way of Loving,
Relationships in the Committed Life,
Coming Out, Formation Issues, .
Aging/Middle Years, and Hiv
Positive . Conference fee is $75.00. For
further information and pre-registration,
write to : CMI Conference
'93, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125.
,
PLGC Midwestern
Regional
Conference
MARCH 5-7, This conference,
sponsored by Presbyterians for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns, to be
held at the Heartland Presbyterian
Center, Kansas City, Missouri, will
give participants an opportunity
rediscover the roots of their faith and
celebrat e their spiritual strength as
individuals and as a community . For
information contact Doug Atkins, 747
N. Taylor Ave ., Kirkwood, MO
63122.
Connecting
families
MARCH 12-14, 1993, Laurelville
Mennonite Church Center is the
setting for the fourth Connecting
families retreat sponsored and
planned by Church of the Brethren
and Mennonite familes with gay or
lesbian members . For information
write to Brethren/ Mennonite Parents,
P.O. Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802 or •
Laurelville Mennonite Church
Center, Route 5, Mt Pleasa,nt, PA
15666.
Women-Church
Convergence
Conference
f\PRIL 16-18, Albuquerque; New
·Mexico, is the setting for the third
annual Women-Church Convergence .
qoals for the meeting include putting
·forth _ a vision of Women-Church,
. ............ . .. .
addressing the l'COllt.)mit: , FH)\ilic.,I,
sexual, and spiritual liv,•s or wnnwn,
and celebrating th rough prayer,
symbol, song, and story . Woml'n
interested in a global , ecumenica l
movement of feminist -bas ed communities
of justice seeking friends
who engage in sacramen t and solidarity
are encouraged to write Roz
Ostendorf, Women-Church Convergence,
3915 Kingman Blvd., Des
Moines, IA 50311.
ABC Annua l
Retreat
JUNE 26-29, American Baptists
Concerned hosts its annual retreat in
the San Francisco Bay Area. For information
contact American Baptists
Concerned, 872 Erie St., Oakland, CA
94610.
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Meet
JULY 2-4, Hundreds of lesbian moms,
gay dads and their children will meet
in Orlando, Florida for the 14th
annual conference of th e Gay and
Lesbian Parents Coalition . "Share the
Love ... Share the Magic!" is the
theme. The Clarion Hotel is the
setting, providing opportunity to visit
the Disney attractions . For information
contact GLPCI '93, Box 561504,
Orlando, FL 32856-1504,
(407)420-2191.
"Partners f or the
Glory of God"
JULY 15-20, The Gay and Lesbian
Affirming Disciples Alliance and the
Unit ed Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns will sponsor joint
activities during the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ biennial General
Ass embly (Disciples) and General
Synod (UCC) at the Cervant es
Convention Center in St. Louis.
Michael and Katherine Kinnamon are
schduled to speak at a Saturday
ev ening banquet. For in fomation,
contact Randy Palmer at
(319)332-6245.
Send calendar items to:
Second Stone
Box ·8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
or FAX to:
(504)891-7555
...
I
Paris MCC recognized
t.CENTRE de !'ESPRIT LIBERATEUR
Metropolitan Community Church in
Paris has become a registered church
in France. Ms. Caroline DeBlanco,
pastor, said that the church's bylaws
were reviewed "with a fine-toothed
comb" by the prefect of police and by
the Minister of the Interior. DeBlanco
said that between 15 and 30 people
attend services, and the church
· averages 10 services per month.
-Keeping in Touclz
Anita C. Hill honored
t.ANITA C. HILL recently received
the Voice of the Spirit Award from the
Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry
in San Francisco. Hill was recognized
on November 7, 1992 at the LLGM
Voices of Distinction even t for her
work with St. Paul-Reformation's
Wingspan Ministry, and for her
"spirited advocacy" on behalf of gay,
lesbian and bisexual people in th e
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America . Hill served as Ministry
Associate with Wingspan Ministry
from 1983-1990 and is a member of
the ELCA Task Force on Human
Sexuality. She is currently employed
by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
as coordinator of AIDS Ministry
and is 11n educator/ counselor in
the HIV/ AIDS and Anti-Homophobia
Training Program of Family Service,
Inc. in St. Paul.
For information about the Lutheran
Lesbian and Gay Ministry or the
Voices of Di stinction awards contact
Rev, Ruth Frost, Rev. Jeff Johnson or
Rev. Phyllis Zillhart, (415)553-4026.
New Life MCC receives charter
llNEW LIFE METROPOLITAN Community
Church, Charlotte, N.C., has
been given "charter church" status in
the Universa l Fellowship ·o f Metropolitan
Community Churches. The
charter was presented fo Pastor
Robert Carl Darst by the Rev. Elder
Nancy Wilson . during the business
meeting of the Gulf Lower Atlantic
District of the UFMCC at its recent
meeting in Raleigh, N.C. Fourteen
members of New Life traveled to
Raleigh to be present at the event
which took place at Pullen Memorial
Baptist Churcl1. New Life MCC will
celebrate its ninth anniversary on
January 30. -Q Notes
Group formed for gay Lutheran
clergy, church professionals
t. WINGSPAN MINISTRY of St. Paul
Reformation Lutheran Church, St.
Paul, Minn ., has helped launcl1 a new
group known as Uncommon Call,
which is composed of clergy, seminarians,
and other church profes-
. sionals, all · of whom identify as gay,
lesbian, or bisexual. The group
Noteworthy ~ ................................... .. ........ ..
draws its membership from Regions 3
and 5 of the Evang elical Lutheran
Church in America. Leo Treadway,
spokesperson for Uncommon Call,
said "As this organization draws
increasing numbers of church profes-
- sionals who feel that the church has
run roughshod over them, their lives,
and their ministries, Uncommon Call
may become a force to be reckoned
with." He said the churdl, confronted
by significant numbers, will have to .
face the shortsightedness of past
strategies and own up to the pain it
has inflicted on countless individuals.
For information on Uncommon Call,
call (612)224-3371. -Equal Time
South Carolina MCC
triples membership
t.MEMBERSHIP HAS TRIPLED from
31 to 93 at MCC Charleston, SC, since
Ms. Mary Moore became pastor two
years ago. 'The biggest sing le reason
for the growth is the empty chair,"
Ms. Moore said. "At every meeting
we hav e set aside an empty chair to.
acknowledge the people who are not
yet there . When a new member joins,
we tell them, 'Someone else paid for
your chair. Will you provide a place
for the next person?"' That philosophy
of making space to welcome
new members is described in a new
book that Moore highly recommends,
Preparing the Clzur'cl( for ·t1ie Future by
Carl George. She also credits the
dmrcl1's growth to strong, mature lay
leadership in the congregation.
-Keeping in Touclz
New pastor, new building
for MCC/Baltimore
AAFTER A PERIOD OF nearly two
years without a regular pastor, the
Metropolitan Community Church of
Baltimore has selected the Rev.
Joseph Totten-Reid to lead the
congregation. Rev. Totten-Reid had
pastored the MCC in Santa Barbara
since 1987. His arrival coincides with
another landmark change for the
church . Beginning wifh the Christmas
Eve service, MCC/Baltimore
began worshipping in its own church
building, Waverly Chapel, the former
home of the Waverly Presbyterian
Church. -Baltimore Alternative
New More Light church
t.THE SESSION OF CHRIST Presbyterian
Church in Terra Linda adopted
a More Light statement on June 9,
1992, becoming a More Light Congregation
welcoming of gay, lesbian,
and bisexual m embers. The statement
reads, in part, "All who confess
their faith in Christ and wish to be
His disciples are welcome to membership.
This includes people of all
races, people of all social or economic
states, _ handicapped peopl e, single
people, marr\,ed people, gay or
lesbian people.
BMC meets in Denver
t.OVER 140 PEOPLE ATTENDED the
Fourth International Convention _of
the Brethren/Mennonite Council for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns in
Denver, Colorado, October 9-12. The
convention marked a maturing for
BMC in - a number of . ways. The
decision to hold the convention in the
west, away from BMC's strong base in
the east, allowed many from the
western part of North America to
attend, which the group hopes will
lead to a stronger BMC presence
there. The women's contingent at the
convention was very strong, and
women provide leadership in ways
that have moved the group much
closer to equality. The Brethren
presence was strong, and included a
meeting where Church of the
Brethren concerns were discussed.
An auction was held which raised
over $4600 for the convention travel
fund and for the BMC's Linscheid
Memorial Endowment Fund.
New Pentecostal church
for Vermont ·
t.THE NATIONAL GAY Pentecostal
Al!ianc() has announced the formation
of Resurrection Apostolic Ministries in
r,j& Pontius' Puddle
SNOW IS Ll\<.E'
· T14E NEW V£AR.
IT 6E&IN~ ~S f!i..
GIFl" FRC>ti\ t:,-Ot>··
Pt>RE l U~SPQ\LEO,
FOI..L OF \-'OPE
AND PROt<\\SE.
Burlington, Vermont. The mission is
the first NGPA work in New Eng-.
land, and joins other NGP A churches,
Lighthouse Apostolic Church in
Schenectady, N.Y., and Casa de la·
Paloma Apostolic Church in Tucson,
Ariz. The . NGP A was founded in
Schenectady in 1980 and has .
churches, missions and ministers from
Arizona to West Africa. It operates a
school for _training clergy and publishes
a bimonthly newsletter. For
information on Resurrection Apostolic
Ministries contact the pastor, Sr. Miki
Thomas, P.O . Box 162, Essex Jct., VT
05452.
Rev. David Eckert passes
AREV. DA YID K. ECKERT, interim
pastor of Delta Harvest MCC, Stockton,
Cal., passed away on Oct. 25,
1992. I;:ckert was very active in the
fight for civil rights of lesbian and
gay military persons. He had a
distinguished milit9fY career. Eckert
was licensed as a pastor in the
UFMCC in July, 1991. He leaves
behind his life partner, Bill Weaver,
two daughters Elisa Anne and
Angela Christine, and his supportive
former wife, Beverly, of Orangevale,
Cal.
Fax
Noteworthy items
to (504)891-7555
HUTSVILLE,
From Page 13
in a home with doors and windows
and furniture that's just yours?" -Liz
Lapidus and KC Wildmoon ·
EPILOGUE: Hutsville, which some
say was over 25 years old, exists no
more. The community was razed_ in
preparation for the opening of the
Georgia Dom~. Sources say the city
of Atlanta was fair in offering
housing and opportunities.
This article first appeared last spring in
Southern Voice. Reprinted with permission.
THEr-1 IT FALL~
lt-lTO Tl-lE !-\ANDS
Of: t-\ANKIND.
0
6
i
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'• I
.. • ... •· ........ .
"WONDERFUL DIVERSITY ," "Heartily
recommended," "Philosophically intriguing,
11 "Excellent. 11 Why do reviewers
highly est eem CHRISTIAN*NEW AGE
QUARTERLY? Great articles and lively
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G~neral Interest ·
IF YOU HA VE READ "The Aquarian Gospel
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m corresponding and disc;ussing. W. Courson
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Profes·siona-1 Servie.es ,
PUBLISHING_ OPPORTUNITIES, Having
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LAUNCH,
From Page 7
of S!'CK, _and a Christian not known
for his wholehearted acceptance of
gay and lesbian people, about the
book,, In his reply to _the board, he
achmtted he had not read the whole
book, but said some prayers might
"foster the myth that HIV and AIDS
are confined to the homosexual community."
_The Rev. Peter D'Driscoll,
chair of the Daring to Speak Coalition
, demanded, "Where were the
Archbishop and the Church when the
meqia were fost_ering that myth?"
Carey sugg~.~ted he might resign as
President 1£ a divergence... in
editorial poli cy were frequently
repeated." The board withdrew its ·
commission, leav ing Dr. Stuart and
the book in the wilderness. But she
did i:iot slink away, as the resulting
media coverage last' March made
clear. ·
Bishop Spong noted that there was a
blessing in the entire situation.
Because of the attention given to the
suppression of the book by SPCK, it
will_ now be more widely known and
available through Hamish Hamilton's
sponsorship. -
Dr. Stuart said she had learned a
valuable lesson from the upheaval:
"We will never allow ourselves to be
treated like that again," to which a
_?1eering audience replied, "Amen!" [ml Second Stone•Jan uary /Feb ruary , _1993
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COMMENT
From Page4
churches who would be part of this
flow and movement of God would be
those . churches who received homosexuals,
He said that just as in the
Jesus movement of the 1970's, those
churches who receive.d hippies were
the· blessed churches, and those who
wouldn't re ceive them missed this
ril?ve of God. So it would be, Benny
H1nn said, that those churches which
would not accept homosexuals into
their churches would miss the
greatest outpouring of the Spirit yet.
_ Therefore, Hinn stated, he began to
pray for God to bring homosexuals
into his church. I'm not sure he fully
understood what God was showing
him, but he never stated that God
was going to make heterosexuals out
of these homosexuals.
In t~e_J~uary /February, 1990 issue
of Ministries Today the "insiders
report" revealed that "respected Bible
teacher John Sandford from Coeur ·
D'Alene, Idaho, writing to charismatic
Sou them Baptists in the fullness
fellowship · Communique .newsletter
hsts what he believes will be "significant
changes to take place in the ·
90's." One of the changes Sanford
expects is to "see the exaltation of
eunuch ministries based on Matthew
19:12."
On September 22, 1992 the pastor of
a large charasmatic church in
Pittsburgh, Penn ., stated that in their
ea,rly morning prayer time the
church prays that the North, South, ·
East ~nd W~st_ would give up souls
held m caphv1t_y. But one morning
God spoke to him and said '1 have a
group of people you're not praying
into the church."He asked God who
that might be and God said "the
homosexuals." So now Covenant
Church of P_ittsburgh is praying for
God to send m homosexuals.
Name ____________ . _.
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appears
He shared at the International
Ministers Forum annual convention
in Dayton, Ohio in September, 1992
that "God is bringing a paradigm
shift to the church." We are beginning
to travel on new ground. This
same pastor from Pittsburgh told the
pentecostal pastors assembled inDayton
that he had a problem with
people making statements like "if
~od doesn't judge San Francisco for
its homosexuality, He'll have to
apologize to Sodom and Gomorrha "
because, he said, "Sodom and G;morrha
were never destroyed for
homosexuality at all. According to
?zekiel 16:49 they were destroyed for
mhosp1tality and an attitude problem
which sounds like the church today .:.
Many pastors at the IMF convention
on hearing this, grabbed pens and
paper to make note of this scripture
reference.
God is doing a sovereign work in
the earth that is just beginning to be
understood, though the groundwork
has been laid for the last two and a
half decades .
. Be ready for God to do a new thing
m the earth. Expect miracles. There
1s only one flock, with one Shepherd
qne Body _of Christ. No longer can th~
unappreciated remain ignored, amputated
and screaming, "Behold I am
a dry tree ." But Isaiah 56:7
prophecies 'for My house shall be
called a house of prayer for all
people." So be it, Lord, Jesus. So be
1t. When? God says soon. But God's
impression of time is not the same as
ours. All we know is that it's corning.
·Soon.
Rev. Samuel Kader is co-founder and
pastor of Community Gospel Church in
Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton church a
gay-positive, full gospel church is soo; to
celebrate its 7th anniversary. Pastor
Kader has been a conference speaker in
the gay/lesbum community since 1975.
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