Open Hands Vol 9 No 2 - Responding to the Right: Strategies for Change

Open Hands Vol 9 No 2 - Responding to the Right: Strategies for Change

9

2

1993

Fall

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 conjunction with More Light Churches Network (Presbyterian), Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ), and Reconciled in Christ (Lutheran) Programs. Each of these programs is a national network of local churches that publicly affirm their ministry with the whole family of God and welcome lesbian and gay persons and their families into their community of faith. These four programs -along with Open and Affirming (Disciples of Christ), Welcoming (Unitarian Universalist), Supportive Congregations (Brethren/ Mennonite), and Welcoming and Affirming (American Baptist) programs -offer hope that the church can be a reconciled community.
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Resources Jar Ministries AJJirming the Diversity oj Human Sexuality
ANALYZING THE RIGHT
Building a Theocracy:
Philosophy and Strategies of the Right .................................................. 4
Mary Jo Osterman
Confronting Fundamentalism ............................................................... 7
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
The Fanatic's Illness ............................................................................... 10
Connie Lofgreen
Race and the Religious Right ............................................................... 12
Scot Nakagawa
Do Gays Seek Special Rights? ................................ .... ...................... 13
Mark Bowman
The Antigay Agenda ............................................................................... 14
Jean Hardisty .
Key Organizations of the Right .................................... ......................... 16
Watchdog Groups ............................................................................. 17
SUSTAINING THE SPIRIT
Remembering: A Litany of Many Voices .... ........................................... 18
Carol Larson
RESPONDING TO THE RIGHT
Preaching Grace/Transforming Condemnation .................................. 19
Christine M. Smith
Educating Ourselves .............................................................................. 22
Caring for Our Own .............................................................................. 23
Susan Thornton
The Church Responds with Action ...................................................... 25 Simple Justice
Michael Spencer and Sue Sherbrooke
Local Clergy Organize in Maine
Bill Gregory
Ecumenical Organizing
Jimmy Creech
Ten Steps for Organizing ....................................................................... 27
RESOURCES ................................................................................................... 27
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ........................................................................... 29
MOVEMENT NEWS ....................................................................................... 30
2 Open Hands
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Responding to the Right: Strategies for Change
The strategy of the Religious Right includes a major antigay agenda, which in reality masks a much larger agenda: by the end of the century they expect to be in control of the major institutions of our society. Their threat to Christianity and to democracy is potentially dangerous.
The dilemma we face is complex. How do we acknowledge the reality of the Right without giving it more credit and credibility than it deserves? How do we engage the Right while speaking and responding with the integrity of our own values of peace and diversity? Finally, how do we organize to confront and counteract the basic assumptions, values, and tactics of the Right?
Because the Right takes many forms, our understanding must be broad and our responses necessarily varied. In this issue of Open Hands we offer a variety of perspectives on who and what the Right is, what motivates them, and how they work. We also offer a variety of responses and strategies for you to consider.
This issue is heavy and intense at points. Keep turning to page 18 to REMEMBER!
Mary Jo Osterman, Editor
ProgramCoordinators
Mark Bowman Reconciling Congregation Program, Inc. 3801 N. Keeler Avenue
Chicago, IL 60641 312/736-5526
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Ann B. Day
rA..................,
OPEN
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Publisher
Mark Bowman
Open Hands Editor
Mary Jo Osterman
Illustrations
Christopher Wild
Layout I Graphics I Typesetting
In Print -Jan Graves
Editorial Advisory Committee
Reva Anderson, Toledo, OH Peg Beissert, Rolling Hills Est., CA Ann Marie Coleman, Chicago, IL Dan Hooper, Los Angeles, CA Derrick Kikuchi, Daly City, CA Samuel E. Loliger, Buffalo, NY Shawndra Miller, Goshen, IN Dick Poole, Oak Forest, IL Caroline Presnell, Evanston, IL Emilie Pulver, Chicago, IL Irma C . Romero, Chicago, IL Paul Santillan, Chicago, IL Martha Scott, Chicago, IL
Fall 1993 3
8\J'LO'\\\:C~:
1'8£OCII. .....PhiiOSOPhy &Strategies
By MaryJo Osterman of the Right
M any people assumed in the late 1980s that the Religious Right movement was disintegrating. Pat Robertson had failed to get the presidential bid.Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority had collapsed. Televangelists Jim Bakker andJimmy Swaggart were brought low by public sex scandals. In 1990, Michael D'Antonio published Fall From Grace -The Failed Crusade ofthe Christian Right in which he concluded: With the demise of Robertson's campaign came the death of the Christian Right's political hopes. The born-again movement soon ceased to be a significant religious or social force as well. 1 Not so! The Right was merely reforming itself -again.
A Little History
This latest "demise" of the Right was not its first. As the Coalition for Human
Dignity notes: In 1964 when Lyndon Johnson soundly defeated conservative Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater, it looked as if the American right was dead. The civil rights movement, the mass protests against the Vietnam War, . the women's movement and the Nixon administration only seemed to confirm that verdict. 2 Before and after Goldwater's defeat
and during the heyday of the ciVIl rights movement of the 1960s, conservatives were busy organizing, building an agenda in reaction to civil rights. Finally, in 1968 Alabama Governor George Wallace ran a third-party candidacy which marshaled the conservative Southern white vote. Their tactic then was reactionary: appeal to the conservative white voters' racism by attacking desegregation and the civil rights movement.3
Suzanne Pharr of the Women's
Project has observed that While both the Christian Right and the civil rights movements of the 60's were church-based, they were completely opposite in point of view. The civil rights movement put forth the message that true democracy calls for justice, liberation, and participation,...giving hope to disenfranchised people ... The white Christian Right movement put forth the message that inclusion and participation by diverse groups will destroy the old order of the 40's and 50's when segregation was legally enforced, male authority was unchallenged by women as a class, and lesbians and gay men were invisible. It called for a return to the past.4 As the women's movement, the gay
and lesbian liberation movement, and the movement for sex education in the schools all gained momentum in the 1970s, the Christian Right emerged as the Moral Majority -again with a reactionary agenda. Televangelists and their electronic churches mobilized the fundamentalist and evangelical religiOUS communities as a solid section of the Right. However, despite Nixon and Reagan elections, the New Right did not really "come into its own" until 1988 with the election of George Bush.5
So far, the Right's tactics had been ones of reaction to the liberal, democratic forces at work in the U.S. However, in the early 1980s the first of two strategic shifts began:
The New Right attempted to reframe debate and take control over the language of civil rights, to become a proactive movement instead of a reactive one. The rhetoric was reformed: resistance to reproductive rights became "prolife," opposition to sexual freedom became "pro-abstinence" ... antifeminist became 'pro-family".. .
[and antihomosexual became]
"special rights for none... equal
rights for all."6
The second major shift in strategy came in the mid-1980s. Now proactive instead of reactive, the New Right shifted its image from being the Moral Majority to being the new oppressed minority. They no longer were the "guardians of the moral order" but rather the victims of affirmative action, the victims of militant gays and lesbians, the victims of special interest groups. The Right began to conceive of itself as revolutionaries, victims bent on gaining back their old pre-feminist, pre-civil rights, pre-gay liberation, pre-diversity world.7
In the midst of these two shifts, we witnessed the losses of the Right in the national political arena, and some of us predicted their demise . However, the Right was merely shifting tactics again moving from national politics to local polities to carryon their "revolutionary" agenda -and with some success. At least 500 candidates for federal, state, or local offices were supported by the ReligiOUS Right in the 1992 elections. Over 40 percent of those candidates were elected, according to Phillip Frazer of The Washington Spectator.
Why is this important to those of us who profess to be either more moderate or more radical? Because, says Frazer,
These candidates and their supporters
are united in a movement
whose professed goal is to take
over our political institutions and
change our society at every level.s The stakes are very high, indeed.
The New Philosophy
Early fundamentalist and evangelical leaders of the ReligiOUS Right catered to an audience who believed that "the things of this world" were Satanic and that little could be done until the
Open Hands 4
Second Coming of Jesus. However, many current leaders of the Right are gUided by a different philosophy called reconstructionism.9 In fact, based on this new philosophy, current leaders of the New Right have forged a new consensus and a loose political coalition. They claim to be the true Christianity, with a biblical mandate to "reclaim" the country from militants and humanists.
Reconstructionism, the philosophy which gUides them, takes several shapes (Dominion theology, Kingdom theology, Biblical Law revival). It rests on a belief in a biblical mandate to build the Kingdom of God here and now on earth rather than waiting for the second coming ofjesus to judge the world and bring in the Kingdom. Reconstruction is about building a theocracy, not a democracy.
According to Skip Porteous, the tenets of this new philosophy of Reconstructionism include:
•
God's law, as 'revealed in the Bible, should govern every area of life;
•
local government should rule;
•
prisons could virtually be closed if serious offenders were executed, and if less serious criminals worked to make restitution for their crimes;
•
capital offenses, requiring
the death penalty, should
include unrepentant homosexuality,
abortion,
and adultery;
•
pornography in any form
should be eliminated;
•
schools should be run by
churches, and property
taxes should be abolished;
•
husbands should be the
heads of the household,
and women and children
should be subservient. lO
Every philosophy or political stance except their own is under attack by the Right: feminism, humanism, socialism, science, New Age thinking, atheism, civil rights for gays, lesbians and bisexuals, reproductive choice, and all non-Christian religions or spiritual diSciplines, such as Hinduism and wiccan spirituality.
The Religious Right is, in reality, a political movement, masquerading as true Christianity.
TFive Strategies o obtain their goal of totally ruling our society and its institutions, the New Right relies on five major strategies: voter turnout, stealth tactics, demonization of opponents, racism tactics, and censorship
Voter Turnout. Voter turnout as a strategy is based on the "15 percent solution" which Greg Goldin describes this way:
Even in a well-attended presidential election, only 15 percent of eligible voters determine the outcome. Here's the simple math: about 60 percent of the qualified electorate is registered, and only half of them vote. Half again of that 30 percent determines the outcome, hence the all-powerful 15 percent. ll According to Christian Coalition
National Field Director Guy Rodgers, in low-turnout elections such as those for school board, city council, and county
@
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commissions, this number drops to 6 or
7 percent. Says Rodgers, We don't have to worry about convincing a majority of Americans to agree with us. Most of them are staying home and watching 'Falcon Crest.'12 The Right is more concerned with
voter turnout at local caucuses and elections than national ones. As Ralph Reed, the Christian Coalition's executive director and chief strategist, maintains
...[the] Christian community got it backwards in the 1980s. We tried to change Washington when... the real battles... are in neighborhoods, school boards, city councils and state legislaturesY Pat Robertson, in his book The New
Millennium, claims that ...with the apathy that exists in our nation.. .If we have as few as 75100 people in each county we could become the most powerful political influence in the state.14 People for the American Way quote
Steve Baldwin of the California Pro-Life
Council as follows: The theory is there are enough Christian voters out there to win most races if they register, vote
and vote for who they're supposed to vote for. IS
The Right taps conservative churches (including pro-family Roman Catholics) to get out that 15 percent vote for their candidates. They claim a built-in mobilization factor, noted by Reed:
The advantage we enjoy is that liberals and feminists don't generally go to church; they don't gather in one place three [sic] days before the election. We can print 25 million voter guides and insert them in the bulletins of 10,000 churches across the country. We can mobilize the people; we can send the message.16 Reed claims the Christian Coalition
has created a computer file of 1.6 million constituents. He also claims that thousands of voters were registered
right before or right after the offering...[when] we pass
Fall 1993 5
voter registration materials right down the pews. Everyone fills them out and when the offering plate goes down the pew, in addition to their contribution to their local church they throw in their voter registration card.17 They have also leafletted church
parking lots and handed out materials in front of supermarkets, including thousands of copies of their lurid video called The Gay Agenda.
Stealth Campaigning. The Right has embarked on a "stealth campaign" (also called "the San Diego model") as their tactic for putting forth candidates for office. Following its successful use in San Diego in 1990, Reed claimed that stealth
is just good strategy It's like guerrilla warfare. Ifyou reveal your location, all it does is allow your opponent to improve his artillery bearings. It's better to move quietly, with stealth, under cover of night. You've got two choices: You can wear cammies and shimmy along on your belly, or you can put on a red coat and stand up for everyone to see; It comes down to whether you want to be the British Army in the Revolutionary War or the Viet Congo History tells us which tactic was more effective.1s Stealth tactics involve running candidates
for office without identifying them as members of the Religious Right. Lying by omission, stealth tactics also involve having candidates fOCUSing on alternate, "less volatile" issues as a camouflage for the candidates' real concerns; e.g., tax issues instead of abortion, or the spread of AIDS instead of the biblical mandate against homosexuality.
Demonization Tactics. The third tactic of the Right involves demonizing their opponents (liberals, feminists, opposition candidates for office, gays and lesbians, moderate and liberal churches, etc.). Examples of this tactic can be seen in the tabloids and videos of the Right which depict all gays and lesbians as extremely promiscuous, engaging in bestiality, having sex with children, etc. Demonization can also be heard in Pat Robertson's comment that
feminism is a
socialist, anti-family political
movement that encourages
women to leave their husbands,
kill their children, practice witchcraft,
destroy capitalism, and become
lesbians.19
Racism Tactics. The racism of the Right has also become "stealthy." While suddenly professing to be the supporters and friends of people of color, the Right in reality is just continuing to practice racism in a new form.
On the one hand, ultraconservative, antigay, football coach Bill McCartney (University of Colorado, Boulder) announces that Christianity must now work on racism (as if no Christian ever had). On the other hand the Right's current antigay arguments about special rights and "true minority status" involve considerable racism. As Scot Nakagawa points out (see p. 12), the Right's
attempts to promote the myth that
only people of color have civil
rights are based in racism.
The Right is not a champion of civil rights; their pose is just that. It's another aspect of stealth campaigning: pretend to be who you are not; pretend to support what you do not truly support.
Censorship. A fifth strategy of the Right is control of information and censorship of all views but their own. Again, stealth tactics are being used. Instead of naming directly their goal of having a very narrowly-defined sex education course taught in the schools, they oppose a curriculum because it "usurps parental privileges," or it "recruits children to homosexuality." Instead of directly naming their racist and sexist goals of returning to the past when white, heterosexual males ruled, they attack a diversity curriculum as being "antifamily."
All of these so-called "ground war" tactics are supported by Robertson's mass media TV appeals on The 700 Club and through ads such as those on CNN. Together, they constitute the New Right's new approach to achieve a theocracy in this country -a form of government which may ultimately proVide "special rights" for them -and anti-civil rights for everybody else. T
NOTES
1Skipp Porteous, "Swat Teams forJesus, "Challenging the Christian Right: The Activist's Handbook (Great Barrington, MA: Institute for First Amendment Studies, 1993), p. 9.
2Jonathan Mozzochi, GilI.ian Leichtling and Steven Gardiner (Coalition for Human Dignity), "The New Right and the Religious Right, " Fight the Right Action Kit (Washington, DC: NGLTF, 1993), p. 11.
3Ibid., pp. 12-13.
4Suzanne Pharr, 'The Christian Right: A Threat to Democracy," Transformation September/ October 1992, p. 2.
5Mozzochi, ibid., P. 12.
6Ibid., p. 13.
ilbid.
8Phillip Fraze1~ "The Radical Right: The Stealth Crusade," The Washington Spectator, 15 March 1993, p. 1.
9See Porteous, pp. 10-11; Fred Clarkson , "HardCOR," Challenging the Christian Right, pp. 23-27; and Bruce Barron, Heaven on Earth? (Grand Rapids:Zondervan, 1992).
lOPorteous, ibid. p. 10.
11 Greg Goldin, "The 15 Percent Solution," Challenging the Christian Right, pp. 63-64. Also see £1i11 Saberi, "From Moral Majority to Organized Minority: Tactics of the ReligiOUS Right," Christian Century, 11 August 1993,
p. 782. Reed's quote is from the New York Times, 27 October 1992.
12Saberi, ibid. Rodgers' quote is from Nation, 27 April 1992.
13Frazer, op. cit.. P. 2.
Hlbid.
15Matthew Freeman, The San Diego Model: A Community Battles the Religious Right (Washington, DC: People Jar the American Way, 1993), p. 16.
16Saberi, op. cit.
lilbid ., P. 783.
18Freeman. op. cit., p. 18. Reed was quoted by the San Diego Times, 22 March 1992.
19Robertson's quote is Jrom a Jundraising letter. Full letter is reprinted in Appendix C, Challenging the Right.
Mary Jo Osterman, Ph.D, is editor oj Open Hands and aJree-lance writer and workshop leader.
6 Open Hands
cc®11Will@lli~~TI~
By Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
thOugh I became aware of my
lesbianism by age eleven, I did ~not begin to challenge my fundamentalist belief-system in a profound way until my mid-thirties. I remember the incident that launched me on my journey of liberation, which for a Protestant fundamentalistl must at least begin as a biblical journey. I was reading a feminist book in which the author claimed that there are two different \'ersions of creation in Genesis 1 and 2. I had read Genesis hundreds of times, and I was sure that this author was wrong. So I made a dive for my Bible and discovered that indeed there are two plots.
This discovery caused me considerable shock and dismay. I had a Ph.D. in literature, and I realized that I would never have read Milton or Shakespeare in such a sloppy way. Yet here I was, being truly careless with the Bible , which I believed to be the inerrant Word of God. What had happened to me?
What had happened was what happens to everyone who is reared in biblical fundamentalism or who experiences a total conversion into the fundamentalist worldview. I had learned to read through the fundamentalist interpretive grid that screens out anything that might interfere with the belief that the Bible is free of all error and contradiction. Just as a horse wearing blinders cannot see the peripheral motions that might make it skittish, a fundamentalist looking through the "inerrancy grid" cannot see the evidence that the Bible contains a variety of perspectives and approaches, worked out across centuries of human experience.
It took courage for me to begin to apply the perspectives of scholarly and contextual reading to the Bible. I was afraid that if I read the Bible with the same care that I gave to "secular" literature, the whole basis of my belief system would collapse. I was right: my fundamentalist interpretive grid did collapse. However, I discovered faith in
Fall 1993
the process -a deepened, broadened, heightened faith through the several decades of Bible study that have ensued.
Born-Again: An Act of Will
A popular misunderstanding about fundamentalism is that it is based on a profound personal experience of God's love through Jesus Christ. On the contrary, fundamentalism is essentially a rationalistic and cognitive form of religion. It stresses making an act of the will regardless of one's feelings; and that may well amount to a denial of reality, because feelings inevitably impact every concept and relationship.
Rationalistic thinking is "the practice of guiding one's actions and opinions solely by what seems reasonable." (Webster, emphaSis mine) Ultimately, however, extreme rationalism becomes highly irrational because it ignores emotions and invalidates experience.
Why do so many people imagine that fundamentalism is based on profound emotion and genuine experience? The answer, I think, is that many people are seduced by the language of fundamentalism into believing that everybody has had a profound first-hand experience of God's grace in their lives. The hymns, the prayers, and the testimonies all claim that the experience is direct and authentic.
However, in fundamentalism, the born-again experience is often a cognitive assent to a set of propositions about the Bible, about Jesus, about the sinfulness of the self, and about whatever interpretations of the Bible are yielded up by the inerrancy grid. Far from having a direct personal experience of God's gracious presence in her life, the fundamentalist is told to distrust her own experience on the basis of such biblical passages as Jeremiah 17:9: ''The heart is deCeitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"
For years I could not believe anything that came out of my own deep self
because I had memorized that verse and others like it and was convinced that at the very core of me was corruption.
As a counselor at the Billy Graham Crusades and as a Bob Jones University soul-winner, I was taught to have penitent persons pray after me a prayer asking the Lord Jesus Christ to wash away their black sins and place in them His nature, a new nature (the New Man) which. would render their hearts white and pure. (I trust that the racism and sexism of that prayer are obvious to everyone.)
Once a person had repeated this prayer, phrase by phrase, I was taught to assure them that they had been born again, even if they did not feel any different from five minutes ago. That was an important part of our pitch. Even if the convert did not feel any differently, he or she was, in fact, different for all eternity. Of course, converts must then join a church which teaches everything through the inerrancy grid so that they will learn to obey the Bible in all areas of life.
People would understand fundamentalism better if they distingUished between the quiet holistic experience offaith and the intellectual noisy rationalism of mere belief Fundamentalists are forced to believe what they are told the Bible says, even if their instincts and feelings flatly deny what their pastors tell them the Bible is saying. That's why they are sometimes shrill and cruel: the internal dissonance can be painful.
Fundamentalism is rationalism that cloaks itself in the language of experience. When a person has had an authentic faith experience, he is able to listen with an open mind to diverse points of view without feeling threatened. But if a person's worldview is based only on rationalistic belief in an airtight, limited, prepackaged belief-system, then the better the evidence that somebody else introduces about an alternative approach to reality, the greater
7
the distress -and the more necessity for a Bible-thumping insistence on absolutes.
Selective Literalism
The commitment of fundamentalism to biblical literalism is not literal acceptance of every passage in the Bible. Rather, it is a highly selective process that takes literally the passages that seem to support the fundamentalist worldview, but usually ignores those passages that might undermine that worldview. I call this method the supermarket approach to the Bible. Fundamentalists put into their cognitive shopping-carts whatever passages seem to suit their preconceptions and simply leave on the shelf those passages that seem less gratifying.
For instance, I once asked a fundamentalist preacher in my church how he interpreted Galatians 3:28 (no male or female in Christ), since women were not allowed to speak or pray or even ask questions in public meetings. This preacher had repeatedly claimed to be preaching "the whole counsel of God." He shrugged off my question, saying he had no idea of its meaning in a tone couldn't care less.
Incidentally, as a teacher of literature I must say that the supermarket approach is no more honest or attractive when liberals or feminists or lesbigay theologians use it than it is when fundamentalists do. The only honest way to interpret a book (any book) is to confront every passage in relationship to every other passage and in relationship to the author and culture from which it sprang, as well as in conscious relationship to the interpreter's own preconceptions and culture. All of us wear an interpretive grid when we read. The idea is to be conscious of our grid and honest about it, and honest about the hermeneutical principles we are following, and faithful in applying them to the passages we don't like as well as to the passages we like .
The fundamentalist supermarket approach to the Bible blinds people to contrary evidence once they have consented to the doctrine of inerrancy. This doctrine encourages people to read the books of the Bible, which were writ-
indicating that he
Eph.5:21 (jen. 3:17·19 . Lev. 20:18
ten over a period of ten centuries, without taking seriously their diverse historical and cultural contexts. It is possible to hear preaching that treats every passage as if it were contemporary with every other passage.
Fundamentalists even ignore
historical context selectively . For instance, in leviticus 18 and 20, both male homosexual acts and heterosexual marital intercourse during the woman's menstrual period are prohibited. However, in their sex manual, contemporary funjL:::
::::::r::::::::::::::: .:.::.:,:.:::.::,:: ::.:.:.::::,::,:,:.:,::.:.:::.:.:::: ::':: ':::::::::: ::::::.:,:,:,:::.:.:;::.-, .••...•.•..•;.:-...~.,.:...• ): :l::~~;~:~..
damentalists Tim and Beverly leHaye promote literally and absolutely the prohibition against male homosexual acts but permit heterosexual intercourse during a women's menstrual period. They permit the latter because times have changed and we now understand hygiene in a different way.
Fundamentalists also selectively recognize figures of speech in biblical literature. "If your hand offends you, cut it off" is recognized as metaphoric. (We may be grateful for that.) But the "sonship" and "brotherhood" of believers is taken as literal, so that androcentric language is required for faithfulness. "Take, eat, this is my body," is recognized as metaphor, but "nobody comes to God except by me" is taken literally and forces fundamentalists to proselytize even if it violates their deepest instincts.
Fundamentalists are particularly selective about paying attention to the literary genre of any given biblical passage. The Song of Solomon is recognized as an erotic poem celebrating marital love. (I have looked in vain for evidence that the lovers were married' nevertheless, I am grateful for the recognition that the Song is erotic poetry.) By contrast, Genesis I and 2 are treated as if they were scientific textbooks assuring us that everyone is born heterosexual and will be fulfilled through fruitful marriage.
In addition, fundamentalists are forced by their inerrancy-grid into ignoring the flow ofgrammar in certain passages. They can't allow themselves to see that the Ephesians 5 passage about wives and husban ds is grammatically and logically governed by the lead-in verse, EpheSians 5:21: "Submitting yourselves one to another in thefear of God. " I have heard fundamentalist preachers claim that although mutual submission is required of Christian males and females generally, it does not apply to married couples, where the woman must be the only one to submit.
Furthermore, fundamentalists are forced by their belief in inerrancy to avoid placing apparently contradictory passages side by side. If you believe the Bible never contradicts itself, then
Open Hands 8
"Thou shalt not kill" (so important in the abortion controversy) does not bear close comparison with the many commands in the Hebrew Scriptures to kill Canaanites or to kill various social offenders. In the Christian Scriptures, Paul's remarks about obeying the government do not bear close comparison with other passages that describe Paul's own acts of civil disobedience. Studying such passages together, I have discovered, yields creative ethical stimulus. However, it can rarely happen in a right-wing context.
Finally, fundamentalists are forced to be selective about which details to emphasize in any given biblical narra":':e. For instance, in Genesis 3 (the story of the fall) the judge said to Adam at he would have to earn a living by e sweat of his brow and would have
o eat thorns and thistles. To Eve, the Judge said that childbearing was going be painful. During human history ere was never any hesitation about -·sing labor-saving devices to alleviate ·-e sweat on the human brow, and no ndamentalist I know of sticks to a -et of thorns and thistles. However, storically there was whole lot of hesi.ation about lessening the pain ofchildrth.
There's no integrity in interpreting
assages selectively; that is, upholding
orne statements as absolute, and rearding
others in the same passage as
ompletely relative. For the fundamen
·a~ist, however, such selectivity is a mater of life and death since their whole elief-system stands or falls as a unit.
Suggestions For Dealing With Fundamentalism
. ere are six suggestions for dealing
with fundamentalism.
H
(1) Do not put down belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible and do not speak of textual interpolations (that is, the fact that scribes inserted material in the process of transmission, thus altering the original text.) At least, do not speak of these things until trust is firmly established. Instead, point out that the Bible is not a magic book. If the Bible were magic, it would automatically translate itself into the language and the reading level of everybody who
Fall 1993
picked it up. However, since God chose to work through human authorship and human languages and human translators, all of us are obliged to try to understand biblical scholarship. We must attempt to understand the changing definitions of words and discoveries in various fields of human scholarship that impact our understanding of Scripture, as well as individual attitudes of the human agents through whom the Scriptures were given to us.
(2)
Point out that to deny the human aspect of Scripture is as erroneous as denying the human aspect ofjesus. Either stance amounts to a denial of incarnation and embodiment.
(3)
Raise respectful but insistent questions about the passages that have been denied or ignored and about the other selectivities I have mentioned. Instead of discounting Scripture, go into it in great depth with great contextual awareness and human honesty about your own interpretive grid. For me, the normative statement of Scripture is: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." It was given to us by Moses (Leviticus 19: 18); often reiterated by jesus (Matthew 19: 19, 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke lO:27); upheld by Paul (Romans 13:9; Galatians 5: l4); repeated by james (2:8); and implied in dozens of other passages. That's norm enough for me! Reading through this lens constitutes a "liberation grid."
(4)
Ask questions that will reveal how well the belief-system is holding up in real-life situations. What is the fundamentalist feeling about the pastor's recent and serious car accident? About the birth of a deformed baby? About the destruction of their home by fire or flood? Is the beliefsystem sustaining the sufferer and his or her caretakers? If so, in all decency, support that. If not, there may be an opening for a more liberating faith to enter.
(5)
Remember that people cannot understand a moral development more comprehensive than their own. So it is futile to expect an externally rule-bound person to comprehend the integrity of a serious situation ethicist.
(6)
Engage in the type of "fancy footwork" that jesus did when confronted
with trap-questions by the fundamentalists of his day. (See Matthew 19:3-9, where jesus neatly avoided the either-or dilemma posed by the rabbis about divorce by refocusing the issue.) Treat fundamentalists' questions with respect, but try to strike through the mask to the underlying and unspoken assumptions, all the while seeking out approaches and language that will be comprehensible to the fundamentalist mind.
Above all, we must keep ourselves centered through prayer and meditation. We must pray for our fundamentalist counterparts, asking that life teach both them and us those humanizing lessons that put us in touch with our deepest feelings. It takes people who are in touch with their own pain to genUinely care about the pain in Central America, or South Africa, or the suffering ofpoor or marginalized people here in the United States. The spark of faith can jump only in an atmosphere of love, but the spark is generated by friction. We need patience in confronting fundamentalism -but it must be a revolutionary patience. T
NOTES
lFor further reading, see Jack B. Rogers and Donald K. McKim, The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible (New York: Harper & Row, 1979).
This article is adapted from a 1987 presentation at the National Council of Churches' headquarters that subsequently appeared in the CALC Report (Clagy and Laity Concerned), Fall 1988.
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Ph.D. is an Episcopalian . She is professor of English
at the William Paterson College of New Jersey in Wayne. Active in lesbian and gay Christian liberation, she has published eleven books.
9
TAE FANAT'C'S 'llNESS
By Connie Lofgreen
"Mom, why does Ted Phillips (not his real name) hate gays so much?" asked my daughter, Lyda, as I drove past the protest site of the local antihomosexual group. The "Phillips," as they are known In Topeka, were holding signs: "God Hates Gays," "Gays Deserve Death," "Fags Burn in Hell" etc. My daughter's emphasis on why warned me In a word "No heavy lectures, Mom, Just real answers."
"He's mentally ill," I said. "Intense hate for those who have done him no harm is a symptom of mental illness. Mentally healthy people sometimes disagree strongly but they respect each other's right to a different opinion instead of wanting them dead for it."
Nice words, I thought, but even as I gave Lyda a tidy explanation the brutality of the hate words made me cringe. I wondered if my thirteen-year-old daughter was skeptical about growing up in a world where people often hate viciously and where the innocent become their targets.
"God doesn't hate anybody," she continued. The contradiction between the Phillips' devotion to God (their base of operation is their neighborhood church) and their harassment of homosexuals was not lost on Lyda. Their illness was showing through a thin veneer of religiosity.
"My point exactly, Lyda. It just doesn't compute, does it?" I reminded her that other Topekans were highlighting the contradiction with bumper stickers that read "Hate is Not a Family Value."
When we confront fanatics, it is this incongruity or cognitive dissonance that often lures us into useless debate and confrontation. Words of reason and stories of our own positive experiences with gay men and lesbians bounce off the impenetrable fortress of rigid opinion and we feel helpless in the face of a violent tongue-lashing about immorality. This rigidity is another symptom of mental illness -a relentless insistence that there is one, and only one, correct viewpoint -theirs. If we don't agree , we are deemed worthy of annihilation. Rendered speechless and powerless, our own fear and anger toward the antagonists (and perhaps our own hatred) well up.
I witnessed this phenomenon recently when my good friend , who is usually gentle and rational, became so angry that he said, "Ted Phillips just needs to be shot. He's crazy. Nothing else will stop him!" Now we are imagining murder. We are brought full circle back to our own shadow side -our own capacity for rage and even violence towards those we perceive as too different from ourselves. Each of us, if we look deeply into the face in the mirror or into our own hearts, will find the shadow beneath a thin layer of cortex. This cortex (the brain center for thinking and judgment) is easily unplugged by intense emotions or chemicals. Perhaps we have more in common with these haters than we like to admit? My discomfort grows with the thought.
Antihomosexuals ' employ several psychological tools to protect their "interpretive grid" (see Mollenkott's article) from a full and open reasoning process -and from their own and others' emotions. These tools (called defense mechanisms by mental health practitioners) include denial, rationalization, and projection. Everyone uses these defenses at times to protect themselves from perceived threats, losses, or too rapid change.
Denial abounds in the alcoholic family where the realization that "Dad's drinking a little too much" is really advanced alcoholism would send shoc . waves through the marriage that migh' blow the family apart.
Rationalization (making up excuseto avoid the real issues) is also common. The adolescent who blames h15 poor grades on "stupid teachers" and "boring classes" is rationalizing. Wit maturity he comes to accept more responsibility. Ifunable to do so, his blaming may advance to the bizarre -ki ing a superstar's father because he's "too rich," as if his wealth were the direct source of the youth's misery.
Projection (seeing others as havinc characteristics or feelings that we disown in ourselves) is another commo .. defense mechanism The child molester who maintains the child wanted him t fondle her because she was acting "sexy" is projecting his own feeling and needs. Projection is also apparen in the person who has unconsciouhomosexual urges, but projects those urges upon others in the environmen' and then struggles against the other persons. Projection is a defense mechanism used by people when the feeling inside or the issue at hand is too frightening to face directly.
Denial, rationalization, and projection are all part of our psychologica, survival kit. Such defenses are probably biologically based. They are sophisticated variations on the fight or flight response, certainly an important survival instinct for our ancestors. If a tiger jumped from behind a tree, too much deliberation proved fatal. Eventually these variations on fight or flight developed to help us "flee" the emotionally frightening and painful feelings and experiences: death, abandonment, and embarrassment before our kin.
In psychologically mature individuals these defense mechanisms are usually employed temporarily and the reality of the situation is dealt with in a constructive manner. Even when intense anger is a normal response -that
Open Hands 10
is, when real harm has been done to us or a loved one -healthier people refrain from acting on their murderous fantasies and find other ways to disharge the feelings. In the mentally ill, more and more psychic and tangible :esources are devoted to maintaining he defenses. In the case of the Phillips, much of their time, energy, and money ,s poured into a campaign against perns they've chosen to hate -homosexuals.
Fundamentalist fanatics may feel that idal wave of change is threatening
e world (as they perceive it) as gay -...' ,ts issues gain high visibility in the "onal media. Deliberations about lift'he ban on homosexuals in military -'ce, campaigns for funding HIV reh, local ordinances extending non--rimination clauses to lesbians and ,__ ,' men, and churches affirming hosexuals are perceived by fanatics as .ons which threaten the very founns
of their belief-system, the core eir identity. So, they flee into the -"'orn labyrinths of their defense
anisms and live there. 'hy are some persons apparently pletely locked into an emotional
/~/
Fall 1993
prison of these defense mechanisms and unable to reason and accept reality? Most psychotherapists believe the causes to be early childhood trauma and neglect which have interfered with normal psychological development. Such trauma and neglect leave the child and later the adult, with "primitive" coping skills -those usually expected in very young children or employed by terrorized children. They see others as all good or all bad. They are grandiose about their own importance in the world, anxious about dependency needs, and unable to empathize with others. They have feelings of shame and unworthiness, expectations of further assault, and deep feelings of rage. History is filled with the atrocities committed when fanatics organize similarly irrational people and the ignorant into national movements vowed to obliterate the supposed defectives. In fact, history suggests it is not difficult, given certain factors such as widespread economic hardship and charismatic psychopathic leadership, to evoke the violent shadow side in masses of people and organize them to stalk the chosen human target: blacks,lews, women, gay men and lesbians. In such a context paranoia is easily maintained by hate group members as their ideas are reinforced by their comrades. Those frustrated and anxious about economic conditions, though not mentally ill, tend to lo.ok for simplistic answers and somebody or some group to blame. And so the bonfires are lit, the lynching organized, the fur"",--~
naces stoked, the homosexuals banned, beaten, and murdered.
Recognizing the mental illness in extremists' views is important. One does not argue with an alcoholic or a fanatic unless she is hoping to be abused. To allow ourselves to be intimidated and silenced is to be rendered powerless by those on the fringe of society and whose death threats are merely an echo of their deepest internal fears. Only extensive psychotherapy might help fanatics. Attempting to converse with fanatics -those who advocate violence and hatred -is both dangerous and useless. We would be better served to put our energies into educational efforts directed toward those who can reason, learn, and mature in their perspectives and into compassionate support of those victimized by senseless aggression. (See Mollenkott's suggestions.)
Good education is potent and transformational. Such education raises consciousness about sexual, racial, and cultural diversity. It raises consciousness that what we humans have in common far exceeds our variations. There are also many examples of social changes brought about by such educational efforts: the enactment of child labor laws, the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, the civil rights movement, the ending of the Vietnam War, and the Israel-PLO Peace Agreement.
Ultimately, education and a healthy economy which offers meaningful work to all are the best tools against the forces of irrationality and fear. The social and financial costs of neglecting education and other basic needs of children and adults are well documented. To quote another bumper sticker:
Education is Expensive? Try Ignorance .
...
Connie Lofgreen, MSW, is a graduate of Rutgers University and a social worker in private practice in Topeka, Kansas.
She is a member of Co untryside United Methodist Church und is a trainer and consultant in the area of clergy sexual ethics.
11
-----------------------------
AND THE
---------~------------------RELIGIOUS RIGHT
The long history of right-wing activism against the rights of people of color is reflected in their choice of tactics in all of their campaigns. Racist ideology and rhetoric are underpinnings of current antigay propaganda and strategy used in the Right's attempts to subvert democratic potential in American society.
Activists organizing against the Religious Right's antigay attacks must come to understand how racism and sex oppression are connected in right-wing rhetoric and strategy. This is especially important because the struggle to overcome race-based discrimination provides the legal and ideological foundation for our gay and lesbian liberation struggle and for the larger movement to realize the promise of full civil equality for all people. Any attempt to undermine the civil rights gains made by African Americans and other people of color will undermine the ability of all groups to achieve civil equality.
History of Race and u.s. Racism
The struggle for multiracial democracy in the U.s. is a fight against both interpersonal and institutional forms of discrimination that have deep roots in slavery. Racism in the U.s., as experienced by all people of color, is largely based on the justification for and institutionalization of slavery.
Prior to slavery, Native Americans, Africans, Latinos, and Asians were regarded as subhuman based on religion. To white Americans and Europeans, the world's people existed in two categories: Christian or heathen. The human worth of individuals was defined according to their relationship to a Christian god.
The problem this presented to Ameri-
By Scot Nak agawa
can slaveholders and to those involved in the project of pacifying and destroying Native American nations is that the evangelical nature of Christianity allowed for people of color to "find religion." White America then had a problem: were these new non-white Christians fully human now? Not wanting to admit that possibility, white America adapted European racialism to their own needs, creating and emphasizing a racial hierarchy which would determine the "natural" human worth of persons. Both the science of racialism and the institutionalization of racial hierarchy were thus constructed as more permanent answers to white America's presumed need for slave labor -and white America's takeover of Native American land.
The civil rights movement of the 1960s and the continuing struggle against race-based discrimination is rooted in the struggle against slavery. In the 1960s African Americans led a
fight to remove the
There is no such thing as "legicmate minority status" as defined b,the ReligiOUS Right. People of color are not a "legitimate minority" on the bas ')f some characteristic such as income or morality. "Minority status" mea .just that: the smaller in number C' two groups. People of color in the
u.s. are a minority in relation whites; gay men and lesbians are a minority in relation to heterosexuals.
The need for "minority status" and "equal rights" laws, and "affirmative action" programs arises from discriminatory practices perpetrated on minorities by majorities.
The Right has argued that gay men and lesbians, and in some cases bisexuals, are not eligible for consideration for "minority status and all the privileges thereof..." This argument promotes the myth, popularized by the Right, that
Open Hands legally codified vestiges of slavery from our constitution and from state and local laws. Most odious among these were Jim Crow laws that required racial segregation. The historical effects of slavery continue even now to be a critical element of American social, cultural, political, and economic life.
The Right has popularized the misconception that the African Americanled civil rights movement defines civil rights in the United States. In truth, the civil rights movement of the 1960s was a movement against only one kind 0; civil rights violation -race-based discrimination. Right-wing attempts to pr mote the myth that only people of color have civil rights are based in racism.
The Right repeatedly states that 'legitimate minority status" may only be conferred to those who can be idem fied as minorities because of "innate natural characteristics" such as race However, there is nothing "innate" 0:"natural" about "race." The concept c: race in the u.s. was largely invented an justified through pseudO-Science b; white Americans to rationalize the explOitation and slavery of blacks. I short, the concept of race in the Amer can context is a socially constructed S} tern for placing people in a hierarchica' structure of social and economic relations.
A Legitimate Minority?
12
'lg a minority in a majority rule society 1es with privileges.When we hear the ht talking about "minority privileges" .ld "minority rights," we need to ask what those privileges and rights are, "... whether poor education, substand
housing, and low life expectancy he results of discriminatory praces -are part of this "special" benefits
~age.
"'e also need to look behind the '-ric of the Right to their real mo. t\s New Right leader Paul Wyerich .e reactionary Free Congress Founon
has stated, "The politicians have scared because the homosexual .', like the civil rights lobby, has ex_
erated importance in Washington." eed to ask: "Exaggerated in comon to what?"
ting Affirmatively ,irmative action has been assoiated with quotas and called a "tal right" by the ReligiOUS Right. eed to understand just what affir:'
e action does and does not do .
. ifinnative action is not a "special
_...... 010 one has a right to affirmative
,::m. Instead, it is a program that ined
to remedy some problems assoed
with a historical pattern of disnmation.
Because affirmative action
remedy and not a right, it is not ended to be permanent. Affirmative action does not mandate . as that require hiring unqualified pIe of color to take jobs away from te men. No quotas are associated
u
affirmative action. Instead, some ployers are reqUired to review the al and gender composition of the alified applicant pool when hiring \' employees. The percentage of those ible for affirmative action in the alified applicant pool and the actual licant pool set a standard intended prevent discrimination. It is neither Je that all people of color are emoyed because of affirmative action, nor at people of color are the only people
benefit from affirmative action.
The Poverty Test
he ReligiOUS Right claims that
people of color "deserve" civil rights protections because racism has resulted in disproportionate levels of poverty in
Fall 1993
communities of color. Simultaneously, leaders of the ReligiOUS Right have claimed that racism no longer exists . They have even gone so far as to claim that racism has been reversed and whites are the new victims. They further claim that Blacks, Latinos, Native Americans, or Asians with higher than average incomes are indices that those people of color who are poor, particularly Blacks, are suffering from a lack of moral turpitude. However rich or poor someone or some group may be, all have civil rights, and the option of making claims of discrimination and demanding government redress of grievances. While poverty is frequently the result of discrimination, the presence of poverty is not a test for whether any group may enjoy civil rights.
Recognizing Connections
The history of racism and the struggle for civil equality of people of color in the United States is far broader and more complex than can be covered in this brief overview. It is critical that we come to understand this history and its impact on contemporary society in order to effectively combat a right-wing movement that has been an integral force in that history, and that has as one of its goals a return to the "traditional values" of openly expressed and overtly institutionalized racism.
It is simply not enough for us to "honor diversity. " We must recognize that we are the products of a history steeped in racism and sexism, and that our oppression as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people is one product of this history. Rather than simply honoring diversity, we must build democracy. T
This article is reprinted, with permission, from the Fight the Right Action Kit, a project of the National Gay &: Lesbian Task Force. To order see page 28.
Scot Nakagawa is Project Director oj the
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Fight the Right Project. He is the Jonner Executive Director oj the Coalition Jor Human Dignity.
is not to gays and lespians, but instead \yftetber to allow dis/crimination ag.ainst a pa~Ji£ular group of
,S
13
The gay rights movement in the
u.s.is often dated to the night
ofJune 27, 1969, when police raided a Greenwich Village bar named the Stonewall Inn and bar patrons rebelled in protest. Seven years later, in 1976, Anita Bryant led the first religious campaign against the expansion of protections for gay men and lesbians, sought by that gay rights movement. Bryant's campaign was in opposition to a vote by the Dade County commissioners to prohibit discrimination against gay men and lesbians in housing, public accommodation, and employment. Bryant promoted a successful referendum to repeal the commissioners'vote.
In 1977, Anita Bryant inspired a similar campaign in California, where State Senator John Briggs, who had worked with Bryant in Miami, sponsored the "California Defend Our Children Initiative," a binding initiative on the general election ballot in November 1978. The initiative provided for charges against school teachers and others advocating, encouraging, or publicly and "indiscreetly" engaging in homosexuality. It prohibited the hiring and required the firing of homosexuals if the school board deemed them unfit. This was in reaction to a 1975 California law preventing local school boards from firing teachers for homosexuality.
California Defend Our Children, the organizing group supporting the initiative, was chaired by State Senator Briggs. Rev. Louis Sheldon (now head of the Anaheim-based organization Traditional Values) was executive director. The initiative failed, but Sheldon would remain extremely active in antihomosexual organizing. That same year, David A. Noebel (later to head Summit Ministries of Colorado) published The Homosexual Revolution, which he dedicated to
The
Antigay Agenda by Jean Hardisty
Anita Bryant.
Bryant's antihomosexual campaign ended in 1979 with the collapse of her two organizations, Anita Bryant Ministries and Protect America's Children, which were hampered by a lack of political sophistication. Contemporary techniques in influencing the political system -direct mail, computer technology, religious television ministries -were not available to Bryant. Few religious fundamentalists and evangelicals were interested in the political sphere. Bryant herself was plagued by personal problems, such as divorce, and her organizations were unable to respond effectively to a boycott mounted against Florida's orange industry, for which Bryant was a major spokesperson.
With the creation of the New Right at the end of the 1970s, a political movement was born that incorporated conservative fundamentalists and evangelicals as full partners. Now there were tremendous political resources available to the Religious Right, and the success and influence of religious fundamentalists in the spheres of public policy and popular opinion improved dramatically.
Under the benign influence of the Reagan administration, the New Right and its Religious Right component flourished. A focus of attention that emerged with the advent of the New Right was a rollback of gains made by the gay rights movement.
The Second Right-Wing Antihomosexual Campaign
The "second" antihomosexual campaign, born within the New Right in the early 1980s, has been a far more sophisticated one. It has been planned at the national level, carried out by at least fifteen large national organizations using the most refined computer technology, showing an understanding of the political system, and therefore exerting influence only dreamed of by the first movement.
The effects of this new sophistication are:
•
to make local antihomosexual campaigns appear to be exclUSively grassroots efforts, when in fact they are gUided by major national organizations.
•
to increase the effect of each New Right organization's efforts by building networks and coalitions among the organizations and by coordinating political campaigns.
•
to camouflage the religious conten' of the organizing and create the more secular theme of "defense 0: the family."
•
to pursue the antihomosexual campaign under the slogan "no specia rights," despite that slogan's ina curacy. (See sidebar p. 13.)
The opening of the second an' homosexual campaign can be trace to three events:
1) The 1982 publication of Enriq
T. Rueda's massive The Homosexua Network, which was a thorough e. amination of the organizations, acti--ties, and ideology of the gay righ': movement and its liberalism.
2) The onset of the AIDS epidem which in its earliest days in the C.: was almost exclusively confined to t gay male community. In 1987, the Fre Congress Foundation, which ha sponsored Rueda's book, develope a new condensation that updated the critique of homosexuality to includ the AIDS crisis. This book, Gays, AIDS and You by Michael Schwartz an Enrique Rueda, stands as a semina work in the right's analysis of homosexuality in the context of the AI crisis.
Open Hands 14
3'\ The work of antigay activist Dr. . Cameron, director in the early s of the Institute for the Scien'nvestigation of Sexuality in Lino
:ebraska, and now chairperson
e Family Research Institute in
ngton, DC. Paul Weyrich's Free
..,ress Foundation would prove an upporter of Cameron: FCF dised copies of Cameron's Model
ality Statute in 1983.
e campaign against homosexu'as not a major focus in the mid s, though it was never repudiated oal of right-wing organizing. A
alarm and loathing over the f the gay rights movement was tood within the New Right.
I
Current °holnosexual Campaign
elate 1980s, three issues rein,":orated the New Right's anti-hoxual activism and focused added on at the national level. The first '"as the promotion of school .,-urri"-'Jlum reform to reflect a greater ance of gay men and lesbians Project 10 in Southern Califor-:-he second was the religious and cal Right's objection to public ng for homoerotic art. The third e was the passage of gay rights ances, bills, and initiatives in the sphere and in state legislatures. ording to People for the American nineteen states and more than .undred cities and counties now .aws or executive orders protect..,
ay and lesbian people from disnation. is commonly thought that the responses to each of these three
~lghts issues are grassroots efforts, nted by outraged citizens stirred ction by local manifestations of power." In fact, while local groups "nd do exist, their power and ef"eness are enormously enhanced e technical assistance provided Hio nal New Right organizations.
Colorado provides a case study of effective involvement of national .t-wing groups at the local level. orado for Family Values, the local up which sponsored Amendment "as founded by Coloradans Kevin
Fall 1993
Tebedo and Tony Marco, and is headed by Colorado Springs car dealer Will Perkins. It promotes itself as a grassroots group, but its tactics, success, and power are largely the result of support from a national antihomosexual campaign mounted by the New Right. Five of the national organizations active in this campaign are represented on the executive and advisory boards of CFV: Focus on the Family, Summit Ministries, Concerned Women for America, Eagle Forum, and Traditional Values. Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition is not officially represented, but has a strong presence in Colorado. According to People for the American Way
... the ReligiOUS Right's antigay
vendetta is not as its leaders often
claim, a spontaneous outpouring
of concern about gay
issues. Theirs is a carefully orchestrated
political effort, with
a unified set of messages and
tactics, that is deliberately deSigned
to foster division and intolerance.
Conclusion
Homophobia is a bedrock value in our society, one that crosses lines of class, race, and even gender. Our Calvinist attitudes toward sex, based in religious teaching that sex is only for procreation, and a patriarchal culture that is discomforted by a breaking down of rigid sex roles, combine to create a culture that can deal with homosexuality, if at all, only in the artistic and commercial spheres. The lesbian and gay ~ivil rights movement has pushed homosexuality out of those spheres and into the political and social spheres. This is almost guaranteed to create a backlash while society absorbs and adjusts to new values.
While that backlash may be inevitable, it can be tamped down or fanned by political forces. Deprived of its old enemies and needing a new issue to promote, the Right's antihomosexual organizing is rank opportunism. The antigay backlash is in large part a creation of the Right. It is generating funds, keeping right-wing organizations that were in danger of complete eclipse alive with an infusion of new support, and generating the all-important evidence of political power -media attention.
The threat this backlash represents is very real. Violence is its most blatant manifestation, but the litany of pain and waste caused by homophobia includes more subtle attacks on gay men and lesbians as well. Furthermore, confronting the backlash distracts time, energy, and money from the work necessary to bring about equal rights for lesbians and gay men.
In the United States we must decide what role the church and religious tenets are going to play, especially when those tenets are in conflict with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It is not an attack on Christianity or religion to question the propriety of imposing biblical law on a secular society. If ours is a society in which church and state are separate, then the prohibitions of church dogma cannot overrule the protections provided by the Constitution. And the Constitution, to paraphrase Mr. Justice McKenna in the 1910 case of Weems v. U.S . is progressive -it is not fastened to the obsolete but may acquire new meaning as public opinion becomes enlightened by a humane justice . •
This article is excerpted from a longer article, "Constructing Homophobia: Colorado's Right-Wing Attack on Homosexuals" in The Public Eye, March 1993, published by Political Research Associates, a research center that monitors right-wing and anti-democratic organizations and trends. Used with permission.
Jean Hardisty, Ph.D., is director oj Political Research Associates in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. She testiJied as an expert witness on the political and religious Right at the preliminary injunction hearing Jor Al'nendment 2 in Colorado.
15
IZATIO
" R IGI,QU§
AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION
PO Drawer 2440
Tupelo, MS38803
601/844-5036
Founded by the Rev. Donald E. Wildmon, 55, an ordained United Methodist minister. Claims 640 chapters and 540,000 members. Staff of 35-40; 4 full time lawyers. Annual income of $6-7 million. Leads boycotts and letter-writing campaigns against major corporations who sponsor "anti-family" TV shows or sell "antifamily" books and videos; distributed rh. Gay Agenda video; started the controversy over the National Endowment for the Arts; and promotes the "Christian" agenda through the judicial system.
CHALCEDON
PO Box 158
Vallecito, CA 95251
209/736-4365
Founded in 1964 as a leading think tank of the Christian Right. Rousas John (R.J.) Rushdoony, 76, president, is, "the father of Christian reconstructionism." Named after the Council of Chal~~don of 451 A.D. (in which the Lordship of Christ was proclaimed). Purpose is to establish Old Testament Biblical law as the standard for society. Was an early advocate of the Christian school movement; led in establishing special Christian legal organizations; challenges humanism.
CHRISTIAN COALITION
180l -L Sara Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23320
800/325-4746.
Founded by Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson, 63, a former Baptist minister, who is president. Robertson alsofounded CBN and The 700 (Iub, co-owns The Family Channel, controls a network of radio stations, and in 1993 bought MTM Enterprises (a TV productionoutfit). Staff of 30 claims 50,000 precinct leaders,
, 25,000 Church 'liaison leaders, 800 chapters, and 400,000 members. The 1993 budget is $12 million. Purpose is "to mobilize Christians -one precinct at a time, -until once again we are at the top rather than the bottom of our political system."
CITIZENS 'FOR EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION/NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS
PO Box 3200
Costa Mesa, CA 92628
714/546-5931
Founded in 1983 .by Robert l. Simonds, 68, a former fundamentalist minister who taught math at a co~munity college for 20 years. Goal is to bring public education back under tne control of the Christian community. Attacks public school curricula and faculty; works on electing conservative candidates to school boards in order to take complete control of the 15,700 school districts in the U.S. Claims 1210 chapters and a membership of 130,000.
CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA 370 nnfant Promenade SW, #800 Washington, DC 20024 800/458·8797
Founded by Beverly LaHaye, 63, president. "Beverly LaHaye live" on 2 60 Christian stations, reaches 350,000-500,000 listeners. Claims 600,000 me bers and 800-1200 "prayer chain" chapters used to mobilize grassroots pre sure against elected officials. Staff of 25 members. Annual budget of S million. Promotes the idea that IIspirit controlled women" are "truly liberate because they are "totally submissive:' to their husbands.
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY PO Box 35500 Colorado Springs, CO 80935 800/232-6459 • 719/531-3400
Founded by Dr. James Dobson,,58, a licensed psychologist, unsala 'e president and chair of the Board. FOF radio talk show is the second larg nationally syndicated program in the U.S., with 4000 ,stations worldwide. S· of 900. Annual budget of $78 million. Focused on school prayer, gay rig .: school choice, pornography, andsex education. Holds Community Impact Se nars to teach local church members how to become political activists; affiliated political groups in 35 stafes; sends out over 52 million pieces literature and more than a million cassettes a year.
RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE PO Box 7482 Charlotteville, VA 22906 804/978-3888
Founded in 1982 as the "premier legal arm" of the Right, which acts s counterpart to the AClU. John Whitehead, Esquire, is preSident. Pro . S "religious liberties" such as Sunday blue laws, prayer in public school eve" . teaching of creationism.
THE REPORT 42640 10th Street West Lancaster, CA 93534 800/462-4700
Ty and Jeannette Beeson are executive producers of The Report, antigay project of the Springs of life Church in Lancaster, where Ty Beeso pastor. Produced rhe Gay Agenda. Recently released two more vide Insid. ,h. Marlh and rh. Gay Agenda and Publi' Edue 'ion. Publishes rhe Lambda Repo,', a monthly magazine which scribes the homosexual agenda and"..what they do."
16 Open Hands
DITIONAL
VALUES COALITION South Anaheim Blvd., Suite 350 8570 (Washington, DC) unded by the Reverend Louis P. Sheldon, 59, chairman, a minister in nservative Presbyterian church in America. He has connections to evangelical chu rches. Affiliated grou ps incl ude the National Task for the Preservation of the Heterosexual Ethic in America and -the ·can liberty Institute ("a researc h organization that traces the develt of biblical concepts pertainingto th e foun ding of th e United States r Constitution."). 1990 bu dget of $500, 000. Lo bbies federal and egislators and school boards; supports "rep arative therapy" for those esire to "leave the [homosexual] lifestyle." sources for descriptions of Right organizations: 'ed Clarkson &Skip pPorteous. C"all.nging ,,,. C"ris,ian Rig"': Adivis"s Handbook, 2nd ed., 1993. pp.143-89. ah Crary Gregor y and Scot Nakagawa, Fig'" ,,,. Rig'" Adion ..ople for the American Way, a 20·page, untitled report, publi shed Februeim,
CA 92805 520-0300; 202/547•.
'993, pp. 27-29.
93.
-all 1993 17
We
,.emembe,.!
When we join ou,. hand~ and ou,. hea,.t~,
ou,. ~ong~ and dance~,
ou,. fea,.~ and ange,.~, We ,.emembe,.!
A~ the ladde,.~ to
and the ci,.cle of all, We ,.emembe,.!
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" w-t!ce of
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the ~ou,.ce 0 1:1';' OU,. g,.ace,
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.~ he comfo,.t fo,. ou,. fea,.,
membe,.! You call u~ togethe,. to ~ha,.e ou,. ou,. live~, to lea,.n f,.om ou,. mi~take~, to move on.
We ,.emembe,.! We take a deep b,.eath,
Created by Carol Larson, who recently completed twelve
pe,.hap~ ~mile a little,
years as the representative of the laity in a lay/clergy pastoand
~y, Thank I]ou. ral team at Wheadon United Methodist Church-a Reconciling Congregation, in Evanston, Illinois. She is currently a volunteer at the RCP/Open Hands office in Chicago..
18 Open Hands
PQEACHING GRACE/TRAN~fORMING
CONDEMNATION
By Christine M. Smith
ondemnation seems like the most fitting word to describe the astonishing violence perrated upon lesbians and gay men. escribe the oppression of gay men ~esbians as an experience of invis_ and silence is to mask the aggresnature of the violence. Lesbians and ... en are not simply made invisible e social fabric of our nation and in ommunity life of most of our hes, they are actively excluded, sed, and persecuted. The relational
ial values and experiences of gay and lesbians are not simply sid; they are judged inferior, devind sick.
ling and Understanding ialence
understand the condemnation of lesbians and gay men, religious e will need the courage to look at of the fundamental assumptions r culture and our society. Gay or n sexual identity is not just a mat:-individual nature; each is an alive way of living and being in the .~. Gary Comstock, spoke about the
'orming nature of the lives of gay . and lesbians like this: :hile it may not have been our
tention, I think we have to face
arely that our very lives, ·.... en lived openly and fully, funamentally threaten the social rder. When we begin to make ecisions for ourselves instead :-letting others tell us how we
should live, we challenge those
'ho have power at the expense
. the disempowered and
.larginalized. 1 -:-he structures of the social order to be challenged and changed, algh
this will involve a fundamental .sformation of church and society. -transformation is what persons fear most, and what many persons of . 'ilege desperately want to avoid. se in power are being asked to give
~ 'I 1993
up exclusive privilege in search of a different kind of faith community in which power is shared among all God's people.
I want to suggest four areas of thought and ministry that might shape a contemporary preacher's personal and pastoral agenda: (1) naming, addressing, and understanding the present social problem as heterosexism and homophobia; (2) clarifying the connections between heterosexism, homophobia, sexism, and male denomination; (3) discerning and understanding heterosexual privilege; and (4) attending to the repercussions of condemnation by our responses to the actual pain, terror, rage, and oppression of gay and lesbian persons.
Heterosexism and Homophobia. Janice Raymond deepens our understanding ofheterosexism when she says,
Hetero-relations expresses the wide
range of affective, social, political,
and economic relations that are
ordained between men and
women by men. Hetero-reality describes
the situation created by
hetero-relations.2
We are all taught to fear and to condemn persons who vary from this normative standard. Homophobia is a descriptive term for that fear. Homophobia is the irrational fear and hatred of those persons who choose others of their own gender as primary persons to bond with, love, and desire. "Heterosexism is the systemic display of homophobia in the institutions of society."3 In the reality of homophobia, fear is so linked with hatred that the two cannot be separated. Homophobia serves to keep heterosexism and hetero-reality in place.
Sexism and Male Denomination. Hetero-relations and heterosexism cannot be understood apart from sexism and male domination. In a world of male domination, it is totally unacceptable for a woman to choose a woman. Domination must be maintained. In a world of male denomination, it is equally unacceptable for a man to choose a man.
Domination is maintained only if men fulfill the dominating roles they are assigned. When men step out of these dominating roles there is often a violent response. "Visible gay men are the objects of extreme hatred and fear by heterosexual men because their breaking ranks with male heterosexual solidarity is seen as a damaging rent in the very fabric of sexism."4
The system can maintain itself only if gender relations are rigidly and clearly structured and controlled. These gender relations are structured in a multitude of ways: through strict gender roles, through the institutions of traditional marriage and the nuclear family, and through compulsory heterosexuality. Sexism, male domination, and heterosexism are completely dependent on men having total and unrestricted access to women, and women relating exclusively to men.
Discerning Power: A Critique of Heterosexual Privilege. Ifa society and world acknowledge and value only heterosexual relationships, then that society and world will grant to heterosexual persons certain rights, privileges, and protections that lesbians and gay men will not have. A part of the work of preachers responding to the injustice of heterosexism and homophobia involves inviting heterosexual persons honestly to discern and take responsibility for their privilege while seeking to critique the ideology and social fabric that producesuchinequality.
Heterosexual privilege has to do with every aspect of our lives, from holding hands with persons we love to assumptions we make about our privileged place in all the social and political systems of government and church. Gay and lesbian oppression is the daily experience of being silenced when heterosexual persons may speak, being made invisible when heterosexual reality is the only reality assumed and affirmed, and being terrorized by the constant awareness that an inappropriate comment,
19
look, reaction, or expression could change one's entire life. The church will be able to understand this reality only when it listens attentively to the everyday experiences of lesbians and gay men. This listening to the voice of otherness will tune our hearts and spirits to their oppression and our complicity.
Attending to the Repercussions of Condemnation. Lesbians and gay men are violated not only by silence, invisibility, and lies, but also by inadequate health care, lack of access to housing, job discrimination, and a multitude of other oppressive realities. What distinctive words and actions will preachers speak and take on behalf of those who suffer a multitude of effects from this kind of condemnation?
As preachers and religiOUS communities struggle to respond to the complex and painful agenda of dismantling heterosexism and homophobia, we need to be clear that our work is not simply about the acceptance and empowerment of gay men and lesbians, but is ultimately about social transformation. The most basic understandings of power in our social, political, and ecclesiastical structures must be changed. Dominance and submission at every level of human existence are called into question.
What will be our homiletical and theological responses as we seek to address and dismantle the condemning violence ofheterosexism and homophobia?
Preaching Grace
The grace of God becomes one of the most powerful messages preachers and religiOUS communities might proclaim in faithful response to the violence ofheterosexism and homophobia. The grace of God and the gracefilled love of human beings can shatter prisons of gender domination and submission, expose illusions of moral and ethical superiority, transform judgments into moments of profound acceptance, and empower us to dwell in the realm of mystery rather than condemnation.
God's distinctive love and grace are central to the task, but human agency in the work of reconciliation, community building, and justice making is central to a liberationist perspective on grace. In liberation theology, grace has less to do with the forgiveness of individual sins, and more to do with confronting and transforming social and systemic forces and structures that produce evil. Grace empowers human beings to participate in the redemptive process of transformation and justice. It is a love that empowers those whom society would strip of power. It is a grace that indicts and exposes all those human realities that destroy sacred community and embodied justice.
Dwelling in Mystery. Grace is by
to bear the mystery of God's grace, and it is difficult and often painful to bear the mystery of our created sisters and brothers. Mystery is life-sustaining, but it also engenders fears .
A part of the responsibility of preaching is to help religiOUS communities dwell in mystery and know that our capacity to accept and receive mystery has profound implications for our social and political life together. Sanctifying grace involves the work of dwelling in mystery -our own, each other's, and God's.
Dwelling in mystery is not an abstract or illusive dimension of human agency; it is concrete and particular. It means accepting a person whose sexual orientation or preference is different from your own without judgment or condemnation. It means accepting the mysterious nature of human sexuality instead
cal literalisms or archaic eccleSIastical traditions. It means buildin Christian and religiOUS communities with persons of all sexual orientations. and it involves naming and celebrating the particularities of sexuality.
To embrace the work of dwelling in mystery, we ask ourselves and each other to cease the condemnation of that which we do not understand, and to begin the
Open Hands
nature
mysterious. It is difficult for us of attempting reduce its power an passion with narrow bibl 20
""-::ess of allowing those differences to ce a claim upon the work we do for stice. The healing and liberating work race invites us into the mystery of erness and changes us forever. Preachers need to be concrete in our tations to congregations to dwell in ~ery. The content and words of our ons need the mystery of paradox, mystery of the unknown, and the ery of otherness. ifie Deliverance from Fear. For
~ or heterosexual persons, experiencthe concrete lives of gay men and lans raises complex and frightening -stions about sexuality, intimacy, and .der identity. In a culture that encourdisembodi-ment, perpetuates the .al of vital and passionate sexuality, regulates and restricts any fluidity ender identity, one of the expected -~onses to the presence of lesbians
gay men will be fear.
preachers, surely a part of our -sage of liberating grace is that derance from fear ultimately demands
we plunge our lives directly into Je things we fear the most. Claim:;
one's own fear is an inward look he deepest vulnerabilities and limins of one's created self. In facing
r
fears, we may be able to be liberand saved from them. And as we '~owledge those fears, we transform eed to condemn that which we fear. 'articipating in the salvific delivere of grace requires a courageous 3'.:.:hing ministry. We might preach t all those things that we have been ht to deny and silence. We will find .ng ways to speak about human 'Ie passion, embodied sexuality, and !'isks of human intimacy. We need 3cknowledge honestly the truths and iguities about human intimacy, the onsistencies of sexuality; and the ceny of our concrete, embodied huexistence. We might proclaim a ound understanding of grace as the ent and means of release and delivere from these deepest fears of our
n humanness. James Nelson speaks ut this releasing: 'ou are accepted, the total you. 'our body; which you often reject, s accepted by that which is
reater than you.Your sexual feelngs
and unfulfilled yearnings are
accepted. You are accepted in your ascetic attempts at self-justification or in your hedonistic alienation from the true meaning of your sexuality. You are accepted in those moments of sexual fantasy which come unbidden and which both delight and disturb you. You are accepted in your femininity and in your masculinity; for you have elements of both. You are accepted in your heterosexuality and in your homosexuality, and you have elements of both. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted as a sexual person! If that happens to you, you experience grace.s If our preaching ministries are to be
vehicles of this kind of liberating and salvific grace, then the content and presence of our preaching will need to be shaped by sacred acceptance. Preaching will be challenged to affirm that the spiritual nature of one's human reality cannot be separated from one's embodied self. Preachers will need to be brave enough to declare that our sexuality is not to be willfully controlled but rather is to be embraced, celebrated, and ethically lived to its fullest. The images and language of our preaching can paint vivid pictures of mutuality and intimacy rather than dominance and submission.
Heterosexual people are not the only ones who need salvific deliverance from fear. For gay men and lesbians, the concrete realities of heterosexism and homophobia produce immense anger and fear. That fear distorts and poisons individual relationships, erodes selfconfidence and self-worth, and renders invisible the full relational matrix of gay and lesbian life. For some, this fear leads to anonymous sexual encounters, blatant denial of loved ones, compulsive and addictive behaviors that might numb the persistent pain, and family estrangement. Gay men and lesbians are also in need of salvific deliverance from fear.
For many gay men and lesbians, the mediators of God's grace are other lesbians and gay men, and seldom the church. Salvi fie deliverance comes most often from an exiled religious community existing on the borders of, or completely outside, an oppressive institutional church. For Christian preachers, perhaps the greatest challenge regarding salvific deliverance is to look outside the bounds of the traditional church at the places that mediate liberating grace in the lives of gay men and lesbians.
Perhaps our preaching might change if we experienced the concrete ways gay men and lesbian women build community from the pains of invisibility, silence, and condemnation. Our preaching needs to reach into these places and experiences of exiled community in order to understand more fully the face, context, and essence of deliverance and saving grace for lesbians and gay men...
NOTES
lGary David Comstock, "Aliens in the Promised Land? Keynote Address for the 1986 National Gathering of the United Church of Christ's Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns. " as quoted in Hasbany, Homosexuality and Religion, p. 140.
2Janice G. Raymond, A Passion for Friends: Toward a Philosophy of Female Affection (Boston: Beacon Press, I 986), p. 7.
JSuzanne Pharr, Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism (Inverness, CA: Chardon Press, 1988),p. 16.
4Ibid., pp. 18, 19.
5James B. Ne/.son, Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, .1978), pp. 78-79.
This article is excerpted from a chapter in the author's book, Preaching As Weeping, Confession, and Resistance: Radical Responses to Radical Evil (Louisville, KY: John Knox/Westminster Press, 1992). Used with permission.
Christine M. Smith is Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at United Theological Seminary ofthe Twin Cities, New Brighton, Minnesota,
and has also written
Weaving the Sermon: Preaching in
a Feminist Perspective.
- all 1993 21
•• ••
•• •• • •
EDUCATING OURSELVES: THE ANTIGAY AGENDA
Our natural tendency is probably to avoid looking at and listening to the messages of the Right about gay men and lesbians. We've heard about their tabloids. We've heard about the lurid character of their video, The Gay Agenda. Why would we want to subject ourselves to those negative, inaccurate images and messages?
Two reasons, at least, come to mind. First, most of us still harbor some vestiges of homophobia, even if we've worked hard to eradicate it. Immersing ourselves in the messages of the Right is another way to "debrief' or "detox." Second, to work against the Right's agenda, we need to know as precisely as we can what they are saying, how, and why.
Rights
"'
..JU" ·... 1 ,,:),Ut" .ICII This new 40-minute video, produced by Jeremiah Films and distributed by the Traditional Values Coalition, seeks to reveal the "myths" behind a so-called "gay agenda ." Using footage from the 1993 March on Washington and statements by lesbian/gay leaders, Gay Rights/ Special Rights builds upon common fears and stereotypes of gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons to portray the gay/lesbian rights movement as a powerful conspiracy to attain "special rights." Several leaders of the Right are interviewed in the film . This new video is essentially arevision and upgrading of the Right's well-known video, The Gay Agenda. This video is avery effective and frightening piece of propaganda. It can be purchased for $23 from Traditional Values Coalition, PO Box 940, Anaheim, CA 92815; 714/520ing Congregation Program's national office. (See below.) Truths Produced by the Gay and Lesbian Emergency Media Campaign as aresponseto The Gay Agenda and other Religious Right propaganda, this 58-minute video has three parts: I) an examination of the Re ligious Right, its agenda, and its strategies; 2) a case study using the 1992 antigay referendum in Oregon; and 3) aportrayal of the diversity of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community through interviews with a variety of different persons. This video provides useful information about the Religious Right in a somewhat rambling style. It can purchased for $35 (plus $2 .90 for priority handling) from GLEMC, c/o Rachel Williams, 390 Dean Street, Brooklyn, NY 1121 7. -Reviewed by Mark Bowman
0300. It can be borrowed from the Reconcil-Reviewed by Mark Bowman
As several writers in this issue of Open Hands have noted, education is a crucial part of responding to the Right. A helpful part of that educational effort will be a thorough, intentional viewing of the Right's new video, Gay Rights/Special Rights. A follow-up session might be used -as an antidote -to view and discuss the video Sacred Lies/Civil Truths, which was produced in response to The Gay Agenda and other materials from the Right.
• • RELIGIOUS RIGHT VIDEO AND LEADER'S GUIDE AVAILABLE FROM Rep ••
Video available for Loan:
Contact the RCP Office:
Gay Rights/Special Rights •
> to schedule a loan of the video :
•••• Distributed by the Traditional Values Coalition,
> to secure your copy of the Leader's Guide •
an organization of the Right
Suggested Donation for Guide, $10 :
A 40-minute video which claims to reveal "myths" about the "gay agenda." . •
• •
: Special Guide available for church group use: Reconciling Congregation Program : • Leader's Guide for Gay Rights/Special Rights 3801 N. Keeler • : Prepared by the Reconciling Congregation Program Chicago, Illinois 60641 : • A IS-page guide which includes suggestions for 312/736-5526 • : preparing to view the video, a 90-minute session plan, 312/736-5475 (Fax) : • and five background articles. •
:.....................................~.................•........
Open Hands '
By Susan Thornton
o understand what pastoral care would look like as we respond to the impact of the .v .t, we first need to look briefly at "our own" people are. Then we st look at the ReligiOUS Right and its ssages about gay and lesbian per.5 . Only then can we look at the pe and content of our pastoral care
roach to our own people.
o Are Our Own?
our welcoming congregations, as 'ell as in other moderate congrega.5, are many different kinds of pers. Some are persons who have been :nformed and have remained in de:. Others have discounted the Relius Right's power and/ or have ded direct engagement with them. one colleague said, it seems easier
• liberal heterosexual Christians to eh"e gays and lesbians than to talk persons on the Right.
-rhere are persons in our congrega.s for whom some of the messages
"0
true, at least about the moral de:
m the United States. Others are consed by the messages of the Right. Still .. ers -gay men, lesbians, bisexuals,
their families and friends -are di1)' impacted by the actions of the ht and find themselves in fear, pain,
anger on an almost daily basis. There are also those among us who 'e been actively involved in the gay
lesbian civil rights movement or the o-choice movement who have had rect experience with people and orizations
from the Right. Some of the people in our congregans are Baby Boomers, many of whom
em to be attracted to the message of e ReligiOUS Right organizations. Oth5 may have grown up in an authoriian environment and continue to
Fall 1993
exhibit some of its characteristics. As the Pogo cartoon says, "We have met the enemy and they is us. "
A View of the Right
The hope the Right holds is to "bring back America" and "traditional family values," to turn around the permissiveness which endangers children and families, and to restore America to its most favored nation status in the world . To do this, they wish to write salvation religion into the very heart of American government. They believe that change must happen in this generation and that the problems must be addressed in a systemic manner. Since traditional forms of changing public policy are blocked, they believe they must use alternate means and methods to achieve their goals. Fundamentalist and conservative churches become a locus for reaching people and for organizing.
One significant focus of the Religious Right is to prevent gay men and lesbians from gaining equal rights. In an article in Christianity and Crisis, Donna Minkowitz catalogues the "antigay" activities and gains of the Religious Right since the presidential election in 1992. She cites the work of groups such as the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family, where much editorial comment is focused on the threat by homosexuals to public health and to children. She notes the Christian Coalition candidates gaining majorities on local school boards and influencing curriculum decisions about sex education and diversity education. She ends her article with these sobering words, "My life still depends on the success or failure of antigay organizers from the Christian right."l
The ReligiOUS Right has mastered the art of painting images and portraits to convince their hearers that what they describe is in truth, "a homosexual." A 20-minute video, The Gay Agenda, produced by affiliates of the Christian Coalition, contains as one writer puts it "every disgusting, lurid inch of footage that could be captured on film of the most radical segments of the San Francisco gay community during an annual Gay Pride parade .. ." 2 In other publications of the Right, lesbians and gay men are portrayed as a wealthy elite threatening the economic interests of ordinary people, that is, heterosexuals. They are also described as Nazi-like or as seeking special rights.
"Caring for our own" will take different forms depending upon the faces and the realities of the individuals with whom we minister -and how the activities and messages of the Right have impacted them. However, in most cases our pastoral care will involve at least three components: education; emotional/spiritual support; and empowerment.
A Ministry of Educating
We must remember that the Right claims the authority of Scripture, a Scripture which is inerrant, infallible, and verbally inspired. Many of our people are uncomfortable challenging the claims of the ReligiOUS Right because they have not articulated the foundations on which they themselves stand. Our people need to be able not only to feel that Scripture guides life and that God speaks to them through it, but to know how they interpret it. They need to know by what authority they speak, and how is Scripture authoritative for them? What weight do they give traditions, and personal experience, and what are the hermeneutical (interpretive) principles they follow?
To continue to come to terms with our beliefs and to reclaim our Scripture is a central ingredient in healing and challenging fundamentalism.
23
A Sustaining Presence
Pastoral care with our own also involves offering spiritual and emotional support. Encountering the fear and misperceptions and even hatred of those in the Religious Right can evoke powerful feelings -of anger, rage, and fear. To hear ourselves and/or those we stand with characterized by an image that fits none of us is not new, though still hurtful. To hear the Right claiming to be Christian and to watch their recent powerful organizing efforts adds another level of fear and anger.
Pastoral care in such situations and under such conditions means welcoming persons with all their feelings. It means proViding a safe space in which to both feel and express those feelings, without judgment or recrimination. We
are to "bear one another's burdens." We are to offer a ministry of "presence. "
One pastoral care strategy we can institute is a time of sharing during worship
where people can express social and political concerns as well as personal items ofjoy and concern. We can offer a prayer circle time in worship, where people are encouraged to pray about all of their concerns -personal, political, spiritual, economic, global. At the same time, we can hold one another toJesus' challenge to "love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. " We can continue to support one another in resisting, standing firm, and in refraining from stereotyping, labeling, and using rhetorical venom.
All of us have been hurt in some way by heterosexism, sexism, racism, ageism, and others systems of oppression and
we need to create times and places individually and in groups where we can hear one another's stories, affirm our feelings, and seek to understand those feelings and experiences. But pastoral caring does not stop here. We can remind people, either verbally or by our presence, that they do not need to remain stuck in rage or fear. We can suggest potential avenues for action.
The ReligiOUS Right emerged partly in response to an American society where the old social cohesiveness based on sameness was breaking down. For some people, the idea of returning to an earlier day is attractive because while they would like to be more open, they can't see how to do it. We in welcoming churches have an alternative to the Religious Right's vision of cohesion based .on homogeneity. We also know how hard it is to move beyond a surface understanding of one another's lives, and the effects of homophobia in them, into a deeper dialogue. A popular t-shirt says, "Love sees no color." N ow ano ther one says, "Love sees all
colors." That is the type of shift that we are seeking to make in our congregations, from a no n-d isc ri m i na to r y stance to a truly accepting stance. To achieve it, education and dialogue, along with a sustaining
presence, are essential pastoral care strategies.
Empowering
One last component of pastoral care is empowering our people to directly engage members of the Right. Pastoral care at this point will mean helping our people to sort out whether and what kinds of dialogue are possible. Questions will need to be explored such as "Is it possible for persons of the Right to respect gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals, and if not, can dialogue proceed?"
If our church is organizing to engage in direct dialogue with members of the Right, questions and feelings about who should speak and who will be heard by the Right will need patient and sensitive care. It is obvious that heterosexual allies can speak and witness in ways that gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals cannot and still be heard. On the other hand, stories and leadership directly from gay men, lesbians, and bisexual persons can have a powerful effect on persons from the Right.
Further, in order to be effective in dialogue with the Right, people must learn to act rather than react. They will find it helpful to identify what the other persons' fears are, what the driving force is underneath their activity, and what their hopes are in order to determine if there is a common ground from which to dialogue. Learning to act directly, to speak directly, and to understand where the other person is coming from are empowering skills we can give our people .
In Conclusion
To all of us, I would say we need to continue to pray that the Spirit of Christ and not the spirit of fear and hostility would guide us in our work together. ...
NOTES
JDonna Minkowitz, "The Christian Right's
Antigay Campaign" Christianity and Crisis
(April 12, 1993):99-104 .
2Bella Stumbo, "The State of Hate" Esquire
(Septembel-1993):73.
Susan Thornton is a pastoral psychotherapist and Jormer Clinical Pastoral Education Supervis01~ A Presbyterian minister
Jor twenty years, she worships with St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Wayzata, Minnesota, and is a member oj PresbyteriansJor Lesbian and Gay Concerns.
24 Open Hands
The Church Responds
~~thAGH'1
L.hristians are becoming more organized and vocal in response to the Religious Right. Insistence on God's love for all and on human justice for all rings out across the country! Important organizing is occurring across race, gender, age, rexual orientation, and religious affiliation. Members of three such groups tell
lOW they got started. Listen to the voices! Add your own!
a] .
simple
justice
"What does God require of you but to do justcie, and to love kindness , and to walk humbly with your God?"
... MICAH 6:8
SIMPLE JUSTICE
SIMPLE JUSTICE is a network of 'nited Methodist individuals, groups, ongregations, and others in Washing-
n and northern Idaho who support ._man rights and civil liberties for all ersons regardless of sexual orientation. . formed in February of 1993 as an utreach of the Reconciling Congrega'ions Task Force (RCTF) of the Pacific ,~orthwest Annual Conference, UMC.
We seek to put into practice that sec.
on of Paragraph 71F of the Book of Discipline of the United Methodist r-hurch which states: "We insist that all ersons, regardless of age, gender, marial
status, or sexual orientation, are en'itled to have their human and civil rights ensured." Our focus is therefore strictly on civil rights.
Participants in SIMPLE JUSTICE enter into a covenant: to share informa"on, to provide material support for its
'ork, and to respond to the best of their bility to its appeals for action on specific issues. Our current membership :-epresents over 1200 people in Washngton
state and Northern Idaho.
Fall 1993
We have organized letter-writing campaigns and phone campaigns in support of Washington State's Anti-Discrimination Bill which would include sexual orientation among the existing categories. Our focus for 1993-94 is to work against the "Colorado-style" initiative that is coming to the ballot in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho in November of 1994,
Michael Spencer has worked on behalf of RCTFfor five years. Sue Sherbrooke served as a lay delegate to the 1992 General Conference. Both are members ofWallingJord United Methodist Church, a Reconciling Congregation. For more information, write to SIMPLEJUSTICE, PO Box 20116, Seattle, WA 98102.
MAINE CLERGY
ORGANIZE
The Portland, Maine City Council passed City Ordinance 13A in May 1992 to secure the rights of gay and
it •
lesbian persons in areas of employment, hOUSing, public accommodations, and credit. Portland is dedicated to being an inclusive community. However, some in Portland and beyond interpreted Portland's inclusive
values to be corrupting of a purity they seek and see themselves called to define and defend. They also feared the effect of the Portland precedent upon the state's anti-discrimination laws which presently do not identify gay and lesbian persons for civil rights protection.
The cartoon (below) appeared in the May 20, 1992 Portland Press Herald, Portland's major newspaper. The conservative Christian movement in Maine, led by The Christian Civic League, took exception. Their director mailed a letter to his donors with appeals to support the organization's efforts to repeal ordinance 13A He enclosed a copy of the cartoon with these words:
I t appeared in a Maine newspaper and it was a vicious and hateji1led attack upon Maine Christians. It was an attack upon ourfaith. It was an attack upon our intelligence. It
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25
was an attack upon our Lord.
A petition was circulated to repeal 13A and qualified as an initiative on the November 1992 ballot.
Feeling the imperative to identify other Christians with an inclusive ethic, five Portland United Church of Christ clergy began to organize clergy in the greater Portland region to oppose negative discrimination and to support City Ordinance 13A We designed a four step process: 1) solicit Portland area UCC clergy for a major ad in the local paper; 2) encourage sermons and serious study of the issue in our local churches and provide resources for such preaching and study; 3) solicit ecumenical and inter-faith clergy for a second ad; 4) generate denominational executive support for supporting 13A
Twenty-nine UCC clergy signed on and contributed $50 each to support the first ad. Our Conference Minister in Maine worked for support from executives of other denominations, gaining clear endorsement from some and passive agreem ent from others. All clergy and religious leaders in the Portland area were then solicited for their signatures and a $15 contribution. An inter-faith ad ran with fifty-nine signatures. Our efforts were coordinated with Equal Protection Portland, developed in 1992 to support City Ordinance 13A The initiative to repeal was defeated.
Bill Gregory is Senior Minister at WoodJords Congregational Church, UCC, in Portland. He is the author oj Faith Before Faithfulness: Centering the Inclusive Church (Pilgrim,
1992).
ECUMENICAL
ORGANIZING
It is often difficult to find clergy and laypersons in one synagogue, church, or denomination with the concern and commitment necessary to organize for a high-profile public witness against homophobia and heterosexism. An ecumenical and inter-religious organization that begins with concerned and committed persons, no matter how few, may be the answer. It was for us in North Carolina.
In the fall of 1987, the Raleigh Human Resources and Human Relations Advisory Committee requested the Raleigh City Council to add "sexual orientation" to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance. Those two groups sponsored a public hearing at which lesbians and gay men gave testimony about their experiences of discrimination and harassment. A consistent theme in those testimonies was of rejection and alienation from religiOUS communities.
1988 North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Pride March
Carrying banner: Jimmy Creech, Mahan Siler, and Jim Lewis
Religious leaders who were confronted by those testimonies began to discuss how they could challenge the pervasive hostility toward gay men and lesbians within religious communities as well as within society at large. With approximately fifteen interested and committed lay persons and clergy, the organizing began and RRNGLE was born. The active membership is now over thirty-five persons with eleven different religious affiliations.
Raleigh Religious Network for Gay & Lesbian Equality
The members of RRNGLE are committed to being a very public challenge to the prevailing hostility within the religious communities. It has sponsored a high-profile annual conference since 1988. It has purchased advertisements, Signed by the members, to support lesbian and gay pride events in the state. Members have written opinion pieces for local papers. RRNGLE has been active in local and state-wide political gay rights initiatives.
The success of RRNGLE is attributable to a clear understanding of "who" it is. It is its membership and not an "institution" that exists to survive. It is a membership made up of persons who speak for themselves and not for the synagogues, churches, and other organizations with which they are affiliated.
It is a "radical cadre" that is comfortable being few in nu mber. It is a proactive, public witness.
Three similar organizing efforts in North Carolina have been spawned by RRNGLE. In 1991, the international meeting of pFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) met in Charlotte. An ticipating public opposition from the Religious Right, RRNGLE
met with supportive clergy during the P-FLAG conference. The result was the creation of the "Charlotte Area Ministerial Association Gay and Lesbian Task Force" that has fostered dialogue between the mainline churches and the lesbian and gay community.
Through its annual conferences, RRNGLE identified a number of persons from the Winston-Salem area and in a meeting in early 1992 helped create the "Piedmont ReligiOUS Network for Gay and Lesbian Equality."
Realizing that the 1992 North Carolina Lesbian and Gay Pride events, scheduled in Asheville, would bring a ReligiOUS Right response, RRNGLE met with clergy and lay persons there and helped create the "Asheville ReligiOUS Network for Gay and Lesbian Equality." ARNGLE purchased advertisements, signed by its members, in local newspapers in support of the Gay Pride events. It continues to address religiOUS and social issues related to lesbians and gay men.
jimrny Creech is Program Associate oj the North Carolina Council oj Churc hes and a member oj the Board oj th e Reconciling Congregation Program (United Methodist). To contact write: RRNGLE, PO Box 5961, Ra leigh, NC 27650-5961 .
Open Hands 26
5
6. 9. a. a. b. c. ''' names at every opportue;r 'experience 10 take on e work. g'roups around the country; -Michael Spencer Sirl1ple Justice
Ten St~ps For Organizing
a De~:R:~'in~~~g,~al Group to ~oi1f.vil Rights
~
THEOLOGY/PHILOSOPHY OF THE RIGHT
Menendez, AlbertJ. Visions of Reality: What Fundamentalist Schools Teach. Prometheus Books. [Examines the most widely used textbooks in fundamentalist private schools.]
Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey. Sensuous Spirituality: Out From Fundamentalism. New York: Crossroad, 1992. [Contains many insights concerning interpretive communities.]
Nordbeck, Elizabeth C . Thunder on the Right -Understanding Conservative Christianity in America. New York: United Church Press, 1990. [Examines "the fundamentalist, charismatic, evangelical, and pentecostal movements...during the last half of the twentieth century." (book cover)]
Rogers, Jack B., and McKim, Donald. The Authority and Interpretation of the Bible. New York: Harper &: Row, 1979. [A scholarly work placing fundamentalism in a full theological context.]
Spong, John Shelby. ' Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture. San Francisco: Harper, 1991. [Provides a crash course on the liberal hermeneutic.]
POLITICS OF THE RIGHT
Bellant, Russ. The Coors Connection: How Coors Family Philanthropy Undermines Democratic Pluralism. Cambridge: Political Research Associates, 1990. ["A well-d.ocumented investigation into the far-right political activities and funding relationships of the Coors beer family..." Institute for First Amendment Studies (IFAS)]
Diamond, Sara. Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right. Boston: South End Press, 1989. ["This left-of-center critique is the best available primer on the history, ideology, factions, and plans of the Christian Right." (IFAS) If you will read only one book on the Right, choose this one.]
Freeman, Matthew. The San Diego Model: A Community Battles the Religious Right. Washington, DC: People for the American Way, 1993. [Describes the Right's "stealth campaign" model.]
Marty, Martin E., and Appleby, R. Scott. The Fundamentalism Project Series. 6 Vols . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991, 1993. Fundamentalisms Observed, Vol. 1; Fundamentalism and SOCiety, Vol. 2; Fundamentalism and the State, Vol. 3; Vols. 4, 5 and 6 available 1994-95.
PERSONALITY OF THE RIGHT
[Suggestions on the nature of the authoritarian mind and the possible causes of abuse.}
Adorno, Theodore, et. al. The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Harper, 1950.
Herman, Judith Lewis. Trauma and Recovery. Basic Books, 1992.
Miller, Alice. Banished Knowledge. New York. Doubleday, 1990 and For Your Own Good. Canada: Collins Publishers, 1984.
Rokeach, Milton. The Open and Closed Mind: Investigations into the Nature of Belief Systems. New York: Basic Books, 1960.
..J
Fall 1993 27
THE ANTIGAY AGENDA OF THE RIGHT
Minkowitz, Donna. "The Christian Right's Anti-gay Campaign." Christianity & Crisis, April 12, 1993, pp. 99-104.
Pharr, Suzanne. "Four Articles on the Religious Right." Transformation. Little Rock, AR: Women's Project, 1992-93.
Segrest, Mab and Leonard Zeskind. Quarantines and Death: The Far Right's Homophobic Agenda. Atlanta: Center for Democratic Renewal, 1989.
Stumbo, Bella. "American Scene: The State of Hate." Esquire, September 1993, pp. 73-84. [On Colorado's Amendment 2.]
WRITTEN BY THE RIGHT
Barron, Bruce. Heaven on Earth? The Social and Political Agendas of Dominion Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992.
Dannemeyer, William. Shadow in the Land: Homosexuality in America. San Francisco: IgnatiUS Press, 1989. ["Must read" says Political Research Associates.]
Jones, Stanton L. "The Loving Opposition," Christianity Today, July 19, 1993, p.18. [Jones urges fellow conservatives to embrace a more loving way in responding to homosexuality.]
Magnuson, Roger J. Are Gay Rights Right? Making Sense of the Controversy. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1990. ["Must read" says Political Research Associates.]
Nobel, David A. Understanding the Times: The Story of the Biblical Christian, Marxist/Leninist and Secular Humanist Worldviews.
Manitou Springs, CO: Summit Ministries, 1991.
North, Gary. Backward Christian Soldiers: An Action Manual for
Christian Reconstruction. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, mid-1980s. [The most accessible book on the politics of Christian Reconstructionism. (lFAS)]
Phillips, Charles R. The Blue Book for Grassroots Politics. NY: Oliver Nelson, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. [The Christian Right's how-to manual. (IFAS)]
Robertson, Pat. The New World Order: It Will Change Your Life. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1991.
Schaeffer, Francis A. AChristian Manifesto. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1981.
RESPONDING TO THE RIGHT
Center for Democratic Renewal. When Hate Groups Come to Town: A Handbookfor Effective Community Responses. 2nd ed. PO Box 50469, Atlanta, GA 30302. Suggested donation, $18.95.
Marsh, Dave. 50 Ways to Fight Censorship & Important Facts to Know About the Censors. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press.
Political Research Associates Packet Series. Constructing Homophobia: How the Right Wing Defines Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals as a Threat to Civilization. Cambridge, MA:PRA. [Includes primary source material from the Religious Right.]
Smith, Christine M. Preaching As Weeping, Confession, and Resistance: Radical Responses to Radical Evil. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, 1992. [Includes discussion of ageism, handicappism, heterosexism, sexism, white racism, classism.]
Wink, Walter. Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992. [How the dominant culture is captured by the Babylonian myth of domination, and Jesus' commitment to partnership and nonviolent resistance.]
28 Open Hands
Letfe7f to
t/.e EA4t07
We welcome bOth Clitical and appteCiatiVe responses to OPEN J{AlIIDS. We reserve tue right to select. edit.rs and
shOrten all submiSsiOns. Nllette must be signed. with addIess and phOne. please indicate i! ,/ou do not want ,/0\11 letter to be
publiShed. 0\11 polic,/ is to publiSh letters. over ,/0\11 full nallle. cM and state. We WIll occasio,/ nJlI aletter anon'llllOUSl'l.
nallrt(~~
,... reetings to you,
I wanted to send a note of "Exultation and Praise" to you the great issue of Open Hands on Aging and Integrity. Fall 1992] Both my partner and I read it cover-to-cover (as s~on as it was off the press)! If there's a criticism, it's only .. at it just begins to uncover the iceberg. I know there's lots
r material out there on this topic, so I hope there can be another one or two issues devoted to the topic of aging. Of course, mine is a very personal interest. (I'm no kid and my partner is over sixty-five.) .. .Thanks again for your work on this. We look forward to the next issues with happy anticipation ...
Judy Jahnke, Rosemont, IL
J ear Sir/Madam:
Please cancel my subscription. The magazine itself is -erious, dry, statistics. Serious, serious writing. Even the uman interest stories are boring. It just wasn't what I expected.However, please keep my subscription payment 5 a contribution for I agree with your views -Gay/lesbian/ . sexuals should enjoy the normal civil rights we all eny
-acceptance in society, adoption, marriage ...
Donna Walthour, Leechburg, PA
Editor's Note: The magazine is serious. We admit it. I am
ooking for light, humorous, human interest stories related to .tpcoming themes. (See list on page 3) I am also interested in "-eceiving cartoons. Please include the name, address, phone "lumber, and date of the newspaper or magazine where you lound it. Cartoonists are also welcome to send material to our Chicago address.
To the Editor: As I cannot find a disclaimer in the Summer 1993 issue, Biblical Interpretation: BeyondJudgment to Love, I have a big
Summer 1993
evangelical bone to pick with [the]... treatment of Mark 12:35-40 in the article by Arnold Isidore Thomas [po 24]. Specifically, how can any interpretation of the NT canon dare to ignore various ascriptions to Messiah as the rightful heir to the throne of David with the simplistic refutation: " ...and precedes his rejection of the notion that the Messiah is the Son of David ... " [po24, col. 2]
Don't you realize that this ...treatment of the Lord's purposed confounding (Mark 11:33) of those who rejected his messianic authority -as witnessed by his miraculous fulfillment of messianic prophecies -gives fundamentalist, traditionalist, and heterosexist evangelical Christians an excuse to ignore everything else your otherwise splendid publication has to say on behalf of oppressed and suffering gay and lesbian Christians?
Phillip B. Harry, Temple City, CA
Rev. Dr. Arnold Thomas replies:
There can be no doubt that there are competing theories regarding the messianic identity of jesus in the Synoptic Gospels, but there should also be no doubt that Mark 12:35-37 (as Matthew 22:41-46 and Luke 20:41-44) favors a christology that does not require a Davidic stamp of approval. Biblical scholars have long acknowledged that the Bible does not speak with one voice concerning the christly identity ofJesus. Robert Funk, in his edition of The Gospel of Mark, suggests that these different points of view arose out of a segment of the early church, "in which there was some tension between the messiah as the son of man (a heavenly figure) and the messiah as the son of David (a political, royal figure)." (Funk, p. 188) This tension, most likely, did not originate with jesus, but with the effort of first century Christians to define the significance of jesus' ministry to the world beyond judaism. Sherman Johnson, in exegeting Matthew 22:41-46 for The Interpreter's Bible, states that "early Christians understood that jesus was a descendant of David (Acts 2:25-36, Romans 1 :3); but he did not derive his authority from his physical descent, and that the Messiah must be thought of, not as a national monarch but as the Lord of all, exalted far above David, ...and David cannot be compared with him." Oohnson, p. 526)
Rev. Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas
Dear Mary jo,
Thanks very much for sending the Summer issue of Open Hands .. .! stand in awe of the speed with which the issue came out; I had presumed a necessarily longer interim between our last conversation and publication. Also, I am impressed with the handsome layout throughout...Do you suppose others will do what I did, namely, to compare the photos of the two [Furnishes] to see whether they are related! I hope this issue gets the attention you hope for...
Victor Paul Furnish Dallas, TX
Editor's Note: Yes, people have asked! Victor and Dorothy Jean are brother and sister.
29
Welcome New Churches
We welcome eleven additional churches to the movement.
Hennepin Avenue UMC Minneapolis, Minnesota
Since its founding in 1875, Hennepin Avenue has consistently been one of the largest churches in Minneapolis, now with almost 3,000 members. Located downtown, the congregation reflects the diversity of the Twin Cities area. The congregation is known for "great preaching, great music and social outreach." Its membership reflects a blend of a strong tradition with a forward-looking vision, including about 125 new members whose average age is under
30. Its Reconciling Congregation declaration has brought a number of new gay, lesbian, and bisexual members.
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.................
OPEN
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.................
OPEN AND AFFIRMING
Community Congregational Church Tiburon, California
A small city congregation, Community Congregational's 280 members are from all over Marin County. This is a theologically diverse and environmentally and globally concerned church which values the expression of spirituality through music and art. It enjoys a creative, non-traditional worship style. The church is beginning a four-month contemplative series for those wishing to nurture their spiritual awareness and growth.
First Congregational UCC Gloversville, New York
Located in a conservative area of upstate New York, First Congregational is fairly unique in its liberal commitments and social consciousness. The church has started numerous programs in the area, including hospice, Meals on Wheels, and a family counseling center. It also offers space for an HIV / AIDS support group. Having passed an ONA statement, First Congregational is now considering how that decision might be reflected in its bylaws and mission statement, and how to implement its ONA commitment more fully in the life of the church.
Pilgrim Congregational UCC Cleveland, Ohio
A spirited, urban congregation of about 225 members, Pilgrim Congregational seeks to live out the gospel in creative, contemporary ways. Multicultural and multiethnic, the congregation is committed to a variety of social justice and peace concerns. In order to minister more effectively in the city, the congregation called an associate staff member who reaches out to the surrounding community and helps the congregation respond to needs identified. Members of the church are active in AIDS ministry. Meeting space is provided for the local UCCL/ GC chapter and a social group for gay men.
Plymouth Congregational Church Seattle, Washington
"Plymouth Church -where faith and action come together!" That's how this downtown church of 1,000 members presents itself to metropolitan Seattle. The church continues a long history of social activism and attracts people interested in local and global mission. In partnership with an AfricanAmerican Baptist congregation, Plymouth will be part of the "Prince of Peace Walk," (a march against violence) scheduled for Advent. It has hosted a delegation from a Nicaraguan church. Plymouth celebrates the diversity of its congregation and explains the meaning of its ONA stance in each Sunday's order of service.
Sanctuary UCC Harrisonburg, Virginia
Granted full standing as a uce church in April 1993, Sanctuary's founding vision statement included being a "radically inclusive" faith community which would be Open and Affirming. Members seek to "walk in the way ofJesus with all peoples in all walks and ways of life." In October, the church moved from Mt. Crawford to a new downtown site in Harrisonburg, where it hopes to be a significant spiritual and missional presence. In its new building, Sanctuary will offer meeting space to the first gay, lesbian, and bisexual support group in Harrisonburg.
Shalom UCC West Lafayette, Indiana
Begun in 1987, Shalom has 64 adult members/ friends and 19 children. Extremely mission-oriented, its members have taken as their goal "to give as much to others as to ourselves." Shalom recently held forums to discuss questions and ideas that have arisen since its ONA vote. The church has had a steady stream of visitors since becoming ONA and is delighted to welcome one and all.
Urbandale UCC Des Moines, Iowa
This active, urbani suburban church of 360 members draws participants from throughout the Des Moines area.
Open Hands 30
..1embers are completing financial plans for a new sanctuary, assisting with food relief, and working in partnership with an inner city congregation (a Reconcil.ng Congregation!). Another partnership is being discussed, perhaps with a church in Indonesia. The Sunday School has its own special project -col.ecting clothes, toys, and books for hospitalized children. Urbandale recently finished five months of intensive study on gay/lesbian issues.
Gethsemane Lutheran Church
[RECOYHRISTJ
Columbia, South Carolina
Gethsemane has actively practiced inclusivity throughout its four decades of ministry. Some South Carolina "firsts" for Gethsemane include: African-American members, congregational presidents and synod delegates, internships for women in seminary, and now the Affirmation ofWelcome. Gethsemane's members during Lent last year studied issues surrounding child abuse, abortion, capital punishment, AIDS ministry, and homosexuality. The coming out of a lesbian member, the congregation's love and support for her, and their desire to act on the issues they studied, led the congregation to adopt the RIC Affirmation of Welcome.
Fountain of Hope Lutheran Fellowship
Kansas City, Missouri
Fountain of Hope is a multicultural, inner-city, storefront congregation committed to inclusivity and outreach. Many members have lived on the fringe of society most of their lives, and understand how our church and society can either marginalize and exclude people, or include and welcome them. Frustrated by the church's slow response to including lesbian and gay people, they
Fall 1993
felt that making the Affirmation ofWelcome was a way to move ahead.
Abiding Peace Lutheran Church
Kansas City, Missouri
The members of Abiding Peace felt "it was time" to make a statement of support t9 the church for lesbian and gay people. The congregation has had several long-time lesbian members who have served as congregational leaders. The congregation's commitment to be an inclusive, welcoming congregation overcame concerns about the publicity of becoming a Reconciled in Christ congregation.
Others Join the Movement
We also welcome two new synods to our ever-growing movement.
The Synod of the Northeast Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
New England, New York, New Jersey
Comprised of over 1,200 congregations, the Synod of the Northeast has become the first More Light Synod of the Presbyterian Church (U.S .A). At its January 1993 meeting, the Synod (voting 68 to 52) "declares itself to be a 'More Light Synod,' affirming the inclusiveness set forth in The Book of Order, encouraging all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, who seek to know Christ, to participate fully in the life of the church."
The Metro Chicago Synod, ELCA
Chicago, Illinois
The Metro Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America passed the Affirmation of Welcome in its annual assembly this past summer.
Ecumenical Leaders and Open Hands Advisors Meet
Representatives of the Open and Affirming (United Church of Christ), Reconciled in Christ (Lutheran), Reconciling (United Methodist), and Supportive (Brethren/Mennonite) Church programs held their fourth annual ecumenical gathering in Chicago in mid-September. The leaders recognized the continued growth of the "welcoming church" movement across the denomination -now encompassing more than 350 congregations.
The leaders shared resources and program ideas, participated in a fundraising workshop, and viewed the new Religious Right video, Gay Rights/ Special Rights. '-RCP
Collecting Data on
Homophobia in UMC
The Reconciling Congregation Program office is collecting data and stories of homophobia or inhospitality toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons that occurred in the United Methodist Church (UMC) this year.
Persons are encouraged to contact the Rep office by phone or letter with reports of recent words or deeds of homophobia or inhospitality at all levels of the UMC, including agencies, annual conferences, congregations, clergy, and laypersons. All reports will be strictly confidential. An initial published review of "Homophobia in the UMC' is planned for early 1994.
31
Open Hands
The leaders called on all the churches in our ecumenical network to be in solidarity with each other by celebrating their welcoming ministries in worship onJanuary 23, 1994. Evaluation of the first year of collaboration in publishing Open Hands produced very positive feedback.
The editorial adViSory committee for Open Hands met the following weekend. Again, evaluation of the new ecumenical venture was overwhelmingly positive. Future themes recommended at this meeting include: Outreach and Evangelism; Gifts of the Spirit; Campus Ministries; Denominations: Help or Hindrance in the Movement; Diversity;and Celebrating Relationships.
LC/North America Hires Program Executive
In September, Robert W Gibeling,jr., from Atlanta, Georgia, became the first Program Executive of Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA) at a gala installation service in Fort Worth, Texas. "It is clear to me that the issue of affection orientation will be in the forefro nt of social concerns faCing North America for the remainder of the decade. In this crucial time, LC/NA can be a tremendously powerful influence for positive change," Gibeling told the Board of Directors. "I consider it an honor to help make this happen."
The role of Program Executive is to work with the Board of Directors to develop programs and strategies which will further the mission and ministry of LC/NA "We wanted to leave the maintenance and nuts and bolts operation with the board," said LC/NA Co-Chair Lynn Mickelson, "so that the Program Executive can focus on strengthening and expanding the work of the organization. Bob is uniquely qualified for this role."
"Bob views the Reconciled in Christ (RIC) program as one of the most important ministries sponsored by Lutherans Concerned," observes RIC Coordinator Brian Knittel. Gibeling says "Because it's a grassroots, local-based program, [RIC] will have a tremendous
Religious Right Video and Leader's Guide Available from Rep
The RCP office has a copy of the new Religious Right video Gay Rights/Special Rights which it will loan out to churches. Also available is a leader's guide prepared by the RCP office. For information on how to borrow the video and secure a copy of the guide, call 312/736-5526 or 312/736impact
on the church. At some point in the future, as the number of congregations reaches a critical mass, it will ensure that there is positive change in the church."
More Light Tenth Annual Conference
The 1994 annual conference of the More Light Churches network (Presbyterian) will be held in the Minneapolis/ St. Paul area in May 1994. The theme is "Turning Dialogue into Ministry." A unique, inspirational play, "Coming Out/Coming Home," will be performed by members of Spirit of the Lakes UCC. Speakers will include the former General Assembly moderator,john Fife and preaching professor, Christine Smith. For information and registration, call Lindsay Biddle, 612/724-5429 or Dick Lundy, 612/470-0093.
Funding Withheld from Presbyterian Synod
In late spring, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, California, decided to withhold funding of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii until the Synod ceased to fund Lazarus, a gay/lesbian outreach program. One of the largest and wealthiest congregations in the Presbyterian church (U.S .A.), St. Andrew's put $300,000, which was intended for Synod missions, into escrow.
For several years the Synod has provided a small amount of financial support for the Lazarus Project, a ministry of reconciliation with lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons housed at West Hollywood Presbyterian (a More Light Church). The Lazarus Project labeled the action "extortionist" and reminded churches that other missions could suffer the same consequences if St. Andrew's demand was met. Synod commissioners condemned St. Andrew's action and declared its support for the Lazarus Project. St. Andrew's subsequently diverted the escrowed funds to non-Synod programs.
The Synod has been badly financially damaged by these actions and may be unable to fund any of its social justice and outreach ministries. 5475 (fax).
32