Open Hands Vol 10 No 1 - Reclaiming Pride: An Agenda for the Church?

Open Hands Vol 10 No 1 - Reclaiming Pride: An Agenda for the Church?

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1994

Summer

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.
Open Hands is published quarterly. Subscription is $16 for four issues ($20 outside the U.S.). Single copies and back issues are $5. Quantities of lO or more, $3 each. Subscriptions, letters to the editor, manuscripts, requests for advertising rates, and other correspondence should be sent to:
Open Hands
3801 N. Keeler Avenue Chicago, IL 60641 Phone: 312/736-5526 Fax: 312/736-5475
Member, The Associated Church Press
© 1994
Reconciling Congregation Program, Inc.
Open Hands is a registered trademark.
ISSN 0888-8833
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Resources jor Ministries Afjirming the Diversity oj Human Sexuality
RECLAIMING PRIDE
Focus on Pride 4
ANN B. DAY 5
Metanoia! Redeeming a Lost Metaphor
C. M ARTIN DAVIS
How to free 'repentance' from its Babylonian captivity!
Gift-ed By Pride!
APRIL HERRON-SWEET
A personal witness from a straight pastor.
RESTORING DAMAGED PRIDE
Sin Against the Holy Spirit
A POEM BY HARVEY M A NCHESTER, JR.
FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION
Remember our History!
ANITA C. HILL
Everyone needs a past stop suppressing ours!
Pride is a Face-Lifting Process
AN ONYMOUS
2 Open Hands
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Program Coordinators
Reclaiming Pride: An Agenda for the Church?
A Prideline of Marches 16 A visual glance at pre-and post-Stonewall demonstrations.
Sto
newall -25:the"-Ch~urch Was"'fhere! 18
Thank God for the Spirit of Stonewall! 20
HOWARD B . WARREN, JR
Reflections from one who stood across the street.
Hollywood Promotes Self-Esteem 21
LINDSAY LOUISE BIDDLE
Can the church learn from Hollywood's technique?
SUSTAINING THE SPIRIT
ComingOut -A~Witness to the?'Resurrecti9r11"""~" 22 A RITUAL Cij'EATED,BY CHRIS GtA'SER *' ~tfi(ln yourff1embers who ar~, coming qf$""~' ritual ~'~~ted fot puqtl~hlfJrship!
!;::.0ttz'
In Pride We Claim You 24
A LITANY CREATED BY K ELLY T URNEY
west coast east 25
A POEM BY CARLTON ELLIOTT SMITH
Mark Bowman Reconciling Congregation
Program, Inc. 3801 N. Keeler Avenue Chicago, IL 60641 312/ 736-5526
Ann B. Day Open and Affirming Program
P.O. Box 403 Holden, MA 01520 508/ 856-9316
Brian Knittel
o Reconciled in Christ Program
2800 Buena Vista Way Berkeley, CA 94708 5lO/ 841-6990
William Capel
:·'·~:~'
T More Light Churches Network 908 W. Healy Street
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.~:.
Champaign, IL 61821 217/ 355-9825
Publisher
Mark Bowman
Open Hands Editor
Mary Jo Osterman
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 AngeIes, CA Derrick Kikuchi, Daly City, CA Samuel E. Loliger, Buffalo, NY Shawndra Miller, Goshen, IN Dick Poole, Oak Forest, IL Caroline Presnell, Evanston, IL Irma C . Romero, Chicago, IL Paul Santillan, Chicago, IL Martha Scott, Chicago, IL Stuart Wright, Chicago, IL
ONE MORE
WORD
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WHAT DO
YOU THINK?
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RESOURCES
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MOVEMENT
NEWS
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OPEN
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Summer 1994 3
I hear the word "pride" and immediately think "goeth before a fall." I can't help it. It's one of those KJV Bible verses from childhood that is indelibly impressed on my memory though not quite accurately. The full verse warns, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov 16:18). This passage has left me with a wariness about pride -a sense that it is somehow inappropriate, even dangerous.
I have come to realize, however, that the word "pride" covers many intentions of the heart. There's the kind in Proverbs which causes people to be "haughty" -or as my grandmother would have said, "to get too big for their britches." Such an inflated view endangers both fellowship and faith. No wonder biblical texts warn believers to be wary.
However, the heart knows another kind of pride, a kind marked by a sense of one's own proper dignity or value or self respect. Unlike self-centered pride, this pride of the centered-self reminds us that the Rev. Jesse Jackson is right; every human being has reason to shout: "I am somebody!" In light of our faith, we might then turn to our neighbor and say "And so are you!"
We are called to honor God by nurturing and bringing to maturity the unique, genuine selves that we are . Renowned composer and cellist, Pablo Casals also understood. He urged that we instill pride in our children by saying to them:
Do you know who you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all oj the world there is no other child exactly like you . .. And look at your body -what a wonder it is! your legs, your arms, your cunningJingers, the way you move! You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity Jor anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel?1
Young lesbigay persons, as well as their heterosexual peers, need to grow up knowing themselves marvels of God's creation.
To the extent that we believe that "we are all one in Christ" we all need to have gay/lesbian/ bisexual pride:
Pride that makes us want to know the history of pink triangles, the Stonewall Inn, and "don't ask don't tell"; Pride that moves us to appreciate the literary, artistic, dramatic, liturgical, and political contributions of lesbigay people throughout history; Pride that assures we know the witness of BillJohnson, Troy Perry, Janie Spahr, John McNeill and countless other lesbigay Christian leaders; Pride that will not allow us to abide indifference and injustice toward the lesbigay expression of the Holy. We are called to rejoice with those
who rejoice and weep with those who weep. To do so with integrity we need some appreciation of the reasons for the smiles or tears we share. For gay, lesbian, and bisexual people some of the reasons are rooted in the past -centuries of struggle and accomplishmenthat are the foundation for today's Ie bigay community. Some of the reasons are very contemporary -the persona' stories of our gay, lesbian, and bisexua. sisters and brothers. As we in the churc:-: come to know these past and prese " stories we shall better understand the need for and the sources of lesbiga,' pride. We will realize how widesprea . condemnation remains and how urgenis the Church's welcome. Together then. to the glory of God, we will learn to care for and be proud of the marvels that we are. 'Y
Note lIn Original Blessing by Matthew Fox. Santa Fe: Bear &: Company, 1983. p. 94.
4 Open Hands
.~~O\\ING".t
~ \1\alollle ~~
ByJonathan R. Abernethy and David E. Deppe
Is It Possible to Reclaim Pride? Do We Want To?
Listen in on a dialogue in progress.
there are to dignity, (self-)esteem, (self-) respect.2
Jonathan: There is a passing reference
in Proverbs to the dignity of women
(Prov 31:25).
David: Yes, and at the conclusion ofJob the writer is told to clothe himself with majesty and dignity. However,Job seems to do this, not out of self-respect or selfesteem, but for the purpose of bringing low those who are proud Gob 40: 10l4).
David (to spouse, Jonathan): "Reclaiming Pride" is a problem! The more research I do, the more I discover how little is said about pride and how almost nothing is positive. It's like breaking new ground.
Jonathan: Maybe you are.
David: The whole thing of pride -especially "Lesbigay Pride" -is so important for our community, especially in the midst of our celebrations of the Stonewall anniversary. However, what I'm finding is all so negative. We've got a problem.
The Down Side of Pride
Jonathan: Is reclaiming pride the problem? That's easy. In our daily living many of us are eager to embrace egotism, haughtiness, arrogance, conceit, and vanity.
David: That's right! Our common view of pride is everything you have said. And that's part of the problem.
Jonathan: Well,you won't get any help from the Bible. I can't think of a Single positive reference to pride. What I remember is the proverbial pride goeth before afall . ..
David: ... or God's opposing the proud, but giving grace to the humble. To make matters worse, when the Bible speaks of pride it often connects pride to those negative synonyms. For example Proverbs says: The proud, haughty person . " acts with arrogant pride
Summer 1994
(Prov 21:24).1 In the gospel of Mark pride is included in a long list of socalled evil intentions beginning with for nication and theft (Mk 7:21-22). Paul includes haughty in his infamous Romans 1 list (Rom 1:29-31).
The Up Side of Pride
Jonathan: Like I said, the Bible's not going to help us.
David: Well, maybe. However, there's a side of pride we've lost. Pride is a word with two opposite meanings. There is the common view of pride -all that appeals to our lower nature -and there's also another side, a more noble meaning that demands our attention pride as dignity, self-worth, self-respect, self-esteem.
Jonathan: But few people pay attention to this positive side of pride.
David: What's faSCinating is that in both Hebrew and Greek, as well as in English, pride has this positive and negative meaning. The Hebrew word ga'own can also mean excellency or majesty; and hyperephanon in classical . Greek can mean outstanding or distinguished
.
Jonathan: Does the Bible ever use pride in this more noble sense?
David: Yes, but not often. Isaiah (4:2) makes a positive reference, and there are two passages by Paul (2 Cor 7:4 and Gal 6:4 ). That's about it. What surprises me is how few direct biblical references Jonathan: And the Bible talks about
honoring parents, respecting elders,
honoring the poor.
David: And in Acts, the Apostles were held in high esteem by the early church (Acts 5:13). But that's all! In fact, there are stern admonitions warning against such things as self-respect or self-esteem (see Prov 26:16, 28: 11).
Should the Church Reclaim Pride?
Jonathan: So what does this have to say about reclaiming pride?
David: Well, it says a lot. First of all, it is obvious the biblical writers don't think highly of pride. They only know the negative side of pride, the haughtiness and arrogance. Their message is clear: Have nothing to do with that.
Jonathan: Frankly, I agree. These are not attributes that need encouraging. As I said, that kind of pride comes easy enough. Most of us indulge in that kind of behavior as a reaction to the invisibility society demands of us. The closet is not our choice! The closet is demeaning. And so we wear arrogance and haughtiness as our defense .
David: What the biblical writers hold up as an alternative -humility, lowliness in spirit, meekness, gentleness also need no encouraging in our community. Such attributes can be fine character traits. However, for lesbigay people they easily become character
more II••
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defects. For too long we "gentle people" have wallowed in humility, shame, guilt, and self-pity.
Jonathan: Isn't that true of any group of oppressed people? I wonder if that's what the biblical writers are really trying to address? Maybe they were trying to discourage the hurtful side of pride.
David: Perhaps. But the alternative is no better. What oppressed people need to hear is something about dignity, selfworth, self-respect . ..
Jonathan: . .. and self-love. The Bible does speak positively about self-love ...
David: What do you mean?
Jonathan: Well, when the Pharisees ask Jesus about the greatest commandment, Jesus responds: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind . .. and you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:34-40). For me the message is clear: One cannot love another unless one loves oneself. And one cannot love oneself if one is engaged in the hurtful, negative aspects of pride such as arrogance, conceit, vanity, or haughty superiority.
David: Interesting! Nor can we love another if we are engaged in being meek and submissive.
Jonathan: Paul makes the same point in reference to love between spouses. A spouse is to love the other even as s/he loves her/himself (Eph 5:33).
David: Loving your neighbor as yourselfor your spouse as you love yourself is an important inSight. You are equating pride with loving oneself, and loving oneself is necessary to love another. The church, on the other hand, equates pride with arrogance and conceit.
Jonathan: Ah! .. . Now I understand why my folks cringe so much when I tell them how proud I am of them. They are good church people and they equate my pride in them with conceit, arrogance, and vanity when I am thinking in terms of respect, honor, worthiness, and esteem. I also understand my emptiness when they are unable to express their pride in me. Can we change that kind of thinking? Can we really reclaim pride and maintain theological integrity?
David: I think so, although not everyone will agree. It will mean looking at things differently. When it comes to doing theology, I'm reminded of what our pastor said in her sermon on Sunday: "Thepurpose of
David: Don'tbe so cynical. What the church might grasp and affirm is a new and profoundly biblical understanding of dignity, self-worth, self-respect, selfesteem -the more noble synonyms of pride. The church might modify its understanding of pride based on an understanding of a Word of God that is well known: Love your neighbor as yourself! Or in your words: One cannot love another unless one loves oneself.
theology is to point out the pathway to God, rather than to be a barrier to others."3 When we look at pride from only one point of view, albeit biblical, we end up majoring in barriers and minoring in pathways. What you are suggesting, Jonathan, is a new way of thinking about "pride." And in so doing you are pointing out a pathway to God for a people who usually find those pathways
filled with barriers. THE DIALOGUE: David and Jonathan explore meanings of pride. Jonathan: Well, I can tell -------------------you,
it won't be easy.
David: You're right! Reclaiming pride may be an impossible agenda for the church. What may be possible is to invite the people of God to explore a redefinition of pride. Perhaps people can interpret the symbol and gain new inSight.
Jonathan: That's easier?
David: I don't know, but you have pointed us in the right direction. First of all we have noted that in English as well as in the biblical languages pride has two very different meanings. The Bible chooses to use only one of the meanings directly. Theologically, the church has done the same. It seems not to fathom the higher, more noble meaning. That is especially true when it comes to "Gay Pride."
Jonathan: Or gay anything.
Jonathan: That's important not only for the church to grasp, but also for bisexual, lesbian, and gay people to grasp. What I find in our community is a 10 of shame, humiliation, guilt, self-contempt, feelings of inadequacy, a lack Of
dignity . . .
Pointing the Way
David: That reminds me of Psalm
What are human beings that you are min ful ofthem? Mortals that you carefor then Yet you have made them a little lower tha God and crowned them with glory an honor(Ps 8:4-5). No qualifiers here! The psalmist is speaking of all mortals, a. human beings! That includes us! Th15 is a profound Word of God that calls a . humankind to a new sense of dignity self-worth, self-respect, self-esteem. V";e are made in God's very own image,jus' a smidgen lower.
Open Hands 6
Jonathan: Yea! God has made you and me exactly as God intended us to be.
David: Yes, God made me a gay man. This Psalm calls me to delight in that knowledge, to rejoice in God's creation of me, to celebrate God. This kind of thinking can provide us with a sense of dignity, self-respect, and wholeness that celebrates God and that is so essential for our well-being, both physical and mental.
Jonathan: This kind of thinking, however,
is really difficult for many lesbigay
people to hear. I know how difficult it
was for me to accept my sexuality -and
to accept that God created my sexuality.
All my life I knew I was different. As I
grew older I began to realize what that
difference was. I heard the terms queer
and faggot, and I knew they meant me.
The message I heard the church telling
me was those feelings were unnatural and
to act on those feelings was sinful.
However, I knew I could not change. I
rayed God would remove those
oughts and feelings from me, but the
ore I prayed the stronger they became.
Da\-id: God was probably telling you -~mething: My grace is sufficient for you.
jonathan: Yes, but at the time I wasn't
eHing that message. I felt ashamed.
ore than that, I felt dirty, unclean, sino
......
and very lonely, separated from the people 1 loved (l couldn't tell them) and !"rom God (who knew my secret
houghts).
David: My experience was similar, and I suspect that is true of most gay, bisexual, and lesbian people who come from Christian homes and grow up in the Christian faith. One of two things happens: either we find ourselves deeper and deeper in the closet or we leave the church altogether.
Jonathan: Or we take our own lives.
David: That's why it's so important for the church to set a new agenda when it comes to pride, particularly "Lesbigay Pride." The church's agenda has to be that of finding a creative way of speak-
Summer 1994 ing the Gospel to lesbigay people. We in the church must encourage people to discover who they are in God, to accept themselves as God has made them to be. We must encourage all of us to delight in God's wonderful diversity in creation, to rejoice in our sexuality, to express our sexuality responsibly, and to celebrate the gift that God gives to each one of us.
Jonathan: Gift!
David: Yes, gift! I believe our sexuality is a precious God-given gift. Whether homosexual or heterosexual or bisexual, our sexuality is a sacred trust from God to be used wisely and responSibly. Sexual bonding is the deepest and most intimate relationship that one can share with another. It is not dirty, unclean, or sinful. It is good, precious, and holy. It is not something to be talked about in secret or joked about in public, but revered and respected as the gift God has given it to be.
Jonathan: Ifonly the Church could talk that way! What a difference that could make in the lives of a lot of people regardless of their sexual orientation. There's a wholeness in that language, a healing that we all need to hear ...
David: We are all in desperate need of healing, including the church itself. As I said before, I'm not sure if the church is willing to reclaim or reinterpret pride -or even if it can. However, if the church is to survive the post-Christian era, I believe it has to change its approach. It must speak its message in a way the Gospel can be heard. Very few people are listening to the church anymore. For most, the church has lost its integrity. It has no authority. Many believe the church's message is irrelevant. Those more critical say the church is morally bankrupt . . .
Jonathan: .. . and have left the institution to find their spirituality elsewhere.
David: Yes, and so I want to raise a challenge to all of us still in the church:
When it comes to "pride," dare to riskfor the Gospel. Reclaim the word pride, and ifnot the word itself, then at least reclaim its more noble synonyms: dignity, self-worth, self-respect, self-esteem. Reclaim them as avenues toward lOVing yourselves. Help your people, all your people, but especially your gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, to see ourselves as the special creation of God's own making. Bring healing to your people, and especially to us. Tear down the barriers erected by onesided interpretations of pride. Point us on the pathway to God . ...
Notes
lEd. Note: All biblical references are to the
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 2Ed . Note: However, see John Fortunato's article, p. 10 for discussion on indirect positive aspects of pride in the Bible.
3The Rev. Elaine Siemsen, Pastor of Berwyn United lutheran Church (ElCA) Berwyn, Illinois, The Holy Trinity, First Sunday after Pentecost, 1994.
7
By C. Martin Davis
Saul on the road to Damascus had a blinding encounter with God that altered his life forever (Acts 9). What happened to him on that road was an experience of metanoia (f.!£'tUV01U).
M etanoia is a Greek term t~at means repentance: seemg things in a new wa)~ returning, changing in thought or feeling. Because of the dramatic intervention of God in his life, Saul-who-became-Paul was compelled to see Jesus, the world, and himself in a new and different way. He repented.
Repentance has been used very effectively to terrorize lesbian, bisexuaL and gay Christians. The church's call to them to repent has traditionally meant a denial of self, a demand for self-loathing, and a "return" to heterosexuality. This misuse of repentance m~st be reJected because it is an expfohatton of the concept of metanoia; it~ has lea denial of the God-initiated a~pect of repentance. Metanoia is our response, but it begins with God reaching out to us. It begins with a cail from a loving and reconciling God.
We must reclaim concepts that have been held hostage by one segment of the Christian community. We are obligated to reclaim our Christian vocabulary, particularly when those words convey ideas about grace and love. We need to begin th~«'''> w"ork of freeing our faith ltil
anguag~ "')f}!~abylOJ)ian captivity. ., w "",,iF(,;,
Repentance is not the enemy!
Repentance is not the enemy of gay men, lesbians, and bisexual persons. It is the sign of a loving encounter with a God who seeks reconciliation with every person. For lesbigay persons the metaphor of repentance as metanoia can be pivotal to developing a new vision of self, a new sense of pride. The idea of metanoia recognizes that all
8 humans live in need of constant returning to a more complete and life-giving relationship with God. In its fullest sense repentance is the active, ongoing, God-initiated work of seeing ourselves not as victims or abominations, but as beloved people created in God's image. Metanoia is the process of living and seeing in a new and different way. It is the life-long process of moving from rejection to acceptance, of trading selfloathing for self-esteem, of turning from death to face life.
Metanoia/ repentance affirms our gifts and contributions. It rejects the old notl@rlS that homosexuals are outside the iiealm~pf God's grace,a.nd love. It
' means turning away from alife w~ich may be filled wi~~ self-condemnation, shame, secrecy, or the fear of hying life. completely. It may mean turning away ' from expressions of lesbigay sexuality which are life-destructive and life-denying toward expressions oflesbigay sexuality that are life-giving. It means the embracing of self-love and acceptance. It involves a turning around toward the affirmation of our createdness. It leads to a true and positive kind of self-esteem and pride. Repentance, renewal, growth, and pride are inseparable. As our vision is made new, so is our life made new, and thence comes true selfesteem and healthy pride.
Repentance for the
Marginalized
If each person is called by God to turn and see things in a new way, then metanoia/ repentance is particularly apt for all those who have been demonized and marginalized throughout human history. Metanoia is a gloriOUS and life-giving metaphor for seeing a new life marked by the love of God. Metanoia :: our response to God's offer of a COIYplete life: we turn away from demo .. ized images that the church and th world offer us of ourselves; we turn l ward loving images of ourselves as h man beings created in God's image
One key element in the concept r metanoia as I am using it deserves a ; nal emphasis. As a metaphor for t e Christian life, metanoia -repentance is not a repudiation ofself. It accepts an affirms that I am the person that Go designed Gust as Saul was the perso God designed). Saul changed his hatefuL hurtful attitudes, his persecuti _ actions, n ot his basic nature Th strength of repentance for lesbians an gay men is that it presumes a God-gi\'e sexuality.! The call to repentance bui upon that gift rather than seeking to char. ( it.
In the Revelation to John, God sa: _ "1 am standing at the door, knockm (Rev 3:20). Repentance -metanOla is our response to God's request fa admission to our lives. It is never to late to reclaim, or even redeem, a bib leal concept that has been misused. For lesbians, bisexuals, and gay men lh issue is simply one of willingness. All . takes is a turning around! New life an true pride in self will follow! ~
C. Martin Davis, M.Div., is Vicar of St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He alsoserves as Chaplain to the Diocesan Integlity Chapter~
Open Hands
GIFT-ED BY PRIDE
have frequently had occasion to be thankful for the gifts given to me by my gay and lesbian friends. Some of those gifts are the unique gifts of the individual, but some seem to arise because the person is gay or lesbian. Three of the latter that I can identify are acceptance, gender affirmation, and safety.
Acceptance: Because they have had to come to a deep level of self-acceptance to be who they are in a heterosexual society, my gay and lesbian friends are able to be very accepting of me.
I was having lunch with Ron and Ray, struggling to articulate some thoughts about the dynamicS of the church where
'e work and hold membership. I wasn't sure whether it was OK to voice what I really thought. "This is going to sound weird .. . " I said. "No," came the qUick reply. "Nothing sounds weird to us." I decided to go ahead and speak my mind. They didn't laugh and they didn't seem to think I was crazy.
Ron and Ray probably don't remember that conversation, but I do. As a person who has often felt different for being "too smart" or "too assertive" or "too counterculture" -I find it notable when people accept me for who and what I am. I am grateful for the friends who can support and affirm me, my primary relationship, my parenting, and my work.
Gay, lesbian, and bisexual folks have lots of experience with "not fitting in" to SOciety's mold. I imagine it is the process of coming out, of affirming the self in the face of familial, religious, and/or societal rejection, that has fostered the quality of acceptance toward others. I admire these men and women for somehow transforming their own pain and struggles into a gift for someone else.
Summer 1994
By April Herron-Sweet
Gender Affirmation: My gay/ lesbian friends help me celebrate "beingfemale" and "being male. " They remind me that couples aren't about "two halves making awhole" but about two completein-themselves individuals sharing their life journeys.
While we attended the Pacific School of Religion, my husband and I lived in a seminary-owned apartment building. I remember describing to someone how I was frequently in and out of my next door neighbors' apartment and how we enjoyed each others' company. She also knew my neighbors, Dawn and Carla. "Oh!" she said, "Isn't all that womanspace wonderful!"
I hadn't thought of it that way before, but she was right. In fact, we had a running joke that their apartment was so woman-oriented that the toilet seat would not stay propped up! Their apartment was a relaxing and affirming and fun place to spend time. In addition, Dawn and Carla were living examples that women could indeed fix cars, wear make-up, work, study, paint, write, cook, build shelves, make dolls, and train a cat to wear a leash!
It is my impression that same-sex couples experience the same range of issues (money, time, communication, sex, in-laws, etc.)· that heterosexual couples do. It is also my observation that they can perform all the same functions and tasks of maintaining a household and a relationship. Finally, I observe that each couple, gay or non-gay, accomplishes this in their own unique way.
Something about a woman committed to sharing her life with a woman speaks to me of the goodness of being female. Something about a man committed to sharing his life with a man speaks to me of the goodness of being male. "God created them male and female ... and it was very good."
Safety: The safe space and nonthreatening physical affection offered to me by my lesbian and gayfriends have been instrumental in my healing and growth process.
My friend Dwight and I always greet each other with a warm hug and a kiss. It is the same hug and kiss whether we are in the narthex after worship or in the privacy of one of our homes. This greeting is about good will and affection, not about sex.
In a world where women's bodies are commonly used as a marketing tool, where pornography has confused sex with violence, and where even little children are not safe from adult sexual advances, it is restorative to be able to exchange signs of affection with friends and not worry that they will be interpreted as sexual advances. As I work toward becoming a whole and healthy human being, I have had much to learn about what it means to be "embodied." The gay and lesbian communities have been among my teachers.
So, thank you friends, for learning to be comfortable with and to celebrate your identity. You have given me gifts of great value. T
April Herron-Sweet is co-pastor, with her husband Andy, oj the PaciJic Beach United Methodist Church in San Diego, California. They have been subscribers to Open Hands since 1987.
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Christians have been taught for generations that pride is the "queen" of The Seven Deadly Sins. Sacred scripture describes pride as being arrogant or "puffed up." Pride leads to boasting, self-centeredness, vanity, haughtiness, snobbery, and smugness. All of these, we are warned, radically restrict our spiritual vista and thus separate us from God.
The root of this theological conviction is the biblical admonition: To God be the glory. Homage for the goodness of creation -including the goodness of humankind -should ultimately be given, we are cautioned, to God and God alone. Pride as defined above is like the worship of idols. It diverts our rightful adoration of God to that which is not God (in this case, ourselves). Attempting to be like God, as the paradigmatic story of Adam and Eve was intended to teach, is humankind's undoing.
Over the years this meaning of pride was extended in some Christian circles to include such behaviors and attitudes as rejoicing in a personal accomplishment, basking in a victory, or needing any affirmation or approval at all. Any excitement about one's achievements or one's self began to be defined as prideful. In these church traditions exemplary "Christian" behavior came to be viewed as utter self-effacement. This left the faithful with a radical (and destructive) dichotomy: all the goodness of creation was to be attributed to God; all the sin to us.
This expanded concept of pride is a destructive perversion of the traditional Christian doctrine. Fostering basic pride is central to the spiritual upbuilding of God's people, especially those who are marginalized: in the case at hand, gay and lesbian people. This article explores a way to repair the damage that the exaggerated , negative concept of pride has wreaked on gay and
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~
A Therapist's View
By John E. Fortunato
lesbian people as individuals and as a community. The work of Heinz Kohut, the father of self-psychology, is relied upon in part to remedy the bloated, negative notion of pride. l Self psychology (a branch of psychoanalytic psychology) focuses on the development and sustenance of a cohesive, robust, and vibrant self as central to psychological wellness. This makes room for in fact, requires -h ealthy pride.
The Roots of Pride
The etymology of the word pride is obscure, but it may be related to the words prize and praise. Whether or no· these words are connected historically however, they are linked functionallJ. One develops healthy pride by bein prized and praised. One develops a solid and vital self by being valued for who one is and by having one's accom· plishments lauded. In fact, praise is cru· cial for the development of a norma. healthy person.
A small child sits on the floor dra\ . ing with crayons. She finishes, piCks herself up and, with artwork in han runs to her mother. "Mommy, momrr., look!" she shouts gleefully. No one . hope) would fault the mother for la .. ishing admiration on the child for he artistry. "Oh honey! that's a beautir .. tree. Are these apples?" "Yup." "Arl there's the sun!" "Yup." "Is this a b ~ up here?" "Uh-huh." "Listen," says mo "could you drav,l me a big bird now,j .: like this one only as big as the who paper?" "OK!" says the child excited. as she returns to her 'studio.'
What has happened here? The ch' has "grown a bit of self." She got from the floor an artist with some se doubt as to her talent and skill; she s . down again with a more solid perce· tion of herself as "good at drawing.". it takes, of course, is several million these kinds of interactions in vario
Open Hand_ 10
spheres of her life between her current age and eighteen for this little child to reach adulthood ready to greet the world
ith her feet firmly planted and an opmism that she will be able to cope with 'hatever life dishes up.
\Vhat Kohut helped us see is that we eed affirming, supportive "others" in ur lives from cradle to grave. His noon was in contrast to many other hools of psychology emerging in this entury. Others defined the ultimate boal of psychological development as self-sufficiency, independence, or aunomy' Kohut disagreed. We become and remain solid, integrated, dynamic eople, he observed, in interaction with ers. It is in such positively reinforc.nterchanges that we know our giftess, our wholeness, our aliveness. :here is, therefore, no need to apolo:..:e for needing affirmation at any age.
'ptural Antidotes
one searches scripture u~ing words ke pride, proud, self-esteem, or self-pect, the references are uniformly eQatl\'e. "When pride comes, then comes 'b.-ace; but wisdom is with the humble" o\' 11:22). "Pride goes beJore destruc, and a haughty spirit beJore a JaIl "
o\' 16:18). And in the words of the .~gnificat: "God has shown strength oj ~; God has scattered the proud in the 19hts oJtheirhearts" (Lk 1:51). These
ect references to pride might lead and have led) to a wholesale condemanon of any kind of pride. On the other hand, if one searches ripture for positive images using
'-rds like man (in its older generic sense), human, or humankind, a differem picture emerges. Ample antidotes eXIst in scripture to a toxic, overblown oncept of pride: "Let us make human1d in our image, according to our likecss . .. " (Gen 1:26). "When God created .lmlankind, he made them in the likeness if God. Male and female he created them, d he blessed them and named them 'huankind' when they were created" (Gen 5:2). "[ praise you, [0 Godl,for [ am Jearlly and wonderJully made" (Ps 139: 14). You have made them for a little while
ower than the angels; you have crowned em with glory and honor subjecting all ings under their feet" (Heb 2:7-8).
Summer 1994
What do these scriptures, and many more like them, demonstrate? These scriptures take for granted that children of God are entitled to experience a basic sense of worth simply because God created us. While we still are never to forget that all being ultimately derives from God's gracious creativity, we are fully within our human rights to bask in the gifts and graces God has given us as God's progeny. Just as a child gains a vicarious sense of self-esteem by acclaiming to peers, "My dad can do anything!" or "My mom is the most talented woman in the world!" so too can we without apology revel in the human dignity that comes of being birthed by God. "Our heavenly Papa (Abba) made everything there is!" "Hear, 0 Israel, Yahweh, our God is the only God!"
Another implicit notion in the scriptures quoted above is the communal nature of basic human pride. It is as God's people -as the New Jerusalem that we gain human dignity. God calls us out as a community to be "a light to enlighten the nations."
Adulthood Pride Defidency
Gay and lesbian psychotherapists generally agree that the most common personality disorder seen among gay and lesbian clients is pathological narcissism. This is perhaps most succinctly characterized as a dysfunctional preoccupation with one's self and a marked oversensitivity to criticism or lack of affirmation. Some caricatures of gay people might help us grasp this: the flamboyant 'queen' obsessed with his appearance, who shrieks at the bathroom sink, "I can't do a thing with my hair!"; the prima donna actor who throws a fit when the director offers even a minuscule criticism of the thespian's perfonnance; or the wounded lover who wails aCCUSingly, "But if she loved me she would know what I need."
Most stereotypes of gay men and lesbians are based on such extreme forms of behavior. As with most stereotypes, the cliche has some basis in reality. Though exhibited in many ways and levels of severity, some gay and lesbian people are plagued by disabling selfpreoccupation and the inability to tolerate even valid, gentle criticism. Most of the rest of us are at least fragile in this area. What does this mean?
Well first, let's be clear about what it does not mean. Psychoanalytic therapists before the seventies routinely saw this elevated level of pathological narcissism in the gay community as evidence that homosexuality itself was a personality disorder. It never occurred
What is a pride deficiency? Can the church help repair it?
to them, because of the ingrained homophobia of the times, that they were fallaciously construing an effect of social oppression as a symp tom of innate mental dysfunction. To grasp the absurdity of their illogical inference, consider the follOWing.
It might be shown that many Jews who survived Nazi Germany are overly watchful and fearful that others are spying on them or fomenting plots against them. Those behaviors might lead to a diagnosis of paranoid personality disorder. How would we view this?
First, it is doubtful that anyone would blame such people for their paranoia . Considering what they went through, such fear and distrust would be easily appreciated and compassionately treated. But more to the point, would anyone then conclude that being Jewish was itself a personality disorder?
In the same way, the higher incidence of narcissistic disorder in the gay and lesbian community in no way suggests that homosexuality itself is a mental disorder. We will also see shortly that it is quite understandable.
The religious right is still fond of using narcissistic disorder among lesbian and gay people as evidence of the sickness and sinfulness of homosexuality. They often take this a step farther and contend that loving someone of the same sex is no more than a narcissistic attempt to love oneself. Only in a theoretical vacuum could such hare-brained psychologizing persist. Anyone who kn ows even a few gay and lesbian couples will attest to the high frequency
more II."
11
with which we make utterly non-mirroring matches.
Developmentally, pathological narcissism results when people have been deprived of adequate empathy, mirroring, and nurturing during formative periods oftheir lives. Persons who reach adulthood with depleted, fragmented selves are: (a) those who have been rejected outright by parents, other significant adults, and peers during childhood and adolescence; (b) those emotionally neglected or deprived of the attention all children deserve; (c) those who have experienced selective disapproval for some of their character traits and behaviors; and (d) those who have been chronically, naggingly, and pervasively criticized by parents and others.
We do not feel we are
created "a little lower
than the angels". ..
"crowned with
glory and honor."
It is not hard to see the implications of such developmental conditions for the lives of gay and lesbian people. Most of us who are gay and lesbian, have to invent ourselves from scratch in relation to our sexuality. Few if any of us grow up in an environment which actively supports and nurtures gay or lesbian sexuality. Furthermore, certain personality traits often associated with emerging homosexual orientation appear at a very early age. Boys are labeled as "sissies"; girls are tagged as "tomboys." When a girl wants to play baseball or a boy wants to sew, parents sometirp.es react negatively, either criticizing the child for these behaviors or simply (and often unconsciously) emotionally withdrawing from the child. Equally likely is the marginalization of such boys and girls by their peers. All of these common
experiences of gay and lesbian people predispose us to disorders of the self later on.
What is lacking during these crucial
developmental years for gay and lesbian
people is adequate praise. What emerging
gay and lesbian children and adolescents
end up yearning for is being
prized simply for who we are in all of our differentness. In other words, we often reach adulthood with a serious pride deficiency. We lack pride that only could have been engendered through rich, satisfying relationships between us (in our particular wholeness) and significant adults and peers.
In Christian language, many gay and lesbian people reach adulthood lacking a basic sense of human dignity that stems simply from being who God created us to be. We do not feel we are created "a little lower than the angels" or that we are "crowned with glory and honor." We do not begin our adult lives confident about our dignity as sons and daughters of Almighty God.
Overcoming Pride Defidency
W hen adult gay and lesbian people come to a therapist and the therapist assesses that what needs to be healed is narcissistic disorder, the clinician's job is clear. For a long initial period of the therapy -perhaps even years -the primary task is to create a rich empathic environment. This environment must ensure that the client feels attended to, has confidence that he is being taken seriously, experiences understanding of her perceptions of herself and her world, and senses that the therapist affirms him in whatever sectors of his self are frail and need to be supported in growth. Said another way, the therapist must, through prizing and praise, help the client develop a sense of pride in his or her new and more robust self, a self that fully integrates the client's sexual orientation.
Does a person with pride defiCiency always need a therapist? Therapy is sometimes no more than a microcosm of life. It is, in part, a little pressure cooker in which clients can work through issues -a milieu in which they can grow psychologically and spiritually -more quickly and more intensely than they might do in the company of good, caring, and attentive friends and pastors. Often the support that is needed for such growth is inappropriate to ask of friends. Often issues or pieces of the person's history that need
to be unpacked are too embarrassing
for a client to share with companions.
Sometimes, the sectors of the self clients
seek to have healed, in their complexity or fragility, exceed the curath competence of good friends. Then J therapeutic relationship may be mor appropriate and helpful. However, ther· is much that a therapist does that ca be done by any supportive person in client's environment.
It is unquestionably possible for an;one to be supportive of friends or p rishioners; to reassure them when the need to be reminded of their worth, ta'ents, and goodness; to praise the""' when their self-confidence flags or the engage in self-denigration so typical those with self deficits. No special tra., ing is required for such expressions friendship or pastoral care,
If friends or parishioners are partlc larly needy on these fronts , it is of e tiring continually to shore them Because of adverse cultural conditic ing, we also have a tendency, when person seems to crave attention or a proval, to reactively withhold posi : reinforcement (e.g., "Listen to her, too ing her own horn!" "Fishing for a co"'" pliment?" "He constantly needs to stroked!"). But no one said being a g friend or a pastor was effortless. Jus a good mother lavishes praise 0 child's crayon drawings no matter h many of them are presented for a lades, anyone is capable of lifting u friend when she's down or tellin friend who's engaging in psycholog, self-abuse that he is wonderful -e" if this process needs to be repeated ten and over many years.
Why the Public Displays?
H eterose~u.al people, even ~elat gay-posltlve ones, sometlmes why gay and lesbian people need to a "Pride" event each year. We must tribute some of this discomfort with rand Lesbian Pride Week to remna of homophobia. Such skepticism ten a covert way of saying, "It's fine \I,~ ' me if you're gay or lesbian~ just do"'" remind me of it, OK?" We also ha . attribute some of this negativism a Pride Week to our cultural preju ' against even "good pride": "Greatl : glad you feel good about yourself a. lesbian, but do you need the w . world to jump up and down over : ~
The response to these plaints sh
now be obvious. Gay and lesblaL
Open Hands 12
ople, almost without exception, reach thood not having had adequately nned our sexuality as good, gifted, and a worthy expression of human nareo Instead, most of us reach the age :-majority with at least the sexual secof our selves fragile, segregated from e rest of our personalities, and in desate need of affirmation. This did not pen because of any intrinsic weakess in gay or lesbian people. It hapened because we are routinely de:ed of the rich empathic, supportive ationships and social structures afng sexual identity that are routinely rded heterosexual women and men. n order for these deficits to heal, gay
lesbian people almost always need
roceed through some remedial peof
heightened self-affirmation and
seeking of public affirmation of our
al identity. For a while, this need
. seem (by public standards) "excesbut
is this any different from the sses adolescent heterosexual boys girls pass through during puberty -.... ey try to come to grips with their rn,ing sexual selves? The difference, rse, is that gay and lesbian people traverse this terrain late, and the tated behavior of this part of their "~ey sometimes seems "unbecomror adults. From a psychological of view, of course, a therapist re-when clients reach this developal stage, no matter what their age. .. _s and pastors might also rejoice. '~id being judgmental, it may help mnk of these endeavors as "remeride-
building."
•.•15 immoderate preoccupation with 5 sexuality, if adequately attended . therapist, pastors, and friends, ually diminishes. I can speak to --ersonally. At age twenty-five, I was dy in-your-face gay activist. At age "-seven, I believe I'm much more ow. As I frequently say these days
en I speak publicly, "In my twenties ng the 1970s, proclaiming 'Gay is .' was required for political correct5S ~owin my late forties during the s, I would say this: some days, gay --reat; some days, gay is dreadful; and st days, it's just another one of those
b S."
Please do not conclude that I am lag all gay and lesbian activism as the excessive acting out of self-affirmation. However, the most effective lesbian and gay activists I have known are those who have worked through whatever blinding rage they had. They are free then to harness all their gifts and graces to help spread the part of the Good News illuminated by the lives of God's gay and lesbian children. Groups like Queer Nation and Act Up, I am convinced, induce much more reactionary backlash than empathy. While their confrontational tactics may be emotionally satisfying for them in the short run, I fail to see their usefulness in changing society's attitude toward gay and lesbian people. Our differences may lie in the reality that, as a Christian, I tend to approach these matters with the hope of reconciliation rather than victory.
A Call to the Church
G a~ and lesbian people often need copious amounts of remedial praise; they need to be prized for who they are in their wholeness. This can only be accomplished in meaningful, mutually affirming relationships with others. The Church is perhaps the most potent environment in which that can happen. God calls us to be "a people" "the New Jerusalem" -God's witnesses oflove in the world. Jesus' example and exhortations made clear that we are to exclude none from God's realm. Only through such unconditional affinnation can gay and lesbian people experience the healthy pride that is the rightful heritage of all of God's sons and daughters. T
Notes
lHeinz Kohut, The Restoration of the Self.
(Madison, WI: International Universities
Press, 1977).
John E. Fortunato has been a Pastoral Psychologist and Spiritual Directorfor twentytwo years. He currently works as a Chaplain with the AIDS Pastoral Care Network
of Chicago. He is the author of a number of articles and two books, Embracing the Exile: Healing Journeys of Gay Christians and AIDS: The Spiritual Dilemma.
SIN AGAINST THE
HOLY SPIRIT,
GIVER OF ALL GOOD
GIFTS
-ORI
WILL NOT BE
DIS-GRACED
Of all the gifts you have to give,
o Holy spirit,
you could have made a better choice
for me. A proper gift-Wisdom to discern your mind, Insight to foretell your way, A body tuned to rhythms of the moon.
But no,
you chose to give me this,
a gift so many say
I ought to throwaway
or bear as if it were a curse.
If this one gift you choose to give,
oHoly Spirit,
I choose to take it now and serveNo
better choice for me!
The curse invoked by those who say
we ought to throw your gifts away
lies buried in their graves-
But worse still
if I should hoard my gift
to Hell.
Copyright 1993 by Harvey Manchester, Jr. Used with permission.
Harvey Manchester, jr.,is a United Methodist from the Peninsula-Delaware Conference. This poem was written at the 1993 Reconciling Congregations Convocation.
mer 1994
13
How much do you know about gay and lesbian history?
Why should you know it?
From one generation to another, lesbian and gay people have been isolated from one another, from those who are our people. This happens because we who are lesbian and gay find ourselves in each generation in the midst of families which are predominantly heterosexual and who either don't know gay history or won't pass it on to us as we are growing up. We remain isolated from one another and from the shared stories of how our elders and ancestors have survived.
As I listen to the coming out discernment process of my gay brothers and lesbian sisters, and indeed, to my own story, I am aware that we as a tribe -as a people -have been erased throughout history. When I ask participants in anti-homophobia workshops about what they learned about gay and lesbian people when they were growing up, usually the group is silent or says "nothing." Yet, with some unpacking, each group becomes aware that while they learned nothing positive about gay Ilesbian history, leaders, or culture, they informally learned many myths and stereotypes about us.
In this brief article, I want to explore with you two pieces of our history which help to reinforce the need for all of us to reclaim gay and lesbian history. We must do so ifwe are to reclaim our pride.
Faggots
The word "faggot" comes from the medieval times. It literally means a small bundle of sticks. These faggots, bundles of sticks, were affixed to the clothing of the women who were called witches and to the clothing of the men who loved other men. That is how they were torched and burned at the stake . Use of the put-down epithet "faggot" today implies that lesbian and gay people are nothing more than fod for fire. Disposable. Non-human. 1
In the late 1800s a German mar. the name of Magnus Hirschfeld es lished the Institute of Sexology in G many. The lists of people in this m ment were used for the destruction gay and lesbian people by the Nazi pc ers in World War II. One W.W.II e photograph many of us have seen history books shows a tower of bo . being burned by the Nazis. What '. seldom learned is that the mound books was from the library of the In . tute of Sexology.
Pink Triangles
The symbol of the pink triang e the one that gay and lesb people -my people -were forced wear as insignia in the Nazi dea camps. The pink triangle was simila!" the yellow star of David which Jews \ . forced to sew on their clothing. So . 250,000 and perhaps as many 500,000 gay people were put to dea in those Nazi camps, along with rna more Jews, many Gypsies, and m others.2
Today the lesbigay community reclaimed the pink triangle as a syrr: of solidarity' with our people throuo
out time. We wear it to remind ourse. and others of what happened in .' holocaust so that such mass destr tion of our people, or any people, m never happen again.
For me the saddest learning from period of our gay and lesbian histor;' that when the allied troops came to .. , lease the prisoners from the concent!" . tion camps at the end of World v.. ar those wearing pink triangles were co ' sidered criminals and were left incar, cerated.)
Open Hands 14
hese pieces of history illustrate
the importance of
r-~·.t!ing and understanding
Sbtan and gay history. It is imant not only for lesbigay
ple, but also for non-gay
ple to remember the op-~
ssion which has occurred
-he past. Remembering our
helps us to gain insights into
e lesbigay community's culture
ay The teaching of gay and leshistory should be included in the ational classes of welcoming conations in every denomination to break the cycle of oppression. Such ation needs to be repeated regu. so that new members and espe.,"our children learn about gay and an history. Historical background :'. essential tool for all who wish to d on the side of justice for lesbian gay people today in church and
etr -,
re Gordon, "What Do We Say When Hear 'Faggot'?" Interracial Books For ren Bulletin 14 (No. 3-4):25.
'Additional InJormation About the HoloI" a pamphlet distributed by Chai st:'les and the Detroit Area Gay-Lesbian cil. Also see Richard Cleaver and _~la Myers, eds., A Certain Terror:
rosexism, Militarism, Violence &
1ge (Arm Arbor: American Friends SerCommittee, 1993).
ard Plant, The Pink Triangle: The Nazi Against Homosex uals by (New York: ~:. Holt & Co., 1986).
This article was
Thanks to Presbyterians for
adapted Jrom a presenLesbian
and Gay Concerns and
tation given at the 1992
Lindsay Biddle for the idea beLutheran
Human Relations
hind this sketch. The triangle with
Association Summer Institute
the Star of David/shoot of Jesse (Isa
in Minneapolis at Augsburg Col11)
and the one with prison stripes are
lege. It was Jirst printed in Vansketched
from a large banner used at a
guard, Fall 1992. It is used with perworship
service led by PLGC during Genmission
oj Vanguard, Lutheran
eral Assembly in 7993 in Orlando, Florida.
Human Relations Association, 2703 N. Sherman Blvd., Milwaukee, WI 53210.
Anita C. Hill is an openly lesbian woman serving as a Pastoral Minister of St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota (the first Lutheran Reconciled in Christ congregation). She has been a member of the ELCA's Task Force on Human Sexuality since 1989.
RIDE IS A FACE-LIFTING PROCESS
ps respect is what gays and lesbians really seek -the unambiguous affirmation they need fear no longer. The Latin root of the word respect suggests that it is slght into the worth of another." But there is a far more moving word image in . Testament Greek. Respect is "prosopolepsia," a putting together of "proposon" e) and "lambanein" (to lift). The image is of a person whose face is bowed to the
nd in humility being lifted by another in recognition and esteem. The scriptures Ke clear that God lifts all faces!
Anonymous, adapted.
........mmer 1994
15
A glance at national"pride" events before and affer Stonewall
Photo: Carlton Elliott Smith INCLUSIVITY: The Christian message is visible at the Stonewall 25 parade.
1979
1970
Sources:
Warren J. Blumenfeld & Diane Raymond.
Looking at Gayand Lesbian Life.
Martin Duberman. Stonewall. Jonathan Katz. Gay American History.
1965 1969
The Stonewall Inn Resistance occurs on June 28th in New York City when patrons of the mafia-owned gay bar fight police who had routinely been raiding the bar.
The Mattachine Society starts an event called "Annual Reminder" for gay and lesbian people in Philadelphia on July 4th. Wearing conventional clothing, participants engage in peaceful picketing at Independence Hall.
Annual "Reminder Events" continue through 1969
The First Annual Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade is held onJune 28th in New York City to commemorate the Stonewall riots. This event replaces the Annual Reminder event in Philadelphia.
Parallel Gay and Lesbian Pride Parades spring up across the country during the 1970s, usually held the last Sunday oj June to commemorate Stonewall.
Open Hands 16
1994
1993
The Second National March on Washington on October 11th draws well over 500,000 people to the nation's capitol for pridefilled festivities and lobbying activities. October 11 th is established as Annual National Coming Out Day to commemorate the Second March on Washington and to encourage persons to take additional steps in coming out and claiming their lesbigay identity proudly.
National Stonewall 25 Festivities are held in New York City during late June, culminating in a huge march onJune 26 that drew upwards of one million people. These festivities celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall The Third National March on Resistance, now considered the Washington on April 25 draws beginning of the modern lesalmost a million people to the bigay rights movement, or at least
national capitol for another its transforming moment.
round of pride-filled festivities
and lobbying activities.
Proud through the Years
As a teenager and young adult, I attended Central Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona with Dr. Charles Kendall as my pastor and where I often heard the words of Bishop Gerald Kennedy. I was very proud to be a Methodist. I was proud of the faith stands and leadership these men took on social issues, such as racism, internment ofJapanese-Americans, American Indians, labor, etc. My heritage and experience as a United Methodist was faith in God, family involvement in the church, service, and social justice.
During those years, I had no conscious knowledge that I am a lesbian. Discovering my sexual orientation at age fifty did not negate my United Methodist membership or my faith in God. Even though in 1972 some words got into the United Methodist Discipline that are wrong about homosexuality and that are painful to lesbians, gay men, and their families and friends, I am sure they will be changed -and I am still proud today to be a United Methodist. I am proud of the strong witness of Affirmation, United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns, and of the strong stance of each Reconciling Congregation. And I am proud of the commitment of Wesley UMC in Fresno who celebrated their tenth anniversary as a Reconciling Congregation by dedicating a stained glass window, and of the California-Nevada Annual Conference (a Reconciling
Conference), and of Bishop Melvin Talbert who has made his feelings
known publicly about homosexuality. Yes!
Jeanne Barnett is Director of Administration for the CA-NV Annual Conference Capital Campaign, Co-Spokesperson for National Affirmation, CCOM Vice-Chair, District Lay Leader, and St. Marks' United Methodist (Sacramento) Administrative Board Chair. Jeanne was a member of the denominational Committee to Study Homosexuality.
mer 1994 17
O nJune 26, an already luminous day in Manhattan was made even brighter by the mile-long rainbow flag, focal point of the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion. As wide as First Avenue itself, the enlarged symbol ofdiversity among lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, and transgender people glided down side streets, held taut by flagbearers in the midst ofcheering thousands.
This year's Stonewall commemoration focused on human rights and lesbigay pride. Such serious events, as well as more carefree celebrations, offer churches a chance to be prophetic witnesses in the world, to stand in solidarity with their gay and lesbian members, and to affirm their hopes for the future.
"It's the one time you can say 'pride' and it's not a deadly sin," said Richard Barrios, 39. For him an event like Stonewall 25 "celebrates equality and inclusion of all people." Barrios, a member of St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in uptown Manhattan, was part of that congregation's contingent at the march. He and his fellow church members reflected on the significance ofpride in their lives as they assembled with other religious/ spiritual groups on East 39th Street before joining in on the parade. "Pride is linked to self-esteem being proud that God has made us who we are," said Francesca Rhys, 30. "What God created, God said was good," added Diane Allen, 35, "so we can really delight in the fact that God is proud of us."
Even in the midst of the joy of being surrounded by tens of thousands of
Stonewall 25:
The Church Was There!
By Carlton Elliott Smith
andJesus' expelling the moneychangers fro . the temple. Like Gospel record ofJes the Stonewall patr were reacting in !" teous anger to injus Both Jesus and . Stonewallers were e' . tive in bringing an e to oppression. Perh most significantly, b
PRIDE STRETCHED OUT: A mile-long banner is a highlight of
Jesus and the Sto
Stonewall 25.
wallers created hea
brothers, sisters, and friends no one seemed to have forgotten the obstacles to pride in their lives. For Bishop Otis Charles, who was the Episcopal Bishop of Utah before his retirement, support was hard to come by as a gay minister who felt compelled to stay closeted. "I knew there were other people like me," said Charles of his early days in ministry; "but there was always a subtle intimidation that you would be excluded if you ever came out, and I did see that happen." In a letter addressed to his fellow bishops last fall, Charles made his sexual orientation known. After living some forty-five years with an internalized sense that his life was inherently wrong, he realized that the "only way I can serve God is to be who I am."
Gay pride events offer more than affirmation ofindividuals, however. They can also be seen as extensions of other important social issues on which the church has provided leadership, such as women's rights and civil rights. Stonewall, as it relates to ethnicity, is an important reminder of this fact. Little
did the impoverished Latino and African Am erican youngsters at the bar know twenty-five years ago that their protest against police harassment would start a three-day riot and launch a movement that continues to reverberate around the globe.
Some parallels exist between the Stonewall riots
IN SOLIDARITY: An Open and Affirming congregation in New York joins in the Stonewall 25 parade.
spaces for hurting people: Jesus thro the healing touch of his hands and e Stonewallers by providing the foundation for the precious liberties some lesbians and gay men have today.
Not surprisingly; today those mos' at risk of being lost to violence and 0 neglect on the sexual-orientation frinbe are those who are additionaL, marginalized because of age, gender race, class, and other factors. The e negative effects are heightened \vhe placed in the context of those nation: where lesbians and gay men are less organized and less visible than in t! e United States. For this reason the organizers of Stonewall 25 chose to ha\'e e countless thousand participants mar . on the United Nations in a show of fo on behalf of their counterparts in 0 countries.
Just as at Stonewall 25 U.s. les and gay men showed their so' with those in other countr e churches can show support of the. gay and lesbian members at gay events. Although heterosexual (as others at the parade), Dale Fische of Sayville Congregational C Church of Christ on Long Island . York, came to show his solidarity. his homosexual friends. "It's a hu a rights issue," said Fischer. "Whether ;'0 are gay or straight, black or white, bro \Tor red, the saying is true . . . Until everyone is free, no one is free."
For some people a gay pride celebration is one of the few places where the) feel a sense of self-worth and security.
Open Hands 18
GHLY
VISIBLE: Gay and Lesbian church members marched e Stonewall 25 parade.
Hip," an Atlanta resident who is date for ministry in the Lutheran n, chose to stay anonymous for at his career might be jeopardized .ng openly gay. Ironically, he rethe relative invisibility of lesbiand gay men. "A lot of middle"icans don't realize that there are a hurch people who are homosexue
said. '0 days before the march to , ited Nations lesbian and
ristians and their friends hands and tied a rainbowribbon around the InterCenter, protesting hy.sy and homophobia in '___"'H~:ne churches. Commonly the "God Box," the upper attan building is home to
'ational Council of Churchmany mainline Protestant inations.
'e are here to open people's
"HANDS AROUND THE GOD·BOX": A demonstration led by MCC encircles the Interchurch Center.
tional Council has taKen no action and denied it observer status.
Even though her organization will not admit the Metropolitan Community Church as a member, the Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, executive secretary of the National Council of Churches, was among those who encircled the
Interchurch Center as a sign of general support for lesbian and gays. "Our churches are very united on civil rights for gays and lesbians and there are places where we can be supportive," said Campbell. "We don't go as far as the MCC wants us to go but there is a fair distance that we can go and that needs to be made visible."
-and hearts and let God
-f the Box," the Rev.
ge Cherry told the 200 people
"ed at the west entrance of the
... g during a noontime demonstraubbed
"Hands Around the God
Cherry is the national Field Di!'
of Ecumenical Witness and Minof
the Universal Fellowship of
politan Community Churches,
.imarily gay and lesbian denomiwhich
organized the demonstraMetropolitan
Community
rches, which claim 32,000 mem_
m sixteen countries, first applied
.embership in the National Counrteen
years ago. Since then, the Namer
1994
With the exception of the United Church of Christ the mainline denominations that maintain offices in the Interchurch Center ban lesbians and gay men from ordained ministry and officially prohibit same-sex commitment ceremonies -two of the issues most important to openly homosexual church members .
Before wrapping the building with a protest ribbon lesbian and gay clergy from several churches recited a litany of complaints including denial of access, violence, and trauma visited on homosexual church members because of their sexual orientation. "This is not a civil rights struggle, it is a moral struggle," the Rev. Nancy Wilson of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Community Church told the assembly.
Frances Allen, an employee of the United Methodist ecumenical office who watched at an entrance of the Interchurch Center, said she enjoyed the energy of the demonstration but would rather the churches continue their restrictions on the inclusion of homosexual persons. "1 think a line should be drawn," Allen said. "1 don't want the church to change."
After the demonstration, some of the participants went to meet with officials of various denominations to discuss the concerns of lesbian and gay people. To luis Callabro, a visiting layman from Oregon who serves on the board of directors for the United Methodist ecumenical agency, such protests are painful but inevitable. "It has to continue to happen to bring attention to equality issues for all people," Callabro said.
lesbians and gay pride events also point to a brighter future one in which men in Cuba are not jailed for being gay, lesbians in small-town Mississippi are not harassed by their neighbors, and sexual orientation is not a criteria for church membership, marriage, or ministry.
As he marched across 59th Street toward Central Park for the culminating rally, Robert Gibeling, program executive for Lutherans Concerned (the tradition's gay/ lesbian caucus) shared his excitement
for the promise that being
proud holds for lesbians and gay men. "We have the wonderful message of God's love that needs to be told," said Gibeling. "We have to reinforce that."~
Photos:
Carlton Elliott Smith
Carlton Elliott Smith recently completed a one-year writing fellowship at Religious
News Service in New York . A graduate of Howard University School ofDivinity, he is now serving on the board of directors for the AIDS National Interfaith Network.
19
THANK GOD fOR THE SPIRIT Of STONEWALL
By Howard B.Warren, Jr.
As we approached Stonewall 25 my spirit joyfully sang, "Come out,
Come out
as much as you can."
W hat a difference these last twenty-five years have made in encouraging me to leave my casket/closet. I lived in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I was more of a street person than a bar person and never had been inside the Stonewall Inn. Although the evening police raid and gay protest on June 28, 1969 did not make the news, a friend called me. The next morning I went to Sheridan Square and stood silent yet proud watching the crowd protest. From across the street I saw drag queens and Latinos dancing, shouting, and forming conga lines. However, the gay people I knew (the three-piece suit folks) weren't there. So I stayed lonely and mute across the street, yet filled with SILENT pride.
Over the next five years I participated in the Gay Activist Alliance Firehouse dances, National Gay Task Force, Gay Academic Union, Lambda Legal Defense Fund, and Gay Support Group. For the first time in my life I put wallto-wall windows in my closet. My sense of gay pride was deepened by the emergence of the gay and lesbian press and the many organizations as we assertively spoke out and marched out. In my picture window closet, I developed deeper relationships with gay men rather than just anonymous sex. Despite the picture windows, however, I was still in a casket/closet. It took me nineteen years to gradually open that casket/closet door. For six years now I have been breathing the strong active spirit-air of open lesbian and gay pride.
Reflections on Stonewall 25
My eyes filled with tears as I waited for the ten days of Stonewall 25. How wonderful it was to be able to be fully involved in all the events: marching, speaking, politicking, acting up. How exciting it was to be identifying fully with all of the subgroups that compose our Lavender People. My threepiece suit (rarely worn now) no longer separated me from the inclusive love I felt for all our wonderful spectrum of folks.
As I sat at the Opening Ceremony of the Lesbian/ Gay Games, I was overwhelmed by the feelings of God's pride that so many of our people in this decade have the opportunity to hear, grow, meet together, and celebrate homosexual orientation as a gift of God to be fully lived.
What tears of joy I found as I sometimes stood and sometimes marched for seven hours with the sign: God damn the Presbyterians and other denominations when they use the Bible as a weapon rather than a welcome to Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals."So many individuals smiled, said thank you, put a thumb up, gave the peace symbol or the sign language for peace. Whole groups stopped, broke ranks, and yelled thanks for a sign which says God welcomes them.
How thankful I am to see this anniversary. We will walk tall with our heads held high making sure that there will never be a Stranger at the Gate -alone, afraid, wanting to be included. In this decade we will together build the Rainbow of Inclusion in our church bodies.
Changes and Growth
I have observed many changes over the years. One growth that has occurred in the twenty-five years since the Stonewall rebellion is that so many of us are now fully accepting of the wonderful diversity of the Lavender People. Also, no longer are lesbian women absent. In the early years, many lesbians who refused to let gay males treat them as heterosexual males treat them took their skills and talents elsewhere. Thank God neither the sexism nor the separatism is as true today.
Photo: Matthew C. Kryger, Indianapolis S a' SPEAKI NG OUT: Howard joins the parade.
Nudge The Spirit of Pride
If you haven't begun the process of coming out, give yourself a nudge. Coming out is a process. Take the first small step or the next larger step. Spiri is breath -the basis of life. Our sexua: orientation is a key part of our spiritbreath and energy. As I look back over all that time spent in the closet, I realize how much energy it took to keep my secret -energy I now have available fo r a full life and for serving the Wildly Inclusive God! T
Howard B. Warren, Jr. is an openly gay Presbyterian minister who currently serves as Director oJPastoral Care at TheDamien Center in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Open Hands 20
IL~WIUIUI[) IVIl2IUr\\\IUlrlt§ §ltILlf,·lt§lrltltr\\\
By Lindsay Louise Biddle
Can churches benefit from Hollywood's technique?
\Oer since the issue of gays in the military marched to the forefront of our national consciousness the 1992 Presidential campaign, . ° e!111S "lesbian," "gay," and "homoa:-as well as "heterosexual" and ht" have found a home in our o-ay vocabulary. Suddenly house-that had earlier denied any knowlr understanding of gay or lesbian e felt permission to express their ons about men living together in quarters and women serving in
:111.
..."'testant denominations that are .. ding their issues ofhomosexualder a bushel are engaged in siminversation.
FolloWing in the ry's footsteps, several households h (ELCA, PCUSA, UCC, UMC, hers) are discussing homosexuthough their members are marcha legion of different drummers
ding theology and polity.
e other major u.s. household !-iollywood film industry -has . up the cross. They have included
-e lesbigay roles and themes in -releases. (Transgender characters arred in dramas since the beginf time!) Although a variety of films e past decade focus directly on leslSsues, including AIDS, only in the couple of years has Hollywood ed angles to portray lesbigay indi15 and couples simply as some of -naracters in the huge and complex
a of humanity. moving lesbigay characters out of
..melight where they served as dibjects of often "preachy" scripts, ors have ceased serving up les-lSsues as topics for debate. Instead, ~. subtle and very powerful ways, bays are accepted as part of life, at
least during the viewing time of the audience. Some movie-goers might deny knowing any lesbigay people, but the makers of "Mrs. Doubifire" and "Reality Bites" don't waste time arguing their existence or defending their humanity. They simply include them and their stories, though stereotypical, in the larger plot -along with a daddy who dresses up like a nanny and a sordid mix of heterosexual alliances. .
In "Mrs. Doubifire" the kids gasp with disbelief when their baby-sitter comes out as their father. Yet they don't bat an
Films~ith Lesbig1~ Main Std'lfes
"Making Love" (19~2)
"Entre Nous" (1983) .
"Desf?.Jt&:'Hf?art?" (J·,~~tP)
'longtime Compan1on""O 990
"Wedding Banquet:: (1993)
"Philadelphia". (1993)
Film's with Lesb!g~y Su~plot~: "Mrs. Doubtfire". (1).~~3) , mn "Four Weddings an'~ a Funeral" (1994) .
"Reality Bites" (199.ft)
0,
, "Belle Epoch" (199~,vSpanish ~ith English subtitl~s) "Renaissance' Man" (1994)
eye when dad tells them he was assisted by " Uncle Jack and Aunt Frank," dad's gay brother and his partner who appear in supporting roles. "Reality Bites" also portrays a gay character in a supporting role. In that film the character Michael practices coming out to his parents and then offers a poignant reflection on the experience .
If Hollywood with all its vested interest in box office successes can risk being more inclusive of lesbigay people so can the Church! Preachers and everyone else who "love to tell the story" can follow the cues of producers and directors:
• Include lesbigay characters in biblical stories.
One colleague substitutes a transgender person for the Good Samaritan in Luke's parable.
• Highlight same-sex relationships in scripture.
Wherever two or three of the same gender are gathered, we are called to conJront our heterosexism. .
• Contrast lesbigay realities with biblical realities .
Another colleague compares the anointing oj David -smallest, youngest, and most unlikely. choice -with the calling oj gay and lesbian Christians -who appear the most unlikely choices given our current practices oj discrimination.
The simple acknowledgment of the existence oflesbigay people (which happened with the controversy over gays in the military) contributes to the development of lesbigay self-esteem. It's hard to have self-esteem when you are invisible. Study and debate about homosexuality within the various denominations contribute even more to the development of lesbigay pride. At least the church is taking it seriously. However, matter-of-fact inclusion as part of daily life -in films and in church provides ultimate affirmation! •
Lindsay Louise Biddle, M.Div., is a member oj PLGC and serves as pastor of a Presbyterian church in St. Paul, Minnesota.
.'
.rner 1994 21
COMING OUT:
A Witness to the Resurrection
A Ritual by Chris Glaser
[The communion table holds a 10aJ oj bread, covered by or tied in a strip oj
cloth, surrounded by stones.]
Leader: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Sovereign, one faith, one baptism, one God and Creator of all, who is above all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:4)
People: God inspirits every soul, regardless of sexual orientation. God welcomes every body, though we may hide our nakedness. God hopes in every love, without partiality.
Leader: According to the Gospel of John, Jesus was greatly disturbed in spirit to find his friend Lazarus dead and entombed. Christ called on faithful family members Mary and Martha as well as on caring neighbors to roll the stone from the tomb and unbind the death cloths. Christ prayed to God and called to Lazarus, "Come out!" Uohn 11:1-44)
Are you, family and neighbors, willing to remove the stone of prejudice
that separates N. from full communion with the Body of Christ and with
you?
People: We are.
Leader: Are you, family and neighbors, willing to undo the bonds that inhibit K. from the full, abundant life promised each one of us?
People: We are.
Leader: Are you, N., willing to renounce death in all of its forms, especially the closet that hides your light and your life?
N. lam.
Leader: Are you, N ., willing to choose life, love, and liberation as a (lesbian/ga . bisexual) Christian?
N. lam.
Leader: Let us pray!
People: Sacred God, bless N. and bless us all as we struggle with the stones of
prejudice and the bonds of death. Lead us to choose life and enjoy love and liberate the oppressed in your name. Amen. Leader: "Take away the stones."
[Selected church members, Jamily members andJriends remove stonesJrom the communion table, revealing a 10aJ oj bread, covered by a strip oj cloth.]
Open Hands 22
.~.~~.~.~.~.~.~
Leader: "Unbind N., and let (her/him) go."
[A pre-selected participant (lover, family member, friend) removes the cloth from the bread and tears it in two, from top to bottom. Alternatively, the cloth could simply be unfolded or untied from the bread.}
Leader: Our risen Sovereign became known to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in the breaking of bread, a sacrament of God's offering of self. In like manner, our risen friend, N., becomes known to us in (her/his) own sacramental offering of (herself/himself), symbolized by this bread.
[N. breaks the bread, passing it to those gathered, saying:]
N. I offer you the gift of myself.
[After all have eaten]
Leader: As Ruth pledged to Naomi, let us pledge to N.:
People: We will never abandon you!
Where you go, we will be there;
What is life to you will be vital for us.
Your people will be our own,
and your God will be our God. (Ruth 1:16, adapted)
Leader: So then, N., you are no longer a stranger or an alien, but you are a citizen with the saints and also a member of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone. (Eph 2:19, adapted)
N.: Thanks be to God!
Leader: We are chosen, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that we may proclaim the mighty acts of God who called us out of shadows into God's marvelous light:
People: Once we were not a people,
but now we are God's people;
once we had not received mercy,
but now we have received grace. (1 Pet 2:9-10, adapted)
Concluding Hymn: "Amazing Grace"
[Please substitute "soul" for "wretclf]
Copyright 1994 by Chris R. Glaser. Permission with credit granted for non-profit use 1~e blends elements from ancient sacraments: Baptism (renunciation of evil, affirmations
r call as a people and of our communal integrity) and Communion (distribution of in worship and/or non-profit duplication.
symbolic of sharing the self, which is what God did in Chris·t). I view coming out a~ a
ental act, in which God is present in our vulnerability and by which we are "made new"
Chris Glaser, M.Div., is the author oj
.::ens of God's commonwealth. The subtitle "A Witness to the Resurrection" is used in
Coming Out to God and a speaker and
e traditions for funerals. It suggests both the grief and joy of coming out. Finally, Ruth's
workshop/retreat leader. His latest book,
--Naomi alludes to the celebration of marriage and same-sex unions. Wherever "N."
TheWord Is Out -The Bible Reclaimed . insert the name or names of the person( s) coming out. Biblical references are from the
for Lesbians and Gay Men, will be pub. Thanks to Woody Carey for suggesting the Emmaus image. -CRG lished this summer (see ad, p. 31).
mer 1994 23
Let
us celebrate those whose lives we reclaim as we seek to create a new humanity. 10: We celebrate Eleanor Roosevelt, freedom and independence for eve women and who set an example one's own terms. People: In pride we claim you! Be Reader 11 : We celebrate Henry Hay, who a~\j'O",HI"'lI port to gay men through the M the late 1940s. Reader 12: We celebrate Del Martin and Phyllis LVUlf WV1mU!)t! visibility and organizing in the 1950s gave many lesbians. rate Michelangelo, whose artistry touched of humankind. Reader 13: We celebrate Bayard Rustin, close associate Gertrude Stein, who influenced genwriters and artists. tin Luther King, Jr., who helped plan Rights March on Washington. Reader 14: We celebrate Harvey Milk, who political office in the 1970s to serve their communities. The congregation is invited to of important people in their own gation will respond after each
Note: Assign each reading to a different participant scattered throughout the congregation. The congregation remains seated. As each reader's turn arrives, s/he stands in place to read his/her line and then sits down again.
This litany is adapted from an informal, interdenominational service sponsored by Grant Park-Aldersgate United Methodist Church (a Reconciling Congregation in Atlanta, Georgia). It may be reproduced for worship purposes. The service was held at 9:30 a.m. before the start of the Atlanta Pride Parade on June 27, 7993. The service also included a naming of destructive forces in our lives. It received an incredible response and was repeated in 7994, this time co-sponsored by Common Ground with an offering going to that Network and to the national Reconciling Congregation Program.
Open Hands 24
west coast east
By Carlton Elliott Smith
i wanted him to say afterward words of comfort
i walked out into the mist words that would assure me under the limbs of barren trees that there would always be under the skies of endless grey
and i searched for shelter in the body yet in that moment i knew
room for me
surely in his wisdom that no locked shell from our motherland held the pearl there would be some black pearl the promise he would release of a place
from a tightly closed shell where all that i love about me
that i could hold on to forever and all that god made me to be would be seen as a blessing
and not a curseand each time
the powers and principalities of this world walking along the shore scrutinized and denied where my streams of thought
my experience of god flow into the sea i could take out my black pearl i found a shell a gift from our ancestors somewhere between my heart
spoken in some ancient tongue and my soul it looked like the face of my mother their voices would speak glowing whenever i go back home among the people it tasted like a lover's kiss my people breaking through my solitude its scent was that of a dying friend but my brother held close in my arms
the scholar the theologian when i held the shell to my ear
it sounded like from the west coast
east of the atlantic laughter said
and tears
those whose behavior and daybreak is unacceptable a voice inside me
will be put outside of the community saying this is our custom you are a part of me you will always belong
t 1993 by Carlton Elliott.?mith. Used with permission.
mpleteqf~f~~"e_y,~ar writing fellowship at Religious duate qf Howar?Ji,University School ofDivinity, he ctQt~ for the AIDS National Interfaith Network.
,./<:., tt-''\<::.:"
Summer 1994 25
On ride
What does power over others have to do with pride?
W riters in this issue of Open Hands have expertly explored the biblical concept of pride as a sin. They have shown how tradition has watered down the idea of pride and generalized it so that pride as a sin seems to be applied indiscriminately. They have also noted how the efforts of oppressed peoples toward self-esteem and equality are often characterized as uppity, haughty, and narcissistic; in other words, as sinful pride. I want to explore another issue.
A Formula for Disaster
Pride in the form of arrogance, self-righteousness, vanity, and self-aggrandizement always seems to emerge in situations where power over others exists. Wherever people act with power over -as judge, ruler, authoritarian leader, or boss -sinful pride is apt to rear its ugly head. Those with power demand that those "beneath" them (literally or symbolically) demonstrate humility, meekness, and obedience to the powerful one's
Wherever people abuse their power over
others sinful pride has reared its ugly head
point of view. Demonstrations of positive pride in the form of assertiveness, creativeness, inventiveness, and self-esteem are usually crushed out rather systematically by the ones who have power over others. Those who are "beneath" are left even more marginalized and demeaned.
First, let's look at two examples of how this power and pride formula works in relation to gays and lesbians in the church. A heterosexually oriented local church, absolutely certain that it is right, arrogantly and self-righteously accuses lesbigays of being self-centered, sex-crazed, and godless. It demands repentance, humility, and obedience to the heterosexual point of view as a condition for full participation in God's church. A majority group of national denominational assembly members, proclaiming themselves to have the right interpretation of a few isolated biblical passages about homosexuality, enact legislation that demeans, defrocks, and marginalizes a whole group of their own people.
Or look at what has happened with the Reimagining Conference. A powerful conservative church group that crosses denominational lines, certain that its long male-oriented tradition is right, chastises women (and some men) who dare to do theology in ways that lift up the feminine aspects of the divine. This conservative group calls for dismissals of staff and other retributions against denominational leaders. It levels charges of paganism, demands that "orthodox" doctrines be upheld, and requires errant leaders to offer admissions of wrong-doing. The arrogant pride of this group took the form of believing, at least momentarily, that they alone knew the nature of the divine.
God will lay low the insolence
of the powerful
We could carry the examples on and on: the majority party in Congress over the minority party, the hierarchical employer and employee relationship, the authoritarian parent-child relationship or teacher-student relationship, the traditional heterosexual husband and wife relationship ... The more powerful one in each unequal pair will be tempted at some point in time to wield power over the less powerful one -and that temptation will most likely be fueled by an arrogance or insolence or self-righteousness that says "I am better, I know more, and I have the right answers; you are inferior, ignorant, and wrong; therefore you do as 1 say."
Three Prophets: Three Words
Isaiah has a message for those in power over the marginalized:
"[God] will put an end to the pride of the arrogant,
and lay low the insolence of tyrants" (Isa 13:11 b). The prophetic message from Isaiah and others seems clear. We are to forgo our arrogant and grandiose ways of thinking that we have the final word. We are to desist in our selfrighteous superiority. We are to take a look at the way we are misusing power and notice how it emerges out of our misplaced pride.
What else do the prophets have to say about power and pride? Micah offers us a positive formula for power and pride:
What does God require of you but to do justice, and
to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God
(Mic 6:8). And what does it mean to walk humbly with our God? Jesus, quoting the Hebrew law, has the last word:
You shall love God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your strength, and with all
your mind; and your neighbor as yourself (Lk 10:27-28).
Sort of brings the "bite" back into the biblical word on pride, doesn't it?
Open Hands 26
~~mments &Letters Pride
Singing is a Great Source of Pride . : commitment to singing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Angeles for the past twelve years has been a tremendously 'ual and empowering experience. The quality and sound
r music is a great source of pride for me as a gay man, for the gay and lesbian community in general. As a memf GALA (Gay and Lesbian Association) Choruses which a global membership of 125 choruses, we have sung in :: premier halls throughout the nation, including the Dor. Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center and ....incoln Center in New York City. We will sing at Carnegie this summer. Two years ago we traveled to Europe where . . ad concerts in Copenhagen, Denmark, Berlin, Germany, ..,ue, Czechoslovakia, Budapest, Hungary, and Vienna, AusThrough
music we are able to tear down walls of hostility 'een non-gay and gay communities and to build bridges 'e and understanding.
.4.. Burnett, Jr., Los Angeles, CA
xual Pride Pride" has a questionable history in Christian theology, re it was classed among the "seven Deadly Sins." To this
!""espond in the spirit of "The first shall be last and the last be first" that pride is a virtuefor those who don't have enough nd a vice for those who have too much. An understanding arginalized groups in the church should recognize that
....e and self-understanding have often been systematically .:ed to members of those groups. lSexual Pride, in my view, isn't an assertion of some sort auvinistic superiority at anyone else's expense. Rather it all for an appreciation of bisexuals' particular place in
,.. common humanity. Bisexual Pride is telling the world our erience as bisexuals without the excuses or apologies. We -. in relationship to our communities. While self-esteem
s within, it is also ofvital importance to our well-being for .. of us to belong to a community that understands us as are. rrt Lunde, Evanston, IL
.de is a Very Personal Thing ..1y story begins nearly four years ago when I met my lifertner Peggy. At the time, I was a member of a church in the rthwestern suburbs of Chicago that was not Reconciled in rist. Because both Peggy and I had deep roots in organized
religion we were determined to keep Christ at the root of our life together. As our relationship blossomed, we wanted a Blessed Union, but it became apparent that would not happen at my home church. Then we found Holy Trinity in Chicago, whose pastor welcomed us. On September 7, 1991 we celebrated our Union. After coming out more publicly to my home church and struggling for a while with them, I finally, with a great deal of gut-wrenching wavering, made the decision to join Holy Trinity. It was difficult at best since I had put in nearly eight years of service to my home congregation in Elk Grove. However, change is good and the bonus was that Peggy also jOined Holy Trinity.
How can any church, Lutheran or otherwise, deny any person the right to be an active and contributing member of the church? There are nine million unchurched people in the U.S. How many of those are within our lesbigay community, who would love to be active members, who have time, talents, and treasures to offer? Are we not all God's children with the right to be welcomed with the same respect and love that Jesus taught?
The Lutheran Church cannot "reclaim pride" until it has genUinely committed to putting down a solid foundation on which to build a church that is totally reconciled in Christ. It takes one brick at a time, with each brick being put in place by people from our lesbigay community as well as by bishops, leaders, and other members of individual parishes . Tina Toth, Chicago IL
About the Right
Your Fall 1993 issue on "Responding to the Right: Strategies for Change" was excellent. I particularly appreciated the article by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott on "Confronting Fundamentalism." My sister is a born-again Christian and I have had numerous difficulties trying to communicate with her because of our differences in biblical interpretation. Mollenkott gave some wonderful suggestions on how I might engage in a religious conversation with my sister. Please enter my subscription to Open Hands.
M. Susan Harlow, Chicago, IL
About Celebrating the Inclusive God
Thanks for your complimentary copy and letter regarding my article on worshipping in a welcoming congregation (Winter 1994). I wanted to let you know that I took time to read the issue in detail and in depth for all the aspects that I could see involved in putting Open Hands together . . . I also found that the articles, tips, and helpful liturgy moved smoothly and supplemented and complimented each other.
I shared this issue with some people who have been away from the Church for a while now. The feedback I received was that it made them think and reconsider some of the possibilities with the Church again. This issue seems to have been tenderly and conSciously written to those that would view not only this issue but the Church for the first time or for the first time after being away for a while. Thanks for all this work. Paul E. Santillan, Chicago, IL
-mmer 1994 27
COMING OUT
Borhek, Mary V Coming Out to Parents: A Two-Way Survival Guide for Lesbians and Gay Men and their Parents. Revised and updated. Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 1993. Reflects a decade of updated research and activism by this mother of a gay son.
Cherry, Kittredge and Zalmon Sherwood. Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies and Celebrations. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, due January 1995. Will include a section on coming out.
Glaser, Chris. Coming Out to God: Prayers for Lesbians and Gay Men, Their Families and Friends. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991. Includes a variety of corporate and individual prayers useful in coming out liturgies and other lesbian/ gay-positive worship.
Herdt, Gilbert and Andrew Boxer. Children of Horizons: How Gay and Lesbian Teens are Leading a New Way Out of the Closet. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. Report of two years of study of the gay and lesbian teen support group at Horizon, a lesbian/ gay social service agency in Chicago.
Singer, Bennett L., ed. Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian: A Literary Anthology. New York: New Press, 1994. Offers lesbian and gay youth a collection of fifty "coming of age" stories, pairing selections by teenagers with excerpts from older writers' fiction and autobiographies.
Stuart, Elizabeth. "A Celebration oj Coming Out," in Daring to Speak Love's Name. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1992. Includes commentary, liturgical elements, and readings for coming out ceremonies.
HISTORY OF A MOVEMENT
Blumenfeld, \Varren J. and Diane Raymond. Looking at Gay and Lesbian Life. Updated and expanded. Boston: Beacon Press, 1993. Provides a good overview of various aspects of gay and lesbian life, including an informative section on "History of Lesbian and Gay Movement Politics."
Duberman, Martin. Stonewall. New York: Dutton, 1993. Tells the story of the birth of the gay movment through the lives of six people (Yvonne Flowers, Jim Fouratt, Foster Gunnison, KarlaJay, Sylvia Rivera, Craig Rodwell).
The story begins with their early lives, before 1969, and follows them through Stonewall and post-Stonewall events. A fast-paced history that reads like a novel!
Frye, Marilyn. "Lesbian Feminism and the Gay Rights Movement: Another View oj Male Supremacy, Another Separatism" in The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory. Trumansburg, NY: The Crossing Press, 1983. Reprinted in A Certain Terror. (see below). Explores an assumption that gay and lesbian aims and interests are always the same and looks at how gay male politics and movement work has often been built in a way that prevents lesbians from joining in fully.
Cleaver, Richard and Patricia Myers, eds. A Certain Terror: Heterosexism, Militarism, Violence & Change. Chicago: Great Lakes American Friends Service Committee, 1993. See especially articles by Harry Hay, founder of Mattachine Society who is often noted as the founder of modern gay movement; bell hooks; and Richard Cleaver.
Katz, Jonathan. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976. A pioneering volume that brought together historical documents of gay and lesbian life, including related heterosexual material, from 1566 to 1974. A must for anyone seriously interested in knowing original sources and passing on gay and lesbian history.
Plant, Richard. The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. New York: Henry Holt &: Co., 1986. Story of the oppression of gays by Nazis in World War II.
Stonewall-25. Uncommon Heroes. 1994. A tribute to bi, gay, and lesbian contemporary role models produced by the Stonewall-25 organization, this photo-essay honors religious and political leaders as well as artists, entertainers, teachers, etc.
SPIRITUALITY, SELF-ESTEEM AND PRIDE
Balka, Christie and Andy Rose, eds. Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay andJewish. Boston:Beacon Press, 1991. Includes essays from a variety of perspectives on being Jewish and lesbian or gay.
Fortunato, John. Embracing the Exile: HealingJourneys of Gay Christians. San Francisco: Harper &: Row, 1985. An exploration of spiritual formation, psychotherapy, and the image of exile as possibly the place where true life may be found .
Glaser, Chris. Come Home! Reclaiming Spirituality and Community as Gay Men and Lesbians. San Francisco: Harper &: Row, 1990. Offers an invitation to lesbians and gay men to come home to their spirituality through Christian faith and community. See also his new book The Word is Out! The Bible Reclaimed for Lesbians and Gay Men. HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. (See ad, p. 31.)
Open Hands 28
ome New Churches
:elcome to these churches which have become part of our -s roots movement in recent months.
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"T"T"T~
OPEN
-a-L
AffiRMING ~
COMOREOAnOM •
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~T.T.T~
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OPEN AND AFFIRMING
hwood United Church of Christ
veland, Ohio
Archwood's 175th anniversary year is a time of growth and _~alization for this 160-member "inclusive community for m inner city Cleveland. Determined to meet the needs of city, the congregation recently placed its pastor, David Bahr, -he open-air steeple of the church. He was not to leave until front steps of the church were covered with food for the edy. Twenty-two hours later, there was $4,000 worth of food David was a free man! Church members baked 300 cook-·or Gay Pride Day and the church hosts meetings of a gay / ian political action group and square dancers. In the fall, " plan a special study series on feminine images of God in
Bible.
lIadvale UnitedChurch
,ver, Massachusetts
~e listing under Reconciling.
t Church Congregational
eld, Connecticut
This suburban church of 900 members continues a long of social activism. A founding member of Operation Hope ,.,ch provides shelter and hOUSing services), First Church
sa sponsors refugee families and was one of the first groups -he community to offer AIDS education. Members will soon deciding whether to embark on their largest capital camIgn
ever!
Old South Church ston, Massachusetts A church at one of the busiest downtown crossroads in oston, Old South is celebrating 325 years of ministry (1669994!). Its autumn "Heritage Year 325" programs will include
a series of celebration concerts and guest speakers. Elizabeth Nordbeck, Peter Gomes, and Andrew Young are among those scheduled. As part of its long tradition of social gospel and action, the church offers a gay/lesbian fellowship group, an HIV / AIDS prayer group, and an AIDS outreach ministry proViding meals, transportation and other services for persons with AIDS in the Boston area.
PilgrimsUnited Church Maple Grove, Minnesota
A "real sense of social justice" is the moving force of this 130-member church outside Minneapolis. Having met for a number of years in a shopping center, the congregation is excited about its recent acquisition of a building which will provide new stability for the church and serve as "an instrument for ministry" in the area. Pilgrims continues to explore ways to increase its ONA awareness and outreach.
PlymouthCongregational Des Moines, Iowa
Situated in an older residential area of the city, this 3160member church is known for its liberal social stances and very active music and social action programs. The congregation is involved in resettling three Bosnian families, developing new directions for adult ministries, and getting to know its new senior minister. Plymouth's ONA commitment finds expression in a support group for gay and lesbian people and another for their spouses. The church also hosts an area Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gay (PFLAG) meeting.
United Church of Jaffrey Jaffrey, New Hampshire
Strong community outreach and dynamic leadership characterize United Church. Located "downtown in a small town," this church of 150 members has the motto of"Always for Others." They live this out through their food bank, emergency shelter, and numerous other ministries to the community. United is the second New Hampshire congregation to become ONA.
Slightly more than 2 percent of the approXimately 6,200 congregations of the United Church of Christ are now Open and Affirming (aNA). This is more than double the number in 1991. The Un ited Church Coalition has set a goal of 150 aNA churches by the summer of 1995. With 136 currently listed, we're well on our way!
ONA National Conference
}B~;,. ' ~~< . • '~W*R:~:;: " , . '~0::
Planning continues fQ~:;"~athereGl in Spirit,{Gaining in Stren~th!;' the first n~tio~ti~e exult~i<Anb(;\Open and" Affirming (0NA}ei:mfches and friends~.$cheduledfor 1995. Th~,:~vent will celebra\i,*.~~rt years of ONAi~<;tivity in the UGtS and look~~~ad·'to'l~e promi~~t~lld chalienge of expanding this wdcbme into a new d~cade and C~iji tury. The ONl}(\dvisory CommiH~~ i~, meeting this sum.. mer for furth~r' planning ,~~f9ut the local "f1ndmlii;?rogram.
Watch f,or more details. gt;: <*' "
Summer 1994 29
Calvary Lutheran Church
Columbus, Ohio
Calvary's RIC process started when their pastor Brad Schmeling came out to the congregation. In the ensuing discussions, the congregation found they had to decide what kind of place they wanted to be. The outcome was a declaration of support for their pastor, an Affirmation of Welcome to all people, the departure of a small part of the members and, over the last few months, the addition of as many more new members. In an area of the country dense with Lutheran congregations, Pastor Schmeling's coming out has given the congregation a focus -they want to be the welcoming place for all those who have not felt included by mainstream churches.
St. John-St. Matthew-Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Brooklyn, New York
A fairly traditional congregation, the members of St. JohnSt. Matthew-Emmanuel often talk about the need to reach out to its very diverse neighborhood. After a several-year process of study and reflection initiated by their former pastor and carried onward by the Social Ministry Committee, the congregation made the Affirmation of Welcome a way to reach out to the lesbian and gay community in their neighborhood.
St. Paul Lutheran Church
Washington, D.C.
While there is no recognized lesbian or gay "presence" in this large congregation, St. Paul's members felt a need to make the Affirmation of Welcome as part of their desire to become more inclusive. Pastor Tom Omholt says that the prayerful, sensitive, articulate ways the members communicated during their study made the process a wonderful, moving experience. Through all the discussion of sexuality and theology, their focus was on "What would the Gospel have us do 7"
Ballardvale United Church
Andover, Massachusetts
This congregation of 300 members, north of Boston, was united thirty-five years ago as a United Methodist and United Church of Christ congregation. Their experience of "learning to live with differences" has been the foundation of the church since that time. The congregation has a strong tradition of outreach and social justice, most recently taking the form of a "shalom project" locally in partnership with a local elementary /middle school. The process to become both Reconciling and Open and Affirming began with a study four years ago and continued with the formation of a spirituality support group for gay and lesbian persons and their families and friends .
First UnitedMethodist Church
San Rafael, California
First UMC is the oldest Protestant congregation in Marin County (north of San Francisco). Its 120 members continue to be on the cutting edge of Christian social witness -they housed the first local homeless shelter and provide a food bank. A luncheon for persons who are Sight-impaired is offered once a month. The congregation withdrew support and meeting space for a Boy Scouts troop because of the Scouts' antigay policies. The congregation has functioned as a "reconciling" church for many years and is now making it official.
Firstand Summerfield United Methodist Church
New Haven, Connecticut
First and Summerfield, adjoining the Yale University campus, has a history dating back to 1789. The current congregation was created by the merger of two congregations -one predominately black and the other white -in 1981. The congregation is proud of its tradition of being inclusive racially, culturally, and economically. It has hosted and supported an
emerging Metropolitan Community
Call for Articles for the Winter 1995 Issue
REFLECTIONS ON THE WELCOMING MOVEMENT
What kinds of growth have you seen?
What are the challenges before us now?
What are your visions for the movement?
Recent changes in acceptance from church structures?
How is the mainline press treating us?
We are looking for a variety of reflections on the "state of the movement. "
DEADLINE: October 1, 1994
Write or fax
Editor· Open Hands · 3801 N. Keeler· Chicago, IL 60641
Fax: 312/736-5475
Church and now a Korean congregation. The congregation has rebounded from a major fire in the building in 1987 with a strong vision of hope and possibility for ministry.
Open Hands 30
Celebrating the Life of
~Jay McCarty 1945-1994 .--,
Several hundred persons filled the sanctuary of Trinity UMC
.:1 Kansas City on July 6 for "A Service of Joy and Thanksgiv:lg for the Life of James Jay' McCarty," a long-time Reconcil.ng Congregation activist and board member. The celebration ;-ecognized Jay as a "lover of tradition and challenger of con·ention." Stories reminded friends and family of Jay's witty, -elf-deprecating humor; his impeccable dress; his love of fine :-estaurants and travel; his compassion for others; and his re:usal to let the church he loved be any less than what he envislOned it called to be. Jay's exuberant love of life, bawdy storytelling, and strong sense of Christian responsibility 'ouched many lives. We thank God for the unique and
nrepeatable gift of Jay McCarty. ~ Jay's partner, Dale Allen, has requested that memorial gifts e sent to a local AIDS hospice: SAVE, Inc., P.O. Box 4530l, Kansas City, MO 64111.
resbyterians Ban Same-Gender Unions The Presbyterian Church u.s.A. has forbidden its minis..ers to bless same-sex unions in an action taken by its highest
overning body, the General Assembly, which met from June 10-17 in Wichita. As an amendment to the church's constitution, the action will take effect in a year if a majority of the
regional bodies (presbyteries) approve it.
"This action was surprising," according to Bob Patenaude, co-moderator of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, "because last year's Assembly took milder action."
Another proposal would have amended the constitution to prohibit ministers and ordained laity from holding office if they were not "faithful in marriage or celibate." By the narrowest of margins this language was removed and less restrictive language substituted.
What had promised to be the most controversial issue of
his Assembly -response to the "Reimagining" conference ,,'
as diffused, however. The committee in charge of reviewing
t produced a report, nearly unanimously approved, calling :or reconciliation.
Integrating
Faith and Sexuality A lively, inspirational collection of 365 daily meditations that celebrate the Bible's positive encouragement for lesbians and gay men. Paperback • $12.00 :I HarperSanFrancisco A D;visiOll of HarperCo!!insPu/;lishers Also "vai/,rblc li'om H:l rpc rCoiiinsCanadaLtd.
V,ID.EG PROJE<;T DiReCTOR
The Reconciling Congregati~n Prolram <is seekingFtan
experienced filmmaker to deve1gp neW educatiol1.al videos.
Direct process from creative stage througl;l final production.
Knowledge oflesbian/gay/bisexual concenis in church,'
Send vitae/ qualifiCatiohs to:
RCP • 3801N. Keeler Ave. •..~Chic41go, It 60641 t. Eax
312l736:S475
-----------Gifts to Celebrate the RCP's 10th Anniversary · ---------'
E Original Cast Recording
Complete music fromHOME: The Parable of Beatrice and Neal.
Performed by the original cast. 40 minutes.
o Compact Disc regular $18 *special price $15
oAudio CassetteTape regular $12 *special price $10 P10th Anniversary Video regular $25 *special price $20 Video montage of stories and interview with HOME company on their 1994 midwestern tour.30 minutes. 'ME World Premier Tour T-Shirts High-quality cotton/poly blended "Mega Tee." Wild Rose or Seaweed colors interwoven with black to produce attractive flecked look. HOME logo on front in black ink.
Indicate Quantity: WildRose $12 L XL XXL
Seaweed $12 L XL XXL
SUBTOTAL $ __
*Specia/ prices good for prepaid orders received by 9/30/94. Shipping/handling $ 3.00 TOTAL $ _ _
ummer 1994
NAME _________________________________ CHURCH ________________________________ ADDRESS _______________ CITY/STATE/ZIP _______________ PHONE: (___________
o Enclosed is my payment of $___
o Charge to my VISA or Mastercard (circle one)
# Expiration ___/__ Signature _ _ _________________
Send order to:
Reconciling Congregation Program
3801 N. Keeler Avenue, Chicago, IL 60641
3121736-5526 fax: 3121736-5475
31
RCP 10TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ACCLAIMED
Can this be home -Jor everyone who needs a place?
Home -a place where all can share in grace?
When our doors and anns are open wide to all,
when each one oj us is Jree to heed God's call,
This will be home . .. We'll all be home.
The finale of Tim McGinley's HOME: TheParable ofBeatrice and Neal roused teary-eyed audience members to their feet in city after city. Viewers cornered McGinley and performers after each show to pour out their personal struggles which HOME had brought to life. The steadfast faith in God's abiding love, which HOME vividly conveyed, deeply touched many persons estranged from the church. McGinley's vision of what the church can and should be captivated others.
HOME was commissioned by the Reconciling Congregation Program in celebration of its 10th anniversary. Timothy McGinley, minister of music at Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, created the show and composed the music. A company of ten persons, members and friends of Reconciling Congregations around the country, rehearsed together for one week and then gave fifteen performances in fourteen cities on a two-week midwestern tour.
McGinley wove together a modern parable based on the Acts 10 story of Peter and Cornelius with a contemporary adaptation of music from the Mass. The Introit that opens HOME raises the questions:
How do we build community?
Where do we draw the line?
Who should be in the Jamily?
And who should stay outside?
Can we all live together in hamlOny?
How do we make a place Jor everyone?
Can this be home?
Just as Jesus did, HOME "answers" these questions by telling a parable -the story of six characters who are in some way in exile from the church or from their calling. Their unexpected encounter at a dinner arranged by a Reconciling Congregation pastor is both humorous and poignant. The focus is on the tension between Beatrice, who left behind her ordination to marry a conservative pastor prominent in antigay activities,
and Neal, who left seminary and the church because he was openly gay. The characters discover their common bond in their faith in God's love, sung as The Credo, part of which states:
I believe that God made me who I am
And I believe that God rejoices when we live honest lives,
Jor I believe in the creative love oj God.
The common bond which the six characters discover culminates in the sharing of the Eucharist in the last scene. McGinley's music is most powerful and dramatic as it boldly proclaims the crux of our Christian faith:
"Surprise! I am here, " God says.
"All that I have created I have made good.
You cannot limit me.
I come to you when you least expect me, in unlikely
places,
With voices you reJuse to hear.
So prepare the way!"
By all measurable means, the tour was an overwhelming success. More than 1600 persons attended the fifteen performances. Over $20,000 was received to cover the expenses of the tour. Hundreds of volunteers supported the tour by providing hOUSing, meals, and publicity for the performances.
"I can only say that this 10th anniversary celebration exceeded our expectations -it was truly a miracle!" noted RCP program coordinator Mark Bowman. "The right persons appeared to fill the many needed roles and tasks. McGinley's show powerfully portrayed the deep pain and abiding faith which drive the RC movement. Surely God's Spirit is at work in our midst."
A very special thanks to the performers and support personnel who committed three weeks to rehearsals and touring and who proclaimed the hope-filled message of the RC movement: Ginny Bartholomew (Cleveland), David Bates (Chicago), Elizabeth Bowman (Cleveland), Don Fresen (Waukegan, IL), Robert Fromer (Hollywood), Drew Gorby (Louisville), Gregory Johnson (Chicago), Ruthe Miller (Elmhurst, IL), and Suzanne Preston (Indianapolis).
Photo: Jean Caffey Lyles, United Methodist News Service A SCENE FROM HOME. From left to right: Beth Bowman, Don Fresen, and Gregory Johnson.
SEE FORM ON PAGE 31 TO ORDER A RECORDING, VIDEO, AND T-SHIRT.
Open Hands