Open Hands Vol 13 No 3 - We’re Welcoming – Now What?

Open Hands Vol 13 No 3 - We’re Welcoming – Now What?

13

3

1998

Winter

Vol. 13 No. 3
Winter 1998
2 Open Hands
Vol. 13 No. 3 Winter 1998
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 Reconciling 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
© 1998
Reconciling Congregation Program, Inc.
Open Hands is a registered trademark.
ISSN 0888-8833
Printed on recycled paper.
WE’RE WELCOMING—NOW WHAT?
Bridging Word and Deed
A WORD FROM OUR PUBLISHER
A Time of Transition 4
MARK BOWMAN
Bidding farewell to editor Mary Jo Osterman and
welcoming interim editor Chris Glaser.
BRIDGE-BUILDING VISIONS
Bridges Over Troubled Water 5
CHRIS GLASER
Welcoming congregations as bridges over troubled
waters of doubt, fear, and schism.
Border Crossing 6
MARK ELAM ANDERSON
A poet’s vision of building bridges for the marginalized
and privileged alike.
Incarnating Good News 8
MIRIAM PRICHARD
Beyond opening our doors to opening our hearts.
What If We Become a Gay Church? 11
LISA ANN PIERCE
Isaiah’s vision of transformation for those who wonder,
“How can we be inclusive and keep our identity?”
How Long? 12
ALYSON HUNTLY
Why do we still sit silently when gays and lesbians are
demeaned from the pulpit?
Call for Articles for Open Hands Fall 1998 — A House Divided
Theme Section: The fall issue will serve as an internal dialogue within the welcoming
movement on how we understand Christian unity: What are acceptable differences of
opinion within the church and what is adequate cause for separation? And what are the
necessary boundaries of belief and behavior that define our community of faith?
Tools Section: We are also requesting articles describing practical experience and suggestions
in the following areas: Welcoming Committees, Connections (with other justice
concerns), Worship, Outreach, Leadership, Youth, Campus, Children. These brief
articles may or may not have to do with the theme of a given issue.
Contact with idea by May 1 Manuscript deadline: July 15
Chris Glaser, 404/622-4222 or ChrsGlaser@aol.com
Winter 1998 3
Publisher
Mark Bowman
Interim Editor
Chris Glaser
Designer
In Print—Jan Graves
Illustrations
Ophelia Chambliss
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
Reconciling 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
Bobbi Hargleroad, MLCN
Dorothy Klefstad, RIC
Susan Laurie, RCP
Samuel E. Loliger, ONA
Tim Phillips, W&A
Lisa Ann Pierce, SCN
Dick Poole, RIC
Caroline Presnell, RCP
Paul Santillán, RCP
Margarita Suaréz, ONA
Stuart Wright, RIC
RCP
BRIDGE-BUILDING TOOLS
Welcoming Committees
Why Be Specific In Our Welcome? 14
PAT TYMCHYSHYN
A congregation questions specifically welcoming gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons.
Connections
Whose Church Is It, Anyway? 15
SUSAN LAURIE
A firsthand account of our place among the Lazaruses at
the gate of our national church councils.
Worship
Only Say the Word… 16
BOBBI WELLS HARGLEROAD
What a difference it makes to be specific in our worship!
Outreach
Avoiding “Been There/Done That” 16
DIANA ROGER
A congregation takes specific steps to go beyond mere
welcome and grows.
Leadership
Six Handy Guidelines for Dialogue on “The Issue” 18
ALLEN FLUENT
Helpful hints for church leaders coping with controversy
over inclusiveness.
Youth
How “Welcoming” Are Youth Groups? 19
TREY HALL
Results from a survey of youth groups of Reconciling
Congregations that may help shape your youth program.
Campus
“Now I Know God Loves Me” 20
DAPHNE BURT
A campus pastor tells the story of evangelism with a
lesbian who doubted God’s love.
Children
Keeping Secrets—A Children’s Story 21
LIZ LANG
Sometimes we keep a secret to surprise someone, but
sometimes we keep a secret because we are afraid.
SUSTAINING THE SPIRIT
Everyone is Welcome Here 22
DAVID GOLDEN
A new hymn celebrating the reconciling ministry of First
United Methodist Church of Corvallis, Oregon.
Movement News and Gatherings .......... 24
Profiles of Welcoming Communities ..... 25
Selected Resources .................................. 26
Annual Welcoming List ........................... 27
Next Issue:
SEXUAL ETHICS
4 Open Hands
Open Hands begins the transition to a new
editor with this issue. Mary Jo Osterman
resigned a editor in December. Mary Jo
provided strong leadership and guidance for this
magazine during her five years as editor. She led Open
Hands through many changes while maintaining a
high level of professional publishing standards. I know
that you as readers of Open Hands are appreciative of
Mary Jo’s work and wish her the best in her new
endeavors.
Chris Glaser has assumed the editorship of Open Hands
on an interim basis. Chris is known to many of you as a
longtime activist in Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay
Concerns and as a prominent author and speaker on lesbian,
gay, and bisexual concerns in the church. His writings have
been included in this magazine, and he has published four
books, including Uncommon Calling and Coming Out to God.
Chris brings to the job a diverse background in youth, campus, and
parish ministries. He has both written and edited church curricula for
youth on issues ranging from racism to worship. For three years he
served as volunteer editor of More Light (the newsletter of PLGC) and
continues as a contributing editor and columnist. For a decade he
directed the Lazarus Project, the first ministry of reconciliation between
the church and the gay and lesbian community funded by a
mainstream denomination. He earlier served on the Presbyterian Task
Force to Study Homosexuality while completing his Master of Divinity
degree at Yale Divinity School in 1977.
We are blessed to have someone of Chris’s background and expertise willing to
step in as editor for the next several months. During this time, the Reconciling
Congregation Program, in consultation with leaders of More Light, Open and
Affirming, Reconciling in Christ, and Welcome & Affirming programs, will search for
a permanent editor.
During this transition, Open Hands will continue its mission of providing a diversity of
resources, analyses, and stories on concerns facing welcoming churches. Your feedback and
suggestions are always welcomed.
Mark Bowman
Publisher
A
Time
of
Transition
Winter 1998 5
We’re welcoming— now what? Any congregation
or ministry that has wanted to put
its ministry where its mouth is has asked that question.
This issue of Open Hands offers some thoughtful responses.
The metaphor selected to help us visualize our response
is that of a bridge: bridge-building visions (section
one) and bridge-building tools (section two).
At first I resisted this image. I couldn’t think of a bridge in
the Bible, and my exhaustive concordance and biblical thesaurus
do not list the word. Clearly the apocryphal poem (“Border
Crossing” by Mark Elam Anderson) that leads off our articles
provides the basis for this choice:
Now comes building:
a bridge to the desert, that others might cross;
a bridge to the delta, that even the slave masters
might cross…
I considered other images of building that would fit our
context as people of The Way. The building of the tabernacle,
the portable residence of God in the wilderness. The building
of the temple in Jerusalem, too holy to be built by the warrior
king, David. The temple of Christ’s body and the temple of
our bodies. The church as the body of Christ and the temple
of living stones. The building of the church among strangers
at Pentecost. The Reformation, or reconstruction, of that
church.
But the more I thought of bridges, the more I appreciated
the selection of the image to suggest what we are about in the
welcoming congregations movement. A bridge offers both a
refuge and a way, both safety and direction. Bridge builders
help others get to the other side by careful engineering and
sturdy construction, while risking getting wet, sinking, drowning,
or being swept away. And bridges exemplify God’s grace,
being crossed by the just and the unjust.
Congregations that welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgendered souls serve as bridges over troubled waters.
Troubled waters of doubts of our belovedness. Troubled waters
of fear, ignorance, and bigotry. Even troubled waters of
schism.
Congregations working on being inclusive, not just of sexual
minorities but of all the marginalized, serve as bridges to the
church’s future. We assure the broader church that inclusiveness
can be achieved while preserving “The Church’s One
Foundation.” And we provide a way for all to cross to the other
shore, the Land of Promise.
This publication has been a bridge between churches and
for the church. I am grateful to be a part of Open Hands as
interim editor, a bridge between past and future issues. I give
thanks to God for Mary Jo Osterman’s meticulous planning
and building, making the crossing easier and possible, and
including the construction of a new section on practical ministry
(section two). I also give thanks to God for the initiative
of the Reconciling Congregation Program in beginning this
journal, the subsequent support of its ecumenical
partners, and you, the reader, for
making this and the movement to which it
gives voice a priority of your concern and
compassion.
Chris Glaser
Atlanta, Georgia
Bridges
Over
Troubled
Water
Bridge-Building Visions
6 Open Hands
No wonder the children grumbled.
Arid desolation, no visible life bigger than a bug.
Hateful sirocco1 winds,
scouring dust flaying the skin right off the body.
Waterless wastes, salt flats shimmering all the way
to the margins of hope.
Pharaoh’s army got drowned, but from the hot heart
of the howling gale
the clatter of dry bones rattles out their undead hatred,
filling our ears with the powdery parchment of hypocrisy:
Our pilgrim people are individuals of sacred worth
who are unfit to proclaim the word of God,
whose soulmates are incompatible with our law
and forbidden the permanence of covenant,
lest an errant shepherd forfeit credentials.
No wonder the children grumbled, craving the cozy,
closeted comforts of slavery.
Grumble we may, but our dry eyes once beheld
the bush that burned and was not consumed.
Our dusty ears once heard a different voice,
a voice that spoke not hatred but hope,
a voice that echoes still in the parched recess of our
disappointed hearts:
Oh my people
Oh my children
Come back to me
Come home to me
and I
will give you
rest.
The voice of the sirocco can go on howling its hatred,
muttering its hypocrisy,
singeing our faces with its scorn;
it can rail and flail all it likes,
but it will never turn us back:
For God has already planted the seeds of Sabbath within us,
has already revealed the healing, reconciling work of creation.
We have experienced hearts and lives transformed,
not to denial, but to affirmation.
We have witnessed miracles,
and no hot vain wind can rob us of our memories.
In the shadow of a blazing bush burned into the
back of our eyes,
in the flakes of manna and the droplets of rockwater
still clinging to our lips,
in the echo of archangels’ call still resonating in our ears,
in the faces and lives of those men and women of all orientations
who have incarnated the reality of the Creator to us,
we have glimpsed, touched, and tasted Canaan’s
fair and happy land.
For all its seductive security,
the cozy slave pit of the closet cannot compare
to the wide open spaces that lie ahead
beyond the salt flat
beyond the mountains
across the river
in the land of God’s Sabbath.
Listen now! The voices of chaos diminish
before the murmured songs of archangels
and the swelling cresting word
crashing against the mountains,
washing over the wilderness:
Oh my people
Oh my children
come back to me
come home to me
and I
will give you
rest.
Border Crossing
Mark Elam Anderson
Source
This poem was first printed in Shalom to You, (July 1996), newsletter of Shalom Ministries, a United Methodist ministry of empowerment,
education, and justice in Portland, Oregon. It was written in celebration of the ordination of Jeanne Knepper, Shalom’s director. Copyright ©1996
by Mark Elam Anderson. Adapted for ecumenical audiences and used with permission.
Notes
1A sirocco wind is a hot, steady, oppressive wind blowing from the Libyan deserts across the Mediterranean into Southern Europe, often bringing
dust and sometimes accompanied by rain.; also any hot, oppressive wind, esp. one blowing toward a center of low barometric pressure. (Webster’s
New World College Dictionary, Rev. & Upd.)
Winter 1998 7
How can we surrender now?
How can we do anything but answer?
Yes, a voice from the heights crying across the wilderness,
nourishing and authoritative all at once;
Yes, oh yes, we come!
Blistered, exhausted,
parched and ravenous,
we come!
Look up there!
Is it a mirage, shimmering on the horizon?
Is it a cruel illusion, some trick of the sun and the heat
and the wind,
a promise of compassion masking a hot blast of intolerance?
No, it’s really there!
Bluer than sky,
flowing, not shimmering,
rushing along its course,
desolation’s margin, ere the cool green promises
come to fulfillment:
A river. The river.
How shall we cross?
Tentatively, one cautious step at a time, testing
river bed for firmness,
fearful of stubbing our toes on river rocks,
of stumbling and drenching our garments?
Or shall we plunge in,
gasping at the bracing frigidity of the torrent,
laughing,
tripping,
plunging,
washing all the dusty pain and disappointment
and weariness of this exodus downstream,
down toward the delta,
down where it belongs.
We trip, we fall, our heads submerge,
our nostrils and ears fill with water;
sputtering, laughing, we break the surface,
baptismally cleansed,
dead to and resurrected from all the deaths that come before,
resurrected to the life that opens before us,
as we rise from the water, stagger toward the shore,
happy and frightened at the same time:
For once we are there,
once we have become citizens of this promised land,
once we have taken possession of this place God has given us,
even though the journey has ended,
the work has barely begun.
Now comes building:
a bridge to the desert, that others might cross;
a bridge to the delta, that even the slave masters might cross;2
a bridge into the hearts of all who begrudge our
claim to this land God has promised,
not just to us, but to all who bear God’s image,
even those who give voice to the sirocco;
for this is to be the land of inclusion, of fulfillment,
of peace with justice,
of all the things that God intended for us when first
we were quickened.
Yes, God called us to a land of rest,
but only at the completion of Creation,
and Creation is far from complete.
So before we rest,
before we proclaim Sabbath,
we build,
and the voice once distant and mediated
through burning bushes and archangels,
now immanent and unmediated,
sings within our hearts
and bursts forth from our own lips:
Oh my people
Oh my children
welcome back
welcome home
welcome to the land
I give you
the land of Sabbath
the land of justice
the land called
Shalom. ▼
2The delta here alludes to the rich and fertile soil along the Nile in Egypt, the land of the oppressors. The bridge to the desert alludes
to crossing the Jordan to the Promised Land.
Mark Elam Anderson, pastor of Amity and McCabe United Methodist Churches in Oregon, is former chair of
Shalom Ministries, an outreach ministry of the Metropolitan District of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United
Methodist Church, which serves lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, people living on the social or economic edge,
people who have been alienated from religion, and churches who want to welcome any of these people. Mark is
married to Amy Boyett, a software professional, with whom he shares three children, Sarah, Sean, and Drew.
8 Open Hands
Christians tend to speak rather
glibly of “the Good News,” but
many would be hard-pressed to
explain or describe its content. This casual
use and a vague notion of its meaning
tend to diminish the term’s significance.
We need to study the content of
God’s Good News to us before we speak
of our response. Further, we must examine
its relevance to our lives, its implications
and guidelines for the way we
live, and thus, the way we offer the
Good News to others as individuals and
as welcoming congregations.
The quality of our response to any
good news is determined by both our
reception of its truth and our perception
of its relevance to us. In order to
elicit a truly visceral and involving response,
the news must be removed from
the realm of objective, intellectual detachment
and brought into personal
experience and the heart’s inner core.
We must be gripped by the message; we
must believe that we are individually
and personally addressed. Otherwise we
will relegate the news to a ho-hum response,
distance ourselves from it, and
proceed as if we hadn’t heard it.
In the fifth chapter of his second letter
to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul
has given us one of the most compelling
interpretations of the Good News
as he speaks of God’s reconciling act in
Christ. “If you want in one sentence a
definition of what the Christian Church
stands for in the world, 2 Corinthians 5
gives it to you…There is Christianity in
a nutshell,”1 wrote H.C.N. Williams,
former provost of England’s Coventry
Cathedral, itself a symbol of reconciliation
because of that congregation’s forgiving
response to the Germans who
destroyed it by firebombs during World
War II.
Paul writes, “In Christ, God was reconciling
the world[’s people] to [God’s]
self, not counting their trespasses
against them, and entrusting the message
of reconciliation to us” (2 Cor.
5:19). This is the Good News of the gospel.
God was in Christ who came and
changed everything. “So if anyone is in
Christ, there is a new creation: everything
old has passed away; see, everything
has become new!” (2 Cor. 5:17).
The old, sad, defeated, divisive, guiltridden
order has gone and a totally new
order has begun. Now that’s Good
News!
On the personal level, we see that
through God’s initiative and reconciling
work, God has enfolded us, covered
us, and surrounded us with an unconditional
and redemptive love. To know
oneself as personally blest and singled
out opens a mysterious floodgate of
unabated gratitude, energy, and joy. To
know oneself to be the object of an
unmerited gift of grace and love is the
epitome of ecstasy which becomes the
impetus out of which we receivers become
givers, bearers of the Good News
to others.
On the global level, the very nature
of the message reveals that this news is
not addressed to us in isolation. It is not
an exclusive honor. On the contrary,
receiving the gift joins us to all humankind
because it simultaneously confers
on us a responsibility. We who have
received the gift are now commissioned
as givers— such is the flow inherent in
the gift. Our full realization of the Good
News assures our response, becoming
in us an incarnation of its reality and
intention and joy for the world. Like a
gushing stream, the Good News sweeps
us into completeness, into one Body,
one community composed of many
members with Christ as the head.
We speak easily these days of being
a “member” of this or that society,
group, or association. For the Christian,
this term has its fullest and most organic
expression in the church as the Body of
Christ. Paul offered this moving and
solemn concept of the church— not as
a large human institution— but as the
“continuing incarnation, so that Christ
is no longer only with his people but
within them, and his incarnation has
appropriated them for its extension.”2
Christ came for the world; therefore,
the church is for the world. Kenyon
Wright wrote, “The church exists by
mission as a fire exists by burning…
Ministry in the world is not an optional
extra. It is the very essence of the
church.”3
To whom shall we go? To whom
shall we direct our ministry? Churches
have readily acknowledged the mandate
to deliver the Good News to the broader
world. Christians have gone out to the
farthest reaches of the earth to preach
the gospel to everyone. However,
churches have not so easily recognized
the call to do and to be the Good News
to those within their own fellowships. We
must be to one another within our own
congregations and communions what
we purport to be to the rest of the world.
The person to whom we seek to show
mercy or concern or openness and welcome
need not be a person “outside the
gates.” That person may sit alongside
us in our pew!
As W.O. Carver suggested, “Each
church has its own opportunities and
problems, which it meets not for itself
simply, but for all the churches of every
community and always on behalf
of the entire Body of Christ. The behavior
of each Christian community has
significance for the whole of Christian—
The old, sad, defeated, divisive, guilt-ridden order
has gone and a totally new order has begun.
Now that’s Good News!
Incarnating Good News
Miriam Prichard
Winter 1998 9
ity…being linked, as we are, with Christ
as our head.”4 There are no New Testament
demarcations between those in
the far-flung areas of the world and
those within our own congregations. All
are to be included in the ministry of
reconciliation, and the way we serve one
has an impact upon our service to all.
What is the responsibility inherent,
then, in claiming ourselves as a “welcoming”
community? Such self-designation
implies a commitment to a
depth of hospitality far beyond the casual.
How do we welcome the stranger?
(For purposes of this discussion, the
word stranger is used to mean “those
who come.”) All are to be received as
Christ. Catholic Worker cofounder Dorothy
Day clarified: “Hospitality is to be
given not for the sake of humanity; not
because it might be Christ who stays
with us, comes to us, takes up our time;
not because these people remind us of
Christ…but because they are Christ, asking
us to find room for him exactly as
he did that first Christmas.”5
This of course applies to all strangers,
but in our context as reconciling
congregations, it is incumbent upon us
to single out a class of especially vulnerable
strangers: gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgendered people who seek
membership and fellowship in our
churches. Many of them are coming to
us out of a cold more chilling than the
worst weather winter can summon.
Many are coming with a more depleting,
gnawing hunger than absence of
food engenders. Many are coming with
their last spark of hope that here, finally,
in this particular fellowship, they will
find the warmth, nurture, and acceptance
denied them in so many other
places.
Despite the challenges involved in
leading a congregation to become welcoming,
opening their doors is probably
the easiest thing that welcoming congregations
do. Much more is required
beyond the initial smiles, handshakes,
and assurances of seating. The enfolding
love of Christ alerts every atom in
my being that I am welcome and worthy,
and yet, in many churches, our
non-engagement with one another belies
the experience that every member
of Christ’s Body is welcome and worthy.
To truly “bring them in” will require
a special, deep, intentional, and
steadfast commitment to hospitality
and inclusion; otherwise, these strangers
are left standing just inside the door
or waiting on the fringes of congregational
life.
Just as a newborn child entering into
its human family needs to be held,
stroked, loved, crooned over, spoken
with, acknowledged, seen, affirmed,
and validated, so this entrant into the
congregational family needs to be engaged
and enfolded in a true relationship,
not just tolerated.
Spiritual growth-in-community is
thwarted without true engagement, and
reconciliation can be achieved neither
in the abstract nor in detachment. As
Dorothy Day explained, “We cannot
love God unless we love each other, and
to love we must know each other. We
know God in the breaking of bread, and
we know each other in the breaking of
bread, and we are not alone anymore.
Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet,
too, even with a crust, where there
is companionship. We have all known
the long loneliness and we have learned
that the only solution is love and love
comes with community.”6
However, engagement may be misunderstood.
In an attempt to describe
their ideal of Christian fellowship, many
people use the metaphor of the family,
as in “one-big-happy.” The idealized
image fostered by this concept may
present an unforeseen stumbling block
to the achievement of true community,
since, in many cases, it tends to engender
a glossing over of differences. Consequently,
the uneasy peace prevailing
covers a tenuous facade which will not
hold together in the long run.
Quaker activist and spiritual writer
Parker Palmer offers relevant words of
wisdom in this regard:
If the church is to serve as a
school of the Spirit…It must find
ways of extending hospitality to
the stranger. I do not mean coffee
hours designed to recruit new
members to the church, for these
are aimed at making the stranger
“one of us.” The essence of hospitality…
is that we let our difference,
our mutual strangeness,
be as they are, while still acknowledging
the unity that lies beneath
them.…Only as individual understandings
of God’s will are compared,
contrasted, and interwoven
with each other can we begin
to move toward the wholeness
which God intends for us, the
wholeness of the entire Body of
Christ…When a community’s
identity is rooted in the truth
that we are all members of one
another…that our deepest identity
is in our commonality in
God…then it can embrace the
stranger with grace and ease.7
An aspect of our welcome too easily
overlooked is our recognition of the
gifts that the stranger brings. The
stranger is also a messenger of reconciliation.
In both the Benedictine monastic
tradition and Celtic Christianity,
one major feature of hospitality is the
acknowledgment that the guest has gifts
to offer. The giving is circular, proceeding
from host to guest and then from
guest to host. Hosts and guests have
duel roles as givers and receivers.
A worthy, reconciling response, then,
is total, not doled out or carefully measured.
There will be no subtle boundaries,
no glass ceilings, no invisible walls
beyond which the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
or transgendered person is disallowed.
Rather, the response of welcome will be
Just as a newborn child entering into its human
family needs to be held, stroked, loved, crooned over,
spoken with, acknowledged, seen, affirmed, and
validated, so this entrant into the congregational
family needs to be engaged and enfolded…
10 Open Hands
Miriam Prichard, a member of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in
Raleigh, North Carolina, is married and the mother of two children. A
native Mississippian, she came to North Carolina by way of Southern
Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, for a career with Baptist students
in colleges, universities, and schools of nursing throughout the
state. She recently retired from a second career as an English teacher in
an alternative school for “disruptive and unruly” students, an occupation
she found to be inspirational as well as challenging.
Notes
1H.C.N. Williams, “Introduction to the Community of the Cross of Nails,” The Nature of
Christian Community, Sanford Garner, editor, (Coventry, UK: Community of the Cross of
Nails, Coventry Cathedral), p. 3.
2W.O. Carver, The Glory of God in the Christian Calling (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1949), pp.
43-44.
3Canon Kenyon E. Wright, “The Serving Community,” The Nature of Christian Community,
op.cit., p. 34.
4Carver, op.cit., p. 152.
5Dorothy Day, Selected Writings, Peter Ellsberg, editor (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1992).
6Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of Dorothy Day (San Francisco:Harper &
Row, 1980).
7Parker Palmer, The Company of Strangers: Christians and the Renewal of America’s Public Life
(New York: Crossroad, 1994): pp. 130, 160.
8Robert Frost, “Birches,” The Complete Poems of Robert Frost (New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston, 1967), p. 153.
poured out, pressed down, and running
over “up to the brim and even above
the brim.”8 There will be no suggestion
of ambiguity in such a response. Christ
is our model of wholeheartedness, having
given himself without stint. “For the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed…
was not ‘Yes and No’; but in
him it is always ‘Yes.’ For in [Christ]
every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’”
(1 Cor. 1:19-20).
Now we see that this is to be our response:
a great, visceral, visible, incarnate
“Yes.” A “Yes” with staying power.
A “Yes” with depth beyond the open
door. A “Yes” which says, “I behold the
Christ in you: come in! Come bring
your gifts and your blessings to this
congregation. Join in this great circular
sweep of Christian love: your gift to me,
mine to you, all to each and each to
all.”
That is the quality of the “Yes” by
which all will know the fullness of the
joy of reconciliation, the joy of true
membership in the whole Body of
Christ, having no alienating walls between
us, no more distancing, “all one
Body we” as we demonstrate our own
reconciliation and carry that message
of Good News to the world. ▼
Winter 1998 11
You’ve probably heard the question,
or perhaps asked it yourself.
It’s a common concern
among members of churches that
welcome gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgendered people. “What if we become
a gay church?” It’s often asked
alongside statements like: “It’s not that
I’m homophobic, I just want to make
sure there are other families like mine.”
Or, “My partner and I chose this church
because we wanted to have straight
friends. I’m glad they welcome us, but
I don’t want this to become a totally gay
church.”
This question, “What if we become
a gay church?” is a serious one. At issue
is nothing less than that age-old dilemma:
“How can we be inclusive and
keep our identity?” There are no easy
answers. The only assurance we have is
the ancient covenant promise that God
will deliver us. But perhaps that is
enough.
The Israelites faced the question of
identity and inclusivity when they returned
to their homeland of Palestine
after the Babylonian exile. Isaiah offered
God’s answer in a vision of “a house of
prayer for all peoples” that included foreigners
and eunuchs. The vision, found
in the first eight verses of chapter 56
begins:
Thus says [our God]:
Maintain justice, and do what is
right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
Isaiah 56:1
“What If We Become a Gay Church?”
Lisa Ann Pierce
Isaiah thus challenges and encourages
a disenchanted people returning
to their decimated, war-torn land. In the
context of famine, poverty, and conflict,
the prophet speaks a wildly optimistic
word: deliverance is on the way.
Yet the people must have been scandalized
by what the prophet said about
inclusivity, for it was a radical reinterpretation
of the law. According to Torah,
eunuchs and many foreigners were
to be excluded from the assembly of
God (Deut. 23:1, Lev. 21:17-20, Deut.
23:3-6). Yet Isaiah 56 presents a vision
for deliverance with foreigners and eunuchs
as central players in the salvation
drama:
To the eunuchs who keep my
sabbaths…
and hold fast my covenant…
I will give them an everlasting
name…
And the foreigners who join
themselves to [God]…
these I will bring to my holy
mountain,
and make them joyful in my
house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar…
Isaiah 56:4-7
Although the prophet’s proclamation
stands in tension with Torah, this
prophecy is set in the context of the
larger salvation history of Israel: “Maintain
justice, and do what is right, for
soon my salvation will come and my
deliverance be revealed.” The Hebrew
word translated “deliverance” is the
same word rendered “maintain justice
and do what is right” earlier in the verse.
There is a word-play here, showing the
Israelites that by maintaining justice
and doing what is right (which includes
welcoming the gifts of the foreigner and
eunuch), they are participating in God’s
mighty act of deliverance. Thus continues
their saving history, for God is building
a new people— a new Israel—from
exiles, eunuchs, and foreigners. They
are a people of justice and righteousness,
a people who live God’s vision for
deliverance. Doing the right thing is
deliverance, and deliverance is doing
the right thing.
What does Isaiah 56 have to do with
the question, “What if we become a gay
church?” The prophet offers us a vision
that transcends our fearful questioning.
It is a vision beyond issues of exclusion
and inclusion. It is a vision of transformation.
To be excluded is to be discarded by
those who have the power to say who
is in and who is out. To be included,
however, is to be included on the terms
of those same powerful people. Far beyond
this power to exclude or include
is the prophet’s vision of a God who
already gathers the outcasts of Israel,
and gathers others to them. Everyone
enters on God’s terms and shares their
gifts freely. Everyone is changed—indeed
delivered—by God’s gathering action.
And our deliverance is being part of
God’s gathering action.
To ask the question, “What if we
become a gay church?” makes sense in
a society where heterosexuality has
been granted a position of power and
privilege. The question represents the
very reasonable anxiety that we sometimes
feel when this social order is
challenged. Gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgendered, and straight alike, we are
accustomed to our churches being essentially
heterosexual in character. We
want to include folks and not lose our
The prophet Isaiah offers us a vision that
transcends our fearful questioning.
It is a vision beyond issues of exclusion
and inclusion. It is a vision of transformation.
12 Open Hands
identity. We want to welcome and be
welcomed, but we feel some anxiety at
the prospect of the real transformation
that can happen when God brings us
together.
God invites us to enjoy a radical vision
that transcends our anxieties. God
invites us to trust that deliverance will
come when outcasts are gathered to
outcasts, and everyone’s gifts are given
freely. We are invited to risk coming
together on God’s terms, trusting that
our identity rests more on being God’s
children than on maintaining heterosexual
dominance in our church. And
taking this risk together, we step into
the possibility of God’s transformative
power changing us into something entirely
new: not a gay church, and not a
church dominated by heterosexual culture,
but a church transformed and delivered.
Gathered together, and freely
sharing our gifts, we live into God’s vision
of a people delivered to a new creation.
▼
Lisa Ann Pierce currently ser ves as
Interim Pastor of St. Paul Mennonite
Fellowship, a General Conference Mennonite
church in St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Paul
Fellowship is a Publicly Affirming congregation
of the Supportive Church Network
of the Brethren/Mennonite Council for Lesbian
and Gay Concerns (BMC). Lisa also
edits Dialogue, a BMC publication.
How Long?
Alyson Huntly
“How can we
be inclusive and
keep our identity?”
One verse of the familiar hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation,” has had
special resonance for many Presbyterians in the United States recently as
they come to terms with an amendment to their church constitution approved
last year (Amendment B) which bars gays and lesbians from ministry or
elected office in their church.
Though with a scornful wonder
This world sees her oppressed
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed.
Yet saints their watch are keeping:
Their cry goes up: “How long?”
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.
Words: Samuel J. Stone, 1966; in public domain; adapted by Alyson Huntly.
Tune: Samuel Sebastian Wesley, 1864. In public domain.
I thought of this hymn during a sermon at a recent presbytery meeting in Ottawa.
The preacher asserted that it is God’s will for all of us to be in heterosexual marriage.
There are simply no other options— no space in his rigid moral judgment for other
choices.
No one moved, or walked out, or objected. Some of us did turn a little pale, and
several of us made eye contact. My gut ached as I wondered, “How long?”
Would we have sat so silently, I wondered, if the speaker had excluded and demeaned,
not lesbians and gays, but blacks or the disabled? Would we have let such
blatant exclusion and bigotry slide by if it had been directed at other marginalized
groups in our society?
Perhaps. Perhaps this is a sign of the deep schisms that still exist in our church.
But I think we are even more silent than usual when religious condemnation or
hatred is directed to gays and lesbians. Our fear of schism still seems to keep us from
speaking out. And we let the heresy of exclusion go on.
God calls us to inclusive love, love of our neighbor, even when our neighbor is
stranger, outcast, or “other.” For in Christ there is no rich or poor, male or female,
Jew or Greek, black or white, gay or straight…but one human family united in God’s
love.
Until then, may the saints continue to keep watch—and cry out “how long?” ▼
Source
This article was first published in Consensus, the newsletter of Affirm United (Lesbians, Gays,
Bisexuals and their friends of the United Church of Canada). Used with permission.
Alyson Huntly is the editor of Consensus, the newsletter of Affirm
United (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and their friends of The United
Church of Canada). She has just completed a book, Daring to Be United,
describing the United Church of Canada’s struggle over the issue of
homosexuality. It will be published by United Church of Canada Press
this spring.
Ina Edminster and Lisa Ann
Pierce at St. Paul Mennonite
Fellowship, November, 1997.
Photo: Karen L. Abshier
Winter 1998 13
14 Open Hands
“Why Be Specific
In Our Welcome?”
Pat Tymchyshyn
Several years ago the Church and Society Work Area of Wesley
United Methodist Church in Champaign, Illinois, formed a
task force to explore how our church could become a Reconciling
Congregation. The road was not smooth and took some
rather unexpected turns. This tells the story of a journey from
“reconciling” to “inclusive.”
In 1995 we were excited to be a part of our new Reconciling
Task Force. James Preston from the Reconciling Program
came to speak to our congregation. We organized study groups.
Several members attended the national reconciling convocation
at Augsburg Seminary. And we really felt that becoming a
Reconciling Congregation was completely logical and in keeping
with Wesley’s nature.
But that proved not to be the case. We met strong resistance
to becoming part of the national movement. Our task
force had been created to help Wesley decide where it was in
relation to the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgendered persons. In the process, we engaged in dialogues,
formal presentations, study groups, and members of our committee
visited every task force, committee, work area, and fellowship
group in the church. Still, there was resistance. Some
expressed fears that the national reconciling movement was
directing Wesley!
We attempted to become a task force that was more obviously
Wesley-centered and Wesley-born. Rather than using
materials from the Reconciling Congregations Program and
similar programs, we changed the content of our message to
the personal stories of lesbian, gay, and bisexual current and
former members of Wesley. The message was better received,
but it was clear that the congregation was not yet ready to
formally adopt a reconciling statement.
Some of the objections were: “Wesley is already a welcoming
place, why do we need to make an official welcome
to l/g/b people?” “Why are we considering welcoming only a
certain group of people?” “If we are going to advertise Wesley
as a welcoming place, should we make it clear that we welcome
all people?”
Our task force decided to metamorphose again and become
an Inclusiveness Task Force, focusing on letting people outside
the church know how welcoming a place those of us inside
already knew our congregation to be. We enlisted the aid
of the congregation in forming the following welcoming
statement: “Wesley United Methodist Church is a diverse and
welcoming community uniting in seeking Christ. We neither
exclude nor judge anyone. We invite everyone in all circumstances
and walks of life, including you.” We print this statement
in every church bulletin.
The task force officially became a standing work area of
the church, intended to continue the work of welcoming everyone
without losing sight of the original goal of becoming a
Reconciling Congregation. Our services included: signing at
Christmas and Easter worship services and at large workshops;
adding a TTY/TDD device for the hearing-impaired; promoting
a Bible study designed for lesbian, gay, bisexual and straight
alike; planning a conflict resolution workshop; and supporting
the regional church’s Reconciling Congregation study
groups and workshops.
We continue to encourage and facilitate study and discussion
sessions on the question of why some people are or feel
excluded from the church or by society. Perhaps by “living
the question,” as the poet Rainer Maria Rilke once wrote, we
will “live into the answer” of why it may be necessary to become
specific in welcoming those who believe themselves
unwelcome. ▼
Pat Tymchyshyn is chair of the Church and
Society Work Area of Wesley United Methodist
Church in Champaign, Illinois, and a member
of its Inclusive Work Area. The mother of a gay
son, she founded the local PFLAG chapter. She
is a retired teacher of nursing.
Bridge-Building Tools
Winter 1998 15
Whose Church Is It,
Anyway?
Susan Laurie
I used to be “in.” It used to be “my” church. As a child I was at
church several times a week: choir practice, scouts, youth
group, and Sunday worship. I knew nothing of church politics
or debates. I just knew people who represented Christ as
loving and caring. As an adult, I found a church and pastor
who asked us to think and act as Christ taught, preaching
grace and inclusion. Again, I felt loved and valued and
included.
Not until I discerned a call from God to pursue ordained
ministry did I run into denominational rulebooks that kept
me out. I was naive as to the extent of some people’s passion
to let me know I am not a full member of “my” church. Now
I find myself outside the doors of a denomination that carefully
excludes me as a lesbian Christian.
Every four years the United Methodist Church gathers for
its General Conference, the opportunity for church policies
to be changed. In April 1996 I arrived at Denver’s gathering to
join a large group of volunteers from the Reconciling Congregation
Program. Many people had worked many hours preparing
our witness. I felt very positive about the effort: its
creativity, attention to detail, and foundation in the gospel. I
knew I would spend emotional and spiritual energy as well as
physical energy. I was prepared to be a persistent, faithful
witness.
I was not prepared for the larger experience of insider/outsider
dynamics. As I stood with our group of Reconciling United
Methodists day after day, literally opening doors for delegates,
making our present felt, I watched as other groups also stood
outside. We were not the only ones trying to gain recognition
in the conference. Others were striving for voice and representation
on the inside: Black Methodists for Church Renewal,
the Women’s Caucus, a rural caucus, an urban caucus (called
Holy Boldness), Hispanic ministries, the Oklahoma Mission
Conference, and others.
“Celebrate Diversity”… how often it
has been employed in order that we
might slide in under its banner without
seriously embracing its meaning.
Though not officially denounced as we were, others were
also familiar with limitations on their participation in the
church. If a few members of a minority gain position, a demarcation
line is drawn against “too many.” This stumbling
block of tokenism was brought home for the assembly by a
speech from Minerva Carcaño punctuated by her repetition
of the phrase, “Two is enough.” Though eloquent, the speech
itself became a token moment as attitudes seemed untouched.
Legislation was proposed for clearly inclusive church membership:
Therefore all persons without regard to age or intellectual
ability, race or nationality, gender or sexual identity,
class or handicapping conditions shall be eligible
to attend its worship services, to participate in its programs,
to receive the sacraments and be admitted as baptized
or professing members in any local church . . .
The voting body, insiders by definition, declared no list
was necessary. They felt it sufficient to say “Therefore all persons
shall be eligible for worship…” That would’ve been sufficient
if all meant all. But the list is necessary, pertinent, and
instructive. It does not lose significance as it grows longer, it
keeps us mindful.
As I stood among the other groups on the outside of the
governing body inside, I gained better understanding what
these struggles are about. “Celebrate Diversity” is a sentiment
that I hear in my lesbian community. However, I pause to
wonder how often it has been employed in order that we might
slide in under its banner without seriously embracing its
meaning.
We celebrate diversity because it helps us know God, it
calls or pushes us to think about our faith, challenging our
comfort. “For just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,
so it is with Christ…The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no
need of you’…(1 Cor. 12:12, 21a).” We need each other.
Succumbing to a theology of scarcity— that there’s not
enough of God’s love to go around— we compete for crumbs.
I will not call this a lack of faith, but it is the result of a tentative
faith. As we allow as to how God’s grace envelops the
wider body of all people, we know God’s presence in our own
hearts. God does so love the world!
So let’s protest with confidence the exclusion of any person
or group from our midst. We must demonstrate solidarity,
listening and educating ourselves about the subtleties of
classism, racism, ableism, sexism. Our benefit is that we learn
from one another, enriching worship, gaining biblical insights,
challenging our discipleship. I appreciate those who have been
in the struggle for decades, even generations. Sometimes I am
ready to quit next week.
As a cloud of witnesses whose faith is not reduced to nor
limited by rulebooks, we will live into the fullest possible understanding
of God’s grace and provision. “If one member
suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored,
all rejoice together with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). Let’s forget the
sentimental idea of “my” church and dwell in the whole body
of Christ. ▼
After 16 years as a high school teacher, Susan
Laurie attended Garret-Evangelical Theological
Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, receiving
her M.Div. degree in 1995. She is seeking ordination
in the Western Pennsylvania Annual
Conference, while living with her partner of
15 years in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
16 Open Hands
Only Say the Word…
Bobbi Wells Hargleroad
It was the first Sunday of October 1997 and the Table at the
front of our large, formal sanctuary was prepared for World
Communion Sunday. It was also Solidarity Sunday, and members
of our mission board, in partnership with Dignity / Chicago,
were distributing strips of rainbow-colored ribbon at
various entrances to the church.
The worship service began and, toward the end of the sermon,
our preacher for the day called attention to the ribbons
and how important it was for all—ALL—to know they were
welcome at this Table, explaining that the ribbons had been
distributed that day to claim our solidarity with lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgendered sisters and brothers, many of
whom have known only exclusion and rejection from Christ’s
church and table.
It was a word we needed to hear. We, mostly white, middle
class, heterosexual, mostly knowing-we-belong-here folks,
needed the reminder, having adopted a “Toward a More Inclusive
Church” statement the year before. We had made a
commitment, but it was still very much a work in progress.
Even in the power of the moment, most of us assumed that
the ribbons were mainly for us. We regulars. “The choir.” It
wasn’t until later that week that we realized how important
they had been for a stranger in our midst. A stranger who
went home to write us a several-page letter about the power
our welcome had had for him.
Reared as a Christian, he wrote, he’d nonetheless been cast
aside by both family and church when he came out as a gay
man. He had tried life without church. He had tried a variety
of gay congregations. Then, for some unclear reason that Sunday,
he had tried us.
“For those of us who have been rejected,”
the visitor wrote, “that simple invitation
to join in the Communion meal
can be a life-changing force.”
Entering, he was astounded to see the rainbow ribbons,
never guessing that we knew what they meant. Reading the
explanatory card that came with each ribbon, he was yet more
astounded to see that we did. He witnessed an elderly man,
who reminded him of his grandfather, chatting with a young
woman about the meaning of the ribbons. He noticed a father,
with two children in tow, fasten a ribbon on each of
them before setting out to find the “perfect pew.” He was
amazed, the man wrote, to hear the words gay and lesbian in
the sermon, and yet more surprised that they were not followed
by terms like sin or demon-possessed or predatory. He
struggled to fight back tears as he was welcomed with everyone
else to the Communion table. He wrote further:
To simply be accepted and welcomed is a powerful experience
if you’re not accustomed to it…historically, the
church has not always extended the sacred invitation of
communion to everyone. And for those of us who have
been rejected, that simple invitation to join in the Communion
meal can be a life-changing force.
He has been with us for worship numerous
times in the past several months. His letter has
been read and reread in a variety of settings.
We continue to learn from it and be led by it.
Yet the question I have is, if he had wandered
in on any other Sunday, would he have
felt welcomed? Would he have returned?
Would there have been any sign of welcome?
A symbol? A statement in the bulletin?
A word from the pulpit? Would the prayers have
touched the concerns of his life? Would pictures of new members
have shown a variety of households, perhaps one like his
own? Or would thoughtless references to “family” have driven
him away?
Worship, we say, is where we gather most authentically as
a community. How do our worship services reflect to newcomers
that they’re welcome? Especially if those newcomers,
because of their history with the Church, are primed to see
rejection rather than arms open in welcome? All of us in the
welcoming church movement must reflect on how do we welcome
people into worship—specifically, visibly, and clearly?
This is the first of a series in Open Hands devoted to our sharing
of stories of what has worked to make worship inclusive
of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered folk. Which of
you will be next to tell your congregation’s story, revealing
successes or mistakes, strengths or weaknesses? Doing so will
help us all. ▼
Bobbi Wells Hargleroad is Minister of Mission at First United
Church of Oak Park (Presbyterian Church [U.S.A.] and United
Church of Christ). Situated near Chicago, the congregation became
a More Light/Open and Affirming church in February 1996.
Avoiding
“Been There/Done That!”
Diana Roger
Your church has voted to welcome lesbian, gay, and bisexual
people fully into its life and leadership. Now what? Is your
church finished with the welcoming issue? As the chairperson
of a welcoming task force, I can offer examples of how
one church proceeded after the vote.
Winter 1998 17
Bellevue First Congregational UCC Church formally
adopted an open and affirming statement in January, 1996.
Some members of this congregation expressed concern from
the beginning that going through an educational process followed
by a vote could be merely an exercise in political correctness.
They felt that the risk of divisiveness might be too
high if the only result turned out to be a document that went
into a file cabinet. People were eager to know whether going
through an undoubtedly difficult process would make a
difference.
Being in the Greater Seattle area where there are a number
of welcoming congregations, our task force had excellent
mentoring. Input from those congregations was crucial. Before
I approached the church council with a request to study
the welcoming issue, I knew of post-vote actions taken by other
churches. It was my expectation that becoming truly inclusive
would be an ongoing process, and I had a clear picture as
to what might happen following a vote. This was shared with
our pastor, the council, the task force, and ultimately the congregation.
The statement, which was later adopted, was written
collaboratively and included a commitment to “continue
exploring what it means to be faithfully Open and Affirming
in a changing world.”
One of the first things we did after our vote was to publicize
our decision. A press release was prepared and sent to the
local papers, followed up with phone calls. Articles appeared
in several publications, including the Seattle Gay News and
the newsletter of a local lesbian/gay organization. Members
of the local PFLAG chapter were notified. A presentation was
made to a local interfaith organization telling about our decision
and how it was reached.
The church council turned our welcoming task force into a
permanent entity (a subcommittee of our outreach commission).
The council also voted to include a specific portion of
our welcoming statement in every Sunday bulletin and church
newsletter. A parchment copy of the statement was framed
and is prominently displayed. We made what would be our
first annual financial contribution to our denomination’s coalition
for lesbian and gay concerns.
During the year following our vote, our church youth asked
for their own series of open and affirming classes, to be patterned
on the classes that had been offered to the entire congregation.
(They had been invited to participate in the initial
classes but most had not.) The classes were presented with an
understanding that the youth would vote at the conclusion.
They unanimously affirmed the welcoming stance.
Our church’s 100th anniversary was in 1996, the year we
officially became welcoming. A book updating our church
history was written to commemorate the anniversary, and it
contained a section about our welcoming journey. Our time
capsule was opened and new materials, including our open
and affirming statement, were inserted before re-sealing.
We celebrated the one-year anniversary of our vote. Each
week for a month we had short speeches and testimonials in
church as well as articles in our newsletter. An especially moving
testimonial was given by a gay member who started attending
after he heard about our welcoming stance. Our pastor
gave a sermon on the subject of inclusiveness, and we had
a cake and ceremony at our quarterly congregational meeting.
Our committee still puts articles in the church newsletter
from time to time. It becomes clear to anyone listening to our
pastor’s sermons over time that he views gay and lesbian people
as part of God’s family and our church family. He intentionally
includes different configurations of families when asking
people to light the Advent candles. Our church was using inclusive
language in our music and liturgy before our open
and affirming discussions, but I think this is something that
should be emphasized as a necessary part of being welcoming.
Some of us occasionally attend seminars for people from
area UCC and Disciples of Christ churches. Here we give suggestions
and support to those whose churches have not yet
voted, and we also share ideas about ways to live out our commitments
to inclusivity. Last year the open and affirming UCC
congregations in the Seattle area jointly sponsored an ad in
the Seattle Gay News, which ran for a number of consecutive
weeks. The ad listed the churches, saying that they “have publicly
stated their non-judgmental welcome to all people regardless
of sexual orientation.”
Our library committee has asked for book and video suggestions,
and some have been purchased. Pertinent articles
are posted on the church bulletin board, including articles
from the newsletter of a local gay/lesbian organization. Sexual
orientation issues continue to be discussed from time to time
in adult education classes.
Prospective new members receive a packet that includes
our welcoming statement. In addition, they are told about the
process that the church went through before declaring this
position. Similarly, a full copy of our statement is given to
members of the confirmation class and is discussed as part of
a lesson on Christian concerns about justice. Our personnel
committee makes our welcoming statement and our antidiscrimination
policy known to job applicants.
When residents of the State of Washington were recently
given the chance to end employment discrimination based
upon sexual orientation, our church was not silent. Petitions
to put an initiative on the ballot were made available to any
who wanted to sign. When the initiative qualified for the
November election, our pastor supported it through our newsletter.
(The initiative, incidentally, failed.)
We are approaching the two-year anniversary of our vote.
Our church has grown by approximately 20% in that time.
Many of the new members are young couples with children
in search of an open-minded faith family. Our vote has been
of interest to the gay community; we have had more gay and
lesbian visitors than in the past. People with close relatives
who are gay and lesbian have expressed thankfulness for the
discussion that has taken place, and there is a new sense of
openness. Nonetheless, we do not feel that we have “arrived.”
We know that we have more work to do. ▼
Diana Roger lives in Renton, Washington. She
ser ves on the boards of directors of The
Multifaith AIDS Projects and The Eastside Network,
an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered persons, their families and
supporters.
18 Open Hands
Six Handy Guidelines for
Dialogue on “The Issue”
Allen Fluent
On May 15, 1994, our United Church of Christ congregation
on Long Island, New York, unanimously adopted a statement
that welcomed people into our full life and ministry regardless
of sexual orientation. That “inclusive statement” was the
product of a year-long study and discussion period in our
church, during which we shared information, discussed,
preached, prayed, heard testimony, argued, comforted and
abused one another, and probably expressed both our faith
and our fears more directly than we had at any other time in
recent memory.
For some of us, this heady tussle of ideas, emotions, faith
claims and egos seemed invigorating and refreshingly churchlike,
in a way reminiscent of the communities written to by
the apostle Paul. It even came as a pleasant change of faire
from the pious and practical tidbits ordinarily minced over
on the plates of our official boards and committees. For others,
however, the process of discerning our direction as a congregation
in this way was disheartening, as long-term members
felt their faith was being scrutinized, their attitudes were
being questioned, their cherished beliefs denied. While some
church members felt hurt by attitudes of fellow members that
seemed rigid and uncaring, others complained that the moral
standards upheld by scriptural teachings that had formed their
life foundations were being abandoned, and expressed pain
that these convictions were being interpreted as attitudes of
prejudice and bigotry. When the pastors preached or led discussions
on the subject, a chorus of voices protested, “We
never get to hear the other side,” as though for every moral
issue there should be two sides and a moderate position in the
middle.
Becoming a “welcoming congregation” was raised as a pastoral
issue at our church. It was not an impersonal cause, or
something we did because the denomination said we ought
to (though our denomination had, in fact, taken a strong national
position). From the very first conversations we had, it
was clear that this was an issue people took personally, and to
which we responded with passion. From the most enthusiastic
supporters of the effort to the most ardent opponents, this
was so; and though it often made our conversations intense
and difficult, it was something that lent a sincerity to the process,
and gave us great reason, upon reflection, to appreciate
one another.
How does a congregation of God’s people get through such
a time? There are six principles that I have come to identify as
crucial as we move through such a process. I do not claim that
I have always been good at following all of them, but one of
the joys of being a pastor is to know that there are many gifts
among the members of a church. Thus, I have learned some
of these from my fellow members along the way. The principles
that helped us are:
Don’t pretend to be neutral when you’re not.
Sometimes people expect leaders and pastors to be neutral
or “objective” on matters of social conscience, and even more
people expect processes of decisionmaking in the church to
treat all positions equally. I think that this is largely a myth.
No minister in her/his right mind would want to be “neutral”
about racism, sexism, or ethnocentrism; nor should such positions
be given “equal time” in church discussion or debate.
Our task as church leaders is to represent the Gospel of Jesus
Christ as best we are able to discern it, to listen to faith-based
disagreements, and to seek with our fellow members the truth
that God inspires within us. Leading value-free discussion may
have merit within some secular settings, but it is never appropriate
in the church.
Resolve the issue in a timely manner.
It is important to allow for full consideration of such an
issue. Most people agree with this. But it is also important to
set benchmarks for accomplishment and bring the process to
a definite and official conclusion. Churches are often reluctant
to decide controversial issues, but there is nothing worse
for the health of a church than to leave disagreements unresolved.
Uncertainty about an important direction in the life
of the community is painful to the community. So resolve it!
Do not confuse the need to be understanding with the
temptation to compromise.
In a stable religious community, there are longtime members
who will feel threatened by change. Their feelings deserve
understanding, and their role as valuable and knowledgeable
participants in the life of the church needs to be
acknowledged by pastors and church leaders. It is tempting,
however, to accommodate ourselves to the desire of such persons
for things to move more slowly (or not at all). One of the
hardest things a congregation has to do is to convince ourselves
that in the eyes of Christ those who are most familiar to
us and those who are least familiar to us have an equal claim
upon our Christian love. We cannot decide to accommodate
our long-term friends at the expense of others waiting for the
love of God to be extended to them in this holy place.
Keep the door open to a quiet change of heart.
As anyone who watches political polls knows, people change
their minds on a frequent basis. It is important to allow this to
happen as often as needed, without forcing people into a commitment
they will later regret. Remember that good people
have lots of conflicting opinions in the course of their lives,
so appreciate them for their inner selves and respect them
enough to allow them to change their minds as often as they
need to on their way to their own personal truth.
Keep targeted on the human issues.
Don’t allow debate around competing Bible verses, images
of radical social protest, or imaginative reconstructions of
bedtime behavior to obscure the genuine human and spiritual
topic you are discussing - the openness of your congregation
to accept the full range of spiritual gifts that can be brought
by Christian people of various sexual orientations, for the life
and ministry of Christ’s church in this place.
Winter 1998 19
Base your position within your congregation’s own tradition
and identity.
Congregations always find positions more acceptable if they
can be stated as an outgrowth of the self-understanding that
the members already share. Church leadership should be skillful
in interpreting any new direction in terms of the congregational
tradition. If this is not done, the new direction will
be perceived as a betrayal of the church’s common purpose.
When becoming a welcoming church is understood as fulfilling
our understanding of who we are, on the other hand,
the process becomes a means for the church to grow in its
integrity and understanding of its mission.
When our congregation voted our “inclusive statement”
in 1994, a few people left. I actually counted no more than
eight, and all held a literalist interpretation of the Scriptures.
They are people of integrity and I miss them, but I believe
that their decision to join more conservative congregations
was the right one for them and for the church. Some others
pulled back for a time, feeling unsure about the direction our
church was going. The vast majority celebrated the decision,
and takes pleasure today in the growing diversity of our membership.
Our membership numbers are relatively stable, though
we seem to be growing a little younger and a little less affluent.
Our budget has remained about the same, though we
seem to be sending a higher percentage of our money to outreach
and mission. It has taken some time for the issues we
once argued about to begin fading as topics
that divide us. In the meanwhile, we are
enjoying the diverse gifts for ministry that
have come to us as a result of that difficult
time. ▼
The Rev. Allen M. Fluent, D.Min., is senior
minister at Mt. Sinai Congregational United
Church of Christ, Mt. Sinai, New York.
How “Welcoming”
Are Youth Groups?
Trey Hall
As more and more congregations welcome lesbian, gay, and
bisexual members, young people who’ll be leading those
churches in the future need appropriate nurturing. A survey
for youth and youth leaders designed to assess youth programming
and to gather needs and suggestions from youth groups
in the Reconciling Congregation movement was sent to the
130 Reconciling Congregations at the end of May 1997. While
only eight congregations in five states responded, the diversity
of congregations that they represent makes it possible to
note general attitudes and to offer tentative suggestions as
welcoming congregations in all denominations develop outreach
and support and curriculum for their youth groups and
specifically for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths.
The survey was motivated by the general question “What
can we say about the sensitivity level of youths in Reconciling
Congregations to lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons (l/g/b) in
society and church?” Through the survey’s series of questions,
four characteristics of the youth were considered:
•involvement in the leadership of the church;
•perception of the church as a safe place to discuss sexuality
issues;
•awareness of the life experience of lesbian, gay, and
bisexual persons;
•desire for education about sexuality issues.
The data responses from individual youth and youth leaders
were solicited in an evaluative discussion format. For this
reason, a traditional statistical analysis cannot be applied, and
results will be conveyed less objectively. However, the general
trends and attitudes of the youth who responded are represented
accurately by the following observations:
1. The majority of the youth are very active in programs
within the church, but very few are part of the Reconciling
Committee (or other similar committees).
2. All youth are aware of the open stance of their church.
They know what the term “Reconciling Congregation” signifies,
and are confident that their church is a safe place for all
people, regardless of sexual orientation. One youth responded,
“It’s a church! Of course it’s a safe place!” Many, however,
are not aware of the antigay policies and polity of their
denomination, specifically, its statements concerning ordination,
holy unions, and the alleged “incompatibility” of homosexuality
with Christian teaching.
3. While they are aware of their congregation’s open stance
and are socially aware of the presence of l/g/b persons in society
and the life of the church, most youth do not believe
that they personally know l/g/b persons in their congregations,
and very few have had any contact with l/g/b youth.
Several youth do not feel that their congregation has helped
them to relate to l/g/b persons. While most are aware of l/g/b
youth in their schools, only two youth groups responding report
any self-professed l/g/b members of the youth group.
4. While most youth seem to be at healthy levels of acceptance
of l/g/b youth, many are unsure about the issues faced
by this group. They have little knowledge of the Bible’s commentary
on sexual relationships. Youth and youth leaders
overwhelmingly report a need for curriculum resources on
human sexuality and the Bible, and a sensitivity/experiential
study on l/g/b youth and youth issues.
Overall the study found that all of the youth groups are
cognizant of and content with their congregation’s statement
of reconciliation. This observation from Fellowship UMC
(Vallejo, California)—“Everyone is open-minded to the diversity
of people; they’re very accepting”— typifies the results
found in most youth groups of Reconciling Congregations.
A few youth leaders reported a deliberate attempt to include
the voice of l/g/b persons in their programming in the
form of panels, video discussions, participation in a l/g/b youth
conference, and a regular sexuality series in the United
Methodist Youth schedule. One congregation even includes a
20 Open Hands
section on sexuality in its confirmation class! However, it seems
that most youth groups are in need of a transition from the
theory and discussion of welcoming all people to a praxis of
inclusion. Perhaps the youth groups serve as an indicator for
welcoming congregations as a whole. A youth from Wesley
UMC (Fresno, California) speaks simply and effectively: “We
are very prepared; we only need to spread the word.”
To cultivate an affirming environment, youth groups must
not only inform themselves about the variety of human sexual
experience and create a safe space for dialogue with and for
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight youth, but also must seek
to move beyond the traditional model of “if you build it, they
will come” by emphasizing a proactive evangelism. Such intentional
outreach may include these steps:
•sharing the reconciling message with area youth groups
that are not welcoming;
•connecting with l/g/b youth groups from P-FLAG chapters
and community centers;
•advertising in l/g/b friendly publications and other media;
•sponsoring youth speaker panels at regional church youth
events;
•working with the area school board and local high schools
to establish support groups for l/g/b students and students
with l/g/b family members;
•participating with the welcoming committee in the local
congregation and at regional church events.
Becoming open to the idea of welcoming lesbian, gay, and
bisexual youth to a church youth group is only the first step.
Publicizing a youth group’s welcome, actively engaging l/g/b
youth, and opening and continuing dialogue and education
regarding the issues and persons involved are all needed as we
reach out beyond our insular congregations
with the message of reconciliation. ▼
Trey Hall is a first year M.Div. student at the
Candler School of Theology at Emory University,
Atlanta. He wrote this while serving as an
intern for the Reconciling Congregation Program
last year. WLHall@Emory.edu
“Now I Know
God Loves Me”
Daphne Burt
I met Jane1 in the fall of her sophomore year. She frightened
me. Jane was a member of the rugby team; she drank a lot,
and she was the kind of “in your face” lesbian that I didn’t
always feel prepared to deal with. But I liked her openness
and her honesty. I told her that I believed that God loves all
people, including gay and lesbian people. She told me that
when she had come out to the youth pastor of her church, he
had told her that because of her orientation, she was going to
hell. She had not been back to church since.
My ministry at Mary Washington College is evangelical at
its core. I get out of bed every morning because I passionately
believe that young adults need to know that God loves them.
Many of them don’t know who God is, or don’t believe that
they are loveable. I minister to the entire student body, but I
am particularly concerned about the gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgendered students who have been told that God doesn’t
love them because of their orientation or identity.
Jane was…the kind of “in your face”
lesbian that I didn’t always feel
prepared to deal with.
I watched for Jane. I keep “office hours” at the fountain in
the middle of campus, and Jane started stopping by to “check
in.” Our conversations ranged from how she was doing in her
classes to discussions about relationship ethics (Such as: Was
it OK to flirt with men even though you’re a lesbian? What is
the kindest way to end a long term relationship?). Jane could
not come to our large group meetings, but there was no question
in either of our minds that I was her pastor. I never stopped
stressing God’s love for her, but she still couldn’t bring herself
to believe it.
I received notice of a conference being held in Michigan
during spring break entitled: “The Gifts We Offer, the Burdens
We Bear—The Vocation of Gay and Lesbian People in
the Church and Society.” The next time I saw Jane at the fountain,
I was straightforward: “Jane, there’s this conference in
Michigan in March. I’m going. So are you.”
Five of us drove in one car to Michigan. When we arrived
at the conference, Jane and the others came in contact with
something they had never seen before: Christian gays, lesbians,
and bisexuals— all active in their churches. She met other
college students. She learned from committed couples, male
and female. She discovered that it was possible to be a person
of faith without being ashamed of her sexuality.
When we returned, I asked Jane to make a presentation to
our board of directors. She told them: “Now I know that God
loves me. I need to go back to church. I want to go back to
church. Even if the church doesn’t think I’m OK, God thinks
I’m OK. I need to worship and get back in touch with the God
who loves me.”
Deliberately inclusive campus ministry risks loss of funding,
negative publicity, and accusations of “not really being
Christian.” Students like Jane make it all worthwhile. ▼
Daphne Burt is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America and serves the Campus
Christian Community at Mary Washington
College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The CCC
voted to be Reconciled in Christ in 1995.
Note
1 Not her real name.
Winter 1998 21
Keeping Secrets
A Children’s Story
Liz Lang
It seems like there are different kinds of
secrets. One kind is exciting, such as when you
give a friend a present. You want them to open it
right away and sometimes it’s hard not to tell them
what it is even before they open the gift!
Then there’s another kind of secret. It’s when
we think there’s something wrong with us or we
think other people think there’s something wrong
with us. We keep secrets then because we’re afraid
they won’t include us or like us anymore.
Our church once had a minister with a secret.
Do you know what the secret was? She was a
woman who wanted to marry another woman, a
lesbian. And she knew that a lot of church people
think there’s something wrong with being a
lesbian. In fact, a lot of church people think it’s so
bad to be a lesbian that they wouldn’t even hire
one as their minister. So Debra didn’t tell anyone
at our church that she was gay, another word
used to describe women who deeply love women
and men who deeply love men.
Meanwhile, some of the old-timers were worried
that there weren’t enough people in our church.
So they started praying for God to bring new
people.
And new people started coming. There were
Skip and Kathy and Sheila and Liz and Louise and
Carol and Dottie. There was something surprising
about them. They all had the same secret that
Deb had—they were gay and lesbian, too!
One day, Debra decided she’d had enough
of secret-keeping! It was time to tell the church
that gay and lesbian people belong in the church;
that God loves us all. She decided to tell the truth.
This took lots of courage!
Some people in the church were very angry.
They said, “We don’t want her as our minister
anymore.”
So one day there was a great big meeting where
people debated (which means they argued) about
whether Debra should stay as the minister. One
woman, an elder named Bernice, stood up and
said the most amazing thing. “I have been praying
for God to send us new people. If those people
who come are gay and lesbian, well, God sent
them and they belong here. We must welcome
them.” People said lots of others things, and then
they took a vote. There were more people who
wanted her to stay than to leave. So she stayed.
Some of the people decided to leave our church.
It was a very sad time, but also, it was a very
happy time.
We were surprised about what happened
next. We discovered that we wanted to tell the
truth more and more. We discovered that people
had lots of different kinds of secrets and that telling
the truth about ourselves made us feel better. We
found that without secrets to keep we could be
more open to the love of God.
So now we’re a church that celebrates the truth.
▼
Copyright © 1995 by Liz Lang. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.
Liz Lang has been a Disciple of Christ since the ’60s. Liz and her partner, Louise Petrasek, began attending
Findlay Street Christian Church in Seattle, Washington, a few months before the events of this story. Liz serves
on the national coordinating council of the Gay, Lesbian, & Affirming Disciples Alliance.
22 Open Hands
Sustaining
the Spirit
EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE
Copyright ©1997 by David Golden
Permission granted for use in worship.
Winter 1998 23
— EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE —
TO FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF CORVALLIS, OREGON, IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR RECONCILING MINISTRY.
David Golden is diaconal minister of music and youth at
Christ United Methodist Church, 12755 NW Dogwood St., Portland, OR 97229. 503/646-1598
24 Open Hands
Movement News
Lutherans Endorse ENDA
Reconciling in Christ congregations will have an easier time
promoting civil and ecclesiastical rights for gays and lesbians
since the 1997 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Church
in America, meeting in Philadelphia last August, endorsed the
federal Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) by an
80% vote. The bill, which would outlaw discrimination based
on sexual orientation in private industry, will be reconsidered
by the U.S. Congress this year after a narrow defeat in the
Senate last year. The action resulted from the efforts of
Lutherans Concerned/North America, whose program executive,
Bob Gibeling, authored the “memorial” or motion originally
passed by the Southeastern Synod ELCA (GA, AL, MS, and TN).
Presbyterians Vote on “Fidelity and Integrity”
Early voting results of more than half the presbyteries of
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) indicate a decisive rejection
of Amendment A, a proposed change intended to soften the
antigay stance of The Book of Order that governs the denomination.
As of February 25, 68 presbyteries have opposed the
measure of the 105 which have voted.
The amendment would moderate the restrictions of the
previously passed “Amendment B” that requires that those ordained
in the church as ministers, elders, and deacons “live in
fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a
woman or chastity in singleness.” Since the PC (U.S.A.) fails
to recognize marriage between same-gender partners, this
qualification effectively rules out ordination of noncelibate
lesbian and gay members. The new measure instead calls for
“fidelity and integrity in marriage or singleness, and in all
relationships of life.” More Light congregations which ordain
openly gay or lesbian local church officers are more likely to
face disciplinary actions unless the new wording is approved. (Jerry
Van Marter, Julian Shipp, and Dick Lundy contributed to this article.)
ONA Plants “Burning Bush”
Fifty people planted a “burning bush” at the Massachusetts
Conference Center of the United Church of Christ in
Framingham last Oct. 8 to honor the national Open and Affirming
(ONA) movement of the UCC. A gift of the Plymouth
(New Hampshire) Congregational Church, the bush, which
turns fiery red in autumn, is intended to serve as “a gesture of
friendship to visually, physically, and spiritually connect and
strengthen the network of ONA churches.”
The Plymouth congregation has previously presented
bushes to its “sister” ONA churches in New Hampshire. Massachusetts
was chosen as the site for the “national bush” because
of that Conference’s significant contributions to the ONA
movement. (Ann Day)
Upcoming Gatherings
March 20-22
Brethren/Mennonite Parents of L/G/B Children, Laurelville
(PA) Mennonite Church Center: “Building Bridges
Across A Chasm of Silence,” ninth annual Connecting Families
Weekend Retreat. Leaders: Revs. Debbie Eisenbise and
Lee Krähenbühl, pastors of Skyridge Church of the Brethren
in Kalamazoo, MI. Contact: B/M Parents of L/G/B Children,
P.O. Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802; 612/722-6906;
BMCouncil@aol.com
May 2-4
Regional (IN/MI/OH) Reconciling Congregation Program
gathering at De Sales Retreat Center in Brooklyn, MI. Contact:
Shawn Wietstock, 219/288-7907, or Mary Ann Carlson,
216/691-0219.
May 22-24
More Light Churches Network’s 1998 Conference at
McKinley Church, Champaign-Urbana, IL: “1978-1998:
Honor the Past; Transform the Future.” Keynote: ethicist
Dr. Beverly Wildung Harrison of New York’s Union Theological
Seminary. Contact: Richard Sprott, 510/268-8603,
rasprott@ix.netcom.com
June 25-28
United Church of Christ Coalition for L/G/B/T Concerns
meets at the University of Illinois, Chicago. “Daring Intersections/
Listening at the Edges: Expressions of Sexual Identity,
Race, Class, Gender, and Ableness” will include art
forms, scripture, and personal storytelling.Contact: John
Lardin 313/753-4808 or e-mail jwlardin@aol.com
July 16-19
First combined Lutherans Concerned/North America and
Integrity international assembly, Chicago, IL. “That We
May Be One” Keynote: Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, Episcopal
priest, theologian, author, activist, professor of Anglican and
feminist theology at Episcopal Divinity School, Cambridge,
MA. Contact Bob Gibeling in Atlanta, 404/266-9615.
July 16-19
Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples Alliance retreat at
Benedict Inn, a retreat center in Beech Grove outside Indianapolis,
IN. Open to all, especially members of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ). Leader: Rev. Melanie
Morrison, author, ordained UCC minister, retreat leader.
Contact: GLAD Alliance at P.O.Box 19223, Indianapolis, IN
46219-0223.
July 24-26
Regional (AR/MO/KS/NE) Reconciling Congregation Program
gathering at Trinity UMC in Kansas City, MO:
“Changing Attitudes, Changing Ways, Changing Church.”
Speakers: Bishop Fritz Mutti, Dr. Tex Sample, Dr. Emilie
Townes, Gene Lowry. Contact: Gerry Heckel, 816/444-8512.
July 24-26
Supportive Congregations Network of the Brethren/Mennonite
Church meet in Wichita, KS: “Dancing in the
Southwind: Weaving an Inclusive Spirit.” Contact: SCN,
P.O. Box 6300, Minneapolis, MN 55406; 612/722-6906;
SCNetwork@aol.com
Winter 1998 25
Cherokee Park United Church
St. Paul, Minnesota
Cherokee Park United Church was formed in 1968
by the merger of UCC and Presbyterian congregations. Located
in St. Paul’s Westside (west of the Mississippi River), the congregation
is in the midst of a culturally and economically diverse
neighborhood and opens its building to a number of
groups, including two Spanish-speaking congregations. It sponsors
an after-school tutoring program, a community youth
choir, and has a float in the annual Cinco de Mayo parade.
Becoming a More Light Church is viewed as a continuation of
its commitment to justice.
New Covenant Community
Normal, Illinois
The New Covenant Community is oriented toward the campus
of Illinois State University in Normal. 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. Newly-installed Copastors Bob and Susan Ryder
have been longtime supporters of justice issues, including justice
for l/g/b/t persons, and are thrilled to be at a welcoming
congregation.
The Congregational Church
Exeter, New Hampshire
Gathered in 1683, this 500-member “pillar church”
stands in the center of a historic New England town.
The church has received many new members in the wake of its
ONA vote. There is a greater willingness for members to examine
serious issues and to listen to one another’s feelings. The
Christian Growth and Mission and Action committees have
cosponsored special events and continue to incorporate the
ONA vision into their work.
First Church of Christ
Northampton, Massachusetts
Both UCC and American Baptist, the 300 members of this congregation
gather in the heart of Northampton for worship and
strong community-based ministry. “A radical celebration of
diversity” in age, sexual orientation, race, and socio-economic
status, the church is also in the final stage of a million-dollar
building campaign which will restore the exterior and add a
handicap access ramp and elevator. Some 35 groups currently
use the church’s space, including several gay/lesbian groups.
The congregation also engages in a ministry of membership to
help new lesbian and gay members feel truly at home in its
fellowship.
Plymouth Congregational Church, UCC
Madison, Wisconsin
With an increasing number of younger members over the past
ten years, this 230-member urban congregation has developed
strong Christian education and health ministry programs. It
has a halftime parish nurse and offers a course on parenting
teens. Other mission outreach includes work with a homeless
shelter and a free meal program two days a month. The church
is an active participant in area ecumenical gatherings of “welcoming
movement” congregations and regularly participates
in the Madison Gay/Lesbian Pride March.
RECONCILING CONGREGATIONS
The logo is absent here and on our masthead because of objections
from the United Methodist Church to our incorporation
of its logo.
Berry Memorial United Methodist Church
Chicago, Illinois
This small urban congregation on the northwest side of Chicago
sees itself as a large family in which all folks are invited
and encouraged to be active in its ministries. The congregation
has a strong emphasis on ministries with children and
houses community day care and after-school programs. The
congregation also houses a community food pantry, several
recovery groups and scouting programs. It has responded positively
to recent challenges to become truly welcoming—not
only by becoming a Reconciling Congregation, but by receiving
a Hispanic pastor in a cross-cultural appointment and by
providing a home for a new African congregation, Gye Nyame.
Christ United Methodist Church
Santa Rosa, California
Christ UMC was founded 35 years ago as an alternative to traditional
worshiping communities. Its worship space is an octagonal
room with flexible seating. This 200-member congregation
shares its worship space with a Reform Jewish
congregation. The members have a long history of social justice
involvement. Last year a mission team went to Nicaragua.
Christ UMC has an active youth program, a strong music ministry
and a deaf ministry. A garden on the church grounds raises
food for hunger programs. The church houses a nursery school
and several 12-Step programs. The vote to become a Reconciling
Congregation was 80 in favor, one abstention, and no negative
votes.
Delavan United Methodist Church
Delavan, Wisconsin
Delavan is located in southern Wisconsin in the midst of a
growing resort area around Lake Geneva. The congregation is
an oasis of openness and diversity in a more conservative community.
Its 300 members are politically and theologically diverse
joined by respect and tolerance. The church building is a
Welcoming
Communities
More Churches Declare Welcoming Stance
MORE LIGHT
OPEN AND AFFIRMING
26 Open Hands
RECONCILING IN CHRIST
Selected
Resources
community center with one room dedicated for use by a variety
of community groups. The congregation also sponsors a
parish nurse and houses a Hispanic ministry. The Reconciling
Congregation discussion and unanimous decision grew out of
concern for a number of parents and family members of gay
and lesbian persons in the congregation.
St. John’s United Methodist Church
Miami Beach, Florida
Over the past decade St. John’s UMC has been transformed
from an older traditional church to a community of faith which
reflects the diversity of the residents of Miami Beach. The
congregation’s focus is on being the disciples of Jesus Christ in
the world. Members are involved in ministries with children
and with women who are victims of abuse. The decision to
become a Reconciling Congregation was a part of the
congregation’s outreach and growth over the past several years.
Please note that “Reconciled in Christ” congregations
are now referred to as “Reconciling in Christ” by vote of
the executive committee of Lutherans Concerned/North America.
Lake Edge Lutheran Church
Madison, Wisconsin
Lake Edge Lutheran Church is situated on the east side of beautiful
Madison. Comprising about 400 households, the congregation
has committed itself to the vision of “daring to embody
the Gospel.” This vision has resulted in identifying ten
congregational goals, the first of which is “Becoming an Inclusive
Community.” Thus the congregation dares to create an
atmosphere of openness, declaring its intent to seek, welcome,
and include all who wish to share its vision and mission. Lake
Edge has a history of open dialogue concerning issues of human
sexuality.
Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church was established in 1907 as a mission
to Danish immigrants. This congregation of 250 members
now seeks to reach out with the gospel to all people in its
downtown/university community. Mt. Tabor has been actively
involved in Lutheran campus ministry at the University of Utah
as well as in the city’s Interfaith Hospitality Network, St.
Vincent de Paul soup kitchen, and the Utah Food Bank. The
church affirms ELCA’s position of welcoming all persons who
seek the grace of Jesus Christ.
St. James Lutheran Church
Kansas City, Missouri
St. James Lutheran Church is an urban Kansas City congregation
with approximately 950 members and a strong emphasis
on social ministry, which includes work with Habitat for Humanity
and a food pantry in the building. The parish diversity
includes people of color and of diverse economic backgrounds.
The Reconciling in Christ Affirmation of Welcome is one way
the church reaches out to encourage diversity in the congregation.
St. James is also the host church to the local Lutherans
Concerned chapter, and gay and lesbian people have become
incorporated into the church’s ministry.
OPEN AND AFFIRMING
Order from: ONA Resources, P.O. Box 403, Holden, MA 01520-
0403. Checks payable to UCCL/GC. Price includes postage.
OK! We’re ONA. Now What? An ONA Idea Book. Ideas from congregations
across the country about living out an ONA commitment.
$8.00
Blessing Ceremonies: Resources for Same-Gender Services of Commitment.
Materials include theological background, sample
services, liturgical resources, and personal accounts of those
who have been part of such services. $12.50
MORE LIGHT CHURCHES NETWORK
Order from: Ralph Carter, More Light Resources, 111 Milburn Street,
Rochester NY 14607-2918; 716-271-7649; ralph.carter@
pcusa.org. Checks payable to MLCN. Price includes postage.
More Light Resource Packet. Includes More Light brochure, “How
to” ideas for developing More Light ministry in the congregation,
sample More Light statements, and much more. $18.00.
Brochure available separately for free.
Keeping the Flame Alive, 20 suggestions for welcoming congregations.
Free; copy or internet.
RECONCILING CONGREGATION PROGRAM
Order from: RCP, 3801 N. Keeler Avenue, Chicago, IL 60641.
773/726-5526.
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. Copies are $5.95. Leader’s guide is $9.95. Plus shipping.
Still on the Journey: A Handbook for Reconciling Congregations in
Ministry with Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Gay Men. 54pp. $15.
RECONCILING IN CHRIST PROGRAM
Prices include shipping.
Reconciling in Christ Information Packet. Background information
and advice, brochures, relevant material and resource list. Free.
Order from: Bob Gibeling, 2466 Sharondale Dr., Atlanta, GA
30305; 404/266-9615.
This Is My Story. Video by Lutherans Concerned featuring personal
stories of g/l Christians. Two versions, one for an individual
and the other for a congregation. 22 minutes. $15. Specify
which version and order from: Lutherans Concerned InfoX, 409
Roland Hills Dr. Mogadore, OH 44260; or by e-mail: InfoX@lcna.org
Inclusive Faith. Video for congregations considering the Reconciling
in Christ program. $15. Order from: (see directly above).
Winter 1998 27
OUR WELCOMING MOVEMENT GROWS
Since 1978, 811 local churches, 42 campus
ministries, 29 judicatories, and four national ministries
have publicly declared themselves welcoming
of all people, including lesbian women
and gay men. These 886 welcoming communities
are found in ten denominations in 46 states
and the District of Columbia of the United States
and in 5 provinces of Canada. The complete list
(as of January 15, 1998) 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
Mesa
Celebration of Life Presbyterian (ML)
Phoenix
Asbury UMC (RC)
Augustana Lutheran (RIC)
Faith Lutheran (RIC)
Tucson
Church of the Painted Hills (ONA)
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)
New Fellowship UCC (ONA)
St. John’s Presbyterian (ML)
Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran (RIC)
Trinity UMC (RC)
University Lutheran Chapel (RIC)
University Church (O&A)
Campbell
First UMC (RC)
Carlsbad
Pilgrim Congregational UCC (ONA)
Carmel
UU of Monterey Peninsula (WEL)
Chatsworth
West Valley UMC (RC)
Claremont
Claremont UMC (RC)
Claremont UCC, Congregational (ONA)
Concord
First Christian (O&A)
Danville
Peace Lutheran (RIC)
El Cerrito
Christ Lutheran (RIC)
El Cerrito UMC (RC)
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)
Guerneville
Community Church, UCC (ONA)
Hayward
Eden UCC (ONA)
United Church (ONA)
Westminster Hills Presbyterian (ML)
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)
First UMC (RC)
Trinity Lutheran (RIC)
Los Alamitos
Community Congregational UCC (ONA)
Los Angeles
Bethel Lutheran (RIC)
Mt. Hollywood Congregational UCC (ONA)
United University (ML, RC)
Westwood Hills Congregational (ONA)
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
Beacon Presbyterian Fellowship (ML)
Faith American Lutheran (RIC)
First 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 Bernardino
First Congregational Church, UCC (ONA)
San Diego
First Lutheran (RIC)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Pacific Beach UMC (RC)
San Francisco
Bethany UMC (RC)
Calvary UMC (RC)
Christ Church Lutheran (RIC)
Church of the Advent (OAS)
Church of St. John the Evangelist (OAS)
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. Aidan’s Church (OAS)
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 Church (OAS)
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)
TOTAL
AC Affirming Congregation Programme (United Church of Canada) ...... 9
ML More Light Churches Network (Presbyterian) .................................. 91
OAS Oasis (Episcopal) ................................................................................48
ONA Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ) ............................. 238
O&A Open & Affirming (Disciples) ............................................................ 34
RIC Reconciling in Christ (Lutheran) ..................................................... 154
RC Reconciling Congregation Program (United Methodist) ................. 161
SCN Supportive (Brethren/Mennonite) ..................................................... 19
W&A Welcoming & Affirming (American Baptist) ..................................... 28
WEL Welcoming (Unitarian Universalist) ................................................ 107
28 Open Hands
Santa Barbara
La Mesa Community (ONA)
Santa Cruz
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Grace UMC (RC)
Santa Monica
The Church in Ocean Park (RC)
Santa Rosa
Christ UMC (RC)
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)
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)
First UMC (RC)
Colorado Springs
All Souls Unitarian (WEL)
Denver
Capitol Heights Presbyterian (ML)
Fireside Christian (O&A)
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)
Greeley
Family of Christ United (ML)
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)
Guilford
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Hamden
Spring Glen Church, UCC (ONA)
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)
Lake Mary
Grace UMC (RC)
Miami Beach
Miami Beach Community (ONA)
Riviera Presbyterian (ML)
St. John’s UMC (RC)
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)
Ormewood Park Presbyterian (ML)
Trinity UMC (RC)
Marietta
Pilgrimage UCC (ONA)
HAWAI‘I
Honolulu
Calvary By the Sea Lutheran (RIC)
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)
Berry Memorial UMC (RC)
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)
Park View Lutheran (RIC)
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)
Hazel Crest
Hazel Crest Community UMC (RC)
Naperville
First Congregational Church (ONA)
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)
Goshen
Circle of Hope Mennonite Fellowship
(SCN)
Indianapolis
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
Northeast UCC (ONA)
North Manchester
Manchester Church of the Brethren (SCN)
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
Cottage Grove Avenue Presbyterian (ML)
Winter 1998 29
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
Bath
UCC, Congregational (ONA)
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
Christ UMC (RC)
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)
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)
Waltham
First Presbyterian (ML)
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)
West Somerville
College Avenue UMC (RC)
Williamstown
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Worcester
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)
Lansing
Lansing Church of the Brethren (SCN)
Southfield
Calvary Lutheran (RIC)
Williamston
Williamston UMC (RC)
Ypsilanti
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
MINNESOTA
Becker
Becker UMC (RC)
Burnsville
Presbyterian Church of the Apostles (ML)
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
Cherokee Park United (ML, ONA)
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. James Lutheran (RIC)
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)
Sanbornton
Sanbornton Congregational UCC (ONA)
NEW JERSEY
Bloomfield
Christ Episcopal (OAS)
30 Open Hands
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)
East Brunswick
East Brunswick Congregational, UCC
(ONA)
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)
Mt. Arlington
St. Peter’s Episcopal (OAS)
New Brunswick
Emanuel Lutheran (RIC)
Newark
Cathedral of Trinity and St. Philip (OAS)
Grace Episcopal (OAS)
Norwood
Church of the Holy Communion (OAS)
Oakland
St. Alban’s Episcopal (OAS)
Parsippany
St. Gregory’s Episcopal (OAS)
Passaic
St. John’s Episcopal (OAS)
Paterson
St. Paul’s Episcopal (OAS)
Plainfield
First Unitarian Society (WEL)
Pompton Lakes
Christ Church (OAS)
Princeton
Christ Congregation (ONA, W&A)
Ridgewood
Christ Episcopal (OAS)
South Orange
First Presbyterian & Trinity (ML)
Sparta
St. Mary’s Episcopal (OAS)
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)
Wantage
Good Shepherd 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)
King’s Highway UMC (RC)
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)
Ithaca
First Baptist Church (W&A)
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)
Trinity Presbyterian (ML)
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)
Slatehill
Grace UMC of Ridgebury (RC)
Slingerlands
Community UMC (RC)
Snyder
Amherst Community (ONA, O&A)
Syracuse
Plymouth Congregational UCC (ONA)
Troy
First United Presbyterian (ML)
Utica
Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Williamsville
UU of Amherst (WEL)
Yorktown Heights
First Presbyterian (ML)
NORTH CAROLINA
Chapel Hill
Church of the Reconciliation (ML)
Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist (W&A)
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)
Simpson UMC (RC)
West Shore UU (WEL)
Zion UCC (ONA)
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)
Parkwood Congregational, UCC (ONA)
Norton
Grace UCC (ONA)
Oberlin
First Church in Oberlin (ONA)
Shaker Heights
First Unitarian of Cleveland (WEL)
Toledo
Central UMC (RC)
Winter 1998 31
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)
Gresham
Zion UCC (ONA)
Klamath Falls
Klamath Falls Cong. UCC (ONA)
Lake Oswego
Lake Oswego UCC (ONA)
Milwaukie
Clackamus UCC (ONA)
Milwaukie UCC (ONA)
Portland
Ainsworth UCC (ONA)
First Congregational (ONA)
First UMC (RC)
Metanoia Peace Community (RC)
Peace Church of the Brethren (SCN)
Southwest United (ONA)
St. James Lutheran (RIC)
St. Mark Presbyterian (ML)
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)
Sixth Presbyterian (ML)
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)
Dallas
Bethany Presbyterian (ML)
First Unitarian (WEL)
Midway Hills Christian (O&A)
El Paso
St. Timothy Lutheran (RIC)
Fort Worth
St. Matthew’s Lutheran (RIC)
Houston
Bering Memorial UMC (RC)
Comm. of the Reconciling Servant (ML)
Faith Covenant (ML)
Grace Evangelical Lutheran (RIC)
Plano
Dallas North Unitarian (WEL)
San Antonio
Spirit of Life (RIC)
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
Clarendon Presbyterian (ML)
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)
Edmonds
Edmonds UU (WEL)
Ellensburg
First UMC (RC)
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)
Trinity UMC (RC)
University Baptist (W&A)
University Christian (O&A)
University Congregational (ONA)
University Temple UMC (RC)
Wallingford UMC (RC)
Spokane
Unitarian Church (WEL)
Suquamish
Community Congregational (ONA)
Vancouver
East Vancouver UMC (RC)
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
White Salmon
Bethel Cong., UCC (ONA)
WEST VIRGINIA
Wheeling
UU Congregation (WEL)
WISCONSIN
Brown Deer
Brown Deer UCC (ONA)
Delavan
Delavan UMC (RC)
Eau Claire
Ecum. Relig. Ctr./Univ. Lutheran (RIC)
Madison
Advent Lutheran (RIC)
Community of Hope UCC (ONA)
First Baptist (W&A)
First Congregational UCC (ONA)
James Reeb UU Congregation (WEL)
Lake Edge Lutheran (RIC)
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 (AC)
Trinity United (AC)
Unitarian Church (WEL)
MANITOBA
Winnipeg
Augustine United (AC)
First Unitarian Universalist (WEL)
Young United (AC)
ONTARIO
Thunder Bay
Lakehead U. Fellowship (WEL)
Toronto
Bathurst United (AC)
Bloor Street United (AC)
Glen Rhodes United (AC)
Trinity-St. Paul’s United (AC)
Waterloo
Olive Branch Mennonite (SCN)
SASKATCHEWAN
Saskatoon
King of Glory Lutheran (RIC)
St. Thomas-Wesley United (AC)
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
Agape House, Univ. Of Illinois, Chicago
(RC)
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)
KENTUCKY
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
(ML Chapter)
MICHIGAN
Guild House, UM, Ann Arbor (O&A)
Wesley Fdn., Central Mich. Univ., Mt.
Pleasant (RC)
Wesley Fdn., Univ. Of Michigan, Ann Arbor
(RC)
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)
OREGON
LCM in Portland (RIC)
Wesley Fdn., UO, Eugene (RC)
PENNSYLVANIA
Christ Chapel, Gettysburg College,
Gettysburg (RIC)
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)
Wesley Fdn., Univ. Of Wisconsin, Madison
(RC)
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)
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)
___ 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)
___ Reclaiming Pride (Summer 1994)
___ The God to Whom We Pray (Spring 1995)
___ Remembering…10th Anniversary (Summer 1995)
___ Untangling Prejudice and Privilege (Fall 1995)
___ Same-Sex Unions (Spring 1997)
___ Creating Sanctuary: All Youth Welcome Here! (Summer 1997)
___ From One Womb at One Table (Fall 1997)
❑ 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.
Enclosed is my payment of $ _______ OR
Charge $ _____________ to my VISA MASTERCARD (Circle one)
# __________________________________________ Expiration _____/_____.
Name on Card ____________________________________________________
Signature ________________________________________________________
My Name ________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _____________________________________________________
Daytime Phone (______) _____________________
Local Church _____________________________________________________
Denomination _____________________________________________________
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,
Reconciling in Christ, and Welcoming
& Affirming Baptist programs.
A Unique Resource on
Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual
Concerns in the Church for
Christian Education • Personal Reading
Research Projects • Worship Resources
Ministry & Outreach