Open Hands Vol 12 No 3 - Sowing Seeds of Inclusion

Open Hands Vol 12 No 3 - Sowing Seeds of Inclusion

12

3

1997

Winter

Vol. 12 No. 3
Winter 1997
2 Open Hands
Sowing Seeds of Inclusion
ENVISION THE HARVEST
Sowing with Patient Endurance 4
JAMES PRESTON
In the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus offered a
reality check on how God’s Word is spread and how
growth and change occurs.
Evangelism: Broadcasting God’s Grace 7
GEORGE WILLIAMSON, JR.
How does a church reach out to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgendered communities who have been rejected
by world and church?
The Dual Ministries of Welcoming Churches 8
ROGER S. POWERS
Welcoming churches are called both to a prophetic
witness and to a pastoral ministry.
PLANT MANY SEEDS
Sowing Inclusive Love in the Rural Heartland 10
RUSSELL GRIMES AND COLE WILLIAMS
Some folks sow inclusion by “planting” themselves in the
midst of a community.
Breaching a Wall of Silence in the South 12
RUTH JAECKEL
A laywoman sows seeds of inclusion through her witness
to southern clergy.
Old Roots, New Branches: Cultivating Inclusion in
Asian-American Churches 14
VAN DIXON
Three California Asian-American churches take a
welcoming stance based on their own cultural
experiences and processes.
Vol. 12 No. 3 Winter 1997
Resources for Ministries Affirming
the Diversity of Human Sexuality
Open Hands is a resource for congregations
and individuals seeking to be in
ministry with lesbian, bisexual, and gay
persons. Each issue focuses on a specific
area of concern within the church.
Open Hands is published quarterly by
the Reconciling Congregation Program,
Inc. (United Methodist) in cooperation
with the Association of Welcoming &
Affirming Baptists (American), the More
Light Churches Network (Presbyterian),
the Open and Affirming (United Church
of Christ), and the Reconciled in Christ
(Lutheran) programs. Each of these programs
is a national network of local
churches that publicly affirm their ministry
with the whole family of God and
welcome lesbian and gay persons and
their families into their community of
faith. These five programs— along with
Open and Affirming (Disciples of
Christ), Supportive Congregations
(Brethren/Mennonite), and Welcoming
(Unitarian Universalist)— offer hope
that the church can be a reconciled community.
Open Hands is published quarterly.
Subscription is $20 for four issues ($25
outside the U.S.). Single copies and back
issues are $6. Quantities of 10 or more,
$4 each.
Subscriptions, letters to the editor,
manuscripts, requests for advertising
rates, and other correspondence should
be sent to:
Open Hands
3801 N. Keeler Avenue
Chicago, IL 60641
Phone: 773 / 736-5526
Fax: 773 / 736-5475
Member, The Associated Church Press
© 1997
Reconciling Congregation Program, Inc.
Open Hands is a registered trademark.
ISSN 0888-8833
w Printed on recycled paper.
Winter 1997 3
Next Issue:
Same-Sex Marriage
Publisher
Mark Bowman
Editor
Mary Jo Osterman
Designer
In Print—Jan Graves
Program Coordinators
Mark Bowman
Reconciling Congregation
Program, Inc. (UMC)
3801 N. Keeler Avenue
Chicago, IL 60641
773/736-5526
Ann B. Day
Open and Affirming
Program (UCC)
P.O. Box 403
Holden, MA 01520
508/856-9316
Bob Gibeling
Reconciled in Christ
Program (Lutheran)
2466 Sharondale Drive
Atlanta, GA 30305
404/266-9615
Dick Lundy
More Light Churches
Network (PCUSA)
5525 Timber Lane
Excelsior, MN 55331
612/470-0093
Brenda J. Moulton
Welcoming & Affirming
Baptists (ABC/USA)
P.O. Box 2596
Attleboro Falls, MA 02763
508/226-1945
Editorial Advisory Committee
Howard Bess, W&A
Ann Marie Coleman, ONA
Dick Hasbany, MLCN
Dan Hooper, RIC
Sue Laurie, RCP
Tammy Lindahl, MLCN
Samuel E. Loliger, ONA
Tim Phillips, W&A
Lisa Ann Pierce, SCN
Dick Poole, RIC
Caroline Presnell, RCP
Paul Santillán, RCP
Joanne Sizoo, MLCN
Stuart Wright, RIC
Campus Ministries: Rich Soil 16
ANASTASIA HACOPIAN
The campus is an arena where some students are taking
the United Methodist potential to be progressive—and are
running with it!
Opened Doors—A Transsexual’s Experience 18
ASHLEY LYNN SUPER
An Iowa church provides safe space, personal support,
and an advocacy witness for transsexual persons in their
midst.
Sowing Inclusivity in the Moravian Church 19
MARY V. BORHEK
Moravians are the “new kids on the block” in the evergrowing
ecumenical welcoming movement in the United
States and Canada.
SUSTAIN THE SPIRIT
Sowing Seeds of Hope 20
An ecumenical pride service, held at Grant Park-
Aldersgate UMC in Atlanta, Georgia, plants seeds of
hope.
ASIDES
Welcoming Program Diversity ... 6
ANN B. DAY
Top Ten Reasons Why ............. 7
ALLEN V. HARRIS
Ecumenical Welcoming
Sunday ................................ 7
EDITOR
A (Baker’s) Dozen Tips ............ 9
MEL WHITE
What is MoSAIC?.................. 16
ANASTASIA HACOPIAN
Transgender Advocacy in
Iowa .................................. 18
TOUT & ANNA MARIE APPLEBY
Faith’s Pastor Reflects ........... 18
MARSHA ACORD
SELECTED RESOURCES
22
W&A PHOTO STORY
23
CHURCH PROFILES
24
MOVEMENT NEWS
26
WELCOMING LIST
27
4 Open Hands
Most of us have experienced the
universal Sunday School exercise
of planting seeds in
small cups and placing them on window
sills, a lesson in how God makes
things grow. We left, only to return the
following Sundays to see if the seed had
sprouted, generated one leaf, or possibly
burst forth into a full-grown plant.
Often, the seeds did not grow at the
same rate—and a few never even sprouted.
I remember returning a few times
to find unmoved dark soil or the brittle
remains of a dead stem. It did not matter
whether the cause was a lack of water,
faulty seeds, or an accidental spill; I
was always devastated to arrive and discover
nothingness or, worse yet, death
and deterioration.
Soil Conditions
In the parable of the sower and the
seed (Luke 8:4-15), Jesus compares the
Word of God to seeds and communities
of faith to fields. He reveals his deep
connection to the earth by sharing his
wisdom of why some seeds flourish,
some struggle to continue on, and others
die. This story is less about seeds and
farmers and more about fields and their
receptivity to kernels of potential fruit
and life. In ancient Palestine, the field
was plowed first with simple plows that
barely scratched the surface. Sowers then
walked across the broken ground with
sacks of seeds, scattering the kernels by
hand. Finally, with their simple plows,
they again moved the soil over the
seeds.1
Considering the planting process, it
is easy to understand why many of the
seeds never produced fruit for the harvest.
As Jesus states, some fell on wellworn
paths, only to be eaten by passing
Envision the Harvest
birds. Others fell on rocky soil and withered
without water. Certain seeds rested
among the weeds, only to be overcome
and strangled. Thankfully, some fell on
good soil and produced a hundred-fold.
Ironically, Jesus is not speaking of a
regular harvest; a ten-fold return would
have been a good yield. Instead, he is
proclaiming that the soil was so rich and
fertile that the yields were unbelievable!2
From the warm, rich, and receptive soil
comes a harvest far greater than ever
expected. The workers gather what
seems to be an endless source of fruit
and abundance. From this harvest, all
are fed, nourished, and strengthened.
Jesus appears to be offering a reality-
check to a faith community in need
of clarity about how God’s liberating
and empowering Word does—and does
not— take hold and grow. It is not a story
of easy solutions and how-to’s. Jesus is
speaking candidly and honestly, providing
a stronger foundation for future direction
and vision. Naming the truth
about our situation often helps us gain
our bearings and reframe our efforts and
work. As a child of farm life, I learned
that knowing the exact location of weed
patches and rocky areas resulted in additional
work and care for those difficult
places in the field. The best Sunday
School teachers know where to place the
cups for the best sunlight. They remember
to water the seeds during the week
before the children arrive the next Sunday.
Church Conditions
In his later explanation of the parable,
Jesus reveals the true composition of
good soil. Communities and persons
who hear God’s word and “hold it fast
in an honest and good heart, and bear
By James Preston
What does the parable of the sower
say to us about the growing edges of the welcoming movement?
Winter 1997 5
fruit with patient endurance” embody
fertile ground (Luke 8:15, NRSV). Luke’s
use of the Greek word, hypomene, for
“patient” conveys a strong connection
to endurance and perseverance. It represents
people of faith who hold out in
the face of extreme opposition and do
not succumb like shallow-rooted folks.3
Faithfulness and persistence nurture
and strengthen the seed so it can break
through the barrier of the surface and
bear bountiful yields.
As planters in the welcoming movement,
we are scattering seeds of inclusion
in so many places. We scatter seeds
in congregations and campus ministries
which have never heard the message of
welcoming gay men, lesbian women,
and bisexual persons. We pitch kernels
in new geographical regions and in communities
of faith representing different
cultures. We frequently have to re-seed
fields where the welcoming message was
sown before.
After the planting, we wait. We often
approach the furrows and flower boxes
of our work only to find less than fertile
earth. Like the seed in the parable,
the message of welcome for lesbian, gay,
and bisexual people can come to rest in
indifferent or hostile environments.
Naming the soil-conditions and realities
of those congregations, campus ministries,
and judicatory bodies— like Jesus
named the various soils of the parable—
may help us identify new directions and
possibilities for our welcoming work.
In some places, the word of welcome
is just ignored, explained away, or denied.
The seed is prevented from taking
root; it is thrown out as irrelevant. Comments
include: This issue is not our issue!
Why do we need to do this? The
church is already welcoming! Often, individuals
and communities of faith are
hardened like well-worn paths, unable
to embrace the word and receive joy and
grace.
In other places, the welcoming message
falls upon the ears of folks who take
immediate action without intentional
plan. With excitement and enthusiasm,
they make quick plans and begin work.
Yet, when the first sign of opposition,
confusion, or difficulty surfaces, the
effort withers and fades. This process is
just too hard and requires too much. I don’t
Differences and trials are named upfront.
Folks are open to the Spirit’s guidance.
Impurities and stones still can be
found in this soil; it is not a perfect garden
where all people are alike or of one
mind. Yet, the rich diversity, blended
with a sense of openness and care, makes
this dirt a setting for abundant harvest.
Instead of blind urgency or easy surrender,
this group embraces God’s call and
prepares to endure with patience as they
face the new frontiers of the welcoming
process.
Faithful Perseverance
In actuality, we rarely scatter seeds in
plots containing only dark, rich soil.
We are more frequently sowing in the
broad, diverse fields of congregations,
campus ministries, and denominational
bodies. Various soil conditions exist
throughout the terrain of the church,
just as they do on most farms. Knowing
those varying situations across the field
can be helpful. We may be able to
want to create any conflict; there’s no place
for it in the church. The seed does not
become rooted in the underground
stream of conviction and calling that is
connected to God’s justice.
In certain situations, the welcoming
process finds itself among aggressive
weeds which intentionally sabotage the
journey of education and discernment
with anger, threats, and occasional misinformation.
Our church will close if we
even talk about this stuff. We will not fund
the campus ministry anymore if this happens.
A sense of danger and threat may
exist in varying degrees, but honesty
and hospitality are difficult to find.
Those working for a greater sense of
openness feel choked-out by the meanspiritedness
and hostility.
However, some seeds fall upon good
soil. That ground warmly receives the
message to welcome all of God’s children.
People study, pray, and struggle
together as they determine a vision and
direction for themselves and the congregation
of which they are a part.
“A sower went out to sow his
seed; and as he sowed, some fell on
the path and was trampled on,
and the birds of the air ate it up.
Some fell on the rock; and as it grew
up, it withered for lack of moisture.
Some fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew with it and choked
it. Some fell into good soil, and
when it grew, it produced a
hundred-fold.”
—Luke 8:4-8 NRSV
more ➟
6 Open Hands
WELCOMING PROGRAM DIVERSITY
Do you think all “welcoming congregations” are alike in terms of
membership and location? Not so! Here is a sampling of our diversity.
SETTING
Rural
Bethel Congregational, UCC, White Salmon, WA (ONA)
Craryville United Methodist, Craryville, NY (RCP)
White Bear Unitarian Universalist, Mahtomedi, MN (WEL)
Suburban
Oak Park Mennonite, Oak Park, IL (SUP)
St. Andrews Christian, Olathe, KS (O&A)
Trinity Lutheran, Lansdale, PA (RIC)
Inner City
Madison Avenue Baptist, New York, NY (W&A)
Reformation Lutheran, Washington, DC (RIC)
Seventh Avenue Presbyterian, San Francisco, CA (ML)
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
Northeast
First United Methodist, Oneonta, NY (RCP)
Mennonite Congregation of Boston, MA (SUP)
Somesville Union Meeting House, Mt. Desert, ME (ONA)
Southeast
Clifton Presbyterian, Atlanta, GA (ML)
Pullen Memorial Baptist, Raleigh, NC (W&A)
Unitarian Universalist of Chattanooga, TN (WEL)
Northwest
Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, AK (WEL)
Portland Peace Church of the Brethren, Portland, OR (SUP)
University Congregational, Seattle, WA (ONA)
Southwest
Christ Lutheran, Santa Fe, NM (RIC)
Midway Hills Christian, Dallas, TX (O&A)
St. Francis in the Foothills UMC, Tucson, AZ (RCP)
Midwest
Central Congregational UCC, Topeka, KS (ONA)
Judson Memorial Baptist, Minneapolis, MN (W&A)
Mt. Auburn Presbyterian, Cincinnati, OH (ML)
ETHNIC/CULTURAL MAKEUP
Fellowship United Methodist, Vallejo, CA, Filipino-American (RCP)
Pine United Methodist, San Francisco, CA, Japanese-American (RCP)
St. Mark’s United Methodist, Stockton, CA, Chinese/Multicultural (RCP)
University Church, Chicago, IL, Multicultural (O&A, ONA)
CAMPUS MINISTRIES
Campus Christian Community (Mary Washington College), Fredericksburg,
VA (RCP–ecumenical)
Illinois Disciples Foundation (University of Chicago), Champaign, IL (O&A–
denominational)
United Campus Ministry (Ohio University), Athens, OH (W&A, RCP–
ecumenical)
—Compiled by Ann B. Day (ONA)
KEY ML More Light (Presbyterian, USA)
ONA Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ)
O&A Open & Affirming (Christian Church - Disciples)
RCP Reconciling Congregation Program (United Methodist)
RIC Reconciled in Christ (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America)
SUP Supportive Congregations (Brethren/Mennonite)
W&A Welcoming & Affirming (American Baptist)
WEL Welcoming Congregations (Unitarian Universalist)
remove the weeds, provide water, and
break hardened ground. More importantly,
we can be assured that good soil
exists there as well. It may need to be
tilled, reworked, and spread into less
than fertile places, but it is there, ready
to receive God’s call to be a truly inclusive
church. The good soil consists of
people convicted and called to include
gay men, lesbian women, and bisexual
persons in the full life of the church.
“Good-soil” folks are committed to
faithful perseverance in spite of weeds,
rocks, and hard-packed surfaces.
As the new millennium approaches,
welcoming congregations, campus ministries,
and other groups are still being
called to scatter seeds of inclusion in
well-known fields and in undeveloped
lands. God asks us to embrace the message
of hospitality with an honest and
good heart and to bear fruit with patient
endurance. Our work and ministry will
bear fruit; for I know the day will come
when no children of God will go to the
window sill to discover a dead stem. Instead,
all will find abundant life! ▼
Notes
1Frederick W. Danker, Jesus and the New Age:
A Commentary on St. Luke’s Gospel, (Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1988), p. 176.
2Robert A. Spivey & D. Moody Smith,
Anatomy of the New Testament: A Guide to
Its Structure and Meaning, (New York:
Macmillan, 1982), p. 228.
3Danker, p. 177.
James Preston, a United Methodist pastor,
is outreach coordinator for the Reconciling
Congregation Program.
He is a co-author
of We Were Baptized
Too: Claiming God’s
Grace for Lesbians and
Gays (Westminster/
John Knox).
Winter 1997 7
The church’s engagement with gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
people ought to be a matter of
evangelism. However, this will almost
certainly result in a shedding of an old,
dried-out skin that has encased the soul
of evangelism— and an emerging of a
renewed, clean vision of it. Evangelism
is not “soul winning,” the vanquishing
or competitive victory over the
individual’s inwardness. It is, rather, the
mutual discovery, among people with
different experiences of the gospel, of
the breakthrough of God in history.
Evangelism begins with listening.
Jesus asked the blind beggar, Bartemaeus,
“What do you want me to do?”
(Mark 10:51, NRSV). In these post-Crusade,
post-pogrom, post-Holocaust days,
Christians do not have the right to inflict
their faith, their judgment, or their
perception of God’s promise upon any
lesbian, gay man, bisexual, or transgender
person. Precisely, as Christians,
we bear the history of persecution and
damnation for these people. Until we
have asked about, and listened to, their
experience of us and their particular
need, there is nothing we can say with
integrity.
Having listened, we continue evangelism
with confession. “Silver and gold
have I none...” said Peter to the man who
asked for financial assistance (Acts 3:6,
KJV). Whatever the particular need a
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender
person might reveal to us, we don’t have
what they need. If our listening is authentic,
we will be stricken with this
inescapable awareness. Specifically, the
affirmation needed in the face of Christian
rejection is inherently paternalistic—
coming from us. What is needed is
inclusion, which can only be offered as
inclusion into a world pre-structured
with “straightist” priorities and sensibilities.
The good news needed is news
that our own homophobia has disappeared.
Having confessed the poverty of our
resources, we go on to risk the offer. Peter
continued his response to the man:
“...but such as I have, give I to thee.”
This is an offer that will probably be
rejected. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender people have no reason to
trust a Christian. Our offer therefore
needs to be a standing offer, a blank
check, an IOU that may or may not be
cashed in. The offer needs to be cast on
the waters and left thereafter to God.
And make no mistake, all that we Christians
have to offer anyone is the grace
of God—which is given to, not won by,
us. To engage in evangelism means to
stand with the rejected community of
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people, putting ourselves at risk before
the mean world and, especially, before
the mean church of the world.
In the end, engaging in evangelism
means to wait, to be ready. God will break
through. On this we can rely. The breakthrough
of God will come to us all. It
will transform all of us— gay, lesbian,
bisexual, transgender, and straight
people—together.
Evangelism is needed wherever
people are alienated from God. In our
time, whatever else this means, evangelism
means invoking the gospel wherever
there is homophobia among
straight people and wherever gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender people
experience persecution.
If a Christian church does not effectively
confront and seek healing for its
own homophobia and offer what it has
in the face of oppression of gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender people, it is
not engaged in evangelism.▼
George Williamson, Jr.,
Ph.D., is pastor of First
Baptist Church in
Granville, Ohio. First
Baptist was the first
church in the history of
the American Baptist
Churches, USA, to be
disfellowshipped for standing with the gay
and lesbian community.
TOP TEN REASONS WHY YOUR
CONGREGATION SHOULD
BECOME WELCOMING...
10. Finally your church softball team will
have a winning season!
9. You will NEVER have to worry about
flower arrangements behind the communion
table again!
8. Your congregation will have a new
sense of honesty in all that you do.
7. Your organist will thank you.
6. You will have the distinct joy of being
a safer place for mothers and fathers,
sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles
of lesbians and gay men who never
before could tell anyone their “secret.”
5. Your pastor will be able to ask someone
that nagging question she’s had
for years: Does her flaxen alb go better
with her fall wardrobe or her winter
wardrobe?
4. Your community will share in some of
the most incredible stories of pain and
triumph, passion and perseverance.
3. You’ll get to march in a parade and
wear bright colors!
2. People will come to your church because
they want to be a part of a community
which is willing both to proclaim
justice and to live justice.
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY
YOUR CHURCH SHOULD BECOME WELCOMING:
1. It’s the work of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ!
—Allen V. Harris
Source
This list was first published in Cross Links, a publication
of the O&A Ministries Program (October
1996), p. 2. Used with permission.
Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday
For the past several years, ecumenical leaders
of the welcoming movement have designated
the last Sunday in January as “Ecumenical
Welcoming Sunday.” On 26 January
1997, local congregations and campus ministries
in nine denominations were invited
to celebrate in worship the work that their
communities have done to welcome lesbian,
gay, and bisexual persons and to thank
God for the gifts and graces of being an
inclusive community.
Several of the national welcoming programs
prepare liturgical resource packets each fall
to provide ideas for local worship preparations.
If your welcoming group has not
participated in Ecumenical Welcoming Sunday,
we invite you to plan to do so in 1998.
—Editor
By George Williamson, Jr.
8 Open Hands
Today, we join with churches
across the country in celebrating
the growing witness of the welcoming
churches movement—those
congregations that publicly welcome
gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons into
full membership and participation in
the life of their churches….1
As most of you know, Church of the
Covenant counts itself among these
welcoming churches. Our church was
one of the first Presbyterian congregations
in the country to declare itself a
More Light church, doing so almost fifteen
years ago in September of 1980.
Until recently, we were the only More
Light Presbyterian church in the state
of Massachusetts. Our church was also
one of the first United Church of Christ
congregations in the nation, and the first
in the Massachusetts Conference, to
declare itself an Open and Affirming
UCC church. And so it seems only appropriate,
given the leading role that our
church has played in the past, to lift up
today the witness of the more than
700 local churches in the welcoming
churches movement….
You’re Welcome, But…
Presbyterian theologian Robert
McAfee Brown has said that to open
the doors of church membership to gays
and lesbians but not to allow them to
hold office is “unjust, un-Christian,
unbiblical, and very bad theology.” It
relegates gay and lesbian Christians to
the status of second-class citizens in the
church. In response, [welcoming]
churches proclaim their intention to
welcome all persons into the life, membership,
and leadership of their congregations
regardless of sexual orientation….
We are very much in the minority.
The Holy Spirit is moving in the world,
but most of the church is being dragged
along behind, kicking and screaming.
Most churches still are afraid to discuss
the subject of sexuality, not to mention
homosexuality, and are even less apt to
publicly welcome gay and lesbian Christians
into their midst. Most churches
today might as well have a sign over
their doors saying “For Heterosexuals
Only.” Oh sure, there are many churches
who claim to welcome all people, but
there is a subtext in their welcome. You
are welcome, but if you’re gay, you can’t
be ordained to a leadership role in our
church. You’re welcome, but we will
encourage you to repent of your
“lifestyle.” You’re welcome, as long as
you’re celibate. You’re welcome, but
don’t ask us to bless your union with
someone of the same sex. You’re welcome,
and you’ll be glad to know that
we have a counseling program that can
cure you. You’re welcome, but please
don’t come out of the closet; we don’t
really want to know who you are.
Many gay and lesbian Christians
know this all too well from personal
experience and, as a result, feel terribly
alienated and ostracized by the church.
Thank God for welcoming churches like
Covenant. To be homosexual in a homophobic
and heterosexist society is
hard enough. But to also be a person of
faith and have no faith community
where you feel loved and accepted and
where you can be yourself is a tragedy.
Welcoming churches are oases of living
water for gay, lesbian, and bisexual Christians
who have wandered through a
desert of homophobic churches….
The Real Sin
Many in the religious community
will say that of course we are to
love everyone just as God loves us. We
are to love the sinner, but hate the sin.
Well, it’s time we said in a loud and clear
voice, and without reservation, that homosexuality
is not a sin! On the contrary,
sexuality, of whatever kind, is a beautiful
gift from God and it should be celebrated.
What is a sin is the oppression of
people based on their sexuality. The sin
of heterosexism is alive and well in
America. That is what the religious community
and our society as a whole need
to repent of. The sin of heterosexism
causes a great deal of injury, pain, and
heartache for gay men and lesbians:

the tremendous anxiety over whether
they will be accepted and loved if they
decide to come out to parents and
other family members;

the terrible feelings of loss after coming
out to a parent or family member
and not being accepted;

having to choose between those you
love during the holidays, whether to
spend them with your partner or
with your family on your own;

not being able to express affection
for a loved one in public, without
risking verbal harassment or even
physical attack;

having to weigh the risk of coming
out to colleagues at work, and the
possible consequences that might
entail;

always being careful not to inadvertently
out your friends;

constantly having to put up with or
fight against society’s assumption
that you are heterosexual, and that if
you are in a relationship, your partner
is of the opposite sex.
It’s a tough world out there. That is
why the commitment of Covenant to
welcome all people is so important.
There are too few places where we can
find a community of love and support,
source of healing and strength, and a
place where we can be inspired and challenged
to work for God’s justice and
peace in the world.
Excerpts from a Sermon Preached 29 January 1995
Based on Jeremiah 1:4-10 and 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
By Roger S. Powers
Winter 1997 9
Prophetic and Pastoral
Ministries
…Ours is a prophetic witness. Like
Jeremiah, we are called by God “to pluck
up and to break down, to destroy and
to overthrow, to build and to plant.” We
are called “to break down” the walls of
homophobia in our hearts and in those
of our neighbors, “to destroy and to
overthrow” the oppressive attitudes and
structures of heterosexism in the church
and in society, “to build and to plant”
the seeds of a new society in which all
people are treated with justice and love
regardless of sexual orientation.
Heterosexual Christians have a special
role to play as allies in this struggle,
particularly within denominations that
deny gay and lesbian members ordination
to leadership positions in the
church. In many church meetings, gay
and lesbian voices are excluded…either
[because they are] forced to be closeted
or…because they have not been ordained
to leadership positions in the
church. Therefore, I believe heterosexual
allies have a responsibility to speak out
against homophobia and heterosexism
in the church and in society, especially
in those forums where gay and lesbian
voices have been excluded or silenced.
Like the abolitionists of the nineteenth
century who fought against slavery,
like the suffragists who fought for
the rights of women, and like the African-
American churches that fought for
civil rights, we are fighting today for gay
rights, and with God’s help we, too, shall
overcome.
Ours is also a pastoral calling, for the
Christian community is deeply divided
over this issue. On the one hand, the
church has been the source of tremendous
pain and sadness for gay, lesbian,
and bisexual Christians and their allies.
We have a special responsibility to care
for the wounded who come through
Covenant’s doors seeking healing, comfort,
love, and acceptance. On the other
hand, the Christian community is also
full of people whose homophobia has
hardened their hearts. We have a responsibility
to speak the truth to them, but
to do so with love and compassion in
ways that they can hear us and not simply
reject us out of hand.
For ministry to be whole, I am convinced,
these two components— the prophetic
and the pastoral— though sometimes
in tension, must be held in
balance. And it is the love of God operating
in the human heart that is at the
root of both of them. It is our love for
all people that leads us to our prophetic
witness as a More Light/Open and Affirming
church. And it is love that motivates
our pastoral concern for people
on both sides of a divided church community.
A love that is patient and kind.
A love that is not jealous or boastful,
arrogant or rude. A love that does not
insist on its own way, and is not irritable
or resentful. A love that does not rejoice
at wrong, but rejoices in the right. A love
that fears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things….▼
A (Baker’s) Dozen Tips for Reaching the Loving Middle
By Mel White
1. We don’t have enemies (of inclusivity). We have potential friends.
(Remember Saul of Tarsus, just waiting for the light.)
2. Write out your list of potential friends and pray for them.
(God may need to work on you before you begin to work on them.)
3. Our potential friends are simply victims of misinformation.
(Give them a break. We were once victims of the same untruths.)
4. Bring them the truth, in love, relentlessly.
(The “soul force” solution of Gandhi and King.)
5. Ask your potential friends to share their views and experiences.
(By listening, we learn the cause of their fears and help to alleviate them.)
6. If you are lesbian or gay, come out every chance you get.
(“Hi, I’m Donna and I’m a Lesbyterian...”)
7. If you are lesbigay friendly, come out every chance you get.
(“Hi, I’m Donna and I love God’s gay and lesbian children. Don’t you?”)
8. Carry copies of your favorite supportive brochure.
(Example: The APA’s Answers to Your Questions About Sexual Orientation.)
9. Pass out copies to your potential friends like business cards or Halloween treats.
(“Take this brochure. There will be a test.”)
10. Subscribe to Open Hands for every one on your potential friend list.
(“I didn’t know it was about gays! I thought it was about gardening.”)
11. Invite your potential friends over to meet your favorite lesbigay neighbors.
(“Guess who’s coming to dinner!”)
12. Take potential friends to lesbigay concerts, welcoming services, Pride events.
(“Surprise!”)
13. Give them a copy of Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America.
(They get the message. And I get seventy-five cents. What a deal.)
Mel White, former ghostwriter for leaders of the religious right, is national justice minister
for the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.
Source
This article is excerpted from a sermon published
in More Light Update (April 1995), pp.
1-5. Subtitles added. P.O. Box 38, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038. Excerpted with
permission of author.
Note
1At this point in the sermon, Powers named
the denominational welcoming programs
and the numbers of welcoming churches.
As of January 1997, there are 735 welcoming
churches in the United States and
Canada. See p. 27.
Roger S. Powers is an
elder of the Church of
the Covenant in Boston.
He is an M.Div.
student at Andover
Newton Theological
School and serves on
the National Commit-
Photo: Peter Klotz-Chamberlain tee of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.
10 Open Hands
Rural Gay Realities
We now live in Effingham, Illinois,
a rural community with a population
of just over 12,000. It is located
two hours east of St. Louis, two hours
west of Indianapolis, and four hours
south of Chicago. In a nut shell, we live
in the heart of rural America— and we
love it. When we moved here four years
ago, we knew no one in the community
and had no connections to any support
group.
We have never hidden our relationship,
but do not go out of our way to
make an issue of our gayness. Both of
our cars have Christian and gay symbols
on them and we both wear earrings.
Other than that, we are typical middleaged
human beings. Our goal is to have
people get to know us as honest, caring,
Christian individuals. We have found
that, when we develop friendships and
working relationships on that level, our
being gay becomes unimportant. Most
people “figure it out” or a need arises
for us to come out. When that happens,
our being gay becomes a non-issue.
We live in a neighborhood that is
entirely made up of families and older
couples. We do yard work together, eat
out as a couple, and do other daily
activities— just as any other married
couple. We overhear negative remarks
occasionally and we know that we are
not accepted by all with whom we come
Plant Many Seeds
We have been a couple for nine years. We met at Faith Eternal
Metropolitan Community Church in Springfield, Illinois. In
1989, we were united in Holy Union at Faith Eternal.
We both come from a “church” background and the basis of our
relationship is our Christian faith. Church attendance and spiritual
growth are very important to us. Cole is an ordained elder in the Presbyterian
church and Russell was active in the United Methodist Church.
We feel God answered our individual prayers by bringing us together.
God’s hand is still very evident in our daily living as a couple.
Russ is fifty-seven years old and was married for twentyfive
years. He has two married sons and five grandchildren.
His younger son has severed their relationship and will not
allow Russ to have contact with his four grandchildren because
Russ proclaims to be gay and Christian. His son says he
could accept him if Russ would confess he can not be a Christian
and gay. However, his other son and his wife are accepting
of Russell’s sexual orientation and allow Russ to visit and
spoil his granddaughter.
Cole is forty-six and was married for fifteen years. He has a
very close relationship with his married daughter. When we
moved in together, Cole had custody of his then sixteen-yearold
daughter. She refers to Russ as her stepdad.
By Russell Grimes and Cole Williams
Winter 1997 11
into contact. However, on the whole,
people understand that we are a couple
and accept that as a fact. They also understand
that our gayness tells a small
part of the story of who we are. It is not
the definition of who we are, but is one
part of how God has created us and, we
believe, brought us together as a couple.
Finding a Church Home
Shortly after we moved to Effingham,
we began attending the largest
church in town, which had been recommended
to us. We joined that church
a few months later. Before making the
decision to join the church, we told the
assistant pastor that we were a couple
and needed a church that could minister
to us as a couple. We were told this
was not a problem. We talked a great
deal with the assistant pastor and felt
he was ready to minister to us as a Christian
couple.
After about six months it became
evident that we were not being included
in many of the activities that made up
the life of this church. We were turned
away when we offered any time or talents
to the church. It was time to look
for a new church home.
Cole suggested we visit the Presbyterian
church in town. That week the minister
came to our home to visit. We were
very open about our relationship and
our church needs as a family. The minister
was more than taken aback. He did
not try to hide the dilemma he was facing.
The congregation was very mixed
in age and in outlook. He explained that
many members were very conservative
and he was not sure how we would be
accepted. He also said some of the congregation
welcomed diversity but had
never dealt with a gay couple. His open
and frank discussion of the problems we
might face was insightful. It opened the
way for some in-depth discussion about
our spiritual needs and our faith. The
minister never made us feel unwelcome,
but he did show he was realistic about
what gay couples face whenever they
step into the “mainstream” of small
town America.
Reverend Holloway was supportive,
open, a little frightened, and very willing
to minister to our family. His heartfelt
concerns never made us wonder
about his support. Rather, they made us
feel he understood the issues we face on
a daily basis.
We are now members of the church.
Cole taught Vacation Bible School this
summer. When the minister asked the
coordinator if she realized we were gay
and if that made a difference, her answer
was “yes, I am aware of that fact,
but why would that matter?” We also
attend the monthly couples’ dinner club
and participate in other activities in the
church. We feel very included and have
been able to continue to grow as Christians
in our new church home. When
one of us is not able to attend church,
people ask if we are ill or if there is a
problem.
Being Visible Seeds
As a couple, we have made many
friends of all ages in the church and
community. We feel accepted and loved.
There is not a great deal of conversation
about our being a gay couple. However,
we know that our presence has
opened some minds. Our visibility puts
a face to an often invisible segment of
the population of our little community.
Rural communities do not lend
themselves to living on the sidelines. It
is very hard to disappear into the crowd
and not be noticed. You can isolate yourself,
but the community still knows you
are there. We like knowing our neighbors
and being involved in the life of
the community. We have taken our time
to be accepted and enjoy the feeling of
community and the pace of living in a
rural area.
True Christians show God’s inclusive
love when they are given the opportunity.
This opportunity can not come
from demands or threats. It comes only
when people see God’s light shining in
your life. Our goal is to live as a couple
in a community that we enjoy. We can
not force people to accept us. However,
we can guide them to see us as individuals
and as members of the family of God.
We believe we are planting the seed of
God’s inclusive love in this small community
just by being who we are— a
Christian gay couple. ▼
Russell Grimes (right) ended his twentyfive-
year career managing public entertainment
and convention centers to
stay home to care for his ninety-twoyear-
old aunt who lives in Cole and
Russell’s home. Cole Williams, who
taught for sixteen years, now works for
the Illinois Education Association, an
affiliate of NEA. They are members of
First Presbyterian Church in
Effingham, Illinois.
12 Open Hands
Going Public
I have distributed the above position
statement (with some updating) since
August 1995. Why did I go public?
Friends lost their son to AIDS. They
grieve in self-imposed isolation. Their
anger due to the associated stigma is
barely repressed. The son and his mother
and dad loved one another dearly, but
he died without their sharing an important
fact about his life. Now they never
can. A tragedy compounded! He died
feeling their disapproval of any sexual
orientation other than their own. It’s
as if in all creation, in this single aspect
of life, there is not diversity as in all
others.
Prior to my commitment to being
open and looking for a support group, I
talked to a pastor. He responded, “I am
sorry. There are some families affected
in this church, too.” However, no introduction
was forthcoming. Couldn’t be!
Everyone is closeted about homosexuality—
including ministers. All that is
heard is the loud condemnation from
the religious and political right and
from their gay bashing mimics. What
accounts for this passive silence from
those who should be speaking out
clearly for the marginalized, the beleaguered?
“You will know them by
their fruits” (Matthew 7:20 NRSV). The
church went on with its building
program.
As we approach the year 2000, this
most enlightened nation has ceased
obeying biblical commands to chop off
hands and pluck out eyes. However, we
are still doing the equivalent of stoning
people—we use high tech. As in the days
of old, those who cast the stones claim
the high ground in the mode of the
prophet who called upon the bear to
maul the children who were annoying
him (2 Kings 2:24). The accusers’ open
condemnation of homosexual persons
has been tolerated partly because they
have gained power through effective use
of media to persuade and to focus fears.
There is a connection, for instance, between
the accusers’ message and the embarrassment—
yea, rejection—of children
by their parents. Ministers know
horror stories about such breakdowns
in family relationships. Among the related
consequences of “high-tech stoning”
is the fact that AIDS support systems
are few and far between in north
Mississippi. The overall lack of compassionate
action is related to the attitude
behind the “stoning” by print journalism
and by TV and radio broadcasts
from the right.
I decided to “come forth” to break
through the awful silence of shame that
is without reasonable basis.
Finding an Approach
How could I become engaged in
north Mississippi? Where, north
of Jackson, is there a mentor, let alone a
“free” support group? Is there one courageous
church openly welcoming gay,
bisexual, and lesbian persons? Is an interfaith
system offering group sharing,
perhaps through Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), a national
organization with experience and expertise?
Who is available for conflicted parents
suffering cascades of anger and selfdoubt?
“May I ask you a question?” The
anxious mother of a seventeen-year-old
lad wanted to know, “Do gays go to
hell?” Who is reassuring such parents?
By Ruth Jaeckel
“As an act of love, I am coming out of the closet as a parent
of a gay son. Years ago, when he was a baby, he was baptized
by the church. In 1996, the United Methodist Church, considering
the sacrament of baptism as a gift of divine grace, decided
to confer full membership along with ‘further profound theological
implications.’ To promote reconciliation and affirmation,
I also am coming out in order to be visibly supportive of other
parents and siblings of persons who are gay, bisexual, and
lesbian.
“Our family supported our son and his partner’s relationship.
About the partner’s illness and death, another of our three
sons noted that our attitude and concern should be the same as
if it were his wife or our other daughter-in-law. We parents are
as proud of our heterosexual sons as we are of our homosexual
son. We accept and enjoy the diversity of their characteristics:
hair and eye colors, heights, God-given talents. We thrive on
the variety of their interests. We back their goals and share
their pleasure in accomplishments. We are glad for the love and
pride our family members have for each other.”
Winter 1997 13
“The key is the active support and involvement
of the pastor. The leadership
of clergy is vital. Though other highranking
members of congregations can
provide leadership, they cannot replace
clergy acceptance and support. When
clergy speak from the pulpit about the
issue in a neutral or positive way,
congregants feel they can come forward,
seek information or counseling,
and voice concerns.”
—Regional AIDS Interfaith Network
(RAIN), New Orleans, LA
With few official structures available,
I began to talk with individuals: agency
directors, editors, lay leaders, and, especially,
ministers. I have chosen to approach
churches of the denominations
listed on the inside cover of Open Hands.
Those denominations, the media report,
are engaged in study of the issue of homosexuality.
I phone ahead to ask for
an appointment, telling the person that
I wish to talk about homosexuality and
AIDS.
The first thing I do when I get to the
appointment is to pull out of my “Mary
Poppins” bag a few framed family pictures
to “put a face on it.” Every gay
person is a whole, unique, complicated,
and real person. Every gay person has a
family. In our family photo, everyone,
including our son’s partner, is smiling.
I leave a file, a heavy paper folder,
with each minister. A tight elastic band
keeps things from spilling out. The file
includes a copy of my position statement;
an issue of Open Hands; clippings
about the denomination’s position and
debate; sermons by William Sloan Coffin
and Bishop John Spong; The Church
Studies Homosexuality booklet for United
Methodists; a chapter from James
Nelson’s Embodiment; some basic
PFLAG materials, including a Flagpole
newspaper; and, sometimes, a copy of
We Were Baptized Too, co-authored by
James Preston, outreach coordinator of
the Reconciling Congregation Program.
Ministers’ Responses
One minister reminded me of the
United Methodist Discipline, the
documented current perspective of official
delegates to the quadrennial General
Conference. He made a copy of the
section about homosexuality.
Since then,
I include copies in
the files I hand out.
One minister seemed
basically patronizing.
Another closed our
visit with a prayer. He
said as I left that my
visits with my expressions
of concern
might be more significant
than I knew.
One young minister
apparently felt
insecure counseling
a mother grieving (he
anticipated) over her
son’s sexual orientation.
He called in a
counselor from an organization that
meets regularly with homosexuals with
the goal of changing their sexual orientation.
The minister and counselor must
have been surprised that this mother
feels at ease about her son’s sexual integrity,
that I am about the business of
urging acceptance of each human being,
no matter what their sexual orientation.
The three of us had an honest,
open, and civil “trialogue.”
One minister showed keen interest
in an Open Hands article about what
churches can do to “take the next steps.”
No minister showed ire. Only one minister
has refused to make an appointment,
stating that “Homosexuality is
wrong and I have no time to discuss it.”
The ministers are concerned about
the issue, as I am, and seem to be glad
to talk and to share their understanding
and stories (while maintaining confidentiality)
about hurts and griefs they
“I believe, as does retired United Methodist
Bishop Melvin E. Wheatley, Jr.,
that heterosexuality, quite like homosexuality,
is neither a virtuous nor a
sinful characteristic of one’s nature. Not
just neutral, it is a mysterious gift of
God’s grace. What I do with my heterosexuality—
or others with their homosexuality
or bisexuality—is a determinant
of my personal, moral, and spiritual responsibility.”
—Ruth Jaeckel
know about. My purpose is grounded
in accepting the challenge of discipleship
in the manner of the Quaker John
Woolman who put aside his tailoring at
times to call upon other Friends in New
Jersey and beyond to broach the subject
of their freeing their slaves.1
Through my assertive openness, I am
finding Mississippians who also want
progress in this area. I am finding a network
of kindred spirits with whom to
work. A new friend, a Catholic priest
from a nearby town, focuses on the status
of homosexuality and the church
and states the case succinctly: “I am
aware of many gay and lesbian persons,
most afraid to attend church even
though they would like to. How can
these children of God know God’s great
love for them? How can families cope
with the challenges surrounding them?
How can anyone come forth? How can
we breach the [wall of] silence—and find
each other?” ▼
Note
1The Journal of John Wolman. Philadelphia:
Friends Brookstore, n.d., ch. 8. Introduction
by John G. Whittier, 1871.
Ruth Jaeckel, a member
of the First Unitarian
Church, Memphis, Tennessee,
lives in Tupelo,
Mississippi. She attended
Earlham College
and graduated from the
University of Iowa.
PART OF THE JAECKEL FAMILY: Ruth’s husband Hank (center)
works with Mississippi Rehab. Their son Karl enjoys square
dancing and uses the activity as an aid in bridging
communication between the gay and straight community.
14 Open Hands
California has been the gateway
to the American dream for millions
of immigrants from the
nations of the Pacific Rim. Today, Asian-
American communities are an important
component in the region’s diverse
mix of peoples and cultures. To understand
how their distinctive cultures and
their immigrant experience influenced
their decision to become welcoming
congregations, I spoke to members of
three primarily Asian-American United
Methodist churches in Northern California
that are also Reconciling Congregations.
Tom Kawakami and Velma Yemoto
are long-time members of Pine UMC,
the first Japanese-American United
Methodist Church in the country. Situated
in San Francisco, Pine’s congregation
is about 90 percent Japanese and
draws some seventy-five worshipers
each Sunday. An associated Japanesespeaking
congregation has about thirty
members. The church provides other
services, including a Japanese-language
nursery school, to the city’s Japanesespeaking
community. Pine’s congregation
is mostly older, as its young people
tend to settle out of the city. However, a
few young families have recently joined.
Fellowship UMC of Vallejo was
founded in 1941 to serve that city’s
growing Filipino community. Today,
Fellowship is a dynamic congregation,
with over 250 members of all ages, from
older adults to infants. Primarily a
church of immigrants, Fellowship serves
Filipino-Americans who are struggling
to find their place in American society
while maintaining their roots— especially
the importance of the family—in
traditional Filipino culture. Dante de
Tablan, thirty-five years old and the father
of two teenagers, has been a member
of Fellowship since his arrival in the
U.S. in 1979.
Bill Hunt is a retired pastor and member
of St. Mark’s UMC of Stockton. Forty
years ago two churches, one Caucasian,
the other Chinese-American, merged to
form St. Mark’s. Many members— of
both churches— left. Those who remained
were determined to work together.
Today, with about fifty members,
St. Mark’s is proud of its multi-racial
identity. The congregation is 50 percent
Chinese-American, 20 percent Filipino-
American, and the rest African-American,
Caucasian, and Hispanic.
Becoming RCs
According to Tom Kawakami, Pine
UMC followed a common model in
deciding to become a Reconciling Congregation.
They hosted a series of discussions
and speakers over a six-month
period. The discussions were organized
by Velma Yemoto, who for many years
has worked as a volunteer care-giver for
Asian AIDS patients. Through a local gay
Asian and Pacific Islander organization,
Yemoto found Asian speakers to address
the congregation. Gay and lesbian
speakers discussed their experiences,
their beliefs, and the importance of
worship and Christian fellowship in
their lives. “We found out they’re not
much different from anybody else,” says
Kawakami. Later, a panel of parents and
their lesbian and gay offspring told of
coming to terms with their children’s—
or their own—homosexuality. The congregation
had a number of younger gay
and lesbian members, but they weren’t
comfortable speaking in such a forum.
“Japanese are kind of closed” about homosexuality,
Yemoto explains. The outside
speakers provided enough distance
to make the discussion easier while
maintaining an Asian perspective. At the
end of six months, questionaires were
sent to the members, and speakers were
dispatched to explain the process to the
Japanese-speaking congregation. No one
raised objections, and Pine voted to become
a Reconciling Congregation.
Fellowship UMC became a Reconciling
Congregation in 1995. The process
began with a series of home meetings
to discuss welcoming issues: What is the
Reconciling Congregation Program and
what does it mean to become an RC?
What does the Bible say about homosexuality?
About welcoming? Members
formed a task force and met for nearly a
year before presenting their proposal to
the church’s administrative council. It
passed with a single dissenting vote. The
key to success was a strategy of working
with the families, with strong support
from the pastor, Dr. Tony Ubalde. Before
their presentation to the council,
members of the task force approached
families to ask for their support. De
Tablan observes: “For Filipinos, homosexuality
is a very hard thing to talk
about. The quiet, family-to-family approach
saves faces, and allows for discussion
and understanding.”
Members of Fellowship UMC feel
free to bring their friends and lovers to
worship. The message of inclusion is
reinforced from the pulpit and by the
banners and signs that adorn the walls
of the church. “This is a hate-free zone,”
says one sign. A rainbow banner proclaims,
“Called to serve.” As de Tablan
says, “We are fighting for ourselves and
our children. How are we going to view
ourselves? How are we going to view
others?”
Like Velma Yemoto, Bill Hunt became
interested in reconciling issues in
response to the AIDS epidemic. For several
years, Hunt and his wife Ella Marie
have been leading a support group for
AIDS care-givers. Hunt has given messages
at vigils and provided counseling
at an HIV testing site. While helping to
lead worship at St. Mark’s, he began to
By Van Dixon
Winter 1997 15
Parallels Between Racism
and Heterosexism
While “heterosexism” has not yet
entered the common lexicon of
these churches, “prejudice” and “discrimination”
certainly have. All three
churches see their reconciling ministries
as reflections of their work in racial
minority communities. This was certainly
the case for St. Mark’s UMC. Bill
Hunt describes St. Mark’s as “a very interracial
church. They believe in that
strongly, because they believe that’s the
way all churches ought to be: open to
everyone.” Their old roots in anti-racism
work are sprouting new branches.
Lessons for Other
Churches of Color
Dante de Tablan warns against assuming
that there is a single path
to becoming a welcoming congregation.
“Don’t fall into the standard model,” he
says, “of study, study, study. The study
model may be a predominantly white
approach not appropriate for other cultures.
Use the traditions of your own
culture as a basis for beginning the discussion.”
In Filipino culture, the family
is the basic social unit, so a familyto-
family approach proved successful at
Fellowship UMC.
If the study model is employed, says
Tom Kawakami, be sure that outside
experts are people to whom the congregation
can relate. “It helped that the
speakers and folks on the panels were
Asian. Since the congregation is getting
older, it was helpful when the parents
of gays came. Their experiences alleviated
a lot of fears.” Be sure to provide a
safe space for questions, even the “gossipy
type,” and respect the needs of others
to remain silent.
If helping a traditionally ethnic or
multiracial congregation become more
welcoming seems a daunting prospect,
take heart. As de Tablan reminds us, the
process has already begun. In their discussions
with individuals and families,
the reconciling task force at Fellowship
UMC found that “people had been
thinking about this. People had been
suffering silently. They had gay family
members, or relatives who are sick with
AIDS.” One couple whom de Tablan invited
to join the task force had a gay
son, but hadn’t felt able to tell anyone
about him before. Also, the necessary
leaders may well be among you. All three
congregations had people like Velma
Yemoto and Bill Hunt, who had worked
for years with people with AIDS and
their care-givers or were otherwise
involved in the gay community. The
trick, then, is in identifying the leaders
and other resources in your midst, tapping
into your own cultural traditions
and modes of discourse, and opening
yourself to the gifts that the Spirit provides.
▼
Van Dixon, a former Open Hands editorial
assistant, is an
astronomer at the University
of California and
a member of Trinity
UMC, an RC in Berkeley,
California.
TOM KAWAKAMI and VELMA
YEMOTO helped their church, Pine
UMC in San Francisco, become an RC.
share stories from his AIDS work during
the weekly announcement period.
Two years ago, at St. Mark’s charge conference
(an annual congregational meeting),
he reported on his work with AIDS
care-givers. Noting that many of them
were gay or lesbian and in need of a
supportive faith community, Hunt concluded,
“It would be nice if they had a
church where they could feel welcome.”
One of the church’s Chinese-American
members responded, “We’re open to
everyone, so we should be open to these
people, too.” The district superintendent
suggested a study series on reconciling
issues, but St. Mark’s folks said, “Bill and
Ella Marie have been educating us for
two years!” St. Mark’s became a Reconciling
Congregation that very day, for
“humanitarian reasons, out of love and
concern, without arguing over scriptural
issues.”
BILL and ELLA MARIE HUNT’s
educational steps led to an easy
choice for St. Mark’s UMC in
Stockton
DANTE de TABLAN
participated in a quiet
family approach to
decision making at
Fellowship UMC in
Vallejo.
16 Open Hands
Inclusion is a concept that does not
stand isolated. It springs from inherent,
deep-rooted, human response.
The seed of inclusion must be sown if it
is to appear in a place where it was previously
absent. An inclusive response is
attached to long strings that have their
source in the human heart— cultivated
to produce a real, natural, just invitation.
Without the cultivation that presents
it as an embrace, the response is
only tolerance.
The reconciling movement has reacted
with love to an unloving community.
The grass roots movement can pinpoint
tactile evidence of injustice in the
written word of the United Methodist
Book of Discipline. However, the reconciling
movement has not answered with
the more common political urgency to
have wording changed, as much as it has
responded with the inner workings of
love-activists among the people. The
movement knows that once seeds have
been sown, people can grow into living
agents of change.
The student movement among
United Methodist communities is ripe;
it is rich soil. Now is a very exciting and
dynamic place and time to be a student
in the United Methodist church. God
has been sowing some seeds of welcome
through campuses. The growing edges
of our student movement are pulsating
What is MoSAIC?
MoSAIC (Methodist Students for All-Inclusive Church) began at breakfast on the
last morning of the United Methodist Student Forum in Oklahoma City in May
1996. This budding student network of reconciling United Methodists developed
as a response to a defeated Forum vote to urge the United Methodist General
Conference to strike homophobic language from the Book of Discipline. For more
information, contact RCP at 773/736-5526 or see the home page at http://
www.tde.com/nopendoor.MoSAIC.htm.
—Anastasia Hacopian
because here are places where things
have been picking up and taking off.
Why? Well, remember being twenty?
Remember being on the threshold of
“the beginning of the rest of your life?”
What a cosmic carpet one stands on at
that threshold! In a college or university
environment, we have opportunities
to stretch our minds and challenge
them to become slightly larger—to make
room to chew on the rush of intellectual
ideas that come up in classrooms
or coffee shops. And what about the
experiences of human relationships that
develop, coupled with a student’s
newfound independence? All of the
above guarantee the academic era to be
a ripe place for growth. Students, who
put themselves (or who may have been
put) in a church or campus ministry
group in their college environment, also
have before them the dynamic promise
of spiritual growth opportunity, should
they consent to give that opportunity a
chance.
In the last two and a half years at the
University of California at Berkeley, I
have said “yes” to two or three United
Methodist retreats, conferences, or meetings
per semester. There have also been
countless work days, outings, Bible studies,
coffee hours, projects, meals, conversations.
All of these experiences, national
and municipal, have cultivated
me.
At national conferences, I have met
United Methodists who are not prochoice,
do not know the word “reconciling”,
and—more amazing to me—do
not favor the ordination of women. But
I have met people like me—who, for the
first time, meet Methodists who are not
“pro-life”, who use inclusive language,
who use the word “reconciling.” At minimum,
mutual exposure of both kinds
is guaranteed. Possibly, respectful dialogue
takes place. At best, seeds like that
of inclusion are sown.
Even if students do not say “yes” to
national conferences, they are embraced,
hopefully, by their campus ministry
community for a time. At minimum,
the seed of relationship with God
or with peers, or both, is planted. At best,
the individual can be a free thinker in a
university space and simultaneously
embrace faith and spirituality. Through
relationships tied together by communities
of faith, love can be learned, and
non-academic, less secular, rewards affirmed.
Here we are, nearing the millennium.
In 1997, the word “radical”
has exciting, varied, interesting connotations
within the Christian church. The
United Methodist Church is blessed with
an identity and tradition that grants it
the potential to be progressive. Some
students are taking this potential, calling
it empowerment, and are running
with it. There is no alternative reality.
How can there be? We are living in radical
times, churches aside. Social justice
issues permeate all venues of “churchless”
society. If the church cannot be
first to embrace and run with opportunities
for social justice, what have we
woefully done? Which God are we saying
we acknowledge? Whose radical example
are we not remembering?
By Anastasia Hacopian
Winter 1997 17
Sisters and brothers, I encourage you
to turn your gaze upon campuses
and students. The student experience is
rich soil; young adults on the threshold
of the rest of their lives are asking, struggling,
embracing, weeping, suffering,
celebrating. Help us to sow our seeds of
love and inclusion now as we stand here
on these pulsating edges, empowered
with opportunity. ▼
Anastasia Hacopian is a twenty-year-old
junior majoring in German at the University
of California-Berkeley. In February, she
joined the board of directors of the Reconciling
Congregation
Board. She is co-secretary
with RCP student
outreach intern Trey
Hall for MoSAIC (Methodist
Students for All-
Inclusive Church).
14th Annual Presbyterian More Light Conference
Never Turning Back
May 23-25, 1997 • Portland, Oregon
Keynote Speaker: Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr.
Senior Pastor, Riverside Church, New York City
One of the 12 “most effective preachers” in the English-speaking world. —Newsweek
Workshops/Displays
same gender marriage, ex-gay ministries, lesbians and gay men in seminaries,
rural and metro area ecumenical cooperation,
connections between gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender struggles
and issues of racism and immigration
For more information and registration form
Dick Hasbany • 4025 Dillard Road • Eugene, OR 97405 • 541/345-4720
Groundbreaking Bible Study Now Available!
Claiming
the
Promise
An Ecumenical Welcoming Resource
on Homosexuality
▼ Examines biblical references to same-sex conduct in light of the Promise
that we are heirs of God.
▼ Explores biblical authority and biblical interpretation.
▼ Discusses positive biblical images of hospitality and sexuality.
▼ Tackles hard questions of “right relationship” and “sexual responsibility.”
▼ Calls us all to live out the Promise as reconciling disciples.
48-page study book; extensive leader’s guide offers flexible teaching plans
To order call:
Reconciling Congregation Program
773/736-5526
or contact your welcoming program.
Mary Jo Osterman
An Ecumenical Welcoming
Bible Study Resource on Homosexuality
Claiming
the
Promise
18 Open Hands
I had just started a new management
position in a new town, and was
totally alone. The accounting manager,
Barb, was an open lesbian. I was
immediately encouraged that maybe this
small company could accept me as I
really am. Barb explained how her holy
union had been performed by a local
United Methodist minister of a church
that was called “reconciling.” She invited
me to attend service there. She assured
me that they would accept me. They
probably had never met a crossdresser
before, much less a transsexual.
I hadn’t been to church in years. Did
I dare go? I wouldn’t know anyone else.
Would I be shunned? Would people
stare? Would they tell me to leave?
Would they laugh? Would someone call
the cops? Would my new boss find out
and fire me? Does God care? Was this
church called Faith United Methodist for
real? I had nothing left to lose but my
faith in God. Would God abandon me
too, just for trying to be myself?
It is emotionally hard now for me to
remember how life was before I found
Faith United Methodist Church. What
was worst was being afraid to talk about
my feelings with anyone, feeling sick
and being alone.
Faith UMC opened its doors, not
only for me to worship God, but also
for a new support and advocacy group
for local transsexuals. On 9 April 1996,
eighteen people met to discuss the
special needs they have as full-time
transitioning transsexuals in a trembling,
unsympathetic world. There were
many different kinds of people, from all
ages and backgrounds, plus the spirits
of those who could not be there, and
wanted to. Some had been living life not
knowing any other transsexual. Feeling
alone and frightened, they met others
like themselves and learned that there
are people who care.
That night, a couple of people went
to a church, who had vowed never to
go to a church again after experiencing
intolerance from churches in the past.
They discovered that there is at least
one church that does follow the true
message of Jesus. They joined with
others in love, trust, and safety, to give
their little group a name: Transsexual
OUTreach (TOUT). TOUT’s mission—to
tout our worth to ourselves and to society—
is based on the principle of “what
ought to be, can be.”
However, opening doors isn’t about
gays or transsexuals. It’s about our relationship
with God— a relationship that
rejects fear, hate, and distrust, and embraces
becoming more aware about the
world around us and all the people in
it. It’s about knowing how to judge by
deeds. It’s about nurturing an environment
for good deeds to happen. A closed
door is a closed door on oneself to all of
God’s beauty in the people God created
in his/her image. Be not afraid to open
your door. ▼
31 May 1996 —With Ashley and Rev. Marsha Acord at her side,
Anna Marie Appleby spoke to the Des Moines School Board. Anna
is director of MAGGIE (Mid-America Gender Group Information
Exchange). This action, done on behalf of Iowa Artistry (a local
support group for transgendered people) and MAGGIE, was to
fight a proposed new discrimination policy against the TG
(transgender) community. The proposed policy had language that
lumped TGs together with a long list of criminal behaviors. The
proposal was successfully defeated.
Ashley Lynn Super (left) resigned her management
job at the end of 1996 and is
pursuing a career in human service. She is
active with TOUT and at Faith United
Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
where Marsha Acord (right) serves as
pastor.
By Ashley Lynn Super
Transgender Advocacy in Iowa
Faith’s Pastor Reflects
Two transsexual members of Faith United
Methodist Church identified the need for
personal support and advocacy for transsexual
persons in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There
is little awareness about gender identity
issues or even the existence of transsexuals
in this midwestern community of
100,000 people. Faith Church responded
because of friendship, trust, and support
of these two members. People of Faith
UMC had learned that isolation is the most
critical factor in the lives of persons who
are transsexual—isolation from family, in the
workplace, by their churches, and from
each other. Faith UMC provides a safe and
accepting place for transsexual persons
who are breaking down the barriers of
isolation.
—Rev. Marsha Acord
5 June 1996 — Ashley and Anna gave a presentation on transgenderism
to Foundation II’s Crisis Hot Line network training
session.
19 June 1996 — Talk began with the city of Iowa City, at their request,
about producing an information video for employers about
transgender employment nondiscrimination. Progress continues.
Source
This report is adapted from TOUTing our worth newsletter, vol. 1, no. 1 (August
1996), p. 1, with additional information provided by Anna Marie Appleby.
Winter 1997 19
Although the Moravian Church in
America did not know it, 10 October
1993 was a historic day.
Even the few people gathered in a modest
apartment in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
could not have imagined the full
import of what they were doing. This
was the first meeting of gay and lesbian
Moravians in the Lehigh Valley area—
perhaps the first such gathering of
Moravians in the United States and
Canada.
That day a half-dozen people gathered
at 6 p.m. in response to a notice in
The Moravian about the possibility of
forming a group for lesbian and gay
Moravians living in Pennsylvania and
New Jersey.1 At 10:30 p.m. we were still
sitting around talking. No one wanted
to go home. It was almost as if the group
was home.
Creating Sanctuary
Although for a time we called our
selves simply “The Gay/Lesbian
Moravian Group,” we wanted a less generic
designation. We tried names connected
with Moravian history, acronyms
which were either hilarious or ungainly,
names which needed too much explanation.
When someone finally said,
“How about Sanctuary?” everybody
said, “Yesss!”
A sanctuary can be a holy place
within a church or temple or a place of
refuge and protection. For our group,
both meanings apply.
Although we began with no agenda
except to get together, it soon became
apparent that we needed more focus. We
spent an evening putting together several
liturgies for our use (in some instances
using material from Open
Hands). In addition, individual members
have brought liturgies they have written.
We have had Bible studies, have read
and discussed books and articles, as well
as viewing and discussing a number of
videos. We have not neglected our social
life, particularly in summer when
we have cook-outs and potlucks. Our
October meeting usually brings out a
few people in costume.
For a long time one of our members
looked outside the Moravian Church for
gay and lesbian fellowship. He now finds
it enormously affirming to have a network
of people from the same spiritual
tradition. By participating in Sanctuary
he expresses his hope as a gay man for
an honorable place in the church. He
also sees Sanctuary as holding the
church accountable to Jesus’ statement
when he drove the money changers
from the Temple: “My house shall be
called a house of prayer for all peoples”
(Matthew 21:13). He points out that the
money changers’ booths were set up in
the Court of the Gentiles, established
for foreigners who were precluded from
full Temple worship. Jesus was proclaiming
symbolically that all are welcome
to God’s realm.
A lesbian couple sees Sanctuary as a
primary focus of their lives. “It’s a way
of having fellowship with other lesbians
and gay men without going to the
bars.”
Planting More Seeds
In June 1996, Sanctuary took a significant
step forward—as did the whole
Moravian Church—when, for the first
time ever, the church’s Eastern District
Conference included a literature table,
proposed by and staffed by Sanctuary
members. Leaders of the District were
favorably impressed. So were leaders of
the Northern Province, who expressed
interest in having a similar literature
table at the triennial Northern Province
Synod in 1997.
A Sanctuary member who tended the
table has said, “Just being there and being
a ‘face’ for those people was a life
moment for me.” He defined “life moment”
as an experience marking a significant
turning point in life. “It was a
coming-out of sorts,” he went on, “important
for the church as well as…for
me.”
Recently, we have begun putting together
educational information about
homosexuality for congregational use,
either as personal reading or as the basis
for group discussions. We will make
this information available to pastors and
congregations.2
We now have a supplementary mailing
list of Moravians and others who live
in places which make it impossible for
them to attend our meetings. Each
month they receive the notice of our
meeting so they know what is happening.
Now and again a newsletter goes
out as well.
This long-distance effort is also of
value. One of our far-away members
recently wrote:
“You have…my prayers and best
wishes in what I know from experience
to be a difficult undertaking
that has nevertheless been
blessed, over the long haul, with
too many signs of God’s favor to
give up in the short run.” ▼
Notes
1The Moravian is the official journal of the
Moravian Church in America, Northern and
Southern Provinces.
2Material is not yet available. Sanctuary’s web
site address is: esanctuary@aol.com.
Mary V. Borhek, a member of Central
Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
is the mother of
a gay son and author
of My Son Eric and
Coming Out to Parents
(Pilgrim Press).
By Mary V. Borhek
20 Open Hands
Sowing Seeds of Hope
An Ecumenical Pride Service Held at Grant Park-Aldersgate UMC
Atlanta, Georgia, 30 June 1996
Preparing the Soil
Gathering Music
Welcome
Call to Worship
How wonderful, O Lord, are the works of your hands! The heavens declare
your glory, the arch of sky displays your handiwork.
The heavens declare the glory of God.
In your love you have given us the power to behold the beauty of your world,
robed in all its splendor. The sun and the stars, the valleys and hills, the rivers
and lakes—all disclose your presence.
The earth reveals God’s eternal presence.
The roaring breakers of the sea tell of your awesome might; the beasts of the
field and the birds of the air bespeak your wondrous will.
Life comes forth by God’s creative will.
In your goodness you have made us able to hear the music of the world. The
raging of the winds, the whisperings of trees in the wood, and the precious
voices of loved ones reveal to us that you are in our midst.
A divine voice sings through all creation. AMEN.
Hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” Henry Van Dyke
Reading
Turning It Over
Prayers of Confession
Confessional Response “Dona Nobis”
Anthem
Prayers of the People
Blessed are you, Merciful God of all Creation, and blessed are we who are called
by your Name.
Hear the prayers of your people as we ask you,
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We pray for those in authority over us, our leaders and lawmakers. Give us eyes
to see that we are all children in the same garden world. Teach us to govern
ourselves with respect for the dignity of every person. Empower us to take
responsibility for our own lives and the lives of others.
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We ask that we be given grace to forgive not only those who despise us but
those whom we despise. Make us mindful that love has the power to overcome
hate.
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We thank you for our community, these people who are our family and friends.
We affirm the solidarity found in community and the reassurance that we do
not stand alone.
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We pray for our brothers and sisters living with disease. May your healing light
be with them. Use our touch, our kind words and deeds to be a healing balm to
them.
Sustaining
the Spirit
Acknowledging creation
Learning the history of this garden plot
Calling on the power of creation
Singing a song while you work
Consulting past gardeners
Contributing to the compost heap
Sharing our compost
Seeking assistance
Sources
Call to Worship: Paraphrased from several
psalms by Lesley Brogan.
Readings: Used a gospel lesson and a reading
from May Sarton.
Prayers of the People: Written by Gerry Hoyt.
Used with permission.
Affirmation: Used full poem from The Dinner
Party by Judy Chicago. Doubleday, 1979, p. 256.
Planting Ritual Introduction: Written by Linda
Ellis. Used with permission.
Planting Song: “Playin’ in the Dirt” jingle was
written for a local TV commercial. Used with
permission of Pike Family Nursery, Atlanta, GA.
An Ecumenical Pride Service Held at Grant Park-Aldersgate UMC
Atlanta, Georgia, 30 June 1996
Winter 1997 21
(Congregation may add silently or aloud names of those for whom we pray.)
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We remember those who have gone before us and we continue to reap what
they have entrusted us to sow. We miss them and grieve for the loss of their
light in our lives. We entrust them to your care, knowing that you are doing
better things for them than we could hope or pray.
(Congregation may add silently or aloud the names of those for whom we pray.)
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We pray for the children, our next generation. May we prepare the soil for them
as others have done for us—may we offer them the guidance to grow in your
light and the nourishment to thrive in your care.
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil.
We celebrate this day our uniqueness, our worth as daughters and sons of
yours. We are your clowns, your dreamers, your sages and mystics. We are your
healers and workers in your garden. Help us to be so aware of your presence in
our lives that we freely open our hearts to receive the seeds of your love. May
these seeds come to fruition and bring forth a beautiful new Eden.
God, turn our hearts as a gardener turns the soil. Amen.
Envisioning the Harvest
Affirmation of Faith
“And then all that has divided us will merge…” Judy Chicago
Reading
Sermon
Hymn “Hymn of Promise” Natalie Sleeth
Planting the Seed
Offering
Ritual of Hope
This is a day to celebrate and to recognize the days that have come before—
some good, some not. We in the gay and lesbian community have a rich and
strong heritage to claim. There are generations of people who have sown the
seeds whose fruit we are harvesting today. We reap what they have sown by
their actions, by the walks they’ve walked—by who they were and how they
lived. It is a little easier today for some of us to walk proudly, to claim our place
in this community and in the family of God. We celebrate that. And we know
that for some it is not easier—not yet. So today we continue the process. Today
we take the seeds, turn the dirt, plant the seeds, water them, and remain to tend
them—by our actions, by the way we walk, and by how we live. For those who
come after us...
Playin’ in the Dirt
A spade and bucket and a little tin hoe
It was fun back then but you never know
You might meet a memory of a childhood friend
If you come and play in the dirt again.
Benediction
Moving to fruition
Designing the landscape
Preparing the seed
Reaping what you sow
Giving back to the earth
Sowing the seed
Giving it time to bloom
Liturgy Format: Thanks to Rev. Patricia York,
Rev. Kelly Turney, Lesley Brogan, all those of
the ecumenical pride service committee, and
Grant Park-Aldersgate UMC, Atlanta, Georgia,
who planned this service. This liturgy may
be reprinted for local worship use. For other
uses, contact the church.
22 Open Hands
Selected
Resources
Basic Resources
These ten resources are recommended to inquiring churches and individuals
as “places to begin your reading.”
Alexander, Marilyn and James Preston. We Were Baptized Too.
Louisville: Westminister John Knox, 1996.
Bess, Howard H. Pastor, I am Gay. Palmer, Alaska: Palmer, 1995.
Boykin, Keith. One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America.
Anchor Books, 1996.
Glaser, Chris. Coming Out to God: Prayers for Lesbians and Gay
Men, their Families and Friends. Louisville: Westminster John
Knox, 1991.
Helminiak, Daniel A. What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality.
San Francisco: Alamo Square, 1994.
Law, Eric H. F. The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb: A Spirituality
for Leadership in a Multicultural Community. St. Louis: Chalice,
1993. A Chinese-American perspective.
Morrison, Melanie. The Grace of Coming Home: Spirituality, Sexuality,
and the Struggle for Justice. Cleveland: Pilgrim, 1995.
Scanzoni, Letha and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott. Is the Homosexual
My Neighbor? A Positive Christian Response. Rev. and upd.
San Francisco: Harper, 1994.
Tigert, Leanne McCall. Coming Out While Staying In: Struggles
and Celebrations of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals in the Church.
Cleveland: United Church, 1996.
White, Mel. Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in
America. New York: Plume Penguin, 1994.
Videos
These videos are recommended for your study process.
All God’s Children. A 26-min. award-winning color documentary
of interviews with African-American leaders who support gay
and lesbians rights. Woman Vision: 415/273-1145.
Eve’s Daughters. Lesbians sharing their journey from heterosexism
and subjugation. Leonardo’s Children: 914/986-6858.
Home: The Parable of Beatrice and Neal. A 105-min. original musical
drama portraying the power of love to reconcile Christian
discord about homosexuality. RCP: 773/736-5526.
Maybe We’re Talking About a Different God: The Church and Homosexuality.
29-min. Celebrates gay/lesbian lives and calls the
church to be inclusive. Leonardo’s Children: 914/986-6858.
The Rhetoric of Intolerance: An Open-Letter Video to Pat Robertson
from Dr. Mel White. 29-min. UFMCC: 310/360-8640.
Straight from the Heart. 24-min. Parents’ journeys to a new understanding
of their lesbian/gay children. Woman Vision: 415/
273-1145.
Welcoming Program Resources
These are the major resources produced by the welcoming programs. Each
program also has a newsletter.
Ecumenical
Claiming the Promise: An Ecumenical Welcoming Bible Study Resource
on Homosexuality. Mary Jo Osterman. Chicago: Reconciling
Congregations Program, 1997. Study book and
leader’s guide. Available from the welcoming programs and
l/b/g/t support groups. See ad, p. 32.
More Light (Presbyterian)
More Light Churches Resource Packet. Designed for churches interested
in becoming More Light.
Reconciling the Broken Silence: The Church in Dialogue on Gay
and Lesbian Issues. A six-session study guide.
Oasis, The (Episcopal)
All Love Is of God: A Six-Session Study of Homosexuality and Homophobia
for Congregations of the Episcopal Church.
A Book of Revelations: Lesbian and Gay Episcopalians Tell their
Own Stories. Ed. by Louie Crew.
Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ)
Open and Affirming: A Journey of Faith. 60-min. video for
churches exploring becoming ONA.
Open and Affirming: What Does It Mean to Us? A booklet of
responses by seventeen l/b/g members of the UCC.
OK! We’re ONA. Now What? Ideas on how a UCC church can
express its ONA commitment.
Open & Affirming (Disciples)
Introductory O&A Packet. Guidelines, O&A list, sample statements.
O&A Resources on Diskette. Includes packet and kit, plus official
Disciples statements and sermons.
O&A Workshop Kit. Helps for the O&A process, handouts.
Reconciled in Christ (Lutheran)
Inclusive Faith. 18-min. video. Promotes the Reconciled in Christ
program through interviews, music, discussion.
Reconciling (United Methodist)
A Biblical Basis for Reconciling Ministries. Resource paper
How to Become a Reconciling Congregation. Resource paper.
Reconciling Campus Ministries. Resource paper.
Still on the Journey: A Handbook for Reconciling Congregations in
Ministry with Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Gay Men. For churches/
groups who have become reconciling.
Why Become a Reconciling Congregation. Resource paper.
Supportive (Brethren/Mennonite)
Affirming Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals in our Congregations. A
resource binder.
Body of Dissent: Lesbian and Gay Mennonites and Brethren Continue
the Journey. 40-min. video with discussion guide.
Welcoming (Unitarian Universalist)
The Welcoming Congregation: Resources for Affirming Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual Persons. Ed. by Scott W. Alexander. Manual
for churches interested in becoming more welcoming.
Welcoming & Affirming (American Baptist)
Does It Matter? Timothy Phillips. Study/discussion guide on
homosexuality and faith for American Baptists.
For the Record: Choosing to be Known as a Welcoming & Affirming
Congregation. Membership packet.
Winter 1997 23
First Ever National Gathering of W&A Baptists
LIVING TOGETHER
American Baptists from Alaska to North Carolina, from Massachusetts to California, gathered in Evanston,
Illinois on 16-18 August 1996 for the first ever national gathering of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming
Baptists. Warmly hosted by the Lake Street Church of Evanston, more than fifty delegates from twenty-two
member and inquiring congregations gathered to consider how people of good will and faith may stay together
despite differences over issues of sexuality. In study, worship, and mutual sharing, participants sought to learn
how to embody Christ’s love even in the midst of deep disagreement.
“WELCOME is not just a salutation—it is a commitment to a way of life.”
—from the program of the gathering
NEW FRIENDS: New friends enjoy a
special moment.
KEYNOTER CAMPOLOS: Tony and
Peggy Campolo (at left) talk informally
with delegates.
HAPPY TIMES: W&A Association
Coordinator Brenda Moulton
(second from left) enjoys an
informal moment at the book table.
BIBLE STUDY: H. Darrell Lance, professor
emeritus of Old Testament Interpretation,
Colgate Rochester Divinity School, leads a
workshop on the Bible and homosexuality.
NOW WHAT?: Craig Darling, a member of
the W&A Association Council, leads a
discussion on the wider implications of
being welcoming and affirming.
INQUIRING MINDS: Tim and Frances Phillips (top
right) share insights about how to open a
congregation to possible W&A membership.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE: David
Gregg (center), minister of education
and congregational life at Lake Street
Church talks with a potential customer
at the book table.
INSPIRING WORSHIP: Delegates gather in a prayer
circle in the sanctuary of Lake Street Church.
SING PRAISE: All join in lively worship.
Note
Peggy and Tony Campolo’s keynote address is available
on video ($12) and audio ($5) tapes from The Association
of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists (payable to W&A),
PO Box 2596, Attleboro Falls, MA 02763-0894.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
A Panel, moderated by Rev.
Esther Hargis, addressed the
experience of the American
Baptist churches who were
disfellowshipped in 1996.
A Workshop led by Dan
Gasper, on “What Is a Straight
Guy Like Me Doing in a Place
Like This?”
Photos: John Corbett
Content
Descriptions were compiled by H. Darrell
Lance, newsletter editor for the Association
of Welcoming and Affriming Baptists.
24 Open Hands
More Churches Declare Welcoming Stance
Emanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Emanual is located in downtown New Brunswick, surrounded
by theaters, government buildings, and Rutgers University
and adjacent to neighborhoods populated by poor
people—a location of contradictions such as characterize society
in the United States. The congregation, which is nearly 120
years old, has been deeply committed to addressing the problems
faced by people in the area. It has founded a soup kitchen
and thirty units of transitional housing for homeless families.
Emanuel is also a site for numerous substance abuse programs
and for support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS. The
congregation has also had a long-standing commitment to
ministry that is inclusive and has worked very hard to address
gender and sexuality issues and to overcome the legacy of patriarchy
in the church. The decision to become a Reconciled in
Christ congregation was a logical outgrowth of this work.
Emanuel is reaching out to gay and lesbian persons through
the Pride Center of New Brunswick and an ecumenical Christian
organization called Promises, which brings together gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and straight people across the state.
St. John’s Church
Allentown, Pennsylvania
St. John’s Church is an 1100-member, metropolitan Lutheran
congregation. The process of becoming an RIC congregation
took eleven months. Initially, the proposal came to the church
in society task force, which recommended it to the vestry. While
the vestry was in favor, it was decided that the entire congregation
should be a part of such a decision through open discussion
and educational opportunities. Adult Sunday school classes
studied Jesus’ response to the Holiness Code and his welcoming
of all persons into God’s community. Discussion groups,
newsletter articles, and letters from the pastor addressed
people’s questions and concerns. When it was time to vote at a
congregational meeting, there were four negative votes. Members
take pride in the decision and in how it was reached. Dealing
with RIC helped St. John’s see what it means to take the
gospel seriously. St. John’s is proud to be the first RIC congregation
in its synod. When the church first considered RIC, six
openly gay or lesbian members were attending. That number
hasn’t changed since the RIC decision in January 1996, but the
church hopes that by advertising in local newsletters and so
on, it will be recognized as an open community.
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
Fargo, North Dakota
Located in downtown Fargo, St. Mark’s Lutheran, a congregation
of 500 members, has always been a bit more progressive
and inclusive than its environment. It was the first English-
language Lutheran church in Dakota Territory. Leaders
played a key role in founding Northwestern Seminary (now
part of Luther Seminary), Concordia College, and a leading
regional hospital. Its motto, “An inclusive fellowship of God’s
people centered in Word and Sacrament, dedicated to serving
its urban neighborhood” describes commitments to inclusivity,
worship, and service. St. Mark’s has ministered to and with
gay and lesbian people for more than twenty-five years and
although it has created some dissension, even division, it has
welcomed gay and lesbian people in its organizations, in the
governing board, and as representatives to larger church functions.
The church hopes to sponsor a chapter of Lutherans
Concerned in the area.
Christ Congregational UCC
Pueblo, Colorado
This congregation draws its membership of 120 from Pueblo
and several neighboring towns. Expressions of its desire to be
inclusive and accessible include its ONA commitment, use of
inclusive language, and remodeling plans for a lift to the fellowship
hall. Recently, pastor Karen Sorensen Schmit celebrated
a wedding for two of the church’s male members. The ceremony
broke ground with the local newspaper which created
a new column and printed the gay couple’s announcement
and picture in the wedding section. The church has hosted
two of the last three community World AIDS Day services and
has shared worship space with a Metropolitan Community
Church for over six years.
The Congregational Church in Exeter UCC
Exeter, New Hampshire
Gathered in 1638, this 500-member “pillar church” is located
in the center of an historic New England town. In the
wake of the congregation’s vote to become ONA, there is more
willingness to examine serious issues and to hear others’ feelings,
with the church council as the primary place of these
Welcoming
Communities
RECONCILED IN CHRIST
OPEN AND AFFIRMING
Winter 1997 25
discussions. The unfolding of ONA in the life of the church
has only begun. The Christian growth and the mission and
action committees have co-sponsored special events and are
incorporating the vision of ONA into their work.
Central United Methodist Church
South Bend, Indiana
Central UMC has a phoenix story—new life arising from
ashes. Mary Hubbard arrived as pastor five years ago to close
this church which had dwindled to 13 elderly members. However,
new folks, particularly gay men, began coming to the
church. Even though the church building was sold, the congregation
continued. Now 55-60 persons gather for worship
each Sunday. In November 1996, Central celebrated its first
Sunday in a new building the congregation has purchased.
Central received much positive publicity for its decision to
become an RC and is now attracting a wide diversity of persons.
Mathewson Street United Methodist Church
Providence, Rhode Island
Mathewson Street UMC is a center-city church located in
the theater district, a few blocks from the state capitol. Indicative
of its commitment to the arts, the church has a small theater
in its building and two artists-in-residence. This congregation
of 300 members has an extensive outreach program—serving
almost 20,000 persons each year through a food pantry, soup
kitchen, and housing and employment information. The congregation
hosts the Rhode Island Organizing Project, a faithbased
coalition which addresses social issues in neighborhoods.
The needs of the community surrounding the congregation
precipitated the discussion to become an RC in 1991, culminating
in a decision in April 1996.
Pacific Beach UMC
San Diego, California
Pacific Beach UMC celebrates its fiftieth anniversary in 1997.
Nine charter members remain in the congregation. The
congregation’s membership peaked in the early 1960s and then
began a long decline. A faithful core has rebuilt the congregation
in the 1990s to 165 members and has remodeled the sanctuary.
Worship and music are central to the life of Pacific Beach.
A Harvest for Hunger program provides weekly meals for neighbors
in need. A youth mentorship program provides support
for troubled kids and first-time offenders. The decision to become
an RC in October 1995 was the completion of a long
period of study and dialogue.
Park Street Baptist Church
Framingham, Massachusetts
The newest member of the Welcoming & Affirming Congregations
(ABC/USA), Park Street Baptist Church celebrated
its decision at a jubilant worship service in May 1996. The 180-
member congregation, located in a city between Boston and
Worcester, values the diversity of its members. It is active in
service to the community, has openly gay members in leadership
positions, and has opened its facilities to a developing
ethnic congregation. After hearing about the disfellowshipping
of W&A churches in other regions, the church voted unanimously
to become W&A—both to proclaim their solidarity
with the marginalized churches and to declare publicly their
own welcome to the gay community. “We are a very diverse
congregation,” says Jean Ledoux, a seminarian and active member
of Park Street Church. “It’s about being inclusive and being
in the community and binding up people who are wounded
and hurt, and being a place where people can come and be safe
and loved.”
New Covenant Community
Normal, Illinois
The New Covenant Community, now in its fourth year, is
oriented toward the campus of Illinois State University in Normal,
Illinois. Affiliated with the Disciples of Christ, the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), and the United Church of Christ, the
congregation is a welcoming community for people who have
fallen away from active church participation.
The Rev. Richard Watts, pastor of the community, and a
longtime peace advocate, celebrates the intellectual vitality and
the diversity of religious traditions of its members.
WELCOMING & AFFIRMING
RECONCILING
WELCOMING CHURCH LISTS AVAILABLE
The complete ecumenical list of welcoming churches is
printed in the winter issue of Open Hands each year. For a
more up-to-date list of your particular denomination, contact
the appropriate program listed on page 3.
MORE LIGHT
26 Open Hands
Movement News
Alaska W&A Church “Admonished”
The American Baptist Churches of Alaska (ABCA) has given
notice to the Church of the Covenant (W&A) of Palmer, Alaska,
to conform to national denominational standards about homosexuality
or to face disfellowshipping from the Alaska Association.
A three-person committee met in September with
representatives of the church to “bring the Church of the Covenant
into accountability.” It was obvious to all in attendance
that the differences were not reconcilable. The “admonishing”
action was taken 8 October 1996 at the annual meeting of ABCA.
In a motion termed “an effort toward reconciliation,” the Association
“admonished Church of the Covenant to accept the
stand of the General Board of the ABC/USA and the ABCA that
the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian
teaching.” Howard Bess, pastor of Church of the Covenant,
stated that no resolution or disfellowshipping action would
deter them from their commitment to justice for gay people.
“In All Things Charity” Launched
Fifteen United Methodist clergy have issued a call for other
clergy to join them in signing an “In All Things Charity Statement
of Conscience” concerning the United Methodist position
on homosexuality. Among the six points in the document
are commitments to support “appropriate liturgical covenantal
commitments between same-gendered couples” and to
“work and pray for the ordination of gay men and lesbians
who are otherwise called to and qualified for ordained ministry.”
For more information, write to “In All Things Charity,”
c/o Broadway UMC, 3344 N. Broadway, Chicago IL 60657.
“That All May Freely Serve” Expands
The Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester,
New York, and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Tiburon,
California, announce that the gay/lesbian evangelistic ministry
they have hosted (through supporting Rev. Jane Adams
Spahr) will expand in 1997. With Spahr, TAMFS will organize
at least two regional evangelist partnerships. In each area, a
cluster of More Light churches will employ a lesbian, gay, bisexual,
or transgender person to be a regional evangelist. For
more information, contact DUPC at 716/325-4000.
RCP Crosses the Threshold
Following a successful Open the Doors campaign at the 1996
General Conference in Denver, Reconciling United Methodists
planned and attended Threshold meetings in twenty-eight
annual conferences in late 1996 and early 1997. These grassroots
networking meetings celebrated the success of the campaign
and generated creative strategies for continuing to build the
RC movement across The United Methodist Church. Reports
from the meetings revealed growing commitment, innovative
planning, and profound vision. Numerous meetings included
first-time participants in a Reconciling Congregation Program
activity. Several groups committed themselves to more intentional
organizing and publicity at the local and conference
level. Others began steps toward the development of speakers
bureaus, education events, and support groups. Many gatherings
developed steps for signing up additional Reconciling UMs.
For more information about organizing in your area, call the
RCP office at 773/736-5526.
Appeal of California W&A Churches Rejected
On 21 September 1996, the appeals committee of the American
Baptist Churches of the West responded to the disfellowshipping
of four Welcoming & Affirming churches. The
report stated that the region’s process in dismissing the four
churches was not a fair process and that most of the responsibility
for that unfairness lies with the region staff. Nevertheless,
the region’s board of managers voted to stay with their
original decision to dismiss the four churches. The four
churches, which are in process of appealing their dismissal to
the national body, continue to abide by the Common Criteria
that all ABC churches must abide by and will continue to be
faithful to their call as followers of Jesus Christ.
ONA Program, UCCL/GC, Makes Plans
The United Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns’
ONA Advisory Committee gathered in Chicago last September
to evaluate and plan. With 200 plus UCC churches listed as
ONA, there was great excitement about the progress made toward
being a denomination characterized by “openness to and
affirmation of” people of all sexual orientations, and realization
that, in some ways, this witness is just beginning to gather
its strength! Plans to further the ONA spirit in the UCC include:
completing the new, 2nd edition “ONA Study Packet”
(being produced jointly with the ONA Task Force of the MA
Conference, UCC); broadening multicultural perspectives in
ONA resources and programs; producing a resource on openly
lesbigay clergy serving churches and other settings in the UCC;
and participating in planning for the Welcoming Churches
event in 2000. Challenging, Spirit-filled times are ahead!
Call for Articles
for Fall 1997
Baptism and Communion:
The Rites of the Right to Be Here
Seeking articles which explore theological understandings of baptism, communion,
and inclusivity. Also seeking personal stories from lesbigay and transgender people on the
meaning and impact of baptism and communion in your lives; and stories of lesbigay
parents and the baptism of your children. Positive stories as well as stories of discrimination
related to baptism and communion are welcome.
Write with idea: April 15 Manuscript deadline: August 1
If you would like to write an article, contact Editor, RCP, 3801 N. Keeler, Chicago, IL 60641
Winter 1997 27
OUR WELCOMING MOVEMENT GROWS
Since 1978, 735 local churches, 36 campus ministries, 29
judicatories, and 4 national ministries have publicly declared
themselves welcoming of all people, including gay men and
lesbian women. This represents an increase of 25 percent over last
year! These 804 welcoming communities are found in ten denominations
in 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and
Canada. Welcoming Episcopal and United Church of Canada
groups are added for the first time this year. The complete list
(as of 1 February 1997) follows. The affiliation of each is designated
by the following codes.
CONGREGATIONS
UNITED STATES
ALABAMA
Huntsville
UU Church (WEL)
ALASKA
Anchorage
UU Fellowship (WEL)
Palmer
Church of the Covenant (W&A)
Sitka
UMC of Sitka (RC)
ARIZONA
Apache Junction
Desert Chapel UMC (RC)
Phoenix
Asbury UMC (RC)
Augustana Lutheran (RIC)
Faith Lutheran (RIC)
Tucson
First Christian (O&A)
Rincon Congregational UCC (ONA)
St. Francis in the Foothills UMC (RC)
ARKANSAS
Little Rock
Pulaski Heights Christian (O&A)
CALIFORNIA
Alameda
First Christian (O&A)
First Congregational (ONA)
Albany
Albany UMC (RC)
Altadena
Altadena Congregational (ONA)
Christ the Shepherd Lutheran (RIC)
Baldwin Park
First Presbyterian (ML)
Belmont
Congregational Church UCC (ONA)
Benicia
Community Congregational (ONA)
Berkeley
Berkeley/Richmond Intercity Min. (O&A)
Epworth UMC (RC)
First Baptist (W&A)
First Congregational (ONA)
St. John’s Presbyterian (ML)
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran (RIC)
Trinity UMC (RC)
University Lutheran Chapel (RIC)
University Church (O&A)
Carlsbad
Pilgrim Congregational UCC (ONA)
Carmel
UU of Monterey Peninsula (WEL)
Claremont
Claremont UMC (RC)
Claremont UCC, Congregational (ONA)
Concord
First Christian (O&A)
Danville
Peace Lutheran (RIC)
El Cerrito
Christ Lutheran (RIC)
Mira Vista UCC (ONA)
Northminster Presbyterian (ML)
Eureka
First Congregational (ONA)
Fair Oaks
Fair Oaks UMC (RC)
Fairfax
Fairfax Community (ONA)
Fremont
Fremont Congregational (ONA)
Niles Congregational UCC (ONA)
Fresno
First Congregational (ONA)
Wesley UMC (RC)
Gardena
First UMC (RC)
Hayward
Eden UCC (ONA)
United Church (ONA)
Hollywood
Hollywood UMC (RC)
Irvine
Irvine UCC (ONA)
Lafayette
Lafayette Christian (O&A)
Larkspur
Redwoods Presbyterian (ML)
La Verne
Church of the Brethren (SCN)
Long Beach
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Los Angeles
Bethel Lutheran (RIC)
Mt. Hollywood Congregational UCC (ONA)
United University (ML, RC)
Wilshire UMC (RC)
Los Gatos
First UMC (RC)
Malibu
Malibu UMC (RC)
Marin City
St. Andrews Presbyterian (ML)
Milpitas
Sunnyhills UMC (RC)
Modesto
College Avenue Congregational (ONA)
Napa
Emmanuel Lutheran (RIC)
Newark
Holy Redeemer Lutheran (RIC)
North Hollywood
St. Matthew’s Lutheran (RIC)
Toluca Lake UMC (RC)
Oakland
Faith American Lutheran (RIC)
Lake Merritt UMC (RC)
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist (W&A)
Lutheran Peace Fellowship (RIC)
Montclair Presbyterian (ML)
Plymouth UCC (ONA)
St. Paul Lutheran (RIC)
Palo Alto
Covenant Presbyterian (ML)
First Evangelical Lutheran (RIC)
First Presbyterian (ML)
St. Andrew’s UMC (RC)
University Lutheran (RIC)
Pasadena
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Richmond
Grace Lutheran (RIC)
Riverside
First Congregational (ONA)
Sacramento
Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer (RIC)
Unitarian Universalist Society (WEL)
San Diego
First Lutheran (RIC)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Pacific Beach UMC (RC)
San Francisco
Bethany UMC (RC)
Calvary UMC (RC)
Christ Church Lutheran (RIC)
City of Refuge (ONA)
Dolores Street Baptist (W&A)
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
First Mennonite Church (SCN)
First St. John’s UMC (RC)
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
First United Lutheran (RIC)
Glide Memorial UMC (RC)
Hamilton UMC (RC)
Noe Valley Ministry (ML)
Pine UMC (RC)
Seventh Avenue Presbyterian (ML)
St. Francis Lutheran (RIC)
St. John the Evangelist Episcopal (OAS)
St. John’s UCC (ONA)
St. Mark’s Lutheran (RIC)
St. Paulus Lutheran (RIC)
Temple UMC (RC)
Trinity UMC (RC)
San Jose
Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran (RIC)
First Christian Church (O&A)
New Community of Faith (ONA, W&A)
St. Paul’s UMC (RC)
San Leandro
San Leandro Community (W&A)
San Mateo
College Heights UCC (ONA)
San Rafael
Christ in Terra Linda Presb. (ML)
Faith Lutheran (RIC)
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Santa Barbara
La Mesa Community (ONA)
Santa Cruz
Grace UMC (RC)
Santa Monica
The Church in Ocean Park (RC)
Santa Rosa
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
UU Fellowship of Sonoma Co. (WEL)
Saratoga
Grace UMC (RC)
Sausalito
First Presbyterian (ML)
Stockton
First Christian (O&A)
St. Mark’s UMC (RC)
Sunnyvale
Congregational Community (ONA)
Raynor Park Christian (O&A)
St. John’s Lutheran (RIC)
Tiburon
Community Congregational (ONA)
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran (RIC)
Westminster Presbyterian (ML)
Vacaville
St. Paul’s UMC (RC)
TOTAL
AU Affirm United (United Church of Canada) 7
ML More Light Churches Network (Presbyterian) 75
OAS Oasis (Episcopal) 39
ONA Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ) 217
O&A Open & Affirming (Disciples) 34
RIC Reconciled in Christ (Lutheran) 147
RC Reconciling Congregation (United Methodist) 142
SCN Supportive (Brethren/Mennonite) 13
W&A Welcoming & Affirming (American Baptist) 26
WEL Welcoming (Unitarian Universalist) 107
28 Open Hands
Vallejo
Fellowship UMC (RC)
First Christian (O&A)
Walnut Creek
Mt. Diablo UU (WEL)
Walnut Creek UMC (RC)
West Hollywood
Crescent Heights UMC (RC)
West Hollywood Presbyterian (ML)
Yucaipa
Faith Lutheran (RIC)
COLORADO
Arvada
Arvada Mennonite (SCN)
Aurora
Parkview Congregational UCC (ONA)
Boulder
Boulder Mennonite (SCN)
Community UCC (ONA)
First Congregational (ONA)
Colorado Springs
All Souls Unitarian (WEL)
Fireside Christian (O&A)
Denver
Capitol Heights Presbyterian (ML)
First Universalist (WEL)
Our Savior’s Lutheran (RIC)
Park Hill Congregational UCC (ONA)
Sixth Avenue United (ONA)
Spirit of Joy Fellowship (SCN)
St. Paul’s UMC (RC)
Washington Park UCC (ONA)
Evergreen
Wild Rose UCC (ONA)
Fort Collins
St. Thomas Lutheran Chapel (RIC)
Pueblo
Christ Congregational, UCC (ONA)
Telluride
Christ Presbyterian (ML)
CONNECTICUT
Coventry
Second Congregational (ONA)
Ellington
First Lutheran (RIC)
Fairfield
First Church Cong. (ONA)
Glastonbury
First Church of Christ Cong. (ONA)
Hamden
U Society of New Haven (WEL)
Hartford
Central Baptist (W&A)
First Church of Christ, UCC (ONA)
Madison
Shoreline UU Society (WEL)
Mansfield Center
First Church of Christ Cong. (ONA)
Middletown
First Church of Christ Cong. (ONA)
New Haven
Church of Christ in Yale Univ. (ONA)
First & Summerfield UMC (RC)
United Church on the Green (ONA)
Noank
Noank Baptist (W&A)
South Glastonbury
Congregational Church (ONA)
Stamford
St. John Lutheran (RIC)
Storrs
Storrs Congregational (ONA)
Waterbury
South Congregational (ONA)
Westport
Unitarian Church (WEL)
Windsor
First Church UCC (ONA)
DELAWARE
Newark
New Ark UCC (ONA)
Wilmington
West Presbyterian (ML)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington, D.C.
All Souls Unitarian (WEL)
Augustana Lutheran (RIC)
Christ Lutheran (RIC)
Christ UMC (RC)
Community of Christ Lutheran (RIC)
Dumbarton UMC (RC)
First Congregational (ONA)
First Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Foundry UMC (RC)
Georgetown Lutheran (RIC)
Grace Lutheran (RIC)
Lutheran Church of the Reformation (RIC)
Riverside Baptist (W&A)
Sojourner Truth Cong. UU (WEL)
St. Paul’s Lutheran (RIC)
Westminster Presbyterian (ML)
FLORIDA
Clearwater
UU Church of Clearwater (WEL)
Gainesville
United Church (ONA)
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (WEL)
Key West
Holy Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Miami Beach
Miami Beach Community (ONA)
North Palm Beach
First Unitarian (WEL)
Orlando
First Unitarian (WEL)
Pinellas Park
Good Samaritan Presbyterian (ML, ONA)
Tallahassee
United Church (ONA)
Tampa
First United Church (ONA)
John Calvin Presbyterian (ML)
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
GEORGIA
Athens
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (WEL)
Atlanta
Clifton Presbyterian (ML)
Grant Park-Aldersgate UMC (RC)
Trinity UMC (RC)
HAWAII
Honolulu
Church of the Crossroads (ONA)
Honolulu Lutheran (RIC)
ILLINOIS
Carbondale
Church of the Good Shepherd (ONA)
Champaign
Community UCC (ONA)
McKinley Memorial Presbyterian (ML)
St. Andrew’s Lutheran (RIC)
Chicago
Albany Park UMC (RC)
Augustana Lutheran (RIC)
Broadway UMC (RC)
Christ the King Lutheran (RIC)
Christ the Mediator Lutheran (RIC)
Ebenezer Lutheran (RIC)
Epworth UMC (RC)
Gladstone Park Lutheran (RIC)
Grace Baptist (W&A)
Grace UMC (RC)
Holy Covenant UMC (RC)
Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran (RIC)
Immanuel Lutheran (RIC)
Irving Park Christian (O&A)
Irving Park UMC (RC)
Lake View Lutheran (RIC)
Lincoln Park Presbyterian (ML)
Mayfair UMC (RC)
Nazareth UCC (ONA)
Norwood Park UMC (RC)
Peoples Church (ONA)
Resurrection Lutheran (RIC)
St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran (RIC)
St. Mark Lutheran (RIC)
St. Paul’s UCC (ONA)
Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
United Church of Rogers Park (RC)
University Church (ONA, O&A)
Wellington Avenue UCC (ONA)
Elmhurst
Maywood House Church (RIC)
Evanston
Lake Street Church of Evanston (W&A)
Hemenway UMC (RC)
Wheadon UMC (RC)
Normal
New Covenant Community (ML, ONA,
O&A)
Oak Park
Euclid Avenue UMC (RC)
First United Church (ML, ONA)
Good Shepherd Lutheran (RIC)
Oak Park Mennonite (SCN)
Park Forest
UU Community (WEL)
Rockford
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Streamwood
Immanuel UCC (ONA)
Waukegan
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Wilmette
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Winfield
Winfield Community UMC (RC)
INDIANA
Bloomington
St. Thomas Lutheran (RIC)
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Indianapolis
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Northeast UCC (ONA)
South Bend
Central UMC (RC)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Southside Christian (O&A)
West Lafayette
Shalom UCC (ONA)
IOWA
Ames
Ames Mennonite (SCN)
Lord of Life Lutheran (RIC)
University Lutheran (RIC)
Cedar Rapids
Faith UMC (RC)
Peoples Church UU (WEL)
Clinton
Clinton-Camanche, Iowa MFSA (RC)
Davenport
Davenport Unitarian (WEL)
Des Moines
First Unitarian (WEL)
Plymouth Congregational UCC (ONA)
Trinity UMC (RC)
Urbandale UCC (ONA)
Iowa City
Faith UCC (ONA)
KANSAS
Kansas City
FaithWorks Community (ML, ONA, O&A,
RC)
Rainbow Mennonite (SCN)
Olathe
St. Andrews Christian (O&A)
Topeka
Central Congregational UCC (ONA)
KENTUCKY
Henderson
Zion UCC (ONA)
Louisville
Central Presbyterian (ML)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Third Lutheran (RIC)
Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
LOUISIANA
New Orleans
St. Mark’s UMC (RC)
MAINE
Ellsworth
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Mt. Desert
Somesville Union Meeting House (ONA)
Rockland
The First Universalist (WEL)
Waterville
Universalist Unitarian (WEL)
MARYLAND
Adelphi
Paint Branch UU (WEL)
Baltimore
Brown Memorial Park Ave. Pres. (ML)
Dundalk Church of the Brethren (SCN)
First & Franklin Presbyterian (ML)
St. John’s UMC (RC)
St. Mark’s Lutheran (RIC)
Bethesda
Cedar Lane Unitarian (WEL)
River Road Unitarian (WEL)
Columbia
Columbia United Christian (O&A)
St. John UM-Presbyterian (ML, RC)
UU Congregation (WEL)
Gaithersburg
Christ the Servant Lutheran (RIC)
Lanham
Good Samaritan Lutheran (RIC)
Winter 1997 29
Rockville
Rockville Presbyterian (ML)
Silver Spring
Christ Congregational UCC (ONA)
Silver Spring Presbyterian (ML)
Takoma Park
Takoma Park Presbyterian (ML)
MASSACHUSETTS
Amherst
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
South Congregational (ONA)
Andover
Ballardvale United (ONA, RC)
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Auburn
Pakachoag (ONA)
Boston
Arlington Street (WEL)
Church of the Covenant (ML, ONA)
Mennonite Congregation (SCN)
Old South Church (ONA)
Braintree
All Souls Church (WEL)
Brewster
First Parish (WEL)
Cambridge
First Church, Congregational (ONA)
Old Cambridge Baptist (W&A)
University Lutheran (RIC)
Danvers
Holy Trinity UMC (RC)
Framingham
Grace UCC (ONA)
Park Street Baptist (W&A)
Greenfield
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Hingham
First Parish Old Ship (WEL)
Hingham Congregational (ONA)
Holliston
First Congregational (ONA)
Jamaica Plain
Central Congregational (ONA)
Middleboro
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
Needham
First Parish UU (WEL)
Newburyport
Belleville Congregational UCC (ONA)
First Parish Society (WEL)
Newton Highlands
Congregational (ONA)
Northampton
First Church of Christ (ONA)
Unitarian Society (WEL)
Osterville
United Methodist (RC)
Provincetown
Universalist Meeting House (WEL)
Reading
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Roxbury
Church of the United Community (O&A,
ONA)
Salem
Crombie Street UCC (ONA)
Shrewsbury
Mt. Olivet Lutheran (RIC)
Somerville
Clarenden Hill Presbyterian (ML)
Stowe
First Parish Ch. of Stowe & Acton (WEL)
Sudbury
The First Parish (WEL)
Memorial Congregational UCC (ONA)
Wayland
First Parish of Wayland (WEL)
Wellesley
Wellesley Congregational (ONA)
Wendell
Wendell Congregational (ONA)
West Newton
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
Second Church in Newton UCC (ONA)
Williamstown
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Worcester
First Baptist (W&A)
United Congregational (ONA)
MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor
Church of the Good Shepherd (ONA)
First UU (WEL)
Lord of Light Lutheran (RIC)
Memorial Christian (O&A)
Northside Presbyterian (ML)
Bloomfield Hills
Birmingham Unitarian (WEL)
Detroit
Truth Evangelical Lutheran (RIC)
Douglas
Douglas Congregational UCC (ONA)
East Lansing
Ecclesia (O&A)
UU of Greater Lansing (WEL)
Ferndale
Zion Lutheran (RIC)
Kalamazoo
Phoenix Community UCC (ONA)
Skyridge Church of the Brethren (SCN)
Southfield
Calvary Lutheran (RIC)
Williamston
Williamston UMC (RC)
Ypsilanti
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
MINNESOTA
Becker
Becker UMC (RC)
Edina
Edina Community Lutheran (RIC)
Good Samaritan UMC (RC)
Mahtomedi
White Bear UU (WEL)
Mankato
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Maple Grove
Pilgrims United (ONA)
Minneapolis
First Congregational (ONA)
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
First Universalist (WEL)
Grace University Lutheran (RIC)
Hennepin Avenue UMC (RC)
Hobart UMC (RC)
Holy Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Judson Memorial Baptist (W&A)
Lyndale UCC (ONA)
Lynnhurst Congregational (ONA)
Mayflower Community Cong. UCC (ONA)
Minnehaha UCC (ONA)
Our Savior’s Lutheran (RIC)
Parkway UCC (ONA)
Prospect Park UMC (RC)
Spirit of the Lakes (ONA)
St. Andrew’s Lutheran (RIC)
Temple Baptist (W&A)
University Baptist (W&A)
Walker Community (RC)
Wesley UMC (RC)
New Brighton
United Church of Christ (ONA)
Northfield
First UCC (ONA)
Robbinsdale
Robbinsdale UCC (ONA)
St. Cloud
St. Cloud UU Fellwoship (WEL)
Univ. Lutheran of the Epiphany (RIC)
St. Paul
Dayton Avenue Presbyterian (ML)
Macalester-Plymouth United (ML, ONA)
St. Paul Mennonite Fellowship (SCN)
St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran (RIC)
Wayzatta
St. Luke Presbyterian (ML)
MISSOURI
Kansas City
Abiding Peace Lutheran (RIC)
All Souls Unitarian (WEL)
Fountain of Hope Lutheran (RIC)
Kairos UMC (RC)
St. Mark’s Lutheran (RIC)
Trinity UMC (RC)
Van Brunt Blvd. Presbyterian (ML)
St. Louis
Centenary UMC (RC)
Epiphany (ONA)
Gibson Heights United (ML)
St. Marcus Evangelical UCC (ONA)
Tyler Place Presbyterian (ML)
University City
Bethel Lutheran (RIC)
MONTANA
Missoula
University Congregational UCC (ONA)
NEBRASKA
Lincoln
Unitarian Church (WEL)
Omaha
First Lutheran (RIC)
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Concord
South Congregational, UCC (ONA)
Exeter
Congregational (ONA)
Hanover
Our Savior Lutheran (RIC)
Jaffrey
United Church (ONA)
Milford
Unitarian Universalist Congregation (WEL)
Plymouth
Plymouth Congregational (ONA)
NEW JERSEY
Bloomfield
Christ Episcopal (OAS)
Boonton
St. John’s Episcopal (OAS)
Chatham
St. Paul’s Episcopal (OAS)
Cherry Hill
UU Church (WEL)
Chester
Church of the Messiah Episcopal (OAS)
Clifton
St. Peter’s Episcopal (OAS)
Denville
Church of Our Saviour Episcopal (OAS)
Englewood
St. Paul’s Episcopal (OAS)
Exeter
Congregational Church (ONA)
Fort Lee
Church of the Good Shepherd (OAS)
Hackensack
Christ Episcopal (OAS)
Harrington Park
St. Andrew’s Episcopal (OAS)
Hasbrouck Heights
Church of St. John the Divine (OAS)
Hawthorne
St. Clement’s Episcopal (OAS)
Hoboken
All Saints Parish (OAS)
Jersey City
Grace Van Vorst Episcopal (OAS)
St. Paul’s Episcopal (OAS)
Leonia
All Saints Episcopal (OAS)
Madison
Grace Episcopal (OAS)
Maplewood
St. George’s Episcopal (OAS)
Mendham
St. Mark’s Episcopal (OAS)
Millburn
St. Stephen’s Episcopal (OAS)
Montclair
St. John’s Episcopal (OAS)
St. Luke’s Episcopal (OAS)
Unitarian (WEL)
Montvale
St. Paul’s Episcopal (OAS)
Morristown
Church of the Redeemer (OAS)
St. Peter’s Episcopal (OAS)
Unitarian Fellowship (WEL)
New Brunswick
Emanuel Lutheran (RIC)
Newark
Grace Episcopal (OAS)
Norwood
Church of the Holy Communion (OAS)
Parsippany
St. Gregory’s Episcopal (OAS)
Passaic
St. John’s Episcopal (OAS)
Paterson
St. Paul’s Episcopal (OAS)
Plainfield
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
Ridgewood
Christ Episcopal (OAS)
South Orange
First Presbyterian & Trinity (ML)
Sparta
St. Mary’s Episcopal (OAS)
30 Open Hands
Summit
Calvary Episcopal (OAS)
Teaneck
St. Mark’s Episcopal (OAS)
Tenafly
Church of the Atonement (OAS)
Towaco
Church of the Transfiguration (OAS)
Titusville
UU of Washington Crossing (WEL)
Upper Montclair
St. James’ Episcopal (OAS)
Verona
Holy Spirit Episcopal (OAS)
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque
First Unitarian (WEL)
Santa Fe
Christ Lutheran (RIC)
Unitarian Church (WEL)
United Church (ONA)
NEW YORK
Albany
Emmanuel Baptist (W&A)
First Presbyterian (ML)
Binghamton
Chenango Street UMC (RC)
UU Congregation (WEL)
Blooming Grove
Blooming Grove UCC (ONA)
Brookhaven
Old South Haven Presbyterian (ML)
Brooklyn
Church of Gethsemane (ML)
First Unitarian Cong. Society (WEL)
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian (ML)
Park Slope UMC (RC)
St. John-St. Matthew-Emmanuel
Lutheran (RIC)
Buffalo
Amherst Community (ONA, O&A)
Westminster Presbyterian (ML)
Churchville
Union Congregational (ONA)
Copake
Craryville UMC (RC)
Dobbs Ferry
South Presbyterian (ML)
Fairport
Mountain Rise UCC (ONA)
Gloversville
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Grand Island
Riverside Salem (ONA)
Henrietta
John Calvin Presbyterian (ML)
Huntington
UU Fellowship (WEL)
Kingston
Trinity UMC (RC)
Marcellus
First Presbyterian (ML)
Merrick
Community Presbyterian (ML)
Mt. Kisco
Mt. Kisco Presbyterian (ML)
Mt. Sinai
Mt. Sinai Congregational UCC (ONA)
New York City
Broadway UCC (ONA)
Central Presbyterian (ML)
Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian (ML)
Grace & St. Paul’s Lutheran (RIC)
Jan Hus Presbyterian (ML)
Judson Memorial (ONA, W&A)
Madison Avenue Baptist (W&A)
Metropolitan-Duane UMC (RC)
Our Savior’s Atonement Lutheran (RIC)
Park Avenue Christian (O&A)
Riverside (ONA, W&A)
Rutgers Presbyterian (ML)
St. Paul & St. Andrew UMC (RC)
St. Peter’s Lutheran (RIC)
Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Unitarian Ch. of All Souls (WEL)
Washington Square UMC (RC)
West-Park Presbyterian (ML)
Oneonta
First UMC (RC)
UU Society (WEL)
Palisades
Palisades Presbyterian (ML)
Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh UMC (RC)
Poughkeepsie
Unitarian Fellowship (WEL)
Rochester
Calvary-St. Andrews (ML)
Downtown United Presbyterian (ML)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Lake Avenue Baptist (W&A)
Third Presbyterian (ML)
Westminster Presbyterian (ML)
Saratoga Springs
Presb.-New Eng. Cong. (ML, ONA)
Saratoga Springs UMC (RC)
Sayville
Sayville Congregational UCC (ONA)
Schenectady
First UMC (RC)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Slingerlands
Community UMC (RC)
Snyder
Amherst Community (ONA, O&A)
Syracuse
Plymouth Congregational UCC (ONA)
Utica
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Williamsville
UU of Amherst (WEL)
Yorktown Heights
First Presbyterian (ML)
NORTH CAROLINA
Chapel Hill
Church of the Reconciliation (ML)
United Church (ONA)
Durham
Eno River UU Fellowship (WEL)
Raleigh
Community UCC (ONA)
Pullen Memorial Baptist (W&A)
Wilmington
UU Fellowship (WEL)
Winston-Salem
First Christian (O&A)
UU Fellowship (WEL)
NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo
St. Mark’s Lutheran (RIC)
OHIO
Brecksville
United Church of Christ (ONA)
Chesterland
Community Church (ONA)
Cincinnati
Mt. Auburn Presbyterian (ML)
Cleveland
Archwood UCC (ONA)
Euclid Ave. Congregational UCC (ONA)
Liberation UCC (ONA)
Pilgrim Congregational UCC (ONA)
West Shore UU (WEL)
Cleveland Heights
Church of the Redeemer (RC)
Noble Road Presbyterian (ML)
Columbus
Calvary Lutheran (RIC)
First English Lutheran (RIC)
First Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
North Congregational UCC (ONA)
Redeemer Lutheran (RIC)
Third Avenue Community (RC)
Dayton
Congregation for Reconciliation (ONA)
Faith UCC (ONA)
Miami Valley Unitarian Fellowship (WEL)
Granville
First Baptist (W&A)
Lakewood
Cove UMC (RC)
Norton
Grace UCC (ONA)
Oberlin
First Church in Oberlin (ONA)
Shaker Heights
First Unitarian of Cleveland (WEL)
Toledo
Central UMC (RC)
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City
Epworth UMC (RC)
Tulsa
Fellowship Congregational, UCC (ONA)
UM Community of Hope (RC)
OREGON
Ashland
United Church of Christ, Cong. (ONA)
Beaverton
Southminster Presbyterian (ML)
Corvallis
First Congregational Church (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Estacada
Estacada UMC (RC)
Eugene
First Congregational, UCC (ONA)
Unitarian of Eugene & Lane Co. (WEL)
Forest Grove
Forest Grove UCC (ONA)
Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls Cong. UCC (ONA)
Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego UCC (ONA)
Milwaukie
Clackamus UCC (ONA)
Milwaukie UCC (ONA)
Portland
First Congregational (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Metanoia Peace Community (RC)
Peace Church of the Brethren (SCN)
Southwest United (ONA)
St. James Lutheran (RIC)
University Park UMC (RC)
Salem
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
Morningside UMC (RC)
Springfield
Church of the Brethren (SCN)
PENNSYLVANIA
Allentown
Muhlenberg College Chapel (RIC)
St. John Lutheran (RIC)
Devon
Main Line Unitarian (WEL)
Harrisburg
Unitarian Church (WEL)
Lansdale
Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Levittown
United Christian Church (O&A, ONA)
Philadelphia
Calvary UMC (RC)
First UMC of Germantown (RC)
Old First Reformed (ONA)
St. Michael’s Lutheran (RIC)
Tabernacle United (ML, ONA)
Univ. Lutheran of the Incarnation (RIC)
Pittsburgh
First Unitarian (WEL)
St. Andrew Lutheran (RIC)
Upper Darby
Christ Lutheran (RIC)
Wayne
Central Baptist (W&A)
RHODE ISLAND
East Greenwich
Westminster Unitarian (WEL)
Newport
Newport Congregational (ONA)
Providence
Mathewson Street UMC (RC)
SOUTH CAROLINA
Columbia
Gethsemane Lutheran (RIC)
SOUTH DAKOTA
Erwin
Erwin UCC (ONA)
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Knoxville
Tennessee Valley UU (WEL)
Memphis
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Nashville
Brookmeade Congregational UCC (ONA)
Edgehill UMC (RC)
First UU Church (WEL)
TEXAS
Austin
First English Lutheran (RIC)
First UU Church (WEL)
St. Andrews Presbyterian (ML)
Trinity UMC (RC)
College Station
Friends Congregational (ONA)
Winter 1997 31
Dallas
Bethany Presbyterian (ML)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Midway Hills Christian (O&A)
Fort Worth
St. Matthew’s Lutheran (RIC)
Houston
Bering Memorial UMC (RC)
Comm. of the Reconciling Servant (ML)
Grace Evangelical Lutheran (RIC)
Plano
Dallas North Unitarian (WEL)
UTAH
Salt Lake City
Mount Tabor Lutheran (RIC)
South Valley UU Society (WEL)
VERMONT
Bennington
Second Congregational (ONA)
Burlington
Christ Presbyterian (ML)
College Street Congregational (ONA)
Middlebury
Congregational UCC (ONA)
Rutland
Rutland UMC (RC)
VIRGINIA
Alexandria
Mount Vernon Unitarian (WEL)
Peace Lutheran (RIC)
Arlington
Unitarian Church (WEL)
Charlottesville
Sojourners UCC (ONA)
Harrisonburg
Sanctuary UCC (ONA)
Oakton
Fairfax Unitarian (WEL)
Roanoke
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
WASHINGTON
Bellevue
Eastgate Congregational UCC (ONA)
First Congregational, UCC (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Carnation
Tolt Congregational, UCC (ONA)
Chelan
Fullness of God Lutheran (RIC)
East Vancouver
East Vancouver UMC (RC)
Edmonds
Edmonds UU (WEL)
Federal Way
Wayside UCC (ONA)
Leavenworth
Faith Lutheran (RIC)
Marysville
Evergreen UU Fellowship (WEL)
Medical Lake
Shalom UCC (ONA)
Mountlake Terrace
Terrace View Presbyterian (ML)
Olympia
Comm. for Interfaith Celebration (ONA)
Pullman
Community Congregational UCC (ONA)
Richland
Shalom UCC (ONA)
Seattle
Broadview Community UCC (ONA)
Central Lutheran (RIC)
Fauntleroy UCC (ONA)
Findlay Street Christian (O&A)
First Baptist (W&A)
Magnolia UCC (ONA)
Pilgrim Congregational (ONA)
Plymouth Congregational (ONA)
Prospect UCC Cong. (ONA)
Ravenna UMC (RC)
Richmond Beach Cong. UCC (ONA)
University Baptist (W&A)
University Christian (O&A)
University Congregational (ONA)
Wallingford UMC (RC)
Spokane
Unitarian Church (WEL)
Suquamish
Community Congregational (ONA)
Vancouver
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
White Salmon
Bethel Cong., UCC (ONA)
WEST VIRGINIA
Wheeling
UU Congregation (WEL)
WISCONSIN
Brown Deer
Brown Deer UCC (ONA)
Eau Claire
Ecum. Relig. Ctr./Univ. Lutheran (RIC)
Madison
Community of Hope UCC (ONA)
First Baptist (W&A)
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
James Reeb UU Congregation (WEL)
Orchard Ridge UCC (ONA)
Plymouth Congregational UCC (ONA)
University UMC (RC)
Milwaukee
Cross Lutheran (RIC)
Pentecost Lutheran (RIC)
Plymouth UCC (ONA)
Reformation Lutheran (RIC)
Village Church, Lutheran (RIC)
Racine
Our Savior’s Lutheran (RIC)
Sheboygan
Wesley UMC (RC)
CANADA
ALBERTA
Calgary
South Calgary Inter-Mennonite (SCN)
Edmonton
Unitarian Church (WEL)
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Vancouver
First United Church (AU)
Unitarian Church (WEL)
MANITOBA
Winnipeg
Augustine United (AU)
First Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Young United (AU)
ONTARIO
Thunder Bay
Lakehead U. Fellowship (WEL)
Toronto
Bathurst United (AU)
Bloor Street United (AU)
Glen Rhodes United (AU)
Trinity-St. Paul’s United (AU)
Waterloo
Olive Branch Mennonite (SCN)
SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatoon
King of Glory Lutheran (RIC)
CAMPUS MINISTRIES
Key:
LCM=Lutheran Campus Ministry
LSC=Lutheran Student Center
LSM=Lutheran Student Movement
UCM=United Campus Ministry
UMSF=United Methodist Student Fellowship
UNITED STATES
CALIFORNIA
Cal-Aggie Christian House, UC-Davis (RC)
UCM, UC, Riverside (RC)
UCM, USC, Los Angeles (RC)
Wesley Fdn., UC-Berkeley (RC)
Wesley Fdn., UC-Santa Barbara (RC)
Wesley Fdn., UCLA, Los Angeles (RC)
COLORADO
LCM, CU-Boulder (RIC)
DELAWARE
Wesley Fdn., UD, Newark (RC)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UMSF, American U. (RC)
ILLINOIS
Ill. Disciples Fdn., UI, Champaign (O&A)
UMSF, Ill. Wesleyan, Bloomington (RC)
UCM, No. Illinois, DeKalb (RC)
INDIANA
LCM, IU, Bloomington (RIC)
IOWA
LCM, UI, Iowa City (RIC)
Stud. Cong., Luther Coll., Decorah (RIC)
KANSAS
LCM, KSU, Manhattan (RIC)
United Methodist CM, UK, Lawrence (RC)
MICHIGAN
Guild House, UM, Ann Arbor (O&A)
MINNESOTA
LCM in Minneapolis (RIC)
LCM, SCS, St. Cloud (RIC)
Stud. Cong., St. Olaf, Northfield (RIC)
NORTH DAKOTA
Univ. Lutheran Center, NDSU, Fargo (RIC)
OHIO
UCM, OU, Athens (O&A, RC, W&A)
Wesley Fdn., Oh. Wesleyan, Delaware
(RC)
OREGON
LCM in Portland (RIC)
Wesley Fdn., UO, Eugene (RC)
PENNSYLVANIA
LSC-LCM, Kutztown U, Kutztown (RIC)
TEXAS
LCM, UT, Austin (RIC)
VIRGINIA
Campus Christian Community, MWC,
Fredericksburg (RC, RIC)
WASHINGTON
LCM, WU, Bellingham (RIC)
Wesley Club, UW, Seattle (RC)
UM Fellowship, UPS, Puget Sound (RC)
WISCONSIN
LCM, UW, LaCrosse (RIC)
LCM, Metro Milwaukee(RIC)
LCM, UW-Stout, Menomonie (RIC)
CANADA
SASKATCHEWAN
LSC, LSM, Saskatoon (RIC)
JUDICATORIES
which have passed welcoming resolutions
Conferences (ONA)
California/Nevada N.
Central Pacific
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New York
Ohio
Rocky Mountain
Southern California
Conferences (RC)
California-Nevada
New York
Northern Illinois
Oregon-Idaho
Troy
Wisconsin
Regions (O&A)
Northern California/Nevada
Synods (ML)
Synod of the Northeast
Synods, ELCA (RIC)
Eastern North Dakota
Eastern Washington-Idaho
Greater Milwaukee
Metro Chicago
Metro Washington, D.C.
Pacifica
Rocky Mountain
Sierra-Pacific
Southeast Michigan
Southeast Pennsylvania
NATIONAL MINISTRIES
which have passed welcoming resolutions
Disciples Peace Fellowship (O&A)
Gen’l Commission on Christian Unity &
Interreligious Concerns (RC)
Lutheran Student Movement—USA (RIC)
Methodist Fed. for Social Action (RC)
Reconciling Congregation Program • 3801 N. Keeler Avenue • Chicago, IL 60641 • 773/736-5526; fax—773/736-5475
PRECONVOCATION FORUMS FOR:
• clergy • parents of l/g/bi persons • persons of color • youth, students, & seminarians
July 24-27, 1997
Emory University
Atlanta Bible Study leaders:
Dr. David Otto
Rev. Janet Wolf
Music Leaders:
Jim & Jean Strathdee
Worship preachers:
Rev. Minerva Carcaño
Bill Crews
Rev. Sally Dyck
Rev. Luther Felder
Dramatic Performances:
Caught in the Middle
All in our Family
Youth & Children’s Programs
Workshops
Area Strategy Sessions
Celebration of Denver 15
Covenant Groups
The fifth national convocation of Reconciling Congregations
a spirit-filled gathering of the whole family of God
QTY BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE
___ Be Ye Reconciled (Summer 1985)
___ A Matter of Justice (Winter 1986)
___ Our Families (Spring 1986)
___ Our Churches’ Policies (Summer 1986)
___ Images of Healing (Fall 1986)
___ Minorities within a Minority (Spring 1987)
___ Sexual Violence (Fall 1987)
___ Building Reconciling Ministries (Spring 1988)
___ Living and Loving with AIDS (Summer 1988)
___ Sexual Ethics (Winter 1989)
___ Lesbian & Gay Men in the Religious Arts (Spring 1989)
___ The Closet Dilemma (Summer 1989)
___ Images of Family (Fall 1989)
___ Journeys toward Recovery and Wholeness (Spring 1990)
___ The “Holy Union” Controversy (Fall 1990)
___ Youth and Sexual Identity (Winter 1991)
___ Lesbian/Gay Reflections on Theology (Spring 1991)
___ The Lesbian Spirit (Summer 1991)
___ Bisexuality: Perceptions & Realities (Fall 1991)
___ Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals in Ministry (Spring 1992)
___ Our Spirituality: How Sexual Expression and Oppression
Shape It (Summer 1992)
___ Aging and Integrity (Fall 1992)
___ Celebrating the Inclusive God: Worship (Winter 1994)
___ Reclaiming Pride (Summer 1994)
___ The God to Whom We Pray (Spring 1995)
___ Remembering…10th Anniversary (Summer 1995)
___ Untangling Prejudice and Privilege (Fall 1995)
___ Church Conflict: Living with It! Learning from It! (Spring 1996)
___ Airing Out Closets (Summer 1996)
___ Transgender Realities (Fall 1996)
❑ Please send me the back issues indicated ($6 each; 10+ @ $4).
❑ Send me Open Hands each quarter ($20/year; outside U.S.A. @ $25).
❑ Send Open Hands gift subscription(s) to name(s) attached.
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Send to: Open Hands, 3801 N. Keeler Avenue, Chicago, IL 60641
Phone: 773/736-5526 Fax: 773/736-5475
Published by the Reconciling Congregation
Program in conjunction
with More Light, Open and Affirming,
Reconciled in Christ, and Welcoming
& Affirming Baptist programs.
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