Date:         Mon, 27 Jun 1994 09:21:50 EDT
From: PMDAtropos@aol.com

[ Send replies to jimc@UHUNIX.UHCC.HAWAII.EDU only ]

I am forwarding this from a gay and lesbian librarian group without
permission
either of the poster to the gay/lesbian group or of the original writer.

I apologize for any duplication but felt it was worthwhile seeing.

Subject:      Wire Report on Bishops' Pastoral

----------------------------Original message----------------------------


     After years in the trenches of the sex wars, U.S. Episcopal
bishops have drafted a pastoral statement that welcomes homosexuals
without repudiating traditional church teaching.
     In the fourth draft of the proposed document on sexuality, the
bishops ask the church to uphold an ideal of lifelong faithful
unions for both heterosexual and homosexual couples, and greet gays
and lesbians with hospitality rather than hostility.
     ``As it can be for heterosexual persons, the experience of
steadfast love can be for homosexual persons an experience of
God,'' the bishops' pastoral said. A copy was obtained this week by
The Associated Press.
     At the same time, the document also relates traditional church
teaching that sex is reserved for heterosexual marriages and stops
short of advocating changes in church law on the issues of gay
ordinations or the blessing of same-sex unions.
     ``The document doesn't take a stand one way or the other,
basically,'' said the Rev. Jane N. Garrett, a member of the
drafting committee. ``It leaves everything open for a continuation
of the dialogue.''
     But Bishop William Frey, dean of Trinity Episcopal School for
Ministry, said presenting different points of view only reflects
the chaos in the church on these issues today.
     ``The nicest thing I can say is that parts of it remind me of
theology by Oprah and Donahue,'' he said. ``In its present form, it
would be the most embarrassing document the bishops have ever
produced.''
     Nearly ever major religious group is grappling with the
contentious issue of sexuality. The United Church of Christ is the
only major Protestant denomination to allow the ordination of
sexually active homosexuals.
     Last fall, when an Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
committee on sexuality released a draft statement urging members to
challenge traditional biblical condemnations of homosexuality, a
backlash erupted. The church appointed a new panel and assured
members that any official policy would stand on biblical
foundations and the confessional tradition of the church.
     In an attempt to avoid the Lutherans' fate, the Episcopal
bishops had decided to bypass the pews in the drafting process by
keeping the document confidential until the denomination's General
Convention beginning Aug. 24 in Indianapolis.
     But the fourth draft of the report was released by Episcopalians
United, a conservative group.
     ``Several bishops and laity from the theological left and right
have questioned this clandestine process,'' said the Rev. Todd
Wetzel, the group's executive director. ``It seems the only people
pleased with this secrecy are those who have the most to gain from
it.''
     A fifth draft by a committee of eight bishops and six members of
the House of Deputies is expected to be circulated to all the
bishops in a few weeks.
     Committee members would not comment on the contents of the final
draft, but said it would not shake up the church.
     ``It's not going to be a particularly radical document,'' said
Bishop Frank Allan of Atlanta. ``If people want to get titillated
by it, they can get titillated by something else.''
     In the Episcopal Church, the denomination's legislative body has
declared both that homosexuals are children of God who have a full
and equal claim with all other people upon the church and that
physical sexual expression is appropriate only within the lifelong,
monogamous union of husband and wife.
     The church has said it is not appropriate to ordain practicing
gays or lesbians, but several bishops have gone ahead and publicly
or quietly ordained homosexuals.
     At the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix, the House of Bishops
was ordered to prepare a pastoral teaching on sexuality.
     The fourth draft of ``Continuing the Dialogue: A Pastoral
Teaching of the House of Bishops to the Church as it Considers
Issues of Human Sexuality'' notes both traditional church teachings
that sex is appropriate only within marriage and the experience of
gays and lesbians identifying their love with Jesus Christ in
long-term, committed relationships.
     In a section on Scripture, two interpretations are offered. One
said the biblical texts condemning homosexuality should be taken at
their word. ``Sexual activity of any kind comes to be seen as
sinful, and homosexual practice as especially dishonorable.''
     The other interpretation said the texts also can be viewed in
the larger context of the spirit of the law upholding love for all
and that texts written in a period with a different understanding
of homosexuality should not be used ``to demean and perhaps exclude
a whole group of disciples.''
     In a section offering pastoral guidelines, the fourth draft
declares sexual relationships reach their full potential in the
context of chaste, faithful and committed lifelong union between
mature adults.
     ``We believe this is as true for homosexual as for heterosexual
relationships and that such relationships need and should receive
the pastoral care of the church,'' the statement says.
     In a vague reference to ordination, the bishops recommend the
church ordain only persons believed to be ``wholesome examples.''
     Garrett said given the tensions in the church the drafting
committee deliberately avoided taking a stand on issues such as the
ordination of homosexuals.
     ``There's no way at this moment to reconcile those
differences,'' she said.

_______end of forwarded message----------------------

James F. Cartwright
University Archivist   jimc@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
University of Hawai`i, Manoa