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1661,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1661,"Second Stone #24 - Sept/Oct 1992",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"AMERICA'S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL
SEPTE M BER/ OCTOBER, 199 2 I SS U E# 24
Anti-gay document
draws shock , anger
BY JIM BAILEY
Gay a nd lesbi an Ca tholics were
stunned, distressed, and angered in
late July by a four-page document
declaring the Vat ican's suppo r t for
d iscr imination against gay and
lesbi an p e ople in s uch ar eas as p ublic
housing, family health benefits and
the hiring of teachers, coache s and
milit a ry personnel. The Vatican do cument,
entitled ""Some Considerations
Conc e rning the Catholic Response to
Legislat iv e Proposals on the NonDiscrimination
of Homosexual Persons,""
from the Congregation for t he
Doctrine of the Faith, was sent to all
U.S. bishops throug h the Vatican
Nunciature on June 25th by the
General Secretary of the U.S. Catholic
Conference. The statement came to
th e atte ntion of New Ways Ministry, a
national gay-affirming group that
works w ith gay and lesbian Catholics .
New Ways Ministry sent copies ·of the
document to the media. The Washington
Post broke th e story on July 17,
igniting a wave of anger in the gay
and lesbian community, Catholic and
non-catholic alike.
The statement urges church
authorities to lobby against legislation
that might encourage homosexual
behavior because such behavior,
according to th e document, under mines
traditional family life. It said
g overnmen t sh ou l d d eny cert ain
privilege s to gay and lesbian people
to promote the traditional family and
prote ct society. '""Sexu al orientation '
does not consti tute a quality com parable
to race, ethnic background,
etc., in respect to non-discrimination,""
the statement reads. ""Unlike these,
homosexual orientation is an objective
disorde r ."" The hard-line document
continues, to the shock and dismay of
many Christians, to say that ""there
are areas in which it is not unjust
discrimination to take sexual orientation
into account...""
The weeks following the discovery
of the Vatican's unchari table position
on human rights for gay and lesbian
peof,le produced a flood of responses.
In t us report, Second Stone presents
reaction from across the nation to the
Vatican statement.
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
f(ETUflN TO
5eNOfrl·
KEVIN CALEGARI, president of Dignity/USA stands near the office of the
Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, preparing to ""return to
sender' a copy of the Vatican statement opposing civil rights for Gays and
Lesbians. Cardinal Ratzinger refused to meet with Calegari.
f]JPROJECT TOCSIN: GAY BROTHERS: [l7l OUR FAMILIES:
California group
battles right wing
poison
This religious order
won't kick yo u out
if you're gay
The fathe rs of the
· bride helped p lan
the wedding
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PA I D
NEW ORLEANS, LA
----------------------------------------------------- 1 PERMITNo.511
· T ,·From the Editor T ....................................
Ostrich approach won't work
By Jim Bailey
Editor
SINCE THE REPUBLICAN National Convention I've not iced I've been
watching television more in the ""mute"" mode. I'm sure this has to do
with spending an inordinate amount of time on the phone putting this
issue together. I just forgot to ""de-mute"" after the phone calls were over.
I think. · I hope it has nothing to · do with my aggravation with a
C-SP AN caller who phoned in during the Republican gathering to voice
his opinion that one could not be both a Democrat and a Christian. (I do
recall that was the first time I had used the mute button in some time.)
Watching television in such a manner is confusing and can be
dangerous. With the phone between my ear and shoulder, I glanced
over at the silent Headline News . For a moment , I thought I saw a
citizen of Sarajevo scrambling to safety with an armload of befongings .
No, that was a looter stealing from a Miami store in the aftermath of
Hurricane Andrew. The!\ scenes of destruction. It reminded me of
hurricanes I had experienced. No, that was Sarajevo. The next time I
caught the screen they were on the hurricane again: a map of the Gulf
of Mexico, the swirly hurricane symbol now positioned in the Gulf, a
track of destruction across Florida, and big orange arrows pointing at
me . Clearly, it was time to demute .
In these days of ""ethnic cleansing"" in Bosnia-Herzepovina, rising
neo-Nazism in Germany, official hatred from the Vatican, and
dangerous right wing political influence on the leadership of the United
States, it is tempting to hit the mute button ... to deny. There is an evil
threat to the freedo _m and liberty ... to the very lives ... of gay and
lesbian people in the United States. It's disguised under steeples and
crosses. The story on Project ·Tocsin in this issue is about people who
recognize this threat and have gone to battle against it.
Reconstructionists and others involved with the radical religious right
movement are counting on apathy from the gay and lesbian ·
community and, so far, to a great extent, that's just what they've gotten .
They want to chart a new course for America, destroying what they
don't like along the way. Right now, the orange arrows are pointed at
us.
SECOND STONE Newsjournal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other month
by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Copyright 1992
by Second Stone, a registered trademark .
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S .A. $13.00 per year, six issues . Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING , For display advertising information call (504)899-4014 or write to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 .
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone, P;O . Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 . Manuscripts to be returned
should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope . Second Stone is otherwise
not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjournal for the national gay and lesbian
community .
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE:Rev. Dr. Fred C. Williams,
Andrea L. T. Peterson; Pamela White, Ivy Young, Rev. Dr. Timm Peterson,
Michael Blankenship and Nancy Hugman
· I 2Tsecond Stone• September/October, 1992 ·
l___..:..-J .
Contents ........... ........... .. ......
[]] From The Editor
I 3__J· 1
1
Commentary
The false issue of •~raditional family values""
[4J News Lines
[I]
[]]
[I]
Coming Out To My Pastor
Telling her nationally-known homophobic pastor
all about it... by Pamela White
Project Tocsin
They're battling right wing poison
I Remember Enrique
A moving letter recalling the power of an
important friend
! 10 l Cover Story
.
Reaction to Vatican 's position on gay and lesbian
civil rights
il2I _ gj
Meet The Brothers Of The Mercy Of God
Sexual orientation won't get you kicked out of this
order of gay Christian men
1_·1 !) 1 The Parable Of The Shetter
~ By Nancy Hugman
Andrea Peterson reviews Sandy Rapp's God's Country: 1~ 1
lnPrint
A Case Against Theocracy, Michael Blankenship reviews
_Rev . Stephen Pieters' I'm Still Dancing
[61 Relationships
How scripture helps us fix broken relationships
by Rev. Fred C. Williams
ml17 Families l!!J An interview with two gay grandfathers
l]8] Calendar
I 191. Noteworthy News about people, churches and groups
120 I Classlfl .eds
Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
""Traditional family values""
False issues and moral posturing
By lwYounq
Guest Comment
THERE YOU GO again, George .
Making ill-informed, demagogic and
misguided moralistic pronouncements
about the nature of family life in this
country and the unsuitability of Lesbians
and Gays to be parents.
And we must ask, as it was asked
of Senator Joe McCarthy, so many
years ago, ""Have you no decency? At
long _last, have you no decency?""
There are millions of lesbian and
gay parents in this country who, like
parents everywhere, spend most of
their time and energy caring for and
worrying about and loving their
children. And hoping, too, that those
children grow up in a world free of
the bigotry and prejudice so evident
in George Bush's remarks about the
""abnormality"" of same-sex parents.
That the president of the United
States would target millions of lesbian
and gay parents, discredit their lives,
do psychological harm to their children,
and make them scapegoats for
the fundamental problems of this
country is unconscionable and unworthy,
even in an election year.
We know all too well that the Vice
President cannot spell. The question
befor e us now is does the President
ever read. Did he read the U .S.
Departm ent of Health and Human
Services youth suicide study that
showed gay youth, because of .society's
intolerance and rejection by
their families, are two to three times
more likely to attempt suicide than
heterosexual youth? Does he read
the reports that put the divorce rate in
this country at 50 percent, or the
National Coalition Against Domestic
Violence report that three to four
million women a year are abused by
their husbands and boyfriends? Gay
youth suicide and spouse abuse
appear to be long-standing ""traditional
family values"" in this country.
Did the president overlook the front
page headline in the Washington Post
a while back: ""Increase in Baby
Killings Attributed to Family Stress""?
That article contends that the nation 's
recession, joblessness and low wages
are causing parents to take out their
frustrations on their children. More
than 1300 children died of abuse last
year, 50 percent more than in 1986.
The Post article makes pointed reference
to the fact that because of
budget cuts, there is little help available
for families in crisis. This is
normal family life in America.
Our community did not create this
crisis. Instead, in the face of anti-gay .
policies and rampant homophobia,
such as that displayed by the president,
three to five million lesbian
and gay parents struggle daily to
provide loving homes for their
children . An ever-increasing number
of sociological studies indicates that
children raised in lesbian and gay
families grow up to be no better or
worse than children raised in heterosexual
families. Of course, we all
hope that our children, unlike Neil
Bush, do not grow up to be thieves or
To sit idly by while your cronies and
big n1oney campaign contributors loot
the savings and loan institutions where
thousands of An1erican fan1ilies deposited
their hard-earned resources is
not the n1ark of someone with a deepseated
concern about any kind
of values.
brigands.
Bush is using ""traditional family
values"" as the smoke and mirror tactic
to appease and win back the disenchanted
right wing. But even those
with the hardiest intestinal fortitude
should find this snake oil difficult to
swallow.
For Bush to profess such love and
concern for the American family and
veto the Family Medical Leave Act is
hyprocrisy at its most profound.
American families fill homeless shelters
and sleep on the streets, but this
administration consistently reduces
spending on low and moderate
'income housing. To sit idly by while
your cronies and big. money campaign
contributors loot the savings
and loan institutions where thousands
of American families deposited their
hard-earned resources is not the mark
of someone with a deep-seated co11-
cern about any kind of values. How
can one claim to cherish families on
one hand and promote such destructive
anti-family policies on the
other?
This is not a time for false issues or
moral posturing. This is a time for
leadership. Unfortunately, in his
attempt to keep his job for another
four years, the president has again
displayed the venal cowardice that is
unbecoming to anyone who would
seek to lead this natiort.
Ivy Young is the director of the
Families Project of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.
Jesus did have something to say about homosexu.ality
By Rev. Dr. Timm Peterson
Guest Comment w HY ARE THE mainline Protestant
churches having so much trouble
with the issue of lesbian/ gay civil
rights in the church and soci~ty?
What is keeping the leadership of the
denominations from taking a strong
stand on this issue and teaching the
laity they are wrong to discriminate
against us? What is the major issue
for the laity in dealing truthfully with
20th century psychology and sociology
about lesbian/ gay sexuaHty
and sexual identity for children,
youth and adults? You guessed it.
The Bible.
One of the major obstacles facing
Open and Affirming, More Light and
Welcoming Churches and Reconciling
Congregations is the authority of
scripture, biblical interpretations and
what Jesus said or didn't say. For too
long liberal Christians have been
silent. This must change.
With the release of the Dead Sea
Scroll material and other published
works on the early Christian period,
we are beginning to discover much
more about the cultural influences on
Jesus' life and mission. I had always
wondered as a gay man and a Christian
if Jesus was aware of homosexuality
in his day. How could he ""
have no t ? And if he did say anything
about it, where in the core
documents of the New Testament
would it be? Then I remembered
something. His greatest text on inclusivity
was in his Sermon on the
Mount in Matthew's Gospel. Surely,
if there were something, it wo'uld be
there.
To my surprise, there was. The text
is Matthew 5:22. ""If you say to your
brother/ sister raca you will be sent to
the Sanhedren ."" The New Revised
Standard Version says in a footnote
that Raca is an ""obscure term of
abuse."" What the biblical theologians
are not saying is that the term Raca
means ""faggot."" This means that Jesus
is saying at the peak of his ministry
that he doesn't want his followers to
gay-bash or even verbally harrass
gay people . And he is directing this
prohibition to heterosexuals and their
homophobia.
What is more interesting is the next
part of the phrase, ""or you will be
sent to the Sanhedren (the Jewish
court system). What could this mean?
Recently author and professor John
Boswell has been doing research on
early gay Holy Unions and how
ancient they are, dating back to early
Roman soldiers and their unions.
Coujd this mean that Jesus was supporting
a gay rights bill of his day
and saying that homophobes should
be punished? It seems so.
Testament text which 1.) focuses on
heterosexuals doing deviant sexual
acts with same-sex persons, 2.) relates
to Greek pederast sexuality with
marrieds and call boys, 3.) relates to
cultic worship experiences and/ or 4.)
relates to rape . None of these usual
texts have anything to do with
consenting, loving and mutual relations
for same-sex couples. The
fundamentalists never quote the Song
of Solomon either.
It is time the churches face up to
this moment. Marginalizing and
oppressing openly lesbian and gay
churchfolk is no virtur~. Let's stop
using the Bible as a weapon of
injustice and start going to the .root of
the Gospel itself: love your neighbor
as they define themselves asyou love
yourself. As we do this we love God
inclusively as we should.
The evidence is mounting to show
that gay and lesbian same-.sex unions
preceded heterosexual marriage ceremonies.
This would mean that Jesus
was not only pro-gay, but also supported
loving, mutual relations for ·
same-.sex couples. What more do we Rev. Dr. Timm Peterson is a United
need to show that the Lord of the Church of Christ minister living in
church is for us and not against us? Chicago, He teaches at Triton College and
· When the conservatives respond, is Associate Editor of Changi1tg Men
they usually quote Paul or some Old magazine. _____ '
Second Stone• Sep~ember/October, ImtnJ.
News Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Washington elects woman suffragan bishop
D. THE REV. JANE HO LMES DIXON, 54, rector of St. Philip's Church in Laurel, Maryland
was elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church by more than 300 delegates of the Diocese of
Washington. If approved by a 11:ajority of the country's 99 dioceses, she wi ll become th~
second woman b1sbop m the Episcopal Church, followmg the Rt Rev. Barbara C. Hams
election in Massachusetts in 1988. Dixon has repeatedly spoken out in favor of ordaining
gay people. Everyone should enjoy equal access to the ministry, she said. ""If the Gospel of
Jesus Christ weren't inclusive, I wouldn't be standing here,"" she said. -The Washington Post
UFMCC kicks off rally series
D. The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches kicked off a series of
national and internationa l rallies on the 4th of July at the Majestic Theatre in downtown
Dallas. Over 1,000 Lesbians and Gays, family and friends were present to honor gay
military personnel and veterans. The initial rally was held in Dallas because the four
Dallas-area MCCs represent the largest concentration of lesbian and gay Christians in the
world. In a letter to the MCCs of Texas, Governor Ann Richards praised their special
commitment to the gay and lesbian community which helps ""~uarantee that every American
will have the Of>portunity to pursue his or her spiritual life... The next rally is scheduled to
be held in Fort J:auderdale, Florida, in May 1993.
Former Presbyterian leader 'changes mind' on aay ordination
D. WILLIAM P. !HOMPSON, the former Stated Clerk of the United Presbyterian Church
(now Presbyte .nan Church USA), who previously took a hard line on the ordination of
Gays and Lesbians, wrote in a letter to the Rev. Vernon B. Van Bruggen, Presbytery
Executive of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, that he had changed his mind . He asserts
that his ch~nge of stance was ii:i-£1uenced ~y the fact_that skilled experts differ in Biblical
interpretation and that new saentific evidence md1cates the absence of the free choice
essential to sinful behavior. He also claimed to be influenced by loss to the church caused
by the policy. 'The result seems tome to constitute injustice to th(! persons involved, to the
congregations they have ·served or might serve and, indeed, to the whole people of God ... ,""
Thompson wrote. -Christianty & CristS ·
Churches reject anti-gay ballot
D. AT RECENT CONVENTIO!'JS, a synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and a conference of the United Church of Christ overwFtelmingly condemned an attempt by
the group Colorado for Family Values to· have an anti-gay 6a1lot measure placed on the
November election ballot. Representing the Rocky Mountain Conference of the UCC, 300
delegates condemned the measure and 600 delegates of the ELCA synod passed a resolution
opposing the anti-gay action. -Malchus
/
/
a Clean
Heart
Glenn Baker
Conservatives lose in sex ed battle
t;, CALIFORNIA CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS failed in their attempt to change new
sex education guideli n es they claim would promote gay lifesty les, but vowed to try again.
Parts of the document are ""totally unacceptable because homosexuality is not acceptable to
presentfoyoung, impressionable children and teenagers as a viable lifestyle,"" said the Rev.
Lou Sheldon, who predicted that the issue would bolster support for a school-choice
initiative proposed for a November ballot. -Cruise
UFMCC seeks military chaplaincy · · .
D. REV. TROY PERRY, founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches has filed an application with the Department of Defense to allow the church's
clergy to serve as military chaplains. Perry predicted the Pentagon would approve the
request. Rev. Dusty Pruitt of Long Beach will oe the church's first chaplain nommee . Pruitt,
45, sued the Army after her 1986 dismissal for ""moral dereliction."" She had served six years
active service and nine years in the reserves. ""If you have ministerial skills, you are able to
apply them across the spectrum,"" Pruitt said. ""Ministry -is not sexually oriented ... The
application is consistent with the desire of my heart to be a chaplain and in the military .""
Perry said the church would sue if Pruitt is rejected. The church also asked the Pentagon to
drop its policy banning Gays and Lesbians fiom the military. -The New Voice
Clinton's scripture quoting upsets Robertson, Falwell
D. PAT ROBERTSON AND JERRY FALWELL are angry that Rev. Jesse Jackson and
Governor Bill Clinton quoted scripture during their speecbes at the Democratic National
Convention. Said Falwell, ""Misquoting and manipulating scripture for political purposes
should be offensive to millions of Americans. It is certainly a more significant error than the
much publicized misspelling of potato."" -Seattle Gay News
Presbvterian lesbian refused ordination · .
D. LISA (ARGES has been denied ordination in the Presbyterian Church on the grounds of
sexual orientation. Larges, 29, who became qualified for ordination in spite of being blind,
said the church was still her home. ""I just don't want to leave because they don't hke me,""
she said. ""I want them to take responsibility for their decision, to know that this affects
people."" -Equal Time
Gays adopt highway near fundamentalists
(),. A LESBIAN AND GAY GROUP has adopted a stretch of highway just yards away from
the Christian Broadcasting Network's headquarters . The Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay
Pride Coalition's choice of a two-mile piece of Interstate 64 for their partic1patio~ in the
state's highway clean-up program is a protest against CBN founder Pat Robertsons views
on Gays. - C/ucago Outfines
Ousted North Carolina church reconsiders prergay stance
D. OLIN T. BINKLEY Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, ousted from the Southern _Baptist
Convention for licensing a gay cleq;y student, will reconsider its stance on licensing gay
students, voting for further discussion by a_ margin of 151-24. Whil_e the new di scussion
does not affect the licensure of John Blevins, 1t could have a ch11lmg effect on other
gay-positive steps the church might take . Seven deacons resigned over the resolution to
affirm the rights of gay Christians to be integrated into the ministry and now , after being
expelled from both the state and national Baptist -associations, church members may be
bending to the pressure . -Q Notes
NCC ends plans for meetings with UFMCC
D. THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES Executive Coordinating Committ ee voted
May 19 to dismiss the NCC-UFMCC Dialogue Committee after learning that only three or
four of its 32 member denominations were interested in the meetings. ""We are an&ry but not
surprised at the dismissal of our committee, and I vow that we will not go away, said Rev.
Elder Nancy Wilson, UFMCC Chief Ecumenical Officer. Rev. Troy Perry, leader of the
UFMCC, said the church has applied for ""observer "" status in the ·council. NCC lead ers have
described homosexuality as ""the most divisive church .issue since slavery.""
Baptist preacher says gay is okay
D. A BAPTIST PREACHER has opened a counseling center in Pompano Beach, Florida,
where he hoRes to help Gays and Lesbians reconcile their homosexuality and their
Christianity.' Your salvation has nothing to do with your sexuality,"" Jerry Lee_St(!phenson
told the Ft. Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel.
Detroit bishop heads gay inauirv ·
D. VATICAN OFFICIALS HAVE AS~ Detroit Archbishop Adam Mai<!,a to inve~tigate a
Catholic group that promotes equality for Gays and Lesbians. Two Michigan bishops -
Saginaw Bishop Kenneth Untener and Maida's own Auxiliary Bishof> Thomas Gumbleton
- recently were headline speakers at a ·national conference- sponsotecti>y .Mary,land-based
Ne~ Ways Ministry. Two b_ishops at the Natiol)al Conference of Catholic Bishops _at the
Uruversity of Notre Dame said they were aware of the mvestigation, and Maida confirmed
the inquiry but said it was too sensitive to discuss publicly, ""and I prefer not to say
anything about it right now."" Bishop Gumbleton has publicly acknowledged he has a
brother who is gay. -Cruise
Catholic officials take no stand on Colorado initiative
D. COLORADO CATHOLIC OFFICIALS have declined _ to · take a positioμ on a
controversial initiati':e seeking to ban state fr,il rights protections for Gays and Lesbians.
Archbishop J. Iiranc1s Staffora of Denver, Bishop Arthur Tafoya of Pueblo and Bishop
Richard C. Hanifen of Colorado Springs released a statement saying, ""The ambiguous
language of theJroposed amendment confuses the crucial distinction between homosexual
'orientation' an homosexual 'conduct' or 'relationships.' -The New Vo,ce
·News Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................ .....
Presbyterian group sues New Jersey over gay rights law ,
t. A PRESBYTERIAN GROUP has filed suit against the state of New Jersey, charging that a
bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation is · unconstitutional. The
Presbytery of New Jersey of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church charges that the new law
could force their organiztion to hire, ordain and marry ""sexual sinners."" The !)COUP says
their suit arose after .they heard of a gay church orgarust who sued a Presbytenan cburch
in San Francisco after he was fired 15y the church. ""We.want to make sure that the same
thing doesn 't ~appen here,"" said Thomas Neuberger, attorney for the Presbyterian group .
-Stonewall Unwn Reports
Parents protest pride proclamation
t. PARENTS THREATENED TO PULL their children from classes at a demonstration
against the Los Angeles school board's proclamation of June as ""Gay and Lesbian Pride
Month."" ""No longer is this the Los Angeles Board of Education. It's the special interest
board of indoctrination,"" said Eadie Gieb, president of Parents and Students United of the
San Fernando Valley . The group sponsored the protest with the valley-based Christian
Coalition, founded by evangelisfPat Robertson. -Chicago Outlines
Military discrimination costs millions
t,. A NEW STUDY presented by.the General Accounting Office has documented that the
Department of Defense spends tens of millions of do!Iars each year to keep Gays and
Lesbians out of the military. The Pentagon spends $27 million each year to recruit and train
replacements for those who are discharged for being gay.
NC minister transfers to banished Baptist church
t. SAYING THAT THE PULLEN Memorial Church in Raleigh is ""embracing what Christ
said church should be about,"" the Rev. Nancy Petty left her Charlotte churcli. and became
Pullen's minister of education. Pullen was voted out of the Southern Baptist Convention
because it blessed a union between two gay men. Petty no longer considers herself a
Southern Baptist , saying, ""Southern Baptists have kind .of disowned me anyway as a
female ."" -Southern Voice
Robertson laments gav/lesbian visibilitv at Demo Convention
t,. THE REV. PAT ROBERTSON reported on the highly visible gay/ lesbian presence at the
Democratic National Convention during a segment of CBN's tlie 700 Club. Robertson said
it is a sign that God ""is about to abandon America,"" and that if the gay rights bill is ever
passed, the country will be destroyed ""in seven or eight years."" Robertson said that Gays
and Lesbians are to blame for many problems facing America, including the ""no-fault""
divorce. ""They are doing it because they hate the family. It is Lesbians who are realJ;y
. behind the abortion issue. They can't ha ve children and they're [jealous] o£other womens
femininity . They say, 'If I can' t have a child then I don't want you to have a child so you'll
be like me ."" Robertson also said, ""This idea of separation of church and state is nonsense.""
The struggle over ""values"" has gone beyond tall::, said Robertson. ""It's blood in the streets.
It's bloody out there."" -Seattle Gay News
'FAG' to battle anti-gay initiative in Oregon
t,. ACTIVISTS BATTLING A MOVE by the right wing Oregon Citizens Alliance to amend
the state consitution to include Old Testament law have formed the Famil:,, Alliance of God,
FAG, to put forward a companion amendment. Among the restrictions the FAG amendment
would cover are a ban against the state ""condoning and promoting the consumption of
shrimp, lobster, crab"" and other foods prohibited in Leviticus. The amendment would also
add tlie death penalty for adultery and cursing one's parent. -GayNet
Klan calls for death for Gavs and Lesbians
t,. F1FfY KLANSMEN, SKINHEAbS and supporters rallied in Daytona Beach, Fla., on
July 12 proclaiming the death penalty for Gays and Lesbians . Members of the National
Organization for Women and members of a local gay-affirming church held a
counter-demonstration, outnumbering the Klari three-to-one. Florida Klan leader John
Baumgardner said, ""It's up to Christians to rise up and impose the death JJ!!nalty on [Gays
and Lesbians]. Rev. Step!ien Steele of Hoi,e MCC in Orminond Beach said, 'The Klan lias
brought its message of hate here. I can't believe they consider themselves to be Christians.""
-Associated Press
Minister refused An to protest church action
t,. THE REV. HOWARD WARRENoflndianapolis announced June 9 that he would stop
taking his AZf to protest what he called ""hateful'' actions by the Presbyterian Church afits
annual meeting in Milwaukee . ""Sometimes you must confront extreme acts of hate with
equal extreme, peaceable actions,"" Warren said. '.'In m~ own church, I felt like I was taking
on hate."" Warren resumed his medication after church eaders postponed action on anti-gay
measures . -Southern Voice · ·
Lesbian marriaae ianites furor In Austin ·
t,. FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIANS have protested a .decision by the Austin
American-Statesman to sell Sara Strandtman and Karen Umminger space for a picture and
short story about their union . 'The purity of these pages has been marred by the stain of
immorality,"" said . Jack Chambers, a talk show host for a Christian radio and . cable TV
station. American-Statesman publisher Roger Kintzel said, ""It's simple. We have decided not
to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation."" -Fort Worth Siar-Telegram
Priest auits after oarish reiects AIDS home
t,. A CATA:OL!C PRIES!' has quit fus parish because parishioners rejected his plan . to house
homeless AIDS patients in the church rectory . Rev. Larry Johnson, 43, left hls £OSition at
the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Ma!).' Catholic Church in Maplewood, Minn ., on
June 21. ""I.have never confronted anything like it,"" said Johnson , who has spent I7Jears in
the priesthood. 'Twas very much surprised by the ignorance, fear and hatre . Their
homophobia and fear paralyzed them ."" -Associated Press
Episcopal diocese grants benefits to partners of Gays
t. THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF NEW ARK extended dental coverage to partners of
lesbian and gay priests and .Jay employees. The decision came about after a lesbian priest in
Newark , the Rev. Karen Murphey, tned to enroll her partner in the diocese's dental plan.
F\)llowing negotiations, the diocese agreed to do that m all 130 of its churches. ·
-Southern Voice ·
Nicaraguan·Gays in danaer
t. WITH CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORT, the Nicaraguan parliament has passed a law
forbidding any gay activity, including rights activism. Cardinal Obando y Bravo, the most
powerful churchman in Nicaragua, praised the law, saying, ""any sensib.le and responsible
Christian ought to be in agreement"" with it. Bravo said thafhomosexuality, ""while not a sin,
constitutes a strong tendency toward behavior intrinsically bad from the moral
perspective ."" -Seattle Gay News .
Archbishop-of Canterburv kills lesbian/gay prayer book
t. BRITAIN'S LEADING CHRISTIAN publishing house has dropped plans to publish a
book of prayers for gay and lesbian Christians after the Archbisliop of Canterbury, the
Most Rev . Georgl! Carey, its president, told them he did not approve. The publication
committee of the Society for tfte Promotion of Christian Knowleage decided not to print
Daring to Sf,eak Love's Name: A Celebration of Friendship, which had been schedulea for
release in uly . Dr. Elizabeth Stuart, who edited the book, said she owed it to the
""thousands of Christian Lesbians and Gays"" in Britain and worldwide to find another
publisher . The Rev. Richard Kirker, general secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian ·
Movement, reacted strongly . ""The Archbishop of Canterbury's actions are intellectually
indefensible and blatantly, homophobically discriminatory, tliey demean the office that he
holds,"" Kirker said. -The Voice of Integrity .
Take pictures on National Coming Out Day .
t. TWO NATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY organizations, National Coming Out Day and
The Lesbian and Gay Public Awareness Project, are asking all photographers
(r,rofessional and amateur) to record October 11, National Coming Out Day as: a day m the
life of Gay and Lesbian America . 'The Photo Project will confirm for all of America what
we have been saying all along, there is no 'us' and 'them',"" said Lynn Shepodd, Executive
Director of National Coming Out Day. Amateur and _professional photographers interested
in submitting their October 11, 1992 portraits of lesbian and gay America for consideration
for ~se in Tli.e _Photo Project, and tliose wishing more i~ormation, should_ register with
National Commg Out Day, (505)982-2558, or The Lesbian and Gay Pubhc Awareness
Project, (818)990-8000. . . ,
diqnit'1JUSC
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Second Stone• September/O~tober, im([j
Bishop Browning: Christians must hear gay/lesbian issues
CALLING FOR reconciliation in the
church, Episcopal Presiding Bishop
Edmund L. Browning returned to his
home state of Texas to lead the
opening Eucharist fqr the Integrity
National Convention in Houston.
Bishop Browning appeared at a service
attended by about 300 people at
palmer Memorial Episcopal Church
on July 10. Browning's appearance
was a first for a leader of a major
denomination to attend a meeting of a
gay /lesbian group. On July 11,
Browning led a forum with Integrity
members during which he spoke
supportively of lesbian and gay
Episcopalians.
""I am convinced that this church will
never be reconciled about any issue
unless we can reclaim the struggle in
Christ's name with Christ's methods,""
Bishop Browning said during his
sermon. ""I am convinced that neither
side can win a war. Peace must break
out. Reconciliation must · begin. The
struggle of Christ is not a project of
seeing who can win .""
""Is it possible to know the pain of
what you have known and _still find it
within yourself to remain in the body
where so much of that pain has
occurred?"" Browning asked those
attending the service. ""Can you be
the reconcilers Christ calls of us to be
without either denying the reality of
your pa in on the one hand or denying
the possiblity of its corning to an
end on the other, without either
minimizing what you have felt or.
allowing it to overcome you? How
can we struggle together in love,
when so many of the models for
struggle which we have are models of
hate?""
The Rt. Rev. Maurice M. Benitez,
Bishop of Texas, was not expected at
the convention and he did not attend.
The absence of the arch-conservative
bishop led Integrity's founder, Dr.
Louie Crew, to suggest that the
Bishop was guilty of ""the sin of
sodomy,"" meaning inhospitality.
Benitez reportedly distributed a letter
indicating that no diocesan officials
would attend the convention, but
many clergy of the diocese did
attend.
In an interview with Episcopal News
Service prior to his appearance in
Houston, Browning said he accepted
the invitation to the Integrity convention
because he wanted to go and felt
it was important to go. ""Phoenix [the
Episcopal Church's General Convention,
July, 1991] called the church into
a dialogue on the issue of homosexuality,
and it seems to me that my
visit to the Integrity meeting is an
important way of modeling the
church's willingness to be in dialogue
Fourteenth Annual
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Mansfield College, Oxford ·
January 2-18, 1993
New Visions
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Professor Chung Hyun-Kyong
Ewha Women'$ University, Seoul, Korea
Dr. Preman Niles
General Secretary, Council for World Mission
Professor Maurice Wiles
Sometime Reg/us Professor of Theology, Oxford
Kenilworth, Warwickshire
Cost: $1570
includes
accommodation ,
meals, tuition, transfers
Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham
London Option
The Seminar is meant to appeal to clergy, laity, and seminar faculty and students and has
attracted hundreds of participants during the past 13 years. Participation is limited to 55. Founded
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Aadem .ic and Continuing Education Credits are available.
• For further Information, registration ... contact:
Donald J. Ru_dalevlge, 566 Commonwealth Ave ., Boston, Mass. 02215
617-266-3900/926-4366 rn· Second Stone• Septe~mber/October, 1992
on the issue,"" Browning said.
..Browning said that he was
""sympathetic"" to the impatience ex-
L.A. Bishop rides
in pride parade.
THE RT. REV. Chester L. Talton,
suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Los
Angeles participated in the West
Hollywood gay pride parade on·June
28. Talton was well-received along
the parade ·route, according to
Larkette Lein, convenor of Integrity/
Southland. ""People of color seemed
especially gladdened to see him, and
often made exhuberant efforts to
make sure they made eye contact,""
said Lein . ""In. our riot-weary city, his
presence was particulary empower
ing."" Nearly 200 people from the
Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
particpated in the parade. Talton is
the first leader of a mainline denomination
to participate in the gay pride
event.
Los Angeles Suffragan Bishop
Chester L Talton and Integrity/
Southland convenor Larkette
Lein in pride parade Photo: Paul Couny
pressed by some gay and lesbian
memb ers of the Episcopal Church that
the church is still an oppressive institution
or not responsive to their
concerns. ""Sometimes I think the
church moves at a · snail's pace,"" he
said. ""I would encourage people who
feel discouraged to 'hang in there.' It
is extremely important for their voices
to be .heard.""
Browning said that Christians must
not shrink from addressing difficult
issues, and must keep a listening . ear
and open heart toward persons who
disagree. Despite his optimism about
dialogue on gay and lesbian issues, .
Browning acknowledged that the
debate on homosexuality in the Episcopal
Church would probably not end
before his 12-year term expires in
1998.
During his installation Browning
said that the Episcopal Church must
be a place where ""there will be no
outcasts."" Browning said that he
might phrase it a little differently
today. ""Maybe what I would say now
is that the church is . a place for
outcasts.
Browning said that the .past six
years had revealed ""that ther e are
many people who believe themselves
to be outcasts, but who are not willing
to come in the center and participate
unless they can make others outcasts.
They come with strings attached . We
need to challenge that,"" he said.
Accor:ding to Browning the
sacrament of baptism was the ""underlying
foundation"" for his vision of
inclusiveness. ""Baptism puts us in
relationship - not only with Christ -
but also with every other baptized
person,"" he said.
In over 50 Integrity chapters in the
United States the primary focuses are
worship in a supportive environment,
emotional support and counseling,
spiritual nourishment and Christian
education, and service to the Church
and the lesbian and gay community .
American Baptists reject
anti-gay · resolution
THE 91 TO 88 VOTE of the General
Board of the American Baptist
Churches in the USA to reject a resolution
condemning lesbian, gay and
bisexual people was a clear signal to
continue dialogue, according to
leaders of American Baptists Concerned,
the national lesbian, gay and
bisexual Baptist caucus, which held its
annual retreat June 29-July 2. Many
attending the r etreat expressed gratitude
for ""the responsible, rational and
compassionate way"" the resolution
was considered by the General Board
meeting at Green Lake, Wisconsin
June 21-23.
The resolution, which originatep in
the West Virginia region, attempted
to legislate behavior, in contradiction
to Baptist polity, on the ~asis of a .
particular perception of what ""grieves
the heart of God."" American Baptist
tradition allows full autonomy to local
congregations and ""honors God's
Word as experienced and interpreted
by individual conscience as the
highest authority.""
American Baptists Concerned has
formally established 'The Association
of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists,""
an alliance of individuals,
groups and congregations, both gay
and rion-gay, that have pledged to be
affirming of lesbian, gay and bisexual.
More than 20 applications for
membership in the association have
been received, including eight congregations.
American Baptists Concerned
for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual
People was adopted as the new name
of the organization, which is celebrating
its 20th anniversary this year.
In 1984, I went as a fundamentalist
minister to ""witness"" at a gay
rights rally in Sacramento , California.
I had a solid spiritual
pedigree. I had been active in some
kind of ministry since 1971 when I
met Christ. I was valedictorian of my
Bible institute class, sang in a gospel
group, led a mobile evangelism team
through Northern California, and was
a licensed minister in the Assemblies
of God. I somehow knew that I would
have some kind of ministry · in the
""homosexual"" community. I had no
idea that I would do it as a lesbian.
(Well, maybe down deep I knew.)
Today I am a Christian lesbian
activist and am active in Emmanuel
MCC in Albuquerque. . ·
Several.important events catalyzed
this transformation. I nearly had a
nervous breakdown, fell in love with
half a dozen women, and had some
National Coming Out Day, October 11, 1992
Coming out
to my pastor
BY PAMELA WHITE
human sexuality courses in graduate
school. I came out with a vengeance.
I decided to form a personal policy.
I had been very pub lic in my opposition
to the concept of ""lesbian and
gay Christians."" I decided now to be
equally public in my support. Signing
my real name in editorials and
being interviewed on a news segment
about gay parents was part of
this effort. Recently, I felt impressed
to take another step . I wrote a coming
out letter to my ex-Assemblies of God
clergy, Pastor Glenn Cole of Sacramento
. I attended Cole's church and
taught adult Sunday School there for
about five years.
persecution dished out by the religious
right. Because I believe that
fundamentalists ( or more accurately
the powers of evil behind them) are
engaging in a literal spiritual holocaust
against Gays and Lesbians, I
•encouraged the pastor to withdraw
his condemnation against our community.
· ""Resolving the apparent conflict
between my sexuality and spirituality
was very challenging,"" I wrote. ""I
literally felt that I was throwing
myself off the. edge of the world with
no certainty that God would catch me.
I did notice, however, that at no time
did the Holy Spirit withdraw from
me .""
It is the authenticity of our
relationships with Christ, our ability
to speak a ""religious language"" and
Christ -like works that most meaningfully
attests to the truth. A powerful
Biblical story illustrates this.
Violations in 142 countries
Pastor Cole was on my credentials
committee when I was licensed as a
minister and was the president of the
Bible institute from which I graduated.
He pastors the largest cl1Urch
in Sacramento and is well known on a
national level in the denomination.
Acts 10 is often cited by gay and
lesbian Christians as a text that supports
the reality of our experience
with Christ. Peter had a vision where
God pronounced .""clean"" foods that
Peter previously believed to be
impure. The vision was later revealed
to be about people. Gentiles. The
spiritually excluded. Peter obediently
went to preach at the house of
Cornelius and God punctuated the
point of the vision in a powerful way.
Torturers, state assassins get
away with abuses
GOVERNMENTS AROUND the
world are breeding contempt for
human rights by letting their forces
get away with abduction, torture and
murder, Amnesty International said
as it released its 1992 annual report
. covering the period January to Dec.
ember 1991.
""As long as the torturers, the state
assassins and those who give the
orders act with a free hand and
without fear of punishment, the cycle
of violations will never be broken,""
the human rights organization said.
The organization's global survey
covering 142 countrie s shows the
result of letting human rights vio lations
go unpunished. In 199.1 alone,
people were jailed as prisoners of
conscience in about half the countries
in the world, and more than 100
governments continued to torture or
ill-treat prisoners.
People also ""disappeared"" in some
20 countries and remained missing in
many more, extrajudicial executions
were carried out in 45 countries, and
death sentences were handed down
in more than 50 countries and carried
out in 33 countries.
""Governments in Africa and
throughout the ·world often use the
violence of opposition groups as an
excuse for letting their security forces
get away with human rights violations,""
Amnesty International said.
""While we condemn torture, hostagetaking
and deliberate and arbitrary
killings by such groups , those abuses
can never justify government counter-
terror.""
Extrajudicial killings and
""disappearances"" continued in the
Americas where sweeping amnesty
laws in a number of countries have
let the state killers go free. In 1991,
hundreds of street children died at
the hands of death squads in Brazil,
hundreds more were killed by the
army or paramilitaries in Colombia
and more than 300 people ""disap peared""
and at least 60 were
extrajudicially executed in Peru. In
the United States there were more
than 2,500 people on death row and
14 executions throughout the year - a
figure that was already surpassed in
the first six months of 1992.
In Europe, the fighting in
Yugoslavia led to large scale human
rights violations including torture and
massacres of civilim;is by all sides in
the conflict, while political killings
also took place in Turkey, mainly
among the Kurdish population in the
southeast.
In the Middle East, Iraq and Kuwait
were the scene of massive human
rights violations, with arbitrary
arrests, torture, ""disappearances"" and
killings following the withdrawal of
Iraqi troops from Kuwait and similar
atrocities committed by Iraqi soldiers
in the wake of uprisings in March
and April.
""It is high time that governments
worldwide stop persecuting their
citizens and begin protecting them .
Until all governments commit to a
single human rights standard a
climate of terror will prevail through out
the world,"" said John G. Healey,
Executive Director of Amnesty International
USA. 'Today's challenge for
the United States government and the
international community is to move
from espousing human rights rhetoric
to enforcing human rights law by
bringing to justice those responsible
for abuse.""
For information on the annual report
of Amnesty International, write to
AIUSA, 322 Eighth Ave., New York,
NY 10001.
In my desire to write an effective
letter, I used the most powerful tools
that I knew; my personal story and
my experience with other gay and
lesbian Christians.
My motivation to write to Pastor
Cole was guided by the strong sense
that our oppression in society is
. directly related to the intensity of SEE COMING Otrr, Page 13
~
Phoenix Evangelical
Bible Institute
2 Timothy 2:15
1035 East Tumey
Phoenix, AZ 85014
(602)265-2831
Do your best to preset:1t yourself to God as one
approved, a workman who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly handles the word
of truth.
FULL TIME CLASSES AND
CORRESPONDENCE AVAILABLE
Current correspondence courses include:
•Angels, Demons and Satan
•Christian Gay Ministries
•Christology •Fundamentals of the Faith
•New Testament Survey •Old Testament Survey
FOR SCHOOL INFORMATION OR CATALOGS CONTACT:
PH EB I
1035 EAST TURNEY• PHOENIX, AZ 85014
(602)265-2831 ,
. Second Stone• September/October, 1992 rn
.. •
""It is the goal of a number of
us to try to Christianize _the
state of California. We think
it's,.very possible, by the year
2000, to have Christians -
mature, biblically literate -
gain the majority of seats in all
the city councils in [Santa
Clara] county.""
UPDATE: Reconstructionists & The Far Right different ministries and professions
are creating a 20 year plan to return
America and Canada to what the
group describes as ""the Biblical
foundations which made North
America a gr-eat, and one time,
Christianized society."" In 1989, the
leaders agreed on a five year plan to
""systematically and •aggressively""
direct the group toward that goal.
PRO
TO
·EC T
SIN
-Coalition On Revival · BATTLES RIGHT WING POISON The major thrust of the five year
plan calls for religious leaders in each
of 60 major American and Canadian
cities identified in the plan to form
what the council calls ""a single,
coordinated, interdependent spiritual
army of fearless Christians from all
denominations by creating a 'Ministry
Merge Network""' to carry out the
council's suggested goals.
National Director Jay Grimstead
The religious right's growing
political influence, clearly evident
during the Republican
National Convention, continues
to draw only lukewarm reaction
in many parts of the country from the
gay and lesbian community, in spite
of the threat it pr esents to the freedom
and personal liberties of Gays and
Lesbians, according to Jerry Sloan,
one of the founders of Project Tocsin, a
group monitoring the religious right
wi thin the California Republican
Party.
Alarmed at the success and
organizing poV{er of the religious
right, Sloan got together with Marghe
Covino and Joanna Cassi and formed
Project Tocsin in March of this year.
""We wanted to let everybody know
that the theocrats are taking over,""
said Sloan.
Project Tocsin was initially funded ·
The May/fune, 1991 · issue of Second
Stone published a story on Reconstructionists
- a radical group of Jar right
fundamentalist Christians who believe
that American society should 'be rebuilt
according to the laws revealed in the Old
Testament . Although unwilling to publicly
admit it, many Reconstructionists
by personal contributions from the
co-founders but now the organization .•
receives income from speaking
engagements, workshops and donations.
Th e group is also connecting
with people all over the country who
are interested in starting local projects
·. to combat the religious right. Sloan
said many are straight Republicans
who feel their party has been. taken
away from them,
Gays and Lesbians are not
responding with alarm because many
do not believe the religious right can
succeed. ""But, I'm sorry, it's hap-
AT LAST! • AN INCLUSIVE DEVOTIONAL• AT LAST!
The Road
to Emmau -s
Joseph W. Houle, ed.
EMMAUS PRESS
P.O. Box 70434 / Washington, D.C. 20024-0434
416 pp.• paperback• $12.95 (plus $3.00 for postage & handling)
Discounts available on quantity orders.
At last! A Christian devotional for all people - the young and old; the male
and female; the lesbian, the gay man, and the heterosexual; the single, the
married, and the celibate; the Asian, the Black, the Hispanic, the Native
American, and the White; the physically strong and the physically challenged.
Contributing authors of The Road to Emmaus - including Sr. Jeannine
Gramick (Homosexuality and the Catholic Church), Fr. Robert Nugent
(Stations of the Cross for Persons with AIDS), and the Rev. Larry Uhrig
(Sex Positive) - are a blend of men and women, laypersons and clergy, Black
and White writers.
Special care has been taken to make this devotional inclusive in language,
tone, and content. Its underlying message is that the Gospel is good news for
al/people.
AT LAST! •AN INCLUSIVE DEVOTIONAL •AT LAST!
I 87 Second Stone• September/October, 1992
believe that in a society got>emed by such
laws, an ""unrepentant"" act of homosexuality
should be punishable by death.
This is an update on the religious right
and a story about a California gro up
who's taking the far right movement
seriously.
pening,"" said Sloan. 'The y are well
organized and they are gaining
ground.""
The Republican Central Committee
in Santa Clara County, California,
was targeted for a ""stealth"" campaign
by religious conservatives and in
June they succeeded in capturing 14
out of 20 open seats. If at least nine
win in November, and the conservative
incumbents return, they
will outnumber the moderate Republicans.
Two years ago, in San Diego
County, 60 out of 90 religious right
candidates won low level offices by
campaigning through conservative
churches. Far right candidates are
particularly interested in school board
positions because they are easier to
win and successful candidates can
immediately put their agenda into
.action by banning any teaching or
textbook materials that depict Gays
and Lesbians in a favorable light.
The religious right's National
Coordinating Council is self-described
as ""an informal, fellowship-based,
ad-hoc committee of Christian leaders
from the ranks of [the Coalition On
Revival] and other reformation/
activist groups interested in rebuilding
our society on the principles of
the Bible."" Jay Grimstead is the
leader of COR and the council. The
council is not formally related to COR
but is described as a ""stepchild"" of the
group. Council literature claims that
50 national leaders working in 24
Some of the Ministry Merge goals
include: •Teach all leadership Christians
how to cast out demons and
territorialize the kingdom of God .
• Produce kingdom-oriented television
programs and slick magazines to
mobilize Blacks, Hispanics and
Asians. •Organize towards the elimination
of Communism, Nazism and
Liberation Theology from the
Western hemisphere. •Work towards
replacing all local public scl10ols with
private schools by 2000 A.O. •Create
regular .entertainment productions,
videos, concerts, children's shows,
and a Kingdom version of Saturday
Night Live. •Protect 2nd Amendment
rights and gun ownership for
responsible citizens. •Organize and
lobby for a flat tax of all U.S. citizens
and state citizens . • Work towards
dismantling the IRS by 2000 AD .
Grimstead wrote in the first issue of
Crosswinds magazine that the goal of
COR is to bring ""families, finances,
education, legal matters, professional
life, voting choices, involvement in
the arts and sciences, recreation and
physical health all under the King's
dominion.""
W ou)d a society governed by Old
Testament laws call for the death
penalty for abortion, adultery and
""unrepentant"" homosexuality? Most
far right Christians and reconstructionists
clearly think it would but
are reluctant to say so publicly out of
fear of alienating many of the people
they so desparately need to join their
SEE TOCSIN, Page 13
UNITED METHODISTS:
we're here for you -'-Affirmation: United Methodists for
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns welcomes you .
P.O. Box 1021 Evanston, IL 60204
(415)221-1612
I thought about calling Enrique on
Sunday, but at the last second
thought better of it, deciding not to
disturb his family on Easter. Something
told me not to call, as clearly as
a voice right in my ear. Now I know
why. I much preferred to hear the sad
news from you, and than!< you for
doing what must have been an
incredibly painful duty.
In my last letter to Enrique, I
shared these thoughts:
Living through your experience
alongside you has been both painful and
enlightening. I go through waves of
wanting to ""do something about it,""
wanting to ""wish it away,"" wanting to
rail against it as though it were some
malicious demon to be exorcised. I feel
humbled by your courageous adjustment
to hosting this fellow living creature, to
the inevitability of future events, and to
the supremacy of the greater wisdom
making tlie ultimate decisions. But above
. all, I'm proud to have such an incredible
friend.
If you find yourself frequently
suffering from a reddening sensation
about the ears, it's not a new symptom -
it's the number of times daily that you
connect with me, through fond memories
and reminders. You are the beneficiary of
absolute clouds of prayers, dear one, and
your example and influence continue to
help so many of us, more than you could
imagine.
All this will be just as true now that ·
he is no longer physically present on
the f,lanet. I have never been so
deep y affected by a living being. His
passing is a terrible loss, but there is
such joy in having known him, and
such relief in knowing that his
suffering is over. My grief is transitory
and will pass, as I gradually
realize how very much he is still with
me. I'm quite sure he'd rather we
have a big, FAB-ulous party, anyway.
How fortunate we are - and
how rare it is to feel ""honored"" to
have been someone's friend!
So many ""snapshots"" have been
coming back, as I reflect on our long
and not always easy friendship. In
the beginning, we were rivals for the
same lover. We went through a soap
opera triangle complete with all the
backbiting, deceit, and manipulation.
It was that experience that brought
Enrique and me together. The affair
became a therapeutic exercise, a painful
but necessary mirror held up so
we could see ourselves as is. And
what we saw was our · pathetic
neediness.
At that time, I was pretty close to
being spiritually brain dead. I had no
faith in anything, let alone a benign
Creator. I could understand Enrique's
devotion to the Episcopal Church. I too
love all the campy pageantry and _
Anglophile poetics - but I couldn't for
the life of me understand his actually
believing in the Episcopal faith . I was
astounded to _ find that Enrique
actually prayed, believed in the
sacraments, read the Bible, and all
that good stuff. How in God's name
could one such as Enrique believe?
And so one day I asked him. As it
happened, God was already at it with
those mysterious ways, because only
days before a friend had given me
some readings on Eastern philosophies
that shook me up. To my
horror, I found them making sense to
me, touching me, awakening something
deep within. And I went to
Enrique to discuss them, figuring he
the next few weeks, he introduced me
t6 meditation, persuaded me to go to
my first meeting of a gay Bible study
group, and helped me through the
death of my sainted mother. It was a
series of such powerful events in such
a short period of time that it left an
indelible imprint.
Through it all, there was Enrique,
smiling, earnest, empathetic, eager to
help without being pushy, exquisitely
sensitive to each subtle nuance
of my transition toward the light.
And I believe the effect of these
events was equally profound upon
him.
When the dreaded HIV-positive
A letter recalling a powerful friend
I
remembe -r
Enrique
""It was as close as I've ever felt to union
with another human being.""
would have a good chuckle over this
nonsense, validate my doubts, and
help me retire to the safety of my
unbelief.
diagnosis came down, the roles were
·abruptly reversed.- Suddenly, it was
Enrique who needed the things he
had so selnessly and freely given me
in my time of great need. I. remember
Enrique asking to talk one day,
shortly after he had received the bad
news . Though he didn't directly say
so, it was clear that he wanted to
share his coping strategies with me,
to say aloud to an understanding
friend the things he was saying to
himself. Though he felt firm in his
beliefs, he did seem to need a nod, a
smile, some gentle form of validation,
of confirmation that he was making
sense and not deluding himself.
He spoke of disciplining himself
with deep meditation. He spoke of
spending more ""quality time"" with
people he held dear . He spoke of
relieving pressures on himself by
greatly reducing his expectations and
narrowing his goals for the future. He
spoke of doing for others, of his ·
responsibilities and potentials as a
role-rriodel, of his gratitude for the
compassionate medical treatment he
was receiving and the support and
encouragement of his friends.
· There wasn't a hint of anger or
self-pity, no raging against the person
who gave him this virus or against a
vengeful God who would doom his
child to such misery, no wretched
self-shaming for having exposed
himself to it or having risked
exposing others - none of the ranting
or whining one might expect in the
face of such devastating news. He had
fears: of prolonged pain, of becoming
mentally incompetent; of being a
burden on others ... But even in the
midst of those justifiable fears he
found serene acceptance of a will
infinitely larger than his own, faith
that this will would not give him
more than he could bear, nor
abandon its lovin& son.
I didn't have to say a word that
day, than!< God. I was so choked up
and overwhelmed I'm not sure·! could
have! ' As Enrique shared these most
intimate of thoughts and feelings, I
listened. I nodded. I smiled. And
occasionally, I wept. We prayed, and
then we hugged. It was as close as
I've ever felt to union with another
human being. I knew, beyond doubt,
that I was in the presence of holiness.
In .. the end, it was Enrique who
sh-0wed me that we are, all of us, no
matter who we are or what our
circumstances, always in the presence.
of holiness, if we but pause to listen
and feel and acknowledge it. There
are ·simply some who manifest it
more conspicuously than others, and
Enrique was one of them. Among so
many other things, I am grateful to
have known something of his other,
less-than-saintly side, for it was his
own transformation that so inspired
and motivated mine.
In one. sense, Enrique will quite
literally be with me, always, for I do
not doubt the immortality of the soul.
Yet in another, perhaps even more
significant way, he will be with me
because he helped me find the
""Enrique"" in myself. It was an effect
he had on everyone who knew him;
it was, I believe, his function and
,:mrpose on this planet. Maybe .those
mysterious ways"" aren't so mysterious,
after all. Maybe we're just too
busy wearing blinders and . throwing
up smokescreens . .
Our friend is with God, God is with
us. Bless you; dear one, and thank
you for being there to understand so
well what this all means to me.
With boundless love,
Bob
Au Contraire! Once he grasped
what was happening with me, he
gave me a copy of The Book, by Alan
Watts. ""Read this,"" he said, ""it will
only take an ho·ur."" That hour
changed my life. That book, at
Enrique's gentle urging, finally broke
my resistance to the acknowledgement
of of loving, universal
intelligence greater than, yet one
with, my self. Notice, he didn't go
fetch me his New Testament; he
knew I_ wasn't ready for that. Over
- Second Stone. September/October, 1992 r 9 I
T Cover Story .......... •··• .......................... ~ ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vatican statement draws angry response
COVER STORY,
From Page 1
DIGNITY/USA:
Church leaders out of touch
""The Vatican has clearly disregarded
Christ's mandate to love,"" said
leaders of Dignity /USA, a national
group .of 4000 gay and lesbian
Catholics. Representatives from
Dignity /USA and other gay and
lesbian activist groups held a rally
and press conference in front of the
Vatican Embassy in Washington,
D.C. on July 20. The groups called
on ""all Americans who seek justice to
raise their voices in opposition to the
Vatican's attempt to rob human
beings of their right to housing, jobs,
security and safety,"" declaring that
the Vatican statement has no place in
a society and a church that seeks
justice. Leaders of Dignity /USA ~aid
that while they were outraged, they
were also heartened by the knowledge
the Vatican statement does not
reflect the views of the majority of
American Catholics. A recent Gallop
survey showed that 78% of all
American Catholics believe gay men
and Lesbians should enjoy the same
civil rights protections as all other
citizens. Church leaders ""are clearly
out of touch with the movings of the
Holy Spirit in the lives of its
members,"" the group said.
Dignity leader KEVIN CALEGARI:
""Ecclesiastical disobedience""
On Saturday, July 25, Dignity/
USA president Kevin Cal egari held
an unprecedented meeting at the
Vatican with an official of the
Congregation of the Doctrine of the
Faith to deliver a letter of protest
addressed to Cardinal Ratzinger,
prefect of the Congregation. ""You
reinforce and continue the conspiracy
of silence forced on lesbian and gay
people for centuries,"" Calegari wrote
in his letter, ""insisting that the
problem of discrimination is brought
on by lesbian and gay people
themselves when thefr orientation
becomes public. You blame the
victims of discrimination, rather than
You'd be surprised at
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doesn't have to be.
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call for the conversion of those who
commit acts of violence against us.""
Ratzinger refused to meet with
Calegar i and on Wednesday, July 29,
as reporters looked on, Calegari, in
what he .called an act of ""ecclesiastical
disobedience,"" put the Vatican document
in an envelope marked ""return
to sender"" and tacked it to the front
door of the Vatican's Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith.
NEW WAYS MINISTRY:
Statement embarrassing, flawed
New Ways Ministry, a Marylandbased
gay-affirming Catholic group ,·
called the statement an ""emba r- ·
rassment'' to U.S. Catholics, ""seriously
flawed, "" and ""ultimately unconvincing.""
New Ways director Greg Link
said, ""While the document mouths
token support for the dignity of the
homosexual individual, it is actually a
massive and unconscionable attack on
that dignity. This new statement
indicates a fear in the Vatican that
they are losing ground on the issue of
civil rights."" The ministry's response,
""Human Dignity and the Common
Good,"" released on July 15 said that
the experience and knowledge of
individual Catholic bishops, theologians
and scholars in the United
States, who have closely examined
the complex interplay of legality and .
morality, 'had been bypassed. Such
individuals are much better equipped
to comment on the realities involved
in the theoretical and practical distinction
between moral issues and civil
rights, the document said. 'This latest
Vatican pronouncement is an attempt
to impose a unified ideology that
appears out of touch at least with
contemporary and firsthand awareness
of these issues in our society,""
the document concluded.
DIGNITY/WASHINGTON:
Unkind, uncharitable, unchristian
1 'We reject the document issued by
the Vatican in June as logically
flawed, morally bankrupt, ethically
wrong, and in direct opposition to the
central teaching of Christianity,"" said
leaders of Dignity /Washington.
""Jesus preached a message of
inclusion, not exclusion . Since the
Vatican pronouncement is antithetical
to that it is unworthy of being followed
or even given serious consid eration
."" The group said that the
hierarchy is not the clrnrch; that the
church is th e people of God and
many believe, as they do, that the
statement is unkind, uncharitable,
and unchristian . ""While we condemn
the document , we pray, inthe Spirit
that brings us together, for those who
would perpetuate this type of
hatemongering that they will come to
know that God's love transcends all
bounda ries and comes to give rest
and comfort to all God's people,"" said
the group .
Former priest JOHN J. McNEILL:
No moral obligation to obey
John J. McNeill, a psychotherapist
and former Jesuit priest who has
written several books on the Catholic
Church and homosexuality, told the
Washington Blade that the document
represents a new tack by Vatica_n
officials. ""In taking such a position m
civil rights and civil law, the Church
has moved beyond the position of ...
teacher and has become a political
agent for homophobia,"" said McNeil!.
""And therefore no Catholic - and this
includes the hierarcl1y of the Church -
is under any moral obligation to obey
this Vatican statement.""
DIGNITY/CHICAGO:
No scriptural basis
1 'It is particularly distressing that the
Church hierarchy sees fit to mal<.e it
'obligatory' to interfere with our civil ·
rights,"" said James Cappleman,
r.resident of Dignity/ Chicago. 'There
is absolutely no scriptural basis for
such actions, and the repercussions of
this could cause many people to suffer
needlessly. Any Christian organization
that actively and openly sanctions
discrimination of a group of
people where their civil rights are
violated, is clearly venturing away
from the true mean ing of the
Gospels.""
Bishop JOSEPH FERRARIO:
Gays should have same rights
The head of the Catholic Church in
Hawaii issued a statement conflicting
with the Vatican position. Bishop
Joseph Ferrario said that Gays_ and
Lesbians should have the same nghts
as everyone else. Patrick Downes,
editor of the Hawaii Catholic Herald,
said Ferrario believes Gays and
Lesbians ""have every right that every
other person does.""
Former Dignity leader JIM BUSSEN:
Absolutely abominable
""This is unacceptable, vile, heinous
and gut-wrenclting,"" said Jim Bussen,
former national president of Dignity/
SEE COVER STORY, Next Page
COVER STORY ,
From Previou s Page
USA, in an int e rvie w with the
Chicago Sun-T imes. ""How dare the
Vatican insert them selves into our
democratic process!"" Bussen said that
the Vatican's assertion that Gays and
Lesbians go against family values is
""absolutely abominable."" Says
Bussen, ""Where do they think gay
and lesbian people come from? We
don't grow under cabbages. We are
born and raised in families. It is those
people who tout family values who
throw us out of our families. For a
church to buy into that specious
argument is absolutely unacceptable.""
DIGNITY/INTEGRITY/RICHMOND :
The Vatican is wrong
""The Vatican document contradicts
church teaching,"" said David Peake
in an interview with the Times Dispatch.
The president of the_ Richmond,
Va., chapter of Dignity/
Integrity said that discrimination
against anyone is discrimination
against all. ""We're taught that we're
all God's creatures ... The statement is
not -representative of the people but
only a - few in the Vatican ,"" Peake
said . 'The people are right, the
Vatican is wrong, and the people
make up the church.""
HRCF Director TIM McFEELEY:
Should be repudiated
The executive director of the nation 's
largest lesbian and ga y policital
organi z ation, th e Human Right s
Campaign Fund, called on American
Catholic s to ""continue th eir long
·standing support for lesbian and gay
rights. "" In addition, Tim Mcfeeley
urged America bishops, clergy and
the laity to repudiate the Vatican's
endorsement of anti-gay and lesbian
discrimination . ""Roman Catholic
Americans understand that bigotry is
wrong ,"" McFeeley said. ""We will
continue to work with the overwhelming
majority of American
Catholics who believe that achieving
justice for lesbian and gay Americans
is a moral and a just cause ... In time, I
believe, the slow moving church
bureaucracy will recognize what
American Catholics have long understood,
that Lesbians and gay men are
part of their families, that they work
hard , attend. religious services, ,
contribute to their communities and
are part of the rich and di verse
mosaic of American life.""
Activist RICHMOND YOUNG:
Keep the faith
""What the Vatican does in no way
diminishes my faith in God,"" Young
told the San Francisco Sentinel.
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Second Stone• Septem~/October, 1992 [Ii]
The BROTlll:RS
of the MERCY or GOD
Religious community
examines candidate's
hearts, not sexuality
BY JIM BAILEY
F ourteen years after becoming
part of a religious community,
Bro. Gerald Pelletier
found himself failing the
institutional church's litmus test of
who is called to serve. He was dealing
with an issue that they never
addressed in seminary. Recognizing
the conflict between the stifling community
environment and the surfacing
of his repressed sexual identity,
Bro. Gerry decided to leave the
community, but he left with a vision
of what the community could have
been.
In 1988, Bro. Gerry founded the
ecumenical Brothers of the Mercy of
God as a ministry to those who feel
alienated, disenfranchised, or left out
of the church, to the poor and less
fortunate, and to people with AIDS.
An Evangelical,
Bible Based
Church Where
Everyone Is
Welcome
Gome ... Let Us
Share God's
Love With You
It is a community where men can ·
come forward and serve God even
, though the institutional church may
· have made them think they couldn't.
The Brothers of the Mercy of God is a
religious community made up of gay
men .
""In a world so divided by the
scandal of church policies, we open a
way of understanding to individuals
so that they can reconcile their lives
back to God,"" said Bro. Gerry.
The Brothers are inspired by, but
not affiliated with, the ecumenical
Community of Taize (France). They
live by the rules of St. Francis of
Assisi and of Taize. Baptized Christ_
ians from all denominations are
accepted into the order. Most of the
Brothers have been in religious communities
prior to their entering the
CHRIST-The
Cornerstone
For All
Sunday School -
9:00a.m.
Sunday Worship
Celebration
10:30 a.m. and
7:00 p.m.
Wednesday
Prayer & Praise
7:00 p.m.
CORNERSTONE
FELLOWSHIP
2902 N. Geronimo • Tucson, AZ 85705
(602)6224626
r·1-2·7 Second Stone• September/October, 1992 ' J .
Mercy of God Brothers. Some are still
involved in other parishes and
mini6tries and all hold secular jobs.
_. Candidates must express a
willingness to pronounce commitments
to poverty (detachment from
material things, and the responsible
use of one's time, talents and gifts),
chastity (unconditional, unselfish
love, responsible sexuality), and
obedience (allowing God's will to be
the guide), to pause three times daily
for Christian prayer and to be
involved in ministry to others. In
addition to the traditional vows of
poverty, chastity and obedience,
there is a fourth: stability.
The community is now in its fifth
year. There are eight professed Brothers.
The next formation class begins
the end of September and th.ere will
be five more candidates in preparation.
Says Bro. Gerry, 'The call to
ministries of love, care and concern. It
is from within that change will come
about, so they will know our work as
community by our deeds.""
l'!t is newer communities such as
ours that really never become
accepted at first,"" said Bro. Gerry,
""but in time, the churches realize that
we are meeting real needs, and
meeting challenges that are beyond
their ·understanding, and then like
many orders in the past, after being
tried and tested, they are then asked
to become part of the church.
The Brothers have developed ·an
associate program at the request of
many persons who are unable to join
the community as vowed, intern
members, yet are interested in the
apostolic work of the community .
Associate members, who are very
much involved with the community
and who support the apostalate in
Brother Gerald Pelletier, right, founder of the Brothers of the Mercy of God
accepts the first year vows -of Bro. Ron Cross. '
community today is a call to accept an
overwhelming challenge in a world
that is different, exclusive of those
who are different, and those who
suffer the violence of hatred. In
accepting the call to proclaim the
Kingdom and the message of the
Gospel, one must also be in the world
amidst the storm and be present to
the Christ in all with whom we come
in contact.""
Bro Gerry said that there is freedom
in not having to call anyone's sexual
orientation into question. 'That alone
gives the individual the ability to
move on with his life and his love ·of
God. If the Holy Spirit does not
discriminate in who is called to come
forward and serve the Gospel, who
are we· to say 'No you cannot serve.'
Sexuality is not an issue here, only
one's ability to see the face of Christ
in all who he comes in contact with: •
This spirit and this spirit alone
represents one's true call to live, love
and serve the Gospel.""
The Brothers of the Mercy of God is a
non-canonical community and they
presently do not seek or desire canonical
approval. ""We are already
within the church, working our
prayer and in spirit, can be found in
all parts of the United States and
Canada. The community publishes a
quarterly' newsletter to keep members,
near and far, up to date with the
group's activities.
Each Brother wears a black cassock,
closed collar, and a black cord with
vows knotted into it, and a black
scapular. Emblazoned on the left side
of the scapular is the cross of the
community. The cross represents the
church of the east and the church of
the west, sometimes called the
orthodox cross. A heart in the center
of the cross represents Christ's love for
the Brothers. The religious dress is
worn for meetings, liturgies and
functions within community ministry.
When the Brothers are together for
worship they usually chant their
prayer service . Worship, as well as
monthly meetings, is open to all to
attend. Worship at various locations
may include an evening of prayer
around the cross. 'This is a very
lovely, very moving service of candles,
scripture, music, and singing,""
said Bro. Gerry. ""It is a way for all
SEE BROTHERS, Page 13
.TOCSIN,
From Page 8
•ranks. One member of a fundamentalist
group told a San Jose,
California newspaper that fhe death
penalty clairri was an attempt ""to
paint us as some sort of weirdos, and
frankly we're not."" In the same
report, Jay Grimstead also denied that
COR advocated the death penalty for
homos exual acts.
But Colorado-based Pastor Peter J.
Pete rs, director of Scriptures for
America, has no qualms about claiming
that ""God's Law"" does indeed call
for capital punishment for homosexual
acts. In writing about the
group's recently published booklet,
""Death .Penalty for Homosexuals,""
BROTHERS,
From Page .12
thos e attending to let out their
deepest feelings of spirituality."" For
those who request prayers for their
loved ones, the sick and for thosE! who
have died, the community places the
request on the altar and remembers
each person.
Like religious and monastic orders
have done for centuries the Brothers
of the Mercy of God make candies
from secret recipes to support the life
of their community. Packages of
fudge and buttercrunch are mailed to
sweet-lovers all over the United States
and Canada . During ""the past three -
years, the Brothers have made candy
only si:x months out of the year but
now plan to cook year round. Some
of the proceeds from new candy s.ales
COMING OUT,
From Page7
God did the same kind of works
among the .Gentiles as was done with
believing Jews . The power of my
point is that God works in and
through our community as well.
""My life has been painful,"" I wrote,
""but I see it's for a purpose. I consider
it now an honor to be who I am and
to bring a message of Christ's love to
those in the gay and lesbian community
who have been taught that
God has abandoned them. I can think
of no greater calling.""
I had no illusions that this letter
would immediately change his mind
- and it didn't. The response I
received wa s perfunctory and liberally
sprinkled with phrases like
""eternal never-changing Word of
God,"" ""Russian roulette"" and ""Sodom
and Gomorrah.""
So what's the use? It is the knowledge
that things can change - one
person at a time. We don't know who
will be open to reconsider their views
and who won't. Those who won't
change after the first letter or
experience may be open to reconsider
after the 100th, or after a persona.I
crisis . Statistics prove overwhelm-
Peters said, 'There is only one thing
that will stop the perversion in our
land and that is God's Law and it's
about time someone says it, so I wrote
this boo klet and tried to. say it in the
most reasonable, logical, . scriptural
manner I know.""
Jay Grimstead, in an interview with
the San Jose Mercury News, said many
more Christians will have to wake up
in order to get America back to
:·normal, mainstream values.""
'They're probably still asleep; probably
until '96 or '98.""
According .to Jerry Sloan, many
Gays and Lesbians are sleeping
pretty soundly too.
For information on Project Tocsin,
call (916)374-8276.
are earmarked for the establishment
of a residence that the Brothers say
they so earnestly need.
Although presently negotiating on
a house in Scitutae, Rhode Island, the
Brothers now live individually, in
small groups, or with family members.
""We do hope one day that we
have a house,"" said Bro . Gerry, ""so
that those who want to live in
common will be able to do so. Also, it
would be a place for others to come
and see us, pray with us and share>
with us. It is also our hope when ,.
house . is established that we offer
retreats to ·the gay man and lesbian
woman as a group or individually .""
Although work to establish the
community has bee.n hard, .the obstacles
have been few. For Bro. Gerry
Pelletier, the number of people who
have taken profession into community
has made it all worthwhile.
irtgly that those who actually know
Gays and Lesbians are in favor of gay
rights an<;i this is true spiritually as
well.
I feel satisfied that Pastor Co le now
knows that there is at least one
lesbian who believes she is a
Christian and describes spiritual
experiences that are like his own. It is
the ppwer of sharing our authentic
Christian experience that will slowly
turn the tide of fear and ignorance -
one person at a time.
. ~•'•\""'°¥:· I ~· . ""'r,, !-~·~· ' ·,.~ , j
~, . ·•·• •··• I .J' 'l
•.• --~"" '\.J...
We
~
. bland§ G/nn
A Lesbian Paradise. ..
On 100 beautiful acreSwith
pool, hot tub, skiing and more.
Innkeepers Judith Hall and
Grace Newman invite yrn.1 to
write or call for a brochure.
P. O . . !lox 118 SL
Bethlehem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978
. The Parable
of the Shelter
BY NANCY HUGMAN
. THE REALM OF GOD is like a woman who built a shelter for the
homeless in the midst of the inner city. She then went out to the st~eets
saying, ""Come into my shelter. I wili give you food and warmth and a
place of comfort to sleep. And you will know love and peace for your
spirits."" Some of the people eagerly went with her, but some Were
fearful and did not trust in their hearts, saying to themselves, ""She will
put too many demands on me. I want to be free. Free to sleep in ,the
doorway of my choice. I want to be free to search for food in the trash
bins of iny choice.""
Some of the people were so excited when they got to the front door of
the shelter that they immediately went out to tell their friends. But
their friends convinced them that one fix or a pint of whiskey was much
more exciting than anything they would find behind the doors of the
\ shelter, and so the people shot up and drank an<! believed they had
found joy in the needle and the bottle.
Some of the people ·who went with the woman stayed only for a meal
and a good night's sleep. Then they began to say to themselves, 'This
is too rich, too good for me. I don't deserve to be treated like this."" And
they went back to the streets which they knew well.
Still some of the people stayed in the shelter with the woman and
they grew strong in body and mind and spirit. They learnec! that they
are precious beyond price. The woman loved them ·and they loved the
:woman and in this was truly everlasting joy.
And each day, unfailingly, the woman brought food and blankets to
·those people on the street who chose not to come to her shelter, to those
who would accept her gifts but not her love.
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Second Stone• Sept~m,ber/October, 1992113 j
, ,
In Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
God's Country: A Case Against Theocracy
By Andrea L. T. Peterson
Contributing Writer
In an attempt to trace the
roots of the current fundamentalist
Christian movement
which has cdrnrnitted
itself to fight against the rights of
women .to govern their own bodi es
and against gay men and Lesbians
who seek to acquire for themselves
the civil rights guaranteed by the
U.S. Constitution/Bill of Rights,
author/ activist Sandy Rapp presents,
in God's Country: A Case Against
Theocracy, a concise though extremely
brief, coherent study of· the more
than 2,000 year old patriarchal premises
which underlie Christian .fundamentalism.
Rapp's contention is that many
United States citizens, a considerable
number of whom ""rPpresent profoundly
affected categor ies (i.e .,
women - lesbian or non-gay, and gay
men)"" are not sufficiently aware of the
impact or the potential of this movement,
and even less aware of how to
counter it.
Beginning .with the exper ience of a
representative gay man whose life -
...........
E m!""tby is a journal that deserv~s our
· iupport for th~ original and creative work it
docs in the interest of truth and jwtice.
i-f. Rev. Malcolm Boyd, author of 23 books
including Are Yo•; R,mni,rg with Mt, Jesus?,
Take Off th, Masks, and G•y Pmst
E mpathy provides a much-neded and
welcomed communication link for persons
involved in education a.bout homophobia. At its
best it will keep us informed and in touch,
supponcd and chall~ngcd, excited and proud.
if. Brian McNaught, lecturer ar1,d author of On
Being Ga1_: ThoMghts on family, Faith, a~d Lo,:e
and early death from AIDS - may
illustrate how society's condemnahon
of an entire subgroup of its population
may contribute significantly to.
promiscuity, teen suicide, and premature
death in the gay community;
and an overview of the lesbian
perspective, Rapp proceeds to
examinE; sexual politics (read action
taken to limit gay and lesbian
experience and/ or limit the power
that th ey and non-gay women have)
fro,!ll a political, historical, and
religious perspective. Regr etta bly,
she has either bitten off more than
she can chew, or she has not given
herself enough room in w hich to
adequately chew it! Thus, God's
Country is more of a call to activism
than a treatise on patriarchy, invasion
of privacy, and the consequent
centralization of power in the hands .
of a few: white males or others
willing to think and legislate as they
do.
If, however, Rapp, the activist,
intends to sound the call to activism,
she has done a fairly good job.
Although her survey of the historica1
treatment of homosexuality in social,
Empathy
tAn
Interdisciplinary
Journal
for Persons
Working to
End Oppression
on the Basis of
Sexual Jdentity
PUBLISHED TWICE A YEAR, EMPATHY -INCLUDES
SCHOUJU..Y ESSAYS, PROSE AND POETRY, PJtAcnTJONER
~ ARTICLES, ANECDOTAL ESSAYS, ANO 11.ESUJlCH 11.EPORTS
AS WELL AS ANNOTATED BIBUOCRAl'HJES FOR
RESOURCE MATERIALS, RECENT RESEAJlCH AND BOOXS.
THE JOURNAL SERVES PEOPLE WOJUClNG IN .EDUC\TlON,
COUNSEUNG, HEALTII CAR.2, SOC1AL WORK,
C0!¥1MUNTJ:Y _ACilVJSM, AND TH£ MINISR.Y
NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY,
One y~ar (2 issues) individual subscription
s10 ($15 i_nscitutional)
Make checks payable to G~y and Lesbian Advocacy
Research Project (GLARP) and mail to:
. Empathy, PO Box 1081, Columbia, SC 29250.
li4] Second Stone• Septembei-/October, 1992
psychological, and political contexts,
as well as her study of the role and
rights of women in this country is
terribly scant, .she doe s provide a
good, ""bare bones"" outline which
sho uld provide interested readers
with all they need to be appalled at
the consistent maltreatment of what
probably amounts to nearly 60
percent of the populatiori (assuming
that 50 percent of the population is
female and that 10 percent of the
remaining, i.e. male, half if gay or
bisexual.)
She also presents a quick look at
those scriptural passages frequently
""used against"" homos exuals and
demonstrates how such verses, which
certainly do not address mutual, loving
same""gender relationships, do
not, for the most part, even address
homosexuality at all. Likewise she
examines the treatment of homosexuality
by the American psychiatric
and psychological associations.
According to Dr. Alan Bell,
co-author of the book Sexual Preference
(1981; Indiana University Press;
Bloomington), ""although we have
entitled our present work Sexual
Preference, we do mean to imply that
a given sexual orientation is the result
of a conscious decision."" The choice to
be homosexual usually refers to the
choice to acknowledge the truth about
oneself, thus, it is even more absurd
to find that while it ""is wrong to
postulate rights solely on innateness ...
Religion ... is certainly an acquired
trait, yet civil rights statutes specifically
protect fundamentalists opposing
rights for the gays whom they
insist have a 'choice' to be more like
them through religious conversion.""
Fundamentalists organize and use
their money to acquire positions of
· influence where lawmaking is
concerned. ·
""l.t must indeed be argued,"" Rapp
maintains, ""that the imposition of one
religious belief on all U.S. residents,
including members and clergy of
other religions, is a dramatic invasion
of their religious freedom.""
Perhaps as unreasonable as the
notion that sexual orientation is
""chosen,"" or at least changeable, is the
tendency in American culture to
""presume heterosexuality."" Although
there has been a button and a t-shirt
around for years that reads: How
Dare You Presume I'm Heterosexual,
God's Country elaborates on the
sentiment behind the slogan. For
centuries, according to Rapp, there ·
has been a mostly unspoken presumption
of heterosexuality. This is
more than an ignorance on the part of
those presuming. Rapp's discussion
on the social and political attitudes
toward non-heterosexuality suggests a
more deliberate conspiracy of silence -
an encouraged ignorance lest heterosexuals
discover that homosexual men
and women are just like they are:
human beings with feelings, ambi- •
tions, meaningful vocations, and the
basic right to life, liberty and pursuit
of happiri ess (including the right to
privacy .)
In fact, those sexual practices
defined by most states as sodomy,
and therefore considered illegal,
although frequently ""trotted out
exclusively to harass and entrap gay
people,"" are extremely common
heterosexually.
God's Country is an enlightening
little volume which provides backgound
information, educational
advice, and suggestions for organizing
and taking action against
legislated injustice .
Sandy Rapp, author; Harrington
Park Press; 1991; PB; 128 pp. (139 pp.
with notes); No price given.
In Print, briefly ...
Redefining Sexual Ethics
6. This collection represents bold and
provocative ethical and theological
considerations of race, gender, age,
disability, class, and sexual orientation.
In essays, poems, songs, and
stories, this sourcebook gives a voice
to many who have been shunted to
the periphery of society.
- From The Pilgrim Press
ACLU Guide to a Gay
Person's Rights
b. Authors Nan D. Hunter, Sherryl E.
Michaelson and Thomas B. Stoddard
have written the only nontechnical
book containing legal advice for
lesbian and gay Americans. Using a
simple question-and-answer format,
the authors set forth the rights of
Lesbians and Gays under present law
ancl offer suggestions as to how these
rights can be protected. .
-From Southern Illinois University
Press ·
The Other Side
6. The July/August issue of this excellent
peace and justice magazine
includes two articles of special interest
to gay and lesbian Christians.
Romans Revisited, by Hendrik Hart,
from the Institute for Christian Studies
in Toronto, proposes Paul intended
Romans 1 to be a critique of those
who condemn and judqe homosexual
behavior. Beneath the Battle, by
Holland's Pim Pronk, explores ethical
issues for and against homosexual
behavior and practice. Too often
such discussions are based on the
""wrong questions"" and Pronk tries to
dete.nnine what the right questions
are. ·
- From The Other Side, 300 W Apsley,
Philadelphia, PA 19144-4221, single
issue, $4.00.
T In Print T . .......... ....... ..... .......... •.• ............... ~ .• ................ .
He danced with death... and keeps on dancing
By Michael Blankenship
Contributing Writer
M y first encounter with Rev.
Stephen Pieters occurred on ·
the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington,
D .C. Metropolitan Community
Churches from across the nation had
gathered for the National Match for
Gay and Lesbian Rights, and were
holding a pre-march service. In the
gray early morning light of that
October day, I saw this man take the
microphone and announce the singing
of ""Amazing Grace."" He went on
to reveal the special significance of
this song for him. He'd had AIDS for
over five years, but through the
power of God he had experienced
continued good health. He could truly
In Print, briefly ...
Broken Bridges, Trail Close
Behind ... Soaring Wings
b. The poems in Bonnie C. Mullikin""s
new book were written over a span of
several years. Beginning with the
innocence of her coming out, living
through the abuse she suffered at the
hands of a woman she believed loved
her, through the heartbreak of her
realizations of. the abuse she endured,
in the name of love, coming to
terms with the abuse, culminating with
her final acceptance of herself and
the love of another woman. Says
Editor Debra Minier, ""I feel this book
provides a thought provoking insight
into the lesbian world."" .
-From Minikin Publications, P.O. Box
2306, Conington, KY 41012.
For Those We Love:
A Spiritual Perspective
on AIDS
b. The Al DS Ministry Program of the
Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
present a handbook and
resource written for and by people
with Al OS and their caregivers. The
book contains· stories that put the
reader into the lives of hurrian beings
dealing with the daily realities of
illness and uncovers the spiritual core
of the experience.
• From The Pilgrim Press
Called to Blessing
b. This book is the English translation
of a Pastoral Letter authored by the
Working Group of Catholic Gay
Pastors in the N.etherlands. It is
foreworded by Robert Nugent and
Jeannine Gramick, who call the book
""another important contribution to
help the Catholic community hear and
respond to the voices of its lesbian
and gay members.""
-From New Ways Ministry, 4012 29th
St., Mt. Rainier, MD20712.
speak from personal experience when
he sang, ""I was blind, but now I see.""
I wished that my own friends who
were suffering . with the virus could
h_ear Rev. Pieter's message of hope
and story of God's power.
Since that time Steve Pieter's name
has become very familiar around the
UFMCC, and he has indeed taken his
message to the world. He has spoken
and ministered in hundreds of cities
across the nation. Once, he was a
featured guest via satellite on 'Tammy's
House Party"" hosted by Tammy
Bakker, and he spoke freely about
having AIDS and being a gay man.
By the end of the interview a
teary-eyed Tammy , with rivlets of
black mascara cascading down her
face, told Steve, ""How sad that we as
Christians, who are supposed to love
everybody, are so afraid of an AIDS
patient that we will not put ow arm ·
around him and tell him that we care!
There are a lot of Christians here that
wouldn't be afraid to put their arms
around you and tell you that """".e love
you ."" Following the interview Tammy's
toll-free switchboard lit up like a
Christmas tree. Hundreds called to
chastise · her for being so friendly to a
known homosexual. He was never
invited for a return appearance.
Rev. Pieters has compiled a
number of his articles and sermons
into a book which has been published
by the Christian gay-owned Chi Rho
Press of Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The book, entitled I'm Still Dancing:
A Gay Man 's Health Experience, begins
in 1984 during the worst of Pieter 's
ordeal and graphically recounts the
fear and anger and pain of someone
who has known AIDS firsthand . In
journal fashion he details the progress
of the disease for nearly a year . At
times he is resigned to death, but he
never gives up and always pulls
himself together to continue his fight
for life . The last part of the book is
filled with the elation of someone who
has been touched by God's grace,
someone who wishes to share his faith
and his good news.
Since the Tammy Bakker show,
Pieters has appeared in LIFE magazine
and has been featured in a
chapter of Michael Callen's book Surviving
AIDS.Just last summer he was
the focus of an installment of Jane
Pauley's TV show. When asked by
Pauley what infections he had during
the 1980s his reply · sounded like a
walking menu for the AIDS virus.
During the course of his illness he 'd
had hepititis, cytomega!ovirus,
herpes, mononucleosis, candidiasis,
shingles, pneumonia, and Kaposi's
sarcoma, but it was lymphoma
(lymph cancer) that was supposed to
have killed him by the end of 1984.
His doctor freely admitted that she
couldn't explain his recovery, other
than an experimental drug he had
taken.
Today Rev. Pieters is the Director of
AIDS Ministry in the UFMCC, a fitting
position for someone who has
shown the world that AIDS is not an
automatic death sentence. He feels
that he has been ""called to bring hope
in the face of all the hopelessness,""
and for those of us who have met this
man we can add a hardy, ""Amen!n
He certainly demonstrates the joy of
being alive, and unhesitatingly gives
God the credit for his survival.
If you or someone you know has
AIDS, the message of hope in I'm Still
Dancing from one of the long -term
survivors of AIDS is a must. As
lesbian and gay Christians we should
all seek out every positive message of
God's love and healing power during
these depressing times. Make this
book a part of your own library . In a
personal and profound way, · · I'm
Still Dancing clearly shows that life is
precious and worth fighting for, that
God is greater than AIDS.
He may have been diagnosed with
full-blown AIDS ten years ago, but
Rev. Pieters is still dancing!
Rev. Stephen Pieters, author of
I'm Still Dancing
Christus · Om.nibus !
is
the new bimonthly magazine for
gay and lesbian Christians. • what the Bible really says about
homosexuality • reconciling
ministries • interviews • book
reviews • spirituality.
plus
a national resource directory
listing hundreds of churches
which welcome gay and lesbian
members. ·
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Second Stone• September/?ctober, 1992_ j 15 I
· ·t ·.:.
Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scripture offers way to heal relationships
By Rev. Dr. Fred C. Williams
EACH OF us,_ at one time or
another, has experienced the pain of a
broken relationship. It may have
been a lover, a partner, a best friend,
parents, a family member, or possibly
even an employer or co-worker.
We all react differently in situations
where someone hurts us, talks about
us, lies about us, betrays us, or
offends us by the things they do and
say. From the pastoral point of view,
I've observed some of the ways we
sometimes handle, or rather mishandle,
such situations. ·
First, sometimes we may act like
an avoider. When we meet the situation
as an avoider, we make elaborate
arrangements in our life so we'll
never come face to face with the other
person. Ordinarily we might see this
person at the bank, in the grocery
store, at work, or in a gathering of
friends. So we plan our fife in such a
way that we never ""run into"" this
person. We go on living day after
day engaged in our constant efforts to
avoid this person . And as we do, the
situation eats away at our heart.
Then, there is the mind reader.
Somebody offends us and they don't
even know it. We expect them to be
mind readers. We never tell them
how they hurt us. We tell others, but
never them. Thus, when we are
around them we darn up and they
ask if anything is wrong. Our only
response is a cutting, ''You figure it
out!"" TheIJ. ~e walk away allowing
the relationship to remain in its
broken state.
Next is the grudge carrier. Once we
get hurt, we never Jet that person or
anyone else forget about it. We carry
that grudge every day that we live.
Psychologists tell us that people
who carry grudges secretly love the
fact that they have been hurt. They
can lash out at that person, talk about
them, and even get others to see how
wrong that person really was. So, a
grudge carrier doesn't want to drop
the grudge. If they do, they lose
their power and the pleasure they get
from carrying the grudge. So they
never let it go!
And then, there is the gossiper. The
gossiper loves to talk. They'll talk
about anything whether it's true or
not. They'll talk to anybody except
A Presbyterian Promise
""We will work to increase the acceptance and
participation in the church of all persons regardless
of racial-ethnic origins, sex, class, age,
disability, marital status or sexual ori~ntation""
- 195th General Assembly (1983),
Atlanta, Georgia
If this is your promise, too,
we invite you to join
Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns
Write to Elder James D. Anderson
PLGC, P.O. Box ~8, New Brunswick, NJ
08903-0038, 201/846-1510
·[jjJ Second Stone .• September/October, 1992
the person they are talking about.
And if they are ever confronted with
the fact that they said something,.
they deny every word. They'll get
angry that someone thought they
were gossiping. Strangely enough,
their anger never shuts them up.
They keep on talking and spreading
the gossip to anyone who will listen.
And finally, there is the blaster.
Now the blaster doesn't care who
hears what they have to say. They'll
blast anybody, including the person
who hurt them. Their words have the
force of an explosion from a sawed-off
shotgun. Most people who encounter
the blaster end up picking themselves
up from the floor, stunned and
deeply hurt.
The Bible clearly tells us how we
can handle broken relationships . And
it's not by being an avoider ... a mind
reader ... a grudge carrier ... a gossiper
... or a blaster.
Rather the Bible says if anyone
does something wrong to you, go and
tell them what they did. Do it
privately. Let it be between you and
them alone. And when you speak,
speak with truth and love.
We don't fix broken relationships
by getting even, beating on people,
or expressing our righteous anger .
We fix broken relationships when we
approach them with the full hope of
restoring that which is broken. The
purpose of going to the person face to
face is not to tell them off, or punish
them, or to get them out of your life.
The purpose is restoration .
In restoring the relationship the two
of you can go on living with peace in
your hearts and Jove on your lips.
Such a face to face confrontation may
not be easy. It may be painful for the
one who must speak the words and
equally painful for the one who must
hear them. However, if our words are
coated with a spirit of love and care
for the person, then there is a
genuine chance that the relationship can
be repaired.
TIMBERFELL O g
G
E
A Fully Self-Contained
Gay Men's Resort
The relationship between my father
and me was once broken. Twentyseven
years ago my father discovered
I was gay. He was devastated. In such
a state, he turned to angoar and that
anger was lashed out upon me. We
had a word battle and a screaming
match that shook the roof of our
home. I was hurt. He was hurt. I
walked out of our home and did not
see him of any of my family for two
years.
One day while I was sitting in a bar
in a motel, I felt a heavy hand fall
upon my shoulder. It was my father's
hand. I was shocked.
Thoughts raced through my mind.
How had he found me? In my father's
rental car was a map of the United
States. On that map were pins marking
each city where I had, in ·anger
and retaliation, charged expenses to
my father's credit cards. For two years.
he had been trying to find me . That's
why he never cancelled the cards. It
was his only way of knowing that I
was alive, so he willingly paid those
bills to keep up with my location.
""I'm so glad I've finally found
you,"" he said to me. ""I want you to
come home and I want to help you
become that pastor God has called
you to be.""
Tears filled my eyes and my body
shook as we embraced. A relationship
had been repaired because this man
decided to follow the words of
scripture. ""Jf anyone does something
wrong to you, go and tell them what
they did. Do it privately. Let it be
between you and them alone. And
speak with truth and love.""
At church one day, just as the
sermon was finished a small boy
asked his mother, ""Now is it all
done?"" ""No,"" replied the mother. '1t's
all said, now we have to go out and
doit. _
Rev. Dr. Fred C. Williams is the
senior pastor of King of Peace MCC in
St. Petersburg, Floridt:l. This article first
appeared in the cl1urc;h magazine, Vision.
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• F,shinp, HikiflfJ, Bicycling
• Clothing Optional
THE COUNTRY'S FINEST GAY RESORT!
Route 11, Box 94-A, Attn: SS
Greeneville, TN 3n43
For Reservations and Information
Out of state: 800-437-0118
In state: ~15-234-0833
Families- ................. --~ ................. ~ ......................... .. . ...... .
An interview with two gay grandfathers
Fathers of the bride
B OB, 45, IS A commercial interior
designer, with three children. Their
mother died when they were very
young. Robert, 36, is a psychiatrist.
They met in 1980 and have ""lived
through and survived"" having three
teenagers in the home. Well almost -
Preston, 19, lives at home while finishing
high school. David, 24, is
working towards becoming a fireman.
And last year, Amy, 21, was married
and gave birth to granddaughter
Paisley, now almost two years . Bob,
Robert and family live in Texas . '
Robert, when you first became a part
of the family, was it ""instant fatherhood?''
ROBERT: When we first met, ' David
was living with Bob and the younger
two children were living with his sister
in North Carolina. Bob was dealing
with coming out and thought it would
be better for them to live in a more
""normal"" environment with a husband
and a wife. In retrospect, it was a
mistake.
After we had been together for two
years, we were going to visit the
young ones for Christmas _ and we
found out that Bob's sister's husband
would not allow me in the house during
the visit. Bob's reaction to that was
""Oh my God, this .man is raising my
children."" We very quickly decided
that by the end of the school year,
they would come to live with us. I will
never forget when they stepped off the
plane and Bob turned to me and said,
""From this moment on, our Jives will
· never be the s·ame.""
At what point did th e kids find out
you were gay?
BOB: I told each of them when they
were about 11 years old. Actually,
Preston, the youngest, I never told. He
learned by osmosis .
When they were very young, the
children tried to hide it from their
friends and ca me up with some
strange stories. One was that I had an
incurable dis ease which only affected
me at night, so I had to have a doctor
living at home with me. How they
came up with these sto1ies is beyond
me. :,.,.
ROBERT: We just wanted them to feel
comfortable in their . home . . We even
started out with separate bedroorns for
when the children had other kids
over . We would go in and mess up the
bed and put a book by it and all that -
until one night David came to us and
said that wasn't necessary anymore :
BOB: When the children were ·
yoL1nger they had a difficult time
knowing when to talk about our sexuality
and when not to. Each of them
had to get to a point where they were
comfortable enough with it and they
·were willing to share the information
with their friends. If their friends were
going to judge them according to how
Robert and I lived, then they didn't
want them as friends anyway . And
that's what evolved.
Did you have any problems in
coming out as a family?
BOB: Some of our children's friends'
parents had a problem. These friends
could come over after school, but their
parents would not allow them to be at
our house after dark . And some of our
sons' friends weren't allowed to spend
the night here . But our children
understood that this was caused by
prejudice and a lack of education.
How about those awkward teen
years?
ROBERT: I remember one of David's
first girlfriends. He was fearful about
telling her because this was one of the
first people he had the hots for. And
when he finally told her, she said ""Oh,
my mother 's a lesbian!"" He was so
relieved .
How was planning a wedding?
BOB: Some parts of the wedding preparations
were complicated. For
instance, how should the invitations
read? Should both of us ""request the
pleas ure of your company at the marriage
of their daughter?"" We finally
decided to avoid the issue by doing a
personal invitation to all the guests by
phone.
And when you escort the bride to
the altar , the minister asks, ""Who
gives this woman in marriage?"" Well,
it wasn't just me, it was Robert as well.
Our solu tion was to answe r, _""Her
family does.""
ROBERT: Another problem was that
the wedding traditionally begins with
the seating of the mother of the bride -
which in this case was me . So I
escorted B~b's mother, the grandmother
of the brige, down the aisle.
BOB: Actually, my mother escorted
""the mother of the bride.""
Any memorable moments?
BOB: When I sat down next td Robert '
after walking Amy down the aisle, an ·
I could think of was the wedding at
the end of the movie, La Cage Aux
Foiles. I got tickled and I couldn't help
but laugh . So I'm trying to keep quiet
and my shoulders are bouncing . My
sons, sitting in the pew behind us,
thought I was crying and actually I
was giggling.
So now you are grandparents ...
BOB: It's great. We get to help out
when it's convenient for us. Occasionally,
we take the baby with us for
a weekend at our lake house so Amy
can get a break. The first time we
were down at the lake with Paisley, I
had t;ucen care of her all Saturday and
Saturday night, so I said to Robert,
'Tomorrow morning is your time ."" He
said, ""How will I know what to do?""
Aren't you both too young to be
granddads?
BOB: I have had Paisley with me by
myself, whiie I'm out shopping. And
people automatically think she is
mine, because she looks like me, with
red hair and fair skin. And I just let
them go on thinking that. I don't tell
them that she is my granddaughter - if
they want to think that that's fine with
me .
Are both of you called ""grandpa?''
BOB: When Amy was pregnant, the
children were sitting in the living
room one night figuring out what
Robert should be called by the baby.
They knew that I was going to be
""Paw-Paw,"" because that is what they
called their grandfather and what I
called mine. So all three children are
just - throwing out suggestions. ""How
about 'Mi-mi' (a play on Robert's last
name)?"" [ROBERT: No!] ""how about
'Auntie?""' [ROBERT: NO!] Eventually,
they decided it would be ""Papa
Robert.""
What's the best part about b·eing ,
· grandparents?
BOB: After a weekend at the lake, we
can give Paisley back to her mother.
And that's wonderful! We really do
enjoy our time with her, but by the
time the weekend is over, I'm ready to
give her back .
ROBERT: I can change a diaper, but I
don't have to all the time!
BOB: That is the wonderful thing
about grandparenting . I'm enjoying
Paisley much more than I enjoyed my
own children . I can be with her and
just play - and I couldn't do that with
my own kids.
Reprinted with pe1mission from Network,
the newsletter of the Gay and Lesbian
Parents Coalition.
OPEN AND AFFIRMING:
A JOURNEY OF FAITH
An Open and Affinning Video Resource
from the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries
""It brings to life fhe printed words 1 have read
aboui the ONA process.
Real people. Real churches. Really valuable!"" UCC Clergyper son
""A n excellent video. I look.forward to using il
in our local church."" UCC Laywoman
Open and Affirming: A Journey of Faith
Color, 55 minutes, VHS; Purchase only - Not available for rental
Documents the experiences of three United Church of Christ
congregations deciding whether or not to declare themselves open
to and affirming of lesbian, gay and bisexual persons. Different
approaches to the ONA dialogue are documented as are candid
comments from church members about personal experiences with
the ONA process. Video package includes printed resources .
To order send $25.00 to: ' Rev. Bill Johnson
ONA Video Resources - UCBHM/DAMA
700 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115-1100
All orders must be pre-paid by chect or money order payable to ""UCBHM"".
For funher infonnation call (216) 736 - 3270.
Second Stone• Septem~/October, 1992 \ 17 l
T C.a . . l. .e . .n . .d . . a. . .r . . . . . .T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(jo l/cJwing announcements have been
omitted by sponsoring or affiliated
aups.
1th Annual
1FLAG Convention
ll'TEMBER 4-7, ""Love in Action,
1 in Diversity"" is the theme for the
!l'ents and Friends of Lesbians and
tys Federation covention to be held
the Hilton Hotel in Seattle, Wash;
ton. Over 300 participants are
pected. Registration is $150 per
n;on. Speakers include Pepper
'hwartz, Ph.D., co-author of the
,st-selling American Couples. An
rursion to Mt. Rainier and a cruise
tPuget Sound in planned. For more
formation contact Ardyce Fish, 7737
~th S.W., Seattle, WA 98106,
:}5)763-4575.
Jational Episcopal
1IDS Coalition
:onference
2TOBER 8-11, The National Epis,
pal AIDS Coalition presents ""A
,nference and Retreat for People
ving, Working, and Ministering in
e-Second Decade of AIDS."" The
3tional 4-H Center, Chevy Chase,
.a,ryland is the setting. The conference
is an opportunity for Episcopalians
and others interested or
involved in new and established
HIV/ AIDS ministries to come together
to share, integrate, and sensitize each
other to common and diverse experiences
and to increase awareness and
knowledge of current issues and
information on HIV/ AIDS. For information
write to the National Episcopal
AIDS Coaltion, 733 15th St., NW
#315, Washington, DC 20005-2112 or
-call (202)628-6628.
Affirmation
Fall Gathering
OCTOBER 9-11, Affirmation: United
Methodists for Lesbian, Gay and
Bisexual Concerns meets in Washington,
D.C. in conjunction with the
display of the Names Project AIDS
Memorial Quilt. For information write
to Affirmation, P.O. Box 1021,
Evanston, IL 60204.
National
Skills Building
Conference
OCTOBER 8-11, The Sheraton
Washington, Washington, DC, is the
setting for this gathering sponsored
by the AIDS National Interfaith
■
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resolution for friends and family who may be in doubt,
despair, isolation or suffering illness. Give the special
people in your life the gift of Second Stone. We'll take
it from there.
FROl,I,
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, Please _send a gift """"""""'
subscription and card CJtj, - Zip
' in my name to the Name
person(s) listed: Address
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■ 8~ Second Stone• September/October, 1992
Network, National Association of
People with AIDS, and the National
Minority AIDS Council. The focus of
the program is on producing results.
The dates coincide with the NAMES
Project AIDS Memorial display. For -
information contact Carol Coy,
(202)544-1076.
Brethren/
Mennonite Council
Convention
OCTOBER 9-11, 'Tending the Flame
- Nurturing our Sexuality and
Spirituality"" will be the theme of the
fourth international convention of the
Brethren/Mennonite Council for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns. Over 100
people are expected to gather in
Denver at the Executive Tower Inn
for the meeting, which is open to gay,
lesbian, and bisexual people, and
their families and friends. Workshops
will include Corning Out, Spirituality,
Intimacy, HIV/ AIDS, and a dialogue
with the Supportive Church Network.
Information and registration forms are
available by writing Box 65724,
Washington, DC 20035.
National Coming
Out Day
OCTOBER 11, Take your next step
during NCOD Year No. 5. For information
on National Corning Out Day,
write to P.O. Box 8270, Santa Fe, NM
87504 or call (505)982-2558.
Advance'92
OCTOBER 19-25, Advance Christian
Ministries sponsors a week long
conference for fellowship, ministry
training, and dynamic worship. The
theme is 'With a shout, the voice of
the archangel, and the trumpet of
God ... The Rapture of the Church!""
The Golden Cross Ranch, Houston, is
the setting. For information, contact
Advance Christian Ministries, 4001-C
Maple Ave., Dallas, TX 75219,
(214)522-1520,
Lavendar Law Ill
OCTOBER 23-25, The National
Lesbian and Gay Law Association
~ ~
~ Evangelicals
Jiiij; '#1/lo ge/her me.
8/BlE STllff( GIIOl/PS
SOCIAlS• WORKSHO•P RSE TREATS
HIVI AIDSS l/PPORGTI IOl/P
PASTORACLA REI COIJHSEl/1/G
FORG a&yL esbiCanh ristians
InS outheCrna llfor.n.s.i ain ce1 979
Suits 109-Box 16
7985 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90048
213/656-B570
sponsors its bi-aimual conference
dedicated to lesbian, gay ai1d AIDS
legal issues. The Mart Plaza Hotel,
Chicago, is the setting. Dedicated to
educating lawyers, legal workers and
law students in areas of concern to the
lesbian and gay community, the
conference typically attracts over 600
people from around the country. For
information contact NLGLA, Lavendar
Law III, P.O. Box 77130 National
Capitol Station, Washington, DC
20013 or call (202)389-0161.
5th Annual
Creating Change
NOVEMBER 13-15, The National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy
Institute presents its annual national
conference for gay and lesbian organizing
and skills building. The Los
Angeles Airport Hilton is the setting.
For information contact Creating
Change 1992, National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute,
173414th Street NW, Washington,
DC 20009-4309, (202)332-6483, TTY
(202)332-6219.
Common
Boundary Annual
Conference
NOVEMBER 13°15, Common
Boundary presents its 12th aimual
conference at the Hyatt Regency
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
""Invisible Threads: Exploring the
Fabric of Our Relationships"" is the
theme for this one-of-a-kind gathering
of therapists, artists, educators and
spiritual teachers. Participants are
invited to come and explore interconnectedness
through music, art,
dance, movement and the spoken
and written word. For information
contact Common Boundary, 4304 East
West Highway, Bethesda; MD 20814,
(301)652-9495.
Ghost Ranch
Retreat
NOVEMBER 19-22, ""Who's God?
Whose God?"" will provide an opportunity
to enjoy community, express
doubts, explore faith and understandings
of God from various
perspectives, in the beauty ·and
serenity of Ghost Ranch, the
Presbyterian Conference Center in
New Mexico. Co-leaders are Rev. Lisa
Bove and Chris Glaser. For information
write to Ghost Ranch Center,
Abiquiu, NM 87510.
Send calendar items to:
Second Stone
Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
or FAX to:
(504)891-7555
T ·Noteworthy•·
' . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HistoriMc anhattacnh urch
joinsa ffirminmg inistries
/:J,, PARK A VENUE CHRISTIAN
Church, New York City, the oldest
continuously worshipping congre&ation
in the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), founded in 1810, has·
become an Open and Affirming Congregation.
The congregation's board
voted without dissent to join 12 other
Disciples of Christ congregations and
campus ministries and over 230 other
congregations in five denominations
who have made a commitment to
minister to gay and lesbian people. In
November, 1989 the congregation selected
;m openly gay man, Allen V.
Harri's, as Associate Minister. John
Wade Payne is Senior Pastor.
-Crossbeams
Connectednefossr
HIV-positivPeW, As .
/:J,B, EING ALIVE, a Los Angeles support
organization for people who are
HIV positive and people with AIDS
has started publishing a newsletter to
facilitate dating for HIV-positive people
and PW As. Ferd Eggan, executive
director, said the newsletter, Connect,
is ""a better way to meet people
without having to overcome the real
and imagined barriers and discri~ination
that one has to deal with
when disclosing their HIV or A:IDS
status."" Over 700 listings appear in
the newsletter, with about 600 being
gay. For information, -write to Connect,
3626 Sunset Boulevard, Los
Angeles, CA 90026.
BritishM CCsin vitetdo
joinE vangelicAal liance
/:J,T, WO BRITISH CHURCHES, MCC
Bournemouth and MCC in East London
have been invited to join the
Evangelical Alliance in the Un\ted
Kingdom. EA is a~ in!e~-denommational
group of md1v1duals and
churches who subscribe to evangelical
teaching. ""Either they have not realized
who we are or they genuinely
want an input from MCC,"" said Rev.
Neil Thomas, pastor of MCC Bournemouth.
-Keeping in Touch
Gayp arentsse ndle ttetro Bush
/:J,, OVER 250 LESBIANS AND GAY
men and their children gathered in
Indianapolis, Indiana over the 4th of
July weekend for the 13th Annual
Conference of the Gay and Lesbian
Parents Coalition , International. The
newly-elected executive board held a
press conference to den?~nce atta?<s
on gay and lesbian farmhes by _vice
President Dan Quayle and President
George Bush. uwe never once heard
either say, 'to be a goo~ pa~ent, th~.
most important ingredient 1s love,
said GLPCI President John Sheets. In
an open letter to President Bush, th~
organization _ said, ""What _we don t
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
need is more rhetoric about 'family
values' and what is 'normal,' which only
panders to the fears of the
ill-informed and the intolerant. Gay
and · lesbian · parents don't pose a
threat 'to the American family - we
are the American family."" During
the conference two men, Tim Fisher
and Scott Davenport of Washington,
D.C., had their six-week-old son
Fritz, baptized during a moving
interfaith service. For information on
GLPCI write to P.O. Box 50360,
Washington, DC 20091.
Tucsonc ablem inistrpyl anned
/:J,n, m OTHER SHEEP :MINISTRIES,
Tucson, Arizona in planning a local
religious cable TV show with hopes of
syndicating to other c~ble mar_kets,
according to James C. Rice, president
of the ministry. A catalog of programming
is sched';'led to be available
after six months of production. For
information write to P.O. Box 78676,
Tucson, AZ 85703-8676.
Educatorhso noVr irginiUa ribe
/:J,, THE NATIONAL EDUCATION
Association awarded Los Angeles
educator Dr. Vriginia Uribe with its
1992 Award for Creative Leadership
in Human Rights. Uribe is the
founder of Project 10, a pioneering
education program for lesbian and
gay teenagers. Calling herself ""the
little old lady from Pasadena,'' Uribe
called NEA's award ""a significant step
in the struggle for equity for our
lesbian and gay children. The NEA
has come a long way since 1972,
when gay delegates were ""booed off
the floor,"" said retired teacher Bob
Pine. -Southern Voice
welcoming stance towards Gays and
Lesbians. The gatherings, themed
""Nourishing the Tree of Life,"" were
.coordinated by the Reconciling
· Congregation Program, a network of
54 United Methodist churches and
several other groups that have made
a publicdeclaration that they welcome
all persons .
Dignitfyo rmsc hapteor nM aui
/:J,T, HE NEWEST CHAPTER of Dignity
/USA is forming on the Hawaiian
island of Maui. The core group of ten
members will soon have its own
individuality, after being sponsored
by Dignity'/Honolulu, whicl1 recently
celebrated its 16th anniversary. For
information on Dignity /Maui write to ·
2141 Iliili Rd., #101, Kihei, HI 96753.
-Both Sides Now
Larsecne lebrate2s0y ears
/:J,, ALL GOD'S CHILDREN MCC,
Minneapolis, will formally affirm
Rev. Charles Larsen as Senior Pastor
during a weekend celebratio_n starting
September 26. The appomtment
coincides with Rev. Larsen's 20th year
as a pastor in the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches.
PastoRr andyH illd ies
SeattleM CC2 0tha nniversary
/:J,M, CC/SEATTLE celebrated its 20th
anniversary .with special services on
August 9. As part of the celebration,
the church installed its new pastor,
Cheri Starchman.
!:,_R EV. FLOYD RANDALL HILL,
·pastor of Hosanna Church of Pr~~se
and executive director of Necessities
and More, Inc., San Jose, Calif., died
on August 1 from AIDS related
conditions. Pastor Hill founded and
pastored MCC churches in Nashville
and Tucson and was the founding
pastor of Hosanna_Church _of Prai_se.
At his side at the time of his passmg
' were his companion of 10 years, Marc
Johnson, his mother Norma Hill, and
a few close friends. A memorial fund
has been established throught Necessities
and More, Inc., 24 N. 5th St.,.
San Jose, CA 95112.
Newf ellowshiipn S acramento
/:J,K, OINONIA CHRISTIAN FELLOWship,
Sacramento, held its first wo_rship
service in July. The fellowship .
meets at the Lambda Center and is
headed by Bro. Tom Rossi. For information
write to P.O. Box 189444,
Sacramento, CA 95818 or call
(916)452-5736.
UnitedM ethodismtse et
to supporGt aysa ndL esbians
/:J,T, HOUSANDS OF UNITED METHodists.
gathered in 80 cities around the
country in June to confe~s the c:J:iurch's
homophobia and to vmce the1r support
for Lesbians and Gays. The worship
services of healing and reconciliation
were in response to the
United Methodist Church's General
Conference whicl1 reaffirmed its un-
. . . -·-·. .. - ... - .. . .
Mississippfii'rss t ·
openlyg ayo rdination
D. REV. JIM BECKER, formerly of
Covenant MCC in Birmingham,
Alabama, now pastor of MCC of the
Gulf Coast in Bjfoxi,.-,Miss., has
become the · first openly gay minister
ordained in Mississippi. Becker was
featured in . a story in Jackson's
Clarion-Ledger. The ordination took
place during the UFMCC's GuH
Lower Atlantic District Conference m
· Jackson. -Alabama Forum
Firstg ay/lesbian
ministriyn W estV irginia
D. THE FREEDOM FELLOWSHIP,
Morgantown, West Virginia, is the
state's first gay and lesbian Christian
outreach. Tfte group began worship.
ping in March and had plans to move
to a permanent location by Sept-
............... •· ..
ember. For information write to P.O.
Box 1552, Morgantown, WV 26505 or
call (304)291-6940.
Churchp lansA IDSr esidence
1:,_ ALL GOD'S CHILDREN Metropolitan
Community Church, Minneapolis
is raising funds toward the
opening of Agape Home, an assisted
living residence for people with AIDS
who are in the last stage of their
illness. Fundraising event.s held in
August featured Alison Arngrim,
who portrayed Nellie Oleson on Little
House on the Prairie. Agape Home is
being offered as an alternative to
nursing home or hospital admission.
The home will offer palliative care
and will allow the caregivers, families
and partners of the residents to
participate in the care.
BaltimorAel ternative
founder/editdoier s
!:,_W ILLIAM J. URBAN, publisher
and editor of The Baltimore Alternative,
died of complications from AIDS on
June 24. He was 36 years old. From
his newspaper's beginning in 1986,
Bill Urban committed the paper to
extensive, thorough coverage of the
AIDS epidemic, and the cause o_f gay
and lesbian civil and privacy nghts.
The Alternative was opposed to the
ACT UP /NY demonstration in St.
Patrick's Cathedral in New York City
in December 1989. It said: ""The
Alternative strongly disagrees with the
Roman Catholic Church's stated positions
on AIDS, homosexuality, and
the rights of women ... But we also
believe in the inviolable sanctity of
religious services, .. a_nd that_ the
desecration of any rehg10us service 1s
morally reprehensible ... "" Urban was
a supporter of Second Stone, an
encourager, and editorial contributor.
GLADA lliancgea therast
TexasC hristiaUnn iversity
/:J,,M EMBERS OF THE GAY, Lesbian
and Affirming Disciples Alliance
gathered on the campus of Texas
Christian University in Fort Worth,
Texas July 17-20 for the s!xth annual
GLAD Alliance Event. Alliance members
travelled from 19 states to
participate in the event. The Albance
honored Rev. Allen V. Harris, associate
pastor of Park Avenue Christian
Church in New York City. A special
offering was received and designated
for the Kagiwada Memorial Scholarship
Fund and Basic Mission
Finance, both of which are ministries
of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ.) Elected to the Alliance
Council were Chuck Carpenter,
Randy Palmer, Rev. Tina Heck,
Wayne Sparrow, Rev. Laurie Rudel,
Dr, Jon Lacey, Rev. Holly B_eaumont
SEE NOTEWORTHY, Next Page
Second Stone• September/October, 1w,121!9
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The Bible and Homosexuality by Rev.
Michael England for $5.95 or I'm Still
Dancin!f by long-term AIDS survivor Rev.
Steve Pieters for $8.95 and · receive a free
catalog from Chi Rho Press, an MCC-based
publishing house for the Gay/Lesbian
Christian community. Or receive our catalog ·
by sending $1.00. P.O. Box 7864-A,
Gaithersburg, MD 20898.
SALVATION, SCRIPTURE, and Se,cuality
by Bishop Mark Shirilau clearly demonstrates
that God loves everyone, regardless of
sexuality. $4.00 includes tax, postage.
Healing Spirit Press, P.O. Box 94, Villa
Grande, CA 95486.
BEYOND HETEROSEXISM, a bimonthly
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Workshop ideas , pastoral care notes, Bible
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Friends/Relationships
GWM, 63 with playful, youthful spirit ,
inte rested in relationship with man, tender/
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with self; age/race not important. Reply: Ed,
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needs. For a catalog write: SCA, 5838 54th
Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33709 or
call (813)546-6266.
HIS & HIS / HERS & HERS - A complete
line of personalized items with your lifestyle
in mind - towels, rob.es, linens, aprons, etc.
Ideal gifts! For catalog write: SCA, 5838
54th A venue North, St. Petersburg, FL
33709 or call (813)546-6266.
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NOTEWORTHY,
From Previous Page
and Mark Anderson. GLAD Alliance
is comprised of laity and clergy from
the 1.1 million-member Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ.)
Longtime UFMCC
District Coordinator retires
AR. ADAM DeBAUGH, elected in
October, 1983 as coordinator of the
Mid-Atlantic district of the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches, has retired from that
position to devote his time to Chi Rho
Press , a religious materials publishing
company. ""We need your
prayers, your unpublished manuscripts,
your orders and your contri'
butions,"" said DeBaugh. Rev. Arlene
Ackerman was elected to replace
DeBaugh ;
Bible institute offers classes
A PHOENIX EV ANGELICAL Bible
Institute has announced resident and
correspondence classes iri a variety of
subjects. The school's emphasis is on
educating Christian gay men and
women to share the message of the
Gospel. ""How wonderful that God has
raised up a Bible Institute where I can
learn about God today, yesterday and
forever without any concern about
my sexual orientation,"" said Greg
Davis, student body president. For
information call (602)265-2831.
Environmental group
announces new programs
D. THE PEACEABLE KINGDOM, Inc.,
a nonprofit corporation dedicated to
education and mediation on environmental
issues, has inaugurated
new programs to help improve the
earth. Among the programs: Adopta-
well, designed to seek out local
groups who will ""adopt"" the financial
obligation to provide clean, safe,
drinking water for a community or
village in the ""developing"" world;
and The Rainforest Rescue, a
cainpaign to enlist the support of
schools to purchase rain forest acreage
to be held in trust by a national
conservation organization and cannot
be sold or exploited. For information
write P.O. Box 210, Hackett, AR
72937-0210.
UFMCC pastor
celebrates 20th year
D. REV. ELDER FREDA SMITH has
celebrated her 20th year in the
ministry, the longest pastorate in the
UFMCC. She was the first woman
pastor in the UFMCC, and the first
woman to be elected to the Board of
Elders. ·
River City MCC
celebrates 21st anniversary
D. RIVER CITY MCC, Sacramento,
marked its 21st year this summer.
The church, located at 34th and
Broadway, has a television ministry
three times a week, a thrift store,
counseling center, veterans outreach,
and the Samaritan Center, which provides
meals daily to anyone in need .
Interfaith coalition
formed in Ohio
A AFfER MEETING FOR NEARLY a
year, 15 groups in Columbus, Ohio,
have formed a religious coalition of
local congregations and denominational
groups . 'The driving force for
forming such a group is that there are.
many projects that none of us can do
on our own, that can be accomplished
with our joined forces,"" said Diana
Vezmar-Bailey, founding pastor of
Spirit of the Rivers. ""Up until now,
homophobic fundamentalist Christians
have had the only religious voice
for the most part, and it's .past time for
that to change.""
ARE YOU
MOVING?
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!'201 Second Stone• September/October, 1992
[ _ __ _,",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,24,1992,"Sept/Oct 1992",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/fa882d79fbf4d4f0441e242ebb8f3bc9.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1662,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1662,"Second Stone #25 - Nov/Dec 1992",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"1
_AMl;RIC(( S GAY & LES~ !AN CHRISTIAN· NEWSJOURNAL I .- , .
Treacherous path
couldn't erase
pastor's vision
~!ways wanted to be an she was inde ed guilty of, and sen- ''I BY JIM BAILEY
evangelist, "" says Pas tor tenced to 17 years in prison. The
Naomi Harvey . By the newspapers reported the crime as
age of 16, Harvey was having homosexual overtones. She
ministering in the Assembly of God felt like she h ad lost eve rything,
and beginning to nurture the faith especially the chance to ever parthat
was to later sustain her through ticipare in ministry again, after being
personal tragedies that could have left outed as a lesbian by the press.
her lost, defeated, and faithless . 'Th e fact that I had taken a life felt
Harvey, 52, is now pastoring Potter's
House in Portland, Oregon, and, like cancer to me,"" says Harvey. ""I
aJongwithRonnie Pigg, is co-pastor of could not forgive myself and certainly
Fountain of Life Church in Seattle, did not expect God to forg ive me .""
Washin gton . Harvey founded bo_th That changed one day when she was
ministries, which are spirit-filled out- walking across the prison campus and
reaches to th e gay and lesbian com- stopped to talk with a woman she was
munity. serving time with . ""Naomi,"" the
Pastor Harvey stayed with the woman said, ""I took the lives of nine
Assembly of God only two years and people and I know God has forgiven
then put her youthful energy into the me."" The woman was Susan Atkins
founding .of a church in Aberdeen, who, along with Charles Manson and
Washington, where she pastored for other memb ers of his clan, com--
18 mitt ed the grisly murders of actress
fue::~ late 1970s, Harvey saw her Sharon Tate and others in the late
life slip into a dark nightm are. She
was convicted of murde r, a charge SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
. A TESTED FAITH
Naomi Harvey, founder and co-pastor of Potter's House in Portland, Ore.,
and Fountain of Life Church in Seattle, Wa.
FUNDAMENTALISTS VS. GAY / LESBIAN RIGHTS
Colorado vote rs approve anti-gay amendment _
Anti-gay 'twisted efforts' rejected by Oregon voters
ANTI-GAY FUNDAMENTALISTS
in Oregon may look to their associa
tes in Colorado for help in
planning th eir next move against
gay rights. Oregon voters on Nov.
3 rejected an attempt to crush gay
rights while Colorado voters
banned state and local governments
from passing laws to protect Gays
and Lesbians. Voters in Tampa,
Fla., overt urne d a city ordinance
protect ing Gays and Lesbians,
while voters in Portland, Main e, .
turned back a similar repea l effort.
The Orego n Citizens Alliance, the
group beh ind the failed proposal, is
expected to attempt to bring the
issue in some ne w form befo r e
voters again in two years.
O r egon's gay and lesbian
SEE 'TWISTED EFFORTS,'
Page 11
But '·
com-
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Celebrate _ Gay Pride all year long!!
GENRE ""READS LIKE A GAY VERSION OF
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OFFERS GAY MEN AN UPFRONT, UPSCALE, UNASHAMED
CELEBRATION OF THEIR LIFESTYLE"".
--USA TODAY
""Wake up world! Sexuality, gay
or straight isn't the issue. Tell
that kid to come out of the
closet and I'll meet him
on the other side"".
--PATTY LABELLE
. ""It's ridiculous when they say
'stop having sex .' We hope
people never stop having sex.""
--DE EE-LITE
Pertaining to it's magic,
Barcelona has few equals. A
Hydra of the best faces of
Europe, it embraces the
excitement of Paris and the
beauty of Rome .
--BARCELONA
For a one year subscription (6 bimonthly issues mailed discreetly) send $11.95 and
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. m' Second Stone-November/December, 1992
L..C::..-.., '
- - - - - - . - - - - - - .,
•
T From the Editor T . . . . . .. . ..................... .
Have you found community?
By Jim Bailey
When I was growing up, a treehouse was a necessity, especially as an
escape from a Southern summer's blistering sun . Almost as soon as the final
bell ·rang on nine months of early morning bus rides anp. unbearably
structured days, the plan would be laid in our minds. With wood scraps from
the cabinet shop, a palace would begin take shape in the tallest tree in the
densest part of the woods. Hands working together toward a single goal. A
few days later we would be enclosed in safety, imperceptibly swaying, high ·
above any who would be unfriendly toward us. I remember sitting quietly
there, glancing at my buddies, asleep, exhausted from the construction task.
The breeze rustling the leaves · was the only sound . All was truly right.
From the earliest years, we seek community. Family, friends, spouses, like
minds, ext ended family ... working toward common goals. Providing
companionship and support. Providing a plac e of security.
Have you identified and established community in your life? My
perception is that more often than not, gay and lesbian Christians ar e
struggling to find a place. Many times there is a feeling of being an outcast
among outcasts. Fitting comfortably into the gay and lesbian community
may be too much of a compromise. And fitting comfortably elsewhere ... in
our families, in· our churches, is often not a choice available to us.
The next issue of Second Stone, our first of th e new year, will be dedicated to
community. How have you established community for yourself? Wqo
provides that sense of connectedness for you? Is it family, special friends,
roommates, your spouse, your church, a religious community, a gay or
lesbian group? If you have something good to share about how your life is
connected to and involved with others, Second Stone. would like to hear from
you. Make lime between now and the busy days of Christmas to send us a
brief essay . If a photo that reflects your community is available, send it along
as well.
I hope you share my excitement as we begin to plan this issue on
community, and I hope you'll participate.
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other month
by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Copynght 1992
by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $13.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only. .
ADVERTISING, For display advertising information call (504)899-4014 or wnte to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
EDITORIAL , send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items _to (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscnpts to _be returned
should be accompanied by a stamped self addressed envelope. Second Stone ,s otheTWise
not responsible for the return of any material. .
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjoumal for .the nabonal gay and lesbian
community.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Jack Pantaleo , Johnny Townsend, Kim Byham,
Rev . Dr. Buddy Truluck, Dr. Paul R. Johnson, Rev. Richard B. Gilbert,
William L. Day, Kevin Gepford
Contents .............................
if 1 LJL_j
[5J
00
~- 1 ilOJ
IT2l __ ::.::::::.__J
lrn
[HJ
From The Editor
Sense of community oftentimes evasive
Commentary
Guest comment by Dr. David Deppe
Your Turn
Interpretation of 'raca'. causes racket
News Lines
Art Imitates Episcopal Life
Daytime television gives viewers a dose
of religious homophobia ... by Kirn Byham
Cover Story
Through it all, Pastor Naomi Harvey kept
ministry in her hopes ... by Jim Bailey
Confronting Religious Bigots
They're part of our future. We have to learn now
how to handle fundamentalist bigots . ..
by Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck,
Uncle Fred's Ministry
Enough of this perversity! Uncle Fred can change
your life. A short play by Jack Pantaleo
In Print
The Dysfunctional Church reviewed by Rev.
Richard Gilbert; Rescuing the Bible from
Fundamentalism reviewed by William Day; Gay
· and Still Catholic: A Journey Home reviewed by
Johnny Townsend •
Essay
Kevin Gepford remembers his 'Grarnps'
Just Out
'Looking for Langston' on home video
Calendar
Noteworthy
News about people, churches and groups
Classifieds
-- - - ---------- - --------------'---- -- - · ·--·.-
Second Stone•No~-~ber/Deceinber, 1992 [[J
.. ,
•
Comment T .............................. ·• .................................. ·• ...... ·~
Not a curse
It's just a part of life
By Dr. David E. Deppe
Guest Opinion
Homosexuality is a part of
life , not a curse,"" says
Bishop John Spong in his
book Living in Sin? Recently
I brought this quote to the attention
of a friend of mine, and his response
was, ""Well you could have fooled me.
Why doesn't someone tell the church
that?"" Indeed, it is stange, in fact
distre ssing, that the church seems to
discr edit or ignore current research
that points to a conclusion that homosexual
persons do not choose their
sexual orientation, cannot change it,
and constitute a quite normal but
minority expression of human sexuality
. In spite of the evidence, the
church continues to pass social statements
and ""expectations,"" based on
traditional and often prejudicial thinking
that is not supported by the
scientific community. Many in the
church, including ecclesiastical authorities,
judge homosexuality as a
perversion deliberately chosen by
those of a depraved or sinful n&ture.
Such thinking is most often expressed
by those of the dominant sexual
orientation who reason that what is .
normal for th em is also natural. If
something is not normal for them it is
deviant and therefore ""unnatural.""
How can the clrnrch, which has long
practiced circumcision and institutionalized
celibacy, ever dismiss any
other practic e on the basis of its
unnaturalness? As Bishop Spong
points out, ""Sanctified ignorance is
st'ill ignorance.""
It is true that any sexual behavior
can be destructive, exploitative, predatory
. or promiscuous; and therefor e
evil, regardl ess of the sexual orienta-
T YourTurn T ................................
Raca?
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dear Second Stone,
The Rev . Dr. Timm Peterso n's
intent was laudatory (Commentary:
Jesus did have something to say
about homosexuality, September/October,
1992), giving critics the opportunity
to dismiss the uncontrovertible
with the questionable. It is disturbing
when we see statements that are open
to question rendered as categorical
fact.
""unsuitable for marriage."" How apt
that might be applied to today's
homosexual. It was unque stionab ly
comforting . to the worried childless
disciples.
Dr. Peterson had something of
importance to say. It is regretful that
this statement rendered categorcially
detracts, when challenged, from the
genuinely important truths he
wanted emphasized.
Sincerely yours,
Fred R. Metliered
Dr . Peterson should have left
unchallenged the NRSV comment Don't ask for .
about ""raca,"" a little used Aramaic mercy Of
term. He gets on shaky ground
when he states categorically that those who
""raca"" means .""faggot."" Someone who Can't g""IVe-· ""It might be called ""faggot"" today might ·
have been called ""raca"" in biblical Longview, Texas
times. The term was more likely to Dear Second Stone,
have been used, less pejoratively, as As a gay Christian, I think that we
""oddball,"" ""nutty, "" ""silly,"" maybe should take a .closer look at Ephesians
""queer"" or some other somewhat 6:11-18•. · · ·
derogatory term. It seems impossible It is time we stop playing these
that it was used in biblical times to , • sado-masochistic games.with these so
apply only to .homosexuals. · called religious leaders of power . To
Personally, I think Dr .· Peterson me, Lou Sheldon comes across ·as a
would have b een on more solid satanic homo sexual. · We must reground
with the term used in Mat- member Satan does. not have the
thew 19:12 and elsewhere, translated power to give . mercy. Mercy is a
as ""eunuch"" in the · King James powe r and a right given only to Jesus
version but also by a great variety of Christ to bless his people with.
terms in modern . translations, Therefore , we should stop begging
including ""incapable of marriage"" these satanic idol gods for things only
and, personally preferred, the Ger- Christ has the power to give.
man ""eheuntauglich,"" roughly, from In Christ,
Greek to German to English, as Paul Ennis
[IJsecond Stone-November/December, 1992
tion of those involv etl. Whenever
such conditions exist, a word of moral
judgment must be spoken. The difficulty
comes when society in general,
a nd the church in particular, evaluates
heterosexuality per se as good
and homosexuality per se as evil.
Such moral judgments leave gay and
lesbian persons with no options save
d enial or suppression. Indeed, many
church bodies have s uggested that
these are in fact the only moral
cl1oices open to homosexually oriented
people . However, by refusing to
accept any homosexual behavior as
normal, the church drives many gay
and lesbian people into the very
behavior patterns it condemns and
fears most. ·
The difficulty comes
when society in
general, and the
church in particular,
evaluates heterosexuality
per seas
good and homosexuality
per se as
evil.
Spong notes, how ever, that th ere
are some sig ns that the church is
beginning to temper its traditional
positions, although those signs are
often too little and too late. Today
almost every church ·body has passed
some sort of justifying resolutions
designed to soften the continued
oppression of gay and lesbian
persons. The earliest of these resolutions
· were couched in the sweet rhetoric
of piety. Homosexual persons
were declared to be the children of
God and commended to the pastoral
ministry . of the church. Such statements
are based on the premise that
we love the sinner but hate the sin.
Funny how few . of those labeled as
sinners experienced that love. Funny?
No, tragic! Many gay and lesbian
people, no long er trusting the
church or its ""pastoral ministry,"" have
simply left.
A second step in this tempering is
seen in some of the church's social
statemen\s which urge justice before
the law for all people, even homosexual
people, incluaing equal opportunity
for employment and housing .
The church has felt qui te proud of
these ""liberal"" resolutions, and yet the
church has never pressed the implementation
of these resolutions. Consider
the social and economic penalties
a gay or lesbian person pays
when not able lo claim his or her
mate as a dependent, discrimination
in health insurance, or closer to home,
the refusal to ordain a gay or lesbian
pastor.
The next step follows on the heals of
justice and is seen in those resolutions .
which affirm the orientation but
deplore 'the behavior. Whereas such
resolutions may signal a dawning
realization on the part of the church
that homosexuality is. not an orientation
that is chosen but a reality that is
given, they are surrou nded by incredible
naivete. 'What they suggest
is that those who have a homosexual .
orientation also have a capacity to
refrain from all sexual activity. They
assume that ten percent of the
population can or will be willing to
affirm and accept the vocation of
celibacy that someone other than
themselves has approved for them.
Such thinking portrays an irrational
belief in a sadistic God who created
gay and lesbian people complete with
sexual drive, and then says that
morality demands that this drive be
repre ssed .
The time has come when the church
must do some serious re-thinking of
its traditional attitudes and official
pronouncements about human sexuality
that is solidly grounded in the
Gospel that it is ·called to proclaim,
rath~r than in the fear by which it is
imprisoned. The church must give
up its elevated stance of righteousness
. and enter with its people into the
more difficult gray areas of life to
seek a basis for decision making that
is life giving, not life destroying and
is appropriate to the age and
circumstances of the people involved.
We all have much lo learn in this
regard.
QUOTABLE:
God's hands
GOD has no other hands than
ours. If the sick are to be
healed, it is our hands that
will heal them. If the lonely
and the. frightened are to be
comforted, it is our embrace,
not God's, that will comfort
them. The warmth of the sun
travels on the air, but the
warmth of God's love can travel
only through each one of
us.""
-Rabbi Robert Kirschner
.................T... ..............N....e..wL...si..n ..e..s.. .......T.... .... •. ..... .
ArchbishoJpo hnR oacha gainb ootsD ignitcyh apter
t.DIGNITY /TWIN CITIES has been forced to prolong its search for a permanent home
following an Aug. 27 directive from Archbishop John Roach prohibiting the organization
from renting space at St. SteJ?hen's Church in Minneapolis. Dignity has been meeting at
the University of Minnesota s Lutheran-Episcopal Center since being evicted from the
Newman Center in 1987. According to Dignity /Twin Cities President Brian McNeill,
the organization decided several months ago to attempt to find a home in a Catholic
facility. They subsequently approached three Minneapolis parishes, ·and, of the three, St.
Stephen's responded affirmatiyely. Before Dig~ity could meet with St. Stephen's, Roach
fired off a letter to Rev. Pat Griffin, St. Stephens pastor, saying simply that he intended
to enforc~ the 1987 Vatican directive and that he expected parishes to comply.
-Equal Time
Baltimobreis hopin f avoro fo rdaininwgo men
t.A CA 1HOLIC NEWSPAPER has published statements showing that two leaders of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore disagree over the ordination of women.
Archbishop William H. Keeler defends _the church's longstanding opposition to ordaining
women. But Auxiliary Bishop P. Francis Muq>hy would like to see women ordained as a
way of revitalizing the church. The Catholic Reuiw published Keeler's and Murphy's
opinions side by side. A pastoral letter about the role of women and the church will come
up for a vote by the nation's nearly 300 Catholic bishops in November. There is a
growing movement among the more liberal America bishops lo put more pressure on the
Vatican to reopen discuss10ns on the issue. Pope John Paul If so far has blocked such
efforts. -11ie Baltimore Alternative
SouthC arolincah urcahs ksh omophobsieam inartos m ove
t.A ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP in Columbia, S.C., objected to holding two seminars on
homosexual issues at Catholic churches, forcing seminar organizers in Columbia and
Charleston to find different locations. Bishop David Thom(>son of the Catholic Diocese
of Charleston said that the programs ""would not be in the best interest .of the church,""
even though they were co-sponsored by the Catholi _c Charities of the diocese. Sister
Jeannine Gramick and Rev. Robert Nugent present the seminars for the church-affiliated
Center for Homophobia Education. ""We have presented this program in nearly all of the
dioceses across the country,"" Gramick said. ""This is only one of a few times that this has
happened."" -Associated Press ·
ConservatiCvhe ristianass kedn ott oc riticizBeu sh
t.A SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADER said he was contacted by White House staffers and
asked to halt his criticism of President Bush's views on homosexuality, at least until after
the election. But Richard . Land, of the Southern Baptists' ethics agency, said he was
speaking out for Baptist values. Bush was blasted by some conservative Christians
when he appeared vague when asked in a TV interview whether he would support an
openly gay fers _on in his cabinet. Bush remained the\ clear choice of. the far right,
however. ""If were homosexual,"" said evangelical organizer Ed McAteer, 'Td be a fool to
vote for Bush."" -Associated Press
Houstocnh urcqhu itsS BCo verh omosexuailsitsyu e
t.COVENANT BAPTIST CHURCH, Houston, voted unanimously in August to cut ties
with the Southern Baptist Convention over the convention's action regarding churches
which affirm Gays and Lesbians. The convention last summer endorsed an amendment to
its constitution stipulating that churches approving homosexual behavior are ""not in
friendly cooperation"" with the SBC. James Leach, pastor of Covenant, said that his
church ""affirms the sanctity, dignity and equality of human beings and the ~value of. all life
in the universe."" Says Leach, ""We welcome persons of all racial and ethnic heritages, all
sexual orientations and all faith perspectives to our Christian community.""
-Baptist Today
Anglicaonr dinatioinnA ustralciaa usecso ntroversy .
t.DAVID McAULIFFE is the first openly non-celibate gay priest ordained by the
Anglican Church in Australia. Perth Archbishop Peter Carnley quietly frocked
McAulif.fe in August, Agence France Presse learned in September. McAuliffe was
appointed curate of a suburban Perth church, which reportedly has caused some
controversy there. -Chicago Outlines
Canadiacnh urch asf irsto penlgya ym inister
t.THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANAN A has ordained its first openly ga,: minister, f~ur
years after passing a controversial resolution that approved such ordinations. Tim
Stevenson, 46, of Vancouver, was ordained by the church's British Columbia branch.
Delegates to the annual meeting of the UCC's Saskatchewan branch resolved to fill 10
i:,ulpits with open Gays within three years. The UCC's Manitoba branch voted to
develop a liturgy for gay unions. -Outlmes
Unitarianssu ppogrta va ndl esbiarnig hts ·
t.THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST General Assembly voted last summer to oppose
""legalization of discrimination against ga_ys, lesbians, and bisexuals,"" in response to the
amendments which appeared on the l:iallots m Oregon and Colorado. The Umtanans
Board of Trustees also passed a resolution denouncing the Boy Scou_tso f America_'s
anti-gay policy, and called for the BSA to allow Gays to fully participate m their
activities and community. -Outl111es
Clintono C hristiasna, ysT exasm inister ·
t.REV. W. N. OTWELL, a Texas-based fundamentalist minister, and about 50 followers
protested outside Gov. Bill Clinton's church, saying Cl),nton cannot call _him~elf a
Christian and embrace gay rights, abortion and feminism. __W e believe that Bill Clinton
ought to either repent of his stand with the sodonutes, the militant femmist movement and
·the abortion crowd ... or either withdraw himself from this church,"" Otwell said, standing
outside Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock. -Southern Voice
ItalianG ayss aya bandotnh ec hurch
t.ARCIGAY, ITALY'S LEADING gay rights organization called on Catholic Gays and
Lesbians to abandon the church for ""other more tolerant Christian religions"" because of
the Vatican letter urging U.S. bishops to oppose i,ay rights legislation. The group, which
has long opposed church ·influence in Italian politics, said it was time for gay and lesbian
Catholics to ""defect"" to churches with more enlightened attitudes about homosexuality.
-GayNet
EnglisGh aysp rotesVt aticana'sn ti-gasyt and
t.MORE THAN A DOZEN gay rights activists from the radical group OutRage dressed in
nuns' habits interrupted services at Westminster Cathedral on, Aug. 9, protesting the
Vatican's call on U.S. bishops to oppose gay civil rights measures. The protestors
paraded in front of the altar with pfacards and attempted to deliver an alternative
sermon. Authorities said no arrests were made despite the noisy disruption. -GayNet
Teacherre primandfeodrA IDS'p unishmesntta' tement
t.BEVERLY REAGAN, a St. Petersburg, Fla., adult education school teacher has been
formally reJ>rimanded for telling a health education class that AIDS was God's
punishri1ent for homosexuality, reported the St. PetersburgT imes.
Methodisbtsa ng ay' marriage'
t.THE HEAD BISHOP OF INDIANA told United Methodis.t pastors not to perform
rituals between same-sex couples that ""resemble the rite of marriage,"" the ChicagoT ribune
reported. Bishop Leroy C. Hodapp initially supported a July ceremony between two gay
men, but reversed his opinion when he learned the men exchanged rings; Although
Hodapp retired Sept. 1, bis successor, Bishop Woodie White, wjlf continue Hodapp's
policy until the issue is discussed by both Methodist districts in Indiana. Rev. Morris
Floyd of Minneapolis commented that the decision ""put[s] a chill not only on this
particular type of ministry but upon all other forms of relationships between gay and
lesbian people."" -Chicago Outlines
UnitedM ethodiswto matnu rnsd owna ppointment
t.MICHIGAN REV. ELION A SABO-SHULER, who took part ill a celebration of Holy
Covenant between two gay men, has turned down an appointment as a United Methodist
district superintendent, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Sabo-Shuler, pastor of
William_stown United Methodist Church, who along with four other Indiana United
Methodist clergy took r.art in a July 25 ceremony for two men in Indianapolis, said she
did not want ""to embroil the conference ... in controversies ... involved in ministries among
gay and lesbian persons. -Chicago Outlines
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ELCA won't ordain open lesbian .
li]ODIE BELKNAP has had her approval as a pastoral candidate in th_e Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America witlidrawn by a synod candidacy committee after she
publicly acknowledge _d her lesbianism. Belknap gr:3du_ated from Luther Northwestern
Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., in January 1 and her ordmation was approved before synod
officials knew of her sexual onentat10n. After graduation she took a position with
Wingspan Ministries, a ministry for gay and lesbian people in the Minneapolis-St. Paul
area. She told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that she feels hurt and anrgy about the
church's decision . ""Although [the ELCA] isn't accepting of who I am , the gospel is
embracing of me and of other gay and lesbian people,"" she said. -The Lutheran
Catholic newsoaoer criticizes Bishop Wuerl .
t:,A NATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER criticized Pittsburgh's Roman Catholic
bishop for letting a ~ay group conduct its own service and allowing a key position to go
to a ""homosexualist nun . TTie Wanderer, a weekly based m St. Paul, Minn""! said _Bishop
Donald Wuerl has lost the ""conservative"" image lie had when he was appointed in 1988.
It also described Wu~rl as ""dialoguing with fominist factions and showing support for
their cause by washmg the feet of women m Holy Thursday ntuals ... and placing
radicalized nuns in key chancery positions.""
Catholic priest comes out in support of gay riahts ordinance . .
t:,A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST surprised the Board ot Aldermen in Louisville,
Kentucky by announcing that he · is gay and urged them to pass ~- gay ~vii nghts
ordinance. The Rev. Josepn_Vest had requested to sreak at the open mike sess10n, but he
didn't decide to tell about his sexual orientation until after Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly
announced his opposition to the gay rights measure. ""I stand before you as a Rol!'a~
Catholic priest saddened that the Gospel of Jesus has been used to diVIde our commuruty ,
Vest told the board . ""And I stand before you as a gay man who is plain tirw of having my
rights denied. -Cruise, GayNet
Fundamentalists air anti-gav ads ·
t:,THE CHRISTIAN ACTION NETWORK sponsored a $500,000 national advertising
campaign against President-elect Bill Clinton, linking him with ''.homosexual hiring
quotas"" and using sensational selected clips from gay and lesbian pnde festivals. The ad
made a direct appeal for financial support for CAN . · ·
Homophobe attacks own church
tJNF AMOUS HOMOPHOBE Rev. Joseph Chambers, pastor of Paw Creek Church of God
and the president of Concerned Charlotteans, has added his own Church of God
denomination to his lengthy list of foes._ Chambers stated th~t his North Ca,~olina
congregation voted to leave the denomination due to the fact that _ extreme liberals were
leading it toward a _m~re ""worldly"" stance. One of the cited instances mvolved the
denomination's sanctiorung of choreographed dancmg.
-QNotes
Case dismissed against Minneapolis pastor . . .
!:,REV. DAN GESLIN, co-pastor of Spirit of the Lakes Ecumenical Community Church,
Minneapolis, said he was ""very happy and relieved"" that ~ Cahforma felony case
alleging that he sexually abused three .minor boys was disnussed due k> insufficient
evidence on August 13."" Geslin, who has been on suspension from church duties du!ing the
ordeal, said, ""I think that the D.A .'s office rursued this case because of, my positio_n and
because th ey knew early on that they had some kind of gay leader .
Despite the dismissal, the congregation of Spirit of the Lakes voted on Oct. 4 to remove
Geslin. The pastor resigned within 48 of the vote, 51 percent in favor of his removal.
Sources said that internal and externa l allegations of sexual misconduct, though not
proven, contributed to th.e decision to remove Geslin.
-Equal Time
Nuns criticize Vatican stance on Gays ·
6THE SISTERS OF LORETTO, a Roman Catholic order of nuns, has_ criticized the
Vatican document that approves of discrimination against Gays and Lesbians. Then~
say the missive ""contradicts a belief in basic human dignity .'' In a statem~t adopted at its
general assemblr, the517 member order said, ""It saddens us that the Vatican would enter
the U.S. politica arena by encouraging a departure from the finest ideals of our 1;ohtical
tradition, ideals which promote eq1;1ahty and basic civil pghts for eve'.yone. While
concurring with a part of the Vatican s stateme,(\t opposmg violent m~hc~ against Gays
and Lesbians the sisters said the document by approving of discmmnation ... helps
create the ve(y climate which fosters the violence and 'gay-bashing' which it seeks t9
condemn.'' -Southern Voice ·
Madonna's publisher wouldn't print gay book
.iR. R. DONNELLEY, one of the country's largest book manufacturers and printer of
Madonna's steamy riew book Sex refused to print a gay-themed novel, according to Sasha
Alyson of Alyson Publications. ""In 1984, Donnelley refused to print a novel we sent, and
flatly told me they would not print any new books fro~ us_that h;,d·gay subject matter,"" '
Alyson said. A year ago, when Alyson had trouble finding a prmter for Gay Sex: A
Manual for Men ""Who Love Men, they re-arproached Donnelley. ""We were turned down :
again,"" said Alyson. ""So naturally, when rlearned they were printing Madonna's.Sex, I
was astounded. Even by election-year standards, this is a startling level of hypocnsy .
· Group goes after gay"" rights in Missouri
6FIRED UP (Freedom Involves Responsibility Exposing Decadence and Upholding
Pdndp le), an anti-gay religious g'.oup, has presented petitions t? ci_ty_ officials in Kansas
City man effort to have sexual orientation deleted from the city s civil nghts ordmance.
The group presented more than 9500 signatures opposing the newly formed Human Rights
commission and a task force on gay and lesbian issues, slightly more than the number of
signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot.
-Southern Voice . · · rn Second Stone•November/December, 1992
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• i •• • . •••
Church offers march housing . . .
t:,ROCKVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, a gay-affirming More Light congregation in
a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., has 30 beds available for gay an_d lesbian
Christians and their friends ,~ho are planning _to attend the March on. Washmgton for
Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. The march is Apnl 25,_ 1993, with
related events planned for the entire weekend. Planners have set a goal of brmgmg out 1
million supporters for the event. For information on housmg at Rockville Cliurch call
Liz Magill, (301)m--0475, between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., Eastern time .
Gay flag under attack in San Francisco .
/:,RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISTS in San Francisco are callmg for the removal of the
rainbow flag, a gay pride symbol, tha t flies over the Harvey Milk Branch Library in N°'.""
Valley. The library 1s named in honor of the first openly gay me.mber of San Franciscos
Board of Supervisors. Milk was assassinated m 1978: Complaints against the flag were
lodged with the city by the Chnstian Coalition. Coahbon member Josef Youmtom~ called
the flag a ""divisive symbol that proves once agam that Gays are given more nghts. Other
members of the group called the flag a ""glorification of the homosexual lifestyle.""
The San Francisco Library Commission rejected the demand, how ever, a_nd the
Christian Coalition threatened a lawsuit against the city for flying the flag, which has
flown over the library since 1989, when it was donated by the Alexander Hamilton Post
of the American Legion.
-Southern Voice
Savannah churches told to do more about AIDS
6CHURCHES SHOULD INVITE people with AIDS to their services and embrace
families who have loved ones dying of the disease, participants at an AIDS fo':'m m
Savannah were told. The forum, sponsored by First Baptist Church and Umon Mission,
drew 70 people. ""We had the feeling that the churches were really silent,"" about AIDS,
said Dianne ""Fuller, chairperson of tli.e pastoral care committee of First Baptist Church.
""We wanted to foster discussion.'' Betty McCloud, whose son died of AIDS last
December, told the audience the church was not so responsive . After her son announced
to the congregation that he had AIDS, the church turned its back on him and his family,
McCloud said .
-Associated Press
Billy Graham silent on Oregon measure
!:,EV ANGELISTBILLY GRAHAM refused to condemn Oregon's Measure 9 during a·five
day revival swing through the state . Graham said he dicf not want to get involved in
politics. ""One side is going to win and one.is going to lose,"" he said, ""but it woul!1 be a
great thing if after it was over they wouldteafize that they must love each other, it they
are to obey God.""
-Seattle Gay News
Priest to oreside at lesbian rite ·
M DETROlT EPISCOPAL PRIEST says he is within the bounds of an order against
blessing gay marriages in his church by holding a ceremony to help a lesbian c~uple
declare tlieir love. But critics of the plan said the ~ev. Ervin Brown is usini:, semantics to
sidestep the two-year-old order from Bishop R. Stewart Wood, Jr. Brown said he will
hold a ceremony for two lesbian members ofhis Christ Episcopal Church congregation at
an unspecified date to give them ""a pastoral and liturgical affirmation of the covenant <;f
fidelity be tween two people."" He said the date of the ceremony, as well as the womens
nan1es, will be kept secret to avoid protests. ""!,,am only trying to make a pastoral
response to two women who are my parishioners, he said. Wood, who two years a~o
told Michigan priests to refrain from blessing or marrying gay couples agreed. A
congregation seeking to respond pastorally to its own people certainly needs some
freedom to do so,"" he said. ""And there will be no confusion between this and a so-called
marriage or a blessing.''
""To call this anything other than a blessing_. .. is playing a semantic game that underrates
the intelligence of the average Episcopalian,"" said the Rev. Eugene Gerome! of Swartz
Creek, a spokesman for tradibonalists m the diocese.
-Associatea Press
Falwell claimsecondeath threat ·
MNTI-GAY TELEVANGELIST. Jerry Falwell told his Thomas Road Baptist Church
congregation that unidentified activists ,yith Queer Nation had mailed him a package
claimil)g to contain a material saturated with HIV-mfected urme, gay pornography and a
letter threatening to kill him sign by the activist group. It was the second time ~ less than
a year Falwell has claimed members of the activist group have threatened his hfe.
Minister preaches comoassion to Bush . . .
/I.PRESIDENT BUSH heard a plea for compassion for people with AIDS and mclus10n of
Gays and Lesbians in churcli ministry as he attended St. John's Church, Washmgton,
D.C., during observance of AIDS Awareness. The Rev. John Harper, re~tor oI the
Episcopal church across Lafayette Park from the White House, preache1 that Jesu~ calls
us to respond with_love to everyone, especially those who are suffermg. ~arper said the
ministry of the Episcopal Church, of which the president is a member, must be to all
people, regardless of position or need or sexuaf orientation."" ""Listen to them, care for
!hem, take !hem in our arms,"" he said. 'They are the people for whom Christ died.""
Photoaraoher seeks portraits of our lives .
!:,NANCY ANDREWS, a 28-year-old lesbian from Virginia is writing and photographing
Family: Portraits of Gays and Lesbians, scheduled. to be rublished in the spring ofl 994.
The award winrung newspaper photographer is loolcmg for couples wno liave been
together for 40 years or more - or a Holy Union between now and May, 1993. Andrews
has been a staff photographer at The Washington Post since 1990. She may be contacted
by writing 1201 S. Barton St. No. 180, Arlington, VA 22204 or by calling (703)979-9316.
Episcopal renewal movement
leader comes out involuntarily
THE REV. W. Graham Pulkingham,
one of the best known members of
the charismatic movement in the
Episcopal Church, has been temporarily
suspended from functioning as
a priest by the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Fr. Pulkingham has acknowledged
having had sexual relationships with
several men who were members
either of the parishes he served or of
the religious order he founded.
Fr. Pulkingham gained fame as
rector of a widely publicized Episcopal
charismatic parish in Houston,
the Church of the Redeemer.
The revelations began as a result of
a woman from Topeka, Kan., writing
to the Bishop of Kansas, the Rt. Rev.
William Smalley, in early August.
She claimed that her marriage had
been destroy ed by Pulkingham's
affair with her British-born husband.
The husband, who was in his 20s at
the time, had been counseled by
Pulkingham. Pulkingham has admitted
the affair with the man, who now
lives in London, which continued
from 1978 to 1982 while the man was
a member of the Community of
Celebration, the order founded by
Pulkingham in 1964.
Smalley forwarded the letter to the
Bishop of Pittsburgh, where Pulkingham
is now canonically resident. The
Rt. Rev. Alden Hathaway summarily
inhibited Pulkingham from performing
prie s tly functions as well as
serving as leader of the Community
of Celebration, located in Aliquippa,
Penn., since 1985. ·
The news was especially upsetting
in Aliquippa, where Pulkingham had
been Vicar of All Saints mission from
1986 through the end of 1991.
Aliquippa is northw est of Pittsburgh,
only three miles from Ambridge, the
home of Trinity School for Ministry
and the nerve center of the charismatic
or renewal movement in the
Episcopal Churdi. The Community
of Celebration, which had 26 members
when they arrived in Aliquippa
but now has only 18, is best known
for its musical component, the
Fisherfolk, who have made 45
recordings. Pulkingham's wife,
Betty, was the principal arranger of
their music and two of her
arrangements are in The Hymnal
1982.
Pulkingham, 66, was born in Ohio
but raised in Canada and went to the
Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.
He spent his early ministry in the
Diocese of Texas. He became Rector
of Redeemer, Houston, in 1963. The
following year he received the
""Baptism of the Holy Spirit"" from
Pentecostal minister and leading
anti-gay crusader David Wilkerson.
Pulkingham never m entioned anyt_
hing about being ""healed"" of his
homosexuality in the three books he
authored (he does refer to being
""swept clean of all defilements"") nor
in any public statements; he was not
a public supporter of so-called
""ex-gay"" ministries. Nevertheless,
following the August revelations, he
said in an interview, with Julia Duin,
""I am deeply ashamed and totally
guilty of what I did."" He said he had
been ""tormented"" by homosexual
inclinations since adolescence.
-Kim Byl1am
Honesty member to serve as resource
Southern Baptist dissidents
to study sexuality issues
THE ALLIANCE OF Baptists (formerly
the Southern Baptist Alliance)
has commissioned a task force to
study issues of human sexuality following
the much publicized affirmation
of gay persons by two Southern
Baptist churches in North Carolina.
Most Baptist bodies have criticized the
two churches. After 13 years of domination
by fundamentalists and political
conservatives, the Southern Baptist
Convention now declares such church
actions to warrant denominational
exclusion despite a strong tradition
protecting the autonomy of congregations.
·
David Reed, a 33-year-old selfidentified
gay Baptist has been
appointed a resource person to the
task force. Reed is a founding member
of the Ft. Worth chapter of
Honesty (Southern Baptists advocating
equal rights for Gays, Lesbians,
and Bisexuals) and immediate past
president of the Tarrant County Lesbian/
Gay Alliance.
Quinn T. Chipley, an ordained gay
Southern Baptist minister and Honesty
member, said, ""I am excited and
hopeful since hearing of the Task
Force's recognition of David Reed.
The Alliance of Baptists' demonstration
of good faith means I can now
join their membership in good conscience.""
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,
an emerging moderate faction, has
not commented on gay-affirming
churches. The Alliance of Baptist
Task Force will not produce policy
declarations, but will certainly inform
constituent opinion. The Cooperative
Baptist Fellowship and the Alliance of
Baptists . are groups of dissenting
Baptists spawned by the 13-year
controversy in the Southern Baptist
Convention.
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Second Stone-November/Deci:mber, 1992l 7 l
. I
'
Church's highest court :
Spahr can't serve
THE REV. JANE SPAHR will not be
allowed to serve in the Rochester,
N.Y., Presbyterian church that
ask ed her to become a pastor, the
church's highest court ruled Nov. 4.
The General Assembly Pe rmanent
Judicial Commission said it
was upholding denominational policy
by denying the ""self-affirm ed,
practicing homosexual"" her
appointment. .
The ruling overturns an earher
9-1 decision by the Permanent
Judicial Commission of the Synod of
the Northeast which on July 31
rul ed that Spahr's appointmen t is
valid despite the fact tha t she is an
open lesbian.
Spahr was optimistic following
the July ruling. ""Hopefully this will
be a beginning for lesbian and g ay
people who are qualified candidates
to serve in th e church that they
lov e,"" she said.
After the most recent ruling,
Spahr told the Associated Pr ess th at
she maintains that her sexuality is a
gift from God. ""For any institution
to encourage that a person lie, or
th.it person cannot say or be who
they are, I am deeply troubled by
th e decisio n,"" she said.
Spahr's appointment last
November as co-pastor of the
Downtown United P resbyter ian
Church was challenged by 10
upstate New York church es.
The challenge was based on a
1978 declaration by the Pr es byterian
Gen eral Assembly that
homosexuality is ""incompatible
with Christian faith and life.""
Tl1e assembly said homosexuals
could not be ordained as minist ers,
but said its ruling should not affect
Pastor files discrimination complaint
with Chicago's Human Relations Commission
A MINISfER whose job offer as an
interim pastor was revoked after he
revealed he would be sharing the
parsonage with his same-sex mate has
filed a complaint with the Chicago
Commi ssion on Human Relations .
Rev. Dr. Timm Peterson has charged
St . Nicl1olai United Church of Christ,
Chicago, with discrimination based
on sexual orientation.
Peterson was interviewed by St.
Nicholai's search committee on Septemb
·er 13 and, according to the
complaint filed, accepted an offer of
salary and housing. When he stated
that the housing arrangement wo uld
include another man, a committee
member asked Peterson if he was a
homosexual. On Sept. 15, Peterson
was told he could lead worship for
two Sundays, but that he would not
be appointed to the interim pastor
job.
""My offer of the job was revoked
only after the seach committee
learned I was gay,"" said Peterson.
'T he Church's guidelines state that
homosexuality is acceptable, and the
Church's tenets do not include
refusing to . allow gay pastors or
members. Nevertheless, the search
. committee refused to hire me after
they learned that I am gay.""
Peterson said that he filed the
complaint because he had faced ten
years of discrimination with th e
Reconciling Congregations up to 60
SEVEN MORE United Methodist congregations
have publicly declared in
the last three months that they welcome
all persons; including Lesbians
and Gays. This brings the total
numb er of Reconciling Congregations
across the U.S. to 60.
These new Reconciling Con-
Mass wedding to be performed
gregations include the first in Massachusetts,
Osterville UMC, and the
first campus ministry , the Wesley
Foundation at the University of
California Los Angeles. In addition to
the 60 U.S. congregations, five congregations
of the Methodist Church of
New Zealand have declared them-
UFMCC endorses March
on Washington
THE ELDERS OF the Universal Fel.
lowship of the Metropolitan Community
Churches have voted to endorse
the 1993 March on Washington for
Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights
and Liberation. Rev. Troy Perry,
founder of the UFMCC has agreed to
o~ganize a second non-sectarian cerernimy
to formalize the union of hundreds,
perhaps thousands of lesbian,
gay and bisexual relationships. The
ceremony is scheduled for Saturday,
April 24, 1993, the day prior to the
March.
""We lift ourselves up against the
weight of discrimination and bigotry
when our unions are celebrated and
blessed,"" said Perry, ""Spiritual health
and self respect give us the strength
to fight on for the legal recognition of
our marriages.""
Billy Hileman, national co-chair of
the March, said that the sixth of seven
demands in the March platform asserts
that the definition of family
includes the full diversity of all
family structures. ""Our march is
fighting for the legalization of same
sex marriages and . recognition of
domestic partnerships. Society's
hqmophobia is crushing lesbian, gay
and bisexual families. We are denied
custody of our children, adoption,
foster care and visitation rights. We
are discriminated against even as
taxpayers and we are robbed of
medical and insurance benefits.""
00 SecondStone•NovemberlDecember. 1992
. selves ""reconciling.""
'The movement of congregations
welcoming all persons, including lesbian,
gay and bisexual persons, is
rapidly growing arouμd the country,""
said program coordinator Mark
Bowman. 'There are now more than
300 Disciples of Christ, Lutheran,
Presbyterian, United Church of
Christ, and United Methodist congre gations
that have adopted welcoming
statements.""
""Last weekend I spoke to about 125
members of ten different congr e~
gations in the Troy Conference of the
United Methodist Church (Vermont
and northeastern New York) who are
e ducating their fellow church members
about the need to be 'reconciling,""'
Bowman said. ""Our office is
aware of about 200 United Methodist
congregations across the country that
are discussing becoming Reconciling
Congregations.""
""Our movement is growing as
Christians are becoming increasingly
disturbed by the discrimination gay
men and Lesbians face in our church
and society,"" explained RCP Board
chair Susan Spruce. ''The UMC
General Conference's affirmation of its
unwelcoming stance last May, the
gay-bashing at the Rep_ublican. convention,
and the anti-gay nghts
SEE RECONCILING, Page 17
any pre viously o rdain ed deacon,
el der, or minister.
Spahr was ord~ined in 1974, but
she did not publicl y acknowledge
he r homosexuality until after 1978.
Spahr said she hopes th e church
will evei 1tuall y change its policy
and ordain openly gay and lesbian
candidates.
Of the major Christian denominations,
only the United Church of
Christ officially allows ordination of
homosexuals.
-Associated Press
American Baptist Church, USA, and
three years of same with the United
Church of Christ. ""I have lost tens . of
thousands of dollars and professional
development by church staff and local
church search committee's continual
discrimination in employment solely
based upon by open sexual orientation,""
he said.
Rev. William Voelkel, Conference
Minister of the Chicago Metropolitan
Assoc iation of Illinois Conference of
the United Church of Christ sa id, in a
letter to Peterson, that he was ""truly
saddened"" by Peterson's decision to
seek redress outside of th e
community of faith. Voelkel had
recommended that Pe terson seek
counsel and support within the
Association.
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• ' •
l e extremely handsome but
unmarried rector of a promnent
Episcopal parish on
Philadelphia's mainline has
been removed from his post by the
Bishop of Pennsylvania. This resulted
from an effort by the Vestry of St.
James, Llanview, Pa., to sever the
pastoral relationship under Title III,
·Canon 19, following rumors in the
parish that the priest, The Rev .
Andrew Carpenter, was gay. Fr.
Carpenter refused to directly answer
the allegation which stemmed from
his counseling of a gay teenager and
the fact that his brother died of AIDS.
Although the congregation seemed
largely reconciled following a display
of the AIDS quilt on the church lawn,
the bishop nevertheless decided that
Carpenter was too controversial and
should be shifted to administrative
duties in the diocese.
All of this controversy was played
out before eight million people every
day, a far larger audience than is
usual for Episcopal disputes over gay
and lesbian issues. It was the main
summer story line on the 24-year old
soap opera, One Live to Live.
The Episcopal Church's reaction to
homophobia became a part of daytime
drama because of One Life's
head writer, Michael Malone, who is
a parishioner at St. Peter's Church in
Philadelphia's Society Hill. He says
the model for Andrew Carpenter,
· though not for the story line, is his
rector, the Rev. Tad Meyer.
'Malone is not a typical soap ·writer.
A Harvard Ph.D ., he taught fiction at
Yale, Swarthmore and the University
of Pennsylvania and has published
seven novels, the most recent being
Foolscap, a humorous adventure in an
academic setting.
When ABC hired movie producer
Linda Gottlieb (Dirty Dancing) to revitalize
the ailing One Life, she l_ooked
for a special writer. nWhat she said
was, Tm looking for the American
Dickens,' and what novelist could
resist that?"" Malone told The Los
Angeles Times. He had never
watched an episode of a soap opera.
One Life needed a lift when Malone
joined it in September of 1991. In
taking the show from eighth place out
of 11 daytime soap operas to fourth,
Malone has balanced stories about
the show's core family, the Buchanans
(Mrs. Victoria Buchanan is Sr. Warden
at St. James), with interesting new
characters. Not surprisingly, Malone
added an Episcopal priest since there
is one in each of his novels.
The Rev. Andrew Carpenter,
played by Wortham Krimmer, was
introduced several months before the
homophobia story line began on
June 18. ""He looks like an Episcopal
priest,"" sajd vestment designer Victor
Challenor, 'They did his garb well.
Andrew is tastefully apparelled in
cassock and surplice and even the
""It's not something you figure out. It's
something you know deep down
inside. It's like I've been holding my .
breath all of my life and I finally can
let it out.""
As· a summer story, it was design ed
to expand One Life's core auruence -
women ages 18 to 49 - and ""hook""
younger viewers, home from high
school and college, on daytime television.
And it did that. Malone
reports, ""We have received thousands
of letters from young people, many
saying 'I thought I was the only gay
teenager.""'
BY KIM BYHAM
Billy is the first gay teenage
character on daytime TV. Although
adult lesbian and gay characters
made low-key appearances on All My
Children in 1983 and on As the World
Turns in 1988, there had never b.efore
been a lesbian/ gay plot line in a soap
opera.
requisite tweed jacket."" The character
appeared so much like a priest that
when he dated women the show
received numerous letters of complaint
from viewers who assumed h e
was Roman Catholic. To offset this,
the show meticulously refers to him
as a ""minister.'' Th.is led Challenor to
write a protest letter to which M.id1ael
· Malone responded. Challenor was
satisfied and concluded that this one
""liberty"" with Episcopal polity was
forgivable, ""I've watched them like a
hawk and they've done well [with
their portrayal of the Episcopal
Church.]""
The credit for this accuracy clearly
goes to Malone and to Fr. Meyer, who
from Andrew's arrival has served as a
special consultant to the show. 'Tad
is a model for Andrew in_ many ways:
his Anglophilia, his bird watching,""
Malone said, ""but so is The ·Rev. Peter ·
·Hawkins, professor at Yale Divinity
School, and godfather. of my
daughter."" Malone and Meyer met
when the latter was Curate at Christ
Church, New Haven. Fr . Meyer
subsequently attended Cambridge
University where he received at
Ph.D. After his move to St. Peter's,
Malone and his family, who had
earlier moved to Philadelphia, joined
the parish.
. Not surprisingly, One Life has
become a staple of conversation at St .
Peter's, from Malone's wife, ·Maureen
Quilligan, a professor of Renaissance
Studies at the University of Pennsylvania,
to the parish secretary, to
Meyer and his wife. Meyer has been
closely consulted about the current
story line. While he hasn't had any
personal confrontations with homophobia,
it is an issue on which he
agrees with the character. ""Andrew
takes stands that are dear to me, but
they don't necessarily reflect mywords,""
he said . As chair of the diocesan
Commission on Ministry, he
believes sexual orientation should not
be a matter determining fitness for
ordination.
Meyer gave suggestions about
dealing wit(l a Vestry and how priests
dress. But what fascinated him was a
""priest who's _being depicted as a
human being and going through
Sturm und Orang about issues of
prayer and principal. Michael
wanted the priest to have strong faith
and wanted to show how that faith
could be lived out.""
Meyer was an adjunct professor .at
General Theological Seminary last
spring and the actor playing the
priest came to his class. Meyer also
visited the set. When Malone introduced
him as the model.for Andrew,
he received an enthusiastic response
from the cast.
Phillippe, 17 and staight, was
hesitant about accepting the role of
Billy. ""I wasn't sure how my friends
and family would handle -it. I
worried about telling my parents,
about hate mail, you know_.""
There have been some negative
reactions back home in Delaware.
""I've grown up in a Baptist school. I
go to church every Sunday. Some
people in the church don't accept my
decision; I can tell by the way they
look at me, which is how a gay
person must feel,'' Phillippe told The
Chicago Tribune. ""I wanted to talk about prejudice, ""
Malone said. 'That's why we made
the -story one based on an accusation . Before filming started, Gottlieb
The Church is beautifully placed to brought in psychiatrist Richard !say,
illustrate the effects of prejudice and author of Being Homosexual: Gay Men
how it is overcome. Andrew, like and Their Development and a specialist
Thomas More, is a man of conscience. in issues faced by gay teens. ""I had a
His refusal to name names is like lot of questions,"" said Phillippe in
Germans who refused to give the Entertainment Weekly. ""But when he
names of Jews and those who refused told us that three times as many gay
to give the names of Commurusts to teenagers kill themselves as do
Joseph McCarthy. _ straight teens, I realized that maybe
""Bigotry divides, tolerance and this role is where I'm supposed to be.
acceptance unite people,'' he con- Maybe some kids will see that there
tinued. 'That's what made the quilt are ways to deal with this positively.""
such a wonderful symbol - it's 'The emotional scenes are very
stitching people together."" difficult,"" Wortham Krimmer, who
With a Daytime Emmy nomination plays Fr. Carpenter, said, also in
for outstanding writing to his credit, Entertainment Weekly. ""But I feel a big
Malone found ABC receptive to his responsibility to make it Work. We
story but somewhat frightened . 'Tm read about homQphobia every day in
proud of our audience. We had the newspapers, but it's informafeared
loss of affiliates and sponsors. tional, not emotional. These scenes
That hasn't happened. 99% of the really hit you hard."" ·
mail has been positive. But there 'The gay community in our ·country
have been hate letters - all religiously is large and the fears that attend it are
couched, saying things such as, rarely explored,'' Linda Got1lied told
""You'll bum in hell.""' USA Today . 'This is the first.time we
The story line began with a young . (in daytime) have examine 'd where
woman that Fr. Carpenter had been homophobic fears come from:"" · _
counseling trying to seduce him. ""Michael [Malone] has a hidden
Next 16-year-old Billy Douglas, agenda,'' Meyer revealed, ""not to
played by Ryan Phillippe, confessed proselytize people to Christianity or
to the priest that he was gay. to the Episcopal Church, but to get
'Tm wondering how you figured it people to ask basic faith questions . In
out,"" asked Carpenter. 'That's just it,"" this age· we've lost the ability to ask
Billy, president of his class and questions. The story is an excellent
captain of the swim team, explained. paradigm of the faith.""
-- - ---'------- -- ~- -- --------'---- - -----::-:---,-,,-------:-:,---:--=-- ·--l""""n7
Second Stone•November/December, 1992 Lf!J
' ' •
T Cover Story T .. "" ......................... ............................................. .
Pastor ~cept vision
during despair
COVER STORY
From Page 1
· 1960s. ""Atkins had sought and
received God's forgiveness,"" said
Harv ey. ""I knew God could forgive
me as well. At that moment I felt like
the man who grumbled because he
had no shoes, who then met someone
who had no feet. The power of life
and death, and the grace of forgiveness,
is in the hands of the
Lord .""
Harvey never felt that God
abandoned her, even as she was
faced with the death of her father and
a tragic fire that destroyed her home
and took the lives of her two sons.
In 1985, Naomi Harvey was blessed
with the opportunity to start over. A
plea bargain arrangement brought a
reduction in her charge from second
degree murder to manslaughter and
lessened her sentence to five years,
which she had already served. She
was free. She was reconciled over the
·crime she had committed. She
wanted to be involved in ministry
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again but was beginning to understand
that she would have to do so as
an openly lesbian Christian. Her
challenge at that point was to
reconcile her sexuality with her
Christianity ,
Pastor Harvey is now an advisor for
the Dallas-based Advance Christian
Ministries, a national conference of
independent churches, which held its
seventh gathering October 19-25 at
the Golden Cross Ranch near
Houston.
""When I found Advance, I received
a hope,"" Harvey says. ""It became a
healing . I found a people of like
faith. They're wonderful Christians,
We share the same vision.""
Advance is a ministry of help and
support for pastors and small independent
churches. It is a fellowship
in which thos e participating do not
actually hold membership, but come
together every autumn to worship
and renew. 'The fellowship has no
barriers,"" says Harvey, who has been
with Advance since the group's
beginning. ""We encompass a vast .
range of beliefs but our foundation is ·
believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
People come and worship the way
they want."" ·
Advance's activity does not stray far
beyon d the focus of its mission: to
spread the gospel and empower
others to do so. An advisory committee
of Advance Christian Ministries
goes out to growing and often- ·
times struggling churches who are
not able to pay preachers and
ministry consultants to come in. The
committee sponsors an ""Acts Weekend""
at churches they visit. It is a
time of teaching and support for the
church pastor and congregation.
Advance fills a particular niche in
what has become known as the
independent church movement. Ministries
with a special outreach to the ·
gay and lesbian community are
popping out of the woodwork, accord-.,
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Advance Christian Ministries is the largest national conference of
independent evangelical churches in the gay community. The founder
and director is Thomas Hirsch. Associate director is Bill Roberts .
Advisors are Naomi Harvey, Michael Cole, and Ronnie Pigg.
The first Advance gathering was held in January of 1987 at a YMCA
camp in Fort Worth, Texas. About 35 peopl e from no more than five
ministrie s attended. Advance has rapidly grown to a peak attendance
of over 150 in a few short years. It has sponsored tw elv e regional
conferences, and is now planning for its eighth national conference.
Emphasis is on fellowship, teaching, and Spirit led worship.
Advance Christian Ministries maintains a directory of churches as a
resource to other ministries. It also provides for financial help and
encouragement to churches and mini sters as need s become known. The
group sometimes provides ministry to small er churches with limited
finances and also sometimes helps with the purchase of songbooks or
equipment. .
Audio and video tapes of Advance '92: The Rapture of the Church are
available. For information write to Advance Christian Ministries,
4001-C Maple Ave., Dallas, TX 7521.9.
ing to Pastor Harvey, who estimates
that Advance has contact with some
200 such ministries which are not
· affiliated with the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitian Community
Churches or gay and lesbian denominational
suprort groups . 'There is a
new move o the Spirit of the Lord to
return Gays and Lesbians to the
church,"" says Harvey, recalling how
the church first reject ed and then
embraced the work of peace activists
say 'this can't be,""' says Harvey, who.
hopes such ,revelation will one day
lead to the church really being one
people , .
For Pastor Naomi Harvey, these
days are the finest. ""All my training
and experience is for this very hour.
I would have never dealt with my
sexuality had the tragedy not happened.
After I accepted who I was I
understood why God forced me out of
my closet. I realized it was God's ~
""All my training and experience is
for this very hour. I would have
never dealt with my sexuality had
the tragedy not happened. After
I accepted who I was I understood
why God forced me out of my
closet. I realized it was God's mercy
to help n1e to help others.""
who were part of the hippy
movement of the late 1960s.
The independent churches tend to
be strictly Bible-based, according to
Harvey, who claims that some gay
and lesbian ministrie s have become
too political or too social or are
engaging irr belief that is not
scripturally based.
Curious ministers from mainline ..
denominations, including closeted
gay and lesbian ministers, who are
invited to the Advance gathering
leave with a better understanding
and a new vision of Gays and Les- ·
bians, according to Harvey . 'They
mercy to help me to help others. I
hope to continue to support ministers
who are still closeted and bring light
to them. For us who have served the
Lord, there's a job for us to do. We
must come out and be teachers.""
During the course of her 52 years,
Pastor Harvey has adopted and cared
for 17 children. When Elaine Kaye, a
foster mother who has provided care
for over 100 children, began worshipping
at Potter's House the two had an
immediate connection in their love for
children. Harvey and Kaye . have
been together as a couple for about a
year now.
Oregon fundamentalists' 'twisted efforts' fail
From Page 1
rnunity plans to remain organized
and committed to respond to any
such future effort, according to Bill
Roberts, co-pastor of Potter's House
in Portland.
""We're going to keep up our
awareness and make sure that we
are not caught off guard,"" said
Roberts. 'The OCA is likely to
reword the proposal so that it
doesn't appear to be v·hat it is -
hate. That is the word that kept
corning up and likely led to the
defeat of the measure. The battle in
Oregon was much more hateful
than in Colorado, including the
murder of a gay man and a lesbian
woman.""
Involvement by mainstream
denominations helped defeat the
measure in. Oregon. The battle also
helped give greater visibility to
gay and lesbian Christians, according
to Roberts, so that the gay and
lesbian community is able to see
that fundamentalists represent only
a small minority of Christians.
Measure 9 was proposed by the
Oregon Citizens Alliance, an organization
of fundamentalist Christians
who gathered enough petitions to
put it on the November 3 general
election ballot. Had it been adopted,
it would have overturned gay
rights ordinances in several Oregon
cities and would have legally dedared
that ""homosexuality ... [is]
abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and
perverse, and that these behaviors
are to be discouraged and avoided.""
Episcopal bishops Robert Ladehoff
of Oregon and Rustin Kimsey of
Eastern Oregon released a pastoral
letter to all parishes on September
24, calling on parishioners to ""strive
for justice and peace among all
people, and respect the dignity of
every human being.""
Kimsey described the pastoral
letter from the two Episcopal bishops
as ""unprecedented,"" adding
that ""the enormity of the situation
forced us to respond. This kir O of
singling out of a particular group
who become a whipping post for a
lot of confusion and fear is extremely
dangerous."" This situation
has become far more than a
political issue,"" Ladehoff said.
'There are serious moral ;3sues and
concern for basic jusiice at stake
here.""
The bishops ur15ed the Chri.stian
community to rnatdt ""the stridency
to condemn found within Measure
9"" with ""a stridency of tolerance.""
They reminded Episcopalians that
""the Episcopal Church has acted
consistently in affirming that homosexual
persons are children of God,
entitled to all the sacramental and
pastoral resources of the church,
and that their basic human rights
Colorado"": Greatd eal of uncertaintiyn the air""
deserve to be safeguarded ... ""
Ladehoff said that he was
concerned about what will happen
now that the election is over. ""We
will have a serious opportunity for
some significant dialogue, and I
think we can offer that in the
church.""
Other mainline Christian denominations
also came out in opposition
to the measure. The Oregon Synod
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America passed a resolution
encouraging members to vote
against the initiative. ""It is part of
the Christian calling to take care of
and protect those who are oppressed
in the world,"" said the Rev.
Thomas Hiller, pastor of Colton
[Ore.] Lutheran Church, who
developed the synod's resolution.
""If this ir,itiative were to pass in
Oregon, it would mean the
oppression of homosexuals, many of
whom are our brothers and sisters
in Christ."" Hiller's brother is gay,
which brings a personal dimension
to the political issue. ""It's not a
black and white thing for me,""
Hille; said. '1 realized that if my
brother lived in Oregon and this
measure passed, it could very
badly affect his life. All the people
this measure could affect are
bro~~ers and sisters of other people
.
• Television evangelist Pat
Robertson donated $20,000 t,:\' lhe
campaign to pass the anti-gay
rights measure. Lou Mabon, chairman
of the OCA, sought the
donation during a trip to the home
of Robertson's Christian Broadcasting
Network in Virginia Beach,
Va.
Mabon, 45, is a former drug addict
who says he ""met the Lord"" at a
California commune in 1969. While
casting himself as a defender of
""traditional family values"" against
""militant homosexuals,"" Mabon says
his former drug addiction taught
him tolerance and compassion.
Before the failure of Measure 9,
Mabon predicted that Oregon
would be at the leading edge of a
movement that will sweep the
United States within ""one. or two
election cycles.""
There were two murders during
the course of the hate campaign. A
gay man, Brian Mock, and lesbian
woman, Hattie Cohens, roommates,
were killed when a firebomb was
thrown into their basement apartment
at 3:18 a.rn. on September 26.
Police have arrested four young
white supremacist skinheads in the
killings.
-Staff reports and Jeffrey Penn, Episcopal
News Service,( 1ssociatedP ress,
The Lutheran and Southern Voice
Lostf ight unifiedg ay/lesbianc ommunity·
Voters in the state of Colorado
approved a measure spawned by
Colorado for Family Values to prohibit
the state or any political subdivision
from passing any civil
rights law.s protecting Gays or
Lesbians. The vote was 55 percent
in favor of Amendment 2. CFV
had gathered 16,000 more signatures
than needed to place the
measure on the November 3 ballot.
Passage of the amendment
rescinds gay rights laws in Denver,
Aspen and Boulder. Gay activists
promptly called for a tourism boycott
of Colorado.
Gov. Roy Romer, an opponent of
the measure, told gay leaders, ""It is
not you who are gay and lesbian
who have lost the fight. It is all of
Colorado.""
Scott Stebbins, spokesperson for
Evangelicals Concerned Western
Region said that Colorado's shocked
gay and lesbian community was in
a somber mood following t.he election.
Polls had predicted the measure's
failure. 'There's a great deal
of uncertainty in the air,"" said
Stebbins, 'but there's a resolve that
we're going to proceed further. It's
strengthened my resolve to be out
and stay out.""
Pastors and congregations from
the Evangelkal Lutheran Church in
America, the United Church of
Christ, the United Methodist
Church, and other mainline denominat
ions were on record opposing
Amendment 2. In Denver, United
Methodist Bishop Roy Sano sent a
letter to 290 Methodist ministers,
saying that denying civil rights for
Gays and Lesbians amounted to
""twisted efforts."" Sano criticized the
group promoting the measure,
saying it was attempting to ""write
prejudice"" into the state constitution.
The CFV is an affiliate of the
Orange County, California-based
Traditional Values Coalition. Members
of CFV's executive and advisory
boards represent fundamentalist,
right-wing groups such as the
TVC, Focus on the Family, Concerned
Women for America, Summit
Ministries and the Eagle
Forum. Forme r U. S. Sen. Bill
Armstrong gave his support to
Colorado for Family Values,
lending his name to a fund raising
letter in which he said he considers
the gay rights movement to be a
""grave threat"" to Colorado.
With the approval of voters,
Article 2 of the Colorado Constitution
may now be amended to
read, ""No protected status . based on
homosexual, lesbian or bisexual
orientation."" However, since the
amendment appears to violate the
equal protection clause of the 14th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,
the measure's legality will
almost certainly be reviewed by the
courts.
Stebbins said that it was up to gay
and lesbian Christians to come out
i:1 their churches so that everyone
will know someone who is gay,
because the battle is far from over.
""Even if we had won, we knew
they would be back,"" said Stebbins.
""It's not a dead issue.""
The unsuccessful battle to defeat
Amendment 2 did have a silver
lining , according to Stebbins. ""It •
brougfit JnOre unity · to our community.""
·
-Staff reports, Associated Press and
Southern Voice
SecondS tone-November/Decembe1r,9 92l ll].
Confronting
religiou s
bigots
and winning!
BY REV. DR. BUDDY TRULUCK
J esus was not tormented and
killed by street gangs, pick-.
pockets, common thieves,
prostitutes or criminals.
Jesus was ·misunderstood, attacked
and killed by the most religious
people in the world at that time.
Jesus was destroyed by religious
leaders who saw him as a threat to
their power, wealth and spiritual
authority.
Gays and Lesbians have experienced
religious bigotry and religious
attacks. These attacks frequently
have been launched by their parents,
relatives, close neighbors and hometown
church . Usually Gays and
Lesbians lack the expert Bible knowledge
to answer effectively the uninformed
and emotional religious
attacks that they endure. The result
of the conflict between gay people
and religion is often the total
abandonment of religion by Gays
and Lesbians.
Most of the teachings of Jesus
recorded in the four gospels spring
from religious controversies forced on
Jesus by bigoted religious leaders.
Most of the parables were given in
direct response to religion that demanded
legal justice but overlooked
human frailty and need.
Matthew 21:45-46: When the chief
priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus'
parables, they understood that he was
speaking about them. And when they
sought to seize Jesus, they became afraid
of the multitudes, because they believed
Jesus was a prophet.
All of Matthew chapters 22 and 23
is devoted to Jesus' response to religious
bigots. Webster defines bigot as
""one obstinately or intolerantly devoted
to his own church, party belief,
or opinion."" Jesus came into the most
highly developed and detailed religious
system in history! His mission
would have been a lot easier if he
had come into a total religious
vacuum. But that was not God's plan.
So we are able to gain some greatly
needed help in handling intol erant
religion by our study of Jesus .
Matthew 22 begins with two
parables of a wedding feast, which
was symbolic of the joy of God 's
presence in the kingdom or ""rule""
(Greek basalia) . of God. In both
parables, those who thought that they
deserved tl1e kingdom are thrown out
and destroyed . Jesus had all along
tried to show that the hard hearted
religion of the Jewish leaders was a
hindrance to fellowship with God and
not a help. The Pharisees responded
with anger . They refused to admit
that they were wrong.
Matthew 22:15-22: Then the Pharisees
went and -counseled together how they
might trap him in what he said. And
they sent their disciples to Jesus, along
with the Herodians, saying, ""Teacher, we
know that you are truthful and teach the
way of God in truth, and defer to no one;
for you are not partial to any. Tell us
therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful
to pay a tax to Caesar, or not?"" But Jesus
perceived their malice, and said, ""Why
are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show
me the coin used for the tax."" And they
brought him a denarius. And he said to
them, ""Whose likeness (Gk. ikon) and
inscription is this?"" They said to him,
""Caesar's"" 171en Jesus said to them,
""Then render to Caesar the things that
are Caesar's; and to God the things that
are God's."" And hearing this, they
marveled, and leaving him, they went
away.
After this, the Sadducees asked ·
questions about the resurrection and
the Pharisees asked about the greatest
law. Luke adds the parable of the
Good Samaritan to the encounter with
the lawyer over ""who is my neighbor?""
(Luke 10:25-37) Rabbi arguments
over the ""greatest"" commandment
led to classification of
scriptures . Rabbis .said Moses gave
613 laws (365 proh ibitions and 248
[I2JSec ond Stone•November/December, 1992
positive commands). These laws
were said to be reduced to 11 in
Psalm 15, to 6 in Isaiah 3:15, to 3 in
Micah 6:8, to 2 in Isaiah 56:1, and to 1
in Habakkuk 2:4 - quoted in Romans
1:17: 'The just shall live by faith.""
Love God with ""heart, soul, mind""
(22:37). Deut. 6:5 has ""might"" instead
of ""mind ."" Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27
have all four terms.
After Jesus answered the attacks by
religious leaders, he asked them
about the identity of Christ, whom
they called ""the son of David"" and
Jesus showed that they were wrong in
their understanding, quoting Psalm
110:1 (the most quoted Old Testament
verse in the New Testament.) And
""no one was able to answer Jesus a
word, nor did ;1nyone dare from that
day on to ask him another question.""
22:46.
The Pharisees (meaning ""separated
ones"") called themselves the
Haberim, meaning ""neighbors."" The
Hebrew word ""neighbor"" simply
means ""the one nearby."" Gentiles
were the ""ones far off."" Jews were the
only truly ""nearby ones. See
Ephesians 2:11-22and the quote there
from Isaiah 57:19.
The Law and Prophets ""hang""
(22:40) on the teachings .of Deut. 6:5
and . Lev. 19:18. Love is the key to
everything. See John 13:34-35 and
Romans 13:8-10. Jesus refused to be
distracted by religious squabbles over
which law is greatest. He kept
attention on the main issue of love,
which he demonstrated in his own
words and actions.
How Jesus dealt
wit h opposit ion
1. Jesus faced opposition from
religious bigots and refused to back
off or run away. ·
2. Jesus kept the crowds with him. He
was popular because he demonstrated
his real care for people.
3. The views of others were taken
seriously and answered. Pharisees
were not stupid . Many were brilliant
scholars, as was the .apostle Paul,
SEE WINNING, Page 20
Church didn't always condemn same sex love
(RADICAL RIGHT PREACHERS have a penchant for creating short anti-gay
sayings to be used on talk shows and at demonstrations. If the far right can use
these political and religious one liners to promote their indignities, Lesbians and
Gays must learn to use one liners to proclaim the truth.)
The toxin... Historically the Jewish and Christian church
has opposed Gays and Lesbians.
The antidote ... Organized resistance was introd uced in the
12th century .
. ORGANIZED RESISTANCE to gay love first appeared in the church in
1197 when Peter Cantor first attempted to teach that certain New Testament
passages were ·against homosexuality, per se. It was at Peter's urging
that the Ecumenical Church Council introduced, for the first time,
laws condemning all kinds of homosexual behavior . Before the time of
Peter Cantor, the church generally believed these New Testament passages
referred to such things as masturbation and birth control.
Except for the church Fathers who condemned practically all sexual
acts; the early church never reflected any hostility toward homosexuality
nor did they believe that the Bible reflected any hostility toward gay love.
For a thousand years after Genesis 19, the people of God believed that
Sodom was destroyed because of inhospitality resulting in attempted
gang rape. The Jewish historian, Josephus, at the time of Christ still
reflected this ""act of violence."" Hebrew authorities recognize that the
Hebrew terms describing the angels in Genesis 19 do not idenFfy their
gender.
For 500 years in the early church authorities believed that Romans One
reflected the Greek concept that heterosexuals should not try to change
their nature and, by inference, that Gays also should not attempt to
change their nature. The early church also believed that Paul's epistles
taught that both homosexual and heterosexual excess was evil (I Car. 6:9;
I Tim. 1:10; Rom . 13:13). Homosexual rape, adultery, prostitution and
child abuse were treated as heterosexual sins were treated.
Throughout the Bible one finds a number of prosecutions for sexual
crimes. At least five of those concern homosexual relat ions and certain
clerics suggest that this shows that all homosexuality is sinful. These
incident s are listed among accounts of heterosexual crimes. The common
theme is rape, using males as substitute women, sacred prostitution,
parental incest and trying to change one's sexual nature. Like ancient
Greek and Roman law, the Bible condemns only the abuse of heterosexuality
or homosexuality . -Dr. Paul R. Jol;nson
.
I'
Ed. Note: This play was performed
at last summer's meeting of the Western
RegionC onnECtionC onferenceo f
EvangelicalCs oncerned.T I1ea uthor,
JackP antaleor,e cently hada play produced
in San Francisco , Tiie Gospel
According to the Angel Julius. For
infonnalion on performingt he play,
or for an unedited script of the play,
contact the author in care of Second
Stone.
{THERE IS A LOUD KNOCK ON
THE DOOR.)
Uncle Fred: Come in. (IN WALKS A
DEPRESSED-LOOKING MAN WITH
HEAD AND EYES DOWNCAST.
UNCLE FRED SHAKES HIS HAND.)
Welcome. I'm Fred Turner, but most
of the guys here just call me Uncle
Fred.
Hank: (LOOKING UP FINALLY.)
It's nice to meet ya. I've read all your
books. I can't tell you how much
they've helped me. I just hope I have
the courage to go through all this.
Uncle Fred: My boy, my boy, you've
got nothing to worry about. If you
made it this far, you're more than
half-way home. Now let's you and I
sit down a spell and see what's going
on here. (THEY SIT DOWN, AND
HANK BEGINS TO FIDGET WITH
HIS FINGERS AND HANG HIS
HEAD.). So tell me, Hank. How are
you feeling at this very moment?
Hank: (LOOKING UP.) Well, actually,
I'm not doing too well. I guess
I'm pretty nervous.
Uncle Fred: Nervous? Nervous about
what?
Hank: About this whole thing. Do
you really think I can change like the
others. What I mean is - do you
really think God can change someone
like me?
Uncle Fred: Of that you can be
assured. There is nothing God cannot
do. No one is too far gone for our
Lord and Savior the Christ Jesus, the
Almighty. Those testimonies in my
books are eye-witness accounts of the
healing, transforming, restorative
powers of our Lord and Savior the
Christ Jesus, the Almighty One who
was, who is, and who is to come
again. Alleluia! Oh, praise be to
God. Hank, it's no accident -that
you're here. It's no accident you've
been sent to Uncle Fred's Ex-Straight
Ministries International to be cured of
your heterosexuality! (RISING FROM
HIS CHAIR.) Yes,heterosexuality 9l!l
be cured!
Hank: All my life I've wanted to be
freed of the bondage of heterosexuality.
Uncle Fred, I've waited for
th.is day for a very long time.
Uncle Fred: (SITTING DOWN.)
Well, my boy, your wait is over.
Let's get started right now. Let's
begin with your childhood. When do
you first recall being attracted to
members of the opposite sex?
Hank: Well, it really was at a very
young age. My first memory is when
I was about four or five years old. It
all started one summer. Our
neighbors had a daughter in her
teens. She had long, beautiful, flow-
BY JACK PANTALEO
ing red hair and a reddish, freckled
face. Well, this particular summer, I
just happened to be looking out my
bedroom window and saw this young
woman standing in her bedroom.
She changed her clothes in front of
my very eyes. I'm quite certain that
my heart skipped a beat when she
took off her training bra. (HANK
LOOKS DOWN' AGAIN.) I've felt
ashamed of myself ever since.
Uncle Fred: (SHAKING HIS HEAD.)
What a traumatic thing to have
happen at such an impressionable
age. Didn't you tell your parents?
Hank: No. I was too ashamed. I had
gay parents like every normal person.
And they were very loving and
all that, but -
Uncle Fred: Are you sure they were
loving? If they were so loving, how
did you turn out to be straight?
Think about it, my boy. Before I get
through with you, I'll be able to point
out just how unloving your parents
really were. Bi.it let me take a stab in
the dark . You probably didn't have
passive same-sex male parents, did
you?
Hank: (SHEEPISHLY.) Well, no. I
didn't want to mention this before,
but one of my parents was actually -
how can I put it delicately? I'll just
say it. He was assertive.
Uncle Fred: Oh, my God! I knew it.
I just knew it. The same patterns
repeat themselves over and over
again in the broken men who come to
me. To act in an assertive way
around you is nothing short of child
abuse. That's what it is all right,
child abuse, plain and simple. Oh,
my boy, the trauma, the trauma. But
that's why I'm here. That's why
Uncle Fred's Ex-Straight Ministries
International is here. I'm here to help
men like you leave the sinful, wanton
heterosexual lifestyle. I'm also here to
combat the unrestrained immorality
that has overtaken this country - may
God's hand spare this nation. Why,
just the other day, I heard that some
California judge appointed a child to
a. heterosexual couple! Can you
believe it? Son, I say, son, that just
turns . my stomach. But let us
continue. Now, tell me about your
first heterosexual encounter.
Hank: Do I really have to?
Uncle Fred: Oh, yes, my boy. Oh,
yes. But first let me tum on the t<1pe
recorder. I wouldn't want to miss a
single detail, not a one. (UNCLE
FRED TURNS ON THE TAPE
RECORDER.)
.Hank: OK, here goes. I was a
freshman in college at the time, I was
able to resist Satan until then.
Uncle Fred: Splendid! That's a big
point in your favor. You're going to
be just fine, my boy, just fine.
Hank: It happened after the freshman
Christmas dance. Cindy and I
were walking home, and we passed
by the Wilson's vacant barn. I don't
quite know how it all began, but we
decided to look inside the barn. We
sat on this pile of hay and talked - just
talked - until - well - I don't know.
(HANK BECOMES MORE AND
MORE EMBARRASSED.) I reached
over my hand and held hers. Uncle
Fred, it was so soft. She squeezed
back. And then it happened. We
ended up having heterosexual intercourse.
Uncle Fred: No!
Hank: Yes! And worst of all, I liked
it!
Uncle Fred: Nol Didn't you know .it
was wrong?
Hank: Of course I knew it was
wrong, but by that time, Satan had
invaded my heart. All I could think
about were · her two oval-shaped
breasts and her wide ruby red lips.
All I could th.ink about -
Uncle Fred: (HOLDING HIS STOMACH.)
OK, OK, I get the point, boy.
I get the point.
Hank: Since that time, I've had many
other encounters. But, of course, only
in back rooms and alleys where
people of my kind frequent. My
undoing was six months ago when an
undercover female cop lured me into
one of the city bathrooms. The
moment I touched her breasts, she
arrested me. I've spent the last six
months in prison. That's where I
heard about your ex-straight ministry.
Why, I had never heard of such
a thing. It was something I had been
praying for all my life. Ever since I
heard about you, I've been trying to
change. On a good day, I can
actually lisp. And just last week, a
friend told me that he actually noticed
a slight swish when I walk. I've seen
every Bette Davis movie a hundred
times trying to copy her mannerisms.
Uncle Fred: Any luck?
Hank: Not really. (ALMOST TO THE
POINT OF TEARS.) I try for Bette
Davis, but all that comes out is Fred
McMurray.
Uncle Fred: Not only is it unnatural,
but heterosexuals will stop at nothing
to trap young people into following
the straight lifestyle. As a matter of
fact, that's the reason straight people
have so many children. They can't
recruit, so they have to reproduce.
Now, let me check in with you, my
boy. How are you doing? Are you
strong enough to take the first step in
our ex-straight program?
Hank: Uncle Fred, I couldn't be more
ready. ·
Uncle Fred: I'm proud of you, Hank.
Here's where it really begins. Beginning
tonight, you'll sleep with a pair
of men's briefs under your pillow.
And tomorrow, you'll carry a pin
with you at all times. That way,
whenever you feel even the slightest
attraction to the opposite sex, you can
stick yourself to bring you out of
Satan's spell. You've had a hard day,
and I want you to get a good night's
rest, but before I let you go, I want to
say a prayer for you. It's time to
speak that prayer of healing to our
Lord and Savior the Christ Jesus, the
Almighty One. (UNCLE FRED
ST ANDS AND POSITIONS HIS
HANDS ON TOP OF HANK'S HEAD
AND PRAYS.) Hocus pocus, dominocus,
being gay will be your
primary focus! (UNCLE FRED LIFTS
HIS HANDS, AND HANK SHAKES
HIS HEAD AS IF WAKING UP.)
Well, my boy? Well, it is working?
Hank: (ST ANDING UP, SPEAKING
IN A BETTE DA VIS VOICE.) What a
dump! Let's get out of this rat hole
and go shopping! (HANK REACHES
FOR A PURSE, TAKES OUT A PAIR
OF WHITE GLOVES AND PUTS
THEMON.) .
Uncle Fred: (WILDLY WAVING HIS
ARMS IN THE AIR.) Fabulous!
Fabulous! It's another victory of our
Lord and Savior the Christ Jesus, the
Almighty One. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Hank: Let's not dawdle, Fred
dawling. I'm just dying to get a new
pair of pumps to matcl1 the outfit I'll
be wearing tomorrow.
Uncle Fred: There's a cute little shop
down the street that has just what
you're looking for. But before we go, .
let's tell the girls about your healing.
Hank: (ARMS AROUND EACH
OTHER, WALKING OUT THE
DOOR.) Do lets! . Free at last. Free
at last. · Thank God, Almighty. I'm
free at last!
Second Stone-Nov~ber/December, 1992-[ll]
...................................I..n.P r.i.n...t. ....... ......................
The DysfunctionalC_ hurch
By Rev. Richard B. Gilbert
ContributingW riter
The Dysfunctional Church: Addiction
and Codependency in the Family of
CatholicismM, ichaelH . Crosby,a uthor.
Notre Dame Press, 1991.
I rriade a mistake starting this
book when I did. It was 4 a.rn.
and I had just dragged home
from the hospital after being
called out to minister to a patient and
her family at the time of her death. It
wasn't just t!'te tragedy of this death
that set me off, but because this was
another middle-of-the-night ministry
added to my already overloaded
schedule because the priest-refused to
come in. He not only refused in a
most forceful and abrasive way, but
argued, ""I have already anointed her
and there is nothing I can do.""
Too tired to sleep, too soon to dress
and go to work, I picked up this
book. It both fed my anger and
tempered it as I read, '1t is my contention
that the 'deadly disease;
undermining the church.in our day is
the addiction of-the papacy and its
extension in the hierarchy to the preservation
of the male, celibate, clerical
model of the church.' This has happened
in a way that has takeri a hold
of all the limbs of many of us in such
a manner that -our codependency has
Was St. Paul gay?
become diagnosable as well ... (It) has
been observable and progressive, is
manifest in repeated symptoms, and
that, unless drastic action is taken,
will prove deadly ... "" (p. 7)
With these strong words I began
my reading of a scholarly, prophetic,.
and , yes, very pastoral account of a
struggling community within the
Christian family, a family in need of
healing and redirection.
It is essentially a book of three
parts. Throughout the three parts the
message· and agenda are clear. ""Since
part of addiction is to make its patterns
of thinking, feeling and acting
normative, some outside norm for
right order must be found."" (p.9)
The first section is very heavy
reading. Relying very heavily on
some of the current books on addiction
and dysfunction (the book has
very excellent bibliographic notations),
the first section is both a
scholarly definition of dysfunction set
within the framework of the religious
community, and a parallel discourse
on church history as a pattern of
feeding the dysfunction. It is heavy
reading. While it is quite scholarly
and powerful, the average religious
leader or parishioner might not be
willing to tackle such heavy reading,
and thus miss the invitation to
freedom.
Throughout the heavy reading the
A bishop's daring idea
By William L. Day
ContributingW riter
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism,
John Shelby Spong, ,!.uthor.
Harper, San Francisco, 1991.
A fter Jesus himself, St. Paul is
probably the most important
figure in Christian history.
. Called ""the Apostle to the
Gentiles.'' he is primarily responsible
for Christianity breaking away from
the Jewish church. His epistles provide
the first accounts of the early
history of the church. Although in the
New Testament they follow the four
Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles,
a number of Paul's epistles were
written first and probably influenced
the Gospels and Acts.
But Paul had a problem. He wrote
of it in terms that have led scholars to
speculate about what illness or other
physical failing he had - epilepsy,
perhaps? Spong sees Paul as a ""tortured
man"" (p. 113) and advances a
theory that may shock most
Christians. Paul, he suggests, was
battling his own sexuality - in this
case, homosexuality, a grievious
condition in view of Jewish teachings.
. Only the grace of God through Jesus -
unconditional love - enabled him to
live with his homosexuality.
'To me,"" Spong writes (p. 125), ""it is
a beautiful idea that a homosexual
male ... could nonetheless, not in spite
of this but because of this, be the one
who would define grace for Christian
people."" ·
Spong, a bishop of the Episcopal
Church in Newark, N.J., a few years
ago ordained a practicing gay man to
the priesthood. But except for the
chapter mentioned above, which
comes near the end of the book, he is
not concerned primarily with homosexuality
but rather, first, bringing
the results of modern Biblical scholarship
to show how the books of the
Bible came to be written and the
varying purposes they were meant to
serve and, second, to show how, in
spite of departing from long accepted
interpretations, the Bible becomes
richer and more meaningful in
[14Se]co ndS toncoNovember/Decemb1e9r9, 2
points are clear. Absolutism is a
symptom, using legalism and
dogmatism · to control people and
maintain power . ""When the leaders
define themselves as the only
teachers and truth as their teaching,
the hierarchy's interpretation becomes
the absolute legal norm. Despite the
lip service to the scriptures as the first
font of revelation, the second font,
tradition, de facto takes prededence .""
(p.11)
The second section is a tender,
honest diary of a man's journey
through childhood, the wrestling with
a call, albeit cluttered with the
dysfunction both of family and religious
community, and his struggle to
maintain a sense of faithfulness and
mission in a community which symbolizes
those dynamics, then often
stands in the way of them.
This diary is a painful revelation by
a beautiful person. It tells of a further
dysfunction common in the ministry,
of people entering the ministry for
the ""wrong"" reasons (""My father told
me to be a priest,"" ""My mother
thought one of us should be a nun""),
and yet God continues to speak and
work even through our brokenness.
Throughout this personal story and
struggle, you see a man corning to
the realization of what he now is
expressing in print, and being forced '
to examine his faith, his undertoday's
world when it is read with
honestly and reason in the light of
modern science and research.
Spong sees the Christian community
perilously divided between funda.
mentalists afraid of the truth and
postmodern secularist liberals who
""because of the habits of a lifetime,
still relate to religious institutions at
nominal levels, even though they
find no real sustenance there"" (p.
134). He sees no future for Christianity
unless essential Christian truth
""can be extracted from the phenomenalistic
. framework of the ancient
past.''
Those who have left their churches
standing of the church, and what this
all means for the ordained ministry.
He reminds us, 'The institutional
church represents a dysfunctional
family system in contrast to a
functional one. It is closed rather than
open; it functions to meet a few key
members' personal needs rather than
all members' basic needs; its rules
operate to keep the system closed by
reserving power to only a few in
contrast to functional family rules that ·
operate to maximize all the members '
potential. In a dysfunctional family,
roles become identified with persons,
continually getting enacted in a rigid,
anxious manner, functional family
rules distinguish the role from the
person, are invoked only when
needed, and then in a relaxed,
flexible way."" (p. 101)
The closing section is the statement
of a commitment from a man who
recognizes his call in a new way, who
claims his brokenness is a community
of broken people, and now senses his
call to move forward, to .reach out,
SEE DYSFUNCTIONAL, Page 18
In Print, briefly. ..
TinyS tories
L'IDennisC iscel, an AIDS and HIV
prevention trainer and case worker,
has gathered his poetry about AIDS
and some of the people we have lost
into TinyS toriesi,l lustratedb y David
Swim. Ciscel is a poet who performs
frequently in Austin, Texas, and
received a grant from the Austin Arts
Commissiotno producet he book.
-FromP lainV iewP ress(,5 12)441-2452.
Outo ft heB ishopC'sl oset
L'TI he daring coming-outs tory of a
Mormon High Priest returns in a
paperback Second Edition. Author
Antonio A. Feliz presents a story of
healing and forgiveness. Malcolm
Boyd called Feliz, ""a bearer of
theological promise and spiritual
hope to Lesbians and gay men who
have wrongly suffered rejection and
betrayal in the name of God.""
-FromA lamoS quareP ress
or who have sat in the pews ""
questioning what they hear from the
pulpit or lectern may find here the
answers they have been seeking. In
one way, the book is. a sequel to his
earlier work, Living in Sin? A Bishop
Rethinks Human Sexuality, which
evoked an outcry from traditionalists.
Religioann dS piritualitAy :
Checklisotf Resourcefosr
Lesbian&s.G ayM en
L':.ThGe ay and LesbianT ask Forceo f
theA mericanL ibraryA ssociationh as
compileda listo f 195b ooks,5 1 organizations,
and 44 periodical publications
dealingw ithr eligiona nd homosexualityT.
he 17-pagel ist is available
for$ 3.00,p ostpaid.
-FromG LTFC learinghouscelo, Office
for Outreach Services, American
Ubra,yA ssociatio6n0, EastH uronS t,
ChicagoIL, 60611.
I doubt if they will like this book. Its
interpretations are amply supported
by footnotes, a bibliography, and an
extensive index.
In Print ............... ......... ~ .............. -· .. .
Catholic guilt
Gay and Still Catholic: A Journey Home
By Johnny Townsend
Contributing Writer Catholic guilt is the main
theme of Leo Giovanni's
autobiography Gay and Still
Catholic: A Journey Home.
Such guilt rears its head on page one,
and it stays reared for another
hundred and fifty pages. It is not ii
subtle note but is slammed into the
reader over and over and over again,
not just once a page, but twice, even
three times a page. After a couple of
dozen pages, it starts to get old, but
one things is always clear, and that is
that th.is account of deep turmoil rings
true.
In Print, briefly ...
Daring to Speak
Love's Name
D.A gay and· lesbian prayer book,
banned from publication by the Arch•
bishop of Canterbury, was scheduled
to be in print as Second Stone goes
to press. .
-From the Lesbian and Gay .Christian
Movement, Oxford House, Derbyshire
St., London, England E2 6HG.
Brother to Brother:
A black gay anthology
t:,. Editor Essex Hemphill presents a
book by and about black gay meri.
""My hope is that Brother to Brother
will continue to reach new aud1•
ences,"" says Hemphill, ""to affirm and
empower not only black gay men, but
Gays and Lesbians generally who
have long felt persecuted by heterosexual
society and its narrowly
defined definitions of what gender,
sexuality, and identity are to be, how
such is to be constructed, and who
has the right to claim his or her own
humanity from the chaos.""
-From Alyson Publications
Writer's resource updated
!:,.Putting Out:: A Publishing Resource
Guide for Lesbian & Gay Writers, a
1991 reference book with over 250
book publishing, newspaper, maga·
zine, journal, and theatre markets for
lesbian and gay writers and playwrights,
has just been updated with a
1992/93 supplement listing more than
95 new markets. The supplement
retails for $4.95, or is included at no
extra charge when ordered with the
original edition, $12.95. ·
-From Putting Out Books, 2215-R
Market St.,# 113, San Francisco, CA
94114, (415)621-5766.
Certainly, there were many times I
wanted to grab the author (who uses
a pseudonym to protect his family)
and shake him. I wanted to slap him
and say, ""Get over it already!"" but
unfortunately, I remembered that my
own non-Catholic coming out was
almost as guilt-ridden, and probably
many readers of many religious backgrounds
can identify with the author 's
story, particularly those who still
haven't fully re conciled their sexuality
and religion yet.
Giovanni praises himself as an
intellectual and yet there are several
hilariously irrational scenes throughout
the book, such as when he tries to
avoid feeling guilt for masturbating
by having sex with a female friend,
or when he wants to avoid the guilt of
Each person must
ultimately be responsible
for his or her own actions,
but actions are performed
in a context, an:d he shows
how Catholic teachings
against Gays which supposedly
are supposed to
help them ""better"" themselves
cannot do anything
except bring not only
misery to them but also act
as a direct cause of
creating more sin,
not less.
a gay sexual encounter and so repeat edly
visits a series of female prostitutes
. He candidly admits that
many of his first gay sexual
encounters were not mutual - he
experienced his orgasm and ran
home, leaving the other fellow
behind . Giovanni certainly cloes not
come across as much of a hero, and
the whining on top of it gets increasingly
hard to take as the story
progresses . He also comes across as
possessive and demanding of his
friends, and so little information is
given about other facets of his life that
despite his disclaimer on this point,
he does end up depicting himself as
overly obsessed about sex.
However, · Giovanni does a
reasonable job of convincing the
reader that many of his negative
ideas and negative behaviors were
inevitable given Catholic teachings .
Each person must ultimately b e
responsible for his .or her own actions,
but actions are performed in a
context, and he shows how Catholic
teachings against Gays which
supposedly are supposed to help
them ""better"" themselves cannot to
anything except bring not only
misery to them but also act as a direct
cause of creating more sin, not less.
Giovanni takes us slep by
painstaking step through his very
long corning out process, quoting
letters from priests and nuns, portions
of his own letters and journaf entries,
some of his prayers, and anything
else to give us insight into how he felt
at the time (the late 1960's and early
1970's). Unfortunately, all too often I
felt I was .reading the exact same
information over and over again . He
is thorough, there is no doubt, but
. almost too thorough to be readable.
If, however, a non-gay Catholic
would read Giovanni 's story, she or
he would be hard-pressed not to
believe that the man honestly did
everything in his power to change his
sexual orientation, and that in itself is
enough value for the story. Perhaps
the book is most powerful then for a
non-gay audience, and yet few non~
gays who are not already sympathetic
would be likely to ever pick it up.
Still, evidence is there, evidence in
the forr_ of one long, detailed case
history, and every little bit helps .
There are certainly more readable
accounts of gay Catholic struggle, but
until the message gets through, it
must be told again and again, until
someone's voice is really heard.
Perhaps what I find repetitious and
gl!ilt-sodden (up until the last 20
pages, not enough to get rid of the
negative aftertaste) will be the voice
that reaches someone else. At the
very least, I see one more gay
Catholic who is finally at peace, and
that is almost enough to have made
the reading worthwhile .
VIRGINIA RAMEY MOLLENKOTI
Out from
A well-known EvangeRcal feminist shares th.e
story of her own journey to greater spiritual awareness.
""I have always found Virginia one of the most irenic
and spiritually reconciling voices in the feminist
movement. Virginia shares with us the deepest
secrets of her striving to be one with the Spirit . The
chapters dealing with reconciliation and forgiving one's enemy
will, I believe, become spiritual classics:' -JOHN J. McNEILL,
author of Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays
""Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, trusted and beloved evangelical
lesbian feminist, builds new bridges of intellect, spirit and
psyche, helping everyone cross over from oppression to
liberation:' -MARY E. HUNT,
author of Fierce Tenderness: A Feminist Theology of Friendship
$12.95 paper
At bookstores or call 1-800-937-5557
CROSSROAD
370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Second StoneeNovember/December, 1992. [I[]
·,
I
Essay· T . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . ...............................
Part of me died earlier this
year, on the day that my 76-
year-old grandfather passed
away in California, half a
continent away. With the news of his
death came the creeping revelation
that I would never again have the
chance to know the Gramps who took
me bird-watching as a child, who sent
me lizard skins and porcupine quills,
and gave me books.
Gramps died in a nursing home,
from Alzheimer's and a myriad of
infections, with only a nurse at his
side.
Before that - long before - I knew
this man as my brilliant grandfather;
a rattlesnake catcher and strawberry
grower, an anesthesiologist, horticulturist,
nonconfonrust, workahohc and
inventor. This man filled many roles,
but one role he rarely played, however,
was a doting grandfather.
sroNcWALL Rtors
The giver of lizard skins, porcupine
quills, and a sense of wonder
BY KEVIN GEPFORD
""Can't fritter away my time"" was the
motto of his New Hampshire heritage.
·
Now I struggle with conflicting
memories of him . Th9se memones
paint him as an aloof eccentric, a man
who alienated · nearly everyone he
knew - even his family. As I grew
BY ANDREA NATALIE
up, Gramps and I grew apart .. Whe~ever
I visited, in lieu of a relat10nsh1p
we would drive from his horrie in the
mountains outside Los Angeles into
the desert, or to Palm Springs and
Hadley Fruit Orchard. We neve r
missed driving to Loma Linda, where
he had worked and lived as a
Seventh-day Adventist physician,
and Forest Lawn Cemetery (where he
usually swiped chrysanthemum cuttings
from tombstones when Grandma's
back was turned, in order to root
a rare hue of blossom for himself).
In the final decade of his life (he
suffered stoma .ch cancer and diabetes
· before Alzheimer's came to stay)
Gra mps began to see life more
clearly. He slowed · down a little. He
retired, and began creating a new
garden on two acres of a cool mountainside
overlooking Los. Angeles.
There, winter frosts killed hts
kumquats.
During those last years his eyes
also invaded my closet over the
thousands of miles that separated us.
· One day in a fit of senile rage he
announced to my mother that I was a
homosexual - long before I knew it
myself.
Now, with him dead, I feel we are
closer in a way. Seventh-day Adventists
believe that a person's soul dies
with their body, remembered only in
the mind of God untU the resurrection.
As an Epfscopalian, I don't
know which view of the afterlife I
prefer. I suppose it doesn't really
matter, for he lives on in memory. .
In my1nind, I hear him talk about
when he and Grandma joined the
Adventist Church just before they
were married on the coast of Maine.
He would talk about his mother
dying when he was nine years old,
his two brother s, and about when he
left New England for California.
There he supported two daught ers
and a wife while working his way
through medical school.
·liID Second Stone-November/December, 1992
He would tell me about his love for
traveling madly across the United
States, and his passion for plants, of
all kinds... About how he loved
people, but could never find a way to
say what he really felt.
He loved growing things more than
people 'though, for they would accept
care o~ terms that he gave it without
grumbling, and they always
flourished . He would tell me about
his frustration with the changing
times, the theological conflicts and
declining standards he believed were
devouring the Seventh-day Adventist
church he had loved since his youth. .
Yes, Gramps would want to know
why I spent a year in colleg_e overseas;
why I chose a career m Journalism,
how I met my lover, and
about our two cats (he hated cats) and
our little white house with green
shutters in Chattanooga.
This, of course, is the Gramps I
never knew. Perhaps someday we
will meet again, but ll)y last image of
him is in a hospital bed with tubes
extending from every orifice of his
body. He does not recognize me - his
gay (and only) grandso1,1 - nor his
own wife of 51 years with still-red
hair .
An hour before death, his mind
clears. He sees the late afternoon sun
streaming through th e window, and
rises from bed. He wanders down
the hallway and out the door,
searching for an ice cream cone.
Suddenly the cloud . descends again.
He stops, gown flapping in the
breeze, and realizes he's lost. He
can't remember where he is going, or
where he come from. He can't
remember who he is. Suddenly, he
realizes he is still trapped in his bed.
When he looks down, he sees IV
tu bes running from his arm; the
doctor has become the patient. The
foot of his bed is being lifted by the
nurse . to help with circulation. Voices.
Shapes. Does he know these people
hovering around lum? He II ask
later and for now he dozes off, his
left hand, so thi11, hanging by the
wrist over the side of the bed.
The voices drift away. There is
silence. And then he dies with only a
nurse to observe his passing.
Kevin Gepford is the former editor of the
SDA Kinship Connection, a monthly
newsletter for gay present and former
Seventh-day Adventists. He attends the
Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism in New York.
JusOt ut T . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Moody peek into Harlem Renaissance
Looking for Langston
Water Bearer Films, under an exclusive
agreement with Jane Balfour
Films of London, has licensed for the
home video rights to Isaac Julien's
previously unavailable film, Looking
for Langston. The video marks the
sixth release in Water Bearer Films
line of ""Festival Favorites"" for the gay
and lesbian community.
Langston Hughes is considered
America's premiere Afro-American
poet. Writing during the time of the
Harlem Renaissance, Hughes was
able to capture the mood and texture
of the first great cultural ascension of
the Afro-American movement in this
country. Today, Hughes' work is
required reading for many public
and private schools across the nation.
Isaac Julien's first feature film,
Looking for Langston, pre-dates his
most current theatrical feature, the
critically acclaimed Young Soul Rebels.
The film is a musing meditation on
the black poet. Across its multitextured
elements, the film reclaims
Langston Hughes .as an important
Shop at home for His & His,
Hers & Hers items
Need gay or lesbian-themed printed
products? Couples and individuals
no longer have to feel compromised
or intimidated by less than cooperative
printers when planning a
special event. A new shop-at-home
service makes purchasing printed
materials like Holy Union announcemen
ts, party invitations and
imprinted napkins easy and affordable.
Smith Cordeiro Advertising, a
lesbian-owned printing and advertising
agency, has developed a mail
order division that handles such
products. ·
In addition, the company has
developed a His & His / Hers & Hers
catalog featuring imprinted towels,
robes, bed linens, aprons and an
assortment of other personalized
items for gay men and Lesbians.
Smith Cordeiro Advertising has
pledged that a percentage of the proceeds
from orders will be donated to
the AIDS programs of Metropolitan
Community Charities. For a catalog
write to SCA, 5838 54th Ave. North,
St. Petersburg, FL 33709 or call toll
free, 1-800-952-7520.
· Do gay anfi les.bian Christians kee·p
candles in the bathroom?
The Seventh-day Adveniist Kinship
International took an informal and
anonymous·poll during its Kampmeeting
last July. Over 100 people
attended the meeting. Those responding
to the poll answered in
this way:
I am in a relationship: 40
Not in a relationship: 23
Don't care to be in a relationship: 3
Are celibate: 3
·snore: 14
Have a tattoo: 3
Read the Bible regularly: 24
Have been gay-bashed: 10
Are thinking of having children: 21
Have pierced ears: 18
Have body piercing
other than ears: 2
Are artists: 17
Are the oldest: 23
Are the middle child: 17
Are the youngest: 22
Are the only child: 3
Have Latino heritage: 4
Have African-American heritage: 8
Have Asian heritage: .6
Have Jewish heritage: 2
Were student missionaries: 11
Earn less than $15,000 a year: 11
Earn more than $100,000 a year: 4
Have gay .or lesbian siblings: 11
Were· missionary's kids: 6
Were pastor's kids: 8
Have attempted suicide: 16
Were abused as a child: 12
Have ex-lovers who are straight
(or think they are): 10
Have been married to a member
of the opposite sex:· 9
Have children: 5
Are HIV positive: 6
Have been tested for HIV: 34
Are transgendered/transsexual: 1
Have candles in the bathroom: 23
Have ever lived outside
the U.S.: 28
Have . ever been pregnant: 4
Live where there is no
""established"" gay community: 9
Are bisexual: 2
Have issues of addiction: 18
Are incest survivors: 11
Have resolved issues of
homosexuality and the Bible: 51
Have not resolved such issues: 17
Are carnivores: 35
Ar_e out to parents: 41
-Connection
black gay voice in American culture.
Enlisting the poetry of Essex
Hemphill and Bruce Nugent and
dedicated to the memory of James
Baldwin, Looking for Langston is a
lyrical exploration of black and white
gay identities. Original footage of the
Cotton Club during the 1920's and
period blues numbers set the scene
for this examination of attitudes
toward homosexuality then and now.
Moodily dramatized scenes of
Hughes in a re-imagined Cotton Club
are interspersed with fascinating
RECONCILING,
From Page 8
referenda that was pusl1ed by socalled
Christian groups in Oregon
and Colorado are all evidence of the
extreme hostility being directed at
lesbian, gay and bisexual persons
today. Reconciling Congregations
seek to counter that message with one
of hospitality and love.""
The seven new Reconciling
Congregations are: Mayfair UMC,
Chicago; UM Church of Osterville,
■
archive footage depicting the Harlem
Renaissance period. Striking black
and white images pervade the
drama: elegant and atmospheric
smooch-dancing; two lovers holding
each other; and Robert Mapplethorpe's
photos of black men, all
projected in sharp contrast with the
intruding reality of sirens, the threatening
Ku Klux Klan-like thugs, the
police and the pounding disco beat of
""Can You Feel It?""
Massachusetts; First St. John's UMC,
San Francisco; First UMC of Corvallis,
Oregon; Trinity UMC, Austin, Texas;
Fair Oaks UMC, California; and the
Wesley Foundation UCLA. The
Reconciling Congregation Program
began in 1984 and now includes 60
Reconciling Congregations, 4 Reconciling
Conferences, and numerous
other ""reconciling"" groups in the
UMC.
■
Let a new light
shine for someone
you love·.
Second Stonei s a gift of love, comfort,i nspirationa nd
resolution for friends and family who may be in doubt,
despair, isolation or suffering illness. Give the special
people in your life the gift of Second Stone. We'll take
ft from there.
FROM,
Yes ... .,_
Please send a gift ......
subscription and card <lty ... 7.lp
in my name to the Name
person(s) listed: Addrus
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Use additional sheet for more gifts. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182
■ ■
Second Stone•November/December: 1992 [IZ]
y Calendar .................................. .......................................
I11e following announcements have been
submitted by sponsoring or affiliated
groups.
5th Annual
Creating Change
NOVEMBER 13-15, The Natio nal
Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy
Institute presents its.annual national
. conference for gay and lesbian organizing
and skills building. The Los
Angeles Airport Hilton is the setting.
For information contact Creating
Change 1992, National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute,
173414th Street NW, Washington,
DYSFUNCTIONAL,
From Page 14
and to minister, yes, even in a family
that will work very hard to resist
him.
This is a powerful book, rich in
definitions, insight into matters of
faith and practice, and historical bases
to understand many of today's
problems within the church. It is
heavy reading, but well worth it. It
Wcm1ingtonlJ<?
APRIL 25, 1993
DON'TMISS
'DDSONE!
DC 20009-4309, (202)332-6483, TTY
(202)332-6219.
Common
Boundary Annual
Conference
NOVEMBER 13-15, Common
Boundary presents its 12th annual
conference at the Hyatt Regency
Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
""Invisible Threads: Exploring the
Fabric of Our Relationships"" is the
theme for this one -of-a-kilid gathering
of therapists, artists, educators and
spirit ual teachers. Participants are
is essential reading for Roman
Catho lics if they are to understand
areas of concern and struggle, and
then seek the gifts of faith and Spirit
to change the course of things. It is
equally essential reading for other
Christians so that we can better
understand and support our broth e rs
and sisters in faith. In the case of
non-Roman Catholic dergy, espe cially
chaplains, it is crucial reading
for us if we are to better serve Roman
Catholics in our care, and maybe
lessen our sense of anger and
exasperation when we have our next
conversation with a ""non-cooperative""
priest.
One final note. In writing this as a
Lutheran, I remind myself that, while
much of this story and the history it
records is uniquely Roman Catholic,
the Roman Catholic community does
not have a comer on the dysfunction
market. Whenever control, power
and its resultant brokenness stand in
the way of the symbols of faith
(wholeness, wellness, freedom), we
have work to do, pain to address,
problems to resolve. It is a book
equally helpful in forcing me to
address the dysfunction in my own
denomination, and in my own
ministry.
Accommodations, AIDSMIV rMOurcu, bus, bookltorN, vartous buslnMNS, hutth care, legal
urvlcN, organlutlono;publlcatlons, ,.11g1oua groupo, owtlchboards, lhefaplats, lnlnl ■gonts, &
much more, tor gay women and men.
All prices - INCLUDE FIRST CLASS POSTAGE'> USA,~ & Moxk:o,.ln-od , cisaaet
envelopes. t.'alllng Nsts •• ..ic:tty c:anlldenlal.
Orders tom ausldo USA (Including ~ & Mexico): payment must be In US Funds payable on a US bank.
a by PmtOfllcea American Express money crda'. (We-tyou-ry alOcal bookstlflfirs~ ID avoid
poo~bll Custcml problemsQ
US/CANADA.~ and USA"""" women & men. Cit)' by di)' lnlcrmatlon """"alt us Slates, C8nadian
P!'7iincos, and Ile US Virgin 1-. plus ra11onwido ,...,.,.ces lnckxtlng~s ol rational
aga,lzatlons end awcusos; ~a,s; mail orda< a,mpenles, otc. $12.00; OUlaldl N. Amorlca $17
(afrmal)
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY. NY & NJ; separata Women's Section; IJanhattan bar notes by Jerry Fitzpa,id<.
$5.00; - N. Amorlcl $8 (■lrm■ IQ
5O\ITHERN/Soulhom Mldwut. 64 pages. AL. AZ, AR, Fl. GA, KS, KY, LA, MS, P.O, NM, NC,OK, PR. SC.
TN, TX, us Virgin lslalds, VA. $5.00; outside N. ArMrlca $8 (alrmal)
NORTHEAST. CT, DE, DC, ¥E, Ml\, NH, OH,f'A, RI. VT, WI/. $5.00; ouslde N. America $8 (almullij
RENAISSANCE HOUSE, BOX 533-SS VILLAGE STAIDN, NEW YORK, NY 10014-0292 (212)674-0120
f i8: Second Stone•November/December, 1992
~ ---·
invited to come and explore interconnectedness
through music, art,
dance, movement and the spoken
and written word. For information
contact Common Boundary, 4304 East
West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814,
(301)652-9495.
Ghost Ranch
Retreat
NOVEMBER 19-22, ""Who's God?
Whose God?"" will provide an opportunity
to enjoy community, express
doubts, explore faith and understandings
of God from various
perspectives, in the beauty and
serenity of Ghost Ranch, the
Presbyterian Conference Center in
New Mexico. Co-leaders are Rev. Lisa
Bove and Chris Glaser. For information
write to Ghost Ranch Center,
Abiquiu, NM 87510.
Intimacy
with God
JANUARY 7-10, 1993, This retreat for
gay men will explore how gay love
and gay spirituality contribute to
cultivating the experience of God's
love. The retreat process will include
presentations, dialogue, small group
work, prayer, play, and worship.
Facilitator is John McNeill, Catholic
priest, psychotherapist, co-founder of
Dignity, and author of The Church and
the Homosexual and Taking a Chance dn
God. Fee is $275.00. Kirkridge, a
mountain retreat center in Eastern
Pennsylvania, is the setting. For
information contact Kirkridge,
Bangor, PA 18013-9359, (215)588-1793.
Sixth National
Black Gay
and Lesbian
Conference
FEBRUARY 11-15, 1993, The Hilton
Hotel in Long Beach, Cal., is the
setting for ''Black Lesbians and Gays:
Building Bridges, Making
Connections,"" a conference to focus on
the inherent need to bridge the gaps
that separate around issues of gender,
race, and sexual orientation . Topics to
be discussed during the five day
conference include leadership,
culture/ arts, family /youth, heterosexism,
health, public policy, economics,
women's/ men's issues and
spirituality. For information write to
the Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership
Forum, 2538 Hyperion Ave., #7, Los
Angeles, CA 90027, (213)666-5495.
CMI
Conference '93
MARCH 4-7, 1993, Communication
Ministry, Inc., presents a conference
on 'The Goodness of Being Gay:
Spirituality for Lesbian and Gay
Religious, Clergy and Seminarians .""
Besides major addresses and celebratory
liturgies, workshops will
include: Celibacy as a Way of Loving,
Relationships in the Committed Life,
Corning Out, Formation Issues,
Aging/Middle Years, and Hiv
Positive. Conference fee.is $75.00. For
further information and pre-registration,
write to: CMI Conference
'93, P .O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125.
Connecting
families
MARCH 12-14, 1993, Laurelville
Mennonite Church Center is the
setting for the fourth Connecting
families retreat sponsored and
planned by Church of the Brethren
and Mennonite familes with gay or
lesbian members. For information
write to Brethren/Mennonite Parents,
P.O. Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802 or
Laurelville Mennonite Church
Center, Route 5, Mt. Pleasant, PA
15666.
Send calendar items to:
Second Stone
Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
or FAX to:
(504)891-7555
GETTING
LIFE
KThere is a fresh naivete in fl'oby Johnson's] style that rings
pleasantly in the ear, like the memory of a 'boy's hook'
enthusiastically devoured at age 12. Against the sour punk of so
much of today's gay male fictioo, Gelling Life in Pers,nclive is
IN
PER.5PECTIVE
DY TODY JOHNSON
a trcaL.. Muv Shaw, 8.A.R.
Getting Life in
Perspective
from Lavender Pr8S6
Toby Johnsoo 's spiriwally-lhemed gaynovels-G<llutg Life
in. Perspective & Lammy Award winner St.cret Matier- tell
entertaining, life-affirming stories with meaningful. even
uplifting, messages, sw~ characters, and happy endings.
They are fine examples of the gay-positive literature the whole
lesbian/gay literary industry came into being to promote.
Also look for The Myth of the Great Secret from Celestial
Ans. It is lhe story of Toby's spiritual friendship wilh renown
mythographer and modem day wise man Joseph Campbell.
For ordering lnfonnatlon, call Lberty Books 800 829 t279. Visa/MC/Oise
accepted. $1 D each fol1he two novels. $10.95 fOf Myth of the Gf9BI Sectsl.
S1.65P&H.(Texansadd8%tax).M~lto1014•8Nlamar,AustinTX78700.
'•
'
... ·• ...... .
Lewallen listed
in ""Who's Who in
Religion""
LIELINOR KIRBY LEW ALLEN, former
P-FLAG Federation president, is
listed in the 1992-93 Marquis edition
of Who's Who in Religion in America,
along with her personal tribute to the
""beautiful gay and lesbian people""
she has met in recent years. Lewallen
was president of P-FLAG in 1987-88
and chaired the group's task force on
religious issues from 1988-92. She has
also .had a leadership role with the
Rocky Mountain Conference of the
Methodist Church.
Toby Johnson elected
to board of Joseph
Campbell Library
LIGA Y ACTIVIST, no ve list and religious
writer Toby Johnson was welcomed
as the ne w est member of the
Board of Govenors of the Joseph
Campbell Archives and Library at its
October 17, 1992 meeting, announced
Barbara McClintock, Executive Director.
The library, located at Pacifica
Graduate Center near Santa Barbara,
Cal., houses the personal library,
research notes, and collection of religious
artifacts and memorabilia of the
noted scholar of religions Joseph
Campbell, who died in 1987.
Toby Johnson was a student of
Campbell's in the 1970s. Jolmson, 47,
a former Roman Catholic monk and a
retired psychotherapist , is author of
three novels that present gay spiritual
attitudes he believes he has discovered
througi, the study of myth
and religion. Johnson's most popular
novel, Secret Matter, won a Lammie
Award in 1991 and his most recent
novel, Getting Life in Perspective, is a
romatic novel about gay spiritual
growth.
'Tm very happy to have been
invited to sit on the board of the
Campbell Archives. What a wonderful
opportunity ii is for me to help
keep alive his legacy, not because he
was so special himself, but because
we'd all be better off if more people
thought like him. Lesbians and gay
men would sure be better off. I""m
glad to be a gay presence on that
board.""
While Campbell had long had a
following among students of spirituality
and comparative religions, he
became widely known only after his
death when the PBS TV network ran
a series of conversations between him
and commentator Bill Moyers . The
series, 'The Power of Myth,"" has been
so popular many listener-supported
TV stations continue to broadcast it
regularly during funding campaigns
as an example of excellence in
television programming.
""Campbell's work ~uggests that
Noteworthy T . .................................................. .
religion has to be understood from a
prespective outside any one particular
tradition,"" says Johnson. ""What is
important and true in the various
religions aren't the particular doctrines
and dogmas but the indication
that there is more to life and awareness
than we usually think.""
With his lover of almost nine years,
Kip Dollar, Johnson runs Liberty
Books, a lesbian and gay bookstore in
Austin, Tex.
Toby Johnson, left, with his lover,
Kip Dollar
Task Force names
new director
LITHE BOARD OF the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute
has named Torie Osborn new
executive director of NGLTF and
NGLTF Policy Institute. Osborn, ·
outgoing executive director of the Los
Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community
Services Center, the nation's
largest gay organization, was selected
following an extensive nationwide
search. She succeeds Urvashi Vaid.
'The gay and lesbian movement is
coming into its own in the 1990s,""
said Osborn. ""Our issues are front
and center in the political and social
arena of this nation, whether from the
political attacks of the Far Right or
through the growing force of our
movement. NGLTF will continue to
be at the forefront .""
UCC group offers
groundbreaking
youth outreach
LITHE UNITED CHURCH Coalition
for Lesbian/Gay Concerns (UCCL/
GCJ, a -recognized group of the
United Church of Christ, has created
a new position as of October, 1992 to
serve the needs of bisexual, lesbian
and gay youtl,, and youths questioning
their sexuality. The national
youth outreach position has been
created through the Voluntary Service
Program of the United Church Board
for Homeland Ministries and is
funded by grants from the Carpenter
Foundation and the United Church
Board for Homeland Mnistries.
Gregory Anderson of Worcester,
Mass., the UCCL/GC's Coordinator of
Outreach to Youth and Young Adults,
will be responsible for participating
in workshops and speaking engage--
ments, ·developing resources for
youth, young adults, and youth
serving adults, networking with other ..
organizations providing bisexual, .
lesbian, and gay youth and young
adult outreach, and providing a
· listening ear ·to individuals in need.
Anderson was founder of Supporters
of Worcester Area Gay and Lesbian
Youth, a social and support group
serving the central Massachusetts
area. For information on this UCCL/
. GC youth program call (614)593-7301,
(716 )731-3271 or (508)755-0005 . .
Ministerial degree
program offered
LITHE INDEPENDENT Church of
Religious Science and Religious
Science Theological Seminary is now
offering ministerial degree programs
at its new location in East Long Beach,
Cal. The organization is also sponsoring
a 16-week cultural diversity
workshop presented by the Religious
Science Gay and Lesbian Council. For
information on ,he degree program or
the church, call (310)433-0384 or
(310)434-2194.
Harlan Wand
remembered
LIHARLAN F. ""HAL"" Wand's 64
years of life was celebrated with a
memorial service sponsored by Dignity/
Chicago on October 16. Wand
died following a stroke on August 20,
1992.
A Dignity member for over 20
years, Wand was a director at .large
on numerous Dignity/ Chicago
boards . He was elected _ secretary for
1982-83 and vice president for
1983-84. In 1984, the membership of
Dignity/Chicagc- voted to give Wand
the Jolm Michie Award for service to
the gay 'l,nd lesbian community.
Wand once edited the Dignity/USA
newsletter and, in 1981, ran for
national president of Dignity, losing
by only a few votes. He was the
founder of the Phoenix chapter of
Dignity.
Hal Wand was born May 15, 1928,
in Elizabeth, Illinois. For a tim e ,
Wand was a classmate of Joseph (now
Cardinal) Bernardin at St. Mary's
Seminary in Baltimore and was a
member of the first delegation from
Dignity/ Chicago to meet with
Cardinal Bernardin.
In recent years, Wand helped create
an organization called Legacy, for
lesbi'l.n and gay seniors. He also
served many years on the Gay and
Lesbian Interfaith Committee. In
1984, the Advocate named Wand one
of the 400 most significant contributors
to the gay and lesbian movement
in America.
Wand left behind a lover of 30
years, Patrick Ryan. As a result of an
early marriage, he als.9 leaves behind
a wife, a son, a daughter, afid two
grandchildren.
Harlan Wand, left, with Rev. John
McNeil
Good Shepherd MCC
celebrates 22 years
LIGOOD SHEPHERD Metropolitan
Community Church celebrated its
22nd anniversary in October. The
church was Chicago's first gay and
lesbian religfous organization .
Deborah Bell named
national facilitator for
March on Washington
LITHE NATIONAL OFFICE for the
1993 March on Washington for
Lesbian, Gay & Bi Equal Rights &
Liberation is up and running with the
appointment of Deborah Moncrief
Bell, a community activist and writer
from Houston, Tex., as National
Organizing Facilitator. She has over
25 years of experience working on ·
civil rights issues.
A true child of the 60's, Bell was
involved in civil rights and anti-Viet
Nam war efforts . She developed as a
feminist while a young mother of two
sons and was greatly influenced by
the International Women's Year
Conference held in Houston in 1977.
She berame active in NOW and has
served in several NOW positions.
The national office for the March on
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NW #705, Washington, DC 20005,
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WINNING, From Page 12
who was a Pharisee before his
conversion.
4. Jesus kept his firm foundation in
Scripture.
5. He refused to be drawn into the
methods and tactics of his enemies.
He did not seek to hurt or destroy
them.
. 6. He used .concrete examples (the
coin) that were easy to visualize and
understand.
7. Jesus used logic an d reason:
common sense.
8. Jesus knew his own purpose and
· could plainly declare his point of
view with complete assurance.
9. He used the scriptures with free•
dom, relevance and power. He had
mastered the content and meaning of
the Old Testament (22:29).
1(). Jesus refused to be manipulative,
like the Pharisees and Herodians
(22:18). Neither flattery (22:16),
ridicule (22:28), nor hostility could
shake Jesus' ""cool spirit."" He
honestly and openly faced his
opponents • even though it finally
led to the cross.
Matthew 23 contains the most harsh
condemnation of Jesus against religious
bigots found anywhere in the
gospels. Religious pride is the exact
opposite of the spirit of Jesus and is
thoroughly condemned in the seven
""woes"" of 23:13-36. Jesus observed
the preoccupation of the Pharisees
with unimportant details and said in
23:6-12:
And they love the place of honor at
banquets, and the chief seats in the
synagogues, and respectful greetings in
the market places, and being called
""Rabbi. "" But do not be called Rabbi
("" teacher""); for One is your Teacher, and
you are all brothers. And do not call
anyone on earth your father; (disciple
called rabbi ""father"") for One is your
Father, who·is in heaven. And do not be
called leaders; for One is your Leader:
Christ. But the greatest among you shall
be your servant (""deacon""). And whoever
exalts himself shall be humbled; and
whoever humbles herself shall be exalted.
The theme of humility versus pride
goes through the entire chapter. A
vivid conclusion is given in 23:27-28:
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed
tombs which on the outside appear
beautiful, but inside they are full of dead
bones and all uncleanness. Even so you
too outwardly appear righteous to other
people, but inwardly you are full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Then the judgment of 23:33, ""You
serpents, you brood of vipers, how
shall you escape the judgment (or
sentence) of hell?"" John the Baptist
had said much the same thing;
Matthew 3:7.
The chapter concludes with Jesus
weeping over the city that is left
desolate because its spiritual leaders
are corrupt and blind.
The blindness and hardheartedness
of religious bigots who condemn
Gays and Lesbians cannot be overlooked
or ignor ed. The religious
attacks against Gays and Lesbians
have gone too long without effective,
forceful and convincing response.
The most serious result of prolonged
religious attacks against Gays and
Lesbians is that Gays and Lesbians
have_ become convinced that they are
evil for being gay and have
condemned themselves and each
other!
Learn the content and meaning of
relevant Scripture. Love. Speak out.
Come out. Be part of the struggle for
truth. God loves you and wants you
to love yourself! Don't let anybody
take that from you! ·
ARE YOU
MOVING?
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_[2ftj' Second Stone•November/December, 1992",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,25,1992,"Nov/Dec 1992",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/7b700aa73212a498203cf8a43c769ec1.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1663,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1663,"Second Stone #26 - Jan/Feb 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,". • I
f AMERICA'.S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN-t4~WSJOURNAL , . . _ . :· . ,, - . . . ._ .. ~,. .' - ------. ,
- - . BUILDING -""-.COMIIIIUNITY
Voluntee rs bring
fa ith and mortar;
leave buildings·
BY CANDACE CHELLEW
and JIM BAILEY
esidents of a poor community in the
Dominican Republic have a new worship facility
thanks to labor donated by a group of 18 volunteers
from the Atlanta-based World Community Builders.
The group returned Nov. 30 after spending ten days
· assembling donated construction material into a worship
structure in El Tamarindo, a small village adjacent
to the capitol city of Santo Domingo.
The ministry of World Community Builders is
carried out through missionary work camps, where
volunteers offer their labor to help people in a foreign
culture wi th a construction project. Local leaders
determine the work to be done, which may be
construction of a church , school, clinic or orphanage,
the refurbishing of an existing structure, or assisting a
community clean up and recover after a natural
disaster. The organization is affiliated with the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches.
The organization's name was chosen to reflect the
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
MAKING A WCB Volunteer Helene Loper helps
DIFFERENCE: lay the foundation for a building in
a village in the Dominican Republic.
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--PATTY LABELLE
""It's ridiculous when they say
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T FrotmhEe ditoTr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....
Web egino urf ocuso nc ommunity
W 1TH TH IS EDITION, we begin a series of issues, perhaps all six for this
year, which will focus on community. I extend my call from the Nov/Dec
issue for your input on what community means to you - how you or people
you know are connected in some way to others in the gay community; how
you live and love together; and how you work toward common goals.
Our first look at building community is a report on a group that. actually
took that concept as its name - World Community Builders. Members of this
organization have just returned from the Dominican Republic where they
volunteered their time and labor to build the first MCC church structure
there. More such missionary- work camps are planned. (For information
contact WCB, 1120 Morley Ave., S.E., Atlanta, GA 30312.) We also report on
two Sacramento agencies who are helping people who are suffering with
AIDS - and are homeless . And then there is the story of Hutsville, a
community of homeless living in make shift huts in Atlanta. Within that
community there is another - homeless Gays who have taken up residence at
Hutsville. You'll be wondering what you can do for these folks as you read
this article. And then there's the surprising epilogue.
IntroducinSge conSd.t one'Cs ommuniFtyo rum
REV. STEVE FUND, director of World Community Builders, says his
organization came about as the result of a conversation with friends. Great
accomplishments always have their roots in a few people getting together and
discussing ideas. When was the last time you got together with a few people
just for the purpose of discussing ideas and concerns? With the belief that
one person can make a significant difference in a cQmmunity (and that that
person is you) and that great things do happen when caring people get
together, Second Stone in this issue puts forth our idea for community
building ... Second Stone's Community Forum. Modeled after Utne Reader's
Neighborhood Salons, our Community Forum is an opportunity for one
person - you - to connect a group of gay and lesbian Christians in your
community. The result may simply be good conversation; it may mean the
end of isolation for someone you reach out to; the result may even be a project
like World Community Builders (and your photo on the cover of Second
Stone?)
There may not be a place in your community where people can come
together just to talk and exchange ideas. Try putting a community forum
together. My feeling is that there are people in your community who will be
responsive - and appreciative! Second Stone will help you every step of the
way. (See page 16 about getting started.) We will have followup reports
(including what you tell us about your forum) and recommendations in issues
to follow.
Yourm ailboixs o ur"" suggestiobno x""
WE WANT TO do a good job with Second Stone. Have you noticed that there
is very little advertising in Second Stone? Practically all of our revenue comes
from readers, NOT advertisers. Your personal subscription, and your gift
subscriptions, pay for this publication. If we're not doing the job, don't give
us the silent treatment, which means waiting until renewal time - and not
renewing. Tell us now what you like, what your disappointments are, and
what you expect to see in Second Stone. We will hear you.
My very best to you during the new year!
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1993 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
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EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscripts to be
returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Second Stone
is otherwise not responsiblefor the return of any material. . '
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjoumal for the national gay and
lesbian community.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Andrea L T. Peterson, Mayne Ellis,
Johnny Townsend, Kevin Calegari, Candace Chellew
NOTE: The article ""Uncle Fred's Ministry"" in the Nov/Dec, 1992, issue was edited
without the permission of the author.
Contents
[[]
[I]
[[1
[[]
[8]
[ru
[20]
........................
From The Editor
Commentary
Unity is on the way, says Rev. Sam Kader
News Lines
Bishops, Queens & Pawns
Kevin Calegari, president of Dignity/USA
reflects on the Catholic Bishops Conference
Cover Story .
World Community Builders finishes first mission
camp in the Dominican Republic
Families
The late Rev. Sylvia Pennington'sla st article
written for Second Stone
The Gay Homeless
Nestled between two ,""straight neighborhoods""
of make shift shacks is the ""gay neighborhood""
In Print
Out of the Bishop's Closet reviewed by
Johnny Townsend; Sensuous Spirituality
reviewed by Andrea L. T. Peterson
Second Stone's Community Forum
Get to know the gay and lesbian Christians in
your neighborhood. Put on some coffee.
Calendar
Noteworthy
News about people, churches and groups
Classifieds
Second Stone•January/F!'bruary, 1993:[JJ
.. I
I
Comment .............. . ... ............................................... ·• ...... ·~
Unity is on the way
By Rev. Samuel Kader
Guest comment F or a few decades now, the
gay and lesbian Christian
community has acknowledged
Isaiah 56:3-5 as a
prophetic word regarding sexual minorities.
When the Bible mentions
sexual minorities it is not the arsenokoites
of I Cor. 6:9 (abusers of
themselves with mankind) referred
to, but the eunuchs of Matthew 19:12
and Isaiah 56:3. The eunuch of Isaiah
would try to say, ""Behold I am a dry
tree.""
Over centuries of oppression the
person of non-mainstream sexual orientation
begins to feel they've been
shut out of the church, and therefore,
spiritually speaking, are a dry tree.
They feel they will just wither and
die since so little of their contribution
to the church is accepted when their
secret is out. So often they are outright
rejected as persons of value and
worth when their orientation is
known.
But for 25 years or so, God has been
faithful to the promise to ""pour out
My Spirit on all flesh."" Not only has
there been revival in the non-gay
community during this century but
all flesh has been included as the Holy
Spirit has brought revival in the gay
community as well. From Isaiah
56:3-5 over the 1-ast 25 years, the
eunuch has grabbed the promise
which says, ""I will give them a name
which is better than that of sons and
daughters. Sons and daughters are
identified as the traditional non-gay
church members. We have been
comforted thinking somE\how God has
seen our plightand one day God will
give us a 'name better than that of our
oppressors. We have waited and
waited and waited.
In the meantime, in the rest of the
church world, the promise has been
that the miracles of the book of Acts
and in the Gospels would be restored
crusades took place in North America
and other parts of the world as well.
But unlike in the Gospels, when Jesus
had compassion on the multitudes
and healed them all, not every person
received a physical healing.
Some died. And in the last 20 years
people have been asking God,
""When will you do it again, like in
the book of Acts?"" One major key,
however, was that in the book of
Acts, the believers were all in one
accord.
. Does it seem like a miracle today
This same pastor from Pittsburgh
told the pentecostal pastors assembled
in Dayton that he had a problem
with people making statements like
""if God doesn't judge San Francisco
for its homosexuality, He'll have to
apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah ... ""
to the church. We likewise have held
-to that promise, and expect AIDS and
the other enemies of God to be made
God's footstool, to be put under the
feet of the church, Christ's body.
Beginning in the late 1940's
through the 1970's great healing
for the church to ever be in one
accord? People do not come into
unity about various doctrines, and
styles of worship. Yet they do come
together in the true church, around
the person of Jesus.
As a result, Jesus declared to the
The exultant misdiagnosis
By Johnny Townsend
. Guest comment P.n a Donahue show discussing
the marriage of two
Lesbians in Austin, Texas, a
woman in the audience
p to declare to the couple in
front of a nationwide audience, ""I
think you're sick!"" Then, smiling
broadly, she sat down again. The
camera focused on her for several
more seconds and returned to her
briefly a few more times during the
show. Always, she was smiling
triumphantly.
My question is if she really believes
her own opinion, why is she smiling?
What decent person would go up to
someone and, smiling happily, say,
""You have leprosy!"" or ""I think you
have cancer!"" or ""I know the truth!
You have the flu!"" If these people
who claim to sincerely believe
homosexuali ty is an illness are in fact
sincere, what does the fact that they're
gleeful about their opinion say about
them?
[I] Second Stone•January/February, 1993
A ""Christian"" on the same show
insisted that he loved Gays and.
Lesbians, but that out of love he was
also obligated to tell them the truth.
Is this love the basis for the smirking
expressions of those who are sensitive
and honest enough to know and
declare the truth? If the smile means,
'Tm so good and clever to have
figured this out,"" isn't the focus on the
wrong person?
Let's imagine this scene: a woman
goes from doctor to doctor with her
puzzling symptoms. No one can find
anything wrong. They tell her, •in
fact, that she is fine. But eventually
one doctor does find something
wrong with her, by virtue of being
more clever than the other doctors.
""My dear,"" she says, smiling warmly,
""I'm happy to say I've discovered the
problem. You have an incurable,
terminal illness ."" And she smiles
even more broadly and sits down
without another word.
How would we feel if a doctor gave
us his diagnosis in this fashion?
Now let's consider a different
situation. A woman feels perfectly
healthy, but she has some odd symptom.
Perhaps she has gone prematurely
gray at the age of 20. She
dyes her hair for a few years so no
one will know, but eventually justs
lets the natural color show. Some
think she looks ""handsome,"" while
others think she looks awful. Some
tell her that it's simply a ni,ltural
phenomenon which happens to some
people. But one woman, with absolutely
no medical training, stops her
on the str<'!et and insists majestically,
""I think you're sitk!"" and walks off,
smiling as if she'd just won an award.
There are really two issues here.
The first is that it's awfully hard for
Gays and Lesbians to believe they're
sick when they feel · fine, and the
second is that it's hard for them to
accept that critics truly believe they're
ill either when they announce their
diagnosis in such an odd manner. In
fact, Gays and Lesbians are downright
mystified that heterosexuals can
believe such a ridiculous tactic could
have any effect on them. And they
first disciples, ""And other sheep I
have which are not of this fold.""
'Them also I must bring in, and there
shall be one fold and one shepherd
(John 10:16). He also revealed that
when the church comes together in
unity Gohn 17:21) then revival would
break out globally because the world
would believe that God sent Jesus.
So the promise to the eunuch to
have a name better than that of sons
and daughters is not isolated and
separated from sons and daughters.
For it also declares in Isaiah 56:5 to
the eunuchs who take hold of my
covenant, that ""even unto them will I
give in my house and within my walls
a place and a name better than that of
sons and daughters. The name God
gives us is not separated but within
the confines of the church. Amazing?
Too impossible? Amos 3:7 says the
Lord God will do nothing in the earth
except He reveals it to His servants
the prophets. So what are the
prophets saying?
On February 28, 1989, on the
Trinity Broadcasting Network, Rev.
Benny Hinn, pastor of the several
thousand member Orlando Christian
Center in Orlando, Florida, stated
that God showed him that the largest
revival to ever hit the earth was
going to come to our planet, splashing
on every continent. He said that
SEE COMMENT, Page 20
wonder if helping them is really a
goal for these exultant quacks in the
first place.
If ""helping the sick"" is truly the
motive for the diagnosis, perhaps
these self-appointed physicians need
to learn a more appropriate bedside
manner. After all, it's useless to have
knowledge that will never reach the
patient because the patient can find
no way to trust the doctor .
But still I can see the exultant face of
the woman on the Donahue show, the
foce of someone who believed she'd
actually done something positive by
making her claim. Was sill' smiling
victoriously becausl' slw had really
done anything usl'ful? Or Was sill'
just happy that slw had a w,1y of
""proving"" lwr supniority, of congratulating
lwrsl'lf on lwr own s,·xual
orientation, ·over which :slw hi\d no
control? Tlw qu,•slions r,1is1•d by
smiling critic:•; an• intriguing. Bui
al1no:·,l non{· of lhl' aw1w1·rH .in·
lwlpful to .1nyo11t.·i t ,,II.
T News Lines T
Presbyterian leader predicts ordination of gay ministers
llNON-CELIBATE GAYS AND LESBIANS will likely be admitted to ordained ministry
in the Presbyterian Church some time this year, the head of the denomin ation predicted.
The Rev. John Fife, the church's highest elected official, said the decision denying .Rev.
Jane Spahr the pastorate of a Rochester, N.Y., church would lead to a re-examination of a
14-year-old church policy barrini; sexually acti ve Gays and Lesbians from ordination . If
the policy doesn't cliange, Fife said ""Presbyterians are only going to be the know-nothing
party of prayer."" He made the comments while addressing students and faculty at
Princeton Theological Seminary.
-The Star-Ledger
Virginia Baptists won, exclude Gays
t.A CONVENTION OF VIRGINIA'S South e rn Baptists have decid e d that the
denominati on shou ld reach out to Gays and Lesoians . Repre sen tatives at the
association's two day m eeting rejected an amendm ent that would have excluded churches
that confirm, approve or end o rse homosexual behavior. -Associated Press
Christian, Jewish leaders: End military ban
llLEADERS OF THREE Christian denominations and a Jewish organization are urging
President-elect Bill Clinton to follow through on a campaign promise to end the ban on
Gays and Lesbians in the armed services. fn an open letter to Clinton, United Church of
Christ President Paul H. Sherry wrote , ""Refusal to induct a person into th e milita r)', or
discharg e of a person, solely on 'the basis of sexual orientation, is intol erable. "" President
C. William Nichols of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) , the United Church's
ecumenical partner , endorsed the letter, as did Bish op Melvin G. Talbert of the United
Methodist Church and Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, president of the Union of
American Hebrew Congreg ations. The letter says the military 's policy of discri mination
based on sexual orientation plays on the prejudices of civilians, encouraging ""other acts
of discrimination against gay and lesbian persons in our society which, at times, have led
to harassme nt, violence, even dea th ."" The r eligiou s leaders commended Clinton's
""cour ageo us commitment to end injustice in the military with regard to Gays and
Lesbians ."" They added ""we encourage you to fulfill your pledge as quickly and as clearly
as possible following your inauguration. ""
Southern Baptists ask Clinton to rethink stand on gay rights
llSOUTHERN BAPTISTS oppose a public policy that would add sexual orientation as a
protected status unde r civil rights laws, the head of the convention 's ethi cs agency said in
a lette r to Bill Clinton . ""We fear the wrath of God on our nati on if our gover nment
pursues this path,"" said Richard Land , director of the conven t ion's Cliristian Life
Commission, in a letter to the president-elect on Nov. 12. -Associated Press
Seven major demands outlined by March committee
llTHE SEVEN MAJOR DEMANDS for the 1993 March on W ashin gton were presented
by the Executive Committ ee at the Na tional Steering Committee meeting held in Denver on
October 3 & 4. The demand s bring focus and priority to the '93 March agen da. ""The
dem ands prior itize our fight for civil right s, access to health care, recognition of our
family relat1onsh1ps, ou r rightfu l mclus1on m educatio nal systems as well as our
commitmen t to fight racism ani:1 sexism,"" said a spokesperson for the committee.
Gav-friendly church censured
llTHE ORGANIZATION THAT GOVERNS Presbyterian churches in the Cincinnati
area ha s censured a chur ch th at permits Gays and Lesbians to b ecome deacons and
eld er s. Lea ders of the Presbytery voted by a mar gin of nearly 2-1 to censure the Mount
Auburn Presbyterian Church. The Rev. Harold Porter, pastor of Mount Auburn, said the
church rule forbidding th e use of Gays and Lesbians in church lead ership is unjust and
demeaning. -Associated Press
NC Baotists uoholdecision to oust churches
t.DELEGATES TO THE Nor th Carolina Baptist State Convention's annua l session
vot ed overw helmingly Nov. 10 to r eaffirm a decision by its governin g board to exclude
Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church, Chapel Hill, ani:I Pullen -Me!llonal Baptist
Church, Raleigh, for affirming the worth of gay and lesbian people. Speaking agams t the
motion, Tim Moore of Sham rock Drive Baptist Church in Charlotte reminded members
that the convention once exclud ed black churche s. -Associated Press
Malta Catholic priest suppressed for views
ll FATHE R MARK MONTEBELLO, 29, a Dominican priest who sai d in a radio
broadca st that Christ should have experienced the state of marriage for him self and that
if homo sexual couples loved each other in .the same way as heterose xuals th ey should
also be allowed to marry, has been banned by his Roman Catholic superiors from
speaking or writing about his views. Church officials said Montebello had drawn the
prohibihon for what officials said was misr epresen ting church teac hin gs, distortin g
biblical facts and scandalizing his audience. -GayNet
Norwegian politician comes out
t.ANDERS GAASLAND, the 24-year-old leader of the yout h organi _zation of Norway's
anti-gay Christian Democratic Party, came out on a nahonal telev1s1on news broadcast
October 17. Gaasland said he wanted to come ou t so he could help ot h ers m the same
situation as himself, an ambiguous statement th at may have meant that other lesbian and
gay P'?liticos in the_ country should follow .his examp le and come out. as we ll. Th e
Clirishan Democratic Party makes a d1stmchon between sexual on entahon and sexual
behavior in supportin g or opposing rif$hts measures, a distinct ion· Gaa.sl~nd said is
""artifici.a l"" in his eight-minute TV talk. If you t ake away a person's poss1b1hty to love
someone, t here isn't much left,'' he said. -GayNet
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Integrity calls for replacement of NCC delegates
t.THE NATIONAL BOARD of Integrity, in a special meeting on December 3, called for
the immediate replacement of the Rev. William Norgren as Ecumenical Officer of the
Episcopal Church and the replacement of four other members of the Episcopal delegation
to the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA with, among others,
""persons with ecumenical experience who are active in lesgay ministries in the Episcopal
Church."" Integrity's board also dissociated itself from the action by the majority of the
Episcopal delegation who opposed granting observer status in the NCCCUSA for the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. Norgren was the only
representative from a mainline denomination to speak in opposition to UFMCC s
application. Integrity claims that the delegation's vote violates ""the stated and
authoritative goal of. the [Episcopal] church"" which is to encourage dialogue with the
lesbian and gay community. Tlie Episcqpal delegation at the NCCCUSAignored the
mandates of several General Conventions encouraging dialogue, the Integrity resolution
said.
Gav help not needed, savs Nashville organization
t.AN ORGANIZATION OF NASINILLE churches has rejected the membership bid of a
small congregation of gay and lesbian people. ""Basically, we were taking the position
that the practice of homosexuality isn't consistent with Christianity,"" said the Rev. Bob
Jared, president of the East Nashville Cooperative Ministry board of directors. Jack
Gregory, a leader of the congregation of Dayspring Christian 'Fellowship, said the group
had sought membership to help with the organization's social work, but that Dayspring
accepted the group's decision and does not want to start a controversy.
-Associated /Yress
Far right working on new anti-gay measures .
MAR-RIGHT LEADERS connected with Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition have made
it clea r that Colorado's newly pas sed anti-gay Amendment 2 has become the model for a
state-by-state campaign that may eclipse abortion as its premiere issue for the next
several years. -GayNet
No gay unions, Episcopal clergy savs .
t.BISHOP A THEODORE EASTMAN, head o( the Epis.copal Church in Maryland, has
ordered the clergy not to follow the example of the Rev. William W. Rich, who blessed the
union of two women in_a cerem ony last summer. ""Because the Episcopal Church has made
no official provision for the blessing of same-gender covenants, and because there is
clearly no consen sus locally or on the wider scene about the significance of these rites, I
have directed the clergy of the Diocese of Maryland to refram from such blessings,""
Eastman said. The Rev. William N. McKeachie, rector of Old St. Paul's Episcopal Church,
Baltimore, critici ze d the bishop's reaction, saying that Eastman should ha ve more
strongly condemned the union. -Baltimore Alternative
•E mpathy is a journal that deserves our
.>uppon for the original and creative work it
does m the· interest of truth and justice.
;.f.. Rev. Malcolm Boyd, author of 23 books
including Are You Running with Me, Jesus?,
Takt Off the Masks, and Ga:y Priest
E mpathy provides a much-needed and
welcomed commu~ication link for persons
involved in education about homophobia. At its
best it will keep us informed and in t0uch,
supported and challenged, excited and proud.
a. Brian McNaught, lecturer and author of On
Being Gay: Thoughts on Family, Faith, and LO'l.'I!
[I] Second Stone•January/February, 1993
Empathy
LAn
Interdisciplinary
Journal
for Persons
Working to
End Oppression
on the Basis of
Sexual Identity
r>UBl.JSHED TWICE A YEAR, EMPATHY INCLUDES
SCHOLARLY ESSAYS, flROSE ANO POETRY, PRACTITIONER
ARTICLES, ANECDOTAL ESSAYS, AND RESEARCH REPORTS
AS WELL AS ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHIES FOR
RESOURCE MATERIALS, RECENT RESEARCH AND BOOKS.
THE JOURNAL. SERVE.$ PEOl'LE WORKING IN EDUCATION,
COUNSELING, HEALTI-I CARE, SOCIAL WORK,
COMMUNI1:Y ACTIVISM, AND THE MINISTRY
NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.
Oney.ear (2 issues) individual sub~cription
uo (s15 institutional)
Make checks payable to Gay and Lesbian Advocacy
Research Project (GLARP) and mail to:
. Empathy, PO Box 5085, Columbia, SC 29250.
Helms, Wildmon attack AIDS project
&ROJECT ARIES, a telephone counseling service and research program out of the
University of Washington, Seattle, is under attack by right wing activists who are
portraying the program as a federally funded phone sex line for gay and bisexual men.
The program targets men who continue to have unsafe sex despite the risk of contracting
HN or transmitting the virus to their partners. In .September, 1991, Project Aries
received a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health. A right wing
newspaper in New York, I11e New York Guardia11, ran a September cover story calling
the program a ""homosexual hotline."" The article quoted Rev. Donald Wildmon, president
of the American Family Association, who said about the project, ""If it wasn't so serious it
would be funny. The National Institutes of Health is part of the homosexual lobby like
PBS and the NEA, a lobby that has extraordinary influence in the media and the highest
levels of government.""
Pentaaon nixes aav chaolains
t.THE P'tNTAGON DE~ERRED action on a · request by the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches to have chaplains in the U.S. armed forces until the
church presents a candidate who is heterosexual. The church's current candidate, the
Rev. Carolyn D. Pruitt, was dismissed from the.Army after announcing that she is lesbian.
- The Lutheran
Michigan bishop warns pastors
t.LESS THAN TWO MONTHS after taking office, Donald Ott, Michigan United
Methodist Bishop, has barred his clergy from blessing gay couples. At the same time he
urged his church to continue its discussions on the issue. Bishop Ott banned his clergy
from conducting ""an event in which a public covenant is made between same-sex people,
akin to marriage, impl ying blessing or endorsement."" Ott also inform ed the clerg y that he
expects them to call him or their District Superintendent if they are consider ing attending
or taking part in any kind of blessing. H e said that the was trying to set up some clear
boundaries for his cler11y as the church continues its dis.cussions on gay and le sbia n
issues within the denomination. - Cruise
Clergy group opens dialogue on gay issues
t.A CLERGY ASSOCIATION in Charlotte, North Carolina, ha s met with Gays and
Lesbians to dialogue on issues that have separated the two groups. Rev. Dick Little, of
Advent Lutheran Church, said that the decision to begin sucn dialogue sprang from last
year's · Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays' International Convention held in
Charlotte . Rev. Jimmy Creech, a heterosexual minister from Raleigh who was removed
from his church for supporting Gays and Lesbians, encouraged the focal ministers to meet
with the gay and lesbian community. Charlotte Area Clergy Association member Rev.
William Medlin said of the meeting, ""We can't be in ministry and stand in judgment at the
same time. We have to choose."" -Q Notes
Anti-gay activist links gay rights with Dahmer
t.A VIRGINIA ANTI-GAY ACTNIST has kicked off his latest national ""Emergency
Campaign"" to stop the lesbian and gay rights bill, this time linking gay rights to the crimes
of mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer and accused Philadelphia sex offender Ed Savitz.
Longtime anti-gay fundraiser Eugene Delgaudio issued his six-page direct mail assault on
lesbian and gay Americans under the banner of his Virginia-based Public Advocate of
the U.S. The right-wing organization was responsible for the abundant signs on the
floor of the Republican National Convention proclaiming ""Family Rights Forev er, 'Gay'
Rights Never."" Del gau dio said that if the ""twisted bill"" becomes law , ""radical
homosexuals and lesbia ns will be free to prey on small children to replenish the
'homose xua l community.'"" -Baltimore Alternative
Falwell mav revive Moral Majoritv .
MDDRESSJNG A GROUP OF evangelica1 ministers in Burlingame, Cahf., Jerry Falwell
said that if President Clinton fulfills his campaign promises to lift the ban on Gays and
Lesbians in the military, lo sign a federal gay rights bill and to support pro-ch01ce
legislation , he may rev ive the now-defunct Moral Ma1onty. Falwell said the country 1s
""on the verge of moral collapse"" and made it clear that his decision will depend on how
the Clinton adminstration deals with the nation's social issues. - GayNet
New Catholic catechism urges respect for Gays
t.THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH in November unveiled a ne w catechi sm that is
more tolerant of hom osex uality. Seven years in the making, the new catechism follows
traditional teachings in condemning homosexual acts and in instructing Gays to practice
chastity. But it adds that since most Gays do not willingly choose their sexual
orientati on, they ""must be welcomed with respect ; compassion and delicacy."" The
676-page b oo k continues, ""One must avoid all un1ust discrimination against them."" It is
the first new catechism since 1566. -11,e Lutl1eran
Far riaht suffersetback in California assembly races
t.CAPI'l'OL COMMONWEALTH GROUP'S big bucks strategy failed in the effort to win
California Assembly seats for candidates who are committed to the agenda of the
theocratic religious right. Of the 20 Republican candidates backed and banl<rolled by the
group, only six won election to the Assembly. The election cost the Capitol Commonweal!
h Group, which in May became the Alhed Business PAC, at least$ 2 million. Rev.
Jerry Sloan, Co-Chair of Pro!ect Tocsin, said, ""While we're pleased with the results of the
election, we hope people wi I not be lulled int_o a false sense of security . Our people need
to realize that the theocratic right will not be deterred by this election setback. They're
like chameleons which change colors to fit their.surroundings.''
Politically incorrect anthology seeks submissions
t. WE'RE NOT WHO YOU THINK, an anthology for those who feel excluded because of
beliefs o r affiliations, is seeking submissions from Gays and Lesbians who are ""not all
Democrats, vegetarians , or Queer Nation members."" For information, send a selfaddressed,
stamped envelope to P.O. Box 2745, Quincy, MA 02269.
Clinton: Victory. not possible without gay, lesbian support
WASHINGTON, D.C.- To the wild
applause of gay, lesbian and bisexual
activists from around the country, Bill
CHnton, in a letter of support,
acknowledged his <!ebt to the gay
community and thanked gay voters
for making .his presidential campaign
victory possible. The surprise Clinton
letter was read by former National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force chief
Urvashi Vaid at the opening of the
1992 NGLTF Policy Institute Creating
Chang~ Conference. The 5th annual
conference was held in Los Angeles,
Nov. 13-15.
'To my friends al the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force,"" said Clinton
in his letter, "" ... Hillary and I would
like to thank you all for the hard
work you have done for the advance- ·
ment of human rights for gay and
lesbian people everywhere. It is an
inspiration to us all.
""I would also like . to take this
opportunity . to thank .every one of
you for your tremendous support
during our campaign for change -
without your support our victory on
November 3rd would not have been
possible. I now ask you again for
your help and support in implementing
the changes that are needed
to get America moving forward once
more,"" Clinton wrote.
Peri Jude Radecic, NGLTF acting
executive director, said, 'This conference
took on heightened significance
as the first national gathering of the
gay and lesbian community following
the presidential elections. We stand
as a people at a dramatic turning
point.""
Next year's Creating Change
conference will be held in November
in the Washington, D.C. area. For
information, contact Ivy Young,
NGLTF Creating Change Coordinator,
1734 14th St. NW, Washington,
DC 20009, (202)332-6483.
Hundreds gather to launch banned prayer ·book
By Mayne Ellis
Special to Second Stone
Daring to Speak Love's Name, a gay/
lesbian prayer book compiled by Dr .
Elizabeth Stuart, and banned by the
Anglican Church's publishing house, ·
was the focus of a remarkable launch
on October 27. Over 300 people filled
Westminster Auditorium, London, for
an evening of worship and protest.
John S. Spong, Bishop of Newark,
New Jersey, delivered the keynote
address .. 'To preserve unity,"" he
observed, ""the church plays to fear
and prejudice."" ""God works in such
strange ways to draw t_his broken
world into the wholeness for which it
was created. The Christian Church so
frequently raises its institutional voice
to offer support to the forces of
oppression and prejudice. When that
happens the wide disparity between
the Gospel of God's love and the way
the church actually lives out that
Gospel, when its institutional vested
interests are threatened, becomes
obvious."" ·
Spong noted that Archbishop
George Carey, in his address to the
American House of Bishops, criticised
""one issue Christians,"" citing feminism,
biblical fundamentalism and
homosexuality as ""tangential issues .""
Spong noted his s.urprise that any
thinking Christian could consider the
status of women, th e abuse of scripture,
and human sexuality to be
marginal issues. They are interlocked,
he said, defining basic struggles
in the Christian church, and he
resoundingly affirmed his ongoing
support on these issues. To a standing
ovation, he called the church to
open its heart and mind to gay and
Little Rock congregation sets
progressive pace for Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK - Pulaski Heights
Christian -Church (Disciples of Christ)
has become the first Arkansas congregation
in the mainline tradition to
name itself ""Open and Affirming"" of
all persons, including lesbian, gay,
and bisexual Christians . Responding
to the defeat a year ago of Michael
Kinnamon ii;I his bid for the top post
of the 1.1 n,.illion member denomination,
the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), due primarily to his
support of iesbian and gay persons in
the church, .the congregation felt compelled
to , make explicit its position .
The Little ' Rock congregation has
formally_. joined with . thirteen other
Disciples of Christ congregations and
campus ministries to join the Open
and Affirming Ministries Program
coordinated by the Gay, Lesbian, and
Affirming Alliance (GLAD).
Writing in the church's newsletter
the week•'following the vote, Pastor
Arnotd Nelson reflected that the
congregation, in seeking to remain
inclusive, had become a meeting
elace for ·a ri~h diversity of people .
We've made quite an amazing
patchwork quilt of saints and sinners,""
wrote Nelson, ""and I love us for
it."" The congregation proudly touts
the maxim, ''This church has no
doctrine but Christ, preaches no
gospel but love, and has no purpose
but to serve.""
The official statement reads, in part:
'We welcome all who profess Jesus of
Nazareth as the Christ, Son of the
Living God. We affirm the value and
dignity of all without reference to
other tests of fellowship or any life
condition . We celebrate Christ's call
to all his disciples and in his name we
embrace each other as brothers and
sisters.""
The Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming
Disciples Alliance was formed in 1979
to maintain a visible presence in outreach
to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
affirming members and congregations
of the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ). The organization
established the Open and Affirming
Ministries program after the Findlay
Street Christian Church in Seattle ,
Washington announced its inclusive
vision 'in 1987. The Christian Church,
the largest North American-born
mainline tradition, has over 4,000
congregations throughout the U.S.
and Canada.
lesbian people .
The gathering featured readings
and scripture from Daring to Speak
Love's Name, a blessing of relationships
performed by the Rev. Jean
Elder and Fr . Bernard Lynch, and
music performed by the MCC
Women's Choir and the London Gay
Men's Choir.
Dr. Elizabeth Stuart,
lecturer at St. Mark's and St. John's
Theological College and editor of
Daring to Speak Lave's Name, took the
podium to massive applause and told
of the dramatic events surrounding
the book's publication . Initially, she ·
had been commissioned by the
Society to Promote Christian Knowledge
to produce Daring to Speak
Love' s Name. Early last year, someone
on the editorial board alerted the
Archbishop of Canterbury, President
SEE LAUNCH, Page 20
LGCM to investigate ""ex-gay"" movement
LONDON - The Lesbian and Gay
Christian Movement has appointed
a commission to investigate
Christian-inspired attempts to
""heal"" or ""convert"" Gays and
Lesbians to heterosexuality. The
ex-gay programs in England are
being described as a ""new, alarming
trend.""
Taking note of the obvious
need to examine and evaluate the
claims and m ethods of ex-gay
organizations LGCM's team has
been asked to consult extensively
with all interested parties and
publish their findings . LGCM
has appointed Tony Green as
secretary of the commission.
Commenting on the launching
of the commission, LGCM's General
Secretary Rev. Richard
Kirker said, ""We take the view
that to coerce anyone to abstain
from a sexual relationship, solely
because . of sexual orientation,
leads to a profoundly distorted
and incomplete life. Rather than
offering true healing to the
sexually confused or vulnerable
the ex-gay movement simply
crea te s an illusion of false hope.
People who are inisled in this
way are denied the chance of
finding sexual wholeness and
God 's unconditional love. We
must warn of these dangers.""
The controversy has been
gaining momentum as a result of
several newspaper articles and a
television documentary appearing
within the last year.
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Second Stone•January/February, 1911·1
UFMCC rebuffed by .
National Counci.l of Churches
ANGRY LESBIAN AND GAY Christians
demonstrated on the floor of the
National Council of Churches meeting
in Cleveland on November 12 after
NCC's General Board rejected by a
vote of 90 to 81 the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches' application for observer
status.
""It's easier to get into heaven than
into the NCC,"" said the Rev. Elder
Nancy Wilson of Los Angeles, Ecumenical
Officer for the UFMCC, who
was invited to the dias to speak after
the vote.
""We have come to this point after 11
years of relationship with you,"" she
continued. ""And now we have had to
endure this experience of hearing you
have a conversation about us, but not
with us.""
The vote touched off an emotional
demonstration by UFMCC members,
as well as by members of gay and
lesbian caucuses from denominations
that already belong to the council and
from other non-member denominations.
Leaders from these groups
were meeting in Cleveland in conjunction
with the NCC meeting.
The vote came nine months after
Orthodox churches resumed ties with
the NCC after a 10-month split to
protest liberal positions of the council
and member denominations on
homosexuality and other issues.
After the meeting, Elder Wilson
rejected the NCC Membership Committee's
recommendation that talks
continue between the council and
UFMCC, saying there would be no
point to such talks after the church
had been so severely rebuffed.
The predominantly lesbian and gay
UFMCC had applied for observer
status in May, 1992, following the
termination of an 11-year prncess of
investigation and. dialogue which
followed UFMCC's application for
NCC membership in 1981.
Observer status, which confers only
the opportunity to attend meetings
and speak with the chair's permission,
had previously been given to
Muslim and Jewish groups and to the
Unitarian Universalist denomination,
which ordains openly gay and lesbian
persons and blesses same-sex
unions. NCC spokesman J. Martin
Bailey said the primary opponents to
granting observer status to the
UFMCC were the Eastern Orthodox ·
churches, some of the historically
African-American denominations and
the Korean Presbyterian Church in
the United States. 'There were 12 [of
a total of 32] denominations which,
according to an informal poll in the
corridors, said that if observer status
was granted they would be forced to
leave the council,': he said.
At the same meeting the NCC
voted to seek better ties with Roman
Catholic, Pentecostal and evangelical
churches, groups which strongly
oppose equality for Lesbians and
Gays. To build ties with them, the
General Board extended its ecumenical
committee's work through
1995 and added five employees for
relations with those groups. ""We will
be making much closer contact with
them and inviting them to our
meetings so we would have much
closer relationships with them and a
fuller understanding of each other,""
said NCC presiden.t, the Rev.
Syngman Rhee.
Lesbian/gay religious leaders
meet during NCC gathering
REPRESENTATIVESO F MOST of
the nation's gay and lesbian
Christian caucuses and the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches met in
Cleveland November 10-13 in
conjunction with the meeting of
the General Board of the National
Council of Churches. More than
25 representatives from 13 organizations
attended. The group,
which last met in 1989, shared
concerns among the various
groups struggling for equal rights
within their respective denominations.
The gay and lesbian
leaders also wanted to be present
at the NCC meeting to support
the UFMCC's request for observer
status and to remind delegates of
[]] Second Stone•January/February1. 993
the presence of gay and lesbian
members in their own denominations.
The meeting on Tuesday,
November 10 was held at the
national headquarters of the
United Church of Christ in downtown
Cleveland.
· In other action, the gay and
lesbian leaders made plans to
meet again in November, 1993
and also sponsor a joint presence
at the March on Washington in
April, 1993. They expressed
outrage at Rev. Jane Spahr's rejection
as pastor of the Downtown
United Presbyterian Church in
Rochester, New York, and called
for action against the state of
Colorado. ·
Lesbian, Gay and
Bisexua\ ·
We Are J\\read)1In
The church
Lesbian and gay Christian leaders protest at the NCC General Board meetinr
after the vote on the UFMCC observer status on Nov, 12, 1992. R@. Nancy
Wilson, Ecumenical Officer for the UFMCC, is second &om right.
PhotoK: ittredgCe herryU, FMCC
Free ticket to DC for three longest term couples
Love and fidelity to be
celebrated at March
AMERICA'S LONGEST TERM lesbian,
gay and bisexual couples will
be honored at The Wedding, a
massive ceremony of commitment to
be held April 24, as part of The
March on Washington. Rev. Troy
Perry, founder and moderator of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches has announced
that the UFMCC is launching a
national search for the lesbian, gay
and bisexual couples who have
stayed together the longest. The
UFMCC will give the three longestterm
couples a free round-trip airline
ticket to Washington to attend the
ceremony.
""I want to celebrate the love and
fidelity of these three extraordinary
couples and show Middle America
and the world that our relationships
last as long as · those in the heterosexual
community, even with all the
cultural pressures against us,"" Perry
said. ""I have already received a letter
from a gay male couple who just
celebrated their 46_th year together. I
am sure there are many, many
couples out there who have been
together for decades. I want to hear
from them."" ·
Rev. Perry· will conduct the
wedding ceremony at 11:00 a.m.
Saturday, April 24. He expects the
ritual to set a world record as the
largest ceremony of its kind ever
held, with at least 4,000 gay, lesbian
and bisexual couples exchanging
vows.
Long-term couples may contact Rev.
Perry by writing to The Wedding,
UFMCC, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd.,
Ste. 304, Los Angeles, CA 90029.
·•@ii·)!EID:ttiNHitail·lifflD!BD:l=ma•i·t◄?!mi•m-
Bishops, Queens and Pawns
By Kevin Calegari
Special to Second Stone
Ed. Note: The National Conference of
CatholicB ishopsm et in Washington,D C
in mid-November to discuss issues
facing the AmericanC atholicC hurch. In
this article, Dignity/USA president
Kevin Calegaris haresh is reflectionso n
the gathering.
I didn't have any illusions. I didn't
expect to see centuries of sexism
and homophobia overturned. But
somehow, I thought that four
days with 275 Catholic bishops at the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops
meeting in mid-November would
be fun. What better opportunity to
schmooze and buttonhole and put ""in
their face"" the story of lesbian, gay
and bisexual people?
Yes, it was fun. There were
moments of humor, and there was a
bit of a thrill to be in the middle of it
all. But after four days of wading
through a sea of black suits as it
rolled, crested and · crashed through
the halls and ballrooms of the Omni
Shoreham Hotel, I know one thing. I
don't want to have to do it again.
Now, don't get me wrong. I haven't
lost my faith. They say that a trip to
Rome can make one lose one's faith.
Well, I've been to Rome too many
times, and I still believe. In God,
yes. In Christ,yes. In God's people
and their work for peace and struggles
for justice, yes. But I know better
than to look to my bishops for clear
guidance and moral leadership wheri
it comes to gender and sexual justice.
I look to the work and faith of all the
women and men of our tradition, of
which I am a part. I believe not in it
petrified tradition jealously guarded
by those in power . I look to a living
. tradition, handed on by those who
struggle with the big questions in
their lives, the tradition handed on
especially by those not in power. · I
believe, for all its sexism and
homophobia, racism and classism, the
Christian tradi lion can be redemptive.
And I believe, somehow, that
the tradition can be redeemed. God
speaks a word of challenge in the
lives of my powerless sisters and
· brothers. This is where I find hope.
On November 16, the first day of
· .the meeting, over 100 Dignity
members and New Ways Ministry
supporters gathered outside the Omni
Shoreham for a prayer rally. We had
with us over 12,400 petitions gathered
from across the country, rebutting last
summer's dastardly memo from the
Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith. This document instructed
bishops to oppose our civil rights,
resurrecting old myths and tired
stereotypes and, in the process, violating
several principles of Catholic
theology: so much for a magisterium
.which carefolly guardsand preserves
the. tradition. After weeks of negot1ahons
ai1d heated debate in the
bishops' administrative committee,
the conference agreed to acknowledge
our presence and delegated Bishop
James Malone to meet us and receive
the petitions.
A small victory. But a significant
one, since this is the first time the
bishops conference has acknowledged
that we exist, let alone sent a bishop
to meet with us. It follows on an
unprecedented meeting I had last
summer at the Vatican, and numerous
private meetings with bishops
around the country. In fact, Dignity
has met with more church officials in
the last four months than in the
previous six years.
Why all this ""dialogue"" after so
many years of stalemate? The
famous Ratzinger Jetter of 1986,
which banned Dignity and made
""intrinsic disorder"" a household
phrase, had a chilling effect on lesbian/
gay ministry and theological
reflection in official church circles.
While discussion was cut off or
· limited by official guidelines, ministry
and reflection continued to
flourish in liminal communities such
as Dignity.· However, the outrageous
statements in the recent CDF memo
has pushed members of the hierarchy
to join in conversation once again.
While it was prompted by certain
American -prelates (our sources
indicate that Francis Stafford,
Archbishop of Denver, and Cardinal
James Hickey, Archbishop of Washington,
were involved in its drafting),
few bishops or other Catholics, for
that matter, agree with the fundamentalist
ideology prominent in the
memo. The consensus is that Rome
has gone too far. Even a Gallup
survey commissioned by Dignity and
other groups last spring shows that.78
percent of U.S. Catholics support
equal rights for lesbian and · gay
people.
Unfortunately, the bishops did not
take up the issue of lesbian/ gay
rights in floor debate. Their energies
were consumed by the pastoral on
women's concerns and, in executive
session, by the Vatican deficit and by
the clergy pedophilia problem.
While I received numerous words of
encouragement, even praise from
individual bishops, no one was willing
to stand up to Rome publicly
with blunt words of criticism. It is a
sorry state of affairs, this conspiracy of
fear and silence. Clearly, the bishops
are divided on our concerns, powerless
to combat the violence and
bigotry we face, even when some are
so inclined.
If there was too much silence on
lesbian and gay issues, there was no
dearth of discussion on the proposed
women's pastoral. Since sexism and
homophobia are linked and intertwined,
I did not feel as if lesbian/
gay concerns were -ignored. The
debate on ""women's concerns"" was,
by extension, a debate on lesbian/
gay concerns as welf. After all, how
can a church even consider affirming
its lesbian, gay and bisexual members
if a ""natural resemblance"" to
Christ (understood in the Vatican's
1976 Inter Insigniores as possession of
a penis) is a prerequisite for priesthood?
The nine-year effort was
probably doomed to failure from the
start. How could a group of men
write about women's concerns without
looking paternalistic? The fourth
draft, after numerous interventions
from the Vatican, virtually obliterated
the voices of women which had been
part of earlier drafts. The eventual
137-110 vote, short of the 190 votes
required for approval, showed a rift
among bishops never before exposed.
While not a debate on women's
ordination per se, the issue was clearly
on their minds. Courageous progressives
appealed for openness to further
dialogue, and spoke of women's
alienation and anger. Bishop Thomas
Costello called the prosposed draft
""intrinsically and internally inconsistent.""
Conservatives trembled, fearing
that a failure of resolve now
would open the floodgates to worse
heresies. Bishop Austin Vaughan put
. a new twist on ""anatomy as destiny""
by moaning, ""a woman can no more
be a priest than I can have a baby.""
Hearing the frank and often opposing
statements was refreshing, even a
cause for joy: here one could actually
observe the painful retirement of one
paradigm and the slow emergence of
another. The floodgates were
opened, and the sea of black suits was
leaking out in every direction.
Imposed unanimity, the ""unity of
uniformity"" which is antithetical to
Catholic tradition, fell apart. One
bishop noted, ""the genie is out of the
bottle."" Added a waggish observer,
""and it's a girl."" ·
Admittedly, these changes come too
slow for many of us. But cl1anges are
Come follow Jesus
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afoot in Catholicism, which is good for
Catholics and their neighbors alike.
At their November meeting, the
bishops heard the voices of women
loud and clear, whether they liked
what they heard or not. The bishops
met the gay and lesbian Catholics for
the first time. They also met with
survivors of clergy pedophilia, thus
ending years of denial of a problem
stemming from the church's sexual
dysfunctionality. The bishops faced
not only those seeking justice, they°
faced their own limitations. Any
pastor would call this a valuable
lesson in spiritual development. .
While the feminist and lesbian/ gay
movements have been saying for
years that ""the emperor has no
clothes,"" it was remarkable to see, in
the bishops' admission of failure, the
emperor himself acknowledging his
nakedness and vulnerability. Mary's
words come to mind: ""God .has
brought down the powerful from
their thones, and lifted up the lowly""
(Luke 1:52). The powerless have
confronted the powerful, and the
tradition lives on; to be reformed,
enriched and redeemed by the lives
and voices of those who can no longer
be ignored. In the end, the women's
pastoral lost. The Body of Christ, and
especially its female, lesbian, gay: and
bisexual members, won an important,
if interim, victory.
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Second Stone•January/February'. 1993' [I]
Cover Story .................................... •- ................................... . .,
World Community Builders completes
mission in Dominican Republic
COVER STORY
From Page 1
vision of building community with
those in need, wherever the need
might be, as opposed to just building
structures, according to Rev. Stephen
Fund, founder and director of World
Community Builders. He is sometimes
asked whether it would be
better to just send money and let
locals do their own construction but,
says Fund, the work project can be
thought of as an excuse for being with
the people. ""People often come away
from cross-cultural experiences with a
new perspective on life, a new
understanding of one's self, and a
stronger commitment to serve others
as Christ would serve,"" Fund says.
Reclining on the couch at his
Atlanta home, which serves as the
headquarter s for World Community
Builders, Rev. Stephen Fund reflects
on the ministry he has long dreamed
of.
""This is a faith venture for me,"" he
begins io exp lain. ""When I resig ned
as p as tor of All Saints Metropolitan
Comm uni ty Chu rch (in Atlant a), people
aske d me, 'What are you gonna
do?' and I answered, Tm going to hy
to dev elop the mission prog ram,' and
people would say, 'Yeah, b ut what
ar e you goin g t 9, do?' They meant
how was I g oing to pay the bills.""
So far, it seems God has provide d
fo r the ne e ds of World Community
Builders as they come off their first
ten day work camp . Many temporal
needs still exist, like money for more
camps, a photocopier and other busc
iness office expenses, but all evidence
suggests a spiritual need has been
met by World Community Builders.
The pavilion built at the El
Tamarindo site will serve as a community
center and as a meeting place
for MCC El Tamarindo.· It is the first
UFMCC church building in the
Dominican Republic. The 18 volunteers
represented ten churches, nine
cities, and eight states . Eleven were
men and seven were women with
ages ranging from 30 to 65. Rev.
Howard Williams, pastor of MCC
Santo Domingo and Francisco
Barrera, student cleric and pastor of
MCC El Tamarindo, provided local
coordination of the project.
Fund gets the same gleam in his
eye when he talks about World Community
Builders that a proud parent
gets when pictures of his kid s are
passed around. The seed of WCB was
planted when Fund was only 17.
While attending high school in
southern California, he went on his
first work camp to Mexico in 1970
[fill' Second Stone•January/February. 1993
with a Church of God organization
called Vacation Samaritans. ""It just
rang my b.ells,"" he recalls: The next
summer, he went to Panama with the
Samaritans and a pattern was
established.
''Between those two work camps, I
really sensed that I was being called
into missionary work,"" he says. 'The
program was very significant for me
in identifying where I was to head in
the future.""
But, it would be ten years before
WCB came into existence. In that
time, Fund became a pilot and
worked for Vacation Samaritans until
1977, when he began to realize he
was gay. His corning out process was
very slow, he says, as he struggled to
reconcile his gayness, his Christianity
and his calling . By 1984 he had
begun his journey into the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Church es and was called to be a
lay leader at thei r Tacoma , Washington
con grega tion . Th ere he
became s tu dent clergy, earni ng his
licensur e b y 1987. Tha t year als o
marked his first fulltime pastorate at
All Saints MCC in Atlanta.
All du ring th at time, his heart and
mind never st rayed far from m issions
and outreach.
""I tr ied ver y hard to keep my
congrega tion involved in mis sions,""
says Fund. ""While I past ore d in
Tacoma, we supported MCC in
Nigeria. At All Saints, w e sent support
to Santo Domingo.""
World Communit y Builders was
born at a dinner table in Phoenix,
Arizona in 1991. While at the
UFMCC General Conference that
year, Fund went out to dinner with
several old friends.
''The conversation turned to
missions, and it was like the table lit
up,"" he remembers, with that gleam
in his eyes, ""there was a spirit there.
We all had a burden for missions and
wanted to see MCC do more in the
international community.""
On that same trip, Fund visited
with his old friend, Dr. Darrell Jones,
leader of Vacation Samaritans . He
ran the idea past Dr. Jones, who was
supportive and continues to be a
resource for World Community
Builders.
Now, Fund looks to the future of
WCB, dreaming of four w ork camps a
year . Through the UFMCC World
Church Exiension, there is no shortage
of areas that can use their help.
And, with Fund's gift of faith,
hopefully there w ill be no shortage of
people to help him build a true world
community.
Those attending a work camp are
responsible for their own expenses,
including travel and a donation
toward building supplies, although
church and community service
g_roups sometimes raise funds to
sponsor volunteers. Although some of
. the work is stren uou s, support jobs
·such as food preparation provide a
place to contribute for those who are
not physically strong. Workers need
not be familiar with the local
language. A lot of communication
can take place without words, says
Fund. ""Love is a universal language.""
Fund explains his philosophy on
missions this way. ""Abraham and ·
Sarah were blessed to be a blessing.
God didn't intend for them to keep
the blessing to themselves or to Israel,
but that through their descendents,
meaning Jesus, the whole world
would be blessed. We, in America,
are bless ed, and we need to spread
that blessing .""
Mary Bologna didn't know she
wanted to go to Santo Domingo. The
47 year old medical secretary from
Atlanta is a member of All Saints
MCC. While at the denomination's
District Conference in Chattanooga,
Tennessee in November of 1991, she
says she was praying for God's will in
her life .
""I prayed that God would put me
where I was supposed to be,"" she
recalls. ""When I came home from
conference, and went to church there
was a presentation on World Church
Extension that included a small part
about Santo Domingo. It was like a
lightbulb went on and I said, 'That's
where I'm going.""'
The very next day she got a
passport and began searching for
more .information on how she could
get to Santo Domingo . She began
writing to Rev. Howard Williams, the .
minister at the . Santo Domingo
church, and they kept regular corres
pondence. A few months later,
SEE WCB, Next Page
Stacking blocks for posts, left to right, Carson Malcomb Charlie
(Dominican worker), Mary Bologna, Dan Leary '
Helping the PWA homeless ,
By The Latest Issue
IN A LARGE SENSE every
American with AIDS is homeless.
Federal funding ' and polices governing
treatment and research are
shamefully inadequate. The sad
reality of the 90s is that more and
more people with AIDS are
becoming homeless not only in
the symbolism of a nation's neglect,
but in physical terms as
well.
The causes of homelessness
among people with AIDS are in
many ways similar to the causes
of homelessness among the general
population. ""People who
cannot work, who have no assets
or strong family connections are
at risk of becoming homeless,""
says Dan Delaney, administ rator
of Loaves and Fishes, a Sacramento,
Cal., organization supported
by the Catholic Church.
The program serves the poor and
homeless through a variety of
community based programs,
includ ing Hope House, a home
for people with AIDS.
to actually receive the grant can
be from six to eight months. This
is more than enough time to
exhaust · the resources of most
people and head them into the
downward spiral of homelessness.
'The federal housing budget ·
was cut by 75 percent during the
Reagan-Bush era,"" Delaney said.
""All the money that we've gone
into debt for during the last
twelve years went into the military
budget and they tried to gut
everything else.
""When the economy is good
there are a lot of people who just'
hang on by the edge, but when ,
the economy contracts some people
fall off the edge,"" Delaney
said.
While the federal Supplemental .
A scenario of a person with
AIDS sliding toward homeless0
ness was offered by Carlo Parker,
a community outreach worker to
the Sacramento AIDS Foundation.
""Some people get a positive diagnosis
and panic,"" said Parker.
'The person may think, I'm going
to die anyway, and then may go
off on a tangent of alcohol and
drug abuse. They lose their self
esteem and the wreckage that
they create in their life creates
WCB,
Security Income prog ram provides
individuals approximate ly
$675 per month, the waiting time
From Previous Page
Stephen Fund, then minister at AH
Saints, announced the first WCB work
camp would be in Santo Domingo.
""I was the first to sign up,"" says
Bologna.
When the plane landed in Santo
Domingo in November of 1992, her
year of waiting was over. ""It was like
going home to a family,"" she says
smiling. 'There were no barriers,
even though we didn't speak the
same language. We just communicated.""
There was a bit of a culture shock.
Most Dominicans live in abject
poverty. Their homes are small
shanties with no doors or windows,
and only occasional electricity. There
is no running water or air conditioning.
But, what struck Bologna
was the spirit of the people.
""I've never seen so much laughing
and singing,"" she .exclaims. Each
night, after working hard all day to
build the church in El Tamarindo,
they would sit under the stars and
sing. ""Now, when I leave work at 7
p.m., I think, They are singing
now,""' she smiles. 'These people are
so happy and they don't even know
they are poor. They are so peaceful.""
The culture also identifies homosexua
ls in a different way. Those
men considered exclusively gay are
those who cross-dress or act effeminate.
""Most of them don't fit these
categories,"" explains Fund. ""Most of
them are or have been married and
have children. They are not
considered gay although they may be
involv e,d with other men and prefer
that."" '
Fund estimates that 95% of the men
in the Santo Domingo -church are
what we would call gay. Most of the
women attending are wives, mothers
and sisters of the men and as in many
cultures, what the women do sexually
is largely ignored, so it's hard to say
how many Lesbians are in the
congregation.
But, cultural definitions didn't seem
to make much difference in how
people treated one another, or their
American guests . Bologna says the
hard work of building a pavilion at El
Tamarindo brought everyone
together .
""Men, women, and children were
all helping. We dug ditches, we
hauled cinder blocks and more,"" she
remembers. 'Tve never done construction
work before. The dirtiest
my hands ever get is when I repot a
plant. But I worked hard, we all did.
I've never seen such a dedicated
more wreckage - which makes natives to ·the lifestyles they are
the compulsion to 'use' even leading.''
stronger - and the wreckage even While the poor economy of the
greater."" Bush administration and the sub-
The harsh reality of life on the sequent unraveling of our social
streets also causes difficulty for fabric are undoubtably a root
those with HIV. Like some sad, cause of the homelessness among
weird reflection of ""normal"" soci-, : HIV sufferers, . Dan Delaney
ety, the homeless HIV sufferer : , believes that the true problem
fears discrimination. lies somewhere within the col-
""Even among those who have lective American psyche. 'There ·
been tested, homeless HIV vie- is some part and parcel of the
tims don't admit that they have American mentality that leaves
HIV, because the street culture the poor and the sick behind,""
will discriminate against them,"" . said Delaney. ""Most other counsaid
Parker. ' tries who are generally recog-
The young constitute still nized as civilized don't allow this
another group of homeless HIV type of thing to occur.""
sufferers whose numbers continue If what Delaney says if true, if
to grow. They are the runaways there is some tragic crack, some
or throwaway kids whose lives Achilles heel in the American
often become an incoherent jum- character which allows us as a
ble of hustling ~d drug abuse. society to throw the dying on the
Jerry Love, a health education
worker for the Sacramento AIDS:
Foundation believes that the
number of younger homeless
people is indeed growing. ""Outreach
to the young around so
called 'public sex environments' is
very impo rta nt,"" said Love.
'They need to know that there is
hope and that there are alterstreet,
then surely now is the time
for us to come together and
attempt to correct that deficit.
Dan Delaney, Jerry Love, Carlo
Parker and countless others are
doing their par t to end the plight
of homeless HIV sufferers. It's
time for the rest of us to find ways
to join the fight. -Dave Roelke
Reprintedw ith pennissionjl 'om
.. , The Latest Issue.
, bunch of people, both Americans and
Dominicans.""
The sweat, laughter and love
produced an open air pavilion and
the village's only flushing toilet and
runni ng water sinks. The building
doesn't look like an American idea of .
a church, but it's just what the
community needs. .
'They don't need walls and glass in
their humid climate,"" explains Fund.
'They need a place for the breeze to
come through and a roof to keep the
sun off their heads.
It also produced a long lasting ' ..
friendship between those who went
and the Dominicans. Bologna says
she will keep in touch with her new
family, writing to them, and trying to
learn Spanish in time for the next
trip.
World Community Builders plans
to return to Santo Domingo in Marcl1
to help fix up the San Salvador• ·
Orphanage and build a lean-to at the
El Tamarindo site. Bologna says she
will be there.
'The bonding that we did was
unbelievable,"" she gushes, trying to
recapture the feeling in words. ""I
never anticipated that. I was afraid of
talking to people because I didn't
speak the language, but you didn't
have to. What comes from a heart,
goes to a heart.""
WCB director Re·v. Steve Fund
carries cement to worksite
SecondS tone•Jaimary/refmiiiry1;9 '93'![]]]
......... Families _. ........ ....... ........... ........ . . ......... • .• ........ .
Buildingg ay and lesbianf amilies
By Rev. Sylvia Pennington
Contributing Writer
Ed. Note: The late Rev. Sylvia Pennington
filed this article with Second Stone
in November, 1990.
-~onsiderable progress has .
been made over the past
· two decades allowing gay
and lesbian people to parent,
ave nests and live more of the
kind of family life they grew up in.
It's commonly known that many gay
people sort c,f merge into their own
families with one another. Some parents
cannot accept a homosexual
child. Others are able to accept their
homosexual child, but not the child's
mate. I know of a gay male couple
who in their 25 year relationship
have never spent a Christmas - or
any holiday or major family event -
together. Members of the younger
generation usually will not put up
with this. If they cannot attend family
functions as a couple, they just
don't go at all.
Does this mean that they do not
have a family in the larger sense?
Not really. Many people in this situa-
■
tion seem to be able to find other
couples facing the same problem and
together become extended family.
And while many couples are content
in their relationsh ip with, each other
and extended family, others seek to
include children, either their own or
adoptive, in their family unit. Today,
many lesbian mothers and some gay
fathers are given custody of their
children, with the other parent hav-
.; ing visitation rights.
A while back, a 16 year old boy
hung himself in the basement of his
mother's home in a small town in
Missouri. The boy's father , a gay
man, married at 18 years of age in an
attempt to ""do the right thing"" and,
perhaps, to get ""straightened out."" At
19 he became a father and at 21 he
realized he could no longer keep up
the pretense of being heterosexual.
During the divorce hearing, his
homosexuality became a major issue.
The judge granted very minimal
visitation rights and the visits had to
be chaperoned . The child had heard
about ""faggots"" and ""queers"" and how
they couldn't be trusted to be alone
with even their own child. Despite
this the boy loved his father and
■
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■ . - rrn~ Sec.onoStone January/February , 1993
""
enjoyed his visits with daddy. But
the child's early years of hearing so
much negativity of what gay people
were like traumatized him when, in
his early teens, he began to realize
that he, too, was gay. Unable to deal
with the persecution he knew his
father had lived with, he opted to
take his own life.
every sense a family and the children
usually leam at a fairly young age
that they simply have two mommies
and two daddies. If it's a well bonded
unit, the children will be able to pass
through the peer pressure of adolescence
and know they have a
healthy, normal, good home.
I know of one family in Colorado
The need and desire to be a parent
is being realized in a number of
ways by gay and lesbian people.
Thank God that what this child
experienced through years of brainwashing
has become much less the
norm More often than not if a gay
parent does not have custody of the
children, they're at least given liberal
visitation rights and custody privileges
during summer months and
major holidays . In most cases now
the jay parent remains active in the
chi! 's life and so the child is free to
learn and understand both sides of
the picture.
The need and desire to be a parent
is being realized in a number of ways
by gafE and lesbian people. As single
peop e are often given adoption
rights today, many childre n are
adopted by what appears to be a
sing le parent but, in actuality, the_
single parent is part of a gay or
lesbian couple.
Also, it is not uncommon for a
lesbian couple to have one partner
artificially inseminated by the other
partner's brother so that the blood
lines are mixed. Other lesbian coupies,
primari ly in major cities, will
find doctors who are willing to
artificially inseminate them as an
openly gay couple. .
I know a great many men today
who have been used to artificially
inseminate a lesbian woman with the
understanding that, though the
mother will have the primary
physical custody of the offspring, the
child will know who their father is
and spend considerable time with
him.
I am aware of other couples where
both the daddies and the mommies
share one large home . They are in
where a gay man and lesbian married
in order to have a child. During
the first two years of the child's life,
daddy was th e prima ry child care
parent. The couple divorced after a
few years and each parent entered
into a gay relationship. The child
had two homes . When I met him at
six years of age, he was a bright,
spunky little guy who didn't appear
in the least confused over the family
arrangement. After school he went
home to his daddies where he
played, did homework and had
dinner. After dinner, he was taken
home to his mommies where he was
bathed, read to, and tucked into bed.
After breakfast, mommy took him to
school.
The child was fortunate that both
sets of parents were nurtur ing,
loving, Christian people. Today, at
almost 15 years of age, both his
tea cher and the school counselor
consider him to be a very happy,
norma l youngster. At the present
time, he lives primarily with his dads
who are now in the 12th year of their
relationship. His mother's relationship
didn't last and, since she's back in
school and also working, it 's more
convenient for him to stay with his
dads , but he still sees his mother a
Jot.
I'm not sure how it comes about,
but I know of many gay and lesbian
couples today who get babies shortly
after the baby's birth. Most of these
babies are of mixed racial background
and from single parents who
have chosen to give their babies up to
what they consider to be a healthy
environmen t for the child.
By Southern Voice It's 10 am on a weekday morning.
Curtis builds a fire in a garbage
barrel for the morning coffee.
People come out of their homes,
squinting at the morning light. They
close doors behind them, doors that
latch perfectly. They spill into wide
streets filled with dirt and . gravel.
Chelsea, the dog, roots around for
scraps. Somewhere a pair of cats
searches out breakfast.
This is morning in Hutsville, a
""homeless"" community in Atlanta, in
the shadow of the Georgia Dome.
And this is the gay neighborhood of
Hutsville, up on a slight hill centered
between two ""straight"" neighborhoods.
Today is a little different from most
mornings - a city of Atlanta sanitation
crew is bulldozing Hutsville's woodpile
about 20 yards away. Curtis is
animated.
'They come to take all the wood,""
he says. ""All the wood. You tell me.
How we supposed to cook with 110
wood? How we gonna cook?""
""They say it looks like trash to
them,"" he continues. ''But it's our
wood. How we gonna cook?""
Other residents are nodding and
talking in agreement, but no one has
any ideas of what to do. With the
bulldozers droning in the background,
life in Hutsville goes on.
""We're a community just like
anybody else's commun_ity,"" s.~~s
Dale Mines, a four year resident. Its
just that when you moved into yours
the homes were already built and
you had to go into your pocket and
pay to stay there.""
""Us,"" he continued, ""when we got
here, there was nothing and we had
to go into our muscles and build.""
And build they did. Out of scraps
from the dumps of the Dome construction
and whatever else is
available, they have built about 20
huts that house over 70 people.
'There's always 72 people,"" says
Mines, ""All the time you have some
go to jail and at the same time some
get out, but basically it's 72 people.""
Like the individuals who live there,
each hut has its own personality.
Residents take pride in their huts,
keeping them neat and organized.
On the door of B. J. Byer's hut is an
""Andrew Young for Mayor"" sticker.
Inside is a table, a camp stove, a full
size bed with a patchwork quilt. And
burglar bars on the windows.
""I've lived here going on 3 years,""
he says. 'This is my home, but I
spend weekends with friends. I live
here with a friend of mine, and when
we have to go, we'll move together.""
According to those who live here,
the gay community is strong.
""It's the gay individuals in this
community who hold all the
strength,"" says Mines. 'They're not
afraid-to stand up_. The heterosexuals
PhotoS: kyeM ason
The
gay
homeless
Memories of Hutsville
just kind of hang their heads.""
Mines, who is known as the Mayor
of Hutsville, shares his home with a
partner.
""I didn't run for Mayor,"" he laughs.
""I was just elected.""
Life in Hutsville is not easy.
Residents collect cans to sell for
money. They rummage garbage·
cans for food. Winter time is cold,
meaning more fires for warmth, and
often burned huts.
Mines' hut, with a stone fireplace
and a fence made of pallets surrounding
a patio, burned a year ago.
He tells the story like this: ""Right
here, as we sit, this is my patio porch
now. This used to be another hut and
my house was where you see ·it. His
hut caught on fire. And by the Wind
being that strong that night, it ignited
mine. It was.quite innocent, actually.
He went to sleep, he was a little tipsy.
The wood fell out of his barrel which
was inside his hut. It burnt his and
mine went with it. So it's really
nobody' fault.""
While Mines regards his misfortune
as ""nobody's fault,"" fires like the one
that took his hut are common.
'They get drunk and pull garbage
barrels with fires in them into their
huts and fall asleep,"" said Mark
. Usserie, a friend of Hutsville's residents.
Usserie visits the community
several times a week, bringing them
food and clothing.
'These peole are driven by crack,""
he said. ""But they're not seedy.
They are young intelligent men with
high school educations. They don't
see beyond today and satisfying their
crack addiction .""
""Church groups bring food and
clothing to them and they turn
around and sell them for crack. A
few have jobs but most just live,
colle~.ting enough cans for crack or
beer. ,
The residents themselves deny any
serious addiction problems.
""Some of them have an alcohol
problem, some of -them have a drug
problem,"" says Mines. ""And some of
them are just misfits. Do you know
you find the most bri!liantist people
in trouble?""
The residents of Hutsville are, on
the most part, unskilled, unprepared
for the job market and in need of
substance abuse treatment. The
population represents the hardest
people to place in housing,
· ""I'd go for transitional housing,""
said a friend of B. J. Byers,
'That's you,"" Byers replied. ""I want
to have my own apartment by
myself.""
""A shelter won't do,"" said Mines.
''You're under somebody else's roof,
there's no privacy.""
''You'd have to see what it's like in
a shelter to understand this,"" said
Sherry Siclair, housing coordinator for
AID Atlanta, which offers support
services to HIV+ residents. 'The
quality of life at Hutsville is much
better than in the shelters. They
have a home base, something that's
intrinsic to being a human being.""
""Which would you choose,"" she
added, ""sleeping on a cot with 200
other people in_ a_ big room or living
SEE HUTSVILLEP, age 19
Second Stone-iiinuary/February, 19931ll]
.f-n-t~.f- ·1··n.· a. ? .. ··~ ...... . ..... ~ .. ......... . ........... ~ .............................. . .
Out of the Bishop'sC loset
By Johnny Townsend
ContributingW riter Another religious person realizes
the error of his ways
and comes out. Ho hum.
Out of the Bishop's Closet,° from
Alamo Square Press, is not, however,
a ho hum book. Antonio Feliz was
not only a Mormon bishop, which
alone makes his experience more
interesting, but he also worked in the
Church Office Building in Salt Lake
City, interacting daily with the
highest officials at the Latter-day Saint
Church headquarters. We thus read
of personal 'encounters with the Prophet
and Twelve Apostles, plus we
see the research Feliz has dug up in
the closed off Church Archives,
material which suggests rather
strongly that Joseph Smith, the
Church's first prophet, fully accepted
homosexuality as being in accordance
with God's will.
This is what really makes the book,
originally published in 1988 and now
updated, truly intriguing. Certainly,
it is always useful to read of another
account of a religiously devoted person
who comes to accept his or her
homosexuality, and this is the first
book-length account from a Mormon
perspective. Naturally then, any gay
or lesbian Mormon should find this
account by a former missionary and
then husband and father of four
children helpful.
But the book actually is insightful
for a more generalized audience as
well, as it illustrates the workings of
church politics, how even ""men of
God,"" whom Feliz believes to the end
truly are men of God, are still human,
very human, something certainly
not unique to the Mormon
Church. Sneaky financial dealings,
and the manner in which doctrine or
scripture is ""approved"" or altered
throughout church history throws
further light on a church which, like
many others, considers itself perfect
and the ""only true church on the face
of the earth.""
Feliz's experiences as a temple
worker who has the power -to marry
heterosexual couples ""for time and all
eternity.,. also put him on a higher
level for Mormons, and his dilemma
as a bishop who must hold court and
excommunicate gay members (one of
whom then commits suicide) is also
enlightening in how not only internalized
homophobia but also the idea
of obedience to authority at all cost
works.
In fact, this leads to a discussion of
the famous Milgram experiment, in
which subjects were told to inflict
electric shocks upon other people and
who continued to inflict those shocks
despite the agonizing cries of the
himself out of school, with the reality
that less than half his credits . will
· transfer elsewhere. . ·
This theme . of · ""security"" runs
throughouJ the_book, as Feliz himself
is asked by the Apostles to spy on
several church members in Salt Lake
(for their · opposing doctrines other
than the church position on homosexuality).
Feliz must follow these
members, befriend them, and write
down names and license plate numbers,
and then report back.
The most interesting · material,
however, has to be that about the
early church reaction to gay members.
When a missionary, Lorenzo D.
Barnes, dies in England and is buried
When they were both seniors at the LOS
Brigham Young University, one of them,
tracked down at a gay meeting by campus
security under direction of the university
Standards Office, is coerced to name everyone ·
else he knows at the school who is gay.
""victims."" Feliz compares this both
with church hierarchy ('The Prohpet
will never lead you astray."" ""If you
obey the Priesthood leaders even
when they're wrong, God will bless
you."") and with society in general.
Other ""shocking"" stories include
that of two gay lovers together for
several years, one of whom must
finally confess a terrible sin to the
other. When they were both seniors
at the LDS Brigham Young University,
one of them, tracked down at a
gay meeting by campus security
under direction of the university
Standards Office, is coerced to name
everyone else he knows at the school
who is gay. He has only one class left
to take before graduation and is
threatened with expulsion. He gives
the name of his future lover, who,
with only one semester left, now finds
in Illinois on April 16, 1843, Joseph
Smith comforts Lorenzo's '1friend,""
reflecting that they shared something
special, that 'Two who were vary [sic]
friends indeed should lie down upon
the same bed at night locked in each
other's embrace talking of their love
& should awake in the morning
together that they could immediately
renew their conversation of love even
while rising from their bed ... ""
Book denounces biases
of writers of the Bible
Feliz then points out how Wilford
Woodruff, who recorded the above
statement, two years later, after
Smith's death, and after an official
effort to rewrite church history,
revised the statement to include a
female. Woodruff was the prophet 50
years later to rescind the long
standing practice of sealing (marrying)
men to men in the temple (now
never mentioned as having ever
taken place), despite the assertion of
Brigham Young Qoseph Smith's successor)
that ""Men will be sealed to
men in the Priesthood .""
The discussion is too. involved to
convey completely here, but Feliz
shows that in other sources, the ""vary
friend"" is referred to as a ""sealed
Lover"" and by Joseph Smith himself
as the ""Lover"" of Barnes, while in the
same discussion, Smith talked of the
wives and husbands of other people.
The chauvinistic-patriarchal mind ·
set of the writers of the Bib le is
responsible for the institutionalization
of male dominance over women, the
discrimination and fears of people
affected by AIDS, the discrimination
against blacks and other minorities,
and the discrimination, religious persecution
and disrespect for the human
dignity of Gays and Lesbians, says
the author of The Love Forum, Rev.
Dr. Emilio E. Marquez,. Pastor and Iii Second Stone•January/February, 1993
Dean of the Independent Church of
Religious Science, Long Beach, Cal.
One of the main purposes of the book
is to neutralize the patriarchal lies of
the past, according to Marquez, and
to make Lesbians and Gays feel
welcome at the church again. He
hopes that readers are inspired to
respect the Bible for its spiritual
treasures, and not be intimidated by
the historical biases of Bible writers of
the 10th Century B.C.
One last bit of history is that of
Joseph Smith's interaction with the
new convert John C. Bennett.
Joseph's brother tells Joseph that
Bennett has been driven out of over
twenty towns for ""buggery,"" and yet
Joseph still appoints Bennett as the
first ,mayor of the Mormon town of
Nauvoo: Joseph's brother later complains
about Bennett's sexual activities
with cadets in the Nauvoo Legion,
and Joseph refuses to take any action
against Bennett. He even makes
Bennett the assistant president of the
church.
All of this, obviously, is repressed
by the church today, and Feliz calls
out for historians to do further
research. The bits we get here are
certainly tantalizing, and we can only
hope someone takes up his challenge,
since Feliz; now excommunicated, has
no further access to the archives.
There are, despite the jewels in the
book, still a few rhinestones. Gram-
. matically, Feliz has an infuriating
habit of putting a comma after the
word ""but"" or ""and"" rather than
before it, creating odd pauses in flow.
More problematic is his assertion that
he ·not only receives inspiration from
God but actual revelation, and he
.recounts a couple of these for us. He ,
is still convinced that he holds the
actual priesthood authority of God,
and he talks of heatings he's taken
part in. For anyone expecting his
leaving the church to mean he's
really made a break with it, or with
religion in general, the book would
be disappointing. But for those who
want to see spirituality in action even
outside of organized religion, or who
want to see insights on church
hierarchy or into history, the book
offers much on which to reflect.
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Ousted cadet: Sensuous Spirituality:
Out from Fundamentalism New military policy won't change much
By Andrea L. T. Peterson
Contributing Writer
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Crossroad
Publishing Co.; 1992; PB; 204
pp. (including appendices and notes)
V irginia Ramey Mollenkott,
who has been trying to shed
light on women's, Gay's, and
Lesbian's reality since the late
70s, seems to have upped the wattage
with her newest book, Sensuous
Spirituality. Her struggle is to get
""out from fundamentalism,"" under
which she was raised - to answer the
question ""How does a fundamentalist
who believes she is essenti~lly and
totally depraved become transformed
into a person who knows she is an
innocent spiritual being who is
temporarily having human experiences?""
· Mollenkott , who aligns her
· theology/ ideology most closely with
liberation theology, echoes the core of
that theology: ""spiritual beings who
are having human experiences ...
demonstrate love for their ultimate
and eternal context by enacting
tender concern for penultimate and
the apparently temporary."" In other
words, a geniune concern not for self,
but for all others (people as well as all
other living creatures) and for the
planet and its resources is an
automatic, almost involuntary
by-product of those truly at one with
God.
To support this thesis, Mollenkott
considers and incorporates a number
of simple premises. Among them,
these three. First, God is ""neither
male nor female nor ne uter, and yet
all-inclusively male and female and
neuter."" Second, ""everyone else at
their core is exactly who I am:
undivided from God Herself, ulti-
In Print, briefly ...
Resource for gay and
lesbian Mormons
No More Strangers and Foreigners is a
helpful resource for gay and lesbian
Mormons, their friends and family members
and also for those who counsel such. The
24-page brochure was written by Robert A.
Rees, who served as bishop for five years of
a Mormon congregation for singles in Los
Angeles. Bishop Rees developed an insight
and understanding of gay and lesbian
people which is representative of the growmg
awareness among members ahd leaders
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. Single copies are available for $3.00
each, including first class postage. Bulk
discounts also available.
-From Grand Teton Graphics, P.O. Box
1826-A, Idaho Falls, ID 83403-1826.
mately secure in a love that can never
be broken."" And third, ""we must not
measure God's nature by our own.""
Her initial discussion of the
language which we use to name/
describe God is eye-opening as well
as entertaining. It would not do her
justice to try to thoroughly outline
that discussion here. Suffice it to say
that since Goddess, Her, She, female,
and woman all incorporate the words
which refer to males, it makes at least
as much sense to use the ""more
inclusive"" words. In addition, since
male terms have been considered
both normative and inclusive for at
least 2000 years, why not give the
other set of terms a millennium or
two! Mollenkott is not unaware of her
humor - nor is she unaware of the
true validity of the arguments, in
spite of the humorous approach.
Hers is, in fact, one of the best - and
most convincing - arguments for
inclusivity around . Readers may
judge for themselves.
Sensuous Spirituality is not,
however, a treatise on inclusive language.
While this discussion of.
language is important, the thrust of
the book lies in concept of inclusivity
implied by the notion of justice .
Mollenkott manages to transform the
golden rule from ""do unto others as
you would have others do unto you""
into do unto any other as you would
have others do unto you if you and
""After President Clinton rescinds the
military ban on gay personnel, the
big news will be how quickly
everything returns to normal,"" pred1ct_
s a former ROTC cadet. Jim
Holabaugh was thrown out of ROTC
and told to repay his $25,000
scholarship after he came out. He
tells about his experiences in Torn
Allegiances: The Story of a Gay Cadet
(Alyson Publications, 1993.)
""There will not be a mass
coming-out of Lesbians and gay men
in the service,"" says Holabaugh. ""For
the most part, those who feel they'd
be accepted by their peers are
already out, on some level. Those
who feel they'd be harassed if they
came out will remain invisible, even
after the policy cl1anges.""
Holabaugh has spent much of his
time working to abolish the policy
that led to his discharge . On Dec. 12,
the generals saw one more line of
writing on the wall when they
opened the New York Times and
found a full page ad, signed by over
rules for some futuristic society -
using biblical justifications for each
rule.
The difficulty arises when each
participant is told that there is no way
of knowing ""whether you yourself
will be born into that society as
female or male; black, yellow, red, or
white; homosexual, bisexual, or
Suffice it to say that since Goddess,
Her, She, female, and woman all
incorporate the words which refer
to males, it makes at least as much
sense to use the ''more inclusive""
words.
he (or she) were to find yourselves,
by whatever quirk of fate, living each
other's lives.
One of the most effective tools
Mollenkott presents for simulating the
establishment of a truly just society,
built upon this annotated golden rule,
in which diversity is not only
tolerated or accepted, but respected, is
a little exercise of the imagination.
Each participant is asked to imagine
that she or he is charged with
formulating the moral and ethical
heterosexual; able-bodied or physically
handicapped; mentally capable
or incapable; poor or wealthy; nor do
you know whether your nation will
be powerful or weak.""
Choosing between such passages as
1 Tim. 6:1 (which urges slaves to
honor their masters) and Deut . 23:
15-16 (which admonishes against
returning or oppressing runaway
slaves); Gen . 3:16 (which subjects
women to the domination of their
husbands) and Eph. 5:21 (which
Jim Holobaugh
Photo: Mark Gilbert
100 college and university presidents,
urging a cl1ange in the policy. The
ad was orchestrated · by Holobaugh,
who, told he could not serve his
country, had become a volunteer at
the Lesbian and Gay Rights Project of
the American Civil Liberties Union.
subjects husbands to wives as well as
wives to husbands in mutually
· respectful relationship) becomes a real
challenge.
Likewise, determining which better
gmdes, Deut 23:1 (which prohibits
emasculated men -from entering the
temple) and Matt. 19:11-12 (which
elevates eunuch who have made
-themselves such for God's kingdom);
1 Cor. 6:9 (which list all who will be
prevented from entering heaven) and
Romans 8:38-39 (which affirms that
nothing can separate us from the love
of God); and Mark 7:27 (which
distinguishes between between the
Greeks and God's chosen, the
Hebrews) and Acts 17:26-27 (which
claims all nations for God); may seem
to be impossible. ·
And impossible it will be, unless
each of those planners chooses to
assume that he or she will be born
into the worst set of circumstances (by
1990 standards) and selects those
scrjptural passages that will enable
him or her - as wells as all others
born into the same or ""better"" circumstances
- to live tl1e best possible ... in
the most just world possible. It would
behoove each reader to put him or
herself to the test (p. 56), although it
is likely that readers of Mollenkott
have already considered such things
as they approach life in the world
around them.
There is really so much that can be
said about Sensuous Spirituality. In
sum, it is an invaluable resource to
any serious student of the world that
will - regardless of the roles _individuals
choose to or choose not to take
- birth the 21st century!
Second Stone•January/Februa~, I 993 _ [fil
..
•
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Put on some coffee
Can We Talk?
Get ready to meet the gay and lesbian Christians
in your community.
· Announcing Second Stone's Community Forum
Is there· a place in your community to go to meet interesting and caring
people like yourself ... to engage in stimulating conversation and share
interests and concerns? No? Well, YOU can change that! Make life more fun
and more interesting. Empower yourself with new ideas. Meet wonderful
new people. Listen. Learn. Laugh. With the rise in popularity of Utne
Reader's Neighborhood Salons, Second Stone thinks it's time for gay and
lesbian Christians to have their own version of saloning. We're calling it
Second Stone's Community Forum. One person (YOU!) can make a difference
in your community. With a little effort, you can connect a small group of
thoughtful Christians in your area for discussion and community.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY FORUM?
A community forum is a small group of individuals who meet on a regular
basis for good conversation and fellowship. Although the focus is on
discussion and debate, some such groups develop into book and video
exchanges, travel groups, and other kinds of sharing experiences.
... AND WHAT IS IT NOT?
The forum is not a church or worship group. The focus is on discussion, in an
ecumenical fashion, of issues of importance to gay and lesbian Christians.
Participants from all faith backgrounds should be welcomed and included.
The forum is not a support group to help deal with personal issues.
WHAT DO YOU TALK ABOUT?
Discussion topics may include hot issues in the news such as abortion and the
environment, issues peculiar to your community, and, in particular, national
and local issues pertaining to gay and lesbian Christians. Articles from
Second Stone or some other periodical may be discussed. CARE SHOULD BE
TAKEN THAT DISCUSSION OF PERSONAL ISSUES NOT TURN THE
FORUM INTO A SUPPORT GROUP.
· GETTING 'STARTED
Assembling a handful of people for your forum may be very easy or near
impossible depending upon who you know and where you live. If you are a
well connected ·gay or lesbian Christian you need go no further than your
address book, call two or three acq11aintances, tell them what the forum is all
about, set up a time, and ask them to invite a friend. If a scan of your address
book produces no candidates, and you live in an area where there is an
established gay community, there are a few things you can try . If there is a
local gay /lesbian newspaper, you should approach the editor about your idea
of putting together a community forum. She/ he will probably run a notice
for you at little or no cost. A small circular, such as the one illustrated, may be
posted at a gay business. If there is a gay and lesbian ministry in your area,
the pastor may allow you to post your circular at their meeting place and may
make an announcement for you as well.
POSTING A CIRCULAR
Always get permission before posting an announcement on someone's
bulletin board. Some folks who see your announcement may not be
gay-friendly. If you are worried about prank phone calls, you may want to
use a post office box for contact. (This, howe ver, makes contact a bit more
difficult and may cause some interested parties to put it off, or even forget
altogether.) Do not include an actual meeting date on yo ur circular. Just
announce when your forum meets (first and third Wednesdays, etc.) This way
your notice will not become dated, needing replacement.
tlfiJ Second Stone•January/February, 1993
WHEN OPENNESS IS RESTRICTED
Perhaps you live in an area where there is no established gay community,
and an idea such as posting a circular is out of the question. REMEMBER:
THERE ARE GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS IN THE SMALLEST OF
COMMUNITIES. You will have to seek them out. Contact local pastors and
inform them that you are planning a series of meetings to discuss ""how the
clrnrch can respond with compassion and affirmation to homosexuals in the
church"" and whether or not she/he may know .of someone who might be
interested in such discussion. Attend local meetings of peace and social justice
groups, such as Pax Christi, and announce your forum there. Contact hospital
chaplains and health department social workers. Discuss your plan with
everyone who might be interested, or know someone who might be
interested, in attending the forum. Don't give up.
WHERE DO YOU MEET?
Initial meetings may be held at a coffee house, cafe, community center, or
church space. As members of the forum get to know one another, meetings
may rotate between members' homes. In meeting in the homes of members,
take care that small children are well occupied or being sit with so as not to
interrupt the conversation.
You may want to consider a meeting space that relates to the topic to be
discus se d. If the forum is discussing homelessness, you may want to meet m
<I shelter for the homeless: If the discussion is on emergency relief for some
disaster, you may want to meet at drive headquarters.
SEE FORUM, Next Page
SECOND STONE'S fflirUtt
Gay & Lesbian Christians
(and friends, family and supportive others)
MEET TO SHARE IDEAS,
CONCERNS, DISCUSSION
AND GOOD FELLOWSHIP
Group meets:
For information contact:
Second Stone, the national gay and
lesbian Christian newsjournal
Bor. 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182
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Ask for input on meeting frequency from participants. It is probably best to
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and third Tuesday. Your forum may meet once a month, but cohesiveness
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momentum.
DIVERSITY OF THE GROUP
Every . pa;ticipant in your forum will show up with different needs and
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two, can be organized along the lines of discussion desire.cl. Forums should
not split because of disagreements on issues, however . Such disagreement
insures lively-discussion from all sides.
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Second Stone•Janua;/February , 1993 [II]
y Calendar Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •••• 1 • •••••••••••••••••••
The foll(TU)ing announcements have been
submitted by sponsoring or affiliated
groups.
Intimacy
with God
JANUARY 7-10, 1993, This retreat for
gay men will explore how gay love
and gay spirituality contribute to
cultivating the experience of God's
love. The retreat process will include
presentations, dialogue, small group
work, prayer, play, and worship.
Facilitator is John McNeill, Catholic
priest, psychotherapist, co-founder of
Dignity , and author of The Church and
the Homosexual and Taking a Chance on
God. Fee is $275.00. Kirkridge, a
mountain retreat.center in Eastern
Pennsylvania , is the setting . For
information contact Kirkridge,
Bangor, PA 18013-9359, (215)588-1793.
Annual T-E-N
Weekend
FEBRUARY 26-28, The Evangelical
Network has selected ''Keeping the
Church Alive"" as the theme for its
For your convenience
you may now FAX:
EDITORIAL
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(504)891-7555
annual gathering in Phoenix. The
congregation of Casa de Cristo Evangelical
Church is the host. The Evangelical
Network is an alternative fellowship
of biblical churches, minis tries
and individual Christians.
Workshops will include: Discipleship/
Equipping , Pf""!!!i_ng, Prayer ,
Communication, Leadership, Commitment/
Dedication, and Accountability
. Support groups will include
Pastor's Spouses, Pastors, AIDS
Ministries, Christian 12-step and
Ex-gay Recovery. For information
contact T-E-N, P .O. Box 16104,
Phoenix, AZ 85011, (602)265-2918.
Sixth National
Black Gay
and Lesbian
Conference
FEBRUARY 11-15, 1993, The Hilton
Hotel in Long Beach, Cal., is the
setting for ""Black Lesbians and Gays :
Building Bridges, Making
Connections,"" a conference to focus on
the inherent need to bridge the gaps
that separate around issues of gender,
Wa.mingtollDC
APRD., 25, 1993
GAYELLOWm
s~~~; PAGES ~
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[18]'-Second Stone•January/February, 1993
race, and sexual orientation. Topics to
be discussed during the five day
conference include leadership,
culture/ arts, family/ youth, heterosexism,
health, public policy, economics
, women's/ men's issues and
spirituality . For information _write to
the Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership
Forum, 2538 Hyperion Ave., #7, Los
Angeles, CA 90027, (213)666-5495.
CMI
Conference '93
MARCH 4-7, 1993, Communication
Ministry, Inc., presents a conference
on 'The Goodness of Being Gay:
Spirituality for Lesbian and Gay
Religious , Clergy and Seminarians.""
Besides major addresses and celebratory
litur_gies, workshops will
mclude: Celibacy as a Way of Loving,
Relationships in the Committed Life,
Coming Out, Formation Issues, .
Aging/Middle Years, and Hiv
Positive . Conference fee is $75.00. For
further information and pre-registration,
write to : CMI Conference
'93, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125.
,
PLGC Midwestern
Regional
Conference
MARCH 5-7, This conference,
sponsored by Presbyterians for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns, to be
held at the Heartland Presbyterian
Center, Kansas City, Missouri, will
give participants an opportunity
rediscover the roots of their faith and
celebrat e their spiritual strength as
individuals and as a community . For
information contact Doug Atkins, 747
N. Taylor Ave ., Kirkwood, MO
63122.
Connecting
families
MARCH 12-14, 1993, Laurelville
Mennonite Church Center is the
setting for the fourth Connecting
families retreat sponsored and
planned by Church of the Brethren
and Mennonite familes with gay or
lesbian members . For information
write to Brethren/ Mennonite Parents,
P.O. Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802 or •
Laurelville Mennonite Church
Center, Route 5, Mt Pleasa,nt, PA
15666.
Women-Church
Convergence
Conference
f\PRIL 16-18, Albuquerque; New
·Mexico, is the setting for the third
annual Women-Church Convergence .
qoals for the meeting include putting
·forth _ a vision of Women-Church,
. ............ . .. .
addressing the l'COllt.)mit: , FH)\ilic.,I,
sexual, and spiritual liv,•s or wnnwn,
and celebrating th rough prayer,
symbol, song, and story . Woml'n
interested in a global , ecumenica l
movement of feminist -bas ed communities
of justice seeking friends
who engage in sacramen t and solidarity
are encouraged to write Roz
Ostendorf, Women-Church Convergence,
3915 Kingman Blvd., Des
Moines, IA 50311.
ABC Annua l
Retreat
JUNE 26-29, American Baptists
Concerned hosts its annual retreat in
the San Francisco Bay Area. For information
contact American Baptists
Concerned, 872 Erie St., Oakland, CA
94610.
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Meet
JULY 2-4, Hundreds of lesbian moms,
gay dads and their children will meet
in Orlando, Florida for the 14th
annual conference of th e Gay and
Lesbian Parents Coalition . ""Share the
Love ... Share the Magic!"" is the
theme. The Clarion Hotel is the
setting, providing opportunity to visit
the Disney attractions . For information
contact GLPCI '93, Box 561504,
Orlando, FL 32856-1504,
(407)420-2191.
""Partners f or the
Glory of God""
JULY 15-20, The Gay and Lesbian
Affirming Disciples Alliance and the
Unit ed Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns will sponsor joint
activities during the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ biennial General
Ass embly (Disciples) and General
Synod (UCC) at the Cervant es
Convention Center in St. Louis.
Michael and Katherine Kinnamon are
schduled to speak at a Saturday
ev ening banquet. For in fomation,
contact Randy Palmer at
(319)332-6245.
Send calendar items to:
Second Stone
Box ·8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
or FAX to:
(504)891-7555
...
I
Paris MCC recognized
t.CENTRE de !'ESPRIT LIBERATEUR
Metropolitan Community Church in
Paris has become a registered church
in France. Ms. Caroline DeBlanco,
pastor, said that the church's bylaws
were reviewed ""with a fine-toothed
comb"" by the prefect of police and by
the Minister of the Interior. DeBlanco
said that between 15 and 30 people
attend services, and the church
· averages 10 services per month.
-Keeping in Touclz
Anita C. Hill honored
t.ANITA C. HILL recently received
the Voice of the Spirit Award from the
Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry
in San Francisco. Hill was recognized
on November 7, 1992 at the LLGM
Voices of Distinction even t for her
work with St. Paul-Reformation's
Wingspan Ministry, and for her
""spirited advocacy"" on behalf of gay,
lesbian and bisexual people in th e
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America . Hill served as Ministry
Associate with Wingspan Ministry
from 1983-1990 and is a member of
the ELCA Task Force on Human
Sexuality. She is currently employed
by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
as coordinator of AIDS Ministry
and is 11n educator/ counselor in
the HIV/ AIDS and Anti-Homophobia
Training Program of Family Service,
Inc. in St. Paul.
For information about the Lutheran
Lesbian and Gay Ministry or the
Voices of Di stinction awards contact
Rev, Ruth Frost, Rev. Jeff Johnson or
Rev. Phyllis Zillhart, (415)553-4026.
New Life MCC receives charter
llNEW LIFE METROPOLITAN Community
Church, Charlotte, N.C., has
been given ""charter church"" status in
the Universa l Fellowship ·o f Metropolitan
Community Churches. The
charter was presented fo Pastor
Robert Carl Darst by the Rev. Elder
Nancy Wilson . during the business
meeting of the Gulf Lower Atlantic
District of the UFMCC at its recent
meeting in Raleigh, N.C. Fourteen
members of New Life traveled to
Raleigh to be present at the event
which took place at Pullen Memorial
Baptist Churcl1. New Life MCC will
celebrate its ninth anniversary on
January 30. -Q Notes
Group formed for gay Lutheran
clergy, church professionals
t. WINGSPAN MINISTRY of St. Paul
Reformation Lutheran Church, St.
Paul, Minn ., has helped launcl1 a new
group known as Uncommon Call,
which is composed of clergy, seminarians,
and other church profes-
. sionals, all · of whom identify as gay,
lesbian, or bisexual. The group
Noteworthy ~ ................................... .. ........ ..
draws its membership from Regions 3
and 5 of the Evang elical Lutheran
Church in America. Leo Treadway,
spokesperson for Uncommon Call,
said ""As this organization draws
increasing numbers of church profes-
- sionals who feel that the church has
run roughshod over them, their lives,
and their ministries, Uncommon Call
may become a force to be reckoned
with."" He said the churdl, confronted
by significant numbers, will have to .
face the shortsightedness of past
strategies and own up to the pain it
has inflicted on countless individuals.
For information on Uncommon Call,
call (612)224-3371. -Equal Time
South Carolina MCC
triples membership
t.MEMBERSHIP HAS TRIPLED from
31 to 93 at MCC Charleston, SC, since
Ms. Mary Moore became pastor two
years ago. 'The biggest sing le reason
for the growth is the empty chair,""
Ms. Moore said. ""At every meeting
we hav e set aside an empty chair to.
acknowledge the people who are not
yet there . When a new member joins,
we tell them, 'Someone else paid for
your chair. Will you provide a place
for the next person?""' That philosophy
of making space to welcome
new members is described in a new
book that Moore highly recommends,
Preparing the Clzur'cl( for ·t1ie Future by
Carl George. She also credits the
dmrcl1's growth to strong, mature lay
leadership in the congregation.
-Keeping in Touclz
New pastor, new building
for MCC/Baltimore
AAFTER A PERIOD OF nearly two
years without a regular pastor, the
Metropolitan Community Church of
Baltimore has selected the Rev.
Joseph Totten-Reid to lead the
congregation. Rev. Totten-Reid had
pastored the MCC in Santa Barbara
since 1987. His arrival coincides with
another landmark change for the
church . Beginning wifh the Christmas
Eve service, MCC/Baltimore
began worshipping in its own church
building, Waverly Chapel, the former
home of the Waverly Presbyterian
Church. -Baltimore Alternative
New More Light church
t.THE SESSION OF CHRIST Presbyterian
Church in Terra Linda adopted
a More Light statement on June 9,
1992, becoming a More Light Congregation
welcoming of gay, lesbian,
and bisexual m embers. The statement
reads, in part, ""All who confess
their faith in Christ and wish to be
His disciples are welcome to membership.
This includes people of all
races, people of all social or economic
states, _ handicapped peopl e, single
people, marr\,ed people, gay or
lesbian people.
BMC meets in Denver
t.OVER 140 PEOPLE ATTENDED the
Fourth International Convention _of
the Brethren/Mennonite Council for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns in
Denver, Colorado, October 9-12. The
convention marked a maturing for
BMC in - a number of . ways. The
decision to hold the convention in the
west, away from BMC's strong base in
the east, allowed many from the
western part of North America to
attend, which the group hopes will
lead to a stronger BMC presence
there. The women's contingent at the
convention was very strong, and
women provide leadership in ways
that have moved the group much
closer to equality. The Brethren
presence was strong, and included a
meeting where Church of the
Brethren concerns were discussed.
An auction was held which raised
over $4600 for the convention travel
fund and for the BMC's Linscheid
Memorial Endowment Fund.
New Pentecostal church
for Vermont ·
t.THE NATIONAL GAY Pentecostal
Al!ianc() has announced the formation
of Resurrection Apostolic Ministries in
r,j& Pontius' Puddle
SNOW IS Ll\<.E'
· T14E NEW V£AR.
IT 6E&IN~ ~S f!i..
GIFl"" FRC>ti\ t:,-Ot>··
Pt>RE l U~SPQ\LEO,
FOI..L OF \-'OPE
AND PROt<\\SE.
Burlington, Vermont. The mission is
the first NGPA work in New Eng-.
land, and joins other NGP A churches,
Lighthouse Apostolic Church in
Schenectady, N.Y., and Casa de la·
Paloma Apostolic Church in Tucson,
Ariz. The . NGP A was founded in
Schenectady in 1980 and has .
churches, missions and ministers from
Arizona to West Africa. It operates a
school for _training clergy and publishes
a bimonthly newsletter. For
information on Resurrection Apostolic
Ministries contact the pastor, Sr. Miki
Thomas, P.O . Box 162, Essex Jct., VT
05452.
Rev. David Eckert passes
AREV. DA YID K. ECKERT, interim
pastor of Delta Harvest MCC, Stockton,
Cal., passed away on Oct. 25,
1992. I;:ckert was very active in the
fight for civil rights of lesbian and
gay military persons. He had a
distinguished milit9fY career. Eckert
was licensed as a pastor in the
UFMCC in July, 1991. He leaves
behind his life partner, Bill Weaver,
two daughters Elisa Anne and
Angela Christine, and his supportive
former wife, Beverly, of Orangevale,
Cal.
Fax
Noteworthy items
to (504)891-7555
HUTSVILLE,
From Page 13
in a home with doors and windows
and furniture that's just yours?"" -Liz
Lapidus and KC Wildmoon ·
EPILOGUE: Hutsville, which some
say was over 25 years old, exists no
more. The community was razed_ in
preparation for the opening of the
Georgia Dom~. Sources say the city
of Atlanta was fair in offering
housing and opportunities.
This article first appeared last spring in
Southern Voice. Reprinted with permission.
THEr-1 IT FALL~
lt-lTO Tl-lE !-\ANDS
Of: t-\ANKIND.
0
6
i
t r- I
> .. , 'i
/ /
'• I
.. • ... •· ........ .
""WONDERFUL DIVERSITY ,"" ""Heartily
recommended,"" ""Philosophically intriguing,
11 ""Excellent. 11 Why do reviewers
highly est eem CHRISTIAN*NEW AGE
QUARTERLY? Great articles and lively
co lumns make this bridge of dialogue
between Christians and New Agers as
entertaining as it is substantive. Subscribe
for only $12.50/yr. Or sample us for $3.50.
CHRJSTIAN*NEW AGE QUARTERLY , P.O.
Box 276, Clifton, NJ 07011-0276. TF
CHI RHO PRESS. Send for your copy of
The Bible and Homosexuality by Rev.
Michae l England for $5.95 or I'm Still
Dancrn~ by long-term AIDS survivor Rev.
Steve Pieters for $8.95 and receive a free
catak,g from Chi Rho Press, . an MCC-based
pubhshmg hous~ for the Gay /Lesbian
Chnsban ~ommumty. Q_r receive our catalog
by. sending $1.00. P.O. Box 7864-A
Gaithersburg, MD 20898. '
G~neral Interest ·
IF YOU HA VE READ ""The Aquarian Gospel
?f Jesus the Chnst"" by Levi, I am interested
m corresponding and disc;ussing. W. Courson
P.O. Box 1974, Bloomfield , NJ 07003. 6/93'
Profes·siona-1 Servie.es ,
PUBLISHING_ OPPORTUNITIES, Having
d1fficulty gettt~g your written words pubhshed,
JM Publtshmg Co., a Christian based
pubhshmg house is accepting manuscripts
for _review. Send submissions to: JM Pubhshmg
Co., ·P.O. Box 2662 Middletown CT
06457. 2/93 ' '
LAUNCH,
From Page 7
of S!'CK, _and a Christian not known
for his wholehearted acceptance of
gay and lesbian people, about the
book,, In his reply to _the board, he
achmtted he had not read the whole
book, but said some prayers might
""foster the myth that HIV and AIDS
are confined to the homosexual community.""
_The Rev. Peter D'Driscoll,
chair of the Daring to Speak Coalition
, demanded, ""Where were the
Archbishop and the Church when the
meqia were fost_ering that myth?""
Carey sugg~.~ted he might resign as
President 1£ a divergence... in
editorial poli cy were frequently
repeated."" The board withdrew its ·
commission, leav ing Dr. Stuart and
the book in the wilderness. But she
did i:iot slink away, as the resulting
media coverage last' March made
clear. ·
Bishop Spong noted that there was a
blessing in the entire situation.
Because of the attention given to the
suppression of the book by SPCK, it
will_ now be more widely known and
available through Hamish Hamilton's
sponsorship. -
Dr. Stuart said she had learned a
valuable lesson from the upheaval:
""We will never allow ourselves to be
treated like that again,"" to which a
_?1eering audience replied, ""Amen!"" [ml Second Stone•Jan uary /Feb ruary , _1993
Classifieds . ......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... •~ ..... .
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COMMENT
From Page4
churches who would be part of this
flow and movement of God would be
those . churches who received homosexuals,
He said that just as in the
Jesus movement of the 1970's, those
churches who receive.d hippies were
the· blessed churches, and those who
wouldn't re ceive them missed this
ril?ve of God. So it would be, Benny
H1nn said, that those churches which
would not accept homosexuals into
their churches would miss the
greatest outpouring of the Spirit yet.
_ Therefore, Hinn stated, he began to
pray for God to bring homosexuals
into his church. I'm not sure he fully
understood what God was showing
him, but he never stated that God
was going to make heterosexuals out
of these homosexuals.
In t~e_J~uary /February, 1990 issue
of Ministries Today the ""insiders
report"" revealed that ""respected Bible
teacher John Sandford from Coeur ·
D'Alene, Idaho, writing to charismatic
Sou them Baptists in the fullness
fellowship · Communique .newsletter
hsts what he believes will be ""significant
changes to take place in the ·
90's."" One of the changes Sanford
expects is to ""see the exaltation of
eunuch ministries based on Matthew
19:12.""
On September 22, 1992 the pastor of
a large charasmatic church in
Pittsburgh, Penn ., stated that in their
ea,rly morning prayer time the
church prays that the North, South, ·
East ~nd W~st_ would give up souls
held m caphv1t_y. But one morning
God spoke to him and said '1 have a
group of people you're not praying
into the church.""He asked God who
that might be and God said ""the
homosexuals."" So now Covenant
Church of P_ittsburgh is praying for
God to send m homosexuals.
Name ____________ . _.
Address
City/St./;::Z:-ip----------'-
AD COPY _______ _
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20 word minimum. All classifieds
must be pre-paid. Deadline one month
prior to cover date. We will mail you a
copy of the edition(s) in which your ad
appears
He shared at the International
Ministers Forum annual convention
in Dayton, Ohio in September, 1992
that ""God is bringing a paradigm
shift to the church."" We are beginning
to travel on new ground. This
same pastor from Pittsburgh told the
pentecostal pastors assembled inDayton
that he had a problem with
people making statements like ""if
~od doesn't judge San Francisco for
its homosexuality, He'll have to
apologize to Sodom and Gomorrha ""
because, he said, ""Sodom and G;morrha
were never destroyed for
homosexuality at all. According to
?zekiel 16:49 they were destroyed for
mhosp1tality and an attitude problem
which sounds like the church today .:.
Many pastors at the IMF convention
on hearing this, grabbed pens and
paper to make note of this scripture
reference.
God is doing a sovereign work in
the earth that is just beginning to be
understood, though the groundwork
has been laid for the last two and a
half decades .
. Be ready for God to do a new thing
m the earth. Expect miracles. There
1s only one flock, with one Shepherd
qne Body _of Christ. No longer can th~
unappreciated remain ignored, amputated
and screaming, ""Behold I am
a dry tree ."" But Isaiah 56:7
prophecies 'for My house shall be
called a house of prayer for all
people."" So be it, Lord, Jesus. So be
1t. When? God says soon. But God's
impression of time is not the same as
ours. All we know is that it's corning.
·Soon.
Rev. Samuel Kader is co-founder and
pastor of Community Gospel Church in
Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton church a
gay-positive, full gospel church is soo; to
celebrate its 7th anniversary. Pastor
Kader has been a conference speaker in
the gay/lesbum community since 1975.
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New Orleans, LA 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,26,1993,"Jan/Feb 1993",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/0f15d173a1eaa687fb2c597df3048f30.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1664,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1664,"Second Stone #27 - Mar/Apr 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"AMERICA'S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL :
REFLECTIONS ON GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIAN ACTIVISM
BY NANCY HUGMAN
claiming that position means engaging
in civil disobedience, defying the
status quo, risking personal loss? In
the case of our churches, struggling to
grow and remain financially solvent,
what wou.ld so passionately motivate
us that we would risk losing members,
losing our status with the
Council of Churches, or losing our
reputations with the nebulous heterosexual
or gay and lesbian ""communities?""
Looking ba.ck at the Christian
Christianity is a risky business.
Jesus of Nazareth got nailed -
literally - for challenging the
status quo. When The Way,
as early Christianity was called, could
no longer hide behind Mother Sarah's
skirts, lions' jaws ripped Christian
flesh from Christian bones. Some
Christians hid and survived and
others renounced The Way and ran
back to the relative safety of Abraham's
bosom. Since then, Jesus' disciples,
individually and collectively,
have confronted some tough choices.
As a little girl in Catechism classes,
I wondered if I would have courageously
faced the lions or followed
Jesus to the cross. As an adult, I
wonder what issues, situations, and
people are important enough to risk
taking a pro-active stance, even if
church's track record for taking a ' '-""-""'-'--'--''----'-""---""--'=~= =-""--'""'-""--'-=""-""""=~""""'-'~=~===~"""" : .. ;.2· """"'•""""'-1'• ·
""Christian"" stand in difficult circumstances,
I find that, in many cases, the
oppressed, after winning power,
become the oppressors . The Christian
church has successfully made the
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
Washington, DC
April 25, 1993
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PA ID
NEW ORLEANS, LA
PERMITNo. 511
Fromlhe Editor T ............. • .... ' .......... ....... .... .
Religion::g:on~:-.b~d .:-::-:. . . . . . . . . ...
By Jim Bailey
· 1· n recent day_s the ~arn:age of .tl~e mass s:icid~ in .Jo11estowi:t; C,uyana is ·
called to mmd. The comman:dmg .v01ce · of. 'Jim Jones,- barking -and
p eading at the sa~e -ti~~' reverberate s fro_m. ~-,public ;idciress_ system .
throughout a village constructed in the jungle -by followers -who were
convini:~d they were building a community for God. The faithful were
receiving .the final message fro111 their prophet and would soon be dead,
vidi~s :oIJ?oisoned drink and poiso;ried religion.
Tl}e God ,of guns and poison ha_s raised another prophet in Waco, Texas . As
is almost always the case with ·religious sects, the despairing and
dise_nfranchised gi_ve tl~e111selves,. their time, and their possessions to a
charismatic leader-who claims to know the path to The Promised Land . And
ju~t in case th~re ar(! ~ne~i _e~ along the way, '.they arin-for battle, therri
against the world. How chilling to imagine Dayid Koresh, lead~r of the
Branch Davidian s , pr;op\l~t o(blood and misery, Biblein <;>he hand and .
assault:weapon in _the_ other; killi11g for his dominion and testing : the outer _
limits .of what those cci!'nmitteci to iMfr faith and b elief will do:. '
So once again we see the. extreme <:onsequences cif religlon -go~e : bad. : ·we
SE_?e ~ ~vangeli~t preaching a God_ that is comprehencleii :Only by himself and.
his followers.
' When the faithful ·drink from the : cauldron of poisi_on or puli out the big .
guns, .it is obvio us to ~II tiuit. sometl1ing is terribly wrong ai1d ,ire are shaken
by 'what can be done in the-Ila.me-of a loving God. But the poison is ·not' ·
always so apparent. an\i oftentiines the doses are not fatal.
The : life· of Christ is a -mode], for ministry . The function of religious
organizations and dehcirnimitions· ·in carrying ou t the ministry of Christ is
simple. It is rooted in .compa ssion.for others - feeding, clothing, sheltering,
healing and teachillg whenev·er t,he·opportunity arises. Not too far beyond
ti1~t,. the poison sets· in, : Wl~e;, one ness breaks down into ""them and us,"" the
cauldron starts ·bubbl_ihg,
Constantly we must call our cl1urches and religious organizations toward
oneness and ministry of compassion. That includ es churches who vote to
~xcl~de Gays and Lesbians and churches· who ·s~pport 'discriminati;n against
Gays and Lesbian s:,.: Ii:i s1:1ch churches .religioil lJas gone: bad . There . are _no :
live updates a's we · s~.:V f;om Waco, ho,~ever : Th e' ongoing violence is SQ
subtle most ·hardly notice it. · 0Aj ~ · SECOND STONE Newsjoumal. ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every olher
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New O rleans, .LA 70182.
Copyright 1993 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For display advert ising infonnation call (504)899-40 14 or wrile to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements.noteworthy ilems lo (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 . Manuscripls to be
returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Second Slone
is otherwise nol responsible for the relum of any material.
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjoumal for the national gay and
lesbian communi1y.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FORTHIS ISSUE: Nancy Hugman, Michael Blankenship,
Johnny Towns end, William Day. Rev. Dr. Buddy'Truluck, Joe Miller, Cathie Lyons
m Second Stone•March/April, 1993
~
Contents . . -. ,., .. · ..... -·· ................. .......... .
Ct] From The Editor
Religion gone bad
~_J1
1
·_. Commentary
~~~ Gay and lesbian Christians as political :activists [tJ News Lines
[[]
Building community: · . ·
Dominican women.sew for their lives
_. . _ _ . : Al_so: Poetry by Kathryn Vivian Keating
·llru.
-Hope and the resurrection of Jesus
By Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck· . .
:Gays and Lesbians fn North America's
oldest Mennonite congregation
By Joe Miller
qover Story . .
What price will we pay for freedom?
:By Nancy Hu_gman
.
r1· . 1· 1 Gays and Lesb;aOs In the Holy Land
The struggle is just beginning ·. . · ·.
[r _ gj Ministry in the second decade of AIDS
By Cathie Lyof)s . . . . . . · . . :
Can Homophobia_ Be C~re_d? reviewed by . [HJ In Print · · · ·
Joh,nnyTownsend;.A Christian Gay Catechism
reviewed by Michael: Blankenship
[67· Calendar
L ~
r~ 1171 Noteworthy
~ --, 1191 Resource Guide
I 20 I Classifieds
Comment> •••••••••••••••• .- •• • • :• • . : . ~ •• : 9; .................... • •• ,, • ••• • ••• • ••• . ••• . ••• • •••••• . ••••
Gay and lesbian Christians as activi:sts
By Michael Blankenship
Guest Comment
forgotten what a political activist Jesus
was! It is a fact ·of history that Jesus
was tried, sentenced, and executed by
the Roman courts on the charge of
high treason. The inscription on the
cross (The King of the Jews) leaves no
-· -doubt - about the charge that was
brought against him. He incited his Should gay and lesbian Christians
be politically active? I
know that when we see other
Christian leaders such as
Jerry - Falwell and Pat. Robertson
expounding their conservative views
in the political arena we're all turned
off. So what's the difference between
them and us? First of all, they are -·
using their political clout to keep the
oppressed peoples of this nation in
(what they consider to be) th eir
proper pla ce. We, on the other hand,
use our political abilities to further
liberate out sisters - and · brothers.
Should we allow further political
greed for p·ower and contro_l to continue,
or should we press our government
for full civ_il rights.?
people, the Jews, to revolt and cease
paying taxes to Rome. Jesus wanted
Israel to be liberated from · archaic
laws and . attitudes. Even in the first
chapter of Luke, Zechariah proph- _
esied, 'The God ·of Israel has turned
to God's people, saved them and set
them free by raising up a deliverE, of
Troy Perry, the founder · of the :
UFMCC, over the years has repeatedly
come under attack for being a
driving political force in the gay and
lesbian community . I think with
regard to his political activity, Rev. ·
Perry can be compared to Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Both worked tirelessly
for their ideals of freedom and
civil rights for their individual oppressed
minorities, yet -never advo,cated
violence it, any form. Clearly
both hav_e felt that working politically
was an act of ""loving their neighbors,""
wanting the best for their
communities, as well as themselves,
know ing God would work through
their efforts toward a world free from
prejudice. Surely no one would put
down King for his politi~al actions.
For some reason, the gay and
lesbian Christian community, in its
efforts to remain obscure, has totally
For some reason, the gay and le~bian
Christian community, in its efforts to
-_-remain obscure, has totally forgotten
- what a political activist Jesus was .. :
All of the Bible prophets .urged their.
people to justice-:making activities.
Rather than sitting quietly in the
closet, shouldn't we be doing the
th . ? same 1ng.
victorious power. on ·e Who ,viH
deliver us from our enemies and out
· ofthe hand of all who hate us.""· Tht$
passage -describes a. political le,ader;
this passage describes Jesus. - · ,
- If ·Jesus · ·were the leader of the
-lesbian .and -gay movement of today
his message would still be the same
one he had for his own 1\ation:
change yourselves! Don't let' liitter_
ness and resentment of the oppo$i~iqn,
interfere with your efforts at liberation,
by all means ""love · your
enemy."" . • . . -. -
· - Don't let internal oppression (arid
.internalized homophobia) oc01r. -This
lack of compassion for our brothers
-arid sisters could r'uin air · our
progress. Who-would want -to leave
one form _ of oppression for another?_
So remember to love your neighbors .
Most importantly Jesus would have
us change _ to be living examples of
the values and ideals we would like
to see coming from the oppressors.
When our detractors see what . a
lo.ving, compassionate, and -faithful
community we are (as .many have
seen during the_ AIDS crisis) then
their minds will be changed.
All of the Bible prophets urged
their people to justice-making activities.
Rather than sitting quietly in
the closet, shouldn't we be doing the
same thing? - Proclaim your human
dignity, agressi_vely voice _ your
opposition to prejudice, but be loving,
_ and don't defame your enemies.
Support your J;,rothers and sisters and
we'll all be stronger . Show the love
of Christ in your ""works"" ... without
""works"" (including political works)
your faith is nothing.
Worst prejudices reflected in effort to ostracize Gays, Lesbians
By Rev. John Cunningham
Guest comment
E very wave has its undertow.
Every rise in human consciousness
stirs up the dark
side. This was obvious during
our nation's civil rights ·movement.
Film clips of this historic struggle
are edifying and horrifying .
They show us how a minority, daring
to claim their rights and invoking our
highest ideals, elicit in turn hostile
and base reactions from those too
afraid to understand. Today, are we
not alarmed by the resurgence of neonazis
m, and other hate movements,
as if nothing has been learned , no
ground gained?
Issues change, but this pattern is
repeated time and again . Now we
see it played out in Colorado, where
city ordinances of Aspen, Boulder,
and Denver, enacted to protect the
rights of lesbian and gay citizens,
have been nullified by a small
majority of the state's electorate.
Newsweek's cover story highlighted
the sky rocketing incidence of violence
done to lesbian and gay people.
Statistics reports that our teenagers,
who come to discover this to be their
sexual orientation, have a suicide rate
three times · higher than their other
peers. Publi_sher Matthew Rothschild,
a month after the Republican Convention,
wrote an article carried in
the new s papers entitled, ""Gay
bashing becomes new national
pasttime."" The prejudice and discrimination
associated with homophobia is
widespread and deep-rooted. And it
is ugly .
What dishearten s me most is that
so-called Christians spread this
. bigotry and were the force behind
Amendment 2 in Colorado as well as
the failed Measure 9 in Oregon. The
religious right, armed with a faulty
biblical exegesis and a social agenda
of repression based on ignorance and
fe""ar, are organizing ·to wage -their
campaign in a score of other states.
Our mo.st cherished · religiou ·s
conviction is that God creates .every
human being. Studies indicate that
approximately one out of ten comes·
intci the world with some var iation of
a same-sex orientation. They make
up society's invisible minority. This
occurs eve rywh ere and _ in · every
genernti_on. Wise people see this as
_ part of the myst ery and diversity of
Creation, and can accept others for
who they are. Only the most narrow
and insecure peopl e stigmatize other's ·
for being different. A true Christian
honors every person as a child of
God. · And a true American champions
the rights of all persons.
Dr Arnold Mindell, founder of
process oriented psychology, maintains
that minority groups serve a
vital function in society. They represent
the cutting edge; they are the
wave of the future .· Their emergence
· may seem unsettHng and brash; but
_ it is the harb(nger of new life. For
minority issues contain a valujc! that
the collective needs . Their integration
is nol for the sake of the few of
""them,"" rather, it is for the ·health of
all. The . wisdom of scripture is
. apropos: ""Love the stanger then, for
you were once strangers in Egyp t""
(Deut. 10:19).
Can we ride the wave, or will we
get sucke(l down by the undertow?
The Rev. John Cunningham is the pastor
of St. Bridget Church in Mesa, Arizona.
Second St.;-ne•March/April, 1993 W
:y News Lines • ~ .......... . •.~·· ~ '· -~ ..... ..... .............................................. .
Catholic priest dies of:A\DS . . . . . .
M ROMAN CATHOLIC priest who was forced.to )ea\fe hij, Ohio parish after disclosing
he was gay and had AIDS died on Jan.10 of.complications_from the disease. The Rev.
Robert Apking was ""hospitalized last November, seven years after he learned he had
contractea HIV. Apking was fori:ei:I· to leave St. Christopher Church ""in Vandalia, Ohio
in 1990 after he discussed his illness and sexual orientation in an interview with the
.Dayton Daily Nws. ·Prior to his death ; Apking was a counselor and member of the board
of trustees of the Miami Valley AIDS Foundation. -Southern Voice
Church drops Southern Baptist Convention affiliation
llTHE DOLORES STREET BAPTIST Church in San Francisco has voted to withdraw as
a member of the Southern Baptist COnvention.beca·use of the national group's condemnation
of homosexuality. The Southern Baptists have moved to banish congregations that
""affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior ."" In voting to leave tne national
organization as of Jan. 10, the Dolores Street Baptist Church voted to reaffirm its 1981
declaration that they ""choose to remain open and loving to all persons. -GayNet
One gay person killed every five days
llRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil's daily newspaper reports one gay person is killed in the city
every five days. At least 50 Gays were Killed between January and September 1992. Tlie
real figure is probably much higher due to the reluctance of families to report the full
circumstances of the deaths. Of tnese deaths, only about ten percent were investigated by
Rio police. -SDA Kinship Journal
Integrity chapter follow~ trial of member's murderer
AfNTEGRITY /BROOKLYN played a pivotal role in the prosecution, conviction, and
sentencing of the murderer of one of its members; a contribution-which was widely noted
in the New York media. Philip Cooper, a graphic artist and poet, who lived in the Fort
Greene section of Brooklyn, was beaten and stangled to death in his apartment on
November 5, 1991 by Kevin Murray of Manhattan, who had previously been arrested 47
times and convicted 25 times on various charges. As the case came to trial, Integrity
members pledged to monitor the progress of the trial and at least six people showed up m
~riminal court over the cour~e of the three day tri~l. _New York Newsday reported,
'Members of the Brooklyn Heights chapter oHntegnty filled the courtroom durmg _the
trial and sobbed as [State Supreme Court Justice Glorial Goldstein handed down the stiff
sentence."" -11,e Voice of Integrity
Arsonist said church programmed him toward homosexuality
llP A TRICK LEE FRANK, 42, who was charged with setting fire to at least 17 churches
in Florida, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. _A Tennessee native with a long
history of mental illness, Frank believed churches were programming him to have
homosexual urges , psychologists said at his trial. -17,e Lutheran
Camoaian launched to bring ""heter.osexual elhic"" to California
llFOLi.OWING COLORADO'S LEAD, a conservative California religious ~roup has
.launched · a campaign to add an anti-gay -rights h1easure to their state's constitution. A
fund-raising letter sent by the Rev. Lou ·sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition calls
for a ""statewide ballot proposition on the heterosexual ethic"" in California. The letter
·holds up the success of Colorado's Amendment 2 as an example. ""Pro-family activists
won a measure prohibiting 'special rights' in Colorado,"" the letter states. ""There is no
guarantee that a campaign such as this one will succeed [in California], but the greatest
danger is not doing anything at all."" -Southern Voice·
-Former seminary professor gets severance settlement
llOVER $100,000 has reportedly been paid by the Lutheran School of Theology at
Chicago to the Rev. Dr. David E. Deppe, in an out-of-court severance settlement over
issues pertaining to Depl'e's sexual orientation. ·Deppe, who is gay, was a tenured
member of the faculty and had taught preaching and church / society courses at Lutheran
seminaries for over ""24 years. After being ""outed"" by individual members of a faculty
wives group, Depl'e was asked to resign, but he.refused , saying that he had previously
reveaJed his sexual orientation to the seminary president. The settlement is rel'ortedly
the lar&est ever paid by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to one of its gay
clergy. 'Most pastors are expected to .resigl\ over this issue, and are usually paid little 'or
notliing,"" said Deppe. ""I decided to take a aifferent action and to stand up for what I knew
was right.""
Task Force launches ""Fight the Right"" campaign
llTHE NATIONAL GAY and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute has hired Oregon
activist Scot Nakagawa to coordinate its ""Fight the Right"" campaign against an onslaught
of Colorado-style anti-gay initiatives. ""Family values"" groups in at least a dozen states
are gearing up to put anti-gay ballot measures before voters this year and next. States
t_argeted by tlie right are-Idaho, Michigan, Ohio, Washington, Montana, Iowa, Missouri,
Minnesota, Ca]ifornia, Maine , Georgia, and Oregon. Gay and lesbian activists around
the country are pre paring for battles similar to tnose waged last year in Colorado and
Oregon. · Through hiring Nakagawa, who will work out of a field office in Oregon ,
NGLTF will expand its civil rights organizing work and coordinate efforts to oppose
statewide initiativ es.
Chaplain rejects Gays as paren~s
llWITH THE CLAMOR dying down about the discussion three Lesbians had with
students at a Boise, Idaho high school in November, a local chaplain has sl'oken against
gay parenting to balance out the debate. The Rev. Chris McGreer last week talked to 90
l·uniors and seniors about ""medical , psychological and sociological"" disadvantages of the
ifestyles of Gays and Lesbians. ""Il""asically, 1 just provided them with the facts on the
issue,"" he said afterward. Three teachers were suspended last November after they
·allowed three Lesbians to· discuss gay parenting with their students. All three were
reinstated after a storm of protest. -Sou them Voice · .
[Ij Second Stone•March/April, 1993
Methodists want denominational gathering moved from Colorado
llCOLORADO UNITED METHODISTS Against Discrin1ination is circulating petiti ons
calling on the Commission on General Conference of the United Methodist Church to
move the site of its 1996 gathering from Denver, Colorado to an alternate location, in
response to the passage of Amendment 2. ""We need to bring national pressure on the state
of Colorado to overturn this legalized discrimination,"" the organization stated in a press
release ~ The group has been joined in P.ublicly calling for the conference site chang e by
California •Nevada Conference Council on Ministries, Methodist Federation for Social
_Actio_n, North Central Jurisdiction Church and Society leaders, Western Jurisdiction
College of Bishops and Western Jurisdiction Council on Ministries. For information on
the petition, which all Methodists can sign, write to Gregory Norton, First United
Methodist Church, 1401 Spruce St., Boulder, CO 80302.
Bizarre scandal hits Church of England
llTHE INDEPENDENT has outed the Rev. Sir Derek Pattinson, .the most powerful lay
member of the Church of England who succeeded in barring the pro-gay book Daring to
Speak Love's Name. Pattinson is chairman of .the Society for the Promotion of Christian
Knowledge and served as general secretary of the Church of England's General Synod
for 18 years until his retirement in 1990. Pattinson was suspended from his post at S,PCK
in early Dec ember, while the society looks into ""financial irregularities"" stemnhng from a
1990 trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was joined, at SPCK expense, by his
then-lover Barnaby Miln, a gay rights activist and one of Britain's youngest Justices of
the Peace. -GayNet
National Eoiscopal organization cancels Colorado meeting
llTHE EXECUfNE COMMITTEE of the Association of Diocesan Liturgy and Music
Commissions of the Episcopal Church voted unanimously at its recent meeting to decline
an offer to hold its 1995 meeting in the .state of Colorado due to the passage of Amendment
2. The Rev. James Newman, ADLMC !'resident, noted that the passage of the Amendment
. was in conflict with the organization's theme of ""hospitality, welcome, inclusion , and
inculturati o n in the Body of Christ."" Because tlie Episcopal Church's General
Convention has stated its opposition to legal discrimination against gay and lesbian
people and because ADLMC is a Christian organization, ""we feel that we cannot in good
.conscience meet in Colorado at this time,"" Newman said.
Presbyterian pastor tells congregation she's lesbian, then resigns
M PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER who hid her ·homosexuality for six years has resigned
because of her church's opposition to gay pastors. · The Rev. Kathlee n Buckley, 39, told
members of the First Presbyterian Church of. Watervliet, NY, about her relationship with
another woman at the same time that she resigned in February. She said she felt sfie had
to step down after a national Presbyterian liody rul~d in November that a Rochester
church could not hire a lesbian, the Rev. Jane Spahr, as its pastor. Members of Buckley's
church initially voted 55-7 not to accept her resignation, then agreed to let her leave.
-Southern Voice
Operation Rescue faces IRS investigation ·
llFOLLOWING UP ON a complaint by Americans United for Separation of Church and
State, the IRS is investigating Operation Rescue for possible violations of laws that
prohibit non-profit religious groups from engaging in political activity. Last fall,
Randall Terry, Operation Rescue's director, said in a letter to 37,000 churches, ""Our tax
status be damnea if it prevents us from proclaiming God's truths ."" Terry was ur&ing
churchgoers to vote against Bill Clinton, saying a vote for Clinton would be a 'sin
against God."" -Tl,e Fre~aom Writer
Coors, Ocean Spray has ties to religious right
llTHE COORS BEER family, who also brew Keystone and George Killian beers, is a
major supporter of several radical religious right groups including Morality in Media
and Pat Robertson's Regent University. In addition to that corporate involvement, a
Christian Reconstructionist organization, the Plymouth Rock Foundation, has as it's
president John G. Talcott, Jr., who is also president of Ocean Spray Cranberries.
-11,e Freedom Writer
Conservative diocese gets sample of inclusivity
llA FEMALE PRIEST has led a communion service in the Fort Worth Episcopal Dio cese,
one of only about five of the 100 U.S. dioceses that oppose female priests . The Rev.
Lauren Gough perform ed the service desl'ite oppo sition from several member s of the
conservative d10cese. Bishop Clarence Pope, th e founding president of the Fort
Worth-based Episcopal Synod of America, which is opposed to women, Gays and
Lesbians being ordained, called Gough's service ""a misuse of the Eucharist, quite
frankly."" -17,e Houston Post
Straight, gay clergy in dialogue
t.BUILDING ON THE foundation that was laid at a groundbreaking October meeting
between members of the Charlotte Area Clergy Association and tlie gay and lesbian
community, a task force has been established to continue the dialogu e in North -Carolina.
Rev. Randy Vetsch, n ewly elected pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of
Charlotte, said he is serving on the task force in hope s of derailing some long-standing
stereotypes about Gays. ""kfeally, the clergy will get a different opinion of who we are - a
more positive opinion. I'm hoping they will see us in a different light."" -Q Notes
Youth sponsors sought
llMCC SANTO DOMINGO is seeking sponsors for children in an orphanage in San
Salvador . Th,i orphanage is operated 6y Rev. Howard Williams, a missionary to Santo
Domingo. Sponsors who contribute $20 per month will receive a photo.and progress
-report of the child being sponsored. For information contact Dan ""Leary, 2927 Gandy
Blvd., Tampa, FL 33611, (813)835-4221.
News.-Lines
~ ........................... ... •· ..... .
UFMCC reapplies to send gay/lesbian chaplains to U.S. military
.6.ENCOURAGED BY PRESIDENT Bill Clinton's actions to open the military to Gays
and Lesbians, the Universal Fellowship of'Metropolitan Community Churches again
asked the Pentagon to allow its ministers to serve as military chaplains. The Defense
Department deferred an earlier request by the UFMCC to be recognized as a religious
body able to endorse chaplains, saying that the UFMCC must first present a candidate
who is heterosexual. Willi the new regue st, the UFMCC r eaffirmed as its candidate Rev.
Dusty Pruitt, a lesbian who successfully sued the Army after she·was discharged because
of her sexual orientatio n in 1986. The UFMCC has asked for a meeting with Secretary of
Defense Les Aspin and other Defense Department officials to discuss the UFMCC
chaplaincy. · ·
South Carolina minister and mother die from AIDS
.6.THETOUCHTON FAMILY must cope.with the loss of a second family member to AIDS,
but the survivors vow to use the douole tragedy in a positive way. Sarah Touchton died
of AIDS in the summer of 1990. She got the virus · th at causes AIDS from a blo o d
transfusion. She told church members that she wanted to open people's minds and dispe l
ste reotypes. Her son, the Rev. Robert Touchton , used he r message in his sermo ns an d
ministry. But he never to ld anyone that he, too, had HIV. On Dec. 18, he died from AIDS.
""My son was gay, and ·h e was in the ministry, and he had to keep it a secret the whole
time,"" said Bruce Touchton, who was Sarah's husband and Robert's father. He and hi s
daughter, the Rev. Zeta Lamber son, say they believe Robert Touchton would ha ve
wanted them to tell people how he lived and how he died. ""I have to believe that he didn't ·
expec t anything different,"" sai.d Rev. Lamberson, a minister at Peachtr ee .Presbyterian
C hurch in Atlanta. ""I thi nk he just didn't want to be the one to have to tell people .""
-Associated Press · ·
Head of Presbyterian Church favors gay acceptance .
M T A MEETING IN ILLINOIS, the head of the 2.9 million member Presbyter ian Church
(USA) criticize d a 1978 ruling that keeps openly gay and lesbian p eople from being
ordained as ministers or serving local congregations as deacons or elders. ·""The more we
learn about this, the more it seemsJhat sexual orientation is a matter of God'.s created
order, "" said the Rev. John M. Fife, Moderat or of the 204th Annual Presbyt erian General
Assembly. ""We are going to have to grapp le with it both biblicaUy and theologically .
-Southern Voice · · · ·
Falwell vtarns followers of dangers of Gays in the military
.6.FORM?R MORAL MAJORITY leader) erry Falwell jump ed·o n the .""no Gays in th e
nuhtary bandwagon when he sent his followers a fundraismg Jett.er askmg for a
donation of $35 to raise national concern that Gays and Lesbians are trying to ""force
their Godless agenda on the American f'eople,"" and trying to turn the nation into •:a
modem Sodom and Gomorrah."" Falwell scheduled a television address on Jan. 17th, three
days before the Presidential,inauguration, to ask ""all Americans to pl ead with their new
President to change his policy towards the homosexual agenda;""' referring·to Clinton's
promise to lift tne military ban . against Gays and Lesbians. ""Ce.rtain militant
homosexuals are already trying to bramwash our nation's children,"" Falwell said in his
lett er. Gays ·""have target ed our childr en and grandchildren so that they can gain
nationwid e acceptance ol their evil lifestyle,"" he added. -Seattle Gay News
Virginia Baptists wantougher stand against homosexuality
.6.A REGIONAL BAPTIST organization is disappointed with a statement made by the
Virginia Baptist General Association that the cliurch should minister to homosexuals.
Rev. James Meriwether, director of the Lebanon Baptist Association, said that the
statement did no go far in condemning homosexuality . The board of the association
adopted a resolution saying it was ""disturbed and embarassed by the failure of the recent
Virginia Bap tist General Association to publicly state the sinful and unbiblical natur e
of homosexuality."" ""Our purpose is not to condemn people ... but to condemn the practice
as sinful,"" Meriwether said. ""We don't agree with the statement that homosexuality is just
a lifestyle."" -Associated Press
Operation Rescue embarassed by protest flop
.6.OPERATION RESCUE, the notorious anti-abortion group, sponsored protests around
the country on January 8 against Gays in the military . But .the ·protests, originally
scheduled for ""100 cities,"" according to Operatio n Rescue's chief, Randall Terry, Iizzled
out as only a handful of protestors appeared in three or four locations. The group, in
conjunction with the Christian Defens e Coalition, led by Rev. ·Patrick Mahon ey,
spo nsored the events to protest President Bill Clinton's decision to ope n the military to
Gays and Lesbians. ""Christian civilians and veterans will gather in cities all across the
nation to send a prophetic message of rebuke to the coming Clintion administration ,"" said
an OR pamphlet advertising the events. ""Join us in our prophetic stand against gays in
the military.""
Robert Bray, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force director of public informati on
said, ""If there are any homosexuals out there, gay men in particular , who still believe
abortion is not a gay issue, let this be a wake up call. Operation Rescue has allied .itself
with other Far Right religious extremist groups to attack gay and lesbian freedom. Their
objective is to mandate control over our prjvacy. Their agenda is not to ""save babies, ""
but to repress people, especially women and Cays.""
New Jersey church fears it may have to hire Gays .
.6.A NEW JERSERYCHURCH that fears anti-discrimination laws could force it to hire
Gays has lost a court battle for an exemption. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court .of Appea ls
denied the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's request for a preliminary injunction earring
the state from enforcing a gay and lesbian civil rights provision against it The churcft
argued that its First Amendment freedom of religious worship might be violated.
-Southern Voice
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Second Stone•March/April, 1993 ~.h. , uu
,..
UFMCC joi·ns· Interfaith Impact
The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches was
unanimously received as ·a national
member organization in Interfaith
Impact for Justice and Peace Feb. 12.
· Based in Washington, D.C., Interfaith
Impact serves as the collective voice o(
the religio·us community on national
public policy questions. ·
Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, UFMCC
chief ecumenicar officer, noted' that
membership in Interfaith Impact is
especially important in light of the
November vote by the National
Council of Churches to deny observer
status to the .UFMCC. ""As members of
Interfaith Impact, we will be able to
participate in public policy decisions
and build relationships with other
communities of faith in much the
same way that we had hoped to do as
members of the NCC,"" she said. ""Iri
fact, the NCC ·is also a member of
Interfaith Impact.""
Rev. Elder Don Eastman of the
UFMCC added, ""The .people of
UFMCC have some clear ideas and
strong values on .various social justice
issues. These values and ideas need
to influence our society. Our commitment
to . social acti .on requires
intentional structural and programmatic
response at the denominational
level.""
Rev. Troy Perry, UFMCC founder
and moderator, pointed out . that
Interfaith Impact fits well with
UFMCC's social action mission. ""By
joining Interfaith Impact, UFMCC will
be more effective in bringing Christian
social action to the world,"" he
said.
James Bell, executive director of
Interfaith Impact, will speak during
UFMCC's General Conference July
18-25 iii Phoenix, Ariz.
Dignity/USA calls gay and lesbian Catholics to New Orleans
Dignity/USA will bring its eleventh
biennial convention to the Fairmont
Hotel in New Odeans, 'Louisiana,
from July 28 through August 1, 1993.
Certain to be the surprise · high point
of the New Orleans Archdiocese's
200th anniversary year, the Dignity
convention will draw gay and lesbian
Catholics and their supporters from
throughout the United ~tales.. Major
speakers will include authors Virginia
Hoffman and Brian · McNaughl, and
the Rev. Carter Heyward, one of the
first women priests ordained in the
Episcopal Church.
Dignity /USA is a national organization
for gay and lesbian Catholics
and their friends. It was founded in
1969 in Los Angeles by an Augustinian
priest. Dignity today is
primarily lay-led, with over 80 cha -
Author Brian McNaught, who will
be a featured speaker at the 1993
Dignity USA Convention. ·
Daughters
of Sarah
The Magazine for Christian Feminists
Can you be feminist and Christian?
Yes. Absolutely.
Explore importantissues:
sexuality, peace, health, racism
abortion, spirituality.
Challenge ·church and world
to seek justice, mutuality,
and reconciliation.
Reject oppression.
Find libefation arid wholeness;
Subscriptio~s: ~18: i>er,vear/4 issues
Sample: $;3
Write: Dau·g!it.ets o,:Sa~ah. Dept S
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r ,,7' .
I 6 I Second Stone•March /April, 1993 L __ J
ters throughout the United States, and
national headquarters in Washington,
D.C. Rooted proudly in the Catholic
tradition, Dignity/ USA nevertheless
vigorously promotes the reform of
Catholic sexual teaching.
The theme for the Dignity 1993
Convention is ""Celebrate a Living
Church,"" adapted from Virginia
Hoffman's book Birthing a Living
Church. For information write to
Dignity /USA, 1500 Massachusetts
Ave., NW, Ste, 11, Washington, DC
20005 or call 1-800-877-8797.
Lutheran congregation faces
expulsion from ELCA for
calling openly gay pastor
On Saturday, January 23, 1993 the
Rev. Jeff R. Johnson, an openly gay
man, was installed as the pastor of
First United Lutheran Church, a
small parish located in San Francisco's
Richmond District. The installation
took place in spite of the opposition of
the local Lutheran Bishop, the Rev.
Lyle G. Miller, and other national
leaders of the 5.3 million member
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America.
At a special meeting of the
congregation in November, 1992, the
members of First United · voted
unanimously lo call Johnson to be
their · new pastor, after knowing
Johnson for the three years he served
as Assistant Pastor, and experiencing
his style of ministry and leadership.
Bishop Lyle Mjller of the Sierra
Pacific Synod of the ELCA has not
endorsed Johnson's call and did not
participate in the Servi~ of Installation.
The Rev. David Rohrer, Dean
of the San Francisco Conference of
Lutheran Churches represented the
larger Lutheran community at the
SEE EXPULSION, Next Page
Denomination shouldn't meet in
Colorado, says Affirmation
Affirmation : United Methodists for
Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns
passed a resolution at its winter National
Council meeting in Nashville,
Tenn ., calling on the United Methodist
Church to move the site of the
church's 1996 General Conference
·from Denver, Colorado, saying that
the group ""opposes the patronage _of
any locale that has discrimination
ordinances against.homosexuals.""
Affirmation -also adopted . a ·
resolution expressing concern that the
alcohol and tobacco industries ""are
engaging in· target marketing within
the lesbian, gay, and bisexual rnmmunity""
and asked the Affirmation
constituency to help create alcohol
and tobacco free space.
In other action, the group passed
resolutions: proclaiming that recognition
of committed relationships is an
essential part of reconciling ministries
with the gay, lesbian and bisexual
community; asking whether Affirmation
and its allies should consider a
rebirth of Methodism outside the
framework of the current denomina""
tion; calling upon the Clinton administration
to quickly proceed with the
goal of reversing the ban on homosexuals
in the military. The resdlutlon
reminded the United Methodist
Church that chaplains must be
prepared to work with and to understand
the needs of the homosexual
military community and addressed
how to minister t.o them pastorally.
The Na:tional Council meeting was
held at Edgehill United Methodist
Church, a reconciling congregation.
Episcopal Convention. passes gay-friendly resol~tiqns
Meeting January 29-30, . 1993, in
Mahwah, New Jersey, the Episcopal
Diocese of Newark passed four resolutions
which addressed issues before
the nation and the church and clearly
stated the convention's support qf
equal rights for Lesbians and gay
men.
The Diocese of Newark comprises
the seven northern counties of New·
Jersey and includes 43,000 Episcopalians
in 129 parishes. The diocese
is headed by the Rt. Rev. John S.
Spong, who has been one of the most
outspoken supporters of lesbian/ gay
rights in the national Episcopal
Church's House of Bishops.
The resolutions supported the
inclusion of Lesbians and gay men in
the armed forces, the inclusion of
sexual orientation in the federal civil
· rights· law, a ban on n.ational church
meetings in the state .of Colorado, and
a ·condemnation of the exclusion of the
Universal Fello\\rship of Mefropolitan
Community Churches from the
National Council· of Churches.
The Episcopal Diocese of Newark
was the pdncipal religious institutional
supporter of the expansion ·of
the New Jersey civil rights law to
include Lesbians and Gays in 1992,
··and the convention voted to send its
resolutions o.n the military and the
federal civil rights law to the
president and to the New Jersey
delegation to Congress. . .
The resolution calling for a church
boycott of Colorado js of particular
importance because Denver is one of
the three finalists for the 1997 Gerieral
Convention of the Episcopal Churcn.
That convention, which brings
together thousands ·of deputies · a:nd
other · church leaders every three
years, is one of the 25 la.rg·est
conventions in the United States.
The Convention expressed its
""dismay and disapproval of the
[November 12; 1992) vote of the
National Council of Churches ... denying
observer status to the Universal
Fellowship of . Metropolitan Corri- .
munity Churches,"" and it singled out
for particular criticism the Episcopal
delegationto the NCC which was the
only · delegation . from a mainline
denomination to vote against seating
the UFMCC.
The resoiutions were authored by
members of Integrity, the lesbian/
gay jti,stice ministry q(the Episcopal
Church nationwide, and of Oasis, the
Diocese of Newark's ministry with the
lesbian ·and gay community. Integrity's
founder, Dr. Louie Crew, and
its immediate paSt national president,
Kim Byham, served on the resolutions
committee, which. presented the
pro-gay resolutions to ·the convention
· with its recohirriendation.
,tii#Jt
Catholic group criticizes military archbishop ..;:~.:::..,~
A national Catholic gay rights organization
has issued a blistering criticism
of Arcl1bishop Joseph Dimino's opposition
to Hfting the military's ban on
gay and lesbian personnel. Dimino,
who heads the Archdiocese for Mili0
tary Services, warned that accepting
Gays in the service will have ""dis
·astrous consequences for all concerned.""
The group has also written
to President Bill Clinton praising his
desire to lift the ban and urging him
to do it as soon as possible.
Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and
Gay Rights called Dimino's opposition
""mean-spirited at best and sinful
at 'worst. Lesbian women and gay
men have served and continue tci
serve their country with distinction ·
albeit closeted and invisibly.""
""Archbishop Dimind's suggestion
EXPULSION, .From Previous Page
service and installed Johnson as
pastor. The majority of Lutheran
· churches in San Francisco overwhelmingly
support and affirm the
decision of the congregation to call
Johnson, in spite of the objections and
oppositiort of Bishop Miller.
Johnson's installation as pastor
violates ELCA policy wi_1ichp rohibits
the ordination or installation of
openly lesbian and gay clergy
involved in relationships of commHment.
First United, and it's sister ,
congregation, St. Francis Church, are
currently in the third year of . a
five-year disciplinary suspension
from the ELCA for violating the
policy, by ordaining Johnson and two
lesbian colleagues in January, ,1990.
On January 20, 1990 a Lutheran
and ecumenical community of 1,000
people participated in the '.'unauthorized
and irregular"" ordinations of
Johnson and two lesbian colleagues,
Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart.
that gay and lesbian military personnel
are detrimental to the military is
both unsubstantiated and offensive to
right: thinking Catholics,"" said Br.
Rick Garcia, BFCC, Catholic Advocates
' executive director. ""We are
· appalled and embarrassed by the
uninformed .and bigoted attitude -the
archbishop harbors about gay and
lesbian people. His support of bigotry
and prejudice is disgusting. He
should be ashamed.""
Catholic Advocates noted that the
military's ban .on Gays and Lesbians
did ncit being until the late 1940's.
During the Desert Storm conflict all
discharges of Gays and Lesbians
ceased.
""We call upon Archbishop Dimino
to have a conversion of heart and turn
from his bigotry and ignorance and
On July 7, 1990, the two cong.regations
were brought to e·cclesiastical
trial and giv,en a five year sμspension
for the actions. The suspension will
automatically convert to expulsion
from the ELCA if Johnson, Frost and
Zillhart remain on staff at their
respective,parishes.
· Johnson's call as sole. pastor
virtually assures the expulsion of this
century-old Lutheran congregation in
the ci_ty, unless the policy of the
ELCA changes by the end of 1995.
'Through this action, the predominately
heterosexual · membership of
First United has reaffirmed ifs decision
of three years ago, and again is
confronting the policy of the denomination;
considered to. be ·blatantly
discriminatory,"" the congregation said
in a prepared statement.
Johnson currently lives with his
partner, Michael Schoenig, iri San
Francisco.
view gay and lesbian persons not as '""(lie
the enemy to be battered down but as
sisters and brothers entitled to respect
and justice,"" Garcia added .
Catholic Advocates was founded in
1987 to· advocate for the legitimate
civil rights of gay andlesbian people.
The ·organization is funded and supported
by over 50 religious orders of
priests, brothers an4 nuns .. •
wr ~. it;~Y:.i~-- pool, ,hot tub, skiing and more .
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Second Stone•March/April, 1993 tz:J
BUILDING COMMUNITY
Operat ion Oppor tunity: Dominican women sew for their lives
In a tiny village outside Santo Domingo
the rains pound on the tin roof as
six children run around inside the
crowded shack . Four women sit
crouched over squares of cloth, sewing
them iogether . They are sewing
for their lives.
Operation Opportunity was
conceived to be a permanent soluti~n
to the chronic problem of total unemployment
for women in the barrio of
El Tamarindo. The unemployment
rate for the men of the village is close
to 80.percent.but the unemployment
rate for women is 100 percent. There
is no opportunity at all for the women
of the village. They follow the tradition
of having childen and hoping
that the father will share the costs
when he is able. Often the mothers
never leave their father's home unM
the sheer number of people in the ·
shack forces them to find some other
shelter. Thus, the idea of employing
Women to sew patch-work blanets
was initiated.
In Tampa, Florida 12 members of
the Agape Mission Covenant Family
examine the first results of a dream
that has taken a year and many hou_rs
of hard work. The Family is part of
the Metropolitan Community Church
of Tampa which provic;les _the essen-
Ill
tial umbrella of a non-profit organization
as well as access to the many
church mis~ions throughout the
world. Membership in the Family is
informal and open to anyone interested
in helping the people of the
world to achieve a better life through
their own efforts. The Family members
have hawked refreshments at
the Gasparilla Parade, held dinners,
arranged yard sales, even · sold a car
that was donated to them in order to
raise the money necessary to
if!tplement Operation Opportunity .
While the ""membership"" of the
Family has grown and shrunk over
the months, the core members have
maintained the dream ·. The Family
provides seed · money, suppHes and
training for the women to make the
blankets . Then the blankets are sent
back to Tampa where the Family sells
them .
The blankets are very simple - five
inch square patches of cloth sewn
together into a blanket approximately
80"". X 100"". A sheet is sewn to the
back of the patch-work with one end
left open so a blanket can be inserted
for use in cold weather. There are no
sewing machines in the village . It
take~ one woman .approximately one
■
Let a new light
shine for someone
you love.
Second Stone is a gift of love, comfort, inspiration and
resolution for friends and family who may be in doubt,
despair, isolation or suffering illness. Give the special
people in your life the gift of Second Stone. We'll take
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■ ■ L8J Second Stone•March/ April, 1993
month to finish a blanket. Each
blanket is completely hand made,
signed by the woman who made it,
and accompanied by a photo and
short biography.
Twelve women competed for the
coveted opportunity to earn a living
for themselves and their families.
Four of the best were chosen. This is
probably the only opportunity they
will have . for breaking the clrnins of
poverty that imprison them in an
endless cycle of grinding degradation.
· Four blankets have been received
by the Family and two have been
sold. Four more are expected soon .
The blankets have been purchased
by the local MCC clmrches to be used
as prizes in drawings. If the blankets
continue to sell, all 12 of the women
will be hired for a total annual output
of 144 blankets.
The blankets cost $150. Of that, the
Dominican women get $100 and the
other $50 is used to buy material and
train more people to become self
supporting.
Readersw lzoa rei nterestedi n this work
may contact Agape Mission Covenant
Family for information: MCC Tampa,
2904 ConcordiaA ve., Tampa,F L 33629,
(813)839-593. 9
(jotf SpeaR.§to tlie.C liurches
By KATHRYN VIVIAN KEATING
Out in the .cities ... hidden by night,
I see My Sheep stumble alone in My sight
I see the111l;o nely; Put out of the fold
e U O S ' And f arf I f trangeness· chilled thru by the cold'
They search for fulfillment. For love they can share .
The love of some other, who'll know, but still care!
They realize not that they are my design.
That tho' they be 'different,' I cherish them Mine.
I follow these close as they wander along.
At times, driv 'n to destruction - or pulled into wrong .
0, I beg them to listen again to My voice, .
For I never abandon the Sheep of My choice!
And the love which they need, I'll provide if they trust
and walk with Me humbly, and know that I'm just.
I died for their sake, when I died for all men,
And will give life eternal when I come again.
I know about these ... These Sheep who are Mine,
And wait to sustain them with love that's Divine.
""Thed iseasedh avey e not strengthenedn, eitherl zavey e healedt hat whichw as
sick; neitherh avey e boundu p tlzatw hich was broken,n eitherh avey e brought
againt hat whichw as drivena way. NeitherJ iavey e soughtt hat whichw as lost;
but with force and witlz cruelty have ye ruled them. And tlzey were scattered,
becauset lzerew as no slzeplzerda:n d tlzeyb ecamem eat to all tile beastso f tile
field wizen they were scattered.. . For tlzuss aith the Lord God,B eholdI , even I
will both searchM y sheepa nd seekt hem out as a Slzeplzersde eketlzo ut liisf lock
in tile day tlzatH e is amongH is sheept hat ares cattereds;o will I seek out My
sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places wlzere they lzave been.
scatteredi n tile cloudya nd darkd ay."" -Ezekie3l 4:4-5;11-12
-Poetry from FromA HeartbrokenG odT o A HeartbrokePn eople
©1992 by Kathryn Vivian Keating
resurrection: ""] lay down my life for
the sheep ... I lay down my life that I 0 may take it again . No one takes it
away from me, but I lay it down on
my own initiative.""
ur living of the Christian life When Jesus raised Lazarus from the
springs from the life of Jesus. dead, he first said to Martha, ""I am
The central event of the Bible the resurrection and the life; whoever
is the resurrection of Jesus believes in me shall live even if they
from the dead. It is the climax of each die, and everyone who lives and
of the four gospels and the main point believes in me shall never die. The
of every sermon in the Book of Acts. Fourth Gospel makes it abundantly
Everything . that we believe and prac- clear .in dozens of passages that
hce as Chnshans depen~s on and 1s everything that we have through our
based on the resurrection of _Jes~s experienc e with Jesus Christ is bas ed
from the dead. The resurrection 1s - on the -resurrection of Jesus from the
our basis for hope. dead .
The empty tomb in itself was not How can we experience the gift of
ev,d~ncc of the resurrection. The first resurrection in our daily lives? We
react,,on of even the most devoted of can maintain our faith and hope and
Jesus followers, the women, was th at our love in the midst of adversity. To
the body had been stolen . The f1;st live is to be under pressure. Someevidence
of the resurrection was he times we are tempted to give up .
appearance of angels, messe?gers, The resurrection of Jesus constantly
who announced the resurrection to reminds us that no matter how bad
the women, who hastened to tell the things seem to be, there is a way out.
1!~e-resurrect1on
of Jesus
BY REV. DR. BUDDY TRULUCK
disciples the good news. (So the first
Christian pr eachers were women!)
Just as Jesus took the initiative in
selecting and calling the individual
disciples to follow him, Jesus also took
the initiative in identifying himself as
alive from the dead to those who
believed in him. This says something
very special to us as gay and
lesbian believers. Life, love and
hope from Jesus come in our personal
experience with Jesus. The gift of the
presence of the living Jesus is given
by Jesus and not by the church or any
other organization. Neither can any
· church or other religious group .deny
to us the living presence of Jesus,
which God alone can give.
The entire Gospel of John views th e
life and work of Jesus from the standpoint
of the resurrection. In John
10:1-18, Jesus described his mission
being like the ideal relationship
between a shepherd and his sheep .
Jesus said , ""I came that they might
have life a nd might have life
abundantly. "" Then Jesu s focused on
taking the initiative in his death and
There is hope.
In Romans 12:12, Paul joins together
these two spiritual gifts: ""rejoicing in
hope; per severing in tribulation .""
These two experiences certainly go
together . By rejoicing in hope we
become better able to keep going in
tribulation . God has better plans for
us than for us simply to drag
painfully along through life barely
getting by. One of the most distressing
features of the gay and lesbian
community as I have observed it is
the great number of pepple who
merely exist. They have minimal
income, have to share living space
with others just to survive, often go
hungry for lack of money, and
progressively deepen their own low
self image.
God offers us far more than mere
survival. Paul in Romans 5-8
declared the many dimensions of our
hope in Christ, beginning in 5:2 by
saying ""we exult (rejoice or boast) in
the hope of the glory of God."" Then
he adds in 5:5, ""Hope does not
disappoint ."" The concluding declara,
lion of hope in this passage in 8:37-39
is powerfully stated : ""In all these
things (a long list of tribulations) we
overwhelmingly conquer through
Christ who loved us.""
The resurrection of Jesus Christ
from th e dead makes Jesus available
and alive 111 your life and in mine if
we invite and open our hearts and
minds to Jesus. As Paul announc ed
in Colossians 1:27-28 that the good
news from God for the whole world is
""Christ in you, the hope of glory,""
and that the purpo se of all of Paul's
preaching and teaching was ""that we
may pres ent every person complete
in Christ.""
We set our goals too low. We want
to improve things ; God wants to
bring all things into pe rfect harmony
and completeness in Christ. We seek
simply to do better next time. Jesus
offers us to live life within and
through us so that we can become
""more than conquerors"" and live the
abundant and spiritually fruitful life.
How would you like to attend
an Anabaptist church where
· y.ou as ,m openly ,gay or lesbian
person were welcomed
into full membership, and your partner
/lover and you were treated just
like any .other co,uple or family unit;
where you were i!lvited to participate
fully . on church committees, were
asked to lead services or prea~h on
Sunday morning, wer(l. expec_ted to
take y.our turn wit-J:1 d1ildcare duties
(you really were trusted with the
children); where o.thers of your gay
and lesbian friends held positions of
leadership in providing visiqn for the
future of the coi:igregation; and where
~he words gay and lesbian ca._-ne up
regularly in the course of worship
service and announcements? ·
If this · picture excit,es you, then
Sexual
orientation not
a consideration
at North America's
oldest
Mennonite
congregation
BY JOE MILLER
welcome to Germantown Mennonite
Church in Philadelphia. This, the
oldest Mennonite congregation in
North America, was also one of the
first to deal with the issue of homosexuality
and church membership, all
because one person had the strength,
courage, and integrity to come out of
the closet and ask for church membership.
The story begins some ten years
ago when a member of Germantown
Mennonite Church asked a young
man who was a fellow social worker
to visit .Germant own and see what
worship there was like . Since_ this
young .man was very much interested
in' Anabaptist ways, he soon became
a regular attender . and also joined inthe
Wednesday night di s cu·ssion
group . Be made friends and built
rejationships and began to feel he
belong ed there , He talked to : the -
_pastor a.nd .made it .known privately _
that _he was.ga y, an~ J elt affirmed _
when he was told he should continue
to worship at Germantown.
Perhaps a year or so went by, and
th en the Wedn esday evening discus- ·
sion group decided to dis cuss the ·
issue of l10mosexuality and the
church. During these discussions the
young man of our story came out to
the congr egation, stating he was both
gay and Christian and asking to be
accepted as such in the church. The
discussions continued for a number of
we eks, during which time he felt
increasing affirmation from others in
the church. His acceptance came surprisingly
easily. -As one member put
it, ""We had gotten to know and fike
you as a· person so well, it was ·harcl to
see you any .differently once we ·knew
you were gay."" Some of the ) rtembers
said that they felt good about
being part of a congregation in which
they could bring _up issues like this
and deal with them openly.
The heat was turned up, however,
when he asked for membership at
Germantown . Most of the vocal
opposition against including Gays
and Lesbians had disappeared from
within the congregation, but discussions
at the conference level were not
so positive. Discussions were set up
with the conference to seek their
support for the inclusion of gay and
lesbian members at Germantown . At
this time, the pastoral team wrote a
position paperfor presentation to the
conference on how Germantown
planned to respond to Gays and
Lesbians applying for membership ..
To summarize this paper, it
admitted that a great deal of controversy
surrounded the interpretation
of specific biblical texts relating
to homosexuality, and that no one
interpretation could be demonstrated
conclusively to be superior. Therefore,
- further guidance should be
drawn from the general tenor of the
Scriptures . Since the Bibl.e empha-
, sizes· spreading the message of God's
·-love, inercy, and justice to all, and
particularly to outcast groups in our
society , we should risk offering
acceptance to homosexual persons in
their struggle toward wholeness. The
criteria it set up for membership at
Germantown were that sexual orientation
would be considered irrelevant
in processing a person's application;
all applicants, regardless of sexual
orientation, were to commit to the
ideal that sexual expression should be
the outgrowth of loving intimacy
between two persons, and that it is
intended to be monogamous and
lifelong .
While the discussions between the
~ongregation and the conference over
these issues see-sawed back and forth,
concerns were expressed that soon
Germantown would be performing
''.gay marriages,"" In the end, however,
the conference chose not to
st.and in the way of Germantown in
seiting its own standards for accepting
homosexual members, provided it
continued to dialogue with the
. SEE MENNONITE, Page-18
Second Stb,reoMarchlApril, 1993 cu
Y Cover Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..............
The price of freedom
From Page 1
transition from fighting the status quo
to becoming the status quo. Would
we have stood against the papalback~
d Inquisition in defense of
Galileo? Or do the revolutions of the
earth really matter to hard working,
God•fearing Christians? The same
radical church - which, at -its birth,
haa · rocked the ·status quo . with its
empowerment of women - ha~ stagnated
to become the foremost oppressor
of w·omen. ·-Would-we have stood
in defense of Margaret' Sanger, who,
in 1915, sent birth ·control information,
considered obscene material,
through the· U.S. mail? ·Or do (he
ideas -that Women get in their heads
really matter to hard working, Godfearing
Christians? · ·
Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village,
midnight, Friday, · June 27, 1969:
another police raid on another gay
bar. Police begin arresting patrons
without identification ·: drag queens,
dykes, Hispanics, 'blacks, those too
gay in mannerisms to successfully
remain closeted, a menagerie of the
disenfranchised, ostracized by ""normal""
Gays. A lesbian resists arrest.
Others join in. Drag queens cancan,
taunting the police. Fists fly,
epitaphs fly, spirits fly. -Would we
have stood in defense of Stonewall?
Or do queers .really · matter to hard
working, God-fearing .Chrjstians?
Eight months prior to Stonewall,
Rev. Troy Perry led Metropolitan
Community Church's first worship service.
On the forefront of gay and
lesbian civil tights, the Universal _
Fellowship of MCC's has applied ·
every peaceful means available;
including civil disobedience, to help
secure the freedoms that we experience
today. Factions of many other
Judeo-Christian denominations have
followed suit. Houston, Texas, 1978:
My spouse Sandy and I, wrapped in
wool caps and mufflers to avoid
identification, blended into the crowd
at- our first gay rights rally . . Fellow
MOC member Phyllis (formerly
Phillip) approached the microphone.
She reminded the crowd that, since
she had not submitted ·to an operation
to change her male anatomy, the
Houston police could legally arrest
her for cross-dressing . in public.
Phyllis was visibly frightend, but she
stood proud. Lale'r, she told me,
""When you come ~ut, you · risk being
·beaten or killed, If you stay in the
closet, you will die slowly, like a
cancer eating you from the inside
out:' The next year, Sandy and · I
represented the Texas Gay Task
· Fotce, from the back of a Cadillac
convertible, in I:-iousto11's first Gay
Freedom Day Parade. Easy targets
lfil_ [Second !llone•March/April, 1993
for any holl)ophobic sniper, we
remembered Phyllis' words and
risked dying free rather than living
emotionally and politically muzzled.
As we rounded the corner from
Montrose . to Westheimer Street,
instead -of being riddled with bullets,
we were showered with bouquets of
flowers, thrust into our arms by· an
ecstatic middle-aged florist.. We were
not afraid anymore.
Times have changed. In the
information age, mainline journalists
won't cover just any story about just
any protest over just any social
injustice. Consequently, groups wishing
to make a. public statement must
plan new . and extreme mediagrabbing
tactics, from shutting down
rush hour. traffic to burning and
looting.
How should we Christians respond
church should stay out of politics,
King argued that involvement in
politics, when it is used as an
instrument of oppression is a moral
obligation.
King detailed four steps to any
nonviolent campaign: "" ... collection of
the facts to determine whether
injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification
[preparation to meet violence
with nonviolence], and direct action
[only after failed negotiations.] ...
Nonviolent direct action seeks to
create sucl1 a crisis and foster .such a
tension that a community which has
constantly refused to negotiate is
forced to confront the issue."" Direct
action should then give way again to
negotiation.
Typically, churches respond in one
of four ways when a glaring wrong
slaps the church in the face. The
The Front-Line Churches immediately role
up their sleeves and get to work to right
the wrong. The Nicodemus Churches work
behind the s·cenes at night, but won't associate
with the ca11se in the light of day. The
Iceberg Churches acknowledge that a wrong
might, perhaps, theoretically exist and they
-pray that the problem will go away. Lastly,
the Rabid Dog churches, clenching their
13ibles in their teeth, growl that the wrong is
a God-ordained right.
to injustice? Shol,\ld we take lives
and/ or destroy other people's property
in the name of justifiable civil
<;lisobedience? Is rioting another form
of righteous indignation? Is violence
morally worse· than passive resignation?
Perhaps a look at Martin Luther
King's ""Letter from Birmingham Jail,""
addressed to eight white, lukewarm
clergy, will suggest some guidelines
for Christian social action:
One has not cmly a legal but a moral
responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely,
one has a moral ·respcmsibility to
disobey unjust laws... Any law that
uplifts human. personality is just. Any ·
law that-degrades human personality is
unjust... One who breaks an unjusUaw
must do so openly, lovingly, and with a
willingness to accept the penalty .. , in
· ·order to-arouse the consciousness of the
community over its injustice. ·
· While some would argue the
Front-Line Churches immediately
role up. their sleeves and get to work
to right the wrong. The Nicodemus
Churches work behind -the scenes at
night, but won't associate with the
cause in the light of day, The Iceberg
Churches acknowledge that a wrong
might, perhaps, theoretically exist
and they pray that the problem will
go · away. Lastly, the Rabid Dog
churches, clenching their Bibles in _
their teetl1, growl that the wrong is a
God-ordained right.
If we Christians wish to serve as a
moral presence in our communities,
we cannot idly wag our heads back
and forth, like spectators at a
ping-pong tournament, as extremist
protestors wage war on the fanatically
entrenched status-quo . We-must base
all of our actions and all of our goals
on sound Christian principles, not the
least of which is ""Do unto others as
you would have therri do unto you,""
A pro-choice campaigner who prevents
motorists from driving across a
public bridge cannot complain too
loudly when an anti-choice protestor
' prevents a woman from entering an
abortion clinic. In a constructive relationship
with media, we can headline
our unusual efforts to meet violence
with nonviolence, oppression with
love.
King wrote, ""Human progress
never rolls in on ·wheels of
inevitability; it comes through the
tireless efforts of men (sic) willing to
be co-Workers with God ... We must
use time creatively, in the knowledge
that time is always ri'pe to do right.""
Today, we find ourselves in a season
of optimistic calm. We have elected a
pro-choice, gay-sensitive president,
who we expect will end . the ban on
Gays in the military and appoint
Supreme Court Justices who lean
toward individual ·freedoms. We
hope that President Clinton will ""fix
it"" for us. (""It"" being what ever ails us
and·our society.) We can snuggle in
under the warm comforter of new
leadership and sleep for awhile.. .
But in fitful dreams we remember
Colorado's Amendment 2 which
prohibits any liomosexual or bisexual
from filing a claim of discrimination.
We'll protest by boycotting Coloradounless
the ski season is just too
irresistible .. Someone is fighting the
constitutionality of 2, aren't they?
Someone will take care of it for us. In
our dreams we see visions of the
battle against Oregon's Measure 9,
which would have mandated schools
teach children that being homosexual
is wrong, mandated libraries dispose
of all pro-gay literature. Our
nightmare continues as · faceless
intruders ransack and steal mailing
lists from anti-Measure 9 organizations,
including churches. Anonymous
callers inform businesses that
certain employees are homosexuals.
Leaders on both sides of the initiative
wear bullet-proof vests on. election
day . But Measure 9 didn't pass - this
time. We are safe to dream more
pleasant dreams: dreams of winning
the lottery or meeting that certain
-someone, or even noble dreams that
human kind will one day live in
harmony - without too much effort or
risk on our part. After all, God can
perform miracles. We are safe to
dream, provided we don't wake up
.too late.
Nancy Hu.gman is Lay Minister of
Teaching at Diablo Valley Metropolitian
Community Church in Concord, California.
• .i:I.;1;1ltt#ll•1a:1;1:t:t•X•11;1
Gays and Lesbians struggle for
freedom in the Holy Land
11Lesbiot11 and
11Homoim11 make
their way to
the Knesset
It was meant to be a demonstration
full of power and pride.
A kind of political outing of
unity, declaring not only ""here
we are"" but also, ""We are mapy, and
we won't hide any longer."" More
than a hundred came, which, in
American. terms may not seem to
amount to much, but is significant in
Israel, where gay activists have never
managed to gather . more than a
handful of people for political demonstrations.
Contrary to what many would
probably like to belie.ve, even in the
Holy· Land there are Gays and
Lesbians. In these days Israelis are
finally being given a fair chail~e to
realize that, as in societies the world
over, men who love men and women
who love women have been ever
present amongst them. Not that
everybody wants to face this reality;
the conservative tones of Israeli
society, generated by Jewish and
Moslim religious writings, .leave little
room for accepting this deviation from
what they see as the chosenway.
But we need to take _a few sfeps
backwards if we are to understand
the circumstances which gave rise to a
group of mostly youngreople standing
together in front o the Knesset,
their gleeful spirits. undaunted by the
freezing air .of Jerusalem's virgin
snowfall of the year.
Member of Knesset Yael Dayan
(labour), daughter of the late Moshe
Dayan, orchestrated Israel's inaugural
meeting for Lesbians and Gays in the
framework of the Knesset's Committee
for Women's Rights. For her
efforts, Dayan was rewarded by a
barrage of attacks from· across the
political spectrum . Having just
returned from Tunis, as the first MK
to meet with the PLO leadership since
Israel repealed the law forbidding
meetings with the PLO, Dayan .·was
greeted by the caustic remarks of
several outspoken crifics, de_nouilcing
her meeting with Arafa!, with one of
the more outrageous comments being
voiced live on Israel television by Y.
Lapid, a leading Israeli journalist and
political commentator who taunted:
""You can bet that Arafat would just
love to see lots of queers in the Israeli·
Defense Forces.""
Whatever · vestiges of intellectual
standards remained gave way entirely
when the baton was passed to the
representatives of the conservative
religious wirig. Rabbi Yizhak Levy,
MK (National Religious Party)
laconically chose to proclaim Lesbians
and Gays ""handicapped"" and ""sick
individuals, whose mere physical
presence would be .a blight upon the
integrity and sanctity of Israel's House
of Parliament.""
Meanwhile the Society for the
Protection of Personal Rights, Israel's
umbrella organization for gay men,
Lesbians andpisexuals, wrapped up·
its preparations for the historical day.
Anula Shamir, a well-known lesbian
playwrite, spent weeks rushing from
interview to interview and was even
invited twice by Israel television,
where she spoke of the heretofore
""non°issue"" of homosexuality in Israel
society; ""Gay guys are in a Worse
position than Lesbians,"" Shamir says.
As reflected in the later rabbinic edict
forbidding males from ""spilling their
· seed in vain,"" male homosexuality is
described in the Old Testament as a
tainted and vile act which, in the
days of the prophet Moses, was
punishable by death. Jud.aism's approach
to lesbianism, whether
through oversight or other .considerations,
is more charitable. Furthermore,
Lesbians are free of the added
difficulties encountered in the heavy
machoistic undertones of Israel's
military society, which attaches great
value to their military achievements.
Israeli men, more so than their
American ·or European counterparts, .
. are expected to be strong and always
""manly"" - a point which is constantly
reinforced for the Hebrew speaker by
the shared etymology of hero (gibor)
and man (gever). Says Shamir, ''I
wi'sh all the Gays who fought· in our
wars would come out of the closet.""
Public disputes over IDF's policy
r~.;arding the induction of Gays into
the military have never been wide~
pread, as the unspoken policy has
always directed ,military personnel to
ignore the issue if at all possible.
One should also consider the fact that
Israel could not easily release ten
percent of its population from military
service, in light of the significant
security risks it faces. Yet behind the
unoHical veil, clear orders exist
detailing instructions for dealing with
gay soldiers whose sexual orientation
""could lead to security risks.""
One of the · speakers duririg the
Knesset-outing session views the
army as one of the most problematic
institutions for homosexual men.
Prof. Uzi Even, who heads the
Department of Chemistry at Tel Aviv
University, spoke with quiet dignity
and in a most touching manner of his
personal experiences in the IDF
where he served for 15 years in top
secret - research and development
capacities until he decided to put an
end to the· lies hiding his true sexual
identity.
""From one day 'to· the next an iron
curtain fell between me' and my
colleagues,"" Even 'recalls. 'They were
ordered not to communicafe with trie
any more."" For Even this was · the
end of his military career; Neverthe- ·
less, he did -not give up easily.
Feeling hurt, angry and betrayed by
the army in whose ranks he had
served 15 years, including ·active
duty in two wars, he brought his case
in front of a military· council, which
included an officer of Field Security,
as well as the chief of the secret
service, Schabak. He ·was · told , by
both that he posed a security risk.
Even was demoted ' frc;nn his former
military post, and finally started a
new tareer outside the military
framework.
occurred to Israeli author and playwrite
Ilan Schenfeld. Only last year
he was awarded the Prime Minister's
Prize for literature: · But ever since he
· came out of the closet; no public
library has accepted his books. 'The
. same establishments that awarded me
several prizes,"" says Schenfeld,
""rejected the same books from their
libraries.""
Though hot directly connected with
Dayan's Knesset-outing, one cannot
overlook the fact that oniy a few days
earlier, the Regional Court in Tel
Aviy passed down a landmark decision_
regarding . the economic lien~fits
and rights of partners in -a· .hoip9~
sexual union. The verdict,. which, is
unmatched by many eq1,1iv~.elryts
worldwide, possibly paves the way
for greater equality between homosexual,
and heterosexual couples; not
only: in Israel but also far beyond it's
borders. The court's decision orders
El-AUsrael Airlines to provide a free
ticket to the lover of .an employee, in
keeping :with the customary benefits
policy for El-Al employees.
· '.Despite the difficulties experienced
by Israeli Lesbians and Gays, their
situation . is nonetheless easier than
the-situ!ltion of their counterparts in
the USA,. who _tend to emphasize
their distinct lifestyle. The Israel lesbian
woman and the gay man is very
much a part of mainstream society.
At the same time, the public is not as
. obvioμsly intolerant of-Les,bians and
Gays. Amit Kama, active -in the
Society for the Protection of Personal
Rights, .offers his own explanation:
""Israelies have the Arabs to. hate.
They don't need us for this purpose.""
""You can: bet that .Arafat would
jusf love to see lots of queers in
the Israeli Defense Forces.""
During the Knesset-outing Even
appealed to Yael Dayan, asking her
whether the army orders restricting
soldiers in their military career and
barring them ·from serving in special,
top secret units are still in force. Of
the politicians present, Even inquired
whether similar orders exist blocking
homosexuals from executive positions
· in the Foreign Ministry or in the
Ministry of Education.,
Unlike his former experiences in
the Israeli security establishment,
Even claimed that · he has not been
subject to discrimination in· his current
academic career where he is evaluated
on -the basis of his professional
merits alone: ·
A similar experience of official
recognition on -the one . hand and
subtle discrimination on the other
The present legal situation
regarding Gays in Israel is· better
than in most western countri.es,
including the USA. However, ul\like
the situation in the US, . where
Lesbians and .Gays have _attained
substantial po)itical representation,
Israel's homosexual community is in
the midst of its first real steps towards
political maturity.
· Is the Knesset-outing the firs.t sure
step in this direction? The success of
this event remains to ·be determined.
Undoubtedly, the path taken by
Israel's gay community will be
frought with several regrettable falls,
as it · labors to maintain as ""straight
path"" but as expressed by Schenfeld,
the community .has already learned
that ""un_itym akes us strong.""
Second Stone•March/A~ril, 1993 [II]
As in the time of Jesus, the
healing ministry of the
church today must be
grounded firmly within the
context of the lives of the people. No
form of human need, no area of
suffering fell beyond the purview of
Jesu,s _ Who, through ministries of
healing and the forgiveness of sin,
estaoHshe'g the more just and merci.ful
_ reign .of God at those points where
' God's creation was most in anguish.
Mote than one hundred people die
each day in the United Statesfrom
the. complications of AIDS - one every
15 minutes - and the pace is accelerating.
Though most new AIDS
cases have been from metropolitan
areas, there has been a significant
increase in new cases in municipalities
with pofulations of less than
500,000. Lack o access to adequate
health care has denied the benefits of
advances in treatment to many in
these smaller cities and rural communities
and failure to acknowledge
the dimensions of the crisis has
resulted in insufficient attention to
AIDS education and prevention pro0
grams.
The number of African-American
and Hispanic cases of AIDS and HN
disease, owing to all modes of lransmission,
grows steadily. Infections
among women and children, particularly
within the communities of
color, are increasing dramatically,
with reported AIDS cases among
women growing faster than those
among men. AIDS is now one of the
five leading causes of death among
young women.
As our concern grows about the
welfare of our youth we are forced to
recognize that a large number of
individuals diagnosed with AIDS in
their mid to late twenties were
infected during their teens. HIV disease
has a devastating impact on
those who are already marginalized
members of society with growing
numbers of infections and diagnosed
cases appearing today among the
poorer residents of inner cities.
So overwhelming are the larger
social and political realities confronting
us that we . are tempted to
focus on the AIDS crisis in relative
isolation from the multiple problems
which are its firm foundation. We do
not diminish the signific;mce of the
AIDS crisis, but rather put· it in
proper perspective, by being aware
that the main thing which is new and
different in the HIV epidemic is the
virus itself. Beyond the virus most of
what we are experiencing represents
old problems that have been poorly
managed or ignored completely.
Though the results of the presidential
election are a clear indication
. [12] Second Stone•March/April, 1993
BY CATHIE LYONS
I.hat the electorate wants to see
changes brought about which will
address and correct .the hurting realities
of the peoples of this nation, let us
not take a simplistic view of the tasks
confronting President Bill Clinton.
Fundamental changes are required
which will touch and challenge our
lives, our values, and our assumptions
about the responsibilities and
duties of both the public and private
sectors and our religious and . secular
institutions.
The matter of HIV prevention
education and the content of that
education remains a pressing problem.
Persistent absence of frank talk
about sex and drugs has claimed
countless lives already and will result
in needless infections and deaths in_.
the future,
As church persons concerned about
those who are already HIV challenged
or who have been diagnosed
with AIDS, we must be aware constantly
of the many contexts within
which these individuals are fighting .
for their lives and well being.
Ideally, care for people with HIV
disease should include a broad range
of health care and social services
designed to enhance the quality of
life, maximize individual choice, and
minimize hospital and institutionalbased
care. In reality, the health and
human service systems in too_ many
municipalities are already overwhelmed
or are ill prepared to deal
with the crisis,
Ideally, services should be
rendered with compassion in a manner
that allows people with HIV
disease and their loved ones to act as
P¥tners with their care providers. In
reality, there are still too few physicians
outside of the major impact
cities _ with adequate experience in
diagnosing and treating HIV disease.
Fear of persons with HIV disease
persists and acceptance of co-decision
making regarding the treatment of
choice (even when options are readily
available) is not always understood,
respected or honored.
People who have cared for persons
with HIV and AIDS know that HIV
disease, especially in its later stages,
presents complex challenges. The
host of opportunistic infections that
characterize AIDS may attack virtua1ly
any part of the body. HIV
disease stubbornly refuses to be
limited to any single organ or
treatment strategy.
In 1993, we are twelve years into an
epidemic which has shown itself to be
stronger than our precious resources
or resolve to deal with it. The silent
insidious spread of the virus continues.
The unresolved issues of
prevention educa;tion and service
delivery which plagued us in the past
are killing us in the present. The
epidemic of HIV infection, nationally
and globally, cannot be addressed
p·roperly without putting it in this
larger context. The landscape I have
drawn is not neat or tidy and it's not
attractive. We have gotten to where
we are today, step by step as a
Remember the Jesus who violated the
purity codes. He was rejected, forced
out into the countryside for his association
and physical contact with the
leper ... This Jesus of the healing miracles
is the Jesus many people lost
touch with early in the AIDS epidemic.
nation, owing in large part to a
national inability to address profoundly
important and difficult questions
regarding the human community
and our ability to live with, to
care for and to love one another.
There are days when I have
thought that Jesus would have found
himself at home in this untidy
landscape which is bordered on all
sides by rather strict norms regarding
what is right and what is wrong,
what is proper behavior and what is
sinful behavior, and who the people
are who are worthy to receive the
ministrations of church, temple and
government.
In the New Testament we are
presented with the flesh and blood
Jesus who finds himself embroiled in
controversy over his healing ministries
and the teachings of the temple.
Imagine for a moment this Jesus
whose touch is the healing touch of
the Most Holy One. He is born into a
world in which disease and suffering
are rampant. Very early he realizes
that the temple's mandates regarding
holiness will stand in the way of his
works of healing. Jesus will have to
decide whether to observe the laws of
Torah and the temple or to be
obedient to God. .
In thinking about the healing
ministry of the church, let's think for
a moment about this man Jesus who
in doing God's work would redefine
the meaning of holiness. It is this
Jesus whom the church must understand
and follow in AIDS ministries.
The purity code contained in Torah
was based on the theological conviction
that because Yahweh was holy,
Yahweh's chosen people were to be
holy also.
Purity codes ,established external
boundaries delineating the holy from
the unholy: the clean from the
""unclean."" The most pure, holy and
clean were priests and levities: those
associated with the service of the
temple. At the other .end of the
spectrum was the leper. Stigmatized
as the one in whom impurity ruled,
the leper was the one most to be
feared: the one to be announced by
the words, ""unclean, unclean.""
Into such a world Jesus came and
touched the leper. Into such a world
Jesus came and brought an image of
holiness defined not by its distance
from what was considered to be
unclean, but by its proximity to it.
Into a world so divided and separated
within Hself came Jesus, who, with
the touch of a hand, restored human
community.
Into a world, so fascinated with the
notion of affliction's sinful cause,Jesus
SEE AIDS, Next Page
AIDS
From Previous Page
entered, giving attention to illness
and affliction as opportunities within
which one could experience God's
compassion and love. Into a world
which so clearly judged some as
sinners and made outcasts ·of others,
came this man Jesus · who, in forgiving
sin and in cleansing the leper,
gave a preview of God's more just
and merciful kingdom.
Jesus redefined the meaning and
activities of holiness. In Jesus, holiness
included entry into the lives of
others: holiness became an act of
engagement, not a state of separation.
In Jesus, holiness took on the
suffering of others; holiness associated
with what was meek, lowly, despised.
In Jesus, holiness' healing
touch was the touch of inclusion and
participation; the touch that said ""you
belong.""
The healing miracles of the New
Testament present us with a Jesus
who broke down barriers, who took
risks which challenge us today. Jesus
risked unconditionally for the neighbor;
risked without fear of reputation;
risked for the sake of the Kingdom;
risked his life and lost it and returned
to reveal the promise of the scriptures
for life eternal. Jesus' challenge is
ever present with us. Have you
looked into the face of a person who
has HIV or AIDS and not found the
face of Christ there? . Look again.
Have you worked closely with a
person with HIV/ AIDS and not come
to a deeper understanding of what
love is really all about?
I had the honor of delivering the
Words of Witness as the memorial
service for Fred Mutti, one of Bishop
Mutti's two sons who died of AIDS.
At that service in celebration of Fred's
life I said that the remarkable thing
about love is that i.t is full of surprises.
Every time we think we have a fix on
it, the terrain shifts a bit as if to test
us, to force a reality check on us, to
make us look at it from a diffe_rent
angle, to see if it is really love at all.
In a sermon delivered on the subject
of AIDS, Dr . Donald Messer,
President of Iliff Theological Seminary
included this quote about love: ""So in
the end love comes down to this ... not
some Clark Gable appraisal of Vivien
Leigh of some sex symbols' seductive
pose, but 'Help me sit up.' In the end
love is not a smoldering glance across
the dance floor, the click of crystal, a
leisurely picnic spread upon summer's
clover. It is the squeeze of a
hand. I'm here. I'll be here no matter
how long the struggle . Water? You
need water? Here .... drink ... let me
straighten your pillow.''
AIDS has taught us things about
love that transc.end all the debates of
all the churches of all the centuries
about sexuality. The AIDS epidemic
has given us an opportunity to learn
about the character of the love that
sustains one and upholds one in
sickness and in health.· In learning to
care for one another and to love one
Not only has AIDS robbed us of our
family members, our loved ones and
friends, AIDS has robbed churches of
their collective n1emory of the compassionate
Jesus, the messiah or the marginalized,
the prophet most at home
among the people pushed to
the periphery.
another in the best and the worst of
times, AIDS has brought to us
experiences of love that are larger
than anything we have ever experienced,
larger than anything we have
ever understood, larger than anything
we have ever asked f9r, larger
than anything we can ever forget. In
the midst of all the pain and agony,
in the midst of the fear and the
loneliness, the uncertainty and loss
we are captured by a love such as
this.
Remember the radical, defiant Jesus
I mentioned earlier . Remember the
Jesus who violated the purity codes.
He was rejected; forced out into the
countryside for his association and
physical contact with the leper. He
was scorned by the temple because
he took it upon himself to forgive the
sins of the people. This Jesus of the
healing miracles is ·the Jesus many
people lost touch with early in the
AIDS epidemic.
Early in the '80s, shortly after we
began hearing about a strange new
disease initially referred to as GRID
(gay related immune deficiency) the
pretender christs rose up: those who
felt it incumbent upon themselves to
preach -God's wrath, to speak God's
words of judgment and condemnation;
to proclaim that AIDS is God's
punishment for sin. I thought
frequently about the Jesus who broke
the purity codes and forgave sins as
the pretender christs took to the
pulpit. I thought of the pain that the
flesh and blood, sensitive son of God
would feel in this world today . I
thought of the boundless ability of
those who bear Christ's name to inflict
endless suffering on the remembrance
of Hirn: the Jesus of the healing
miracles, present always with
those who were sick and suffering . .
The Jesus who always located himself
and God 's .unconditional and unmeasured
love precisely at the point
where God's creation was most in
anguish. •
If the historical · Jesus were
physically present with us today he
would present himself wearing the
visible signs of Kaposi's sarcoma: so
complete, so total, so inescapable
would be his identification with all
who are living with HIV disease and
AIDS.
No t only has AIDS robbed us of our
family members, our loved ones and
friends , AIDS has robbed the
churches of their collective memory of
the compassionate Jesus, the messiah
of the marginalized, the prophet most
at home among the people pushed to
the periphery.
Why do I care so deeply about the
healing ministry of the church in the
midst of the AIDS epidemic? Why do
I care so deeply about the idea of
churches making a Covenant to Care,
a concept which is so simple, so
deeply grounded in the Old and New
Testaments? My passion for .the
church's healing · ministry and to see
churches · develop Covenant to ,Care
statements and · to be involved in
AIDS ministries developed -in part in
response to a question raised by a
.24-year-old man at our National
Consultation in 1987. George ""'.as
Hispanic, he was living with AIDS,
Kaposi's sarcoma was visible on his
arms and face, he was also gay. Half
way thro·ugh the consultation he took
up the courage to go to a floor mike
and ask : ""Would I be welcome in ·
your ·-local church?"" A 24-year-old
man cut to the quick of the matter
and asked the most profound theological
question -of (he consultation.
George died a few years later in
New York where I had gotten to
know him after he moved to the city.
When George died, I decided that he
and all others like him deserved an
answer to the question he had raised.
I knew that one way of answering his
question would be for churches to
make Covenant to Care -statements
·letting it be known in their communities
that if you have AIDS or if
you are the loved one of a person
who has AIDS you are welcome here.
It has been my hope that churches
would go on· to take seriously the
challenge set forth in the final paragraph
of the church's 1988 Resolution
on AIDS and the Healing Minist_ry of
the Church which reads :
""As members of the United Methodist
Church we covenant to£ether to assure
ministries antf other services to persons
with AIDS ... We ask for God's guidance
that we might respond in ways which
bear witness always to fesus' own
compassionate ministry of healing and
reconciliation; and that to this end we
might lave and care for one another with
the same unmeasured and unconditional
lave that fesus embodied.""
The healing ministry to which our
. churches continue to be · called in this
second decade of the AIDS epidemic
is a ministry of truth and revelation.
The pretender christs focused on
God's wrath forgetting perhaps that
Jesus looked at those who suffered
artd saw therein fue face of God's
creation. So too is it our task and our
holy duty to proclaim: that the face
' that AIDS wears is always the face of
a person created and loved by God;
that the face that AIDS wears is
always the face of a person who is
someone's mother or father, husband
or wife, son or daughter, brother or
. SEE AIDS, Pag~ 20
Second Stone•March/A;ril, 1993 IT3J
.In Print ..................................... ................. ,• .............. .
Helping to heal Christian homophobia
By Johnny Townsend
Contributing Writer
D
. · o you have a family member
or friend at church who is
finally at the point of at least
being willing to listen to you,
but who you know is not ready for
""full conversion"" to accepting gayness?
If so, then Bruce Hilton's Can
. . .. Homap.hobia Be Cured?might be . a.
book to offer that person. The book is
short, broken down into small, easily
accessibl""e sections, and is an easy
read.
Naturally, the biggest problem
with this approach is that many of the
issues dealt with are treated simplistically
and superficially. This is not.a
book for anyone wanting to delve
deeply into the issue of religion and
homosexuality, but as a first book for
someone non-gay trying to open up
his or her mind, it could work.
One of the strengths of the book is
its focus near the end of the history of
how the official position of the United
Methodist Church on homosexuality
was shaped. One .does not need to
belong to this particular religion to
recognize that most religions . probably
evolved .in similat ways, and
seeing the step by step proce.ss helps
demystify the all powerful . '.'final
decision"" that most. people believe has
always existed but whicl1 does in fact
have a history, .
Another ·of the book's strengths is
its soft -approach. While the disci!ssion
of biblical passages is one of the
more superficial parts of Can· Homophobia
· Be Cured?, it's true, too; that
. m/my people aren't intellectually
prepared to . read a scholarly dissertation
(though Hilton adds a
bibliography of useful books and
oi""ganizations at the end of his book.)
Even in his biblical discussion,
however, he is willing to make concessions
to those who oppose Gays, as their love for gay friends · or family the origin or cause of homosexuality.
when he writes, ""Every [biblical] will need ·these kinds of concessions He also brings up the ""fact"" believed
mention of homosexual sex indicates in order not to be forced too quickly for centuries that women had one
that it is wrong. ' There isn't a fav- down · a new pathway .of thinking. more _rib than men, based_ on interorable
word anywhere in the Bible Later, they can come the rest of the pretatton of the Bible m spite of how
about same-sex acts."" way. This book only attempts to help easy it was scientifically to determine
I find this and other ""admissions"" them start down that path. the truth, and uses that in_ a decent
refreshing, and I also suspect that Hilton mentions the Kinsey studies discussion of religion's relationship lo
many religious non-gays who are plus recent Dutch researd1, the hypo- science.
caught between their church and thalamus theory, and twin studies on Hilton displays a real sensitivity to
BRUCE HILTON
CA ,
BE
CURED?
lfo,-r
WRESTLING WITH QUESTIONS
THAT CHALLENGE
THE CHURCH
· · ·language as he tries · neithecto · b·e
sexist nor heterosexist, and though he
uses some moving examples of his
involvement in civil rights issues in
Mississippi in the mid-1960's, he isn't
above putting himself down, as in his
example of not standing up in public
for gay rights when visiting another
city, even when lobbying in town for
just that purpose.
Humor helps in his list of official
reasons ""Why Heterosexual Men
Should Not Be Ordained,"" and a list
of famous gay and lesbian people,
while old news for most of us, could
be eye opening for someone newly
introduced to homosexuality.
Finally, there is a discussion of how
one can as an individual start a
ministry that includes gay people,
and how one can involve the entire
congregation, so the book ends on a
hopeful note that with treatment,
homophobia, if not completely curable,
can at least be controlled. His
·concluding two lines, a real zinger I'll
save for the reader, su•ccinctly sums
up Hilton's belief that action is more
important than empty clai_ms of
saying one is a Christian. So while
the book may not necessarily be
better than other introductory works,
ii does hold its own and offers another
chance of reaching those people who
will open themselves to sincere
questioning, and to the belief that
love is the most important aspect of
gospel living.
Sexuality from Catholic, Lutheran perspectives
Euti~chs for the Kingdom of Heaven/
Women, Sexuality and the Catholic
Chuich, Uta . Ranke-Heinemann,
translated from German by Peter
Heinegg, Doubleday, 1990, 360
pages; $21.95.
Human S~xuality dnd the Christian
Faith/A study for the church's reflection
and deliberation, Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),
Episcopal edition 1991, 55 pages,
$1.50 plus postage.
CT4J Second Ston~•March/ April, l 99~
By William Day""
Contributing Writer
A.lthough these two items are
not comparable - the first, by
a Catholic scholar is quite
critical of Catholic teachings;
the second, prepared as a study
document; inviting discussion and
comment - they afford sharply
contrastrng approaches · to Christian
behavior with relation to sexuality.
Ranke-Heinemann's does ·not
pertain directly to the concerns of
Gays and · Lesbians except for a brief
chapter near the end entitled
""Homosexuality."" Its main thrust tells
. how the Catholic Church became so
concerned about sexuality tha_t it
debased the role of women and
mandated celibacy for its priests and,
in general, considers the enjoyment of
sex wicked. Its value to Gays and .
.Lesbians, I suggest, lies in illustrating
the extraordinary lengths to which
. the Roman ._heirarchy can go to sell
·the idea that sex is sinful unless
· intended purely for procreation.
· For example, take the case of Mary,
the mother ·of Jesus, ""ever-virgin
Mother of God,"" in Catholic termi- ·
nology. Thus New-Testament refers
ences to brothers and sisters of Jesus
are interpreted by' Catholicism as
references to half brothers .or sisters
who were offspring of Joseph by an
earlier (or later?) marriage while it is
maintained that despite the birthing
of Jesus, Mary's hymen remains
intact. The author, who has a
doctorate in Catholic theology, Jost
her chair at the University of Essen
for her works but now holds a chair ·
there in the history of religion. ·
This book will be useful to many
readers -chiefly because of its careful
and thorough documentation concerning
Catholic ""moral theology."" Such
topics as original sin, abortion, contraception,
masturbation (onanism), as
well as celibacy are discussed with
references to Catholic theologians,
e.g.; ·Augustine, Thomas Aquinas,
and to relevant scriptural texts which
are at variance with Catholic teach-
SEE PERSPECTIVES, Next Page
In Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......................... • · ................. .
A catechism for conservative gay Christians
prostitution and rape are condemned. orders. The ""la·st days"" a~e thought to By Michael Blankenship
Contributing Writer By definition, a ""catechism"" is a
handbook for teaching the
principles and fundamentals
of religion. Many of us grew
up in churches where there were ·no
catechisms, and without good reason
the word seems foreign to us or at
least very ""high church ."" So it was
with pleasure that I recently found
that Cristo Press in Arizona has published
their own Cltristian Gay
Catecltism.
This handbook, designed with a
series of questions and answers, is an
absolute wealth of information.
Included is a great amount of information
about the Bible, the church,
Christian history and theology. To
say that this catechism is affirming to
lesbian and gay Christians would be
an understatement. Throughout we
find many passages that reject and
refute the traditional views of most
fundamentalist churches. Within the
first ten pages the author states
emphatically that the Bible does not
give a blanket condemnation of
homo~exuality, but, just as with
heterosexuality, certain acts such as
In Print, briefly ...
Gay Midlife and Maturity
This book, edited by John Alan Lee,
PhD, challenges the long-held stereotype
of the sad and lonely old homosexual.
It rejects this myth and illustrates
that older gay men and Lesbians
cope well with the aging process.
Included is an in-depth interview
with Don Bachardy about his
33-year relationship with Christopher
Isherwood, a renowned English writer
who was 30 years his senior.
-From Harrington Parle Press
Community Jobs
This monthly employment newspaper
for the non-profit sector lists over 200
positions in arts, health, youth, civil
rights, housing and human services. A
three month subscription is $29.
°From Access. 50 Beacon St., Boston,
W.02108 .
The Devil in Men's Dreams
This collection of 12 short stories by
Tom Scott are told with understated
candor and clarity. ""My Battle With
The Devil"" develops the theme of
homosexuality in · a young funda·
mentalist man whose religion and
sexuality are irrevocably intertwined,
with disastrous resu.lts. Two stories
involve personal experiences and
reactions to Al DS, such as the discovery
by a grieving family· of their
son's homosexuality.
-From GLB Publishers
The author g9es on to state that God be prophetically foretold in the 38th
loves homosexuals, who, like all · chapter of Ezekiel with the former
human beings are created by a God Soviet Union playing an important
who does not make mistakes . The part. An anti-abortion stance is
point is also made that Jesus had , strongly stressed. And, the thought
nothing whatsoever to say about 1s expressed that calling God
homosexuality . ""mother"" often leads into heresy and
I really liked the full explanation of paganism.
Paul's opinion of homosexuality, and It is unfortunate that this treasure
how his views were formed on the trove of basic Christian knowledge
basis of his personal observance of and information is at times tarnished
pederasty, homosexual rape, ·and with judgmentalism. New Age
temple prostitution. Since Paul's let- Christians are thought to be guided
ters are often used to condemn by demons. Metropolitan . Commuhomosexuality
this book offers excel- nity Churches are said to have an
lent ammunition. emphasis on a kind of love that is
However, 1 think this book will find . ""unscriptural"" ·and these churches are
its greatest appeaJ: for those from a criticized. for being too diverse. There
pentecostal or .literalist background . is also little tolerance for other
The belief is expressed in real religions and faiths: Hinduism is
demons which can ""possess"" people called .""satanic to the core,"" Jehovah's
to the status of cults, and Buddhists
are simply addressed as atheists.
Also, it is stated that it is
""inconsistent"" for Christians to ,be
members of lodges such as the
Masons.
Despite the small bits of
self-righteous ""tarnish"" · I've picked
from this book, A Christian .Gay
Catecltism is still a gleaming example
of what gay and lesbian Christians
can create when they explore their
own theology. For homos exual Christians
from an evangelical background
who are ""coming out"" this would be a
most important book to own . This
book will provide a new, yet
conservative, perspective, while
attacking the anti-gay ideology found
in most fundamentalist churches.
Available from Cristo Press, 1029 E.
Turney, Phoenix, AZ 85014, $3.00.
causing insanity and emotional dis- Witnesses and Muslims are relegated ------------------ PERSPECTIVES,
From Previous Page
ing. Celibacy, ·for example, is
enforced as a good thing against
scriptural evidence that the Apostles
were married.
A major question, of course, is why
the Catholic Church took off on this
anti-sex tangent. The author says this
was definitely not part of Christianity's
Jewish heritage. She attributes
its introduction to Gnosticism,
with its emphasis on the mind and its
rejection of the body .
The author discusses ""Luther and
his Influence on Catholic Sexual
Morality"" (Chapter 11) but does not
otherwise go into the implications of
Catholic morality theology for the
reformed or protestant churches . But
readers from these traditions can
ponder the extent to which their
church doctrines were influenced by
Roman teaching before the
Reformation .
No mention is made of the Vatican
letter a few years ago condemning
homosexuality, but a gay or lesbian .
reader who reads this book, in toto or
in part, should have no problem in
understanding the Catholic attitude in
view of its marked opposition lo
sexual pleasure without procreation.
The Lutheran document illustrates
an entirely different way of dealing
with specific sexual concerns on the
part of two major Protestant denomi- .
nations . Concerns include sexual
abuse, gay and lesbian relationships,
and genital sexual relationships
outside of marriage. Scriptural texts
are presented and discussed and then
questions are rais _ed for group
discussion . The following from page
31 indicates the overall tone: 'The
Church and its practices must always
Concise and
· accurate youth
resource
·Christianity· and Homosexuality: A
Resource for Students, published by
England's Lesbian and Gay Christian
Movement, presents dear and accurate
information on homosexuality in
. a easy to read style for young people.
Author Sue Vickerman, who has
worked with Mother Teresa in India,
said that the book was written lo
encourage young peopje to think for
themselves. ""I offered to write this
publication for the Lesbian and Gay
Christian Movement because after
~hree years experience as a Religious
Education te .acher I feel it is
appropriate for homosexuality· to be
talked about with children in a moral
context,"" Vickerman said. The book
summarizes diverse Christian views
on homosexuality in a balanced,
objective manner. For information
contact LGCM, Oxford House,
Derbyshire St., London, E2 6HG.
be reformed for· the sake of remaining
faithful to its mission in the world .
Doctrinal, liturgical, and moral
traditions must be examined in light
of what is central to our identity and
mission as Christians . Some human-
. based customs or taboos mily have
little to do with God'.s law or with the
promise of the gospel.""
The preface says 'This study is the
first stage in the development of a
social statement on human sexuality.
It is intended to stimulate reflection
and dialogue with Scripture, with the
· Lutheran theological tradition, arid
with one another."" A disclaimer
notes the study does not have official
policy status. The preface identifies ·a
task force of lay persons and clergy,
also a staff director, Dr. Karen
· Bloomquist of the Division for Church
in Society, ELCA, and five members
of an adjunct staff.
The chapter on ""Episcopalian
Perspectives Related to Sexuality"" was
written by Bishop Edward W. Jones of
the Episcopal Church's Indianapolis
Diocese.
Note: The office of ELCA's Division
for Church in Society is located at
8765 W. Higgins Rd ., Chicago, IL
60631-4190, (312)380-2710.
Second Stone•_March/April. 1993 .[rn
.,
•
Calendar ............ •- ........................... ............ ..................... .
Tlie Jo/lawing announcements have bem
submitted by spcmsoring or affiliated
groups.
CMI
Conference '93
MARCH 4-7, 1993, Communication ·
Ministry, Inc ., presents a conference
on 'The Goodness of Being Gay:
Spirituality for Lesbian and Gay
Religious, Clergy and Seminarians.""
Besides major addresses and celebratory
liturgies, workshops will
include: Celibacy as a Way of Loving,
Relationships in the Committed Life,
Coming Out, Formation Issues,
Aging/Middle Years, and Hiv
Positive. Conference fee is $75.00. for
furth er information and pre-registration,
write to: CMI Conference
'93, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125. . .
PLGC Midwestern
Regional
Conference
MARCH 5-7, This conference,
WcmungtonDC
APRll, 25, 1993
DON'TMISS
THISONE!
sponsored by Presbyterians for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns, to be
held at the Heartland Presbyterian
Center , Kansas City, Missouri, will
give participants an opportunity
rediscover the roots of their faith and
celebrate their spiritual strength as
individuals and as a community. For
information contact Doug Atkins, 747
N. Taylor Ave ., Kirkwood, MO
63122.
Conn~cting
families
MARCH 12-14, 1993, Laurelvill e
Mennonite Churc h Center is the
setting for the fourth Connecting
families retreat sponsored and
planned by Church of the Brethren
and Mennonite fomiles with gay or
lesbian members. For information
write to Brethren/Mennonite Parents,
P.O. Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802 or
Laurelville Mennonite Church
Center, Route 5, Mt. Pleasant, PA ·
15666.
Second Annual
Women's
Conference
MARCH 26-28, ""Women's Experience:
Creating Connections in the
90's"" is the theme of this conference to
be held at Mundelein College at
Loyola University (Chicago).
Housing is limited . Fee is $25.00:
For information contact'Women's
Conference, Sullivan Center, Room
200, 6525 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago,
IL 60625, (312)508-8430.
Third U.S.
Women-Church
Conference
APRIL 16-18, ""Weavers of Change"" is
the theme of this gathering in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is
an opportunity for women to deepen
Accommodations, AIDS/HIV resourcu, bars, boo""kstoru, various businesses, haaHh care, logal
urvk:u, org'antzatlons, publlcaUons, ralgtou1 groups, switchboards, tharaplsts, travel agents, &
much more, tor gay women and men.
All pt""lces below INCLUDE FIRST CIASS POSTAGE t> USA, Canada & Mexico, In soaJed, discreet
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~r:~~~k;: ~,(::~:=: ~~""lw.'~~r;;~~k~r=~tst(~!;,;~bank,
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NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY. NY & NJ; ""'1)8rate Women's Sectfa,; """"""1hattan bar rotes by Je,ry Fitzpatrick.
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[]j] Second Stone•March/April, 1993
understanding of the richness and
depth of the diversity of women's
experiences. Featuring over 100
speakers, presenters and artists, four
major plenary sessions and 30 focus
sessions. For information write to
P.O. Box 1025, Melrose, MA 02176 or
call (617)662•2102 or (617)524-7030.
LGCM Annual
Conference ·
APRIL 16-18, England's Lesbian and
Gay Christian MoVement gathers at
Wellington Avenue Methodist
Church ill'Liverpoo l for its annual
conference. Dr. Elizabeth Stuart,
authol' of Daring to Speak Love's Name,
is keynote speaker. 'For information
contact Lesbian and Gay Christian
·Movement, Oxford House,
Derbyshire St., London, England E2
6HG, 071-739-1249.
Affirmation
Spring Gathering
APRIL 23-25, Affirmation (United
Methodists) meets in the Washing .ton,
D.C. area in conjunction with the
March on Washington. Facilitators
are Peggy Gaylord, Mary Jo
Osterman, Randy Miller and Ben
Roe. Guest speaker.is Lani
Kaahumanu, nationally known
activist and co-editor of Bi Any Other
Name; Bisexual People Speak Out. For
registration information contact
Affirmation, P.O. Box 1021, Evanston,
IL 60204.
Healing From
Where We Are
MAY 3-7, This retreat, offered by
Kairos, at the Marianist Center in
Cupertino, Calif., is a sharing
experience for HIV+ priests and male
· religious. For information contact
John McGrann, 114 Douglass St., San
Franciso, CA 9.4114, (415)861-0877 or
David Eidem, 1534 Arch St.,
Berkeley, CA 94708, (510)841-2229.
Dialogue on the
Bible and
Homosexuality
MAY 23, The Piedmont Religious
Network for Gay and Lesbian
Equality sponsors a group discussion
at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina . Presenters include Rev.
Jimmy Creech and John Blevins. For
information call (919)766-9501 or
(919)748-3488.
SpiritFest '93
MAY 28-31, The Catholic Formation
Center, Irving , Texas is the setting for
this Memorial Day weekend ·
gathering. Fee of $120 includes room
and meals. For information contact
Rev. Terry Enloe, (504)944-9836.
Evangelicals
Concerned
· Eastern
connECtion
JUNE 4-6, The 14th annual eastern
summer retreat of Evangelicals
Concerned, Inc. will be held at
Kirkridge, a mountain retreat center
in eastern Pennsylvania. Keynoters
will be Peggy Ca mpolo, Nicho la s
Wolterstorff and Ralph Blair. For
information write to Evang elka ls
Concern ed, Inc., Ste. G-1, 311 East
72nd St., New York, NY 10021.
17th Annual Gay &
Lesbian Christian
Retreat
JUNE 10-13, This event for Lesbians,
gay men and bisexuals of all colors,
their family and friends, continues to
explore issues of sexuality in the
context of Christian faith and practice.
Facilitators include Mary E. Hunt,
Jolm McNeil!, Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott and William Smith.
Kirkridge, a mountain retreat center
in Eastern Pennsylvania is the
setting. For information contact
Kirkridge, Bangor, PA 18013-9359,
(215)588-1793.
BMG Annual
Retreat
JUNE 24-27, The Brothers of the
Mercy of God invite all to join them at
their host Monastery by the Sea. The
conference, themed ""Religious Life,""
promises a time of prayer and
sharing. For information write to
Bros. of the Mercy of God, 341 E.
Center St., Manchester, CT 06040 or
call 1-800-253-5506. (At the beep press
11903 and leave message .)
Seventh Annual
Golden Threads
JUNE 25-27, The Provincetown Inn in
Provincetown, Mass. will be the location
for this gathering of a worldwide
social network of lesbian .women over
50, and women who are interested in
older women. Julie Woods is the
featured entertainer. Attendance is
limited to 250. For information contact
Christine Burton, Golden Threads,
P.O. Box 3177, Burlington, VT
05401-0031.
SEE CALENDAR, Next Page
..........
T Noteworthy T ..................... ~ ....................... ~ ............•.......•......
Lutheran Church of
Honolulu becomes RIC
t:.AT THE JANUARY annual meeting
of The Lutheran Church of Honolulu
the members voted to accept the
Affirmation of Welcome for gay and
lesbian persons and become a
Reconciled in Christ congregation.
The resolution recognizes that gay:
and lesbian people share with all
others the worth that comes from
being unique individuals created by
God. In becoming a Reconciled in
Christ congregation, the 93 year old
church joins more than 90 other
Lutheran congregations and synods
and 300 congregations of other
Christian denominations that have
CALENDAR, From Page 16
.. ~merica Baptists
·. Concerned
National Retreat
JUNE 26-29, The Isis Oasis in the
Russian River area of Northern
Califorina will be the site of the
annual retreat of American Baptists
Concerned. Cost, including meals and
lodging, is $175. The retreat will
include a trip to San Frat!c/Sco for the
annual Gay /~~bian Pritle parade.
For information contact American
Baptists Concerned, 872 Erie St.,
Oakland, . CA 94610. ·
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Meet
JULY 2-4, Hundreds of lesbian moms,
gay dads and their children will meet
in Orlando, Florida for the 14th
annual conference of the Gay and
Lesbian Parents Coalitio11. ""Share the
Love ... Share the Magic!"" is the
theme. The Clarion Hotel is the
setting, providi11g opportunity to visit
the Disney attractions. For information
contact GLPCI '93, Box 561504,
Orlando, FL 32856-1504,
· ( 407)420-2191.
""Partners for the
Glory of God""
JULY 15-20, The Gay and Lesbian
Affirming Disciples Alliance and the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
· Gay Concerns will sponsor joint
activities during the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ biennial General
Assembly (Disciples) and General
Synod (UCC) at the Cervantes
Convention Center in St. Louis.
Michael and Katherine Kinnamon are
scheduled to speak at a Saturday
evening banquet. For infomation,
contact Randy Palmer al
(319)332-6245.
made similar statements of inclusive
ministry. ""We cannot visualize an
image of Christ standing at the door
of our . church welcoming some and
shunning others. Our church is not
simply a religious fellowship of like
minded people. It is a community
which comes together through . the
costly reconciliation by Christ's death
on the cross,"" said Dr . Donald
Johnson, pastor of the church.
Lesbian'Gay radio show
on air; s~ks material
t:.THE VOICE OF GAY CHRISTIAN~
!TY Radio Broadcast, a production of
Manos Music Ministries and the
Metropolitan Community Church ·of
UFMCC's
16th General
Conference
JULY 18-25, ""For All The Nations"" is
the theme of this conference celebrating
the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Church's 25
years of ministry . The conference
returns to The Pointe at Tapatio Cliffs
in Phoenix, Arizona, site of the
immediate past UFMCC General'
Conference. For registration information
write to the UFMCC, 5300
Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 304, Los
Angeles, CA 90029.
Dignity/USA
Convention
JULY 28-AUGUST 1, The national
gay and lesbian Catholic organization
holds its 11th biennial convention at
the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans.
""Celebrate a Living Church"" is the
theme of the gathering, to which
attendees are encouraged lo wear
Mardi Gras colors of green, gold -and
p1.1rple. Brian McNaught is the
featured speaker . For information
contact Dignity /USA, 1500
Massachusetts Ave., NW, Ste.11,
Washington, DC 20005,
1-800-877-8797.
BMG
Hospitality House
AUGUST 14-21, The Brothers of the
Mercy of God sponsor a week by the
ocean, summer fun, and sharing life's
experience. The setting is an authentic
New England farmhouse in
Matunuck, R.I. The atmosphere is
relaxed, prayerful and joyous. For
information write to Bros. of the
Mercy of God, 341 E. Center St.,
Manchester, CT 06040 or call
1-800-253-5506. (At the beep press
11903 and leave message.)
Northern Virginia, an hour -long radio
broadcast of music, preaching, and
interviews, has begun broadcasting
on WCXS 94.5 Stereo FM Cable
Access Radio in Fairfax County,
Virginia. The show airs every Wednes<
lay night at 9:00. Program Director
Manos M. Clements said that the
show is seeking professionally pro duced
Christian music recordings by
gay and lesbian artists, recorded
sermons, and financial contributions.
For information write to Manos Music
Ministries, MCC NOV A, 7245 Lee
Highway, Falls Church, VA 22046.
Robert Williams dies
t:.J. ROBERT WILLIAMS, an openly
P-FLAG Annual
Convention
SEPTEMBER 3-6, The 12th Annual
International Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays gathering wiU be
held in New Orleans Labor Day
weekend at the Sheraton Hotel on
Canal Street. ""Celebrating Family -
New Orleans Style"" is the theme. For
information contact New Orleans
P-FLAG, P.O. Box 15485, New
Orleans , LA 70175.
Nationat Skills
· Building
Conference
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3, The
AIDS National Interfaith Network,
National Association of People with
AIDS and National Minority AIDS
Council sponosor their annual
gathering. New Orleans, on
Halloween weekend, is the setting.
For information contact ANIN, 110
Maryland Ave., NE, Ste. 504,
Washington, DC 20002.
RE-imagining/
Churches in
Solidarity with
Women
NOVEMBER 4-7, A global theological
conference by women for
women and men. Re-imagining
God, creation, Jesus, church as
spiritual institution, arts/ church,
-lar)guage / word, ethics/ work/ ministry,
commurJty, sexuality/ family,
churcl1 as worshipping community .
'.Featuring many preseriters including
Mary E. Hunt and Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott. The Minneapolis Convention
Center is the setting . Contact
Rev. Sally Hill, 122 W. Franklin
Ave., Room 100, Minneapolis, MN
55404, (612)870-3600, fax
(612)870-3663.
gay minister ordained in the Episcopal
Churcl1, died on Christmas Eve
in Boston of an AIDS related infection.
He was 37.. Williams, who was asked
to resign just six weeks after his
ordination in December 1989, was
diagnosed with AIDS in November
1990. His body was cremated and his
ashes scattered over Cape Cod B.ay. ·
UFMCC opens expansive
new churches
tiTWO, OF THE UFMCC'S largest
churches, in Dallas, Texas and Washington,
D.C. held their first Sunday
worship services in newly constructed
buildings just before Christmas .
CNN Headline News look note of the
Dallas church opening, saying that
""Gays and Lesbians now · have a
cathedral of their own."" Both
Cathedral of Hope MCC in Dallas and
MCC Washington held their first
services in the new facilities on the
same day. The $3 million .Cathedral
of Hope MCC seats 1,000 people.
With 1,000 members, it is the world's
largest church with a specific outreacl1
to Gays and Lesbians, 'The fact that
this building exists · at all is a testament
to the power of God to enable
people to triumph over· adversity,""
said Rev. Michael Piazza, pastor. The
cl1Urch building features lesbian/ gay
symbols in a spiritual setting, including
a triangular altar of pink marble
and stained glass windows with
lambdas and the like. MCC/DC's
new church, which cost $1.5 million,
seats 350. Rev. Larry Uhrig, pastor of
the . church, said of the ·new building,
""It proves to me that we should never
give up on our dreams and ·visions,
but when we. wail on them they come
tous.""
Two mid-sized UFMCC congregations,
in Omaha, Nebraska, and
Boca Raton, Florida have also purchased
new buildings in recent
months.
Rev. Freda Smith
on Dallas cable
t:.SILENT HARVEST MINISTRIES has
announced weekly · cablecasting of
worship services from River City
MCC, Sacramento, Calif., to TC! cable
customers in Dallas, Texas. The
program features Rev . Elder Freda ,
Smith, the first woman ordained in
the UFMCC and the first woman
elected to the Board of Elder:;. c,c
show can be seen on rhannel 12-B
Sun., 7:30, Thurs., 11:30, Mon., 10:00,
and Fri., 11:00; (All times .p.m.)
Ft. Lauderdale church
sets record
t:.CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
MCC, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: held
the UFMCC's largest Christmas Eve
service last year with a congregation
SEE NOTEWOR1HY, P~ge 19
Second .Stone•March/April, 1993 [IT]
Reconciling Congregation Program calls on
Methodists to support Colorado boycott
The board of directors of the Reconciling
Congregation Program added
its voice to the many other groups in
the United Methodist Church that are
calling for the denomination to relocate
its General Conference from
Denver in 1996 because of the passage
of Amendment 2 by Colorado
MENNONITE, From Page 9
conference on the issue, and that no
formal written position be adopted by
the congregation or the conference .
Therefore, while the position paper
prepared by Germantown's pastors
was officially abolished, the ideals
stated in the paper still guide the
cong~egation today.
Once our young man became a
member at Germantown, many
others followed -. Other gay and
lesbian Christians in the Philadelphia
area joined when they saw there was
a comfortable place in which they
could be whole and still worship ·in
their tradition. At least one person
from an outlying ""country"" church
Coming Out
means teiling the truth
about our lives ...
a family value
we can live with.
Please give generously to the most
effective campaign
011r comm11nity will ever wage.
NATI0NALC0MINGOUTDAY•
OCT0BER11
PO Box 8270, SANTA FE, NM 87504-8270
SOS-982-2558
Your contribution is tax-deductible
voters. The board met Feb. 12-14 in
Chicago. In a leUer to the Corrimission
on General Conference, the
board stated, in part, ""General
. Conference is the most visible and
most official gathering of the United
Methodist Church. We dare not meet
•in a place in which the policy is in
was directed by his pastor to ""try
Germantown"" after he had disclosed
his sexual orientation. More than
anything else, the open arms of both
gay and straight members have
invited gay men and Lesbians to find
a church home at Germantown.
To be sure, Germantown is not a
gay /lesbian church. The congregation
is largely made up of young and
middle-aged married couples with a
lot of youngsters under six years old.
It struggles not only with sexuality
issues, but with issues relating to
women, the poor and homeless, arid
· economic inequality, as well as the
inore mundane problems of leadership
and meeting space. But .the
For your c~nvenience
you may now FAX:
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ris: Second Stone•March/April, 1993 LL .
a: such blatant opposition to the
c-<iprotection of basic human rights, a
widely-supported United Methodist
position.""
In other action, the RCP board
launched plans for a Reconciling Pastors
Network, which would provide a
way for pastors to be identified as
pastors have noted the unique
contributions made by the. gay and
lesbian members .. They poirit to the
contribution of gay men to a greater
sensitivity among the men in the
church; they also point out that gay
and lesbian couples have provided
models of stability for many heterosexual
relationships in the congregation.
The. Germantown congregation
seems to be largely comfortable with
how it has dealt with the issue of
supporting ministries with lesbian,
gay and . bisexual persons. Also, a
youth/young adult task force held its
inaugural meeting ancl plans were
finalized for the third national
convocation of Reconciling Congregations
from July 8-11, 1993 in
Washington, D.C.
faces the challenge of providing leadership
and an example to congregations
and the church at large. As
homosexuality affects more families
and congregations within the church,
a witness of acceptance and inclusion
is vital. Germantown is a fine example
that this can be done to the
benefit and enrichment of the congregation.
It is hoped that through
involvement with the Supportive
Congregations Network, and through
being open and unapologetic about
its position, Germantown Mennonite
They point to the contribution of gay men
to a greater sensitivity among men in the
church. They also point out that gay and
lesbian couples have provided models
of stability for many heterosexual relationships
in the congregation.
homosexual members, although some
aspects of the issue continue to cause
moments of unease with a few
people. The congregation has moved
forward in making acceptance of gay
and lesbian persons no less important
a goal than any other aspect of doing
God 's work. While most of the
energy expended on sexual orientation
issues has been internal within
the congregation, Germantown now
Church will continue to be a shining
example for the inclusion of all
oppressed groups within the Anabaptist
tradition.
Joe Miller has attended Germantown
Mennonite Church since 1986, and
serves as a trus'tee in the .congregation.
Reprinted from Dialogue, the newsletter
of the Brethren/Mennonite Council Jo,·
Lesbian/Gay Concb·ns.
Bulk Copies Available
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Resource Guide.· ................. • ................. •· .................................... .
Listings in the Resource Guide are free to
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community services. Send information to
Second Stone, Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70182 or FAX to (504)891-7555.
National
EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr. RalplrBtair, 311 East
72nd St, New York, NY 10021-(212)517-3171. Publications:
Review and Record. ·
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS, P.O. Box 436
P~netariumStn., Ne;, York, NY 10024. (607)432-9295.
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North Bellmore, NY 11710. A
CTif~~i~~~~~~m !~b~i~~~~~~~~ 10461,
lesbiar\/gay community and the Roman Catholic Church. .
HONESTY: Southern Baptist Ac!/ocates lor E""'al Ai~ts, P.O.
Box 7331, Lotis\;lle, KY ffi/. (502)883-0783.
FEDERATION OF PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS
AND GAYS, INC. P.O. Box 27605, Wlshirgon, DC 20036. Send
$3.00 {or packet of infonmation. . -
NATIONAL GAY PENTECOSTAL AWANCE (also Pentecostal
Bible Institute (Ministerial trainingl) P.O. Box 1391,
Schenectaa,,, NY 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. Ptblication: The
Apostolic Voice. ·
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM • THE ALABAMA FORUM, P.O. Box 55894,
35255-5894. (205)328-9228.
Arizona
~~~ g:~~~ Slation, Cllica(P, IL 60610-0461. Ptblicalion: PHOENIX - Lion of Judah Ministries, P.O. Box 26531,
PRESBYTERIANS FOR LESBIAN& GAY CONCERNS, P.O. Box 85068-6531. (602)997-5372. Chuck Shamblin, Bert Miller
38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903·0038. Publication: More Light Co-pastors.
1
Update TUCSON· Cornerstone Fellow..hip, 2902 N. Geronimo, 85705.
. UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP OF METAOPOUT AN COMMUNITY · (602)622-4626. Rada Schatt, Pastor.
CHURCHES 5300 Santa Monica Blvd, '304, Los Angeles, CA MESA • Boundless Love Community Church, 431 S. Stapley
90020, (213)464-5100. Ptblication: Keeping in Touch Dr., 85204. (602)439-0224. P.J. Fousek-Grega11 p,,stor. Smay,
BRETHREN I MENI\QNITE COUNCIL FOR LESBIAN AND GAY 10:00 a.rn
CONCERNS, Box 65724, Washirgon, DC 20035. Ptblication: TUCSON • Casa De La Paloma Apostolic Church, 1122 N. B~11
~~De CHURCH COALITION FOR LESBIAN I GAY ~
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1602
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CONCERNS, 18 N. College, Athens, OH 45701, (614) 593-7301.
Publicalion: waves ·
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS KINS.HIP INTER NA TIONA~ Box
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Washington, DC 20026, (202)863-1586. Publication: Open
Hands
~£~~~~p1%,,~~ :1:~o:s~~~f 20036-0561,
ECUMENICAL CATHOUC CHURCH, P.O. Box 32, Villa Grande,
CA 95486-0032. Holy Spirt Church, East Moline, IL,
(309)792-6188. St. Michael's Church, Russian River, CA, (707)
865-0119. Publication: The Tablet '
LIVING STREAMS, P.O, Box 178, Concord, CA-94522-0178.
Bi-monthly publication. ·
AIDS NATIONAL INTERFAITH NETV.ORK, 300 I St., NE, Sia.
400, Washirgon, DC_ 20002. (800)288-9619, FAX (202)546-5103.
Pubhcat1on: lnteract1on ·
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS • 1663 Mission SI,
5th Fir., San Francisco, CA94103.
GAY AND LESBIAN PARENT COALITION, P.O. Box 50360,
WasNn(l!on, OC 20091. Publication: Network · ·
THE VlliNESS, PLblished tlf lhe Episcopal Church Publishing
Co., 1249 Washi~on Blvd, Ste. 3115, Detroi\ Ml 48226-1868.
(313)962-2650 ·. . · ·
INTERNATIONAtGAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVES, The Natalie
Barney Edward Carpenter Library, P.O. Box 38100, Holtywood
CA 90036. (213)854-0271. Ptiilication: Bul~tin. .
COUf:'LES Ne'NSletter, Pl.blished by TWr Press, Inc., P.O. BOX
. 253, Brairtree, MA 02184-0003. ·
WOODSWOMEN • Adventure travel tor_ women, 25 W.
Diamond Lake Ad., Minneapolis, MN 55419, (800)279-0555,
(612)822-3809, FAX(612)822-3814.
·DAUGHTERS OP SARAH - The magazine for -Christian
Femirists, 3801 No. Keeler, Chicago, IL60641, (312)736-3399.
CHI AHO PRESS· A special \\Ork of the UFMCC Mid-Atlantic
District. Publisher of religious books and materials. P.O. Box
b~~~~~fflc'NMS~'mFifV£~
1
:.iogue and su rt
!10\JP for gay and lesbian Catholiclergy and religious. ro. Box 60125, Chicago, IL 60660-0125. PLblication: Communication
' .
V.OMEN'SALUANCE FOR THEOLOGY, ETHICS AND AITUA~
: 1~J!'.~l~O~:i:;.~~iA~t~f (301)589-2509, FAX
INTERNATIONAL FREE CATHOLIC COMMUNION, 258 Aspen
SI., #11, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420. (805)473-2510. Ptblical1on:
The Free Catholic Communicant. .
INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE, 4102 East
7th St, #209, Lorg Beach, CA90004. (310)433-0384. . .
UNITED LESBIAN AND GAY CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS:- Box
2171, 256 So. Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90213.
(818)760-0827.
AFFIRMATION: Gai & Lesbian Mormons, P.O. Box 46022, Los
ml~fM~nit~)?i~t;~;l, for Gay & Lesbian c~ncerns,
P.O. Box 1022, Evansto11 IL60204.
ST. TABITHA'S AIDS APOSTOLATE, Christian AIDS Nel\\Ork of
the Merican Orthodox Catholic Church ot St. Gre(Prios, P.O.
~i ~M~~s'~~~~~:1si°:~\i~ Rock, AR72200
(501)372-5113. Workshops o_n women's issues, social justice,
racism and homophobia:
EMERGENCE tnternat,onat: A Community of Christian
Scientists Sl.!)porting Lesbians and Gay Men. P.O. Box 9161,
San Rafael, CA 94912-9161. (415)485-1881. Ptblication:.Emergel
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10014. (212)674-0120
\/\OMEN'S ORDINATION CONFERENCE, P.O. Box 2693,
Fairtax, VA 22031-0693. (703)352-1006
GAY, LESBIAN AND AFFIRMING DISCIPLES ALLIANCE, P.O.
Box 19223, tndanapolis, IN 46219-0223. (319)324-6231. For
members ot the Christian Church (Disciples ot Christ).
PutJication: Crossbeams.
NEW-OIRECTION Magazine tor gayAesbian Mormons, 6520
Selma Ave., Ste. AS-440, Los Angeles, CA 90028. ·
CHRISTIANITY & CRISIS Ma!fizine, 537 l'kst 121st SI., New
York NY10027. (212)662-5907.
BLK Magazine, Box 83912, Los Angeles, CA 90083-0912.
(310)410-0BOa
NEW WAYS MINISTRY, 4012 29th St., Mt. Rainier,.MD 20712,
(301)277-5674. A_ gay-affirming organization bridging the
California
SAN LUIS OBISPO • MCC 61 the Central Coasf, P.O. Box 1117, ~=~t~p!;~; (805)481-9376. &Jnday, 1020 a.m. Rev.
SACRAMENTO • Koinonia Christian Fellowship, P.O. Box
189444, 95818. (916)452-5736. Tom Rossi, Pastor. ·
SACRAMENTO· THE LATEST ISSUE, P.O. Box 160584, 95816.
(916)737-lOBa
~%~~~~i~tfi1~[
1
i~~ss,TWoll~oo~~i~A
1~008.ft.
(213)656-8570. Ptblication: ET News
SAN FRANCISCO· Lutherans Concerned, 566 Vallejo SI., #25,
94133-4033, (415)956-2069. Ptblicat~n: Ament.
~~i.;,~~ i\~~n?.: PG~y :xd 4~~1ci~~4~~1°r/~l~i~s'.~sg
1
Ptblicalion: Our Storie·s. ·
SAN FRANCISCO • The Parsonage, 555-A Castro St.,
94114-0293. Ptblication: The Parsonagi ·News
ARROYO. GRA_NDE • St. Brendan Free Catholic Church
i'jlosto~te, 258 Aspen SI., N11, 93420. (805)473-2510
CONCORD - Free Catholic Apostolate of the Redeemer, 1440
Deir~! Ave, 113, 94520. (510)798-5281.
SAN FRANCISCO • DIGNITY, 208 Dolores SI., , 94103.
(415)255-9244. Ptblication: Bricl;!es. · .• •
GLENDALE· Divine Redeemer MCC, 346 Riverdale Dr., 91204.
Sunday, 10:45 a.m., l'kd., Fri., 7:30 p.m. Rev. Stan Harris,
pastor. P~l?lic.9tion; Fram Mary's ~hrine.
Colorado
DENVER· Evangelicals Reconciled P.O. Box 200111, 80220,
(303)331-2839. Colorado Springs: (719)468-3158.
DENVER • Evangelicals Concerned I Western Re,ion, P.O.
Box 4750, 80204. Publication: ThECatJe.
Connecticut
HARTFORD-MCC, P.O. Box 514, 06016, (203)724-4605. SLl1Cl!y,
7:00 p.m. The Meeting House, 50 Bloomlield Ave.
District of Columbia
lnte11ity/Washington, Inc., P.O. Box 19561, 20036-0561.
(301 )953-9421. Ptbl~ation: Gay!pfing
MCC of Washirgon, DC, 415 M SI., N.W., 20001. Rev. Larry J.
Uhrig, p,,stor.
Florida
~M~~~~W1~it.:~ ~~~'.;~g~ :~51: /~eil~:
Dr. FredC. V\ltliams, Sr., Pastor.
CLEARWATER • Free Catholic Church of the Resurrection, 303.
N Myrt~ Ave., 34615. (813)442-3867.
WEST PALM BEACH · MCC, 3500 45th St., N2A, 33409.
(407)687-3943. Sunday, 9:15 & 11 :00 a.m. Sel'lices also in Ft.
P~rce, (40n687-3943 and Pt. St. Lucie, (407)340-0421.
FOAT MYl:AS • SI. John the Apostle MCC, 2209 Unity at the
corner of Broacl.vay. (813)278-5181. Sunday, 10:00 a.m., 7:00
p.m. Rev. James Lynch.
Georgia
ATLANTA • SOUTHERN VOICE, P.O. Box 18215, 30316.
(404)876-1819.
ATLANTA· All Saints Metropolitan Community Church, P.O.
Box 13968, 30324 (404)622-1154
Hawaii
KAHULUI • BOTH SIDES I\QW Newsletter, P.O. Box 5042,
96732.
lflinois
CHICAGO • OUTLINES, Published by Lambda PLblications,
3059 N. SoiJtl)ort, 60657. (312)871_-7610. FAX (312)871-7600.
Louisiana
(504)945-5390. &Jnday, 10:00 a.m. Shelley Hamilton, Pastor.-
Maryland
. THE BALTIMORE AlTERNATl',E, P.O. Box 2351, Batimore, MD
21203. (301)235001. FAXr;D1)889-5665.
Massachusetts
CHERRY VALLEY· Morning Star MCC, 231 Main St., 01611.
(508) .892-4320. Ptblication: Morning Star V\ltness.
Mrch1gan
g~~1oo~_AUISE Magaiine, 19136 'M>odHard No~h. 48203:
FUNT· Redeemer MCC, 1665 N. Chevrolet Ave.,-48504-3164.
(313)238-6700. Sunday, 6:00 p,rn Rev. Linda J. Stoner, Pastor.
Publ,callon: Sounds ol Rooeemer. -
ANN ARBOR - Huron Valley"" Community ·church meets at
Glacier Way UMC, 1001 Green Rd., Ann Arbor, 48105-2896.
(313)741-1174. SLl1Cl!y, 2.00_p.m. •
DETROIT· lrteg:ity, 960 'lmlmore, N205, 48203.
GRAND RAPIDS • Bethel Ctvislian Assermly, 920 Cherry SE,
P.O. Box 6935, 49516. (616)459-8262 Rev. Bruce Rolter-P~tcher.
pastor. PLbficalion: Bethel Beacon. T etevision: Channel 23;
Sun, 10:00p.rn .
EAST LANSING I Lansing. Ecelesia. Affinning.church meets at
People's Church, 200 W. Grand River. Sunday, 8:15 p.m.
ANN ARBOR • Tree of Life MCC, meets at First
Con11egationat Church, 218 N. Adams, Ypsilanti. P.O. Box
2598, 48106. (313)665-6163. Su-day, 6:00p.m
Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS· EQUAL TIME, 310 E 381h St., Room 207, 55409.
(612) 823-3836. Ptblished tlj Lavendar, Inc. ·
MINNEAPOLIS •. All Gods Children Metropolitan Community
Church, 3100 Park Ave. S .. (612)824-2673. Publ~alion: The
Disciple.
New Jersey
HOBOKEN· The Oasis, 707 Wlshingon St, P.O. Box 5149,
07030. (20!) 792-0340. . . .
New Mexico
SANTA FE· THE GATSBY CONNECTION, 551 W. Cordova,
Sta ™=. 87501. (505)986-1794.
New York
NEW YORK • Lesbian and Gay Community ·services Center,
Inc., 208 W. 13th SI., 10011. (212)620-7310. P,ijicalions: Center
~Yg~~~r,~;~, PO Box 5202, 101~0043. Ptblication
Outlook •.
ROCHESTER • THE E~PTY Cl:OSET, 179 Atlantic Ave.,
1t1°lNV~5eo~~:i~ ~~•sJ~~~b\rls,l:~x Church,
P.O. Box 9073, 12209. (518)346-0207. Father Herman, CSJn,
Guardian. Plblication:. Melanoia.
NEW YORK · AXIOS, Eastern and Orthodox Christians, P.O.
·Box 756, Village Sin., 10014. Second Friday, 8:00 p.m.,
Community Center, 208 West 13th SI.
· SCHENECTADY • Li~thouse Apostolic .Church, 38 Cotumt,;a
SI., P.O. Box 1391, 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. Rev. \Wtiam H.
Carey, pastor.
North Carolina
CHARLOTTE· Metrolina SV.ffcltxlard, (704)535-6277. P.O. Box
11144, =-V\ILMI NG TON • GROW Community Service Col])Oration, P.O.
Box 4535, 28406. (919)675-9222. Youh outreach: ALIVE lor gay,
lesbian, bisexual youth. ·
RALEIGH • Raleit Aeligous Nel\\Ork tor G1 and Lesbian
~1bt.?s~~ . p=-~~~1~~9!8~:,,k for Gay and
Lesbian E""'°tly, P.O. Box 15104, 27113-0104. (919)766-9501.
Ohio
DAYTON· Community Gospel Cnurch, P.O. Box 1634, 45401
(513)252-8855. Pentecostal, charismatic meets Sunday, 10:00
a.m. 546 Xenia Ave: Samuel Kader, Pastor.
COLUMBUS • Metropotttan Community Church, 1253 North
~:tic~\~<;;\::!;,,~6~4 -3026 Sunday, 1030 a.m.
COLUMBUS· STONEWALL UNION REPORTS, Box 10814,
43201-7814. (614)299-7764.
Pennsylvania
ALLENTOWN • Grace Covenant Fellowship, 247 N. loth SI.,
18102. (215)740-0247. 81yon Ro..,, Pastor. Thom Ritter,
Minister of Music.
Tennessee
. NASHVILLE· Daysprirg Fellowship, 120-B ·so. 11th St., Box
60073, 37206. (615)227-1448. Ptblication: Son Shine.
NASHVILLE : tnlegity of Middle Tennessee, Inc., P.O. Box
121172, 37212-1172: (615)383-0018. News~er._
Texas
DALLAS· Whte Rock Commuruty Church, P.O. Box 180063,
75218. (214)285-2831, (214)327-9157. Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Jeny
Coo~ Pastor.
~~1i~~~~~'. P.O Box 190351, 75219-0351 (214)520-0912
AUSTIN - Joari Wakeford -Ministries, Inc., 9401-B Grouse
Meaoo.Y Ln., 78758-6348, (512)835-7354.
DALLAS • Silent Harvest Ministries, P.O. Box_ 190511,
75219-0511. (214)520-€655.
MIDLAND : Hoiy Trintty Community Church, 1607 S. Main,
79701. (915)570-4822. Rev. Glenn E. Hammett, Pastor.
Publication:Trinity Tribune
DALLAS • Holy Trinity Community Church, 4402 Roseland,
75204. (214)827-5088. Rev. Frederick Wright, Pastor.
Publication: The Chariot
HOUSTON • Community Gospel Church, 501 E. 18th at .
Coturmia. (713)880-9235. Sunday, 11 :00 a.m. Chris Chiles,
Pastor. •
HOUSTON• Houston Mission Church, 1633 Marshall, 77006.
~~~~d~~ a~c~M.~~~,~~air,~a~~~atur, 77001.
(713)861,9149. Rev. John Gill, Pastor. Ptblication: The Gooc
News m~JgJJi72rnsi,i~~~:! NH, PO Box 66821, 77266.
.HOUSTON -. Kingdom Community Church, 614· E. 19th SI.,
77008. (713)862-7533 (713)748-6251. SIIXl!y, 11:00am
LUBBOCK · Lesbiar\/Gay Alliance, Inc., P.O, Box 64746,
79464-4746. (806)791-4499. Ptblication: La!Jixll Times.
Virginia
AOAI\OKE • MCC of the Blue Aiqie, P.O. Box ·20495, ·24018,
(703)366-0839. Ptblication: The Blue Ricl'.le Banner
~OANOKE • BLUE RIDGE LAMBDA PAESS, P.O. Box 237,
2«m, (703)890-3184 .
FALLS CHURCH • MCC ot Northern Virginia, 7245 Lee
Higlway, 22046. . .
FALLS CHURCH· Alfirmation Gay & Lesbian Monnons, P.O.
Box 10034, 22320,0034, (202)828-3096
FALLS CHURCH· Telos Ministries, P.O. Box 3390, 22043.
(703)560-2680. Bapfisl.gOll).
Washington
SEATTLE GAY NEWS, 704E. Pike, 98122. (206)324-4297. FAX
(206)322-7188. •
SEATTLE· Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW 64th SI_, 98107.
(206)784-8495. Sunday, 1100 a.m. & 7:00 p.m., Wecilesday, 7:30
p.m. Jerry Lachina, Pastor.
RICHLAND· Shalom UCC, 505 McMlmly, 99352 (509)943-3927.
()pen and alfirming congegalibn.
TACOMA • Hillsida Community Church, 2508 South 39th St.,
98<00. (206)475-2388.
West Virginia
MORGANTOWN· Freedom Fellowship Church, P.O. Bot 1552,
26.'lJS.(~)291-69«).
International •
LONDON • Lesbian and Gay Christia~ Movement, Oxford
House, Oert:lfshire SI., londonE26f£, UK, 071-739-1249.
Lis.tings .are free at the
request of the organization.
Send to Second
Stone, Box 8340, New
Orleans, LA 70182 or
fax to .(504)891-7555.
_ NOTEWORTHY, From ,Page 17
of 2,651. ""It was probably the most
innovative service in any Christian
church I've ever been to,"" said Gus
Kein, associate of pastoral care. The
massive service was held in ihe
Broward County Performing Arts
Center, which will also be the site of
the second ""Celebrate Our Freedom""
. evangelism rally with Rev. Elder
Troy Perry, UFMCC founder and
moderator. The rally is scheduled for
May 29, 1993. - Keeping ln_Touclz
Speakers bureau established
LI.STAFF MEMBERS of Maleh us are
available to speak to student groups,
churches and other organizations .
Rev. C. Alexis Tancibok, editor of
Malclzus, a lesbian and gay Christian
monthly newsletter, said 'There is so
much out there to share with not only
the straight community but our own
as well."" Inquiries may be written to
Malclzus, 6036 Richmond Hwy,, #301,
Alexandria, VA 22303 or faxed to
(703)329-7896.
Second Stone•March/ Aj>ril, 1993 [iru
I
I •
Class iii eds T- ................. ~ ..... .. • ................................................ .
:s0 ,0ks & Pu·bt1.cation_s ··
""WONDERFUL DIVERSITY,"" ""Hea rtily
recom~ended ,"" . ""Philosophically intriguing
,"" ""Excellent.,, Why do revie wers
highly esteem CHRISTIAN*NEW AGE
QUARTERLY? Great articles and liv_ely
columns mak e this bridge of dialogue
between Christians and New Agers as
entertaining as it is substantive. Subscribe
for only $12.50/yr, Or sample us for $3.50.
CHR!STIAN*NEW AGE QUARTERLY, P.O.
Bo'. 276, Clifton, NJ 07011-0276. TF
CHI RHO PRESS. Send for your copy of
The Bible a11d Homosexuality by Rev.
Michae l England for $5.95 or I'm Still
Dan ci11g by long-term AIDS .survivor Rev.
Steve Pieters for $8.95 arid receive a free
catalog from Chi Rho Press, an M(;C-based
publishing house for the Gay/Lesbian
Christian community. Or receive our catalog
by sending $1.00. P.O. Box 7864-A,
Gaithersburg , MD 20898.
GAY USED BOOKS wanted. Please share
your·read· books. Thanks. Tom, 1116 Marble
NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102. 6/93
General Interest
IF YOU HA VE READ ""The Aquarian Gospel
. of Jesus the Christ"" by Levi, I am interested
in corresponding and discussing. W. Courson,
P.O. Box 1974, Bloomfield, NJ 07003 .. 6/93
MESSIAH COLLEGE ALUMNI (Grantham,
PA) ~re you interested in forming a lesbian/
gay alumni group? If so please call Susan .
Bailey, 703-820-0483; Julia Lowery, 717-
697-8347. 8/93
MERCY OF GOD COMMUNITY, Christian,
ecumenical and inclusive, WelcOmes i~quirers
age 21 and older as prospective vowed
brothers and sisters. Live and minister
locally, participate in growing national
network. Religio us Life Weekend retreat
June 25 to 27; hospitality house August 14
to 21. For information, call toll-free -
1-800-366-2337, at tone press 11903; or
write: Dept. SS, P.O. Box 6502, Providence,
RI 02940. 4/93
AIDS, From Page 13
sister, loved one or best friend; and
that the face that AIDS wears is
always the face of a person who is the
most important person in someone
else's .life.
· Acrilss this nation, in churches larg.e
and small, pastors and laity continue
to ·ask: ""What can my church do?""
My answer is always based oil what
many churches are doing so well
already. These acts of faithfulness
include:
•Making a covenant to be a place of ,
spiritual nurture and uplift;
• Making a covenant (a promise) to
affirm the sacred . worth of persons
with HIV and AIDS; ..
• Making a covenant to be har•
bingers of hope. We all need hope
in our lives: ·things to fook forward
to. We all need to celebrate life in
wliatever form it is given to us
today. Covenant to be a place of joy
and celebration.
[2ft] Second Stone•March/April, 1993
I
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• Making a covenant to be a
companion to one who is ill and
alone. How long·the hours are in a
hospital. Making a covenant to visit:
to not be afraid.
• Making a -covenant to provide care
when loved ones need a break. Lend
a hand. It's one of the gestures of
Christ's healing touch.
• Making a covenant to take time to
be there. You are .the presence of
Christ in the midst of suffering,
doubt and fear. No greater commission-
was ever given to the followers
of Christ than to be the presence of
Christ in the lives of others.
•Making a covenant to work with ·
other churches and community
groups to address the larger context
of AIDS.
• Making a covenant to see that AIDS
prevention become a reality.
• Making a covenant to take care of
yourselves. Remember, Jesus withdrew
from the disciples to-pray, to
be alone with God, to care for his
spiritual needs, Perhaps there were
times when Jesus wept over the
burdens he carried. It's okay to cry.
Perhaps there were times when he
felt uncertain, unsure, not up to the ·
task of establishing God's reign on
earth. . God understands our unbelief,
our lack of confidence. As in
.the life of Jesus, God moves us from
prayer to action. God is with us
always in our covenant-making and
our covenant-keeping.
Work faithfully with your church
that it inight .covenant to be a '
nonjudgmental place of openness
where .persons whose lives have been
touched by AIDS can name their
pain, can reach out for compassion
and consolation.
Work with our church that it might
covenant .to be an outstretched hand,
a welcoming shoulder, a comforting
breast where pain finds Christ's .
Name ___________ _
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mercy and the love and
companionship of those who bear his
name. ·
Make a Covenant to Care filled
with the awareness that persons with
HIV and AIDS have so much to offer
your congregation and that your
congregation is not fully representative
of the Body of Christ so long
as any person with HIV or AIDS is
excluded, b<!fred, kept out. ·
Make quilt panels , to remember
those you have loved. Hang them in
your church. Remember always that
to be iri the presence of the quilt is to
be in the presence of the Holy; to be
upheld and sustained by the
knowledge that God's mercy has no
end, that God's love endures, that
God has received those who have
died, and that the wounds of the
living will be healed.
•· In your healing ministries be a
convenant-keeping people of a
covenant-making God. Be the visible
followers of the Christ Jesus who
red,;,fined the meaning of holiness;
who with the touch of the hand
established the merciful and just
reign of God among those whom
temple and society believed to be
""unclean"" ""unclean""; those judged to
be sinners; those who were cast out
by others who deemed themselves to
be holy. Make a covenant to follow
him . Break down barriers. · Risk for
the sake of a new heaven and a new
earth . Covenant to follow him: the
Son of God, the Christ of the journey,
the Jesus who knew what it was like
to be lo_nely, rejected and despised.
Covenant .for follow . . Covenant to
care.
Cathie Lyons is the Associate General
Secretary of the Health and Welfare
Ministries Program Department, General
Board of Global Ministries of the United
Methodist Church.
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New Orleans, LA 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,27,1993,"Mar/Apr 1993",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/382b0cfa76c99f78d95b90de0d6b34de.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1665,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1665,"Second Stone #28 - May/June 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,"AMERICA 'S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL
MA Y / J U N E, 1 9 9 3 ISSUE #28
_ HEARTFELT LOVE
Couples participating in a mass blessing of rel ationships chalked their
names on the street, encircled by hearts. Photo: Rev. Kittredge Cherry
March was political,
spiritual milestone
BY REV. K IT T RED G E C H ERR Y
L esbians and gay men made a
spiritual and political breakthrough
at the 1993 March on
Washington for Lesbian, Gay
and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation.
We saw ourselves in a new way: an
estimated one million strong, in all
our diversity, proud to claim our
identity and our rights. At the April
25 march we tested our wings and felt
our power, and ·that exp erience will
continue to transform and build lesbian
and gay community globally in
ways that we are just beginn ing to
imagine .
The rest of the world saw us in a
new way too. The mainstream news
media covered the March and related
events extensively and with remark•
able fairness, balancing images of
doctors and drag queens. The reli•
gious right ranted against us, this
lime noting our organizational ability.
For the first lime in history, a U.
S. president sent a letter of support to
a march for lesbian and gay rights .
Almost every person who talked
with me, every face I saw, glowed
with a kind of wonder . It began
when I boarded a plane to Washing·
ton, D.C. 'The whole plane's queer!""
exult ed a fellow passenger. On t he
plane , on the subway, On the str eets
of D.C., strangers greeted each other.
Or, more accurately, we were not
strangers to each other.
My most memorable moment came
during the March, when I stepped
onto the main afternoon stage on the
Mall wit h Rev. Troy Perry, founder
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
Thousands circle Capitol grounds
to demand action on AIDS crisis ·:
WASHINGTON, D.C. • More than
30,000 people join ed ACT UP /DC's
""Ha nds Around the Cap itol"" dem on·
stration on th e day prior to the March
on Wash ingt on, joining hand s to
s urround the Capit ol build ing, de•
mandin g Congressional action on the
AIDS cr isis. Stretching thousand s of
feet of red ribb on a round the Capito l
grounds, the protestors formed tw o
complete human rings w hile chanting
""AIDS cure now!"" and ""Act up ! Fight
back! Fight AIDS!""
Fo llowi ng th e d em ons tratio n,
. aut hor and AIDS activis t La r ry
Kramer spoke to the cr owd from the
steps of the Capitol building. Also
speaki ng w e re Cornelius Baker, cofounder
of Brother Help Thysel4 Bill
Freeman, executive director of Na·
tional Asso ciation of People with
AIDS, Chr istopher fjates, director of
t he DC CARE Consort ium, Vivian
Torres , New Jer sey Womans AIDS
Network, Tommy Fabregas, board
member of the San Francisco AIDS
Founda tion, and Jennifer Chamb ers,
ACT UP LobbyCorps coordinator_.
""Han ds Around the Capito l"" wiis
th e largest AIDS-specific action dur·
ing the weekend. During the March
on Su nday, hund reds of ACT UP
me mb ers staged a ""d ie-in"" a t _the
White House along the march route .
More March
stories on
Page 11
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE •
PA I D
NEW ORLEANS, LA
PERMIT No.' 511
From the Editor •· ......................... .
Liars silenced for a day
By Jim Bailey -yhe 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights
and Liberation was about truth - being true to ourselves, our families,
our communities and our nation. ""We have come to speak the truth of
our -lives and silence the liars,"" said Urvashi Vaid, former director of the
National Gay and Lesbirui Task Force, in an address to demonstrators.
So, what did the liars have to .say about that? Less than 16 hours after the
conclusion ofihe March, Pat Robertson cautioned his 700 Club viewers to
send their children out of the room bec.ause there was video corning up that
they su~ely wouldn't want the kids to see. The show's strategy in dealing
with gay and lesbian issues is to disgust and scare, usually in that order.
Disgust then scare. Of course the disgusting scenes are predictably the same_.
(Some of us were not dressed in our Sunday clothes and were not at our best
behavior.)
Vaid is a powerful speaker. A tape of a portion of.her speech was the scary
part of the 700 Club segment. When you listen to her, you are sure you are
hearing the truth, you feel the urgency of correcting wrongs, and you feel
aware of your personal power to work for justice. The March was a bridge,
Vaid said . "" ... on this day, with love in our hearts, we have come out, and we
have come out to build a bridge of understanding, a bridge of progress, a
bridge as solid as steel, a bridge to a tand where no one suffers prejudice
because of their sexual orientation, their race, their gender, their religion, or
their human difference.""
Yes, that was the scary part for the religous right. As we build our bridge
to freedom, we see their construction on the· other side . They build toward
power, s.ocial control, and a theocratic government. They are skilled at
organizing, putting their numbers together and getting to work. On April
25th, they discovered that we are skilled at organizing, putting our numbers
together and getting to work. Both bridges are being built on the same site,
and only one can stand.
'To defeat the right politically is our challenge when we leave this march,""
said Vaid. ""We've got to march from Washington into action at home."" But
with their recent failure in the national political arena, the . wounded religious
right is also renewing concentration on action at home, with the more fanatical
condeming mainstream politics and mumbling ·about recons\ructionism again.
Vaid concluded by saying, '""When all of us who believe in freedom and
diversity see this gathering, we see beauty and power. When our enemies
see this gathering, they see the millennium . Perhaps the religious right is
right about something. We call today for the end of the world ... as we know
it. We call for the end of racism, sexism, bigotry, violence, discrimination and
homophobia.""
On this day the viewers of the 700 Club were not· so disgusted by a man
dressed in a nun's habit as they were scared of a woman dressed in .armor.
SECOND STONE Newsjm1rnal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA. 70182.
Copyright 1993 by Second Stone,a ·registered trademark .
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only. ·
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EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements.noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone , P.O . Box 8340 , New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscripts to be
returned .should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed ·envelope. Second Stone
is otherwise not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjournal for the national gay and
lesQian community.
PUBLISHERIEDfTOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Rev, Kit Cherry. Rev. Richard B. Gilbert,
P . D. Sterling, Christine . Coughlan. Toby Johnson, J. Russell Kieffer, Kevin Gepford,
Texas Fitzgerald, Kenny Dayton, Br. Ron Crepeau-Cross , B.M.G.
Contents
m lj! _J
From The Editor
March speech scares religious right
Commentary/Letters
Could it be? Jerry Falwell right about something?
News Lines
Into Africa
P. D. Sterling gets a first hand look at
a beautiful -but troubled - land
Gay People as Monks and Mystics
We are especially suited to the roles,
says Toby Johnson
Cover Story
Gay and lesbian Christians at the March
By Rev. Kit Che_rry
Volunteer Follows His Heart
J. Russell Kieffer on his volunteer
experiences at Benedict House in Buffalo
The P-ath of the Journey .
The risk, the joy, the gilt and the growth
By Christine Coughlan
On Video
Walk Me To The Water
Reviewed by Rev. Richard B. Gilbert
1.1·-5-7 In Print
: : Someone You Know L~ Reviewed by Kevin Gepford i----7
i 16 J Calendar
, - ;;;;-i
I lu Noteworthy
~ -7
U19 Resource Guide
~
I 20 I Classifieds
___ _ _ _________ _ _ _ ':_-:._-:._-:._-:.._-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-~_-_ ... _ m Second Stone•May/Jwie-:-j993
[_....:,_,
T .Comment T ................................. ........................................ (
Maybe Jerry Falwell is right
By Kenny Dayton
Guest Opinion
The morning after President
Clinton's inauguration, I awoke
very early in front of my television
where I had fallen asleep
watching the festivities in Washington
honoring our new leadership.
Just viewing the parties and people
and attitudes the night before made
me feel good about my country
again. And as a gay man, it gave me
hope for our future. Maybe with our
efforts and President Clinton's commitments,
we can change attitudes in
the United States . It won't be easy
and it won't happen overnight, but
we all have to agree that the best
opportunity in years is at hand!
My elation soon turned to
pessimism, as my eyes focused on the
television screen and I recognized the
self-appointed voice of the ultraright...
Jerry Falwell. For 45 minutes
I sat and listened to him spout off
about abortion and homosexuals, with
a very heavy emphasis on the latter.
As a Christian who happens to be
gay, I have always found it interesting
to listen to people such as
Falwell, Robertson, Wildmon and the
like tell us about God, and the way
they interpret the Bible. Almost
without fail, they all preach to
thousands of listeners who accept
what they say without question or
research of their own. Let's face facts.
Many members of religious organizations
are the proverbial sheep who
follow their leader without question.
They will mail letters to a television
network about what they are told is
an offensive show without ever having
seen the program ... because the
minister said to do so! They will ·
boycott the sponsor's product ...
because the minister said to do so!
They will vote for ballot issues like
Amendment 2 in · Colorado not
because of how they feel... but
because they were told to do so by
someone they trust and respect. Unfortunately
for us, and the Christian
community as a whole, generations of
misinformation and prejudice are
being furthered by people of God
who refuse to examine the scriptures
and search for the truth about such
YourTurn ............... ....... . • ...... • ....... .
Praise for
Hugman's
essay
Apple Valley,.California
Dear Second Stone,
Your March/ April issue contained
some of the best articles I have ever
read concerning Christianity and
Gays. Nancy Hugman's ""The Price of
Freedom"" addressed the subject of just
how far we should go from the pulpit
on political issues. Very informative.
Joe Miller's article on Germantown
Mennonite Church in Philadelphia
brought tears . It struck a very deep
place. Our minister of music, Merlin
Schrock, who is a Mennonite, is
visiting his home in the midwest and
intends to have a visit with his pastor
there to address some iss.ues concerning
Gays and their church. A
friend of the family who had attended
the church just passed away with
AIDS and Merlin does not approve of
the way the church handled .it.
Hopefully, he will have some success
raising their consciousness a little.
Thanks so very much for such an
informative publication.
In His Love,
Donna R. Campbell, Pastor
Ligl1t of the Desert Church
Commentary
lacking in
Christian
attitude
Long Beach, California
Dear Second Stone,
I am renewing my subscription
without as much enthusiasm as in the
past.
Having just caught up with my
reading, I was surprised to find the
Commentary by Ivy Young in the
September/October issue. Her essay
was lacking totally in Christian
content, let alone attitude. That you
would print something so hateful, so
plainly political is dismaying.
How ironic that we who have been
the victims of hate would think that
we can win rights, let alone love, by
exhibiting the same kind of hate once
used against us! Is that really what it
means to be a gay Christian? What
happened to ""love your neighbor as
yourself"" and all the other related
teachings of Jesus?
Sincerely,
Don Karvelis
issues as homosexuality.
This particular morning, the good
Mr. Falwell had a speech impediment
tI{at would not permit him to mention
homosexuals without hyphenating
Sodom and Gomorrah to it. You can
only imagine how many times in 45
minutes he used ""homosexualitySodom-&-
Gomorrah"" in his message.
Regardless of what he says about
""loving the sinner ,"" his message that
morning was filled with bigotry and
hate-mongering. We are what is
wrong with this country! We are
responsible for every social ill from
AI~S to the breakup of the family . .
And now we have the audacity to
want to be treated as any other
functioning member of society and
treated as equals as the constitution of
this great country guarantees ... · and
even serve · in its military to defend
those rights. This country is on the
edge of becoming Sodom & Gomorrah
according to Mr. Falwell.
If the good Mr. Falwell would
examine the scriptures with an open
mind, he would find that ""on the
edge"" is not quite accurate. According
to Ezekiel 16:49 it appears as if
SEE COMMENT ARY, Page 6
First Galileo, then Gays?
By Br. Ron Crepeau-Cross. B.M.G.
Guest Opinion The unprecedented pronouncement
by Pope John Paul II last
fall, stating that the Church was
wrong when it condemned
Galileo in the 17th century, has major
theological and pastoral implications
and gives new hope to millions of
· gay and lesbian Christians and to
those who minister to them.
In 1633; the Roman Catholic Church
found Galileo ""guilty of vehement
suspicion of heresy,"" for teaching that
the earth rotates around the sun, not
the other way around. Of course, the
astronomer was right, but the
Inquisition nevertheless threatened to
burn him at the stake unless he
recanted his proof'of the Copernican
theory . -
The pope said the Galileo case was
an example of ""tragic, mutual incomprehension""
that showed the limits of
theology and science. He said the
ecclesiastical judges acted in good
faith, but were ""incapable of disassociating
faith from an age-old
cosmology.""
John Paul attributed the Church 's
error to an overly literal interpretation
of the Bible. He said that
science, with its methods and freedom
of research, obliges theologians to
examine the way they interpret
scripture, but that ""most of them did· ·
not know how to do · so."" He
emphasized · that scriptural interpretation
must go beyond literal meaning.
·
The Pope acknowledged that the
Church has learned from the Galileo
case and said it illustrates ""the duty
for theologians ' to keep themselves
regularly informed of scientific advances""
so they can determine
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whether there is cause for ""introducing
changes in their teachings.""
The Church already admits that
affectional orientation is ""not freely
chosen,"" but persists in stating that
homosexual acts are ""intrinsically
morally disordered."" In other words,
""It's okay tci be a bird, but it's a sin to
fly."" There is growing evidence, in
the antropological and behavioral
sciences, and the psychiatric and
psychological professions long ago
concluded; that affectional orientation
is genetic and natural, and it follows
.that its expression, whether heterosexual
or homosexual, likewise
sho11ld be considered ·normal and
morally acceptable.
The Church's position on this issue is
based largely on the interpretation of
certain biblical passages . Jesus
Himself never said a ·single word
about it, but ancient traditions, such
as the Levitical code, do list same-sex
relations among the prohibited
""abominations,"" and the · New
Testament proceeds on the same
assumption.
Now that the pope, in reversing the
Galileo verdict 359 years later, has so
clearly advised that once-believed
exegetes and tlieologians can be in
error, and that they must conform
their teachings to scientific findings, is
it only a matter of time before
Cardinal Ratzinger and his contemporary
inquisitors catch up with
the reality of sexual orientation and
admit that they have been wrong on
this issue as well?
While we wait for another Vatican
acknowledgement, ten percent of the
entire human family, not unlike
Galileo, remains violated by the
Church . Fortunately, many of us
have found the truth as revealed to us
in our lived experience, , and . the
primacy of our consciences already
has exonerated us.
These developments have given a
whole new impetus to our ministry to
our lesbian sisters and gay brothers. ·
Second Stone-May/June, 1993 w
News Lines ........... •·.• ..................... ................... ' .................. .
Clergy group refuses MCC membership
6MCC'i<EY WESr has been denied membership in the local ministerial association. ""We
didn't meet the moral standard that they came up with because we're queers,"" said Rey .
Steve Torrence, eastor .of MCC Key West. ""They didn 't let the Jewisn rabbi in, either,
because he wasn t Christian."" The recent hiring of Rev. Julia Seward enabled MCC Key
West-to respond by forming a new ministerial association, Rev. Torrence said. ""We
began by contacting the loc~I clergy who ·weren't active in the other group,"" he said.
Since then, some mempers of the older association have switched membership to the new
organization , the .Key We sflnferfaith Council.'-Keeping in Touch
Mother Teresa to open AIDS hospice in Atlanta.
6MOTHER TERFSA hopes to open a hospice in Atlanta, primarily for people with
AIDS. Four sisters of her Missionaries of Charity are living in Atlanta and have started
meeting clients at Grad}"" Memorial Hospital's Infectious Disease Clinic who may need
their care. Grady officials said that the sisters, with help of the Catholic Archdioce,;e of
Atlanta, are searching for a building for the proposed hospice . Dr . Shame _ Sheehey , a
doctor at the IDC, got the ball rolling for the hospice by sending a letter a year ago to
Mother Theresa in Calcutta. - Southern Voice
Students protest at Marquette .
6THE TOP ADMINISTRATOR of Marquette University, Milwaukee , agreed to meet
with a J)rotest group that conducted a sit-in objecting to the-school's stance toward Gays
and Lesbians. About 18 students and one alumnus approached the Rev. Albert) . DiUlio,
president of Marquette, in a hallway March 15 as the demonstration began . Ther,
presented him with a letter asking for-a meeting on the issue and also on the university s
·refusal to adopt a policy that would include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination
policy. DiUlio was advised that the group planned to sit down -and wait for a response
to the -d;,mand_s. '.',Well, then :y:ou will nave a _long wait, and you will probably be
arrested, he said . Sit _down and make yourselves -comfortable."" About 50 minutes fater,
however , DiUlio addressed the students and presented -them with a letter sa:y:ing the
Roman Catholic school, for legal reasons, could not include the words ""sexual
orientation"" in its anti-discrimination policy . -Associated Press
Plan to prevent HIV transmission submitted
6THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION of Physicians for .Human Rights, the national
organization of lesbian and gay physicians .and medical students, has called upon the
Clmton administration to implement a three-part plan to reduce .the .spread of AIDS
among gay and bisexual men. The group urged the government to launch innovative
initiatives in the areas of educational campaigns aimed at gay and bisexual men,
increased funding for scientific research, and funding for innovative and intensive
support erograms for gay men and other high risk individuals that provide the ongoing
emotional sustenance for difficult behavioral changes.
Homosexuality not a sin, theologians say
6GOD APPROVES OF homosexuality as well as pf gay and lesbian marriages and
parenting. That is the 1revailing belief of 19 distinguished theologians and religious
leaders of ten differen faiths surveyed nationwide. Their answers , published in a
booklet ""Is Homosexuality a Sin?"" were given""in response to a survey conducted by the
Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays in conjunction with the
Metropolitan Washington Chapter of P-FLAG. ""The enlightened answers from prominent
Christian and Jewisn leaders will now help families reconcile their love of God and of
their gay or lesbian loved one,"" said Mitzi Henderson, Federation President. Religious
leaders and scholars surveyed include Bishop John S. Spong (Episcopal), Bishop Stanley
E. Olson (Lutheran), Bishop Melvin Wheatley, Jr. (United Methodist), and Rabbi Dr.
David Teutsch(Judaism-Reconstructionist). The booklet may be purchased from P-FLAG,
P.O. Box 27605, Washington, DC 20038-7605 for 75¢ each.
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Gays protest at Falwell's church
MBOUT 35 PEOPLE picketed in front of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, the church of
anti-gay crusader Jerry Falwell . The demonstration was sponsored by Lxnchburg,
Virginia-based Gays and Lesbians United for Equality, with others joining in the protest
from Richmond and Roanoke. Demonstrators wore. pink lapel tags saymg ""Yes, Jesus
loves me!"" ""They are not bad people. The}' need the Lord,"" Falwell told the congregation.
""They've got every right to oppose us ancl ·they're doing it peacefully ."" ()_rganizer Kelly
McHugh, a former Lynchburg resident now living in Richmond, said she and others were
outraged by Falwell's persistent attacks on Lesbians and Gays. Ms, McHugh accused
Falwell of perpetrating hatred and violence toward people base<! on their sexual
orientation. -Associatea Press · ·
Chicaao Presbyterians support gay ordination
6THE CHICAGO-AREA governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA) voted
199-131 to ask the nationaf church to overturn the denomination's policy panning gay
and lesbian ordinations.
MCC's $3 million cathedral a ""sad commentary"" says Forum leader
6THE 1000-MEMBER Cathedral of Hope Metropolitan Community Church of Dallas,
with it's sparklin~ new $3 million building, has upset some Texas conservatives. ""It's a
sad commentary' that a gay and lesbian church exists in ""the buckle of the Bible Belt, ""
said Cathie Adams, president of the Dallas Eaple Forum. ""We want to help them recognize
their lifestyle as a habitual problem to them,' Adams said. ''They have not accepted that
message ."" - Southern Voice.
Anti-gay activist says anti-gay tactics too extreme
6TONY MARCO, co-founder of Colorado for Family Values , the organization which
Sf)onsored Amendment 2, resigned from the organization and condemnecl it for extremism,
-which he fears will aid the gay movement. ~arco ·is disgusted by CFV's widespread use
of the propaganda video Tfie Gay Agenda, a 20 minute film which gay and lesbian
observers condemn ·as outrageously slanderous. Marco sa;ys use of the film will fuel
hysteria and violence against Lesbians and Gays, which will in tum cause a backlash
against-CFV and further the cause of gay /lesbian civil rights. CFV wuld self-destruct by
""rubbing the faces of the state's l'eople in repulsive, extremist homosexual behavior;""
Marco wrote in a letter to Will Perkins, the oilier co-founder of CFV. ""You risk giving the
gay activists ammunition to make their charge that Amendment 2 is what they've saicf it is:
a hateful, fear-mongering and mean-spirited eiece of work,"" he continued. ""You risk
arousing violent animosity towards Gays, to-which Gay militants will react in kind, as
extremists on both sides come out of ilie woodwork ... Yes, it is easier to nauseate than
educate ."" - Associated Press
Chaos in ~nesset over claim King Davidwas gay
MCCORDING TO THE Los Angeles Times, the Israeli Knesset exploded Feb 10, when
Yael Dayan, one of the country's most controversial liberals, began insisting on equal
protections for Gays and Lesbians in the Israeli army by implying that the biolical King
David, considered the ideal Jewish leader, inay have had a homosexual relationship with
Jonathan, a son of King Saul. Conservative members of Knesset interrupted Dayan,
accusing her of blasphemy. One member of the conservative National Religious Party
called Uayan ""a foul and dirty creature"" who ""must take her filth and go."" - GayNet
Activists gather at ""Fight the Right"" summit
MBOUT 250 GAY, lesbian and bisexual activists from ten states gathered in Denver,
Colo., in March to strategize around countering far right attacks and discuss tactics for
repelling Colorado-style anti-gay initiatives. ""Fighting fhe Ri~ht: A Regional Strategy and
Networking Conference,'' was held March 13-14 at Denvers Executive Town Inn. The
conference was targeted for activists in the Northwest and Rock}' Motintain•regions, and
was hosted by Equality Colorado . Currently, Oregon, Idaho, Washington , Michigan ,
California and Florida are facing some kind of anti-gay initiative, many similar to
Colorado's Amendment 2. The Amendment passed last November and repeals an existing
gay rights ordinance . Anchorage, Alaska, is facing a local gay rights repeal measure . A
Midwest ""Fight the Right"" regional summit is planned for September . ""For information
contact the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 1734 14th St. NW, Washington, DC,
(202)332-6483.
Bishop cancels homosexuality seminar ·
6CATHOLIC BISHOP WILLIAM HUGHES of the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky ,
canceled a seminar about homosexuality, saying that ""the timing was wrong ."" One of tfie
priests of the diocese who is now retired, Father Earl Bierman, was recent!}"" accused of
sexually abusing several young boys . Ed Stieritz, director of the Maryclale Retreat
Center who helped organize the seminar , ~aid the bishop had receiv~d some ')~~alive
comments about the J>lanned event. Greg Lmk, co-faahtator of the semmar, said I a like
to go throu~h with 11 because it would show that homosexuality is not connected to
pedophilia. - Associated Press
Kansas minister leads anti-gay campaign
L'IPOLICE ARE MONITORING protests by a minister who crusades against gay rights
after he claimed to have received death threats. Rev. Fred W. Phelps , Sr., pastor of the
Westb oro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, is leading a series of protests which
include carrying signs that read ""Gays Deserve To Die."" Officers were assigned to protect
picketers affer a brawl broke out on a sidewalk. - Southern Voice
Name change for Lutherans Concerned?
6LAUGHTER IS THE best medicine, they say .Membersof Lutherans Concerned/Seattle,
apparently unhappy with the slow progress the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America has made toward justice for Gays and Lesbians , has suggested that the
oganization's name be changed to,''~utherans Worried Sick."" In selecting a one word
name like ''Dignity"" or ""Integnty"" the1.utherans considered ""Anxiety.""
News Lines
•••• ft ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Pope tells youths that chastity is the only way to fight AIDS
Af'OPE JOHN PAULH told an audience .of youths in Uganda that chastity is the only
proper way to stop th~ spread ·of AIDS. According to sol!le estimates, .one of eignt
Ugandans 1s infected with the HIV-virus. The country's Anglican and Catholic bishops -
Uganda is-40 percent Catholic - have fought efforts by the government and aid .groups to
promote condom use to fight AIDS. 'The sexual restraint of chastity is the only safe and
virtuous wa y to put an end to the -tragic plague of AIDS,"" the pope told thousands of_
singing and cheering young people. -Assoc,a1£d Press ,
Windstorm the ""wrath of God"" says gay rights opponent
LIFORMER WASHINGTON STATE Senator Ellen Craswell , founder of a new lobbying
organization called ""Family in Touch,"" said that a wind storm that hit Washington.state
on the day of President Clinton's inauguration was a sign from God. Craswell 1s a bitter
opponent of gay/ lesbian people ana an activist in the ""traditional famil}' values""
movement. ""It was the stormy wind that cut off power, man's power, closed clown thg
legislature,"". Craswell told the Seattle Times. ""We believe it Was a significant sign that
our all powerful Father, who raiseth the stormy wind, did so on In_auguration Day . The
angry gusts seem to whip at everything in the1r-path, including the giant American flag
over ilie KIRO studio - and the flag was rent in two. Oh, but that we might reach our
wit's end and cry unto the 'Lord, .that he might bring us out of this darkness.""
-Seattle Gay News
Religious right opponent attacked in office
LIRUTH WILLIAMS, 48, a Colorado Springs therapist who opposes the religious right
movement was attacked in her office by an mtruder . She was !m()Cked unconscious , and
crosses were cut into her hands and clothing. She was sprayed with tear gas. Her office
was ransacked and .her walls were spray painted with slogans ""Seek Goo,"" ""Stop Evil""
and ""Repent."" -TWN
Bishop: Don't teach ""basic disorder"" to students
LITHE CATHOLIC BISHOP ofBrooklyn, describing homosexuality as a ""basic.disorder,""
said city school leaders show a lack of ""moral leadership"" when they advocate its
acceptance. In a telev-ised interview last week, Bishop Thomas Daily said he thought the
avowed purpose-of the New York City school's ""Children of the Rairibow"" curriculum -
which teacn es tolerance for Gays and Lesbians - was being obscured by an effort to
""legitimize"" gay lifestyles. In calling homosexuality a disorder, Daily said, ''Just look at
them. I don't think you'll argue with me."" -Southern Voice
Alabama Episcopal bishop doesni-like church policy on Gays
LIALABAMA EPISCOPAL churches will research sexuality while continuing to not
ordain openly gay or lesbian ministers or aerrove same-sex marriages , the bishop said .
'
The Right Re_v . Robert 0 . Miller said he w1J :upholi:f the ch91:ch's st~nd on Gays until
there is a change. ""I may not like it, but I'm a pretty 'obedient p_ersori,""ne said. Miller said
he strongly believes Gays are entitled to the same rights as anyone else, although he does
not ""conaone _h◊mosexual activity. "" -Soutlzern Voice - .
KKK still mad about racial integration into the military ·
LICHAIR OF THE JOINT Chiefs of Staff, General Colin Powell, might be surprised to find
the Ku Klu x Klan agreeing with him on the issue of Gays and Lesb ians in the military.
The Grand Dragon of the Northwest Knights of th e Ku Klux Klan , headquartered in
Tacoma, Washin g ton, had _this to say in a recorded message: ""The KKK, which has many
military veterans and oth er white .Chri stian patriots, -were morall :ir and scripturally
correct when opposed to the abomination of race mixing in our armed forces. We are also
rnorally and scripturally correct in our -current opposition to homosexuals in the
military. The Hofy Bible is quite clear on both issues . We urge all members to contact
their elected officials on the federal level and demand that all homo sexual pervert s be
purged from the military. "" -Seattle Gay News
Church must apoloaize to gav pastor
LIA SPECIAL REVIEW TEAM of the United Church of Christ""has re commended that a
Chicago church writ e a ·1etter of apology _ to Rev . Dr . Timm Peters on, who filed a
complaint with the Chicago Human Rights Commission against St. Nicholai UCC after he
was refus ed employment as their interi""ril p astor when they learned he wa y gay . Th e
Human Rights Commission will co ntinue its investigation.
· Zap a fundamentalist on your Macintosh
LIIF YOU'VE EVER DREAMED of vaporizing a rabid fundamentalist , your day has
arrived. Gays, Lesbians .and others cart do just that with the introduction of GayBlade ,
the first fantasy role-playing game for gay and lesbian Macintosh computer user s. A
product ofRJBest, a San Francisco based computer game company, the game is the firs t in
a-selection of flames with gay and lesbian characters - and anti-gay villains . For
information ca (415)206-1985.
Former ex-gays sought for interviews
Af'EOPLE WHO HA VE been involved in ex-gay ministries and who are inter ested in
telling their stor ies are being sought for interviews for a book project . For information
contact Restoration Ministries, P.O. Box-1123, Schenectady, NY 12301-1123.
Anthology seeksubmissions
LIBEDSIDE COMP ANIONS, Essex Hemehill's forthcoming anthology of short fiction by
black gay rnen, is accepting s ubmissions. Hemphill hopes the anthology will challenge tne
invisi6ility and silences that surround the lives and experiences of black gay men. For
information send a stamped, self addressed e nvelope to Essex Hemphill, Aritliology 1993,
401 Wilshire Blvd.,.Ste. 700, Santa Monica, CA 90401-1455.
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Second Stone-May/June, 1993 l]J
Hate, Lies arid . Videotape:
Group witt·battle bigots with agressive media campaign
A NEW GROUP has formed to fight
anti-gay hale crusades and has kicked
off its media campaign with the
premier of ""Hale, Lies and Videos
tape,"" a _new videotape that exposes
the propaganda tactics of the religious
right. .
The Gay and Lesbian Em_ergency
Media Campaign (GLEMC) will
produce . and distribute media that
exposes the agerida of the religious
right and promotes lesbian and gay
visibility. GLEMC is a project of Testing
the Limits, an -~ward-winning
fih11making group based in New
York City.
One of GLEMC's first projects was
the premiere of a new video, ""Hate,
Lies and Videotape."" The video
vividly compares ''The Gay Agenda""
- a slick 19-minute documentary-style
video that feeds on gay and lesbian
stereotypes - with other hate propaganda
films . such as ''The E.ternal
Jew,"" a 1940 Nazi propaganda film.
GLEMC charg(ld that Congressional
and Pentagon resistance lo lifting the
ban against Gays in the military is
being fueled by 'The Gay-Ag~nda .""
The videotape has been distributed to
U.S. Senators, Representatives and to
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and is being
shown . in military establishments
around the country and abroad. Gay
activists were . outraged to hear
recently that Gen. Cir! Mundy Jr.,
· Commandant of • the Marines, ,had
provided copies to the Joint C~efs.
.''The Gay Agenda'' includes
sensationalist images from gay pride
events taken out of context and
combined with statements from
people purporting to be ""medical
authorities."" The video is one of the .
major weapons -in the Far Right's
declared :Holy War"" against Lesbians
and Gays.
· T1ie Washington Post described 'The
Gay Agenda""-as, ""Men in G-strings
gyrate to pulsating music on the back
of a flatbed truck rolling slowly down
an American street. Bare-breasted
women parade by children sitting on
their parents' shoulders. A medical
doctor explicitly describes what he
says are the . unhealthy sexual acts
practiced by homosexuals.""
The official viewings of ''The Gay
Agenda"" are ""a 'disgusting and outrageous
misuse of taxpayer time and
mo_ney,"" said Am1 Northrop, executive
clirector of GLEMC and former
CBS producer . ""We will fight the
religious right with an information
campaign fo show America that
attacks on Gays and Lesbians are
attacks on human clignily and
freedom.""
""The Gay Agenda"" video was
. produced by the Springs of Life
. charismatic Christian church in
Lancaster, Calif., the same church that
made news for re-ordaining Jim
Baker . after he had been accused of
stealing rriillions of dollars from
unsuspecting followers. The tape was
· GE sells aerospace division
INFACT calls off GE boycott
AFTER SEVEN years of growing
public pressure, General Electric, th e
corporate giant which owns NBC-TV
ai\d sells home appliances, decided to
get rid of its nuclear weapons division
- despite the fact that it was a
moneymaker.
INF ACT, .the international corporate
accountability group that waged a
seven year boycott of the General
Electric Co. declared victory on
Friday, April 2, when GE closed the
sale of-its aerospace division to Martin
Marietta . ""GE has reacted to the
concerns of millions of people,"" said
INF ACT Executive Director Elaine
QUOTABLE
""Your silence will not
protect you.""
-Audre Lorde
, . []J Second Stone-May/June, 1993
Lamy, who called for an end to the
boycott.
Over 4 million individuals and 500
organizations _worldwide . joined the
boycott launched by INFACT, the
-group best known for its effective
1984 boycott of Nestle, which forced -
that company to change its unethical
mark eting of infant formula in
developing countries.
""Clearly, the success of the GE
boycott shows that grassroots efforts
can mak e a difference,"" said Lamy. In
just over two · years, GE's medical
division lost more than -$50 million in
medical e.quipment sales. The pressur
e on GE increased last year when
INFACT won an Academy Award for
_its hard hitfing documentary,
""Deadly Deception: General Electric,
. Nuclear Weapons, ·anu Our Environment.
"" Countless TV viewers -worldwide
were urged to ·""Boycott GE""
during the Oscars.
Included among the 500 organizations
that endorsed the boycott are
Methodist Federation for Social
Action, New Jewish Agenda, the
Gray Panthers, and Clergy and Laity
Concerned.
released last October, with thousands
of copies delivered lo Oregon and
Colorado in time for those states'
anti-gay initiatives. The tape is
endorsed and promoted by Pal
Robertson's Christian Coalition, and is ·
sold for $13.95 over Robertson's ""700
Club"" cable show.
The Rev. Jerry Sloan of Sacramento
told T11e Latest Issue, ""Our community
· does not take the film seriously
enough: We don't see ourselves in
the film,"" he sa'id and therefore do not
think anyone could take it seriously.
""I've seen films like this before,"" ·Rev.
Sloan continued . ''But this is sensa'
tional because this video was willingly
and enthusiastically accerted
and distributed by the Pentagon .
GLEMC produced ""Hate, Lies and
Videotape"" to expose and counter the
fear-mongering tactics of the Far
Right. It contains compelling compar- ·
isons between 'The Gay Agenda""
COMMENT ARY From Page 3
th e greatest country in the world has
already achieved its status · as the
modern day Sodom & Gomorrah .
We have not arrived at this turning
point because of sexuality issues but
rather because in the 1980's we
duplica ted the sins that spelled the
downfall of Sodom. ""Now this was the
sin of your sister Sodom: She .and h er
daughters were arrogant, overfed,
and · unconcerned; they did not help
the · poor and needy ;"" (Ezekiel 1(,:49.
NIV) Arrogant - overfed . - unconcerned
.... sounds a · lot like the ""me
·first"" attitude that prevailed in the
Reagan era.
and propaganda tactics of the Ku Klux
Klan and the German Nazi movemen,.
The tape also contains dramatic
footage of gay-bashing victims
and their attackers. Copies of the
tape were distributed to the Joint
Chiefs of Staff and the · major
television networks, with more copies
slated for distribution to the U.S.
Congress .
Loretta Ross, program director of the
Center for Democratic Renewal,
underscored GLEMC's contention that
the religious right, whlch sparked
campaigns against Jews and Blacks, is
engaged in a campaign of bigotry
against Gays. ""When you're talking
about the Christian Coalition, you're
talking about the ones [Klan members]
that don't wear the sheets.""
For more information about GLEMC
and the videotapes, contact GLEMC,
(212)229-2863, 39 West 14th St ., #402,
New York, NY 10011.
from the same sins specified in
Ezekiel, our great land may indeed
be doomed. We need to learn to care
about others and their needs . We
have to realize that many peopl e are
in trouble and we who are better off
are required to help them. We, as
the wealthy nation we are, need to
get concerned, squelch ciur arrogance,
· ai1d share our abundance.
Mr. Falwell, you · are correct: We
must not allow our .country to fall any
further into the Sodom & Gomorral1
pit. But to prevent that from happening
we must first recogniz e the
""Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom:
She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed,
and unconcerned; they did not help the poor
and needy ."" (Ezekiel 16:49 NIV) Arrogant -
overfed - unconcerned .. . sounds a lot like the
""me first "" attitude that prevailed in the
Reagan era.
Consider the possibilites that exist
. for change ... change for the better if
we recognize that according to
scripture the true sin of Sodom &
Gomorrah was that they were the
original yuppies , ""Me and mine ...
but none for thine!"" ''The homeless
want to be that way!"" ""But I have bills
to pay ... I can't help anyone out!""
There is always an excuse. And I'm
sure that the residents of Sodom &
Gomorrah has theirs too.
Yes; Mr. Falwell, I too believe that
Sodom & Gomorrah is at hand. · I
· think that as a country where the
majority claim to follow the teachings
of Christ and the scriptures we need
to recognize that if we do not turn
true sin_s ai1d then join together to
heal our errors. Continuing to dispense
a very opinionated interpretation
of the story of Sodom &
Gomorrah will not bring us together
tis Christians, nor .will it ever prevent
those true sins from being dup1icated.
Jerry, why don't you do the same
thing that many of us out here who
are gay have done. . Go into your
closet, shut .the door, get down on
your knees, and in faith ask God to
. provide understanding . The answer .
will give you either affirmation that
you are correct or a whole new
outlook.
We are told to trust in God, not in
man. I trust the answer I received.
- .
Centennial observance of original worldwide interfaith dialogue
Chicago hosts Parliament of World's Religions
LEADERS REPRESENTING man y of
th e world 's religions and interfaith
groups will gather in Chicago later
this year for the Parliam ent of the
World 's Religions, a week-long gathering
which seeks to foster cooperation
among the world 's religious
communities and institutions .
Th e conclave, which will be held
Aug. 28 - Sept. 5 at the Palmer House
Hotel in downtown Chicago and at
other sites throughout the city, marks
the centennial of the first World's
Parliament of Religions held in
Chicago in September, 1893.
""At a time of increasing anxiety and
strife, interfaith dialogue offers a way
to unite people in working for peace
and the relief of suffering,'' said Rev.
Dr. David Ramage, Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the Council for a
Parliament of the World 's Religions.
""In particular, we must work to lessen
religious conflict around the world.""
The goals of the Parliament of the
World's Religions'are to promote understanding
and cooperation among
the world 's religious communities and
institution s, assess and renew the role
of the. religions of the world in relation
to personal spiritual growth and
th e challenges facing the global community,
and develop and encourage
interfaith groups and programs which
will continue inter-religious cooperation
into the 21st century.
The Chicago observance will
.includ e thousands of people representing
all of the world's religions,
including Baha'i, Buddist, Christian
(Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican,
Protestant and others), Confucian,
Hindu, Indigenous, Jain, Jewish,
Muslim, Native Am erican, Shinto ,
Sikh, Taoist, Unitarian and Zoroa strain
. Many of the world 's spiritual
leader s will participate in t11e 1993
Parliament, inc_luding Nobel Peace
Prize winners, the Dali Lama and
Mother Teresa.
The 1893 event , held during the
Columbian .Exposition, was the first
time that representatives of the
world's major religions had ever held
a formal meeting. The first Parliament
marked the birth of the interfaith
dialogue movement in the
modern world, introduced Eastern
· religions to .the West, established
Catholicism and · Judaism as mainstr
e~m American religions, and
affirmed African-Americans and
women as spiritual leaders.
""In our time, the distinctions
betweeri community and planet seem
to have disappeared,"" said Daniel
Gomez-Ibanez, Council Executive
Director . • 'The health of the world
depei""lds more than ever on the
strength of communities and . their .
. ability to live in harmony. During
this summer's Parliament of the
World Religions, we are committed !o
building ways to live wisely
together .""
The Council for a Parliament of the
World's Religions is a non-profit
organization supported by more than
125 co-sponsoring organizations.
Group joins in battle for gay/lesbian ordination
WITH VIRTUALLY NO ONE in opposition,
members of the Presbyterian
Health, Education and Welfare Association
vot ed to join the front lines in
the battle for ordination rights for gay
and lesbian Presbyterians.
In giving near unanimous approval
to four resolutions relat ed to the
prolonged struggle for gay and
lesbian ordination in the Presbyterian
Church, the association brus hed aside
concern s that taking such actions
might jeopardize the association's
structural relationship with its parent
Social Justice and Peacemaking Ministry
Unit. .
A memo of understanding between
the two groups gives the association
the right to ""responsible dissent""
while working within the framework
of the church's General Assembly
policy. The executive director of the
association is an employe e of the
General Assembly. The. association
receives about $80,000 from the
ministry unit's budget. .
Under ari agreement worked out
INTEGRITY, From Page 11
Bishop of Utah. A large group from
the Oasis, the gay and _ lesbian
ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of
Newark, also marched with Integrity .
When the Integrity contingent
reached the small group of anti-gay
PLGC, From Page 11
Janie Spahr's partner, read Luke 7.
Worsfoppers dedicated their offering
to the Mautner Project. Directed by
Marianne Thatcher, with-Susan Hester
as president, the project serves
lesbian women who have breast cancer.
A biblical. self defense course on
lesbian, gay and bisexual concerns
was sponsored by the National Capital
Chapter of PLGC on Saturday
preceding the March. _Led by the
betw een the association's board of
directors and SJP officials, no money
from the unit or staff time by PHEW A
executive director Rev. Mark Wendorf
will be committed to the associatiot1'
s effort to change the denomination's
ordination policy.
Prior to the vote on the resolutions,
former PHEW A interim executive
director Rev. John Scotland sketched .
the hi.story of the r elationship
between PHEW A and the denomina
tion·· and outlin~d the dangers of
takin g actions that run counter to
current General Assembly policy.
'Ther e are those in the church who
are waiting for us to make a· mistake.
If we choose to give up our life on
this, let's know it going in.""
During floor ·debate , Rev. Jane
Spahr, director of a ministry v;:ith gay
and lesbian persons and their families
in San Rafael, Calif., rose and said,
'The cost to PHEW A may be 'money,
but the cost to gay and lesbian people
is death.""
Laurene Lafontaine of Denver,
ptotestors across f~om the Treasury
Building on Pennsylvania Ave., the
homophobic taunts were drowned out
by ""We're here, w e 're · queer, we're
Anglican, get used to it!""
Rev. Lindsay Louise Biddle, the
course examined passages commonly
used to condemn homo sexuality,
highlighted modern scholarship and
incorporated several real life scenarios
· that participants role-played. The
course attracted over 70 people from
many denominations and faith traditions.
The Rev. Biddle is a member
of th e Twin Cities Area Presbytery in
Minnesota and is a former Student
Associate at Westminster Churci1.
Colo., added ""If we kow-tow on this
issue, then our commitment to justice
is empty. If we act out of fear, then
we are standing on sand . If we stand
on the rock of justice, God will take
care of us.""
its board of directors to monitor the
introduction of similar legislation in
other states and to alert synods and
presbyteries in those states where
such legislation is introduced . The
In a related action, the association
approved a resolution urging the
overturning of Amendment 2 in
Colorado. The association also asked
· group also approved a resolution
supporting President Clinton's deci.
sion to / nd the ban on gay and
lesbian persons in the military.
-More flight Update/News
N
\ ~ \
\ \
Featuring '~
three key- ,
\
\
· \
\
\
I
no te sp eakers, ',
g~ea r music, spe- · ', ', This year's ConnECtion takes place in the San
c1al workshops and \
small groups where ',
you ci~ discussyourp er- ',
', Francisco Bay Area of California and runs
, from:
sonal issues as a lesbian or \
gay Christian. ',
\
\
\ Workshops include topics, like:
• Coming out
• Living with HIV/AIDS
• The ""ex-gay"" movement
• Dating-and relatio nships .
• Dealing with parent s and family
\
\
\
\
' \
', Friday, July 2 to Mo11day, July 5
\
\ • ', Keynote speakers:
\ • Rev. M. Mahan Sil~r, Jr.
"", • Ms. Patricia V. Long
\ , , • Dr. Ralph Blair
\
\ • \ • • A great place to
• Understanding spiritualio/ and sexuality
\
\
\
• \ meet friends!
\ \
Also ... BayAreaauthorarrdcomposerJackPanraleo, • \ • \ .. will present the. musical: The Gospel According to the _ ''- __
Angel Julius! \ \
For ·more i nformation plC~se ~end
your name and address to:
.ECWR
P.O. B~x 4750, • Denver, CO 80204
ConnECcion '93 is produced by Evangelicals Concerned
Westerri Region, a non·profit 9rganizarion that positively
unites lesbian/gay-sexual!ty with Biblical Christianity.
\
•
'93
Christian visitor feels a
burden for a troubled land
INTO
AFRICA
BY P. D. STERLING
In North America we are far from
the pr_ oblems and _opporturu· ties in
South Africa. We depend upo!l
second-hand information. My
rec~nt visit was an eye-opener as
much as it was a blessing. One reason
I am so convicted of the need for
people to learn about South Africa is
that I think the problems there can
and will be · overcome. I urge everyone
to study or visit.. ,
In addition to the ongoing injustice
toward ethnic groups, there is hatred
aimed at Gays and Lesbians as well.
Recently, a gay restaurant in
Johannesburg was firebombed and
activists say rightest extremists are
responsible. The restaurant had been
the subject of intense harassment by
police, neighbors and a white supremacist
group.
To prepare for writing this article, I
called a friend who • is a native of
South Africa. They recommended a
movie called 'The Power of One,"" to
focus my thoughts. It was so shockingly
violent, I did not sleep well for
a couple of nights.
I am not going to discuss the movie
in depth, but you may be interested
in renting it. The plot deals with the
life of a protagonist and his unique
experiences, which raise his consciousness
to the needs _ of ·humankind.
How he develops coping skills
is the thread tha.t weaves thoughout
the story. And there isn't the happy
ending .I would like to see, but there
is an ending of strong hope for
tomorrow. The reason it bothered me
was that,: rather than being able 'to
say, ""It's only a movie,"" I felt .
convinced the events were 100 percent
plausible and did, in fact, happen
to sqmeone, if not the characters
portray~d ..
My entire stay in South Africa was a
time of blessing, even when I was
bickering with my host. The first
cultural opportunity I had was with
language differences. I got a sml!ll
book to learn a few words of
Afrikaans. When I arrived in
Durban I found that the province of
Natal is the most British of the four
and I did not need to know any
Afrikaans. Then my host informed
me I had been billeted in a neighbor's
home, to act as house-sitter
'while they were away. I'm not
underfoot, can come and go, and I
have two · domestic workers to cook
and care for my clothes. Ah, but they
don't speak English!
People who know me understand
what I mean when I say I don't intend
to spend several weeks of grunting
and pointing as a means of communication.
Immediately, I began learning
basic words and phrases in Zulu.
For instance, I learned that when you
leave home you say ""Sala Kahle,"" but
the one you are leaving behind
replies, ''Hamba Kahle."" .
Regardless of the language struggle,
I have many happy memories. My
first day trip from Durban was to the
Valley of a Thousand Hills, where I
~wewcwwwowoo wo,vw;w
M>tMtOM at oooco ee1tt o♦ :Nl>Mea O!Mt\lG>ertOQ . '
L8.SJeco ndS tone-May/June1, 993
got my first opportunity to witness.
I met two Christians who operate a
small restaurant by the side of a busy
highway (most highways are busy,
given the relative lack of interstatetype
roads.) They related information
about their small prayer circle, and
asked Rev. Joan Wakeford to come for
services in their area, 25 miles out in
· the hills.
A two-day retreat to the
Drakensberg was one highlight of
my trip . Since I didn't know exactly
how far it was, it seemed like an
interminable drive, maybe 125 miles
from Durban. We stayed at the
Royal Natal National Park for two
nights .
Another cultural experience was
learning about the Ned Kerk, as the
Dutch Reformed Church or Neder
·duits Gereformeerde Kerk, is called.
It is the most prevalent in three
provinces other than Natal (Cape,
Orange Free State, Transvaa~.) Of
course, there are more Anglicans in
Natal. Unfortunately, I got the impression
that these denominations
have the same problems as others
world-wide.
Some are so institutionalized, they
no longer respond to individual
needs, and many free churches, small
prayer circles and show-biz fellowships
have been organized. The
group I visited inDurban was a small
prayer circle. At the time I was there,
it was all women. However, I have
received ·word that they have been
successful in expanding to new
. people of both genders.
Just before my arrival, the first ever
gay pride march in Durban took
place. The concept of 100 men and .
women marching for gay rights, in a
city the same size as Daflas, was
noted with surprise by many - 23
years after Stonewall!
In Johannesburg, I had .the privilege
to atten.d GCBJGCC. You have to get
used to all acronyms in Afrikaans/
English. The gay Christian community
is a full-fledged congregation with
about sixty in services when I
attended. Their services are bilingual,
aithough the sermon is in
English three out of four Sundays. I
felt at home and at ease, though I was
too self conscious to sing very loudly
in Afrikaans. I didn't know if my host
would be kind about my hatcl1eting
his native language.
The group has a professional
approach to their worship committee,
drawing fro!ll local talent. in various
' denominations. The Sunday I was
there, , a Major from their local Salvation
Army brought a warm and
· stirring message of the all-inclusive
love of God.
Later, I visited Methodist and Ned
Kerk bookshops as wejl as secular
booksellers. Nothing by Boswell,
Kushner, Mollenkott, Pennington, or
Perry. I didn't expect a wide selection,
but was surprised to see nothing
at all. For this reason, I have been
appealing for donations of books on
theology, philosophy and grief
management. Some folks in Africa
may be bilingual, but they are still
bound by a literal translation of
Romans 1 and can't break away.
I made a point to visit the
Voortrekker Monument. It is awesome,
indescribable in a few words.
It tells the history of Afrikaner people
and can give you a sense of their
struggle. Voortrekker is usually translated
as pioneer, however, that does
not adequately compare or contrast
the pioneers of the American West
with those of Southern Africa.
As citizens in a federal republic, I
sometimes think people in the United
States have no ken of what it means
to be tribal. People in South Africa
are tribal. This means their first
Joy alty is to family and tribe. They
may feel some sense of national
loyalty, but they are often far
removed from national differences.
Most official signs one might read in
public are bilingual, in Afrikaans and
English. However, I noticed that
signs put up by individuals were in
English and Zulu. In the Post Office,
I noticed posters were in Afrikaans,
English, Shona, Sotho, Venda, Xhosa
and Zulu plus a couple of languages I
· couldn't figure out.
To understand the political climate,
one must recognize that Mr.
Buthulezi heads the Zulus and Mr.
Mandela heads the Xhosas. These are
the largest black tribes. Most members
of these groups are not well
educated. In a general election today,
they would merely vote in blocs, on
advice of their leaders. The possibilites
for unethical manipulation
are unlimited. Various people claim
to lead the Afrikaners, however I
don't think anybody can claim
leadership of the English. For this
reason, it is difficult to establish
coalitions needed for national government.
In 'The Power of One,"" part of the
plot line deals with the legend of the
rainmaker. The rainmaker is one
who is able to bring the rain, to cool
the earth as well as its peoples, and to
help people of all tribes live together
in harmony.
My concern is more about a
predatory bird called the lammergeyer.
This is araptor, large enough
to snatch away a lamb, and is the
South African equivalent of the North
American coyote. I see the forces of
evil in the world snatching away
blessings for S.outh Africans, and feel
that political solutions will _ never
really work. _ The Spirit of God is the
ohly force which can heal the tension.
I hope to enlist people I meet to feel
a burden for world missions and for
South Africa ill particular. Perhaps
somewhere in our missions, we will
come across a rainmaker for that
nation.
P. D. Ster/ins is director of Silent
Harvest Ministries. He may be contacted
at Box 190511, Dallas, TX
75219-0511.
'' I haven't had sex with anyone
since December '84,"" an
attractive gay man remarked
to me recently. ""It just isn't
worth the risk.""
Perhaps unwittingly, a major
consequence of the AIDS tragedy in
gay culture has been an awakening
of what might be called spiritual concerns.
AIDS has resulted for many
gay people in a premature acquaintance
with death and a consciousness
of the importance of serving the sick
and the needy. Such awareness of
the fragility and transitoriness of life
has long been considered a foundation
for spiritual development.
The fact is that, regardless of what
miracle cures may be found in the
future, AIDS has changed gay life.
The ""ol' days"" are never coming back.
And the generation that championed
them is growing older and with
aging sex has a way of naturally
becomi11g less important. But there
has always been more to gay life than
sex.
""I've practically become a monk,""
the attractive gay man continued .
As a former 'monk' myself, having
been • 'like a·•disproportionately large
percentage of gay men and women -
in Catholic religious life for several
years after high school, I was especially
sensitive to his meaning. For .
many years I've noticed that among
openly gay people, especially activists,
there have been a surprising
number of ex-religious. It makes
sense, of course; the gay movement
has almost always been one of
abstract principles of justice and
fairplay, and the thankless devotion
demanded by being open, resem_bles
pure religious zeal. (During the late
'70s, when hooded sweatshirts were
an integral_part -oUhe gay costume, al
least on Castro Street, it seemed like
deep-seated monastic tendencies were
showing up in fashion.)
Today, ""celibacy,"" a word imported
from the monastic tradition, has become
current among gay men to
mean the decision not to be sexually
active. Because we've grown up with
Christian sex-negative attitudes, we
tend to see ""celibacy"" as a great
sacrifice . . But for homosexuals of the
past, it may often have seemed like a
real escape. from social pressures and
a wonderful opportunity to develop
personal interests. (For some today,
like the sexually inactive _man I was
talking with, ""celibacy"" may seem
like a real escape from life-threatening
pressures.)
Technically, celibacy does not mean
abstaining from sex. In terms of
Catholic religious life, celibacy (the
Gay People as -
Monks &
· Mystics
BY TOBY JOHNSON
obligation imposed by the vow of
chastity and by ordination) is the obligation
not to marry. -Of course, since
that tradition taught that sex should
only be enjoyed within marriage,
celibacy de facto excluded sexual activity,
including masturbation. Certainly
that tradition was (and is)
sex-negative, BUT the emphasis in
celibacy was not avoiding sex but on
avoiding marriage and family:
Priests, monks, and nuns were
enjoined to celibacy out of the observation
that spiritual ideals were more
likely to flourish freed from the
dreams of the cycle of coupling and
reproduction. (Could Jesus, for instance,
have maintained his integrity
and risked crucifixion if he'd had a
wife and kids?) The .spiritual insight
is that family values are deceptive -
important, yes, but ultimately incomplete;
the truth is that life is fleeting,
immortality through offspring illusory,
and material success is just dust
in the wind. Celibacy and its sister
virtue, poverty, were intended to pro-_
pel the spiritually-minded mdividual
outside the concerns of normalcy.
Historically, monasticism probably
developed, in part, to provide a place
for people . who 'didn't belong,' who
had little or no interest in marrying
and having children. In the Dark
Ages, the clan/family (with the
economic strength of primogeniture)
was the center of everything. In the
agrarian economy beset with constant
warfare, offspring were everything.
Men and worrien who didn'.t feel
sexually driven lei marry and have
children - who with insight we might
guess were homqsexual - needed a
place iii sodety.
The monastery and convent gave
them a legitimate role in society-- in ·
many -cases doing what gay people
are still · espedally good at; teaching .
children, i1ursing the sick, counseling
the troubled, developing philosophical
insights, brewing liqueurs,
creating .art, and defining sensibilities
and tastes·-. and providing them with
an opportunity to develop same-sex
communal relationships . It should
not be surprising that in a world that
by our standards was pretty hung-up
on sex, these relationships would not
be defined as sexual. At the same
time, _the status of ""non-breeders""
allowed the monks a spiritual/
philosophical perspective, a critical
stance, on society fro·m which - at least
in theory - they could lead the masses
in constructive direction (by developing
universities, for instance.)
In the book Ordi11ary People as
Mo11ks and Mystics, northern Californian
organizational psychologist
Marsha Sinetar presents a contemporary
reevaluation of the
monastic identity. From interviews
with modern day individuals who've
opted out of the mainstream to live
simple, ordered, perhaps solitary, but
contributive lives, she distinguishes
two motivations for choosing such an
unconventional lifestyle. These
correlate with the terms in her title:
monks and mystics.
The monks choose to free
\hemselves of the pressure of financial,
material - and sexual - pursuit.
The mystics choose, in addition, to
facilitate heightened aesthetic sensibilities
ariccrri lfcal'stani:e on reality .
(Obviously', there is ·overlap between
the two.) Though the people Sinetar
interviewed chose, rather un-monklike,
to live alone, such like-minded
individuals might join together -
permanently or occasionally - in
loose-knit community to support one
another in a life of simplicity and
consciousness development.
Sinetar reminds us that simplicity of
life, solitude, and silence have long
· aided individuals in confronting the
significant spiritual issues raised by
personal isolation and the realization
of impermanence and mortality . In
very rough fashion, her categories
correlate with major changes in gay
life; the shift in sexual and relationship
patterns and the concern
with death and spiritual matters.
Perhaps the tragedy of AIDS
demands a major reevaluation of
modern society with all its sexual
demands, skewed values, pathogenic
. pre.ssures ; a11d health-threatening
emotional stress. Perhaps it might _
··make-some of us ready to retire from
the world in an age~old tradition and
se.ek a simpler, saner life, ""'
For those of us who were;religious
in our youths (even though, often,
our real motive was to avoid having
to deal with heterosexuality) monastic
life may still be appealing. I think an
awful lot of us would really like to go
back if we could bring our gay
identities and sophistication with us
SEE MONKS, Page 20
. Second Stone•MaylJune, 1993 [I]
'- .
T Cover Story T ............................................................. . • ......... .
-.Marching toward freedom
From Page 1
and moderator of the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan .Community
Churches; his lover; Philip; Rev. Paul
Sherry, president · of the United
Church of Christ; and his wife, Mary .
The crowd stretched as far as I could
see, engulfing the Washington Monument.
Tears came tomy eyes.
I felt like I was also standing with
my gay male friends who had died of
AIDS and my earliest lesbian friends .
who had been imprisoned in mental
hospitals to be ""cured"" of homosexuality.
So many of us once lived in
hiding. So many of us once believed
we were sinners. So many of us once
thought 'Tm the only one in the
world ."" The shame and pain of that
isolation melted and · were replaced
by this new image: Marching , to -·
gether, a million strong.
""This is the defining moment ·in
· history for us,"" Rev. Perry said many
times that weekend . ""I look out today
and think, we truly are the rainbow
tribe . We're the minority that comes
in all colors. We realize that prejudice
still exists in our culture, but
we gladly challenge such prejudice
rather than retreat into the shadows of
despair and ignorance. We will not
be stopped as we take our rightful
place as · children of America and
children of God.""
The only other denomination heads
al the March were Rev . Sherry and
Rev. William Schultz, president of the
Unitarian Universalist Association.
Both spoke at a Sunday morning
communion service at the Lincoln
Memorial, sponsored by UFMCC.
""We want to share with you, yes,
your anger and your pain, but also
your shimmering expectation of God's
future,"" Rev. Sherry sai.d to more
than 1,000 worshipers gathered that
morning. ""We commit ourselves to
walk the walk with you and talk the
talk with you until justice flows down
like a mighty river.""
Rev. ,William Schultz proclaimed,
'The dam is breaking, freedom is
coming, and we're all here.to give it a
push.' '. Many other speakers made
similar statements throughout the
weekend, but the words · always
seemed fresh and poignant ·coming
from people who had lived by them.
Thousands from the lesbian and
gay religious community were visible
at the March and the more than 300
related events. The official schedule
included gatherings of Lutherans,
Presbyterians, Unitarians, UCCers
and Radical Faeries, as well as many
interfaith worship services and Jewish
shabbat and Havdallah services.
Religious groups, number 44 in the
marching order, all met at noon
· 001 _s~μ~ Stone•May/Jun~, 1993· ·
Sunday in the same area under the
hot sun near the Washington Monument
to wait to join the March. This
may well have been the largest
. gathering ever of lesbian and gay
people of faith, with at least 3,000 of
us.
At ten minutes past noon, a voice
called from the morning stage, ""We
are marching! One ·million queers
take over D.C.!"" The crowd began to
dance as music played, ""You gotta
have faith in the power of love."" This
was just one of countless times during
the weekend when the language of
faith was used by secular and political
leaders. Religious leaders also used
political language, focusing especially
'This is the defining moment in history for
us,"" Rev. Perry said many times that weekend.
""I look out today and think, we truly
are the rainbow tribe. We're the minority
that comes in all colors... We will not be
stopped as we take our rightful place as
childrett of America and children of God.""
on .fighting the religious right .and
lifting the ban on Lesbians and Gays
in the U.S. military. The gathering of
religious groups was like a huge
party, where people milled, mingled
and met countless friends and colleagues
for four hours before it was
our tum to marcl1. The last marchers
strode past the White House at 6:00
p.m.
Joy was the prevailing emotion, but
much justifiable anger was expressed
during the weekend, too . Larry
Kramer, founder of ACT UP, was the
most voca l critic of the government's
failure to take action. At one point,
hundreds of marchers dropped to the
sidewalk in front of. the White House
for a seven-minute ""die in"" symbolizing
the tradedy of AIDS. The
crowd booed when it was announced
that the U.S. Park Service estimated
that only 300,000 people attended the
March. Arguments over actual attendance
will continue for weeks.
The main counter-protestors of the
March were, as usual, a handful of
Christian fundamentalists . Marcl1ers
w,:ilked past them, responding · with
chants such as ""Stop the hate!""
Overall, the March was peaceful, with
police reporting only four arrests.
In addition to the March itself, the
event that touched me most deeply
was ""The Wedding;"" a massive
blessing of relationships and de!llonstration
for the civil rights of lesbian
and gay couples. An estimated 8,000
people attended the April 24 event,
including 2,100 couples who registered
to receive certificates. Since The
Wedding was sponsored by UFMCC,
I ,had been involved in planning it for
five months. Still, ·I was overwhelmed
by the solemnity and joy of
seeing thousands of lesbian and gay
couples pledge their love. I felt
deeply honored to meet couples
UFMCC found through a nationwide
search for the longest lesbian and gay
relationships: Kay .Thompson, 69 · and
Bob!,ie-Smith, 69, of Tampa, Florida,
, together 33 years; and Du.sty Keyes,
66, and Jim Busby, 71, of Arlington,
Virginia, together 46 years . I was
delighted when couples spontaneously
chalked their names on the
street, encircled by hearts - a childhood
ritual from which we were
excluded. .
As I reflect on the March, the words
- of Psalm 118 come to me: 'The stone
which the builders rejected has become
the head of the corner. This is
God's doing; it is .marvelous in our
eyes. This is the day which God has
made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.""
Rev. Kittredge Cherry is U.S.
National Ecumenical Officer for the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches. .
.. • ,"" -- :- - - :- :- - .- - - • r - ,
\
.. •O◄ffi•~iffi;JH=l•HPbJ-1=0Hdl•Hsishop
Jane Holmes Dixon leads Eucharist
Integritym emberst urn out
THE RT. REV. JANE Holmes Dixon,
Suffragan Bishop of Washington,
celebrated and preached at a Eucharist
sponsored by Integrity /Washington
on April 23 as part of the
March on Washington activities. Gay
and J.esbian Episcopalians came from
all parts of the country to attend the
March. Bishop Dixon, the second female
bishop in the Episcopal Church,
USA and the third woman Anglican
bishop worldwide, preached a strongly
supportive sermon which was
frequently interrupted with the usually
un-Anglican sound of ""Amen!""
St. Thomas Church near Dupont
Circle was filled beyond capacity and
numerous people stood throughout
the service. The bishop began her
sermon by telling of the support she
received in coming to the Integrity
service from the diocesan bishop, the
Rt. Rev. Ronald H. Haines. She also
said that while having tea at the St.
Thomas Rectory prior to the service,
she wondered, ""Was this a new
beginning for the Church of God?
There we sat in Jim Holmes· rectory: a
woman bishop and an openly gay
priest. Tl1ank God!"" She was interrupted
.with sustained applause.
. The day of the March, many
Integrity members joined for Eucharist
at the historic St. John's Church,
across Lafayette Square from the
White House. · At the march, members
of 27 of Integrity's 70 chapt ers
marched with Integrity, while
members of at least 20 other chapters
marched with their state or other
affinity groups. About 30 ordained
Integrity members were part of the
group, most wearing clerical collars.
Also marching separately were
students from the Episcopal Divinity
School irt Cambridge, Mass., the
church's most gay /lesbian-friendly
seminary. Marching with them was
their retiring dean and president, the
Rt. Rev. Otis Charles, sometime
SEE INTEGRITY, Page 7
Prer ~.ring to march with Integrity, left to right, Ernest Clay, life partner of
D;. !..auie Crew, Dr. Crew, founder of Integrity and professor at Rutgers
University, the Rt. Rev. Otis Charles, bishop and Dean of the Episcopal
Divinity School, the Rev. Barry Stopfel, ordained as an openly gay man
in 1991 and recently elected Rector of St. George's Church, Maplewood,
N.J., and the Rev. David Norgard, ordained as an_ openly gay man in
1984 and Executive Director of the Oasis, the lesbian/gay ministry of the
Diocese of Newark
Presbyterians march to a new tune
PRESBYTERIANFSO R LESBIANa nd
Gay Concerns (PLGC) were well represented
at the March on Washington.
Members, elders, deacons and ministers
from across the Presbyterian
Church (USA) rallied with songs,
""Jesus Loves Me"" and ""We Are A
Gentle Angry People."" They also
sang a familiar hymn with fresh
lyrics:
uO nward Cl1ristians oldiers, marching
for gay_r ights,
From the mainstream
With · (he cfos~4 J~sus, briif~ing forth
more light. ·
Like a royal banner, leads us on the way,
Forward• intoj ustice, lesbian, bi, gay.""
The Rev. Janie Spahr, a Presbyterian
lesbian evangelist, preached
prededing ·the March at Westminster
Presbyterian Church in Washington.
Hundre ·ds of worshipers gathered
with thti More Light congregation .to
hear her sermon, ""Celebrating - Com0
ing Out/Coming In/Coming Home.""
The F.ev. Spa& was recently denied
by the denomination 's highest court
from serving as co-pastor of the
Downtown . United Presbyterian
Church in Rochester, New York.
Westminster 's pastor, the Rev.
• Jeanne MacKenzie, and Elder Charlie
Hunnicutt welcomed visitors to the
service. Members Bob Yeargan, Ron
Willett, Jeff Mintzer and Charlie
Bishop-sang Rhea's arrangement of
the ""One Hundredth Psalm,"" electri-
Religious leaders s·upported March
REPRESENTATIVEOS F THE nation's
religious community were supportive
of the March on Washington -for Lesbian,
Gay and Bi Equal Rights and
Liberation held in Washington on
April 25. _
A spokesperson for the Evangelical
Lutheran Chutch in America said that.
the ELCA had committed itself to
in its support for civil rights and in its
solidarity with those who have. too
long endured the burden of fear,
ignorance, hatred and . violence_. . We
strongly supporf the Mar_cI1.. . in the
hope that the day will soon come
when all.Americans will enjoy equal0
ly the rights of their citizenship."" ·
""particpate in God's mission by advo~ Rabbi Lynne F. Landsberg of the
eating dignity and justice"" for all peo- Union of American Hebrew Cpt;1greple.
Kay Dowhower said the ELCA gations .discussed the need for- relsupported
the Civil Rights '.Amend- igious people everywhere to , fight
ment Act for Gay and Lesbian Civil discrimination against Lesbians !Ind
Rights. ""We urge swift passage of Gays, particularly in the mirfrary,
this legislation. We look .upon the _ saying, ""We recognize that religious
March on Washington as one way:in antag9pism_ towards homosexuals has
which }hose supportive of the' civil cqnttibuted to the acceptance of antirights
for all persons, regar-dless of gay bias, but ju~.t as such acts of hate
sexual orientation, can join together to . have no place in. communities of faith,
support one another in that effort."" -- neither may we tolerate them in the
Robert F. Glover of the Christian centr?l institutions of our national
Church (Disciples of Christ) agreed,,, ✓- life .. : Yet our country, founded upon
saying 'The church stands firm today -· · the ideals of equality and democracy,
obstinately adheres to the tactics of a
totalitarian regime ... We are here
today to say, _loudly and clearly, that
the real traditional values of
American life - if not always of Amer-·
ican history - are those of freedom,
liberty and equality.
Robert A. Alpern, Director of the
Washington Office of the Unitarian
Universalist Association of Congregations
in North America, spoke of
the long history of many religious
groups in support of gay and lesbian
rights, saying, ""After passage of the .
anti-civil rights initiative in Colorado,
the Unitarian Universalist General
Assembly Planning Committee withdrew
its reservation for the $3 million
1997 General Assembly in Colorado.
So it is in this spirit... that we have for
months urged Unitarian Universalists
from across the ·continent to come to
Washington and joi11-this historic
manifestation to reverse the cruel
fying the crowd with · their harmony
and use of female pronouns for God.
The Rev. Bob Davidson, pastor of
West Park Church, New York, read a
portion of the Second Helvetic Confession.
Elder Robin Alexander read
Exodus 14 and 15. Elder Mark Palermo,
Co-Moderator of the More Light
Churches Network, read Romans 8.
The Rev. Coni Staff of the UFMCC,
SEE PLGC, Page 7
discrimination practiced agafr1st 25
million or more of our relatives,
friends and others we do not know.
Billy Hileman, National .Co-Chair of
the March, expressed his gratitude to
the religious community fof,!their
support in an ,emotional statement,
saying ""While more than 100 organizatfons
have already endorsed the
March, this support from the religious
community is perhaps the !llOSt
heartening to ·us. Our .community
has a dual relationship with religion -
at the same time some religious
groups have been sowing the seeds of
hatred that result in harassment and
even death for some of us, many of us
have also turned to religious organizations
to sustain our spiritual lives.
So it is with great emotion that we
welcome all people of faith to our
fight for full civil rights. ·
VOLUNTEER often lose sight of the role I play in
· this drama.
. · ""Y 011 know, I was sitting .;n the kitchen
0 Ows THE CA
.L earlyonSaturdaywaitingonaride,and F LL · . · L suddenly it hit me. This is what my life
has been reduced to: sitting here waiting
·on someone else to take me to the
OF His HEART S/1riner's Cirt11s.""
.
_ Th,s is a function of poverty; grown
men who have been robbed of
BY J. RUSSELL KIEFFER
control. To whom did Jesus speak
when he said, ""Blessed are you who
are poor?"" The Hebrew word for
poor was ani, which, among other
things, referred to those who are
without clout, those who are helpless
and easily exploited; men, women,
children, lovers, Christians, and
.grandparents who are dying from a
pandemic called AIDS. Blessed are
they.
""A patlz with lzeart is one that we feel
called to take. Tlze sense of being called
can come fronz tile quiet, inner voice of
our own yearnings, or from a loud,
insistent one that challengesu s from the
newscast of a pulpit, from the curses of
the downtrodden, or tlze waiting of a
child."" - Passion For Life
lam not certain if it was a sincere
desire to serve, or -the fear of
having to find a ""real"" job that led
me on a path with heart . Nonetheless,
the decision to work as a
fulltime volunteer is part of my deliberate
journey, and its realness has
been a progenitor of fear.
As a college sh.1dent in a
conservative southeastern town in
New Mexico, I decided that the year
after my graduation would be spent
in service to those in need . After
many months of research, I applied to
the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. and was
accepted to the program. - ·
The JVC is a nationwide organization
likened to a domestic Peace
Corps. The volunteer Works in an
agency that would not otherwise be
able to afford a full-time staff person.
He or she lives in a four to seven
member community with fellow
volunteers, and must be committed to
work for social change. Additionally,
the volunteer lives on an $85 monthly
shpend and is asked to explore
spiritual issues.
Through a process of elimination,
impetuous decision making, and a
strong sense of calling, I wound up in
Buffalo, New York, where I would
Work in a residence for those dying,
or rather, living with AIDS:
""When something goes wrong in life,
you can always go on a diet, or get your
hair done or buy yourself some new
clotlze.s.. anything to makey ourselfl ook
better. Only I can't d0 that. I can eat
'ti II tlie cows come' home and· never gain a
pound. So I decided to put everything
into my job, until I lost it. Bu,t time
heals all wounds you_ know. Only it
doesn'tb ecausel don't havea ny time. ..""
Walk into Benedict House and just
listen. The voice of the past speaks
clearly in the mellow croak of nineteenth-
century wooden floors. Enlivening
stained glass, intricately
fashioned woodwork, and a towering
brick turret join in the genteel
serenade to a Victorian yesteryear.
Where are your tired? Where are rm Second Stone-May/Jm1e1, 993
l. _ . _,
your poor?
Walk into Benedict House and open
your eyes. Behold the contradiction .
Love is in the air. This is where we
eat well, sleep well, recreaie well and
pray well. This is where we come to
live with AIDS when there is no place
else to go; this is where ·the justice is
served; this is where we wiH probably
die;
Tony came to Benedict House in the
early faUfrom a local hospital. Gaunt
and withdrawn, he was literally
dropped on the door step by his family.
Here he waited for his belongings,
his clothing - his familiarity. He
was eventually dressed in the clothes
of a man who died at our house
The only reason Al ever came to
Buffalo was because he slept through
the stop in Rochester. One city is as
good as another when you have
nowhere to live. After spending
several weeks in a detox unit trying
to kick a chronic alcohol problem, Al
came to live at Benedict House. -On
Thanksgiving day, I spent the
morning taking Al to the airpor!'to
greet his mother. We were well on
The author, right, counsels . a client at Benedict House in Buffalo, New York
before Tony even came here to live.
He remained a quiet resident and
didn't require much more than
. chocolate candy and the company of
his favorite stuffed animal. Tony
never saw his wife and children
again., He died in late February and
was cremated without a service or
funeral. The only acknowledgement
of Tony's life or death was is a small
·memorial service in our house chapel.
Here are the poor.
One function of my job includes
coordinating resident activities. I
our way when I discovered that not
only did Al not know what time his
mother was arriving, he had also
failed to find out ori what airline she
would be flying and in which
terminal the plane would be landing.
While waiting on Al to find his
mother, vactioners got in and out of
our van, mistaking me for the guy
from the Holiday Inn. Al had only
lived here for two weeks when we
discovered more than 50 empty
king-sized liquor bottles in his
bedroom. How can you encourage a
man to sober up when he probably
won't see next Thanksgiving? Here
are the !ired.
On Valentine's day the Girl Scouts
brought cookies and candy over to
the house. John politely welcomed
the 10 year-old philanthropists by
saying, ""Hi, my name is John. I have
AIDS. Thank you for the goodies ...
we'll eat all of you up ... I have
demenita you know!""
""T11sea ddestt hing aboutl iving in this
place is the size of this bed, because I
.know there's no way two people could
everf it in it! Now don't get me wrong. ..
it's just that when you have AIDS people
don't really want to touch you anymore.
And I miss tlzal.""
As director of volunteer"" services it
is my responsibility to integrate tl~e
neighboring community into our
community; to, in the words of Victor
Frankl, remind others that ""man finds
meaning by creating a work or doing
a deed, by experiencing something or
encountering someone, or through
the attitude we _take toward unavoidable
suffering;"" to encourage
others to take part in what Tolstoy
deems ""the transfiguration of ·suf-
. fering .""
All is not loss, though, and here we
are among the living. My greatest
lesson from those who -are dying is
learning how to live. Benedict House
is a place of joy, where all are
accepted. Here is where members of
the gay community come to share in
the .comraderie . _the-y - create; to
remember their pasts, celebrate the
present, and discover the future.
Greg was living in Florida when
his parents brought him, kicking and
screaming, to Buffalo. He had been
arrested there after walking outside
one night in his underwear. He was
institutionalized, heavily drugged,
and given electric shock treatment.
No one realized that he had PML, a
neurological disorder associated with
AIDS which generates lesions on the
brain and causes rapid dementia.
Greg was a 4.0 graduate from a local
university and had two degrees. The
world could be his. Instead, he wears
Christmas ornaments on his ears and
thinks he's going to have a baby.
I believe that _ when Jesus would
touch the lives of broken people, he
used his own mortality for a basis of
relation. He would ·touch others with
his humanity, and in the context of
humanness, something devine
occurred. We have all been left that
legacy. We are all called to create
divinity out of our brokenness and in
our humanity. The faith response is
not sp much a yes or no to a fact, but
a yes or no to a process of living
within a mystery that is always more
knowable. To live with this understanding
is to constantly discover new
sources of strength, new sources of
hope, new ways and reasons to be,
even in the midst of. laughter or
tragedy.
In the Gospel of the woman at
the well, we encounter two people
from completely different
worlds. They cross each other's
paths in their journeys and make a
substantial difference in each other's
lives. Jesus, a tired , thirsty traveler,
stops for water, rest, and so~tude at
Jacob's Well before resummg his
journey and mission of teaching about
the life of the Spirit and the worlds
beyond and within. While Jesus
rests a Samaritan, a woman, arrives.
She ~eems to be bent solely on fulfilling
her concrete daily tasks in her
realistic world-at-hand. Jesus breaks
all cultural rules of the times and
talks to this Samaritan woman and
asks her; somewhat bluntly, for a
drink of water. · She, being a Samaritan
and taught to iiespise Jews, could
easily have refused his ·request, but
instead, she complies, perhaps irritably,
but generously. He _sees her
openness to generosity as a_n
opportunity to touch her soul. Their
conversation is one of banter, challenges,
and answers. Both vacillate
between arrogance and gentleness.
He is touched by her steadfast
stances, her spunk and spontaneity,
and her undaunted longing for liberation
and a more meaningful life.
She is touched not only by Jesus
knowing her personal past, but _ by
his nonjudgme11tal statements and
penchant for seeing deeper meanings.
He learns that he must see each
person as unique and he must respect
and welcome challenges as valid, in
order for his message to be fully
heard and in·_ order to fully relate.
She learns to see deeper meanings
and becomes a vehicle for furthering
not only her own person~! ~nd
spiritual growth, but also Jes~s ~mstry
in Samaria. They were s1gmficant
to one another and to us. He teaches
us to love the marginalized, to take
risks, to be open to differences, and to
look for deeper meanings even in
every day substances such as water.
She teaches us to question authority,
even messiahs, to hold firmly to our
own perspective and dignity, but to
be open to new perspectives and
deeper meanings beyond the obvious
and ·concrete. They eacll gave freely
and generously and received in
return. · After their encounter, they
each continued on their own journeys,
significantly changed.·
What exactly is our journey in our
modern-day lives? Most trips, for me,
involve some level of risk and varying
degrees of ambivalence, quest!oning,
excitement, and preparahon.
Why am I going? Do I have anything
to offer? Will I meet new
people or see new sights? Should I
stay home -where it is familiar and
easy? Am I open to loving, giving,
and supporting?
The Rath· of the Journey:
.Risk, Joy,
Giff, and
Growth
BY CHRISTINE COUGHLAN
Webster's Dictionary defines
""journey"" as travel from one ·place to
another or something that suggests .
travel, like a journey through life.
.Sometimes a journey can have a conscious,
well planned purpose. These
travelers can say ""I know what I
want; I know how to get it, so I'm on
·my way."" Other travelers can have a
purpose but be unsure about how to
fulfill it. They might say, ""I think I
can, I think I can,"" or like a good
Catholic, possibly, ""I know I should, I
know I should."" The response might
hopefully ·become ""I know I can, I'm
blessed ."" And there's another group
· of travelers who just panic, ""I don't
care, I'm out -of here, maybe I'll be
back."" But no matter what type of
journeyer we may be, spontaneous,
perhaps unconsciously connected
events do happen. Both plarmed and
spontaneous events add dimension,
meaning, and depth to our hves,
These events, moments, periods of
time help us to more clearly define or
further become who we are. This can
occur as blissful. or tumultuous, alone
or with others, in conflict or harmony,
and apart from or within challenging
communities. ·
Whether by ourselvesor with
others, continuing life's journeys of
growth involves taking chances on
ourselves, on others, and .on God. It
involves making ourselves . vulnerable,
setting limits, accepting differences,
forgiving ourselves and oth~rs,
enjoying similarities, challengmg
stagnation, having fun, being open to
new life, and letting _ourselves love
ourselves and others.
The same questions we ask ourselves
before business trips and
vacations can be asked again, in a
deeper context, about life journeys.
""Am I prepared or preparing?_ Am I
trying? What will I win or lose by
going or not going, by choosing cir
not choosing? Am I fully being me?
Am I encouraging others to be fully
themselves? Am I open to risks?
Am I enjoying myself? Am I accepting?
Am I willing to face fear and
pain in order to grow? How do I
resolve conflict and ambivalence? Do
I pray or do I ask myself why not?
How else am I naturally spiritual?
Do I appreciate my gifts? Am I
willing to share them and let them
grow to full potential? Am I at least
trying to relate to others with
tolerance, if not with love? Do I have
goals? Do I truly value my .friends
and my families? Am I willing to
. give up selfcenteredness even if
: slowly, so to give freely and serv:e
others, in whatever way service 1s
most natural? Am I forgiving? Do I
sometimes give in? Am I trying to
-let go of some controls and let life be,
let life in? How well do I care about
the Earth and its peoples? · Can I
really look at me in a courageous,
deeply probing way? Can I · create
my own _safety and security by
depending on myself yet bemg able
to reacll out? Do I Tove me? Do I see
God in my life, in my relationships,
in me?"" Asking these questions and
finding or waiting for the answers can
be very painful, but they are part ~f
growth filled journeying. An_d this
journeying can, hopefully, bring us
closer to each other and foster deeper
friendships . It can present to us relationships
that will allow us to see God
more tangibly in our lives and
encourage us to participate more fully
in creative, real, life-affirming community.
_
We are Spirit-filled individuals into
one · community - our community.
We have journeyed as a community,
withstanding countless trials and
growing pains, controversial internal
conflict and painful external ass,iults,
potentially humiliating-and ironically
growth producing insults. We have
been jeered, misunderstood, imposed
upon, emotionally and physically ·
bashed and some of . this we have
done most brutally to ourselves. -At
the same time, however, we have
been blessed and led by prophets
and disciples, realistic and reactionary,
some of whom are now
deceased. We have endured the
pain, the Jesus-like suffering, and the
toll of AIDS, making so many of us so
much more appreciative of the gifts of
life, of the courage of our suffering
brothers and sisters, and of the deep
beauty of care-giving. We have been
plagued by Ratzingers and lauded
by Hunthausens. We have been
inspired by Ruethers, Gram1cks,
McNeills, Nugents, and Gormans.
We have been, and are, leaders and
mentors for one another. We ·are
community. We are church.·
But what is this church? What is
our continued purpose? What is our
deeper meaning? What are our
goals for the future as we continue on
our journey? How well do we truly
serve one another and celebrate our
gifts? How well do we look at
ourselves, learn from our mistakes,
and act with humility and charity?
What can we do to create and
perpetuate Spirit-filled and inclusive
community, without which we are not
a community? How can we attempt
to continue to recreate the church of
the early Christians, one which was
much less impeded by structure and
rules? How do we continue to have
church be a rri.eans for all its people to
better know God within and beyond,
to learn to pray and to acknowledge
the spiritual dimensions that alre~dy
exist in ourselves rather than havmg
the institution of the church be the
end in itself?
I believe, so I speak out. I would
like to offer some -suggestions, some .
of which are already living well, and
others which need to be strongly
considered. I believe first, that we
.are a blessed and chosen people, that
we are God to one another, and
therefore the means to becoming
closer to God. I believe that I can and
must affirm not only my gifts, pain,
and dignity but that of others as we
are called to do and be for each other.
I believe in a genderless Creator who
is the highest epitome of -love,
forgiveness, and forgiving. I believe
in a Holy Spirit - who sanctifies and
enlightens, and in Jesus, the redeeming
friend who taug~t us lovmg and
healing ways. I believe that. we are
all .potential healers and that we !oo
are · Jesus' . loving and healing
disciples . . I b.elieve in lay-led liturs
_ gies, shared homilies, the or~!nahon
of women literally and experienhally,
in -inclusive language and genderless
images .of God. I believe many of us,
μnbeknownst to even ourSelv~s, ~re
·apostles, healers, presiders_, m1msters,
homilists, counselors, leaders, lovers,
directors, financial wizards, and
organizers. I believe _we are a wellsp
r ing _ of untapped gifts rea~y to be
-SEE JOURNEY, Page_ 20
Second Stone-May/Jun~, 1993 (llJ
Videos . ~ ...................................... •· .......... ·-·. ~ .................. .
Walk Me to the Water: Three People in Their Time of Dying
By Rev. Richard B. Gilbert
Contributing Writer
Presented by John Seakwood, in
association with St. Peter's Hospice,
Albany, New York
It is very clear why the flier for
this video lists it as an award
winning video, including the
""President's Award for .Excellence';
from the National Hospice
Organization. It is gripping, yet ten-
■
J,ii;;t;
~t·~~ :,. ~~f ~ • •'\ : ""-L.
'We Cfl~1t;.~J;~'.' r pool, hot tub, skiing and more .
· Innkeepers Judith Ha11 and
Grace Newman invite you to
write or Cali for a brochure.
P. 0. Box 118 SL
·Bethlehem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978
-
der, letting shine the harsh realities of
death as experienced by people, yet
surrounded by the opportunites for
gentle care, love and peace. ·
The video is described as a ""special
half hour film that intimately portrays
the experiences of three terminally ill
cancer patients being cared for at
home."" No talk about denial, anger
or fear .. No, not words ... experiences.
""I drank a lot."" ""I kepi smoking.""
Shared . frustrations with various
visitors who ask stupid questions.
""How are you? ... How the hell do you
think I'm doing? I have cancer ... "" Or
the volunteer who sits in front of the
television and insists ori talking
""when I want to watch the World
Series.""
It is a penetrating look at people
struggling to die with dignity, to
claim life even in the midst of dying,
to maximize the moments of life,
however few there may be left, yet
often having to fight not only the
disease, but the caregivers who steal
away even more of those pr .ecious
moments of time and life.
We meet Joe, strugg ling to survive
his moments of time. Then there is
Ann, having to deal with many
■
Let.a new light
shine for someone
you· love.
Second Stone is a gift of love, comfort, inspiration and
resolution for friends and family who may be in doubt,
despair, isolation or suffering illness. Give the special
people in your life the gift of Second Stone. · We'll take
it from there.
FROM,
Yes ... Mj Name
Please send a gift """"""""'
subscription and card o"" '""""· 7Jp
in my name to the Name
person(s)-listed: Mdress
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Use additional sheet for more gifts. B~x 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182
■ ■
. [Ji] Second Stone-May/June, 1993
/
health care needs and systems. Maintaining
dignity in the midst of
medicine's endless intrusions. She
shares her stories well. With Marion,
we meet patient and family, struggling
together with the experiences of
life and death .
Each perso.n offers an important line
or .thought for us: Says Joe, ""How
precious life was, each and every
moment of it. We take it for
. granted ... "" Ann adds, "" ... (and) that's
what you need, the voices and faces
of your family."" Finally, from a
member of Marion's family, '.There
was a lot of hard times and it wasn't
easy, but a lot of good came out of
that too ... I wasn't sure if I had it in
me to take care of her and I found out
I did and a lot more.""
""H ? ow are you .. ;.
How the hell do
you think I'm
doing? I have
"" cancer ...
The content is excellent, the didactic
help, and the message of the desire
for hope in the midst of dying comes
through clearly. It is offered .as a
series of black and white still
photographs, moving along through
its theme with helpful narrative,
mostly in the first person. It isn't
easy, and it reminds us that _ death
often is very difficult, very painful,
and a battle that seems more
frustrated by family and systems than
the disease. In viewing this video will
come a new awareness of the patient,
of the family; cf the helpful ways of
caregiving, and of the wonderful gifts
of life (and an appreciation for life),
hope and eternity that patients will
give us if we allow them.
This video is strongly recommended
for health care professionals
working with the terminaIJ.y ill,
hospice volunteers, home health
agencies, visiting nurses, clergy,
social workers, and caregivers. It also
has a special message and insight for
the friends and families who could,
with some redirection and education,
become more effective in their
presence.
For information on this video write
to Box 258, Bird Rd., New Lebanon,
NY 12125. (
The Rev. Richard Gilbert is Director of
Pastoral Services, Porter Memorial Hospital,
Valparaiso, Indiana.
On Video, briefly ...
Three videos from
Willowgreen Productions:
Nothing is Permanent
Except Change: Learning
to Manage Transition
in Your Life
This video, offered in small segments
wit.h time for reflection, accepts the
reality of change, but moves us to
explore and manage the transitions in
our lives. An excellent experience of
endings and beginnings. .
-Listen to Your Sadness
Hopelessness strikes all of us al
various limes, and it touches every
corner of our lives. This video en•
ables you to face your pain, not
escape it. In the ""facing"" we take the
first slep toward finding hope again.
How Do I Go On?
This video hils hard on feelings as the
experience and the pathway, gently
moving us foiward to peace. It fs for
""people whose futures seem limited
by circumstance, accident or illness.""
·All three videos available from Wil·
/owgreen Productions, P.O. Box 25180,
Fort Wayne, IN 46825. (219)424-7916.
-Rev. Richard 8. Gilbert
Men and women vets
sought for documentary
Authur Dong, an independent film
producer, is currently in production for
the documentary Coming Out Under
Fire for PBS, based on the book by
Allan Berube. The film's research
staff is actively looking for lesbian, gay
and bisexual World War II veterans.
They want to talk to women who
served in any branch, including the
Nurse Corps. Especially sought are
those who served in the 100th/442nd
Regiment, the 2nd Calvary Division,
the 92 and 93rd Infantry Division, men
of color and women of color. Contact
Deep Focus Productions, 4506 Palm•
ero Dr., Los Angeles, -CA 90065 (213)
254-m3, FAX (213)254-7974.
InP rint ............................................... ~ .. • ..... ~ .... • ............ .
Someone You.Know·
By Kevin Gepford
ContributinWg riter
Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli, author.
Wakefield Press, Kent Town, South
Australia. 188 pages, paperback,
$14.95.
Th~ stories we love - the best of
stories - are about people's
lives, the ups and downs, the
conflicts and the enduring
friendships. Such a story comes from
Australia in the new book Someone
You Know.
Do you know this man, or someone
like him? He's a gay Seventh-day
Adventist who suddenly faces his
own mortality when he learns he is
HIV positive. And . his friend - the
book's author, Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
- becomes his closest companion as he
develops AIDS. .
Storyteller Pallotta-Chiarolli gives a
first-person account of Jon, an outgoing
and well-loved teacher in her
Adelaide school. Her account is well
In Print,b riefly.. .
WhenH ateG roups
Cometo T own
Thel atestp ublicatiofnro mt ~eC enter.
for DemocratRice newaclo versv irtuallye
verya specot f thel egal,s trategic
and tacticali ssuest hat surroundo rganizing
to counter hate groups.
WhenH ateG roupsC omet o TownA:
Handbooko f EffectiveC ommunity
Responsesis beingm arketeda s a
trainingto ol as well as an individual
resource.
-Fori nformatiocno ntacLt orettaR oss,
(404)221-(XJ25.
Homoaffectionalism:
MaleB ondinfgro m
Gilgamestoht heP resent
PaulD . Hardmanh,i storiana ndl egal
scholar, has worked for nearly ten
years on this book about the rela·
tionshipb etweemn eno f notet houghoutt
heh istoryo f thew orld.T hereis a
speciasl ectiono n the military,f rom
Roman emperors to 1992, giving
namesa ndd atesa ndr eferences.
-FromG LBPul:iishePrs.,O .B ox7 8212,
SanF ranciscCo,A 9 4107
PaganB abies
Thisn ovelb y GregJ ohnsonis about
two. friends,d escribeda s ""Catholic
misfits""g rowingu p togetherJ. anice
Rungrena nd CliffordB annonm eet
as third-gradeirns Catholics chooli n
Texasd uringt he early1 960s. From
there their relationshipsp anst hree
decadesa nd encompassevsa rious
attractionasn dc onflictsin, cludingfa l·
lingi n lovew itht hes amem an.
-FrollJD utton
told with . good insights into Jon's
mind. The book does suffer from confusing
chronology and sometimes
inauthenic dialogue; however - faults
that detract from the book's overall
worth but do not destroy it.
Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli's friendship
with Jon grows as she learns more
about his life and his lover, Kevin.
She and Jon take trips together, and
share notes about being members of
minority groups: she, _of Italian
descent, and he, a homosexual.
The author gives great care to
describe Jon's personal conflicts - of
being Seventh-day Adventist and
gay, of coming from a rigidly conservative
home, and of falling away
from the church that could not love
him. Pallotta-Chiarolli shares her
own insights into Jon's life as she
struggles to understand his feeling of
alienation. ·
Finally, AIDS enters the stage.
Maria is the one friend Jon chooses to
accompany him to find out the results
of the HIV test. -She has a hard time
comforting him as he begins to
morbidly dwell on the future.
Maria keeps in touch with Jon as he
moves away, breaks up with Kevin,
dabbles with a new job and faces
declining health. She and some of his
fellow teachers from Adelaide visit
him at last on his deathbed, where
they meet his parents who have
arrived to sing hymns and pray by
his bedside. Although the parents -
unused to sharing their'emotions -
never accept Jon's homosexuality,
they come to realize that he was
_loved and respected by his friends
and colleagues.
Much of the book is dedicated to the
· final moments of Jon's life as he fades
in and out of consciousness and
friends and family drop by. In the
end, only Maria, Kevin and · a third
close friend are present to witness his
passing.
The book's main failing is in how it
presents the sequence of events. It
gets off to a confusing start with
chapters alternating from past to
present like a time warp gone awry.
The author gives few clues to help the
reader uncferstand this tortuous
chronology. And it takes several
chapters before Pallotta-Chiarolli
reveals the point of the whole book -
that her dear friend is dying ,from a
terrible disease.
Someone You Know is filled with
dialogue, some of which seems unnatural
and a little stilted, as if overedited.
All the characters come out
sounding the same; their personalities
seem a bit flat - a problem that
BuildingB ridges,G ay and Lesbian
Reality and the Catholic Church
By Texas FitzGerald
ContributingW riter
Authors Robert Nugent and
Jeannine Gramick have. been
involved in educational and
pastoral ministry involving
homosexuality and the Catholic
Church for two decades. They have
counseled · gay /lesbian Catholic
. youth, gay /lesbian Catholics who are
married, lesbian nuns in mid-life
crisis, gay priests with AIDS, and
others. They, have conducted seminars
on homophobia in three quartei;s
of the diocese in the United States.
Building Bridges, Gay and Lesbian
Reality and the Catliolic Chu-rch is a
readable, comprehensive book on the
issue of lesbian and gay people in the
Catholic Church.
Nugent and Gramick document the
liberalness of the American branch of
the Catholic ·Church while acknow- ·
!edging the orthodox stance of the
Vatican. Various Catholic groups
have made positive statements on
. lesbian and gay civil rights. Polls ·
indicate a majority of American Catholics
support equal civil rights for
Lesbians and Gays, ,and support
legalization of homosexual acts. between
consenting adults in private.
Approximately one third believe
homosexual behavior is not necessarily
sinful and that homosexuality is
a valid alternative lifestyle. Various ·
gay and/ or lesbian Catholic groups
have been formed.
Seemingly in reaction to this
liberalness, the Vatican has issued letters
characterizing homosexual orientation
as an objective di_sorder, has
• appointed more conservative bishops,
. and has caused the eviction of
Dignity chapters . In July, 1992,
according to the Associated Press, the
Vatican advocated exclusion of homo'
sexuals from adoption, teaching, and
military positions.
Building Bridges, Gay and Lesbian
Reality and the Catholic Church
attempts to span this chasm. The
chapters include updated articles
published in journals, plus additional
material. The book has four major
sections.
""Education and Social Concerns""
justifies Catholic support for equal
civil rights for Lesbians and Gays.
The arguments are thoroughly reasoned
and appeal to theology, church
plagues reconstructed conven,ati_ons,
as these seem to be. · ·
However, PallottaaChiarolli's crisp
use of language and descriptions of
places and people give the book a
rich feeling of reality. Through her
lens you see what is important to her
and her relationship with Jon. You
discern the paradoxes of religion and
the quandry of parents trapped
between love of their son and
loathing of his lifestyle.
Someone You Know is an excellent
first book, and a delightful story
comfng from Australia. Concerned
Christians in North America will be
able to relate to its message, plus get
a glimpse of how AIDS is affecting
the lives of people like us in
Australia.
Someone You Know, published in
Australia, is not likely to be found in
your . local bookstore. Contact the
Inland Book Co., 1-800-243-0138P, .O.
Box 120261, East Haven, CT 06512, to
find out if a bookstore near you has
this title.
Kevin Gepfordi s a graduates tudent in
the school of journalism at Columbia
University in New York. He is the
former editor of the SDA Kinship Conne~
tion, a journal-for gay and lesbian
Seventh;dayA dventists.
statements ·prior to July, 1992, science,
and philosophy.
""Counseling and Pastoral Issues""
describes problems of family acceptance
of Lesbians and Gays, lesbian
women in the church, and married
Gays and Lesbians. Although there
are some recommendations in this
section, much is vague perhaps . due
to the dilemmas posed.
""Religious and Clerical Life"" tackles
homophobia in sexually segregated
orders, HIV testing and candidates,
. mid-life crisis of nuns who recognize
they are lesbian, and discussions on
the meaning of celibacy.
""Evolving Theological Perspectives""
documents various Catholic state.ments
on homosexuality and discusses
clearly labeled alternative
theology, including examples of
lesbian and gay theology. ·
Building Bridges attempts . to offer
personal support for Lesbians and
Gays who remain in the Catholic
Church, while attempting to inform·
the wider church on this topic,
Texas FitzGerald is an elder in tlte
CumberlandP resbyteriand enomination.
Second Stone-May/June, 1993 ~
Calendar . . . . . . . ·• ....... ~ .................... ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Jo/lawing announcements have bew
submitted by sponsoring or affiliated
groups.
Healing From
Where We Are
MAY 3-7, This retreat, offered by
Kairos, at the Marianist Center in
Cupertino, Calif., is a sharing . '
experience for HlV + priests and male
religious. For information contact
John McGrann, 114 Douglass St., San
foirlciso, CA 94114, (415)861-0877 or
David Eidem, ·1534 Arch St.,
Berkeley, CA 94708, (510)841-2229.
More Light
Churches
Network Meets
MAY 7•9, the 9th Annual National
Conference of the More Light
Churches Network meets at the
Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church
in San Francisco. ""Reclaiming Justice,
Rekindling Love, Reforming the
Church"" is the theme. Planned
workshop topics include how to
become a More Light church,
evangelism, polity issues, AIDS
ministries · and Bible defense. For
information contact Richard Sprott,
3900 Harrison St., #301, Oakfand, CA
94611. ,
Dialogue on the
· Bible and .
Homosexuality
MAY 23, The Piedmont Religious
Network for Gay and Lesbian
Equality sponsors a group discussion
at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina. Presenters include Rev.
Jimmy Creech and John Blevins . For
information call (919)766-9501 or
(919)748-3488.
Earl M. Willits
Conference
MAY 22, Author Chris Glaser is the
presenter for this one day conference
themed ""Making 1t Work: Reconciling
the Church with Gay, Lesbian and
Bisexual Christians"" to be held at
Plymouth Congregational Church,
4126 Ingersoll, Des Moines, IA 50312.
Call (515)255-3149 for information . .
SpiritFest '93
MAY 28-31, Th e Catholic Formation
Center , Irving, Texas is the se tting for
this Memorial Day weekend
· gathering , Fee of $120 includes room
and meals . For information contact
Rev. Terry Enloe, (504)944-9836.
East Coast
ACTS Weekend
JUNE 4-6, the gathering, themed
""Building Bridges"" will explore
building connections between
believers. The weekend will be held
at a campground at Sandy Lake,
Penn. The meeting will center on
biblical teaching , worship and
fellowship. For information cc;mtact
Pastor Sam Kader, (513)228-8000.
Evangelicals
Concerned
Eastern
connECtion
JUNE 4-6, The 14th annual eastern
summer retreat of Evangelicals
Concerned, Inc. will be held at
Kirkridge, a mountain retreat center
in eastern Pennsylvania. Keynoters
will be Peggy Campolo, Nicholas
Wolterstorff and Ralph Blair. For
information write to Evangelicals
Concerned, Inc., Ste. G-1, 311 East
72nd St., New York, NY 10021.
Accommodatlorw, AIDSMIV resourcu, bara1 bookstores, vartousbuslnasses, Mltth care, llgal
urvlcN, organizations, publlcatlona, r9l91c>Us groups, swttchboarda, therapists, tnivel agents, •
much mora, 1or gay women and men. ·
All 11lces below INCLUDE FIRST·CLASS POSTAGE r, USA, C&na<l8 & Meleo , In sealed, dsaeet
envelopes. PlaiHng lists B'O srlcdy ccnftdenlal.
Order• ~om ooslda USA (lricludlng C8nada & Meleo): pal'fflantmuslbe In US Funds payable on a .US bank,
ar by Pco!Offlcear American Ex11ess money crdB' , (WesuggestyouYy alocal booksr,,e firs~ IDavcld
possible Custans 11o1>1amsij · · · .
US/CANADA. C&nada8'1d USA tor women & men. City bydty lnlormallonlor all us Slates, C&nadian
PIIHlnees, and the us Vi gin-. plus relOnWlde r8SCU'ces lricludi'll haadqu8'1efs or national
arga,lza!lons 8'ld caucuses: ptblicalcns: mail ardor companies, elC. $12.00; outside N. America $17
(airman)
NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY. NY & NJ; separata Women's Socllon; Manhallan bar ""'tes by Je,ry Fitzpafiek ,
$5.00; outlldo N. America~ (alnnalQ .
SOUTHERN/Southam Midwest. 64 pages. AL.AZ, AR, FL, GA, KS, I((, LA, MS, M:l , NM, NC, OK, PR, SC,
TN, 'IX, us Virgin Islands, VA. $5.00; outside N. Amlllca $8 (alrmal)
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RENAISSANCE HOUSE, SOX 533-SS VILLAGE STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10014--0292 (212)674-0120
lliiJ Second Stone-May/June, 1993
Pastoral Care
and AIDS
JUNE 4-6, Retreat, JUNE 6-10,
Institute. An interfaith retreat and
institute for pastoral caregivers for
persons living with AIDS, sponsored
by the Center for Ministries,
Merrimack College. Major presenters
include Rev. Douglas Graydon, Sr.
Teres .ita Weind , Rabbi J.B. Sacks,
Rev. Ann Showalter and Dr. Terry
Tafoya . For information contact the
college at 31.5 Turnpike St., North
Andover, MA 01845, (508)837-5347.
17th Annual Gay &
Lesbian Christian
Retreat
JUNE 10-13, This event for Lesbians,
gay men and bisexuals of all colors,
their family and friends, continues to
explore issues of sexuality in the
context of Christian faith and practice .
Facilitators include Mary E. Hunt,
JolmMcNeill; Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott and William Smith.
Kirkridge, a mountain . retreat center
in Eastern Pennsylvania is the
.setting. For information contact
Kirkridge, Bangor, PA 18013-9359,
(215)588-1793.
BMG AnnuaJ
Retreat
JUNE 24-27, The Brothers of the
Mercy of God invite all to join them at
their host Monastery by the .Sea. The
conference, themed ""Religious Life,""
promises a time of prayer and
sharing. For information writ e to .
Bros. of the Mercy of God, 341 E.
Center St., Manchester, CT 06040 or
call 1-800-253-5506. (At the beep press
11903 and leave message.)
Seventh Annual
Golden Threads
JUNE 25-27, The Provincetown Inn in
Provincetown, Mass. will be the loca-
. lion for this gathering of a ·worldwide
social network of lesbian women over
50, and women who are interested in
older wom en. Julie Woods is the
featured entertainer. Attendance is
limited to 250. For information contact
Christine Burton, Golden Threads,
P.O . Box 60475, Northampton , MA
01060-0475
America Baptists
Concerned
National Retreat
JUNE 26-29, The Isis Oa sis in the
Russian River area of Northern
C~liforina will be the site of the
annual retr ea t of American Baptists
Concerned . Cost, including meals and
lodging, is $175. The retreat will
include a trip to San Francisco for the
annual Gay /Lesbian Pride parade.
For information contact American
Baptists Concerned, 872 Erie St.,
Oakland, CA 94610.
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Meet
JULY 2-4, Hundreds of lesbian moms,
gay dads and their children will meet
in Orlando, Florida for the 14th
annual confer ence of the Gay and '
Lesbian Parents Coalition. ""Share the
Love ... Share the Magi~!"" is .the
theme . The Clarion Hotel is the
setting , providing opportunity lo visit
the Disney attractions. For in:formation
contact GLPCI '93, Box 561504,
Orlando, FL 32856-1504,
·(407)420-2191.
connECtion '93
JULY 2-5, Evangelicals Concerned
hosts its annual gathering. Keynote
speakers include Rev. M. Mahan
Siler, Jr., Dr . Ralph Blair, and Patricia
V. Long. The conference will be held
in the San Francisco Bay Area. For
information write to ECWR, P.O. Box .
4750, Denver , CO 80204.
National ) .-.
Convocation of
Reconciling
Congregations
JULY 8-11, The Reconciling Congregations
Program . hosts its 3rd National
Convocation . ""Borne of the Breath of
God: Remembering, Ren ewing,
Reforming , Returning"" is the them. e.
George Washington University in
Washington, D.C. is th f location.
Twenty workshops will be offered .
Leaders are Dr . Sally Brown Geis, Iliff
School ofTheology and Dr. Tex
Sample, St. Paul School of Theology.
. For information write . to tl1e RCP,
3801 N. Keeler Ave., Chicago, IL
60641, (312)736-5526.
UCCLJGC
National
Gathering 13
JULY 12-15, Washington University
in St. Louis, Missouri, is the setting
for the 13th annual meeting of the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns. ""Unity & Diversity:
Gifts to Celebrate, Obstacles to
Overcome"" is the theme . For information
contact UCCL/GC, 18 N.
College St., Athens, OH 45701,
. (614)593-7301.
SEE CALENDAR, Next Page
T Noteworthy T ..................................................................... ....
Rev. Jane Spahr to serve as
evangelist for Rochester church
LiHA YING BEEN DENIED their selection
of Rev. Jane Spahr as co-pastor of
their church, the congregation of
Downtown Unite!1 Presbyterian
· Church, Rochester, New York, has
hired her as an evangelist. The High
Court of the Presbyterian Church
(USA) had ruled earlier against the
church's call of Spahr as co-pastor
because she is a lesbian. As an
evangelist, Spahr will travel throughout
the denomination to speak on
behalf of gay and lesbian Presby-
CALENDAR, From Page 16
""Partners for the
Glory of God"" ·
JULY 15-20, The Gay and Lesbian
Affirming Disciples Alliance and the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns will sponsor joint
activities during the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ biennial General
Assembly (Disciples) and General
Synod (UCC) at the Cervantes
Convention Center in St. Louis.
Michael and Katherine Kinnamon are
scheduled to speak at a Saturday
evening banquet. For infomation,
contact Randy Palmer at
(319)332-0245.
4th Annual
Northampton
Lesbian Festival
JULY 23-25, the popular festival
expands to 3 days this year . The
location is the Swift River Inn in
Cummington, Mass. For information
contact W,OW Productions, 160 Main
St., Northampton, MA 01060,
(413)586-8251.
UFMCC's
16th General
Conference
JULY 18-25, ""For All The Nation s"" is
the theme of th.is conference celebrating
the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Church's .25
years of ministry. The conference
returns to The Pointe at Tapatio Cliffs
in Phoenix, Arizona, site of the
immediate past UFMCC General
Conference. For registration information
write to the UFMCC, 5300
Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 304, Los
Angeles, CA 90029.
Dignity/USA
Convention
JULY 28-AUGUST 1, The national
terians and the congregations who
value their leadership . The goal of
her work will be the overturn of the
denomination's ""definitive guidance.""
This policy, adopted by General
Assemblies 1978 and 1979 forbids
chur .ches and presbyteries from
ordaining ""self-affirming, practicing
homosexual persons. "" Contributions
to support Spahr's ministry, payable
to DUPC, may be sent to ·•That All
May Freely Serve,"" Downtown
United Presbyterian Church, 121 ·N.
Fitzhugh St., Rochester, NY 14614.
-More Light Update
gay and lesbian Catholic organization
holds its 11th biennial convention at
· the Fairmont Hotel in New Orleans.
""Celebrate a Living Church"" is the
theme of the gathering, to which
attendees are encouraged to wear ·
Mardi Gras colors of green, gold and
purple. Brian McNaught is the
featured speaker. For information ·
contact Dignity/USA, 1500 ·
Massachusetts Ave., NW, Ste.11,
Washington, DC 20005,
1 °800-877-8797.
BMG
Hospitality- House
AUGUST 1M21, The Brothers of the
Mercy of God sponsor a week by the
ocean, summer fun, and sharing life's
experience. The setting is an authentic
New England fal'll}house in
Matunuck, R.l. The atmosphere is -
relaxed, prayerful and joyous . For
information write to Bros. of the
Mercy of God, 341 E. Center St.,
Manchester, CT 06040 or call
1-800-253-5506. (At the beep press
11903 and leave message.)
Parliament of the
World's Religions
AUGUST 28-SEPfEMBER 5, a major
interfaith gathering with many of the
world 's religions represented.
Exhibits, performances, lectures and
presentations, interfaith dialogues,
children's programs and meetings of
specialized groups . The Council for a
Parliament of the World's Religions
says ""All are welcome to g;i,ther in . ·
Chicago in 1993 to listen to one ·
another, to be challenged to find new
ways of livirig together, and to seek
new visions for the future."" For
information write to: Parliament of
the World's Religions, P.O. Box 1630,
Chicago, IL 60690.
P-FLAG Annual
Convention
SEPTEMBER 3-6, The 12th Annual
International Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays gathering will be
BrethrervMennonite parents
document concerns
.,ip ARENTS OF GAY and lesbian
members of the Brethren and Mennonite
churches recently sent an open
letter to their respective churches
expressing concern about the lack of
acceptance of their sons and daughters
by the church. Over two dozen
parents came together at a recent
w eekend meeting to share the stories
of their families' pilgrimages. Mennonite
parents confronted the church
about the disbanding of the Listening
Committee and Brethren parents
held in New Orleans Labor Day
weekend at the Sheraton Hotel on
Canal Street. ""Celebrating Family -
New Orleans Style"" is the theme . For
information contact New Orleans
P-FLAG, P.O. Box 15485,New
Orleans, LA 70175.
Tour of Israel
SEPTEMBER 22-OCTOBER 8, Royal
Menorah Adventures coordinates a
tour of Israel for gay and lesbian
travelers, escorted by Bible s~udent.
and .previous Israeli resident Daniel
Mark. $2850 per person, sharing twin
accommodations . Contact Royal
Tours, 1742 E. Broadway; Long
Beach, CA 90802, {310)983-7370.
Skills Building
Conference
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3, The
AIDS National Interfaith Network,
National Association of People with
AIDS and National. Minority AIDS
Council sponosor their annual
gathering . New Orleans, on
Halloween weekend, is the setting .
For information contact ANIN, 110
Maryland Ave., NE, Ste. 504,
Washington, DC 20002.
RE-imagining/
Churches in
Solidarity with
Women
NOVEMBER 4-7, A global theological
conference by women for
women and men. Re-imagining
God, creation, Jesus, church as
spiritual institution, arts/ church,
language/ word, ethics/work/ ministry,
community, sexuality/family,
church as worshipping community .
Featuring many presenters including
Mary E. Hunt and Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott. The Minneapolis Convention
Center is the setting. Contact
Rev. Sally Hill, 122 W. Franklin
Ave., Room 100, Minneapolis, MN
55404, ( 612)870-3600, fax
(612)870-3663.
expressed concern over their church's
Annual Conference Program and .
Arrangements Committee's denial of
booth . space for the Brethren/
Mennonite Council at the Annual
Conference. Parents called on both
churches to become a ""courageous
voice for justice."" Parents interested
in joining the movement may write to
P.O . Box 1708, Lima, OH 45802.
Fellowship forming for Seattle
area gay and lesbian clergy .
LiPASTOR RON SHONK is coordinating
efforts to provide support for
networking among gay and lesbian
clergy of any denomination in Northwest
Washington . Shonk is chaplain
and director of OpeffDoor Ministries,
a Lutheran ministry of consultation
and pastoral care for AIDS and · gay
and lesbian concerns. For information
call (206)628-0946.
New GLAD chapter
for Central Iowa
LiTHE GAY, LESBIAN, and Affirming
Disciples Alliance has a new
chapter in the Des Moines area .
GLAD-Central Iowa is the first
Alliance chapter to be formed as the
· result of the direction of a congregational
committee. The Ministry in
Society Committee of the First
Christian Church of Des Moines
initiated the chapter format.ion process.
For information about the new
group contact GLAD-Central Iowa,
c/ o First Christian Church, 2500
University Ave., Des · Moines , IA
50311, (515)255-2181.
New Open and Affirming
church for UCC • .
LiTHE -FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
Church of Pasadena, United Church
of Chri.st, has become an Open and
Affirming congregation, according to
the Rev. Byron Hiller Light, Senior
Minister . The California church has a
long history of aligning itself with
groups marginali2:ed by society or
religion : At the turn of the ' century,
the church ministered to Asian
immigrants and now, First
Congregatiorial Church houses over
tw.o dozen homeless people nightly.
Regarding the Open and Affirming
decision, Rev. Light said, ""After a
year of intensive biblical study,
teaching, discussion .and reflection the
congregation voted overwhelmingly
at its winter business meeting to not
only welcome homosexuals and
bisexuals to First Congregational, but
also to actively affirm their worth and
presence as individuals, gifted by a
loving God."" The cllurch is located at .
464 East Walnut St., (818)795-0696.
SEE NOTEWORTHY, Page 18
Second Stone-May/June,_ 1993 .IJll
NOTEWORTHY From Page 17
Ministry plans trip
to Latin America
LI.OTHER SHEEP Multicultural Ministries
is planning a four-month trip
through some 20 countries in Latin
America to develop and support
ministries with a specific outreach to
Gays and Lesbians. The trip will
begin in Dallas and take them
through Central America, down the
Pacific side of South America and
back up the Atlantic side, returning
again through Central America. For
information on Other Sheep Ministries
or this trip write to John Doner,
5105 Belmont Ave., Dallas, TX 75206
or call (214)827-0804.
Reconciling pastors to
advocate lesbian/gay ministries
AA RECONCILING PASTORS' Action
Network has been launched to
advocate the full inclusion of lesbian,
gay and bisexual persons within the
United Methodist Church. This new
network is being organized by the
Reconciling Congregation Program, a
national movement of 63 United
Methodist congregations that publicly
welcome all persons, including
Lesbians and Gays. ""While the focus
of the RCP continues to be the local
church,"" said Mark Bowman, pro-
Coming Out
means telling the truth
about our lives ...
a family value
we can live with.
Please give generously to the most
effective campaign ·
01,r community will ever wage.
NATI0NALC0MI,NGOUTOAY·
OCT0BER11
PO Box 8270, SANTA FE, NM 87504-8270
• 505-982-2558
Yourcontnbutlon is""tu:-deductlble
gram coordinator, ""we need to build a
network of church profes~ionals who
wish to publicly identify with our
growing movement."" The spark to
initiate RP AN came during the
February meeting of the RCP board
of directors in response to reports of
United Mehtodist pastors being
threatened or reprimanded for carrying
out ministries with Lesbians
and gay men. It will be a network of
activists confronting homophobia
within the United. Methodist Church
and advocating the removal of all
bars to full participation of lesbian,
gay and bisexual persons. United
Methodist church professionals interested
in RP AN should contact the
RCP, 3801 N . Keeler Ave., Chicago,
IL 60641, (312)736-5526.
Restoration Ministries helps
Gays, Lesbians with first step
LI.REV. ALLEN PHILLIPS has formed
a ministry in Schenectady, New York,
to help gay and lesbian Christians,
especially those from Pentecostal,
evangelical and fundamentalist backgrounds,
accept their homosexuality.
Phillips also .plans to minister to
people with AIDS, with a special
focus on newly-diagnosed HIV+
people. Restoration has published a
brochure entitled ""Help! I'm HIV+!
Now What"" which is available free by
sending a stamped, self-addressed
For your convenience
you may now FAX: ·
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envelope to P .O. Box 1123,
Sd1enectady, NY 12301-1123. Pastor
Phillips may be reach ed at (518)
372-6001. .
Dignity chapter started in Hawaii
LI.DIGNITY /MAUI was scheduled to
have its first meeting at high noon on
th e . first day of spring. Gay and
lesbian Catholics who are interested
in gathering with Dignity for
fellowship and worship may contact
Kihei, (808)874-3950.
Christthe Redeemer
fACC installs new pastor
LI.REV. LEE CAMPBELL was installed
on March 7 as pastor of Christ the
Redeemer MCC, Evanston, Illinois.
The church is located' at 933 Chicago
Ave., (312)262-0099.
Ministry announces
logo contest
LI.THE OPEN AND AFFIRMING Ministries
Program of the Gay, Lesbian,
and Affirming Disciples Alliance is
seeking submissions in a contest to
select a logo for ""O&A Ministries. ""
The contest is open to members and
friends of GLAD Alliance. Entries ·
must be postmarked by June 15th,
1993. For information contact Allen
Harris, 1010 Park Ave., New York,
NY 10028-0991.
Affirmation chapter provides
support for gay and
lesbian Mormons
LI.GAY AND LESBIAN MORMONS in
the Alexandria, Virginia; area, have a
very active chapter of Affirmation for
support and fellowship. The group
offers a Mormon support group and a
monthly chapter meeting. For
information, call (202)828-3096 and
leave a message for Fred or Kirn.
Wheaton College gay
and lesbian alums organize
Ll.P AUL PHILLIPS, of the entertainment
team Rornanovsky & Phillips, is
organizing a gay and lesbian alumni
group for his alma mater, Wheaton
College, a conservative, non-denomination
evangelical Christian school
located 30 miles west of Chicago.
Phillips says that he was motivated to
form the group after hearing about a
young student on the Wh eat on
campus who had taken his own life
due in part to his inablility to come to
terms with his sexual identity. ""It is
my hope that there will finally be
some open dialogue about Gays and
Lesbians at Wheaton,"" said Phillips . ""I
was in the class of '76 and I came out
of th e closet in my freshman year at
Wheaton. At the time, I was the only
'out' gay person there. The campus
was in complete denial that there
were other gay and lesbian people in
their midst. "" In just a few month s,
more . than 60 other gay/ lesbian
alums from throughout the U.S. and
abroad have signed up. Wheaton
alumni include Rev. Billy Graham
and conservative Republican Senator
Dan Coats. For information about th e
Wheaton Gay & Lesbian Alumni
Association, contact Paul Phillips, 369
Montezuma #209, Santa Fe, NM
87501.
Atlanta congregation votes to
purchase new building
LI.FIRST MCC of Atlanta members
vote<! on March 21 to purchase a new
church building. The 164-rnernber
church recently celebrated its 21st
charter anniversary. The building ,
located at North Druid Hills and
Tully Road, will house a 500 seat
sanctuary, multiple offices for
ministerial and counseling staff, a
kitchen, a dining area and four large
meeting rooms.
r
Network provides support
for lesbian mothers
Ll.MOMAZONS, A NATIONAL
organization for lesbian mothers and
for -Lesbians who want children in
their lives, has been formed to
provide an opportunity for Lesbian s
to explore options in bearing,
: adopting, raising or being involved
with children.
""We've been organizing here in
. Central Ohio for more than 5 years,
and over 100 local w·ornen and their
children have been participating in
Momazon meetings,"" said Mornazoris'
founder . and director, Dr. Kelly
McCormick. Mornazons produces a
bimonthly newsletter, faciiitating a
national dialogue about Lesbians'
experiences and opinions about
considering children, creating a
family , blending families, child
rearing, and other issues of significance
to lesbian mothers and their
families. For information · on Momazons,
write to P .O . Box· 02069,
Columbus, OH 43202 or call (614)
267-0193.
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EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr. Ralph Blair, 311 Easl
7200 SI .. New York, NY 10021. (212)517-3171. Pul>icalions:
Review aoo Record.
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS, P.O. Box 436
P~netarium Sin,~ York, NY 10024. (607)432-9295.
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North Bellmore, NY 11710. A
CTi'f~iie;~~~~~~~~ /~~~~~~l~~:g~ 10461,
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FEDERATION OF PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS
AND GAYS;INC. P.O. Box 27605, Washingon, DC 20038. Seoo
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it~;~~TAL AWANCE (also Pentecoslal
Bible· lnslitute !Ministerial training!) P.O. Box 1391,
Scheneclact,,, NY 12301-1391 .. (518)372-6001. PLIJlicalion: The
Aposlolic Voice.
DIGNITY/USA, ·1500 Massachusells Ave., rm, Sle. 11,
Washington, DC 20005. (800)8'7-8797. Gay and lesbian
Calholics and !heir lriends.
MORE LIGHT CHURCHES NEN.ORK, 600 W. Fullerton Pkwy.,
Chicago, IL 60614-2690, (312)338-0452. Resource packet, $12 . .
Pul>icalion: More Lighl Churches Netv.ork Newsleller
Alabama
Fort DeartxJm Slalion, Chicago, IL 60610-046l . PtJJlicalion: BIRMINGHAM . THE ALABAMA FORUM, P.O. Box 55894,
i~ii~~E~ANSFOR LESBIAN& GAY CONCERNS, P.O. Box 35255-5894. (~)328-9228.
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CHURCHES 5300 Sanla Monica Blvd, ~4. Los Angeles, CA
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CONCERNS, Box 65724, Washington, DC 20035. Pul>icalion:
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CONCERNS, 18 N. College, Alhens, OH45701, (614) 593-7301.
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RECONCILING CONGREGATION PROGRAM, P.O. Box 23636,
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1t~ . Villa Grar<le,
CA 95486·0032. Holy Spirt Church,. Easl Moline, IL,
(309)792-6188. SI. Michael's Church, Russian River, CA, (707)
865-0119. PtJJlicalion: The Table!.
LIVING STREAMS, P.O. Box 178, Concord, CA 94522-0178.
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NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS • 1663 Mission St,
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Washington, DC 20091. Publicaiion: Nelwork. . . .
THE 1'141NESS, Published ti/ the Episcopal Church Pul>rshng
Co., 1249 Washingon Blvd, Ste. 3115, Delrorl, Ml 48226-1868.
fm~:~NAL GAY ANO LESBIAN ARCHIVES, The Nalalie
Barney Edward Carpenler library, P.O. Box 38100, Hollywood, g~m~s (=~112';:7
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Dislricl. Publisher of religious oooks aoo malenals. P.O. Box
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i~ior,ie and SU rt
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Box 60125, Chicago, IL 60660-0125. Publicalron: Communication
WOMENS ALLIANCE FOR THEOLOGY, ETHICS AND RITUAL,
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St., 811, Arroyo Grar<le, CA 93420. (805)473-2510. Pul>ical1on:
The Free Calholic Communicant. .
INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE, 4102 Easl
mf~ms~'.&8
~~-g~PJ~i~ltr~:~TISTS . Box
2171, 256 So. Roberlson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90213.
(818)700-0827.
AFFIRMATION: Gax & Lesbian MDfmons, P.O. Box 46022, Los
Ang,les, CA 00046. (213)255-7251.
AFFIRMATION/United Methocisls for Gay & lesbian Concerns,
P.O. Box 1022, Evarolo~ IL 00204. .
ST. TABITHA'S· AIDS APOSTOLA TE, Chrisliari AIDS Nelwork of
lhe Merican Orthocllx Calholic Church ol SI. Gregonos, P.O.
ti 1
~M~:J~~~~~.f:~~o:~\i 1e Rock, AA 72200. ·
(501)372-5113. Workshops on women's issues, social juslice,
racism and homophobia. . . .
EMERGENCE International: A Community of Christian
Scientists .Supporting Lesbians and Gay Men. P.O. Box ~161,
San Ralael, CA94912-9161. (415)485-1881. PtJJlicalion: Emerge!
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[!n:u~ay;~r~n~o~i~r::1rc r~~~h~ !he
HONESW, Soulhern tptist Acllocates for Equal Rights, P.O.
Arizona
PHOENIX • lion ol Judah Minislries, P.O. Box 26531,
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'Dr., 85204. (602)439-0224. P.J. Fousek-Grega~ paslor. SUnday,
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Margaret 'Sanct,,• Lev.is, paslor.
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SAN LUIS OBISPO-MCC ol lhe Central Coast, P.O. Box 1117,
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(415)255-9244. Pttllicalion: Bndges. . .
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Suooay, 10:45 a.m, Wed, Fn., 7:30 p.m. Rev. S1an Harns,
paslor. Publicalion: From Mary's Shrine.
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92307. (619)247-2512. Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Non-denominalional
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Colorado
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MCC of Weshington, DC, 415.M St., N.W., 20001. Rev. l arryJ.
Uhrig, paslor.
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6036 Richmooo tt,,y., ~1, 22303, (703)329-7896. A Byzanline
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Florrda
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33713-6135. (813)323-5857. Sundir{, 10:00a.rn & 7:30 p.rn Rev.
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N. tMle Ave., 34615. (813)442-3867. .
WEST PALM BEACH - MCC, 3500 45th SI., #2A, 33409:
(407)687-3943. Sunday, 9:15 & 11:00 a.m. Services also in Fl.
P~rce, (407)687•3943 and Pt. st. Luce, (407)340-0421.
FORT MYERS • St. John lhe Aposlle MCC, 2209 Unily al lhe
corner o1 Broacl.vay. (813)278-5181. Suooay, 10:00 a.m., 7:00
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Georgia
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~
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~~~l~~~~'.~J~~f t~~rRev Linda J. Stoner, Paslor.
ANN ARBOR • Huron Valley Communily Church meels at
Glacier Way UMC, 1001 Green Rd., Ann Arbor, 48105-2896.
(313)741-1174. SLOO!y, 2:00 p.m.
DETROIT -lrlegily, 98011.!ilmore, '205, 48203.
GRAND RAPIDS • Belhel Chr~lian Assembly, 920 Cherry SE,
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pastor. Plblicalion: Bethel Beacon Television: Channel 23,
~i'r 1i~mi I Lansing - Ecclesia. Affirming church meels al
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ANN ARBOR • Tree o1 Lile MCC, meels at Frrsl
Con9""egalional Church, 218 N. Adams, Ypsilanli. P,O. Box
2598, 48106. (313)665-6163. Su""day, 6:00 p.rn
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Church, 3100 Park Ave. S. (612)824-2673. Pul>icalion: The
Discir>e.
Mississippi
JACKSON •. St. Stephen's Uniled Community Church, 4872 N.
?teKfot~J.;frJ;TJ~!~?~:
1
io<:e'.
1~~
71:6x 7737,
392PA-n37, (601)373-8610.
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Counseling services. (601 )373-8611Y(601)939-7181.
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~i\g~t~rl~~~~. PO Box 5202, 10185-0043. Pul>icalion:
Oullook.
ROCHESTER - THE EMPTY CLOSET, 179 Allanlic Ave.,
l1Ji°l;N:5eo~:~~i ~'~r'J~~iJl':r.1\:;;""'~~x Church,
P.O. Box 9073, 12209. -(518)346-0207. Falher Herman, CSJn,
Guardian. Plblicalion: Metanoia.
..................
(513)252-8855. Penlecostal, charis,;.,lic meels Sunday, 10:00
a.m. 546 Xenia Ave. samuel Kader, Pastor.
COLUMBUS.• Melropolilan Community Church, 1253 North
High Street, 43201. (614)294-3026. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
Publicalion: The Beacon New.;.
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43201-7814, (614)299-7764.
Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY - Holy T rinily Ecumenical 9alholic Church,
2328 N. MacArthur, P.O. Box 25425, 73125, (405)942-2604. Fr.
. Marty Martin, paslor.
Oregon
PORTI.AND • American Friend» Service Committee Gay and
lesbian Progam, 2249 E. Burnside, 97214, (503)230-9427.
Contact Dan.
Pennsy Iva ma
ALLENT0\1,1',J - GraceCovenanl Fellow.;hip, 247 N. lOlh St.,
18102. (215)740-0247. · Bryon Rowe, Paslor. Thom Ritter,
Minister of Music.-
Tennessee
NASHVILLE· Dayspring Fellow.;hip,. 120-B So. 111h SI., Box
68073, 37206. (615)227-1446. PtJJlicat~n: Son Shine.
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121172, 37212-1172 (615)383-6008. Nev,sleller. •
Texas
DALLAS· Whle Rock Communilv Church, P.O. Box 180063,
75218. (214)285-2831, (214)327-9157. Surday, 10:30 a.m. Jerry
Coo~ Paslor.
~~~i~~rl~~ PO Box 190051, 75219-0351. (214)520-0912
AUSTIN • Joan ·Wakelord Minislries, Inc., 9401·8 Grouse Meaoow Ln., 78758-6348, (512)835-7354.
DALLAS • Silent Harvest Minislries, P.O. Box 190511,
75219-0511. (214)52().tl,55,
MIDLAND _. Holy Trinily Community Church, 1607 S. Main,
79701. (915)570-4822. Rev. Glenn E. Hammell, Pastor.
Publication:Trinitv Tribune
DALLAS • Holy 1rinilv Communilv Church, 4402 Roseland,
75204. (214)827-5088. Rev. Frederick Wrighl, Pastor.
Pul>icalion: The Chariot
HOUSTON • Community Gospel Church, 501 E. 181h al
Columbia. (713)880-9235. Sunday, 11:00 a.m. Chris Chiles,
Pastor.
HOUSTON • Houslon Mission Church, 1633 Marshall, 77006
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Rev. Rebert L Carter, Pas!Of.
HOUSTON • MCC/Resurreclion, 1919 Decatur, 77007.
(713)861-9149. Rev. John Gill, Paslor. Publicalion: The Good
News
HOUSTON. Oignily, 1307 Yale, #H, P.O. Box 66821, 77266.
(713)880-2872 Salurday, 7:30p.m
HOUSTON - Kingdom Community Church, 614 E. 191h St.,
77008. (713)862-7533(713)748-6251. SL001y, 11:00 am.
LUBBOCK - Lesbian/Gay Alliance, Inc., P.O. Box 64746,
79464-4746. (806)791-4499. PtJJlicaUon: larrlxl! Times.
Virginia
ROANOKE. MCC of lhe Blue Ai~,' P.O. Box 20495, 24018,
(703)366-0839. Pul>icalion: The Blue Ric)Qe Banner
fiOANOKE • BLUE RIDGE LAMBDA PAESS, P.O. Box 237,
2®2 , (700)890-3184
FALLS CHURCH - MCC ol Northern Virginia, 7245_lee
~lrsaycfi2S~H . Aflirmalion Gay & Lesbian Mormons, P.O.
~~IfFch~~~1:~~s. PO Box 3390, 22043.
(703)560-2680. Baplist gro4>.
Washington
SEATTLE GAY NEIMl, 704 E. Pike, 98122. (206)324-4297. FAA
(206)322-7188
SEATTLE - Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW 641h St., 98107.
(206)784-8495. Sunday, 11 :00 am. & 7:00 p.rn, Wedlesday, 7:30
~l~H~ L:'~~'/;;,;~ !j)5 McMunay, 00352 (509)943-3927
Open and affirming cong-egation. ·
TACOMA • Hillside Communily Church, 2508 SoUlh 391h St.,
98<m. (206)475-2388.
West Virginia NEW YORK - AXIOS Eastern and Orthooox Christians, P.O.
Box 756, Village Sin., 10014. Secooo Friday, 8:00 p.m., MORGANT0\1,1',J. Freedom Fellow.llip Church, P.O. Box 1552,
Communily Center, 208 West 131h St. · 26505 (304)291-6940 ·
SCHENECTADY • lighlhouse Aposlolic Church, 38 Columbia . . · .
St., P.O. Box 1391, 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. Rev: IMlliam H.
Carey, pastor.
LONG ISLAND/NEW. YORK • International Free C_alholic
Churcl\iGood Shepherd Church, P.O. Box 436, Cenlral Islip,
11722, (516)723-0348. Rev. Ms!J'. Rdlert J. Al,nen, paslor.
North Carolina
CHARLOTTE· Melroliira Sv.ilctlloard, (704)535-6277. P.O. Box
~\.t:1~6N - GROW Communily Service Corporation, P.O.
Box 4535; 28406. (919)675-9222. Ymih ootreach: ALIVE ID! r;,y,
lesbian, bisexual youlli. .
RALEIGH - Raleigh Religious Network for Gay aoo Lesbian
Eq,afrty, P.O. Box5961, 27650-5961. (919)781-2525.
v.\NSTON-SALEM ·• Pieanonl Religious Nelwork for Gay and
Lesbian EqJal!y, P.O. Box 15104, 27113-0104. (919)766-9501.
Ohro
DAYTON - Community Gospel Church, P.O. Box 1634, 45401
International
LONDON • Lesbian and .Gay Christian Movement, Oxlo~d
House, Defyshire St., Loooon E2 6HG, UK, 071-739-1249.
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JOURNEY, From Page 13
shared and riurtured so we can
remain and become even more of a
vibrant ; life-affirming, all-inclusive,
welcoming, life-model community for
ourselves, the institutional church,
and for other spiritual groups .
If we believe, we must speak out.
. If we ·believe, we must decide whether
to stay, restate our needs, and be
responsible for. helping to fulfill them·
- here or elsewhere. If we believe in
inclusivity and feminist perspective,
indeed if we believe in creating
women -welcome space, we must
continue our drive toward inclusivity
jn all areas for · all peopleand ·move
away from condescendingly discrimi-
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MONKS, From Page 9
and not have to deal with obdurate,
righteous ecclesiastical superiors
waiting to slam shut the closet doors.
Maybe it's lime we start to look for
creative, insightful, ""gay"" ways of
recreating monasticism.
Perhaps some of us will decide we'd
be much happier and live fuller,
longer lives if we exercised our
freedom and chose to liquidate our
possessions and move 'into collective
farms and communes and artist
colonies in the countryside, the sort ·
I've written about in my novel,
Getting Life in Perspective. After all;
gay liberation developed out of the
sixties' counter-culture with its
idealized notions of such alternatives.
Now with the twenty years of
maturation and economic sophistication
and practical knowchow gained
since the Summer of Love, a battlescarred
generation might be ready to
re-embrace those teenage utopian
ideals.
_ Perhaps many of us will find that
natory rituals and structures. We
must be creative Christians moved by
the Spirit, not co-dependent Christians
imprisoned by shame . Let us
listen to the gifts and visions of our
women and ·our men. We ,must
continue to promote social justice ·
through our various ministries,
through academic research, through
education, spiritual ' · development,
social interaction, and individual and
communal affirmation of ourselves as
gay men and Lesbians. We must
continue to reach out to the marginalized
in our own community and in
the larger community . We must
emulate the personhood of Jesus as
the answers to the devastation ot
. AIDS will lie in discovering solitude
and examining the big questions
aboμt life arid death. There is
certainly a continued need for
political action, lobbying for scientific
research, and experimentation with .
medical solutions. We have reason to
be outraged. But what's the point of
going to the grave · outraged?
Requiescant in pace. .
I, for one, hope to find a big house
for my lover and me somewhere in
the woods. Around us I'd like . to ·
develop a community of old and new
friends involved in in'editation and
exercises for the raising and merging
of consciousness, a community , engaged
in a variety of cottage industries
such as bee-keeping, psy~ho- .
therapy, creative arts, and most
specifically, -gay tourism . Indeed,
providing lodging for travelers and
retreatants has almost always been
one of the functions of the monastery.
With our gay ingenuity we certainly
ought to be _able to recreate the best
parts _of an otherwise disappearing
institution, while simultaneously
cultivating our. so1,1ls and growing old
gracefully. _
androgynous loving friend, gifted
healer, believing child, and builder
of community, We can then
rightfully be called Christian. and be
spirited mentors and loving, healing
friends for each other. In this way,
we can help to continue the vibrant,
crucial holy journey of our own gifted
lives and of our liberating community
.
Christine Coughlan is chair of the
Committee for • Women's Concerns,
Dignity/USA . . This is an excerpt of a
homily offered at the 1991 Dignity Convention-
in Washington, D.C. Reprinted
from the Dignity/USA Journal.
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New Orleans, LA 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,28,1993,"May/June 1993",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/2fb062836116fb191c20b66ceda6e4ef.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1666,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1666,"Second Stone #29 - July/Aug 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"AMERICA'S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL
For a gay pastor, often it's a battle to stay in
ministry. Sometimes it's a battle to leave.
The courage
to quit
Tim Parry, a member of London, England's Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement, rediscovered the
church after coming to terms with ~is se~ualit~. ~ine
years after coming out, he was ordained into ministry.
Just three years later, he decided to leave. the ministry.
This is his st ory.
I BY TIM
nJanuary,19791 came out as a gay
man. First to a very nice man who
was on the end of a phone line at
Manchester Gay Information that particular
night, secondly to members of
PARRY
its gay youth group wh ich met the
following evening, and soon afterwards
to my parents and two brot hers.
It was an exhilarating hme.
One night I remember cycling
home from a youth group meeting. It
was still winter, and the decaying
Victorian mansions of Whalley Range
looked suddenly magical instead of
grimey through the softly falling
snow. I was overwhelmed by a feeling
of well-being, of coming home, of
beginning to find myself. It was my
''born again"" experience.
Nearly nine and a half years later I
was ordained deacon by the Archbishop
of York in his minster , and
begun my work in a suburban parish
in Hull. Just over three years since
then I am unemployed again. I know
1 will not be returning to the stipen diary
ministry. I am in a turmoil
over my re lationship with God, with
the Church, and with the colleagues
and friends who I have largely left
behind. Although not emotional by
nature I know I am going through a
bereavement. I have lurid dreams in
which I take part in fantasti cal liturgies,
often featuring some dreadfu l
and embarrassing mishap. A psychoanalyst
might have a field day.
And I am still perp lexed by what
has happened . Perplexed by the fact
that I spent six years (three in college,
three in the parish) and more in voluntary
subjection to a vision and set
of doctrines which seem no more now
than an engaging if still beguiling
fantasy. I do n' t know if I am unusual
in that I (re)discovered the Ch urch
some years after beginning to come to
terms with my sexuality and myself.
It happened in Oxford. In 1982 I
received a grant to d o research in
arch itectural history and exchanged
the scraping tower blocks of Hulme
for the dreaming spires . By then I
had already been involved with
Man chester's new gay centre and
phonelines, with the university gaysoc
and in helping to write, paste-up,
pub lish and sell a monthly mag, the
Mancunian Gay, which is still around
ISSUE#29 I
today in another form. I had occasionally
gone to church before. The
Church of England was for me a
harmless object of affection and inter est,
and my Sunday school/ harvest
festival/ vicarage fete sort of Anglican
upbringing was one in which the
parish priest was an unthreatening
figure in straw hat or (I later
discovered) biretta. In Oxford I came
across Anglo-Catholicism, via Evelyn
Waugh, ecclesiastical architecture and
the theological students who were
virtually part of the furniture in The
Red Lion, the veritable gay pub.
I was captivated. Anglo-Catholicism
seemed to have the lot - the best and
most exotic buildings, a sense of
living heritage and history, good
choreography, a rich musical tradition,
a sometimes outrageous disrespect
for the Anglican establish - .
men! and, so it seemed, a positive
welcome for young gay men like me.
Being an Anglo-Catholic seemed far
removed from the fuddy-duddy respectability
of the mainstream Church
of England. It was fun for a start.
You belonged to a sub-culture which
mocked ecclesiastical conventions as
much as Lesbians and gay men
implicitly mock those of hetero sexuality.
Perhaps that was (although
I only vaguely recognized it at the
time) why Anglo-Catholicism was so
attractive. It felt subversive, while
paradoxically claiming to be ultraorthodox.
The clergy had their own
hierarc hy of correctness .. in which
parishes, bishops, even whole provinces
were graded as to doctrinal
rectitude, use of ""correct"" liturgies, ,
even by the style of clergy cassocks.
In its extreme form Anglo-Catholicism
is a sub -group of the ecclesiastical
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
If your business offers products or services
to the rainbow crowd ... we1ve added up the
reasons you should advertise in
Second Stone ... see page 14.
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T. From the Editor T .................................
Was it really courage?.
By Jim Bailey
- Quitting isn't a particularly courageous thing to do, you might have
thought as you read the headline for this edition's cover story. For a
gay or lesbian church pastor facing possible ouster from his / her job
the thing to do is stay and fight, we think, But the cover story for this
issue is not about fighting the church council or congregation or filing a
discrimination claim with the city's human rights commission or appearing in
ecclesiastical court. It's about the quiet fight. The issue is not church bylaws
and procedures - not yet - and the outcome will not be determined by some
judicial body - not yet. The issue at hand is honesty - dishonesty. For the
lesbian Catholic nun . For the gay Southern Baptist youth minister. For the
Lutheran pastor who is known to be gay but must keep his/her significant
other a secret. Being honest would almost certainly mean an end to their
present ministry career. Being dishonest is against everything they know
and believe and preach. The quiet fight. When being true to your call
means you can't be true about yourse/f. The struggle sometimes born of such
conflict will change the church one day, as some of those gay and lesbian
pastors decide to risk their careers and come forward to challenge church
doctrine. We see their stories in the news more and more. But what about a
pastor who, longing to reconcile his life to the values he holds close, sees the
church as an obstacle to his peace and decides to leave the ministry? (Also
leaving behind the call and the vision, the years of training; the stability and
support of the church and the potential of the years ahead.) Is it a statement
that the church can overlook - when a good hardworking pastor leaves
because the church made a lie of his/her life? I believe that Tim Parry's story
is indeed one of good courage. I am interested in hearing what you think.
Are you a community
builder yet?
You may recall that in the January /February, 1993 issue of Second Stone, we
announced plans to start community forums among our readers. This is a
really exciting idea and you might want to review this issue to see how you
can go about starting a group in your community. If you are working on
getting gay and lesbian Christians together for good fellowship and
conversation, we are interested in knowing about it - and we'H help spread
the word. Here in New Orleans, we have been collecting names of those
interested in such a forum and plan to have a gathering in late summer to
meet each other and get to know what our needs and concerns are. We are
meeting gay and lesbian Christians from all faiths and walks in our
community, so the experience is a bit different from going to church or a
chapter meeting. If you are tired of the ordinary venues offered by the gay
and lesbian community for meeting others, then you should explore our idea
for a community forum.
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1993 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00 ·
for postage, All payments U.S. currency only. ·
ADVERTISING, For display advertising information call (504)899-4014 or write to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscripts to be
returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Second Stone
is otherwise not responsible for the return of any material. .
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjoumal for the riational gay and
lesbian community. ·
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Tim F'arry, Rev. Richard B. Gilbert,
Johnny Townsend, Richard K. Smith
[2J Second Stone-July/August, 1993
Contents . ............ ..... . .......... .
['2-1 From The Editor
~_J .
Commentary/Letters
Rev. Troy Perry on Gays in the military
News Lines
'97 Poetry L!_J . By Richard K. Smith
Cover Story
So much for a career in ministry
By Tim Parry
l.fl73· Music lill _ New releases from Witness and Marsha Stevens
On Video
Enrichment for those who minister to the bereaved
Reviewed by Rev. Richard B. Gilbert
In Print
A new. title from the American Friends
Service Committee
Reviewed by Johnny Townsend
[67 Calendar
L~
1--171. Noteworthy
~-,
I 191 Resource Guide
[200 Classifieds
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Dr. King's famous speech ... and a special
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Marsha wrote, ""For Those Tears I Died""
orchestrated by Chris Lobdell
'' Marsha Stevens doesn't just sing. she ministers. She lifts our
spirits and challenges OUer hearts with her sermons-in-song.
REV. NANCY WILSON, MCC WS ANGELES
Spectacular and spirit-ft/led, as usual ...
REV. TROY PERRY, FOUNDER
UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP OF METROPOUTAN
COMMUNITY CHURCHES
Very powerful and nwving ... a song for every one a/us.
PAM SMITH, AMAZON RADIO
Marsha, I admire you as a singer and songwriter ... you tell
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BOB CROCKER, THE HYMNAL PROJECT
SAN FRANCISCO
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You are so personable and sincere. To wp it all off, you Tove
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DAVID McCOUOUGH, DIRECTOR OF MUSIC
CATHEDRAL OF HOPE MCC, DALLAS, TEXAS
I've long had a gr eat appreciation/or your musical genius,
but what warmJh and wit ... we were deeply moved.
REV. MICHAEL PIAZZA
CATHEDRAL OF HOPE MCC, DALLAS, TEXAS
Refreshing and original alternative .in women's mu.sic.
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This exciting video contains over 13 of Marsha's
songs including the 25th anniversary year release of
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solo albums, ""Free To Be,"" ''The Best Is Yet To Come,""
and the newly released 1'1 Still Have A Dream."" as well as
favorites like ""Celebra te,"" ""Mommy's Song,"" and ""Can't
We Find A Way."" But what really makes the video special
is hearing Marsha's story in her own words. Celebrate the
25th anniversary year of ""For Those Tears I Died"" with this
video of Marsha's warmth, humor and musical talent!
Comment .................................................. • ............... -• ...... •,
Rev. Troy Perry's letter to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee
The right to serve~in the military
Honorable Members: civil rights, preserving equal rights,
equal justice, and equal opportunity
under the lawfor all people;
Lesbians in the military:
1. Ending discrimination is not a gay
issue; it is a human rights issue. I am
certain that some members of the
committee can remember inost of the
arguments being raised against Gays
and Lesbians are the same ones that
SEE COMMENT, Page 7
I am the founder and elected
Moderator of the Universal
Fellowship . of Metropolitan
Community Churches, an ecumenical
Christian religious denomination
founded in 1968, with a primary
outreach and constituency in the gay
and lesbian community. We have
been correctly described by the . press
as the largest organization in the
world touching the lives of Gays and
Lesbians; Our 25,000 members in the
United States regularly provide ministry
each year to more than 100,000
additional Gays and Lesbians plus .
their families and friends. Within
these numbers are thousands of Lesbians
and Gays who have honorably
served in the United States military .
Many are presently serving.
•Our fervent belief in a democratic
society and our support of the freedom
guaranteed to all citizens by the
. Bill of. Rights and the Constitution of
the United States of America, the
highest law of the land for our
pluralistic society; YourTum
We, who are part of. the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Chul'ches, are shocked and saddened
at the tone and terms of the
national debate over gay and lesbian
human rights and we pray that our
contributions as a Christian church
would be a careful and-compassionate
Christian voice to engage our national
conscience.
The women and men of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches, a world-wide
Christian denomination with 230
congregations in the United States,
proclaiming a three point Gospel <:>£
salvation through Jesus Christ, Christian
community, and Christian social
action, are moved by God's Spirit to
declare:
•Our unyielding commitment to full
•Our complete support for all oppressed
minorities, specifically gay
and lesbian people, whose lives,
careers, and reputations are daily
threatened by the existing climate of
discrimination and the violence it
engend .ers;
•Our firm opposition to any attempt
to limit civil rights of gay and lesbian
· people or any other Americans;
. •Our unequivocal support for the
lifting of the unjust and unwarranted
ban of Gays and Lesbians serving
without restriction in the U.S.
· military;
•Our insistence that Congress investigate
and acknowledge the variety
and magnitude of contributions made
by gay and lesbian people in the U.S.
military and all aspects of American
life;
•Our intention to utlilize prayer and
fasting, and all other means consistent
with Christian faith and conscience to
accomplish these goals.
Let us ensure that all persons in our
great nation are accepted and valued,
their contributions appreciated, and
their fullest potential achieved.
There are four areas I wish to
discuss in my testimony as it pertains
to our Church's view of Gays and
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LiJ Second Stone-July/August, 1993
. __ . - .. _ . __ . . . ·----·
1014 B North Lamar
Eleventh & Lamar
AaUa, Ter• 78703
. _-. . . , --- - --
""Zapping""
not a
Christian
activity
Tucson, Arizona
Dear Second Stone,
We are writing to express our disappointment
in your lack of editorial
and spiritual judgment as evidenced
in the May/June issue of Second Stone.
We can well identify with Don
Karvelis' letter in the same issue,
regarding the frequently un-Christian
content of your publication.
We are greatly concerned that
Paul's instructions for the Body of
Christ found in Romans 12 is being
overlooked, if not completely forgotten.
Scripture does not give us a
choice. We must love all brothers
and sisters in Christ, even if they
persecute us.
We are much dismayed when a
publication such as yours, whose subtitle
reads ""America's Gay and Lesbian
Christian Newsjoumal,"" runs a
""news"" item publicizing a video
game that allows the player to ""zap
and vaporize a rabid fundamentalist.""
Not only does such a game promote
violence, hatred, and vengeance, all
of which are definitely un-Christian
according to Scripture, but the objects
of this behavior are the very imagebearers
of Jesus Christ Himself. How
saddened our Lord must be to see a
""Christian"" publication promoting
such sin against fellow believers.
Satan's oldest and most effective
weapon is to divide and conquer. As
long as . we continue to fight those
within the church, those outside will
continue to die without the Gospel
and go to Hell, right where our real
enemy wants them . One day we will
stand beside those ""rabid fundamentalists""
before God's throne of
judgment and give an account of how
we .carried out the great commission.
I doubt we will have much to say in
our defense.
We urge you to give .greater
consideration to the material you
print in your publication. We need to
set a Christ-like example for the rest
of the country, not perpetuate the
hatred that is already directed at us.
We can only win over our detractors
when we rise above their militant
tactics . A publication such as yours
can have a great deal of influence
over our community . Please don't
abuse it.
""And He has given us this
command: Whoever loves God must
also love his brother."" (1 John 4:21)
In Christ's service,
The Executive Board
Cornerstone Felluwship.
A real and
true uplift
Indianapolis, Indiana
Dear Second Stone,
. As my subscription to your fine
publication is nearing expiration, I'd
like to, posthaste, submit my renewal
subscription for another year and
have enclosed my check for same.
Further, I would like to tell you just
how very much I have been enjoying
Second Stone, not only for the news
coverage and such fine articles as
those by Nancy Hugman and Cathie
Lyons in the March/ April '93 issue;
but for the real and true ""uplift"" it
brings to me. Oh, yes, and it's also
nice when I come across a ""familiar
face,"" such as Rev. Dr . Fred C.
Williams' of King of Peace MCC down
in St. Petersburg, Florida. (He was
my pastor when I lived down there.)
Even though I currently live in one
of the larger metropolitan areas, I find
I feel somewhat isolated from other
gay and lesbian Christians. Your
publication helps to lessen that feeling.
Many thanks and I look forward
to another year of Second Stone!
· Respectfully,
James Bates
Write to Second Stone. All letters must
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Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or
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NewLsien s
FormeSr outherBna ptislte adelro sni gf amilym embertso A IDS
ll.THE REV. JIMMY ALLEN, who presided.over the Southern Baptist Convention in
1978 as the group's last moderate president, has several family members who have been
impacted by the AIDS crisis: Allen's youngest son, Scott, has lost his wife and a son to
AIDS. Another child in the same family has the disease, and Scott Allen, a pastor, was
kicked out of his church as a result of his family's illness. Jimmy Allen's oldest son, Skip,
who is gay, has tested positive for HN. The elder Allen is now rastor in Big Canoe, Ga.,
and is wrapping u_p an academic year as a visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University's
First Amendment Center. Scott Allen, also an ordained Southern Baptist minster, was an
associate at a Disciples of Christ church in Colorado Springs, Cofo .. When his senior
eastor learned about the family's problem with AIDS, he forced Scott Allen to resign.
The trouble with Christian faith is it's so afraid of death and the unknown that it
always comes up with clear-cut answers,"" said Scott Allen. ""That's not how life works.""
- AssociatedP ress
Doctour rgesB aptisttso fightA IDSn, otp eoplew ithA IDS
!:.A PHYSICIAN URGED Southern Baptists to offer more than Bible verses to ease the
AIDS crisis and to show compassion for victims of the disease. ""We're supposed to be a
compassionate society. Frankly, we are anything but,"" said Dr. Michael Saag, associate
erofessor of medicine and director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham AIDS
Outpatient Clinic. Saag spoke at a health seminar connected with the Cooperative
Baptist Fellowship's general assembly in Birmingham. Saag told about 100 people
attending the health semmar that churches often respond to AIDS by citing Bible verses
condemning homosexuality. ""I can find those too,"" Saag said. ""But when you turn to those
pages, how many pages do you turn past that talk about loving, accepting ... before you get
to those?"" - AssocUltedP ress
MCCerasn dP entecostaglast hear t sameh otel
I:.T HE SHERATON HOTEL in New Carrollton, Maryland, was the setting for the sprin~
conference of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churchs
Mid-Atlantic District. Due to a mistake by a hotel employee, a black Pentecostal
women's group was also booked for a conference. The Pentecostal group was cordial to
the MCCers, who swayed to the Pentecostal's music during business meetings and
workshops. The.hotel employee is no longer with the Sheraton.
Canadiacnh urchp icksg aym inister .
llT. HE CONGREGATION OF an affluent United Church has become the first in Canada
to endorse an openly gay man as its minister. Rev. Gary Paterson received warm and
vigorous applause when he was introduced to more than 200 members of the
congregation of Ryerson United. ""It was very moving and reaffirming,"" said Paterson. 'Tm
excited."" Paterson, 43, has been with his partner for ten years and is raising three
teenagers from a previous marriage. - Gaep,tte ,
Proposatol barg ays tudentfsro ms choogl overnmeinst d efeated
i'.OPENLY GAY TEENS are welcome on Bremerton (Washington) Hi~h School's student
council after pupils rejected a proposed amendment to the schools constitution that
would have let students oust their gay and lesbian peers from the elected body. The
measure, which identified homosexuality as an ""immoral behavior"" was denied 635-475,
said Principal Marilee Hansen, who stated that she was -""a little taken aback by the
number of students who have this [anti-gay] feeling."" ""We have a lot of educating to do,""
she said. The amendment's author, senior Joe Harlin, told The Sun newspaper in
Bremerton that the bill was designed ""so we just get normal people up there representing
normal society."" Said Harlin, ""We don't hate the person. We're not going to throw rocks
at these people, although the Bible tells us we should do that."" - SouU1erV11o ice
Presbyteroiarnd inatiounpsh eld
!',A REGIONAL BODY of the Presbyterian Church (USA) defied a national church policy
and upheld the ordination of two gay persons as deacons. The Presbyterian Synod of the
Pacific's ju di cal commission ruled' 6-1 that Heather Boonstra and George Link should be
allowed to serve as deacons at Central Presbyterian Church in Eugene. A church in
Portland, Oregon, Hope Presbyterian, challenged the ordinations, saying they should be
annulled because they were ""in rebellion against the word of God ."" The synod's ruling
will likely be appealed to .the General Assembly of the national church. - Cruise
Luthera0na sto/srenatobra cksg ayr ights
!',ADMITTEDLY TAKING POLITICAL risks, a Minnesota state senator and ELCA
pastor broke ranks with his fellow Republicans to support a bill that will protect Gays
and Lesbians from discrimination . State Sen. Dean Johnson, who is a pastor of Calvary
Lutheran Church, Willmar, Minn., told the senate that voting for the bill carried political
risks. But he said legislators were elected not to be fopular but ""to lead., to do what is
right."" The six .Minnesota bishops of the Evangelica Lutheran Church in America also
supported the bill, along with the Minnesota ·Catholic Conference and the Minnesota
Council of Churches. Goy. Arne Carl59n signed the bill into law April 2. Also a Republican,
Carlson said he signed the measure not ""because I enjoy enormous popularity on
the issue,"" but because it is ""the right thing to do."" • The Lutheran
Cardinablo oeda ftera ttackindgo mestipca rtnershliepg islation
i'.BOOS AND CHEERS greeted Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua at City
Hall aS he attacked a proposal to offer ga_y and lesbian couples legal partnership status.
""This proposed legislation extends legal recognition to a sexual relationship, which I
and, I sincerely believe, the overwhelming majority of the citizens of this citY,c, onsider to
be immoral,"" the Roman Catholic prelate testified before a City Council committee.
Activists crowding the council _gallery cried out, ""Hatemonger!"" ""What about gay
priests?"" - The Balturwre Alternatwe
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Second Stone-July/August, 1993 [lj
News Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lutherans in favor of anti-discrimination laws for Gays
LI.TI-IE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN Church in America's Division for Church in
Society board reaffirmed the church's opposition to harassment and violence aimed at
gay, lesbian and bisexual people. A resolution passed by the board opposes ""all forms of
verbal or physical harassment or assault of persons because of their sexual orientation.''
The re.solution also supports legislation, ·referenda and policies protecting the civil rights
of all people ""regardless of their sexual orientation,"" induding discrimination in housing,
employment and public services and accomodations. - The Lutheran
Schlafly wouldnl want gay son in militarv
LI.EVEN IF HER OWN gay son wanted to join the mifitary, Phyllis Schlafly would not
. support lifting the ban on Gays in the armed forces so he could join. That's what she
confirmed wlien confronted liy a reporter and American University students after an
anti-feminist speech in Washington, D.C. in April. Son John was outed by the gay
magazine QW. Schlafly is president of the conservative Eagle Forum. - Southern Voice
Men who firebombed lesbian's home found guilty of murder
LI.TWO MEN HA VE BEEN convicted of felony murder in the deaths of a lesbian and a
gay man in Portland, Ore., last.fall at the heiglit of the campaign against the homophobic
Measure 9. According to Portland's Just Out, Leon Tucker and Plulip Wilson were found
guilty of throwing Molotov cocktails into the basement apartment oi Hattie Mae Cohens
and l3rian Mock. In addition to murder charges, . Tucker and Wilson, identified as
Skinheads, were found guilty of racial intimidation. During the trial, evidence was
presented that the intended victims were relatives of Coliens, who was AfricanAmerican,
and that the crime was more a racist one than homophobic. -Soutl1e111 Vor:e
Churches disavow support for gay rights
.!l.IN SEPARATE STATEMENTS, officials of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America and the United Methodist Church denied endorsement of the April 25 March on
Washington or the Campaign for Military Service, a coalition working for removal of the
ban on Gays and Lesbians in the military. Elements within both churches have said that
basic human rights and civil liberties are due to all persons, regardless of sexual
orientation. - Gazette
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) passes affirming resolution
LI.THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH of Northern California-Ne vada eassed a gay-friendly
resolution at its 139th annual meeting in Asilomar, Calif., in April. Delegates resolved to
""Welcome all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, into church membership, with all
of its privileges and responsibilites, including fuH opportunities for positions of
leadership and ministry, subject to the Biblical qualifications for all people."" The
assembly represents 64 congregations with 7,586 members. The resolution was passed
with 87 yes votes, 38 no votes, and 6 abstentions. A regional chapter of Gay, Lesbian,
-Affirming Disciples (GLAD)· Alliance was active in the process of eaucating members of
local churches. ·
Town upset over arrival of MCC
.!I.RESIDENTS OF THE town of Mountville, Penn., are upset that the Vision of Hope
Metropolitan Community Church plans to relocate to their town from nearby Lancaster.
At a borough council meeting in June, residents voiced their disapproval. ""I find this very ·
offensive,"" said Connie Mancuso . ""If Mountville allows this to go through, it's not the
town I thought it was ... Mountville won't be a nice town anymore . If.we don't stop it
here, it's going to spread to other communities.'' Resident Paul Dansereau said a group of
homosexuals i:lo not deserve a Christian church, saying it won't bring ""anything positive
to this area.'' The 1_3-year-old church is purchasing a plot of land from a Unitea Church
of Christ congregation. Council members concedea tliat there is no legal way to stop the
sale, but some members pledged . to do anything within legal bounds to halt it.
- -Southem Voice
Iowa parents complain 4-H advocating homosexuality _
11.P ARE'.NTs WHO TMJNK two workshops at this year's Iowa Youth and 4-H Conference
advocate a gay lifestyle are complaining. The seminars, part of a da}' long diversity
workshop held during the June 29 to July 1 conference, are titled ""One in Ten"" and ""What
Difference Does It Make?"" They were among 30 workshops on diversity issues. All
were optional,and conference attendees could choose to attend up to three.
-Southern Voice
""Had enough?"" Houston church asks
11.MCC OF THE Resurrection, Houston, responded to the presence of the Southern Baptist
Convention meeting in their city in J,me by placing full page ads in community
newspapers welcoming Baptist Gays and Lesoians to ""worship openly as God has
created' them. The SBC spol<e in strong terms against Gays and Lesbians. The ad said
such action is still echoed oy man.r. other churches and denominations. ""Haven't you had
enough?"" MCCR asked readers . We share sorrow that your denomination continues to
treat Gays and Lesbians like second class citizens, and continues to believe that we have
no basis for a relationship with God."" The church invited Gays and Lesbians to worship
with them.
Presbyterians affirm ban
.!I.PRESBYTERIANS AFFIRMED their ban on gay clergy for now but approved a
three-year study on the matter . Despite hopes that the 3%-155 vote June 7 would bring
peace to the 2.8 million-member Presbyterian Church (USA), about 70 gay rights activists
marched around the assembly hall, shouting, ""You want to study us to death!"" In their
vote for a study, the delegates asked all churches and regional presbyteries to look at
sexuality as it relates to membership and the clergy. But the resolution also affirmed as
""authontative"" the church current prohibition agamst homosexual cle'l,Y. Church bodies
were encouraged to allow Gays and Lesbians who have not made their sexuality public
· to participate m the study without fear of retribution. .
[ft] Second Stone-July/August, 1993
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IN FACT targets abuses of tobacco industry .
11.INFACT, THE GROUP that organized a successful international boycott of General
Electric, has announced its third corporate accountability campaign. Citing a range of
abuses, INFACT's Tobacco Industry Campaign aims to stop the marketing of tobacco
products to children and young people aroung the world, and stop the tobacco industrv's
actions that undermine public health efforts, including interference in public
policymaking. For information on INFACT's efforts, contact the group at 256 Hanover
Street, Boston, MA 02113, (617)742-4583.
Publisher encourages libraries to defend books for aav teens
LI.HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARIANS are in a unique position to heTp lesbian and gay
teenagers. That was the message delivered by publisher Sasha Alyson in a keynote
speecli to the New England Association of Independent School Librarians in Lakevill e,
Conn. ""Many of us who are gay can tell you that our first step in coming out involved a
trip to the library's card catafog,"" he told them. ""Reading a book is safer for a gay
teenager than talking to a person, because there's no risk of rejection. Today, there are
dozens of good books for gay teenagers✓ and jf yoll aren't making them available✓ you are
failing to serve many of your students.""
Fundamentalist preacher protests funeral of gay man
t.REV. FRED PHELPS, the ministe r of Westboro (Kansas) Baptist Church, called for a
protest at the funeral of Kevin Oldham, a prominent gay citizen of Missouri who died of
AIDS related complications on March II th. Oldham was a musical composer well
known in Kansas. The news release, printed on the letterhead of the Westboro Baptist
Church, is written in vicious language, with a photograph of Oldham and the caption,
""Kevin· Oldham, Dead Fag."" ""Detying the laws of God, man and nature, Kevin Oldham
played Russian roulette with promiscuous anal sex and lost big time when he died of
AIDS on March 11,"" Phelps wrote. ""Worse, the Kansas City Star made a hero of this
filthy dead sodomite in a March 12 piece, 'Gifted local composer leaves musical legacy.""'
- Seattle Gay News
Catholics lobby for gay rights in Illinois house
LI.AFTER MORE THAN 15 years of consideration a gay rights bill passed the Illinois
House of Representatives with a 60-49 vote on April 21. Catholic religious played
significant roles in the passage of the bill. Brother for Christian Community Rick Garcia,
the directo r of Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and Ga}' Rights, served as lobbyist and
. strategist for the effort. 'This is a victory for fair-mindei:I ana justice-seeking Illinoisan ...
I am especially heartened by the response of Catholic religious to this civil rights
legislation.'' Catholic religious lobbied"" heavily spending two full days before the vote
cornering Catholic legislators in the halls of the state's capital in Springfield. In addition
to support from the National Coalition of American 1""uns, the National Assembly of
Religious Women and Chicago Catholic Women, the legislation was endorsed by the
Justice and Peace Office of the Ruma, II based Adorers oCthe Blood of Christ, the Sisters
of Loretto and individual Catholics. Chicago's Joseph Cardinal Bernardin and the
Illinois Catholic Conference did not take a position on the legislation. ""The strong
support of Catholics in this effort should put to rest the fallacy that Catholics oppose gay
ani:1 lesbian civil rights legislation,"" Garcia said .
Medical journal refuses ad from gay physicians
LI.THE NATION'S MOSf widely circulated medical journal has refused to accept an
advertisement from a national gay and lesbian medical society, according to the
physicians' group. The San Francisco-based American Association of Physicians for
Human Rigfits had attempted to place a full page $7000 ad in the Journal of American
Medical Association warmng physicians about .the negative medical consequences of
homophobia. JAMA rejected the ad, claiming in a written statement that its content was
1"" olihcal"" and ""not scientific.'' Oklahoma physician Larry Prater, MD, president of
API-ffi, noted that ""The biased rejection by a medical journal of an aa criticizing
homophobia in medicine dramatically underscores the very need for the ad. The fact is
that homophobia is a health hazard, and all physicians have an ethical obligation to
combat it.''
Colorado Presbyterians say no to gay clergy
LI.BY_ A CLCl5E VOTE, Colorado Presbyterians decided against the ordination of gay and
lesbian _ minsters. Delegates representing more than 50 mainline Presbyterian churches in
Colorado voted 98 to 94 on May 25 against ordaining homosexual ministers. The
decision reversed a March decision that called on the national church to end its ban on
ordaining gay and lesbian ministers, a policy established in 1978. Before the May 25
reversal, Denver had joined other Presbyterians across the country in calling for an end
to that policy. The Rev. Dusty Taylor 1 pastor at Montview Presbyterian Church, said
the same deliate occurred before Presbyterians accepted women ana blacks as ministers.
It isn't up to Presbyterians to decide whether Gays and Lesbians are rightfully called to
serve the church, she said. ""I would rather God decide that,"" Taylor said . .
- Associated Press
School board stands behind gay poster in high school
.!I.DESPITE TWO HOURS of testimony from 400 outraged Winona, Minnesota, citizens
who ob1ect to two educational posters on teenage gay and lesbian issues hung in Winona
Senior High School, the school board voted 4-3 on April 19 to keep the poster at the
school. Die posters, sponsored by Wingspan Ministry, in conjunction with the Gay and
Lesbian Community Action Council, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and the
Youth and AIDS Project, ask, ""What can you do? Your best friend has just told you, 'I'm
gay.'"" The flack in Winona began in February when visitors to the high school objected
to the erominent display of one poster in the school's hallway and another on a school
counsejor's door, saying the posters advocated _a ~ay lifestyle and were immoral.
Accordmg to counselor Lee Rol,erts, the community s stand against the poster speaks
loudly aliout bigotry in the southeastern Minnesota dry. ""I can tell you,"" he said,
""homophobia is alive and well in Winona, Minn.'' - Equal Tune
Encourages ""wise discretion"" in blessing of same-sex relationships
Lutheran Synod maintains
fellowship with suspended congregations
SAN FRANCISCO - A ""strong bon:d
of fellowship"" is to be maintained between
the Sierra Pacific Synod of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America and two congregations under
discipline for calling and ordaining
as pastors a gay man and lesbian
couple, a violation of church policy.
The congregations are currently under
suspension pending resolution of
their disagreement with the parent
church over the requirement that lesbian
and gay clergy must pledge lifelong
celibacy. The suspension becomes
expulsion if the disagreement
COMMENT
From Page4
were used against African-Americans
by a prejudiced majority before President
Harry S. Truman signed the
executive order to ban discrimination
and to integrate the Armed Forces.
Many whites did not want to eat,
sleep or bathe in proximity _to
African-Americans. Like now, violence
was threatened and chaos was
predicted. President Truman ~id t~e
right thing, not the popular tlung, m .
the face of widespread prejudice.
2. Pointing to fears that military men
and women will in some way be
sexually harassed by Gays and
Lesbians only points to the military's
need for strong regulations dealing
with sexual harassment. In the light
of the Tailhook scandal, it is clear that
the military has been very lax as long
as women are the only victims of
sexual harassment in the military.
The moral position is that sexual
harassment is wrong whether the
victims are women by men, men by
women, men by men, or women by
women . I urge you to extend your
efforts to protect all military personnel
from sexual harassment.
3. In response to those who fan the
flames of fear and hysteria about the
AIDS epidemic in order to deny
human and civil rights to gay and
lesbian American citizens, it is
essential to be truthful and up front.
AIDS is only spread through sexual
promiscuity, IV use and irresponsible
and unsafe medical practices, whether
the participants are homosexual or
heterosexual, period. This plague of
AIDS will only be averted through
establishment of responsible relationships
(whether heterosexual or homosexual),
a meaningful and effecttve
response to drug use, and ethical and
safe medical practices. Rather than
decrying the purposes of committed
gay relationships as some have raised
as an argument against lifting the
ban on Gays and Lesbians in the
military, the responsible position is to
encourage the safest and best relais
not resolved by the end of 1995.
In a resolution passed by a large
majority at the synod's 1993 assembly
in Santa Clara, Calif. May 20-23, the
synod recognized the ongoing ministries
of the two congregations and
stated its intent to continue a relationship
with St . Francis Lut.heran
Cnurch and First United Lutheran
Churd1 of San Francisco even if they
are expelled from the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America.
The relationship between the synod
and the congregations after the expulsion
was not defined. As orginally
tionships possible for all of our people.
4. Finally, the point has been raised
that many GI's would not serve by
the sides of Gays and Lesbians
because of religious beliefs. I don't
think it's the job of any denomination
to point out to the country that the
Constitution upholds freedom of
religion for all Gl's, but we must in
good conscience. It does not give the
right, for instance, to Orthodox Jews
to refuse to fight alongside a GI who
happens to be Baptist because the
Baptist might consume pork, while
the Orthodox Jew would not, based
on his or her religion. The Armed
Forces does not permit a member of
the Church of God of Prophecy, who
abhors divorce, to refuse to fight
alongside an Episcopalian, who may
be divorced and remarried. We
confront this argument as a matter of
religious freedom. The present policy
is both costly and discriminatory. It
serves no purpose except to support a
particular religious viewpoint which
considers ·homosexuality immoral ;
Our religious viewpoint is different.
It is supported by reasonable scholars
and it is exemplified by the constructive
lives and positive contributions
of most Gays and Lesbians .
We see homosexuality as a natural ·
variation within God's created order .
It is a part of the diversity to be
· accepted within our pluralistic society.
On a more personal note, I served
in the U.S. Army during the Viet
Nam era. I had a top secret NATO
cryp to deara .nce, needed for my
service as a cryptographer, and l
.inspected missile sites for the U.S.
Army in Germany . During my tour
of duty I was known by my .commanding
officer · and many of my
fellow soldiers to be gay. I never had
any problems during my two years of
active duty as a draft ee during that
time period. I served honorably, was
given superior ratings and completed
my service duties and was given an
honorable discharge. It is time for
our g overnment to come to term s
with the rights of all of its citizens to
service in the U.S. military.
presented; the resolution called for
the synod to reinstate the two congregations
to membership on January
1, 1996. When this was ruled unconstitutional,
the language was
amended to encourage the two congregations,
should they be expelled,
to apply immediately to the Sierra ·
Pacific Synod for recognition .
Bishop Lyle Miller pointed out that
such an application would have
difficulty being approved. The ELCA
"" Church leaders
are afraid that a ·
nationwide debate
on this question will
be divisive. I
believe that such
a discussion will
ultimately strengthen
the church ... ""
requires that member congregations
call pastors only from the roster of
candidates approved by the ELCA ..
Until the church 's policy requiring
celibacy for gay and lesbian clergy is
changed, some of the . clergy of the
two congregations cannot be accepted
on the ELCA's roster .
ment to p~stors involved in pastoral
blessings of ""monogamous, covenantal
relationships between two persons
of the same sex,"" encouraging prayer,
""wise pastoral discretion,"" and asking
the synod's bishop and staff to offer
""advice, counsel, and support"" to such
pastors . · ·
The resolution was a substitute for
one which would have deemed
""inappropriate"" the synod council's
statement or any such statement by a
congregation or individual pastor .
The synod assembly voted 272-240 for
the substitute resolution .
""Clearly, our church is divided .on
the question of whether or not samesex
relationships are sinful,"" observed
the Rev. James Lokken, an assistant
pastor at St. Francis. ""We need to
address the underlying question in
order to resolve this conflict. Unity
will not be achieved by voting on
resolutions. Church leaders are afraid
that a nationwide debate on this
question will be divisive. I believe
that such a discussion will ultimately
strengthen the church because it will
lead us to a better understanding of
the scriptures and the nature of ,the
gospel of Jesus Christ.''
■ ""Maybe We're •
Talking About a
Different God""
A half-hour documentary on the Rev.
Jane Spahr and her call to the Downtown
Church in Rochester, protested and
brought to trial.
Shaws how confusion and fear ('What!
A woman and a lesbian? No way!"")
can be transformed into understanding
and compassion. (""Then I met Janie!"")
VHS Tape & Discussion Guide
SEND $32.35 TO:
In another resolution, the Sierra Leonardo's Chilclren,Inc.
Pacific Synod commended its synod 26 Newport Bridge Rd.
council for issuing an advisory state- ■ Warwick, NY 10990
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North Carolina church council welcomes MCCs
THE HOUSE OF Delegates of the
North Carolina Council of Churches,
meeting at Trinity_ Zion Church in
Greensboro on May 5, voted to receive
into membership the Gulf
Lower Atlantic District of the Universal
Fellowship 0£ Metropolitan
Community Churches. The membership
application was approved by the
Council's Executive Board in
December, and the Board then recommended
approval to the House. Following
careful discussion, a motion to
delay action for study and dialogue
was defeated by a vote of 39 to 30.
After further discussion, the main
motion to receive the new group into
. membership passed with 50 in favor,
15 opposed, and 7 abstaining. Proponents
emphasized that me_mbership
in the ecumenical body 1s not
based upon agreement on moral
· questions, but upon faith in Jesus
Christ as Son of God and Sav10r.
Although it may seem ironic for
North Carolina, the buckle of the
Bible Belt, to so readily accept the
UFMCC, Rev. Collins Kilburn, Executive
Director of the Council, said,
'The vote was somewhat surprising,
but the NC Council has a long history
of pioneering in the areas of social
controversy. The NC Council was
one of the first in the South to become
interracial.""
Rev. Bob Galloway, pastor of the
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Metropolitan Community Church of
Asheville, said, ""Involvement with
the Council should help individual
churches start building common
coalitions with other churches to work
on joint projects which help all
communities."" Although many opponents
are expecting negative results,
Galloway responds, ""Any move
towards a sense of unity, whether in
the religious or socia l area, is a
positive _ one. So much more can be
accomplished when people work
together rather than apart.""
In other action, · the Council
presented the annual Distinguished
Service Award to the Rt. Rev. Robert
W. Estill, Presiding Bishop of the
North Carolina Diocese of the
Episcopal Church since 1983. Bishop
Estill has held several leadership
p ositions in the Council over the past
ten years, and served as president of
the Council in 1990 and 1991. In
presenting the award to Estill,
Kilburn said, ''You have led us with
good humor, spiritual grace, and
courage. You have given generously
of your time and energy to ecumenism
and to the Council. You
have encouraged and supported us in
some of our not-too-popular efforts,
and nudged us forward irito risky
areas."" Kilburn mentioned Estill's
leadership on criminal justice issues,
the death penalty, and equality for
gay and lesbian persons: He also
noted that Estill was the catalyst of the
· grandest event in the Council's history,
the coming of Bishop Desmund
Tutu to Duke Chapel in 1986.
- Staff reports and Q-Notes
Integrity welcomes two major Episcopal
Church figures to convention
THE 1993 NATIONAL Convention of
Integrity, the lesbian and gay ministry
of the Episcopal Church, to be
held July 15-18 in San Diego, will
feature -two prominent figures from
the Episcopal Church. Pamela Chinnis
will be the principal speaker at
the convention's banquet and the Rt.
Rev. Douglas E. Theuner will preach
at the opening Eucharist.
Chinnis is the first woman to serve
as President of the House of Deputies,
which together with the House of
Bishops, sets policy for the Episcopal
Church at triennial General Conventions.
She has long been an advoca_te
of lesbian and gay inclusion in the
church and has been criticized for her
appointment of several openly lesbian
and gay Integrity members to
various national committees and commissions
of the church.
Theuner is the bishop of New
Hampshire and chair of the Episcopal
Church's Commission on AIDS. In
the House of Bishops he has been an
outspoken advocate for lesbian and
gay justice and has an openly gay
priest as his principal assistant.
This year's convention theme is ""Let
us sow love,"" a quote from a prayer
by St. Francis. It is the convention's
goal to work within the church to
affect change, to strengthen every lesbian
and gay Christian to believe in
the love of God, helping many to
shed the falsehood of guilt. A second
goal works toward the unity of each
Integrity chapter, making it a ·force
for good. The third goal seeks to personalize
Lesbians and gay men in
each of their respective congregations,
showing the opposition that Lesbians
and gay men are indeed God's creation
and worthy of God's grace and
love as they follow the precepts of
Jesus Christ.
Convention events will-be held at
St. Paul's Cathedral in San Diego.
The convention coincides with San
Diego's Gay Pride Parade and Festival.
Information may be obtained by
calling 800-845-5183.
Integrity was founded in rural
Georgia in 1974 by Dr. Louie Crew.
Dr. Crew, now a professor at Rutgers
University, will attend the convention
. The ""Louie Crew Award"" for
outstanding service to Integrity will
be presented at the convention. The
Episcopal organization, with 70 chapters
throughout the United States and
non-affiliated chapters in Canada and
Australia, is by far the largest lesbian
and gay caucus relative to the size of
its denomination and is second to
Dignity, the Roman Catholic caucus,
in absolute membership numbers.
Catholic groups criticize compromise
on Gays in the military
A SPOKESPERSON representing nine
Catholic organizations says that the
ban on Gays in the military should
be lifted completely and that the
""don't ask, don't tell"" compromise is
unacceptable.
""Senator Sam Nunn's compromise
on Gays serving in the military is not
simply a political maneuver, but a
compromise on the integrity oi lesbian
and gay people,"" said Greg
Link, a spokesperson for a group of
Catholic organizations supporting
President Clinton's proposed executive
order to repeal the ban on Gays
in the military. Nunn, chairman of
the Senate Armed Services Committee,
has said that he .is willing to
accept Gays in the military as long as
their homosexuality is kept secret.
That for.ces lesbian and gay people to
live a lie says Link, director of New
Ways Ministry, one of nine Catholic
oganizalions which support lifting the
ban entirely.
""Our armed services are proud of,
and endeavor to enforce, a strict code
of honor. Being forced to live a lie is
an affront to the military's honor code.
Gay and lesbian persons who are
open, and thus honorable, will be
punished,"" said Link. ""Does this ,
make sense?""
The nine Catholic groups, members
of Catholic Organizations for Renew~
QUOTABLE
""EvenJthing that irritates us
about others can lead us to an
_ 11nderstanding of 011rselves.""
-Carl Jung
al, have ·a combined constituency of
more than 30,000 people .
In a letter to Nunn, the groups
stated that ""the Gospel of Jesus challenges
us to promote respect for all
persons regardless of sexual orientation.""
They called on the ""Department
of Defense to give wide coverage
to the Pentagon studies which
show that gay and lesbian military
personnel perform as well or better
than their heterosexual counterparts.""
The organizations signing the letter
include New Ways Ministry, the
Association for the_ Rights of Catholics
in the Church, Call to Action, Catholics
for a Free Choice, Conference for
Catholic Lesbians, Dignity, Friends of
Vatican III on Church and Democracy,
Quixote Center, and Renewal Coordinating
Community.
The groups urged bishops and
other Catholics across the country to
add their voices to the ""growing cry
to end one of the most blatant discriminations
of our day."" -
Methodist publis.her refuses
invite to gay forum
'THE UNITED METHODIST Publishing
House was invited last November
to send a representative to participate
in ·a convocation forum on the publication
of the report of the United
Methodist Church Committee to
Study Homosexuality. A letter was
recieved in late March from Duane
Ewers, editor of Church School Publications,
declining the invitation.
In his letter, Ewers cited lack of
""staff time or budget"" to send a reps
resentative, but did indicate a willingness
to provide a written report
on the progress of the publication,
A few days after the letter was
received, Ewers called the Reconciling
Congregations Program office
and requested that all mention of the
possibility of the forum be ceased.
During the conversation he indicated
that concerns were being raised about
being ""associated with a group like
this.""
The RCP's written response to
Ewers questioned the wisdom of
refosing the opportunity to be in dialogue
with ""the greatest reservoir of
experience in ministry with Lesbians
and gay men ... in the UMC"" and the
short-sightedness of ignoring a constituency
that could be ""one of the
major users and promoters"" of the
curriculum, The letter also expressed
the hope that the Methodist Publishing
House ""would be eager to
hear a variety of viewpoints and not
be captive to segments of the church
which seek to perpetuate homophobia
and to exclude persons from the life
and ministry of the church.""
- RCP News
Over 2500 urge moving of
Denver conference
THE SIGNATURES of over 2500
United Methodists from 36 states and
the District of Columbia have been
collected on a petition asking the
United Methodist Church to move its
1996 General Conference from the
city of Denver, Colorado. The petition
describes the move as a witness
against discrimination in response to
the passage of Colorado's Amendment
2 in last November's election.
This Amendment to the C@lorado
constitution overturns local anti-discrimination
ordinances in the cities of
Denver, Boulder, and Aspen and
allows discriminatory practices based
on sexual orientation statewide.
The General Conference is the
United Methodist Church's highest
legislative body, meeting every four
years and convening over 5000 lay
people and clergy from around the
world. The conference is currently
slated to take place in Denver in
April of 1996. Copies of the signed
petitions are being forwarded to the
church's Commission of the General
Conference and the Council of Bishops
for consideration at meetings of
both groups scheduled for later this
spring.
Colorado United Methodists
Against Discrimination, organizer of
the petition drive, is made up of
Colorado clergy and lay people and
was formed late last year following
the November election. The group
sees a national, public stand by . the
United Methodist Church as a
powerful Christian witness against
the oppression, marginalization and
injustice embodied in Amendment 2.
In a cover letter accompanying the
petitions, the group notes that it is not
advocating a general church boycott
of Colorado, but a single act of
conscience in moving General Conference.
Several of the church's
boards and agencies have gone on
record in support of moving the
conference. These include the General
Board of Church and Society, the
Western Jurisdiction's Council of
Bishops, the Methodist Federation for
Social Action and many regional and
local groups.
Lutheran activists implement
new strategies for change
BUILDING OUR FUTURE, the first
national strategy building summit for
Lutheran activists on lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender issues,
produced new plans to create change
within Lutheran congregations, the
institutional church and greater
society. Heeding inspiring words
from keynote speaker John Ballew ""to
commit ourselves to something
greater - the. reign of God and the
spiritual renewal of our people,"" 50
Lutheran activists from across the
United States rolled up their sleeves
and went to work.
The summit ~ook place April 21-22
in Washington, D.C., before the historic
March on Washington on April
25th. It was sponsored by the Alliance
for Action, which is a coalition of
Lutherans Concerned/North America,
The Network, Voice and Vision:
Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministry
and Wingspan Ministry. Participants
included representatives and leaders
from all four organizations and
members of the Justice Network in
the Lutheran Church and P-FLAG.
In tlie name of a {jotf tliat is ltn,e
In tfie name of a (joa tliat is fove,
'I'&y hate.
In tfie name of a (joi tliat is rove,
'I'&y iiscriminate.
In tfie = of a (joi tliat is fove,
'I'&y ~{uie us fr""""1 tlieir spiritual worsfiip.
In tfie name of a (jotl tliat is fove,
'T!ieys utltfen{ye .zyefu s from fovingf a mifyr efationsfiips.
In tlie rtame of a (Joi tliat is rove,
'T!ieyi nsist our commitmentsm eant uJt/iing.
In tfie name of a (jotf tliat is fove,
t'J'&py revent us from fegaf{my arrying.
In tlie name of a (joi tfiat is fove,
'Ifteyt feny tfie mu{titutfeo f gifts of creativityw e fiavef ree{y
given tlie worU in so many areas.
In tlie = of a (joa tfiat is wve,
'T!ieya ttempt to fegisfatea iscriminatioang ainstu s.
In tlie rtame of a (joa tliat is wve,
'T!ieyr ejectu s is everyw ay, wfiifem any of us e.zyerience
tfepressiona n,i su6stancea 6use.
In tli£ name of a (jotl tfiat is fove,
'Ifiey steal our diiftfren antf say we are unfit parents.
In tfie name of a (joa tfiat is wve,
'T!ieytf eciaew e are unfit to aefanao ur country,a ntf even
after we fiave proven tliem wrong t!iey ezye[ us, with. our
me{afs ana aewrations.
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'T!ieyt lo not appraiseu s intfivitlua{[y6,u t wntfetnttu s a[[.
In tfie rtame of a (jotl tliat is fove,
!Many6 eCtevwe e sfwufa6 e wntfemneato tleatn.
In tfie rtame of a (joa tliat is fove,
'Tlieya ccuseu s of 6eingp sycfwtica ntfp ervertetl.
In tfie rtame of a (Joi tliat is fove,
'T!ieyU Ulfjalsi tfie suiciaer ate //1TW11o/fu ry outli soars.
In tfie rtame of a (joi tliat is fove,
'I'&y ~ep us from reacliingo ut to oury outli w protectt fiem.
In tfie name of a (jotl tliat is fove, •
'T!ieya ttac{us pliysical{y- wountfing,m aimi1iga rul f;j([ingu s.
In tfie rtame of a (Joa tliat is fove,
'T!ieyr osea [{ senseo f wmpassiona rulf ove arul tum inw
'llicious6 easts.
In tfie name of a (Joa that is U)'[)e,
'T!iejyu age, ""It's (jotl'sp unislimcnt,""a s tli£ /w,roro f JU'lJS
tfevastates us.
In tfie = of a goi tliat is fove,
'T!ieys ay, ''£etJ U'lJSR .,ia.[l{l tfief aggots.""
J11.nIt f6 ecomei ntrospective,
J11.nIt ft fiinRo,n theset n.ings,
J11.nIt fw ontfer- 'WJf'E'l{,'IES ,z,{'£ £0'V'E?
Second StoneoJuly/August, 1993 [I]
T CovSetro ry T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
""Enforced dishonesty"" took toll on gay pastor
From Page 1
scene as identifiable and as selfregarding
as the gay community can
be and often is within society at large.
This was the beginning of my
journey towar~s ordination, and
while at first I simply enjoyed it all,
and found genuine warmth and real
spirituality there, I soon, as with
many things, began to take my
religion very seriously. I sometimes
wonder how things might have
turned out if I had simply carried on
using the Church as a spiritual .
resource, a place of friendship and
support and, quite often, a theatre of
entertainment; if I could simply have
enjoyed a solemn High Mass on
Sundays, the glamorous processions
at Corpus Christi and other festivals,
the antiquated rituals of Solemn Benediction,
without trying to believe it
all. Perhaps then my spirituality
might have developed in a more
humanistic and more generous way.
Perhaps my lack of a light touch was
the road to my own spiritual selfdestruction.
Of course one of the
attractions and fascinations of this
particular brand of the Christian faith
is that, relative to life in general, so
many of its practitioners are gay.
Among the clergy the concentration is
undoubtedly higher. To encounter a
young man who attended an
Anglo-Catholic church was, with rare
exceptions, to encounter a gay man.
A wit has remarked that such congregations
consist largely of -romantic
young men and elderly ladies, of
whom the latter fall in love With the
former and the former with each
other!
In this environment, exotic yet not
at all oppressive, it was easy to
believe that one was being called to
the priesthood. The very fact of
being a young man in a high anglican
congregation was enough to
provoke questions about a possible
vocation to the ordained ministry.
The obvious tensions, even . possible
contradictions, hardly seemed evident
in that environment. I too was soon
convinced that God had called me to
be a priest, and within a couple of
years I was installed in theological
college.
When I first re-encountered the
Church, and while I was stilh discovering
.a · spiritual · home ,there, I
retained strong convictions about my
sexuality, about sexual politics-and
about politics in general; My wrestling
with sexual orientation and its
meaning had led be to strong socialist
convictions, which l was hap.py to
propose and defend. ·lritegrity·was,
amf is, · a key concept in ·all -this. I
remember lambasting-a ·poor .ordinand
from an . Oxford theological
. c<>lleg\e\' .hoe xplainl!<thi ati n ordert o
.; [JUSec oodS1011C""IulylAug:1u9s9t.3
I REMEMBER LAMBASTING A POOR 0RDINAND . I
FROM AN OXFORD THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
WHO EXPLAINED THAT IN ORDER TO GET
THROUGH A SELECTIONI NTERVIEWH E HAD TO
BE LESS THAN HONEST ABOUT HIS SEXUALITY.
WHAT WAS THEP OINTO F A PRIESTLVYO CATION,
OF CHRISTIANITYA T All, IF IT MEANT ENFORCED
DISHONESTY ABOUT SUCH A BASIC AND CRUCIAL
AREA OF LIFE?L ITTLED ID I KNOW THATI N A
FEW MONTHS I WOULD BE DOING JUST AS HE
DID.
get through a selection interview he
had to be less than honest about his
sexuality. What was the point of a
priestly vocation, of Christianity at
all, if it meant enforced dishonesty
about such a basic and crucial area of
life?· Little did I know that in a few
months I would be doing just as he
did.
On first meeting the director of
ordinands in my home diocese of
Leicester I announced that I was gay,
that I had a lover, and that I felt
called to the priesthood. I expected to
be applauded for my directness and
honesty. Instead I was asked a few
strained questions on the subject and
then told to go away and think about
things for a few months more. After
trying to get in touch with a vocations
adviser who had apparently left the
job I phoned the DDO again and""
asked for another interview. I knew
what had to be done. I said that
homosexuality was probably much
more difficult to define than I had
th9ught, that I could possibly previously
have been going through a
phase, that _I no longer had a partner
and I was open to God in the way my
sexuality developed in the future. It
worked. The ODO, rector of a large
and flourishing market town parish,
was satisfied, and booked me in for a
selection conference swiftlf. At the
conference in Chester a particularly
unpleasant clergyman asked pointed
questions about my personal life, to
which I gave evasive replies. It
really did seem my sexuality was
becoming the touchstone of my suitability
for training. If I had had a
wife and children my personal life
would be assumed to be just that.
Because I was single it was a matter
for offensive probing, and whatever
bishops and ACCM selectors say in
public, the fact is that such intrusions
still take place on a regular basis,
often irisensitively and from a standpoint
of near ignorance of the subject,
except in so far as it is seen as a
""problem"" or potential cause of scandal.
There still seems to be only the
faintest glimmer of the obvious truth;
-that by pushing something so funda-
THERE STILL SEEMS TO BE ONLY THE FAINTEST
GLIMMER OF THE OBVIOUS TRUTH; THAT BY
'PUSHING S0MHHIN ·G $0 Fl'JN,DAMENTAL
UN'DERGR0UND · THE CHURCH ·trsELF; COMPC)
UNDST HE' PROBLEM'A ND'ENC0URAGES.TH-E
POSSIBILITOYF SCANDAL
mental underground the Church itself
compounds the ""problem"" and encourages
the possibility of scandal.
Who can be surprised that it is the
one issue that even many socially
concerned and deeply committed
clergy are too frightened to address or
deal with publicly. It seems too hot,
too dangerous and too liable to
misunderstanding.
By the time I was a seminarian in
Edinburgh I had mastered the techniques
of evasiveness and half-truth
which had been forced on me in
order to survive the process, and
which would prove so valuable in the
future. When I arrived at theological
college I was surprised to find nearly
half the students were gay, together
with at least one member of a small
staff. And yet this didn't necessarily
make things easier. While one or two
of us made no bones about it, somehow
we still remained part of the
collusion that we were aberrations
from the norm, to be tolerated but
also carefully kept under control.
This was achieved in various ways.
A particularly memorable pep talk
from the principal included such
gems as ""this college has single rooms
with single beds for single people""
and ""there is more to life than just
, · condoms""! Few who have not experienced
it can appreciate the hot-house
atmosphere of a small residential college,
where everyone knows everyone
else's business.
My major encounter with homophobia
occurred when looking for a
""title"" parish; the church where I
would serve my apprenticeship as an
. ordained person. I was invited to
consider a classic multi-ethnic socially
deprived inner city district near the
railway station. The congregation
was 95 percent black and the atmosphere
relaxed and enjoyable, with
clouds of incense and raucous singing.
Now there were plans for a team
ministry covering several churches,
with a big staff and a progressive
catholic outlook. I was very keen.
The interview seemed to go well.
·· The new rector was on the young side
of iniddle-ag7d, and hoping shortly to
marry a divorcee. During the interview
we touched on the issue of
sexuality, and while riot being asked
directly, I allowed him to know my
situation. -I was single; gay, without a
Iover, · but ·· with ··n<1: convictio11 or
. vocation Jo be ·telibate'. -Everything
seemed to go· welt:and ,I awaited a
response which usually took a couple
of days; After nearly a fortnight of
haVing heard nothing· IJhoned the
DDO:, Instead of his usu affable self .
he wasgu arded ·and not ·particularly
friendly. He sai'd he couldn't tell me
·anything ,until, I ~d _ received a -Jetter
, ·. t, c: SEE COVER STORY; Page 11
COVER STORY, From Page 11
myself. On the first of December,
1987 it arrived.
""The question of homosexuality cannot
be easily reconciled with the demands of
this post. I am quite sure it cannot be
reconciled at all in the absence of a
positive commitment to celibacy... The
Community Centre is used by many
people who because of their experiences of
prison, will find it easy to exploit what
they will see and make into a weakness ...
I am aware of the power of sexual desire; I
understand how easy it is to fall... but l
can only approach the whole subject in
the light of the Church's teaching -
repentance, forgiveness and restoration
are the specific dynamic involved, but the
underlying obedience is to chastity
within or outside marriage.""
The message was dear . While compassion,
consideration and a measure
of understanding can be extended to
those who are gay, repentance is
necessary for ""restoration,."" and anything
other than marriage or chastity
. demands just that. Gay people who
are not celibate, in this view, are
people who consistently and continually
fall short of a received ideal
through sin, and therefore of whom
should be demanded continual repentance.
On top of that, gay people are
""vulnerable""- · subject to blackmail
and dangerous to have around,
especially in environments imagined
to be sensitive. To some this may not
seem unreasonable, but imagine how
• scandalous· it would be, for example,
· were a black ordinand turned down
for a curacy on the basis of possible
prejudice arising from a white
working class·community.
A copy of this letter was sent to the
principal of my college and to the
director of ordinands for my diocese.
I subsequently wrote to the latter
asking for .an assurance that its
contents would not be passed on to
any other diocese. He assured that it
would not, and that the letter would
be shredded on my being ordained
priest. I later discovered that information
about my sexuality had been
passed on verbally by the ODO to his
counterpart in the diocese which I did
eventually serve my title.
This episoae is worth describing not
because it is exceptional or particularly
remarkable, but because it is
symptomatic of the way in which gay
people are regularly treated in ·the ·
Church of England.
There .is a constant atmosphere of
weariness in dealing with the. non- .
married in ,,theological colleges; an
implication that Jhese : people are
potentially-;'dangerous goods' whose
personal lives; dominated as. they are
thought to be, by uncontrollable
. desires might explode into •harmful
scandal at •any. moment. .During the
peri.od in question the General Synod
. was emb.wiled in yet another debate
. -on hom~exuality. ~ Su,cjndulged
. in i~ infamous ""Pulp.it Poq~;• expose,
and .. a number of. gay -priests were
. destroy,ed, or neai'~estroyed by other
l·MR·l-iM; ►fiM'i@N•·tuM·iti=Miif iii-¥fiii•'90iii-1-1
AFTER THREE YEARS 'SERVING MY TITLE' IN HULL I
NO LONGER FELT THAT I COULD CONTINUE IN
THE MINISTRY WHILST THERE REMAINED SUCH AN
UNRESOLVED CONFLICT BETWEEN MY PER~
EIVED ROLE AS A PRIEST AND MY OWN
EMOTIONAL AND SEXUAL NEEDS. I FELT THAT,
FAR FROM LIVING A LIFE OF WHOLENESS -
HOLINESS - MY PUBLIC AND PERSONAL LIVES.
WERE RADICALLY DISJOINTED.
a clergyman. Even at the end of
three years I found the black suit and
clerical collar hard to deal with, as
,well as the sidelong glances and
""witty"" comments ii tended to elicit.
It's now hard for me to comprehend
the thoughts of ordinary people when
they encounter a clergyman, but
some idea can be gained from the
way priests or vicars are presented in
films and television; usually as
bumbling well-meaning incompetents
with their heads in the clouds
and little understanding of the way of
life of those whom they have been
. called to serve. They are sometimes
painfully shy, sometimes pompous,
and often shocked by the slightest
venomous attacks both media and
church inspired. One outcome was
the dismal spectacle of Anglican
bishops lining up to deny that they
had ever knowingly ordained a 1
""practicing homosexual"" or had any
working in their dioceses. As any
informed person will know, only a
complete loss of mental faculties or a
deliberate intention to deny the truth
could have enabled many of them to
say as much. And .even their published
report Issues in Human
Sexuality still tries to make out a case
that gay clergy must, at all costs, be
celibate.
I wa~ ordained deacon at Petertide
· in 1988 by the Archbishop of York in
York Minster, and priest by the
Bishop ofHull almost exactly a year
later. Both were happy and moving
occasions, with lots of support from
family and friends, and . a real feeling
that I was embarking on a worthwhile
and probably life-long journey
in the Anglican ministry. And, at
first and generally speaking, I was
contented and hard~working as curate
in a suburban parish on the northern
side of the city of Hull. I had the
moral misdemeanor, as well as being
obsessed by politeness and the
avoidance of bad language at all
costs.
encouragement and friendship of a · As a clergyman working in the city
sympathetic and conscientious parish . with the lowest church-going populapriest,
and enjoyed the kindness and lion pro rata in the British Isles I was
warmth of a mixed and growing still aware of this perception. The fact
church community. So what went that I was young, enjoyed a drink
wrong, and why, at the end of three and was not easily shocked seemed a
years, do I now feel unable to return source of endless amazement to
to serve the Church with whom I had people outside the Church itself who
invested so much energy and so couldn't conceive of a priest without
many expectations? Certainly I feel white hair ·and a patronizing manner.
no sense of bitterness or pique against In the Church it was on the whole
those to whom and with whom I better. Most in the congregation
ministered - ordinary and extrao'r- treated me as an individual, and
dinary people who in one way or because I was a very different person
another had found a home in the from my boss I attracted some who he
Church of England. Nor do I feel didn't and of course vice versa. And
resentful towards my vicar or the again, many had known a whole
bishops, who were usually helpful series of curates and therefore had no
and patient. As to my colleagues in illusions about the lack of frailty in
the ministry, some I liked and some I young priests!
found less likeable, as in any As to my homosexuality, however,
profession. that was a completely no go area. To
From a personal point of view my be human and have failings was
underlying anxiety was, I think, acceptable. To be homosexual was
expressed in my unease over the role quite out of the question. Or perhaps
of a priest in the parish and the local more exactly to be homosexual and to
community. What was I there for and say 50 was the real taboo. There's no
did I have a real job to do? From the doubt that some people had their
beginning I was extremely self- private opinions about my unmarried
conscious of the image I presented as state at the age of 28, and probably
most of them were not particularly
bothered or interested. What would
have been shocking would have been
IN THE EYES OF MOST GAY PEOPLE THE CHURCH
THUS SEEMS RIDICULOUS, OUTDATED AND, YES,
DQWNRIGHT IMMORAL IN THE WAY_IT TREATS
.ORDINARY MEN AND WOMEN WHO WISH TO
.PU.RSUE A FRE~LY CHOS.EN VISION AND VOCAfor
me to proclaim publicly what at
most was believed generally should
have remained an intensely personal
and private matter - a burden to bear
solitarily or with the help of a few
close friends . And in the end, for
someone who has been brought up to
believe (and whose Christian understanding
has reinforced) that integrity
and honesty are two of the most
profound · and vital principles, ,it was
ultimately too much too bear. , .' TION. IT IS, NO WONDER THAT MOST LESBIANS - .- ' ·-. .-' . . . ,· . . . ... ~
· ·.·_,AN.D-GAY1MEN HAVE.LONGA.C;,O TURNED TH.EIR
BACK ON AN INSTITUTION WHICH-HAS,NO REAL ' •• ' ( • ' . • • • • · ' l . • •
PL-AC~ FOR THEM EXCEPT ,A$ _ 'REPEtiHANT
SINNERS.'
It is a small comfort to me'. that I
never in fact denied my . sexuality in
so .many words . · But neither,.was I
able-to contradict the received opinion
'that l was either heterosexual or
•asexual. I. remember at one time
,being;asked by a visiting worshipper
whether-I was married, and before I
could, reply.•one of our own congre-
. · SEE' COVER STORY, Page 12
Second Stone-July/A11g1111, 1993~[j]
- ------ ---- - - - - - - - - -
---------------~n=ii=f=i•M~••ildUS•i•IN•IM1Aiii•i=@i; ..
COVER STORY, From Page 10
gation had chipped i!1 that, ""Oh no,
Father Parry has only JUSt come out of
college,"" as if I had been kept in holy
isolation for years on end and would
have not had time yet even to
consider the more intimate side of
life. My sexuality was in the context
of the parish very much my affair.
My being gay was very much my
problem . It is integral to the person I
am, and most probably without it I
would never have found myself an
ordained inan in the first place. But it
was almost entirely mine to deal
with, and in a situation in which
working hours and parish commitments
curtailed most socializing
which others take for granted, I was
thrown largely back on myself for
support and reassurance. Although I
was not without gay friends, some of
the loneliest and most isolating times
of my life were spent during my
three years as a airate in Hull.
In such circumstances the obvious
place to look for friendship and acceptance
would seem likely to be
amongst those who shared ones
sexuality . Yet this was problematical.
For one thing many clergymen,
especially of an older generation,
would simply refuse of admtt there
was a problem or. even an issue here.
Sexual desires for members of ones
own sex was simply a quirk or divine
trick or burden which it was up to the
individual to deal with, mayoe with
the help of a very close friend_ or two.
It had nothing .to do with the
essentials of the faith, and 0ordinary""
people could not be expected to
appreciate or understand 11. Therefore
the primary objective was to
keep it under wraps at all costs. At
one meeting of the Hull Deanery
Synod a prominent and ambitious
local rector welcomed the fact that the
General Synod had declined a
pernicious attempt by a pressure
group to have clergy sexuality ~is~
cussed with a view to outlawing
certain gay priests, on the grounds
that St. Paul had told us to banish all
thoughts of ""evil things"" from our
minds! As far as he was concerned it
didn't matter what tactics or reasoning
were employed as long as the
dreaded subject was kept off the
agenda. For him and for many
others like him it was just too close to
home .
Amongst younger priests attitudes
were more mixed. Many are relatively
confident and self-respecting on
· a personal and social level, and use
support networks _of friends_and ~olleagues
in order to counter 1solati~n
and insecurities. But beyond that, m
their professional capacity, they ~re
almost entirely unable to defme
themselves as gay, or even to bring
the issue into open discussion for fear
of the probable consequences . · At a
time when hardly any of the b!shops
are willing to even admit the
presence of ""practicing homosexuals"" rm Second Stone-July/ August, 1993
THE CHURCH CONSISTENTLY CLAIMS TO OPERATE
IN THE· WORLD BUT NOT TO BE OF THE
WORLD. ITS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE BASIC
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN AND GAY PEOPLE SHOWS
THAT IT IS IN TOTAL SUBJECTION TO THE PREJUDICES
AND UNINFORMED OPINIONS WHICH
SOCIETY IN GENERAL CLINGS TO.
amongst their clergy, and feel bound
increasingly to defend the perceived
status quo, a single letter or phone
call from a parishioner (or worse, . an
article in a local newspaper) can cause
havoc for a priest's ministry . While a
clergyman I myself was asked to
appear on a morning television chat
show to debate the subject of gay
clergy. I could · not agree to do so, .
because of the possible repercussions
for · my vicar, the parish and for
myself. No serving clergyman could
be found who would agree to speak
openly about his sexuality on such a
public stage, and it is symptomatic
that the honesty and courage of
Michael Peet (Times interview,
Decemeber 4, 1992) has thus been
treated with such wonder and
applause .
Many gay priests battle courageously
on, maintaining a remarkable
integrity in the face of prejudice,
ignorance and lack of institutional or
pastoral support.
Many are the Church 's most loyal
servants, the most conscientious and
diligent in their daily work, and the
most thoroughly grounded in their
prayer Jives and theological understanding.
Yet the living of a life
which near its center bears such a
burden as homosexuality has been
made to be by the Church in general,
cannot be continued without cost. . Dr.
Ben Fletcher, in his Clergy Under
Stress (Mowbray, 1990) presents
disturbing evidence that stress levels
are considerably higher amongst gay
clergy persons, and that this is
· directly related to an inability to
share a vital and integral aspect of
themselves with those to whom they
have been called to minister. ·
After three years ""serving my title""
in Hull I no longer felt that I could
continue in the ministry while there
remained such an unresolved conflict
between my perceived role as a priest
and my own emotional and sexual
needs . I felt that, far from living a
life of wholeness - holiness - my
public and personal lives were
radically disjointed. I lacked the basic
integrity which could only come from
my being able to be myself as a
priest and a gay man.
The subject of homosexuality and
the Christian way of life is one which
has generated a great deal of
verbiage, and a considerable quantity
of anguished debate in public a~d
private. Yet for the average lesbian
or gay man the problem is largely
incomprehensible. We all know that
we make good doctors, lawyers,
salespeople, accountants, cleaners,
and so on. Most of us know at least
one exemplary clergy man or woman
whose sexuality is a positive and
creative plank in their ministry. Yet
.the Church, that body of people who
are supposed to stand up for truth,
integrity, acceptance and so on,
• cannot bring itself to accept the
obvious; that there is nothing integral
to being an actively gay person
THE QUESTION OF GAY CLERGY IS THEREFORE A
DEEPLY MORAL QUESTION, AND ONE WHICH
STRIKES AT THE HEART OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE
. A CHRISTIAN AND WHAT IT REALLY COSTS TO
STAND UP FOR THE DOWNCAST AND
OPPRESSED, AS OPPOSED TO JUMPING ON
FASHIONABLE BANDWAGONS.
which makes one unfit for Christian
ministry . In the eyes of most gay
people the Church thus seems ridiculous,
outdated and, yes, downright
immoral, in the way it treats ordinary
men and women who wish to pursue
a freely chosen vision and vocation.
It is no wonder that most Lesbians
and Gays have long ago turned their
back on an institution which has no
real place for them except as
""repentant sinners.""
The Church consistently claims to
operate in the world but not to be of
the world. Its attitude towards the
basic rights of lesbian and gay people
shows that it is in total subjection to
the prejudices and uninformed opinions
which society in general clings
. to . When it comes to the bottom line
the reason many priests and ·bishops
simply will not speak out on the
subject has little to do with personal
convictions and far more to do with
their terror of ""what people will
think"" and how the world outside will
judge them. The question of gay
clergy is therefore a deeply moral
question, and one which strikes at the
heart of what it means to be a
Christian and what it really costs to
stand up for the downcast and
oppressed, as opposed to jumping on
fashionable bandwagons.
My experience as a gay man and as
a clergy man has been painful. I
blame myself as wen as the Church
for not accepting reality; for hoping
that things would tum out alright in
the end . I am saddened that the
church shows no sign of repenting, of
apologizing to Lesbians and Gays for
what it has done to them over the
centuries, and of courageously welcoming
their precious insights and
contributions openly and honestly
instead of covertly and deceitfully.
Two gay men have contacted me to
recount how they were denied . the
chance to test their vocation in the
ordained ministry purely because
they refused to lie abou .t their sexuality.
I am convinced that they are
only the tip of an iceberg, and
equally sure that such experiences
point to the real scandal about
homosexuality and the clergy; not of
course, that it exists, but that there
remains a pernicious policy to deny
that fact and to prevent self-respecting
Lesbians . and Gays from gaining
access to positions of authority in the
Church. While personally I shall not
be returning to full-time Christian
ministry, it is my prayer and hope
that the Church will begin to cease
collaborating in the persecution of my
lesbian and gay brothers and sisters,
will begin to treat human beings with
the respect they deserve, and will in
doing so become more open, more
accepting and more acceptable to
those it has done so much to alienate.
Excerpted with permission from the
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
Member's Newsletter, Oxford House,
· Derbyshire St., London E2 6HG.
T Sounds T · ............................................... . • ....................... .
Voices from MCC/DC
""God Is Greater"" for Witness
Witness,· a musical evangelism
team based out of the Metropolitan
Community Church of
Washington, D.C., has released
their second album, ""God Is
Greater."" This musical ministry is
made up of musicians and singers
who travel the country sharing their
original music as well as praise and
worship concerts and seminars . ""God
Is Greater"" consists of ten- original
songs including ""Jesus Is the Final
Word,"" ""Hold On To the Gospel,"" ""I
Will Not Compromise"" and ""We
Come Before You,"" which was
recently published as · a choral anthem
by Fred Bock Publishing. Song styles
range from contemporary Christian to
country and western.
MCC Washington plans to release
its second album, ""Celebrate Jesus,""
by Christmas. It will feature the 60-
voice combined Victory Choir, Gospel
Choir and orchestra.
""I believe that God has given us an
opportunity to utilize the talent within
the gay and lesbian Christian community
to produce quality professional
music that will edify and
encourage our brothers and sisters in
their faith walk, and also allow our
testimony to shine for the rest of the
world to see and hear,"" Jarrett said.
Witness will be in concert at MCC
Kansas City, Missouri on July 16th
and First MCC of Kansas in Wichita
on July 17th. They will be in Phoenix
for the UFMCC General Conference'
July 18-23. _ ""God has abundantly blessed the
music !Ilinistry of MCC Washington
over the past two years,"" said Dale
Jarrett, Director of Music Ministry.
""Witness is a reconciliation ministry.
Reconciliation of the gay, lesbian and
bisexual community back to God,
through Jesus Christ, without condemnation,
and reconciliation back to
the rest of the Body of Christ.""
Information about Witness Praise
Ministries, concerts and seminars, is
available by writing to Witness, cf o
MCC Washington, 474 Ridge St.,
NW, Washington, DC 20001 or by
calling (202)638-7373. Cassettes of
Witness' albums ""Jesus Is Lord of All""
and ""God Is Greater"" are available for
$12 each from the same address.
Witness: God Is Greater
25th year anniversary for popular hymn
New CD, video from Marsha Stevens
Marsha Stevens, who put the
pen to the popular hymn ""For
Those Tears I Died"" 25 years
ago, is celebrating that anniversary
with a new release, ""I Still
Have A Dream,"" available on tape
and CD. The title cut is a song written
by Stevens and Danny Ray for the
1993 March on Washington, recalling
words from Dr. Martin Luther King's
speech from the historic Washington
march for civil rights for .African-
Marsha Stevens: I Still Have A Dream
Americans. The new album also features
a special 25th anniversary year
arrangement of ""For Those Tears I
Died"" orchestrated by Chris Lobdell.
Stevens began her musical career at
the age of 16, when she wrote ""For
Those Tears I Died"" (or ""Come to the
Water"") which has been included in
almost every church hymnal published
since 1972. She sang and
toured for nine years with the Christian
folk group, The Children of the
Day. The group made six albums for
which Marsha composed most of the
songs. During this time she also sang
and did back-up vocals on several of
the ""Maranatha"" and ""Praise"" albums
and toured in the United States,
Canada, Europe and Israel. Her
songs are played in countries from
South Africa to Japan and have been
translated into dozens of different
languages including such former Iron
Curtain countries as Hungary and
Czechoslovakia . The American Society
of Composers, Authors and
Publishers has included her in their
Who's Who in American Music.
Stevens came out as a born again
lesbian 13 years ago. She spent most
of her first five years out sorting and
establishing her new life. Then,
eight years ago, she began singing
and wr-iting again, this time as a
ministry to the gay and lesbian
Christian community.
She has two solo albums to her
credit. The first, ""Free to Be,"" is all
original material written by Stevens
and composed by her and two of her
chief collaborators, Ken Caton and
LeRoy Dysart. The second is 'The
Best is Yet to Come"" which, with the
exception of one rearranged hymn, is
all original compositions by Marsha,
Ken and LeRoy and her most recent
collaborator, Danny Ray, Minister of
Music at Cathedral of Hope MCC,
Dallas, Texas. Ray is also responsible
for the spectacular orchestra and vocal
arrangements on the new tape and
CD.
Both albums were released on the
BALM (Borrt Again Lesbian Music)
label, a publishing and recording
company owned by Marsha Stevens
and - her lover, Suzanne McKeag.
McKeag currently handles Stevens'
concert bookings and much of the
publishing and recording business
and tours on the road with Stevens.
The two reside in Costa Mesa,
California, and belong to MCC Los
Angeles. Marsha has two children,
Naomi, 20, just back from a year in
Germany on an exchange student
scholarship, and Johnny, 18, who is
already active in music and youth
ministry which he plans to make his
career.
Second Stone-July/August, 1993 [I[]
Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . ..................... -· .............. , ... .
Pastoral bereavement counseling ·
Ministry to the _bereaved
By Rev. Richard 8 . Gilbert
Contributing Writer
rick DelZoppo is a name
ociated with quality care and
ucation, innovative teaching,
grief therapy, and, above all,
the determination and skill to awaken ·
the religious community (which can
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be strongly resistant and fearful) to its
mandatory (it is part of the work of
the church, and all religious com- ·
munities) call to ministry to and for
the bereaved .
That DelZoppo is called an
""honorary priest"" in the small parish
where he helps out (as if he didn 't
have enough _to do), demonstrates
how clearly he un derstands and
empathizes with the needs of God's
people , and manages to reac h
through to them despite the frequent
resistance offered by the . church.
Further, the steady stream of clergy
who seek him out not only for
rofessional guidance and training,
ut on issues that touch the heart and
soul, reinforce tha t this person, and,
thus, th.is video, will also speak to the
clergy who so clearly need to address
their own issues of grief, and ""get
going"" in grief ministry .
The video is a bargain at any hrice
(especially at $29.95), but do n't t ink
there is anything cheap about this
video. It is a quality presentation,
content, setting, technical skill, music,
as DelZoppo teaches us in profound
■
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[i4.J Second Stone-July/August, 1993
ways, but yet comes across as one
· who is simply sitting with us in a
comfortable setting, teaching, sharing,
listening and comforting.
This video covers these subjects
very thoroughly. While . speaking
clearly from the Christian perspective
(""Jesus invites them to share their
grief story ... ""), it is his understanding
of spirituality that enables this video
·to reach all who want to find help in
grief. From this spiritual foundation
he discusses: 1) understanding the
nature of grief, bereavement and
mourning, 2) dynamic s of the grief
response, 3) factors that deterrlline the
mourning process, 4) principles of
bereavement counseling, 5) bereav ement
crisis intervention , and 6)
pastoral ministry with the bereaved.
A special feature of this video is
that, as profound as it is in content, I
never felt lectured, but rather spoken
to and -shared with. The content is
solid, what we need to hear (whether
we be the caregiver or ·the one in
need of care), and presented in a
manner that allows the caregiver and .
the griever to learn and share
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We've
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the reasons
you should be
advertising In
Second Stone.
II your business offers
products or services to
the nalional gay and
lesbian community, we
know some people
who are interested!
Rach paid ••blcrib«r
In ev,ry state for /111
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We reserve the right to refuse any ad for any reason.
together. .
While not getting caugh~ up in
church jargon, De!Zoppo strongly
advo cates for the trained pastoral
bereavement counselor . Many of
these people are the effective caregivers
who emerge from a particular
journey (loss) and are able to bring
that journey experience to others.
Note, trained. It is all too easy for the
church to ""draft"" volunteers, use and
abuse them, and, · when they have
nothing left, to dismiss them. Sound
harsh? It does happen . DelZoppo is
r ecognizing the importance of volunteers
emerging from the trenches
of life's experiences. He is stressing
the importance of quality training,
and provides that training. He is also
reminding us that, while clergy must
become more involved and more
effective (rather than running away
Many of these
people are the
effective caregivers
who emerge from a
particular journey
(loss) and are able
to bring that
journey experience
to others.
or otherwise being ""too busy""), the
fact is that clergy cannot do everything,
be all things to all people. In
some ways, the best that clergy can
do (even when they are very
competent) is to be good generalists
facilitating the work of others who
have more time and resource s to
·bring to the bereaved .
Careful review of this video shows
a story or text emerging around various
themes or issues. This makes for
easy points of divide, so that • the
video can be used in smaller ""does""
as a tea ching tool or personal
resource.
Make this video available to your
religious leaders, and the lay leaders
or your religious community . Make
-it available to _ people doing grief
work, and those on that long, tough
journey.
For information on this video,
contact St. Paul Center, 145 Clinton
Ave ., Staten Island, NY 10301, (718)
720-3363.
The Rev. Richard Gilbert is Director of
Pastoral Services, Porter Memorial Hospital,
Valparaiso, Indiana.
In Pririt ~ ................................... -~ •.•
A Certain Terror: Heterosexism, Militarism, Violence & Change
Crossing barriers of race,. class,
gendera nd_s exualo rientation
ByJ ohnnyT ownsend
Contributing Writer
This anthology, A Certain Terror:
Heterosexism, Militarism,
Violence & Change, published
by the American Friends Service
Committee (the Quakers) is
thoughtful and stimulating. Its
""focus,"" as can be seen in the title, is
rather broad, trying to eliminate not
just the ""major"" oppression but all
oppression, not wanting to privilege
one kind of discrimination over
another. The focus then becomes the
need to build coalitions among members
of every oppressed group, and
the editors feel this can only be
accomplished if we have some kind of
understanding of these other groups.
Hence the variety of essays discussing
numerous forms of oppression -
racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism,
patriarchy - and how feminists,
Lesbians and gay men often promote
one or another type of oppression
while fighting their own. The editors
hope that by realizjng the ,harm we
are doing, we can amend our
behavior and learn to work together.
boes the book work? One very
nice feature that helps ensure this is
that at the end of each essay there are
several discussion questions. All but
a few of the essays ar~ short enough
to read aloud in a group, ~aking the
volume useful for cfasses or discussion
group.s Theq uestionhse lpf ocus the
audience on the key issues raised,
and help the readers or listeners not
just to read the material and go on,
but to stop long enough to let the
ideas sink in or be confronted. The
book then is probably more successful
for a group than for an individual
reader, though even reading alone,
one can still obviously gain from
becoming aware of the various perspectives.
There are a nul]lber of big-name
QUOTABLE
There are further interesting views
on . assimilation. Many of us who
w.tnt to be ""good"" have been
socialized to feel that fitting in and
being approved shows t.hat we're .
good, but Harry Hay, who calls
assimilation ""middle class drag,'.' and
others point out that conforming to an
oppressive culture would mean We
were enough like our oppressors that
we could only help· promote the
oppression that already exists against
so many groups.
We are also warned against trying
to use our ""victim"" status to try to
create a position of power because of
the inherent contradiction involved,
• and those who do enjoy some higher
degree of class, race, or gender status
. are urged not to feel the guilt often
heaped on them for their status.
""Your privilege is not a reason for
guilt,"" writes Audre Lorde, ""it is a
part of your power, to be used in
support of those things you believe.""
(256)
There are, naturally, with so many
ideas and points of view, inevitably a
few which will rankle almost any
reader, though the ""problematic""
essays will change depending on the
reader. As a white gay male raised
in the middle class, it is obvious that
my status (all of which was beyond
my control in my socialization - note
the knee-jerk defense) gives ample
SEE BOOKS, Page 20
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MALCHUS
""When one door of happiness
closes, another opens; but often
we look so long at the closed
door that we do not see the one
that has been opened for us.
-Helen Keller
contributors to the anthology. Audre
Lorde, John D'Emilio, Allison Bechdel,
bell hooks, Donn.t Minkowitz,
Donelan, Harry Hay, and over 30
others of lesser fame but still of merit.
The book is divided into several
sections to help organize the views of
so many people: Aims and Outlooks,
Sexualities and Identities, Militarism
and Violence, and Strategies and
Visions. Richard Cleaver offers an
excellent historical overview on how
militarism affected the early gay
movement. Barbara Epstein shows
how Lesbians have historically been
major directors of many peace and
environmental movements. Lesbian& GayC hristianM onthly
Jane Meyerding explains how
anti-basher street patrols defuse violent
situations rather than simply
reverse the violence toward the
bashers, which would still be promoting
a victor/victim ideology
which would continue to be harmful
to everyone. We have to ""weaken
the structures that make this society a
complex of victimizer-victim dualities""
(277), she says.
Celebrating Faith
&
SpiritualityT hrougho urD iversity
6036R ichmonHdw y#.,3 01
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Subscription$s1 8.00P er Year
Second Sione-Ju.ly/August, 1993 [n]
Calendar
a • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
11ie following annauncements have been
submitted by spansorin g or affiliated
groups.
connECtion '93
JULY 2-5, Evangelicals Concerned
hosts its annual gathering. Keynote
speakers include Rev. M. Mahan
Siler, Jr., Dr. Ralph Blair, and Patricia
V. Long. The conference will be held
in the San Francisco Bay Area. For
information write to ECWR, P.O. Box
4750, Denver, CO 80204.
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Meet
JULY 2-4, Hundreds of lesbian moms,
gay dads and their children will meet
in Orlando, Florida for the 14th
annual conference of the Gay and
Lesbian Parents Coalition. ""Share the
Love ... Share the Magic!"" is the
theme. The Clarion Hotel is the
setting, providing opportunity to visit
the Disney attractions. For information
contact GLPCI '93, Box 561504,
Orlando, FL 32856-1504,
(407)420-2191.
National
Convocation of
Reconciling
Congregations
JULY 8-11, The Reconciling Congregations
Program hosts its 3rd National
Convocation. ''Borne of the Breath of
God: Remembering, Renewing,
Reforming, Returning"" is the theme.
George Washington -University in
Washington, D.C. is the location.
Twenty workshops will be offered.
Leaders are Dr. Sally Brown Geis, Iliff
School of Theology and Dr. Tex
Sample, St. Paul School of Theology.
For information write to the RCP,
3801 N. Keeler Ave., Chicago, IL
60641, (312)736-5526.
AIDS, Medicine
and Miracles
Sixth Annual Conference themed
""Unity in Diversity: Sharing Our
Gifts"" at two locations: JULY 8-11,
Berkeley, Calif., and SEPTEMBER
23-26, Rhinebeck, New York. Retreat
leaders invite all for a time of learning,
play, tears, inspiration and joy.
The conference is a forum for an array
of expert opinion and for the wisdom
of people living with HIV. There is a
balance of presentations, workshops
and creative experiences ranging
from medicine to music. For information
contacfAIDS, Medicine &
Miracles, P.O. Box 9130, Boulder, CO
80301-9130, ('.303)447-8777 or
(800)875-8770.
UCCLJGC
National
Gathering 13
JULY 12-15, Washington University
in St. Louis, Missouri, is the setting
for the 13th annual meeting of the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns. ""Unity & Diversity:
Gifts to Celebrate, Obstacles to
Overcome"" is the theme. For •information
contact UCCL/ GC, 18 N.
College St., Athens, OH 45701,
(614)593-7301.
""Partners for the
Glory of God""
JULY 15-20, The Gay and Lesbian
Affirming Disciples Alliance and the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns will sponsor joint
activities during the Christian Church
(Disdples of Christ) and the United
Church of Christ biennial General
Assembly (Disciples) and General
Synod (UCC) at the Cervantes
Convention Center in St. Louis .
Michael and Katherine Kinnamon are
Accommodations, AIDS/HIV IIOOIRU, btra, bookstoru, various buslrillSHS, hoaHh cara, llgal
servJca , organizations, pubUcatlons, rallgJous groups, •wttchboard9, theraplsts, travel ag1nts, &
much moN, tor gay woman and man.
All prices below INCLUDE FIRST CLASS POSTAGE t, USA, Canada & Maxia,, .In sealed, dsaoet
envek)pes, ~•e.rn~ 11~ we s~iCUy Q;11~enUal_.
~g;'~'FO:~~i,~:~~~~~~~~:~==a:st~~bank, pos~ble Cuslllms prc,ljansQ
~~=.i:.s~~~;~=:=~~~5:'~ ...... =ian r.~-r-1·.., Cl!l.CUSOS; plA>IJcalons: mall o,00, companiff;..,_ $12.00; OUllldo N. Anwrlca $17
:.:!.:>.::!': t=~~iii""""""'"" Wcmen's Seafon: Man/lallan bar l'lllaS by Jetry Fitzpa•ld<.
SOU""n!ERN/Soutllom Mldwut. 64 pages. AL, AZ, AA, FL, GA, KS, Kf, LA, MS, '-0, NM, NC, OK PR SC
TN, TX, US Virgin Islands, VA. $5.00; outside N. ArMr1c11 $1 (alrmal) ' ' '
NORTHEAST. CT, DE, DC, l,1E, WI, NH, OH, PA, RI, VT. WV. $5.00; OUlldo N. Amorita $8 (1irm1II)
RENAISSANCE HOUSE, BOX 533-SS VILLAGE STATION, NEW YORK, NY 10014-0292 (212)674-0120
l.16.J s;,.,,,nd Stone-July/August, 1993
•••••••••••••••••• • ••• 0 •••••••••••••
scheduled to speak at a Saturday
evening banquet. For infomation,
contact Randy Palmer at
(319)332~245.
Integrity National
Convention
JULY 15-18, Gay and lesbian Episcopalians
and their friends gather in
San Diego for their 19th annual meeting.
""Let Us Sow Love"" is the theme
of the convention. Events will be .
held at St. Paul 's Cathedral. Featured
guests are Pamela P. Chinnis and the
Rt. Rev. Douglas E. Theuner . Attendees
will have an opportunity to
see the San Diego Pride Parade,
which goes past St. Paul's. For information
write to Integrity National
Convention, P.O. Box 34253, San
Diego, CA 92163-0810.
UFMCC's
16th General
Conference
JULY 18-25, ""For All The Nations"" is
the theme of this conference celebrating
the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Church's 25
years of ministry. The conference
returns to-The Pointe at Tapatio Cliffs
in Phoenix, Arizona, site of the
immediate past UFMCC General
Conference. For registration information
write to the UFMCC, 5300
Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 304, Los
Angeles, CA 90029.
National Lesbian
and Gay Health
Conference
JULY 21-25, More than 900 lesbian
and gay health care providers will
discuss strategies for including lesbian
and gay issues in the emerging
national health care agenda at the
15th National Lesbian and Gay
Health Conference and 11th Annual
AIDS/HTV Forum to be held at the
Hyatt Regency in downtown ·
Houston. The health conference is
sponsored by the National Lesbian
and Gay Health Foundation and The
George Washington University
Medical Center. For registration
information and a program brocl1ure
call 202-994-4285.
Summer Retreat
for Gay and
Lesbian Christians
JULY 23-25, Evangelicals Together _
sponsors a time of renewal at Grey
Squirrel Resort, Big Bear Lake,
California . Cost is $85.00. For information
contact Evangelicals Together,
Inc., Ste. 109, Box 16, 7985 Santa
Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA
90046-5186.
4th Annual
Northampton
Lesbian Festival
JULY 23-25, the popular festival
expands to 3 days this year . The
location is the Swift River Inn in
Cummington, Mass. For information
contact WOW Productions, 160 Main
St., Northampton, MA 01060,
(413)586-8251. ·
Dignity/USA
Convention
JULY 28-AUGUST 1, The national
gay and lesbian Catholic organization
holds its 11th biennial convention at
the Fairmont Hotel in New Orle~s.
""Celebrate a Living Church"" is the
theme of the gathering, to which
attendees are encouraged to wear
Mardi Gras colors of green, gold and
purple . Brian McNaught is the
featured speaker . For information
contact Dignity/ USA, 1500
Massachusetts Ave., NW, Ste.11,
Washington, DC 20005,
1-800-877 -8797.
BMG
Hospitality House
AUGUST 14-21, The Brothers of the
Mercy of God sponsor a week by the
ocean, -summer fun, and sharing life's
experience. The setting is an authentic
New England farmhouse in
Matunuck, R.I. The atmosphere is
relaxed, prayerful and joyous. For
information write to Bros. of the
Mercy of God, P.O. Box 6502,
Providence, RI 02940.
Parliament of the
World's Religions
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 5, a major
interfaith gathering with many of the
world's religions represented.
Exhibits, performances, lectures and
presentations, interfaith dialogues,
children's programs and meetings of
specialized groups. The Council for a
Parliament of the World's .Religions
says ""All are welcome to gather in
Chicago in 1993 to listen to one
another, to be challenged to find new
ways of living together, and to seek
new visions for the future."" For
information write to: Parliament of
the World's Religions, P.O. Box 1630,
Chicago, IL 60690.
SEE CALENDAR, Next Page
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AIDS claims Randy Engstrom
llRANDY C. ENGSTROM died
peacefully on May 20 at Swedish Hospital
in Seattle from complications of
AIDS. Engstrom was instrumental in
starting the Seattle chapter of Evangelicals
Concerned, now called Directions
Northwest, and was voted a
lifetime member in recognition of his
many years of devotion to the organization.
He was · also a founding
member of Grace Gospel Chapel,
served as board president, and for
many years devoted much of his time
and energy to the life of the church .
Randy had a profound impact on the
spiritual life of many in the gay and
CALENDAR, From Page 16
4th Annual
Rhytho,Fest
SEPTEMBER 2-6, a celebration of
women's music, art and politics to be
held in a new location in the Blue
Ridge Mountains near Asheville,
North Carolina. For information
contact RhythmFest, 957 N. Highland
Ave., NE, Atlanta, GA 30306,
(404)873-1551.
First International
TEN Conference
SEPTEMBER 3-5, The Evangelical
Network, based in Phoenix, Ariz .,
holds its first international conference
in Vancouver, B.C., under the .
auspices of Liberty Community
Church. Sessions and workshops will
address such topics as ""Healing the
Hurls We Don't Deserve,"" Handling
Your Hormones,"" ""Coupling Concerns
for Gay Christians,"" ""Mourning
Song,"" and ''The SI<.illed Caregiver.""
The weekend will climax with a
communion service ar\d the lighting
of an AIDS vigil candle. For information
contact 11201-6380 Clarendon
Str., Vancouver, B.C. V5S 2J9 Canada,
(604)321-4633.
P-FLAG Annual -
Convention
SEPTEMBER 3-6, The 12th Annual
International Convention of Parents
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
will be held in New Orleans Labor
Day weekend at the Sheraton Hotel
on Canal Street. ""Celebrating Family
- New Orleans Style"" is the theme. A
variety of workshops will be offered.
Featured speakers include Congressman
Gerry E. Studds and Mitzi
Henderson, P-FLAG president and a
leader in the Presbyterian Church's
More Light Churches Network.
Entertainer Lynn Lavner will kick off
the conference with a Friday night
Noteworthy T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... • ·• ...................... .
lesbian community . He was preceded
in death by his mother, Quida,
and is survived by his father, Rev.
Morris Engstrom of Everett, and his
sister, Louise Mori of Sacramento. A
memorial service was held June 1 at
Grace Gospel Chapel in Seattle.
Memorials may be made to Directions
Northwest, Randy Engstrom Scholarship
Fund, P.O. Box 20189, Seattle,
WA 98102.
Rev. Jacobsen passes
llREV. MICHAEL PAUL JACOBSEN
died April 25 in Chicago at the age of
46. He was a long-time member of
concert. For information contact New
Orleans P-FLAG, P.O. Box 15485,
New Orleans, LA 70175.
D/gni!y/Chicago's ministry team, and
'One of the first clergy to testify on
behalf of Illinois' stat _e gay and
lesbian civil rights legislation. Jacobsen
was ordained a Roman Catholic
priest in 1973, and served in several
parishes around _ Chicago and its
suburbs. He wore his Roman collar
proudly in the city's gay and lesbian
pride parade, and received the
Humanitarian of the Year award from
Gay Chicago Magazine for his service to
the community during the 7_0's.
Father Michael supported Dignity/
Chicago in its rejection of Ca rdinal
Joseph Bernardin 's attempt to take
over Dignity's weekly service. He
is the only national management
training conference designed to help
community-based organizations
become more effective. The Hyatt
Regency in New Orleans is the set- _
ting. Attendees will have the oppor- A ff i rm ati On tunity, at extra cost, to attend the
N.- t• I Project Lazarus Halloween party, a a I Ona costume-mndatory fundraising Conference party. Forinformat ioncontact
SEPTEMBER 17-l 9, Affirmation: Gay National Skills Building Confer~nce,
d Le b' M h Id .1 lSth 300 Eye St., NE, Ste. 400, Washmg-
-an s 1an ormons o s 1 s _ ton DC 20002-4389
annual national conference. Gay _and _·.•:, _ _ ' . ·
Lesbian Mormons as well as their -· · _ ,. l~ •i,'t'-'-
supportive family and friends are · ,; ·
invited to attend . For one weekend RE-imagining/
each year, gay Mormons from all
· over the United States and several Churches in
foreign countries meet to celebrate
being gay/lesbian as well as their Solidarity with
Mormon heritage . This year, the San W ·
Diego chapter of Affirmation is - 0 men
hosting the event at lhe Kona Kai NOVEMBER 4-7, A global theo-
Resort on San Diego's Shelter Island. logical conference by women for
Keynote speaker is D. Michael women and men. Re-imagining
Quinn . A highlight of the weekend God, creation, Jesus, churcl1 as
will be the harbor cruise. For spiritual institution, arts/ cl1Urch,
information call (619)283-8810. language/word, ethics/work/minis-
. try, community, sexuality /family,
Tour of Israel
SEPTEMBER 22-0CTOBER 8, Royal
Menorah Adventures coordinates a
tour of Israel for gay and lesbian
travelers, escorted by Bible student
and previous Israeli resident Daniel
Mark. $2850 per person, sharing twin
accommodations. Contact Royal
Tours, 1742 E. Broadway, Long
Beach, CA 90802, (310)983-7370.
National Skills
Building
Conference
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3, the
largest gathering of front line AIDS
workers in the country. Sponsored
by the AIDS National Inferfaith Net work,
the National Association of
People with AIDS, and the National
Minority AIDS Council, the gathering ·
church as worshipping community.
Featuring many presenters including
Mary E. Hunt and Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott. The Minneapolis Convention
Center is th e setting. Contact
· Rev. Sally Hill, 122 W. Franklin
Ave., Room 100, Minneapolis, MN
55404, (612)870-3600, fax
(612)870-3663.
Creating
Change 1993
NOVEMBER 12-14, The National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force has
announced that keynote speakers for·
· its sixth annual Creating Change
conference, to be held in Durham,
N.C.; will be Mab Segrest, Dr .
Franklin Kameny and Dr. Marjorie J.
Hill . For information on this
conference contact NGLTF, 173414th·
St., NW, Washington, DC 20009,
(202)3.32-6483.
was a walking library of Dignity/
USA history, and one of only three
peo!)le to_ have attended every
D1gruty national convention since the
founding of the organization in 1969.
PLGC named beneficiary
of major trust
l>PRESBYTERIANS FOR LESBIAN
and Gay Concerns has been named
the end beneficiary of the income _
from a major Charitable Remainder
Annuity Trust. The trust has been
established with the Presbyterian
Church (USA) Foundation by Howard
and Mary Ann Jacob of Dallas, Texas,
Jong-time members of PLGC. Mr.
and Mrs. Jacob will receive income
from the trust until the death of the
surviving spouse. Ther eafter, the
trust will be permanentlyinvested by
the -Foundation with income to be
paid to PLGC. The Jacobs have asked
that PLGC use the income for ""ministries
of justice and advocacy for
members of the Presbyterian Church
(USA)."" Following the lifetime of the
donors, the trust will be known as the
Howard W. and Mary Ann Jacob
Memorial Fund . Howard and Ann
Jacob are elders in Bethany Presbyterian
Church of Dallas, a More Light
congregation. Howard is former
Trustee of the Presbyterian Church
(USA) Foundation and a current
Trustee of the United Presbyterian
Foundation of the Synod of the Sun.
Ann is a former Trustee of the Grace
Presbyterian Foundation . Both are
active leaders in local social justice,
peacemaking and ministries with the
poor and hungry.
New community center
for San Francisco
llMCC SAN FRANCISCO has dedicated
a ne .w com~unity center to
provide meeting space for lesbian,
gay and HIV groups as part of its
23rd anniversary celebration.
Cash donation enables
church to buy building
LIA CASH DONATION of $203,150
has made it possible for MCC New
York to purchase its first building .
""It's truly an answer to prayer,"" said
Rev. Pat Bumgardner, pastor. The
donor has attended worship at
MCC-NY only once in the seven
years that Rev. Bumgardner has
known him, but he made previous
donations to MCC-NY's food pantry
and homeless shelter, as well as other
lesbian and gay organizations . MCCNY
signed a contract in late April for
a three-story church building in midtown
Manhattan at 446 W. 36th St.,
and hoped to close the deal this
summer . It has worship space for
200. The donation was made in bills
no larger than hundreds, requiring
several tellers to count it.
SEE NOTEWORlHY, Page 18
Second Stone-July/August, 1993 [izJ
NOTEWORTHY From Page 17
Anderson Foundation
honors five
llJUSf DAYS BEFORE leaving for the
history-making March on Washington,
five community activists for AIDS
education, gay and lesbian rights and
women's interests received telephone
calls telling them they had won the
no-strings Stonewall Awards of
$25,000 ""for achievement for gay and
lesbian America."" The winners,
announced by the Anderson Prize
Foundation o{ Chicago: Earnest Hite,
Second Stone will run your 30
word classified ad in our next
3 issues for the price of 1 !
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- -Coming Out
means telling the truth
about our lives ...
a family value
we can live with.
~ -· Please give generously to the most
effective campaign
our community will ever wage.
NATIONA!::COMING OUT DAY•
OCT0BER11
PO Box 8270, SANTA FE, NM 87504-8270
50~982•2558
Your contnbutlon is. tax-deductibl@ [lg; Second Stone-July/August, 1993
Chicago, co-founder and president of
Image Plus, a support organization
targeting African-American gay and
lesbian youth, and HOPE Project, an
AIDS education program; Pat
Norman, San Francisco, executive dir-·
ector of the California AIDS Intervention
Training Center; Suzanne
Pharr, Little Rock, a community
action strategi_st who has spent most of
the last year working against the
Religious Right's anti-gay legislation
in Oregon, where the legislation was
defeated; and, sharing a prize,
Edward Sedarbaum, Queens, New
York, founder of Queens Gays and
Lesbians United, who leads programs
to sensitize police about the gay and
lesbian community; and his
companion, Howard Cruse, pioneering
gay and underground cartoonist.
The Anderson Prize Foundation is
funded by the estate of the late Paul
A. Anderson.
New church group
planted in New Zealand
t.FOR THE PAST 18 months, two
dedicated women have regularly
journeyed 80 miles each way to
attend MCC services in Auckland .
Lyn Hare and Iris Saggers felt it was
time to bring MCC ministry closer to
home, in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Following much prayer and dis- .
cussion with the Coordinator of
UFMCC Church Extension, it was
decided to open a Mission Outreach
For your convenience
you may now FAX:
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(504)891-7555
in the community. 'The group
· wanted to be clear in its focus for
1993, which was to meet the needs of
existing MCCers in Waikato ·as well
as those who had previously
expressed an interest in MCC but
found Auckland too far to travel,""
said the Rev. Elder Willem Hein who
attended the first service. 'There was
a clear feeling that, in order to have
the shelter of an MCC tree in
Waikato, the roots had to be there
first.""
Sacramento churchelps
Russia rebuild
t.RIVER CITY METROPOLI'f AN
Community Church of Sacramento,
Calif., will be a model in the rebuilding
of Russia's churches. After the
communist take-over of Russia in
1917, about half of the cl1Urches, over
800, were destroyed . The remai_ning
cl1Urclies were used as storage warehouses.
During Boris Yeltsin 's s4mmit
with President Clinton, one of the
government officials in Yeltsin's contingent,
Mark Klimenko, who ·is also
the priest of the Russian Orthodox
· Church of St. Fillip of Moscow, came
to Sacramento to visit with Rev. Ed
Sherri££, associate pastor of River City
MCC and executive director of
Samaritan Center, which provides
food for the homeless; Sherri££ plans
to go to Moscow to further train and
help organize feeding programs in
the churches there.
Center focuses on
holistic health
t.SUNSHINE CATHEDRAL MCC, Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla., marked the opening
of its Sμnshine Center in April.
This extension office is dedicated to
fostering holistic health and human
development.
Joy MCC celebrates anniversary
.tiJOY MCC OF Orlando, Fla ., celebrated
its 14th anniversary this
spring. It is the largest gay and lesbian
congregation in Central Florida.
.Rev. Jimmy Brock is pastor of the
church, located at 2351 S. Fem Creek
Road.
Samaritan College
moves to Dallas
t.SAMARIT AN COLLEGE, the educa-
Bulk Copies Available
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
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For church/group distflbution. conferences. bar ministry, etc .
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Limited quantity of back issues available FREE;
add $5.00 postage tor every 50 copies
Send.your pre-paid order to Second Stone,
P.O. Box 8340. New Orleans, LA 70182
tional institution of the UFMCC, has
moved its administrative office from
Los Angeles to Dallas. 'The college's
burst of growth and the need now to
hire and train a new registrar require
a centralized office,"" said Rev. Sandra
Robinson, Samaritan president . The
new particulars: P.O . Box 688,
Lewisville, TX 75067, 250 N. Mill St.,
#6, 75057, (214)221-7749, FAX (214)
221-7345.
Gay life on Fire Island
subject of exhibit
t.""OVT ON THE ISLAND: Sixty
Years of Lesbian and Gay Life on Fire
. Island,"" ari exhibit of photographs,
books, brochures, banners and costumes,
will be the featured exhibit,
through September 12, of the
National Museum and Archive of
Lesbian and Gay History at the
Lesbian and Gay Community Services
Center of New York. The
exhibit, produced by Steven J. Cohen
and curated by Esther Newton and
Steve Weinstein, describes the history
of gay and lesbian life primarily in
the communities of Cherry Grove and
the Pines. The museum is located at
208 West 13th St., New York,
(212)620-7310.
New LC chapter for San Jose
t.LUTHERANS CONCERNED has a
new chapter in the San Jose area. The
group bases itself at Christ the Good
Shepherd Lutheran at 1550 Meridian
Avenue in San lose. They have a
monthly get-~ogether on the third
Sunday, meeting in the foyer of the
church after services, about 12:30
p.m . Lutherans Concerned/San Jose is
a very cohesive group of Lutherans
and others, bonded together by faith
and a need for a social outlet. There
is a good balance between gay men
and Lesbians, and everyone is very
welcoming. For information call
Dave at (408)978-3176 or Sue at
(408)226-3499 or write to LC/SJ at 1153
Husted Ave., San Jose, CA 95125.
Center Kids receives award
<lCENTER KIDS, the family project of
the Lesbian and Gay Community Services
Center, New York, was presented
with a 1993 Brooklyn Lambda
Award from the Lambda Independent
Democrats of Brooklyn. Center
Kids, which provides educational,
recreational, social and advocacy
opportunities for lesbian and gay
parents and their children, was cited
in particular for its ongoing efforts on
behalf of the Children of the Rainbow
multicultural curriculum struggle in
the public schools.
Rev. Cherry to co-edit book
t.WESTMINSTER/JOHN KNOX Press
has approached Rev. Kittredge
Cherry, editor of the UFMCC's Keeping
in Touch, about co-editing a book
of lesbian and gay worship services
and celebrations with Rev. Zal
Sherwood, a gay Episcopal priest and
author.
T Resource Guide ..........................................................................
Listings in the Resource Guide are free to
churches, organizations, publications and
community services. Send information to
Second Stone, Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70182 or FAX to (504)891-7555 .
National
EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr. Ralpi Blair, 311 East
72rd SI., New Yori<, NY 10021. (212)517-3171. Publicalions:
Review and Record.
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS, P.O. Box 436
P~nelarium Stn., NeN Yor~ NY 10024. (607)432-9295.
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North Bellrrore, NY 11710. A
rur~:::i~~g~ff~""g' J~go;+~TM~~t~9~: 10461,
Fort Dearborn S1al\on, Chicag>, IL 60610-0461. PLblication:
The Concord
PRESBYTERIANS FOR I.ESBIAN & GAY OONCERNS, P.O. Box
36, New Brunsv.ick, l>LJ 08903-0038. Putjica\ion: More Light
~~~SAL FELLOWSHIP OF METROPOLITAN OOMMUNITY
· CHURCHES 5300 Sanla Monica Blvd, l304, Los Ang,les, CA
~:mme~~'Wi~~U\~\'.k\C:1'N AND GAY
CONCERNS, Box 65724, Washirgon, DC 20035. PLblicalion:
8~i'f~~e CHURCH COALITION FOR LESBIAN I GAY
CONCERNS, 18 N. College, Athens, OH 45701, (614) 593-7301.
Publication: Waves
SE\IENTH DAY ADVENTISTS KINSHIP INTERNATIONAL, Box
3840, Los Argeles, CA 90078, (213)876-2076. Publication:
Connection
RECONCILING CONGREGATION PROGRAM, P.O. Box 23636,
Washington, DC 20026, (202)863-1586. Publicalion: Open
Hands
INTEGRITY, lt-C., P.O. Box 19561, Waslirgon, DC20036-0561,
fcJ&J~g<'J_\';.f~gn~~i~~6
1i,°T:%, Villa Granoo,
~l~:f;gg3§i. Mi~~r~gl,t£~W~ia~~~e~~~'\1dh
865-0119. Ptblication: The Tablel
U\.1NG STREAMS, P.O. Box 178, Concord, CA 94522-0178.
~:oiT!¥ioJLC~f~FAITH NET'MJRK, 300 I SI., NE, Ste.
:tji::A'.'!f~~r~~- (600)266-9619, FAX (2l2)546-5100.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS • 1663 Mission St,
5th Fir., San Francisco, CA94103.
GAY AND LESBIAN PARENT COALITION, P.O. Box 50360, mt~~ti~ r~:i!'t:f~~i."":=~ Church PLblishing
Co., 1249 Washingon Blvd, Ste. 3115, Detrott, Ml 48226-1868.
(313)962-a;s()
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVES, The Natalie
Barney EdNard Carpenter Library, P.O. Box 38100, Hollywood,
CA 90038. (21.3)854-0271. Ptblication: Bul~tin.
COUPLES Newsletter, PLblished 'r1f TWr Press, Inc., P.O. Box
253, B<airlree, MA 02184-0003.
WOODSWOMEN - Adventure travel. for women, 25 W.
Diamond Lake Rd., Minneapolis, MN 55419, (600)279-0555,
(612)822-3800, FAX(612)822-3814.
DAUGHTERS OF SARAH - The magazine for Christian
Femi~s\s, 3801 No. Keeler, Chicag,, IL60641, (312)736-3399.
CHI Rfl:l PRESS· A special work ol the UFMCC Mid-Atlanllc
District. Publisher of religious books ard materials. P.O. Box
b~~S""~~t-rf8NMafmr1Wf
1
1lft
1
:0iog.,e and SU rt
g-oup tor rJIY ard \esi:,;an Catholiclergy and religous. ~.
Box 60125, Chica(!), IL 60660-0125. Ptblicalion: Communication
· WOME1'/S ALLIANCE FOR THEOLOGY, ETHICS AND RITUAL, ~~1s1i~l~'. ~:it~~'.~A~fR:!r (301)589-2509, FAX
INTERNATIONAL FREE CATfl:ll\C OOMMUNION, P.O. Box
51158, Riverside, CA 9251.7-2158 (909)781-7391 PLblication: The
Free Catholic Communicant
INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE, 4i02 East
7\h St., 11209, Long Beach, CA 908()4. (310)433-0384: .
UNITED LESBIAN AND GAY CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS'· Box
2171, 256 So. Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90213.
(818)78:>0827.
AFFIRMATION: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, P.O. Box 46022, Los
Arq:,les, CA 00046. (213)255-7251. .
AFFIRMATION/United Melhodsls lor Gay & Lesbian Concerns,
P.O. Box 11J2Z Evansto~ IL60204.
ST. TABITHA'S AIDS Af'OSTOLA TE, Chri~ian AIDS Network o1
the Merican Orthooox Catholic Church ol SI. Greg,rios, P.O.
~~
1
$2M~WJ~~~~ft1::.::~t1e Roe~ AR 72206.
(501)372-5113. \\brf<shops on women's issues, social justice,
racism and homophobia.
EMERGENCE International: A Community of Christian
Scienlists Sll'l)Orting Lesbians and Gay Men. P.O. Box 9161,
San Rafael, CA 94912-9161. (415)485-1881. PLblica1ion: Emergal
GAYELLOWPAGES-P.O. Box 292, VillagaStn., New Yori<, NY
10014. (212)674-0120.
WOMEN'S ORDINA T\ON CONFERENCE, P.O. Box 2693,
Fairtax, VA22031-0693. (700)352-1006.
GAY, LESBIAN AND AFFIRMING DISCIPLES ALLIANCE, P.O.
~xml!~o:'1h~na~~i~ti~~
4
g~~~i~ti;~~~~
2
6F6~,i~ij'.
Publication: Crossbeams.
NEW DIRECTION Maf]lzine tor gayAesbian Mormons, 6520
Selma Ave., Ste. RS-440, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
rs~)4~~e; Box 83912, Los Angeles, CA 90083-0912.
NEW WAYS Mli'iSTRY, 4012 29th St., Ml. Rainier, MD 20712,
~~:~7-56[~.J'Y~:'ttna=.i~~:~ ~,~~g !he
toNE~ Sex.Chem tptist AclJocates for Eq.Jal Ri~s . P.O.
Box 7331, Lotmil~. KY 40257. (502)893-0783. .
FEDERATION OF PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS
AND GAYS, INC. P.O. Box 27605, Wlshingon, DC20038. Send
$3.00 tor packet of information. .
NATIONAL GAY PENTECOSTAL ALLIANCE (also Pentecostal
Bible Institute (Ministerial training]) P.O. Box 1391,
Schenectacli, NY 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. PLblicalion: The
Apostolic Voice.
DIGNITY/USA, 1500 Massachusel\s Ave., NW,. Ste. 11,
Washington, DC 20005. (800)877-8797. Gay and lesbian
Catholics and their friend,.
MORE LIGHT CHURCHES l'ET\\ORK, 600 W. F~lerton Pkv,y.,
~~lifc~ici~
6:)to;/· di~~l:-~tii,~~e~iket, $t
2
.
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM • THE ALABAMA FORUM, P.O. Box 55894,
35255-589.\ (2ai)328-9'228.
Anzona
TUCSON - Cornerstooe Fellow.,t,;p, 2902 N. Geronimo, 85705.
(602)622-4626. Rada Schatt, Paslor.
MESA • Bourdless Love Community Church, 431 S. Stapley
Dr., 8520<!. (602)439-0224. P.J. Fousek-Greg,n, pastor. SU. -Jay,
1000am
TUCSON - Casa De La Paloma Apomolic Church, 1122 N.
Jones Blvd, P.O. Box 14003, 65732-4003. (602)323-6855. Rev.
Margaret 'Sanclf Lev.is, pastor.
California
SAN LUIS OBISPO· MCC of the Central Coast, P.O. Box 1117,
G'°""""rCity, 93483-1117, (805)481-9376. SUnday, 10:30a.m. Rev.
Rancl; A. Lester, Pastor.
SACRAMENTO • Koinonia Christian Fellowship, P.O. Box'
189444, 95818. (916)452-5736. Tom Rossi, Pastor.
SACRAMENTO· THE LA TEST ISSLE, P.O. Box 160584, 95816.
(916)737-toaa
~~k~~~~i~E\ii~~f.li~:s,T~[::X,~~~A
1foo~t.
(213)656-8570. Pujication: ET Ne-m
SAN FRANCISCO • Lutherans Concerned, 566 Vallejo St., 125,
94133-4033, (415)956-2009. PLblication: Adienl
SAN FRANCISCO • Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of
Northern Calttornia, P.O. Box 42126, 94142. (415)626-0980.
Plblicalion: Our Stories. ·
SAN FRANCISCO • The Parsonag,, 555-A Cas\ro SI.,
94114-0293. PLblicalion: The Parsonag, News
OONOORD • Free Catholic Aposlolate of the Redeemer, 1440
Detroit Ave, 13, 94520. (510)798-5281. ·
SAN FRANCISCO • DIGNITY,. 208 Dolores SI., , 94103.
(415)255-9244. Pujicalion: Brid;les.
GLENDALE· Divine Redeemer MCC, 346 Riverdale Dr., 91204.
Surday, 10:45 a.m., Wed, Fri., 7:30 p.m. Rev. Stan Harris,
pastor. Publication: From Mary's Shnne.
APPLE VALLEY· Lidlt of the Desel1 Church, loo., P.O. Box 247,
92307. (619)247-2572. Surday, 6:30 p.m. Non-denominational
Christian church.
SAN JOSE; Hosanna Church o1 Praise, 24 No. 5th SI., 95112.
Publication: ·ee1ebrating His Life; Sharing His Love
OAKLAND • Free Catholic Apostotate of !he Redeemer, 3849
MB)tlelle Ave., 8, 94619 (510)53o-7055
RIVERSIDE-Community of Chris! the Life Giver, P.O. Box
51158, 92517 (9:8)781-7391
BLYTHE - Gods Garden Groll1h Center, 283 N. Solano
(619)922-0947. Bro. Michael W. Tucker, pastor . .
SAN JOSE • Firs1 Christian Church, 60 South 5th St., 95112.
(408)294-2944. Richard K Miller, minister.
OOSTA MESA • Evargelicals Coooerned South Coast, P:O.
Box 4308, 92628-4308 (714)222-4933. Bible slucli, fellowship
meetings, prayer groups, social activities.
OAKLAND - Catholic Diocese of Oa~and, Outreach to Gay ard
Lesbian Communities and Their Families. Rev. Jim
Schexnayder, (510)834-5657, ext. 3114.
Colorado
DEN\.1:R - Evangelicals Reconciled, P.O. Box 200111, 60220
(303)331-2839. Coloraoo ~ings: (719)488-3158.
OENVER • Evangelicals Concerned / Weslem Aegon, P.O.
Box 4750, 80204. l'tblication: TI-ECable.
Connecticut
HARTFORD-MCC, P.O. Box 514;0&l16, (203)724-4605. Sllldly,
7:00 p.m. The Meeling House, 50 Bloomfield Ave.
District of Columbia
lnte11ity/Washing1on, Inc., P.O. Box 19561, 20036-0561.
(301 )953-9421_. PLblication: Gay,pring.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. - St. Cynl's Eastern Ctrislian Fellowship,
· 6036 Richrrord lt.w., #301, 22303, (703)329-7896. A Byzanline
Christian communfy.
. WASHINGTON • MCC/DC, 474 Ridge. St., NW, 20001
(202)638-7373. Rev. Larry J. Uhrig, pastor. \\ltness Praise
Minis1nes Musical Evangehs1ic T earn, Dale Ja""ett, Director.
Florrda
CLEARWATER • Free Catholic Churcli of the Resu""eclion, 303
N. M,rtleAw., 34615. (813)442-3867.
WEST PALM BEACH • MCC, 3500 45th St., #2A, 33409.
(407)687-3943. Sunday, 9:15 & 11 :00 a.m. Services also in Ft.
P~rte, (40nll87-3943 arxl f't. St. Lucie, (407)340-0421.
FORT MYERS • St. John the Aposlle MCC, 2209 Unity al the
comer of Broad.vay. (813)278-5181. Surday, 10:00 a.m., 7:00 .·
p.m. Rev. James Lynch.
ST. PETERSBUlG • King of Peace MCC, 3150 5th Ave., N.
33713 (813)323-5857. SUooay, 10 a.m. & 7~p .m Rev. Dr. Fred
C. WIiiams, Sr., pas1or.
CLEARWATER • Free Catholic Church ol the Resurrection,
P.O. Box 3454, 34615 (813)442-3867
JACKSONVILLE • SI. Luke's MCC, 126 Easl 71h St., 32206
(904)358-67 47. Stm!y, 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m. Rev. Frankye A.
White, pastor.
Georgia
ATLANTA • SOUTHERN VOICE, P.O. Box 18215, 30316.
(«>4)876-1819.
ATLANTA· All Saints Metropolitan Community Churcl\ P.O.
Box 13968, 30324 («>4)622-1154
Hawaii
~~LUI • BOTH SIDES NOW Newsletter, P.O. Box 5042,
lltrnois
CHICAGO • OUTLINES, Published 'r1f Lambda Pibticalions,
3058 N. Solirport, 60657. (312)871-7610. FAX (312)871•7!00.
Louisiana
BATON AOLGE-Q;qiy, P.0. lla(4181, 70821. (504)383-0010.
NEW ORLEANS - Jusf For The ~cord, gay~esllian callle TV.
Box 3768, 70177.
NEW ORLEANS· V,euxCarre MCC, 1126 St. Roel\ 70117-nt6.
(504)945-5390. SUnday, 10:00 a.m. Shelley Harr,lton, Pastor.
Maryland
Ti-£ BALTIMORE ALTERNATIVE, P.O. Box 2351, Baltimore, MD
212l3. (301)235J401. FAX(301)889-5665. .
Massachusetts
. CHERRY VALLEY • Morning Star MCC, 231 Main St., 01611.
(508) 892-4320. PLblicalioo: Morning Star \\ltness.
SHREWSBURY • .Ai)os1ol~ Church in Christ, P.O. Box 4258
TlJOll<ke Sn, 01545 (508)752-0453. Rev. Mark Oe6rizzi, pastor.'
Mrchrgan
g~~\oof UISE Magazine, 19136 'Mlo<l.vard North, 48203.
FUNT· Redeemer MCC, 1665 N. Chevrolet Ave., 48504-3164.
(313)238-6700. Sunday, 6:00 p.m. Rev. Linda J. Stoner, Pastor.
Pub11calion: Sounds ol Redeemer.
A"""""" ARBOR • Huron Valley Community Cl'lJrch meets al
Glacier Way UMC, 1001 Green Rd; Am Albor, 48105-2896.
~1741-1174. Smy, 200_p.m.
FIOIT • lrl""flly, 960 \\111more, #205, 48:ll3.
GRAND RAPIDS· Bethel Chri~ian Asserrbty, 920 Cheoy SE,
P.O. Box 6935, 49516. (616)459-8262 Rev. Bruce Roller-Pletcher,
pastor. Ptblication: Bethel Bea co~ Television: Cha Mel 23,
SUn, 10:00 p.m
EAST LANSING/ Lansing - Ecclesia. Affirming cht.rch meets at
People's CtxJrch, 200 W. Grand River. Sunday, 8:15 p.m.
ANN ARBOR • Tree of Life MCC, mee\s at First
Cong-egalional Church, 218 N. _Adams, Ypsilanti. P.O. Box
2598, 48106. (313)665-6163. &rd,y, 6:00p.m.
DETR-◊IT - Men of Color Motivational Group meets Tuesdays
at 7:00 p.m. at St. Matlhew's and St. Joseph's Episcopal
Chu-ch, 8850 \l\bcx!Nard (313)871-4750.
Minnesota
MINl'EAPOUS • WJAL TIME, 310 £ 36th St., Acom 207, 55409.
(612) 823-3836. Ptblished 'r1f Laverdar, Inc.
MINNEAPOLIS • All Goas Children Metropolitan Community
Church, 3100 Par!< Ave. S. (612)824-2673. Publication: The
Disciple.
Mississippi
JACKSON • St. Stephen's Untted Commun~ Church, 4872 N.
T:6eK~oi~J'a;:~rJ~!~
7
{.~io~~e.'~
71g~, 7737,
39264-7737, (001)373-8610. -
JACKSON· Phoenix Coarnion, Inc., P.O. Box 7737, 39284-7737.
Counse6ng services. (601)373-861!1'(001)939-7181.
New Jersey
fl:JBOKEN • The Oasis, 707 Washingon St., P.O. Box 5149,
071m. (201) m-0340. . .
New Mexico
SANTA FE· THE GATSBY OONNECTION, 551 w. Coroova,
Sta D1:, 87501. (&l5)986-1794.
New York
NEW YORK - Lesaan and Gay Commuruty Services Center,
Inc., 208 W. 13th St., 10011. (212)620-7310. Plij icalions: Center
~~yg~~~rl~~. PO Box 5202, 10185-0043. PLblication:
Oullcok.
ROCHESTER • THE EMPTY CLOSET, 179 Atlanlic Ave.,
11W~V:5eo~~: ~~t""'~~~i\%,~~x Church,
P.O. Box 9073, 12209. (518)346-0207. Father Herman,.CSJn,
Guardian. PLblication: Melaooia.
NEW YORK· AXIOS, Eastern ard Orthooox Chnslians, P.O.
Box 756, Village Sin., 10014. Second Fnday, 8:00 p.m.,
Community Center, 208 West 13th St. ·
SCHENECTADY • Lighthouse Apostolic Church, 38 Columbia
St., P.O. Box 1391, 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. ~v. \\llliam Ii.
Carey, pastor.
LONG ISLANDiNEW YORK • lrlernationa\ Free Catholic
ChurctvGood Shepherd Church, P.O. Box 436, Cerlral Islip,
11722, (516)723-0048. Rev,. Ms!,<. Rooert J. Almen, pastor.
North Carolina
\\ILMINGTON • St. Jude's MCC, 507 Castle St. Sunday, 6 p.m
& 7 p.m Wed g0\4). Kathi Beall and BU<tlj V8$, mirns1ers.
WLMII\GTON • GROW Community Service Corporation, P.O.
Box 4535, _28406. (919)675-9222. Yollh CXJ1reach: AllvE for '1'/,
lest,;an, asexual youth.
RALEIGH • Raleigh ·Religous Ne\v,ork tor Gay and Lesaan
EQ.Jainy, P.O. llo<5961, 27®5961. (919)781-2525.
WNSTON-SALEM • Pieanont Religous Network for Gay and
Lman Eq.Jatily, P.O. 13()( 15104, 27113-0104. (919)766-9:llt.
Ohio
DAYTON• Communily Gospel Church, P.O. Box.1634, 45401
(513)252-8855. Pentecostal, charismatic meels Sunday, 10:00
a.m. 546 Xenia Ave. Samuel Kader, Pastor.
COLUMBUS - Metropolitan Clommuntty Church; 1253 North
High Street, 43201. (614)294-3026. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
Plillication: The Beacon News.
COLUMBUS· STONEWALL UNION REPORTS, Box 10814,
®1-7814. (614)299-7764.
Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY· Holy Trinity Ecumenical Catholic Church,
2328 N. MacArthur, P.O. Box 25425, 73125, (405)942-2604. Fr.
Marty Martin, pas1or.
Oregon
PORTI.Al'-1:>° - American Friends Service Committee Gay and
Lesbian Progam, 2249 E. Bu~de, 97214, (503)230-9427.
Comet Da~
Pennsylvania
ALLENTOW>l - Grace Covenant Fellowship, 247 N. 10fh SI.,
18102. (215)740-0247. Bryon Rowe, Pastor. Thom Ritter,
Minisler o( 1,!_usi~. •
Tennessee
NASHVILLE··. Daysplirg Fellowship, 120-8 So. 11th SI., Box
68073, 37206. (615)227-1448. Ptblioalkln:Son Shine.
NASH\.1LLE • fntegity of Micde Tennessee, Inc., P.O. Box
• 121172 37212-1172 (615)383-m. NrlY.slaler.
Texas
DAilAS • 'Mile Rock Convm.ritv.Ch1>ch, P.O. Box 180063,
75218. (214)285-2B31, (214)327-9157. Sooday, 10:30 a.m. Jeny
~ Pastor.
DAllAS,-trl<l!litv, P.O. Box 190351, 75219-0351. (214)52o-0012
f'lbfrcatoo: P1liia.
AUSTIN - Joan Wakeford Minis\ries, Inc., 9401-B Grouse
Meacl,,y ln., 78758-6348, (512)835-7354.
DALLAS - Silenl Harvest Ministries, P.O. Box 190511,
7521~11. (~sa,es55 . . . . . • . . . . •
MIDLAMJ • Holy Trinity Community Church, 1607 S. Main,
79701. ·(915)570-4822. -Rev.-Glenn E. Hammet\, Pastor.
b~~~~:~~~J~b~ornmuni Church, 4402 Roseland,
752Q4. (214)627-so1s. Rev. Wrederick Wright, Pastor.
Puaicatioo: The Chariot
HOUSTON • Community Gospel Church, 501 E. 18\h at
Colurmia. (713)880-9235. Sunday, 11:00 a.rn. Chns C~les,
Pa~or.
fl:JUSTON • Houston Mission Church, 1633 Marshall, 77006.
~~\6~~ aM""t~M;,!~~t~~~~i ~a~~~alur, 77007.
(713)861·9149. Rev. John Gill, Pastor. Pujication: The Good
News
m~~?i""~~~~t~ IH, PO Box 66821. 77266.
HOUSTON • Kingdom Communtty Church, 614 E. 19th St.,
77008. (713)862-7533 (713)748-6251. Si.rd!y, 1100 am.
LUBBOCK • Lesbian/Gay Alliance, Inc., P.O. Box 64746,
79464-4746. (806)791-4499. PLblicalioo: La_rrbda Times.
Vermont
ESSEX JCT· Resurrection Apostol~ Minis1ries, P.O. Box 162,
05452. Sr. Michelle M. Thomas, pastor.
ROANOKE· MCC of the Blue Ricge, P.O. Box 20495, 24018,
(703)366-0839. PLblicalion: The Blue Ricl:le Banner
ROANOKE - BLUE RIDGE LAMBDA PRESS, P.O. Box 237,
2«:02,(703)800-3184
FALLS CHURCH • MCC ol Northern Virginia, 7245 Lee
Hig,way, 22046.
FALLS CHURCH - Affirmalion Gay & Lesaan Mormons, P.O.
Box 19334, 22320-9334, (2l2)828-:ml
FALLS CHURCH • Telos Ministries, P.O. Box 3390, 22043.
(700)560-2680. Baptist g-oup.
Washmgton ~i'.&'7
f~y NEv\S, 704 E. Pike, 98122. (206)324-4297. FAX
SEATTLE • Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 tffl 64th St., 98107 .
(206)784-8495. Surdey, 11 :00 am. & 7:00 p.m., Weci1esday, 7:30
p.m. Jeoy Lachina, Pastor.
RICHLAND· Shalom Ut::C, 505 McMurray, 99352 (509)943-3927.
()pen ard affirming cong-ef]ltion.
TACOMA - Hillside Community Church, 2508 South 391h SI.
!IOOl.(a'.16)475-2388. '
West V1rg1ma
MORGANTOl'.N • Freedom Fe\~ Cllllch, P.O. Box 1552,
26&J5 (304)292-7784. Jarice Mam, Y<l!ShipCOOfd
International
LONDON • Lesbian and Gay Chr~lian Movement, Oxford
CHARLOTTE - Metroina Sv.itcltoard, (704)535-6277. P.O. Box Hoose, Derl7ys!ire St., Lonoon E2 61-G, U<, 071-739-1249.
11144,1!122).
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Videos
""MAYBE WE'RE TALKING About a
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BOOKS, FromPagelS
opportunity for criticism. Some of the
criticism I still can't accept, out the
essays did make me question al least
a couple of points . I had already long
since questioned almost all of my
. socialization process anyway, and
now I'll question a p9inl or two more.
Still, it was a bit tiring to feel
demonized quite so often as some of
the contributors to the anthology felt
inclined to do . It was almost as if the
overall attitude was, ""Of course, there
are a few good white gay males out
there. I'm not prejudiced, you know.""
This was particularly the case with
Marilyn Frye's essay and seems an
odd attitude in a collection that is
supposed to promote coalition build- •
ing rather than alienation.
1 feel that I am basically open
minded and reasonably sensitive to
other forms of oppression, being
anxious rather than simply willing to
ensure I don't contribute to anyone
else's oppression. If I can feel alienated
by some of these essays, it seems
a fair assumption that others will as
well.
Another related p roblem is that
several of the authors assume that if
we feel sexism and racism is wrong,
we must automatically feel that all
violence is always wrong, or that we
should all agree to be vegetarians, or
that we must all agree that all
pornography is always wrong. If we
don't agree, the implication is tha t we
are one of those terr ible, mean,
disgusting ""others"" out th ere .
Heterosexuals are criticized for "".othering""
Lesbians and Gays, but sometimes
readers who don't agree with
the long agenda here are also
""othered.""
However, the majority of the essays
in the collectiori work to help rather
than hurt. When Gloria Anzaldua
complains of how while people ask
her as a Hispanic woman how she can
justify Cesar Chavez 's politics, she
turns the tables and asks how a white
woman would feel if she were held
responsible for all or any of Ronald
Reagan's acts (361). This kind of
writing helps open the eyes rather
than resort to criticism, and mo st of
the essays do us.e this strategy . The
few diatribes in the collection,
however, show just how difficult
overcoming the differences among
various oppressed groups will be in
order to work together, a difficulty
which shows clearly just how much a
book that attempts to overcome those
barriers is needed, and why weought
Ii:> take the trouble to read it.
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New Orleans, LA 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,29,1993,"July/Aug 1993",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/c2120d0cc286c2d097b8d5fedd6e301c.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1667,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1667,"Second Stone #30 - Sept/Oct 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"AMERICA'S GAY & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL · •· ., ;..
""We need to become more assertive and
active. {We are now] a community of
prophets across the country; we need to
become a prophetic community ... ""
-Author Robert Goss
AN INTERVIEW WITH ROBERT GOSS, AUTHOR OF
JESUS ACTED UP:
. A GAY A_ND LESBIAN MANIFESTO
Jesus as a
political
activist
BY ANDRE A L. T. PETERSON
''Jsus did act up,"" argues former
Jesuit priest Robert Goss , not only in his
new book entitled Jesus Acted Up: A Gay
'
and Lesbian Manifesto, but in pers on as
well. ""God's reign ,"" he continues, ""is
absolutely political.""
In fact, Goss maintains, what
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10 BULK RATE
U.S. POST AGE
PA ID
NEW ORLEANS, LA
PERMITNo. 511
: ., SUBSCRIBE NOW - ONE YEAR ONLY $15.00!• BOX 8340 • NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
FrotmhEe ditor
Summer's conferences were a
streetcar ride away
By Jim Bailey
£ very summer I look forward to making a conference trip or two with a
bundle of copies of Second Stone clutched under my arm. For business
purposes, I'm there eagerly anticipating meeting that potential reader and
looking all about for possible story ideas. But beyond that, and more
importantly, conferences provide the opportm1ity to meet fellow pilgrims and
share a few moments of inspiration and encouragement, I have very fond
memories of the first conference I attended to represent Second Stone; the
UFMCC's 1989 General Conference in St. Paul. We had not printed too many
editions of Second Stone al that time and the wonderful response received from
the MCCers gave us great encouragement and made us feel like there was
indeed a future for the publication. And just last week I received a note from a
woman I remember meeting at that conference. She had recently had a letter to
the editor published in a Minnesota newspaper and she was kind enough to
send me .a clipping.
I started watching Second Stone's calendar last spring for some new conferences
to attend this summer. I had not been to a Dignity/ USA or P-FLAG
convention, so those looked promising, and I thought the AIDS National
Interfaith Network conference would be a good opportunity. (And so much for
that trip out of town - they were all going to be held in New Orleans, which is a
break, I suppose, during this financially tight summer. Still, riding the
streetcar downtown didn't seem quite as grand as ... oh, well ... )
I met Robert Goss at the Dignity/ USA convention. His new book, Jesus Acted
Up:A Gay and LesbianM anifesto,i s reviewed in this issue and he is interviewed
as our cover story. He held a workshop at the convention and shared some
thoughts on Jesus as a political activist. I think you'll find the interview and
re':'iew interesting and, as always, I would like to have your feedback.
The P-FLAG convention is just wrapped as we send this issue lo press. I was
able to attend four workshops and came away with some good ideas for future
issues. It was great to see Beverly Barbo again. Longtime subscribers will
remember that she wrote a book, The WalkingV ,,:01mdeadb,o ut the AIDS death of
her son. She conducted a workshop for others who have suffered such loss.
There is a tremendous ammlnt of interest among members of P-FLAG in
spiritual issues as well as religious right issues. Only at two UFMCC
conventions have more copies of SecondS toneb een carried out by attendees.
We have made it through another long summer. Publications supported by
paid subscribers take a beating during these months when readers are engaged
in summer activities and many subcriptions lapse. Between now and the end of
May, SecondS tonew ill send out over 90,000s ubscription appeals to prospective .
readers. Do you know any folks who should be on our mailing list? Just send
us their names and addresses - five or 5,000. The ""g"" a1,d T' words do not
appear on the outside of our mailings and, with the exception of periodic trades
with Open-Hands, we keep our mailing list to ourselves. Thank you for your
support!
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Commumcattons, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1993 by Second Stone. a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.C)O
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For display advertising infonnation call (504)899-4014 or write to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans. LA 70182. ·
~DITORIAL, send-letters. calendar announcements, noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O._ Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscripts to be
returned ~hould be acco~panied by a stamped. self addressed envelope. Second Stone
ts otherwlse not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjournal for the national gay and
lesbian community. ·
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck, Gayla M. Worrell,
Andrea L. T. Peters.on.Michael Blankenship, Brian McHugh, Rev. Richard B. Gilbert
127Sec ondS tone-Septemb/eOrctober,1 993
•-~
Contents .............. ................
r2·n From The Editor
~~J No fun conference trips this summer
[]] Commentary
Brian McHugh on community at a pivotal moment
[!J News Lines
[]__] Dr. Mel White joins Cathedral of Hope
1--1 ·110Co1ver Story
Robert Goss on the political Jesus
Project Tocsin report
The California religious right has a far reach
l·:1r3nG od remembersy our name The Biblical basis for the AIDS quilt
On Video
Network Q, Love Makes a Family, Belinda,
and Rev. Jane Spahr's story
In Print
Wayne Muller's Legacy of the Heart reviewed by
Rev. Richard Gilbert... and Robert Goss'
Jesus Acted Up reviewed by Gayla Worrell
Calendar
i-- -~ 1181 Noteworthy
-~
~-, 1191 Resource Guide
.Comment T ....................................... ,. .............................
The privilege of being at a moment of truth
By Brian McHuqh
Guest Comment I t is not often that we have the
gift given to us to be alive at
- a pivotal moment in history.
And this is even truer for the
history of theological thought, since
theology has a reputation for dragging
its heels in the whole area of
openness.
But we are I think al such a
moment, ·even if the ""moment"" will
be some time in unfolding and coming
to its resolution.
It has happened several times in
the life of the church. New Testament
limes was one of them. How exciting
it must have b.een (for those who
were aware of the significance of it) to
see Christianity break the barrier of
the Jewish world and the Gospel
extended to the so-called Gentiles. I
often wonder if even St. Paul grasped
the breadth of what he was
instigating! And there is Peter, in
that wonderful sermon, saying almost
with awe, that all who do good are
acceptable to God.
There was the moment at Nicea,
when uniting ""symbols"" we forged.
There was the moment when Martin
Luther under~tood . that salvation
could not be earned.
And we are now on the beginning
edge of righting an appalling injus tice
and excising a cancer that has
infected the Body of Christ for far too
long and severely inhibited the
effectiveness of the church's witness
Hairdo heaven
and credibility for countless millions
of people.
The fear and condemnation of
homosexuality has taken on a proportion
far beyond what the nature of
homosexual orientation and scriptural
reference can support. Homophobia
is the scapegoat for the dark fear that
human beings have of sexuality in
general - a dark fear that has in my
opinion been both scandalously
ignored and wickedly fostered by the
Christian church. It has occasionally
been remarked that I talk about
sexuality too much. I do so because I
deeply believe that until we come to
understand and integrate a healthy
theology of sexuality, we shall remain
driven by ignorance and fear, and
not by the light that Christ sheds on
the mystery of human nature,
The arguments and counterarguments,
the opinions and beliefs,
the different theological perspectives,
are far too complicated to discuss
here. My purpose is rather more
simple: to give a shout of rejoicing
that something that has engendered
. so much divisiveness, ignorance, hate
and intolerance, might just finally""be
coming into the light of God's Truth,
there to be healed.
Little signs that love is winning out,
even . in the church, are hearteningly
beginning to appear. A Vestry in
New Jersey has called an openly gay
man, with his partner, to be their
' Rector, 0simply because he wa<i the
The fear and condemnation of homosexuality
has taken on a proportion far beyond what
the nature of homosexual orientation and
scriptural reference can support. Homophobia
is the scapegoat for the dark fear that
human beings have of sexuality in general ...
Getting to the root of 'big hair' and religion
By Michael Blankenship
Guest Comment
What exactly is the connection
between ""big hair"" and religion?
I was watching one
of those ""Christian TV"" channels
the other night and I have to say
it was one of the hairiest experiences
I've had in a long time. Christian TV
is neat. Where else could you get
hours and hours of beautific buns and
beehives, and a vast assortment of
prayerful pompadours? It's like Cosmetology-
World gone berserk! When
you see these · walking furballs don't
you wonder what mysterious devices
make. these .coiffures seemingly levitate
in mid:air? I guess only their
hairdressers know for· sure .
This television experience left me
with a great number of questions .
Like, where did Richard Roberts get
lhat skunk stripe in his hair? And
how do they get the rest of his hair jet
black without affecting the stripe?
Could it·be that Ernest Angsley we,irs
a bad toupee, or is his scalp naturally
that loose?
And I always love .the reruns of the
Happy Goodmans featuring the lovely
and eternally voluptuous Vestal,
looking for all the world like Marge
Simpson. What exactly did she store
in the gargantuan headgear? A picnic
basket? Last week's laundry?
Was it inflatable? Could bullets from
a machine gun penetrate that helmet?
Just how much stock did she own in
Aqua 0 net? Did she need a neck
brace on windy days?
Of course, lo get lo the root of the
matter we must first realize that this
situatio;, is an outgrowth of St. Paul';
fuzzy thinking on the subject of hair.
He tells us quite plainly that •·a
woman's glory is her hair."" I guess
that means that we should never
listen to Sfoead O'Conrior music
again. She's certainly a woman ·
known for her honesty and superb
talent, in addition to her billiard ball
hairdo, but according to Paul she still
has no glory. Paul speaks with
authority about women's hair, as if he
was the Vidal Sasson of Palestine.
Perhaps Bishop Spong was correct in
his assumption about Paul. But, Paul
also speaks with equal intensity about
self-restraint being a sp'ititual gift,
and the only restraint exhibited by
these fundamentalists is a taught hair
net.
Doesn't it make you wonder where
in the world Paul came up with the
strange, absurb notion-that somehow
connected hair with spirituality?
Could it be ... Samson? Samson's ·
glory was definitely in his Jong hair,
that is until the devilish Delilah did
the Curley Shuffle on his head. But
Paul flatly rejects Samson's powerful
tresses and creates his own rules for
men's grooming.
Paul has left men with the curious
admonition that it is ""against nature""
for them to have long hair. What
could possibly be unnatural about
long hair on men? It's a good thing
Paul never saw any of today's heavy
metal bands, who without benefit of
best person we saw to be our priest.""
And m our own Episcopal diocese, St.
James' in North Providence called
Alcide B~rnaby, an openly gay priest
m the diocese, to be their Rector.
What happened, of course, is that
these people came to know people as
people, saw what mattered, and were
· • touched by that wonderful love of
God and by the spirit of truth. That,
at least, is how I see it.
The going will be tough for us - the
church, I mean. We will have to fight
the demons within us, and we will
have to endure everything from the
fear to the hate of countless centuries
of a theological perspective that we
now know simply to have been
wrong. But what resilience,'and what
a credit to some Christians, that they
are not afraid to acknowledge that we
haven't always gotten everything
right and can repent and move on!
No church is anywhere near perfect.
And there will be anger and anguish
among us, never fear. But I for one
am excited to be a Christian of the
Episcopalian branch! We have come
down so often, I think, on the side of
the Gospel in all its glory. We seem
to sense what is holding us in the
bonds of sin and death, and battle our
way through to the ""glorious freedom
of the saints in light.""
Hang on to your hats! But be glad
t.o take .in a deep breath of the
refreshing water of life! I look
forward to the day when we don 't
have to talk about sexual orientation .
It will just be.
wigs, have naturally long hair ...
naturally ugly, too, but that's beside
the point. And TV preachers have
long hair too, only theirs is stacked
like hay to enhance the size of. their
heads.
I really don't think Paul had any
special spiritual or scientific knowledge
that related hair to spirituality .
· Paul himself says that his rules for
dressing and hair care are ""traditions""
which he ""handed on'' to the e,>rly
church. It's hard to believe that
within 20 years of Jesus' death, Paul
was creating a whole new set of
religious ""traditions"" to take the place
of all the old religous ""traditions""
Jesus had broken.
So women, bring on the buzz cuts,
and guys, let those ponytails gallop!
Whenever we break a tired , old,
worn-out religious tradition, we are
being just like Jesus!
Excerpted from The Blue Ridge Banner
- - - -· ·- -----· ---·- ---- · -- -- -- -- -------- -- - - --- ·- --- --- -·-- -- ·-·--·-- ·-- -- -------- - m
.l\!cond S1011e-Sep1ember/0c1obcr, 1993 W
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CathedroaflH opeg reetsP opew ithle tter
t.THE LARGEST GAY and lesbian congregation in America welcon1ed Pope John Paul II
to World Youth Day in Denver with a letter calling for an end to Vatican rejection of
Gays and Lesbians. · ""Forty percent of our own members are former Roman Catholic
Christians who find themselves without a spiritual home because of your current
p_~licies discriminating against ga_y and lesbian peorle,"" said the letter from c;athedral of
Hope in Dallas, Texas. Senior l'astor Michael Piazza and Cathedral Dean Dr. Mel
White urged the Pope to open his arms ""to all of God's children including gay and lesbian
believers who would worship and witness with you"" .and warned that gay and lesbian
teenagers often suffer lonely rejection. ""Even as you celebrate World Youth Day, you are
rejecting hundreds of thousands of your best and brighest young people,"" the letter said.
""Because you are unwilling to deal forthrightly with the new biblical, pastoral,
psycholog1cal and scientific data about homosexuality, you are advocating an anti-gay
policy that leads to the suffering and death of God's children in your care.
StonewaCllo mmuniFtyo undatioevne ntto benefiNt GLT F
t.THE STONF:WALL COMMUNITY Foundation has chosen the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force Pol_icyI nstitut~ to be one of five c01~munity organizations to ~~nefit
from its annual fundra1smg event in New York City. NGLTF was s~l~ded for its Fight
the Right"" campaign to battle Right Wing anti-gay referenda. The Stonewall Community
Founcfation is a nonprofit organizationf founcfed in 1989, that is dedicated to increasing
charitable giving within the gay and lesbian community. ·
iapti:.;otso oosaea yr ightasb, ortion . · . . .
/ LlSOUTHERN BAPTISTS ended their annual convention m June by passmg resolutions
/ condemning homosexuality and abortion. Meeting in Houston,. the 17,000 del~gates, or
I messengers, repeatedly singled out a fellow Baptist, President Clmton, for .cntic1sm of his
support of abortion and gay rights. A resolution was endorsed that, among other things,
saicf government sl,ou!d not give special legal protection to homosexuals or ""unp05e legal
s;:mctio~s against those who believe homosexual conduct to be immoral.""
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[4J Second Stone-September/October, 1993
Gaya ctivistdso n'mt ournsl ainM exicacna rdinal
t.ROMAN CATHOLIC DIGNITARIFS may have mourned the slaying of Mexican
Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, shot to death May 24 during a drug-related battle,
but gay rights activists weren't shedding any tears over the slain prelate. In 1991,
Posadas Ocampo heired lead an effort that forced the International lesbian and Gay
Assoc_iation to cance its 13th annual World Conference in Guadalajara. The slain
archbishop at the time said allowing the ILGA conference to be held in Guadalajara
would be ""a slap in the face of the city's dignity."" Posadas Ocampo also endorsed
newspaper ads opposing the conference of ""homosexual corrupters"" that compared Gays
and [esbians to satanists and drug addicts. Pedro Preciado of Guadalajara's Gay Pride
in Liberation Group said of the cardinal's death, ""There will be no tears from us over his
death."" - Outlines
Catholilcln iversifrye jectgsa yg roups
6BOTH THE STUDENT government and St. John's University officials rejected the
request of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance to becon\e a sanctioned university
organization, holding that the group is inconsistent with the religious values of the
S(hool. A second group is facing vocal opposition from students at the country's largest
:.:- ;ilh.:llic university, and is unlikely to gain official recognition. - Soutlu:ru. Voice
GaysL, esbianasr e"" expendabslea,y"" sA rchbishop
6ARCHBISHOP THOMAS DOLINAY, head of the Pittsburgh Byzantine-Rite Archdiocese
within the Roman Catholic Church, believes that Gays and Lesbians belong on
""the list of expendables,"" and that St. Patrick would be ""strongly tempted to lead them
over the precipice"" into ""a dump somewhel'e far from civilization,"" as legend has it he rid
Ireland of snakes. Dolinay made the comments in a letter about the ·controversy over a
gay Irish group marching in New York's St. Patrick's Day parade. The letter was quoted
1n «. recent issue of National CatlwliLR.· eporter. - Southern Voice ·
Groupw orkfso r"" fag-freAe""m erica
6ANTI-GAY FLIERS daiming ""Death penalty for homosexuals is prescribed in the
Bible,"" are being left on the windshields of cars in Colorado Springs and Denver by
STRAIGHT (Society to Remove All Immoral Gross Homosexual Trash). The group,
wh05e motto is ""Working for a fag-free America"" uses the same p05t office box address as
the Denver chapter of the KKK. ·
Methodist-affiliautneidv ersistya ysn ot og ayg roup
./\OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY students gave a resounding no vote when the Gay,
Lesbian and Bisexual Alliance asked for recognition from the student senate. The 15-9
vote was seen by some as based on religious bias at the United Methodist affiliated
,chool. Members of Sigma Theta Epsilon lobbied on campus against recognition of the
Allian~e. Sigma is a national Christian fraternity. - Stonewall Union Reports
Findp etitiosni gnerast g uns howsh,o mophoabdev ises
6THE AMERICAN FAMILY Association of Florida and its political arm, the Family
Action Council, have been showing the anti-gay propaganda video, The Gay Agenda,
throughout Florida, using it to stir up conservative Christians with the worst
stereotypes of Gays and Lesbians. Many of the stops on the tour are hosted by David
Caton, well known to the Tampa community as the admitted ""ex-porno/sex addict"" who
coordinated the reversal of gay-positive fegislation last year. On May 25 about 50
activists from NOW, ACT UP, and the Lesbian Avengers filed up and down the sidewalk
in front of the Bethel Temple Assembly of God in Tampa. Several demonstrators carried
signs indicating that their Christian faith and sexual orientation were not at odds.
Caton spoke to !he shell-shocked audience after the screening, as did the Rev. Benjamin
Sykes, a black minister from Tampa. Organizers handed out packets containing multiple
copies of an anti-gay petition as well as ad_vice on h0w to fina signers. Gun sl-iows were
said to be one of the best sources for willing signers 1 art shows the least productive.
- Gazette
Kansapsa stowr hob lessegda ym arriagleea vems inistry
8.A PASTOR WHO BEC.Alv1E involved in controversy after officiating at a ceremony
uniting two gay men has left the ministry. The Rev. Bob Lay, pastor at the Salinas
Sunrise Presl5yterian Church, told his congregation that, ""I am no longer a pastor in the
Presbyterian Church (USA)."" The ceremony for the two gay men took: place in January,
and the following month a special disciplinary committee was appointed to investigate
whether Lay had' violated church law. 1n April, the committee said Lay had not acted
inappropriately. Lay said that his decision to leave the ministry came atter many hours
of soul-searching and that the past few months have been stressful. - Southern Voice
SoutherBna ptisCt onventiorenj ectass sauoltn C linton'csh urch
t.A SOUTHERN BAPTIST Convention committee turned back an effort to unseat
messengers from President Bill Clinton's home church during the SBC gathering this
summer. Members of the Credentials Committee rejected a motion by Bo Mammock of
Florida to U)1seat he messengers because the church members ""due to their lack of action ...
are by their silence supportmg Bill Clinton's endorsement of the homosexual lifestyle.""
Pastor Rex Horne of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock said he was embarrassed
and angry about the matter, citing his church's long leadership in Southern Baptist life
and his stand against homosexuality. Hammock stood by his motion, insisting Immanuel
has failed to deal with Clinton, who he said should recant his views or be
disfellowshipped. - The Baptist Mes:;age
E:x-gamyi nistrsye tsu pp rayelrin ein r esponstoeg ayp ride
1\THE REUGJOUS RIGHI responded to plans for the 1993 Atlanta Lesbian and Gay
Pride celebrzif.ion by setting up n telephone prayer line. Kapatauo Ministries, founded by
self-avowed ""ex-gay"" Joel Afman to ""cure"" homosexuals, sent out a letter asking people to
,-;:,rayerfully address this issue."" Caven also announced 'that the_group needed money to
pay for a full page ad in the Atlanta Journal/Constitutiotno offer hope for ""those who
.;'.:::-i.1ggwlei th t""he issue of homosexuality."" - Southern Votce
T News -Lines T @I ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Unitarians affirm gay rights
t:,.Af3 A DEMONSfRA TION of its ongoing commitment to affirming the rights and dignity
of all Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons, the Unitarian Universalist
Association presented numerous workshops and events during its recent 32nd annual
General Assembly, held in uptown Charlotte, North Caro1ina. More than 2500
congregational representatives of the over 200,000 Unitarians in the United States and
Canada met to share ideas and strategies for upholding their denomination's liberal
principles offreedom and (?leranc~ in the face of increasing social and political pressure
from !he rehg1_o~s nght. The r~hg1ous nght has targeted g_ay, lesbian and bisexual .
people for_poMical persecution, said the ,!{ev. Dr. Wilham F. Schulz, outgoing UUA
president m his address to the assembly. Our sisters and brothers are dying for the
sentiments of their hearts, and we Unitarian Universalists are saying with !he most
unequivocal of voices, 'This cannot continue!""' Fulfilling a 1987 commihnent to rrotest
anti-gay laws, the annual meeting included a vigil to mark its opposition to North
Carolina's sodomy Jaw. The UUA passed a resolution six years ago that whenever the
denomination's .General Assembly meets in a state with such laws it must hold a protest.
- Q Notes,.Outlmes
Broaden agenda, fundamentalists urged
L'.CONSERV AT!VE CHRISTIANS should tone down their rhetoric on abortion and
lesbian/ gay rights and develop a broader agenda, says one of their leaders. ""We must
promote policies that personally benefit voters, such as tax ·relief for families, education
and crime,"" said Ralph Reed, executive director of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition.
Reed's comments came during two days of workshops in South Carolina, sponsored by
the coalition, addressing how to lobby elected officials, run for office and organize at the
grassroots le vel. - Southern Voice
England church votes on sexuality create joy, confusion
L'.THE ANNUAL METHODIST Conference, ineeting in Derby, voted on two resolutions
regarding sexuality during an all day debate on June 29. London's Lesbian and Gay
Cnristian Movement reported passage of a resolution which ""affirms and ·celebrates the
participation and mirustry of Lesbians and gay men in the church,"" rroposed and
seconded by Rev. John Cooke and Rev. John M. Simmonds, which gained significantly
more votes than a ""traditionalist"" motion which also passed. ""The passing of Resolution
47 (313 to 217 votes) is a historic, joyful step forward for the Methodist Church,"" said
Rev. Neil Whitehouse, spokesperson for the LGCM Methodist Caucus. ""It is the first ever
clear ruling on the status of lesbian and gay Methodists,"" he said. ""Our church has
broken ranks from other denominations and has chosen a new and positive approach.""
The resolution also called upon ""Methodist people to begin a pilgrimage of faith to
combat repression and discrimination, to wori< for justice and human rights and to give
dignity and worth to people whatever their sexuality."" It is unclear about how the
differences between the two motions will be interpreted. For some they point towards
the eventual official blessings of lesbian and gay relationships. For others, who do not
agree with Resolution 47, they will wish lo enforce celibacy on lesbian and gay
Methodists, but this will be difficult given the failure of Motion 20 to draw any
distinction between sexual orientation and .practice.
MCC church attacked, police apathetic ·
L'.MCC OF THE VALLEY has been under attack by homophobes and church leaders say the
North Hollywood Division of the Los Ang_eles Police Department's Hate Crimes
Office has not responded to the situation. On July 18 the church janitor found a sign
leaning against the front of the building which read, ""$10 four (sic) gay lifes reward."" On
July 28 vandals broke and entered through one of the rear windows. Every locked ctoor
.was broken off its hinges. Very little of value was taken, and money was even left laying
on the floor in clear view. Tlie vandals actions indicated a keen mterest in the church
records and files. On August 3 a white ranel truck sped through the church parking lot
three times endangering and frightening church memoers who were repairing damage. At
·about the same time, occupants of a. maroon car drove by the church and shouted
""faggots."" That same evening, at at time when groups were gathering for meetings at the
church, a maroon car drove by and a gun shot was fired. The police refused to respond
when summoned by witnesses. ""We have tried repeatedly without success to get the hate
crimes office to investigate,"" said Rev. Dr. Sherre L. Boothman, pastor of MCC in the
Valley. ""They keep telling us these violent acts, which all occurred within a week and a
half and without any other obvious motive, are not hate crimes. I do not know what else
. to call it when someone offers a $10 reward for murdering gay and lesbian people and
then a series of harassing events occur.
Racketeering suit filed in priests' 'sex ring'
/:;.REV , GARY HAYES, a 40 year old Catholic priest from Henderson, Ky., and two other
men filed a federal racketeering suit against tlie National Conference of Catholic Bishops,
the U.S. Catholic Conference, two New England dioceses and 12 other defendants,
charging they ""conspired to create a sex ring of children that could be sexually alfused by
(them]"" during the 1%0s and 1970s. The civil suit is believed to be the first class-action
case against a church using the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act,
which is typically used to fight organized crime groups. Hayes and co-plaintiffs
Terrence S'mith and Steven Stolar, lioth of Millville, N.J., claim church officials and
groups conspired to cover up complaints by them and other boys between the ages of 12
and 16 that they were being molested by two priests. -Outlines ·
Baptists attemot to get summer course at USC cancelled
.!'.LEADERS OF THE South Carolina Southern Baptist Convention called on the
University 'of South Carolina to cancel a summer graduate course on the impact the
Christian right is having on public education. The course was taught by an openly -gay
professor, 0~. James Se~rs, wh,o was the target of th~ Co~vention's criticism l:iecause of
his sexual onentation. Doesn t look hke the course ,s gomg to be taught from a neutral
standpoint,"" said Rev. Jim Oliver, pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist <;:hurch in Roebuck. ""It
sounds like they're trying to put Christians in a doset."" . Conservatives said the selection
of a gay professor 1s an affront to them. USC officials did not cancel the course. _
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Second Stone-September/October, 1993 ['[J
·Huge church drops Colorado site
t.THE 1997 GENERAL CONVENtion
of the Episcopal Church, one of
the 25 largest conventions in the
United States, will be held in Philadelphia
instead of Denver, which was
the likely choice for the 1997 convention
prior to the approval of Amendment
2 by Colorado voters in November.
Following that vole, Episcopal
officials seemed . willing to locate
the convention elsewhere. Indeed,
the planning committee voted in
March to drop Denver from the list.
Philadelphia and Orlando were the
other candidates, but both presented
problems in accommodating the huge
convention, which about 10,00ff
people attend. Almost as soon as
Denver was dropped, it was added to
the list again.
Integrity, the lesbian and gay
justice ministry of the Episcopal
Church; immediately mobilized to
strongly oppose locating the convei1tion
in Denver. The Episcopal
Church went through a wrenching
experience holding its 1991 convention
in Phoenix before Arizona
approved a Martin Luther King, .Jr.
holiday. Integrity raised the specter
of the church facing the same
difficulties in 1997.
Moreover, there were even less
favorable circumstances in Colorado.
In Arizona, state Episcopalians had
gone on record favoring a King
holiday. In contrast, Colorado Episcopalians
meeting in February specifically
declined to call for the repeal of
Amendment 2, although they
approved a resolution opposing gay
bashing. This distinction was pointed
out in a pre_ss release by Integrity
which received widespread attention
in the Church. Church leaders
contacted Integrity leaders who
reported that gay and lesbian
Episcopalians did not consider that
any compromise which involved
going to Colorado to be acceptable.
Members of the planning
committee visited Denver in early
May. In large fart because of the
clear message o Integrity, however,
Denver remained ""unacceptable"" to
the committee. In June, the decision
was ratified by the Church's Executive
Council. ,
Opposition to Lancaster MCC fading
CONTROVERSY JS swirling around
Vision of Hope MCC's effort to purchase
a building in Mountville, Penn.
""It's been tense, but miraculous!"" said
Rev. Mary Merriman, pastor:
Strong local opposition, which then
aroused strong local support, resulted
in massive coverage in the local
press, including such headlines as
""Vision of Hope is not a true Christian
church,"" ""All the homosexuals want is
a Mountville church,"" and ""Sickened
by criticism of gay church in Mountville.""
""At first glance, it might seem -scary
but as you look within, especially at
some of the letters to the editor, there
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ttfll Second Stone-September/October, 1993 LU ·
has been an overwhelming measure
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when one of our local bookstores was
bombed twice and the Klan came to
town,"" Rev. Merriman said.
The story began in April, when
Vision of Hope MCC, meeting in a
Unitarian church in Lancaster, announced
plans to purchase a United
Church of Christ building in nearby
Mountville . About 25 angry residents
and property owners attended a
borough council meeting to demand
that the city stop MCC from coming
because, as resident Connie Mancuso
told the press, ""Mountville won't be a
nice town anymore.""
After studying the issue, the
borough council said in May that it
has no legal authority to stop Vision
of Hope MCC from locating in Mountville.
Some of the town's religious
leaders issued a message of compassion
and acceptance to their local
congregations, and neighbors directly
surrounding the church said they had
no qualms as long as there were no
public displays of affection on
Mountville sidewalks. ·
At the next borough council
meeting, nearly 100 people crammed
into the hall to debate the subject.
Rev. Merriman made a statement in
which she quoted Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr., ""Either we live together as
brothers and sisters or we die
together as fools.""
· Neighbors who once held a prayer
service for Vision of Hope's ""deliverance""
are now joining the church in
an educational effort to address the
myths surrounding lesbian and gay
people. Vision of Hope has held discussions
with three of the five
churches in Mountville and the
executive director of the county council
of churches wants to meet with
Rev. Merriman about a dialogue .
MCC was scheduled to close the deal
on the property on July 28 and hold
its first worship service in Mountville
on August 22. - Keeping in Touch
American Jews increasingly conflicted
over homosexuality
THE CONFLICT . OVER homosexuality
within American Judaism has
not made as many headlines as the
debate among Christians on the issue,
but it is _no less intense throughout
the various branches of the faith,
according to a cover story in the Jewish
magazine Moment (June). Such
recent incidents as the resignation of
the dean of the rabbinical school at
the Jewish Theological Seminary
when he was accused of sexually
harassing a male student has brought
the issue of homosexuality to the
Conservative Jewish institution. The
battle over and eventual exclusion of
a gay Jewish synagogue's participation
in New York's Israel Day Parade
also showed a growing split among
Jews on the issue. While Judaism has
traditionally condemned homosexual
activity as outlawed by the Torah and
Talmud, such liberal bodies as the
Reform and Reconstructionists are
allowing homosexual rabbis, as well
as blessing gay and lesbian partnerships.
But even in such liberal quarters,
there is dissent: a recent survey
of over 350 Refo~m synagogues found
that only seven had changed their
bylaws to signify that homosexuals
are welcomed. ""Very few congregations
would accept an openly gay or
lesbian rabbi. The subject is still
avoided in religious schools,"" says
researcher Rabbi Sandy Seltzer.
Younger rabbis are likely to be more
open to such developments than the
older ones, reports Alice Sparberg
Alexiou.
As American Jews have
been strongly involved in
past civil rights causes,
many now support the
gay rights movement.
The battle is just shaping up in
Conservative Judaism. While supporting
civil rights for homosexuals,
the denomination .recently rejected
admitting openly gay students to the
rabbinical or cantorial schools. A
Conservative movement in California
represented by the University of
Judaism is pressing for a more liberal
attitude on the issue than the
Conservative Jewish ""establishment""
in the East. Although Orthodox Jews
are clearly opposed to homosexual
lifestyles, there are now unpublicized
""support groups available for
Orthodox Gays and Lesbians."" But
Orthodox psychologists say they also
have many homosexual Orthodox
patients trying to change their sexual
orientation, sometimes, they claim,
with success. The conflict in most
branches of Judaism on the issue has
led to the increasing formation of gay
and lesbian synagogues (or
""chavurot"") - there are now 32 such
congregations in the United States.
Alexiou forecasts that Jews will
increasingly move away from their
traditional opposition to homosexual
lifestyles. As American Jews have
been strongly involved in past civil
rights causes, many now support the
gay rights movement. There is a
greater willingness to accept homosexuals
within families than there was
ten years ago, she writes. ""It is a
product of the growing level of
t.heological and personal comfort of
Reform, Reconstructionist and other
Jews with homosexuality and perhaps
also a sign of the growing assimilation
of American Jews away from
Orthodox viewpoints."" .
-Reprinted from Religion Watch
United Church of Christ reaffirms inclusive
stance towards Gays, Lesbians
ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE 19th
General Synod of the United Church
of Christ con(irmed the Synod's stance
that the UCC should be an inclusive
church that · welcomes gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians into its
membership.
Past biennial meetings of the
Synod, which speaks .to, but not for,
the UCC's 1.6 million members and
6,300 churches, had endorsed civil
rights for Gays and Lesbians and
affirmed the ordination of Gays and
Lesbians to the ministry .
The 1993 Synod met July 15-20 in
conjunction with the General Assembly
of the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ). The first ever common
gathering of the two churches'
representative bodies included joint
worship, workshops and meals, plus
separate business sessions.
President Clinton's ""don't ask, don't
tell"" policy regarding Gays in the
military drew a sharp rebuke from
the UCC's Synod hours after the
President's announcement on July 19.
Delegates voted by a wide margin to
direct its leadership to ""strongly urge
the lifting of the ban against Gays
and Lesbians in the military"" and
assist congregations of the United
Church of Christ in educating themselves
and engaging in advocacy for
the civil rights of Gays and Lesbians.""
Later, hundreds of delegates from
both churches demonstrated their
opposition to the President's policy .
They stood in a silent line stretching
750 feet from the General Synod hall
to the building's entrance. The demonstrator's
mouths were taped shut to
symbolize the silence imposed on
homosexuals by the administration's
plan.
The . presidents of both churches
denounced the new policy in a joint
statement released the same afternoon.
""Gay, lesbian and bisexual
citizens who wish to serve their
country in the armed forces should be
able to do sci, like every other citizen,
without any restriction,"" said UCC
President Paul H . Sherry and Disciples
General Minister and President
C. William Nichols.
In related actions, UCC Synod voted
to:
•Support passage of a federal gay
and lesbian civil rights law to ""end
discrimination in employment, housing,
public accommodations, and .
federally assisted opportunities."" _The
resolution also called for repeal of all
state ""sodomy laws"" and supported
""domestic partnership laws designed
to provide greater justice for Gays
and Lesbians.""
•Endorse a predominantly gay and
lesbian church's application for
""observer status"" in the National
Council of Churches; In November
1992, the NCC denied status to the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan ·
Community Churches. The Synod
directed the UCC president .to ""lodge
the strongest possible protest"" with
the NCC ""concerning the continued
exclusion"" of the church . But delegates
rejected a provision that would
have called on the UCC to ""prayerfully
and seriously review its membership
in and its financial support
of"" the NCC unless the council
reversed its decision by 1998.
• Defeat a resolution that called on the
church to ""lead gay, lesbian and
bisexual ·persons away from their
sin.""
• Affirm that the UCC is ""united in
Christ despite ... differences and
disagreements"" over a 1991 General
Synod resolution ""that supported the
""gifts for ministry of gay, lesbian and
bisexual people."" Delegates called on
members of the church ""to accept one
another in the face of differences · of
conviction, show respect for one
another as sisters and brothers in
Christ, and act in ways that will build
up the life of the community .""
There are more than 100 openly
gay and lesbian ministers in the
UCC. About half are serving UCC
congregations.
Inclusion of Gays and Lesbians in
the church also figured prominently
in Sherry's biennial address to the
Synod on July .16. The UCC, he said,
should be ""a safe space, a sacred
space, a community of embrace."" He
told delegates about a lesbian ""who '
wanted to thank the United Church of
Christ for helping save her life.""
After two attempts to commit suicide,
the woman had ""begun to see her
way to the future"" through ""the
affirmation"" of a UCC congregation.
'That woman, that pastor and that
congregation are on the way to the
Promised Lan1,"" Sherry said.
The United Church of Christ, with
national offices in Cleveland, and the
1-million member Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ), with general
offices in Indianapolis, have shared a
unique ecumenical partnership since
1985.
Pope asked to address gay and. lesbian youth
A NATIONAL CATHOLIC organi zation
devoted to promoting justice
for lesbian and gay people within the
Catholic Church asked Pope John
Paul II to speak about lesbian and
gay youth in his address to those
assembled for World Youth Conference,
August 11-15 in Denver.
The invitation was made publi.c in an
open letter to the Pope whi~h·
appeared _ August 11 as a paid
advertisement in the Denver Post.
The letter is_ signed by 911
individuals and organizations including
four Catholic bishops, Thomas
Gumbleton, Detroit, Charles Buswell,
Pueblo, Colo., John Fitzpatrick,
Brownsville, Texas, and Juan Arzube,
Authorizes possible Colorado boycott
Christian Church reaffirms
support o·f gay rights
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ),
a denomination of one million
members, meeting in St . Louis July
15-20, reaffirmed its continuing
support of gay rights, commended St.
Louis for its anti~discrimination
statutes, and urged ""the enactment of
laws at all levels of government
which will ensure the civil rights and
civil liber.ties of all persons,
regardless of sexual orientation."" The
resolution also calls upon ""members,
congregations and other manifestations
of the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) to advocate, support,
and maintain the passage of such
laws and work to change discriminatory
laws, policies and procedures
where they exist.""
In other action, the church
authorized its General Board to
change the location of the denomination's
1997 assembly from Denver,
Colorado, to another state if Amendment
2 in Colorado is still in effect by
the July, 1994 meeting of the General
Board. Delegates also elected lo the
top office of the denomination, the
position of General Minister and
President, Dr . Richard Hamm, whose
position in favor of gay rights and full
inclusion in ordination and ministry
was an issue to some conservative
delegates. He was elected by a
delegate vote of 3,720 to 310.
Los Angeles.
""We ask you lo be mindful that
some of the young people you
address will be gay or lesbian,"" the
letter said. ""Because of societal pressures,
many of them are denying .or
hiding their sexual orientation from
parents and friends, resulting in
division and alienation in family life
or even suicidal feelings. We ask you
to speak _words of encouragement and
healing to these young people.""
The letter also asked the Pope to
cond emn bigotry and dis_crimination
a0ainst lesbian and gay people and
■ ""Maybe We're •
Talking About a
Different God""
A half.:.hour documentary on the Rev.
· Jane Spahr and her call to the Downtown
Church in Rochester, protested and
brought to trial.
defend their human and civil rights.
Greg Link, director of New Ways .
Ministry, said the Iheme of the Pope's
1993 pilgrimage is ""I came so that
they · might have life and have it ·
more abundantly"" (John 10:10). ""How
can lesbian and gay youth have life
more abundantly?"" Link asked.
According lo Link, the letter was
hand delivered to the Vatican Nuncio,
Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, on
July 15, to be forwarded through the
diplomatic pouch to the Pope in
Rome. The placement of the letter in
the diplomatic _pouch was confirmed
by the Nuncio's office on July 27.
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Second Stone-September /October, 1993 \ 7 !
Episcopal leader attacked by right wing
for speech at Integrity's convention
THE 1993 NATIONAL Convention of
Integrity, the lesbian and gay justice
ministry of the Episcopal Church,
held July 15-18 in San Diego, has
again generated charges of bias by
the church's largest right wing organization
against one of the church's two
top leaders.
The principal speaker at the
convention was Mrs. Pamela Chinnis,
elected in 1991 as the first woman
president of the House of Deputies,
which together with the House of
Bishops sets policy for the Epis~opal
Church at its General Conventions
. held every three years. Chinnis has
lo'ng been known as an advocate of
greater inclusiveness in the church
and her. speech continued that
tradition.
of Deputies lo show sud1 a clear bias
and to act upon it.""
lnteg -rity, however, claims that it is
not primarily an advocacy group . In
over 65 chapters in the United States,
plus affiliated chapters in Australia
.and Canada, the primary focuses are
worship in a supportive environment,
emotional support and counseling,
spiritual nourishment and Christian
education, and service to the Church
and the lesbian and gay community.
Through Integrity 's evangelism, thousands
of Lesbians and Gays ,
estranged from the Episcopal and
·other churches, have returned to worship
and fellowship. EURRR, in contrast,
is solely a lobbying organization.
·
Mrs. Chinnis is opening up the
-committee structure to Lesbians and
Gays who have heretofore been
excluded, according lo Integrity . Dr.
Louie Crew, Integrity's founder and a
Deputy from the Diocese of Newark,
said, ""During the tenure of her pre- .
decessor as president of the House of
Deputies, the Very Rev. David
Collins, openly lesbian and gay
Integrity members were blatantly
excluded from all committees and
commissions of the church, even the
Joint Commission on AIDS and the
committees whose primary focus was
on gay and lesbian issues."" Collins
was and remains an active EURRR
member and is 011, the steering committee
to plan EURRR's first national
convention to be held in June 1994.
The Most Rev. Edmond L.
Browning, Presiding Bishop and Primate
of the Episcopal Church, was the
principal celebrant and preacher at
last year's Integrity convention held
in Houston. He also was attacked by
EURRR after his appearance at the
Integrity convention .
The preacher at - the convention
eucharist was the Rt. Rev. Douglas E.
Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire
.and chair of the Episcopal Church's
Commission on AIDS. lri the House
of Bishops he has been an outspoken
advocate for lesbian . and gay justice
and has an openly gay priest as his
principal assistant.
The Louie Crew Award for
outstanding -service to Integrity was
presented to Sisler Brooke Bushong,
C.A., a I_ong-time Integrity member,
twice president of Integrity /New
York, Integrity's largest chapt er with
300 members, and founder of· the
National AIDS Memorial sponsored
by Integrity and located at the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine in
New York City. Episcopalians United for
Revelation, Renewal and Reformation
(EURRR), based in Solon, . Ohio, issued
a press release attacking Chinnis
for her remarks and accusing her of
""stacking committees with members
who are so clearly biased ."" ·
During her speech Chinnis _ said,
·""After my election as president of the
House of Deputies, both the.Presiding
Bishop and I intentionally appointed
more Integrity members to interim
bodies. More members of Int'egrity
have been elected as deputies to the
next General Convention, and I shall
certainly appoint them to Iegisl~tive
comrti'ittees of-the 1994 Convertlion.
But I need your help in this. I need
you to tell me about the persons I
don ' t know.""
Presbyterians struggle over gay/lesbian issues
Although all deputies are not yet
known, it appears that approximately
12 openly lesbian and gay Integrity
· members have been elected by their
dioceses to serve at the 1994 General
Convention. About one third of the
850 deputies will be appointed to the
26 legislative committees so it is
inconceivable that committees can be
""stacked"" with Integrity members .
The Integrity conventi'on's theme
was ""Where there is hatred, let us
sow love,"" a quote from a prayer by
St. Francis. Integrity's president ,
Bruce Garner, an Alternate Deputy to
General Convention from the Diocese
of Atlanta, said, ""Apparently the
EURRR representative at our convention
just didn't get it."" The convention's
focus was on enhancing personal
spirituality and strengthening
Integrity chapters to minister to the
lesbian· and gay community in
Christ's name .
EURRR's executive director, the
Rev. Tod Wetzel, said, ""I sense no
concern for balance, much less diver- ·
sity, in President Chinnis' remarks
regarding committee appointments. I
hear only a concern for winning the
_battle. Showing a bias is understandable
and appropriate for an advocacy
organization such as Episcopalians
United or Integrity. It is inappropriate
for the President of -the House
[8J Second Stone-Sept~mber/October, 1993
THE TURMOIL WITHIN the Presbyterian
Church (USA} over what role
Lesbians and Gays should play in
church life came to center stage at the
church's General Assembly in
Orlando.
Despite pleas from Gays and
Lesbians within the church to repeal a
ban .on openly gay clergy, the
church's Committe e on Human Sexuality,
which has been studying the
role of Gays in the church, decided
instead that what Presbyterians
needed was still more study.
The committee recommended a
three-year, churchwide look at the
role of- sexuality as it relates to
membership, ministry and ordination
within the church . Butthe committee
also recommended that closeted Gays
and Lesbians within the church,
including clergy, would be able to
participate in the study without fear
that their sexual orientation would be
used against them. ·
The study came at the request of
more than 30 regional church groups
• some opposing the ban and some
wanting the church to take an even
stronger stand against the integration
of lesbian and gay Presbyterians into
church life. But some gay activists
were not pleased by the committee's
recommendation, which keeps the
ban in place for three years while the
study of the issue continues.
""We feel we are being sold down
the drain again,"" said Rev . Howard
Warren of Presbyterian ACT UP.
Rev . Jane Spahr, the lesbian
minister whose appointment as pastor
of a church in upstate New York was
revoked last year by the Presbyterian
Church 's top judicial body, said the
church should lift the ban on gay
clergy, then study the issue .
""Let's study together, but let's
rescind this rule that keeps us
divided,"" she said.
What happened to Spahr last year
has helped galvanize gay and lesbian
Presbyterians . Though parishioners
called her to be the pastor of a church
in Rochester, N.Y. knowing full well
that she was openly lesbian, a church
court ruled that she could not take the
post because church law does not
allow Gays and Lesbians to serve as
ordained ministers unless they
· ""repent of homosexual practice.""
In 1991, the General Assembly,
overturning the report of a task force
that recommended that Gays and
Lesbians be ordained, affirmed past
church statements that declared that
being gay or lesbian ""is not God's
wish for humanity.""
Rev. David Lee Dobler, newly
elected as moderator of the church (its
top leadership position), said he
thinks that the church should take a
moderate stand, expressing compassion
toward Gays and Lesbians but
keeping the ban on them serving as
clergy.
""I believe that the middle will hold
on this, "" Dobler said. 'There are
voices on the edges that our Lord and
we need to hear, but we don 't have to
be driven by them.""
One of those voices belongs to Tom
Edwards, one of the authors of a
document called the Princeton Declaration,
signed by a group of Presbyterians
who believe the church should
be less tolerant of Gays and Lesbians.
""For 205 years, the Presbyterian
Church has maintained a clear
Biblical witness,"" Edwards said. ""If
we set this aside, the Presbyterian
Church will say the authority of_
scripture is secondary. The world
will decide and tell us what is right.
And that's a very scary thing.""
By only two votes, the Assembly's
Committee on Social Witness Issues
and Policy refused to ask sessions that
sponsor Boy Scout units as part of
their youth programs to merely
examine the policy to exclude boys,
young men and leaders on the basis
. of sexual orientation . At the same
time, the committee recommended
and the Asse~bly agreed to condemn
the anti-gay constitutil ;mal • amendment
in Colorado and similar efforts
in other states and urged a complete
end to the anti-gay ban in the U.S.
military.
Efforts to ban same-sex unions
conducted by Presbyterian ministers
in Presbyterian Churches were
turned back.
During the General Assembly's
stay in Orlando, Presbyterians for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns held a
spirited worship service, complete
with the singing of ""She'll Be Comin'
Round the Mountain.""
Lisa Larges of San Francisco told the
audience that it was not enough for
the church to welcome Gay s and
Lesbians while refusing to ordain
them.
""As a church, we cling to the false
hope that we can offer love without
justice,"" she said.
During one· assembly session, a
group of protestors stood in front of
the stage carrying a cross. And
although the church didn't change its
stand, delegates did give a group of
supporters a standing ovation after
they made an impassioned plea for
the delegates to reverse the clergy
ban .
- Associated Pre,s and More Ligltt
Update
Dr. Mel White named dean of Cathedral of Hope
Former Falwell
ghostwriter
switches camp
WHEN IT COMES TO the religious
right .and Gays and Lesbians, the
attitude in both camps is ""it's them ·or
us."" But the line is not so finely
drawn anymore . One of them, one of
their best, became one of us this
.summer. On June 27th, Gay Pride
Sunday, Dr. Mel White was installed
as the Dean of the Cathedral of Hope
Metropolitan Community Church.
With over 1000 members, the Dallas
church is the world's largest church
with a primary outreach to lesbian
and gay peopl e.
'Today, I give up my place of
privilege as a prosperous, uppermiddle-
class, middle-aged, white,
slightly balding, pretend -heterosexual
male,"" he said to · those gathered
at the cathedral for his installation.
""And I say to my fri ends on the
religious right, 'I am gay, I am proud
and God loves me without reservation.""'
Having written speeches for Oliver
North and having served as a
ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell and Pat
Rober tso n, White carries an impressive
resume as he assumes his new
position in the gay community. Over
the past 30 years, White has earned
critical acclaim as a best selling author
and prize winning filmmaker.
Amon g his accomplishments are 53
motion pictur e and television documentaries
including ""Deceived: the
Jonestown Tragedy,"" ""In the Presence
of Mine Enemies,"" and 'Tested By
Fire,"" which won a dozen American
Film Festivals. Tested By Fire was his
best selling first book which was
about the life of Merrill Womach, a
successEul Spokane, Washington, businessman
and entertainer who was
burned and badly disfigured in a
plan e crash. The book documents the
sources of one person's strength in a
time of physical and psychological
suffering. After his impressive debut
as an author, White went on to ghostwrite
16 be st: selling books for
religious celebrities including Billy
Graham (Approaching Hoojbeats), Jer ry
Falwell (Strength Jot· tile Journey), and
Pat Robertson (America's Dale with
Destiny).
White grew up in Santa Cruz,
where his father served in public
office. He graduated from Warner
Pacific College in Portland, Oregon in
1962 and married a longtime girlfriend.
The marriage produced two
child ren. He realized early in his
marriage he had an attraction toward
men but it was 17 years later before a
psychologist helped him confront his
homosexuality. In 1980 he joined All
Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena,
Calif., where rector George Ragas
urged him to come to terms with
being gay . In 1984, at a Palm Sunday
service at All Saints, White met
Gary Nixon, his life partner, and
White divorced his wife. White and
Nixon now live in Dallas. His ex-wife
is supportive. ""I still love her,"" White
says. His parents, Carl and Faythe
White, are devotees of Robertson's
700 Club and continue to struggle
with their son's revelations.
From the beginning of his career in
media, White has searched for stories
that would inspire and inform in the
struggle to be human . He directed
two docum entary film crews in Vietnam
during the last two years of the
war, trying to document the s piritual
dimensions of that war on those who
were its victims.
White has produced and directed
television specials in Africa, Asia,
South and Central America on everything
from literacy, famin e and
tropical medicine to political uprisings
and freedom movements. He has
written and filmed st~ries in India
and Hawaii on Han sen 's disease and
the spiritual dimension of being an
outcast. His book, Ma,garet of Molokai
is the story of the last leper to leave
the Kalaupapa peninsula . and a
fascinating analogy for the current
AIDS crisis.
Last year White wrote to his
colleagues and informed them of his
homosexuality. On abandoning his
long time career and taking a position
at Cathedral of Hope Whil e said,
'This is the moment of truth for our
community. The religious and political
right ar e mounting an incredible
campaign of hate and disinformation
against us . Our freedom, our human
rights and even our lives are at stake.
I
I
l Dr. Mel White, Dean of the Cathedral of Hope
The Catlledral of Hope has a wonderful
opportunity to lead the way . If
we sit out this revolution, it will be a
disaster , but if we mobilize our forces,
with God's help, we can help heal the
nation.""
two primary tasks . First, to 9se my
skills and experiences to help my gay
brothers and lesbian sisters who are
suffering across this nation and
around the world. Second, to help cut
off that suffering at its source, the
""The front lines of a war against us are
forming before our eyes. Will we take
our place or will we stay safely in the
closet and watch others fight and die
on our behalf?""
Former colleagues Falwell and
Graham hav e not responded to
White's letters. Falwell told the Los
Angeles Times that White is ""just a
nice guy."" ""He is quite artistic and
imaginative, and very talented, :'
Falwell said. Pat Robertson wrote to
White only to say that hom osexuality
is a sin .
Mobilizing the forces for White
starts with forming Circles of Hope, a
national ministry to Gay s and Lesbians
living in citiQS and towns across
America where there is currently no
organiz~d, proactive lesbian and gay
presence.
""As Dean of the Cathedral, I have
religious right,"" tie said.
White said that the religious right
believes in theocracy instead of democracy
a nd that rather than having
the separation of church and state that
eventually th e power of the government
will be in their hands.
""As in the days of segregation, the
misuse of God's word by Christian
preach ers is at the hea rt of the
injustice and discriminati on that we
face .. The front lines of a war against
us are forming before our eyes. Will
we take our place or will we stay
safely in the closet and watch others
fight and die on our behalf?"" asked
White.
Second Stone-Seplcmhcr /Octobcr. 1993 ml 9 I
_ j
.................T... .............C .o, ..v.S.e..tr.o. .r..y... .......T... ............. .
Robert Goss
Jesus the activist
From Page 1
specifically took place in Jesus' ""stop
the temple action"" ,vas a response not
only to money changers in the
temple, but against bankers - who left
many in a permanent state of indebtedness,
and against a patr .iar~hial
system founded and perpetuated
through the exclusion of entire classes
bf people.
confusion his falling in love with this
man, Frank, caused.
The two left the Jesuits, but
""carried on a ministry of two .""
Leaving the Jesuits, he recalls, was
tough, but he has no regrets. 'The
Society of Jesus gave us a spirituality
we have lived to the utmost for the
last 16 years.""
Jesus. Frank had encouraged him to
turn from their joint business venture
· and resume his doctoral work in
religion at Harvard . ""And I did,""
says Goss. He began to see the
""apparent discrimination against
Frank because he was HIV [positive]
and general homophobia."" ·
It was his anger at such
'The Romans,"" Goss e.xplains, ""co
opted the temple aristocracy into their
power structure. What Jesus did was
intrude into sacred space ... Jesus was
not apolitical. He was not a zealot,
but he was an activist. He ·espoused
by his actions - associating with sinners,
prostitutes, ta.x collectors, people
with no hope of salvation - a political
idea.""
Goss' commitment to ""the retrieval
of Jesus as the Queer Christ,"" (i.e., a
Christ who identifies with the marginalized
and oppressed ""queer""
community) undergirds his theology
and seems to guide his life's course.
Just what this means is fairly simple.
Jesus, on the cross, is the symbol of
liberation for all oppressed people, for
all society has thrown away, for all
historica\Ly rejected by ""the church,:
His vision is simple: he likens it to the
end of the movie ""Longtime Companion""
when ""you will be reunited with all you
have lost. My vision of God's reign is a
cure and reunion while being reempowered
to action, to civil disobedience.""
- Througli 'the cross, God ""said 'no' to
oppression!
Proclaiming a ""queer Christ""
doesn't mean (pro)claiming that Jesus
was gay. Goss really has no intention
of proving anything about Jesus'
sexuality - except, perhaps, that it is
unlikely that Jesus was asexual (by
orientation, not practice).
Goss joined the Jesuits in 1970
because he felt very strongly called to
the ministry and to be a priest. In
1976 he was ordained. ""I loved the
fesuits,"" says Goss. '""They taught me
how to love men."" In fact, he met
and fell in love with another Jesuit,
who became his lover. Goss required
more than a year to sort out the
""God's 1ove was very present and
prevalent in our love-makii1g and in
our hospitality, welcoming people
into our house. [This is] something I
cherish,"" he says. And after a brief
pause, ""He was my best friend.""
When, in 1990, Frank was
diagnosed with HIV, Goss began to
wake up to the reality of a political
QUOT ABLE
''There are six admonitions in the Bible against
homosexuality, but 362 admonitions against
, heterosexuaalc tivity. Now, I don't mem;t o
imply that God doesn't love straight people -
only that they need more supervision.
-LynnLavner
lfilJ Second StoneoSepte~ber/October, 1993
discrimination and homophobia, however,
that spurred him on. ""[I'm]·
tired of apologizing for who I am.
We need to take a real activist [stand].
There's no reason Christians can't be
at the forefront of activist organizations,""
he says, pointing to the
presence of Christians at the forefront
of the black civil rights movement.
Religion ""has been hostile to us.
Act Up, Queer Nation perceive
religion as the enemy,"" he says, but
he wasn't willing ""to throw away the
historical Jesus. Christianity is not
our enemy. We need to build, give
the tools for many of our faith
communities to develop - to challenge
heterosexism and homophobia in our
church.""
Gay men, in particular, Goss
stresses, . ""need to uproot misogyny
because homophobia is rooted in it.
We need to become one hundred
percent feminist-identified and committed
to the full liberation of wonwn
- equality and gender parity in our
society.
''Power ·relations,"" he continues,
""are grounded in patriarchy ... based
on the submission of women. We
need to really uproot that power
structure."" And ""we need to coalesce
with other groups struggling for
liberation. If we get our civil rights,
we will not be free - not until
everyone is free of oppression:""
""We even have to liberate our
oppressors,"" he adds. The religious
right, he says, is so ""hateful and
unfree.""
Roman Catholic theologian Daniel
McGuire, professor of moral theology
at Marquette University, responded
to Goss' book by saying that
""Outrageous prejudice calls for outrageous
protest! Liberation theologies
are not new to the Catholic church,
nor is Goss' theology especially
unique. It shares commonalities with
a number of other 'sibling' liberation
theologies - Latin American, Black,
and feminist among them.""
What is unique is that Goss'
theology is based on ""queer"" experience.
""Queers"" are placed - or
""re-""olaced in churrh histnrv. (;oss
numbers ""queers"" among the outcast,
the marginalized of Jesus' day and
ours, and he points out that the
""queer"" of today is equal, perhaps, to
the Samaritan of Jesus' day.
It is easily overlooked that the
Samaritan stories would have been
looked on by early Christians with
disfavor at least equal to that of 20th
century Christians reading similar .
stories in which the homosexual is set
apart and embraced, rather than
shunned.
Goss is a firm believer in ""the
concrete witness of your life."" And
his witness is to the reality that
spirituality in general, Christianity,
in particular, and [homo]sexuality
need not be mutually exclusive.
His vision is simple: he likens it to
the end of the movie ""Longtime
Companion"" when ""you will be
reunited with all you have lost. My
vision of God's reign is a cure and
reunion while being reempowered to
action, to civil disobedience.""
Ultimately, says Goss, ""we need to
become assertive and active. [We are
·now] a community of prophets across
the country; we need to become a
prophetic community. ,'Look,"" he
says, '.'at what such communities
did... toppled the Roman Empire.
With thousands of sud, justice communities,
we will topple homophobia,
end misogyny, and hopefully, maybe
end racism.""
It's a tall order , but it certainly
could happen.
See In Print, Page 16.
A eulogy
at a service
for one who
died of
AIDS
A well-known figure lost a
young beloved son in an
absurd accident: drove off the
- road into a river - perhaps a
few drinks, perhaps too fast, perhaps
asleep. Whatever. A pious neighbor
bringing food to the wake said to him
by way of comfort, ""I do not
understand the will of God."" At
which all the suppressed anger and
resentment hidden so carefully, broke
out, and the son's father tore into the.
hapless woman, ""Indeed you do not
understand the will of God. You
think God arranges accidents and
tragedies? Absurd horrors? You
think He is the agent behind so much
misery?""
Is He? Easily asserted. Easily
denied. Most of us assume that in the
end God is in charge of this world,
everything somehow is in His
'lJifl's Prayer
dominion. And since His dominion is
one of love, we can assume that love
is the answer, even when that answer
emerges with great difficulty from the
ashes of disaster.
Primitives I knew and love were
docile to the world's Jaws in the death
of the old, the infirm. The death of
the young shattered them. Since
poisoning was an aspect of earlier
life-ways, the answer to sudden death
was always the same: poison. Someone
poisoned him. Even when ii was
obvious that tliis was not the case, the
answer remained. It was easy to Jive
with . It was an answer, however
inadequate. It worked .
Human kind is good at faith in a
Savior . Someone to bear our bur.
dens, suffer our pain, bear our cross.
We are always on the make for a
I asl@ti (Joi for strtngtli, tliat I miglit ac/iieve;
I was maae weat, tfiat gooi migfi.t 6e ac/iievei in 111£ ...
I asl@ti for fita[tfi, tliat I miglit tio greattr tfiings;
I was given injinnitg, tfiat I mifJlit io 6etter tliings ...
I as/@( for riclies, tliat I migfit 6e fi.appy;
I was given poverty, tfiat I mi/flit 6e wise ...
I asff!i for power, tliat I mitf lit Ii.ave praise;
I was given wea(!l£Ss, tliat I miglit feam patience ...
I asf(si for al{ t!iings, tliat I mifJli.t enjoy ufa;
I was given Jjfa, tfi.at I migfi.t enjoy a[{ trnngs ... _
I got notliing tfi.at I asf(si for - 6u.t eve,ytfiing I fi.ai liopei for ...
.M11wst l.espitt myself, my u.nspo/(!n prayers were answereti.
'Ifie £orii;!J{imseff Is in our aar(!teSs; a[{ is £igfi.t .iefore !Him..
'I1i£ n!qlit of pain a.nti fta.r fait.s a.way in :His presence.
Sed;;,!His far.e, anti trust aCways in !J{is Cove.
-'Int pniyer mu[ at tlie fantral of 'Bilt 'llr6an, fourufer of 'Ilie
!lltzl'timore Aliematwe newspaper.
savior, an answer to our riddles. If
you are Boston Irish, the memory of
Yankee contempt in a past generation
· is not yet laid to rest. The Irish were
scum to the Yankee, and treated as
such, a generation or so ago. When I
was a seminarian, no black could get
in a seminary. Or even a Catholic
college for that matter. The SVD built .
a seminary and trained excell!ml
black priests. The bishops, the pastors
, the people would not have them.
The first of them became a monk
here, perhaps with a broken heart.
The Polish, years ago, were so
shabbily treated that a group left the
Church and formed the schismatic
Polish Catholic Church . The Germans,
at the hands of the Irish
bishops, were perilously close to the
same.
Would you choose of purpose and
with intent to be Hispanic today,
Mexican, Latin? We need someone to
pick on. To crucify. We need someone
to hang from a tree, as was the
custom just a few years ago. The
custom has an Irish name: Lynch. Do
you know what it is like to be gay?
Today? Yesterday? Do you know
what it is like to have the finger on
you, guilty and cursed? We go on
making Saviors of anyone who will
bear it, and on those who will not. It
is my generation which will live
forever with the Jewish Holocaust.
Not to mention Stalin and his kind.
Have you ever lived in a small town
■
and known the vicious human
tongue?
We put Christ to death here and
ask his forgiveness for ii . And we
receive it. And so are wounds
healed, sores dosed, hurts assuaged.
And more important, lessons learned .
For it is in forgiving that we are
healed . When wo do not forgive we
are doomed to .. do again what was
done to us. What was done before.
What we did. That we may learn at
long last the lesson so hard to learn!
And in the process discover Christ.
For the mystery is that when we do
another to death in one way or other,
as we did Christ, the one we do to
death becomes Christ. Christ dies in
the Black, the Hispanic, the poor, and
the plague ridden. This is the horror
and the glory. You Jay the whip on
another's back and then discover
whose back you whip.
We are all together in a mystery of
life and death, of suffering and pain.
Of glory in an eternal resurrection.
That is what this Mass, every Mass, is
about. This death, every death. This
laying into the earth of one who will
rise ... Who will rise ... Who will rise.
Every once in a while the Heavens
open and we see the glory to come.
Usually such moments come only at
the price of enormous pain and
sorrow. Like now . Like now.
Reprinted from Communication newsletter,
P. 0. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660.
..
■
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■ ■
Second Stone-September/October, 1993 [I}
PROJECT TOCSIN:
Common Cause
report tells only
organization is one of approximately
30 policy organizations affiliated with
Focus on the Family in as many
states. CRI promotes the concept of
""gatekeepers"" - putting their people
in control of Jaw, media , entertainment,
education, government, etc.
Traditional Values Coalition,
$30,000. .
Voucher Initiative? Is it for reasons of
education reform or do th ey have
religious motives? . Perhaps they
agree with R. J. Rushdoony when he
says, ""Education is thus always a
religious concern.. . not only is
education a totally religious subject,
but the curriculum, its ~ontents, and
its methods are all religious ... to all
children to be in humanistic schools is
to be unequally yoked and to serve
two masters."" half the story Chalcedon, Inc., $500,000. Howard
Ahmanson Jr. sits on the board of this
organization which is hea.ded by Rev.
Rousas John Rushdoony, the leading
proponent of Reconstructionism in
America. Also on the board 1s
Wayne Johnson, once an aide to
former California state Senator H: L.
Richardson.
The Capitol Commonwealth Group
tries to hide behind an agenda of
being only business people interested
in a better business climate, lower
taxes ·and less government regulation,
but, their real agenda is the
overthrow of the secular civil government
- to be replaced with a
theocracy ruled over by religious
magistrates handing out God's justice
and mercy as interpreted by them.
THE ·FAR RIGHT HAS experienced
no better success than in California,
where right wing candidates have
won political power, where afflue?t
business people have pumped big
money into special interest groups,
and where church-sponsored voter
registration drives have enlisted the
support of the masses for theocratic
causes.
In their escalating battle against
gay rights, right wing leaders are
well organized and committed . . Ai~d
they don't hesitate to bankroll their
movement.
On July 7, 1993 Common Cause of
Sacramento issued a report authored
by their policy analyst, Kim Alexander,
about the political contributi.
ons of the Allied Business PAC. The
PAC received contributions only from
four men; Howard Fieldstead
Ahmanson, Jr., Senator Rob Hurtt, Jr.,
Roland Hinz and Edward G. Atsinger
m.
Before the Allied Business PAC was
formed in May, 1992 the group was
caJJed t-he Capitol Commonwea/th
Group . It was made up of Ahmanson
and Hurtt. They were joined by Hmz
and Atzinger in March of 1992 , The
two made contributions of $31,125
each to Family PAC which had been
used by Ahmanson and Hurtt during
1991 to make contributions to several
candidates in special elections.
When the contributions are totaled,
as listed by Common Cause, the sum
is $2,241,121 which makes the Capitol
Commonwealth Group the largest
contributors to the 1992 elections.
This is $902,807 more than the
$1,338;314 contributed by the California
Medical Association.
This is only half the story, however,
because there is at least an additional
$1,664,307 in contributions to conser-
. vative foundations and think tanks
which have given CCG their plan of
action. Since 1987 Ahmanson and
Hurtt have made contributions to:
Capital Resource Institute ~f Sacramento,
$799,317. Founded in 1987 by
Ahmanson, Hurtt, Preston Hawkins,
Rob Martin and Peter Henderson, this
Claremont Institute, $234,000. A
Reconstructionist think tank whid1,
until the beginning of 1993, shared
office spac.e with CR! and the Western
Center for Law and Religious Freedom.
Western Center for Law and
Religious Freedom, $60,000. Records
at the Office of Charitable Trusts indicate
the Center is not so much
interested in religious freedom as in
reproductive rights. The majority of
cases in which they had an interes t
had to do with that subject .
The Reason Foundation, $41,000.
According to the Sacramento Bee, this _
group came up with the plan for the
Sd1ool Voud,er Initiative which will
be on the ballot in November.
Why is Capitol Commonwealth
Group so interested in the School
John Birch Society •
David Dhillon
X Larry Bowler
Phillip Hawkins
Cook Barela
Perhaps we can find another part of
their hidden agenda in a quote from
R. J. Rushdoony, ''The [biblical) law
here is humane and also unsentimental.
It recognizes that ·some
people are by nature slaves and will
always be so. It both requires that
they be dealt with in a godly manner
and also the slave recognizes his
position and accepts it with grace.""
This idea comes from Calvinist
teaching that God ordains our
position in life be it prince or pauper.
Provided by Project Tocsin, P.O. Box
163523, Sacramento, CA 95816-3523,
(916)374-8276, (916)374-TCSN.
X Ted Waggland
Ron Stauffer
X Doan Anda!
Alan Ebanstrin
X Jim Kelly
.Steve-Baldwin
Barbara Alby
Brad Parton
X Kathleen · Honeycutt
Connie Younkin
Jim Ellis
Dan Van Tieghem
Alan Guggenheim
Dick Oaleke
X Birney Richter
Raymond Haynes
X Gi Forguson
I Barbara Keating Edhf
XBIII Morrow
X Bill Hoge
X Curtis Pringle
X Dan Lungren
X = -45% winner,
Project Tocsin's flow chart of their interp~etation of California's Religious Right rm Second Stone-S.;;;~ember/October, 1993
God
Remembers
Your Name
The Biblical basis for the
Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
BY REV. DR. BUDDY TRULUCK
H
. ave you ever said, ""I know
your face, but I can't remember
your name!""? A popular
song severa l years ago was
""God Calls Me By My Name."" God
remembers . ""Are not five sparrows
sold for two cents? And yet not one of
them is forgotten before God ... "" (Luke
12:6) When you make the effort to
remember important details about
other people, like their names, you
are folfowing the pattern set by God .
On November 27, 1985, during the
annual candlelight march commemorating
the murders of Mayor George
Moscone and Harvey Milk, San
Francisco's first · openly gay supervisor,
mourners covered the walls of
the old Federal Building wjth
placards of the names of people who
had died of AIDS. The many different
sizes , shapes and colors of
cardboard reminded Cleve Jones of a
qutlt and inspired the idea of an
.AIDS memorial quilt. ·
My first contact with the Names
Project came several years ago in
Atlanta. My dear friend, Daniel, was
a tailor and had begun to work on a
number of quilt panels. He invited
me to go with him on a quilting bee.
When I first saw a panel, I was struck
by the large size. · I had imagined
small panels, like the ones in quilts
my grandmother made. I asked why
it was so big. Daniel said, ""It is three
feet by six feet, the size of.a grave .""
I can still remember the emotional
impact of that statement like it ju st
happened. The Names Project quilt
often produces a powerful and uncanny
emotional effect whenever it is
experienced. To remember is to
reflect the image of God who remembers.
Memory makes us human.
Remembering the course of human
and natural history is what education
is all about. The Bible is a book of
remembering. The Bible is also a
""names project.""
From Adam, meaning ""dirt"" to
Jesus, meaning ""savior,"" names in the
Bible help to tell the story of the acts
of God in salvation history. God
gave to Moses the special name of
God in Exodus 3:13-15: ""I Am,"" which
is based on the Hebrew verb ""to be.""
This is called God 's ""memorial name.""
Usually this naine is written Yahweh.
It is the name of God that recalled the
activity of God and expressed the self
revelation of God lo the people. Jesus
frequently took the title of ""I Am"" to
identify with God in .the Gospel of
John. God gave Jesus the ""name
which is above every name that at
the name of Jesus every knee should
bow.""
' . When Simon confessed Jesus as
ruler and savior, his name was
changed to Peter, which means
""rock ."" Joseph was also called
Barnabas, which means ""one who is
called · alongside to help another.""
Names . The Bible is full of names.
Long lists of 'begats"" alo1.6 with great
eloquent . names of individuals who
earned their names by their deeds.
God is called by many names and
titles. A Christfan missionary was
confronted by a Moslem who said,
""You have so many names for God
that it is confusing. We have one
name for God, Allah, but how do you
know what to call your God with so
many titles like Father, Savior, King,
Holy One, etc .?"" The missionary
thought for a moment and replfed, ""I
guess we simply call God by the
name of what we let God do for us in
our lives.""
One effect of the Names ·Project has
been increased teamwork and
cooperation between various gay and
lesbian groups. In many cities, just as
in Atlanta, Lesbians and Gays had a
history of internal conflict in various
projects. The annual Gay Pride
parade and rally, the Gay Center, the
churches, AID Atlanta and countless
political and support group efforts ·
had suffered from open war. between
various gay · fac.tions within the
gay /lesbian community. The Names
Project brought them all together in a
cooperative and productive effort.
The showing of the Names Project
quilt in Atlanta on Memorial Day
weekend in 1988 also brought many
straight Christian s into sympathetic
fellowship with the gay /lesbian
community . The attitude that I heard
most often expressed by both gay and
straight people at the quilt showing
was reverence and even awe for the
love expressed in the quilt and by the
p~ople showing and visiting it.
When Lazarus died, Jesus went to
the tomb of this friend the disciples
called ""he whom you love."" Jesus
wept. The reaction <'Jf the crowd was,
""Behold, how he loved him!"" My
response and the response of multitudes
of others to the public displaying
of the Names. Project Quilt
has been tears and a ·new depth of
experience and understanding of
love. The Names Project is basically a
labor of love and a unique expression
of remembering and respect. It took
Gays and Lesbians to think of such an
effective framework for handling
grief. It is dramatic, effective therapy.
I was a Southern Baptist pastor in
several states for over 20 years in
churches from about 50 members to
one- with over 2,000. In all that time
of pastoral ministry in countless
funeral services and other means of
comfort for bereaved people, I never
witnessed anything as healing and as
effective as a means of working
through grief as the making, assembling,
and showing of the Names
Project Quilt. Gays and Lesbians are
pioneers in a new approach to handling
the grief process. The rest of the
world can learn great lessons from
them . If only people in the churches
will set aside homophobia and the
misinformation and hate that some
so-called Christian anti-gay activists
are spewing, the world can learn
from · the gay /lesbian community
better ways to deal with suffering,
loss and grief,
· At the end of the quilt showing in
Atlanta, the crowd went outside and
released hundreds of balloons which
saHed up and out of sight . Counselors
for the quilt display were
taught the great importance of helping
people let go of emotional baggage
in the grief process. In
Philippians 3:12-14, Paul talked about
Jetting go of the past and pressing on
with hope in the future. ·
For many panel makers, the
hardest part of the Names Project was
giving up the panel in the presentation
ceremony. It was hard to let go
of something that represented so
much love . .All who witnessed the
closing ceremony of the panels being
given up to become part of th e
national memorial qu ilt wer e
profoundly moved. Tears flowed.
Hugs were given and received. Love
was there.
· Often the best expression of love is
silence. Just being with someone as
they cry, remember, and let go can
bring healing and hope. A young
woman who had made a panel for
her brother was at the quilt showing
in Atlanta in 1988. She was there
with her husband to present the
panel. I stood with her and listened
as she told me· about her brother and
how she made the panel. She asked
if it was okay for her to pin onto the
panel the ""Be a Buddy"" button that
her brother's friend ""Buddy"" had
worn. She had just been given the
button. She stooped down and
pinned it on. We stood and looked at
the panel. We both felt the tears
running down our faces as we stood
there in silence for several minutes.
What would you have said in those
moments? It seemed best to say
nothing. Being there was enough.
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Second Stone-September/October, 1993 [11].
Videos ........................................................................
Rev. Janie Spahr's story on video
""FOR US TO finally reclaim ourselves,
to say 'yes' to ourselves, had to
be a spiritual experience ... there had
to be a God working with us,"" says
Rev. Jane Spahr during an interview
segment of ""Maybe We're Talking
About a Different God: Homosexuality
and the Church,"" a new
video which chronicles the painful
ordeal of Spahr's overthrown call to
serve a Rochester, New York .congregation.
Jane Adams Spahr was chosen over
several other candidates by an
impressed· nominating committee
from the Downtown United Presbyterian
Church . The congregation
overwhelmingly approved the nominating
committee's choice. But the
fact that Spahr is an open lesbian did
not set well with church hierarchy
and the protest that followed eventually
was successful in thwarting her
call.
""I didn't really know the meaning of
homophobia until · I joined the
[nominating] committee,"" said Jack .
Network Q monthly video magazine
Network Q is television from ""a
slightly different perspective."" The
monthly video magazine says they
are ""one year old and still too queer
for cable.""
A new two hour program is
available every month for sub scribers.
In addition to film and book
Love Makes a Family
DURING THE PAST decade Quaker
meetings have been seeking to
understand and accept lesbian and
gay families. · ""Love Makes a Family""
is the story of the affirming and
transforming power of love.
In 1973, a lesbian couple asked the
Quaker meeting in Hayward, California
to celebrate their marriage.
Since that time, Quaker meetings
have engaged in intense discussions
of whether they will treat same sex
couples exactly the same as they treat
heterosexual couples when offering
celebrations of marriage . Because
Quakers make decisions by consensus,
the entire community has
been involved in these discussions.
· During the years that followed,
lesbian and gay Quakers have been
quietly assuming an open and equal
role in many Friends meetings and
organizations. In the process, a new ~J·i·t 11,i!lli) \
-; -.-•- ...i :-.·: ·- ·, -~~ r··
. -- .. , sfu- •, . ·-, ', .... .,. -- ··' 11' ' .... 't ._ \
~e
, . ~{af!i~!~~--
On 100 beautirul acres with
pool; hot tub, skiing and more.
lnnkecpm Judith Hal\. and
Grace Newman invite you to
write or call for a brochure.
[ 14 j Second Stone<September/October, 1993
... ·- .
reviews, the programs features travel
news, comedy, and interviews with
people like Urvashi Vaid, Brian
McNaught, Mar-vin Liebman, and
Gus Van Sant.
Subscriptions are $16. 95 per month
or $199 per year for 12 videos. For
information call 800-368-0638.
understanding of ""family"" has
emerged.
""Love Makes a Family"" provides a
new vision of families. It demonstrates
that families are not limited by
gender, number, or sexual .orientation.
Some of the families in this video
have children; some do not. Some of
the fam.ilies· live in complex, blended
family groups. Others consist of a
single individual who has neither a
""spouse"" nor children, but an
extended circle of friends and loved
ones who form that person'sfamily.
""Love Makes a Family"" is a moving
portrait of the affirming, transcending,
and transforming power of love.
For information on this · video, write
to Love Makes a Family, Inc., P.O .
Box 11694, Portland, OR 97211.
The video that
Jesse Helms
wants us all to see
'That gay parade ... I wish every
American could see it,"" said Senator
Jesse Helms. Well, every American
can see it! The San Francisco Gay
Pride parade is available on video
tape through . K. C. Frogge, 223
Granada Ave ., San Francisco, CA
94112. It is the largest gay pride
parade in the nation. Filmed at the
beginning of the parade route from
the judge's grandst<1nd, each participant
is captured at his or her
energetic best.
Norton. ""I asked one of the people on
the committee what did they mean
and they told me. So apparently I had
•a wee bit of that.""
The video demonstrates how
homophobia can give way to
acceptance. ""Janie is so much more
than that,"" says one woman.
The scenes of the church trial are
wrenching. Spahr is shown silently
shakin_g her head and squirming as .
attorneys representing those who
protested the call rattle off myths
about homosexuality, linking Gays
and Lesbians with child molesters.
""How we're described is malicious
and violent/ says Spahr, ""It's an
aching sadness... . We're talking
about... we're people. And we're in
your families ... We make love, and
we make_ pea~e, and we make meals,
and we hve ...
For information on this half hour
video, which comes with a discussion
guide, contact Leonardo's Children;
Inc., 26 Newport Bridge Rd.,
Warwick, NY 10990. .
"" ~·,
""""""-'
.w ' 'IJ . . ,. } .""""' ,
,· ~ ... , . .. ;,
Belinda Mason, subject of a video directed by Anne Lewis Johnson
Belinda
A NATIVE OF easterD Kentucky,
Belinda Mason was, as she says, ""a
small-town journalist, a young
.mother, a reliable Tupperware party
guest"" until she became infected with
the HIV virus in 1987. She decided to
go public with her condition and
spent the rest of her life as a powerful
advocate for AIDS prevention, education,
treatment, and human rights.
In this video, simply titled
""Belinda,"" she talks about her own
experiences dealing with AIDS and
the support she found within her
rural community . ""AIDS.is less about
dying than about choosing how lo
live,"" she says. Included is • a presentation
she made with her pastor to
members of the Southern Baptist
Convention. ""People ask . me if I
think AIDS is a punishment from
God. I can't pretend to fathom what
God is thinking, but maybe we
should look at AIDS as a test, not for
the people who are infected, but for
the rest of us,"" Mason said. She also
comments on her role and responsibilities
as a national spokesperson for
people with AIDS, saying ""one Bush
· administration insider, when asked to
explain the President's decision to
bestow a coveted seat on the National
Commission on AIDS on me,
observed that I was 'palatabie' - like
mashed potatoes and gravy."" Funny,
· down-to.earth, and nev-er self-pitying,
""Belinda"" speaks with a moving
eloql!ence of the need for a collective
response to AIDS which is not
crippled by racism, homophobia, fear
or ignorance.
For information o'n this video,
contact Appalshop Film and Video,
800-545-7467 or write to 306B Madison
St., Whitesburg, KY 41858.
T In Print T .................................... . •_ ................................... .
Legacy of the Heart:
The Spiritual Advantages of a .Painful Childhood
.By Rev . Richard 8. Gilbert
Contributing Writer
Wayne Muller, author. Simon and
Schuster, New York 1992
T his book is about adults (all
adults, in many ways), who
carry particular scars (challenges)
that are burdens from
childhood, barriers that may be
thwarting personal spiritual _ growth,
but which await healing from within
through one's spiritual journey. It is a
book for all of us as we search out that
spirituality which keeps us connected
in a world, in our own stories, in our
own families, in our own searching,
when we ofen feel so very disconnected.
Legacy of the Heart starts with
invitation/ affirmation. We have
scars. We have opportunities lo grow
and heal through self discovery on
our own journey. The book becomes
a pathway that brings together in a
most surprising and entertaining way
In Print, briefly ...
Chosen: Gay Catholic
Priests Tell Their Stories
There have always been gay priests
in the church, but attitudes toward
!hem and understanding of their
situation has varied over the
centuries. This book, by Dr. Elizabeth
Stuart, will move many readers and
scandalize others. In it, British Roman
Catholic priests and seminarians, who ·
als9 happen lo be gay, share
thoughts, feelings and experiences
about being a gay man in a church
which condemns homosexuality as
""disordered.""
-From LGCM, Oxford House, Derbyshire
St., London E2 6HG U.K
Uncle What-ls-It
Is Coming to Visit
Michael Willhoite, the author/illustrator
of the controversial-children's book
Daddy's Roommate has completed
this new book which is the story of two
children awaiting a first visit from their
gay uncle, and of. all the people who
try to tell the children what ""gay""
means before he arrives.
-From Alyson Publications
Personal lette1rs sought
for new book
Personal letters t,illing others about
positive HIV status are sought for a
bcok tentatively tilled ""Moving to the
Moon."" The anthology is being compiled
by Meg Umans, who edited Like
Coming Home: Coming-out Letters,
published in 1988. Deadline for submissions
is December 31, 1993. For
information write to ""Moving to the
Moon,"" 2447 E. Coronado Rd.,
Phoenix, Al. 85008.
the paths of psychology and the paths
of spirituality. The two do not have
to exist in conflict, but can work
together. In other words, words
about mercy, simplicity, nonattach ..
ment., isolation, intimacy and forgiveness
are not ""owned"" by those
pastoral or those clinical, for we are
whole people who can come through
life's experiences and burdens lo our
common health and spiritual wholeness
through that which is both
psychological and spiritual. They are
partners, not adversaries.
The book begins with an invitation
to ""reawakening,"" to discovering
afresh issues and needs within you
that may be hurting you, or at least
holding you back on your journey,
and which can become openings in
the thick walls we build around
ourselves to shed light, hope and
peace .
The book starts where so many of
us find ourselves daily . ""When we
are hurt as children, we can quickly
learn to see ourselves as broken,
handicapped or defective in some
essential way."" I hear that over and
over in the stories of patients I visit
and people I counsel, and I know my
counselor/ spiritual advisor hears
those words from me. They become
slavery, chains that .enslave us, like
weeds in the garden, choking off our
breathing in the essentials to life and
growth . The ""garden"" which is our
story can be cultivated, can be
weeded out, or at least made more
manageable .
These painful scars send out
tangential statements and actions that
shoot forth from us like stinging ar rows
or pointed bullets. They really
are not outward, but are inward,
issues and dynamics that point to our
inner soul and beg for release, for
healing, for connectedness. The
author then reminds us, ""Seen
through this lens (the family pain of
our past) , family sorrow is not only a
painful wound to be endured, analyzed
and treated. It may in fact
become a seed that gives birth to our
spiritual healing and awakening .""
The book then begins a remarkable
journey of both moving us into our
-stories, into our hearts, and yet
leading us to that emergence which
becomes new life, new freedom, new
growth. It is not just a therapy issue.
It is the use of many resources, many
traditions, that connects to our spirit
(spiritual journey) that brings us to
the new freedom we all seek. We
watch the shackles of these painful
enslavements falling away.
Then the word of hope,
You are not broken; childhood
suffering is not a mortal wound, and
Wayne Muller, author of Legacy of the Heart, is a therapist and graduate
of the Harvard Divinity School. He is founder of Bread for the Journey,
a nonprofit organization serving families and communities in need . He
lives with his wife, Christine, and two children in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
ii did not irrevocably shape your
destiny . You need not remove, destroy
or tear anything out of yourself
m order to build s omething new .
Your challeng e is not to keep trying
to repair what is damaged ; your
practice instead is to reawaken what
is alr eady wise, strong, and whole
within you ...
(and, the hope ... )
Your life is not a problem to be
solved but a gift to be opened. Just as
the pain, hurt, and suffering that
came to you as a child were powerfully
real, so is the tangible resilience
of your spirit equaHy vital and alive .
This book will help you reawak en
that inner strength and discover a
reliable sense of safety, belonging
and peace .
Oh how I wish I had read this book
earlier in my life. Of course, I may
not have been ready to hear the
wonderful words of reawakening and
life that I now can hear and acqu ire
for myself . I hope you will allow this
book to bring that awakening into
your spiritual story .
Rev. Richard Gilbert is the Director of
Pastoral Services at Porter Memorial
Hospital in Valparaiso, Indiana.
QUOTEABLE
""The entire onus against homosexualihj is because of religion. For
Lesbians and Gays to go to church is like running into a house on fire.
Gays are flocking into churches like thet;thfnk it will do them some good
and it won't. If thet/ re going in there to find God or individual
salvation, it's a waste of time ...
- Madalyn Murray O'Hair
. r.-;i Second Stone-September/October, 1993 LliJ
In Print . . . . . ~ ........ . . · ..... . . . . . . . . ~ .
Jesus Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto
By Gay la M. Worrell
Contributing Writer
Robert Goss, author. Harper San
Francisco, 1993. $19.00.
'' I engage in a queer battle
for the politics of Christian
· truth and a battle for sexual
justice,"" states Robert Goss
in the introduction to Jesus Acted Up:
A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto. In this
provocative book, Goss presents a
""queer"" liberation theology that challenges
the homophobia found in institutionalized
religions.
In the first few chapters, Goss presents
a well rounded history of gay ·
and lesbian oppression, the gay ·and
lesbian civil rights movement, and
the homophobia of institutionalized
religions. Citing examples of homophobic
oppression in society, Goss
constructs the social organization of
homophobia. Although· well known
among · gay men and Lesbians, Goss
presents a concise and accurate history
for those unfamiliar with the
experience.
Included in this history are writings
by gay men and Lesbians on the subjects
of silence, invisibility, and homophobia.
Excerpts of Erik Marcus' Making
Histo1y: An Oral Histo1y (Harp.er
Collins, 1992) and conversations with
participants give a brief history of the
Stonewall riots, recognized as the start
of the modem gay rights movement.
Also included are examples of discrimination
faced . by gay men and
Lesbians in employment, health care,
and within their churches. From
excerpts of writing by Judy Grahn,
Julia Penelope and others, Goss
demonstrates the profound effect that
living in a closeted silence has.had on
the spiritual lives of many gay men
and Lesbians. Goss discusses the
formation and activism of such groups
as ACT UP and Queer Nation . The
liberation of coming out, both
personally and publicly, is shown
through examples of activism by
A TRIBUTE
to the
GAYS AND LESBIANS
of
THE QUEEN CITY
of
CHARLOTTE,
NORTH CAROLINA
~ru Second Stone-September/October, 1993
these and other groups over the past
two decades.
One of the most controversial ideas
in current liberation theologies is that
of Jesus as a sexual being. In 'The
Sexuality of Jesus,"" Rosemary Ruether
calls for a restoration of sexuality to
the traditional image of Jesus. Both
she and Malcolm Boyd claim that
Jesus was a sexual being and that His
sexuality was controlled, not by
power, but by friendship. Goss states
that it is only natural for gay and
lesbian Christians to reclaim Jesus as
a gay friendly, ""queer Christ,"" much
as African American Christians have
reclaimed Jesus as the ""black Christ.""
Although specific information regarding
Jesus' sexual practices has been
lost, Jesus' known actions are neither
heterosexist nor homophobic. This
reclamation . affirms and uplifts the
sexually oppressed.
A queer liberation theology is
·, .
liberation of more than just the gay
and lesbian community. By fighting
for liberation of all oppressed groups,
gay men and Lesbians seek a totally
egalitarian restructuring of social and
cultural deployments of power.
Oppressed groups , need to link
experiences, expanding the horizons
of liberation and provide energy and
commitment to the project of human
liberation, Thus, the liberation of one
becomes the liberation of all.
Goss repeatedly demonstrates the
methods by which various institutions,
specifically the Catholic and
Protestant churches, have silenced
gay men and Lesbians. By implicating
homosexuals in the breakdown
of traditional ""family values,"" the
church enforces a form of compulsory
heterosexuality. The silence of the _
gay community has only . helped to
enforce the attitudes of intolerance
al)d fear found within most organized
religion.
In contrast, Goss shows that the
scriptural examples used to promote
fear and intolerance can also prove
just the opposite. By interpreting
these biblical passages to show Jesus'
embrace of that which was outside the
· cultural norm, Goss explains why the
current atmosphere of fear and intolerance
toward gay men and Lesbians
goes against biblical teachings. Goss
shows that Jesus used the symbol of
God's reign to speak of liberation, not
oppression. The parables of the good
Samaritan, the prodigal son, · the
vineyard workers, and the great banquet
all symbolize the transformation
of society into a radically egalitarian
age where social power and hierarchical
attitudes becpme irrelevant.
Thus, sexual, social, religious and
political distinctions also become
irrelevant.
Goss also uses these examples of
institutional interpretations to answer
the question of whether gay men and.
Lesbians should continue their
involvement with the church. By
remaining in a homophobic spiritual
environment, gay men and Lesbians
internalize the oppression found in
these settings . This is especially true
of those in the clergy or administrative
positions. The internal:
ization of homophobia continues the
institutionalized homophobia that
those gay men and Lesbians in the
church often claim lo be fighting
against.
For gay men and Lesbians who
work from within these institutions to
elicit change, they must speak out for
their rights as Christians. Goss advocates
a day of coming out for those
within institutionalized religions. If
the larg e numbers of gay men and
Lesbians who hold clerical and
administrative positions within most
churches were to announce their
sexual orientation at the same time,
the result would be a radical change
within the institution of organized
religions. The same holds true for
congregational members of most
churches.
Through a deconstruction of the
social construction of homophobia and
the oppressive theology of institutionalized
Christianity, Goss reaffirms
the gay and lesbian Christian experience.
Goss advocates for Jesus the
liberator as opposed to Jesus the
oppressor. When viewed as a liberating,
radical, dissident, queer, Jesus
becomes a liberator of the gay and
lesbian community instead of an
oppressive tool of institutionalized
Christology, With this liberating theology,
gay and lesbian Christians can
rejoice in a kingdom of God where
love, rather than power, governs
human relations.
Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..............
TIie Jo/lawing announcements have been ·
submitted by sponsoring or affiliated
groups.
Parliament of the
World's Religions
AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 5, a major
interfaith gathering with many of the
·world's religions represented.
Exhibits, performances, lectures and
presentations, interfaith dialo~ues,
children's programs and meetmgs of
specialized groups . The Council for a
Parliament of the World's Religions .
says ""All are welcome to gather in
Chicago in 1993 to listen to one
another, to be challenged to find new
\vays of living together, anc! to seek
new visions for the future ."" For
information write to: Parliament of
the World's Religions, P.O. Box 1630,
Chicago, IL 60690.
4th Annual
Rhythm Fest
SEPTEMBER 2-6, a celebration of
women's music, art and politics to be
held in a new location in the Blue
Ridge Mountains near Asheville,
North Carolina . For information
contact RhythmFest, 957 N. Highland
Ave., NE, Atlanta, GA 30306,
( 404)873-1551.
First International
TEN Conference
SEPTEMBER 3-5, The Evangelical
Network, based in Phoenix; Ariz.,
holds its first international conference
in Vancouver, B.C., under the•
auspices of Liberty Community .
Church. Sessions and workshops will
addr ess such topics as ""Healing the
Hurts We Don't Deserve,"" Handling
Your Hormones,"" ""Coupling Concerns
for Gay Christians;: ""Mourning
Song,"" and 'The Skilled Caregiver.""
The weekend will climax with a
communion service and the lighting
of an AIDS vigil candle . For information
contact #201-6380 Clarendon
Sir., Vancouver, B.C. V5S 2J9 Canada;
(604)321-4633.
QUOTABLE
""Many are called bttt
few getup.""
-Oliver He?ford
P-FLAG Annual
Convention
SEPTEMBER 3-6, The 12th Annual
International Convention of Parents
and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
will be held in New Orleans Labor
Day weekend al the Sheraton Hotel ·
on Canal Sireet ""Celebrating Family
0 New Orleans Style"" is the theme. A
variety of workshops will be offered.
Featured speakers include Congressman
Gerry E. Studds and Mitzi
Henderson, P-FLAG president and a
leader in the Presbyterian Church's
More Light Churches Network .
Entertainer Lynn Lavner will kick off
the conference with a Friday night
concert . For information contact New
Orleans P-FLAG, P.O. Box 15485,
New Orleans, LA 70175.
Affirmation
National
Conference
SEPTEMBER 17-19, Affirmation: Gay
and Lesbian Mormons holds its 15th
annual . national conference. Gay and
Lesbian Mormons as well as their
supportive.family and friends are
invited to attend. For one weekend
each year, gay Mormonsfrom all
over the United States·and several
foreign countries meet to celebrate
being gay /lesbian as well as their
Mormon heritage. This year, the San
Diego chapter of Affirmation is
hosting the event at the Kona Kai
Resort on San Diego's Shelter Island .
Keynote speaker is D. Michael
Quinn . A highlight of the we ekend
will be the harbor cruise. For
information c~ll (619)283-8810.
AIDS, Medicine
and Miracles
Sixth Annual Conference themed
""Unity in Diversity: Sharing Our
Gifts"" at two locations: JULY 8-11,
Berkeley, Calif ., and SEPTEMBER
23-26, Rhinebeck, New York. Retreat
leaders invite all for a time of learning,
play, tears, inspiration and joy.
The conference is a forum for an array
of expert opinion and for the wisdom
of people living with HIV. There is a
balance of presentations, workshops
and creative experienc es ranging
from medicine to music . For information
contact AIDS, Medicine &
Miracles, P.O. Box 9130, Boulder, CO
80301-9130, (303)447-8777 or
(800)875-8770.
Tour of Israel
SEPTEMBER 22-0CTOBER 8, Royal
Menoral1 Adventures coordinates a
tour of Israel for gay and lesbian
travelers, escorted by Bible·.student
and previous Israeli resident Daniel
Mark. $2850 per person, sharing twin
accommodations . Contact Royal
Tours; 1742 E. Broadway, Long
Beach, CA 90802, (310)983-7370.
National
Coming Out Day
OCTOBER J.1, Take your next step.
Call (505)982-2558 for information.
Advance'93
OCTOBER 18-24, Advance Christian
Ministries sponsors its annual
gathering featuring a pastors' and
ministers' fellowship, School of the
Prophets study courses and the
Advance Weekend, filled with
preaching, teaching and worship.
Over 250 are expected to attend the
largest, most established, and continuous
evangelical conference of its
kind. The location is a campground
near Houston . For information call
(214)522-1520.
BMC Women's
Retreat
OCTOBER 22-24, The Brethren/
Mennonite Council is planning a
fun-filled gathering for lesbian, bi, or
supportive straight women at scenic
Bradford Woods Retreat Center, 20
miles southwest of Indianapolis. Cost
is $45 per person. For information
contact Kirsten, (312)761-4868 or Kris,
(317)923-1830.
Call to Action
Conference
OCTOBER 29-31, Ever since Call to
Action opened the 1990s with ""A Call
for Reform in the Catholic Church""
the group has continued a commitment
to ""reinvent the Churcl1."" The
CT A a1mual conference is evolving
into a national congress of persons,
communities and organizations
working to give birth to a church
where priesthood and ministry are
rethought, women assume their
rightful place, collaboration replaces
patriarchy, and Catholic social
teaching demands an outward
mission to transform social structures.
Over 2000 people are exp ected to
attend the conference, to be held in
Chicago at the Hyatt Regency
O 'Hare. For more information contact
Call to Action, 4419 N. Kedzie,
Chicago, IL 60625, (312)6Q4.a0400.
National Skills
Building
Conference .
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3, the
largest gathering of front line AIDS
workers in the country . Sponsored
by the AIDS National Inferfaith Network,
the National Association of
People with AIDS, and the National
Minority AIDS Council, the gathering
is the only national management
training conference designed to help
community-based organizations
become more effective. The Hyatt
Regency in New Orleans is the setting.
Attendees will have the opportunity,
at extra cost, to attend the
Project Lazarus Halloween party, a
costume-mandatory fundraising
party. For information contact
National Skills Building Conference,
300 Eye St., NE, Ste. 400, Washing- .
ton, DC 20002-4389.
RE-imagining/
Churches in
Solidarity with
Women
NOVEMBER 4.7; A global theological
conference by women for
women and men. Re-imagining
God, creation, Jesus, church as
spiritual institution , arts/ church,
language/ word, ethics/work/ ministry,
community, sexuality/family,
church as worshipping community.
Featuring many presenters including
Mary E. Hunt and Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott. The Mi1meapolis Conv '!!n- ·
lion Center is the setting. Contact
Rev. Sally Hill, 122 W. Franklin
Ave., Room 100, Minneapolis, MN
55404, (612)870-3600, fax
(612)870-3663.
Gay Religious
Leadership
Meeting
NOVEMBER 9-12, The Lesbian, Gay
and Affirming National Leadership
Meeting is an opportunity for national
officers from all of the lesbian and
gay caucuses and the affirming congregation
programs to share ideas.
The Sheraton Inner Harbor in Baltimore
is the setting. The meeting is
held in conjunction with the National
Council of Churches' General Board
Meeting. For information contact
Rev. Kit Cherry, (213)464-5100.
Creating
Change 1993
NOVEMBER 12-14, The National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force has
announced that keynote speakers for
its sixth annual Creating Change
conference, to be held in Durham,
N .C., will be Mab Segrest, Dr.
Franklin Kameny and Dr. Marjorie J.
Hill . For information on this ·
conference contact NGLTF, 1734·14th
St., NW, Washington, DC 20009,
(202)332-6483.
Second Slone-September/October, 1993 [iz]
T Noteworthy T . . ·• ........... .
UFMCC elects three people
of color to top leadership
t.THE UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP of
Metropolitan Community Churches
has elected three people of color to its
Board of Elders, its highest governing
board . Rev. Darlene Gamer (If Falls
Church, Va., Rev. Hong Tan of
London, England, and· Mr. Larry
Rodriguez of Los Angeles were ele.cted
to the seven -member Board of
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effective campaign
our community will ever wage.
NATIONAL COMING OUT DAYOCTOBER
11
PO Box 8270, SANTA FE, NM 87504-8270
505-982-2558
Your contn1>ullon Is tax-deductible
................................... . -· ................. .
Elders July 23 in Phoenix, Ariz., at
the UFMCC's General Conference
which .nearly 1,200 people attended .
Rev. Tan is the first elder of Asian
descent and Rev. Garner is the first
elder of African heritage. Their election
marks the first lime in the
· 25-year history of the fellowship that
all the elders elected were people of
color. ""We're going to have a
denomination that looks like the
world,"" said Rev. Tro¥ Perry,
UFMCC founder and moderator.
''This election reflects UFMCC's continuing
commitment to fight racism
and create a global church to serve
Lesbians, gay men and their supporters
around the world.""
Disciples of Christ regional
body passes gayaffirming
resolution
. t.THE 139TH ANNUAL Meeting of
the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) of Northern California-Nevada
held at Asilomar endorsed by more
than a two. thirds majority of the
voting delegates a resolution which
affirms and welcomes lesbian women
and gay men fully into the church
and church leadership . Much of the
leadership in persuading the regional
church to take s.uch a stand came from
First Christian Church of San Jose.
""Four years ago, this congregation
called me to be its minister with the
For your convenience
you may now FAX:
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clear understanding that I am an
openly gay man,"" said Richard
Miller. A year ago, at the 1992
assembly for the region, a similar
resolution was tabled in favor of an
alternative motion calling for a delay
in the vote and the appointment of an
ad hoc committee to promote study
and dialogue on sexuality.
Rev. Shawver heads new
AIDS agency
£\REV. RENNE SHA WYER, former
Associate Pastor of King of Peace
MCC in St. Petersburg, Fla., has been
named to head a new Pinellas County
AIDS program, Metropolitan Charities
AIDS Services. The goal of the
program is to create a safe, positive
environment for people who are
living with AIDS.
Rev. Ken Coulter dies
£\FUNERAL SERVICES for Rev. Ken
Coulter of Dallas were held May 16th.
Rev. Coulter was founder of Grace
Fellowship in Dallas and New
Orlea_ns. He pastored the Dallas
church for the past nine years.
Rev. Jerry Felix Russell passes
t.REV . JERRY FELIX RUSSELL,
founder of Shammah Christian
Fellowship in Chicago, died on May
22nd. Rev. · Russell worked with
Sylvia Pennington during her
ministry and was active in Advance
Christian Ministries.
MCC's Rev. Larry Dunlap dies
LI.REV. LAWRENCE CHARLES DUNLAP,
Minister of Music at River City
MCC in Sacramento, passed away on
July 7 after a lengthy battle with
complications with AIDS. He was the
former Senior Pastor of Emmanuel
MCC in Spokane, Wa., and had been
actively involved in a number of
UFMCC congregations around the
Los Angeles area. He was born
March 26, 1955 in Wallace, Indiana.
Lesbian Christians
plan gathering
t.A COMMITTEE has recently been
formed consisting of lesbian Christians
from across the United States to
plan for a National Congress for Lesbian
Christians in -1995 to be held on
Bulk Copies Available
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
OF THIS ISSUE OF SECOND STONE
For church /group distribution , conferences, bar ministry, etc .
10 copies· $13.50 • 25 copies· $29.50 • 50 copies· $45.00
100 copies • $67 .50 includes postage and handling
Limited quantity of back issues available FREE;
add $5.00 postage for every 50 copies.
Send-your pre-paid order to Second Stone,
P.O. Box 8340. ·New Orleans, LA 70182
the West Coast. A survey for those
interested in planning, participating,
and attending is now being conducted.
For information contact the
National Congress for Lesbian Christians
Planning Committee, P.O. Box
814, Capitola, CA 95010 or call
1-800-861-NCLC between 6:30 p.m.
and 9:30 p .m., Pacific time;
Computerized AIDS Ministries
Network up and running
t.CAM, THE COMPUTERIZED AIDS
Ministrie; Resource Network' is now
available. It is designed to provide a
medium through which proless10nals
may obtain current information and
resources to assist in ministering to
persons impacted by HIV. CAM also
provides services that will help those
engaged in HIV/ AIDS ministries to
interact with one another . The CAM
Network is a project of the Health and
. Welfare Ministries Program Department
of the General Board of Global
Ministries of the United Methodist
Church. Callers can access CAM
through a personal computer by
dialing 1-800-542-5921, which is toll
free. The computer must have a
modem, a telephone line for the
modem, and communications software.
A ""CAM User Packet,"" which
includes a manual and a diskette with
the communications program,
CILINK, may be requested by calling
(212)870-3909.
All God's Children.
plans video ministry
.!'.ALL GOD'S CHILDREN MCC in
Minneapolis . has recently started a
video ministry in which they are
taping key worship services, seminars
and other special events . The
church is seeking producers who are
certified on public access equipment
to help with at least one program per
year. For information call (612)
824-2673.
Lesbian and gay parents
meet in Orlando
iiMORE THAN 340 lesbian and gay
parents and their children gathered
,. in Orlando, Florida over the July 4th
weekend for the Gay and Lesbian
Parents Coalition Intemational's 14th
annual conference. ·Founded in 1980
as a coalition of gay fathers support
groups and redefined as a lesbian
and gay parenting organization in
1986, this year GLPCI achieved the
goal of equal participation by men
and women. ·
Teenagers _ and older children
attending put on their own conference
and by the end of the weekend, the
65 young people present had
officially changed their organization's
name from ""Just For Us"" to ""Children
of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere""
(COLAGE). One particularly wellreceived
workshop · was a panel
SEE NOTEWORTHY, Page 20
[ 1s·: Second Stone-September/October, 1993
Resource Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...............
Listings in the Resource Guide are free to
churches, organizalions, publications and
community services. Send information lo
Second Stone, Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70182 or FAX lo (504)891-7555.
National
EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr. Ralph Blair, 311 East
72nd St., New York, NY 10021. (212)517-3171. Publications:
Review and Record.
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS, P.O. Bo, 436
PfanelariumS\n., New Yor~ NY 10024. (607)432-9295.
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North Bellmore, NY 11710. A
LUT~E~Ai:s~~c~~N~ iNoRiH1-ME~c~'.9
~, 10461,
Fort Dearborn Slafion, Chica90, IL 60610-0461. PtiJication:
The Concord
PRESBYTERIANS FOR LESBIAN & GAY CONCERNS, P.O. Box
38, New Brunsl',ick, NJ 08903-0038. Publicalion: More Ugh!
~~~~SAL FELLOWSHIP OF METROPCLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCHES 5300 Sanla Monica Blvd, #304, Los Angeles, CA
WrHW~~f~E~~~~i~~~ter~ 'l'li::N AND GAY
CONCERNS, BOK 65724, Washingon, DC 20035. Pu~icalion:
8~11
f ~~e CHURCH COALITION FOR LESBIAN / GAY
CONCERNS, 18 N. College, Athens, OH 45701, (614) 593-7301.
Publication: Waves
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS KINSHIP INTERNATIONAL, Bo,
3840, Los Angeles, CA 90078, (213)876-2076. Publicafion:
Connection
RECONCILING CONGREGATION PROGRAM, P.O. Box 23636,
Washington, DC 20026, [202)863-1586. Publicalion: Open
Hands
Box 7331, L.olis\iDe, KY l{J257. (502)893-0783. ,
FEDERATION OF PARENTS AND FRIENDS OF LESBIANS
AND GAYS, INC. P.O. Box 27605, Wlshirgon, DC20038. Send
$3.00 lor packel ol informafion.
NATIONAL GAY PENTECOSTAL ALLIANCE (also Pentecoslal
Bible fnsfilufe [M°inisferiaf frainingl) P.O. Box 1391,
Scheneclaclj, NY 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. Ptblicalion: The
Aposlolic Voice.
DIGNITY/USA, 1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Ste. 11,
Washington, DC 20005. (800)877-8797. Gay and lesbian
Catholics and their friends.
MORE LIGHT CHURCHES NET\\ORK, 600 W. Fullerton Pkwy.,
Chica90, IL 60614-2690, (312)338-0452. Resource packel, $12.
Publicafion: More Ugh! Churches Ne!v.ork Newsleller
METHODIST FEDE AA TION FOR SOCIAL ACTION, a
PsT¾~tf~r~1~11~~1l~~~)~j3_~}sI_kpJ;~/~~~~:ia!ti~~
Bullelin.
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM • THE ALABAMA FORUM, P.O. Bo, 55894,
35255-5894. (2(!;)328-9228.
Arizona
TLCSON • Corne,sfone Fellov.ship, 2902 N. Geronimo, 85705.
(&>2)622-4626. Rad:l Schaff, Pastor.
MESA • Boundless Love Community Church, 431 S. Slapley
Dr., 85204. (602)439-0224. P,J. Fousek-Gregan, pastor. Sunday,
10roam
TUCSON • Casa De La Paloma Arx,stolic Church, 1122 N.
Jones Blvd, P.O. Box 14003, 85732-4003. (602)323-6855. Rev.
Margaret .""Sano( Lewis, pastor.
California
INTEGAITY,.INC., P.O. Box 19561, Waslirglon, DC20036-0561, SAN LUIS OBISPO - MCC of !he Cenlral Coasl, P.O. Box 1117,
[718) 720-3054. Pu!>icafion: The Voice of I nle(Tity . Grover City, 93483-1117, (805)481-9376. Surday, 10:30 a.m. Rev.
ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC CHURCH, P.O. Box 32, Villa Grande, Randi A Lesler, Paslor.
CA 95486-0032. Holy Spirt Church, Easl Moline, IL, SACRAMENTO • Koinonia Chrislian Fellowship, P.O. Box
(309)792-6188. SI. Michael's Church, Russian River, CA, (707) 189444, 95818. (916)452-5736. Tom Rossi, Pa~or. ·
865-0119. Publicafion: The Tablet SACRAMENTO. THE LATEST ISSl1:, P.O. Box 160584, 95816.
LIVING STREAMS, P.O. Box 178, Concord, CA 94522-0178. (916)737-1088.
~o""s0
~1/icf~t~fgRFAITH NETWORK, 300 I SL, NE, Sle. m=~~~Olta~~~i~t1i':~t~~ss1T%t:~oo~~ i~/:oos.;,t,
~1::ftA'.1~~r~i;~· (800)288-9619, FAX (202)546-5103. (213)656-8570. PtiJication: ET New;
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS • 1663 Mission SI, ~~[i~1iifg56~t~~a;~9c~%~~!e~I
6
Vallejo SL' 1125•
~1~1
~Jtn&'~~t~
0p~~~i)r°3
coAUTION, PO Box 50360, :~i::~!ii\~?n?.: PG~y ~~d 4~Wci~~~~1°'i~~l5)~;~~8g'
WashinQion, DC 20091. PtiJicalion: Nelwork Publication: Our Slories.
THE \M1NESS, Published l>f ihe Episcopal Church Pu!>ishing SAN FRANCISCO • The Parsonage, 555-A Caslro SI.,
Co., 1249 Washington Blvd, Sle. 3115, Delrrnf, Ml 48226-1868. 94114-0293. Publication: T~ parsonage New;_.
(313)962-2350 .CONCORD. Free Ca\hclic Aposfola1e ol lhe Redeemer, 1440
INTEANA TIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVES, The Nalalie Delroil Ave, #3, 94520. (510)798'5281.
CBaArney Edwa_ (21r3d)8ca54'!""'02n711e_r~~~:!0Bul. tfn 38100, Hof~ SAN FRANCISCO • DIGNITY, 208 Dolores SI., , 94103.
90038 (415)255-9244. PL.i>icafion: Bridges.
COUPLES Nev.sletter, Published l>f TWT Press, Inc., P.O. Box GLENDALE. Divine Redeemer MCC, 346 Riverdale Dr., 91204.
253, Braintree, MA02184-0003. Sunday, 10:45 a.m., Wed, Fri., 7:30 p.m. Rev. Stan Harris,
WOODSWOMEN • Adventure travel for women, 25 W. pastor. Publication: From Mary's Shrine.
Diamond Lake Rd., Minnearx,lis, MN 55419, (800)279-0555, APPLE VALLEY. Light of the Desert Church, Inc., P.O. Box 247,
~lB~~ltF<
5
J~~;/5~\he magazine for Christian 92307. (619)247-2572. Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Non-denominational
Ferrunisls, 3801 No. Keeler, Chica90, IL 60641, (312)736-3399. Chrislian church.
CHI AHO PRESS. A special mrk of !he UFMCC Mid-Atlantic SAN JOSE· Hosanna Church of Praise, 24 No. 51h SI., 95112.
Dislricl. Publisher of religious books and maferials. P.O. Box Publication: Celebraling His Life; Sharing His Love
7864 G lhersbur MD20898 (301)670-1859 OAKLAND. · Fr..-Calhclic Aposlolale of the Redeemer, 3649
COMM~ICATl~N MINISTRY, INC.-Diaiogue and suw,rt MaybelleAve.,8,94619(510)530-7055
griiup for gey and lesbian Calhclic clergy and religious. P.O. · RIVERSIDE-Community of Chris! 1he Life Giver, P.O. Box
Box 60125, Chica90, IL 60660-0125. Pubhcal,on: Commurnca-51158,92517(9ll)781-7391
~MEN'S ALLIANCE FOR THEOLOGY, ETHICS ANO RITUAL, BLYTHE - Gods Garden Growth Genier, 283 N. Solano
8035 13th SI., Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301)589-2509, FAX (619)922•0947-Bro. M~hael W. Tucker, pasfor. ·
(301)589-3150. Ptblicalion: WATEAv.!leel. SAN JOSE , Fi,sl Chrislian Church, 80 Soulh 51h SI., 95112.
INTERNATIONAL FREE CATHOLIC COMMUNION, P.O. Box (408)294-2944. Aic!-.rdK. Miller, minister.
51158, Awe,side, CA 92517-2158 (909)781-7391 Pwlicafion: The COSTA MESA. Evangelicals Concerned SoUlh Coasl, P.O.
-Free Catholic Communicant · . Bo, 4308, 92628-4308 (714)222-4933. Bible sluc!f, fellowship·
INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE, 4102 Easl meetings, prayer grol.1'6, social aclMlies.
D~1~eres~'.&~Ncg. ~~l~fmn-m~TISTS '- Box P:s~~D cf:~1
~;,P.~n~~~ni~m1r:sch ~~ay J~
2171, 256 So. Robertson Blvd., Beverty Hills, CA 90213. Schexnayder, (510)834-5657, exl. 3114.
f~~j~~~fciN : Gax & Lesbian Morm_ons, P.O. Box 46022, Los SAN JOSE • Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples, c/o Firs!
Angales, CA90046. (2l3)255.7251. Christ~n Church, 80 So. 51h St, 95112. (l{J6)294-2944. First Sun
AF Fl AMA TION,IJniled Melhodsls for Gay & Lesbian Concerns, Also GLAD Northern Gali!., Third Sun., 4:00 p.m., Univ. Christian
P.O. Box 1022, Evansfo~ IL 8:)204. Church, Berkeley.
ST. TABITHA'S AIDS AP OS TOLA TE, Chrislian AIDS Ne!v.ork of
the Merican OrthoOOx Calholic Church of St. Greg:,rios, P.O.
Box 1543, Morterey, CA93Sl{J. (l{J6)899-0731.
THE i\OMEf\lS PROJECT, 2224 Main SI., Little Rock, AA 72206.
(501)372-5113. v\obrkshops on women's issues, social justice,
racism and homophobia. . . .
EMERGENCE International: A Community of Chnsllan
Scientists S~rting lesbians and Gay Men. P.O. Box 9161,
San Rafael, CA94912-9161. (415)485-1881. Ptblicalion: Emerg:,I
GAYELLOWPAGES • P.O. Box 292, Villag:, Sin., NewYor~ NY
10014. (212)674-0120.
WOMEN'S ORDINATION CONFERENCE, P.O. Box 2693,
Fairlax, VA 22031-0693. (703)352-1006.
GAY LESBIAN AND AFFIRMING DISCIPLES ALLIANCE, P.O.
Box 19223, fndanapofis, IN 46219-0223._ (319)324-6231. _For
members ot lhe Christian Church (D,sciples of Chnsl).
Publication: Crossbeams.
NEW DIRECTION Magazine for gay/lesbian Mormons, 6520
Selma Ave., Sle. AS-440, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
~~)4~~•· Box 83912, Los Angeles, CA 90083-0912.
NEW WAYS MINISTRY, 4012 29th SI., Ml. Rainier, MD 20712, f;~a2
~
7
-
56
{c!n:u~ay~~:_t{:""~o~~~~\~1lc· ~~,~h~ 1h8
HONESf'{ Sotnhe;n tplisf Aclrocales for E<11al Aighls, P.O.
Colorado
DENVER· Evangelicals Reconciled, P.O. Box 200111, 80220,
(303)331-2839. Coloracb tlJrings: (719)488-3158.
DENVER - Evangeli~als Concerned/ Western Aegioil, P.O.
Box 4750, 80204. Mication : Tli:Cable. · -
Connecticut
HARTFORD· MCC, P.O. Box 514, O&J16, (203)724-4605. Sl.11day,
7:00 p.m. The Meeting House, 50 Bloomfield Ave.
District of Columbia
lnteg:ity/Washington, Inc., P.O. Box 19561, 20036-0561.
(301 )953-9421. Ptblicalion: Gayspring. ·
ALEXANDRIA, VA. • St. Cynl's Eastern Christian Fellowship,
~~t~~h:m~~: N301, 22303, (703)329-7896. A Byzantine
WASHINGTON - MCC/DC, 474 Ridge SI., NW, 20001
(202)638-7373. Rev. Larry J. Uhrig, paslor. \\llness Praise
Ministries Musical Evange\,s\ic T earn, Dale Jarrell, D1reclor.
Florida
CLEARWATER • Free Calhcfic Church of the Resurrection, 303.
N Myrtle Ave., 34615. (813)44i3867.
WEST PALM BEACH • MCC, 3500 45th SI., #2A, 33409.
(407)687-3943. Sunday, 9:15 & 11:00 a.m. SelVices also in Fl.
Pierce, (407)687-3943 and Pl. SI. Lucie, (407)340-0421.
FOAT MYERS • SI. John the Aposl\e MCC, 2209 Unity al !he
corner of BroaclNay. (813)278-5181. Suooay, 10:00 a.m., 7:00
p.m. Rev. James Lynch. ·
~Ji1~~J~7;:~:~1- ::l~'. fa•:: ~~&i ~1!0
A
5it ~~eFre~
C. \Mlliams. Sr., pastor.
CLEARWATER . Free Calholic Church of the Aesurfection,
P.O. Box 3454, 34615 (813)442-3867
JACKSONVILLE • SI. Luke's MCC, 126 Easl 7th SI., 32206
· (904)358-6747. Sundly, 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p:m. Rev. Franky• A.
\Mile, pasfor.
KEY VIEST • MCC, 1215 Pelroria St., 33040. (305)294-8912. Sun ..
9:30 a.m., 11:00a.m Aev. Sleven M. Torrence, paslor.
Georgia
ATLANTA • SOUTHERN VOICE, P.O. Box 18215, 30316.
(404)878-1819.
ATLANTA· Alf Saints Metropolitan Communily Church, P.O.
Box 13968, 30324. (404)622-115,1
Hawaii
KAHULUI • 80TH SIDES 1¥:JW Newsleller, P.O. Box 5042,
007:l2.
Illinois
CHICAGO· OUTLINES, Published by Lambda Pibficalions,
3059 N. Solitpcxl, 60657. (312)871-7610. FAX (312)871-7609.
U)uisiana
BATONAOUJE-Dig,ily, P.O. Box 4181, 70821. (504)383-&llO.
NEW ORLEANS - Jusf For The Record, gaynesbian cable TV.
Box 3768, 70m.
NEWOALEANS-Vieux Carre Mee, 1128 SI. Roel, 70117-7716,
(504)945-5390. Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
Maryland
THE BALTIMORE ALTEANA TIVE, P.O. Box 2351, Ballirrore, MD
21200. (301)=1. FAX(301)889-!xi65.
Massachusetts
CHERRY VALLEY· Morning Siar MCC, 231 Main SI., 01611.
(508) 892-4320. Pibficalion: Morning Siar \\llness.
SHREWSBURY • Aposlolic Church in Christ, P.O. Box 4258,
Turrpke Sin, 01545 (508)752-0453. Rev. Mart< DeBrizzi, paslor.
Michigan
DETROIT. CRUISE Magazine, 19136 _,d North, 48203.
(313)369-1901.
FUNT • Redeemer MCC, 1665 N. Chevrolef Ave., 48504-3164.
w~~l~:~~:~~~~r, t:~;:r.Rev Linda J. SI oner, Pasfor.
ANN ARBOR • Huron Valley Community Church meels at
~fi/i~l~~¥ 4u~~~~1J;:n Ad, Ann Arbor, 48105-2896.
DETROIT • frtegily, 980 \Milmore, #205, 48203.
GRAND RAPIDS· Belhef Chris\ian Assent>fy, 920 Cherry SE,
P.O. Box 6935, 49516. (616)459-8262. Rev. Bruce Aoller-Plelcher,
pastor. Plblication: Bethel Beacon. Television: Channel 23, tsr 15-~~ /Lansing· Ecclesia. Affirming church meefs al
People's Church, 200 W. Grand River. Sundly, 8:15 p.m.
ANN ARBOR • Tree of Life MCC, meels al Firs!
Con(Tegalional Church, 218 N. Adems, Ypsilanti. P.O. Box
2598, 48106. (313)665-6163. &may, 6:00p.m
CETR""OIT • Men of Color Mofivafional Grol.!) meets Tuesdays
al 7:00 p.m. al SI. Mallhew's and SI. Joseph's Episcopal
ChLXch, 8850 W:xx!.Yard (313)871-4750.
Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS· EQUAL TIME, 310 E 38th SI., Room 207, 55409.
(612) 823-3836. Ptblishedby l.averdar, Inc.
MINNEAPOLIS· All Gods Children Melropolilan Community
Church, 3100 Park Ave. S. (612)824-2673. Pu~ication: The
Disciple.
Mississ ippi
JACKSON • SI. Slephen's Uniled Community Church, 4872 N.
~iK~ot~i.i~rllrJ~~?~:id:e'.
1
~
71
:~. 7737,
:>Il'2fl4-7737, (001)373-8610.
JACKSON· Phoenix Coalifion, Inc., P.O. Box 7737, 39284-7737.
Coonselirg selVices. (601)373-8611l'(&l1)939-7181.
New Jersey ~iiiJ°i~ ;J~asis, 707 Washingon SI, P.O. Box 5149,
SUSSEX • The Loving Brolherhood, P.O. Box 556, 07461.
(201)875-4710.
New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE • MCC, 2402 San Maleo Pf. NE, 87110.
(505)881-ooaa
SANTA FE • THE GATSBY CONNECTION, 551 W. Cordova,
Sle. □.I:. 87501. (505)986-1794.
New York
NEW YORK· lnlegily, P.O. Box 5202, 10185-0043. Ptblication:
Oullook.
ROCHESTER • THE EMPTY CLOSET, 179 Allanlic Ave.,
14607-1255. New York Slate's oldesl gay newspaper.
ALBANY • Community of SI. John, Cnnslian Orthodox Churc~
P.O. Box 9073, 12209. (518)346-0207. Father Herman, CSJn,
Guardian. PtiJlicalion: Metanoia.
NEW YORK • AXIOS, Easlern and Orihcdox Chrislians, P.O.
Box 756, Village Sin., 10014. Second Friday, 8:00 p.m.,
Communitv Center, 208 West 13th St.
SCHENECTADY - Ug,lhQuse Aposlofic Church. 38 Col_umi,;a
SI., P.O. Box 1391, 12301-1391. (518)372-6001. Rev. 1'1111,am H.
Garey, pastor.
LONG ISLAND/NEW YORK - ln\ernalional Free Calholic
Churcll'Good Shepherd Church, P.O. Box 436, Cenlral Islip,
11722, (516)723-0348. Rev. Msg. AooertJ. Alfmen, paslor.
LONG ISLAND· Long Island Assn !or AIDS Gare. Inc.,-P.O. Box
2859, tt.mlirgon Sin., 11746. (516)385-AIDS.
PLA TTSBUAGH • Si. Ma,Ys Ecumenical Calholic Church, P.O
Box 159, Chazy, 12921. (518)566-7745. Rev. Fr. Mic!-.~ Frost.
North Carolina
CHARLOTTE· Melro!na Sv.iicltxlard, (704)535-6277. P.O. Box
11144,al220.
'MLMINGTON • SI. Jude's MCC, 507 Casile St. Sunday, 6 p.m
& 7 p.m. Wed (104'.). Kalhi Beall and Bud'.!/ Vess, min,slers.
\l\1LMINGTON • GROW Community Service Corporafio~ P.O.
Box 4535, 28406. (919)675-9222. YotAh outreach: ALI\,£ for rf'/,
lesbian, bisexual youtli.
RALEIGH • Raleigh Religious Nelmrk for Gay and Lesbian
EQJally, P.O. Box 5961, 27650-5961. (919)781-2525 .
WNSTON-SALEM • Piedmont Aeligous Netll<lrk for Gay and
Lesban EQJalily, P.O. Box 15104, 21113-0104. (919)766-950.1.
GREENSBORO - SI. Mary's MCC mee!s a! Unilarian Church
3001 Monlery Dr., Sun., 4:00 p.m., 700 p.m.; Mon., 8:00 p.m.;
Wed, 7;30 p.m. Rev. Chrisline Oscar, pasfor. (919)272-1606.
DURHAM • Dignify/Triangle, P.O. Box 51129, 27717
(919)493-8269. Gay, fesbian and bise,ual Galhclics, friends.
Ohio
DAYTON • Communily Gospel Church, P.O. Box 1634, 45401
(513)252-8855. Penfecosfaf, charismafic meets Surday, 10:00
a.m. 546 Xenia Ave. Samuel t<ader, Pastor.
COLUMBUS • Melropolilan Community Church, 1253 North
High Slreel, 43201. (614)294-3026. Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
Publicafion: The Beacon Nev.s.
COLUMBUS· STONEWALL UNION REPORTS, Box 10814,
43201-7814. (614)299-7764.
Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY - Holy Trinily Ecumenical Caiholic Church,
232~ N. MacArthur, P.O. Box 25425, 73125, (405)942-2604. Fr.
Marty Martin, paslor.
Oregon
PORTLAND • American Friends Service Committee Gay and
Lesbian Pro11am, 2249 E. Burnside, 97214, (503)230-9427.
Conlact Dan.
Pennsy lvania
ALLENTOWN • Grace Covenant Fellowship, 247 N. 101h SI.,
18102. (215)740-0247. Bryon Ao\\e, Pastor. Them Ritter,
Minister of Music.
South Carolina
COLUMBIA-Lulherans Concerned, P.O. Box 8828, 29202-8828.
(803)791-1099. Third Friday, 728 Pickens SI., use: PtiJication:
The lrll)l'imatur. .
Tennessee
NASHVILLE· Dayspring Fellowship, 120-8 So. 111h SI., Box
68073, 37206. (615)227-1448, Pwlical~n: Son S11ine.
.NASHVILLE • lnlegify of Mi(jjle Tennessee, Inc., P.O. Box
121172 37212-1172 (615)383-66'.JB. N:Mslelter. .
Texas
DALIAS • Vlllile Rock Community Church, P.O. Box 180063,.
75218. (214)285-2831, (214)327-9157:Sunday, 10:30 a.m Jerry
Cook, Pastor.
~~:.i~~1~~: P.O. Box 190351, 75219-0351. (214)520-0912
AUSTIN • Joan wakeford Ministries, Inc., 9401-8 Grouse
MeaooNln., 78758-6348, (512)835-7354
DALLAS • Silent Harvesf Ministries, P.O. Bo, 190511,
7521~11. (2t4)$0055.
MIDLAND • Holy Trinily Communily Church, 1607 S. Main,
79701. (915)570-4822. Rev. Glenn E. Hammell, Pasfor.
Publicalion:Trinity Tribune ·
DALLAS • Holy Trinity Community Church, 4402 Roseland,
75204. (214)827-5088. Rev. F'rederick Wrighl, Pasfor.
Publication: The C!-.rtot
~:;l~Nri13iT~~t ~in'£""~, ~~~8~.~-""bh~is 'tl~e:,
1
Pastor.
HOUSTON • Houston Mission Church, 1633 Marshall, 77006.
~0~~6~~ a~~Me!~~tfo~~~i ~a~~~alur, 77007.
(713)861-9149. Rev. John Gill, Pastor. Plblication: The Good
New.; 1i?~faiz°1:~~~~~tl,';; IH, PO Box 66821, 77266.
HOUSTON - Kingdom Communily Church, 614 E. 191h SI.,
77008. (713)862-7533(713)748-6251. Scrday, 11ro am.
SEE RESOURCE GUIDE, Page 20
Second Ston.,.September/October, 1993. ~
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I ----------------- - -------------------- - ----------------------' GAY ·USED BOOKS wanted. Please share
your read books. Thanks. Tom, I 116 Marble
NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102.
PASTOR WANTED - Small flock seeks
pastor, leader, preacher. We are Bible-based,
Christ-centered, and believe the Christian
walk must not be compromised. Letter and
resume ·to: Freedom in Christ Evangelical
Church, Box 14462, San Francisco, CA
94114. l 2 193
PASTOR NEEDED for evangelical Christian
c0ngregation primari ly of African American
gay men and lesbians. Ideal candidate has
minimum three years pastor or associate
pasto r . experience, a B:A., preferably in
religious studies or from seininary, and
experience in lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual
ministry . Send resume, cover letter,
references to Faith Temple, P.O. Box 28494,
Washington, DC 20038-8494. 12/93
REMEMBER THAT MARDI GRAS visit that
made you want to stay? Second Stone seeks
Editorial Assistant with good interviewing
and writing skills to work with us here in
New Orleans. 5-10 hours per week means
you can attend school or work full time in
the Big Easy. Salary/housing deal. A strm,g
commitm ent to Second Stone and the readership
we serve is essential. For information
write to Second Stone, P.O. B'ox 8340, New
Orleans, LA 70182.
A SMALL NON-DENOMINATIONAL com-·
munity ·church in beautiful East Texas is is
need of a pastor to lead its congregation. The
church's primary ministry is to people of
alternate life styles. The candidate must be of
high moral character, professionally trained,
and ordained. For r urther infonnation please
send letter of inquiry to Saint Gabriel
Community Church; 13904 CR 193; Tyler,
TX 75703 or call (903)581-6923. 2/94.
iji= ri ends/Rel at io n·s h-i p-s -.
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN GWM, 41,
·seeks friends to share faith and fun; perhaps
relationship. Please write so we can begin our
friendship. Thanks!' P.O. Bo< 68005,
Rochester . NY 1461 R 2/94
GAY PEN PALS sought by gay Christian
white male, 5'8"", 180 lbs., into rail travel,
correspondence, gardening. elc. No inmates,
bi's or sympathizers, just Gays of any age.
Write to WHB, Box 251. Wilmington, DE.
I 9899-0251. 12/93
r201 Second StoneeSeptember /October , 1993
Ii - .
CHRISTIAN GWM, 42, would like to
correspond (11pen pal,"" as it were) with
Christian gay and lesbian contemporaries (40
to 55). James R. Bates, 28E. 16 St., #301,
Indianapolis, IN 46202 2194
GWM, 42, 6 ft., 150-lbs ., good looking,
intelligent, into camping, massages, pillow
fights, basic wrestling, history and other
good things. Looking to start a relationship
with. a straight appearing guy, in shape
physically, 19 -38, 5'7"" to 6'8"", 130 - 195
lbs. and AIDS free. You must be willing to
move to Southeast Kansas to live and work.
The right guy will be rewarded. Interested? If
you've been looking for just the right guy to
meet and start a solid, honest relationship
with then send your photo along with a letter
about yourself to Gary Rine, 508 South
Ninth, Indep endence, KS 67301-4207
12/93
IF YOU-HAVE READ ""The Aquarian Gospel
of Jesus the Christ 11 by Levi, I am interested
in corresponding and discussing. \V. Courson,
P.O. Box 1974, Bloomfield, NJ 07003.
MESSIAH COLLEGE ALUMNI (Grantham,
PA) are you interested in forming a lesbi a n/
gay alumni group? If so please call Susan
Bailey, 703-820-0483; Julia Lowery, 717-
697-8347.
CREMATION URNS: Introducing the
Lambda Pride Um . Celebrate Life with an
um that reflects personality and style. Call
for free brochure. Lifestyle Urns
1-800-685-URNS. 8195.
,Q,r g_a,n,i-z.a~f1 o,n,s . . - .. ~"""".'J
. -
THE LOVING BROTHERHOOD has served
the spiritual gay community since 1977. We
do care! TLB, P.O. Box 556ST, Sussex, NJ
07461. 2/94. .
Vid -eos · '
""MAYBE WE'RE TALKING About a
. Different God"" A half-hour video docu
·mentary on Rev. Jane Spahr, and her call to
the Downtown Church in Rochester, protested
and brought to trial. Shows how
confusion and fear can be transformed into
understanding and compassion. VHS tape
and discussion guide. Send $32.35 to
Leonardo's Children, Inc., 26 Newport
Bridge Rd., Warwick, NY !0990. 12/93
RESOURCE GUIDE,
From Page 19
LUBBOCK · Lesbian/Gay Alliar<:e, Inc., P.O. Box 64746,
79464-47 46. (805)791-4499. Pt.tfoalion: larrbdl Times:
Vermont
ESSEX JCT • Resurrection Apostolic Ministries, P.O. Box 162,
05452. Sr. Michelle M. Thomas, pastor.
Virginia .
ROANOKE· MCC o_t the Blue Ri<\:je, P.O. Box 20495, 24018,
(703)366·0839. PL.tJtcat,on: The Blue Ri~ Banner
ROANOKE · BLUE RIDGE LAMBDA PAESS, P.O. Box 237,
24002, {700)8m,3t84.
FALLS CHURCH · MCC of Northern Virginia, 7245 Lee
Hg,way, 22046.
.FALLS CHURCH· Affirmation Gay & Lesbian Mormons, P.O.
Box 19334, 2232().9334, (202)828,3096
FALLS CHURCH · Telos Ministries, P.O. Box 3390, 22043.
(703)560-2680. Baptislgotp.
Washington
SEATTLE GAY NE'Ml, 704 E. Pike, 98122. (206)324-4297. FAX
(200)322-7188.
SEATTLE· Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW 64th St., 98107.
(200)784-8495. Surday, 1100 a m. & 7:00 p.m., Wecllesday, 7:30
~l~i-i~o ~a~~:;t~r 505 McMmay, 99352 (509)943-3927. ·
Open and afllrming congregalion.
TACOMA · Hillside Community Church, 2508 South 39th SI.,
98«19. (200)475-2388.
West Virginia
M0RGANTO'M<I · Freedom Fell01',Ship Church, P.O. Box 1552,
26505 (304)292-TT84. Ja~ce Mam, IW!Ship coord
International ,
LONDON - Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, OXlord
House, Dert:r)'shire St., Lonoon E2 6HG, U<, 071-739·1249.
~=~ ~,:;!'~~~s;M~n AIDS, c/o #201, 11456 Jasper Ave
NOTEWORTHY, From Page 18
discussion by Florida high school
students from straight families on
their views of Lesbians and gay men.
Next year's conference will be held
in New York City as part of t'1e
Stone';Vall 25 festivities on Friday and
Saturday, June 24th and 25th. More
information about the 1994 conference,
themed ""Family Values,"" is
available by writing to GLPCI '94,
P.O. Box 2553, Church St . Stn., New
York, NY 10008-2553.
The Post Office will not
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New Orleans, LA 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,30,1993,"Sept/Oct 1993",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/c40833f2c8039c23545744fb3e9104db.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1668,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1668,"Second Stone #31 - Nov/Dec 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"AMERICA'S GAV & LESBIAN CHRISTIAN NEWSJOURNAL
ACTIVISTS STRUGGLE TO IMPROVE CHURCH'S
RESPONSE TO AIDS CRISIS
AIDS
and the
BLACK
CHURCH
Although African Americans make up only
12 percent of the population of the United
States, 54 p ercent of all children with AIDS
are African America, as are 53 percent of all
women and 32 percent of all men who have
AIDS .
BY JIM BAILEY E over a decade America' s churches have
strived to overcome the barriers which keep
them from r ea ch ing out in compassi on to people
suffering with AIDS. During th ose year s, contrary
to wid ely held belief, the church has made a
substant ial effort to minister to pe ople infect e d and
affect e d by HIV . But activi sts inv olv e d with
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
'' Some pastors will say it's an issue they don't have to contend
with and others are very willing to educate their congregation
and work with people with AIDS. But we consistently run
into judgmentalism. ,,
JACQUEL VN WILKERSON,
Director of AIDS Advocacy
in African American Churches
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PA ID
NEW ORLEANS, LA
PERMIT No. 511
From the Editor ............. .............. ......
AIDS and the black church
By Jim Bailey
The cover story for this issue came about as a result of a workshop at the
National Skills Building Conference held October 31 through November 3 at
the Hyatt Regency here in New Orl eans . The workshop, ""AIDS and the
black church,"" was coordinated by Jacquelyn Wilkerson, director of AIDS
Advocacy in African American Churches, a program of the AIDS National
Interfaith Network. Homophobia has a particularly strong foothold in many of
America' s over 500,000 African American churches. And, as one activist puts
it, you can't address AIDS in the black church Without addressing
homophobia . In this article you'll meet some determined activists who have
the vision and energy to battle homophobia where it's costing lives.
Christmas in November
Because of our bimonthly format, we have to address Easter (April) in March,
Gay Prid e (June) in May, National ·coming Out Day (October) in September,
and - you're ahead of me - Christmas in November, which is why Second
Stone is nor themed too seasonally. But I have included in this issue a very
useful article for a situation I'm sure you will hear of, or perhaps even
exper ience, this holiclay season. Thanksgiving and Christmas is family time .
For some of us, that means a pleasant intermingling between our family of
choice and our family of birth. But for many more of us, it can be a painful
time when we experience the sting of family rejection the sharpest. Rev.
Buddy Truluck's article, ""How Jesus handl ed rejection by kinsmen"" will speak
in a special and encouraging way to those who are feeling such pain this
season
Five years old and we still make typos
This issue, November/December, is our anniversary issue. We started
planning Second· Stone in March of 1988, put out a couple of newsletters that
summer, and got on the ""big press"" for the first time with the Nov /Dec, 1988
issue. So with this edition, we begin our sixth year. My heartfelt thanks to
loyal readers and supporters who have been with us through ' thickand thinsometimes
very thin - for these past five years, I appreciate it.
Community Forum not the talk of the town
Earlier this year, we introduced our idea for community discussion groups for
gay and lesbian Christians. I wish we wouldn't have done that. The
Community Forum, based on Utne Reader's Neighborhood Salon, simply was
not well received and we will not pur s ue furth er development. We continu e
to hear of the need to estab1ish connectedness in our community, but we very
clearly did not have the answer. Our expe rience was that if ten people came
together und er the same roof, there were ten different ide.as - very divergent
ideas - as to what the Community Forum sho uld b e. And, in spite of good
ideas and hard work, it won't be.
Better a Second Stone gift subscription
than a gift certificate from LL. Bean
Second Stone would be honored to do some of your Christmas shopping this
y e ar . Remember your gay arid lesbian Christian friends wi,th a g ift
subscr iption lo our publication. We know they'll like the idea because, over
the past few years, most gift recipients h ave renewed to become reg ul ar
subscribers. (About L. L.-Bean - keep reading.)
Maybe we 'll move our publication schedule aJ1ead by a month to take care
of these ""seasonal"" problems, but for now I'll just ha ve to do it too far in
ad,ao~, all 11,e bffi< <o yoo '""""""S <he holiday s=o~ - - - -
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal. ISSN No. 1047-3971. is published every other
month by Bailey Communications. P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1993 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For display advertising information call (504)899-4014 or write to
P.O. Box 8340. New Orleans, LA 70182.
EDITORIAL, send letters.calendar announcements. noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone. P.O. Box 8340. New Orleans. LA 70182. Manuscripts to be
returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Second Stone
is otherwise not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, an ecumenical Christian newsjoumal for the national gay and
lesbian community.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRJBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck. Dr. James T. Sears.
'Rev. Ken South
m Second Stone-November/December. 1993
'-=-'
Contents ....... .... ..... ..................... •
LZJ. From The Editor
[3 ] Commentary
ltf7 News lines L~
1-·--7 LfiJ AIDS and national health care reform
By Rev. Ken South
I 7'1, Combating the new tribalism
I By Dr. James T. Sears L_ __ rn World AIDS Day
I Cover Story [ID] 10 AIDS and the black.church
1 Gay and gray
[
-=--i _!2,J Some of us_ are getting older
1
·191 ~ow Jesus handled family rejection d By Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck
11TlonVideo Ltl_ __ J Educating parents about AIDS
1-1·-5-7 In Print ! [ By The Pool At Bethesda
I I I J i Prayer of Jesus, Prayer of the Heart
~ Gay Theology Without Apology ' [Iz] Calendar
ligl Noteworthy L!~~
1-i.-, 1191 Resource Guide
120 I Classifieds
T /Comment· T ........... .. -• ..... -~ ............... ~ ........ ~ .................... ·• ...... .
A closet that we cann~t afford to be in
By Kenny Dayton
Guest Opinion
E
. ' ach of us has our own unique
coming out story. Even
though l was able to deal
with who I am eight years
ago, to an extent my life is still lived
partially in the closet. Only part of
my family has been told . It's
assumed at my job but only
confirmed to a select few, and a
number of friends are still in the
dark . Coming out has been a long
and difficult part of my life.
We try to turn our lives over to God
but then we take the coming out part
back. We think we can do beiter on
our own. Several occurrences have
mad e me see that God is opening ·my
closet and forcing me out into the
light. God has plans for me and they
cannot be accomplished from within a
hidd en life, not if I am to reach the
people I am supposed to.
A year ago, the Ku Klux Klan
scheduled a rally in our city to gamer
Florida pa nhandle support for their
mission of hate. WJ1ether you are
black, gay, Jewish, f r Christian, the
KKK is still very much alive and
well, especially in the ""old south.""
Being a transplanted yankee, I hadn't
given much thought to the news
stories of the rally. I found it ·
ludicrous to image that the ignorant
ramblings of people who openly
advocate hate could actually get
support in the 1990s.
One Sunday morning I became
painfully aware . Just as services were
starting at Holy Cross MCC, the
.A
pastor asked me to keep an eye out
· for anyone I didn't know and to check
the parking Jot. occasionally for
anyone who didn't belong there. My
quizzical expression demanded more,
and he explained that there had been
several bo-'1\b threats phoned in that
morning. Maybe it was a coincidence
that the KKK rally was to be held that
afternoon only a few short blocks
away, but the calls were taken very
seriously.
For the next hour, I had to interrupt
of the time, but I will not allow the
Klan or the far right or the old south
deny me the love of God.
A few months later I had the
opportunity to test the commitment I
had made that day . A co-worker was
having a difficult time with me
'because of his religious training and
my assumed homosexuality. As we
were leaving work, a discussion arose
that eventually erupted into a 'tirade
from him regarding President
Clinton, Gays in the military, and the
We have to educate. And we cannot do
that from the closet. We cannot ignore
it when we hear someone spreading
misinterpretations and false stereotypes.
my worship to make periodic trips
around the building and parking lot.
My German temper began to flare
during one of these trips. The
sanctity of a building of worship had
been violated. The sanctity of my
ability to worship had been interrupted.
The Klan had the right to
rally, but they did not have the right
to do this. I decided that I would
nev er again allow someone's ignorance
or bigotry to come between me
and God. I may live in a closet part
· need for family values to return
before the whole country burns in
h ell. Although he was strong willed
and surprisingly well-versed on the
scriptures, he was frustrated at his
final effort to convince me that
· homosexuality was wrong. I asked
him to bring me any generally
accepted translation of the Bible and
show me where Christ said the first
word about homosexuality . .
The next morning I was hand ed a
photocopy of part of the sermon on
the mount and told that, according to
his minister, the reference to ""as in
· the days of Noah"" meant homosexuals.
In disbelief and not wanting
to tum the day into one long religious
argument, I closed the discussion with
·a suggestion that he pray about it,
and ask God if it was okay for him to
judge and hate. I did not care that
my closet at work was wide open. I
was no longer going to allow som eone
to use ignorance against me, nor
misuse the scriptures in their att empt.
We have to educate. And we
cannot do that from the closet. We
cannot ignore it when we hear
someone spreading misinterpretations
and false stereotypes. Do not permit
God and God's word to be used
against us. That is a closet we cannot
afford to be in ... for ourselves, o ur
community, and all of God 's children.
We have run from the religious
right ins tead of at them. As long as
we allow the Falwells, the Robertsons,
and the pastors in pulpits in o ur
hom e towns lo spread the lies and
hat e, we will always come o ut
looking bad. We have to be willing
to challenge them in public. I hav e
found it interesting that every time a
gay man or lesbian starts to discuss
what the word of God does say with
one of the religious right ·readers,
th ey change the subject to child
m olesting or recruit ing or multipl e
sex partners or any one of many other
stereotypes they have used against
us. I pray that they do this out of
ignorance and lack of study and
· prayer on their part. At least th en
they have an excuse.
Churches should respond to debate on gay genes
By The Lesbian and Gay
Christian Movement
Guest Opinion
The serious ethical and moral
issues pos ed by · news that
parents could have the choice
of rejecting or accepting fetuses
which show signs of homosexuality
should be closely examined
by Christians.
Science will not stop its ·search to
explore into the unknown, and much
good can come from many discoveries.
However, with so many
cultures and ideologies still holding
primitive, simplistic attitudes to some
v.:.rieties of human sexuality the
temptation to interfere with .nature's
own clear wish and ability to produce
lesbian and gay people could simply
play into the hands of prejudiced
people happy to discrirninatEc, even to
the point of the ultimate atrocity, on
the grounds of sexual orientation
alone:
The Christian churches must see the
challenge to its teaching opened up
by news of possible genetic causes of
homosexuality as being in every way
as important as the threat to humanity
that would be posed if parents
had the choice cf determining the
gender, color, intelligence, or abilities
of their cilildren . ·
All are created equal in God's eyes
[,~- Pontius' Puddle · •-
and that means no particular sex uality
shou ld be subjected to unnatural
interference or control with
the int ention of reducing its pr evalence
or exterminating it alto
·gether. The very differences that are
found in human beings, and which
gives life its .richness and pleasures,
must not be allowed to becom e a
uniform, restrictive ever narrower
straight-jacket of so-called normality.
We completely reject any attempts to
legitimize the abortion of unborn
homosexuals, and the church should
now say the same urgently .
JUST t•W LOCK. I \JOLUl-l""'TEER fOR
r-\15SION '41/0RK IN A fORcl<HI LA~t>,
Al'lt> END U~ C:rE.1'\t•-lG-~SS\&-NEO
TO Tl-'E rA~ $10£.
Second Stone•No~~~ber/December, 1993 rn
NewLsin es • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 • •• ••••••••••••••••••
Nashvilaler eac hurcheosp posGe ayW orldS eries
1\RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISTS have launched a campaign to stop the 1994 Gay
Softball World Series, which will be .held in Nashville and the surrounding area next
summer. More than 1,900 signatures were collected on petitions circulated during two
services at the huge Madison Church of Christ, where pastor Steve Flatt said, ""W~ want
to go on record as saymg we would prefer that this event not take place ... We don t need
that in Madison."" Officials have said that despite any petitions, it would be
discriminatory to refuse use of their facilities to any group. The Lesbian and Gay
Coalition for Justice, a Tennessee-based political organization, condemned the ministers'
""message of discrimination."" ""T~e choice to use the pulpit as a forum to preac_h bigotry,
and attempt to exclude certain citizens from access to metro parks, is mesponsible use of
leadership,"" said Lon Thrasher of the coalition. ""Are these ministers afraid that the Gay
World Series will show many residents of Davidson County that Lesbians and gay men
are real people who enjoy the same recreations that these Madison congregations do?""
- Southern Voice
Nop lacefo rr eligioinn p olitics,a ysG oldwater. . .
/\BARRY GOLDWATER, who for years was the conservative voice of the GOP, says it
is ""just plain dumb"" for Ref>ublicans to oppose Gays and Lesbians u\ the armed forces.
""There has been homosexuality ever since men and women were invented. I guess there
were gay apes. So it's not an issue,"" he said in an inter\liew with The Advocate.
Goldwater said Clint~n s:iught his views on the issue. ""Clinton called "".'~, up one day
about this and I told him iustthat, give th_e order _and t~en shut up about it. Goldwater
said he has also lost all respect for the rehg10us nght. There is no place in this country
for practicing religion in politics. That goes for Falwell, Robertson and all the rest of
those political preachers."" Goldwater also disclosed he has a gay grandson.
- Southern Voice
EpiscopSale minarfayc esh ousinbgi asin qui_ry . .
t.THE NEW YORK CITY Commission on Human Rights 1s mveshgahng charges the
Episcopal General Theological Seminary discriminated against Pro1. Dierdre Good, a
tenurea professor at the school, by ordering her to move out of a rent-free apartment
provided for faculty and students because sfie was living there with her female _partner.
The seminary requires that ""persons living together as couples in serrunary housing must
be married as this is understood by the Church"" even though same-sex couples cannot
legally marry in the United St~/es. Good filed a complaint with the CHR, clia_rging_th a,\
she was discriminated against on the basis of her manta! status and sex1.:aI o:ientahon.
The CHR claims it has jurisdiction in what would normally be outside its domam
because the sem.inary made facultr housing a. cond1ho.r:io f employment and because 1t
rents some of its apartments to outsiders. - Clucago Outlmes
·G avsa rea n"" abominatiosna""y sG loriGa aynor. .
!.IIN AN INTERVIEW in the British tabloid, 17,e Sun, 1970s disco star Glona Gaynor
called homosexuality an ""abomination."" Gt_ing the Bible, Gaynor said, ""I feel the same
way as the Bible. It says that homosexuality is an abornmahon. God loves homosexuals,
but he doesn't love what they do.'' Seve«d rights groups, ~utrage in England an_d
Outright in Scotland, quickly called for a boycott of Gaynor s records and a public
apology from the singer whose song ""I Will Survive"" was a popular gay love anthem.
-Gnynet . .
Internaplr oblemths reateKni ngo fP eaceM CC .
MN A SUDDEN move that left man_y in his St. Petersburg, Fla. congregation confused and
angry, King of Peace MCC pastor Fred Williams terminated his.former associate pastor
Renne Shawver. The announcement came just two months after Shawver was appointed
.to head Metropolitan Charities AIDS Services, a newly c_reated AIDS case manag_ement
agency in Pinellas County which operated m con1unct1on wit~ the church .. Williams
declined to discuss the dismissal, but stated that Shawver had made a decision m her
• personal life that made_ it impossible to conhnue"" to_have her on staff. Earlier this year
King of Peace moved into a large new fac,hty which some say have devastated the
financial resources of the church. - Gazette
MurdereCda tholipcr ieswt asc losetegda y
Li.POLICE IN THE WINE country 1·ust north of San Francisco say they have some
""significant leads"" in the murder of a ~oman Catholic priest, Father Ronald Maupin, who
was apparently a closeted gay man. Friends of Maupin became worried when he didn't
show up for work and went to his home where they found hun dead of multiple .stab
wounds. Police believe Maupin was killed by someone he knew because there were_no
signs of forced entry or a struggle at his apartment. _There w~re reports that the pnest
was seen in a gay bar the night before his death. - Clucago 011t/111es
. QUOTEABLE
""We hired Bill Clinton to be president of the United States,
We did not hire him to be the Great Liberator of lesbian
and gay people. Our liberation is, as it always has been,
in our own hands. ""
-Roberta Achtenberg
/1J SecondS tone•November/Decemb1e9r,9 3
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................
Over5 00L utheraCnh urclhe aderssu ppogrta y/lesbiiasns ues
t.DURING THE BIENNIAL assembly of the EvangelicaT Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA), more than 500 church leaders broke_silence and made public their support for
the ecclesiastical recognition_ of loving comnutted relationships among lesbian and gay
people, and for the ordination of qualified women and men as pastors and church
professionals, regardless_ of _se~ual_o rientation. These .church leaders, known as the
Ne_twork (to end sexual d1scnmmation in the ELCA), publicly released their names to an
off ma I representative of the ELCA. . The group includes seminary professors, bishops,
pastors, lay leaders and others. Bishop Emeritus Stanley E. Olson, a leader of tne
Network, is among tho,;e_who publicly came out with his support Bishop Olson said, ""I
have witnessed the unscnptural burdens the ELCA has placed on all of its many gay and
lesbian members, whether-lay or ordained. As one who has held the offrce ofbisnop in ·
the church, I cannot remain passive or silent."" The Rev. David E. Nelson, St. James
Lutheran Church, Kansas City, said, ""The gospel of Jesus Christ does not call us to be
comfortable and safe. Martin Luther has taught us to go boldly forth even if all the
answers are not in."" - Seattle Gay News ,
Newn at_ioncaoln servativetelevinseiotwn orskt arting
t.A NEW '24-HOUR television network promoting the conservative and religious
fundamentalist agendas plans to being nationwide broadcasts Dec. 6 and promises to
feature anti-ga}' public affairs programming on a regular basis. Called National
Empowerment Television (NET) and backea by sucfi conservative groups as the
Washington, D.C.-based Free Congress Foundation, the new television network will be
available to more than 3.5 million households with satellite dishes, or an estimated 9.8
million Americans. - Equal Time
Neighbowrsa ntN ewL ifeM CCz onedo ut
Li.RESIDENTS OF A Matthews, North Carolina, neighborhood want to stop a
Metropolitan Community Church from moving near them. People from the community
guestioned Matthews Mayor Lee Myers about a zoning variance that allows New Life
MCC occupancy. Rev. Robert Darst, pastor of New Life, said that the real concern was
not zoning, but that gay and lesbian members attend the church. Darst reported receiving
an anonymous dealfi threat by telephone.
PatB uchanadno es"" superiodra nce""
Li.PAT BUCHANAN spoke to 2000 Christian Coalition activists in September with a
fiery defense of the Republican Party's anti-abortion stance and a vow to rebuff GOP
moderates, calling for creation of a third party if moderates diluted the anti-abortion
plank. He won applause with his attack on multiculturalism""scoffing at the idea that the
world's cultures are equal. ""Our culture is superior because our religion in Christianity,
and that is the truth that makes men free.'' - Diversity ·
Lesbian/graeyli gioulesa derms eet .
MN CONJUNCTION with the fall meeting of the General Board of the National Council
of Churches, representatives of most of the lesbian/ gay Christian caucuses and the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches were scheduled to meet in
Baltimore November 9-12. Leaders Of the supportive congregations program.5: in several
denominations were also invited. The religious leaders were to be present at the
National Council of Churches meeting both to support UFMCC's relationship with that
body and to remind delegates of the presence of gay and lesbian members in their own
denominations. The UFMCC, rejected for membership in the NCC last year, has not
reapplied. However, supportive delegations from the United Church of Christ and other
denominations were expected to raise the issue of greater inclusion of Lesbians and Gays
during the meeting. .
L.L .B eanh eira ctivein f arr ighct auses
Li.CATOLOGUE SHOPPERS purchasing from one of the nation's oldest and most popular
mail-order'houses maybe unaware of the political activity of .Linda Lorraine Bean,
granddaughter of the founder of L. L. Bean. The heir to the New England outdoor clothier
and recreational gear purveyor b;:tcked a mailing campaign whicfi was instrumental in
defeating the Equal Rights Amendment in Maine. The media campa_!g_cnon tained pieces
showing two men embracinl\ with warnings thatpassage of the ERA would lead to
expansion of gay rights. - Sta/1io11
Notr ainh, ails, leeot rs nowh: omophobsitao psm aicl arrier
t.POSTAL WORKER George Yoerger resigned his Moville, Iowa position after 12 years
because he refused to deliver copies of Time and Newsweek. Tliat week, both covers
featured sexual themes. Yoerger said he had no choice but to resign because he was a
devoted follower of Jesus Christ. .
LocaPl resbyteribano dyu pholdosr dinatioonfg ayd eacons
t.THE PERMANENT JUDICIAL Commission of the Synod of the Pacific of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) has unanimously upheld the ordination of a lesbian and a
gay deacon in Eu&ene, Oregon, and has chided the Presbytery of the Cascade for calling
the ordinations 'irregular."" The case has been appealed to the Permanent Judical
Commission of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, which will likely
through out the ordinations. - More Light Update
Fouyr earsin t hem aking:L utheranpso ndesre xualitsyt atement
t.THE 5.6 MILLION .members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are being
asked to consider a 21-page statement on sexuality prepared by the church's Task Force
on Human Sexuality. ""The Church and Human Sexuafity: A Lutheran Perspective"" was
sent to the church's 19,000 pastors on October 22. After local churches respond, a new
draft will be preF'ared in time for action by delegates to a churchwide assembly in 1995.
The document asks church members to consider whether the church should recommend
lifelong abstinence for Gays and Lesbians, tolerate homosexuality or affirmatively bless
same-g_ender unions.
T NewLsin esT I!' •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ti •••••
Bishopw hod isciplinepdro -gacyh urcherse signs
C>BISHOP LYLE MILLER will not complete his term as leader of 83,000 Lutherans in
Northern Californi 0 and Nevada. Miller, who has been bishop since 1987, has resigned
saying he wants to· return to parish ministry. Several local pastors say Miller has not
been happy with his duties since he was forced to discipline two San Francisco
congregations who hired openly gay pastors in violation of church policy. One of the
gay pastors, Rev. Jeff Johnson of First United Lutheran Church, was a longtime family
friend. Four months ago., another Lutheran pastor in the East Bay announced his
homosexuality, setting the stage for a new showdown between the 1ocal church and
church leaders. - San FranciscoC hronicle
Encyclicraela ffirmCsa tholivci ewso ns ex
l'.THE LONG-AWAITED encyclical by Pope John Paul II includes a comprehensive
declaration of the Roman Catholic ·church's opposition to abortion, homosexuality,
premarital sex and birth control. ""Veritatis Splendor"" (""The Light of Truth"") is also
sharply critical of Catholic dissidents who disagree with church teachings.
Episcopcahl urchse eksO Ko fs ame-seuxn ions
C>MEMBERS OF ST. BARNABAS Episcopal Church in Denver want the Colorado
Episcopal Diocese to institute a ceremony to bless same-sex relationships. The Rev. Al
Halverstadt., St. Ba!nabas rector~ said it was a ""highly inflammatory"" topic but something
that needs to be discussed. Halverstadt favors blessing same-sex relationships but has
not officiated at any. - Associated Press
ReligiouFsu ndamentalirsetlse asne ewa nti-gavyi deo
C>THET RADITIONAL VALUES Coalition unveiled the latest anti-gay video at a press
conference at the Natmnal Press Club. The 40 minute tape, entitled Gay Rights/Special
.Rrghts1 is unique among the genre in that. it sports interviews with high profile
polrtrcrans, such as former Attorney General Edwm Meese, former Education Secretary
Wilham Bennett, and current_ U. s, Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) The key focus of this video
rs a comparison between the crvrl nghts movements of blacks and Gays (which are almost
exclusively depicted as whrte.) Although the vrdeo has no _prominent black politicians '
being i_nterviewed,_ it has several blade TVC associates cnticizing Gays for trying to
cap_1talrze on the c1v1I nghts work of Dr. Martm Luther King Jr. It also interviews a
Latmo school board member m Calrfornra and the head of a group called the Chinese
Family Alliance, both of whom criticize Gays for trying to ""hijack"" the 1964 federal Civil
Rights Act. - The Lntest Issue
Presbyteriganro ups upportcsh urch-widiea loguoen s exuality
t.ABROAD-BASED group of Presbyterian church members is pledging full support for a
three -year church -wide dialogue on sexual orientation and ordination in the
Presbyterian Church (USA). The group of 26_ local Presbyterian church officers and
clergy from all parts of the country discussed their plans during a recent weekend meeting
on a farm near Washington, D.C. A steering committee was elected to work with other
national organizations rn support of the ordination of gay, lesbian, and bisexual church
members ot Presbyterian deacons, elders, and ministers. The gathering included several
weary veterans of unsuccessful legislative and judicial attempts to open ordination to
gay, lesbian, and bisexual church members, as well as a number of Presbyterians who are
mvolved in such efforts for the first time. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church (USA), meeting in June in Orlando, Fla., called on local churches and regional
bodies (Presbyteries) to ""be engaged in the discipline of open, diligent, prayerful study
and dialogue_on the issues of Ftuman sexual behavior and orientation as they relate to
membership, ministry, and ordination"" in the Presbyterian church. The resolution asked
for reports about such dialogue at its meeting in 19%.
Agencieisn vestigagtea ya ndl esbiayno uth"" de-gavincge"" nter
l'.THE LAMBA LEGAL Defense Fund, working with the Nationaf Center for Lesbian
Rights, is investigating allegations that a Southern California school district is sending
gay and lesbian teenagers to an institution in Utah for aversion therapy or ""reparative
therapy"" to ""de-gay"" them. The institution, known as Rivendell, which calls itself a
residential treatment facility for emotionally disturbed youth, is located in West Jordan,
Utah. The Rivendell facility, which is a school as well, is rel'orted to have a heavily
Mormon influence and to teach its students that homosexuality is wrong. The South
Pasadena School District and the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
provided funding for the placement at Rivendell of a young lesbian women through the
state's Individuahzed Education Placement program. - Lnmlia Update
Seattles tationw on'bt roadcasFta lwell'asn ti-gasyh ows
C>KTZZ-TVH AS BEGUN monitoring Jerry Falwell's ""Old Time Gospel Hour"" and will
refuse to air any of the fundamentalist minister's anti-gay programs. The station made the
move after gay residents of Seattle complained and threatened public protests. ""We're
embarrassed, and we're sorry we put the gay community through this ,"" said KTZZ
general manager Wade Brewer.
Hundredgsa ht eri nM id-West to battleri ghwt ingin iitatives
C>MORE THAN 300 ACTIVISTS gathered in Cincinnati Labor Day weekend to fllan
strategies to defeat antr-gay rmtratrves on the state and local levels m the Mrd-West. The
Fight the Right Mid-West Reg-ional Summit, held September 4 and 5, was co-sponsored by
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and Stonewall Cincinnati, a local gay and
lesbia n political organization. Activists from Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois,
Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin met at the summit to learn skills and share
inform ation to battle anti-gay initiatives. Participants screened the new right wing
anti-gay video, Gay Rights/Special Rights, which includes interviews and footage from.
the March on Washington. Activists discussed ways to counter the misinformation of
that video and others that .circulate around the country during debates over gay and
lesbian civil rights. For details about Fight the Right trainings, contact Robert Bray,
(415)552-644 8.
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Second Stone•November/December; 1993 [ -[~
L~-""
AIDS
and the
national health
care reform
By Rev. Ken South
Contributing Writer
I t has been said that AIDS shines a
spotlight on the inadequacies of
our present health care system
like no other. As the discussion
widens as to how this country will
handle its growing health care
delivery crisis, AIDS care and treatment
will continue to be an essential
part of that discussion.
The present two tier health care
. system, one for the employed who
have access to private health insurance,
and the other for the poor who
either have never had private health
insurance or lost it when they . lost
their employment, has failed to be
able to provide comprehensive; compassionate,
coordinated health care for
people with AIDS.
The disease AIDS has no routine
course or pattern. From the time a
person is infected until they experience
opportunistic infections, even
through the occasions when they
need acute or perhaps palliative care,
the process can be extremely erratic.
During the course of the disease a
person can alternate between acute
hospitalizations, intensive home care,
outpatient treatment, complete independence
from the health care system
for a time, and also continue to need
extremely expensive anti-viral and
immune boosting drugs. The current
health care final)cing system does not
_ have the kind of flexibility to adapt to
these changing patterns.
A look at a hypothetical person
with HIV infection tells the story. Jim
Harrison is a 27 year old, who found
out he was HIV positive two years
ago. His first consideration is, with
fear of losing his job, whether to tell
his employer. If he does not like his
current employment and is thinking
of leaving, will his next employer's
insurance company allow him on the
insurance plan? Even if they do, and
they are self insured, will they place
a five or ten thousand dollar life long
cap on his medical bills? If Jim stays
with his current employer his current
insurance may not even cover some
of the drugs he needs to stay healthy.
Jim may need to pay cash for life
saving drugs from the local buyers
club. Many times the money for
these drugs has to come from friends.
If Jim's health deteriorates to such an
extent that he needs to leave his job,
he then is eligible under COBRA to
continue his private group insurance
for a period of time if he can afford
the monthly payments. Where does
the money come from to pay for these
payments with no paycheck coming
in? When the COBRA time limit
ends, Jim must then apply for
Medicaid to pay for his medical bills.
To be eligible for Medicaid he has to
""spend down"" to become poor. In
most cases he will lose his private
doctor. Since PW As have a very
difficult time finding a doctor who
will take Medicaid , he will start
having his health care managed at a
""af inanciaall ternative""
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help ~ou access your life insurance policy for FINANCIAL FREEDOM. NOW, when you
neeu 1t. So you can break away from financial worries anu stress, and gel back lo the
feelingo f PREEDOM.
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; 6_J I Second St.o ne-Novembe. r/December1, 993
Please inquire NOW for free
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clinic at the county hospital. During
this period, he is eligible for
Supplementary Security Income (551),
a set monthly amount based on his
former employment. If he is
approved as disabled, he is then
eli~ible for his treatment drugs and
waits for Medicare eligibility. After a
diagnosis of AIDS he must wait a
required 24 months to receive
Medicare payments. This permanent
disability program was not designed
for a chronic, life threatening disease
pattern, but for long term permanent
disability conditions. In many cases,
people with AIDS have received their
eligibility for SSDI long after they
have died.
Some facts about this scenario: The
total number of reported cases of
AIDS in the United States as of
September, 1992 was 242,146. Of this
number 160,372 have died.
Of these people with AIDS, 29
percent (70,222) have (or had) no private
insura~1ce, and another 29 percent
have (or had) private insurance,
40 perc~nt (96,858) were covered by
Med1ca1d, (90 percent of all children
with AIDS are also covered by
Medicaid), and only 2 percent (4,844)
were (are) eligible for Medicare. In
short, at the present time 71 percent
of all people with AIDS have their
medical costs covered by public
sector.
Many physicians will not accept
AIDS patients whose only method of
payment is Medicaid. One reason for
this is that Medicaid only pays for a
small portion of the real costs to
doctors and it varies widely throughout
the country. In San Francisco, for
example, Medicaid pays only 33
percent of real costs; in New York
City it pays only 15 percent. An
average doctor in New York City
charges $84 for an office visit. Medicaid
will pay only $11 of that cost.
To make matters more complicated
for the people with AIDS, in order to
become eligible for Medicaid one
must have an AIDS diagnosis . There
is no financing . system for the thousands
of persons with HIV infection
who could benefit by preventive
treatments like aerosolized pentamidine
for pneumocystis pneumonia.
In addition, in order to be eligible for
Medicare, a person must have been
diagnosed with full blown AIDS for at
least five months and then wait 24
months for the first payment. To
make matters worse, Medicare does
not pay for the same medications that
Medicaid covers!
It is clear that as the demographics
of the AIDS epidemic change to
include more persons of color, more
wpmen, and more· of the poor, the
economics of this disease are also
changing rapidly. The total average
costs per PW A has dropped
significantly from a height of $147,000
in 1987 from HIV infection death to
$32,000 (for gay white males) in 1992.
And, while 11 percent of all health
care is paid for by Medicaid in this
country, 25 percent of all AIDS care is
paid by this same program. Two
percent of all U.S. health care dollars
are spent on AIDS treatment and
care. This shift has been called the
""medicaidization of AIDS.""
A comprehensive national health
care system would have to include
the following provisions to really
make a significant improvement for
the sake of PW As. It would cover all
persons living within the United
States: citizens, aliens and visitors. It
would include coverage of all treatments
needed · to battle the. disease
from preventative prophylaxis drugs
through approved and experimental
drugs for treatment. There would be
freedom of choice for patients to
choose their own health care provider,
and there would be no such
thing as benefit caps or exclusions. In
the mean time, the federal government
can do much to help the
current system be more responsive to
people with AIDS by instituting the
recommendations of the National
Commission on AIDS: Medicare
should cover all low iI)COme people
with HIV disease. That is, a diagnosis
of_ HIV infection should be the only
cntena to receive payment for
treatment, not to have to wait for an
AIDS diagnosis. Medicaid payments
should at least equal .Medicare
payment levels of reimbursement for
health care providers . States and/ or
the federal government should pay
the cost of the COBRA payments for
those persons who have lost their jobs
111 order to keep them in private
msurance plans as long as possible.
Persons who are eligible for SSDI
should be allowed to purchase
Medicare insurance during their 24
month waiting period. Medicaid
should pay for this premium
coverage. The Department of Health
and Human Services should consolidate
the purchase and distribution
of prevention and treatment drugs for
HIV disease. Buying in bulk in
collaboration with drug manufacturers
will save everybody money.
As the halls of Congress ring with
the sounds of arguments over how a
national health care system will look
in the future, people with HIV/ AIDS
will have to continue to struggle with
the inadequacies and injustices of the
current system. In many cases the
stress of dealing with ""the system"" is
as destructive as the disease itself.
AIDS advocates, the AIDS ministry
community, and advocates from the
religious community for a humane
health care system will continue to be
active in the debate to see that people
with · AIDS are well served by tlw
new system, God willing.
Rev. Ken South is executive director of
tlze AIDS . National lnte1Jaith Network.
Excerpted with permission from Interaction.
Sources include Agency for
Health Care Policy and Research, HHS
1991 and ""Americans Living with
AIDS"" report of the National Commission.
on AIDS 1991.
As citizens, we enter the public
square from separate communities,
speaking in diverse
tongues, · worshipping in
churches, synagogues, temples,
mosques, and ashrams. As Ameri_
cans, for too long we have had no
need to communicate across the racial,
class, gender, religious, or sexual
borders and so we .did not. And now,
it seems, we cannot.
Our institutions of public education,
what John Dewey called an ""embryonic
society"" for democracy, has
becm;ne a battleground - not as Justice
Hand idealized, ""the free market
place of ideas"" - but among competing
factions each with a selfrighteous
certainty brandishing a
particular version of the truth to
impose on a generation of unenlightened
youth.
A University of South Carolina
summer course, ""Christian Funda- ·
mentalism and Public Education""
-attracted nationwide attention and
reaped a whirlwind of criticism from
the highest state official to the simplest
church-goer. Some viewed the
course as ""Christian bashing"" while
others saw this .criticism as rampant
homophobia . . Some questioned . the
professor's ability to deliver an
""objective"" course while others saw
the _ensuing controversy · as evidence
of the religious right's growing
influence in the state. A few wondered
why a public university would
ever want to challenge the views of a
""majority"" of . the state's taxpayers
while others waved the tattered flag
of academic freedom.
These and other reactions reflect a
disturbing phenomenon: the Tribalization
of America.
The New American Tribes
We are quickly becoming a nation
of tribes. These tribes may be clothed
with gang colors, professional robes,
or cleric collars; these tribes are
located in the boardrooms of Manhattan
skyscrapers, inside offices or
ivy-covered faculty buildings, and on
ground zero of our urban jungles;
these tribes mount children's crusades
for Operation Rescue or engage in the
personal terrorism of outing; these
tribes speak in the language of the
Church, the Street, or Academe; these
tribes erect icons like Madonna,
Malcolm X, or Pat Robertson.
Though each tribe is distillctive, we
share several commonalties: We mistake
self-interest for the commoll
interest. We. confuse ritualized behaviors
with meaningful actions. We
substitute cal\onical knowledge for
self knowledge. Most importantly,
each tribe requires The Others to
____ om bating
the New
TRIBALISM
Crossing Boundaries to Transform The Other
BY DR JAMES T. SEARS
justify their existence and col\test borders
in order to warrant their
territorial claims.
Ameriqm tribalization requires the
e_xistence of The C?ther: the queer, the
filthy nch, the sp1ck, the baby killer,
the radical feminist, the holy roller,
the pointy-head intellectual. Without
imagined threats posed by The
Other, without the silencing of The
Other, without the objectification of
The Other, the tribe - whose member~
are bound by commonly held
beliefs, values, and experiences -
could not exist.
~erican tribalizatioll also requires
terntones and borders: the hallowed
h~lls_ of academe; the gangland
d1v1s10ns between the Crips and the
Bloods; the homosexual sanctuaries of
Fire Island and the Castro, the
fortresses of Christianity . Those who
crowded together in small towns, a;e
conservative religious outposts where
networks of family and kin huddle
together in worship and prayer.
These fortresses guard against the
isms: evolutiollism, ecumellicalism,
secular humanism, socialism, plural ism,
globalism, multiculturalism.
At the cel\ter of the state, boul\ded
by tree-lilled streets and secular
el\terprises towers Academe. Protected
by tenure alld promised academic
freedom, professors also often isolate
themselves from the maelstrom of
everyday life content to erect academic
empires, to write in obscurant
prose, to promote academic hucksterism,
or to engage in factional
in-fighting. .
A ""cultural war"" has been declared
by some members of these two tribes.
As border skirmishes have escalated
Without in1agined threats posed by
The Other, without the silencing of
The Other, without the objectification
of The Other, the tribe - whose
members are bound by common I y
held beliefs, values, and experiences -
could not exist.
choose to cross territories risk the
wrath from all sides along the border.
Just as it is dangerous for a
Cambodian youth flagging his colors
to cross O1icago's Broadway Avenue,
so too is it for a religious fundamentalist
embracing a Bible-to enter the
university classroom of an ·""avowed
homosexual."" Without these border
crossers, however, the often promised
cultural war will begin in earnest and
we will lose our only true opportunity
for re-birth.
The Church and Academe
Scattered throughout South
Carolina, alongside dirt roads or
into frontal attacks; each tribe has
experienced history differently as
each wanders aimlessly in an ever
diminishing public square.
For the religious conservative, the
decades since the '60s have seen a
progressive deterioration of moral
conduct as biblical truths and moral
absolutes have bee!\ abandoned by
s'ociety. The ship of state - absent a
moral compass and ethical rudder -
has been scuttled on the shoals of
secular humanism. Only through the
waters of re-birth and redemption can
this ship be righted; only through
confessing our willful separation from
God .- sin - and seeking repentance
can our New Zion be reclaimed. No
longer content to await the . Millennium,
many of these religious
conservatives have returned to the
public square from self-imposed exile
to mirror social activists' tactics of-the
religious left a generation earlier as
they reje_ct, the separatist teachings of _
their rehg10us forefathers . As their
cause became a crusade, their ability
alld willingness to communicate in
civil dialogue withill the public
square has lessened.
A generatioll of academics, weaned
on economic prosperity and democratic
ideals and coming of age under
the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the
Civil Rights Movement, alld Watergate,
el\tered into temples of secular
wisdom . For this new tribe of social
reconstructionists, whose elder states- ·
mell included Noam Chomsky, R. D.
Laing, and Harvey Cox, the university
was a forum to critique the
televised imageries of the Cleaver,
Jeffersoll, and Partridge households
and their communities. Withill a
short time, however, a new intel lectual
orthodoxy replaced the old. _
This ne'\"" orthodoxy reified scholarly
discourse and stifled public debate as
it diverted valuable intellectual energy
and professional activity from the ·
public square.
Nihilism, Orthodoxy,
and Doubt
In Magister Ludi, Herma!\ Hesse
wrote of a faraway land in a distant
time. Here a pale young boy lived
who enjoyed talent for abstract
thought and habit ·of good industry.
His talent and habit earned young
Joseph Knecht a transfer from an
ordinary school in his hometown to
an elite school of the Castalia.
In Hesse's novel, the establishment
of the Order of Castalia and the Glass
Bead Game arose from a ""Feuilletollistic-
collflict"" between reasol\ and
superstition and between the political
and academic worlds. What emerged
was an elite believing in intellectual
discipline and venerating music and
mathematics, protected alld isolated
from growing political and religious
strife. At first, the Game was llothillg
more than a method for developing
memory and encouragillg improvisation
among students. Soon mathematicians
attracted to the Game extended
it to express mathematical processes
by special symbols and abbreviat!
ons. As time passed, other disciplmes,
such as the visual arts, philos ophy,
and physics also contributed
new relations, analogies, and methods
to the Game.
The Game became a ""col\centrated
SEE TRIBALISM, Page 8
Second Stone-November/December, 1993 [7.l
Combating the new tribalism
From Page 7
self-awareness for intellectuals"" (p.24).
The Game was the showcase of the
monastically organized, intellectual
culture of the Order of Castalia - a
male order which renounced worldly
possessions for pursuit of purely
intellectual endeavors. The Game
represented the ""quintessence of
intellectuality and art, _the sublime
cult, the unio mystica of all separate
members of the Uni-versitas
Litterarimi"" (p.28).
The Glass Bead Game prizes
unorthodox and enigmatic theories,
concepts, and methods with little
· regard to their contribution to the art
of the practical. Unstirred by social
passion and unguided by political
realities, The . Game suggests a
narcissistic and nihilistic trend within
some in academe. University -professors
can change their academic field
but can or should they affect our
social world?
There are also those, however, in
academe for whom specific social
action grounded in political absolutes
have become orthodoxy. In her
compelling essay about feminism,
sexuality, and politically correct
behavior, Muriel Dimen (1984)
writes, ""Politically correct is an idea
that emerges from the well-meaning
attempt in .social movements to bring
· the unsatisfactory present into line
~,'~ ''""'.J.' t-,
r~::i'r
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We
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On 100 beautiful acres with
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with the utopian future"" (pp. 138-139).
As Dimen points out, the demands
for political correctness presents us
with a double-edge sword:
the process of ressearch, data inconsistent
with one's original theory are
welcomed outliers that allows ·the
researcher to enhance the match
between theory and reality.
In both tribes, certainty has
replaced doubt as faith in the power
of democratic dialogue has disappeared
.
[Political correctness] creates visions
of what is good, it seems sensible and
self-respectful to try to live them out. ..
It is empowering; by psychological
and ideological means, it creates the
space for people to organize politically
... [But] when the radical be- Do'ubt and fa1'th/s1·n
comes correct,. it becomes conservative.
The politically correct comes to and repentance
resemble what it tries to change. For
it. plays on the seductiveness of , Of all the Apostles, the stories of
accustomed ways of living, the Simon Peter and Thomas epitomize
attractiveness of orthodoxy. Its social this tension between faith and doubt.
armoring can lead the person away Near the end of His three years with
from self-knowing authenticity and Peter, Christ said, ""I have prayed for
the group towards totalitarian control. yourself that your faith may not fail,
(pp.140-141) and you, as soon as you have
Dogma and doctrine, true believers repented, must strengthen your
and zealots, anti-intellectualism and brethren"" (Luke 22:32). We are told
mindless conformity - whether they in the Bible that Peter separates
come from some on the Religous himself from Christ, who he goes on
Right who seek to impose their to deny three times in an absence of
theological beliefs on the Political Left faith. (John 18:25-27). Despite the
who seek imposition of their word of the other-Apostles, Thomas,
ideological beliefs - these are incom- too, demanded certainty before
.patible with an enlarging and vibrant placing his faith in the unseen:
public square . What is absent from ""Because you have seen me, you
those on either end of this spectrum is have believed. Blessed are those who
a willingness to entertain doubt. have not seen and yet have believed""
In his classic work, Dynamics of (John 20:29). Doubt is the wellspring
Faith, theologian Paul Tillich (1957, of faith.
pp. 27-28) warns that even in Too often biblical literalists
relig10usly homogenous sooeties, if mistakenly read Scripture through
civil authorities endorse doctrinal contemporary eyes without realizing
beliefs and enforce spiritual con- the changes in meaning wrought
formity then ""they have removed the through its evolution from Aramaic,
risk and courage which belong to the to Greek, to Latin, and to English,
act of faith."" Similarly, Tillich argues multiple versions of the English
that those who surrender themselves translation, and the passage of time
to Papal infallibility or biblical itself. In the chapter cited in Luke
inerrancy can on longer doubt and, above, the _Greek words epistrepho
thus, their ""faith has become static, a meaning ""to turn about"" and metanoia
non questioning surrender"" to The meaning ""change of mind"" have been
Other. translated as ""repented"" and ""repen-
This absence of doubt is also found lance"" - derived from the Latin
in the rejection of philosophy of poenitare meaning ""to feel sorry"" - a
1 science professor Karl Popper's radically different interpretation.
premise of ""falsifiability."" Under this Similarly, faith (pistis) is more
concept, knowledge advances not by correctly translated as ""another kind
P. o, Box 118 SL a search for supportive evidence of of thinking."" Repentance and faith
Bethlehem, NH 03574 one's theory but · by searching for are necessary for this transformation
"":~===(6=0=31=-s~a6::=~-9::-=-::-:3~= 9e~vi:dence that refutes the theory . In or re-birth to occur.
r. In other words, the message of the
■ n Maybe We're· ■ A Symbol of Today's Reality New Testament is about the transd
Ti • >I formation of consciousness. Like Talkin .g About. a an om~ s nope
Paul's trip to Damascus, this change
D. f:f: t G d"" rg..__-------.--- .-,- ,·• I of mind occurs at a turning point in · 1 l ef efl O ==- , _ one's life where metanoia is possible.
A half-hour documentary on the Rev. -1 ,- When this cl1ange of mind occurs an
Jane Spahr and her call to theDowntown == . = evolution in one's spiri_tual thinking
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broughttotrial. ===. s,.J~,JN .Jj - idea conveyed in the Bible (and in
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Leonardo'sC hildren,I nc. WITBHRE ASCTA NCER translated from the Greek as ""to miss
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40232 higher consciousness of the Self that ■ L8SJeco ndStoneoNovember/Decem1b9er9,3
transcends the many selves which
make up our conscious world.
Spiritual evolution is not dependent
upon time but on.a change in heart, a
change in thinking, a change in
consciousness.
In the movie, Groundhog Day, Bill
Murray plays an egocentric and
cynical televisio11 news reporter. On
February 1st, he makes his yearly
trip to document whether
Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow.
Arriving at the town that evening,
Murray's character makes his routine
caddy remarks about the townspeople
and the event to his camera crew and
then heads off to bed. The next day
he gets up and, in a sarcastic and
demeaning manner, covers the sacred
event. As the news crew returns to
Philadelphia, an approaching snowstorm
forces it to return to
Punxsutawney where Bill Murray is
forced to spend another dreadful
night. The following morning, a
strange .event occurs - there is no
following morning . Instead he
re-awakes to another Groundhog Day
hearing the identical song on the
radio to begin his morning, running
into the same old high school
classmate, enduring the same
groundhog shadow sighting, and
again failing miserably with a
romantic pass to his co-worker.
February 2 follows February 2 as Bill
Murrary's character struggles with
himself until one day he realizes that
the key to his having a future is
reflection and self-understanding.
Until we experience a change of
thinking, a change of heart we, like
Bill Murray, are condemned to repeat
an endless set of tomorrows today
with the dreary sameness of yesterday.
Only by confronting The
Others in ourselves (hitting the mark)
and by crossing the border of The
Other will transformation (redemption)
occur. The Others are our
bridges to our Self. In order to
transcend ourselves we must not
separate from The Other but confront
it in ourselves in the stark stillness of
solitude and embrace it in others in
the ,majesty of the public square. In
order to accomplish this we must
acknowledge our doubts and embrace
our faith in the power of civil
discourse.
Understanding The Other affords
us the opportunity to reflect upon
ourselves through the eyes of those
who are different and to peer into
those parts of ourselves that we prefer
not to see. As we peer into the eyes
of the other, we embark on a journey
of the Self crossing borders to explore
our fears, to voice our doubts, to
challenge our assumptions, to
strengthen our faith, and to celebrate
our differences. Our challenge is to
become dead to what we have
become in order lo be resurrected into
what we have the potential of being.
December 1, 1993
World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed annually
on December 1, is the only international
day of coordinated action
against the spread of AIDS. The day
is set aside each year to strengthen
the global effort to face the challenges
of the AIDS pandemic which continues
to spread in all regions of the
world. This year, World AIDS Day
will be commemorated in approximately
180 countries to draw attention
to the worldwide threat to public
health that is posed by AIDS. The
effort is designed to encourage public
support for and development of
program s to prevent the spread of
HIV infection and to . provide education
and awareness on issu es
surrounding HIV/ AIDS.
The United States Postal Service
will issue an AIDS Awareness postage
stamp on December 1, in conjunction
w.ith World AIDS Day. Over
the years, stamps have contribut ed
sig nificantly towards generating
WHO estimates that
14 million people
have been infected
!Jy HIV and by the
year 2000, between
· 30 million and 40
million people will
have been infected
1:?Y HIV.
awareness, ·support an d understanding
for._social and health issues.
Local organizations or community
gro ups can request _the participation
of local postal officials to conduct
stamp ceremonies as par .t of the
commul)ity's activities and events ..
Organizers of World AIDS Day
suggest the following activities · for
wors_hip servkes: ·Suggest • to yo ur
clergy that · a candlelight service be .
hel<:f; Suggest the support of World
AIDS Day call to action by the
sounding/ tolling of bells or by spedal
announcement during religious
ceremonies; Suggest to your clergy a
special prayer for individuals affected
by HIV/ AIDS; Arrange a moment of
· silence during services on December
1, or Friday/ Sunday before, and
throughout the year for the struggle
of AIDS; Organize an education class
on ethical issues surrounding AJDS;
Sponsor a community seminar to
provide information about HIV/ AIDS
to the public; Encourage · Jong-term
commitment by your church,
mosque, or synagogue to promote
education and community service.
Th e first World AIDS Day, held on
December 1, 1988 and propos ed by
the World Health Organization
(WHO), emerged from the World
Summit of Health Ministers on Programmes
for AIDS Prevention in
London in January of that year.
World AIDS Day 1988 focused on
encouraging governments, communities
and indi v idual s to talk about
AIDS. In 1989 and 1990, World AIDS
Day concentrated on the needs of two
groups, youth and women. In 1991
the focus · was on sharing the
challenge and in 1992 the focus was
on community commitment.
The first five observances of World
AIDS Day aimed at increasing knowledge
and under standi ng of HIV/
AIDS, in addifion to promoting sensitivity
and awareness of the social
implications that surround the pandemic.
The need to work together to
overcome the discrimination and stigmatization
of people with AIDS has
been emphasized. The _activities
coordinated on World AIDS Day and
throughout the years hav e been
successful in bringin g people and
communites together to promote the
education and prevention of HIV/
AIDS. This year's theme, 'Time to
Act!"" adds a sense of urgency to the
ideas emphasized in the past.
World AIDS Day 1993 calls for
imm edia te mea sures to be taken by
everyone to stop the spread of AIDS.
WHO estimates that 14 million people
have been infected by HIV and by
the year 2000, between 30 million
and 40 million people will have been
infected by HIV.
World AIDS Day originates with
WHO, an agency of the · United
Nations. WHO ha s a central role in
the global response to AIDS. This
worldwide strateg y for the prevention
and control of AIDS is coordinated by
WHO's Global Programme .on AIDS.
GPA provides ·leade rship , helps ··
ensure international collaboration a nd
coordination, and provides technical
and financial support for AIDS
prevention and control programs.
For information on AIDS, call the
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Nationa l AIDS Hotline ,
1-800-342-AIDS, Spanish, 1-800-
344-SIDA, Deaf access/TDD, 1-800-
243-7889.
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Second Stone•November/December, 1993 CI]
T Cover Story T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......................................... -· ......... .
Activists seek improvement in church's response to AIDS
From Page 1
African American church es say an
unwillingnes s o n the part of church
pa sto rs and l eade rs to talk about
sexuality in ge neral and homosex
uality in particular is contributing
to th e continuing high rate of HIV
infection in th e black communit y.
Although African Americans make
up only 12 perc ent of the population
of th e United States, 54 percent of all
ch ildr en with AIDS are Afr ican
A m er ican, as are 53 percent of all
wom e n and 32 p ercent of a ll men
wh o have AIDS.
In s pite of th ese numb ers, bla ck
mini s ters continue to see m reluctant
"" When it comes to African
American churches, the
pastor isn't the leader. The
members of the congrega-.
tion are ... Change must
come from the pews.""
PERNESSA SEELE,
Founder of The Balm in Gilead
to place their churches in a lea dership
role in the fight against AIDS . .
According to fa cquel yn Wilkerson,
Director of AIDS Advocacy in African
Am eri can Churches, past ors are only
now becomin g more . rece ptive to
church-based education pr ograms .
'Th e re s pons e is so div erse,"" says
Wilkerson. ""Some pastors will say it 's
an iss ue they don't have to contend
with and others are very willing to
educate their congreg ation and work
with people with AIDS. But we
co nsistently run into judgmentalism'. '
H er organization is making ""slow but
steady"" progr ess in breaking apart
th e image that a large · part of the
African Am er ican community still has
of A IDS: that it is a gay white male
di sease.
The AIDS Advocacy in African
American Churches Project, a progra
m of th e AIDS National Interfaith
Ne twork , is ii national campai g n
d edicat ed to increasing th e numb er of
chu rch-ba sed AIDS mini stries and
providing seminar s on AIDS education
specifically design ed for African
Ame rican clergy and laity. The goals
o f the AAAAC project includ e pro
·Viding 2,500 Afric a n Ameri can
churches (50 church es in 50 states)
with information on deve loping AIDS
ministry programs, general information
on AIDS, as we ll as a var iety of
reso urc es on the affect of AIDS in the
African American community.
But even as church congregations
lose memb ers and friends to AIDS,
va luabl e AIDS educ ation programs
often get into the church through the
b ack door if at all. Acti vis t s mu st
so metimes work their way in by
offer ing pro gra ms that d ea l first with
drug .use o r oth er h ea lth issues - a nd
pr ese nt AIDS information only aft er
th ey ar e ""in."" T he _reason for that is
fear, says P ernes sa Seel e, founder of
Th e Balm in Gilead, In c., an o rganization
dedicated t o mobilizin g
African American religious communities
in fighting HI V/ AIDS. ""Pastors
fear the response of the congregation
,if they talk about AIDS,"" says Seele.
""When it comes to African American
churcl1es, th e pastor isn 't the leade r .
The member s of -the congregation are.
We're afraid to talk to the preacher
about AIDS. That's our ow n fear.
That is not th e work of a leader.
Change mu st come from the pew s.""
Christian Unit y Church o f New
Orl e ans, La., has strug gled to m _ake
suc h chang e and ge t pa st the fear.
Assistant Pa s tor Audrey John son' s
cousin had full -blown AIDS before
eve n seekin g trea tm ent. When her
relative's condition was reve aled t o
the congre ga tion, church memb ers
were afraid to come t o th e house,
although th ey did see to it that th e
family was ot he rw ise p rovided for.
Johnson's cousin was not the only
AIDS relat ed death in . the congregation;
th e pastor's brother also died
of AIDS. This was th e beginning of
Johnson's realization that the clmrch
had to b e educated and involved.
'Tm on a mission to do whatever it
takes to e_ducate our communit y,""
says John son, whose church has supported
the dis tribution of condoms,
meals programs for people with
AIDS, health fairs at which HIV/ AIDS
information was ava ilabl e and a
women's conference which attracted
over 700 participants. There are
people with AIDS in the congregation
now and th ey are supported with a
great deal of compassion, according to
!JlD Second Stone•November/December, 1993
Johnson. ""None of us are where we
should be,"" s ays John so n, ""but our
congr egatio n under s tand s that AIDS
is a devastating di sease and some thing
mu st b e don e. Our phil oso ph y
is that the community owns th e
church and se ts the church agenda.
And th e church mu st practice w h at
s he preach es.""
,, I'm on a mission to do
whatever it takes to
educate our community.,,
REV. AUDREY JOHNSON,
Asst. Pastor, Christian Unity Church
' There's more dirt than grass i n the
cemetery,"" says Rev. Charles
Southall, pastor of First Emrnanual
Baptist Church in New Orleans. ""It 's
our children dead ther e. None of us
are safe until all of us are safe."" Th ere
are 13 ·year old children in First
Emmanual's congregation who are
HIV infected. So uth all says that his
church has responded to the unin vited
embrac e of AIDS by providi ng
an active stre et mini stry and AIDS
education program.
Part of Christian Unity's success in
providin g AIDS education has to do
wi th how it was worked into a mix of
concerns including p ove rty, Jack of
healthcare, and unemployment. But
was part of the success also du e t o
leav ing the issue of .homos ex uality
unaddr esse d? Although the church
appear s to have opened to discussing
sexuality, including teaching condom
use, R ev. Johnson sk irt s the issu e of
homosexualit y. ""We do deal with
gay/ lesbian iss ues - also women who
preach - but ministry can still take
place . We want to win the church.
We can 't do that by beating her up.""
There is so me judgm ent in her church
against Gays, Johnson ·says, voicing
her p erso nal concerns as well . ""We
are losi ng our black mal es so fast in
violence . I am concerned about
procr ea tion. My pain is that we' re
losing a race of peo ple .""
""All pastors don't close their doo rs,""
says Rev. Southall , in ref er ence t o
gay and lesbian people and HIV/
AIDS inf e cted/ affected. ""I realized I
was wrong a_bout homosexuals. Gays
and Lesbiatis n eed savi ng too.""
Must a gay or les bian person
becom e sick with AIDS befor e fee ling
affirmation from the church a nd
experi encing th e compassion of the
cong rega tion? Such conflict over
sexuality appears to be al th e roo t of
the .church's reluctance t o estab lish
AIDS ministry and ed ucati on. There
is continued widespread disagreem
en t among c hu rc h lead ers and
activ is ts over gay and lesbian issues
and where Ga ys and Lesbians fit into
th e chur ch .
""We need to have a he ad -on deba te
on sex ua lity ,"" says Rev . Yve tte
Flund er, executive director of The
Ark of Refuge in San ·Francisco. ""Let's
talk a b out h ow we're goi n g to
minist e r to th e gay and les bian
community. Let's have that dialogue
and go a head and ge t that done.""
,, There's more dirt than
grass in the cemetew,,
REV. CHARLES SOUTHALL,
Pastor, First Emmanuaf
Baptist Church
Plund e r says she sees a mass exodus
by black gay and lesbian Christians
from unaffirming churche s to places
where they feel sup ported. It is time,
SEE COVER SfORY, Next Page
-dM~tml•liOl=it49190'1iJ9=-
From Page 10
,, Let'sta lka bouht oww e're
goingt om inistetro theg ay
andl esbianc ommunity.
Let'sh avet hatd ialogue
andg o aheada ndg ett hat
done,.,
REV. YVETTEF LUNDER,
DirectoorfT heA rko fR efuge
she says, to draw pastors and
religious leaders into a forum on
sexuality. ""We need to better equip
ourselves and pastors who are willing
to be supportive. We need to identify
churches where gay and lesbian
black Christians who have HIV I AIDS
can to to find a supportive environment.""
Bringing pastors, especially those
who are not already somewhat open
to discussing sexuality/ homosexuality,
to the table may be near
impossible, however. The silence
from most pastors on issues of
sexuality goes back in many cases to
a seminary education that did not
prepare them to deal with it. Affer
losing a student he describes as
brilJiant to AIDS, Rev. Dr. Elias
Farajaje-Jones, a professor at Howard
University Divinity School in
Wasl\ington, D.C., says he knew that
he could not be silent in teaching
about AIDS. When you talk about
AIDS in the black community, you
can't talk about sexuality, l1e had
been told. ""But everybody in church
is having sex,"" he says. 'That's how .
we got there to begin with ."" ""We
must deal with homophobia to deal
with AIDS,"" says Farajaje-Jones, who
has developed a program congregations
may use to become welcoming
and inclusive of Gays and Lesbians.
The 15-week program, Kujichagulia/
Umoja works to change negative
attitudes toward support and appreciation
. of Gays and Lesbians.
Flunder agrees that some of the
problems are coming from academe.
""If they get a masters degree, they
need to have a people degree. The
curriculum is not designed to deal
with HIV/ AIDS in the black community,''
she says. ""We've got to
bombard the institution, because
they're Bending out pastors who just
want to show how smart they are.
We need to have some scholarship
about gay and lesbian issues.""
In spite of barriers thrown up by
pastors and congregations, ministry
.....
""We musdt ealw ith
homophobtioad eal
withA !Ds.,,
REV.D R.E LIASF ARAJAJE-JONES
ProfessorH, owardUniversity
DivinitSy chool
QUOTABLE
""We will never understand the religious right until we view
them as a tribe that sees themselves left out of everyone
else's liberation."" - Martin Marty
in the African American community
to people infected and affected by
HIV /AIDS and black gay and lesbian
Christians has made remarkable
breakthroughs. Rev. Flunder has
seized an opportunity with . the
Gospel Music Workshop as a way to
bring her message of hope and
affirmation to the black religious
community through the gospel
conference, which impacts up to
20,000 people. She advocates a music
project t.o pull pastors into supportive
ministries for HIV/ AIDS. ""We need
to become instruments of peace in the
middle of this epidemic,"" says
Flunder. 'There is a reconciliation
work of the Spirit going on. People
who have been marginalized are
finding out that God still loves them.""
Rev. Seele and The Balm in Gilead
is coordinating The Black Church
National Day of Prayer for the
Healing of AIDS. The ""campaign for
a spiritual commitment to fight AIDS""
has set aside March 6, 1994 as their
second annual prayer day and hopes
to have many of the over half million
black churches in the United States
participate. The goal of the campaign
is to call on black churches to focus
their morning worship activities on
the healing of AIDS. Participating
churches will be provided with liturgical
resources to be used throughout
the campaign.
AIDS education will continue to
improve in the black church community,
according to Wilkerson,
although perhaps not at the pace
which activists would like to see.
""With this work,"" she says, ""you have
to be able to count your successes.""
Contact addresses of programs
mentioned in tlzis article: AIDS Advocacy
in African American Churches
Project, 110 Ma1yland Ave., NE, Ste.
504, Washington, DC 20002; Die Balm
in Gilead, Inc., P.O. Box 86, Lincolnton
Sta., New York, NY 10037; The Ark of
Refuge,7 54 14th St., San FranciscoC, A
94114.
(RADICAL RIGHT PREACHERSh avea penchanfto r creatings horta nti-gay
sayingst o be used on ta(ks haws~ nd at demonstration.._ Isf (hef ~r right t;anu se
thesep oliticala nd religiouso ne lmers to promotet heirm d1gmhes,L esbiansa nd
Gaysm ust learnt o use one linerst o proclaimt he truth.)
The toxin ...
All who uphold homosexuals are condemned in the Bible
The antidote ...
All who bash homosexuals are condemned in the Bible ..
FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, organized religion condemned the slave
instead of the slave master. The preachers and priests twisted the
scriptures found in Genesis 9, claiming the curse of Canaan excused the
slave abuser and condemned the slave victim.
Jesus rebuked religious leaders for condeming females who were
forced into sexual bondage, while allowing the male abusers to go free
(Matthew 5:32.) These theologians incorrectly blessed the abuser while
condemning the victim.
The same may be said of the official clmrch position regarding rape.
Often the victim was reproached while the attacker went uncondemned
(John 8:3.) The rape victim is still punished for years by society, while
the rapist is free to rape again.
The Bible is also misused to keep women ""in their place."" St. Paul
does say one time in I Corinthians 11 that women should ""keep silent in
the church,"" but the same cl1apter tells the males five times to keep
silent in the church! Paul does ask that the wives submit to their
husbands, but he also tells the husbands to submit to their wives.
Fundamentalists twist these scriptures, praising the abusers and
condemning the abused.
Gays and Lesbians get the same kind of reverse condemnation. The
Bible warns heterosexuals not to rape Gays, not to use gay men as they
use women, not to prostitute little boys and not to force Gays and
Lesbians to act ""straight,"" (Gen. 19, Lev. 20, I Cor. 6, and Romans 1.)
Originally, these warnings were given by God to protect people from
abuse . Just a-s with other subjected groups, the organized church has
twisted these scriptures, condemning the abused instead of the abuser
(Romans 2:1.) ·
According to the spring, 1992 issue of Aware newsletter: ""If I see one of
you, I will kill you. Live in fear you queers ... Fag rights are not civil
rights. Read your Bible ... I want you to know that my disgust for you
and your cause runs too deep to describe. I will continue to persecute
gays and dikes [sic) just as a good Christian should.""
- Dr. Paul R. Johnson ·
Second Stone-November/December1, 993 [II]
America has almost four million Lesbians and Gays
age 60 or older. For them, being gay has presented a
unique set of challenges.
GA
GRAY
BY SOUTHERN VOICE
Eve lyn Fry remembers what- it
was like to be a lesbian before
Stonewall was a glint in a
policeman's eye.
She frequented gay bars in Chicago
years earlier and had her share of
bumps and bruises at the hands of
. police.
""I wish I had a nickel for every
night I spent in the Saturday night
lock-up,"" she chuckles from her Cobb
Country, Georgia home. ""In the bars,
you kept one eye on who you were
with and the o\'hcr on the door,
watching for the cops. I've had black
eyes and puffed lips from my nights
out, but you go back to the bars
becau se there was nowhere else to
go.""
Like many Gays and Lesbians at
the age of 65, Evelyn is retired. She
spent 27 years in the Navy. Unlike
many · Gays and Lesbians her age,
she is out of the closet.
According to statistics, there are
more than four million gay men and
Lesbians in the United States who are
over 60. They are generally invisible
because of fear based on past prejudices
from society. In their youth,
they were called sick by doctors, a
menace by the police and immoral by
the clergy. Many still see the world
as a hostile · place where they can't be
out.
Evelyn Fry doesn't buy it. 'They've
done everything they can to me, why
not be out?"" she insists. ""I spent the
better part of my life lying about who
I was. We've come to a point that if
we don't stand _up now, we will be
right back to where we were before.""
But not alJ seniors see it that way.
Greg Anderson is a social worker :
with SAGE, Seniors in a Gay · Environment,
a social service organization
based in New York City. ""I hear a lot
of my older clients say that things
were b etter when we all kept it quiet
becaus e being out just makes people
hate us more,"" he says. ""Now, that's
internalized homophobia, but if that's
th e way you perceive the world, I'm
not_ going to do you much good by
ms1stmg that you drop that attitude.
You bring people out of the closet
slowly - you don't yank them out. I
think it would be great if everyone
came out, but I don't think a lot of
these people ever ':""ill.""
] ust ·like the youngsters behind
Bulk Copies Available
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them, older Gays and Lesbians embody
a diversity of opinion. They are
also .d'hrerse in their appearance and
lifestyle. Some got married, some
hve -alone, some ·have kids and
grandchildren, some have long term
partners. Some are. sick, some are
healthy, some have outlived their
families and spouses.
As the .Gays and Lesbians -of the
baby boom set grow older, they too
~ill discover (hat aging is one thing
m hfe that cant be avoided.
""We as a community have really
bought into the myth that old means
lonely and homely and that somehow,
it won't happen to us,"" says
Anderson. ""We believe aging is only
for old people .""
Sarah Swint, a 61 year old Atlanta
woman who helped found Lesbians
Ov er 50, says there are some nice
surprises in aging.
""When you are in your 20s, you
dread the 30s. In the 30s, you dread
the 40s. But you find with each
decade that it's good;so it must be the
- next decade when it goes downhill,""
she laughs. ""Even when we get to
90, we think it must be 92 or 97 when
it gets bad. But each time you hit the
ne xt decade, you find it has its own
pleasures and rewards, as well as its
own problems."" .
Many of the problems faced by
older Gays and Lesbians are really no
different than those faced by straight
p eople. their age 7 the r,hysical ,iging
process, the loss of friends and loved
ones, th e end of careers and the
beginning of. loneliness. But in
·anoth er way, according to Anderson,
what older Gays and Lesbians face is
unique.
""Particular to Gays and Lesbians is
the feeling of never being connected
to the sys t em,"" says Anderson.
'These are people who did not grow
up in a very welcoming and generous
time . Many still perceive the
world as very hostile.""
Fry knows that hostility very well.
During her 27 years in the military,
she worked in communications as a
decoder. She joined when she was 17
near the end of World War II. She
served during the Korean War and
part of Vietnam. .
'The bigge s t part for me was going
through the witch hunts in the
military,"" she recalls. ''There were ·so
many good friends who had their
lives shattered. One thing I leamed
about the service is that if they really
need you , they put the blinders on,
but if you can be easily replaced they
will go after you. I lost some good
friends · to the ·hunts,"" . ,
Older Gays and Lesbians are
s urvivor s, and many of their stories
are _hair raising. But, man y of their
lives are studies in triumph. There
are couples who met in the 1930s and
1940s who are still together today,
d espite society's attempts to tear them
apart.
""Many of these people can serve as
role models,"" emphasizes Anderson.
""We can learn a .Jot from gay and
lesbian seniors who have lived tough
lives, and ""'.ho may have been on the
front lines when it wasn't safe to be
there.""
Fry says that she thinks young
Gays and Lesbians today face a
comparatively easier situation. ""A lot
of the problems we faced were that
you couldn't be .who you were . I look
at these young gals today and think
how lucky they are,"" she says . ""If I
wanted to wear a leather jacket or
dress comfortably, I had to be careful
where I went. Now you can dress
how you like, and that's wonderful.""
But that doesn't . mean that she
thinks a young gay man or lesbian
today will grow up to be any less of a
survivor. ""I think we all have our
times to be strong,"" Fry says. ""Where
we had to be strong in one way, these
kids today are being strong in a way
that I don't know if I could hav e
coped with. In each generation, we
have our own crosses to bear. I hope
with the advantages they have today,
the young ones will learn a lot faster
than we did .
As Gays and Lesbians age, they
must begin to think about th e time s
· when they cannot take care of
themselves any more. Some hav e
gone into mainstream nursing hom es
where they find they must go back
into the closet. Slowly, our community
is realizing we .must one day
take care or our own.
""I don't expect to go into a straight
nursing home ,"" says Swint. ""I hope
to go into a lesbian nur si ng home .
Th ere are some group ·homes out
West that are starting up and also one
in Florida where you can be open.
There are also some groups ·in
Ge org ia looking to start homes. But,
if nothing else, I'll start my own.""
Support systems for older Gays and
Lesbians continue to flourish. The
nation 's most well-established organization
is SAGE, a ·15 year old group
with ·more than 7,000 members.
Using a . professional sociai service
orientation, SAGE has broken ground
with specialized AIDS and home care
programs. They provide a senior
center and day programs, as well as sponsoring
a buddy program called
""Friendly Visitor.""
Anderson sees their main role as
helping · seniors cope and use the
system to help themselves. A
secondary role is one of education.
""We _are terribly cruel to our
elderly. As an organization we need
to coi1stantly educate our ;community
and the community at large,"" says
Anderson. ""I see a lot of ageism in
our community. When you're young
and pretty life is great, but don't-you
dar e get old because no one will want
you. None of us are immun e from
aging. In fact, it can be a wonderfully
powerful experience.""
-Candace Chell.ew with Ken Berg
contributing. Exce,pted with
permission from Southern Voice.
l ance told my parents that I was
facing up to a drinking problem
. and had gone to a couple of AA
meetings . My mother, who was
happy about my decision, said, ""I was
a lot more concerned about your
drinking than about your being gay!""
I said, ""Well, that's good, because I
can do something about the drinking,
but I can't do anything about being
gay."" My parents, who are active
leaders in my · hometown Baptist
church, would prefer that I was not
gay, but they do accept me and love
. me and try to understand me.
Many other gay people are not as
fortunate in having . the continued
love and support of their families . I
have known yomig gay people who
were thrown out of their homes by
their own parents. Some even had
their lives threatened by their fathers
if they ever came home again. Many
simply left home because of the
rejection and pressure from family
that made life miserable for everyone.
Some dropped out of school
before graduation because of ridicule
and harassment by classmates.
People who are different seem to
pose a great threat to many people.
Pe.rsons with mental or physical
handicaps often experience subtle but
very real rejection. Even those who
are exceptionally bright or creative
can experience rejection. Imagine
how popular you would be in the
average high school if you really
loved classical music and opera but
had little use for rock and roll.
People who accept, love and enjoy
people of another race also invite
rejection. One way to invite a lot of
rejection is to accept and associate
with people who are themselves outcast
and rejected.
Rejection by family and friends has
often been devastating in the lives of
gay people. Many have had difficulty
in developing mature personalities
because of the lack of adult
role models and the abandonment by
significant adults who could have
given love and direction in facing the
developmental tasks everyone must
learn to handle in growing up.
Alienation from family and friends
oftentimes leads to· hostility toward
the world and toward God. Young
people without skills and without
maturity can easily becomes users,
taking other people for whatever they
can get with as little real giving on
their part as possible.
Every human being is profoundly
different from every other person, but
the differences are often obscured by
the relentless pressure of society to
conform to the ""average."" To be who
you really are ·without fear or shame
takes a lot of courage. The experience
of Jesus can help us find our way out
of the dismal swamp of conforming to .
the expectations of others.
Jesus was -often rejected by those
who knew him best.
Jesus came to his own, and those who
were Iris own did not receive him. But as
many as received him, to them he gave
the right to become children of God, even
to those who believe in his name. - John
1:11-12 .
One .striking feature of the gospel
account of Jesus is the rejection of
Jesus by his kinsmen, who considered
him to be ""out of his mind"" when he
allowed the crowd to consume his
time and energy so much that he
could not even eat a meal. (Mark
3:20) Another incident of rejection
came in his home town when Jesus
did few mighty acts because of the
ridicule ru1d rejection by his neighbors:
these examples, Jesus was speaking
the unacceptable truth to the Jews that
God loves Gentiles also. The
response of the crowd was: ""All in the
synagogue were filled with rage as
they heard these things. And they
rose up and cast him out of the ·city,
and led him to the brow of the hill on
which their city had been built, in
order to thro ·w him down the cliff.
But passing through their midst, he
went his way and came down to
Capernaum.""
The response of Jesus to violent
rejection in Nazareth was simply to
continue his ministry elsewhere. Rid-
How Jesus
handled
rejection by
'' l<insmen""
BY REV. DR. BU DD Y TR U LUCK
Jesus came to his home town ... And
when the Sabbath l1ad come, he began to
teach in the synagogue; and the many
listeners were astonislied, saying,
""Where did this man get these tliings,
and what is this wisdom given to him
. and such miracles as· these performed by.
his l1ands? Is not this the carpenter, the
son of Mary, and brother of James and
Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not
his sisters here with us?"" And they took
offense (were scandalized) at him. And
Jesus said to them, ""A prophet is not
without honor except in· his home town
and among his own relatives and in his
own household."" - Mark 6:14
Perhaps there is some truth to -the
saying that ""familiarity breeds contempt!""
The rejection of Jesus by his
own home town people reached a
violent climax in the account of Luke
4:16-30. Jesus came to Nazareth
""where he had been.brought up"" and
went into the synagogue to read and
teach. The first response of the crowd
was ""all were speaking well of him
and wondering at the gracious words
which were falling from his lips; and
they were saying, ""Is this not Joseph's
son?"" (Luke4:16 and 22)
Jesus then pointed out that a
prophet is not welcome in his own
home town and gave examples of
how Elijah fed a woman of Sidon and
not a Jew during the great famine
recorded in I Kings 17:1-18 and also
how Elisha cleansed no Israelite leper
but did heal a foreigner, Naaman the
Syrian in II Kings 5:1-14. In giving
icule and rejection by his neighbors
and kinspeople did not deter Jesus
from his mission in life. Immediately
after-the incident of rejection recorded
in Mark 6:1-6, Jesus summoned his
disciples and sent them on a special
mission representing him in power
and effective preaching and healing.
When those who knew him best
rejected him, Jesus turned his interest
and energy toward others who were
receptive and open to him.
Mark 3:5 is the one direct reference
in the gospels concerning the anger of
Jesus. The anger was directed against
those who put religious tradition
above compassion and concern for
human need. The religious leaders,
who should have realized who Jesus
was and given him their enthusiastic
support, instead plotted against Jesus,
who continued in his -work of service
to suffering peopie:
· And when his own people (kinsmen)
heard of this, they went out to take
· custody of him; for they were saying,
""He lias lost his.senses.""-Mark 3:21
Following this, some of the
religious leaders accused Jesus of
doing his mighty acts of love and
healing in the power of Satan. At this
point, the immediate family of Jesus
a_ppeared.
And his mother and his brothers
arrived, and standing outside tliey sent
word to liim, and called him. And a
multitude was s·itting around him, and
they said to him, ""Behold, your mother
and your brothers are outside lookingfor
you."" And answering them, Jesus said,
""Wlzo are my mother and my brothers?""
And looking about on those who were
sitting around him, he said, ""Behold my
motlier and my brothers! For whoever
does the will of God is my brother and
sister and mother."" - Mark 3:31-35
Jesus r!!defined the meaning of
""family."" The people who are your
relatives or who grew up with you
may not have as much in common
with you as others do. Gay and
lesbian people often find in others
who are like themselves a greater .
sense of fellowship and community
than they find in their own home
town or in their own relatives.
You don't choose your relatives.
They are given to you. You don't
choose your childhood playmates or
school classmates. They are also
gi_ven. You may select.some people
to be especially close to from relatives
and friends, but if you are gay or
lesbian, you may look in vain for
someone from among your given
family and friends with whom you
are truly comfortable.
Jesus practiced a careful selectivity
in surrounding himself with the
people of his own choice. His mission
in life was the dominating factor that
motivated all of his choices. Jesus was
confident of who he was and what his
purpose in life was, This clarity of
identity and sense of purpose enabled
him to decide on the people who
would best fit into his life. In the
midst of various forms of rejection in
Mark 3, Jesus made some careful .
choices of · companions for himself in
Mark 3:13-14:
And Jesus went up to the mountain
and summoned those whom he himself
wanted, and they came. to him. And he
appointed twelve, that they might be with
him.
One way out of the pain of-rejection
can be your own act of voluntary
selection of people who are right for
you in your life. This may be difficult
if you are not really sure of your
own identity or reason for living. Do
. you reject or accept yourself as you see
yourself?
The chief issue in the battle for gay
rights has been the fight for freedom
of ass·ociation. Gay and lesbian
people want the freedom to love and
associate with those to whom the
heart leads, not those whom society
dictates. Your. responsible exercise of
choice of people in your life is the
other side of handling rejection by
those who don't understand or accept
you like you are. The help that Jesus
gives to us in handling . rejection
includes guidance by his teachings
ru1d his spirit in making healthy and
happy choices of the people we want
to be with. us.
Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck is pastor of
MCC Nashville. He formerly wrote
Sunday School material for Southern
Baptist Convention churches.
. Second StoneoNovember!December. 1993 iii]
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(HJ Second Stone-November/December, 1993
·Videos ...................................
Educating children about AIDS:
Educating parents about AIDS
A friendly, familiar face appear~ to
introduce the new video ""HIV/ AIDS:
A Chall enge To Us All,"" produced by
the Pediatric AIDS Foundation .
""Every generation has something
they need to fight for, to overcome
and to change,"" says Magic Johnson,
""and for me and millions of others it's
HIV.""
In 1989 when, against Elizabeth
Glasers' wishes, a national tabloid
told the world that her and her son
Jake were both infected with HIV, an
en tire community of parents had to
be quickly educated; Jake needed to
continue nursery school and ·enter
kindergarten.
The Parent Education Program,
""HIV/ AIDS: A Challenge To Us All""
was developed by the Pediatric AIDS
Foundation from the experience of
educating the Glasers' school community
about HIV/ AIDS.
The Glasers know what it's like to
be a family fearing rejection. With
hard work from many, the community
learned and responded to
their situation. They were embraced
with warmth and support. Jake
finished nursery sd10ol arid kindergarten
just like all the other kids, and
was excited about entering third
grade this fall.
Since the experience in Santa
Monica, California was so successful
and positive, the co-founders of the
Pediatric AIDS Foundation decided it
would be beneficial to share the
process they developed. Susan
,DeLaurentis, Elizabeth Glaser arid
Susie Zeegen present in this video a
complete program outlining how to
organize a successful parent meeting
on HIV/ AIDS, as well as how to talk
to children about the virus.
. The video presents several
scenarios in which children ask their
parents difficult questions about
HIV/ AIDS, and demonstrates how
parents can provide simple, reassuring
answe,:s to children about how
they can, and can't, get HIV.
Concerning a classmate who is HIV
positive, one dlild asks, ""Can I still be
his friend?"" ""Nothing needs to
change,"" says the parent. ""He can still
be your friend.""
""Why is AIDS such a secret?"" asks
one sixth grader. The father answers
simply and honestly, ""Lots of people
who had HIV were afraid that they
had to keep it a secret because other
people thought they could catch it
from them, or they could lose their
friends or even their job.""
There is a discussion between a
mother and her daughter concerning
safe sex.
The program is designed to edu~ate
parents and teachers. Distribution of
the video tape, including 20,000 tapes
in English and Spanish for the second
phase of the program, was underwritten
by The Sega Charitable Trust.
For information on this video, contact
the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, 1311
Colorado Ave., Santa MOilica, CA 90404,
(310)395-9051.
In Print • • • • • • • • • • e • • • • e • e e e • • • e e • e e • · t t t t I I t I I t t · t I t t I t I t t t I I I t t I t I I t t I t t I t t I I t t t
By The Pool At Bethesda
By Bro. William Carey
Rev. Floyd Thompkins, Jr., author.
Genesis 1:26 Publishing, 1992.
How do you respond to someone
who has a terminal illness?
For many, the answer
to that question depends
upon the illness. Diseases such as
cancer often elicit responses of sorrow
and cpmpassion, \vhereas an illness
like AIDS too often provokes only
In Print, briefly ...
If YouS educea Straight
PersonC, anY ouM ake
ThemG ay?
This book, edited. by John P.
Dececco, Ph.D. and John P. Elia,
shows the one-sideness of both biological
essentialist and social constructionist
versions of both sexual
and gender identity and how it is
difficult, if not impossible, to conceptually
determine the origin of an
individual'ss exual expression.
-FromH arringtoPn arkP ress
Seasonosf t heF eminine
DivineC: hristiaFne minist
Prayerfso rt he
LiturgicaCly cle
Mary Kathleen Speegle Schmitt, an
Anglican priest in British Columbia,
has composed this collection of
prayers coordinated with each of the
Sundays in Cycle B of the liturgical
calendar.
- From Crossroad
MCC'sfi rstb ook
onp ersonaelv angelism
Rev. Dr. Rembert S. Truluck has
written a valuable workbook to accompany
his very popular brochure
TheB ibleA s YourF riendA: Guidef or
Lesbians and Gays. Invitation to
Freedom provides tips on personal
evangelism and includes chapters on
a number of Bible passages that
explain and encourage the work of
the Great Commissionfo r everyone.
• $7.(Xfr)o mC hi RhoP ress,P .O.B ox
7864G, aithersbuMrgD, 20898.
A DelicatBe alance:
TheP rofessionCaal regiver
,-FacesA IDS
Dr. Jim Messina and Sr. Anne
Dougherty, 0.S.F., have developed a
workbook and group leader's guide
for this workshop on the personal
challenge AIDS poses to professional
caregivers. They share their personal
experience on ways of coping and
avoiding burnout.
• From Francis House, Inc., 4703 N.
FloridaA ve.,T ampaF, L3 3603
judgment and stony silence . Many
people are unable to respond no
matter what the illness, and simply
withdraw from the sufferer.
What should be the Christian
response to the terminally ill? Should
the nature of the illness or the manner
in which it was contracted make a
difference? A new book, By 111eP ool
At Bethesda by the Rev. Floyd
Thompkins, Jr., helps answer these
questions in a very powerful way.
What Thompkins offers us is a
collection of reflections on terminal
illness, two of which deal specifically
with AIDS.
Upon reading this book, I was
particularly impressed by the overwhelming
compassion for those afflicted
by terminal illness. It is a sad
reflection on the state of Christianity
today, but I hardly expected to find
such compassion and such a complete
lack of judgmentalism in a contemporary
Christian writing. In so many
books today, even those which demonstrate
some compassion, there is
still an underlying current of intolerance
and a ""blame the victim""
mentality. This intolerance and
unfair blaming is completely missing
from Thompkms' work. The following
excerpt demonstrates powerfully
a true Christian compassion:
To blame the victim, which is the
real definition of ~ consequential
world, brings order and reason to a
situation. However, it brings it at the
price of mercy. No sexual orientation,
lifestyle, addiction or circumstance
should sentence one to death or deny
one the right · to experience and give
love. For this reason, that no one is
deemed worthy of death and suffering,
Jesus died. Paul wrote:
So then we have seen that, through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by fait]z we are judged
righteous and at peace with God.
(Romans 5:1)
Paul contends that the death, burial
and resurrection of Jesus forever
banishes the world of the flesh and
calls us to a world of peace with God
and one another. . This is the good
news. This is the world of the Spirit
that beckons to all who profess to be
Christian. (Chapter 7)
More than just a collection of the
author's thoughts and insights on
Christian response to terminal illness,
By TizeP ool At Bethesdais a workbook
for any church serious about following
the teachings of Jesus and His
Apostles. Each chapter concludes
with questions and exercises designed
to lead people toward a Christian
response. The chapters in the book
follow a logical order, from the
despair and hopelessness surrounding
terminal illness: Chapter 1,
Waiting By The Pool At Bethesda, to
the intervention of people who care,
Chapter 3, Going Through The Roof
For The Sake Of A Friend, and
•finally lo mourning the tragedy of
AIDS and moving beyond it, Chapter
9, We Shall Dance Again.
Thompkins' book is powerfully
written and bears a message the
church must heed if it is indeed to be
the church. I strongly recommend By
I11e Pool At Bethesda. In a world of
words, here is a book that will challenge
us to put our faith into action.
For information on this book contact
Genesis 1:26, 1000 N.E. 26th Ave.,
Pompano Beach, FL 33062. ·
Excerpted from The Apostolic Voice,
P.O. Box 1391, Schenectady, NY
12301-1391.
Prayer of Jesus, Prayer of the Heart
By Stephen Mathis
Alphonse and Rachel Goettmann,
authors. Paulis! Press, 167 pages.
$10.95 paper. ·
F or many of us, contemporary
Christianity suffers an appal-
1 i ng lack of depth and
- relevance to the affairs of our
everyday lives. Content to rest upon
what Bonhoeffer calls ""cheap grace,""
the current church has lost its ability
to help deliver us from the plagues of
emptiness and despair that are so
prevalent throughout Western culture.
Focused more on church
growth, signs and wonders, spiritual
warfare, and interdenominational
spats, the church has neglected . its
primary function of transforming
individuals - not the arrogant transformation
to a particular theology, but
the life-altering transformation that
comes through a consuming encounter
with the incandescent fire of
Jesus Christ.
For those who decry the
shallowness of the contemporary
church, Prayer of Jesus, Prayer of the
Heart will come as a pleasant ·oasis.
Far from another exhortation to read
the Bible more, or come lo church
more often, the Goettmanns look
deeply into the process of inner
transformation through the ancient
Eastern Christian way of life known
as hesychasm. Taken from the Greek
""hesychia,"" which means peace or
tranquility, hesychasm calls us to an
integration of our fractured egoic
nature into a single whole under the
direct control of the indwelling
trinity . In the Christian East this is a
process of the heart rather than the
mind, for the heart is our center and
the place where we encounter God in
our transparency .
The call lo this life is one of
continuous releasing and revealing,
in humility before God, until we are
stripped of all encumbrances. There
we experience the true nature of the
living Jesus in a fiery encounter
within the depths of our being. One
of the keys to this transformation is
the use of the Jesus Prayer: ""Lord
Jesus Christ, Son Of God, Have Mercy
On Me A Sinner."" In this prayer, a
sinner in not one who fails to fulfill
some ideological requirement, but
rather one who lives "" ... in rapture
with our di vine filiation; receiving
ourselves from other sources, nourishing
ourselves elsewhere than in God,
we make of our deepest interior a
place of division where all the
divisions in the world find their
origin. The external universal
schizophrenia is the result of our
separation from God within.""
It quickly becomes clear that the
authors of Prayer of Jesus, Praye,· of the
Heart have lived and walked this life
and are relating their own experiences.
Not a theoretical treatise, it is a
book packed with the fruits of a rich
and profound life lived within the
depths of Jesus Christ. The Goettmanns,
founders of the Bethanie
Community in France, have shared
these insights with fellow sojourners
for over 20 years. Thanks to the
efforts of Theodore and Rebecca
Nottingham, who translated the work
from French, we now have a written
account of the deep insights coming
out of this work.
The book discusses the power of the
name of God in the Old and New
Testaments, and the development of
the Jesus Prayer in the tradition of the
early Eastern Church. But the crucial
sections deal with the way of life that
use of the Prayer of Jesus evokes. For
it is the use -of the Prayer to help
bring about a profound change that is
the crux of the issue.
There is created within each of us a
place of intimate encounter, where we
may go to rest and hear the voice of
God. It is a place where we stand
before the mystery of Christ, and the
covenant that he sealed with each of
us. This encounter is the balm that
heals our alienation from God. To
enter this place is to come in
SEE PRAYER, Page 16
SecondS tone-November/Decembe1r9, 93 [1[]
.......... ....... .... ....... ....I.n..P. ..r..i.n...t. ............. ............ ~ .
Gay Theology without Apology
By Merrill Proudfoot
Gary David Comstock, author.
Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 1993,
183 p., $14.95.
The reading of this little book
could be tlie event that finally
liberates Christian Lesbians
and Gays from the tyranny of
the Bible. Thank you, john Boswell
and Robin Scroggs, but we no longer
need excuses for Moses and Paul. If
what they were talking about is not
what we know as homosexuality, that
is good to -know, but by no means
crucial. Because we aren't going to
allow our lives to be determined by
the homophobia of the Bible any
more than the homophobia of religious
denominations.
If I have received in grateful joy the
assurance of God's Spirit that my love
is okay, a holy thing, then either you
are mistaken in telling me that Paul
denounces it, or Paul himself was
mistaken. Comstock doesn't hesitate
to assert the latter: ""Paul's letter to the
Romans (1:18-32) is ... vicious and
misleading in its description of us.""
He points out that ""in the interest of
convincing ourselves and the church
that the Bible does not condemn us,
... we have tended to overlook ... the
hostility that lurk(s) in the very
passages with which we have tried to
be-come friends.""
Comstock reminds us that ""the
Bible is stacked in favor of heterosexual
males ruling household, tribe,
and nation; and a central factor in
maintaining positions is their control
of sexual behavior."" When real
power is declining, as it was after the
Exile when Leviticus was written, and
as it is in America today, the frenzy
Author of book on feminist
theology receives award
A ROMAN CATHOLIC woman
"" religious whose work sheds light on
the feminine dimension of God has
earned _the prestigious 1993 University
of Louisville Grawemeyer Award
in Religion. Elizabeth A. Johnson,
associate professor of theology at
Fordham University won the
$150,000 award for her book She Who
Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist
T/ieologica/ Discourse. The book,
published by Crossroad in 1992, has
been praised as ""perhaps the best
book on feminist theology to date"" by
Library lournal. It also won a 1992
Crossroad Women's Studies Award.
In the book, Johnson asks, ""How are
we to speak rightly of God in our
day? Can we use women's ·experience
and female imagery to describe
the Chri s tian experience of God?
What can feminist theology learn
from the classical Christian discourse
of God?"" She goes on to show in
countless ways how feminist
language about God belongs in our
PRAYER, From Page 15
humility , emptied of the need to
control and understand. Prayer of
Jesus, Prayer of the Heart gives us
practical guidance in using the Prayer
of Jesus to strip away the vestiges of
ego that serve to create our alienation.
As this alienation is healed, the
integration of body-soul-spirit occurs,
and in this integration we begin to
deeply communicate with God. That
communication occurs within ""the
intense silence of an inner life free of
Acc ommodations, AIDS/HIV rBSOurcas, bars, bookstores, variou s busfnessas , haalt h care, leg al
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All prices below INCLUDE FIRST CLASS POSTAGE to USA, Canada & Mexk:o, in sealed, disaee t
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Order s from ousld e USA (including Canada & Mexico): payment must be !n US Funds payable on a US bank,
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USICAIYADA. GansdaM d USA fol women& men. Cityb yc ity informatiofno la ll US StatesG, anadian
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RENAISSANCHEO USEB, OX5 33""SSV ILLAGES TATIONN, EW YORVN, Y1 0014·029(22 12)674-0120
[](LSeic ond Stone•Novernhe/rDccember,1 993
to control private acts becomes
greatest.
Comstock's proposal is not to
abandon the Bible, but taking our
clue from the Bible itself, which
always looks back to the great
liberating events of Exodus and
Resurrection, to reject that in the Bible
which squelches, and to look for those
persons and stories which affirm. As
an example, he points to. Vashti,'the
Persian queen who refused to come
on command to her drunken
husband. To the Bible writer, Vashti
was just a device to get Esther on the
stage, but to us, she can be a model of
integrity and courage.
Read during dull moments of the
Presbyterian Church (USA) General
Assembly, Gay D1eologyw itlwut Apology
came as a warning against us
Gays and Lesbians buying into the
pulpits and at our altars. The book's
achievement is its convincing presentation
of fem inist metaphors to
describe how all humans experience
the mystery of Spirit.
the demands of self. And in that
communication \-Ve come in contact
with the mystery of who we are, and
what we are.
It is not easy to let go of self and
live within the mystery. But it is a
life full of richness and profound
satisfactions. Prayer of Jesus, Prayer of
tlze Heart is a powerful introduction to
the heart of this very Christian way of
life. For all of us seeking a deeper
life, a life of substance, this book is a
worthwhile investment.
Excerpted from Christian Ne,v Age
Quarterly, Box 276, Clifton, NJ
07011-0276.
In Print, briefly. ..
Gaya ndL esbiaSn tudies:
TheE mergencoef
a Discipline
This important new book marks the
coming of age of gay and lesbian
studies programs at colleges and
universities worldwide. The gradual
development of the gay and lesbian
studies discipline has bred
controversys imilart o the. emergence
of women's and black studies in the
1970s. This book chronicles the
dramaticc hangesth at haveo ccurred
since such studies were first introducedi
n Europeanu niversities.
- FromH arringtonP ark Press
institutional church too heavily - just
because we are denied access - and an
exciting reminder that we do not
have to, because in our commitment,
our love for one another, and in our
worship, we are more truly Christ's
Church than all the structure defined
by ""authoritative interpretations,""
which seems so important to the folk
who are ""in.""
Exceipted from More Light Update,
the newsletter of Presbyterians for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns.
In Print, briefly. ..
HIV+W: orkintgh eS ystem
AuthorsM ichaeCl onnollya nd Robert
Rimerp rovidea practicaal nd innovative
guide for the newly diagnosed.
SaysR imer"", Myp hilosophiys to treat
HIV as a chronic,m anageablceo ndition.
I think many of us will live to see
the medical establishment itself
proclaimth at HIV is a chronic,m anageable
condition."" Among Rimer's
strategiesfo r livingw ith HIV:P lano n
living.. . just in casey oud o!
-From Alyson Publications
FromW oman-Pation
Woman-VisioWn:r itingisn
FeminisTth eology
Anne McGrew Bennett's feminism
undergirded decades of work for
peace, civil rights, and economic
justice.B ennettw, hod iedi n 1986h, as
beend eeplyi nfluentiaol n the present
generationo f feministt hinkers. This
volume of lectures, essays, and
poems was selected, edited, and
introducebdy Mary E. Hunt.
-FromW AT ERworksP ress,8 035 13th
St., Silver Spring, MD 20910
Int heG ardeno fD eadC ars
Sybil Claiborne'sn ew workc oncerns
the not-so-distanfut ture and asks a
not-so-paranoid question: in postAIDS
society, who will control sexuality?
Thisp oliticafl ictionw ill interest
any reader concerned with the
meaningo f AIDSf ors ociety.
- From Clefs Press, P. 0. Box 8933,
PittsburghP,A 15221
.Calendar
•• ~ 0 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The fol/awing announcements have been
submitted by sponsoring or affiliated
groups.
National Skills
Building
Conference
OCTOBER 31-NOVEMBER 3, the
largest gathering of front line AIDS
workers in the country. The Hyatt
Regency in New Orleans is the setting.
For information contact
National Skills Building Conference,
300 Eye St., NE, Ste. 400, Washing ·
ton, DC 20002-4389.
Churches in
Solidarity with
Women
NOVEMBER 4·7, A global theological
conference by women for
women and men. Re-imagining
God, creation, Jesus, church .as
spiritual institution, arts/ church,
language/ word, ethics/work/ ministry,
community, sexuality/ family,
church as worshipping community.
Featuring many presenters including
Mary E . Hunt and Virginia Ramey
Molienkott. The Minneapolis Convention
Center is the setting. Contact
Rev. Sally Hill, 122 W. Franklin
Ave., Room 100, Minneapolis, MN
55404, (612)870-3600, fax
(612)870-3663.
Gay Religious
Leadership
Meeting
NOVEMBER 9-12, The Lesbian, Gay
and Affirming National Leadership
Meeting is an opportunity for national
officers from all of the lesbian and
gay caucuses and the affirming congregation
programs to share ideas.
The Sheraton Inner Harbor in Baltimore
is the setting. The meeting is
held in conjunction with the National
Council of Churches' General Board .
Meeting. For information contact
Rev . Kit Cherry, (213)464-5100.
Creating
Change 1993
NOVEMBER 12-14, The National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force has
announced that keynote speakers for
its sixth annual Creating Change
conference; to be held in Durham,
N.C., will be Mab Segrest, Dr.
Franklin Kameny and Dr. Marjorie J.
Hill. For information on this
conference contact NGLTF, 1734 14th
St., NW, Washington, DC 20009,
(202)332-6483.
Nourishing
The Soul
NOVEMBER 12-14, Common
Boundary presents its 13th annual
conference at the Hyatt Regency
Crystal City, Virginia. Entitled
""Nourishing the Soul: Discovering the
Sacred in Everyday Life,"" the
conference will feature renowned
authors, teachers, and lecturers.
Participants are invited to come and
experience a weekend of exploring
and affirming our souls and the soul
of the world. For information contact
Common Boundary, 4304 East-West
Hwy., Bethesda , MD 20814, (301)
652-9495, FAX, (301)652-0579.
Christology of
Sexuality Retreat
NOVEMBER 19-21, The Lesbian and
Gay Christian Movement sponsors a
retreat featuring Fr. Bernard Lynch.
The Royal Foundation of St.
Katherine in London is the setting.
The popular and widely experienced
Catholic priest hopestolead people
on a psycho-spiritual journey that
allows them to explore themselves as
part of that mystery which is
commonly called ""God."" For
infonnation contact the Lesbian and
Gay Christian Movement, Oxford
House, Derbyshire St., London, UK
E26HG.
LGCM
Annual Conference
APRIL 15-17, 1994, London's Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement
sponsors its annual conference. St.
Alban's Centre, Baldwin's Gardens,
London, is the setting. Keynote
speaker is Prof. William Countryman,
professor of New Testament, The
Church Divinity School of the Pacific
and author of Dirt, Greed, and Sex:
Sexual Ethics in the New Testament
and Their Implications for Today. For
information contact LGCM, Oxford
House, Derbyshire St., London , UK
E2 6HG.
Fashion
Li,eSQ'les
Travel
Politics
lnterviewvs
Entertain,nent
•• .. .a Gay version ol' Esqui~ or GQ. ••
IISATodoy
GENRE magazine brings you the latest in men's fashion. exotic travel destinations.
exclusive celebrity interviews. advice on grooming, health. fitness and more.
-to subscribe call:
:I..-BOo-576-9933
The pren,lere national gay nren'• ,nastazlns~
Second Stone•November/December, 1993 .azJ
T- Noteworthy T ........... ~ ........................................................... .
Father Bill Steuber dies of AIDS
LITHE REV. WILLIAM MICHAEL
Steuber of Boise, Idaho, died July 27
from complications arising from
AIDS. On July 30, the Rev:. John
Tivenan, a close friend of Steuber's,
fulfilled the pastor's last wishes by
proclaiming Steuber's gayness in
front of the bishops, the priests and
the faithful in St. John's Cathedral, the
See of the Diocese of Boise. · Steuber
was born Nov. 4, 1946, in Philadelphia,
Penn. He studied for the
priesthood at St. Mary's Seminary in
Baltimore and St. Thomas Seminary
in Seattle. While in Seattle, he
worked with the diocesan ministry to
sexual minorities. He was ordained a
priest on June 14, 1977 . . His first
parish service was in Caldwell, Idaho,
where he started a snpport group for
gay men. He met some resistance
from the bishop and was limited in
what he could do. - Diversity
GLAD Alliance moderator
Chuck Carpenter dies
t-CHUCK CARPENTER, moderator of
the Gay, Lesbian ·and Affirming Disciples
(GLAD) Alliance of the. Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), died
on September 21 at his home in
Whittier, Calif., of complications from
0, W011/11J1.
'Eoraer-wall@r
traveler-companion
to seif,
witli. otfiers
:How searing
tfie fiofes of your sou[?
,Your roots rfeeper
tfzan trac£itwn
sun(into
tfie eartfi-oj-tfie-universe
'Waterec£ 6y tears
!J{_urtufeil 6y tfyittglri.sing
'Wound'etl 6y fears
0, woman
'llortfer-waIR!r
traveCer-companicn
'from wfi.ere ilo you flee?
wrappecf in
pains o.,u£ Joys
of past
Straa,l[mg tensions
of unsure tfi.rections
AIDS. Carpenter, 39 years old, was
elected to the GLAD Alliance Council
in October, 1988. In January, 1991,
he was elected by the council to serve
as moderator.
During his term on the council, the
Alliance became visibly present within
the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) with a booth and other activities
at each General Assembly.
Membership in the Alliance increased
three fold. Also during his term, the
denomination elected a General Minister
and President who is affirming
of gay, lesbian and bisexual Christians
and adopted a resolution calling
for full civil rights for all gay, lesbian
and bisexual persons. The Christian
Churcl1 (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline
protestant denomination with
approximately 1.1 million members
in 4,100 c·ongregations throughout
North America.
Carpenter was a member of
Findlay Street Christian Church i1J
Seattle, Washington, an Open and
Affirming Congregation where he
served as deacon. A graduate of
Chapman College in Orange, Calif.,
he was a teacher of special needs
children in the public schools of Los
Angeles, Palm Springs and Sacramento
, Calif., and the Seattle, Washpressures
to remain
in tli.e present
wli.ile
'lietaminetf[y tfrawn
towara wli.ispering winrfs
anri fieart yearnings
into tli.e Jut:u.re.
0, woman
'Eorier-wall@r
travefer-companion
Qui£t[y 6ut ckar[y
(erufer for ·
so many
'Wise 6eyont!
your years
Possum gives you
strengt!i. for
tfi.ejoumey
6aCmfor
t;li£ liofes of your sou[
-S!M'.B
(!l(fprint.e.tf from Communication 'J{e,,;sCett.e.r)
!' 118: Second Stone•Novembcr/December, 1993
l' .~
ington metropolitan area . He is
survived by his life partner, · Corey
Wiley, three daughters, Galen,
Aubree and Lacey, his mother and
stepfather, Lillian and Dick Arbenz,
-and his . father, Rev. Dr. Bill
Carpenter.
United Church of Christ
publishes AIDS curriculum
for churches
t-AFFIRMING PERSONS - _Saving
Lives is a new AIDS education and
resource curriculum published by the
United Church Board for Homeland
Ministries. The curriculum integrates
Christian values, factual information,
and decision-making skills in one
easy to use package. Each learning
series is gear ed specifically to different
age groups, from preschooler to
older adult. For information contact
Patricia Houlehan, (216)736-3271.
Rev. Truluck to pastor
MCC Nashville
. t-REV. DR. REMBERT TRULUCK
'has been appointee! Senior Pastor
of MCC Nashville, Tenn. Dr. Truluck
was pastor of Golden Gate MCC in
San Francisco from 1990 to 1992 and
was more recently on the clergy staff
of MCC San Francisco while engaged
in a tra veling ministry of evangelism,
writing and teaching. Dr. Truluck
grew up Southern Bapt is t, began
pastoral ministry at the age of 18
while a student at Furman University,
graduated from Furman and
earned three g_raduate degrees from
the So uthern Baptist Th eo logical ·
Seminary in Louisville, . Ken., including
th e Doctor of Sacred Theology
degree . After serving as pastor in
South ern Baptist churches in South
Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky; and
Mississippi, Truluck was professor of
Bible and Religion at the Baptist
College of Charleston, S.C. 1973 to
1981 and wrote adult Sunday school
· lessons for the Southern Baptist
Sunday School Board. He joined the
MCC in Atlanta in 1981 and began a
ministry that led to writing and
teaching for gay and lesbian Christians.
MCC Nashville meets at St.
. Arm's Episcopal Church, 419 Woodland
in Nashville.
Rev; White assumes
Albuquerque pastorship
L:.REV. PAMELA WHITE was elected
pastor of MCC Albuquerque, New
Mexico. She assumes her ne,..,. position
after two years in ministry at River
City MCC, Sacramento, Calif., and
was formally a licensed minister in
the Assemblies of God.
Wingspan activities suspended
due to lack of funds
liTHE·CHURCH COUNCIL of the St.
. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church,
St. Paul, Minn., has voted to suspend
temporarily the activities of Wingspan,
the congregation's ministry to
Gays and Lesbians, and to lay off the
two ministry associates, Leo Treadway
and Jodie Belknap. The decision,
effective Sept . 15, was made in
response to a mounting deficit in
Wingspan•s ·budget. ""Some of it has
to do with a built-in self-obsolescence,""
said Treadway. ""Our mission
was to work with people in the
community to develop and support
fledging efforts. · We helped create
groups that now compete for the
limited resources. The more successful
we were, the more difficulty we
have with fundraising."" The church is
working to fund Wingspan for the
next budget year. - Equal Time
Atlanta church grows
into new home
t-FIRST METROPOLITAN Community
Church of Atlanta was schedul ed to
move in October from their location of
21 years to a building they acquired
this past summer . The move to the
new building, a form er movie
theater, is said to be a landmark of
th e growth and stre ngth of the
25-year-old ministry. The building
has more than twice the floor space of
the old location and, while most of it
will not be utiliz ed immediately, the'
goal is to have the entire facility
completed by 1995, when Atlanta will
host the UFMCC General Conference.
- Southern Voice
MCC of the Pines closes;
new church to replace it
liAFTER A ROLLER coaster sevenand-
a-half years, studded with leadership
- changes and financial woes,
Clearwater, Florida' s Metropolitan
Community Church of the Pines is no
more. In what the Board of Directors
and congregation are ca!Jing a new
beginning, they have opened Spirit
of Life MCC in ne arby Holiday. The
Pastor al Search Committee is searching
for a pastor to lead the new
church. Joseph Scholtes has been
appointed lay leader. Spirit of Life
MCC is located at 4810 Mile Stretch
'Road in Holiday.
Alabama congregation votes
to purchase new building
t-THE LARGESf TURNOUT ever for
a congregational meeting at Birmingham
's Covenant Metropolitan Community
Church voted unanimously to
compfete the details and necessary
paperwork for the purchase of a
larg e church complex. Situated on a
little over three acres of land is . a
classicNew England-style sanctuary
with an immediat e seating capacity of
over 300. Although CMCC has been
in its ~urrent building only a year
and a half, a growi11g congregation
necessitates the move . In midAugust,
instead o(the usual ""summer
slump,"" attenda1ice soared to an
all-time high of 105 for the morning
worship. - Alabama .Forum
Resource Guide ........................................................................
Lis tings in the .Resource Guide are free to
churches, organ izations, publication s and
con:imunity ~ervices . Send . inf!Jrmation to
Second Stone, Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70 182 or FAX to (504)891-7555.
National
EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr. Ralph Blair, 311 Easl
72nd SI., New York, NY 10021. (212)517-3171. PLblicalions:
Review and Record. ·
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS, P.O. Box 436
Planetarium Sin., New York, NY 10024. (607)432-f/295.
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North Bellmore, NY 11710. A
r~~:,:~~Ri~m:i~ie~~~;~o1~461, Fort
OearOOrn Station, Chicago, ll 60610•0461. Publica1ion: The
Concord
PRESBYTERIANS FOR LESBIAN & GAY CONCERNS, P.O. Box
38, New Bruns'Mck, NJ 08903-0038. Publication: More light
Updale
UNIVERSAL FELLOV\GHIP OF METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCHES 5300 Sanla Monica Blvd, #304, Los Angeles, CA
90020, (213)464-5100. Pll::Aicalion: Keeping in Touch
BRETHREN I MENNONITE COUNCIL FOR LESBIAN AND GAY
CONCERNS, Box 65724, Washing1on, DC 20035-5724
ffmfJ-2
8~u~~~cag~.i.~l~~ FOR LESBIAN I GAY
CONCERNS, 1e N. College, Athens, OH 45701, (614) 593-7301.
Publicalion: waves
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS KINSHIP INTERNATIONAL, Box
3840, LcoAng,les, CA 90076-3640. (617)436-5950. (213)876·2076.
Publicalion: Conreclion
RECONCILING CONGREGATION PROGRAM, P.O. Box 23636,
Washin(11on, DC 20026, {202)663-1586. Publication: Open Hands
INTEGFTITY, INC., P.O. 9ox 19561, Washington, DC 20036-0561,
(718) 720-3054. Publication: The Voice ol lnlegrity
ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC CHURCH, P.O. Box 32, Villa Grande,
CA 95486-0032. Holy Spirt Church, Easl Moline, IL,
(309)792-6188. S1. Michael's Church, Russian River, CA, (707)
865-0119. Publication: The Table!.
Ll""1NG STREAMS, P.O. Box 178, Concord. CA 94522-0178.
2loi0
:~~~1fN¥~F AITH NETWORK, 300 I St, NE, Ste 400,
· Washington, DC 20002. (800)2ee-9619, FAX (202)546-5103.
Publication: lnleraclion.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS -1663 Mission SI,
5th Fir., San Francisco, CA 94103.
THE l'!TNESS, Published ti,, !he Episcopal Church Publishing
Co., 1249 Washington Blvd, Sle. 3115, Delroil, Ml 48226·1868.
(313)962-2650
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVES, The Nalalie
Barney EdHard Carpenler Libral)I, P.O. Box 38100, Hollywood,
CA90038. (213)854-0271. l'Ublicalioo: Bulletin.
I\OODSl'IOMEN - Aclienlure !ravel for women, 25 W. Diamond
Lake Ad, Minneapolis. MN55419, (800)279-0555, (612)822-3809,
FliX (612)822-3814.
DAUGHTERS OF SARAH · The magazine for Chrislian
Femif'Wsls, 3801 N:>. Keeler, Chicag:,, fl 60641, {312)736-3399.
CHI RHO PRESS • A special work of the UFMCC Mid-Allantic
Dislricl. Publisher of religious books and malerials. P.O. Box
[
8~S5t'rc~8:~tlMf1/:c°:.18
Jii10[1Je and su rt
group for gay and lesbian CalhoHc clergy-and religious. fo.
Box 60125, Chica~. lL-60660·0125. Publication: Communication
\\OMEN'S ALLIANCE FOR THEOLOGY, ETHICS AND RITUA~
0035 13th St, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301)589·2509, FAX
('301)589-3150. Publication: WATER1111eel.
INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE, 4102 East
7th St., #2.CS, Long Beach, CA 90f.04. (310)433-0384.
UNITED LESBIAN AND GAY CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS· Box
2171, 256 So. Robertson Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90213.
(818)760-0827.
AfFIRMA TION: Gay & Lesbian Mormons, P .0. Box 46022, Los
~~~,ffig:i6ni{~~3Wef't~5s~i'~~i~~~~~~an Concerns,
P.O. Box 10Z2, Evanslon, IL60204.1708)475-0499.
ST. TABITHA'S AIDS APOSTOLATE, Chrislian AIDS Nel\lOrk of
the Merican OrlhOOOx Catholic Church of St. Gregonos1 P.O.
~E
1
~M~~l$ti£i~4gJf~!i~i7.Tiiue Rock, AA 72206.
(501)372-5113. Wor\<.sOOps on women's issues, social justice,
racism and homophobia. ,
EMERGENCE lnlernalional: A Communily ol Christian Scienlisls
Supporting Lesbians and Gay Men. P.O. Box 9161, San Rafael,
CA 94912·9161. (415)485-188 I. Ptblicalion: Errerge!
GA YELLOW PAGES· P.O. Box 292, Village Sin., New York. NY
10014. (212)674-0120. .
\IIOMEN'S ORDINATION CONFERENCE, P.O Box 2693, Fairtax.
~~~J~iff~~~M ING DISCIPLES ALLIANCE, P.O.
Box 19223, lndianapoli~; IN 46219-0223. (319)324-6231. For
members of lhe Christian Church (Disciples of Ch rist).
Pub\ica\ion: Crossbeams.
NEW DIRECTION Magazine for gay/lesbian Mormons, 6520
Selma Ave., Sie, RS-440, Los Angeles, CA 90028.
BLK Mag,,zine, Box 83912, Los Angeles. CA 90083·0912.
1310)41~0808.
N'2NWAYS MINISTRY, 4012 291h SI., Ml. Rainier, MO 20712,
(301)277-5674. A gay-affirming organization bridqing the
lesbian/gay community and lhe Roman Catholic Church.
HONESTY: Southern llapiisl Advocates lor Equal Righls, P.O.
Box 7331, Lous~lle, KY 40257. (502)893-0783.
FEDERA TfON OF PARENTS ANO FRIENDS OF LESBIANS AND
GAYS, INC. P.O. Box 27005, washingon, DC 20036. Seoo $3.00
tm~~L
0
h~~~tmicosTAL ALLIANCE (also Pentecostal
~~~~1~~iJM/R1~~i~.:~i'?ilJ:~uo~~~~':!<li,
METHODIST FEDERATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION, a
[~!~H~r~,~•1 fo~1~~;1)~;3-~~~{kpJf ~/~~~~!?a:~~~~
B.ullelin.
GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS COALITION INTERNATIONAL,
P.O. Box 50360, Washinglon, DC20091. (202)583-8029.
Publicalion: Network.
ST. SERAPHIM ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN MISSION, 1205 No.
SoaiJclngAve., Wes! t'o!Ml'OO<f. CA 90046. (213)851-2256.
MORE LfGHT CHURCHtS NET\\ORK, 600 W Fullerton Pkv.y.,
Chicag:,, IL 60614-2690, (312)338-0452. Resource packet, $12.
Publication: More Light Churches Network Newsleller
INTERNATIONAL FREE CATHOLICOMMUNION, P.O. Box
51158, Riverside, CA 92517·2158 (909)781-7391 Pt.i>ication: The
Free Catholic Communicanf
DIGNITY/USA, 1500 Massachuselts Ave., NW, Ste. 11,
Washington, DC 20005. (800)877-8797. Gay and lesbian
Catholics and their friends.
REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA GAY CAUCUS, P.O. Box
8174, Pnladelph~, PA 19101-8174
SOVEREIGNTY (Jehovah's l'.ltnesses) Box 27242, Sanfa Ana,
·cA92799 .
UNITARIAN UNIVERSAUST OFFICE FOR LESBIAN/GAY
CO\CEANS, 25 Beacon SI., Boston MA D2108. (617)742-2100.
UNITED LESBIAN AND GAY CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS, Box
2171, Beveny!-11\s, CA00213-2171. (213)85M258
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, Gay/1.esbian Righls
Project, 132 We~ 43rd SI., New York, NY 10036. ·
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVlCE COMMITTEE lOuaker) 2249 E.
Buroode SI., Portlar,\ OR 97214. (503)230-9427.
CATI-OLIC COALITION FOR GAY CML RIGHTS, Box 1985, New
York, NY 10159. (718)629-2927.
CENTER FOR HOMOPHOBIA EDUCATION, Box 1985, New Yor~
NY10159. (301)8648954.
CHRISTIAN LESBIANS OUT TOGETHER. Box 758, Jamaica
Plain MA 02130.
COMMON BOND (lormer Jehovah's l'.ltneses, Mormons) Box
405, Ellll<XX! PA 16117.
Tit EVAN3ELICAL r-EMOAK, Box 32441, Phoe~x, AZ85064.
NATIONAL COALITION OF BLACK LESBIANS AND GAYS, P.O.
~\l~L ~J~Eno\fc=HES, 475 Riverside Dr., New
Yor~ NY 10115. AIDS Task Force, Room 572, (212)870-2421.
Human Sexuality Ottice, Room 708, (212)870-2151.
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, Washington Ollice, 110
Marylard Ave., NE, WashITTQIO[\ DC 20002. (202)544-2350 ..
NATIONAL GAY ANDLESBlANTASKFORCE, 1734 141hSI., NW,
W,shrqon, CC 200ll-4300. (202)332·6483. FAA (202)332-0207.
AMERICAN BAPTISTS CONCERNED, 872 Ene SI., Oaklar,\ CA
94610. (415)465a8652. ·
f/2517 (909)781-7391
BLYTHE - Gocfs Garden Growth Genier, 283 N. Solano
(619)922-0947. Bro. Michael W. Tucker, paslor,
:ro~E (cii~~X1:2~~
1
~~~;~~~;u~h~~:C:im::ii~~~i
Christian church.
SAN JOSE - Hosanna Church of Praise, 24 No. 5th SI., 95112.
Publication: Celebrating His Life; Sharing His Love
Colorado
Mississippi
JACKSON • SI. ~~n's United Communilj! Church, 4872 N
fAtK~ot~Ja~ a~L~~~~7f:%~!,~g.618
Jox 7737,
39284-7737, (601)373-8610
JACKSON-Phoenix Coalition, Inc., P.O. Box 7737, 3f/284-7737
Counseling services. (601 )373-861(\1(001)939-7181.
New Hampshire
DENVER - Evangelicals Reconciled, P.O. Box·200111, 80220, MANCHESTER -·P-FLAG, P.O. Box 386, 03105. (603)623-6023.
(303)331-2839. Colorarll (:\)rings: (719)488-3158. Mnthfy meetings in Concord, Nashua, Stratham, Monadnock.
DENVER - Evangelicals Concerned/ Weslern Region, P.O. Box .
4750, 80204. Pt.tjicalion: ThEGable.
Connecticut
HARTFORD· MCC, P.O. Box 514, 06016, (203)72-i:4605 Sunday,
7:00 p.m. The Meeling House, 50 Bloomli~ J:,ve.
District of Cofumbta
lnte~riiylVv'astifnaton, Inc., P.O. Box 19561, 20036-0561.
(301 953-9421. Pwiicalion: Gayspring
WA HINGTON · MCC/DC, 474 Ridge SI., NW, 20001
(202)638-7373. Rev. Larry J. Uhng, paslor. l'.ltness Praise
M1~1s!n~s Musical Evangel1strc Team, Dale J~rrel!, Director.
Alf1rma\10n (Mormon), P.O. Box 77504, 20013-7504 (202)828-3096
ALEXANDRIA VA. - SI. Cyril's Easlern Chrislian Fellov.ship, 8036
Richmond Hwy., #301, 22303, (703)329-7896. A Byzanline
Chrislian communlty.
Florida
New Jersey
~~1~,J~asis, 707 Washingon SI., P.O. Box 5149,
SUSSEX· The Loving Brolherhood, P.O. Box 556 07461.
(201)375-471Q '
New Mexico
SANTA FE- THE CATSBYCONNECTION, 551 W. Coroova, S1e.
J'.11a87501.(505)966-1794 .
ALBUQUERQUE · MCC, 2402 San Mateo Pl. NE, 87110.
(505)881-00Ba
New York
~~-~ 2ciaO~~131~~~~~~~~ (~f~6~~7T1uti~~i ::f~:~;~f;;
Stage, Center Voice.
NEW YORK · lnleg-ity, P.O. Box 5202, 10185-0043. Publicalion:
Oullook.
ST. PETERSBLAG -King of Peace MCC, 31505\hAve., N. 33713 ROCHESTER · THE EMPTY CLOSET, 179 Atlanlic Ave.,
(813)323-5857. Sunday, 10 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Rev. Dr. FredC. 14607-1255. NewYorkStale'soldeslgaynev.spaper.
l'.llhams, Sr., paslor. ALBANY - Communily of SI. John, Christian Orthodox Church,
WEST PALM BEACH · MCC, 3500 451h SI., 112A 33409. P.O. Box 9073, 12209. (518)346-0207. Father Herman, CSJn,
(~7)687-3943. Sunday, 9:15 & 11:00 a.m. Services also in Ft. Guardian. Pti:.>lication: Metanoia.
Pierce, (407)687-3943 and Pl. SI. Lucie, (407)340-0421. NEW YORK· AX\OS, Eastern and Orthodox Chrislians, P.O. Box
FORT MYERS· SI. John lhe Aposlle MCC, 2209 Unity al Jhe 756, ½llage Sin., 10014. Second Fnday, 8:00 p.m., Community
corner ol Broad.loy. (813)278-5181. Sunday, 10:00 a.m., 700p.m. Genier, 208 West 13th SI.
Rev. James lynch. SCHENECTADY - lighthouse Apostolic Church 38 Columt;a
KEY v\£ST-MCC, 1215PelroNaS1., 33040. (305)294·8912.SIXl., SI., P.O. Box 1391, 1:1301-1391. (518)372-6001. Rev. Wlliam H.
9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m Rev. Steven M. Torrence, pastor. Carey, pastor.
CLEARWATER · Free Calholic Church ol lhe ResurrecliO/\ P.O. LONG ISLAND· Long Island Assn lor AIDS Care, Inc., P.O. Box
Box 3454, 300 N. Myrtle Ave., 34615 (813)442-3867 2859, ft mlingon Sin., 11746. (516)385-AIIJS.
JACKSONVILLE • SI. Luke's MCC, 126 East 7th SI., 32206 PLATTSBURGH· SI. Mary's Ecumericaf Catholic Church, P.O.
(904)358-6747. Suooay, 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 7 p.m. Rev. Franky, A Box 159, Chazy, 12921. (518)566-7745. Rev. Fr. Michacl Fros!.
\',Me, pastor. LONG ISLAND/NEW YORK - lnlernalional Free Calholic
Church/Good Shepherd Church, P.O. Box 436, Cenlral Islip,
11722, (516)723-0348. Rev. Msgr. Ad:Jert J. Allmen, paslor. Georgia FRIENDS FOR LESBIAN AND GAY CONCERNS (Quakers) Box
222, SUmney1D'M1, PA 18084. (215)234·8424.
LIFELINE BAPTISTS, 8150 Lakecresl Dr., P.O. Box 619, ATLANTA. SOUTHERN VOICE, P.O. Box 18215, 30316.
Greerbelt, MD 20770.0019. (404)876-1819. North Carolina
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM • THE ALABAMA FORUM, P.O. Box 55894,
35255-5894. ·(M)326-9228.
Arizona
1UCSON · Correrslone Fellowship, 2902 N. Geronimo, 85705.
(602)622-4626. Rad! Schatt, Paslor.
MESA • Boundless Love Community Church, 431 S. Stapley
Dr., 85204. (602)439·0224. P.J. Fousek-Gregan, paslor. Sunday,
10:00a.m
TUCSON • Casa De La Paloma AfX!slolic Church, 1122 N.
Jones Blvd, P.O. Box 14003, 85732-4003. (602)323-6655. Rev.
Margaret ""Sandy"" Lewjs, pastor.
California
SAN LUIS OBISPO· MCC ol lhe Central Coasl, P.O. Box 1117
Grover City, 93483-1117, (805)481-9376. St.may, 1030 a.m Rev.
Rand\f A Lesler, Paslor. '
SACl!iAM ENTO - Koinonia Chrislian Fellowship, P.O. Box
189444, 95818. (916)452-5736. Tom Rossi, Paslor.
SACRAMENTO· THE LATEST ISSUE, PO. Box 160584, 95816.
{916)737-1088. .
\\!:ST HOLL YV\l'JOD - Evangelicals Together. Suile .109-Box
16, 7985 Sanla Monica Blvd., Wesl ffollywood, CA 90046,
(213)656-8570. PWicalion: ET News
SAN FRANCISCO - lulherans Concernec\ 566 Vallejo St., 1125.
r;~\~tibi~tt$~y ~~ - L~~b~Hi\loricat Sociely ol
Northern California, P.O. Box 42126, 94142. (415)626-0980.
Publicafion: Our Siories.
SAN FRANCISCO · The Parsonage, 555·A Caslro St.,
94114-0293. Pttjication: The Parsonage News
ARROY O GRANDE • SL Brendan Free Catholic Church
/'i)JStolale, 258 Aspen St., #11, 93420. (805)473-2510
CONCORD - Free Caiholic Aposfolafe ol !he Redeemer, 1440
llelroilAve, #3,94520. (510)798-5281. ·
SAN FRANCISCO • DIGNITY, 208 Dolores St., , 94103.
( 415)255-9244 Publicalion: Brlo;ies
GLENDA LE· Divine Redeemer MCC, 346 Riverdale Or., 91204.
Sunooy, 10:45 a.m, Wed, Fri., 7:30 p.m. Rev. Stan Harris,
pastor. Publicalion: From Mary1s Shrine. ·
~~stt~SJh~r~~~ ~~~nSl°.n9~fif~'T~)~r.t::-Ft~1 ~~~I
Also GLAD Northern Gal if., Third Sun., 4:00 p.m., Univ. Christian
Church, Berkeley. ·
SAN JOSE· First Christian Church, BO South 51h SI., 95112.
(408)294-2944. Richard K Miller, minister.
COSTA MESA - Evangelicals Concerned South Coasl, P.O. Box
4308, 92628-4300 (714)222-4933. Bible study, lel~wship meetings,
g~t:&'8~a1~ 1~ 5f~:\, Oaklar,\ Outreach lo Gay and
Lesbian Communllies and Their Families. Rev. Jim
Schexnayder, (510)834-5657, ex\. 3114.
OAKLAND - rree Calholic Apostolale ol lhe Redeemer, 3849
Mayb,lle Ava, B, 94619 (510)5.'30-7055
RIVERSIDE-Community ol Cllrisl the Life Giver, P.O. Box 51158,
ATLANTA • All Saints Metropolitan Communily Church, P.O.
Box 13968, 30324. (404)622-1154
Hawaii
KAHULU • BOTH SIDES NOWNemieller, P.O. Box 5042, 96732.
Illinois
CHICAGO • OUTLINES, PLtllished by larrllda ~blicaiions,
3059N. Soul'port. 60657. (312)871-7610. FAA (312) 871-7609.
Louisiana
BA TON ROUGE· (J;g,tty, P.O. Box 4181, 70821. (504)383-6010.
NEW ORLEANS· Vieux Carre MCC, 1128 SI. Roch, 70117-7716.
(504)945-5300. SUnday, 1000 a.m
Maryland
THE BALTIMORE ALTERNATIVE, P.O. Box 2351, Baltimore, MD
21203. (301)235-3401. FM-(301)889-5665 ..
Massachusetts
Michigan
CHARLOTTE· Melrolina SWilcltloard, (704)535·6277. P.O. Box
11144,28220.
'MLMINGTON • GROW Community Service Corporalion, P.O.
Box _4535,_28400. (919)675-9222. YoUlh outreach: ALIVE lor gay,
lesbian, bisexual youth.
~~r~~~.O. :s~t21~~~{~9)~a~~2J£Y and Lesb ian
l'!NSTON-SAI.EM - PieOO\onl Religous Netmrk !or Gay and
lesbian EQJati1y, P.O. Box 15104, 27113-0104. (919)766-9501.
GREENSBORO · SI. Mary's MCC meets at Unitarian Church,
~~. ~;~~~% .0~}~~;i~i~ &~~.7~~,fr:%;~~~2-f~. p.m.;
DURHAM • Dignily/Triangle, P.O. Box 51129, 27717.
(919)493-8269. Gay, lesbian and bisexual Calholics, lrtencl;.
l'.llMfNGTON - SI. Jude's MCC, 507 Casile SI. Sund!y, 6 p.m. &
7 p.m. Wed group. Kalhi Beall and Buo:t,, Vess, ministers.
Ohio
DAYTON - Communily Gospel Church, P.O. Box 1634, 45401
(513)252-8855. Penlecoslal, charismalic meels Sunday, 10:00
a.m. 546 Xenia Ave. Samuel Kadar, Paslor.
COLUMBUS · Mel ropolitan Communily Church, 1253 North
High Street. 43201 . (614)294 -3026. Suriday, 10:30 a.m.
Publication: The Beacon Nem.
COLUMBUS • STONEWALL UNION REPORTS, Box 10814.
43201-7814. (614)299-7764.
Oklahoma
g~~1oo~RUISE Magazine, 19136 WOOONard North, 48203· OKLAHOMA CITY • Holy Trinity Ecunenical Calholic Church,
FUNT - Redeemer MCC, 1665 N. Chevrolel Ave, 48504-3164. ~~8yi~ fr~~~~,r-o. Box 25425, 73125, (405)942-2604. Fr.
~~i/~tt~7~~u~~r, Rse~f:./ev Linda J. Sloner, Paslor.
ANN ARBOR . Huron Valley Community Church moels al
Glacier Wa' UMC, Hl01 Green Rd, Ann Arbor, 42105- 2896.
~Rl:\bli1.11r1~~2.m::re. #'I.Os. 48203.
GRAND RAPJOS : Belhel Chrisfian Assembly, 920 Cheri)! SE,
P.O. Box.6935, 49516. (616)459-8262. Rev. Bn.ce RcJler-Plelcher,
pastor. Publication: Bethel Beacon. Television: Channel 23,
.sun, 10:00 p.m
EAST LANStN3 I Lansing - Ecclesia. AHirming church meets al
People's Church, 200 W. Grand River. Suooay, 8:15 p.m.
ANN ARBOR -Tree of Life MCC, meels al Firs! Corgegational
Church, 218 N. Adams, Ypsifanli. P.O. Box 2598, 48106.
&Ji~ r,.s~:8~~ •1:/~£:ational Gro~ meels Tues03ys al
7:00 p.m. al SI. Matthews and SI. Joseph's Episcopal Church,
8850 \\bod,\ard (313)871-4750.
Minnesota
Mlt-.NEAPOLIS-EOUAL TIME, 310E. 381hSI., Room 207, 55409.
(612) 823-3836. Pll::Aishedtly Laveooar, lrx:.
MINNEAPOLIS • All Gqd~ Chilcten Metropolilan Communily
Church, 3100 Park Ave. S. (612)824-2673. PLtllicalion: The
Discipie.
Oregon
PORTLAND - American Fri ends Service Committee Gay and
Lesbian Program, 2249 E. Burnside, 97214, (503)230-9427
Conlac\ Dan. ·
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
COLUMBIA-lulherans Concerned P.'O. Box ee2a, 2f/202-8828.
1803)791•1099. Third Friday, 728 Pickens St., USC. Ptblicalion:
the l~imatu _r.
Tennessee
NASHVILLE - Dayspring Fellowshi~. 1_20-B So. 11th SI., Box
68073, 37206. (615)227-1448. Pt.tJlicaloo. Son Shme.
NASHVILLE • Integrity of Middle Tennessee, Inc., P.O. Box
121172, 37212-1172 (615)383-6806. No..leller.
SEE RESOURCE GUIDE, Page 21.1
Second StoneoNovember/December, 1993 ~
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PASTOR- WANTED · Small flock seeks
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resume to: Freedom in Christ Evangelical
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94114. 12/93
PASTOR NEEDED for evangelical Christian
congregation primarily of African American
gay men and lesbians. Ideal candidate has
minimum three years pastor or associate
pastor experience, a B.A .. preferably in
religious studies or from seminary. and
experience in lesbian /gay/ bisexual/transsex- ·
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references to Faith Temple, P.O. Box 28494,
Washington, DC 20038-8494. 12/93
A SMALL NON-DENOMINAT!ONA.L community
church in beautiful East Texas is is
need of a pastor to lead its congregation. The
church's primary ministry is to people of
alternate life styles. The candidate must be of
high moral character, professionally trained,
and ordained. For further infonnation please
send letter of inquiry to Saint Gabriel
Community Church; 13904 CR 193; Tyler.
TX 75703 or call (903)581-6923. 2/94.
EXPERIENCED CHRISTIAN Bimale seeks
job as Church Sexton, Gardener, Janitor or
Maintenance Man at church , camp, or other
institution. Would prefer Northwestern U.S.
and Canada. Contact Joe Nolan,"" 1750 Hwy · ..
126-Box 163, Florence, OR 97439. 4/94
'Frie ""nds/Relatfonsh'ip-s "" ·-]
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN GWM. 41,
seeks friends to share faith and fun; perhaps
relationship. Please write so we. can begin our
friendship. T.hanks! P.O. Box 68005,
Roche~ter, NY 14618. 2/94.
GAY PEN PALS sought by gay Christian
white male. S8°, 180 lbs., . into rail travel,
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Write lo WHB. Box 251, Wilmington, DE
19899-,0251. 171?~ ..
CHRISTIAN GWM. 42. would like to
correspond (""pen pal,"" as it were) with
Christian gay and lesbian contemporaries (40
to 55). James R. Bates, 28E. 16 St., #301,
Indianapolis. IN 46202 2/94
GWM, 42. 6 ft., 150-lbs .• good looking.
intelligent, into camping, massages, pillow
fights. basic wrestling. history and other
good things . Looking to start, a relationship
with a straight appearing guy, in shape
physically. 19 -38, 5'7"" }o 6'8"", 130 • 195
lbs. and AIDS free. Yo~must be willing to
move to Southeast Kans s to Jive and ·work.
The nght guy will be rew rded. Interested? If
you've been looking for]"" ·, 1 the right guy to
meet and start a solid, honest relationship
with then send your photo along with a letter
about yourself to Gary Rine. 508 South
Ninth, Independence. K\ 67301-4207
12/93 _ ·
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GAY AND LESBIAN PRODUCTS. U.S.A.'s
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Videos · ·
""MAYBE WE'RE TALKING About a
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RESOURCE GUIDE,
From Page 19
Texas
DALLAS - Wine Rock Communny Church, P.O. Box 180063,
75218. (214)285-2831. (214)327-9157. Sunooy, 10:3-0 a.m. Jerry
Cook, Pastor.
~~~~i~~1~~• PO Box 190351, 75219-0351. (214)520-0012.
AUSTIN • Joan Wakelord Ministries, Inc., 9401-B Grouse
Meaoo11ln., 78758-8348, (512)835-7354. &1fJ;Jtr Harvest Mini~ries, P.O. Box 100511, 75219-0511.
MIDLAND· Holy Trinity Community Church, 1607: S. Main, 79701.
(915)570-4822. Rev. Glenn E. Hammell, Pastor. ·
Publicalion:Trinily Tnbune
DALLAS - Holy Trinity Community Church, 4402 Roseland,
75204. (214)827-5088. ~ev. Fredenck 'Might, Pastor. Ptblicalion:
The Chariot -
rg~~Ji~N(7131i:"".'¥f~t ~ix~. ~~~Jg\~o~irts
1
l~1~'.
Pastor.
HOUSTON - Houston Mission Church, 1633 Marshall, 77006.
~'e'JtJ~~ a/:\'c~1~e~~e~hc,~~rtf~1~a~!i:a1ur, noo7.
(713)861-9149. Rev. John Gill, Pastor. Ptblication: The Good
News
HOUSTON· Di!Jlity, 13-07 Yale, NH, P.O. Box 66821, 77266.
(713)880-2872 Salurdav, 7~p.rn
HOUSTON • Kinooom Community Church, 614 E. 19th SI., 77008.
(713)~•7533 (713)7-51. Sunday, 11:00 am.
LUBBOCK · Lesbian/Gay Alliance, Inc., P.O. Box 64746,
79464-4746. (800)7111·4499 .. Ptblication: l.arrlxli nrros.
Vermont
ESSEX JCT • Aesurreclion Apostolic Ministries, P.O. Box 162,
05452. Sr. Michelle M. Thomas, pastor.
AOAOOKE :-Mee of the Blue Ridge, P.O. Box 20495, 24018,
~~~M:il't~:~~t1~Jll%~trcr~x 237. 24002,
(700)800,3184 -
FALLS CHURCH · MCC ot Northern Virginia, 7245 Lee
H""gmay,22046.
FALLS CHURCH - Affirmation Gay & Lesbian Morroons, P.O.
8ox 19334, 22'J20.9334, (20'2)828-:nlS
FALLS CHURCH · Telos Ministnes, P.O. Box 3390, 22043.
(700)500-2680. ilapUst !J'O~.
Washington
SEATTLE GAY NEl'.S, 704 E. Pike, 98122. (206)324-4297. FAX
(206)322-7188.
SEATTLE · Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW 641h St., 98107.
(206)784-8495. Sunday, 11:00 a.m. & 7:00 p.m., We<h!sday, 7:3-0
· > ~l~Htm'o :""~~~;,;~'. 505 McMurray, 99352. (509)943-3927.
()pen and allirmirg con!Je9""tion.
TACOMA - Hillside Community Church, 2508 South 391h SI.,
984ll. (:cre)475-~ .
West V,rgrnia
M0RGANTO'MI · Freeoom Fellowship Church, P.O. Box 1552,
:1!1505 (304)292-7784._Jarice Mam, v.omhipcoord
International
LONDON - Lesbian and Gay Christian Movemen\ OXford
House, Delbyshire St., Lonoon E2 6HG, U<, 071-739-1249.
CANADA - Interfaith Assn. on AIDS, c/o #201, 11456Jasper Ave.,
Eanonto~ Alberta TSK OM1
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.(Zftl Second Stone-November/December, 1993",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,31,1993,"Nov/Dec 1993",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/278e6fee4cc787e826556247b0a035eb.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1669,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1669,"Second Stone #32 - Jan/Feb 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"QUA SIXTH YEAR JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 1994 . ' ISSUE #3~
Let justice roll down like. waters and righteousness like an evertlowing stream. - Amos 5:24
The Church and Human Sexuality: A Lutheran Perspective
~utheran: sexu:ality
study lha·S little
chance of :changing
church polic.y
Church leaders take steps to calm
conservatives, get off hot seat
. A21-page statemen t .
on sexuality prepared
by a task force ofthe
· Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America has very
littl e chance of sparking
changes in church policy at
the denomination's 1995 assembly
judging by early response
to the document. In
fact1 delegates to next year's
churd1wide assembly may
not even get the chance to act
on . the gay and lesbian-affirming
document , entitled
'The Chur(h and Human
Sexuality: A .Lutheran Per spective.""
Silllilar statements
recommending gay-positive
changes in church policy
·have been sounp_ly defeated
in other mainstream denomi- _
nations.
A first draft of the sexuality
statement was released to
churches in October of last
year. It urges church members
to challenge traditional
condemnation of homosexuality,
and argues that supporting
and even moving
toward a practice of bl_essing
committed same- sex unions is
""strongly supported by responsible
biblical interpretation
.""
But decisions have been
made by leaders of the .na-
- tion'i; J\irgest} ,utheran group
to put ""checks and balances""
in place for the process of
drafting the statement on
human sexuality, according to
the January issue of Tiie
Lutheran. The ELCA took
action_atits council meeting
in Chicago in December to
calm the ""tidal wave"" of uproar
over the release of the
first draft of the statement.
The study process
was altered by the
council and an 11-
member consulting
panel was appointed
to keep closer tabs
on the 17-meinber
task force that'
prepared . the draft
·. document.
The study proc ess was altered
by the council and an 11-
member consulting panel was
appointed to keep doser tabs
on the 17-member task force
that prepared the draft document.
The Associated Press
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
Catholic groups blast bishops'
opposition to AIDS ads
CHICAGO - The leaders of three organizations
of Roman Catholics ,have
criticized the . United States Catholic
Conference for its opposition to new
federally sponsored AIDS prevention
ads. The ads were condemned by the
Catholic bishops of the United States
because the ads promote condoms as
a means ·of reducing one's risk of
contracting HIV.
_ _ Leaders of the -Chicago-based
National Coaljtion of American Nuns,
Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and
Gay Rights, and Cl1icago Catholic
Women joined AIDS activists in criticizing
the position of the American
Catholic bishops.
""AIDS is one of the scourges of our -
time. Anything we .can·do to stem or
stop it must be done,"" said _ Sr.
Margaret Traxler, School Sister of
Notre Dame, of the National Coalition
of American Nuns. 'The bishops
should not have spoken agaiqst these
necessary ads.""
'The bishops' opposition to condom
use in the fight against AIDS is irresponsible
and may contribute to the
spread of- HIV,"" said Brother for .
Christian Community Rick Garica,
SEE BISHOPS, Page .Page 7
UFMcc· Mothe·r Cnurch
damaged in earthquake
LOS ANGELES - The Mother Churd1
of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches, MCCLos
Angeles, sustained major damage
in the 6.6 earthquake that struck Los
Angeles on January 17. The city of
Cufver City, Calif., where the congregation
is located, has denied entry to
the building until city engineers can
make a determination if any portion
of the building ·can be saved.
The Rev. Elder Nancy L. Wilson,
pastor of the congregation, arrived at
SEE UFMCC, Page 18
Fundamentalists lead opposition
to women's camp
A WOMEN'S RETREAT center being
constructed in rural Mississippi continues
to draw the ire of local funda~
mentalist pastors. Brenda and Wanda
Henson bought a 120-acre farm in
Ovett, population 300, intending to
operate a retreat and women's education
center called Camp Sister Spirit.
-When church pastors discovered the
lesbian aspect of the _ organization,
~protests ensued. The conflict came to'
the boiling point on the Oprah show
in December. The Hensons remain
firm in their conviction, however, and
work on the camp .continues. For
information, or to donate labor or
financial assistance, contact Camp
Sister Spirit, P .O. _Box 12, Ovett, MS
39464, (601)896-3196.
Inside: A religious cloister founded by a young gay
man in 1749 is reborn. Page 13
P. 0. Box 8340
Reader survey: Tell us how we can make
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YourTurn ............................... ~ ....... ... - .......... ·• ...... ~
Austin, Texas
Don't blame Gays
and Lesbians for
problems of . the
modern family
Dear Second Stone,
_The goal_ of m~st lesbian and gay ·
activists is to solve the social and personal
problems assodated with horri.O""
sexuality. From their own experience,
they see that these · problems · ·
arise primarily because our current
homophobic sodety does not explain
to developing young homosexual
women and men the nature of their
difference and the realities they ·will ·
face in growing to adulthood.
The problems activists want to solve
are the things Chri?lian -fundamentalists
and right wing forces condemn
· homosexuals for: failure of relation°
ships, lack of self-respect, spiritual
disenfranchisement, sexual obsession,
promiscuity, alcohol and drug abuse,
and sexually-tr~s .mitJe.d disease.
Yet, ironically, these anti-gay forces
uals. What can improving the 1.ot of
young gay men and Lesbians possibly
have to do with the problems of
divorce, rape, child abuse, spouse
beating, alcoholism, illegitimacy, unwanted
pregnancy, and even abortion
in the lives of heterosexuals?
. . Jesus. said very little about sexual
,:et.hies.- tte ·_said ;absolutely nothing
: about .homosex u•ality. Jesus did speak
about soda! relations and about eco;
nomic issues. He taught that the
problems of_soctety were resolved by
love and forgiving - not hatred and
blaming . Jesus specifically objected to
strict literal 'interpretation of Biblical
law (this is why He was executed at
the urging .of the conservative religious
leaders of His day).
Jesus told · his followers to love one
another and sell all that they had and
give to the poor (not to the church).
Where are . the Christian funda_
mentalist leaders urging their flock to
disavow materialism and lead lives of
simplicity, dispossession, and generosity?
That is what Christianity is
about, not the .oppression of homosexuals.
block every attempt the lesbian and Sincerely,
gay community makes to solve these Toby Johnson, Ph.D.
very problems. The anti-gay forces
insist that the legitimation of homos .
sexual relationships threatens the · Southfield, Michigan
heteros exual family. In the name of Th k
Jesus, they call for homosexuals to be an. S, ••
forced back into a secret, criminalized Dear Seco!ld Stone,
under cultur<;,. s!'yi~g . t ,kat this . -~!ll: .. : , -: · · , : . . .
help the probl ems that face modem . Every s,ther month, there IS a day
American heterosexuals struggling to that I most look forward to. That day
raise a family in difficult times. sees the arrival of your newsjournal.
The problems that beset the I have enjoyed every issue that has
modem family are far'.moridikely to come ~y Wl\Y, and look forwa~d to
be based in economic issues than in · every issue of 1994. May God nchly
the civil rights struggles of homosex- bless you and your work for God's
eternal nation.
Sincerely,
Eric Bicknell
Lafayette, Co.lorado
... No, thanks
Dear Second Stone,
I am sending this letter to give
constructive feedback. I have seen
Second Stone and decided not to
subscribe because it appeared to be
d ominated by men. Your invitation
[Second Stone's current .subscription
appeal program] confirms that initial
observation. I am a supporter of
lesbian and gay iYJl ri &h ts of
membership in churches and I am a
member of an Open and Affirming
Church.
Your invitation with its advocacy of
''ta:king revolution to the streets"" and
its fea.turing of five males to one
female sounds very unappealing. I
also object (somewhat) to your polemic
claim that the ""pivotal l!IOment is
here."" Where, exactlv? This doesn't
sound very ""faithful"" to me.
But, GOOD LUCK, <lespite my
reservations . .
Si'ncerely,
Ginger Taylor
Nashville, Teriness,ee
Gay Christian
organization feels
ignored by press
Dear Second Stone,
I could have warned you about the
Dr. Frankenstein from Nashville. I
could have told you about Fred
Phelps, even about Mel Perry. But
• my organization and articles have
been ign_ored by the media, both gay
and straigl'it. It is ironic that a Fred
Phelps caii get national publicity
saying ""God hates fags,"" and . the
voice of an organization of gay
ministers is totally ignored.
I have extencled my hand in :the
spirit of cooperation to you artd you
have ignored my letters across ' 'the
years. We are a voice. We will be
heard .
Thanks,
Rev. LaDon Williams, President
Halo
Longview, Texas
Why struggle
when we have the
victory?
Dear Second Stone,
After reading the article on Robert
Goss and the review of his book, Jesus
Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto,
a few Bible verses came to mind: I
Corinthians 1:29 and 15:50. I wonder
why we must fight for things of the
flesh. Christ has already given us
victory. · Homosexuality and heterosexuality
are both of the flesh. The
religious right and the religious left
are both of the flesh. To be black or
to be white is of the flesh . These
thing s become idolatry if we love
them more than God. They become
idolatry if we push them on people
instead of the true teachings of Christ.
SEE LETTERS, Page 18
.Comment T
• e I t I I I I 9 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I · 1 I I I I I I I • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • · • • • •
My return to ministry
By Vaughn F. Joyce Beckman an minister martyred by the Nazis,
Guest Comment proclaimed that God is discovered in I left the ministry over five years : • the midst. of )ife. By participating in
. ago. I had to . My spi_rituality lik during : these past five years, I
was being destroyed by the. ·have. gained great spiritual insight .
anti-gay homophobic rhetoric and I am now returning to ministry. I
practice of the church. I felt wounded have to. A great radical revolution is
and failed by those who were sup- taking place irt the church and I want
posed to be my sisters and brothers. , ·· to be part of it. God is being liberatIt
was either pretend or get out. For ed from the litmus test mentality of
the sake of my own faith and integ- the self-proclaimed religiously correct.
nty, I painfully left. Those outside of the stained glassed
The road I have walked down since walls of re,ligious power structures are
that departure has been amazing ."" reclaiming 'their spirituality and are
Through issues and activities, becoming · a prophetic voice of God.
through complexities and petsonali- We read in I Corinthians that God is
tie s, through mountains and valleys, in the business of ta:king the ""foolish,""
my faith has been rekindled, rede- the least)ik ~ly, the most iUogical, to
fined, and refocused. It was not until preach the gospel. I can feel comfort!
left the sheltered environment of a able with my return to ministry as a
very separatist conservative church gay male because such a call does not
.that .I.truly discovered the Divine. have to seem sensible.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great- Luther- There is much work to be done for
the Kingdom of God. We must open
doors to those outside. We must
lovingly lead individuals to discover
their spiritual being . We must give
hope to those who have been
wounded by an exclusive church.
We must proclaim and practice the
great Christian principle of loving
others as ourselves. We .must promote
the spirituality of serving. We
must comfort the weak, the sick, the
discouraged, and the lonely. We
must stand for social ju·stice for all
people. We must challenge the
cynical. We must do theologies that
speak the voice of those left out. All
of these things must be done while
proclaiming the great liberating gospel
of Jesus the Christ.
We need to be in the ""bridge
building"" business as well. In Jo hn
chapter 17, Jesus prays that his follower
s should be one. We must
always reach out to build bonds of
love - even ·with those who are
difficult to love. We must confront
those who have placed the Word of
God within the confines of their
human-created theological systems.
We must encourage the fundamentalists
to stop adding excess baggage to
the gospel. We must demand change
of the mainline churches in their
hypocrisy of proclaiming but not
consistently practicing unconditional
love - especially in regard to Lesbians
and Gays. .
I re-enter the ministry not knowing .
where God will lead me and .to what
specific ministry I may be called .
But, I have faith - faith that the time is
right to join the great camaraderi e of
. clergy that are bravely speaking the
inclusive message of God to this
generation.
Second Stone-J~~/February, 1994 [I]
News Lines ..... ·• ................. ................................................. .
Gay ordinations upheld in Oregon judicial case
i'.THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A.) General Assembly's Permanent
Judicial Commission has ruled that an ordination of gay and lesbian persons
by an Oregon session was ""irregular"" but that Cascades Presbytery acted
properly in refusing to annul tnem. When Central Church, Eugene, Ore.,
ordained two self-affirmin_g, practicing homose xual members to the office of
deacon on June 16, 1991, tne session of Hope Church, Portland, Ore ., filed a
complaint with the Presbytery of the Cascades, contending that the
ordinations violated Presbyterian Jaw and constituted re bellion against -the
word and will of God. It asked that the ordinations be declared irregular
and that they be annulled. Five commision members issued an ""Opniion
Concurring and Dissenting in Part."" The group agreed that not only was
annulment not proper , but the ordinations were not irregular. · They argued
that banning ordination of gay and lesbian persons on the grounds of
""definitive guidance,"" a 1978 General Assembly action, and not the ""Book of
Order"" is .unconstitutional. -More Light Update
Methodist judicial body backs lesbian clergy
t,ON OCTOBER 30, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church
overturned Oregon-Idaho Bishop William Dew's decision that Rev. Jeanne
Knepper is not appointable . This was in spite of the fact that the
Oregon-Idaho Board of Ordained Ministry and Clergy Session had both
adopted a motion that said they ""believed"" fhat Knepper was a ""self-avowed
practicing homosexual.'' The Judicial Council ruled that ''The prohibition of
an appointment m_ust ·be exercised in compliance with the rights of all persons
who are in full membership. In order to do that, the words ""status"" and
""self-avowed practicing homosexual"" must be defined by either the General
Conference or the various Annual Conferences."" The Judicial Council also
ruled that, should Bishop Dew decide to appoint Rev. Knepper, ""it is without
penalty or prejudice."" -Affirmation
Preacher: Gaylord, Michigan, not too gay
t,TOTO TOURS recently set up its first-ever tour specifically for gay and
lesbian parents and their children - a weekend at a Gaylord, Michigan dude
ranch. But when a nearby minister, Jon Harwood heard of the tour ne formed
a group, Citizens of Gaylord for Traditional Family Values, to try to stop the
vacation. Harwood explained, ""This is disturbing in the town of Gay1ord.
We certainly don't want people to misunderstana the name of our town.""
Harwood's protest fizzled, however, and the parents and their kids had a
good time at the dude ranch. - Stonewall .Union News
Pro-gav priest becomes bishop
oTHE R.W. JAMES JELINEK has been consecrated as bishop of the
Episcopal piocese of Minnesota ; a ~eremony_ delayed b}' critics of nis stance
on the ordination of Gays and Lesbians. Dunng · the celebration Oct. 29 at St.
John's Abbey, Jelinek became the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Minnesota,
consisting-oI 33,000 members in 127 congregations. Conservatives opposed
him because he favors ordaining gay and1es6ian ministers .. ""Everyone who is
[gay or lesbian] is a child of God,"" Jelinek said. ""We need to affirm them as
that. I'm trying to focus on uni ty."" -Associated Press
Neighbors' efforts to oust MCC continues
t,SOME NEIGHBORS ARE still unhappy with New Life MCC's move to
Matthews, North Carolina. With court action pending, neighbors . continue to
harass the worshippers. For the October 1_7 service , residents of the
community put up a large cardboard sign that read ""gay crossing"" at the
corner, with balloons reading ""life is a bitch and then you die."" Cindy Faw,
spokesperson tor the residents, voiced concerns that there would be traffic
and noise that would disturb them, that because facilities had not been put
into place, church members might ""relieve theirselves outside"" on the property,
and finally thafthe membership was homosexual. She stated ""what they do in
their own home is their business, but when they congregate - that's my
business."" ''Laws mean nothing to these people, morals means nothing to these
peoele,"" Faw said. ·
-QNotes
Conservative Christian politician comes out
i.A RECENT POLL shows that · a Norwegian conservative Christian
politician's coming out had a positive effect. Anders Gasland, cha:ir of the ·
Christian People's ""Part}', came out on national television last year. Seven out
of 10 people polled said he did the right thing . . The poll showed that half a
million Norwegians are more accepting of homosexuals because of his action.
Right wingers zap P-FLAG phone line · .
oDESPITE PERSISTENT RUMORS that Gays and fundamentalists could
bring down each other's 800 lines by tying up their toll-free numbers, it was
oniy ·rumor - until recently. This past-year, Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG) became the first casualty of the right wing 's
guemlla war on.gay .groups. Between January and May, P-FLAG received
up to 100 calls a day from numbers in Colorado Springs, Colo., the home of
Focus on the Family as well as other anti-gay groups. Iri June, the group had
to pt.ill its 800 num6er. It currently is raising funds to get it up again.
- Southern Voice
Former Utah Episcopal bishop comes out
MN EPISCOPAL BISHOP who led the Utah diocese and recently retired as ·
dean of the Episcopal Divinity Sch~! has _disclosed that he is gay. Bishoe
Otis Charles wrote a letter to othe_r bishops_Just before the annual meeting of
the House of Bishops i!' Pan_am_a m late Septmeber. ""I have promised myself
that I will not remain silent, mY1s1ble, unknown,"" Charles wrote . ""The clioice [D Second Stone-January/February, 1994
for me is not whether or not I am a gay man, but whether O( not I-am honest
about who I am with myself and oth ers. It is a chcic!! to take down t&e:waU of
· silence I have bwlt aro~nd an important and vital part of my life, to.enc! the
separation ~nd 1so_lahon I have imposed upon ·rt,yself all these yea:rs.""
Cfiarles, 67, JS the first bishop of a mainstream American dendniinafion to publicly
declare that he is gay. He is the father ·of five grciwn childrel\ and
severa[ grandchildren. Charles served as the spiritu ·a:l lea·der of Utah's
Ep1sc'?pal Diocese from 1971 to 1986 when he bec""ame dear! of the Episcopal
D1v1ruty School m Cambridge , Mass . -Gazette · · ·
""Pro-family"" campaign leader arrested
for assaulting former wife . . ·
oTHE LEADER OF a group that wants to_ ban civil rights for Gays and
Lesbians in Washington ~tat"" has_b~en ~•med thr~timesand wi's _arrested
in 1991 on an assault charge mvolvu:1g his· second wife . ·Robert Lanmer, Jr,,
42, head,,ofC11lzens Alhance of Washington, said, ""No one likes -a failed
marnage . The fourth-<legree charge was ultitl\ately dismissed.
P-FLAG bans affiliations with churches
LILOCAL P-FLAG AFFILIATES are banned from formal affiliation wiih
religious institutions or wit!' helpingJJrofossionals or a:gencies·under ·poljdes
adopted by the board of ""d1rectors. The statement un religious connections
specifically affirm_s _the ""importance of bdth_oq~anized religion , arid Rersonal
expressions of spmtual beliefs, as well .as indiY1dual.dec1s1oris for freedom
from religi~Il:·"" But it estab1ishes a p~licy of ""c_ol!'p]ete ir:ideeende~c~.of ciny
P-FLAG affihate,_ contact, group, or c_hapter from otg;tmzational Iles to apy
rehg1ous mstituhon, church , synag9gue, tenip)e, or otner place of worship.
The ban does not extend to informal relatio11ships•with supporti .ve ch1,1rches
that provide ""meeting space, announcements, sponsorship by social justice
committees, and similar support"" _ . _ _ ·
Black Baptists bash Gays . · . · · · - · -
LIREV. THEbDORE )EMISON, president of the National Baptist Convention,
the nation's largest denomination of black churches, called gay life ""sinful "" in
an address to the .group at its annual convention, ""The Lord wants us· to be
men,"" Jemison said, ""men who stand up for right and righteousI)e~s, (or
righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproacn to any people, - Ifwe are
not careful , we'll raise a generation that is. lost..""·. The reverend's remarks
brought delegates to their feet wit_h shouts of ""amen"". -BLK .
S.F. mayor fires black minister
CISAN FRANCISCO MAYOR Frank Jordan has asked -Rev ; Eugene Lumpkin
to resign from the city's human rights commission for saying thal homosexuals
· should be stoned to death during a television interview. Lumekin, pastor of
the Elienezer .Bartis~. Chu .~,h, J:tas· ,been undei fi_re. {or. -wf:\eks for. saying
homosexuality is, a!' abomination aga,inst God('. Lumpkin has . been replaced
by James Mayo, a director of the Umted Negro College Fund ar\d_a .trustee of
Bethel African American Church. -BLK · ·
University moves to allow discrimination .
oCHRISTIANGROUPS AT Central Michigan _ University may discrin)iriate
agains/ Gays _and Lesbians ·wh1;,n choosing leaders of their organizatio _ns, the
schools president has rul:ed . The First Amenql1)ent, tells us that we, .as a
gov_emmer;t agency, may not prohibit the free exercise of.religion or, an
md1v1dual s right to freely associate with others,"" said CMlTPresident
Leona_rd . Pl_achta, in._ exe~pting Christian groups .from a campus
anti-d1scrunmation pohcy. Whil e we may not sponsor religion ; we also
cannot interfere with its practice,"" Plachta said. - _Cruise . · ,
Anti-gay pastor plans to expand television ministry ·
i'.P ASTOR PETE PETERS of the LaPorte Cl,t.irch of Christ in -LaPo,te; Colo.,
continues to expand his nation-wide television ministry: Author of D_eath
Penalty for Homosexuals ls Pf.escribed in t~e B_ible, Peters appears three times
a week via satellite on the Keystone Inspirational N¢twor!c .
Labor group supports gay rights in Maryland · , · , ·
oEFFORTS_TO ENACT a state gay righ _ts bill in Maryland receiv¢d a ]J_ush
forward with the formal endo:sement of the .Mary.land State, ,md . D.C.
AFL-CIO. The AFL--CIO affrhates represent over 400,000, worker'~ in
Maryland . On December _2, 199.3, labor 1eaders from .thoughout Maryla_nd
formally v~ted to rndorse upcoμ,ing legisl~tion \hat woulcf.'!dd ,''se~ual ·
f:~ntation to the hst of protected clas.ses, u_n1er th~ Marylaf\d hurii.:I) r/ghts
Survey: Episcopalians think·$ame-sex ·
relationships are okay . .
t,A _Sf:XUALLY ACTIVE gay or lesbfari _ person c_an :Sfill be a : faithful
Chnshan, •~cording to a sizable qtaJ,ortty :of u:5: Ep1scopahans ~ho
partic1pat~d in a _recen_t._church-sponsored su~vey._ Se_v~nty petc~nt of the
nearly_ 20,000 Ep1scopahans in Ifie· survey ' said faithful 'Cfmshans can be
sexually active Gays and Lesbians, while 75 perc _ent said a faithful Christian
can live with someone:of the opposite sexwitfiout be,ng-inartied , ·
- Religious News Service . - - ; ·. · .. , .
Discrimination-investigation at General Seminary. ·
LITHE CITY OF NEW YORK Commission ·on Human Rights ·has found
""probable cause"" that-the General_ Theoloi,ical Seminary discriminated
agamst Prof. Deirdre J. Good m denying housing because she had -a same-sex
partner . An investigation is continuing. · · ·· ·
·News Lines
Jewish leaders call .for recognition and
benefits for gay couples
. t-.A RESOLUTION . CALLING for local, state and federal legislation
extending health care and . survivor benefits to same gend~r partners of
co_vered workers on a par with _heterosexual health and survivor benefits,
was endorsed b.y the Union of American Hebrew Congregations at its
biennial convention. Some 4000 delegates, representing nearfy a thousand
member temples of the Union ot American Hebrew Congregations
overwhelmingly approved the resolution which also calls for lei,;1slation
giving gay and lesbian couples ""the means of legally acknowledging su·ch
relationships."" - Gazelle
Spain mission may be subject of new trial
t-.THE REV. JANIE SP Al-IR'S mission as an evangelist for the inclusion of
Lesbians and Cays as .Presbyterian clergy may 6e the subiect of another
church trial. A comj>laint has been made to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Synod of the Pacific by Rev: Michael Haggin of San Anselmo, Calif., against
Pr.esbytery of the _Redwoods for their approval of Rev. Dr. Jane Spahr's
change :of call from executive director to .evangelist/ educator for the Seectrum
Ce_t1ter fpr U,sbians, Gays, and .Bisexuals. Tlie complaint, aimed at silencing
the _ most prominent Presbyterian spokesperson fo~ full inclusion of lesbian,
gay and b1sext;a[ people m the church, came 1ust one week after the
Presbyterian General Assembly called for a three-year dialogue on sexual
otientation . and ordination arid asked the church to ""assure a climate for
di~logu~ which is open .and -non-incriminating in. order to .assure that no
testjmony given by any _persoμ will result in jeopardizing the reputation or
standing . of any partner m 1ialogue."" - Tlie Empty Closet .
Florida church votes to retain pastor
llAFI'ER SIX WEEKS OF confusion, controversy and conflict, the members of
Kint of Peace Metropolitan Community Church voted 126 to 91 to retain the
Rev.Fred.Williams ·as pastor : The vote_left many still disgruntled, but Rev.
W1lhan1s·and MCC Reg10nal ·Coordmator ·Rev . -Judy Davenport both
· ·promised that grievances would be · heard and changes would be made. The
tiouble 'began in•e~rly September when Williams terminated former Associate
·Pastor Renne Shawver. Parishioners who ·questioned the abrupt action were
concerned about how the decision was made and carried out, and what role
the board of directors played in church administration. After the vote, Rev.
Davenport asked all members to remain with King of Peace, saying, ""You
cannot change things· &:om without."" -Gazette ·
: Fundamentalists •predict bleak future in planned novel
i'-C0[ORi'.DO 'FOF, FAMILY Values ; tt,e ·org'aniza 'tibn that SJ?Onsored
Amendment 2'm that ·state, has branched out mto the world of Iiterature,
according to Out Front. CFV is planning to publish a futuristic novel called
Colorado 1998, which depicts the state as run by an organization called
Queer Sensitivity .Services, Inc. In the book, a religious fundamentalist's . four
year old daug~ter 'is taken into st~te custody because QSS finds her family to
be homophobic , and the mother 1s forced to watch lesbian pornography as
· rartof a -re-programming .process. CFV director Kevin Tebedo called the.plot
entirely plausible."" - Southern Voice
International gay group condemns pedophilia;
fights to keep UN status
MN INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION of over 300 lesbian and gay groups
reacted an_ ,grily to_ recent statements by the United States government tli~t
seemed to'Jink then\ with pedophilia. The organi_zafion also fook the dramatic
step of moving .to expel one of its members( the North Amencan.Man Boy Love
Association in a bid to disassociate itself from the polthcal aims of
NAMBLA. 'This action on the part of the International Lesbian and Ga)'
Association followed indications by the United States Mission to the Unitea
. Nations that it might call for the removal -of ILGA's ·consultative roster status
within the Unite<f Nations .' ""ILGA has always taken very strong, very clear
'positions on the rights of children,"" said Rebe~ca Sevilla, co-clia_ir of ILGA
· and president of Movimiento Homos~xual de Luna, a gay rights group .from
Peru. ""Accusing us ·of complicity with child abuse ,s nothing · but political
· · opportunisin by the right wmg."" The gr.anting .of consuUative status to ILs;A
attracted ·little attention until a s1riall right wmg publication begart ISsumg
statements attempting to equate the _politic~l aims of NAMBLA "";'ith those of
the ILGA. The U.S. governmen .t responded by issuing a public statement
indicating its intention to try to revoke ILG A's consultative .status. .
The Log Cabin Republicans and Parents, Fam1hes and Friends of Lesbians
. , and .Gays have clenounc\""'1 NAMBLA.as a. pedophile group, and den:ianded the
expulsion of NAMBLAfrom the ILGA., P-FLAG passed a resolution stating
that the group ""strongly condemns. the sexua_l exploitation of children by any
indivic!ual, group, or orgal1lZ<!tion, many form and under any arcumstances.""
Gay community defends workers fired for being straight
t.FOUR WOMEN DISMISSEB from a New Port Richey, Fla., nightclub
contend they were fired because of their heterosexual orientation. Tlie club's
format was · recently changed from · straight to gay. .A Tampa-based
gay /lesbian rights groμp, Human Rights Taslfforce, l\~s come to the women's
.defense . ""We thin!< that firing peopfe because they _ are straight is just as bad
as people ·being •passed by because they are gay,"" said Todd Simmons, co-chair
of the task force.
. SEE NEWS LINES, Page 15
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S'eoond Stone-January/February, 1994 [[]
Gay/lesbian Christians gather electronically for community
PEOPLE ALL ACROSS the nation are
joining together daily in a unique
way, taking advantage of one of the
many benefits of high technology:
electronic mail, or e-mail.
This network of computer users
consists primarily of lesbian, gay and
bisexual Christians. Participation is
in no way restricted by sexual orientation
or religious affiliation.
Lively discussjons are held on a
wide variety of topics, such as what
it's like to be gay in a mainstream
church, or what it feels like to discuss
being gay with family, friends and
clergy. Individuals are free to
participate to any degree based on
available time and individual needs
for privacy. · ·
The network was started by Dr.
Louie Crew in late 1992. Crew came
up with the idea_ at a time when he
wanted to facilitate frequent discussion
and a sense of community
among Episcopalians who grapple
with the modem issues that challenge
church doctrine. As the church
strives to address issues of human
sexuality, many Christians from all
denominations have joined · in this
·network forum.
Friendships form, opinions are
shared, and lively debates ensue.
What is most noteworthy is that a
LJiS.eJco ndS tone-January/Februar1y9, 'J4
spirit of Christian love and support
binds all together.
Many participants express how
nurturing and safe the forum is, as
compared to other e-mail networks for
Christians. Since the greater Chriss
tian community is often filled with
divisive debate about human sexuality,
and_ often expresses condemnation
toward Lesbians, Gays and
bisexuals, this unique e-mail network
provides for many the only place
where a sense of Christian love and
worship prevails. Although many
network users are part of a parish of
congregational community, some are
not welcomed into those communities.
'This place is a complete blessing for
me,"" reports one participant who
wishes to remain anonymous .. ""I
wouldn't have a connectjon to any
Christian - community at all if it
weren't for this network of mostly gay
Christians. The.love, caring and support
shown here are far superior to
anything I've ';Vitnessed in a church.""
While all participants need not be
lesbian, gay or bisexual, nor are they
required to be Christians, all who
participate are generally concerned
about the . importance these issues
have in daily Christian life. Many
participants debate openly, taking all
sides of these issues. Since such
debates are generally held according
to Jesus Christ's directive to love one
another, the environment within this
network of gay and lesbian Christians
and interested friends is loving and
God-centered.
Persons interested in participating in
this form of modem community .may
contact Dr. Louie Crew through the
Internet at
1crew@andromeda.rutgers.edu:
Historicp eace organizationv otes
to affirmG ays,L esbians - ·
THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of the
Disciples Peace Fellowsh ip of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
voted unanimously at its fall meeting
to work for justice on behalf of Lesbians,
gay · men, and bisexuals . The
DPF was formed in October of 1935
around the belief that ""war is pagan,
futile and destructive of the spiritual
values for which the Christian faith
stands.""
The adopted statement reads,
""Because Disciples Peace Fellowship
continues to believe that the cause of
peace _and justice !s best served by the
mclus10n and affirmation of all people,
and because our understanding
of the gospel includes Christ's call to
acceptance of all people as children of
God, we reaffirm Disciples Peace Fellowship's
status as an Open and
Affirming Ministry of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) and in so
doing advocate the full inch,1sion of
gay, lesbian, and bisexual people in
all manifestations of the church and in
society.""
The peace organization has historically
taken strong progressive stands
on resolutions at the denomination'sGeneral
Assembly including the support
of conscientious objectors, criticism
of the U.S. role in Central America,
and opposition to the Strategic
Defense Initiative. As last summer's
assembly, meeting in July in St.
Louis, DPF endorsed the passage of a
resolution calling on congregations to
promote efforts to expand civil rights
for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons.
The resolution was adopted by
a two-thirds majority.
Beth Topliffe, DPF president,
writing in the group's f)e_wsletter, .
SEEVOTES, Next Page
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Li .,e ~ les
Travel
Politics
ln~ervie.vs
Enf:erf:ain1nenf:
•• .. .a Gay versiQn al' Esquire or GQ • .,
IISATGENREm
agazinber ingsy out hel atesti n men'sf ashione. xotict raveld estinations.
exclusvie celebrityin terviewsa. dviceo n groomingh.e alth.f itnessa ndm ore.
f'o •ubscr#be call:
:I..-BOD-576-9933
The pren1lere national gay ,nen•• ,nag,,,zlneNew
church curriculum on AIDS prevention aims to save lives
THE FIRST COMPREHENSIVE course in a community where people of all
in AIDS prevention designed for ages can speak the truth in love,-""
church use was released in Decem- Johnson says. ""The church has to
ber. ""Affirming Persons - Saving move beyond denial and recognize
Lives"" is an ambitious 1,000-page cur- that ignorance about AIDS is as
riculum published by the American deadly as the virus itself. This
Missionary Association, a division of curriculum confronts the AIDS crisis
the United Church Board for Home- in a context of core Christian values,
land Ministries. The Homeland self-giving love, healthy self -esteem
Board is the U.S. mission arm of the and respect for others.""
1.6 million member United Church of
Christ.
""With this bold step, the United
Church of Christ is acting responsibly
in the midst of the greatest health
emergency in our time,'' said ucc
President Paul H. Sherry . ""Every
family in America is potentially
threatened by AIDS. This . is _ a
family~oriented and church-centered
curriculum that · will help parents,
teachers, youth and children become
partners in the education we need to
protect qurselves and those we love .""
DCC-minister William R. Johnson,
who co-authored the curriculum with
educator Cynthia A. Bouman, says
""Affirming Persons - Saving Lives"" is
rooted in biblical values and Chris-
Several features set the curriculum
apart from secular models. Sessions
are designed for use in church school
and other settings for Christian
education. Bible study, prayer and
theological reflection are part of the
lesson plans. Parents and teachers
are encouraged to preview the curriculum
together befor e introducing
information to students.
""Affirming Persons - Saving Lives""
was tested by teenagers, teachers and
parents in regional workshops
throughout the country. People
living with HIV and AIDS also
played a critical role in the development
of the curriculum.
tian community. ""As a person who has been living
""AIDS education should take place with HIV for a number of years, this
<;3ay/lesbian issues arrive on evangelical
campuses with · a bang
By Religion Watch
EV ANGELICAL CAMPUSES across
the country are experiencing sharp
and - often acrimonious controversy
over the moral issue of homosexuality
as a legitimate Christian lifestyle. At
such leading colleges as Wheaton
(Illinois), Cafvin (Michigan), Gordon
(Massachusetts), and East ern (Pennsylvania),
students, faculty, and
administration are coming face to face
with the claims by some ·students that
their sexual orientation is compatible
with conservative Christianity and
should be recognized, according to a
report in the evangelical Christianity
Today magazine. In a situation closely
paralleling that of many evangehcal
and mainline denominations, the
leadership and faculty of schools are
VOTES, From Page 6
affirmed that ""at any time a group of
people finds that [its members] ar c -
not welcome, or even hated, Jesus'
message of peace and understanding
calls us to react · with love and
openness."" Topliffe further declared,
""as an organization that stands for
peace and justice within the church
and the world DPF should stand for
the principle that all of our sisters and
brothers, n·o matter what their sexual
orientation, race, ethnicity, sex, or
nationality are children of God and
deserve to participate fully in the life
of the churcl1."" ·
The Open and Affirming Ministries
Program was created in 1987 to encourage
local congregations and ot!1er
units of the Christian Church to study
in harmony in the view that the gay
and lesbian lifestyle is not compatible
with traditional moral behavior. But
some faculty claim the issue should
be debated publicly. Others, including
administration, want to close th e
debate as quickly as possible . It is
not known how many students who
are homosexual are remaining silent
during the confrontations. What is
known is that through public forums,
campus newspaper articles, and
classroom discussions , the degree of
ange_r and dissent is escalating. To
date, no evangelical college administration
has acknowledged the right of
gay /lesbian students to claim pe er
approval of their orientation.
- Erling Jorstad
issues around human sexuality and to
publicly declare themselves to be
. -welcoming of persons of all sexual
orientation into the entire mission and
ministry of the · church. Currently 25
congregations, campus ministries,
organizations, and regions of the
denomination are listed.
The Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) is a moderate to liberal Protestant
denomination w:ith over a million
members . in North ._ America. Its
tenets include a strong ' h~lief in the
discernment of the individua(!_n all
matters of faith and in the essential
unity of the universal church. Head>-,
quarters for the denomination are in
·Indianapolis, Indiana .
curriculum gives me confidence that
my church is doing everything in its
pow er to save lives ,"" said William ·
Smith , a UCC member in Palm
Springs, Calif. ""When I began to hear
about HIV, the church was practically
invisible. It never occurred to me
that churches could be places of
healing, learning and support. That
can change if this .curriculum is
widely used.""
BISHOPS, From Page 1
director of Catholic Advocates . ""It is
disgusting that some churchmen
would risk people's lives to maintain
dangerous and arcane teachings
about condoms.
Dominican Sister Donna Quinn of
Chicago Catholic Women said, 'The
rate of HIV infection among women is
rapidly increasing. Condoms protect
women's lives. Condoms are a necessity,
not an option. To oppose the use
of condoms is immoral and murderous.""
A June, 1992 Gallup poll of
Catholics' attitudes about human sexuality
found that ·s3 percent of U. -S.
Catholics want the U. S. Catholic bishops
to approve the use of condoms to .
- ""Affirming Persons - Saving Lives""
can be used by any Christian church.
For information on the curriculum,
call the UCC's AIDS Ministry Office,
(216)736-3271.
The United Church of Christ, with
national offices in Cleveland, is the
1957 union of the Congregational
Christian Churches and the Evangelical
and Reformed Church .
speak on important issues ,"" said .Br.
Garcia. 'T hankfully, Catholics are
turning a deaf ear to the bishops'
antideluvian and dangerous attitudes
about condoms.
• ""Maybe We're •
Talking About a
Different God""
A half-hour documentary on the Rev.
Jane Spahr and her call to the Downtown
Church in Rochester, protested and
brought to trial .
Shows how co11Jusio11 and fear ( ""What!
A woman and a lesbian? No way!"") ·
ca11 be transformed into understanding
a11d compassio11. ('The11 I mer_Janie!')
VHS Tape & Discussion Guide
SEND $32.35 TO:
prev ent the spread of AIDS. Ninety- Leonardo's Children, Inc.
four percent of Catholics und er 35 26 Newport Bridge Rd.
years of age want the bishops to Warwick.NY 10990
change their positio n. · .,,■.._ ____ (,;.9"""".1_4)'-9_8_6--'68_88 ___ __,■=
'The hierarchy 's position further
erodes our church 's credibility to
■ ■
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Second Stone-January/February, .1994 [1-\
l .. ____:
Gay Christians lead fight for benefits at Rujgers . .
FIVE GAY AND LESBIAN Rutgers
employees filed suit in November in
Middlesex Superior Court again ~t
Rutgers University and the State of
New Jersey to obtain the same health
coverage that has been routinely
given to heterosexual employees for
generations. The suit calls for retroactive
-benefits from 1981, when
Rutgers guaranteed to end discrimination
in emrloyment and benefits
on the basis o sexual orientation, and
for compensatory damages.
The plaintiffs include long-time
members of the Rutgers community.
Several have also been leaders in the
lesbian and gay liberation movement,
both locally and nationally. In
.1984 James D. Anderson was named
by the Advocate as one of 400 leading
activists in the gay and lesbian movement
.in the U.S. Since 1980, he has
served as the national communications
secretary for Presbyterians for
Lesbian and . Gay Concerns. At
Rutgers, he chairs the President's
Select Committee for Lesbian and
Gay Concerns, as well as the Committee
to Advance Our Common Purposes,
the university-wide initiative
for helping the entire university community
to celebrate its diversity, its
common purposes, and its multicultural
communities and to do away
with all forms of prejudice, bigotry,
discrimination , and harassment. In
1991, President Francis L. Lawrence
presented him a university Public
Service Award ""in recognition for
your more than a decade of work to
educate and encourage your University
and the General Assembly,
Presbyterian Church U.S.A., to accord
to Lesbian and Gay people the same
rights and responsibilities enjoyed by
all other citizens .""
Another plaintiff, Dr. Louie Crew,
has served on the governing boards
of the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force and the National Council of
Teachers of English . He co-founded
the NCTE's Lesbian and Gay Caucus
and was the founder of Integrity, the
international justice ministry of Jes-
Accommodations, AIDS/HIV rasourcu, bars, boakstoru, vartoua ·buslnusas, hNtth care, legal
urvlca, organlutlons, publlcatloN:, relglou1 groups, 1wttchboard1, therapist ■, travel agents, &
much more, for gay women and men.
All J>""IC8S below INCLUDE FIRST CLASS POSTAGE t> USA, C8nada & Mexico, In sealed, disaeet
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~P:~nf°""' ard caucuses; plblicadais: mall adef ccmpanies, Ille. $12.00; CM111tde N. America $17
NEW YORK/HEW JERSEY. NY & NJ; separate Wc:men's Section; Manhattan bar notes by Jerry FitzpaD'ick.
$5.00; outside N. America $8 (alrmatij ·
SOllTHERN/SoUlhom Midwest. 64 pages. AL, IJ., AR, FL, GA, KS, I((, LA, MS, P.«:l, NM, NC, OK . PR, SC.
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[[] Second Stone-January/February, 1994
bian and gay Anglicans. The Diocese
of Newark elected. him to co-chair its
deputation to General ·convention,
the governing body of the Episcopal
Church. Crew has addressed lesbian
and gay· issues at dozens of venues in
Britain, Canada, China, Costa Rica;
Hong Kong, and the Uiuted States.
Joining the suit as plaintiff is the
Rutgers Council of the American
Association of University Professors,
which represents all faculty members
and teaching assistants at the university.
The American Civil Liberties
Union is providing counsel.
The President's Select Committee
for Lesbian and Gay Concerns of
Rutgers University has urged the
university to .provide the same benefits
to lesbian and gay employees as
are provided to heterosexual employees
since 1988. The university has
begun to provide bereavement leave,
access to athletic facilities, library
borrowing privileges for the ""bona
fide sole ·domestic partners"" of le_sbian
and gay employees, and it is planning
to open family housing to gay
and lesbian graduate students, b\lt it has
rejectecf effo_rts to extend the
single most i~portant benefit of all -
health insurance and health care· - to
the life partners of lesbian and gay
employees. ·
Lesbian bookstore exhibits · at.
church convention
AT THE 1993 Convention of the Episcopal
Diocese of Los Angeles, the Different
Drummer Bookstore, a gay and
lesbian bookstore, sponsored a booth
in the exhibit hall where the store's
books on coming out, feminism, and
gay theology stood next to chalices,
vestments, and communion wafers.
The presence of the bookstore had
been requested by Integrity/ Southland,
a chapter of the national gay
and lesbian organization within the
Episcopal Church.
""We just could not provide enough
space for books within our exhibit
and after attending for three years
thought we should invite Different
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.. ,,~-. ~ :1' ~-.~,-:·_. ~-j. '1L 71ffl•j. -~ ~~-.~~ , ;,.:.:. • . P!' _ACE \ \ . -~·.---:.~ . .., --~r-·-·\· ~ ... . '
l- . ..
Loretta Staub of Different Drummer:
her bookstore broke a church barrier
in Los Angeles. Photo:· Paul Courry
Drummer to join us,""· sai d Kent
Steinbrenner, a member of Integrity.
Loretta Staub, one of the owners of
Different Drummer in Laguna ·Beach,
said that it was entert_aining to watch
how people approached _the table,
some genuinely interested; some curious
and some furtively approaclling -.
the table, pretending they were
interested in the table next door.
""All in all I was well received and
plan to retum next year,"" Staub said.
Kent said that the bookstore's presence
was a ""valuable educational
experience for the church .""
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Lutherans retreat on bold sexuality draft statement
From Page 1
released a story about the
draft statement on October 20.
In some cities the story ran
under inaccurate headlines ·
and many felt the story itself
was sensationalist in tone.
The toll-free number at ELCA
churchwide offices logged
22,000 calls that Wednesday
in a five hour period . Security
had to be stepped up at the
Lutheran Center on Higgins
Road in Chicago because of
threats of violence. The
viciousness has included
violent, sexist remarks like,
· ""We should reinstitute
hanging and have Karen
Bloomquist in a n0,0se ... No
wonder we're in trouble: we
have a woman who is in
charge of studies."" (The Rev.
Karen L. Bloomquist is
director of studies for the
ELCA.)
The council left tentative
the tiine line and status of the
document. Originally scheduled
to be adopted by the
church in 1993 and delayed
until 1995, the council now
recomm ends a ""possible social
statement"" at a ""future church
wide assembly."" The wording
provides that the future
document may not have the
status of an official ELCA
social statement at such time
as it is presented to the
church.
The article in The Lutheran
recounts the negative response
to the draft statement
by various syriod bishops,
local congregations and
individuals . No mention of
the positive reaction of Lutherans
Concerned or gay or
lesbian Lutherans is reported.
One group of conservative
Lutherans went so far as to
demand an apology from the
clmrch for even considering
the document. The Great
Commission Network
demanded Oct. 28 that the
ELCA disband the committee
that drafted the statement and
""issue a public apology for
this gross infraction of our
faith and confessions."" The
.Rev. Walter Sundberg, associate
professor of church
history at Luther Northwestern
Theological Seminary in
St. Paul, said the statement
misuses scripture and seeks to
change basic doctrine. '1t's an
unprecedented effort to unsin
sin,"" Sundberg said. ""You
can't do that and maintain
integrity. What the homosexual
commun_\ty wants is the
unsinning of homosexual
activity - gay blessing and all
of that.""
Scriptural interpretation
was an area cited by the council
as an important concern.
The council stated that-it will
recommend for assembly
action ""only such a draft of a
social statement on human
sexuality that would stand on
biblical foundations and the
confessional traditions of the
church.'""
Conservative, non-ELCA
Lutheran churches have tried
to distance themselves from
the ELCA's controversial
statement. The Lutheran
religion has three major
branches; the ELCA, the
Missouri Synod and the
smaller Wisconsin Synod.
A December article in Metro
Lutheran by the Mankato,
Minn.-based Evangelical
Lutheran Synod, a member of
the Wisconsin Synod, read:
""Because the two church
bodies which are not affiliated,
have similar names, the
regional leaders of the ELS
want there to be no misunderstanding
on what their
synod still teaches."" At its
1992 conventiort, ·ELS issued a
statement that sa.id, ""We confess
that scripture condemns
homosexuality and extramarital
relations (fornication
and adultery) as sin.""
John Pless, a campus pastor
for the Lutheran Church
Missouri Synod at the University
of Minnesota, said that
the ELCA statement blurs
biblical scriptures relating to
homosexuality .
""We see homosexuality as a
•sin,"" Pless said. ""We see
homosexual people also are in
need of forgiveness. The goal
would be that homosexual
people in receiving the forgiveness
of sins that is in
Jesus Christ, can form a new
life of chastity.""
More supportive of the
ELCA's statement are ELCA
churches who are members of
· the Reconciled in ChristJrogram,
publicly op.en an
affirming to Gays and Lesbians
in the congregation.
Pastor Ronald Johnson of
Holy Trinity Lutheran
Church said the statement has
""pretty good"" acceptance
within his Minneapolis
congregation. Also part of
the ELCA, St. Paul Reforma-
[.IDSe]co ndStone•January/February1,9 94
tion Lutheran Church in St.
Paul plans 'to i:liscuss the statement
on human sexuality.
Pastor Paul Tideman defended
the task force that drafted
the statement and said the
statement allows for diversity
in the church. ''My hope is ·
that there will be continuing
dialogue in the church about
it. And my fear is that the
statement is going to be
altered, which will make it
more difficult for sexual minority
people;"" said Tideman .
Pastor Galen Hora of
Lutheran Campus Ministry
said the current draft statement
better reflects students'
opinions than ever before.
""My hunch is that the document
we're looking at [(oday]
is closer to the realities that
students live as young adults,
including the homosexual
issue.""
The Rev. Robert L. Isaksen,
bishop of the ELCA's New
England Synod, wrote to
pastors, ""Responsible biblical
interpretation does not seek
simple answers to difficult
problems. In the script.ures
the faithful Christian sees the
work of salvation in every
age, as well as a means to
evaluate human activity in
the present day. The task
force is not trying to concoct
conclusions, but to help the
church with a broad range of
issues. The church cannot be
he! pful by refusing to talk
about difficult questions ."" He
added, 'These are μifficult
issues. It is a great strength
of the ELCA that it strives to
deal with them in accordance
with scripture without resorting
to simplistic conclusions.""
The Rev. Mark R. Ramseth,
bishop of the Montana Synod,
said in a press release that the
draft ""is calling the church to
become a community of guidance,
education, respect, support
and healing iri relation to
human sexuality. It is an
attempt on the part of the
ELCA to enter into conversation
about the dilemmas of
human sexuality which face
Christian persons in this
time.'' ·
Nationally, however, the
reaction from the pews was
immediate and largely negative.
ELCA church head
Bishop Herbert Chilstrom
said he received about 700
letters on both sides of the
issue.
""Most of the negative letters
go directly to the ,issue of
homosexuality. It is very
clear that is the flash point,""
Chilstrom said in a statement.
""I am convinced that those
who look at the full statement
and consider it in its entirety
will discover it to be very·
well balanced and a very
sensible word about human
sexuality,"" Chilstrom said.
'This culture needs a word
from ·this church about this
subject ... We know, cf course,
. that all those good people of
God are not of one mind on
anything and surely not on
the subject of human sexuality,
so we expect heated
arguments and passionate
discussions. But out of it will
come suggestions and much
good sense. This is a time for
the people of God in this
church to respect differences
of opinion and to w01:k .
toward a consensus that
comes from an open process.""
Trust in the task force that
drafted the statement has
been questioned.
The Rev. Charles Miller,
executive director of the . ·
ELCA's Division for Churc;h
in Society, said, ""If members
of this cl1urch do not believe
the process is trustworthy,
then progress in developing a
sqciatstat~inen~ on human
sexuality will be greatly
impaired if not ,pelJllanently
poisoned by cynicism, disillusionment
, suspicion and
sense of betrayal now felt by
a significant number of
persons.""
But Minneapolis Pastor
Ronald Johnson said suggestions
that the task force
was untrustworthy were
unfounded . ""Ithiilk it's the
kind of tack that people take
when they disagree,"" said
Johnson.
Single copies of 'The Church
and Human Sexuality: A
Lutheran Perspective"" are
available by mail by calling
(312)380-2719. Multiple copies
may be ordered from the
ELCA Distribution Service
(50¢ each) by calling
(800)328-4648o, rder code
69-2064 , Response,s to the
draft statement may be sent
to Hum,v1 Sexuality Study,
ELCA-DCS, 8765 W. Higgins
Rd., Chicago, IL 60631. Local
ELCA churches have until
June to respond to the draft.
Compiledfr a,μ: The Lutheran,
Lutherans Concerned/Fort
Worth-AriingtonN ewsletter,
AssociatedP ress,E qual Tfme,
Lutherans Concerned/Chicago
Reconcile
Where does the news
come from?
Second Stone welcomes news from all gay and
lesbian Christian organizations . The following
national organizations do/do not report news to
Second Stone:
AFFIRMATIO(MNO RMONS) NO
AFFIRMATION(METHODISTS) YES
AMERICABNA PTISTCSO NCERNED YES
AXIOS NO
BRETHREN/MENNOCNOITUEN CIL YES
CHRISTIALNE SBIANOSU TT OGETHER NO
COMMOBNO ND NO
COMMUNICATIMOINN ISTR(YC ATHOLIC) YES
CONFERENC.CAET HOLILCE SBIANS YES
DAUGHTEROSFS ARAH YES
DIGNITY/USA NO
ECUMENICCAAL THOLICCH URCH YES
EMERGENCINET ERNATIONAL NO
EVANGELICNAELT WORK YES
EVANGELICACLOSN CERNED YES
FRIEND(SQ UAKERS) NO
GLADfD ISCIPLEOSF C HRIST) YES
HONET Y( SOUTHERBNA PTIST} NO
INTEGRITINY,C YES
LUTHERANCSO NCERNED/NA NO
NATIONAGLA YP ENTACOSTAL YES
NEINW AYSM INISTRY YES
PLGC(P RESBYTERIAN} YES
RECONCILICNOGN GREGATIONS YES
SEVENTDHA YA DK INSHIIPN TL NO
UNITARIAN/UNIVERSALIST NO
UCCC OALITIOUNG C ONCERNS YES
UNITEDU GC HRISTIASNC IENTISTS NO
UFMCC YES
THE
STRANGER
· IS ...
B Y REV. S U SAN B. P. N ORR I S
he hospital was being hospitalish,
I suppose, but I really
can't remember. I recall tan
walls, . and carpet,' and yet
ano er ""expert "" in training clergy
standing near a VCR in his suit and
Ue, waiting to tell the chaplain interns
some more about this odd business of
being priest's and · pastors. I do recall
that I wanted to go home. I was
busy; I was tired; and I already knew a great deal more about being a good
·chaplain than I was capable of actually
putting into practice . But Sue came
in from her ward, and Joe and Chuck
finished their meeting, and before 1
could escape through the only door
from the chaplaincy service into the
ha!! outside and thus to freedom,
someone ptlt out the lights, turned on
the VCR, and on went the afternoon 's
educational film , ..
In it, poorly produced color which
seems to my memory mostly varied
tan and white, there was another
""expert."" This one was asking the
question, ""What have . all anthropologists,
sociologists, and students of
culture around the world found to be
the only foundational truth or belief
shared by every known society?""
Properly, at this point, we turned off
the tap e, batte .d the question around,
and returned to our ""education ,"" The
expert then offered . ideas such as ·we
had offered. 'There is a God,"" ""Human
life is sacred,"" ""Love. one another,""
and so on. After reporting that
all of these, although widely shared,
were not the belief in question, he
continued, 'The one foundational belief
commot) to every known society
is this, The · stranger is the enemy.""'
The video then continued with ways
to ""work"" a corporation so as to avoid
the consequences of this ingrained
and unstated belief, and to get what
you want. I can't tell you what that
part said; because I was so struck by
the opening -that I could drum up no
interest in their diagnoses or solutions.
.
'The stranger is the enemy.""
I've been thinking about that idea
ever since. It's hard to believe that it
really is an ""always, everywhere and
by everyone"" and indeed, whether or
not you believe that is not the point
just at the moment. Whether or npt
the sociological proposition is accurate,
the power of that idea is supported
by much of our life experience.
The experience of being the
stranger and therefore the enemy is
nothing new to the lesbian/ gay community.
Anyone wh.o watched
Lawrence Pourier come out in the
cartoon ""For better or for worse"" will
recognize that his parents' immediate
overreactions and temporary rejection
come from the shock of confronting in
the son they thought they knew so
well, a stranger with a different and
strange culture and friends.
'The stranger is the enemy"" is at
the heart of all kinds of rejection, and
thus of the pain and tragedy found in
QUOTABLE
'I might as well say it now, Ithink that gay people are special.
To a friend who also has a gay son, I say, 'Gay people are
more creative, spirited and have a ze~t for_ life. ,·she
disagrees and says that gay people are JUSt like even1one
else: They work, pay taxes and rear children. I agree.
But these qualities come from the f~ther's gen_etic
material, I'm convinced that my son s leather Jacket
with all the political stickers, his earrings and his
backwards red baseball cap come from me, that X
chromosome only a mother can supply,""
- P-FLAG member Laura Siegel, quoted
in the San Francisco Examiner
any newspaper, as well as their inevitable
outcomes: prejudice , fear and
fighting. Aren't Bosnian Muslims
strangers to their Serbian compatriots;
· women, strangers to men; black
culture, strange to white culture; and
Asian culture , strange--to both? Even
here, we strange High-Church folk
genuflect, swing incense and ""sing
Mass"" to the bewilderm ent of our
equally ""strange"" evangelical kinfolk
who ""read th e, servi_ce,:' are baffled by
incense, and may even sing folk
music in place of el.egant Gregorian
plainsong .
The moral problem, however, is not
strangeness but ""enemy-ness."" We
humans . fear that God will not pay
attention to u s, protect or nurture us,
with that ""strange,"" ""queer"" rival
around. We fear that her very existence
is a threat to ours. The problem
is my (our) conviction that another's
""strangeness "" is a personal attack
She knew that it
never works to set
up a new community
of ""ex-strangers,""
with a new definition
of ""enemies,"" so that
we ""outcasts"" can
become the new ""in
gr0up,"" and do to
""them"" as they have
done to ""us:""
upon me, and upon the society which
I have learned how to ""work"" to get
my food, my clothing, my shelter and
my love and attention.
Unsure of ourselves, we humans
fear people who differ in any important
ways from the pattern we are
holding up and attempting to follow
=~i--k·.t- !~f -Afi~~--~ ·,..--
·, ... ~. ' ') -"";.~;""', · .. __ ·-·- V !
'We
, . ~{~~t!!/!~~ ..
On lOObeautiful acres.with
pool, hot tub, skiing and more.
Innkeepers Judi.th Hall and
Grace Newman invite you lo
write or call for a brochure.
P. 0. Box 118 SL
Bethlehem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978 .
in our own lives. Most of us also
know a familiar variation on 'The
stranger is the enemy,"" which runs,
'The stanger is someone to be us ed
and then discarded.""
This one, as most of us know, is
frequently about sex. Gay sex,
straight sex, any sex at all. It live s in
the lives of those of us whose personal
identity demands that we ""make it""
on the gay scene or in the ·swinging
singles scene ... those of us who need
constantly to be reassured that we are
just as young, and charming, and
attractive and sexually desirable as
anyone going. And as we anxiously
worry about what we shall wear, and
eat, and how we shall dress, and
behave, we also pile up as many
conquests as we can put on a string,
and then discard before they discard
us. After all, if you can use ·something
or someone, and then choose to
discard them or it, it or they selfevidently
can't threaten you ... can
they?
I say this attitude is frequently about
sex and that is its most familiar
incarnation, but it is not necessarily
about sex at all. It can be about
workers - factory or farm workers or
spouses, or even students or employees,
or even clients . It is about kee ping
people in the category of ""strangers""
or ""things"" so that we can use
them and discard them and thus
temporarily assuage our anxiety over
whether we will make it in one piece
all the way into tomorrow. Yes, th ere
is a lot of evidence in our lives for the
power of 'The stanger is the enemy.""
I trust that we do not believe 'that
horrible lie. For our God has answered
the appalling idea that the
stranger is our enemy.
SEE STRANGER, Page 15
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Jim Sorrells
P. 0. Box 1946
Guemeville, CA 95446
SecondStone•January/Febl'l)&'y, 1~4 [II]
man'.!s.hired he'lp,, <0r !fhe:man!s m'fant
•!jp~- ~ rui!h:e~ m ~, ·file ibed under :disruss1mi
remainsiihell«iiie (~ lbed~.
Jf ,bom.osexmility was not the subject
Df Pam's cr:mdemnation.. :w.hat-wasl
'The iimeq,riltatioo whim minis fua:t
:file m.an'1s p,uiiia iin 1.oe :U :w,as 'his
g""!}' ilWfi ;rerejy.e5 ;~;pmf fmm Jihe
/ta ·ct tha't Rro.num ;and 'G-reek ig;ay
:S0ldiiers weite :eftffl. assig;R~ :dillirult
m~ESi. !A11, @p,p.esem te matmieii !5@1-
.dier.;,,iitw.as mum '1!asier-fur .lR0man
:a!llturi.ms :t@ m,ing 'libei:r p:aii1im .to
iharren iaruiis.
Anew look at
arsenokoitais '1Jliisw,as ilrhe situati@n iin Capemamn
:Bl' PA'llJL ,R ]JO.HN50.N
. where ~s healed1ile:g;ay lltw.er:0£ ;a ,,
rren'tnn.m illliih1eman. The Guspel,s
~.esame ~ ,l'li}~g :flY man :a_;:
When meliig,U!JU5 ,JJ<!Opit! LC@ruremn
~ l@v~, they lilften'tum. tu
St .. P.au'Ils wmmg_.as ibasis . Bw: P.atrl!s
wiiimg in J 'T:imoihy 1.~1!D .and 1
'Cmmtruans-6~ ·t.as ~ ,little i:o ,do
with mmiogamoui,, ;s;ime.,.,genaer
ilo:ve.1tis~dhofuhomesaual
.uu'! ih.eter~ual, wt is dealt
wilihm l!hese.mdotherv.erses.
'The Gr.eek ((!@~pound .:term
m.semHkditais.ilitera'lly means "" 'Ute:male
w1w bas manyibeds: ' Thesw:BRl=sen
means ""'male:, tire acljeotiv,e 10means
'?he ""' and Jibe .temn.l-oitlzis is aefinea
as .:many bciis :"" . ""'J1lms tire mtiire .
wnrase means a male ·wilih::muilti-bed
partnets,;apmmisouous:man. Ev.erywttere
·m lhe l;liliie, wlien ·the word
itoiiais iis.usediin tihel)lw;a'!, it-.iietmtes
,promisa:li'.ty- Jiow.eY~, -when tihe
same 'IWiilr.d .ii5 med iin :the smguhr
fuim, JJb.e Bibice gives 1a_1JjlrD¥.a1
m:cause .the iliin,gu];ar a.enotes-mtml!lg-
.amy. ' ""- "" L'- lE\Vell ine ,gr-eat mian oi ,...,,.~,
~~ ~m mm itrouhle with ins
1.p:luial beds"" (Genesis 1'6). ·Go,d amfuuled
-ta bless this pat man ;and
:""'~enhlsh;en~= = ~
~imrles. ·
· JC-.ersely, 1he ·~ 'ik,olt(? iis
!loo : ,n · , .Goo with:approv,,al
{blk-e l
1'airl :refers Eiv.e times 1o-v.m8US
fuuns of !the 7koitt. J 'Timothy 1:lD:
m.sen1D;Jkoiibii&,, "".a male in ffia1!Y hetis'';
hmans :E:B: hliitais, ·.:a per.son m
many .b;eds';; Ji C:@rin:truans ,6:,'9;
air,sm~ , ~:a :m.ile m:m:any l,eas""';
l<<>mans19;m: i<~ ~ woman·m.i,.
ei:'f'';:.and :Hibrew.s ""Jlli: mu., ~Jany
iildu'lt Jin mieJb:ed : '
N.obiee. :the fiJJSl 1/hree w..erses
condemn ili.e ::p<!rs0n heran:se Jhe iis
. pmmiswooi, , Jibe hst:lw.o lemns are
9ne1d xcause 'tibe-wmd AS 2n fire
'5lllgular ~mm. Exrept .tm: Romans
'9:il.l,) :.ill 1nese V£l'Se5 .'.OOlild ,refer i0
eu:her]um11;1sema'Jsminit.erosex>Uals.
The !lilite !lDill!liiage iis;a mre Jbed.'Sex..
:a1 wuon. To the .lillmk rofHebrew.>!;,
i"".auT-s mlihnnlll! ii5 .seen. The iiiie.al
""'manaage""' is :de:fiined iby tile use nf
,the w,mr,d i/roi,t.e 7in iille :singular amn~
~ :er ..
W fl;,aite).umiijiled,h.ut 1uihcmemong.e1~
!ll1lil rmi'll'llern-s Gnd will j,ulcge. K!Hdhr:ews
13~'4')
""TheTSooknfH~bremam'Ohapter-:13
t .e:alihes trui.t m~e -ts ;a .sexual
unt0n ibetween .an¥ two .arlultts and
thahwih 1miomis ""ihoomabJe iin ;all;""
It t:ea:olres that oe¥f!I'f -illmIID,gamous
food /f/kriiti) iisihonorable and Wldefiled
andthal~SCU0USlbeiisf!kriitllis)are
mihe.dthv. {And it .aiB@. '\teadtes ctha:t
~Gad lhas1he lli.i;h't 'to ijud,ge ~
·\WOO ,do .~ :=any ib:eds sum ,as
Daviq, S@h,rrnm.andcAm-aham.)
fu ]Jesus' day the ~le !leaders
believ.ed that !&eX was milym ib.e used
im: :r,;proo.uowm, _, ·they oatlaw;ed
males JS!~ing :iGg€l!heI. Jesus msre~
these temple iaws..indtaqglht:
· In lfhahJiiffet llihae.shlil!Jbe 'tzDDmen in
wne.ib.ei1, itbe ,cme ,'lihrill /be .stileateii 1miH'he
Jtifher Ueft (fbike '17::Mi). ·
hi.Matt. 14 ·wnenjesus was..awaken
male-!51av:e, .:s@II nr :cimwamen.
If tire y~man weretihe !blood ,son,
tihen ire <tl0dld Mt hf a ,sla:vae, il ihe
w,ei,e ..a :real sla= fiten ire w.Gllld nm
""hE ..a ~-- The @niy -Y fOO>
.immumize £bis istmy ·m ;all :furee
gas,pdsis tar~ 1bat :tne qAais
'\Wll0.5hared ;a Imme w.ilihtis mibte
Roman was ~ -• Jesm; pr,ai>led lilns
m,bl:e .Roman .and imalre:d nil, ,
""preriiDwl'' io¥er {bike '7,, .ilfflll ~ and
1Matthew18).
.iMany times m ms short iettet- lto
lfimD'ff!y,, St. !'.awl , 'ellC@~es ail
!Single !Sexu:a'l. ""bei:ls ;and mndemns .a'll
:Phn.i:I seXtUal ib.ed,s. l Tim . li~: A
w.wmm nwst ik-eep 'DD.e ,_a1 Jbed; }I
Tim. ,:3:l'.l: .A 1iish@p 'lllus't hep 1one
i!eii; TlI'rim. 3:ll: /A Deacon must ikrep
one lSenral :.bed; il 'fim. '.!:11:: A
.iDearonessmusti<eep-one~ ihed;
1 'Tlim. ""1:1!0: /A ,prosli'mte has -many
,i,exnaI i>t?&j; and l 7im. ED: A
_pr@.lriisaw.us.m.ile.ihas ~ beds .
ToeA~P.aiihmikesit dearlhat
itne 'Bingre~ ibed.:n:msl he~
.ana . ._ mte lhas 'lilte•t to degrade
wbatDoohasa'llowm.
thee:e was -wilh him "";a y.aung =an fSame shrtll ,dq,ar,t fr,am flihe fllith_,
w.emng :a linen dolib OV~ his-millled Jowitiimg 'to tmrmy • ., JUW!ln .G:o.i JJms
!bo.dy_""' Morlon Smil!b .;€,wlams miuie ;J;r, ib.e TJIDffl!ea mth ithtmks. :(!I
Gluiist'.s presence Wiitih this ~ T~MI-4}
yo:lith {{See 7JJhe !S,mrd ~el, The ,
DnmH:m-se~,:lll61tJ?:181). . Serular smra,s pmv.e=se=-il:oililiis
~lkliileireferstoapidatil!m: m!fu.e nteanl :.any ipmmismus :mal~, 'iumlc-
13ible, ,ana ~~ 'S0U);OOS, tileikoi.re .!SeW..il Dr helerosexual 5tandiJw
.arm tire i/,;oiUfs :re1emed i'0 the !Sexual ::alone, '1l!i5£1fer.lrtii!uiis diiim>t reveal the
bed m ;semii'l~. Theft! ..me miter ,gender X'iI file :sexual pmmei:. lt w.as
:Greek, t <emrs ••:sen it°. d:,,s~ ~e :necessatJ in 11be 'GTaik ~es ;as
,sl~ bed m '!he :sick_ ib~ . 1'.1Dtite iit .iis :m · mire English t:,o ,;add ""'wilih
·mfetred mle!Y.:m:oopuiatiD1l:m Greel< .tem:ales''1,ir ""wiihma1es""'to detemiine
as w.ell.asJhe IGlher ~snHhal itihe m:ien:tati@II cl :fm!.illr.,;_ ·a-ikoiitflis.
ida..f:. Thisw.d w.n;_~~tmf:°1ihe ihlfffl11m11""1oitaismighlilav:etiisman_y
bitin ~e :as.'.C0ifu> (sexual :mwi:,-affa'ii1s·wifu t£male-pmstitutes wiv.es
murse}. 'Ilbe'&g'lish w«ds rrJoitusana 'Of ms.mends ;sia:ves l~f ~ ,sex m
illoi!fion .arecmooem faims!0fihe ikoite. . s12all~cS- ""
Ev.en -in St . oo""ke Til::7 lli,ye w,;,Ild r
it.&es mt ;a JSeXWrl meaning. Luke ts l,n ancient !GFee.oo, csmntim:es, 'the
:.an.attome.Y, :doctorana G~ hi~er- ~~te sex -f.'1~ nf 1ihe azr.smoim
wil:w !knew ;the precise defumwns /Jr:oztmsw.asdesmbedm..amlext'.!S@llte;
of ~e :and p:aiidii:a. ]n 1\his map'ier., ~ ihe or W. w,as1n0'1 . . .An ~P~
j:esus t.augnt .thab man t,prooabiy ;a :ti:@n l0Jl thefusil 'Ga'l:1; m -:rm.'6saJ<miki
'R'0l'B.an $0ldiel') -w.as iin ;a :sexual bed :realilslll11rtBU1S;m;r,auibii;t115w,mdhmeans
w.ith .;a ""\ymith "" '~plliiliai). The !Greek •:a male -~ ihas ~ with ..a pr>0mi:stmns
1Jllliiiiailllld pms were lhe m0St moos~. }Eusebws mndemns~
<COD'IIllOn ;terms used iin itbe'breeic .tan- 11,r~ ,n tcH Jo.oftais wik0 .has sex ,W:I1ih
ig~e il:0 .denate you'qg ih@m0sex,ual females. ,A.111~ fillily Cm,i:slians and
Aov.ers. ;p~s alike ,an .ar.s1mo-!koimls (.a male
'There ai:e i br,ee yossib'le iiintei;pre- wJth man~, ib~~) was ,capable m !the
:tations T<~ar.din,g the >meaning of au:lwce role with male ;p:anmers ·er
'i71ai/Ua. The itemn Jin iLulce 11 ,either female partner-s. . _ . .
,M.arriii;ge iis i1tonor,ab!e 1in ,al/, =d !the y.efers to 1Jbe mari '.s igay i0v.e, the EI,\glish 1h:ansla'hons 10£ 1 TmuiJthy
J..:l(() reli:ec't the j)fflilIIl!Slli@US-male: ifn
Ni;w 7Pes:tame,,tt -i!n i.ib£ ll.J,m~e wf
T<Oib,y; ' lmen wlho:,sin ,;sexnaHy with
;w;irmre,n 10r 10'liher it!U,z"";; the .Stamliiamil
!English !Biible: ')a ipmn:iisam.u:s male'';
the ~.e,w _JI~et'ffllfa1Jn;i1J ;VfmSi.on:,,~v.
em; ,; I[(;in;g fames;and ~ lde@e
fusn~l'l'i!S wiitih mumilciid'' .an:d ihe
AmetiiGlll:'Standan:fVll!llSiml : ""abusers
10£ il!hemselves iwifhimm. ""'
The New WVmJd !B.i'ble am! :t:he fSO
:ralk,d.Wew .Amenwan 5'tanilar,d 'i\!lmion
pblishers-rduse'.t0-file,sch-elars
- who seiw.ed ;as '.traruilatm;s. 'ThDse
wmik-s 1Shmnd ibe mtjerted tar '.tihis
reason ;a'lane. On the other !hand, tine
RSV '.l!iiitors .ba,v,e )Pl'@mised ito C011rect
iliheirtranslalien iin the :uextiedifum.
Mm-e .and m0re dellics are irem,g~
'lha:t m.sem>;ktiihiis iii0es Mh,eJer
to gay 1C01!:Ples. Many amseiw.afii\7.e
schliihu:s :have ~pea ~ ttmS-etm:
koiuiisijust;as filey 1m¥eWfflldlUSirq;
the lKm:g James :Boo.@mite pas~es
toimd in tile IBimks m ~- :5.udh
im'.lii~s ,as Y'""""""f F.a'lwell, JEd\W.illld
Daw.en and .Grq; K""01111ile ,admit that
hse Gre .el< ;and Hllhr.ew ·wm:.ds do
1110tpmve tiha:tga__yn.mples.are~.
Tu . . Amho:ay Campdlo, .Amemra' \s
leading 'lll!ln'SelW.atiwe re1igitM1S au'ther
!5af.Sib:atniinistet'SmustJl10t1Use1these
Greek tem:is -w.nnst ihtmmsexuals.
Ew.en ·.though Dr . Campo't0 lufuewes
tlh:at Jhmnm;e:wal:s ;ane -w.r-<m,g ·he
w:mtes:
J i1o mot i/;/iink il!he £ciipbu~es ,s'houlil ibc
rmlliie tD -~l!llk iin ways 7W'hitih iar.e indt iin
,acnr:,r;d,uiith lhow:iit11.Dll6 iimeriikiI 1to speak
in ,orJle:r iio ,ma'/ce ~ !l111Se. ilt is itoD iB11SJI
for rtltl]f lef rus !l1Ut .10J im.lerμJe £mdtiion to
;use .5aiip.tur.e iin i naiact llD1IJIS. '.(Twiettfy
Hot 'P@la.toes Yilal :CJlnistioans Are
.Afraid""Jfo Toucih,;p.1Dl'5?
Mamn JLuther .mms'lates tile 1temt
,1111seno-,'koitaismt0 ·fh:e Genmm Bible;as
ilmllb1msharuier \Which ·d@esnot adaress
m mnaemn mu'tual ~ ilov.f!IS. The
Geiman ;edition l11111ne ffEl'.USlllem Uuible
~1:IJ1ner.
The <ealilj' Grnisfian iathers lknew
llihat lllT.il!MO- illiliifbiis .meanl pmm'iS<JUJty ..
They WD.e in g-eaer,a'l ..a;gamst all
ikinds<0Iin1m-mpmiiudi¥e sex. 'These
:strict «ireru!s •amriemnedwth.ma:med
am'l ammamed ""!seed \W.asrens."" :Sum
thedlo.gans.rs ·Oemenlof.Aiexarnma ,
'.SL lemme .and .&1iher .Peter Dantm-
1searmed tile ism,plmes .and .wig .up
m:any !fanciful ~nts ~t.all
""inon-i>re.emers. ' Sut:smt '.01\W .did.any
m li:iem.referit-01 D@lillilmansin:9 w I
Tinmlihy :Jl.:10 to ;adwance <their
ai:gamen.ts .awunsl ,same,sex m- 'pervi:
er.be,d""' 1n•e.t,er.0.~x\Ual .ar:ticv~.
IOl:em~, fur~ J11Ses '113 Greek ;expressmns!t0mnaemn Gay.s\hut:mJt
wme w.d .ihe usemtse11rD-i1""oiillllis. Fw ;a
.thoosand y,mrs 1n0 dwr.mileaderi:used
this Gr.eek it-eim ;against .uiyone wh0
pi;adi:red !SaIDe-iSex love, ilh@ugh IINlSt
df :'lihese dmr.ch talih:ers .!lmew i1Dd
.. sed iihese,words :forofherJ>UIJPoses.
F.irst •aen'tury Cbriismms !knew that
/Qrsen~koitais (a male iinmany lb.eds}·
w,as :capable rof tbe ,active ll'@1e with
<@'f,ner m ·en mrr W@men, lfa1s:ebius
·cond :e.mns a p:mmisarnus male
'SEE ~ENO~Oll'MS,Jf,age 1!8
·- - --= - -- - --- - --- ---:-- ---- --- -- ------ 1121 :SeoondStoneo.ianuacy/Fdniary:1994
<=-~
I uring the 18th century a
young gay man formed a
community of men who saw
in his gentle ways a connectedn
ess with the Holy Spirit. The
influ ence of Christian Renatus Graf
von Zinze,ndorf; who died at the age
of 25, extends to this day to those
living and working at 1Christiansbrunn,
a religious community of
Harmonists located on a 63-acre
cloister in the Mahantongo Valley of
central Pennsylvania . .
The Brothers there lead a selfsufficient
life, building with log s,
haul/ng water from the spring, plowing
with .oxen, raising sheep for wool
and flax for linen . They use traditional
farming techniques, animal
powered machin ery, a11d pre se rv e
rate br eeds of animals and plants.
The Brothers also . emphasize crafts
and education. · '
The· Brotherhood was initially
founded on Decemb er 17, 17-49 in
honor of Christian Renatus, the son of
Moravian Church leader Count
Nicholas von Zinzendorf. The cloister,
whose name means Christian's
Spring in μen :n~J.1, was m;igin<\lly
loca,ted,' riear ,Bf!#tlehel]l, Pen.risyJva- .
nia, the center of the Moravian mfssionaiy
effort, · · ,
Christian died before he was able to
come to America and fulfill his role as
leader of the Single Brothers in this
couitry. Peach trees, his favorite
fruit, had been plant~d so they would
bear· in time for an arrival that never
came. The Brotherhood's spirit died
with Christi,m .and it was disbanded
before 1800. ·
It was reorganiz ed in 1987. The
Brothers ;it New Christiansbrunn are
Hamoni sts, meaning they seek harmony
in all things and to know
the111selv es as the Holy Spirit and
what that means in their lives . Th ey
believe the Holy Spirit is not all
Christian Renatus
Graf von Zinzendorf
Born 1727, died 1752
Gloi~ter f_ounded in 1749 by
··young gay man is reborn ·
conscious, all knowing or even all
good. This mean s that the Holy Spirit
creates beauty yet also ugline ss, joy
but also pain, life as well as death.
The cloister is run without a
hierarchy of priests or minister s. The
Brothers take per sonal responsibility
for their own spiritual development.
They follow the Six Fold Path in
which they come to know them selves
and to follow a life of choice. The
Path is a means, not the end . And
being on the Path does not mean that
they follow it perfectly, but they try.
Their choices are to stress beauty and
joy, to minimi ze destructio11, waste
and hurtful acts. That is why they
live a simple life. It is why they sing
their own hymns and why .their
motto is ""to plow is to pray."" Music
plays a larg e part in the life at th e
cloister. The Brothers Work very hard
and their days lack the standardized
prayer and services of traditional
religious orders.
The Brothers .consider themselve s
living in the post-Christian age, in
which their rehgious spirit matur es
into adulthood, taking responsiblity
for their acts . They believe they are
truly one with everything they see,
· everything they do, everything they
are: They are the violence, they are
the peace, they are. the love, they are
the hate. All is part of the Holy Spirit
which, in saying ""I am,"" contains all
that is, was and shall ·be. It also
contains the moral question of how
we are to live as the Holy Spirit, the
Brothers say, because what we say
and do does make a difference. We
can perpetuat e the mistakes, the pain
and suffering or we can ·start to make
choices to change them. The Brothers
seek lives in which everything a:t the
cloister is chosen, wanted and
beautiful. They confess they are a
long way from that goal, but that it is
coming true.
The Brothers have extended
invitation to those who cannot Jive in
community but wish to be a part.
Some people become associate members
to share a craft, skill or knowledge
with the Brothers, such as woodworking,
historic gardening or the
ability to read the German script of
their archival manuscripts. Other s
are drawn to the Brothers' care and
nurturing of the . earth. For some,
associate men,bership is an .intermediate
step in considering whether to
become a full time memb e r living at
the cloister . The Brothers are also
planning to begin a handprint ed
newsletter. about life at the cloister
and their self-sufficient farming.
For information on CJ,;istiansbrunn
Kloster contac t Brother Johann es
Zinzendo1f, RD 1, Box 149, Pihnan, .PA
17964.
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Serond Stone•January/February, 1994 ·U3J
The Real War
BY REV. SAMUEL KADER
Not everyone who calls Je.sus
Lord is recognized by Him as
His own. In Matthew 7:21-23
Jesus says ""Many will say to
me in that day, 'Lord, Lord have we
not prophesied in thy name? And in
thy name cast out devils, and in thy
name done many wonde1ful work?'
And I will say to them I never knew
you, depart from me you that work
iniquity."" Jesus says in this passage
that only those who do the will of
God shall enter into the kingdom.
But in the midst of the homophobic
controversy raging in the church it's
easy for us to draw lines of who is
""in"" and who is ""out"" based on political
agenda. Homophobia is' not the
first issue to polarize the church. Nor
is homophobia th e . real issue . It is
only a symptom of the real issue,
which is spiritual warfare.
While much of the church is
screaming of · the need for family
values, they butcher their Christian
family by casting out gay and lesbian
members into the outer darkness.
They don't realize th~t it is not p_laying
video games with our iablings
and offspring that secures eternal life:
Eternal life is secured by an all out
commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord
which may necessitate leaving
mother, father , brother, sister or
children for the sake of _the kingdom
m order_ to follow Christ. Elevating
the family above Christ is idolatry.
Yet the heat of tJ1is issue keeps cranking
up several degrees each year,
showing the blindness of the church
to the real war engulfing her. .
_When accused of doing His
charitable deeds and miracles by the
power of Beelzebub, the prince of the
d_ev!ls, Jesus revealed a spiritual principle
that currently is at work against
the church. He says in Matthew 12:25
that every kingdom divided against
itself 1s brought to desolation and
every city or house divided against
itself shall not stand. The fact that
division brings defeat is a well
known _rri~ciple to the enemy of
God . H1stoncally, Satan has us ed this
t:idic again and ap;ain to wage war
against the chutch.
We think we're fighting the religious
right , meaning individual
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[i4] Second Stone•January/February, 1994
preachers, churches, denominations,
or para churcl1 organizations. According
to Ephesians 6:12 our warfare is
not against human beings, no matter
how much they ·disagree with us .
Our warfare is a spiritual one, and
until we treat 1t on that level we will
continue to treat symptoms but never
cure the disease .
· Because of the polarization these
issues bring about we tend to think of
the kingdom of Go.d as being comprised
of only those who politically
agree with us. But God's viewpoint is
much higher . While Satan brings
division, with the expressed desire to
kill, steal or destroy, God brings
uruty, knowing that love never fails .
Satan handed the church a parcel of
division when the first century Christians
had to wrestle with the question
of Gentile eligibility requirements to
enter the initially predominately
Jewish Body of Christ. The church
wrestles with the same question
While much of the
church is screaming
of the need for family
values, they butcher
their Christian family
by casting out gay
and lesbian members
into the outer
darkness.
today. Some say Gays and Lesbians
are riever qualified . Some say we're
qualified if we leave our same-sex
spouses and become celibate . Some
say only if we are changed into
heterosexuals can we be saved . Division!
A kingdom divided against
· itself can not stand. Matthew 12:26
says if Satan cast out Satan he is
divided against himself . How then
can his kingdom stand?
But the principle applies regardless
of who is working it, and Christians
are deceived into casting out Christians.
Why would Satan be interested
in·_this division? Because in the high
priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17, it .
1s revealed that when Christians
become one in unity, then the world
believes that God did send Jesu s.
Revival occurs. When the · church
walks in unity, it is able to appropriate
her full power and authority
making Satan a footstool under her
feet. Jesus is very serious about the
church. An attack on the church is an
attack against Him personally. The
church is His body, and He doesn't
consider that a metaphor, but a
reality . In Acts 9:4 Jesus confronts .
Saul of Tarsus for his persecution
against Christians. But He doesn't
ask Saul why he is persecuting His
disciples . He doesn't even ask Saul
why he is persecuting His church.
He asks Saul, ""Why are you
persecuting me ?"" An attack against
believers is an attack against Christ
Jesus Himself. · The converted Paul
later asks the Corinthian church ""Is
Christ divided?"" It is not appropriate
to be of Paul or Apollos or Cephas or
Falwell or any other · camp. Will we
war against Christ? We must war
against principalities, powers, spiritual
wickedness in high places and the
rulers of darkness of this age - all
demonic forces hell bent on stopping
the Body of Christ from flowing in
love.
How do we wage this battle? Paul
says in I Corinthians 3:3 you are yet
carnal, for there is still among you
envying and strife and divisions. He
also says in II Corinthians 10:4-5 the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds. What
spiritual'weapons has God given us?
And who can deny that the battle of
homophobia is a stronghold?
First; we have prayer. · The effective,
fervent prayer _of the righteous
accomplishes much . Take seriously a
call to prayer and intercession. Slavery
in America was not abolished
because· Abral1am Lincoln opposed it:
It was abolished because for decades
slaves in America slipped away at
night, illegally and under penalty of
death, to the woods gathering for
brush arbor prayer meetings. God
answers prayers. Persecuted and
imprisoned believers behind the iron
curtain saw the wall fall down as a
result of prayer . As a spiritual community
we must demand of Satan as
Moses did of Pharoah to ""let our
people go that they might worship
God!"" (Exodus 8:1)
Second, we have the cross.
Ephesians 2:13-15 relates that by the
cross the warfare ceases because
through it God put to death divisions,
walls and laws that separate .
Third, we have the Spirit of God.
The spirit intercedes for us as we pray
in the spirit. The spirit gives us all
access to God and causes us to be
built together (Ephesians 2:18-22).
The spirit leads us into all truth, and
the truth sets us free.
Fourth, we have the word of God.
It is powerful, able to divide and
uncover hidden agendas of the heart.
The word of God will expose our own
shortcomings to show' us what adjustments
we need to make to flow with
God's covering. It will also give us
SEE REAL WAR, Page 20
NEWS LINES
From Pages
Rhode Island church firsto affirm Gays
llAFTER STUDYING THE issue for more than a )'ear , Newport
Congregational Church voted to become the first church in Rhode Island to
publicly declare that Gays and Lesbians are _welcome: Interim e~stor Terry
Fitzgerald said the blessing of same-sex relationships 1s a possibility at some
eoint. At least 115 churches throughout the country have declared themselves
Open and Affirming churches.
Catholic Charities takes over AIDS residence
LIFOLLOWING THE CRUSHING disclosure of financial discrepancies at
San Francisco's Shanti Pfoject last spring, the city has transferred
operational control of the country's largest .residence for AIDS patients to
Catholic Charities, Inc., a division of San Francisco's Catholic Archd10cese.
The move comes amid tension between the city's lesbian/gay community and
the Archdiocese, which repeatedly opposes any positive movement m the
struggle for gay /lesbian rights.
Gays ""unacceptable"" say Virginia Baptists
,; VIRGINIA SOUTHERN BAPTISTS have approved a statement condemning
homosexuality as ""sinful and ~nacceptable for Christians"" a~d discouraging
the elevation of Gays and Lesbians to church leadership positi<:>ns. Delegates
disagreed with Rev. Henry Langford, a retired pastor from Richmond, who
said, ""We have no business picking on the homosexuals or anybody else. As
Christians we have to question 'What right do I have to try to tell people to
think and live and believe and act as I do'?""'
(RADICAL RIGHT PREACHERS have a penchant for creating short anti-gay
sayings to be used on talk shaws and at demonstration_s . . If !1te f~r right ~an use
these political and religious one li_ners to p~omote their indignities, Lesbians and
Gays must learn to use one liners to proclaim the truth.)
The toxin ...
Fundamentalists do not hate Gays and Lesbians
The · antidote ...
Yes, and the KKK does not hate Blacks!
ADOLPH HITLER CLAilVIED he was not anti-Semitic
while sending six million Jews to the gas chambers.
Jefferson Davis said he did not hate slaves as he defended
the evil slave owners. Cotton Mather denied that he hated
witches as he burned them alive. Joseph Goebbels had no
hate against German homosexuals as he starved a million
of them to death in forced labor camps. ·
If fundamentalists are our friends, who needs enemies?
For a thousand years the organized church .hated most
minorities while claiming to love them. The clmrch
hierarchy twisted the scriptures, reversing the true
interpretation in order to :
•Condemn the sexual victim instead of the abusive
husbands (Matthew 5:32).
•Concjemn the rape victims instead of the abusers
(John8).
•Condemn the slave victims instead of the abusers
(Genesis 9).
•Condemn homosexual victims instead of the
abusers (Genesis 19).
Pastor Robert Billings, Executive Director of the Moral
Majority must have lov-ed homosexuals when he said:
""I k~ow what you and I feel about these queers, these
fairies . . We wish we could get in our cars ;md run them
down while they march (Record, Fall 1980, p . 4).
When religious conservatives claim not to_ hate Gays and
Lesbians it reminds us of the cle~cs that did not hate Joan
of Arc as they burned her a:t the stake.
t' .,; · - Dr. Paul R. Johnson
STRANGER
From Page 11
Once a stranger even to us, God
became one of us in Jesus, who was
crucified because he was different,
queer, crazy and dangerous. Because
he had weird ideas about justice, and
forgiveness and wholeness and goodness,
which we couldn't use, or
manipulate or control, any more than
we could manipulate or control him,
though we tried that.
But God raised him from the grave,
sings the great hymn in .Philippians,
and ""highly exalted him, giving him
the name which is above every
name, ·so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father."" And in doing so, God
defeated not only death, but strangeness,
and gave us . a new way of liv-
; ing with other people.
For the stranger is not the enemy,
the stranger is the Christ.
""Whenever yo~ do it to anyone o(
these, you have done it to me.'! The
stranger is the Christ. And we also
are ""not strangers and aliens, but
fellow citizens with the saints and
members of the household, the family,""
the familias or familiars - of God.
Ours is a family which is called to
break down the dividing wall_ of
hostility; a family in which strangers
become brothers and sisters, and joint
heirs, with Christ, of the promises
and bounty of God. We are called to
say to the stranger - not ""Go away
you frighten me,"" or ""How can I use
you?"" but ""Welcome!"" Welcome,
beloved child of God, to the family
for which Christ died .
Catherine of Siena knew that.
Were she alive today we would find
her in an AIDS hospice, o·r a state
cancer-care ward, or off in the back
reaches of Bellevue; anywhere society
cjumps those people who belong to no
one and for whom we can find no
""use.'' We would find her caring for
them as she cared for the lepers and
plague-stricken of her day, as many
of the lesbian/ gay community have
cared for their AIDS-stricken kin, as
families care for those suffering from
tenninal cancer.
But we would also find her running
around in · the institutional church
somewhere, trying to get things ,ight
and to get folks talking again (as
indeed she did with the papacy in
exile), putting back together this family
which our human sin inevitably
sets at odds with itself. For Catherine
knew that in welcoming the stranger
she was welcoming the Christ, as God
had welcomed her, and she also
knew that she could only do this in
unity and communion with . all her
brothers and sisters whom Christ had
also welcomed.
She knew that it never works to set
up a new community of ""ex-strangers,""
with a new definition of
""enemies,"" so that we ""outcasts"" can
become the new ""in group,"" and do to
""them"" as they have done to ""us.""
Catherine knew that along with
""neither male or female, slave or free,
Jew or Gentile,"" there was also no
""them"" and ""us"" in God's household.
For anytime we crucify, shun or use
the stranger in our midst, anytime we
make a stranger out of a brother or
sister, we crucify, shun and make a
stranger of the Christ.
Being human, we ·will do this
anyway, of course. I John 1:5-2:2
makes eloquent the forgiveness and
love which await us when we realize
what we have done, and choose to
turn away from our darkness and into
the light of God's love as we have
known and experienced it in Jesus the
Christ.
For Christ is where our other, more
powerful, and true experience of life
begins and ends. It is He in whom
we who were far off were brought
near. His is the power to knock down
the walls of division between us, and
it is the Christ whose resurrection and
risen life among us are pledge and
promise that neither life nor death,
nor even ""the stranger is the enemy""
can separate us from the freedom, joy,
love and forgiveness which are our
heritage as brothers and sisters of
Christ and members of the household
of God .
Excerpted from Outlook, the newsletter
of Integrity/New York.
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..................................I..n.P. ..r..i.n...t. ..........................
A Quaker Mystery
Murder Among F_riends
By Diane Coleman
Chuck Fager, author. Kimo Press,
Falls Church, Va. 1993.
Friends ,who mourned the finale
of Chuck Fager's A Friendly
Letter will be delighted to
discover that the quintessential
Quaker investigator is back in
print, this time in fiction. The
December 1 release of Murder Among
Friends heralds a new chapter in
Chuck's ongoing commentary on the
state of the Society. With an intriguing
plot that hatches out of a confrontation
between a-gay Quaker activist
and a ""family values"" evangelist,
Chuck has entertainingly turned his
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gifts to the genre of murder mystery.
The setting is a Quaker conference
appropriately convening in the pacific
Shenandoah Valley of Virginia .
Weighty Friend Lemuel Penn, an
erstwhile Middle East peace mediator,
has attempted to mend the breach
formed by factionalism among Quakers,
framed in terms of a dualism
between ""evangelicals"" and ""liberals.""
In the effort to evade rupture, however,
he has betrayed his faith in the
process of communal discernment.
No real mutual encounter has
occurred; narrator William Leddra, a
straight Quaker ""liberal,"" and his
friend Eddie Smith, leader of the
Lavender Friends Alliance, arrive
together at the conference to discover
that Penn has made nonconsensual
arrangements in order to avoid a
threatened walkout by the evangelicals.
The pair are stunned to discover
that a homophobic televangelist has
been scheduled as the keynote speaker
at the conference, and furthermore,
the LFA's visible display has been
undiplomatically removed . from its
enviably visible assigned location
and tossed into the corner. Eddie
explodes in an unfriendly rage, and
a confrontation with the televangelist
ensues. · The one predictable element.
of the plot unfolds the next day, when
of course the televangelist is found
fatally bludgeoned in his dormitory
room. Eddie is the prime suspect,
and as evidence against him mounts,
In the 1960's, Civil Rights activists confronted racism
head on as they marched in small Southern towns.
In the t990's, let's bring our struggle for human rights
to the Bible Belt, where homophobia flourishes.
JOIN US
in
C~ARLQTTNEO,R .T CHAROLINA
The Queen City
for the
NORTH CAROLINA PRIDE FESTIVITIES
June 3 - 5, 1994
For more information contact:
NC Pride . PO Box 32062 . Charlotte, NC 28232
(ffi_ Sec ond Stone•January/February, 1994
militant nonQuaker gay activists
descend upon the valley in defense of
their brother.
Plot aside, the fact of Chuck's move
to fiction is perhaps the greatest
surprise for the Friendly reader. His
primary purpose of entertaining
seems sufficient in itself, and he
plainly meets the criteria.
His decision to anchor his story in a
gathering of Friends and to hinge his
plot upon unFriendly conflict over
gay presence raises lingering questions
which ove,shadow the most
avid gay or lesbian Quaker murder
mystery fan's interest in light entertainment.
Viewed against the back.
drop of his years of diligent Friendly
reporting and of his respectful acknowledgement
of the contributions
of-gay and lesbian members to the
Society of Friends, what is Chuck now
saying about who \ye are and what
we are about, as a religious society as
a whole and as gay and lesbian
Friends in particular?
Hanging over the plot of thi.s novel
is a seeming absence of divine guidait~
e in the cond,uct of community
aifairs, with both polarized constituencies
affiliated with sleazy political
interestg roups. Yet God is not totally
abs~nt. The appearance of the divine
d0es not occur ill the predictable
r.faces-where Friends or others tend to
look;' rather God shews up in the least
li.kely place, when least expected.
Out of Chuck's st0zy emerge hints of
a neo-orthodox understanding of the
mysterious and unpredictable otherness
of God, the Barthian view of
divine action in terms of a verticle
intersection into the . horizontal pl'i e
of mundane human existence.
One strength of such a faith lies in
its implicit humility, ·prompting a
""live and let live"" attitude like that of
Chuck's narrator, one not uncommon
among ""liberal"" Quakers and certainly
in many ways more congenial
to gay and lesbian presence than the
attitudes fostered by many other
strains of Christian thought. But the
perennial question of how we are to
discern God's plan for our lives hangs
largely unanswered. Amidst hard
dilemmas where disagreements cannot
be mediated through appeal to
the transcendent God's guidance, we
can know no either basis for action
and must either consent to oppression,
or else attempt resistance without
the help of God, which is our only
real source of strength .
In contrast the . liberative task of
Friends, gay and lesbian Friends in
particular, is precisely that of witnessing
to the very nearness, the
immanent guiding presence of God
manifest in loving hum,m relationships,
even, especially, those which
emerge outside the reifying structures
of society proper; certainty about
which • lies of the heart of Quaker
faith; empowerment through which
we are enabled to speak and to act
decisively for justice. ''You have been
told what is good and what the Lord
requires ot you,"" coun _seled the
prophet (Micah 6:8). But the Quaker
characters in thfs novel haven't heard
, the m.essage :;:.-.IYfay ·. <?'!,KJ ai,thful
· f/Frieqd Fagedeach them; ,an_d one
day write us another story about ourselves,
a prophetic one that is truly
both his and ours.
Murder Among Friends is available
from the FCC Bookstore, 1-800-966-4556
or from Kimo Press, P.O. Box 1361,
Falls Church, VA 22041.
Excerpted from Friends for Lesbian and
Gay Concerns Newsletter
I~ Print, briefly ...
A LegaGl uidefo r
Lesbiaann dG ayC ouples
To address the legal ne.eds of the
over 20 million Gays and Lesbians
now living in the United States,
attorneys Hayden Curry, Denis
Clifford, and Robin Leonard have
written the new 7th edition of this legal
guide.
- $21.95a t bookstoreosr
·FromN oloP ress(8, 00)992-6656
RubyfruiMt ountain:
A Stonewall
·RiotsC ollection
Fans of cartoonist Andrea Natalie will
appreciatteh is seconde ditioni n the
StonewaRll iotsc ollectionK. risK ovick
sayst hat Natalieis ""likeG aryL arson
on estrogen.""
• From C/eis Press
T In Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... ·• ........................... .............. .
New edition of landmark book
· is The Homosexual My Neighbor:· A Positive Christian View
By Andrea L. T. Peterson
Contributing Writer
Letha Scanzoni and Virginia
Mollenkott, authors. HarperCollins
SF; 1994.
When it was first published
back in the late '70s, ls the
Homosexual My Neighbor? was
one of only a dozen books .
produced by evangelical Christian
enclaves addressing the subject of
homo sex uality and religion . Of that
handful, it was the only one that did
not present the ""damned"" and
""doomed"" theologies so familiar to
Gay s and Lesbians - then and now.
In Print, briefly ...
Contested Closets -
The Politics and
Ethics of Outing
Author Larry Gross presents a
landmark exploration of the ethical
and political implications of . this
controversial practice. 288 pgs, $44.95,
hardcover. ·
- From the University of Minn~sota
Press
· • Directory of-Gay, Lesbian .,
and Bisexual Publications ·
This directory provides helpful information
on 181 gay and lesbian publications
in the United States and
Canada. $17.95, includes postage
and handling.
- From Jim Sorrells, P.O. Box 1946,
Guemeville, CA 95446
Gender Dysphoria
This book is filled with the most
up-to-date information on the clinical
management of gender identity disorders.
It meets the practical needs of
clinical sexologists, psychotherapists,
counselors, social workers, physicians,
sex researchers and other
specialists who evaluate and treat
gender dysphoria. ·.
, From The Haworth Press
Barrack Buddies
and Soldier Lovers
tn an era ot increased public awareness
that gay men_ -and _Lesbians
serve in,.the U. S. militaiy, kr:iowledge
remains scant bt what their social and
sex lives are realty like. This book
chal/enges-c!~U_mptiprys-.alid stereo- '
types ol gay and straight men m the
military through revealing interviews ·
with 16 American. Gls, .,alt in. their
twenties, stationed in·. and around
. Franklur,t, Germany duri~g the 1990s.
-from The Haworth Press
Scanzoni and Mollenkott had subtitled
their book: ""Anoth er Christian
View."" In fact, theirs might have
been ""the only"" truly Christian (i.e.
loving) view! While it might not
have been the definitive text, it was
the best comprehensive-overview of
what scripture did - and didn't - say
about homosexuality.
Examining the thoughHo-be
relevant scriptural texts • carefully
looking at each in its literary and
cultural context - and analogizing the
Good Samaritan of. the New Testament
to the homosexual of today, the
authors demonstrated that homose)IU·
ality is .indeed compatiable with
Christianity.
Since the late '70s, dozens of new
books haye · appeared on shelves in
gay and lesbian bookstores and in
mainstream bookstores. As was true
Is The
Homosexual
My
Neighbor,
updated and
revised
back then, a disproportionate number
of them condemn homosexuals and
homosexuality. A good number,
howeve r, share the views of Scanzoni
and Mollenkott. The addition is more
than welcome.
In spite of the gay-positive volumes
which now .accompany ls T7ie Homosexual
My Neighbor on bookstore
shelves; Scanzoni and Mollenkott's is
still '""THE"" text that most gay and
lesbian Christians I know recommend
to newly out Christians; to Gays and
. Lesbia.11s who want to return to the
God of their · childhood but cannot
erase years of negative church teachings
and internalized condemn a tion
and homophobia (self-loathing); and
to non-gay friends and family members
seeking to better understand the
· challenges facing Gays and Lesbians
forced to choose between their spirituality
and their sexuality, between
friends and family and lovers.
In spite of the fact that their book
has not lost a bit of its relevance,
Scanzoni and Mollenkott agreed to
revise and update it. The result?
The 1994 edition: ls I11e Homosexual
My Neighbor: A Positive Christian
View.
Of the book, says co-author Letha
Scanzoni, ""It's never gone out of print.
It shows there is such a nee d out
there.""
'The best of everything is still
there, "" she says of the new volume,
but she and Mollenkott reviewed the
book ""sentence by sentence, paragraph
by paragraph"" providing
""more pertinent illustrations,"" includ-
. ing a previously undisclos ·ecl statement
about Mollenkott's homosexuality
and Scanzoni's response to that
disclosure, and exploring contemporary
issues like Gays ·in the military
and current anti-gay legislation, and
how religion is being used against
Gays.
Scanzoni and Mollenkott have
taken advantage of their own experiences
dealing with homosexuality ·
including their dialogue via letters
through which Mollenkott shared her
fear of Scanzoni's rejection of her once
she disclosed her lesbianism and
Scanzoni's assurance that her ""going
white"" upon hearing Mollenkott's
words was the result of shock • not
rejection .
The two very candidly share with
ead1 other - and with readers · the
details of their struggle - Mollenkott's
to come out to Scanzoni and
Scanzoni's to reconcile what she intellectually
knew about homosexuality,
what she had always heard preached
about it, and what she knew about
the Chri s tian friend she loved and
admired.
They have also taken full
advantage of and incorporated the
findings and gay-positive theological
reflections generated over the last 15
years or so by scholars like John
Boswell. Thus internal reference s are
contemporary, end notes are very
detailed, and their bibliography is
considerably more extensive.
The extensive overhaul that
Scanzoni and Mollenkott have given
Is The Homosexual My Neiglibor cannot
be understated. The additions to it
... Scanzoni and
Mollenkott's is still
'THE"" text that most
gay and lesbian
Christians I know
recommend to newly
out Christians; to
Gays and Lesbians
who want to return
to the God of their
childhood but cannot
erase years of
negative church
teachings and
internalized
condemnation and
homophobia ...
have made it considerably more
relevant to the particular spiritual,
social, and political challenges facing
the gay community today, but what
they have done, primarily, is secure
the place of the book as 'THE"" one
significant resource for Gays and
straights alike - providing a bigger
and better fool-proof ""answer to the
religious right.""
Second Stone-January/February, 1994 [ill
~Calendar ..................... • .................................................. .
Lutheran AIDS Ne work
FEBRUARY 3-5, The 1994 co erence
of Lutheran AIDS Network, ~eaturing
John Fortunato, will be held lt the
Miramar Hotel and St. Paul's!
Lutheran Church m Santa M ruca,
Calif. For information on the
conference, themed ""Hope l Healing: The Church in the S cond
Decade of AIDS, contact Mich el
Posiu:, 1165 Seville Dr.; Padf J' a, CA
94044, (415)359-2710.
National Black Ga I and
Lesbian Conferen<fe
FEBRUARY 17-21,National a d
LETTERS, From Page 3
The only people who have o fight
and give blood in death are the
people who have NOT been [ ashed
in the blood of Christ.
As Christians, we are c lied to
express- the fruit of the spirit.
(Galations 5:22-26) We sha I know
true Christians by thei fruit.
(Matthew 7:16)
I am thankful to Robert Goss for
wanting the best for all people.
Christ wanted the same thing and He
gave His life to bring it about. There-
UFM CC, From Page 1
the church the morning of th~ earthquake
to find that the dome < ver the
sanctuary had collapsed and trashed
onto Washington Boulevard, taking
part of the front wall of the l uilding
with it.
This is the second time in the 25-
year history of MCC-Los Ange es that
the congregation has lost a b :iilding.
In January, 1973 the proper y then
owned by the congregation w, s totally
lost in a fire of suspicious origin .
ARSENOKOITAIS,
From Page 12
(arseno-koitais) who engages in sex
with many females.
If th e government made a law
which would not allow cons~ative
religious fundamentalists to marry
each other, conservatives co d reasonably
argue that the sta e was
actually encouraging prom )scuity
among religious fundamentalists . By
prohibiting marriage to any \ group
such as Gays, the elderly andT· riests,
the church and the state beco e part
of the reason for promiscuity . -
Military authorities piomote
promiscuity by discouragin · marriage
of Marines. Some pla talion
owners would not allow thei slaves
to marry, yet d egraded th~m for
being promiscuous . Homoph 9bes do
the same to Gays and Lesbian . The
4th century Christians we e not
allowed to marry under Rom law.
f 18: Second Stone-JanuaryiFeb , 1994
l' ___ ,
international participants -from as far
away as South Africa will meet at the
Meadowlands Hilton in Secaucus,
New Jersey, for this seventh annual
gathering themed ""Black Gays and
Lesbians: From Silence to Celebration
... Beyond the 28 D;,ys."" For
information contact the sp,onsor, the
Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership
Forum, 1219 So. La _Brea Ave., Los
Angeles, CA 90019, (213)964-7820.
Annual TEN Weekend
FEBRUARY 24-27, The Evangelical
Network sponsors its annual
conference at Casa de Cristo
Evang elical Church in Phoeniz, Ariz .
fore, there is no need for Goss .to
fight.
I recommend the reading of books
by Joel S. Goldsmith. This author has
brought me a deeper understanding
of Christ's teaching .
In Christ,
Paul Ennis
Write to Second Stcme.__All""lefters must
be original and signed by the writer.
Clearly indicate if your name is to be.
withheld, We reserve the right to edit.
Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or
FAX to (504)891-7555.
The congregation purchased another
property in downtown Loi, AI1geles,
which housed the congregation until
1986 when they purchased the present
building in Culver City.
Rev. Troy Perry, moderator of the
UFMCC, stated in a letter to the
entire denomination, ""This •is the
congregation that gave birth to all of
us who are a part of the Universal
Fellowship."" Perry asked that all
churches in the UFMCC contribute to
rebuild the home of the historical
congregation.
A s a result even Augustine had to
enter a sexual relationship which was
illegal.
_ Not only does the homophobic
church encourage gay promiscuity
but they also destroy many peoples'
lives by demanding that Gays marry
opposite-sex partners. These clerics
inflict years of pain on the gay
partner, his or her _spouse and their
children. Even Christianty Today
refers to such ""cur es"" as religious
""quackery,"" ·
Other pastors are almost as hurtful
when they demand that Gays must
be celibate for the rest of their lives .
The Bible says that this is impossible
in most cases (Matthew 19:12; I
Corinthians 7:9). The church is the
only army that shoots its own
wounded .
The theme .is ""Arise, shine, for your
light has come."" For information
contact TEN, PO Box 32441, Phoenix ,
AZ 85064.
Institute of the Son
FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 4, The
Phoenix Eva_ngelical Bible Instjtute
. sponors this week long course in
theology facilitat ed by Greg Davis, to
be held in conjunction with the
annual TEN weekend in Phoenix.
For information contact PHEBI, 1035
E. Turney, Phoenix, AZ. 85014,
(602)265-2831.
Presbyterian Church
Coming Out Day
MARCH 6, ""For All The Saints"" is the
theme of this day, set aside for coming
out in/to/for/with the Presbyterian
Church as a lesbian, gay, or
bisexual ·Christian or as one who
supports the full membership of all
persons regardless of.sexual
.orientation. For information contact
. Rev . Lindsay Louise Biddle, 3538
22nd Ave . So., Minneapolis , MN
55407, (612)724-5429.
Black Church
National Day of Prayer
MARCH 6, The Second Annual Black
Church National Day _of Prayer f9r
the Healing of .AIDS, i,oordinated by
The Balm In Gilead, Inc . This ·
campaign for a spiritual commitment
to fight AIDS calls on the over 500,000
black churches in the United States to
set aside this day of prayer. For
information call (212)281-4887.
PLGC Midwinter
Midwest Conference
MARCH 11-13, Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns is planning its
midwinter conference and retreat in
the Des Moines area. For information
contact Eastern Iowa PLGC, P.O . Box
3202, Iowa City, IA 52244.
LGCM
Annual Conference
APRIL 15-17, London's Lesbian and
Gay Christian Movement sponsors its
annual conference . St . Alban's
· Centre, Baldwin's Gardens, London,
is the setting . Keynote speaker is
Prof. William Countryman, professor
of New Testament, The Church
Divinity School of the Pacific and
author of Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual
Ethics in the New Testament and Their
Implicationsfor Today. For information
contact LGCM, Oxford House,
Derbyshire St., London, UK E2 6HG .
Conference of Lesbian,
Gaymale, Bise xual
and Transgender
Seminarians
APRIL 22-24, ""Finding Our Voices"" is
the theme for this fourth annual
conference to -be held at United ,
Theological Seminary .oft he Twin
Cities, NeW""Brighton, Minn': Dr.
Christine M. Smith, UTS professor
. and author of Weaving _the Sermon:
Preaching in a Feminist Perspective and
Preaching as Weeping, Confession, and
Resistance; Radical Responses to Radical
Evil, is the keynote speaker. The
conference is ·a time of prayer, play,
and the construction of grassrcots gay
theology. For information write to
L/ G /BIT Caucus, Uruted Theological
Seminary, 3000 5th St. NW, New ·
Brighton, MN 55112
More Light Churches
Conference
MAY 7-8, The annual More Light
.(Presbyterian) Churches Conference,
themed ""From Dialogu e to Ministry :
A Positive and Practical Approach to
This Historical Moment,"" will be held
in Minneapolis. For information, cail
. St. Luke Presbyterian Church, · ·
(612)474-7378 or Dick Hasbany,
(503)757-8243. .
ConnECtian '94
JULY 1-4, Evangelicals Concerned
Western Region sponsors its annual
gathering to be held this year at
Char.man College in Orange County,
Cali . For information write to
ECWR; P .O. Box 47501 Denver, .CO
802Q4.
Lutherans Concerned
National Gathering
JULY 14-17, The National Assembly
of Lutherans Concerned/North
America will be held on the campus
of the University of North Carolina in
Charlotte. For information .contact
LCNA, P.O. Box 10461, Chicago, IL
60610-0461.
1994 GLAD Event
AUGUST 12-15, The Gay, Lesbian
and Affirming Disciples Alliance will
meet at Mercy Center, Burlingame,
Calif., for its annual gathering.
Facilitators are Cynthia WintonHenry
and Phil Porter. ·For information
on this Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) event contact
GLAD, P.O. Box 19223, Indianapolis,
IN 46219-0223, (206)324-6231. -
LGCM Retreat
NOVEMBER 11-12; England 's
Lesbian and Gay Christian
Movement sponsors a retreat led by
Helen Loder, SSM and -Rev. Malcolm
Johnson . Th.is is a unique weekend
opportunity of meditative reflection in
an affirming community; during
which there -will be talks, discus s ions,
some silence and lots of relaxation.
The Royal . Foundation of St.
· Katherine in London is the setting .
For information contact LGCM,
Oxford House, Derbyshire St.,
London, E2 6HG, UK.
IICCpasmr•head!II,
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P.O. Box,: 49145, Colm.ll!hocSJmn&5'0 aJ
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REAL WAR,
From Page 14
details about how to fight this battle ,
The word a)so is Jesus, and as our
great high priest He makes intercession
for us. Stay in the.word. Those
who meditate on it day and night
prosper. ·
Fifth, we havefasting . Some kinds
.of oppressors only leave by prayer
and fasting. The -fast that delights
God is not one to stop those ""reprobate
minded heathens,"" but one
whose purpose is to set the captives
free. (Isaiah 58:6-8)
Sixth, we have Jove. The love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by
the Holy Spirit The love of God casts
out all fear. The love of God never
fails. Determine to walk in love.
Owe no one anything but to love one
another. In love the law is fulfilled,
Finally, let's set our heart to walk in
unity with the body, agreeing on the
'essentials. If our hand of friendship is
extended, we're not judged or at fault
if it is rejected. Paul said that some of
the Corinthians were sick, and some
died prematurely because they had a
wrong attitude toward the body. Be
not overcome with evil, but overcome
evil with good, Confound Satan's
plans by making God's plans active
in your life. We have the name of
Jesus, and that name is above any
other name Used against us. Let's
appropriate the things God gives us
and see what victories lie ahead. God
bless the body.
· Rev. Samuel Kader is tlte Senior Pastor
and. co-founder of Community Gospel
Church in Dayton, Ohio. He is the
founder of Reconciliation MCC in Grand
Rapids, Michigan , and pastored other
MCC churcltes in Dayton, Ohio and
_MelbourneA, ustralia.
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8ox8340
NewO rleansL, A 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,32,1994,"Jan/Feb 1994",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/9fa38ad23bc4048a40cf5962402b3bd6.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1670,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1670,"Second Stone #33 - Mar/Apr 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"OOR SIXTH YEAR MARCtVAPAIL, 1994 ISSUE 133
~Suicide ends saga
of troubled gay
Episcopal priest
B Y THE VOICE OF INTEGR I TY
Early Sunday morning,
September 19, 1993, the
Rev. Herbert G.
McCarriar, Jr., of
Coudersport, Penn. jumped to
his death from the ninth floor
of a hotel in Williamsport,
Penn. McCarriar was vicar
of Christ Church, Coudersport
and a mission in Brookland,
Penn. He ·was a pastor with a
reputation for ""sticking his
SEE SUICIDE, Page 16
- ... ~v:"" ..,-,:.~"""""" • ,_~;:,;- · ' _ SUBSCRIBE NOW ONE
Trad1\1onal Values Preachers
THROWING STONES FROM A GLASS HOUSE
FAMILY VALUES
or .
DIRTY LAUNDRY?
BY JOHNN Y TOWNSEND
cause : Now, we.'re not . ., .~.,... · . ., •.;' . ; . :' ;.. . :-
· _ 1,iarsc l:,uJ if wtdici .~toop ~Qi
, their ~tr:ategy,,here's how i
. it would go. :
Ed Note: For th e benefit of first time
readers, S econd Stone is a Christi an
newsjourna l that affirms the val ue
and digni ty of gay and lesb ian peo•
pie. Th is arti cle, written to expose
the strategy of the right wing, is
satirically written.
T he rallying cry of ""family
v alues"" to fight against g ay
privilege is far too late in
getting started . Families are,
after all, the main re ason God ·condemns
Gays and Lesbians, because
they not only are incapable of the
love necessary to strengthen families,
but they are also act ively seeking lo
destroy other people's families.
They divorce their spouses in order
to ""come out"" and live a life of hedonistic
pleasur e, ab andoning th e ir
spouses and their children . They
bre ak their parents' hearts by
flagrantly leaving the fold of God and
P. 0. Box8340
New Orleans, IA 70182
Address Correction Requested
blatantly throwing it in their par ents'
faces. And they generally support
abortion rights, endorsing the literal
killing of millions of unborn children
e very yea r . We must stand up
against Gays and Lesbians and wake
Americ a up · to th e impo rtan ce of
family valu es . .
Think of the strength and love of
Mississippi parents Albert and Helen
White, who when their son started
hint ing he might be gay, nipped the
sin in the bud. ""If I had a son who
was gay,"" Helen said, ""I hope he'd
never tell me ."" Albert stood up for
the family even more strongly. ""I'd
rather hear my son was dead than
that he was gay,"" he said. Their son
slit his wrists two w eeks later,
proving the neces sity of their ha rd
line stance. Only Gays would be so
anti-family as to try to destroy it
through the grave sin of suicide.
Gays ancf Lesbians, despite their
obvious attempt to gain special rights
by denying rights to Christians, are
trying to pretend they only want
equal rights . Two women in Florida,
Clara N. and Deanna S., even went to
the expense of adopting a child from
Korea in order to pretend to be a
family . Cl ara and Deanna, rather
than have families of their own, had
been living togeth~r in despicable sin
for ov er 15 y ears before they de cided
to adopt this innocent child . to further
th eir political agenda. After two
years, they applied at a local zoo for a
family pass and were denied. Then
SEE COVER STORY,Page 14
BULK RATE
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
NEW ORLEANS, LA
PERMIT No. 511
T , From the Editor T ....... . ...................... .
Get the words right
for those dirty deeds
By Jim Bailey
An idea occurred to some youth at a gathering of the Southern Baptist
Convention a couple of years ago and it has since caught on in some oth er
denominations. ""True Love Waifs"" is a program in which young people make
a commitment not to engage in sexual intercourse until they marry. It's
unconv entional thinking a_mong adolescents and I admire those who are
giVJng this some'!hought. Of course, this is talk show material. People seem
genumely surprised that there are teenagers out there who, m spite of a
barrage of sexual imagery in the media and entertainment, have not mastered
walking orgasm .
This one earticular talk show pitted the True Love Waits kids against the
back-0f-the-bus crowd. One teenage boy kept glancing rather lustfully at the ·
TLW girls and said, no, he hadn't signed up for True .Love Waits . He
wantea to keep his options open. Very open, as in right after the show,
maybe.
Then the show got confusing. Words like celibacy, fidelity, monogamy,
fornication, and so on, got thrown around and . suddenly no one was
speaking a common lijnguage anymore . It was much like being with a
. gay /lesoian group when ihose same words pop up.
Most of these misused words describe some condition relating to marriage
in the traditional sense and cannot really accurately be applied to gay and
lesbian relationships.
_ Monogamy does not have to do with sex. It literally means ""one marriage.""
It can mean one marriage for a lifetime, in which case even very few
heterosexuals could be considered monogamous, or-it can mean one marriage
at a time . Monogamy is therefore not the best word to use to describe a
relationship (unmarried) involving exclusive sexual partners.
Celibacy is the state of not being married or of having made a-vow not to
. marry. Only by extension of this definition does it mean abstaining from
sexual intercourse (because the celibate person is not married and therefore
should not have sex.) Celibacy bests describes a person in relation to
marriage, not sex.
Fornication also has to do with marriage . It describes sexual intercourse
.between people other than a married couple. Fornication is sex outside of
marriage. (AIi gay and lesbian sexual intercourse in any country that does
not recognize gay marriage is therefore fornication.)
Adultery is sexual intercourse with som~ne oth er than the . marriage
partner. If a married partner has sexual intercourse with a single person,
the married person has committed adultery and the single person may be said
to have engaged in fornication. ·
Most of these words describe some condition relating to marriage , which
does not include, in any part of the ·U .S., gay and lesbian committ ed
relationships.
If a gay man or lesbian is waiting for love before engaging in sexual
.intercourse, does the word chaste describe their situtationT It might, but
·only if the individual had not previously engaged in same-genaer sex
activity in a state which has laws prohibiting such . Being chaste means
being mnocentof unlawful sexual intercourse . .
l\ny gay or heterosexual person abstaining from sexual intercourse
outside of a commited relationship (or marriage) can be said to be practicing
fidelity to that condition . A gay or lesbian person who has sexual
intercourse with only the person to whom he or she is committed is also
practicing fidelity. (But the act of sexual intercourse would best be
aescribeO, in countries wher e ga7 marriage is not legally recognized, as
fornication.) Fidelity is the state o being faithful . to something which one is
bound by pledge. (Marr ied heterosexuals practicing fidelity may also be
said to be mon~amous.)
There will be a pop qui z on this later.
Thanks for the very i!ood response to our reader survey in this past issue.
w •• ,""'.""""""'°'"" ~,,.,,. <2------------~
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0 . Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1994 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
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SECOND ~TONE, a national ecumenical Christian social justice newsjoumal
with a specific out~each to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Rev . Rich a rd B. Gilbert ,
Rev . Dr. Buddy Truluck. Johnny Town send
~J Second Stone-March/April, 1994
THE NA flONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents ......... ... . ..... ~ ....... .. . rn
[[]
From The Editor
You're definitely not monogamous
Letters/Commentary
When you don't like it, but you can~ leave it
!fl Newslines Liu -
1117 .The Last Supper · L!!J The first communion, by Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck
• Communication Ministry / I 7. / A safe place for gay Catholic nuns,
~ brothers and priests
- . .
Love Will Find a Way ·
. The door was open for coming out
Cover Story
The propaganda of ""family values""
\ 16 \ The Death of Fr. McCarriar
In Print
Andrew, You Died'Too Soon ,
· Reviewed by Rev . Richard Gilbert
•'181· Calendar L!QJ
I 19 I Noteworthy
120 I Classifieds
:comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................ . • ...
Like it or leave it
: By Johnny Townsend
· Guest Comment N ow that I am out of the Mormon
Church (I asked to be excommunicated),
why do I still care
what the Church believes? A
Latter Day Saint friend smugly asked
me why, if I was comfortable with my
: life, did I feel a need to justify myself
: to the Church. He said, ""Nobody is
forcing you to be affiliated with the
. Church,"" but this is, in fact, my point,
: that I am forced into affiliation. How
. can I not be affiliated when my
parents, sister, grandmother, and two
sets of aunts, uncles, and cousins are
members? How can the position of
: the Church have no effect on me
: when not only my family but several
: of my friends are also LOS?
Besides, Church membership is
more than an ""affiliation."" It is a
deeply embedded way of life. One
doesn't change one's life overnight
: the way one can change clothes or
- dye one's hair. Wheri I moved to
: Italy for my mission, culture shock
: lasted almost a year. When I moved
back to America (my homeland, for
goodness' sake), it lasted six months
as I adjusted all .over again. I would
: suggest that changing a physical
: environment, while it can cause major
: adjustment problems, is not nearly
_ the traumatic event that changing
one 's internal environment, one'.s
belief system and program for life, is.
Even today, ten years after my return
from Italy, I can't watch a movie sef in
that country without feeling a very
, deep sense of longing. Simple
: watching Greystoke, about an English:
man being torn between Africa and
: England, · makes me miss Italy
: deeply, and I was only in Italy two
years, versus fifteen years in the
Church. So to claim that I am not
forced into affiliation with the Church,
when all my family, some of my
friends (all of them at one time in my
life), and my past and my insides are
I am affiliated for
life to an unjust
organization,
and I have a
right and a duty.
to say so.
all deeply connected to the Church, to
me is not a sound argument.
Further, I feel a strong ki1)ship with
other gay Mormons. Even if I'm
happy where I am, does this mean I
have no obligation to help the many
thousands of people who are going
z._f;!;.( Pontius' Puddle
0
through the incredible agony I
experienced for years? Don't I have a
moral obligation to lessen their
suffering?
""If you don't like the Church, leave
it and be done with it."" This is in
many respects the same argument
avplied to anyone who protests any
policy of the U.S. government.
Because I don't thirik blacks should sit
at the back of the bus, rather than say
this is wrong or try to do anything
about it, I should just move to France
or Japan and leave the oppressed
blacks in their predicament. Rather
than protest the abuse of the environment,
I should move to New Zealand
and let the Americans destroy the
countryside . Leaving without trying
to make things better hardly seems
like the most noble goal in the world.
As long as I'm happy in Hawaii, I can
let the people in the Love Canal toxic
-waste dump suffer. To try to help
them would prove I didn't really like
living in Hawaii after all.
So, in response to _my friend's
YourTum
unasked but hinted at question, no, I
don't really feel deep inside that I'm·
sinning, that the Church really is
right after all. I care what the Church -
says about Gays because I _ want to
make life easier for myself by not
being condemned by friends ' and
family, or if not condemned, pitied,
and to make life easier for other gay
Mormons. Of course, life isn't supposed
to be easy. Or fair. So I guess
then it's okay to refuse women the
right to vote. And blacks the right to
an education. They're supposed to
suffer, aren't they?
Certainly, we have to accept that
there are injustices in the world, but
I'm not convinced God doesn't want ·
us to do anything about them, for fear
we might make life too easy for
someone. Let's leave it up to him to
decide what problems we need to
face. We don't need to create or
condone man-made suffering on
anyone. I am affiliated 'for life to an
unjust organization, and I have a
right and a duty to say so.
..._
............................ ........... "" ................................ .
Brooklyn, New York
Cancel
his
subscription
Dear Second Stone,
A few days ago I received the first
issue of a gift subscription to Second
Stone. I have rarely been so irritated
by so many instances of bad grammar,
misused words, wrong word
breaks and general editorial sloppiness.
By the time I had read the first
two pages, I had given up.
Examples? In the editorial on page
one, ""But beyond that, and more
importantly, conferences ... "" What
you undoubtedly mean is: ''But, beyond
that, and [it is) more important,
conferences ... "" As to misused words: ·
""taught hair net."" Surely the word is
""taut."" Word breaks? It is ""reli-gion""
not ""rel-igion,"" ""knowl-edge,"" not
""know-ledge."" And on and on and
on.
And in addition, my name is
incorrectly spelled on the mailing
label. I do not know why I was sent a
gift subscription. However, I do
know that I have absolutely no
interest in receiving your m~gazine.
Sincerely,
AMS
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Editorial
appreciated
Dear Second Stone,
I wanted to take a moment to let
you know that the editorial [Weak
Faith and Voice From Many Gay and
Lesbian Churches and Organizations]
in the last issue touched me very
much: It was full of tilings that I have
said myself and I believe it was right
on .
I am pastoring a new independent
work here in Albuquerque . We have
about 30 or 35 who are in some stage
of association with us and have found
a wonderful building to rent. Much
of the ministry that God has done
through me in the past has been
Bible teaching and leading in praise
and worship on worship team~. -We
have already assembled a worship
team and are working on contemporary
Christian music with those wonderful
soaring harmonies. We are
taping all of the services, and are
investigating duplication services so
that we can have solid Biblical
teaching available for others. We
even have space in the building for a
bookstore. Church is fun again!
Blessings in Christ,
Pmnela ·white
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· Openly gay Episcopal deacon ordained in Pennsylvania
· 6.DESPITE THE PRESENCE of about a dozen ·protestors, the Rev. James B.
Robertson, an openly gay man, was ordained to the vocational diacortate at
St. Asaph's Episcopal Church in Bala Cynwyd, Penn. Robertson has lived in
a committed relationship with another man for over 20 years. Speaking at the
point in the service where obj~ctions may be rais ed, the Re v . David Moyer,
rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, Penn., told the
ordaining bishop, the Rt. Rev. Allen L. Bartlett, Jr., that ""you will hurt the
Diocese of Pennsylvania if you do this."" Moyer and four laymen who spoke
claimed that the ordination was an ""illegal act"" that would flout the
""discipline of the Church."" Bartlett respondea that the ""compassion of Christ
and the compassion of the church encompass both you and what we do here
today."" - The Vorce of Integrity
Gay Lutheran pastor defrocked
6.P ASTOR ROSS MERKEL of St. Pa.ul Church in Oakland, Calif., has been
ordered ""removed from the ordained ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, effective March 25, 1994"" by a church discipline
committee. Members of the congregation are expected to defy the committee's
order. As a result of publicly commg out to his congregation iriJune of 1993,
Bishop Lyle Miller brought formal charges against Merkel on December 15,
1993 citing the constitution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
""Practicing homosexual persons are precluded from the ordained ministry of
this churcb."" As a gay man in a committed relationship, Merkel has been
charged with ""conduct incompatible with the character of the ministerial
office."" ""I'm not angry and I'm not afraid,"" said Merkel. ""I feel as if my life is
more complete and tli.at I have fewer barriers to maintain, because now there
is no great secret to protect. All of that energy is freed up for more productive
things."" - Mvent
Gay pro-life group commemorates Roe v. Wade
6.TWELVE MEMBERS of the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians joined
50,000 other pro-life activists on January 21 for the 20th Annual March for
Life commemorating the announcement of Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973.
The PLAGAL marcliers, one woman and eleven men, came from Boston, D.C.,
Philadelphia, . and central Pennsylvania. ""I feel like I stick out like a sore
thumb in the gay community,"" said Donna Marie Kearney, a lesbian member bf.
PLAGAL, wfien interviewed by Bay Windaws. ""So I pretty much stay away
from gay events. I just won't get involved with groups that aren't consistent
with my views against violence ·in all £.irms. I. won 't stand with
fundamentalist ~hnstians who are opposed to gar, rights, and !'won't stand
there and support Lesbians who are pro-abortion . ' THe group was joined by
a 20-year-old l$ay man who was unaware of PLAGAL. He had prepared a
gay-oriented sign a.nd boarded a bus to witness his support as a pro-life gay
man, expecting to be the only one. Rally speakers refrained from remarks even .
possibly homophobic, a distinct and welcome imfrovement over some past
years, according to PLAGAL members. Straigh pro-lifers were generally
friendly and encouraging, asking about information on PLAGAL and shaking
hands . Concerned Women for America was reported in the D.C. media to the
""proud to work with pro-life homosexuals."" Janet Parshall, assis tant to the
president of CWA, stated, ""We would welcome them with open arms. If their
singular cause is pro-life, we'd march anytime, anywhere with them."" For
information on P'CAGAL, contact the group at P.O. Box 33292, Washington,
· DC 20033, (202)223-0697.
Philippine cardinal condemns condom use
6.CARDINAL JAIME SIN, the Catholic archbishop of Manila and the most
·. influential religious official in the Philippines has declared that health
authorities who promote contraception are ""evil"" and that young people
shouldn't believe that condoms can prevent transmission of HIV. ""Do not be
deceived by those who say that sexually transmitted diseases can be stopped
by external devices and gadets,"" Sin said. ""Man-made devices are bouna to
fail."" - Outlines
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rev. Phelps to become Gov. Phelps?
CiREV. FRED W, PHELPS, SR., who has made a name for himself by picketing
the funerals and memorial services of gay men who died of AIDS and berating
thei_r families and friends for supporting ""fags,"" said last week that he will
decide. w1thm a month whether to launch a full blown campaign for the
Dem_ocratic nomination for governor of Kansas in the August primary
election. Phelps, an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for
governor of Kansas in 1990 and U.S. Senator in 1992, filed a statement Jan . 6
with the •commission on Governmental Standards and Conduct naming the
treasurer of his candidate committee. Phelps called his fellow nomination
candidates ""three blind mice, stumbling around out there looking for an issue;
they're three peas in a pod on these fag-loving, baby-killing issues.""
- Southern Vorce
No blessings for gay relationships,
says N. C. diocese
CiNORTH CAROLINA EPISCOPALIANS turned down a proposal to ask the
national church to create a blessing ceremony for gay and lesbian
relationships. The clergy voted _73-57 against a _resolution asking for such
ntes. To be approved, tfie resolution needed a ma1oritv of both the clergy and
lay delegate groups at the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina's 178th
annual convention. When the reso1ution failed among the clergy, the lay
members did not vote.
- Associated Press
Vatican blasts statements about Pope and HIV
t-.VATICAN OFFICIALS have sharply criticized an Italian television
personality for suggesting that Pope John Paul may have been infected with
HIV as a result of a blood transfusion when he was shot in an assassination
attempt in 1981. Mino Damato said during an Italian TV program that the
Pope had developed a virus ""often associated with HIV and AIDS su fferers.""
Joaquin Navarro-Valls , the Vatican's chief spokesperson, said it had been
reported at the time that Pope John Paul had contracted cytomegalovirus
during a 1981 transfusign and that it was hardly news and that the infection
is not restricte\i to people with HIV. ""It appears to me that to f'resent these
facts now as news, whlle talking about another sickness that is clinically ...
different, is superficial and forced,"" said Navarro-Valls. ""It is deplorable to
formulate, wifh regard . to someone who has the right to b.e respected,
diagnostic hypotheses based on presumptions:, especially by.someone who
does not have the scientific credentials to do so . - Outlines
Chicago p~rish leaves Episcopal Church over gay issues
t-.THE REV. WILLIAM BEASLEY, Rector of the Church of the Resurrection
in West Chicago,. and his wife Anne, the parish's deacon assista _nt'. asked
Bishop Frank Griswold of Chicago to release them from their ordination
vows because they could ""no longer in good conscience"" be in communion with
the bishop as the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese. The ·Beasleys said .
that they made the request because of Griswold's sympathetic stance on the
participation of homosexuals in the life and ministry of the diocese. By
allegedJy reducing biblical authority to an advisor[ statu ·s in order ''.to
sanction the ordination and sustaining in ministry o priests who practice
homosexuality,"" the bishop and the diocese, they charged, have abandoned the
church's historic faith and doctrine. In . a separate letter, Resurrection's
vestry announced they would also disassociate themselves from the diocese.
- The Vorce of Integrity
ELCA sexuality study director
may be considered for bishop .
6.DELEGATES TO THE Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's 1994
Sierra Pacific Synod convention will choose from 17 men and women who
have agreed to have their names put forward as bish op candidates. Among
the names: Karen Bloomquist, who headed up the task force that produced the
controversial first draft of the ELCA's statement on sexuality. Bloomquist
will probably not be seen as a serious candidate, accordin_g to Advent, but
she may end up as a spoiler if she divides the vote of the small but determined
group of delegates that has already decided to ""vote for a woman, no matter
what.""
Eliminate Gays by genetic engineering,
says former religious leader
t-.LORD JAKOBOVITS, a former leader of Britain's Orthodox Jews, has
called for genetic engineering to eliminate the homosexual orientation ·. ""If we
could, by some form of genetic en!$ineering, eliminate these trends, we should,
as long as it is done for theral?,euhc purpose."" He calls Gays ""unnatural"" and
equates homosexuality with 'stealing, adultery and murder.'' Other Jewish
leaders have resoundingly condemned Lord )akobovits for his remarks
including Rabbi Stephen Howard, head of Britain's Union of Liberal and
Pr~ressive Synag~ues. - Cruise
QUOTABLE
""You have radicals in your group, too. They painted the
word 'faggot' all over my house.""
- Lou Sheldon, when asked about anti-choice
extremists who have murdered doctors who
perform abortions
·News Lines
~ .................................. .
Seminary sponsors ex-gay training
t.THE 1RINITY_ SCHOOL for_ Ministry in Ambridge, Penn., the Episcopal
Churchs most right-wmg semmary, recently conducted training for-persons
""to minister to the sexually broken,"" including Gays, Lesbians and survivors
of sexual abuse. To meet what.it calls ""the urgent need"" for such training,
-Trinity sponsored its '_'Living Waters Leadership School"" in January. This 1s
beheved to be the first such course at a semmary of any mainstream
denomination in North America. Trinity's dean and president, the Rt Rev.
William C. Frey, has long been associated with so-called ex-gay n1inistries.
The program, called ""Living Waters Sexual Redemption in Christ,"" was
devised_oy Andrew Comiskey, 35, a self-proclaimed ex-gay now married with
four children, and a pastor of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Santa
Monica, Calif., an independent evangelical church. - T7ze Voice of Integrity
· Gay organist forced to resign
from Presbyterian Church
t.ROBERT PLIMPTON, an internationally known organist who has played
the pipe organ at San Diego's First Presb:,,terian Church for 11 years, has
resigned because of recent decisions by church elders. In a Jetter to the
1,100-member congregation, the church's ruling body declared that there is no
place at First Presbyterian for employees wno participate in, endorse or
support ""deviant sexual behavior such as fornicahon and homosexuality."" ""I
was not closeted.,"" PJimpton said, ""but... I also have a very strong conviction
that anY.one who claims Christ as their personal Savior has a place in the
church . ' - Union-Tribune
. Half of wars waged have a religious root
. ·t,ABOUT HALF OF the 50 wars waged every year throughout the world
. have a religous background, reports a recent survey by the Development and
Pea·ce Foundation in Bonn, Germany . . Lutheran World Inf_ormatwn reports
· · that the survey shows that most religiously motivated conflicts began m the
. 1990s·. The longest lasting are the religiously motivated conflicts in the
·: Middle East and Northern Ireland. Durmg the past year, wars based on
·religion broke out in Afghanistan, Tadzhikistan and India. Religions in the
Asian successor states (such as Tadzhikistan) of the former Soviet Union are
_particularly ""ethno-nationalist"" in character . The reseachers state that
religious tensions are often related to the ""existential conflicts"" leading to
war. ""The meaning of life seems to be threatened, and thus religiously
motivated wars are often fought in a more obdurate, unrelenting and brutal
\YBY than , 0""1ers."" --. B.eligion Wat cit · ·
Lutheran staffer with AIDS comes out, resigns
t,PHIL KNUTSON, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America staff member
at churchwide offices in Chicago, was recently diagnosed with AIDS and .has
.resigned his position . At the same time he came out to his co-workers as a gay
man. Knutson, was has been HIV positive for seven years, said, ""It is
, :somewhat of a relief to have the seven years of waiting over and the secret
oul But that relief is minor compared to the relief that finally living a lifetime
of half-truths about my lifestyle is coming to a close."" Knutson sent an open
letter via electronic mail to ELCA church headquarters staff, in which he
described what he called his dark and lonely journey. ""There was no one to
talk with about the grief of a broken relationship,"" he wrote, ""there was no
daring on my part to risk talking ·back to people who spoke hatefully about
my lifestyle m front of me; I dicf not dare to advocate publicly for tli.e equal
treatment of gay and lesbian people; I suffered with the predecessor church
body statements on sexuality which placed me in the same category with
'.murderers and fornicators'; most recently - a few da:,,s after the draft on
human sexuality came out- I sat with some bishops and their staffs and had to
. listen to them denounce the statement as sometfung that should not even be
published, much less studied ."" - Advent
Domino's head honors Dr. Dobson
· tlTOM MONAGHAN, head of Domino's Pizza, recently awarded Dr. James
Dobson the Domino's Humanitarian Award. Dobson, president of Focus on
the Family based in Colorado Springs, is one of the leading opponents of gay
rights and a primary supporter of Colorado's anti-gay ana unconstitutional
Amendment 2. • Seattle Gay N= . ·
Atlanta church boots anti-gay political group
MT THE URGING of a number of progressive lobbyists and at least one
state legislator, the Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, has asked Nancy
Schaefer's anti-gay /lesbian Family Concerns group to vacate the office space
it had been using in the church, across from tne Georgia Capitol. The group
planned to use Central as its base of operations during this year's legislative
· session. But church officials informed Schaefer and her supporters that they
had to leave and they did. The church's decision came just days after Family
Concerns held a strategy session at Central in which the group's members
: · were reportedly encouraged to infiltrate the offices of gayllesf>ian friendly
· state legislators. -. Southern Voice
Gay life for the birds
t,. THE ST AATSZEITUNG newspaper, Rotterdam, reports two male flamingos ·
at Rotterdam Zoo have bonded so closely that they repeatedly tried to steal
eggs from nesting females to raise their own baby. Moved by the persistence
, oI the. gay birds, zookeepers finally gave them their own fertilized egg which
the two liatched and began raising as their own.· Outlines
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Second Stone•March/April, 1994 ti
Two Episcopal dioceses come out for gay rights
AT ANNUAL CONVENTIONS, held
fanuary 29-30 and February 4-5, 1994
respectively, the Episcopal Dioceses of
Washington, D. C. and Newark, New
Jersey overwhelmingly reaffirmed
their support of _the rights of Lesbians ·
and Gays both within the Episcopal
Church and in society at large and
~alled on the national convention of
the Episcopal Church meeting this
,ummer in Indianapolis to do likewise.
Both dioceses have ordained
::ipenly lesbian and gay clergy and
ooth diocesan bishops have been
threatened with censure because of
:heir support. '
The Washington Diocese addressed ·
two issues, calling on the national
Episcopal Church to guarantee nondiscrimination
based on sexual orientation
in the '1ife, worship and governance
of this church,"" and asking the
- church to support the addition of
sexual orientation to the 1964 Civil
Rights Act or similar.federal legislation,
Both resolutions were put forward
by Integrity /Washington and
passed easily.
Washington's Bishop, the Rt. Rev ,
Ronald Haines, was much in the
news in 1991 when he ordained the
openly lesbian Elizabeth Carl to the
priesthood, A move to censure him
at the national convention of the
J] Second Stone-March/April, 1994
Episcopal Church that summer in
Phoenix was defeated.
The Diocese of Newark has long
been the most ""gay-friendly"" diocese
in the country , Their outspoken
bishop, the Rt. Rev. John Spong, is
the author of numerous books which ·
attack anti-gay attitudes in the church
and he has on several occasions
ordained openly gay and lesbian candidates
to the priesthood.
The northern New Jersey diocese
first expressed its support of Lesbians
and Gays in 1987 when a diocesan
task force on sexuality and family life
presented a 15-page report which
· spoke about pre- and post-married
heterosexual persons and about
homosexual persons. On the latter it
said, ""Ideally, homosexual couples
would find within the community of
the congregation the same recognition
and affirmation which nurtures and
sustains heterosexual couples in their
relationship, including, where appropriate,
liturgies which recognize and
bless such relationships,""
In 1989, the Diocese established an
official ministry with lesbian and gay
persons, The Oasis, which has been
immensely helpful to the lesbian and
gay community and has brought
numerous persons into or back into
the Episcopal Church,
The Newark convention approved
six pro-gay resolutions , One, on the
federal civil rights act, was identical
to that passed in W ashirigton.
Another resolution called on the
national church to establish educational
curricula for youth and their
parents to assist them in understanding
and accepting their own and
their children's sexual orientation.
The most controversial of the
resolutions to be sent to the national
convention was one calling for ""proposed
supplementary rites and
ceremonies for celebrating the com_
mitment of gay and lesbian couples
who are members of this church to
life together."" Essentially the identical
resolution was approved in
November by the conventions of both
the dioceses of Massachusetts and
Rhode Island. Gay and lesbian
Episcopalians hope that a groundswell
of support from various parts of
the country will lead to national
approval of such rites.
In the Episcopal Church, major
changes such as the ordination of
women or changes in the liturgy are
considered by several General Conventions
before final approval, These
SEE GAY RIGHTS, Next Page
UFMCC plans Stonewall 25 activities
THE UNIVERSAL FELLOWSHIP of
Metropolitan Community Churches
will sponsor two major events in June
in New York City during the
celebration of the 25th anniversary of
the Stonewall riots. ""Hands Around
the God Box,"" a mass prayer vigil for
ending homophobia in the church,
will be held Friday afternoon, June
24, at the lnterchurch Center, unofficially
known as 'The God Box,"" 475
Riverside Drive, which houses
national headquarters for numerous
religious organizations, including the
National Council of Churches and the
United States offices of the World
Council of Churches , The event will
be co-sponsored by the UFMCC and
the lesbian/ gay caucuses of many
other Christian denominations.
""Celebrating Stonewall 25: A
Generation of Faith"" will be a worship
celebration Saturday evening,
June 25, at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln
Center. The Rev , Troy Perry,
founder and moderator of the
UFMCC, will be the main speaker.
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Farrakhan aide's speech bring-s attention to
Nation of Islam's gay bashing
REMARKS MADE BY Khalid Abdul
Mohammad, the former national
spokesman of the Nation of Islam,
during a speech in New Jersey this
past November have focused new
attention on the persistent anti-Semitic
and anti-gay attacks from the
, organization. Nation of Islam leader
Rev. Louis Farrakhan dismissed the
spokesman under political pressure,
saying his remarks were meanspirited
but correct in content.
Tim Mcfeeley, executive director of
the Human Rights Campaign Fund
was the first national gay leader to
attack' Abdul Mohammad's speech,
which had been widely criticized by
national Jewish and African American
leaders.
Early in his remarks, Abdul
Mohammad used these words to
describe the late Bayard Rustin, an
African American gay man who
organized the 1963 March on Washington
and is generally regarded as
one of this country's greatest civil
rights leaders: ""some boot-licking,
butt-licking, butt-dancing, bamboozled,
half-baked, half-fried, sissified,
punkjfied, pasteurized, homogenized
nigger.""
At another point in his remarks he
had this to say about the King James
version of the Bible: ""King James
version. Here's a sissy. Can you
name a version of the Bible after a
screaming sissy. The she-nay-nay of
his day. The wonder of his day. God
does not name holy books after
homosexuals.""
Following a long tirade attacking
Jews and praising Hitler for his
""greatness for evil and wickedness,""
Abdul Mohammad turned to the
subject of South Africa. In his
remarks he stated what should be
done in that country: ""We kill
everything white that ain't right. We
kill the women, we kill the children.
We kill the babies. We kill the blind.
We kill the crippled. We kill the
faggot. We kill the lesbian. We kill
them all.""
""Why kill the women?"" he
continued, ""Because they lay on their
back, they are the military or , the
army's manufacturing center. They
lay on their back and reinforcements
roll out from beneath their legs. So
kill the women too.""
Throughout his speech, Abdul
Mohammad made repulsive attacks
on Jews, Lesbians, Gays, women,
Christians and African Americans
who believe in the non-violent struggle
for equal rights, including Nelson
Mandela, Congressman John Lewis,
Spike Lee and former New York
Mayor David Dinkins. He made
several references to ""Gay Edgar
Hoover "" while speaking about the
former Director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
At one point in the speech, Abdul
Mohammad predicted .what the reac- ·
tion to his speech will be: ""Khalid
UCCUGC event unites voices of gay,
lesbian, bisexual Christians
STARTING SUNDAY EVENING,
June 19th the United Church Coalition
for Lesbian and Gay Concerns
will sponsor an ecumenical ""choir
camp"" for gay, lesbian, and .bisexual
Christians. The choir camp will
proceed the UCCL/GC 14th Annual
National Gathering on the Rutgers
campus in Newark, N.J. The camp
will culminate with a major concert on
June 23 at 8:00 p.m. at a nationally
known church in Manhattan.
The first Annual Ecumenical
GAY RIGHTS,
From Previous Page
resolutions will at least assure that the
issue of same-sex commitment ceremonies
will begin the count-down to
approval at the 1994 convention.
The three resolutions in Newark
were submitted by Integrity members.
The diocese's Task Force on
Children and Youth proposed two
additional resolutions, one calling for
diocesan youth and camp programs
""to enable teenagers of every sexual
orientation to interact with positive
teen and adult gay and lesbian role
models,"" and the other calling on the
Institute of Sacred Choral Music for
Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Christians
will unite the voices of 200 gay,
lesbian and bisexual Christians as
part of Gay Pride Week in New York
Citf this coming June.
""Finding our voices as gay, lesbian,
and bisexual Christians takes on new
meaning when we gather to sing the
music of our fai.th in the fullness of
who we are,"" said a spokesperson for
the UCCL/GC. (See Calendar.)
diocese to establish a ""family life
education curriculum.. . to include,
among others, ... same sex relationships,
AIDS."" Both were overwhelmingly
approved.
Of the six pro-gay resolutions, the
one which was most narrowly
approved called on all parishes in the
diocese which sponsor or house Boy
.Scout troops to dialogue with them
about the Scouts' anti-gay positions.
Although no specific mandates were
given; parishes were required to file
a report of such meetings by June 1.
This resolution was submitted by a
special committee of the Diocesan
Council.
· Mohammad came on our campus and
insulted the Jews and the whites and
their homosexuals. Well, you all be
go (sic) in the same group together. I
didn't come here to take no
prisoners.""
Mcfeeley, in a letter to Elsa Gomez,
president of Kean College, site of
Abdul Mohammad's speech, noted
that the speech was cheered by
several hundred students and faculty
memb ers of the college. He called
the reaction ""a sad and tragic reflection
on the rising level of intolerance
that has gripped too much of
Ameri'can society.""
""Free speech is a right, but civil
discourse is a responsibility,"" Mcfeely
continued . ""Mr. Mohaminad's grotesque
speech is a reminder of how
ignorance can turn to hatred, and
how hatred can tum to violence."" He
urged Kean College to begin a
process of education on the importance
of diversity, tolerance and
understanding to a civilized society.
""One way to do this,"" Mcfeely
wrote, ""is to challenge ,hate speech
with more speech. I w.ould suggest
that the College bring a ,wide variety
of people to speak on campus,
including people who have been the
object of Khalid Mohammad's hatred,
such ·as Holocaust survivors , African
American civil rights workers, and
lesbian and gay America .ns who are
fighting for an end to discrimination.""
Seminary reconsiders
discriminatory housing policy
By The Voice of Integrity
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES of the
General Theological Seminary in
New York City has agreed to reconsider
the seminary's current housing
policy that prohibits domestic partner
households. The decision follows a
long controversy after a tenured
faculty member charged GTS with
discrimination on the basis of marital
status and sexual orientation. _
Last June ; Dr . Deirdre Good, .
professor of New Testament at GTS
and a member of Integrity/New
York, filed a complaint with the New
York City Commission on Huma~
Rights when the seminary requested
that her female companion vacate
their shared apartment. The seminary's
housing policy stated that
couples must be married ""as understood
by the Episcopal Churcl1.""
At the board meeting, Trustees
consulted a variety of legal opinions,
including that of David Beers,
Chancellor to the Presiding Bishop.
This was followed by a report from
Prof. Thomas Breidenthal, chair of the
Dean's Advisory Committee on Seminary
Housing . Prof. Breidenthal
outlined areas of committee consensus
which included the need to preserve
the Seminary's residential character
and to respect the authority of the
Episcopal Church House of Bishops
and General Convention. He also
discussed areas in which it had not
been possible to reach a consensus.
These included proposals to suspend
or review the present policy and the
suggestion that students must have
the written permission of their Bishop
or ecclesiastical authority before l10using
at GTS.
Bishop Anderson spoke following
the presentations and suggested the
possibility that God might be using
the seminary to help the greater
church find a way to face these
matters squarely. He reiterated a
determination to end what he termed
a ""conspiracy of silence around this
issue."" To promote further discussion,
the Trustees then formed smaller
groups to explore a set of questions
formulated by Bishop Anderson in an
attempt to help bring a theological
and moral focus to the deliberations.
Trustees later received a number of
reports and petitions, including a
report from the GTS faculty, a letter
signed by faculty members of the
Union Theological Seminary in New
York and a draft statement signed by
nearly 50 GTS students and spouses -
all three calling for a change in the
current housing policy .
Bishop Craig Anderson, dean and
president of GTS, shared with the
Trustees his own position on a
number of the topics discussed. He
acknowledged he had felt the need to
withhold his own thoughts on the
subject in the interest of keeping
conversation open and providing
consultative support to the Trustees
and others. His intention, he said,
was to take a stand without taking
sides. On the central underlying
question of the nature of homosexuality,
he outlined a number of
differing perspectives and said he
was certain that many of these
viewpoints were represented by the
Trustees, point to not only a discontinuity
of practice but of opinion. He
admitted his own struggle with the
issues, but said that he had himself
come to accept the validity of sexual
orientation that does no harm and
res_ults in relationships marked by
commitment and love, and that he
supported the · ordination of gar- and
lesbian petsons .
The ultimate goal of the seminary,
he said, must be to develop a way of
living together that promotes honesty
and justice. ""I am convinced of the.
SEE HOUSING, Page 19
Second Stone-March/April. 1994 [1]
Catholics respond to -pope's encyclical
By Dignity/USA
GAY, LESBIAN AND BISEXUAL
Catholics will respond to the latest
declaration from the Vatican with
anger, sadness and disappointment,
according to Marianne Duddy , president
of Dignity /USA.
In a statement coinciding with the
release of Pope Jolm Paul !I's encyclical
Veritatis Splendor, Duddy said
that the papal document ""indicates
that the Vatican is totally out of touch
with the possibilities for the dmrch in
the modern world. This document is
one of fear and backsliding, rather
than an embrace of the new oppor.
tunites before us.""
The new encyclical was developed
by the pope over a period of six
years. Addressed to the world's .
Catholic bishops, it criticizes recent
developments in Catholic moral
theology and holds that natural law,
as traditionally .understood by the
church's magisterium, is the basis for
a moral law which transcends history
and culture and absolutely forbids
certain actions, including ""contraception,
direct sterilization, autoeroticism,
premarital sexual relations, homosexual
relations and artificial insemination.""
Further, the pope condemns
dissent from moral teachings, ·and
instructs bishops to take disciplinary
actions against theologians and
. institutions. The pope asserts that
true human freedom must not be
opposed_ to nature, but. b e subject to ·
the objective truth which is found in
both natural law and in revelation.
""Dissent, in the form of carefully
orchestrated protests and polemics
carried on in the media, is opposed to
ecclesial communion and to a correct
understanding of the hierarchical
constitution of the people of God,"" the
pope writes. ""Opposition to the teaching
of the church 's pastors cannot be
seen as a legitimate expression either
of Christian freedom or of the
diversity of the Spirit's gifts.""
By ruling out the possibiHty for
dissent and discussion, Veritatis
Splendor minimizes the role of conscience
and demands absolute adher- .
ence to the church's moral teacl1ings,
according to Duddy. 'The continued
rejection out of hand of our forthright
and honest critique of homophobic
church policies is of particular concern
to lesbian and gay Catholics. We
have long struggled with how to
integrate our sexuality with spirituality,
and how to remain faithful to a
church whicl1 condemns our sexuality
as 'intrinsically evil.""'
""Until now, there has always been
the opportunity for dialogue among
theologians and people in ministry,""
add ed Duddy. ""Our greatest fear is
that ·the pope and bishops will start
punishing people who act out of the
very compassion which Jesus d emonstrated
throughout his life.""
""Unfortunately, it will further
undermine the
credibility of the church.""
Rather than quelling dissention, the
encyclical seems to have encouraged
controversy even in its drafting.
According to Catholic News Service,
the text went through several drafts,
with a rumored section on papal
infallibility remov e d before final
publication.
At the Vatican pr ess conference
releasing the encyclical on October 5,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of
the Vatican Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, made a slip of
the tongue, saying the encyclical had
profited from ""contestations"" with
theologians. He had meant to say
""consultations"" but after correcting
himself added with a laugh that
""contestations"" also was accurate.
Ratzinger denied that the pope had
wanted to extend papal infallibility in
the encyclical.
A persistent rumor in Vatican
corridors now is that Veritatis Splendor
is the first of two related texts; another ,..
would apply this encyclical's principles
to specific moral issues.
Ratzinger confirmed that such a
document is a working hypothesis.
Duddy predict ed that Veritatis
Splendor and any related encyclical
would receive a chilly response from
American Catholics. ""We believe that
most U.S. Catholics will see this as
irrelevant teaching . Unfortunately, it
will further undermine the credibility
of the clmrch.""
Pope: Gay marriage is a threat
POPE JOHN PAUL II chastised gay
unions as ""a serious threat to the
future of the family and society"" in a
100-page letter on family values
addressed to the world's Catholics,
according to a report in the New York
Times. The pope said that gay unions
could not be ""recognized and ratifie\i
as a marriage in society"" and warned
Catholics to refrain from supporting
the notion of gay or lesbian marriage .
The document was issued two weeks
after the European Parliament in
Strasbourg offered support for the
idea of Gays and Lesbians marrying
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Montreal murder leaves legacy
By The Voice of Integrity
Toronto, November 15, 1993. It was
the funeral of another gay Anglican
priest. Almost 900 people filled St.
James Cathedral to standing room
only. Bishop Terence Finlay was in
attendance. The service lasted over
two hours.
The priest was murdered in an
anti-gay attack. What was extraordinary
about this funeral service was
that the preacher, the Rev. Canon
Glenn Pritchard, acknowledged the
priest's sexuality, saying, ""'Being gay
is no reason to be murdered. This
death is ' nonsense because it makes
no sense.""
The Rev . Warren Eling, found slain
in his rectory on November 10, 1993
was a victim of ""the forces of hatred
and fear,"" Pritchard continued. ""We
arc all victims of thc~c dark realities.""
Eling, 53, wa .q found strang led and
bound lo a headboard in the rectory
of downtown Montreal's St. James the
Apostle Church, where he had served
for two years. He had served as a
curate at the Cathedral in Toronto
from 1964 to 1973 and then as rector
of various Toronto parishes . before
moving to Montreal.
In his eulogy, Pritchard praised the
""devotion, energy, creativity, decency
and order Eling brought to the
Anglican church and its parishioners.""
Police say that Eling, unmarried,
frequented gay bars in Montreal's
west end. The killer stole his wall et,
computer, sound system and hi~ car.
The car was found abandoned on the
Toronto waterfront on November 12.
Roger Leclerc, spokesman for
Montreal's Committee of Gays and
Lesbians Against Violence, told the
press that Eling was the 14th gay
man slain in a little more than three
years in that city and that he is fed up
with police inaction about the
slayings. ""How many bodies will it
take before police realize that a
problem exists?"" he asked.
Leclerc said there are too many
simi lar ities in many of the killings
not to suspect that someone is stalking
Gays in bars, accompanying them
home and killing them . 'The manner
in which they met their deaths is
chillingly similar.""
In addition to the service in Toronto,
there was another equally affirming
memorial service for Eling at his
parish church in Montreal on Novemher
12. The preacher was The Ven
Peter Hannen, Archdeacon o
Montreal.
People may never know whethe1
Eling's killing was a case of violenci
against homosexuals. Hannen tolt
900 mourners, ""but in terms of whJ
we're here, it doesn't matter. Sud
speculations don't change our revul
sion at Warren's death, neither shoul,
they make any difference to ou
affirmation of his life.
""If this outrages you enough,"" h
continued, ""then there's somethin .
you can do. You 'may want to mak
common cause with those who wi
appear before the Quebec Huma
Rights Commission early next wee
to demand that something be don
SEE MURDER, Page 1;
Dignity/LA responds to archdiocese's ""outreach""
RESPONDING TO A recent announcement
by the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Los Angeles of the
formation of an advisory board as
part of the Church'.s ""outreach to
·homosexuals,"" Keith Kimball, President
of Dignity/Lo s Angeles, said
that such efforts ·continue to be based
in hypocrisy. Gay men and Lesbians
""will not find true welcome and
acceptance in the Catholic Church as
long as the hierarchy condemns us for
acting on our innate sexual .nature,""
: Kfmball said at a me.eting of Dignity
leaders.
Rev. Peter Liuzzi, director of the
archdiocese's Pastoral Ministry to the
Lesbian and Gay Community, said
that providing an environment where
Gays and Lesbians feel welcome may
eventually .lead them to ""choose the
good."" He was further quoted in a
Los A,ngeles Times article as saying
that the ultimate aim of the group
would be to help · Gays and Lesbians
remain celibate. 'This is a delicate
ministry because it involves moral
issues,"" he said.
Dignity /Lo s Angeles, the founding
chapter of Dignity/USA, with 84
chapters throughout the U. S., has
been serving tfte lesbian/ gay community
in southern California for
more than 24 years.
United Church gathering coincides with
international gay/lesbian events
""HEARING . OUR VOICES"" is the
-theme for the 14th National Gathering
of the United Church Coalition for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns scheduled to
meet on the Rutgers University
campus in Newark, New Jersey June
21-24. The New York City area was
chosen to be the site for this year's
gathering in order to be in proximity ·
to several international gay /lesbian/
. bisexual events happening in the
city: Gay Games IV and Cultural
Festival and Stonewall 25.
Phil Porter, program coordinator for
the UCCL/ GC, said, 'The focus of the
gathering will be sharing our stories
and experiences with each other, with
specific focus on the similarities and
differences experienced by men and
women within the Coalition, the
church, the gay community, and in
society... Additional opportunities for
fellowship and reflection include
gathering for sing ing, prayer, worship,
entertainment, and Coaliti on
business ..
Gay Games IV, an international
Olympic-style athletic and cultural
festival open to all, is scheduled for
June 18-25. Stonewall 25 is a collection
of events commemorating the
25th anniversary of the Stonewall
Riots which occurred in Greenwich
Village, New York City in late June of
1969. This event is considered the
birth of · the modern lesbian/ gay
movement. On June 26, 1994 the
International March on the United
Nations to Affirm the Human Rights
of Lesbian and Gay People will be
the highlight of Stonewall 25. A rally
in Central Park will follow the march.
The Riverside Church in New York
City will host a number of Coalition
related events, including an ecumenical
choir concert on June 23 and
a Gay Pride breakfast prior to worship
on June 26.
Persons of any denominational
affiliation may participate in this ·
event. The registration deadline is
May 14. For more information contact
Samuel E. Loliger, 333 Argonne Dr.,
Buffalo, NY 14217, (716)877-()459 or
Rev. Craig Hoffman, 1453A Lexington
Ave., New York, NY 10128-2506,
(212)289-3016.
Speaking for an organization which
provides a wide array of services to
the gay/ lesbian community, Kimball
said that gay and lesbian people are
the first and easiest target for the
church. ""But anyone,"" he warned,
""who practices sex outside of marriage
is in the same boat as we.""
Kimball emphasized that the
members of Dignity love their faith
and their church, which he said is
simply the worshiping people of God
according to \latican II. But he
continued by saying, ""We refuse to
surrender them to a hierar chy which
seems to speak out of both sides of its
mouth.""
At its1987 national convention i~ ·
Bal Harbour, Fla., Dignity/ USA
issued a statement declaring that the
group believes ""that we can express
our sexuality physically in a unitive
manner that is loving and lifeaHirming...
we believe that all
sexuality should be exercised in an
ethically responsible and unselfish
way.""
That statement got Dignity /LA
ousted from the Los Angeles City
College Newman Center, where it
had been meeting for more than 15
years. The Newman Center is a facil-
• ity owned and operated by the
Catholic archdiocese . The chapte
met for two years in borrowed
non-Catholic sanctuaries, until i
purchased the Dignity Center ii
Highland Park. The chapter contin
. ues to celebrate Mass every Sunday a
5:30 p.m., and hosts educationa
discussion groups, Bible studieE
HIV/ AIDS support groups . and soci.;
activities for the gay and lesbia 1
community .
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Catholi,cs endorse ·gay rights bill
A NATIONAL CATHOLIC gay rights bigotry at worst They should be or encourage a particular lifestyle any priests, brothers and nuns and a
organization that is funded and sup- ashamed,"" more than laws banning religious number of Catholic bishops support
ported by more than sixty religious . While the Catholic bishops of the discrimination endorses or promotes a gay and lesbian rights. ""We do this
. orders of priests, brothers and nuns, state of Washington stated that they particular denomination or faith. not because we waver in our faith or
has issued a blistering criticism of the ""oppose unjust discrimination"" against 'The bishops' stated opposition to in our commitment to our Church,
Washington Catholic bishops' opposi- gay persons they nonetheless oppose unjust discrimination rings empty but precisely because of that cointion
to t?e state gay rights bill, . the state's proposed gay rights bill and false when they refuse to support mitment,"" Garcia said,
""It JS repugnant that Catholic because ""this issue is not only about necessary legislation to protect the 'The denial of a person's basic civil
bishops seek to deny the basic civil discrimination but about . societal basic civil rights of gay . and lesbian rights is contrary to the Gospel and is
rights of gay and lesbian citizens,"" acceptance and public endorsement of persons , The bishops' duplicity -and immoral. We call upon the bishops to
sai\i ,Br. Rick Garcia, director of homosexuality,"" hypocrisy are an embarrassment to have a conversion of heart and to
Cat,holic Advocates. 'The bishops' Catholic Advocates challenged the right thinking Catholics,"" Garcia said. view gay and Iesbian (,persorts not as
opp,osition is !'Ot based on Catholic bishops '. position noting that laws Catholic Advocafet, noted that .all the enemy to be battered down but to
Church . teaching but is based on banning discrimination on the basis major Protestant denominations, the view them as· our sisters and_:b, rothers
ignorance at best and meanspirited of sexual orientation no more endorse national organizations of 'Catholic entitled to justice,"" he said.
Washingtonp roposala ttacksg ay and lesbianp arentingf,a milies;:
THE CITIZENS ALLIANCE of Washington
state is forcing parents and
children apart, and going to new
extremes in pursuit of its anti-gay
political agenda, say gay and lesbian
parents.
On January 10, two anti-gay
initiatives were filed with the Washington
secretary of state, setting off
petition drives to get the measures on
the November, 1994 ballot. One of
the two measures, filed by the Citizens
Alliance of Washington, targets
lesbian and gay parents and their
families with unprecedented vigor,
' INtfrf tOURTS
~:OF TIIE Lonn
:,--···, ""· ~ At
prohibiting Gays and Lesbians from
becoming foster parents, adopting
· children, or gaining ,child custody in
a divorce. The measure also bars
""minority status based on homosexuality,""
prohibits schools from
presenting homosexuality as positive
behavior, and bans same-gender
marriage.
'The radical right has tried before
to deny Lesbians and Gays from
becoming foster parents and adopting
children who need good homes,"" said
Tim Fisher, Executive Director of the
Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition
A moving and personal
account of an issue
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It will make you think, it will make
you angry, -and hopefulli it will
broaden your vision of what both
• sexuality and Christian'ity at their
best can be
-Telegraph Journal,
St. John, New Brunswick
James Ferry has given a voice to
these voiceless ones and is himself
a visible incarnation of their invisible
pr.esence.
-The Rt. Rev. John S. Spong,
Bishop of Newark, New Jersey
Order no\~ from.Second Stone Press
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International. ""But this is their first
.-attempt to enact legislation which
. prohibits Lesbians and Gays from
retaining custody of their own ·children
in a divorce, They would deny
us the right to raise our own children.
How is that a 'special right?""' said
Fisher, referring to the right's claim
that Gays want ""special rights.""
'The best interests of children"" are
irrelevant in the religious right's antigay
crusade, according to GLPCI.
Buried in the fine print of the
proposition, the initiative states that
upon dissolution of a marriage where
one of the parents is gay or lesbian,
· the other parent will receive custody.
Where both parents are gay, custody
will be awarded to the nearest ·
non-gay relative. If no such person
exists, children will be taken from
their parents and put in foster care or
put up for adoption.
Children of lesbian and gay parents
around the country are reacting to the
news from Washington state . with
disbelief,
'They say they're 'pro-family,' then
they force families apart,"" comments
Stefan Lynch of COLAGE, Children
of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere,
the only national organization run by
and for the daughters and sons of
Lesbians and Gays. ""When my
parents split up,"" continues Lynch, a
college All-American, ""they both
came out as gay and stayed friends
and great parents . And I know a lot
of kids in the same situation. If it
were up to those people in Washington
state, I would have been taken
from my home and family, and
placed with strangers.""
""If I was ever taken away from my
dad,""says Kate Ransort-W alsh, a
13-year-old whose parents split up
five years ago, ""I don't know what I
would do. It's not fair. He didn't do
anything to me or anyone else. And
he's the best dad in the world.""
If this initiative passes, thousands of
families in Washington state would
be placed in jeopardy.
""Parents here are scared,"" says
Gloria Stancich of the South _Pμget
Sound Lesbian and Gay Pai-ertts,S'upport
Group in Tacoma; Washlf\gton,
""particularly those , dealing 'with
custody issues. · Washington state is a
state that's been very fair to_ i_t~ gay
and lesbian citizens, but -We .c,af\not
afford to be complacent:"" ·' ·""
''Listening to the news on the radio,
I was nauseated,"" says Pat Justis of
Olympia, Washington, mother of a
toddler and active in Out on a LIMB,
Lesbians in Maternity and Beyond. ""I
was expecting it, but I am still
shell-shocked.""
'The radical right perpetuates the
myths that · Lesb'ians · and- qays are
unfit to be parents, urtfit tq.'.be near
children,"" s·aid• Fisher. 'The 'truth is
there are over three dozen reputable,
scientific studies showing thai.-our
kids are no different from kids raised
in non-gay households, except: ours
are a little more tolerant of human
differences.""
'The right needs a scapegoat to
coalesce its power base, and -we're it,""
explains psychologist April Martin,
author of The Lesbian a1fd 'Gay
Parenting Handbook: ""We'rethe ·basis
upon which they get people ·to fork
over their money.""
As the radical right increasingly
targets Lesbians and Gays in general,
and moms and dads in particular,
parents have increased their activi:sm.
""Having a child puts , fire in your
belly,"" says Pat Justis . 'This is not a
battle where I can sit back. There's
too much at stake for my son·. I'm
writing a letter about this initiative
and mailing it to every straight
person in my address book.""
Public opinion polls show that
""coming out' ' is the most effective and
persuasive · tactic foi'': Lesbians ,i'nd
Gays. · 'The more out we are;""· agrees
Stancich, ""the more they know us ·-as
human beings, -as normal everyday
working people and parents. · • ' ·,
. applied to life . The death of Jesus,
however, is explained at great length
_,.,,-in many places in the Bible.
Hebrews is devoted almost entirely
to explaining the death of Jesus and
says that suffering made Jesus complete
(2:10) and equipped Jesus to
help others (2:18). Jesus
and
·.-.:.:.· =~r~it •
Supper
BY REV. DR. BUDDY TRULUCK
Throughout the history of the The four Gospels have been called
<;hurch, the Last Supper has ""pas~ion :;iarrati"".~s w!th l~ng intro-
'·""'. . ,undergone .a tortuous hi11toiy · duchons. The passion"" 1s a term
of use an<;l.mis_use. It became t.iken from Acts 1:3: 'To the .disciples
·<!-source .of great political power in the Jesus also presented himself alive,
. middle ages and a source of division after his suffering (Greek pathein;
. and conflict in more modem times. pathos comes from it.)."" It is based on
. . I -was in Jerusalem in the summer of the word pascha, which is the word
. 1958' with a group from the Southern passover. The term passicm is used to
Baptist Seminary in Louisville, -Ken- speak of the last two days of the life of
. , lucky. One Sunday several of us Jesus, including the Last Supper,
· went by . invitation to an _Armenian Gethsemane, the arrest, trials, ·cruci,
Brethren Church service in a house fixion, death and burial. (Th.is same
beside the Garden Tomb, which is word for passion is the one used in the
the place tradition says was the burial hotly controversial statement used ·
. place of Jesus. About 30 people were against Gays and Lesbians in Romans
there . Many different countries, Ian- 1:26.)
guages, races ·and religious traditions
were represented. The communion
. ser.vice was the most meaningful one
I have ever experienced. The feeling
of unity with Christ and with the
_entire church throughout the world
-was wonderful.
.. Commun.ion gives expression to the
inclusive gospel. This is truly ""good
news"", to those .of us who often feel ex,
c;lu.ded and cast aside by the church.
You can _imagine that I was dismayed
;when I told .qne of the older pastors
about my c<>mmuniori at the Arme-
' nian church and he responded that he
, . would never have taken part in . it. .
He viewed the communion table as
. exclusive for not only Baptists but also
limited to the local church of which
one is a . member. He believed
strongly in closed communion, which
means that only members of a particular
denomination or even of a certain
local church can participate in the
share.cl meal of Christ together.
Suffering with Jesus as part of
discipleship is indicated in the invitation
to ""take up the cross and follow""
Jesus. Paul identified with the suffering
of Jesus in Galatians 2:20: ""I
have been crucified with Christ; and
· it is no longer I who live, but Christ ·
lives in me ... "" and also in Colossians
1:24, where Paul makes the remarkable
claim: ""Now I rejoice in my
sufferings for your sake, and in my
flesh I do my share on behalf of
Christ's body (which is the church) in .
filling up that which is lacking in
Christ's· afflictions."" .
Two very important needs are met
in Matthew 26 and 27, ·and also in the
concluding sections of Mark, Luke
and John. The church needed to
explain the cross and also needed to
re-interpret the Old Testament by Jesus
rather than by the rabbinic tradition.
The resurrection is never explained
but is simply prodaimed and often
The Last Supper is the high point of
the New Testament explanation of the
death of Jesus. One of the most important
things that Jesus said in the
Last Supper was spoken .by his
careful preparation ahead of time for
this momentous event. In fact, what
Jesus did thoughout the meal said
more than words can adequately
convey. Jesus had made a practice of
setting up dramatic and forceful
events to convey his = purpose and
Il)ission to people. · His baptism in the ·
Jordan River at the hands of John the ·
Baptist was a carefully staged dramatic
beginning for his public ministry.
Other crucial events especially in
the last week of his life were planned
in advance by Jesus. The riding of
the donkey down the slope of the
Mount of Olives before the great
crowds gathered for the Passover and
the cleansing of the Temple were
carefully arranged fulfillment of Old
Testament prophecy. ·
The resurrection is
never explained but
is simply proclaimed
and often applied to
life. The death of _
Jesus, however, is
explained at great
length in many places
in the Bible.
Jesus said ""My time (chairos) is at
hand ."" (Matthew 26:18). This word for
time speaks of a moment filled with
special meaning. The word chron os
was used for the simple passage of
time. Eveiything in the life of Jesus
had led up to these final hours. The
followers of Jesus needed to be
perfectly clear in their understanding
and grasp of these events. A planned
time and place were arranged for
maximum effect in the proclamation
through the prophetic event of the Last
Supper.
Far too often we take on the mission
of Jesus in the church with little or no
preparation. Every time we · observe
communion we are reminded -of the .
importance of careful preparation.
Jesus prepared the setting of the
upper room and the disciples set up
the meal. Even 'the seating arrangement
was carefully planned, with the
·beloved disciple on Jesus' right and
Judas on the left. Accepting the call
of Jesus to follow him in discipleship
is the call to accept the discipline and
commitment of lime to prepare in
every way possible to let Jesus use
your life as his instrument of communicating
his life to the world.
Matthew's orderly telling of the
story of Jesus reflects the orderly and
purposeful approach to life that Jesus
demonstrated in everything that he
did, Do our lives reveal this dimension
of order, planning and purpose?
Does our church appear to be orderly,
well planned and purposeful in the
gay and lesbian community or to the
straight world? Matthew 26:17-19;
Mark 14:12-16 and Luke 22:7-13 tell of
the detailed preparation of the setting
for the Last Supper. Mark and Luke
include reference to the disciples following
a man carrying a pitcher of
water. This pre-arranged signal
would be clear because men never
carried water pots in public. Only
·women did that, a small indication of
the totally sexist society at that time.
The ""upper room"" provided safety
and uninterrupted time for this great
event. Most houses were one story,
so the upper room was special.
Notice that they ""reclined"" at the
table. A low table in the center held
the food . Jesus · and the twelve reclined
on mats or cushions in a circle
around the table. Each person faced
the table and could reach the food.
This brought the disciples and Jesus
face to face in as close physical contact
as would be possible to share food
and to talk. Though John does not
give the words of the Last_ Supper, the
setting is given in John 13 where John
tells of Jesus washing the feet of the
disciples and teaching by this dramatic
act that true greatness is being
an effective sl,ive .
The words of Jesus are brief, as
Matthew 26:26-29 gives them: And
while they were eating, Jes-:,s took
some bread, and after blessing it, he
broke and gave it to the disciples,
and said 'Take, eat; this is my body .""
And he took a cup arid ga;,e thanks,
and gave it to them, saying, ""'Drink
from it, all of you; For this is my
blood of the covenant, which. is shed
on behalf of many for forgiveness of
sins. But I say to you, I wifl not drink
of this fruit of the vine from now on
until that day when I drink {t new
with you in my Father's kingdom ."" .
The account in Mark 14:22-25 .is
almost identical with Matthew but
. omits ""for forgiveness of sins."" Luke
22:17-20 gives some variation of the
words: And having taken a cup,
when he had given thanks, Jesus
said, 'Take this and share it among
yourselves; for I say to you, I will not
drink of the fruit of the vine from
:now on until the kingdom of God
comes."" And having taken some
bread, when he had ·-given thanks,
Jesus broke it; and gave it to them,
saying, 'This is my body which is
given for you; do this is remembrance
of me."" And in the same way
he took the cup after they had eaten,
SEE LAST SUPPER, Page 20
Sea>nd Stone-March/April, 1994 [IJ
(d•l®1®11•~•1941•J•l~-1•11•~•~1•;r-1sa
For Catholic lesbian nuns and gay priests . and brothers, a safe place to gather 'Il struggle for gay and Jes- late~night subway from a gay libera- friend to start the newsletter, which they are bold enough to hope that
an Christians to sit in the tion meeting twenty years ago, I had would be called simply Communica- they ,might ""assist the people of God
urch pews as welcomed never · felt so alone in my life,"" says tion. to develop and live a whole, credible
and affirmed individuals Bro. Paul. ""My reflection looked back ""We planned a dialogue on the and life-giving sexual-spiritual thepales
in comparison to the lonely from the window at me: 'So this is• relationship of personal sexuality, ology.""
struggle for those gay and lesbian you, Paul, your whole life ahead, and · spirituality and ministry for the pur- Communication's readers are diverse
people who stand behind the pulpit there is no one in the Church you can pose of building community among in the challenges they face. Of
,or otherwise offer their lives to the speak to, no one who would under- lesbian and . gay clergy and reli- course, the Roman Catholic Chimh's
church. For lesbian nuns and gay stand.""' gious,"" says Bro. Paul. ""For me, its
brothers and priests in the Roman . Feeling he had no models, no peers primary motivating force was the
Catholic Church, the journey is even to help him discern where he was · desire not to be alone in my journey,
more difficult, given the Church's going, no one near at hand with ·a and the parallel desire not to have
periodic outbursts against homosex- simifar journey against whom h ; others suffer such aloneness in theirs
·uality and the slim chance that justice could measure his life, he began a as I had in mine. We began to write
will replace such condemnation any- perilous journey that'year. He began about the joy and pain of our journey
time soon . searching for such peers, trying to get as homosexual priests and religious,
Fifteen years ago, a newsletter was other rriests and religious like weaving a conversation each month
started for Catholic lesbian nuns and himsel together for a day of out of any letters which readers sent
gay brothers and priests who wanted recollection or a weekend retreat. in. In writing and rereading our
to communicate with each other and A few years after this, Bro. Paul's unfolding story, many of us discovered
ourselves communicating
with God about areas we had always
managed to hide."" Lonely
late-night
subway
trip gave
life to
ministry
offer one another support. During
those years, Commumcution's readers
have shared their stories for the
purpose of furthering their sexual/
spiritual integration. At the same
time, this essentially private and
anonymous dialogue has served to
build up a sense of community
among its participants, a unique and
hidden segment of the Body of Christ.
In the spring of 1973, Bro. Paul
came out as a gay man to his family.
He was in his early thirties then, and
had been a Roman Catholic priest for
seven years. Having been a successful
teacher of theology at the university
level, he was well thought of by
many friends and colleagues. His
forte was a course on religious experience.
Corning out as a gay priest was
to be a religous experience which
would forever afterward put blood in
those words for him - the blood of a
wound and the blood of life.
""Riding home by myself on a
mother died suddenly, tearing him
from a womb he says he discovered
he had never quite left. He spent the
whole summer writing ab_out his
trauma and trying to discover its
meaning for him. Writing, he found,
enabled him to talk with God about
his pain and it became a way for
God to speak to him .
""By the fall of 1977, a fellow priest
and I were ready to lead a workshop
for gay priests and religious at the
national convention of Dignity,"" says
Bro. Paul. ""We had gathered from allover
the country, and had only
ninety minutes in which to share our
struggles and visions. We would not
meet again for two more years.""
Wanting to continue the dialogue in
the form of a newsletter, Bro. Paul
asked for names and addresses. In
spite of the risk, sixty people signed
the list. After Bro. Paul got home, he
· worked out plans with a woman
A sense of community developed
among Communication readers, although
most of them would never
meet each other and would only
communicate anonymously through
the pages of the newsletter.
Something even more profound
began to happen, according to Bro.
Paul. ""In the vulnerability of sharing
our stories with one another and with
God, we began hearing God speaking
a word back to us,"" he says. ""As
each of us fits in a piece of our
corporate puzzle, we have begun to
sense that God is speaking to us not
simply as individuals saved out of a
multitude of others but as persons
being drawn together into a body, a
body that is Christ's.""
Communication newsletter is part of a
broader ministry sponsored by Communication
Ministry, Inc . ., which is
has a three-level outreach. The first
level, the written dialogue among
members, is represented by the
bimonthly newsletter and updates.
Normally, the newsletter includes a
commentary based on the letters the
organization receives, reflective essays,
poetry, reviews of relevarit
books and films, and notices of upcoming
events.
The second level is the face-to-face
dialogue fostered by CMI's retreat
series and by linking with readers
through correspondence or support
groups in various parts of the
country.
The third level is represented by
CMI's endeavor to turn their conversation
outward toward the broader
Catholic Church. The Journal, published
periodically on a theme of
topical interest, is part of the outreach.
CMI wants Church leaders and others
to hear of their journey in a way that
will challenge. In turn, they open
themselves to whatever response they
receive, trust _ing that Jesus Christ is
best served when his people break
open the bread of their lives to one
another. And · with Christ's Spirit
view of homosexuality is the overwhelming
burden but readers ·also
deal with such issues as celibacy and
the question of when one awakims to
one's sexual orientation in relation to
the making of the promise of
celibacy.
Communication readers share
remarkable stories of courage, battle
and resolution. ""Even though I had
known for a long time that my sexual
orientation was different, it wasn't
until I was nineteen years · old that I
came out into the gay community;·
says a lesbian sister. ""Simultaneously,
I also felt called to religious life. So I
did what every good, traditional
Catholic woman would do. I went to
· confession. After twenty minutes
with the friendly parish priest I felt
like I had been pushed out of an
airplane · from forty thousand feet,
without a parachute. Between the
guilt, the fear, the sense of hopelessness,
and the 'knowledge' that
God must indeed hate me I decided I
did not have a religious vocation ...
""I went the usual way of bars,
drugs, and multiple lovers, until I
discovered, with the help of therapy,
that growth could come from pain,
and that my sexual orientation would
not go away by annihilating my
senses. I also learned that God loves
me and wants me to be the best
possible gay person I can be. Nine
years later I entered religious life ... I
therefore told the president of my
community that I was lesbian . With
much listening, understanding, and
continuous dialogue, we have
resolved, over the past five years,
many of the myths of individual
sexual orientation.""
After 15 years and volumes ol
Communication, Bro. Paul says he and
readers · of the newsletter experience
themselves no longer alone. ""No
longer are we simply accepting our
SEE CMI, Page 19 !12] Second Stone-Mar~b/-;-A:-pn~--1-, :-:1994~----------------~...:.._------------------~------'----
Love will
find a way
BY MARCUS STRINGER
Little did I know what
growth and opportunity
would await me one
Monday morning at work.
Going through the motions of logging
in and checking messages, I noticed
there was a prayer request from
someone on the . Christian ""alias""
(electronic mail clearinghouse). Just a
few days earlier there was a prayer
request from a woman bemoaning a
progressive decision made by a
competing computer software company
in favor of same-sex spousal
benefits.
The first woman's pompous
righteousness angered me to the
point that I wanted to discontinue my
membership . However, as I read the
rest of the request, she asked for
suggestions on the ""correct Christian
response we should take"" if Gays
were to pull such a stunt in our
company. So I responded with what I
· .. thought would help her out of her
. · confusion.
' ' Howev~r, the tone of.the request I
was now reading seemed more open
to true guidance. The woman, Sue,
and her husband were in a dilemma,
' ._They believed in pro-life and were
impressed to walk in a local
f,)ndraiser for the fight against AIDS.
Sue was seeking assurance from
fellow CJrristians that tl,ey would 110!
·condemn them as ""condoning homosexuality,""
She also was concerned
that \hey might be surrounded by
angry, militant people, and Wanted
their pro-life actions to be a witness to
both militant Gays and Christians
alike,
""Oh this is just a confused woman .
She's been used to having religious .
teachers think for her. Don't bother
with her."" I want ed to shrug her off
and forget about it; yet at the sam e
time I wanted to d1eck her out - to see
how she really felt. What would she
do with a self proclaimed gay
Christian? I e-mailed Sue in return,
affirming the decision she and her
husband made - standing for pro-life.
A friend of mine had already gotten
me to make a donation in his name;
however, I wanted to leave Sue with
tangible evidence of my affirmation -
and ""put my money wh e re my
mouth was."" The next day Sue
replied that her step-brother is gay
and that some of her friends now
have AIDS and others have already
passed away . l n•alizt•d. that .tlw issm'
, wa.s · closer to home to her than I'd
have ever imagined. Quickly , I
made a date so we could meet.
What a great opportunity to share
the good news of the gospel with one
""bogged down"" under the red tape of
legalism . What opportunities of joy,
peace, and freedom do we miss by
withdrawing, giving up on complete
kinship with ' others. Fortunately, I
hung around long enough to find that
the door was open . I could actually
touch this person's life.
My experience with Sue was very
peaceful, seeing that she was willing
to listen and acknowledge that she
did not have all of the answers. We
were free to love first, letting whatever
else happen later . Christ, if he
The next day Sue
replied that her step
brother is gay and
that some of her
friends now have
AIDS and others
have already passed
away. I realized that
the issue was closer
to home to her than
I'd have ever
imagined.
were still on earth today, would teach
love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you (Matt 5:44). Bless
those who persecute you; bless and
do not curse (Rom. 12:14). A new
commandment I give you: Love one
another as I have loved you, so you
must love one another. By this all
men will know that you are my
discipl ,es, if you love one another
0ohn 'l:4-5).
Not every expe rieqce will be as the,
one I had with Sue. What do we do
with the outspok en oppressor , or the
mere dangerous destroyer who lurks
undercover? Can this sort of thing
make sense when your brother/
,enemy gloats over the fact that you
are not given the same human
protections as h e enjoys under the
law: to marry, ·10 serv e in the
military, to adopt children? ·
What about when your
sister/ enemy bears false witness
against you and other lesbian-gay
family by muddling the truth about
homosexuality . How can I love my
fellow Christian who will destroy the
minds and spirits of gay people
through ""change ministries? "" Since
God asks us not to take revenge into
our own hands (Rom. 12:19), isn't at
least some heavenly discipline in
order for these souls?
Where does righteous indignation
end and destructive revenge, anger
and hatred begin? Just because we
have resolved most conflicts between
our sexuality and spirituality does not
make us self-sufficient from the transforming
power of Christ on our
characters. That's right - standing as
gay Christians is not synonymous
with perfection, We are still in great
need of a Savior. As we ask Christ to
open our spiritual eyes, our conscience,
and heart, he will show us
the distance between his and our
own . The one who taught ""love your
enemy"" is the same one who had his
body unceremoniously ""pinned"" to a
cross - a masterfully created torture
machine. And if the story about this
one is supposed to be true, he didn't
call fire down upon his enemies, or
bash them in return for the bashing
he was receiving.
Does th is seem like an impossible
act to follow? It is. Disconrnicted from
the source of love (1 John 4:7), yea
even love itself (1 John 4:16), we have
no power to control hate or indiference.
So the next ti,;rui you are
persecuted for espousi n g sexual
responsibility and commitment, the
next time you stand for pro-life; or
when you're ridiculed for deciding to
believe in the Sabbath after years of
rejection - know this: Love can, must,
will find a way!
Reprinted from the Seventh-day Adventist
Kinship International Kinship
Connection.
A Symbol of Today's 11teality
and Tomorrow's Hi~pe
Wearing this red and pink ribbon pin 1itows you care
about those who art HIV+ or have Br.east Cancer.
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P. 0, BOX 32474 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40232
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RIVER OF LIFE
MINISTRIES
A Spirit-Filled Christian Outreach To The
Gay And Lesbian Community of Albuquerque
Offering:
134 Quincy NE
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Weekly Worship Services:
Sundays, 10:30 a.m.
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•Contemporary Christian Praise &
Worship Music
•Weekly Healing Services
•A Positive Community Atmosphere
of Faith and Love
Rev . Pamela White, Pastor
Call (505)260-2882
for other information.
Second Stone-March/April, 1994 '[a]
T. Cover Story T
I• I a I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ♦ I I I I I• I• I I I I I I I I I~ I I I I I.~ I I I I I I I• -~ I I I I I I I I I I
Dirty laundry: Showing the right how wrong they can be
Froin Page 1
they had the gall to waste taxpayer
money to bring the issue to. court.
They didn't want a '.'family"" pass;
they wanted public endorsement of
homosexuality.
The former Mormon president
Spender Kimball, leading a Church
which has long championed families,
correctly pointed out the fickle nature
of the supposed ""love"" Gays and
Lesbians feel. 'Think for yourself
what would these persons do for you
should you suddenly fall victim to an
incurable disease. Suppose your
body shrivelled; suppose you could
no longer satisfy sexually; suppose ·
you could no longer be 'used.' How
long would the alleged friendship
and this distorted so-called 'love'
last?""
[n the notorious case of Sharon
Kowalski, severely injured and brain
damaged in a car accident in Minnesota,
her ""lover,"" Karen Thompson,
petitioned for years to have the .legal
right to care for her ""spouse ."" The
gay and lesbian community tried to
pretend that her devotion was out of
love, but it is clear that the real
motive was to destroy Sharon's family,
to frivolously waste $200,000 it1·
legal fees to deny her parents the
right to make decisions about their
own daughter. ·
Gays across the nation are taking
care of their lovers dying from AlDS,
but is this a sign of love or is it a sign
instead of desperation? God is
naturally trying to eliminat .e Gays
,ince we as his ""followers"" are not
spiritually dedicated enough to do
:>ur part, and Gays, realizing their
sex partners are dying off, are throwing
all of their energy into preserving
the ou tie ts for their sin.
What more do we need to know?
[sn't it clear that the situation is
:ritical?
Perhaps what is clear is the way
.1omophobic zealots pretending to
follow God, but more concerned with
~enerating money for their coffers by
:reating a false enemy, can slant any
1ction they want and fit it to their
)Wn agenda. They take the more
,izarre and rebellious Gays and
Lesbians and set them up as the
,verage Gay or Lesbian to create fear'
ul images around which followers
:an rally. But I wonder if we-looked
Jbjectively at the issue, if we could
'ind any problems with the hetero- •
;exual community we hold as the
,tandard, and with their family
values.
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
34-year-oJd William Jerome Terry III
·aped and slashed a former girlfriend
Nith a razor, leaving her for dead in
l piece of rolled up carpet. Of course,
:hey_ weren't married, so this doesn't
}1] Second Stone-March/April, 1994
really show the heterosexual view
toward family values. ·
But 9nce heterosexuals get married,
sometimes the values do not seem to
change much . In Hammond, Louisiana,
Larry Huls, gaining the help of
his current female lover, Kathleen
Mapes, strangled and shot his exwife,
Anne Erdey after kidnapping
her from her workplace . Larry killed
her because he didn't want to pay
$5,900 in back child support which he
owed her to help care for their
6-year-old son, who had cerebral
palsy.
Joe Meling of Seattle poisoned and
killed two strangers in order to cover
the attempted murder of his wife. He
had wanted to get out of a failing
marriage, but since divorce is promoting
the break up of families, he
figured his plan was more respectable.
Besides, the death of his wife
would also bring him $700,000 in life
insurance benefits .
Despite the religious right's attempt
to make AIDS a gay issue, it has been
a fact from the start of the epidemic
that it is a primarily heterosexual
disease. It has been ""gay"" in the
United States for a dozen years, but
heterosexuals here are quickly catching
up with heterosexuals the world
over who through their promiscuity
and selfish disregard for others are
spreading this painful, deadly disease.
Some heterosexuals even
spread it quite deliberately, as the
French officials did to thousands of
hemophiliac children, while knowing
the blood they were using was
contaminated. Heterosexuals just care
more about money than they do
children.
Of course, some care more about
spite and revenge, as we've already
seen, and so with AIDS, we get many
cases such as that of Terry Boatwright
of Pensacola, Florida, who kidnapped
and raped an ex-girlfriend, but then
just to make sure she became infected
with HIV, he injected her with his
own contaminated blood as well.
Twenty-eight-year-old Alberto Gonzalez
in Portland, Oregon, was much
nicer, not raping his 17-year-old girlfriend,
but repeatedly having sex
with her without condoms while
knowing he was HIV positive. The
girl so far still tests negative, but two
former sex partners have tested
positive.
These cases should not be
surprising, though, when we understand
the lie that heterosexuals are
capable of deeply loving each other is
only a clever bit of propaganda
dreamt ur to futher the heterosexual
agenda o promoting their desire for a
multitude of sexual outlets for
themselves.
The U. S. Navy, caught with its
pants down in Las Vegas at the-
Tailhook convention, also ~pologized
for the sexual harassment of women.
There was the fondling and grabbing,
of course, but the sexual acts
also included men exposing themselves
in the hotel lobby and men
engaging publicly in oral sex with
women (a military crime even if
consensual). Further, the Navy
admits it had known of the sexual
harassment for years, but heterosexual
leaders, promoting the family
value of inferiority of women, failed
to do anything until forced by public
scandal.
Serb leaders in Bosnia who endorse
the rape of Muslim women, however,
are not committing the rapes as an act
of violence against women, forcing
·these victims to bear childr en .they do
not want . It is for the values of
Christianity that they commit these
rapes against non-believing women .
Christian heterosexuals, we must
remember , are particularly adept at
bizarre forms of rationalization . It
doesn't take much real thought to see
through their ""justification,"" but
heterosexuals as a group are much
more concerned with furthering their
position of power than with honestly
advocating justice.
A great part of the justification
comes through the sanctifying image
of church authority, but most heterosexuals
only use the church as a cover
for their own evil desires.
But people whci truly care about
family values will see how dangerous
heterosexual religious leaders really
are. Rev. Virgil Carpenter in
Ontario, Oregon, was convicted of
sexually molesting a 9-year-old girl
over a year and a half. A Roman
Catholic priest, Robert Mayer, was
convicted in Chicago cf sexually
abusing a 13-year-old girl. Another
heterosexual Catholic priest, James
Porter, accused of molesting dozens of
children in Massachusetts, Minnesota,
and New Mexico, has been convicted
in the first of the cases brought
against him, molesting a 15-year-old
female babysitter .
It's not as if he was overly clever in
hiding his abuse that his molestation
was able to continue for so many
years. Court documents proved that
the Church had numerous reports of
his abuse. 13ut as we know, most
churches, which are run by heterosexuals,
are . not terribly concerned
with protecting children. They shout
loudly about removing the ""gay
menace,"" but it is all a front so they
can ensure their-own sexual access to
children.
Naturally, it is not only for sex that
heterosexual religious people abuse
children. Sometimes, it Is for the
simple motive of greed. When the
Canadian government in 1955 offered
\o pay 75¢ a day for oq,hans and
$2.75 a day for mentally retarded
children, the spiritual leaders at the
Mount Providence orphanage in
Montreal decided to have a ""change
of vocation,"" changing their institu~
tion officially from an orphanage to a
mental institution. What they didn't
bother to do was find a home for their
orphans or to seek out mentally
retarded children. They simply relabelled
the children already under
their care.
Institutional heterosexual abuse of
children goes even further. .Lee
Stokes of Covington, Louisiana, who
ran a counseling service, was booked
with molesting 15-year-old and 16-
year-old patients. In our school
systems, by far the majority of teachers
who molest children are heterosexual,
anywhere from 95 to 98
percent, depending on the reports.
Neither education nor the government,
nor heterosexual parents, have seen
fit to insist on a plan that will track
down these abusers. If a heterosexual
teacher is fired in one state for sexual
abuse, all he or she needs t0 do is
move to another state, be recertified
with no background check on the
abuse, and he or she is ready to prey
on more children.
And when children do report the
abuse, it is often ignored, even if the
abuse comes from outside the school.
When a 9-year-old girl in New York
wrote in an essay for class that her
1 father, who was dying of AIDS, had
raped her, school officials did
nothing, even destroying the essay.
Only .when the girl finally told her
grandmother was the abuse brought
to light. Our school boards, which
are being infiltrated by members of
the religious right, put on a superficial
show of concern for children by
claiming the need to get rid of gay
teachers, but it is clear that the
concern is ncit .really for the sexual
well-being of children at all but is
only for the power to control others'
lives, which is also - what rape and
molestation are all about ·
In Jacksonville, Florida, a 9-year-old
girl was diagnosed in 1992 with
AIDS. State social workers were
aware of her sexual abuse as early as
1988, because she had come in at
various times with other sexually
transmitted diseases, but they failed
to take any action to protect her.
Their reason was pure enough. They
didn't want to break up the family.
This case is similar with the
institutional neglect of children by the
Boy Scouts of America. Claiming the
need to protect children's values, they
reject gay scout leaders with no
history of sexual abuse yet they allow
heterosexuals who do abuse children
to join. Butthere is another kind of
SEE COVER STORY, Next Page
COVER STORY
From Page 14
abuse involved here, too. The Boy
Scouts also reject gay scouts themselves.
While pretending to encourage
boys to .become ""morally
straight,"" they expel gay children,
who in their own words are in great
need of moral direction . If they were
truly concerned about the children,
would they so actively refuse to help?
Institutional heterosexual abuse and
neglect is so dominant in heterosexual
culture that it cannot help but seep
down to the very last refuge, the
heterosexual family unit. We've
already had just a taste of the abuse
among heterosexual couples, but the
abuse of children is even more
predominant.
In Salt Lake City, Michael Kojima
was arrested for failing to pay
$100,000 in child support to his
former wife . The amount seems high
· until we realize that it had been
increasing slowly over eight years, as
he refused to pay $350 a month for
each of two daughters, aged 4 and 5
at the time of the divorce. The
neglect is perhaps more obvious
when we realize that Michael
managed to donate $500,000 at a
Republican fundraiser, at an event
where ""family values"" has become
the latest buzz word, shortly before
his arrest. .
Regina Simpson of Baton Rouge was
found guilty of abandoning her_ two
children, aged 1 and 2, m a filthy
apartment while she went out
drinking . One of the children was
found eating roaches . The apartment
had no running water, and the floor
was covered with feces and urine.
The children were taken into protective
custody for a while but were
then returned to the mother, who has
shown her dedication to the family by
giving birth to a third child.
Extended family members receive
the abuse, too. A 16-year-old Columbus,
Mississippi, teenager was caught
after raping his 6-year-old niece.
Because of easy access, most heterosexuals
sexually abuse direct family
members. A 46-year-old Harahan,
Louisiana, man was ·convicted of
raping his 7-year-old daughter. The
father had a friend who didn't have
as e/ilsy access to children, so he Jet his
friend take part in the ·rape, too.
But · heterosexual abuse,
unfortunately, does not end with
neglect or molestation. Tan:imie
Guthie of Baton Rouge was convicted
of allowing her 15-month-old daughter
to drown while she paid a
16-year-old boy $50 and had sex with
him.
In Kentucky, 26-year -old Mary
Fletcher confessed that she murdered
her 3-year-old daughter by poisoning
and tried to poison her 4-year-old son
as well, in order to collect $5,000 in
burial insurance and ""try to end
marital strife"" with her husband. The
girl had also been sexually abused.
Mark James Bender of Seattle
hacked his wife and two children,
llll=MY;l•Ji·@•i¢1•t·M•JMl·S~•,11WK'l·Sl111-14
aged 8 and 15, to death with an axe
and stored their bodies in a rented
locker for 12 years. But his behavior
is completely justifiable when we
realize his wife was planning to take ·
the kids and leave him. Mark
couldn't allow the sin of divorce to
destroy America's moral system.
In non Christian areas, such as
India, heterosexuality leads to the
murder of over 20,000 wives a year,
who are usually burned to death in
""kitchen accidents,"" and to the
aborting of millions of female fetuses .
In China, heterosexual parents commonly
kill female babies. In
America, we're more civilized, but
even here, when Christian fundamentalism
is added to the mixture of
heterosexual values, we cannot help
but end up with men such as Jim ·
Jones and David Koresh, who sexually
molest children and intimidate
and kill adults in the name of God.
But because these sick heterosexuals
need to somehcw justify their actions
to themselves, they find a scapegoat
on which to project their guilt. Gays
and Lesbians are the current choice .
When Lynn Johnson, acclaimed
writer of the comic strip, ""For Better
or For Worse,"" which is about
promoting true family values, dared
to include a segment about a teenage
friend of the family being kicked out
of his house by his parents for being
gay, right wing fanatics across the
nation leaped to censor the panels
from their newspapers. Censorship,
it appears, is a family value .
· Accepting a gay child, even though
experiencing initial hostile feelings, is
anti-family. Wishing a gay son
would commit suicide is also the
embodiment of family values.
If heterosexuals are offended by
their protrayal here, we neecl_ to
remember that all of these accounts
are on public record, and any major
newspaper any day of the week will
show more and more of the same .
Arn I picking out just the most public,
most negative images? Perhaps. But
isn 't that what Falwell, Dobson,
· Robertson and Helms do in showing
video clips from gay rights parades?
""Oh, my God! Those people are
wearing leather and chains on that
float! Those men are wearing
dresses! And those men are imitating
sexual acts! Oh, my God!"" Most of
these people are deliberately trying
to shock middle America. It is all an
act for the camera . It may b e inappropriate,
perhaps disgusting, even
sinful, but it in no way compares to
even one of the heterosexual atrocities
mentioned here, which occur continually.
But fear-mongering generates
money, and that is apparently the
important point. If some heterosexuals
claim, ''But we don't approve
of any of the actions in this article,""
they need to realize that Gays and
Lesbians don't either. . Can any
Christian honestly claim that finding
(or inventing) sordid stories and then
generalizing them isn't the exact tactic
of ministers who preach hate? Sordid
Gays do exist, but they no more
represent all of homosexuality than
these accounts represent all of
heterosexuality .
While heterosexuals may not as a
group really be as bad as portrayed
here, even the ""model"" families have
their problems, not the least of which
is homosexuality. Ask Phyllis
Schlafly, whose son in gay, or
General Colin Powell, whose daughter
is lesbian . There are very few
Cleaver families in America, or
Nelsons, or Bradys, or Huxtables.
Even aspiring to be like them may
not be a possibility.
If we are honestly seeking to
promote families, we will simply
have to accept that families come in a
variety of types, and that this is not
necessarily bad.
Throughout history, what has been
regarded as ""the fami_ly"" has changed
drastically, even in our Jud~oChristian
tradition. Menstruating
~omen had to be isolated, foreskins
had to be cut, wives could not speak
in church, men had to marry their
sisters-in-law if their brothers died.
Divorce was allowed, or wasn't
allowed depending on the era. And
let:s not forget the BibHcal and even
more recent times when concubines
were acceptable, and polygamy. The
Catholic Church at one time accepted
abortion, then condemned it, then
accepted it, and then condemned it
again . Throughout Christian Europe,
child abandonment was deemed
perfectly acceptable at various times.
Not every family variety is wonderful,
but with Christianity as
variable as it is (with hundreds of
varieties at the present), just because
a preacher condemns one kind of
family doesn't necessarily make 1t
bad, especially when there 1s no
abuse taking place. What God 1s
concerned about is that we treat each
other with love and respect.
""We love the sinner but hate the
sin"" is a superficial excuse to justify
oppression, and God is not the only
one who knows it. Any thinking,
feeling person knows that when
someone takes images and stories out
of context in order to create a biased,
negative portrait of someone, this is
not an act of love but of dedicated
hatred, often performed to deny one's
own failings .
Jesus never said a word against
homosexuality, but he did say not to
judge others. And he did say we
should love one another without
condemning .
For heterosexuals convinced that
Gays and Lesbians are sinners, I
suppose this means they must not ask
their children to commit suicide, they
must not disinherit them or refuse to
let them fully take part in family
holidays. It means that heterosexuals
need to accept their gay and lesbian
children, their gay and lesbian
siblings and parents and cousins, and
love them. Loving one's family
members can, with a little stretch of .
faith, be. considered as ·promoting
family values, if heterosexuals try
hard enough.
For Lesbians and Gays, loving
sinners means they have to be
willing to love the fundamentalists
who are condemning them daily, a
harder task, to be sure, but then
Christ did say, ""Blessed are they
which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.'' By pro .mating true love,
acceptance, and family values, Gays
and Lesbians are condemned by the
Christians who don't really know
Christ. But because love and truth
will prevail, it is the hypocritical
hetero.sexual sinners who are the ones
really to be pitied, and Gays and
Lesbians, they will find, will have
enough love to offer even to them.
Perhaps this can best be
exemplified by a woman who,
because of her religion, di<;! believe
homosexuality was wrong, but who
also believed strongly in family love.
Dorothy Hajdys' son, Allen Schindler,
was murdered by gay bashers,
beaten so -badly she could only
identify his body by a tattoo on his
arm. She attended the trial for one of
his confessed killers. When the sailor
was sentenced to life in prison, she
was glad, telling both the murderer
and his mother she didn't want him
put to death because she didn't want
any other mother to go through what
she was going through. ""At least she
call tell you that she loves you and
can visit you,"" Dorothy told the
murderer .
This is the meaning of family
values, love, not religious propagan°
da. We can only hope that the
majority of heterosexuals haven't
been led so far astray that they can no
longer recognize the truth, that they
will desist from picking the worst or
strangest elements of the gay
community and generalizing them to
all Gays and Lesbians, and that they
will learn that not'only physically are
we members . of their family, but
spiritually we are, too, and decent
families don't gossip and slander their
relatives . We need to stop promoting
hate and division and instead promote
the highest family values of all,
love, understanding, and unity.
""Blessed are the peacemakers,"" said
Christ.
''Blessed are the merciful,"" he said.
""Blessed are the meek .""
Is this the way Christians are
behaving toward their gay brothers
and sisters? It is in the same chapter
where Christ warns us not to judge
one ··another that he warns against
following false leaders and false
prophets. Perhaps those who so
strongly persecute Lesbians and Gays
should study the scriptures more
· carefully, should fast and pray until
they are sure they are following
God's will and not the will of some
hate-filled, egocentric man, the ""wolf
in sheep 's clothing,"" out to infiltrate
and destroy the flock of God's
children . Only by embodying the
family value of love, not hate, can we .
truly say we are serving and
following our God.
Second Stone-March/April, 1994 [I[
Priest's troubles end in suicide ·
From Page 1
neck out"" on social justice issues. He
had a tenure of more than seven
years in the Diocese of Central
J?ennsylvania, during which time his
Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Charlie McNutt,
Jr., described their relationship as
positive, and Mc'Carriar as a person
who accompiished much for his
congregation and the diocese. Members
of his congregation and friends
described McCarriar as ""eccentric""
and ""blustery"" but agree that he had
many good points and accomplished
much in his ministry. Yet, something
drove him to despair so great that he
could no longer face life.
In the spring of 1993, Fr. McCarriar
began to show signs of the stress
which would lead to tragedy. In May
he circulated a document pertaining
to corporal punishment of adolescent
males by their fathers. His exact
intent is unclear, but -in at least one
case he appeared to recommend actions
which our current society would
consider abusive and psychologically
dangerous . Unsu re of the import of
his actions, congregation members
first approached McCarriar with their
concerns and later approached Bishop
McNutt when they~ felt unsatisfied
with McCarriar's response. The Bishop
said that he did not feel the
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incident itself was serious, But he
worried that · McCarriar, when
approached, seemed unable to understand
the concerns of his congregation
and their reasons for objecting to his
actions.
The tensions in Coudersport
continued. After more complaints
from the wardens and vestry of Christ
Church, the Bishop called a meeting
with McCarriar, including two
wardens, a mental health worker
from Coudersport and a counselor
from the diocese. Recommendations
from that meeting involved getting
counseling and working for a time
with the Rev. Canon Dr. Andrew
France, President of the Diocesan
Standing Committee, in a mentor
relationship. At about this time,
friends started noticing changes in Fr.
McCarriar's behavior and began to
communicate their concern about his
mental state . Several urged him to
get counseling. Others attempted to
get him to talk to them, to be open
about what was causing him so much
turmoil. None were successful.
McCarriar also refused to take the
Bishop's recommendation of counseling,
although he did start meeting
regularly with Canon France.
At one point in early July, Fr.
McCarriar was taken to a state
hospital by concerned friends for
involunta~y commitment. They be- -
lieved he might be a danger to
himself and possibly to. others. The
psychologist at the hospital did not
find sufficient grounds for involuntary
commitment, but did communicate
to Bishop McNutt that McCarriar
felt he was under tremendous
pressure. Anything which could be
done to relieve that pressure would
be helpful. Because he seemed
deeply troubled by the recommendation
for counseling, the Bishop told
McCarriar that he would not require
that if he continued meeting with
Canon France and could show
improvement in the situation at
Coudersport. The Bishop believed
this would reduce the pressure and
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allow McCarriar the space to work out
his problems . . But it was not to be.
Shortly after this, McCarriar wrote to
""selected friends"" the following about
his situation:
. "" ... it has caused me times of anger,
rage, or heartbroken despair, as I feel
that I was an undeserving victim of
betrayal, treachery, and sabotage, by
a few people who are not supportive
of my ministry or pastoral judgment.
These reactions are only normal and
temporary, and are entirely due to
the unnatural stress perpetrated upon
me by Bishop McNutt. If he would
cease and desist, all would be well, I
promise you, if you keep faith with
me.""
""He was terribly
injured, but
wouldn't let
anybody in.
Even in good
times, there was
never any
connection.""
After this, t.he Bishop saw the
situation worsen and found himself
compelled to take action to resolve the
conflict in McCarriar's congregations.
The Rev. Canon John McDowell went
to Coudersport to meet with the
vestries and to hand deliver a letter to
' Fr. McCarriar from the Bishop, again
requiring that he get counseling and
that he continue to meet with Canon
France as a mentor.
Bishop McNutt was to be in
Coudersport on Sunday, September
19th, for his annual visitation. He
was scheduled to meet with the
vestry after the morning service. It
seems likely that McCarriar, who had
MURDER,
From Page 9
about the apparent concerted gaybashing
in our community.
""We regard it as monstrous that
people should be murdered because
they're the wrong religion in Ireland,
or the wrong tribe in Africa, or the
wrong race somewhere else. So here
in Montreal, it is equally monstrous
that anyone, be it a beloved colleague
Leonardo's Children, Inc. and a friend, or even a total stranger,
26 Newport Bridge Rd. should be done to death, possibly
Call( 504)899-440 F1AX( 504)891-7555 Warwick, NY 10990 ■ because of his or _her actual or alleged
L._$;_1_89_.ooy_,_e,p_ea~_rr6 o__bri lli_,n$g3,___1s. soo__ef a_c_h._.■~,., .___ ___. 9_.1_,4._.e9c8)(_6_-6__8_88 ____ = sexual orientation.""
•1 6I Second Stone•Marcb/April, 1994
l!.!!J
been encouraged by Canon France in
their sessions to consider relocating
and starting over, believed that he
would be removed from his position
at this time . In any case, Fr.
McCarriar did not show up at either
the morning service or the meeting
thereafter. In fact, he had gone to
Williamsport the previous evening
and on Sunday morning jumped to
his death.
Bishop McNutt was with the
congregation when they were told of
their Vicar's death. Canon France
was with them the following two
Sundays both to preach and to be
available for the people in whatever
way he could to promote healing. The
Bishop is appointing a new vicar, to
save the missions from conducting a
search during their grief and healing
process. In the interim the pulpit has
been filled on Sundays by two priests
from the diocese. Healing seems to
be coming to the congregations at
last.
A good friend of his said, ""Herb
could have been helped. No one
behaved inappropriately, but it just
didn 't happen."" One theme which
repeated continuously was McCarriar's
fear of psychiatrists, psychologists
and all forms of counse]ing.
Against all assurances, he believed
his counselors were spies for the
Bishop, reporting all they .heard in
supposed confidence. A friend also
said ""there was much denial in Herb.
He was terribly injurel:!, but wouldn't
let anybody in, Even in . good .-titnes,
there was never any connectiori:"" It
seems Fr. McCarriar was adept at
helping others, but simply could . not
ask for or receive help himself. It
may never be known what fears kept
him shut off from all those whose true
desire was to help and heal. He
created a place which was a true
anomaly; a rural congregation cl1aracterized
by inclusiveness, welcoming
to Gays and Lesbians, committed to
justice. McCarriar often claimed the
Coudersport congregation had the
first openly gay couple in the nation
to stand as godparents at a baptism.
Yet, he who accomplished so much
and helped so many was ultimately
neither able to help himself nor to
receive from others the care which he
so freely gave. - Ann Carlson
The Rt. Rev. Andrew Hutchinson,
Bishop of Montreal, said, ''This is a
threat to the well-being of our
community and a terror to a large
segment of the population in partiClllar,
namely, the gay community.
Regardless of what may have been
Father Eling's sexual orientation, he
was a good and caring man. His
whole life was lived out in profound
commitment to challenging the bigotry
of a violent world.""
-Kim Byham
In Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '
Andrew, You Died Too Soon
By Re\i. Richard B. Gilbert
Contributing Writer
The Rev. Corinne Chilstrom, author.
Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1993.
I first met Corinne Chilstrom five
years ago when I brought her to
Bur.lington, Iowa, to participate in
our annual conference on grief.
As a light approach to a heavy
subject, I introduced her as ""the first
lady of the EL(;A."" The crowd chuckled
with delight. Rev. Chilstrom is
the wife of Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America Bishop Herbert
Chilstrom.
'
She is also one of a very few ""first
ladies"" of grief counseling, for she
grabbed hold of the 250 people there
as they have never been grabbed
before, wrung us through, yet gently
sootned us, ·shoved us · forcefully
beyond previous understanding of
grief, yet welcomed us into her home
and story in a way that made us feel
like family. She introduced .,us to
Andrew, her adopted ' soi:i, who committed
suicide as a young adult.
Corinne's magnetic style, her
charm, her might, her pastoral pres~
In Print, briefly ...
Womeant W orship:
Interpretatioonfs N orth
AmericaDn iversity
This book is a collection of essays
which probe the meaning and the
manys hapeso f contemporarfye minist
worship. Suggestionasr e offered
for revitalizing traditional liturgical
expressionsin relation t.o women's
experiences. Authors are Majorie
Procter-Smiathn dJ anetR . Walton
-FromW estminster/JoKhnno xP ress
OutingS: hatterintgh e
Conspiracoyf Silence
Thisi s the mostc ompletbeo okt o date
on outing. Authors Warren Johansson
and William Percy analyze the
subjectf rom the perspectiveo f the
shifting religious attitudes toward
homosexuaelx pressio.n.
-FromH affingtonP arkP ress
Journeyo f theS oul
Author Ruth H. Lang has written this
little booklet'1 o inspiret he readert o
take hope and reach out for a measure
of life which has not as yet been
realized.""
-FromW omaPnr ints1, 18W esSt parks
St.,G alenKa S6 6739
ence have carried over into this book,
a book that must be read · by all
bereaved families and those dealing
with grief due to a suicide. It is also a
book that will be a gift to caregivers
and those in need of caregiving, as
happened that day in Burlington,
when the 20 (out of 250) who I personally
invited because they shared a
similar story, were shouting through
their posture, their gestures, their
reactions, ""Right on, sister... you
understand!""
Read how, yes, a
pastor could lash
out at God in
helpless rage, yet
feel closer to him at
the same time.
This is not another ''how-to"" book
on grief. There are too many of those
already. I know. I have read them.
Like the great teacher and storyteller
Darcie Sims,. Corrine is doing this as
it is said on the streets, about matters
related to grief, ""She's saying, What it
is!""
Andrew, You Died Too Soon is a
collection of short vignettes. Even the
three teaching sections (adoption,
suicide, anger, plus a helpful look at
the Psalms on our relationship with
God in all of this), come across as
story, and with a grand permission to
be ourselves and to claim our own
story.
Read the book straight through,
skip around, read sections at a time ...
but read it! Read about how she
doesn't buy pears anymore, because
they were Artdrew's favorite fruit.
Some things are never the same
again. Read how they strung lights
in the hallway because they needed
something of the holiday. Read how,
yes, a pastor, could lash out at God in
helpless rage, yet feel clos,erto him at
the same time. Read about the
importance of ritual (familial and
religious), when the rituals may be
the only pathway you 'have to pull
people together.
The section on adoption is
especially important, for not enough
has been written about the ""absence ·
_ of connectedness,"" which is what
adoption may feel like. It is an
important subject that needs more
discussion. Adoption may be the best
choice in a difficult situation, but it
carries its weight in scars.
The book's purpose is to help you to
affirm your grief, find your pathway
to healing, and to meet the loving
God (in the theology of the cross) who
is with us in our suffedng, understands
our suffering, and is the one
expression of ""sensibility"" (i.e., covenant)
in those moments and chapters
when there i.s only pain. 1
As a grief counselor and teacher, as
well as chaplain, it is both my prayer
and my commitment to get Andrew,
You Died Too Soon into the hands of
bereaved parents and families, pastors,
church members, seminarians,
counselors, people who want to care,
and those many countless folks who
mean well, but often say and do the
things that hurt. The_bereaved have
enough pairt on their own. For every
person who reads this book there are
countless folks who will be touched,
understood more empathetically,
cared for along the way, drawn closer
to a caring God who might otherwise
seem to have abandoned them
(another death). Then one might
hope that the church might begin to
carry out in her ministries, her
programs and her liturgies what Jesus
has not only promised in himself, but
demanded of us as that task which
sets us apart from others. ""Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall
be comforted.""
Thank you, Corinne, for sharing
your pain, your story, your son.
Thank you Andrew, for helping me
with my own adoption issues.
Through the author and the son, I
have gained two friends and .also a
renewed strength to seek the hope I
need on my own grief journey.
The goal was peacemaking
between evangelicals and
liberals: But then there
was· a muttlet: .. and a gay
Quaker i:tctivist is the
prime suspect.
""I never suspected a Quaker mystery
could be such a page turner. Great
fun.""
-Mark Hulbert, Publisher
Hulbert Financial Digest
"" ... an intoxicating witches' brew of
sexual politics and unFriendly
intrigue ... Prophetic and scary!""
-Alan Pell Crawford, author
Thunder On the Right
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□ MURDER AMONG FRIENDS
ByC huckF ager$, 13.95
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Presbyterian Church
Coming Out Day
MARCH 6, ""For All The Saints"" is the
theme of this day, set aside for coming
out in/to/for/with the Presbyterian
Church as a lesbian, gay, or
bisexual Christian or. as one who
supports the full membership of all
persons regardless of sexual orientation.
For information contact Rev.
Lindsay Louise Biddle, 3538 22nd
Ave. So., Minneapolis, MN 55407,
(612)724-5429.
Black Church
National Day of Prayer
MARCH 6, The Second Annual Black
Church National Day of Prayer for
the Healing of AIDS, coordinated by
The Balm In Gilead, Inc. This
campaign for a spiritual commitment
to fight AIDS calls on the over 500,000
black churches in the United States to
set aside this day of prayer. For
information call (212)281-4887.
PLGC Midwinter
Midwest Conference
MARCH 11-13, Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns is planning its
midwinter conference and retreat in
the Des Moines area. For information
contact Eastern Iowa PLGC, P.O. Box
3202, Iowa City, IA 52244.
American Society on
Aging ,Conference
MARCH 18-22, Special educational
events, including ""Gay and Lesbian
Aging Issues"" will punctuate the
ASA's 40t_h Aimual Meeting at the
San Francisco Hilton Hotel. Sessions
· will include topics on AIDS and
elders and overcoming barriers to
health and social services for Gays
and Lesbians. ASA's lfask Force on
Lesbian and Gay Aging Is~ues will
present three days of programming
designed to help service providers
understand the special concerns of
gay and lesbian elders. For
information call 1-800-537-9728 or
TT /TrY /TDD 1-800-735-2929 or FAX
(415)974-0300.
Conference of Lesbian,
Gaymale, Bisexual
and Transgender
Seminarians
APRIL 22-24, ''Finding Our Voices"" is
the theme fpr this fourth annual
conference to be held at United
Theological Seminary of the Twin
Cities, New Brighton; Minn. Dr.
Christine M; Smith, UTS professor
and author of Weaving the Serman:
Preaching in a Feminist Perspective and
Preaching as Weeping, Canfessian, and
Resistance: Radical Respanses to Radical
Evil, is the keynote speaker. The
conference is a lime of prayer, play,
and the construction of grassrcots gay,
theology . For information write to
r-· -- . . . L18;, SecondStone-M~ch/Aprii, 1994
L/G/B/T Caucus , United Theological
Seminary, 3000 5th St. NW, New
Brighton, MN 55112
LGCM
Annual Conference
APRIL 15-17, London's Lesbian and
Gay Christian Movement sponsors its
annual conference. St. Alban's
Centre, Baldwin's Gardens, London,
is the setting. Keynote speaker is
Prof. William Countryman, professor
of New Testament, The Church
Divinity School of the Pacific and
author of Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual
Ethics in the New Testament and Their
Implications for Today. For information
contact LGCM, Oxford House,
Derbyshire St., London, UK E2 6HG .
More Light Churches
Conference
MAY 7-8, This gathering of members
of Presbyterian congregations who
welcome and affirm gay and lesbian
members has met annually since 1985
for worship, fellowship, education,
sharing of resources and models of
ministry, and planning for evangelism
and outreach. St. Luke Presbyterian
Church, Minneapolis-St. Paul,
Minn., is the host. The theme of the
conference is ""From Dialogue to
Ministry: A Positive and Practical
Approach to This Historical Moment.""
For information , call St. Luke Presbyterian
Church, (612)474-7378 or Dick
Hasbany, (503)757-8243.
CMI Retreats
MAY 20-22, Communication
Ministry, Inc., a organization of
Catholic lesbian nuns and gay
brothers and priests sponsors the
Gentle Warrior Retreat (men only).
For information write to Steven
Botkin, Men's Resource Center, 30
Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA 01002.
JUNE 20-24, Emmaus House, Perth
Amboy, N.J., is the setting for this
retreat held in conjunction with the
celebrations of Stonewall 25 in New
York City. JUNE 27-JULY 1,CMI
hosts a retreat at the Marianist Center
in Cupertino, Calif. For information
write to Communication Ministry,
P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125.
Spiritfest '94 .
MAY 27-30, This annual gathering of
gay and lesbian Pentecostals features
worship, music, prayer and ·workshops
. The <Zoriference will be held in
Arkansas . . For information contact
Linda Harris, (817)520-7919.
Mercy of God
Community Retreat
JUNE 3-5, The Mercy of God
Community sponsors its Third
Annual Religious Life Weekend and
Retreat at the LaSalette Shrine and
Retreat Center in Attleboro, Mass.
The gathering offers an opportunity
to explore religious vocation and
enrich one's prayer life . For information
contact Br. Ron Francis
Creapeau-Cross, MGC, Mercy of God
Community, P.O. Box 41055,
Providence, RI 02940-1055.
Ecumenical Institute of
Sacred Choral Music
, JUNE 19-21, The United Church
Coalition for Lesbian and Gay
Concerns sponsors an ecumenical
choir camp for gay, lesbian and
bisexual Christians. The camp will
proceed the UCCL/GC 14th Annual
National Gathering on the Rutgers
campus in Newark, N.J. and will
culminate with a major concert on
June 23rd at a nationally known
church. The event will unite the
voices of 200 gay, lesbian, and
bisexual Christians as part of Gay
Pride Week m New York City. For
information contact Rev. Christine
· Leslie, (908)598-0862, 125 Summit
Ave., #4, Summit, NJ 07901.
Eighth Annual
Golden Threads
JUNE 24-26, Lesbian women from all
over the United States, and some
from other countries, will gather at
the .Provincetown Itm in Provincetown,
Mass., to celebrate what they
are and their age, whatever it is.
Entertainment will be provided by
Heather Bishop. Golden Threads is a
worldwide social network of lesbian
women over 50, and women who are
interested in older women. For
reservation information write to
Christine Burton, Golden Threads,
P.O. Box 60475, Northampton, MA
01060-0475.
American Baptists
Concerned National
Retreat
JUNE 27-30, Madison A venue Baptist
Church in New York City will host
this retreat, themed ""A Celebration of
Stonewall and Our Wholeness"" in
commemoration of the 25th anniversary
of Stonewall. Attendees will
have the opportunity of participating
in the many activities of New York's
Gay Pride Week. Retreat leader is
Dr. William R. Stayton. For information
contact American Baptists Concerned,
872 Erie St., Oak1and, CA
94610, (510)465-8652.
ConnECtion '94
JULY 1-4, Evangelicals Concerned
Western Region sponsors its annual
gathering to be held this year at
Chapman College in Orange County,
Calif. For information write to
ECWR, P.O. Box 4750, Denver, CO
80204.
Lutherans Concerned
National Gathering
JULY 14-17, The National Assembly
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
of Lutherans Concerned/North
America will be held on the campus
of the Uruvers1ty of North Carolina in
Charlotte. For information contact
LCNA, P.O. Box 10461, Chicago IL
60610-0461. '
National Association
of Black and White
Men Together
JULY 16-24, Over 200 people are
expected to attend this organization's
14th Annual Convention to be held at
the Sheraton National Hotel in
Arlington, Va. The theme ''Breaking
the Chains of ISMS"" will be addressed
via workshops, guest speakers, and
cultural/ social events. NABWMT was
formed in 1980 as a ""gay, multi-racial,
multi-cultural organization committed
to fostering supportive environments
· wherein racial and cultural barriers
can be overcome and the goal of
human equality realized."" For information
contact NABWMT, 1747 •
. Connecticut Ave. N.W ., 3rd Floor,
Washington, DC 20009-1108,
(202)462-3599, (800)NA4-BWMT.
1994 GLAD Event
AUGUST 12-15, The Gay, Lesbian
and Affirming Disciples Alliance will
me':t at Mercy Center, Burlingame,
Cal!f.-, for its annual gathering.
Faahtators are Cynthia WintonHenry
and Phil Porter. For information
on this Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) event contact
GLAD, P.O. Box 19223, Indianapolis,
IN 46219-0223, (206)324-6231. .
Conference for
Catholic parents of
Gays, Lesbians .
SEPTEMBER 30-0CTOBER 2,
'Turning the Key,"" the first national
retreat for Catholic parents of gay and
lesbian children which will support
parents in their key roles of promoting
understanding and empathy in
the church, will be held at the
LaSalette Center for Christian Living
m Attleboro, Mass. Facilitators will
be Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SSND, and
Fr. Robert Nugent. The weekend will
involve story-telling, presentations,
film, discussions, communal prayer,
qmet hme, worship and . socializing.
For information contact Fr. Robert
Nugent, 637 Dover St., Baltimore,
MD 21230, (301)864-8954.
LGCM Retreat
N0':13MBER 11-12, England's
Lesbian and Gay Christian
Movement sponsors a retreat led by
Helen Loder, SSM and Rev. Malcolm
Johnson. This is a unique weekend
opportunity of meditative reflection in
an affirming c?mmunity, during
which there will be talks, discussions
some silence and lots of relaxation. '
The Royal Foundation of St.
Katherine in London is the setting.
For information contact LGCM,
Oxford House, Derbyshire St.,
London, E2 6HG, UK.
Noteworthy T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
UFMCC leader celebrates
10th anniversary
t.MR. RA VI VERMA celebrated his
10th year as Direct or of Adminstration
at the UFMCC church headquarters
in 1993. Rev. Troy Perry
praised Verma for his ""professionalism,
creativity, intelligence and
devotion.""
American Baptists Concerned
adds chapters
t.THE GROUNDWORK was laid for
thr ee new American Baptists Concerned
chapters at the regional retreat
of ABConcerned/New England.
Retreat participants decided that the
New England chapter would be
diyided into three groups: ABConcerned/
Massachusetts, ABConcerned/
Connecticut and ABConcerned/Rhode
Island. For information about the
Connecticut group call (203)267-2456;
Massachusetts cafl (617)625-3121. For
· information about the national organization
for gay and lesbian Baptists
contact American Baptists Concern ed,
872 prie St., Oakland, CA 94610,
(510)465-8652.
MCC Nashville in the
news, growing .
t.AS A RESULT of interviews with
new pastor · Rev: 'Dr: ·Buddy Truluck
in a Nashville daily newspaper and
HOUSING,
From Page 7
need for time and spa ce to continue
dialogue,"" he said. Regarding the
City of New York, Bishop Anderson
reiterated his conviction that the
seminary not concede to outside
pressure, but continue to work within
the structures and teachings of the
Church. In suggesting a future
policy, he said he supported an
approach involving shared responsibility
between the seminary and
diocesan bishops regarding housing
at GTS and .that the church's bishops
nee!=! to be more explicit about their
CMI,
From Page 12
homosexuality, an immense achievement
itself, but we · are hearing ourselves
called ii:i-our gay and lesbian
identities,"" he says . ""We are members
of Christ's Body, and this is our
salvation. As gay and lesbian people
we have special gifts and . a purpose
in the Church and world. In this is
.our sanctification. How wonderful,
then, that God could make a people
out of those who were 'no-people.""'
The Board 0f Directors of CMI, like
their subscribers, represents a · spectrum
of religious communities of
on three local radio stations, MCC
Nashville reports membership more
than doubling. The Board of Direcs
tors has increased the pastor's position
from part time to enough to meet the
UFMCC requirement for full time .
pastor and open the way for the
church to apply to regain its UFMCC
charter. In the spring, the church is
planning to move to a larger location
and greatly expand the opportunities
for church groups and community
meetings. For information on MCC/
Nashville, call (615)251-9057.
Raleigh church buys
new building
t.ST. JOHN'S MCC, Raleigh, North
Carolina, has closed on the purchase
of a $425,000 building, reports Rev.
Wayne Lindsay, pastor. The building
has a sanctuary that seats 228.
The church reported an $18,000
offering on Sunday, Dec. 5.
Small church realizes big dream
t.OPEN DOOR MCC, a UFMCC commissioned
church with 63 members in
Boyds, Maryland, recently achieved
something few churches of its size
have ever done. Open Door built its
own $285,000 church building from
the ground up. ""We are proud and
we hope other churches will say,
expectations for the students from
their individual dioceses.
At its convention last fall, just after
the GTS Trustees met, the Diocese of
New York called for the Episcopal
Church to end unequal treatment of
its employees. A direct outgrowth of
the GTS controversy, the resolution
was introduced by St. Clement's
Church, Manhattan, and was overwhelmingly
approved. The resolution
calls for its introduction at
General Convention later this year.
- Bruce Parker and Episcopal News
Service
women and men and diocesan clergy.
The editors of Communication newsletter
and CMl Board of Directors are all
volunteers. The funding for the ministry
comes from newsletter subscriptions,
retreat fees and the contributions
of friends of the CMI network.
Subscriptions to CMl newsletter are
$25.00 per year in the U.S., $30.00
per year in Canada and Mexico,
$35.00 elsewhere. The mailing list is
confidential and -the newsletter
arrives in a sealed envelope. For
information write to Communication
Ministry, Inc ., P .O. Box . 60125,
Chicago, IL 60660-0125.
'Hey,.if that little church can do it, we
can, too!""' said Rev. Ke·n Ehrke,
pastor. While most new MCC buildings
are constructed in urban areas,
Open Door MCC is unique because
the new church was built in a rural
area. -Rev. Kittredge Cherry
Rural Gays, Lesbians
connect on computer
HHE RURAL ALLIANCE Network
has gone on line with interactive services
for Gays and Lesbians living in
rural. and suburban areas of the
country. The network plans to provide
information and entertainment
and aims to ""put an end to the
dominant urban gay /lesbian/bisexual
stereotype."" Services are now
available 24 hours a day by phoning
(805)287-0010 with your computer
modem.
United In Spirit takes
a higher profile
llUNITED IN SPIRIT, a San Franciscobased
coalition of gay- and lesbianpositive
religious organizations, has
recently increased its visibility in the
community. The group was formed
in response to .a meeting called by
Rev . Lou Sheldon of the Traditional
Values Coalition held at Hamilton
Square Baptist Church in San
Francisco on March 4, 1993. The
name United In Spirit was chosen as
an attempt to be as broadly inclusive
_of religious traditions as possible.
The desire of the group is to join with
other groups who actively oppose the
politics of the religious right and to be
proactive in proclaiming the loving,
inclusive · reign of God. For information
contact United In Spirit, Rev.
Mickey Williamson, First Congregational
Church, 432 Mason St., San
Francisco, CA 94102, (415)392-7461.
Cloister begins publication
ll'THE HARMONIST,"" the only
handset and hand printed periodical
in the country, is being published by
the members of Christiansbrunn
Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is a
community of gay men who are
Harmonists . The 63-acre cloister is
located in the Mahantongo Valley nf
central Pennsylvania. The newsletter
features a column on what is
happening at the cloister, how the
animals and crops are doing, and
what events are coming up. It also
features a monthly article on the
Pennsylvania Dutch culture of the
Mahantongo Valley, focluding . interviews,
German recipes, farming techniques,
and more. The cost if $15
annually and includes associate
membership. For a complimentary
copy write to Bro. Johannes,
Christiansbrunn Kloster, RDl, Box
149, Pitman, PA 17964.
20th anniversary for
Integrity founder
llLOUIE CREW, founder of Integrity,
Inc. and professor at Rutgers University,
and Ernest Clay celebrated the
20th anniversary of their commitment
ceremony on February 2, 1994, 12
days before Valentine's Day.
""Rev. Dee Dale Day""
MS PART OF the celebration of Rev.
Dee Dale's 10th anniversary as pastor
of MCC Louisville, Ky., the county
judge executive proclaimed Dec. 10 as
""Rev. Dee Dale Day"" in Jefferson
County, Kentucky.
Cathedral of Hope
offers bond issue
llCATHEDRAL OF HOPE MCC,
Dallas, one of the fastest growing
churches in America, is selling bonds
in order to refinance current bonds at
a lower rate. The · previous issue
came three years ago whei:i banks
refused to finance the construction of
the congregation's new facility which
now .stands as the world's largest
lesbian and gay church. The new
issue will allow: the church to add
parking and construct new"" classrooms.
For information .on the investment
bonds call (214)351-1901.
Dignity/Maui chapter folds
llDIGNITY /MAUI has discontinued
its meetings, according to chapter
organizer Ron Drum.
Bulk Copies Available
OF THIS ISSUE OF SECOND STONE
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Second Stone•March/April, 1994 · :/ 19 /
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A GAY DIARY 1975-1982 by Donald
Vining is the latest in the-series of intimate,
personal diaries of which critics have said,
' Unquestionably the nchest h1stoncal document
of gay male life in the United States""
""The fairly' detailed look at the day-to-day .
· development of a 'long-term' gay couple ·
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sense, interest in the foibles of others.
Deep honesty."" 474 pages. paperback
$11.95 hardcover $16.95. Also available A
GAY DIARY 1946-1954 $9.95 and $14.95,
1954-1967 paperback only, $9.95, 1967-
1975, $11.95 and $!~.95. The Pepys Press,
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_Employment
EXPERIENCED CHRISTIAN Bimale seeks
job as Church Sexton, Gardener, Janitor-or
- Maintenance Man at church, camp, or other
institution . Would prefer Northwestern U.S.
and Canada. Contact Joe Nolan. 1750 Hwy
126-Box 163, Florence, OR 97439. 4/94
PIANO FOR SALE. Responsible party
wanted to take on low monthly payments on
beautiful console piano. No down payment
needed . Call 1-800-782-0943 .
Mail Ord .er ·· ""
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· Friends/Relationship-s ,
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experienced seeks male and fema\e __ b1sexuals
for pen pals and more. I'm sens1t1ve, vmle
and crossdre sser. Please relieve my boredom
Joe N., 1750 Hwy 126-Box 163, Florence,
GAY PRIDE FL_ A_G_S_, _B_ann_e-rs-,--cLac- p--c-el Pins ,
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-Organizatiqns . .
BE A RELIGIOUS BROTHER / SISTER
while remaining at home and choosing your own
ministry. Join our Christian. ecumenical,
inclusive network. Write to Mercy of
God Community, Dept. SS, P.O. Box 6502 ,
Providence, RI 02940 4/94
Professional Services .
PSYCHOTHERAPIST with long term experience
working with gay and lesbian individuals
and couples. (603)431-1900. Contact
person, Judith· Palais, MSW, BCD. 8/94
Videos · ·
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General Interest . ·
NEW YORK CITY GAY Spirit-filled Christian
group 'now forming for support, fellowship,
Bible study, and worship . Ult1mate
goal is to start new Christ-centered church . .
Call Kevin at (Jl8)267-0773 6/ 94
""AIDS AWARENESS' stamp pins. •$3.50. _
Quality made of solid brass . Proceeds benefit
PWAs. Volume discounts. Eastern Maine
AIDS Network, P.O .. Box 2038, Bangor, ME
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LAST SUPPER,
From Page 11
saying 'This cup which is poured out
for you is the new covenant in my
blood.""
Direct reference to the Last Supper
as a 'frequent worship experience in
the early church is in I Corinthia11s
10:14-33 and 11:17-34. In both of
these passages, Paul gives stress to
the theme of inclusiveness and unity
that the communion meal expressed:-
Jesus applied the Old Testament
and the Passover traditions to himself.
He focused it all on his own person
and mission. 'This is my body. This
is my blood ."" Jesus was very selective
in his interpretation of passover
traditions. The passover meal incjuded
many items that Jesus could have
used as symbols of himself: the slain
lamb, the bitter herbs, salt, etc. He
used the most simple of all. The host
at the Passover had the responsibility
of explaining the items used in the
meal.
Jesus took the common elements of
every meal, bread and drink, and
transformed them by his · use into
vehicles for revealing the glory of
God. This freedom of Jesus in seeing
all things in his own personal and
individual way is one of God's gifts to
you and me through Christ. We also
come to the communion meal with
our personal needs and problems and
experiences that make each of us
unique and . unlike every other person
in the world.
In Communion you are invited to
experience God through Jesus Christ
in the way that fits you and with
which you feel most comfortable and
the least distracted. You are not only
free to understand the bread and cup
in your own individual way; you are
encouraged and invited to do so. .
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!.",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,33,1994,"Mar/Apr 1994",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/551b8752c4a00b8eafd71756a02c75c7.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1671,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1671,"Second Stone #34 - May/June 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"OUR SIXTH YEAR MAY/JUNE, 1994 · ISSUE #34
Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like ·an everflowing stream. - Amos 5:24
RO AD T° R IP
In Latin America:
Seeking the
""other sheep""
John Doner and Pepe Hernandez, life partners
for over a dozen years, have just completed a
14-count:ry bus tour of Latin America. Their
purpose was to encourage the formation of new
Christian groups to minister to the gay and lesbian
_ community.
There are forty million Gays
and Lesbians in Latin
America. Specialists in missiology,
church . growth and
urban evangelism continue to pretend
that this large minority does not
even exist, says the l eader of an
organization dedicated to changing
ministry to Gays an d Lesbians in
Latin America.
Dr. Tom Hanks, a Bible scholar and
theologian in Latin America since
1963 and executiv e director of Other
Sheep ministries recognized this mission
field and has made Latin America
a priority for his ministry . His
organization recently sponsored a
14-country Latin American tour by
two missionaries, John Doner and
Pepe Hernandez.
""We help sexual minorities and
those who work with them to realize
their dreams,"" says Hanks, summing
up th e work of Other Sheep. ""So
many dreams have been smas h ed: of
getting 'cured,' of happy traditional
marriages, of getting ordained to
serve God openly as a gay man or
lesbian , of defeating AIDS. Any human
organization inevitably smashes
some dreams as incompatible with its
goals and procedures, even those that
work to support sexua l minority
concerns ... I long to see people realize
in their lives the dreams God has
given them.,,
Other Sheep, also known as
Multicultural Ministries with Sexual
Minorities, is into its third year of
. evangelistic outreach, pasto ral care,
and educational programs with both
sexual minorities and homophobic
individuals and institutions in the
Americas, Europe and Africa. In
1993, the une xpected opening of networking
and evangelistic outreach in
South Africa and the establi shment of
a new center for ministry in San Jose,
Costa Rica were important steps for
the organization .
There are 57 cities in Latirt America
with populations of more than half a
million, but only in ten of those cities
do Christian ministries to Gays and
Lesbians exist, although one city in
Latin America has 102 gay bars. The
few gay and lesbian Christian groups
that do exist are isolated from each
other by hundreds or even thousands
of miles. They are separated econom ically
by extremely limited telephone
and travel budgets, linguistically by
the Spanish-English-Portuguese barriers
and theologically by the historic
Catholic-Protestant split _still common
in Latin America.
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
P. 0 . Box 8340
John Doner, left, and Jose (Pepe) Hernandez
. ,,. ·, ; ' .
•J ii;
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From the Editor ...................................
Unity between evangelicals,
Catholics not rooted in
compassion c:nd faith
By Jim Bailey I ecall sitting am.ong the congregation of a Southern Baptist
Convention church, of which I was a member during my high
school days, and hearing from the pulpit that no one was farther
rom the gate of heaven than a Roman Catholic. A decade later,
I was teaching Sunday School in the even more conservative Baptist
Missionary Association and, much to the chagrin of my pastor,
working for the ""hell-bound"" Romans as an assistant administrator of
an Associated Catholic Charities program. The closest this pastor
ever came to acknowledging any value at all of Catholicism was that
""the Catholics do build beautiful churches."" The disdain that Baptists
and evangelicals have long held toward the Roman Catholic church
is well known.
But now, all that's changing.
The Catholic church is seeming a bit more Christian to evangelicals
these days. The church's steadfast stand against abortion, civil rights
for Gays and Lesbians, the teaching of safe sex to teenagers and
other ""social ills"" has not gone unnoticed by Baptists and
evangelicals, who are now apparently willing to award Roman
Catholics with some heavenly credit.
Catholic and evangelical leaders gathered in March to sign a
document entitled ""Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The
Christian. Mission in the Third Millennium."" The document, signed
near the end of March by about 40 church leaders, urged Catholics
and evangelicals to put centuries of theological differences behind
them and recognize each other's ·central beliefs in the resurrection
and divinity of Christ. Among those signing the document: the
heads of the Southern Baptist Convention's Christian Life
Commission and Home Mission Board, Bill Bright of Campus
Crusade for Christ, Pat Robertson and San Francisco's Archbishop
Carlos Sevilla. Odd bedfellows indeed.
Of course we've always known that politics makes odd bedfellows
and that's what this is ca powerful political action that has little to do
with bringing Christian people together in unity. The document
states that the new alliance is coming together to deal with the
""restoration of religion-based moral values ... ""
And who might be in for a little overhaul in this restoration
process?
We inust pray for real unity among Christian people . And that
comes not when · we agree politically but when we agree on a faith
that recognizes the worthiness, dignity and sanctity of all people in a
radically 'inclusive way as Christ did. The signers of ""Evangelicals
and Catholics Together"" have not demonstrated this depth of
compassion. ·
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1994 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00\l'er year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For displa:, advertising information ca11{504)891-7555 or write to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
EDITORIAL, send letters, .calendar announcements, noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscripts to be .
returned ~hould be accompanied . by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Second Stone
1s otherwise not responsible for the return of any material. ·
SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian ·social justice newsjoumal
With a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities. •
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Andrea L. T. Peterson, Brian Mayeda,
Rev. Janis K. Doleschal, Tom W. Kelly. Amy Adams Strongheart
rn Second Stone•May/June, 1994
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents ......... ........ "" ....... .. . rn
[]]
[I]
[NJ
From The Editor.
""Unity"" between evangelicals, Catholics
Commentary
On same-gender marriage
News Lines
Cover Story
On the road to ministry in Lalin America
1191 The Second Loss @) . A lesbian pastor survives an ouster vote
' What Makes a Family? [HJ I It's not Ward, June, Beaver and Wally anymore
. r.-~ In Print
! 15 I In the Courts of the Lord
l I • I I Reviewed bY. Andrea L T. Peterso,.;
~ What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality
Reviewed by Tom W. Kelly .
I 181 Calendar
I 19 I Noteworthy
· 120 I Classifl~s
Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A proposal of marriage
By Maggie Tanis
Guest Comment
W
. en his lover of 18 years
ad a heart attack and was
aken to the local hospital, a
ay man was told by .the
hospital staff that because he was ""not
family"" they w o uld not give him any
informati on about his lov er's condition
. They wouldn't even t ell him if
his life partner was dead or aliv e.
Only after he went hom e and · got
their pow er of attorney papers, which
were carefully examined by the
hospital administrators, was he told
that his lov er was going to survive. If
the religious se rvice that they had
had y e ars befo re had b ee n recognized
by the civil authorities as a
lega l marriag e, then the pain and
fear they suff ere d would not ha ve.
bee n compounded by having to
prove their status as. family to an uncaring
hospital bureauacracy. .
A lesbian couple in Honolulu who
have thr ee children worry that if one
of them was to die, th e children could
be taken away from the remaining
parent and lose the only famil y th ey
had ever known . This couple married
seven years ago, befor e having
children , so that their kids would be
born ""in wedlock."" But the state
refuses to recognize th eir marria ge.
We can gain vital civil rights
through th e legali zation of sa me gender
marriag e, rights that we curr entl y
hold only through piec emeal, and
often ineffectual , legal protection s.
Dom estic partner s hip , in the few
places that r ecognize it, often carri es
more symbolic than legal value. The
struggle for marriage rights is principally
a struggle for civil rights .
Yet some Gays and Les bian s
continue to think that this issu e is not
imp ortant to our community . Some
charge that the mov ement for s_ame
gender marri age is merel y copying
heterosexual values and is a goal
inconsistent with the pursuit of civil
rights for gay people . Th e m ove ment
for same gender marriage fundamentally
seeks to ensure that all
peop le hav e equal access · to the rights
granted in our society.
I believe that our s is a radical
movement that will str ike a s ignificant
blo w to th e fo rces of our
oppr ess ion by br ea kin g down th e
basti on of h e tero sex u al pri vilege :
marriag e. Society rewards peop le for
enterin g into het erosex u a l marriag e,
by granting l egally sa nct ion ed rights
and bene fits. Granting these rights t o
other mod e ls of family remo ves the
adv anta ge curr en tly enjoyed o nly by
h eterosex uals and the ir families. The
que stion of whether states ought lo
grant couples benefits not given to
singles is a diff erent question than
whether same gender coupl es should
be treated as equal to opposite gender
couples.
By n o t pursuing the right to marry ,
we are saying in effect that i I is
acceptable to treat gay and lesbian
couples differently than hetero sexual
couples . That is not acceptable to me .
Same gender couple s de serve bett er
than se cond cla ss citizenship. All
p eople are entitled to equal tr eatinent,
and that is why we are
pursuing the legal right to marry in
Hawa ii.
Legali ze d marriag es would give
gay and lesbian relation ships full
legal and· social l egitimacy for the first
time in history . Gay and lesbian
couples would be entitled to all legal
benefits that automatically accrue to
married couples, including child custody,
employment, inherit a nce and
survivor benefits. Gay and lesbian
couples would also receive all economic
b enefits of ma rria ge, including
ta x exem ption , fee wa iver s, dea th
ben efits and comm e rcial discounts .
Even those who have no int erest in
""Big Three"" perpetuate homophobia
By The Ecumenical Catholic Church
Guest Comment
T hree unrelat ed rece nt acts
ha ve reinforced th e hom ophobia
of the Roman Catholic,
Lutheran , and Episcopal
churches. The trag edy is eve n furth
er troubl esome in that it represents
acts of worldw ide, national, and local
agents. · ·
In responding to le.aders of the
European Community moving toward
acceptance of gay mar riage and
Stonewall 25
By Nick Dowen
Guest Comment S ince 1969 a whole new generation
ha s grown up to
whom the Stonewall uprising
ma y seem as remote as
the War of 1812 . But I am old enough
to remember it as a cont emporary
event. In 1969 I already lived in New
York, as l had long wanted to do. On
the day after Stonewall when . I read
about ii in the new s paper s l
underst oo d in a flash what it was all
about: an oppre ssed group's struggl_e
for self-realization and self-determination.
This is not an original. them e.
It is as old as th e Bible and as ne,w as
tomorrow's newspapers. From the
adoption of children by same-sex
couples, Pope John Paul cautioned
them against taking such a s tand.
The bish op of Rome, ther efore, is
continuing to try to force his own
outd ated moral position through the
legal system. · •
Th e Evangelical Luth era n C hur ch
in A merica has expe lled o ne of its·
pastors in Oak land, Calif ., because he
acknowledges that he is an activ e
hom osex ual. We know that th e
clergy of nearly e very church body
hav e active homo sexual s among their
Pilgrims at Plimo uth Ro ck in 1620
onwards it is a central th eme in
American history . ·
Since 1969 I have n't changed my
.mind one bit about Stonewall. What
s urpris es m e is that not all Am erican s
hav e this unde rs tandin g of it. My
. und erstanding comes from my first
grade t eac he r, Miss Darlen e
Lansbury . She taught us about the
dehumani zing ins tituti on of s lavery .
She told u s about a black man
standing up in th e str eet to b e sold
like a stove, a thing , and I hav e that
frightening imag e ind elibly record ed
in my brain, pow erfully vivid and
pr esent to me this very day.
The central teaching of th e
Christian religion is that God becam e
ranks. The Lutheran mess ag e is
clea r: ""Don't be honest about who you
are if yo u want to continue to be a
good pas tor."" Obviously th e churches
ar e as goo d as the U.S. military when
it co mes to promoting dishonestly.
The rector of th e local Ep iscopa l
Church at the Russian River, in a
surprising and tremendously disappointing
move, h as put up a
roa dbl ock to our church s haring the
facilities that the Epi scopali ans lease
fr om th e Pr esbyte rian Church by
a human being. Af ter Jesu s Chri st,
we · believe, God can never be less
th an human . But Christians, to our
shame, have so metim es failed to live .
up to that id ea l, and hav e often
tr ea ted other human beings in a
d ehumani zing way. From the ea rly
church until today it hasn't been easy
to mak e the tran sition from beli eving
that Jes us is God to the more
important task, perhaps, of following .
Jesus' teachings.
Since 1969 the story of the lesbian
and gay community is largely about
growth: the growth of a tremendous
number of different organizations.
Our so ciety highl y prizes individual
initiativ e and achievem e nt, but
organized groups are stronger than
.............. .....
marri age will benefit from a v ictory
in this case becaus e it will represent
t he end of second class status and the
beginning of full eq ual citizenship for
Lesbians and Gays. ·
Same gender ma rriag e also is a
grave threat to the conservative antigay
movem ent. Those who oppos e
civil rights for Lesbians and gay men
rely h eavily on the stereotypes of
promiscuou s, leering men who pre y
upon young boys and hav e hundred s
o f sex partners ea ch yea r and of
Lesbians who parade naked down
Main Street. We are portrayed as the
bear ers of diseas e and thr e at s to
morality and the ""traditional family.""
Yet, o ur very d esire for marriag e
shatters th ese images. We ha ve
found in Hawaii that those who
opp ose same gender ma rriage ·argue
against hom osexua lity itse lf, rath er
than against gay m arr iag e because it
doe s not fit into their stereotypes.
After all, marriage conv eys the ideas
o f lov e, of commitment , of monogamy,
the o pposit es of what they
portray us to be.
Some h ave arg ued that we will
never · have marriage rights b ecaus e
they are too controversial. Th e
SEE PROPOSAL, Page 17
obje cting to the p ossibility of gay
weddings. This action demon st rat es
that even as nati ona l bodi es m ove to
deal positiv ely with sexual issues, the
cancer of homophobia mu st b e
erad icated a t each and every local
level as well.
It is exactly becau se of un°Christian
actions such as th ese that the Ecumenical
Catholi c and Sarum Episcopal
churches exist, carrying God""s messa
ge of all-inclusiv e love without the
sin of human bigo try and prejudice.
any individual. Our lesbian and gay
groups supply uur best prot ection
against bein g dehumani ze d ..
Excerpted fram Outlook, the newsletter
of Int eg,·ity /Ne w York, P.O. Box 5202,
New York, NY 10185-0043.
We welcome
your letters
and opinions
Write to Second Stone. All letters must
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Clearly indicate if your na!ne is to be
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Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or
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Second si~ne•M -ay-/-Ju_n_e_, -199_4_.[IJ
NewLsin es
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ill •· • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Ministerdse nouncseig nv andals
M GROUP OF ALABAMA ministers has come out in support of the Auburn
Gay and Lesbian Association's battle to maintain its anti-litter sign. The
Auburn Mi.nisterial Association has condemned vandalism of the Adopt-a-Mile
highway sign, which has been defaced repeatedly since it was first erected in .
January. ""There was a strong .consensus that there was something we could and
should say as representatives of fart of the religious community,"" said the Rev.
Howard W. Roberts, pastor o the. First Baptist Church, who signed the
statement. He said regardless of whether people approve of homosexuality,
:·what we need to try to do is to respond to all people with love,"" ·
- AssociatedP ress
Lutheragnr oups upportesx pellegda yp astor
LlLEADERS OF LUTHERANS CONCERNED/North America are publicly
denouncing the defrocking of the Rev. Ross Merkel, pastorofSt. Paul's Lutheran
Church in Oakland, Calif. on March 25. ""We deplore the actions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for causing another talented gay
pastor to be removed from the clergy roster,"" said .Lynn Mickelson, co-chair of
Lutherans Concerned. ""Both Pastor Merkel and the congregation of St. Paul's
have shown remarkable courage dunng this trying time. We pledge our
continuing support for Pastor Merkel and ·St. Paul's Church,"" .MicRelson said.
The ELCA hef<f a hearing and ruled thatRev. Merkel was to be removed from
the clergy roster for being in a relationship with another man.
Pastowr hol icensegda ym inistetro leaveB aptisct hurch
llTHE SENIOR PASTOR of Olin T. Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill,
North Carolina has decided to resign almost two years after a decision to
license a gay minister split the church and drew national attention. In a letter
mailed to the congregation, Linda Jordan, the church's first woman minister,
announced she would step down Aug. 31 from the post she has held more than
four years, reported The News & Obseruer of Raleigl,. During her tenure al the
church, the congregation voted to license John Blevins, a gay Duke University
divinity student, a decision that led to the church's expulsion from the Southern
Baptist Convention. The vote led seven of Binkley s 20 deacons to resign in
protest and caused many longtime members of the church to leave.
-Associated Press
MCCp astodr ismissed
LlAFTER SERVING THE Metropolitan Community Church of Baltimore as
pastor for only slightly more tfian a year, the Rev. Joseph Totten-Reid has
resigned at the request of the church's lay leadership. Totten-Reid's unexpected
departure, announced in early March, comes amid declining membership for the
21-year-old congregation. He was the fourth pastor to serve the Baltimore
congregation in as many years. There has been a growing decline in a number of
lesbian and gay religious organizations in Baltimore. 0The Altemative
Episcopaglr oupc ondemngsa ys tudentcso habitating
!:,A DEOSION BY THE General Theological Seminary, one of the country's
oldest and largest Episcopal seminaries, to allow gay and lesbian students to
live together in on-canifus housing has drawn a rebul<e from the nation's largest
traditionalist Episcopa group. Hie Rev. Samuel L. Edwards, executive director
of the Episcopal Synod of America, issued a statement blasting the new policy
as disgraceful. ""The Episcopal Synod of America sees this new devek,pment as
further evidence of the moral decadence within the institutional Episcopal
Church,"" Edwards said.
Clergyg roups upportgsa yr ightsb ill
LlSAY ING SUPPORTF OR gay rights is consistent with their religious teachings,
14 ministers from across Rliode fsland gathered at the Statehouse on March 16
to voice their support for a gay rights bill, making its 10th appearance in the
state's legislature. ""The time is overdue,"" said the Rev, H. Daehler Hayes, a
minister with the Rhode Island Conference of the United Church of Christ. ''The
time is now for passage of this legislation guaranteeing basic civil rights."" Last
year, the gay rights biil passed the Senate before being voted down in the House
Judiciary Committee. - Southern Voice
ThreCe atholcicle rabva cka nti-discriminbatililo n
llTHE PASTOR OF one oTWashington state's largest parishes and two Seattle
nuns bucked the state's Roman Catholic leadersrup and urged that the
legislature ]>ass a gay anti-discrimination bill, At a March 13 rally at St. James
Cathedral, the Rev. Michael Ryan, F'astor of the cathedral parish, and Sisters
Eileen Delong and Andrea Nenzel pledged lo SU£porl the legislation next year.
The bill died in the state Senate after passing the House.
Right~winCgh ristiangso t o"" booct amp""
t:,TJ-OLl AT.ESTA DDffiON to the influx of far-right fundamentalist l!roups that
continue to build up in Colorado Springs is_promising to open a boot-camp
training school"" for what maJ well be real Christian soldiers in the religious
right's war on the gay and lesbian community. The Coalition on Reviva1 has
been around in Nortliern California for about a decade and adheres to not only
59~e of the _n_,ose!~ tremist vi.ews in the fundamentalist ~ight but also adopts a
distinctly m1htaristic structure and language. An unpublished COR ""Manifesto""
calls on evangelical ministers to organize their CO!)gregations into small ""home
cell groups"" with parishioners (known as ""sheep"" m COR) agreeing to make a
""commitment to the other members of the group to the point of sacrifice."" Among
the tenets COR espouses are replacing the court system with tribunals overseen
[jJS econdS tone-May/June1, 994
by church elders, abolishing the eublic school system, reinstating ""indentured
servitude"" (slavery), and establishing the death penalty for a wide array of ""sins""·ranging
from adultery to homosexuality to blasphemy. - Outlines
Baptiscth urchg, ayp rideo fficialws orko utd ifferences
t:,THE FIRST BAPTIST Church of Charlotte, North Carolina, came out in
opposition lo the. scheduled June 5 lesbian and gay J>ride parade. and celebration
because the church campus is in the same block as Marshall Park, the rally site
and start/end point for the parade, which r,rompled one Charlotte City Council
member to remark that the event must be' targeting the church."" The gay pride
steering committee offered to provide mom tors during the parade to 'keep
participants off church property and also to move activities back one hour. The
minister of the church, acknowledging the positive actions taken by the steering
committee, said he would not s~aK against the event. Said Sue Henry, co-chair of
the pride committee, "" ... it's much better to address a possible area of contention
right away so that it can be kept within reasonable parameters,"" -Q Notes
Oslob ishopw on'ot rdaing ayp riest
llTHE BISHOP OF Oslo, Norway, has refused to accept Niels Jordan Riedl's
application for a vacant position as vicar with the Paulus congregation in Oslo.
The bishop, Andreas Aarflot, returned the application on the grounds that Rev.
Riedl lives with another man and that they have registered _ their partnership,
Riedl, who completed his theological studies last srring, must be ordained to
work as a _Priest i!"" the State Church of N(?rway. Al Norwegian bishops refuse
to ordam 'practicing homosexuals."" - Out/mes
Mormontask ea standa gainssta me-gendmera rriages
t.ENDING ITS SILENCE on any number of gay and lesbian issues, the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issue<l a public position on a gay rights
issue. In mid-February the First Presidency, the nighest ruling body of the church,
issued a statement against recognition of same-gender relationships. ""The
principles of the gospe1 and the sacred responsibilities given us require that The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Samts oppose any efforts to give legal
authorization to marriages between persons of the same gender,"" the statement
said. ""We encourage members to appeal to legislators, judges, and other
government officials lo preserve the purposes and sanctity of marriage between a
man and a woman ... "" The managing news editor of the Mormon church-owned
CBS affiliate in Sall Lake City, Utan, killed the story for that day's broadcast
because he thought it would embarrass the church. - Diversity
Re-Imagininbga cklashhi tsc hurchw omen
llRECENT ALERTS BY the conservative wing within al least three
denominational bodies - the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America,
Presbyterian Church USA, and United Methodist Church - call for disciplinary
action, including possible dismissal, of national staff persons who attended
Re-Imagining, an evenfof the World Council of Churches' Decade in Solidaritv
with Women, held last November in Minneapolis, Minnesota. James V.
Heidinger ll, a conservative Methodist writing an editorial in Good News, refers
to the conference as ""without question ... the most theologically aberrant I have
ever read about."" Another conservative, United Methodist Bishop Earl G. Hunt
said of certain as)Jecls of the conference, ""No comparable heresy has appeared in
the church in the last 15 centuries."" In response to these statements, participants
at the 1994 Executive Staff Conference, an annual event sponsored by Cnurch
Women United, issued their own statement affirming ""the absolute right of women
to develop theological understandings rooted in their own realities and
experiences."" Patricia J. Rumer, general director of Church Women United,
described criticism of the c6nference as ""the kind of response that emerges
whenever women attempt to create their own theology,"" adding that ""women's
voices cannot be silenced."" - Waves
P-FLAGm eetingisn terruptebdy f undamentalists
t:,TWO MEN WHO were members of an Assemblies of God congregation
disrupted a Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays meeting in the
rural town of Ephrata, Washington, and two women with ties to a right-wing
group disrupted a meeting in a · suburb of Portland, Oregon . With the
understanding that the two men were interested in the support P-FLAG offers,
they were warmly welcomed into .the home of Kay ancfErnie Swartout, the
organizers of the Grant County, Washington, chapter. After announcing their
affiliation with the church, the two men liegan arguing with P-FLAG members
about their salvation, equating the children of tlie P-FLAG parents that were
present to ""AIDS carriers and spreaders of disease ."" The intruders remained for
about 30 minutes. Ernie Swartout then closed the meeting and asked everyone to
leave. A year ago, the Swartout home was spray-painted with a swastika
~pparently in response to their active stan~ for justice for Gays and Lesbians. In
Poi'tland, the two right-wing women were ejected from the meeting when P-FLAG
members recognized them as Brenda Saunders, county sponsor of an anti-gay
ballot measure, and Ellen Brandt, a ""recovering lesbian"" and member of Help One
Person Escape [HOPE). ""We're not going to stop speaking just because they're
trying lo harass us,"" said Mitzi Henderson, National P-FLA'G president.
- Seattle Gay News, Diversity
Gayra diost atiorne sumebsro adcaasfte r
beings hutd ownb yF CC
LlPRIDE RADIO 102.5 FM, a community service of St. Aelred's Parish, San
Bernardino, Calif. was shut down on January 7 by the Federal Communications
Commission for <J19rating above power. On February 2, the FCC issued a ""notice
of apparent liability,"" recommeni:ling a fine of $8,00(}. The parish ape-,aled the
fine, which was wa1Ved, and was scheduled to resume broadcasting m March.
NewLsin esT f' • • e II II e II e • e II II • II II t • • II II • II II II • II II II e II II II • II
Rallyc hallenge""sR eclaiminAgm ericac""o nference
t.ABOUT 1,000 ACTIVISTS rallied against the conservative, anti-gay
""Reclaiming America"" conference held at Dr. James Kennedy's Coral Springs
Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Said Rev. Grant Lynn Ford,
senior pastor of Sunshine Cathedral MCC, ""The people inside would have you
believe America was founded by people who tliink as they do."" In realil)r, he
Eointed out, ""they were fleeing religious intolerance."" Former Vice President Dan
Quayle was the conference's featured speaker."" Southern Voice
Amnestsya ysG aysL, esbianvsu lnerabtloe rightsa buse
t.AMNESTY INTERN_ATIONAL has announced a six-month campaign to combat
rights abuses against Gays and Lesbians in the United States. The announcement
by Amnesty International USA, the U.S. branch of the London-based human
nghts organization, coincided with the release of a 24-nation survey on the
treatment of Gays and Lesbians. Amnesty called the survey a groundbreaking
report placing ""government repression of gay men and_ Lesbians squarely on the
international human rights agenda."" Mistreatment ofGaysand Lesbians by
police is frequently alleged in Britain and Northern Ireland, · the report said. In
Columbia, there are reports of G~;ys and Lesbians, val?rant children and petty
cnmmals bemg rounded up as social undesirables· and gunned down by
police-supported ""death squads,"" the survey found. -Equal Time
Gayl,e sbianIt aliansu eP opefo rd efamation
t. THE LEAGUE FOR Sexual Rights of the Person, an Italian gay/ lesbian_
organization, has filed suit in Rome against Pope John Paul II charging the pontiff
with defamation and calumny against homosexuals. The suit came in reaction to
the Pope's attack against the European Parliament for its recent passage of a
non-binding resolution urging European countries to abolish anti-gar, laws and
legalize gay /lesbian marriage and adoption. The Pope said, 'With this
resolutio~ of the European .Parliament one i~ asked tp legitin1ize a moral
disorder. - S_eattle Gay News
Librarpyu tsa nti-gay/lesbbiaono kso ns helves
t.FAIRFAX COUNTY, Virgjnia libraries have purchased more than 100 copies
of 11 books critical of Gays and Lesbians after complaints by the religious right
that the library system's collection promotes a ""gay /lesbian agenda."" Julie
Pringle, coordinator of collection management for !he libraries, said the system
recently purchased the additional titles with names such as ""You Don't Have to
Be Gay,"" and ""Overcoming Homosexuality."" Karen Jo Gounaud, leader of a group
of parents and conservative Christian activists · who tried unsuccessfully last
year to prevent the Washington Blade from being distributed in the county's 22
libraries, asked the library to.buy books from her list of anti-gay /lesbian htles.
- Associated Press ·
CatholiBc ishopssp litc hurchc ounciol ng ayr ightsb ill
t.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH in Washington state is part of the Washington
Church Council, but the two organizations took opposite sides on a bill to add
sexual orientation to the state's anti-discrimination protection clause. The WCC
offered testimony in strong support of gay /lesbian civil rights, but the Catholic
Church sent a letter directly to senators announcing their opposition to the bill.
""We do not support unjust discrimination of homosexual ina1viduals,"" the letter
stated. ""However, this issue is not only about discrimination, but about societal
acceptance and public endorsement of homosexuality. We cannot lend support to
that effort."" SupP.orters of the bill had expected the Catholic Church to remain
neutral on the bill as it has in the past; Fernando Macias, president of Dignity
Seattle, said that i,ay and lesbian Catholics are extremefy distressed by the
Church's attack. We were completely surprised,"" he said. ""We were never
contacted and our views were never sought. We've been trying to meet with the
Archbishop [Thomas Murphy]-for two years ... We knew the Archbishop's views
on the bill but we never expected him to actively oppose it.- Seattle Gay News
SayN Ot o DomiNOpi zza
t.A SAN DIEGO group called the DomiNO Pizza Theory has officially asked the
. entire gay and [esbian community to boxcott and picket Domino's Pizza,
including all 5,000-)lus U.S. locations, any of the company's holdings or foreign
investments, and al of.the company's locations in some 23 countries worldwide.
Chief executive Tom Monaghan made the pizza company's position quite clear
when he awarded their Humanitarian Award to James Dobson, president of
Focus on the Family, which disseminates a large volume of anti-gay and ex-gay
propaganda across the nation. - Seattle Gay News
Hard-linefrlse eC hurcho f Englat:1d
t.SINCE THE GENERAL Synod of the Church of England voted in November
1992 to ordain women, ovet three dozen Anglican clergymen and several
hundred lay people have quit in protest. The Church officially_ ordained the first
women priests at Bristol cathedral on March 12. Many of those fleeing the
Church of England have sought comfort in the Roman Catholic Church.
Gaym enw elcomsea, ysle adeor f PromisKee epercsh apter
t.PROMISE KEEPERS, a group of Christian men. who seek to strengthen fathers
and encourage duty to God, with chapters all over the country ana a reputation
for being anti-gay, may be a bit more inclusive than expected. Richard
Froshiesfiar, leader of Promise Keepers of Idaho said that ""If several hundred gay
men decided to attend our next conference,they would be welcome ... We believe
that God judges ,1nen, not that men should judge each other."" Bill McCartney,
founder of the parent organization bf Promise Keepers in Boulder, Colorado, is
on record as saying that Fiomosexuality is an abomination against God.
- Diversity
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SecondS tone•May/Jm1e1,9 94_ l}j
River City MCC loses building to fire
By The Latest Issue
AFTER THE EVENING service on
Palm Sunday, several members of
Sacramento's River City MCC began
moving the church's belongings out
of the sanctuary in preparation for the
move to their new church at Mather
Field in Sacramento. Re.becca Dezzi,
board member Kris Refsell, Rhonda
Poteet, Stedney Phillips and Viki
Delgado worked late into the evening
moving vestments,'books and other
accoutrements of the faith to the social
hall and activities center down the
block where they would be stored for
transport to the new church.
At 11:30 p.m., Dezzi noticed smoke
rising from the center of the social
building, and she notified other occupants
of buildings on the block,
which are connected. The fire department
responded quickly, but the fire
in the social building spread rapidly.
By 11:58 p.rn. it was a three alarm
fire. Flames roared from the roof and
out of second story windows. As
some of the congregation gathered,
neighbors from surrounding houses
began offering blankets and coffee.
By morning, the fire was out though
the building was virtually gutted.
Other buildings in the row were
saved by a fire wall. Inspectors
began rummaging through the ashes
L!J Second Stone-May/June, 1994
trying to find the cause of the fire. gut feeling is that it wasn't an
Many in the crowd wondered aloud if accident,"" Sherriff said. He also said
this was another in the string of hate that earlier in the day a car had been
crimes that has plagued Sacramento broken into and among the things
in the past year. taken w /IS a set of keys to the
Rev. Ed Sherri££ spoke of past building.
minor hate crimes against MCC. ""My Rev. Freda Smith spoke of the rapid
Gay, lesbian Mormons to meet
AFFIRMATION, THE INTERNAtional
organization for gay and lesbian
Mormons and their families and
friends, has announced that it will
hold its annual conference September
16-18, 1994 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
.From its founding in 1977, the
association has grown to become the
largest support and resource group
for gay and lesbian Mormons around
the globe, with chapters worldwide.
The conference will be hosted at the
Alexis Park Hotel, an upscale, nongaming
resort near the Las Vegas
Strip.
The keynote speakers at the
conference are Dr. and Ms . Ron
Schow. Dr. Schow, one of the editors
of the 1991 best selling volume
Peculiar People: Mormons and Same Sex
Orientation, is a professor of audiology
at Idaho State University . Having
confronted homosexuality through the
experiences of a family member, the
Sd1ows have seen the struggles that
Gays and Lesbians face in a conservative
religious tradition.
Dr. Ron Schow, professor and
author, will speak at Mormon conference
Fashion
Li.,estyles
Travel
spread of the fire and also speculated
that it had been set. She mused
about the swastika""s that had been
painted on the church a few weeks
earlier. In the end, investigators from
SEE RIVER CITY, Page 17
Among the workshop topics fo be
addressed is the focused attention on
involvement of Lesbians and women's
issues. Heading the forum for
women""s concerns is Ms. Jennifer
Hatch, the 1993 conference chairperson.
""I want to make certain that
Lesbians feel comfortable in attending,""
says Hatch. ""I would .Jike to
dispel the myth that Affirmation is a
men's organization.
The theme of the conference, ""O,
Say What ls Truth?"" was selected to
encourage insight, discussion and
examination of the tough questions of
how one. reconciles issues of homosexuality,
doctrine and spirituality.
""For many people, dealing with
same sex feelings and . being a
Mormon generates great stress,"" said
Greg Stephenson, public relations
chairperson. ""Fear and hesitancy
. SEE MORMONS, Page 17
Politics
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Demo.nstrators to demand justice for lesbian/gay
Chri.stians at lnterchurch Center --~.
AT NOON ON FRIDAY, June 24,
1994, hundreds of gay and lesbian
Christians and their friends will
gather at New York City's Interchurch
Center for ""Hands Around the GodBox,""
a peaceful demonstration to
condemn the continuing exclusion of
lesbian and gay people from full
' participation in the life of the nation's
churches.
Sponsored by the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches and nine denominational
lesbian and gay organizations
representing the full range of Christian
'traditions, Protestant, Roman
Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, the
gathering will begin with a short
worship service outside the Interchurch
Center 's main entrance at 475
· Riverside Drive, four blocks north of
Columbia University in the Morningside
Heights neighborhood of Manhattan.
The Rev. Nancy Wilson,
Chief Ecumenical Officer of the
UFMCC, will deliver a brief sermon.
After prayer, music, and a call to
action, participants will form a human
chain around the building, commonly
nicknamed the ""God-Box"" because of
its harshly angular shape and occupancy
by religious organizations.
Demonstrators, linked by a ""rainbow
rope"" will fall into silent prayer once
the building has been completely
encircled. Entrances to the building
will not be blocked. After the formal
protest ends at 1:00 p .m., smaller
groups of demonstrators will attempt
to meet with representatives of
church-affiliated agencies housed in
the building to express their demand
for justice for le sbian/ gay p eople
within individual denominations and
ec\Jmenical organizations.
The God-Box is home to the main
offices of the National Council qf
Churches of Christ, the U.S. office of
the World Council of Churches, the
New York City Council of Churches,
and a host of offices representing
major American Christian denominations,
almost all of which continue to
exclude gay men and Lesbians from
the ordained ministry and officially to
prohibit commitment ceremonies for
same-sex couples. The National
Council of Churches has consistently
rejected the UFMCC's application for
membership or observer s tatus despite
the UFMCC's having all stipu-
Lutheran gathering will feature
Rev. Barbara Lundblad,
Lt. Dirk Selland
LUTHERANS CONCERNED/North
America has named two speakers for
a major international conference to be
held in Charlotte, N.C. from July 14 -
17. The Rev . Barbara Lundblad,
heard by millions of people as a
preacher on the Protestant Hour
Radio Network for ten years, will be
the keynote speaker for the entire
event, which proclaims the theme
""God's Own People. "" Lt. Dirk
Selland, who testifiec\ at the U.S.
Senate hearing s to lift the ban on
Gays and Lesbians in the military,
will be the special guest speaker at
the closing banquet.
As a cum laude graduate of Yale
Divinity School, Pastor Lundblad has
become one of the most sought after
speakers on justice for lesbian, gay
and bisexual people in the Lutheran
church. She is currently pastor of Our
Savior's Atonement Lutheran Church
in New York City . During one of her ·
many speaking engagements across
North America, Pastor Lundblad
delivered a visionary sermon at a
special Lutheran-spon sored worship
service after the March on Washington.
During the upcoming assembly
in Charlotte, Lundblad will center her
messages of hope and challenges for
the future around the scriptural declaration
of all believers as ""God's
Own People.""
The banquet speaker, Dirk Se\land,
Rev. Barbara Lundblad, keynoter for
Lutheran gathering
is a U.S. submarine officer who came
out to his Navy chaplain as a res ult of
President Clinton's promis e to lift the
ban on Gays and Lesbians in the
military . He is one of only two openly
gay members of the armed services
to testify at the U.S. Senate
hearings last spring . As a lifelong
Lutheran, Selland and hi s partn er
joined a Lutheran congregation in
Virginia Beach, Va. last May. SeHand
will be telling the story of his congre-
SEE LUTHERANS, Page 17
lated qualifications for membership . versalists for. Lesbian/Bi/Gay /Transgender
Concerns); Int egrity (Episcopalian)
; Luth er ans Concerned/North
America and Presbyt erians for Lesbian
and Gay Concerns,
Besides the UFMCC, the ""Hand s
Around the God-Box"" demonstration 's
co-sponsors include American Baptists
Concern ed for Lesbian , Gay and
Bisexual People; Axios: Eastern and
Orthodox Christian Gay Men and
Women; CLOUT (Christian Les),ians
OUT Together); the Conf erence for
Catholic Lesbians; Dignity (Roman
Catholic): Interweave (Unitarian Uni-
""Hands · Around the God-.Box"" is
being held in conjunction with Stonewall
25: The International March on
The United Nations to Affirm the
Human Rights of Lesbian and Gay
Peopl e.
Rev. Troy Perry to celebrate lesbian/gay
faith and freedom at Lincoln Center
""CELEBRATING STONEWALL 25: A rights revolution in America,"" said
Perry . ""Celebrat ing Stonewall 25"" is
being held in conjunction with
Stonewall 25: The International March
on the United Nations to Affirm the
Human Rights of ,Lesbian and Gay
People.
Gener ation of Faith and Freedom,"" a
worship service featuring gay activist
Rev. Troy Perry, will be held at 7 :30
p.m. on Saturda y, June 25 in Lincoln
Center' s Alice Tully Hall in New
York City.
Rev. Perry is the founder and moderator
of the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches, a
Christian denomination which has
grown to nearly 300 churches and
which has a primary outreach to the
gay and lesbian community.
""This is the UFMCC's way of
honoring the 25th anniversary of th e
Stonewall Riots, whicl1 we view as the
start of the gay and les bian civil
Participants in the program will
include Lesbians and gay men from
around the world, as well as representatives
of numerous lesbian and
gay Christian organizations such as
Dignity/USA and th e Unity Fellowship
Movement. Admission is free,
and seats are availabl e on a firstcome,
first-served basis .
A moving and personal account of an
issue that won't go away
James Fwy
1-------, In the Courts of the Lord
l ~ Tl! 11 rnnrrs
OF TIIE LOIW ...,., , ' ,n
Brother&. I.over
Aelr1:d of Rievaulx i.{it!I ~1 l~l f:i .
,;~
ii/ ,,
8RlAN PATRICK McGUIRE
At bookstores or call
1:800-937-5557
A Gay Priest's Story
Foreword by the Rt Rev. John S. Spong
T he story is a fami liar one. Gay members of the c lergy come
out of the closet and almost immediately either lose their jobs
or are de nied new ones. This is the story of one such pr iest,
James Ferry·of the Anglican Church of Canada, whose case
made international headl ines in 1992 wh en he was tried in a
church court for disobeying his bishop's order to leave a gay
relationship.
""James Ferry tells his story gently and cogently .. . .
It is both profound and moving , honest and loving ... .
He stands as a beacon of light, asking the Church to live
out what the Church says ii believes.""
-THE AT. REV. JOHN S. SPONG. Bishop of Newark, New Jersey
""Poignant revelations of Mr. Ferry's spiritual senslbitlty ...
One comes away from t his tale of sexual and religious
intrigue with a certain admiration for the author's
resilience-and his virtue."" - New York Times Book Review
$22.95
A charming study of one of the most
attractive figures of the twelfth century
Brian Patrick McGuire
Brother and Lover
Aelred of_Rievaulx
Aelred of Rievaul~ has been called the ""patron saint of lriendship
."" His belief in the pooer and possibilit ies of human love
distinguish him from almost all his medieval predecessors. In a
per iod of anarchy, not too unlike our own , Aelred believed in love.
As a brother and lover. he reaches out to us across the centuries.
$22.50
CROSSROAD
370 Lexington Avenue , New York, NY 10017
Second Stone•May/June, 1994 [ f j
Foundation awards grants, plans to ""raise the rainbow""
THE ST ADTLANDERS FOU NDAti
on HIV/ AIDS Community Grant
Fund has announced the names of 43
AIDS service organizations which will
receive support for HIV/ AIDS treatment
information and nutrition programs.
In all, the foundation awarded
a total of $100,000.
26 as part of th e Stonewall 25 celebration,
with march ers making a
contributi on of $50 each to take part
in the historic event and rece ive a 30
foot wide comm em orative strip of the
flag following the event. Because all
costs for the flag are under written by
Stadtlanders Pharm acy, every dollar
donated by marchers will go directly
to the Stadtlanders Foundation HIV/
AIDS Communit y Grai1t fund, to be
awarded in grants to many more
AIDS service organizations this fall.
The orga nizations that ha ve already
received grant s come from all across
the nation and reflect th e many faces
of AIDS today, their service projects
ranging from meal delivery for
homebound PWAs to nutrition counseling,
treatm ent newsl etters , and
educational workshops . Over $1 million
in grant app lications from nearly
200 organi za tions were received by
the newly-formed foundation, stressing
tl\e desperate nee d for AIDS
funding at the grass root s level.
For information on the Stadtlanders
Foundation and the Raise Th e Rainbow
project, call 1-800-NYC-1994.
To further help meet the dramatic
ne eds of and provid e still greater
support to the HIV/ AIDS community,
the Stadtlanders Foundation has
launched the ""Raise The Rainbow""
fundraising project. A mile-long rainbow
flag will be carried up 5th
A venue in New York City this June
New musical: Gays, Lesbians find ""Home""
• ""Maybe We're ■
Talking About a
Different God""
""HOME: A PARABLE of Beatrice and .
Neal,"" an original musical d'rama ,
will play in churches in 15 midwestern
cities this June in a gala
premiere tour. ""HOME"" dramatically
portrays the power of love to reconcile
Christian discord about homosexuality.
The tour is being produced ·by
the Reconciling Congregation Program
in celebration of its 10th
anniversary.
A half-hour documentary on the Rev.
Jane Spahr and her call to·the Downtown
Church in Rochester, protested and
brought to trial. Composer I director Timothy
McGinley explores the idea of the
church as ""home "" in this show.
Stirring music punctuates the stories
of six very different persons in need,
who are all seeking something ·more
from life. As these disparate
characters' lives intersect, they share
their struggles with each other and
discover a basis for communion
together.
Shows how confusion and fear (""What!
A woman and a lesbian? No way!"")
can be transformed into understanding
and compassion. (""Then I met Janie!"")
VHS Tape & Discussion Guide
■
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Leonardo's Children, Inc.
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Warwick, NY 10990
. (914)986-6888 ■
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
What13ible the
Really Says
About
}loroosexuality
. I• r\e\minia\<., Ph .D·
oan1e ,..,,
Daniel A Helminiak, Ph .D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights .
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
some thin g qu ite different on this subj
ect from what is often clai~ed . 11
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
11
••• the most thoughtful, lucid and acces sible
summary I know of current biblical
scholarship relating to homosexual
iss ues ... eminently useful... 11
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□
WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
Postage/Handling $2.90 first book, $1.00 ea. additional -----TOTAL
AMOUNT ENCLOSED -----
NAME _____________________ _
ADDRESS _____________________ _
CITY/STATE/ZIP ___________________ _
ORDER FROM: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
[[} Second Stone-May /~une, 1994
McGinley notes three key attribut es
of a home: ""a place where one is
welcomed by others, wher .e one has
some sense of ownership, and where
one can be honest about oneself. ""
McGinley cont ends that church es
have generally not been home for
gay and lesbian persons. ""Churches
have said to Gays and Lesbians: 'You
are not welcome here,' or 'You can sit
in our pews but not speak,' or 'You
can come if you hide who you are.'
That's not what I believe God intends
the church to be."" · McGinley anticipates
the show will help heterosexual
Christians reconsider some of their
traditional beliefs and stereotypes of
Gays and Lesbians . On the other
hand , his messa ge to Gays and
Lesbians is to not be discouraged by
the words of inhospitality they 've
heard from churches. 'Tm trying to
convey a glimmer of hope that
church es can rise above judgmental
exclusiveness and embrace loving
inclusiveness - that the Body of Christ
can truly become a 'home' for a
diversity of persons.""
The Reconciling Congregati on
Program, which is producing the
show and tour, is a national netwo rk
of Unit ed Methodist churches and
organizations that publicly welcome
Gays and Lesbians. Over the past
decade, 73 congregations, four campus
ministri es, four reg ional conferences,
and numerous oth er gro ups
hav e joined this ever -expanding
mov ement.
'This gala tour is both a celebration
of the success of the Reconciling
Congregation mov ement over the
past ten years and a proclamation of
our ess ential message to the wider
church and so ciety ,"" said program
coordinator Mark Bowman. ""Reconciling
Congregations are a vivid
illu s tration of cl\Urches that have
become a home for Gays and ·
Lesbians and many other so-called
'outcasts.' We are delighted by this
unique opportunity to inspire
thousands of persons with the passion
and drama of McGinley's ""HOME.""
Tour schdule: Preview, June 9: First
UMC, Chicago; Premiere, June 10:
Broadway UMC, Indianapolis; June
12: Edgehill UMC, Nashville; June
13: Louisville; June 14: East Liberty
Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh;
June 16: Church of the Rede emer,
Cleveland; June 17: Broadway Christian
Parish, South Bend; June 18:
Central UMC, Toledo; June 19: Third
Avenue Community Church, Columbus
; June 21: Trinity UMC, Springfield,
II.; June 22: Centenary UMC, St.
Louis; June 23: Faith UMC, Cedar
Rapids; June 24: Minneapolis; June
25: University UMC, Madiso n.
Gay, lesbian alumni of .
Wheaton College plan reunion
A REUN ION, to coincid e witl1 the
Stonewa ll 25 celebration in New York
City, has been planned for gay and
A Symbol of Today's Reality
and Tomorrow's Hope
Wearing thlf rtd anJ pink ribbon pin shows you care
about those uiho are HIV+ or have Breast Cancer.
RED=AIDS
1 IN 2:,0 PEOPIEARE HIV+ IN THE USA ATTHE CURRENT
RATE, THE STATISTIC Will BE1 IN 4BYTHEYEAR2010.
PINK = BREAST CANCER
1 IN 6 WOMEN (1 IN 3 LESBIANS) Will llE DIAGNOSED
WITH BREAST CANCER.
FOR ADDITIONAL PINS, CONTACT:
MCC LOUISVILLE
P. 0 . BOX 32474 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40232
50'2 775-6636
lesbian alumni of Whea ton College, a
leading Evangelical Christian college
based in Wheaton, Illinoi s. The
reu nion, planned for Jun e 25, is
intended to create a friend ly, pro-gay
environment, and a network of support
for gay and lesbian alumni and
students of the colleg e, which does
not formally recognize the existence
of Gays and Lesbians among it s
alumni. The event's planners, including
the group 's found er, Paul Phillips
(of Romanovsky & Phillips) expect
the meeting to attract hunc/reds of
gay and lesbian alumni.
The reunion will be held at St.
Clement's Episcopal Church, a
gay-friendly environment in New
York's theater district . For information,
Wheaton gay and les bian
alumni may call (212)807-5577. The
gay and lesbian group and its events
are not endorsed by Wheaton College.
·c.
INFACT: Get rid of Joe Camel
THE ACTIVIST organization INF ACT
recently announced the next step in
its Tobacco Industry Campaign, kicking
off two new tactics to challenge
the industry's aggressive promotion
of tobacco addiction around the world,
especially to children and young ·
people. On April 19, INFACT called
on consumers to boycott industry
leader Philip Morris' food products,
including Kraft, Oscar Mayer, and
Post, and called on retailers not to
display RJR Nabisco's Joe Camel
cartoon character in their stores.
""For years the tobacco industry has
been blasted for its powerful role in
promoting its deadly and addictive
product,"" said INFACT's executive
director Elaine Lamy. ""Every day we
learn more about just how far this
industry goes to protect its profits -
manipulating levels of nicotine in
. cigarettes to keep people addicted,
adding dangerous chemical substances
during the manufacturing
process, suing the reporters, researchers
and health officials who expose
these abuses. It's time for people
around the world to take action and
hold companies like RJR Nabisco and
Philip Morris directly accountable.""
INFACT's purpose is to stop
life -threatening abuses of transnational
corporations and increase
their accountability to people around
the . world. The organization is
widely known for its Nestle boycott,
the campaign that in 1984 won sig-
. ■
nific~t reforms in Nestle's marketing
of infant formula, and the General
Electric boycott, which last year
pushed industry leader GE out of the
nuclear weapons business.
The target marketing of tobacco
products to women is a global problem,
said Deborah L. Mclellan of the
International Network of Women
Against Tobacco. ""In many countries
it has caused unacceptably high rates
of tobacco use. One of the biggest
challenges we face is to maintain the
low rates of tobacco use by women
and girls in much of Africa, Asia and
Latin America, while transnational
tobacco companies aggressively target
women and girls in these areas.""
The targeting of the gay and lesbian
· community is also a significant pro],lem.
Organizers of gay and lesbian
events frequently seek tobacco indus try
dollars for sponsorship and often
such sppnsorship is hailed as the
""mainstreaming"" of the gay and lesbian
community into the corporate
marketing mix:
•
Every year, 3 million people
around the world die from tobaccorelated
diseases. In the United States,
smoking is the leading preventable
cause of death, killing 419,000 people
in 1991. In spite of overwhelming
evidence demonstrating tobacco's
deadly effects, the tobacco industry
will spend over $4 billion this year to
advertise and promote its products
around the world.
■
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shine for son1e·-
one you love.
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■ -
U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn
Elders has pointed to Philip Morris '
Marlboro Man as a classic example · of
youth marketing, playing on the
themes of risk-taking and independence.
The cowboy image has also
been an incredibly effective tool for
Philip Morris to expand its reach into
new markets internationally . The
powerful global appeal of this
sophisticated advertising is reflected
in Philip Morris' sales figures:
Marlboro is the numi)er one cigarette
preferred by children in the United
States and the number one selling
cigarette around the world . ·
RJR Nabisco's Joe Camel character
has also had a devastating effect on
youth.
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Second Stone•May/June, 1994
T Cover Story T . .......... . .................... . ....... .... ............. . ......... .. .. ...
Seeking the other sheep in Latin America
From Pag e 1
""Why now this trip?"" asks Hanks.
""Here in a larg ely Roman Catholic
contin ent with a burgeoning pentecostal
charismatic movement, not just
Gays and Lesbians, but Christian
Gays and Lesbians are indeed to be
found everywhere, even in many
remote tribe s, where women Bible
translators, often lesbian, courageously
.assume a Jife1',tyte an<l ,wo;k
that very few men, of any sexual
orientation , feel up to. Hence, what is
most urgently needed are not 'missionari
es ' in the traditional sense, but
the sharing of ' a vision; improved .
networking , pastoral encouragement,
basic libraries, documentation centers,
and human rights work,"" said Hanks.
One gay pastor said the La tin
American tour was ""crazy"" according
to Hanks. ""When history is being
mad e,"" Hanks said, ""be it Christian
church or secular, rarely are the
crowds lined up . and applaud.ing.
Especially is that tr).ie when the
humble history-m;,_ker;.s are dedicated
representatives of gay and lesbian
sexual minorities.
Jose (Pepe) Hernandez and John
Doner have been life partners since Atlantic side, returning again
they m et in Pepe·s native Mexico City through Central America. The two
in 1982. Hernandez has been month trip started in early March and
involved in a v ariety of gay /lesbian was scheduled to be concluded in
activities and has traveled in Mexico, early May.
the USA and . Guatemala . Doner ha s Preparation for the South American
served as a Peace Corps volunteer in trip took much longer than anticiPeru
and is a lay pioneer in Christian pated and included delays such as
ministry to Lesbians and Gays in tim e r equjred for visits to eight
Mexico, Costa Rica .and Guatemala . different embassies to obtain visas.
Doner left a well-paying job in the Hernandez also developed · a serious
United States to establish the first eye infection and experienced some
Metropolitan Community Church in family problems.
Mexico City, for which he received a
special award from the UFMCC. He is ""We have all along sensed our
· 11 f c I d d dependence on God,"" said Doner, origma y rom o ora o an >yent• to ...
Mexico City in 1981 in response to ''•""be.t as the time for departure
God's call and has lived there since approached we were made keenly
then. He recently returned to the aware of the importance of the task
United States to Dallas, Texas with before us and of our own limitations.
Hernand ez for a study sabbatical. One of my dear mother's favorite
sayings was 'Man's [sic) extremities
The missionaries set out to visit are God opportunities,' and God
every country in Lati11 Ameriq) by certainly has many opportunities in
bu s to encourage the 1ormation of this situation!""
new groups to minister to the gay Prior to de parture, Doner learn ed of
and lesbian community and to visit two examples of the injustice that
existing ministries . The trip started in rages toward Gays and Lesbians in
Dallas and took them through Central Latin America. He received a letter
America, down the Pacific side of from a gay priest in Cochabamba,
South America and back up the · Bolivia, one of the poorest and most
A moving and personal
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It will make you think, it will make
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broaden your vision of what both
sexuality and Christianity at their
best can be
-Telegraph Journal,
.St. John, New Brunswick
James Ferry has given a voice to
these voiceless ones and is himself
a visible incarnation of their invisible
presence.
-The Rt. Rev . John S. Spong,
Bishop of Newark, New Jersey
conservative countries in Latin America.
The priest had been involved in
a ""very nasty"" extortion case. ""A
friend of mine was robbed,"" he wrote.
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'The young robber took some pictures
of a party at my friend's house .
Innocent stuff. But when caught this
young man ... used these pictures to
placat e the police, who then used
them, mixing their own incriminating
pictures of some other group into the
pile, to extort a large sum of money
from my friend who comes from a
prominent family and has a prominent
position in the city. When it
became clear that the police ... were
holding onto the pictures to extort
even more money, my friend called
me in to help ."" The priest convinced
him to fight and the man finally
decided it was better to come out of
the closet than to allow further extortion
. When ·the victim in this case
defend e d . himself, the police then
tried to bring a charge ofdedophilia,
but their efforts failed an the police
thems e lves ended up being
punished.
Quan.
□ IN THE COURTS OF THE LORD
· By James Ferry, $22.95, hardcover
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lmJ Second Stone•May/June, 1994
Doner received a letter from
Columbia from two gay men, Pedro
and Humberto, who had both
achieved a high level of leadership in
their large evangelical church, with
Pedro becoming a successful pastor .
""We are two homosexual Christians,""
they wrote, ""and we have Jived the
difficult reality of being 'different,'
struggling all .the time ... We met
Jesus Christ about 11 years ago and
we have lived all this time with the
hope that someday God would
change us... and we have done
e verything the church and society
offer to ·heal' us and nothing changes,
down deep everything stays the
same."" Eventua lly Humberto basically
went into the closet, married and
now tries to give the impression he is
no longer gay, and is miserable .
Pedro, however , was terminated ·from
his pa s torate several months ago
because he would not testify to a
""change.""
""One of my dear
mother's favorite
sayings was 'Man's
[sic] extremities are
God's opportunities,'
and God certain! y
has many
opportu:rtites in this
situation!""
In every one of the first five
countries they visited, Doner and
Hernandez met, or learned of, potential
leaders for a Christian outreach to
the lesbian/gay community .
Through a gay Catholic friend in
Guatemala, Miguel Angel, the missionaries
met a former youth leader of
a large Pentecostal church who is no
longer active in ministry because of
his gayness. Now in his 40's, Luis
still feels God has a ministry for him,
though he doesn't have any idea
when, where, or how this might be .
So Doner and Hernandez left
Guatemala praying that Luis would
be called to develop a ministry for
Gays and Lesbians in that country
and also praying for Miguel Angel,
who is about to finish his ·Catholic
seminary studies and is seeking
God's guidance concerning his future
ministry.
In El Salvador, the two men learn ed
about Juan Antonio Diaz, who had
recently returned to his native San
Salvador, in part to begin work on a
church for Gays and Lesbians. A
former Assemblies of God pastor and
founder of two churches, Diaz went to
the United States when he was 23
years old and soon after began dealing
with his sexual orientation. Now
settling back into life in San Salvador,
Diaz and his North American partner
are building a house with a rather
large meeting area to use when the
SEE COVER STORY, Next Page
Cover Story
• • • • o • a • • e.• • • • • • • • o • • • • • • • • • • • • •
From Page 10
planned church becomes a reality.
Diaz currently works as a volunteer
in the count r y's only non-governmental
agency concerned with AIDS
and gay/ lesbian issues . The agency
is at this tim e evolving into a gay/
lesbian community center.
When Doner and Hernandez
visited Honduras, they were told by
the straight medical director of
Tegucigalpa's only AIDS clinic of a
former evangelical leader who is gay
and might be able to help start a
gay/ lesbian ministry. The doctor,
apparently an evangelical Christian
but affirming of Gays to at least some
extent, took information from the
missionaries and promised to try to
. set up a meeting with this man as
Doner and Hernandez returned
through Tegucigalpa on their way
back. The missionaries also met Jose
~tonio and Eddie Alberto, members
of a newly developed gay /lesbian
human rights group, AHHCOS. The
two men are both Catholic and
expressed much interest in the idea of
, a church for Gays and Lesbians and
provid ed nam es of two other potential
leaders for such an effort.
... the current political
crisis, provoked by
religious fundamentalists,
has made
sexual minorities and
sympathetic religious
communities in the
United States more
open to Biblical and
theological insights
from Latin America
and other third
world perspectives ...
ln Nicaragua, Doner and Hernandez
spent a day with Mario Gutierrez,
pastor of MCC/Managua. The MCC
is a very small group of about a
dozen people which is in part
severely impacted by the poverty
and economic crisis in Nicaragua ..
Unemployment is estimated at ne.ar
70 percent. Gutierrez, an architect, is
himself long-term unemployed and
some members of his church do n·ot
even hav e the money for bus fare to
get to church.
Several efforts have been made in
the past to develop a Christian ministry
to Gays and Lesbians in Costa
Rica. For a time, from 1987 to 1989, a
relatively strong church was developing,
but problems split the group,
and neither offshoot survived. But
now some members of these former
groups are interested in beginning
11new, starting with a weekly Bible
study involving both Catholics and
Protestai:its. The leader, Fadrique
Meza, is an ordained minister with a
fundamentalist background.
The missionaries' further itinerary
included slops in Panama City, Columbia,
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile
and Argen tia.
Providentially, the shoestring
funding for the trip, about $5,000,
was contributed just in time to
encourage Latin American participation
in the Stonewall celebration ,
March to th e United Nations and
Int ernational Lesbian and Gay Association
meetings June 24 through July 3
in New York City . Recent translation
into Spanish of materials from
Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays has been another
encouragement for pastoral help to
desp erate families, mostly traditional
Roman Catholic and Protestant, who
could -not share their confusion and
pain in most churches .
At the same time the current
political crisis, provoked by religious
fundamentalists, has made sexual
_minorities and sympathetic religious
communities in the United States
more open to Biblical and theological
insights from Latin America and
other third world perspectives, where
oppression, poverty and authentic
freedom have long been fundamental
concerns, according to Hanks. ''The
Americas network tour represents a
significant step toward enabling the
USA to find a better theological
framework than its popular but outmoded
fundamentalisms, and encouraging
Latin American religious
leaders to apply their liberating
Biblical and theological insights to the
continent's 40 million sexual minori-
. ti~s,"" said Hanks.
Hanks said there were urgent
requests for more literature from
many countries in Latin America.
There is almost a total lack of books in
Spanish concerning Christianity and
homosexuality. Donations as small as
$5 to $10 help cover mailing costs to
s ·outh America or other ministries
around the world. Donations of $100
enables Other Sheep to publish 1000
new folders in Spanish .
For infonnation write to: Other Sheep -
Multicultural Ministries with Sexual
Minorities, 319 N. 4th St., Ste. 902, St.
Louis, MO 63102. (314)241-2400, FAX
(314)241-2403.
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CHRISTIANS
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Since 1978, The Other Side has been speaking to
folks with clarity and compassion about questions of
homosexuality and Scripture.
Due to many requests for copies of some of our
earlier articles, we've put a group of them together in
booklet form. Included in this updated and expanded _64-
page booklet are articles on whether or not sexual
orientations can be ""changed,"" what Scripture does and
does not say about homosexuality, reading Scripture
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Second Stone-May/June, 1994 l1I]
'' We're at a historic juncture. In
a pluralist democracy,. there's
a moment when a minority
obtains legitimacy and its
rights are taken seriously by the
other minorities that together make
up the majority. That's happening
. now for Gays and Lesbians. We're
winning and that gives things a
certain electricity.""
- Tony Kushner, Tony award-winning
playwright, as quoted inTime magazine,
May 17, 1993
Inspiring words spoken by Tony
Kushner, one of the foremost playwrights
in America today, and author
of ""Angels in America: Millennium
Approaches,"" the gay-themed play
that captured four Tony awards in
1993, including best play. Yet while
these words are · becoming true for
Gays and Lesbians in society at large
(the ""Don 't Ask, Don't Tell"" military
compromise notwithstanding), they
still remain a dream for Gays and
Lesbians in the church. Unfortunately,
that the church lags behind
the rest of society on civil liberties
issues is nothing new . In fact, this
phenomenon raises the larger question
of why the church - that entity
that in its inception ""turned the world
upside down"" (Acts 17:6) - is not only
remiss in providing leadership to
society, but, in the case of gay and
lesbian rights, is actually opposed to
it.
One reason: ignorance· and fear
have kept the majority of Biblebelieving
Christians bound to an
inflexible interpretation of the scriptures
that concern homosexuality .
Most of these believers do not know
the alternative interpretations of the
-controversial scriptures, interpretations
which take into account the
cultural and social contexts in which
these verses were . written. Rather
than presenting this historic backdrop
to believers, against which they can
make their own decisions concerning
these verses and their relationship to
homosexuality, conservative evangelicalism
dismisses these alternative
interpretations as ""gross misinterpretation""
or as ""moving away from a
high view of Scripture"" (Stanton L.
Jones writing in Christianity Today,
July 19, 1993).
Since when has biblical exegesis
that explains scripture in the context
/12l Second Stone•Ma; 1iune, 1994 ·
I .. -~
ON BECOMING
LEGITIMATE
AS GAY AND LESBIAN CHRISTIANS
BY BRIAN MAYEDA
in which it was written been
considered ""gross misinterpretation?""
And concerning the miscasting of
pro-gay theology as ''moving away
from a high view of Scripture,"" it
would be more correct to say that
pro-gay theology moves away from
evangelicalism's unwitting tendency
to worship the written word itself,
and to demand that every situation in
scripture be considered relevant to
today's society. ·
Conformity and control are two
other standards of conservative evangelicalism.
lndependeni thinking is
not encouraged in the church. On the
contrary, evangelicalism thrives by
controlling people through uniformity
of thought and doctrine. This rigidity
of thought stifles change, particularly
change brought about by new discoveries
that may discredit traditional
interpretation of portions of the Bible.
A reactionary thinker's only recourse
is to . trivialize, dismiss or suppress
knowledge. Such behavior never
serves the church well. This point is
well proven by the condemnation by
the church (albeit not Protestant) of
the Italian astronomer Galileo in 1633
for declaring that the sun, not the
earth, was the center of the solar
system . Not until 1992 did the church
finally exonerate Galileo for his
""heretical"" stance - and this after an
exhaustive, 13-year investigation!
Now the church faces mounting
scientific evidence that points toward
biological and/ or genetic causes of
homosexuality . And what is the
church's response? In a July 26, 1993
Time magazine article entitled ""Born
Gay?,"" which reported . on recent
studies by the National Cancer Institute
indicating a genetic basis for
male homosexuality, the Rev. Louis
Sheldon, chairman of the Traditional
Values Coalition, stated: 'The fact that
homosexuality may be genetically
based will not make much difference
for us from a public policy perspective.""
If the Christian community
follows Sheldon's line of thinking,
then the church will not have
changed much since its condemnation
of Galileo. In view of the scriptural
admonition that ""people are destroyed
-for lack of knowledge"" (Hosea
4:6), it is a horrible irony that church
leaders such as Sheldon refuse to
rethink their theology in light of
scientific discovery.
But where does this iack of positive
and reinforcing leadership in the
church leave gay and lesbian Christians?
The answer is clear, if not
unsettling: To find a way on our own.
Whether or not we admit it, as gay
and. lesbian Christians our concepts of
faith and sexuality are informed and
influenced by both the religious right
and the gay civil rights movement.
Whether or not we
admit it, as gay and
lesbian Christians our
concepts of faith and
sexuality are
informed and
influenced by both
the religious right
and the gay civil
rights movement.
With the polarization
of these two groups,
it becomes
increasingly difficult
to remain in a neutral
position between
them.
With the polarization of these two
groups, it becomes increasingly difficult
to remain in a neutral position
between them. And because the
religious right's theological stand on
homose xuality is increasingly viewed
as archiac and irrelevant by much of
society, we as gay and lesbian Christians
have the heretofore undreamed
of possibility of demonstrating to
society that our spiritual and sexual
natures not only exist side by side,
but can be celebrated as that which
God deems good. How can this most
effectively be done? By living as
people who are fully integrated -
spiritually, sexually, intellectually,
emotionally - in all areas of our Ii ves.
For most of us, the process of
becoming integrated as people is not
an easy one - it requires that certain
steps be taken, steps which carry with
them challenging responsibilites.
You cannot make a persuasive
argument for the viability of being a
gay or lesbian Christian if you don't
know the basis for your belief. This
includes developing a well-researched,
well-understood theology.
Additionally, because -the question
of the immutability of homosexuality
is going to play a large part in the
debate over gay civil rights in the
1990's, it is undoubtedly in our
interest to find out what recent studies
on this topic have to say.
A t ecent U.S. News and World
Report poi! found that 46 percent of
Americans still believe that homosexuality
is a chosen lifestyle and not
an inborn characteristic. The process
of educating others, however, presupposes
t_hat you are out to them . The
act of coming out to one's family,
friends and coworkers is itself one of
the most myth-dispelling ways to
counter homophobia. Indeed,
Andrew Sullivan, editor of 77ze New
Republic, noted in his May 10, 1993
article on 'The Politics of Homosexuality:""
Far more subversive than
media-grabbing demonstrations on
the evening news has been the slow
effect of individual; private Americans
becoming more open about their
sexuality... Likewise, the greatest
public debate about homosexuality
yet - the military debate - took place
not because radicals besieged the
Pentagon, but because of the ordinary
and once-anonymous Americans
within the military who simply
·· refused to acquiesce in their own
humiliation any longer. Their courage
was illustrated not in taking to
the streets in rage but in facing their
families and col leagues with
integrity.
For Lesbians and Gays in the
church, educating straight Christians
becomes all the more urgent in the
light of such inaccurate and propa-
SEE LEGITIMATE, Page 17
The
Second Loss
BY REV. JAN .IS K. DOLESCHAL
fritz was a good dog, a cute
little . miniature schnauzer
who loved people and loved
life. But on that cold November
10th we made the final visit to the
vet to have him .put to sleep because
of kidney .failure. We brought him
home to bury him and the loss was
almost too much to bear. With no
children, he filled a void for companionship
and love and had always
been a devoted companion. Little did
I know on that. day that Fritz wasn't
going to be the only thing that I
would lose that November.
Two days later I sat in my church
office facing the president of the
church council. For the past eight
and a half years, I had been the
pastor of Brown Deer United Church
of Christ, near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
I had known the man sitting across
from me and his wife for at least 15
years. He asked how I was doing,
then hesitated for a moment. He
recou1Hed that he had heard on at
least two different occasions that we
were the ""church with the gay
minister."" He asked me if it was true.
In those split seconds of time, I
knew that the answer I was about to
give would radically change the
course of my life. I chose the truth. I
said, ""Yes."" And with that answer I
also began to lose my privacy and
lose friends, both inside and outside
the church, that I thought I could
always count on for support, no
matter what.
I knew that the path I was choosing
would probably be one of the toughest
experiences of my life, but I also
knew that I had no desire to continue
to be forced into living a double life
by people who knew very many of
the myths of homosexuality and very
few of the facts. .
I was sick of listening to those aude
and · cruel comments perpetuated in
our society about Gays and Lesbians
when I knew them to be false. I was
sick of the stereotypes that were
being fueled by ignorance, hate, and
a sense of self-righteousness. I was
sick of being lumped into a category
of ""all homos are child molesters."" I
was sick of the.lie that this is a choice,
and the ridiculous Bible thumping,
literal interpretation of the fundamentalists
that leads people to believe that
all homosexuals are sinners damned
to eternal fire unless they ""change"" or
abstain. I was sick of those ridiculous
requests for celibacy that no sane
individual would make of a heterosexual,
but wl~ich seem perfectly
acceptable to make of those who have
been born with a sexual orientation
that leans more toward members of
their own sex than the opposite sex.
In the months that followed, it was
confirmed for me time and again that
even in this supposedly enlightened
age, people are stiU extremely frightened
of anything or anyone that is
different from them or from their
accepted norm. Some members of the
church would have been happy if I
had simply faded away into the mists
so that they could go on living as if
this had never happened.
In some cases, members of the
church families were on totally opposite
sides of the issue. Some members
invented performance issues that had
never before surfaced until the issue
of my sexual orientation arose. The
pastoral relations committee miraculously
grew from five members to
twelve members and shot-gunned
through a request that I be asked to
resign . That request, by our constitution,
held no weight at all, but did
serve as a recommendation strong
enough to force a congregational vote
the following April to decide whether
lo retain me as the pastor or not - a
vote that was to be decided in my
favor 46-37. ·
In effect what happened was that I
became th e issue, when the real issue
was whether or not the church and its
peopl e were ready to deal with the
issue .of homosexuahty within a Christian
context, given the contemporary
society we live in during these closing
years of the 20th century.
· What I found was actually better
than I expected. What I found also
bore out some of my worst nightmares.
Members of the church were
a constant surprise. On the days following
my announcement, letters
poured in stating their support. On
the other hand, as sad as it seems and
as ofte n happens, there were people
who immediately changed their
opinion of me as a person. Suddenly,
I no longer had the skills I possessed
before the announcement or new
interpretations were placed on situations
or sermons. The issue of
sexuality began to color issues and to
affect the way in which I was treated
by people who professed to be
Christian.
The issue didn't hit the papers until
March when a member of the church
sent an anonymous letter to the local
newspaper explaining what was
occurring. Because of my position
with the Milwaukee public schools as
commissioner of athletics, it not only
made front page headlines, but the
issue of my sexual orientation and the
upcoming vote were subsequently
highlighted in domestic and international
editions of USA Today.
After the first article in the paper,
individuals with whom I worked in
the Milwaukee public schools were
very supportive. Several prominent
.politicians sent letters of support, and
my association minister strongly supported
me. My mother and most of
my relatives immediately rallied to
support my partner and me and
readily accepted both of us into the
family circle,
On the other hand, some church
members .who had always been
supportive actively campaigned for
my dismissal. Some of my lesbian
friends retreated .and never even
called to ' lend support. In the case of
my l es bian friends, I believe they
may have felt that it would have
been ""guilt by association "" and
jealously guarded their own lives and
their own relationships. In the case of
the church members, perhaps some of
them were afraid, some just chose to
support my' opposition, and some felt
that they were genuinely correct in
actively seeking my dismissal.
I chose .to stay at Brown Deer UCC,
and four years later our congregation
is thriving and growing. To say that
is was not a struggle would be a lie.
It was a struggle . But for me there
was no other choice. I firmly believe
that the church must take a stand on
sexuality issues.
In my case, I felt that we needed to
try to rebuild with new members and
a new direction that would involve
the church much more actively in
community issues, mission activities,
and a theology that would accurately
reflect the changing society in which
we liv e as we approach the 21st
century.
We live .in a sodety that is still
ruled by fear and ignorance - fear of
the unknown, and ignorance of those
who are different from us. Yet the
world is populated with diversity,
and what sets people · apart is their
uniqueness . We have too long lived
with lies and need to start living with
the truth.
People with homosexual orientation
are unique creations intended to be
treated with _no less respect or dignity
than those who have a heterosexual
orientation. We are your friends,
your children, your doctors, your
lawyers, your teachers, your judges,
your politicians, your parents, and, .
yes, your pastors. Because we have
so often been hurt, we bring to our
jobs and our interactions with others a
deep understanding of the fragile
nature of human relationships and a
sensitivity for the hurts of others.
We bring to this society a deep
spirituality, for many of us have been
forced out of the churches and have
had to develop our own personal and
abiding relationships with God as we
know God to be, not as others would
have us believe God to be. The fact
that many of us are in long term
relationships without the benefits of
legal marriage contracts or partnership
laws attests to our devotion and
deeply abiding love and commitment.
·
I may have lost a l,ot during that
November of 1990, but I like to think
I gained more than I lost. If I had it to
do over again, I would make the
same decision, because I truly believe
that unless we are challenged to
change, we remain stagnant. The
church needs to effect change in this
area. And we, as people, need to
learn to include others, not exclude
any who have the slightest difference
from us.
We, as a people, can on longer
afford to discount the contributions
that homosexual people can offer the
world . We can no · longer afford to
force them to live a life of lies simply
because we do not want to be
challenged to accept someone whose
diversity and uniqueness happens to
be different from outs. And if change
will come, as come it must, it must
come .with all of us walking cooperatively
into the future, or the future
will drag us into it kicking and
screaming against change when
change is a function of all of our lives
- gay or straight.
. Excerpted with permisson from Waves,
the newsletter of the United Church
Coalition for Lesbian/G""!f Concerns.
Rev. Janis K. Dolescha/ is a
lesbian minister in the
United Church of Christ.
Size continues to serve lter
call at Brown Deer UCC,
Brown Deer, Wisconsin.
Second Stone-May/June, 1994 :[I[]
Families
0 .................... . .. .................................... . • ......... .
The true meaning of family
By Amy Adams Strongheart
ContributingWriter
L ast summer, a circuit court
judge in Richmond, Virginia
ruled to deny Sharon Bottoms
custody of her 2-year-old son
Tyler. Ms. Bottoms was refused custody
rights because she is a lesbian
living openly in a committed relationship
with her partner, and because
she had the audacity to admit to this
in court.
Stable lesbian and gay parents, like
Bottoms, and well-adjusted children of
lesbian and gay co-parents, like
Tyler, threaten the meticulously
preserved fallacy that only two married
people of the opposite sex and
2.2 children who share their DNA can
comprise a ""real"" family . Of course
this type of family unit, though
perfectly lovely, in actuality accounts
for but a small percentage of American
families.
Creating a family provides not only
a nurturing environment but also
standing in society. It isn't the single
people without children who get the
tax breaks, entitlements, and special
religious ceremonies that celebrate
their lives. It's the people who marry
and have children that warrant socie)
y's recognition . Heterosexists don't
want gay people to be recognized by
society. Witness the rash of anti-gay
amendment initiatives being proposed
in several s.tates. These
amendments will preclude Lesbians,
Gays and bisexuals (just to make sure
they get everyone) from having
equal access to housing and employment,
and from seeking legal redress
for discrimination. Fire a lesbi""an
from her job, refuse to rent her an
apartment, remand custody of her
child, refuse to legally recognize her
relationship, make her private sexual
relations with a consenting adult a
crime, and then deny her any means
to challenge these injustices, and you
have very effectively destroyed her
ability to either create or care for a
family. Dismantling people's lives in
this manner speaks contrary to profamily
rhetoric of the theocratic right ..
Removing a child from her or his
mother's care for no reason other than
unabashed bigotry does not reinforce
the value or importance of the family
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In this new volume, writers
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deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
Edited by Sally 8. Geis, director, Iliff
Institute, Lay a11d Clergy Education. The
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[14] Second Stone-May/June, 1994
in society.
The religious right is not all wrong,
however. Its assertion that families
are the backbone of our social structure
is absolutely correct . Good
families are places where we learn to
love ourselves, communicate honestly
and openly with others, and resolve
conflicts in mutually beneficial ways.
Rejection has taught
us how to create
family and how to be
family . It has shown
us how to open our
minds and our
hearts.
A family models for us how to have
nurturing relationships. We can then
take this knowledge with us out into
the world and use it to become
compassionate and productive citizens
who know how to and are willing to
help our neighbors.
When AIDS began to ravage our
people, we looked to our families for
the strength and support to endure
this painful and perplexing plague .
Sadly, though, for far too many of us,
the biological connection proved to be
an inadequate definition of family.
Many of our families, upon learning
of our sexual orientation and/ or HIV
status, turned their backs on us. So
we became family for each other,
banding together to care for one
another . We became buddies . We
fed and bathed one another . We
gave injections and inserted catheters.
We prayed for and wept with one
another . We went to the funerals' of
those who died, when their own
relatives would not.
It hasn't just been AIDS that has
taught us what family means. The
discrimination and rejection that
sexual minorities have long endured
have also been our unwitting teachers.
When my life partner married
me, her parents promptly disowned
her. Like all marginalized peoples,
we Lesbians and Gays must use our
ingenuity if we are to survive. So my
life partner chose two people from our
church to be her ""chosen"" parents.
She calls my mother her ""mother-inlove,""
and she calls me her ""life
partner."" (Of course, she also calls me
a lot of really cute pet names, too, but
for the sake of my dignity, I'll just
mention ""life partner"" here .) She
understands how vital families are
and has exercised her prerogative to
define and create her own.
Rejection has taught us how to
create family and how to be family.
It has shown us how to open our
minds and our hearts . We have
learn ed how to love one another
without reservation or judgment. We
now understand that families are
those people who will love you
unconditionally through prosperity
and adversity. True family has no
color, gender, class, or sexual orientation
because love cannot be bound by·
any of these things.
We must challenge any laws,
policies, and court decisions that deny
this simple but profound truth.
■ Amy Adams Squire Strongheart
is a freelance writer
whose ·com men ts on gay/
lesbian issues appe~r regularly
,n the St. Louis PostDispatch
and gay/lesbian
newspapers across thecountry.
MALCHUS
Lesbian & Gay Christian Monthly
Celebrating Faith
&
Spirituality Through our Diversity
6036 Richmond Hwy., #301
Alexandria, VA 22303
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A Gay Priest's Story
In the Courts of the Lord
By Andrea L. T. Peterson
ContributingW riter
James Ferry, author. Crossroad; 1994;
HB; 256 pp.; $22.95 ''I have written about my
early life,"" says James Ferry
in the preface to his new
book, In the Courts of the
Lord, ""not because I think it unusual
or interesting, but precisely because it
is not."" Ferry's story is not un_usual.
He is correct when he says that his
story ""is typical of many millions of
Gays and Lesbians around the world .
We 'are born into ordinary families,
and lead normal lives, except in one
respect: as we grow up we discover
we are gay, not straight.""
In the Courts of the Lord is the
author's story of how he came to realize
and to accept his sexuality, and
how the church eventually came to
reject him for being honest about his
sexuality. It's a classic coming out
story of a young man who did
everything in his power, including
entering a disastrous marriage, to try
to cl1ange his sexual orientation. The
young priest threw himself into his
work and served his people faithfully
for 11 years as he moved discreetly
toward self-acceptance. The book is
also a gripping courtroom drama with
widespread implications. As Ferry's
lawyer said at the trial, 'Th.is case is
not only about Jim Ferry. He provides
the human face but the
fundamental issue is the role of Gays
and Lesbians as lay people and
clergy.""
If there is one thread that runs
through In the Courts of the Lord ,
aside from Ferry's refusal to choose
between the two loves of his life - the
church and his male companion,
Ahmad - it would be the realization
that our modern society more often
punishes honesty and integrity and
rewards lies, secrecy, and misrepresentation.
Ferry's presentation of both his
personal struggle to remain an ordained
priest in the Anglican Church
of Toronto and that church's struggle
to find a way to lovingly accept gay
men and Lesbians while still clinging
to the belief that homosexual acts. are
sinful is moving and insightful.
Ferry had served as a priest long
before the question of his private life
became an international media event.
In fact, many of his colleagues -
including his bishop - and many of
the parishioners. to whom he ministered
knew he was gay.
Among his parishioners, however,
was one woman who would prove to
be the thorn in Ferry's flesh, and the
instrumental player in his being
""inhibited"" [ essentially stripped of his
priestly duties] by the Bishop of
Toronto. ·
Fearing the potential of one
homophobic congregant, Ferry went
to his bishop, aware that the unspoken
rule within the church was, as
Ferry says, essentially ""Don't ask,
Don't tell, Don't pursue. Just like
Gays in the military in the U.S.""
More concerned about scandal within
his church, and confident that his
bishop . would exercise his right to
interpret Anglican Canon Law in
Ferry's favor, Ferry came out to
Bishop Finlay.
Finlay had, after all, just a few years
earlier at a memorial service for a
man who had died from AIDS, read
the passage in scripture where Paul
writes, ""there is no longer Jew or
Greek, there is no longer slave or
free, there is no longer male and
female"" and offered his conviction
that today ""Paul would no doubt have
added to that list 'there is no longer
straight or gay.' For all of you are one
in Christ Jesus.""
Ferry had every reason to hope in
Bishop Finlay, and every reason to be
both shocked and dismayed when
Finlay responded to his revelation by
firing him!
The convoluted series of events
leading up to Ferry's appeal in the
Diocese of Toronto's Bishop's Court is
· too complex to recount here, .though
Ferry does a good job in his book.
Suffice it to say that the very
occasion of the court was referred to
by the New York Times as ""an ecclesiastical
tribunal, ... an archaic forum
used by Anglicans to hunt down
heretics and other miscreants since
the time of King Henry VIII.""
This event, the first of its kind in
more than 40 years, proved to be
grueling and exhausting. Interestingly,
the charge against Ferry was
wilful disobedience, in that he would
not give up his relationship with the
man he loved, Ahmad, to preserve
his ordination.
In fact, Finlay had never ""ordered""
Ferry to give up Ahmad. But it
seemed that the process the church
would put Ferry through would cost
him his relationship and his vocation.
It's hard to imagine Ferry not being
bitter. But sadness, more than anytlung
else, seems to characterize how
he feels about the whole thing.
'The book,"" says Ferry, more than
a year after completing the manuscript,
""ends on a rather down note . I
don't have any debt now,"" he says,
referring to the more than $20,000 he
·owed his lawyer at the end of the
Bishop's Court . ""She [his lawyer] had
a really good year and was able to
write it off,"" he adds.
And not only had the weight of
indebtedness been lifted, the pain of
having lost the man he truly loved
was also alleviated. He and Ahmad
have managed to get back together.
Readers will discover that cultural
differences and a strong fear of
'disgracing' his family by having his
sexuality discovered forced Ferry and
Ahmad to terminate their relationship
when Ferry's case became so public.
With time, it seems, Ahmad has
in a series of gay murders in Montreal,
says Ferry. What is significant
here is that ""Eling was the first priest
to phone after I was fired. One
reason he moved to Montreal,"" Ferry
explains, ""was that Toronto was no
longer a safe place to be. The church
in Toronto [where Eling had ministered
for 25 years] was no longer safe
for him."" '
The Bishop, by virtue of their
determination in Ferry's case, maintains
Ferry, ""declared it open season
on gays."" And, he adds, ''Now [gay]
: clergy know this bishop will turf
them out . The previous bishop,
Bishop Garnsworthy, pretty much
protected gay clergy.
'The big difference [is that] now
gay clergy know where they stand.
They'll be offered up to the wolves if
they are honest.""
After Eling's murder, Finlay - of all
people - remarked at the church's
annual synod that some suggest this
murder is the result of the secrecy
around Gays and Lesbians [laity and
clergy, says Ferry] in the church. If
this is the case, Finlay continues, I call
on each one of us to end the charade.
Let's make the church a safe place.
Although this is Ferry's paraphrase
of the bishop's remarks, even a hint
at such a statement is astounding,
considering the fact it comes from the
same man who fired Ferry, not once,
Finlay ... read the passage ... ""there is no longer
Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female"" and
offered his convlction that today ""Paul would
no doubt have added to that list 'there is no
longer straight or gay ... ""' Ferry had every
reason to hope in Bishop Finlay, and every
reason to be both shocked and dismayed
when Finlay responded to his revelation
by firing him!
managed not to come out himself, but
to ""be willing to live with"" Ferry's
being out. The two have been
together for about a year now •
happily .
Not too much significant has
happened to Ferry since the Bishop's
Court pronounced its verdict.
""One significant event a lot of
people have made a connection
with ... is the murder of Warren Eling,
-a gay man who was an .Anglican
priest."" Eling's murder was the 14th
but twice.
Finlay is obviously ambivalent,
unlike Ferry, who knows what he
wants and what he must do. He is
currently a bit more committed to his
relationship with Ahmad, because of
■ SEE COURTS, Page 20
Andrea L. T. Peterson
is a freelance writer
from Woodbridge, Virginia.
She is a frequent
contributotro Second
Stone.
Second Stone-May/June, 1994
In Print ~
• • • •••• • • • • 8 • ••• • •• •• ••••• • . •••• • •••• • ••••••••••• , • • • •• • •••••••••••• •• •••
Homosexuality and the Bible
By Tom W. Kelly ~ -
ContributingW riter
What the Bible Really Says About
Homosexuality . by Daniel A.
Helminiak, Ph.D., Alamo Square
Press, 1994, 12B pages, $9.95, paperback.
w~B;:ible
At last, a pro-gay, intelligent ·
and easy-to-read interpretation
of the Bible's references
to homosexuality is now
available. Respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest, Daniel A.
Helminiak, Ph.D., keeps the language
simple, the concepts organized,
and the mood upbeat in his
new book What the Bible Really Says
About Homosexuality published by
Alamo Square Press. His purpose in
writing this book is clear:
Really Says
Recenl f i11digns by top s:l1o!ars
offera radcialn w 1i1ew
'This information needs to be
shared. Lesbian and gay people, condemned
on the basis of Bible quotes,
need to be able to respond intelligently,
knowing they are not rejecting
God's word. People raised in a
strict Bible tradition, struggling with
the literal text, need to be able, in
good conscience, to find compassionate
teaching on homosexuality in
the Bible."" [p. 13]
Danie\ A. Helminiak, Ph.D.
Foreword by
Johns. Spong
The author takes a stand in favor of
love and, what may surprise some,
sex. As he offers:
""Sexuality is part and parcel of the
human capacity for love. For we are
not just intellectual beings, making
calculated decisions to cherish somebody;
we are emotional and physical,
too. All this is what it means to be a
human being, and all this comes into
play when human love is on the
scene."" [p.18]
Helminiak asserts that for a volume
the size of the Bible, it says very little
about homosexuality in the first place.
Perhaps it was not of much concern to
those drafting a book dealing with
more vital issues.
.,.. -
He explains that the Bible may be
interpreted using two very different
methods with amazingly disparate
results: the -literal reading (used by
fundamentalists) and the historicalcritical
reading (endorsed by the
author). The latter approaches Biblical
passages from the viewpoint of
""whatever it meant to the people who
wrote it. long ago."" With thoroughness
and simplicity, he examines each
reference to homosexuality, analyzing
the use of words that could be translated
in several different ways, and
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Second Stone•May/June, 1994
consequently arriving at extremely
different interpr etations. If the same
word appears more clearly elsewhere
in the text, he applies that meaning to
the ambiguous phras:es. And not too
surprisingly, each time the issue at
stake shifts away from a condemnation
of Gays and Lesbians. Instead
""across the board in sexual matters;
the_ Bible calls for mutual respect,
carmg and responsible sharing - in a
loaded word, love."" [p.99] To many
readers, this underE;tanding of the
Bible will parallel . the themes of
acceptance and compassion of Jesus
Christ himself.
Point by point, reference by
reference, H~lminiak eliminates any
veshges of B1bhcal homophobia. The
overall sin of Sodom was inhospitality,
""hardheartedness and abuse ...
male-male rape, not male-male sex.""
The ""abomination"" of lying with a
man as with a woman described in
Leviticus calls for death . Yet
Leviticus is filled with man y, mariy
stringent admonitions to follow
then~timely social conventions which
have_ since changed as people hav e
applied to their lives and lifestyles
""openness, intellig ence, reasoned
judgment, and good will..."" Paul's
letter to the Romans, the longest
treatment of the matter, ""suggests
that, in themselves, homogenital acts
have no ethical significance whatsoever
."" By, examining the sexual
references in the context of the letter
as a whole, he constructs an argument
that Paul was using irony in his
supposed acceptance of bigotry based
on purity issues, only to theri attack
prejudice and smugness by the
document's end. And finally,
Helminiak qualifies 1 Corinthians
and 1 Timothy as generally admonishing
against abusive forms of
male-male sex and of male-female
sex. He summarizes with ""So the
Bible takes no direct stand on the
morality of homogenital acts as such
nor on the morality of gay and
lesbian relationships ."" [p.112)
Point by point,
reference by
reference, Helminiak
eliminates any
vestiges of Biblical
homop hobia.
As a delightful bonus Helminiak
includes an all-too-short section titled
""Biblical Endorsement of Homosexual
Relationships ."" These admittedly
vague but possibly pro-gay and
lesbian texts include the examination
of the relationships between Jonathan
and David (First Book of Samuel),
Ruth and Naomi (Book of Ruth), and
Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar's chief
eunuch (Book of Daniel).
The more scholarly reader will
appreciate Helminiak's research base
of well-respected and published
historians and/ or theologians. He
relied most heavily on the work of
John Boswell, Professor of History at
Yale University, and L. William
Countryman, Professor of New
Testament at the Church Divinity
School of the Pacific.
The author 's viewpoin t and goals
are clearly realized throughout his
book, but perhaps most simply stated
in his own words:
""If people would still seek to know
outright if gay or lesbian sex in itself
is good or evil, if homogenital acts
per se are right or wrong, they will
have to look somewh ere else for an
answer. For the fact of the matt er is
simple enough. The Bible never
addresses the question. More than
that, the Bible seems deliberately
unconcerned about it.""
Tom W. Kelly is. a freelance
wrifrr and playwright livmg
111 San Francisco. His
work hos aT7Peareind Lambda
Book Report, Geme and
RFD.
RIVER CITY,
From Pa~e 6
the city, the state fire marshall's office -
- and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms were unable to
establish the cause of the fire .
One bystander, however, had little
doubt about the cause. ""It's about
time that hell-hole burned down,""
said Abdullah Fard Muhammad, who
had just come from a nearby food
closet with his wife and child. ""I feel
that God came and did what he had
to do. How could God have a pastor
and a reverend who participates in
LEGITIMATE,
From Page 12
gandistic media tools as The Gay
Agenda, an anti-gay video produced
by the religious right. Ignorance
breeds irrational fears. Hostility
plays upon the se fears to the point
where reason flies out the window,
and · reasonable dialogue becomes an
all but impossible endeavor. The
antidote for this ignorance and hostility
is not, however, to engage in
the same tactics. Rather, the most
effective countermeasure is to declare
the truth in love and with a firm
sense of conviction . As straight
Christians see the reality of our love
for God, as well as the integrity in
which we walk, it will free them to
understand that the majority of Gays
and Lesbians cannot be caricatured as
media stereotypes.
Consider the impact your life has
on others: In view of the hostility of
much of the evangelical church
toward Gays and -Lesbians, and in
light of the failure of ""ex-gay""
min istries to ""cure"" them, we may be
the only viable witnesses to the
nonbelieving in our community. In
marked contrast to the antagonistic
spokespersons of the religious right,
we have the enormous potential ,to
demonstrate the love and graciousness
of Jesus Christ towards those
alienated by the church.
The question remains. In the
absence of leadership from the
church, - will we as gay and lesbian
Christians take the steps necessary to -
PROPOSAL,
From Page 3
Hawaii Supreme Court has proven
that impression wrong. Because of
Hawaii's long tradition of civil rights
and tolerance of cultural diversity, we
have a unique opportunity to expand
the civil rights of gay and lesbian
Americans. We can turn back the
tide of anti-gay sentiment and
broaden the scope of the gay and
lesbian civil rights movement.
On the eve of the 25th anniversary
of the Stonewall riots, I believe that
we stand at an equally critical
moment. When we are granted the
homosexual activity? I'm glad God
burned down that gay hell-hole.""
Others in the Oak Park community
were less glad . Many had benefitted
from the programs there, such as free
meals, AA meetings and support
groups and social activities. The
building had been used seven days a
week for years.
The damage was estimated to be
between $400,000 and $600,000.
On Easter _Sunday, however, the
message in the Cathedral of Promise,
the former Chapel One of Mather Air
Force Base and River City MCC's new
home, was of renewal, rebirth and
legitimize ourselves as part ·of the
larger community of believers and as
part of society as a whole? In contrast
to the secular gay and lesbian
community, the gay and lesbian
Christian community only now is
taking on form and substance . We
have much catching up to do. Our
task will be even more challenging as
we face not only institutionalized
homophobia in the church - homophobia
sanctioned by centuries of
traditional, inflexible interpretation of
the Bible. Don't be discouraged.
Thirty years ago, in the midst of
another minority's struggle for
equality, the Rev. Martin Luther
King, Jr. proclaimed:
""The deep rumbling of discontent
that we hear today is the thunder of
disinherited masses, rising from
dungeons of oppression to the bright
hills of freedom, in one majestic
chorus the rising masses singing, in
the words of our freedom song, 'Ain-'t
gonna let nobody turn us around.'""
Excerpted witlt permission from The
Cable, the newsletter of Evangelicals
Concerned/Western Region. i Brian Mayeda attended conservative
evangelical
churches for 17 years and
w~s. illvolved in an ex-gay
mmtSlry_ for four of tliose
rear§! I-le is a member of
Evangelicals Concerned
and oJ All Sairits Episcop_al
Church ill Pasadena, Calif.
right to marry and our intimate and
loving relationships are treated
equally to all others, the barriers
which stand between us and our full
and equal participation in society will
fall. We invite you to join us in
making that happen.
Maggie Tanis is the pastor of Ho~oluiu's
Metropolitan Community Church and a
member of the Steering Committee of the
Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project,
1820 University Ave., #208, Honolulu,
H/96822.
resurrection. Light painted pastel by
stained glass joined the spring colors
of flowers and clothing as River City
MCC settled into its new sanctuary .
The children were invited into a side
hall for an Easter party.
Despite the fire, there was an
atmosphere of hope and celebration
in the church. Mark Hoffman spoke
of being excited to be a part of MCC's
new growth and subsequent move
into the new -church. Connie, a
--LUTHERANS,
From Page 7
gation's reactions and their eventual
renewal.
Another special part of the
conference will be a concert by One
Voice, the Charlotte-based mixed chorus
serving the lesbian and gay community
. The selection of Charlotte,
called the ""Queen City,"" marks the
first time the biennial assembly has
MORMONS,
From Page 6
keep many individuals from investigating
and attending events likes
Affirmation conferences. Discretion,
trust and anonymity can be assured
to all interested parties.""
For information on the conference,
secretary at the church mentioned
-that insurance would cover the
material losses of the fire and added,
""And our office furniture will match
now!""
The church's mail and phone contact
in the aftermath of the fire is P .O. Box
245125, Sacramento, CA 95824,
(916)558-0209.
been held in the deep South.
Assembly '94 will also feature a
celebration of the 20th anniversary of
Lutherans Concerned/North America.
Other program events include workshops,
six worship services, discussions
on new ministry opportunities
and adopting of policy statements for
the future. See calendar.
readers may call (702)228-0121 or
write 8949 Clairton Court, Las Vegas,
NV 89117. A specific telephone number
has been dedicated for inquiries
by women, (619)283-8810.
The goal was peacemaking
between evangelicals and
liberals. But then there
was a murder ... and a gay
Quaker activist is the
prime suspect.
""I never suspected a Quaker mystery
could be such a page turner. Great
fun.""
-Mark Hulbert, Publisher
Hulbert Financial Digest
"" . .. an intoxicating witches' brew of
sexual politics and unFriendly
inlrigue ... Prophetic and scary!""
-A.Ian Pell Crawford, author
Thunder On the Right
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ MURDER AMONG FRIENDS
By Chuck Fager, $13.95
P~ling $2.90 fillt book, $1.00 ea. additional ___ _
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED ___ _
NAME ________________ _
ADORE • ...._ __________________ _
CITYISTATE/ZJP-______________ _
ORDER FROM: SECOND STONE PRESS,
P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
Sc0ond ~May/June, 1994 !ill
--------- - -----------~-- - - - --- - --- ------
• Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............ .
More Light Churches
Conference
MAY 7-8, This gathering of members
of Presbyterian congregations who
welcome and affirm gay and lesb ian
members has met annual ly since 1985
for worship , fellowship, educat ion,
sharing of resources and models of
ministry, and planning for evange- .
!ism and outreach. St. Luke Presbyterian
Church, Minneapolis-St. Paul;
Minn., is the host. The theme of the
conference is ""From Dialogue to
Ministry: A Positive and Practi cal
Approach to This Historical Moment.""
For information, call St. Luke Presb yterian
Church, (612)474-7378 or Dick
Hasbany, (503)757-8243.
Turning the Century
MAY 13-15, A conference of communication,
coalition, and change in
an environment increasingly hostile
to Lesbians, Gays and bisexuals, to be
held on the campus of the University
of Utah in Salt Lake City. Keynote
speakers include Torie Osborn, Tom
Stoddard, Carmen Vazquez and Phil
Wilson. Workshops includ e 'Th e
Religious Right and the Gay Rights
Movement."" For information contact
the ACLU of Utah, Exchange Pl.,
Boston Bldg., #715, Salt Lak e City,
UT 84111-2850, (801)521-9862.
CMI Retreats
MAY 20-22, Communication
Ministry, Inc., a organization of_
Catholic lesbian nuns and gay
brothers and priests sponsors the
Gentle Warrior Retreat (men only) .
For information write to Steven
Botkin, Men's Resource Center, 30
Boltwood Walk, Amherst, MA 01002.
JUNE 20-24,Emmaus House, Perth
Amboy, N.J., is the setting for this
retreat held in conjunction with the
celebrations of Stonewall 25 in New
YorkCity. JUNE27-JULY1,CMI
hosts a retreat at the Marian ist Center
in Cupertino, Calif. For information
write to Communication Ministry,
P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125.
Spiritfest '94 . ·
·MAY 27-30, This annualgathering of
gay and le.sbian Pentecostals features
worship, music, prayer and workshops.
The conference will be held in
Arkansas . For information contact
Linda Harris, (817)520-7919.
Mercy of God
' Community Retreat
JUNE 3-5, The Mercy of God
Community sponsors its Third
Annua!,Religious Life Weekend and
Retreat at the LaSalette Shrine and
Retreat Center in Attleboro, Mass.
The gathering offers an opportunity
to explore religious vocation and
enrich one's prayer life. For information
contact Br. Ron Francis ,---·--, 118:. Second Stone-May/Jnne, 1994
I..:! ...
. . . . . -- -- --- ---~ -- - - -
Creapeau-Cross, MGC, Mercy of God
Com mun ity, P.O. Box 41055,
Providence, RI 02940-1055.
14th Annual EC
East Conference
JUNE 3-5, Kirkridge retreat facility in
eastern Pennsylvania is the setting for
the 14th annual eastern summer conference
of Evangelicals Concerned.
Keynoters include pl1ilosopher
Hendrik Hart and EC founder Ralph
Blair. Contralto Pamela WarrickSmith
will give a special recital. For
information contact Dr. Ralph Blair,
311 East 72nd St., New York, NY
10021.
Gay/Lesbian
and Christian:
Our Journey in Truth
JUNE 9-12, This 18th annual event for
Lesbians, gay men, and •bisexuals of
all colors, their families and friends,
continues t o exp lore issue s of sexuality
in the context of Christian faith
and practic e. The process includes
daily worship, prese ntations, small
group sharing, workshops, play and
celebration. Leaders are Mary Hunt,
John McNeill, Herbert Evans, Jane
Spahr and Coni Staff. Cost is $295.
For information contact Kirkridge
Retreat and Stucjy Center, Bangor,
PA 18013, (610)588-1793.
Western Regional
ACTS Weekend
JUNE 10-12, Aptos, Calif., just outside
of San Jose, is the setting for this con ference,
themed 'T he Fullness of the
Spirit."" Cost, which includes all
meals , lodging and material s, is $70.
For information contact Pastor Paul
Doyle, Christ Chapel of the Desert,
940 Vella Rd., Palm Springs, CA
92264, (619)327-2795.
Ecumenical Institute of
· Sacred Choral Music
JUNE 19s21, Th e United Church
Coalition for Lesbian and Gay
Concerns sponsors a11 ecumenical
choir camp for gay, lesbian and
_bisexual Christians. The camp will
precede the UCCL/GC 14th Annual
N<itional Gathering on the Rutgers
campus in Newark, N.J. and will
culminate with a major concert on
June 23rd at a nationally known
church. The event will unite the
voices of 200 gay, lesbian, and
bisexual Christians as part of Gay
Pride Week in New York City. For
information contact Rev . Christine
Leslie, (908)598-0862, 125 Summit
Ave., #4, Summit, NJ 07901.
Eighth Annual
Golden Threads
JUNE 24-26, Lesb\al) women from all
over the United States, and some
from other countries, will gather at
the -Provincetown Inn in Provincetown,
Mass., to celebrate what they
are and their age, whatever it is .
Entertainment will be provided by
Heather Bishop. Golden Threads is a
worldwide social network of lesbian
women over 50, and women who are
interested in older woinen .' For
reservation information write to
Christine Burton, Golden Threads,
· P.O. Box 60475, Northampton, MA
01060-0475.
American Baptists
Concerned National
Retreat
JUNE 27-30, Madison Avenue Baptist
Church in New York City will host
this retreat, themed ""A Celebration of
Stonewall and Our Wholeness"" in
commemoration of the 25th anniversary
of Stonewall. Attendees will
have the opportunity of participating
in the many activities of New York's
Gay Pride Week. Retreat leader is
Dr. William R. Stayton. For information
contact American Baptists Concerned,
872 Erie St., Oak1and, CA
94610, (510)465-8652.
connECtion '94
JULY 1-4, ""Speaking the Truth in
Love"" is the theme of Evangelicals
Concerned Western Region's annual
gathering to be held on the campus of
Chapman University in Orange,
Calif. Speakers include Dr. Mel
White, author of Stranger at tlte Gate,
and recently featured on 60 Minutes,
Peggy Campolo, a Christian gay
rights advocate and wife of Christian
author Tony Campolo, and Dr . Ralph
Blair, founder of Evangelicals
Concerned. For information contact
ECWR, P.O . Box 66906, Phoenix, AZ
85082-6906.
Lutherans Concerned
20th Anniversary
Gathering
JULY 14-17, ""God's Own People"" is
the theme of Luth erans Concerned/
North America's 20th anniversary
conference, which will be held on the
campus of the University of North
Carolina in Charlotte. Rev. Barbara
Lundblad, pastor of Our Savior 's
Atonement Lutheran Church in New
York City , ahd a regular speake r on
the Protestant Hour radio program,
will be the keynote speaker. For
information contact LC/NA, P.O. Box
10461, Chicago, IL 60610-0461.
National Association
of Black and White
Men Together
cultural/social events. NABWMT was
formed in 1980 as a ""gay, multi-racial,
, multi-cultural organization committed
to fostering supportive environments
wherein racial and cultural barriers
can be overcome and the goal of
human equality realized."" For information
contact NABWMT, 1747
Connecticut Ave. N.W., 3rd Floor,
Washington, DC 20009-1108,
(202)462-3599, (800)NA4-BWMT.
Evangelical &
Ecumenical
Women's Caucus
JULY 21-24, ""Wind and Fire, Spirituality
in Action"" is the theme of the
EEWC Biennial Conference to be held
at North Park College in Chicago.
The group celebrates 20 years of
Christian feminist ministry with
presentations by Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott, Miriam Therese Winter,
Nancy Hardesty and others. For
information contact the EEWC
Conference Office, 6124 N. Byron,
Rosemont, IL 60018.
Gay Pentecostal
District Conference
AUGUST 4-7, The Northeastern
District of the National Gay
Pentecostal Alliance holds its first
district conference at the Holiday Inn
Holidome and Meeting Center in
downtown Schenectady, New York.
Pastor Sandy Lewis of Casa de la
Paloma Church in Tucson, Ariz. is
guest preacher. The conference is
being _sponsored by the Lighthouse
Apostolic Church of Schenectady. For
information contact NGPA, P.O . Box
1391, Schenectday, NY 12301:1391,
(518)372-o00l.
JULY 16-24, Over 200 people are
expected to attend this organization's
14th Annua l Convention to be held at
the Sheraton National Hotel in
Arlington, Va. The theme ''Breaking
the ·Chains of ISMS"" will be a<ldressed
via workshops, guest speakers, and
UFMCC conferences
AUGUST 2-4, Church Leadership,
AUGUST 5-7, People of Color
Conference. New worship styles that
reflect the emerging traditions of
women in leadership will b e featured
at the lea dership confer.ence, which
will feature Dr. Mary Hunt. ""Con necting,
Celebrating and Commun icating""
is the theme of the People.of
Color conference, which aims to
stimulate and inspire people of colors
and white people with a variety of
activities which include a presentation
by Dr . Elias Farajaje-Jones, associate
prof essor at Howard University
School of Divinity in Washing ton,
D.C., and Ms. Letticia Gomez of the
Latino Lesbian and Gay Organization
. Both conferences will be held in
Dallas, Texas . For information contact
the UFMCC, 5300 Santa Monica
Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA 90029,
(213)464-5100.
1994 GLAD Event
AUGUST 12-15, 'The Wisdom of the
Body"" is the theme of the 1994 gath-
SEE CALENDAR, Next Page
Noteworthy ........................................................................
Goss named co-chair of
American Academy of
Religion study group
LI.ROBERT GOSS, of St. Louis, Missouri,
has been appointed co-chair of
the gay men's religious issues group
of The American Academy of Religion.
Dr. Goss is the author of Jesus
Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto.
The purpose of the committee is to
solicit papers and develop a program
on the issues facing gay men in
religion . Goss was ordained a Jesuit
priest in 1976, and received his
Doctorate of Theology in comparative
religion from Harvard University in
1993. He is the co-founder of Food
Outreach, St. Louis, a food service
organization which provides meals
and nutritional supplements to persons
with HIV and AIDS. The American
Academy of Religion is a professional
association of teachers and
researchers in religion and religious
studies, with over 7,000 members
across the country.
100th Lutheran Church
adopts welcome to lesbian
and gay members ·
flTHE NUMBER OF active Lutheran
worshipping communities that have
been designated as ""Reconciled in
CALENDAR,
From Preceding Page
ering of the Gay, Lesbian and
Affirming Disciples Alliance to be
held at Mercy Center in Burlingame,
Calif., near the San Francisco airport.
Facilitators are Cynthia WintonHenry
and Phil Porter. For information
on this Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) event contact
GLAD, P.O. Box 19223, Indianapolis,
IN 46219-0223, (206)324-6231.
Second International
TEN Conference
SEPTEMBER 2-4, The. Evangelical
Network will meet in Vancouver,
Canada on Labor Day weekend. The
focus of the conference, themed
'Together - We Belong,"" is on
interpersonal relationships. For
information contact Liberty Community
Church, #201 _ - 6380
Clarendon St., Vancouver, B.C.,
Canada VSS 2J9, (604)321-4633.
Conference for
Catholic parents of
Gays, Lesbians
SEPTEMBER 30-0CTOBER 2,
'Turning the Key,"" the first national
retreat for Catholic parents of gay and
lesbian children which will support
Christ"" has now topped the 100 mark;
according to officials of Lutherans
Concerned/North America. To be
recognized as Reconciled in Christ,
Lutheran congregations adopt a formal
affirmation of welcome to gay
and lesbian Christians. 'This is a real
landmark in the movement for justice
within the Lutheran church,"" said
Brian Knittel of Oakland, Calif., director
of the Reconciled in Christ program.
'The best part is the trend is
accelerating."" According to Bob
Gibeling of Atlanta, program executive
for Lutheran Concerned/North
America, the timing of reaching the
100 mark is• significant, especially in
light of the ongoing discussion about
the Sexuality Statement of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America .
""At last people are talking about
issues of human sexuality in many
Lutheran congregations,"" Gibeling
said.
Stephenson new pastor
for Montgomery church
llTHE MEfROPOLITAN COMMUNIty
Church of Montgomery has elected
Beverly M. Stephenson of San Antonio,
Texas as its new pastor .
Stephenson recently completed her
student clergy training. and the
12-year-old Montgomery MCC is her
first pastorate. She was installed as
parents in their _key roles of promotmg
understandmg and empathy ih
the church, will be held at the
LaSalette Center for Christian Living
m Attleboro, Mass. Facilitators will
be Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SSND, and
Fr. Robert Nugent . The weekend will
involve story-telling, presentations,
filJ:l, discussions, ~ommunal prayer,
quiet time, worslup and socializing.
For information contact Fr. Robert
Nugent, 637 Dover St., Baltimore,
MD 21230, (301)864-8954.
LGCM Retreat
NOVEMBER 11-12, England's
Lesbian and Gay Christian
Movement sponsors a retreat led by
Helen Loder, SSM and Rev. Malcolm
Johnson. This is a unique weekend
opportunity of meditative reflection in
, an affirming community, during
which there will be talks, discussions,
some silence and lots of relaxation .
The Royal Foundation of St.
Katherine in London is the setting.
For information contact LGCM,
Oxford House, Derbyshire St.,
London, E2 6HG, UK.
Announcements of interest to gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians are welcome
and will be included free of charge,
Send to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Orleans, LA 70182 vr FAX to
(504)891-7555.
pastor during a ceremony and worship
service on March 6.' .
Bohache to serve MCC NOVA
llREV. THOMAS BOHACHE was appointed
by unan imous vote to serve
MCC Northern Virginia as assistant
pastor . Bohache previously served as
pastor of MCC of the Blue Ridge in
Roanoke, Virginia. He was born in
Los Angeles in 1955, raised Roman
Catholic and attended Catholic
schools. He left the church after high.
schoo.l and did not return until 1981,
when he began to attend MCC of the
Pomona Valley.
MCC lay leader nominated
for service award
LI.DARLENE HARRYMAN, a lay
minister for MCC/Boise, Idaho, was
nominated for an Elm Award by the
gay and lesbian community of Boise
as the ""Lesbian who did the most"" for
the community . Harryman says the
focus of her work as a spiritual leader
and administrator of the -MCC is to
help ""provide a sense of religious
community for the people of greater
Boise.""
Rev. Troy Perry receives
board appointment
LI.REV. ELDER TROY PERRY,
UFMCC founder and moderator, is a
member of the advisory board of
Christianity for the Third Millenium,
Inc., a new non-profit .organization
formed to produce videos presenting
competent Bible scholarship, under
the direction of Episcopal Bishop John
Spong.
Cathedral of Hope
breaks ground for
new counseling center
llHAVING MOVED INTO their new
$3.2 million facility only a little over a
year ago, the Cathedral of Hope Metropolitan
Community Church in
Dallas, Texas has embarked on a
second phase of construction with a
groundbreaking ceremony for a
multi-faceted counseling center. The
facility will consist of four staff offices,
six counse ling rooms, a therapist
work room, two meeting rooms and
a reception area. The ·church already
offers a variety of counseling services
including individual, group, couples,
adolescent, HIV and crisis counsefing.
13th anniversary for
Birmingham church
!1COVENANT METROPOLITAN
Community Church of Birmingham,
Alabama, celebrated its 13th anniversary
earlier this year. The church
was once known as ""the church of the
moving door"" because of difficulty
finding meeting places but is now
known throughout the Gulf Lower
Atlantic District for its powerful music
ministry and children's ministries .
Cliff Morrison serves as Senior Pastor
and the Rev. Marge Ragona is
Associate Pastor.
Huntsville church a
Welcoming Congregation
l1THE UNIT ARIAN UNIVERSALIST
Church of Huntsville, Ala. has been
recognized by the Unitarian Universalist
Association as a Welcoming
Congregation, havi11g made a public
commitment to welcome gay men,
Lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered
persons into the fellowship of
the church and to affirm the validity
of their personal relationships.
North Carolina church
buys new building
LI.ST. JOHN 'S MCC, Raleigh, No.
Carolin,1, has purchased a worship
facility valued at more than half a
million dollars. Says pastor Wayne
Lindsey, 'This place will stand as a
concrete, visible beacon of hope to
those who hide in invisibility and
fear."" The new sanctuary will seat
over 200.
Dignity/Baton Rouge reactivates
!!.DIGNITY /BATON ROUGE, Louisiana
is meeting again beginning with
a feminist spirituality discussion
series, which has been challenging
and renewing, according to acting
chapter president Joe McCarty . The
renewal comes after ""a long period of
discouragment and inactivity,"" says
McCarty.
Books for gay and
lesbian families
llJOINED BY LOVE, a catalog a b0oks
for lesbian and gay_ families, features
more than 30 publications on a host of
topics of interest to lesbian and gay
parents and their children. For gay
and lesbian households with children,
and for Gays and Lesbians considering
parenting, Joined By Love offers a
storehouse of informative titles. The
catalog is available for $1.00 from
Tapestry Books, P.O. Box 359,
Ringoes, NJ 08551, (800)765-2367.
Sweeting installed as pastor
!!.REV. TYRONE SWEEfING has
been installed as pastor of MCC/
Boise, Idaho. Prior to this call,
Sweeting was an assistant pastor at
Key West MCC and founder of
Lafayette MCC. ""I am a fundamentalist,""
said Sweeting. ""I believe
in the fundamental love of God for
everyone.""
Send noteworthy items to Second Stone,
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70182, or FAX to (504)891-7555.
Second Stone-May/June, 1994 [I[l
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............C....l.a...s.si.f.i..e..d...s ·T···· ···· ·• •it••···· -----------------L7
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A GAY DIARY 1975-1982 by Donald
Vining is the latest in the series of intimate,
personal diaries of which critics have said,
11Unquestionably the richest historical document
of gay male life in the United States""
""The fairly detailed look at the day-to-day
development of a 'long-term' gay couple
relationship is only one valuable aspect' of
this intriguing chronicle. 11 ""Humor, narrative
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COURTS,
From ·Page 15
the unique demands their present
circumstances put on them, than
being reinstated in the church. But
he is certain with time things in the
church will change.
Meanwhile, he is an AIDS educator
with the AIDS Committee of Toronto
where he presents workshops to
organizations and associations that
provide services to persons with
AIDS.
His faith, he says, has been
""refined"" as a result to this particular
fire he has been put through. As
Bishop Garnsworthy has been heard
to say, Ferry believes that ""the older I
get the fewer things I believe, but I
believe them more deeply.""
In the Courts of the Lord may not
prove to be where justice is served,
but it should prove to be a valuable
resource for those exploring the issues
surrounding Gays and Lesbians in
the church - as laity and as clergy.
ARE YOU
MOVING?
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New Orleans,L A 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,34,1994,"May/June 1994",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/2574563a737e1d378e6ff162ded965b9.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1672,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1672,"Second Stone #35 - July/Aug 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"OUR SIXTH YEAR JULY/AUGUST, 1994 ISSUE #35
Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like.an everflowing stream. - Amos 5:24
H O L Y C R O S S M C C , P E N S A C O L A, F L A
Artist's skilled hands
bring dream and
vision to reality
BY JIM BAILEY
A s a thunderstorm associated
with the remnants of tropical
storm Alberto passes over
Holy Cross Metropolitan
Community Church in Pensacola,
Florida1 church member Ralph Cahall
reclines at the end of one of the wooden
pews of the church. Towering
above his head and alternately dully
and dramatically illuminated by a
cloudy sky and bolts of lightning is
one of six magnificent stained glass
windows Cahall created for the
church.
Almost ten years ago, Holy Cross
MCC found itself outgrowing its sanctuary
on the west side of town and in
1985 the congregation purchased an
old church, much larger than its
previous building but badly in need of
repairs. A hurricane had blown out
some windows and the remaining
windows had been painted over. To
Ralph Cahall, an accomplished artist,
the three large openings on each side
of the church _ building were opportunities
for artistic expression . Over
the next seven years Cahall donated
his time and talent to create 66
stained glass panels for the six side
windows and 18 panels for a huge
altar piece.
Cahall's art is well known, particularly
in his home state of Florida.
His sculpture has won top honors
from the Florida Department of Education
and his work has been shown
SEE COVER SfORY, Page 10
BEGINNING ANEW
Church brings inclusiveness
to Catholic tradition
BY JIM BAILEY
A t the dose of the past decade,
an African American Catholic
· priest set about correcting the
problem he saw of the Roman
Catholic Church not meeting the
needs of African Americans. Knowing
and experiencing the unchanging
ways of the church, George Stallings .
did what he thought he needed lo do.
He started a new church, the Imani
Temple of the African American
Catholic Congregation, a church outside
the jurisdiction of the Vatican.
P. 0. Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
Address Correction Requested
At about the same time the Imani
Temple came into being, two gay
men in California were working on a
vision of a Catholic church that would
meet the spiritual needs of Gays, Lesbians
and others who feel outcast by
the church.
""We saw the need for Catholicoriented
ministry to the gay community,""
says · Mark Shirilau, Bishop
of the Ecumenical Catholic Church .
SEE UPSTART CHURCH, Page 11
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Who pays the bills?
By Jim Bailey
I N THE PAST Second Stone has gone to press on the strength of good
circulation figures or, in a few rare cases, some good ad pages. I believe
this is the first time we've gone to press on the strength of prayer alone.
I appreciate the response from so many readers to the letter I sent out
shortly after we printed the May /June issue. The letter explained that
we had had a circulation slump for several months and, at the time, our
traditionally slow summer months were still ahead of us. Not a pretty
picture.
You've been incredibly supportive of Second Stone! I have J;teard of
requests for prayer coming up during worship services at churches
across the country. And your response with renewals and the purchase
of gift subscriptions )las jammed our post office box more than a few
times this month. Very empowering for us.
You are aware, of course, that Second Stone is different in content from
other gay and lesbian publications. What many readers do not realize is
that we're very different administratively as well. ""I don't understand
why I can pick up a copy of a local gay newspaper twice the size of
Second Stone - and get it FREE and have to pay for Second Stone,"" says
one of our readers. The answer is simple. Almost all gay publications
that are distributed free are profitable through paid advertising.
Readers do not have to pay for a subscription or single copy because
advertisers have paid the publisher for readers to receive it free. Second
Stone carries very little advertising other than our house ads. This is an
unfortunate situation created by the fact that most gay and lesbian
businesses will not advertise with us because we are a Christian
publication. (Not politically correct.) And Christian advertisers will not
advertise with us because we are a gay publication. (Not politically
correct.)
So who pays for Second Stone to be printed and mailed? Our readers
do. Which explains why we are extremely sensitive to circulation
figures. As an example, say all but 50 or so readers who come up for
renewal this month do indeed renew . With a circulation in the
thousands, that might look like a good renewal rate, but if that trend
continues for six months, our loss comes to over $5000.
I hope this makes very clear just how important to us each individual
reader is - and how your support is vital if we are to continue to bring a
powerful message of affirmation to the gay and lesbian community.
Thank you for your prayers and support. I appreciate it.
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1994 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00fer year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For display advertising information call{504)891-7555 or write to
P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. ;
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to (Department
title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. Manuscripts to be
(etumed should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope. Second Stone
1s otherwise not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian social justice newsjoumal
wt.th a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBlITORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Keith A. Miller, Bill Day, Kenny Dayton,
Andrea L. T. Peterson
W' Second Stone-July/August, 1994
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Cotenns t ............ ..... "" ....... .. . W From The Editor
.1w -9 1Co mmentary How one can be pro-life and pro-choice W Newsun ..
m One Who Was Saved l_!!_j Gay teen's life almost ended in suicide
,1[1ii0ll C over Story Artist's stained glass inspiration
1117 . The Upstart Ecumenical l!!J Catholic Church -
11'l7. LC. raps ~ Christian music never sounded like this before
[1 3I'E xiled, free and home ·. The Gospel of John has a special meaning for
· gay and lesbian people
T :Comment • • • t ••••••••••• . ••••••••••••••• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • .. .........
Give me a minute to explain
I'm pro-choice and I'm pro-life
By P. D. Sterling
Guest Comment I 'm turning 12!'.Q.· I've been an
amateur advocate of numerous
causes, not the least of
which is proper grammar,
diction, elocution and word choice.
I've been almost driven to a nervous
twitch over redefining of words or
terms in our language . So I've decided
to tum I!ffi,
Unfortunately, I'm uncertain if I
will be 12.[Q.fessional or simply, J2!_Q.
(Latin, for). As an optimistic, positive
person, I am I1ffi many issues. To my
surprise, I found out I was not prolife,
according to some people's
revised definition. Strangely, they
had appropriated this term and
redefined it to mean ""anti-abortion.""
Stupidly, I had thought I was pro-life.
With countiess others, I have been
battling AIDS in our community for
nearly 15 years. I've had low spots,
where I was despondent over the loss
of life, and have assisted countless
people in many ways . I have dealt
with numerous people, living with
AIDS, who were apologetic for needing
help and who were concerned for
my mental and physical health.
Quite humbling.
Why do we b·attle on? It is because
we are pro-life. We affirm life, and
want to continue living until we reach
agreement with our Creator that we
will accept other orders. I feel it is
incumbent on all members of the gay
community to view themselves as
pro-life ( old definition).
When I was a good deal more
naive, I was given only two options
for a certain political position, prochoice
or pro-life. When told the
second option meant government or
society dictating policy on abortion, I
quickly said, 'Tm pro-choice."" I got
involved with like-minded people
who told me, ""It's pro-choice or
no-choice.""
Busy with other things, I never
thought this through . Lately, I did put
considerable meditation into choices,
and became quite upset at the notion
that many people put forth: ""Agree
with me, or you are a bad person.""
As a quintessential semanticist, I
kept flopping ""choice"" over and over,
like a piece of french toast on a
griddle. Suddenly, after hearing
Arby's commercial for the umpteenth
time, came the dawn, and I cried,
""Choices are good; choices are our
friends.""
We are best served by making
responsible choices. We want the
right to choose where we live, where
we socialize, what we wear . If we
choose what others call an alternate
lifestyle, that's okay. And I decided it
is incumbent on all members of the
gay commμnity to view themselves
as pro-choice ( old definition).
This makes great demagoguery,
until you notice I didn't resolve the
political position on abortion. I
noticed that, too , for quite a while,
until a messenger was sent to me.
This messenger told me that our
opposing views on this subject were
Integrity member on anti-Catholic bias
No place for prejudice
By Nick Dowen
Guest Comment T he deaths of both Jacqueline
Bouvier Kennedy Onassis
and Richard M. Nixon have
stirred the memories and
emotions of many Americans. Something
I remember from the 1960
Kennedy-Nixon presidential campaign
is the strong anti-Catholic bias
it aroused. In the small town where I
grew up a very prominent Democrat,
long active in local, state, and
national -politics (and a pillar of the
First Presbyterian Church), organized
a ""Democrats for Nixon"" campaign
solely because the I<ennedys were
Roman Catholics .
Anti-Catholic bias still exists in our
. -~
[,~ Pontius' Puddle
HOW CAN 6-Ot> O;>E""c.T
l)S TC fOLLOW \J,IS
CO~tJ\At-l0S Wl-lEN THE
i18LE USES WO~bS
T\-\~T \W,'E"" ~\..L \NT
LOST THEI~ M£AN1Ntr
IN TOI)~'(~ WOR\.0?
country, and there is also a good deal
of anti-religious feeling in the lesbian
and gay community. While I think
all gay men, bisexuals and Lesbians
ought to deplore the Roman Catholic
Church's official teaching about us,
· we also need to recognize that a very
broad range of opinion exists in that
church, whether its leaders acknowledge
it or not. The task for us as
Episcopalians is less to criticize a
church from whom we have been
separated for centuries than to ask ·
whether our own church is really so
very much better and to do whatever
we can to improve it.
Relations between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Anglican
Church .used to appear warmer than
they do today. Pope Paul VI once
gave the Archbishop of Canterbury
his episcopal ring, and referred to the
Anglican Communion as ""our everbeloved
sister."" That would not
happen today, but as Integrity members
we are pleased to acknowledge
the several joint chapters of Dignity
and Integrity that exist, including
Dignity /Integrity Mid-Hudson, meeting
at Christ Church, Poughkeepsie,
in the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
Homophobia exists in the Episcopal
Church. Church periodicals regularly
publish homophobic letters. I wonder,
would they publish racist or antiSemitic
letters? In February the Wall
Street Journal published a homophobic
article bearing the name, among
WORt>S l.ll<E
Tl-\00 1 '{E 1 SHAL""'r, AND
i\.\ER'EO~~
NO, Lll<.E. M.Eelt.Y,
J""U5'TIC.E1 PE~CE 1
C.Ofo\~ASSION,
1-\l)('#I.\Ll'i""Y,
SERVICE···
endangering our relationship. Some
pillow talk!
Pained, I told this friend that I
thought our minds were as one, that
we couldn't be in disagreement on
this issue, and it took three to four
hours of non-stop dialogue to reach a
monumental conclusion: One's position
on abortion and one's position on
choice ( old definition) are separate
issues, ones that have been clouded
by demagogues and revisionists. It is
possible to be pro-choice ( old defini-
. lion) and anti-abortion!
It that's hard to follow, read on. I
now introduce myself as pro-choice
'and anti-abortion. This means : I will
never have an abortion, and I will
never decide if another person will or
will not hav:e an abortion. In retrospect,
it seems so simple.
How to implement this new credo?
When someone asks if you are prochoice
or pro-life, you answer, ""Yes!""
Also, light a candle for me while I
start explain ing this to the Republicans.
others, of the Dean of Berkeley
Divinity School at Yale, an Episcopal
theological seminary.
A number of Episcopal churches
around the country welcome lesbian
and gay individuals and couples, and
provide meeting space for a wide
variety of lesbian, bisexual, gay and
AIDS related _events and organizations.
That is significant in our
church, with it strong parochial or
congregational emphasis.
To the lesbian and gay community
we say that the secular world can be
just as homophobic as the religious
world. Rejection of religion is not a
cure for homophobia. Lesbians, bisexuals,
and gay men, like everybody
else, have the capacity and the right
to take part in the marketplace of
ideas that is the American religious
scene.
Excerpted from Outlook, the newsletter
of Integrity/New York.
We welcome
your letters
and opinions
Write to Second Stane. All letters must
be original and signed by the writer .
. Clearly indicate if your na'.'le is to ~e .
withheld. We reserve the right to edit.
Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or
FAX to (504)891-7555.
S~nd Sto~~JuiytAugust, 1994:[[]
T NewLsin es •••• "" ••• .••• ••••••••••••••••• !9. ••••••
Christialena derosp posaen ti-gainy itiatives
- MPPROXIMATELY 75 CHRISTIAN leaders who support civil rights for Gays and
Lesbians are working against anti-gay initiatives in Washington State. They are
members of People of Faith for Fairness, a task force of the Church Council of Seattle, and
Simple Justice, a statewide network of Christians. Michael Spencer, Simple Justice
co-<:hair, said the organization concentrates only on civil rights and has no position on
internal church issues such as ordination of Gays and Lesbians. ""We take our lead from
denominational statements that are already in place by the six maior mainline Protestant
denominations. They all have very strong statements supporting avil nghts for all people
regardless of sexual orientation. We concentrate on the points oI agreement.""
- Seattle Gay News
Ministerpsr oclaismu ppofrot rC obbC ountya'sn ti-garye solution
M GROUP OF LARGELY Baptist and Methodist ministers stood before television
cameras to supl;'ort the Cobb County, Georgia anti-gay resolution and ask the media to
drop the issue. It is time for the church and clergy in Cobb County to proudly proclaim
the gospel of Jesus Christ,"" said the Rev. Father David Monroe of the Church oHhe Holy
Trinity to the applause of the 200 supporters gathered just off Marietta Square. The
ministers read a statement, signed by some 150 Cobb County nurusters, supporting the
Cobb Commissions condemnation of the ""gay lifestyle."" The statement came m response to
another statement, urging that the Commission rescind the resolution,_s igned by 37 clergY,·
Not everyone in attendance at the press conference were supportive of the miruster s
statement. John Edwards, a member of First Baptist Church ofMarietta, said that he was
saddened by the latest round. ""It's dividing people, that's what going on,"" he said. ""Now
it's minister against minister."" - Southern Votce
NewP resbyterlieaand ewr il""l avoiedx tremes""
t.FORT WORTH PASTOR Robert W. Bohl was elected moderator of the 2.7
million-member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) during the 206th Presbyterian General
Assembly meeting in Wichita, Kansas. ""What I represent is the center position of the
church,"" said Rev. Dr. Bohl,-56, head of the pastoral staff at First Presbyterian Church in
Fort Worth, Texas and moderator for the Grace Presbytery, which includes churches
from 52 Texas counties. The communications director for Presbyterians for Lesbian and
Gay Concerns said he got a sense from gay and lesbian leaders that they had a good
relationshiJ? with Bohl. ''He seems to be interested in accomodating groups in the church
as part of 1:iise fforts to get the church back together,"" said JimA nderson . But same-gender
umons and -ordination of non-celibate Gays and Lesbians will not be on the agenda
during Bohl's term. '1 think that for the peace, purity, and unity of the church, it cannot be.
We just can't do it right now,"" Bohl saia. ""What may happen in 50 years - even God may
be surprised."" - Dallas Morning News
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Helping Christians
Debate Homosexualtiy
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, writers
with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
Edited by Sally B. Geis, director. Iliff
Institute, Lay and Clergy Education, The
Iliff School of Theology, Denver, and
Donald E. Messer, president, The Iliff
School of Theology.
· Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHTIN THEC ROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer$, 12.95,p aperbk ____ _
Postage/Handlin$g2 .90f irst book,$ 1.00e a.a dditional -----TOTALA
MOUNTE NCLOSED-- ---
NAME_ ____________________ _
ADDRES_S_ _______________ _
CITY/STATE_/ZIP_ ______________ _
ORDERFR OMS:E CONSDT ONEP RESSP,. O.B OX8 340N, EWO RLEANLSA, 7 0182
,(I] Second Stone-July/August, 1994
. ............................ .
Episcopaliarnesje cPt helpsm' essagoef h ate -
t.THE PARISHIONERS OF St. David's Episcopal Church, Topeka, Kansas, have drawn
the line against a brotherhood of hate that comes to visit them every weekend. Each
Saturday evening and Sunday morning, according to the Rev. Robert P. Layne, rector,
picketers surround St. David's, holdin~ up their hateful signs and shouting expletives at
anyone entering the church. ""Faggot,"" 'sodomite,"" and ""whore"" (aimed at any woman with
short hair) are among the hateful words they shout. After enduring this for more than a
year, members of the parish now take to the sidewalks. Up to SO each week sign the St.
David's Mission Statement Against Hate, station themselves on the perimeter of the
church property, and confront the hate pickets with signs saying that God is-a ""God of
Love."" The anti-gay pickets are led by Fred Phelps, a disbarred lawyer and a self-styled
cleric who organized the Westboro Baptist Church in ToJ?eka 38 years ago. The church
has about SO members, most of them related to Phelps. ""This cult has stated it is committed
to the condemnation of all who will not SUJ?port its position,"" Layne said. ""Their hatred
is that for which they live. Their hatred 1s what gives them energy, and sadly, their
hatred has both silent and vocal adherents."" - EpiscopLali fe
Pastoraclo unseldoer nieedn dorsemebnyBt aptisbto ard
t.THE COMMITTEE ON Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counselors of the American Baptist
Churches/U.S.A. has rejected \:he application of the Rev. Mark Crosby ofReading, Mass.
for ecclesiastical endorsement. Crosby, who is eminently qualified, was rejected because
he is an oeenly gay man. Ecclesiastical endorsement is a requirement for membership in
the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. His rejection is seen as fall-out from
an anti-gay resolution passed by the denomination's General Board in 1992. Crosby is
an active member of Old Cambridge Baptist Church and of American Baptists Concerned.
- Voice of the Turtle
GermaLnu theracnh urcohf fersg ayu nionb lessings
M LUTHERAN PARISH in the Rhineland has offered to bless unions of gay and lesbian
couples, according to Magnus Szene. Although a poll showed 80 percent of Lutherans in
the area are opposed to the plan, the press secretary for the regional church said the
action is long overdue as a dialogue to correct stereotypical views toward Lesbians and
Gays . - Outlines
Lutheranfosr mg ayo rdinatiocno mmittee
t.A _NATIONAL COMMITTEE of Lutherans has formed to provide _an alternative to
ordination and m1rustenal service for gay and lesbian ordination candidates reiected by
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Extraordinary Candidacy Committee
will review the credentials of gay and lesbian candidates, and present their
qualifications to congregations that want to hire them as pastors. - Outlines
Churcdhe leaatecsa lfl org ay/lesbicainv irl ightsp rotection
M RESOLUTION SUPPORTING the Sexual Orientation Anti-Discrimination Bill being
considered by the New York Senate. won overwhelming approval by delegates of the
New York Conference of the United Church of Christ. Delegates from tne 300 UCC
congregations from across New York gathered June 3-5 in Buffalo. The Rev. Craig
Hottman, presenter of the resolution, stated that ""the overwhelming level of support for
this resolution sends a clear message to the New York State legislature that many
Christians view discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual persons · as
intolerable."" The resolution itself reaffirmed tlie Christian concern for justice and civil
liberties, drawn from the Biblical tradition and from actions of previous General Synods
of the United Church of Christ, the national decision-making body of the church. The
resolution also affirmed the worth and dignity of every individual as a child of God and
emphasized that ""Denial and violation of the civil liberties of the individual and her or
his right of equal protection under the law defames that worth and dignity and is,
therefore, morally wrong.""
Campaighno petso g etU .N.p olicaym ended
t.THE U. N. POStCARD Campaign is petitioning the General Assembly of the United
Nations to demand e_qual rights for all lesbian, g_ay and bisexual people. The campaign's
goal is to have the U.N. amend Article II of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to
include the words ""sexual orientation."" The group hopes to deliver 1,000,000 petition
postcards to the U.N. General Assembly during its fall session. For information on this
campaign and to obtain postcards to distribute to community members contact the
campaign at 245 Eighth Ave., Ste. 217, New York, NY 10011, (212)966-5876.
Boycotct,o mplainstsq ueezinLgim baug·h
t.RlJSH LIMBAUGH may not be promoting Florida orange juice for much longer, if recent
signals from the Florida Citrus Commission are any sign. Stagnant sales anil a national
boycott have put the squeeze on the ultra-right-win& radio personality, hired for $1
million to promote Floriila orange juice last February. 'I have not seen any outstanding
results from Mr. Limbaugh's promotion,"" said William E. Owens, a citrus comm1ss10ner
who said he would not vote to renew Limbaugh's contract. The ""Flush Rush"" boycott
campaign is being led by the National Organization for Women and supported by many
groups including the NAACP. - Empty Closet
Maaazinfoer l esbiaann dg ayp arents
t.THE FAMILY NEXT DOOR, a national publication for lesbian and gay parents and
their friends, provides a wealth of information for gay and lesbian families. The most
recent issue includes the personal story of a young woman who finds her birth mother?
camping adventures for children, national resources available to gay and lesbian youth,
and a new column about cooking for kids and adults. A regular column by Dr. Tamar
Gershon, behavioral/ developmental pediatrician of the Rambow Health Clinic in San
Francisco, discusses the pros and cons of books on child rearing, and in their column
""Let's Talk About It,"" psychotherapists Valory Mitchell, Ph.D., ana Diane Wilson, Ph.D.,
continue their informative discussion on considering parenthood. For information on
subscribing to the Family Next Door, contact the publication at P.O. Box 21580, Oakland,
CA 94620, (510)482-5778.
·.N...e..w.L..s.i .n. es
Dignity/USsAu pportFsr .N ugenSt,r .G ramick
M CATHOLIC PRIEST and nun being investigated by a special commission of the
Vatican's Congregation for .Religious and Secular Institutes has received support from
Dignity /USA. The gay-affirming writings of Fr. Robert Nugent and Sr. Jeannine Gramick
are being · looked into by church authorities. ""The commission's establishment and
operation seem to be extraprdinary a_nd sinful wastes of Church time and resources,""
leaders of Dignity said in a prepared statement. ""AdditionallY.t, he commission's invasive
activities are disrupting a mmistry that has been incredibly effective in improving
relationships between gay, lesbian, and bisexual Catholics and other members of our
Church. Surely the work of these two religious is in the best tradition of pastoral
service."" . The national organization of gay and lesbian Catholics says it strongly
supports the work of New Ways Ministry, its founders and staff, and are grateful for the
confributions they have made in the ministry's 17 years of service. ""Their workshops,
publications, and one-on-one support have assisted countlessJeople struggling with
issues of sexuality and ethics,"" the statement said. ""We are prou to consider New Ways
Ministry a partner in our mission.""
TacomCa atholcich urcshh elteerv ictsg avf amily
LITHE EVICTION OF A gay couple from a Catholic she1ter for the homeless in Tacoma,
Washington has left the Tacoma Christian community divided and seething with anger.
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Tacoma operates the homeless shelter that
evicted the gay couple and their three children. The gay family consists of Abraham
Valenica, his partner (whose name has been withheld in published reports), and
Valencia's three children. The eviction occurred in January, out the subseguent battle
only recently boiled over into the public spotlight. According to the News TribuneG, ail
Craft, coordinator of the shelter program at St. Charles, objected to the gay family
because they defied ""the teachings of our church."" Father Patrick Ritter, pastor of St.
Charles Borromeo, said the gay couple was evicted because they didn't fit tlie definition
of an ""intact family."" Associated Ministries of Tacoma-Pierce County, of which the St.
Charles shelter is a member, is currently preparing a formal policy that is expected to be
inclusive of Gays and Lesbians. - Seattle Gay News
Rev. TroyP erreyn dorseasn ti-CobCbo unteyf fort
LITHE FOUNDER OF the Universal Fellowship of Metrorolitan Community Churches
says the nation's largest predominantly gay /lesbian relig10us group supports the drive
to get Olympic events moved from Cobb County, Georgia. Rev. Troy Perry called on Gays
and Lesbians to spend no monei in Cobb County until commissioners there rescind their
resolution denouncing the gay 'lifestyle."" Perry said he was concerned about the safety
of gay and lesbian Olympic athletes who venture into Cobb County. ""It's a life-or-death
issue,"" he said, adding that he sincerely fears the possibility of violence at the Cobb
County site. The news that Cobb County would host the volfeyball tnals was met with
shock across the county, Perry said. ""Why would the city of Atlanta agree to share the
games with a county (that promotes bigotry)?"" Perry said. He said he was particularly
disturbed that.the resolution was adopted and supported in the name of Christianity.
- Southern Vozce
NewL ifeM CCc aser emanded
L'.NEW LIFE MCC, Matthews, North Carolina continues a battle with neighbors who
don't want the church in their community. At the church's request, the Matthews Zoning
Board of Adjustments has consented to revoke the variance they allowed for the church
in September of 1993. In a statement presented to the judi,e in the case, the zoning board
ad1TI1ttetdh ey did not follow their own procedures in notitying adjacent property owners
due to outdated tax records and, therefore, a zoning variance allowed for New (ife MCC
was invalid. The church's attorneys suggested this course of action in order to prevent a
judgment which would preclude the church from ever being allowed to use the property
they have purchased in Matthews. The church board was scheduled to meet to decide
whether to immediately repeat their request for a variance or wait for some time to pass
to let neighborhood tensions die down. Rev. Bob Darst continues to lead the church's ·
services at the Unitarian Universalist Church. During the course of the turmoil, the
church's membership has increased. -Q Notes
.G ay-supportiBvaep tiscth urchb urns
LITHE NEW HOPE Baptist Church in Seattle's Central District burned down on May 17
in a fire investigators say was sparked by wiring. The Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffrey, senior
pastor of New Hope, has been very active in social issues, building coalitions between
!:he African-American community, the Jewish community-and the gay71esbian community.
In the recent JJast New Hope has been vandalized, and Jeffrey has received death threats
for the church's activism, leading many people to express suspicion about the fire.
Hundreds of people, including a large number of Gays and Lesbians, turned out for a
candlelightvigil supporting the rastor and his congregation. Jeffrey told the gathering
that his congregation wou£d not be deterred from working together with Les5ians and
Gays and others against bigotry and intolerance. Donations to held rebuild the church
may be sent to Pride Founcfation/New Hope Fund, 2820 E. Madison, Seattle, WA 98112.
- Seattle Gay News
Two"" riversw"" on'ftl owi nA lbuquerque
t!.THERE ARE·TWO ""River of Life"" churches in Albuquerque, both described as
charismatic (Holy Spirit-filled) Christian churches. But Garry and Denise Martinez,
co-pastors of River of Life Church for about two years, do not want their church
confused with the gay /lesbian-affirming River of Life Ministries, a new work started by
former UFMCC pastor Pamela White. The Martinezes say the name ""River of Life"" came
to them in answer to prayer and they have contacted an attorney about exclusive use of
the name. When asked' what the other church should do about their name, Denise
Martinez said ""They need to change it."" Pastor White's River of Life Ministries meets at
10:30 a.m. on Sundals and 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays at 134 Quincy NE in Albuquerque.
-AlbuquerquJeo urna
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SecondS tone-July/Augus1t,9 94 [[j
""Out of The Box and Into The Street""
Protestors demonstrate at lnterChurch Center
FOUR HUNDRED PEOPLE joined
hands around the InterChurch Center
in New York City to pray for the end
of religious homophobia. The June 24
demonstration was part of the activities
celebrating the 25th anniversary
of the Stonewall rebellion.
'Today, 475 Riverside Drive [the
InterChurch Center, known as the
God Box] is our Stonewall Inn,"" said
Rev. Nancy Wilson, Chief Ecumenical
Officer of the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches .
""We need to tum the tables on the
religious 'police' of our day, and fight
back.""
Wilson said it was time to call the
church to repentance and conversion.
""Not the repentance that sounds like
an abusive spouse that keeps saying,
'I'm sorry• while continuing to repeat
abuse,"" said Wilson. ""Tm sorry' isn't
going to cut it anymore. Change is
the only meaningful currency of
repentance . .,
Wilson charged the church and
other religious institutions with being
giant closets of shame, repression,
exclusion and rejection. ""For 26 years,
MCC, and so many other religious
movements have lovingly confronted,
educated, loved, and prayed for the
religious establishment,"" said Wilson.
'We've been dialogued with, debated
about, been the objects of endless
studies, and many broken promises.
We've held their hands, cajoled,
pushed, and the results are allto o
often a continued silence.""
Leaders hold first meeting of
national religious AIDS networks
THE FIRST MEETING of the Council
of National Religious AIDS Netwo rks
was held in Washington, D.C., May
23-25. The purpose of the meeting
was to increase cooperation and collaboration
among religious AIDS networks
and to suppo rt communitybased
AIDS ministries. The meeting
resulted in the establishment of the
Council of National Religious AIDS
Networks.
AIDS Network, ""and we have long
needed a better method of talking
and planning among those of us
involved in religious-based AIDS
work. With ANIN's establishment of
the Council, community-based AIDS
ministries can be more confident that
their views will be heard, not only by
the public but by religious leadership
as wen:·
The three-day meeting focused on
developing strategies for expanding
AIDS pastoral care, social services,
education and prevention programs
serving the ever-increasing number
Hands Around The God-Box: Demonstrators encircle the InterChurch Center
in New York City Photo by Bill Tom/UFMCC
'The faith community has been
involved in providing compassionate
services to individuals with HIV and
AIDS since the beginning of the
epidemic,"" said the Rev. Charles
Carnahan of the United Methodist SEE AIDS NETWORKS, Next Page
· [][] Second Stone-Jnly/Angust. 1994
Fashion
Li-re~les
Travel
Poll.,lcs
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••. . .a Gay version or Esquire or GQ.""
""""'- GENREm agazineb ringsy out he latest in men'sf ashione. xotict raveld estinations.
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The pre,n/e,e national gay n,en •.s n,agazlne ..
Discussion of ordination of women forbidden
Dignity USA responds to Pope's letter
unimportant or tainted in some way."" many on which he has taken an
unbending position and refused to
listen to differing perspectives. Our
church should be fostering dialogue
on issues which are of fundamental
importance to how people of faith live
out their lives. Instead, this Pope
seems determined to create a church
in which a tiny group of Stepford
wives submissively obey the· allknowing
leader. This kind of action
discourages the commitment of anyone
who dares to question. I am very
afraid for our future.""
DIGNITY /USA, an organization of
gay, lesbian and bisexual Catholics
and their families and friends, is
""extremely distressed"" by the recent
apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II,
according to a statement issued by the
organization. In a move that Dignity/
USA believes will drive more Catho.
lies of conscious away from the
' church, the Pope ordered an end to
all debate on the subject of the ordination
of women. 'This document certainly
seems to have been motivated
by political rather than piously religious
concerns,"" the statement said.
""Clearly, the ordination of wo.men
represents no threat to the power of
God, but it could offer a serious threat
to the monopoly on temporal power
enjoyed by the current male hierarchy.""
Leaders of Dignity /USA
said that the current Pope has established
a new standard of authoritarianism
and that only an organization
AIDS
NETWORKS,
From Previous Page
of persons both affected by and
infected with HIV.
'The interfaith declaration on HIV
and AIDS renews our commitment to
continuing to speak with one voice as
people of faith in the presence of
AIDS, said Rev. Kenneth South, executive
director of the AIDS National
Interfaith Network, sponsor of the
gathering. 'The support of this declaration
by America's worshipping
community will be a constant reminder
to us of how AIDS demands that
we work together, even though we
come to this work with differences in
histories and theologies.
The interfaith declaration on HIV
and AIDS will be signed at a ceremony
at the United Nations on World
AIDS Day, December 1, 1994.
The Council is a project of the AIDS
National Interfaith Network. ANIN is
a private, non-profit national association
of AIDS ministries founded in
1988 to insure that people with HIV
and AIDS receive compassionate ,
non-judgment al care, sup port and
assistance.
Meeting attendees included representatives
from Lutheran AIDS Netw
ork , Union of American H ebrew
Congregations/Central Conference of
American Rabbis Joint Committee on
AIDS, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Chur ches AIDS
Ministry, The Balm in Gilead, Inc.,
National Episcopal AIDS Coalition,
United Church AIDS Network, National
Catholic AIDS Network, AIDS
Advocacy in African American
Churches, Unitarian Universalist Association
AIDS Resources Network,
United Methodist AIDS Netwo rk,
AIDS Ministry Network/Ch ristian
Church (Disciples of Christ) and the
Presbyterian AIDS Network. ·
afraid of the truth would attempt to
stifle discussion among its members.
""Both the content and the tone of
this pronouncement are very disturbing,""
said Marianne Duddy, president
of Dignity /USA. 'Through this
denial of the possibility of ordaining
women, the Pope claims to have a
lock on the truth. He is denying one
of the fundamental principles of the
Gospel - that the Spirit of God moves
as She will, speaking through the
powerless and through people who
are seen by those in authority as
Dignity/ USA has long been a
supporter of the Women's Ordination
Conference, and stands in solidarity
with all who are working to open the
official ministry of the Catholic
church. The organization believes
that women and men, gay and
straight, are called to ordination and
that through baptism all share in the
Priesthood of Christ.
'The Pope's attempt to cut off
debate is of deep concern,"" said
Duddy. 'This issue is only one of
FOR LESBIGAY CHRISTIANS AND THEIR FRIENDS
EACH YEAR BEFORE NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY.
We haue organized . ..
We haue marched . .
We haue lobbied ...
On October 10th , we encourage you and your group to be praying for:
* A FRESH TOUCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT'S POWER ON YOUR CHURCH.
* CHRIST'S TOUCH ON THE LESBIGAY COMMUNITY IN YOUR CITY
AND ACROSS THE NATION.
* HEALING OF OUR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES FROM THE
WOUNDS OF HOMOPHOBIA.
If your group would like to participate, and would like posters and
teaching materials, please contact us:
Pastor Pamela White
River Of Life Healing Ministries
134 Quincy NE
Albuquerque , NM 87108
(505) 256-1891
(Donation For Materials Appreciated But Not Required)
Second Stone-July/August, 1994 (_Z.J
Work begins on second draft
Lutherans reject first draft of sexuality statement
not become the basis for judging a person's overall character ."" THE JUNE 30, 1994 deadline for Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
clergy, members and congregations to respond to the church's first draft of a
social statement on human sexuality passed rather quietly compared to the
uproar that accompanied the release of the document last October, when the
toll-free phone number at ELCA headquarters logged 22,000 calls in a five
hour period after a story about the draft social statement w as released by
Associated Press.
The writing team was scheduled to meet in mid-July to begin writing the
second draft. The church council of the ELCA has asked the writing team to
devise a means to gather opinions of the church's youth on the sexuality draft
statement.
As of Jun e 22, 1994 the tally of responses was 13,905, including 5,758
responses from congregations, church member s and clergy, and 3,363
signatures supporting the anti-gay Lutheran Commentator survey, and 4,784
signatures affirming the document authored by Professors Koester, Forde, and
Burtness of Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary. ·
RESPONSES TO LUTHERAN SEXUALITY STATEMENT
The reason most frequently stated for support of the document is that it is
time for the ELCA to officially speak on the issue of human sexuality and to
take p ositions represented in the first draft. The reason most frequently given
for objection to the document is that the draft statement, especially Section III
regarding homosexuality, is contrary to the teaching of Scripture .
Only 3.2 percent of the church's clergy responded to the statement. Less that
one quarter of one percent of the church's members responded. Among
clergy and church members, negative responses increased as time went by.
The highest category of responses, over 8 percent, came from. church
congregations. In this category, responses tended to become more positive as
time went by, although negative responses still outnumbered positive and
mixed responses by about 10 percent.
The draft statement, 'The Church and Human Sexuality: A Lutheran
Perspective,"" urges church members to challenge_ traditional_ condemnation of
homosexuality. ""A church called to love the neighbor . begms with pastoral
concern for what gay arid lesbian persons experience,"" reads the document,
under a section entitled ""Gay and . Lesbian Persons ."" 'This is not an abstract
issue but an embodied human reality in our midst. Sexual orientation should
Total rostered ELCA clergy:
Clergy responding to the draft:
Positive responses:
Mixed responses:
Negative responses :
Total lay confirmed/communing/
contributing adults:
Laity responding to first draft:
Positive responses :
Mixed responses :
Negative responses:
Total ELCA congregations:
Congregations responding:
Positive responses :
Mixed responses:
Negative responses:
17,466
564
164
173
227
2,629,054
4287
638
882
2767
11,055
907
64
341
502
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(CHECK OR MONEY OROER)
[BJ Second Stone-July /August, 1994
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30.7%
40.2%
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14.9%
20.6%
64.4%
8.2%
7.1 %
37.6%
55.3%
The police report of the
accident would have read
something like this: ""Victim's
pickup truck left the highway
at a high rate of speed striking a 40 ft.
tree head-on. Due to absence of skid
marks, actual speed was difficult to
ascertain, but is estimated to be in
excess of 75 miles per hour at impact.
Sixteen year old victim was the only
occupant in vehicle and was pronounced
dead at the scene."" The
report from the medical examiner
would have probably been something
like: ""No trace of alcohol or
drugs in deceased. No trauma indicated
prior to accident."" With that
finding, the police would have closed
the investigation with an official
determination of ""Accident due to
unknown circumstances and excessive
speed.""
It would be written off as one more
teenager driving beyond his capabilities
and experience. The life of a
handsome young man, an excellent
student, a talented musician, and a
loving son who knew God would
have come to an end four weeks
before his 17th birthday . His dreams,
his hopes, his aspirations, and his
Jove would have ceased to exist,
along with the secret he had kept
hidden deep inside himself. There
would have been no more guilt, no
shame, no pain, no hate ... just peace.
He would never have to be ""one of
those queers"" he had heard about
from his family, friends, and co-workers.
He would finally be at peace
with himself.
Robert was one of the summer
workers our company had hired to
help in the warehouse during our
busiest months. The other men he
worked with ranged in age from 19 to
52. He listened to their stories, their
jokes and their opinions and he tried
to fit in. One prejudice that was overwhelmingly
present was a familiar
one ... one he had heard too many
times at home and from his friends ...
""damn faggots."" The more he heard
the unjustified hate, the more guilt he
experienced as he tried to cope with
the ever stronger feelings he was
experiencing as he grew into manhood.
Robert didn't feel abnormal. He
didn't think anything was wrong
with him. He just wanted to be himself
and to find peace from the battle
that was raging within him.
· It was mid-summer of 1993. It had
only been a few short months since
the March on Washington. The flack
over Gays in the military was at a
crescendo pitch. The subject of homosexuality
was a constant topic, especially
in our warehouse where almost
everyone had served in the military.
Compounding the problem for Robert
Gay teens and suicide:
was the religious co-workers who
mimicked the hatred that was spewing
from so many pulpits at the time.
He had always had a strong faith in
God, but now he was hearing that
God couldn't love him ... not if he was
gay. It was more than he could take.
ONE WHO
WAS SAVED
In his early teens Robert was active in
the youth group of a Baptist Church and
l1e sang in the choir. At 16, he was considering
kj}Jing himself.
by Kenny Dayton
The condemnation kept coming at
him. Unknowingly, Robert's family
and co-workers were pushing him
closer and closer to taking his own
life. It wasn't intentional. No one
knew what was going on inside him.
The more he tried to fight the battle
within himself, the more homophobia
came at him, and the more difficult it
became to fight the battle alone.
Robert had no role models. There
seemed to be no place to turn ... and
no one to tum to. And now he was
being told that even God didn't care.
Secretly Robert had laid out a plan to
end his life and he felt it was time to
put the plan into action - the plan to
crash his pickup into a 40 ft. tree
close to the road near his home.
One of the reasons Robert had
heard so much at work about Gays
was because it had been assumed for
some time that I was gay. It was a
topic of discussion among the warehouse
crew on a regular basis. Within
his first week of working for us
Robert had heard several times
concerning me, ""He's queer."" Nothing
was ever said directly to me but
little innuendos and hinting comments
had become a norm around
me. I had finally learned to just
ignore them and do my job.
Regardless of how ""accepting"" my
co-workers were to my face, Robert
was hearing the real thoughts and
bigotry. 'This is my future too,"" he
thought. This was actually a mixed
blessing though, because the comments
that had pushed him to the
edge also gave him the courage to
approach me ... and hope the rumors
were true!
Fortunately for Robert, his thought
of suicide ended in the planning
stage. He didn't carry it through.
Not that he didn't want to. Not
because he ""chickened out"" or came to
his senses. A suicide hot line didn't
stop him. His plans were altered
because he took a chance and reached
out to me, and I took a chance and
gave him a hand and a hope to hold
onto . God had intervened in both of
our lives.
The Friday night that he had
planned to end his life, he chose to
take one last risk. He asked me if we
could talk. In a matter of hours, he
was pouring out his heart and soul
about his most closely held secrets,
his deepest feelings, and darkest
fears ... everything but the plan to run
SEE SAVED, Page 17
Second Stone-July/ August, 1994 [[]
Cover Story T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . ........................... ..... ........... ......
From broken windows to work of art
From Page 1
at the Capitol Rotunda in Tallahassee.
Cahall, 58, was born in Tampa,
Florida. After serving in the U.S.
Marine Corps he ended up in New
Orleans where he finished his business
education and graduated in the
second graduating class of .the University
of New Orleans, then Louisiana
State University in New Orleans,
where he met his life partner, Floyd.
The two have now been together for
34 years. On the ring finger of his
left hand, Cahall wears Floyd's
mother's wedding band, remounted
in a man's shank.
After a successful business career in
the Pensacola area, Cahall retired in
order to devote his full time and
energy to his art . His work includes
sculpture, oil paintings · and smaller
stained glass pieces such as Tiffanystyle
lamps.
The first window Cal1all installed at
Holy Cross, known as the ""Holy
Spirit"" window, includes a 7-foot tall
center panel that was actually created
about two years before the church
building was purchased. Cahall had
created the piece for his home.
Mysteriously, he changed his plans
concerning the size of the work,
downsizing from eight feet to seven
feet. After Cahall got the idea to
create stained glass windows for the
church, the ""Holy Spirit"" panel was
the first installed. Amazingly, it fit
perfectly into one of the windows
blown out by the hurricane.
Each of the six windows consists of
11 panels. Across the bottom of each
window is a foundation of three
crosses made of beveled glass and
across the top are panels containing a
""Crowrl of Glory."" One of the
windows was created in honor of
Edith Allen Perry, mother of the .
founder of the UFMCC, Rev. Troy
Perry. Rev. Perry dedicated the Win""
dow in 1987 when he was in Pensacola
to consecrate the new · church
facility. Another window, the ""AIDS
Memorial Window"" recalls those who
have lost their lives to the disease.
A seventh window, a 12 ft. by 12
ft. work depictjng the ascension of
Christ from Mt. Olivet, hangs behind
the altar and is illuminated artificially.
The piece, entitled ""Ascending
Christ"" was created from photographs
of an original 19th Century window
housed in the first property ever
collectively owned by lesbian and
gay Christians, the Metropolitan
. Community Church of Los Angeles,
which was destroyed by an arson fire
in 1973.
Considering he came of age during
the pre-Stonewall days, Callall's closet tfilJ Second StoneoJuly/August, 1994 •
A 12 ft. by 12 fl work depicting the ascension of Christ hangs behind the altar
of Holy Cross MCC. It was created from photographs of an original 19th Cen•
tury window housed in the mother church of the UFMCC, MCC Los Angeles,
which was destroyed by an arson fire in 1973.
days were remarkably short. By the
age of 19, he was on the fast track in
the U.S. Marine Corp, eventually
rising to the rank of sergeant. But his
military days came to an abrupt halt
when he was outed by another
enlisted man. Even though authorities
were not able to cite a case of
sexual activity, Cahall was given a
dishonorable discharge from the
Marines. (He waited for 24 years for
the Marines to upgrade his discharge
to honorable, which they finally did
in 1980.)
Cahall, who was raised by
Methodist parents, did not have to
wait long after experiencing unfairness
in the military to encounter the
Cahall, his friend, and the
Baptist pastor's son,
who was also gay,
were all thrown
out of the church •
from the pulpit
and in front of
the congregation.
It was 20 years
before Cahall
attended
church
again.
same in the church. After his,,,discharge
from the Marines, he recalls
going to a Baptist church with a
friend. Cahall, his friend, and the
Baptist pastor's son, who was also
gay, were all thrown out of the
church - from the pulpit and in front
of the congregation. It was 20 years
before Cahall attended church again.
In 1978, he joined Holy Cross MCC,
where, in addition to his stained glass
labor of love, he served as treasurer
for 12 years.
""It's a different world now than it
was then,"" says Cahall. ""'Back then,
you simply came out to yourself. We
were mainly concerned with protecting
ourselves from violence.""
Cahall acknowledged his sexuality at
the age of 13 in a family environment
where the topic of sex was never
discussed. ""'I did not have girlfriends,""
says Calla!! ""and my family
should have realized that something
was amiss."" Only when Cahall returned
home with his pink discharge
papers did his family acknowledge
his homosexuality and they did so by
banishing him from \he family home,
to which he did not return for ten
years, except for a few holiday visits.
Both of his parents are deceased now,
as is his bisexual brother, who was
killed in Viet Nam. He describes his
remaining sister as the ""closest, most
endearing supportive person I know.""
During the time Cahall was
working on his stained glass windows,
he began to volunteer his time
with Escambia AIDS Services and
Education: His good work received
attention and in 1989 he was hired by
EASE to work in minority outreach
AIDS educati9n. In March, 1992
Cahall collapsed at work and friends
rushed him to a clinic. He soon
became aware that he himself was
HIV positive. He retired later that
SEE COVER STORY, Page 18
Upstart Catholic church offers inclusiveness, tradition
From Page 1
Shirilau and his life partner, Jeffery
Shirilau, founded the ECC based
upon their shared vision. tMark
Shirey and Jeffery Lau became life
partners in late 1984 and in 1985 legally
took a common surname. Jeffery
passed away in 1993.)
The Ecumenical Catholic Church
maintains itself within the mainstream
of historical Christianity, both
in theology and liturgy. The theology
is firmly creedal, with the Nicene
Creed being accepted as the definition
of Christianity. The seven traditional
sacraments are observed, and
baptism and the Eucharist are celebrated
as the primary means by
which God's saving grace is received.
The liturgy is consistent -with the
modern liturgies of the Roman
· Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran
churches .
Tl'l anyone who
doubts they say,
""Ask a member of
the Orthodox Church
if it is necessary to be
subject to Rome in
order to be Catholic. ""
The ECC was formed as a direct
result of the failure of the mainline
liturgical churches to deal promptly
and fairly with their homophobia and
sexual discrimination. At the time of
the founding of their church, the
Shirilaus felt that what was missing in
the Christian spectrum was a gaysupportive
church that maintained a
liturgical setting and held no orthodox
theology. The Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches had developed since its
founding in 1968 as distinctly Protestant
in liturgy and polity and Christians
who came from backgrounds
with more traditional liturgies did not
quite fit in, according to Mark
Shirilau. The ECC was created to fill
this niche. In fact, when someone has
not heard about the ECC or its
ministry, it is often described as ""the
Catholic equivalent of the MCC.""
The canon law of the Ecumenical
Catholic Church defines the organization
as ""a constituent member of
Christ's one, holy, catholic and apostolic
church which unites all Christians
throughout the world · and
throughout history,""
But can a Catholic church independent
of Rome and not subject to
the authority of the Pope really be
Catholic? Yes, say leaders of the ECC,
who say they are not Roman Catholics,
but still Catholics none the less.
To anyone who doubts they say, ""Ask
. a member of the Orthodox Church if
it is necessary to be subject.to Rome
in order to · be Catholic ."" The ECC
traces the apostolic succession of its
priesthood through both Roman Catholic
and Russian Orthodox lineage.
Mark Shirilau was raised Lutheran
and. converted to the Episcopal
Church. Both Mark and Jeffery were
active in the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches
and the Episcopal Church. Both men
passed the UFMCC clergy credentialing.""
We never felt like MCC was
liturgical enough and we we did not
feel that the Episcopal Church was
sufficiently gay supportive, so we
started wrestling with the idea of
starting something new.""
The ECC moved beyond meeting
in the Shirilaus' home to getting in ·
touch with independent Catholic
churches who were interested in a
ministry with the direct support of the
gay community. Currently the ECC
has 12 churches in eight states. The
church grows as new clergy come in,
says Shriliau. ''We get clergy without
parishes and they go out a form one.""
Some of the ECC's clergy are former
Roman Catholic clergy. There are 30
candidates for the priesthood, including
a woman candidate from Connecticut.
The ECC believes in cooperation
among Christians and therefore
recognizes the Bishop of Rome, the
Pope, as an important figure in the
life of the universal church. They do
not, however, recognize any sort of
infallibility of the Pope.
No formal relationship exists
between the Ecumenical Catholic
Church and Dignity/ USA, the nation al
organization of gay and lesbian
Roman Catholics . The organizations
have two different missions, according
to Shirilau. 'Dignity functions for
people who want to remain within
the Roman Catholic Church,"" he says.
'The ECC is for those who are ready
to leave the Roman Catholic Church.""
And he says it is his personal
opinion that it is time for gay and
lesbian Catholics to do just that.
Although a few members have
come over from Dignity chapters,
sheep -stealing won't be a necessity or .
practice of the 'ECC. The ministry of
the ECC is directed to a large extent
to Gays, Lesbians and others who are
not currently involved in ,church or
church groups.
The Ecumenical Catholic Church
considers matters of both gender and
sexuality essentially irrelevant to
religious faith. As such, it provides
the sacrament of ordination without
regard to gender, celibacy or sexual
orientation. Likewise, marriage is
viewed as a commitment between
Christians, not something exclusively
heterosexual in nature. Because
sexism and homophobia are removed
from both the church's official
doctrines and its day to day eractices,
it is able to directly minister to the
Mark Shirilau, founder and Bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Church
gay community as well as to others
who have been disenfranchised from
other churches because of their
gender, marital status or sexuality.
The ECC is therefore a divergent
body of baptised persons. Some
members are gay; some are straight.
Some are women; some are men.
Some of them have been divorced
and remarried; some are single .
Some are transgendered; some are
not even certain of their ultimate
sexuality. The bottom line, according
to Shirilau, is that thei.r Christianity is
a matter of their faith, beliefs and
baptism, not their sexuality or its
outward expression.
So is the ECC a ""gay"" church or not?
'1t is a gay church, a straight church,
a female church, a male church, a
black church, a white church, and the
list goes on and on,"" says Fr. Michael
Frost, who has written on the subject
of the ECC being a gay church. ""We
have never stated that we are a 'gay'
church yet, in our prejudiced society,
to state that we are affirming and
accepting of Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals,
makes us, in the minds of some
people, a 'gay' church. No church
should be an exclusionist club that
accepts only those with whom we
happen to agree. And no church can
be such if it is truly part of the
Church of Jesus Christ.""
But the ECC does feel a certain
responsibility to people who are most
often rejected by others. ""We welcome
those who society and other churches
have rejected,"" says Frost. ""By doing
so they have failed to live up to
Christ's command to love others.
Christ Himself is the perfect example
-0£ acceptance and inclusiveness.""
Shirilau wants to include much more
than the gay and lesbian community
in the Ecumenical Catholic Church
and is now considering how the ECC
might move into ministry to all who
are disenfranchised with the church.
""In five years we can be a 'gay'
church with 2000 people,"" he says, ""or
we can fill this vast, growing need of
p·eople who are fed up wit& conservative
churches and have 200,000.""
So far the Ecumenical Catholic
Church arid grown steadily, slowly
and quietly and has been largely
ignored by the Roman Catholic
Church. That may change soon when
the little church that can does
somethinl;i that the big church that
won't cant. The ECC will be ordaining
its first woman priest in the near
future. .
Second Stone-July/August, 1994, '{Ii]
L. C. raps
Street-wise Christian brings a new style and
sound to the message of love and faith
by Jim Balley
bout two decades ago, a
young African American lesbian
Jiving in New York City
was ready to end the misery
of her life, one way or another. She
had been a victim of racism, homophobia,
a rejecting church, incest,
child abuse and even an attempted
rape. She had Jost two 18 year old
brothers as a result of heroin use. An
aunt had died of complications due to
AIDS, another aunt had been murdered
and her biological mother, a
substance abuser, had died of cancer.
As a teenager, she got involved with
drugs. Then she attempted suicide.
But in 1985, Christian rapper,
singer and songwriter L.C. (Lesbian
Christian) had what she described as
a ""sincere little talk with Jesus."" Since
then, the street-wise Christian has .
been evangelizing through her music
in schools, churches and prisons all
across America.
'The victory, the peace, the real
love which we all search for, at some
point in our lives, is inside of us and
has been since the beginning of
time,"" says L.C. ""All we have to do is
activate it, push that button in us
called 'faith' and believe in Jesus, the
Christ, and God will give us big time
support, direction and confidence in
ourselves to move mountains in our
lives that may seem unmovable.""
L.C. says her life was changed
forever as a result of her ""little talk""
and she has been drug, alcohol,
cigarette and racist free for almost ten
years. ""Positive or negative we all
reap what we sow, get back what we
put out, get out of something what we
put into it,"" she says. ""What goes
around does come around, bad or
good.""
LC. 's Inner City World Ministries is
based in Huntsville, Alabama. Her
performances this year have included
gigs at MCC Los Angeles, MCC Long
Beach, MCC Huntsville, Atlanta Gay
Pride and Southern Voice's SoVo
awards banquet in Atlanta . L.C. says
the larger gay and lesbian community
responds well to her music, although
the many Gays and Lesbians
.who are not Christian sometimes feel
a little uncomfortable. ""You can't rm Second Sto~e-July/August, 1994
please everybody and you can't'reach
everybody,"" she says, 'The most I can
do is respect everybody and do what
I gotta do. I know what I gotta do.""
She does, however, sometimes feel
unsupported by the gay and lesbian
community. 'There's still a feeling in
the gay community that you cannot
be gay and Christian because so
many of us have been hurt by the
Christian community,""she says. L.C.
closely identifies with the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
churches, is a member of MCC
Huntsville, and describes the Rev.
Troy Perry as the one individual who
has most influenced her spiritual life.
'1 am not ashamed of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, nor am I ashamed of
who I am in the presence of the Holy
Spirit,"" says L.C. In her song, 'This is ;
My Short Story,"" she raps ""More gay I
Christians need to take a stand so
others will know they're in God's
plan."" This song is from L.C.'s debut
ministry cassette, which she · released
on her own independent label called
Positive Message Music, which she
says is ""doing fine"" but needs to be a
wider outreach. L.C. says she
couldn't sit around and wait for an
established record company or distributor
to decide whether they want
to take on a hype but yet controversial
product. '1 don't have time to
sit by as gay youth and adults
commit suicide,"" she gives as the
reason for ""jump-starting"" her own
label.
Many people respond to Christian
rap with the same skepticism as they
do Christian rock, according to L.C.
Even though there is more airplay for
rock than rap, L.C. wants to continue
promoting Christian rap and feels no
temptation to ·drift toward secular
music. Actually her style does sound
secular, but the message is unmistakably
Christian.
Soon L.C. will be moving to
Atlanta, where she was headed when
she said the Holy Spirit settled her in
Huntsville, where she's been for the
past eight months. She sees a greater
opportunity for outreach in Atlanta, a
city she describes as ""productive.""
. 'That's where I need to be,"" she says.
1Christian rapper, singer and songwriter L.C. (Lesbian Christian)
L.C. considers herself living
testimony of what God can do and
she describes herself as ""on fire for
Jesus and on a mission for all God's
children."" 'The religious right has
created dysfunctional, rebellious,
bitter attitudes in many of us towards
God,"" she says. 'Talk about a hate
crime that should be against the law!
As a witness to what God can, will
and has done in my life, all I have to
say to those who condemn gay people
and specifically homosexuals that
want to serve God is 'Ain't no future
in you frontin!""
L.C. holds Michael Jackson up as
her hero in music, along with the
Winans. She repects Jackson for his
accomplishments in reaching out to
the world. The charges last year that
Jackson molested a young boy did not
diminish his work and what he's
represented over the years, L.C.
believes. ''Besides,"" she says, ""you're
innocent until proven guilty and that
didn't happen.""
L.C. says she believes that if you
strengthen your faith with strong
belief in God, strengthen your heart
with unconditional love and strengthen
your mind with diverse education,
most battles can be won without
violent confrontation. ""We're all
sisters and brothers in God's sight,""
she says ""so let those who can get
-wit- this understand it's not a black
thang, nor is it a white thang, it's a
Jesus thang!""
'Tm proud to be down with J.C. and
glad Jesus lives in all who believe,""
raps L.C."" 'There's another soldier on
the battle field,"" she says. ""I have not
been keeping silent nor do I intend
to ... God does not discriminate!""
Inner C:ity World Ministries may be
contacted at 9401 Roberts Dr., Ste.
7-K, Dunwoody, GA 30350, (404)
897-1288. .
l e lesbian and gay community
has pleaded and bargained
with churches for too
ong, waiting patiently for the
magical lime when the right commission
or the right study would accept
and affirm Gays and Lesbians. There
isn't a mainline protestant denomination
that hasn't created two major
biblical studies in the last 20 years on
the subject of homosexuality. These
studies arrived at the same answer:
there is no biblical basis for continued
discrimin""ation. Yet, they continue to
exclude and we continue to play the
victim's role, putting our hopes and
faith in our institutional church, feeling
guilty that we haven't been able
to make it all right somehow.
There is a model in the Bible for the
· lesbian, gay, bi, and transgender
community of a people who knew
open rejection and exclusion from
their religious institution. This community
faced a number of insurmountable
problems with an enthusiasm
that evolved not out of faith in
their tradition, but faith in God . This
What to do when
the radical right
comes to town
•FORM A GROUP to study and
research the groups and activists
in your area. Find out where
they stand on the issues, and be
sure to look for their national
connections.
•Build a coalition with other
groups with whom you can work.
Although you may disagree on
some points, 1tnite to oppose the
radical right.
•Slrare your findings with the
media. Give themfacts, not emotional
opinions.
•Start a newsletter to keep members
of the community informed.
Excellent articles are available to
reprint from The Freedom Writer,
P.O. Box 589, Great Barrington,
MA 01230.
•Encourage voter registration and
help get voters to the polls. Low
voter turnout is the radical
right's greatest strength.
•Run for an office for which you
are qualified. Find and support
other qualified candidates.
•Place advertising in local papers
about candidates whom you know
have extreme positions . Stick to
facts.
-The Freedom Writer
ree an
home
The similarity between the people who wrote the
Gospel of John and the lesbian, gay and bisexual
community today in their mutual exclusions from
their respective religious institutions is stri'/dng.
BY KEITH A. MILLER
God enabled them to see their
mission, not in avoiding conflict and
brokenness, but in facing these issues ·
and being responsible for their
resolution. God would be there in
their presence precisely when they
were engaged in making lives new
and whole.
This people can be found in the
community who told the story of Jesus ·
the fourth time, the Gospel of John .
There is a difference in -the storytelling
of the four Gospels. Not that
any one of them was more · correct.
Each were honed and given validity
in the experiences of the people
telling what Jesus' life meant to them
in their time, just as · we must do
today.
It was widely accepted that this
Gospel was composed in the seaport
town of Ephesus: an area known for
its diversity in race, culture and
religion. The community behind this
Gospel, written some 100 yearsA.D.,
knew that the return of Jesus was no
longer as imminent as they had
assumed. They came to terms with
living out their faith in the world, not
out on a mountain top. There were
welcome there because -of what they
believed and what they were about.
(16:2) "" ... they will expel you ... and
indeed the hour is coming when
anyone who kills· you will think he is
doing a holy duty for God.""
Today it is difficult for Christian
churches to express a minimum of
hospitality toward Gays and Lesbians,
''You are welcome within our
congregations."" The few who do offer
the invitation are uneasy if not
unable to bless our faithful rPlationships
and won't accept us as their
priests or ministers unless we remain
celibate.
The similarity between the people
who wrote the Gospel of John and the
lesbian, gay and bisexual community
today in their mutual exclusions from
their respective religious institutions
is apparent. What is more helpful
though is to look at what the Johanine
Community focused on: not its exclusion,
but its purpose and mission as
seen in how and what they chose to
tell of Jesus and his work.
One of the primary concerns that
this people living within the multicultural,
multiethnic city of Ephesus
had was to recall the events of Jesus' ·
life that showed how inclusive he
was . In the first chapter of John it is
noted (and only in this Gospel) that
he crossed Samaria in order to go to
Judea. To cross into that land where
the most hated and unwekomed
peoples of that day lived was a strong
statement on inclusivity . Unless it
was an emergency there were other
routes to be taken if Jesus were to
remain faithful and not cause offense.
As if that action were not radical
enough, he broke several other serious
religious paradigms by engaging -
a woman in conversation, a Samaritan
SEE EXILED, Page 14
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I;,., no eyewitnesses left of the events
surrounding the life of Jesus. There
were growing divisions among the
followers, some believing that Jesus
had only appeared to be a man. ._,
They were no longer welcome in the
religious institution that had given
them birth. These were some of the
difficulties the Johanine Community
faced.
Bulk Copies Available
In the first chapter of John the
commentator says, ""He came to his
own domain and his own people did .
not accept him ."" In three references
(9:22, 12 :42, 16:2) this community
speaks of being ""banned from the
synagogue,"" that they were no longer
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woman who was of questionable
character. This person he made His
messenger, ""Come and see a man
who has told me everything I ever
did. Could this be the Messiah?""
Didn't God show a seem in gly perverse
sense of direction and purpose,
humor mayb e, by choosing those
who are excluded to reveal her purpose
and what she is about?
Th e imagery and symbols of the
Gospel of John also give us an insight
into how this people viewed their
relationship with Jesus and how 1t
influenced them in their task of
relating to their community and
times. They described His mission in
words of action and empowerment:
Bread of Life, Living Waters, the
Way, the Truth , Light - a life-giver,
but not a miracle worker . These were
not static terms but words that
s howed process, nourishment, _and
growth. His miracles were not signs
of majes ty and power as m the other .
Gospels when people stood around in,.
astonishment and awe. Rath er Jesus
· actions encouraged the faith of his
followers when they saw someone
crippled walk, someone blind see,
peopl e becoming whole . .
When the ch.urch authorities saw
that He did these things on the
Sabbath , they were blinded to the
new quality of life exhibited .by those
who were touched by Him and His
good work and would only d,efensively
quote the rules. (9:16) Tl11S
man cannot be from God, he does not
keep the Sabbath."" Jesus sai d, ""Why
are you angry with me for making
one who le or complete on the Sabbath.""
(7:23)
There are too many stories told and
too much research already .done for
the church to deny the unspeakable
horror and pain tha t has been caused
when Les bians and Gays are
encouraged to deny their sexuality,
att empt to live their lives within the
confines of a heterosexual marriage ,
or deny themselves any intimacy
within committed relationships. The
destructive messag e of the church has
contributed to the isolation teenag~rs
feel as they face their homosexuality.
Tho se who comm.it suicide for thi s
reason are a terrible indictment on•
churches who choose not to lift up
mod e ls for them so that they can
know whol eness in their diversity .
Inst ead of attempting to understand
our orientation as a mirror of .the
wonderous spectrum of diversity that
is pa rt of God 's creatio n, what has the
church sa id to those who have
survived those fragile years? The
church's judgment has contributed to
their low self esteem, hop eless n ess,
and despair. This has prompted
many Gays and Lesbians in the pa st
to tum to alcohol, drugs and risky sex
which in reality is nothing more than
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another form of suicide. Shou ld we
blame the victim?
One of the conflicts facing the
Johanin e Communit y was th e denial
of some that Jesus was really human .
The length that the Gospel goes to to
establish that Jesus did become
human and did understand the brokenness
exhibited in that community
is worth noting. They mentioned that
""the word became flesh"" . (1:14); he
was part of a family (2 :12; 7:3,5); he
tired in Samaria (4:6); he wept over
the death of his friend, Lazarus
(11:35); and that he really died on the
cross (19:34). This knowledge that he
was truly human and would not
tolerate religious rules and traditions
to detour him as he encouraged
people to increase in faith and
become whole is indeed Good Ne ws .
Jesus' followers
were encouraged
to have that faith
that would enable
them to have the
same quality life,
life that had such
value that it
would contribute
on forever and
that would enable
them to do the
san1e works as
their Lord.
Jesus' followers we re encouraged to
have that faith that would ena ble
them to have the same quality life,
life that had s uch va lu e that it wo uld
contribut e on foreve r and that wo uld
enab le them to do the same works as
their Lord . (3:16) "" ... everyo ne who
believes in him may not be los t but
may h ave et erna l life."" He did not
make empty promises but assured
them, ""I tell yo u m ost sol em nly ,
wh oever believes in me will perform
the sa m e works as I do myse lf, he
will peform eve n greater works.""
The Johanine Community itself was to
become a lif e-give r, crea ting ho pe,
wholeness, and life where ther e was
despair, brokenness and death . V. S. currency.
PAYMENf .
8'/CJ.DSED.
St,Je ________ Zlp ___ _
SignG~ Card
· ·iJ~e ~dditional sheet for more gifts. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182
Can we wait for the church to see
and und ers tand what it means for us
, to be whole, what it means for us to
have life? Will they eve r see the
quality of life, th e whol en ess exhib-
.[HJ Second Stone-July/August, 1994
ited by those in our co mmunity who
have been touched by Christ, who
have known self-acceptance in his
acceptance? Will th ey continue to
hang back defensively, having faith
in traditions that are time locked and
have no pr esent mea ning, which can
cripple us and even cause our death?
Will they not stop worrying about th e
Sabbath? (7:24) ''Do not k ee p judging
according to app ea rances ; let your
judgement be according to what is
right ."" We grieve for tho se clergy
and laity who do understand but are
afraid of the consequences of their
actions and voices. They capture the
fear of thos e in the Gospel of John,
who had faith but could not act for
their fears (12:42) "" ... of being expelled
from the syn ag ogu e: they put honor
from men before the honor that com es
from God.""
SEE EXILED, Page 17
Keith Miller was ordained a
Lutheran minister in 1972 b11t
was asked to resign in 1976
when his sexual .orientation
became known. Miller and his
partner of I 4 years, Morris
Meador, are members of St.
Mattliews Lutheran Church in Fort Worth,
Texas, a Reconciled in Christ congregation.
Meat eating and
global hunger
NUMBER OF PEOPLE who could
be fed using the land, water, and
energy that would be freed up if
Americans reduced theu mtake of
meat by 10%:
10,000,000
Number of people who will die as a
result of starvation this year:
20,000,000
Amount of total U.S. grain production
consumed by livestock:
70%
Number of children who die as a
result of starvation every day-:
38,000
Ratio of livestock to people on
Earth:
Three to one
Amount of Earth's land mass grazed
by livestock:
One half
Amount of U.S. cropland producing
livestock feed:
64%
Amount of U.S. cropland producing
fruits and vegetables:
2%
Pounds of edible product producible
on an acre of prime land:
Tomatoes • 50,000
Potatoes • 40,000
Apples - 20,000
Green beans - 10,000
Beef· 250
-Daughters of Sarah
T lnPrint T . . . . . . . -· ............. . ......... ·• -• ........................... ~ ........... .
Birthings and Blessings II
opportunities to see what impact leaving her homeland,_ turned back
By Andrea L. T. Peterson scripture and the realities behind it f,or one last lo_ok and, srn~.ture tells us
Contributing Writer might have had m their own contexts became a pillar of salt, 1s v:1ewed
our experience of this?, with whom in
this passage can I relate?, what might
this mean now for us?, what is the
message and how are we called to
respond?, or by shedding new light
and discovering entirely new meaning
Birthings and Blessings II makes it
possible for many women to reclaim
their spiritual heritag e a nd the
traditional tex ts that go with it.
Gail Anderson Ricciuti and Rosemary
Catalano Mitchell, authors.
Crossroad Publishing; 1993; PB; 190
pp., $13.95 Going a step beyond the current
trend of preparing worship
servic es that are inclusive
of women, Gail Anderson
Ricciuti and Rosemary Catalano
Mitch ell have added to their earlier
volume 24 ""mor e libera ting worship
services for the inclusive church"" that
focus on women.
Ricciuti and Mitchell look not only
ill how women may or may not relate
to or interpret scripture, but in several
instance s at how things might
have been different · if the actors in
scripture had been women instead of
men.
For many this is a new perspective
on familiar passages which offers new
and in ours today. Likewise , it under an entirely unorthodox hght.
provides women the opportunity to In ord er to understand why God
see how the gender of those given might have punished Lot's wife for
... Birthings and Blessings
II makes it
possible for many
women to reclaim their
spiritual heritage and
the traditional texts
that go with it.
prominent roles in both the old anct'
new testaments might influence
women's response to those passages.
One traditional story in particular,
that of Lot's wife who when, upon
looking back, which is how th.is event
has always been understood, the
authors come to the conclusion that
""the text does not say that God
punished her ... Rather, · ... she became
a pillar of s alt.""'
Exploration into why she might
have b ecome a pillar of salt led th e
two to consider the depth of sorrow
she might feel to say ""goodbye to a
town that... had always been home""
and nev er ""look back."" It became
understandable that such a woman
could ""w eep so strongly that sh e
became her salty tears.""
Transforming th.is story, then , into a ·
metaphor of compassion, redeems it
from a tale of disobedience and punishment,
liberating women to interpret
it in a way that enables them to
both relate to and be edified by it.
A Symbol of Today's Reality
and Tomorrow's Hope
Wearing this r,d and pink ribbon pin ,nows you care
about those who are HIV+ or have Breast Cancer.
RED=AIDS
1 IN 2fO PEOPLE ARE HIV+ IN THE USA. AT THE CURRENT
RATE, THESTATISTICWl11BE1 IN 4BYTHEYEAR 2010.
PINK= BREAST CANCER
1 IN 8 WOMEN ~l~J ~~~~~t DIAGNOSED
Book explores straight spouses
with gay/lesbian partners
Enabling women to both relate to
and be e difi ed by is Ricciuti and
Mitchell's goal and their accomplishment.
Whether·by asking ""what is
FOR ADDITIONAL PINS, CONTACT:
MCC LOUISVILLE
P. 0. BOX 32474 • LOUISVILLE, KY 40232
50277~
AUTHOR AMITY PIERCE BUXTON
has revised and expanded The Other
Side of the Closet: The Coming Out
Crisis for Straight Spouses, first pub-
In Print, briefly ...
Critical Essays
Gay and Lesbian
Writers of Color
This pioneering work is the first book
to systematically explore the literature
of gay .and lesbian writers of color in
the United States. Critical Essays
simultaneously defies ethnic and
mainstream homophobia as well as
straight and gay/lesbian racism.
These thought-provoking chapters
disrupt the comRlacent notio~ of a
unified gay/lesbian com~ury1ty_ . by
questioning the presumed s1m1lanlies
of persons who share sexual identity.
-From Harrington Parl< Press
If A Partner Has AIDS
This powerful book is an immersion
into the experience of AIDS, loss, and
the impact of HIV on the mourning
process. It presents a reconst~ction
of the general range of experiences
of well and surviving partners of AIDS
diagnosed men from the y.,ell partner's
first susp1c1on that his partner
has AIDS, to caring for him, and
through mourning his loss.
-From The Hawotth Press
lished in 1991. Based on eight years
of research and self reports from over
1,000 individuals across the country,
informal counseling and support
group work, interviews with children
and therapists, and her own personal
experience, .the updated Coming Out
Crisis includes more information and
advice on issues concerning the entire
family, not just the spouse.
Families facing such a corning .out
crisis can be found in every neighbor- ·
hood, church or temple, school and
workplace. This book is the first to
present a longitudinal, naturalistic
picture of the coming m1~ crisis for
straight spous es and farruhes, including
the impact of AIDS. It is also the
first book to look at husbands of
Lesbians as well as wives of gay men,
and explores a variety of family
arrangements couples devise.
To present a balanced viewpoint of
this issue, interviews were conducted
with gay, lesbian and bisexual partners
as well as straight spouses and
their children . Also included in the
new edition is a story told by a wife
still married to a bisexual man, because
although most couples divorce
when a partner comes out, about 15
percent decide to stay together.
Amity Pierce Buxton conducts support
groups and counsels spouses and
former spouses of gay, _bisexual and
lesbian mates, and chairs the International
Straight Spouse Network of
Parents, Families and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).
J. C ~ Y ill i II l S l I It ' \ 1 t O I Y
A moving and personal
account of an issue
that won't go away. A
best-seller in Canada
and soon to be a motion
picture.
It will mak e you think, it will make
you angry , and hopefully, it will
broaden your vision of what bolh
sexuality _ and Christianity at their
best can be
-Telegraph Journal,
St. John, New Brunswick
James Ferry has given a voice to
these voiceless ones and is himself
a visible incarnation of their invisible
presence.
.I .I \I I·: \ F E H H Y -The Rt. Rev. John S. Spong,
Bishop of Newark, New Jersey
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ IN THE COURTS OF T1'lE LORD
By Jamea Fa,y, $22.95, hardcover
P~lng $2.90111'11 boot<, S1.00 N. l<fdjtional
TOTAL AIIOUNT ENCLOSED
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Second Stone-July/August ,.1994 ]ii]
• lnPrinf • • • -· ••••• ~-·· ~ .~- ~ • .••• . • -· •••• ·- !--.• ... • --~~....: - • . ............. , ...... .... ... ..... ·• ... .
Scholars seek to uncover what he really said
Researching the historical Jesus
By Bill Day
Contrtbuting Wrtter
The Search for the Authentic Words
of Jesus, Macmillan Publishing Co.,
New York, 1993, 553 pages, $30.00 Wh.at did Jesus really say? For.
some time, scholars have
known that the first gospels
.. .· _ ~•~ere 1:oti set fdow.kn: on p·~· - !~-:·,.~.
;-;,, ~""-'5~S~-,-·, '.< -·.,V / :- . · l ·'1.
'@'e
i j
;, I
GJlifJ ~h'ff t~i:r;:f I
' pool, hot tub, skiing and more.
until 30 years or more after the
crucifixion and increasingly they
have been testing the authenticity of
the words attributed to Jesus. They
take into account the times in which
Jesus lived, what is known about how
words and phrases change when they
are passed on orally, and how the
gospels agree with each other.
A notable effort of this kind is a
collaboration of more than 70 distinguished
academics who call- themselves
the Jesus Seminar. They have
. been meeting periodically at the
Westar Institute, Sonoma, California,
and after study and discussion have
been balloting on the ·authenticity of
the sayings in the four canonical
Gospels: Mark, the oldest gospel,
Matthew, Luke, and John, plus the
lost Thomas gospel. This last, written
in Coptic (the language of the early
Innkeepers Judith Hall and Egyptian Christian Church) was
Grace Newman invite you to
write or call for a brochure . .
i I rediscovered half a century ago.
!
P. 0. Box 118 SL
Bethle,hem,. NH 03574_
(603) 869-3978 .
A new translation of these five
gospels, written by members of the
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
off er a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
V']nat-U:i_ble
the lJ
Really Says
A.bout
floll'-osexuality
.
1
• 1-\elminia\\><n.,. Ooan,
e ,.,_
Daniel A Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed. 11
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
.the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
summary I know of current biblical
scholarship relating to homosexual
issues ... eminently useful ... 11
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Quan.
□
WHATT HEB IBLER EALLYS AYS
ABOUHT OMOSEXUALITY
ByD anieAl . Helminia$k9, .95p, aperbk
PostageA-landli$n2g. 90f irst book,$ 1.00e a. additional ----TOTALA
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ADDRE_S_S_ ________________ _
CIT/YSTATE/ZIP_ _______________ _
ORDERF ROMS:E CONSDT ONPER ESSP,. OB. OX8 340N, EWO RLEANLSA, 7 0182
'lli) SecondS tone-July/August,1 994
group and showing the scholars' ratings
of the authenticity of the sayings
and commentary thereon, appears in
The Five Gospels: The Search for the
Authentic Words of Jesus. The sayings
that a proponderant majority of the
scholars considered authentic are
shown in red ink, those with a lesser
majority in pink, others, still less
accepted, in gray and those not
accepted in black. For example, the
highest rating is given to the saying,
""turn the other cheek"" (Matt. 5:39 and
Luke 6:29). But the scholars conclude
example, large segments of the
believers seem to set more store on
""natural law'"" (whatever that isl) or on
the Jewish Scripture than they do on
the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said not
a word about homosexuality, yet most
church leaders take their cue from
Leviticus or Paul and consider
same-sex love to be sinful; refuse to
bless same-sex unions, and reject the
ordination of Gays or Lesbians to the
clergy.
The Five Gospels is a treasure of
information about how the gospels
vVilliam Tyndale, an early translator
of the Bible into English, was
executed by strangulation for
trying to give ordinary people what
the church at that time did not
want them to have.
that Jesus never said four-fifths of the
words attributed to him.
How is th is going to affect
believers? William Tyndale, an early
translator of the Bible into English,
was executed by strangulation for
trying to give ordinary people what
the church at that time did not want
them to have. Such an outcome is
unthinkable today, o{ course. But
how will the devout react? Hard to
tell, since many Christians don't seem
to take his words seriously. For
came to be written. Into its553 pages
are packed a translation (494 pages),
color coded as to authenticity, a roster
of the scholars with their credentials,
a mention of earlier iconoclastic
studies and events, e.g. the Scopes
trial and the Darwin uproar, suggestions
for futher study ( in effect, a
brief bibliography), and cameo
tables, such as Figure 9, p.128, that
show stages in the development of
early Christian tradition giving range
of dates for the writing of the gospels.
Uncommon Heroes honors
131 Gays and Lesbians
UNCOMMON HEROES, the offidal
publication of the Stonewall 25 celebration,
is a tribute to 131 gay and
lesbian contemporary role models.
The photo-essay anthology of gay
men and lesbian women honors
political and religious leaders as well
as artists, entertainers, teachers and
others from almost every walk of life.
Included is Dr. Mel White, the dean
of the Cathedral of Hope MCC in
Dallas, Texas. ""Jerry Falwell and I
had just flown into San Jose, California,""
White is quoted. ""We were
driving in our limousine to a church
when we were cut off by a huge
demonstration of gay people. They
were angry because Jerry had said
that AIDS was God's punishment on
gays. As we went through the
crowd, Jerry said, 'Thank God for
these gay demonstrators, If I didn't
have them to draw a crowd, I'd have
to hire ""em. They give me all the
attention I need.' I wanted to be outside
demonstrating and there I was
sitting inside that car. That was my
point of shame.""
Uncommon Heroes is the composite
work of well known writers and photographers
from across the country.
Each profile in this coffee table publication
has been written by an author
familiar with the honoree and is
accompanied by a compelling photograph
of the subject.
Exiled, free and home
From Pase 14
Are we, the lesbian arid gay
community , now at the same place
where that community was who was
responsible for the Gospel of John?
Shouldn't we also stop looking back to
our institutional churches for our
validity and let our focus turn to
mission - those who are eager to hear
the Gosp el? If we have learned
nothing else, we must not believe the
lies that the church has told us, that
we cannot minister. For the depth of
our spirituality and our faith ha s
grown directly in proportion to the
thousands and thousands of those
martyred for whom we have cared. If
our churche s cannot provide the full
Gospel to our communities, do we not
have that mission? And is that service
not enough affirmation for us?
Ther e are other interesting
. characteristics in that Johanine Community.
It exercised a great deal of
freedom as it went about its work . It
lifted up the r elationship of tho se
gath ered at the last meal rath er than
a prescrib ed set formula for a culhc
rite that required a pr esid er. This
gathering was offset like none of th e
SAVED,
From Page 9
his truck into the tree. (It was a few
weeks later before he told me he had
int ended to commit suicide that
night.) ""You were my last hope,"" he
said. At that point, his faith was so
shaken by being told from the pulpit
that nobody loved him - not even
God - how was he supposed to love
himself? He was still to learn what
Romans 8:33-39 really means.
Most of u s who are ga y eventually
deal with our insecurities and learn to
love ourselves. We quit letting other
people heap on undeserved guilt.
We find pride in who we are . We
find that God does love us. Most of
us learn to cope with ignorance, stereotyping
and lack of acceptance. We
get on with our lived and find happiness
no matter what is said to or
about us . We learn to mature into
being gay and part of that maturation
is accepting that bigotry do es exist.
Some of us are brave enough to
totally accept ourselves and to try to
help others understand.
Unfortunately, many Gays,
especially teens, deal with their fears
like Robert had planned ... by taking
their own life. How many overdose
deaths are the result of ""hoping to
find peace?"" How many ""missing""
young people could be found at th e
bottom of a secluded lake? How
many more auto fatalities do we write
off as ""accidents?""
This is the true price of homophobia
- the loss of the young men and
women who never got th,e chance to
other Gospels with two stori es of
service , the feeding of the five
thousand and the washing of feet. .
Further evidence of this freedom
can be seen in their structure . Peter
was not given as prominent a role in
the Gospel. For example, he is the
second disciple to reach the tomb . In
fact it was a woman who saw the
tomb empty, who bore the message
to Peter and it was the same woman
to whom Jesus made his first appearance.
With no set formula at the
Eucharist, no specialized ministry is
emphasized and other developed
offices are not mentioned. Authority
and mission are only manifest ed in
the quality of service to others, people
given the opportunity to become
whole . A far cry from institutions
today who are so uptight that they
are given to strengthening the
authority of the hierarchy to protect
tradition at the expense of creating
life and wholeness .
What do we have for a vision and
model for ministry from the Gospel of
John? Some of its characteristics are:
1. Identity with and ministry to those
who are in any way broken and
searching for greater wholeness,
find th emsel ves . The ones who
ended it all before they found they
could trust themselves and God. The
ones whose lives were taken from
them by words and deeds .
Homophobia carries many price
tags : lost jobs and ruined careers,
addictions, fear, evictions, separation
from family, and loneliness . But the
most expen sive price is when it costs
a life ... a life that God hasn't had the
chance to totally mold yet. ·
Robert made it through a very
traumatic year.. H e survived being
outed to his family at Christmas . He
surviv ed hatr e d, ignoranc e, and lack
of compassion or understanding . He
lived through the ""pulpit bigotry"" to
find his faith in God again . He paid
many prices from homophobia this
past year, bu t with God watching
over him, he didn't have to pay the
ultimate price of his life ... in this
world or the next.
If as many people knew John 3:17
as well as they have memorized the
verse immediately in front of it, the
world would be a much better place
for us all... gay and s traight. If Christ
was not sent to the earth to condemn,
what right does anyone have to even
hint at condemnation? We were told
by our savior in Matthew 22:3640 to
love God and love thy neighbor and
that all other laws hang on those two
commands. Why do we insist on
making it so difficult? Jame s 2:10
tells us all... no matt er what ""cross we
bear"" ... how it really is!
When will we learn? Hopefully ,
before the price of homophobia gets
any higher. The true price we are
paying in lost lives i s already far too
expensive.
2. Structur e with authority that is
validated in how effectively it serv es
and offers ""life,""
3. Vision that seeks quality of life
over death and brokenn ess,
4. Sees conflict as an opportunity for
growth and healing, action and
reflection, which is hop e not denial,
and
5. Rituals that sp eak of the celebration
of action s of healing and making
whole.
Indeed the Johanine Community
rejected th e stiff legalism of its parent
tradition and opted for the Spirit
which is such a prnminent theme
within this Gospel. (16:12-13) ""I still
hav e man y thing s to s ay to you but
they would be too much for you now .
But when the Spirit of truth comes he
will lead you to the complete truth ... ""
This people ex perienc ed this process
wh en they refuse d to b e hemmed in
by legalism and were freed to create
meanings out of the hardships and
conflicts they faced. Tradition and
s tructure w ere not treat ed as sacred
icons which provided all th e right
answers, but rather as resource s.
Their present day experience of conflict,
death, and brokenness provid ed
the Johanine Church the opportunity
to work toward new life and hope
that gave testimony to and a foretaste
of e ternal life.
Barbara Lundblad, a campu s pas tor,
spoke at a gathering at th e end of the
March on Washington a year ago.
She recalled how that community
through their mission and faith had
already come to know a taste of the
Kingdom of God. This direction
toward wholeness is what we as
Les bian s and Gays, bisexual and
transgender people are affirming for
ourselves and wish to offer back to
others as a gift. Lundblad declared
that the ; ·;· and lesbian community
underst ood the ""already "" but the
church was stuck in the ""not yet.""
• ""Maybe We're •
Talking About a
Different God""
A half-hour documentary 011 the Rev.
Jane Spahr and her call to the Downtown
Church in Rochester, protested and
brought to trial.
Slwws how co1tfusio1t and fear (""What!
A woman and a lesbian ? No wayl "")
can be transformed into understanding
and compassion. (""Then I met Janie! "")
VHS Tape & Discussion Guide
■
SEND $32.35 TO:
Leonardo's Children, Inc.
26 Newport Bridge Rd.
Warwick.NY 10990
(914)986-6888
The goal was peacemaking
between evangelicals and
liberals. But then there
was a murder ... and a gay
Quaker activist is the
prime suspect.
""I never suspected a Quaker mystery
could be such a page turner. Great
fun. 11
-Mark Hulbert, Publisher
Hulbert Financial Digest
"" .. . an intoxic a ting witche s' brew of
sexual politics and unfriendl y
intrigue ... Prophetic and scary!""
-Alan Pell Crawford, author
Thunder On the Right
■
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ MURDER AMONG FRIENDS
By Chuck Fager, $13.95
Postage/Handling $2.90 first book, $1.00 ea. additional
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Second Stone-July/August, 1994 UzJ
Calendar • • • ... , •. • •.i.• -!....! .. ~ •••••• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ~
Lutherans Concerned
20th Anniversary
Gathering
JULY 14-17, ""God's Own People"" is
the theme of Lutherans Concemed/
North America's 20th anniversary
conference, which will be held on the
.campus of the University of North
Carolina in Charlotte. Rev. Barbara
Lundblad, pastor of Our Savior's
Atonement Lutheran Church in New
York City, ru1d a regular speaker on
the Protestant Hour radio program,
will be the keynote speaker . For
information contact LC/NA, P.O. Box
10461, Chicago, IL 60610-0461.
National Association
· of Black and White
Men Together
JULY 16-24, Over 200 people are
expected to attend this organization's
COVER STORY,
From Page 10
year and in early 1993 was diagnosed
with full blown AIDS.
Cahall attended last year's March
on Washington and marched with the
UFMCC. ""I am not a radical activist,""
says Cahall. ""I was living here [in
Pensacola] in 1969 and didn't even
hear about Stonewall at the time."" But
Cahall praises the activism and
accomplishments of the generation
since Stonewall and comments on the
growing rights and freedom that the
younger generation of Gays and
Lesbians enjoy. 'The older generation
had no institutions, no role
models, no churches to look up to,"" he
says . ""We had no guidelines.""
When Cahall does write the occasional
letter to the editor, it probably
won't deal with the religious right. '1
don't think it's productive to try to
change their minds,"" he says. ''Matching
Bible-thumping with them is not
productive. I think that most people
are really interested in what kind of
person you are, not what you do in
bed.""
Cahall says the turning point in his .
own personal liberationcamewhen he
joined the church. As to why more
Gays and Lesbians do not see the
church as a source of liberation Cahall
says, ""Everybody has to come to the
well when they're ready to drink.""
The slight-framed Cahall projects an
image of one who is content with his
accomplishment and contribution . He
takes long walks for exercise and is
feeHng good. And hardly a Sunday
passes at Holy Cross MCC when a
member or visitor does not look up
toward the stained glass windows
and marvel for at least a few
'moments . Cahall will take their ad,
mi ration and compliments modestly.
'To God be the glory,"" he says, ""not
me.""
[Is]; Second Stone-July/August, 1994 .
14th Annual Convention to be held ai
the Sheraton National Hotel in
Arlington, Va. The theme ''Breaking
the Chains of ISMS"" will be addressed
via workshops, guest speakers, and
cultural/ social events. NABWMT was
formed in 1980 as a ""gay, multi -racial,
multi-cultural organization committed
to fostering supportive environments
wherein racial and cultural barriers
can be overcome and the goal of
human equality realized,"" For information
contact NABWMT, 1747
Connecticut Ave. N.W., 3rd Floor,
Washington , DC 20009-1108,
(202)462-3599, (800)NA4-BWMT.
Evangelical &
Ecumenical
Women's Caucus
JULY 21-24, ~'Wind =d Fire, Spirituality
in Action"" is the theme of the
EEWC Biennial Conference to be held
at North Park College in Chicago.
The group celebrates 20 years of
Christian feminist ministry with
presentations by Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott, Miriam Therese Winter,
Nancy Hardesty and others. For
information contact the EEWC
Conference Office, 6124 N. Byron,
Rosemont, IL 60018.
Wichita
Campmeeting '94
JULY 29-31, Wichita Praise and Worship
Center sponsors a retreat at the
Tabemacle, Camp Hiawatha, Wichita,
Kansas. For information write to P.O.
Box 11347, Wichita, KS 67211 or call
(316)651-0500 or (316)267-6270.
UFMCC conferences
AUGUST 2-4, Church Leadership,
AUGUST 5-7, People of Color Conference.
New worship styles that
reflect the emerging traditions of
women in leadership will be featured
at the leadership conference, which
will feature Dr . Mary Hunt. ""Connecting,
Celebrating and Communicating""
is the theme of the People of
Color conference, which aims to stimulate
and inspire people of colors and
white people with a variety of activities
which include a presentation by
Dr. Elias Farajaje-Jones, associate professor
at Howard University School of
Divinity in Washington, D.C., and
Ms. Letticia Gomez of the Latino Lesbian
311d Gay OrgaJ1ization. Both
conferences will be held in Dallas,
Texas . For information contact the
UFMCC, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd.,
#304, Los Angeles, CA 90029,
(213)464-5100.
Gay Pentecostal
District Conference
/AUGUST 4-7, The Northeastern
District of the National Gay Pentecostal
Alliance holds its first district
. . . . . . . . . . . :, ..... .
conference at the Holiday Inn Holidome
and Meeting Center in downtown
Schenectady, New York. Pastor
Sandy Lewis of Casa de la Paloma
Church in Tucson, Ariz. is guest
preacher . The conference is being
sponsored by the Lighthouse Apostolic
Church of Schenectady. For
information contact NGP A, P .0. Box
1391, Schenectday, NY 12301-1391,
(518)372-6001.
1994 GLAD Event
AUGUST 12-15, 'The Wisdom of the
Body"" is the theme of the 1994 gathering
of the Gay, Lesbian and Affirming
Disciples Alliance to be held at
Mercy Center in Burlingame, Calif.,
near the Srut Francisco airport. Facilitators
are Cynthia Winton-Henry and
Phil Porter . For information on this
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
event contact GLAD, P.O. Box 19223,
Indianapolis, IN 46219-0223,
(206)324-6231.
Second International
TEN Conference
SEYfEMBER 2-4, The Evangelical
Network will meet in Vancouver,
Canada on Labor Day weekend . The
focus of the conference, themed
'Together - We Belong,"" is on interpersonal
relationships. Presenters
include Sharon Busch, Rada Schaff,
· Elizabeth Storbo, Pastor Ronnie Pigg,
Bill Byrd, Ken Whatham, David
Trudeau and Pastor Fred Pattison. For
information contact Liberty Community
Church, #201 - 6380 Clarendon
St., VaJ1couver, B.C., Canada VSS 2J9,
(604)321-4633.
I
Morning Star MCC
Freedom Weekend
SEPTEMBER 9-11, In celebration of
20 years of ministry Morning Star
MCC, the oldest gay and lesbian
organization in Worcester County,
Mass. sponsors Freedom Weekend
· featuring Rev : Elder Troy Perry,
David Mixner; Karen Add Edwards,
Lynn Lavner and Heartsong.
Mechanics Hall, a prestigious concert
hall listed as a National Historic
Landmark, is the setting for the
banquet and rally. For information
contact Morning Star MCC, 231 Main
St., Cherry Valley, MA 01611,
(508)892-4320.
Conference for
Catholic parents of
Gays, Lesbians
SEYfEMBER 30-OCTOBER 2,
'Turning the Key,"" the first national
retreat for Catholic parents of gay and
lesbian children which will support
parents in their key roles of promoting
understanding and empathy in
the church, will be held at the
LaSalette Center for Christi _= · Living
in Attleboro, Mass. Facilitators will
· be Sr. Je annine Gramick, SSND, and
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Fr. Robert Nugent. The weekend will
involve story-telling, presentations,
film, discussions, communal _prayer,
quiet time, worship =d socializing .
For information contact Fr. Robert
Nugent, 637 Dover St., Baltimore,
MD 21230, (301)864-8954.
Brethren/Mennonite
Conference
SEPI'EMBER JO-OCTOBER 3,
""Celebrating Ourselves"" is the theme
for this gathering of the Brethren/
Mennonite Council for Lesbian and
Gay Concems to be held in
Indianapolis, Indiana. The featured
speaker will be writer/ poet Emma
LaRocque, a professor in the Department
of Native Studies at the University
of M311itoba. There will be a
showing of the reGently released ·
video Body of Dissent: Lesbian and Gay
Mennonites Continue the Journey. For
· more information, write BMC, Box
6300, Minneapolis, MN 55406-0333 or
call (612)870-1501.
Unity Fellowship
National Gathering
OCTOBER 3-10, The Unity Fellowship
Movement sponsors its first
national spiritual fellowship in Los
Angeles. ""Free to Move in the Right
Direction"" is the theme . For information
write to Freda Lanoix-Owens,
5149 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles,
CA 90016 or call (213)936-4948.
Affirmation
National Gathering
OCTOBER 7-9, Affirmation: United
Methodists for Gay, Lesbian and
Bisexual Concerns meets in Los
Angeles. The theme is ""Outing the
Bible"" with Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson,
pastor of MCC Los Angeles, as featured
speaker. The Hyatt Hotel on
Sunset Strip is the setting. For information
contact Affirmation, P.O. Box
691283, West Hollywood, CA
90069-9283.
LGCM Retreat
NOVEMBER 11-12, England's Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement
sponsors a retreat led by Helen
Loder, SSM and Rev. Malcolm
Johnson . This is a unique weekend
opportunity of meditative reflection in
an affirming community, during
which there will be talks, discussions,
some silence and lots of relaxation.
The Royal Foundation of St.
Katherine in London is the setting .
For information contact LGCM,
Oxford House, Derby shire St.,
London, E2 6HG, UK.
Annau~cements of interest to gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians are welcome
and will be included free of charge.•
Send to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Or/ems, LA 70182 or FAX to
- (504)891-7555.
Noteworthy
• • • e • e • • 8 8 8 It II 8 e 8 0 8 • 8 • • 8 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Integrity chapter
forms in Birmingham
t.INTEGRITY, the lesbian and gay
ministry of the Episcopal Church, is
forming a new chapter in Alabama.
Integrity's goal is ""to be the Churd1 in
the lesbian and gay community and
to be the lesbian and gay community
in the Church."" Chapters sponsor
worship, educational programs, fellowship
and service for the community
and witness to and dialogue
with the Church. The Alabama chapter
is meeting at St. Andrew's Episcopal
Church on Birmingham's Southside.
For information call Frank
(205)871-1815 or John (205)592-3150.
Covenant MCC moves
to new building
· L'.COVENANT MCC, Birmingham,
Alabama began worshipping in its
new facilities June 26. The new sanctuary
holds up to 300 people .. CMCC
is leasing the space but maintains a
building fund in hopes of one day
owning church property. Cliff
Morrison, longtime pastor of CMCC,
has recently earned his ordination.
The new church facility is at 5117 1st
Ave. N. in Birmingham.
Anita Hill installed at
St. Paul-Reformation Church
l\AFI'ER FIVE MONTHS and a nation
wide search, Anita C. Hill has been
installed as pastoral minister by St.
Paul-Reformation Church in St. Paul,
Minn. Hill had previously served St.
Paul-Reformation from 1983 to 1990 as
an openly lesbian ministry associate
for Wingspan Ministry, an outreach to
the gay and lesbian community. Hill
is also co-convener of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America Task
Force on Human Sexuality.
Jeanne Knepper honored
ii.JEANNE KNEPPER, convenor of
Affirmation's Witness Committee and
co-director of Shalom Ministries in
Portland, Ore., has been honored by
the Methodist Federation for Social
Action as one of six recipients of the
Lee and Mae Ball Award.
Lesbian/Gay alumni of
Notre Dame organize
Ii.MORE THAN 50 alumni of the University
of Notre Dame and St. Mary's
College gathered in South Bend,
Indiana, over the weekend of June 10.
Participants met to found Gay and
Lesbian Alumni of the University of
Notre Dame/St. Mary's College, an
organization whose purpose will be to
promote solidarity and friendship
among gay, lesbian and bisexual
graduates, former students and
' friends of Notre Dame and St. Mary's
College. In less than a year, the
organization has grown from approximately
60 members to over 350 members
and is still reaching out toward
gay and lesbian alumni of the two
schools.
Samaritan/CTS starts
dual program
Ii.SAMARITAN COLLEGE has approved
the implementation of .a dual
enrollment program with Chicago
Theological Seminary beginning in
late 1994. The program was
developed . by the academic dean of
Samaritan, Dr. Mona West, who
expects the program to become a
model of joint education between
Samaritan and other seminaries across
the country.
Oasiseeks director
L'.THE OASIS, a mission and ministry
of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark
with gay and lesbian people, their
family and friends, is seeking a gay
. . .
ny on April 6. Construction of a 3200
square foot building and adjacent
parking lot began on April 7. The
church has counted on volunteer
labor pledged by many members of
the Huntsville community to create
their new worship facility. MCCH
hopes to occupy the building, 3015
Sparkman Dr., by the first of August .
For information on MCCH call
(205)533-6220
Rev. Terry Enloe passes
t.REV. TERRY ENLOE, pastor of
Grace Fellowship, New Orleans, died
on June 15, 1994 of complications due
to AIDS. A memorial service was
held at Holy Trinity Chu rch on June
18. Rev. Enloe was remembered for
his vision of ""reaching the gay community,
their families and friends,
with the Good News of Jesus Christ .""
or lesbian Episcopal priest to serve as St J h th A ti MCC
its dire.ctor and chief missioner. In · 0 n e pos e
addition to the rastoral care of some appoints Rev. Shawver
350 members o the Oasis, the direc- L'.ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE MCC,
tor will also serve as ·an advocate and Fort Myers, Florida has announced
resource person to the larger gay and the appointment of Rev. Renne L.
lesbian community. Resumes and Shawver as pastor. Shawver previinquiri
es may be sent to Ms. Dale ously served as an associate pastor of
Gruner, Deployment Officer, Diocese King of Peace MCC in St. Petersburg,
of Newark, 24 Rector St., Newark, NJ Florida; She replaces Rev. James M.
07102. Lynch who was called to Springfield,
Illinois last year. The voting mem-
Rev. Lincoln bership of St. John's was unanimous
celebrates anniversary i in electing Shawver, who is accom-
AREV. GILBERT LINCOLN of Colurn- panied to Fort Myers by her partner,
bia, S.C., retired, has celebrated the Donna Clark.
40th anniversary of his ordination by
the Enid Presbyt ery of the Presbyterian
Church (USA). The church
knew at the lime of his ordination that
he is gay. He was ordained in the
UFMCC in 1977.
AIDS claims Chuck Vickers
t.CHUCK VICKERS, former music
director at River City MCC and First
MCC, Wichita, Kan ., and former
member of HeartSong, died May 25
of complications related to AIDS.
Pentecostal church opens
in Birmingham
L'.THE NATIONAL GAY Pentecostal
Alliance has announced the opening
of its newest church, Open Arms Apostolic
Worship Center i.n Birmingham,
Alabama. The church is pastored
by the Rev. Gerald Adams,
who is licensed as a minister by the
Southeastern District of NGPA. For
information on this ministry contact
Bro. Adams, (205)939-3804, P.O. Box
59408, Birmingham, AL 35259.
Huntsville church breaks
ground for new building
AAFTER THREE YEARS of preparation,
fundraising and planning, MCC
Huntsville 's dream of building its
own church is becoming a reality.
On April 5, the Alabama church
purchased almost four acres of land
and held a ground-breaking ceremo-
Ralph Masek dies
L'.RALPH MASEK, former public
relations director at Cathedral of Hope
MCC in Dallas, died May 21 due to
AIDS-related complications.
Chicago congregations
to merge
L'.THE CONGREGATIONS of Christ
the Redeemer MCC, Evanston, Ill.,
and Good Shepherd Parish MCC,
Chicago, voted with near unanimity
to unite in order to strengthen their
ministry to the lesbian/ gay community
in Chicago.
Atlanta MCCs join
church council
t.THE THREE ATLANTA MCCs have
been accepted into membership with
the Christian Council of Metropolitan
Atlanta. They are All Saints MCC,
First MCC and Christ Covenant MCC.
'Connecting Families'
retreat held
L'.CONNECTING FAMJLIES, a retreat
planned by and for the Church of the
Brethren and Mennonite parents of
Lesbians, Gays, and bisexuals was
held at Laurelville Mennonite Church
in early April. This effort, now in its
fifth year, was attended by 60 parti-
.................
cipants representing 27 families. The
facilitator was Deanna Brown, campus
pastor for Manchester College, North
Manchester, Indiana. A sixth Connecting
Families retreat is planned for
March 31 - April 2, 1995 at Laurelville.
For information contact Brethren/
Mennonite Parents, P.O. Box
1708, Lima, OH 45802 or Laurelville
Mennonite Church Center, Rt. 5, Mt.
Pleasant, PA 15666,
Pastor installed at All Saints
L'.REV. PAUL TURNER was installed
as pastor of All Saints MCC, Grant
Par~ Georgia on April 10. Rev. Troy
Perry presided.
MCC Las Vegas elects
pastor, considers move
t.REV. B. J. ''BEAU"" McDANIELS
began her pastoral service at the
Metropolitan Community Church in
Las Vegas on April 1, 1994.
McDaniels has been a member of the
UFMCC clergy for 24 years, including
holding simultaneous pastorships
in Indianapolis, Indiana and Cincinnati,
Ohio, a 127-mile commute between
services. Plans are being
made for the churdl to share a worship
facility with Wesley United
Methodist Church. Rev . McDaniels'
spouse, Gloria Ann Weiss, is completing
school work in Oklahoma
City.
Welcoming and Affirming
Baptists adds congregation
t.SAN LEANDRO COMMUNITY
Church in San Leandro, California
has become the 21st congregation to
join the Association of Welcoming and
Affirming Baptists . Said spokesperson
Chris Boisvert, ""As the Association
of Welcoming and Affirming
Baptists continμes to grow as a voice
of inclusiveness and justice within the
denomination, I hope that the term
'Welcoming and Affirming' will
become synonymous with many
Baptist churches across the nation. ""
The association may be contacted at
P.O. Box 2596, Attleboro Falls, MA
02763.
R. David Smith appointed
at MCC Baltimore
_L'.R. DA V1D SMITH has been appointed
as lay pastor of the Metropolitan
Community Church of Baltimore.
Rev. Arlene J. Ackerman, District
Coordinator of the Mid-Atlantic District
of the UFMCC, appointed Smith
in consultation with the Board of
Advisors of the local dlurch. Smith,
currently a resident of Arlington,
SEE NOTEWORTHY, Page 20
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NOTEWORTHY,
From Page 19
Virginia, until his appointment was
student clergy and Coordinator of
Ministry Support at the 300-member
MCC of Washington, D.C. He is
completing a Masters degree in Theological
Studies at Wesley Theological
Seminary in Washington and plans to
be licensed as UFMCC clergy at the
denomination's 1995 Biennial Confer-
_,. ence in Atlanta, Georgia, his hom e
town. Raised a Southern Baptist,
Smith has been active in the UFMCC
since 1985. MCC Baltimore worships
at Waverly Chapel at 3401 Old York
Road at 3:00 p.m. on Sundays.
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New Orleans, LA 70182",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,35,1994,"July/Aug 1994",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/ed92c90711d3e0fa1baed69edc78129c.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1673,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1673,"Second Stone #36 - Sept/Oct 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"'• •
OUR SIXTH YEAR SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER, 1994 ISSUE #36
Episcopal Church General Convention
GAY, LESBIAN GROUP GOT MUCH OF WHAT THEY WANTED
Ordination canon bars discrimination
based on sexual orientation
Episcopal Church
begins study of
union blessings
BY K-I<rvf BYHAM
Bishops and deputies at the
General Convention of the
. Episcopal Church held in
I114ianapolis August . 24 , -
September 2-·approved a remarkable
number of gay-friendly resolutions,
including a guarantee of non-discrimination
in access to the church's ordination
process and a major study of
blessing lesbian and gay relationships.
Integrity, the Episcopal lesbian and
gay justice ministry, was represented
by over 32 volunteers. In addition,
about 2,5 openly lesbian and _ gay
deputies were among the 850 lay and
-cll!rical members of the House of
Deputies. There is also one openly
gay member of the House of Bishops,
the Rt. Rev. E. Otis Charles, formerly
Bishop of Utah, who is also the first
openly gay bishop in any major
denomination.
Distinctly unwelcome guests at the
convention were the Rev. Fred
Phelps of Topeka, Kansas, the country's
most outspoken religious homophobe,
and his followers , Their
-.~;-:l~~it- '··
P.O. 8t""IC 8340
New Orteans, LA 70182
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUE;S,T-~
extremist behavior made many
friends for Integrity. Deputies and
v.isifors to the convention .center were
., m1Jazed to/ leru:n ~hat Gays and 'Lese
. •bians actually face such: blatant hatred
in the name of God, and were
appalled that y·oung children were
carrying placards that read ""Fag ,.
Tutu."" Archbishop Desmund Tutu of
South Africa was one of the co;wention
speakers. In a press conference,
when pressed on sexuality issues he
was amazingly forthright and spoke
in favor of gay rights.
Two significant resolutions were
approved by the House of Depu ties ·
on the final day of convention ; having
been earlier approved · by the
House of Bishops. A resolution
entitled ""Develop Forms of Blessing
Same-Sex Couples"" calls for the
church's Standing Liturgical Commission
and the Bishops' Theology Committee
to prepare a report for the next
General Convention in 1997 on ""the
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
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Bishop Otis Charles, left, the first openly gay bishop, and Dr. Louie Crew,
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James Solheim, Episcopal News Service
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THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents ••••••••••••••••• 1' •••••••••
From the editor IIJ Handle religious right as spiritually impoverished
[[1 Commentary
· __ ,I· On knowing a murder victim of a
-~ religious right fanatic w News Lines
[-·r -Out of the mouth of a mule _;J __ _ , j How the story of Balaam applies to us
I: 10 ·1 Cover story Pilgrim's progress: Gay and lesbian Episcopalians
at General Convention
1117 Revolutionary kisses l!.!_J Coming out inspiration by Lisa Larges
r- :::-:::7
! 13 i Handling sexual behavior [ __ _.: __ j Do we have any rul~s? By Rev_ Dr. Buddy Truluck
1""1· 5--·7 In Print -
, , Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe L!:!!J Reviewed by Dr. Robert Goss
i--171-~~v~dn:~ane
1-10187 Videos L!Q_J Body of Dissent
~-, 1191 Calendar
[2ft] Noteworthy
1'211 · Second Stone's resource guide [i Everybody we know anywhere
r-- ·-1 124 I Classifieds
SECOND STONE •
W From the Editor W .........................
The religious right as a
mission·-field
By Jim Bailey
. ....
HOW DO GAY and lesbian Christians respond to the religious right? Many
Second Stone readers do not even like to see stories about the religious right in
our publication. (Such stories have generated almost as many subscription
cancellations as our New Age debate three years ago.) But those of us who
want to deny that such hate and anger can come forth from fellow Christians,
and want to avoid dealing with the issue, miss the valuable opportunity in
ministry that gay and lesbian Christians in particular are called to .
In January of this year I was elected to church council by my Lutheran
congregation and given the responsibility of social ministry. This is a great
opportunity to become aware of the human needs in our local community and
to pull together resources as best we can to fill those needs. ""What is our
mission field?"" we asked ourselves. Our congregation has supported a shelter
for families in transition, a food bank, a children's home, and other service
·agencies in our neighborhoods . The people who come into need and seek
assistance from the programs most often have experienced at the hands of our
society some form of injustice, abuse, oppression, or perhaps even violence.
The stories of wife-battering and neglect and abuse of children are difficult to
bear, and angering. Yet they must be heard and responded to if we are to
follow Christ's teaching.
The situation is the same with the religious right. Their sin against gay and
lesbian people is frustrating and angering, but they are a group of people
seriously in need of a Christian reality check and we must respond in Christ's
way.
The religious right is spiritually impoverished, totally disconnected from the
gospel and consumed by their agenda. They have forgotten to ""fear not.""
They are afraid of what they do not understand and they are spreading their ·
fear to others. They have forgotten not to ""bear false witness."" The
misinformation they disseminate about Gays and Lesbians is simply not the
truth. And they know that . They are greedy, pumping millions of dollars
into their anti-gay rights campaigns - money which could be used for
clothing, feeding and sheltering. ""Comfort the sick,"" we hear Christ say, yet
the religious right would burden AIDS sufferers . And lastly, as you will read
on the facing page, individuals in their ranks have turned to murder.
A speaker at the recent secret meetings of the religious right declared that
unsupportive Chri stians were ""extraordinarily damaging "" to their movement.
Why? Because the ""unsupportive Chris tians"" and gay and lesbian
Christians bear the truth that - if we will only speak it loud enough - will
dissolve this giant machine of hatred.
The religious right is a mission field. A few gay and lesbian Christians -
not many - have appropriately and correctly identified thern as such. We
have been so angered by the injustice that they inflict on the gay and lesbian
community that we fail to see this group of fallen Christians desparately in
need of being set free from the fear and hate that consumes them .
I like the term used during the recent ""Fast for Understanding."" The protest
was not a confrontation; it was a ""care-frontation."" We care about the religious .
right. They are our neighbors. What a day of revelation and freedom it will
be for them when they see the image of Christ in our faces that they do not
see in the mirror .
I
\
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal , ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published-·every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1994 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $15.00f>er year , six issues. Foreign subscribers add $10.00
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is otherwise not responsible for the return or any material.
SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian social justice newsjoumal
with a specific outreach to sex ual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey .
CONTRIBlITORS FOR THIS ISSUE : Kim Byham, Ken ny Dayton. Lisa Larges.
Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck. Dr. Robert Goss
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
,
• •
Comment ........................................................................
Thou shalt not kill
Murder of Pensacola doctor, escort hits home
By Kenny Dayton
Guest Comment
T he subjects of abortion and
homosexuality have seesawed
back and forth as the
top moral issue facing our
country for some time now . During
any week, you can tum on any news
show and find something being said
about either theme. Unfortunately,
the rhetoric can get extremely hateful
at times, usually in the name of
""Christianity .""
On Friday, July 29, all of these
issues collided and the domestic terrorism
promoted by some anti-choice
activists became all too real to me and
many .other Gays and Lesbians in the
Florida panhandle.
That morning, a doctor who
performed abortions was shot to death
in the parking lot of a Pensacola
women's clinic. The doctor was not
the only one to lose his life. His
elderly escort was also killed, and the
escort's wife wounded. The murderer
was a former minister. When I heard
the first news broadcast only a few
SECOND STONE
minutes after the shootings occurred, I
was upset that someone could actually
think that God would sanction two
murders. Later that day, when a
friend told me the names of the
escorts, I became livid. Suddenly,
there were faces attached to the news.
These were friends of mine! Jim and
June Barrett were P-FLAG parents.
I first met Jim and June at a
reception prior to a presentation at the
University of West Florida on Gays in
the military. They were the type of
wonderful people you immediately
fell in love with . Jim was a former
Air Force career man, who could
shake your hand with a strong grip
or give you a loving bear hug ...
whichever you needed at the time.
June is that type of woman who
adopts you on the spot and lives the
unconditional love. that Christ taught.
They were the perfect people to be
P-FLAG parents . · They were always
th ere if you needed them . They 'were
prepared to talk to any gay man or
lesbian ... or their families . Jim and
June were straight, but they were
""family."" Whelher it was counseling
a gay teen or cooking meals for AIDS
patients or talking to a parent on the
phone or just letting you know you
were loved, Jim and June had gotten
involv ed . They gave more to the gay
community that many Gays do. And
now June was laying wounded in a
hospital room after seeing her
husband murdered . She is a strong
woman . She will recover from her
wounds and go on ·being the loving,
involved person she was before. It's
just unfair that because of someone
else's twisted beliefs, that she will be
carrying on alone .
Regardless . of your personal
position on abortion, the Bible is very
specific about an act such as
committed against the doctor and the
Barretts: 'Thou shalt not kill."" No one
has the right, legally or morally, to
take the law into their own hands and
shoot unarmed ·people who are not
making a direct threat to ybu
personally . Christ taught us to solve
our differences with love, understanding,
and faith. Not once did he
advocate or use violence. Where does
a so-called man of God find justification
.for: murder without per:verting
the intent of the gospel? Where does
this type of insanity stop?
Keep in mind that this wasn't a
random act of violence, but rather a
direct attack from the radical right.
No, Jerry Falwell didn't pull the
trigger. Jim Kennedy wasn't there
when it happened. Pat Robertson
didn't load the shotgun. But anyone
who spews hatred is as guilty as the
former minister who committed the
murders. The act was fueled by
SEE COMMENT, Page 14
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NewLsin es
Italiansp rotesPt opea ndn eo-af scists
· t>.THE UNITED PRESS International reported that 10,000 protesters marched through
the streets of Rome on July 2 to demand legal recognition of gay and lesbian couples, and
denounce anh-gay statements by Pope John Paul II and neo-fascists in the Italian
government. ""We are protesting the absolute indifference of Italy's new right-wing
government,. and against the Catholic hierarchy which is against homosexuals,"" said
Franco_Gnllmm, chau of the gay C1v1In ghts group Arc1gay. Piero Buscaroli, the
neo-fac1st National Alhance Party candidate, said Gays should be sent to concentration
camps. On July 3, Pope John Paul II repeated his opposition to gay /lesbian families
saying, ""Children are tli.e fruit of love of only one man and one woman.'
ItalianB aptist'sle aders upportssa me-genduern oi ns
t>.THE PRESIDENT OF THE Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Italy, Rev. Franco
Scaramuccia, was among 65 Italian protestant church leaders who recently approved a
resolution by the European Parliament in Strasbourg which recommends the sanctioning
of same-gender relationships on a basis equal to those of heterosexuals. Althougn
approval of the resolution did not reflect an ecclesiastical endorsement by any of the
denominations, but rather an expression of personal conscience by the leaders, it has still
been controversial. The Italian Baptist -leader explained that in Italy, and possibly
elsewhere in Europe , there are many couples not legally married, both heterpsexual and
homose xual. He said that these coupl es often have stable relationships and even raise
children. ""This is the real state of alfairs in our country,"" stated Scaramuccia. He also
underlined that the declaration insists that the word ""marriage"" or ""matrimony"" should
be avoided in the legislation. ""We did not want marriage to be confused with homosexual
un ion,"" he said. The decision of the head of the UCBC in Italy to support sanctioning of
same-gend er relationships has been controversial both in Europe and in the United
States. In a letter of support for Rev. Scararnuccia, Ken Sehested, Executive Director of
the Baptis t Peace Fellowship of North America, wrote, "" .. .I am writing to congratulate
you for your courage and encourage you in the midst of the controversy this action has
pro voked."" -Voiceo f the Turtle/EuropeanB aptistP ress Sernice
California-Pacific United Methodists define homose xuality
MN AN APPARENT ATTEMPT to stave off ""witch hunts,"" as well as to adhere to a
denominational ban on homose xual clergy, United Methodists in the California-Pacific
region have agreed to define homose xuals as ""people who publicly admit to having sex
with others of the same gender ."" Statements made in private or ""under duress"" are not
considered avowals, the statement of definition said, and ""practicing"" -does not include
having same-sex roommates, or socializing with or supporting the rignts of homosexuals.
The statement , approved by nearly 1000 voting members of the de.nomination's
California-Pacific Annual Conference, was called ""a landmark achievement"" by Bishop
Roy I. Sano of Los Angeles. Developers of-the statement said they purposely focused on
rublic declarations and behavior in consideration of the church's stated prohibition of
self-avowed , practicing homosexuals"" as clergy. - UNMS/Affirmation
Falwetllr iedf orc uto f Gay Games
t>.NOT ONLY DID New York City make money off the Gay Garnes and Stonewall
Celebration, Rev. Jerry Falwell tried for some bucks as well. He sent his followers a
fundraising letter warning of_ ""thousands and thousands of militant AIDS i~fected
homose xua1 activists."" He added that the welfare of every Amencan.1s at nsk Just so
these homosexuals can hold an Olympic Garnes for gays and lesbians and transvestites
and bisexuals and pedophiles and sodomites and exbibitionists and cross dressers and
every other sexual aeviant on !he planet with perverted proclivities."" He then asked for
donations. - Diversity
Welcomin&g AffirminBg aptisct hurchecsh allegned
t>.SEVERAL AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCH pastors ; upset that four California
congregations have joined the Association of We1corning and Affirmtng Baptists, are
attempting to force all American Baptist churches in the California/Nevada region to
adopt an unfriendly position toward Gays and Lesbians. First Baptist Church in
Berkeley, Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland . and New Community of Faith in
San Jose along with Dolores Street Baetist Church in San Francisco were all charter
members of the Association. Subsequently, San Leandro Community Church also joined.
Because the San Leandro Church is a new church start, it is dependent on the
denomination for some of its funding. Regional leadership has decided to withhold the
congregation:s allotment of new church money from the region Several pastors have
tried to orgaruze a movement m the regmn to urge the Welcommg and -Affirmmg churches
to repent their_joining.of and resign their membership in the Association.
- Voice of the Turtle ·
Seventh-dayA dventistms eet forn ationaclo nference
t>.SIXTY-FIVE GAY AND LESBIAN Seventh-day Adventists met for a week-long
convention in rural New York about-70 miles nortn of New York City. The conference,
held July 24-31, was sponsored by Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International, a
support network for gay men and Lesbians who are current or former members of the
SDA church. Several speakers attended from various Seventh-day Adventist colleges
and universities and churches around the country , despite the church's strong anti-gay
stance. ""Our meetings were productive and inspiring,' said organizer John Sam. ""The
group emerged from the week with a new vision for outreach to gay and lesbian
Seventh-day Adventists, including students at the church's nine colleges and universities
in North America who may be in turmoil over their sexual orientation."" Kinship
president Darin Olson of St. Paul, Minn., said he was most impressed by the recent surge
of Kinship's membership in Canada. From an active membership of just half a dozen last
year , the _group has grown to 30 members, centered mostly in the area of Toronto,
Ontario. Next year's conference will be held at the Menucha Conference Center on the
outskirts of Portland, Oregon. For information on the group or the upcoming conference,
contact SDA Kinship, P.O. Box 7320, Laguna Niguel, CA '92677, ('714)248-1299.
S E P T E M B E R / 0 C T O 8- E-R - l -9 9- 4
w News Lines w ................................ ... •· ................ .
""Change"" minister convicted of manslaughter
LIREV. T. C. MORELAND, pastor <>f Suburban Baptist Church, an independent
congregation in Glendale, Ca., was convicted in Los Angeles County Superior Court June
22 of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Michael Larkin, who died of a
self-inflicted gunshot wound last February. Larkin had been under pastora l counseling
from Rev. Moreland for several months prior to his suicide. Notes and diaries found in
Larkin's room and testimony from his friends and family revealed that Rev. Moreland
had attempted unsuccessfully to change Larkin's homosexual orientation. According to
Reinzi Page, Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney, this counseling caused
Larkin to fall into a deep depression and was the direct, materia l cause of his taking his
own life. - Seattle Gay News
Kentucky's first Ooen and Affirming UCC draws fire
L\MEMBERS OF THE ziON United Church of Christ, Henderson, Ky., thought they were
worshipping as their beliefs dictate and the Constitution allows when fhey vot ed to
accept Gays and Lesbians as memb ers. But their decision to become an Open and
Affirming congregation has started a clash between protestant denominations that has
become part of daily life in Henderson and filled the opinion pages of the local
newspaper with angry and impassioned letters. ""I've had a couple of threatening phone
calls and some anonymous letters that have been very upsetting, very degrading,"" said the
Rev. J. Bennett Guess, pastor of the outspokenly liberal UCC congregation in this
conservative Bible Belt town. He estimates his congregation to be about 15 percent
openly l<>sbian and gay. The ch_urch voted without dissent on M~,l:'. 22 to join 135 other
UCC congregal!ons who have smce 1985 declared themselves as Open and Affirming
Congregations."" - Southern Voice
Gay riahts movement a ""problem"" say members of Salvation Army
LITHREil'HUNDRED MEMBE~ of the Salvation Army meeting in Chicago stated that
the pressure of the gay rights movement is a problem which needs to be addressed. The
Salvation Army does not allow ""practicing"" homosexuals to be soldiers (members) of the
Salvation Army and does not allow them to serve in the church. At the same time, the
group declared that sexuality is a gift from God. Regarding homosexuality, those present
at the meeting suggested to Salvation Army leaders that a method of ""service delivery"" be
developed, and tl\at ex-gay seminars and institutes be approved for its' pastoral staff.
Ministers unite against hate and intolerance
LIA GROUP OF LIBERAL, social minded clergy interested in maintaining democracy and
freedom for all has iomed forces m Southern Nevada. At present m the group 1s a rabbi,
a number of protestant ministers, a Catholic priest, and some lay members who are
working in the religious community. One of the goa ls of Metro Ministries is to bring the
message to the community that all are entitled to equal rights. The group plans to support
existing grassroots coalitions and help organize new ones. - The Bugle
Church of Scotland keeps anti-gay position
LICONSERV ATIVE ELEMENTS in the Church of Scotland convinced the denomination's
general assembly to reject two rel'orts that had called for greater tolerance of Gays and
same-sex marnages . Instead the church body endorsed a resolution that says
homosexuals are ""living in sin"" and that homosexuality is contrary to the laws of God.
Although the assembly says bias against Gays and Lesbians _is wrong, it refused to
change the official Church of Scotland condemnation of homosexuality as ""contrary to
God's will for humankind.""
British Gays protest Catholic catechism
LIACTJVISTS WITH THE BRITISH group OutRage briefly disrupted consecration
services at Wesl!ninster Cathedral, protesting that the Cathohc Church 's new catechism
degrades same-sex love. More than a dozen demonstrators confrof\ted Cardinal Basil
Hume, Catholic pre late in Britain, over the new catechism, but left after about ten
minutes. The catechism, which gives guidelines to Catholics on their persona l behavior,
calls homosexuality a ""grave depravity."" A spokesperson for OutRage said , ""The
catechism denigrates gay love and gives theological legitimacy to anti-gay prejudice.
Bishop criticizes Uganda's AIDS program
· LIROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP Edward Baharagate criticized the Uganda government's
AIDS programs, saying that promoting condom use would encourage immoral behavior
and cause more deaths. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni , whose government has
been passing out millions of free condoms, said however that condom use 1s the most
inexpensive and most effective means of battling HIV in the central African nation , which
has one of the world's highest rates of the disease. The Catholic Church re1ects condom
us e, as it does any device that would prevent pregnancy. - Ch,cago Out/mes
A different ""Focus on the Family""
, LITHE 1994 WORLD AIDS DAY theme, ""Focus on the Family,"" embraces a definition of
family distinct from that used by various ""pro-family"" groups that oppose Gays around
the world. The World Health Organization, which sponsors the December 1 world-wide
observance .of AIDS, stated, ""(Our) concept of family is not limited to relationship by
blood, marriage, sexual partnership , or adoption. It extends to a broad range of groups
whose bonds are based on feelings of trust, mutual support and a shared destiny.""
Vaticanewspaper comments on pregnant lesbian
LIA GYNECOLOGIST WHO helped a lesbian couple get pregnant has raised · a
controversy in Catholic Italy. Giuseppe Ambrassa admittea the women to his program
after psychological evaluations showed the women would make able parents .
""Homosexuals nave as much love to give to children as heterosexuals,"" Ambrassa told
Reuters. The Vatican criticized the situation in an editorial in its newspaper entitled,
""The Aberrant Case of Two Homosexual Women Determined to Satisfy their Desires for
Maternity"" saying ""The condition of homosexuality cannot be considered 'normal' in a
person. One must make every effort to eliminate or correct it. - Diversity
SECOND STONE - ·.·~·· .· .. ,. . ,. , .
Minister: Apology due from Virginia's governor .
LITHE REV._). DWAYNE JOHNSON, senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community
Church of_Richmond, Va., has called upon Gov. George Allen to extend a public apology
to the lesbian and gay community, especially gay parents, for his radio comments calling
homosexuals ""unnatural"" and ""illegal"" Allen made his remarks on June 28 during his
monthly call-in radio show , ""Ask Governor Allen,"" in response to questions about the
Sharon Bottoms' custod}'. case. Sharon Bottoms and her lover; April Wade, frequent!,;
attend services at MCC Richmond. Among his remarks about homosexuals, Allen said,' I
don't think this is acceptable behavior ... and I don't think we should condone that sort of
behavior. Homosexual acts are illegal, and I think they sould stay illegal."" In calling on
the governor to apologize, Pastor Johnson said, ""I am sadden ed that the governor , who is
elected to represent all of our citizens, so easily denigrated an entire segment of our
socie(;'."" Johnson said that members of his congregation were especially pained by Gov.
Allens disparaging remarks about gay parents. ""We work with many gay parents who
have provided stable home lives, showered their children with love, been excellent role
models and taught their children to respect others and love God."" The Richmond-based
minister also invited Allen to attend worship services at the church.
Christians bump gay group from festival
LIA CHRISTIAN GAY and lesbian group was evicted from a booth at a religious music
festival after an organizer disapproved of its sign. Members of Evangelicals Concerned
said they applied for the booth using the group name but without a thorough description
of their organization for fear that the festival wouldn't have allowed them to participate .
George Jerome , an organizer of Summer Praise '94, said August 12 he kicked the group out
after arguing with group leaders over its sign which read ""Christian Gays and Lesbians
for Jushce."" r{e said he tore the sign down. Jerome said he took the actions because the
men in the booth ""combatively denied that anybody, including me, had authority to deal
with them."" David Perona, who was at the booth with two other men, said the group had
paid the $450 booth fee and should have been allowed to stay. He said memoers finally
left to avoid badgering from festival attendees. Paul Hammack, production manager for
the festival, said the group's sign would have misled many young people attending the
festival. ""We're trying to put God back into this country, out some people would rather
come out of the closet rather than dean it,"" he said. - Associated Press
Rev. Wildmon attacks Disney_Company
L\REV. DONALD WILDMON'S American Family Associ_ation has criticized the Walt ' -
Disney Company for being one of the leading advertisers on shows that consistentlr,
deliver ""homosexua l propaganda pieces."" Shows cited include ""Beverly Hills 90210,'
""Birdland,"" ""Roseanne,"" ""Roe,"" ""Northern Exposure,"" and ""Melrose Place."" - Diversity
Homose1uali'1
in the Churcli -he Debate
• • ■ J r I I, • I • "" •
Rid,n..d ■, H""'Y• (0-r,l:,.,.1 Jeseph
Rahinqc, Vilto, ,. • .,J 1 .. rni•h
foNU II. Hcbcn fohn J. M,Ncill
lice Sowle Cd,}U $faltton l . I•••'
.tto» C. Wotlcn1an Joe Onllns
Virglaiq ... ,..,.., Mollt=nkolt
Chondler !luu c1,,.;~ Glol-er Joule.
11:ogon JeUrey S. 1iliN•, edi!a •
CHURCH &
SOCIETY
Homosexuality in the Church
Both Sides of the Debate
Jeffrey S. Siker, editor Paper $14.99
Out standing authoriti es on scriptur e, tradition,
reason, biolo gy, ethic s, and gendered experience
discuss one of the most divisive debat es in th e church 1
today: the pl ace of h omosexu als in the commμnity of
faith. Each p erspectiv e is expl ored by two write rs, on e I
mo re conserva~ive, th e oth er more liberal. ·
The balance d treatm ent of the issues and th e :
cotltr asting insights o f the essays mak e this a va luable
resour ce for reflecti on individually or in groups. Study !
questio ns at th e end of each chapter will provoke
discussion in congregatio ns, study groups, or ethics
and social just ice classes . An appendix provid es for
reference th e statem ents on h ol_llosex uality of several
Chri stian deno mina tions.
C11ntributors includ e Richard B. Hayes,
Vi,:tor Paul Furnish , Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
John J. McNeil!, Stanton L. Jones,
Don E. Workman , Chandler Burr , Joe Dallas, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Chris Glaser,
Lisa Sowle Cahill, James B. Nelson , Jack Rogers, and Jeffrey S. Siker.
am WESTMINSTER
Jf ttf I JOHN KNOX PRESS
At your bookstore, or call toll-free l-800-227-2872 j
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396
1
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 9 9 4
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• · , ... _ .. _ .. _ .. _ ... _ .. _ ._., •·-· --- ~_ ., - · --• _._ .. -~ - · .... -- • A .. _ ... - _ .. ,, - ... - .. • .. -.._ .., _ •- • ..... _-_ • - • - --- .. • . • - - - •_r_- 0 • • • • ... • • • O • _ ., _ __ .. _.
IMtMl•irWIOl•l•rltifilll•ll§M
Care-fronting the religious right
""ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"" ~as the
direct message calling on the religous
right to stop their attacks on Gays and
Lesbians. Dr. Mel White and other
members of the gay and lesbian
Christian community held a sevenday
""Fast for Understanding"" in July,
confronting the religous right and
gathering support from lesbian/ gay
rights activists. The protest was billed
as a ""care-frontation,"" according to
Rev. J. Dwayne Johnson, pastor of
MCC of Richmond, Virginia.
White fasted from July 11-17 in
front of the world headquarters of Dr.
James Dobson's Focus on the Family
in Colorado Springs, Co. Dobson is
·president of Focus on the . Family
ministry and host of the most listened
to Christian radio program in America.
The site was chosen because in
May Focus on the Family co-hosted
religious right strategy meetings to
formalize· plans for national attacks on
gay and lesbian rights. The secret
meetings were documented in a May
19 article in the conservative newspaper,
The Washington Times. Over 40
religious right leaders attended the
meetings May 16-18. Attendees set
the elimination of gay and lesbian
civil rights as its main goal as part of
a ""moral mandate"" on America. With
this fast, Dr. White called for an end
to the attacks against gay and lesbian
people by the religious right.
c;,J@-y 'L/ :i ,fiJ. :rJ
FOR LESBIGAY CHRISTIANS AND THEIR FRIENDS
EACH YEAR BEFORE NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY.
We haue organized .. .
We haue marched . . .
We haue lobbied .. .
on October 10th, we encourage you and your group to be praying for:
* A FRESH TOUCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT'S POWER ON YOUR CHURCH.
* CHRIST'S TOUCH ON THE LESBIGA Y COMMUNITY IN YOUR CITY
AND ACROSS THE NATION.
* HEALING OF OUR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES FROM THE
WOUNDS OF HOMOPHOBIA.
If your group would like to participate, and would like posters and
teaching materials, please contact us:
Pastor Pamela White
River Of · Life Healing Ministries
134 Quincy NE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
(505) 256-1891
(Donation For Materials Appreciated But Not Required)
""James Dobson may speak of love
and reconciliation but the endless
flow of misinformation about homosexuality
that flows from Focus on the
Family and its allies pollutes the
national enviroment and leads directly
to ruined lives, broken families,
intolerance, suffering and deat_h,"" said
Dr. White. White, a former ghostwriter
for prominent members of the
religious right including Jerry Falwell
and Pat Robertson, became dean of
Cathedral of Hope MCC, Dallas, in
1993 after corning out as a gay man.
According to Dr. White, Dobson
has become the primary spokesman
of the religous right. Focus employs
over 1,200 workers, has an annual
""James Dobson may speak
of love and reconciliation
but the endless flow of
misinformation about
homosexuality that flows
from Focus on the Family
and its allies pollutes the
national environment and
leads directly to ruined
lives, broken families,
intolerance, suffering
and death.""
budget of $96,000,000, and owns a
vast media empire with daily and
weekly radio broadcasts, along with
2,000,000 volunteers in all SO states.
Focus on the Family reacted
quickly and strongly to the protest.
The organization bought full page
ads in Colorado newspapers, issued
press releases and faxes disputing the
charges of White .
Instead of responding directly to
issues raised by White, Focus on the
Family sent out page after page of
information about homosexual sex. It
mentioned anal intercourse, anal
masturbation, fisting and rimming,
then went on to mention oral sex,
child molestation, the North American
Man/Boy Love Association, high
numbers of sexual partners, and that
homosexuals are bearers of dangerous
diseases. The release described
AIDS, anal cancer, hepatitis A, gonorrhea
of the throat, syphilis, and something
called ""gay bowel syndrome.""
'Their press release proves my
point,"" said White. ""Instead of condemning
homosexual people, I've
challenged Focus on the Family to
look at the ways in which they
contribute to the suffering of our gay
brothers and lesbian sisters. They
won't answer that charge.""
White said, ""I hope more people
SEE FAST, Page 7
SECOND STONE - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
""Secret's"" out
IM1Wl•lr■1111•11Fltl+IOl•ll@N
Elimination of gay rights a paramount objective of radical right
By Diversity
THIRTY-NINE REPRESENTATIVES
from many radical religious right
. organizations met secretly May 16-18
in Colorado Springs, Co., the home of
Colorado for Family Values, the
organization which developed and
promoted Amendment 2, the anti-gay
civil rights initiative that Colorado
voters approved in November, 1992.
CFV, which hosted the secret meetings,
exports anti-gay strategies, and
funds anti-gay initiatives in other
states.
Colorado Springs is also the home
of Focus on the Family, the largest of
the religious right organizations, and
long a supporter and promoter of
anti-gay initiatives and material.
Three representatives from Focus
attended, all of whom spoke.
· The Institute of First Amendment
Studies obtained tape recordings of
the meeting. The tapes demonstrate
that participants plan an assault on
gay rights and are willing to employ
aggressive tactics - such as computer
banks of enemy lists - to achieve their
goal.
Participants designed a high-tech,
sophisticated agenda with a strategy
emphasizing pressure on the media,
politicians, businesses, and human
rights activists. They plan to win policy
changes through lawsuits, scientific
debate, public education and
legislation.
Other major organizations with big
annual budgets represented at the
secret meeting include Christian Co-
FAST,
From Page 6
will begi_n to realize that J a~es
Dobson and· his allies on the radical
right are a threat not just to Lesbians
and Gays, but to all Americans who
cherish freedom and justice.""
On July 16, solidarity vigils were
held at religious right headquarters
in over 20 cities nationwide, including
one co-sponsored by Evangelicals
Concerned and MCC Los Angeles, at
the headquarters of Rev . Lou
Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition
in Anaheim.
alition, Concerned Women for America,
American Family Association,
Accuracy in Media, Family Defense
Council, and Family Research Council.
Participants developed a . twopronged
strategy, one focused on
media and the other focused on
legislative and legal means.
The media blitz will include:
The offices of the Idaho Family
Forum in Boise was the -site of a
gathering of over 35 people. ""We ·are
gathered in peace ... to call upon those
who have declared war upon us to
stop,"" said the Rev. Tyrone Sweeting
of the Boise MCC. ""Fear about lesbian
and gay people is the instrument
they have chosen to use for raising
money and mobilizing volunteers to
further their political power. The
radical religious right is attempting to
frighten Americans with absurd
propaganda and misinformation.""
In response to the Boise demonstration,
the leader of the Idaho Family
Forum called a press conference two
days later to criticize the ·peace vigil.
As part of his presentation, Dennis
•Create a national data base of gay
and pro-gay officeholders,
• Create a national data base of gay
activists,
• Monitor businesses thar advertise in
gay publications and sponsor gay
events,
•Track people who speak up for gay
SEE SECRET MEETING; P~ge 8
Mansfield continuously played 'The
Gay Agenda,"" an inflammatory antigay
video ·tape that paints all Gays
and Lesbians as child molesting
villians. Upon hearing about the
Family Forum's response, Rev .
Sweeting said, 'This proves my
point."" ·
Others participating in the Colorado
Springs demonstration included
Michael Bussee, director of the film,
""One Nation Under God,"" and Jose
Zuniga, a former ""Soldier of the
Year."" The fast concluded with an
interfaith service led by Rev. Nori
Rost, pastor of Pike 's Peak MCC,
Colorado Srings.
-Keeping in Touch, Robert Shaffer,
Diversity
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SECOND STONE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 9 9 4
Secret meeting
Religious right plots anti-gay strategy
From Page 7
issues in the media,
• Promote the idea that organized
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movement,
• Monitor crimes committed by Gays,
and
•Educate th e public about the homosexual
lifestyle as one of addiction,
violence, and economic impact
The legal and legislative agenda
includes:
•Keep laws on the books that
criminalize sodomy,
• Repeal all gay civil rights laws,
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• Establish reporting requirements for
HIV infection,
•Pass the Hancock Amendment banning
federal funds for public schools
which support gay students,
• Pass a federal law guaranteeing free
speech and association on college
campuses,
•Stiffen penalties against unfounded
threats and hate crime charges
against pro-family/ pro-life groups,
• Re-introduce the sodomy laws in the
District of Columbia, and
•Support preference for heterosexuals
in child custody cases.
The group · plans to campaign and
educate Americans that ""homosexuality,
pornography and organized
crime are one and the same."" They
will promote the theory that organized
crime contro ls pornography .
Organized crime then takes these
profits and funnels them to gay civil
rights for organizations, according to
their theory.
""Our ministers don't
know anything
and most of them
are wimps.""
The participants agreed to estab lish
comp ut er banks and link tog ether
through a computer bulletin board.
Various members will have different
responsibilities in tracking the 11
different categories. They will develop
·a central clearinghouse through
the computer network. They will also
track their successes and failures.
Other media strategies include:
• Identify educators favorable to their ~, .. · ·'· ,
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viewpoint and get them to write letters
to publications and appear on
talk shows,
•Create the catch words ""heterop h obia,""
""Christian-phobia,"""" and ""Christian-
bashing"" to describe people who
disagree with them,
•Track scientific lit erature and influen
ce research towards finding that
homosexuality is not inborn,
• Attack the Kinsey stud ies, and
• Develop long-term advertising goals
to mold public opinion.
They have developed a plan to
pressure the media to cover issues the
way they want. They plan to syn chronize
all pro-family public policy
and action groups to send th eir
individual press releases to media
outlets . on the same topic .and at the
same time to force coverage of their
perspective.
Legislative, legal and political
strat egies include:
•Enact legislation rewarding conventional
fami lies with tax rewards,
•Develop a long-t erm litigation plan
reminiscent of that used by the
NAACP in their fight against discrimination
and segregation. Working
with political, constitutional and
publi c relations experts, they plan to
formulate the best case to take to the
U.S. Supreme Court to deny gay civil
rights .
• Identify and recall judg es who disagre
e with them,
•Continue voter guides, precinct-byprecinct
organizing and attempt to
influence voters, candidates and
schoolboards,and
•Create friend/ enemy lists of elected
officials.
To fund these strategies, they plan
massive fundraising efforts that
included selling anti-gay videos and
using direct mail campaigns.
Unsupportive Christians were
characterized as ""extraordinarily damaging
to · our movement, "" by John
Eldredge from Focus on the Family.
He described the church as a ""house
divided.""
Ministers who want their churches
to be a ""support community"" for ""nonpracticing
"" homosexuals were also
criticized .
""Our ministers don""! know anything
and most of them are wimps;·
said Robert Skolrood, head of the
National Legal Foundation.
Conference participants noted that
ideals held by mainstream Americans
are often at odds with anti-gay legislation.
It is nec ess ary that th ey
package their message in terms more
accep tabl e to the broad er public .
Polls show that a large majority of
Americans support the values of
individualism an d autonomy.
Focus' John Eldredge explajn ed,
""This is still a country that embraces
the pioneering spirit... Radi cal
individual autonomy is an American
value:· Acknowledging that individualism
is a ··tradtional"" value,
Eldredge explained that commitment
to this value has ""tilted the field, if
you will, in favor of th e militant gay
agenda.""
Winning on this field means
carefully controlling one·s image. 'To
the extent we can control our public
image, we must never appear to be
bigoted or mean-spirited. And you
noticed the qualification - to th e extent
The group plans to
campaign and educate
Americans that ""homo sexuality,
pornography
and organized crime are
one and the same.
we can control our public image. We
must never appear to be attempting
to rob anyone of their rights, of their
const ituti onal rights, "" explained
Eldredge .
Among the speakers at the secret
conference were:
• Will Perkins, co-founder and current
leader of Colorado for Family Values,
• Robert Skolrood, head of the
National Legal Foundation and host
of the daily program, ""Minuteman
Alert, ""
• John Eldredge, Frank York and Phil
Butler, all from Focus on Family,
• Paul Cameron, head of the Family
Research Institutem, discredited
expert witness, expelled from the
American Psychological Association
for violating its code of ethics,
•Peter LaBarb e ra, editor of the
_anti-gay Lambda Report whic h is
published by the producers of 'The
Gay Agenda"" video,
• Judith Reism an, a self-proclaimed
sexologist who works for the American
Family Association,
•Rev . Raymond Kwong, Chinese
Family Allianc e in San Francisco,
reportedly the only person of color to
attend. He was featured in the
anti -gay video, ""Gay Rights, Special
Rights.""
• Doug Burman, Chair of the
Wash ington Public Affairs Council
which sponsored on the two anti-gay
initiatives in Washington, and
• [ore\ta Neet, communications director
for Lon Mabon's Oregon Citizens
Alliance. - Dallas Clzase
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
T here is a story recorded in the
Book of Numbers, .chapters
22-24 that has intrigued me
since I became a Christian.
,The story hasn't changed, but over
the years, the richness in this story
has changed me. It's the story of
Balaam and his talking donkey.
The first few times I read the story I
laughed unceasingly at the great
sense of humor God displays, in causing
the donkey to speak. · It seems
even funnier that Balaam carries on a
discussion with his donkey, expressing
his anger, totally unaware he is
talking to a donkey - not talking at
his donkey, but adually engaged in
dialogue. Balaam doesn't even realize
this is a rather unusual scenario.
Balaam's anger overshadows his
ability to see anything else.
Later in my Christian walk, though,
I saw another application foal began
to change the way I relate to people
and events in my life journey.
As the story unfolds we discover
several things . Balaam is well established
as a credible minister of the
word of God. The Bible mentions
Moab and Midian as ambassadors of
the enemy camp. We know Balaam
is a minister in God's word as well as
do these ambassadors, because in
Numbers 22:6 they say ""We know
whom you curse is cursed and whom
you bless is blessed ."" God fulfills the
word of this prophet. We also notice
that Balaam is not a part of Israel, the
nation . This is significant because at
this juncture in history, God's current
move of the Spirit is with the nation
of Israel as they are on a journey and
adventure with God through the
wilderness. This says to me, that
since Balaam is already famous and
well known as a person of God, and
since he is not now flowing in the
things God is doing in Israel, that
Balaam represents a part of a former
move of God. Historically it can be
shown that every former move of
God tends to persecute every current
move of God.
Balaam was being paid to come
curse this new thing God is doing in
the earth. And the ambassadors of
evil wasted no time in telling Balaam
what was in it for him. Big bucks!
We're talking mega bucks! Books,
TV, promotions, maybe a mini series.
Not to mention movie rights to 'The
Balaam Story."" So Balaam asks God if
it's okay tog<.> curse·the current move
of God in the earth. God says no.
. The evil ambassadors return.
""Listen, prophet, maybe you didn't
hear us! We'll sweeten the deal.
Royalties, an adoring public,. political
aspirations - millions generated from
hate campaigns against these fun_ny
folks in the wilderness."" Not unhke
today . God is doing a .new thing in
the earth. Some members of a former
move of God are tempted to make
big money selling their videos on the
SECOND STONE
ra-----·-
1
How does the story of Balaam and his talking
donkey speak to Christians who attack their
gay and lesbian Christian brothers and sisters?
BY SAMUEL KADER
agenda of this new move - as well as ions, besid es the evil · ambassadors
their books, tapes, and not so hidden (Numbers 22:21-22). Two decent
political aspirations. I don't know human beings, and a jack ass. In
how many times I've gotten a letter life's journey, have you ever felt that
from some Christian organization or way? Everyone you worked with
another that, as a former move of was fine except this one stubborn
God, was once doing a good work but mule no one could budge . Maybe
are now bent on cashing in on the mule was a member of your
homophobia. board, maybe someone else, who you
These temptations from the enemy had to deal with on your journey.
are no new trick of Satan. Read While Balaam is traveling, the don-
Matthew 4:8-9. Satan promised Jesus key takes a detour . It slows up our
all the kingdoms of the earth as well travel. It is aggravating. Balaam hits
as the glory of them if Jesus would the donkey. Sometimes we verbally
just bow down and worship him. ""Say abuse others to get them back on the
what I want you to say, curse these path with the rest of us.
people,"" was Balak's plea to Balaam.
And you've seen their books in ""Listen, you donkey, thisis the way
Christian bookstores. The titles are we're going!""
endless. ""Why?""
.,. ""Because I said so!""
Balaam asked God a second time if Former moves of God have no
God had had a change of mind and monopoly on getting off track with
maybe Balaam might go ahead and God's best for our lives. We all do it.
curse this thing. Just this once. God We all miss the mark. We all in sist
had already spoken. Period. But if on our own way, thinking God wor't
we insist on sin God will let us go, notice. And we are all reaping what
though we suffer the consequences. we have sown.
God is not mocked . Whatever we The donkey thru st herself against
sow, that shall we reap . The prodigal the wall and crushed Balaam's foot.
child of Luke 15 was allowed to go He hit her again. Yes they crushed
starve and live in the pig pin because you . Yes it hurt. But what happened
of insistence . It.is not required that to turning the other cheek? What
the former move of God always happend to love? Love is patient ,
persecute the current move of God. love is kind, love bears all things,
We are commanded instead to love . endures all things, keeps no record of
And we are given the ministry of wrongs, love never fails.
reconciliation (II Cor . 5:18), not the The donkey fell down. According to
ministry of alienation. Balaam's account, she mocked him.
Now here's an interesting part. They slow us down, they hinder our
Balaam had three traveling compan- success, they criticize us, they hurt us,
8 SEPT EM
and they don't even know it!
The donkey asks, ""What did I do?""
(Num. 22:28)
""What did you do? Don't you even
know? You crushed my foot, you hurt _
me, you mocked me in front of these
important people, you've slowed my
progress, and I could just kill you,
you mule!"" ·
""But the donkey saved your life,""
the angel announces.
Is it possible God puts donkeys on
our journey?
Mules, stubborn people, who keep
us from accomplishing everything we
want to, as fast as we want to, to keep
us in prayer, to ke.ep us from pride,
which goes before destruction? Maybe
mules that talk back are a gift.
They teach us many things. They
teach us about our ministry. Every
believer has a ministry of reconcilias
lion. How can you ever know what is
is to be reconciled if you've never
been separated? They teach us about
unconditional love. God's kind of
love. Balaam was a prophet. He was
used to speaking the oracles of God.
But along comes a donkey to show us
God can use anyone to speak those
oracles. It we don't praise God, we
can be replaced by a stone that will.
Are we listening to what the donkey
is saying? Or are we just so angry
we don't even notice this mule · is
speaking to me - and it's profound?
We all have encountered folks we
don't like . We all have behaved like
Balaam from time to time. Our old
nature has count~d it more profitable
to do our own thing rather than obey
God. And we have missed the blessing
of God speaking to us, because it
sounded like the voice of a braying
donkey. God has lots of surprises for
us. And yes, God does have a great
sense of humor! You never know
who God is going to speak through
next.
Balaam refused to catch the point.
Yes, he spoke blessing over Israel,
but soon after he was back for the big
bucks, teaching Balak how to seduce
God's people into sin.
When our Savior was tempted in
like manner in the widemess, He told
Satan to get lost. Balak was killed in
the end . So was Jesus, but he rose
from the dead.
I'd rather follow the example of
Jesus, telling the ambassador of ·evil
to get lost, than follow for a way just
to see if it's true. I'd rather die in
order to live, and I would love to hear
whatever God wants to say to me or
my community, even if those words
have to come through the mouth of a
mule.
Sam Kader is tlze senior pastor and cof_
ounder of Community Gospel C/zurclz in
Dnyton, Olzio. He pastored MCCs in Dayton,
O/zio, Melbourne, Australia, and was tlze
founding pastor of MCC in Grand Rapids,
Michigan. Kader lzas been a conference
speaker in the gay/lesbian community and
has written in tfie gay press since .1975.
BER/OCTOBER 9 9 4
CovSetro ry ......................................................
Integrity successful at Episcopal General Convention
From Page 1
theological foundations and pastoral
considerations involved in the development
of rites honoring love and
commitment between persons of the
same sex.""
The other resolution approved on
September 2, which had been submitted
by former Integrity Northeast
regional vie~ president and deputy
from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts,
Dr. Elizabeth Hess,
amends the canons [governing law of
the church] to assure equal access to
the ordination process, providing that ·
one may not be denied access for a
variety of reasons, including one's
sexual orientation.
Two other Integrity-written
resolutions, submitted by the Dioceses
of Washington (DC) and
Newark (NJ), respectively, were
approved. A resolution entitled ""Add
Sexual Orientation Protection to
Federal Civil Rights Act"" reaffirmed
the church's 1976 position supporting ·
civil rights and called on the church's
Washington office to work on behalf
of pending and future legislation.
The other resolution, entitled ""Educational
Materials for Lesbian and Gay
Youth and Families,"" provides for the
church to spend $15,000 to develop
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SECOND STONE
new educational materials to help
youth and their parents ""understand
their sexuality.""
Earlier in the convention, the
deputies and bishops had agreed to
expand the already substantial dialog
effort on human sexuality. During
debate on this resolution, the House
of Deputies rejected by a 2/3 margin
an amendment which would have
imposed a three year moratorium on
lesbian/ gay ordinations and the
blessings of same-sex unions. Two
deputies from the ultra-conservative
Diocese of Fort Worth reportedly
resigned their seats as a result of that
vote.
The House of Bishops similarly
disposed of seven resolutions submitted
by three of its conservative members
which would have made clergy
who were themselves or who
ordained persons ""known... to be
engaging in genital sexual relations
outside of the bonds of lawful marriage""
or who ""purport[ed] to marry
or bless or affirm sexual unions
between members of the same sex""
subject to the disciplinary provisions
of the canons.
There were only two negative
aspects of the convention for the
lesbian/gay community. One came
on the first day of convention, August
24, when the bishops modified their
""Pastoral Teaching"" on human sexuality.
They made what had been a
very well written document slightly
less gay-friendly and changed its
designation to a ""Pastoral Study Document.""
The document still contains a
generally positive approach, including
the comment that ""[T]here is no
convincing evidence that homosexuals
who are 5 and 6 on the Kinsey
scale can be truly reoriented."" The
Rev. Jane Garrett, openly lesbian
deputy from the Diocese of Vermont,
served as one of six non-bishops on
the drafting committee of the pastoral.
The most negative action the
bishops took . was appending to the
Pastoral Study Document a very
conservative statement prepared by
the Bishop of Dallas. However, an..
alternative positive statement was
offered the following day by the Rt.
Rev. John S. Spong, Bishop of
. Newark, which was signed by over
60 other bishops. It was subsequently
proposed to distribute it with the
Study Document as well. As a
compromise, the bishops decided not
to circulate either statement with the
Pastoral Study Document.
It is noteworthy that most press
coverage of the convention ended on
the first day and thus reported a far
more conservative outcome than
·ultimately concluded.
The other disappointment for
Integrity was the very narrow defeat
of a resolution that would have
authorized the medical insurance
division of the Church Pension Fund
to offer coverage for domestic partners.
Ironically, in a previously approved
resolution, the convention had
called on all civil authorities to offer
coverage and protections for domestic
partnerships. The defeated resolution
had been submitted by Integrity's
founder and deputy from the Diocese
of Newark, Dr. Louie Crew.
During the convention, Integrity
sponsored three major events. On
August 26, a standing-room only
crowd overflowed Christ Church Cathedral
in downtown Indianapolis for
a Spirit-filled Eucharist in celebration
of the 20th anniversary of Integrity.
The singing shook the foundations
and Dr. Crew preached the Word in a
strikingly .evangelical manner. The
chief celebrant was the Rt. Rev.
Bennett J. Sims, retired Bishop of
Atlanta, who in 1974, when Dr. Crew
founded Integrity in his diocese,
It is noteworthy that
most press coverage
of the convention
ended on the first
day and thus
reported a far more
conservative
outcome than
ultimately concluded .
summoned him ""for discipline.""
Later, in 1977, Bishop Sims issued a
stinging anti-gay ""Pastoral Statement""
calling for Gays and Lesbians to seek
the church's help in becoming heterosexual.
In 1991, however, Bishop
Sims issued another, much more
pastoral document, entitled ""Revisiting
a 1977 Point of View: Time Makes
Ancient Good Uncouth ... "" His
remarks at the service described his
remarkable journey from homophobia
to love. Bishop Sims was
joined at the altar · by a number of
other notable bishops of the Episcopal
Church including Bishop Spong,
Bishop Charles, the Rt. Rev. Mary
Adelia McLeod, the first woman
diocesan bishop in the Episcopal
Church, Bishop of Vermont, the Rt.
Rev. Chester Talton, the first bishop
to march in a gay pride celebration,
Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles, and
the Rt. Rev. Robert G. Tharp, one of
SEPTEM
the leading moderates of the church,
Bishop of East Tennessee.
Integrity presented Richard !say,
M.D., professor of Psychotherapy at
Cornell University Medical School
and previously Chair of the Committee
on Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual
Issues of the American Psychiatric
Association, for an extremely well
received lecture on August 27 entitled,
""Overcoming Reparative Therapy:
Personal . Reflections of a Gay
Psychotherapist."" Dr. !say, who is the
author of the book, Being Homosexual:
Gay Men and Their Development, was
quoted in the bishop's Pastoral Study
Document.
On August 31, Integrity hosted a
luncheon featuring the Rev. Jane
Spahr. Spahr is a Presbyterian minister
called to a church in Rochester,
New York, but"" denied her position
by the national church hierarchy
because she is lesbian. The church in
Rochester has never rescinded its call
and Spahr is now a self-described
""Lesbyterian Evangelist"" who travels
the country. Part Southern preacher
and part stand-up comic, Spahr told of
story after story and letter after letter
from Gays and Lesbians who have
been able to come to terms with their
homosexuality and their spirituality
due to her gospel preaehing and
example.
The most important aspect of this
convention was not the legislation,
however, but the wonderful spirit
present in Indianapolis. This was in
sharp contrast with the 1991 convention
in Phoenix where right-wing
church groups attempted to exorcise
demons from the exhibit area and
several deputations wore black arm
bands to mourn ""the death of
morality."" Unlike in Indianapolis, no
pro-gay legislation was· approved in
Phoenix. Nevertheless, the rancor
virtually disapp eared. Lesbian and
gay Christians were almost universally
accepted as fully part of the church
- and the far right further isolated .
itself from the mainstream of the
Episcopal Church.
In an action exemplifying the spirit
of the convention, Dr. Crew, on the
final day, joined the most outspoken
anti-gay deputy at the convention,
Mrs. Judy Mayo of the Diocese of Ft.
Worth, in doing a . tribute to · their
committee chair, the Very Rev. J. Earl '
Cavanaugh, of Kansas City. Both
emphasized how much they had
enjoyed working with each other on
the Human Sexuality Subcommittee
even though they had disagreed· on
virtually everything.
Kim Byham was Chafr of Integrity's
Presence at General Convention and
First Alternate Lay Deputy from the
Diocese of Newark.
BER/OCTOBER 1994
I have an old photo cif me and
John at our prom. John and I
dated in high school. John's gay -
about as gay as I'm lesbian - but
such facts hadn't yet bubbled to the
surface.
After high school, John and I went
our separate ways, though we've remained
good friends. So it happened
one summer's evening when I was
home from college, John and I met for
dinner and, well, you know, John
came out to me, and I came out to
him , and we laughed and laughed.
Later on we marched over to his
mother's house and announced to her
that I was a lesbian, and she was
delighted .
That night, John told me that he
had fallen in love with Kleid.
(They're still together 11 years later .)
He told me all about Kleid, and after
we were through laughing and dishing,
John said, ""Lis, there's something
more I need to say.""
He said, ""Lis, the other night Kleid
kissed me. I mean, he didn't just kiss
me. He kissed my face. He kissed
At the end of
Ntozake Shange's
play ""For Colored
Girls Who Have
Considered Suicide,
When the Rainbow
Isn't Enough, ""
there is a line: ""I
found God in
me, and I loved her
fiercely! And I loved
her fiercely!"" That's
coming out. Coming
out is a revolutionary
act.
my mouth, my nose, he kissed my
eyes, my cheeks, he kissed my hair.
And there was something so tender
in the way he kissed me, that I
couldn't bear it. I had to leave the
room. I got up, and I went out, and I
sat in the living room by myself in
the dark, and I cried. I cried like a
baby. No one had ever loved me
like that before. I had never let anyone
ever love me like that before.""
Coming out is a revolutionary act.
It changes the world. For gay and
lesbian people in our culture, coming
out can be, and most often is, extraordinarily
painful. Sometimes it costs
too much. Even so, I imagine that
many of you know, as I do, that point
in your own coming out story when
you were, as well, confronted by that
almost unbearable love of God.
SECOND STONE
ilMll lll♦M•INll§IM 11 1■ ••!+•H◄l•ltllr■il
lives. People ar e yearning simply to
h~ve acknowledged that the cognitive
dissonance in their heads is related to
the tension in their shoulders, and the
tightness in their stomachs is linked -
to the conflict in their soul. To put it
m the positive, peopl e are yearning
Coming out begins in that place within ourselves
where love and justice, in the words of the Psalmist,
kiss each other.
to have acknowledged what they've
exp enenced as true: that what they
know of God is something they feel
m their chests, in their gut, in the
atoms of their cells. People are
yearning to have acknowledged what
they've alrea,;ly discovered: that sexuality
1s sacred, and that our spirituality
and our physicality are deeply
mtertwmed. The trouble with ""selfavowed,
practicing nonrepentant
homosexuals"" is that they insist on
being addressed as whole persons;
BY LISA LARGES
Maybe it was when she kissed you;
maybe it was when he held you;
maybe it was on a particular afternoon
when you were sitting alone in
your office; or maybe it was in the
middle of a particular night when
you were lying awake in the glow of
the clock radio and you suddenly
knew, in the core of your being, that
your emancipation had begun.
At the end of Ntozake Shange's
play ""For Colored Girls Who Have
Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow
Isn't Enough,"" there is a line: ''I
found God in me, and I loved her
fiercely! And I loved her fiercely!""
That's coming out. Coming out is a
revolutionary act.
Anita Bryant once said, ""Orange
juice isn't just for breakfast any more.""
I say: ""Coming out isn't just for gay
people any more!"" Nothing moves
me more deeply than standing with
the many, many straight people who
have risked so much for the cause of
justice in the church. 1 can't know
what inner conviction drives them,
but I suspect that they must have
their own coming out story. They, as
well, must have been- confronted by
that almost unbearable love of God .
They, as well, must have tasted the
sweetness of their own emancipation.
It is that fierce love, that almost
unbearable tenderness, that burning
memory of revolution, that brings us
together as a great coalition of lavender
people. And now we walk together
in the work of calling the church to
embrace an embodied theology. Too
often, we have heard the shrill warning
that if we ""pander to the homosexuals""
then that great mulititude of
bread-and-butter Christians will beat
a path ""straight"" out the narthex door.
I say that the exodus has already
begun, it's been going on for some
time now, and it's not my fault! If we
are to assess blame, then I believe the
fault lies with our failure to address
those who come as whole persons.
The diagnosis of the most recent
human sexuality studies and reports
is that we have inadequately promoted
a theology which ""keeps body .
and soul together .""
As a faith community, we must
reaffirm the connection between our
head and our heart, and the inseparability
of our spiritual and physical SEE KISSES, Page 12
l'M NOT A STRAIGHT
PERSON, BUT I PLAY
0 NE . 0 N TV• And that's just where
acting belongs-on television or in the movies.
Not in real life. That's why I stopped acting and
came out . I told people I'm a lesbian. More and
more gay men and lesbians are finding out how
great it feels lo tell someone they care about.
National Coming Out
Day is October II
Let's stop acting. Toke the step
that's right for you.
-~ For more inFonnotion about Notional
Coming Out Doy, to receive The Guide to
Coming Out: living Powerfully ond
Tn,thfully,
or to order official Keitt, Haring Notional
Coming Out Doy merchondise, coll 1-800·
866·NCOD.
ill+lll•lflfM•iillliM•i 11M•#l'M•Hi i:ilr■ II
Revolutionary kisses
From Page 11
and if it can happen for them - then
sooner or later; those self-avowed,
. practicing ·and nonrepentant heterosexuals
are going to start demanding
the same thing!
Our work of calling the church to
affirm an embodied spirituality . is
crucial. Indeed the life and well-being
of the church depends on it. But, as
with the question of ordaining Gays
and Lesbians to the clergy, this too is
not yet at the heart of the prophetic
mission that brings us together. We
have named the center of this
prophetic work as that of challenging
the church to reclaim the Biblical link
between Jove and justice. In his keynote
address to last year's Presbyterians
for Lesbian and Gay Concerns
More Light conference, Robert
MacAfee Brown noted that in Biblical
parlance, Jove and justice are always
connected. By this standard it is
astonishing to regard the way in
which our culture has driven a wedge
between them .
I know a woman in San Francisco
who is a single mother with a sixyear-
old son. If you met this woman,
the first thing you'd know about her
is how much she loves her son . Two
weeks ago, child protective services
put her son in a foster home. For this
woman, the terrible burden of her
past, and all the pressures of her life,
conspire to drive her to rage. In that
rage she does what she vowed she
wou ld never do - she hits this small
child whom she adores above all else.
No one could deny that this woman
loves her son. There is love there,
but there is no justice. Her story is
played out all the time, in all kinds of
families, in all kinds of relationships.
We know this too well. Love without
justice is violence.
Many Christian churches have
adopted policies dealing with Gays
and Lesbians that are certainly studies
in contradiction, if not obfuscation
- policies that deny our right to serve
as clergy and policies that refuse to
recognize in a public way the
sacredness of our relationships. Yet
many of these same churches call on
parishioners to work to protect the
civil rights of Gays and Lesbians,
welcome homosexuals · into their
congregations, and strive to eradicate
homophobia. They cling to the false
hope that they might offer love,
without justice. Love without justice
is violence.
We want love without justice, and
we want justice without love. As a
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culture, we have bought into the
notion of justice as dispassionate. A
year ago, in Orlando, there was a
trial that garnered a lot of press.
William Lezano, a police officer from
Miami, was acquitted of a manslaughter
charge in the death of an
African-American man whom Lezano
had shot while on duty in Miami 's
Overtown neighborhood. Certainly
that trial, like the trial of the four
police officers in Los Angeles, merits
some attention. But it is far more
Certainly, coming out
has to do with that
internal, spiritual
revolution of coming
to trust that the love
we know in our
whole being is a
sacred gift from God.
Understanding this
leads us to know
that this love
demands justice.
important that our attention be drawn
to the injustices perpetrated everyday
in Overtown and in South Central
L.A. It is far more important that
justice be done in the communities, to
vindicate the ':l'imes_ of poverty and
neglect committed m the name of
racism. It is far more imμortant that
we learn to claim a kind of justice
which enhances life rather than one
which simply metes -out punishment.
This kind of justice is passionate
justice, justice made fierce by love.
As we turn to what Paul has to say
about love and justice there are a few
things we ought to consider concerning
this too familiar text from I
Corinthians. First, it is worth remembering
that Paul didn't pen this ode to
love because there wasn't yet a suitable
text in the cannon for heterosexuals
to- read at their wedding
services . What Paul had in mind as
he wrote was not a couple, but a
community - a community struggling
with issues of identity, a community
struggling to balance growth and
security, and a community struggling
with questions of whom to include,
and whom to leave out. Sounds a bit
too familiar, doesn't it?
Second, it must be said that any
feminist worth his or her salt, would
immediately recognize this text as a
sure-fire recipe for codependency.
""Love hopes all things, bears all
things, believes all things, endures
all things ... "" Hey Paul, I don't think
so!
Don't tell a woman, battered by her
spouse, ""Love bears all things.""
Don't tell a gay man, rejected by his
family, ""Love endures all things.''
Don't tell the folk in South Central
Los Angeles, or Miami's Overtown,
betrayed by their government, ""Love
hopes all things."" Don't tell a community
brutalized by the dogma of
the church, ""Love believes all things.""
In a culture where love is split off
from justice, a text like this becomes
an agent of violence.
But finally, it has to be said about
Paul that he was always a good Jew.
In his bones he knew the Torah and
the words of the prophets. Paul
never .said . ""Jove"" without meaning
within it ""justice.''
If we are to continue to endure, to
struggle to believe, and even to hope,
then we must turn to that place
within ourselves where love and
justice, in the words of the Psalmist,
kiss each other .
The work of calling the church to
reunite Jove and justice is most central
because after all, we are talking about
nothing Jess than grace. By the most
orthodox understanding, grace is the
meeting J'lace between God's fierce
love, an God's passionate justice .
. For the church; ·Paul is the theologian
of grace, and he is so bec;mse he
never let go of the Hebrew union of
love and justice. For Paul, and for us,
this love, this •justice, this grace of
God were embodied for us in the
person of the Christ.
At the outset I said that coming out
was a revolutionary act. Certainly,
coming out has to do with that
internal, spiritual revolution of coming
to trust that the love we know.in our
whole being is a sacred gift from
God. Understanding this leads us to
know that this love demands justice .
When that love is silenced, or buried,
or treated as a psychological, or
spiritual dysfunction, then that Jove is
dishonored with injustice.
By our particular experience, we as
lavender people have a responsibility
to the church to name what we know
of the union of God's fierce love and
God's passionate justice. -
At the end of Matthew's Gospel,
Jesus gathers with his disciples one
last time. In the short time he has
been with them ""he has embodied
grace for them. Now he hands over
that work of embodying · grace to
those disciples and to us. There at the
end of Matthew, Jesus quotes Janie
Spahr and says to his disciples, and to
us: ""Just go out there, and do it!""
Lisa Larges is a leader of Presbyterians
for Lesbian and Gay Concerns.
She works as a massage therapist in San
Fra,icisco. Excerpted with permission
from More Light Update.
SECOND STONE m SEPTEMB ER/OCTOBER 9 9 4
W en 'The Last Temptation
f Christ"" premiered sever]
years ago, there were
demonstrations all across
the country against the film. The
Atlanta Constitution printed a large
front page photo of a protest sign that
said, ""Christ did not have any sexual
temptations or any sin in his life!""
That claim overlooked the message of
Hebrews .4 :15: ""For we have a high
priest who can sympathize with our
weakness: one who has been tempted
in all things as we are.""
Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals and
many others face and try to cope with
a vast range of problems related to
relationships and physical attraction.
What help does the Bible give? Little
direct reference is made to sexuality
and sexual activity in the Bible. The
Old Testament deals with the relationship
between men and women
primarily in regard to the continuation
of the life of the couple, family,
tribe or nation through their offspring
. Specific sexual practices are
never discussed as such. The only
Old Testament references to se~ual
practices are in the context of talking
about pagan religious ri.tuals or the
obligation of people to continue the
life of the family through having
children. A few incidents of violence
and rape are also described. But the
Old Testament stories never spell out
the details of sexuality.
The New Testament assumes the
validity of the Old Testament attitudes
and never deals with specific
sexual practices. Homosexuals are
never discussed in the Bible in clear
and explicit descriptions. Frequently,
however, the Bible gives us a
glimpse of love between people of the
same gender and sometimes implies
the expression of affection and attraction.
This is true in the relationship
of David and Jonathan and Ruth and
Naomi.
Problems in physical relationships
are given special attention in the
Bible stories about Samson and
David. Every one of the great feats of
strength performed by Samson were
the direct result of his erotic attraction
to various women. (Judges 13-16)
David's life was dominated by his .
many loves. He was called ""a man
after God' s · own heart"" in I Samuel
13:14. He had compassion for and
from his followers (I Sam . 30:21-25; II
Sam. 23:15-17). He loved Jonathan as
described in I Sam. 18:1-5; 20:1-42; II
Sam. 1:17-27. David also loved Saul (I
Sam. 24; II Sam. 1:1-27; 4:4; 9:12).
David loved Bathsheba (II Sam.
11:1-27; 12:1-31) and also the child.
(See also Psalm 51 and 32.) David
SECOND STONE
HOW TO HANDLE
SEXUAL
BEHAVIOR
IN THE ""CULTURE OF DESIRE""
BY REV. DR. BUDDY TRULUCK
loved his son Absolom and almost
lost the kingship because of it. (II
Sam. 18:31-33; 19:1-8) David 's whole
life was characterized by deep
feelings and compassion for people.
His life demonstrates both dismal
failure and glorious success in handling
these feelings . Relationships
were not easy for David to handle
and they are often quite difficult for
you and me also.
The word eros, from which we get
the word ""erotic,"" is the most common
Greek word for love in the ancient
world. Eros is not used even once in
the Greek New Testament! The
words for ""love"" in the New Testament
are agape, pilileo and storge,
which mean ""unselfish outgoing love,
brotherly love, and family love."" No
word for sensuous or romantic love is
used in the New Testament.
One word that is used in porneia. It
is the first word in Paul's list of the
works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19.
It is translated as ""fornication, immorality,
sexual vice, sexual immorality,""
etc., in various versions . According
to William Barclay in Flesh and
Spirit: An Examination of Galatians
5:19-23, the word ""porneia"" ""is here
used as a quite general word for
unlawful and immoral sexual intercourse
and relationships."" (p.24)
The word comes from the verb
pernumi meaning ""to sell ."" Porneia,
then, ""is the love which is bought and
sold - which is not love at all. The
great and basic error of this is th at the
person with whom such love is
gratified is not really considered as a
person at all, but as a thing . He or
she is a mere instrument through
which the demands of lust and
passion are satisfied. True love is the
total union of two personalities So that
they become one person, and so that
each finds its own fulfillment in union
with the other. Porneia describes the
relationship in which one of the
parties can be purchased as a thing is
purchased and discarded as a thing is
discarded and where there is neither
union of, nor respect for, personality.""
(Barclay, p.24)
The · -great Bible corrective to
misunderstood and distorted love is• I
Corinthians 13:4-8: Love is patient,
love is kind, and is not jealous; love
does not brag and is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly; it does
not seek its own way, is not provoked,
does not take into account a
wrong suffered, does not rejoice in
unrighteousness, but rejoices with the
truth; bears all things, believes all
Our self understanding and lifestyle
are so caught up in our sexual
orientation that all of life is involved
in handling sexual relationships.
things, hopes all things, love never
fails.
In the gay/ lesbian community we
cannot deal with relationships which
involve sexual activity without also
coming to grips with AIDS, safe sex,
judgmental attitudes, superficial labels
on people, acceptance, meaning
in suffering, grief, death, guilt, abandonment,
suicide, dependency, fear,
forgiveness, anger, pain, prayer,
legalistic- religion, confusion, hope,
courage, love and life. Our self
understanding and lifestyle are so
caught up in our sexual orientation
that all of life is involved in handling
sexual relationships.
There are several types of relating
that have erotic dimensions. Suspicion
finds some of its most extreme expression
in lover relationships regarding
unfaithfulness and sexual behavior.
Jealousy frequently develops from the
attention one's partner might receive
from past or potential sex partners.
Hostility can be expressed erotically
when you punish or reward your
lover by withholding or giving sex.
Sexual intercourse is probably the
only .human experience that can be
an expression of profound love,
tenderness, affection and deep commitment
and also can be the expression
of violence, anger and revenge!
Manipulative relationships are often
cloeye]y related to erotic behavior.
Sexual urges can blind us to other
realities in a person. When sexual
satisfaction is your only or main
reason for being with a person, that
peFson rightly feels that the rela
·tionship is one dimensional and that
he or she is being treated as a thing
and not as a person . ln depression,
some people lose their sex drive and
others become promiscuous (llld take
risks, Dependen.cy can result from
giving sexual relations in place of
paying rent for a place to stay.
Handling all difficult relationships
can be complicated and made more
increasingly unmanagable by the
erotic dimension.
As gay and lesbian Christians, we
believe that our sexual orientation is a
gift from God. We did l)ot select
homosexuality as our essential sexual
. nature . It selected us. Our being gay
or lesbian is a given. Since Jesus is
Lord of all, Jesus is Lord of our
sexuality. Our responsible exercise of
our erotic drives is part of our calling
to follow Jesus Christ as disciples.
.To do unto others as you would
have them do unto you is also the
golden rule cif handling physical
relatedness. Sins:e we have no de-
SEE BEHAVIOR, Page 18 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
New books available
from Second Stone!
Is the Homosexual
My Neighbor?
Revised and Updated, by
Letha Dawson Scanzoni and
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott,
$11.00,paper'
The Word Is Out
The Bible Reclaimed for
Lesbians and Gay Men,
by Chris Glaser.
$12.00, paper
Jesus Acted Up
A Gay and Lesbian
Manifesto, by
Robert Goss
$14.00, paper
Family
A Portrait of Gay and
Lesbian America, by
photographer Nancy Andrews,
$25.00, paper
Order now from Second Stone Press
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around Valentine's Day and Easter, about Gay Prid:di
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SECOND STONE
COMMENT,
From Page 3 ·
religiou s leaders who were quick to
distance themselves from the results
of their oratory - the same type of
rhetoric that is used when they
discuss homosexuality. We could be
the next battleground with the same
type of results. Those of us who are
old enough .remember the ""Kill A
Queer For Christ"" bumper stickers on
cars in the church parking lot! It can
happen ... it has before. Don't wait for
a friend or spouse to become a victim
before you stand up and speak out.
Christ wouldn't be setting on the
sidelines like many of us have been .
Jim and June Barrett were victims.
Those of us who know them cried on
July 29. Jim will be missed by many
people who loved him. Lots of
prayers have been said for June, and
she has countless friends to lean on.
They were a part of our family in
Pensacola, just like every P-FLAG
parent elsewhere.
When I think back to that viol ent
morning , I have to beli eve that John
11:35, the shortest verse in the Bible,
was repeated that day ... ""Jesus wept.""
If your church doesn't like you because you're gay
Maybe they should just
un-baptise you
BY GARNETT E. PHIBBS
LAST SUMMER, the denomin .ation in which I was originally
ordained 50 years ago opted to reject its own study commission
and to reassert instead its old 1982 statement of the unacceptability
of Gays and Lesbians as Christians . Since one of the
last pastoral ceremonies I performed was to baptise my (as yet
unknowing) gay son into that church nearly 25 years ago, the
thought has been bugging me lately as to how I might
contritely undo my damage to the Kingdom, hence this suggestion
for a supplemental leaf for the Pastors' Manual .
Ceremony to un-baptise ""unacceptable"" gay members
PREPARATIONS: If necessary, borrow a Baptist baptistry, even
if yours is a non-irnmersionist denomination, as a guarantee of
quality control. Fill it to overflowing with ice water, preferably
with cubes floating visibly, to a minimum of six feet. Then
drain out half the water and, in order to correct the pH factor,
refill it with concentrated chlorine, to protect the ""acceptables""
nearby from ""second-hand"" contamination. Pastor herself or
himself needs to stand on the two -foot-from-bottom platform,
wearing a rubber diving wet suit with snorkel, immersing each
non -penitent gay candidate for un-baptism six times (twice the
Trinitarian baptismal formula), for at least four minutes each, in
rapid succession. Loud pastoral prayers are chanted
antiphonally between verses of congregational exorcist
condemnation and refrain: '1 thank thee , Lord, that I am not as
other men .''
All youths who have even confided having had a
""homosexual thought"" to pastor or teachers are ushered in to the
front pews, as a marvelous motivational lesson to prevent this
epidemically contagious chosen sin of ""deviant behavior ."" _ And
be sure to advertise the event widely in the public media, fore
and aft , so that, like the city on a hill, the whole world may
know that we are one church that really believes in both the
Bible and social action!
PROCEDURES: While the all-straight (?) choir wails with much
gusto, 'Just As I Am ... But You Ain't ,""_pastor reads alternately
'Whosoever believes in me ... Call no thing 'unclean' which the
Lord hath made ... Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of
these, my brethren, ye did it unto me ... "" and 1 Cor . 13.
Appropriate sermonic materials available in graphic XXXX
video cassette re The Gay Agenda, for your ""donation"" of $666
sent to Moral -Minority, Christian Discollusion, 600 Club, or
Dobson's Out-of-Focus on the Family . Just · dial
1-900-GET-GAYS. All calls $5.00 per minute .
Closing hymn: ""Out of My Bondage, Into the Light""
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER . 1994
In Print . • -• ..................................... .
John Boswell
Unearthing the history of Christian same-sex union rituals
By Robert Goss
Contributing Writer
John Boswell, author . Same-Sex
Unions in Premodern Europe, New
York, Villard Books, 1994, Hardback,
$25.00
Many Catholic priests have
quietly celebrated and
blessed same-sex unions for
the last two decades in rectories,
churches, and homes. Some
Catholic clergy with irregular relations
·with bishops or with · religious
congregations have openly blessed
same-sex unions . Last month the
bishops of the Episcopal Church considered
the question of blessing samesex
unions while particular dioceses
and churches have pioneered the
practice for the last several years.
The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches has
blessed such unions for a quarter of a
century. What has been thought as
innovative Christian sacramental
practice and recognition of same-sex
unions in the gay/lesbian communities
has, in fact, been not a radical
innovation but a restoration of an
earlier Christian practice of recognizing
and blessing same-sex unions.
Detail from 7th-century icon showing Sts. Serge and Bacchus joined
by Christ in the traditional Roman position of ""pronubus"" (''best man"").
monies? Or were they actually
Christian marriage rites? Boswell
deals with these questions in detail,
examining all the possible alternatives.
Monks, according to Boswell,
we re prohibited from entering into
any rite blessing a same-sex union as
well as prohibited from contracting
opposite-sex marriage. Boswell traces
the roots of Christian same-sex unions
back to Greco-Roman practices, paralleling
the roots of Christian notions of
marriage. These same-sex unions,
however, are embedded in the language
of friendship and brotherhood.
Boswell analyzes the language of
friendship and brotherhood in his
opening chapters, noting that
''brother"" was a Greco-Roman term to
denote a permanent partner in a
same-sex relationship. Opposite-sex
marriage in Greco-Roman culture and
even in later Christian culture was
generally unequal, reflecting property
and power arrangements. GrecoRoman
practice between the same sex
used the language of brotherhood
and friendship because neither male
Yale historian John Boswell has
again equalled his scholarly achievement
in Christianity, Social Tolerance
and Homosexuality (1977) with his
latest book, Same-Sex Unions in Pretaking
place, to an admission that
such unions were localized to a
particular geographic region but were
not universal Catholic practice. John
Boswell, however, has discovered
Christian rites which bless same-sex
unions . He has amassed manuscript
collections from all over Christian premodern
Europe, and these collections
of manuscripts reproduced in the
Boswell's work also reclaims and
restores to Christianity a rich cultural,
theological, and historical diversity
that is frequently glossed over for
particular political agendas. For the
majority of its history, Christianity did
not single out those Christians
attracted to their own gender for
persecution but held them up as
models for fidelity, love, and friendship.
modern Europe . His recent work is
written with the same meticulousness
and scholarly erudition as his earlier
work, delighting historians and the
educated reader with a host of
substantive and fascinating footnotes.
Gary Trudeau's treatment of the
Boswell book in the Doonesbury comic
prior to its publication produced a
Catholic counter-reaction to the comic
strip. It ranged from ""boycott"" (meaning
""stop reading Doonesbury"") to
denial of such Christian practices ever
SECOND STONE
Appendices date from the earliest
extant manuscript in the eighth century
through the sixteenth century.
The eighth century manuscript reflects
the Christian practice of blessing
same-sex unions of centuries earlier.
Boswell's discovery shatters a modem
cultural prejudice that Christian marriage
rites have been a singular social
heterosexual phenomenon.
The reader is immediately
confronted with several apparent but
crucial questions. Were these Chrisa,
tian rites a ceremony for entering the
monastery or were they perhaps
friendship or blood brother cere-
SEE UNIONS, Page 16
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Editedbv
Helping Christians
Debate Homosexualtiy
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality .
In this new volume, writers
· with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti -gay believers.
Sallv 13.C;eis &
Donald E. fvlesser
Edited by Sally B. Geis, direc tor, Iliff
Institute . Lay and Clergy Education, The
Iliff Sc hool of Theology, Denver, and
Donald E. Messe r, presid ent , The Iliff
School of Theology.
Order now from Second §tone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk __ _
Postage/Handling $2.90 first book, $1.00 ea. additional -----TOTAL
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
In Print ....................................................
Speaking of nuptials ...
New book covers same-sex ceremony practices
M ove over Emily Post - here
comes the first ever planner
for same-sex weddings: The
Essential Guide to Lesbian
and Gay Weddings by Tess Ayers and
Paul Brown. The authors have considered
every eventuality and present
warm, witty, and complete answers
about the florist, the caterer, the
invitations, what to wear, how lo
avoid receiving six blenders, and
what to tell your mother when she
asks, ""Why would you want to do
that?""
Tess Ayers is a former television
producer who now owns her own
business. She decided to write the
book when she and Jane Anderson,
her partner of ten years, decided to
get married and found no guidebooks
for lesbian weddings. Paul Brown
has worked extensively in theater
artd television, and planning special
events and celebrations.
Among bits of information contained
in this new book: How to firid a
minister or rabbi who will perform a
same-sex ceremony, how to deal with
the curiosity of the straight world,
which newspapers will announce gay
and lesbian weddings in their
""brides"" section, and how to make a
toast to the bride and the bride or the
. groom and the groom.
Even though there are absolutely no
legal ramifications (yet), gay marriage
is on the rise and the time for a
guide book to gay weddings is
UNIONS,
From Page 15
became the property of the other.
Christians attracted to their same
gender solemnizing their same-sex
unions reflected more egalitarian relationships.
Boswell allows for the fact
that many premodern Christians may
have understood same-sex unions as
expressions of non-erotic friendship
while those solemnizing their relationship
with a ritual blessing may
have understood them in a more
personal way. Opposite-sex unions
were already idealized as spiritual
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
Whatn1·b~e
the l.J
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion .
fascinating new insights. Really Says
About
Bornosexuality
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed. 11
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
Quan.
□
·"" ... the most thoughtful, lucid and acces sible
summary I know of current biblica
l scholarship relating to homose xual
issues ... eminently useful ... ""
· -James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
Postage/Handling $2.90 first book, $1.00 ea. additional ----- TOTAL
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definitely here, according to Harper
San Francisco; publisher of The Essential
Guide to Lesbian and Gay Weddings.
They point to the volume of same-sex
couples registering at mainstream department
stores, which has prompted
some stores to change the name from
bridal registry to gift registry . Also,
dozens of mainstream newspapers
around the country now list same-sex
and non-erotic in theological writings
and sermons, yet Christians continued
to produce children. • Theological
and ·actual marital practice were .not
necessarily identical. Nonetheless,
Boswell is careful to remind us not to
read the modern distinction between
friendship and love into the notion of
friendship understood and practiced
by premodern Christians.
Early surviving liturgical manuscripts
and sacramentaries indicate
that opposite-sex marriage required
the presence of a priest in Greek
Christian practice whereas in the
Latin or western Christian practice the
presence of a priest was required only
for blessing the unions of priests and
same-sex couples . The rites of most
opposite-sex couples were generally
performed outside of the church and
not at the altar where same-sex
unions were blessed. It was only i_n
1215 that opposite-sex maμiage was
declared a sacrament, thus requiring
an ecclestical presence in western
Christianity.
. John Boswell carefully and
persuasively argues that Christian
same-sex unions were comparable to
the structural elements of the rites of
opposite-sex marriage: standing
together at the altar with right hands
joined, a priest's blessing, a kiss
signifying union, the wearing of the
crowns (preserved in contemporary ·
eastern Catholic and orthodox Christian
marriage rites), sharing communion,
and the holding of a feast for
friends and family. The difference
between the two rites is reflected in
the liturgical prayers which focus on
the models for same-sex unions: Jesus
and John the beloved disciple, Sts .
Serge and Bacchus; and Sis. Perpetua
and Felicitas. Most of the surviving
texts reflect predominantly male
archetypes, but Boswell in his
introduction notes that women formed
permanent same-sex unions as well
but that textual evidence of the
predominance of male archetypes
indicates the general domination of
women in premodern Christian
unions just the · same as they list
heterosexual marriage s. In keeping
with the trend toward gay marriage,
which was recently featured as a
cover story in the New Yorker,
Barney 's Department Store in New
York City will be prominently
displaying The Essential Guide to
Lesbian and Gay Weddings in their
bridal department this fall.
society.
Perhaps a strong indication · that
these same-sex unions were Christian
rites of marriage and perceived as
su ch is the evidence of the ecclesial
attempt to stamp out these Christian
same -sex rites in the fourteenth
century. This reflected an earlier shift
in the late middle ages I<;> demonize
and stigmatize those ·attracted and
engaged in homoerotic activity .
Boswell had documented this shift in
his earlier work.
Boswell's discovery of Christian
rites blessing same-sex unions is an
important piece of historical reconstruction
of Christian social practices.
It deconstructs the uncritical notions of
marriage of modern Christians who
advocate a rhetoric of Christian family
values and us e the procreative privilege
of marriage to fight domestic
partner legislation or to deny gay/
lesbian Christians equal rites within
their clmrches. Boswell's work also
reclaims and restores to Christianity a
rich cultural, theological, and historical
diversity that is frequently glossed
over for particular political agendas .
For the majority of its history,
Christianity did not single out those
Christians attracted to their own
.gender for persecution but held them
up as models for fidelity, .love, and
friendship. Boswell provides gay/
lesbian scholars, theologians, and
Christians with the tools necessary to
deconstruct the homophobia of the
Christian churches and re-educate the
churches to an appreciation of the
grace-filled dimensions of Christian
same-sex unions. It gives impetus to
gay/ lesbian Christians who claim that
their unions are sacramental rites
equal to the rites blessing heterosexual
unions.
Robert Goss is the
author of Jesus Acted
Up: A Gay and Lesbian
Manifesto. He
has a doctorate in Comparative
Religion from
Harvard lin1vers1ty
and a master of divinity
degree from the Weston Sc1wol of
Theology. He is an AIDS activist, a member
of ACT11P/St. Louis.
SECOND STONE S E P T E M B E R / 0 C T O B E _R 1 9 9 4
--- ···~ - - -- - - --- -- -- - - - - -----~ - -- --- -- - -- -- - - - - -· - -- - -- -- - -
Sounds .................................................... ·• .................. .
David & Jane
Duo brings upbeat mood, good harmony to debut cassette
T he many people who were
impressed with the performance
of Jane Syftestad and
David Heid at the UFMCC
Service of Celebration at Lincoln Center
during the Stonewall 25 Celebration
will be delighted to know that
the duo has released a new cassette.
""Not Ashamed"" is the title of the
debut album of David & Jane, who
are describ ed by the Rev. Troy Perry
as ""gifted young musicians who bring
the Jove of God alive."" They are
indeed two of the busiest gay Christian
artists, si nging between 60 and
70 concerts per year . They provided
music for the religious demonstration
against homophobia in the church,
also part of the Stonewall 25 Celebration,
at the headquarters for the
National Council of Churches in New
Heid 's outstanding vocal quality is
particularly highlighted in 'Te ll Him
So,"" a slow-moving inspirational
entry. Syftestad almost sings a solo in
the bouncing traditional gospel song
""My God is Real,"" perhaps th e best
cut on the cassette, with a vocal
contribution by Heid near the end of
the tune.
In ""Bless it Back"" the duo speaks a
clear message to the gay and lesbian
Christian community: ""Stand up to
say that I'm God's child just th e way I ·
am ... I love this community; yo u are
my family."" The final cut on the
cassette, ""He's That Kind of Friend"" is
anoth er _ swaying, traditional gospel
song that mak es good · us e of this
duo's very good sound .
_ Jane Syftestad received her formal
mu sic training at UCLA and the
The duo's voices blend smoothly in
""Not Ashamed of the Gospel,"" the
upbeat title entry of the ten-cut cassette.
From the swinging song of
praise, ""Glorify the Lord"" to the good
harmony of ""Standing on the
Promises,"" the quality of the music
in ""Not Ashamed"" is consistently good.
York. David & Jane are acclaimed for
their powerfully spiritual and energetic
participation in worship services,
concerts and rallies all across
the United States and Canada. In the
last two years alone , David & Jane
have performed in 28 states. Their
music was broadcast internationally
on the BBC and Irish National
Television.
""Not Ashamed"" draws from the
artists' diverse backgrounds in traditional
gospel music and contemporary
Christian music and was recorded by
one of New York's lead ing engineers,
Darryl Kojak. The result is a uniqu e
ministry and sound - a sound known
for its musical diversity and complexity.
David & Jane are vanguards in
the use of inclusive langua ge, a
testimony to their belief in God's love
for everyone .
The duo's voices blend smoothly in
""No t Ashamed of th e <:;ospel,"" the
upbeat title entry of the ten-cut cassette
. From the swinging song of
praise, ""Glorify the Lord"" to the good
harmony of ""Standing on the
Promises,"" the quality of the music in
""Not Ashamed"" is consistently good.
SECOND STONE
prestigious Manhattan School of
Music. She has taught music in the
public schools of New York and Los
Angeles and continues to teach
privately . She is currently director of
music at the Metropolitan Community
Church of Los Angeles, and has been
guest conductor for both the Christopher
Street West Interfaith Service
and the World AIDS Day of Rememb
rance Interfaith Servic e in Los
Angeles.
David Heid graduated from the
Fredonia School of Music with a
degree in piano performance. He was
formerly on staff of the renowned
Julliard School. He serves as music
director for the Metropolitan Community
Church of New York and will
serve as mu sic director for the
upcoming Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches
General Conference in Atlanta. This
past June, Heid directed the music at
the UFMCC service of celebration at
Lincoln Center. In addition to his
work on ""David & Jane ... Not
Ashamed,"" he can be heard as the
pianist for Randa McNamara's debut
album, ""Reaching for the Freedom
David Heid and Jane Syftestad: Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Inside .""
David & Jane have lectured at
SUNY Fredonia School of Music on
self-manag ement for young artists.
They conduct choral workshops
around th e country designed to
instruct while energ izing music programs
at the local church level.
As two of the UFMCC's leading
musical evangelists, David & Jane
have appeared at General and
District Conferences and have
ministered at spirit ual renewals with
many leadin g UFMCC pastors. ""Jane
and David fill our ears, hearts and
sou ls with God's inclusive song,"" says
Rev. Pat Bumgardner. 'T hese two are
truly heroes of the faith."" Of their
performanc e at the UFMCC 1991
General Conf erence, Rev. Perry said,
'They tore the house down!""
As part of the duo's Christian music
ministry, David & Jane formed Heifer
Publishing in 1992 to provide special
services to church communities, such
as custom music arrangement for
choirs. The duo's original music is
available in sheet music form through
Heifer Publishing .
Although their primary work is
within the UFMCC, David & Jane
minister frequently through other
major denominations and independent
churches. ""David & Jane ... Not
Asha med"" is availabl e on cassette
tape ($11) from Gospel Music
Ministries, 304 E. 38th Street, Suite
2C, New York, NY 10016. Booking
information is available by calling
(212)922-2856 or (818)795-2708.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................
Taking radical discipleship seriously
Brethren/Mennonite video a call to the truth
""BODY OF DISSENT: Lesbian and
Gay Mennonites and Brethren Continue
the Journey"" is a new video
which encapsules - in a very effective
way - the struggle of gay and lesbian
· Christians . The video was put together
by a collective of two Mennonites
with extensive experience in the gay
and lesbian and church communities
and two non -Mennonites with extensive
video and film experience. The .
nons are Holly Nattall, whose works
includ .e ""Can You See Me Now,"" a
video documentary on five women
artists, and Gordon Bowness, a pro ducer
at TVOntario, and a columnist
for Xtra!, Toronto's gay and lesbian
bi-weekJy·magazine. The Mennonites
who worked on the video are Cate
Friesen and Greg Lichti. Friesen, an
organizer for the Bre\hren/ Mennonite
Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns,
is a singer / songwriter whose
music lends a wonderful quality to
""Body of Dissent."" She has just
released her first CD, ""Tightrope
Waltz."" -Lichti is another organizer for
the BMC, a former editor of Dialogue,
an international publication for gay
and lesbian Mennonites and Brethren,
and pastor at Warden Woods
.I .\ \1 E \ F E II B Y
Mennonite Church in Toronto.
""We wrote, directed and produced
the video as a collective, decisions
were made by consensus, and somehow,
we managed to avoid killing
each other,"" said a spokesperson for
Bridge Video Productions.
Through interviews, archival
materials, original and choral music,
and footage from community events,
the stories of gay and lesbian Brethren
and Mennonites emerge as a
mirror to the broader church community.
They are propelled by
faith, a call to the truth, a passion for
social justice, and a vital sense of
community - all profoundly Mennonite
and Brethren traditions . The
producers hope the video will be
used as a catalyst for discussion and
change within communities and
congregations _throughout North
America.
David Weaver, one of several
Mennonites . and Brethren interviewed
in the video, told of his story of going
away to seminary and wanting to
return to his home congregation and
.talk openly about his sexual orientation.
""I could have slipped away
. quietly and not said anything,"" ·
A moving and personal
account of an issue
that won't go away. A
best-seller in Canada
and soon to be a motion
picture.
It will make you think, ii will make
you angry, and hopefully, it will
broaden your vision of what both
sexuality and Christianity at their
best can be
. -Telegraph Journal,
St. John, New Brunswick
James Ferry has given a voice to
these voiceless ones and is himself
a visible incarnation of their invisible
presence.
-The Rt Rev. John S. Spong,
Bishop of Newark, New Jersey
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ IN THE COURTS OF THE LORD
By Jama Ferry, $22.95, hardcover
POlllga1ilncllng $2.IIO ftrtl book, S,.00 a additional
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED
NAME_.,.....-~......,,---------------
ADDRE . ......._ _________________ _
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P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
SECON D STONE •
Weaver said, 'but I had a very active
role in the congregation and I didn't
think that would be very honest...
They held me accountable before,
and I, in a way, wanted to hold them
accountable for their experience of me
and how that changed, how that
support evaporated after they found
out I was gay.""
Nattall and Bowness, the two
non°Mennonites on the production
team kept asking the Mennonites,
""Why bother? Why keep setting
yourselves up to be rebuked and put
down by Church leaders?"" The video,
in many ways, represents some of
the answers to those questions . The
documentary frames a passionate desire
to maintain links to their history
and their community - a desire
expressed by everyone interviewed
in the video. 'The ties of community,''
producers say, ""that's what holds this
project together.""
Eva O'Diam, a Brethren who shared
her story in the video, says she feels
called to ministry by becoming a
pastor, something that her church
won't let her do. ""If I take the radical
discipleship of Jesus Christ seriously,''
she says, ""then I can't be any.thing
other than who I am. And ths1t
includes being lesbian."" Of her call
to ministry she says, sobbing , ""It
hurts that the Church of the Brethren
BEHAVIOR,
From Page 17
tailed instructions from the Bible
concerning erotic behavior, we tend
to justify to ourselves anything we
want to do in our most intimate
relationships with another person.
Are any clear guidelines available to
Christian Gays and Lesbians who
want to exercise responsible stewardship
to God in their expressions of
sex?
Dr. Robert Hatcher of Emory
University's School of Medicine wrote
the 12 rules of ""sexual etiquette."" ""We
have rules for how to behave when
we eat and about how to be polite,''
says Hatcher. ""It seems to me we
have a lot of problems with sex
because we don't have rules .""
Dr. Hatcher boils it down to three
basic tenents: never hurt anyone;
people should take responsibility for
their sexual actions together; and
when it comes to sex, never assume
anything.
Here are Dr. Hatcher's 12 rules of
sexual eti9uette:
1. Never, 1ust never, use force.
2. Respect the right of another
person to say ""no."" .
3. Be sensitive about sexuality. Do
unto others as you would have them
do unto you.
4. Recognize that public expression
would close the doors on that. But I
also know that if I am going to be
true to God, I have to follow that call.
If that means moving beyond the
Church of the Brethren, then I'll do
that.""
Work on ''Body of Dissent"" began
two years ago, and has gone through
many transfigurations, according to .
the producers . Its evolution, in part,
emerged from the exchange of ideas
and perspectives among the video's
creators. An intitial gulf of misunder standing
had be to overcome as the
collective worked to establish honesty,
trust, and channels· of communication.
The producers say they hope
that audiences, especially an older
generation of Mennonites and Brethren,
will respond to these qualities
and join the discussion , The video is
directed to those folks as well as
parents and families and the people
in the pews - as a challenge, and an
embrace.
The 39-minute video includes a
discussion guide designed to assist in
exploring the issues raised. ''Body of
Dissent: Lesbian and Gay Mennonite
and Brethren Continue the Journey""
may be ordered from the Brethren/
Mennonite Council, Box 6300, Minneapolis,
MN 55406. The video sells
for $30.00, which includes shipping
and handling. ·
of intimacy may -embarrass or offend
others.
5. Use discretion when talking about
sexual relationships. (It is almost
never appropriate to discuss sexual
relations with a third party.)
6. Respect others' need for privacy
with regard to what they are doing
sexually . .
7. Be prepared to accept
responsibility for your sexual
activities;
8. Share the financial costs of protecting
your sexuality.
9. It is appropriate to inquire about""
and discuss the infections a potential
partner might have at the present or
in the past. ·
10. Communicate openly about safe
sex prior to intercourse.
11. Communicate to a partner what
one prefers to do or have done.
12. Sexual harassment is not a joke.
(It is intrusive and insensitive and, in
·many cases, against the law.)
Rev. Dr. Buddy Truluck
is the author ofinvitation
to Freedom: gible Studies
in Personal Evangelism
and The Bible As Your
Friend: A Guide for Lesbians
and Gays."" He is
pastor of MCC/Nashville.
Truluck was ordained in
a Southern Baptistchurch
in 1953 .
S E P T E M B E R / 0 C T O B E R. l 9 9 4
·-- - ~ -.-; -
............ . ...
Second International
TEN Conference
SEPTEMBER 2-4, The Evangelical
Network will meet in Vancouver,
Canada on Labor Day weekend. The
focus of the conference, themed
'Together - We Belong,"" is on interpersonal
relationships. Presenters
include Sharon Busch, Rada Schaff,
Elizabeth Storbo, Pastor Ronnie Pigg,
Bill Byrd, Ken Whatham, David
Trudeau and Pastor Fred Pattison. For
information contact Liberty Community
Church, #201 - 6380 Clarendon
St., Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5S 2J9,
(604)321-4633.
13th Annual
P-FLAG Convention
SEPTEMBER 2s5, ""Bridges to
Equality"" is the theme of the annual
meeting of Parents, Families and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays to be
held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at
the Embarcadero in San Francisco.
For information contact P-FLAG, 1012
14th St., NW, Ste. 700, Washington,
DC 20005, (202)638-4200.
Morning Star MCC
Freedom Weekend
SEPTEMBER 9-11, In celebration of
20 years of ministry Morning Star
MCC, the oldest gay and lesbian
organization in Worcester County,
Mass., sponsors Freedom Weekend .
featuring Rev. Elder Troy Perry,
David Mixner, Karen Add Edwards,
Lynn Lavner and Heartsong.
Mechanics Hall, a prestigious concert
hall listed as a National Historic
Landmark, is the setting for the
banquet and rally. For information
contact Morning Star MCC, 231 Main
St., Cherry Valley, MA 01611,
(508)892-4320.
Dignity/Brooklyn
SEPfEMBER 17, Chapter opens its .
94-95 season with a picnic at St. Ann
and Holy Trinity Church, 2:00 p.m.,
service at 6:30p.m. (718)769-3447.
Conference for
Catholic parents of
Gays, Lesbians
SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 2,
'Turning the Key,"" the first national
retreat for Catholic parents of gay and
lesbian children which will support
parents in their key roles of promoting
understanding and empathy in
the church, will be held at the
LaSalette Center for Christian Living
in Attleboro, Mass. Facilitators will
be Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SSND, and
Fr. Robert Nugent. The ""l\'.eekend will
involve story-telling, presentations,
film, discussions, communal prayer,
quiet time, worship and socializing.
For information contact Fr. Robert
Nugent, .637 Dover St., Baltimore,
MD 21230, (301)864-8954.
SECOND STONE
Calendar . ................................. . ............... .
The Oasis' Second
Annual Retreat
SEPTEMBER 30-OCTOBER 2,Rev.
Margaret Gunther, author of Holy
Listening will serve as facilitator for
this retreat to be held at Kirkridge
Retreat Center in Bangor, Penn . Fee
is $150. For information contact The
Oasis, Cathedral House, 24 Rector St.,
Newark, NJ 07102, (201)621-8151.
Brethren/Mennonite
Conference
SEPTEMBER 30-0CTOBER 3,
""Celebrating Ourselves"" is the theme
for this gathering of the Brethren/
Mennonite Council for Lesbian and
Gay Concerns to be held in
Indianapolis, Indiana. The featured
speaker will be writer/ poet Emma,_
LaRocque, a professor in the Department
of Native Studies at the University
of Manitoba. There will be a
showing of the recently released
video Body of Dissent: Lesbian and Gay
Mennonites Continue the Journey. For
more information, write BMC, Box
6300, Minneapolis, MN 55406-0333 or
call (612)870-1501.
Unity Fellowship
National Gathering
OCTOBER 3-10, The Unity Fellowship
Movement sponsors its first
national spiritual fellowship in Los
Angeles. ""Free to Move in the Right
Direction"" is the theme. Workshops
offered on spirituality, children,
health, music and AIDS. Cost is $150.
For information write to Freda
Lanoix-Owens, 5149 W. Jefferson
Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016 or call
(213)936-4949.
Affirmation
National Gathering
OCTOBER 7-9, Affirmation: United
Methodists for Gay, Lesbian and
Bisexual Concerns meets in Los
Angeles . The theme is ""Outing the
Bible"" with Rev . Elder Nancy Wilson,
pastor of MCC Los Angeles, as featured
speaker. The Hyatt Hotel on
Sunset Strip is the setting. For information
contact Affirmation, P.O . Box
691283, West Hollywood, CA
90069-9283.
National Day of Prayer,
Fasting and Spiritual
Renewal
OCTOBER 10, This day is set aside
for lesbian, gay and bisexual Christians
and their friends to rediscover
the power of effective intercessory
prayer - on the day before National
Coming Out Day . For materials
contact Rev. Pamela White, River of
Life Healing Ministries, 134 Quincy
NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108,
(505)256-1891.
Take Your Next Step
OCTOBER 11, National Coming
Out Day
I
""' 2
""' cl go ... ... 0
I 0 -
Advance '94
OCTOBER 17-23, Advance Christian
Ministries sponsors its annual gath ering
to be held this year in New
Caney, Texas . ""Go into all the world
and preach ... to all creation"" is the
theme . The conference is divided into
four programs: Pastor's and Minister's
Fellowship (Oct. 17-19), School of the
Prophets training classes (Oct. 19-21),
the Advance Weekend (Oct. 21-23),
and offered for the first time this year,
Children's Ministry (Oct. 21-23). For
information contact Advance Christian
Ministries, 4001-C Maple Ave .,
Dallas, TX 75219, (214)522-1520.
Conference on Aging
OCTOBER 17,A groundbreaking
conference on issues of concern to
aging Lesbians and gay men will be
held in New York at the City
University of New York Graduate
Center in Manhattan. Sponsors are
the Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues
Network of the American Society on
Aging, Senior Action in a Gay
Environment (SAGE), and the Center
for Lesbian and Gay Studies, CUNY .
Featured speakers are Martin
Duberman, historian and author of
Stonewall and Joan Nestle, founder of
the Lesbian Herstory Archives. For
information contact the American
Society on Aging, 833 Market St., Ste .
511, San Francisco, CA 94103,
(415)974-9600.
National Skills
Building Conference
OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 1,
''Yesterday 's Dream, Tomorrow's
Vision"" is the theme of this conference
to be held at the Hilton & Towers in
Atlanta. Keynote speakers are
Johnnetta B. Cole, Ph.D., president of
Spelman College and U.S. Surgeon
General Joycelyn Elders . .Sponsored
by the AIDS National Interfaith
Network, the National Association of
People With AIDS and the National
Minority AIDS Council. An interfaith
healing service will be held. For
information contact the National Skills
Building Conference, 300 Eye St., NE,
Ste. 400, Washington, DC 20002-4389,
(202)546-6119.
The Word Is Out
NOVEMBER 3-6, A retreat for
Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals,
families and friends led by Lisa Bove
and Chris Glaser. Ghost Ranch, New
Mexico is the setting. Fee is $100 plus
$120 room and board. Contact Ghost
Ranch, HC 77, Box 11, Abiquiu, NM
87510-9601, (505)685-4333.
Call To Action
National Conference
NOVEMBER 4-6, ""We Are The
Church: What If We Mean What We
Said?"" is the theme of this conference
to be held at the Hyatt Regency
O'Hare in Chicago. The CT A annual
conference is evolving into a national
congress of persons, communities and
organizations working to ""reinvent
the Church."" Catholic Organizations
for Renewal is a network of over 30
reform-minded national and regional
groups founded by CT A. Sponsors
include Catholics Speak Out,
Dignity/ USA, New Ways Ministry
and others. For information contact
Call To Action, 4419 N . Kedzie,
Chicago, IL 60625, (312)604-0400.
LGCM Retreat
NOVEMBER 11-12, England's Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement
sponsors a retreat led by Helen
Loder, SSM and Rev. Malcolm
Johnson. This is a unique weekend
opportunity of meditative reflection in
an affirming community, during
which there will be talks, discussions,
some silence and lots of relaxation.
The Royal Foundation of St.
Katherine in London is the setting.
For information contact LGCM,
Oxford House, Derbyshire St.,
London, E2 6HG, UK.
Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity
JANUARY 18-25, 1995, For material
and information contact Graymoor
Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute,
Garrison, NY, (914)424-3458.
Announcements of interest to gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians are welcome
and will be included free of charge.
Send to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Or.leans, LA.70182 or FAX to
(504)891-7555.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 4
W Noteworthy W
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 0 ••••••••••••••••••••
Religious order offers
work retreats
i'.CHRISTIANSBRUNN KLOSTER,
the oldest gay religious order in the
country, is offering work retreats in
which participants spend a week or
more at the cloister's community in
the farming country of the Mahantongo
Valley of central Pennsylvania, 55
miles north of Harrisburg. The
Brotherhood's work retreats offer the
opportunity to do constructive, satisfying
work while learning about traditional
log and timber-frame construction.
Participants live as lay brothers
during their retreat, following the
daily routines of the order. There is
no fee and food and rooms (and
robes) are provided free of charge.
Participants will have plenty of time
for personal solitude and meditation,
or simply to relax and enjoy the 63-
acre cloister with its variety of woodlands,
fields and streams. Information
on the work retreats may be
obtained from Christiansbrunn Kloster,
RD 1, Box 149, Pitman, PA 17964.
Open Arms MCC celebrates 13th
i'.OPENS ARMS MCC, Rochester,
New York celebrated 13 years of ministry
in late August with special
services featuring Rev. Shelia Rawls,
Northeast District coordinator of the
UFMCC. Rev. Cathey Elliott is pastor .
ET turns 15
i'.EV ANGELICALS TOGETHER celebrated
15 years of ministry to the gay
and lesbian community of Southern
California on August 18'
NATIONAL RESOURCES.
From Page 21
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8174, Pl'iladeli:11~. PA 19101-8174
RELIGION WATCH, P.O. Box 652, North Bell.,,re, NY 11710. A
!l'i,wsJi~""!fi~1
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SpalJclngAve., 'M,s1 Hol~ CA 90046. (213)851-2256.
ST. TABITHA'S AIDS APOSTOLA TE, Christian AIDS Nel'Mlrk of
the Merican Orthooox Catholic Church ot St Greg,rios, P.O.
Box 1543, Mcxlerey, CA93940. (408)899--0731.
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS KINSHIP INTERNATIONAL, Box
3840,lC6Arg,les, CA90076-3840. (617)436-5950. (213)876-2076.
Publication: Connection
SILENT HARVEST MINISTRIES, PO Box 190511, Dallas, TX
7521&0511. (214)5206655.
SOVEREIGNTY (Jehovah's 1Mtnesses) Box 27242, Santa Ana,
CA92799
SUPPORTIVE CONGREGATIONS NETVIOAK, Mennonite and
Brethre~ PO Box 479241, Cl'icag,,IL 60647,9241..
UNITARIAN UNIVEASALIST OFFICE FOR LESBIAN/GAY
CONCERNS, 25 Beacon St .. Bosio~ MA C/2100. 161n742-2100.
Ragona named pastor
of Alabama church
L'. VOTES ARE EASY to count when
they are all the same according to a
board member of Covenant Metropolitan
Community Church of Birmingham.
The reference was to the unanimous
vote at a July 24 election where
the congregation called the Rev.
Marge Ragona as its new pastor.
Ragona has served as pastor of MCCs
in Rhode Island, Massachusetts,
Florida and California. She founded
MCCMobile .
Pentecostals license,
ordainew ministers
t.ON THE FINAL day of its
Northeastern District Conference the
National Gay Pentecostal Alliance
ordained Sr. Michelle M . Thomas of
Essex Junction, Vermont to the
ministry. Three clergy were licensed:
Br. Bruce Roller-Pletcher and Br. Phil
Roller-Pletcher, pastors of Bethel
Christian Assembly, Grand Rapids,
Mich., and Br. Thomas Curley of East
Dundee, Ill.
Welcoming Congregation in
Jones County, Mississippi
i'.OUR HOME UNIT ARIAN Universalist
Church is a Welcoming Congregation
church in Jones County, Miss.,
sight of the Camp Sister Spirit controversy.
Pastor Deanne Aime calls
her small congregation one ""of great
integrity, attempting to live in spirit
in oppressive Jones County."" The
UNITED CHURCH COALITION FOR LtSBIAN / GAY
CONCERNS, 18 N. College, Athens, OH 45701, (614) 593-7301.
Ptblicalion: Waves
UNITED LESBIAN AND GAY CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS· Box
2171, 256 So. Robertson Blvd, Beverty Hills, CA 90213.
(818)700-0827.
UNITED LESBIAN AND GAY CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS, Box
2171, Bevertvrllo, CA 90213-2171. (213)850-8258
UNIVERSA( FELLO\ISHIP OF METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY
CHURCHES 5300 Santa Monica Bwd. #304, Los Angeles, CA
90020, (213)464-5100. PLl>ication: Ke,pingin Toi.Ch
THE 1'11TNESS, PLl>ished by the Episcopal Church Pwtisting
Co., 1249 Washirgon Bwd, Ste. 3115, Detroit, Ml 48226-1868.
(W~~WANCE FOR THEOLOGY, ETHCS AND RITUAL,
;~~'.~l~ '. ~rat\;f;,~~Alf~/0 (301)589-2509, FAX
\\OMENS ORDINATION CONFERENCE, P.O. Box 2693, Fairtax,
VA22031-0000. (700)352-11Xll.
THE \\OMENS PROJECT, 2224 Main St., Little Rock, AA 72206.
(501)372-5113. Workshops on women's issues, social justice,
racism and homophobia.
V\00DS\\OMEN • A<>1enture travel !or women, 25 W. Diamond
Lake Ad, MinneaJX)lis, MN 55419, (800)279-0555, (612)822-3809,
FAX(612)822-3814
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Send,your pre-paid order to Second Stone,
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,,-, . .,, .. i.,, ''. ' ""' ,,., , _, ·:
. . - - .... - - ..
,._·: ...;, ~ ~... ~
UUA Welcoming Congregation program
is affirming of Gays and
Lesbians with participating churches
making a public commitment to
welcome Gays and Lesbians into the
worship community. Aime says that
such a program is ""unique in that
neck of the woods.""
Fund established in memory
of Parsonage co-founder
t.THE REV. JOHN WILLIAMS,
co-founder of the Parsonage, a ministry
in San Francisco which serves
gay and lesbian Episcopalians, passed
away earlier this year . His memory
is being honored with the establishment
of a fund to provide workshops
and conferences at the Parsonage .
""John was one of those men who
stand up for what they consider to be
right, and who do so with a quite
gentlenes .s which the more volatile of
us envy and try to emulate,"" says
Bernard Mayes, the other co-founder
of the Parsonage. ""I was lucky to
have known him, to have worked
with him, and to have accompanied
his mission on behalf of gay and
lesbian Christians."" Information
about the Parsonage or the John
Williams Fund may be obtained by
writing 584 Castro St., Ste. 344, San
Francisco, CA 94114-2500.
Dr. Crew receives award
i'.THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH Publishing
Company h .as honored Dr.
Louie Crew with the Vida Scudder
Award. Crew, founder of Integrity
was honored for his work within the
church, through all available chan nels,
to open it to the ministry and
presence of gay and lesbian Christians.
Raleigh church dedicates
new facility
i'.ST. JOHN'S MCC, Raleigh, N.C.,
dedicated its new church building
during c.eremonies held June 10-12.
Present at the ceremonies were found ing
pastor Willie White, former pastor
June Norris and present pastor W.
Wayne Lindsey. St. John's MCC
developed from a Bible study group
which began meeting in 1976. The
congregation numbers about 100
members . The new facility is located
at 805 Glenwood Avenue.
Las Vegas MCC gets
new meeting space
i'.THE ANCHOR OF HOPE at Wesley
United Methodist Church in North
Las Vegas has become the new home
of MCC Las Vegas. The move has
been long anticipated and was finalized
when both congregations voted
to form Anchor of Hope and begin
worshipping in the same facility.
While the decision was unanimous at
MCC, it was hotly contested at
Wesley. Rev. B.J. ""Beau"" McDaniels
serves as pastor of MCC Las Vegas
and Rev. Sarah Shirley serves as
pastor of Wesley UMC. The Anchor
of Hope/Wesley building is located at
2727 Civic Center Drive .
Jay McCarty, RCP
board member, passes
i'.JA Y McCARTY, long-time Reconciling
Congregations Program activist
and board member, died on July 3.
McCarty was instrumental in his
congregation, Kairos UMC, Kansas
City, becoming an RC in 1987. He
served on the RCP Advisory Committee
and on the Board of Directors
since 1990. Hundreds of friends and
colleagues gathered for a memorial
service at Trinity UMC on July 6.
New pastor for
New Orleans MCC
i'.DEXTER BRECHT was installed as
pastor of the Vieux Carre MCC of
New Orleans on August 27. Presiders
included Rev. Kay Thomas, Fr.
Rodney Scheidel, Rev . Nancy
Horvath and UFMCC District Coordinator
Clarke Friesen.
MCC Nashville moves
i'.MCC NASHVILLE has moved to a
new facility. The church started
meeting at First Unitarian Church on
August 7. ""God has blessed us is
bringing new people to our church
during this summer,"" said Rev. Dr.
Buddy Truluck, pastor. The church
meets for Sunday worship at 7:00
p.m . at 1808 Woodmont Blvd.
New ministry in Phoenix
MBUNDANT LIFE BIBLE Church, a
Bible-based, Christ-centered, non-denomination,
independent church has
begun ministry in the Phoenix area.
Sharon Busch, pastor, and Greg
Davis, intern, are providing leader ship.
The church meets at Gentle
Shepherd MCC, 3425 E. Mountain
View Road in Phoenix .
Pentecostals open
two new churches
i'.THE NATIONAL GAY Pentecostal
Alliance has announced the opening
_ of two new churches: Mt. Calvery
Lighthouse in Smyrna, Ga ., pastored
by Br. Paul Johnson, and Hop e
Apostolic Church , Little Rock, Ar.,
pastored by Br. James Virgilio. (Addresses
are P.O. Box 2454, · Smyrna,
GA 30081; P.O. Box 4563, Little Rock,
AR 72214.)
New Orleans chruch
celebrates 15th
i'.GRACE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH of
New Orleans celebrated its 15th anniversary
with a special worship
service on September 4. Rev . Kay
Thomas is pastor.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
Resource Guide .................................. ....... ~ ....... •.• ..................... .
Listings in the Resource Guide are free to
churches, organizations, publications and
community services. Send information to
Second Stone, Box 8340, New Orleans, LA
70182 or FAX to (504)891-7555.
National
AFFIRMATION: Gey & Lesbian Mormons, P.O. Box 46022, Los
~les, CA 00046. (213~55-7251 or(415)255-0000. Alfirify
PO ~~~~1on, t=sJ~~ii'.~esl>an Concerns,
AIDS NA TIONALINTERFAITH NET'AOAK, 300 I St, NE, Ste. «xi,
~~~1o~~•l~~ra~%~ (800)288,9619, FAX (202)546-5103.
AMERICAN BAPTISTS CONCERNED, 872 Ene St., Oaklarxl, CA
94610. (415)4tP-8652 Voice of the Ttrl/e
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, Gay/Lesbian Rights
~~~\·c1~ ~~:og ~E~~c~~im; (Quaker) 2249 E
BLmSide,Sl, Portlae<l OR 97214. (503)23().9427.
AXIOS: Easlern and Orthooox Chrislians, 328 W. 171h St. #4-F,
NewYork, NY 10011. (212)989-6211. ·
~Yci)4~=ne, Box 83912, Los Angeles, GA 90083·0912.
BRETHREN/ MENNONITE COUNCIL FOR LESBIAN AND GAY
CONCERNS, Box 6300, Minneapolis, MN 55406-0300.
g~i~5
66:LI1i~i~~ft~'rc:v1L RIGHTS, Box 1985, New
York, NY 10159. (718)629-2927.
GENTER FOR HOMOPHOBIA EDUCATION, Box 1985, New York,
NY 10159. (301)8646954.
CHI RHO PRESS - A special work ol the UFMGG Mid-Allanlic
District. Pullisher of religous OOOks and materials. P.O. Box
~t~irl1i~i1~~~~t
13r°d~~~~. Sel~e Barry, PO
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405, EIOIO()(j PA 16117. (412)758-0704.
COMMUNICATION MINISTRY, INC.- Dialogue and surcrt
K,0xu~f;s~a6hf~~~t~~~~i~~~-c~~g{C:~in~eg~::l/niC~:
tion .
CONFERENCE FOR CATHOLIC LESBIANS, P.O. Box 436
PlaretanumStn., New York, NY 10024. (607)432-9295.
DAUGHTERS OF SARAH • The magazine for Christian
b~~~~~;.~s~i~'ii.~1:~:~1~~r::,3:.,9 11.
Washington, DC 20005. (800)877-8797. Gay and lesbian
Catholics and their fnends.
ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC CHURCH, P.O. Box 32, Villa Grande,
GA. 95486-0032. Holy Spirt Church, Easl Moline, IL,
(309)792-6188. St. Michael's Church, Russian River, CA, (707)
865-0119. PitJicafion: The Tab/el.
EMERGENCE International: A Community of Christian Scientists
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EVANGELICALS CONCERNED, c/o Dr. Ralph Blair, 311 Easf
72nd St., New York, NY 10021. (212)517-3171. Ptblicalions:
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GAYELLOWPAGES - P.O. Box 292, Village Stn., New York, NY
10014. (212)674-0120.
HONESTY: Southern Baptist Advocates for Equal Rigits, P.O.
Box 7331, LoLiS'.il~. KY 40257. (502)893-0783. .
INDEPENDENT CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE, 4102 East
1/AWil~: ~~c11Bo~1~:~~20006-0561,
(201)868-2485. Pttllicatiorr T~ Voice of lnlegity
INTERNATIONAL FREE CATHOLICOMMUNION, P.O. Box
51158, R,verside, CA 92517-2158 (909)781-7391 PitJication: The
Free Catholic Communicant .
INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN ARCHIVES, The Natalie
gr~~~~~~~~\e~ti:: ~ti:~ 38100, Holr,'WOOd,
UVlNG PENS, PO Box 254, Avoca, AR 72711-0254. Pen pals for
HIV/AIDS indM<iJals.
LIVING STREAMS, P.O. Box 178, Goncorc\ GA 94522-0178.
E/im~l\'¼G'~~~NED I !\ORTH AMERICA, Box 10461, Fort
Dearborn 51alion, Chicago, IL 60610-0461. PitJication: The
Concord
METHODIST FEDERATION FOR SOCIAL ACTION, a
~X~""\~R,1~~1
1~\1,~13-~~::ki>Jll~:~~~~~ea.!ft:
Bulletin. ·
MERCY OF GOD COMMUNITY, PO Box 6502, Providence, RI
02940. Christian, ecumenical and inclusive. Brothers and sisters
live al home and choose own ministries.
MORE LIGHT CHURCHES NETW'.JRK, 600 W. Fullerton Pkwy.,
Ghicag,, IL 60614-2690, (312)338-0452. Resource packet, $12.
Publication: More Light Churches Nei-k Newslelter
NATIONAL GENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS· 1663 Mission St
5th Fir., San Frarcisco, CA 94103. '
NATIONAL CONGRESS FOR LESBIAN CHRISTIANS, P., Box
814, ¼iito~. CA 95010 (800)861-NCLC.
NATIONAL COALITION OF BLACK LESBIANS AND GAYS PO
Box 19248, Washingon, DC 20036. ' · ·
-S- E C- E} N· 0 S T O N E
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, 475 Riverside Dr., New Presbyterians for Lest:ian & Gay Concerns, 3900 Harrison St.,
York, NY 10115. AIDS Task Force, Room 572, (212)870-2421. Oaklae<l 94611. 653-2134.
Human Sexuality Office, Room 708, (212)870-2151. FRESNO (209)
NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES, Washirgon Office, 110 · MGGcttte VIOO)'arel POBox5511, 93755-5511. 441-0105.
Marvtard Ave., t,E, l/lllshirao~ DC 20002. (202)544-2350. LANCASTER (905)
NA ilONAL ECUME1'1CAL COALITION, 1953 Colurrbia Pike #24, Sunrise MCC of the Hi Desert, PO Box 886, 93584-0886. 942-7076.
Ar1iWcOI\ VA22204-4569. (703)553-8l!l1. . LONG BEACH (31~
NA TONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE, 1734 14111 St., WI, Diaitv, PO Box 92375, 90809-2375. 984-8400.
l/lllsl'iltjOf\ DC 20009-4309. (202)332-6483. FAX (202)332-0207. MCc: 1231 Locu,;j Ave., 90813-3114. 432-3641.
NATIONAL GAY PENTECOSTAL ALLIAt..CE (also Pentecostal LOS ANGELES AREA (213)
Bible lnstttute !Ministerial lrainingl) P.O. Box 1391, Schenectaclf, Affirmation (United Melhodsts), PO Box 46022, West Hollywoo<l
NY 12301-1391. (518)372-0001. Pu:Jical~n: Too ,'postoiic Voice. !XX!iS. (818)900-4664
~ts:E.~~O~S~ , Lz
05
ineAngefor f""esY, nGeAsbi
9002
'an
8
M_ ormons, 6520 Christ the Shepherd Lutheran Church, 185 W. Alladena Dr.,
Alladena; 91001. (818)794-7011.
NEW WAYS MINISTRY, 4012 291h St., Ml. Rainier, MD 20712, Crescenl Heighls UMC, 7866 W. Founlain Ave., West
f30Jl~7-5674. A !f.Y•~11::.irw orga8izatii°n bri~ng the ttilly,,ood, 90046. 656-5336.
tRE~sWM~NSuFCJ~ LESBIAN K~Y cb~i~~cp O Box IJig""ily, PO Box 42040, 90042-<Xl40 3440064.
~d~(: Brunsv,;ck, NJ 08903-0038. Publicalion: More Light gra~;6
~_abnel Valley, 502 Mesa Cir., Monro~a. 91016-1638.
SEE NATIONAL RESOURCES,
Page 20
Alabama
BIRMINGHAM (205)
Al1ioama Fonxn, PO Box 55894, 35255-5694. 328-9228
Birmingham Communify Church, PO Box 130221, 35213.
008505 . .
Covenanl MCC, PO Box 101473, 35210. 599-3363. Sun., 11a.m.,
~i~ 1~.:.li1
n~(d~kers), 592-0570.
lntegily, 871-1815. ·
Pilgrim Congegational Church, 879-~624.
St. Araews Episcopal Church, 251-7898.
Unitanan Universalist Gongegalion, 879-5150.
UmvGhurch, 251-3713
HU!ITsVIUE (206)
MCC ol Hunt,.,;11e, PO Box 10021, 35801. 851-6914.
MJBILE(206)
MCC ol Mobile, PO Box 6311, 36660-6311. 476-4621. Sunday,
7p.m.
MJNTGO1,£RV (206)
MCC, PO Box 003, 36101-0603. 264-7887. &ooly, 5:30p.m. at 5260
Vaughn Rd.
Arizona
Divine Redeemer MCC, 346 Riverdsle Dr., Glendale, 91204.
(818)500-7124. Sunday, 10:45a.m., Wed, Fn .. 7:30p.m. Rev. Stan
Harris
Evangelicals Togelher, 7985 Santa Monica Blvd, #109, Box 16,
90046. 656-8570. ET NJv.s
Free Spint MCC, 5208 Hartwick St., 90041-1515. 464-5100.
~~~•n:/l'o;,f~~i ~g~;,l PO Box 42964, 90042. 384-5422.
3323 W. Baverly Blvd
ln1egity, 7985 Santa Monica Blvd., #109-113, Wesl Holr,'WOOd,
90046002-6301.
Larr!Jda Ghnstian Fellowship, PO Box 1967, Hal'.lhome, 90251.
Lalin Church ol Chrtslian Fellowship, 3323 W. B.everly Blvd,
90004 433-2047. [~:_'m]d'. #~~. l;~~~~ligious Goalilion, 7985 Sanla
Lutherans Concerned, 11225 Magnolia Blvd., Box 290, No.
Hollvv,ood, 91601. 665-LGNA
MCC in lhe Valley, 5730 Cahuenga Blvd, No. Holly,,ood, 91601.
(818)762-1133
MCC ot Silvertake, 3621 Bn.nsv,ick Ave., 90039-1727. 665-8818.
~;)~t,'s~rt:: ~~r~'ai~Ha~~j lv!n Nuys, 91408.
PrestJ{leriaos for Leiian & Gay Concerns, 3373 Descanso Dr.,
#1, 90026 262-aJ19.
~=~~ttintisl Kinship International, PO Box 3840,
St. John's Episcopal Church, 514 W. Adams Blvc\ 90007.
74/.f!M,,
PHOENIX(602) . St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, 11031 Camarillo SI., No.
Affirf!'ation (Mo1111ons), PO Box 26601, Tempe, 85285-6601. ttllly,,ood, 91002 (818)762-2909.
433-•321. United LeslliarJGay Chnslian Scenlisls, PO Box 2171, Beverly
~~e Grislo Evangelical Church, 1029 E. Turney, 85014. ~~1iyi~~i~~i~3~~; 49 W Jefferson Blvd., 90016_
Dignfynntegity, PO Box 21091, 85036. 258-2556. 936-4'48.
Gentle Shepherd MCC, 3425 E. Mountain View, 85028. 996-7644. . MOO ESTO (209)
=i=s Minislries,.225 W. University Dr., #105, Terrpe, ~J..';?or:300'2, 95353-3092 578-3694.
6~tr~'&~~..,: ~~~0-3611 ~~rc~ne,m1.,i3~ ""11lage Pk\\y., 94558. 255-6917.
~ylerians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns, PO Box 61162, ~Jl~~~G , 720 N. Spurgeon SI., Sanla Ana,
TUCSON (602) Evangelicals Concerned South Coast, PO Box 4308, Costa
Casa De Le Paloma Apostolic .Church, PO Box 14003, Mesa, 92628-4308. 222-4933. Bible stuclf, fellowship meetings,
85732-4003. 323-6855. 1122 N. Jones Blvd. Rev. Margaret ~zrn f Pli~~~1~J°'livtties.
~~l~~~.ra:Iip, 2902 N. Geronimo, 85705. 622-4626. Ch . I Cha I I the Des r\ 9381/, I~ Rd 92264 327 2795
1/s. , 4f:'1-e
0
E. Palmeca~on Der., Box'149, 92264. . ·341-0·555. Sunday, 9a.m., 10:30a.m., Wednesday, 6p.m. Rada Schaff, eg-ity .. ,
pastor MCC of the Desert, PO Box 920, Gathectal City, 92235-0901.
lnlegniy, c/o Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adsms 322-0000.
Sl, 85719. 791-7<00. REDWOOD CITY (415)
MCC, 3269 N. Mountain Ave., 85719. 292-9151. Calvary MCC, PO Box 70, 94064-0007. 368-0188. 2124 E\re',IGlerSI.
EUREKA SPRINGS (501)
MCC ct the Wng SJrings, PO Box 365, 72632 253-9337. 17 Elk
FAYETTEVUE (501) ·
MCC ct the Ozarls, PO Box 92 72702-0092 443-4278.
LrntE ROCK (501)
Bocl{ of ctr~\ PO Box 1364, 72203. 37 4-1693.
MCC of !tie Rock, PO Box 1964, ·72203-1964. 753-7075. 2017
Chander, I\O. Little Rock
Spirit Sorg MCC; PO Box 586, 72203. 223-2828. Sunday, 2p.m. at
1818 Reservoir Rd ·
Unilartan Universalist Church, 1818 Reservoir Rock Rei 72207.
225-1500.
Cal1forn1a
APPLEVALLEY(61!11
Light of the Desert Church, PO Box 247, 92307. 247-2572.
tto~J~~hE (a>S) ·
St. Brendan Free Catholic Church Aposlolale, 258 Aspen St.,
#11, 934al. 473-2510. .
BLYTl£(61!il
Gods Garden Gro'Mh Center, 283 N. Solano. 922-0947. Bro.
Michael W. Tucker, pasfor.
CONCORD (510)
Free Gatholic Aposlolale of the Redeemer, 1440 Delroil Ave., #3,
94520 798-5281.
i!1~1~A61~:! (~/%aklanc\ Outreach to Gay and Lesbian
Communities and Their Families. Rev. Jim Schexnayder,
834-5657, ext 3114.
Diablo Valley MCC, 2253 Concord Blvd., Concord, 94520.
827-2960. SL.rday, 10ant, 7p.nt -
Free catholic Aposlolate of the Redeemer, 3849 Mayl)elle Ave.,
NB, 94619. 530-7055.
Gay, Lesbian, and Aflirming Disciples, Univ. Christian Church,
Barkeley. Third Sun.; 4p. m.
New Life MCC, 1823 91h St., Barkeley, 94710. 843-9355. Sunday,
12:SCp.m.
~~!:1J~(~6hnsf the Ltte Giver, PO Box 51158, 92517.
781-7391.
RUSSIAN RIVER (707)
MCC, Box 1055, Guerne~lle, 95446. 887-7622. 869-0552. 14520
~~~~r=~1:
Digity, PO Box 161765, 95816.
Koinoia Ghrislian Fellowship, PO Box 169444, 95818. 452-5736.
Tom Rossi, pa.slor.
. Thel11tes/lssue, PO Box 160584, 95816-737-1088
RiveratyMCC, PO Box 245125, 95824. 454-4762 2741341hSl
SALINAS (408)
ln1egrtty, c/o Church of the Good Shepherd, 301 Corral de
T8rra, 93908. 294-2026.
SAN ANDREAS (209)
lnteg-;ty, PO Box 110, 95249. 478-3515.
SANANSELMO (415)
Spec1rur11 1000Sir Frarcis0Droke BM!, #12, 94960. 457-1115.
SAN BERNARDtlOIRIVERSIDEIPOMONA (909)
Affi1111ation (Methodsls), 1325 N. Claremont, Box 302, Clareroort,
91711.624-2159.
SAN DIEGO AREA (61!11
Alfinration (Mormons), PO Box 86469, 92138-6469. 489-6002
Archor Mini<lnes, 3441 Uriversity Ave., 92104. 284-8654
~~PO Box 33367, 92163. Dignity Genier, 4561 Park Blvd.
~t~ Ft;; ~~~3:1=1n:O\~. 92105. 282-8488.
Sunday, 6p.m., 1600 Buena Vista Dr.
MCC, PO Box 33291, 92163-3291. 280-4333. 4333 Xlh St.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (415)
Dg;ty, 1329 71h Ave., 94122. 255-9244. Surday, 5:30p.m.
Dolores Street Baplist Church, 474 Valercia St, #160, 94103.
861-1434. Surday, 108.m.
Lutherans Concerned, 566 Vallejo 51., #25, 94133-4033. 956-2069.
Advent
MCC, 150 Eureka St., 94114-2492. 863-4434. Sunday, 9, 11a.m ..
?11emParsonage, 584 Gaslro St., Ste. 344, 94114-2500. Parsonag3
News
Trtnity Episcopal GllJrch, 1668 Bl.Sh St., 94109. 775-1117.
~mi~;~iax~~,Nf 7tf~n. 94109. 731-3915.
SAN JOSE (408)
Dig,itv, PO Box 2177, Santa Clara, 95055. 977-4218.
First Chrts1ian Church, 80 S. 5th 51., 95112. 294-2944. Richard K ..
Miller, pastor.
Gay, Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples, c/o First Christian
Chcrcll, 80 Sc. 511151., 95112. 294-2944.
Hosanna GllJrchof Praise, 24N 51hSl, 95112 293-0708.
MCC, PO Box 2288, 95109-2288. 279-2711. 65 S. 7th St. Sunday,
6:30p.m., Wad, 7:30p.m.
~~t~bi~~,(~ Darryl Dr, Garf'!h,11, 95008. 379-0740.
MCC of the Central Coast, PO Box 1117, Grover Cfy, 93483-1117.
481-9376. Sunday, 10:30a.m. Rev. Raro/ A. Lesler, paslor.
SANT A BARBARA/VENTURA COUNTY AREA (905)
MCC, 230 Ug,thouse Rd, Sarta Barbara, 93109-1905. 569-1615.
MCC, PO Box 25610, Ventura, 93002. 643-0502. Sunday, 6:2(p.m.
al 4949 Foothill Rd
SANTA CRUZ (408)
Lavender Road MCC, PO Box 1764, 95061. 335-0466.
SANTA ROSA (707)
NewHope MCC, PO Box 11278, 95406-1278. 526-HOPE. Sunday,
noon at 3632 Airway Dr.
STOCKTON (20!11
CmstianScierce Leroians, Box 7104, 95267-7104. 473-2129.
Dela Harve<IMCC, 116 W. 'MllcmSI., 95202-1045. 477-1440.
WHITTER(31~
Good Samaritan MCC, 11931 Washington Blvd., 90606-2607.
600-8213. .
Colorado
BOULDER (303)
~~ ~~%;~ s&:'~Jk Thomas Aquinas University
COLORADO SPRINGS (719)
Pikes Peak MCC, 730 N. 'rejo~ 80903. 634-3771.
DENVER (303)
Axios: Easlern OrthoOOx Christians, 11635 E. Cedar Ave.,
Aurora, 80012, 343-9997.
Evangelicals Reconciled, PO Box 200111, 80220. 331-2839.
Goloraoo &lrings, (719)488-3158.
Ltiherans Corcerned, PO Box 300343, 80203. 422-3176.
MCC ct the Rockie~ 960Glarkson St., 80218. 860-1819.
St Paurs UMC, 1615 Ogian St, 80218.1132-4929.
PUEBLO(719)
MCC, PO Box 1918, 81002 543-6400.
Connecticut
HARTFORD (203)
~tc~1~ l/:o~•:.1
~1~7~4605 Sunday, 1030a.m. Meets
at the Community Center. Rev. David F. Jarvis, pastor.
NEW HAVEN (203)
MCC, 34 HaITison St., 06515. 389-6750.
TOI.LAND (203) ~~uW ~~""' IJ\ 00084 872-6537.
lntegnty, c/o St. John's Churcll, 16 Church St., 06702 482-4239.
District of Columbia
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (202)
Affil1118t~n (Methoclsts), PO Box 23636, 20026. 667-0008.
Affi1111aUon (Mo11110ns) PO Box 77504, 20013-7504. 828-3096.
Chrtst UMC, ~h& I Sis. SW, 20024. 544-9117.
Digity, PO Box 53001, 20000. 387-4516.
Duntiarton UMC, 3133 DUIT'IJarton Ave. WI, 20007. 333-7212.
Failh T erme. 1313 New York Ave., 20005. 544-2766.
ln1egily, PO Box 19561, 20036-0561. (301)953-9421. Gay.ping
Kinsh¢,DA, 1«xl 20lh Sl, WIN007, 20036. 296-2441.
Lutherans Concerned, 212 E. Capitol SI., SE, 20001-1036.
(703)486-3567.
MCC of the Disciμes, 1638 R St., NW N1, 20009. 387-5230.
MCC, 474 Ricl,e St., NW, 20001. 638-7373. Sunday 9, 11a.m.,
7p.m.
PLGG, c/o Westminster Prestr;terian Church, 400 I St., SW,
20024 667-'2ffl9. .
Washingon Fnencl, (Quakers), 2111 Fiona, Ave .. NW 20008.
483-3310 .
Florida
. BOCA RATON (407)
Church of Our Savior MCC, 4770-G NW 2nd Ave., 33431.
998-0454. Sundsy, 10:30a.m., 7:30p.m. Rev. John F. Jacobs,
~~RWATER (813)
Free Gatholic Church of lhe Resurreclion, PO Box 3454, 34615.
442-3867. 300 N. Myrtle Ave.
COCOA(407)
&~~~:~~• PO Box 1585, 32923. 631-4524
Hope MCC, PO Box 15151, 32115. 254-0093.
FORT LAUDERDALE (305l
Chllch of the HolySpint MCc, 330 SW 27th St., 33315. 462-2004.
DiW'tv, PO Box 22884, 33335. 463-4528.
FORT MYERS (8131
St. John the Apostle MCC, PO Box 2107, 33902-2107. 278-5181.
2209 Unity at lhe corner of Broadway. Sunday, 10,.m., 7p.m.
Rev. Renne Shaw,.,er.
GAINESVILLE (904)
United Church, 1624 NW 5th Ave., 32603.
JACKSONVILLE (904)
St. Luke's MCC, 126 E. 7th St., 32206-4510. 358-6747. Sunda'f,
9a.m., 11a.m., 7p.m. Rev. Frankye A. Wiite, pastor.
KEY WEST (306)
MCC, 1215 Petronia 51 .. ~- 1;84-6912. Sunday, 9:30, 11a.m.,
\Ned, 7p.m. Rev. Steven M. Torrence, pastor. 1
- (005) . ChnstMCC, 7701 SN76111Ave., 33143. 284-1040. • -- SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
Resource Guide .............................................
Grace MCC, 1CXl90NE2ndAvo.,33181-1021.945-<1622
OCALA(904I
House of Victory Church, PO Box 2841, 32678-2841. 368-6014.
3820 E. Silver Spfing; Blvd
ORLAll)O (407)
lri8!1ilY, PO Box 500001, 32853--0001. 332-2743.
,i:1/ W:C, PO Box lXl4, 3~-:ro4. 894-1081. 2351 S. Fem:reek
PENSACOLA (904)
Holy Cross MCC, 415 N. Alcaniz St., 32501. 433-8528. SUnday,
11a.rn, Wed, 7p.m.
SAIIT PETERSBURG (813)
Dig,i!y, PO Box 1337, PirEllas Park, 34664-1337. 238-2868.
Kirgot Peace MCC, 3150 5th Ave. N, 33713. 323-5857. SUnday,
1oa.m., 7:3~.m: Rev. Dr. Frede. WIiiams, Sr., pastor.
SARASOTA (813)
Church of the Tnntty MCC, 7225 N. Lockwood Ridgl Rd.,
34243-4526. 355-0647. Sunday, 11la.rn
Integrity, c/o St. Bonnace Church, 5615 Midnig,I Pass Rd,
34242-1721. 349-5616.
TAMPA(813)
MCC, 2904 C<n:orda Ave., 33629. 839-5939.
WESTPALMBEACH(407)
Diglily, POBox 30H Teq,esta, 33469. 744-1591.641-9944.
lriegity, PC Box 14583, J>b. Palm Beac~ 33408 627-1409.
MCC of tne Palm Beaches, 3500 45th St., 12A, 33409. 687-3943.
Surday, 9:15, 11a.m. Seriices also in Ft. P~rce, 687-3943.and Pt.
St LlCie,340--0421.
Georgia
ATLANTA(~
Digi\y, POllox14342, 30324.@0200.
First MCC, PO Box 8356, 30306-0356. 872-2246. 800 N. Hig,land
Ave. !IE.
lriegity, PO Box 1:Jrol, 3032~ . 642-3183.
L\JneransConcerned, PO Box 13673, 30324. 636-7109.
All Sairis MCC, PO 8<,( 13968, 30324. 62'2-1154.
PLGC, PO Box 8362, :JO:J06. 373-5830.
SoutremVoice, PO Box18215, 30316. 876-1819.
WLGC, 1911 m Valley~ . 30329. 634-5134.
AUGUSTA (706)
MCC, 609 Shartom Dr., 30907-4715. 733-5560. Sunday, 7:30p.rn,
3042 Eage Dr.
Hawaii
MAUl(808)
New Liberation MCC, PO Box 347, Puunene, 96784. 879-6193.
OAHU(80111
Aflirmation (Mormons), PO Box 75131, Honolulu, 96836-0131.
~ -
Dg-ify, PO Box 3956, HonoltAJ, 96812-3956. 536-5536
Ke Anuenue O Ke Aloha MCC, PO Box 23334, Honolulu,
96823-3334. 942-1027. Sunday, 11am, Dole GanrerySq, 7p.rn,
1212 Unive~ Ave.
li:/~ .s Scronce, 520 Makapuu Ave., Honolulu, 96816.
UULGC, 2500 Pali t-w,,., Honolulu, 96817. 623-4726.
Idaho
~~~ x 1959, 83702. 342,6764.
Illinois
URBANA/CHAMPAIGN (217)
lntegity, 1011 S. Wig,! St., Charrpaigl, 61820. 344-1924.
PLGC, 800 S. 5th St., Champai!Jl, 61820.
CIICAGO (312)
Cticag, lriertailh Coraess, PO Box 60039, 60660. 784-2635.
Chica/1) Ouffines, 305§ N. Souttc,or1, 60057. 871-7610.
Chnst tne Redeemer MCC, PO Box 6146, Evanston, 60204-6146.
(708)262-0009. 933 Cticag, Ave.
Church of the Resurreclion ·MCC, 5540 S. 'M>odlawn, 60637.
288-1535.
Dig,ity, 9ll W. Belmori Ave., l205: 60657-4408. 296-0780.
Emerg,r<:e, PO Box 2547, 60690.
Good Shephard Parish MCC, 615 W. Wellington Ave.,
00657-5:JOS. 427-8708. SUrd!y, 7p.rn
Holy Covenant MCC, 17 W. Maple, Hinsdale, 60521-3495.
(708)325-8468. SUnday, 6p.rn
lnlegi!/, PO Box 2516, 60690. 349-6362.
Joy of Lila MCC, PO Box 1161, No. Chicago, 60064.
(708)578-5022. 2031 DLQ:la~ Rd . .
LllharansConcerned PO Box 10197, 60610. 342-1647.
PLGC, c/o Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, 600 W. Fullerton
Pkwf.,60314-2600. 784-2635.
Shammah Christian Fellov.sh1>, PO Box 5427, Evanston, 60204.
561-5624.
UULGG, c/o Second Unitarian Church, 656 W: Barry Ave., 60057,
S<M!!I) .
UCCLGC, 6171 N. Sheridan Rd, 12701, 60660-2858. 338-0452
. PEORIA(30111
Spnt c1 Life MCC, PO Box 1614, 61656. 697-3330. 1209 N. Rora.
QUINCY(217)
MCC, 1241f< N. SlhSt,62301. 224-2!1JO.
ROCK ISLAND (309)
MCCQUldCn~. 1001181hAva.,61204-6132 786-56SS.
SPRINGFIELD(217)
Fatth Bernal MCC, PO Box 4824, 62708-4824. 525-9597.
Indiana
BLOOWlGTON (812) .
lriegil/, PO Box 3232, 47 402-3232 339-0426.
FORTWAYNE (219'
lliglly, PO Box 11988, 46862.
NewWxldChl>'ch, PO Box 11553, 46859. 456-6570. 222 E.Letth
St.
Open Door Chapel, 3426 Broa<INay, 46807. 744-1199.
Task Force, Fm Presbytenan Chtxch, :JOO W. Weyne st., 46802.
67421 . .
INIIIANAPOLIS (317)
HOLDEN(508) A!l,mation (Mollxxlsis), 33 E. 32ndSt, 46205. 925-0043.
llig'ity, PO Bo< 431, 46200. 251-0680. · L.Ca,GC, PO Box 403,-01520. 856-9316.
Jesus MCC, PO Box 441551, 46244-1551. 357-9687.
Iowa
BETTEIIIORF (319'
Lutnerans Concenned Box m, 52722-0773.
CEDARAPIDS (319)
All Fah MCC, PO Box 412, 52406. 396-9207.
CORALVLLE (319)
lnt8!1ilY, PO Box 5225, 52241. 351,9263.
DAVENPORT (319)
GLAD All~nce. 2626 Western Ave., 52803-1473. 324-6231.
DES MOINES(515)
Church of 1ne Holy Spirtt MCC, 3500 Kirgman Blvd, 50311.
277-3362. Sunday, 6p.m.
IOWA crrv (319)
PLGC, PO Box 3202, 52244.
NASHUA(515)
UCClXiC, c/o Garmen-Liooa Conklin, RR2, 50658. 435-5068.
SIOUX CITY (712)
MCC, PO 8<,( 361, 51102-0361. 255-8005.
WAlERLOO (319'
Cht1ch of Newfnpe MCC, PO Box 34, 50704. 234-1981. Meets at
3912 Cealr Hts., Cedar Falls.
Kansas
TOPEKA(913)
MCC, PO Box 4776, 66004-0776. 232-6196. SE lrdana Ava at 25th
WICHITA(316)
Firs1 MCC, 156 S. Kansas Ava., 6721. 267-1852.
'Mchila Praise and Worship Center, PO Box 11347, 67202.
651-(003.
Kentucky
LEXINGTON (606)
lrierweave, 3564Clays_MAI Rd, 40503. 223-1448
LOlJSVUE (502)
A!lirrnatioo (Me!loosts), PO 8<,( 7892, 40257-0692 635-1402.
All!Qo, POBox4034, «Y204. 581-1829.
Cenlral Presbyteriaf\ 318 W. Kentucky Ava., 40203. 587-6935.
~::;:~h~:1~1hedral , 421 S: 2ndSt., 40202. 587-1354.
Conterence-for catholic Lestians, PO Box 4778, 40204-0778.
895-Cll:JO.
llig'ity, PO Ile>< 4778, «Y204. 581-1841. =-~t Georg,'s Episcopal Church, 1202 S. 261h St.,
L\Jhernns Concerned, PO Box 7692, 40257-0692. 897-5719.
MCC, PO Box 32474, «>232. 775-6636. 4222 Bank St
Phoe~x Rising PO Box 19897, 40259-0697. 966-8357.
PLGC, POB<,(7692,=1-W/2. 897-5719.
Third Lutheran Church, 1864 Frankfort Ave., 40206. 896-6383.
Sunday, 10:45a.m.
PADUCAH (502)
MCC, PO 8<,( 176, West Pad.cah 42086. 441-2307.
Louisiana
BATON ROUGE (504)
i~ ~~~~/lo ro:=.,~ 383-0450.
PLGC, 2285 Cedarclale, 70008.
UULGC, c/o Unttarian Church, 8470 Gooct,,ood Blvd, 70806.
!r.!5-2291.
LAFAYETTE (318)
MCC, PO Box 92682, 70509. 232-0546. 211 Garfield
LAKE CHARLES (318)
MCC, PO 8<,( 384, 70602. 439-9869. 510 Broad St
NEW ORLEANS (504)
Grace Fettov,on~· , PO Box 70SSS, 70172. 944-9836.
UCCl/GC, 944 St, Marrero, 70072-2306. 341-4608.
Vieux Garre M , 1128 St. Roch Ave., 70117-7716. 945-5390.
Sunday, 1oa.m.
Mame ,
BANGOR (201)
~~~~i)03 , North SUll~an, 04664-0103.
lligtn>/, PO Box 8113, 04104.
WALOOBORO (201)
lriegily, PO 8<,( 25, 04572
Maryland
BAI. TIMORE (410)
TheA/tematl;e, PO Box2351, 21203. (301)235-3«l1.
Archdocesan Gay,test;an Outreach, 2034 Park Ave., 21217.
728-~ .
llig""ity, PO Box 1243, 21203-1243. 325-1519.
First New Covenant Fellowship Church, S W. Fort Ave.,
21230-4407. 523-7789. Sunday, 2:1Sp.m. at Dor!1Jih UMC, 527
Scott St. ~$~: clo Emmanuel Church, 811 Calhectal St., 21201.
LlAneransCoocemed, Box 23271, 21203-5271. 225-0563.
MCC, 3«l1 Old York Rd, 21218. 889-63&l.
BEnlESDA (301)
Open Door MCC, PO Box 127, Boyoo, 20841-0127. 601-9112.
Sunday, 10:30a.m., 7p.m. at 15817 Barne""111e Rd
Massachusetts
BOSTON(617)
~,r.:trJ,910~t.8~a~G':;
6
~~~~!2fci':era), S Longellow
Park, Garrtridgl, 02138. 876-6883.
S,wort Grol.l', Church of the Covenant, 67 NeM,.iry St., 02116.
28,,7400,
lntegnty, c/o Chns1 Churc~ 12 Quincy Ava., Quincy, 02169.
773-0310.
MCC, PO Box 15590, Kenmore Sin., 02215. 288-8029. ·Sunday,
7p.m at 131 Gambidge St., Beacon till .
SPRINGFIELD (413)
lrt8!1ilY, PO B<,(5051, 01101-5051. 737-4186.
WALIBAM(617)
Lutnerans Cor,:emed, c/o Randall Rice, 108 1/2 Chestnut St.,
02154-0«:6. 8J3.2783.
WORCESTER (508)
Mornirg Star MCC, 231 Main St, Cnerry Valley, 01611. 892-4320.
Plb: Morning star Wtness
Unitarian Uri1veraalists for Bi!Gay/1.esbian Concerns, PO Box
592, \\estsiCES!n, 01602. 755-00JS. .
Michigan
ANN ARBOR (313)
Huron Valley Communtty Church, 1001 Green Rd, 48105-2896.
741-1174. Sunday, 2p.m. at Glacier WayUMC.
Tree c1 Life MCC, PO Box 2500, 48106. 485-3922 665-6163. Meets
at First Congregational Church, 218 N. Adams, Ypsilanti.
Sunday, 6p.m.
DETROIT (313) ·
C , 19136 Wooo.,ard N., 48203. 369-1901.
874, 48232. 563-0892.
459-7319.
uel Episcopal Church, 18320 John R St.,
Men of Color 9roup meets Tuesdays at 7p.m. at St. Matthews
and st. Josephs Epjscopal Church, 8850 \\bodM!rd 871-4750.
New Generation Youth Grol.l', PO Box 11499, 48211, meets
Wed, Sp.m. at 3026 East Grand Blvd, 872-2424.
Flllf (313)
Dig,ily, PO Box 585, 46501.
Redeemer MCC, 1665 N. Cnevrolet Ave., 46504-3164. 238-6700.
Suooay, 6p.m. Rev. Liooa J. SloMr, pastor. Plb: Sounri1 of
Redeemer.
GRAND RAPIDS (616) .
Betnel Chnstian Asserrt,ty, PO Box 6935, 49516. 459-8262. Rev.
Bruce Roller-Pletcner, pastor. Plb: Bethel Beacon.
Dig'ity, PO Box 1373, 49501. 454-9779.
Recoocil~lon MCC, PO 8<,( 1258, 49501. 364-7633.
KALAMAZOO (616)
Phoenix Communn>/ Church, PO Box 2222, 49003-2222. 381-3222,
Sunday, 6p.m at Onlted Church of Chnst.
LANSING (517)
~~~ i::i ,:Ot;~• ~:~b\:;'t'liu:~
6
200 W. Grand River.
Sunday, 7:~ .m.
tntegnty, c/o All Saints Church, 800 Attxltt Rd, East Lansirg,
<ll&l.
WYAN>OTTE (313)
Mariavite Old Catholic Church, 2803 10th St., 48192-4994. 281-Minnesota ~
MARSHALL (507)
Lutherans Concerned/Integrity, PO Box 3013, 55258.
(OCll;elS-3700.
MIINEAl'OLISIST. PAUL (612)
Affirmation (Mormons), PO Box 3878, Minneapolis, 55403.
753-3345.
Aflirmalion (United Methodsls), 101 E. Gran! SI., Minneapolis,
SS,lJ3. 874$13, 871-3585.
All Gods Chilcten MCC, 3100 Park Ave. S., MinMapolis, 55407.
824-2673. Plb: The Disciple
Catholic Pastoral Committee, 1118 Farringon St., SI. Paul,
55117-4802 3«).0018.
OiglO(, PO Box 3565, Mi~ is, 55403. 827-3103.
lntegnty, c/o Univeraity Episcopal Center, 317 17th Ave SE,
Mimeap!llis, 55414. 82!>2301.
Spirit ol the Lakes Community Church, (UCC), 2930 13th Ave. S.,
Mirreapolrs, 55407. 724-2313. Sundav, 10a.m., Wed., 7p.m.
Lutnerans Concerned, 100 N. Oxtord st., st. Paul, 55104-6540. - · ~~~•J~~. f~ ~~~r~~~u~04 224-3371.
Mississippi
JACKSON (601)
Gay and Lesbian Task Force, PO Box 7737, 39284-7737.
373-8310.
Phoenix Coalition, Inc., PO Box 7737, 39284-7737.
373-8610,939-7181. ColllS8iirg services.
~2ll1~~n•~J-~i1it ~r;:~~\~t~\,r~ a~
0
0niia~~~
Church, 4872 N. State St
M1ssoun
COLUMBIA (314)
Ct, ist the King Agape Church, 515 Hickman Ave., 65201.
443{1316.
UnledCovenanl Mission Church, PO Box 7152, 65205. 449-7194.
KANSAS CITY AREA (816)
Affirmation (United Methoclsts), 5709 Virgnia Ave., 64110-2855.
363-6892.
GLAD Oiscifles olctrist, PO Box414711, 64141. 432-6139.
lriegity, PO Box 414164, 64141-4164. 281-0099:
Lutnerans Concerned, PO Box 413702, 64141.
MCC, PO 8<,( 10067, 64111-00!7. 931-0750. 3001 W,,an:xite.
MCC Johnson Courty, 12510 W. 62nd Terr., 1106, Shawnee
Missio~ 66216. (913)631-1184.
New Jerusalem Fellowship Ministnes, PO Box 10496, 64111.
76!-3134. •
ST. LOlJS AREA (314)
~ Cluch, 2026 Lafayette Ave., 63104. 664-3588.
Di;Jitv, P0Box23a!l, 63156. 863-6'.Xl2.
MCG,""PO Box7226, 63177-7226. 231-9100. 1120 Dolman St
Montana
BUtlGS(GI
Farrily ol God MCC, 645 Howard, 59101. 245-7066. Sunday,
11a.rn, Wed, 7p.m
BOZEMAN (406)
Affirmation (United Methodsts), 1000 N. 17th Ave., 129, 59715.
586,7438.
GREATFAI.LS (406)
Shepnerdof lne Plains MCC, PO Box 2162, 594'.13. 771-1070. 1505
17th Ave., SW, 59404.
Nebraska
OMAHA(402)
MCC, PO Box 3173, 68103. 345-2563. 819S. 22nd St.
PLGC, c/o Evans, 381013th St., 122, 68107. 733-1300.
Nevada
LAS VEGAS (702)
MCC, 1119S.MainSt.,.89104-1026. 384-2325.
RfN0(702)
MCC cj tne Sierr~ PO Box 21192, 89515-1192. 829-8802.
New Hampshire
MANCHESTER (603)
P-FLAG, PO Box 386, 03105. 623-6023. Mnthly meetings in
Concord, Nashua, Stratham, Monadnock.
NASHUA (603)
lntegity, PO Box 412, 03061. 882-5352
PORTsMOllTH (603)
Judith A. Palais, MSW, BCD, psychotherapist. Gaynestian
col!)lesandvi<ilals. 431-1900.
New Jersey
ASBURY PARK (908)
Diqily, POB<,(901,07712. 774-4031.
MAPlEWOOD (201)
Di!J]ily, St. George's Church, 550 Ridgev.ood Rd., 07040.
761-7321.
NEWARK (201)
Tne Oasis, Cathad:al House, 24 Rector St., 07102. 621-8151.
NEW BRUNSWICK (908)
IJK:Jjty, PO 8<,( 10781, 08906-0781. 819-0668.
MCC ""Christ lne l.iJerator, PO Box, 10494, 08906. 846-8227.
PLGC, PO Box 38, 08903-0038. Plb: More Ugl LjJd,le.
SUSSEX (201)
Tne Lovirg Brotherhood, PO Box 556, 07461. 875-4710.
New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE (505)
Dig;ty, PO Box 27294, 87125. 898-33,tl.
Kirohrp, Severih Day Ac!,,antists, PO Box 26012, 87125.
MCC, 2«>4 San Mateo Pt., NE, 87110. 681-9088. Plb: MCC Alive
River of Life Healirg Ministnes, 134 Quincy, NE, 87108.
SANTA FE (505)
The Calsby Connection, 551 W. Coroova, Ste. 0/E, 87501.
966-1794.
New York
ALBANY/CAPITAL AREA (51111
Community ol St. John Chnstian Orthooox Church, PO Box
9073, 12209. 346-0207. Fr. Herman. Plb: M~aooia
Digjly, PO Box 11204, Loucl>rMUe, 12211-0204 436,8546.
lnt8!J]ty, c/o Grace & Holy Innocents, 498 Clinton Ave., 12206.
465-1112
Lighthouse Apostolic Church, PO Box 1391, Schenectady,
12301-1391. 372-6001. Rev. Wlliam H. Carey, pastor.
MCC, 275 State St, 12210. 785-7941.
BUFFALO (716)
PO Box 75 Ell~ctt Sta, 14205. 833-8995.
I , c/o Church of tne Ascension, 16 Lin\\OOd Ave., 14209.
Pink Triargle Chnslian Fellowship, PO Box 722 Ellicott Sin.,
1420!>0722. 845-6971. Plb: Spirii'Mlrks.
GENEVA(315)
PLGC, POBox 278, Dresden, 14441-0278. 536-7753. ~JRK:i:ig~, 14211-2411. 877-0459.
Bronx(718) .
St Arris Church 295 st. !>M's Ave., 10454. 585-6325.
Brooklyn (718)
llig""ity, POBox021313, 11202-1313. 769-3447.
First Unitarian Church, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Concerns
Commmee, 50 Monroe Pl., 11201. 624-5466.
Long Island (516)
~'1~A IDS Care, Inc., PO Box 2859, Huntirgon stn., 11746.
Circle of More Lig,t, Box 203, Brookhaven, 11719-0203. 286-0542.
Digjtv, POBox 48, East Meacb.v, 11554. 781-6225.
Gay & Lesbian Unitarian Universalists, c/o UUF of stony Brook,
PO Box 602, Stony Broo~ 11790. 399-4967.
International Free Catholic Church/Good Shepherd Church,
PO Box 436, Central Islip, 11722. 723-0348. Rev. Msg-. Robert J.
Allmen, pastor. ·
Mrlnhlttan/New York City 1r• (212)
Axios: Eastern & Orthodox Chnstians, PO Box 756, Villag, Sin.,
10014. 989-6211. Second Fnday, 8p.rn, Community Center, 208
W. 13thS1 .
Chnstian Science GroL!l, c/o 444 3rd Ave., 14, 10016. 532-8379.
Digntty, PO Box 1028 OldCnelsea stn., 10011. 818-1309. Plb:
OtA/aok
lli!Jlity, PO 8<,( 1554FOO Sin., 10150. 866-8047.
Evangalicals Concerned, 311 E. 72nd St., 11G c/o Dr. Ralph
Bl~r, 10021. 517-3171. Plb: Recorq Review
Gay &Leslfan Qwkera, 15 RllnerlordPI., 10003-3971. 475-0195,
979-0170,
f~Lt'.:' xtian
0
~A!'i,';""J~a-~~pl2~:\~nce, c/o Allen Harris,
lntegity, ~ 5202 1018!>0043. (718)720-3054 Plb: C\J//ook.
Les6ian and Gay Communn>/ SeNices Center, lr<:.1 208 W. 13th
St., 10011. 620-7310, N>: Center stagr, Center Vo1co. ~~~!h&ur:~~t!rs1: 0~~~~/~-~cerns, cfo
MCC, 206 W.13thSt, 10011. 242-1212. Sunday, 1oa.m at2al W.
~!lcNf~'~l;;,~~ifu 866-35&:J.
Paluc~ c/o Allen V. t-lmi~ 1010 Park Ava., 10028-0991. 288-3246.
Fourth FndaY., 7p.m.
SECOND STONE • S E P T E MB ER/OCTOBER 1994
. ' , "" . ·""~. -·' ;..,- .: .. - -~ •• •_,; ~ ~ ·.:, . J •
Resource Guide ................................ . ' ,. .......... ~ .. •- ........................ .
Rutgers Prest,;tenan Church, 236 W. 73rd St., 10023. 877-8227.
Sunday, 11a.m. More Light church.
Seventh-Day Adventist l<inship International, PO Box 20595,
11rei. (718)662-!1656.
LCCL,1'.JC, c/o Craig Hoffman, 1453A Lexirg1on Ave., 10128.
2(1l.l)16. .
Unily Fellowship Church, PO Box 2708, 10008·2708.
(718)636-564a
Waroirqon Sq,are I.MC, 135 W. 41hSI., 10012 m-2528.
West Park Pre,t,;terian Church, 165 W. 861hSl, 10024. 362-4890.
Qu..,1(7181
Queens lesbian & Gay Christians, PO Box 4154, College Point,
11356, 353-3941. Plb: The Goo:l Shepherd
Unitarian Universalisl Church, Lesbian, Bisexual & Gay
Concerns Commillee, 147-54 Ash. Ave., Flushing, 11355.
353-llllJ.
WN!choctor (914)
\nlegily, PO Box 2038, \\!me Plains, 10602-2038. 949-4367. Plb:
The Grapevine.
PLATTSBURGH (518)
St. Mary's Ecumenical Calholic Church, PO Box 159, Chazy,
12921. 566-7745. Rev. Fr. Michael Frost
POUGll<EEPSE (914)
Dignilynnlegrity, PO Box 356, Lagrangeville, 12540-0356.
724-3200.
ROCHESTER (716)
Og,!ynntegily, 17 S. Filzhl.ql SI., 14614. 262-2170.
The Errp)f.;loset, 179 Atfanlic Ave., 14607-1255. New York
Stat~•~ Mil.'t;~tn~~ 271-8478.
~C, cb Carter, ·111 Mi tun SI., 14607-2918. 271-7849.
SYRACUSE (315)
May Memorial Unttarian Universalists for Lesbian & Gay
Concerns, 3800 E. GenesseeSI., 13214. 424-7628.
Ray of H<pe MCC, PO BoK 6955, 13217. 471-6618. SlJ1d3y, Sp.m.
at 819 Madson St.
l/T1CA(315}
Di!Tilv, PO 8oK 352, 13500. 738-0599.
WANTAGH (516)
Digily,POBoK2&:Xl, 11793. 781-5942
North Carolina
ASHEVLLE (71>4) ·
Communify Connections, PO Box 18088, 28814. 258-3260.
Newspaper for lhe Soulhern Appalachian gaynesbian
W\~~%. 25278, 28813. 259-ll55.
CHARLOTTE (704)
Lutherans Concerned, PO Box 9562, 28299. 334-2367. Plb: The
Clarion • • -
MCC, lfJ37 E. I~ Blvd, 1726, 28205-7375. 563-5810.
Melrolina SY.ilclt>oar<I PO Bo, 11144, 28220. 535-6277.
Newli\eMCC, POBo,221«J4, 28222. 343-9070.
GREENSBORO (910)
St. Ma,Ys MCC, PO Box 5808, 27435-0808. 272-1606. Meels at
Unitanan Church, 3001 Montery Dr., Sun., 4p.m., 7p.m,, Mon.,
8P.m., 'Mad, 7:30p.m. Rev. Chrisline Oscar, paslor.
HICKORY(704)
MCC, c/oUn!enanCl>Jrch, 109111hAve., NW, 28601.324-1900.
TRIANGLE AREA (919)
Aflirmalion (United Methodsts), PO Box 5961, Raleigh, 27650.
850-!!lOO.
Dig,ly, PO 8oK 51129, Durham, 27717-1129. 493-8269. :~~2itf ,cs~,'.;~: lhe Good Shep!lerd, PO Bo, 28024,
Lutherans Concerned, PO Bo, 665, Ape,, 27502. 387-0824.
Meets in Raleigh.
:ei
1
~~~~Ne
7
~~~r Gay and Lesbian Eq.,alily, PO
St. John's MCC, PO BoK 5626, Raleigh, 27650. w4-2611. SlJ1d3y,
7:15p.m., 814 Dix~ Trail.
Tnan9e Lesbian & Gay Concerns, c/o Unitarian Fellowship,
3313 W,a, Ave, Aalfflgh, 27607. 834-3302
WLMNGTON (91~
GROW Commuiity Ser.ice Corp., PO Bo, 4535, 28400. 675-9222.
Youth outreach: AU'vl, for filY, lesbian, bisa,ual youth.
St. Jude's MCC, 507 Ca~le SI., 28401. 657-9222. Sun., 6p,m,,
Wed., 7p.m. Kalhi Beall and Budcly Vess, minislers.
W\NSTON-sALEM (910)
Lesbian & Gay Corx:ems Task Force, Unitarian Universalisl
Fellowstip, 2873 Aobinhoo:l Ad., 27106. 723-7633. ~'tr,'~, ~j)~~{~(:i~~fY and Lesbian Eq.,alily, PO
Ohio
AKRON(216l
MCC, 1215 Kenmore Blvd., 44314. 745-5757, Plb: Beacon of
Lighl.
Cascaw Community Church, 1190/1196 Inman SI., 44306.
773-5298. Sunday, 2p.m Plb: Cascade Newsletter.
Lutherans Concerned PO Box 67114, Cuyahofjl Falls, 44222.
928-ffi<ll.
ATl£NS (614)
UCCL,1'.JC, 18 N. Colklge SI., 45701. 593-7ll1.
CANTON(216) ·
Emmanuel Fellowship Church, PO Bo, 35604, 44735-5804.
376-8725.
CINCINNATI (513) -
Cig-il)', PO 8oK 983, 45202. (606)581-9014.
lntegily, 4905 Cha~! Dr., #11, 45217•1445. 242-7297.
NewSprtt MCC, 65 E. t'dli~er SI., 45219. 241-8216. Plb: V,sioos.
Cl.EIIELAMl (216)
A Common Bond PO Bo, 91853, 44101. Jehovah's l'.ltnessas.
Digily, PO Box 91697, 44101. 531-4469.
Emmanuel MCC, 10004 Lorain Ave., 44111-5429. 651-0129.
Sunday, 10:45a.m. Plb : Good News
Pl.Ge, 841 ~'™Xld. 44121. 382-0507.
COLUMBUS 614)
Christ Untte Evangelical Churc~ PO Box 141264, 4J214.
297-&317.
·Evangelicals Concerned PO Box 360491, 43236. 235-GA YS.
SECOND STONE
First Unilarian Universali~ Church, 93 W, Weisheimer, 43214.
267-4946. &inday, 11am
Fnends for Lesbian & Gay Concema (Quakers), 488·2096.
Gay Men's Support Group, c/o Newman Center, 64 W. Lane
Ave., 43201. 291-4674.
MCC, PO Box 10009, 43201-0509, 294·3026. 1253 N. High St.
Sunday, 10:30a.m. Plb: The Beacon News
Spirit of the Rivers Commu~ly Church, PO Box 10333, 43201.
$1774 .
stonelWJll Union Reporl~ Box 10814, 43201-7814. 299-7764.
UCCLGC, 294-9970, 488-2006,
DAYTON(513)
CommunltV Gospel Church, PO Box 1634, 45401. 252-8855.
Sunday, 16a.m. al 546 Xenia Ave. Samuel Kaoor, paslor.
~~Pb°~~.~i',~~ 1630E. f;hSl
OBERl~(216l
Int~. PO BoK397, 44074-0087. 775-3341.
SPRINGFIELD (513)
Com""""n!yCrurch of TnJh, PO Bo, 3005, 45501·ll05. 325-7691.
TOLEDO (419)
Digily, POBoK 1388, 43603. 242-9057. ~'!i,1~. c/o St. Mark's Church, 2272 Collingwood Blvd., 43620.
MCC, Good Samanlan Pansh, 720 W. Delaware Ave., 43620.
244-2124. &inday, 11am.
Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY (406) .
ChnstlheKi~MCC. P08ox 12457, 73157-2457. 949-0335.
Church of Ctrist locGays, PO 8oK 75461, 73147. 528-8417.
Qilril):~nlegnly, PO Box 25473, 73125, 755-9175. ~\~ileetmg (Quakers), 312 SE 25th SI., 73129. 632-7574,
Holy Tnnily Ecumenical Catholic Churc~ PO Box 25425, 73125.
~~/ 91~. Marty Martin, pastor. 2328 N. MacArthur.
OigityArtegity, PO 8oK 1271, 74101-1271. 298-4648.
MCC;POaa,-4187, 74159. 838-1715.1623N M""""8V,ood
Oregon
EUGENE (!03)
~I~ t-o ~/1~~~ ~g~i: w.,:;y~
1
~~1 Firsl
Con~efjllional Church, Condon Chapel, 23rd & Harris Sis.
Plb: Con,non Ground Rev. Marg,ente Scrogge, pastor.
PORTLAMl (503)
Affirmation (Vriled Melhodsts), PO 8oK 12673, 97212. 234-8854.
American Friends Service Committee, Gay & Lesbian Progam,
2249 E. BtmSioo, 97214. 230-9430. Contact Dan.
\Jig'ily, PO 8oK 6700, 97228-6700. 295-4888.
Evangelicals Concerned, PO 8oK 40741, 97240-0741. 232-7451. ~~fJ'.; i~:.sc, f49 E. Bumsioo, 97214. 774-1064. Pub: st.
Me\anoia Peace ~mmuntty UMC, 2116 NE 18th Ave., 97212·
4!00. 281•31!l7.
MCO, 1644NE2411\97232281-8868.
Reach Outl (Forflll Jehovah's 'Mlnessas), PO Box 1173,
Clackamas, 97015.
SisterSpiril, PO Box 9246, 97207, 294-0645. Plb: Spirited l'\omen
ROSEB!JlG (503)
MCC, BoK2125, 97470-0449. 440-1496.
SALEM(503)
Digily, PO 8ox 532, 97308. 363-0006.
SWea\ Spiri MCC, PO Box 13969, 97309, 363-6618.141012th St.,
SE.
Pennsylvani a
ALTOONA (814)
~~L;:~i ~~~~~!\!~ Fellowship, 1805 8th Ave,
ERIE(814)
lrtegily, PO BoK 1782, 16507-0782 774-I.11JJ.
HAl.t.lN(717)
Di!Tilv, PO 8oK 379, 18427. 829-1341.
HARRISBURG (717)
Dig,ily, PO Box 297 Federal Sq,are Sin., 17108.
MCC of \he Spin!, PO Box 11543, 17108. 236-7387. Pub: Spirit
~~HVALLEY(61~ .
Grace Covenant Fellowship, 247 N. 10th SI., Allentovm, 18102.
740-0247. Surday, 10:45a.m. Bryon Rowe, pa~or. Thom Amer,
music minister.
~~~ ~ ~t~~~:~~~~ L80g;1.i~ 1?n=. 10102.
439-8755. Sunday, 7p.m. at Unttanan Crurch, 701 LechallM!~
Ave., Belhlehem. Plb: Valley Siar.
PIILADELPHIA (215) .
Oi[Jlily, PO Box 53348, 19105. 546-2093. Plb: The lnd,per,ct,nce.
lnle~ily, c/o Holy Trinity Church, 1904 Walnut St, 19103.
382-0794.
MCC, POBoK8174, 19101-8174. 563-6001. SlJ1d3y, 7p.m al2125
~~~:it.1;""~:n'2L1247
Unitarian Universalist Church, Stenton Ave. & Gorgas Ln.,
19150. 247-2561.
PITMAN(717)
Christiartlrum Klosler, AD 1, Box 146, 17964. Gay harmornsls.
PITTSBURGH (412)
Affirmation tnedMelhodsts), BoK 10104, 15232-0104.683-5526.
~~%8ox~i:mo~~,-a747
Ltiherars Concerned PO Box 81866, 15217-0866. 521-7746.
I/CC, 4836 Ellsv,orth Ave., 15213. 683-2994.
PLGC,POBoK9J22, 15224-0022.
Rhode Island
•
South Carolina
CHARLESTON (803)
MCC, 2010 Hav.lhome Dr., #10, 29418. 747-6736. Mary M. Moore,
paslor.
COLUMBIA(II03)
Lutherans Concerned, PO Box 8828, 29202·8828. 738-1899.
Meels at 728 Pickens SI. on USC carJ'!)U5.
GREENVILLE (803)
MCC, PO Box 6322, 29606-6322. 233-0919. Sun., 7p.m. al 37 E.
Hillcrest. Rev. Mick Hinson, pastor.
South Dakota
LAKE PRESTON (605l
UCCL,l'.lC, Al. 1, Box 76, 57249. 847-4623.
SIOUX FALLS (605!
St Frarcis & St C~re MCC, PO Box 266, 57101-0266. 332·3966.
Tennessee
CHATTANOOGA (615)
lnlegity, PO BoK 4956, 37 405. 756-8225.
MCC, PC 8oK 80183, 37 411. 892-2138. S11t, 7p.rn. at 3224 Navajo
JOttlSON CITY (615)
MCColtheTnCilies, PC8ox161~ 37&:JS-1612 926-4393.
KNOXVILLE (615)
MCC, PO BoK 2343,-37901-2343. 521-6546.
l,£l,IPIIS (901) =_ c/o Calvary Episcopal Church, 102 N. 2nd St., 38103.
NASHVILLE (615l
!;ff.;tng Fellowship, 120-B S. 11th St., Box 68073, 37206.
lrte;Jily, PO 8oK 121172 37212-1172 383-6600.
MCC, PO 8oK 60406, 37206-0400. 262·0922. Sun, 11a.m., 7p.m.,
1021 AlllS811 St
Texas
ABLEHE(915}
ExodJs I/CC, PC BoK2473, 79004. 872-7922 904 Walnut SI.
AMARLLO (806)
MCC, POBoK1276, 79105.372-4557. 2123S. Polk SI.
AUSTIN(512)
Al1irmalion (Untted Methodsts), 7403 Shoal Creek Blvd, 78757.
451-2329.
Digily, P08ox2666, 78768. 467-7908.
j'!.""'f ~iit~i4II~ i:J:~z :~~:
7
~rouse Meacllw Ln ,
7875SID48. 835-7354. .
CORPUS CHRISTI (512)
MCC, 1315 Craig St., 78404-3330. 882-8225. Sun., 10..m, \\lld ,
7:30pm
Utah
LOGAN(801)
MX, PO Box 4285, 84321. 753-3135.
SALT l.Al(E CITY (801)
Sacred Liltrt of Ctrisl MCC, 823 S. &:Xl E, 84102 596-0052
Vermont
BURLtlGlON (1102) .
MCC, PO Box 2010, 05407. 899-4442
Unitarian Universalists for Gay & Lesbian Concerns, 152 Pearl
SI., 05401, 862-5630.
ESSEX JCT
Resurrection Apostolic Ministries, PO Box 162, 05452. Sr.
Michelle M. Thomas, pastor.
l.llNTPELER(II02)
lntegily, c/o Chnst Episcopal Church, 64 State St., 05602-2933.
Virginia
ALEXAMlRIA (703)
Affinration (Mormons), PO Box 10034, 22320-9334. 828-3006.
St. Cyril's Eastern Christian Fellowship, 6008 R~hmilnd Hwy.,
#:Xl1, 22300. 329-7896. ByzanlineChn~rancommunly.
ARLtlGlON (703) ?t/Ys ~:l""iil:WW7· 22210. 912-1662.
Alfinration (Mormonsf.io 8oK 10034, 22320-9334. 828-3006.
MCC, 7245 Lee Hwy., 22046. 532-0992. Sun., 6p,m. at Fairtax
Unttanan, 2709 Hunler Mill Ad, Oaklon.
T e\os Ministries (~isls) , PO Box 3390, 22043. 500-2680.
NORFOLK (804)
Digily, PO 8oK 434, 23501. 625-5337.
New Lile MCC, PO Bo, 1026, 23501-1028. 855-8450. Sun,
10:30arn., 8:JOp.m., l'llld, 7:30p.m al 1530 Johrslors Ad.
Unttarlan Universalists for Lesbian & Gay Concerns, 739
YarrnoulhSI., 23510. 627-5371.
RIC\NlND (804)
Affirmalion (lJntted Melhodsls), PO BOK 25615, 23260-5815.
746-7279. 700W,Frari<finSI.
Ci[Jlilynn\eqily, PO BoK 5207, 23220. 228-8140.
MCC, 2501 Park Ave., 23220. 353-9477.
ROANOKE(703)
8111' Riebe Latrbda Press, PO BoK 237, 24002. 890-3184.
Lesbian 1 Gay Catholics & Episcopalians, PO Bo, 4163, 24015.
774-<XX!l.
MCC ol lhe Blue AidQe, PO Bo, 20495, 24018. 368-0839. Sun.,
3p.m. at Unitarian Church, 2015 Grandin Ad SW. PLb: Blue
Ridg, Banner.
VllG~IA BEACH (804) ·
All Gods Chilcten Community Church, 465 S. lndepenoonce
Blvd, #108, 23452. 499-7008.
~t~~~%:::™M~\I~f!,W Bo, 48382, Wataufil, MOUNTVERNON(206)
76148-0082 (81~ . MCC, PO 8oK 20577, Seatt~, 98102. 325-6775.
Affirmation (United Melhodsts), PO BoK 225831, Dallas, 75222. 0l Yl.l'IAi206l Wa h'
98501 2-4313, Eternal Li I MCC, 207 N. s rrgon, .
Washington
Agape MCC, PO Bo, 15247, Fort Worth, 76119-0247. R\CHLAN (509)
(817)535-5002 4615 SELoop 820 Sun 9a m 11a m Agape River of UfeMCC, POBoK 1678, 99352-0059. 544-9689.
News. · · ' · ·· · · Shalom UCC, 505 McMurray, 99352. 943-3927. Open and
~
1
t~al of H<pe MCC, 5910 Cedar Spring; Ad, Dallas, 75235. ~f~'W& (~
Sun, 9a.m, 11am. AHmialion (Monnons), PO 8oK 23223, 98102. 820-5729. PLb: The
Dig-ily, POBoK 190133, Dal~s. 75219-0133. 218-4101. QJen Closet. ·
Dg,!y, 4500 Bricg, Ad, Fort \\Mh, 76103. (817)283-8588. Alfirmalion (United Mejhodsls), 2115 N. 42nd 96103.
Holy Trinily Commu~ty Church, 4402 Roseland Ave., Dallas, \Jig'ily, Box 20325, 96102·1325, 325-7314.
75204 827•5088 Rev Frederick V\tigj pas1or Evangelicals Concerned PO 8oK 20189, 96102-1189. 932-3401.
lntegn~, PO 8oK i90351, Dallas, 75219-0351. 52>-0012 Grace Gospel Chapel, 2052 NW641h St.,. 98107. 784-8495. Sun,
Silent ~rvest Mirislries, PO 8ox 190511, 75219-0511. 520-6655. 11a.m., 7p,m., \\lld, 7:30p.m. Jeny Lachrna, pastor.
\\lite Rock Communly Church, PO BoK 1SOOEO, 75218, 285-2831. Int~. PO 8ox 20663. 96102 525-4668.
327-9157 Sui 10~m JenyCook paslor MCT;,2101141hAve.S.,96144.325-2421.
DENTON.(8fij' · · · ' · overtake MCC, PO Box 6612, Bellevue, 98008. 885-0414. 12700
~t~~MCCrn 5900 S, Slemmons, 76205. 497-4020. Sun., ~~News. 704E.Plke, 96122_324-4297_
HOUSTON %3) UCCLGC, 317_ 181h Ave. E. #4, 96112-5132 329-:W.
Community Gospel Church, 501 E. 18th al Colurmia. 880-9235. Untar~n Lesbiars & Ga)', 6556 351h Ave. NE, 96115. 483-0345.
Sun., 11a.m.ChnsChil~~•f'~~~ SPOKANE(509) h St Che 04
DawnolFeithMCC, 100~~!\Jr .,77089-2017.991-8766. AH1rmal~n (Unrled Methods1s), 3 N. 91 ., ney, 990 .
~~HPO BoK8682l, 7 · 880-2872· Sal, 7:~.m at 1ll? Fm~ual MCC, PO Bo, 769, 99210. 838-0085. Sun., 10:30a.m.,
First Unttarian Universa\is1 Church, Gay/Lesbian Task Force, 7p.m at307W 4th Ave.
5200 Farrin St., 77004-5899. 526-5200. Urilarian Crurch, 321 W. 811\ 99204. 624-48Ul
Houston Mission Church, PO Box 1633 Marshall, 77006. TACOMA(206)
529-8225. Sun., 10:30a.m. Rev. Robert L Carter, pastor. Hillside Com..,nily Church, 2506 S. 39th SI., 98409. 475-2388/
lntegity, PO Box 66008, 77266-6008. 432-0414. PLb: Margnal ~~ii ~rmanAve., 98405-3438. 272-2382
~¢,m Community Church, 614 E. 19th St., 77008. 862-7533. MCC olthe Gentle Sh<μ>,r<I PO Bo, 5094, 98668, 253-8401.
748-6251, sun, 11am
MCC of the Aesurreci~n, 1919 Decalur, 77007-7636. 861-9149. West Virginia
Rev. John Gill, pastor. Plb: The Good News l.llRGAHTOWN (304)
LONGVIEW (903) Freed>m Fell011Shp, PO 8oK 155Z 26505. 292-7784.
Church 'M\h A Vision MCC, PO Box 1287, 75008-1287. 753-1501.
Sun., 1oa.m al 420 E. Cotton St.
LUBBOCK (806)
MCC, 5501 34th SI., 79407. 792-5562. Sun., 11a.m., 7p.m. Rev.
Renae Plillips, pastor. Plb: Vision
Lesbiar/Gay Allrance, Inc. PO Box 64746, 79464-4746. 791·4499.
Plb: Larrbda Times .
MDLAND(915}
Holy Tnnly Community Churc~ 1607 S. Main, 79701. 570-4822.
Rev. Glenn E. Hammell, pastor.
SAN ANTONIO (210)
MCC, 1136W, Wooda'/,1\ 78201. 734-0048.
River Cly l.Mng Churc~ 202 Holland, 78212. 734-0077,
TYLER(903)
St. Gabnel Commun tty Church,_ 13904 Counly Rd 193, 75703.
58Hll23.
WACO(817)
MCC, PO 8c>< 22043, 76712 752-5331.
WICIITA FALLS (817)
MCC, PO Box~. 7/JYJ7. 696-2688 .
Wisconsin
FOX VALLEY (414)
Angel of Hq,e MCC, PO 8oK 672, Green Bay, 54305. 496-8688.
MADISON(608! .
lntegily,lligiity, PO Bo, 730, 53701, 838-8886. 1001 Universily
Ave. .
(1 Alike Mind POBoK6021, 53716-&!11. 255-5002.
MI.WAUKEE(414)
~J::l'ra:' ~i:~~:.4;~~. 53211. 481-11003.
MAPScint~Care, PO Box 92505, 53202 273-1991.
MCC, POBoK 1421, 53201-1421. 332-999~
International
LONDON • Le_sbian and Gay Cl1rislian Movement, Oxford
House, Dert,;shrre St., London E2 6HG, U<, 071-739-1249.
CANADA· lnlertaith Assn. on AIDS, clo #201, 11456 Jasper Ave.,
Edmonton. Alberta T5K OM1 •
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994
-,
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BIBLICAL ""CONDEMNATION"" of gays
examined by Columbia University graduate
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The candidate must be of high moral
character, professionally trained, ordained, or
eligible for ordination. For further information
please send letter o( inquiry of Saint
Gabriel Community Church, 13904 CR 193,
Tyler, TX 75703 or call (903) 581-6923.
10/94 .
SEEKING PASTOR for small independent
liturgical church in Dallas, Texas. Present
pastor retiring January, 1995. Mainline
church background and seminary graduate
preferred . Contact: Pulpit Committee, Fr.
Frederick Wright, c/o Holy Trinity Community
Church, 4402 Roseland Avenue,
Dallas, TX 75204. Telephone : (H)(214)
821-0418, (0)(214)827-5088. 12/94
~:ri •~hds/Relationships . '
CHICAGO GWM, 41, 155 lbs., 5'10"",
looking for a soul mate. I am emotionally,
spiritually, and financially secure and seek
the same in my mate. Open with my sexuality,
masculine, not flambo ·yant, HIV-,
involved in the Episcopal Church, and
dedicated to my friends. You have similar
qualities, do not abuse alcohol or drugs , and
love life. Write with recent photo: B.R., ii~ N . Greenview, 2E, Chicago, IL 60640.
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I New Orleans, LA 70182
------------------------------------------ I -------------------'
appears
GWF, 44, professional, feminine, well
educated, kindly humorous, talkative
financially stable, no drugs /smoking, littl~
dnnkmg , faithful Presbyterian, liberal in
outlook, conservative in lifestyle. ISO truly
similar lady living within 2-3 hours : GWF,
good listener, feminine, 39-49 , interested in
commitment Vs. casual relationships . \Vrite:
Sarah, ·P.O. Box 14163, Augusta, GA 30919.
6195.
ACTIVE CATHOLIC (Orthodox, A nglican,
or Roman Catholic) male wanted. Serious
but jovial and se nsual and niasculine! ... in
the ·southwest or San Diego. Weight in
proportion to height. Music and animal
lover. Around my age range: 53. No smoke
or dope, moderate drink! Frank B., P.O. Box
62, Blue Springs, MO 64013
GWM, Christian, professional, educated, 35,
6'2"", 160 lbs., blue/brown (balding) no facial
hair, hirsute. ISO a non-smoking, drug-free
lifemate, monogamous relationship. Interests:
music, theatre, outdoors, travel, quiet
evenings, cards, volleyball, dancing . P.O.
Box 59, Hummels Wharf, PA 17831-0059.
12/94
l'M ATTRACTED TO WV, TN, OK, TX, AR,
VA, KY Southern boys. Like them Christian
or other beliefs who are very romantic,
loving, gentle, caring, masculine, straightacting,
nice personality. Honesty counts.
Must be very loving, sexual. I like slender
types 24-40's, long haired , dark, redhead ,
blondes. Little Teddy Bear wants a country
boy . I'm 37, 57, 155 lbs., hairy, HIV-. No
drugs, games, bar types. Photo to M. Barrett,
6244 Corson Ave. So., Seattle, WA
981<l!-3442. 10/94
VERY INTERESTING, attractive, athletic
loving, sincere, and open 24 yr. old
blonde/blue WM who is incarcerated with
winter release would love to meet older male
for special friendship. Metz, 276527, Box
120 3Cl35, Lebanon. OH 45036. 10/94 ~-,-""AIDS AWARENESS"" stamp pins. $3.50.
Quality made of solid brass. Proceeds benefit
PWAs. Volume discounts . Eastern Maine
AIDS Network, P.O. Box 2038, Bangor, ME
04402. 12/94 _,_
CREMATION URNS: Introducing the
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GAY PRIDE FLAGS, Banners, Lapel Pins,
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1-800-854-1438. (24 hrs. - 7 days.) Retail &
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PIANO FOR SALE . Responsible party
wanted to take on low monthly payments on
beautiful console piano. No down payment
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LIVE OPERA performances on audio/video
casette. Incredible _selection since 1930's,
world-wide. Over 7400 items. Magnificent
free - computerized catalogue. Live Opera,
P.O. Box 3141, Steinway Station, Long
Island City~NY 11103. 12/95
NEW YORK CITY GAY Spirit-filled Christian
grnup now forming for support, fellowsh,
p, Bibl e study, and worship. Ultimate
goal is to start new Christ-centered church.
Call Kevin at (718)267-0773
REACH OUT! Support group - gay, lesbian
ex-Jehovah's Witnesses. FYI, Box 1173 ,
Clack. OR 97015. 10/94
--~<li'.'ffi-~l:i, -1
PSYCHOTHERAPIST with long -term
expenence workmg with gay/lesbian indi-.
v1dualscouples. 603-431-1900. Contact
person Judith A. Palais MSW BCD. 10/94
REV. N. A. LLOYD, C.M., spiritual medium
and advisor. Spiritual counseling. Call
(516)736-1058. 12/94.
RETREATS FOR GAY monks focusing on
coping techniques in repressive communities
at _Saint Benedict Monastery . Information
wnte: Dan, 1012 Monastery Rd., Snowmass,
CO 81654. 6/95
CARIBBEAN VACATION. Spend a week at
the only gay owned beach resort in the U.S.
Virgin Islands. Perfect place for lovers. One
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credit. Low air also . Call for details.
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5Cams.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,36,1994,"Sept/Oct 1994",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e34d40daf01c053c4abb4b5e0687408b.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1674,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1674,"Second Stone #37 - Nov/Dec 1994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"FIRST ISSUE OF YEAR NUMBER SEVEN NOVEMBER/DECEMBER, 1994 ISSUE #37
2.95
-Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing ·stream. - Amos 5:24
General Secretary attends forum sponsored
by gay and lesbian Christian ministries
National Council of Churches
General Board meets; receives ·
report on homosexuality
FROM STAFF AND NCC REPORTS
MIDTERM ELECTIONS, antiimmigrant
backlash and
the wntinuing c~nflict in
Bosma- Herzegovina were
among topics of deliberation high on
the agenda of the National Council of
Churches' annual General Board
meeting, held in New Orleans Nov .
10-12,
New policy on evang elization and
on human rights also were items of
business and the Council considered a
committee report on homosexuality
and ecumenism. The 271-member
board includes delegates from the
NCC's .32 Protestant, Orthodox and
Anglican member churches, whose
memberships in tum total nearly 49
million.
Leaders from many of the gay and
lesbian Christian ministries attended
a panel discussion on Nov . 12 on
religious communities confronting the
radical religious right. Mel White,
UFMCC National Minister of Justice
delivered the keynote address.
White charged the NCC with
sacrificing Gays and Lesbians for a
greater good, as he said President
Clinton did with his broken promise
to lift the military gay ban. ""I will
-
P.O. Box 8340
New Orteans, LA 70182
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
never step into an NCC .meeting for
another word of dialogue, "" White
said, almost in tears. ""Gays and
Lesbians don't have any more time to
waste with it;""
NCC General Secretary Joan Brown·
,Campbell responded by denying that ·
the N<:::C has sacrificed justice for
Gays and Lesbians for some greater
good. ""There is a way to work
together,"" Campbell said, praising
the graciousness of the UFMCC after
""all these years"" (of having its
membership application denied .)
In his presentation, White warned of
the elements of the radical right's
world view: working toward theocracy
instead of democracy, doing away
with separation of church and state,
and a changing view of first amendment
rights.
White told the gather ing that the
religious right was made up of ""just
good folks"" .wJ10 clump together in
fear under powerful religious leaders
like Focus on the Family director Jim
Dobson, who White described as ""the
SEE COVER STORY, Page 10
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Den om ination~identified gay :~nd ·
lesbian Christian organi~atigras,:
· · When bad hews. tot Gays and Lesbi&ris co.111es from cfiW'ch
. headquarters, how do denominatibn-Jctentified g,:o,ups,f~re1. . .
Lutherans•Concerned/North America ,ProgramExecμtiv;~ ·.· .•
Bob GibeUng discusses a new direction for LC.;; PAGE 11 ·
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Box 8340 • New Orleans, LA 70182
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND B.ISEXUALS
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Contents · · ·•• . ti:f'•""·· .. • ...
[1]
.·· ... . . . From the editor . . · . .
• A Mississippi High Sheriff and· his Bible
[]J Commentary . . · .
Some Gays and Lesbians are. throwing.
the baby out with the bath·water [II ~~~ters.to the ed;tqr ·
[5 I NewsUnes
1 10· ·1 Cover story · · · I 111 I Our God Too: Radical right challenged
~ by NCC forum .
111· I What•s·a•ea• for denomination- .
·1· . · based gay arid lesbian organiz~tions
. · ' ' . · Bob Gilieiirig, PiCJgr~m Exeputive:f<t :, . .
· • Lutherans Concerned, discusses
,. · the•\:,ast'ahd future ·
r1·. !)) My._B~seball .Hat . : . · L _,_J!.J Julia M_ueller traces. ~er: ~oats
[ill ~:; :·!--
. Hii} ~~r~t~~;'s lasf b'oo~i an/ : · <. .' · · L!!!J: )he 2~1h. anniversary of Perry•~ Jahdm8:rk book
.... ... . ,., r• ! •
: --.
;y · --..
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W From the Editor W . . . . ............................ .
Keeping the g·ood Lord
happy in Mississippi
By Jim Bailey
M EMBERS OF OUR community all across the nation were shocked,
saddened and angered by the execution -style killings of two gay men in rural
Mississippi. Even more angering was the lackluster response to the killings
from local law enforcement officials.
Each victim in this particular case ·died of a gunshot wound to the head . A
few church~going folks across our land would say the men got what they had
coming . After all, haven't you read the booklet ""Death Penalty for Homosexuals
Prescribed by the Bible,"" published and distributed by a fairly well
known fundamentalist preacher? ·
I wonder if Maurice Hooks has read that little booklet. Hooks is the sheriff
(known as sheriffs are in most parts of Mississippi as the High Sheriff) of Jones
County, where the two gay men were killed. He is .a former state trooper
who has been sheriff for 13 years. When Brenda and Wanda Henson opened
Camp Sister Spirit in Hooks' territory almost two years ago and began
receiving harassment, there was some feeling that Hooks was not doing
enough to protect the women and the camp. Now, with the killing of these
two men on the outskirts of Laurel, there is the feeling that it is open season .
on Gays and Lesbians in Jones County and that the High Sheriff isn't too
worried about it.
Could it be that Hooks believes the Bible prescribes the death penalty for·
homosexuals? There is a Bible on Hooks' desk. There is a picture of Jesus
Christ on the wall of his office and directly under the picture, a sign reading
'The High Sheriff."" When asked by a reporter about complaints about the
way the murders of the two men and the harassment of Camp SisterSpirit has
been handled, Sheriff Hooks pointed to the picture of Christ and said, 'There's
the high sheriff. As long as I please the good Lord I don't have to worry about .
pleasing anyone else.""
Considering his lack of compassion, many would say that the sheriff's desk
was an unlikely ,place to fin:d a .Bible . . But really, Bibles do show up just abqut , ..
everyw!iere. It's the most published book in history .. Bibles ar~ often dutclied /:
in one hand while Ku Klux K\an members ignite crosses with the'·other , Km'\• ,
there was almost certainly a Bible in the hotel room where Rev. Jimmy
Swaggert met his downfall. Having a Bible in one's possession does not make
one an avid reader.
Gay rights and civil. rights groups are probably not the only ones unhappy
with the way the sheriff has mish,indled obvious acts of bigotry and violations
against life and basic rights in his part of a state whieh has a long history'uf
intolerance. Sheriff Hooks should pick that Bible up off of his desk. I think he
would discover that the ·real ""high sheriff,"" ""the good Lord,"" isn't as pleased
with his job performance as Hooks thinks He is .
Year seven for Second Stone
As we begin our seventh year of publication, I thank each and _every one of
you ·for enabling and empowering Second Ston·e .to reach out to members of
our ·community. I don't think that'a week has gone by during the past six
years that I haven'treceived a letter from someone just to say .""thanks."" And
that word of thanks always needs to be passed on to you, the folks who make
this publication possible.
Many blessings to you and yours during this holiday season! ·1 ~
' / , .. J .~ .. .....:... '""""-""--~,...,___,_--'--____ ( ~!!?
. SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. O.' Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1994 by Second Stone, a regi~tered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS; U.S.,;. ·$17.00 per.Year, six i~sues. For.eign subscribers add
$10.00 ror·postage:' /\11 paynieptsU ,S. currency only . . · ,
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to P.o.: Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182. ·
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, ' note\vorthy items<to (Department.
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is otherwise not r~ponsible for the .reluf\J of any materiat · ·
.. S.E:COND STONE, a . national ecumenical Christian socia l justice riewsjoumal
~ .:,,~ ,~tfi a specific o~treach to sexual orien~tion mi~orities.
, PUBLISHER/EQITOR: Jim Bailey ,
·., . CONTRIBUTORS FORTHfS ISSUE: William A.' Percy, Rev. Samuel Kader,
"""" :-.. , Robyn Brown,_~ulia Mueller, Richard L. palton , Jerry Lail . .
. 1. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 9 9 4
Comment . .. ~ , - .
V : -. ....... .............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fatal dishonesty in ""committed"" relationships
By Richard L. Dalton
Guest Comment I
. know of individuals who are
living and dying with HIV
and AIDS because they
decided to forego safe sex
while involved in committed relationships.
In 1989 I had the privilege of
traveling and ministering with Rev. ·
Sylvia Pennington across the United
States and Canada. In the Pacific
Northwest we stayed with a wonderful
young Christian man. He had
been in a committed relationship that
had ended due to a nightmarish situation
that I have since discovered has
impacted other lives and relationships.
Due to this couple being in a
committed relationship and having
discussed that they were both HIV
negative, they agreed to have sex
without condoms. One day while
they were preparing dinner my
friend's partner told him that he was
HIV-positive and that by now both of
them probably were. Pause and
think about this reality. As it.turned
out, my friend's partner knew before
they were together that he was HIV-·
positive, and he knowingly partici ""
pated in unsafe sex and infected my
friend. I hoped and prayed then that
this would be an isolated reality.
Two years ago I met a new friend at
ConnECtion, the annual conference of
Evangelicals Concerned Western Region.
The next year my friend
shared that he was fiIV-positive. We
talked about life,. our foves, Jesus and
ministry. He shared with me that he
had been in a relationship of trust,
love, mutual respect. His partner had
told him that he was HIV-negative
and today my friend is HIV-positive
because he too trusted his partner,
having unsafe sex with the man he
loved.
This is my second friend raped of
life by the very man he loved. What
is wrong with us guys? Come on!
Wake up! I am angry that someone
could do this to yet another wonderful
man of God . My heart cries for my
brothers.
Yesterday I shared wonderful
conversation with someone I recenily
met about ministering in the churches
we have been a part of through the : ·
years. In the course of the conversa,.
tion he shared how he recently left a
relationship because the man he was
with lied to him about his HIV status,
stating the was HIV-negative. In fact;
his former partner is HIV-positive and .
they had unprotected sex during their
relationship. It turns out that his
partner also lied to him about being
faithful. Fortunately, this third friend
has tested HIV-negative.
My friends shared important'truths .
about responsibility. The respo nsibility
for your life belongs to you, not
your partner! Here our brothers are
coming to terms with being Christian
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water
By Jerry Lail
Guest Comment
M any Gays and Lesbians, as
well as other disenfranchised
peoples, have already done
just that. M. Scott Peck, psy~
chiatrist and best-selling author,
discusses this phenomenon in his
book, Further Along tlze Road .Less
Traveled. Dr. Peck often uses the
phrase ""throwing the baby out with
the bath water"" to refer to the
Freudian defense mechanism known
as reaction formation.
When ·people throw the baby out
with the bath water it typically
involves going from one extreme to
another. As a result of conservative
Christianity's oppression and judgment
of homosexuals, large numbers
of Lesbians and Gays have left the
Christian church to join less judg.
mental religions such as Buddhism,
Native American religions, and New.
Age groups, while others have become
atheis.ts and agnostics.
One of those who left Christianity
wrote a lette_r to Genre ,magazine in
. ; reSl?,Of.l~e.'.to , an a.rticle I wrote on the
.,~;, i,u~ie'd pf Gays and rehg10n. His
response is a very :common one when
this subject is dealt with in a positive
way in lesbian and gay publications :
The basic argument is that Judeo-
Christian -religions. aren't in the least
pro-gay ~d . our•_lives would be much
healthier 1f we iust forgot God and
became atheists, agnostics,·or humanists.
.
lions of Scripture has been one of
condemnation for relatively the same
length of time. Most certainly there is
a great deal -of pain .and anger in our
·community. The anger is completely
justified and the pain bitterly real.
However, just as I am sure there are
homophobic ath eists, there are and
,have always been Christia .ns who
reject this negative treatment of Gays
and Lesbians and who are supportive
of us, sometimes at great personal
costs.
Many times those who say we don't ·
need God and/ or religion also ask
""Why would any gay person in their
right mind subject themselves to
further pain by clinging to such
destructive religious belief systems?""
This is a very valid question and it
would benefit all of us to ask it cf .
ourselves. ·
For some, especially those whg
remain in fundamentalist churches, .it
may be a case .of religious abus_e. and
addiction, and/ or a fear of hell if they
question the church'.s literid,. inerrant
interpretation of Scripture. Many ·
have bought into the lie that we are ..
scum of the earth ; God could not
possibly love us if we are gay.
Their distorted view of God is ·still
one of rigid legalism, ""judgmentalism:
· and hatred. Donald E. Sloat,
Ph.D., discμsses how our view of God
is 'Shaped by our childhood in his
provocative and healing book, The
Dangers of Growing_ Up in a Christian
Home. ""Since both our feelings . and
our faith operate through the same
personality equipment, we're g·oing
to have trouble seeing God clearly if
that equipment is malfunctioning or
contains emotional distortions.""
Dr. David A. Seamand (author,
· professor, counselor, Methodist minister
and missionary) also. addresses
this subject i~ 'his best-selling book,
~t&_ Pontius' Puddl~· ·
and gay, in a relationship that unbeknownst
to them is not honest, and
now two of the:three are·HIV-positive.
Orie friend and I -both use the word
rape . ta des~ibe what happened. I
believe this is an act of violence. We
must take responsiblity in our
relationships to be honest, . tell the
truth; value our life and the life of our ·
· partner by always practicing safe sex.
Jesus' example for us is to always
love ourself as we love. our neighbor.
· Loving ourself mearis taking the time
to be responsible in this era of AIDS.
It ·is horrible eriough to lose many
friends to AIDS. It is even more horrible
that some are acquiring HIV
from their partners. Trust is a
precious gift. Let-us use it to save· our
lives and the lives of our friends.
Richard Dalton is a member of the
board of directors 'of Evangelical~ Con
·cerned Western Region anc[ a Masters of
Divinity student at Pacific School of
Religion, Berkeley, Calif
Healin,gfor Damaged Emotions. ""Many
years ago I was :driven to the con- :
. dμsign t.hat tM two major causes of :
most eiriotiorial · problems among
. evangelical Christians are these: the
failure to understand, ·receive, and
live out . God's unconditional love,
· · grace-and forgiveness; and the failure
fo give ·out that unconditional love,
forgiveness, and grace to other
people.""
A growing :number of Christians
are ·coming to: 'the same or similar
conclusions. Dr. Scott Peck states that
the problem with Christianity is not .
its doctrine, but- that it is seldom
practiced,. More and more Christians,
as well as ·entire:churches and denominations
are shedding . the negative,
destructive views Of God. ,
This has l:!rought about a redefining
of Gocl'through .the life and teachings
SEE COMMENT, Next Page
. I don't buy that. True, the church
has been very -hurtful to Gays and
Lesbians for the past seven to eight
hundre\f . years, . ar.id the interpreta- . .
SE c o N D sf o N E N o v EM BE RI 6 E c E MB ER l 9 9 4
'••
.................. ·• ............ ..Y...o...u...r..T...u...m.... ................... .
Bloemfontein, South Africa
South Africa
needs our prayers
Dear Second Stone,
Greetings to. all from South Africa, a
country in transition. Thes·e times
have not been easy ·on us emotionally
and economically. However, things
are changing - but with more
freedom comes other things which are
not ·so ·good. We are soon to have
abortion on demand, legalized prostitution
(thinking that this will curb the •
AIDS epidemic) and a flood of
pornographic material is also coming
into the country.
After the incredibly violent past four
years - the frantic sweeping political
changes and the unbelievable chaotic
election - the sudden cheerful· atmo- ·
sphere of reconciliation did not last
long. This past month has been most
violent. Many policemen have been
murdered :. Racial tensions among the
different tribes have not abated and
are as furious as befor.e. Strikes are
busy crippling this country economically.
Please do remember us as we face
these changing times.
Sincerely,_
Rev. Brian Sterley
Tucson, Arizona
Letter from jail
· Dear Second Stone,
I am a 30-year-old gay male in
search of Christ, fellowsh,ip and
answers. I am writing this letter from
COMMENT,
From Page 3
of Christ, by focusing on the consistent
theme of the Holy Scriptures,
which is God's love for all ·humankind
and God's efforts to demonstrate
that love.
Robert Goss, Ph.D. surnmarizes this
redefinition in the chapter ""From
Christ the oppressor to Jesus the
liberator"" in his empowering book,
Jesus Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian
Manifesto. Dr. Goss points out the
numerous times in the Gospels that
Christ is criticized for His association
with ""sinners,"" the outcasts, ""tax
collectors and prostitutes."" In the time
of Christ when He told the parable of
the good Samaritan, ""the term 'good
Samaritan' was as shocking as the
term 'queer Christian' is to fundamentalist
Christians."" Dr. Goss also says
in regards to the resurrection: ""For
queer Christians, the risen Jesus
stands in solidarity with oppressed
gay men and lesbians. The risen
Jesus is the hope for justice.""
It is this hope for justice, love ,and
equality combined with a longing for
completion or wholeness that has
SECOND STONE
my jail cell where I'm waiting to g·o to
prison. My search for God and Christ
has been a difficult one. I have found
myself facing many stone walls built
by Christians to keep me and others
like me out. In my search I have
found hatred, persecution, contempt
and a lack of concern that has left me
hurt and discouraged. I believe it's
only by the power of God that I have
come this far.
All of my life I believed that being
gay was a sin. The kind of gay
lifestyle I was living sure was. I had
no religious background or upbringing
so I'm not sure where my beliefs
come from. But I've always felt
there's a God and He doesn't want
me. The church here in jail reinforced
that belief thoroughly.
One day while visiting my attorney
I told her about the church here and
some of the things being said. She
asked if I had ever thought about
becoming a Christian. My answer
was ""Hell no. I'm gay and I can't
change that."" It was at her suggestion
that I wrote letters to gay-friendly
churches. I sent out ten letters. I
received one reply .. It ·was from
Cornerstone Fellowship. Not only
did I receive a letter from them, they
also sent me my first Christi;m friend.
Later I heard from the Task Force
on Homosexuality and the Church,
First Presbyterian Church of Fort
Wayne, Indiana. They are responsible
for me being able. to enjoy my
first issue of Second Stone, along with
other great reading material and for
this I am thankful. Such literature
has made me aware of a whole
drawn many of us to or back to
church. The church, when it functions
in the spirit of Christ, is a type
of community. A community -that is
open, safe and affirming. A place to
ask life's important questions and
search for meaning with others.
If you are not part of a community
or are part ~f one which is negative
different type of gay /lesbian community;
a Christian community
which has given me hope and
determination. As jails and prisons
are nothing new to me, doing time
will just be old hat. However, doing
time as a Christian will be a whole
new ball game.
If you know of any Christians who
might correspond with me, please
give them my name. The power of
fellowship is great.
Sincerely,
Clayton Sanders
(Readers may write to Clayton Sanders
187204, 2-A-36, Box 951, Tucson, AZ
85702)
Menasha, Wisconsin
Second Stone is
getting better
Dear Second Stone,
My impression in reading your
current issue is that your publication
has improved greatly since the last
issue I saw. Keep up the good work.
. Sincerely,
BRR
Ennis, Texas
Dear Second Stone,
I'm so impressed with Second Stone.
You are maturing, growing, changing.
We all are grateful for your
creativity and for your commitment to
our community. Keep up the good
work!
Blessings to you and yours,
Mel v\/hite
intimate group of friends. I believe
that wherever one goes for community
it's still a quest for the same
thing. Wholeness.
Regardless of your religious
background, atheist, Buddhist, Christian,
Jewish, etc.; regardless of your
understanding of God, a supreme
being, an energy force, the sum of
"" ... the two major causes of most
en1otional problems among evangelical
Christians are these: the failure to
understand, receive, and live out
God's unconditional love, grace and
forgiveness; and the failure to give out
that unconditional love, forgiveness,
and grace to other people.""
and destructive, then now is a good
time to reclaim your right to share in
a community that is life affirming.
Some may find community in a
camping club,· a women's or men's
group; . others may find it in an
everything good that exists, Creator; I
encourage you to open yourself to the
wonderful adventure of experiendng
God in community.
A growing number of professionals
in the fields of psychology and
Akron, Ohio
Dear Second Stone,
Really enjoy your publication.
Thanks a lot. Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
JD
Florence, Oregon
The other side
of the closet
Dear Second Stone,
Summer before last I gave my wife
a copy of The Other Side of the Closet
thinking it an excellent choice for a
bisexual husband to give to his
straight, fundamentalist wife. She
did read it out of curiosity. It ruined
her summer. Her response was that
she wasn't like the wives mentioned
in the text. She said this is just a sick
phase I'm going through as a sinner
condemned to hell and as a good and
faithful wife she will stick it out with
me. We have been married 30 years
SEE LETTERS, Page 17'
We welcome
your. letters
and opinons
Write to Second Stone. All letters must
be original and signed by the writer.
Clearly indicate if your name is to be
withheld. We reserve the right to edit.
Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 or
FAX to (504)891-7555.
psychiatry believe that whether we
know it or not we are desperately
searching for God to fill some void in
us.
Dr. Scott Peck says that there is a
subconscious yearning in each of us
for a relationship with God; and that
God aggressively pursues us just as a
lover pursues the object of his/ her
affections. He believes this universal
subconscious craving for God extends
even to atheists. Dr. Peck says this is
illustrated in sex, which ""is the closest
to a spiritual experience many people
ever come. It is a spiritual experience,
that is why some pursue it [sex]
to the point of obsession.""
We are all spiritual beings; that is
what is meant by ""Created in the
image of God."" There are many
mysteries to this process we call life.
For example, from where did we
come and where are we going? What
is God? Where is He/She? I don't
have the answers; and I am happy to
have found a church - a community -
that can honestly admit they don't
either. It is a safe, loving, caring
place to be while in this experience
we call life. I believe. it is in and
through community that we find
God.
• N O V E M B E R / · D E C E MB E R 1 9 9 4
·,
News Lines . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........
No welcome wagon for Huntsville's new MCC
6THE PASTOR OF A Metropolitan Community Church in Alabama said her
congregation doesn't want any trouble in its new northwest Huntsville neighborhood.
After outgrowing its old quartets, the MCC built a new $140,000 worshlr, hall last
summer . 'We jusf want to be good neighbors and help out in any way we carr,' said Rev.
Janet Suess-Pierce. ""We just want to be accessible to a1l and inclusive of everyone. We're
not for any one group."" Pastor Suess-Pierce has entered into a dialog with the pastor of a
neighboring church concerning the teachings of the Bible and Christ. Neighbors say the
church .is endorsing a lifestyle incompatible with Christianity. ""Almost every book in the
Bible will tell you that homosexuality is a sin,"" said Edith Wharton, who lives across the
street. ""I've just been beside myself ever since I found out what kind of church they were
r,utting there."" Wharton said she planned to make her feelings knownto the parishioners.
I'11 be out there in my rocking cliair with my sign .that says, 'I don't like homosexuals,""'
she said . ""I will say one thing, they won't liave a minute's peace as long as I'm living.
That's a promise to God.'' The church had r,lanned to hold its first services July 24 in its
new building, but had to postpone the dedication until July 30 because a technicality
delayed the certificate of occupancy. -Associated Press, Alabama Forum ·
More dioceses plan to leave Episcopal Church
t.SIX DIOCESES HA VE now announced their intention to join the Diocese of Florida
severing the principal of intercommunion within the Episcopal Church. The bishops of
San Joaquin, Cenfral Flordia, Florida, 'Qu incy, Dallas , West Missouri and the Rio
Grande joined 43 other Episcopahans in for_ming a n.ew org.anization_ aimed at pressuring
the church to adopt ultra-con""':rvative positions or/ace decreased fi.nanc1a_l supp~rt. fo
a covenant adopted at the mihal meeting of Ep1scopahans m Apostolic Mission m
Atlanta, signatories criticized. ""tendencies · within the wider Episcopal Church toda y
contrary to official Anglican ethical standards,"" even if they are authorized by General
Convention. The memoers further agreed that ""we will not conform ourselves to [such
actions], we will not directly financially support them, nor will we permit those .who
engage in them to minister regularly within our congregational and/ or diocesanhf e.""
Members of EAM called for protection of life ""from conception to natural death"" and the
limitation of ""sexual intimacy and intercourse"" to ""heterosexual, monogamous, life-long
marriage."" The covenant describes divorce as ""always sinful and rarely appropriate.""
- Voice of Integrity ·
Veto of domestic partnershiD denounced ·
t.BY VETOING DOMESTIC partners legislation, Governor Pete Wilson denied religious
freedom of California's citizens, said a .leader of the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches . ""For the .Governor of Califor.nia to give selective
preference to one religious viewpoint is to deny the religious freedom of others,"" said Rev.
Don Eastman, UFMCC treasurer and second vice moderator. 'The opposition to domestic
partnership is !:,aged primarily on religious objections to homosexuality. But many
religious leaders disagree with sucli ob/ections and affirm loving, responsible
homosexual relations.'' The domestic partners law would have allowed unmarried
couples, heterosexual or ·homosexual, to register with the state to gain certain rights
afforded married couples, including hospitarvisitation and the bequeathing of prorerty .
Rev. Eastman descrioed the Governor's denial of these basic rights as ""mean-spin led,""
recalling the ""horror storie&"" he has heard of fa.milies forbidding long-term partners from
visiting the hospital bed ot attending the funeral of their partner. ""Governor Wilson has
chosen to appease the radical right which OJ?poses domestic partners legislation rather
than to honor the rich diversity of. Ca!ifornia s citizens,"" Eastrnan said . .
Presbyterian pastor commits suicide ·
M PRESBYTERIAN PASTOR who quietly acknowledged his homosexuality to a gay
minister last year has committed suicide. Friends whowent to their Presbxterian Church
of America-affiliated churc. h in St. Louis for their weekly early morning Bible study were
horrified to learn of the death of Egon Middleman. The German-born Middleman studied
at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis and went on to pastor an inner-city church, Grace .and
Peace, which developed a ministry to inner-city poor, people of color, persons with AIDS
and sexual minorities. Middleman's last sermons bore eloquent testimony to-his vision of
a truly tolerant church, firmly anchored in Jesus' example and teaching, where gay men
and Lesbians would not have to live a life of subterfuge in the closet. - Other Slteep
Study: Gay workers earn less than non-gay peoole in same jobs
t.AN INDEPENDENT STUDY at the University of Maryland at College Park on th!!
impact of anti-gay job discrimination has found that gay men and Lesbians earn less than
their non-gay counterparts with similar education, trainint and occupations. Th e
findings refute the stereotype of gay people as an ""affluent elite unworthy of equal rights
under the law. The study, ""Economic Evidence of Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,""
marks the first scientific economic research conduc ted on the problem of job discrimi nation
on the basis of sexual orientation.
Falwell gets too oolitical for Florida television station
6TELEVISION STATION WTLV in Jacksonville has threaten ed to pull Jerry Falw ell's
""Old Time Gosp el Hour"" off ihe air for a month for focusing more on rolitics.than on
religion. Viewers pick eted the station after Falwell spent a good dea of time on the
show's August 14 oroadcast in what protesters called criticism of President Clinton that
involved ""sexually exp licit"" language by the televangelist. A spokesperson for the station
said WTLV wo uld air reruns of the program until the political content of th e program
ends. - Gayuet ·
Not gay, says new Anglican bishoo
6 THE NEW BISHOP of Durham, England, the fourth ranking prelate in the Anglican
Church; said Sept. 27 that he is not gay, and apologized for an indecency conviction in
the 1960s. The Rt. Rev. Michael Turnbull was convicted in 1968 of an act of indecency
with another man in a public bathr oom. He \'leaded guilty at the time and was released
on condition he did not offend ai;ain within 2 months. ""ft so happens that I am not and
never have been a homosexual,' Turnbull said in a state.,ment to a British news agency.
Gay rights advocates accused Turnbull of hypocrisy.
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBERl 994
-.~ . v·- News Lines ................................ ........ ............... •- • ................ .
Tips on how to get straight, according to CWA ·
MN A RECENT ISSUE of their.monthly magazine, Family Voice, the Concerned Women of
America, which claims to be the largest women's organization in America, offered tips on
""How to Overcome Homosexuality ."" The tips include ""accept Jesus as Savior and I:ord,""
""present your bcxly formally to Goo,"" ""awid homosexual hangouts,',' and ""learn to control
your mind ."" - Diversity · ·
Anti-gay activist has AIDS' · · ·· · · · · · ···
t.THE BEST KNOWN C_anadian religious dght crusader against homose xuality has
AIDS. Frank Shears had led the assau1t against the ·199() Gay Games m Vancouver and
had appeared on national media to.denoun~e ""the 'h6mosexu~l lifestyle"" and gay civil
. rights . He pushed the ""ex-gay"" movements promise of healm~ . The preadier from
Burnaby, (British Columbia) Christian Fellowship confided hls 'slip"" into homose xual
behavior to a fellow pastor who ruled that he would have to confess to the entire
congregation. He was then given four hours to clear out his desk and leave. Shears had
strugg[ed with his homosexuality for 30 years ; once even going to bed with a Bible
strapped over his genitals, hoping for divine healing . He now attends a gay evangelical
congregation and _regularlyworsbips with •people ne once tried .to ""cure' through the
exilay movement. -funch<re
German church disapproves blessinas
t.THE CHURCJ:i OFFICE of the Evangelical Lutlleran Church of Hanover expressed its
disapproval of the blessing of a homosexual couple by a pastor who had been suspended
from duty . ""Church blessings of homophiles are unkriown in this church,'' a spokesperson
for the church said in response to an inquiry by the German Protestant news agency EPD .
Pastor Hans-Jurgen fyfeyer, who was suspended from duty because he lives in a
. homosexua!-partner'ship,nad blessed the partnership of two men during a church service
:m the town of Laatzen . The church leadership ""with astorushment"" took note that the
blessing was similar to a marriage ceremony , the church office said in an initial .
statement. The church office stressed th_at Meyer had already been suspended from the
exercise of any ·church functions. However, Meyer told EPD that the -blessing had not
been a marriage ceremonx , He saw no reason to refuse a \>lessing Hif ~o people who love
one another ask for one. The blessing ' took _place during one of the . reg_1flar worship
services for which the ecumenical fellowship HomosexueUe und I<irche [Homosexuals
and Church] meets in a church in Laatzen. - Lutheran World lnfonnatio11
Idaho pastors supportanti-gay initiative :
t.EJGHI' CEN:rRAL IDAHO past~ gathered in Rmgins to declare their love for gay men
and Lesbians but their opposition to -homosexualliehaviof . The eight were the visib le·
representatives of 5Tministers who signed a public statement in support of Proposition
One, the Idaho Citizens Alliance's anti-gay initiative. The Rev . Jack Hoekstra of
Community Christian Church in Cascade .told the group that his daughter is a lesbian and
he knows the ""hell she has gone through because of it"" and that she is going to hell
because of it.·-. Sb11tliern Voice
· You can be g•v a11dChristian in Kentucky .
t.THE BLlJEGRASS STATE found that while a majority of Kentuckians surveyed
oppose Gays ho1i:!jrigreligious leadership positions, nearly half said homose xual s can be
""true"" 'C;hristi_an.s::Sixty-rune percent were opposed to gay /lesb ian der~y but 49 percent
said Gays ·can be ""genuine"" Christians ; 37 percent said they couldn t. A ll}Jljority of
Catholics and mainstream Protestants - but only 42 percent of Southern Baptists - said
their churches should accept Lesbians and Gays as members . - Diversity
Catholics Dian di~san ministries for Lesbians, Gays
t.TWENTY-EIGHT LAITY, RELIGIOUS and clergy from 13 Roman Catholic dioceses met
in Chicago July 29-31 to discuss ministries to gay and lesbian Catholics and their
families. l'articipants, in~luding parents of _gay and lesbian people, acknowledged the
many challenges that lesbian and gay Catholics and those who m1ruster with them face m
the church. The Catlfolic Church believes that Gays and Lesbians ""have a right to
respect, friendship and-justice,"" ""should have an active role in the Christian community ""
and ""must be ·accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity ."" The Church also
expects Gays and Lesbians to practice abstinence from sexual activity. Those gathered
in Chicago founded the National Association of Catholic Dioce san Lesbian and Gay
Ministries . For information on this organization contact Rev. Jim Schexnayder , 433
Jefferson Street, Oakland, CA 94607. .
UCC national church offices adopt workDlace HIV/AIDS education
t.EMPLOYEES IN THE national offices of the United Church of Christ soon will receive
HIV/ AIDS education in the workplace - the first such program in 'the national offices of
any religious denomination. The program will be phasecfin over the riext two years in
nationafUCC offices in Cleveland, New York City, and Washington, D.C. It is designed
to provide employees with ongoing education about HIV/ AIDS and create a supportive
workplace for any employee who may be HIV-positive . Unanimous approval for the
program came Oct. 5 from the Council of Instrumentality Executives, composed of the
denomination 's national officers and the heads of its national agencies. Since 1991, the
personnel policies of the UCCs executive offices in Geveland have included protections
for employees or prospective emeloyees with HIV/ AIDS, including a nile against AIDS
testing as a pre-employment condition.
FBI reports religious motivations in many hate crimes .
t.EIGHTEEN PERCENT of some 7,600 hate crime s reported to the FBI in 1993 were
motivated by religion, reports the federal agency . The Chicago Sun-Times r eports that the
number s of such crimes are probably much higher since they come from agencies covering
only 56 p ercent of the country . Anti-Jewi s h crime rated the highest with 1, 189
incidenc es; anti-Catholic crimes: 30; a nti -Prot e stant: 25; anti-Islamic: 11; anti-other
religion s: 55; anti-multi-religious groups :11; anti-atheism-agnosticism: 3. Other hate
crimes were motivated by race (62 percent ), s.,xual orientation (12 p ercent) and the rest
SECOND STONE -
by ethnicity/ national origin . Intimidation was the single most frequently reported hate
crime at 35 percent. - Religion Watch · '
Idaho university bans church services in homophobic move
t.TWO WEEKS AFI'ER agreeing to allow MCC Boise to meet at an historic church at
Boise State University, officials l,anned all church services there. ""Sounds su spiciously
like homophobia to me,'' said Rev. Tyronne Sweeting, pastor of the MCC. Robert Koontz,
a memb~r of the board of dir~ctors that governs the chapel, said the decision had nothing
to do with the gay nature ol the MCC. He said he was una ware that any church was
holding services in the chapel until he rearl an article about MCC in the daily newspap er.
Two churches are affected by the board's de cision, MCC and the Christian Revival
Center, a United Pentecostal Church that has met there since November of last year .
- Diversity
Gay ordination draws one protester
LlRODERICKJ. THOMPSON is believed to be the first openly gay pr iest ordained by the
Episcopal Church in Oregon . A letter asking Ep iscopalians to picket his ordination
drew .one protester.
Pat Robertson attacks Gay Games sponsor
t.P AT ROBERTSON has recently charged his one million followers to protest Visa credit
cards for supporting the Gay Games . Large depositors are also threatening Visa with
withdrawing their money from b_anks that issue Visa cards. ·
INFACT expands tobacco industry boycott
AfNFACT, THE NATIONAL consumer activist organization, has added R)R Nabisco to
its tobacco industry boycott to stop the tobacco industry's marketing assault on children ·
around the world'. INF ACT launched a boycott of Philip Morris at that company's
shareholder meeting earlier this year . At the same time, INFACT announced a drive to
organize retailers to stop participating in Joe Camel promotions. ""Joe Camel is the most ·
blatant example of the industry's to&acco marketing to children,"" said Elaine Lamy ,
executive director of INF ACT.
Former minister an alleged closet case
M FORMER METHODIST minister who initia ted the successful legal challenge to the
state video lottery resigned two years ago when church officials received allegations he
h ad been involved in homosexual activity . But Dick Ward of Aberdeen, Soufh Dakota ,
who served 31 years in the ministry denied that. he is gay. United Methodist Church
District Superintendent Boyd Blumer said that the alfegation of homosexual activity
came from the mother of a Rapid City man. ""Blumer got some letters to the 26- or
28-year-old man I had written in Rapid City,'.' Ward said . ""In .those letters, I revealed to
him that rd had some homose xual experiences . I don 't remember writing them,.but it's my
handwriting. "" Ward said he was on the prescription drug Halcion at the time the lette rs
were written . - Associated Press
Catholics condemn iudge's decision on murderer of a gav man ·
. M NATIONAL CATHOLlCorganization , which .is funded and supported 6y over sixty
religious orders of nuns, condemned District Judge David Young's ruling to reduce
charges against the murderer of a gay man and for sentencing the killer to on1y six years .
""Judge Young's reduction of charge s is obscen e,'' said Bro. Rick Garcia, director of the
Chicago-based Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and Gay Rights . ""Young's ruling and lax
sentence demeans and diminishes not only gay and lesbian fives but the Judicial !?'stem as
well . He should be ashamed ."" Bro. Garcia charged that Young's ruling was ""infested""
with 'anti-gay bias. ""This type of ruling would merely be unfortunate if if was not~
common in the judicial system ... We pray that justice-minded citizens remove such pathetic
judges from the bench.""
Church triumphs CNer bigotry
~ .LIFE MCC, Matthews, North Carolina ,.has won a major victory after months of
being assailed b:,r neighbors at its recently purchased prope _rtv. The town of Matthew s
had 6een demanding Th.at the church comply with a laundry lisf of reqwrements designed
to keep the congregation from occupying the new sanctuary . Among other things , the
church was told to provide documentafion showing that the building can witnstand
earthquakes and excessive loads of snow. The attorney for New Lire wrote to the
County Attorney of Mecklinberg County, asking whether others had to meet the same
requirements. The official response was that they didn't and neither does New Li~e
MCC. All that the church need do is what any other church mu st do, which ts
demonstrate that the building is up to ccxle. - Keeping in Touch
Gays an ""ianoble stain,"" says Cardinal
6Tl-ffi LEADffi OF the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina a1>ologized Aug. 23 for
televised comments in which he called Gays ""an ignoble stain [on) the face of society"" and
urged the creation of ""a large area for Gay s -and I:esbians to live in, with their own laws,
their own media ... and even their own constitution . ""It was a joke, something that just
crossed my mind ,"" Cardinal Antonio Quarracino explained. '1 apologize if r offended
anyone , ifl hurt someone's sensitivities. I thought peop1e had a bettef sense of humor. ""
Lutheran bishop meets with UFMCC leaders
t.BISHOP SHERMAN HICKS met ·in Los An ge les w ith the Board of Elder s of the
Uni versal Fellowship of Metropolitan Commuruty Churches . Hicks , a s ynod bishop of
the Evangelical Lutheran Churcn in Am erica said ihat bo th denominations face d th e same
challeng es, especially the need for outreach to peo ple of color and oth er langu age
communiti es. This meeting with th e bisho p of th e Metropolitan Chicago synod wa_s only
the second ecumenical meeting at that level ever for eld ers of the UFMCC. Th e first w as
in 1989 wh en they met with the Rev . Melvin Whea tley, a bishop of the United Method ist
Church. - Keeping in Touch
NOVEMBER / DECEMBERl 99 4
News Lines ...................................
Church of Canada picks pro-gay leader
t.MARION BEST, chair of a United Church of Canada committee that in 1988
recommended ordaining Gays and Lesbians, has been chosen the new leader of the
church, Canada's largest. The 1988 recommendation created deep divisions in the church
that have not yet hea1ed, according to Gaezette, a gay magazine in Nova Scotia. - Outlines
Spahr meeting canceled by church . .
t.A TOP CHURGH EXECUTIVE canceled two events at the headquarters -of. the -.
Presbyterian Church (USA) that wer.e to feature the Rev. Jane Spahr, a lesbian minister at
the center of the church's ongoing debate over homosexuality . . Spahr was scheduled to
lead a daily prayer 'service and attend a reception at church headquarters in Louisville,
Ky. The Rev. James Brown, executive director of the church's General Assembly Council,
ordered the events canceled, saying they would ""give the appearance that positions were
being advocated"" contrary to policies of the church.
Vatican denounces gender-neutral Bible
t.THE VATICAN has ordered US. Catholic churches not to use an ecumenical edition of
the Bible in public worship because of its gender-neutral language. The New Revised
Standard Version, approved by U.S. bishops in 1991, is consi<;leredby many mainstream
Protestant and Catholic scholars to be the most authoritative translation, said the Rev.
Arthur Van Eck, director for Bible translation and utilization for the National Council
of Churches. Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore, president of the National Conference
of Catholic Bishops , said U.S. bishops, who favor more inclusive and gender-neutral
language, had thought they still were negotiating with the Vatican over the issue when
the ruling came down .. - Times-Picayune ·
Church bars gay chorus from facility
t.A LUTHERAN MINISTER refused to allow a traveling chorus of gay singers to
perform a concert in h_is church. The Rev . Gordon Ross, pastor of St. Matthew's Church ,
York, Penn., said the Harrisburg Men 's Chorus adds a political undertone to its concerts
by a_dvei;(isi~g its se~~al orientation. ""We're not trying to be tough on homosexuals or
lesbians, said Ross. But what they want 1s contrary to the teachings of our church.""
The group, which has performed at Carnegie Hall, has never been refused use of a facility
in its eight-year history. - Associated Press
Shots fired at Florida church
t.FOUR SHOTS were fired into King of Peace MCC, St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sept. 22.
Nobody was injured, but bullet holes . were left in the church's thick glass ,windows.
Teena Carpenter , pastoral assistant and student clergy, said she was helping people get
food from the food pantry when she heard the shots and saw a gunman snooting from the
roof of a _buil,9ing across the street. No, ~o~ye fo,r the shooting h;,s be,n e_stablished. . .
. .
It's fuido stay at the YMCA
t.FQUR MEMBERS OF St: Luke's MCC, Jacksonville, Fla., are trying to get a ""family
membership"" at the local YMCA The church is collecting signatu·res on a petition asking
the YMCA to change its policy, which allows only peoP.le who are legally married and
have a marriage license to o&tain the discounted family m;,mbersh1ps. The case has
received local media coverage. Those confronting the YMCA are Rev. Frankye White,
pastor, and her partner Lon Sinnett, and Vickie Buchanan and Barbara Scifres. Some
YMCAs in other cities have more liberal .policies because local boards of directors define
""family"" as they choose. ""We would like to challenge other .MCCs to confront the YMCAs .
in their cities,' said Elizabeth Forbell, St. Luke's administrator . - Keeping in Touc/z
Catholics wage condom battle
6.A ROMAN CATHOLIC GROUP began a poster campaign Sept. 23 opposing condom
distribution in schools. The Boston chapter of the Catholic League for Religious and
Civil Rights arranged fQr 200 posters · to 6e displayed in the city's subway system. ""We
view advocacy of condoms by government agencies as a deplorable policy, an attack on
the family and a gross violation of First Amendment religioos freedom ·rights;' ' said C. J.
Doyl_e, In~ group 's national director. ""Government is taking sides on a mora_l and
rehg1ous issue."" But AlDS Action Comnuttee spokesman Thomas McNaught said the
Catholic League should make up its mind if it's pro-life or not. ""If it is,""McNau&ht said, ""it
should stop blocking health efforts to prevent the world's most deadly .disease.
- Associated Press
Nuns threatened over art
t.A SAN ANTONIO art gallery run by Roman Catholic nu·ns has moved a provocati ve
·exhibit on sex and AIDS after receiving threats of violence. The Sisters of Charity of the
Incarnate Word shut down the -exhi&it on Sept. 13, just days after it opened, after
· hundreds called to complain and Archbishop Patrick F. Flores declared he was ""highly
offended, insulted and hurt."" ""In light of threats to the gallery, the move is being made lo
ensure the safety of the sisters who Jive on the premises,"" said artist Donell Hill . Sister
Alice Holden, the gallery's director, said she prayed before the exhibit went up' and
decided it should be shown because ""sexuality is a tremendous gift from God.""
- Baltimore Alternative ,
Information souaht on anti-gay violence in the workplace - ·
t.THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND Health Administration, with the U.S. Department
of Labor, is considering creating a new standard that d_eals with violence in the
workplace. At a recent presentation , Joe Dear, the :Asststant Secretary of OSHA, was
asked if there would be a provision in the prop?sed standard that would deal with hat e
crimes that occur in the workplace, such as anh-gay v10lence and v10lence that 1s based
on race or gender. Dear said ne learn~d something from the quest/on and.that he wanted
information about it. Gay and lesbian people who have experienced v10lence m the
workplace solely because of sexual orientation are being asked to document such acts.
Information is being collected by Doug Young, 131 Hartford-St., Apt. C, San Francisco,
CA 94114.
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folks with clarity and compassion about questions of ·. ·
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Gay youth_saved fro.m change ministry
By Chicago Outlines
A GAY 15-YEAR-OLD Michigan boy,
who was turned over by his parents
to an ex-gay program in Chicago, has
be en returned home ·safely after an
extensive search by the Michiganbased
Triangle Foundation and members
of Parents, Friends and Families
of Lesbians and Gays.
In late July, the teena ger, who lives
in Gladwin, Mich., came out to his
devoutly religious parents. They
responded by consulting with their
. pastor, who recommended an ex-gay
ministry. Taking his advice, tire parents
contacted the ministry and
delivered their son to a parking lot in
Chicago, where two men, who
claimed to be officials of the ministry,
asked the parents to sign a ""release
form."" The boy's parents signed the
document.
The two men reclaimed the document
and then informed the parents
that -. they would not be told the
whereabouts of their son. The last the
parents saw of their son, he was
restrained in a straight jacket in the
back of a van being driven away.
When the parents returned home to
Gladwin, they had second thoughts ·
and contacted a gay man .who lives in
their - area, telling him the whol e
story. H~, in turn , got in. touch with
the Triangle Foundation, . a lesbian
and gay rights group in Michigan,
and acted as an intermediary
between them and the boy's parents.
'This has been the most frustrating,
aggravating, just sad two weeks
we've ever had in this organization,""
said Triangle Foundation president
Jeffrey Montgomery .
Triangle, along with P-FLAG,
sought legal advice for the parents in
CMcago and began their search for
the boy.
Meanwhile, the parents returned to
Chicago twice, driving around the
city looking for their son, eventually
tracking down the change ministry
and returning with their son to
Gladwin.
Vatican investigative commission
prep~ring finding on Nugent, Gramick
THE VATICAN COMMISSION appointed
to hear and examine the
theological · views and teachings on
homosexuality of Fr. Robert Nugent,
SDS, and Sr. Jeannine Gramick,
SSND, has met for a third time and is
now formulating its findings in
writing. · · ·
Fr. Nl.lgent and Sr. Gramick provide
an affirming ministry to -the lesbian
and gay community. The Congregation
for Institutes of Consecrated Life
and for Societies of Apostolic .Life, a
Curial department of the Vatican ,
established the commission to examine
the theological views and writings
of ·Fr. · Nugent and Sr. Gramick
because of some concerns that their
ministry, along with selected teachings
and writings, may have created
an ambiguity which has caused
confusion in the minds of some
people. .
· · The most recent meeting of the -
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comm1ss10n, held in Detroit, was
attended by Nugent and Gramick's
religio""s provincials, Sr. Christine
Mulcahy, SSND, Fr. Dennis Thiessen,
SDS, the newly elected provincial of
the Salvatorian Fathers, and Fr. Paul
Portland, SDS, former provincial. Sr.
Gramick and Fr. Nugent were joined
- by their canonical, theological and
pastoral consultants, Bishop John
Snyder, Bishop of St. Augustine, Fla.,
Msgr. Leonard Scott, Judicial _Vicar of
the Diocese of Camden, Rev. Bruce
Williams, O.P., a. moral theologian
and currently pastor of Holy Name of
Jesus Parish in Valhalla, New York,
and Dr. James Hanigan, chair of the
theology department of Duqu esne
University; Fr. N""gent, Sr. Gramick
and their religious provincials cooperated
fully with the work of the commission.
The commission received
written testimony about the pastoral
nature of Fr. Nugent and Sr.
Gramick's ministry from more than
. 250 individuals including parents,
bishops; religious and priests, as well ·
as some national Catholic organizations.
Archbishop Adam J. Maida of
Detroit is chairperson of the commission.
Also serving on the commission
are Msgr. James J. Mulligan, a moral
'The family is now in counseling,""
Montgomery said. 'The boy was not
harmed physically, but only time will
tell what the emotional effects will be.
The parents are now coming to terms
with who their son is. It looks like
there might just be a happy ending to
this terrible story.""
The Triangle Foundation is
continuing its investigation into what
action can be taken against the minis~
try . ""They have to be exposed,""
Montgomery said. ""And that's what
we're working on now."" The ministry
is believed to be based in
Champaign/ Urbana, Illinois.
-Sukie de Ia Croix
theologian, pastor and director of the
Priestly Life and Ministry Office in
the Diocese of Allentown, Penn., and
Dr. Janet Smith, associate professor of
the department of philosophy, University
of Dallas, a recognized expert
in human life issues and moral teaching
in the area of human sexuality. .
In its formal hearings, the commission
utilized a process modeled along
the lines of the ""Doctrinal Responsibilities,""
a document approved by the
National Conference of Catholic
Bishops in 1989. In addition to some
canonical issues, most of the Detroit
meeting consisted of a discussion
between Sr. Gramick and Fr._ Nugent
and the commission members abo""t
their written .responses to presubmitted
questions posed by the • commission,
and about selected passages
from their book, Building Bridges: Gay
and Lesbian Reality and the Catholic
Church.
The commission's final findings will
be presented to Fr. Nugent, Sr .
Gramick and their respective religious
superiors for their responses.
The commission will then formulate
its recommendations to the Vatican
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated
Life and for Societies of
Apostolic Life: r
UFMCC. encounters discrimination-in 'Argentina
UFMCC'S CHURCH IN Buenos Aires
is leading protests of a recent decision
by the Argentine government to deny
the church's longstanding request
for legal recognition.
On August 2 the Ministry of the
Exterior and Religion rejected a request
for legal recognition by . Iglesia
· de la Comunidad Metropolitana (ICM)
· Buenos Aires. The official reasons
given were because the church has
""an affinity for public demonstration,
including marches and methods of
defense promoting not only homosexuals
but also homosexuality as a
whole"" and because the church blesses
same-sex couples in Holy Unions,
which ""devalues the Argentine community""
and goes against Christian
traditions.
""It is dear from the government
action that such basic human rights as
freedom of religion, freedom of
speech and freedom of assembly are
not being fully extended to all
Argentine citizens,"" said Rev. Elder
Don Eastman, UFMCC second vice
moderator. · Based at the UFMCC
international headquarters in Los
Angeles, Eastman has been in
frequent communication with Rev.
Roberto Gonzalez, pastor of ICM
Buenos Aires, about these events.
ICM Buenos Aires filed an appeal of
the government .decision on August
31. Meanwhile, UFMCC is in the
process of mobilizing international
support and communication to urge
the Argentine government to recognize
the church.
ICM Buenos Aires and ten other
lesbian/ gay organizations participated
in a demonstration in Buenos
Aires in late August. Its slogan was
""Against discrimination to homosexuals
and Lesbians by (Roman
_Catholic Archbishop of Buenos Aires)
Quarracino and the government.
Give. legal status to ICM!"" Among
Network forming for gay monks
A GAY MONK is putting out a call to
other gay Catholic monks who feel
the need to communicate in ·order to
help maintain and strengthen their
consciousness of their sexuality as an
integral factor in developing their
own human and spiritual maturity.
Dan Kelliher is a Cistercian
(Trappist) monk of several years who
says he experiences a poignant isolation
for want of communication with
other gay monks due to the restrictions
of cloister discipline . ""Being a
social minority, we do not enjoy a
comfortable, friendly environment
where we can be ourselves and
express our personal opinions with
the same freedom that our heterosexual
brethren can,"" says Kelliher.
""Since monks share common spiritual
values, as well as certain inhibitions
about disclosing their sexual orientation
to their confreres, I feel that it is
imperative for us to form a network
whereby we can discuss our anxieties
and fears, our wounds and scars
suffered in a predominantly heterosexual
society.""
The network that Kelliher envisions
would afford monks the opportunity
to discuss such issues by personal
.correspondence and/ or personal or
group retreats and meetings held
periodically in their respective monasteries.
Contacts of this nature could
afford monks companionship, mutu·al
guidance and affirmation of their
sexual identity which otherwise could
deteriorate . from benign neglect or
repression leaving them :With a sense
of unworthiness regarding their
monastic calling, according to
Kelliher . ·
Kelliher says St. Bernard advises
monks to practice patience in their
daily encounters with trials and vicis-
SECOND STONE
situdes, but he also encourages them
to show impatience when confronted
with obstacles to spiritual growth .
. Kelliher quotes from The Undivided
Heart: ""Patience is a great virtue,""
[but] "" ... on occasion it is most
praiseworthy t<;> be impatient. That
patience is not good which allows you
to become a slave when you could
have been free.""
Says Kelliher, ""Whenever we allow
others' homophobia to silence us on
issues as personal as our sexual
orientation, we forfeit the freedom
Christ wishes us to enjoy and need for
our spiritual maturity. It is iny
experience that . monastic communities,
while not in any sense aggressively
homophobic, do maintain an
atmosphere of polite homophobia by
.not allowing us to surface sufficiently
our affectionate needs and desires,
whereas our heterosexual confreres
are quite uninhibited in expressing
their own legitimate needs in that
area. Such an atmosphere of polite
homophobia subtly generates in us a
sense of alienation from these same
confreres thus deepening our
personal isolation that has an effect of
crippling the joy and peace ordinarily
available in the monastic calling.""
.. Kelliher· is appealing to other monks
feeling a need for affirmation of their
identity as gay men who are as
worthy as anyone else to follow God's
call into the ""school of God's service,""
as is written in the Prologue of the
Rule of St. Benedict. Any monk of
the Benedictin e or Cistercian orders
interested in this proposed network
should contact Dan Kelliher at 1012
.Monastery Road, Snowmass, ·CO
81654. -
the .participants was Mary Hunt,
recent speaker at the UFMCC leader'
ship conference and co-founder of
Women's Alliance for Theology,
Ethics and Ritual . .
On .June 28, ICM Buenos Aires
.joined about 300 Lesbians arrd Gays
in the city's third annual .dignity
march. Leading the way were giant
puppets of Archbishop Quarracino
and Argentine President . Carlos
Menem - both dressed as brides ,, The
m.arch began as the crowds blocked
traffic in front of the Catholic Cathe-
The demonstration also protested
comments made on Argentine national
ctelevision · by ·Cardinal Antonio
Quarracino, who called for a designated
zone where all Gays and
Lesbians could live as a ""separate
species"" in order to ""remove •a terrible
stain from the .face .of society."" Shortly
. thereafter ·he issued a public apology,
but continued. to maintain that homosexuals
are ""vicious."" Reportedly 95
percent . of Argentine's population is
Roman Catholic.
. drat of Buenos Aires and received a ·
blessing by Rev . Gonzalez. Signs
and banners proclaimed in Spanish,
""Christ died for my sins, not my
sexuality"" and 'Th~· Bible says love
.and justice are synonyms.""
Both demonstrations received
extensive media coverage in Argen- ·
.tina. - Keeping in Touch
WJK
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Joyce Hollyday Paper $12.99
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Homosexuality in the Church
Both Sides of the Debate
Jeffrey S. Siker, Editor Paper $14.99
Outstandinc authorities oo -scriphm:, tradition, reason, bioloi:y, ethics, a~d e:endered experience
discuu tht place of homosexuats·in the comm.unity of faith. ContribUtou inclu.d~ Richard 8.
Hayea, Victor Paul Furnish, Cudin11l Joseph Ratzincer, John J. McNeill, Stanton L. Jonea,
Don E. Workman, Chandler Burr, Joe D_allat, Vircinia Ramey Mollenkoll, Chri1 Glaser, Lita
Sowle Cahill,.Jaml!I B. Nelson, Jack Roc:ers, and Jeffrey S. Siker. This book will provoke
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That Godless Court!
Supreme Court Decisions on Church-State Relationships
Ronald B. Flowers Papet $15.99
In thi1 ckarly-writteo·introduction to church-stale questions, Ronald Flowers disc:uue1 such
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Survivor Prayers
Talking with God about Childhood Sexual Abuse ·
Catherine J, Foote Paper $8.99
~Prayers and,meditatioo1 in this powerfal book addren the spiritual iS1ues faced hy 111rvivon
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Cover Story ........................... .... .....................................
Our God too: Radical right challenged at NCC forum
From Page 1
. most powerful man in Christendom.""
The radical right is enjoying great ,
success in turning their numbers
power into political power, according
to . White. ""What they couldn't do
through revival meetings they are
attempting to do through Congress
and the court-s,"" White said . 'They
can save the nation through political
action · after they've failed in the
pews.""
That growing power, coupled wfrh
the radical right's ""urge to purge,""
defines the threat for America's gay
and lesbian community. 'The right's
'urge to purge' the nation - of ills,
including getting rid . of Gays because
they somehow · devalue the family,
can be compared to a fundamentalist
Muslim blowing up a bus in Tel Aviv
or a fundamentalist Christian shooting
an abortion doctor,"" White said.
'The rhetoric of purgation leads to the
organization of purgation which finally
leads to some action to purge Gays
from society.""
White issued a warning about
· organizations like Promise Keepers, a
national men's organization that recently
drew 75,000 men to a meeting
in Dallas. ""It offers those men a
wonderful experience;""' White said,
""but [Promise Keepers founder] Coach
Bill Mc:Gartney hates Gays. What are
they going to do with all that power
when they face something they don't
agree. with?"" · .
Commenting on the radical right,
Campbell said ""If I could do what I
want in the NCC, I would work in the
smartest way we could to exr,ose the
radical right's world view. T 1e NCC
cannot be part of that.""
White distributed copies of a news
release from Fred · Phelps, pastor of
Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka,
Kansas. ""WBC will picket fag Rev.
Mel White and his pagan fag churcll
in Dallas,"" the release proclaimed,
referring to Cathedral of Hope MCC.
Phelps challenged White to a debate
on the Bible on Nov. 12 and
threatened to picket the Dallas church
on Nov. 11 and 12. ""White and his
fag friends are damning souls and
dooming America by their pernicious
sodomite lies,"" Phelps said . ""[Their]
mouths must be stopped by faithful
doctrinal preaching and debate,"" he
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
WhatUible the ).J · .
Really Says
About .. ·
B.oro.osexuality
.
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Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.,
. re ·spected theologian -ahd
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is orten cl~imed. 11
, · -L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed und Sex
"" ... the most ihoughtful. lucid and accessible
summary I know of current biblical
scholarship relating -to homosexual
issues .. , eminently useful ... ""
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
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WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SAYS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
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SECOND STONE
said, quoting Titus 1:9-13. White said
he would probably not respond to
Phelps and certainly would not
debate him. ""Phelps is an extension of
Jerry Falwell,"" White said . ""He's Jerry
Falwell gone nuts.""
Present as a witness to the NCC
General Board were representatives
of the organizations that sponsored
the discussion on the religious righ_t:
UFMCC, Affirmation (United Methodists),
American Baptists Concerned,
Association of Welcoming and Affirming
Baptists, Axios, Bre thren/ _Menthe
other churches' position as being
ground e d in concerns both of justice
and of faith and order"" and that ways
must be provided ""for the member
·communions and the Council itself to
hear and receive the witness of gay
and lesbian Christians. Silence or
confrontation cannot be the only
option provided Christians who are
gay or lesbian."" The report said that
the right of each NCC member
communion ""to make judgments for
itself on these issues and to make its
own witness both in ecumenical and
Commenting on the radical right, NCC
General Secretary Joan Brown Campbell
said, ""If I could do what l want in the NCC,
I would work in the smartest way we
could to expose the radical right's world
view. The NCC cannot be part of that.""
nonite Council for Lesbian/Gay Con
·cerns, Integrity, Interweave, ·Lutherans
- Concerned, Presbyterians for
Lesbian/Gay Concerns and the United
Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay
Concerns .
The. inability or unwillingness of
NCC member communions to talk
with one another about questions
related to homosexuality '""will not
help .us preserve unity,'"" a special
ongoing counseling committee on
issues of homosexuality and ecumenical
relationships asserted. '""In the
long run it will lead to a diminished
koinonia,. to alienation. Our choice is
not between dialogue and no
dialogue. It is between dialogue and
further confrontation and this confrontation
will come from among the
member communions as well as from
those outside the Council.""
Acknowledging that '""the way
forward is not clear"" and . that anger
and confrontation characterize the
present moment, the .committee said
the NCC:'s member communions must
find a way to re-open a dialogue
including · churches with differing
beliefs on questions related to
homosexuality. The counseling committee,
with John Thomas of the
United Church of Christ bringing the
report, said that dialogue '""needs to
encourage each church to understand
in public settings"" must be affirmed.
""Each member church must be
assured that its participation in the
life of the Council will be valued, and
its voice respected regardless of the
position it takes on these particular
matters .""
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop
Edmond Browning proposed that the
General Board as a whole '""talk with
the presence of gay people who can
tell us of the pain of their exclusion
from the life of this body. You can
never understand an issue without
talking with people who feel oppression
and pain of exclusion.,O
The General Board unanimously
adopted ""action points"" of a human
rights policy that was referred back_ to
committee for editing after several
board members said they felt it was
difficult to read and use for educa.
tional purposes. The action points
adopted by the Board include a call
for repentance ""wherein the church
by acts of omission or commission has
contributed to the violation of human
rights of individuals or groups ."" Also
adopted : Support for efforts in the
United States and worldwide '""to end
the practices of prejudice and discrimination
and intentional violence based
on religion, race, class, caste, age,
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation
and physical limitations.""
NOVEMBER/DECEMBERl 994
,.
' It
"" :; ,·
i
q
, !
I
:1
'!
. Denomination-based
gay and lesbian ministries:
What does the
future hold?,
Lutherans Concerned shifts focus from political
activity to ministry as it looks ahead
BY JIM BAILEY
D enomination-identified gay
and lesbian Christian or-
. ganizations fare no better or
worse when church headquarters
become the center of antigay
controversy or circumstances, according
to Bob Gibeling, program
executive of Lutherans Concerned/
North America, Inc.
Of the three largest denornination-
identified gay and lesbian Christian
organizations , only Integrity has
had recent notable success in moving
church policy toward greater acceptance
of Gays and Lesbians . •· The
third largest organization, Lutherans
Concerned, has just spent a year mulling
over mostly negative responses
to America's largest Lutheran church
body's draft of a proposed soda[
statement on human sexuality which
included a remarkably affirming
position toward Gays and Lesbians.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America has released the second draft
of that statement, with much of the
affirmation of Gays and Lesbians
gone, dashing the hopes of many
Gays and Lesbians that the ELCA
might make some movement at its
1995 churchwide gathering toward
greater acceptance of sexual ·orientation
minorities. The largest denomination-
identified organization, Dignity/
USA, gay and lesbian Roman
Catholics, has little to hope for from
the Vatican.
But Gibeling does not predict the
exodus that one might expect of Gays
and Lesbians from the Roman Catholic
or Lutheran churches as a result of
denominational misunderstanding of
Gays and Lesbians. In fact, organizations
like Dignity/USA and Lutherans
Concerned might actually be
strengthened in outlook and numbers
by such disenchantment with church
headquarters, according to Gibeling.
""People spmetimes do blame gay
and lesbian church groups when
national church bodies do something
negative,"" says Gibeling. ""But organizations
like Lutherans Concerned and
Dignity are independent of the
church and fill needs that are not
being met by the church . It is
self-defeating if people I.eave these
organizations, which are a source of
SECOND STONE
hope . The correct response is to support
gay and lesbian groups in the
face of the failure of national church
bodies ."" · · ·
Gibeling predicts that ministry · to
gay and lesbian Christians will continue
in the pattern that has· developed
over the past 25-years. While
some will continue to seek out ministries
with specific outreach to Gays
and Lesbians, others will continue to
remain in mainstream denominations
and seek the support of gay and
lesbian organizations identified with
their particular denomination. Thus a
pattern of growth will likely continue
for all involved: gay -and lesbian
ministries like the UFMCC, organizations
like Lutherans Concerned and
mainstream congregations who are
welcoming of Gays and Lesbians.
Not · often discussed is the financial
impact attitudes toward Gays and
Lesbians have on local and national
church bodies. ""Power follows the
money,"" said Gibeling . ''.Frequently
there is a fear that if Gays and
Lesbians are w-elcomed, many people
might leave the church and take their
financial support with them. National
church bodies are living with smaller
budgets, while many local congregations
are increasing their budgets. · In
many cases policy making is also
shifting from .national . church bodies
to local congregations. So programs
like Reconciled in Christ [ congregations
that publicly commit to welcoming
Gays and Lesbians] take on
greater significance. And it's up to
denomination suppqrt groups like
Lutherans Concerned to get those
congregations involved in programs
like RIC""
According to Gibeling, another way
for denomination-identified groups to
enhance their outreach to Gays and
Lesbians and overcome negative
projection from church headquarters
is to make the shift · 'that Lutherans
Concerned has made - away from
political activity in the church and
toward a ministry orientation. ""I hate
to hear gay and lesbian ministry
groups referred to as · a caucus,"" says
Gibeling. ""It positions Christian
SEE FUTURE, Page 13
Bob Gibeling, program executive for Lutherans Concerned/North America
Life-long Lutheran st_ruggled with
sexual orientation for-a decade -
ByJim Bailey
Edttor
L utherans Concerned program
executive Bob ·
qibeling, , 44, a life-long
. Luthetan, ·says ·he came out
to his parents before he ·came out to
himself. When he was 16, he told his
parents he felt something was wrong ·
with him. His parents reacted with
concern and support. Gibeling
entered counseling with the hope and
intention of changing his emerging
sexual orientation. ""After a year of
· counseling, I felt that it was not
making any difference in my sexual ,
orientation,"" says Gibeling. ""It was a
positive experience to have someone
to talk to but it was not changing my
sexual orientation. ""
For a good part of the next decade
Gibeling prayed that God would
change him. ""I was in great stress that
I was having this feeling that the
church_ was saying was wrong,"" says
Gibeling. ""It was tearing me up
inside . I didn't see how I could
continue.""
Gibeling continued his involvement
in the Lutheran Church. His long
process of reconciliation began with a
sermon he heard one, Sunday: During
his message that day the pastor
tofd the congregation there is nothing
one can do that is so bad . that God
will abandon you. It was a message
of acceptance that Gibeling says kept
him going at that moment.
Eventually Gibeling received an
answer to his prayers . ""It was not
what I wanted to hear,"" he s1.ys. It
came in the form of a piece of
scripture that God placed in his heart:
""My grace is sufficient for you ... "" {II
Cor , 12:9). 'That told me God had
made me the way I am for,,a reason
and He loves me the way I ain.""
· . So in 1975, ten years after telling his
parents he thought he might be a
homosexu _al, Gibeling finally came
out to himself. And now, almost two
decades later, he says that his corning
out story has just recently come to a
conclusion. ""When Lutherans Concerned
asked me to become their full
time program executive I realized
that I would not be just taking a
position; it was more like a calling,""
SEE GIBELING, Page 13
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER1994
..
' •
I was fortunate as a chHd to grow
up in the sticks of the Midwest.
From town to home, we passed
fields of corn and soybeans. The
·road began to wind with hills and
timber until we reached the brown
house in . the country. I fished in the
lake all summer long . Sometimes
when .I swam, the fish would nip at
me. In the winter, I ice skated and
played . hockey. My sled came tumbling
down the hill and across the ice.
From my bedroom window, _ I
listened to the frogs singing in the
night If I climbed up on my dresser,
I could look out the window to the
timber behind that went on and on. I
would scurry with my dog Markey
across the dam of the lake and down
into the woods. Playing stepping
stones ac;ross the creeks were my play
toys.
It was one eventful Sunday morning
that my mother was combing and
braiding my hair for Sunday School
that a wood tick was discovered on
the back of my neck. The wood tick
had grown to the size of a kernel of
corn. My parents tried to soak ii off
with alcohol. Then my dad tried to
burn it off with a giant cigar.
My parents panicked so off I went
to a doctor who was foreign to me.
Probably for the best, because my
usual doctor would still remember
my kicking and screaming with the
last stitches I had. Ole Doc Joe cut
that nasty appendage off and put it in
a jar for me to keep.
After that, When J romped in the
woods or generally outside the door
of the brown house, I was checked for
wood ticks, everytime. To a sevenyear-
old, this became quite a nuisance.
My parents were becoming
tired of rummaging through my hair.
There was chatter about getting a hair
. cut. I suppose I showed too much
excitement at the prospect, for my
mother began to cry. No more cute
little braids with bows. Oh, what a
loss. So they kept rummaging
through my hair.
Children are clever little beings
and I had to figure out a. solution to
this constant rummaging through my
h ead. And suddenly it stmck me. If
I had a hat on when I went out in the
wood s, and a mean wood tick fell on
me, th e hat would protect those
pr ecious curly locks. And I wanted a
baseball hat anyway. My parents
bought the idea . My dad and I
SECOND STONE
My :Baseball Hat
BY JULIA MUELLER
proceeded to the wonderful store with
the wonderful plain, blue, felt baseball
hat.
I wore it to l>ed that night. I broke
in the ·brim real good with nice
creases down the middle and sides.
Rummaging through my hair was no
longer a priority . I loved my hat and
wore it and wore it.
And Grandfather would sit under
the shade tree, asleep, listening to the
Saturday afternoon Cub's game. And
I would throw a rubber ball against
the house. I would take my precious
hat on and off, just like the big league
pitchers did on the television .
I was about.12 when it did not seem
to fit anymore. ay then we had
moved to town . The braids were
long gone . I was a swimmer now
and.short hair was acceptable. And if
you had real short hair, you did not
have to wear a swim .cap during
swim practice and meets. Yes, I can
definitely trace my roots.
I do not remember wearing a
baseball hat in high school or college.
I did, however, have other hats of
d istinction. Then one day when I was
21, someone gave me a _baseball hat.
And I broke in the brim real good.
I am now 42 years old . And still
wearing baseball hats. I have two
New York Yankee hats and two Notre
Dame hats : Those are my teams. I
have a pink one that I painted a pink
triangle on before you could buy such
hats in the stores. I have one that
says March on Washington with a
rainbow flag. People still give me
baseball hats . At times, ! ·have given
some away.
Size snid yes I know wlznt tlze fish menns
but size could not sny tlze ·words. I took
tlze cnp off n11d trnced the outline of t/ze
fislz n11d told lzer I nm n ClzristinH. Size
snid i;cs size knew. ' .
And I have this one particular blue
baseball hat. The Christian symbol of
the fish is embroidered on the hat in
the rainbow colors. I got it for Christmas
from my spouse. A very special
hat.
I wear my hats during all the
seasons of time. I am liable to wear
my hats almost anywhere I go. I
have ·enough hats to fit my mood or
to match the outfit I have on. I
especially like wearing my fish hat.
A while ago, I was at an open
house for a couple who had built a
beautiful log cabin in the woods near
a lake. There were many Christians
there. There were many people who
were not.
I had a wonderful encounter with a
very nice lady. She was retired from
the Navy. And we talked and jabber-
ed and we then talked about my
baseball hat.
She said yes I know what the fish
means but she .could not say the
words. I took the cap off and traced
the outline of the fish and told her I
am a Christian. She said yes she
knew . And I pray for thee and I pray
for me .
I had not realized how important
that hat was to me. · I had not realized
how often I had worn that hat to
places where the hat m'ight' not
always · be welcome. I had not
realized that by wearing that hat in
those places, I was witnessing my
faith.
We Christians rejoice in our
redemption and we pray that others
might come to know the inner peace
of salvation.
And now I am old and grey with
my childhood far away. Yet, what I
learned in Sunday School carries me
through my life today . I have
cherished and . grown into the faith
and the blessings of the Trinity .
And I must admit, that when I was
a child, wood ticks were an awful-part
of my world. Yet without them, maybe
I would not be wearing a baseball
hat today. And when I walk into a
place where Christians might not
always be welcome, l make sur e I am
wearing my fish hat in witnes s. For
the ways that we can witness are so
many.
And to my Navy friend, I pray for
thee and I pray for me.
Julia Mueller attends Jesus MCC in
Indianapolis, Indiana. Her family includes
Oscar the rabbit, Zia tlze dog and tlze special
woman Mueller says site is blessed to lzave
as her mate, Claudia, wlto is student clergy
ofUFMCC. .
""• •
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America: . .
No action on sexuality statement until 1997 assembly
THE EV ANGELICAL LUTHERAN
Church in America will proceed with
work on a possible social statement on
human sexuality. However, an
extended time line for study means
the ELCA Division for Church in
Society will not present it for action at
the denomination's next churchwide
assembly, to be held in 1995.
The division's board decided to
distribute about 30,000 copies of a
working draft after receiving advice
from the church's Conference of Bishops
and Church Council. The church
has distributed the do-cument to the
ELCA's 17,000 clergy, 1,300 associates
in ministry and 11,000 congregations.
The Division for Church in Society
was planning to receive responses to
the draft statement until January 31,
1995, and to revise the document for
action as a social statement on human
sexuality by the ELCA churchwide
assembly in August 1995. The
churchwide assembly - the church's
chief legislative body - meets for one
week every other year.
The Conference of Bishops - the
ELCA's 65 synod bishops - voted in
October to recommend ""that the time
line for response be extended to June
30, 1995,"" and ""that the 1995 churchwide
assembly take no action on the
working draft.""
The executive committee of the
· ELCA Church Cciuncil voted by
conference call October 6, urging the
Division for Church in Society to
""extend the time line to June 30, 1995,
for responses to this working draft""
and to ""present a progress report to
the 1995 churchwide assembly."" .
The division's board released the
working draft with the direction that
responses would be received until
June 30. It will report on the document's
progr ess to the churchwide
assembly .
As its Sept. 30 meeting the board
GIBELING
From Page 11
he says. Gibeling prayed about
becoming program executive of the
organization and he says the answer
was another piece of scripture: ""My
strength is made perfect in weakness
."" ""I understood that to mean
great things are possible even in the
face of insurmountable odds . And I
looked to see where that scripture
came from,"" he says. It is the second
part of II Corinthians 12:9, the same
verse that had influepced his life
years earlier. ·
""I took that answer to mean yes,
you should take the job,""' says
Gibeling. On July 1, 1993, he left his
freelance advertising work to become
program executive of Lutherans Concerned,
a job he says he loves.
SECOND STONE
heard the advice of an 11-member
consulting panel set up by the ELCA
Church Council that the church take
more · time before it tries adopting a
social statement on human sexuality.
""We recommend that the document,
after significant work, form the basis
for a report to the churchwide assembly
in 1995. H this report were well
received it could become the basis for
a futur; sociai statement,"" said the
panel.
Around the Jime the ELCA formed
in 1988 several synods pass.ed resolutions
asking the church to study and
develop social statements on various
aspects of human sexuaHty . T_he
Division for Church in Society studies
social issues and prepares social statements
for the ELCA's consideration
and action. . ·
The division appointed a task force
that began meeting in 1989. The task ·
force coordinated study across the
church and helped develop study
materials and a first draft of a possible
social statement on human sexuality.
· Study materials were first
distributed in December 1991 and the
first draft in October 1993. The first
draft drew a large volume of responses,
mostly negative, from across
the church through the end of June
1994.
""We believe that the first two
documents were looked at carefully
by church theologians and members
of the ELCA. We believe that this
next draft will be 'looked at perhaps
even more closely,"" said the Rev.
Melissa M. Maxwell-Doherty, consulting
panel chair and pastor of Calvary
Lutheran Church, Grand Forks,
North Dakota. ·
If a social statement were to be
ready for consideration by the 1995
assembly, responses to a draft statement
would need to be received by
The greatest challenge now facing
Lutherans Concerned is to spread the
ministry vision, according to
Gibeling. The greatest ohstacle
facing , the organization - and all
other . denomination-identified gay
and lesbian Christian organizations -
is. the Jack of awareness that they
even exist.
Contrary to the belief that many
have that denomination-identified
groups are giving up their numbers
to more gay-friendly denominations
and independent churches, Gibelmg
says there is. a great deal of hope for
the future of such organizations. For
inspiration, Gibeling needs only
recall a verse of scripture - and the
answered prayers of a troubled
teenaged Lutheran. ·
the end of January - allowing the
church three months for study.
""We think that process of
deliberation within our churches and
among our academic theologians is
important. We are not convinced that
the time line allows for adequate time
for the church to engage in that
continued process of deliberation,""
Maxwell-Doherty said.
The division hired a writing team
of two seminary faculty members and
a parish pastor to condense and revise
earlier documents and to consider all
the responses those documents generated.
The team was appointed during
spring 1994 and wrote the current
draft from July through September.
Catholic group denounces antigay
appeals court ruling
A NOVEMBER 22 ruling by a federal
appeals court upholding the military's
ban on openly gay and lesbian
personnel was harshly criticized by
Catholic Advocates for Lesbian and
Gay Rights . 'The court's ruling
upholding discrimination is
immoral and unjust,"" said Br. Rick
Garcia, BFCC, director of the group.
""Justice Silberman's suggestion that
homosexual practice would follow
announcement . of a homosexual
orientation is especially offensive to
Catholics, particularly gay priests and
FUTURE
From Page 11
groups as. political in-stead of a
ministry. We seek to lead the church
by example. We cannot wait for
everyone in the church to understand
how acute the need is . Through our
understanding of the Gospel, . we
believe that reaching out first and
helping others help each of us grow
in ·our faith and understanding of
God 's grace:""
Coalition-building is another way
denomination-identified gay and lesbian
Christian groups can empower
themselves in the absence of support
from churchwide offices. According
to Gibeling, dismssion is already
taking place among such groups and
there is consensus to unite with one
voice to gettwo messages across: that
the radical right does not speak for all
people of faith - and that there are
gay and lesbian Christians in many
congregations who welcome them, in
spite of official clmrch policy. ·
'Leaders of Integrity and Lutherans
Concerned have taken the lead in
such discussion . Boards of both 1
groups have agreed in principle to
have joint board meetings and work
toward a joint assembly. The larger
Episcopal and Lutheran churches are
working toward full communion.
The ministry vs. political focus of
Lutherans · .Concerned moves the
organization back to direct service to
individual Gays and Lesbians who
are suffering and feel isolated in the
church. ""We_ have to make efforts to
NOVEMB
lesbian nuns who have vowed
celibacy. Just because one is gay does
not mean one will necessarily engage
in homogenital behavior. Not that
that should be a factor in one's
military service."" Garcia said that the
court should be ashamed of the
decision . 'The justices have based
their ruling on ignorance and fear at
best and bigotry and hatefulness at
worst,"" .he said.
break through the barriers to get to
closeted folks in the pews in the back
of the church,"" Gibeling says : ""We
. need to work through pastors and
position ourselves as a resource to
pastors. We need to connect people
and create awareness.""
But to go so, the organization must
return to the political battlefield, like
. it. or not. The Evangelical Lutheran
· Church in America has thwarted the
visibility of Lutherans Concerned by
not allowing them advertising space
in · The Lutheran magazine or the
presence _of a booth at the ELCA
chur'ch'Yide assembly.
.. - Gibeling downplay s any negative
impact "" that response to the ELCA's
draft statement on human sexuality
may have had on his organization.
'The response from clergy and seminaries
was rather positive,"" Gibeling
says. 'The large negative response
came from individuals and local
congregations who were reacting to
early press accounts which doomed
·the statement from the beginning.
But it created a great deal of
discussion thaf would not have taken
place otherwise, and ' ii may lead
many congregations to becoming
RIC. So I see some real progress as a
result of these discussions.""
Lutherans Concerned celebrated its
20th anniversary at its gathering in
Charlotte this past summer. Gibeling
says one speaker recalled discussions
about choosing a name for the organization
20 years ago. ""The original
idea was 'Reformation' inst ea d of
'Lutherans Concerned' - and today the
idea of Lutherans Concerned as a
refor~ organization is right on
target,"" he says.
ER/DECEMBERl 994
.,
I
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63 c ·hristian leaders affected by flood·
By Rev. Samuel Kader of great excitement at seeing so many New Caney. Guard was coming. We thought helidear
friends, and meeting new ones, The 40 still on the campground had copters would soon hover overhead. Contrib,utin,g Writer . THE ANNUAL NATIONAL
conference of . Advance
Christian Min\s. fries • was
of being affirmed as Christians, and a worship service once we were all We did what we knew to do. We
rejoicing with each other aswe caught gathered in the same cabin . . But as b.egan to worship. It must have
up on each other's news. soon as . the service ended it was sounded to any creatures outside the
scheduled for Oct. 17-23 __ It was stilt'raining . _
with 'at least 180 confirmed registra- . While w e were _eatingfonch in the
tions ·received. Some people arrived · .cafeteria on Monday, the lazy littl e
early' arid began to help prepare · for creek oh either side of the only road
all those arrivals to Houston ·airports . in or out .0 f the• campground swelled
The conference was scheduled to take , over its banks and over the dip in the
place on a rented campground fo , · road. Within a short time those on
New Caney, Texas. Sleeping ar- the one side - of the creek near the
rangements were dormitory style in .entrance to the campground had one
bunk . beds ,- each cabin having ·a building -to -themselves .. The water
men' ·s side, a women's side ·and a -separated us (rom _them and vice
comrriori living room are'a\vith snack · · versa. We had the rest of the campbar
and 'kitchenette . · '"" .. ·, , ground; with no way out. . For a time
. The rain began Friday, Oct. 14, we still had phone communication,
before most of us arrived. -It was a -but that was soon lo end.
heavy torrential downpour that let up
for only moments at a time, then
started up .again . It was .still raining
on Sunday; when most of -the early
arrivals .W:ere picking out. cabins._ ..
Monday was an exciting day ·of
anticipat,ion,- . That evening was the
kickoff service for the co_nference,
Rented vans were . busy making <1.ir-,
port runs and with each new arrival
ther {l were old and new. C)lrisliil-11
friends to greet and help get settled ·
onto the campground. It was .a . time
People in the cabins nearest the
· .creek were instru.cted to join everyone
_ else in one des ignated cabin. There
. were 40 people ·on . the campground
with no way out. The water became
too deep to dri ve through for those
who had cars .. There were 23 others
Two
absorbing
accounts
of teenagers
struggling
~with
_ $exuat
orientation
issues ...
. . stranded near the entrance to the
,campground . They quickly gathered
what they could in six cars and
started out of the area to the Red
Cross shelter, a school building in
q,·-,,
1\ij~'\ ,
,~~t . if~_,.,,h ~1~a1>1<>-""v,
~ to~ gav ·""J!O.. }I \
· ""f""' 11:, •• ri ~by A'~ ; ,.
edW': ·• ,
. Two ~Teenagers
in Twenty .
Tweive years ·ago Ann Heron
edited One Teenage; in Ten.
. Essays from gay and lesbian
· Generation X:in Heron's new
book reveal a .sense of 'isolation
and -despair ev~ry bit as deep as
a decade ago :
a~~-'-b
Deiltal
s,udws of suicide
in gay and lesbian
______ teenagers _
~: !l ,
Death by Denial:
Studies · of suicide in gay
and lesbian teenagers
An in-depth examination of the
third · leading killer of youth,
accounting for 14 percent of all
deaths among teenagers . Edited
by Gary Remafedi . ~-=m-uan. .· 0 DEATH BY DENIAL, paperbk, $9.95
0 TWO TEENAGERS IN TWENTY, cloth; $17.95
Postage/Handling $2.90 first book, $1.00 ea. additional --~-TOTAL
AMOUNT ENCLOSED
NAME----------------------
ADDRESS _ _____________________ _
CITY/STATEIZl""'-------------~-----ORDER
FROM: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
SECOND STONE
obvious the creek was still rising. It way it did to the Philippian prisoners
was still i;aining. We were instructed as Paul and Silas worshipped iri.
to take one .change of clothes, our prison at midnight.
toiletries, and our bedding and head
to the cabin further yet from the
creek, and on slightly higher ground.
Those is our midst who had cars took
us and our backpacks, pillows,
suitcases, briefcases, hairdryers and
mousse to our next refuge station.
Rain, rain, rain. -
While it was still -night, there were
no overhead helicopters, only rain
clouds pouring out more rain. But,
yes, there was something else.
Angels. They were everywhere. We
couldn't see them, but it was obvious
we were being cared for. During our
At 4 a.m. they came running into each
side of the sleeping quarters, turned on
the lights and told all of us to get up
because the river had now reached our
cabin. No sooner did they say this than
trater started rushing _in under the
/ doors from outside. · ·
This was getting serious . One
building was already flooded. It was
dark outside. We were damp . As
soon as ev eryone got settled in our
new cabin, we worshipped again,
then many went lo sleep for the
night. . A · handful of night owls
stayed up all night watching the rain
and talking on the front covered
porch. At 4 a.m. they came running
into each side of the sleeping quarters,
turned on the lights and told all
of us to get up because the river had
now · reached our cabin. No sooner
did they say this than the wat er
started rushing in under the doors
from outside. My flannel top sheet
was partly dragging on the floor, and
by the time I jumped out of bed, it
was already soaking up river water
from the flood.
Meanwhile, put on the road, of. the
six cars that drove out of the campground
toward the shelter, only three
mi'lde it. The other three got to a
point where the water had risen over
the road and they could go no
further. As they tried to head the
other way another river swallowed
up the road behind them. They
spent the night driving forward from
the river behind them then backing
up from the river in front of them, as
the amount of roadway they had kep.t
shrinking. It too~ the occupants of
this nomadic caravan until Tuesday to
reach the shelter.
At 4 a .m. all the residents of the
cabin were out of bed, and gathered
in the living room to get further
instructions . We thought boats were
early predawn worship, we )lad an
exhortatiqn -from the Won:l,;of-,God,
from Isaiah 43:1-2: But not-thus saith
the Lord that created thee, 0 Jacob, and
he that formed thee, 0 Israel,· Fear not;
for I have redeemed thee, l have called
thee by thy name; thou art mine. When
thou passest through the waters, I will be
with thee, and through the rivers, they
shall not overfl<YUi thee. _ ·
The Lord said He would redeem us.
After dawn, and sometime near
mid-morning a helicopter flew overhead.
We wondered how we were
going to get up to it. It didn't stay . It
couldn't land. By this time water in
the cabin was mid calf to knee deep.
It was still raining. Twenty-six inches
of rain fell on Monday alone.
Around noon, we heard the motor
boat. Two Christians, Stan and Dan,
Baptists from Peachcreek Baptist
Church, arrived at the cabin in a boat
one of them owned. The Lord said he
would redeem us. These guys were
not -with the government, but were
private citizens, serving God, using
the fish and loaves at their disposal to
serve the Lord, as did the young
child in the Gospels who gave what
he had to Jesus to feed the multitudes .
The boat they had co~Jd only hold
four of us at a time. The boat ride
round trip, to come and get the next
load of passengers, took over an hour .
Dan and Stan labored as Christians
for over 12 hours, well into the night
on Tuesday to see that all of us were
coming. We thought the National SEE FLOOD, Next Page
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER1994
..
'
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Advance '94 brings· showers of blessings
. By Robyn Brown
Contributing Writer
t this year's Advance conferen~
e, we found _ourselves
runmng an emergency
shelter and ministering .
among ourselves and to others who
had lost their homes, possessions and
family treasures to the Houston flood.
There were 23 of us to assist with a
shelter to 250 people . Truly a chance
for the ten percent to minister to the
ninety .
Bishop Stephanie Williams
reminded us of Psalm 4:1, ""Hear me
when i call, 0 God of my righteousness:
Thou hast enlarged me
when I was in distress ... "" God
enlarged m, in our distress! Not one
person had gone untouched by this
flood experience. We had planned in
our human wisdom to enlarge our
minds on the subjects of discipleship,
and preaching and teaching all
creation and all nations. But God had
given us a workshop for a hands-on
application of our faith as we reached
out to the suffering community
around us - a community with which
we would not have normally have
had contact. God had enlarged us
beyond our fears and comfort zones.
He had pushed us to our limits and
He had provided the _strength to
survive and grow.
By Thursday the waters had
receded from the campgrounds .
There was a tearful goodbye from
Karen, the Red Cross director, as the
buses loaded. We had been her
FLOOD,
From Previous Page
rescued. The dry ground they took
us to was a partially submerged roadway
where several more Baptists in
their vans were waiting to get us up
to Peachcreel, Baptist Church . We
slept in the hallways and Sunday
School rooms of their fellows hip hall.
They fed us, gave us clothing, bedding,
and Jots of love. We-said grace
with them, and joined all our voices
together as spontaneous worship
broke out in our midst. But the
Advance attendees weren't the only
guests to spend the night. People
whose homes and all worldly .belongings
were under water were also with
us, including a widow who had lost
everything. It wasn't long before gay
pastors and Christian s in our midst
were ministering to her and other
hurting folks among us . What fellowship,
what a flow of the spirit of
God.
Meanwhile, back at the Red Cross
s helter, the oth er p a rt of our group
was doing the sa me thing. Th ey
were feeding the elderly. The shelter
SECO ND S T O NE
volunteers and her new foun·d
""family"" to whom she had come out.
After we gathered our belongings
into the Magnolia cabin that had not
been flooded and the Sunset cabin we
gathered to thank the Lord for our ·
survival without loss of life. Pastor
Tom Hirsch mused, 'How many of
us, if asked by God to pay money to
come to Texas and struggle through a
flood and help with the cleanup,
would have said 'Send me! Send
me!'?"" ·
We spent the next day and a half
assisting Richard and Priscilla by
cleaning _the camp. We cleaned the
cafeteria and kitchen, washed hundreds
of dishes arid cleaned out
freezers and pantries. We. moved
furniture and mattresses out of the
cabins into the open air to dry. We
cleaned the chapel and washed
hundreds of folding chairs. The work
that SO-something workers did in a
day and a half would have taken
Richard and Priscilla's crew of seven
several months to complete. Following
a previous smaller flood no one
from the church that Richard and
Priscilla had been attending offered to
help with the cleaning. . However,
they did want to know if the grounds
wou l d be cleaned in time for their
picnic. Richard and Priscilla are not
attending that church anymore .
While they were gone to a wedding
on Saturday we provided them an
additional · gift. We cleaned their
personal home from top to bottom
and washed all of their clothing.
This is the church as God had
intended! A church in action ministering
to the community around it. A
church reaching outside its four walls
to a community that is dying at the
very corners of its magnificent
edifices. We cannot wait for our community
to come to us. We have to go
to them and minister to their needs
before they will seek the higher
things of God.
Pastor Tom Hirsch mused, ""How many
of us, if asked by God to pay money
to come to Texas and struggle
through a flood and help with the
cleanup, would have said 'Send me!
The last time that I saw my spouse
Bill on Monday, he was standing on
the far side of the newly formed pond
holding an umbrella as I waded
through waist-deep water _rescuing
luggage. During our two days apart
I had to face my materialism . I
finally came to a place where I did
not care what of our ""things"" were .
saved as long as Bill was okay. God
had enlarge d me at my weakest
point. As we quietly sat together on
Thursday God sent us a sign of
encouragement. Between the
Goldenrod and the Rainbow cabins
there is a magnolia tree. Magnolias
Send me!'?""
at the school had around 300 homeless
flood victims. The Christians
from Advance jumped in to help the
Red Ctoss, so much so that the head
of the Red Cross at our shelter told
them to stop sending her volunteers,
she had all she could use from the
""victims."" Out people were unloading
the trucks as they came in,
helping to serve the food, staffing the
phones throughout the night so the
Red Cross staff could get some rest,
and ministering in countless other
ways.
On Tuesday the Red Cross sent a
school bus to the Peachcreek Baptist
Church, and reunited our conference.
They gave tl.s our own room in the
school so we could all be together .
The Advance conference continued
right there in the school. Some of the
people staying at the school shelter
joined us for worship . And we kept
on serving.
The theme for the 1994 Advance
was ""Go Into All the World.""
God had a plan ·to give us practical
application of the theme. We were
not able to stay cloistered and hidden
and just read about the great commi
ssion and discus s it. We were
foC1=ed to do it!
After .the flood wat ers re ceded we
were able to · go back to the campground
to salvage our belongings left
behind in the first cabin we had
stayed in, th e things left in the
original sanctuary, or in the registration
area, or administration buildings.
Thursday the buses rolled onto the
campgrounds . · Many of us, the vast
majority .in fact, stayed until the
scheduled end of the conference. We
had learned the lessons well.
-are a spring blooming tree, but there,
following the flood, sat a tree crowned
by · two large White blossoms. The
trees were rejoicing.
us could -ever be the-same: It -was -life
changing, as well as a ministry
changing conference.
. And there were her oes and
heroines · in out midst, too many to
mention. There was great humot and
fellowship also. As one sister said at
the Red Cross shelter, ""It's hard tocop
an attitude when you're wearing
someone else's underwear!""
The greatest thing I will remember
was the ministry. The Baptists to us.
We to others . Going into all the
world. And the worship. Hearts just
filled with gratitude for a new lease
on life cailnot take God for granted.
I thank God for the attitude adjustments
I received, and the things I
learned. Some people heard Advance
was canceled this year . Not so.
It was probably the most profound
one yet! · May we learn the lessons
tha t were taught, and give them out
as we go into all the world.
There were losses. Advance Chris-·
tian Ministries had all its sound
equipment, tape decks, keyboard and
other electron ic equipment submerged
in flood . waters, including a
· laser printer . The people with cars
who had shuttled us to the higher
ground cabin all had their cars
submerged to the windshields. But
even these Christians kept saying,
'These are only material things.""
When the group was separated, somE!
of that separation took place in
households, with one spouse on one Samuel Kader is Sr. Pastor and
side of the river and the other still on co-founder of Community Gospel Churc/1
the campground. Losing luggage in Dayton, Ohio. Advance Christian
and clothing and ev en a personal Ministries is located· in Dallas, Texas.
computer or two paled by comparison Gifts to offset the losses of Advance may
to having reassurance y ou~ loved one be sent to Rev. Thomas Hirsch, Director,
w as all right . Life took on a new Advance Christian Ministries, 4001-C ·
p erspective, and I do n't think any of Maple A venue, Dallas, TX 75219.
N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R l 9 9 4
................... ............. ..·..I·.n...P. ..r..i. nt
Last work of ""dean of the homophiles""
By William A. Percy
Contributing Writer
Homophfle Studies in Theory and
Practice, written and edited by W.
Dorr Legg, assoc. eds . Da_vi_d G.
Cameron and Walter L. Williams:
GLB Publishers, San Francisco, 464
pp., 1994.
Homophile Studies in Thwry and
Practice may be this year's best book
and is certainly a fitting tribute lo
One Institute and to Dorr Legg who
died in July of this year. It reiterates
his .continuing insistance .. on the
necessity of homophile sluqies which
has blossomed from One Institute to
many of the finer institutions of
higher education and is now traveling
to the high school level.
A registered Republican, 90 years
of age al his death, Dorr. Legg,
founder, director, and from 1981 to
1994, dean of One Institute, modestly
excerpts from the papers delivered at
its convening and articles published
by One Magazine to produce not only
a guide for gay arid lesbian studies
but a history of our oldest ongoing
homophile institution. He has
skillfully Woven together documents
from over 40 years and demonstrated
in passing that scholars .there and
elsewhere gradually turned the tide
in the disciplines theretofore dominated
by homophobia. Haying edited
the pioneer Homosexuals Today in
1956, he taught innovative courses at
One, achieving the unofficial status of
""dean of the homophiles.""
In the wake of World War II
homosocialism, the Kinsey's Sexual
Behavior in the Human Male in 1948
and Sexual Behavior of the Human
Female in 1953 challenged the homophobic
stereotypes of American
Freudians, physicians, jurists, clerics,
and academics in demeaning homosexuals
as sick, untrustworthy, <:riminal,
and sinful.
One Institute went from crisis to
crisis in its early years challenging
the all ·pervasive (hegemonic) homophobia
of the 1950's and 60's while
others were hiding or partying. It
resisted ignorance, intolerance, and
injustice and attempts to treat and
""cure"" us.
Before and after the Mattachine
Society collapsed in . the early 70's, it's
founder, Harry Hay, and fellow
ex-communist Jim Kepn~r along with
Don Slater worked with One. Legg
and his associates resumed the work
begun by Magnus Hirschfeld whose
institute Hitler destroyed in 1933
along with the whole German
homosexual emancipation movement.
Christopher Isherwood frequented
One as did Rudy Gengrich, who had
become Harry Hay's lover. One
Institute even had Henry Gerber
speak, the World War I veteran, who,
inspired by the German movement,
organized the first American homosexual
group in Chicago in 1924.
Perhaps most effective was the
married, straight psychologist Evelyn
Hooker . With assistance from One
regarded us, enhancing our emancipation,
toleration, and acceptance, In
i953 the Supreme Court of the United
States, in the first case it ever
considered involving homosexuality,
overturned the postal authorities' .
prohibition on One Magazine which
lower . courts had defined as pornography.
Vern Bullough, the ""dean""
of gay historians, was long associated
w.ith One; John Money, Professor of
Medicine at Johns Hopkins who
formulated pro-gay biological theories
and with Richard Green wrote The
Transsexual Syndrome in Homosexual
Males in 1974; and the Harry
Benjamin International Gender
Dysphoria Association which studied
transsexuals; were, also, involved in
the institutes's work.
One Instilute's first Ph.D., Paul
Hardman, published his thesis,
HamoaffectionalismM: ale BondingF ram
Gilgamesh To The Present (1993).
Board member, Professor Walter
Williams of the University of Southern
California studied berdasche and
further undermined the homophobic
stereotypes of anthropologists assailed
so ably by Yale Professors Clellan
Steams Ford and Frank A. Beach in
Patternso f Sexual Behavior(1 951), John
DeCecco's Journal of Homosexuality,
our most scholarly publication, has
cooperated with One Institute for over
two decades.
· Whether · working behind the
scenes for legal reform such as those
in the Mattachine Society of )""'hich
Arthur Warner was the leading
lawyer, or the first to demonstrate as
Frank Kameny did, or writing like
the Kinsey Institute associate, C. A.
Tripp, The Homosexual Matrix (1975),
they assailed and undermined . the old
homophobic theories.
The efforts of lawyers and the
intellectual elite had other beneficial
results such as Sir John Wolfenden,
head of England's parliamentary
committee, advocating decriminalization
of sodomy in 1957. The new
model penal code of the American
Bar Association (1961) also did so,
although only Illinois adopted it
before Stonewall. .- 1
Homophile Studies in Theo1y and
Practice details the woncierful achievements
of a group of unsung and very
dedicated individuals and organiza.
tions. · It is a wonderful and fascinating
description of the homosexual
movement before Stonewall that is
unknown to most. It is a must read
for those wishing to understand our
movement and a fitting tribute to
Dorr Legg who devoted.50 rnurh of
his life .and energy to that movement.
William A. Percy is a Professor of
History at the University of Massachusetts
at Bos/cm, He is an Associate Editor
of the Encyclopedia of Homosexuality
(Garland, 1990) and the author of
Pederasty and Pedagogy in Archaic
Greece (University of Illinois Press,
forthcoming).
---------------. , she proved that on Rorschach tests
k-1t he spiriot f 5t. Fratci5a nc5:lt . and in other accepted measures of
. Clarew, ere~ .~ l,uilt;b-a
anc:~l IM(8l'6 tojoumey'with
· ooi i the foot6t.epo5 f Jee;usC hrist.
mental .health and ability most homosexuals
were as normal, productive,
and conscientious as straights, in fact,
indistinguishable from them. This
assertion flew in the face of theories
based on examinations of troubled or
institutionalized homosexuals about
our degeneration or immaturity.
The Word Is Out
·ud/JO We are an ecumenical,
inclusive, non-clerical
Qi>,. community of baptize? men
CV
and women from various
Chris.tian traditions who
,.0 chose to worship and live in
~
• . a faith-sharing spirit.
You may become an
· ~ Associate or enter the
program leading to the
profession of vows a.s a
~
.t:!!2 religious Brother or Sister.
Ask to receive our
newsletter, ""Footsteps.""
We work in ministries
of love,. care and reconciliation
nationwide ..
For more information,
please_write to:
MERCOYF G ODC OMMUNITY
Att: Vocation Director
P. 0. Box 41055
Providence, RI 0 29 40 -10 55
SECOND STONE
By scholarship, education, and
outreach One fostered steady
improvement in the way society
!~~' ~<~,~r
. Tiie
, . ~{~~1t!~~
On 100 beautiful acres with
pool, hot tub, skiing and more.
Jnnkeapers Judith Hall and
Grace Newman invite you to
write or ca1\ for a brochure.
P. 0. Box 118 SL
Bethle_hem, NH 03574
(603) 869-3978 .
. CHRIS GLASER'S unique meditation
book, The Word Is Out, is a resource
for gay men and Lesbians interested
in redaiming the affirmation often
denied them by many religious
traditions . Glaser shows how coming
out and living in a predominantly
heterosexual world is affirmed .by the
Bible's call to lamentation, liberation,
and community.
To reflect this universality, each
month's meditations are centered on
issues corresponding lo · both the
Christian and the gay and lesbian
calendars. For June, Gay Pride
month, Glaser illumines the Bible's
encouraging words of liberation and
victorious celebration. In keeping
with the Christian period of mourning
and lamentation throughout
February and March, Glaser affirms
the anger and pain of dealing with
AIDS, gay bashing, and discrimination,
By interrelating the goals, failures,
and victories of many liberation
movements, The Word Is Out speaks
not oiuy to Gays and Lesbians, but
also to other groups who have long
been excluded. by the churc:h's
struggle with racism, sexism, and
classism. ""Liberation changes the
very form of this world!,"" writes
Glaser . ""Whether deliverance from
Chris Glaser
oppression, salvation from sin, or
freedom from legalism, liberation
transforms our experience of God's
realm.""
Chris Glaser is a graduate of Yale
Divinity who reconciled his spirituality
with his homosexual orientation
despite the limited support from his
religious community. ·
NOVEMBER/DECEMBERl 994
' • I
...................................l.n...P...r..i.n...t.. .......................
25th anniversary reprinting of Rev. Perry's book
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD and
He Knows I'm Gay is the frank and
revealing portrait of Rev. Troy Perry,
gay rights pioneer and founder of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches. It was. the first
book ever written by an openly gay
Christian when jt was originally published
in 1972. ·
The 25th anniversary edition
describes the dramatic events leading
to the creation of the UFMCC in 1968,
and the-heroic struggles of the church
in its early years.
Preaching a simple message of
God's love for Gays and Lesbians,
Rev. Perry has guided his denomination
to tremendous growth. There are
now nearly 300 Metropolitan Community
Churches in 16 countries.
The Lord is My Shepherd and He
K_nowsI 'm Gay is Rev. Perry's autob10graphy,
beginning with his childhood
in Florida and Georgia. He
reveals the development of his sexual
identity, from his first sexual explora-
In Print, briefly ...
Confessioonfsa
JewisWh agnerite
Thisn ewb ookb y LawrencDe . Mass
is subtitledB eingG aya ndJ ewishin
America. Says Michaelangelo
Signorile"",a s penetratinagn dp rofounda
s It is stylisha nde ntertaining.
It takesa journeya crossa breathtakingw
orlds catterewd itht he horrorso (
AIDS,h omophobisae, lf-loathing,
hatreda nda nti-Semitistmo a place
of meaninga nd purpose.'
OneT eacheinr T en:G ay
andL esbiaEnd ucators
TellT heiSr tories
Gaya ndl esbiante achersh ave
traditionalldyw elti n the deepesot f
closetsf,e aringfo r theirc areers.
Butt oday,a n increasirin~u mber
of young. peoplea re beingt aught
by teachersw hoa reo ut andp roud.
In this book,e ducatortsa lka bout
theirs truggleas ndv ictoriesin the
classroom.
KevinJ enningse,d itoor f
OneT eacehr in Ten
•FromA lysonP ublications
SECOND STONE
Rev, Troy Perry
lions to the passionate romances of a
proud gay man. He describes his
struggle to follow God's . call, even
when his Penecostal ministry and his
LETTERS,
From Page4
now.
What she doesn't understand it that
all of her preaching won't change me.
I still love her but I have other needs
as well - and down deep is the desire ·
to be loved.
At present our Presbyteri.an church
is having dialogue sessions on
homosexuality. This. could be a great
eye opener for my bride if only she
would try one session, but her mind
is made up. She is the one who
convinced me that I was different
even before we married each other.
For better or worse?
Enlightened,
foe Nolan
West Hollywood, California
Problems with
UMC's definition
of llpracticing
homosexual""
· Dear Second Stone,
I read with interest your brief
notation on page four of the Sept/Oct,
1994 issue telling of the attempt of the
California-Pacific Annual Conference ·
of the United Methodist Church to
come up with a definition of the
disciplinary phrase ""self-avowed practicing
homosexual.""
As a member of that Annual
Conference, I would agree that the
definition adopted by the CaliforniaPacific
Annual Conference is •excellent
at trying to ""stave off witch hunts"" by
heterosexual marriage were destroyed
by officials who condemned
his sexual orientation. Throughout
the book, he provides readable
explanations of the Bible, including
texts that have been misused to
condemn homosexuality. The result
is a lively and empowering book for
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
people, as well as anyone
interested in civil rights or spirituality.
Reading The Lord is My Shepherd
and He Knows I'm Gay is like sitting
carefully delineating that which is,
and is not, ""self-avowal."" However,
there remain some serious problems
with the part of the definition which
delineates ""practicing homosexual."" ·
These problems led another pastor,
the Rev. Richard R. Bentley, Jr., and
myself, tci request an Episcopal Ruling
on whether the definition adopted
meets the requirements of the United
Methodist Book of Discipline. Bishop
Roy I. Sano ruled that the definition
does comply with the Book of Discipline.
However, in accordance with
the rules of the United Methodist
Church, all Episcopal _Rulings are
reviewed and affirmed, modified or
overturned by the Judicial Council of
the denomination.
The Judicial Council will be
reviewing this ruling at an upcoming
meeting.
Sincerely,
I11omaHs . Griffith,P astor
Crescent Heights
United Methodist Church
Woodland, California
On owning stock
in homophobic
companies
Dear Second Stone,
Three years ago I read a letter to
the editor in Second Stone that caught
my attention. The writer said that if
, you want to make a statement against
the homophobic policies of Carls Jr.
and Crack!!r Barrel restaurants, you
should buy their stock! Just one
share! What a concept!
I bought one share of Cracker
Barrel at 34-1/2 and three shares of
Karcher at 9. Those transactions totaled
$61.50. The cost of the trades
brought the total to $117.50.
Each of these stocks pays a
quarterly dividend, and every three
months I get a check from Cracker
Barrel for one cent and a check from
Karcher Enterprises (now CKE Restaurants)
for six cents. I don't bother
cashing them; it's more fun giving
·them away as souvenirs and thinking
down for an initmate chat with Rev.
Perry, to laugh and cry with him as
he tells in his own words of the
adventures he has lived. It is a story
of pain and struggle, a story of
'triumph over homophobia and bigotry,
an authentic slice of an inspiring
life.
The 25th anniversary edition of The
Lord is My Shepherda nd He KnowsI 'm
Gay includes a new introduction
written by Rev. Perry, as well as the·
introduction for the original 1972
edition.
how much it costs the companies just
to process them.
Last year Cracker Barrel split three
for two. Since I didn't have two
shares to split, the company had to
reissue me a stock certificate for one
share and send a check for $14.53 for
the fractional share I was due. I
cashed it.
Every six months each company
sends me a financial report. At the
end of the fiscal year I receive a
beautiful slick magazine in full color
extolling each company's virtues.
Each also sends me a thick notice of
the annual shareholders' meeting
along with my ballot to vote for
directors and any pending issues. I
dutifully mark the ballot and return it
in the post-paid envelope. This way I
know what they are doing.
All in all, I feel good about costing
Carls Jr. and Cracker Barrel so much
money. I wonder how many other
people responded to that letter and
bought just one share. '1/clPts of
people did, maybe the homophobes
would get the message and get it
right some day.
If any Second Stone readers want to .
become involved in this unique oneperson/
one~shate activist project, they
may contact any stock broker: Be
sure to tell the broker to have the
stock certificate serit to you. You can
frame it and use.'it'for a dart board.
(Actually, since you . might want to
sell the share some day, it's better to
make copies . for dart boards. Back
them with cork, frame them, and ·use
them for gifts.)
Sincerely,
Betty Hornbostel
(Readersw ho want additionailn formation
may contact Ms. Hornbostel at (916)
662-8970.)
VO Alb~ o(i~ ~ ,/ ' \i""!t ~ ,· 5./
• ~ {I.
/~ ,jg
- -~~~
bfc Et-J\'Q
NOVEMBER/DECE MBER1994
I • •
Calendar . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .
A Reforming Church:
Gift and Task
NOVEMBER 17-19, Central Lutheran
Church in Minneapolis is the setting
for this conference for pastors and lay
people. This gathering is designed to
lift up the reforming spirit · of the
Lutheran movement, affirm the
Lutheran perspective on God's Word
as a dynll!llic living word and provide
a forum for ELCA people who
see that human sexuality is one of the
area s needing theological work. Cost
is $75 per person . For information
contact Allison Bondy, Central
Lutheran Church, (612)870-4416.
Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity
JANUARY 18-25, 1995, For material
and information contact Grayrnoor
Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute,
Garrison , NY, (914)424-3458.
Healing the Wounds
of Heterosexism
FEBRUARY 10-12, 1995, ""Creating a
Home in the? Church: Healing the
Wounds of Heterosexism,"" with
Presbyterian evangelist Janie Spahr,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . .
will be a weekend of worship,
workshops and frivolity focused on
helping congregations become more
welcoming of lesbian, gay and
bisexual Christians . To be held in
various St. Louis metropolitan area
chur~hes, the event is sponsored by
Other Sheep, an international and
ecumenical ministry activP\y pro-
-claiming God 's love for au people .
For more information, contact Other
Sheep at 319 North Fourth St., Ste.
902, St. Louis, MO 63102,
(314)822-3297, (314)776-4483.
11th Annual
Interweave
Convocation
FEBRUARY 17-19, 1995, Interweave,
Unitarian Universa:lists for Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgender ·
Concerns sponsors its annual gathering
in Raleigh, North Carolina . Over
200 participants are expected for three
days of celebration, worship, ·program
s, worksh pps, and more.
Included is a workshop on ecumenical
organizing presented by Rev. Morris
Hudgins, a Unitarian Universalist
pastor, and Rev. Jimmy Creech, a
United Methodist pastor and staff
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Helping Christians
Debate Homosexualtiy
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, wri~rs
with divergent poi.pts of view _
. deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
Edited by Sally B. Geis, director, Iliff
Institute, Lay and Clergy· Education, The
llijf School of Theology, Denver , and
Donald E . Messer, president, The llifj
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ . -CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk ----,--,-
P01tag&'Handling""$2.90 first book, $1.00 ea. additional --~-TOTAL
AMOUNT ENCLOSED ------'--
NAME---~-----------,----------
ADDRESS ____________________ _
CITY/STATE/ZIP ____ --- ____________ _
ORDER FROPif; SECOND STONEPRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182 _
SECOND STONE 4D
~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
member of the North Carolina
Council of Churches. For information
contact Bonnie Blue Crouse, 2001
Boone Ave ., Winston-Salem, NC
27103, (910)722-0421. -
Communication
Ministry Convocation
APRIL 27-30, 1995, Convocation is a
national gathering of Catholic -priests,
brothers and nuns. Last year, just
over 100 gay and bisexual priests and
brothers and lesbian sisters, and
friends, met in Orlando to explore
'The Goodness of Being Gay."" For
many participants, it was the first
time they had ever been able to be so
open about their sexuality and to
experience an empowering
atmosphere of acceptance. The theme
of -this year's gathering is -""New
Expressions of Being Gay or Lesbian
in the Catholic Church: Our Myths
and Our Stories,"" For information on
this conference write to CMI, P.O. Box
60125, Chicago, IL 60660-0125.
Announcements of interest to gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians are welcome
and will be .included free of charge.
Send to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Orleans, LA 70182 or FAX to
(504)891-7555. -
ry""our '13roRg.n :J{eart
(joif wif! tafJ your lieart tfiat's 6rofJn,
'But tlie pieces must 6e tliere.
'Every lieartaclie, every failure,
'Every 6ittenuss anif care.
;J{e's. tlie (joif of tliings once sfiattereif
Jllntf now, cruslieif unto ifespair,
Jllntf ;J{e'{{ tafJ antf recreate it,
'But tlie pieces mwt 6e tliere.
'.)'ou cannot witfilioft{ a portion,
Or some unforgiven ifeea!
;J{e must fiave eac/i. part antf cfumwer,
If ;J{e is to meet your neetl.
'.)'ou cannot witfifwft{ your sorrow
!{or tlie UYilea one, torn away;
Or your fears a6out to,norrow
J1l fttr trials <if toaay .
Jll{[ tlie years ""6y fccust eaten, ""
;J{e'{{ restore, antf {ijt tlie fcaa
'l1i.at for so fclttJ, you've carrieif
'[)_own a aarftantf {one[y r~aa!
;J{e's tlie (joif of uves once sfiatterelf
Yl.na. now, tfwuglit 6eyontf repair ...
Jllntf ;J{e'{{_ f:aK! your lie.an tfiat's 6rol@n,
'But tlic~ej ieas =t 6e. tlierel
. Jl(Jt.tfiryn 'Vivian ~atilttJ
'""Bfesseif are :t!iey tfiat ,no urn ... for tliey sfial[ 6e
wmforntl."" - !Mattliew 5:4
NOVE · MBER/DECEMBERl 994
··:ff· ·.
W NoteworWth y .... ~ ~ ........ ~. ~ ~, .. ~ ......... ~ ~.
LutheranCso ncerncerde ates
ministfroyr p arents
4LUTHERANS CONCERNED/North
America has announced the introduction
of a new ministry specifically
designed to meet the spiritual needs
of parents, families and friends of
lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
The venture · is part of the organization's
effort to serve people in
ministry areas that the institutional
church is reluctant to face, and ""to
lead the church by example."" ""Our
research has shown that parents and
family members often experience
their own special pain, alienation and
rejection, sometimes even within the
church,"" said Bob Gibeling, program
executive for Lutherans Concerned .
'They also become very powerful
advocates for change once they have
come to a new understanding of their
faith and scripture."" Further commenting
on the new outreach,
Gibeling said, ""Other organizations
who sponsor parents and family support
groups aren't designed to address
sexual orientation issues in a
specific religious context. So Lutherans
Concerned is filling a spiritual
qiche that is unique.""
Horvatshn apsh ortte nure
streaka tB atonR ougceh urch
A}OIE DE VIVRE MCC of Baton
;ouge, Louisiana, celebrated Rev.
Nancy Horvath's third anniversary as
its pastor with a reception in her
honor on October 2. The third
an_niversary is particularly significant
irt the almost 11-year history of the
Baton Rouge church because Rev.
Horvath is the first pastor to stay
beyond a two-year tenure. ""We
knew we were accepting God's call
when we came to Baton Rouge, and
we continue to know that is true,""
said Horvath. ""A lot of great things
have happened here during the past
tjlree years, and I'm happy to have
~een a part of them and to have the
chance to be a part of the great things
that are yet to come.""
lesbian Christian groups in Durban
are working strongly, according to
Wakeford; and having to split to
accommodate the growth. Rev.
George Irvine of the Methodist
Church has come out strongly on behalf
of the gay Christian community
and over 250 were• invited to -hear ,
him l!peak on gay and lesbian· faith
issues. Desert Streams, an ex-gay
ministry, is also at work in Durban.
Newo utreacphe rsofno rR CP
4JAMES PRESTON has begun :working
in the Reconciling Congregations
Program national office as its new
outreach staff person. Preston is an
elder in the Northwest Texas Conference
of the United Methodist
Church and has been serving as
associate pastor of St. John's UMC in
Lubbock, Texas. Preston was raised
in a Baptist family and became a
Methodist during college. He earned
his M.Div. at the Perkins School of
Theology.
Gayl,e sbiaPn entecostals
. getn ewc hurches
4THE NATIONAL GAY PENTEcostal
Alliance · has announced the
beginning of two new churches. The
Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ,
pastored by Bro. Tommy Curley, is
opening in Rochester, New York, and
Abundant Life Worship Center, pas•
tored by Bro, David Farrell, is in the
planning stages in Charlotte, North
Carolina. The National Gay Pentecostal
Alliance operates churches in
New York, Michigan, Arizona,
Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama,
and Arkansas. For information about
this organization or its churches
contact NGPA, P.O. Box 1391,
Schenectady, NY 12301-1391.
QUOTABLE
' ""ESA [Evangelicals for Social
WesleyaHno linesNse twork Acti01i] cannot be silent while
4THE WESLEYAN HOLINESS Gay evangelicals are being tempted
and Lesbian Network has been into hysterfr:al animosity
started by a gay Christian, Kent against Gays an.d Lesbians.
Schwob, and two straight Church of . And those of (ts· who issued the
tbe Nazarene ministers, Michael J; · · Chicago Declaration II ought ·
Christensen and Brya_n Stone. to have used this occasion to ,.
Christensen is the author of C. S.
I;ewis on ScriptiJre.a nd. T/Je Samaritan call the church to repentance
imperative, both published by Abing- for its homophobia. We should
qon I'ress. Readers may contact The have condemned the '
y,Jesleyan Holiness Network in care of ' . ' difci'_ii'n_i nation _against Gays
$,chwob at 3540 North Pennsylvania r .. •· . , ,,.
~treet, #F, Indianapolis, IN 46205. and Lesbians that the church.
Wakeforcdo ntinuemsi nistry
inS outhA frica
iREV JOAN WAKEFORD continues
aj. minstry to reach gay and lesbian
Chri~H!!n~) 11,so_μth Africa. .Gay,. aJJd
SECOND STONE
has steadily ignored. ""
-Evangelical Christian author
Tony Campolo
, ,.,,'.;_.· -·
The .first tim.e
· they'll -thank you.
is at Christmas.
What other Chri.stmas prese~t can you give that, well .. , gives again?°Friends,to
whom you give a gift su~scription to Second. Stone willbe_th_a n.k. ·in g. y. o·,I!
around Valentme'.s Day and Easter, about Gay Prid~ . ·
time ... on Independence Day, and around National
Coming Out Day. Second Stone ... a Christmas ·
gift that's not just for Christmas. ·
Yes ...
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subscription and card
in my name to the
person(s) listed:
] One gift, $17
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Add $10 for each
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,_}·,·""\~'· IN)tnttourrs
,- V, FT IIE L onn
...
i Jt
A moving and personal
account of an issue
that won't go· away. A ·
best-seller in Canada::
and soon to be a mcition .
picture . . ·. · · ' . ;, · ..
~ -~~ , _;_,:; ._,u:,t.:~: }'L
, ,. It will ni\11,e you thiQk, it ~U ~~ke ,';, ;fi_
you angry . and hopefullJ, 1I w,11 ;:!c,; •·
, · ' broadenyQitr ..v isio.n-0fwha! ,'1<>t,h • · ., , ·
.. sexuality and Christial)ity at ·lh,l'ir
· best can ,.be • ·· . :-' """"'~ t
-ielegr:aph~J,o urntlt-,: >ff
St,.J Q,lf;1""l1'J~w•B. r'i4nsl<(ic. l/c
James Fi;~·h-;~-~1J;a~ ~g;;\~;rr
these .. · and ·is·hiniself' · ~;!~in ~r (h~_i¼r~~~ ~
Order now from Second Stone Press
· ,;:.:' -.0J;,~ ;t~. I'N~?T H:-EC.\ ?OftU {R TOtS:F.T }Hj~LE):O} R.t'D !'t .:.,. J ~;/~tiL :ttJ.1;\~_:J/~ ;~fi:~~ ~ .,. ~,.,. -. "" -.-- '. - . ~--,, .~ ·""
ByJ a111~11 ~~ -~ove, ; /,·""i"".:, ...,. _, _,,.
. . P~i'!91i2.JO~lioot/S1 /00~iddlllo1\1;1i:=/' '=.:~· ,·, __
,,,,,,WJA~~r. l~~ -, ; .. , .;,._. ' '!y""'.'
NAME--..,.,,-,,,..- ~-,-,,, ........, .,,_.. ....... ,....,..-------- ,~~ .... _ ·,'.i ~ (:· :; ,: ;\:f. _:;,. '
ADDRE.~-----------------
CITY/STATE/Z_I_P_ ____________ ..,-: ,_.,~,
ORDERF ROMS: ECONDS TONEP RESS,
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-Classifieds .................. . .... . • ................................. . ........ ..... .
I®@®~© &:l lPQQ~O~~~n~oo© . I
BIBLI CAL ""CO NDEMNATION"" of gays
examined by Columbia University graduate
with a decade of UFMCC membership. $3.95
for 26 page booklet. H& S/SS, POB 221841,
Charlotte NC 28222.
MAGAZIN E FOR HOMESTEADERS! Our
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12/94
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBFRl 994",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,37,1994,"Nov/Dec 1994",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/e934cbed6b8669beaf61492992d8164c.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1675,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1675,"Second Stone #38 - Jan/Feb 1995",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"OUR SEVENTH YEAR JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 1995 ISSUE #38
Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing·stream. - Amos 5:24
DESTINATION. OVETT, MISSISSIPPI
Gay and lesbian Freedom
Riders to hit the road
across America will ride to complete their dream of building a G ays and Lesbians from . all _.own hands so that the camp . -can
the aid of a lesbian family feminist lesbian folk school (an eduand
their besieged property cational and cultural retreat center
outside Ovett, Mississippi on Memo- that makes available an opportunity
rial Day weekend, May 26-30. for learning non-oppressive lifeways)
Since November, 1993, lesbian and having food and clothing availp
art ners Wanda and Brenda Henson , able to addres s the realities of po verty
along with numerous volunteets, in the area. .
have defended their 120.acre ""Camp Robin Tyler, a prominent lesbi an
Sister Spirit"" folk school from an activist who originally called for and
ongoing, religiou s right inspired emceed the first March on Washingcampaign
of violence, harassment, Ion for Lesb ian and Gay Rights, and
intimidation and death threats. There subsequently produced the main
have been over 60 inddeats to date, • stage for the - second . and third
including telephone · de-ath th feats, 'matches, a'n'd Rev. Troy Perty, founmail
bomb thr eats, explosives found der of the Universal Fellows hip of
at their gate and a d ead dog tied to . Metropolita11 Community Church es,
their mailbox. The Mississippi Fam- · the largest organization of Gays and
ily Values org.anization was created lesbians in the world, announced on
for the purpose of finding ways to Jan. 9 that an interfaith coalition of
oust Sister Spirit from their land. The Gays and Lesbians involved in th e
clim a te of hatred that has been religious community will go to Camp
spawned in the s urr..rnnding com- Sister Spirit over _ Memorial Day
munities is palpable and deadly . weekend.
The climate of aggression briefly - Perry said that World Community
attracted the attention of Attorney Builders, a group of women and men
General Janel Reno who sent Justice who contribute their time and talent
Department representatives to Ovett to flying to countries outside the U.S.
to investigate the situation last year. to build homes and churches, a
The Justice Department conduded division of the UFMCC World Church
that the Federal government could Extension, will be involved in helpnot
help because Gays and lesbians ing with the remodeling of five
are not covered under the current existing barns on the property.
civil rights laws. In addition to help i ng build the
With no help from the government property, money will be raised to
in sight, veteran gay and lesbian help Camp Sister Spirit pay for exactivists
have d_ecided to take the
defense of Camp Sister Spirit in their
P.O. Box 8340 _
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Those p>e()Jl)l,e
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THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents .................... ., .....
[I] From the editor
AMA takes steam out of ex-gay
movement, reparative therapy .
[I I Commentary J 1994 was a good year for us.
[I] Letters to the editor _
r-~5 l_ill News Lines
l--s·--1 Loneliness I It affects us all. Dr. William Howland
1 • suggests spiritual ways to cope. L ___ __ _ , .
I Videos 00]
'
10 Queer Son, Vickie Seitchik's new video.
[II]
1fl lf! _
In Print
Bound By Diversity ,
Mark Thompson's Gay Soul
and The St. Francis Cookbook
Calendar
r ·-:i 115 I Noteworthy
[6 ~I Classifieds
SECOND STONE -
W From the Editor W . . . ........................... .
Religious right can't
afford new AMA policy
By Jim Bailey
The American Medical Association's policy change made in Dece mber
regarding sexual orientation should - be the deathblow · for the so-called .
""ex-gay"" ministries - counseling services offered by some churches and
religious organizations who claim to be able to change one's sexual orientation
from homosexual _to heterosexual. Until Dece mber the AMA officially
supported the position that one's sexual orientation could be changed. The
AMA did away with that policy last month when the organization adopted a
report caJling for ""nonjudgmental recognition of sexual orientation.""
This report officially reduces the counseling services of ex-gay ministries to
what they have really amounted to all along - quackery - and it greatly
increases the liability counselors face from what may be the results of .the
misguided services they provide . One ""change minister"" from Glendale,
Calif., has already been convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the case. of
a man who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after receiving counseling
to change his sexual orientation.
The more truthful ex-gay counselors have been known to tell their clients in
privat e what they will not acknowledge in public: that they indeed . cannot
change a gay or lesbian person's attraction to a same-gender partner. In the
wake of the AMA report, perhaps it is time for them to publicly admit the -
only thing th ey really can do, which is to teach a gay man or lesbian how. to
fake a heterosexual lifestyle.
But that won't happen. And the AMA change in policy regarding
reparative therapy might not be the deathblow for ex-gay services after all._
Look for an amazing amount of support for ex-gay ministries in the months to
come from large, well-funded religious right"" organizations. -The concept of
the ""chosen lifestyl e"" is a-necessary and vital element of the religio_us .right's
strategy in attacking the gay and lesbian community. If unabl e to continue to
promote th e idea that heterosexuals evolve into their sexuality . but that
homosexuals ""choose"" theirs, the religious right will lose the cornerstone of it's
anti 0gay political agenda. (Gays and Lesbians might even start looking like a
bona fide minority, deserving of equal rights prot ections .)
After the ""choice"" theory is scientifically debunked beyond question, and
most believ e it soon will be, the religious right will be confronted with the
uncomfortable reality that God made gay and lesbian people .to be who they
are. Then the ""choice"" will be their s. As Christians, they ·can welco_me their
gay brother s and lesbian si""sters to sit in their pews, to stand behind their
pulpits and to stand hand-in-hand in front of their altars - or, as hypocrites,
they can continue to reject gay and lesbian people for the same reason they'v e.
had all along, which is hatred.
Bob Davies, ihe executive director of Exodus International, a network of
ex-gay ministries, was quoted this week as. saying the change in the AMA
policy was a ""giant step backward into ignorance,"" That will be loudly
echoed during the next months by leaders of the religious righ~. They can't
afford for one of their mainstay programs -to slip into quackery.
(
--1:-;
7l-n1v--,, --
SECOND STONE Newsjournal, ISSN No. 1047-3971 , is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1995 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $17.00 per year. six issues . Foreign subscribers add
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SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian socia l justice newsjournal
with a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
- CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Dr. William Howland , Johnny Townsend,
Edouard Fontenot, Tim McFeeley
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
.
' ~
Comment ....... -• .................................... ~ .................. .
1994 a good year for our community
By Tim McFeeley
Guest Comment
C
. onsidering the progress
we've made in the past 12
. months, 1994 may go down
in history as one the the
most productive years since the
beginning of the modern movement
for lesbian and gay equal rights .
Despite some setbacks and disappointments,
1994 produced many
more victories than defeats for the
lesbian and gay community on the ·
national political scene . Along the
way/we hav1f shown ourselves to be
more · sophisticated and effective · in
educating the general public about
our issues and building support for
equal rights.
We had some major victories in
1994. We kept anti-gay initiatives off
·ballots in eight states, and defeated
those that appeared in Idaho and
Oregon. We · were . instrumental in
denying .Oliver North a seat in the
jJ.S. Senate. In Congress, we beat
anti-gay legislation introduced by
Sen: 'Jesse ·Helms (R-N.C.) that targeted
gay youth for discrimination in
schools and restricted ·access to condoms
in •high school health clinics.
We also shot down an attempt by
anti-gay extremist Rep·. Bob Dornan
(R-Calif.) to summarily dismiss HIVpositive
service members from · the
military. ·
We made progress toward equal
rights. The Employment Non-Discrimination
Act (ENDA), a new
federal bill to prohibit anti-gay job
discrimination, gathered more
cosponsors i•n · four months than the
Gay Civil Rights Bill did in the
previous 15 years. ·ENDA put on
track. the long:term · strategy that will
bring about . equality under federal
law. The Senate hell:I its first ·hearing
ever on legislation that would extend
any form of civil rights protections to
lesbian and gay people.
We earned a place at the table of the
civil rights movement. Mrs. Coretta
Scott King spoke at th.e introduction of
ENDA, calling the bill a priority for
the civil rights movement. The Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights,
which is the nation's largest and
oldest civil rights coalition , invited
the Human Rights Campaign Fund,
the largest national lesbian · and . gay
equal rights organization, to serve on
its executive committee.
In 199 4, we
received broader
s upport among
non-gay
Americans.
In 1994, we received broader
support among non-gay Americans.
A series of polls on public attitudes
showed consistent, bipartisan support
for equal rights and against discrimination
on the basis of seJ<cual orientation.
Majorities of Republicans,
Democrats and Independents polled
this year said that no one should be
singled out for discrimination, particularly
in the workplace, merely for
being gay, lesbian or bisexual. Retired
Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz .)
and Gov . Barbara Roberts (D-Ore.)
co-chaired HRCF's Americans Against
Discrimination program to defeat
anti-gay ballot initiatives .
We realized achievements from the
Executive Branch. President Clinton
issued a letter condemning discriminatory
· statewide ballot measures,
signed the Hate Crimes Sentencing
Enhancement Act into law, thereby
strengthening federal penalties for
bias-motivated crimes, including gay
QUOT ABLE
A matter of be!:,towed identity ...
""As for the wrenching issue of homosexuality, I myself have ·undergone a
shift in conviction. When I called for a ministry of homosexual healing and
re-orientati .on 14 years ago as Bishop of. Atlanta, the only response from the
gay community in the diocese was wounded silence, punctuated by overt
expressions of disappointment in their bishop. Not rejection; but patient
disagreement - with an invitation to sustained dialogue. Since then I have
come to know a large number of homosexual men and women, many of them
priests .. !no longer believe, as I did in 1977, that homosexu:31ity is primarily
an amenabl.e dysfunction, a stubbol""I) but changeable dev1ahort from created
.norms. In my view it is a matter of bestowed identity, not a self-chosen
orientation an.d behavior pattern ... When I wrote that Pastoral Statement Ill
1977 I ·knew only one homosexual person up close. He scared me to death
with his penetrating chall~nge that he was as complete a human being as_ l
was - actually more complete, because in order to be openly honest about his
identity he had 1o face wide public contempt and the narrower .scorn of his
own church."" ·
-The Rt. Rev. Bennett J. Sims, retired Episcopal Bishop
SECOND STONE -
bashing, and appointed Deborah
Batts as the first openly lesbian or gay
federal judge . The Justice Department
issued a temporary waiver of
the HIV immigration ban for athletes
attending the 1994 Gay Games in
New York.
There was unprecedented visibility
of the gay community. More than
250 National Coming Out Day events
were held in all 50 states, generating
•an unprecedented level of media
coverage. To lobby at the federal
level, HR<::F enlisted more than 4,000
local activists in all 50 states through a
new Federal Advocacy Network. A
travelling computer generated 60,000
personal letters to Congress, · and
messages sent by participants in our
Speak Out program topped the 1.2
million mark.
Gay and lesbian organizations
cooperated on a national scale. The
five largest gay, lesbian and g<1y-supportive
organizations in the country
pooled their resources for the first
time ever and raised funds nationally
to defeat state anti-gay initiatives . A
people of color summit held at HE.CF
brought together more than a dozen
groups representing African-Americans,
· Latinos and Latinas, Asians,
Pacific Islanders and N alive Americans
to discuss strategies for countering
the radical right. More than
two dozen lesbian health profes- .
sionals gathered in Washington for
the first-ever ""Lesbian Health Roundtable,""
bringing formidable expertise
and knowledge to bear on lesbian
health issues.
The list goes on .. Taking stock of
our accomplishments is not about
taking credit and feeling good. As
we enter a new era of unprecedented
challenges, we need to know exactly
where we . stand. An assessment of
1994 shows that we can face adversity
and win, find new allies for our
cause, and build the groundwork
necessary lo advance from a position
of strength . As I leave my position as
the head of the largest national
lesbian and · gay equal rights organization,
I see a future full of hope and
confidence for our · movement and our
community.
Tim Mcfeeley has served as director of
the Human Rights Campaign Fund
since 1989. He retired from that post in
January.
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Editedbv
Helping -Christians
Debate· Homosexualtiy
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, writers
with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
p1;0-gay and anti-gay believers.
Sallv B. c;eis &
Donald E. MessPr
Edited by Sally 8. Geis. director. Iliff
Institute. Lay and Clergy Education, The
Iliff School of Theology. Denver. a11d
Donald E. Messer. preside111. The Iliff
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk ___ _
Postage/Handling $3 first book, $1 each additional ___ _
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FROM,: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70182
JANUARY/FEBRUAR . Y 1995
...... .......... ....... .........Y...o...u..r...T. .u..r..n.. ......................
Bossier City, Louisiana
Appreciating our
early leaders
Dear Second Stone,
Your review by William Percy of the
Dorr Legg book Homophile Studies in
Theory and Practice was the best
review I have seen. Many people in
our movement have not even heard
of Dorr. Having been there when
Dorr was planning and giving his
classes, I feel that people today don't
really understand and appreciate the
work done by our early leaders, nor
do they yet understand the need to
support our movement libraries and
archives.
We must get publishers, authors
and everyoi:ie to save and preserve
all our material. And that is where
fine publications like Second Stone
help, because you have news and
views that years from now will help
future homosexuals and leaders and
educators know what we did and
thought during these early days.
It is exciting being here in the days
when homosexuals, and our families
QUOTABLE
""Always be sure that you
struggle with Christian
methods and Christian
weapons. Never succumb to the
temptation of becoming bitter.
As you press 011 for justice, be
sitre fo move with dignihJ and
discipline, using only the.
weapon of-love. Let 110 man
pull you so low as to hate him.
Always avoid violence. If you
succumb to the temptation of
using violence in your struggle,.
unborn generations will be the
ricipients of a long and
desolate night of bitterness;
and your chief legacy to the
future will be an endless reign
of meaningless chaos. In your
struggle for justice, let your
oppressor know that you .are
not attempting to defeat or
humiliate him, or even to pay
him back for injustices that he
has heaped upon you. Let him
know that you are merely ·
seeking justice for him as well
as yourself.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
SECOND STONE
and friends and neighbors are
working to bring equal treatment to
our part of the American dream as set
forth by the founders .
Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Bill Glover,
HomosexuaIl nformationC enter
Daly City, California
""News Line""
article unloving
end outdated
Dear Second Stone,
I wanted to write you and tell you
what a blessing and education your
newspaper has been to my family
and I. I am a Christian gay man and
my parents struggled many years to
understand that they had a gay son.
Praise God! It has now been several
years that my parents are entering a
new facet of their life. They are
beginning to work with : and counsel
parents who are finding out about
their gay children. My parents' love
for me is and has always been
unconditional. I realize how lucky I
am because I'm involved in ministry
in San Francisco . and see the many
people who have been kicked out of
their churches and family for being
themselves.
I have to tell you I'm concerned
about a few items that appeared in
the Nov /Dec issue.
On page 6. an article ran titled,
""Anti-gay activist has AIDS."" First,
whoever wrote this article wrote it in
a spirit of anything but love. There is
an obvious overtone d cynicism by
the writer. Second, I have to object to
Second Stone -being used as a method
of ""outing"" people. We get enough
abuse from our mainline Christian
brothers and sisters . Why must gay
and lesbian Christians stoop to that
same level? At some point someone
has to represent Christ, and He had
compassion on all: Third, I happened
to have known Frank Shears. Frank
very likely was involved in the
ex-gay movement at once, but that
had to have been sometime ago as I
met him in February 1993 and he
was not involved in ex-gay then. He
was involved with the church you
mentioned in your article. Lastly,
Frank has been healed from AIDS for
almost a year now, when he went
home to be with the Lord.
· In ·closing I • would again like to
stress that I'm very concerned about
the timeliness ·-of your information
and the validity of your information.
Obviously, this information is very
old and I have to wonder about the
rest of the information that is in here.
God bless you all as you continue to
serve and share Christ with our
community.
Sincerely,
Todd Ferrell -
West Hollywood, California
Update
on Methodist'
judicial procedures
Dear Second Stone,
I am writing to update your story on
the United Methodist Church's attempt
to clearly define exactly what a
""self-avowed pradicing homosexual""
is in relation to clergy policy.
In the fall of 1993, the UMC's
Judicial Council ruled that, for implementation
of the Book of Discipline's
rule that bars ""self-avowed practicing
homosexuals"" from candidacy, ordination,
and appointment as clergy,
the phrase has to be defined. · In
response to this ruling, the Council of
Bishops developed ·what they considered
to be a model definition. A
few Annual Conferences, including
the West Virginia Annual Confers
ence, adopted tl).is definition . The
California-Pacific Annual Conference
developed and adopted its own definition.
Requests for rulings regarding
the legality of these definitions
were made in both Annual Conferences.
In both cases, the Bishops
involved ruled that the definitions
passed were legal within the framework
of the UMC Book of Discipline.
Meeting in · late October, 1994, the
Judicial Council officially overturned
both of those rulings. In the case of
the d€finition drafted by the Council
of Bishops and adopted in the West
Virginia .Annual Conference, the
Judicial Council ruled that since the
definition included the possibility that
a minister .could be declared a
practicing homosexual on the basis of
testimony from a third-party witness,
such could -not constitute ""selfavowal.""
The Judicial Council went
on to say that any defipition which is
adopted must be based on the
personal avowal of the clergypetson
that he/she is a ""practicing homosexual""
and that the definition must
make clear to whom the ""self-avowal""
may or may not be made to be
considered valid.
In the case of the defintion adopted
by the California-Pacific Annual Conference,
the definition was thrown out
because it included in its definition of
""practicing homosexual"" sexual acts
with a person of the same gender
which a clergyperson admits he/she
has engaged in, or intends to engage
in. The Judicial Council ruled that
the legislation in the Book of Discipline
only contemplates acts which have
occurred . or ·are occurring;- and that
the rule does not include future . possibili_
tiesw hich may or may not occur.
The result of these decisions is that
most of the definitions which have
been officially approved by UMC
Annual Conferences have been -invalidated.
In practice, there are a numJ,er of
UMC clergypersons who are homo0
sexual. Many of them, in the words
of one such clergyperson, ""live in
glass closets with mylar doors."" The
fact that these clergy are gay or
lesbian often is known, even by the
denominational hierarchy, but few
Annual Conferences are seriously
taking any action against these
clergy, as long as they ""officially""
keep quiet about their orientation
and/ or discreet in their practice, The
reality is that most Annual Conferences
have adopted a UMC version of
a 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell"" policy.
Sincerely,
Thomas H. Griffith
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NewE LCAs ynodb ishopa gayr ightsa dvocate
LITHE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA-West Synod of the Evangelical Lu.theran Church in
' America elected a new bishop, the Rev. Paul Egertson on Nov. 6. He is a North
Hollywood pastor and university professor who advocates opening the ministry to Gays
and Lesbians. Egertson said he was ""surprised"" when he was elected bishop of tne
synod's 152 congregations. ""My identification with a minority position in the midst of the
nationwide controversy made me think that a majority of de[egates would not vote for
[me],"" Egertson said. Egertson won the six-year term as bishop on the seventh ballot,
222-201. Egertson, 59, has been well-known to Southern California Lutherans for his
continuing education work at Cal Lutheran University, .but he also has been a part-time
pastor for two years at St. Matthew's parish in North Hollywood, which has welcomed
gay and lesbian congregants since 1985. The new bishop is the father of an openly gay
son. Greg.Egertson was one of several gay seminarians who came out in the late 1980s.
A graduate of Pacific Lutheran Seminary in Berkeley, he is now an adminstrator at
Golden Gate University in San Francisco. - Los Angeles Times, Reconcile
Activistcsh alleng""ec urec"" onference -
LITHE BRIGHTONPRESBYTERIAN Church in Rochester, New York was the host of a
conference on ""curing 0 gay and lesbian people on Nov. 8-12. The Gay Alliance of the
Genesee Valley responded at a press conference on Nov. 12. During the press conference,
GAGV repre .sentatives and others challenged the idea that gay and lesbian people can or
need to be cured. They pointed out that you can change a person's behavior, but not their
sexual orientation. The conference was a project of Malachi, a ministry of. the Brighton
Presbyterian Church which encourages gay men and Lesbians to ""leave the homosexual
lifestyle.'' GAGV members who openly attended the conference said .that conference
pa,ticipants . not only condemned,lwmosexuality, but claimed that the many local
churches of different denominations which welcome Lesbians and Gays are ""not true
Christian people."" Conference participants blamed. parents for ""making their childre.n
homosexual"" through neglect and abuse. The orgaruzers stated that one of therr goals is
to reach the larger community and try to spreaa their ideolog)' beyond ""those few who
are inspired to-have such a ministry."" The GAGV, Parents, Friends and Families of
Lesbians and Ga)IS and other gay community groups fear that ministries like Malachi
will use what the P-FLAG newsletter called ""coercive methods on vulnerable or isolated
individuals.'' Many n1embers of supportive churches were present at the GAGV press
conference, including representatives from the United Church of Christ, St. Mary's
Downtown (Catholic), Unitarian Universalists, Downtown United Presbyterian
Church, and other More Light Presbyterian churches. - T1zeE mpty Closet
Anti-gapyr ofessoartt ackgsa y-friendlcyo lleague
LIACCORDING TO A story in the Raleigh, N.C. News & Observer, professor of Old
Testament and United Methodist minister Lloyd R. Bailey has attaci<ed Presbyterian
feminist professor Mary McClintock Fulkerson for her views on the Bible and its
appropriate interpretation and for her participation in a ""public homosexu .al rights
event. Both are faculty members at Duke University's Divmity School. Bailey sent a
40-page packet to United Methodist leaders all over North Carolina, claimin& that his
evidence ""should prohibit Fulkerson from getting tenure ... at Duke.'' Bailey also 'used the
opportunity to sound an alarm overfocreased support for gays and· lesbians on campus,
including a.movement to expand insurance ana other benefits to domestic partners of
homosexual employees.'' - Mor_e Light Update
SmalWl estV irgnicah urchca llso penllye sbiapna stor
LICHERYL BURKE _was cal.led .this past fall to pastor First Congregational Church of
Huntington, West Virginia, by a 97 percent vote of the 100-member congregation. At least
five other lesbian and gay people -were already members of First Congregational when
Burke applied for the pastorate, and she herself .had worshipped tfiere a few times.
According to former pastor R<1ymond Woodruff, the congregation has a high level of
social concern and involvement in a variety of arenas. When Burke was introduced to
the congregation at a potluck dinner, she spoke open!)' about her life and how she came to
that i:,lace. No·one voiced opposition to her call. Burkehad felt called to rriinis(ry while
still'ln ·high school, but resisted because of the barriers she percieved to women in
minisl:\Y. - Waves
GermaLnu theranusrg edto ·recognizgea yl,e sbiapna stors
LIGERMAN LUTHERAN BISHOP Maria Jepsen has urged the church and congregations
to:, ecognize .male and female homosexual pastors . Jepsen, who is bishop of Hamburg,
said one should be pleased that women and men who are not heterosexual can at last
exe~cise profes~ions in the church without fear , . Addressing the synod ?f the North
El.bian Evangelical Lutheran Church; held m Rendsburg Sept. 23, J. epsen said the church
must not only orient itself by ""traditional. dogmatic statemenfs and forms."" The church has
to take care of that whichfa .old;but also needs a keen, creative interest in that which is
new, she said. - Lutheran World Information
Newspap.reerP.Ortthsa tF ECis i nvestigatiCnhar istiaCno alition
LITHEST ATE_,a C olumbia, S.C.l½'wspaper, has rerorted that, acting OO•a complaint from
the ·Democ_rahc National Committee, the Federa Election Commission is investigating
televan. g ehst Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition chapters in 35 states. The · paper
reported that three members of the Coalition's South Carolina chapter ha\ie been called to
a federal court to explai11 how the arch-conservative group operates and that Roberta
Combs; the South Carolina ch~pter's state director, has been asi<ed by the FEC to give the
feder~l watchdog agency copies of financ ial records and wntten correspondence with
. political ca~didates. _Officials with the Coalition's headquarters in Chespeake, Va.,
~efused h, discuss the iss,ue and FEC off1crnls·say they do not comment or even confirm
.mformation about pendmg matters. The Democrats .charge that.the Coalition raises
tax-exempt funds as a non-partisan orgaruzation l,ut backs only Republican candidates.
Th<J De_mocrats say R?bertson:s Christian Coalition should be forced to register as a
political action comnuttee, which would severely restrict the group's .fundraising ·and
spending activities. - Outlines ·
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Gay pastor cut from ministerial association
tlTHE SNOQUALMIE VALLEY Ministerial Association, an ecumenical group in
western Washington , voted to redraw its boundaries to delibe rately exclude one single
church, Tolt Congregational United Church of Christ in Carnation, Washington. The 8-2
vote .means that Jeff Spencer, Tait's Of,enly gay pastor, will no longer be allowed to
attend association meetings. The church's youth liasketball team will not be allowed to
participate in the ministerial association's leag ue without special permission . Spencer
and others believe that the church was gerrymandered out of the association because he
is gay. Three of the pastors who voted for exclusion were quoted in the -area's
newspaper as being opposed to homosexuality. Spencer began his ministry at Tolt in
September, 1993. The church celebrated its centennial in October, 1994. - Waves
Bishop halts same-sex union
M SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, which would have taken place at St. Mark's Cathedral in
Seattle, was cancelled after objecfions from Episcopal Bishop Vincent Warner, head of
the Diocese of Olympia for Western Washington. The couple , Dr.James A. Black, M.D.,
who has served as president of the board of the Northwest AIDS Foundation, and
Thomas W. Monnahan, political activist and former aid to Seattle Mayor Norm Rice,
cancelled their ceremony three days prior to the event. The ceremony would have
celebrated their long-terin commitment before 450 guests, including local and state
offici.als and people from throughout the U.S. and· from overseas. Warner , who has
opposed local churches performing same-sex unions on their own, told The Seattle Times
tliat it was ""painful'fpr me to be in a place where I can't be more supportixe"" of lesbian
and gay marriages . In contrast, the Very Rev. Frederick Northup, dean of St. Mark's,
statea that refusing to bless the lifelong commitments of gay and lesbian couples denies
those couples the full pastoral care allowed.them by resolutions of the Episcopal Church
at both the national and local levels. - Seattle Gay _News ·
Residents rally against change ministry .
MBOUT 40 RESIDENTS of Oak Park in Chicago attended a press conference on Nov.
12 to protest a planned conference on ex-gay ministries at C;,lvary Memorial Church in
Oak Park. Representatives from the MCC, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation, Oak Park Lesbian and Gay Alliance and local Episcopal and Methodist
churches spoke against efforts to ""stra ighten"" Gays and called for religious acceptance of
Gays. ""It's a victory that the conference was cancelled, and we'll be certain to respond to
every future attempt to define what people should be,"" said MCC pastor Rev. Bradley
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i Michelson of Oak Park. ""We're in a rage that they use the word 'Christian' to push
intolerance. They need to learn that diversity is th e intent of a God of love."" The
conterenc e_ was scheduled to feature keynote speaker Dr. Bill Consiglio, director of
HOPE Ministries of Connecticut, a board member of Exodus International and author of
Homosexual No More. The change conference was cancelled, allegedl y becaus e of low
registrati on.
Church leader calls for harsher anti-gay laws
t,.ROMANlA'S ORTHODOX PATRIARCH Teoctist has called on the parliament to
reverse itself and bring back the nahon:s harsher Communist-era anti-gay laws, with
5-year prison sentences. Teochst said m a written request for reinstatement of the
country's older anti-gay laws · that Romania's forefathers ""knew how to distinguish
between sin and v irtue, natural and unnatural , normal and abnormal.""
Con1ested bishop calls for new policy on Gays
llM ICHAEL TURNBULL, the newly enthroned Anglican Bishop of Durham who was
' convicted i n 1968 of ""gross indecency"" for having sex with another man in a public
; restroom, has called upon the church to re-evaluate its.ban on gay priests. The gay rights
· group ·Outrage protested Tur-nbull's enthronement. Prior to the-revelation of the sex
charge, T~rnbull had said that homosexuality was incompatible with th e Church of
England.' I know some homosexual clergy who are among the most committed and loving
m the Church,"" Turnbull said. ""The last thing I want is for them to feel marginalized or
put in a ghetto."" - Outlines
Pastor's removal from commission okay, judge says
llA PASTOR'S REMARKS that homosexuality was an ""abomination to God"" and his
refusal to disavow violence against Gays and Lesbians were grounds to fire him from the
San Francisco Human Rights Commission, a federal judge has ruled. Because Rev. Eugene
Lumpkin's comments could reas onably be interpr eted· as obstructing the goals of the
commi ssion, his firing by Mayor Frani< Jordan did not violate his rights of free speech
and religion, said U.S.District Judg e Fern Smith. The ruling dismissed Lumpkin's lawsuit
over his August 1993 remo val. ·
Group forms to counter Rev. Phelps
llFAITH IN FREE SPEECH is being put to the test among members of a coalition who
believe Rev. Fred Phelps has stretclied the limits with his verbal attacks on ~ay men and
Lesbians. ""The message of love will be stronger than the message of hate, .said Ginger
Ashmore, one of the coalition leaders who met Nov. 26 to discuss ways to reply to
Phelps, whose small Baptist congregation consists mainly of family members. The
catalyst for the meeting was Phelps' verbal attad ; on poet Maya Angelou,. who is known
for her civil rights work, which has included standing up for gay rights. Angelou, whose
car was surrounded by Phelps supporters after an appearance m Topeka recently,
canceled a speech at Emporia State University after she was shouted at by the group.
The coalition claims more than 70 groups as members. Their first action was to send an
open letter to Angelou, urging her to come back to Kansas.
Quaker group supports same-sex marriage .
t,.A CONGREGATION OF Quakers in Vermont is calling on state lawmak ers ""to open th e
institution of legal marriage to all couples, same sex and opposite sex, who apply for a
state marriage license."" The word .came in an open letter the Quakers of Ifie Putney
Friends Meeting has sent to legislators and local re1igious groups, decrying ""the injustice
of Vermont law which does not allow a same-sex couple to obtain a marriage license .""
The Quakers said they may. start refusing to sign the sfate •license of any marriages they
perform . The Putney Friends Meeting does perform marriages for same-sex couples.
- Southern Vorce
Chicago Theological Seminary and Samaritan share resources
t,.CHJCAGO THEOL(X;!CAL SEMINARY and Samaritan College, th,:, educational arm
of the UFMCC, formalized a dual enrollment program on Nov.· 18. The program is tl1e
first of its kind in which openly gay and lesbian people who are training for the ministry
have access to non-homopbobic theological education through Samaritan and also access
to an accredited Master of Divinity program through Chicago Tneological Seminary.
Samaritan, founded in 1970, is the only institution in the world dedicated solely to gay
arid lesbian theological education.
Cathedral of Hope picketed · ·
t,.CATHEDRAL OF HOPE MCC, Dallas, Texas, was _picketed Nov. 11-12 by Rev. Fred
Phelps, a fanatical minister from Topeka, Kansas, who preaches a message of hat.red for
Gays and Lesbians. Rev. Phelps lecf about 15 other protestors in picketing a funeral and
a holy union at the church with signs such as ""God hates fags"" and ""God's hate is great.""
He has gotten national media attention for picketing funerals of individuals who have
died of AIDS. ""Our strategy was ·that we would siml;'lY look like the normal Christian
people we are and allow the contrast to speak for itself,"" said Rev. Michael Piazza,
pastor. ""People ·could see women and men inside worshipping God and women and men
outside hating people, and draw their own conclusions.' He noted that neighbors and
public officia[s ralhed to support the church. ""We got very good support from the city
and the police department, and he got a great deal of ridicule,"" Piazza said. He added that
the protest did not hurt church attendance. More than 1,450 people attended Sunday
morning worship on Nov . 13, when Phelps was expected to picket agairi, but failed to
show : Because the church is situated far from the road, it was difficult for the protesters
to get .near the church building, and they ended up looking like they were picketing a
nearby gas station and steakhouse. ""Some people mistook them for anti-beef activists,""
said Randy Sparberry , Cathedral of. Hope director of administration .""We had gone to
great lengfhs to educate the congregaton and we were prepared for a really ·unpleasant
situation, and then it ended up being a comedy of sorts. They didn't achieve what they
wanted, which was to provoke us."" - Keeping in Touch
JANUARY/FEBRUA ,RY 1995
Gay, .lesbian issues escape
religion writers' top news picks
MEMBERS OF THE Religion News writers
Association did not select any
news stories with specific gay /lesbian
themes as their top stories of 1994,
according to a national poll conducted
by Willmar Thorkelson. The RNA
selected the role of the religious right
in the November Republican victories
as its top story of the year and named
Pope John Paul JI newsmaker of the
year, citing, among other things, his
silencing discussion of the ordination
of women priests.
The most votes for the association's
""Into the Darkness"" award, give.n for
attempting to conceal information
from the pub lic, went to the Episcopal
Church's House of Bishops for its
efforts to keep secret its draft state ment
on human sexuality.
Backlash to the ""Re-Imagining""
conference held in 1993 was the number
three story according to the poll. .
The conference provided an opportunity
for women to rethink their
concepts of God and drew criticism
from church conservatives.
Also making the list of top stories
was the ordination of women to the
priesthood in the Church of England .
The action ended a long struggle for
activists supporting ordination of
female priests and prompted some
conservative church members to
convert to Catholicism.
Gay Catholic group welcomes
retirement of Cardinal O'Connor
THE LEADER OF Catholic Advocates
for Lesbian and Gay Rights says his
organization welcomes the retirement
of New York Cardinal John J.
O'Connor. ""We hope the Vatican accepts
his resignation and replaces. him
in a timely manner,"" said Br. Rick
Garcia, director of Catholic Advocates,
a national pro-gay Catholic group that
is funded by 70 religious orders of
nuns and priests.
Cardinal O'Connor has vocally
He's a familiar face, but ..
opposed gay civil rights legislation
and has clashed repeatedly with .gay
rights and AIDS activists . O'Connor
has also expelled gay Catholic groups
from church property.
""O'Connor's antagonism and lack of
pastoral concern toward the lesbian
and gay community will not be
missed,"" said Garcia. ""We look forward
to the. day when his bigotry and
insensitivity no longer occupy the See
of New York.""
Due to a production error at our printer, a cutline was omitted
from the cover of our last issue. Pictured was Dr. Mel White,
UFMCC National Minister of Justice, delivering the keynote
address during a forum on religious communities confronting
the radical religious right, held in conjunction with the National
Council of Churches General Board meeting in New Orleans.
QUOTABLE
""For me, revolution was never an interim 'thing to do' before settling down: it
was no fashionable club with newly minted jargon or a new kind of social life
- mage thrilling by risk and confrontation, made glamoro us by costume.
Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionary's
life. When one commits oneself to the.struggle, it must be for a lifetime .""
-Angela Davis
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-,
We fear it more than death ...
LONELINESS
BY DR. WILLIAM HOWLAND
Among all of the trauma and
the torments, the hurts, pains,
and problems facmg us md1-
vid uall y and corporately,
there is one which we need to
recognize and acknowledge in order
to help one another seek ways to
cope.
The Wall Street Journal recently
reported what I thought was an unexpected
series of results of a survey
taken in which the question asked
was, ""What is it you fear most?""
Surprisingly, death was a distant
third in the responses to that question.
Fear of failure was the number
one answer and fear of loneliness·was
number two.
Fear of loneliness is related to fear
of failure, for if we do-fail we fear the
risk of ridicule and rejection by others
and the temptation to withdraw into
ourselves out of a kind of embarrassment
and shame. · Fear of loneliness
is also related to fear of death. We
don't know absolutely what the
experience of death involves. We do
know that nobody can take our hand
:1n-d accompany us in death. Ultimately
we do die alone. .
Loneliness is a longing for that
sense of fulfillment that is so satisfying,
so enduring, so sustaining that it
never departs from us. We do not
want to feel that ache and pain, that
discomfort that comes from being
alone.
Describe it as you will, define it as
you may, none of us are totally immune
from the experience of loneliness.
Loneliness may arrive at any
moment, sometimes for no reason that
we can identify, and other times for
reasons which we can logically and
rationally explain. For many of us, in
our society, loneliness is a debilitating,
agonizing, hurtful condition
which hounds us and haunts us often
with emotions whose full meaning we
are reluctant to admit to ourselves.
'And we are hesitant to acknowledge
such emotions to any other person
Tallulaho n high mass.. .
because they are so deep and so
painful.
What an irony, what a paradox, that
in a time of instant communication,
when we know what's happening
almost in seconds in every corner of
the globe, the technology that links
our lives together in such formidable
ways gives us little real understanding
of ourselves and others. In a time
when we are i1o longer isolated by
geography, but literally crowded
together by a burgeoning population,
a shrinking globe, and a universe
which is not totally devoid of some
understanding in the face of all of
this, in our moment of history, we are
lonely.
One has written, ""Loneliness - like
pollution - is a problem which has
crept upon industrial society until it
now plagues the whole spectrum of
life trom the cradle to the grave.
Industrial society unwittingly managed
to create a lonely world and
nowhere is it lonelier than in advanced
countries , People lack !he
familiar and spiritual ties which
would alleviate the unwanted loneliness
and aloneness in which people
find themselves.""
There are degrees of loneliness. We
do not all experience loneliness in the
same way. For some of us loneliness
comes and goes. But for some of us,
loneliness seems to take up residence
within us and remain with us no
matter what we try to do. There are
wavs of loneliness with a multipiicity
of causes and factors which are unique
to us and whom we are, and what our
life experiences have been. And
those experiences can cause a loneliness
that is so intimate we find it hard
even to articulate.
On a somewhat superficial level,
Wade Hewey, professor at Columbia
Seminary, has compiled this list of
what he says it is to be lonely.
""Loneliness is a six-year-old who does
not know the name of any other first
grader. Loneliness is hearing the
It was said that Tallulah Bankheai:1, the fog-horned voiced actress of a
generation or so ago, once went to a Catholic cathedral for a high mass in
New Orleans, though she herself was not"" a Catholic, and therefore could not
understand either the symbolism or the ritual . Toward the end of the service
the archbishop wearing his fanciest vestments swept grandly up the .center
aisle waving that censor on a chain that was emitting billows of incense
smoke. As he swept past the pew where Bankhead was seated, she was heard
to say to him, ""Dahling, your gown is divine, but your purse in on fire.""
-Tell Us
SECOND STONE -
umpire call 'Strike three, _you.'re out'
when the winning run in on third
base. Loneliness is a mother whose
children are all away at school. Loneliness
is a conscientious objector who
is called a 'draft dodger .. .' Loneliness
is watching a TV commercial of a
fully-stocked refrigerator while serving
your children crumbs and scraps.
Loneltness is lying in a hospital bed
looking at the ceiling and asking,
'how long, how long? .. .' Loneliness is
realizing in some ways you can never
go home again.""
In a time when we
are no longer isolated
by geography,
but literally
crowded together
by a burgeoning
population, a
shrinking globe,
and a uni verse
which is not
totally devoid of
some understanding
in the face of
all this, in our
mon1ent in history,
we are lonely.
But that iist only tells part of the
story, doesn't it? It doesn't tell your
story or my story.
The Christian Science Monitor
printed a story not so long ago that
said ""Loneliness has been observed as
the one thing that falls through the
state social welfare net. There are
·cues, application forms, coupons and
cash for almost every human need.
But the clerk behind the desk, the
social worker who visits the home,
cannot by official servic.es or practiced
technique fill the emptiness in the
heart.""
Friendship, even at the lowest level
of acquaintance is beyond the power
of all requisitions. Yet. a growing
body of self-help literature treats
loneliness as a- matter that can be
cured by the approach of cruise directors,
instant communities and plastic
name badges. And if all else fails,
lose weight and change your hair-style.
But to be lonely is deeper business
than a Saturday night with no place
to go. To be lonely is to be without
strings because nobody needs the
other end of your string. To be lonely
is a state that requires the scrutiny of
more than the psychologist and the
sociologist. Not even to mention
cruise directors.
No single solutions, no quick and
ready answers, rio easy escapes.
The parable Jesus tells in John
15:1 c 11 speaks about the vine and the
vine dresser and the necessity of
being in relationship, that life is a gift
given by oi1e who loves, and that life
if it is to be fulfilled has to be lived in
relationship and cannot be lived
isolated, cut off, and alone. There's
·danger in disconnectedness. That life
and health is dependent on being
centered on the God of creation, who
nurtures and loves, and that
ultimately as hard as this may be for
us, even in those moments of desperation,
we are not alone, dependent on
our own resources, but at the center of
creation, the center of life, the center
of history. There is a power, a God, a
Divine Companion, who seeks to be
present to us, for us, around us, and
within us.
Fortunately we are not like one
young boy who I read about recently.
According to Max Eastman, who was
a teacher and an assistant at Columbia
University in pre-World War I
years, the philosopher John Dewey
.on one occasion left the campus and
was walking with ·a colleague. And
as he was walking along, a young lad
rushed up to him and asked for a
nickel. John Dewey was incensed.
He gave the boy a coin and then
walking away, wondered out loud in
a kind of hostile voice and angry
posture, what the world was coming
to that children could go about
begging in the streets.
""John,"" replied the colleague, ""that
was your son.""
The Divine Parent of ·us does not
forget us. The Divine Parent of us
knows our name ... knows who we
are ... knows our hurts, our longings,
our hopes, our dreams, our successes,
our joys, and shares in our life
experience with us moment by
moment, hour by hour, day by day,
week by week. And it is in that
affirmation of trust and hope that the
ultimate answer may come for our
loneliness. ·
But the God who knows us calls us
to do more than simply acknowledge
that there is a God who .knows us and
loves us . That God through the
parable and the whole gospel impact
SEE LONELY, Next Page
J A N U A R Y I F E B R U A .R Y 1 9 9 5
LONELY
From Page 8
of its message says that if we are
really to discover God, to know God,
we do it in our love of self and love of
one another as God loves us .
The way to fill the voids and the
empty places and to bring solace and
comfort is to be available and present
to ourselves in ·love, and to be
availabl e and present to one another
in love . ·
The New York Times. tells about a
small boy who was riding in a
cross-town bus, and as the bus moved
along, the little boy kept inching
closer and closer to a woman in a
grey suit sitting beside him on the
seat. Other riders thought that
because he was so close to the woman
that he must b·elong to her. And
when he was completely snuggled up
n ex t to her with his feet upon the
·seat, his shoes began to rub the dress
of th e woman on the other . side of
him.
She leaned forward and said to the
woman in the grey suit, ""Pardon me,
but would you please ask your little
boy to take his feet off the seat. His .
shoes are getting my dress dirty.""
The woman in the grey suit just gave
the little boy a gentle shove and said,
""He's not my boy, I never saw him
before ."" The boy squirmed uneasily.
He was so small that his legs. dangled
ov er the edge of the seal. He lowered
his eyes and tried desperately to hold
back some ~obs. 'Tm sorry !got your
dress dirty,"" he said to the woman. ""l
didn't mean to.""
""Oh, that' s all right,"" she answer ed,
a little embarra sse d. And then, since
his eyes were still fashioned upon
her , she asked him , ""Are you going
somewhere alone?"" ""Yes,"" he nodded.
""I always go alone. There isn'.t
anyon e to go with me. I don't have a
mommy or a daddy. They're both
dead. I live with Aunt Clara and she
says that Aunt Mildred ought to take
care of me part of the time, so when
. she gets tired of me, and wants me to
go some place, she sends me over to
stay with Aunt Mildred.""
""Oh, "" said the woman, ""you 're on
your way to Aunt Mildred's now? "" ,
""Yes,"" the boy continued, ""but sometimes
Aunt Mildred isn't home. I
sure hope she's there today, because
· it looks like it's going to rain, and I
don't want to have to stand out in the
street when it rains .""
The woman, with a lump in h er
throat, said, ""You're a very little boy
to be shuffled around like that.""
""Oh I ·don't mind,"" he ·said. ""I
never get lost, but I get lonesome
sometimes. So when I see someone I
think I would · like to belong to, I sit
close and snuggle up and pretend
that I belong to that person. I was
pretending that. I belonged to that
other lady when I got your dres s
dirty. I forgot about my feet.""
Le t us by God's grace be bold
enough symbolically to snuggle a bit,
and · receptive enough to respond
enough when someone snuggles.
Then that God in us an<;! among us
may help us with our lostn ess and
our loneliness.
Excerpted witlz pennission from Tell Us,
the newsletter of Telos Ministries for
Baptists, P.O. Box 3390, Falls Church,
VA 22043. Dr. Bill Howland is sponsoring
pastor of Telos.
. FREEDOM RIDE
From Page 1
pens es for a Federal lawsuit to be
filed under the anti-Klan act for the
harassment they have recieved.
Because of the escalating violence
against Lesbians and Gays all over
tl1e world, an international lesbian/
gay version of the Clothesline Project
will occur during this time at the
camp. The purpose of the Clothesline
Project is to bear witness to the
survivors and victims of the war
against women, both the casualties of
the war, and the wounded. This
display will show the extent of the
problem with a visual impact similar
to the AIDS quilt. Another purpose
of the Clothesline is to help with the
healing process for people who have
lost a loved one or who are survivors
of violence.
The Destination : Ovett/Gay Freedom
Riders Coalition will contact gay
and lesbian groups all over the world
to send in tee shirts bearing the
nam es of Gays, Lesbians and others
who have suffered violence or death.
These will be displayed at .camp
Sister Spirit.
SECOND STONE
Perry ·stated that -for him and other
religious people this should be a
matter of really living what the
religious life should be for four days .
""Instead of just praying for these
women, we are putting legs on our
prayers and inviting people to join us
in Mississippi.""
Robin Tyler, Gay Freedom Ride
coordinator, who is Jewish, says that
the Jewish community has always
been on the forefront of civil rights,
and once . again, this will be their
opportunity to confront injustice.
Tyler states that the action also sends
a message that Gays and.Lesbians are
prepared to defend themselves. ""For
decades Mississippi has been th e
battle ground for civil rights,"" says
Tyler . ""Following the tradition of the
1960's, the community of faith must
rise once again. And we need to let ,
gay bashers and h.omophobes know
that when they attack isolated Gays
and Lesbians, they aren't.just taking
on one or two p.eople, they are taking
on the entire gay and lesbian movement.""
-
EQUAL
RI IE ~
lesbian and Goy Worship.
NEW TITLES
Equal Rites
Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and
Celebrations
Kittredge Cherry and
Zalmon Sherwood, editors
Paper $14.99
January
Equal Rites is a much-needed collection of worship services,
ceremonies, and celebrations that is attuned to the unique needs of
sexual minorities. The selections, written primarily by lesbians and
gay men, include rites of spiritual beginnings, healing, blessings,
holy communion, and pride and empowerment. Also included are
funeral and memorial services, seasonal and holiday rites, and
covenant rites for couples. More than a collection, Equal Rites can also
serve as a referenc~ book for creating unique and meaningful
worship services that address significant aspects of lesbian and gay
spirituality. Contributors include Malcolm Boyd, Chris Glaser, Carter
Heyward, Diann L. Neu, and Troy D. Perry.
Ceremonies, and Cel ebrolions
Killredge Cherry &
Zolman Sherwood, edilors
""It is time and past time for Equal Rites. This remarkable collection ol
liturgies demonstrates the spiritual courage, liturgical creativity, and
rich diversity the churches are denying themselves in denying
lesbian and gay Christians a voice. What a gift!"" - Marjorie
Proctor-Smitlt, Perki//S School of T/reology
Know My Name
A Gay Liberation Theology
Richard Cleaver Paper $15.99
April
The place of gay men and women in the community of faith has
become one of.the most divisive debates in the church today. Roman
Catholic writer and activist Rich;ud Cleaver takes a fresh approach to
this issue by examining the struggles of gay men and lesbians in the
church, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, through the lens of
liberation theology. He offers not simply a ""gay"" reading of scripture,
however, but one that is spiritually challenging.
Coming Out to God
Prayers for Lesbians and Gay Men, Their Families
and Friends
Chris Glaser Paper $9.99
Now available
""A. wonderful collection of compassionate prayers."" - Tire Other
Side
""Here is a collection of prayers through which bisexual, lesbian and
gay persons, as well as their loved ones, may voice their questions
and issues to God."" -Friends Jounral .
""Chris Glaser, in his exquisite little devotional book Comi""g Out to
God, gives us the tools we need to learn to talk to God on levels that
go beyond the mundane ... Comi//g Out to God is a book that every
person who celebrates spirituality, and every person who /ears
spirituality, needs to meet."" - Lambda Book R~port
'The intimacy we seek. with the divine is made even more possible by
means of compelling devotional books such as Coming Out to God."" -
17re Disciple
Ill WESTMINSTER ttltt1 JOHN KNOX PRESS
Will At your bool<store, or call toll-free 1-800-672-1789
100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396
JANUARY/FEBRUA~Y 1995.
Videos ......................................................... ........ . ......
Queer Son: Family Journeys To Understanding And Love
W ith the family experience of
holiday gatherin .gs still a
fresh memory, now might
be a good time for many
Gays and Lesbians to sit down with
their parents and watch Queer Son:
Family Journeys To Understanding And
Love. This new documentary video
by Vickie Seitchik, the mother of a
gay son, shows through interviews
with parents of Gays and Lesbians
how they were able to move from
doubt and fear to understanding and
unconditional love of their children.
Queer Son gives the viewer an
intimate glimpse into the homes and
lives of families from diverse ·racial,
ethnic and social backgrounds. In its
48 minutes, the video moves from
every parent's first halting question,
""Are you sure?"" to show families who
are indeed sure - sure of one another's
love arid acceptance. The parents talk
candidly from their hearts.
Seitchik herself appears in the video
along with her son, his lover and
other family members. Dinner table
conversations between Seitchik and
her son reveal years of worry,
concern and struggle - and resolution.
One of the other parents interviewed
says that many parents are
afraid of what the neighbors and
family will think. ""You have a gay
child?,"" Dorothy Beam says neighbors
will ask. ""Whatever happened in
your life?"" She recalls a mother
claiming her daughter went to a
""lesbian college"" and became a les-
In the epirit of 5t. Frlillci5 atJ St;,
Clare, wdre ~ ~ builders
atJ peac:e nmrs to jourrey with
w h the foot6t.q,e of Jeoos Christ.
~~ We are an ecumenical,
· · · inclusive; non-clerical
· · •. •~ ccmmunit'fof-baptized men
, . ~ and. women from various,
· Christian tracfltioris who
• chose to worship and live in
,./!.O f 'th- h . . . . ~ ~v· aA:~o~~~:;~ a:n;;~~ an
program leading to the
profession of vows as a
~
,lf!!2 religious Brother or Sister.
Ask to receive ournewsletter,
""Footsteps.""
We work in ministries
of love, care and reconciliation
nationwide.
For more information,
please write to:
MERCY OF Goo COMMUNITY
Att: Vocation Director
P. 0. 6ox 41055
Providence RI 02940-1055
SECOND STONE
bian. 'The daughter was a lesbian
before she left home,"" says Beam,
""but when she got there [to college]
she could be herself."" Beam says the
issue of homosexuality seldom came
up in her Baptist church and when it
did, it was discussed as sin.
Beam knows that nothing she could
have done would have changed the
sexual orientation of her son, activist
Joseph Beam, who died several years
ago of complications due to AIDS..
She says she is taking up the torch so
· that her son will not have died in
vain . ""I am going to let the world
know that being gay is good,"" she
says.
Another parent interviewed, Paul
Yee, says the part that hurts most is
when rejection and condemnation
come from the community that is supposed
to share God 's love, the Christian
community. ""On the one hand
they preach God is all love,"" says
Yee, ""but action indicates that their
God loves conditionally . . They won't
admit that, but that's how they feel.""
Yee's eyes well up as he proudly
talks about raising a beautiful boy.
""My son's gay,"" he says. ''Does that
make him less a person? I have two
other kids, but because they're
heterosexual , they are . going to have .
a much easier life."" Yee knows that
his gay son is. not gay by choice.
Says Yee, ""Why would he choose that
whert life is so much more difficult
being a gay person?""
Also interviewed are David and
Claudia von Savage . They are the
parents of a small baby girl, who
they hope, they say, with the proper
raising, will turn out to be heterosexual.
""I'rri a Christian,"" says
Claudia von Savage. 'The Bible says
train up a child in the way he shall
go and he will not depart ·from it.""
She says she does not think she could
have a gay child;;although she knows
there are. Christian families with homosexual
children. Claudia believes
that if she raises her child with
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values, standards and guidelines,
homosexuality will not be part of her
thinking. 'Tm not sure what actually
goes into a person's decision to be
homosexual, but there seems to my
mind it must be something that w~nt
wrong in the family life,"" she says.
But Dorothy Beam wou ld disagree
with that. She says her son was gay
from the time he came into the world
and she couldn 't change that any
more than she could change the color
of her skin. ""You cannot change what
is to be.""
And then there's Mary Griffith's
deeply moving story. As a child, her
son Bobby liked to do what she
described as quiet, gentle things -
read and color. ·But Bobby's grandmother
warned Griffith, ""If you don't
do something with Bobby, he's going
to be a sissy."" She quietly talks about
how, during his teens, Bobby was
filled with self hate and worried that
he was going to go to hell. Her
tormented son eventually . killed
himself by jumping into traffic from a
freeway overpass . During the tim e of
Bobby's anguish, she was not able to
help him because s 11e too felt that one
couldn't be homosexual and go to
heaven. Says Griffith, ""When Bobby
was alive my beliefs formed my
reality and now reality forms my
beliefs."" Griffith says that her son 's
suicide started her on a journey that
brought her to a decision that God
could accept Bobby the way he was.
· Amy Ashworth felt ashamed and
guilty about her gay son, Tucker.
She didn't know how she could tell
her family and worried that she had
done something wrong in raising
him. She says her son knew for sure
he was gay at age 13 and he su spected
at age seven or eight. She
recalls asking Tucker why he had not
told his parents earlier. ""He said he
was 99 percent sure they would
accept him,"" says Ashworth, ""but
there was that one percent he couldn't
risk b~cause home was his only safe
place. .
Beam, Ashworth and Griffith now
have only memories of their sons .
Another parent interviewed for the
videosums it up this way: 'To me it's .
about love."" ""I Jove you,"" she says, as
she hugs her son. ·
As for the von Savages, they believe
that the line has to be drawn
somewhere. They believe that homosexuality
is destructive to society and
leads to the breakdown of the family
and should therefore ""be discour- .
aged ."" There's a good chance - most
would say nine out of ten - that their
baby girl will grow up to be
heterosexual. But if she doesn't, the
von Savages have ahead of them one
of Go<;l's greatest lessons of love.
Queer Son can be purchased from
Vickie Seitcliik, 19 Jackson St., Cape
May , NJ 08204, (212)929-4199 , FAX
(609)884-0264. $19.94, plus $3.95
shipping.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 199 .5
w ' \! In Print · ····""·• • e1e>•••• ' ••···· ...... . ................. . ...... ................ . ...
St. Francis Lutheran Church cooks
Those People At That Church
0 n the verge of getting expelled
from the Evangelical
· Lutheran Church in America
for violating church policy
regarding the ordination of noncelibate
Gays and Lesbians, the folks
at St. Francis Lutheran Church in San
Franciso have done what any creative,
radical church would be expected
to do. They've published a
cookbook.
The cookbook's title, I11oseE eopleA t
That Church, comes from a comment
overheard at the time St. ·Francis,
along with First United Lutheran,
ordained an openly gay man and
lesbian couple in January 1990, thereby
challenging the ELCA policy of
not ordaining openly homosexual
candidates to become certified pastors
in the 5 million-member denomination.
Vwse People At That Church contains
In Print, briefly ...
TheL ambdDa irectoroyf
Religioann dS pirituality
BrianC ranfordh ase ditedt hisb ook,
subtitled""S ourceosf SpirituaSl upport
for GayM ena ndL esbiansS.""a ys
Cranford"",I thinkt heb ests erviceth is
providesis creatingg reatera warenesso
f thew ider angeo f support
available.T"" heb ooki s a thorough
guidet hroughth e gaya ndl esbian
Christianc ommunity.
-FromP ryamiPd ress,1 3237M ontfortD
r.,S te.8 10,D allasT, X7 5240$.9 .
Clergya ndR eligiouasn d
theA IDSE pidemic
ByJ esuitF atheJr onF ul)ert,h is
updateto an earllerr esourcein cludes·
twop er:spectivoens t hei ssueo f testing
for HIV.
-FromN FPC1, 337W .O hioS t.,
ChicagoIL, 6 0622-64$970 .
Thes eculaSr queez·e
JohnA lexandern'se wb ooks hows
howW esterncu ltureg o)to thep oint
of beings hallowe, mptya, ndf lat and
presenths is argumentht att he only
.effectivere sponsies refillinge verydayl
ifew itht hee xcitemenatn d
mysteryth, ep aina ndl oveo f Jesus'
story.
-Fromln tervarsitPy ress
With' Magazine
''Them agazinfeo r radicaCl hristian
youth""is an excellenrte sourcfeo r
youth,a lthoughth eyseemre luctant
to dealw iths exualitiys sues.
-FromM ennoniteP ublishingH ouse,
616W alnuAt ve.,S cottdale,
PA1 5683-19$9198. 95yr.
SECOND STONE
over 200 recipes from members of the
congregation, their families and
friends, as well as many contributions
from San Francisco Bay Area chefs,
restaurants and food professionals .
The 256-page, paperback has a full
color jacket incorporating numerous
snapshots of members of the diverse
congregation.
In additiona to featuring recipes
like Caribbean Corn Cakes with
Shrimp/ Avocado Salsa, Breakfast
Pasta, Aunt Jane's . Fiesta Mexicali
Corn Salad, and Anise Seed Cookies,
Those People At Th~t Church includes
reflections and anecdotes frqm the
members of the congregation as well
as dcscriptiol)S of the ministries of this
extremely active church. Woven
throughout the book is The Prayer of
St. Francis of.Assisi, along with. contemporary
.prayers written by congregation
members, reflecting on
their lives and iss:ues.
· St. Francis Lutheran is· a small,
red~brick neighborhood church which
sits in the heart of San Francisco, four
subway stops from the city's financial
district and three blocks from Castro
Street. The church was dedicated by
Danish immigrants just 12 days
before the 1906 earthquake and was
honored as San Francisco Historical
Landmark No. 39 in 1971. The congregation
of 150 people is committed
to caring for their neighborhood and
its people.
In. 1990, St. Francis Lutheran
ordained an openly lesbian couple,
Ruth Frost and Phyllis Zillhart, and
another San Francisco congregation,
First United Lutheran, ordained Jeff
Johnson; an openly gay man. That
summer the congregations were put
on ecclesiastical trial artd subsequently
suspended by the ELCA. The
churches may be expelled at the end
of 1995 if the ELCA does not change
its policy regarding the ordination of
openly gay and lesbian pastors or if
St. Francis does not rescind the calls to
Pastors Frost · and Zill hart. On
August 28, 1994, the congregation
voted unanimously to extend a
permanent full-time call to Zillhart
and a permanent part-time call to
Frost.
Wayne A. Strei, editor of Those
People At That Church, has been the
food and/ or entertairi.ment critic on
numerous San Francisco Bay Area
television and radio shows . . Ten
years ago, Strei began to feel the
tragedy of HIV and AIDS, and has
lost many friends, including two ct
the most important people in his life,
John David Hanson and Bradley Scott
DeWinde. It was John's funeral that
brought him to St. Francis Lutheran
Church for the first time in 1987, and
although it took him two years to
return, it now exists as the most
impo.rtant community in his life,
Those People At That Church is
available at bookstores or directly
from St. Francis Lutheran Church,
1-800-779-7179. Profits from the sale
of the cookbook go toward ministries
of the church both in the congregation
and in the .community. To order by
mail, send check or money order for
$18.95 per book, plus California sales
tax, if applicable, and $4.75 shipping
for each address, to Those People .At
That Church, St. Francis Lutheran
Church, 152 Church St., San
Francisco, CA 94114~1111.
QUOTABLE
""You can become a Christian by going to church just
about as easily as you can become an automobile by
sleeping in a garage.""
-Garrison Keillor
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
In Print •• •• • • ••••••••••• 0 •• • •••••• • .-, • • ••• - • ••••••• . ••••• • •• • • . .• ·• ••••• ••••• • • •• . • •••
Soul Gazing
By Edouard Fontenot
ContributingW riter
Gay Soul: Finding the Heart of Gay
Spirit and Nature with Sixteen Writers,
Healers, Teachers and Visionaries,
Mark Thompson, author. HarperSanFrancisco,
1994. I
. n his latest book, Gay Soul,
Finding the Heart of Gay
Spirit · and Nature with
Sixteen Writers, Healers,
Teachersa nd Visionaries,a uthor; jour-
Selectio~zs for your
library available from
Second Sto11e Press. :.
DEFECTING IN PLACE: Women
Claiming Responsibility for Their
Own Spiritual Lives
By Miriam Therese Winter,
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SHE WHO IS: The Mystery of God
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WOMEN AT WORSHIP: Interpretations
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SEXUALITY AND THE SACRED:
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A comprehel1Sivrees ourcea ddressing human sexuality as
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SECOND STONE
nalist and former Advocate editor
Mark Thompson has assembled a
collection of interviews which ciy out
at the marriage of convenience between
the gay rights movement and
a scientific positivism which largely
abjures a spiritual dimension. Gay
Soul recalls gay, ""two-spirited"" people
to their historic spiritual role
described alternately as trickster,
shaman; poet, catalyst, stoiyteller and
always as Other.
The publication of Thompson's
collection reflects a renewed cultural
· willingness to entertain the idea that
human beings inay be more than the
sum of their biochemical parts, perhaps
a response to the · corning millennium.
It also recalls the fact that
gay and lesbian people - though
perhaps not elites - have always been
a church, temple and mosque-going
people, indeed .leaders in the sacred
sphere, possibly, as Thompson's subjects
suggest, because gay and lesbian
people, in the absence of socially
sanctioned roles, must constantly
contemplate their personhood and
reinvent themselves as they move
through lives for which scripts are not
provided.
The renewed. interest in existential
questions · has created a new stratum
in gay and lesbian literature, one
concerned with the elements of gazing
·at the entirety of homosexual
selves and beyond. Gay Soul is a
stellar example of how gay people
have ,begun the constructive Dpiritual
work which will finally · - or again -
art,iculate our vitality, purpose and
worth . ·
In the debate between social
constructionism and essentialisrn,
Thompson's subjects would .be considered
essentialists; Thompson acknowledges
. the liberating impact of
Foucault's radical social constructionisrn,
but argues -in his, short introduction
. that this perspective has
largely exhausted itself as .a philosophy
to power the gay and lesbian
movement forward into the next
, centuiy. The new fuel is not political
· activism, but the interior journey.
Thompson's subjects include a
Native America scholar, a Jungian
therapist, a novelist, a Christian
priest, a Taoist, a poet, an astrologer
and a Freudian analyst. Many of his
subjects, activists Hariy Hay and
Malcolm .Boyd for example, are gay
icons. Though Thompson's subjects
come from different starting points
and reveal a variety of emotional
perspectives, some joyful, others melancholic,
others determined, several
striking themes emerge across the
conversations. The principle theme is
a quality of personhood unique to
gay men (and, as many imply but
most do not develop, Lesbians) out of
which rises a singular spiritual
perspective. This quality, perhaps
biological and certainly environmental,
is reflected in the idea of
""otherness"" or ""neitherness."" There
exist, according to these theorists, not
two, but three, four or more genders.
Because gay men constitute a third
gender, they experience the suffocating
effects of truncated identities
and insufficiently diverse categories.
Thompson's subjec~s are clearly not
seeking any existing ""place at the
table ."" They issue a common call to
rearrange the chairs.
Thompson's
subjects are
clearly not seeking
any existing
""place at the
table."" They
issue a common
call to rearrange
the chairs.
Poet James Broughton is a delight to
read. His words sing from the page
and his joy is palpable and infectious.
He exhibits a ""gaiety of soul"" and an
amazing amusement about life where
""everything is going nowhere, beautifully.""
As with all of his subjects,
Thompson is interested here in the
poet's understanding of soul, which,
for Broughton, is ""Wherever I hurt,
wherever I tingle, whenever I weep,
whenever I guffaw, my soul is
humming. It flexes With my desires
and responses, . my longing and my
ailing. It operates in my heart, my
deep guts, my genitals .""
The importance and celebration of
physical eroticism is another important
theme, articulated not only by
Broughton, but also by Joseph
Kramer, the founder of the Body
Electric School, who reveals a fascinating
Jesuit heritage and, influence;
and 5-M theorist and practitioner Guy
Baldwin, whose reflections on S-M as
""burning away of impurities"" in
which the ""self becomes stripped of
all its external trappings"" recall
nothing so much as the mystical
Christian desert Fathers and Mothers,
and Thompson's interview with
Buddhist teacher Ram Dass. The
formative role of gay suffering is
ecl1oed by Episcopal priest Malcolm
Boyd's identification of the gay
experience ""as a wounded, broken
person with the wounded, broken
person of Jesus.""
Any discussion of meaning at the
end of the millennium must acknowledge
the forbidding presence of
AIDS. This third pervasive theme
peeks around the edges of eveiy
exchange about purpose and
possibility. Says Paul Monette, who
has AIDS, ""One of the ways in which
AIDS has purified so many of us-is in
how much it tells us that this is not a
dress rehearsal. We are being tested
by something as deep in ourselves as
we could ever be."" Many of
Thompson's subjects reflect this
understanding of AIDS as a fire
which has tested and tempered the
steel of gay men who, having come
through it, live purposefully but with
the ""flagrant joy"" of self-awareness.
· These thinkers celebrate the
reclamation of the history of a ""gay
tribe,"" a communal remembering of
history which recalls a past of
spiritual leadership by · gendervariant
people. In an especially
compelling reflection, gay scholar
Will Roscoe discusses the crippling
cultural assumption that gay Reople
are without social purpose. Roscoe's
purpose has been to unearth the
profoundly important -social role
gender variant people have played
historically in order to restore their
power and self-esteem. Lament ing
""all these [gay people] running
around sharnanizing and berdacl1izing,
and wanting to be nothing so
much as as average person,"" he calls
for gay people to reclaim thei r
spiritual roles. Teacher, storyteller
and writer 'Andrew Ramey believes
'
SEE SOUL, Next Page
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The_H omophobHieca ler
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Divisively Bound By Diversity
By Johnny Townsend
Contributing Writer
B ound by Diversity (Sebastian
Press, 1994) is an odd title
for editor James· T. Sears'
collection of essays by
members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay
and transgender· communities because
if anything, the variety of
viewpoints expressed show that these
groups are far from being unified,
and· it is doubtful that these essays, as
good as most of them are, will
succeed in binding those groups,
together. In fact, Sears himself in his
essay calls the groups ""tribes,"" each
mistaking ""self-interest for the common
interest."" Sears unleashes the
tribespeople to have their say in this
anthology. .·.
The book is divided into sections on
family, HIV, politics, the arts, adolescence,
teaching, and two sections on
dialogue between opposing groups.
This was the section which seemed
most disturbing because despite an
introduction claiming that the book
""embraces dialogue and debate in the
interest of creating a community
strengthened by our differences,""
what happens too often is · that the
various authors are so convinced that
they are right and others are wrong
that, notwithstanding the ""dialogue,""
no one is really listening to anyone
else.
SOUL,.
From Page 12
th.e ""gay tribe"" to be ""biologically
separate from the child rearing pool,""
separated by nature to ""do soul work""
and· act , as a mirror for the larger
culture. Harry Hay echoes this
und~rstanding in his discussion of the
""spirit children"" - 'poetry, art, teaching
- · that he and his partner, gay
""specialists of the spirit,"" have
created. The idea of non-biological
procreativity is shot · through these
' interviews.
Thompson's interview with Hay,
the unapologetic and irascible Dean,
or perhaps Queen, of the gay rights
movement, is enough to justify the
price of the book. · Still filled with an
adolescent enthusiasm for Marxist
theory, Hay is perhaps the most
ardent advocate of gay social purpose
beyond consumption and biological
procreation. · His gay mythos can run
a bit thick at times; and even those
inclined towards concepts of the
''.natural"" and the ""intrinsic"" may find
themselves exasperated by Hays
pedantic certainty.
Thompson clearly has his own ideas
about gay soul, which he tries to
sketch out in the introduction and in
short reflections at the beginning of
SECOND STONE
This was partly evident in a discussion
of pedophilia but even more
striking . in an almost violent debate
between feminist Amanda UdisKessler
and men's rights advocate
Frederic Hayward. Hayward puts
forth an interesting argument of how
women are to blame for homophobia
because it keeps straight men dependent
on them for emotional c'ontact,
but ultimately he seems to deliberately
distort almostall the statistical
evidence he uses for his various
claims. Udis-Kessler does a little misrepresentation
herself in responding, .
but she is dearly the one. who is at
least attempting to legitimately communicate.
Hayward .absolutely
refuses to allow her to, however, and
the ''.dialogue"" of 25 pages does
anything but create the sef\se of unity
the book is after. It all but makes
unity appear impossible.
However, most of the rest of the
essays are much less hostile and do
show sincere attempts both to express
a point of view in a way that others
can understand, and also to attempt to
understand other points of view. The
long section of adolescents and teachers
is perhaps most promising.
Essays by deaf .Gays, women prison.
ers, African-Americans, Hispanics,
white males ( even a couple of straight
ones) border on tokenism, but a·work
each interview. The reader is left
wishing that he had developed these
ideas more completely, perhaps in a
final epilogic chapter. Thompson
provides his own black and white
photographs of his subjects which are
in turn delightful, powerful, humorous,
and soulful.
Gay Soul will challenge and
infuriate ardent social constructionists
and hearten those who have longed
for authentication of a uniquely gay
spiritual awakening.
Gay Soul is the type of book we will
see more of as we advance into the
21st century. It urges us past
reductionist positivism and issues an
invitation to spiritual journeying
informed by a history of religious
oppression and the paradox of
existence . Says Paul Monette, ""I've
been furious and blunt... in my
impatience and rage with churches
and religions. But I have refined that
rage ... In the midst of this nightmare
and calamity of AIDS, I have seen
such eloquent work done by people
who are part of the clergy or part of a
religious commitment or calling.
Here I am close to the end of my life,
and I somehow think that I am an
atheist, who is,. for better or worse,
still an Episcopalian.""
about diversity almost inevitably
faces that criticism. Unfortunately,
many of the ""tokens"" exhibit loo
much hostility for any unity to
emerge.
Robert Vasquez, for example, of
Puerto Rican descent, refuses to ""sleep
with the enemy,"" meaning any white
person . All whiles are his oppressors,
even the ones who pretend to be nice.
They are just voyeurs out for adventure.
If whites aren't interested in
him, they're prejudiced, and if they
are int,erested, they just want to use
him. He leaves no room for any
white person to be a decent human
being.
· Similarly, Aaron T.aub argues
against chants such as ""We're your
family, not your enemy; someone
you· love is queer"" and ""Gay, straight,
black,white; same struggle; same
fight."" He doesn't want us to be
friendly with ""the enemy"" or try to
find common ground . He also talks
of the ""glorious"" burning in effigy of
Cardinal O'Connor, surely a divisive
action.
Even authors who attempt to talk of
unity often do so in bizarre ways,
such as when Walter _Williams sug -
gests that one of the things that will
help heterosexuals overcome their
prejudice and finally find a warm
place in their hearts for us is by our
teaching them about safer sex. I just
find that verv hard to believe. He
also sugg e ~ ,hat many women may
soon ""choose"" lesbianism to avoid HIV
from straight male partners, which
again sounds unlikely.
Certainly, many of the essays were
interesting and well-written , though
numerous irritating typos plagued
the book; but it seems that if. Sears
were truly trying to create unity,
'including so many negative views of
people who felt it was hopeless may
not have been the best choice. Of
course, he isn't just trying to show a
""nice"" face but is attempting to show
the reality of the divisions which do
exist, and I suppose that no real
progress can be made unless we face
up to those unplea~ant realities.
Bound By Diversity then isn't the
answer to the problem but perhaps
helps us see things from enough
different perspectives that we can
start trying out our own ideas on how
to bring unity to a truly diverse
group.
Now available from Second Stone!
The Word Is Out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
liberates the Bible from those
who would bold it hostage to
an anti-gay agenda. In this
inspiring collection of ~65
daily meditations, theBible's
good news ""comes out"" to
meet all of us with love,
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Chris Glaser is the author
of Uncommon Calling and
Coming Out to God. He is
a graduate of Yale Divinity
School.
The Word Is Out,
$12, paperback.
Order now from Second Stone Press
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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
;.
Calendar-........................................................................
Healing the Wounds
of Heterosexism
FEBRUARY 10-12, ""Creating a Home
in the Church: Healing · the Wounds
of Heterosexism,"" with Presbyterian
evangelist Janie Spahr, will be a
weekend of worship, workshops and
. frivolity focused on helping congregations
become more welcoming of lesbian,
gay and b_isexual Christians. To
be held in various St. Louis metropolitan
area churches, the event is sponsored
by Other Sheep, an international
and ecumenical ministry actively
proclaiming God's love for all people.
For more information, contact Other
Sheep at 319 North Fourth St., Ste.
902, St. Louis, MO 63102,
(314)822-3297, (314)776-4483.
11th Annual
Interweave
Convocation
FEBRUARY 17-19, Interweave, Unitarian
Universalists for Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender Concerns
sponsors its annual gathering in
Raleigh, North .Carolina. Over 200
participants are expected for three
days of celebration, worship, pro- ·
grams, workshops, and more. Included
is a workshop on ecumenical organizing
presented by Rev . Morris
Hudgins, a Unitarian Universalist
pastor, and Rev. Jimmy Creech, a
United Methodist pastor and staff
member of the North Carolina Council
of Churches. For information contact
Bonnie Blue Crouse, 2001 Boone
Ave., Winston-Salem, NC 27103,
(910)722-0421.
8th Annual
T-E-N Weekend
FEBRUARY 24-26, The Evangelical
Network has announced an intense
three days of workshops and activities
for this year's gathering. The call is
to ""Come Alive in '95!"" and the theme
is 'Thanksgiving, Praise & Worship.""
Cost for the weekend which includes
materials and meals is $40 per individual,
$70 per couple. For infomation
contact The Evangelical Network,
P.O. Box 16104, Phoenix, AZ
85011-6104, (602)265-2831, FAX
(602)265-2918.
Building Bridges for
an Inclusive Church
FEBRUARY 25, A workshop for
persons of all sexual orientations,
sponsored by American . Friends
1service Committee, Detroit Presbytery
Metropolitan Mission and
PLGC/Detroit. Keynote discussion
led by Chuck Collins on how sexism,
heterosexism and homophobia affect
us all. Westminster Presbyterian
Church in Detroit is the location . For
information call Ken (313)886-6486.
Annual Institute
of the Son
FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 3, An
SECOND STONE
extension of the T-E-N weekend, the
Phoenix Evangelical Bible Institute
will feature the course, ""Christian
Gay and Lesbian Ministry,"" which
was developed by Pastor Fred L.
Pattison. The fee for the entire week
is $50. For information write to
PHEBI, Pastor Fred Pattison, 1035 E.
Tumey, Phoenix, AZ 85014.
Brothers Together
vacation
MARCH 4-11, Brothers Together
sponsors its second annual Brothers in
Paradise vacation/ retreat for gay men
on St. John in the Virgin Islands. This
organization was started in 1991 by a
group of friends who felt their gay
community was lacking something
personal and . spiritual and that it too
often left people feeling alone and
unfulfilled. Since then, over 500 men
have attended the group's events. ·
Single cost for this event is $1,299. For
information contact Brothers Together,
115 Newbury St., #304, Boston, MA
02116-2935 ot call 1-800-462-9962.
Rural AIDS Conference
MARCH 10-13, ""Sowing Knowledge,
Harvesting Care "" is the theme of this
national conference on rural Americans
living with _AIDS/HIV. St.
Cloud State University, St. Cloud,
Minn. is the setting. For information
call (612)255-3082.
Midwest
PLGC Conference
MARCH 10-12, Presbyterians for
Lesbians and Gay Concerns sponsors
its mid-winter midwest gathering at
Stronghold Conference Center near
Oregon, .Illinois. For information call
Sue Jones, (608)244-4820.
Clergy, Women . andMen
Religious and the
HIV/AIDS Pandemic
MARCH 24-28, The National Catholic
AIDS Network sponsors ihis conference
for religious personnel on
HIV/ AIDS at 'the Kenrick Conference
Center in St. Louis, Missouri. The
mission of the network includes a call
to assist Catholic leaders and congregations
in responding to the impact of
HIV/ AIDS as well as to support theological
reflection and dialogue relating
to the pandemic. For information
contact the National Catholic AIDS
Network, P.O. Box 422984, San
Francisco, CA 94142-2984,
(707)874-3031, FAX (707)874-1433.
Affirmation·
National Gathering
APRIL 21-23, Affirmation: United .
Methodists promises a challenging
keynote, workshops, mutual support
and sharing, festival worship and a
Texas-style banquet at its 20th anniversary
gathering to be held in
Dallas. For information contact
Affirmation, P.O. Box 1021, Evanston,
IL60204.
Communication
Ministry Convocation
APRIL 27-30, Convocation is a
national gathering of Catholic priests,
brothers and nuns, Last year, just
over 100 gay and bisexual priests and
brothers and lesbian sisters, and
friends, met in Orlando to explore
'The Goodness of Being Gay."" For
many participants, it was the first
time they had ever been able to be so
open about their sexuality and to
experience an empowering atmosphere
of acceptance. The theme of
this year's gathering is ""New Expressions
of Being Gay or Lesbian in the
Catholic Church: Our Myths and Our
Stories."" Presenters include Patricia
O'Donnell and Richard Woods. The
convocation will be held at the Radisson
Inn at the Greater CincinnatiNorthern
Kentucky International
Airport. For information on this
conference write to CMI, P.O . Box
60125, Chicago, IL 60660-0125.
National More Light
Churches Conference
APRIL 28-30, The 11th Annual More
Light Churches Network Conference
will be held in Baltimore, Maryland
at First and Franklin Street Presbyterian
Church. For information contact
Presbyterians for Lesbian and
Gay Concerns, P.O. Box 38, New
Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038.
Retreat for HIV-positive
religious and clergy
MAY 8-12, The Marianist Center in
Cupertino, California, is the setting
for a five day retreat for religious and
clergy who are HIV-positive. For
information contact John McGrann,
Kairos Support for Caregivers, 114
Douglass, San Francisco, CA 94114,
(415)861-0877.
Religious Life Weekend
JUNE 1-4, The Mercy of God Community
sponsors its fourth annual
Religious Life Weekend for those
considering religious life. The
LaSalette Center for Christian Living,
Attleboro, Mass ., is the setting. For
information contact the Mercy of God
Community, P.O. Box 41055,
Providence, RI 02940-1055.
American Baptists
Concerned
National Retreat
JUNE 24-27, The annual retreat of ·
ABC will be held at Thomfield
Retreat Center in Syracu_se, New _
York. Cost is $175. For information
contact ABC, 872 Erie St., Oakland,
CA 94610-2268, (510)465-8652.
J A N U A
CMI Retreat
JUNE 27-30, Communication Ministry
sponsors a retreat for Catholic lesbian
' nuns and gay priests and brothers.
The Serra Retreat House, Malibu,
Calif., is the setting . For information
contact CMI, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago,
IL 60660-0125. .
Gay and Lesbian
Parents Coalition
Conference
JUNE 30-JULY 3, Gay and lesbian
parenting groups from Southern
California will host the 16th Annual
Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition
International Conference at the University
of California at · Los Angeles.
Part of the conference will focus on
issues of relevance to ·those who are
currently parents, those who function
in a parenting role, or those who wish
to become parents. Two other subconferences
will examine topics of ·
importance to the children of lesbian
or gay parents. Conference fees
include all meals and three nights
lodging at UCLA's Sunset Village.
For information write to GLPCI '95,
7985 Santa Monica Blvd., Box 109-346,
West Hollywood, CA 90046 or call
(213)654-0307, FAX (310)652-7584.
Convocation of
Reconciling
Congregations
JULY 13-16, ''Bound for the Promised
Land"" is the theme for the fourth
national gathering of Reconciling
Congregations, to be held in Minneapolis.
A youth and ·student rally
and a special gathering of.the Reconciling
Pastors' Action Network is
planned . Individual fee is $165, $85
for children ' and youth. For information
contact the Reconciling Congregations
Program, 3801 N. Keeler
Ave., Chicago, IL 60641,
(312)736-5526.
The UFMCC
General Conference
JULY 23-30, the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community Churches
will gather at .the Westin Peachtree
Plaza Hotel in Atlanta for its 17th
conference. ""All Things Are Possible :·
is the theme for this conference which
offers a discounted rate of $180 for
non-delegates. A special gathering
will be held at the Martin Luther
King, Jr . Center for Non-Violent Social
Change: For information, contact
UFMCC GCXVII, 5300 Santa Monica
Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA 90029,
(213)464-5100. .
Announcements of interest to gay, lesbian
and bisexual Christians are welcome
and will be included free of charge.
Send to Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340,
New Orleans, LA 70182 or FAX to
(504)891-7555.
RY/FEBRUARY 1995
••••••••••••• ~ ••••• I:' •
Noteworthy W
&Q•a1o,;,~c;c;i-:::'='~•'!'•t1""••••••••••••c•••••••• ..... . ......
John Boswell passes
tiJOHN BOSWELL, Yale University
professor and author of- two books
about religion and homosexuality that
rocked the church establishment, died
of complications from AJDS Dec. 24 in
New Haven. He was 47 years old. In
1980 Boswell gained attention with
the publication of Christianity, Social
Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay
People in Western Europe. From the
Beginning of the Christian Era to the
Fourteenth Century. Last June, he
published the long-awaited follow-up
to his first book, Same-Sex Unions in
Premodern Europe, based on his
research of more than 60 manuscripts
from the 8th to the 16t h century. He
is survived by his life partner, Jerome
Hart, his parents, Col. Henry Boswell,
Jr. and Catharine, a sister, Patricia,
and two brothers, Wray and Henry
Ill.
Catholic organization
receives award
tiDIGNITY /USA, the world's largest
gay, lesbian and bisexual Catholic
organization received the 1994 Call
To Action Award. Call To Action, a
national organization of Catholics
committed to church reform in the
spirit of the Second Vatican Council,
presented the award to -Dignity on
Nov . 4 during its annual conference
in Chicago. Marianne -Duddy, presi- dent
of Dignity /USA said the award
comes at a time when gay Catholics
are increasingly under attack - from
Pope John Paul II's criticism of the
European Parliament for protecting
gay rights and his denouncing lesbian-
headed families, to the fact that
more than 40 Dignity chapters have
been expelled from Catholic church
facilities since 1986.
Reconciling Congregation
Program adds churches
tiSIX CHURCHES declared them-selves
Reconciling Congregations
near the end of 1994. They are St.
Paul's Ul\c1C, San Jose, Calif., Broadway
UMC, Chicago, Centenary UMC,
St. Louis, Clinton-Camanche Subgroup
of Iowa MFSA, Clinton, Iowa,
Trinty UMC, Kansas City, and
Chenango Street UMC, Binghamton,
New York, making a total of 83
Reconciling Congregations and 5
Reconciling Campus Ministries.
West Hollywood church
""bar hops"" on Christmas eve
tiTHE PASTOR, MEMBERS and
friends of Crescent Heights United
Methodist Church of West Hollywood
went out to the bars and restaurants
of Santa Monica Boulevard to round
up people for their midnight Christmas
Eve service. 'This -is no t a
community which has traditionally
supported churches,"" said Pastor Tom
Griffith. ""It is, though, a' community
SECOND STONE
which is heavily populated by singie
persons, many of whom are homosexual.
Many of them, gay or
straight, do not have families whom
they can easily visit, or who will even
let them visit, at Christmas."" So for
the sixth consecutive year, a group
from the church passed out ""complimentary
tickets"" in the bars for their
Christmas Eve service.
MCC pastor becomes columnist
tiREV. TYRONNE SWEETING, pastor
of MCC at Boise, Idaho, has been
selected by the Idaho Statesman to be
one of the featured columnists on the
paper's religion page. After being
ousted from its home on the campus
of Boise State University, MCC at
Boise relocated in October to a church
building owned by the R~organized
Church of the Latter-Day Saints.
Ft. Worth church
calls first pastor
ti WHITE ROCK CHURCH WEST, Ft.
Worth, Texas has called its first
pastor, Rev. William R. Prickett .
Prickett comes ·to Ft. Worth from
Orange County, Calif., where he was
actively involved with the leadership
of Evangelicals Concerned in Laguna
Beach. Prior to that, he was a Southern
Baptist pastor in his hometown of
Birmingham, Ala., for 11 years,
where he led the congregation from a
membership of 100 to more than 700.
Prickett was installed on Dec. 11.
White Rock West is a mission work of
the White . Rock Church in Dallas.
Late last year the church organized as
a separate congregation from the
founding Dallas church. In the
future, the congregation will change
its name to reflect an identity with
and commitment to Ft. Worth, according
to a church spokesperson. For
information on this ministry call
(817)451-7880.
New ministry in Louisiana
tiABUNDANT GRACE Christian Fellowship,
a Bible-based, spirit filled,
non-denominational church has begun
meeting in Covington, Louisiana.
Pastors Lee Thompson and
Yolande Yaeger, formerly of Grace
Fellowship in New Orleans, are
providing spiritual leadership for the
fledging church. For information on
this ministry call (504)893-9098.
Kentucky church becomes RIC
tiTHIRD LUTHERAN CHURCH,
Louisville, Kentucky has become a
""Reconciled in Christ"" congregation,
one of more than 100 congregations
and ministries in the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America which
affirms and welcomes Lesbians, gay
men and bisexual persons into its
parish life. Third Lutheran is the
third congregation of any denomination
in _ the Commonwealth of
Kentucky to make such a declaration,
following Central Presbyterian, Louisville,
1983, and Zion United Church
of Christ, Henderson, 1994. It is the
first congregation in the KentuckyIndiana
Synod of the ELCA to become
RIC. (The Lutheran Campus Ministry
in Bloomington, I11diana, is also a
Reconciled in Christ ministry.) The
decision to become RIC was reached
at Third Lutheran's monthly council
meeting on Nov. 10, 1994.
Newsletter for pastor's spouses
tiP.S., YOU'RE NOT FORGOTTEN
is a newsletter for spouses of pastors.
The newsletter began as a result of a
course called ""Spouses in Ministry"" at
the 1993 Advance Christian Ministries
conference. Robyn Brown, coordinator
of the support letter, said ""I
have been a pastor's spouse for 13
years of my 16 year relationship . .
There were times that I needed a
confidant."" Brown is the spouse of
Rev. William Memmott, pastor of
· Agape Church in St. Louis. For
information on the newsletter, write
to Brown at 2706 A Armand Pl., St.
Louis, MO 63104-2214.
Agape installs assistant pastor
a pastor and installed as assistanf
pastor of the Agape Church of St.
Louis. Part of Gaile's work will be in
Christian outreach to people in the St.
Louis area who are HIV-positive.
And from our
Christmas card newswire ...
tiAUTHOR CHRIS GLASER and his
mate Mark King had a commitment
ceremony on Oct. 30. The couple
have bought a new home in Atlanta.
Glaser has published his fourth book,
The . .Word Is Out, and .King has begun
consulting ' on HIV f AIDS in the workplace.
tiJOE GALLE IV has been licensed as Chris Glaser, standing, and Mark King
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical 'new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
WhatUible the LJ
Really Says
About
1-lornosexuality
. I• \-le\minial<., Ph.D.
oame ,..,.
Daniel A Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed.''
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Gre.ed and Sex
"" ... the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
summary I know of current bibli'
cal scholarship relating to homosexual
issues ... eminently useful...""
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□
WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
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BIBLICAL ""CONDEMNATION"" of gays
eKamined by Columbia University graduate I
with a decade of UFMCC membership. $3.95 I
for 26 page booklet. H& SISS, POB 221841, I
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columns make this bridge of dialogue
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CHRISTIAN*NEW AGE QUARTERLY, P.O.
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OPEN HANDS, an ecume11ical quarterly
maga~ine on ministries · with gays, lesbians
and bisexuals. $16/year. Free sample. 3801
N. Keeler Avenue, Chicago, IL. 60641. ·
312/736-5526. FAX,312/736-5475. 10/95
HOMOSEXUAL? The Lambda Directory of
Religion and Spirituality with over 400
sources. of spiritual support for Gays,
Lesbians and their advocates , books, groups,
periodicals, etc. Send $7 plus $2 S&H to:
Pyramid Press, 13237 Montfort; Ste. 810J ,
Dallas. TX 75240. 9195
SEEKING PASTOR for small independent'
liturgical church in Dallas, Texas. Present
pastor retiring ' January, . 1995. Mainline ' ·
church backgrourd and seminary graduate
preferred. Contact: Pulpit Committee, Fr.
Frederick Wright, c/o Holy Trinity Community
Church, 4402 Roseland Avenue,
Dallas. TX 75204. Telephone: (H)(214)
821-0418, (0)(214)827-5088.
GAY EPISCOPAL PRIEST seeks church
position with loving, inclusive Community
that respects the dignity of all: Write to 431
Gravier St. #300, New Orleans, LA 70130
'I
MWBM, Christian, 52 years old, 5'5"", 165
lbs., HIV-, non-smoker seeks other Christian .
bisexuals, gay men for casual relationship.
Come to Oregon Ce.ntral Coast. J .. Nolan,
Box 2263 Florence OR 97439. 4195
ClilCAGO GWM, 41, 155 lbs., 5'10"",
ICJ<?~mfgo r a so~l mate. I am emotionally,
spmtually, and fmancially secure and seek
the sa~e in my rriate. Open with my sexuality,
masculine, not riamboyant, HIV-,
mvolved in the Episcopal Church, and
dedicated lo my friends. You have similar
qualities, do no_t abuse alcohol or drugs, and
love . hie. Wnte with recent photo: B.R.,
4422 N. Greenview, 2E, Chicago, IL 60640.
GWF, 44, professional, feminine , well
e_ducated, kindly humorous, talkative,
fmanc,ally s_table, no drugs/smoking, little
dnnk111g, faithful Presbyterian, liberal in
o.utl_ook, conservative in lifestyle. ISO truly
s,m1lar lady living within 2-3 hours: GWF
good listener, feminine, 3~-49, interested it;_
commitment \'.S, casual relationships. Write:
Sarah. P.O. Box 14163, Augus1a. GA 30919.
6/95.
GWM, Christian, professional educated 35
6'2"", 160 lbs., blue/brown (balding) no f;ciru'
~atr, lursute . ISO a non-smoking, drug-free
hfemate, monogamous relationship. Inter-
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but jovial and sensual and masculine""! ... in
the ·s01.1thwest or: San Diego. Weight in
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or dope, moderate drink! Frank B., P.O. Box
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I'M ATfRAGTEDTO WV, TN, OK, TX. AR.
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drugs, games, bar types. Photo to M. Barrett ,
6244 Corson Ave. So., Seattle WA
98108-3442. '
BUYING FOREIGN/USA stamp collections /
accumulations. Professional appraisal /offer;
excellentreferences; Rob Gesell, Box 8248,
Ann Arbor MI 48107. (313)662-5460. 2/95
IS. Y_OUR CHURCH welcoming and
affirmmg to lesbians and gay men? _ I'd like
to know. l 1m compiling a national list.
Please write to Ken Lewis, Box 1452, Laguna
Beach. CA 92651. 4/95
""AIDS AWARENESS"" stamp pins. $3.50.
Quality made of solid brass. Proceeds benefit
PWAs. Volume discounts. Eastern Maine
AIDS Network, P.O. Box 2038, Bangor, ME
04402. .
CREMATION URNS: Int,roducing the
Lambda Pride .Um. Celebrate Life with an
um that reflects personality and style. Call
for free brochure. LifeStyle Urns
1-800-685-URNS. 8/95. .
GAY PRIDE FLAGS, Banners, Lapel Pins,
Wall Clocks, Tote Bags, Bumper Stickers
Wind Socks & More. Free Catalog:
tfi~f;te:""i~3s8 (24 hrs. - 7 days.) Retail &
LIVE OPERA performances on audio /video
casette. lncredibl.e selec tion s ince 1930's,
world-wide. (?ver 7400 items . Magnifi~ent
free computenzed catalogue. Live Opera,
P.O. Box 3141, Steinway Station, Long
Island City.NY IH03. 12/95
PIANO FOR SALE. Wanted: a responsible
person to take on a low monthly payment on
a beautiful console piano, no money down.
Call toll free: 1-800-533-7953 . 6195
REV. N. A. LLOY_D, C.M., spiritu al medium
and ad visor. Sp1ntual counsel ino. Call
( 5 I 6)736-1058 . P
ATTENTION CHRISTIAN songwriters: I will
typeset your manuscript music. $20 first
page, $2 each additional stave. For info
write: Eric Bicknell, 23244 Almira, Southfield.
Ml 48034. 4195
RETREATS FOR GAY monks focusing on
copmg techniques in repressive communities
at. Saint Benedict _Monastery. Information
wnte: Dan, 1012 Monastery Rd., Snowmass,
co 81654. 6/95
IWf@l@l @)©
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About H~mosei~ality 11 by Rev. Nancy
Hor~ath. ~rofess10nally produced, studio
quality videotape or audiocassettes in
attractive package. Well researched,
uplifhng perspective from UFMCC minister.
Excellent ad_dition -. to · personal library.
Wonderful gift. Video: ,$34.95. Audio:
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card orders: 800-370-7483. Or mail
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1676,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1676,"Second Stone #39 - Mar/Apr 1995",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,". • •
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NEW ORLEANS, LA
PERMIT No. 511
Paul Delph
HE'S PUTTING HIS FAITH IN
'A GOD THAT CAN DANCE.'
HIS NEW CD CHRONICLES
HIS OWN ODYSSEY
THROUGH AIDS.
Mary Fishe r
THE ONLY TIME THE WORD
'GAY' WAS MENTIONED
. IN AN AFFIRMING WAY
AT THE 1992 REPUBLICAN
CONV ENTION, SHE SPOKE
IT. SHE'S A WOMAN WITH
A MESSAGE.
David Shull &
Peter Ilgenfritz
SELDOM HAS A NEW
JOB STIRRED THAT
M UCH ATTENTION!
NOW EVERYTHING'S
'SUPER' FOR THIS
GA Y COUPLE.
Remembering
Kevin Calegari
AIDS C LAIMS
FORMER DIGNITY /USA
PRESIDENT
Henry Finch
GAY BAPTIST PASTOR
DIDN'T KEEP SECRETS
Calendar· ..... .................. , ............. .
Brothers Together vacation
MARCH 4-11, Brothers Together sponsors its second annual Brothers in Paradise
vacation/retreat for gay men on St. John in the Virgin Islands. This organization
was started in 1991 by a group of friends who felt their gay community
was lacking something personal and spiritual and that it too often left people
feeling alone and unfulfilled . Since then, over 500 men have attended the
group's events. Single cost for this event is $1,299. For information contact
Brothers Together, 115 Newbury St., #304, Boston, MA 02116-2935 or call
1-800-462-9962. . .
Midwest PLGC Conference
MARCH 10-12, Presbyterians for Lesbians and Gay Concerns sponsors its
mid-winter midwest gathering at Stronghold Conference Center near Oregon,
Illinois. For information call Sue Jones, (608)244-4820. ·
Spirituality Retreat for People Living With HIV/AIDS
MARCH 10-12, St. Camillus AIDS Ministry presents ""Embracing the Mystery:
HIV/AIDS and the Spiritual Life."" This retreat experience has been designed
to help participants to .re-frame their often negative experiences of living with
HIV . For information contact Bro. Stephen Braddock, (414)481-3696.
Clergy, Women and Men Religious and HIV/AIDS
MARCH 24-28, The National Catholic AIDS Network sponsors this conference
for religious personnel on HIV/AIDS at the Kenrick Conference Center in St.
Louis, Missouri. The mission of the network includes a call to assist Catholic
_ leaders and congregations in responding to the impact of HIV/AIDS as well as
to support theological reflection and dialogue relating to the pandemic. For
information contact the National Catholic AIDS Network, P.O. Box 422984, San
Francisco, CA 94142-2984, (707)874-3031, FAX (707)874-1433.
Joie de Vivre MCC Health Fair
APRIL 1, Joie de Vivre MCC in Baton Rouge, La., sponsors a free community
health fair at the Uniting Car:npus Ministry building in Baton Rouge. Rfteen
seminars .and over 25 exhibits are offered. For information call (504)383-0450.
Affirmation National Gathering ..
APRIL 21-23, Affirmation: United Methodists promises a challenging keynote,
workshops, mutual support and sharing, festival worship anl! a Texas-st:;de
banquet alits 20th anniversary gathering to be held in Dallas. For information
contact .Affirmation, P.O. Box 1021, Evanston, IL 60204.
Communication Ministry Convocation
APRIL 27-30, Convocation is a national gathering of Catholic priests, brothers
and nuns. Last year, just over 100 gay and bisexual priests and brothers and
lesbian sisters, and friends, met in . Orlando to explore ""The Goodness of
Being Gay."" For many participants, it was the first time they had ever been
able to be so open about their sexuality and to experience an empowering
atmosphere of acceptance : The .theme of this year's gathering is ""New Expressions
of Being Gay or Lesbian in the Catholic Church : Our Myths and Our
Stories.• Presenters include Patricia O'Donnell and Richard Woods. The convocation
will be held at the Radisson Inn at the Greater Cincinnati-Northern
Kentucky International Airport. For information on this conference write to CMI,
P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL 60660-0125. .
National More Light Churches Conf ere nee
APRIL _ 28-30, The 11th Annual More Light Churches Network Conference will
be held in Baltimore, Maryland at Rrst and Franklin Street Presbyterian Church.
For information contact Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, P.O .
Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038. . ..
Retreat for HIV-positive religious and clergy
MAY 8-12, The Marianist Center in Cupertino, California, is the setting for a five
day retreat for religious and clergy who are HIV-positive . For information con·
tact John McGtann, Kairos Support for Caregivers, 114 Douglass, San Francisco,
CA 94114, (415)861-0877.
Spiritfest '95
MAY 26-29, DeGray Lake Resort and State Park in Arkansas is the setting for
this annual spirit-filled gathering. For information contact Linda Harris, 5029
Lemmon Ave., Dallas, TX 75209, (214)528-2811.
Religious life Weekend
JUNE 1-4, The Mercy of God Community sponsors its fourth annual Religious
Life Weekend for those considering religious life. The LaSalette Center for
Christian Living, Attleboro, Mass., is the setting . For information contact the
Mercy of God Community, P.O. Box 41055, Providence, RI 02940-1055. ·
SEE CALENDAR, Page 17
SECOND STONE -
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS , GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents
W Calendar
Opportunities for connectedness
across the country
[]}•w•
1
,.-6 ··1 An interview with Mary Fisher
On her mission to educate about AIDS
~ -J
1
1 7~ Remembering Kevin Calegari .. ___ i AIDS claims former Dignity/USA president 1.·fl I 8 Pastors David Shull & Peter llgenfritz
New UCC job is going 'super' for gay couple
I I L _ _ _
!II ]0 l Where can you find angels in America?
Essay by American Baptists Concerned
leader Rick Mixon .
[II] Gay Baptist pastor didn't keep secrets
It wasn't Henry Rnch's style . . . 112 ! A pioneer: Rev. Sarah Flynn I I 7' I Transsexual minister has home
~ in both UMC arid ECC
! ~ I Eve's Daughers: stories of
,
1:--:::-7Videos · .
l .. -~ triumph and resurrection
[HJ In Print
Reviewed in this issue: The Word is Out,
by Chris Glaser and
. Homosexuality in the Church,
edited by Jeffrey Siker
il[fil Music
Paul Delph puts his faith in
a God that can dance
1·:17] ~oteworthy
~-18 I Commentary
i Vatic11n abuses its authority
I t 91 From the edttor
j· 20 I Classifieds
MARCH/APRIL 1995
News ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 8 •••••••••
Mel White arrested,
fasts in prison
REV. MEL-WHITE WAS arrested Feb.
15 at .the Christian Broadcasting Network's
headquarters in Virginia
Beach, Vir., while asking CBN to
condemn hate crimes against gay and
lesbian· Americans.
He was charged with trespassing at
an institution of higher learning, and
arraignment was set for March 28.
White is now fasting in prision while
awaiting CBN founder Pat Robertson's
agreement to take a stand
against the suffering of innocent
Americans who are targeted in hate
crimes. ·
White is Natio nal Minister of Justice
for the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches. Before
coming out as a gay man, White was
a ghost writer for many leaders in the
radical religious right , including
Robertson, for whom he wrote America's
Date with Destiny.
On Feb. JS CBN spokesperson
Gene Kapp accepted a letter from
White to Robertson, which said, ""Let
me summ .arize our simple request.
First acknowledge the · growing number
of hate crimes against gay and
lesbian Americans. Second, condemn
those hate crimes and , the people who
incite or commit them."" Robertson
has ignored · White's request for a
meeting for 20 months.
Kapp then requested that White
leave with his interdenomination
delegation of a dozen community and
Christian leaders. White replied, ""As
an act of civil disobedience in the
'name of Christ I choose to stay.""· He
was then arrested, placed in handcuffs
ancl removed from the property
by police. ·
Rev. Troy Perry, founder and
moderator of the Universal Fellow ship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches, expressed strong support
for Rev. White. ""It is a shame that
the head of the fifth-largest television
network in America has refused to
condemn violence against Americans
who, only because of their sexual
orientation, are murdered, fired from
their jobs, abandoned by their
families, and deprived of the rights
guaranteed to them by the Constitu tion,""
Perry said.
Supporters continue to return to the
CBN property daily for prayer vigils.
Lutheran bishop gives
nod to gay pastor
A BISHOP OF THE Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America has
decided to let parishioners at St. Paul
Lutheran Church in ·Oakland , Calif.
ke.ep th eir pastor, who is gay. The
congregation, which had defied a
previous order to fire Ross D. Merkel,
learned of the decision Jan. 15.
""We're very glad J1e's staying and
sμpporrhim in whatever he does,""
said Donna Noel, 46, who had been
attending the Oakland parish for 35
years. Noel said the congregation had
lost some people because of the
controversy, but most have stayed.
In February, the Sierra Pacific Synod
of the ELCA defrocked Merkel. A
disciplinary body ruled he was
if1volved in a relationship with another
man. The church allows gay and
lesbian clergy, but only so long as
they are not sexually active.
The synod's most recent ruling
stops Merkel from appointing people
to any vacancies at 18 ·churches in
Alameda and Oakland, but left him
in charge of the Oakland congregati'pn.
: In a letter sent to 220 congregations .
in . northern California and m;irthern
SECOND STONE
Nevada, Bishop Robert Mattheis
wrote that his options were to either
remove the congregation from church
rolls or reverse the defrocking. But
he said he chose neither because he
recognized that ""truth is not captive to
any ideological position, but is
discovered as people of faith come
together in prayer and mutual affirmation
to seek the path of faithfulness.""
Said Lutherans Concerned Program
. Executive Bob Gibeling, ""I say give
him a cheer for good stewardship and
wise administration . He has obviously
worked hard at coming up with a
solution that keeps the ELCA from
getting more .· involved, lets Ross
Merkel stay and doesn't violate any
ELCA rules."" According to Gibeling,
there are members of the ELCA who
. are not happy about the move <!nd
will introduce a constitutional amendment
at the churchwide assembly in
Minneapolis this summer to prohibit
such a move in the future.
- Associated Press and staff i·eports
•
EQUAL
RI I E ~
tesD1on and Goy Woiship.
NEW TITLES
Equal Rites
Lesbian and Gay Worship, Ceremonies, and
Celebrations
Kittredge Cherry and
Zalmon Sherwood, editors
Paper $14.99
January
EqUAI Rites is a much-needed collection of worship services,
ceremonies, and celebrations that is attuned to the unigue needs of
sexual minorities. The selections, written primarily by lesbians and
· gay men, include rites of spiritual beginnings, healing, blessings,
holy communion, and pride and empowerment. Also included are
funeral and memorial services, seasonal and holiday rites, and
covenant rites for couples. More than a collection, Equal Rites can also
serve as a reference book for creating unique and meaningful
worship services that address significant aspects of lesbian and gay
spirituality. Contributors include Malcolm Boyd, Chris Glaser, Carter
Heyward, Diann L. Neu, and Troy 0. Perry.
Ceremo111es and Ce!eb1ct1ofls
K1llredgeOeroyl
Zolman She1wood e<11lors
""It is time and past time for Equal Rites. This remarkable collection of
liturgies demonstrates the spiritual courage, liturgical creativity, and
rich diversity the churches are denying themselves in denying
lesbian and gay Christians a voice. What a gift!"" - Marjorie
PIOctor-Smithl'erkins .SC/rool of Thenlog,;
Know My Name
A Gay Liberation. Theology
Richard Cleaver Paper $15.99
April
The place of gay men and women in the community of faith has
become one·of the most divisive debates in the church today. Roman
Catholic writer and activist Richard Cleaver takes a fresh approach to
this issue by examining the struggles of gay men and lesbians in the
church, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, through the lens of
liberation theology. He offers not simply a ""gay"" reading of scripture,
however, but one that is spiritually challenging.
Coming Out to God
Prayers for Lesbians and Gay Men, Their Families
and Friends ·
Chris Glaser Paper $9.99
Now available
""A wonderful collection of compassionate prayers."" - The Other
Side
""Here is a collection of prayers through which bisexual, lesbian and
gay persons, as well as their !o,·ed ones, may voice their questions
and issues to God."" - Friends fonri,al
""Chris Glaser, in his exquisite little devotional book Coming Out to
God, gil'es us the tools we need to learn to talk to God on !e,1e!s that
go beyond the mundane ... Co111i11g 011! lo God is a book that e,·ery
person who celebrates spirituality, and e,·ery person who fears
spirituality, needs to meet."" - Lambda Book Report
""The intimacy we seek with the di\'ine is made even more possible.by
means of compelling de\'Otional books such as Coming 011! lo God .. "" -
Tlte Disciple
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SECOND STONE V
News ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••c~ ,
Congress may hold hearings
on ""gay agenda"" ·
AT A RECENT TOWN meeting in
Kennesaw, Georgia, Speaker of the
House Newt Gingrich confirmed to
Cathy Woolard, Human Rights Campaign
Fund Deputy Director of Public
Policy, that he has indeed promised
radical right leader Lou Sheldon that
he will probably hold hearings on
""the gay agenda"" and gay-related
school curricula sometime in August,
once the budget proceeds through
Congress.
The radical right agenda on the
hearings is being pressed by Rev.
Lou Sheldon, who is known for advocating
the confinement of HIV-positive
people . in concentration camps.
He has mobilized boycotts and campaigns
against any positive portrayals
of Lesbians and Gays in the media.
He was also behind legislation that
sought to impose federal control on
schools with programs that address
lesbian and gay concerns,
According to the HRCF, the radical
right may use these hearings to promote
negative images of gay, lesbian
and bisex .ual Americans, and to
advance legislation that will single
out gay youth for discrimination in
public schools, where they already
face intolerance and harassment. The
HRCF encourages all concerned to
write to Gingrich and ""encourage him
to advocate for tolerance, not persecution,
and not lo be swayed from that
stance by extremists on the right who
intend to distract Congress from
America's real concerns."" The address
is: The Honorable Newt Gingrich,
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC 20515.
Expanding Alabama MCC
faces bad neighbors
THE METRO POLIT AN Community
Church of Huntsville, Ala. is small,
with an average Sunday attendance
of about 30 . No one paid any attention
during its first seven years as
members met in a rustic lodge and a
downtown office building . But the
church has been subjected to scattered
protests since ""it opened its $140,000
worship center behind the public
library about five months ago.
The minister of a nearby congregation
erected a sign stating ""Homo- .
sexuality is a sin,"" and several neighbors
scrawled derisive messages on
posters. · ·
A small group of antagonists
confronted several members recently
following a holy union ceremony.
'They came over here and were
saying things like, 'We'd better go
ahead and sell because our property
values are going to drop,""' said
church member Mancil Self, 37.
Pastor Daniel Whitworth, who put
up the anti-gay sign outside his
Fanning Heights Church of Christ,
said the MCC is guilty of blasphemy
for teaching homosexuality is not a
sin . 'Tam firmly convinced that the
Bible teaches that homosexuality is
wrong. If it's not, then God owes the
.people of Sodom and Gomorrah an
apology,"" Whitworth said.
The Huntsville church had few
problems until members decided to
put their faith into action by launching
a building program. For years,
Self said, members met in a mountain
lodge. More recently they gathered
weekly in a downtown building
where several rooms had been
converted into a church.
Now that the new building is
finished, things are looking up
despite the protests . One local
company even donated a flag bearing
a cross and a colorful rainbow. ""It's
made us feel really good,"" said Self.
- Associated Press
Lesbian Avengers 'bug' office of
Exodus International
SAN RAFAEL, Calif - A dozen lesbian
activists ""bugged"" the offices of
Exodus International on Feb. 8 - using
real bugs . Members, of the Lesbian
Avengers released hundreds of live
crickets in the ministry's front office,
chanted slogans condemning Exodus
International, and held up signs
urging God lo send a plague on the
ministry. Bob Davies, executive
director of Exodus International, said,
'This incident is another confirmation
that many Gays . are not interested in
tolerance and diversity."" Davies
warned that the incident was ""a foretaste
of things to come for all members
of the conservative church. The
Jines lll'e being drawn. Those who
condemn sin will experience increasing
hostility in the days ahead.""
Exodus International is a ministry
which teaches that homosexuals can
find freedom from the gay lifestyle.
-EP
MARC H / APR I L 9 9 5
W News W ...................................
Did gay weddings, says new
ELCA bishop
LOS ANGELES - A Lutheran minister
recently installed as bishop of 150
congregations said he performed
three gay weddings despite the
denomination's edict against such
ceremonies. Paul Egertson, 59, said
the same-gender rites he held at a
North Hollywood church ""were done
with dignity and reverence, not as
publicity stunts to change peoples'
minds.""
Egertson added that ten other
Lutheran pastors and four bishops in
Southern California conduct weddinglike
rites for Gays and Lesbians. But
he acknowledged that the services
violate the official position of the
Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America.
Historic church picks
lesbian pastor
NEWPORT, R.I. - Progressive p·olitics
are a 300-year tradition at the Newport
Congregational Church, home of
one of the first ministers to denounce
slaver.y and a parishioner who signed
the Declaration of Independence. ,
Nonetheless, church leaders hesitated
last year when deciding whether
to hire an openly lesbian pastor.
The question came with the Rev.
Lark d'Helen, a 43-year-old Californian
chosen last fall as the favorite
among 59 candidates to lead the
church. But the church's 57 members
ultimately decided to live up to the
church's stated policy ""to be open and
affirming to all people regardless of
~heir sexual orientation,"" said Carl
Beckman, a member of the selection
committee.
d 'Helen is thought to be the first
openly gay minister in the state.
-Dallas Voice
New Life MCC 'se.lls
troubled property
MATTHEWS, N.C. - Members of New
Life MCC have voted to sell the
building that made them the target of
a neighborhood's anti-gay crusade
over a year and a half ago. ·
At a special congregational meeting
held late last year, it was decided that
the -church's best interest would be
served by selling its facility to the
adjoining property owner for $75,000.
Darst said that the Board of IJirector's
decision to support the sale was a
difficult one to make. Some were
concerned that selling would be akin
to ""giving,._in"" to the campaign of hate
or that Charlotte's gay community
would misconstrue the move as a
retreat. ""We didn't know how people
would take it; we didn't · want to be
_seen as having sold out to the bigots.""
Because of the upheaval and hatred
the church had been subjected to,
attendance was in the midst of a dedine
when the purchase offer came
in. Spirits were raised considerably
when the initial bid was revealed to
be $72,000, because the building had
been bought for $55,000. ·
At the special congregational
meeting, members voted to ask for
$74,000. A board representative then
re-negotiated with the proposed purchaser
and was eventually able to
wrangle an even better price of
$75,000. ·
When all the costs for acquiring the
property were tabulated, New Life
had invested approximately $67,000
in its space.
New Life's building fund now
stands at almost $44,000 and Rev.
Darst says that the church will continue
looking for a home of its own.
- Q Notes, David Stout
Latvian church excommunicates Gays
LATVIA'S EV ANGELICAL Lutheran
Church, the nation's largest, has
excommunicated all sexually active
Gays, reports the International Lesbian
and .Gay Association Bulletin.
The governing body ruled: ""Persons
who deliberately practice -homosexuality
and have chosen it as their way
of life shall not be allowed to fulfill
any responsibilities during parish
services or within the church hierarchy.
They shall also be separated
SECOND STONE
from the Eucharistic community while
the Evangelical principle 'Repent
your sins and bring forth the fruits of
your repentance' remains unfulfilled.""
Gays responded with a protest
outside church headquarters, organized
by the Latvian Association for
Sexual Equality. The demonstration
was well-received by passers-by and
reported on televison.
- Chicago Outlines -
HOMOSEXUAtITYIN THE CHURCH:
Both Sides of the Debate
Homosexuali'1
in the Church
Outstanding authorities on
scripture, tradition, reason,
biology, ethics, and gendered
experience discuss the place
of Gays and Lesbians in the
community of faith. This
Quan.
,,H, ,ys S,~••,• •Ma,
book will provoke discussion
in congregations, study groups,
and ethics and social justice
issues.
Edited by Jeffrey S, Siker. Associate
Professor of New Testament at
Loyola Marymoullt University,
Los Angeles.
Order now from Second Stone Press
□ HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH
. Edit!MI by Jeffrey S. Siker, $14.99, paperbk ___ _
Postage/Handling $3.00 first book, $1.00 ea. additional -----
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New books available
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Is the Homosexual
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Revised and Updated, by
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MARCH/APRIL 1995
Thi, peti>e blood, womm wi<h
a delightful demeanor and
open smile seems like an unlikely
candidate to bring the
reality of HIV- home to millions of
Americans who thought they could
never be touched by the disease - but .
that is exactly what Mary Fisher did.
On August 19, 1992, Mary
addressed the Republican National
Convention, speaking to thousands of
delegates in Houston and millions of
viewers across the country. In her
13-minute speech, Mary eloquently
sounded a wake-up· call which could
not be silenced . ""I represent the
AIDS community ... Though I am
female; and contracted this disease in
marrfage, and enjoy the warm support
of my family, I am one with the
lonely gay man sheltering a flickering
candle from the cold wind of his
family's rejection. To all within the
sound of my voice, I appeal: Learn
with me the lesson of history and of
grace, so my children will not be
afraid to say the word AIDS when I
am gone.""
The famous · speech was only a
beginning for Mary Fisher. Since
that time she has traveled -across the
country, pleading· for compassion for
people living with HIV and alerting
the untouched to the eminent danger
of the disease: She has also published
a compilation of her speeches, Sleep
Willi tlze Angels: A Motlier Challenges
AIDS (Moyer-Bell, 1994) and started
the Family AIDS Network, a nonprofit
organization based in Washington,
DC which is dedicated to increasing
awareness, comp,ission and resources
with which to fight the HIV/ AIDS
epic!emic in America.
Mary granted this interview when
she was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
to give a series of speeches, before
she returned home to her two boys,
Max, six, and Zachary, four.
Cheryl Johnston: In your book you
wrote that from April, 1992 to June,
1993 you visited more than 50
communities to increase awareness of
AIDS. Has you pace continued this
past year?
Mary Fisher: The amount I've
traveled has varied with my ability to
fulfill the requests. And this past
year, between my husband passing
away, and moving- from Florida to
the Washington, DC area, I have
definitely needed some personal
time. I'd say I've visited about 50
cities again, which might mean 100 or
150 different speeches. rm giving
four while I'm here in Pittsburgh .
S E C O N D s· T O N · E
A Messenger
An interview with Mary Fisher
BY CHERYL JOHNSTON
CJ: Why do you do it?
MF: My mission is to go around the
country and raise awareness, to create
bridges bet~een communities within
a city, whether it be the medical community
or the political community,
corporate community or the AIDS
community . It's to broaclen the base
of this epidemic to includ_e those who
have not been_personally touched.
CJ: You've said in many of your
speeches that you're a messenger -
not a victim of AIDS. How can others
living with HIV, many of whom have
recently been diagnosed, keep themselves
from being victims?
MF: That's a good question, because I
believe very strongly that a good
spiritual base can help one from
becoming a victim . Being a mes-
0
senger is not for everyone and I
understand that. I encouragi people
to speak out if they feel comfortable.
But one of the reasons I travel around
the country is to try to help communities
become compassionate enough to
open their arms to make it safe for
people to talk.
I believe that people who are newly
diagnosed need to .give themselves a
break .. They need to ask for help, get
support. And I don't think that the
support, in the beginning, always
comes from the places where it has
come in the past. I think that the
people who love us very much go
through their own process of grief
about this disease so sometimes they
can't give us the support we want.
We need to ask for and seek that
support outside of our normal circle
until our loved ones can catch up in
the process. And so, instead of feeling
abandoned, we c an turn to others
in the AIDS community who are
willing to be ·there when .others need
them. Being with people like that,
with giving hearts who want to help,
is a good place to be in the beginning
because those people understand.
They have been there before, they
may be facing it themselves.
After we ask for help, we can find
the support that will take us to the
next level. I think we have to come
to acceptance somewhere down the
line to gain the ability lo cope with
this disease. For me, I have my
children. They give me streng .th . I
go on and they .are my day-to-day
reminders that life is regular and life
is normal. I also find that doing what
I do keeps me very active and feeling
productive.
I don't know if I can tell others how
not to be a victim . To me, victims are
· helpless . I'm not helpless. I'm not
hopeless. And so, I am able to take
care of myself and my children. That
takes me out of the vidiin category.
CJ:· Are you ever able · to leave the
reality of HIV behind you?
MF: If I can think of the bigger
picture, I don't dwell on_H1V. Again,
my boys help me with that. They ·
don't understand HIV. What's important
to them is what movie to watch,
what they want to eat. It's very
important- for me to be where they
are and that keeps me grounded in
today. .
CJ: Some people in the AIDS community
<1:riticized you 'when you
spoke at the Republican convention.
They said that the Federal government
had not done enough for the
AIDS cause and that you were gi_ving
the Bush administration an endorsement
by giving the speech. What was
your response? . ·
MF: I think the AIDS community
reacted one way before I spoke and
one way after I spoke, which is fine. I
never thought of the speech as a
political issue but President Bush
wanted m~ to speak at the Convention.
Give me an audience of that
many millions of people to talk about
this disease and I don't care where it
is. I try to speak to the people who
don't think that AIDS is their
problem, who don't understand the
necessity of r_esponding.
CJ: Do you feel that any administra-
SEE MESSENGER, Page 17
MARCH/APRIL 1995
Kevin J. Calegari
Former president of ·Dignity/'
USA dies of AIDS-related
complications
Kevin J. Calegari, 36, a former
, president of Dignity /USA,
the nation's largest group of
gay, lesbian, and bisexual
Roman Catholics, died in San Francisco
of AIDS-related complications on
February 12. Calegari lived in San
Francisco with Tom Kaun, his partner
of 11 years . .
Calegari, who served · as president
of Dignity from 1991 to 1993; was the
subject of extensive press coverage in
1992 when he traveled to Rome and
nailed a Vatican document on homosexuality
to the door of the Vatican
office that issued the document. The .
event was widely covered in the
mainstream press and in gay publications
in the United States, as well as
in the Italian press. Calegari also participated
in a 1993 White House meeting
.with senior aides to President .
Clinton, along with the leaders of
other progressive Catholic organizations.
•
Under Calegari's leadership,
Dignity increased its level of interaction
with the other major Catholic
reform organizations in the United
States and abroad. During Calegari's
term of office, Dignity joined the
Leadership Conference for Catholic
Laity, and became a founding member
of the Catholic Organizations for
Renewal .
. In November of 1994,"" Calegari,
along with current Dignity/ USA
president Marianne Duddy, accepted
the leadership award of Call to
Action, the largest and most broadbased
Catholic reform group in the
United States.
At the time pf his death, Calegari
was pursuing a Ph.D . in theology at
the Graduate Theological Union in
Berkeley, California. A native of San
Francisco, he was educated at Catholic
schools and graduated from Stanford
University in 1980 with a bachelor's
degree in classics. He was a Coro
Foundation fellow in public affairs,
pursuing graduate studies at · Claremont
Graduate . School. As a boy, he
sang in . the San Francisco Boys
Chorus, and later served as a member
of its board of directors. He was a
director as well of the Dolores Street
Community Services Center in San
Francisco. ·
Calegari worked professionally as a
development officer, serving as the
associate director for development at
the Univ ers ity of San Francisco, as
well as executive director of the Community
Counseling Service Center in
San Francisco and Honolulu.
Prior to assuming office as president
of Dignity, Calegari wrote, ""I share
.the concern of Yves Congar, who
noted 'the inconsistency between
what was expected of . the Church
(namely, the gospel) and what was
concretely · to be fo4nd when one
examfoed the same Church.' I hope
that whatever gifts I have might be
applied to articulating resolutions, or
at least, positive means of sustaining
the tensions, between the various
parts of the Body of Christ. I hope to
look at the ways the Church has
defined itself, its membership and
leadership, and the means it has used
to identify and encounter God's
revelation in the world. I hope to be
""No longer frightened or ashamed, I
am learning to confide in God's love
and the love of my fellow wrestlers.
And after the match is over, I look forward
to walking humbly with n1y God,
even if it is with a limp.""
""Under Kevin's leadership, Dignity
took on a more active role in the
international Church, a role we are
continuing to develop,"" said Dignity/
USA president Marianne Duddy .
""His willingness to take a public
prophetic stance against Vatican discrimination
towards ga)!' people was a
real turning point in our movement.
As a person, he was totally engaged
in life, a passionate and compassionate
individual, someone who
intuitively understood the connections
among various issues. We will miss
him deeply.""
SECOND STONE
of service to the Church by demonstrating
from its experience creative
models both of confrontation and
dialogue, as the Church contends
with both the 'already' and the 'not
yet' of its character.''
In a recent issue of the National
Catholic Reporter, Calegari wrote, ""My
spirituality as a gay man, a Christian
and a person living with AIDS for the
last seven years has been marked by
both conflict and intimacy, filled with
passion and ambivalence, anger and
inexpressible joy and, above all,
driven by a desire for abundant life ... -
Kevin Calegari, president of Dignity/USA from 1991 to 1993, returns an antigay
document issued by the Vatican by nailing it to the door of a Vatican
office in a 1992 protest.
""I have wrestled with God, with
God's ostensible representatives, with
sisters and brothers - often in sweaty,
straining, forceful embrace that calls
me and those with whom I contend to
new identities and new relationships ·.
The fight becomes an act of love .
This kind of spirituality is not clean
and neat, obviously ...
""It's a sad commentary on the state ·
of our Church when the courage and
willingness to go to the floor on the
issues that count, to speak the truth
when it hurts, is. cause for oppression
and contempt (see the [Vatican]
Congregation for the Doctrine of the .
Faith's two -recent documents on
homosexuality, 1986 and 1992.) What
continues to amaze me is that God's .
powerful grace is so palpable precisely
where the hierarchy denies it can
be. I call it 'the sacrament of irony.'
""In all those times of wrestling with
the tough issues, with church leaders,
with each other, with dis .ease, I have
been pinned down and squeezed,
touched, massaged, embraced, cuddled
and, yes, pleasured by a challenging
and ever-loving God. I have
been transformed and reconciled. No
longer frightened or ashamed, I am
learning to confide -in God's love and
the love of my fellow wrestlers. And
after the match is over, I look forward
to walking humbly with my God,
even if it is with a limp.''
Kevin is survived by his partner,
Tom Kaun; his parents, George and
Lorayne Calegari of San Anselmo,
California; his sister, Joan Harrington;
her husband, Tim, and two nieces
and a nephew, all 'of Sonoma, California;
and by Janet Cerni, dear
friend and confidant, of San Francisco,
as well as many aunts, uncles, and
cousins in the San Francisco Bay area
and Tom's parents, brother, and
sisters.
h th., epirit of 5t. Fraici5 im 5t.
Clare, wdre ~ m:tge liuildera
aid ~ maker6 to journey with
ua ii the footet.eps of Jee;ua Ovist.
~
.;l!f) We are an ecumenical,
· inclusive, non-clerical
0!l!o. community of baptized men
~ and women from various
· Christian traditions who
. ,rl!.O chose to worship and live in li a faith-sharing spirit.
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Associate or enter the
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Ask to receive our
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For more information,
please write to:
MERCY OF Goo COMMUNITY
Att: Vocation Director
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Providence RI 02940-1055
MARCH/APR.IL 1995
After the media frenzy
New call going 'super'
for gay couple
BY JIM BAILEY
D avid Shull, 35, and Peter
Ilgenfritz, 32, were sur,
prised with the media attention
the gay couple received
when they were called last
summer to share an associate pastor
position at University Congregational
United Church of Christ, a 1,200-
member Open and Affirming congregation
in Seattle, Washington, Now
that the dust has settled, Shull says
that everything is going ""super .""
Shull and Ilgenfritz found the job that
they had longed for after two years of
searching and more than 100 rejection
letters.
'This is an extraordinary church
and people have been open and
welcoming,"" says Shull. 'There is a
real sense that people are interested
in getting to know us. It is a very nice
time, with lots of excitement and enthusiasm.""
The new member classes are
getting bigger, according to Shull,
and there is a larger number of gay
and lesbian people coming to church.
The church has also called a new
senior past9r, Do\1ald MacKenzie,, Jr.,
who is supportive of the gay couple's
call.
The response from others in the
church community to the gay couple's
hiring has been overwhemlingly positive,
although one church in a rural
part of Washington did remove itself
from the United Church of Christ
because of the call and other issues.
Out from the darkness
Paul Sherry, the top official of the
United Church of Christ, wrote a
letter of support prior to the congregational
vote on the call and Rev. Bill
Johnson, the first openly gay pastor
ordained in the United Church of
Christ, was very active in support of
the call.
The publicity surrounding the
hi ring of Shull and Ilgenfritz reached
deeply .into many dark closets around
the country, and they have been contacted
by phone by many ministers
who must keep their sexual orienta tion
a closely guarded secret. ""Closeted
gay clergy who are isolated
where they are have felt heartened
by our experience,"" says Shull. ""It is
heartbreaking to see the number of
people who are isolated and who feel
called to parish ministry. It's good to
be in a position where they can
contact us . We tell closeted clergy
they are not alone and that it's important
that they take care of themselves
and not be put . in situations where
they have to deny who they are.""
Shull says that he and Ilgenfritz
have grown in this experience ,and
that they enjoy working together.
'There was the strain on our relationship
that would come from any major
. transition,"" he says. ""We looked to
each other to satisfy all of our needs
which had been met by our friends
back in Chicago. ""
The-couple works ·much ·more than
their half-time job calls for, says Shull,
David Shull, left, and Peter II gen fritz, associate pastors of Unhrersity Congre0
gational United Church of Christ in Seattle.
not complaining. They are also involved
in the local chapter of the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay ·concerns and plan to be
involved as the Washington/Norths
em Idaho conference of the UCC
deals with a bill before the Washington
State Legislature that would ban
gay and lesbian foster and adoptive
parents.
UCC job ended long search for Shull, llgenfritz
David Shull and Peter
Ilgenfritz met at Yale Divinity
School, graduated in
1987, but remained closeted
throughout their schooling and for a
time thereafter. As a Presbyterian,
Shull knew he could not be ordained
if he was open about his sexuality.
Ilgenfritz, a member of the UCC,
could become ordained but knew his
chances of finding a call would be
narrowed if he came out. Both found
churches - 300 miles apart. Ilgeruritz
•Served a United Church of Christ parish
in Ithaca, N.Y., and Shull served a
Pres_l:,yterian church . in Katlanning,
Penn. Soon the distance and the
strain of the closet became too oppressive.
The couple moved to Chicago,
where Shull enrolled in the University
of Chicago social work program
and Ilgenfritz became founding
executive director of Better Existence
with HIV. Parish ministry, however,
SECOND STONE
continued to draw them. Soon they
Were applying for positions throughout
the United States and in Canada,
as a gay couple interested in sharing
a pastoral position. ·
Their search led · them to Seattle,
where the search committee, chaired
by Julie Davis, had found the couple
to be the best qualified applicants
among the 50 applications that the 12-
member panel reviewed.
After nearly a week of meeting
hundreds of parishioners and answering
a myriad of questions about their
philosophy of the church, their calling
to the ministry, and , of course, their
homosexuality, Ilgenfritz and Shull
presented their candidating sermon to
a standing-room-only crowd of 800
worshippers on June 12.
In the sermon, Ilgenfritz reminded
the congregation that fear need not be
the final word when a group faces
change. Shull completed the sermon,
saying that the word should be -
""trust."" He recalled how St. John of
the Cross, a 16th century Spanish
monk, was preparing for a journey
and asked a man at the gate for a
hght to show him the path. The man
replied, ""Go out into the darkness
and put your hand into the hand of
God . That shall be a better light, and
safer than a known way.""
Although there was strong support
for the couple, the vote was not a foregone
conclusion. Some members
objected to filling the associate pastor
position while the church's senior
pastorate was empty . Others clearly
stated their opposition lo hiring
homosexuals.
After preaching Ilgenfritz and Shull
headed to a friend's home three
blocks away, ""biting our nails"" the
whole time, while the congregation
debated their fate. ""We did not know
when we walked out of the church
what the vote was going to be,"" said
Shull. But an hour and a half later,
the word came. The couple had been
hired.
Mary Dougherty, a member of the
congregation and coordinator of the
Washington-North Idaho Chapter of
United Church Coalition for Lesbian/
Gay Concerns, was present ·at the
vote and described the afternoon .
""Six hundred and twenty three
people were present - usually less
than 200 would come for a meeting.
The fears were aired and the praise
was heaped. I was so scared.""
To assuage some parishioners' fears
of losing members, and their contributions,
a married man in his 40s
with children walked up to the
associate pastor and handed her a
check for $10,000. At one point
during the ·open mike discussion, an
unassuming 73-year 0old woman
walked up to the front of the sanctuary,
looked out over the congrega-
SEE GAY PASTORS, Next Page
MARCH/ AP81L l 9 9 5
GAY PASTORS, FromPage8
tion, and proceeded to come out as a
lesbian .
David Bivins voted against hiring
the couple. ""I'm not a born-again
Christian,"" Bivins said , ""but from
what I've been brought up to believe,
the Bible says it's wrong."" Charlotte
Taylor also voted against.the two.
0'The change is too radical,"" she said.
But Ilgenfritz and Shull had support
in high places. Paul Sherry, president
of church headquarters in
Cleveland, sent a letter pronouncing
the couple ""outstanding candidates.""
Ministers of 18 Seattle-area' UCCs sent
letters reminding the church of its
""heritage of leadership in ·opening
new doors.""
Minister Emeritus Dale Turner also
urged the church to hire the two.
'The eyes of not only Christians, but
of society as a whole are waiting to
see what we will do. I feel that the
integrity of our church is at stake.""
UnivNsity Congregational Church
member Shirley Morrision agreed.
She said she had not been active in
recent years because she didn't feel
the church took strong enough stands.
But she said Ilgenfritz and Shull are
just what the church needs. ""I think
they're the most outstanding human
beings I've met for some time,"" she
said. ·
""Almost two hours later we got the
tally,"" said · Dougherty. ""'-'Over 75
percent affirming their call. Peter
and David came lo-spej1k, so excited,
so gracious, so eager to help those 24
percent who couldn't vote yes.- The
Coalition folks got together to hug
and err, and tell how hard it had
been ... .
When Ilgenfritz and Shull walked
back to the sanctuary that afteroon,
the congregation was standing, applauding
their .new ministers. · But for
two ordained pastors who chose to
leave . their parishes rather than
remain in the closet, many people felt
it was the members of the church who
deserved the standing ·ovation.
""It was the most incredible
experience I'd ever had in my life,""
Shull said. And Ilgenfritz: ""It was an
utterly holy moment.""
To Rev. Bob Fitzgerald, assistant
minister of University UCC, the pair
""rose to the top' 1 out of the 50 applicants
from across the country. ""From
the beginning, Peter and Dave in
their profile; in their letters and in
conversations with people here were
openly gay,' '. said Fitzgerald . ""All
· issues were on the table from the
very beginning.""
Although the congregation voted
several years ago; by more than 80
percent, to become an Open and
Affirming Church, hiring an openly
gay couple to be their associate pas.
tors was a different step altogether.
""Welcoming Gays and . Lesbians in
the pews is one thing, asking them to
preach from the pulpit is quite
another,"" Ilgenfritz said.
""For a prominent chureh in a large
city in the country to say we will ...
stand up and say that Christianity
embraces homosexuality as part of
God's plan is amazing,"" Shull said . .
""And we will not only say that on
paper, but give a foundation to that
by calling [openly gay) clergy.""
Shull and Ilgenfritz admitted !hat
they were . overwhelmed at the call
becoming a reality. They had ·prepared
themselves for the real possibility
that it may very well not
happen in their lifetime. But the rage
and pain of all the letters of rejection
are behind th,em, and all the Reople
who told ·them they'd never get a
church have been proven wrong .
""Certainly 24 percent . of the church
didn't think it was a good idea,''
Ilgenftitz said. ""But there was such
energy ... this is the kind of church we
want to belong to."" ·
On July 23, just before their move
to Seattle, Shull , and Ilgenfritz were
united in holy union at St. Paul's
United Church of Christ on Chicago's
North Side by the Rev . Randy
Deckwerth, associate minister.
Compiled from Waves, Seattle Times,
Bay Area Reporter, Windy City
Times, and tire Seattle Post4ntelligence~
.
QUOTABLE
""Homosexuals will go before us
to tlie kingdom of God.""
-Dismissed Catholic bishop Jacques Gaillot, .
-in a 1989 interview in Gai Pied
SECOND STONE -
'Ecumenica{ Catfio{ic Cfiurcfi
welcomes men and women,
married, single, gay or straight
to the priesthood or religious life.
Nicene Creed theology,
Vatican II liturgy,
apostolic succession,
socially liberal.
Growing national church
represented in 17 states
also needs lay leaders
and donations to
spread Christ's inclusive message.
For more infonnation, contact
Fr. Denis Martel
3824 Eastview Drive
Harvey, LA 70058
(504)341-1880 (voice)
(504)341-2208 (fax)
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Helping Christians
Debate Homosexuality
Few .other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this hew volume, writers
with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the .
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
Edited by Sally B. Geis, director, Iliff
Institute, Lay a11d Clergy Educatio11; The
Iliff School of Theology, De11ver, and ·
Do11ald E. Messer , presideltl;-'Phe -Ilijf-'- ~
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messef, $12.95, paperbk -~--
Postage/Handling $3 first book, $1 each additional ____ _
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ORDER FROM: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA70182
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. \
,,
I
I .went into a bookstore the other
day in search of a copy of the
play, ""Angels in America"" and
was surprised to find a number
of new books on angels. I did not
expect angels to be such a popular
subject. Such an interest might be indicative
of a loss of spiritual connection
in our times. There might actually
be people among us hungry for
spiritual food and eager for angelic
visitations.
In Genesis 19:1-11, the city of
Sodom received such a visit. If the
people of Sodom had known what
these angels were up to, I wonder if .
they would have behaved differently.
This section of scripture is really only
part of the story. To begin with,
Yahweh appears to Abraham at 75
years of age, calling him to leave his
happy home to journey to a distant,
unknown land with the promise that
""I will make of you a great nation,
and , will bless you, and make your
name great, so that you will be a
blessing"" (Gen 12:2). Abraham, in an
amazing act of faithfulness, answers
God's call. With his wife, Sarah and
his nephew, Lot, and their families
and belongings, they jourJtey off in
search of a promised land. .
Yahweh proves equally faithful and
they find this promised land. After a
while, though, we find Abraham and
Lot wrangling over the · tand for it ·
""could not support both of them living
together, for their possessions
were so great ... "" (Gen 13:6). The
herds of livestock were too large and
there was strife among the herders.
They decided to split up . . Abraham,
being a generous person, gave Lot
first choice. After looking around,
Lot, being just slightly greedy, ""saw
that the plain of the Jordan was well
watered everywhere"" (Genl3:10), and
scurried off to pitch his tent near
Sodom in the middle of the plain.
Some time goes by and Abraham is
sitting in front of his tent in the heat
of the day when three strangers happen
along. · Abral1am does what any
decent person would do. He · offers
them his hospitality. The strangers
turn out to be Yahweh and two
angels on their way to Sodom. The
people of Sodom had a reputation for
wickedness and word had gotten
back to Yahweh that they were, in
fact, ""great sinners against [Yahweh]""
(Gen. 13:13). If this is so, Yahweh has
some unpleasant consequences in
store for them - like total destruction
of the city, and its wicked neighbor,
Gomorrah, as well. Yahweh, acting
SECOND STONE
Where
can you find
ANGELSin
AMERICA?
BY RICK MIXON
perhaps too generously, lets Abraham
in on his mission, and before
Yahweh knows what has hit him,
Abraham has drawn him into
lengthy negotiations over the salvation
of the cities. Eventually, Yahweh
and Abraham agree, if ten righteous
folk can be found in the city, it will
be spared (Gen 18:16-33).
In .the mean time the two angels,
weary of the wrangling, decide to
journey on ' to survey the scene at
Sodom. Now in spite of his greedy
streak, Lot's a decent fellow, and
when the strangers appear in Sodom,
he also offers hospitality. (It is important
to remember that hospitality ·
meant life in theseJ'arts in this time.
Both the desert an · its people could
be deadly hostile to strangers). The
folk of Sodom, the men anyway,
prove equal to their reputation. Before
you know it, they are at Lot's
door demanding 'he tum the strangers
over to them. Lot refuses, and
offers his virgin daughters . instead,
demonstrating the cruel difference in
the value of men and women in this
time and. place. It seems that what
the men have in mind is phallic aggression.
Their intent is not as much
sexual as it is macho. · That is, their
intent · is to establish themselves as
masters of the strangers through rape .
Kenneth Dover, in his book Greek
Homosexuality, reminds us that ''human
societies at many times and in
many regions have subjected strangers,
newcomers and , trespassers to
homosexual anal Violation as a way of
reminding them of their subordinate
status ."" Only these strangers were in
no way subordinate to the men of
Sodolll, They were messengers from
Yahweh, angels in the midst of the
city, and their message was not good
news . God was going to destroy the
city, not because the men and boys
were all gay, but because of their
inl10spitality, their arrogant pride in
which they were unwilling to share
their wealth with the needy, their
threat of violence to angelic visitors.
One commentator notes that ""the
'outcry' against Sodom [which has
brought Yahweh onto the scene] is
expre&sed [in the text] by a technical
legal term ... signifying 'the cry for
help which one who suffers great
injustice screams.' This is the ·outcry
against violence ... voiced by the
prophet Jeremiah on behalf of the
poor (Jeremiah 22:13-17) and on his
own behalf in the oppression he
experiences by taking up the cause of
the oppressed (Jeremiah 20:8): This
recurrent prophetic outcry against
violent injustice done by the rich to
the poor is based not only · in remembrance
of Israel's own bondage/ deliv.
erance (Exodus 3) but also in its role
as alien and wanderer (Deuteronomy
26:5).""
This commentator, Geo.rge
Edwards, in his book Gay/Lesbian Liberation:
A Biblical Perspective, goes on
to argue: 'The reader must put aside
pious heterosexual anathemas on
private, voluntary, same-sex acts by
homosexually predisposed adults.
The key [to the Sodom story] is the
violent, aggressive abuse of power
that had already brought on the city
the outcry of 'foul play' (hamas) long
before the advent of the divine emissaries
in Genesis 19."" Another commentator,
Old Testament scholar
Darrell Lance, in an article in American
Baptist Quarterly, entitled 'The
Bible and Homosexuality,"" writes of
the prophet Ezekiel's perspectiv.e on
Sod9m (Ezekiel 16:48-50: 'The prophet
sees between the people of his own
time and the men of Sodom as pride,
gluttony, conspicuous economic consumption,
and failure to aid the poor
and the needy.""
Sodom was a city in deep trouble
because it had lost its spiritual connection
to the God of all creation
They had wandered so far from the
reality of their religious need that
they were unable to recognize God's
_angels when they were standing in
the midst of the city. Somehow they
had come to think that they ruled the
world; that theirwealth entitled them
to act like God, deciding who would
be in and who would be humiliated,
who would live and who would die,
without bringing any judgement on
their own heads. They were wrong .
Whether God destroyed the city or
they destroyed it themselves in their
wickedness, Sodom was laid waste.
There are consequences for violating
the -laws of love.
And what of us living ·in· our
contemporary worlds in 1995. Author
and filmmaker Michael Tolkin, who
wrote 'The Player"" and directed 'The
New Age,"" speaking of Los Angeles
says, ""I see people grabbing for something
to hofd on to. But the spiritual
life of the city is so empty, and offers
so little, that the help people look for
is often as thin as the fortune cookie
paper on which the answer to their
problems is written."" And Vaclav
Havel, playwright <).nd president of
the new Czech Republic, said in a
speech at Stanford that if democracy is
to survive the clash of .cultures that
has replaced the Cold War as a major
threat to peace, it will have to
rediscover its own ""spiritual dimension.'
'
Where are there angels in our
midst? Do they visit any more
bringing messages of ·doom and
destruction, of peace and good will, of
teve and. justice? Are they all around
and are we just toci blind to see, like
the hapless men of Sodom who had
become so sure of their ability to run
the world that they had lost their
spiritual connections? Have we become
so alienated from our own
spiritual center that we have been left
to our own destruction?
In his Pulitzer . prize winning play,
""Angels in America,"" Tony Kushner
offers powerful images of spiritual
connection. The central character of
the two . plays which comprise the
work is Prior Walter, . a gay man
living with AIDS. The obvious angel
in the plays descends on wires and
proceeds to pontificate obscurely. It
tells Prior that he is to be a prophet.
But once it has .lured him to heaven,
it is revealed that God has run off to
San Francisco, that the world is in
chaos, and somehow Prior is to be
involved in working with the angels
to restore order. The hitch is that this
order sounds very much like stasis
and smells very much like death .
Prior bravely refuses the prophetic
role and insists on being allowed to
live. There is something infinitely
precious in saying yes to life with all
its messiness.
In an ironic, and perhaps unintentional
twist of the drama, the character
who comes .closest to being an
angel, at least in terms of doing the
SEE ANGELS, Page 13
MARCH/APRIL 1995
Tl
'
Henry Finch
Baptist pastor
kept n O seer et S :::~,;•.t~!;~::!,.The ntiaSle, Finch's coming out and his death, he
kept -in contact with his many friends
in the Baptist clturches. ""Henry was
outgoing,"" Patrick says. ""He never
met a stranger. All of his friends,
including his straight Baptist friends,
were always supportive.''
B_Y JIM BAILEY
W ien Henry Finch passed
away at age 58 on June 26,
1994, he could have taken
• - - some secrets with him : - He
could ha:ve been silent about being a
gay . pastor in a denomination that
preaches vehemently against homosexuality
. He could have hidden that
he had AIDS from _ people he knew
who still believed that AIDS was a
punishment from God. But dishonesty
wasn't something ""that Finch
could. tolerate.
'. -Finch· was once th!! pastor--0f First
Baptist Church of Charleston, Soufh
Carolina, the oldest Southern ·Baptist
church in Charleston. He studied to
be a pastor at Southeastern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Wake Forest,
North Carolina. He received his first
call in 1962 from Salisbury First
Baptist Church and from there went
on to pastor Baptist diurches in oiher
areas of:· North · Carolina; Asheville,
Hartsville, and Rock Hill, . where
Finclt pastored from 1974 to 1982 at
the _ l,500smember Oakland Baptist
Churclt. · . ·-
""Henry always had
a strong faith .... . At
times, that's about
all he had left.""
Finch married his wife, Judy, in
1965. The two had met .during his
time at Salisbury Baptist Church.
Their son Tommy was born in 1966. ·
Finch was a respected pastor on the
fast track in the Southern Baptist Convention.
But he was hiding the secret
that he .was gay. The dishonesty took
a physcial toll. Finch even began
having stomach problems. In 1985,
while pastoring the First Bapti,st
Church in Chadeston, _he gathered up
the courage to tell the deacons that he
was a gay man.
'1n everything · else, I was out front,
in the open,"" Finch said in an Associated
Press interview shortly before he
died. ""But here's one piece of my life
that wasn't at all. That'll kill you. You
SECOND STONE
can -deny something that is a basic
part of you only so long.""
Although telling the truth was a
relief - for Finch, his career in the
Southern Baptist Convention was
crushed . He resigned his pastorship
al the Charleston church and entered
into a psychiatric hospital for a11
extended period of time. Finch was
well liked by his congregation and,
although shocked, most church
members reacted with understanding
and they continued to support him
through his ordeal.
Members of one of his former
congregations were not so supportive.
When news of finch's coming out
reached Oakland Baptist Church in
Rock Hill, some ·members talked
about removing his name from the
Henry T. Fincl1 Jr. Family Life Building.
, H.enry kept hts faith in God through
these times, according to his companion
for the last .three years of his life,
Patrick ·Smith, 24, who still lives in
Charlotte. ""Henry always had a
strong faith,"" says Patrick. ""At times,
that's about all he had left.""
Finch found that he still had friends
in the Baptist Church. Upon release
from the hospital, - Finch moved to
Charlotte, where his friends Bettie
Bibrell and Gene Owens helped him
get a job. Owens was the pastor of a
very liberal church, Myers _ Park
Baptist Church, where Finch eventually
taught an adult Sunday School
ch1ss. Although Owens offered Finch
a deaconship at the churclt, he did not
accept it, perhaps an indication that
Finch never fully reconciled his
sexuality with his spirituality. Owens
said he didn't care if Finch was gay
and he, along with Bibrell, . helped
him get a job at the Randolph Clinic
in Charlotte, where Finch counseled
alcoholics and drug addicts . Finch
also became a · leader in the fight
· against AIDS.
Henry met. Ratrick at a· theatre in
Atlanta after a perfot.mance of ""Phantom
of the Opera.' '. Patrick was just ·
coming out at the _. ·lime and had,
himself, experienced - a confusing
ordeal during his late teens. ""We hit
it off and were together from then
on,"" says Patrick. _
By the time he met Henry, Patrick
had lost all respect for religion and
the church. He was raised in the
Church of God and lived with his
church pastor during his last three
· For his own reasons Henry was
reluctant to tell Patrick when they
first met that he was a pastor. Finally
he told Patrick he had something he
needed to tell him . Patrick laughs as
- he recalls Henry's revelation that he
was a pastor . ""For some reason, that
doesn:t surprise me,"" Patrick told
Henry .
Patrick later went back to visit his
old Church of God pastor to let him
know that he had reached a place of
reconciliation in his life. Instead of
being able to share Patrick's peace,.
the deeply closeted pastor could not
get beyond his fright · that Patrick
would tell others what had happened
between them.
In Marclt; 1993; Finch found o'ut for
sure what he had long suspected . He
was HIV-positive. ""We had assumed
that he was positive ever since we
were together,"" Patrick says. ""It
scared me. I loved Henry more than _
life itself. It was very difficult."" Finch
continued to work at the clinic until
December, 1993.
Puring the nine years between
Finclt's wife, however, would have
nothing to do with him after his coming
out. She was very bitter, according
to Patrick, and the two were
unable to maintain any relationship
at all. It was much the same with
Finch's son. But in January of last
year, Finch got a call from Tommy,
then 27, after nine years of not
hearing from him. Tommy visited
Finclt in the hospital shorty before he
died, when they hugged for the first
time .since Tommy was 17.
""Henry helped me get my life back
on track,"" Patrick says. 'This first
year without him has -been a lonely
time for me. To be · 24 and to have
been through this has been very
difficult. I miss him alot.""
Patrick and Tommy sat on the front
row during Finch's funeral service.
Tommy's mother did not attend .
- Some informaticm from Associated Press
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
I
WhatU1•~1e the l.J LlJ
Really Says
About
B.otrtosexuality
.. I< p\10 - . 1 • 1-1e\m1n1a , · oan1e ,-..
Daniel A Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respect.ed theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed:""
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
"" .. .the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
summary I know of cunent biblical
scholarship relating to homosexual
issues ... eminently uSeful... u
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Quan.
□
WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
Postage/Handling $3 first book, $1 each additional ____ _
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED -----
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ADDRESS _____________________ _
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MARCH/ APRIL 1 9 9 5,
,,
•
Transsexual Methodist
minister finds second
home in Ecumenical
Catholic Church
BY THE REV. SARAH J. FLYNN, 0. S. L.
Althoug h wanting to remain
loyal to my United Methodist
heritage I have felt an in.
creasing need to be in ministry
to sexual minority people . I
doubted how effectively this could be
done as a United .Methodist pastor
representing a church with a homophobic
policy. Increasingly, I have
become aware of the need for a
church that is unapologetically supportive
of ·gay /lesbian people and
proactive -in supporting ~hem in the
face of social pressures, political exploitation
am;\ religious prejudice.
The Ecumenical Catholic Church
represents this alternative to me;
conserving essentials of the Christian
tradition while rightly discerning the
.dignity and worth of women and
gay flesbian/bisexual/ t:r:anssex~al/
transgendered people as equal partners
in the Gosp~l.of Christ.
''You are a pioneer"" is how United
Methodist Bishop William Boyd
Grove characterized my decision to
apply for a dual affiliation with the
ECC. The remark referred to more
than this application, but. was appropriate
to the situation since as a UMC
pastor I was applying to be received
as a priest of the Ecumenical Catholic
Church. If approved, I would be both
Protestant pastor and Catholic priest.
I was an unusual Methodist pastor
long before applying to the ECC. In
1978 I completed therapy for a lifelong
pi;oblem of transsexualism.
Having served for a period of 12
years as a United Methodist pastor, I
left parish work after my surgery and
began a care er in higher education .
To my amazement and relief Bishop
Ralph Ward, my bishop at the time,
arranged to re-issue my ordination
papers, and, while unable Jo assign
me to a parish, in time placed me in a
special appointment category so thafI
remained a United Methodist Elder in
good standing. Then, eight years
ago, through an unexpected series of
events, I began to serve as a part time
pastor of a small United Methodist
church in Connecticut. I became,
therefore, the first United Methodist
transsexual clergyperson to serve a
parish, and possibly the first in any
denomination to do so, (but I am not
the only such person now; there is at
least one other transsexual minister
under parish appointment.)
SECOND STONE
I have felt a great sense of gratitude
to the bishops and district superintendents
(especially to the Rev. Frank
Kaiser) who ""went out on a limb"" to
continue my status as an ordained
minister in the UMC and appoint me
to the small part time parish that I am
still serving.
During the intervening years the
issue of homosexuality has surfaced in
the United Methodist Church as it has
in several mainline denominations .
The hysterical reaction that followed
resulted in a prohibition against the
ordination or appointment of ""self
avowed practicing homosexuals."" In
spite of determined efforts to ·change
the legislation at three successive
UMC General Conferences the antigay
statement stands as they church's
official policy. Although transsexuals
were ··overlooked by-the legislation
there is little doubt that if a bishop
·were so minded being a transsexual
could be used to terminate one .as
being unfit for ministry. That is why
I am proud of the bishops and district
superintendents who were willing to
trust me enough to let me continue to
serve in spite of the prevailing
climate of homophobia in th e UMC.
By serving I felt that I was establishing
a track record that by being
!,exually different I was not emotionally
unstable or professionally incompetent.
I have reason to believe that the
point has been satisfactorily made
during · these years .
This ·past year has been a time of
re-examination of my life and priorities.
In the process I made the
decision to be more of an advocate for
gay /lesbian/ bisexual/ transgendered
people. I have initiated a support
group for students on the campus
where I work as a registrar. Together
we held the first National Coming
Out Day celebration o_n October 11,
1994 and I ""came out"" publically at
work and at the small parish where I
have been serving. At the same time
I had been discussing the ECC with
several friends from Dignity . They
encouraged me to apply.
Some may wonder how a United
Methodist could agree theologically
with Catholicism. The theological
gap between the UMC and the ECC
is not nearly so great as might be
imagined . The Methodist tradition
has its roots in the teachings of John
and Charles · Wesley, both of whom
were ""high church"" evangelicals in
the Church of England. John
Wesley's theology was a synthesis of
Protestant and classical Catholic teachings.
Some United Methodists still
value that ""high church"" tradition in
liturgy, and many more are in
agreement with Wesley's ProtestantCatholi(
synthesis of the main
doctrines of the church.
Likewise, the ECC is not a reprint
of the Roman Catholic Church, minus
its repressive teachings on human
sexuality. Not only is the ECC more
liberal on social issues, but the definition
of ""Catholic"" is much . broader
than ""Roman"" Catholicism . As the
name ""Ecumenical"" implies, the ECC
accepts the ""catholicity"" of Anglicans,
. Lutherans, and now, United .Methodists,
as well as Orthodox and independent
Catholic national churches not
subject to Roman obedience.
Having served for a
period of 12 years
as a United Methodist
pastor, I left parish
work after my
surgery and began .
a career in higher
education. To my
am<,1Zement and
relief Bishop
Ralph Ward ...
arranged to re-issue
my ordination
papers ...
A third and final reason why I find
little difficulty in this dual affiliation
is that for many years I have been .a
member of the Order of Saint Luke, a
largely United Methodist religious
order dedicated to liturgical scholarship,
education and practice. This
Rev. Sarah J. Flynn
Order has been involved with the
liturgical renewal movement that has
influenced all the mainline denominations
since Vatican II. Since this
movement has been based on
common liturgical scholarship concerning
the lituriges used in the early
centuries of the church and how these
were subsequently elaborated, there
has . been a convergence regarding
basic liturgical principles, . which
gives · the rtewer rites a su_rprising
degree of similarity, something \\'hich
lay people are only now discovering.
The distance, therefore, between a
United Methodist Servke of the Word
and Table and an Ecumenical Catholic
celebration of the .Eucharist is not
far, and with sufficient educational
background, it is possible to make the
journey with a tl1inimum of theolog1""
cal hear\burn or liturgical blunders.
The several aspects . of my hE!ritage,
namely its liberal leadership, its
Wesleyan ""Catholic ""' tradition, its renewed
liturgical life .and spirituality
explains my continued loyalty to this
tradition, in spite of the official policy
regarding homosexual people, whicl1
is judgmental, patronizing and hypocritical,
and the result of widespread
fear and ignorance concerning human
sexuality in the churches .
The ECC is committed to the ministry
of reconciliation, bringing all people,
including straight and gay into
one holy communion with the Risen
Christ. · In conversations with Bishop
Mark Shirilau, the primate of the
ECC, I became convinced that this
church could be the community of
faith I was looking · for that wo uld
provide the kind of proactive ministry
I believe to be needed. If only a
way could be found whereby I might
be able to serve within it without
dishonoring t_he tradition from
whence I have come .
It is to Bishop Shirilau's credit that
he found such a way in receiving me
SEE SECOND HOME, Page 20
MARCH/APR!~ 1995
Videos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... .. "" ....... .. ..... .. ... ... . ...... .. .. ..... .
Eve's Daughter s
T rium ph for w o men of co urage
By Jim Bailey
Editor
A nne Macksoud and John
Ankele have directed and
produced ""Eve's Daughters,""
a half-hour documentary
pro filing five lesbian women
who have struggled with the church's
traditional condemnation of homosexuality.
Their stories are of triumph
and resurrection and coming to a
realization that they do not have to be
victims. The video features moving
art and poetry born of the struggle.
This is the same production company
that did such an excellent job two
years ago with ""Maybe We're Talking
About A Different God,"" the video
about Rev. Janie Spahr 's battle with
the Presbyterian Church.
""Eve's Daughters"" is in some ways
both a continuation of and conclusion
to the Spahr video . Again we s ee the
struggle to come in from exile and
''Eve's Daughters"" features-the paintings
and sculptures of. artist Nancy
Chinn, including this sculpture entitled
""Lot's Wife,"" inspired by the
story in Genesis.
SECOND STONE
take a rightful place at the table. But
""Eve's Daughters"" takes us a bit
further as we are able to expe rience
the resolution and triumph that these
women have found in their lives and
experiences .
In warning us to 'bewar e of Eve,
the temptress in any woman, even in
a wif e and a mother"" th e church
fathers declar ed all women to be
descendants of the original ""unsealer
of that forbidden tree,"" and th erefore
guilty. They are ""the devil's gateway,
... destroyers of the image of
God in man. On account of them, the
Son of God had to die ."" To be a
woman and a homosexual is, in the
official church view, nothing less than
""an intrinsic moral evil."" These
daughters of Eve are the subjects of
this documentary .
Coni Staff, hoping to r egain the
love of parents who no longer believe
that she will be joining them in
heav en, recalls her bargaining with
God. She remembe.rs asking, ""God, I
want to hear from you whether I'm
alright the way I am or whether !'in
not."" ""I was raised to be honest,"" says
Staff . "" If anything, I was raised to be
honest in my family. And I was ..
And look what's happened . This isn't
at all what I hoped it would be.""
Although she prays that God Will
give her her family back, to this day
her family feels that homosexuality is
a sin and goes against God.
Katherine · Poethig recalls the split
. existence of herself as a person who
had fallen in love with .a woman and
a person who was deeply involved in
-her Pentecostal religious community.
""I felt that I was constantly pleading
with God,"" says Poethig. ""In that
experience of becoming a Pentecostal
I gave everything over for the pursuit
of God in the world and then I fell in
love with a woman and I kept thinking,
'Am I off track?""' When Poethig
finally came out to her religious commun
ity she was asked to leave the
church.
Lisa Larges' whole life was a path of
preparation for the Christian ministry
but, like Staff and Poethig, she was
unwilling to live what she thought
would be a dishonest life in the closet.
Homophobia in the Presbyterian
Church cut off her path toward ordination.
The message from church
leaders was that there was no room
for unrepentant homosexuals in the
family of God . Even the pastor of her
parent s ' home church spoke against
her ordination . Larges' church says
there will be no ordination until she
repents of homosexuality but she tells
her church there will be no ordinat ion
until her church repent s of its
homophobia .
Penaliti es like these inflict tremendous
injury and yet the women we
meet in Eve's Daughters have moved
beyond the damage into freedom and
affirmation.
Nancy Chinn knows that not
everyone is as lucky as herself. ""I am
blessed by a wonderful, wonderful
relationship in which I can grow and
change and grow old and grow
spiritually ,"" says Chinn. ""It's a real
gift."" Although Chinn was married to
a man and had children, she says she
never felt c!)nnected. When Nancy
came out after 25 years of faithfully
serving as a pastor's wife, ""it was like
coming hom e, it was where I should
and gay men ... then I won't think
much ... of me,"" deliv ers Rue.
In spit e of the institu tional abus e,
these women have gained self-knowledge
and strength . In spite of the
anguish of love withh eld, they have
learned compassion. They return t o
us as refugees from spiritual exile,
refusing to be victims any longer and
witnessing, through art and poetry
and service, to the freedom that arises
from the fusion of body and soul.
They call the church not only ""to
repent of its homophobia,"" but also
""to celebrate the deep spiritual gifts""
they have because they are Lesbians.
Clips of .Nancy Ch1 nn:s paintings
""I am blessed by a wonderful, wonderful
relationship in which I can grow
and change and grow old and grow
spiritually,"" says Chinn. When she
came out after 25 years of faithfully
serving as a pastor's wife,
""it was like coming home, it- \.Vas
where I should have been all my life.""
have been all of my life."" Chinn is an
amazingly talented artist who says
she doesn't have the words to name
what's inside her .- But her ·joy· and
pain take form in her striking paintings
and sculpture, which sometime
depict the abuse and undervaluing of
women.
Victoria Rue, after leaving the
convent, ""knew in that moment of
kissing another woman that things
suddenly fell into place."" Rue is an
actress and adds a dramatic poetry
reading to the video. ""If no one thinks
much of Lesbians and gay men ...
then, I won 't think much of Lesbians
ANGELS,
From Page 10
right thing, is a flamboyant African
American drag queen named Belize.
For all his outrageousness, Belize is
the tender nurs e, faithful friend, truth
teller and angel of mercy . In choosing
life and tendering mercy, Kushn er 1
shows us that there are indeed angels
in America, if we know where and
how to look, if we have not lost our
spiritual connections.
But the wh ere and th e how of our
looking may take u s beyond the
safety of · our supposedly sacred
places . We may find that angels are
lo dging with the aliens in our midst,
that Jesus is dining with tax collectors
and prostitut es, th,at God is urgently
and sculpture brings a pleasing and
calming, yet motivating, quality to
those few minutes of the video. Musician
and composer · Lois Anderson
adds a delightful soundtrack.
Ultimately the womens' stories of
exile, triumph and resurrection pro,
vide the viewer with the realization
that the power to not be a victim is
within reach of every lesbian woman
and gay man.
Eve's Daughters is available for $32.25
from Leonardo's Children, 26 Newport
Bridge Rd., Warwick, NY 10990, (914)
986-6888.
seeking the health of the city, that the
Holy Spirit blows where it wills and
we have simply gott en ourselves out
of Her currents. We cannot risk the
sins of Sodom - pride, wealth, -inhospitality
, inju s tice, power, abu se -
without risking the destruction inherent
in losing our spiritual center,
our .rela tionship to the God who has
mad e us, the Chri st who has
redeem ed us, and the ·Spirit wh o
empowers us.
Essayist, author · and journalist
Richard Rodriquez, in his addres s to
the opening convocation of th e
SEE ANGELS, Page 19
MARCH/APRIL 1995
In Print •••••••••••••••• 0 •••••••••••••• . ........................ .. .......... .
The book of gay days
By Edouard Fontenot
Contributing Writer
The Word is Out: The Bible Reclaimed
for Lesbians and Gay Men;
Chris Glaser, author. HarperSanFrancisco,
1994. F or many people, one of the
most frustrating dev elopments
within the gay and
lesbian community at the
end of the mille,mium is the fragmentation
of what has been a more or
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institutional church .
$22.95, hardcover.
SHE WHO IS: The Mystery of God
in Feminist Theological Discourse
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WOMEN AT WORSHIP: Interpretations
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A remarkable collection of essays which probe the
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SEASONS OF THE FEMININE DIVINE:
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Oraceful prayers written by the first·woman deacon
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SEXUALITY AND THE SACRED:
Sources for Theological Reflection
By Jo.nus B. Nelson and Sandra P. Long/t!llow
A comprehensive resource addressing l:).uman sexuality as
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' A gay ppest is put on trial
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SECOND STONE
less united fronti This diversification
of voices came first from Lesbians
who did not hear their perspective
articulated by organizations controlled
by men, African Americans
too spoke up to witness to a different
gay and lesbian perspective. Ethnic,
linguistic, religious and, most recently,
political differences have dismayed
many who rally gay men and
Lesbians to unity in the primary
cause of liberation. The irony is that
the very success of the gay and
lesbian movement in establishing a
political and social bulkhead in the
larger culture has facilitated this
diversification. These small but significant
inroads have made room for
the airing of differences when issues
seem significant enough. Previously
unthinkable variations of gay and
lesbian identity - gay and lesbian
Catholics, Republicans, Wall Street
bankers, farmers, union shop stewards,
anti-abortion activists - are no
longer unusual.
This trend is _reflected in gay and
.lesbian literature, perhaps most interestingly
in works on gay and lesbian
religious experience. The continuing,
.even increasing, . phenomenon of
books about Gays, Lesbians and
religion perplexes many, and is itself
reflective of both the fragmentation of
gay and lesbian identities as primarily
political and the establishment of
gay and lesbian voices in virtually
every part of society. While gay and
lesbian people - though perhaps not
elites - have always been a church,
synagogue, temple and mosque- .
going people, indeed leaders in the
sacred sphere, the theme of books on
religion sympathetic to gay and lesbian
people over the last half century,
had been legitimization. Works like
John J. McNeil's The Church and the
Homosexual, Letha Scanzoni""s and
Virginia Mollenkott's Is the Homosexual
My Neighbor and William
Countryman's Dirt, Greed and Sex
have spoken primarily about theological
justification. Scholars John Bos-
WHAT
you need to know.
WHEN
you .need to know it.
ACTION
you can take .
Second Stone's
RESPONSEF AX.Letter
COMING THIS JUNE.
FAX or e-mail us for information . .
(504)$91-7555 / secstone@aol.com.
well, Randy Connor, Will Roscoe and
Bernadette Brooten have unearthed or
reconstructed the historical account of
gay and lesbian reople in religions.
This foundationa work has prepared
the ground for the normalization of
gay and lesbian religious experience
increasingly reflected in new types of
gay and lesbian religious literature.
Author and religious activist Chris
Glaser""s-latest book, 77ze Word is Out,
is an excellent example of the normalization/
fragmentation trend. The
Word is Out represents one of the
most pervasive forms of gener-ic
religious literature, -a sure sign that a
religion, sect or movement is around
to stay, the prayerbook . And yet
both th e prayerbook and those to
whom it is directed might appear
anomalous to many both inside and
out of religion. Staddling heretofore
exclusive categories, Glaser ' s book
presumes a gay and lesbian (and
bisexual and transgendered) Christian-
identified readership with a continuing
connection, . even if peripheral,
to the large r Christian tradition.
The Word is Out assumes I.he legitimacy
of the gay and lesbian religious
experience, focusing on the spiritual
nurturance of gay and lesbian people,
rather than justification of their
existence.
Glaser's task is to . provide a
""devotional book that helps God's
Word to emerge from the closets of
the Bible's ancient stories and theological
language ."" His motivation is
the Bible's. inaccessibility to his own
partner . He refracts the Bible though
a gay lens, drawing upon his spiritual
journeying as a springboard, in a
process akin to midrash, the ""applied
exegesis"" through which traditional
Judaism, presupposing the divinely
revealed truth contained in scripture,
nevertheless struggles to mine the
Torah through study, reflection and
rearticulation.
Glaser outlines a conventional
theological basis for his work. He
understands The Word, Logos, of his.
title as the self-communicating divine
presence, God's creative activity and
the essence of the Christian good
news. The Word which Glaser wants
to get Out transcends the mere verbal
communication, even that of Jesus,
contained in biblical accounts. Word
is communicated, sometimes obscurely,
through the biblical narrative
which Glaser understands as a vehicle
for encounter with God, thus
avoiding the idolatry of the fundamentalist/
literalist exegetical error.
His perspective is as theologically
orthodox as his call for the observance
of the tithe.
As a devotional manual, The Word
is Out reflects the biblical themes of
lamentation, liberation and cornmunity.
Glaser has structured his prayerbook
al ong the lines of the Christian
liturgical calendar, though he begins
with the solar year on January 1,
rather than the Christian year on
December 1. While this may simply
be an effort to minimize confusion for
the liturgically inexperienced; it has
the regrettable result of hacking off
the preparatory season of Advent, or
what Glaser calls Nativity, appending
it to the end of the year and disrupting
the traditional narrative flow
embodied in the liturgical year.
Tile Word is Out begins with
· Epiphanytide where Glaser explores
the themes of revelation and manifestation,
drawing especially upon the
imagery of coming out. . The coming
out act is likened to the divine
manifestation in creation, recounted
in Genesis and recapitulated in the
Psalms, and in the incarnation.
Glaser draws the biblical account and
the spiritual joys and pains of the gay
and lesbian experience close together,
. making parallel gay and lesbian
coming out into a fullness of identity
and the restoration · of the corporeal
fullness anticipated at the Parousia.
The-likening of coming out to resurrection
is ;m incredibly powerful
image for gay and lesbian people
who often experience homosexual
identity as a vehicle for sin and
SEE GAY DAYS, Page 19
In Print, briefly ...
Same-Gender Covenants
Pullen Baptist Church has published
the church's task force report on ''Celebration
of Same-Gender Covenants.""
-From Pullen Baptist Church, 1801
Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC 27605, $7.
And the Flag Was
Still There
In this new book author Lois Shawver
substantiates a heretofore unexamined
rationale-the ""etiquette of disregard"" •
for lifting the ban against Gays in the
military.
·From Harrington Park Press
Rattling Those Dry Bones
A new anthology on women and
religion. June Steffenson Hagen has
brought together 22 women of faith to
share their personal views and experi· ·
ences of what holds them in the church.
Included are Madeleine L'Engle,
Susan Cole, Elisabeth MlotmannWendel,
Virginia Ramey Mollenkptt,
Rosemary Haughton and Nancy'
Hardesty. ·
-From Luramedia, 1·800-367-5872,
$16.95. .
MARCH APRIL l 9 9 5
In Print .................. . ............................................. ~ .... . \
Homosexuality in the Church
Book explores both sides of the enduring debate
By Allen Smalling
Contributing Writer
A hundred years ago, Oscar
Wilde called homosexuality
""the love that dare not speak
its name."" More recently,
some have remarked that it just won't
shut up. Among the plethora of
gay-themed books in the past several
years are quite a few that deal with
pure theology, practical theology,
congregational studies and anthologies.
With such a glut of books on
the market, Homosexuality in the
Church: Both Sides of the Debate may
go under-appreciated. That would be
a pity.
Homosexuality in the Church is
tailored for a specific audience: middle-
of-the-road Christians, all ""main-
... . ,. ,. ... ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. . ... ,. ,. ... ,. .................. ,. ,. ... ,. ................ ,. ....... ,. ... '
A A ,. ... A ;. ...... A ,. A .,_ ... ,. .................... ,. ..... . A A 4 A ,_ ,_ ... ,., ... A A ""'
,- A A . A A . A ... A A A A A ,
~~ ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~:
JI~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=
~Il~lII~li~IIIl=
line"" if we include Roman Catholics
in that designation. The book's 13
· essays break •into six chapters or
""reflections"" on scripture, tradition,
moral reasoning, scientific reasoning,
experience and decision -making. In
other words, the old Charles Wesley
quadrilateral has been freshened up a
bit by breaking ""reason"" into philosophical
and empirical components;
the final section on decision-making
offers a kind of ""where do we go
now?"" summation . As the b.ook's title
suggests, most chapters are set up in
point-counterpoint fashion of two
essays apiece; t he exception being the
chapter on experience, with one very
con and two highly pro entries. .
The most innovative of all the
articles is Chandler Burr's cover piece
from the March 1993 At lantic Monthly,
""Homosexuality and Biology,"" here
reprinted in its entirety. Although
not specifically written for church people,
the article offers compelling, if
SECOND STONE
not fully convincing , arguments that
homosexuality is more likely to be
biologically determined than socially
constructed and certainly is not
""chosen"" as a lifestyle. (This is important
precisely because so many rightwing
arguments hinge on a view of
homosexuality as a perverse and
wrong-headed ""choice."")
Probably the most thoughtful essay
of the lot is Lisa Sowell Cahill's
""Homosexuality: A Case Study in
Moral Argument,"" in which Cahill, a
Catholic theologian, analyzes the
acceptability of open homosexual ity
in the church in terms of scripture,
tradition, descriptive experience and
normative experience. (These days,
one need not be a Methodist to find
the quadrilateral an irresistible frame-
A A ,_ ,. ,_ A ,. A ,. A A ,_ , ,.,,.,.,_,.,_AAAAA ...
...... ,.#, ...... ,.,,. ............ ,
A A A A A A A A A h A r. .................................. ,
A A ... ,. A ... A ... A ""' ""' ,_ ...... ,. ............... ,. ...... ,. , ........................ ,. ...... ... "",.,. ,. .... ,.,.,.,. , .. ,. ,. ... ,. .... ,. ... ,. ... ,. ,. ,. ...... ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. , ,. ,. ,. "" ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ... ,. ,. ... ,. ..... ,. ...... ,. ,. ... ,. , ... ,. ........................... ... ... ,. ......... "",.,.,. ...... , .................................... ... ... ,. ""',.,.,. ......... ""', ... ""' ,. ... ,. ............... ... ... ,., ........ ,. ,. ,. ... ,. ,. , ,. ,. "",.,.,.,.,.,.,.,. ,. .......... ,. ,. ...... ,. .. , ,. ........ ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. .. ,. ...... ,. ............ ,. ,. ,. , ,. ,. ...... ,. ,. ,. ... ,. ,. ... ... .. ... ,. ........ ·""' ......... , ,. .......................... ,. ............... ,. ,. ......... , .................... ""' .. ,. ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ... .. , ............. ,. ...... ,. ,. ,. ....... ,. ... ,. ,. ........ , ,. ... ,. ..................... ..
A ,. A .. A A A A A A , ......... ,. ...... ,. ,. ,. ... ,. .. ,. ,. ,. ...... ,. ... ,. ,. , ...... ,. ,. ,. ,. ...... ,. ,. ,. ,. ... ,. ,. .......... ,. , ... ,. ... ,. ......... ,. ...... .............................. , ,. ,. ,. ... ,. ,. ........ ... .. ... ... ... ... ... ,. ... .,. ,. , ,. ............ ,. ......... ,. ,. .. ,. ,. ,. ,. ... ,. ... , ,. ,. ...... ,. ...... ,;. ... "" .. ..... ,. ...... ,. ,. ... , ... ,. ..................... .. ....................... , ,. ..................... ,. .. ............... ,. ,. ... , ,. ,. ............ ,. ...... ,. ........... ,. .. ,. ... ,. ,
. :: : : : :: :: : : : :: : : : : 1 ................. ·1 ,. ......... ,. ,. ...... ,. ......... ,. ..... ,. ,. .. ,. .. ,. ,. ,. ......... ... ... ... ... ,. ...... ,. ,. ,. ..... -,. ,. ,. ,. ,. ,. "" ,. ... ,. ,. ........ ,. .. : ,. ...... ,. ............ .. ,. ... ,. .......... ...... ,. ; ... ,. ... ,. ,. ......... ,. ...... ,. ... ,
work.) Cahill concludes that there
aren't any firm and fast conclusions;
she finds the church's need to be
inclusive and nurturing somewhat
counterweighted by the normative
dominance of heterosexuality.
Not that the book as a whole lad..s
firm opinions. 'The Love That Dare
Not Pray Its Name"" is a short piece by
Presbyterian Chris Glaser . about the
considerable institutional resistance
Gays and Lesbians face . Glas.er's
piece will enlighten the unenlightened
as to why gay ordination is such
a hot-bottom issue: at this time, only
Unitarians, the United Church of
Christ, the Reform wing of Judaism
and the predominantly gay Metropolitan
Community Church will ordain
open Gays and Lesbians. Unfor-·
lunately, the slangy, almost rabblerousing
style of Glaser's article, which
appears to have come straight from a
West Coast magazine, is far from his
best work. ·
Of the roughly half of all articles
that come down against gay and
lesbian ordination (or, much the same
thing, that insist on treating openly
gay or ""unrepentant"" homosexuals as
sinners), most depend on Pauline
writings or the natural-law argument.
The latter theory, a staple in church
discussions of this type since the late
Middle Ages, argues that God made
male and female for procreative
reasons; thus, same-sex unions, being
sterile, are not ""natural.""
For sheer rhetorical sleaze, however,
our vote goes to the book's first
article, Richard Hays' ""Awaiting the
Redemption of Our Bodies."" Whether
homosexuality is a chosen or a given
is irrelevant to Hays: ""(I]t cannot be
maintained that a homosexual orientation
is morally neutral because it is
involuntary .""
Editor Jeffery Siker gives himself the
concluding essay, ""Homosexual Christians,
the Bible and Gentile Inclusion:
Confessions of a Repenting Hetero ..
sexist."" Siker, a Presbyterian who
teaches at Loyola Marymount University,
sums up the arguments that
have been running through Homosexuality
in the C}mrc/1 and comes
down on the side of inclusion. Specif.
ically he draws on the metaphor of
inclusion that look place in the first
century, when the church absorbed
the uncircumcised Gentiles as well as
Jews. ""Heterosexuality may be the
dominant form of sexuality,"" writes
Siker, ""but it does not follow that it is
the only form ·of appropriate sexu ality.""
While not perfect, HCll!tosexuality in
the Church is better than most of its
kind . It belongs on every pastor's
shelf, in contemporary ethics classes,
and would form the centerpiece of an
interesting congregational study.
When people ask, ""Why are Christian
churches so obsessed with homosexuality?""
. this book gives some
answers .
Allen Smalling is a writer and reviewer
based·in Chicago. Excerpted with permission
from the Dallas Voice .
Recommended Reading For Everyone ...
l~BN 0-9644123-0-6
PASTOR, I AM GAY
by The Reverend H. Howard Bess
· An extraordinary book. PASTOR, I AM GAY .. . is a
prophetic witness to the . church. It is compelling in
its intensity, compassionate in its identifications, and
courageous in its call to sharing humanity without
dualifications . A reader will not be able to put it
own. James B. Ashbrook, Professor Emeritus and
Senior Scholar in Religion and Personality
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
Northwestern Unive rsity
PASTOR, I AM GAY is a superb entry into the difficult and pa inful
subject of homosexuality that faces us in the church and society today.
Both pastor and lay person will find this book readable and informative
as we seek more insight into the lives of homosexual friends inside and
outside the church. Donald Pars~ns . Bishop, Alaska Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
PASTOR, I AM GAY offers wise counsel on the forms and directions our
caring needs to take .. .is_ a pastoral look at our gay brothers and lesbian
sisters, the most despised and rejected of God's children .
Peggy Campolo, Wife , Mother
Evangelical Leader
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MARCH APR I L l 9 9 5
w Sounds w
Paul Delph
Putting his faith in 'A God That Can Dance'
ByA.J. Kelly
Contributing Writer
Paul Delph's new . release
chronicles a musician's odys. ·
sey through the AIDS epidemic
from a very personal
perspective. Paul Delph has AIDS.
Delph has worked with major artists
like Roberta Flack and Bernie Taupin
as session musician, co-writer, producer,
and programmer for well over a
decade: He brings that expertise to
this solo CD in a way that's unique,
heartfelt, and important. There's not a
dud among any of the 14 tracks.
Delph has assembled a superb backup
group, and the production is slick,
modern, and engaging. But what
drives the collection is Delph's laser
beam focus on a struggle to survive.
The result is a missive for anyone
who happens to be alive in the latter
part of this century. .
The first track, ""Mad at God,""
oegins with Delph's voice in a monklike
drone chanting about the failure
of organized religio n ·to answer
fundamental questions of life and
death. It drops into a solid, wellcrafted
rocker, in which he sings: 'Tm
mad at God / I'm just figuring out /
Time is slipping away ... slipping
away."" And: ""When I get up to that
big door / And face the awesome
light / I'm gonna ask more than a few
questions / About what's wrong and
right.""
Delph follows with '.The Good Days
Are Better (But The Bad Days AreWorse),""
a terse, boom-shacka-lacka
groove that offers some guidance
through the mine-field.
Next is ""Mamma Don't Cry."" I cried
anyway. This poignant ballad is one
of the kindest gifts a child could give
a parent: ""I need a little smile / When
my name flies past / To heal the hurt
/ And Jet the good times last /
. Marnma don't cry· / Sing to the stars /
As the last light dies / Your son is
rising inside.""
Delph addresses the next generation
of AIDS victims in ""Stumbling in
the Dark."" One of the strongest dance
cuts on the CD, it juxtaposes an
upbeat, dance club feel with a stark
warning: ''You can play all night, but
are you running with the fear? / Out
in the killing fields / You better
Now available from Second Stone!
The Word Is Out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
liberates the Bible from those
who would hold it hostage t.o
an anti-gay agenda. In this
inspiring collection of 365 ,
daily meditations, the Bible's
good news 11comes out"" to
meet all of us with love,
justice, meaning, and hope.
Chris Glaser is the author
of Uncommon Calling and
Coming Out to God. He is
a graduate of Yale Divinity
School.
The Word Is Out,
$12, paperback.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan. TiUe ·
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SECOND STONE •
watch your step / ·Because you're
stumbling in the dark.""
'Tm Gonna Save My Dreams Until
Tomorrow"" is a ska-styled dance cut
with an optimistic message: 'Tm g<;>nna
save my dreams until tomorrow /
Sooner or later this world is gonna be
so inclined / They're gonna give up
on the pain and the sorrow that
plague us / And get into what keeps
us all alive."" The arrangement is
joyful, fun, and unaffected - an example
of the emotional range that Delph
is capable of.You'll want to dance.
• I
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Innkeepers Judith Hall and
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The CD ends with two otherworldly
sound collages that segway together
in a . dignified, haunting good-bye .
""Breath of Life"" begins with a gospel
r.rea ·cher intoning the message,
'Breathe in the breath of life - and let
it out. Whatever you came here with
today, Jet go, and let God."" Over this,
Delph layers harps and strings, then
weaves in his trembling falsetto ,. He
dreams in stream-of-consciousness
hope, Iove, sadness, and the bittersweet
irony of making peace with
creat.ion as his own life wanes. He
also offers a hand to everyone else on
the same path as he whispers, ""If yol!
need help, just call."" 'The Dance at
the End of Time"" follows. Here,
Delph reads a poem by friend, lover,'
and fellow musician Jimmie Spheeris
• whose life was cut short in an auto
accident in 1984. ""We move with such
grace / To a love of som~ kind / Gel
drunk and ·embrace / In the dance al
the end of time ... ""
From anger and denial to
acceptance (or maybe a detached,
calm resignation) Delph invites you
along on his personal saga. It's a
brave piece of work - a wonderful gift
to his family and his species. This CD
is a must for every collection. ""A God
That Can Dance"" is available from
Magic Records, 303 Klotter Street,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219 by sending
check or money order for $15.00.
MARCH/ APRIL 199 5
MESSENGER,
From Page6
lion - Republican or Democrat - has
made an impact in the fight against
AIDS?
MF: I agree with many that the
response from the Federal government
was slow under the previous
administration. It's still slow. It's no
different now than it was under Bush.
Yes, we have a little bit more inoney
every year. I think that what .we
haven't been able to achieve yet is to ·
get leadership in the country -
Federally, statewide and locally - to
say, ''This is a priority. This is an
epidemic."" That's what I want to hear.
CJ: What do you perceive to be the
greatest need in the HIV community
right now?
MF: Taking care of each other. That's
one of the reasons that at Family
CALENDAR,
From Page 2
AIDS Network we're so intent on
recognizing the caregivers. The
epidemic isn't over yet and it doesn't
look like it's going to be over soon. I
very strongly feel that we have to
keep our heads above water, stay
hopeful and we have to encourage
more people to come into the
caregiving side of this epidemic. We
need them.
Outside of the HIV community, the
greatest need is education . That's our
only -cure right now.
CJ: You're also well recognized as an
artist. Has HIV made an impact in
your work?
MF: My work has always changed
over the years because I'm changing
and growing. I hope it continues to
do that. I don't come from a place of
Golden Threads 9th celebration
JUNE 23-25, Lesbian women from all over the United States and from many
foreign countries will meet at the Provincetown Inn in Provincetown, Mass.
Golden Threads is a worldwide social network of lesbian women over 50 and
their friends. For information contact Christine Burton, Golden Threads , P.O.
Box 60475, Northampton, MA 01060-0475.
15th National Gathering of the UCCUGC
JUNE 26-29, The United Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns meets in
Berkeley on the campus of the University of California. ""Hurtling Toward The
Millenium: Political Upheaval, Gay Power , and Our Dreams for the Church"" is
thlj.,.theme. _Jhe. .meeting ,: precedes . the United . Church ~of Christ General
Synod. F\>r infon:nation call (614)593-7301 or write to UCCUGC , 18 N.
College -St., Athens, OH 45701 .
CMI Retreat
JUNE 27-30, Communication Ministry sponsors a retreat for Catholic lesbian
nuns and gay priests .and brothers. The Serra Retreat House, Malibu, Calif.,
is the setting. For information contact CMI, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
00600-0125.
American Baptists Concerned National Retreat
JUNE 24-27, The annual retreat of ABC will be held at Thornfield Retreat
Center in Syracuse, New York. Cost is $175. For information contact ABC, 872
Erie St., Oakland, CA 94610-2268, (510)465-8652.
Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition Conference
JUNE 30-JUL Y 3, Gay and lesbian parenting groups from Southern California
will host the 16th Annual Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition International Conference
at the University of California at Los Angeles. Part of the conference
will fQ.CUS on issues of relevance to those who are currently parents, those who
function in a parenting role, or those who wish to become parents. Two other
sub-conferences will examine topics of importance to the children of lesbian or
gay parents. Conference fees include all meals and three nights lodging at
, UCLA's Sunset Village. For information write to GLPCI '95, 7985 Santa
Monica Blvd., Box 109-346, West Hollywood, CA 90046 or call (213)654-0307,
FAX (310)652-7584.
Convocation of Beconciling Congregations
JULY 13-16, '""Bound·tor the Promised Land"" is the theme for the fourth national
gathering of Recdnciling Congregations, to be held in Minneapolis. A youth
and student rally anij a special gathering of the Reconciling Pastors' Action Network
is planned :; Individual fee is $165, $85 for children and youth. For information
contact the Reconciling Congregations Program, 3801 N. Keeler Ave . ,
Chicago, IL 60641,,(312)736-5526.
The UFMCC General Conference
JULY 23-30, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Communtty Churches will
gather at the Westin. Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta for its 17th conference.
""All Things Are Possible"" is.the theme for this conference which offers a discounted
rate 61 $180 for non-delegates. A special gathering will be held at the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change . For information,
contact UFMCC GCXVII, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA
90029, (213)464-5100.
SECOND ST-ONE
' ·~ ·-
HIV. I think the only change, the
only shift, in my life, is more of a
sense of urgency than I already had .
I want to do more, maybe take more
risks in my art.
CJ: You are asymptomatic. Do you
take an active role in your health to
stay healthy?
MF: I can 't say that it's one of the
things I do best for myself, so I'm
certainly not a rnle model in that
area. But I don't smoke and I don't
drink. I take my mother's advice and
take extra vitamin C. I think sleep is
important, but with having two small
children and traveling a lot, I don't
always get enough.
Relieving stress is important and I
have found regular meditation to be
helpful for me. It allows me to be
centered so that I can do what I do.
My art is also a form of meditation for
me. My art is a soul-opening, creative
place for me. It connects me
with an energy that is very strong
and I don't know where it comes
from .
Anytime we can spend laughing,
enjoying and helping others is good
for us. Certainly we should eat well
and cut down on our fat, but .I was
already doing that. Exercise is impor•
tant but I don't always do it. I'll
admit it: I'm human and not a perfect
person.
Many areas of health are important,
but there isn 't a set formula I can
prescribe . I don't think anyone · has
an answer here. I think people have
to listen to their heart and do what
they feel is best, in partnership with
their doctors. Communication surrounding
this disease is important. It
helps people to connect with others
who have HIV, to find out what has
been beneficial for them.
CJ: You know that women are an
increasing segment of our population
being infected with HIV. What can
be done to help the unique needs of
mothers with HIV?
MF: I think the biggest thing is to
know that a mom will take care of her
children before she will take care of
herself. If there is a · way to alleviate
some of the pressure and stress that
revolves aro ,·;id children, then maybe
mom can go and take care of her
own needs, like going to the doctor.
She needs support.
Medically, there are a whole
different set of issues regarding
women with HIV. There are a whole
set of things, gynecologically and
physically, that happen •::, women,
but don't happen to men. More
women - and even doctors - need to
be aware of that. I have a strong plan
to reach OB-GYNs because I don't
think they pay enough attention to
the problem of women and HIV.
I think doctors in general have felt
that they can judge people by what
they look like, to say if they have
HIV or not. Women can change that
by talking to their own doctors,
forcing their health professionals to
give them a test.
Education, one on one, can make a
difference.
Cheryl J ohnstan is editor of Lifetimes2
magazine, a publication of Stadlanders
pharmacy, a company specializing in
medications delivery for people witl,
AIDS. For infonnatian about Stadlanders,
or to get a sample copy of Lifetimes2,
readers may call 1-800-238-7828.
Excerpted with permission from Lifetimes
2.
Noteworthy W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Bettendorf consecrated
t.THE REV. MSGR. CRAIG 5.
Bettendorf was consecrated for the
Episcopacy of the Evangelical Anglican
Church on Dec. 4, 1994. The
consecration took place during the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist at
All Saints Parish, Los Angeles, Calif.
Particpating clergy included Rev.
Mother Kathleen Stowell, co-rector of
All Saints, Rev. Fr. Anthony Morello,
vicar of St. Stephens Philippine Independent
<:;atholic Church in Fontana,
Calif ., and Rev. Fr. James Barlow,
also from St. Stephens.
Ecumenical Catholic
Church buys property
t.THE ECUMENICAL CATHOLIC
Church became a property owner on
Dec. 20, 1994 . St. Maximilian ECC
bought the former Ebenezer Methodisl
Church in Jacksonville, Ill. The
church was originally built in 1835,
on land donated by Dr. Peter Akers,
a Kentucky lawyer who moved to
Illinois to get away from slave owners.
The present-day building was
built in 1866.
Don McRae
t.THE REV. DON McRAE, pasfor and
founder of the Metropolitan Community
Church of Windsor, Ontario
died on Jan.2, 1995 of complications
associated with AIDS. McRae and his
partner, Tony Dias, moved to
Windsor in 1988 and founded the
church. ""His life was, and will
continue to be a living challenge to
society's assulI)ption that one cannot
be gay and Christian at the same
,time,"" said longtime friend John
Shellhorn.
MARCH/APRIL 1995
........... ............. .· . .......C...o...m....m....e..n...t. .................... .
The ouster of Bishop Jacques Gaillot
Vaticanl osesc redibilityw hen it abusesa uthority
By The National Catholic Reporter
Guest Comment
The Vatican significantly raised
the stakes in the ecclesial debate
on the use • and abuse •
of authority when it sacked
the popular French bishop, Jacques
Gaillot of Evreux.
The move took him and most of the
rest of the French hierarchy by surprise
. It came when Gaillot was in
Rome discussing his future with
Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, prefect of
the Congregation for Bishops. Gantin
at first asked Gaillot to resign, sources
· said. When he refused, Gantin told
the bishop not only that he was out •
but that he was out the next day,
Jan.13.
When Gaillot balked again, Gantin
handed him a note signed by Pope
John Paul II, then traveling in the
Philippines, confirming the deed.
There had been no official judicial
hearing and no known consultation
with the French episcopal conference.
The reason Gantin gave for the
action was that Gaillot was not in
communion with the church. French
Catholics and others were asking:
Who was not in communion with the
church? ·
According to church Canon 194, the
removal of a bishop from office requires
""grave reasons"" and can come
only after a bishop has ""publicly
defected from the church or from the
communion of the church."" A
number of French bishops and theologians
said the Vatican had acted
without justification.
As news of the action spread,
protests erupted throughout the na-
QUOTABLE
""I think the CatholicC hurch's
stando n homosexualitiys
horriblye vil. .. It just enrages
me to see them take that
position. We can debate
about Jesus as a historical
figure, but when I think of
Jesus, I think of someone
who is truly about love. I
don't think he'd get along
toow ell with the Pope"".
-Cybill Shepherd
SECOND STONE
lion. By Jan. 15 he had received
more than 1,000 telegrams and faxes
expressing support. In the city of
Metz, parish priests refused to preach
at Sunday Mass in protest.
He has never disputed official
Catholic doctrine. His apparent offense
· apparent because it . was not
spelled out by the Vatican - stems
from his independent-minded ways
and his outspokenness on non-infallible
matters of morality, especially
sexual morality.
He has been an advocate of
compassion for Gays and Lesbians
and has said, for example, that the
AIDS virus can be battled by the use
of condoms. . .
This is a case in which fidelity to the
Vatican, as defined by the Vatican,
has become the litmus test of rthodoxy.
This, then; is a church in
· which fidelity to Rome has become
more important than obedience, as an
ordained bishop interprets it, to the
demands of the gospel and
conscience. Woe to those Christians
called to place institutional fidelity
over compassion.
Almost within hours, Gaillot's
removal was taking its toll on the
church of France. He is an articulate
television figure, a cleric who has
spoken on behalf-of the poor and the
marginalized of France. The French
bishops are divided on the sacking,
with several calling for a gathering of
the episcopal conference to consider
its implications.
Only Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger
of Paris was known to actively support
the move, which may have
already backfired. ·
'They can't muzzle someone,""
Gaillot said. 'Now that I have become
an outsider of sorts, perhaps my
determination will be even more
vigorous than before.
'The church certainly wants to
marginalize me, to lessen the weight
of my voice. But I will not keep
silent.""
r.,tfj:_P_o_ ntius'P uddle
From the vast outpouring of
commentary in the French media on
Gaillot's dismissal one common theme
emerged · a widening gap between
the Vatican .and a substantial number
of French Catholics.
'There are many who consider the
pope's decision totalitarian,"" said an
editorial in Le Dauphine Libre, a
Grenoble daily. 'The image of the
church has been tarnished. How
many men and women will break
away?""
Le Mol'.lde, in a front-page article,
said the church was ""distancing itself
from society.""
""I regret this decision,"" said_ the
archbishop of Cambrai, Jacques
Delaporte . ""For out church, it is a
wound. For dialogue, it is a failure.
For the poor and those seeking a
direction who put their confidence in
him, it is a source of incomprehension
. ...
""If mission and communion do not
go together, we are moving sooner or
later toward a clash,"" he said.
Bishop Jean Vilnet of Lille said the
Vatican's decision was ""extremely
grave."" It is thanks to Gaillot that
""the poor, the marginals, the excluded,
those seeking hope, felt understood,
supported, recognized,"" he
said.
Said the president of the French
bishops' conference, Archbishop
Joseph Duval of Rouen: ""I am sad. I
never ceased to hope that we would
not be faced with such a situation. I
am sad for Bishop Gaillot, for the
diocese of Evreux. I am sad for the
church.""
Duval said he asked Gaillot last
April ""to place less distance between
himself and the bishops, between
himself and Rome . . I explained to
him, in_ the presence of several
bishops, that I had written this letter
so that Rome did not have to
intervene.""
""Gaillot paid no heed to my appeal.
I pleaded with Rome to have
patience,"" he said.
After being forced out, Gaillot
wrote a letter to be read in his diocese
that said: 'The important thing is to
follow Christ, to welcome his word, to
continue to be the church to proclaim
the Good News of salvation to
everyone.""
Nine German theologians,
including Hans Kung, released a
""telegram of solidarity"" sent to
Gaillot, demanding his reinstatement.
""We protest resolutely against this
arbitrary action by the papacy. It
involves a bishop who, following
Jesus in discipleship and motivated
by pastoral responsibility, exercised
his office as the gospel demands with
extraordinary openness and readiness
to enter into dialogue.""
In taking such demeaning action
against thinkers and pastoral leaders,
it is the Vatican that is actually demeaned.
Each exercise of brute authority
only diminishes its authority
and further erodes its credibility.
The pope earlier sent out the
message to theologians - toe the line -
subjecting some of the most creative
to trials and silence. Vatican officials
also have gone after bishops, and the
ranks of those who dare to question
are thinning.
It doesn't sound much like the
Christianity we long for.
Excerpted witlt permission from tlte
National Catholic Reporter, Kansas
City, Missouri.
We welcome
your letters
and opinons
Write to Second Stone. All letters must
be · original and signed by the writer.
Clearly indicate if your name is to be
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MARCH APRIL l 9 9 5
W From the Editor W • • • - • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • e ~ •
Louganis worth more than gold
By Jim Bailey
WITH NOTHING LEFT to lose, Greg Louganis has told his secrets. He
waited a long time, too long say many in the lesbian/gay community, to
finally come out. The 35-year-old four time Olympic diving champion had
been not-so-secretly involved with men for over ten years before he officially
came out at last summer's Gay Games in New York.
And now comes the revelation that Louganis knew he was HIV-positive
when he competed in the 1988 Olympics and he didn't share the information
with officials. It is ""regrettable"" and ""not morally right"" said an outraged Park
Seh-jik, chief organizer of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Louganis said he was too
scared to reveal his HIV status to the doctor who stitched a cut suffered when
he hit his head on the diving board in the Seoul games.
After all the secrets are out, is Louganis, holder of 47 national titles, five
world championships and five Olympic medals, still the champion we
thought he was? ·
During his school years, Louganis was taunted, called ""retard"" because of his
dyslexia, ""nigger"" because of his dark skin, and ""sissy."" He grew up in an
adoptive home that included a father who paid little attention to him until
Greg found out what he was good at - diving - and he beg·an getting
recognition. His father once beat him with a belt across his butt and legs until
he got a dive right. . · ·
As a young gay man, he ended up in a relationship that started out wjth
his raging -lover raping him after attacking him with a knife. Instead of
terminating the relationship, Louganis allowed this lover to move into his
home and help him spend his money. The two stayed together for six years.
Louganis' story is different from the stories of many other gay men only in
that he disco_vered something early on that he could commit to, work hard at,
and excel in - something that would bring him fame. Otherwise he was a
scared, depressed youth who knew he ""was different."" He was afraid to name
the difference and even if he had ·he would have still had no role models.
When he ven.tured out to explore his· sexuality, he did not find a tender,
genuine love; he found greed and abuse. ""I thought it was the best I could
do,"" he replied when asked by Barbara Walters why he stayed in the
relationship. - -- -- - ·
Even as he stood with Olympic medals around his neck, Louganis somehow
felt incomplete and undeserving.
.Our task is to learn the true value of. ourselves, as children of God, and to
equip oμrselves to help others understand their worthiness.
We are partners with World Community Builders
Second Stone has become a partner in ministry with World Community
· Builders, an organization we reported on a couple of years ago. It's a group of
folks who travel to foreign countries to help build and repair - ministry
buildings. The highlight of our partnership will be our activities at the
UFMCC General Conference this summer. We will be covering the activities
of World Community Builders and will donate to WCB a percentage of
subscription sales generated by our partnership. Watch for .mor-e details in
the next few issues.
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SECOND. STONE, ·a national ecumenical Christian social justice newsjoumal
with a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Rick Mixon, Edouard Fontenot,
A. J. Kelly, Rev. Sarah J: Flynn, Cheryl Johnston, Allen Smalling.
SECOND STONE
ANGELS,
From-Page 13
Graduate Theological Union last fall,
put it this way: churches need to
practice our faith ori new frontiers;
·mainstream churches have to serve
people where unmet spiritual needs
exist - at the border, in secular urban
milieus, in AIDS wards. Rodriquez, a
gay, Latino, Catholic addressing seminary
faculty, administrators, students
and trustees, all purported religious
leaders, chided: ""We are not mainline
churches anymore, not i)l 1994, not in
secular America, not in yuppy San
Francisco, not anymore. We .are on
the edge . The world does not listen
to . you. America is moving away
from established churches ... We have
to become eccentrics. We have to
meet (people) where -they are. Religion
does not begin with theology. It
begins ... in a cappucino bar, on a
deathbed . It is all around us.
Ancient Sodom's angelic visitors
came from the edge. They came from
the edge of political reality, social
convention and religious need. They
came because Yahweh heard the outcry
of the oppressed. They came to
see if the people had strayed so far
from right living that they were
beyond hope . The story says they
found the city worse than they
expected and they had no choice but
to destroy it. Later, Jesus sat and
wept over Jerusalem, another great
city that had lost its spiritual connections.
He stood in the midst of the
GAY DAYS,
From Page 14
death.
The format of the 365 daily
meditations Glaser offers follows a
simple pattern. The season sets the
general theme: - A passage from scripture,
either Hebrew Bible or the New
Testament, is the context for a short
meditation followed by a two or three
line concluding prayer. Generally,
Glaser does a good job of developing
his twelve seasonal themes, though
the reflections flow from the text in a
loose stream of consciousness and the
connection can be obscure. During
the season of Lamentation (February),
he confronts issues · such as unbelief,
.suffering, grief, resistance, 'internal- .
ized homophobia; AIDS. Passion
(March) brings consideration of eroticism,
carnality, sexual expression,
nakedness, and justice and the season
of Liberation (June) focuses on the
misuse of religious power to condemn
alternative sexual identity and the joy
of overcoming this condemnation.
Glaser makes a valiant effort at the
slippery task of inclusiveness, addressing
such pressing issues as internalized
homophobia, transgendered
people, aversion to aging, sexism and
misogyny, abusive relationships,
religious . arrogance and patriarchal
church hierarchy. When he is able to
tie together well these issues with
thinking about God, Glaser is very
effective. Unfortunately some of his
city offering a new life, but so many,
especially the wealthy and the reli_
gious leaders, could not grasp what
he was offering because they were so
caught up in defending 'their own
way of life. They had it all figured ·
out; no need of God or God's messenger
. Only this time the messen- ·
ger was . not so lucky or powerful as
the angels of Sodom. This messenger
they hung on a cross.
How are our ""cities"" like Sodom,
and how are we like Sodomites? Are
there angels in our midst, come to see
how we respond to our neighbors in
need? Do we have a word of hope, a
cup of cold water, a comforting touch,
a challengihg word to .offer? Do we
offer what we have, or do we hold
back? Can we say no to the sin of
security and yes to life that takes us
from sacred walls to the very edge of
our ""cities?"" If we accept the notion
that the world outside our comfortable
environments is hostile and, therefore,
evil, and so settle for security
and stasis, we run the risk of
forfeiting not only our own lives but
God's creation, for which we have
been made responsible. If we work
together, we may move mountain ·s
and the fate of Sodom will never be
the fate of the ""cities"" we love. IJ Rick Mixon is director of
American Baptists Concerned.
This article first
appeared in Voice of the
Turtle, the newsletter of
ABC.
gender inclusive retranslations of
biblical text are , distracting, with an
overdrawn, mechanical feel. As is
often the case, simply excising
pronouns can produce an excessively
awkward text, ""For God so loved the
world that [God] gave [God's] only
begotten son ... "" Something deeply
personal has .. been lost in this
trimsition. In the absence of a more
thoroughgoing retranslation, it would
have been preferable simply to
.alternate between masculine and
feminine pronouns for the divine
name as the meditations progressed ..
This critique is not Glaser's alone to
be borne; as .a culture we have yet to
become nimble at the task of
inclusion .
These observations aside, one could
not read The Word is Out without
feeling a certain humility before the
authenticity of Glaser's spiritual
journey. At times his· eloquence is
deafening. The reader, theist or no,
will from . time to tin,e simply set
aside the book and wonder at the
unexplored possibilities, which is, I
suppose, Glaser's goal. Glaser has
begun the hard, constructive work of
building up the gay and lesbian
religious community, a community
often assaulted from all sides. He is
to be congratulated for this work.
MARCH/APRIL 1995
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SECOND HOME,
From Page 12
into the ECC as a priest, while
recognizing the validity of my United
Methodist ordination. He developed
a Rite of Reception in which my .
United Methodist ordination was duly
acknowledged and recognized as
valid, while at the same time I was to
be welcomed into the ECC with the
laying on of hands and a blessing.
This proposed rite of reception was
shared with my United Methodist
bishop, William B. Grove, who _ enthusiastically
approved it and saw in
the proposed rite of reception a
possible solution to larger problems
concerning the mutual recognition of
ministries between the . United
Methodist Church and other churches
having the .historic episcopate. On
January 11, at a service of St. Francis
and St. Clare parish in Hartford,
Connecticut, after making the appropriate
affirmations of faith and loyalty
to the ECC, I was .received by Bishop
Mark Shirilau as a priest of the ECC.
While it was not my original intent
to be a pioneer in either the first or
second sense of the word a~ used by
Bishop Grove, that seems to be what
has happened. So God works in
.strange ways to break down the dividing
walls of suspicion and division,
not only between gay and
straight, but'between Christian communites
as well. It is my hope that
what God has begun in an indirect or
""lefthanded"" manner in my life my
flourish 'in the ministry of the ECC,
and in ways I cannot now begin lo
see or understand.
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HOOPLA! MOVIE ABOUT
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OPENS WITH HYPE. PROTEST
AND PRAISE
The Oklahoma
City bombing
JLTIMATE ACT OF
VIOLE, CE IS A WAKE
UP CA TO HATE N
AMERICA
.Stephen Braddock
A DECADE AGO, HE WAS
ON THE FAST TRACK IN
NEW YORK. NOW HE RUNS
AN AIDS MINISTRY FOR THE
ORDER OF ST. CAMILLUS
The little people
A CRACK BABY AND A TODDLER
WITH AIDS J3RING
RESURRECTION AND NEW
EANI G TO LIVES
THEY TOUCH
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PERMIT No. 511 I pftqatt 11ianar;sr411, «t'sij.~i•n:e®:ij~~~a;m*I
w Calendar w . . . . . . . . .
Retreat for HIV-positive religious and clergy
MAY 8-12, The Marianist Center in Cupertino, California, is the setting for a five
day retreat for religious and clergy who are HIV-positive. For information contact
John McGrann, Kairos Support for Caregivers, 114 Douglass, San Francis.co,
CA 94114, (415)861-0877:
Peace and Justice for All Festival
MAY 12-14, Rrst Congregational United Church of Christ sponsors this
gathering, themed ""An Agenda for New Century Christians"" Rev. Mel White is
featured speaker. Musician Ken Medema will perform. All events will take
place at the church, 464 East Walnut Street, Pasadena, Calif. For information on
the festival, call (818)795-0696.
Spiritfest '95
MAY 26-29, DeGray Lake Resort and State Park in Arkansas is the setting for
this annual spirit-filled gathering. For information contact Linda Harris, 5029
Lemmon Ave., Dallas, TX 75209, (214)528-2811.
Religious Life Weekend
JUNE 1·4, The Mercy of God Community sponsors its fourth annual. Religious
Lile Weekend for those considerin~ religious life. The LaSalette Center for
Christian Living, Attleboro, Mass., 1s the setting'. For information contact the
Mercy of God Community, P.O. Box 41055, Providence, RI 02940-1055:
Gay, Lesbian & Christian: Celebrating Our Challenges
JUNE 8·11, This retreat features John McNeil!, Virginia Mollenkott , Lisa
Anderson and Chris Glaser . For inlomation contact Kirkridge, R.R. 3, Box
3402, Bangor, PA 18013. Cost is $295. ·.
Retreat for Catholic parents of gay and lesbian children
JUNE 9-11, The Catholic Parents Network sponsors ""Turning the Key,"" a
weekend of story-telling, presentations, film, discussions, communal prayer,
quiet time, worship and socializing. Facilitators are Mary Ellen Lopata, the
Catholic mother of a gay son who came out ,in 1983 when he was 19, and
Robert Nugent, SDS, a Catholic priest who has written extensively on homosexuality
. For information contact Fr. Robert Nugent, 637 Dover St., Baltimore ,
MD 21230, (301)927-8766.
Spirituality Retreat for People Living With HIV/AIDS.
JUNE 16-17, St. Camillus AIDS Ministry presents ""Embracing the Mystery:
HIV/AIDS and the Spiritual Lile."" This retreat experience has been designed
to help participants re-frame their often negative experiences of living with
HIV disease. Guided meditation, reframing of emotional resistance, group
sharing, trance journeying, body work, music and ritual are woven into holistic
exploration of tools for healing which participants can integrate into· their daily
lives. There is no fee, but enrollment is limited. For information about location
and registration contact Bro. Stephen Braddock, (414)481-3696.
Golden Threads 9th celebration
JUNE 23·25, Lesbian women from all over the United States and from many
foreign countries will meet at the_ Provincetown Inn in Provincetown, Mass. ,
Golden Threads is a worldwide social network of lesbian women over 50 and
their friends . For information contact Christine Burton, Golden Threads, P.O.
Box 60475, Northampton, MA 01060-0475.
American Baptists Concerned National Retreat
JUNE 24-27, The annual retreat of ABC will be held at Thornfield Retreat
Center in Syracuse, New York. Cost is $175. For·information contact ABC, 872
Erie St., Oakland, CA 94610-2268, (510)465-8652.
· Womaen's Caucus & BMC Celebration
JUNE 25-26, The Church of the Brethren Womaen's Caucus and the
Brethren/Mennonite Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns sponsors ""Dancing
at the Wall: Re-Imagining the Church."" The event will be held at St. Peter's
Episcopal Church in Charlotte, N.G. · It precedes the Church of the Brethren
Annual Conference . For information ·contact BMC, Box 6300, Minneapolis,
MN 55406-0300, (612)870-1501, mennojim@aol.com.
15th National Gathering of the UCCUGC
JUNE 26-29, The United Church Coalition for Lesbian/Gay Concerns meets in
Berkeley on the campus of the University of California. ""Hurtling Toward The
Millenium: Political Upheaval, Gay Power, and Our Dreams for the Church"" is
the theme. The meeting precedes the United Church of Christ General .
Synod . For information call (614)593-7301 or write to UCCL/GC, 18 N.
College St., Athens, OH 45701.
SEE CALENDAR, Page 17
SECOND STONE . -
THE NATIONAL E C UMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents ........ ... ~ ....... •· ~ ... • ·•· .
[I] Calendar
Opportunities for connectedness
across the country
[]}•ws
.r---;;::7
-~-. Oklahoma City bombing
I
I motivated by hate · I A wake-up call for a country
···-- too tolerant of hate crimes ·
St. · Camillus AIDS Ministry ·
Bro. Stephen Braddock finds a: call
at the end of the last lane
[j_] Gay priest with AIDS
Fr. Jimmy Tabler just won't slow down;
. founds new Ecumenical Catholic Church
112 : The Little People . ·. I Superkids make go.od teachers
113 j Videos ·
l . ~ To Tell The Truth Television:
, . . · Cathedral of Hope MCC . L _ · offers videos for cable access television
In Print ·
Reviewed in this issue : Pastor, I Am Gay;
· A gay journey by a straight pastor
[I 6-\ _ Noteworthy
!-18 I Commentary . . l - Mainstream media overlooked
· · Mel White's mission
11· 9· -~ From the editor
· _ · Oklahoma City bombing brings
. scrutiny to those who hate [20] Classifieds
MAY/JUNE l 9 9 5
:m
v News . ............................................. •· ......................... .
Lutheran bishops confront same-sex union debate
LUTHERAN BISHOPS IN Denmark
and Sweden have taken actions that
chip away at their traditional opposi.
tion to same-sex unions. Denmark ""s
bishops set up a committee to deal
with, am,mg other things, issues
related to gay and lesbian partnerships.
In Sweden, same-sex couples
may ask for a prayer of intercession
for their partnership. Denmark was
the first country worldwide to legalize
gay unions, while Sweden is the
latest to do so.
The bishops of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Denmark have
decided to deal with issues concerning
the blessing of same-sex relationships.
In addition to set.ting .up a
committee to address issues concem.
ing the family and society, including
gay and lesbian partnerships, bishops
· have been asked ""to come forward
with a referendum"" later this year .
Gays and Lesbians may still neither
marry nor have their partnership
blessed in church. The bishop of
Copenhagen recently reprimanded a
pastor in his diocese who gave a
church blessing to a lesbian couple
following the civil registration of their
partnership. ""It is not acceptable that
pastors take the law into their own
hands,"" Bishop Erik Norman
Svendsen told the Danish churEh
newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad. And a
group of 25 pastors in the Danish
church have given notice that they
will protest any moves toward permitting
the blessing of gay partnerships
in church.
In neighboring Sweden, gay
couples may ask for a prayer of intercession
following the civil registration
of their partnership . The Church of
Sweden bishops' conference sent a
proposal for a prayer text to parish
pastors in every ·diocese. One of the
arguments in support of the proposal
was that each sexual relationship
should be based on fidelity and
responsibility. While intercessory
prayer for a gay couple should be
considered an unofficial act and pastoral
in nature, it may be performed
in church at the pastor's discretion.
The Swedish bishops' move came in
the wake of a new law that gives gay
couples the same legal and social
Danes elect their first woman bishop
THE EV ANGELICAL LUTHERAN
Church in Denmark has elected its
first woman bishop. Parish pastor
Lise-Lotte Rebel was installed as· the
new bishop of the Helsingoer diocese
on April 2.
In a January 25 interview with the
Danish newspaper Kristelight Dagblad,
Rebel cited her 15 years of service as
a·parish pastor in the diocese .as. the
main reason for her election. ""People
QUOTABLE
Go Ahead, Make My Values.
""Homosexuals should not
be portrayed at all on
television. If young men
need to identify with
someone, they should
identify with
Clint Eastwood.""
-Lou Sheldon of the ·
Traditional Values Coalition,
Los Angeles Times, Nov. 3, 1994
S :E: C O N :D S T O N E
who voted for me knew that I had
this experience, but a certain 'local
pride' probably also played a role.""
Rebel said that she does not think
the fact that she is a woman was
decisive in the election. Neither does
she expect her gender to cause her
problems as a bishop. ""I have served
in a number of ordinations in
Helsingoer Cathedral and have never
had it happen to me that a colleague
would not give me his hand."" (Male
ordinands have been known to refuse
to shake hands with female pastors at
their ordination.)
Rebel, 44, has served as a pastor in
. the cathedral parish of Helsingoer
since 1987. She will be the fourth
woman worldwide to s·erve as a
Lutheran bishop, following Maria
Jepson in Hamburg, Germany; April
Ulring. Larson in the La Crosse Area
Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America; and Rosemarie
Koehn in Hamar, Norway.
Rebel may soon be joined by a
second woman bishop in the Danish
church - three women are aμiong the
candidates for bishop of the Fyn
diocese. That election is due to take
place later this year.
- Lutheran World Information -
rights as married heterosexual couples,
making Sweden the third
country to legalize same-sex unions.
The new law, which came into force
on New Year's Day, does not allow
Gays and Lesbians to marry in
church, nor to adopt . or foster children,
and Lesbians will not be able
to have articifial insemination. The
Church of Sweden strongly condemned
the law, which was put
forward by liberal and leftist parties .
Swedish archbishop Gunnar Weman
advised pastors not to take part in
civil registration ceremonies.
- Lutheran World Information
Retired Anglican bishop says he's gay
THE RT REVD DEREK Rawcliffe, the current affairs program .
former ·Anglican Bishop of Glasgow Bishop Rawdiffe 's statement came
and Galloway in England told a BBC after Cardinal Basil Hume, the leader
television program that he was of Roman Catholics in England and
homosexual and called for a church Wales, condemned •homophobia and
blessing for gay couples. discrimination against homosexuals
Bishop Rawcliffe, who served in but restated his support for a Vatican
Glasgow and Galloway from .1981 to statement which described homosexu-
1991 and is now retired, is believed to · al genital acts as ""objectively disorbe
the highest ranking Anglican cler- . dered"" and ""morally wrong"".
ic in Britain to state publicly that he is Bishop Rawcliffe said that he was
gay• only able to accept his homosexuality
""I think that it is both false and after he had turned the age of 50,
cruel to say we are gay but are not during his time in the Pacific, where
allowed to exercise that. If God were he spent 30 years. Towards the end of
really saying · that, that would be his time in the Pacific he got married
cruel. We don't say to heterosexual and thought he was no longer gay.
people that God has ... given you this But he said that he realised after his
sexuality but you are not to use it,"" wife died, and about the time when
Bishop Rawcliffe told the Newsnight he retired, that he was still gay. -ENI
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
What13ible -the
Really Says
About
Homosexuality
. I• 1-\e\~iniak, f'h.D·
oan1e ""·
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed.""
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
"": .. the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
summary I know of current biblica
l scholarship relating to homosexual
issues ... eminently useful...""
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□
WHAT THE BIBLE REA LL V SAVS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
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News
••e• • • cs•o •a•••••••• o cs o o o ee ee11 ooo cci Q
Gay couple -fasts to protest
blocked union blessing
TWO MEN, WHOSE plan for a service
to bless their union -was blocked,
conducted a 10-day fast in a chapel of
St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle to protest
what they called the Episcopal
Churd1's injustice to homosexuals.
The fast, which concluded March 8,
coincided with the House of Bishops
meeting at Kanuga Conference Center
near Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Bishop Vincent Warner of the Diocese
of Olympia forbade the December
service that would have blessed
the union of James A. Black, MD, and
Thomas W. Monnahan, both members
of the cathedral congregation.
While citing his own support for their
cause, Bishop Warner said that he
could not permit the service until the
church as a whole arrives at a consensus
on the issue.
He said that the two undertook the
fast ""with no expectations,"" recognizing
that the bishops' meeting was not
a legislative session that could change
church policy. He added that they
still hoped that the bishops would
find a way to grant each other ""some
wiggle room"" in which congregations
supportive of same-sex unions could
choose to bless them.
They also hoped that the highly
publicized event would raise con°
sciousness about the · place of homosexuals
in the churcl1, he said.
In an open letter to the bishops,
Monnahan and Black explained the
motivation of their fast, saying, ""We
pray that our two voices speaking
with one heart, from -amidst those
millions of us outside the walls of our
church, may appeal to the hearts and
conscience of the . mighty within -the
episcopate of .the church. As the
members of the House of Bishops
break . bread together may they
remember, through our small offering
of ourselves, all of i:mr sisters and
,brothers who yearn to come the table
and join with ·them in the, feast · of
Christ."" ,
A 1990 survey ' by Integrity, a
gay/ lesbian Episcopal group, found
gay/ lesbian comrriitmerit ceremonies
were conducted in all 100 Episcopal
dioceses in the United States. In some
dioceses the bishop participated in the
ceremonies, while in other dioceses
the ceremonies were conducted in
secret. - Seattle Gay News &
EpiscapaNl ews Service
Reconciling Congregations speak out
on lesbian coach's firing
EARLY REPORTS OF the firing of
coach Diana Chalfant by a United
Methodist college ·included a statement
by its president that homosexuality
was unacceptable. Chalfant
had publicly challenged her firing by
Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia,
Kentucky in December. She was fired
because she is a lesbian.
After weeks of protests by Lindsey
Wilson students, negative publicity in
an area newspaper and a flurry of
letters from Reconciling Congregations
and pastors around the country,
the president publicly denied that
Chalfant was fired for being a
lesbian. However, an area United
Methodist pastor and school trustee
was reported by local press to have
said ""practicing hoR1osexuals may not
hold leadership positions in the
church, and Chalfant's coaching position
was considered a leadership position.""
The Reconciling Congregations
Program said that once again United
Methodists have communicated a
message of inhospitality to lesbian,
gay and bisexual persons, a message
they say hinde.rs the ministry-of RCs
and other welcoming congregations.
Staff ~embers of the Reconciling
Congregation Program connected
Chalfant with Edgehill United Methodist
Church -in Nashville. which has
provided a supportive community for
her. - RCP News
Episcopalians support monogamous Gays
THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE of Washington,
D.C., at its annual convention•
in February, adopted a controversial
statement on homosexuality in
defiance of the church's official stance.
Delegates voted 134-32 to adopt the
Koinonia Statement, which says that
sexual orientation is ""morally neutral""
and calls for the church to affirm
monogamous same-sex relationships.
The statement, introduced at the
church's national convention in
August by pro-gay Newark Bishop
John Spong, has been signed by
about 70 bishops, but the D;C: ·
diocese is the first to adopt it at its
convention. .
The statement reads, in part, 'Those
who know themselves ·to be -gay or
lesbian persons, and who iio · not
choose to live alone, J,ut forge
relationships with partners of !_heir:
choice that are faithful, momogamous,
committed, life-giving and holy are to
be honored.""- Chicago Outlines
MAY/JUNE 199 5
News ........................................................................
Woman says Catholic school fired her because she's lesbian
LOS ANGELES (AP) -A woman who
claims she was fired from her teaching
job at a Roman Catholic high
school because she is a lesbian says
she feels betrayed by the church.
'The reason I'm coming forward is
that they need to be held accountable
and I am hoping that this will not
happen to anyone else,"" said Susan
Ford, who was fired from St. Joseph
High School in Santa Maria. ""For me,
this is getting the church to deal with
the homophobia."" ·
Ford was fired in March 1994 for
undisclosed incompetence. She claims
she lost her job days after she revealed
her sexual orientation, and
filed a Superior Court lawsuit.
""I think at this point, because of the
publicity around this and because I
wasn't (openly gay) before, I can't see
that I would really go back to my old
job,"" Ford said in a telephone interview.
""It's been very, very, traumatic for
me, not just professionally but personally
and spiritually,"" she said. "" I
feel very betrayed by the Catholic
Church.""
The lawsuit, filed in March, accused
St. Joseph High School of violating
public policy, invasion of privacy and
wrongful termination.
The suit also said Ford missed work
due to depression and anxiety over
the firing . She seeks lost wages and
benefits, compensation for mental and
emotional distress, punitive damages
and attorney's fees.
Officials for the school al).d the
Roman Catholic Church have declined
to comment on the suit.
"" ·When we have a case in court, we
respond in court;"" said church spokesman
Father Gregory Coiro .
Ford, who is represented by Mary
Ann Tardiff of Santa Barbara, now
teaches at a public middle school in
the Los Angeles area. Her lawsuit has
won support from organizations including
. Dignity-USA, a national
organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered Roman Catholics.
""What is hidden behind the
spurious charge of incompetence is
the underlying issue of sexuality,"" the
Lompoc Valley chapter of the
National Organization for Women
said in a statement Tuesday . "" Homosexuality
is in itself insufficient reason
to dismiss a valuable person from
their job.""
Church appeals right to intervene in same-sex marriage suit
HONOLULU (AP) - The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has
appealed a state court ruling that denied
it the right to. intervene in a
same-sex marriage case.
Church leaders in Hawaii are
seeking to intervene in the case in
which three homosexual couples have
sued the state for denying them marriage
licenses. . · ·
"" We are urging the court to support
Hawaii's families and not undermine
them by radically redefining the
institution of marriage,"" said Don
Hallstrom, the church's legal repre- to trial Sept. 25. same-sex marriages should not be
sentative for Hawaii. State Judge Herbert Shimabukuro legal in Hawaii.
The Hawaii church has the full denied that petition March 30. Dan Foley, attorney for the couples,
support 'of Mormon leaders in Salt said the Mormon church's motion to
Lake City, he said. A The case against the state was filed intervene was filed too· late and has
church news release in Salt Lake City in 1991 and appealed to the state no legal standing.
said so, too. Supreme Court in 1993. The Mormon Church has 70,000
The justices sent the case back to members in Hawaii.
In its original petition filed in
February, the church said it could
offer Attorney General Margery
Bronster extra legal manpower, expert
witness and research results as
she prepares for the case, which goes
state court, saying the state must
show a compelling interest why
Church of England's first lesbian priest out
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Helping Christians
LONDON - The Church of England,
mired in controversy over homosexuality
among its clergy, now has its
first acknowledged lesbian priest. The
Sunday Times newspaper said the
Reverend Ros Hunt, from the university
town of Cambridge, had decided
to reveal publicly that she is a
lesbian. ""(Her) move will be seen as
a further challenge to the Church of
England's bar on vicars practicing or
being openly homosexuaJ,""·the paper
said .
Traditionalists in the Anglican
church are still coming to terms with
its divisive decision to ordain the first
women priests in its history last year,
and are likely to be uncomfortable
with the idea of lesbian priests, . a
church spokeswoman said .
Some leading clergy have called for
the Church of England, which allows
priests to marry , to reexamine its attitude
to homosexuality inside and outside
the church. ·
Bishop David Hope, the church's
third most senior figure, said recently
he was celibate but his own sexuality
was ambiguous and a grey area after
a gay activist group had threatened to
""out"" him as a homosexual.
A national debate on the church
and homosexuality has intensified
since March when a 74-year-old retired
Anglican bishop revealed he
was gay.
Cardinal Basil Hume, the lead er of
Britain's Roman Catholics, has condemned
discrimination against homosexuals
while sticking to the Vatican
line that gay sex .is immoral. -Reuter
Recognize same-sex unions,
says Norway church committee
THE HOMOSEXUALITY WORK
group of the Lutheran Church in
Norway issued a paper February 15
urging that the church recognize
same-sex partnerships and perform
gay and lesbian union . ceremonies,
reported the Oslo newspaper Aftenposten.
The work group rejected allowing
Gays and Lesbians to adopt childr en
$ECO . ND STONE
or access artificial insemination because,
they said , children should be
raised in as ""normal"" an environment
as possible.
Norway is one of three countries
that offer an equivalent to matrimony
for Gays and Lesbians. ·i :.e gay
marriage law it self does not allow for
adoption or a rtificial .insemination .
- Baltimore Alternative -
Edited by
Sallv B. Geb &
Debate Homosexuality
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, writers
with divergent ppints of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
l )onafcl E. Messer
Edited by Sally 8. Geis, director, lliff
Institute, Lay and Clergy Education, The
lliff School of Theology, Denver, and
Donald E. Messer, president, The Iliff
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk ___ _
Postage/Handling $3 first book, $1 each additional ____ _
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MAY/JUNE 1 9 9 5
w News w ........................................................ . ........... .
Church of England struggles with sexuality issues
AT A PRIVATE, week-long meeting
on the grounds of Windsor Castle outside
of London, the primates of. the
Anglican Communion wrestled with
issues of leadership, evangelism, human
r ights and sexuality--and discussed
plans for the 1998 Lambeth ·
Conference of bishops .
""Our being together has
strengthened our vision in Christ and
renewed our desire to improve our
structures, leadership and communication,""
the leaders said in a pastoral
letter released March 16.
The pastoral letter said that the
primates were ""conscious that within
the church itself there are those whose
pat.tern of sexual expression is at variance
with the received Christian
moral tradition but whose lives in
other respects demonstrate the marks
of genuine Christian character.""
While acknowledging that the issues
are ""deep and complex,"" the primates
urged careful reflection on sexuality
issues ""in the light of the Scriptures
and the Christian moral tradition,""
but with ""honesty and integrity,
avoiding unnecessary confrontation
and polarization, in a spirit of faithful
seeking to understand more clearly
the will of God for our lives as Christians.""
During the .meeting, an
organization called Outrage! attempted
. to pressure the bishop of London,
David Hope, into admitting that he is
a homosexual. In the face of the
implied threats, the bishop called a
news conference and said he had
""from the beginnin~ chosen to lead a
single, celibate life' and that he .was
""not a sexually active person,"" although
confessing some ""ambiguity""
about his sexual orientation .
The primates issued a letter of
support, expressing their ""solidarity
in deploring this reprehensible intrusion
into your private life. We assure
you as a body that we stand against
this kind of provocation.""
""We reject homophobia in any
form,"" Carey said at a closing press
conference. ""Homosexuals must be
treated as people made in the image
and likeness of God,"" he said, adding
that sexuality issues must take into
account human experience as well as
biblical teaching.
Archbishop Keith Rayner of
Australia said that the church is ""finding
there are people whose lives
show all the marks of Christian character
and yet in some way are not .
conforming"" to the traditional understanding
of Christian sexuality. He
said that scientific study and human
experience had to be taken into
account, ""just as the church has had to
modify its views on marriage and
divorce in the light of human experience.""
Presiding Bishop Edmond
Browning added, ""Before we can
wrestle with the issue of practicing
homosexuals, we have to wrestle with
the issue of same-sex unions."" By
addressing the possibility that two
people could live in a life-long committed
relationship, ""that would say
something about how we saw that
lifestyle and about the holiness of that
lifestyle.""
Browning said in an interview
that there was ""a great sense of
anger"" among the primates over the
treatment of the bishop of London.
But he added that he was impressed
with the quality and depth of discussions
around sexuality issues,""
including issues that have made some
primates uncomfortable at previous
meetings . ""For too long we have
either dodged the issues or been
unwilling to face up to them,"" he
said.
-James Solheim, Episcopal News Service
Bishop targeted for outing appointed Archbishop of York
A CHURCH OF ENGLAND bishop
recently targeted by a homosexual
""outing"" campaign has been appointed
as archbishop of York, the
church's second-highest post.
A leader of the traditionalist
Anglo-Catholic wing of the church,
Hope was a prominent opponent of
the ordination of women, which began
last year . He has permitted them
to be ordained in his diocese but has
declined to participate personally .
At York, Hope will succeed the
Most Rev. John Habgood, who retires
Aug. 31. Prime Minister John Major
chose Hope from two candidates nominated
by the church.
Hope told a news conference
Tuesday that he had received hun- .
dreds of letters of support after he
spoke out about his sexuality last
month .
""Many of them were from
homosexual people themselves and
one or two were extremely moving
letters,"" he said .
He said he hoped to promote discussion
of the issue within the church.
"" At the present time I am just a
little concerned that the debate is
causing rather more heat than light,""
he said.
""I think it's immensely important
that we remain in touch and keep
linked with, as I have attempted to
do, a whole range of groups.""
Christina Rees, spokeswoman for
the Ministry of Women, a group
which lobbied for women priests, said
it would have been more encouraging
to see an ally appointed archbishop.
""But David Hope is a man of ·
integrity and I believe he is bigger
SECOND STONE
than his own points of view,"" she
said.
Hope was ordained in 1966,
appointed bishop of Wakefield in
1985 and then bishop of London in
1991.
Bishop Hope's family came from
Yorkshire where his father ran a
small building firm and, as a young
boy David Hope won a scholarship as
a chorister at Wakefield Cathedral.
Speaking of the relationship
between York and the Archbishop of
Canterbury, Bishop David said that
he had already worked very closely
with Archbishop Carey. 'My own
background and tradition is of course
somewhat different from his and for
example in the matter of the ordina tion
of women, I have taken and
continue to take a different view.
This simply reflects however a wider,
reality within the Church of England.
There are many more fundamental
matters on which we entirely agree.
One is the perception that there is a
spiritual hunger and thirst for faith in
our nation. I share with Archbishop
Carey his vision for encouraging the
Church of England in spiritual
growth in its witness and mission' .
The Archbishop of Canterbury warmly
welcomed the appointment by H er
Majesty of Bishop David Hope and
said 'He is well-known for his scholarship
and spirituality and has proved
to be a shrewd and strong leader in
the Diocese of London where I know
he will be sadly missed.' The Archbishop
said 'We compliment each
other in churchmanship and in opinions
on a wider range of issues but
we are single-minded in our concern
for the Church of .England and its -
mission to the nation and through the
wider Anglican Communion to the
world.'
The Most Revd John Habgood,
Archbishop of York, said that he was
delighted to hear of the appointment
of Bishop David Hope as his successor.
Speaking of Bishop Hope he
said 'He combines a clear theological
mind with deep spirituality, firmness
of purpose and gentleness of touch.'
Bishop Hope said his appointment
was 'A signal to the Anglo-Catholics
that there is still a space in the C of E
for them.'
Responding to questions on
homosexuality, the Archbishop Designate
referred to homosexuals as
'human persons' and . that serious,
careful and reflective discussion need
to be taken on the House of Bishops'
Statement on Sexuality. He also
stated that 'Sexuality is not my main
concern' ""and that he appreciated the
ministry of homosexual priests as·well
as heterosexual priests in the church.
Bishop Hope said that he had
fought against stereotyping throughout
his life: ""After all the words that
have been written and spoken about
this issue in recent weeks and days I
personally felt it was right to inform
you of the way in which Outrage
have been pursuing this matter with
regard to myself. It has been brought
to my attention that many people,
both inside the church and out of it,
both within the gay community and
outside it - find this approach wholly
unacceptable . Indeed, many believe,
as I do myself, that it could do untold
damage to a better understanding of
homosexuality and homosexual people.
-AP, ENI, Episcopal News Service
OutRage! threatens to out more bishops
LONDON - A gay activist who has
become the scourge of the Church of
England by exposing Anglican clergy
he claims are secretly gay said in
March he had three more bishops in
his sights . The church's third-ranking
clergyman, Bishop of London Dr
Davie! Hope, has already stated his
sexuality was ambiguous and a grey
area, although he was celibate, but
complained that Peter Tatchell's gay
campaign group OutRage! had intimidated
him .
Tatchell's tactics, which he justifies
by saying he is rooting out hypocrisy,
have unleashed a national debate
about the ethics of what he does and
about the church's stance on sex. The
Church of England does not condemn
homosexuality like the Roman ,Catholic
Church but does not accept practicing
homosexuals as priests .
""This small success in getting the
Bishop of London to come out and
getting the church hierarchy to back
him is just a tiny move in a much
bigger game plan,"" Tatchell said on
television . ""OutRage! is privately attempting
to persuade three other
Anglican bishops to come out of their
own free will,"" he later told Britain's
Press Association news agency. OutRage!
named 10 bishops last year,
alleging they were gay.
MAY/JUNE 199 5
li~l=IH ■il1~t,11=1;t,li=iit;ll1'1l=i
The Oklahoma City bombing:
Hate groups suspected from the first
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Experts
who track hate groups and paramilitary
organizations suspected from
the first that these might be linked to
the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building. Now these
authorities are repeating calls for a
crackdown.
""Americans are dying, and it's time
to seriously investigate these movements,""
said Rick Eaton, a researcher
The origin of hate:
at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in
Los Angeles.
Another monitoring group, the
Southern Poverty Law Center, urged
Attorney General Janet Reno in a
letter last October -to investigate unauthorized
""militias,"" contending
some of these paramilitary organizations
were mixing with white
supremacists in a ""recipe for disaster.""
The organizations monitored by the
Southern Poverty Law Center's
Klanwatch network vary widely in
philosophy - from Ku Klux Klan-style
white supremacy to simply advocating
staunchly the right to bear
arms and be free of government
interference.
""We don't believe in violent means
or violent acts,"" said Samuel
Sherwood, director of the U.S. Militia
Association, based in Blackfoot, Idaho,
with chapters in 10 states. He
denounced more militant groups as
""gangs of.guys with guns.""
A neo-Nazi group, the American
National Socialist Workers' Party,
denied that it knew about or participated
in the Oklahoma bombing and
urged any members with information
to help investigators. The group's
official statement added it believed
""members of the Movement"" were
involved.
Supremacists use declining economies to anger the uneducated
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - To
many, the hundreds of decaying factories
around Pennsylvania . indicate
economic decline. To white supremacists,
the empty plants represent op-
. portunity.
And, rights activists say, .supremacists
have wasted no time in taking
advantage of the opportunity.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations
Coinmission reports that 64 white supremacist
groups were active in the
state in 1994, up from 40 the previous
year. Pennsylvania has more neoNazi
groups than any state except
California, according to the 1994
Klanwatch Intelligence Report.
Many uneducated young whites,
once guaranteed jobs at the steel mills
where their -parents worked, are stuck
with _unemployment or low-paying
service jobs today. Blacks, Hispanics,
Asians, Jews, Gays and Lesbians are
easy targets for their angst.
'1t's difficult to tell a young person
to have confidence in a society that
glorifies an AIDS-carrying degenerate
like Greg Louganis and calls. him a
hero when he knows the real hero is
his father, who has worked all his life
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH:
Quan.
Both Sides of the Debate
Outstanding authorities on
scripture, tradition, reason,
biology, ethics, and gendered
experience discuss the place
of Gays and Lesbians in the
community of faith. This
book will provoke discussion
in congregations, study groups,
and ethics and social justice
issues.
Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker, Associate
Professor of New Testament at
Loyola Ma·rymount University,
Los Angeles.
Order now from Second Stone Press
□ HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH
Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker, $14.99, paperbk ___ _
Postage/Handling $3.00 first book, $1.00 ea. additional -----
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SECOND STONE -
at a factory and is then tossed out and
replaced by a minority,"" said Richard
Barrett, the leader of the Nationalist
Movement and the Nationalist Skinhead
Corps in Learned, Miss.
The organization will not release
exact membership figures, but Barrett
said Pennsylvarua has more members
of the Nationalist Movement than all
but four states - California, Texas,
Massachusetts and New York.
Why would white supremacist
groups thrive in Pennsylvania, with
its peaceful, Quaker roots and its
quaint Amish villages?
The answer, most experts say, is the
decline of industry and the lack of
opportunity.
""Hatred is a unifying agent,"" said
the Rev. Larry Trachte, who teaches a
class on cults and hate groups at
Wartburg College in Waverly, fowa.
""Hatred often grows out of self-contempt,
when a young person feels
that he is a failure .""
""People who have worked their
whole lives are losing jobs to Japan
and Mexico,"" Reading Klansman Roy
Frankhouser said. 'There's a tremen-
Thought he was gay, attacker says
dous frustration when they see
foreigners come in and get a smallbusiness
loan. They feel anger and
outrage.""
Ann Van Dyke of the Human
Relations Commission said hate
groups usually start in all-white,
all-Christian towns that are losing
their industrial base.
Rabbi Kenneth Cohen noticed the
increase in skinheads around York
·County about two years ago. He
didn't worry about the groups, even
· after skinheads moved into a house
down the street from Ohev Sholom
Synagogue.
On Feb. 18, congregants found a
bloody pig's head hanging on the
synagogue door.
A month later, police arrested two
people with ties to the Eastern Hammer
Skinheads. Andrea Arnold, 18,
and Mason Aldrich, 22, face ethnic
intimidation, institutional vandalism,
desecration of venerated objects, ha0
rassment and criminal conspiracy
charges.
""I think we're concerned,"" Cohen
SEE HATE, Page 17
Hate crime charged in assault of
mentally handicapped man
LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Cache County
prosecutors are contemplating charging
a man suspected of beating a
mentally handicapped cyclist under
the state's hate crime law.
Cache County Attorney Scott Wyatt
said the 27-year-old suspect apparently
punched and kicked the victim
during an assault in a store parking
lot April 13 because he thought the
man had made a sexual advance
toward him.
The victim, 46-year-old Brent
Carpenter, is a familiar site in Logan,
where he rides his mountain bike as
many as 50 miles every day, waving
at passersby. Carpenter is mentally
handicapped and has worked 18
years at the Junction, a Utah State
University cafeteria.
Carpenter suffered cuts and bruises.
""His only motivation was he
thought this guy was .gay and was
trying to hit on him,"" said Collins.
The suspect was arrested at the
Logan department store where he
works after a witness to the assault
recognized him and called security.
Logan Police Detective Eric Collins
said the suspect admitted to the
assault and said he hit Carpenter
becuase he thought he was gay and
was making a pass at him. He has
been released on $5,000 bail.
Utah's hate crime statute increases
the severity of crimes committed with
""the intent to intimidate or terrorize
an individual"" because of their race,
religion or beliefs.
MAY/JUNE 199 5
Being gay, says Fr. Greg,
made me a better
PRIEST
A movie featuring a gay priest
as its main character opened
in theaters across the country
on April 19 amidst condemnation
from Roman Catholic Church
officials and organizations and much
less noticed praise from many in the
church who say the movie is an
accurate portrayal of human issues
facing the Roman Catholic Church
and the inability of the institution to
respond to those issues.
Devoted to his work, faithful to his
beliefs and true to his word the main
character of ""Priest"", Father Greg
Pilkington (Linus Roache), finds his
religious ideals quickly called into
question upon his arrival at a poor
and tough Liverpool parish. -Fellow
priest Matthew Thomas (Tom Wilkinson)
is carrying on an intimate relationship
with Maria Kerrigan (Cathy
Tyson), the presbytery's housekeeper.
Fourteen-year-old Lisa Unsworth
(Christine Tremarco) confesses to him
that .she is suffering sexual abuse at
the hands of her own father. Forced
by the situation to choose between his
faith and exposing the truth, Greg's
world becomes one of lies and betrayal
as he begins to question the ways
of the church while confrontin,g his
own hidden demons. ·
Upon first meeting, Father Greg
Pilkington and Father Matthew
Thomas quickly come to philosophical
blows - Matthew preaches tolerance
and understanding often going
against the teachings of the church
while Greg believes the church's
doctrines must be closely adhered to.
Greg begins to grapple with his own
sense of right and wrong as he
considers how to end Lisa's suffeing -
something he knows he must do. He
also knows that the secrets of the confessional
are sacred and that church
law does not allow him to reveal the
secret he knows. ·
Seeking an escape from the pressure
he is under Greg ventures out to
a club one evening where he enjoys
the company of Graham (Robert
Carlyle). A few days later Graham
attends mass and attempts to take
communion from him; Greg ignores
his own sense of human compassion
refusing to absolve him. Greg's feelings
of remorse and guilt now become
extreme. He ceases to function
either as a priest or as a man. When
Mrs. Unsworth (Lesley Sharp) discovers
her husband with Lisa one
afternoon she confronts Greg in a bitter
rage. He is unable to respond to
her anger and is quietly devastated ·
by his own impotence in the situation.
As Greg gradually realizes that the
church doesn't always provide all of
the . answers, and as his own truth
comes more sharply into focus he
slowly com:es to terms with himself
• and with those around him. Ultimately
the story of ""Priest"". is one of
tolerance and intolerance, . belief and
compassion, about one man's struggle
with a pow·er much larger than himself
- that of desire . Through the pain
of a teenage girl Father Greg is able
to recognize his own pain and finally
embrace his own truth.
Writer Jimmy McGovern first wrote
""Priest"" as a four-part BBC television
series in 1992. Many drafts and some
CardinalO 'Connorj oins criticismo f ""Priest""
NEW YORK CARDINAL John
O'Connor joined the criticism of the
movie ""Priest"", calling it ""viciously
anti-Catholic"", although he hasn't
seen the film.
The 20,.000-member Catholic
League and the mostly Catholic antiabortion
group American Life League
last week started boycotts of the Walt .
Disney Co, parent company of Miramax
Films. More than 20 other
groups, including the politicallyinfluential
Christian Coalition, joined
the boycott.
""No doubt whatsoever. The movie
'Priest' has to be as vicious!/ antiCatholic
as anything that has ever
rotted on the silver screen"" the
i:_:::ardinwalr ote in the weekly Catholic
New York. He said he formed his
opinions from reading reviews in
newspapers and magazines on
SECOND STONE
""Priest"".
""Five out"" of five priests in ""Priest""
are twisted, each in his own way,
thoroughly unsavory character, with
fewer redeeming features than a
black beetle in a bowl of black bear
soup,"" the Archbishop of New York
wrote in the article.
""For every nasty caricature of a
'Priest' kind of priest, I have met a
hundred, a thousand, God knows
how many, celibate, loyal, self-sacrificing
men of Christ.""
O'Connor said he was disappointed
with Disney and Miramax, writing
that ""your movie is little more than
the kind of thing kids used to take
delight in scrawling on the walls in
men's rooms· ... what you have done
is cheap and onerous.""
-Reuter/Variety -
Linus Roache as Father Greg Pilkington
years later the BBC told him _that the
project would be a go as a feature
film. He quickly pared 200 pages
town to 65, and the script was sent to
director Antonia Bird who immediately
fell in love with it. ·
Both McGovern and Bird took the
telling of this story seriously. They
wanted to tell a story about a -poor,
common Catholic parish in Liverpool
- a place where often the people have
very few choices in their day to day
lives and must accept what is dished
out to them. They also wanted to
show the courage and hope that
keeps these people strong in the face
of adversity .
McGovern is from Liverpool. He is
known as a writer who will say the
unmention?ble. He frequently writes
about the hidden aspects of peoples'
lives - what they present to the world
versus what they really do and
believe in their inner most, hidden
thoughts and emotions. In the case of
""Priest"" he does it again - the film
deals with subjects people may ,be
aware of, what people may experience
but do not like to talk about.
'The subjects I choose to write about
are · usually controversial but I don't
write about them simply for the shock
value. I like to make comments on
people's motives, to find elements of
selfishness in their action,"" said
McGovern.
Being raised and schooled as a
Catholic, McGovern had always
planned to write the story of a priest
who hears a confession of incest. ""It's
just been my mission in life to get
something writteri about a priest,"" he
says.
""In the final scene you've got a
priest who thinks he's a sinner and a
girl who's been sinned against horribly,""
says McGovern. ""She comes
up and absolves him . That's what the
Eucharist is about, ifs about a man
who is broke, bleeding and dying,
naked on the cross . It's about common
humanity and compassion.""
And that is ultimately what the film
""Priest"" is about - everyday understanding,
common humanity and
compassion.
Critically acclaimed director
Antonia Bird has alr~ady won several
awards for her work in film and television.
""Priest"", her second feature
film, won the Audience Prize at the
Toronto International Film Festival,
the Michael Powell Award for Best
British Film at the Edinburgh International
Film Festival, the FIPRESCI
International Critics Prize at the 1995
Berlin International Film Festival,
and has been nominated by the
British Academy for a 1995 Alexander
Korda Award for Best British Feature
Film.
MAY/JUNE 1995
Miramax bowed to pressure to change
Good Friday theatrical release date
THE NATIONWIDE release of
""Priest,"" which opened March
31 in New York and Los
Angeles, was changed to April .
19, from Good Friday, April 14,
because of protests from Catholic
groups. The secular Catholic
League, saying the film ""insults""
the church and its mem•
bers, had threatened a boycott
of Walt Disney Co., parent of
Miramax, if the film opened on
Good Friday.
Miramax is autonomous, a
spokesperson said, and Disney
was not involved in the decision
to change the release.
Miramax has made films such
as ""Pulp Fiction"" and ""The
Crying Game."" Disney officials
declined comment.
William Donohue, president
of the Catholic League, said he
welcomed the change in the
release date but still wanted
Disney to disassociate itself
from the movie. Donohue also
said he was angry about a statement
Miramax released by the
movie's director; Antonia Bird.
In her statement, Bird defended
the fllm and said she had
""gained· a huge respect and
sympathy for Catholicism and
the priesthood as a result of
researching and making the
film.""
But she lambasted the Catholic
League for what she called
""transparent attempts at moral
blackmail"" and ""the blinkered,
indeed totalitarian, view that
the rest of us should share its
assumptions.""
The head of the Catholic
group said Miramax's decision
to release the director's statement
""shows they want lo
continue the war .""
the ""movie is designed to stick
it to the Catholic Church.'-'
Bird said she does not believe
""that an organization as powerful
and influential as the Cathoin
the way African-Americans
have been depicted in movies
over the years.''
lic Church should be immune ""If you're going to be a pro-
.from observation and o;:,mment vider of smut, you cannot be a
from non-members."" The Cath- trusted provider of entertainolic
League, she continued, ment for children,'' said Judie
""suffers from the blinkered, Brown, president of the antiindeed
totalitarian, view that abortion American Life League,
the rest of us should share its based in Stafford, Va.
assumptions."" Saying the movie insults
Her reference to ""moral black- Catholics, both the Life League
mail"" ·came in response to and the secular Catholic League
Donohue's analogy that similar- said they plan to boycott all
ly harsh movies about Jews, Disney f.roducts, the Disney
blacks and gays, ""in the un- Channe, Disney World and
likely event"" they were made, Disneyland.They also plan to
would draw outcries from civil wage a letter campaign.
rights groups. The Life League wants
Responding that the analogy Disney to fire chairman and
was ""beyond contempt,"" Bird chief executive Michael Eisner,
said Donohue ""clearly has little remove the movie from distriknowledge
of and scant interest bution in theaters and onvideo _,_,.,....,..._,.,..
and ""apologize to every Christian
in the country.""
Mark Gill, marketing president
for Miramax, said ""We
believe in this movie and
believe it is a portrait of real
life"" He said the response from
many Catholics who have seen
the movie has been mostly
favorable.
The head of the Life League
said ·its 300,000 members, 80
percent of whom are Catholic,
object to the film's ""attack"" on
and inaccurate portrayal of
priests, ""the people at the forefront
of the pro-life movement.''
The League also plans to air
nationwide advertisements on
programs such as ""The Rush
Limbaugh Show,"" and the
Catholic League said it would
jam Disney's ·phones with
complaints. -Reuter/Variety
. The New York-based Catholic
League for Religious & Civil
Rights issued an 11-page condemnation
of the movie, saying,
among other things, that Linus Roache, Tom Wilkinson and Cathy Tyson in Antonia Bird's ""Priest''
Movie treats audiences like voyeurs, says French monsignor
PARIS (Reuter) - The movie ""Priest"" is
painful to Catholics and treats audiences
like voyeurs, the head of the
French bishops' conference said i.n a.
letter published April 18.
Monsignor Joseph Duval, in a letter
sent to French bishops April 17 and
printed by the daily Le Figaro, highlighted
""recent media events which
have been a source of suffering for
many Catholics in this country.""
SECOND STONE
He criticized the ""complacent""
release of the film in the middle of
Easter Holy Week.
""Saying that celibacy is difficult is
self-evident .. Who wouldn't believe
that there are some failures?"" Duval
wrote. ''But betting on the commercial
success of a film on this question
means treating the audience like
voyeurs.'' -
The French church has not known
any of the incidents involving sexual
activity that have involved priests in
the United States, Canada and Britain
in past years . But France's oncepowerful,
but now sharply reduced,
Father Jean-Michel di Falco, secretary
and spokesman of the bishops'
conference, had branded the timing
of the release a provocation.
militant anti-clerical movement, once
gleefully highlighted cases of priests
found to be involved in heterosexual
liaisons. The church suffered acute
embarassement in 1974 when Cardinal
Jean Danielou died suddenly in.a
. prostitute's flat in a Paris red-light
district. The church insisted she was
distraught and he was bringing her
moral comfort.
MAY/JUNE l 9 9 5
Vowing to help others ...
BY MARIE ROHDE
A decade ago, Stephen Braddock
was a man on the fast
track. He lived and worked
in New York, providing security
and private investigation work
for the rich and famous. Frank
Sinatra, Sean Connery and Jennifer
O'Neill were among his clients.
At 21, he seemed to be a boy wonder
who had it all - money, friends, a
golden touch in business, an exciting
job. -
Now he is a Roman Catholic
brother with the Order of St. Camillus
in St. Francis, Wisconsin. He has taken
a vow of poverty, chastity, obedience
and serviee""to ·-t-he sick and
dying. He lives with two.other brothers
and a. novice in a former convent,
running an AIDS program.
What brought about the dramatic
change in the direction of his life was
a sudden illness that struck him on
March 19, 1985. It seemed like a flu
but it took a violent swing, and by
the time Braddock arrived in a hospital
emergency room, he couldn't even
speak.
""I was in and out of. consciousness,
and I remember all these doctors and
nurses in hospital gowns and gloves
standing around me asking if I did
drugs or had sex with men,"" he
recalled. ""Nobody knew much about
AIDS then, and they kept asking me
if I could have AIOS.
'There was so much fear then.""
Braddock continued. ""Peo.ple who
were a big part of my life were afraid
to come to see me.""
Braddock nearly died, but he did
not and does not have AIDS. He had
contracted bacterial meningitis, a lifethreatening
but curable illness. One
lasting effect was that he lost some of
his hearing.
Another lasting effect was that he
took on a profoundly different way of
looking at life. ·
""It made me re-evaluate my life
and look at my priorities,'' he said. ""I
had cars and boats and was buying
gas stations and had a cleaning
business. Enough was never enough.
But it was all very empty and meaningless
to me.""
Braddock came from a :Strongly
SECOND STONE
Catholic family that supported him
through the good times and the bad.
Although he drifted from the church,
he returned as he searched for meaning
in his life. He entered the 400-
year-old Order of _St. Camillus, an
order dedicated to working with the
sick and dying.
The order is devoted to health care
and is committed to supporting a fuiltime
ministry for people with AIDS
and HIV. In October 1993, Braddock
was named director of an AIDS ministry
considered a priority of the order.
He and three other men live in St.
Francis in what was .once a convent in
a building attached to Sacred Heart of
Jesus Catholic Church.
The others are Nels Deloria, a
nurse with a vibrant sense of humor
who entered the order 21 years ago;
Louis Lussier, a medical doctor who
now edits the Journal of Christian Healing
for the order; and Mario Crivello,
a former teacher. Lussier and DeLoria
have taken their final vows as
brothers of the order. Crivello is a
novice, one who is preparing to take
the vows. ·
The house is huge, with 22 small
bedrooms. The furnishings are homey,
intentionally not looking like a
rectory or a hospice. A picture of
Jesus, head thrown back in laughter,
is on one wall. A poster of the crucified
Christ looking down on people
representing all humanity is on
another.
And then there's Braddock's
collection of whimsical monk figurines
- a favorite being three hooded
monks in a line with hymnals (look
closely, because the last holds a
miniature copy of Playboy).
These are earthy men who radiate
spirit1.1ality without preaching, say
those who know them, many of
whom have been alienated from the
church. Braddock and the others say
simply that they are trying to live the
Christian Gospel.
It's a welcoming place for those with
AIDS and HIV and their families, the
site of frequent retreats as well as
formal and informal counseling sessions.
'The Gospel is very clear,"" Braddock
says. ""The only appropriate
response is one of unconditional love
and caring. That is what we try to
provide.""
Those who have come for retreats
have ranged in age from 18 to 61, but
Braddock and the others say they
have counseled people in their 70s as
well as children who have AIDS.
Statistics, he says, destroy the myth
that AIDS is an affliction of young
gay men.
'The reality is that women and
children are the fastest growing
group among those with AIDS,""
Braddock said.
Brother Stephen Braddock
Theresa is one of those women who
felt sure she was in a monogamous
relationship. She was visiting the
former convent recently and agreed
to talk to a reporter if her real name
was not used. She has a grown son
who knows that she has tested positive
for HIV.
The 45-year-old accountant doesn't
use drugs and has never been promiscuous;
she's worked hard to raise
her son and is a Catholic who misses
the days when the Mass was said in
Latin.
She met and fell deeply in love
with a businessman who .seemed to
be like her. If he had any faults, it
was that he was a workaholic, she
says.
He died 18 months ago, uncertain
how he contracted AIDS and deeply
sorry that he passed the disease on to
Theresa, a woman he planned to marry.
She is neither bitter nor angry with
her late lover. Each night she plays a
taped recording he made for her.
What does she get from being with
the brothers?
'They are really good people and
so different from.most of the religious
people I grew up with,"" she said,
explaining she met one of the men at
a seminar on grieving that he was
leading. ""I was invited here for
Christmas and other times. It's a
place where I can explore who lam.""
Joe Zopp, 39, has been active in
Milwaukee's gay community and
with the gay and lesbian Catholic
group Dignity . He is open about
having AIDS. Unlike Theresa, he had
told his family and has been bolstered
by their support. He also is a
frequent visitor of the former convent
and has been a guest for several
retreats.
Zopp, who learned he had HIV
seven years ago, said he struggled
with his sexuality for years before he
accepted it as a gift, much as he has
accepted the sexuality of his brothers
and sisters who have married.
""AIDS is also a gift,"" Zopp said.
""You can let it get you down or you
can let it help you understand yourself
and others. It's helped me clear
the clutter out of my life, helped me
to understand sexism and racism.""
Zopp says he can no longer work
because of his . illness. These days he
has no long-term goals, but he continues
to practice what his .religion
has taught him: to celebrate life, to
love God with all his heart and love
his neighbors as himself.
Glenn Nash, 41, is a Baptist who has
Ii ved all of his life in Chicago. He
spent much of his life behind bars for
crimes he committed -in order to sup0
port his drug habit. It was while he
was incarcerated that he learned that
he was HIV-positive.
""I lived to use . and used to live,""
Nash said. 'The only time I was :clear
was when I was locked up. My family
shunned me and I was homeless.""
The diagnosis changed Nash's life.
At a treatment center, he learned of
Braddock and the retreats. He now is
a full-time volunteer, working to help
others cope with AIDS and to help
others learn from his mistakes. And
he comes to Milwaukee for retreats
with Braddock and the others as often
as he can.
The brothers do more than run
retreats. Braddock has .. organized a
series of lectures - some for those
infected,. some for caregivers. He also
works with a pastoral team at
Children's Hospital in Milwaukee as.
part of a clinical-pastoral training program.
Often, Braddock and the others just
visit the homes of those who are ill or
offer a much-needed break to caregivers.
""Some of the best pastoral care
happens when you're doing the most
mundane things - giving someone a
bath or helping them with their shopping,""
Braddock said.
January and February were difficult
months, Braddock said. Thirteen of
those he was seeing died, and he
officiated at the funerals for many of
them.
""I have no idea how many of them
were Catholics,"" Braddock said. ""It
really doesn't matter.""
Marie Rohde is a religion reporter for
The Milwaukee Journal, from which
this article was excerpted.
MAY/JUNE l 9 .9 5
LIMA, Ohio (AP) For Father Jimmy
Tabler, church is a two-story, weathered
hous ·e in South Lima. A chesthigh
ledg e draped with a cloth is his
pulpit. His altar: an antique table in
front of an entertainment center.
On Sundays, his living room .is a
sanctuaiy. He preaches to those who
sit in the makeshift pews formed by
three rows of folding chairs.
Tabler, 48, is an ordained Catholic
priest. H e 's also gay with HIV - the
virus that causes AIDS.
""I feel like gay people really need
the church . People that struggle in
their morality ought to be the most
welcome in the church,'' he said .
""Jesus says love doesn't mean anything
until you love the people who
are hard to love:""
And so, after turning away from
religion when he acknowledged he
was gay, he came back after finding a
church that accepted gays and lesbians
- and even encouraged them to
take leadership roles.
In November, Tabler formed the
Most Holy Redeemer Ecumenical
Catholic Church, a month after he .
was ordained a Catholic priest in
Oklahoma City. The church is an arm
of the Ecumenical Catholic Church of
··•Villa Grande, Calif .;' and has no ties
to the Roman Catholic Church.
His parishioners, often a handful or
fewer, worship in Tabler's old, white
house . The crux of his ·weekly message:
Christian love should be tolerant
of-all people.
""To hate people and to discriminate
is not really the gospel. That's not
being faithful to the gospel of Jesus
Christ,"" he said. ""I don't think the
church can be healthy until it includes
its gay sons and daughters .""
Tabler first chased ,.his dream of
becoming a minister in 1981; enrolling
at the Episcopal Theological
Semilll\ry of the Southwest in Austin,
Texas; after firi.;hing graduate school
at Texas A&M. He dropped out three
years later, pressured by bishops who
had learned · of his lifestyle and told
him to keep it quiet, he says.
Tabler spent 10 years trying to
reconcile his sexual orientation with
his spiritual one. He was troubied
that many religious people he knew
believed it's a sin to b.e gay.
""I still love the church; but I don't
know why they make it- impossible
for anyone who wants to be open and
honest,"" he said.
Monsignor . Donald Heintschel,
spokesman for the Diocese of Toledo,
doesn't believe the Ecumenical church
is backed by the Roman Catholic
Church.
""We don't name ou·r churches
'Ecumenical,""' he said . "" But if he has
a church where homosexuals are
SECOND STONE
welcome, I have no problem with
that.
""Still, I think there are ways of
ministering to people who have AIDS
other than founding a church . I
believe there are a. lot of hospices ·
around, for example.""
After seminaiy, Tabler moved to
Dallas · and painted houses for the
next seven years. He also .met Ruben ·
Perez, and the two began attending a
large inner-city Roman Catholic .
Church.
I was there that AIDS began to ·'
touch his life . Before then, it was
somethin ·g they thought .was confined
to cities like Los Angeles, New York .
and San Francisco.
""We were buiying two, three; four
young men a week,"" he said . "" It was
like getting 200 or so friends together
and every week seeing one or two of
them die.""
l
i
Tabler and Perez chose to leave 'fhii' i
daily sorrow in . search of a peaceful '
life together in Lima. Tabler was born . ,
in St. Marys and spent most of his ·
early years in rural Gomer . Father Jimmy Tabler, right, founder of the Most Holy Redeemer
Ecumenical Catholic Church in Lima, Ohio. . •· They . talked about how nice it
would be to escape to a place without
AIDS.
""Ruben's family had disowned
him . They did it when they found out
he was gay,'' Tabler said . ' '.My family
was different. So we decided to live
around them.""
Tabler continued to paint houses.
Ruben managed a local restaurant.
""We were very happy together, very
happy .""
But within months, Perez got sick.
Six weeks later, on Christmas Day, he
died of AIDS at St. Rita's Medical
Center at age 29.
""Neither of us knew. Neither of us
had been tested,' ' Tabler said . ""But
looking back, I .realize that the skin
condition Ruben had was a precursor
.""
Tabler knew .he must be HIVpositive,
too.
Tabler believes he got the disease
12 years ago after a bad car accident.
At the time, many people were
infected from tainted blood . ·
Tabler smiles . in the face of death.
He believes death will bring him life
- forever. And so he's not worried.
And he refuses to look at his illness ·
as a death sentence. Instead he fights
it by teaching others - including stu.
dents, church congregations and prisoners.
He now serves on the board of the
AIDS Task Force Regional Cooperative.
His congregation during a recent
Sunday service was his roommate .
She follows the ceremony religiously,
turning the pages of the handmade
hymnal that's bound by yarn .
Tabler belts out the songs in deep
voice, then delivers a sermon from
the Book of Genesis. He predicts a
new beginning for gays in the
church.
Bulk Copies Available
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""The whole New Testament
message is one of greater and gnfa.ter
inclusion. It's only been the last 700
years that gays were excluded from
the church,'' he said . "" It'll turn
around again sometime. I believe it's
i11 the gospel.""
h th!: epirit of 5t. Fraici6 a:tJ 51;;
Clare, wt!re 6et3kite l,ridgt,_ bulilra
a:tJ ~ makers to jourmy with
115 ii the foot61:tipa of JtlEiua Ori;t.
IT
ol!SJ. We are an ecumenical,
· inclusive, non-clerical
· O'\l,, community of baptized men V and women from various
· Christian traditions who
0 chose to worship and live in
C?
o'1! a faith-sharing spirit.
You may become an
~ Associat.e or enter the
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MAY/JUN , E 199 5
I awakened to the sound of myself
crying. I had just dreamt of
another hospital room, another
IV bag dripping into another
vein, another occasion to say goodbye,
another desperate . prayer for .
healing, another death, another loss,
another funeral. Another and another.
I had said goodbye to too many
people who had died of AIDS. My
grief was even in my dreams. I
needed a miracle.
That afternoon I went to babysit for
a friend . She had just had her first
child, and, after six months, she and
her husband were desperate to get
out of the house. I walked in the
door, and she put Gerald in my arms.
They were late for the movie and
rushed to the theater. There I stood
with a smiling baby in my arms. It
was then the miracle began: I was
flooded with hope. With each coo
and smile, I felt life returning to my
grief-worn soul. Tears streamed
down my face. ..Who are you? .. , I
said to the baby. ..Who are you to
work better than my support groups,
and all those finely crafted memorial
services? Who are you?""
No, the baby didn't talk back - I
wasn't that far gone! But I did hear
words in my heart: ""I'm your reminder.
In the midst of the real loss, life
continues, hope continues. For everyone
who has abandoned you, there is
another one born to be a companion
on the journey. Whenever love exits,
it appears again, reborn in the newly
born, newly needy, newly smiling .
Incarnation. Crucifixion. Resurrection.
They repeat themselves. over and
over again.""
Following my experience with
Gerald, my ""little healer,"" I made
sure to visit the nursery after visiting
anyone with AIDS. A part of me felt
foolish. A part of me didn't care. I
knew who the true healers were. And
I knew · where to find them. They
were my little medicine men and
women, my little shamans, my wise
companions . I hoped some day to
give back to them a part of what they
had given me. ·
I _didn't have long to wait for that
day. Golden Gate Church of the
Nazarene in San Francisco had started
a program called The Bridge. It was
designed to provide respite care to
families who had HIV infected moms,
· dads, or children. That is how I first
met Laurie Greer, a nurse, who had
two foster children, Cornelio and
Patrick.
• Cornelio is a crack baby and Patrick
has AIDS. They were both less than
a year old when I met them. Today,
they are both five.
Laurie acquired Cornelio first. He
had scars on his face from a very
difficult birth. The first time she held
SEC O ND STONE
BY JACK PANTALEO
him Laurie said, ""I'm going to kiss
away all his marks."" I stared at his
scars and shook my head. I was sure
only plastic surgery could correct
them. Two months later, the scars
were gone. Laurie· was no ordinary
mom.
A few months later, Patrick came to
live with Laurie Greer. He was a
baby with AIDS, recovering from
pneumocystis pneumonia. His motμ- ·
er had already died. He was an
orphan with large, dark eyes, and
satiny bronzed-black skin, desperate
for someone to Jove him .
My first night babysitting both
Cornelio and Patrick was terrifying.
Cornelio had a greater need for attention
than the average child because of
. his drug exposure, and Patrick had
AIDS! I didn't know whom to hold
first. I stared at Cornelio, wondering
how to give him all the attention he
really needed, and I stared at Patrick,
wondering what kind of short life he
. could possibly have. Patrick was in
pain. He had tubes in his ·arm and
belly. He had diarrhea. He was listless,-
sweaty, and barely had the
strength to cry.
""Not again!"", I thoughtto myself.
· ""Not another sick one. I can't deal
with another one dying. Aduits were
bad enough . How could I watch a
baby die of AIDS?"" That was before I
learned that the many loves that had
exited my life would be incarnated in
that tiny shaman.
· Inspired by Laurie's tenacity and
dedication, I made it through that
night and many others. I watched
Patrick and Cornelio once a week for
over two years. I watched Cornelio
grow in confidence and · height,
boosted by Laurie's affirmation and
love. I watched Patrick remain the
~ame size - his body too busy survivmg
to worry about luxuries like
growth. There were many moments
of laughter, and many nights of
agony watching Cornelio work
through his abnormally severe abandonment_
f ears and watching Patrick
endure mfection after infection.
Several of those nights were spent in
the hospital. .
As · his nurse and mother, Laurie
spent many long nights in the
hospital holding Patrick in her arms.
I have watched as the nurses entered
his room. Patrick would lift ·his head
from Laurie's shoulder, reach out his
arm, _cu~ the nurses' chin in the palm
of his little hand and give them a
kiss . Their eyes would well up with
tears, and they would fall in love
instantly. Patrick is a lover, and the
hospital staff is cast under his spell
every hme he is hospitalized . Like
Laurie, they become his advocates,
demandmg the best care possible.
About two years ago, Patrick
developed another bout of pneumocyshs
pneumonia . Having the pneum?
ma diagnosis was synonymous
with a death sentence because Patrick
had become allergic to all known
pneumocystis medications. We prepared
for his death - but not Patrick
or the hospital staff. AIDS specialist~
at UC San Francisco Medical Center
called specialists all over the world
looking for a medication that might
retard the spread of the pneumonia.
After a couple of days, Laurie was
told that a drug used for malaria was
the only hope. I looked at Patrick in
that hospital room and saw him
smile. He was undaunted . All he
.wanted was the ball to throw . He
would Ielus worry. His job was to
play. The medicine worked. And
Patrick remained infections free for
many months until he developed
pancreatitis. '
I arrived home late one night to
find a tearful message from Laurie.
She was at the hosptial with Patrick,
and he wasn't expected to make it
through the night. I arrived to find
Patrick lying in Laurie's arms,
hooked up to monitors recording his
vital signs. He was in severe pain.
His blood pressure was falling and
his pulse was rising. He was in and
out of a coma. Laurie was sobbing.
Our little medicine man was leaving
us - or so we thought.
We decided to lay hands on Patrick.
I was uncomfortable praying aloud
with all the hospital staff in the room.
Finally, I let go of my fear and
prayed that Jesus would either heal
him now or tenderly Jet him pass
from Laurie's arms into Jesus' arms. I
watched as his blood pressure continued
to fall and his pulse rate rise;
Suddenly, the door opened. To our
surprise, Patrick . lifted his head and
watched the nurse enter the room. I
looked at the monitors and saw that
all his vital signs were holding
steady. A few minutes later, we
watched as his blood pressure rose
and .his pulse rate decreased: At 4:00
a.m., I left to go home. Patrick had
stabilized.
The next day his amylase level,
which measures the severity of the
pancreatitis , was less than half what it
was the previous day . Within a
couple of days, he was out, of danger .
Within two weeks, he was home. He
has not had a serious infection since.
Was it our prayers? I'm sure they
helped. But I am also sure that our
tiny shaman had more work to do
here. He continues to cast his spells
with his Jove, cupping an unsuspecting
visitor's chin in the palm of his
hands, !l,elivering God's kisses. Once
Patrick kisses you, life can never be
the same. In his smile, life's pain is
forgotten. In his giggle and sparkling,
dark eyes, hope returns to melt
the bitter grief of the loss of so many
loved ones. ·
""What about the future?"" .. Will
Patrick live much longer?"" He was
never expected to live a full year .
""But what about tomorrow?"" we ask
again. But Patrick teaches us that's
the wrong question. He, like us, was
~nly given today. And today it's
hme to throw the ball. Leave the
worrying for another time. Now it's
time to play. Now is here. Now is
now.
I don't see Cornelio and Patrick as
often. My life has changed now that I
am a social worker taking care of
abused and abandoned children. But
children remain my healers, always
calling me out of myself, reminding
me that in the midst of loss, life
continues, hope continues. Love is
SEE LITTLE PEOPLE, Page 15
MAY/JUNE 1995
Videos .............................. . • .. . • ..................................... .
Lesbian/gay Christian· programming .
available for national cable distribution
··we are now ·in several cities
across the . c9untry and have had
many inquiries from all over,"" says
Valda Lewis, producer of 'To Tell The
Truth Television."" ""I am trying to
solicit sponsors initially in Texas, but
our aim is ·to reach the more remote
areas nationwide.""
The television program places
lesbian and gay Christian programming
right along side programs produced
by the religious right, which
dominate many local cable channels.
Using a Christian perspective, the
program is intended to challenge the
lies perpetrated by these other programs
which attempt to deny the lesbian
and gay community the freedom
to be Christian.
The Cathedral of Hope is the largest
church congregation in the world
with a -gay and lesbian outreach.
With an average weekly attendance
of more than 1600, the Cathedral of
Hope ranks in the top one percent of
all churches in America. The television
program features sermons by
Senior Pastor Michael Piazza .
'To Tell The Truth TV"" hopes to
reach a goal of one hundred different
stations. Target areas include small
rural towns where bigotry and hatred
toward Gays and Lesbians is most
common.
CATHEDRAL OF HOPE Metropolitan
Community Church of Dallas is
building a national cable television
program on Public Access stations.
The 30 minute program of the Sunday
morning worship service is
already being seen in Dallas, Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Milwaukee,
Minneapolis and several other locations.
The show is specifically designed
to counter the views and
opinions of the religious far right and
to bring a message of hope to lesbian
and gay Christians across the nation. ""Coming Out Under Fire"" profiles military's anti-gay history
SECOND
""COMING OUT UNDER FIRE,"" a
critically hailed and compelling documentary
going to the heart of the
issue of Gays and Lesbians .in the
military, premieres on public television
in June. Authur Dong's hourlong
program examines the little
known military policy that is the precursor
.to the Congressionally mandated
1993 ruling known as ""don't
ask, don't tell,"" by presenting the true
stories of those who found themselves
fighting two battles: one for their
country and another for their right to.
serve ·.
Gay and lesbian Christians, who
often note the resemblance of the
military's policy to many ""don't ask,
don't tell"" church policies, will be able
to identify with the men and women
featured in ""Coming Out Under
Fire.""
Dong uncovers. the history of the
military's anti:gay policy that labeled
homosexuals as mentally ill and
sought their expulsion as ""undesirables
."" Service men and women
merely suspected of being gay or
Phyllis Abry (Radio Technician,
Women's Army Corps), and her
lover, Mildred in vintage World
War II photo
lesbian were the targets of an armed
services-wide witch·hunt consisting of
dehumanizing interrogations, medical
examinations, lljld incarceration in·
""queer stockades"" or hospitals for the
criminally insane.
Based on Allan Berube's groundbreaking
book, Coming Out Under
Fire: The History of Gay Men and
Women in World War Two; probes the
questionable origins of the military's
anti-gay policy and demonstrates how
pseudo-psychiatry, erroneous medical
theory, and misplaced ethics masked
a procedure based on bigotry.
""Coming Out Under Fire"" combines
first person, on-camera .interviews
with vintage declassified documents,
photographs, and rare archival footage
of medical examinations, psychiatric
sessions, boot camp training, sex
education lectures, and ""drag"" troop
entertainment.
Gay and lesbian youth speak for themselves
""SPEAKING FOR OURSELVES: Portraits
of Gay and Lesbian Youth"" is a
half-hour documentary profiling the
lives of five gay and lesbian young
people who represent a wide crosssection
of cultures and backgrounds.
Through interviews, the young people
share the stories of their lives -
their challenges and joys. Each story
associates a name and face with a
Five lesbian and gay youth featured in ""Speaking For Ourselves"" •
spectrum of issues including substance
abuse, suicide, HIV/ AIDS,
homelessness, survival prostitution,
malicious harassment, family acceptance,
and youth activism.
""Speaking Fot Ourselves"" also
focuses on the difficu lties gay and
lesbian youth face in school. In an
environment where students are
dealing with their own body changes
and sexuality, this process can become
even more complicated when
they are also asking the question,
""Am I straight?, or ""Am I gay?"".
Through these articulate young peole,
this program examines the challenges
facing gay and lesbian youth, as well
as the concerns expressed by their
family and friends .
The goal of this video, produced by
Interrnedia, is to help gay and lesbian
youth deal . with the many issues
facing them, and to educate and
create a discussion tool for others to
understand better the issues facing
young gay people.
For information on this • video contact
Intermedia, 800-553-8336 .
MAY/JUN~ l 9 9 5
In Print ................................................................
A gay journey with a straight pastor
P astor, I Am Gay is the story of
a straight male pastor's journey
from his first fumbling
encounter with a troubled
gay parishioner - to a remarkable
understanding of the dignity and
sanctity of gay and lesbian people
and, in his own words, . his ""deliverance
from further participation in
one of the church's ugliest sins and
one of the clergy's worst neglects.""
Author Howard H. Bess is an
American Baptist minister who now
lives in retirement in the Matanuska
Valley in south central Alaska. Pastor
Bess has written a unique book, from
the caring perspective of a local
church pastor, that deals with the
issues of participation of Gays and
Lesbians in the life of the church.
Bess writes with the firm conviction
that if gay and non-gay parishioners
take time to become truly acquainted,
the facing of such issues will be much
easier.
For pastors and parishioners
struggling to understand the real
issue of homosexuality - the value of
the lives of people who are gay and
the people around them - this book is
an excellent place to begin. The book
issues an indictment of seminaries
where the word ""homosexual"" is not
even mentioned, am;! their education
of pastors and church leaders who are
ill-prepared to deal with the faces
behind the issue of homosexuality.
The author was a 30-year-old Baptist
minister with college and seminary
degrees before he was aware of serious
discussion of homosexuality. Pastor's
embarrassingly limited knowledge
of homosexuality and his mishandling
of counseling of his first gay
parisioner led him .to learn more
' about gay and lesbian people, which
Now available from Second Stone!
The Word Is Out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
liberates the Bible from those
who would hold it hostage to
an anti-gay agenda, In this
inspiring collection of 365
daily meditations, the Bible's
good news ""comes out"" to
meet all of us with love,
justice, meaning, and hope,
Chris Glaser is the author
of Uncommon Calling and
Coming Out to God. He is
a graduate of Yale Divinity
School.
The Word Is Out,
$12, paperback.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan. TiUe
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SECOND STONE
he did over the years by meeting
them one individual at a time.
The book thoroughly explores the
division between most Christian
churches and the gay /lesbian community.
It is filled with personality
profiles of gay and lesbian . people
· and tells how they have struggled
just to be themselves - the people God
wants them to be. Very simply, the
book is about what it means to be a
gay man or lesbian woman in church
and society today. It offers disturbing
information on the dilemma faced by
gay youth and good suggestions on
how to become an advocate.
Bess grew up in Fairbury, Illinois, a
small farm community southwest of
Chicago. He served in the U.S.
Army in Korea and then attended
Wheaton College from which he
recieved his Bachelor of Arts degree.
His graduate work took him first to
Northern Baptist Seminary in Chicago
and then to Garrett Theological
Seminary at Northwestern University
where he received his Master of
Divinity degree.
Following completion of seminary
training, Bess served American Baptist
churches in Southern California
for 22 years. In 1980 he was called to
pastor First American Baptist Church
in Anchorage, Alaska, where he
served for seven years. In retirement
he nows gives his pastoral talents to
Church of the Covenant, a small
American Baptist congregation in the
Matanuska Valley. .,.
For the past six years, Bess has
been a regular columnist for the
Frontiersman, the twice -weekly newspaper
in the Valley. Bess and his
wife Darlene have five children,
three of whom make their home in
Alaska. ·
Christian feminist author wins book award
ELISABETH SCHUSSLER FIORENZA
has been named the first recipient of
the Continuum Book Award for her
new ,Publication Jesus: Miriam's Child,
Sophia's Prophet: Critical Issues in Feminist
Christology. The award was presented
at the Annual Meeting of the
American Academy of Religion/Society
of Biblical Literature in Chicago.
Jesus: Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet
is the long-awaited sequel to the
author's best-selling scholarly work of
a decade ago, In Memory of Her: A
Feminist Reconstruction of Christian
Origins. Translated into eight languages,
In Memory of Her is recognized
as the best known work by a
feminist biblical scholar throughout
the world . In her new book, Fiorenza
charts the rise and fall into ""historical
amnesia"" of the liberating movement
gathered around Jesus as the prophet
and messenger of Sophia, the all-powerful
female figure in early Jewish
Scriptures and theology. While teachings
about Woman Wisdom premeate
the texture of the New Testament,
they were quickly clothed in what the
author calls kyriocentric (ruling-male)
language.
Continuum's Publishing Director,
Frank Oveis, who has been the
author's long-term editor, says that
""Jesus: Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet
is not simply a work of historical reconstruction,
but a work of constructive
feminist theology, showing how
the historically unrealized possibilities
of Woman Wisdom can offer the
vision of a different world and a different
church.""
In announcing the first Continuum
Book Award for Jesus: Miriam's Child,
Sophia's Prophet, Werner Mark Linz,
Chairman and Publisher of The Continuum
Publishing Group, praised
· the book for ""its scholarly depth, interdisciplinary
breadth, and humanistic
vision.
Fiorenza is the Krister Stendahl
Professor of Scripture and Interpretation
·at Harvard University Divinity
School. She is the author of In Memory
of Her, Bread Not Stone, But She
Said, and Discipleship of Equals. She is
co-founder and co-editor of the Journal
of Feminist Studies in Religion and
editor of Searching the Scriptures: A
Feminist Introduction and Commentary,
In Print, briefly ...
Out, Loud, & Laughing
A collection of gay and lesbian humor
edited by Charles Flowers, Featured
are 15 of today's funniest gay and
lesbian humorists and stand-up comics.
Net royalties are donated to Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights Al DS,
-From Anchor Books, $12,95
A Singing Something:
Womanist Reflections on
Anna Julia Cooper
This book asks what we can learn
from Coope~s thought and life of
faith as we continue the struggle for
full human tights. Karen Baker·
Fletcher, Ph.D., author,
-From Crossroad
Now Dare Everything
This book, written by Steven Dansky,
equips people with stronger skills for
helping HIV-affected persons confront
a wide range of physical and
mental h~lath challenges.
-From Harrington Park Press
MAY/JUNE l 9 9 5
. • •
Accept AIDS victims, says former Baptist leader
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -The former
president of the Southern Baptist Convention
is opening his arms to victims
of AIDS. At the same time he's lamenting
the fact that many' ministers
areclosing their doors to AIDS sufferers.
Skip, who is gay, has also tested HIV
positive.
Allen, 67, is writing a book about
his family's experience. He .also travels
frequently from his home outside
Atlanta to Dallas so he and Matthew
can enjoy their regular ""just us guys""
outings . Toting his grandson's wheelchair
and oxygen tank, the two took
. in an Arby's lunch and movie one
· sweet afternoon last week.
Allen shared his family's pain with
Charlotte churchgoers this weekend,
imploring worshipers to accept death
as a gift from God.
""We need to quit saying 'If I die'
and say, 'When I die,' "" he preached.
At Myers Park Presbyterian, where
50 members are already ministering
to AIDS patients, Allen said a congregation's
worth can be partly
. measured by how far they extend the
hand of mercy. Christians are caring ·
'The draw is my love for the
churches and my sorrow over their
.missing the mission,"" the Rev. Jimmy
Allen said April 23 at Myers Park
Presbyterian Church in Charlotte .
""Families of faith across this nation
are dysfunctional. They fail to realize
that what we need to be is compassionate
.
""If we fail, we fail to be what God
wants,"" said Allen, his voice cracking
frequently through an emotional
weekend of sermons and speeches.
'The challenge is to be what God calls
us to be.""·
AIDS prevention programs
missing smaller communities
Perhaps no religious leader in
America is more qualified to speak
about AIDS than Allen, who has had
four family members stricken by the
virus, The Charlotte Observer reported .
An infected blood transfusion led to
the death of his daughter-in-law,
Lydia, in 1993 at age 37. The transfusion
also led to both her sons -
Allen's grandsons - being stricken by
acquired immune deficiency syn
· drome. Eight-month-old Bryan died
in 1985 from the virus he contracted
in his mother's womb. Twelve-yearold
Matthew is in the final stages at
home in Dallas .
Allen's middle son, 41-year-old
LITTLE PEOPLE,
From Page 12
always reborn in the newly born.
The miracle of life repeats itself. The
little medicine men and women raise
their medicine sticks - their rattles -
and chant their magic incantation -
the coo. Then they administer the
magic medicine - the smile. And the
miracle begins. Shaman Patrick casts
my pain and grief into the fire, and
hope floods my soul. Such is the way
of the sfiaman . Such is the way of the
little people.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Researchers
warned that AIDS prevention programs
are missing small communities
where the rate of HIV infection
among intravenous drug users is on
the rise.
In the small town of East Palo Alto,
one in thrP.e intravenous drug users
was infected with the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV) when tested
last year, said John Watters of the
University of California, San Francis-
. co.
Watters said the figure is the
highest rate of infection of any heterosexual
population west of Chicago.
Substantial HIV prevention
programs have focused mainly on
major cities and smaller communities
WHAT
you need to know .
WHEN
you need to k,ww it.
ACTION
you can take.
Second Stone's
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COMING THIS JUNE.
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Complete gay-friendly resources and businesses: accommodations, bars, bookstores, dentists, doctors, lawyers,
therapists, travel services, printers, Organizations, Media, Religious groups, Help lines & AJ.D.SJ H.I.V. resources.
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""I wish afl my readers had a copy of this very useful volume. If you live in Nowheresvifle, U.S.A., and haven't a clue
about how to find other gay folks, this book is indispens~ble. There's no way to remain isolated.if you make use of
the information contained in the Gayeflow Pages.• Pat Califla, The Advocate Advisor ·
""By far the most comprehensive and up-to-date gay guide .. . Ga yellow Pages .. . includes the standard entries for
bars and restaurants . . . But the Gayel/ow Pages excels thanks to its additional alphabetized listings by city for
AIDS and HIV services, legal resources, organizations (categorized by purpose or interest), religious groups,
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is not consulted in the Out offices.• Reviewed by Jeff Howells, OUT (Pittsburgh, PA), December 1994
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author, producer, business person, communitY., organizer, activist, and educator we come in contact with. It's the
perfect coming out gift/"" Romanovsky & Phi/lips, Fresh Fruit Records, March 1995
SECOND STONE
near them have not benefited,
Watters wrote in the latest issue of the
Journal of the American Medication
Association.
The smaller cities ""lacked the fiscal
and human resources to mount adequate
prevention, drug treatment and
surveillance efforts on their own,'' he
said .
Until recently, East Palo Alto, a
town of 23,000 people, was ignored
. by San Mateo County when it came to
funding AIDS prevention , said
Sharifa Wilson, East Palo Alto's vice
mayor.
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for AIDS patients more than before,
he said, but they're still not caring
enough.
'The stigma (over AIDS) has not
diminished in the minds of a lot of
churches,"" said Allen, who believes
some pastors avoid the issue because
it scares off prospective·members.
Other churches simply don't want
to touch an issue that strikes so close
to home. 'There's a romance to distant
need,'' said Allen, who . describe s
himself as· the last of the moderate
Southern Baptist Convention presidents
. ""We like our catastrophes to be
in distant places that we can come
back from.""
Selectio11s for your
library available from
Scco11d Sto11c Press ...
DEFECTING IN PLACE: Women
Claiming Responsibility for Their
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MAY/JUNE 199 5
'
,. ""I.:
Presbyterian Church cancels gay activity
QENVER (AP)~ 0ffici~~ of a I:.afontain!! said she beli!!ves
Denver church say they have some members of tht> church
canceled a contract with a gay were nervous that the Voices of
support grouf1 because the Faith meeting .,might ""ttl'.fn into
group didn't ~1,1brrμhp,ecjfic another Reimaginirtg Conference."" ,
plans for a worshlp service at · · She referred to a controversial
the' chu:r'ch, • · · . meeting in Minneapolis two years
But,thegrpup claims Central ago at w):ri,ch feminist theologx
Presbyterian Qhurch i~afraid to : aJ)d god'dess-worsfilp were disbiJ.
host for a .gay S1'01!R because pissed.
of criticism fro!ll some church · The 'Rev, Mark Ramsey, senior
members. · pastor of Central ,PNSbytE)ri,m said
· 'Central Pi:esbyterian •Church the dispute over Voices ofFaith has
agreed .~v .eral monfus ru;o-to :nothirig to db with ideology • .He .
allow Voices of Faith to:Use the . acknowledged that it had been a
site £1:9~ May 4 through 6, but '.'tough thing"" for the church . to .
decided this week fo'cancel l!lie agree to .the meeting ""but theses-
.. ''contract""because 'it never got. ·sion came to terms with it."" ·
explicit irifom)ation abeut the ""I feel terrible about it, but we
plalll'\.ed worsmysero,ce May-5;' · ,have ,idmiri~trative deadlines and
The , Rev:. la~ne ~ontaine, . ·· the session (church board} agreed to
dfr.ector of Voice~, which is a host .the meeting 1f we gqt the inforbranch.
of E olorad(), mation ab.out the worship;' Ramsey
ljisputjld . on, a . s\jid. •: ' , : , . .
· Presby:teriarimuu , Lafontaine How~v.er, Ramsey conel!ded' that
said; she was surprised by-the. . if a more traditional church had
church's aclion 'becau~ltspon- . asked to US!) Cenfral Presbyterian,
· s9red a Worl'd XIDS Day semte . he w.ou'ldn't have asked: for detaifs
. last year anti spe Ii~ preached abouO~e ~orship service.
~~ taught classes there ..
. '
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W Noteworthy W ....................................
Evangelical group
develops national plan
. 6.EV ANGELICA LS CONCERNED
Western Region plans to expand its
ministry beyond the western states to
every part of the country. The dec1s10n
to go national was reached at
the organization's winter board meeting
in Laguna Hills January 29.
According to ECWR, the group has
been approached by several groups
m other parts of the United States
inquiring about membership. ECWR
is solicting input on their plans to
become a national organization.
Comments may be sent to P.O. Box
66906, Phoenix, AZ85082-6906
Gay Pentecostals
announce appointments
6.THE NATIONAL GAY Pentecostal
Alliance has appointed Rev. James
Virgilio of Little Rock, Arkansas as
Elder of the South Central District of
the NGPA. Virgilio is pastor of Hope
Apostolic Church in Little Rock. Rev .
Rebecca D. Boyd is also working out
oi the the South Central District. She
is Director of Prison Ministries, a
division of NGPA's Home Missions
Department.
ECC ordains John French
a}OHN FRENCH was ordained into
the priesthood of the Ecumenical
Catholic Church on March 25, 1995.
French is an adminstrator and professor
at Cape Cod Community College.
Before seeking ordination with the
ECC, French spent many years as a
~enedictine monk in New Jersey. He
1s currently the newly appointed
pastor of St. Luke ECC in Dennis,
Mass.
J COULDN'f GO from this garden spot. I wouldn't go.
Even if thet carriage would pull up along by the way,
and all your heart's desire a beckonin' within to join
'em, the( door open, and inside YOf' could see Hope
and ~atience all dressed in rosy silks, and creamy white
~onmtsadorne1 of small roses beneath the trim, nestled
in the finest veil of lace. And each a wavin' to come on,
and Frank, my Frank, a ho/din' the door, his prime
Jigger all in black, tall and p_roud, a lookin' stiddy on.
I jest couldn't do it, jest couldn't move from this
spot where I stand. Thet blue velvet seat a shinin' so in
the beams of sunlight, set off by gold braid all round.
,:ind Patience a ho/din' up my blue silk dress, fresh as
it wuz when new, and glistenin' like a pale summer sky.
I jest stand, like there weren't no way to 'em. No
way to thet rest and friendship, thet end to trial and
sorrow.
Even if I could, there's somethin' heavy a p~ssin'
down on my inner sides. Somethin' old fate must a
wished upon me at my christenin', some long path thet
needed a ·travelm ', and only I could a done it. It jest
wouldn't a got done should I stray to easy times, jest far
wan~ a. comfort; far a understandin' hand to rest gentle
like in my own. It wouldn't still thet drivin' desire
thet don't know where ar what it will lead to, but
needs to be free, to be given its own head, so thet it
may find home in its own way.
You wouldn't know I wuz a travelin' gal, a settin'
here these long years. You wouldn't see me a t' all lest
you could close your eyes, and look with a different kind
a sight. There hain 't nothin' hard to it. Them shinin'
stars git down close at night, and the silence seems
filled, filled with them that's come and gone, lives
spe~t unknown, but left a clear, wide path of faith in
theirselves alone. Thet they wuz part of somethin' thet
made everythin' whole, and they had a job to do
though it ware heavy and long, they led on. ' .
And_ I ,wait here, thet seems the hardest job of all, a
reachm out though my hands are still._ Longin' to be
home, to see them lights a blazin' within, to hear them
laughin' voices, and know they're a waiting for me.
-Sister Mary Jqne Noder
Christiansbrnnn Kloster Newsletter
MAY/JUNE 199 5
Gays, Lesbians, other minorities targets of supremacist hate
From Page 7
said. ""I don 't think we're afraid yet.
We're not sitting here quaking in
mortal dread waiting for something to
happen to us.""
Also in February, two skinheads in
Allentown were .charged with killing
their parents and 11-year-old brother.
Bryan and David Freeman, who sport
neo-N azi tattoos, were scheduled for a
preliminary hearing on April 26.
During a March recruiting trip to
York, Lancaster and Reading, Barrett
distanced hlmself from the Freemans,
Arnold and Aldrich. He said members
of his organization don't wear
tattoos or break the law, although he
understands the frustration that leads
to violence.
CALEND AR,
From Pa&e 2
CMI Retreat
""We condemn violence, but we also
condemn the desperate conditions
that drive desperate men to desperate
acts,"" Barrett said. 'The causes of
violence in Pennsylvania and
throughout the country are favors for
minorities, illegal immigration, the
implication of unjust affirmative
action and forced busing.""
Anger over affirmative action is a
prime recruiting tool used by the
white supremacists.
""A lot of whit.es are upset about
affirmative action,"" Penn State sociology
professor Glenn Firebaugh
said. ''It's probably more acute now
than it was in the past. Most whites
had jobs then.""
Thornhill Cosby, president of the
Philadelphia branch of the National
JUNE 27-30, Communication Ministry sponsors a retreat for Catholic lesbian
nuns and gay priests and brothers. The Serra Retreat House, Malibu, Calif.,
is the setting. For information contact CMI, P.O. Box 60125, Chicago, IL
60660-0125.
Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition Conference
JUNE 30-JUL Y 3, Gay and lesbian parenting groups from Southern California
will host the 16th Annual Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition International Conference
at the University of California at Los Angeles. Part of the conference
will focus on issues of relevance to those . who are currently parents, those who
function in a parenting role, or those who wish to -become parents. Two other
sub-conferences will examine topics bf import~nce to the children of lesbian or
gay parents. Conference fees include all meals and three nights lodging at
UCLA's Sunset Village. For information write to GLPCI '95, 7985 Santa
Monica Blvd., Box 109-346, West Hollywood, CA 90046 or call (213)654-0307,
FAX (310)652-7584.
Evangelicals Concerned ConnECtion '95
JULY 1-4, This conference is an opportunity to gather with 200 other Christian
Gays and Lesbians in a supportive atmosphere of acceptance and celebration.
Keynote speakers are author Michael J. Christensen and EC founder Dr.
Ralph Blair. This year's conferen.ce returns to the San Franciso Bay Area and
the campus of Mills College. For information contact ECWR, P.O. Box 66906,
Phoenix, Al.85082-6906, (602)893-6952.
Convocation of Reconciling Congregations ·
JULY 13-16, ""Bound for the Promised Land"" is the theme for the fourth national
gathering of Reconciling C<?ngregati~ns, to be held i~. Minneapolis. ':, youth
and stud.ant rally and a special gathering of the Reconciling Pastors' ·Action Network
is planned. Individualf ee is $165, $85 for children and youth. For information
contact the Reconciling Congregations Program, 3801 N. Keeler Ave.,
Chicago, IL60641, (312)736-5526.
The UFMCC General Conference
JULY 23-30, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches will
~ather at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta for its 17th ·conference.
'All Things Are Possible"" is the theme for this conference which offers a discounted
rate of $180 for non-delegates. A special gathering will be held at the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. For information,
contact UFMCC GCXVll, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA
90029, (213)464-5100. ·
Conference of the National Gay Pentecostal Alliance
JULY 28-30 NGPA holds its General Conference in Schenectady, New York,
on dates coi~ciding with the 15th anniversary of the founding of the _or~anization.
A variety of speakers ~ill be fea~ured an~ the ~nference will m~lude
teaching workshops and evening worship. For mformat1on on NGPA write to
P.O. Box 1391, Schenectady, NY 12301-1391.
Announcements of interest to gay, lesbian and bisexual Christians are welcome and
will be included free of charge. Send to Second Stone, P. 0. Box 8340, New
Orleans,L A 70182,F AX to (504)891-7555o r e-mailt o secstone@aol.com.
SECOND STONE $
Association for the Advancement of
Colored Peopl e, said white men
unfairly blame minorities for lost jobs.
'The white woman has benefited
from affirmative action more than any
minority,"" he said. 'The white man is
afraid of becoming a minority in the
work force. He's desperate to protect
his position of power.""
The state Human Relations Commission
reported 417 crimes of ethnic
intimidation in 1993, up from 181 in
1988, the first year the statistics were
compiled.
""I thlrik at least some of the increase
is due to increased reporting to the
police arid recording by police,"" Penn
State Criminal Justice professor
Thomas Bernard said.
Trachte said the more troubling
aspect of hate groups is not that they
are committing more crimes, but the
crimes they are committing are more
violent.
""You no longer have Klansmen
threatening with shotguns, you have
young skinheads firing Uzis and they
are organiz ing on a national level,""
he said.
Because many whites in rural
Pennsylvania know few minorities,
the potential for violence is even
greater, Trachte said.
""As long as you can live in your
own isolation and can feed the myth
that these people are not real persons,
it doesn't matter what you do to
them,"" he said. ''You can kill them or
you can blow them up because they
are not real to you.""
Religious conservatives . praise
custody denial decision
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Gay-rights
advocates assailed a Virginia Supreme
Court decision denying a lesbian
custody of her son, whlle conservative
groups hailed it as a victory for
decency.
In a 4-3 decision April 21, the court
said Sharon Bottoms is an unfit mother
and 3-year-old Tyler Doustou
should remain in the custody of his
maternal grandmother.
""Common sense tells us a parent's
sexual practices have a strong influence
on a child,"" said Kristi Hamrick,
spokeswoman for the Washingtonbased
Family Research Council, a
group she described as a pro-family
public policy organization . ""One of
the messages of lesbianism is that
men are not necessary, that men and
women are interchangeable puzzle
pieces.""
Mike Russell, spokesman for Pat
Robertson's Christian Coalition, said
the ruling ""is iri keeping with what
we think is mainstream Middle
America's ·wishes."" He said the 1.5
million-member coalition believes
courts ""should do all they can to
strengthen the traditional family.""
Elizabeth Birch, executive director
• of . the Washington-based Human
Rights Campaign Fund, had a different
view. ·
""Anyone who truly cares about
families should be morally outraged
that the government has taken a child
from his own loving mother because
of other people's prejudices,"" she said.
Kate Kendall, legal director of the
National Center for Lesbian Rights in
San Francisco, said Virginia is one of
a half-dozen states whose hlghest
courts appear to have taken the position
that homosexuality alone makes
a parent unfit. She said the others are
Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota,
South Dakota and Oklahoma.
But Kay Bottoms, who retained
custody of Tyler while the case was
appealed, said the court recognized
there were factors .other than homosexuality
that made her daughter a
bad mother.
'Thank God they proved her unfit
besides just being a lesbian,"" she told
radio station WFLS in Fredericksburg.
""She neglected thls baby a lot. I
didn't fight her just because she
turned lesbian.""
Kay Bottoms accused the American
Civil Liberties Uniori and the media
of turning the case into a homosexualrights
issu,e.
Sharon-Bottoms ~as advised not to
talk to reporters for a couple of days,
said one of her lawyers, Player
Michelson. Michelson said her client
""was floored"" bythe ruling.
In the ruling, the Supreme Court
said lesbianism was one of many
factors that made Sharon :Bottoms an
unfit mother. Sharon Bottoms testified
two years ago that she and Ms. Wade
have oral sex, a felony in Virginia for
heterosexuals as well as homosexuals.
Other factors cited in the court.'s
decision included her history of moving
from place to place, relying on
others for support arid ""difficulty
controlling her temper,"" the justices
said. ·
In a dissenting opinion, Justice
Barbara M. Keenan wrote that the
intermediate . appeals court properly
ruled that ''adverse effects of a
parent's homosexuality on a child
cannot be assumed without specific
proof.""
Sharon Bottoms' lead attorney,
Donald K. Butler, said he would ask
the court to reconsider its decision.
Ms. Bottoms, 25, and the child's
father were divorced before she met
Ms. Wade. The father, who has not
been involved in the chlld's upbringing,
has said the child should live
with Ms. Bottoms.
MAY/JUNE 199 5
Comment . .......................................................................
Even in Mississippi Freedom to live where we want to
By Rev. Jan Griesinger
Guest comment
Wiy would you want to live in
rural Mississippi anyhow?"" If
Brenda and Wanda Henson
rom Ovett, Miss., hear this
one more time they .may scream.
They have been traveling around the
country to speak about the harassment
they have faced from local
folks, Southern Baptist ministers, and
Mississippi for Family Values at their
lesbian and feminist education center.
If it is not safe for them in rural
Mississippi, is it safe for us in Athens,
Ohio or South Bristol, Maine, or San
Francisco, or Northampton? As they
have traveled, people have told them
of a~sault, murder, bashing or harassment
in every city they have visited.
People acknowledge that these actions
are more than likely not reported to
law enforcement officials. You may
recall that poet Audre Lorde warned
us that our silence will not protect us.
Even our density does not protect us.
But we all like to believe that by
1995 we have created safe zones.
Clearly most of us do seem safe -
either by staying closeted, choosing
urban neighborhoods, or being selective
about who knows much detail
about our lives.
The Hensons have chosen the road
farthest away from silence - high
visibility. They have had many
years of experience as spokespersons
in Mississippi on feminist anti-racist
and progressive issues and are very
media savvy. They have appeared
on television talk shows and communicate
regularly with media in
their area.
But they are tired of being blamed
by members of our gay /lesbian/bisexual
communities for wanting to
live in an area where the civil rights
movement lost many battles and
many lives and where the distinctions
between the KKK and local law
enforcement officials are not always
clear. It's hard to hear ""blaming the
victim"" from our own. Mississippi is
Jewish community gets apology fmm Robertson; Gays get silence
their home. They found inexpensive
rural land to realize their dream of
safe educational space. They happen
to believe that Lesbians and women
everywhere deserve a feminist education
and land to learn new skills.
I traveled to Camp Sister Spirit with
three students during _ spring break
from my work as campus minister at
Ohio University. We helped build,
clear land for camp sites, answer the
phones, . put out a bulk . mailing,
transcribe the depositions from critics/
attackers who have filed a nuisance
law suit against the Hensons claiming
their project creates too much noise
and traffic. We had a wonderful
time, working with students from
Kutztown University, Goucher Colege
and Smith College.
The women at the camp will host a
Freedom Ride to the camp over
Memorial Day weekend. It is co-sponsored
by Robin Tyler, women's music
producer, and the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches. UFMCC founder Rev.
Troy Perry urged people to come to
Camp Sister Spirit ""to serve notice to
the reactionary forces in this country
that these sisters have the right to
purchase and establish their camp
anywhere in America.""
What the Hensons are doing
benefits all of us. Once the nuisance
suit is thrown out of court they plan to
pursue a legal rights case that will
stop at nothing less than civil rights
protection for gay /lesbian/bisexual
people everywhere. And they will
continue their front line resistance
against the assault of the so-called
Christian Right. These sisters deserve
your support. Go there with a
group for a work project . Send a
letter of support or a contribution to
Camp Sister Spirit, P.O. Box 12,
Ovett, MS 39464, (601)344-1411.
Jan Griesinger is a national coardinatar
for the United Church Coalition far Lesbian/
Gay Concerns and campus minister
at Ohio University.
Mainstream media ignored Mel White's mission at CBN
By Paula Xanthoooulou
Guest Comment
I n a year of political obsession,
a drama recently unfolded in
Virginia Beach that had major
· political significance. Yet
most people did not hear about it, or
if they did, they saw precious little
in-d epth reporting on the issues .
Mel White, Minister of Justice for
the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches and former
Pat Robertson speechwriter, went
to the Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN) on Valentine's Day to seek a
meeting with Robertson. He wanted
to talk about homophobic rhetoric
emanating from the 700 Club, et al,
and its -.relation to growing violence
against Lesbians and Gays aU across
America. He wanted to seek Robertson's
help in stopping the rhetoric
and the violence. He had tried for
months to get a meeting and went in
person as a last resort. He was turned
away. When he returned the next
day he was arrested for trespassing.
White believed that since his parents,
1grandmother and many others have
contributed to Robertson's projects as
a matter of faith, the CBN belongs to
God and not to Robertson. He refused
to admit guilt by posting a bond or
paying a fine, and fasted in jail for 23
days in his commitment -to having
that meeting and stopping the violence.
Every day, a group of local
community and religious leaders,
""Bearing Witness,"" visited the CBN to
ask for the meeting. On March 8,
SECOND STONE
Robertson visited White in jail, in a
meeting reportedly arranged by the
Sheriff. Robertson said he would
respond shortly to White's request
about the violence and to hear the
stories of P-FLAG members. He then
dropped the charges against White.
End of Round One.
Here's what Pat's People had been
saying before the meeting: 1) There
would be no meeting, because such a
meeting would give credibility to the
. lesbian and gay rights movement; 2)
Robertson has repeatedly condemned
violence on the air (although not
specifically anti-gay violence); and 3)
Mel White was staging a publicityseeking
stunt to promote a book he
wrote entitled Stranger at the Gate: To
Be Gay and Christian in America.
r,f!!]__ Pontius' Puddle
I-IE'/, 'FO~TIOS,
I'I/E: G-OT A
t,IEIJ OEFEt-lSI:
fO~ VOO 0~
JOt>(r!I\EN'f""Ol\/.
Did Robertson actually have a
change of heart?
On March 2, a piece by Frank Rich
in The New York Times mentioned
some recently published articles
which had discussed various · antiSemitic
citations in Pat Robertson's
four-year-old book, The New World
Order. Rich talked about the extremist
views held by Robertson and the
efforts to gloss over them with the
cunning lobbying of Ralph Reed of
the Christian Coalition. He called it
""bait and switch."" Rich aiso took the
press to task for not challenging
Robertson and Reed enough or looking
deeper into all that is the foundation
of the Christian Coalition and its
powerful political base.
Those lingering questions about
Robertson's book prompted the AntiDefamation
League to seek immedi-ate
clarification. In 24 hours, they
had it - a 500-word explanation
/ apology from Robertson faxed to the
Times. The lesbian and gay community
has had no such response . Mel
White was in jail for three weeks! In
Robertson's eyes, offending the Jewish
community is a big political
problem. Gay men and Lesbians not
only don't count, but efforts to demonize
and disempower them is the staff
of religious right life! On page 227 of
The New World Order, Robertson had
this to say: 'There will never be
world peace until God's house and
God's people are given their rightful
' sEE COMMENT, Next Page
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W FrotmhEe ditWor • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • e ~ • • •
We'll pay more attention to hate now
By Jim Bailey
WHETNHE FIRST shocking imag~s of the smoldering Alfred P. Murrah
Federal Building in Oklahoma City were transmitted to television screens
across our nation, we wanted to think that some dreadful accident - perhaps a
gas explosion - had ripped the building apart. Then the crater was
discovered and we reluctantly accepted the horrible reality: Somebody did
this. For as long as we could, we suspected some foreign enemy. But little
Baylee Almon and all the others who died in this tragedy were not killed by
terrorists from the Middle East.
The photo of Baylee being passed from Police Sgt. John Avera to firefighter
Chris Fields will be remembered as a symbol of the devastation that followed
the bombing. And the photo of bombing suspect Thomas James McVeigh,
face locked in a piercing, remorseless expression, being led away by federal
authorities, will be remembered as a symbol of the day that many Americans
learned what a hate crime is.
In the hulk of the Murrah Federal Building, African-Americans, Jews, Gays
and Lesbians and other minorities who have long been the victims of hate
crimes could see vandalized synagogs and burned-out homes and churches.
We have stared, often with fear, into the faces of many McVeighs and we
have become experts in our knowledge of hate. -
Now we are called to be teachers. When Magic Johnson announced that he
was HIV-positive and thus sounded the wake up call for mainstream America
that AIDS was everybody's pain and sorrow, we compassionately and
unselfishly . shared oui know!eage and experience. The Oklahoma City
bombing is another wake up call for mainstream America. Hate is everybody's
pain and sorrow.
During the week following the bombing, there has been an unprecedented
backlash against organized hate groups, including a condemnation from an
outraged President Clinton, who criticized the most common practice of hate -
hate talk and its outlets including talk radio shows. Hate groups, who are
chronically rather paranoid, have become even more defensive. ''We don't
believe in violence,"" say the cowards, as they sit on arsenals of weapons.
If we are able now to go out and teach the lessons of love and respect for
each life that God creates on earth and speak against those who have no such
i:espect for human life, we can recall the lives of the many who perished at
the hangs of McVeigh and his accomplices with even more fullness.
My prayers are with those in Oklahoma City whose lives have been taken
away or forever changed by this senseless act. . -··--;~ .~---Cr~
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
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CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Jack Pantaleo, Marie Rohde,
Paula Xanthopoulou, Rev. Jan Griesinger
SECOND STONE
COMMENT
· From Pr~vious Page
place of leadership at the top of the
world . How can there be peace when
drunkards, drug dealers, communists,
atheists, New Age worshippers
of Satan, secular · humanist[, oppressive
dictators, greedy moneychangers,
revoluntionary assassins, adulterers,
and homosexuals are on top?
Under their leadership the world will
never, I repeat never, experience
lasting peace."" Will he explain this in
a few days?
This insidious and dangerous
""homophobia+"" has been validated
by the scant press coverage of White's
mission and related issues. Why? In
his statement to the Times, Robertson
said: "" ... only someone who is desperately
attempting to cause mischief
would make the unfounded allegations
about me and or my book that
have recently appeared in The New
York Times."" Mischief? Can we really
allow Pat Robertson to be a political
force in our democracy and. also the
harbinger of discrimination against
those who don't fit into the Christian
Coalition Master Plan? Is he so
powerful that we can just forget or
gloss over what took Mel White to
Virginia Beach? Has the press (wittingly
or unwittingly?) become part
of this clever cover-up? Who will join
in the imperative task of holding Pat
Robertson's feet to the fire as long as
he insists on mixing religion and
politics ... and building what amounts
to an empire?
Paula Xanthopoulou is editor of c.c.
watch, an independentn ewsletterm onitoring
the religious right, 3741 N.E.
163rd St., Ste. 311, Sunny Isles, FL
33160-4104W, atch97@aol.com.
YourTum ·-........ ~ .......... .
Weymouth, Massachusetts
Publicize malpractice
of ex-gay counselors
Dear Second Stone,
The ""ex-gay"" ministries, including
such misdirected groups as Homosexuals
Anonymous - whose goal is to
change one's sexual orientation from
homosexual to heterosexual - represent
an extremely violent abuse of
Christianity and must be stopped.
One powerful tactic in shutting
down these alleged ""ministries"" is
publicizing cases such as the ""change
minister"" from Glendale, Calif., who
was convicted of involuntary manslaughter
after one of his clients killed
himself (Second Stone, Jan/Feb, 1995).
Indeed, these very dangerous
people need to know that there are
not only emotional, spiritual and
physical consequences of their dirty
work, but legal ramifications as well.
Thank you for spreading the true
Good News!
Sincerely,
Sean L. Avery
Riverside, California
Second Stone not
responsible for ""outing""
Dear Second Stone,
Thank you for the excellent work you
are doing. We must comment on a,
well, strange missive from Todd
Ferrell. (Letters, Jan/Feb '95). Mr.
Ferrell shared a heart-warming story
of his parents struggling through to
acceptance of his gayness. But then
his letter goes astray.
He objects to your article ""Anti-gay
activist has AIDS"" (News Lines,
Nov/Dec '94). First, he claims that
you wrote it in an unloving spirit of
cynicism. We believe that any such
spirit is in Mr. Ferrell's mind; it was
not in your article.
Second, he objects to Second Stone
thus ""stooping"" to ""out"" someone.
The man in question had already acknowledged
his.homosexuality and
been publicly (and unfairly) ousted
for it. Because you only reported this,
certainly you are not the one guilty of
the outing itself.
Mr. Ferrell seems like a nice, wellmeaning
fellow, whose heart is the
the right place, but whose logic is
sadly lacking.
We would like to express one concern
about · your news articles. Occasionally
the news items are just too
brief to clarify questions they raise in
the reader's mind. Indeed, a little
more inofrmation, including dates,
would be helpful.
We can think of no better . closing
than Ferrell's: ""God bless you all as
you con.tinue to serve and share
Christ..""
In our Lord's service,
Gwen and Bob Bergh
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MAY/JUNE 1995",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,40,1995,"May/June 1995",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/54660cc332a5e0e690e54cbe276742b7.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0
1678,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/items/show/1678,"Second Stone #41 - July/Aug 1995",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,"THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER FOR GAY/LESBIAN/BISEXUAL CHRISTIANS 2.95
I OUR SEVENTH YEAR
Offering Hope
Bob Ivancic, administrator of Hope House in Dallas, Texas
Runaway, throwaway _gay and
lesbian youth find help and
hope at church-run shelter
STORY AND PHOTOS BY GIP PLASTER
HOMELESS GAY AND lesbian youth
in the Dallas area · are finding safety
and help through Hope House, a program
that offers housing and other
services to runaway and throw~way
youth. .
Hope House is a service to youth
SEE HOPE HOUSE, Page 9
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ISSUE #41 I
Religious .groups in
battle over amendment
DENVER (AP) - Battle lines
have been drawn by 17
religious groups and indi viduals
· in the U.S. Supreme
Court case over
Colorado's Amendment 2.
Eleven groups have
joined together to file two
friend-of-the-court briefs
against the anti-gay rights
amendment, and six groups
sent one brief in support of
Amendment 2. ,
The two sides disagree
about whether the amendment,
passed .by Colorado
voters in 1992, protects relig10us
freedom or forces
homosexuals into secondclass
citizenship.
Amendment 2 seeks to
ban laws that protect Gays _
from discrimination, and
would · nullify ordinances
already in place in Denver,
Boulder and Aspen.
The Colorado Supreme
Court declared the amendment
unconstitutional earlier
this year, and the U.S.
Supreme Court is expected
to take up the case this fall.
A ruling could come by
early next year .
The pro-Amendment 2
brief, supported Colorado
Springs-based Focus on the
Family and others, states
.. that gay-rights laws will
force churches to admit
Gays, which is an abridgement
of freedom bf religion.
SEE BATTLE, Page 11
Gay Christians respond
to Coalition 'contract'
LOS ANGELES - The
Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community
Churches has issued a response
to the Christian Coalition's
""Contract with the
American Family."" Ralph
Reed, executive director of
the Christian Coalition unveil~
d the long awaited
document the last week of
May.
''In the entire Contract,
there was not one specific
reference to Gays and Lesbians,""
said the Rev. Troy
Perry, founder of the
UFMCC. ""It is good news
that the Coalition didn't use
this occasion to bash us with
their usual false charges.
Still, given Pat Robertson's
long range goal 'to eli minate
homosexuality,' this
sudden silence is too dangerous
to celebrate.""
According to Mel White,
UFMCC's national Minister
of Justice, that the Christian
Coalition didn't use the
occasion to bash Gays is a
change of tactic, not a
change of heart. ""We are
convinced,"" said White, ""
that silencin g temporarily
the Coalition's stream of
anti -gay rhetoric is Ralph's
attempt to mainstream the
Christian Coalition movement
and to help quiet the
growing national protest
against the false and inflammatory
rhetoric they
have us ed to condemn
innocent Lesbians and
Gays. In fact, the Coalition
is neither mainstream nor
pro-gay.""
SEE RESPONSE, Page 11
w Calendar w
Announcements in this section are provided free of charge as a service to
Christian organizations. To have an event listed, send a p~~ to
Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, IA 70182, FAX to (504)891-7555
or·e-mail to secstone@aol.com.
Near Fourth of July Weekend Seminar
JUNE 30-JUL Y 2, Faith Tabernacle in Aberdeen, Washington hosts this ministry
weekend themed ""Faith That Works."" Past0r Thomas Hirsch of Advance
Christian Ministries will be the presenter. Registration is $30 per person or $40
per couple. For information contact Naomi or Elaine, (206)249-3055.
Evangelicals Concerned ConnECtion '95
JULY 1-4, This conference is an opportunity to gather with 200 other Christian
Gays and Lesbians in a supportive atmosphere of acceptance and celebration.
Keynote speakers are author Michael J. Christensen and EC founder Dr.
Ralph Blair. This year's conference returns to the San Franciso Bay Area and
the campus of Mills College. For information contact ECWR, P.O. Box 66906,
Phoenix, AZ 85082-6906, (602)893-6952.
Ecumenical Catholic Church Clergy Conference
JULY 4-7, The Ecumenical Catholic Church conducts its annual clergy conference
at the bishop's residence in Monte Rio, California. Clergy and laity from
throughout the United States are invited to attend. For information, contact Fr.
Denis Martel, (504)341-1880.
Convocation of Reconciling Congregations
JULY 13-16, ""Bound for the Promised Land"" is the theme for the fourth national
gathering of Reconciling Congregations, to be held in Minneapolis . A youth
and student rally and a special gathering of the Reconciling Pastors' Action Network
is planned. Individual fee is $165, $85 for children and youth. For information
contact the Reconciling Congregations Program, 3801 N. Keeler Ave .,
Chicago, IL 60641, (312)736-5526.
A.C.T.S. Central Weekend
. JULY 14-16, ""Many Parts, One Body"" is the theme of this weekend,
sponsored by Advance Christian Ministries. Camp Hiawatha, Wichita, Kansas,
is the setting. Brother Thomas Hirsch is facilitator. For information contact
Advance Christian Ministries, 4001-C Maple Ave., Dallas, TX 75219,
(214)522-1520.
The UFMCC General Conference
JULY 23-30, the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches will
gather at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta for its 17th conference.
""All Things Are Possible"" is the theme for this conference which offers a discounted
rate of $180 for non-delegates. A special gathering will be held at the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. For information,
contact UFMCC GCXVII, 5300 Santa Monica Blvd., #304, Los Angeles, CA
90029, (213)464-5100. .
Conference of the National Gay Pentecostal Alliance
JULY 28-30, NGPA holds its General Conference in Schenectady, New York,
on dates coinciding with the 15th anniversary of the founding of the organization.
A variety of speakers will be featurect and the conference will include
teaching workshops and evening worship. For information on NGPA write to
P.O. Box 1391, Schenectady, NY 12301-1391.
Christian Lesbians Out T oqether
AUGUST 10-13, CLOUT will hold its third national gathering at SUNY
Brockport, 16 miles west of Rochester, New York. The theme is ""CLOUT Our
One Foundation: Celebrating Our Herstory , Diversity and Ritual."" The
gathering will feature ritual, workshops, lesbian Christian video documentaries
and more. For information call (415)487-5427 or write to CLOUT, P..O. Box
460808, San Francisco, CA 94146.
Third International TEN Conference
SEPTEMBER 1-3, Liberty Community Church, Vancouver, Canada, hosts
""How Shall We Then Live,"" the third international gathering of The Evangelical
Network. Workshops will focus on stress management, coping with crisis,
coupling concerns, being single, burn-out and other issues. For information
contact Pastor Rick Morcombe, Liberty Community Church, #402-2388 Triumph
Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada VSL 1 LS.
Conference tor Catholic Diocesan Leaders
SEPTEMBER 8-10, The National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and
Gay Ministries sponsors a weekend conference entitled ""The Challenge of
Leadership in Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries"" The Meany Tower Hotel
in Seattle is the setting. Richard Sparks, C.S.P., will be the keynote speaker
and there will be opportunities for sharing program expe~ience and resources,
social time and liturgies . For information contact Rev. Jim Schexnayder, 433
Jefferson St., Oakland, CA 94607, (510)763-3101.
SEE CALENDAR, Page 17
SECOND STONE -
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NE SJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GA VS AND BISEXUALS
Contents
•••••••• . • •••••••••• l'I ••••••
fi~J
[6J
Calendar
Opportunities for connectedness
across the country
Cover Story
Hope for runaway, throwaway teehs .
Legacy
Author Emily Edwards remembers a
grandpa who knew unconditional love
In Print
Don Bell reviews Equal Rites . ' . . . . . .
Noteworthy
I 19-l From the editor
America Online is for us!
[20] Classifieds
Plus
12 pages
of news
JULY/AUGUST 199 5
News ............................................. •· ......................... .
Low numbers force postponement of Mississippi protest
THE MEMORIAL DAY weekend
Freedom Ride to Ovett, Mississippi
was postponed because of an insufficient
number of persons planning to
participate . Rev . Troy Perry, moderator
of the Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches,
and Robin Tyler, a prominent lesbiilll
activist, had planned the Freedom
Ride as an attempt to come to the
· assistance of Wanda and Brenda
Henson in their efforts to keep Camp
Sister Spirit alive and well .in the face
of terrorist-type threats and
vilification. 1
Planners hope to reschedule the
event next spring, ·as a ""Sprir:ig
Break"" happening. The Memorial
Day weekend Freedom Ride conflicted
with the South's major gay and
lesbian party gathering on Pensacola
Beach.
The Hensons are the developers of
Camp Sister Spirit, .120 acres of
woodland outside Hattiesburg,Mississippi,
designed to provide a safe
space for Lesbians. The lesbian
couple's dream has become the focus
of ongoing harassment and · death
threats by people in the area.
""It saddens me that we have been
unable to respond, now, to this critical
need,"" said Perry in announcing the
postpor:iement. ""It is our intention for
this project to succeed and for that to
happen we need more time. We are
asking everyone to rally to this
important cause and plan to be
present in Mississippi when this
event happens next spring.""
Presbyterians oppose Amendment 2
DENVER (AP) - The Presbyterian
Church has filed a friend-of-the-court
brief backing opponents of Amendment
2, Colorado's anti-gay rights
amendment.
The church, which has a
membership of 2.7 million across the
country, filed the brief June 19. The
Rev. James Andrews, the stated clerk
for the General Assembly of the
Presbyterian Church, said the church
felt it was important to make its
stance public.
""We are advising the U.S. Supreme
Court on th e Presbyterran Church's
(stand) on the issue of sexuality, particularly
about the protection of the
civil and human rights of homosexuals,""
he said.
Amendment 2, approved by voters
in 1992, prohibits governments from
passing laws protecting homosexuals.
The amendment has been on hold
pending appeals. After being struck
down by the Colorado Supreme
Court, the U.S. Supreme Court earlier
this year agreed to hear the case.
The brief stemmed from a request
from the Denver church two years
ago.
'They did not ask for us to take any
position, but wanted to know what
the church said about this,"" Andrews
said.
Presbyterian philosophy holds that
Storm blows roof off 'miracle Sunday' church
ARLINGTON, TX - A major storm
ripped the roof off the building of
Trinity Metropolitan Community
Church on May 5, just days after
members of the church contributed
over $30,000 on a single Sunday towards
the building of a new church.
The church offices sustained heavy
wind and water damage . The congregation
is meeting at a local hotel,
and has stored church property until
a determination can be made as to
whether the building can be rebuilt.
Trinity's 102 members exceeded
their six-week $24,000 ""Miracle Sunday""
campaign drive and netted
$33,600 ,in their offering that culminated
on Easter morning .
On the kickoff Sunday six weeks
before Easter, Rev. Jo Crisco asked
each person in attendance to give
$100 b eyond their usual tithes to what
she designated ""Miracle Sunday"" on
Easter morning. She told th e congregation
that a $24,000 safety net
was the only obstacle standing between
Trinity and the opportunity to
launch a bond sales campaign to
build a new church home.
Crisco acknowledged her own
anxious moments during the six week
c.ampaign. 'There were points when
my heart would stop beating, and I'd
imagine how it would be if we didn't
make the goal. I'd ask God to surely
not let me make that big a fool of
myself! ·The consensus from my colleagues
from other churches was that
I was either incredibly stupid or a
person of great faith, and Easter
Sunday would ·tell the tale,"" Rev.
Crisco chuckled .
Long time charter member Naomi
Coleman said, 'This is no more of a
miracle than God moving on the
hearts of a small group of Gays and
Lesbians 11 years ago to form Trinity
MCC, and it further proves what
we've known all along. God not only
owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
but God owns the gold under those
hills . The only restriction that we
have in accessing God's riches is the
limitation of our own faith.""
- Keeping in Touclt
Kansas passes funeral picketing law
THE CONSERVATIVE KANSAS State
House made a step towards curbing
the activities of the Rev. Fred Phelps
by passing a revised law against funeral
picketing . Phelps, head of the
family-owned and managed Westboro
Baptist Church of Topeka, will
SECOND STONE
be allowed to . picket but not be
around to harass mourners an hour
before and after the actual funeral
service. Phelps and his followers
have become known for picketing the
funerals of people who die AIDS
related deaths. •
homosexuality is a sin, and in 1991,
the General Assembly decided that
Gays and Lesbians cannot be ordained
as church officials or deacons.
However, in 1978, the General
Assembly established a policy that
""vig ilance mus.t be exercised to oppose
federal, state and local legislation
that discriminates against persons
on the ·basis of sexual orientation.""
Gay religious groups file Supreme Court brief
GAY AND LESBIAN Christian organizations
have joined to file an arnicus
(friend of the court) brief in support of
the unconstitutionality of Amendment
2 to the Colorado State Constitution .
This amendm.;nt prohibits local governments
from passing laws which
would protect the civil rights of gay,
lesbian and bisexual people. The
case will be heard by the U.S.
Supreme Court.. The results of this
decision will have major impact on all
civil rights laws across the country for
many years to come.
Two lawyers in Atlanta have
donated their time to write the brief.
The organizations supporting the
brief are Lutherans Concerned, Affirmation:
United Methodists, Integrity,
Presbyteria ns for Lesbian and Gay
Concerns and Dignity/ USA.
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuality.
What Bible the
Really Says
About
Homosexuality
.
1
, \-\elrninial<, pt,.D.
Dame,...
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonab ly open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quit e different on this subject
from what is often claimed.""
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
"" ... the most thoughtful , lucid and accessib
le summary I know of current biblical
scho larship relating to homosexual
issues . .. eminently useful ... 11
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□
WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Daniel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
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SECOND STONE •
News
• • • • • • • • • • • • • e • • • • • • • • • e • e • e e e e e C Q IJ
Wisconsin Synod dumped
over men-only leadership rule
WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A congregation
disagreed so strongly with
the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran
Synod's teachings that it decided to
leave the fold rather than fire its pastors
as ordered.
For three years, pastors of St. James
Evangelical Lutheran Church have
openly grappled with a policy that
women cannot teach men and that
""only men will do work that involves
authority over men.""
Synod leaders removed them from
the church in May.
Given a choice between firing their
pastors or being removed from the
synod, the congregation voted 118-3
June 11 to leave the synod.
""Some people think we're heroes ...
Some people out there use the word
'heretic,"" said St. James's pastor, the
Rev. Richard Stadler. That 's because
""in a conservative, Bible-believing
church body, there is a reluctance to
buck tradition,"" he continued.
The Wisconsin synod is considered
the most conservative branch of the
major Lutheran denominations.
Women aren't allowed to vote in
church elections or become ordained
ministers .
""I remember a number of
congregations leaving our synod over
a doctrinal issue some 30 years ago,""
said the Rev. Ronald Uhlhorn, vice
president of the Minnesota District of
the synod . ""Since then, I don't recall
anyone leaving over doctrinal issues
in our district at all.""
St. James members question ed the
teachings more than three years ago,
Stadler said.
In correspondence with the synod,
they asked where the Bible specifically
says that ""man must be the head
and the woman must be submissive
to man.""
They unsuccessfully sponsored
resolutions al synod conventions, asking
that the document be re-examined,
Stadler said.
Synod leaders held a series of
meetings at St. James last fall to explain
their view that these statements
come from passages in the
New Testament books of Timothy and
Corinthians.
But many church members insisted
the Bible makes no direct statements
that only men have authority and
that women must submit.
Stadler sees his church's saga as a
sign of the times.
""Fifty years ago, people just
assumed that what came down from
the church body was a correct interpretation""
of the Bible, he said. ""Now,
more and more churches are willing .
to challenge the pronouncements ... to
make sure that they are really
derived . from the Scriptures - not
simply human notions imposed on
the Scriptures .""
Abilene Christian president fires
play director over his sexuality
ABILENE, Texas (AP)- Robert
Neblett planned to return to his
alma maier Abilene Christian
this summer to direct a campus
production of 'The Merchant of
Venice.""
Then school president Royce·
Money learned that Neblett was
gay and the 1993 graduate was
told he wasn't right for the job.
""Although our religious convictions
preclude persons
espousing a lifestyle of homosexuality
from serving in a position
of leadership, we care
deeply for Mr. Neblett,"" ACU
President Royce Money said.
""We appreciate his tremendous
talent and find it unfortunate
that his choice of lifestyle
has resulted in this situation.""
Neblett, a Snyder native now
studying at Washington University,
said he was asked
whether he was gay a week
before rehearsals were lo begin.
""When I said yes, (the school)
informed me that I was unfit to
represent the university because
of its moral code,"" Neblett
said.
Neblett, 23, said he's crushed
by the incident, which has
forced him to tell his family of
his sexuality sooner than he
had planned. ·
""I feel that Abilene Christian
University has outed me and
pushed me out of the closet in a
public way,"" he told the Abilene
Reporter-News. 'They have
forced me into certain circumstances
by doing this.""
Money said that Neblett, a
former student, should've
known the university's stance
toward homosexuality .
'They act like I made a choice
and chose for this to happen .
No one would choose to be
treated the way Gays are in this
homophobic society,"" said
Neblett, adding that he is
considering legal options.
JULY/AUGUST l 9 9 5
r,
I
News ............................ ~ ........................... .
Religious leaders challenge radical right claim on morality
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - The
radical religious right is a threat to
churches and the American political
system, some religious leaders say.
""We are not willing for the radical
religious right - with its demagogues,
rabble rousers, opportunists and business
entrepreneurs masquerading as
.Christian evangelists - to go unchallenged
in their claim to be the only
rightful occupants of the high ground
of Christian morality,"" church-stat e
separation advocates wrote in a statement.
The advocates include some prominent
Southern Baptist moderates.
Last month, the politically powerful
Christian Coalition issued its ""Contract
with the American Family.""
The coalition's contract includes calls
to return prayer to public schools, to
further restrict abortion, and to revamp
public ·schools . .
It was embraced by some Republican
lead ers who had their ""Contract
With America"" agenda in Congress
this year.
After a colloquium May 30 spon sored
by the Dalla s-based Center for
Christian Ethics, several religious
leaders drew up a statement to counter
the coalition's contract.
The radical religious right, the
statement says, threatens personal
liberties by advocating government
intrusion into the most intimate religious
experiences and health decisions
and by . ""distorting the Gospel
by identifying the cause of Jesus ·
Christ with their own narrow political
agenda.""
The statement accuses religious
conservatives of unethical tactics, such
as concealing their leanings while .
running for school boards and other
public offices.
It also criticizes religious political
conservatives for the ""shameless identification
of Christianity with one
extremist wing of a single political
party .""
Dick Weinhold of Bedford, state
Phelps grandson refused school credit for picketing
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -The Topeka
School District refused on June 7 to
give community service credit for
anti-gay picketing by a grandson of
the Rev. Fred W. Phelps Sr.
Sam Phelps-Roper, a junior al
Topeka West High School, was refused
the credit eight months after he
asked for it. He is the grandson of the
senior Phelps, who has taken his
virulent anti-gay picketing across the
country .
The pickets are mostly members of
the Phelps family .
The school district last year began
including community service work on
transcripts. The hours don't co4nl for
academic credit, but they may impress
a future employer or college.
The district did not have a
policy for what constituted community
service work when Phelps applied
for the credit.
Th e situation caused the district to
develop such a policy. Picketing was
not included in the guidelines.
UCC ordains openly gay pastor
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A campus minister
who says he has been openly
gay since 1980 has been ordained as a
United Church of Christ pastor.
Phil Owen, 43, is believed to be the
denomination's first acknowledged
gay pas tor to be ordained in Nebraska.
""We knew this would be a ground
breaker,"" said the Rev. Lee Milligan,
president of the Omaha Association,
the ordaining body comprised of 10
area United Church of Christ congregations.
""He will make a very good
pastor,"" Milligan said. ""I am proud to
have him as a colleague .""
Owen, a Lincoln native, is pastor at
United Christian Ministries in Higher
Education, a ministry that serves students
and faculty at the University of
Nebraska at Omaha and NU's Medical
Center. The ministry is supported
by Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), United Methodist and Presbyterian
churches and the United
Church of Christ.
Owen is divorced and has an
18-year-old daughter who lives with
him and his mal e partner of four
SECOND STONE
years.
Milligan, pastor al Arlington
Community Church, said Owen's
ordination is consistent with Scripture
and denominational guidelines. The
church's General Synod in 1983 said
that sexual orientation is not a moral
issue and should not be grounds for
denying requests for ordination.
""Having that recommendation from
the synod, and finding no evidence of
promiscuity, we voted to ordain Phil,""
Milligan sa id last week. ""I believe
God has called him to ministry. ""
Owen said he felt called to the
ministry in the late 1980s. He entered
the United Theological Seminary of
the Twin Cities in Minnesota in 1989
and graduated in 1992. He is a former
Russian lingui st for the Air Force and
a former slate Department of Social
Services caseworker and office ser vices
manager in Omaha .
Owen holds a master's degree in
education from · the University of
Southern California. His bachelor's .
degree in French language and literature
is from l'JU's Lincoln campus . -
chairman of the Christian Coalition,
said the group does not purport to
represent all Christians. .
• ""We do believe we represent the
mainstream of conservative Christian
thoughtin America today,"" Weinhold
said. ""What we are proposing . is a
modest, mainstream agenda for
change that protects reljgious liberty
and enhances the role that families
have in the life of our nation .""
The Dallas colloquium held May 30
was named . for the late T.B. Maston,
former professor at Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary in Fort
Worth and a pioneer in race relations
and Christian ethics for his denomination.
UCC executive will address gay/ ·
lesbian Christian gathering
DR. PAUL SHERRY, President of the
· United Church of Christ, will address
an international gathering of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender
Christians in Atlanta on Friday, July
28 . The Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches
will hold its biennial General Conference
at the Altanta Westin Peachtree
Hotel July 23-30.
Sherry is the Chief Executive Officer
of the United Church of Christ, a
protestant denomination emerging
from a union, in 1957, of the former
Congregational Church and the
Evangelical and Reformed Churches .
The Metropolitan New York Conference
of the UCC ordained a gay
minister, for the first time, in 1972
and the denomination has supported
the inclusion of gay clergy within its
own ranks as well as ecumenical
agencies such . as the National and
World Councils of Churches .
Other speakers scheduled to address
those gathered for the UFMCC conference
include . Chris Glaser, lecturer
and author of The Word is Out,
Elizabeth Stuart, editor of Daring To
Speak Love's Name and Randall Bailey,
Associate Pr_ofessor of Old Testament
and Hebrew at the Interdenominational
Theological Center in Atlanta.
See Calendar.
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Edited bv
Sally B.(~eis &
Donakl E. \lesser
Helping Christians
Debate Homosexuality
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, writers
with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
Edited by Sally B. Geis, director, Iliff
illslilule, Lay and Clergy Education, The
Iliff School of Theology. Denver, and
Donald E. Messer, president, The Iliff
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk ___ _
Postage/Handling $3 first book, $1 each additional -----
TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED----~
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J _ULYJf::,UGU ~_T _ 1 _9 _9 _5
News ..................................... -• ................................. .
Episcopal priest relieved of duties
after officiating at same-sex ceremony
EASTON, Md. (AP) - The way he sees
it, the Rev. John K. Mount was just
praying for strength and comfort for
two gay men dying of AIDS when he
blessed them at a ceremony in May.
.But according to the Episcopal
church, the 85-year-old priest · was
leading a gay marriage ceremony,
thereby violating church law, and
should no longer be allowed to
preach or perform the sacraments.
""While such a relationship might be
loving and faithful, it cannot be
considered a marriage and you have
no authority to bless it as such,""
Bishop Martin G. Townsend wrote
Mount in a letter telling him his right
to preach had been revoked.
Since .1992, Episcopal priests in
Maryland have been under orders to
not take part in same-sex weddings as
the church reviews the issue national-
1 y.
Out of respect for Bishop Townsend
he will not disobey his order not to
preach, Fath,er Mount said.
But Mount said he strongly
disagrees with the bishop's interpreta tion
of church law and of what
happened at the ceremony he led in
front of 70 guests at a waterfront
home on the Eastern Shore of the
Chesapeake Bay.
""I feel the church has been waffling ·
Methodists reject resolution
on gay civil rights
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) - United
Methodists from throughout the
Rocky Mountain region closed their
annual meeting June 5 without acting
on several resolutions, including one
that would have supported civil
rights laws for Gays and Lesbians.
However, delegates at the Rocky
Mountain Annual Conference, meeting
at Colorado State University, did
approve a proposal condemning abortion-
clinic violence.
Among the resolutions that failed
was one that would have supported
deleting the church's longtime stand
that the practice of homosexuality is
incompatible with Christian teaching.
It didn't gain enough suppo1t in committee
to be considered by the more
than 800 delegates.
Delegates also killed a proposal
asking the national church to end its
ban on giving any money to gay
United Methodist groups.
The issue has divided the 9 millionmember
church for decades.
The successful resolution condemning
abortion-clinic violence and
asking people ""to repent of violence""
will be forwarded for consideration to
the national convention of the church
- the General Conference - which will
meet next April in Denver .
The resolution called murder and
other attacks at abortion clinics ""domestic
terrorism.""
Delegates also passed a measure
urging individual churches to study a
church-produced book on homosexuality.
A proposal calling on the General
Confer ence to discourage the entertainment
industry from using graphic
depiction of violence failed.
Resolutions not considered by the
full conference will be sent to the
national convention, but won't have
the endorsement of the regional
church members .
The Rocky Mountain Conference
includes almost 80,000 Methodist s in
Colorado, Utah and a section of
Wyomins., ·
MCC members meet online
MCC MEMBERS HAVE been meeting
and greeting each other via computer
every Thursday evening for about a
year now. The '.'MCC Chat Room"" is
accessible to anyone who is a member
of America Online. ·
The chat room was started by Bill
Dailey, a lay delegate of MCC of the
Vineyard in Fresno, California and
Don Clothier, director of music
ministries at New Horizons MCC,
Oklahoma City, after they met via on
online discussion for gay Christians. It
recently reached the status of an
official America Online forum.
The MCC Chat Room is open from
7:30 to 9 p.m . Eastern time every
Thursday . To reach it, go to the Gay
SECOND STONE
and Lesbian Community Forum and
click on the Lambda Lounge icon.
The room holds 48 people . It is currently
moderated by Clothier, whose
online address is DonC448@aol.com.
After 9 p.m., discussion continues in a
member room.
· 'The room has come to mean a
great deal to a lot of people,"" said
Clothier. ""For example, we've had a
15-year-old boy who says that the
chat room is the only place he's gotten
any kind of support. He 's in a small
town, with parents who do not
understand him and a fundamentalist
church that preaches hate and discrimination.
-
for years on this question, "" the priest
said. ""Somebody has to break the ice.
Some day, I think people will say,
'Father Mount was on the cutting
edge on this.""'
Mount, who was also removed as
an honorary officer of Trinity
Cathedral in Easton, also disagrees
that the ceremony he took part in was
a wedding .
It . may have looked like a
""fuH-scale, formal wedding,"" Mount
said. But nevertheless he made it
clear to all of the people present that
he was not officiating at an Episcopal
wedding ""in the church's point of
view"" but was ""simply asking God to
bless ·two men who made vows to
each other .""
Bishop Townsend disagrees .
''By acting as you did; unilaterally
and out of communion with both the
bishop where you are canonically
resident in Baltimore and the bishop
where you performed this rite on the
Eastern Shore, you misled the two
men whose union you blessed,"" the
bishop told Father Mount.
The Episcopal Book of Common
Prayer sets forth no rite for a blessing
of a ·same-sex union, Townsend said.
Had Mount simply blessed the home
of the couple in accordance with an
established rite, there would have
been no violation of church law, he
said.
In so doing, Townsend was in
agreement with retired Maryland
Bishop A. Theodore Eastman. In 1992,
he argued the same thing in imposing
the moratorium on blessing
same-sex unions.
His decision came after an intense
controversy over . a ceremony in a
Baltimore church that many Episcopalians
insisted was a ""lesbian wedding.""
Lesbian settles suit against religious broadcaster
A WISCONSIN RELIGIOUS broadcaster
has agreed to pay a $255,000
settlement to former United Press
International reporter Julia Brienza,
but the Rev. Vic Eliason still disputes
claims that his nationwide radio
campaign prompted the wire service
to fire Brienza because she is a
lesbian. Eliason began his broadcast
campaign aga inst Brienza in 1990
after she telephoned him while researching
a freelance story for the
Washington Blade. UPI fired the reporter,
claiming she violated company
policy by working for another
media outlet. Brienza sued both
Eliason and UPI. In - the UPI suit, a
judge ruled April 13 that UPI had
illegally fired Brienza for being a
lesbian.
Group kicks out church that
embraces Gays and Lesbians
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The
censure of a church that accepts
homosexuals_ will not prevent
Gays and Lesbians from expressfng
their faith, the associate
pastor said.
'They are going to be more
committed to our community
than ever,"" said the Rev. Gail
Clark Adams of First Baptist
Church in Granville .
The Columbus Baptist Association
voted 101-34 June 6 to
kick out the church because it
accepts Gays and Lesbians.
_""What we just experienced is
what the gay and lesbian
community has always
experienced,"" said George
Williamson, the pastor of First
Baptist.
Williamson and his congregation
sang hymns outside the
association's meeting after the
vote.
Even some.who opposed First
Baptist said the vote was not a
victory.
Gary Boggs, pastor of
Granville's Second Baptist
Church, said First Baptist was
affirming gay lifestyles in
opposition to the Bible. ""If they
rescind their policy, we should
welcome them back,"" he said.
Six ministers wrote a letter to
the association in April seeking
action against First Baptist.
But Jack H. Warwick, a
deacon at American Baptist
Church of suburban Westerville,
said Williamson and his
church ""are leading us. I think
what they are doing is great."".
He and other First Baptist
supporters . said the vote was
contrary to an Amerieun Baptist
tenet of allowing each church-to
interpret Scripture.
JULY/AUGUST l 9 9 5
News .................................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theologian challenges heterosexuals to break
free from 'straight and narrow limitations'
Grace Janzten, Reader in the Philosophy
of Religion at Kings College,
London delivering the keynote adress
at the 19th annual conference of the
Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement
on April 29 made a strong plea
for a. new shape to Christian the9logy
1f 1t 1s to be of value to lesbian and
gay people .
Addressing an audience of 150 in
Central London she said ""Only as we
face the multiple ways in which the
straight God has been part of the
project of the straight and narrow
mind, and how much of that we have
internalized to our cost, will we be in
any position to explore transgressive
alternatives . Even some of those who
Operation Rescue founder calls for
Commandments as civil law
DENVER (AP) - Operation Rescue
founder Randall Terry on May 5 announced
the startup of a nationwide
radio call-in show called Randall
Terry Live that he said will make
Oliver North look ""moderate"" and
Rush Limbaugh ""liberal"".
'We will have people listening just
to see why they want to hate me,""
said Terry, who last month was released
from a federal prison in
Allenwood, Pa., where he served a
five-month term for contempt of court.
Terry said he was jailed after a
judge found out that his group
planned to show then-presidential
candidate Bill Clinton an aborted
baby.
But Terry's mes s age on May 5 was
aimed at neither abortion nor radio
call-in shows.
Knights sell Disney
stock in movie protest
NEW HAVEN , Conn. (AP)-To
protest the movie ""Priest,"" The
Knights of Columbus has sold
all of its nearly $3 million worth
of stock in the Walt Disney Co.
The Catholic lay organization
also said it has canceled a trip to
Disney World 0to protest the
movie, r~leased by Miramax,
which is~owncd by Disney.
The movie portrays several
clergymen in England, including
a gay priest and a priest
who has a love affair with his
female housekeeper .
""It presents a distorted, negative
and fundamentally unfair
picture of Catholic priests;""
Supreme Knight Virgil C.
Dechant said in a statement.
Dechant urged the more than
1.5 million Knights and their
families to voice their concerns
about the film to Disney.
Pressure from Catholic groups
prompted Miramax to change
the national opening of the
movie from Good Friday to the
following week.
SECOND STONE
""We must seek to rebuild America
on the Ten Commandments,"" he said.
""Because once you depart from the
-Ten Commandments as the founda tion
of civic law and cultural law, you
are in a moral freefall.""
Terry warned that without the Ten
Commandments -as moral absolutes in
America, it will be an ""anything
goes"" society.
'The arguments used in favor of
homosexuality today will be used
next week in favor of pedophilia,"" he
said .
He said proponents of gay rights
say ""if a modern child wants to have
a relationship, express their love this
way, they should have the freedom of
choice to express that.""
""If you depart from Biblical Christianity,
you cannot condemn pedo'
philia,"" h e said.
He said America's future depends
on an inflexible moral foundation.
. ""We're not talking about the slate
being ruled by the church. We're
talking about faith, and leaders
acknowledging they are under God .""
On other topics:
-Terry said the days of the
Republican Party are numbered and
it soon will follow its predecessor, the
Whigs, into oblivion. 'The Whigs
refused to deal with slavery. The
Republicans are refusing to -deal with
homosexuality and .abortion.""
-If Timothy McVeigh is guilty of the
Oklahoma City bombing, his actions
are ""the substance of the idealogy of
the left. It tells me McVeigh's actions
are the fruit of moral anarchy.""
-Militias are not the fearsome threat
to America some believe. ""You will
remember that the Minutemen were
militia . Patrick Henry's 'Give Me
Liberty or Give me Death' speech
was given to raise militias.""
'They (Founding Fathers) knew the
greatest potential for the oppression of
the citizens was to have a huge
centralized federal government that
was armed and a citizenry that was
disarmed,"" he said.
-Homosexuality is a behavior, not a
dght. ""Homosexuality is the stuff
collapsed civilizations are made of,
whether it's Sodom and Gomorrah or
the Roman Empire."" -
are calling for a new consideration of
sexuality in the churches seem less
than eager really to engage with
lesbian and gay perspectives. Yet
this is by no means true of all. The
straight mind as it is socially constructed
in the west is after all also a
straight jacket, a confinement to a
way that many heterosexual people
themselves reject as too narrow.""
""As we· discover ways to transgress,""
she continued ""to 'play in the
fields of the Lord' we will surely find
ourselves with many delightful compamons,
some of them unexpected.
And it will be - a ·great day, not only
for us but for our churches, when th e
question is not, 'how far should sexual
diversity be tolerated ' but ' how can
we learn from sexual diversity , and
celebrate together?'""
Meeting at the same time as the
Archbishop of Ca.nterbury was speaking
to the An 5 1ican Evangelical
Assembly in Hertfordshire, LGCM's
members passed an emergency
motion on hearing of his speech in
which he said that the Church, in
relation to sexual practice, ""only
recognizes two options ... heterosexual ·
marriage and celibacy.""
Passed unanimously the motion
reads 'This annual conference deplores
the remarks of the Archbishop
of Canterbury and calls for him to
live up to his previously declared
·view, made as recently as last month
at the Primates Meeting that
'homophobia in all its forms is not
acceptable within the Christian
Church.' Lesbian and gay Christians
are not made to feel welcome in the
Church by the imposition upon them
of unreasonable demands - and
celibacy is not necessarily a sign of
wholeness and integrity.""
Commenting of the Archbishop 's
inconsistency Rev. Richard Kirker,
General Secretary of LGCM said,
""Our members will once again feel
shocked and dismayed that George
Carey has made remarks that display
obvious confusion and no respect for
loving same-sex relationships. The
Church is being deluded and cruel
the longer it delays affirming gay
love.""
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH:
Both Sides of the Debate
Homosexuali'1
in the Church
Outstanding authorities on
scripture, tradition, reason,
biology, ethics, and gendered
experience discuss the place
of Gays and Lesbians in the
community offaith. This
book will provoke discussion
Quan.
l~tttt, S ~ , h,. r d,1 0,
. in congregations, study groups,
and ethics and social justice
issues.
Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker.. Associate
Professor of New Testament at
Loyola Marymount University,
Los A11geles.
Order now from Second Stone Press
□ HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH
Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker, $14.99, paperbk ___ _
Postage'Handling $3.00 first book, $1.00 ea. additional ------
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NAME ___________________ _
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ORDER FROM: SECOND STONE PRESS, P.O. BOX 8340, NEW ORLEANS, LA70182
JU LY/AUGUST 9 9 5
w News w .........................................................................
Gay school board candidate triggers religious war
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - While
presidential candidates pay attention
to Iowa's leadoff precinct caucuses,
many political activists are preoccupied
with a school board race that's
likely to pit religious conservatives
against gay rights advocates.
It's school board .politics with a
vengeance, and some say it can be
used to gauge the growing clout of
the religious right.
'This is all being pretty well
orchestrated to generate money and
to help organizationally in anticipation
of the upcoming caucuses,"" said
Jonathan Wilson, a veteran member
of the Des Moines school board who
last year triggered an uproar by
announcing he's gay.
Iowa's precinct caucuses are the first
stop on the trail of primaries and
caucuse s that produce presidential
nominees. The major Republican
candidates all -have set up shop in the
state.
Religious conservatives are a
growing force in Iowa's Republican
Party. They've taken aim at Wilson in
the September school board elections.
Wilson blames ""the radical right""
out to flex its political muscle, but
those opposed to his re-election say
they're just trying to protect children.
'They are gathering up names,
addresses, phone numbers, contributors.
They are soliciting national
money for the effort,"" Wilson said.
'T hey're planning on making Des
Moines an example for the nation .""
Bill Horn is an organizer for The
Report, an anti-gay rights group with
roots in fundamentalist churches. He
dismisses that argument.
Hom says Wilson himself raised the
issue by making public his sexua l
preference and traveling the country
speaking to gay rights groups .
""How come he's out speaking across
the country raising money?"" Horn
said . ""I think the thing about
Jonathan Wilson that people are discouraged
about is the whole homosexual
agenda.""
""He keeps referring to the radical
right, and I don't know who he is
talking about,"" Jerry Erickson, minister
at Union Park Bap~ist Church,
said . ""I don't consider myself radical
right in any sense of the word. I've
probably voted for as many Democrats
as Republicans.""
GOP presidential candidates watch
the fight with interest because religious
groups such as the Christian
Coalition can make a big difference in
next February's precinct caucuses.
""I am with them all the way in that -
cause,"" former television commentator
Pat Buchanan said.
Both sides have been rallying their
forces and raising money.
'This is a controversial, hot-button
issue,"" Horn said. 'This will get
national attention.""
Wilson has been a force on the
school board for 12 years, including a
stint as its president. Some had urged
him not to run again, but he's
seeking another term.
Vatican newspaper calls
condom-in-hotel-room idea 'squalid'
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The
Vatican newspaper on May 30
denounced as ""squalid"" an antiAIDS
camRaign to put condoms,
along ,with soap and
'toothpaste, in seaside resort
hotel rooms.
Backed by an Italian gay
rights group, businessman
Franco Albanesi, who owns
part of a chain of seven hotels
along the Adriatic, came up
with the idea to distribute condoms
as part of the complimentary
toiletries left for guests.
The condom packages carry
the writing ""Safe love is good
for life."" Backing the initiative
was Italy's leading anti-AIDS
researcher, immunologist,
Fernando Aiuti.
But the president of an association
of hotels along the Riminiarea
seacoast called the condom
promotion ""stuff for madmen.""
Hoteliers fear that families
arriving for summer vacation
SECOND STONE
will get the idea that the resorts
are more suitable for love affairs
instead of family vacations,
the Italian news agency ANSA
reported from Rimini, the
coast's biggest resort town.
""Alarming the hoteliers is the
legitimate fear that the distribution
of condoms will frighten
the families who crowd the
hotels from June to September,""
the Vatican newspaper
L 'Osservatore-Romano wrote.
In a scathing attack on Aiuti,
the Vatican newspaper said:
""Perhaps he thinks that the
hierarchy of countervalues,
based on libertinism and
hedonism, is more defused""
than ""normal family"" values.
The scientist and the Vatican
have been at odds for years.
Aiuti contends that government
anti-AIDS education programs
have been stymied by the Vatican's
traditional influence on
Rome politics. -
His critics say they are unconcerned
about Wilson's sexual preferences,
and Wilson himself labels it a
""peripheral issue .""
'Tm focused on quality education,""
he said.
But religious leaders have sought
and failed to deflect attention to other
pressing issues facing the city's
schools.
'There is every danger that the one
and only issue that attracts people's
attention will be this issue of sexual
orientation,"" David Ruhe, senior
minister at Plymouth Congregational
United Church of Christ, said. ""I ha ve
suspected quietly to myself that it's
certainly possible for cynical people to
manipulate the intense feelings and
emotions around the issue.""
Rich Eychaner, a prominent
Republican businessman, has some
experience in the fight. Eychaner,
who is gay, sought a Republican con-
SEE CANDIDATE, Page 19
Church panel urges tolerance of
unmarried couples
LONDON (AP) - The Church of
England has been advised by
its own experts to welcome sexually
active couples, regardless
of whether they are married or
are of the same sex.
""Everyone, whether single,
married, separated or cohabiting,
heterosexual or homosexual,
should find a place of
welcome in the church,"" the
Board of Social Responsibility
said in its first report on family
life in 20 years .
The report is expected to be
debated in November by the
church's governing General
Synod.
Archbishop of Canterbury
George Carey, head of the
church, welcomed the report as
part of debate and soul-searching,
but said, ""It is not, and
does not purport to be, the
chμrch's authoritative teaching.""
The board, a synod department
that advises on social
issues, estimated that by the
year 2000, four out of five couples
will live together before
they _ marry.
The church should resist the
temptation to look back to a
""golden age of the family"" and
instead support families in all
their diversity and help people
build strong, committed, faithful
relationships, the report
said.
While marriage is central to
the Christian family, the church
has been too ""censorious"" of
people living together outside
wedlock, it said.
The report also said gay couples
are capable of enduring
and faithful relationships and
should not be excluded from
the church.
Singapore clergy opposes Church of England on 'living in sin'
SINGAPORE (AP) ~ The head of
the Anglican Church in Singapore
has opposed a Church of
England panel's recommendation
that the phrase ""living in
sin"" be abandoned, a newspaper
reported June 10.
Right Reverend Moses Tay
told the Straits Times newspaper
that the recommendation will
never be adopted in Singapore,
where the Church will continue
to uphold the biblical standards
of morality.
""All sexual behavior, apart
from that between a man and a
woman in the context of marriage
covenant is sin,"" Tay was
quoted as saying by the Times.
""Adultery, fornication and
homosexuality are wrong. We
have to call a spade a spade. A
sin is a sin,"" he said.
Earlier in the week, the
Church of England's Board for
Social Responsibility urged
Britain's state church to continue
to ""affirm the centrality"" of
traditional marriage. But it also
suggested that the phrase ""living
in sin"" be dropped and that
unmarried couples, heterosexual
and homosexual, be
more readily welcomed into
Anglican congregations.
While commenting on the
recommendation , Singapore's
patriarch, Lee Kuan Yew, said
his city-state_ will insist on
certain standards and moral
values if it is to preserve the
strength of its society.
Reverend Tay said the church
also was ""firmly of the same
view"" as Senior Minister Lee,
who gave his views while on a
trip to London.
The ""living in sin"" report has
contributed to a growing debate
in the British church on issues
such as family, sexuality and
gender.
JULV/AUGU _ST l 9 9 5
Hope House lifts gay teens from despair
From Page 1
who have no family or whose family
has abandoned them .
Th e Hope House program
serves te ens and young adults up to
age 21. It can provide a temporary
living environment and services lo
help mov e young Gays, Lesbians and
others from hop e lessness to independence.
At Hope House, youth who once
had no place to go now find a home
and some help.
The program is a part of
Cathedral of Hope Metropolitan Community
Church, the largest predominately
gay and lesbi an church in the .
world. The ne ed for the program
became clear when two teenage boys
came to the church a couple of years
ago looking for help. They had .run
away from home and ended up in
Dallas with 110 hom e and no money.
The church helped these teens, but
soon realized that runaway teens and
young adults were a large problem
and the resources to help them were
yery limited.
Then Rev .. Paul Tucker, a pastor
at Cathedral of Hope, decided it was
the church's job to help.
""We knew we had to do something,""
Tuck er said, ""Nobody else
seemed equipped to handle them.""
K In April 1994, the Hope Ho~s·e
program was created. By October, the
papers were signed on Hope House, a
transitional living facility for young
people with no other place to go.
said Luke, a Hope House resident.
""He makes sure I'm on the right track
and watches over me.""
Luke came lo Dallas when he
was rejected by his East Texas family
after coming out. When he told them
he is gay, they cut him off financially
and began to wash his clothes and
dishes separate ly , making him feel
like an outcast.
. 'T hey said I might as well quit
high school and live on the streets,""
Luke said . 'They said they hope I get
sho t in the head.""
Then he found Bob Ivancic,
Hope House's administrator.
""I told him about the program
and I asked him what he wanted,""
Ivancic said. Ivancic matched him
with a mentor and got him involved
in a s upport group, then helped him
enter Hope House's residential program.
""It allowed me to get back on
my feet,"" Luke sa id. ""I can begin to
think about being gay and having to
deal with all the stresses the world
puts on us.""
There .are no other programs in
North Texas and few in the nation
that are designed to meet the unique
n eeds of gay and lesbian youth.
Ivancic said the church wants to help
establish youth programs in other
cities as a part of Cathedral of Hope's
mission to become a national resource
in the lesbian and gay community.
'The straight community take s
care of its children,"" Ivancic said.
'There's nothing for youth in our
""The straight community takes care of
its children,"" Ivancic said. ""There's
nothing for youth in our comn1unity.""
Now, a case manager, an administrator
and a full time live-in home
supervisor assist in running the program
that Tucker and others created.
Hope House provides its clients
a variety of services to prepare them
for life on their own . The program
offers access to medical, dental and
psychological eva luation and treatment.
It also offers opportunities for
education, socia l and life skills training
and drug arid alcohol services, if
needed. Up to 18 months of residential
care in Hope House and two
years of follow up after leaving the
residence ~re also offered.
Hope House also provides a
mL•ntor program for residents and
nonresidents . Each youtl1 in the program
is mat ched with a carefully
scn•,•1wd and trained mentor, a gay
m ~n or ll•sbian woman who functillns
as a role model to help • put the tl'L'll
on the road to a healthy adult life.
''The mentor provides a big
brother-- someone I can look up tn,""
SECOND STONE
community.""
Tucker explained that Dallas has
teen shelters and a variety of services
for adult gay men and lesbian women.
Adult gay and lesbian services,
though, are often unwilling to help
children and teenagers. These agencies
are afraid of perpetuating the
belief that gay and lesbian organizations
recruit young people.
In ·some shelters for youth,
Tucker said, gay and lesbian runaways
are the target of. abuse and
violence.
A large, short-term youth
shelter for gay and lesbian teens is
need ed in the Metroplex, Ivancic said,
but he ex·plained that they · are
moving one step at a time and trying
to help as many young people as
possible along the way.
Ivancic and Tucker have dozens
of storil's about yout h in trouble.
""[One girl] was from west
T,•xas,"" Tucker said. ""Her mother
found out about her sexual orienta--
Hope House administrator Bob Ivancic, left, plays Scrabble with Luke, a
resident who was rejected by his East Texas family after coming out.
lion. She put her daughter on ·a bus
with a one-way ticket to Dallas.""
Tucker remembers meeting one
17 year old boy who was at a local
ho spital's ' psychiatric emergency
room because of a drug overdose.
''This young man had been
living on the streets since he was 14
when his parents found out he was
gay and kicked him out,"" Tucker
sai d. ""He used selling sex and selling
drugs as a mea ns of survival but in
th e proces s got hooked on cocaine.""
Alcohol and drug use is
prominent in runaways and throwaways,
and many turn to prostitution.
Others turn to suicide .
Sixty-eight percent of all ga1·
male ·adolescents report alcohol use,
and almost half say they hal' e used
drugs, according to an unpublish ed
study in 1987. The numbers .ue
higher among lesbian teens. S,1me
also report selling their body ,rnd ,1
large number say they h aYc> c,,nsidered
or even attempted suicide.
Until recently, ther e was no
place in Dallas for troubled gay and
lesbian youth to find help . .
Some of these youtH in trouble
go to Dallas' gay and lesbian area
near the corner of Oak Lawn A venue
and Cedar Springs Road. This make s
the church 's location in Oak Lawn
important.
""Many of them end up in the
Oak Lawn area of Dallas trying to
survive on the streets,"" Tucker said.
Luke said Hope House saved
him from that.
""I would have probably ended
up on the streets or in some homel ess
shelter,"" Luke said.
But help for Luke was al'ailable
fwm a house and a church named
H,,pe.
If you can benefit from th e
services of Hope House or would like
to help in its ministry , call Cathedral
of Hop e at 800-501-HOPE.
Integrity wraps up national convention
WORSHIPERS LINED THE walls of
Atlanta's All Saints Episwpal Church
during the closing Eucharist ,,f the
Integrity National C,mvenlion on
June 10. The circle of over 200 people,
which included . the celebrant,
Atlanta's Bishop Frank Allen, and
two other bishops , was intended to
i.llustrate till' nature' of the Holy
Trinity. Tl w S<•rm,in on th e eve of
Trinity Sunday was given by Rev.
Canon Linda Strohmier, Evangelism
Coordinator for the Episcopal Church.
• Delegates to the n1nvention heard
the Rev. Canon Rowan Smith, chief
assistant of Archbi sh op Desmund
Tutu speak on the gay liberation
struggle in South . .\frica ,rnd the
church's role.
Mark Graham of Atl,rnta. c,1-dean of
the convention, receiH th e Louie
Crew Award for .outst.rndin~ contributions
to Int egrity. · '
Most of Integrity 's Stl chapters hav e
fewer than 50 memb,•rs ,111d man y
Integrity memb,•rs d,,,d h,n ·e ,1 local
chapter to altL'nd.' ~ 1Jny (L'nventi('lleers
come fn.1m un~uppL , rtiv t:"" dioceses,
so tht' ronvt•ntiL, n pnwide:,; an .
important opp,1rtunity to <'~p<'rit' nce
fellowship ,1nd rl'tww,11.
JULY/AUGUST 9 9 5
B orn in 1898, my grandpa
was one of ten children.
The family name was a
heritage. Although all his
sisters and brothers were members of
the church, grandpa was not. I never
asked him why. I always figured
that it had to do with the gal that he
married . A refined woman from
upstate. I was three months old when
she died . Grandpa spent the next 26
years being chased by the best and
worst of them. Being one of the best
{egacy
BY
EMILY
EDWARDS
SECOND STONE
catches around, we would . laugh
when their intentions were quite
obvious. No one ever caught him.
I have always been sad that I never
knew my grandmother. He would
never · talk of her. I learned from ·
asking their best friends. One of her
ma_ny legacies is that I was raised in
her church .
In this town of 2,000, all my
relations were raised in the church of
800. They were a loving, hard working,
and kind people. They took care
of their elderly and infirm . The y
took care of each other. They were
also a God fearing people. So the
church had many traditions.
All th e women who were members
wore a black lace cover on their
heads , When Great Aunt Ida was so
sick, for a while we were not allowed
to see her , Bouts of senility were
allowing her to reveal the family
secrets. One time when I was visiting,
she lapsed before my ears. She
told me how the Elder had paid a
surprise visit one day, and she barely
had time to get the black lace cover
on her head before he walked in the
door . After a time, the women members
were only expected. to wear them
in church,
Automobiles, trucks, tractors and
radios were definitely allowed. They
were necessary for commerce . T elevisions
were not. My cousins and
friends loved to visit. We would
watch TV. By the time Great Aunt
Mary was 82, she realized that she
had lived a life worthy of the call
from God , She did not care if anyon e
saw the small TV in her kitchen.
And no one in the church dared to
say anything. Great Aunt Mary told
me once that many men had asked
for her hand . The men went to the
Elders and then the Elders went to
the women. She kept turning them
down and was never sorry for her
choice of remaining single. She told
me that this one woman never treated
her too nicely through the years. Her
husband was quite wealthy, Inside
Great Aunt Mary laughed at this
woman's haughtiness. For this man
was one of the many suitors she had
sent away.
When Great Aunt Barb passed
away, there were a few compacts with
face powder. That was allowed . She
had watches and pins that were also
allowed . Somehow the word got out
though. My cousin Jim told me that
someone confronted him. Did she
really have 250 pins and 22 watches?
He reminded them of the Christian
woman, his grandmother that they
were asking about. And no one
dared to say anything more.
Yes, the church is rich in many
traditions. The people are loving,
hardworking and kind, and alway s
take care of their own. They built a
nursing home and a home for
disabled. You have to be on a waiting
list for some of the volunteer
positions . They built a social hall.
When the first bricks of each were
laid, they had already been paid for.
My grandpa was a successful and
respected man in his own right. And
when I was born, the birth listings in
the papers said granddaughter of.
When he passed on, 1700 people
came through the funeral home. I
knew most of them, but not all their
name s. Everybody always knew that
I was the granddaughter of.
Growing up, I was cool. I stayed
out of trouble . I got my name and
picture in the paper for first class
scout, band and chorus awards, stuff
like that. So pretty much, I did not
dishonor the heritage of the family
name. Except the part that I was gay
from the time I was 16. So after
college, wanting to live freely and not
bring dishonor, I moved far away
from the little town and its hassles
and lived free , I would fly home and
be with grandpa. I always brought a
dress with me, for I knew I would be
attending the church with him.
Congregational seating _ was also
part of the tradition. Women sat on
one side, men sat on the other. A
portion of the pews in the back rows
were reserved where both could sit
together. That one Sunday, we
climbed the stairs and grandpa did
not stop in the back rows . He· kept
marching down the long aisle. I
grabbed his suit coat so hard that it
stopped him and said in his ear,
where are we going. We need to sit
in the back row, He said come on
and took off again and I followed him
like I always had. We suddenly sat
on the men's side in the front second
pew. As I was shaking, I received a
tap on my shoulder. I painfully and
slowly turned to hear and see Tom
and Joe. Old schoolmates saying
hello. I sang tenor that day with the
congregation - who had never known
what it was like to sing with a piano
or organ. Yes, like singing tenor on
the men's side would not make me
stick out.
When we left church, 1 was furious
with my grandpa. Why did you do
that . What are you doing . And all
he would do was laugh and laugh .
Everytime I brought it up through
the remaining years, he would laugh
and laugh and say nothing.
When grandpa passed on, 1 was the
only one who did not pass by his
casket in the foyer of the church . 1
don't know why. When Jane came
up to me at the meal after the funeral
service, I noticed that she had a black
lace cover on her head . She had
·become a member. She was very excited.
Wasn't your grandpa's funeral
. great . They put him in heaven with
Jesus.
The next day it finally computed in
my weary mind . There were three
When we left
church, I was
furious with my
grandpa. Why did
you do that. What
are you doing.
And all he would
do was laugh
and laugh.
types of funerals in the church. In
my youth I had heard about this one
type. The Elder pointed to the family
in the front row and declared, and
how ·do you feel knowing your
husband and father is burning in
hell. Seriously, if you were not asked
to leave, as some were, you ran the
risk. There was the type of funeral
for people who attended the church
and then there was the type of
funeral for members of the church.
My grandpa, being placed in heaven
with Jesus, had been given the
funeral of a member.
Yes; the church is indeed still rich
in many of these traditions. They are
a loving, hardworking, and kind
people of God.
All· this came back to me today
when I ran across my grandpa's derby.
He had worn it when he courted
my grandmother. And remembering
all of this, I finally accepted that
grandpa knew that I was gay. He
might not have understood it all, or
even have wanted to, yet he indeed
knew and loved me still the same.
And in all these years, I have
wondered why he marched me down
the aisle that Sunday to sit with the
men. And today maybe I finally
realized why. That no one had better
dare say anything .
. JULY/AUGUST 1- 9 9 5
Pro-gay bishop elected in New York Episcopal diocese. · _1
NEW YORK- At its 219th convention, Bishops meeting during the 1994 January. The resolution_ Was spon- Assembly, but has never mad~ it to
held on June 10, the Episcopal Dio- General Convention in Indianapoli_~, sored br the three Integnty c~apter:- the floor of the Repubhcan-dommated
cese of New York strong ly supported the diocese put itself on record m m_the Diocese of Ne~ ~ork with Phil State Senate.
the full inclusion of Lesbians and support of blessing same -sex umons Nic~olson,_ Integrity s NortheaS t Bishop-elect Roskam was ordained
Gays in the church . Elected as Bishop and opening the_ ordination process to Regional Vi~e President an? a dele- to the priesthood in 1984 at Manhat-
Suffragan was longtime Integrity Gays and Lesbians, whether or not 9ate to the diocesan convention, lead- tan's Church of the Holy Apostles,
member, the Rev. Catherine S. they are celibate. mg th e effort. joining the New York City chapter of
Roskam. Bishop-elect Roskam is cur- The resolution was .tpproved by Integrity shortly thereafter. She mainrently
Missioner of the Di_ocese of over two-thirds of the delegates in .a The convention also passed tained her membership in Integrity/
California and is a gay-positive het- voice vote. New York became the a resolution urging the New .York even after moving to San
erosexual. second Episcopal diocese to endorse Francisco several years ago. While.
The diocese also approved three Spong's ""Statement of Koinonia,"" New York State legislature looking for a job in the Diocese of
pro-gay resolutions. By endorsing a which was signed by 71 bishops. The to outlaw discrimination California, she experienced discrimistatement
that Newark Bishop John Diocese of Washington (D .C.) had . nation due to her membership in
-Spong introduced at the House of approved it at their convention in based on sexual orientation. Integrity and her expressed desire to
BATTLE,
From Page-1
The pro-Amendment 2 br ,ief was
filed by the Southern BaJ?tist Convention,
Catholic Legal Society, Catholic
League for Religious and Civil
Rights, Focus on the Family, Lutheran
Church-Missouri Synod and the
National Association of Evangelicals.
The anti-gay rights groups contend
Amendment 2 protects the religious
rights of groups that believe homosexuality
is a sin.
The 11 groups filing against
Amendment 2, which include several
Jewish groups, Protestants, the Quak,
ers and the head of the Episcopal
. Church, argue the amendment vio.
!ates the state constitution by setting
aside one group for discrimination.
The groups state the amendment
subjects Gays to ""second -class citizenship.""
One anti-Amendment 2 brief was
filed by the American Friends Service
Committee (Quakers), American Jew-
RESPONSE,
From Page 1
Flanked by Republican leaders
from across the nation including
House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and
presidgntial hopeful Phil Gramm,
Ralph Reed announced his 10 point
moral agenda for the second 100 days
of the 104th Congress. ""We are com~
mitted,"" said Gingr .ich, ""to imple'
menting the Contract with the Fami-
1 ""
Y;,If the Christian Coalition's Contact
is implemented,"" said Nancy Wilson,
a UFMCC elder and pastor of the Los
Angeles congregation, ''.it is possible
that gay and lesbian Americans will
suffer a whole new reign of terror and
intolerance in the land.""
""Just below the surface,"" claims
White, ""Ralph Reed's Contract with
the American Family is just one more
attempt by leaders of the radical right
to reshape traditional American
values in their own narrow, fundamentalist
image. The Contract is far
more than the sum of its parts . It is in
fact, a dangerous threat to all Americans
who believe in tolerance and
freedom.""
SECOND STONE
ish Committee, Anti-Defamation ,.
League, Reconstructionist Congregations,
Interfaith Impact for Justice and
Peace, Reconstructionist Rabbinical
Association, . Unitarian Universalist
Association, United Church of Christ,
United Synagogue for Conservative
Judaism and Bishop Edmond Browning,
head of the Episcopal Church ..
The stated clerk of the national
Presbyterian Church filed his own
brief against Amendment 2.
Also approved by the convention
was a resolution introduced by the
diocesan Economic Justice Commis-·
, sion directing the trustees of the
diocese to formally request each company
in their investment portfolio to
prohibit employment discrimination
based on marital status and sexual
orientation. The convention also
passed a resolution urging the New
York State legislature to outlaw discrimination
based on sexual orientation.
This measure has been passed
year after year by the New York State
Presidential hopeful urges tougher
stand on moral issues
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Conservatives
have helped create a
moral disaster by not taking a
clear stand against abortion, unwed
motherhood and homosexuality,
says 19% Republican
presidential candidate Alan L.
Keyes. ·
Keyes, a Maryland radio talk
show host, spoke to about 300
people May 25 at a luncheon
sponsored by The Freedom
Foundation, a conservative
organization.
""We must take a clear stand
on putting the emphasis back
on supporting the marriagebased
family,"" he said.
On May 23 in Topeka, Kan.,
Keyes had a rally on the south
steps of the Statehouse and
attended a $100-a-plate fundraising
dinner.
His Kansas visit was sponsored
by the Topeka chapter of
Kansans for Life, the state's
largest anti-abortion group, the
Family Action Network and the
2nd Congressional District
Republican Party.
Keyes served in the State
Department under former
President Ronald Reagan and
as ambassador to the United
Nations Economic and Social
Organizations .
He is the first black candidate
for the Republican nomination
for president. He entered the
race in March after two unsuccessful
campaigns for a Maryland
state senate seat in 1988
and 1992.
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minister to persons with AIDS. If, as
expected, her election is confirmed by
a majority of diocesan Standing Committees
and Diocesan Bishops, she
will become the fourth woman in the
Episcopal Church's House of Bishops.
Her consecration is expected to take
place in December at the earliest.
In another notable election, Dr.
Deirdre J. Good was elected a deputy
to the Episcopal Church's national
governing body, the General Convention.
Good is expected to be one
of at least six openly lesbian deputies
at the 1997 convention. She is a
professor of New Testament at the
General Theological Seminary in
New York City . Her corning out as a
lesbian with a life partner led to a
change in the seminary's housing
policy, following a struggle that
included the mediation of the New
York City Commission on Human
Rights. Her election as deputy came
as something of a surprise since she
had never · before run for diocesan
office. Two other Integrity members
were among the eight elected as
G_eneral Convention deputies .
h the spirit of St. Frtl'lcir:; .im St.
Clare, wdre aeelci,g ~ bulder6
.im pear::e IM(8l'S to journey with
119 i1 t;h6 fOC>t61:ep5 of Jee;us Christ.
C?
d!'SJ We are an ecumenical,
inclusive, non-clerical
0.._ community of baptize~ men
~ and women from various
Christian traditions who
./!.O chose to worship and live in
~ a faith-sharing ~pirit.
You may become an
~ Associate or enter the
program leading to the
profession of vows as a
~~ religious Brother or Sister.
Ask to receive our
newsletter, ""Footsteps."" t We work in ministries
of love, care and reconciliation
nationwide.
For more information,
please write to:
MERCY OF Goo COMMUNITY
Att: Vocation Director
P. 0. Box 41055
Providence RI 02940-1055
J U L Y / A U G U .s'T , l 9 9 5
Pastor calls ruling against lesbian mom 'act of terror'
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A gay clergyman
drew comparisons April 29
between the Oklahoma City bombing
and a Virginia Suprem e Court decision,
calling a rufing that a lesbian
was an unfit parent ""another act of
terror.""
While acknowledging that.the ideas
behind the bombing and the court's
ruling in the case of lesbian couple
Sharon Bottoms and April Wade are
widely separated, the Rev. Mel White
contended they are on the same
spectrum. ·
""To put a jurist, a wonderful,
committed jurist on the Supreme
Court of Virginia on the same scale
with the bombers would be a travesty,""
White told reporters at a news
conference. ""But to say that there are
ideas that link the bomber and the
jurist is very important.""
White added: 'The ideas are
wrong. They need to be attacked .
And the terrorist that takes away a
child from Sharon and April is that
same kind of idea that says that we
ne ed to explode away, do away,
purge the nation.""
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled
4-3 on April 21 in favor of Ms.
Bottoms' mother, who had sought
custody of 3-year-old Tyler Doustou.
The court said lesbianism was one of
. several factors that made Ms. Bottoms
unfit.
'The only issue, really, is they are
lesbians. And the court has decided
in this case that lesbians can't be good
parents,"" he said . ""And we will fight
that across this nation in every court
where it raises its head . And we will
chain ourselves to the Supreme Court
and fast until we die if this comes to
the Supreme Court and they decide to
take away our children.""
White, 54, of Dallas, was the keynote
speaker for a district conference
of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches. The
organization's mid-Atlantic district includes
15 churches with an estimat ed
2,000 parishioners in Virginia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and
the District of Columbia.
The UFMCC called for .a national
day of prayer on May 14, Mother's
Day, in support of Ms. Bottoms and
other gay and lesbian parents fighting
for custody of their children .
""Pray on Mother's Day that this
injustice will be righted,""White said.
""And pray too that these terrible
sodomy laws, which say that our love
for each other is a felony, will be
struck down .""
The couple's pastor, Dwayne
Johnson of the MCC Church of Richmond,
said the women felt a deep
""Your Brother Doesn't
Have to be Speaker
for You to Make a
Diff ere nee in America.""
Candace is the lesbian s iste r of Newt Gingrich.
Speaker of the Ho~se nf Represenratives
- Candace Gingrich.
Na~ianal Coming Out Projec t Spokesperson
M,, people who know someone
gay or lesbian are far more supportive of
gay issues. Coming out shows the true
diversity of the gay communiry. But,
you don't have co be related to someone
famous to take your next step. For more
information about coming out, or
upcoming National Coming Our Day
events, please call 1-800-866-6263.
Come Out.
Get Involved.
It Truly Makes a Difference.
National Coming Out Project
is an education and ou1reach program ol lhe
SECOND STONE
Fffil
~
personal loss because of the court
ruling. ""Removing a child from a
mother is akin to death,"" Johnson
said. 'That is the emotion they are
feeling at this time.""
Before publicly acknowledging his
homosexuality in 1991, White was a
ghostwriter for religious broadcasters
Pat Robertson and the Rev . Jerry
Falwell. He was arrested in February
for trespassing at the Virginia Beach
headquarters of Robertson's Christian
Broadcasting Network while seeking
a meeting with Robertson.
He fasted for 22 days in the
Virginia Beach jail until March 8. The
charge against him was dropped less
than an hour after Robertson met
with him in jail. A Robertson spokesman
said the visit was out of
compassion for White's parents.
""I think Pat Robertson is so
misinformed that his soul is at stake,""
White said. ""I hope I'll have all of
eternity to show him where he's
wrong.""
Boy ~hinks Jesus took him from his mother
RICHMOND (AP) - When 3-year-old
Tyler Doustou visited his lesbian
mother recently, he told her that his
grandmother says ""Jesus took him
away from me,"" Sharon Bottoms told
a radio audience.
Ms. Bottoms said April 27 she told
Ty !er that Jesus gave him to her, and
that it was his maternal grandmother,
Kay Bottoms, who took him away.
But Tyler didn't believe her, she said.
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled
4-3 in late April that Sharon Bottoms
was an unfit mother and that Tyler
should remain in the custody of Kay
Bottoms.
Sharon Bottoms and her live-in
lover, April Wade, appeared on a
WRY A-AM call-in show hosted by
former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. The
couple, their lawyer and Wilder
crowded around a studio table as
television photographers prowled
around them.
Asked by Wilder how she felt
about the ruling, Sharon Bottoms
hesitated, then said, ·""I know how I
feel, but I don't know how to explain
it."" After even longer pause, she said,
""I think it's sad.""
Most callers were supportive.
Antoinette from Richmond urged Ms.
Bottoms to ""Get out there and fight for
your baby!"" Ca ssandra from Henrico
County and Chris from Gloucester
County both told the lesbian couple
they support ed them ""100 percent.""
Three of. the 11 callers confronted
the couple about homosexuality.
Ms. Bottoms' lawyer, Player
Michaelson, said she will ask the
Virginia Supreme Court to rehear the
case. She said she will argue that the
judges ruled on a case record that
included inaccurate allegations, such
as that Ms. Wade hit Tyler, that Kay
Bottoms was motivated to seek custody
of the boy after learning about
Sharon Bottoms' homosexuality, and
that Sharon Bottoms and Ms. Wade
taught the boy to call Ms. Wade
'Da""da .""
In its ruling, the Supreme Court
said lesbianism was one of many
factors that made Ms. Bottoms an unfit
mother. Other factors cited included
her history of moving from place to
place, relying oh others ' for support
and ""difficulty controlling her temper,""
the justices said.
After the radio interview, Ms.
Bottoms told reporters that Kay
Bottoms called her this week to tell
her she could not have Tyler. for his
court-ordered weekly visit of one
night. ""She said they were going out
of town,"" Ms. Bottoms said .
Richard R. Ryder, Kay Bottoms'
lawyer, said she told Sharon Bottoms
in advance that she and Tyler · were
going on vacation. 'They'll make up
the visit when they get back,"" he
said.
Not trying to take over GOP,
says Ralph Reed
PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - The
Christian Coalition is not on a
crusade to take over U.S. politics,
or even the Republican
Party; all it wants is a ""place at
the table,"" says Ralph Reed Jr.,
the group's executive director.
""It's not right for us to select
t.he next Republican presidential
candidate,"" said Reed, who
heads the nation's largest Christian
group that has deep inroads
into the Republican
Party. ·
But only the party that values
""the sanctity of life"" will get th""
group 's backing, Recd told th,,
Panhandl e Tiger Bay Club May
19.
In its ""Contract With the
American Family,"" the 1.6 million-
member group calls for an
end to late-term abortions and
permission for states to refuse
.Paying tax funds for abortions,
among other things.
""What we want is not in the
form of a demand,"" Recd said, ·
'The contract is 10 suggestions.""
'This (contract) is a very ambitious
agr,nda, a hold ag,•nda.
It won't happr,n ov,·rnight. W,·
wi ll kr:<:p at it,"" l<•·•·d add,•d .
""Our rr,I,. i '-> tr, h,· a rwrm ;uv·nl
fixturr : <,nth,, pr1l1tir al J;111d
<.,< ap1•. W,, rir.>W li :1v1· ;1 pl;ic ,. ;II
thr· tahl,- ...
I I J I I I /. IJ (, 'J ·, I, I ') 'I !,
Evangelist at Promise Keepers rally criticizes Gays
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) - A Dalla s
evangelis t at a rally for Christian men
urged blacks and whites to come
together to reverse what he said was
""immorality in the name of hell""
brought on by homosexuality.
''Black and white Christians can get
together and bring the kingdom of
God in the name of heaven,"" Tony
Evans told 72,000 men at the Silverdome
for the Promise Keepers conference
held the last weekend in April.
Founded five years ago by thenUniversity
of Colorado football Coach
Bill McCartney, the international
group bills itself as a Christ-centered
ministry dedicated to helping men
become better husbands, fathers and
community leaders.
The group has packed arenas across
Middle America. Last year, the group
drew more than 250,000 men to seven
stadium rallies. This year, it says
500,000 will attend 13 such events.
The event at the Silverdome was the
first.
Evans' comments did not surprise
the critics who say the Promise Keepers
movement is anti-homosexual and
anti-women.
Jeff Montgomery, president of the
gay advocate Triangle Foundation of
Detroit, said comments such as Evans'
frighten Gays.
""With that rhetoric, we feel threatened,""
Montgomery said, leading a
protest outside the Silverdome.
Women's activists also protested
outside the Silverdome, saying the
Promise Keepers' true agenda calls for
men to dominate their wives and
children.
Anti-gay initiatives
attacked at regional
Methodist gathering
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Two
anti-gay initiatives have been
rejected by the Pacific Northwest
Conference of the United.
Methodist Church.
About 900 clergy and lay
representatives from Washington
and northern Idaho. voted to
oppose Jnitiative 166, which
would bar schools from portraying
homosexuality as an acceptable
lifestyle, and Initiative 167,
which would bar Gays and Lesbians
from adopting children or
becoming foster parents.
""It's a civil rights issue,"" said
Tricia Schug, communications
director for the conference at the
University of Puget Sound.
'The United Methodist Church
tries to be proactive in social
justice issues.""
Conference 'members also
voted to ask the church's
national board to change the
Book of Discipline, a set of
guiding principles which
describe the practice of homosexuality
as incompatible with
Christian teaching.
SECOND STONE
Although those attending the
Promise Keepers did not approach the
protesters, members of a local fundamentalist
group, the Voice of Thunder,
confronted them.
The two sides shouted slogans at
each other. Voice of Thunder member
Roger Pettibone of Pontiac also
criticized the Promise Keepers, saying
the group would be more effective
preaching in the streets, rather than
in stadiums .
But many attending the rally felt
otherwise.
Nathan Schuck, a Michigan State
University chemist from Mason, was
AIDS memorial service prompts protest
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Protesters
missed the point of an AIDS candlelight
memorial at the Roman Catholic
church on Old Town Plaza, said an
organizer of the memorial.
""For someone in the city to feel they
should boycott because it's being held
at a church, it's very sad,"" said Peter
Counterman, executive director of
New Mexico People Living With
AIDS.
. ""It takes away the whole feeling
behind the memorial and mobilization,""
he said .
The memorial at S<Ul Felipe de Neri
Church drew about 400 people.
""It's very comforting to be in a
house of God - what better place to
have a service and a memorial?"" said
Don Alan Croll,.a Jewish cantor who
is gay.
His partner, Jan Gartenberg, said
he could detect no particular religious
slant to the service. He said he
listened 9osely.
'The issue is about AIDS more than
where it's held,"" Gartenberg said.
Outside, however, another group
boycotted .
""As long as the church as an
institution continues to preach that
homosexuality itself is sinful, it encourages
the spread of AIDS,"" said
Neil Isbin, a gay rights advocate who
helped organize the boycott. .
Using a church hadn't been the
group's first choice but that it turned
out to be more affordable and it
allowed the use of candles, which not
all venues permit, Counterman said.
Anyway, a church seemed an
appropriate place for remembrance,
he said .
The Rev. Lambert Luna, pastor of
San Felipe de Neri Church, said the
church traditionally reaches out to the ·
sick and dying and that AIDS sufferers
deserve the same consideration.
""We're not trying to make a
political statement,"" he said.
Recommended Reading For Everyone ...
PASTOR, I AM GAY
by The Reverend H. Howard. Bess
An extraordinary book. PASTOR, I AM GAY ... is a
prophetic witness to the church. It is compelling in
its intensity, compassionate in its identifications, and
courageous in its call to sharing humanity without
qualifications. A . reader will not be able to put it
down ·
· James B. Ashbrook, Professor Emeritus and
Senior Scholar in Religion and Personality
Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
Northwestern University
PASTOR, I AM GAY is a superb entry into the difficult and painful
subject of homosexuality that faces us in the church and society today.
Both pastor and lay person will find this book readable and informative
as we seek more insight into the lives of homosexual friends inside and
outside the church. Donald Parsons, . Bishop, Alaska Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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brought to tears ~hen the crowd
broke into small groups to pray.
""If you're a lukewarm Christian,
you're no good to anyone,""he said.
With hotels full, some had to roll
out sleeping bags on church floors.
But Doug Gross, 34, of Portland, said
it was worth it.
""It's very emotional. It's intense,
like a fooJball game,"" he said.
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JULY/AUGUST 1995
New network wants to shine light on hate groups
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Unlike the
days of frequent Ku Klux Klan
marches, hate groups are scarier these
days because people can't tell what
they are up to, according to their opponents
.
The new tactics of hate groups drew
attention May 19 as community activists,
preachers, state troopers and government
officials met in the first of
three regional meetings of opponents
of hate group such as skinheads, the
Klan and the Aryan Nation.
""What has me worried is what the
hate groups are doing behind the
scenes, the infiltrating they are doing
in all aspects of society,"" said one
participant, the Rev. Bob Lewis of
Calvary United Methodist Church in
Erie.
Initiative takes aim at 'right-wing
fundamentalist Christianity'
OLYMPIA (AP) - A Seattle man has
filed an initiative that would prevent
state agencies from placing children
in the custody of anyone ""who
practices right-wing fundamentalist
Christianity.""
William Humphrey said his
measure is in response to Initiative
167, the proposal that would restrict
adoptions by Gays and Lesbians.
Humphrey's initiative, filed earlier
in June with the secretary of state's
office, extends the prohibition to anyone
""who participates in any political
organization or religion . which condones
the discrimination of individuals
who practice dissimilar beliefs.""
Humphrey is a reporter for The
Stranger, a free, Seattle alternative
weekly newspaper. He said he filed
the measure as part of a story h_e's
working on about' how the initiative
process works,
Sam Woodard, executive director of
the Citizens Alliance of Washington,
the organization sponsoring anti-gayadoption
Initiative 167, called
Humphrey's proposal ""a joke.""
""I think it's hilarious,"" Woodard
said. ""It couldn't hold up in any court
of law. It is directly against the constitution
and freedom of religion."" ·
Humphrey is up against a tight
timetable. He has only until July 7 to
collect the signatures of 187,000 registered
voters to qualify his proposal for
the November ballot.
Now available from Second Stone!
The ·Word ls ·out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
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SECOND STONE
About 150 people exchanged ideas
for confronting what they say are
increasingly sophisticated hate groups
in Pennsylvania, particularly white
supremacists. The state Human Relations
Commission has identified 64
white supremacy organizations in
Pennsylvania, second only to Georgia.
'The face of hate is more easy to
accept nowadays. They're not wearing
hoods, and they're not wrapping
themselves in the American flag like
they used lo,"" said Barney Ousler,
co-chairman of the Pittsburgh Coalition
to Counter Hate Groups.
What they_ are doing is infiltrating
schools, says a former member of the
Aryan Nation who broke ranks three
years ago. Floyd Cochran now campaigns
against hate groups a_cross the
country, carrying with him videotapes
of youth recruiting sessions and
the ""White Will"" comic book.
""What they do is tell these kids,
'We're family,' and, 'No one loves
you? We'll love you,' and a lot of
them come from dysfunctional fami.
lies in· the first place, with · no father
figure, so of course they're going to
join,"" said Cochran, himself a divorced
father of two .
The watchers of hate groups say
anecdotal reports indicate more
activity around the slate lately - a
baseball bat beating in Jeannette, a
skinheads' march in New Hope,
synagogue vandalism in York and
damage to a Pittsburgh-area car dealership
owned by a mixed-race couple.
Groups such as the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, the YWCA and
church associations across the state are
sharing information about groups and
organizing a quick-strike task force to
be sent to towns where crosses are
burned or other hate crimes are committed,
Ousler said.
The number of hate crimes in
Pennsylvania more than doubled in
the last five years, Attorney - General
Ernie Preate Jr. said recently.
Communities tainted by hate crime
- cross burnings, church vandalism,
offensive leaflets and the like -
typically react wrongly in ignoring
the incidents, he said.
""Silenc e is the welcome mat for
hate,'' said Ann Van Dyke, assistant
education director of the state Human
Relations Commission.
Priest wouldn't allow condoms at health fair
SANT A FE (AP) - A Roman Catholic
priest would not allow condoms lo be
available at a health fair May 13 at
his Santa Fe parish hall.
One of the groups sponsoring the
event, People of Color AIDS Foundation,
said earlier it would make condoms
available at the fair because of
the life-or-death issue involved with
AIDS.
However, the Rev. Albert Gallegos,
priest at Our Lady of . Guadalupe
Church, said the group would not
bring condoms.
""It's not the reason the fair was
. called,"" he said. ""It's for information
about (medical issues) including
AIDS.""
Jewel Cabeza de Vaca, executive
director of People of Color AIDS
Foundation, had said earlier it was
irresponsible to provide information
about the deadly virus without givjng
people ac cess to .condoms - an
effective way to reduce the risk of
infection.
The Associated Press attempted to
call her for comment at her Santa Fe
office, but was told that she was not
in .
The health fair targeted Spanish
speakers, including immigrants ·from
Latin America, who lack access to
medical care and information about
AIDS, Cabeza de Vaca said.
The state Department of Health has
documented 1,141 AIDS cases in New
Mexico since 1981, including 355
Hispanics. At least 673 of those with
. AIDS have died.
Housewife excommunicated
from Mormon Church
PROVO, Utah (AP) - A feminist
housewife who wrote about a
divine mother in heaven and
challenged the notion that Jesus
would not allow the Mormon
Church lo be l ed astray says
she has been excommunicated.
Janice Allred said the action
was taken May 9 after a fivehour
hearing before a disciplinary
council headed by Bishop
Robert Hammond, the lay leader
of het congregation.
Hammond declined to comment.
Spokespersons at church
headquarters in Salt Lake City
routinely refuse to comment on
such cases, saying they arc local
matters.
Including Allred, at least
eight high-profile feminists and
academics have been excommunicated
in the last two years on
grounds of apostasy or public
criticism of leaders of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday
Saints.
Mormons believe their lcadershi
p to be divinely inspired.
Supporters of the disciplinary
act ions contend that failure to
sustain and obey church leaders
is a repudiation of the church's
most basic bL•lil'fs.
A lln•d, 48 and the mother of
nim •, said slw would appL·al.
JULY/AUGUST l 9 9 5
,,
•
In Print ........................................................................
Lesbian and gay celebrations
Equal Rites
By Don Bell
Contributing Writer
Equal Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship,
Ceremonies, and Celebrations.
Kittredge Cherry and Zalmon
Sherwood, editors. Westminster John
Knox Press
E qua! Rites is a very welcome
addition to the growing
body of worship materials
that give voice to the genuine
religious faith of many gay and
lesbian persons. Indeed, the book is
a godse.nd for those longing to
acknowledge and express their spirituality
in positive, affirming religious
celebration and worship.
One strength of this important work
is the large number of contributors
(more than 30), all with unique spiritual
experiences and ihsights. The
writings respect sexual orientation,
yet transcend it to embrace deep
' spiritual truths and convictions shared
by people everywhere, regardless of
denomination or sexual orientation.
The great variety of ritual and
ceremony detailed here sho uld enhance
the usefulness of the book for
Lesbians and gay men everywhere.
One aspect I really like is that the
authors did not forget major seasons
or holidays celebrated by persons of
faith around the world. In an effort to
be different or set themselves apart
from the traditions of others, some
gay and lesbian persons tend to
ignore or reject holy days celebrated
by organized religious groups. After
all, they reason, these are the very
religious groups that have spread
misinformation, misunderstanding
and prejudice toward gay persons for
so long. Why would a gay person
want to observe any traditions held
sacred by these hypocritical groups?
Yet Equal Rites.does lay claim to these
spiritual occasions and includes rites
that make these holidays meaningful
and relevant for the lesbian and gay
person . .
The book is designed for those
planning or participating in rites,
ceremonies, or worship services.
However, I believe the book has a
much broader use as an excellent
meditation and devotional resource,
meaningful to persons of faith everywhere,
regardless of race, denomination,
or sexual orientation. Throughout
the book, God is loved, worshipped
and honored; respect, caring
'Straight Parents/Gay Children' from former PFLAG editor ...
B ob Bernstein, creator and
former editor of the
PFLAGpole, the newsletter
of Parents, Families and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays, tells
his personal story and that of PFLAG
in Straight ·Parents/Gay Children:
Keeping Families Together, just published
in June: Bernstein is a newspaper
columnist and PFLAG national
vice president.
Straight Parents/Gay Children is the
story of a father's coming to terms
with a daughter's homosexuality and
discovering that his life was not
diminished but enriched through the
process, according to the publisher,
Thunder's Mouth Press of New York.
It is also a story about PFLAG, the
organization which helped him
achieve a fuller understanding and
appreciation of human and sexual
diversity.
The book recounts dramatic
episodes of PFLAG's history, and in- .
dudes accounts of numerous individual
PFLAG members who have taken
the lead in seeking · social equality
and justice for their gay loved ones.
Straight Parents/Gay Children carries
an introduction by Robert MacNeil of
the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour, and a
Forward by Beth Winship of the ""Ask
Beth"" -syndicated advice column.
MacNeil has been outspoken in support
of his gay son Ian, an awardwinning
. theater set des igner and
Winship is a PFLAG honorary director.
The book's cover includes praise
from Episcopal Bishop John S. Spong,
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Dr.
Keith Brodie, President Emeritus of
Duke University and of the American
Psychiatric Association.
""If Bob Bernstein's book were
compulsory reading in America, the
population of bigots would dwindle at
a rapid rate,"" Frank writes. ""His
ability to make the case for fairness
and decency in our treatment of each
other is unsurpassed.""
Bernstein began his career as a
journalist but was also a law professor
and government attorney before
retiring from the United States
Department of Justice in 1989. His
articles on various civil rights matters
have appeared in more than 50 major
metropolitan dailies.
... and gay parents/straight children: 'The Changing Family'
l esbian and Gay Families: Redefining
Parenting in America,
part of publisher
Franklin Watts series The
Changing Family, explores the growing
number of gay and lesbian couples
who are parenting. This book,
written by Chicagoan Jill S. Pollack,
introduces the reader to seven lesbian
and gay families who share their
stories;J·oys and challenges. Their
firsthan testimony becomes a vehicle
for exploring the many roads to
parenthood including adoption, alternative
insemination, foster parenting,
surrogacy and previou. s heterosexual
relationships. .
In America, the number of Gays
and Lesbians with children grows
dramatically each year. Nevertheless,
the rights of these individuals
and couples to adopt or retain custody
SECOND STONE
of children is in constant jeopardy,
and their families often experience
complete alienation from their
communities. The recent court battles
of Sharon Bottoms and her struggle to
_raise her son have helped bring these
issues into the national spotlight.
""I am proud to .have played a role
in seeing that this very important and
timely book reaches bookstores,"" says
E. Russell Primm III, Editorial
Director, Grolier Children's Publishing.
""Whether the reader is a lesbian
or gay parent, the child of a lesbian
or gay parent or someone who knows
and loves someone in a lesbian or
gay family, Jill Polack pointedly
shows us the many faces of love and
the many kinds of families.""
Lesbian and Gay Families provides
the reader with insight into the facts,
theories and history surrounding the
political and social biases lesbian and
gay parents in America must overcome
. Pollack's book explores the
often difficult process of corning out,
traces the web of legal hurdles gay
and lesbian parents must face and
provides in-depth information on
local and national networks of
support. By chronicling the stories of
the gay and lesbian families that
have come forward in .her book,
Pollack establishes that love, not
sexual orientation, defines a family.
Pollack is a writer and editor
· residing in Chicago whose work has
appeared in newspapers, magazines,
trade periodicals and political
journals . She is the author of Shirley
Chisholm and is currently writing
Women on tlie Hill, a history of women
in the U.S. Congress .
and genuine love are encouraged for
all human life and for animal life and
nature itself.
The reader of Equal Rites . will
particularly notice the many, beautifully
written, meaningful prayers
included throughout. Relevant,
personal prayer is a new experience
for many lesbian and gay persons .
The written prayers in this book give
voice to the real pain, mental and
physical suffering, and heartfelt
longings, as well as joy, thanksgiving
and praise of many individuals .
In ""Corning Out: Corning Home"" by
Diann Neu, some readers ·may fail to
make the connection between the
blessing of the four elements - fire,
air, water, earth - and the very
personal experience of coming out.
Perhaps the theme of this beautiful
ceremony is that all of God's creation
celebrates when truth and honesty
are manifest in the life · of a gay,
lesbian, or bisexual person. I believe
such a ceremony would provide
emotional strength and make the
occasion a memorable one for the
corning out participant.
Persons who have tried gender-frer
inclusive hymnbooks arid worship
materials and found them unappealing
should genuinely appreciate the
ceremony ""Rediscovering God as
Father"" by Louis Kavar.
Many of the unique chants and
songs are well documented, though I
wonder what success a reader would
have in finding these resources.
Other songs and hymns are mentioned
by name only, wit ~ no
mention of where they may be f9und.
Maybe it is assumed that these songs
are widely known and availab /e in
hymnbooks of organized denominations.
Yet to the uninitiated g~y or
lesbian person who has long 0been
alienated . from these organ i zed
groups, the songs and hymns may be
unfamiliar, and the person may not
know where to locate them. ·
Equal Rites is an excellent public
and personal worship and devotional
book. The ceremonies detailed therein
are designed to strengthen f
1reiigious
faith, bring healing, and
provide the participant with a meaningful,
sensitive , caring, loving
worship experience. This choice book
would be a useful addition to <:omprehensive
religious collections in
church, public, and academic libraries.
As a devotional g uide,
individuals will want the book on
their personal bookshelf. The book
should be a real blessing for those
churches seeking to be more caring
and inclusive in worship experie I ces.
~ULY/AUGUST 19 195
W Noteworthy W ................ . • ............... ' ....................................... .
New club for kids
aTHE COLAGE KIDS CLUB is the
first and only organization for young
kids with lesbian and gay parents. It
was created by daughters and sons of
lesbian and gay parents. 'The most
pressing problem facing kids with
lesbian and gay . parents is our
isolation,"" says Suzanne Pullen,
COLAGE's Adminstrative Assistant
and herself the daughter of a lesbian
mother. The American Bar Association
estimates there are upwards of 8
million daughters and sons of lesbian
and gay parents in the U.S. alone,
hundreds of thousands of whom are
under 10. For information on
COLAGE write to 2300 Market St.,
#165, San Francisco, · CA 94114 or
KidsOfGays@aol.com.
Ann Arbor church closes
MFTER MORE THAN a decade of
serving the Ann Arbor, Michigan
area the Huron Valley Community
Church has ceased operation. The
Minister's hunger strike yields antidiscrimination
statement from
United Methodist bishops
AUSTIN (AP) - A Methodist minister
ended a 15-day hunger strike on May
6 after receiving a statement from
United Methodist bishops that decries
discrimination against Gays and Lesbians.
The Rev. Charles Moore, pastor of
Grace United Methodist Church, said
he received a ""serious and constructive""
reply from the denomination's
bishops, who were meeting in
Austin.
He said while ""it's not all we hoped
for, it's a positive statement.""
Moore, 60, had wanted a public
statement from the bishops ""expressing
their concern about the mistreatment
of gay people, especially in the
church.""
He points to a statement adopted by
the denomination's 1972 general conference
that says, ""We do not condone
the practice of homosexuality and consider
this practice incompatible with
Christian teaching.""
Delegates to the last general
conference, held in 1992, voted to
retain that language, and the statement
is again expected to be an issue
at the 1996 convention in Denver.
'The issue is wracking every maj.or
denomination,"" Moore said. ""It is not
an issue that can be ignored. The
churches are not going to be able to
hide from this.""
The Austin American-Statesman
reported that the bishops responded
by drafting a resolution that:
- Acknowledges failures ""if by our
inaction we have contributed to ostracism,
stigma, unnecessary suffering,
. denial of civil and human rights, torture,
persecution and pain inflicted""
on homosexuals.
- Calls upon all United Methodist
congregations to welcome all people
into ""redemptive fellowship"" and to
become centers of learning about the
nature of homosexuality.
- Recognizes the official United
Methodist position that calls ""the
practice of homosexuality"" incompatible
with Christian teaching.
Bishops don't make policy for the
Protestant denomination. That responsibility
rests with a legislative assembly
made up of lay and clergy representatives
from around the world.
The secretary of the Council of
Bishops, Melvin E. Talbert of San
Francisco, said the council has the
privilege of choosing how to handle
pastoral concerns.
""In this case, th e council felt it was
important to make a pastoral response,""
he said.
Moore, who said he is a heterosexual
who for too long ignored the .
pain of discrimination felt by Gays
and Lesbians, shed 15 . pounds from
his 5-foot-10-inch frame since beginning
the fast.
Phelps' group stages protest in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A group of
Kansas church members held an
hour-long anti-gay demonstration in
Jackson. The 14-member group from
Westboro Baptist Church and Library
in Topeka rallied May 30 in the
downtown area, some holding signs
that proclaimed: ""God Hates Fags.""
The Rev. Fred W, Phelps, the
chu!ch's pastor, said his group's ultimate
destination was Orlando because
""homosexuals are taking over
Disney World. We want good, wholesome
family entertainment, and
homosexuals are. taking it over. Walt
Disney is probably turning over in
SECOND STONE
his grave.""
He referred to ""Share the Vision
Weekend '95,"" an annual national
gay event scheduled June 2-4.
'This is a disgrace!"" Jackson
residentPaula Adkins shouted as she
stopped her minivan near the protest.
""Who is your God? My God hates
no one. He created everyone equal,""
Adkins shouted at the group.
Members of the group said the
Jackson protest also was aimed at
Brenda and Wanda Henson of Ovett,
two lesbians who founded Camp
Sister Spirit, a retreat near Ovett in
rural Jones County.
action came as the result of an
informal vote of those members who
have been actively attending the
church recently.
In a formal announcement of the
closure of the church leaders stated
that ""Our attendance has been lagging
and we have finally come to the
conclusion that God's direction is for
us to move elsewhere .""
While the announcement of the
closure came as a sh0ck it was not
unexpected. Over the past two years
the church has pleaded on at least
three separate occasions with people
on the mailing list to get involved in
the church's activities.
AIDS activist receives
Robert Wood Johnson award
M SOlITH CAROLINA AIDS advocate
has received a $100,000 national
health care award for his efforts to
expand community services for people
with the deadly disease.
Peter Lee of Columbia, director of
the AIDS Ministry of South Carolina
Christian Action Council, recently
received the Robert Wood Johnson
Community Health Leadership Pr_ogram
Award.
""Mr. Lee exemplifies the kind of
community health leader we aim to
honor with this award,"" said
Catherine M. Dunham, Community
Health Leadership Program director .
""He is tenacious, caring and creative
in finding ways to reach those not
served by the traditional health care
system.""
Lee's AIDS Ministry oversees AIDS
care teams based in church congregations.
The teams, in 40 churches with
500 volunteers across nine denominations,
provide support services such
as food _shopping, transportation and
comparuonship.
""They fill needs, other than
medical, by providing someone to
listen, care and help with the business
of living,"" said Lee, who used to
work at the Department of Health
and Environmental Control's Center
for Health Promotion.
Lee said he would use the award
money to help expand the AIDS
Ministry, as well as creating a
""healthy communities"" foundation to
encourage community leaders to
assume responsibility for improving
health care.
Integrity chapter bounces back
aTHE PITTSBURGH CHAPTER of
Integrity, Inc., the association of gay
and lesbian Episcopalians and their
friends, has been reorganized and is
meeting on a regular schedule the
second Wednesday evening of each
month. The chapter was originally
formed in 1976 and operated on a
regular basis for ten years. During
this time the chapter established St.
Aelred's House as a safe haven for
people with HIV and AIDS. Activity
has been sporadic for the past few
years, but in the fall of 1994 th e
chapter was reconstituted and is now
in the process of becoming a fully
certified chapter . To contact the
chapter, write to P.O. Box 3, Verona,
PA 15147 or phone (412)734-8409.
Pride rally features mass wedding
BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A St.
Johnsbury Unitarian minister
performed a mass wedding
ceremony at the gay pride rally
for anyone who wanted to take
part. A similar ceremony at the
1993 Gay pride march in Washington
, D.C., drew 2,600 participants.
Although the state
will not recognize the unions,
the Unitarian Universalist
Church will, as it has for 11
years.
Glover resident Brendait
Hadash, an ordained Unitarian
Universalist minister, said the
fight to get states to legally
recognize gay marriage was the
new civil rights battle for Gays.
A bill introduced in the last
legislative session would require
Vermont couples who
wanted to adopt a child to be
legally married, a r~gulation
Hadash said wo uld effectively
outlaw adoption for gay
couples . .
""It's a convenient little
statement for them to make, ""
Hadash said.
He said the current system
also barred Gays from filing
joint tax returns, receiving
many spousal health insurance
benefits, obtaining citizenship
through marriage, securing
next-of-kin rights, and automatically
inheriting property .
Hadash said he had lived his
life ""in the closet with the door
open. People can look in if they
want, but I don't force it.""
He said in Vermont he found
""the New England attitude of
live and let live."" But he said .
many Gays and Lesbians still
faced prejudice.
""For example,"" said Hadash,
""here in the Northeast Kingdom
there were two men who had
been together for more than 40
years, close ted. As he was
dying, one of them said to the
other, 'You can come to my
funeral, but you can't cry at it.'
Of course the man did cry, but
it' s just not fair.""
JULY/AUGU~T l 9 9 5
Father Bob Arpin never lost hope for change
A t a time when it would
have been easier to keep
his secrets, the Rev. Bob
Arpin chose the path of
courage. and spoke his mind - he
thought 1t would help others.
In an institution that condemns
active homosexuality, Father Arpin
was proud to be a gay man, a gay
priest and so undaunted by personal
affliction that he took his homily to a
national level.
Father Arpin, a native of Chicopee,
Mass., was the first Roman Catholic
Gay couples unite in
prayer during international
conference
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -
Fourteen homosexual couples
were united in prayer at the
17th Annual World Conference
of Gays and Lesbians.
Reverend RobertoGonzalez,
an Argentine protestant, conducted
the June 23 ceremony,
which was called a ""prayer service""
because Brazil prohibits
homosexual marriages.
The ceremony followed a
briefing by Brazilian congresswoman
Marta Suplicy, who is
leading a movement to legalize
homosexual marriages in South
America's largest country.
The conference ended June 25
with a ""March for Full Citizenship""
down Rio's showcase
Copacabana Beach.
CALEN1DAR,
r_rom Page 2
priest in the country to openly discuss
his sexual orientation and his illne~s
with AIDS.
Eight years after being diagnosed
with HIV, eight years after confounding
doctors who had given him scant
few months to live, Father Arpin died
May 23 in San Francisco, his home for
20 years . He was 48.
''Bob was a man with a mission,""
said Bill Thorne, a friend of Father
Arpin for more than two decades. ""He
wanted to stay within the Catholic
Church, to try to cause change from
within .""
It was becau s e of Father Arpin,
Thorne said, that church leaders
started a national support group for ·
priests. And from the priest's candor,
others said, countless other clerics
drew inspiration.
Father Arpin was ordained in his
hometown of Chicopee when he was
25.
He worked as a chaplain, a parish
priest and a counselor, then was
assigned 'io the San Francisco Bay
area on a long-term loan from his
Massachusetts diocese.
He became an assistant pastor at
Queen of AH Saints Church in Concord
and as chaplain at Mount Diablo
Hospital, where he launched an interfaith
ministry program.
. He then began working with the
San Francisco Archdiocese, providing
grief counseling and housing assistance
through Catholic Charities.
Father Arpin lived in a San Francisco
apartment with a tidy mix of crucifixes
and papal blessings, Gay Freedom
Day Parade souvenirs and his
beloved stuffed teddy bears.
Hope and Healing Conference
SEPTEMBER 28-OCTOBER 1, More than 500 people are expected to
attend this AIDS conference which is jointly planned by the Lutheran, Ep1s~opal
and United Methodist .AIDS networks. Three tracks of workshops_ will be
offered: Care and Compassion, Prevention and Education, and Calhnf! and
Service. - The program is expected to include theolog1~ns such as W1ll1am
Countryman and several experts from the Centers for Disease Control. For
information call (202)628-6628.
~Unity Fellowship Second Annual Convocation
OCTOBER 2-8 The Unity Fellowship Church Movement sponsors ""From Fear
to Faith,"" at th~ Ramada Inn in Culver City, Calif. Nightly worship, ~orni _ng
praise and prayer service, workshops on self empowerment, music, sp1ntuahty,
human rights, family, health, cultural arts, youth, economic empowerment. For
information contact Deacon Alfreda Lano1x-Owens, 5149 W. Jellerson Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90016, (213)936-4949.
National Day of Prayer, Fasting and Spritual Renewal
·ocTOBER 11 Rediscover the power of effective intercessory prayer for the
gay and lesbia~ community on this day of prayer held every year on the day
before National Coming Out Day. Support materials available from River of
Life Healing Ministries, 134 Quincy, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108,
rolhm@aol.com. ·
·christian Responses to Homosexuality .
NOVEMBER 10-12, Three days of dialogue with people from across th_e
philosophical and theological spectrum, sponsored by t~e Rocky Mount~in
Conference of the United Methodist Church. The cost of this conference, which
will be held in Denver, is $125. For information contact Elizabeth Pruett, Box
2922, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602-0292, (970)945-7293
SECOND STONE
When he was diagnosed as infected
with the human immunodeficiency
virus, Father Arpin found his greatest
ministry - AIDS counseling. He
wanted to educate the general public
aboμt the disease by showing that
even priests can be stricken with it.
Father Arpin went public. He
talked to reporters, he went on Phil
Donahue's talk show. And he wrote
his own book, Wonderfully, Fearfully
Made, a lesson in hope to those with
AIDS.
""It was thought that only unsavory
people in back alleys got AIDS,"" he
told The Examiner in 1989. ""I thought,
how more respectable can you get
than a Catholic priest? I decided to
come out of the closet because AIDS is
not a punishment from God.""
Tirelessly, Father Arpin preached
about the fallibility of priests and the
Roman Catholic Church's forgiveness.
The church 's uncompromising position
against homosexuality angered
Father Arpin to his final days, but he
said the institution was not perfect,
and he never wanted to embarrass it.
'The fact that I am able to say
things that the church doesn't like
and still be a priest in good standing
is an incredible sign of hope for me,""
he said in the 1989 interview .
""Father Bob Arpin always lived his
life, his priesthood, and faced the
challenge of AIDS with optimism and
joy,"" said Deacon Bill · Mitchell,
, spokesman for the San Francisco
Archdiocese . ""He is now at rest and
has gone to meet compassionate
God .""
Father Arpin is surviv ed by his
mother, Jeannette Arpin, a resident of
Chicopee, Mass., who kept a bedside
vigil by her son; and a large group of
friends.
Characteristically leaving nothing
undone, Father Arpin made all the
arrangements for his memorial
service and burial. He chose a simple
inscription for his gravestone .
It reads, 'Thank you Jesus.""
Parent group: Play is 'smut'
KINGWOOD, W.Va. (AP) - A high
school drama class play involving
themes of homosexuality, AIDS and
guns has come under fire from a
group of parents who called the production
""smut.""
But Preston High School drama
teacher Fran Kirk said the production
dealt honestly with issues facing teenagers
today.
""In addition to teaching theater, I
hope I am giving them a forum for
discussion,"" Mrs. Kirk said.
A group of parents on May 23
asked the Preston County Board of
Education to begin reviewing materials
presented in the schools. The
board did not immediately act on the
suggestion.
Kirk said the ""Vision 2000"" play
performed May 6 was_ a series of
monologues that focused on teen
issues.
During six weeks of rehearsal,
material was changed for any cast
member who had a problem with it,
Mrs. Kirk said.
Poll: Rome's Catholics stray far
from Vatican doctrine
ROME (AP) - In the shadow of
the Vatican, many Romans are
true believers - in premarital
sex, contraception and other acts
at odds with Church doctrine.
But they don't call themselves
rebels. They say they're Catholics,
according to a poll published
May 9.
The survey, presented to
clergymen in the Rome .diocese
May 8, found 78 percent of
Romans questioned defined
themselves as Catholics.
They also portrayed themselves
as supporters of few restrictions
on sex, divorce and
opening the priesthood to women.
The poll by Franco Garelli, a
sociologist at Rome's Catholic
University, did not give the
number of people queried or
the margin of error. But it reflects
the sometimes cool rapport
between the Vatican and
Italians, who identify with
Catholicism but often snub its
teachings.
In 1981, Italians voters upheld
the nation's liberal abortion
laws despite heavy lobbying
by the Vatican.
The survey found just 14 percent
of the respondents said
abortion should be completely
outlawed.
The study also found only 23
percent of those questioned go
to Mass regularly and 42 percent
rarely or never attend .
About half of the respondents
opposed the celibacy rule for
priests and 40 percent said
women should be allowed into
the priesthood, the poll said .
On sex, the scales tipped
. strongly away from Church
doctrine: Nearly 80 percent
supported premarital sex, birth
control methods and cohabita'
lion between unmarried lovers.
About the same number saw no
moral objections to divorce.
JULY/AUGUST . l 9 9 5
Death of professor's son sparked awareness among Mormons
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Brad Schow
felt trapped . And he was exhausted .
'1 feel so weary. I'm tired of always
worrying about morals, God, salvation,
myself, girls, guys, Gays, family,
school, etc .....
""I need a vacation from myself.""
Schow wrote those words in 1978 at
age 20, some months before telling
his parents that no matter how hard
he had hoped and prayed to be
otherwise, he was gay.
Eight turbulent y~ars later, he died
of AIDS complications in his hometown
of Pocatello, Idaho, his parents
at his side in an agony of regret. That
was in 1986, and Brad was the
contagion 's first reported casualty in
the Gem State.
T oday, there are many similar
stories in the bedrock Mormon culture
of Utah and southern Idaho that produced
Wayne and Sandra Schow,
Brad 's parents. But they remain
whispered stories within a patriarchal
faith that condemns homosexuality
and preaches that ""families are forever.""
Using their son's and their own
experience as a guide, Brad's parents
have tried to change that.
At Sandra's urging, Wayne Schow
and his brother, Ron Schow, both
professors at Idaho State University,
joined co-editor Marybeth Raynes in
producing the 1991 book, Peculiar
People: Mormons in Same-Sex Orientation.
The volume gained a wide audience,
especially among hundreds of
deeply conflicted Mormon Gays and
the parents who had raised them to
serve missions and marry in the
faith's temples ""for time and eternity.""
Ron Schow was instrumental in
forming Family Fellowship, a service
organization with several chapters in
. Utah and Idaho that seeks to strengthen
Mormon families with homosexual
members .
""It was just a matter of someone
daring to say, 'Hey, why don't we do
something about this?""' said Mildred
Watts, who co-chairs the group with
her husband, Gary, a Provo radiologist.
""I think we are viewed with some
suspicion by some church authorities,""
Gary Watts said, but the
organization's sole aim is to promote
love and understanding . ""Really,
Brad is the genesis of the whole
thing.""
In 1993, Wayne and Sandra Schow
were interviewed for ""Straight from
the Heart, "" a short documentary
about Gays and Lesbians and their
families that was nominated for an
Academy Award.
""I wish I had had the past 12 years
to live over,"" Wayne Schow told the
filmmaker. ""If (Brad) were still with
us I would be doing what I could to
make his way smoother.""
But as it happened, Brad's coming
out declaration to his parents was the
biggest shock of his father's life,
triggering years of public denial and
inner turmoil.
The separate struggles of father and
son are detailed in a new book by
Wayne Schow, Remembering Brad: On
the Loss of a Son to AIDS, a deeply
personal account that draws on Brad's
voluminous journals and the father's
letters to his son.
""Brad's journals are prett y
compelling,"" Schow said. 'Tm happy
to say that in some sense they are the
heart of . the book and my writing is
something of a gloss on his directly
repre senting his dilemma .""
Also satisfying to the author is the
sense that the two have collaborated
on the work, published by Signature
Books.
The journals Brad began at 15 and
added to until his death at times
depict a soul impaled on the irreconcilable
forces that shaped his life:
religion and sexuality.
'1 don't want homosexuality to be a
part of my life,"" he wrote in 1977. ""I
have had urges of that kind for as
long as I can remember , but it's
something I'm dealing with as well as
I can .
'1 don't understand where, at which
point, it becomes evil, and how and
where homosexual drives come into
· the plan, but still I don't want it. It's a
sterile kind of relationship. One can't
have offspring.""
And yet, after two years of college,
he dropped out and embarked on a
hedonistic sojourn in the gay cultu r e
of West Hollywood. Four / e ars
passed before Brad, disillusione with
the self-destructive nihilism of his life,
broke away to resume work on a
degree at Utah State University .
Two years after that and starting to
suffer, he went home to Pocatello.
Eighteen months later he was gone.
'1 hav e wondered more than a few
times since his death whether the
religious upbringing we gave him
was, on balance, more help or
hindrance to him in his life,"" Schow
writes . ""Whatever the answer to this
question, that upbringing was a large
part of the cross he bore.""
So, too, for his mother .
""When Brad came out to us, the
church and much of what I read said
it was all our fault,"" she said. ""Parents
are so afraid, especially those who are
members of the church. They're all in
the closet.""
As Wayne relates in Remembering
Brad, the Schows were there too
before their eldest son dragged them
out.
UM plan targets hate crime offenders
Pope urges movie-makers to
show more responsibility
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - People who
commit hate crimes at the Univ~rsity
of New Mexico will receive stiffer
penalties under a new policy that was
prompted by a series of hate-motivated
incidents on campus.
The UNM regents approved a plan
May 12 that will more harshly penalize
students or visitors who commit
such crimes. -
Board president Art Melendres said
the sanction policy gives UNM a
""hate crimes bill."" Gov. Gary Johnson
vetoed such a bill in March, making
New Mexico one of 11 states without a
hate crimes law .
UNM's policy was spurred by a
series of incidents over the past few
years, including racist graffiti and the
removal of lesbian material from
library shelves.
The new policy allows officials to
determine whether a crime was moti•
vated by factors such as sexism, racism
or homophobia and states that
I harsher penalties can be imposed under
those circumstances. Those penalties
could include being expelled
from school.
The plan passed 6-1, but there was
some discussion about whether it is
too vague . The policy carries the
understanding that guidelines on
offenses and their possible penalties
be brought back to the board for
approval.
SECOND STONE
""I think there are some constitutional
rights concerning what crimes
carry what puni shment,"" said regent
Gene Gallegos.
'There's nothing in the code that
would put someone on notice as to
, what penalties can be expected.""
. The policy says that in determining
puri.ishinent for rule infractions, officials
will take into account ""whether
any harm or injury was targeted
against a person or group because of
that person or group's race, color,
religion, national origin, physical or
mental · handicap, age, sex, sexual
orientation, ancestry, or medical
condition.""
c...$... Pontius' Puddle
VATICAN CITY (AP) - As the
Cannes film festival prepared to
grant its awards, Pope John
Paul II urged movie makers to
show a greater sense of ""authentic
values.""
The pope's comments w ere
made May 28 during his regular
Sunday address from his
window overlooking St. Peter's
Square . He said he wanted to
mark the Church's International
Day for Social Communications.
The mass media can be vehicles
for ""truth, solidarity, authentic
love, or the means of
manipulation, even violence or
the vulgar exploitation of man's
basest instincts,"" John Paul said.
Thus, the sense of responsibilty
of the ""promoters of social
communications"" should grow,
he said, particularly with
regard to the cinema on its
100th anniversary.
""I hope that it, honoring its
best traditions, will become
ever more a vehicle of culture
and a proposal of authentic
values.""
Awards were presented at
the Cannes festival May 28.
r RE..AU'Z.E. THIS IS 1HE- a.e's,
8Ui I. STILL THINK CHAN~INCr
'/OUR M.A.RRIA&E. VO'v-1S 1'0 RE.AO··
•~ 'TU .. t>AWN 00 OS ~~T, ""
ISN'T M~KING-~NOl..)6-μ
OF A CCMM\iME.ITT.
JULY I.AUGUST 1 9 9 5
W FrotmhEe ditWor •••••••••••••••••••••••••• C: - ••• .
""Thunder-lizard"" computer a good connection
By Jim Bailey
WHEN I FIRST started publishing Second Stone in 1988 I could tell from the
needs expressed in the letters I started receiving that many of our new readers
were dealing with isolation and lack of resources more than any conflict
between their spirituality and their sexuality. I still get letters from folks who
feel like they don't quite fHinto the gay and lesbian community in their area -
and they don't quite fit into the church community either. So isolation continues ·
to be a part of life for many of us.
The very best resource that anyone could have imagined for gay and lesbian
Christians has come into being over the past few years and continues to
develop. (And it is big time competition for Second Stone.) Self described by
America Online, it's ""one big thunder-lizard computer."" Many Seco.nd Stone
readers have already signed onto America Online and I recommend it for
everyone. All it takes is a Mac or a PC, a modem, which if not built in may be
purchased for about $150, a telephone line, and free software which America
Online will provide along with 10 hours of free sample time.
After you get online, you'll be interested in areas in the ""Lifestyles and
Interests"" department. Go into the ""Religion and Ethics Forum"" and you'll find a
Christian .message board which includes lively debate under the ""Religion and
Politics"" topic. Another area of interest is ""Christianity Online"" which offers a
""Discuss Current Topic"" area that included 26,519 messages last time I checked.
Under ""Christians and Sexuality"" there are 26 topics with 1639 postings. There
is much discussion in this category concerning gay and lesbian issues. Also in
the ""Lifestyles and Interests"" department: the ""Gay and Lesbian Community
Forum"" which now includes the Lambda Rising Bookstore online. Message
boards include very helpful areas like ""Support and Recovery"" for 12-steppers
and others, and a board of major interest to gay and lesbian Christians:
""Spirituality"" with 50 topics and 4355 postings. Most gay and lesbian Christian
organizations provide news about their groups in folders that can be found here.
The ""Gay and Lesbian Community Forum"" also features a ""Heart to Heart""
personals board, where a message can be posted or answered, and the ""Lambda·
Lounge"" where people are online and waiting for someone to connect with.
:;Although this is a great service for everyone; •ir-is especially-valuable foflhose
who do not-have good resources in their community or for those who are still in
the closet: online communicating is _done under your screen name. America
Online provides a generous amount of time each month for $9.95.
FOR READERS WHO HA VE been clamoring for hard news, this issue is for
you. It's stuff you couldn't find on America Online. So keep those subscriptions
coming.
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1995 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, U.S.A. $17.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add
$10.00 for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For display advertising information call (504)891-7555 or write
to P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to
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Manuscripts to be returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed
envelope. Second Stone is otherwise not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian social justice newsjoumal
with a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey . .
CONTRIBUTORS FOR THIS ISSUE: Emily Edwards, Don Bell, Gtp Plaster
SECOND STONE
CANDIDATE,
From Page 8
gre~sional nomination in 1984 and
lost badly.
""I do believe it is being used as an
organizing tool by the radical right to
organize for a variety of purposes,''
Eychaner said. 'They need continued
anger and antagonism to raise
money.""
Wilson says religious conservatives
are playing on public fears over
homosexuality to build their ranks
and play a bigger role in the presidential
campaign.
Horn pointed to a failed effort last
year to include in the Des Moines
curriculum teaching youngsters about
homosexuality as evidence of a
broader ""gay agenda.""
""When you start looking back, the
evidence is there,"" Horn said.
Erickson dismissed the notion that
religious conservatives are looking for
a way to energize their forces.
'They are already involved. They
don't need any issues to get their
people out,"" he said.
Eychaner said ,the fight is too
familiar.
""It's not hard to incite and inflame
people,"" Eychaner said, ""We will:
always be here unless they extermi-:
nate us. Hopefully, that's not the
agenda.""
Others worry about the city's
schools being caught in a larger
political debate and polarized for
years to come.
""In my opinion, no matter who
wins, there's the strong potential that
it is the children and the youth of the
Des Moines public school system who
are caught in the crossfire who will
lose,"" said Tony Vis, minister at
Meredith Drive Reformed Church.
Few doubt the outcome. Ruhe
tipped his hat to the organizing skills
of conservative Christians.
""In liberal churches like ours we
have preached about political
involvement for a long time,"" he said.
""Much to our chagrin we wake up
and see some conservative folks -are
better at it than we are. I'm fearful
that the liberals in general will be
getting a wake-up call.""
.............Y....o.u..r..T...u. rn
Safe sex more
reliable than one's
health claims
Dear Second Stone,
The commentary a few issues back on
men who had been duped into unsafe
sex by their own lovers who lied
about their HIV status caught my
attention.
This happened to a friend of mine.
He had the ""satisfaction"" of being
invited to testify at his lover's courtmartial.
My friend had assumed his lover's
employment in the military confirmed
his claim to be HIV-_negative.
Not so! The serviceman knew he was
HIV-positive and was under orders to
tell any prospective sexual partner
that he was HIV-positive and also
under orders to use a condom. He
did not tell his lover he was HIVpositive,
nor did he practice safe sex.
My friend had survived a decade of
the AIDS crisis without becoming
infected until his new lover seduced
him into unsafe sex. When he discovered
he was HIV-positive, he
demanded an explanation. Thus, the
courtmartial.
An MCC student clergy, who was
worki.ng on a nursing license, took
my lover and me aside one Sunday
and said, ""If you have sex with
someone else, make sure it's safe sex.""
My first reaction was irritation that he
would assume we were not monogamous,
but as I thought about it, I
realized he really cared about us.
Undoubtedly he had seen or counseled
friends who had become infected
outside their primary relationship.
As a gay man in my 40's, I'd like to
see during my lifetime a generation
of gay men free of AIDS. Relying on
other people's health claims is not
going to be sufficient to reach that
goal.
Name withheld
Richmond, Virginia
Still innocent
until proven
guilty
Dear Second Stone,
Second Stone was a gift to my spouse
and me on the occasion of our commitment.
I relish it's arrival and
applaud your efforts.
In your recent editorial ""We'U pay
more attention to hate now,''
(May /June '95) I was troubled by
your having tried and pronounced
guilty Mr. McVeigh when you wrote:
"" ... the many who perished at the
hands of McVeigh ... ""
As flawed as it may be we must
allow him the priviledge of a fair
trial.
Sincerely,
Bryon H. Knight
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TIRED OF B.IBLICAL ""condemnation"" of
·gays? Read 11From Darkness into Light:
What the Bible Really Says About
Homosexuality"" by David Cooper. Do gays
have any basis for Holy Unions? Read ""Sex,
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(2902 N. G~eronimo, Tucso-n. AZ 85-705. TWO CHRISTIAN WOMEN seeking investors
for development of private RV resort in
central Arizona : For details call 520-
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good listener, feminine, 39-49, interested in
commitment vs. casual relationships. Write:
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details, call 520-797-1626, fax 520-
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WANTED: PATRON(S) Young gay Christian
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power of God's universal love. Distracted by
tight finances, seeks financial supporters!
More details - write JRL, P.O. Box 4914,
Irvine, CA 92716-491'!,_Thanks!
I
CREMATION URNS: Introducing the
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urn that reflects personality and style. Call
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GAY PRIDE FLAGS, Banners, Lapel Pins,
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PIANO FOR SALE. Wanted: a responsible
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BECOME A PRIEST - Gay, Lesbian and
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(CCL) is a national organization for
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forums. For rriembership information please
contact CCL-SS, P.O. Box 436, Planetarium
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INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC religious order.
Men/women, lay/clerical, gaylnon-g'l)'.
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PAGE 10
NEWS in this issue:
.\ Female clergy .hitting a stained-glass ceiling
■ Ril·l#W
Alondon: Gay man banned from nephew's
christening by Church of England rector -,,., .. AN ew Lutheran bishop's position on gay
ordination unknown; Lutherans cave in on
sexuality• statement
■ iif•i¥W
AGay Episcopal priest sues female bishop
for discrimination
■ ¥l·IMW
!Catholics in support of gay rights plan
""Solidarity Sunday""
lii·iWI ■
! Southern Baptist women join fight
against AIDS •· ,.._
=iCWF:Pi::=
.U ough-talking woman elected
Presbyterian moderator
• - f a
Calendar
Announcements in this sectio11 are provided free of charge as a service to
Christian organizatio11s. To have an event listed, send a Pr.ill~ to
Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182, FAX to (504)891-7555
or e-mail to secstone@aol.com.
Third International TEN Conference
SEP T EMBER 1-3 , Liberty Community Church, Vancouver, Canada, hosts
""How Shall We Then Live,"" the third international gathering of The Evangelical
Network. Workshops will focus on stress management , coping with crisis ,
coupling concerns, being single, burn°out and other issues. For information
contac t Pastor Rick Morcombe, Liberty Community Church, #402-2388 Triumph
Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5L 1L5. •
Conference for Cat holic Diocesan Leaders
SEPTEM BER 8-10, The National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and
Gay Ministries sponsors a weekend conference ent itled ""The Challenge of
Leadership in Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries"" The Meany To wer Hotel
in Seattle is the setting. Richard Sparks, C.S.P., will be the keynote speaker
and there will be opportunities for sharing program ex perience and resources ,
social time and liturgies. For information contact Rev. Jim Schexnayde r, 433
Jefferson St., Oakland, CA 94607, (510)763-3101.
PFLAG 1995 National Convent ion
SEPTEMBER 28-OCTOBER 1, The Hyatt Regency Indianapolis is the setting
for the annual gathering of Parents , Families and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays. Seminars and workshops include HIV/AIDS and re ligious issues,
Speakers include Mitzi Henderson, PFLAG national president and Mel White,
author of Stranger at the Gate. For information contact PFLAG, 1101 14th St.,
NW, Ste. 1030, Washington, DC 20005, (202)638-4200.
Hope and Healing Confe rence .
SEPTEMBER 28-OCTOBER 1, More than 500 people are expected to
attend this AIDS conference which is jointly planned by the Lutheran, Episcopal
and United Methodist AIDS networks . Three tracks of workshops will be
offered '. Care and Compassion, Prevention and Education, and Calling and
Service. The program is expected to include theologians such as William
Countryman and several experts from the Centers for Disease Control. For
information call (202)628-6628.
Ur-iity Fellowship Second Annual Convocation
OCTOBER 2-8, The Unity Fellowship Church Movement sponsors ""From Fear
to Faith,"" at the Ram.ada Inn in Culver City, Calif. Nightly worship, morning
praise ·and prayer service, workshops on self empowerment, music , spirituality, .
human rights, family, health, cultural arts, youth, economic empowerment. For
information contact Deacon Alfreda Lanoix-Owens, 5149 W. Jefferson Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA 90016, (213)936-4949.
Advance'95
OCTOBER 2,8, ""Heaven, The Building of God"" is the theme for this annual
gathering of gay and lesbian Christians for a week of preaching , education ,
revival and fellowship. The activities include a pastor's and minister's fellowship,
School of the Prophets, the Advance Weekend and a children's ministry.
For information contact Advance Christian Ministries, 4001-C Maple Ave.,
Dallas, TX 75219,(214)522-1520.
School of the Prophets
OCTOBER 4-6, Students select from _ 18 courses established by pastors and
ministers through Advance Christian Ministries held as part of Advance '95 in
New Caney, Texas. The courses are designed to provide knowledge in .
Biblical content and practical training for Christian leadership and ministries. For ,
information contact Advance Christian Ministries, 4001-C Maple Ave., Dallas, TX
75219, (214)522-1520.
Solidarity Sunday · ·
OCTOBER 8, Gay and lesbian Catholics and their supporters are asked to
wear rainbow ribbons to Mass and throughout the day. For information contact
Dignity/USA, 1500 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 11, Washington DC 20005,
(202)861-0017 or Bruce S. Jarstler, M.D., 2634 Pebble Breeze, San Antonio,
TX 78232, (210)545-9097, FAX (210)545-6906, BruceSJ@aol.com.
National Day of PrayeL Fasting and Spritual Renewal
OCTOBER 10, Rediscover the power of effective intercessory prayer for the
gay and lesbian community on this day of prayer held every year on the day
before National ·Coming Out Day. Support materials available from .River of
Lile Healing Ministries, 134 Quincy, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108,
rolhm@ae>l.com.
National Coming Out Day
OCTOBER 11, Visibility makes a difference . For information about National
Coming Out Day or to . order official Keith Haring NCOD merchandise, call
Hl00-866-6263. .
SEE CALENDAR, Page 17
SECOND STONE -
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents
o • • · • o • • e o • · • e o o o e • \9 e ~ • o o e • o
Calendar
Opportunities for connectedness
across the country
[~ .
AIDS charities feel pinch of _ft_j competition , compassion fatigue
1:10 l Cover Story · Gay Christian musician Jal/en Rix ·
. . continues his powerful ministry with new release
In Print
Two mothers' stories: Prayers For Bobby,
Cleaning Closets; Also: Voices of Hope
[6 '! Noteworthy
[j Sl ~i?ie~:aleh~!teria: Have you felt it yet?
.
· From the editor
. Join Roman Catholics for a day of solidarity
1201 Classifieds
Plus
10 pages
of news
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 9 9 5
News .........................................................................
Female clergy running into a stained-glass ceiling
By David Briggs
AP Religion Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - More than
two decades after women started stepping
into pulpits in significant numbers,
they are encountering a stained
·gJass ceiling, a barrier that's keeping
the ministry far behind other professions
in workplace equality.
A study by Hartford Seminary
finds that the percentage of female
clergy has actually declined over
eight years in denominations once at
the forefront of women's ordination,
such as the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), the United Methodist
Church and the Episcopal Church.
In their survey of 4,900 clergy in 16
Protestant denominations, the most
comprehensive ever done on women
in ministry, researchers found clergymen
in general had stayed close to
the career path they envisioned for
themselves in seminaries.
Women with the same goals,
however, had to settle for lower-paying
positions as assistants. Women
also averaged $5,000 less in annual
salary and benefits than men with
similar work experience.
When men and women ordained at
the same time were asked about their
• present jobs, 22 percent of men were
senior pastors of larger churches, compared
to 6 percent of women, according
to the study released to The .
Associated Press.
""Sexism is behind the fact ... the
church won't accept women as senior
pastors,'' said Adair Lummis, one of
the study's authors. ""Law and medicine
are subject to secular laws, about
hiring, about affirmative action.""
Women are still banned from
pastoral positions in some religions,
such as Roman Catholicism and Orthodox
Judaism. But various Protestant
churches have permitted female
clergy for more than a century, and
women founded others, such as the
Christian · Science Church and the
International Church of the Foursquare
Gospel.
It was not until the 1970s that
women, powered by the feminist and
civil rights movements, began donning
religious robes in large numbers,
as they also forged into other
previously off-limits territory such as
law and the military. .
But the significant gains made by
women in other professions have not
been matched in the nation's
churches, the study finds. While
women now account for 25 percent of
lawyers and 21 percent of doctors,
only 11 percent of the clergy are
female, cfespite a near doubling of
female seminary enrollment since
1980.
Seventh-day Adventists reject
ordination of women
UTRECHT, Netherlands (AP) - The
Seventh-day Adventist Church h_as
rejected the ordination of women, the
church announced July 6 during its
world congress here.
""Women can be ordained to be
elders (in church) but not as ministers,""
said a church spokesman Cees
van der Ploeg.
The women's ordination request
came from the church's North American
division, which asked that ordination
be allowed specifically in its
North American churches.
Ordination is not allowed for
women in Adventist churches worldwide
;
""Gender inclusive ordination, while
perhaps not appropriate in some .
places, will be helpful in North
America,"" said Alfred C. McClure,
· president of the Adventist Church in
North America, in a presentation
before the vote.
'There is a generation of bright and
devout young people coming on the
scene - tomorrow's leaders .. . the
majority of whom believe it is right,
and who will be seriously disillusioned
by a negative vote,"" he said,
according to a church press release.
In the opposing camp was Dr.
SECOND STONE
Gerard Damsteegt, associate professor
of theology at Seventh-day Adventist
Theological Seminary, who suggested
that women are ""different in functional
roles.""
The Bible does not allow ""spiritual
headship"" of women in the family or
in the church, he said in the pre-vote
discussion, adding that women ordination
runs counter to Adventist
interpretation of the Bible.
Fewer than one-third of the
delegates attending the church's 56th
world congress voted in favor of
women ordination .
Most in favor were from Europe
and North America, while the bulk of
the opposition came from Central and
South America, Africa and Asia.
The first request for women's
ordination within the Adventist
Church came from Finland in 1968. In
1990, the church defeated by more
than a two-thirds majority a proposal
for women ordination in all Adventist
churches.
The Adventist denomination numbers
abut 8.5 million members, all
but about 10 percent of them outside
Canada and the United States.
The church's world headquarters is
located in Silver Spring, Md. -
The numbers defy the idea that
women would naturally excel in a job
that requires counseling and interpersonal
skills. Where the theory
breaks down with womel'.I clergy is in
its failure to consider the longstanding
Western Christian tradition of
male authority, replete with ubiquitous
images of Jesus and the disciples,
said Patricia Chang, another Hartford
Seminary researcher.
'You'd think that women would fit
into that role (ministry) more quickly,
but it's the exception that proves the
rule,"" she said.
The study was conducted from
August 1993 to February 1994 by
Lummis, Chang and Barbara Brown
Zikmund for the seminary's Center
for Social and Religious Research. The
researchers found startlingly different
experiences for men and women
ordained since 1970.
The most frequently cited career
goal of both men and women was to
be sole pastors of churches. But while
43 percent of men achieved their
dream, only 19 percent of women
did. The first job of more than onethird
of women seminary graduates
was as an associate or assistant minister
.
Asked about their present jobs,
two-thirds of male clergy were either
sole pastors or senior pastors, while
just 39 percent of women held such
jobs. Nineteen percent of women held
assistant positions, more than twice
the percentage of men in such jobs.
Examining overall clergy figures,
the researchers found the percentages
of active clergywomen actually fell
from 1986 to 1994 in the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), Episcopal
Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
and the United Methodist Church.
In some more evangelical churches
such as the Wesleyan Churches and
the Assemblies of God, the total number
of clergywomen remained about
the same.
One reason researchers give for
clergywomen's stalled progress is a
declining job market in mainline
churches, which have lost millions of
members in the last generation.
However, even that excuse is
related to a basic bias against women
in the pulpits in many churches,
researchers said.
""What's amazing is there are a lot of
men out there who are getting jobs.
SEE CLERGY, Page 18
Recent finding by top biblical ·scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuaiity.
WhatUible the l.J
Really Says
About
}lornosexuality
.
1
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oan1e ,-.
Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D.,
respected theologian and
Roman Catholic priest,
explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
"" ... will help any reasonably open and
attentive reader see that the Bible says
something quite different on this subject
from what is often claimed. 11
-L. William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
"" ... the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
summary I know of curre~t bibli:cal
scholarship relating to homose xual
issues .. eminently useful... 0
-James B. Nelson,
Author and Theology Professor
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WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SA VS
ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY
By Da:iiel A. Helminiak, $9.95, paperbk
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SECOND STONE •
News
• • o • • o ~ o e e e • e • • e • • e • • o e • • • • • • •
Gay man banned from
nephew's christening
By Ron Kampeas
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) -.Simon Lawley says
he fits Church of England godfather
standards to a T: He's monogamous,
stands up for his beliefs and has an
abiding faith in Jesus Christ.
Nevertheless, Lawley is gay,
which is why officials at his local parish
banned him from the christening
of his nephew and godchild, Freddie.
. Lawley's sister and brother -in-law
took the christening in April to another,
more liberal parish, where the
godfather was welcomed. But the ban
once again opened up the debate on
the place of Gays in the church.
""No one asked me about my
spiritual or moral nature or welfare,""
Lawley told the British Broadcasting
Corp. on August 14. ""As a practicing
gay man, I was considered to be inappropriate
as a godfather - and that I
consider to be sheer bigotry.""
The rector of St. Peter's church in
Farnborough, Hampshire - a tweedy
town just southwest of London where
Lawley owns a restaurant said he
had no choice once Freddie's mother,
Elizabeth Toms, revealed that her
brother was gay.
'The practice of homosexuality, as
opposed to homosexual orientation, is
not condoned in Scripture,"" Canon
, Alan Beddington said in a statement.
· The local curate was ""therefore bound
to give an opinion based on biblical
teaching .""
Beddington 's comments reflect
Church of England doctrine on gay
clerics. In recent years, the church has
allowed Gays and Lesbians to take up
the cloth, as long as they agree not to
have sex. Even senior bishops have
been able to acknowledge their ""ambiguous""
sexuality.
There is no clear church ruling on
godparents, however, and Lawley
may be the first to press the issue.
One church official says · church
policy on gay and · lesbian clerics
should not apply to godparents.
Bishop Richard Harris, whoheads the
church's working group on sex, says
· gay and lesbian godparents need not
be celibate.
""If you have somebody who is
homosexual and in a stable relationship,
who is clearly a godly, loving,
prayerful person, a sincere follower of
Jesus Christ, then I think it would be
quite wrong to tell that person that
they could no longer be a godparent,""
Harris said. ·
""It's quite wrong to have a kind of
inquisition of godparents,"" he said.
Conservative clerics strongly disagreed.
Rev. David Holloway, of the
traditionalist Reform Group, cited the
words priests say to parents and
godparents during the christening
service:
''The children that you have
brought for baptism depend chiefly:
on you 'for the help and encouragement
that they need. Are you willing
to give it to them by your prayers by
your example and by your teaching?""'
Holloway says gay or lesbian godparents,
even ones in monogamous
relationships, might not be set appropriate
examples for children.
'The Bible is clear,"" he said. ""Active
SEE CHRISTENING, Page 18
Bishops deny homosexual tendencies
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Four
Roman Catholic bishops denied
claims August 1 by a gay rights
activist that they have homosexual
tendencies. Two of the four
threatened legal action.
The claims by gay rights
activist Kurt Krickler were
widely condemned by Gays,
Catholic church leaders and
prominent politicians.
In a sharp rebuke, Vatican
Radio said the accusations were
""without substance and come
close to being pathetic.""
Krickler offered no proof for
his claim that the four bishops -
Christoph Schoenborn, Andreas
Laun, Klaus Kueng and Egon
Kapellari - hav:e homosexual
tendencies.
Laun, a bishop in Salzburg,
said he had already instructed
his lawyer to take court action
against Krickler.
'Td like to tell Mr. Krickler
that he cannot produce any
witnesses for my alleged tendencies,
because they do not
exist,"" Laun told the Austrian
Press Agency.
Kapellari, bishop in the
southern Austrian province of
Carinthia, also said he would
bring a court action for
Krickler's ""violation of basic
principles on which a democratic
society rests.""
Schoenborn and Kueng also
denied Krickler's accusations.
Austria's church has been in
turmoil since the spring, after
Vienna Archbishop HansHermann
Greer was accused of
sexually abusing minors more
than 20 years ago.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 5
News e e e e e O o O O O O O e O O O O O O O O O O O O O O • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 t t O O O O O O O o O O e e O e e e 0
I
Has to ""figure out"" his position on gay ordination
College president elected to lead Lutheran Church
By David Briggs
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) · A moderate
college president who called on
Lutherans to be active in a world
starved on ""spiritual junk food"" won
election August 19th to lead the
nation's fifth-largest Protestant denomination.
The Rev. H. George Anderson, 63,president
of Luther College in
Decorah, Iowa, received 698 votes to
become only the second presiding
bishop in the short history of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America.
Anderson defeated Wisconsin
Bishop April Ulring Larson, the denomination's
first woman prelate.
Larson received 334 votes on the fifth
and final ballot at the church 's biennial
assembly .
""Our only task is to be sure that we
are still God's church, and not just
dressed up to look like it,"" Anderson
told cheering church delegat es immediately
after his election. ·
Anderson succeeds Bishop H erbert
Chilstrom, who has led the 5.2 million-
member denomination since its
founding in 1988 with the merger of
the Lutheran Church in Am erica,
American Lutheran Church and the
Association of Evangelical Lutheran
Churches. Chilstrom decided not to
s·eek re-election.
In remarks before the assembly,
Anderson sought to be a conciliatory
voice in the church, which in recent
years has found itself divid ed by
sexuality issues and still facing
lingering tensions over the merger.
He called on church members to set
aside divisions and begin a churchwide
conversation on issues affecting
the denomination .
""Friends, it's time for us to recognize
we need one another, "" he said.
On the sexuality issue, Anderson
Lutherans cave in on
sexuality statement
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) · Calling the
issues of masturbation and homosexuality
divisive, the largest U.S.
Lutheran church has put aside a vote
on a draft outlining the church's view
on sexuality.
After the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America issued a draft
statement two years ago that said
masturbation was normal, that there
is biblical evidence supporting homosexual
marriages and that teaching
teens to use condoms is a moral
imperative, the phones rang off the
hook at the denominational headquarters
in Chicago.
Over 10,000 phone calls and 700
l""etters, most of th em hostile, were
received and a new task force was
appointed and set about revising the
first effort.
Now, there will be no vote.
The new statement was slated for
discussion at the biennial church-wide
assembly · in August. But the 39
council members voted to postpone
the vote on the new statement indefinitely.
""We're still a long way from consensus
on this,"" said Kathy Magnus,
vice president of the chur .ch and
chairwoman of the Church Council.
""At this ·point, we will inform the
church that the proposed sexuality
statement will not be ready by 1997.
Until we get some resolution on
significant issues, we will not bring it
forward.""
The second draft of the statement is
a far cry from the first attempt at
putting together a manifesto on the
SECOND STONE
church's values regarding sexuality.
The second draft says nothing about
masturbation, urges single people to
remain celibate and says ""genital
sexual activity between persons of the
same gender is not in accordance with
God 's will.""
The church council apparently
followed the advice of the second
draft when it postponed the vote on
the second statement indefinitely. The
draft says the church ""rejects the idea
that. it must at this time make a
definite legislative decision concerning
its teaching on and practice with
gay and lesbian persons.""
""Any such decisions would be
divisive for this church,"" the statement
continues, ""and would not be
made on the basis of the careful study
the topic requires and that should
characterize the decisions of this
church.""
Rather, the statement says, the
ELCA will continue to follow ""current
policy and· practice in relation to gay
and lesbian persons, and will rely for
its teaching on the social statements
from its predecessor church bodies.
This church pledges to pursue with
determination continuing study and
discussion as it seeks to discern God's
will.""
The statement asks that deliberation
on human sexuality be conducted
with a faithfulness to church doctrine
and ""by the will to love one another.""
Conflict, the draft said, can be either a
source of division or renewal depending
upon the wisdom and grace of
church members. -
said he agr eed with a Church Council
decision earlier this week to indefinitely
postpon e work on a social
stat ement on human sexuality.
""We still have really some foundational
discussion to do as a church on
the authority of Scripture as it relates
to homosexuality, "" Anderson said.
He said the church should have
""continued deep conversation"" about
sexual issues, and he invited gay and
les bian Lutherans to be part of th e
dialogue.
At a news conferenc e, Anderson
said he still is trying to figure out his
own position on issues such as the
ordination of homosexuals and whether
same-sex relationships are part of
God 's plan.
At the assembly, however, .he also
told U.S. Lutherans they cannot avoid
dealing with sexual or other social
issues.
""Our destiny as a church is to be in
th e world, to suffer the pain of the
world, so we can be a sign of hope ,""
he said.
People are spiritually hungry, he
said.
'The problem of our world is that
they 're eating spiritual junk food,
including secularism, to s atisfy that
hunger. And the trag edy is they'r e
still hungry,"" he said.
Twice before, Ander son had b een
considered for church leadership posts
but declined. At the 1978 Luth era n
Church in America 's convention,
Anderson was the leading vote-getter
on the first ballot for bishop but
withdrew his name . He said at the
. time he did not feel an inner call. A
short time later, it was discovered his
first wife had cancer. She died four
years later.
Anderson said his decision to
withdraw from the bishop 's race •
which enabled him to devote more
time to his wife during her illness •
was a sign of God guiding his life.
Anderson said he decided his
ability to work with different groups
of people was a special gift needed by
the still-new church.
""I think I'm a good hstener,"" he
said. ""I think I'm a good consensus
builder.""
CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE:
Helping Christians
· Debate Homosexuality
Few other issues divide the
Christian community more
sharply than homosexuality.
In this new volume, writers
with divergent points of view
deal with questions at the
center of the debate between
pro-gay and anti-gay believers.
Edited by Sally B. Geis. director, Iliff
!11sti tt11e, lp y a11d Clergy Education, The
Iliff School of Theology , De11ver, a11d
D011a/d E. Messer , presid ent, The Iliff
School of Theology.
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
By Geis/Messer, $12.95, paperbk _ _
Postage/Handling$3 first book, $1 each additional ____ _
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 199 5
News ............................................... .........................
Episcopal priest sues female bishop for discrimination
WOODSTOCK, Vt. (AP) - An Episcopal
priest from Woodstock has filed
suit against the nation's first female
bishop charging she discriminated
against him because he is a gay man .
The Rev. Richard Lacava is seeking
$2.2 million in damages plus legal
fees from Vermont Bishop Mary
Adelia McLeod for allegedly firing
him and replacing him and two
assistants with women.
The message is ""no men need
apply,"" Lacava said.
However, members of Integrity say
McLeod is and has been for many
years a firm supporter of Integrity
and of full participation for Gays and
Lesbians in the life of the Church. She
was one of the first bishops to move
forward to sign Bishop John Spong's
""Statement of Koinonia"" during the
1994 General Convention.
Until his firing in April, Lacava, 47,
served as vicar of the Church of Our
Saviour in Sherburne, which serves
Sherburne, Plymouth and Bridgewater.
He now lives in Woodstock.
An attorney of McLeod said
Lacava's firing had nothing to do with
his gender or his sexual orientation.
There are ""very serious concerns
among the members of the (church)
over his abilities to fulfill his obligations
as an Episcopal priest,"" said
Burlington Attorney Thomas Little.
He would not be more specific.
McLeod was consecrated as the
nation's first female bishop in 1993.
Lacava filed suit in May in Windsor
County Superior Court in Woodstock.
Lacava is being treated for depression,
but said his therapist and a
psychologist retained by the diocese
told him he was fit. to return to work.
McLeod has been vague when
Lacava asked her what he did
wrong. He was told in a phone call
last October that he didn't ""recognize
boundaries"" and had violated unspecified
confidences of parishioners,
he said.
He also said McLeod reported he
was ""too outspoken and too angry ... ,
about gay issues in the church.""
Lacava said he had called for the
church to respect gay priests. That ""is
totally appropriate. The whole pur- ;
pose of Christianity is for the libera- :
tion of all people ... I felt it was ·
important to raise the issues and to be
strident about them,"" he said. ,
Lacava said he has had an !
non-traditional ministry in which he ·
spent time in the community meeting
a wide variety of people.
Lacava said he was initially angry
about his firing, but he's gotten over :
it. ""For me now it's an issue of
justice.""
Religious coalition founded to promote tolerance
By Barbara Bracht!
Joumal American
BELLEVUE, Wash. (AP) - It's no
longer considered. good form to hurl
racial or ethnic epithets at opponents
in public debate. But increasingly, a
person's religious beliefs appear to be
fair game.
Last fall, for example, a member of
the audience at a Lake Washington
School District board meeting accused
one of the board members of being
""anti-Christian.""
No matter that the board member
was an active member of her Lutheran
congregation. Because he disagreed
with her on a matter of school
district policy, the man concluded she
must be ""anti-Christian,"" and he said.
so in no uncertain terms.
The increasing numb~r of incidents
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S T O N E
like this concern the founders of The
Interfaith Alliance of Washington
State.
· ""It's very apparent that public
discourse has sunk to a new low,
particularly when it comes to religion,""
says Rick Morse, pastor at Lake
Washington Christian Church and a
member of the group's steering committee.
Morse and other Interfaith Alliance
founders believe groups like the
Christian Coalition and Focus on the
Family are promoting intolerance by
maintaining that their political
opinions are the only ones that are
morally correct.
'The leaders of the Religious Right
do not speak for all people of faith,
and _we are here to say they do not,""
Morse said.
Among the 60-some religious
persons · who began meeting in
Seattle's Eastside suburbs last fall to
· form a Washington state affiliate of
the National Interfaith Alliance are
Catholic,s, Lutherans; Methodists, Disciples
of Christ, Episcopalians, Presbyterians,
Congregationalists, Unitarians,
Moslems, Jews and Buddhists.
Members of the Alliance say they
don't believe separation of church and
state means people whose values are
rooted in religious faith should sit
down and shut up - far from it.
But they say they do believe this
nation was founded on the notion that
more than one religious faith could be
valid.
""We have to be tolerant and
rational about our beliefs towards one
another - that is what it is to be an
American,"" says David Serkin-Poole,
cantor af Temple B'nai ·Torah on
Mercer Island.
However, Dave Welch, executive
director of the Christian Coalition of
Washington, denies that his group
has encouraged intolerance or raised
the volume of the rhetoric.
""We've never claimed to be the •
single voice for all Christians,"" says
Welch. ""If somebody of Christian faith
disagrees with our position, that
certainly does not- mean we don't
believe they're a Christian.""
Welch says members of national
and state Interfaith Alliances are
raising the volume of the rhetoric by
accusing conservative Christians of
intolerance.
In fact, he says, the Christian
Coalition got started because ""the
liberal left"" discounted the opinions of
those whose values were based on
their religious convictions.
Why did the Interfaith Alliance
effort begin on the Eastside?
Primarily, says Barbara Wells of the
Woodinville Unitarian Universalist
Church, because ""it's a statewide
organization that had· to start some-·
where, and it started on the Eastside . .""
But also, says Morse, because the
group felt the religious right had
been strongest in the suburbs.
Thus far, the organization has not
taken any political positions in fad,
Kirkland Congregational pastor
Walter John Boris says, ""I couldn't
even tell you what members' political
positions are.""
However, this could change.
""We do feel if there is an issue that
will challenge the religious plurality
of our community and our nation, we
will take a stand,"" Wells said.
Gay atheist group shuts down
AMERICAN GAY AND Lesbian
Atheists, Inc., has ceased
operation after the death of its
director, Don Sanders, who
died on May 17. Member files
have been transferred to the
American Atheist General
Headquarters in Austin, Texas.
Sanders founded the organization
in 1983 and served as its
only national director.
Jon Murray, president of
American Atheists, said that
the organization could not
survive the death of Sanders
and that there would be no
further issues of the AGLA
newsletter. ""I shall be filing
dissolution papers for the
corporation with the State of
Texas,"" Murray said.
Portions of Sanders will indicated
that he had at one time
provided for the continuation of
AGLA but after a conflict between
himself and his board of
directors, Sanders willed that
the organization not be continued.
""It grieves me a great
deal,"" wrote Sanders in a stat,oc,
ment made part of his will, ""lei'
know that so little concern has
been shown by American Gay
Atheists, Inc.'s board of directors
that no one of them is willing
to take over the helm of the
gay and lesbian community's
most important movement.
Therefore, I want none of my
estate or property to be rendered
unto anyone associated
with American Gay Atheists,
Inc. for fear that it will simply
be used to enrich individuals
and not to further the cause of
atheism in the lesbian and gay
community.""
""Mr. Sanders will be missed
by us all,"" stated Murray in a
letter to members of AGLA.
'The gay and atheist communities
have both lost a
spirited combatant for civil
liberties.''
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 5
News . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . .
(Popular priest and author leaves Catholic Church for UFMCC
DR. ROBERT GOSS, an unlaicized
Catholic priest, a former Jesuit and
. author of Jesus Acted Up, has
announced his intentions to transfer
his dergy credentials from the Roman
Catholic Church to the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches. The announcement was
made during Samaritan Institute's
awards luncheon on July 25, part of
the 17th General Conference of the
UFMCC in Atlanta.
""I have ended my 17 year exile and
found a home to learn, collaborate,
and leach about the vision of justicelove
of God's reign,"" said Goss. 'The
UFMCC is by no means the perfect
Christian community. It is growing
and struggling with issues of racism,
classism, economic oppression, etc.
The UFMCC is generations ahead of
Catholic Christianity with a vison of
Minister offers alternative
to Promise Keepers
ARVADA, Colo. (AP). - An Arvada
minister who believes the evangelical
men's group Promise Keepers has a
""simplistic philosophy"" is offering an
alternative: Premise Keepers.
Rev. Charles Schuster said his
group will examine the bases of
belief, faith, ethics and integrity. It
will be established at Arvada United
Methodist Church, where he is a
senior pastor.
""We'll explore our doubts, our affirmations,
our commitments, our theology
and our ultimate destiny as hu'
man beings,"" he wrote in a church
newsletter announcing the new
group.
Schuster was turned off by the
hugely popular Promise Keepers,
started by University of Colorado
football coach Bill McCartney. He
·claimed the group fills a vacuum for
many men who don 't know exactly
what their roles are.
The ""me-generation of the '80s left
in its wake a self-indulgent macho
male, who, in reaction to the liberation
of women, felt unsure of his role
and incumbered with self doubt,""
Schuster wrote in the newsletter.
Schuster believes Promise Keepers
OutRage! outs bishop
LONDON'S GAY OutRage!
group disruplo,d the retirement
service for the Anglican Bishop
of St. Albans, Rt. Rev. John
Taylor on July 23 lo protest his
affiliation with Courage, an exgay
organization.
· As Taylor began his farewell
address, proleslors stormed the
altar chanting 'Taylor out,
Courage out."" Taylor retreated
from the pulpit and one of the
activists delivered a sermon of
his own. ·
The proteslors left after 10
minutes, blowing whistles and
chanting, ""Church of hatred,
church of fear, stop crucifying
queers.""
""OutRage! has repeatedly
tried to get the church hierarchy
to address the issue of
SEC O ND STONE
has a ""simplistic philosophy,"" a narrow
view of Jesus and ""prejudice
against homosexuals."" He also worries
there may be a ""presupposition"" of
the dominance of the male.
Promise Keepers officially believes
""homosexuality violates God's creative
design,"" but Gays are welcome
at the events, said the group's spokesman,
who denied the group promotes
male superiority.
Promise Keeper~ is holding 13
mega events _ this year in football
stadiums around the country . The
events, which began in April and run
through October, will draw 500,000
evangelical Christians. .
While Promise Keepers offers a way
for men to go ""one on one with Jesus""
and learn how to keep promises and
put life in balance, Schuster said he is
worried about what happens when
men leave the stadium events.
He said they could ""lapse into the
same patterns that produced the irresponsibility
in the first place.""
Promise Keepers has set up men's
groups in individual congregations
and leaders stress the stadium events
are only half the picture.
ex-gay groups and acknowledge
the emotional damage
that such groups do to the
vulnerabl.e, often young, people
that they target,"" OutRage!
said in a press release.
'Today's action sends a message
to the Church of England
that the lesbian and gay com_
munity will not stand by as the
church allows other gay people
to be damaged in the name of
their religion by fundamentalist
bigots . We are seeking an unequivocal
condemnation of the
actions of the ex-gay groups
from the church and will not
stop our campaign of disruption
until the church acknowledges
its moral responsibilities.""
-Seattle Gay News -
justice and compassion ... I recognize
that God's spirit is actively present
· and transforming the UFMCC into a
prophetic change community, posing
an alternative vision of justice -love
and inclusion to the mainline Christian
denominations.""
Goss called the Catholic Church a
""dead institution"" and was critical of
Dignity /USA, a national organization
of gay and lesbian Catholics. ""On a
local and national level, Dignity has
been unable to offer queer Catholics a
vision of justice that comprehended
homophobia as embedded in misogyny
or connected to racism, ageism,
classism, etc ... Dignity has faltered
from a lack of vision on the national
level and a well orchestrated plan to
render it useless by the U.S. Catholic
bishops .""
Goss said that outside of a few folks
such as himself and John McMeill,
Catholic gay and lesbian voices have.
remained silent. ""Jeanine Grammick
and Robert Nugent have c'aved in to
terroristic climate,"" said Goss. 'They
now involve themselves with parents
of Gays and Lesbians and lead tours
to the Holy Land. Priests, nuns, and
theologians have remained silent.""
Goss is a resident of St. Louis,
Missouri. He had, ·oined the Samaritan
Institute for Re igious Studies, the
educational and theological arm of the
UFMCC, as an adjunct faculty member
earlier this year. ·
Canadian church
welcomes
,gay ministers
TORONTO'S BLOOR Street
United Church is the second
congregation of Canada's
largest denomination to fully
welcome Gays;~induding as
ministers, the T_~ronto Star
reported. ""We'v'r made this
decision after a lc\ng period of
prayer, reflection and study,""
said Elder Jean Hilliard. ""We
felt a need to take a stand to
involve Gays and Lesbians in
every aspect of church life -
leading a Sunday School class
or leading us in worship,
marrying or burying us.""
-Seattle Gay News \
\,
HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE CHURCH:
Both Sides of the Debate I
Outstanding authorities on
scripture, tradition, reason,
biology,.ethics, and gendered
experience discuss the place
of Gays and Lesbians in the
community offaith. This
book will provoke discussion
in congregations, study groups,
and ethics and social justice
issues.
Edited by Jeffrey S. Siker, Associate
Professor of New Testament at
Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles . ·
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 5
News
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ~ • If ••
Episcopal bishops bring retired colleague to church trial
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Episcopal
bishops have voted to bring a retired
colleague before a formal church trial
because he ordained an openly gay
man.
Presiding Bishop EdmondBrowning
said August 18 that at least 75 bishops
have voted to move forward with
charges that retired Bishop Walter
Righter of Iowa violated church law
by ordaining a homosexual deacon in
1990. Righter was assistant bishop of
Newark, N.J., at the time.
A minimum of one-quarter of the
church's 297 bishops had to vote by
mid-August to proceed with the trial
or the charges would have been
dismissed. Church officials .did not
release the vote totals.
In January, 10 bishops filed charges
accusing Righter of violating his
ordination vows by ordaining a man
openly having a gay relationship .
The bishops said Righter was . ""teaching
a doctrine contrary to that held by
this church.""
Righter has denied the charges,
saying church doctrine in this case
does not limit a bishop's right to
ordain a ""canonically qualified candidate.""
The case will go before a Court for
- Episcopal bishop opposes heresy trial
DENVER (AP) - Trying retired Iowa
Episcopal Bishop Walter Righter for
heresy because he ordained a gay
man ""would be ludicrous"" because
the church doesn't have clear rules
dealing with homosexuality, Colorado's
bishop says.
""It's a murky situation,"" Bishop
Jerry Winterrowd said. ""It would be a
waste of the church's time, talent and
treasure to proceed with the trial.""
Winterrowd said he hopes to
persuade fellow bishpps at next
month's meeting of bishops in Portland,
Ore., to put a three-year moratorium
on ordaining Gays and blessing
same-sex unions.
He said the bishops could use the
three years to ""draw up a definitive
statement"" on ordinations and samesex
marriages.
The official Episcopal stance about
Gays and Lesbians was approved fa
1979 and says it is ""inappropriate"" .for
the church to ordain practicing Gays
or ' heterosexuals who are having ·
sexual relations outside of marriage.
Winterrowd said that stand is too
weak to defend.
He said about a dozen bishops have
ordained practicing Gays and others
have blessed same-sex marriages.
""What will we do, try all these
bishops, one by one?"" he asked.
Fred Phelps convicted on two counts
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) - Convictions
on two misdemeanor counts of disorderly
conduct apparently don't bother
anti-gay activist the Rev. Fred
Phelps.
""If you guys knew how little this
bothers me, you wouldn't even be
asking me questions,"" Phelps told
reporters after the verdict was read on
August 11.
A Lyon County jury deliberated
about 50 minutes before returning the
guilty verdicts against Phelps, who
was charged with shouting insults at
a group of six people going into a
Topeka restaurant to celebrate a
woman's 86th birthday.
'This is just another little skirmish,""
said Phelps, pastor of Westboro Baptist
Church.
Phelps said he plans to challenge
the constitutionality of the state's disorderly
conduct statute ""all the way to
the Supreme Court.""
It was the last of several trials
involving six members of the church,
all charged with misdemeanors in
incidents in Topeka last year and this
year. The cases were transferred from
Topeka to Emporia on a change of
venue.
SECOND STONE
Defense witnesses, all members of
Phelps' church, testified that at no
time on July 7, 1994, did Phelps stand
in front of the Topeka restaurant and
shout offensive names at the six
people.
Prosecution witnesses testified that
. Phelps called them names, including
""queer faggot"" and ""whores"" before
they entered the restaurant. .
Eric Ridenour, the group's
limousine driver, said he approached
Phelps, wanting ""to rip his head off""
before being surrounded by picketers.
Jonathan Phelps, the defendant's
son, said the incident did not involve
his father . The younger Phelps said
Ridenour told the picketers not to
bother the group because it included
an elderly woman, Margarite Hanlon,
now 87.
Jonathan Phelps said he and James
Hockenbarger exchanged words with
Ridenour and Topeka attorney John
Hamilton, culminating in Hamilton
telling the 300-pound Jonathan Phelps
to ""eat a salad, skinny.""
""Nobody said anything directly to -
the Trial of a Bishop, consisting of
nine other bishops . Action would be
taken by a majority vote and possible
penalties include admonishing
Righter .
However, no sentence could be
imposed unless the findings by
church courts were approved by a
two-thirds vote ·of all the church's
bishops.
Gay and lesbian Episcopalians
respond to vote to try Righter
NEW YORK, N. Y. - Integrity, Inc.,
the lesbian and gay justice ministry of
the Episcopal Church, says it is disappointed
that sufficient consents have
been submitted to bring the Rt. Rev.
Walter Righter to trial for heresy for
· his ordination to the diaconate of the
Rev. Barry Stopfel, an openly gay
Integrity member, in 1990. ·
The outcome of such a trial is
virtually a foregone conclusion, according
to Integrity, who claims that
Bishop Righter will be acquitted - and
the homophobia of the Church will be
convicted.
""A heresy trial at the close of the
20th Century will undoubtedly hold
the Episcopal Church up to ridicule,
just as the 1992 trial depossing the
Rev. James Ferry, an openly gay
priest in Toronto, made the Anglican
Church of Canada appear overly
rigid and out-of-touch,"" said a statement
released by Integrity. ·
A vote of only 25 percent of the
bishops was required to bring Bishop
Righter to trial. Over half of the bishops
eligible to vote are retired, and
any women going in there,"" the
younger Phelps added.
Hamilton testified that he did not
have any conversation with Jonathan
Phelps on July 7.
Shawnee County Attorney Joan
Hamilton, who is no relation to John
given the composition of the 1994
signatory list of the so-called ""Affirmation,""
authored by many of the
same bishops who brought the presentment,
it is probable that a
substantial majority of the signatories
are retired bishops.
At present, Integrity is aware of
at least 117 iJersons who were known
to be sexually active gay men or lesbians
by their bishops at the time of
their ordinations. Such ordinations
have occurred in all parts of the
country over the last 20 years. Over
35 bishops have performed such ordinations.
The claims that other bishops will
be similarly charged do not ring true,
says Integrity. A change in the
canons will become effective on
January 1, 1996, which will subject
such charg.es to review by a committee
appointed by the Presiding
Bishop. Such a panel rejected similar
charges against the Bishop of
Michigan, the Rt. Rev. Stewart Wood,
Jr., last year.
Hamilton, said the rebuttal witnesses ·
were the key to winning the conviction.
'This is a good ending in Lyon
County,"" she said. ""I hope members
of the community will continue to
come forward.""
Phelps' grandson convicted of spitting on man
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) - A
grandson of anti-gay activist
Fred Phelps was found guilty of
battery for spitting on a man
during the picketing of a
restaurant.
The Lyon County District
Court jury deliberated about 4
1/ 2 hours July 27 before convicting
Benjamin C. Phelps on
the misdemeanor.
The trial was the fourth of six
being held in Emporia on a
change of venue for Fred
Phelps and five members of his
Westboro Baptist Church in
Topeka. Charges against them
stem from encounters that took
place during demonstrations.
Testimony in the latest trial
ended July 26 when Benjamin
Phelps denied spitting on Jerold
Berger, the husband of the
woman who owns the restaurant.
Phelps said he was coming
to the defense of James
Hockenbarger, whom he said
was being charged at by
Berger.
Phelps said Berger put his
hand on him. Berger testified
that any contact with Phelps
was unintentional and could not
have been more than a brush
against him.
SEPTEMBER/ 0 CT OBER 9 9 5
AIDS CHARITIES
FEEL COMPETITION,
'""COMPASSION
FATIGUE""
BY FRED BAYLES Remember the days when a
new and terrible killer called
AIDS inspired an outpouring
of generosity with an optimistic
surge of walkathons, glittery
award dinners and soaring donations?
These are not distant memories for
AIDS victims, their friends, families
and scientists trying to stop the
· disease that has claimed more than
270,000 lives in the United States
alone.
But for many, the sense of urgency
is gone. And AIDS organizations are
feeling the pinch.
The American Foundation for
AIDS Research, the nation's largest
nonprofit source of research funds, cut
its budget by 20 percent this spring,
blaming a drop in donations on an
increasingly complacent and resigned
public .
""A sense of crisis has largely evaporated,
"" said foundation chairman
Mathilde Krim. ""People don't make
grand gestures. They've learned that
$100,000 is not going to make it go
away.""
In Seattle, where donations to an
annual AIDS walkathon quadrupled
in its first three years, participation in
the past few walkathons has remained
fiat.
""People are getting weary and
getting new people to give is getting
harder,"" said Carol Brogmann, direc,
tor of development for Northwest
AIDS Foundation.
Even symbols of support are
fading. Red ribbons signifying soli'
darity with t~e AIDS cause, ubiquitous
at past Academy Awards
presentations, were rare this year .
Celebrities wore emblems ·of new
·causes from breast cancer to the
National Endowment for the Arts.
""People are moving on to other
issues,"" said Marcia Levy, a spokeswoman
for the Whitman Walker
Clinic, a Washington, D.C. AIDS
.service group that saw donations drop
more than 6 percent last year.
""For some people the issue of AIDS
is a downer,"" she said. ""People who
contribute to cancer hear lots of stories
about cures . With AIDS it's an unhappy
story .""
While there is no central accounting
of the money donated to thousands of
organizations that offer AIDS programs,
a survey by the American
Association of Fund Raising Counsel
Inc., estimated between $575 million
to $850 million went to AIDS causes·
in 1992.
That compares to $373 million
raised by the American Cancer
Society alone in 1994.
With new AIDS organizations
popping up all the time, it is hard to
track the flow of contributions. But
Ann Kaplan, director of research for
AAFRC, said current data show some
AIDS charities ""are not faring well.""
""Some smaller, grass-roots organizations
are doing well, but our sample
of the large national organizations .
shows declines or increases below the
general increase in charitable giving
for 1994,"" she said.
AIDS groups are not alone in their
predicament. Philanthropy in general
has weakened over the past few years
with total giving just barely topping
increases in in'flation.
Fund-raising experts blame a range
of causes: skepticism about waste and
fraud in larger charities, uncertainty
abo.ut the economy and a ""compassion
fatigue"" that burned · out potential
donors .
AIDS fund-raisers say this burnout
has a new, terrible dimension for
them: Many of their strongest advocates
and donors in the gay community'
have died. Others have given
all they can.
""We've already lost a generation of
leaders . Some of the people who were
there leading the charge in the '80s
are gone, "" said Henry Goldstein, a
New York fund-raising consultant.
Those supporters who have
survived have given all they can.
Paula Van Ness, president of the
National AIDS Fund, which has
distributed $42 million to communitybased
AIDS groups, talks of an
overreliance on ""black tie bake sales,""
expensive fund-raising · events that
used celebrities such as Elizabeth
Taylor as a dra~.
Guest lists, she said, were
invariably the same.
'They kept going back to the same
people again and again,"" she said .
""When I worked in Los Angeles, it
was not uncommon to be invited to
an AIDS event every week.""
Kaplan said her survey found 75
percent of AIDS donations were
raised by special events that rely on a
specific group of donors. Other charities,
she said, draw just 25 percent of
donations from special events. The
rest come from such broad-based
methods such as direct mail and
telemarketing.
Officials at AIDS charities admit the
reliance on a limited group slowed
potential growth of donations. · But
they said it was hard to branch out in
the face of the scorn some attach to a
disease that claims a bulk of victims
from the gay community and intravenous
drug users .
""What they are finding, is the
stigma is making it very difficult to
broaden the appeal,"" Goldstein said.
""No CEO of a major Fortune 100
company is stepping up and saying
there's a tremendous financial and
social cost associated with this
disease.""
Krim said contributions also have
been hurt by a growing feeling that
AIDS only affects a limited part of the
population, dispelling early public
pronouncements the disease would
spread to .the general population.
""People expected to see an
explosion of AIDS in their neighborhood,
but that is not the way AIDS
spreads,"" she said.
Michael Seltzer, who recently left
his post as executive director of
Funders Concerned About AIDS,
believes the plethora of small 'AIDS
-organizations has made it harder
donors to find the equivalent of a
National Hearl Association to give
their money .
There are an estimated 18,000
nonprofit groups raising funds for .
AIDS programs, ranging from the $16'
million American Foundation for
AIDS Research to the Atlanta Girl
Scouts, which supports an AIDS
project.
""In the campaign to find a cure for
polio, the March of Dimes was
anointed as the leader . That's not the
case with AIDS,"" said Seltzer. ""My
hunch is the average American does
not know what organization to send a ·
check to.""
""For some people
the issue of AIDS
is a downer ...
People who contribute
to cancer
hear lots of
stories about
cures. With
AIDS it's an
unhappy
story.""
Some groups try to solve that
problem by joining forces. In San
Francisco, where 200 different organiz
ations compete for donations, there
are attempts lo unify both fundraising
efforts and. the services they
provide.
""If I go to a corporation and say we
are working with two other agencies,
that makes the entire program more
appealing,"" said Jane Breyer, director
of development for the San Francisco
AIDS Foundation.
Some fund -raisers believe AIDS
donations will recover as organizations
consolidate and mature in fundraising
efforts. They say they were
slow to react because of a misplaced
optimism that a cure was just around
the corner.
Van Ness tells of working for a Los
Angeles AIDS group · early in the
crisis . At that time the group decided
there was no reason to sign a
long-term lease for a copy machine .
""We really thought this might just
be a little blip and that if we could
just get through this next phase, the
crisis would be over,"" she said. ""A lot
of us were caught in this hope we
, wouldn't have to work on this for too
Jong. Now we have to face the fact ·
that it is going to be here for the long
haul."" ·
.S E C O N D ST O N E - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 5
J all en Rix: The
journey takes a
new direction
FOLKS WHO HAVE developed
an appreciation of the
deeply personal message of
the music of San Franciscobased
gay Christian recording artist
Jallen Rix are eagerly awaiting the
release of his new work due out in
October. Rix has_ spent the past six
years in full-time music ministry,
performing in hundreds of locations
across the country. His new recording
marks his fourth release and his
first on CD.
Through his music over the past few
years, this remarkably talented artist
has invited us along as an intimate
companion on his personal journey.
We have shared in both his
struggles and his triumphs and he
has matured before our very ears. If
friends and fans of Rix . feel they
somehow share in that maturation
with .him, it is because they do.
""There are times when I write
music from experiences of people that
are around me,"" said Rix. 'They've
told me their stories and somehow in
the telling it has changed my life. It
has improved me in some way. And
.. those unique moments have been
soJnelhing that has been important to
me. So I would write about them.""
Rix is an evangelical Christian who
grew up in a home where learning to
play piano was a requirement. He
developed a fondness of gospel music,
while growing up in his church-going
family. By the time he graduated
from high school, he knew that music
was · what he wanted to do. He got a
degree in music and has been ._composing
and performing ever since.
As with most evangelical Christians,
the early messages Rix heard from
the pulpit regarding sexuality were
negative. His spirituality and his sexuality
were polarized. What is unique
about listening to )alien's music from
one recording to the next is that one
can actually hear and feel Rix begin
to integrate his sexuality and his
spirituality.
""When I write music/ Rix said, ""I
lend to be inspired by a variety of
experiences . Probably first off is
personal experience. Inevitably my
life is lived out in my music.""
Jallen's new recording, 'The Sacred
And The Queer,"" marks a-new direction
in his musical career. Not only is
this recording fully orchestrated (the
past recordings were piano and vocal
only), but he is venturing into new
subject matter .
'This recording highlights a new
way my music reflects my personal
journey,"" said Rix. ""In the past, it
tended to reflect only my spiritual
experience. In doing this I neglected
singing about my sexuality. This
recording integrates my spirituality
and sexuality. This freedom and
wholeness feels great!""
The wholeness is honestly and
poetically dealt with in several of
Jallen's songs. 'The Pendulum
Swings"" is a mainstream, pop song
that speaks to the changes and com-.
plexities of relationships. ""I Hold His
Hand Loosely"" unfolds a story of
knowing the difference between
infatuation and· true love, sung in the
context of a light Latin sound . Probably
most direct is the R&B song
''Down at Stonewall"" in which Rix lets
two seemingly opposed subjects dive
headlong into each other with
positive results. The song has Jesus
miss a church service to hang out at
Stonewall, the gay bar known as the
site of the beginning of gay liberation.
'This song started tongue-in-cheek
with a friend,"" said Rix. ''But I realized
it actually exemplifies what is
happening in my heart. My spirituality
and sexuality are integrating.
When I relax and let the process
happen, I discover that I am more at
peace than ever before.""
J alien's music is not exclusively
about the gay experience. Issues of
sexuality, injustice, creativity and
unconditional love are subjects many
people relate to in his music.
;
1'J\,1usic seen1s to cut right to our
ein;otions and hit us on more than one
1evel. We can think about the 1 yrics,
we can enjoy them and how they're
p,ut together, but the music somehow
kind of carries it to our hearts ... ""
""As a composer/lyricist I am
challenged by the task lo create music
that bridges the gap between an
artist's expression and the listener's
understanding,"" said Rix. ""Music
seems lo cut right to our emotions and
hit us on more than one level. We
can think about the lyrics, we can
enjoy them and how they're put
together but the music somehow kind
of carries it to our hearts... What's
wonderful about music is that it can
bring the experience home to us.
Issues of our day are not just their
issue, but they're our issue.""
For fans who were afraid that
Jallen's new fuller sound would take
away from the intimacy of his music,
the deeply personal quality is still
present. One listener commented, ""I
feel like I'm eavesdropping on
(Jallen's] life - like I really don't know
[him) well enough to be hearing
some of this. There isn't much music
written at this level of openness. It's
one of an artist's highest goals, and I
think he's attained it.""
Three songs that have been favorite
piano/vocal pieces on past recordings
have been orchestrated for this one:
""When You Touch Me I Know,""
""What The Preacher Did To Me,"" and
''Better Tha11 Before.""
Rix says he has a special place in his
heart for the church. In addition to
his music, he leads worship services
and offers a variety of workshops and
speaking topics to strengthen and
support the church.
""I believe that the church has potential
to create the majority of healing
between the lesbian/gay community
and the religious community,"" Rix
said. ""My goal is to take a group one
more step in faith toward the God
who loves them .
Praise for 'The Sacred And The
Queer"" comes from some big names
in the gay music business. Romanovsky
& Phillips said, ""Jallen's new
recording is a stunning debut album
filled with well crafted and brillinat
musical gems - but then what would
we know about gay music."" Will
Grega, editor of Out Sounds: The Gay
and Lesbian Music Alternative gave
Jallen's new release the highest
ratings by naming · it America's Best
Gay Album.
'The Sacred And The Queer,"" on
CD and cassette, is scheduled to be in
record stores and gay /lesbian bookstores
in October and is also available
from Triam Music Agency, 501 Hayes
1122, San Francisco, CA 94102,
triama@aol.com.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 5
Will wear rainbow ribbons to Mass October 8
Catholics in support of gay ri_ghts to celebrate solidarity
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Dignit y/
USA, the national' organization for
gay and lesbian Catholics, has called
on Catholics who disagree with
official church teaching on homosexuality
to join in a visible protest on
Sunday, October 8, 1995. Dignity has
named that day, which coincides with
a planned papal visit to Baltimore,
Maryland, ""Solidarity Sunday,"" and is
asking supporters to wear a rainbow
ribbon throughout the day.
In announcing the eve nt, Dignity/
USA president Marianne Duddy said,
""For too long, the Pope and bishops
who endorse discrimination against
gay people have controlled the Catholic
message about homos exuality,
when in fact their attitude is not at all
representative of what most Catholics
think. It's time that people understand
that most Catholics are fair and
decent, and believe that all people
should be treated with respect .""
Duddy pointed to numerous studies
that indi cate that the majority of
American Catholics support gay
rights . A 1992 Gallup poll put this
support at 78 percent.
In contrast, recent Vatican state ments
have named homosexuality as
'Philadelphia' screenwriter to
speak at Disciples' banquet
RON NYSW ANER, screenwriter for
the Oscar-award winning movie,
""Philadelphia"", will be the keynote
speaker for the Gay, Lesbian_ and
Affirming Disciples (GLAD) Alliance
banquet in Pittsburgh, Penn., during
the General Assembly of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ),
October 20-24. Nyswaner, who grew
up as a youth in the First Christian
Church of Carmichaels, Penn., served
. as a delegate to the General Assembly
in Cincinnati, Ohio when he was
a teenager. At the October 21 banquet
at the Pittsburgh Convention
Center he will be sharing his reflections
on his journey of self-discovery
and how his work with the film
motivated him lo be more open and
honest ab.out being gay.
The screenplay for ""Philadelphia"",
the first major studio film to confront
AIDS and homophobia, brought
Nyswaner major acclaim and nominations
for the Writers' Guild, Golden
Globe and Academy Awards. He has
. written the screenplays for ""Smithereens"",
""Mrs. Soffel"", ""Love Hurts"",
""Gross Anatomy"" (coauthor), and
wrote and directed 'The Prince of
Pennsylvania."" His first stage play,
""Oblivion Postponed"", will be produced
this fall Off-Broadway.
Nyswaner works and lives in Ulster
County, New York, where he is a
founding member of a theater company,
and volunteers for Angel Food
East, an organization which feeds
homebound persons with HIV/ AIDS.
He speaks lo many groups of people
about the rights of gay people with
HIV/ AIDS, and has traveled to prisons,
schools, conferences and human
rights festivals to do so .
The banquet is one facet of the
Alliance 's progra _m during the
General Assembly of the Christian
Church. On Friday, October 20,
Alliance members and friends will
gather at a pre-assembly event. Two
""aftersessions"" are · plann ed, one for
parents, families, and friends on
Friday evening and one for Open &
Affirming Congregations on Sunday,
October 22. GLAD Alliance was
formed to provide advocacy, education,
and nurture for lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgendered and affirming
persons within the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ), a moderate
Protestant denomination founded
in th~ early 1800's.
(SEE CALENDAR.)
Minister fired after performing lesbian marriage
NEW YORK (AP) - A Long
Island minister was fired by his
congregation after he married a
lesbian couple, The New Yark
Times reported .
The Rev. Renwick Jackson
was dismissed by a vote of 84 to
67 taken by the members of the
Congregational Church of
Patchogue on July 31.
Jackson performed the wedding
Dec. 31.
""I tried not to force my views
on those who were against the
union,"" he said, ""and performed
the marriage not in
Patchogue but at a Congre-
SECOND STONE
gational church in Bay Shore.
""But passions have run high
and tempers at many meetings
since then have flared,"" he said.
'Those against me threw chairs
and shouted, 'I want no lesbian
in my church,' and stalked
out.""'
The Times said many parishioners
who favored dismissing
Jackson denied that homopho.
bia was the reason.
One person sai d the minister
was fired because he was
causing division within the
congregation .
•
""intrinsically disordered"" and · are
seen by many as tacitly approving of
violence against gay people . Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, Director of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, wrote ""When civil legislation is
introduced to protect [homosexual]
behavior .... neither the Church nor
society at large should be surprised
when ... violent reactions increase.""
The national coordinator of
Solidarity Sunday, Bruce Jarstfer, a
retired military surgeon who lives in
San Antonio, Texas, said, 'The radical
right has targeted our community for
abuse, and to drive the fundraising
for their ministries. Hate crimes
against people perceived to be gay or
lesbian increase with every sermon or
speech based on gay hatred. It is
time to call a halt to such verbal and
physical violence.""
Dignity /USA predicts that as many
as 250,000 Catholics will wear rainbow
ribbons to Mass on October 8, in
the first of what is hoped to become a
national event. Solidarity Sunday is
also planned to coincide with National
Coming Out Day, celebrated on
October 11.
-Lutheran church offers
free condoms to teenagers
NEW YORK (AP) - A South Bronx
church offered free condoms to teenagers
at its basketball tournament,
but found few takers - at least, in
front of television cameras.
Still, All Saints Lutheran Parish
marked a legal victory July 9 in St.
Mary's Park by offering four brands
of condoms along with anti-AIDS literature.
The church had won its court fight
against the city for the right to hand
out condoms in the park. State Appellate
Court Justice Israel Rubin ruled
July 8 that a ban on distributing condoms
on city p r operty was unconstitutional.
The Rev. David Kalke, pastor of All
Saints, said his church routinely
dispenses condoms as part of its AIDS
awareness project, including at last
inspired ""secret policy"" that would not
survive a full court hearing later this
month.
'This ban represents politics at its
worst,"" Siegel said. 'The Giuliani
administration pandered to certain
conservative elements of our city,
whose message is abstinence.
""We need to get real on this
life-or-death issue,"" Siegel said.
In a statement issued at City Hall,
Corporation Counsel Paul Crotty
stressed the limitations imposed by
Rubin's order.
""We are happy that the court ·
recognizes that there can be reasonable
time, place and manner of
restrictions on activities that may
cause offense to other people,"" the
lawyer said.
year's basketball tournament. That's -,------------•-.i why he said he was surprised to find
that this year's park-use permit
stipulated ""no condom distribution.""
Norman Siegel, head of the New
York Civil Liberties Union, contended
there was no reason for the
city to ban condom distribution when
it allows T-shirts, key chains and
other items to be dispens ed in its
parks.
""If Disney and Pocahontas are
allowed in the park, and th ey were,
surely Rev. Kalke and the All Saints
Lutheran parish, and condoms,
should be allowe d in the park,''
Siegel told reporters.
Kalke was told by Parks
Department offi cials that city rules
barred such activity. He asked for
help from the union, which won an
initial court ruling July 7 that blocked
· the city from enforcing its policy.
In rapid-fire order, the city then
won a temporary stay of that ruling,
and the .issue was bounced to Rubin.
The judge sided with -the lower court,
clearing the way for the church to
h the epirit of 5t. Fraicia and 5t.
Clare, wdre ~ mJge l,uiden;
and~ IM(8l""6 tojoum:y with
us ii tlJB f~ of J89oo Ori:;!;.
C?
rl!'f) We are an ecumenical,
inclusive. non-clerical
0.,. community of baptize~ men
~ and women from various
Christian traditions who
~ chose to worship and live in
~ a faith-sharing spirit .
You may become an
~ Associate or enter the
program leading to the •
profession of vows as a
~~ religious Brother or Sister.
Ask to receive our
newsletter, ""Footsteps."" t We work in ministries
of love, care and reconciliation
nationwide.
• · For more information,
please write to:
proceed - on condition condoms be IIER""_V OF Goo COMMUNITY handed out only during Sunday's Pl .,
tournament, and only to youths 16 Att: Vocation Director
and older who asked. P. 0. Box 41055
Siegel charged that Mayor Rudolph Providence RI 02940-1055
Giuliani was backing a politically ~amiliiiiiiiiiii,i,iillllilliiiiaiiiil!'liilili•.-
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 199 5
Baptist women take up fight against AIDS
By Jim Jones
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
FORT WORTH, Texas - An organization
of Baptist women have decided to
move to the forefront in the fight
against AIDS. The 1.2 million
members of the Woman's Missionary
Union are beginning a nationwide
AIDS education program.
The program, Dare to Care, doesn 't
officially begin until October; but
churches from Texas to ·Maine are 'We d~n't try to be judgmental in
already receiving educational materi- . · any of our materials in the AIDS
als on how to help those suffering project,"" said Trudy Johnson, special
from acquired immune deficiency projects director of the Birmingham,
syndrome. Ala.,-based Woman's Missionary
Some pious religionists have called Union, an independent auxiliary of
AIDS a curse from God - punishment the Southern Baptist Convention.
for homosexual lifestyles and the But the AIDS education program of
promiscuity of heterosexuals. But the women's group does promote
most Baptists and other evangelicals traditional morality - including sexual
don't go that far. Their faith compels abstinence - as a way of pr eventing
them lo assist people in trouble, the disease . Training materials from
regardless of their circumstances. the women ' s group and other Baptist
son, Scott Allen, was fired from his
ministerial position with a Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation
in Colorado. Scott Allen returned
to Texas where his father was then
president of the Baptist Radio and
Television Commission in Fort Worth .
Acting out of concern for the health
of their congregations, leaders of Fort
Worth-Dallas churches, both Baptist
and those of other denominations,
discouraged Scott Allen's family from
attending Sunday school or other
church functions.
American· Baptists divided
agencies emphasize that sexual
contact and blood transfusions are the
major ways of contracting AIDS.
Worshipping or praying with a
person with AIDS won't give you the
diseas e, the materials state. Cards
asking for prayers for specific persons
who have AIDS also are included.
Information is given on setting up
care teams and church education programs
.
One of the source materials offered
by the women's group's AIDS program
is a video, Valley of the
Shadow, distributed by the Texas
Baptist Christian Life Commission,
which tells the story· of the Allen
family and includes videos of physicians
and others talking about the
disease. It also features information on
services provided to AIDS patients by
Broadway Baptist Church of Fort
Worth and First Baptist Church of
Arlington.
over churches that welcome Gays
By Joe Bigham
Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The American
Baptist Church is divided on
whether to accept gay and lesbian
members, and four churches in the
San Francisco area may be at risk of
being pushed out of the fold for doing
·so.
; At least 16 churches have asked the
!board of managers of the American
· ·· ·Baptist Churches of the West to expel
congregations in Oakland, San Jose,
• Berkeley and San Li!artdro from the
organization.
The board, which represents 220
churches in Northern and Central
California, deadlocked on the issue
earlier in the summer.
One side believes homosexuality is
wrong. The other accepts Gays and
Lesbians as members and claims
:autonomy of local churches is at stake.
Two San Joaquin Valley pastors are
spearheading a drive to oust four San
Francisco Bay area churches from a
regional Baptist conference unless
they quit condoning homosexuality.
""Our primary purpose is to ask
those churches to renounce and
change the direction they're going,""
the Rev. Harold G. Meers of First
Baptist Church in Visalia said. 'They
are unwilling to change in any way
because they have introduced the
affirmation of homosexuality into both
.the ordination and lay leadership .""
Meers tells his congregation that
homosexuals can change their s.exual
orientation if they want to, and offers
a support group.
The Rev. Jim Dunn of Stockton's
First Baptist Church called homosexuality
""still a sin"" no matter whether
it's a lifestyle or whether men and
women are born homosexual.
Homosexuality is condemned in
The Bible in an Old Testament list of
practices forbidden to the Hebrews.
But the Rev. James Hopkins of
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in
Oakland called homosexuality ""the
. last respectable prejudice of the 20th .
century."" ·
Lakeshore Avenue _ belongs .to the
Association of Welcoming and Affirm.
ing Baptists, along with First Baetist
-• SECOND STONE
of Berkeley, Community of Faith
Church of San Jose and San Leandro
Community Church.
Hopkins said sexuality is ""a gift
from God"" that should be enjoyed as
it is - within a ""context of commit.
ment.""
""I will fight this fight a long way to
keep that hallmark of Baptist religious
freedom . from being taken
away,"" Hopkins said.
""American Baptists for centuries
have stood strong on social issues and
justice issues,"" said the Rev. Kay Wellington,
pastor at San Leandro Community.
She said American Baptists
are not fundamentalists - believers in
the infallibility of scripture - as are
many Southern Baptists.
Meers said his church and Dunn's
""foster love and ministry to people
struggling with homosexuality. It is
an issue of Biblical authority around
the teachings of scripture.""
The board of managers of the
American Baptist Churches of the
West, which represents 220 Northern
and Central California churches, will
. take up the issue this fall.
""One of the things that could
happen if they continue to hold lo
their position is they could be
removed from the denomination;""
Meers said of the four affirming
churches.
. But Hopkins hopes the dispute
doesn't get to the point of a formal
split, called a schism when churches
divide over doctrine .
""He (Meers) is hoping we would
recant our position, which morally I
don't think we can do,"" Hopkins said.
""I hope the board of managers of
American Baptist Churches West sees
this move as patently opposed to
Baptist principles.""
Wellington said the board already
voted 30-4 in March against having
its executive committee develop a
method of dealing with the affirming
churches.
""We've been battling this issue for
almost two years,"" she said. ''It would
have died a number of times, (but)
the pastors of First Baptist Stockton
and First Baptist Visalia refused to let
it die.""
In February, the Woman's
Missionary Union will sponsor a
nationwide collection of items needed
by AIDS hospices as well as money
for services. The money will be donated
to an AIDS hospice in Victoria,
Brazil.
Baptists got a wake-up call about
the AIDS pandemic four years ago
when the Rev . Jimmy Allen, a former
president of the Southern Baptist
Convention, revealed the tragedy
that had happened to his family.
His daughter-in-law, tydia AHen,
became infected with human imrnunodeficiency
virus through a
blood transfusion. She and her
youngest son, Bryan, died of AIDS
and her oldest son, Matt, now 12, is
critically ill with the virus.
During the ordeal, Jimmy Allen's
Johnson said Jimmy Allen's
willingness to share the tragic story of
his family has had a ""tremendous
impact"" in convincing Baptist congregations
to take up AIDS ministries.
For his part, Allen commends the
WMU for its efforts, noting that it is a
""network of women who historically
have been involved in the cutting
edge of caring .
'There has been a counter-tide, sort
of hardening of the heart of the nation
against those who need help,'.' Allen
said. ""Compassion is evaporating in
this country.""
Ht believes rediscovering compassion
in churches will help a great
deal.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to study
break from Southern Baptist Convention
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -
The head of the Cooperative
Baptist Fellowship will name a
special committee to study
whether the moderate group
should split with the Southern
Baptist Convention and become
a separate denomination.
Patrick Anderson, a Florida
college professor who was
elected moderator of the fellowship,
made the announcement
at the end of the group's threeday
convention.
""Our bell has been rung on
this issue, and I think it is time
a committee make a systematic
and careful study of our options,""
Anderson is quoted as
saying in the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram.
The committee will gather
information on the problems
and advantages of becoming a
denomination. But the group
won 't be asked to make a
recommendation until next
year's general assembly
meeting in Richmond, Va.
""We don't think this is something
you can do in a debate on
the convention floor with 5,000
people,"" Anderson said.
The fellowship was formed
four years ago to protest the
conservative takeover of the
:15.5 million member Southern
Baptist Convention, the nation's
largest Protestant group.
Conservative leaders of the
Southern Baptist Convention
say the fellowship already is a
separate denomination because
it has .its own Atlanta-based
headquarters, supports some 80
missionaries and seminaries
and other ministries .
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 9 9 5·.
Former journalist opposes gay/lesbian ordination
,TQl:Jgh-talking woman elected Presbyterian moderator
By Keely Coghlan
The Odessa American
BIG SPRING, Texas - Marj Carpenter
hated her first month of. work as communications
director for the Presbyterian
Church of the U.S.A. ·
Now she's just been elected as the
church's moderator, the highest
non-paying job in the Presbyterian
Church.
But 17 years ago, Ms. Carpenter
wasn't sure she wanted to stay in her
new job for more than a year.
After 27 years of chasing car wrecks
and fires, politicians and football
coaches throughout West Texas, Ms.
Carpenter awakened to every. shrieking
siren in those still Atlanta nights
in 1979- and felt left out. ·
""I would hear sirens, and think I
was supposed to go take pictures,""
Ms. Carpenter said . ""All the meetings
were boring. I was doing a weekly
newsletter and a monthly magazine,
and they were filled with stories
about meetings.""
The former Big Spring Herald
reporter had been recruited for her
experience as a reporter and active
church volunteer, but all she did was
write about meetings.
Until she visited the church's
mission in Brazil.
""I was in a packing crate village ih
. Brazil when they brought the news
that a child in our school had died of
an abscessed too.th,"" Ms. Carpenter
recalled.
Someone asked the mother why she
hadn't asked the missionaries for
help. ""She said we had already done
so much, she didn't want to ask,"" Ms.
Carpenter said . ""Well, I didn't think
we had done so much.""
So Carpenter decided to see for
herself. She traveled to missions in
102 countries on her own funds to
write about the church's work.
""I found out we were doing a Jot,""
Ms. Carpenter said,. citing work in
building churches, schools and
agricultural projects throughout the
world, from Cuba to Soviet Russia
and Zaire.
She retired in January, but Ms.
Carpenter, 68, isn't finished with
church business. The moderator's job,
to which she was elected July 16 at
the church's national convention in
Cincinnati, is• a one-year term as head
of the Presbyterian Church USA, the
largest Presbyterian denomination in
the United States with more than 3
million members .
Moderators set the tone of the
church's discussion and focus for the
year and are selected by conference
Presbyterian Church's rift grows
over conservative newspaper
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A leader of erator's appointees accu-sed the Lay
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has Committee of ""subversion"" and asked
challenged a committee to take a the Cincinnati General Assembly to
stand regarding a conservative news- . urge the Lay Committee to ""cease and
paper that denounces the church's desist its destructive behavior, which
leadership as being theologically out · \ harms our beloved church.""
of touch. · The Layman retorts that it is
· The requested review of The standing up for rank-and-file Presby-
Presbyterian Layman was made by the terians and for what is right.
Rev . Robert Bohl, the church's moder- 'The fact is that a deep division
ator, and came as the church pre- already exists,"" it said in its latest
pared for its 207th General Assembly, issue. 'That division is between
which was held the week of July 16 in national leadership and staff and the
Cincinnati. people of our congregations.""
'The Layman has been a destructive
instrument to the mission and minis- At the heart of the matter is
try of the church,"" Bohl told The theology and how free-thinking Pres-
Courier-Journal in an interview. byterians want to be. Presbyterianism
The newspaper has been critical of, traditionally has been an inclusive
al'(long other things, efforts to bring faith, encouraging debate and unwilgay
and lesbian people into the full ling to draw strict doctrinal lines
life of the church. designed to exclude non-believers.
'Though we want them to exist, we The Layman is pushing the idea of a
want them to exist in a Jess vitriolic uniform creed, ""that there is a truth
style. But there's no guarantee, even that can be absolutely defined and
if they were struck by lightning from that they know it,"" said the Rev.
God, that they will change."" Eugene March, dean of the Louisville
J..ast summer the 206th General Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Assembly set up a special Reconcilia- and a commissioner, or delegate, to
lion Committee to try to determine the General Assembly.
. ""appropriate boundaries"" for the The Lay Committee also is
Presbyterian Lay Committee and the concerned about financial accountabilprivate)
y ~unded newspaper it pub- ity of church governing bodies and
lishes six times a year . what it views as a liberal bent in the
But the Reconciliation Committee appointments of ministers and lay
coll11J>~e_d this spring when the mod- people to significant committees.
SECOND STONE GJ
delegates, all of whcim must be either
lay elders or ministers.
Ms. Carpenter has said she will
focus on mission work and church
. 1 development . ·
""Marj is devoted to the mission of
proclaiming the gospel to all the
world,"" said the Rev. Flynn Long,
pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church in Big Spring, where she is
an elder. ""She's been involved since
· she was a little girl.""
""All the mainline denominations
get so involved in justice issues and ·
in politics. I want to emphasize
mission,"" Ms. Carpenter said.
""I belfeve Marj is correct. People
today are interested in the church
doing things to help others, not fancy
stained-glass worship services,"" Long
said.
Presbyterians provide medical and
agricultural aid to countries or impoverished
areas, often being among the
first missionary groups to arrive in
previously closed countries. And then
they leave .
""We get a church going, but we
don't stay . We go back if we are
asked, but we do not try to change
the way they are and we do not ·
colonize them,"" Ms. Carpenter said.
She also cites the church's tradition- ,
al three-way budget split between J
medical aid, agricultural aid, and ,
evangelism as one of the strengths of I
the mission program. :
'There are people who think we ·
should only evangelize,"" Carpenter '
said. ""But if you read the New
Testament,Jou see that Jesus healed
the sick an told parables to educate
them. We get into a lot of countries
by helping them with an agricultural
project. We teach them how to grow
food when they are starving.""
Hospitals and schools are welcome
in many Muslim countries where missionaries
are prohibited from evangelizing,
Ms. Carpenter said, citing a
hospital in Pakistan where doctors
perform · hundreds of cataract operations.
""People walk across the mountains
to go to that hospital,"" Ms. Carpenter ;t:·~1:~Y say, Th~ Christians make .
Ms. Carpenter doesn't see herself as'
a trailblazer, although her car does
sport a buinper sticker, ""Press
Women Make Headlines,"" a reference ·
to her membership in the National
Press Women.
Seven of the 400 moderators in
church history have been women; the i
Presbyterian church began ordaining
women in the 1950s.
''Being a woman has never stopped
me,"" Carpenter said. ""I wrote sports
in West Texas when there were no
women sportswriters."" ·
The military tried to confiscate her
pictures of a plane crash near the
now-closed Webb Air Force Base at
. Big Spring, running her off the road
and actually taking her camera - only
to discover she had already removed!
the film. ·
""I told them the film was on my ·
person, and they didn't have a female
'officer with · them and they were
welcome 'to call my edito& and dis::
SEE MODERATOR, Page 19
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InP rint ••••••••••••••••••. • •.••••••••••••••••••••••••• •· ••••• -• •••••• f
Two mothers' stories
M·other's journey begins too late for gay son
By William Carey
ContributingW riter
Prayers For Bobby: A Mother's
Coming to Terms With the Suicide
,of Her Gay Son, Leroy Aarons,
author; New York HarperCollins;""
1995. 271 pp., $22.
ayers for Bobby is a most pro- ,
ound and moving book. The
book tells of a tragedy, and is
made all the more tragic by the fact
that the story it tells is true.
Bobby Griffith was born June 24,
1963 in Oakland, California. The
third of four children, Bobby was an
intelligent and talented child born to
a fundamentalist Christian mother.
From an early age, Bobby showed
devotion to God and desired to be
right with God in everything he did.
He, like his brothers and sisters,
attended Sunday School through his
high school years. They attended
church regularly, and his mother
taught Bible studies at home. It
seemed like Bobby had everything
going for him.
In his teens, Bobby told his brother
Ed that he was gay. Ed, in turn;
worried about his brother, told their
mother. Although the family loved
Bobby, they could not accept him as
he was. Over the next few years,
Bobby learned to hate himself for
being gay. His hatred mingled with
anger at his family for preaching to
him, at God for not ""curing"" him, and
at himself, for not being able to be
anything else but what he was.
On the night of August 26, 1983,
· 20-year-old Bobby Griffith jumped off
a highway overpass into the path of a
tractor trailer. He died instantly.
Prayers For Bobby chronicles the
story of his . life, as well as the
realization of his mother that her own
ignorance and bigotry had contributed
to the death of her son. To
compound the tragedy of his death,
the realization of what their faith had
done to Bobby caused the family to
abandon much of the brand of
Christianity they knew at the time.
This is a painful book to read,
contains some strong (but honest)
language, and leaves the reader with
an intense sadness, not only for
Bobby, but also for his family.
If there is any message of hope to
be drawn from Prayers For Bobby, it is
SEE GAY SON, Next Page
Overheard comment sends mother on a mission
. By Allen V. Harris
Contributing Wri~er .
Cleaning Closets: A Mother's Story;
Beverly Cole, author; St. Louis:
Chalice Press, 1995. 163 pp. $13.95
n this age when the art of
dialogue seems to be consumed
. by fiery rhetoric and blockaded
by unbending posturing, treasures of
wisdom and reason shine bright. In
the fine tradition of other parents of
lesbian and gay children who have
dared to share their stories in print,
Beverly Cole has brought to us her
unique perspective and in doing so
has provided a needed clearing for a
meaningful conversation.
CleaningC losets:A Mother's Story is
a wonderfully honest account of one
Now available from Second Stone!
The Word Is Out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
liberates the Bible from those
who would hold it hostage to
an anti-gay agenda. In this
inspiring collection of 365
daily meditations, the Bible's
oood news ""comes out11 to
- ~eet all of us witb love,
justice, meaning, and hope.
Chris Glaser is the autbor
of Uncommon Calling and
Coming Out to God. He is
agn1duate of Yale Divinity
School.
The Word Is Out,
$12, paperback.
Order now from Second Stone Press
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SECOND STONE -
woman's journey through her own
emotions as she discovers, quite by
accident, that her teenage son is gay.
While putting the wet laundry into
the dryer, Cole happened to overhear
one of her son's friends say to him,
""You're the only gay person I know
who doesn't smoke."" That revelation
sent this comfortable wife and mother
of two, living in Salina, Kansas, on an
engaging encounter with the
unknown.
The book begins with a foreward
by Cole's son, Eric, and ends with a
postscript, ""All in Good Time,"" that
gives good advice to Gays and Lesbians
who are thinking about coming
out.
What makes this volume different
· from many such narratives is that in
this instance the parent is grounded
in a strong Christian tradition.
Beverly turns first to her pastor for
guidance, and eventually her investi- ·
gation will help others in her local
United Methodist Church to understand
the blessings that can indeed
come through such surprising means.
Early on in her story, once she
confirmed the truth of what she had
heard with her son, Beverly quickly
assured him that God still cared for
him. After reflecting upon that instinctive
response, she wrote,
""I had never even thought about
being gay and being Christian at the
same time. I would have to wrestle
with that question myself. In my
heart, I felt that God would be there
for him, but there's only one way that
feeling can be transferred from one
person to another, and that is through
love. I couldn't make Eric feel God's
love. All I could do was love him
myself. I had no control over his
other experiences in life. I wondered
if those experiences would be any
-- different since he was gay?"" (p.15)
this faithful mother decided to explore
many different perspectives in order
to more fully understand same-sex
attraction and how it relates to spir-
. ituality.
Particularly helpful is the casual yet
extremely effective manner irt which
Cole has integrated her findings into
her book. She annotated the books
and resources she found, putting
them within the context of her own
search so they become living resources
for others to pursue. She
quite willingly tackled viewpoints
which, in the end, were different
from her own. In every case, she
took what she needed and what she
believed to be true and left the rest
behind, confident that God's Spirit
was with her in her quest. She urges
the reader to do likewise.
With a matter of fact style, Cole
draws the conclusion that ultimately
what matters to God, and to her, is
Led by her heart and her mind, SEE MISSION, Next Page
S E P T E M B E R / 0 C T O B· E R l 9 9 5
e I I I I I e ·. e I I I I I I I ID I I I I I I I I I I I 1 1 ~ In Print . . . . . . . . . . ............... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •·
New Catholic work on homosexuality
THE CENTER FO~ Homop _hobia f~rence of bishops and i_ndividual part of Voices of Hope.
Educat10n has_ pubhsh~d Voices of bishops, Roman Congregations, theo- The editors say the new collection
Hvpe; A Collectwn of Positive Catholic logians, Catholic social justice groups, updates and expands several similar
sciences a respect for the experiences
of people, or a willingness to employ
methodologies which could lead to a
development of magisterial teaching."" Wntings about Gay and Lesbian Issues, Catholic newspapers, professional previous collections and represents
edited by Jeannine Gramick and Catholic organizations, Catholic par- ""the best of the Catholic intellectual Voices of Hope is available from New
Ways Ministry, 4012 29th St., Mt. Robert Nugent, a Catholic nun and · ents, lesbian and gay Catholic groups and moral traditions."" Many of the
pnest team who have specialized in , and representatives from religious , ,documents show ""pastoral sensitivity
Catholic gay /lesbian ministry since orders of women and men. an openness to new data from th~
the early 70's. Both have authored The three sections of the book
• Rainier, MD 20712.
and edited several previous works on contain brief statements and resoluhomosexuality
and Catholicism. tions, longer documents and pastoral
Contributions to Voices of Hope come letters and critical respons.es to a 1992
from the United States, Canada, the Vatican statement on discrimination.
Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, Gramick and Nugent contribute a
France, Ireland, England and the preface, section introductions and a
Vatican. conclusion . An author/source index
Voices of Hope contains material and an appendix with the full text of
from national and state Catholic con- the 1992 Vatican statement are also
GAY SON,
From Page 14
in the incredible metamorphosis of
Bobby's mother from a frightened,
ignorant woman, preaching hell-fire
and damnation to a son who only
wanted to be loved and accepted, to
an outspoken advocate for gay and
lesbian youth. Upon reading the
book, it becomes clear that the work
she has done, and continues to do,
has saved many other young people
from Bobby's fate. I wish that she
had been able to find a way to
reconcile her fundamentalist Christianity
with her new-found acceptance
of gay people, and perhaps someday
she will. For now, however, the pain
and anger of what that type of
fundamentalism did to her son, and
caused her to do to her son, have
prevented that from happening. So,
although she and her other children
are still living, their current spiritual
condition can only be regarded as one
more tragic loss caused by the actions.
of those who would use. the name of
Jesus tii' further the cause of bigotry
and hatred.
Although Prayers For Bobby can be
shocking at times, and certainly
doesn't have a ""happily ever after""
ending, I .still recommend it highly.
all of us need an awareness (or
_perhaps just a reminder) of what
young gay people must endure. For
many of us, our own adolesence was
so painful that we just try to block it
out. But ·now that we've grown up,
and have learned the truth of God's
love for us, we have a responsibility
to the young people just coming to
terms with who they are. There have
been too many tragic deaths and too
many driven from the word of God
by ignorance and hatred. And no
one of us alone can change all of that.
But if we each· do something, we can
make a difference. And if even one
Bobby Griffith is saved from an
untimely death and can be helped to
know and believe that God loves
him, then anything we do will have
been worth it. There's a whole
generation of teenage boys and girls
out there who need to know that they
are not horrible, depraved perverts,.
but young men and women made in
the image of God, who creates people
as . God sees fit.
Brother William Carey is pastor of
{.,ighthouse Apostolic Church in Schenectady,
New York. The library at the
church has been named ""T11e Bobby
Griffith Memorial Library"" and aphotograph
of Bobby hangs on the wall.
Bulk Copies Available
OF THIS ISSUE OF SECOND STONE
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100 copies - $67.50 includes postage and handling.
Send your pre-paid order to Second Ston.e.
PO . Box 8340, New Orleans . LA 70182
MISSION,
From Page 14
that her son is a loved and loving
being. Confronting her fears and
misconceptions about her son's boyfriends,
scriptural mandates, and
even the family's childhood pediatrician
(who proves to be quite the
bigot) Cole gains the confidence she
needs to live her refashioned life with
integrity.
Cole also writes: ""It seems to me
that we Christians, as a people of
faith, are beginning to realize that we
need to take a closer look at our gay
and lesbian brothers and sisters as an
acceptable and vital part of our faith
community.""
For openly lesbian or gay folks who
have told their story to others, or to
parents who have been involved in
the movement for justice for their
children, this book may provide few
new findings. Even so, the manner
in which it is written is .so warm and
inviting I would recommend it to
even the most seasoned advocate for
lesbian and gay persons .
For those parents or children who
are just coming out of their own
closets and anyone, for that matter,
who is grappling with the implications
for their faith of God's unabashed
love for gay men and Lesbians,
I would enthusiastically recommend
Cleaning Closets: A Mother's
Sto:Y·
Rev. Allen V. Harris is pastor at Park
Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) in New York City.
Recommended Reading For Everyone ...
PASTOR, I AM GAY
by The Reverend H. Howard Bess
An extraordinary book. PASTOR, I AM GAY .. .is a
pro_pheti~ witness to the church. It is compelling in
• its mtens1ty, compassionate in its identifications and
· cour~~eo?s in its . call to sharing humanity without
duahf1cat1ons. A reader will not be able to put it
own. James B. Ashbrook, Professor Emeritus and
Senior Scholar in Religion and Personality
Garrett Evang e lical Theological Seminaiy
No rthwestern University
PASTOR, I AM GAY )s a superb entry into the difficult and painful
subiect of homosexuality that faces us in the church and society today .
Both pastor and lay person will find this book readable and informative
as we seek more insight into the lives of homosexual friends inside and
outside the church. Donald Parsons, Bishop, Alaska Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Order now from Second Stone Press
Quan.
□ PASTOR, I AM GAV by Rev. Howard Bess
$14.95, paperback. ___ _
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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1 9 9 5
. . . . .. . . .. . .. . .. Noteworthy ~ •.• .. ........... .................... ' ............... .... .
GayC hristnias on
televisionin P hoeinx
t:,.CASA DE CRISTO Evangelical
Church now has a weekly TV program
carried on Cox Cable Channel
22 in the Phoenix metro area, 'That
Church!"" is hosted by Casa's senior
pastor Fred L Pattison, The format of
the program includes music, an interview,
and a short message from
Pastor Pattison, The goals of the
program are to combat homophobia
as it exists among non-gay Chnshans
and to reach disenfranchised evangelical
Christian Gays and Lesbians.
Brethren/Mennoneivteen td raws
90 from across the country
!:,.CHARLOTTEN, ORTH CAROLINA
was the site for the first jointly
sponsored conference for the Church
of the Brethren Women's Caucus and
the Brethren/Mennonite Council for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns. The two
day event held June 25 and 26,
""Dancing at the Wall: Re-Imagining
the Church,"" drew 90 members of the
Church of the Brethren from as far
away as California, Colorado, Indiana
and Maryland. The group, ranging '
in age from their teens through their
70's, gathered at Mey_ers Park Baptist
Church to explore what it means to be
excluded by the Church and to build
a vision of an inclusive faith community.
Integritcyh aptecre lebrate2s0 th
t:,.INTEGRITY NEW YORK will be
celebrating its 20th anniversary October
19, with a Eucharist celebrated by
The Right Rev. Richard F. Grein,
Bishop of New York. The preacher
will be Louie Crew, founder of
Integrity. The service begins at 7:30
at the Church of St. Luke in . the
Fields, 487 Hudson Street (just south
of Christopher),
Pennsyvlania and Ohio
mark firsts in
Open & Affirming Progr am
t:,.THE GLAD ALLIANCE Open &
Affirming Ministries Program has
annou nced the addition of a new
Open & Affirming Congregation and
a new Open & Affirming Campus
Ministry, both firsts in the program
for their respective states. This makes
the number of local congregations,
campus ministries, regions, and
advocacy groups within the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) which
have named themselves as ""Open &
Affirming"" now total 30.
""I'm not a straight
man, but I play one
on television.""
Many gay and lesbian people like Dan Butler thought acting straight was
better than being open and honest. They hoped that others did not know,
or that they feared friends and family would not accept them, After coming
out, the love and support many receive
tells them one thing -- that being
themselves·; s the best act to follow,
National Coming Out Day
is O~tober 11
Come Our.
It truly makes a difference.
Nationa l Coming Out Project
is an edUC11tloann do ulr,ach prog,.mo f tM y,t !-- PAIGNFUND
Form orei nformniona bou1h owy ouc anm ake
a diffi:rtncotn Nnioiul C.OminOgu rD :iy,
or 10 ordero fficiilK eithH aringN ationaCl .Oming
OurO Jym erchandisael,l 1-800-866-62~3.
SECOND STONE
Sandra Kelsey, Chairperson of the
Task Force on Human Sexuality of the
United Christian Church of Levittown,
Pennsylvania (Disciples of
Christ and Ul)ited Church of Christ)
announced that after a 13 month
extensive study on the issue of
human sexuality, the congregation
voted unanimously on June 4 to
become Open & Affirming.
Jan Griesinger, Director of the
United Campus Ministry at Ohio
University in Athens, Ohio said that
the campus ministry there has also
made a public statement of wekome
to gay, lesbian, and bisexual people,
Ohio Campus Ministry ,made its first
public statement in 1978 and has
continued since that time to house the
student gay, lesbian, and bisexual
organization offices.
The Open & Affirming Ministries
Program was created by the Gay,
Lesbian, and Affirming Disciples
Alliance to provide resources for
stuc;ly and support for local congregations
and other church organizations
who wish to more fully include
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
persons in their mission and
ministry, paying special attention also
to frien ds and family members of
persons who are gay. For information
on this program contact Allen V.
Harris, O&A Ministries Developer,
1010 Park Ave., New York, NY
10028.
25y earsm arkedi nD allas_
!:,.CATHEDRALO F HOPE MCC celebrated
its 25th anniversary in July.
The church celebrated with several
special events, a concert with Christian
singer Cynthia .Clawson, and a
special message by Rev. Elder Troy
Perry. Senior pastor Michael Piazza
presented his vision of the church for
the next 25 years, entitled ""Celebrating
Our Future.""
Lutherans Concerned
leader passes
t:,.REV. JON NELSON, a former cochair
of Lutherans Concerned/North
America, died May 14. He is preceded
in death by his partner,
Michael Gerke and is survived by his
family, . including sister Beth, parents
Bob and Jane, two nephews and
countless friends. ""Jon was different
from the beginning,"" said Lynn
-Mickelson, co-chair of LC/NA, speaking
of her personal relationship with
Nelson. ""He was a Lutheran clergyman
with multiple degrees, not
interested in power, control or gender
roles ... his label as a ""high church .
feminist"" effectively shut him out of
leadership in his synod.""
celebrating his 18th anniversary as
pastor of the church, Pattison became
senior pastor of Casa de Cristo on
October 2, 1977. In addition to
serving as pastor, Pattison founded
Cristo Press which has a world-wide
literature ministry outreach, Cristo
AIDS Ministry, The Evangelical Network,
which is a fellowship of independent
evangelical churches ministering
in the gay and lesbian community,
and the Phoenix Evangelical
Bible Institute. Pastor Fred and his
life partner, Joseph Sombrio, have
been together since May, 1973. Casa
de Cristo celebrates its 25th
anniversary in September. It was
formerly affiliated with the UFMCC
but is now an independent church.
Jesuipt riestta ughat bout
AIDSin h isf inald ays
t:,.THE REV. TERRY SHEA, former
president of Seattle Preparatory
School, has died from complications of
AIDS. The Jesuit priest was 58.
Shea died July 17 in his sleep at a
Spokane infirmary .
He publicly revealed his illness in
May and used publicity generated by
his disclosure to teach Seattle Prep
students about his disease.
Shea was president of Seattle Prep
from 1992 until last June, when he
stepped down.
Local Catholic leaders said Shea's
illness gave them the chance to affirm
the church's teachings that call for
compassion toward peopl{'._Wilh AIDS.
The church also teaches respect for the
confidentiality of those who are infected.
""As Catholics, we need to show out
love, our understanding,"" said the
Rev. David Jaeger, who runs the
AIDS Ministry for the Seattle Archdiocese.
Shea was born in 1937 in Spokane
and entered the Jesuit novitiate in
Oregon in 1955. In 1968, he was
ordained at St. Aloysius Catholic
Church in Spokane and three years
later earned his master's degree in ·
business administration from New
York University.
In 1972, Rev. Shea became president
of Bellarrnine Preparatory School
-in Tacoma, where he remained until
1976.
Shea is survived by a mother in
Spokane and three brothers and three
sisters.
Churchd edicates
new sanctuary
MTLANTA'S OLDEST MCC held its
first service in its new sanctuary on
July 23. First MCC held its dedication
in conjunction with the UFMCC General
Conference. Rev. Troy Perry led
the dedication, which was attended
Pastocr eel brates by almost 500 people. ""It's a relief,""
18tha nniversaOryfm inistry said Rev. Reid Christensen, First
t:,.PA STOR FRED L. PATTISON, MCC's pastor for the past eight years.
senior pastor of Casa de Cristo ""We have been working on this for
:Evangelical Church in Phoenix, is the last year and a half.""
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER l 9 9 5
Keyes speaks out for creat ionism, against homosexuality
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) - Gays and Lesbians
are not entitled to special rights
and are open to public judgement,
presidential hopeful Alan Keyes said.
Keyes, former U.S. ambassador to
the United Nations' Economic and
Social Council, said discrimination
against Gays serves to educate the nation's
youth.
""If I don 't have the right to discriminate
against behavior that I don't like,
then how am I going to educate my
children?"" Keyes said.
He drew an analogy between
homosexuality and adultery .
""What about married people who
have the sexual preference to sleep
with other people than their wives?""
he said . ''That's a sexual preference,
too.
""You go down this road, you're
essentially destroying the concept of
sexual responsibility,"" he said.
CALENDAR,
From Pa&e 2
Keyes, host of a nationally syndicated
radio talk show, appearei:I
July 5 as a guest on WMVU's Kevin
Miller Show.
Keyes told listeners that students
should be taught creationism to better
understand their rights as American
citizens.
The Declaration of Independence
refers to divine creation in explaining
how people are endowed with inalienable
rights, the conservative Republican
said.
""What does the Declaration say?""
Keyes said . 'That rights come from
God . When? At the moment of creation
... So, of course I think that it
ought to be possible to teach our
children about the idea of creation.""
The document says ""We hold these
truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal, that they are 1
endowed by their Creator with
Open and Affirming Churches gathering
OCTOBER 13-15, ""Gathered in Spirit; Gaining in Strength"" is the theme of the
national Open and Affirming Exultation to be held in Cleveland, Ohio. Rev.
Paul Sherry, president of the United Church of Christ, will speak. The
Northcoast Men's Chorus and the Just Peace Players will perform . For
information contact ONA-UCCUGC, P.O . Box 403, Holden, MA 01520.
Lesbian spirituality retreat .
OCTOBER 13-15, ""Claiming Our Own Voices: A Retreat About Lesbian
Spiritiiality""'will 'be held at Algonkian Center in Fairfax County, Virginia.
Leaders are Joan Beilstein, a lesbian priest from the Episcopal Diocese of
Washington, D.C., and Rose Hassan, a lesbian priest and chaplain of
Integrity/New York. The program includes liturgies, large plenary sessions,
small group discussions and social time. For information contact Rose Hassan,
(212)989-9363 or Joan Beilstein, (703)440-8405. . ·
GLAD Alliance meeting · .
OCTOBER 20-24, The Gay, Lesbian, and. Affirming Disciples Alliance (G_LAD
Alliance) will meet in conjunction with the biennial General Assembly of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Pittsburgh, Penn. The GLAD
Alliance will host a Pre-Assembly Event beginning at 11 :30 a.m. on Friday, Oct.
20. On Saturday, Oct. 21 there will be a reception and a banquet featuring
Ron Nyswaner, screenwriter for the Academy Award-nominated film,
""Philadelphia."" Two educational forums are scheduled, one for parents,
families, and friends of Gays and Lesbians on Friday night, and the other for
Open & Affirming Ministries on Sunday evening, Oct. 22. For information
contact GLAD Alliance, P.O. Box 19223, Indianapolis, IN 46219-0223,
(816)432-6139.
Ghost Ranch gathering
NOVEMBER 2-5, Led by Lisa Bove, former HIV/AIDS minister at West
Hollywood Presbyterian Church, and Chris Glaser, au_thor ~I The Word /s Out:
The Bible Flee/aimed for Lesbians and Gay Men. Reg1strat1on, $100, room a_nd
board, $120. For information, contact Ghost Ranch, HG 77, Box 11, Ab1qu1u,
NM 87510-9601, (505)685-4333, FAX (505)685-4519.
Call to Action National Conference
NOVEMBER 8·10, The Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago is the setting for
Call to Action's national event. ""We Are The Church: What If We Meant What
We Said?"" is the theme. Cosponsors include Dignity/USA, New Ways
Ministry, Catholics Speak Out, Women's Ordination Conference, and others .
The CT A annual conference is evolving into a national congress of persons;
communities and organizations working to ""reinvent the church."" For infomation
on this -conference contact Call to Action, 4419 N. Kedzie, Chicago, IL 60625,
(312)004-0400, FAX (312)604-4719.
Christian Responses to Homosexuality
NOVEMBER 10·12, Three days of dialogue with people from across the
philosophical and theological spectrum, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain
Conference of the United Methodist Church. The cost of this conference, which
will be held in Denver, is $125. For information contact Elizabeth Pruett, Box
2922, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602-0292, (970)945-7293
SECOND STONE •
certain unalienable Rights, among
them the· right to Life, Liberty and
the pursuit of Happiness.""
Creationism focused national
attention on the region in the winter
when the Merrimack School Board
considered a proposal from a minister
to include creationism in the science
curriculum. The Rev. Paul Norwalt of
Merrimack Baptist Temple withdrew
his proposal in February but vowed
to reintroduce it later this year.
Keyes also commended Gov. Steve
Merrill for refusing $9 million in
federal Goals 2000 education money.
Merrill passed up the money,
arguing federal mandates were too
restrictive.
""Governor Merrill was so right, and
I would applaud him 100 times over,""
Keyes said.
He said the program usurps state
and local authority to set educational
goals for public schools. Another presidential
hopeful, former Tennessee
Gov : Lamar Alexander, agreed and ;
said Goals 2000 has become a ""gross
intrusion"" in state affairs.
Reiterating campaign platforms ,
Keyes decried declining morals and
an increase in the illegitimacy rate.
He said welfare undermines the family
structure and harms the poor by
diminishing their self-esteem.
Critic of Gays: My religion shouldn't
bar me from police board
NEW YORK (AP) - A clergyman who
denounced the Gay Games asked a
City Council committee to judge him
by his actions, not his religious
beliefs, and reappoint him to a police
watchdog panel.
The City Council's Rules Committee
is holding hearings on the Rev.
Ruben Diaz's reappointment to the
Civilian Complaint Review Board,
which investigates allegations of brutality,
verbal abuse or other misconduct
by police,
The Pentecostal minister told the
committee July 13 that his beliefs on
homosexuality should not prevent
him from continuing as a member of
the review board . 'Judge me for my
record,"" he said.
Diaz told the Rules Committee he
. has supported efforts to hire Gays and
Lesbians as investigators on the
review board.
But some committee members
harked back to comments Diaz made
last summer, when he said the Gay
Games would spread AIDS and teach
children that homosexuality is acceptable.
When the black and Puerto Rican
clergyman related that he had once
been beaten up by white soldiers and
verbally abused by a lieutenant
while in the Army, Councilman
Stephen DiBrienza - who opposes
Diaz's reappointment - asked ·if he
would want that officer to serve on
the board.
""Jesse Jadson called New York
'Hymietown' and you voted for him .
You supported him,"" Diaz shot back
· at the Brooklyn Democrat.
When DiBrienza continued to press
him on the question, Diaz said he
would ba_ck putting the officer on the
board ""nowadays, in this era.""
Two gay councilmen split on
supporting Diaz. Tom Duane opposed
him on grounds his presence
discourages complaints by Gays and
Lesbians, but Antonio Pagan supported
the minister, saying Diaz has
been a . ""hard-working and responsible""
member of the board.
~DD
rno1vELLOW PAGES""' INFORMIN& THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL &fTI
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Complete gay~frfendiy resources and businesses: accommodations, bars, bookstores, dentists, doctors, lawyers,
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Listings broken down by State & City. Index & fast llCCMS phone list. UPDATED ANNUALLY.
For an application to be listed (no charge), or for details of current editions and prices,
or Information about mailing labels, please send a aeH•addressed stamped envelope to
Renaissance House, PO Box 533-SS, VIiiage Station, New York, NY f 0014 (212) 674-0120
You can order directly from the address above, or you can find us your local gay-friendly bookstores.
If you wish to order by phone with a credit card, please call A DIFFERENT LIGHT 1-800-343-4002;
FAX (212) 989-2158; outside USA and Canada call 1·212-989-4850. (A Different Light has stores in
New York, Los Angeles, ·aod San Francisco. They are not involved with production or publication of
· Gayellow Pages, so please cfon't call them except to order.)
·1 wish all my readers had.a copy of this ve,y useful volume. If you live in Nowheresville, U.S.A., and haven't a clue
about how to find other gay folks, this book is indispensable. There's no way to remain isolated if you make use of
the information contained in thv Gayel/ow Pages.• P•t C.lllla, The Advocate Advisor
'By far lhe most comprohensive and up-to-<iate gay guide ... Gayel/ow Pages . . . includes the standald entries for
bars and restaurants . .. But the Gaye/low Pages excels thanks to its additional alphabetized listings by city for
AIDS and HIV services, legal _rasources, organizations (ca.tegorized by purpose or interest}, religious groups,
publications, businesses and more. In short, if an entity welcomes gay. lesbian and bisexual people, no matter ho~
unlikely the service or remote the town, it's probably listsd ;n the Gaye/lo~ Pages . ... Hardly a week goes by that it
is not consulted in the Out offices.• Reviewed by Jeff Howells, OUT (Pittsburgh, PA}, December 1994 .
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 199 5
, ...... ~.•. . . •.~ . .. .... .... . .C. . .o . .m. . . .m. . .• e ...n. . t .. . . . .. . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The new millenium:
The joining of the secular and the sacred
By Dirk deVries
·Guest comment
I call it millennial hysteria. Have
you felt it? A general sort of
digging in - a desire to maintain
the status quo, -no matter
how dysfunctional it might be, a
yearning to turn back the cultural
clock to an earlier, safer time, a time
that may not, in fact, have ever really
existed except in television nostalgia
or wishful remembering. Entrenchment.
Fear. Doom-saying.
Millennial• hysteria finds expression
worldwide. We see it in the rise of
religious fundamentalism, Christian
in our country, and in other faiths
elsewhere in the world. People
frightened of change seek refuge in
easy, black-and-white _ answers, replacing
the mystery of God and the
evolving uncertainty of faith with
inflexible dogma ·· and absolutes,
finding reassurance in being told
what to believe and how to act. The
future may look unnervingly hazy,
culture and technology may spin out
of control around us, but our faith is
'outlined, conc;lensedi packaged and
memorizable. We interpret our holy
writings literally. We regard with
mistrust anyone outside our little faith
circle. We're the right ones with the
right knowledge and the right
behavior.
CLERGY,
From Page 3 ·
They're doing fine and are unaware
women are still struggling,"" Chang
said.
And while churches opened
themselves to W';)men clergy in recent
decades, no laws forbid them from
discriminating in their hiring.
Answering only to themselves,
many denominations have cut back
or eliminated staff whose job it was to
prod congregations to consider and
hire female candidates. This surrendered
ground to the informal ""oldboy
networks"" that have traditionally
been responsible for most clergy
placements, the study authors said.
Even when churches use
computerized employment networks
or forbid the exclusion of any ·
candidate, the reality is that many
1
churches stilllook for men to preach
to them, researchers said.
""You will have all these
liberal-speaking people on the church
governing boards who will say,
'Personally, I have no problem (with
a woman pastor) ... but what would
our older, wealthy patjshioners do?""'
Lummis said.
R. Douglas Brackenridge, a religion
professor at Trinity University in San
Antonio, Texas, said pulpit commit-
SECOND STONE
Such faith does feel secure, but also
sterile and void of the creative tension
of doubt and challenge, exploration
and questioning.
Millennial hysteria breaks out
politcally as well. In Germany, the
Nazi party gains supporters; in
America, legislators strive to undo
legislation which for decades has extended
Christ-like compassion to
society's outcasrs and the downtrodden.
Stamp out diversity. Lock the
doors. Clamp down. Keep out the
strangers.
· What is it that frightens us? What
fuels this desperation that turns us
inward, protecting, closing up and
pushing away? Change. At some
level we know that change is coming.
We are about to take another turn in
a predictable historical cycle. In humanity's
history, each major temporal
milestone, such as the tum of a century
and even more so a millennium,
· brings with it species-wide angst. We
preceive the year 2000 as more than
just the beginning of a new year; it's
the start of a new epoch, a new era.
And each era brings with it new
ways of understanding ourselves, our
relationship to the world, each other
and the divine.
This change is happening . For
example, in the book Sacred Eyes, Dr.
L. Robert Keck identifies major shifts
in humankind 's ""deep values,"" those
tees in the Presbyterian Church are
required to look at resumes from
women an<;! minority candidates, but
the rule does not have much effect.
'They take a look at the dossier and
throw it down - 'We considered it,""'
said Brackenridge, co-author of
Presbyterian Women in America: Two
Centuries of a Quest for Status.
He said the Hartford study backs
up earlier research.
'There still is a residual resistance
to women in the pastoral ministry,""
Brackenridge said. ""It's still there.""
c,f'fP,ozn tius' Puddle
values that underlie and support our
cultural structures, including institutions
like the church. Ke~k hypoth,
esizes that this shift in deep values
has been in the works for centuries,
some of them embodied in the
ministry of Jesus 2,000 years ago. But
the speed at which information and
technology continues to multiply
exponentially is forcing the change
quickly.
What might such changes entail?
For some with their eye on cultural
evolution, it's good news: we will see
a maturing of spirituality. The importance
of spirituality will increase.
Spirituality will be far more pervasive,
of recognized importance in
more areas of life. It' starting. Take a
look at contemporary physics; the
current big names in the field often
sound more like theologians than
scientists. Maybe they're both? Two
decades ago the medical community
scoffed at healing models that taught
that the mind was involved in
healing; that didn't fit the scientific
model. Now the medical community
trains it's people to understand the
mind-body connection and the power
of prayer and faith in healing. In
short, the world is coming to
recognize that God is, in fact, in and
through and with all things. The old
division between secular and sacred
crumbles.
We have a choice: dig in and get
left behind, or open up and embrace
our future with God. Either throw up
the battlements and retreat into ""the
CHRISTENING,
From Page 4
sexual relationships are to be reserved
for heterosexual · marriage ...
homosexual sex is wrong.""
A staternent from the Church of
England said it welcomed homosexuals
in permanent relationships as
members, and that that policy would
naturally extend to godparents.
way it was,"" or join with those called
by God to face the certainty of
uncertainty with courage, excitement
and openness. The church in the next
century may look little like the one
we know now. Do you want to be a
part of it? In her book Spiritual Fitness,
Dorothy Donnelly says, 'Threatened
and frightened people will protect all
kinds of things: possessions, reputations,
status, achievements. But
redeemed women and men will count
everything as folly except service ,of
the Lord.""
""Watch out; don't be fooled. Don't
be afraid when you hear of wars and
revolutions,"" Jesus told his nervous
listeners. They had good reason to
quake; their way of life was crumbling,
coming to an end. But Jesus
doesn't tell them to hold on to it; he
doesn't urge them to maintain the
status quo, religious or otherwise. He
agrees, ""It's going to · be · a bumpy
ride."" No easy, comforting answers
here. Instead he tells them, ""Sounds
like a great chance to tell the good
news!""
He says, ""I'll be with you.""
And that's good enough for me, Go
ahead, God, turn it all upside down.
What new things do you have to
teach us? What new ways to serve
you? worship you? experience you? I
don't know what you have in mind,
but take me along for the ride.
Excerpted from the Evangelicals Concernedn
ewsletter,T he ECable.
'The simple issue of sexuality
should not be relevant to whether
someone can become a godparent,""
said the statement.
Harris, while agreeing with that
policy, said that implementation was
difficult when the church encouraged
individual parishes to make their
own decisions.
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Your Turn. ~ o o O o O e O O O O O O O O O O O O • . • 8 O O O O • . • O O O O O O O O O O O O .• O O O O O O O O O O O O O . • 0 0 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O
Tualatin, Oregon
Letter to a homophobic
'university president
Ed note: This letter was written by a ·
Second Stone subscriber to Royce
Money, president of Abilene Christian
University, in response to an article in
the July/ August issue about Money firingplay
director Robert Neblett because
of his homosexuality.
Dear Mr. Money,
I lived in Texas for the first 28 years
of my life, and I still feel like a Texan
in many ways . I gradua ted wi th
honors from Baylor University in
1954. I am now a retired CPA.
I was disappointed to learn that
ACU has rescinded Robert Neblett's
·in vitation to direct 'The Merchant of
Venice"" this summer . And I respect-
MODERATOR,
From Page 13
cuss not running the pictures with
him. And I drove off,"" Ms. Carpenter
said . .
She chuckled .. ""We ran 'em that
·afternoon. We were not at war. The
· Air Force just didn't want to be embarrassed.""
· Ms. Carpenter also wants to
emphasize new church development
programs in the United States, an
·area the church has begun to re.
emphasize.
Referring to statistics that show
ma inline churches declining in membership
. while fundamental denominations
appear to -be booming, Ms.
Carpenter cites a difference in the
way membership is counted. •
""Mormons, Southern Baptists and
Catholics leave members on the rolls
forever,"" Ms. Carpenter said. 'They
have a deceivingly large count
because they include people who
have not been to church for 15 years.
;They count people who have been
baptized and are back for their
burials.
""Presbyterians push people out if
they are not active,"" she said. ''I don't
know if that's right. I think we should
be more encouraging.""
Ms. Carpenter has handled thorny
fully suggest that you are misi~c
formed when you describe homosexuality
as a ""choice of lifestyle.""
Homosexuality is a sexual orientation.
Homosexuality is an intrinsic
part of one's identity. Homosexuality
is an innate part of one's being.
Homosexuality is not a . chosen
lifestyle.
Consider this evidence:
A scientific study at the prestigious
Salk Institute found that ""the segment
of the brain that governs sexua l
behavior is half as large in homosexual
men as it is in hetero sexual
men"" (The Sacramento Bee, 9/9/91).
A scientific study at Northwestern
University ""provides some of the
strongest suggestions to date that
sex ual orientation is -determined · in
large part by genetic factors"" (Th e.
Oregonian, 12/17 / 91).
issues with the church's headquarte rs.
When the Rev . Benjamin Weir was
released from Lebanon in 1985 after
being held hostage by Islamic
terrorists, Ms. Carpenter arranged
and scheduled interviews.
She also met with the press when
the church issued a paper on homosexuality
and reaffirmed that the
church ·would not ordain Gays and
Lesbians as clergy.
But too often mainstream
newspapers and television programs
gloss over religious news. ''Religion is
Dig news. Most of our wars are tied to
religion. Terrorism is often tied to
religion,"" Ms. Carpenter said.
Ms. Carpenter returned to West
Texas and Big Spring because of the
people, she said. ''It's not the prettiest
place I've been, but I like the people,""
But Ms. Carpenter has neve:r left'
the Presbyterian church; her grandchildren
are fift)t generation members
of the faith . ""We are . a reformed
church. We are always changing, but
Jesus Christ is the he(ld of the
church,"" Ms. Carpenter said, speaking
of her faith.
""And I believe in prayer. I really
believe in prayer. It works,"" she said.
""Everyone was praying that Benjamin
Weir would be released, and he was .""·
SECOND STONE Newsjoumal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is puhlished every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0: Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1995 by Second Stone, a registered trademark.
SUBSCRIPTIONS. U.S.A. $17.00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add
$10.00 for postage. All payments U.S. currency only.
ADVERTISING, For display advertising infonnation call (504)891-7555 or write
to P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182 .
EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to
(Department title) Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Manuscripts to be returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed
envelope. Second Stone is otherwise not responsible for the return of any material.
SECOND STONE, a national . ecumenical Christian social justice news journal
with a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
SECOND S. T O N E GJ
A scientific study at UCLA School of i
Medicine ""found new anatomical difference
in the brain structure of
homosexual men and heterosexual '
men"" (The Oregonian, 8/1/92).
A scientific study at The National
Cancer Institutes Laboratory of Biochemistry
""makes the most compelling
case yet that homosexual orientation
is at least partly genetic"" (Time
Magazine, 7 /26/93).
Yes, the evidence from s cientific
stu dies is indeed compelling. But
those who do not trust scientific
st udies . should use th eir common
sense. There is no way in the world
that youngsters, ·just becoming aware
of their sexuality , would ""choose"" a
sexuality that carries with it such a
cruel stigma.
There is no way in the world that
teena gers wou ld ""choose"" to be the
target of the irrationa l hatred and
hostility that is so often directed at
Gays. And there is no way in the
world that they would ""choose"" to be
the focus of the vilification and the
condemnation that so often goes with
having a gay sexual orientation.
Certainly our common sense tells us
that teenagers would not ""choose"" a
sexual orientation that will very 1
likely result in their being rejected by:
their families, shunned and ridiculed ,
by their classmates, and condemned
by their churches.
The irony of all this is that the real
""choice"" here belongs to those who
choose to persecute Gays. They can
""choose"" to discontinue their persecution
any time they w ish.
Perhaps someday they will.
Sincerely,
Martin Matson
We welcome
your letters
and opinions
Write to Secone Stone. All letters must
be original and s!¥""ed by the writer.
Clearly indicate iJ your name is to be
withheld. We reserve the right to edit.
Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182, or
e-mail, secstone@aol.com or FAX to
(504)891-7555. ·w From the Editof W . . . . . . . . .
_ Everyone be Catholic for a day
By Jim Bailey
• • c: . . •
LEADERS OF DIGNITY /USA have designated Sunday, October 8th
""Solidarity Sunday"" and have called on Catholics and others who disagree
with Roman Catholic teaching on homosexuality to join in a visible protest on
that day. October 8th coincides with a planned papal visit to Baltimore.
Sometimes when I gather with other gay and lesbian Christians, we start
. trading war stories on how tough it was to grow up in, come out in, get
thrown out of, and so forth, the denomination our parents brought us up in.
As a former Southern :Baptist, I used to think I had the toughest stoi:y - or was
at least tied with Assembly of God folks.
I believe gay and lesbian Christians who have the toughest stories are
Roman Catholics. The Catholic Church rejects and condemns its gay and
lesbian members more viciously than other denominations - yet gay and
lesbian people who are Roman Catholic are the least likely to put aside the
""one true church""_in favor of a more accepting faith environment.
I have a Catholic friend who is in a loving, faithful and committed
relationship. He goes to church and confesses the sin of this relationship.
This week I learned that a friend and fellow publisher, a talented musician
who has provided his services to a Catholic church for many years, has been
fired by the new priest, who thought having a gay man on staff would give
the parishioners the wrong idea. Very sad. ·
In my denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Amerka, and in
the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Church of Christ,
and other denominations, there are fighters for equality and justice who have
stayed in the church because they can count their small successes. As for our
Roman Catholic gay brothers and lesbian sisters, they fight a battle without
the benefit of those small victories. They are a remarkable witness to their
church hierarchy.
So on Sunday, Qctober 8th, which happens to be gay pride weekend here in
New Orleans, I'll be Roman for a day and join my gay and lesbian Catholic
friends as they tell their church, ''We're still here and we're not going away.""
· If you would like to participate in Solidarity Sunday, · contact your local
Dignity ci,,pt., o, raJI tho Mli"""""" offioo ~;861-0017.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 9 9 5
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SECOND ST O N E
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contact CCL-SS, P.O. Box 436, Planetarium
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INDEPE NDENT CATHOLIC religiou s order.
Men/women, lay/clerical, gay/ non-gay.
Optional ce libac y, non-residential, ecumenical.
O rdin ation possible. Father Abbot,
O rder of St. John the Divine, 166 Jay St.,
Albany, NY 12210. 10/95
GAY PRINCIPIANS GROUP - Gay , Bi, Les-
. bian and Straight/Suppo rt i ve Alumni of
Principia Co llege (Elsa h, IL) and Upper
Schools (St. Louis) Contact: David White
#124, 2900 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Washington
, DC 20008-1404, 202-387-7250,
E-mail Mrblanc@aol.com. 12/ 95
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Members of Dignity/USA and others participate in a procession and prayer
vigil on the eve of the pope's visit to New York. About 100 people turned
out for the event. Photo: Genevieve Hafner
Living a lie: [lliJ Burden Of A
Gays in Secret: Former
opposite-sex 15 Southern Sapmarriage
. tis! leader tells
· his story
ISSUE #43 I
THE POPE'S. VISIT Add1t1onal stories pages 4 & 5
Gay Catholics march in peaceful
opposition to pope's views
GAY AND LESBIAN Catholics were
visible in protests in New York and
Baltimore during Pope John ~au! H's
visit to those cities.
About 100 gay and lesbian Catholics
turned out for a prayer vigil and
a candlelight procession through
Greenwich Village on the eve of the
pope's visit to the metropolitan area.
The march was organized by
Dignity /USA. Brendan Fay , who
helped organize the event, said its
purpose was to provide solidarity to
participants, who feel shunned by the
church.
_ But it was the gay rights .group
ACT-UP who staged the most dramatic
protest during the pope's visit
to New York.
Two men emerged onto a ledge on
the sixth floor of Saks Fifth Avenue,
across from St. Patrick 's Cathedral,
and unfurled a three-story-high banner
that read: ""Condoms Save Lives.""
A crowd that had gathered as the
pope recited the rosary at the
cathedral booed. A child said ""What's
that, Dad?"" and the man responded,
'Those are bad people.""
Police officers came out, dragged
the protesters inside and pulled the
banner up to cheers from the crowd.
Four others also were arrested . All
were charged with criminal trespass
and reckless endangerm ent.
About .SOD gay <!nd ab.ortion rights
supporters marched from 42nd Street
to 59th .Street at Columbus Circle to
hear Gloria Steinem, the editor of Ms.
SEE MARCH, Page 4
Heresy trial of retired Episcopal
bishop set for January
FORMER IOWA EPISCOPAL Bishop
Walter Righter, charged with heresy
for ordaining a gay man, faces a
church trial early next year.
The trial is set for Jan. 3-5, 1996, at
the Diocese of Chicago office, according
to Bishop Edward Jones of
Indianapolis. Jones is president of the
nine-bishop Court for the Trial of a
Bishop.
In January, 10 conservative bishops
. charged Righter with violating a
canon law by ""teaching a doctrine
contrary · to that held by the church.""
The charge was put to a vote by the
nation's bishops, and it received the
25 percent backing needed to press a
trial.
Righter, 71, was Iowa's bishop from
1972-88. After he retired, he moved to
New Jersey, where he served as an
assistant to Newark Bishop John
Spong. In 1990, Righter ordained
Barry Stopfel, a gay man, as a
deacon.
Spong later ordained Stopfel to the
priesthood . Stopfel now serves as
senior pastor of a parish in the diocese
of Newark. He lives with his partner -
a United Church of Christ minister -
in church housing. ,
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'The church has been ordaining
homosexual people for hundreds of
years secretly,"" Righter, who now
lives in Alstead, N .H., has said.
""What we've done in the last 25 years
is getting around to doing it openly,
and that aggravates a lot of people .""
P .0.Box 8340
New Orleans, LA 70182
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If the church court finds against
Righter, sanctions range from a scolding
to banishment from the priesthood.
If convicted, two-thirds of the
entire House of Bishops must agree
with the decision to bring punishment
.
Calendar w . ....... ...............
Announcements in this section are provided free of charge as a service tp
Christian organizations. To have an event listed, send a PUE~ to
Second Stone, P.O. Box 8340, New Orleans, IA 70182, FAX to (504)891-7555
or e-mail to secstone@aol.com.
Ghost Ranch gathering
NOVEMBER 2-5, Led by Lisa Bove, former HIV/AIDS minister at West
Hollywood Presbyterian Church, and Chris Glaser, author of The Word Is Out:
The Bible Reclaimed for Lesbians and Gay Men. Registration, $100, room and
board, $120. For information, contact Ghost Ranch, HC 77, Box 11, Abiquiu ,
NM 87510-9601, (505)685-4333, FAX (505)685-4519.
Call to Action National Conference
NOVEMBER 8-10, The Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago is the setting for
Call to Action's national event. ""We Are The Church: What If We Meant What
We Said?"" is the theme. Cosponsors include Dignity/USA, New Ways
Ministry, Catholics Speak Out, Women's Ordination Conference, and others.
The CTA annual conference is evolving into a national congress of persons,
communities and organizations workin9 to ""reinvent the church."" For infomation
on this conference contact Call to Action, 4419 N. Kedzie: Chicago, IL 60625,
(312)604-0400, FAX (312)6044719.
Christian Responses to Homosexuality
NOVEMBER 10-12, Three days of dialogue with people from across the
philosophical and theological spectrum, sponsored by the Rocky Mountain
Conference of the United Methodist Church. The cost of this conference, which
will be held in Denver, is $125. For information contact Elizabeth Pruett, Box
2922, Glenwood Springs, CO 81602-0292, (970)945-7293
London's Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement retreat
NOVEMBER 10-12, Rev. Janet-Webber, URC minister, South Wales, and
Rev. Bruce Kinsey, chaplain, Downing College, Cambrid~e, will facilitate a
retreat at the Royal Foundation of St. Katherine in London. 'God Knows Who I
Am: Reflection on Psalm 139"" is the theme. For information contact the Lesbian
and Gay Christian Movement, Oxford House, Derbyshire St., London E2
6HG, 0171-739-1249. .
St. Camillus AIDS Ministry retreats
NOVEMBER 10-12, ""Deeper Into The Mystery: Living and Dying With Hope"", .
a retreat offered to people who have participated in a previous ""Embracing
the Mystery"" retreat. DECEMBER29-31, ""Embracing the Mystery: AIDS and
the Spiritual Life"", a retreat experience that has been designed to help
participants reframe negative experiences of livin!j with HIV. Guided
meditation, re-framing of emotional resistance, group sharing, trance journeying,
body work, music and ritual are woven into holistic exploration of tools for
healing which participants can integrate into their daily lives. fllo fee, but
enrollment is limited. For information call (414)481-3696.
Jewish Community Center avoids
conflict with gay group
DENVER (AP) - Orthodox Jews
agreed to allow a gay group to participate
in a major festival in mid-September,
narrowly avoiding a boycott
of the event.
After three days of negotiation,
Tikvat Shalom, formerly a congregation
whose name means ""Hope of
Peace,"" was allowed to participate in
the Jewish Community Festival.
The festival was part of the events
surrounding the rededication of the
newly remodeled Jewish Community
Center in Denver .
Many involved in the negotiations
would not comment, including Rabbi
Steven Foster of Temple Emanuel. He
is a longtime supporter of gay rights.
Rabbi Stanley Wagner, a Traditional/
Orthodox rabbi, said: 'The
Jewish community is always unhappy
about issues that divide us. I am
delighted we found a way to be
inclusive rather than exclusive.""
He said if his congregation had
staged a boycott, it would have been
only over the event and not a
SECOND STONE
Tikvat Shalom has been at the
center of other controversies in recent
years.
Th e Intermountain fewish News
never listed Tikvat Shalom's r eligious
services with those of other con-gregations
.
Disputes have erupted for the past
three years over wheth er Tikvat
Shalom could be listed as a participant
in the annual Holocaust A w areness
Week events.
And last year, three Orthodox
rabbis left the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical
Society over several issues,
including the support of gay rights .
Tikvat Shalom never was allowed to
belong to the association.
""We're a political pawn in this
thing ,"" said a member of Tikvat, who
didn't want his name used. ""Many in
the traditional community would be
thrilled if we didn't exist, but we're
not running away. I wouldn't want
them to think they won. "" -
THE NATIONAL ECUMENICAL CHRISTIAN
NEWSJOURNAL FOR LESBIANS, GAYS AND BISEXUALS
Contents
jj-ri CALENDAR w Opportunities for connectedness
[]-] Inspired by Righter trial, Episcopal priest
emerges from closet 3_ Seventh-day Adventists ordain first female clergy
[-
Pope's meeting with Robertson
angers gay Catholics _li_J Dignity/USA celebrates 25th anniversary
[]
7 6 J Baptists dump gay-affirming church
_ Be more open about AIDS, says Baptist minister
187 ""Odd couple"" forms friendship
through HIV program
AIDS still considerl3d taboo subject
L_ -·-- i.n black community 110 I Na~ional AIDS Memorial marks 10th anniversary
Dying woman wants to be remembered
L:' __ J for her poetry
i1-=t7 Discrimination in Zimbabwe - site of 1998 l!!J World Council of Churches assembly ·
' 12
1
, Episcopal bishop explains why he supports L heresy trial; Nation's second female
_ ~ bishop elected
r------i . .
I 13 ! LIVING A LIE: Outlook painfu l, for Gays in ! 11 I opposite-sex marriage; Mormon bishop's marriage l.. __ ~ was doomed from the start
1
11--5;] ~u~~No~ a Secret: Baptist leader finds God's
suffering in AIDS victiims
l1a7 UFMCC elder writes about Our Tribe; reviewed L!!!_J by Dr. Robert Goss
[-17] NOTEWORTHY
:-18--I COMMENTARY
j Refuse to lose: gay and lesbian Christians team up!
l 19 I LETTERS/FROM THE EDITOR
[2_0] CLASSIFIEDS
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 19 9 5
News ........................................................................
Inspired by bishop, Episcopal priest emerges from closet
PATERSON, N.J. (AP) - To show her
solidarity with other Gays and Lesbians
in the Episcopal Church, the
rector of an inner-city Episcopalian
congregation in Paterson has an.
nounced to her parishioners that she
is gay .
The Rev. Tracey Lind, rector of St.
1990 when· he knowingly appointed
the Rev. Barry L. Stopfel, now rector
of St. George's Episcopal Church in
Maplewood. Bishop Righter and
Stopfel are friends of the Rev. Lind.
The 12-member vestry of the
church supported Lind's decision. She
said it would not be a surprise for
most people in the congregation,
which she has led since 1989.
""We shouldn't have to talk -about
our sexuality, but church and society
in general are forcing our hand,"" she
said.
""It's employers firing you when
they find out you're gay, landlords
evicting you because you're gay,
churches _saying they don't want you
as a mm1ster .. There are· real people
behind these issues. We are not
stereotypes and statistics.""
""If they're going to pick us off, one
by one, then I'm going to stand up for
myself,"" she said.
The Rt. Rev. -John S. Spong, the
Bishop of Newark, a proponent of gay
rights whose diocese includes
Paterson, said he backs Lind's action.
SEE CLOSET, Page.19
Paul's Episcopal -Church, made the
announcement in a letter mailed
to her 450-member congregation,
the North Jersey Herald & News
reported .
""I've never want ed to talk about my
sexuality from the pulpit,"" she wrote.
""I am doing this because I cannot
watch anybody be made into a scapegoat
because they are gay or lesbfan.""
Group calls for ouster of lesbian
Her decision to go public, she said,
was prompted by the upcoming ecclesiastical
trial of the former assistant
bishop of the Newark Diocese, who
was charged by 76 retired and active
bishops with heresy, for knowingly
ordaining a practicing homosexual.
The action against the Rt. Rev.
Walter C. Righter, retired assistant
bishop of the Newark Diocese, is
apparently the second heresy trial in
the Episcopal church's history. The
first was in Arkansas in 1924 against
a retired bishop who preached communism.
The bishops have accused Righter
of violating his ordination vows in
THE BOARD OF directors of Good
News, an evangelical group within
the United Methodist Church, has
.called for the ouster of a clergy woman
who recently revealed publicly
that she is a lesbian.
A statement in the September/
October issue of Good News magazine
declared that the Rev. Jeanne Audrey
Powers, an executive with the United
Methodist Commission on Christian
Unity and Interreligious Concerns, is
""using her position to advocate the
acceptance of homosexuality,"" in
violation of the denomination's Book of
Discipline.
The Good News advisory board
called upon the ""supervisory personnel""
of the commission to reprimand
or remove Powers. It also said that
the Minnesota Annual Conference,
Seventh-day Adventist church
ordains first .female clergy
A SEVENTH-DAY Adventist Church
in Takoma Park, Maryland, has
ordained the first female clergy in the
history of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church. The ordination of three women
took place Sept. 23, in the Sligo
Seventh-day Adventist Church, the
second largest Seventh-day Adventist
congregation in the United States.
The senior pastor of the Sligo Seventh-
day Adventist Church officiated,
along with the president of Columbia
Union College, other ordained members
of the pastoral staff, and ordained
Seventh-day Adventist ministers
from across the United States.
The women who were ordained are
Kendra Haloviak, an assistant professor
of religion at Columbia Union
College, Norma Osborn, an associate
pastor of Sligo Church, and Penny
Shell, the director of pastoral services
at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital.
The ordination service was well
attended and there was a ""good feeling""
among participants, according to
Marianne Scriven of the Sligo Church.
""Many people said it was the high
point of their spiritual experience and
the best worship service they had
ever attended,"" said Scriven. ""We
stepped out in faith and did what we
SECOND S T O N E
believe was the right thing."" Church
leaders probably won't consider the
ordinations official, Scriven said
The Sligo Church and visiting
ordained ministers who participated
in the ordination service were hoping
that regional jurisdictions of the Seventh-
day Adventist denomination
would subsequently issue the ordinands
the same credentials issued to
men who are ordained to the gospel
ministry but at press time that had
not taken place.
Researcher seeks
stories on summer
camp harassment
Bob Brower, a retired school administrator,
is researching the current and
past experiences of children or adults
who have been employed in or who
have attended a summer camp and
have been harassed, teas ed or
discriminated against because of
sexual orientation issues. Brower
hopes that his research will provide
new information about homophobic
prejudice in camps to members of the
camping profession . Bro,;ver may be
contacted by writing to 98 W. Hintz
Rd., Wheeling, IL 60090 . •
where Powers is a member, has a ""supervisory
responsiblity"" to respond .
""If the Rev. Powers' public 'act of
resistance to false teachings' goes
without appropriate, albeit compassionate,
accountability, it will cause
more and more United Methodists to
wonder whether their church has the
will to enforce its own disciplinary
standards,"" the board stated.
lh a written response to the Good
News board of directors, Bishop
William Boyd Grove, commission
president, and the Rev. Bruce Robbins,
general secretary, commended
Powers for her courage.
'This disclosure by her, a respected
ecumenist whose love for Christ and
the church is evident to so many,
should help us to remember that our
discussions about this church-dividing
issue are always about human
beings, our sisters and brothers, our
daughters and sons,"" they said.
Grove and Robbins disagreed that
the commission is in violation of the
discipline which prohibits the use of
United Methodist funds to promote
acceptance of homosexuality. Her
personal statement does not represent
the commission, they explained, and
as a church employee she is not required
to ""forfeit her right to disagree
with church teaching."" -Cruise
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and hang about 8 in ches down . nol lor use with a lbs Iha! have hoods 01 ·,
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER l 9 9 5
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News ...... .... e • e e e • e • e e e e e • e e • e C Q
Poll: Most American Catholics
disagree with pope's doctrine
N EW YORK (AP) - Most Rom an
Catholics in the United States approve
of the way Pope John Paul II is leading
the church but strongly disagr ee
with many of his key t eachings,
according to thr ee polls released Sept
30.
The polls are the latest to measur e
how sharply U .S. Catholics split with
papal doctrine on issu es such as
divorce, abortion and contraception.
They were reported by U.S. News
& World Report, Time mag azi ne and
CNN, and CBS and The New York
Times prior to th e pope's five-day visit
to the United Stales.
The Time-CNN poll found that 83
percent of American Catholics are satisfied
with the pope's leadership, but
only 15 percent believe they should
always obey his tea chings on such
moral issues as birth control and
abortion. Seventy-nine percent b e-
MARCH,
From Pa&e 1
magazine, and others speak.
In Baltimore, Dignity /USA president
Marianne Duddy was one of
about 60 people who gathered on the
eve of the pope 's visit to peacefully
oppo se some of the church 's most
controversial stances. Duddy, 34, was
once head of her college's Catholic
organization but was thrown out of
the group when a campus priest
learned s he was a lesbian.
""We'd like to talk with the pop e,""
Ms. Duddy said, as activists congregated
at du sk across from th e
Basilica of the Assumption. ""We'd say
we have great beli e f in the
fundamental things the church stands
for and we 'd like to work to make it a
reality.""
The pope's stand against homosexuality,
abortion , divorce, women
in the church and married priests
have cause .d pain and feelings of
isolation for many Catholics, Ms.
Duddy said.
""I still hear stories about people
being denied communion because
they 're gay or someone struggling
with homosexuality being told in
confession that he's committed a sin
worse than murder,"" Ms. Duddy said.
The group held a brief service,
praying for acceptance of Gays and
the end of gay-bashing.
They then formed a procession and
walked silently for several blocks,
past papal banners, balloons and
orange plastic barricades lining
downtown for the pontiffs · parad e.
They carried flickering candles and
ended their march with mor e
prayers.
Fred Ruof, a former priest, was one
lieve Catholics can make up their
own minds.
U.S. News & World Report found a
similar split, w ith two-thirds of Catholics
say ing abor tion is not mor ally
wrong in every case and three ou I of
fou r saying the same about divorce
and contraception.
In the CBS-Times poll, 73 percent
said knowing that th e pope had taken
a position on a social or moral issue
wo uld mak e no difference to them.
Seventy-six percent said they think
someone who does no t believe in the
authority of the pope can still be a
good Catholic , while respondents
were split over wheth er the church is
in touch with the needs of Catholics,
the CBS-Times poll said.
Catholics are also split on homosexuality,
with 50 percent agre eing
SEE DOCTRINE, Next Page
of the march ers. Still a devout Cath olic,
he left the priesthood in 1966
after six years to marry.
He attend ed the march to support
th e gay and lesbian community and
join the chorus of voices asking the
Catholic church to improve dialogue
with its members.
'The church is involved with a
titanic battle right now between tens
of millions who want a centralized,
authoritarian church, and hundreds of
millions . who want a more open,
Democratic church,"" Ruof said.
Ruof said that the Catholic church -
with its fast dwindling population of
pr iests - needs to be more open to
change for the sake of preserving the
church.
To Jim Caskey , president of
Dignity's Baltimore chapter, the
pope's visit was nothing more than a
reminder of what he believes is the
d1Urch's haughtiness.
'To me it's sorrowful that a man
with such great intelligence and
demonstrated personal holiness is not
more open to the spirit and relating lo
members of the church,"" Caskey said.
Part of the protest mission was
outreach, according to Caskey. ""We're
trying to reach out to the individuals
in the pews who are having tremendous
guilt feelings in relating to
their long term Catholic upbringing
and the realities of their own lives,""
he said . ""While there is little hope of
changing the teaching s of John Paul
and the other current bishops, our
witness can help remind their
successors of the need for change.""
Contributors to this story: Samuel
Maull; Associated Press writer, Mary
Boyle, Associated Press writer, James R.
Moody, The Baltimore Alternative
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5
News ••••• 0 • •• • ••• • • • • • •••• • ••• • • • •• ••• •• • • • •• •••• •• ••• • ••••• •• •• • •• • ••••••••
Gay Catholics irate
Pope meets with Pat Robertson, other non-Catholics
DURING HIS VISIT to New York,
Pope John Paul II brought together
officials of the nation's Christian right
and left and met with Muslim
leaders. ·
Gay Catholics were ""outraged"" at
the pope meeting with fundamentalist
preacher and former presidential
candidate Pat Robertson, according to
Marianne Duddy, president of
Dignity /USA. Robertson also heads
the Christian Coalition, a right-wing
group active in grassroots politics.
Dignity members were angered that
the Pope, who they say purports to
speak for all Roman Catholics
throughout the world, would meet
with a top representative of a
movement committed to limiting the
rights of gay and lesbian people, and
which often uses a particularly vile
form of anti-gay rhetoric in fundraising
appeals.
""For 25 years, gay people who
Louganis says
Catholic school
policy is wrong
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -
Former Olympic diver Greg
Louganis has criticized Notre
Dame for the university's refusal
to recognize a campus gay
and lesbian group.
Earlier this year, the Catholic
university's administration refused
to recognize the group,
touching off a campus controversy.
In an interview with the
South Bend Tribune before a
campus speech Sept. 19,
Louganis said the Notre Dame
policy was wrong.
'Tm not political, but (Notre
Dame's policy) is a very n;irrow-
minded view,"" Louganis
said. He was a double-gold
medalist in the 1984 and 1988
Olympics and announced in
February he has AIDS. ""It's as if
they're saying we don't exist.
They may not agree or understand,
but we exist.""
Notre Dame officials would
not comment.
Officials at the scbbol have
repeatedly refused ~o recognize
the group. In January, the
university barred a gay and
lesbian student group from
meeting on campus.
A Notre Dame spokesman
said at the time that if the university
worked with the group,
it would appear it was sanctioning
a lifestyle the church
opposes.
SECOND STONE
believe strongly in the fundamental
teachings of the Catholic Ch'urch have
sought dialogue with Church officials
at all levels, from local bishops to the
Pope himself,"" said Duddy. ""Most of
these efforts have been summarily
rebuffed. For the Pope to instead
meet with the founder of the Christian
Coalition is a real slap in the face'.'
The Rev. Joan Campbell, secretary
general of the National Council of
Churches, said it was the first time
that she'd met Pat Robertson, head of
the Christian Broadcasting Network,
even though the two often disagree
vehemently in print.
'""Now that rve met you, I'll have
more trouble saying those things,""
Campbell quoted Robertson as saying
to her.
Cardinal John O'Connor arranged
the evening meeting, which included
five Muslim leaders and 27 representatives
of Episcopal, Eastern Orthodox
and Protestant churches. The group
spent hours together during the
pope's public services, then had a
half-hour with John Paul at
O'Connor's residence. The pope spoke
with each of them individually for a
minute or two.
He later held a separate meeting
with Jewish leaders.
Campbell said the pope told her the
mingling of the faiths was ""intention-
! "" a.
In a telephone interview with The
Associat ed Press, Robertson said he
told the pope: ""l thought the
American people loved him, which is
an understatement.""
He added: ""He's got great humility
and spirituality; that's what people
admire about him.""'
Several of the older members of the
clergy marveled at how communication
between the Roman Catholic
Church and other faiths had increased
in recent years.
'There's been a transformation of
DOCTRINE,
Froin Previous Page
with the church's position that it's
morally wrong and 49 percent disagreeing,
U.S. News & World Report
said .
The magazine's poll also found
overwhelming support among Catholics
for the ordination of women and
allowing priests to marry, both contrary
.to church policy.
Still, more than four in five
Catholics in all three polls gave high
leadership ratings to the pope, as well
relationships,"" Methodist Bishop
James Mathews said. In the old days,
he said, ""we were more or less not
supposed to like Roman Catholics and
they weren't supposed to like us
either.""
Campbell, the only woman at the
meeting, said she did ""'yearn for the
day"" when women would play a
larger role in the Roman Catholic
Church. But she said she felt the pope
respected her, and that the Vatican
had begun to expand - albeit slightly
- the roles women may play in the
church.
-Associated Press and other reports
as to their bishops and parish priests.
For U.S. News, Market Facts polled
1,000 people, including 493 Catholics,
on Sept. 23-24. Results have a margin
of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5
percentage points.
For Time and CNN, Yankelovich
Partners surveyed 500 Catholics on
Sept. 27-28. Sampling error is plus or
minus 4.4 percentage points.
CBS and the Times polled 1,536
people Sept. 18-22, including 423
Catholics, for whom the sampling
error is plus or minus 5 percentage
points.
Dignity/USA celebrates 25th anniversary
DIGNITY I USA, the nation's largest
group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered Catholics, celebrated
its 25th anniversary at its recent
biennial convention in Los Angeles.
The organization has recently took
several major steps intended to further
its goal of promoting equality for
all individuals, regardless of sexual
orientation, within both the Catholic
Church and society. In addition to
calling for a ""Solidarity Sunday"" in
October and the filing of a friend-ofthe-
court brief with the U.S. Supreme
Court in regard to Colorado's Amendment
2 case, Dignity/USA expressed
its support of the ""'Marriage Resolution""
that has been developed by the
Lambda Legal Defense and Education
Fund in response to the pending
same-sex marriage cases in Hawaii.
Dignity/USA secretary Ben Boerkoel
said t.hat Dignity was one of the first
groups approached by Lambda for
support of the marriage resolution,
because Dignity is perceived to have
a greal deal of influence within the
broader gay and lesbian community.
In other convention highlights,
Dignity addressed the issue of women's
ordination, and set up a task
force to examine the role of ministry -
by both ordained clergy and lay
people within Dignity . The organization
reaffirmed its support for the
ordination of women by the Roman
Catholic Church, and called for a
renewal of priestly ministry throughout
the Church. A resolution passed
by delegates to the convention ""finds
that the denial of priestly ministry to
women has no compelling moral and
theological justification, and therefore
is a grave injustice to both men and
women."" Furthermore, the resolution
""finds that the present Church structure
for selecting, educating and
administering the priesthood of the
Church often fails to serve the needs
of the people of God, or the needs of
those who dedicate themselves to
lives of service to the people of God.""
J"" ''., :·, ~
Polish premiere of ""Priest"" prompts:,nvestlgstiori
\'V~SAW, ~ol~d (APk Witn cm.eJl:la Kul~11)ndp~y~d :to 'proheavy
secunty and praymg.• -' test as theJtlm -was &emirscreened.
protesters outside, the British film . · They said the inovie_propagates ·
""Prie_st"" ab?ut a ga)'. clei;gy~_an pornography andJ-iurts ~!l feelliigs •'
had ' its Polish premJere10 mJd- of<;athC>lics, who .compnse morll · , .
September. . . · · · · than 90 percent of Poland's pop.ula-
Th!l Warsawprosecutor's office tion . .-. . : . • .
op~ned an investigation after ·· . The movie by llie British director
complaints by thousands of Catho- ·Antonia Bird tells,of a Catholic gay
lies . · . . priest c,orifrpnted'with moral ·ru1em- .
Expert& will view the movie and ' mas in a poorLiverpool p_arish.
determine whether the complaints The film is to be shown in nine
that ii insults religion are justified. major cities in Poland.
If yes, the prosecutor may confiscate Though it iru.pired critical discusthe
prints and ban the movie. sion in many European countries, it
Some 200 people, mostly elderly was screened without scanda)s, even
women with crucifixes and rosaries, in Catholic Italy.
picketed in front of the downtown
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5
News
Gay-affirming Baptist church disfellowshipped
THE BOARD OF the American Baptist
Churches of Ohio has made Ohio
the first region in the history of the
denomination to disfellowship a local
church. This they did because the
First Baptist Church of Granville, a
charter member of ABC Ohio, and
his torically one of its leading
churches, extends its ministries tolesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgendered
people without requiring them
to become straight.
At its regular meeting on September
21, the Board of Regional Ministries
""acknowledged"" the action,
taken in June by the Columbus Baptist
Association, to disfellowship the
Granville Church .
'Today the Baptists of Ohio added
their supreme insult to the general
oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgendered . people everywhere,""
said Dr. George Williamson,
Senior Pastor of First Baptist,
Granville. ""The insult was compounded
by the fact that Ohio Baptist
leadership violated the biblical
mandate to justice and the most
sacred principles of Baptist tradition
in order to do it.""
Requests by the church that their
representatives be allowed to attend
the Regional Ministries meeting were
denied by the Executive Committee.
The First Baptist Board therefore
submitted in writing its request that
the CBA action be overturned. This
they supported with eight reasons.
Their reasons, according to Sandy
Ellinger and Karen Huff, lay leaders
of the church and signatories to the
document, are ""consistent with the
national, regional and association constitutions,
with Baptist traditions, and
with scripture.""
ABC Ohio . leaders were asked if
any lesbian or gay Baptists, the ones
specifically being condemned in the
discussion, were invited to be present
to speak for themselves. None were.
The documents submitted by the
church quoted Baptist theologian E.Y.
Mullins, who wrote, 'The right of
private judgement in religion is a
right at the heart of Christian truth.
A Baptist should be the last person in
the world to question the right of
others to the full and free exercise of
their private judgement in religion.""
Dr. William Keucher, former moderator
at Granville and past president
of ABCUSA, criticized the action
because ""it seeks a demand for
theological conformity on one specific
Recent finding by top biblical scholars
offer a radical new view on
the Bible and homosexuali ty.
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explains in a clear fashion
fascinating new insights.
11
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something quite different on this sub~
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.L, William Countryman,
Author of Dirt, Greed and Sex
.. the most thoughtful, lucid and accessible
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issues .. eminently useful... 11
-James B. Nelson,
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SECOND STONE -
theological issue which was not part
of the original charter's membership
requirements."" Dr. Keucher, who has
written several books on Baptist
traditions, argued ""it was the dissenting
views of Baptists against
religious majorities which ultimately
led to our nation's guarantees for
religious diversity and freedom.""
According to Ellinger and Huff the
church, which has grown in attendance
and membership since being
disfellowshipped by the CBA, has a
176 year history of just this sort of
dissenting action. In the 1830's the
church started in its building the first
Ohio Baptist College and a decade
later the first college for women at a
time when most Baptists thought
""such things to be of the devil."" The
church, in violation of federal law and
local mores, was a station on the
Underground Railroad. The church
has sent out over 300 missionaries,
more than any other Ohio and nearly
any American church, and began
doing so when most Baptists believed
that ""Christians had no place in
'heathen' lands."" The church's current
active ministry to the rights and
spirituality of women , always controversial
among Baptists, began in
the 1860's.
""This church has consistently
worked for justice and against war,
always against the tide of denominational
and public opinion. In the
past 15 years the church ordained
more people than any church in Ohio
and more women than any in the
denomination,"" according to Dr. Lyn
Robertson of Denison University.
""Obviously,"" insisted Rev. Gail
Adams, Associate Pastor, ""the church
will continue to be a place where the
gay /lesbian community will have a
home.""
""Our ministries are not remarkable,""
Dr. Williamson said. 'They
are certainly not heroic. For followers
of Jesus Christ, they are simply the
obvious thing to do."" He added, 'The
Christian spirit which persecutes the
gay /lesbian community is the same
as that which perpetrated the crusades
on the Arab world, which outlawed
Copernicus, Galileo, Bacon and
Darwin, which justified the enslavement
and segregation of African
Americans, which kept silence during
the Holocaust and silenced women as
spokespeople for God. As it always
was, this cruel spirit is still in error.""
Williamson insisted, ""If they disfellowship
us from the region, from the
national denomination, from the
ecumenical community, and from the
world Christian family, we are not
disfellowshipped from God.""
Baptist minister : Church needs
more open attitude toward Al DS
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - the Bible, a number of Christians feel
Many Christians are neglecting their no obligation to be compassionate
rel igion by turning a deaf ear to because if you lay down with dogs,
AIDS patients, a Baptist minister told you get up with fleas,"" Pierce said.
a conference audience here. 'The issue facing our churches is:
The Rev. Juliette Pierce, whose AIDS is here, and there are people in
minister husband died of the disease, need. Are you going to help or not?""
said fear and misunderstandings are The two-day conference was
tying the hands of the church. sponsored by Faith, Hope and Love
""Fear has a serious impact on the Community Services, a local, nonprofchurch;
it paralyzes people and keeps it nurse-managed outpatient program
the church from being what God for people with HIV, the virus that
created it to be - a place of uncon- causes AIDS. The conference for naditional
love. Fear binds the hands , tional church and.lay leaders explores
feet and hearts,"" Pierce told about 40 how churches can overcome fears and
pa rticipants at the second annual lend a hand.
Christian Conference on AIDS. Locally, at least 10 churches have
Pierce recalled how a hospital had members who are HIV infected,
work er asked her husband, Ralph, and at least two pastors' families have
how he contracted AIDS. Her hus- been affected by AIDS since 1986,
band replied: ""Is the treatment any said Christie Hinds, who founded
different? Is the dosage of AZ!' less if Faith, Hope and Love.
I got it one way or another?"" Jerry Price, a graphic artist at Focus
Many people, including Christians, on the Family, said he will use the
continue to base their compassion for seminar information to help his
AIDS patients on how the disease was church establish an AIDS policy and
contracted, Pierce said. speak to youth groups around the city
And because AIDS initially was about AIDS prevention.
dubbed ""the gay disease,"" churches ""When the church in America
tended to ignore, condemn or ostra- should have been reaching out to
cize AIDS patients and their families. those sick with AIDS, regardless of
""If a person got AIDS through a sin, they haven't,"" Price said ""But
behavior someone doesn't approve of there's hope, and we as Christians
or doesn't feel is in accordance with need· to keep trying.""
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5
News-~ ............................. .. • ........................................ .
Coroner's condemnation of Gays sparks recall movement
SPOKANE, Wash. - Coroner Dexter
Amend stirred up a hornet's nest this
summer when he used the slaying of
a 9-year-old girl as an opportunity to
disparage gay people.
Amend categorized Gays as
orgasmic maniacs, and stated that all
Gays should be ""put down."" When
asked what he meant by ""put down""
he reluctantly admiUed he should
have said ""condemned.""
His public rantings about ""sodomites""
spurred the formation of a recall
movement. The governor's office has
asked the state licensing board to
determine whether Amend's conduct
was unprofessional.
And several bereaved families
have come forward with complaints
about the coroner's insensitivity, suggesting
Spokane County can be a
lousy place to lose a loved one.
""I think the man's insane. I think he
ought to be committed for psychiatric
evaluation,"" said the Rev. Charles
Wood, an Episcopal priest and a
member of Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays.
""Dexter Amend makes it very
embarrassing to live here.""
Amend, 76, a retired urologist,
declined to be interviewed . He did
not return telephone calls to his office
and his home.
The controversy centers on
Amend's remarks about the June
slaying of Rachel Carver. Her uncle,
Jason Wickenhagen, has pleaded
innocent to aggravated first-degree
murder in her death.
In August interviews with
KXLY-TV and The Spokesman-Review,
Amend said the child had been
anally vi.olated for years before her
death.
He blamed homosexuals for ruining
the girl's life.
Polish church
invades politics
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH has
become closely involved in
Poland's new consititution,
reported The New York Times.
In the latest developments, the
church demanded protections
for fetuses and a ban on gay
teachers.
The general secretary of the
Bishops Conference, Tadeusz
Pieronek, has objected to draft
wording that would prohibit
discrimination against Gays.
''Does it mean we will legalize
gay and lesbian marriages
and th en have to allow them to
take important posts and bring
up children?"" he asked.
-Seattle Gay News
SECOND STON~
""She'd been sodomized over and
over, and sodomy is a homosexual
act,"" Amend said. 'To have everybody
thinking homosexuality is OK is
a bunch of baloney.""
The Spokane Human Rights Commission
said Amend had confused
homosexuality with pedophilia, an
abnormal sexual desire for children.
Statistics show that 98 percent of child
sex-abuse cases involve heterosexual
men, the human rights commission
said.
""I wonder how his comments would
have resonated with the community if
he had made remarks attacking
women or African-Americans or
Jews?"" asked Craig Peterson, a gay
member of the commission.
The panel called for Amend's
resignation .
There have been several complaints
about Amend since he took office in
January - his second stint at the post,
which he held for one term in the
mid-1980s.
In June, a divorced woman whose
brother had died said that when
Amend learned she couldn't afford to
cremate the body, he told her she
need ed to go to church and find a
husband .
A couple whose ·3-year-old son had
cerebral palsy and choked to death
said they were shocked by Amend's
demeanor at their home. He tripped
over the boy's body and gave them a
long, too-graphic lecture on organ
donation, they said.
A former employee, who worked
for Amend during his first stint as
coroner, recalled a sobbing couple
who came to the office to pick up the
belongings of their son, dead from a
drug overdose.
""I don·t know what's bothering you.
After all, he lived on the fring e -
what did you expect?"" the employee
recalled Amend saying.
""'He's really crude. He has no social
skills,"" the employee said in an
interview with The Spokesman-Review,
which did not publish the work er's
name.
In addition to problems related to
Amend's per s onal style, there are
concerns about the professional
standards for his office.
Spokane County, with a population
of nearly 400,000 people, needs a
qualified medical examiner - someone
trained in death investigations , said
Spokane forensic pathologist George
Lindholm, who performs many ofthe
autopsies in Eastern Washington and
northern Idaho.
··we·ve had a concern about the
professionality of the office over the
long term,"" Lindholm said.
He was reluctant to criticize Amend
p erso nally. But in an earlier interview
with Tlze Spokesman-Review he
said he had strong reason to believe
that there were problems with death
certificates coming out of the coroner's
office.
""'In my opinion, they're not just
judgment calls. They're misrepresentation,""
he said.
.For example, Lindholm said,
Amend would sometimes jump the
gun and assign a cause of death
rather than wait for lab work to
return. And the cause of death can be
critical in criminal investigations or in
determining public-health crises, such
as an outbreak of mening itis or
tainted over-the-counter medications,
SEE CORONER, Page 17
Catholic bishops neutral on anti-gay initiatives
SEATTLE (AP) - Roman Catholic
Archbishop Thomas Murphy and two
bishops are not taking sides on two
anti-gay-rights initiatives after opposing
two comparable propositions last
year. ·
A four-page paper by the church's
three prelates in \o\lashington state
criticizes Initiatives 166 and 167 as
""inadequately crafted,"" and they
have barred signature-gathering for
the measures on church grounds, said
John McCoy, an archdiocese spokesman
""Discrimination and violence
towards individuals because of sexual
orientation are wrong,"" said the
paper, signed by Murphy of Seattle,
Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane
and Bishop Francis George of
Yakima .
At the same time, they did not call
the initiatives ""morally wrong,"" as
they did with Initiatives 608 and 610
last year.
""Initiative 166 ... is similar to an
initiative we opposed last year, but
the debate that ensued caused confusion
and misunderstanding about
our teaching and the reason for our
position ,"" the bishops wrote.
'The catechism of the Catholic
Church goes on to state: '(Homosexual
persons) must be accepted with respect,
compassion and se nsitivity .
Every sign of unjust discrimination in
their r egard should be avoided,""' the
bishops said.
They also wrote, 'The church d oes
not approve of homos exual genital
acts ...
""Schools should not present homosexual
behavior as acceptable, nor
should they condemn homosexual
persons for who they are.""
Initiative 166 campaign chairman
John Vasko would not comment on
the bishops' paper.
Initiatives 166 and 167 closely resemble
Initiatives 608 and 610, which
failed to attract enough signatures to
make the ballot last year.
Initiative 166 would ban the
extension of anti-discrimination laws
to cover Gays and Lesbians and
prohibit public schools from teaching
that homosexuality is an acceptable
lifestyle.
Initiative 167 would prevent Gays
and Lesbians from adopting children,
becoming foster parents or getting
child custody in divorce cases.
The new versions are to the
Legislature rather than to the people.
That gives backers more time -
until Dec. 29 - to get the required
181,667 valid signatures of registered
voters and sends the measures to the
Legislature if that requirement is met.
The Legislature then could enact
the initiatives into law, reject them
and send them to the ballot or adopt
alternatives to go alongside the originals
on the balfot. In the latter event,
voters could adopt either version or .
reject both.
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:::i~t;! ':'t r,i~~~~::;:/,iffs: t~~;h/:,~:fs Yn5J;~~e~~~~=: it~,~~vi~nw~~r:~;~:!!is¾afej·;, ~~~ t;;:::~:ec::;e
the information contained in the Gayel/ow Pages.• Pat Callfia, The Advocate Advisor ·
•ay far the most comprehensive and up-to-date gay guide ... Gayelfow Pages ... includes the standard entries for
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publications, businesses and more. In short, ii an entity welcomes gay, lesbian and bisexual people, no matter how
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.!!!_rfect coming out gifW Romanovsky & Phillips , Fresh Fruit Records, March 1995
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5
""Odd couple"" forms friendship through HIV program
EUGENE, Ore. - Ruth Norris and
Christopher Smith agree they make
an unconventional pair.
The 72-year-old grandmother and
the 28-year-old man say they have
found gold in the rubble of destruction
caused by his HIV-positive diagnosis.
It's a friendship neither would have
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SECOND STONE
predicted six months ago, when
Norris became a companion volunteer
with Eugene's HIV Alliance.
The nonprofit organization each
year trains a small corps of volunteers
to provide one-on-one emotional and
social support for people whose lives
have been turned upside down by
HIV.
Norris, a retired surgical assistant
from San Jose who now lives in
Cheshire, heard about the companion
program at church at a time when she
was looking for meaningful volunteer
work.
'Tm not the type to 'Sit at home and
wonder if the pictures on the walls
are really straight and what's going to
be on 'Oprah Winfrey' today, or go
shopping and get my hair dyed
blue,"" said Norris .
AIDS outreach appealed to Norris
because she knew from her hospital
Smith revealed
how self-doubt had
so often ruled his
life, how his family
responded badly
to his homosexuality,
how his
mother once told
him she considered
it a birth defect.
experience how fiercely isolating the
AIDS virus can be.
Smith sought help through the ·
companion program during a jarring
transition in his life. He was recovering
from pneumonia and had just left
his circle of friends in Portland. He
moved to Eugene in December after
declining health forced him to quit
his job as a department store manager.
Before th eir first meeting, both
were nervous .
""Mostly, it was feelings of
inadequacy, that this was too big a
thing I was taking on,"" Norris said .
Before the meeting, she . told Smith
over the phone, ""If we don't like each
other, we'll just break it off right now,
OK?""
But before the date was over, they
ended up spilling out their life
stories.
Norris described her marriage at
age 19 and how it came to an abrupt
end after 49 years when her husband
died four years ago, plunging her life
into chaos.
Smith revealed how self-doubt had
so often ruled his life, how his family
responded badly . to his homosexu-
0
ality, how his mother once told him
she considered it a birth defect.
The two friends now meet at least
once a week, visiting museums and
gardens, scrounging for cheap treasure
in secondhand stores, but mostly
just talking.
Smith says Norris filled a void in
his life that family; close friends, even
his long-term partner couldn't.
""She accepts me for who I am,
period,"" said Smith. ""I think I have
more in common with her than any of
my friends my age.
""We both love gardening and
people. We share a spiritual bent. We
both have faced adversity in our
lives.""
Al DS considered taboo subject
in many black communities
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - AIDS is a taboo
subject in Nebraska's black community,
some AIDS educators, victims and
service providers said.
An AIDS educator in the Nebraska
Department of Health, who is black,
said the situation is a crisis in the
making.
""Not only are the people in our
community not finding out what their
HN status is, they're not protecting
themselves,"" Steve Jackson, a community
health educator with the department's
HN / AIDS program, told the
Omaha World-Herald. 'They're not
being diagnosed, and they're not
being treated.""
Blacks represented about 4 percent
of the Nebraska population in the
1990 census and made up 16 percent
of all AIDS cases reported from Jan. 1,
1983, through June 29, 1995. Of the
639 cases of AIDS reported in
Nebraska in that period, 101 involved
blacks.
The figures do not include unreported
cases, cases in Nebraska that
were diagnosed elsewhere or people
carrying the HIV virus who do not
have full-blown AIDS.
Many black people infected with
the virus are not seeking medical
attention or revealing their status to
their friends and relatives for fear of
rejection, those who work with AIDS
victims said.
Others said local agencies are not
doing enough to reach out to that
segment of the population.
Tehira Ali, a drug and substa nce
abuse counselor at the Greater
Omaha Community Action Addiction
Center, said many of her black clients
consider AIDS a gay disease . She said
variety of social services, suppo rt
group~ and opportunities for socializing.
One man at a recent Harambee
meeting at a north Omaha bowling
alley told the newspaper that AIDS
drives its victims social life because
they try to hide it from friends. He
spoke on the condition that he not be
identified because he fears
the stigma attached to AIDS.
""We as blacks, the only thing we
ever dealt with is drug abuse and
alcohol,"" he said. ""We don't deal with
sexually transmitted diseases too
well.""
A woman in the Harambee program
said she had been a member of
a Nebraska AIDS Project support
group but did not have much in
common with people in those sessions.
Many black people
infected with the
virus are not seeking
medical attention
or revealing
their status · to
their friends and
relatives for fear
of rejection ...
they fear being tested and treated
because they fear being labeled as ""J was an IV drug user, and they
homosexual. were gay men,"" she said. 'There
""What I find with African-American wasn't a woman there who could
people is primarily, 'If I got it, I really identify with what I was going
don't want to know,""' she told the through .... And no blacks ever came
World-Herald. ""We tend to have so to meetings at NAP.""
many problems and, being on the The woman spoke to the newspaper
lower end of the econqmic scale, this on the condition that her name not be
disease is just one more problem. used because her family did not ·want
People think, 'If I don't know, I can it known that she has AIDS.
just get on with the rest of the things I The Nebraska AIDS Project does not
need, like food and shelter.""' have any minority case workers, said
The Charles Drew Health Center Gary George, the project's former
and Nebraska AIDS Project .began a executive director. The project has miprogram
last fall to provide mental nority volunteers. Volunteer coordinahealth
services to blacks affected by tor Rich Santee said 15 volunteers
AIDS. The program called Harambee speak Spanish and 24 are black.
serves 26 people. It provides a wide ""But we could use more,"" he said.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1995
Part of a $2.5 million gift endowment
Vanderbilt Divinity School to study gender, sexuality issues
By Ray Waddle
The Tennessean
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AF) - Sex and religion.
Strange bedfellows.
Throw them together and they
threaten to tear up denominations,
many of which are in turmoil over
homosexuality, the ordination of
women, the place of divorce, abortion,
clergy misconduct, and what to
call God (He? She?).
Into this climate steps Vanderbilt
Divinity School, which has decided to
go where no religion school has
dared .
With a recent gift, the school is
putting $1 million into the touchy
issues of gender and_ sexuality. As far
as they know, no seminary has committed
such a sum to such a controversy.
School officials say
they want to break
through the fog of
religious anxiety
and divisiveness
over sex-andreligion
issues and
help churches think
them through with
a more solid basis
in Scripture and
social sciences;
'This whole issue of sexuality so
vexes the churches that it's difficult
even to get a conversation going,""
said Joseph Hough, dean of the Divinity
School.
School officials say they want to
break through the fog of religious
anxiety and divisiveness over sexand-
religion issues and help churches
think them through with a more solid
basis in Scripture and social sciences.
They believe a lot of Christians get
confusing signals about sex from pulpit
and Bible. Is the sex act good or
evil? Is homos exuality wrong? Should
women be leaders in church?
SECOND STONE
The $1. million - part of a $2.S million
gift endowment - will fund
public conferences, publications and
other resources.
The gift comes from the E. Rhodes
and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation,
which was started by Richmond, Va.,
businessman Rhodes Carpenter .
The remaining $1.5 million of the
gift will go to endowing a new senior
faculty appointment. ·
The Rev. Ann Day, Carpenter
Foundation president, Leona Carpenter's
daughter and a 1978 graduate of
Vanderbilt Divinity, said the gift will
go a long way toward ""stimulating
discussion among individuals in faith
communities about these difficult,
often controversial, but extremely
vital issues.""
The gift makes the Carpenter
Foundation the Divinity School's single
largest donor. The foundation has
given the school some $4 million.
Not everyone is -happy that sexuality
will be the subject of academic
scrutiny by Vanderbilt ministers-intraining.
The president of a conservative
caucus of the United Methodist
Church - Methodists make up about
30 percent of Vanderbilt Divinity's
student body - doubts the new program
will bear much fruit.
'True, gender and sexuality ha ve
the potential to split the mainline
churches,"" said James Heidinger ,
president of Good News, a caucus
based in Wilmore, Ky.
""But there are folks who want to put
Scripture aside on so many issues and
leave Christianity at the mercy of
everyone's own personal judgment.
""And that's a recipe for chaos. I
believe there's more consensus, settled
by the dear word of Scripture,
than some would have us think.
There's a very well-organized vocal
minority determined to keep this on
the front burner.""
A look at denominational debates
suggests that sexuality is the reason
for the most emotional church reactions
in a generation:
Recently, the nation's largest
Lutheran denomination decided to
scrap a churchwide statement on
sexuality. An earlier draft argued that
the Bible supports gay relationships,
but it set off a national wave of
indignation and protest. After seven
years of trying, the Evangelical
Lutherans have failed to reach
consensus on either the ordination of
Gays and Lesbians or the blessing of
same-sex unions.
A group of bishops in the Episcopal
Church voted to place a colleague
before a formal church trial on
charges he violated church law by
ordaining a gay deacon. It's the latest -
in a wearying debate over gay rights
that has preoccupied the Episcopal
Church for a decade.
United Methodists and Presbyterians
continue to debate the merits
of the ""Re-Imagining"" Conference of
1993, where some female leaders
invoked the name of ""Sophia"" for God
during a worship setting. Traditionalists
said ii was a perfect example
of feminist heresy. Defenders said
church conservatives want to smear
""Sophia"" in hopes of shutting women
out of power .
What vexes many churchgoers is
that the debates are usually about two
competing values: Scriptural authority
vs. the responsibility to &how compassion
for weak or powerless minorities
.
Is it more faithful to the Bible and
Christian faith, for example, to uphold
condemnations of homosexuality,
or to push the church to open its
doors and power to oppressed
groups?
""In the past, Scripture was used to
justify slavery, and people were able
to move beyond that,"" said Sallie
McFague, a Vanderbilt theologian .
""Yet a lot of people now don't seem
able to come to a 20th-century posilion
on the role of women, gender
justice or homosexuality.""
Hough said church discomfort about
sexuality is nothing new. It's as old as
the foundations of the faith.
""For instance, there's a long
ambivalence about the sex act. The _
church has encouraged large families
yet has condemned sex except for
procreation .""
Hough said he envisions a wide
range of conferences that give a
hearing to various views supported
by respectable scholarship. Examples
include sexual ethics, biblical views of
women's ·ordination, or the effects of
divorce on children.
But he said the new program will
not be a propaganda mill for any one
particular party line. Vanderbilt is
known as a liberal divinity school
that affirms women's ordination and
the rights of gay students and faculty.
""Why in the world would we do
this now? Because part of the role of
the Divinity School is to help bring
clarity to issues important to the life of
churches,"" Hough said.
""Being a Christian in the world is
about living with integrity and believing
your Christian faith informs
everything you do.""
Now available from Second Stone!
The Word Is Out
365 DAILY MEDITATIONS .FOR LESBIANS AND GAY MEN
Author Chris Glaser fearlessly
liberates the Bible from those
who would hold it hostage to
an anti-gay agenda. In this
inspiring collection of 365
daily meditations, the Bible's
oood news ""comes out"" to
;;,eet all of ns with love,
justice, meaning. and hope.
Chris Glaser is the author
of Uncommon Calling and
Coming Out to God. He is
a graduate of Yale Divinity
School.
The Word Is Out,
$12, paperback.
Order now from Second Stone Press
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N O VE M B E RIDE CE MB ER l 9 9 5
National AIDS
Memorial marks
10th anniversary
NEW YORK - Despite the thousands
who have visited it every year for the
last decade at the Cathedral of St.
John the Divine in northern Manhattan,
the National AIDS Memorial
sometimes seems to be one of the
most well-kept secrets of our time.
It is the only permanent memorial
in the country honoring those who
have died as a result of the HIV/ AIDS
pandemic.
The memorial was the idea of Sister
(and now Deacon) Brooke Bushong, a
member of the Episcopal Church
Army, an evangelical religious order,
and at the time, president of Integrity/
New York, the local branch of the
lesbian and gay justice ministry of the
Episcopal Church. She had attended
funeral s of several friends who had
died of AIDS. She saw the need for a
focal point - one hallowed spot -
where those who have lost loved ones
could come to mourn and find hope
and consolation.
When she approached the Rt. Rev.
Paul Moore, Jr., then Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of New York, he
was enthusiastic. He, too, had · felt the
need . The Bay of St. Luke, patron
saint of physicians, on the south side
of the Cathedral's nave, was mad e
available as the site of the memorial.
Bishop Moore dedicated it on November
9, 1985. The first anniversary of
the dedication of the memorial was
attended by over 2000 people and the
following year the anniversary
became a nationwide event when the
Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning,
Presiding Bishop, declared it to be the
Episcopal Church's National Day of
Prayer for those affected by HIV/
AIDS. The date has since been moved
to October.
Since 1985 the memorial has become
a symbol of strength in the face
of the AIDS epidemic. Over 5000
names have now been inscribed in
the Book of Remembrance, and the
number grows week by week .
initially a joint ministry of the
Cathedral and Integrity, the National
AIDS Memorial was incorporated as a
non-profit corporation in 1992.
'To honor the dead, to serve the
living"" is the core of the National
AIDS Memorial's mission statement.
The living are se rved not only
through prayer, but by gifts which go
to a variety of AIDS service organizations.
Although unsolicited, contributions
arrived with the first names to be
inscribed in the Book of Remembrance.
It was immediately c!ecided
that only 15 percent of such contributions
should be used to maintain
the memorial, including inscribing
the names, while 85 percent would go
to start-up AIDS ministries.
NAM makes a real effort to s eek out
.and fund small, start-up groups that
are filling unmet needs in the AIDS
community and to existing AIDS
organizations moving into new areas
of service.
Over $100,000 in grants has been
distributed, ranging from $250 to
$3,000.
NAM funding is nationwide : from
the Chattanooga Council on AIDS to
Bronx AIDS Servic es. NAM fund s
both secular and religious organizations:
from the People With AIDS
Now in it's tenth year, the National
AIDS Memorial at the Cathedral of
St. John the Divine in New York City
is visited by thousands each year. It
is the only permanent memorial in
the country honoring all who have
died as a result of the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
Coalition of New Jersey to Interfaith
AIDS Ministry of Greater Danbury,
Connecticut.
As NAM appoaches the end of tis
first decade, with no cure for AIDS
yet in sight, HIV/ AIDS is affecting
ever more people, of varied backgrounds,
and there remains a need to
establish new and specialized programs
to deal with that reality.
NAM gave Sub-Sahara AIDS
Rescue, which serves the immigrant
African communities in Staten Island
and Brooklyn, their first grant from
any source in 1993. In 1994, a second
grant for computer equipment
allowed them to obtain funding from
governmental and foundation
sources . These gifts were like the
loaves and fishes, enabling the
organizations to multiply them many
fold.
There is no paid staff at the
National AIDS Memorial. Those who
volunteer on the board raise the
money, keep the records, investigate
and decide which of the many
requests for funding can be honored.
A Requiem Eucharist is held at the
memorial at 1:00 p.m . the fourth
Saturday of every month .
As the name implies, the memorial
is not limited to New Yorkers, or to
Episcopalians. It includes names from
all over the world. No contribution is
required to have a name inscribed.
Anyone wishing to provide the name
of a deceased individual for the Book
of Remembrance, contribute to the
fund, or apply for a grant may write
to the National AIDS Memorial,
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, P.O.
Box 1036, New York, NY 10011.
Poetry sustains woman dying of AIDS
By Jill Burcum
Rochester Post-Bulletin
~e voic e is gravelly and
:;JI definitely that of a New York
native. Coffee is ""cawffee"" and car is
""cah.""
It emanates from somewhere within
a thick haze of cigarette .smoke. The
morning sun streaming in the ancient
windows illuminates the smoke
cloud, creating a wispy halo around a
thin, blond woman's head. ""I don't
usually smoke this much, but ... you
know,"" says Dara Corey Thaler.
'Tm a master poet, ya know,"" she
says to no one in particular. She stares
off to a place far beyond the walls of
the second-floor apartment where she
lives . In it are Thaler's sole possessions
. A battered rocker. A small
television. A rickety stand on which a
typewriter rests .
Dara Corey Thaler has come to
Rochester, Minnesota to die . Arid to
live.
At 38, Thaler has AIDS, lymphoma
and systemic tuberculosis. All three
are terminal, with the last two perhaps
triggered by the first, a disease
SECOND STONE
she was diagnosed with in 1987.
Her condition is the culmination of
a life lived in the fast lane · on the
streets of New York, Chicago and
Rochester. Thaler is clean and sober
now, a true believer in 12-step recovery
programs. But for much of her life
and in each of those cities, Thaler was
.J drug addict and a prostitute.
In the l.Jte 1980s, Thaler moved to
Rochester for reasons that ar e now
unclear. In 1988, she was convicted of
solicitation for prostitution. The arrest
made news around the state . Thaler
had AIDS at the time . She was given
three years of probation and moved
back to Chicago shortly there.Jfter.
She returned to Rocl,ester this year
for love and the Mayo Clinic. In
August, she married .a Rochester
man. He sustains her spiritually, she
says; Mayo Clinic maintains her
body.
She is unequivocal about how she
wants to be remembered. Throughout
her life, Thaler has written poetry. To
her, it is not a hobby . It is not fun. It
is•simply something she must do, like
breathing.
Volumes of poems now fill a large
bag. During the years of drugs and
prostitution, the poems are angry,
shocking and taunting. Now, they are
reflective, tinged with gentle humor
and regret that the voice of the poet
herself will soon be stilled.
""If I can reach one person and let
them know no matter how bad things
are, things C.Jn change, then I have
made a differenc e. My life will have
meaning, "" she said.
Some days, Thaler jumps out of
bed . On other days, she is too weak
and must crawl to the bathroom .
Still, her reasons to live grow more
numerous .
Her beloved poetry has not left her .
Even through the pain medication,
the poems come. Sometimes it's a
mental image that arrives first. Sometimes
it's just an urge to sit at her
typewriter.
AIDS has done what her parents,
police a ' ublic awareness campaigns
did n , said . It woke her
from the drug-induced haze and
changed her, the kind of change that
comes from deep within.
""I've had the fortune of a queen
(the jewelry in my eyes)
the whish of winds blow through
my hair - ·
the branches clatter noise
God composed a symphony
surrounded with applause
Still weakness comes
in midst of dance
Sometimes instead I crawl.""
The poem ends, but Thaler's pleasure
does not. She smiles and looks
up . But her hands are already reaching
for the papers spread out on the
bed . ""One more,"" she says as the
cigarette burns slowly toward the
filter. Once more she begins. And
once more, Thaler falls under language's
spell .
The poem ends, its lulling rhythms
ebbing into the soft ticks of a clock
resting on the window ledge. This
time, Thaler is comfortable with the
silence.
""I have been given a capacity to
give and to care,"" she says. ""I want to
touch someone that might not have
been touched.""
The voice wavers .
""And I don't want to be forgotten.""
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1995
BiJ .•• ■i■fB-•BfllMIJli=ii
Zimbabwe's churches support gay ban
HARARE, Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe's
churches have condemned homosexuality
following an international controversy
caused by President Robert
Mugabe's bitter campaign against
Gays and Lesbians.
Many church leaders have agreed
with President Mugabe's views,
though some said the president's
""witch-hunt"" against Gays and Lesbians
was regrettable but understandable.
Several church officials also
said that it was unfortunate that the
issue was getting so much attention
when Zimbabwe faced much more
serious problems.
Government action against homosexuals
in Zimbabwe and speeches
by President Mugabe on the subject
have drawn international press coverage
in recent months.
Homosexuality has Jong been
.repressed in Zimbabwe, but the present
campaign by the government
began just over a month ·ago when an
association called Gays and Lesbians
of Zimbabwe (GALZ) was making
preparations to set up a stall at the
Zimbabwe International Book Fair,
the theme of which was human
rights .
A government official, Bornwell
Chakaodza, who holds the post of
State Director of Information, wrote a
letter to the book fair trustees stating
the govern,ment'~ strong objection to
the presence of GALZ.
""Zimbabwean society and government
do not accept the public display
of homosexual literature, "" the government's
Jetter said. The book fair
trustees were forced to cancel GALZ's
permit to set up a stall. Four of the 18
book fair trustees quit their posts
in protest at the government's actions.
On the opening day of the book
· fair, President Mugabe · made a
speech describing Gays and Lesbians
as social perverts who should not
have a place in Zimbabwean society.
""I find it extremely outrageous and
repugnant to my human conscience
that such immoral and revulsive
organizations like those of homosexuals
who offend both against the
Jaw of nature and the morals and
religious beliefs espoused by our
socie.ty should have any advocates in
our midst and even elsewhere in the
world,"" President Mugabe said.
""If we accept homosexuality as a
right, as is being argued by the
association of sodomists and sexual
perverts, what moral fibre shall our
society ever have to deny organised
drug addicts, or even those given to
bestiality, the rights they might claim
and allege they possess under the
rubrics of individual freedom and
human rights?"" said the president.
He said that homosexuality was an
""abhorrent"" Western import.
President Mugabe's views have
drawn strong support from the local
press, some sections of which have
condemned the West as ""moral midgets"".
An editorial in the Chronicle,
the newspaper with the second
Zimbabwe questioned as site
of 1998 wee Assembly
GENEVA - World Council of
Churches (WCC) Central Committee
members are seeking assurances that
recent anti-gay statements by Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe will
not create problems for the WCC
when it holds its Eighth Assembly in
Harare in 1998.
Mugabe was widely quoted over
the summer as saying he believes
""homosexuals don't have any rights at
all and if they come here, we will
throw them in jail.""
Responding to questions from
Central Committee members during
a Sept. 18 plenary session, WCC general
secretary Konrad Raiser recalled
that similar concerns about holding
the 1998 Assembly in Zimbabwe
were raised at the January 1994 Central
Committee meetings after widespread
reports of police harassment of
Gays and Lesbians in Zimbabwe.
Raiser said that at that time he
sought and received assurances from
the Zimbabwean interior minister
that all Assembly participants will be
allowed to enter Zimbabwe and that
the Assembly will be free to set its
own agenda.
SECOND STONE
But after an exhibit by a Zimbabwean
gay organization was shut
down at a July book fair in Harare,
the country's capital, Raiser said he
received numerous letters from WCC
member churches questioning whether
the Assembly should be held in
Zimbabwe. He said that the WCC
and the Zimbabwe Council of
Churches are developing a detailed
list of ""essential requirements"" for
holding the Assembly in Zimbabwe .
Raiser said he had ""no reason to
believe that such an understanding
cannot be reached with the Zimbabwe
authorities .""
Kristine Thompson, one of two
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) representatives
on the Central Commit.tee,
said she hoped any agreement wou]<;I
ensure the right of Assembly partici.
pants to express public solidarity
""with those in Zimbabwe who are
being repressed for homosexuality .""
She .i.cknowledged that while WCC
member churches have varying attitudes
toward homosexuality, ""we can
agree that no one should be persecuted
for it.""
-Presbyterian Church (USA) News and
World Council of Churches News
biggest circulation in Zimbabwe,
stated that to Africans ih general and
Zimbabweans in particular, homosexuality
would always be an outrage
and an abomination of the most
debasing order.
Homosexuality is strictly taboo in
Zimbabwe where it is often condemned
in the strongest possible
terms. However, many people see it
as an issue which concerns only a few.
'individuals .
Zimbabwe's Constitution forbids
discrimination of any kind, but it
does not specify who should not be
discriminated against.
As the president's views began to
draw attention, he confirmed his
rigorous opposition to homosexuality,
pointing out that Zimbabwe had a
""formidable"" set of morals -and taboos
which it could not abandon unless
society as a whole decided they were
no longer needed.
""We do not believe they [homosexuals)
have any rights at all,""
President Mugabe told journalists.
The president seemed unconcerned a't
news of protests held outside Zimbabwean
embassies in other parts of
the world because of his remarks.
'They can demonstrate, but if they
come here, we will throw them
[homosexuals] in jail,"" the president
said .
The international press - particularly
Western newspapers of liberal
views - have given extensive coverage
to President Mugabe's
statements. According to the Guardian
newspaper, published in London, the
anti-gay crusade is seen 'by members ·
of Zimbabwe's fledgling civil society,
including women's groups, human
rights groups and the Gays and
Lesbians of Zimbabwe, as a political
ploy to distract popular attention from
burgeoning corruption scandals,
economic mismanagement and
drought"". In a front-page article on
August 16, Le Monde newspaper in
Paris quoted President Mugabe's
speeches and pointed out that the
multi-ethnic membership of GALZ
proved that homosexuality was not,
as the president had claimed, a
""shameful"" Western import.
Within Zimbabwe itself churches
have expressed various degrees of
agreement with President Mugabe.
The Sunday Mail newspaper in
Harare has reported that some Chris.
tian leaders have called on their
followers to take part in a march
against Gays and Lesbians in Harare.
A group of 12 women - all members
of the Mother's Union in the
Anglican diocese of Central Zimbabwe
- visited government offices
recently to give President Mugabe a
message of solidarity.
""Homosexuals violate our understanding
of the nature of marriage life
... we pledge to you and to this
country our continued support for
those home and family values and
morals that make for an upright
society,"" part of the message said.
President Mugabe told the women
that there was no way that Zimbabweans
could accept homosexuality as
this was 'borrowed culture"".
Church leaders in Zimbabwe, all
expressed strong opposition to homosexuality.
They said that homosexuality
was incompatible with the
biblical values of Christianity and
with African culture .
-ENI and other reports
Zimbabwe church council
condemns homosexuality
HQMOSEXUALITY IS ""totally new
and out of step with the Zimbabwean
tradition and culture"" according to a
statement issued by the Zimbabwe
Council of Churches (ZCC), which has
20 protestant churches as members,
following an increasingly strident
campaign directed against Gays and
Lesbians by Zimbabwe . President
Robert Mugabe.
The ZCC's President, Bishop
Jonathan Siyachitema, and the organization's
General Secretary,
Murombedzi Chikanga Kuchera, said
that Zimbabweans ""should not be
coerced into a practice [homosexuality]
which is totally alien to them"" .
President Mugabe's campaign has
aroused concern in international
church circles because the next
assembly of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) is to take place in
1998 in the Zimbabwean capital of
Harare, at the invitation of the ZCC.
The issue of homosexuality is a
delicate one for the churches. The
WCC's General Secretary, Konrad
Raiser, has said that there are ""deep
divisions"" between the WCC's 324
member churches on the ""theological
and ethical issues of human sexuality
and sexual orientation"".
According to the ZCC leaders, ""the
Church of God finds no basis to support
intimate relationships between
persons of the same sex.""
Shortly after the WCC's central
committee agreed in January last year
to hold the assembly in Harare, the
international press reported allegations
of harassment of homosexuals
by Zimbabwe police.
Dr Raiser said that he would seek
assurances from the Zimbabwe Government
""regarding the entry and
safety of all bona fide participants of
the assembly"" and the ""freedom of
the assembly in setting its agenda
and in expressing its mind"".
President Mugabe has been quoted
as saying: ""Let the Gays be Gays in
United States and Europe, but they
shall be sad people here.""
-ENI
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5
Ep-iscopal bishops sharpry cUvided over sex·uality issues
By Martha Irvine
Associated Press Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - It's the most
divisive issue facing bishops in the
Episcopal Church, but don't expect
them to talk about it.
The matter of ordaining non-celibate
gay priests has been mentioned
only in passing as about 200 bishops
met during the last week of September.
The bishops spent the better part of
one session early in the week talking
about how to avoid what many are
calling an air of mean-spiritedness
among church leadership.
""If we can't deal with honest disagreement
as a house of bishops, who
in the world can?"" asked Bishop John
MacNaughton, of San Antonio, Texas.
But beneath the apparent camaraderie
lies the frustration of a church
leadership that many say is bitterly
divided . .
""I can see it becoming a bloody
brawl,"" said Walter Righter, a retired
bishop of Iowa who says he'd rather
be enjoying a life of quiet at his home
in Alstead, N.H .
Instead, the white-haired 71-yearold
is facing heresy charges for ordaining
a non-celibate gay priest in
1990.
Presiding Bishop Edmond
Browning, of New York, has told the
bishops that church attorneys have
advised them not to discuss the
Righter matter at the conference. He
said that, if they were to talk about
sexuality issues at this conference, 18
of the bishops who may sit in
judgment of their peer would have to
leave the room.
But conversations in private were
brutally candid.
. Righter said the 10 bishops who
brought him up on charges are using
him as a scapegoat to boost their own
political power.
'These birds are caught between
the past and the future .-They'd like to
drag everybody kicking and screaming
into the past,"" said Righter, who
claims that ordaining openly gay
priests is merely dealing with reality.
He said there are about 35 bishops
who have ordained non-celibate gay.
priests.
Ironically, some of the bishops who
brought the charge against Righter
say the conference was - for the most
Episcopal bishop explains his decision
to support heresy trial
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) - Episcopal
Bi'shop Russell Jacobus of Fond
du Lac said lifestyle preference was
not the issue when he joined - other
clergy in censuring a bishop for ordaining
a homosexual as a deacon,
The complaint involves church
authority and compliance with its
policies, he said.
'The general convention (of the
Episcopal Church) said ... it is not
appropriate at this time to ordain
practicing homosexuals, or ordain
heterosexuals in (sexual) relationships
outside the marriage bond,"" Jacobus
said.
'Therefore, the bishop who decides
on his own that he is not going to
abide by resolutions of the general
convention ... is not being accountable
to the church at large.""
Jacobus, of the Episcopal Cathedral
of St. Paul, said he was one of 76
bishops nationwide who voted for
charges that retired Bishop Walter
Righter violated . church law for
ordaining Barry Stopfel as a deacon in
1990,
Righter was then assistant bishop
.. of Newark, N.J. He retired in 1988 as
bishop of Iowa and · now lives in the
small town of Alstead on the New
Hampshire-Vermont border.
Righter's case will go before a Court
for the Trial of a Bishop, consisting of
nine other bishops who will act on a
majority vote.
Possible penalties include admonishing
Righter. No sentence could be
imposed unless the findings were
approved by a two-thirds vote of all
SECOND STONE
the church's bishops.
Ten bishops brought the charge
against Righter in January, saying he
was ""teaching a doctrine contrary to
that held by this church.""
A 1979 resolution states it is
inappropriate for ""practicing homosexuals""
to be ordained, said Bishop
James Stanton of Dallas, a spokesman
for Righter's accusers.
Righter says the Episcopal colleagues
who charged him with
heresy for ordaining an openly gay
Righter say s the Episcopal
colleagues who
charged him with
heresy .. . threaten to
""push the church back
in to the 19th century .""
man threaten to ""push the church
back into the 19th century.""
Righter says putting him before a
jury of his peers a defining moment
in church history.
'The Episcopal Church's whole life
is at stake,"" Righter, 71, said. ""Are we
going to be an inclusive church like
the presiding bishop wants us to be
or an exclusive church?""
But Stanton said conservative
bishops are alarmed also.
""Many of us fear it will divide the
church,"" Stanton said. ""What we are
trying to do is bring the house back
to order.""
part - a waste of time and money
because sexuality was not discussed.
'There is a general frustration in
the house .of bishops that we're dealing
with unimportant issues to avoid
dealing with critical issues,"" said
Bishop William Wantland, of Eau
Claire, Wis., one of the bishops who
filed the heresy charge.
He believes the presiding bishop
and others have looked the other way
as gay priests have continued to be
ordained. And that, he said, has left
he and his conservative colleagues
little choice.
""I don't want Walter to go through a
trial,"" Wantland said. ''I don't know
any other way to reach the issue.""
Some say the bishops are so
divided that the only resolution may
be to split the church in two.
""Is there a danger of it? Yes, a very
clear danger,"" Wantland said . 'The
underlying issue is a problem of authority
and order.""
The lack of open discussion is disappointing
to many.
""I ache at the polarity that goes on,""
said the Rev. Al Miller, a priest in
Hermiston.
Miller said he came to the bishops'
meeting to see first hand if they
would resolve some of the tougher
issues facing the Episcopal Church.
'The question is, 'How can we
move on together, regardless of
sexual orientation, gender and race?'""
Miller said. 'Tm not sure they can.""
There are other problems in the
church - a troubled pension fund and
embezzlement scandal.
Some traditional Episcopalians are
calling for presiding bishop Browning
to step down.
And the bishops are trying to
decide how to deal with four of their
own who refuse to ordain women
priests even though the church has
allowed such action for nearly 20
years .
Still, Browning denies that his
church is falling apart. He said it is
the Episcopal Church's tradition to
face tough issues head on.
""Out of that grows tension. But
even in that tension there's _ a pride
that I have that we're willing to hang
in and deal with those issues,""
Browning said. 'Th e church, as a
whole, is very brave.""
Five-ballot vote elects nation's second
female Episcopal bishop
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A five-ballot
vote made the Rev. Geralyn Wolf
the second woman chosen tp head an
American Episcopal diocese.
Wolf, dean of Christ Cathedral in
Louisville, Ky., for the last seven
years, was elected Sept. 30 after the
apparent front-runner, the Rev.
Robert Anthony of Christ Church in
Westerly, withdrew.
Wolf, 48, spoke to lay and clergy
delegates before returning to Kentucky
to spend Sunday with her congregation
.
'1 want to say a word of truth. This
was not a unanimous decision and I
honor that,"" she said. ""We don't have
to agree on everything. But we have
to agree on one thing: that Jesus
Christ is the center of our Jives.""
A native of New York who at one
time lived in an Anglican convent,
Wolf was one of four candidates from
outside Rhode Island picked by a .
search committee to succeed retired
Bishop George Hunt. She was praised
even by delegates who voted against
her as a woman of great spiritual
commitment and, before coming to
Rhode Island for the vote, spent
Wednesday night and Thursday
praying with the . Sisters of St.
Margaret in a Roxbury, Mass., Anglican
convent.
""My ministries haven't been perfect
or easy, but I hope that everyone will
say that I have been faithful,"" Wolf
told delegates .
The first female Episcopal bishop in
.the United States was chosen in
Vermont. Women have been selected
as assistant bishops in Massachusetts,
the District of Columbia, and New
York.
A total of nine candidates were in
the running to head the Rhode Island
diocese - the four picked by the
search committee and five from within
the state.
Anthony, who is popular among
Rhode Island clergy, surprised his
supporters by announcing his withdrawal
before balloting began, saying
he had mixed feelings about
being bishop.
Anthony later went to Wolf and
told her he hoped she would be
elected bishop.
· Wolf's vote totals built steadily as
the balloting went on and candidates
dropped out and she surpassed the
required totals of lay and clergy votes
on the fifth ballot.
Some of the state's conservative
clergy said while they liked Wolf as a
person and found her views acceptable,
they were opposed in principle
to the idea of a female bishop.
But she also won the support of
some priests formerly against the
ordination of women. One, the Rev.
James Frink of Trinity Church in
Scituate, delivered Wolf's nominating
speech .
Wolf said she would be glad to
meet with clergy members opposed .
to a woman bishop.
.""I very much want to talk with
them and to be with them,"" she said.
""I do not want to work against them.""
Wolf's election must be approved
by a majority of Episcopal standing
committees nationally before she can
be installed. That process should take
several months.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER l 9 9 5 ·
Living a lie:
Outlook painful for Gays
· in opposite-sex marriage
By Deb Richardson-Moore
The Greenville News
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) . - One
Christmas Eve, Deirdre's children
were scouring the house for mittens
and woolen caps before running outside
to check on Santa's progress.
Trying to help, Deirdre tugged .a
cardboard box from a shelf high in
her bedroom closet. She peered inside
- and saw the end of her 18-year marriage.
There in the box was a stack of gay
.pornography. She was disbelieving
and confused, but deep inside things
began to fall dizzyingly into place:
professional counselor.
In many cases, the marriage that's
ending is one of long standing, one
that included true affection and
friendship between the partners.
'The 20- to 25-year mark,'' said
facilitator Pate, ""seems to be a real
watershed for men who can't hide it
anymore.""
In many ways, the issues provoked
in a gay-straight marriage crisis are
the same as when one marital partner
has a heterosexual affair . The
wronged partner feels the same
""devastation and the low self-esteem,""
allows Molly, 30, a Greenvillian who
ended her three-year marriage after
learning that her husband was having
affairs with men.
""But the thing that they don't feel
that I feel,"" she said, ""is that they are
gay . You question your own sexual
identity. You ask yourself, 'Why
would I attract a person like this?
Why did he choose me?""'
Molly's discovery made her skittish
around men, suspicious that if she'd
been fooled once, it could happen
again .
Of course, while any extramarital
affair carries the risk of HIV/ AIDS
these days, the odds increase with
homosexual encounters. Molly was so
paralyzed by fear the she waited nine
months before undergoing tests -
which turned out negative . The issue
of how to tell children also becomes
more complicated. Deirdre told her
adolescent children only after they
had sneaked a look at her diary. Her
daughter, now in her early teens, is
having trouble accepting it.
Molly hasn't yet told her 6-year-old
son, and won't until he asks.
Emily, a senior citizen who remained
in her marriage after her
husband told her he was gay decades
ago, told her grown children only
years later.
Recently, Emily's anger has replaced
her earlier embarrassment:
anger at her husband for using her as
camouflage; anger at her family for
en£ouraging her to keep quiet; anger
at herself for not having the courage
to leave; anger at society for putting
so much pressure on Gays to live a
lie.
And therein, say the straight
spouses, lies much of the problem. If
being gay were more socially acceptable,
Gays wouldn't try so hard to fit
into a conventional marriage.
The time early in her marriage when
he was buying Playboys; his low sex
drive; his expression of a general unhappiness
just months before.
""At the time, I didn't know what he
was getting at,"" Deirdre recalled. ""I
had never suspected anything. But as
I looked back, there were pieces of
the puzzle that began to come together.""
Mormon bishop's marriage was
doomed from the start
She did, however, think they had a
warm and loving marriage.
He thought so, too. Once she confronted
him \Vith her Christmas Eve
discovery, he readily agreed to go
into counseling. Just months into joint
therapy, he admitted to himself and
to Deirdre that he was gay. He now
lives with a male companion.
Deirdre, meanwhile, is shaken to
the core.
An attractive professional in her
early 40s, Deirdre continued to function
on the outside. But inside, she
felt foolish, sexually unattractive, distrustful
of men; in a word, she said,
she felt like a ""freak.""
She wasn't. And Carole Lender, for
one, knew it.
Mrs. Lender is a co-founder of
Greenville's PFLAG (Parents, Families
and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays). In her three years of pulling
the organization together, she has
seen the human fallout.
'The majority of gay and lesbian
people that I've met have fought so
hard: They don't want to be gay,"" she
said . 'They don't want to lose .the
respect and the love of their family
members. They don't want to lose
their churches and everything else.
""And, so they figure, 'Well, if I get
married, maybe it'll kick in,' and
they do, and children come out of it.
And then they can't do it anymore,
and all these innocent people get
hurt.""
It's those ""innocent people,"" the
bewildered straight spouses of Gays
who are the target of Family Secrets,
a new support group in Greenville
facilitated by Fran Pate, a licensed
SECOND STONE
By Hillary Groutage
Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - For most, it
started when people they trusted told
them to get married, that being with
an opposite-sex partner would help
their ""problem .""
Without exception, the experience
ended in heartbreak .
Now, they say, opposite-sex marriage
and homosexuality - like oil and
water - don't mix for long.
At a session of the annual Sunstone
Symposium on August 11, a panel of
gay men shared their experiences
chronicled in Decisions of the Soul: The
Issues And Diverse Responses To Homosexuality
In Heterosexual Marriage.
The book was published in April
by the Family Fellow ship, a support
group for families with gay and
lesbian members. The book is a
collection of 17 stories of gay people
in het erosexual marriages.
Steve and Allison Dunn of Logan
were the only couple to share their
story. They are divorcing, but have
undertaken a crusade of sorts to let
people know that marriage doesn't
cure - or even help homosexuality.
But they say it isn't for a lack of
trying .
They were busy in the early years
of their marriage. He was a Mormon
bishop, she was president of the
primary.
""If devotion and effort, if fasting
and prayer, if dedicating time and
paying tithing could have altered our
lives, it would have happened,"" she
wrote in the book.
But nothing helped.
Allison continually blamed herself
for his lack of physical attention and
was sure he found her repulsive.
Steve thought he was evil.
She discover ed he was gay after she
found a book, Loving Someone Gay
that a friend had given him . They got
counseling and kept the news from
their families for a time.
'The problem is, you can't even
talk about the problem,"" she said.
""You live with this person. You know
what kind of toothpaste he likes, you
know everything about him . You
have this friend you adore and it's
like you have to cut off your right
arm because you can't have him
anymore.""
During the presentation, the couple
He tells of
suicidal thoughts,
confessions to
Mormon bishops
and years he felt
trapped in a
painful marriage.
He knew he was
gay fron1 the
tears.
""I just left my sons and I don't get to
see them that often,"" he said.
His entry, ""No Longer Afraid"" tells
of suicidal thoughts, confessions to
Mormon bishops and years he felt
trapped in a painful marriage. He
knew he was gay from the time he
was 12-years-old, but it came crashing
home to him while listening to a talk
at church.
""I didn't understand what the
Bishop was talking about. This masturbation
thing . He said that horrible
thing led people to homosexuality. I
knew he was talking about me,"" he
said. ""But I hadn't even done it so
how could I be homosexual?""
Killian, like the others on the panel,
was ctiligent in his church work,
served a mission and was counseled
to marry. But at one point, he ""spied""
on gay men in Washington, D.C.
because he wanted to know what on e
looked like.
He eventually fell in love with a
man and confessed his feelings to his
bishop in the 1970s.
""I was promised in a blessing that if
I married a daughter of God in the
temple, I would be cured,'' he said.
Killian approached his marriag e
like a business decision.
tin1e he was 12 ... ""Did I fall in love with her? I was
fascinated with her, I am proud of
stood side-by-side and detailed their her, I admire her and miss h e r,"" he
20 years of marriage and struggle. 1 said.
He calls her his ""personal savior"" A 1992 handbook published by the
and he remains her best friend. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
""I know there are thousands of Saints says ""Marriage should not be
other couples in various stages like viewed as a way to resolve homomy
wife and I,"" he said. sexual problems. The lives of others
After more than two years, they should not be damaged by entering a
feel stronger. They are divorcing, but marriage where such concerns exist.""
are determined to be effective parents Killian said his wife has a difficult
to their four children, ages 13-19. time understanding his homosexu-
Rob Killian, a physician from ality and did not attend the presenta-
Rochester, N.Y., faced the audience in tion .
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER l 9 9 5
Friends believe bishop's ""long illness"" was- AIDS
NEW YORK-On the pope's first trip to
New York, he honored America's
only black monsignor with a visit.
Sixteen years later, John Paul II was
back, but Bishop Emerson Moore was
dead - a victim, so me say, of the
pressures on a black bishop in a
mostly white church.
Moore was 57 when he died Sept. 14
of what his church described only as
""natural causes of unknown origin""
after a long illness. But The New Yurk
Times reported that Moore had been
an alcohol and cocaine abuser, and
that many of his friends and colleagues
believe he died of AIDS. At
least one priest said he had directly
confronted the Bishop about whether
he had AIDS, and that he had denied
it.
Church officials said they wou ld not
discuss that conclusion, but they
wo uld not dispute it, either. Moore
was one of two New York area
bishops reportedly suffering from
AIDS.
The pope visited St. Charles
Borromeo Church on Oct 2, 1979
during his hectic, two-day visit to
New York. Ecclesiastical careers are
often advanced by papal visits, and
in 1982 Moore was named auxiliary
bishop - the first in the archdiocese of
New York.
Moore headed committees,
traveled to Africa on relief missions,
got arrested for protesting against
apartheid in South Africa. In 1990, he
was the only bishop in the country to
sign a full-page newspaper advertisement
calling for major changes in the
Catholic Church. Those changes
included ordaining women, pursuing
the idea of married priests and rethinking
the church teaching on
sex uality . Clearly, then, however
much Bishop Moore felt the strain of
expectations, he also often felt at odds
philosophically with · the more conservative
Cardinal O'Connor.
Asked if he feared repercussions for
· signing the 1990 ad, Bishop Moore
told a religious news service, ""Christ
didn't promise us an easy life.""
Around the same time, friends say,
Moore began to miss appointments, to
run short of money, lo disappear for
long periods whi le he sought
treatment for addiction. In 1994, the
Times reported, Moore entered the
Hazelden clinic in Minnesota. He
later moved to a halfway house in
Minneapolis, and died at a hospice
there.
Cardinal O'Connor said: ""I am
sympathetic to what he endured. If he
did anything he shouldn't have, a lot
of people might not be sympathetic.
We all have to be accountable. But I
know he tried his best to lead a
responsible life, and I know the
church made every effort to help him
lead that life. I'm sure his conscience
is clear. I feel mine is.""
-Associated Press, New York Times tind
other reports
Mormon leaders articulate opposition to same-sex unions·
By Vern Anderson
Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Mormon
Church leaders are bringing discussion
of homosexuality out of the closet,
seeking to explain to distraught
parents of Gays and to the general
membership why same -sex unions
are anathema .
In an unprecedented airing of the
issue in the October edition of the
faith's Ensign magazine, ·a church
apostle writes that gender is a premortal
characteristic and that Satan is
out to ""confuse what ii means to be
male or female.""
'The struggles -of those who are
troubled by same-sex attraction are
not unique. There are many kinds of
temptations, sexual and otherwise.
The duty to resist sin applies to all of
them,"" Elder Dallin H. Oaks says in
the eight-page article.
Until recently, leaders of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints have publicly discussed homo-
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sexuality mostly in general condemnations
of immorality. But in 1994 the
church began a vigorous campaign
against efforts in Hawaii and elsewhere
to legalize same-sex marriages.
In the month of September, they
have thrice proclaimed their opposition
in high-profile forums. And
Oaks' article, while disap!'ointing to
many Mormon Gays and their
parents, is significant for its acknowledgment
of scientific research that
tends lo show homosexuality has biological
underpinnings.
Oaks stressed that the subject of
sexual orientation is ""highly complex""
and scientific knowledge about it in
its infancy . Firm conclusions to
""nature"" versus ""nurture"" arguments
over sexuality ""must await many
additional scientific studies.""
Nevertheless, he wrote, Mormons
should refrain from using the words
""homosexual, lesbian and gay"" as
nouns because to do so would run
counter to church doctrine.
""It is wrong to use these words to
denote a condition, because this
implies that a person is consigned by
birth to a circumstance in which he or
she has nq choice in respect to the
critically important matter of sexual
behavior,"" Oaks wrote.
He also condemned · those who
engage in ""gay-bashing"" and urged
church memb.ers to show compassion
toward those infected with the HIVvirus
or afflicted with AIDS, ""who
may or may not have acquired their
condition from sexual relations.""
On other points, the article by the
former Utah Su.preme Court justice
elaborated on statements made in a
Sept. 23 ""proclamation"" by the
church's governing First Presidency
and Council of the Twelve Apostles:
That only heterosexual relations
within marriage are acceptable to
God and that men and women since
Adam and Eve have been commanded
fo ""multiply and replenish
the earth.""
discipline can be given for encouraging
sin by others.""
While many other Christian faiths
condemn homosexuality, Mormons
have unique reasons for doing so. It is
a basic tenet of the faith that only
men and women married for eternity
in a Mormon temple can dwell with
God, and their families, after death,
. and eventually attain godhood themselves.
Oaks' address appears in partial
response lo a growing number of
Mormon Gays and their parents
wounded by their treatment within a
church that continues to insist homosexuality
is treatable and even
preventable.
In a letter to President Gordon B.
Hinckley on Aug. 27, 40 such parents
asked, ""How long must we endure
the marginalization and vilification of
our children?""
They took exception to the monthly
""First Presidency Message"" in the
September issue of the Ensign written
_by Hinckley's counselor, James E.
Faust, who declared the scien tific
theory of . an inborn homosexual
orientation a ""false belief.""
'The fruits of mounting scientific
evidence, our own experience and
our own children tell us otherwise,""
the parents wrote.
They also decried the continued
insistence by LDS Social Services on
placing a large share of the blame for
homosexuality on poor parenting,
such an absent or weak father and a
dominant mother. The church agency
provides sexual re-orientation therapy
to Mormon Gays.
""If this theory had any vaJ.iqily, we
would expect to see an .epidemic of
homosexuality in the ghettos where
absent fathers are the rule rather than
the exception,"" the parents told
Hinckley.
A 1995 set of guidelines from LDS
Social Services to Mormon counselors
and psychotherapists says an ""important
goal in working with the
parents of feminine boys and mascu- Mormons who engage in homo""
sexual behavior can expect · to be
excommunicated, Oaks said, ""And SEE MORMONS, Page 19
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER l 9 9 5
In Print ....................................................... ..................
Baptist leader finds God's suffering in AIDS victims
Burden of a Secret
it with us."" By David Briggs
Associated Press Religion Writer
c)ffhe Rev. Jimmy Allen's friends
:;;J' considered him a modern -day
Job, the biblical figure who endured
tragedy after tragedy as a test of faith.
The book, Burden of a Secret, is
published by Moorings, in Nashville,
, Tenn.
The world of the former Southern
Baptist president came crashing down
a decade ago, when he found out his
daughter -in-law and two grandsons
had .been infected with the AIDS
virus during a blood transfusion she
received in her first pregnancy. Lydia
and her second child, Bryan, have
died, and her other son, Matthew, is
in the final stages of the disease.
In th.e midst of all the suffering, one
of Allen's sons told him he was gay
and also had AIDS.
Similar to the biblical account of
Job, Allen's family found most rejection
coming from within the church,
with congregation after congregation
turning . away his son's family when
they discovered some members had
AIDS.
But unlike Job, Allen has never
gotten angry at God.
In a new book describing his
experience, what Allen says he discovered
in his personal journey
through Gethsemane - the place Jesus
spent the night before his crucifixion -
was that God was suffering along
with him.
""I've been angry at sin and suffering.
I've not been angry at God,""
Allen said in an interview. ""God is in
Allen said that when he first found
out that AIDS had come to his family,
he was filled with ""why?"" questions.
'They come at night, when I am at
the edge of consciousness, trying to
sleep,"" Allen writes. ""Or in an unguarded
moment as I hear a laughing
child, the why questions leap across
my path to challenge me. Why could
it not be Bryan laughing, or Matt, or
Lydia? Why did they have to die so
young?""
As he struggled through the pain of
watching his grandson die, the
""whys"" became irrelevant.
And he found God hurting along
with him.
'The experience has deepened my\
awareness of the suffering in the
heart of God,"" Allen said in an
interview. ""God is much bigger than
I thought.""
Grief comes not to destroy people,
Allen said, but to draw them closer to
God.
""Perhaps rather than asking 'why
us?' we should ask, 'why not us?'
Allen says. ""Is not God's strength
adequate to carry us through the
same trials our fellow human beings
encounter? What good is a Gospel
that works only when the sun shines
and life is easy?""
Real faith, Allen said, is loving God
Rev. Jimmy Allen, author of
""Burden of a Secret,"" and
former Southern Baptist
Convention president
not .for his solutions to personal struggle,
but for himself.
""Faith that can take it when God
says 'no' adds steel to resolve, peace
to the soul, sensitivity to the suffering
of a hurting world, and absolute
confidence that God will ultimately
make things right, "" Allen said.
If God had healed his family
members of AIDS, Allen said .he
would have been ecstatic.
Guide makes ""going to the chapel"" easier But that didn't happen, and Allen
now must live with the mystery.
What gives him strength is the
mystery that God enters into his
suffering with .him, Allen said.
The Complete Gay Union Planner, a
new commitment ceremony package
developed by Rainbow Marketing, is
designed to give those who are planning
a commitment ceremony the
necessary tools to guide them with
confidence through the process of
organizing their day of commitment.
The central component of the
package is a 112-page manual that
provides worksheets and schedules to
keep even the most frazzled user on
track and organized . Covering every
aspect of planning the ceremony, the .
manual provides guidance on topics
from choosing the location and caterer
to arranging a more legal status for
the union.
A resource guide is included which
offers a complete list of suppliers of
gay union accessories such as rings
and caketoppers, gay-friendly religious
organizations, travel organizations
and tour operators and a list of
attorneys who deal with gay issues. A
full set of key legal documents is
provided to help those who wish to
make their legal status more than just
roommates. A full color ""marriage
certificate·· plus camera-ready invitation
templates are also included.
The Complete Gay Union Planner sells
for .$49.97 and is available from
Rainbow Marketing, 7501 Creekridge
Rd., #107, Charlotte, NC 28212,
(704)568-2673, rnbwmrkt@aol.com.
""I become most like God when I
love and suffer because God is a
loving, suffering God,"" he said.
In going public with his family's
experience, Allen · hopes to help
churcl1es become more responsive to
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the AIDS crisis.
""For my family, the issue is no
longer 'why us?' It is, 'how can we
help others avoid the suffering that
has c.ome to us?""'
These artists all have
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Martin Page. The Pointer Sisters. Suzi Qualro.
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SECOND STONE NOVEMBER/D E CEMBER l 9 9 5
InP rint • • •••• • ••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••• Q •••••••••••••••• • ••••••••••••••••••••
UFMCC elder writes about ""Our Tribe""
By Dr. Robert E. Goss
Contributing Writer
Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus,
and the Bible. Rev Nancy Wilson,
author. HarperSanFrancisco, 1995.
REV. NANCY WILSON, an
elder in the Universal Fellowship
of Metropolitan Community
Churches, has contributed a
major work in lesbian and gay Christian
theology . The UFMCC has
every reason to be proud of her latest
achievement. Our Tribe takes no back
seat to any denominational Christian
theology but pioneers liberation theology
into the next century. Nancy
Wilson witnesses to an alternative
vision to the postchristian option ·of
many gay and lesbian theologians.
The strength of the book is its
practical focus on the lived experience
of lesbian/ gay Christians. Wilson's
many anecdotes bring her theology
alive and gives us a personal glimpse
into a lesbian Christian who genuinely
cares about justice and love.
There are three major contributions,
I believe, that Our Tribe makes to
queer theology: 1.) a history of the
UFMCC's relationship to the National
Council of Churches, 2.) outing the
Bible, 3.) and a sexual theology.
Nancy Wilson narrates how the
UFMCC met the National Council of
Churches' requirements of membership
and the NCC's continued denial
of admission because of ecclesial
homophobia. She details the behind
the scenes world of ecumenical
politics that did not make public
press: Though the UFMCC met all
the membership requirements of the
National Council of Churches, there
was strong pressure for the UFMCC
to withdraw its application to that
body. The NCc; refused to acknowledge
the genuine spiritual awakening
in the gay /lesbian Christian
community. Wilson uses the wonderful
metaphor of a loose thread on a
coat to explain the threat posed to the
NCC by the UFMCC. When you pull
the thread, it begins to unravel. In
the same fashion, the NCC's inability
to deal with homosexuality indicates
the impoverishment of its theology of
sexuality. When confronted with
homosexuality, its whole homophobic/
heterosexist theologies of sexuality
come unravelled. Many of the
Recommended Reading For Everyone ...
PASTOR, I AM GAY
by The Reverend H. Howard Bess
An extraordinary book. PASTOR, I AM GAY ... is a
prophetic witness to the church. It is compelling in
its intensity, compassionate in its identifications, and
courageous in its call to sharing humanity without
ualifications. A reader will not be able to put it
own. James B. Ashbrook, Professor Emeritus and
Senior Scholar in Religion and Personality
Garrett Evangelical Tneological Seminary
Northwestern University
PASTOR, I AM GAY is a superb entry into the difficult and painful
subject of homosexuality that faces us in the church and sodety today.
Both pastor and lay person will find this book readable and informative
as we seek more insight into the lives of homosexual friends inside and
outside the church. Donald Parsons, BishopA, laska Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Order now from Second Stone Press
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SECOND STONE U!J
members of the NCC were not
prepared to deal with the challenge to
their theologies of sexuality .
UFMCC's sexual theology highlights
the shortcomings of the theologies of
sexuality of the membership of the
NCC.
Gay and
xual
Jready ln
hurch
Wilson outs Gays, Lesbians, and
bisexuals from their ancient biblical
closets. She sets out to uncover the
existence of men and women attracted
to the same sex within the Bible
beyond Jonathan and David, Ruth
and Naomi. Her discussion of the
biblical notion of eunuchs and barren
women is innovative. Ancients un- ~
derstood, Wilson claims, eunuchs and
barren women as gay, lesbian and
bisexual antecedents. They were
men and women classified because
they chose not to have children. She
uses Jesus' own categorization of
eunuchs for the reign of God to define
Wilson outs Gays,
Lesbians and bisexuals
from their
ancient biblical
closets. She sets
out to uncover the
existence of men
and women
attracted to the
same sex within
the Bible beyond
Jonathan and
David, Ruth and
Naomi.
Rev. Nancy Wilson, second from
right, author of Our Tribe, in a
protest at a National Council of
Churches general board meeting.
him and others as eunuchs. Wilson
outs the Magi, Mary and Martha,
Lazar us, the Roman . Centurion, the
missionary woman couples
Tryphaema and Tryphosa, Euodia
and Syntyche, Paul and Silas, and
angelic messengers. Wilson imaginatively
,rereads the story about the
destruction of Sodom and Gommorrah
as the attempted violent rape of two
male angels (who also fall within the
biblical definition of eunuch). The
true Sodomite is the violent murder of
Alan Schindler, ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia, and the Tailhook incident.
Finally, Nancy Wilson develops a
queer sexual theology based on the
biblical notions of hospitality and the
Sabbath, For Wilson, to share sexually
with someone is literally to make
room for them in our body. Our
bod_y is home, and sexuality is an
mv1tat10n of bodily hospitality.
Wilson's notion of bodily hospitality
provides a basis for the development
of a sexual ethic. Coerciv.e sex violates
a sense of bodily hospitality. A
second point in Wilson's sexual
theology is her correlation of human
sexuality with a Sabbath theology.
fake the Sabbath, human sexuality
was intended for our mutual joy and
pleasure. Sexuality is about being
made in'the image of God who loves
fun, joy and pleasure. Wilson boldly
paraphrases Jesus Sabbath saying,
""Sexuality was made for humanity,
not humanity for sexuality."" For
Wilson, God is a God of sexual
pleasure and sexual justice. Imagine
what the National Council of
Churches could learn from Wilson's
sexual theology and how it could
transform its fearful theologies to
encompass a creation theology of
s~xual theology as an original blessmg
rather than an origianl sin. I
cannot recommend Our Tribe enough
to gay and lesbian Christians for their
reading, prayer, and practice.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 9 9 5
...... . .... .. . ..
City of Refuge joins UCC
t.CITY OF REFUGE Community
Church in San Francisco has joined
the United Church of Christ. The
church occupies a 28,000 sq. ft. former
television station at Van Ness and
Greenwich streets. One of the fastest
growing churches in the Bay Area,
the primarily African-Americanchurch
was tounded just four y ears ago by
the Rev. Yvette Flunder and 14 original
members and has already grown
to embrace almost 600 members.
Flunder is a third generation pastor,
raised in the African-American Pentecostal
tradition.
Fort Worth church
celebrates new name
t.A MISSION CHURCH started in
Fort Worth, Texas and originally
named Whit e Rock West after its
founding church has taken a big step
in creating its own identity . The
newly renamed Celebration Community
Church was started in 1993
by Jerry Cook, pastor of White Rock
Church in Dallas. Al the time, Cook
would commute 35 miles from Dallas
to Tarrant County to conduct a 5 p.m.
service and then quickly return to
Dallas to preach a 7 p.m. service. In
November of 1994 the church called
it's first pastor, Rev. Bill Prickett, who
had been working as coordinator of
Evangelicals . Concerned / Laguna
CORONER,
From Page 7
he said.
On Sept. 14, Gov. Mike Lowry
wrote to Amend about his postmortem
comments in the Carver case.
""I am concerned that your
statements following her death have
been misleading and inaccurate. The
murder of Rachel was not committed
by a gay person, yet you have used
her death to indict the entire gay
community,"" Lowry wrote.
""While the abuse or murd .er of a
young child is unforgivable, it is simply
unfair and unwarranted to single
out the gay community following
Rachel's death .""
The governor's legal counsel, Kent
Caputo, asked the state Medical
Quality Assurance Commission to
investigate Amend. The 19-member
panel has the authority to revoke a
physician's license, but it is not often
used, Director Keith Shafer said.
""You are requested to take any and
all appropriate action to ensure that
the health and well-being of the
people of the state are protected from
such unprofessional and devastating
conduct,"" Caputo said in a Jetter to
Shafer.
While the commission could strip
Amend of his physician's license, it
does not have the power to remove
him from the coroner's office.
The papers for a recall movement
SECOND STONE
Noteworthy
• • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • e • • • • • • • • • • • • • ·• • • • • • • • •
Beach, in California. ""It was a tedious
process finding a name,"" Prickett
said. ""We had many people working
hard on the transition . Most everyone
in the church wanted a new
name. It was just a matter of finding
one that fit. I like the new name. It
communicates a .strong message. We
are about celebrating. We celebrate
all that God has done in Christ. We
celebrate God's acceptance. And ~e
celebrate who we are, as God's gay
and lesbian Children."" Average
church attendance has doubled - to
about 60 - since the name change. For
information on Celebration Community
Church, call (817)245-0433.
Lutheran ministry produces
posters aimed at gay youth
t.A LUTHERAN LESBIAN and Gay
Ministries partnership grant supporting
Wingspan Ministry's Youth and
Family Poster Project has made it
possible for the organization to print
two new posters this year bringing
the number of gay-positive posters
available to four. Wingspan is a ministry
of St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran
Church in St. Paul, Minn. The posters
are designed for use in school districts,
health clinics, AIDS service
organizations and youth service
organizations . For information on the
posters call (612)224-3371 or write to
are inching their way through the
legal process, but the earliest
organizers would be able to get the
issue on the ballot would be next
year. The next regular election for
coroner is 1998.
. Says Rev. Wood, ""A recall effort
will be costly, even with contributed
legal efforts. Furthermore there is a
noisy and probably deep-pocketed,
fundamentalist support group for Dr.
Amend who are planning to fight the
recall effort all the way.""
Amend is not without his
supporters.
About 250 people turned out at an
• after-church rally for him in late
August. He delivered a rambling
speech detailing the particulars of
anal sex for the crowd, which included
many children.
""Sodomy is what I am rejecting,""
Amend said. ""It is inhuman.""
Michelle Lowell, an anti-gay rights
activist who organized the rally,
called Amend's remarks courageous
and urged his audience to work to
restore laws that make sodomy a
crime.
It is estimated that the recall effort
will need $25,000 to cover the costs
involved. Donations may be sent to
the Recall Amend Committee, 6123
N . Fleming, Spokane, WA 99205.
-Associated Press and other reports
CD
the church at 100 N. Oxford, St. Paul,
MN 55104-6540.
""Cool, your parents are gay! Why
didn't you tell me?'' One of the new
posters available from Wingspan.
King's House celebrates
first anniversary
t.THE ,KING'S HOUSE Praise and
Worship Center, Campbell, Calif.,
celebrated its first anniversary with a
festival weekend Sept. 8-10. Evangelist
Naomi Harvey was the guest
speaker. This active ministry for gay
and lesbian Christians is located at
1550 S. Winchester Ave., Suite 109 in
Campbell, phone (408)288-8584.
David Harvey serves as pastor.
Integrity/Chicago celebrates
21st anniversary
t.lNTEGRITY /CHICAGO was scheduled
to celebrate its 21st anniversary
on November 4 with a Eucharist in
the Cathedral of St. James followed by
a banquet featuring an address by
Louie Crew, founder of the national
organization. All eleven people who
first gathered in December of 1974
were invited to return for the
celebration. At presstime, the group
was hoping to have Bishop Primo as
principal celebrant, since he presided
at the first Integrity convention
Eucharist in November of 1975.
l:3aptist Honesty group
forms in Dallas
iiSOUTHERN BAPTISTS, the largest
Protestant denomit\ation in Texas,
have long been associated with
hostility and indifference towards
members of the gay community. A
light in this denomination sparked on
Monday, October 2, with the creation
of a supportive association of gay and
lesbian Baptists called ""Honesty/
Texas ."" The group has no official
connection to the' Southern Baptist
Convention and therefore considers
itself an autonomous, independent
voice within the denomination. Unable
to find a local Baptist church
host, the 20 charter members convened
their inaugural meeting at the
Northaven United Methodist Church
in Dallas. Those who gathered found
openness and encouragement to be a
positive voice uniting their gay and
Baptist identities. Although the
group is primarily Baptist, any gay or
lesbian Christian without a support
system is invited to attend. Honesty/
Texas has two preliminary goals:
provide support for gay and lesbian
Baptists as they seek to know and
follow God's will for their lives, and
to educate individuals, local congregations,
and the denomination about
the complex issues surrounding
homosexuality. For information on
Honesty, write to P. 0. Box 190869,
Dallas, TX 75219 or call (214)521-5342,
ext. 233.
AIDS ministry gets award
t.BRO. STEPHEN E. BRADDOCK,
0.5.C., founder and executive director
of AIDS Ministry for the Order of
St . Camillus, was honored by the
Mid-West Hispanic AIDS Coalition
with the 1995 ""Ltiz Y -Vida"" (Light
and Life) Award for outstanding contributions
made to the Hispanic Community
of Wisconsin. The award was
presented August 25th at Milwaukee's
United Community . Center.
MHAC is a non-profit membership
organization of Hispanics and nonHispanics
addressing the problem of
HIV/ AIDS among Hispanics in Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio and Wisconsin.
:w,
Brother Stephen Braddock, right, is
presented with the 1995 ""Lux Y Vida""
award by Jose Avila.
Luke ""Sissyfag"" joins ex-gays
FORMER MEMBER OF ACT UP
Seattle Luke ""Sissyfag"" Montgomery
has joined the fundamentalist antigay
movement. He promotes antigay
initiatives and refers to himself as
a former homosexual activist.
This past summer he appeared on
religious radio stations across the
country and in an interview with
Focus on the Family leader James
Dobson, he approved the attacks
against the gay community.
'The gay community is . devoid of
any moral character ... and it's a
totally shallow, disgusting lifestyle,""
he said. ·
Montgomery (he's changed his
name back) is in Los Angeles, where
he 's attempting to become a ""shockjock""
anti-gay radio talk show host.
- Seattle Gay News
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER l , 9 9 5
' . . Comment . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............. - .................. .
Refuse to lose
By butchwalks@aol.com
Guest Comment
r'""'f1his morning all over the papers l ~nd within the sports media is
the story of the Mariners and their
chance at the championship. ·
One title caught my eye and made
me reflect upon my own spiritual
challenges. The sportswriter said
everywhere you look .in the Seattle
area you can see the ""Refuse to Lose""
theme boosting the enthusiam and
spirit for our home team.
God's spirit reflected this theme to
my own journey. Here is what I.
meditated on, perhaps you can get
something out of it as well.
1. The ""Refuse to Lose"" attitude. If
these athletes compete with body,
soul, and all of their strength to
obtain an earthly crown and recompense
for their efforts, how much
more should we - the children of God
- put our entirety into God's working
in our lives?
Too often we have a defeatist complex
. I have great news my friends,
we are winners in Christ! That's not
just an attitude, but a reality. ""We are
more than conquerers through Christ
who loved us ... "" Halluliah!
2. The news broadcaster also
boasted about the attendance. 57,000
plus spectators. If you saw the
Mariners last playoff game against
New York, you saw the stadium come
to life as that winning hit was made.
The crowd rose to their feet, shouts
were heard for miles around the
Kingdome, the fans at home watching
via television, the people at work and
listening to th(! radio were all in
unparalleled rejoicing over their
team's achievements.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, I
have · good news. There is more than
any 57,000 plus in our spectators
arena. The Scripture tells us that there
is a '.'great cloud of witnesses"" that
Will address areas wh_ere consensus exists
watch us in our race upon this earth.
Think about that for a second .
When we are faced in a two strike,
two out inning and it is all upon us
and what we do at bat...there are
angelic hosts in heaven shouting and
praying aloud for us to overcome the
obstacles of Satan's temptations.
Thank God for our heavenly support.
3. The paper this morning listed an
entire page of the Mariners' stats in
comparison with the Indians. Amazingly,
God records our stats too.
Think of our stats like this. Blessed
are the peacemakers ... Blessed are the
pure in heart...Blessed are the
merciful...Blessed are you when
people shall persecute you and say all
kinds of evil things about you ...
So how are our stats? There is a
song that says how many are the lost
that I have lifted? How many are the
chained I've helped to free? I wonder
have I done my best for Jesus, when
Christ has done so much for me.
4. Then there was the heros of the
team ... Ken Griffey, Jr ... Manny
Ramirex, Edgar Martinex, Randy
Johnson ... AII of these talented and
hardworking athletes deserve their
due applause and honor. Our team
all-star is better than any of these
guys. Our team all-star has never
struck out, never dropped a catch,
never hit a bad pitch. Our team
all-star is none other than Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Many times as gay /lesbian/ transgendered
/bi Christians we would
rather sit on the bench and wear the
team uniform and attend practice
... but we don't like to get out there
in the spotlight where we can be seen
participating on the team. When all of
God's team players play wholeheartedly
as the Seattle Mariners then
we, the Church of Jesus Christ will
also be the victorious, overcoming,
and ""refusing to lose.""
Lutherans to produce ""message"" on human sexuality
CHICAGO - The Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America will produce a
""message"" on human sexuality before
it considers another possible ""social
statement"" on the subject.
The ELCA Division for Church
in Society (DCS) will ""draft a 'message'
for consideration by the church
council in fall 1996 on those areas for
which· there appears to be consensus
within this church,"" according to the
council's executive committee.
The council may adopt the message
or it may distribute the text for
comment in the church prior to transmitting
it to the 1997 Churchwide
Assembly, the executive committee
action said. The DCS board received
the committee's action at its Sept.
28-30 meeting here. Any prospect of
developing a social statement on
human sexuality will be reviewed following
that assembly, the executive
committee said.
The assembly could consider the
message if the council feels it is
setting new policy . It would also
""help keep the momentum going in
terms of our discussion of the subject,""
said the Rev. Charles S. Miller, DCS
executive director.
The division develops social
'statements for action by the church
council and the biennial Churchwide
Assembly, and it develops messages
on social issues for action by the
37-member church council. Social
statements usually define church
policy, while messages are ""persuasive,
non-policy communications on
timely, urgent social issues.""
;•we may have to push the
margin a bit,"" Miller said. A
SECOND STONE
message on human sexuality may go
beyond current definitions ""only
because some of the material ... is not
treated in predecessor church social
statements, and the understanding of
a message is that it does not ordinarily
break new ground in terms of
policy for the church.""-
The message will probably not
create new policy, said Miller. 'There
are just some places we are going to
have to admit this is taking us into
territory where the predecessor
churches have not been,"" he said.
The ELCA has been studying the
topic of human sexuality since 1989
with the hopes of developing a social
statement on the subject. Two drafts
of a possible statement were met with
great interest and largely negative
response, but portions of the drafts
were praised for clearly stating the
church's opposition to abuses of
r._« Pontius' Puddle
HOW COME'.. T~~ $E:A~c~
COMt-\\TTEE l'ORNE:t>
C>OWN ""TI-U:. APPL\C~NT
FOR -n-\E. PASTO~A.il: °?
human sexuality.
Miller said the message may ""on
the one hand deal with practices that
violate our sexuality and then on the
other hand deal with our witness in
public policy regarding matters of
sexuality. Those two areas would be
the ones most naturally lifted up in
the message, because we found in the
responses to the first and the second
draft relatively little disagreement
with that material,"" he said.
The church council's executive
committee asked the division to begin
work on ""a multi-authored volume on
how Lutherans do ethics, with a
companion document to be prepared
for congregational use.""
DCS will work with Lutheran
ethicists, to develop the multiauthored
piece probably dealing with
more topics than human sexuality.
The executive committee also
Tl4.AT1S OOTRAGEOU$!
WI-IA1 QOIRK or \,IRTI-\
CO<JLD POSS\5L\J CAUS'c.
TI-\E CI-\ORC.1-l TO OVERLOOI(
T""'E INNER GIFTS ONE
IS ASKEO ""TO 8RIN&--
TO ,l-\E. MIN\STR\J '?
directed DCS staff to undertake
""appropriate efforts related to issues of
hospitality and justice"" with gay and
lesbian Lutherans.
The possibility of the ELCA ever
producing a social statement on
human sexuality is unclear. ""We'll
have to wait until after the 1997
Churchwide Assembly __ to see
whether, in light of what w e've
produced, the church through the
assembly still believes we should
continue work on a social statement,""
said Miller.
In other action, the board
officially brought ""closure to the work
of the original task force on human
sexuality"" assembled in 1989. A
letter of appreciation will include
recognition of the personal attacks
task force members suffered in the
course of their work on this
controversial topic .
-BEINC:r
80RN
rEMAL.E.
I HOP£
YOU WE.NT
RO<.>C::rl-\ ON
μER
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER l 9 9 5
YourTurn ............................................ ·• .......................... .
Louisville, Kentucky
Lutheran assembly
""best ever"" for
Gays, Lesbians
Dear Second Stone,
I felt the September/ October issue of
Second Stone had a very negative tone
about the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.
This is unjustified and incorrect.
Our new bishop, George Anderson,
is much more supportive and will do
a lot to push the church to move
forward than your article suggested.
. This assembly was the best ever for
lesbian/gay people and we are very
pleased. Instead of a backlash, which
some had · predicted following the
sexuality debate going on, we were
·welcomed and our place at the table
in this denomination was assured.
Sure, we didn't get everything we
hoped for ... ordination is still not
CLOSET,
From Page 3
""I think Tracey Lind is one of the ·
finest priests I've ever known,"" he
told the Herald & News. 'The fact that
Tracey is a lesbian who lives in a
committed relationship is of little
interest to me.""
Robert . Briggs, who serves on St.
Paul's vestry and runs a homeless
shelter for the parish, credited Lind
with helping him transform his life. ""I
was living on the street for two years,
MORMONS,
From Page 14
line girls is to improve the marital
relationship - schisms between the
parents are apparent in almost all
cases.
""Gender confusion is less likely
when love and harmony are present
in the parents' marriage. Treatment
for the parents is aimed at overcoming
their distance from each
other.""
Many Mormon Gays and their
parents hold out hope that a
preponderance of scientific evidence
eventually will cause the church
affirmed (although as a result of the
discussions in the church at large,
more and more bishops are ordaining
candidates they know to be gay/
lesbian, and encouraging those dergy
who come out to stay in the ministry),
but significant progress was achieved.
I value Second Stone and continue to
encourage people to subscribe.
Sincerely,
Jim Oxyer
Lutherans Concerned/Louisville
Longview, Texas
A Christian
before anything else
Dear Second Stone,
I am a Christian and that is first in
my life. To be gay is only a secondary
thing. Being gay or straight,
male or female; white or of color
should be secondary in every Christian's
life. Yet many Christians still
living in cars, in abandoned
buildings,"" he said.
There are inany openly gay priests
in the Episcopal Church, several
dozen of them in New Jersey. Unlike
bishops, who are answerable to the
national church leadership, priests
can be disciplined only by the bishop
for whom they work.
St. Paul's, founded in 1812 by
Paterson's silk gentry; is one of the
more diverse churches in New Jersey.
It is 45 percent black, 35 percent
white and 10 percent Hispanic .
leaders they revere as prophets to
look less sternly on same-sex marriages.
""As tlw understanding of homosexuality
evolves, is the status · quo
the best we can hope for?"" the parents
asked Hinckley, the church's ""prophet,
seer and revelator.""
""Is it possible that additional
revelation may be forthcoming that
might bring some peace and un<;lerstanding
to our families? How long
must we and the church remain in
conflict with ourselves?""
SECOND STONE Newsjournal, ISSN No. 1047-3971, is published every other
month by Bailey Communications, P. 0 : Box 8340, New Orleans, LA 70182.
Copyright 1995 by Second Stone, a registered trademark .
SUBSCRIPTIONS , U.S.A. $17,00 per year, six issues. Foreign subscribers add
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EDITORIAL, send letters, calendar announcements, noteworthy items to
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Manuscripts to be returned should be accompanied by a stamped, self addressed
envelope, Second Stone is otherwise not responsible for the return of any material,
SECOND STONE, a national ecumenical Christian social justice newsjoumal
with a specific outreach to sexual orientation minorities.
PUBLISHER/EDITOR: Jim Bailey
SECOND STONE G)
see some of these parts of themselves
as first in their life.
In the Bible when people became
changed for the better for God they
had a name change. Maybe God is
calling .on us as a group of Christians
to separate ourselves from the gay
world. To change our name, to take a
higher calling. In the Bible the
higher calling for the word gay is joy.
To be gay is of the world, to be joy is
of God. To be for Christ is joy .
Nehemiah 8:9-10 says non-Christians
are under law. We as Christians are '
under grace. Gay people weep and
mourn under the change of laws. But
we as Christians know, ""the joy of the ·
Lord is our strength .
The wake-up call is today . Does
anyone hear the gentle voice of God
in Christ calling us to a life of joy?
Will anyone take the high road from
gay to joy?
May joy be yours today and for
eternity,
Paul Ennis
W From the Editor W • -, • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • e
""Their"" organizations offer more than ""ours""
By Jim Bailey
- ...
CONTRARY TO WHAT many of us may feel by now, Dr. James Dobson's
Focus on the , Family organization was not created to crusade against gay rights
and wo~en s nghts. Those were not the issues that expanded Dobson'&
orgaru~t10 _n ~rom a small two-roo~ operation into the giant Colorado Springs
enterpnse 1t 1s today. Through his earlier therapy practice Dobson began to
understand that, yes, the American family was indeed in trouble. About half o/
all married couples were s~litting up and m~ny who were staying together
w~re havmg trouble mamta1m1;1-g thetr commitment. In many families where
children . were prese,nt, parentmg s~ills were seen as lacking. So Dobson
crea_t:d an orgaruzahon to help marned couples stay together and raise their
farruhes. T~e need was certainly there, and with Focus on the Family doing a
. fairly good JOb of meeting those needs, the organization grew ·exponentially .
Focus on the Family is basically a resource center offering books, video tapes ,
ne_""'.sletters , and . media program~in~ t~~t suppo~s families in trouble.
Mismformah~>n about gay and lesbian md1V1dual, family and parenting issues
notw1thstandmg, Focus on the Family has made material available that without
doubt has been helpful to many, many families . Those appreciative families
and many other supportive families are now members of Focus on the Family.
When Dr. Dobson inco~ectly id~ntified gay rights as a threat to the family, the
vast membership of his orgamzalton gave him a powerful voice to speak
against gay and lesbian people.
The gay community responded to Focus on the Family and other such
organizations by forming political organizations. (True to our weakness of not
?eing able to agree much of time, we formed several splintered organizations
mstead of _one powerful one.) We are asked to send money to join. We do.
Then we fmd that most of our contact with this group will be in the form of
more solicitations and possibly a newsletter or ballot of endorsements . We are
asked to do much of the lobbying work ourselves . And send more money.
Who gets more out of the ir membership - a member of Focus on the Family -
or a member of one of our political groups? Is there any wonder that we just
can't match their numbers? ·
The )argest i:;ay and lesbian ""focus"" group in America doesn't exist yet. It will
come mto bemg when, hke Dr. Dobson, someone provides a balm for the
difficul~ies and struggles we face in our lives and our relationships. We will
know, hke members of Focus on the Family, that we are affiliated with a group
that understands the pain we have felt - and offers solutions, answers and
support.
Every now and then I see a spark of hope that such a group may come out of
one of our gay and lesbian Christian organizations. Then again, maybe not.
We continue to let petty differences divide us. In the larger religious commuruty,
even evangelicals and Roman Catholics are coming together to work
toward common goals.
We continue to miss the big harvest because, with help only from People Like
Us, we toil the tiny field of familiarity and minor comfort.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5
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• NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 199 5",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,43,1995,"Nov/Dec 1995",,,,,,,,,,https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/files/original/d1f70c98d6dd9a7021e05e0cc9335aeb.pdf,Issue,"Second Stone",1,0