|
| |
Summer 1993 [HTML]
Voice of Integrity, Summer 1993
This is an electronic reproduction of The Voice of Integrity, the
quarterly publication of Integrity, Inc., the lesbian and gay justice
ministry of the Episcopal Church. All materials except those
reproduced from other sources are copyrighted by Integrity, Inc. You
may reproduce all original material herein if you state "Reproduced
from the Summer, 1993 issue of The Voice of Integrity, the quarterly
publication of Integrity, Inc., the lesbian and gay justice ministry of the
Episcopal Church."
Material may not appear exactly as published since some changes
were made after the document was transferred to desk top publishing
format.
We encourage you to join Integrity. We encourage non-Episcopalians
and non-lesgay persons to join. If you are a lesbian or gay
Episcopalian and don't belong to Integrity, you're benefitting from all
our work and we hope you'll strongly consider helping us by joining.
Individual annual membership $25, Couple's annual membership $40,
Low income/student/sr. citizen $10. Please mail check or money
order to Integrity, Inc., PO Box 5255 NYC, NY 10185
**********
Summer 1993
*The Voice of Integrity*
Volume 3, Number 3
Published by Integrity, Inc.
P.O. Box 19561
Washington, D.C. 20036-0561
Telephone 718-720-3054
Bruce Garner, President
Edgar Kim Byham, Publisher
R. Scott Helsel, Editor
Contributing Editors:
Claudia Windal, Louie Crew, Paul Wooodrum
Blair McFadden, Layout
Dorothy Gunn, Production
Editorial Office: 201-868-2485
PO Box 5202; NYC, NY 10185
Member Episcopal Communicators
Associate Member Gay & Lesbian Press Association
Copyright 1993
********************
*TABLE OF CONTENTS*
*March on Washington*
Pilgrim Lutibelle's Report
An Abiding Place
Religious Leaders Support March
Journey Folk
All Things New
The Wedding
Celebrating Life
EURRR's Cannons Flaming Again
Former Integrity Chaplain Elected First Female Diocesan
Judge Dismisses $4 Million Lawsuit in Virginia
I Was in Prison and You Came to Me
*Book Reviews*
Nothing New: "New Millennium, New Church"
New Prayers For Old Occasions:
"Daring to Speak Love's Name"
Chapter Updates
Disciples' Candidate Supportive
Claudia's Column
Joshua's Baptism Pushes the Boundaries of the Family of God
*Lesgays in the Military*
The Beat Goes On
A Retired Chaplain on Gays in the Military
The Presiding Bishop Supports an End to the Military Ban
UCC Leader Testifies for End of Military Ban
PB Writes to Armed Forces Chaplains
An Exchange of Pleasantries
East Tennessee Symposium to Explore Search for
Structural Reform of the Episcopal Church
Much Fuss Down Under:
First "Openly" Gay Ordinand in Australian Church Quits
Topeka Parish Gay Bashed
Commission on AIDS/HIV Surveying Church's Ministries
EURRR Opposes Minnesota Bishop-Elect
New Dallas Bishop Says He's Open, We'll See
Suffragan Bishop-Elect in Virginia Accused of Sexual Misconduct
A Not Very Pastoral Letter
British Bishop Admits Charges, Resigns
Homophobia Doesn't Just Hurt Gay People - Part II:
Straight Integrity Member Fired for Supporting Equality
Bishop Plummer Charged With Sexual Misconduct:
The Church and the Media React
God's Vulnerability in Our Sexual Choices
Songs for One of Our Unsung Heroes,
Helping Ohio Sing a New Song
Should Integrity Change How it Addresses the Clergy?
Integrity Plays A Major role in Colorado
Losing 1997 General Convention
Lesbian Prof Dismissed by General Seminary
President's Column
Should We Support the ESA?
********************
*EPISCOPAL COMMUNICATORS*
This Publication Honored by Episcopal Communicators
At its annual convention, held in New Orleans June 9-12, 1993, "The
Voice of Integrity" received Polly Bond Awards and honorable
mention recognition for several articles in 1992. Integrity's entries
compete in the Magazine division, Agency Level, a group which
includes "The Witness" and "The Living Church."
Reader Response: Award of Excellence
"Comments on the Bishops' 'Issues in Human Sexuality'"
.LM 16
Authors: Louie Crew, Guy R. Foster, John M.
Gessell, Larkette Lein, David Lochman, Virginia
Ramey Mollenkott, Peter C. Moore, Tim Vivian,
David White
.LM 11
Summer 1992 issue
Headline: Award of Merit
"Art Imitates Episcopal Life"
Author: Kim Byham
Fall 1992 issue
Editorial: Honorable Mention
"PB Hopelessly Heterosexist"
Author: L. Paul Woodrum
Fall 1992 issue
News Story: Honorable Mention
"`France's Troy Perry' Murdered, Police
Implicated"
Author: Kim Byham
Spring 1992 issue
Theological Reflection: Honorable Mention
"Some Instructive Parallels"
Author: Warner Traynham
Winter 1992 issue
Devotional/Inspirational: Honorable Mention
"Kicking, Screaming, Limping: Being the Church
in the World"
Author: Louie Crew
Spring 1992 issue
********************
MEMBERSHIP FORM
*INTEGRITY, INC.*
PO Box 5255
NYC, NY 10185
I want to share in Integrity's work for justice for lesbians
and gay men. Please enter my membership as checked
below and begin my subscription to "The Voice of
Integrity."
[ ] Individual annual membership $25
[ ] Couple annual membership $40
[ ] Low income/student/sr. citizen $10
Mr./Ms/Miss
Mrs./Rev./Dr.
__________________________________________
Address
_________________________________________________
City _________________________ State
___________________
Phone ________________________ Zip
_____________________
Please mail with your check or money order to:
INTEGRITY, INC., PO Box 5255 NYC, NY 10185
All contributions tax-deductible to the
extent permitted by law.
********************
*MARCH ON WASHINGTON*
Pilgrim Lutibelle's Report
by Louie Crew
We were early enough Friday evening to park in
St. Thomas's small lot, since David Allen White, our
host, needed to arrive to multiply the loaves and fishes.
Ernest and I walked to Dupont Circle, where I had
come so many weekends, 1962-65, for long meditations
and droolings that led me to flee to England and
embrace my identity. I always remember Dupont Circle
as at least four times larger than it actually is, rather the
way I remember neighborhood gullies that I learned to
jump when 8 or 9. "I feel like I'm back in Hong Kong,"
Ernest said, responding to the thickness of the crowd. It
swelled even more as we walked up Mass. Ave., towards
Lambda Rising and the March Office. Police limited
the crowds allowed in Lambda Rising, and 5 or 6
separate lines of people, each a block long, waited to
enter the book store. What revolution has ever been
this much about the right to read!?
A small crowd had already gathered outside St.
Thomas's when we returned. A much larger crowd had
grown inside. I gave up waiting in line to sign the guest
book, lest I not get a seat in the service. Ushers brought
in more and more chairs. The small Washington
chapter wore itself to a frazzle feasting and libating all
the pilgrims afterwards.
At 10:30 on Saturday morning we rushed by cab
to Mt. St. Alban. Ernest explored the Cathedral of St.
Peter and St. Paul for his first time. I slipped into the
small chapel in the Bishops House, where four of us
kept simultaneous vigil with similar small groups in
cathedrals all over the United States protesting with
prayers the consecration of Bishop Iker occurring at the
same time in Fort Worth. Every chapel window
depicted female Christians from all times. As part of
my own meditation, I reMEMBERed every woman who
had shaped me in my childhood, writing down long lists
of names to make them members of me again, including
my blood family, my surrogate black family, my
teachers, the women in the neighborhood, Dorothy
Potter whom I played dolls with, Emily Cater whom I
played "naked" with, until her mother, Irene, came like
God into the garden, and we covered ourselves with
draperies as we stood in the bay windows, and I was
spanked severely and forbidden to go to the puppet
show....
"Justice, Justice, Shalt Thou Pursue" was the
theme of the Interfaith Service at the Church of the
Epiphany on Saturday afternoon at 3 o'clock. Several
hundred pilgrims packed in to hear Rabbi Sharon
Kleinbaum and Episcopal priest Ted Karpf preach
poignantly to this theme. [See Father Karpf's sermon
on page 7.] Ted subtly reversed the Sodom story to
address the question of our numbers.
No one at this service -- designed months ago by
all the lesbigay religious groups in our capital for all
MOW pilgrims -- was able to attend a competing
service, beginning at 4, long before this service was
over, at the National Cathedral. Contrary to all its
public announcements, the service at the National
Cathedral was explicitly gay. The dean of the cathedral
did greet the crowd with specific reference to lesbigay
pilgrims.
By all accounts of those there, the service was
absolutely splendid and in the best traditions we all
expect of our national cathedral. But why did the
National Cathedral organize and publicize an event in
direct competition with an ecumenical service of all
lesbigay religious groups? Why did it make not one bit
of effort to contact any of those religious groups to
invite them to attend? Why did it get specific about its
gay connection only when the audience arrived?
On Sunday, I had been standing with Integrity in
the thick crowd on the mall near the Washington
monument for about four hours waiting for a space to
clear for our group to enter the narrow stream of
marchers going down Pennsylvania Avenue. The
crowds were so large that at our position we could see
no movement until long after the first marchers had
reached the end of Pennsylvania Avenue and re-entered
the mall at the other end.
I was weary. My legs were swelling. I decided to
risk lying down. While there was space enough, I was
not sure that anyone moving about would see me, nor
that I could get back up, given where Mr. K. Knee Stone
had kicked me in the back. I lay there for half an hour
or so, vaguely listening to the loud speakers of the
performers and speakers on the platform two of three
blocks away. The march, I realized, was not about
getting somewhere, but about presence, about being
there, about being present together.
We marched but followed no one. In fact, we
might just as well not have "marched," given the
difficulty of movement, but might more expeditiously
have just sat on the mall all day long. We had arrived
en mass in our Capital. Any other movement was mere
choreography.
Celebrities dropped in and out occasionally, but
never controlled us. No one completely rapt the
throngs. (T-shirts might dispute that claim!)
Jesse Jackson preached at one point, and some
of us responded to his litany, "Keep hope alive" and "I'm
somebody." I was glad that he was there, glad that he
and other national leaders were not deaf to the pain
and suffering of those whom our institutions defined as
the least of these their sisters and brothers; but for
much of even Jackson's speech, my attention rambled,
as did that of many others present.
Earlier Phil Donohue got more response to his
litany, "Get over it!" How ironic that a talk show host
has won major moral authority in our time, but why
should I be surprised: the House of Bishop has
dialogued itself into irrelevance; Churches can't even
decide whether to be churches; arts consumers can't
even decide whether the massive death of artists should
even be noticed. Why should I be surprised if God uses
the very stones to cry out?
At one point I fetched Bishop Otis Charles
(formerly Bishop of Utah, now Dean of Episcopal
Divinity School) from the EDS/Harvard Divinity
contingent and brought him like a prize to the Integrity
area. Predictably, his episcopal shirt set up a murmur of
"Who's that bishop?" and some eased over to meet him.
For a brief moment when we did begin to move,
Bishop Jane Dixon appeared, almost like an apparition,
shook about 10 sets of palms, and disappeared. Mainly
we pilgrims seemed a leaderless crowd, and that seemed
good. So many hundreds of thousands of persons
together, with folks vying to lead us, or merely to get
our attention. It seemed to me we did quite well
without a leader. Perhaps someone needed to be on a
platform to feed the media, but for the most part,
people about me seemed to feed on our massive
presence itself, in all our glorious diversity.
Several Episcopal Bishops showed up the 1963
March on Washington. Only two showed up for our
much larger march in 1993. That's part of the problem!
Thank God for Bishop Jane and for Bishop Otis
Charles! I wish Bishop Ron could have been there with
his gay son, whom he affirms, but Mary, his wife, is still
trying to get the young man "regenerated" as straight.
Pray for them.
For me, the main moment of the weekend was a
personal one. While I lay on the grass I realized that
my spouse had sat down next to me. I was on my back
with my eyes closed, my knees elevated to improve
circulation. He rested himself by leaning on my right
leg, for a very long time. I began to be uncomfortable
with the pressure of his weight, and realized I was
crying, but I struggled to give no indication whatever of
my discomfort, lest he stop resting on my knee, because
I realized for for the first time in two decades of
married life we were in a space where such simple
public affection called no attention to itself, in a space
where no one needed to monitor or take note of our
simply touching, and quite beyond the discomfort, I
wanted the joy of this simple touch to last forever and to
be available to everyone in the whole wide world.
********************
*AN ABIDING PLACE*
A Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon,
Suffragan Bishop of Washington, at the
Integrity/Washington Eucharist, April 23, 1993
It is a privilege for me to be here with you this
night. When Michael Hopkins called me some months
ago and invited me to be the celebrant at this Eucharist,
I had to do what we do when we think about what is the
thing we should do.
I'm in a new position, as you well know, with all
my fine garb. Statements that I make and places that I
go and pictures that are taken are seen in a different
way, and there's a part of that that I hate. I hate it that I
had to think about whether I would come here tonight.
I have celebrated for Integrity before, in this very nave,
and I thought, what a state to which I have been
elevated!
But I work for a wonderful man -- a man whom I
admire more than I can ever tell you, or I would never
have let my name be put forward last year when we
elected a suffragan. And I went into him and I said,
"Bishop, do you have any problems with my going to
celebrate for Integrity the weekend of the Great
March?" He said, "It's a celebration for Integrity, isn't
it?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Do you celebrate there?" I
said, "Yes." He said, "Then, what's the question?" I
want you to know that, because there are times that he
and I will make you angry and you will feel left out.
Whatever you think about me, I want you to think the
best of him because he's a brave and courageous man.
I also was a little stunned when I read the lessons
that are appointed for human dignity and rights that had
been chosen for tonight's lessons. When I saw that
when Michael sent me the service of liturgy, I thought,
well, we're really going to get into justice big-time
tonight! And there was that astonishing letter where
John begins with "God is love" and then in Matthew's
gospel where those two commandments on which all the
law and the prophets rest, and there are only two that
our Lord, Jesus Christ says, that we love God and that
we love our neighbors as ourselves.
And so we gather here tonight to talk about what it
means to love when we don't feel very loved in this
world.
It was exciting driving down here tonight. The
streets are full of people! And a rather extraordinary
experience took place just before I got here. I was
invited to tea at the Rector's home, the Rectory. As we
were sitting there we thought, was this a new beginning
for the church of God? There we sat in Jim's Holmes'
rectory -- a woman bishop and an openly gay priest --
thank God! And his loving partner was with us and I
have to tell you as we walked back to the church and we
heard the music over at Dupont Circle, Tim and I were
a little tempted to make a stop over there. But Jim said
we had to be here so we came over.
I want to talk about loving tonight. Because you
and I can go out of this place and we can be so filled
with bitterness and so filled with feeling oppressed that
we will not do what God would have us to do. For there
are goings-on in the church down in Texas this weekend
that break my heart as well. And I had to struggle as to
whether I would be there or not, and I have let women
down by not being there. So I ask you to pray for those
in that diocese, and for the men and women who are
part of that world, and for the oppression that they feel,
and for those who are even more oppressed who will
not ordain women.
You and I are called to tell the world about
another way of being and it's very appropriate that this
Great March is taking place in Eastertide, because you
and I are Easter people. We always believe that God is
doing a new thing and that no matter what humankind
can do, God can always overcome it.
In the epistle for tonight there is a word John
uses frequently. It is the word "abide" and that word
comes from the Hebrew word which means "to
tabernacle together." And so as you've gathered here
tonight and you have given me the privilege of gathering
with you, we've come to make that safe place, that tent
of meeting, that place of abiding, where we can come to
be refreshed and restored and healed and sent out into
the world. We need gatherings like this because
sometimes the world seems overwhelming and it's very
appropriate that people have come into this town this
weekend to say to the world, there are many of us who
care, straight and gay, for the dignity and worth of every
human being. But it is important that we find those
places, those abiding places where we can come for
strength and solace and courage.
Because the message, of course, is about loving,
it is about loving those that we do not want to love. For
if we go out of here tonight only thinking about
ourselves and the things that have been inflicted upon
us, we will not be doing what God has commanded us to
do. God has commanded us to love our neighbor as
ourself. And we know, when the lawyer asked Jesus
who our neighbor was, we got the story of the
Samaritan. But the neighbor for me is that one I really
don't want to love, and there are lots of those out there.
But if I hear these words and understand them, as I
know God has intended for me to understand, it means
that I am to love those who are the least lovable, those
who say things to me that are hurtful, because God has
called me to show the world another way. And I need
that abiding place, that tabernacling together with
people where I feel safe and I feel loved so that I can go
into a world that often I feel does not love me.
I am grateful that these are the lessons for
tonight for it would be very easy for us to be here
talking about our sorrows and the oppression that you
have felt in ways that I will never know. And there are
those among you who are people of color who have felt
oppression in ways that those of us who are white will
never know. And it is also important that this
Holocaust new museum has been opened here in
Washington this week to remind us what hatred can do.
People who are oppressed are not free from hatred.
And so that is a great reminder to me that hatred
withers my soul and makes me bitter and stingy and
mean, and we know what happens to people when we
become that way.
So I challenge you tonight as I challenge myself,
as we hear the words that were read to us in the lessons
from Holy Scripture, to love God and know that God
loves you and me. It is because God loves us and deems
us worthy that you and I are to go out in the world and
love others. The passage from Isaiah tells us what we
are to be -- a light to enlighten the nations. And so we
have a responsibility, we have a duty as Jim was saying
to me before we came tonight. We have a duty -- we
have a duty to show the world another way.
I pray for you as you are here this weekend, that
you connect with those that maybe you've not seen for a
long time, and that that abiding place which is begun
here will go with you out into the world, and you will
feel that kind of love of God and neighbor that will give
you the courage to do the things that you were called
upon to do, for the struggle is just beginning.
Being here with you tonight gives me courage. I
have been in a really bad mood all week. I have felt
oppressed. Excuse me, gentlemen, I have had men put
me down the last three days, and I've had to smile and
be nice and keep on going. And I'm sorta sick of it.
But I needed to hear those lessons. I needed to
hear that God loves me no matter what I do. And
because God loves me, then it is my privilege to serve
my God and to love those who seem most unlovable to
me.
God bless you all. Thank you once again for the
privilege of being the president of this Eucharist, and
God be with you as you go out into this world to make a
difference in the quality of life for all human beings.
In the name of God who creates us, liberates us, and
who sanctifies us. Amen.
********************
*RELIGIOUS LEADERS SUPPORT MARCH*
Representatives of several national religious
communities announced their support for the March on
Washington for Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Equal Rights
and Liberation. Endorsement were announced at a
March 17 press conference organized by the United
Church of Christ, which ended the Interfaith IMPACT
Annual Legislative Briefing, a national gathering of
people of faith for justice and peace held in
Washington, DC. The Episcopal Church did not
endorse the march.
Rabbi Lynne F. Landsberg of the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations discussed the need
for religious people everywhere to fight discrimination
against lesbians and gays. "We are here today to say,
loudly and clearly, that the real traditional values of
American life -- if not always of American history -- are
those of freedom, liberty and equality."
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) joined in these statements of support, with Kay
Dowhower saying, "The ELCA has committed itself to
participate in God's mission by 'advocating dignity and
justice for all people' ... which commits the church to
the civil rights of homosexuals ... The ELCA continues
its support of the Civil Rights Amendments Act for Gay
and Lesbian Civil Rights. We urge swift passage of this
legislation. We look upon the upcoming March on
Washington as one way in which those supportive of the
civil rights for all persons, regardless of sexual
orientation, can join together to support one another in
that effort."
Robert F. Glover of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) agreed, saying, "The church stands
firm today 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 support the April 25th March on Washington ...
in the hope that the day will soon come when all
Americans will enjoy equally the rights of their
citizenship."
Robert A. Alpern, director of the Washington
office of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 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's General Assembly Planning Committee
withdrew its reservation for the $3 million 1997 General
Assembly in Colorado. And our Beacon Press mailed
copies of a newly published book "Homophobia: How
We All Pay the Price" to 150 public libraries 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 join this historic
manifestation to reverse the cruel discrimination
practiced against 25 million or more of our relatives,
friends and others we do not know."
********************
*JOURNEY FOLK*
by Donald Snyder
Ubi sunt gaudia, In any place but there?
There are angels singing Nova cantica,
And there the bells are ringing, in Regis curia,
O that we were there!
This stanza from "In Dulci Jubio," especially the
line, 'O that we were there!' kept flowing through my
mind as the various events surrounding the March on
Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equal
Rights and Liberation began to unfold. I knew the
special importance of this event, as did everyone in the
gay and lesbian community. Even so, it soon became
apparent that others saw the event's importance as well.
The mainstream media, such as The New York Times,
NBC, and National Public Radio, did a number of
stories on gay and lesbian issues and used the march as
a way to introduce them. I couldn't help but feel some
support from these articles and stories, as the
momentum in my own mind began to build.
The significance of the march was in evidence as
Allen Lowe, my close friend and traveling companion,
and I began our journey toward Washington on Friday
morning. As we drove on I-95 we came upon two
women from New Hampshire with the hand-made sign,
"Honk If You're Queer," in their back window and four
men in a rental car from New York with a large
lavender triangle in the rear window. No guessing was
needed as to their destination. Even the four people
from New Jersey with the Rand-McNally Street Map for
Washington in their side window subtly stated their
weekend location.
At a well reviewed restaurant in Philadelphia,
our sense of anticipation continued. Our server shared
stories about people she knew who were going, and the
bartender told of his plans to leave on Saturday.
Upon arrival in the Dupont Circle area, I had
the impression that the nation's capital had been
transformed into a gay and lesbian small town. People
walking to their destinations and visiting with strangers
proved that given half a chance, we don't have to
maintain the icy veneer that is often present in gay and
lesbian bars.
There was a family reunion feeling as Integrity
members and friends began to gather at St. Thomas
Church. As the service began and we sang the hymns,
the standing-room-only congregation exuded more spirit
and verve than the acoustics and architecture of the
church could contain. It was so inspiring to hear the
epistle reader for the evening share her heartfelt
thoughts about having been alienated by the Southern
Baptist Church several years earlier, and how she had
found a special sense of reconnection with organized
religion through Washington's Integrity chapter. As a
musician, I found a special warmth in hearing "Es flog
ein kleine Waldvogelsin," "Noel nouvelet," and "Land of
Rest," three of my favorite hymn tunes. Jane Holmes
Dixon, Washington's new Suffragan Bishop, spoke so
thoughtfully of the ease with which she happily accepted
the invitation to be our preacher and celebrant. The
Washingtonians outdid themselves, providing a
sumptuous buffet for all in attendance. Talk about
feeding the five thousand! As we dined, we had more of
an opportunity to greet old friends and make new ones.
Dupont Circle was presenting its own spring
flower show as the last of the cherry blossoms and tulips
as large as my cupped hand were in great evidence. The
Circle proved to be an impromptu "meet and greet" for
many people, including me. It was hard to believe that I
would have to go to Washington to see friends and
associates who were fellow New Yorkers.
My sense of anticipation was as bright as the
early sun as Sunday morning arrived. Even though an
estimated one million of us were in the District of
Columbia area, Washington was quiet at the 7 o'clock
hour as I drove from the home of our host family in
suburban Maryland to downtown for the Integrity
gathering at St. John's, Lafayette Square. Several of us,
bleary-eyed, met for the 8:00 Eucharist. Even though
our contingent swelled the number in attendance to
nearly one hundred from its usual half dozen or so, no
mention of the march or our presence was made during
the intercessions or announcements. Only the slightest,
if veiled, referenced could be detected during the brief
homily. My firm disappointment was tempered with a
sense of satisfaction in knowing that we, subtly but
assuredly, made our presence known. It seems like a bit
of a coup, knowing that we had accomplished this in the
"Church of Presidents," and done so in a very positive
way. Music helped redeem the service, as the organist
played Vaughan Williams' "Variations on
'Rhosymedre,'" another one of my favorites.
As I moved the car and rode the Metro back to
the Mall, I thought of others who weren't going to be in
our number that day. There was a renewed sense of
loss and grief for those who had died of AIDS or as a
result of anti-gay hate and violence. There was dismay
and even some anger for those who wouldn't have
considered coming, since being homosexual is not a real
issue or even "discussed in polite company." I knew,
however, I could take a sense of pride in representing
those who, because of distance, finances, career, or
other legitimate reasons, couldn't be there.
A sea of humanity was making its way toward the
Mall by late morning. T-shirts seemed to be the
uniform of choice for most marchers. The official
march shirts proliferated. Of the others, my favorite
was the one which said, "One Percent is a Fairy Tale."
Those of us in the Integrity contingent began to
gather at the appointed place with the other religious
groups. The only weather worry was that of sunburn.
There seemed to be a sense of relief more than
anything else, when we were finally led to the street to
join the march. We had a good number of chapters
represented in our gathering by them, as Bishop Dixon
came to greet us at the edge of the Mall. We had
visible support from those in the straight community as
well. Together the one million of us in attendance had
the opportunity, even the duty, to sign our names to the
petitions provided by the march organizers. This way
we could prove the National Park Service wrong with its
woeful under count.
It was gratifying to be in the majority as we
passed in front of the Treasury Building and were
confronted by those from the so called "religious right."
Their attempts at swaying opinions were easily rebuffed
by our refrain, "We're here! We're queer! We're
Anglican! Get used to it!" Militant as it sounded, those
statements seemed to sum up the sentiment for all of us.
With another passenger in the car we departed
Washington, spending time recounting various aspects
of our weekend as we drove north. I counted no less
than twenty-six autos with fellow "journey folk" on their
respective homeward treks. As I reflected upon the
impact of the march and its related events, I found that
the words 'O that we were there!' were transformed into
the affirmation, 'Oh, yes, we *were* there!'
********************
*ALL THINGS NEW*
A sermon preached by the Rev. Ted Karpf on April 24,
1993 at the Church of the Epiphany for the service
organized by the Washington Area Gay and Lesbian
Interfaith Alliance in observance of the March on
Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equal
Rights and Liberation.
We're here! We're gathered to witness to the
hope and fear, the joy and trauma of being lesbian and
gay, transgender and bisexual in America. By these
days in the nation's capital we are challenged to take
our vision back to our communities to begin or continue
and invigorate our movement for equal rights across
America.
As people of faith, we hold the conviction that
no change happens apart from the presence of God.
The very content of justice is based on a holy vision of
God's ultimate victory over all that reduces and destroys
life. Such a vision informs us in the words of Isaiah:
Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; and
former things shall not be remembered or come to
mind.
The Prophet continues,
Before they call I will answer, while they are yet
speaking I will hear.
This vision is dramatic. For it suggests a new
order built out of the old -- a renewal, if you will, of
what has been transformed to what can be. We gather
here with no less dramatic and compelling
determination. And what are some of our visions?
They include tragedy and trauma, outrage and
revolution, and hope and wholeness. At the heart of
this visioning of what we have endured, what we are
demonstrating, and of that for which we yearn is the
Shalom -- peace -- envisaged by Isaiah when the whole
of creation comes to terms with itself in peace.
This hope is as old as humanity. But for bisexual
and transgender, gay and lesbian people our peace is
found in obtaining basic equal rights that we may join in
the struggle for meaning and value with all other human
beings. Gandhi is reputed to have said, "It would be a
sin if God were to appear before a hungry man in any
other form but a loaf of bread." For our community --
for we who have settled too often for the half a loaf that
wasn't always better than none -- for God to come
before us in any form but the full -- and fulfilling -- loaf
of equal rights to enter the struggle for wholeness is a
sin.
For us to be at peace requires not only faith,
which enables to us to rise above the terror, but the
basic human rights to participate in the struggle toward
meaning with all humanity. This expectation -- no, this
demand -- of ours is consistent with God's promise that
creation will be at peace with itself.
We have reached a time where our critical mass
in society is being felt. We have reached a time when
the powers and principalities of this age can no longer
ignore our presence, try though they may. There are
simply too many of us, though some surveys say we are
not enough. To that I say, if there are ten of us and we
are deprived of our rights to give and be given in
relationships and to enjoy the blessing of children, then
there are too many of us to deny. If there are only five
of us, and we are told that we cannot enter the struggle
for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, then there
are too many of us to ignore. And if there is just one of
us, and even this one cannot be allowed to just be, then
there are too many of us who are oppressed. And for
just this one, we -- all of us -- must engage in the
struggle for human rights.
There is an old Sufi legend told by Shams of Tabriz
about himself. It talks about the meaning of being
different, which is at the core of our struggle: how
others can live with the differences which our lives
present in the arena of the human struggle. The story
goes like this:
I have been considered a misfit since my childhood.
No one seemed to understand me. My own father once
said to me, "You are not mad enough to be put into a
madhouse, and not withdrawn enough to be put in a
monastery. I don't know what to do with you."
I replied, "A duck's egg was once put under a hen.
When the egg was hatched the duckling walked about
with the mother hen until they came to a pond. The
duckling went straight into the water. The hen stayed
clucking anxiously on land. Now, dear father, I have
walked into the ocean and find in it my home. You can
hardly blame me if you choose to stay on the shore."
How many of us have lived through this story?
All of us in some way or other, I expect. This is our
reason to celebrate: we have entered the ocean and
have not drowned! We celebrate the fact that we are
here today together. And what of the times in which we
live? What have they taught us to celebrate?
We are celebrating the triumph of making the
break and entering the ocean. We are celebrating the
triumph of passion become compassion as lesbian
sisters and gay brothers demonstrate unremitting love in
caring for those of us dying with AIDS. We are
celebrating the witness of our community in making
itself felt and heard in politics of the nation. We are
celebrating the commitment in love of bisexual and
transgender, lesbian and gay parents who have managed
to keep and raise their children and grandchildren in
the face of overwhelming and painful opposition. Thus,
we are celebrating our determination not to drown, but
to swim. Some wi}l say that we are celebrating the
limitations of those who stay on the shore, but that is
not true; would that the whole world be ducks!
But what gift can we ducks give to the world as
we celebrate this weekend? What can endure? We
come to live as different. To a large extent as a
community we shy from our calling to be different.
Years ago, Don Clark, in "Loving Someone Gay," said,
If you're going to be gay, you might as well be different!
Even in the late seventies, ten years after Stonewall,
many gay commentators were beginning to identify an
emerging conformity to behavior, style, language,
attitudes, and beliefs. But everything in the gay/lesbian,
bi and transgender subculture says no matter how hard
we try to look like everybody, we don't. We can't pass
and we shouldn't try. Remember: *If it walks like a
duck and talks like a duck then no matter how it looks,
it must be a duck.* Or so the story goes. I see a
dangerous desire on the part of many us to be like
everyone else. But if we who exist in the reality of exile
must become like our oppressors to get along -- to
"pass" -- then we dare not try to be anyone but who we
were created to be.
For the God-given gift is that equal rights
include the right to be different. Isaiah gives us a clue
in describing the New Creation:
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion
shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the
serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my
holy mountain.
It is not just a matter of differences existing side
by side: it is the promise that the predatory nature of
creation -- the enmity and the need to consume each
other -- will be removed from the order.
What this vision says is that we shall exist side by
side with all people. Color will be real, but not divisive.
Sexual orientation will be real, but not fear inducing.
Differences will be celebrated not abhorred. For
central to the spirit of gaiety is the spirit of difference --
of constantly being made new and different.
How then shall we live? In this week of the
dedication of the Holocaust Museum there is a message
for us in the screams, the whispers, the cries of the
captives. Several years ago I was given the horrific gift
of visiting two of the concentration camps of the
holocaust -- Dachau and Terezin. Dachau, you may
recall, was the place in Germany were those residing in
the town -- just outside the camp walls -- denied any
knowledge of the thousands upon thousand who were
killed and cremated inside the walls. Orderly,
systematic and carefully planned, Dachau was the
prototype for the Final Solution. Strangely, because
conformity was demanded and enforced, there was no
record of resistance in this systematized, planned,
hygienic industrial setting. Thousands died and
thousands more denied. And in that place there is a
prevailing sense of hopelessness and despair. Dachau is
a monument to death and destruction and human
cruelty -- systematized, planned, conformist, in every
way.
And then there is Terezin. There is the medieval
fortress and prison, and the village. This was the village
where the children were sent and from which we have
the record of their art and letters about the camps. The
prison and concentration camp are eerie in that the
original bunks, signs, window covering, bowls and
spoons remain on the tables where they were on the day
of liberation. The wind blows softly through the camp,
which feels as if its inhabitants had just left. This camp
-- which saw the execution of 35,000 through disease,
overwork, and firing squads -- is a monument to the
constant resistance of humanity to conform. For in this
camp, uprisings and escapes occurred regularly and
often. The Nazis could not control the prisoners, so
prisoners were regularly executed before all of the
camp's inmates to reinforce fear and create order. It
failed. So it had to be repeated often.
As I stood touching the bullet holes in the wall
where these executions took place, I surprisingly felt
hope. The unconquerable will of the human spirit to
survive pulsed through me. Even in a world of limited
choices and few options, we still can choose to be
different ... to not submit to those who would break us,
and beat us, and even kill us. I have had the same
experience again and again when ministering at the
bedside of those dying with AIDS; in the life-giving,
death-defying pangs of childbirth of lesbian mothers; in
counseling adolescents struggling mightily with
questions about their sexuality; and at the altar of the
church where gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
people have come to offer again their lives to God --
and to each other -- as people of faith.
How do we live? We live by faith that the vision
of Isaiah will come to pass and that we are part of that
vision. We live by celebrating the differences and
embracing the vast array of our choices. We live by
drawing strength from the witness of our compassion,
and by the power of our passion. We live by respecting
the dignity -- and the differences -- of every human
being. We live by coming together in peace, to seek
peace and wholeness in a world which doesn't really
know what that looks like. We live by trust, by faith, by
courage, and by hope. That's how we live.
May the God of each of us, of our calling, be
with us and upon us all-ways in our search for a new
heaven and a new earth. Amen.
********************
*THE WEDDING*
by Kim Byham
Scott had a good excuse for not attending "The
Wedding" on Saturday morning. He had arrived on a
red-eye train from New York at 8:00 am and was at our
motel asleep when several thousand people gathered in
front of the IRS building. We had had the Rev. Troy
Perry, founder and moderator of the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches and
chief officiant at the event, for dinner at our home only
a couple of weeks before. We had discussed the
ceremony and I decided to let my journalistic curiosity
overcome my Anglican disdain.
It was marvelous. Despite the name, it made no
pretense of being a wedding service or even a blessing
of union. It was, instead, a wonderful rally in support of
couple-rights. That's why it was held in front of the IRS
building -- where better to protest the inequality of
lesgay and straight couples.
The highlight was the introduction of America's most
famous lesbian couple: Karen Thompson and Sharon
Kowalski. Thompson announced that she was that
month taking Kowalski home from the nursing facility
where she has been for many years following the car
accident that left her paralyzed. Thompson's successful
custody battle with Kowalski's parents is a landmark in
lesgay couple rights.
Introduced as the oldest lesbian couple were a
delightful, though anachronistic couple from Florida.
Bobby Smith, 69, and her life partner of 33 years, Kay
Thompson, also 69, dressed in "masculine" and
"feminine" garb, respectively. The longest-term gay
couple had been together 46 years. Jim Busby and
Dusty Keyes of Arlington, VA had been brought
together by a federal government roommate service.
A number of religious "dignitaries" were briefly
introduced. They included the Rev. Karen Murphy,
Assistant Rector at Grace Church, Madison, NJ,
"representing that part of the Episcopal Church that
affirms lesbian and gay unions."
After a brief exchange of expressions of love and
the statement, "We proclaim together our rights as
couples," Perry said, "Couples, you may kiss." At that
point, the Wedding March was played and rice filled the
air. The schmaltzy ending did not detract from a
significant event, the symbolism of which was largely
lost on the straight media.
********************
*CELEBRATING LIFE*
by Bruce Garner
Well, by now, we have all learned that the
National Park Service can't count. (They give the rest
of us federal employees a bad name - if they worked for
me, they would either be in a math class or looking for a
job!)
Empowered is the word I think best describes
being in Washington along with over a million of us
homosexual types. There is nothing that can ever
compare with being among your own people, knowing
that it is your time to be, and to be who you were
created to be, without shame, without hesitation,
without fear. It was indeed our time, and I hope it was
the beginning of the end to our oppression. (I ain't that
naive, children - but I *can* hope, can't I?!)
The Eucharist on Friday night was incredible.
St. Thomas was filled to capacity. The responses of the
congregation shook the building. The singing almost
overpowered the organ. Bishop Dixon inspired us with
a homily about love and with her obvious love and
compassion for us. And as usual, our DC chapter put
on an impressive spread during the reception. It was a
welcomed reunion for so many of us, seeing folks we
hadn't seen in quite a while.
Sunday morning at St. John's Lafayette Square
was special too. It was appropriate that we begin the
day in the house of God, fed from God's table. I doubt
the 8:00 am service had seen quite so many folks in
many a day. We were acknowledged, though safely and
subtly. A bit of reality was reintroduced to us in the
realization that, even in that place, on that particular
Sunday, some of us still cannot live our lives as they
were created to be lived. We all must remember that
reality.
The rainbow of our family was quite impressive.
We looked just like who we are: ordinary, average
looking, American citizens. Our folks included the
same variations in color, appearance, dress, and attitude
that we find in the American public at large, despite
how much so many would like to deny that truth. We
really are not all that different - at least in appearance.
I visited back and forth between our Integrity
contingent with the religious organizations and the
extremely large (rumor had it to be the third largest)
Georgia delegation. (We had to make up for producing
the likes of Sam Nunn!) If we really are only 1%, there
weren't many queers anywhere else but DC that
weekend.
One of the most moving and empowering
moments for me was looking up and seeing Integrity's
banners with their cross-topped standards, some
wrapped in palm branches, processing forward with the
movement of the march. In front of us were other
religious symbols such as the orthodox processional
crosses. I saw it all again in a picture and realized how
powerful that sight really was. God was there. God was
marching with us. The symbols of God's demonstration
of love for us all led the way.
While this was a indeed a civil rights
demonstration, it was also a glorious celebration of life.
We celebrated who we are and did so in the bright light
of day - no hiding in the darkness, no cowering in
corners - but out in sight of God and everybody.
And there we were. All over the Mall (and we
weren't shopping - well maybe we were at that!). There
was the Quilt - a powerful reminder still of what
homophobia can produce when disease is linked to
prejudice. There were the entertainers and speech
makers. There were folks so angry that they made no
sense. There were others who spoke from a peace that
comes from making progress, however slowly, and
understanding that the road is still rocky and steep, but
we must plod along if we are to reach our destination.
There were those who touched us with humor - the one
salve we have for the pain that sometimes results from
our being who we are. It was good.
I hope someday we can go to DC for the sole purpose of
celebrating who we are, no political agenda's, no need
for demonstrations to get our rights, just to celebrate.
Until then, we must continue to struggle to obtain our
birthright. With the help and grace of God, I believe we
will finally take our place at the table. I pray I am alive
to see it.
********************
*EURRR's Cannons Flaming Again*
The sexuality dialogues in most parishes are now
complete. The process was extremely biased, and many
participants felt that the conclusions were preordained.
Although less than 1% of our Church's membership
participated in the dialogues, their opinions will be
proclaimed as representative of the entire Church.
Now the homosexual lobby is preparing yet another
attack. Please, read this letter carefully ...
April 22, 1993
Dear Friend,
The homosexual lobby is on the march against
the Episcopal Church ... and the next stop may be a
courtroom where "homosexual rights" replace biblical
teaching on morality.
The defendants: your parish priest and your
vestry.
How can this be happening? Here's how.
The homosexual lobby in our Church is copying
a strategy that's being used successfully on the national
political level.
Their agenda for the 1994 General Convention
calls for:
1. Passage of a non-discrimination cannon [sic].
2. Access to ordination without regard for sexual
orientation.
3. An authorized liturgy for the blessing of
same-sex unions.
The path leading to approval of the homosexual
agenda has been carefully plotted by both the
homosexual lobby, which ironically calls itself
"Integrity," and by many within our own Church
leadership. *We need your help now to counter their
efforts.*
We can only stop them if we act now ... and that's
why I'm asking for your help today. *No matter how
painful, we must face the truth. Our Church is feeling
the impact of the gay agenda.*
Bishops and priests violate the expressed position of the
Church by performing ordinations of practicing
homosexuals and blessing homosexual "unions." HOW
CAN WE BE SILENT?
This is a battle for the very soul of the Episcopal
Church. If we remain quiet we will lose. We must
speak out! We must stand together now! *The ministry
of Episcopalians United has never been more vital*.
Homosexual activists within the Church are
encouraged ... and with good reason ...
They have influenced key leaders within our
Church. On February 5, the Rt. Rev. Edmond L.
Browning, our Presiding Bishop, wrote to President
Clinton, commending him on his efforts to end the
military's ban on homosexuals in the armed forces and
expressing his belief that "gay rights" is a justice issue.
And sadly, there are a large number of lay
people within our Church who will be swayed by the
arguments of leaders like Bishop Browning ... even
though he's dead wrong!
Within the Church, the ordination of practicing
homosexuals to our clergy and the blessing of same-sex
unions are not civil rights issues ... and they are *not*
justice issues. They are theological issues, and they
must be addressed on sound theological grounds.
To bless the experience of homosexuality, we are
being asked to assent to a process which rewrites
Scripture ... nullifies the Word of God ... and disavows
2000 years of Christian moral teaching.
Approval of the homosexual agenda will so warp the
doctrine, discipline and worship of our church that
within a generation the Episcopal Church will no longer
be recognizably Christian.
And that's why we cannot give in. We must
prepare for battle and we must fight.
We must prepare sound, convincing Scriptural
arguments. We must mobilize every concerned
Episcopalian in every parish ... and we must equip them
with the information and understanding they need in
order to make a difference.
We cannot afford to lose. *Our families, our
country ... and the very soul of our Church ... these are
all at stake*.
Some 450 years ago, Martin Luther wrote:
"If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest
exposition every portion of the truth of God, except
precisely that little point which the world and the devil
are at the moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ.
*Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier
is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides
is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."*
Please stand with us today. If you don't take a
stand with us, where will you stand? If you won't stand
now, then when?
We are fighting for the right to teach our
children and grandchildren the truth of Scripture when
it comes to sexual morality ... and to give them at least
one place in our society where they can learn from
positive role models.
*We are fighting to save our Church and country
from judgment*. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
He will judge America too.
Remember, the Scriptures says, "It is time for
judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it
begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who
do not obey the gospel of God" (1 Peter 4:17).
We must throw aside our lethargy. For years we
thought America's values where [sic] secure -- protected
by our President, our Congress and the Supreme Court.
We also believed that the Church would protect
our values -- and it should -- but we were wrong. Many
of the leaders of the Church are unwilling to defend our
values.
*Each one of us must take a stand for what we
believe, and we must unite with others who share our
convictions. It is our only hope*. We can have an
impact on the issues of our day, but only if we have
courage enough to stand ... and only if we're wise
enough to stand together.
That's why Episcopalians United was founded.
It's the reason we continue to work for reform and
renewal in the Episcopal Church.
Our job is to empower you to save the Church we love.
We're committed to giving you the weapons to fight the
battle ... to fight it well.
Episcopalians United helps you promote a
correct view of sexuality issues ... one that's faithful to
Holy Scripture and the long-held tradition of the
Church. We share successful strategies about how to
influence decisions ... not just at your local level, but
also at the diocesan and national levels.
So I urge you to become involved today, while
there's still time. The sexuality debate will be a key part
of the 1994 General Convention. *Those who believe
in the ordination of homosexuals to the Episcopal clergy
and seek the Church's blessing for same-sex unions will
be there in force*.
We must begin our preparations today! We must match
their efforts delegate-for-delegate, argument-for-
argument, dollar-for-dollar. No effort can be spared in
this critical battle.
*This is not time for passivity. If you're not
willing to stand now, then our Church is in deep
trouble*.
Perhaps you're tired of fighting -- so am I.
Frankly, I'm so sick of this issue that I just want it to go
away. During the past 5 years, the trauma of the
debate, dialogue and confrontation we've been though
has occasionally led me to despair.
But despair and discouragement are not from
the Lord ... and 2 Timothy 1:7 has been a wonderful
encouragement:
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit
of power, of love and of self-discipline."
That's why Episcopalians United will keep
fighting. God is our true source of strength ... and as
long as we remain faithful we will see His provision.
*I invite you to be part of that provision*. Help
us redouble our efforts during this critical year for our
Church. Please search your heart today ... ask God to
show you the role He wants you to have ... then send the
most generous gift you can.
Your support will make a critical difference as
Episcopalians United continues the fight with you to
preserve the soul of our Church ... you will be helping to
save our godly heritage, not just for ourselves, but for
our children and grandchildren.
And please, don't just send a gift -- as vitally
important as that is. Humble yourself before God in a
prayer of repentance for our Church's many sins. Plead
for His mercy and grace. Ask for His divine
intervention.
Commit yourself to help fight the battle today!
Together, we can make a difference. If we
persevere, we will see God triumph.
Yours by His grace,
The Rev. Todd H. Wetzel
P.S. May God bless you for your concern for the
Episcopal Church. Please be encouraged. There are
already over 18,000 people who stand with you in
support of our ministry. Many more are with us in their
hearts. But remember, winning this battle will be
expensive! That's why I need to hear from you today.
[Editor's Note: Enclosed with this fund raiser was a
copy of page 9 of the Spring, 1993 issue of The Voice of
Integrity, which was the ad encouraging participation in
the March on Washington. We hope they enjoyed
reprinting our material as much as we enjoy reprinting
theirs.]
********************
*FORMER INTEGRITY CHAPLAIN ELECTED
FIRST FEMALE DIOCESAN*
based on a release from the Episcopal News Service
After three short ballots, the clergy and lay
delegates to a special June 5, 1993 convention of the
Diocese of Vermont elected the Rev. Mary Adelia
McLeod of West Virginia to be the first woman to serve
as a diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Church.
McLeod, rector of St. John's Church in
Charleston, West Virginia, was co-chaplain, together
with her husband, the Rev. Henry M. (Mack) McLeod,
of Integrity/Charleston until it disbanded in 1986. She
is strongly supportive of equal rights for lesbians and
gay men in the Church.
In an interview with the press, McLeod said that
the election of women to the episcopate is important.
She added, however, that the diocese "in great prayer
and consideration and thought were led by the Holy
Spirit to elect me" and the fact that "I just happen to be
a woman is incidental."
When she is consecrated in October, pending
consents from a majority of standing committees and
bishops in the church, McLeod would become the third
woman bishop in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Barbara
Harris was elected suffragan bishop of Massachusetts in
September of 1988 -- and the first woman bishop in the
history of the Anglican Communion -- and Bishop Jane
Dixon was elected suffragan bishop of Washington
(DC) in May of 1992. Bishop Penelope Jamieson of
New Zealand was consecrated in June 1990 as the first
woman in the Anglican Communion to head a diocese.
Women have been candidates in a number of
recent elections in the Episcopal Church. McLeod was
among the first women considered for the episcopate
and Vermont was the fifth time she had been a final
candidate.
Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning offered
his prayers for the new bishop and said that "this new
chapter in her ministry is a new chapter in the life of our
church as well." Contending that the ministry of the
church "is enriched by the gifts of both women and
men," the Presiding Bishop added, "We can rejoice as
another step is taken toward our episcopal ministry
better reflecting this blessing."
McLeod was born and grew up in Alabama and,
after a number of years as a mother (she and her
husband have five grown children) and homemaker, she
took her seminary degree at the School of Theology at
the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. As
archdeacon for the western region of West Virginia, she
has helped shape an innovative cluster ministry and has
been active in supporting rural deans, clergy
deployment and she has served on Diocesan Council,
president of the Standing Committee and a deputy to
General Convention in 1988 and 1991.
Ironically, the current bishop of West Virginia,
the Rt. Rev. John H. Smith, who has strongly opposed
full inclusion of lesgay persons in the Episcopal Church,
was a priest in Vermont at the time of his election in
West Virginia.
********************
*JUDGE DISMISSES $4 MILLION LAWSUIT IN
VIRGINIA*
based on a release from the Episcopal News Service
During a preliminary June 2 hearing in Arlington
Circuit Court, Judge Benjamin Kedrick dismissed a $4
million lawsuit against the Rev. Bruce Newell, accused
of sexual misconduct, the parish where he served, its
rector and the bishop of Virginia. The suit was filed by
a woman who said that Newell had sexually abused her
for 11 months when he was serving Falls Church. And it
charged that the diocese, Bishop Peter James Lee, the
church and its rector shared responsibility for the injury.
The judge said that the complaint exceeded the two-
year statute of limitations on personal injury case and
would have required the court to delve into theological
issues in violation of the separation of church and state.
It would have required "a secular court of law to
establish standards of conduct for members of the
clergy, which would undermine the First Amendment of
the United States Constitution," according to a
statement from Bishop Lee. The bishop said that, after
a presentment and an investigation by a church-
appointed board, the diocese had decided to proceed
with an ecclesiastical trial of Newell.
********************
*I WAS IN PRISON AND YOU CAME TO ME*
by (the Rev.) Barry L. Stopfel
When I was a young boy growing up in the farm
country of Pennsylvania, I spent most of my own time
roaming the corn fields, meadows and woods. Each
year I would bargain with my parents to lengthen my
tether, and they would reluctantly allow me to explore a
little farther. By the time I was 12, I could be gone for
the day lost in the seasons of the earth.
When I was eight years old, my father took me to
an invitation-only open house for the new county prison.
I was enthusiastic and a little afraid about being on the
inside of such a place.
More than thirty years later I can close my eyes and
hear the sounds, sense the smells, and picture the colors
of the floors and cinder block walls, and the pattern of
steel, cement and wire. During the tour I stuck to my
father like glue. I figured they would let me leave with
him -- unless of course someone told them that I had
stolen some corn out of Mr. Schaeffer's corn crib to
throw against people's houses on Halloween.
One of the guards asked me if I wanted to into a
cell. My curiosity overcame my anxiety and into the
terrifying unknown I went. I walked only a few steps
when the cell door crashed shut behind me. It was an
isolation cell with no windows and a solid steel door. I
panicked. Trapped! Doomed! Someone knew of my
corn caper! I'm dead, I thought -- an eternity of
captivity is a terrible price to pay for a few ears of corn
the pigs would never miss in their trough.
I started kicking everywhere, hollering as loud as
I could. I vowed that I would never commit even the
tiniest infraction of the law because I would die if I
ended up in a prison. In my young boy's way I knew
that the source of my life was my freedom to roam.
The childhood memory made a return visit in
technicolor and SenseSurround the night I walked into
the Bureau of Correction's Adult Diagnostic and
Treatment Center to participate in a Bible study group
with gay sex offenders. I saw the building and the
guards through the eyes of a familiar eight-year-old who
seemed to have taken over my senses. And the faint
sketches of Jesus' words filtered through my awareness,
"I was in prison and you came to me ... as you did it to
one of the least of these you did it to me."
I often say that proclaiming the Gospel and
living by the way of Jesus is risky business with a cost
attached. In the first moments at Avenel the cost for
me was walking through those sense memories that
created fear and dread in me, for I still need to roam
the seasons of the woods to stay lodged in my faith and
close to my God. The thought of imprisonment by
walls, by ideas, by fear, or by any tyranny strikes fear in
my heart.
I learned very quickly the cost of caring about
the spiritual journeys of the men in the Bible study
group. I had been invited into the ministry by my good
friend Louie Crew and so we arrived together. As
would be expected the security procedures to enter the
prison are rigorous. One of the corrections officers on
duty had heard that a guest had been invited to lead the
Bible study. It was soon obvious that the officer would
abuse his ultimate authority through his immunity to the
demands of human kindness. He seemed all too happy
to dish out an abusive and deliberately insulting security
process on my behalf. In the face of the hatred of this
prison guard's demeaning the humanity of a stranger
priest, the little boy and I joined hands waiting for the
sound of the slamming door. I imagine there must be a
similar chilling sound when the doors on our lives slam
shut when we give words or actions to bigotry and hate.
The following week we filed a complaint. A
member of the Bible group wrote later, "you will be
pleased to know that the officer has been removed from
contact with civilians. The bad news is that he'll have
more contract with us inmates. I think he learned his
lesson. And besides, we're used to him. Perhaps it's
just as well that he works here. It keeps him off the
streets for eight hours a day. I feel better knowing that
the public is safe one shift a day." In his letter there was
no rancor, no malice, just graceful human wisdom
destroying the power of human hate. As I read the
letter, the line between who should be on the inside and
who should be on the outside of the prison walls grew
suddenly thin.
Each month in the prison, I encounter a group of
men who have been willing to suffer shame and abuse
in order to hear a gospel of hope, healing, acceptance
and forgiveness proclaimed to them. In their world
there is little evidence of a regard for religious
experience of the human spirit. These men are
searching for the goodness of God in themselves and in
each other amidst the wreckage of their own lives.
Before I was an authorized volunteer at the
prison I submitted to regular humiliation so that they
could hear a Gospel of hope, a Gospel that reflected
back to them their goodness as a creature of God.
After my visits they willingly endured the personal
degradation of strip searches for I might be smuggling
drugs in my Bible. I heard the echoes of the soldiers
voices as they stripped Jesus and cast lots for his
garments when I heard the guard enter the room and
bark the command, "clothes off" while he slipped on his
latex gloves to do the rectal exams.
It felt hard bearing the burden of the one whose
presence forced these brothers in Christ to undergo a
humiliating procedure. Even so, one of the men with
profound and redeeming humor wrote later, "It was
always wonderful to have Barry with the group. Tell
him none of us minded taking our clothes off for him."
His comment may startle all of us with its many
layers of human sexual innuendo. But the truth of his
comment is that within this particular context of
physical violation and certainly within the context of the
community of gay men, innuendo and humor are covers
for lifetimes of hurt. Such humor is a life-giving balm to
those who suffer personal and verbal abuse at the hands
of other human beings who have the social and
institutional power to do so.
The men were grateful for my being there. And
they were powerfully enlivened by the Gospel. They
proved, in their very spiritual survival, the power of the
Word and its healing spirit to overcome the power of
death in systems of violence.
These men are not the demons that we somehow
need them to be when we debate crime and
punishment. Like each of us they are formed by God in
their Mother's womb. But the sacred fabric of their
selves has been torn by a complex weaving of
circumstances early in their lives that was largely
beyond their control. In nearly every instance they have
been sexually abused. They know too well the
degradation born by both the abused and the abuser.
They understand instinctively the human nature of
those who abused Jesus, and they know the suffering
that results from such abuse. Jesus understood the
suffering of the abused and the rage of the abuser and
was willing to offer forgiveness to both.
I have come to know that when I hear the doors
slam, sense the cold steel and barbed wire, climb the
concrete steps to the prison room, I walk the steps that
Jesus walked. When I sit down and open the Bible
amidst the brokenness of these men's lives and the
broken places of my own, I know that Jesus is there. I
am on sacred ground with gay men who know, like
Harvey Milk, that the important thing is not that we can
live on hope alone, but that life is not worth living
without it.
Yes, some of my brothers have made damaging
choices for which they have come to freely accept
responsibility. Daily in their therapy and study, they
take responsibility for their actions and work hard on
themselves to grab a measure of psychological and
spiritual health. In their search for healing I see the
Christ embracing their need and pain.
I am touched by their willingness to express their
thirst for living water. With these men I have seen
grace and hope emerge over and over, and my faith is
fed.
All of us in that small prison Bible study room
become free to roam the endless banks and swim the
ever-flowing rivers of our God-given human spirits.
There is more than death inside those walls after all. By
the grace of God and the hope of the men in our group,
the fear in the little boy within me who shows up each
month is both calmed and liberated. The prisoners
have set me free.
-----
Barry L. Stopfel was installed on June 19, 1993 as rector
of St. George's, Maplewood, New Jersey. He was
ordained as an openly gay man in September, 1991.
This article appeared in the May, 1993 issue of "The
Voice," the publication of the Diocese of Newark, and
was part of their "Journey of the Spirit Series." It is
reprinted with permission.
********************
*CELEBRATING A SEASON OF PRIDE!!*
The National AIDS Memorial Established in 1985
Located in The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 112th
& Amsterdam Ave NYC
The National AIDS Memorial "honors the dead"
through the AIDS Memorial Shrine and the Book of
Remembrance in which the names of those who have
died of HIV/AIDS related conditions are inscribed.
We "serve the living" through the provision of small
(primarily start-up or special project) grants to
organizations who serve those with HIV. Over
$80,000.00 in grants have been made since 1985, drawn
from the contributions which have been sent in with
names. Our Board is all volunteer, and only 5% of
donations to the memorial goes for maintenance. 85%
of contributions to the Memorial are returned to the
community in grants and 10% is reserved for the
establishment of a permanent memorial to all who have
died in this epidemic. Contributions are always
welcome, but not required for the submission of names
for the book. We have a "master list" of names, and will
check for duplications. To submit names or for more
information please fill out the coupon and mail to:
The National AIDS Memorial,
P.O. Box 5202,
NYC, NY 10185-0043
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Your
name:__________________________________________________
Address:________________________________
Apt./Box # ________
City(Boro)____________________State:________Zip:____________
Please send me additional information
___about the memorial ___about the grant process
___about making a bequest
I have enclosed the following donation $______
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Please inscribe the following names in the Book of
Remembrance: (Use additional paper if needed)
Note: We do have a Master List of the Names already
in the Book, and will check for duplications before
entering names that are submitted.
Name Dates (if known) Comments
1)__________________________________________________________
2)__________________________________________________________
3)__________________________________________________________
4)__________________________________________________________
5)__________________________________________________________
********************
*BOOK REVIEWS*
NOTHING NEW
"New Millennium, New Church: trends shaping the
Episcopal Church for the 21st Century"
Kew, Richard and Roger J. White. "New Millennium,
New Church: trends shaping the Episcopal Church for
the 21st Century." Boston, MA: Cowley Publications,
1992. $12.95.
Review by (the Rev.) W. Keith McCoy
Easily the most talked about book in the
Episcopal Church in the past few months, "New
Millennium, New Church" is offered as a "compass for
the 1990s," which will guide local parishes, as well as the
national church, away from self-wounding controversy
and towards a more Anglican (read: polite and quiet)
existence. While chock-full of ideas and opinions, it is
not so much a compass as a conservative wish book for
the near future. Another book would be needed to
comment on the authors' many thoughts, too many of
which I found unfinished, but let me tackle a few that
may be of interest to readers of this forum.
One theme that runs under the entire text is that
the Episcopal Church is essentially conservative, but
good-hearted, but it has been the captive in recent years
of a small band of liberal experimenters and social
activists. Somehow, this minority always manages to
elect sheep-like delegates to General Convention, and
then lead them into temptation with strange resolutions
and canons. Kew and White suggest that the time has
come when right-thinking people will start attending
these conventions and begin making decisions that will
not upset the real majority anymore.
As an observer of and participant in diocesan
politics for almost twenty years, my opinion is that the
clergy and laity sent to General Convention are
generally among the most caring, thoughtful, and
religious people of our church. As such, they have
voted to allow women into the priesthood, revise the
BCP, and recommend the tithe because, having weighed
all the arguments, they made what they felt was a
Christian decision. It so happens that the liberals have
made all of the arguments in favor of those actions.
The conservatives, on the other hand, have been against
everything, and never for anything. They say,
"Whatever justice (hymnal, program ...) we have today is
fine -- I'm satisfied, and so should be the rest of the
Episcopal Church." Faced with a choice of thoughtful
progress or mere stand-patism, General Convention has
rightly opted for progress.
The authors stumble over this right at the
beginning of their book. While lamenting our decline in
numbers from the boom years of the 1950s, they ignore
their own quote from Vance Packard that many people
joined our denomination at that time because it was the
social thing to do. Many then chose to leave when
issues of faith vs. the world were raised, beginning with
the Vietnam War. The church population has stabilized
because almost everyone left believes that we are a
religious organization, not a club.
When they get into their chapter on single-issue
organizations, Kew and White again suggest that good
people have been chased away by irresponsible actions.
I can respect the decision of a person who leaves
because their theology no longer meshes with that of
the parish or the wider Episcopal Church. I wonder,
however, at how great a loss it is when someone
flounces out over the "imagined 'unbelief' of their
rector, an ill-considered pronouncement or action by a
bishop, or an objection to the policies of the national
church." (p. 124) Parishioners who leave over imagined
issues or statements from regional and national
headquarters are more interested in feeling cosseted
than in grappling with matters of faith. Moreover, if we
express regret because someone leaves over, say, the
ordination of women as priests, aren't we also regretting
taking that step and those priests?
Integrity is only mentioned once specifically, but
the reader gets the sense that it is a part of that cabal
which has hijacked the true faith. While credited with
media savvy and a sound knowledge of the political
process, we are, in the authors' words, "speak[ing] for a
relatively small group of activists." p. 126) This
contrasts with Episcopalians United, with 20,000
"members" and a big budget. Kew and White feel this is
evidence of something; might I suggest the hollowness
of EU's arguments?
Using a Gallup survey, a few publications from
other denominations, and their own impressions, most
of what Kew and White provide as planning fodder for
the future of our denomination is only speculation.
They have adopted every progressive action in the
Episcopal Church over the last thirty years as their own,
and then decry the possibility of further change. They
have decided what they want the church to look like in
ten years, and then found the material to back up their
concept.
This book has nothing new. It is just the lament
of those people who would never be moved to change
one iota of their current existence, but, once moved,
find that change acceptable. Now they ask the church
not to make them move forward again. Come 2000 AD,
we will probably find Kew and White again celebrating
the current state of the Episcopal Church, and still
warning against some further progress.
NEW PRAYERS FOR OLD OCCASIONS
"Daring to Speak Love's Name, A Gay and Lesbian
Prayer Book."
Stuart, Elizabeth, Editor. "Daring to Speak Love's
Name, A Gay and Lesbian Prayer Book." London:
Hamish Hamilton, 1992.
Review by (The Rev.) Paul Woodrum
Editor Elizabeth Stuart's "Daring to Speak Love's
Name, A Gay and Lesbian Prayer Book," fulfills three
functions. First, it provides a lot of apologia for gay
people liturgically celebrating life's transitions. Second,
it's a resource for gay/lesbian specific public rites.
Third, it provides prayers and readings for private
meditation.
It's not quite clear to whom most of the apologia
is directed, especially the extensive justification given
for celebrating lesbian and gay relationships." Most of
it is pretty familiar stuff to lesbians and gay men who
have experienced any sort of consciousness raising what
so ever. All the right people are quoted from John
Boswell to John McNeill to Carter Heyward. It is a
helpful summary of the polemics, useful perhaps, for a
quick refresher course before trotting off to a meeting
of the diocesan commission on human sexuality.
A straight audience who might benefit most from
this part of the book is probably the least likely to read
it. Much of the apologia may be in response to the
rather strange publication history of the volume.
Initially, it was to be published by the SPCK which, not
untypically, developed a case of the jitters about dealing
with subjects gay and lesbian. Unable to get its own
auditors to condemn the publication, it finally resorted
to an unprecedented appeal to Archbishop of
Canterbury and SPCK President George Carey for an
opinion. He disapproved. The SPCK backed away
from publication. The C of E breathed a sigh of relief
at once again being able to avoid sex.
If the apologia isn't directly in response to all this
heterosexist nonsense, the extensive Preface, Foreword
and Introduction certainly are. The Preface and
Forward are worth reading for the insights they provide
into the fragility and fears of heterosexuals.
The Introduction by Dr. Stuart counters with a
splendid discussion of Blessed Aelred of Rievaulx's
theology of Christian friendship and relates his 12th
century thought to 20th century feminist and gay and
lesbian thought, especially as applied to liturgical
understanding and expression, naming and claiming the
validity of the lesgay experience of the holy.
Stuart provides extensive and varied resources
for liturgies celebrating relationships, housewarmings,
coming out, partings, illness (particularly HIV & AIDS),
and death. Considering the contributions of gay people
to liturgy for which they seem to have had a special
affinity over the centuries - at least 60% of the official
revisers of the American BCP and Hymnal were gay or
lesbian - it may seem somewhat ironic that anything
more is needed. Stuart, by the way, is Roman Catholic
but, being British, just sounds Anglican and her views
are certainly not those in much favor with the Vatican.
Stuart's contribution is not in replacing the standard,
general and common devotions of the church, but in
augmenting them with expressions growing from and
applicable to the lesbian and gay life of prayer, public
and private. Her audience is ecumenical. Her
resources are diverse. Her coverage including rites and
prayers for coming out, for partings, and for HIV/AIDS
is comprehensive. One would be hardpressed not to
find something helpful for either planning public
worship or for private devotion.
"Daring to Speak Love's Name" is not the final
word, nor even the penultimate, but it is a valuable
addition to a growing body of resources which openly
incorporate and informs the lesbian/gay experience of
the common prayer of God's holy people.
********************
*Chapter Updates*
Changes in Integrity Chapters since the Winter 1993
issue:
New:
.LM 16
Integrity/Boston-Metro
Christ Church, Episcopal
12 Quincy Ave.
Quincy, MA 02169
Integrity/East Tennessee
P.O. Box 4956
Chattanooga, TN 37405
Integrity/Maine
P.O. Box 25
Waldoboro, ME 04572
Integrity/Toledo
2272 Collingwood Blvd.
Toledo, OH 43620
Integrity/Twin Cities
c/o University Episcopal Center
317 17th Ave. S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55414
Integrity/Melbourne
St. Stephen's Anglican Church
3 Docker St.
Richmond, VIC 3121
AUSTRALIA
.LM 11
New Name and New Address:
.LM 16
Integrity/Los Angeles
7985 Santa Monica Blvd. #109-113
West Hollywood, CA 90046
.LM 11
New Addresses:
.LM 16
Integrity/Central Florida
P.O. Box 530031
Orlando, FL 32853-0031
Dignity-Integrity/Charlottesville
P.O. Box 3670
Charlottesville, VA 22903
.LM 11
No longer meeting:
.LM 16
Integrity/Central Indiana
Integrity/Colorado
Integrity/San Antonio
.LM 11
********************
*The University of South Dakota Press*
Announces Publication of
*Don't Hang Up...*
an anthology of poems about AIDS
edited by Andrew Miller
This unique volume of poetry is a collection of
works by both professional and amateur writers from
across the country, all of whom have lost loved ones to
AIDS. The works are expressions of their pain and
confusion, their fears and hopes. Their voices, too often
drowned out by those who would pass judgment,
represent the humanness of the suffering caused by this
ongoing tragedy. Their cries of loss transcend the
cultural, political and religious barriers that divide us, to
reveal the universality of their experience. The book's
title is taken from a poem by Dr. Louie Crew, Integrity's
founder. "Don't Hang Up" has also been made into a
short-subject film.
It is the hope of the editor and the University of
South Dakota Press that this volume can bring comfort
to those who are still suffering and can bring new
understanding and compassion to those who are still
trapped by fear and prejudice. All profits from the
volume will be donated to an AIDS research or
education program.
The book sells for *$8.95 postpaid* *
For more information, contact USD Press at either
(605) 677-5401 or (605) 624-8258. To order, send your
check, money order, or credit card information to: The
University of South Dakota Press, 301 East Hall, USD,
414 East Clark, Vermillion, SD 57069.
ISBN 0-929925-20-3
* South Dakota residents please add 5% sales tax.
********************
*DISCIPLES' CANDIDATE SUPPORTIVE*
Based on an Episcopal News Service Release
Members of the General Board of the Christian
Church (Disciples of Christ) endorsed the Rev. Richard
Hamm, a 45-year-old Tennessee church executive, for
general minister and president of the denomination.
Hamm told members of the board that decisions on the
ordination of homosexuals should be left up to local
regions and congregations. "After working through my
homophobia, Bible study and much prayer, I came to
believe that homosexuality in and ofitself should not be
a bar to ordination," he said. Hamm added that he has
no intention, however, of forcing his views upon the
denomination. He said he would speak the truth as one
Disciple, while encouraging others whose views are
different to speak. In 1991 the Rev. Michael Kinnamon
was not elected president of the denomination because
of his support of lesbian and gay Disciples in the
ordained ministry. The election of a new president will
take place in the meeting of the church's General
Assembly in July.
********************
*CLAUDIA'S COLUMN*
"Our nettlesome task is to discover how to organize our
strength into compelling power so that (the church)
cannot elude our demands. We must develop, from
strength, a situation where (the church) finds it wise and
prudent to collaborate with us. It would be the height
of naivete to wait passively until (the church) had
somehow been infused with such blessings of good will
that it implored us for our programs. The first course is
grounded in mature realism; the other, in childish
fantasy."
(I have replaced "government" with "the
church")
-- *The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.*, p. 45
Several weeks ago the people of the Diocese of
Minnesota gathered to meet the three clergypeople who
had been chosen as candidates for bishop. One
question, especially, surfaced for each of the candidates,
"In this decade of evangelism, how do you see church
growth occurring?" The questioner then proceeded to
explain that parishes are interested in techniques to
attract new members and that they expect help from the
bishop in this area. Each of the candidates responded
similarly in that they emphasized introspection before
outreach. That is, they would encourage individual
congregations to ask what it is that they have to offer
their members and what is preventing the active
participation of those who are on the fringes of parish
communities; those who rarely attend service or
participate in parish functions yet do just enough to
keep their names on the parish register.
The question of increasing chapter membership
surfaces often for those of us involved with Integrity and
local chapters. What, we want to know, can we do to
enlarge our membership; to increase growth. In
response to that question, I turn to the reply of the
bishop candidates. We must first look inward asking
ourselves what we have to offer our present members
and what is preventing active participation of those who
continue on our membership rosters while participating
only on the fringes.
Despite the objections of some African-
Americans, I see many parallels between the civil rights
struggles of their community and those of our lesbigay
community. Although racism continues to exist in our
church, progress towards its obliteration has been made.
In search of answers to what we can learn from our
African-American sisters and brothers I have turned in
part to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. One of Dr.
King's most powerful attributes is the immediacy of a
well defined and confidently voiced vision and
understanding of mission as well as a strategy for its
fulfillment. I believe that it is a vision and strategy that
is of utmost importance to members of Integrity
chapters yet is often either lacking or poorly presented.
If we cannot articulate who we are, what we expect of
the church, and how we intend to accomplish our goals,
what exactly is it that appeals to our membership?
What do we have to offer them?
I often wonder how many of our members would
be able to articulate the vision of their individual
chapters. It seems to me that not only does the vision
vary from chapter to chapter, but in many cases it varies
dramatically from chapter member to chapter member.
"Our nettlesome task is to discover how to organize our
strength into compelling power ..." We will not attain
that power, my sisters and brothers, until we define
common goals and strategies and I believe that the hope
of a compelling power "so that the church cannot elude
our demands" is the greatest gift that we have to offer
our members and that lack of cohesiveness, vision, and
strategy is what keeps many members on the fringes.
Had members of the civil rights movement been asked
to define their goals, and had the responses varied from
goals of socializing with other African-Americans to
working for the inclusion of all African-Americans in
every aspect of American life and society, I believe
there would have been no civil rights movement, no
strength organized into compelling power to move white
America to welcome our African-American sisters and
brothers. In the same vein, my friends, I believe that if
our goals are as divergently defined as providing a safe
social environment for Episcopalian lesbigay persons, to
working for the inclusion of all lesbigay persons in every
aspect of the life and ministry of our church, I fear that
there will be no strength to organize into a compelling
power to move our church to welcome us to full
inclusion.
It's not uncommon for us to question whether
lesbigay persons are included in "The Episcopal Church
Welcomes You" signs. How willing and able are we to
say, "This Integrity Chapter Welcomes You"; persons of
color, women, feminists, users of inclusive language,
differently abled persons, conservative, and bi-sexual
persons? Until we practice the inclusion that we
demand from our church, there will be no strength in
our chapters and our goals might as well be to provide a
safe place to socialize, or for lesbigay persons to meet
prospective partners, or to catch up on local gossip. In
each of these activities we can talk about the wish for
inclusion for each of us into the full life and ministry of
our church, but "it would be the height of naivete to wait
passively until the church had somehow been infused
with such blessings of good will ..." There would be no
church, my friends, if the early disciples had no common
goal; where some saw their mission to proclaim the
Christ, and others, to band together solely for strength
against the Roman government, and others yet, to set
themselves up as better than the Jews who still
practiced the old law. Their strength was their common
goal to proclaim Jesus Christ which became the
compelling power that brought those to whom they
witnessed to Christ and the new law.
Advertising in local lesbigay papers and diocesan
newsletters might attract a few new members and
increase your chapter size, my friends. Your strength,
however, lies in the power of a unified goal: the
inclusion of lesbigay persons in the full life and ministry
of the Episcopal Church. When that goal is identified
and articulated and when all those who count
themselves members of your chapters feel their
inclusion in the life of the chapter, the strategies can be
defined and others will want to add their commitments
and strengthen your power in the church.
"We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today.
We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In
this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is
such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the
thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked,
and dejected with a lost opportunity ... over the
bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous
civilizations are written with the pathetic words: 'Too
late' ... This may well be our last chance to choose
between chaos and community."
-- *The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.*, p. 90
We can't wait until next June to articulate our
goals, define our strategies, and muster our strength just
in time for the General Convention. "Tomorrow is
today." Let us welcome all who have chosen to affiliate
with our chapters to discuss and define our goals and to
develop strategies so that those goals can and will be
met. When that has been accomplished, we will witness
a renewed strength, an inviting organization, chapters so
powerful that, in joining forces with all other chapters,
the church will no longer be able to exclude us from full
life and ministry within her.
********************
*JOSHUA'S BAPTISM PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES
OF THE FAMILY OF GOD*
by Lily DeYoung
In the early church, the celebration of Easter was
preceded by an all-night vigil. When dawn broke,
neophytes were baptized into the Christian family, and
the Easter festival began.
But the baptism of three-month old Joshua
Kilian Meneghin on February 14 at the Church of the
Redeemer, Morristown, was preceded by a five-year
vigil kept by Cindy Meneghin and Maureen Kilian, his
parents.
Cindy and Maureen are a lesbian couple who
have been together since 1974, shortly after they met in
high school. Although both were raised as Catholics,
they never felt personal anxiety about their sexuality.
From the beginning, they have lived openly as a couple
hoping that family and church would accept them as
other couples were accepted and celebrated. When
acceptance and celebration did not come, they began
the long, slow process of helping people to understand.
"We have always been 'out' and open so that we
could be a role model to other lesbians and gays, and
for their families ... especially for families because they
often fear that being gay means being unhappy," said
Cindy. "As people got to know us, they began to
understand that we were a couple, in love and very
happy." She said, "It took many years of struggle to help
our parents and siblings to see that a 'couple' was not
necessarily a man and a woman, that we were just as
much a couple as they were with their spouses."
One meaningful sign of their acceptance as a
couple came when Maureen's parents included a
picture of Maureen and Cindy on the wall with the
pictures of her six siblings and their spouses, and when
the family began sending anniversary cards to them
each August 28.
Like many other couples, they wanted a child.
"We started talking about having a baby five years ago,"
said Cindy. "But we knew that 'our world' wasn't quite
ready yet." So again, they started the slow process of
helping people to understand.
They told family, friends and co-workers about
their desire to start a family. At first people were
surprised. Gradually, as their notions of "family" grew,
friends told the couple, "You'd be good parents!"
Cindy and Maureen wanted church to be a part
of their child's life too. But unlike the family and
friends who had openly accepted them, their church did
not. After years of committed service as parish lectors,
eucharistic and youth ministers, Cindy and Maureen
were told that they could not participate in couples'
programs or start a gay group, and if they had a child,
he or she could 'probably' be baptized, but in private.
To Cindy and Maureen it seemed that the Catholic
Church was the only place where their child and his
family would not be welcome.
To forego church was not an option. Said
Maureen, "We need organized religion. We want
community. And we decided we would either find it or
make it!"
Their search brought them to a visit one Sunday
to Redeemer. There, they were impressed by the
diversity of the congregation and the inclusive liturgical
language. But they wanted to find a church closer to
home. Redeemer was eighteen miles away, and they
were used to a neighborhood church.
They visited many Episcopal churches, and
deeply appreciated the welcome they found. They
decided to return to Redeemer when they learned that
its inclusiveness was not the personal initiative of a few
but rather a parish-wide commitment officially
undertaken by the vestry. Vestry member Ann Johnson
assured them that homophobia was not acceptable at
Redeemer and that if anyone felt uncomfortable with
that, it would be their problem, not Cindy's or
Maureen's ... and not Joshua's.
Said Cindy, "That was a complete reversal for us.
For once, we wouldn't have to struggle with others'
exclusionary concepts of family and fears about gay
relationships." "And we knew," said Maureen, "that
Redeemer was not a gay parish either. That wasn't
what we wanted. We have always wanted to belong to a
community that includes people of different races, ages,
ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations. It's what
we want for Joshua: to experience the real world within
his church community."
Preaching at Joshua's baptism, rector Philip
Wilson said that if teaching today, in place of 'the
Kingdom' Jesus might use the image of 'the Family of
God.' "If we accept 'the Family of God' as the
definition of Jesus' vision," Wilson said, "then the action
of God is to ever enlarge the family, ever to push the
circle wider."
That day, the Redeemer community
enthusiastically embraced Josh and his family. After
their vigilant five years of preparation, his parents are
happy and confident: Joshua is a member of the family
just as much as anyone else.
-----
Lily DeYoung is a member of Chu |
