Date: Tue, 5 Sep 95 14:02:46 EDT From: "James D. Anderson" MORE LIGHT UPDATE October 1995 Volume 16, Number 3 Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns James D. Anderson, Communications Secretary P.O. 38 New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038 908/249-1016, 908/932-7501 (Rutgers University) FAX 908/932-6916 (Rutgers University) Internet: jda@mariner.rutgers.edu MORE LIGHT UPDATE is the Monthly Newsletter of Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns, an organization of Ministers, Elders, Deacons, and Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Send materials marked "For publication" to the editor. PUBLICATION DEADLINES: 6 weeks prior to issue month. Most material appearing in MORE LIGHT UPDATE is placed in the public domain. With the exception of individual articles that carry their own copyright notice, articles may be freely copied or reprinted. We ask only that MORE LIGHT UPDATE be credited and its address be given for those who might wish to contact us. Suggested annual membership contribution to PLGC: $50.00. Annual subscription to MORE LIGHT UPDATE: $10.00. Note: * is used to indicate italicized or boldface text. CONTENTS Ooops! -- Errors and Changes in PLGC WWW Addresses Heartiest "Coming Out" Congratulations Events Not to Miss New Dates for More Light Churches Conference, May 3-5, 1996 Coming Out to God: Chris Glaser Leads Workshop on Long Island, Saturday, November 11. Midwestern PLGC Conference, March 1-3, 1996 Intimacy with God: Drinking Deeply from Our Own Wells, Jan. 4-7, 1966, Kirkridge, Bangor, PA Giving Securities for the Cause FEATURE STORIES Coming Out in 1995-1996 Coming Out in the Church Coming Out in Youth Ministries: Coming Out Showed Me "More Light" by John Slade, Youth Ministries Coordinator, Covenant Presbyterian Church Madison, Wisconsin Called Out, commentary on our new book Coming Out in Theology & Poetry: two reviews by Jud van Gorder Too Out, or Not Out Enough for a Leading Presbyterian College? Coming Out for Inclusiveness in Your Boy Scout Programs A Love Letter: An Answer to Jim Spahr's Open Love Letter to Janie Great Video Resources: Eve's Daughters; Maybe We're Talking About a Different God -- Homosexuality and the Church * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ooops! -- Errors and Changes in PLGC WWW Addresses The address we gave in the August *Update* for World Wide Web access to the Queer Resources Directory and the full text of all *More Light Updates* from January 1993 through the latest issue was WRONG. It should have been: http://www.qrd.org/QRD/orgs/PLGC/newsletters/ Sorry! And, PLGC's WWW home page has a new address. It's: http://www.epp.cmu.edu/~riley/PLGC.html The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also has a home page, and we're pleased to see that they include a link to PLGC's home page. So everyone can go directly from the PC(USA) home page to ours. The PC(USA) home page address is: http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa.htlm * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Heartiest "Coming Out" Congratulations To Lawrence Reh, recent openly gay graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary. His sermon, "Drawing Circles," won honorable mention in the Alfred P. Klausler Sermon Awards and will be published in the September-October 1995 issue of The Christian Ministry. While a student at SFTS, Reh and a classmate created and directed the first full-semester course on "Lesbian & Gay in Church & Society." To Bet Hannon (former PLGC board member) and Va Nee Van Vleck (our G.A. hospitality suite hostess for many years) on the birth of their daughter Mary Emery Van Vleck Hannon, August 15, 1995, 6:13 a.m., 8 lbs., 3 oz. All PLGCers send hugs and best wishes! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Events Not to Miss New Dates for More Light Churches Conference The 1996 More Light Churches Conference will take place May 3-5 in Rochester, New York. This 12th annual conference, which has doubled in size in the past two years, had to be moved from an earlier date in order to secure adequate facilities. The keynoters for the conference will be Irene Monroe, a dynamic speaker who is pursuing doctoral studies at Harvard Divinity School and the Rev. Dan Smith, pastor of West Hollywood Church and one of the writers of the famous PC(USA) Human Sexuality Report of a few years ago. So save May 3-5, 1996, and watch the *Update* for registration forms. Or write to Carolyn Klinge, 96 Burlington Ave., Rochester, NY 14619. -- Dick Hasbany and Rose Mitchell. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Coming Out to God Chris Glaser Leads Workshop on Long Island, Saturday, November 11. A one day workshop, designed to help gaymen and lesbians, their families and friends, focus on their sexuality and spirituality, is being held Saturday, November 11th. The workshop will be lead by Chris Glaser, well-known author and gay Christian activist. The program theme is: Coming Out to God. The morning session explores Coming Home: Reclaiming Christian Spirituality. During this session, participants will explore letting go of former understandings of their faith, exploring its meaning as if for the first time -- born again to a Christian faith that welcomes their sexuality home. The afternoon session focuses on Uncommon Callings: recognizing that sexuality shapes our spirituality, what are the unique callings of lesbians and gay men -- as individuals, as couples and in community? Chris Glaser has spent more than 20 years working with lesbians and gaymen in reclaiming their spiritual resources. With a gentle, pastoral approach, he helps the church understand and become more inclusive. A gay activist at Yale Divinity School, Chris served on the Presbyterian Task Force to Study Homosexuality. For ten years, he directed the Lazarus Project, the first denominationally-funded ministry within the lesbian and gay community. He has led Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns nationally and the Spiritual Advisory Committee of AIDS Project Los Angeles. While writing, he has traveled the world, speaking and leading workshops with insight, grace and humor. Chris now makes his home in Atlanta with Mark King, an HIV/AIDS community educator. The workshop is sponsored by the Gay and Lesbian Workgroup, Presbytery of Long Island, Presbyterian Church (USA), and will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Old First Presbyterian Church, 125 Main St., Huntington, L.I., NY. Registration is $20. Make check payable and mail to: Presbytery of Long Island, 50 Hauppauge Rd., Commack NY 11725-4499. Be sure to include your name, address and telephone number. Members of all faith traditions are welcome. For more information, contact the Rev. Tom Philipp 516-378-2173 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Midwestern PLGC Conference Our Mid-winter Midwestern PLGC conference will be held March 1-3, 1996 at Geneva Center, near Rochester in north central Indiana, hosted by the Central Indiana Chapter of PLGC. Chris Glaser will be the conference leader. The conference will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 1 and will continue through noon on Sunday, March 3. Watch for full details and registration forms in the *More Light Update.* For more information, contact the conference registrar, The Rev. Gene Huff, 28 N. Dearborn St., Indianapolis, IN 46201, 317-236-1170. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Intimacy with God Drinking Deeply from Our Own Wells, Jan. 4-7, 1966, Kirkridge, Bangor, PA In this 9th annual retreat for gay and bisexual men, we will build community to assist in developing our spiritual values and in gaining a deeper understanding of our unique contribution to modern society. Reaching down into our own experience of pain and joy, we shall claim our good inheritance as God's gay people and strengthen ourselves to participate in healing and justice- making work in church and society. Presentations, small groups, story telling, praying, singing and worshiping will create our community together. Come and enter into this mid-winter oasis of God's realm. Led by: **John McNeill**, Catholic priest, psychotherapist, co-founder of Dignity, and "Dean" of gay events at Kirkridge, beginning in 1977. John is author of the widely acclaimed and ground-breaking book *The Church and the Homosexual*, as well as *Taking a Chance on God*, and *Freedom, Glorious Freedom.* **Bill Countryman**, Episcopal priest and a professor at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. He teaches courses in New Testament and in spirituality, including an upcoming course in gay and lesbian spirituality. He is author of several books, including *Dirt, Greed, and Sex* (on sexual ethics in the New Testament and today), *The Mystical Way in the Fourth Gospel*, and *Good News of Jesus*. 7 p.m. Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch. $295 ($150 registration deposit). Contact Kirkridge, 2495 Fox Gap Rd., Bangor, PA 18013-9359, 610-588-1793 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Giving Securities for the Cause PLGC needs all the help you can give as together we prepare for the next step in creating a place for all God's people at the Presbyterian table. One way you can help is to give securities -- stocks and bonds. When a person donates securities to a charitable organization like PLGC, the donor can claim a tax deduction based on the full fair market value at the time the stock is transferred. There also is a significant tax advantage in giving appreciated securities directly to the charity. If the donor sells the appreciated stock personally and donates the proceeds to the charity, he/she still is responsible for paying tax on the gains realized in the sale. When the securities are donated directly to the charity and sold by that organization, the donor will not be responsible for the tax on the capital gains. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, with which PLGC has an account, is able to handle these transactions as a "Received & Paid Out (RPO)" gift. The securities are given directly to the Foundation, where they are sold, and the cash paid immediately to PLGC as the beneficiary. Potential donors may call the Foundation headquarters at 1-800-858-6127 for information about how to initiate such transactions. You may also contact your local PC(USA) Foundation representative. -- Many thanks to Louise Thompson for getting this information in the *Update*! PLGC and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) look forward to hearing from you! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FEATURE STORIES Coming Out in 1995-1996 [Official Coming Out Day sponsor logo, 2 x 2-1/4"] Welcome to our annual Coming Out issue. October 11 is National Coming Out Day. If you get this issue after October 11, just pick your own coming out day! [Display ad from National Coming Out Day #1 -- Candace Gingrich] We lead off with John Slade's coming out story, as a youth ministry worker in a Presbyterian Church. John is entering his first year at McCormick Seminary this fall. The Rev. Howard Warren, "God's Glorious Gadfly," co-leader of Presbyterian Act Up, and just about the most *out* person I know, contributes commentary about *our* new book, *Called Out*. Jud van Gorder reviews two "coming out" books, one a "Gay Liberation Theology," and the other a coming-out-in poetry volume. From *The Chronicle of Higher Education*, we share a story about the fate of Wooster College's new president-to-be, who appears to have been too "out" for the college trustees, or perhaps not out enough. Wooster is one of our leading Presbyterian Colleges (and my mother's alma mater), so it is sad to see a possible lack of leadership there. Our final special "coming out" feature is dedicated to our Boy Scout troops, especially those in More Light Churches, and to all who care about our youth. Veteran Scouter David Rice suggests way that congregations can stand with gay scouts and also help our Scout programs to come out as honoring the inclusiveness of God. October is also the Second Annual Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual History Month. Here's some information direct from the organizers: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual History Month ("History Month" henceforth) began with an original concept by Rodney Wilson, a St. Louis high school history teacher who was appalled at the failure of his 800 page textbook to mention any gay, lesbian, or bisexual history whatsoever. He organized a grass-roots network of teachers and community members across the country who began working to see October recognized as History Month. Inspired by such existing celebrations as Black History Month (February) and Women's History Month (March), organizers sought to create a time during the academic year when special attention could be focused on the contributions of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people to world history. October was chosen as the month in which to celebrate this history in order to build on existing traditions like National Coming Out Day (October 11), and to honor the October anniversaries of the first two marches on Washington organized by gay, lesbian, and bisexual activists (in 1979 and 1987). What happened last year? Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation quickly endorsed the idea. A volunteer national coordinating council, with representatives from across the nation, began work over the summer to plan activities in their communities. In October, political leaders such as Senator Barbara Boxer (California), Governors William Weld (Massachusetts) and Lowell Weicker (Connecticut) and Mayors Richard Daley (Chicago) and Thomas Menino (Boston) also issued proclamations to celebrate this inaugural event. Local coordinating councils in areas as diverse as Boston, Chicago, San Antonio, San Francisco, and St. Louis staged a myriad of events, and numerous media outlets covered the story, raising the public's awareness of this history to a higher level throughout the nation. Over 300 curriculum and organizing packets were distributed to individuals and organizations around the country who requested help in planning events. These accomplishments become all the more impressive when one realizes that all work was done by volunteers who had no independent budget to support these activities. History Month can be celebrated in a number of ways. Among events staged last year were: * A gay/lesbian history film festival in St. Louis, MO; * A "birthday party" reception for Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, who gave the first public speech on behalf of gay rights in Germany in 1867, in Jacksonville, FL; * A conference featuring over a dozen workshops, attended by two hundred community members, teachers, and students, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network, in Boston, MA; * A slide show on local gay and lesbian history sponsored by the Gerber/Hart Gay & Lesbian Library & Archives, in Chicago, IL; * Special proclamations were issued by elected officials in California, Connecticut, Illinois, and Massachusetts; What's planned for this year? The bulk of the work for History Month is done on a local level. The National Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual History Month Project, established by the 1994 coordinating council and administered by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Teachers Network, provides resources, support, and ideas to local activists so that they can be more effective organizers in their communities. What can our organizations or communities do this October? * arrange book displays at local bookstores and public libraries; * write columns and letters to the editor in local newspapers recognizing the month and educating the public about contributions made by local lesbian, gay, and bisexual figures; * donate history books to local public and school libraries; * lay wreaths on the graves of local lesbian, gay, and bisexual people who made a significant contribution to the community as a way of raising media and public awareness of this history; * organize a reading group that focuses on gay, lesbian, and bisexual history books; * advocate with your state and local school boards for inclusive curricular policies so that full, fair, and factual information about lesbian, gay, and bisexual history is included in textbooks; What kinds of things can we do in schools, colleges, seminaries? First, make sure your school (or your town's schools) know that October is Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual History Month! Help them plan appropriate activities similar to those many schools sponsor for Black and Women's History Months. Some specific ideas include: * establishing bulletin boards or posting fliers to educate the community about lesbian, gay, and bisexual history; * inviting scholars to give lectures on their work to students; * inviting older lesbian, gay, and bisexual members of the local community to come to share their own experiences in classes or public forums; * asking college presidents or school principals to officially endorse the Month and to make plans for redressing the current lack of information on lesbian, gay, and bisexual history in your curriculum or library; How can you help? The National Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual History Month Project needs two things: time and money! If you can support this effort with donations of these crucial resources, we can reach a much broader audience than ever before and end once and for all the invisibility of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual past. Please contact History Month, c/o Gay, Lesbian, Straight Teachers Network (GLSTN), 2124 Broadway Box 160, New York, NY 10023-1722, 212-387-2098, E-Mail: LGBHM@AOL.COM A Few Resources The following are *by no means* comprehensive but do give you some starting points. A more complete list appears in the Lesbian Gay Bisexual History Month Curriculum Packet (available from GLSTN for $5). A Few Good Books [Yes I know -- the librarians among us will be horrified at these skimpy citations, but you can flesh them out at your local library or bookstore! -- JDA, a librarian!] Chauncey, George; Duberman, Martin; and Vicinus, Martha. Hidden from History: Reclaiming the Gay and Lesbian Past. A multicultural collection spanning over two millennia of history. Duberman, Martin. Stonewall. Details the organizing and events leading up to the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York, a key event in modern gay history. Faderman, Lillian. Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in 20th Century America. Surveys the lesbian experience in U.S. during this century. Jennings, Kevin. Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students. A comprehensive reader with ideas for teachers to use when incorporating this material into their classes. Katz, Jonathan Ned. Gay American History. A definitive collection of primary documents covering the entire scope of the subject. Marcus, Eric. Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights 1945-1990, An Oral History. Fascinating interviews with well-known and not so well-known individuals who played important roles in the modern gay movement. Miller, Neil. Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. A good survey of primarily Western gay history. A Few Good Films. Before Stonewall. Covers the history of America's gay community from the Twenties until the Sixties. Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two. Details the role of the war in shaping early gay communities. Common Threads: Stories form the Quilt. The 1990 Academy Award- winning documentary which explains the early years of the AIDS epidemic through stories from the Names Project Quilt. Last Call at Maud's. Explains the development of lesbian communities in mid-twentieth century America through the story of a San Francisco lesbian bar. The Times of Harvey Milk. The 1984 Academy Award-winning documentary on the life of Harvey Milk, who in 1978 became the first openly gay man to be elected to a municipal post in America. A Few Good Institutions The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York. The nation's pre-eminent higher education research institution on the subject. 33 W. 42 St., New York, NY 10036- 8099, 212-642-2924. Frameline. An important film distributor for the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community. 346 9th St., San Francisco, CA 94103, 415-703-8650. Gerber/Hart Gay & Lesbian Library & Archives. Provides resources and support to community members and researchers. 3352 N. Paulina, Chicago, IL 60657, 312-883-3003, fax 312-883-3078. International Gay and Lesbian Archives. The pre-eminent archive on the West Coast. Box 69679, West Hollywood, CA 90069, 310-854- 0271. Lesbian Herstory Archives & Educational Foundation. The leader in resources relating specifically to lesbian herstory. Box 1258, New York, NY 10116, 718-768-3953, fax 718-768-4663. Project 21. Advocates with state school boards and education agencies for inclusive curricular policies so that full, fair, and factual information about lesbian, gay, and bisexual history is included in textbooks. Also provides materials such as a "Famous Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual People in History" poster. C/o Jessea Greenman, 586 62 St. Oakland, CA 94609, 510-601-8883, email: jessea@uclink2.berkeley.edu * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Coming Out in the Church [National Coming Out Day ad #2 -- Dan Butler] Coming Out in Youth Ministries Coming Out Showed Me "More Light" by John Slade, Youth Ministries Coordinator, Covenant Presbyterian Church Madison, Wisconsin I finally totally acknowledged it to myself in October 1994: I am gay. I was fortunate that I had been raised by two faithful parents, who exuded tolerance in all that they did. I was fortunate that I had been around church leaders, in the United Church of Christ and in the Presbyterian Church (USA), that spoke of a God that loves all and calls people of all varieties to ministry. I was fortunate that I was living in Madison, Wisconsin, a city with a strong lesbigay community. I was fortunate that I worked for a church that had always been supportive of lesbigay people, although it hadn't made any public statements to that effect. Yes, it seemed to me that I was surrounded by a whole mess of ideal circumstances. But acknowledging my gayness was still difficult. You see, I'd finally gotten around to deciding to pursue ordination as a Minister of the Word and Sacraments -- after years of running from a call. And now this. Plus, I work with teenagers -- and parents of teenagers are known for being nervous to begin with. So, I decided I'd stay in the closet for a while. I rapidly discovered just how claustrophobic I am. Being in the closet didn't work for me. (I truly admire those who have been able to do so for years). I started losing sleep, and I lost my appetite. I grew less able to concentrate, and the little details I used to handle with ease slipped through the cracks. My prayer life suffered as well. It just started to dissolve. I didn't actively turn from God, I just sort of let myself drift away. It became obvious that something had to change. I had to get out. It had to be soon. So, I called my parents and came out to them over the phone. Their response was what I pray other people can have. My mom, a UCC pastor, said that she hoped she'd still be able to officiate at my wedding someday -- just a little different one than she had thought it would be. My dad wrote in a letter the next day, "I'm sorry that the world is not a friendly enough place yet to make it easy to just be yourself as God created you. ... Please know always that I love you for who you are and this in no way changes my love for you." The next step was telling my boss, our pastor. Bill's response was a simple "so what?" Actually, nothing is ever that simple with Bill King. What he said was, "It doesn't matter to me, John, I wasn't planning on dating you." Since then, the entire staff has had good fun with loving jokes. Bill also said things like "You'll have a lot to teach me," and he was genuine in those remarks. Telling the Personnel Committee and the Session and the staff and the Deacons went well also. At every step, there were many hugs and words of support and smiles and tears. The Daly family was particularly great, sending me a card which each member had signed the day after I came out to the Deacons (on which both mother and daughter sit). Some laughs came, too. Like when I was reading my "coming out letter" to the session and Freudian slipped, saying that I wanted to state one thing "queerly and unequivocally," instead of "clearly and ...." Or when the chairperson of Personnel thanked me, in front of the session, for "being straight with us." I also needed to tell people in my presbytery (John Knox) and at McCormick Seminary. Hal Murry, our Executive Presbyter, promised me that he would stand with me to ensure that I received absolutely fair treatment throughout the ordination process. Our Committee on Preparation for Ministry chairperson promised the same. My contact at McCormick, Dan Krebill -- the admissions officer, offered his personal support and checked things out with the seminary administration, all of whom stated that my sexual orientation was a non-issue to them. One step remained: informing the young people and parents at the church. The session decided to do this by letter. So, on Thursday, June 22, 1995, we posted envelopes with two letters: one from me, a letter informing people of my claiming this portion of my identity and explaining why I wanted to inform them; and one from the pastors on behalf of the Session, expressing its support for me personally and as an employee. The Session's letter also invited people to attend a meeting set for the following Wednesday (which happens to be my birthday) if they had questions or concerns. The first phone call came about 10:45 on Friday morning. A parent of two kids in the youth programs called to say how much she supported me and how courageous she thought I was. Two more calls like that came that day. I saw more people on Saturday, all of whom expressed support. And today, Sunday, there was practically a line of people waiting to express their support to me personally. One young woman from the youth group, who heard the news while away at a summer sailing camp, told her parents that they'd better be at the Wednesday meeting, or she was going to come back from camp to be there. Session members stopped by to express support and to tell me about the positive words they had heard. At this point in time, no one has heard any negative feedback. Reflecting on the maelstrom that has been my life these past 9 months, I've learned a few things. I've learned that trusting God is a lot easier than worrying about everything yourself. I've learned, probably for the first time at a visceral level, that God really loves me -- John Slade -- not just me -- any human being. I've learned that God has been with me as I come out, holding my hand and hugging me when I need it. I've learned that the Presbyterian Church, or at least parts of it, can see and claim more light. Coming out of the closet has been the most wonderful part of my life to date. My friendships have gotten stronger. My family has drawn even closer. Complete strangers have given me much pastoral care and sage advice (thanks especially to Melanie and Jane and Chris and Jon and Gerry). My faith in God has deepened, as has my hope for the Presbyterian Church. God has shown me more light in my coming out, and I'm enjoying its warmth right now. Thanks be to God. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Called Out [picture of cover, 3x4-1/2"] Our local movies are showing "Two Girls in Love," "The Sum of Us All," and the Phoenix Theater has recently presented a wonderful production of "Jeffrey," and each morning as part of my reaching for the light, along with *The Word Is Out*, I read one or two stories from *Called Out*. Now that I am mid-way through, I ration my reading as I don't want the book and the stories to end. The reading of the stories, like the movies and play, produces a great outflow of tears -- tears of joyous thanks for living in America in these decades of coming out. How well I remember the surface, almost nervous laughter generated by the movie "The Boys in the Band," and the negativity of the story, when I compare it with the deep humor and humanity of the stories, films and plays of today. Tears of sorrow also flow for the deep hurts that forged these stories of coming out, especially those hurts inflected by our own Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Tears of hope also flow for the continuing decades as this coming out and being called out within the church community continues. Thanks to the women editors and to Chi Rho Press who made *Called Out* a reality, and to the many in our denomination who will work especially hard for the reality of our inclusive church in and beyond Albuquerque in 1996. -- The Rev. Howard B. Warren, Jr. God's Glorious Gadfly. A reader in Pennsylvania adds: I'm sending my contribution to you, Jim, because I want you to know how much I enjoyed reading your story on pages 112-117 in the new book *Called Out*. At last I can put a face on that name I've enjoyed seeing and reading about in *More Light Update* each month. I'm very grateful to Howard Warren for helping make this book possible, as well as Chi Rho Press for publishing it. I just got my copy of *Called Out* Saturday afternoon, but I'm already more than half way through it. Can't put it down! These personal testimonies are such enriching and uplifting stories. [Hey, thanks for the plug! -- JDA] Now, if you haven't gotten your own copy, you can get one directly from the publisher: Chi Rho Press, P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898, 301-670-1859. Single copies cost $15.95; six or more copies cost $13.45 each. Please add shipping and handling charges of $2.50 for 1 copy, $3.50 for 2 copies, $4.50 for 3 copies, $5.50 for 4 or 5 copies, $6.50 for 6 or 7 copies, and 7% of the total order for 8 copies or more. Add $2.00 billing charge for orders that are not prepaid. Make checks payable to Chi Rho Press. *Please note that the lower prices listed in the June-July 1995 Update were pre-publication prices!* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Coming Out in Theology & Poetry Know My Name: A Gay Liberation Theology, by Richard S. Cleaver. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, c1995. xvi+161 pp. $15.99 paper. ISBN 0-664-25576-0. 1-800-672-1789. Sex With God (revised edition), by Thomas O'Neil. New York, NY: Wexford Press (185 Claremont Ave., Suite 6-A, NYC 10027), c1994. viii+153 pp. $6.95 paper. ISBN 0-9622398-1-X. 212-316-2121. Both these books come from the Roman Catholic tradition, but their authors use it differently. Cleaver's *Know My Name* is catholic in the best sense, a gift to the Church which is also one, holy, apostolic. And he doesn't want to limit his audience to Christians. He believes Catholic tradition has been more sex- positive in practice and occasionally in doctrine than other Christian tendencies, though U.S. Catholics have lost touch with it. Cleaver writes to make a contribution to a gay, white, male theology of liberation, and he maintains the priority of having known himself as gay before Christian. His goal is to help gays develop tools for doing theology for themselves and their communities, so they won't be defined by medical, legal, or religious 'experts'. "We will never be able to decide what an authentically Christian gay life is as long as we believe we are unworthy to construct it ourselves" (p. 86). What is missing in church debates about gays is their own daily experiences in historical and political context. The ground of gay theology will be love as justice and solidarity; we must begin with our bodies and selves, but do our own work of liberation in relation with others, learning to make gayness the source of our virtues. Though this may sound hedonistic or Marxist, the volume is thoroughly Biblical and evangelical. "Real theology means making sense of our differences in the light of our faith in the risen Christ" (p. 9). Cleaver can be as critical of gay myths as of Christian deviancy. He says apologetics and scholastics (even the labors of St. John Boswell) cannot validate faithful gay existence; they lead to a dead end. Looking for 'gay' relationships in Scripture is just prooftexting: "All Biblical heroes are lovers" (p. 27). Further, if 'gayness' is a lifestyle, we're just in a new Egypt of commercialism, trying to buy our way out of bondage. Seeking to win popular tolerance by placing only 'acceptable' gay images out in public is doomed to failure. We have put too many eggs in the basket of biological determination of sexual orientation. 'Innateness' will not make us a protected class for civil rights. "Being gay is a choice on the level that actually matters" (p. 43). And that level transcends the merely genital. "The norm of Christian life is not 'do what feels good as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else' .... Such a norm is simply too banal for a people who have been incorporated into God's body by baptism in the waters of death and life. It cannot restore the image of God in us" (p. 143). But the Church has conformed itself to the world, compromising with bourgeois heterosexist culture in order to maintain its institutional power. Thus the commandment of love is perverted into romance, pleasure without consequence, a way for others to meet my needs; and into charity, to 'fix' the poor and outcast so there will be no radical social restructuring. The Church, like Society, creates the category of 'homosexual' as 'unclean', then offers salvation if we stop being that way or don't do anything with it. "We must name ourselves and ... our oppression. Naming is how scripture represents people as claiming their own lives and power" (p. 58). The strength and value of this book is not so much in analysis as in its rich use of Scripture and tradition. These point the way to a contemporary Church of Jesus Christ which manifests his "immediate, shockingly unconventional relationships with people" (Monika Hellwig, p. 53). Being a 'constructionalist' (rather than 'essentialist') as regards gay existence, Cleaver must needs use the method of analogy to reclaim the Word for us who are today treated as heretics, outcasts, and sinners. An example is the Woman at the Well in John's Gospel: "Although we are apt to think of this passage as being about promiscuity, it is not .... He never tells the woman that she should leave the man she is now living with. ... He is not interested in telling her what kind of person she is; she knows her situation better than he. The conversation reveals what kind of person Jesus is ... His remark about the men in her life is a way of opening a dialogue with her" (p. 54-55). This practical woman gets the message; the religious professionals miss the point. For straights and gays, here is a wealth of preaching and teaching insights. With his more-than-Protestant awareness of liturgy and the body, Cleaver finds them the basis for authentic gay, male, Christian life. True disciples act on the Word they have heard. Because not doing anything is a guarantee that nothing will change, the insiders with power prefer just to talk (like General Assembly???). "Only when we have touched (Jesus') body and eaten with him, can we theologize ... Now we know how to make (his body) present forever ... (but) only as a group ... Now (we) are ready for the first time to become a community of lovers" (pp. 129-131 passim). And don't miss the magnificent eucharistic prayer with which Cleaver closes his book. When I first looked at the review copy of the book (an advance pre-publication version), I was put off by its temporary binding and incomplete proofreading. I still think it's pricey. But of all I have read, this is the best single work blending faith, history, sociology, exegesis, personal testimony, spirituality, sexuality, (and modesty!). If you can't buy it, borrow it. In *Sex With God*, an expanded edition of his book of poems, Thomas O'Neil confronts his Catholic background in anger. The first section is about the New York gay scene; in the second, the author meets and falls in love with a Black, Protestant, ex- Marine named Brian. The third and new section, "The Ashes of Eden," covers Brian's suffering and death from AIDS. To him, "once my other, unorthodox religion," the work is dedicated. There is genuine passion and pain in these verses, and at times I felt like a voyeur while reading them. When Tom and Brian were romantically involved, they sensed the "hovering presence (of God the Father and Mother Church) all the time, and usually just on the other side of the bedroom door, huffing and hissing" (p. ii). And for the undeserved pangs of guilt or shame O'Neil decided to give right back to the "Divine Duo" a body slam of equal oomph. Therefore, "if this writing seems too ferocious here and there in its jabs at the church ... and God, it is not necessarily my fault" (p. iv). There is a Joban element in the attitude and allegations, but the dilemma is somewhat different -- how do you blame Someone and Something you were taught to believe in, but which no longer represent Reality? O'Neil still accepts that through Brian's death he got his comeuppance from God. The title seems chosen to grab attention, though in the context of the first poem it becomes: "there is nothing in the world like talking sex with God." (I wonder how Cleaver's book would have turned out if it had been called "Eat My Body?") In fact, the accompanying releases from the publishers emphasize the 'outrageous', 'blasphemous,' and 'controversial' aspects of the book, perhaps to promote sales. (No problem with modesty, especially in the editors' claim that "Science has now firmly established that the sexual inclination is inborn".) Some of the humor is brisk, some stale -- as when a monsignor tells an altar boy, "Blessed is he who cums in the name of the Lord" (p. 16). But parts are poignant and reflective, too: "... Some things just don't matter / and the worst part about it / is that you never know which ones they are at the time. Touch, touch my eyes, children of the earth, / and show me a wonderland around the corner / where you can eat the wildflowers / where giants dance / and the old songs play forever" (p. 121). The accompanying ink brush drawings by Ty Wilson are fetching. -- Jud van Gorder * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Too Out, or Not Out Enough for a Leading Presbyterian College? "Public Job, Private Life: Wooster's president-to-be bows out amid talk of relationship with a woman" Yes, that's the headline for a major story on pages A13-14 in the August 4, 1995 *Chronicle of Higher Education*, the major weekly newspaper for higher education. Wooster is one of the most highly-rated Presbyterian colleges. Here are some quotes from the story by Courtney Leatherman. For the rest of the story, go read the whole article. -- JDA. "Trustees of the College of Wooster called Susanne Woods 'the best president for the college' when they hired her in April. Two months later, they balked after learning details about her long-term relationship with a woman, sources say." "But Ms. Shaver, an English professor at Denison University, does identify herself as a lesbian. In the Denison campus telephone directory, she lists Ms. Woods as her partner." "Some academics were angered by the possibility that homophobia played a role in Wooster's change of heart about Ms. Woods. Academe 'gives up such wonderful people because of bigotry,' says Rhonda R. Rivera, an emeritus professor of law at the Ohio State University. ... Wooster 'probably wanted to avoid negative publicity,' she says. 'And now they're going to get it.' "Nancy Grace, head of Wooster's English department, says: 'There was a fair amount of speculation when she was appointed that perhaps she was gay. But I thought, "If she is, fine; if she isn't, fine."' 'I wasn't thinking about her as gay or lesbian,' Ms. Grace adds. 'I was thinking, "Wow, this person is extremely qualified, I'm glad they appointed her."'" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Coming Out for Inclusiveness in Your Boy Scout Programs You are part of a congregation that believes in, preaches, and tries to practice God's inclusive love for all people. As part of your ministry, you have a Boy Scout troop. How can you effectively deal with the conflict between your convictions and the discriminatory practices of the Boy Scouts of America? Here are some practical suggestions from veteran scouter David A. Rice. Rice, an elder in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was a professional Scouter for 16 years, serving as a district Scout executive. He is now national coordinator of a network of Scouters, "Scouting for All," who are acting within Scouting to effect change and bring the discriminatory practices to an end. - - JDA. The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) practice of excluding gays (I dislike dignifying their stance with the word "policy") was "discovered" in about 1978 in a document not widely circulated. The "policy" appears nowhere in Scouting literature or forms. It first reached the media in the case of Tim Curran of Berkeley in 1980 (his law suit is now before the California Supreme Court). Other current legal challengers include James Dale in New Jersey (court decision expected this fall) and Keith Richardson (a deacon in Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church!) before the Chicago Human Rights Commission (decision also expected this fall). [By the way, James Dale, the New Jersey litigant, is a Rutgers graduate who worked closely with *Update* editor Jim Anderson on liberation issues as a student there.] Currently BSA bases its stand on a narrow rigid interpretation of "A Scout is clean" in the Scout Law, and "morally straight" in the Scout Oath. Scouting says that when a man or boy says he's gay he has made an immoral choice and also must be excluded. BSA states that we Scouters and chartered institutions have joined the movement *because* it excludes gays! There is some talk that if a straight Scouter upholds gay rights in Scouting he is denying the Scout Oath and Law and must be excluded! (I might be kicked out because my Christian and Presbyterian beliefs are immoral!) In fact, Scouting's policy works out to "don't ask, don't tell." They apparently act only when one's sexual orientation becomes known. I feel that many professional Scouters simply won't ask and don't want to know. Many churches do not know what it means to be *chartered to operate* (not to "sponsor") a Cub Scout pack, Scout troop, or Explorer post. Sessions of churches which are now chartered should examine this carefully. They have agreed to adopt and adapt the Scouting program to serve as an integral part of their youth program. The church has become a member of the local council, with one vote. Scouting has since its first decade insisted that its program be made available to youth through chartered institutions like churches. The church has the right and responsibility to operate its Scout program in accordance with its own doctrines and policies. The church must approve all appointments of adult Scout leaders in its units. When a church finds that its beliefs in the rights of gays are in conflict with the BSA stance, a number of choices are open to it: * The session should *not* drop its Scout units; this is completely ineffective and puts the church *outside* Scouting, whereas its witness is most effective when applied *within* Scouting. * A More Light church (or any other congregation committed to inclusiveness) should not merely acquiesce to Scouting's practice, thinking it shouldn't interfere with an outside organization. On the contrary, Scouting really is *within* the church. * An inclusive church without Scouting should organize a Scout unit within the church, working through the local council to do so. * The session should meet with its own unit (parent) committees and Scout leaders and make sure they understand where the church stands. * The session should decide to continue to operate its Scout units in accordance with its beliefs. * The session may want to send a letter to the local council stating its position and asking to meet with local officials. *A copy of this letter should go to the National Council, BSA*. * The church's chartered institutional representative may discuss the church's stance at district committee meetings. He or she may want to make a motion on the matter at the annual council meeting. (This has been done, and local councils *have* decried the BSA practice!) * The session may decide to actively recruit gays and lesbians into its Scout units, or merely to let its beliefs accepting gays in its Scout units be more widely known. * If the local or National Council threatens to "de-charter" the church's Scout units, the session needs to decide what to do: Give in? Appeal to BSA region and national? Ask presbytery and the More Light Churches Network and other churches to join the protest? Continue to operate without a charter (difficult, but barely possible for a short while; I can give some ideas on how to get away with it)? Take legal action (perhaps with ACLU or the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund)? For more information and counsel, contact David Rice at 433 Garfield Dr., Petaluma, CA 94954-3818, 707-763-8378. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Love Letter An Answer to Jim Spahr's Open Love Letter to Janie Dear Jim, It has been a little more than two years since your Open Love Letter to Janie appeared in the *More Light Update* (August 1993, page 10-11). Your letter was a compassionate and personal request for Janie to "come home." I assume Janie has come home many times in those two tears. And some day she will, as will we all, come home to stay. But for now, God has blessed her with incredible strength. Jim, I have not seen Janie's answer to your letter. If she has not answered you explicitly, her answer is conveyed eloquently each time her travel schedule is distributed. It is obvious that she is not yet ready to come home to stay. And that God's work, that Janie is called to do, is not yet done. Janie is continuing to help Presbyterians immeasurably. Everywhere she goes she empowers those of us in the gay and lesbian community to define ourselves, to come into our own identities, and in turn to empower others. Yes, Janie is eloquent. When she came to Michigan, she spoke at a symposium entitled "How Does the Church Affect the Lives of Gay and Lesbian People?" Although she never gave an explicit answer to that question, her stories about people left no doubt about the answer: The Church is not *there* for gay and lesbian people. When Janie spoke last month at Brown Memorial Church in Baltimore, hearing her preach meant more to me than all the rest of the More Light Conference. And that does not denigrate the Conference, which was wonderful. But Janie is wonderful by another higher order of magnitude. Jim, we understand and appreciate your calling Janie to come home to, as you wrote, "play, live and relax, surrounded by your family." But Jim, Janie also has a larger family. The family of God, and the family of gay and lesbian people. We in her larger family across this country need to hear, and feel, and know her strength, her love, and her devotion to justice. God has blessed Janie and empowered her to answer both your call and our call. She is bringing love, peace and justice to you, to us, and to our church. Janie was called to co-pastor Rochester's Downtown United Church. When that call was set aside, the beautiful people of that church, in their remarkable wisdom, called her to a far greater ministry, which includes all of us. Jim, we in the larger family won't ask you to set aside your call to Janie to come home. But we do ask you to share that treasure that is Janie, with those of us in her larger family, who also call her to our home cities. And we ask you to allow her to accept both your call and our call. We know you will join our prayers that God will long continue to empower Janie. We in increasing numbers are blessed that God has touched our lives through Janie Spahr. Love, Ken Collinson, June, 1995 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Great Video Resource Eve's Daughters "Share the Pain and the Joy of Breaking Free ..." "*Eve's Daughters* invites us into the lives of five outstanding women who take us through their own struggles in a heterosexist, sexist, racist society. Through their own stories, art and drama, they insightfully share the pain and the joy of breaking free into an integrated sexuality and spirituality. They give us hope that we too can sift through our own homophobia to step out into a more liberated wholeness for ourselves, as well as challenge systems that keep us in secret. I find this video not only well done, but truly life giving." -- Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr "Nowhere in this world is God's Presence more vividly felt than in the persistence of love and goodness in the face of overbearing evil. Accordingly, this video is a paean of praise to "She Who Is" -- still bringing about resurrection and joy in the lives of her daughters who refuse to give up, still making beauty from ashes through their dedicated energy. Don't miss Eve's Daughters. It's as radical as life itself!" -- Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Author of *Sensuous Spirituality: Out from Fundamentalism* "Eve's Daughters is a rich and subtle treatment of the lives of five creative, spiritual Euro-American women whom religious communities should covet for leadership. More such stories need to be told -- especially of women of colors -- so that the vital contribution of lesbian women of various faiths can be seen and imitated." -- Mary E. Hunt, Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER) *Eve's Daughters* is a Half-hour documentary about five women who are attempting to heal the separation between sexuality and spirituality, a rift which goes back to the religious underpinnings of western culture. In warning us to "beware of Eve, the temptress in any woman, even in a wife and a mother" the Church fathers declared all women to be descendants of the original unsealer of that forbidden tree, and therefore, guilty. They are the devil's gateway. On account of them, the Son of Man had to die. It get's worse. To be a woman *and* a homosexual is, in the official church view, nothing less than an intrinsic moral evil. In spite of this institutional abuse, these daughters of Eve have gained self-knowledge, strength and compassion. They return to us as refugees from spiritual exile, refusing to be victims any longer and witnessing to the freedom that arises from the fusion of body and soul. They call upon the church not only to repent of its homophobia, but also to celebrate the deep spiritual gifts they have because they are lesbians. Order *Eve's Daughters* from Leonardo's Children, Inc., 26 Newport Bridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990, 914-986-6888. Cost is $32.35, shipping and handling included. Special Two-Video Set: *Eve's Daughters* AND *Maybe We're Talking About a Different God*, the video story of the Rev. Janie Spahr's call to the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY., *together for $50. *Maybe We're Talking About a Different God* is also available separately for $32.35. "This stunning film about five powerfully loving, creative lesbian women should make every gay or lesbian Christian proud and most denominational leaders bow their heads in shame. It's a beautifully made video that manages to portray the movement of the spirit transforming the church." -- Carter Heywood * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * [The following is NOT included in the print version.] Maybe We're Talking About a Different God -- Homosexuality and the Church A half-hour documentary which tells the compelling story of the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a minister and a lesbian, who was called to serve as pastor of a large metropolitan church in Rochester, New York. The appointment was vehemently protested by other churches in the area, and the Rev. Jane Spahr was brought to trial. This program is about the struggle of ordinary people coming to terms with their own difficulties around homosexuality. Because it cuts across social and denominational lines to address the honest concerns of people on both sides of the issue, it has had an overwhelmingly positive response from the more than 200 groups who have previewed it. A discussion guide is included. Produced by John Ankele and Anne Macksoud Order *Maybe We're Talking About a Different God* from Leonardo's Children, Inc., 26 Newport Bridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990, 914- 986-6888. Cost is $32.35, shipping and handling included. Special Two-Video Set: *Maybe We're Talking About a Different God* AND *Eve's Daughters* together for $50. *Eve's Daughters* is also available separately for $32.35. "This skillfully crafted film takes viewers inside the experience of a congregation that found good and sufficient reason to call a lesbian woman as its pastor. It shows that homophobia in the church is overcome not by argument, but by experiences of divine and human love." -- Prof. Tom F. Driver, Union Theological Seminary "The fimmakers, with great sensitivity, take us into the hearts and lives of people, regardless of sexual orientation, as they struggle for new understanding. This film offers the opportunity to liberate all of us from our ignorance and fear. No matter what your perspective, something in this film will make you feel better about yourself." -- Georgeann Wilcoxson, Ph.D., Experiential Learning Specialist "... a moving non-threatening, grace-filled video that speaks truthfully on behalf of lesbian and gay Christians ..." -- Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, author, teacher