Date: Sat, 13 Dec 97 14:56:18 EST From: James Anderson Subject: MORE LIGHT UPDATE Jan-Feb 1998 (141 K) MORE LIGHT UPDATE For all ministers, elders, deacons, members and friends of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) January-February 1998 Volume 18, Number 3 Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns James D. Anderson, Communications Secretary P.O. Box 38 New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038 732-249-1016, 732-932-7501 (Rutgers University) FAX 732-932-6916 (Rutgers University) Internet: jda@mariner.rutgers.edu (or jda@scils.rutgers.edu) PLGC-List: plgc-list@andrew.cmu.edu (to join, send request to: plgc-list-request@andrew.cmu.edu) PLGC home page: http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~riley/PLGC.html Masthead, with Publication Information at end of file. Note: * is used to indicate italicized or boldface text. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CONTENTS HOORAY FOR PITTSBURGH OUR COVER PHOTOS CHANGES Chapters and Contacts Officers Coordinators More Light Update Staff Ally Organizations EVENTS 1998 More Light Churches Conference REQUESTS PLGC's Prison Ministry *Presbyterians Today* Seeks Unsung Heroes Beginning the Conversation: Race, Racism, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Movement, and the Church ALLY ORGANIZATIONS (See our directory of Presbyterian Ally Organizations toward the end of this UPDATE!) The Shower of Stoles Project The Lazarus Project NEW NAME FOR PLGC? Proposed PLGC Name Change OUR CHAPTERS GREATER ATLANTA PLGC: "Reconstruction ain't over." Milwaukee PLGC Pittsburgh PLGC: following Victor's lead A POEM Let Us Now Praise Caustic Christians, by Louie Crew HISTORY OF PLGC Leading Gay Studies Journal Publishes History of PLGC NEWLY ORDAINED "GAY" ELDER RETAINS ORDINATION THE MAIN FEATURE **ILLUMINATIONS 1998**: Meditations for Lent, by Chris Glaser NEWS "Fidelity And Integrity" Amendment Backers Gather, by Alexa Smith, Presbyterian News Service OFFICERS AND CONTACTS (at end of file) PRESBYTERIAN ALLY ORGANIZATIONS (at end of file) MASTHEAD (publication information) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HOORAY FOR PITTSBURGH Heartiest thanks to the Pittsburgh chapter of PLGC for funding the postage ($900) for this issue of the *Update*. They had a special fundraising party. All of PLGC is most grateful! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * OUR COVER Martha Juillerat, director of the The Shower of Stoles Project, is the cover woman on this issue of the *Update.* The photo was taken by Helen Ash, of Glen Roc Photography Studio. Martha brought the stoles to First Presbyterian Church, Ewing, New Jersey, for a weekend of celebration, reflection, study and prayer in mid-November, 1997. She was joined by Scott Anderson, PLGC's national co-moderator, for a Saturday gathering called "In All Relationships of Life: Seeking Fidelity and Integrity in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)," sponsored by PLGC in the Presbytery of New Brunswick. Several other photos in this issue come from this event. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PHOTOS Hey folks, if you like the photos we've been putting in the *Update*, then we need your photos! Please send us all your PLGC-related pictures. We can use colored pictures just fine. Don't be bashful -- send them in! The photos in this issue were provided by Chris Glaser and Helen Ash (of Glen Roc Photography Studio). We regret that these wonderful pictures are NOT in the electronic version! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CHANGES Chapters and Contacts IOWA: Change the telephone number. The complete listing should be: Robin and Rick Chambers, 907 Fifth Ave, Iowa City, IA 52240, 319-254-2765, email: RChamb2912@aol.com MILWAUKEE: New listing! Dick Myers, 549 West Manor Circle, Bayside, WI 53217-1735, 414-228-7466, email: dmyers@execpc.com OREGON: Change listing to: Susan Horton, 3434 S.W. Kelly Ave., Portland, OR 97201, 503-870-9309. Officers Rob Cummings, our Recording Secretary and coordinator for the Synod of the Trinity, has a new email address: robcum@toolcity.net Coordinators Elizabeth Hill has moved and is retiring as a co-coordinator for the Synod of Mid-Atlantic. Thanks, Elizabeth for your service. Dick Hasbany, co-coordinator in the Synod of the Pacific, has moved. His new listing is: 2245 NW Hazel, Corvallis, OR 97330- 3904, 541-753-6277, hasbanyd@ccmail.orst.edu Mary Rose, co-coordinator in the Synod of the Covenant, has moved. Her new listing is: 821 N. 4th St., #2, Marquette, MI 49855, marrose@nmu.edu More Light Update Staff Please welcome Linsday Thompson of Seattle as the *Update*'s new editorial associate and champion proof-reader. Thanks, Lin! Ally Organizations The More Light Churches Network has a new website address: http://www.mlcn.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EVENTS 1998 More Light Churches Conference "Honor the Past, 1978-1998, Transform the Future" is the theme for the 1998 More Light Churches Conference, to be hosted by McKinley Memorial Church in Champaign, Illinois. The dates are May 22-24, 1998, Memorial Day Weekend. Keynote Speaker will be Rev. Dr. Beverly Harrison, on the faculty of Union Seminary (New York City), who was a witness at the 1978 General Assembly. A registration form will appear in the next issue of the *More Light Update*. If you have any questions before then, please contact Richard Sprott, 510-268-8603, rasprott@ix.netcom.com (MLCN Steering Committee) or Tim Shea, 217-355-3413, tms2@juno.com (Local Committee Chair). * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * REQUESTS PLGC's Prison Ministry "America's fastest growing population ... and the most stereotyped ... condemned ... forgotten." Partly that sounds like queer Presbyterians -- and partly it doesn't. I'm referring to those locked up on our country's jails and prisons. Some inmates *are* Presbyterians; some are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered. But regardless of religious affiliation or sexual/gender orientation, many would welcome someone to visit or write to them. This is a Scriptural ministry, and one in which our 'evangelical' brothers and sisters often do more than we. Prisons are dark places, in need of *more light* whether they want it or not. As you may have noticed in the *Update* directory, I've recently been appointed Coordinator for Prison Ministries of PLGC. I'd like to know of churches engaged in visiting the incarcerated, or willing to to begin; and of members who are or would become "pen- pals" to inmates. Please contact me. -- Jud van Gorder, 915 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060-3440, 408-423-3829. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Presbyterians Today* Seeks Unsung Heroes [Let's make sure LGBT folks are represented! -- JDA] "Presbyterians Today" is again planning to honor Presbyterians who are quietly making a difference by living their faith. Last year the magazine asked readers to nominate "unsung heroes" they knew and featured 10 of them in the June issue. There are many more who deserve to be recognized -- people whose contributions often go unnoticed except by those whose lives they touch. Every community has them -- people making a difference in their neighborhoods, schools and churches. *Presbyterians Today* invites nominations of unsung heroes so it can share their stories with others. Send in their names and a brief description of how they make a difference. Include a few basic facts -- occupation, church membership, approximate age, racial or ethnic background. The editors will select a representative sample of the names received to feature in *Presbyterians Today.* Send nominees by Feb. 1, 1998, to: Making a Difference, *Presbyterians Today*, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY 40202-1396 -- by Eva Stimson, editor, *Presbyterians Today* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Beginning the Conversation: Race, Racism, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered Movement, and the Church The 1998 summer special issue of the *More Light Update* will be an open forum on race, racism, sexual orientation and the church. It will be, with your help, a lively collage of stories, poems, essays, photos, musings, anecdotes and ... As the PLGC community works to deepen its commitment to creating a truly and wholly inclusive church, it is time we began the conversation about race, racism, and diversity. In the special issue of the *Update* we can begin to name the tensions and the possibilities, the pain, liberation, fear and hope. In order for this to happen, this announcement needs legs. Please pass the word along that we are seeking submissions to anyone who might have a word to say. More details will follow in the *Update*, on Presbynet and the web, and other surprising places. Any pieces may be sent to: Lisa Larges, 426 Fair Oaks, San Francisco CA 94110, Phone: 415-648-0547; email: lll@igc.org (Those are three lower case L's, to avoid graphic confusion!) Thanks -- Lisa Leigh Larges (LLL) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ALLY ORGANIZATIONS See our directory of Presbyterian Ally Organizations toward the end of this UPDATE! The Shower of Stoles Project It has been snowing all day here in Minnesota, our new home. They say it should continue all day tomorrow as well. A few of the neighbors, knowing that we just moved here from the "south" (anything below Des Moines is "south," so Missouri is practically the "deep south") have been cheerfully hollering helpful remarks like, "Get used to it, you'll be seeing a lot of it!" Winter hits hard and stays long in this place. Our first snows came in mid-October and it will be with us until well into April, or early May. December and January give up precious few hours of sunlight this far north. But there is a indomitable spirit here that I have grown quickly to appreciate. God instilled two things in these Norwegian Lutherans: an unshakable faith that new life and light will, indeed, come someday -- and the patience to wait for it. This has been a lesson for me in my life as a lesbian in the Presbyterian Church, and in my work with the Shower of Stoles. I have said more than once that this collection is a statement of faith, for all but a very few of the 400 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Christians represented by these stoles are still in ministry, whether their service is recognized by the church or not. For all the barriers that the church has thrown up around them, for all the rejection and discouragement they have endured, these are people who still continue to teach and preach and pray and share their faith with others. The stories on these stoles speak volumes. The strength of their collective faith is a powerful witness to the rest of the church: "Our call is from God; we will stand firm in that faith. We will not be moved." We invite your congregation or presbytery to experience a witness to the power of faith that they will not soon forget. Call Martha Juillerat for more information about bringing the Shower of Stoles to your area: (612) 377-8792. A FINAL NOTE: Remember that the Shower of Stoles will be one of the "centerpiece" projects at the Re-Imagining Conference to be held in St. Paul, MN in April. We are asking especially for new stoles from lesbian, bisexual and transgendered women to be dedicated at this special event. New stoles must reach us before April 1 to be included in this dedication! Call Martha for more information about making or sending a stole. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lazarus Project Martha Juillerat and Tammy Lindahl, founders of the "Shower of Stoles" Project, will be the recipients of the 1998 Lazarus Award, to be presented at The Lazarus Banquet, January 17, 1998 at the University Club, Pasadena. Hey, how wonderful! -- JDA * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEW NAME FOR PLGC? Proposed PLGC Name Change After lengthy discussion over the past few years the board of PLGC has decided to change the organization's name. The board has come to the conclusion that the very name of PLGC is exclusive. Although our bylaws and brochure include bisexual and transgendered individuals, these individuals have not been reflected in our name. The board acknowledges that it is difficult to make a name change at a time when the name "PLGC" has gained recognition in the Presbyterian Church and throughout denominational movements. However, the board felt that it was important to "do the right thing," to include our brothers and sisters who feel left out. What will our new name be? We need your help. Individuals and PLGC chapters are invited to submit suggestions to the board before March 31st. The only stipulation is that the name be inclusive. The name change will not be effective until after the 1998 General Assembly in Charlotte. Send your ideas to: Tammy Lindahl, 57 Upton Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55405. We're Not the Only Ones The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has announced a "New Name Contest." As we ponder similar issues, I thought PLGCers might be informed by their criteria for a new name. Here's their story. -- JDA. IGLHRC is searching for a new name that will be shorter and less cumbersome. Do you have any inspired ideas? Winners will receive a surprise gift! We are looking for a one or two word name. Please consider the following criteria when you are brainstorming: - our mission -- to fight for the human rights of gay, lesbian, bisexuals, transgendered people, and people with HIV and AIDS around the world. - something that doesn't sound similar to any existing names of organizations. - something that would be fairly pronounceable in most of the world's languages. Please send submissions to octavia@iglhrc.org or to Octavia at: IGLHRC, 1360 Mission St., Ste 200, San Francisco, CA 94103, fax 415-255-8662. PLGC-list Brainstorming Faithful readers of the PLGC-list (@andrew.cmu.edu) have been stirring up a storm of ideas for a new PLGC name. Our webspinner, Donna Riley, compiled this preliminary list on November 24: GROUP I: LGBT names Presbyterians for lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual Concerns (PLGTBC) Presbyterians for ---(GLBT)------------ Concerns (PGLBTC) Presbyterians for Bisexual and Transgender Concerns (PBTC) Ruth's Children (A Presbyterian LGBT Alliance) PLesBiGaTerians Pelagobet GROUP II: OUT names Out of the Closet, NOT Out of the Church (OOTC-NOOTC, pronounced ootsie-nootsie) Out Presbyterians Presbyterians Out for Justice Presbyterians Called Out Friends of Queer Presbyterians (FQC) Presbyqueers Queerbyterians Dykes, Fags and Those Other Folks Who Are Presbyterians Whether You Like it or Not (DFATOFWHAPWHYLION) When He Said "Love One Another," He wasn't talking about the missionary position (WHSLOAHWTATMP) We be Presbyterian Queers (WBPQ) Presbyterians Reforming Always Your Ecclesiastical Right-wing (PRAYER) Have Any Lesbigators Lost Ecclesiastical Love Under Judicial Agony over Homosexuality (HALLELUJAH) mind your Ps and Qs GROUP III: Gender/Sexual Minority names Presbyterians for Gender Independence Presbyterians for Sexual Minority Concerns (PSMC) Presbyterians for Gender and Sexual Concerns (PGSC) Presbyterians for the Radical Inclusion of Sexual Minorities. (PRISM) Presbyterians Resolved to Include Sexual Minorities (PRISM) Presbyterians Resolved for Inclusion of Sexual Minorities (PRISM) Presbyterians Really Into Sexual Minorities (maybe not) (PRISM) GROUP IV: Inclusion Presbyterians - All in the Image of God (PAIG) Presbyterians for Inclusion (PFI) Presbyterians for Inclusive Service in Christ (PISCes!) Presbyterians for Inclusive Service in Christ, Evangelism and Support (PISCES) Presbyterians for Inclusive Service in Christ {Everyone Supported} (PISCES) Very Inclusive Presbyterians (VIPs) Presbyterians Affirming Spiritual Sexuality and Inclusion Of Neighbors (PASSION) Reformed Ecclesiastical Jubilation Of an Inclusive Church.... Eventually (REJOICE) Rainbow Presbyterians PRO: Presbyterian Rainbow Organization PRIC : Presbyterian Rainbow Inclusive Coalition OR Presbyterian Rainbow Integrity Coalition [shades of Amendment A] RIP: Rainbow Inclusive Presbyterians SIP: Salty Inclusive Presbyterians LIP: Lusty Inclusive Presbyterians Lustrous Inclusive Presbyterians * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * OUR CHAPTERS GREATER ATLANTA PLGC: "Reconstruction ain't over." The Greater Atlanta PLGC is back up and running. Thanks to all who have helped us so much: Jim Anderson, Rob Cummings, Jim Earhart (here in the Big Peach). Here is a brief report on what have been doing: 1. Meeting. We have had 3 Greater Atlanta PLGC meetings at three different Presbyterian locations: North Decatur Church, Covenant Church, and in the Frank Harrington Center at Columbia Theological Seminary. Our regular meeting time is every second Sunday at 3:00 p.m. We move our meetings to allow a greater number of people to come, to allow more churches to support us, and to disallow our enemies from targeting one particular church if and when they decide to launch another attack. Greater Atlanta Presbytery is not the most civil of places for non- heterosexual people. WE ARE A LAY-DIRECTED GROUP FOR ALL WHO SUPPORT A FULLY INCLUSIVE DENOMINATION. To those who do not support "the cause": I am not ordained, so quit trying to de- ordain me, OK? 2. Mailing. We are currently working on a survey to send to all of the sessions in the presbytery. The survey will ask, among other things, what method of dialog and education each church has done (on the inclusion of lesbian and gay Christians) for their commissioners to presbytery. Our Amendment A vote is February 28. We also are mailing "positive reinforcement" letters to all the ministers who go out on a limb for gay and lesbian concerns. (Interestingly enough, the more of them that go out there on that limb, the stronger the limb gets. Hmmmm....) Unfortunately, most of them are clinging to the weenie term "moderate" -- whatever that means. I am so glad that Jesus was not a moderate. Sorry if I offend anyone on that! 3. Speaking up. We were visible at the presbytery information fair at last month's meeting. We had a very nice table with a tri-fold backdrop, brochures, sign-up lists, etc. For many at presbytery, it was a welcome comfort to know that we were allowed to be present, and for many more it was an education that the exclusionists have not run off all of the gay people. HA! We are now campaigning for even more straight supporters, and we have many already. Things are looking up. With a grateful heart, Victor Floyd. For more information, contact Victor Floyd, 853 Willivee Dr., Decatur, GA 30033, 404-636-1429 ch., 404-633-6530 h., RuVic@aol.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Milwaukee PLGC Glad to report that the inaugural Milwaukee meeting was also a success. Eleven people attended, and several more sent regrets and words of support (and funds to back those words and help with postage). Among those attending were three active ministers in the Presbytery, one retired minister and former stated clerk of the Presbytery, and one recent seminary graduate awaiting a call. John Gregg, the retired minister, is also Secretary/Communicator of Semper Reformanda (Always Being Reformed) and brought copies of their newsletter. We agreed on the need for a PLGC chapter in the Milwaukee area, despite the strong position the Presbytery has historically taken in support of inclusiveness. We can not be complacent and assume "A" will pass when it comes up here in January. We can also be supportive and get the word out to neighboring, more rural Presbyteries. Actions threatened against the Presbytery for its passage of the Covenant of Dissent were discussed. At next month's meeting we hope to have as a speaker one of the people who attended the Covenant Network meeting in Chicago. Many of those at the meeting stressed the need to work together with our friends and allies in a coordinated effort for "A" as our initial goal, but keep in mind that this is just another battle in our ultimate struggle. We talked of having a Shower of Stoles presentation, possibly at the January Presbytery meeting. We have decided to call ourselves "Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns of the Milwaukee Presbytery Area." Thanks for your prayers of support. By the way, does anyone out there with sewing skills want to help make me a stole? My nephew has agreed to work on a Celtic based design since I am so interested in my Welsh heritage. Diolch yn fawr iawn! -- Dick Myers. For more info. on our Milwaukee chapter, contact Dick Myers, 549 West Manor Circle, Bayside, WI 53217-1735, 414-228-7466, email: dmyers@execpc.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Pittsburgh PLGC: following Victor's lead I thought it was so great that Victor posted an update of what Greater Atlanta PLGC is up to, and I've enjoyed hearing from the folks starting up in Middle Tennessee and Milwaukee so much, that I decided to post about what Pittsburgh has been up to. Two years ago we brought William Sloane Coffin to Pittsburgh, where he guest preached at Shadyside Presbyterian and spoke in the evening at Sixth Church (standing room only!). Every queer Christian in the city must've been there! We decided it was time to get another speaker that could draw that kind of a crowd. We have John McNeill coming in to do a day-long workshop on inclusivity in churches this Saturday! This is happening as part of a huge NAMES project quilt display among dozens of churches in Pittsburgh. If anyone can bridge these issues well, it's John McNeill. And Pittsburgh PLGC is having a wine and cheese reception Saturday night to honor Father McNeill and to raise money for the *More Light Update*. I hope other chapters might pick up on this idea, because postage rates are going up, and the *More Light Update* needs support!!! Pittsburgh's goal is to sponsor postage or hopefully printing costs for an entire issue of the More Light Update -- postage for the 5000 or so recipients is about $1000 and printing is about $2500. Ask me if you want to sponsor a house party or reception in your area to benefit the national PLGC or the More Light Churches Network. I can send you information & help you. These events are so huge, I don't really know what's next for us. I don't think we can see past this weekend right now. But we meet on the first Sunday of the month at Third Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh's oh-so-queer Shadyside neighborhood. -- Donna Riley. For local house party or reception ideas and information, contact Donna Riley, Box 323, 4902 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3702, 412-422-1822, 412-268-5550 w., email: riley+@andrew.cmu.edu Pittsburgh Follow-up: PLGCers in Pittsburgh raised $900 for the postage for this issue of the *More Light Update.* All of PLGC is most grateful! -- JDA. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A POEM Let Us Now Praise Caustic Christians by Louie Crew Let us now praise caustic Christians, the champions of justice in all generations, through whom God has restored the flow of mercy. Some have nailed theses to the church door with prophetic power. Some have started new universities to challenge the prevailing notions. Some have overturned tables at the temple, demanding alms for the poor, the sick, and the destitute before we buy organs and stained glass. Some have worn dresses to be priested for gender justice. Some have yanked off masks to proclaim their loving gay unions. Some have demanded of the white authorities, "Let My People Go!" Some have marched through tear gas and police dogs, defying orders from prelates and judges. Some have destroyed draft files and burned plans for nuclear destruction. Some have organized unions and cooperatives. Some have fought to redistribute God's bounty justly. All these won notoriety in their own generation and were the scandal of their times. Many have sat in jails rather than to recant or to say that the earth as we know it is at the center of the universe. Others have died. Many there are who have left behind them no name, but a legacy of hope restored, conflict resolved, injustice rectified, lives redeemed. Their victories are the inheritance of future generations. Their line will endure for all times. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * HISTORY OF PLGC Leading Gay Studies Journal Publishes History of PLGC The Journal of Homosexuality, a leading scholarly journal in gay and lesbian studies, has published "The Lesbian and Gay Liberation Movement in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), 1974- 1996," by James D. Anderson (volume 34, no. 2, 1997, pp. 37-65). Anderson, a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, has been national communications secretary for PLGC since 1980 and is editor and publisher of the PLGC journal MORE LIGHT UPDATE. The article is based on a paper commissioned for a conference at Vanderbilt Divinity School on "Church and Parachurch: Voluntary Organizations and the Churches," in 1994. After the plan to publish the proceedings of this conference came to naught, the paper was offered to AMERICAN PRESBYTERIANS: JOURNAL OF PRESBYTERIAN HISTORY, of the Presbyterian Historical Society. But its reviewers thought the paper was too one-sided. Anderson replied that he had no interest in covering those who would shut lesbian and gay people out of the church, so the paper went to the JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY and has now been published. "Since its founding in 1974, Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns (PLGC) has led the movement toward full participation and membership for lesbian and gay people in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This is a story of that movement, told by a participant. It traces the development of current antigay policies in the church in 1976-78 in response to the first openly gay candidate for the ministry, PLGC's efforts to overturn these policies at annual General Assemblies, the growth of the pro-gay More Light Churches movement among Presbyterian congregations, the growing number of antigay ecclesiastical court cases, study and dialogue on lesbian and gay issues across the denomination, controversies over same-gender marriage, culminating in the 1996 General Assembly, which voted to send the controversial issue of lesbian and gay ordination to the 171 presbyteries of the church for an up or down vote. The battle for lesbian and gay equity in the church may well last for decades. Equity for gays and lesbians in society will not be fully won until the religious establishment is able to apply its most basic principles of love, nurture, inclusive welcome and support to lesbian and gay people." -- Abstract For copies of the article, contact your local library. If it doesn't have the JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY, ask them to get it(!), or use interlibrary loan. PLGC does not have copies to distribute. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEWLY ORDAINED "GAY" ELDER RETAINS ORDINATION The highest church court in the Synod of the Covenant (the Synod Permanent Judicial Commission, SPJC) has ruled that a gay elder recently ordained in Cincinnati may retain his ordination. Earlier, the Cincinnati Presbytery court (Presbytery Permanent Judicial Commission, PPJC) had ruled that the ordination was invalid and was therefore null and void. Here are excerpts from the synod court decision: History In October of 1995, the Congregational Nominating Committee of Knox Presbyterian Church presented to the Session a slate of officers for the Class of 1998. The Clerk of Session provided the Session with numerous materials related to the ordination of "self-affirming, practicing, homosexual persons." The Clerk believed that there might be a "problem" with one of the Session nominees, should that person be elected. The Session then called a Special Meeting at which more materials were distributed for the Session to study and intense discussions took place. During the discussions a 1992 personal letter from one minister to another was referenced by the Clerk. In that letter, an unnamed participant who had been asked to present the homosexual side of a panel discussion was identified as "in fact" being homosexual. The Clerk stated that he had been at the 1992 meeting and he believed that the person identified had made the statement, but when asked by a Session member to elaborate, the Clerk made no response. At the same meeting, a member of Session stated that she had heard the man who had been nominated for Session say he was a "gay man," but she also refused to elaborate. Having studied all the materials given to them, including the Book of Order, the 1978 Policy Statement, and numerous GA cases, at the November 20, 1995, regular stated Session meeting, the Session voted to include one additional question to the elected Session Class of 1998, said question having been suggested by Rev. Mark Tammen, Office of the General Assembly. [According to the UPI story on this case, the candidate in question "was asked if there was anything that might prevent him from fulfilling his duty. He replied 'no' and was ordained." -- JDA] On December 5, 1995, an orientation meeting for officers-elect was held at which time a variety of information was given to the electees, including the *Policy on Ordination of Homosexual Persons*. On December 18, the candidates were examined in small groups so that Elders could privately question each candidate. No Elder chose to ask specific sexually-oriented questions of any of the candidates. The consensus of the Elders was that a "Don't tell, don't ask" policy was the appropriate procedure and deviation from that might subject the church to litigation. Elders present testified at trial that the Session believed that no "initiative in declaring his ... sexual orientation" had been taken by the Elder-elect pursuant to Conclusions, Section II no. 6 of the 1978 Policy Statement [quoted below under findings]. With only 2 dissents, the motion to approve, ordain and install was passed. On January 7 the entire Class of 1998 was ordained and/or installed. ... [JDA's commentary: As I typed this history into the computer, it made me think of 1. medieval inquisitions, 2. the McCarthy hearings and blacklists, 3. racist decrees in Nazi Germany and in South Africa during the apartheid era that a single drop of Jewish or Black blood made you Jewish or Black and deprived you of citizenship. Is this the way our church wants to treat fellow Christians???? One of the equitable aspects of Amendment B, if the Presbyteries fail to vote for Amendment A and permit Amendment B to go into effect, is that just about *EVERYONE* will be subject to this type of inquisition -- not just us gay and lesbian folks!] Findings [The Synod PJC unanimously sustains that] ... According to the Book of Order G-14.0203, there is no provision to set aside an ordination except through a disciplinary decision. The bases for the PPJC decision were the precedent set by the General Assembly minutes of 1836 (pages 421 and 444) and *Robert's Rules of Order (1990). Neither of these has relevance in this case. The decision of the General Assembly of 1836 related to the 1801 Plan of Union for which PPJC in its decision claims precedent. That case has no relevance to declaring an *ordination* null and void. In G-9.0302 the Book of Order states an exception to *Robert's Rules of Order* when the Constitution provides otherwise. Here the Constitution in G-14.0203 specifically states that the office of Elder is perpetual and it can not be laid aside except in a disciplinary proceeding. ... [The action of the PPJC] is directly contrary to G-14.0203 of the Book of Order and to established legal precedent as set forth in *Hope Presbyterian Church vs. Central Presbyterian Church, GA PJC, No. 206-3 (1994).* ... The Book of Order provides that the office of Elder is "perpetual and no one can ... be divested of it except as provided in the Rules of Discipline." The GAPJC [PJC of the General Assembly] (1994) upheld the ruling that even when "the ordinations were not in accordance with constitutional law in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), they must stand in accordance with G-14.0203 of the Book of Order" Hope Presbyterian Church vs. Central Presbyterian Church, GAPJC, No. 206-3 (1990). We find no authoritative precedent for declaring this ordination null and void. ... The Session upheld its obligations in accordance with G-14.0205 and G-10.0102k and the 1978 Policy Statement by making a thorough study, giving prayerful thought, holding a special meeting, and consulting with others on proper procedure for their examination of officers elect. At no point was the Session able to conclude that a "declaration" of sexual orientation had been made and therefore the Session conducted no specific examination of the sexual orientation of practice of any Elder-elect. According to the 1978 Policy Statement conclusions Section II, No. (6), the 190th General Assembly (1978): "Urges candidates committees, personnel committees, nominating committees, and judicatories to conduct their examination of candidates for ordained office with discretion and sensitivity, recognizing that it would be a hindrance to God's grace to make a specific inquiry into the sexual orientation or practice of candidates for ordained office or ordained officers where the person involved has not taken the initiative in declaring his or her sexual orientation." The Session of Knox acted appropriately in its examination and the PPJC was in error in substituting its judgment in regard to what questions should have been asked to any Elder-elect. Session has the right to determine both whether a declaration has, in fact, been made and to determine what further questions are appropriate to be asked. The PPJC erred by substituting its judgment for that of [the Session of Knox Presbyterian Church] with respect to the extent of any "specific inquiry" or "further inquiry" that might be necessary and/or appropriate under the circumstances. [The Session of Knox Presbyterian Church] was entitled to use its reasonable discretion in determining how it should proceed with its examination of candidates for ordination. ... Session acted properly in the absence of conclusive evidence of a "declaration of sexual orientation" initiated by any candidate for office. There is no evidence that such a declaration was made to the Session. It is the opinion of the SPJC that the intent of the 1978 Policy Statement is that a declaration must have been made directly to the judicatory. ... [JDA's commentary: That last sentence is very important!] The PPJC has no right to substitute its judgment as to whether a "declaration" had been made, nor was it entitled to substitute its judgment regarding specific questions that should be asked. ... The evidence before the Session in 1995 at the time of its examination failed to establish that the Elder-elect had "self- affirmed" or "declared" that he was a "homosexual person" or that he was "currently practicing" a homosexual life-style, or that he was "unrepentant," all of which are specified in the 1978 Policy Statement as conditions for ineligibility for ordination. ... It is so ordered, this 23rd day of October 1997. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * THE MAIN FEATURE **ILLUMINATIONS 1998** Meditations for Lent by Chris Glaser Copyright 1998 (c) by Chris R. Glaser. All rights reserved. [BOX: Early this year, Chris Glaser's second book will be republished with five new chapters by Chi Rho Press: *Come Home! Reclaiming Spirituality and Community as Gay Men and Lesbians*. A new book, *Coming Out as Sacrament*, will appear in the fall from Westminster John Knox Press. (These books will be available from THE OTHER SIDE, 1-800-700-9280, www.theotherside.org) Chris continues to serve as a speaker, preacher, workshop and retreat leader based in Atlanta. Contact him at 991 Berne St. SE, Atlanta GA 30316-1859; phone/fax 404/622-4222, email chrsglaser@aol.com (No 'i' in Chris!). Since the response to the two Nouwen gatherings in 1997 was so very positive, Chris will again be leading two retreats on spiritual writer Henri J. M. Nouwen this year, Nov. 1-7 at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico (505/685-4333) and Nov. 20-22 at Kirkridge Retreat Center near Bangor, Pennsylvania (610/588- 1793).] INTRODUCTION The Reformation of the Heart Unless we reform ourselves, we cannot hope to reform the church. And in the act of reforming ourselves, we reform the church. Prayer is the place where reformation begins. We are often busy people, and do not take the time for daily prayer. But if Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we! The first chapter of the gospel according to Mark reveals Jesus' busyness. No sooner is he baptized than he is tempted by the worldly concerns of mere survival, proving himself, and securing power -- all of which he resists. Then he calls his disciples, teaches in the synagogue, casts out an unclean spirit, engages in controversy, and heals Simon's mother-in-law. After all this, Mark reports, "That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered around the door" (1:32). He meets everyone's needs, yet "in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed" (1:35). Later, in another deserted place, he would feed 5,000 people with a mere five loaves and two fishes. The deserted place of prayer led to a rich harvest of souls and sustenance for all. Prayer for many is an additive for meetings, a reaction to crises, and a refueling station. But prayer for the Desert Fathers and Mothers was a place of conversion. As Christianity became trendy in the 4th and 5th centuries C.E. and the Roman emperor Constantine embraced Christianity, hermit monks went into the desert of the Middle East to pray. According to Thomas Merton in *The Wisdom of the Desert*, these early monastics saw human culture -- even one baptized as Cchristian" -- as a "shipwreck" from which each person "had to swim for her and his life. ... These were those who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenets and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster" (p. 3). Yet, Merton reminds us, their intent was not only to save themselves: "They knew that they were helpless to do any good for others as long as they floundered about in the wreckage. But once they got a foothold on solid ground, things were different. Then they had not only the power but even the obligation to pull the whole world to safety after them" (p 23). The two retreats I led last fall on Henri Nouwen, my spiritual mentor and friend, has prompted my writing again of prayer. Henri advised his readers in *The Way of the Heart* to shape a desert for themselves in which to pray. We too need a deserted place to be in communion with the God who creates us, blesses us, delivers us, tabernacles with us, leads us, redeems us, sustains us, loves us. Only then can we survive the shipwreck that is the Presbyterian Church, broken by racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and so on. Once we gain a foothold ourselves as Jesus did in communion with God in prayer, then we may reach our hand to others seeking freedom and reformation. There are many characteristics and expressions of prayer. In this brief introduction I focus on three that are close to my heart and my experience. Prayer is a place of conversion, of solidarity, and of ecstasy. A Place of Conversion The desert hermits found short, simple, and repeated prayers the best for descending with their minds into their hearts, that is to say, to pray with their intellect (minds) and their integrity (heart). The heart was not merely considered the seat of emotions as we think of it, but the integration of all that we are: body, reason, will, emotion, and moral compass. Blind Bartimaeus of Mark 10:46-52 comes to mind as an example of one who gives short, simple prayers. His cry to Jesus was simply, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Though he was told to shut up, he shouted louder, "Son of David, have mercy on me." When Jesus calls him to come near, Bartimaeus was told by others to "take heart" and asked by Jesus what he wishes. "My teacher, let me see again," another short prayer. Jesus told him, "Go; your faith has made you well." Bartimaeus receives his sight and follows Jesus "on the way." Bartimaeus offers us a spiritual path in our loss of spiritual vision and clarity. We cry for mercy from our God. We ask for spiritual discernment. Jesus reminds us that our own faith is a source of healing. We are thus enabled to follow Jesus as people of the Way, what the first Christians were called. A Place of Solidarity Henri Nouwen wrote of the minister (and by that, he meant *every* Christian) as *The Wounded Healer*, that is, as one who understands human vulnerability and woundedness because of her/his own wounds. The epistle to the Hebrews describes Jesus as the wounded healer *par excellence*: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are ...." (4:15). Thus we are encouraged, "Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help those in need ...." (4:16). Many of us who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered and many of our allies have been spiritually wounded, spiritually abused, made to feel as if we were not made in the image of God, persuaded that we are not among God's beloved. We are often tempted to -- to rearrange Jesus' ordering of the following words -- give the judgment we have gotten. Like other forms of abuse, those who have been spiritually abused may be tempted to spiritually abuse others. But when we approach the realm ruled by grace, we begin to experience a healing. As we allow our lover God to touch us ever so gently, we learn how to touch others who have been spiritually wounded, others who have been spiritually abused. Indeed, it's because of this divine encounter that so many of us already serve in ministry with those victimized by the church as well as society. To avoid burnout, we need to return again and again to the Source of all grace and of all love. Our solidarity with others is possible because of God's solidarity (or intimacy) with us. Prayer as the Place of Ecstasy Nouwen loved to play with the origin of words. He explained that *ecstasy* is derived from words that literally mean "out of stasis." Prayer takes us outside our selves, beyond a static place, releasing us from inertia. This is the profound spiritual joy the hermits and mystics experienced. It did not necessarily include happiness or craziness, though it could include them both. It meant releasing fear and power and competitiveness, becoming detached from all those measures of failure and success that the world employs. This is the poverty of heart the ancients sought, one that allowed mindfulness of others and attentiveness to God. After the debacle of the 1978 General Assembly, which set the Presbyterian Church's anti-gay policy for the next two decades, I climbed a mountain. As I did, I sensed my identities falling off me like unwanted garments. I was no longer Presbyterian. I was no longer Christian. I was no longer gay. I was no longer male. At the top of my ascent I found an aspen-lined meadow, a sanctuary of beauty where I literally jumped and danced for joy. I had not "arrived," since the top of the mountain still rose above me. But I had let go of much grief and anger and debilitating fatigue, ready to move on. I felt my belovedness in God's realm. "O taste and see that God is good; happy are those who take refuge in God," the Psalmist cries (34:8) at the end of a litany of praising, seeking, and trusting God. Prayer *moves* us. That's ecstasy. Conclusion Lent in particular is an invitation to pray, as Jesus did during his forty days in the wilderness: to be attentive to God's word, to trust God, to worship God alone. The following meditations include scriptures derived from the Presbyterian calendar proposed texts and those from Cycle C of the Inclusive Language Lectionary. No prayer is offered. Rather, each entry is an invitation to you to find your own words, silences, and acts of prayer. During the Nouwen retreat at Kirkridge, a woman who is a physical therapist pointed out that "a wound must heal from the inside out." And at Ghost Ranch, a ceramic artist told us that the shape of the inside of a bowl on a potter's wheel determines the shape of the outside. Prayer is an invitation to reform our hearts even as we call our church to a new reformation. Prayer heals our wounds from the inside out, and shapes us inwardly to determine the form of the church. Prayer welcomes Jesus as healer and God as creator as the Spirit reforms our hearts and our church. DEDICATION As I look back on all who have shaped my faith and my spirituality, I acknowledge one whose influence has touched me and grown within me far more than any other theologian, minister, and spiritual director. She has blessed me with a sense of belovedness, grace, forgiveness, faith, doubt, and humor. She taught me to read and encouraged my discovery of the world through books. She opened my mind to writers that did not fit our narrow definitions of those who were "saved," but in whose words she saw truth and value and meaning. She opened my heart to "strangers," listening intently to a lonely waitress recently divorced, inviting a man asking for money at our door into our home for bacon and eggs, crying at the pain and suffering she witnessed in books and in films and in the news. She also taught me how to serve. She's the reason I enjoy fixing a meal for Mark or guests, she's the reason I enjoy being a "domestic engineer" as much as a writer and teacher, she's the reason I enjoy being there for someone who needs to talk. Her own sacrificial service modeled for me how to make personal sacrifices to serve. She's also the reason I love adventure and pushing beyond boundaries. I have traveled where she has only dreamed, I have rebelled with the same spunk with which she resisted the narrowness of the fundamentalist school at which she taught first grade most of her career. Not until I reached adulthood and after I had expressed my belief that I was called to ministry did she tell me that she had dedicated me in the womb to God and chosen my name (Christopher means "Christ-bearer") to reflect that commitment. Together with my father, who died seven years ago, my mother has inspired my faith, along with an appropriate touch of skepticism and doubt -- not so much of God, but of all human attempts to capture God. I'm glad they believed in Jesus, but their greater gift to me is that they believed in me, and taught me that God believed in me too. So I dedicate this small gathering of Lenten meditations to Mom. Thanks, Mom! Thanks be to God for you! Happy 83rd birthday! -- Love, Chris Ash Wednesday, February 25 "Rend your hearts and not your garments." -- Joel 2:13. "We are so damn proud of our humility!" The mother of my childhood best friend said this, though not to me. She had muttered it under her breath at church one Sunday in my mother's presence, and my mother mentioned it approvingly in a family conversation. I don't remember the context, but there are so many churchly occasions for which it would be appropriate that it doesn't really matter. Today many of us will attend, even lead, Ash Wednesday services. Pious sentiment will be running high, a flash flood in the spiritual desert. It will make us feel good to feel so humble. Some of us will have the opportunity to proudly display ashes on our foreheads. People will speak in hushed, gloomy, somber tones as clear evidence of their reverence. Oh, how godly we will be. I wonder if a more godly sign of penitence for Presbyterians might be to rip up and burn our *Book of Order*. It could be a way of saying that, as useful an instrument as it is, it is merely a human attempt to order God's grace, which spills all over the place like rain and sunlight on the just and the unjust. Some of us will respond that the *Book of Order* is a good thing, it just needs reforming. I would think the prophet Joel considered the heart a good thing, too, but he heard God calling us to rend it, to tear it asunder, to demonstrate our repentance. Rending the *Book of Order* might remind us that we need to repent of our "decency and order" that has denied the supposed "indecent and disorderly" access to Jesus. Jesus didn't get along too well with the lawyers of his day, who brokered the grace of God according to their own "Book of Order." February 26 Restore to me the joy of your salvation .... -- Psalm 51:12. We are better at attending to the *duties* of our salvation. It's part of our Reformed heritage. Our personal salvation is subordinate to the salvation of the world, the transformation needed by which all may share the commonwealth of God. That's why Lent is such a good time for Presbyterians. It justifies our frequently somber preoccupation with everyone else's salvation, whether it's the church conservative's concern for the soul of the Presbyterian Church or the church liberal's concern for the soul of American society. Nothing wrong with these concerns, but they distract us from plucking out the two- by-four that blocks introspection. Many who pick up this devotional will not have made it to this second day. Fewer still will make it all the way to Holy Week and Easter. Though my clumsy or debatable insights will prevent some from continuing, for many it will just come down to a resistance to devoting time to introspection. But we can't look to God to restore the joy of our salvation if we don't look within ourselves and our schedules to make time to consider our cause for joy. This time of Lent could be an opportunity to, at least for a time, repent of our own plans for the salvation of the church and world, and reflect on the wonder that God would save *us*. February 27 We are treated as ... having nothing, and yet possessing everything. -- 2 Corinthians 6:9-10. The apostle Paul's lament may be our own. We are treated as if we have nothing to offer the church, and yet we possess everything. We have been given the gospel, an inheritance we share with the church and the world. We have been given the church, though parts of the church and parts of our gay community do not know it yet. We have been given a calling, though confirmed in ordination only by More Light churches. Being "in" but not "of" the church has given us what those among the "in" crowd don't have: an outsider's perspective. It is from the outside that we may better discern what's missing in the church: integrity of sexuality and spirituality; honesty in all relationships, not just sexual ones; and, of course, a multitude of people. Often we forget we have everything already. We do not *need* the Presbyterian Church. We *are* the Presbyterian Church. As Paul would later say of the other apostles regarding their confirmation of his call fourteen years after the fact (Galatians 2:6), the institutional church will add nothing to us or to the calling we are already fulfilling. In fact, our full acceptance may lose us the invaluable resource of an outsider's perspective. Hopefully, when that happens, we'll listen to other outcasts. February 28 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." -- Matthew 6:21. If we limit our vision merely to what's achievable rather than full justice, then we begin and end compromised. We will be satisfied with the crumbs that fall from our Master's table. Or, if we finally get "our place at the table" we may be complacent to receive simply *our* piece of the pie. Many in our community who preach "gradualism" mistake the goal for the strategy. "Gradualism" only happens when those impassioned for justice push for full justice. We need to learn how to negotiate. In a market in the Middle East, a seller offers an inflated price, a buyer a deflated price, until they settle closer to an agreed upon worth of the item of purchase. In labor contract negotiations, unions know to ask for more than they expect from an employer so they have a fallback position that is satisfactory. Our heart must be set on all that we expect of the church, not merely what we think the church will offer at this time. First Sunday in Lent, March 1 You shall rejoice in all the good which the Sovereign your God has given to you. -- Deuteronomy 26:11. Sundays in Lent are set apart from the forty day fasting period because Sunday was the day of Jesus' Resurrection, thus an occasion for celebrating his presence among us. So this scripture is appropriate. Of late my personal prayer life has been characterized mostly of thanksgiving. Instead of praying for people, I thank God for them. And I include those who have died. In place of praying for things like our home, our families, neighborhood, church, work, marriage, and dog, I thank God for them. This shift has appeared spontaneous to me, but perhaps it's the Spirit inspiring some new and fresh way to think of prayer. We all have much to be thankful for, if only we take the time to consider "all the good which the Sovereign [our] God has given [us]." What's particularly puzzling is that I sometimes even thank God for our opposition, though not for their opposition. (After all, don't they tell us we're to hate the sin but love the sinner!?) This may very well sound patronizing, but I have come to genuinely *feel* for them and their distress. What's going on in their lives that they feel such need to be so rigid when it comes to our acceptance? I think if only we could laugh together, give thanks together, that our opposition would relax and relish a God gracious enough to love even those with whom they disagree. Our opposition might say the same of us, but our positions are not equal. When we relax with them, we're kicked out of the church. When they relax with us, all of us will be able to stay in the church. It's easy to guess which Jesus would prefer. March 2 Whoever clings to me in love, I will deliver. -- Psalm 91:14. Psychologists tell us we're not to cling in love and avoid those who do. That fits well with our American individualism that tells us each person must find fulfillment separately on her/his own terms. But I wonder if it's true. There's some element of clinging in every love. We want someone to need us, to want us around, to hang on our words, to feel what we feel. And when we love, most of us find in the expression of that love elements of needing, wanting, hanging, feeling. Some, wanting to maintain a declaration of independence, call that "interdependence," continuing the myth that we are each autonomous, self-sufficient, and separate beings. I don't believe that we're ever separate from those we love. They are always part of us, we are always part of them. Funny that God should want us to cling to her, to him. Why should God need us? Maybe to acknowledge that we can't make it alone -- look, we haven't thus far: our very creation occurred because of God's initiative. Our Creator wants to be needed, wants us to hang around, hanging on every divine word, feeling divine feelings of love and compassion. That delivers us from thinking of ourselves as islands. March 3 The scripture says, "No one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame." -- Romans 10:11. It struck me odd that Paul would be quoting a scripture that would specifically name Jesus. His scriptures were Hebrew texts. So I checked it out, and here the *Inclusive Language Lectionary* presumptuously inserts "Jesus" for "him," intended as a reference to God. I'm surprised a politically correct text would be so culturally insensitive. I also looked up the allusion, and the NRSV translates Isaiah 28:16 as: "See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: 'One who trusts will not panic.'" Quite a different translation than what the apostle Paul uses! Our opposition claims that we are "revisioning" scripture in our attempt to gain acceptance. Wasn't that exactly what Christians did from earliest times, illustrated here by the apostle Paul? And what's wrong with bringing a little vision to biblical interpretation? Our opposition claims that gay priests and gay marriage are never mentioned in scripture. Well, in Paul's day, Jesus wasn't mentioned in scripture either, yet early Christians found all kinds of scriptural reasons for preaching his acceptance! Recently I heard a woman mock our opposition's scriptural viewpoint by saying that they seemed to require her own name be personally mentioned in scripture to justify her existence! We who believe in Jesus will never be put to shame. Paul affirmed this and then proceeded in the next verse to say, "For there is no distinction between straight and gay ...." At least, that's how I read it in my Bible. Those who trust God will not panic at such an understanding. March 4 And the devil, having ended every temptation, departed from Jesus until an opportune time. -- Luke 4:13. Nikos Kazantzakis' *Last Temptation of Christ* takes its premise from this verse. In the book, the opportune time came just before the crucifixion, when the temptation was to lead a "normal" life like everyone else's. I remember my own temptation to lead a normal life. Get married, have children, take a job like my dad's, delivering bread, live in the suburbs. Most people wouldn't think this an evil temptation, let alone one offered by the devil. Sounds to most people responsible, level-headed, even generous. And it surely is. I'm grateful my mom and dad made these choices, giving me and my sister and brother a stable home life. But the Spirit didn't lead me there. One person's temptation is another's calling. One person's calling is another's temptation. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where he would be tempted. The temptations honed his discernment of his calling: it wasn't simply to survive, to control things, or even to prove himself. It was to feed on God's word, to worship God alone, and resist testing God. How Jesus worked that out in practical terms was by praying, teaching, healing, rebuking the self-righteous and comforting the spiritually abused. The final temptation perhaps was one of compromise. If Jesus had compromised with religious and political authorities, he could have lived a long life, enjoyed the respect of his peers, been given accolades for his service. But then, we probably would not be thinking about him today. March 5 "Look toward heaven, and number the stars .... So shall your descendants be." -- Genesis 15:5. God said this to Abram, whose faith is "reckoned to him as righteousness" one verse later. Our descendants will also be innumerable, those whose lives we will make a little easier by modeling to them and to an unfriendly church and culture what it means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered. Abraham and Sarah's descendants, however, have never had an easy time of it. Neither will ours. In many ways it's just as difficult to come out as a youth today as it was twenty years ago. That's why programs are needed for our young people. Homes are also needed for them -- our homes, places of occasional retreat from pressure: emotional, spiritual, sexual. The more we can open our homes and our hearts without expectations to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered youth and young adults, the more blessed our future generations will be. March 6 One thing I asked of the Lord ... to behold the beauty of the Lord ... -- Psalm 27:4. This may be a mistake of the 1997-1998 Presbyterian Planning Calendar, because the Inclusive Language Lectionary assigns Psalm 127, not Psalm 27. But what a providential error! What does it mean to behold the beauty of God? That's one of those questions which, if you have to ask, there's no answering it. Most of us could list limitless instances: love in a lover's eyes, the blooming of an iris, a reflection of trees in a still crystal lake, stroking the fur of a favorite pet. But there is beauty that is not so obvious: the frail smile of one who is dying, the job we lost that set us in another direction, the bus we missed so we had a delightful walk, the conversation with a stranger while enduring an interminable wait. Though verse four of Psalm 27 seems to place the beauty of the Lord in God's house, the Psalmist clearly has the bigger picture of God's cosmos at heart. The beauty of God can no more be limited to a church than our beauty can be limited to a closet. March 7 Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me .... -- Philippians 3:17. Arrogance knows no bounds! How can Paul or anyone but Christ suggest we imitate them? Yet, if we look at the verses prior to Paul's admonition we discover that the apostle explains he has not yet reached his goal imitating Christ, but "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (3:13-14). This is what we are to imitate, this pressing on. Seems to me we too often look around to check out others' imitations of Christ, to make sure they're doing it right, rather than straining forward ourselves. Our opposition wants to make sure we're all running *straight* (as if we even know which way Christ ran in matters of sexuality!). Our uptight friends want to make sure we're all running "normal," not being "too gay" -- whatever that means. Our politically active friends want to make sure we're all out and running to every rally and march. Seems to me we too often look back, too, living out of past hurts and wounds and mistakes and failures. As a runner, I know that looking back rather than where I'm going may mean more hurts and wounds, mistakes and failures. It's more helpful to *remember* our mistakes and learn from them as we press forward than to *relive* them by obsessing on what's behind us. Second Sunday in Lent, March 8 "You will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'" -- Luke 13:35. Jesus says this in the context of the way prophets, including himself, are usually treated. Last fall, Mother Teresa died. She spoke of "the least of these" with whom she worked as "Christ in a distressing disguise." Christ has more masks than the gay community on Halloween! Who was that masked man? Probably Christ. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The church doesn't see that we are Christ. We already know that. But whom don't *we* see as Christ? Men? Women? The transgendered? The bisexual? The Presbyterian Lay Committee? The Hindus use the greeting "namustai," which means the sacred in me greets the sacred in you. Maybe we could have meaningful conversations with those we greet with "Blessed are you who come in the name of the Lord." March 9 "Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah." -- Luke 9:33. Peter says this just after he and John and James witness the Transfiguration, a mountaintop experience in which the divinity of Christ is revealed through his glow-in-the-dark appearance and his association with Moses the lawgiver and Elijah the prophet par excellence, not to mention the booming voice of God. Seems like a stupid thing for Peter to say. But then, what is there to say in such awesome company? Yet it serves as a useful metaphor of how we try to box up and box in the sacred in our midst, especially God. We want to hold onto God, to place limits on God, to keep God boxed in convenient units, to keep God in the closet. And we want to keep boxed up the imago dei, the image of God, within us, too. Stay in the closet as a beloved gay child of God -- in the church, and in the gay community. The sacred is one more victim of overpackaging. March 10 And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." -- Exodus 3:3. Seems curious to me that Moses wouldn't have turned aside to see *any* bush afire in the wilderness, whether it was being consumed or not. Surely a burning bush would have been unusual way out in the middle of nowhere! But it gets me to thinking about those who are "burning bushes" for the church. Much talk these days among do- gooders about "burnout." Maybe there's a lesson here. Moses' curiosity was piqued because the bush was *not* a victim of burnout. Doesn't that suggest that today's human "burning bushes" might do well to work on their stamina rather than their drama, sustaining their spirit while illumining the path for others? March 11 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. -- Isaiah 55:8. God, through the prophet Isaiah, has the audacity to go on to say that God's thoughts and ways are higher than ours! How dare God put us in our place! I guess it's fair, though. We've been putting God in our place for a long time. Domesticating God, like a pet. God is our buddy, Jesus as our brother -- oh how egalitarian we've become at God's expense and our elevation. In some ways, those things are true. But like any buddy or sibling, there's an unknowable mystery within the persona of God. And unlike any buddy or sibling, God's far beyond our capacity to even know God, even if God were fully revealed. That's why we need everybody in the theological game, around the world, at all levels, all races and cultures, along the sexual spectrum and gender continuum. But, even together, even with the witness of Jesus and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what we come up with is going to look like a child's drawing of God. (No offense to children intended.) As I look out at the old, magnificent trees behind our property or up at the stars far above those trees, I stretch my imagination to consider the God beyond human knowledge, the infinite beyond the finite. But I can't even imagine it. March 12 O God ... my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. -- Psalm 63:1. What a needy, desperate character this Psalmist is! Doesn't he have any friends? Can't she get a life? It may be hard to imagine someone so centrally focused on God in a society in which God serves us like an additive in our fuel, a vitamin enrichment for our cereal, or one more friend to call on. We who have been in the wilderness betwixt liberation and the Promised Land may enjoy a keener sense of our thirsty need for God, but we have a lot of distractions in our wilderness. Can we really trust Moses? Is it appropriate for Miriam to dance? How will we have enough manna for retirement when we barely get enough to last us a day? Will we find another watering hole before our water jars are empty? God is more than an added attraction at life's amusement park. More than getting a life, we need to get God. March 13 God works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed. -- Psalm 103:6. Hard to believe that's true. Especially when God's *people* neither vindicate us nor give us justice. Presbyterians are better with every other justice issue than the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered one. Many conservative Presbyterians actually feel pious and holy when they batter us. Many liberal Presbyterians actually feel pious and holy when they don't. I'd trade in all such liberal Presbyterian friends for those who would risk their vocations and their church for our vindication and justice. As it is, the only ones willing to risk our church's life to save it are those who oppose us. March 14 Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. -- 1 Corinthians 10:5. Paul reminds the church at Corinth of the temptations the Hebrews endured in the wilderness after liberation from Egypt. He puts the Corinthians' griping in perspective: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to every one. God is faithful, and will not let you be tempted beyond your strength; but with the temptation God will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it" (10:13). All kinds of temptations bombard us in the wilderness of heterosexism. The temptation to give up. The temptation to go back to Egypt, perhaps not to slavery, but to security of one kind or another. The temptation to make the wilderness our way of life, to forever live with a survivor's mentality. The temptation to accept a theology of scarcity when it comes to God's grace. The temptation to stay at an oasis rather than proceed to the Promised Land. The temptation to worship something other than God to make life easier: drugs, alcohol, sex, a lover, even deprivation. The temptation to compete with others regarding how much we've suffered. The spiritual life requires a wilderness, I believe -- an opportunity to rely wholly on God and discern who God calls us to be. But wilderness is to God's realm what strategy is to goal and what discipline is to accomplishment. Those who fall in the wilderness may lose touch with their purpose, for anticipating the result of our efforts makes even the wilderness blossom. March 15 And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down. -- Luke 13:9. Jesus told this parable about the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. Well, *why not?* Jesus tells the parable of an unfruitful fig tree that its owner wants toppled. But the vinedresser (Jesus?) basically says, "Let me work with it some more, put some more manure on it, and see if next year it bears fruit. If not, then we'll cut it down." Seems like the General Assembly gets steeped in manure every year, and yet it holds onto a fruitless policy. And we're such *good* fruit! The policy is fruitless for another reason: it has a broader message. No, our church says, we're not going to behave like Jesus did, embracing those who have been spiritually abused and socially outcast. If we don't welcome gay people, then you might not be welcome either because you're divorced, disabled, different, single, poor, uneducated, whatever. These days, the Magic Kingdom is closer to the commonwealth of God. March 16 And Jesus laid his hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and she praised God. -- Luke 13:13. Since our opposition often takes the Bible so literally, it's a wonder they haven't used this text in their arguments for "healing" homosexuals! The Inclusive Language Lectionary offers this alternative gospel lesson from Luke. Once again, Jesus raises a ruckus by healing on the sabbath day, this time a woman with an eighteen-year-infirmity that bent her back. Bernadette Brooten, author of an extremely well-written, scholarly, landmark book entitled *Love Between Women*, co-led a Stony Point conference with Janie Spahr and me last September. As a Catholic teaching Christianity at a largely Jewish university (Brandeis), she commented to me how interesting it is to get her Jewish students' viewpoints on Jesus. "Why didn't Jesus just heal the people on the next day," some of them have questioned, "Rather than causing controversy by doing it on the sabbath?" Makes sense. But he healed on other days as well. He just happened to see her on the sabbath. What if another opportunity never arose? Our own sacred day of Sunday is frequently an opportunity to heal those whose backs have been bent by unseen spiritual burdens, by homophobia, by racism, by fundamentalism, by biblical literalism, by economic injustice, by gender expectations, by sexism. Think how ministers are regarded who follow Jesus' lead and attempt to heal these folk on our own sabbath through sermons and liturgies and church school classes! Troublemakers, all. Like Jesus. March 17 St. Patrick's Day And God said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." -- Joshua 5:9. Having arrived in the Promised Land and tasted the firstfruits of their victory, the produce of the land of Canaan, scripture tells us "the people of Israel had manna no more." Kinda makes me sad. Having never lived on "manna," whatever it was, I can afford some nostalgia for it. The Hebrews, in reality, were probably sick to death of it! In our wilderness, I wonder what our "manna" is. Whatever it is, I believe our menu is more varied. Scripture. Encouraging sermons. More Light churches. Visits from Janie. Phone calls from Howard, and of course, his comedy routine. The More Light Update. *Called Out*. *Called Out With*. The Shower of Stoles. We'd like to live to the day when we can be nostalgic for all these things. To see Janie, Howard, Jim Anderson, Martha and Tammy, Scott and Laurene, me, and all the PLGC leadership in some Presbyterian retirement community laughing and crying about the way things were. (Yes, Howard will be there, since he ages backwards like Merlin!) But what will it mean to have the "reproach" of the closet or the PC(USA) rolled away from us? God, I'd sure like to enjoy that feeling. You may have to tie a kite string on me. March 18 While I kept silence, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. -- Psalm 32:3-4. The Psalmist continues, writing that all this changed when acknowledging the Psalmist's sin. All of this began to change for us when we acknowledged our sin of silence, our sin of accepting others' prejudice, our sin of refusing to embrace the sacred nature of our love. The broader church wonders why it groans in controversy, its membership wasting away, feeling the weight of the hand of God on its heart, often enervated in our mission of proclaiming the gospel. As we, the whole church, acknowledge our sin, the sin of silence at injustice, the sin of adopting society's prejudice, the sin of refusing to embrace and celebrate the sacred nature of gay love -- then we all may "shout for joy" and "be glad in the Lord" (32:11). March 19 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to God's self and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. -- 2 Corinthians 5:18. The theme of reconciliation in our Confession of 1967 is what clinched it for me that I belonged in the Presbyterian Church. I had been searching for a more open church than the fundamentalist, biblical literalist one in which I'd been reared. I wanted a church which took the authority of scripture to heart by utilizing biblical scholarship as well as personal reflection to discover its truths. I hoped for a church that promoted equality and reconciliation in the local and global community. I had not yet accepted my sexuality, but my sense of being different undoubtedly enhanced my view that reconciliation is central to the gospel message. Many Presbyterians will be aghast, but the Presbyterian Church helped me reconcile my sexuality and my spirituality. Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns has lived out a ministry of reconciliation. Founder David Sindt quoted the Confession of '67 in his early writings regarding the mission of our group. It has grieved us that our own ministry of reconciliation has prompted others to engage in harsh rhetoric and acts of separation, division, and condemnation. March 20 But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. -- Luke 15:20. When Henri Nouwen contemplated this parable of the prodigal in Rembrandt's painting "The Return of the Prodigal Son," he first thought of himself as the younger son, who had run far from the family home in Holland to find himself and his ministry largely in North America. He was aware of his own deep need for forgiveness, and the gracious, loving arms of a father God who would welcome him home. But as he contemplated, he realized that he was also the elder brother, literally the eldest in his family who had done everything that was expected of him, becoming a priest, and sometimes resenting the freedom of his younger siblings. He became aware of his own unforgivingness, and the resentment he felt for the grace shown even those who hadn't turned out as expected. In conversation with a nun in his community, however, he experienced another startling revelation as he described himself as both prodigal and elder brother to her. She said to him, "But Henri, we need you to be our father!" In other words, he now was called to assume the role of the forgiver, welcoming other "prodigals" home, urging the elder brother to join the celebration. This may parallel our own reception of the story. Many of us felt we had to leave home to become ourselves, to acknowledge our identities. Others of us were the very responsible elder siblings who remained behind, caring for our parents or our families. But many of us fail to think of ourselves becoming the forgiving father and mother that reaches out with a hug and a kiss to both younger and older siblings, to both those outside and within the church. Yet, if we are to imitate Jesus as the forgiving parent, we are called not simply as the ones who need forgiveness nor the ones who resist mercy, but also, we are called as the ones who are to offer forgiveness. Let's run down that road, let's go out to entreat, and welcome our children home. March 21 I will make a way in the wilderness .... -- Isaiah 43:19c. I think we forget that the wilderness *is* the way. Since first being tossed on our ear out of Eden and having to make it on our own by laboring in the soil of the wilderness, we've discovered more about ourselves than the forbidden tree could ever teach us. And one of the things we've discerned is that God was right: the harmony and communion of the Garden is the better way to live. No wonder that the prophets talk about the blossoming of the desert as the fulfillment of God's time. The wilderness is the way toward discovering what's truly vital to life. Communion. Community. Calling. Our world tries to tell us that the mystical experience is possible without discipline, that human solidarity is accessible without suffering, that one's true vocation is materially rewarded. But the desert teaches us that we must marshall our energies to continue the trek, that reaching to help a fallen companion means risk, and that vocation may mean sacrificing everything we have. March 22 When God restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. -- Psalm 126:1. With what relish the Psalmist celebrates the good turn of events for the people of Israel! But wait. The final verses of the Psalm reveal that this is a memory, not a present reality. The Psalmist in effect prays to God, "Do it again!" Most of us have a memory of God answering our prayers in a way that was life-giving, love-restoring, like a dream. If we do not, our collective memory stored in scripture has many such instances. Drawing on such recollections forms the basis for our faith. The God who has realized our dreams, as individuals or as community, may give us what we hope for now. God has realized dreams a lot more difficult than the acceptance and affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people! So let's begin, even in the desert, to fill our mouths with laughter and our tongues with shouts of joy! March 23 If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more .... -- Philippians 3:4b. The apostle Paul thus begins a description of how he has all the fleshly credentials to recommend him to God: he is heterosexual, a Presbyterian cradle to grave and of many generations, a member of the Presbyterian Lay Committee, a zealous persecutor of PLGC, and one who has never broken a rule in the Book of Order. And yet he counts that as sewage (a better translation) when compared to "knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." He knows that nothing can save him except the grace of God manifested in Christ Jesus. There are books called *The Joy of Lesbian Sex* and *The Joy of Gay Sex* and, for straight people, *The Joy of Sex*. These books offer techniques for lovemaking. The Bible could very well be called *The Joy of Jewish Spirituality* or *The Joy of Christian Spirituality*. The Bible offers techniques for loving God. What's important in any of these manuals, however, is not to confuse the techniques with the love. The love, as Paul points out, supersedes any skills for expressing that love. The love is what saves us in any relationship, not the techniques -- whether with another person or with God. March 24 Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment. -- John 12:3. In this reminiscence of the story, the villain Judas is given the role of decrying Mary's action. In other versions, the critical comments are more general among Jesus' disciples. I can't help but think of Presbyterians in this scene. The sensual nature of Mary's adoration would drive most Presbyterians to distraction, but they would instead comment on the waste of money that could have been better used in evangelism or feeding the poor. Safer. During a few of the retreats I've led, I've invited people to pair up and wash one another's feet. The intimacy of doing so made a *married* couple extremely uncomfortable, while two single people ended up in a passionate relationship! Imagine being that intimate with the savior of humanity! Stroking his feet, cleaning his toenails with our fingertips, putting our face to the floor to rub the soles of his feet with our heads. Moreover, imagine Jesus allowing us to touch him so intimately. One doesn't have to "re-imagine" God to disconcert the spiritually prudish. One has only to enter the story of the Bible in which God has already been imaged as a vulnerable, lovesick Creator and Messiah, hungry for our love, thirsty for our friendship, pleasuring in our touch. March 25 The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. -- Isaiah 50:4a. Think about a letter you received when you were feeling down- and-out from someone who cares for you. Or a phone call from a really good friend during a difficult period. Or an issue of *The More Light Update* just when you weren't feeling confident of your Presbyterian connection. Words are a way of being there for someone, a way of intimacy, that often goes far beyond mere physical presence. Haven't you sometimes felt closer to a friend when writing her a letter, or when lifting him in the words of a prayer? Beyond "giving up" for Lent the time required to read these meditations, consider giving up a few words to someone in a letter, call, e-mail, or prayer -- today, and the remaining days of Lent. And consider writing a story, article, reflection, or prayer for *The More Light Update.* March 26 O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good; God's steadfast love endures forever! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of God. -- Psalm 118:1, 26. Henri Nouwen wrote of the minister (every Christian) as *The Living Reminder* of Christ, as one who re-presents God's steadfast love. It reflects how *mis*represented God's steadfast love has become when we find ourselves suspicious of many "who come in the name of the Lord" and we doubt that the house of God will bless us. We must not assume that clergy and other Christians come in the name of God. Some do represent and incarnate God's steadfast love. But many are too busy representing themselves, or the institution they serve, or interests that counter or contradict Christ's steadfast love. We must also be attentive to those who come in the name of God "unofficially," proclaiming God's steadfast love for us without benefit of training, ordination, church membership, or commitment to Christian dogma. Sometimes the living reminder of Christ comes as a stranger, as a pet, as a flower, as a lover. Remember, Christ came first as a stranger, then as a teacher, then as a friend, and finally, as a sacrificial lover willing to lay down his life. So certain were those he met that he had come in the name of the Lord that they called him "Child of God." People of the Rainbow first seemed a stranger to the church, but have quickly become a teacher, been revealed as a friend, and risked life out of love for the church. We have tried to serve as living reminders of Christ. May the church come to say of us, too, "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord." March 27 I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. -- Isaiah 42:8. The Inclusive Language Lectionary changes *Lord* to *Sovereign*. The connotations for me in *Lord* are softer than the connotations of *Sovereign*. *Sovereign* sounds severe. Wish there were another word altogether. But the truth of the matter is that God is Sovereign. Jesus was coming to terms with that in his forty day fast in the wilderness. I don't believe most of us have come to terms with this understanding of God. We like our images of a softer, gentler God. But God is a fierce mother who will defend her progeny to the death. And without her, we would not have been born, we would have no breasts on which to suckle, we would have no spiritual lap in which to rest. She's in charge, perhaps no longer the punitive father ready to beat us with a stick, but one whose stern and just look reprimands our unloving behavior nonetheless. Perhaps we've needed the image of God as our friend to overcome the spiritually abusive, punitive parent image. But God is not simply our friend. God is our soul friend, that is, our spiritual director. There is no equality to be had with God. God is above us, beyond us, outside of us, and deeper inside of us than we can ever go on our own. We are a part of God, but only a part. Lent is a good time to get over ourselves and into God. March 28 [All people may] feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. -- Psalm 36:8. In most houses of God, feasting and abundance, drinking and delight, are rarely a part of the worship of God. Especially during the period of Lent, sober, somber, and even dismal attitudes are considered a reverent and proper response to God. But anyone who has fasted more than three days knows that one can get downright giddy going without food that long. Much longer can bring on hallucinations as powerful as a trip on peyote for Native Americans. At the least, other sensations come to the fore, and one may forget one's hunger in amnesiac bliss. (Though one may also go "postal" out of hunger!) Near-death experiences may be the result of a similar euphoria as the brain is deprived of oxygen and other nutrients needed to transact the business of life. Many religions practice forms of deprivation or suffering to locate or discern the spiritual realm. If these forms of fasting, deprivation, and suffering become ends in themselves, such a religion forgets the pleasure that God offers. One who has not known pleasure in at least some small way has not known God. Our call as evangelicals is to make pleasure more widely available to all -- the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed -- though often we find *they* are the ones to teach *us* pleasure! March 29 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. -- Psalm 71:9. We like old people who "don't act their age." But old people who are tired, alone, and/or face disabilities and immobilities acquired as the body ages are often forgotten, abandoned, ignored. We see this ourselves when the new generation "takes charge" of things in which we've been involved. Younger people may act as if we never existed, as if we never prepared the way for them, as if our collective history began with them, as if we are no longer a part of "their" community. This gives us the opportunity to enter a new wilderness, letting go of our earlier existence, involvements, history, and community and, like the desert hermits of the ancient church, discovering a new relationship with God. How foolish we will be, however, if we fail to notice that this new wilderness is already populated with wise, old sages who offer insights as well as laughter, pleasure as well as spiritual guidance. March 30 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters .... -- 1 Corinthians 1:26a. The Inclusive Language Lectionary substitutes "my friends" for brothers and sisters. Translation-wise and theologically the phrase *brothers and sisters* is more appropriate. The family of Christian faith, following Jesus' lead, began early on to call one another sister and brother. It indicated our *permanent* place in the spiritual family, whereas the status of a "friend" may change, being dependent on mere feelings or mere agreement of belief and behavior. Usually when we read this verse we revel in what follows: "not many of you were wise ... powerful ... noble." But rather than think of ourselves as stupid, weak, hated, and nothing, I think that -- without assigning any worth or value to ourselves based on worldly competition -- we should simply consider our call. Collectively, our unique position in the world and the church qualifies us to add much to the life of the church, restoring eros (the passion for intimacy [thus honesty and integrity] with God and with others) to the disembodied milquetoast spirituality that prefers ignorance for the sake of institutional survival, rejects inclusivity for the sake of individual comfort, and denies justice for the sake of ritual purity. Eros has mistakenly been separated from agape in our thinking and the two have even been treated as opposites. But agape without eros is an effete caricature of the love that Jesus practiced, otherwise he would never have given up his body in his Passion, nor would he have been required to do so by the political and religious authorities of his time. Eros puts our body on the line in the service of agape. When the church does likewise, together we can move on to other issues. March 31 Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. -- Psalm 70:2. Years ago a Presbyterian told me that she thought Presbyterians resisted giving justice to gays and lesbians because they had not been adequately shamed for their injustice. I accepted her intent and insight, but inwardly I doubted both the concept and wisdom of a shame-based system of correction. The Psalmist entertained no such qualms. The Psalmist also did not exercise the restraint of Gandhi and King in referring to *enemies* as *the opposition*, a practice I have imitated intended to avoid dehumanizing or demonizing the opponent. Opening a gay support group with a devotion based on Psalm 69, a seminarian said she never understood what the Psalmist meant by *enemies* until she came out as lesbian in the church. We have people who have made themselves our enemies. They seek our life in the Body of Christ and in the body politic. They are already working from confusion and shame about sexuality -- theirs and ours. Since I firmly believe that some reconciliation will never occur on this side of the commonwealth of God, we can only pray with the Psalmist that others will see their shame and that their strategy will continue to be confused. April 1 ... Let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame .... -- Hebrews 12:1c-2b. Jewish law declared, "Anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse" (Deuteronomy 21:23b). Crucifixion was a humiliating death by exposure, the same fate as the scapegoat sent off into the wilderness to die with the sins of the people projected onto it by the high priest on the annual Day of Atonement. Yet Christ's faithfulness and God's will transformed the shame of the cross into the vindication and joy of the resurrection. We have been cursed, shamed, and excommunicated. But that's the will of the religious and political authorities, not the will of God. So God has vindicated us and blessed us with joy in our resurrection: in gay neighborhoods and relationships and friends and extended families, in gay and lesbian groups, pride marches and festivals, in Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns and More Light churches. More and more, it is clearly members of our opposition who are twisted with their own cursing, humiliated by their own shaming, and buried in their own whitewashed tombs. If only they could hear Jesus' call to Lazarus: "Come out!" April 2 I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. -- Jeremiah 31:33. God promises this new covenant because the people broke the old one "though I was married to them," God declares. As central and significant as Torah was, the prophets repeatedly reminded the people that what counted most was what was going on in their hearts. Rationalizations could argue a person out of the responsibility of caring for one's parents, Jesus pointed out, or even one's wife, both responsibilities demanded by the law. Self-righteousness could easily stem from following the letter of the law while ignoring its spirit, both Jesus and the apostle Paul pointed out. The addition to our own Torah of the infamous Amendment B last year is not half so significant as what was going on in the hearts of those who championed it. They were intent on keeping us out, claiming the church is only for those with a heterosexual orientation. Moreover, they idolatrously believe that heterosexuality is the condition of entrance into God's commonwealth rather than faith in Jesus Christ. The improvement of Amendment A, should it be ratified this year, still is not so important as what is in the hearts of Presbyterians who will still retain an anti-gay policy and prejudice. Rationalizations and self-righteousness will continue to be the order of the Presbyterian day until more Presbyterians truly accept Jesus into their hearts as the new covenant, the law written upon our hearts. April 3 What shall I render to the Lord for all God's bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. -- Psalm 116:12-13. When my family said grace for a meal at a restaurant, my brother would be under the table "looking for his napkin" out of embarrassment. Though my parents' doing so was sincere and natural for them, I also dislike praying in restaurants because it feels like a public display of piety. Instead, I have taken to toasting God, "Thanks be to God." In an ethnic restaurant I might elaborate, "Thanks be to God for Mexican people and Mexican food" referring to whatever the origin of the food. In his book, *Can You Drink the Cup*, Henri Nouwen wrote about three distinct movements of the spiritual life, using the cup as metaphor. Holding the cup is contemplating one's life. Lifting the cup is offering a blessing of one's life to others. Drinking the cup is receiving life with all of its sorrows and joys. All of the movements are part of thanksgiving, or eucharist. We have much to be thankful for. We have been given much, we have much to offer others as a blessing, and we have many sorrows and joys to savor. Lent may be a season for holding, lifting, and drinking our cup. To life! April 4 ... Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. -- Hebrews 10:22. As a teenager, before I realized the sacred gift of my sexuality, I used my showers as an opportunity to wash away my "sins" symbolically, vowing never again to think *those* thoughts and never again to pleasure myself sexually. As adults, many of us have not always remembered the sacred nature of our sexuality. While sex may be recreational and re-creational, sometimes our sexuality has not always led us to treat ourselves and others as sacred, as loving, and as lovable. We may carry regrets, sadness, and grief. All the more we need to hear the writer of Hebrews reflecting on the Jeremiah passage of April 2, which includes the assurance of God, "I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more." As we wander in the wilderness with Jesus in search of the commonwealth of God, we need to let go of the dross of our lives that hangs on to us, that prevents us from rising to our true nature as beloved sons and daughters of God. If God is willing to let it go, how much more should we! April 5, Palm Sunday As Jesus was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen .... -- Luke 19:37. Fickle folk. They would subsequently doubt Jesus, question him, test him, plot against him, deny him, betray him, arrest him, and demand his crucifixion. We have a small taste of Jesus' experience. Many of us have served our community or our church in such a way that those who knew us would "praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen." Yet coming out could bring or has brought the various negative reactions that Jesus suffered. One could say the destructive reactions to Jesus resulted from the people's disillusionment. But that implies that what they saw in Jesus was an illusion of God's presence among them. Rather, I believe, it was a vision of God's presence among them that they later doubted. The destructive reactions we endure result from a similar loss of vision among those who initially viewed us as beloved children of God. But it is also our culture and church's illusion that beloved children of God are automatically straight. "Without vision, the people perish." April 6, Monday of Holy Week Jesus said, "... The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." -- John 12:8. Jesus said this defending Mary's anointing him with a costly balm. It seems a strange thing to say for someone who devoted his life to the poor. Years ago, a friend considered a call to serve among the poor of Latin America. Sensing a little romantic idealism in his dream, I challenged him with the possibility that, as a gay man, he would be ideally suited to serve people with AIDS. A minister with a liberal political agenda told me that he could not be openly supportive of gay members in his congregation or he would never be able to accomplish his goals of justice. Huh? A church leader with an evangelical agenda once said to me that homosexuals coming into the church would keep people from joining. Come again? Seems to me like we should anoint whomever is in our midst, whether it's the poor or Jesus or lesbians, gay men, bisexuals or the transgendered! You never know how long any of us is going to be here. April 7, Tuesday of Holy Week Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip ... and said, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." -- John 12:20-21. Oddly, we never find out if the Greeks ever got to see Jesus. I remember a preacher telling the story of another preacher who kept before him, while preaching, the words, "We would see Jesus!" Maybe it was someone famous, like Harry Emerson Fosdick, maybe not. I can't recall that part of the story. "We would see Jesus!" These words should be carved on the inside of every Presbyterian pulpit, the table of every G.A. commissioner, embossed on the Book of Order of every member of the Permanent Judicial Commission, hung as a banner over every presbytery meeting. "We would see Jesus!" This should become the mantra of every Sunday school teacher, every church staff person, every church service provider, every Christian everywhere. Remembering that the plea came from Greeks who were morally unacceptable and ritually unclean Gentiles, we might manifest Jesus to the very outcasts he chose as his own companions. April 8, Wednesday of Holy Week Jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." -- John 13:21 This reminds me of Jesus' reaction to the death of his beloved friend Lazarus two chapters earlier: "he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved." Betrayal is like a death. Many of us who have been leaders in our movement have been or felt betrayed at one time or another. We have been betrayed by those who remained silent when we anticipated they would speak in our defense. We have been betrayed by those to whom we confided a strategy who used the information to counter our moves. Closer to home, we have been betrayed by those whose ambition made our movement another arena of competition. We have been betrayed by those whose anger and self-hatred got projected onto us. We have been betrayed by those whose expectations or standards we did not live up to. Jesus suffered the ultimate betrayal, one that led to his death, as well as that of his betrayer. Most of the betrayals we have endured have led "only" to the death of a friendship, an alliance, or at most, our vocation. Yet as Jesus was to experience resurrection at God's hand, so God is able to offer us resurrection. I have found reconciliation has been possible with many of the people by whom I've felt betrayed or who felt betrayed by me. Today we might consider those reconciliations that are possible on this side of the commonwealth of God. Reconciliation leads to new life for all involved. April 9, Maundy Thursday [Jesus said,] "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." -- John 13:34-35. If only Christians *did* love one another, the whole world would be saved. If only Christians and Jews and Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs and Buddhists and New Agers and New Thought practitioners and agnostics and atheists *did* love one another, the whole world would be at peace. We all forget that we are all beloved by God, that we are all thus empowered to love others. Ironic that some heterosexual Christians want to muzzle homosexual and bisexual love. Seems like we need all the love we can get, in the church and world. Why betray or deny or crucify that love? Why not serve one another as Jesus did, humbling ourselves to wash one another's feet, bringing cooling, refreshing waters to those feet, hot and tired and blistered from life's pilgrimage? If you think about it, Jesus was rejected for his *spiritual* orientation of love. April 10, Good Friday Surely this one has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed the servant stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. -- Isaiah 53:4. Blaming the victim is apparently as old as the Bible! The Suffering Servant was to bear our grief and sorrows, yet we assumed and assume that it is somehow the servant's responsibility, karma, or destiny. Later in the passage even the prophet concludes that "it was the will of God to bruise him and put him to grief" (v 10). Gimme a break. Rather, give God a break. God's will was that we *listen up!* to Jesus, not beat him up! God's will at most was for Jesus to take the risk that we might behave like Nazis, which we did, and have done again and again over the centuries, crucifying the innocent because we project onto them our own inadequacy, sins, fear, hatred, and violence. It's time to get over our bloodthirsty, sacrificial needs. While championing victims' rights, we need to end the death penalty. While supporting a woman's legal right to choose, we need to end the misconception that abortion is an acceptable means of birth control. While encouraging family values, we need to end the destruction of gay people and gay families. While promoting self-determination and democracy throughout the world, we need to end our warmaking. If one believes in the need for sacrificial victims, then at least one must admit there's been enough bloodshed on earth alone to save the universe! I think that's the atoning message of Jesus' crucifixion: enough is enough! Stop, in the name of God, or else you might crucify God again! April 11, Holy Saturday After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. ... Nicodemus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes .... -- John 19:38-39. Those who wouldn't have been caught dead with Jesus in public and in daylight show up in private to anoint and bury a dead Jesus. There's some redemption in that, of course. But how much more they could have enjoyed their redemption if they'd been there earlier, with other disciples, who listened to his words, witnessed his healings, and ministered alongside! We know Presbyterians and Presbyterian leaders who are supportive of us and our ministry privately. For fear of other Presbyterians they do not acknowledge their support publicly. They hesitate to be with us and share our ministry. A friend with AIDS told his family and friends that he would rather they came to visit him while he was healthy than wait until he was dying or dead. As needed as they would be then, he needed and wanted them even more in his everyday life, when they could enjoy one another's company to the fullest. We will need our friends later, of course. But we need them *now* to speak up, to speak out *now* -- not when it's too late. April 12, Easter Sunday Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). -- John 20:16. Along with Mary, we know the resurrected Jesus because we have somehow heard him speak our name. He has called us personally to live the life he did, to minister in his name. He is as much alive to us as he was to Mary in that garden outside his tomb. Many of our sisters and brothers have not heard Jesus speak their name, or have doubted his voice because the church has drowned out his message to them. Many of our lesbian daughters and gay sons and bisexual and transgendered children may not hear Jesus speak their name. If we, as the Body of Christ, do not call them by name, they may not know Jesus. They may never experience the joy of Easter, God's desire to love us from death into life. All we do must be for those who have not heard, who do not know the gospel story: that they are beloved children of God, created, redeemed, and nurtured by a God who calls them by name, reaching out to them like a mother hen gathers her brood under her wing, not wanting a single little one to be lost. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Fidelity And Integrity" Amendment Backers Gather by Alexa Smith Presbyterian News Service September 26, 1997, Chicago. Adamant that new constitutional language about standards for church officers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is graceless and divisive, 140 backers of a new amendment revising that language, passed by the 209th General Assembly (1997), met last week in Chicago to strategize how to get it affirmed by the presbyteries. Comprising largely "big-steeple" pastors from 42 of the denomination's 173 presbyteries, the gathering was convened by two of the PC(USA)'s former moderators -- the Rev. John Buchanan of Chicago and the Rev. Robert Bohl of Prairie Village, Kan. -- to launch the Covenant Network of Presbyterians (CNP), a group organized solely to support passage of Amendment A. Presbyteries will be debating and voting on Amendment A from early winter until the General Assembly convenes next June in Charlotte, N.C. This vote is the latest volley in a more than 20- year intrachurch battle about whether or not to ordain sexually active homosexuals and, more recently, whether or not to ordain sexually active but unmarried heterosexuals. Passed last spring, the current G-6.0106b -- commonly called Amendment B -- clearly prohibits both. But proponents of Amendment A say the debate this time is not about sexual fidelity as much as it is about fidelity to a theological tradition that puts grace before judgment and about the unity of an increasingly fragmented church. Amendment B, they argue, skews Reformed understandings of sin, particularly sexual sin, scriptural authority and the role of the confessions. They also argue that it is divisive to legislate a solution now to a visceral debate that is so unresolved for many Presbyterians that succeeding General Assemblies have proposed virtually contradictory amendments. Regional groups met during the Chicago session to strategize how to make those points in their presbyteries. "Amendment A," Buchanan told the Presbyterian News Service, "does not alter our current policy [about ordination of sexually active homosexuals]. But it does, I think, return our *Book of Order* to its foundation on God's grace and our respect for one another as brothers and sisters who disagree. ... "We cannot live as a denomination if we have to resolve this one way or another," he said, describing the fervor of feeling on both sides of the ordination issue. "And in the long run, Amendment A gives us a better chance of holding together, of not driving people out of the church." The Rev. Joanna Adams of Decatur, Ga., told of her own struggle to remain within a church that "does not honor" her children, one of whom is gay. "That has probably been the crucible of my life," she said. "And the encouragement of my life has been to remember over and over again, sometimes daily, that long ago there was one who represented the very Spirit of God who walked among us. ... "And he was one who welcomed all children," she said. "He said don't send them away for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." Concern about divisiveness is how Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church pastor Eugene Bay tackled pastoral problems that he associates with Amendment B in the day's opening plenary. "Amendment A supports peace and unity, not only for the denomination, but for individuals, congregations and pastors," he said. "B," he said, is already causing anxiety on nominating committees, who feel that the *Book of Order* now compels elders to pry into members' sexual habits before ordaining them. Amendment A, as Bay sees it, calls members to more accountability for personal morality in "all relationships of life," not just in sexual ones. But the theological integrity of A -- as opposed to B -- is what Bay argued the most adamantly. "Sin," he said, alluding to B's delineation of sin as violations of chastity in singleness and marital fidelity as well as what the church's confessions list as sins, "is not just about sex or practices that the confessions call sin. It is a condition that affects every one of us ... and we are dependent on God's mercy. ... "[That]," he said, "is not mean-spirited or self-righteous." Further, Bay said, A restores traditional *Book of Order* language for church officers, which now requires them to lead lives obedient to scripture and in conformity to the confessions. The church, he said, has previously called officers to lead lives obedient "to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and instructed by the historic confessional standards of the church." Princeton Theological Seminary theologian Jane Dempsey Douglass said the tension between preserving tradition and remaining open to ongoing revelation is nothing new within the Reformed tradition. She said that not even the 16th-century Reformers grasped the sinful implications of slavery and the subordination of women that the contemporary church sees now. "The church," she said, "must continue to confess its faith anew [as circumstances change] ... and as our understanding of [faith] grows. ... "The Holy Spirit," Douglass said, "is still at work in the world and in the church. And through the work of the Holy Spirit scripture is heard and read and becomes God's Word to us." Calling A "eminently Reformed," she said the faithful have always wrestled with how to live according to the law of God, but not "bound by the law," for then obedience becomes legalism. Reformed Christians, Douglass added, must be aware of their own "profound sinfulness" but not obsessed with it -- recognizing, instead, their reliance on God's mercies. "Reformed Christians know that Christ is Lord of all that is -- that no aspect of our lives is outside the realm of Christ's lordship. Therefore, we all must undertake with renewed seriousness the call to live disciplined lives of simplicity, justice, trust, love, transparency -- in our financial and sexual and professional lives -- all that is meant by fidelity and integrity," said Douglass, characterizing the breadth of the committed life that, she believes, is reflected in Amendment A. But interpreting what it means to be Reformed -- or what part of the Reformed tradition gets emphasized -- is another aspect of this long-standing debate. Citing his own "deep reservations that legislation helps us resolve pastoral problems," Presbyterian Coalition spokesperson the Rev. Jerry Andrews of Chicago said that the concept of covenant is crucial to his own understanding of the Reformed faith -- and he has yet to find a model that could replace the biblical standard of a covenant between a man and a woman as the fullest expression of human sexuality. The Presbyterian Coalition is the organization that worked to pass Amendment B and is now working to defeat Amendment A. Andrews said the denomination needs to address its differences now, not just search for commonalities. "It is the differences that are leading toward division," he said, stressing that no formulation -- B or A -- has yet brought unity to the PC(USA). "And I advise we stop this before we exhaust the alphabet." Stated Clerk the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick told CNP that he has seen gruesome consequences of religious and ethnic conflict in churches around the world and does not want to see the PC(USA) tear itself apart. "I am convinced that in God's time the church will indeed find a greater understanding of the mind of Christ for the difficult issues surrounding Amendment A," he said. "What I worry about," Kirkpatrick said, "is what shape the church will be in by the time we reach that understanding together of the mind of Christ. When all of this is resolved, will the church be divided? Will so many have dissented from our constitution that it has little meaning for our common life together? Will so many have withheld their funds and created their own organizations in ministry that we no longer will have the capacity to stand together and witness for God in the world? I hope not." Kirkpatrick said he intended to deliver identical comments to the Presbyterian Coalition gathering in Dallas, Sept. 29-30. Buchanan told the Presbyterian News Service that it is difficult to continue a responsible dialogue on what faithful sexual behavior means when Presbyterians on all sides are threatening to quit or withhold money. "Amendment A, I hope," he said, "will allow important dialogue ... because whether we want it or not, this conversation will continue -- whoever wins this round or the next round. ..." Bohl told CNP that approximately $105,000 had been raised in the past five weeks for the group's efforts, with $10,000 each from the congregations that he and Buchanan serve. Bohl estimated a total budget of $200,000. CNP executive director Pam Byers of San Francisco told the Presbyterian News Service that CNP intends to provide information packets and to coordinate speaking engagements by its national committee members. "There really isn't a national strategy," Byers said, after regional groups met in Chicago. "It is so local. It has to be local. ... To the extent that there is a national strategy, it is that we want people to read the amendment, think about it and not respond reflexively." CNP also distributed organizing suggestions proposing that A backers identify allies, plan a presbyterywide rally in support of A, activate phone trees to get out the vote, be prepared for the debate and keep the tone of the debate civil. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PLGC OFFICERS AND CONTACTS CO-MODERATORS: Scott D. Anderson (1998), 5805 20th Ave., Sacramento, CA 95820-3107, 916-456-7225 h., 442-5447 w., email: hn0029@handsnet.org; Laurene Lafontaine (1999), 1260 York St. #106, Denver, CO 80206, 303-388-0628, PNet: Laurene Lafontaine; email: EClaurene@aol.com COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY: James D. Anderson, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038, 732-249-1016, 732-932-7501 (Rutgers Univ.), FAX 732-932-6916 (Rutgers Univ.), email: jda@scils.rutgers.edu RECORDING SECRETARY: Rob Cummings, P.O. Box 394, Jackson Center, PA 16133-0394, 412-475-3285, email: robcum@toolcity.net TREASURER: Lew Myrick, 1225 Southview Rd., Baltimore, MD 21218- 1454, 410-467-1191 h., 410-516-8100 w., FAX 410-516-4484 w., email: myrick@jhu.edu PLGC Coordinators & Liaisons ISSUES: Mike Smith -- see Exec. board. JUDICIAL ISSUES: Tony De La Rosa -- see Exec. board; Peter Oddleifson, c/o Harris, Beach and Wilcox, 130 E. Main St., Rochester, NY 14604, 716-232-4440 w., 716-232-1573 fax. BISEXUAL CONCERNS: The Rev. Kathleen Buckley, 2532 Rosendale Rd., Schenectady, NY 12309-1312, 518-382-5342; Skidmore College chaplain 518-584-5000 ext 2271, email kbuckley@skidmore.edu; Union College protestant chaplain, 518-388-6618, buckleyk@gar.union.edu TRANSGENDER CONCERNS: Carla T. Pridgen, M.Div, M.Ed., 5 Delano Rd., Asheville, NC 28805, 704-285-9752, CarlaP@worldnet.att.net STOLES PROJECT: Martha G. Juillerat, Director, 57 Upton Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55405, 612-377-8792, PNet: Martha Juillerat, email: Martha_Juillerat.parti@ecunet.org PRESBYNET: Dorothy Fillmore, 7113 Dexter, Richmond, VA 23226, 804-285-9040 h., 804-828-8420 w., 804-274-0874 voice mail, email: dfillmore.parti@ecunet.org, dfillmor@atlas.vcu.edu, PNet: dfillmore PLGC'S WEB PAGE: Donna Michelle Riley, Box 323, 4902 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3702, 412-422-1822, 412-268-5550 w., email: riley+@andrew.cmu.edu PRISON MINISTRIES: Jud van Gorder, 915 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060-3440, 408-423-3829. LIAISON TO PRESBYTERIAN AIDS NETWORK (PAN): John M. Trompen, 48 Lakeview Dr., Morris Plains, NJ 07950-1950, 201-538-1655 LIAISONS TO PRESBYTERIAN ACT-UP: Susan Leo -- see Exec. board; Lisa Bove, 1707 Micheltorena St. #214, Los Angeles, CA 90026, 213-664-8654; Howard Warren, Jr., 2807 Somerset Bay, Indianapolis, IN 46240, 317-632-0123 w., 317-253-2377 h. EUROPE: Jack Huizenga, Voice of America, 76 Shoe Lane, London EC4A 3JB, U.K., email: jwhuizen@dircon.co.uk, tel: (171) 410- 0960, preceded by 011-44 if calling from the U.S. ALASKA-NORTHWEST (AK, WA, No. ID): Richard Gibson, 4700 228th St., SW, Mount Lake Terrace, WA 98043, 206-778-7227; Michael Tsai, 1411 W. Smith St., #529, Kent, WA 98032-4611, 253-859-5686 COVENANT (MI, OH): Rev. James J. Beates, 18120 Lahser Rd. #1, Detroit, MI 48219, 313-255-7059; Mary Rose, 821 N. 4th St., #2, Marquette, MI 49855, marrose@nmu.edu LAKES AND PRAIRIES (IA, MN, ND, NE, SD, WI): Cleve Evans, 3810 S. 13th St., #22, Omaha, NE 68107-2260, 402-733-1360, email: cevans@scholars.bellevue.edu; Richard Winslow, 111 E. Water St., #100, Appleton, WI 54911-5791, 414-731-0892 LINCOLN TRAILS (IL, IN): Mark Palermo, 6171 N. Sheridan Rd, #2701, Chicago IL 60660-2858, 312-338-0452 LIVING WATERS (KY, TN, MS, AL): Michael Purintun, 522 Belgravia Ct., #2, Louisville, KY 40208-2123, 502-637-4734, PNet: Michael Purintun, email: michael_purintun.parti@ecunet.org; Glyndon Morris, 1150 Vultee Blvd. #B-204, Nashville, TN 37217-2152, 615- 361-9228, PNet: Glyndon Morris, email: glyndon.morris@vanderbilt.edu MID-AMERICA (MO, KS): Merrill Proudfoot, 3315 Gillham Rd., #2N,Kansas City, MO 64109, 816-531-2136; Victor Force, 412 N. 8th St., Manhattan, KS 66502-5939, 913-539-5307, rabbif@KSU.edu; Shelly Holle, 1430 LeGore Ln., Manhattan, KS 66502, 913-776-8325 MID-ATLANTIC (DE, DC, MD, NC, VA): Marco Antonio Grimaldo, Grimaldo & Associates, 2848 Fairhaven Ave., Alexandria, VA 22303, 703-960-0432, 202-210-3780; Brent Bissette, 223 Riverwalk Cir., Cary, NC 27511, 919-467-5747 NORTHEAST (NJ, NY, New England): Gary Ireland, 10 Winter St., Montpelier, VT 05602, 802-229-5438; John Hartwein-Sanchez, 149 Bramble Way, Tiverton, RI 02878, 401-624-6698; Charlie Mitchell, 56 Perry St., #3-R, New York, NY 10014, 212-691-7118; Kay Wroblewski, 74 Freemont Rd., Rochester, NY 14612, 716-663-9130 PACIFIC (No. CA, OR, NV, So. ID): Richard A. Sprott, 531 Valle Vista Ave., Oakland, CA 94610-1908, 510-268-8603, fax, 510-271- 0127, email: sprott @cogsci.berkeley.edu; Dick Hasbany, 2245 NW Hazel, Corvallis, OR 97330-3904, 541-753-6277, hasbanyd@ccmail.orst.edu ROCKY MOUNTAINS (CO, MT, NE Panhandle, UT, WY): Laurene Lafontaine -- see Officers. SOUTH ATLANTIC (FL, GA, SC): Victor Floyd, 853 Willivee Dr., Decatur, GA 30033, 404-636-1429 ch., 404-633-6530 h., RuVic@aol.com; Jim Earhart, P.O. Box 8362, Atlanta, GA 31106, 404-373-5830; Laurie Kraus, 5275 Sunset Dr., Miami, FL 33143, 305-666-8586 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII: Rev. L. Dean Hay, 2851 S. La Cadena Dr., #71, Colton, CA 92324, 909-370-4591 SOUTHWEST (AZ, NM): Linda Manwarren, 7720 Browning Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109-5303, 505-858-0249; Rosemarie Wallace, 710 W. Los Lagos Vista Ave., Mesa, AZ 85210, 602-892-5255 SUN (AR, LA, OK, TX): Greg Adams, 314 Steven Dr., Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-224-4724; Jay Kleine, 1108 Toyath St., Austin, TX 78703-3921, 512-477-7418 h., 471-5217 w.; John P. McNeese, P.O. Box 54606, Oklahoma City, 73120-1404, 405-848-2819, email: mcneese@theshop.net; Gail Rickey, 13114 Holston Hills, Houston, TX 77069, 713-440-0353, 713-440-1902 fax, email: patrickey@aol.com TRINITY (PA, WV): Rob Cummings -- see Officers (Recording Secretary); Eleanor Green, P.O. Box 6296, Lancaster, PA 17603, 717-397-9068; Jim Ebbenga & Kurt Wieser, 203 E. Prospect Ave., North Wales, PA 19454-3208, 215-699-4750 PLGC Executive Board Gene Huff (1998), 658 25th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94121, 415- 668-1145, email: huffrevs@hooked.net, or Eugene_Huff.parti @ecunet.org; PNet: Eugene Huff Susan Leo (1998), 4508 SE Lincoln, Portland, OR 97215, 503-235- 6986, email: sleoclu@aol.com William H. Moss (Bill, 1998), 535 Steiner St., San Francisco, CA 94117, 415-864-0477, email: WHMoss@aol.com Donna Michelle Riley (1998), Box 323, 4902 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3702, 412-422-1822, 412-268-5550 w., email: riley+@andrew.cmu.edu Mike Smith (1998), 1211 West St., Grinnell, IA 50112, 515-236- 7955, PNet: Michael D Smith; email: Michael_D_Smith.parti@ecunet.org Tony De La Rosa (1999), 5850 Benner St. #302, Los Angeles, CA 90042, 213-256-2787, PNet: Tony De La Rosa; email: tony_de_la_rosa.parti@ecunet.org or tonydlr@ix.netcom.com Tricia Dykers Koenig (1999), 3967 Navahoe Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44121, 216-381-0156, PNet: Tricia Dykers Koenig, email: tricia_dykers_koenig.parti@ecunet.org Lisa Larges (1999), 426 Fair Oaks, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415- 648-0547, email: LLL@igc.org Tammy Lindahl (1999), 57 Upton Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407, 612-377-2191 h., PNet: Tammy Lindahl, email: tammy_lindahl.parti@ecunet.org Howard Warren, Jr. (1999), 2807 Somerset Bay, Indianapolis, IN 46240, 317-632-0123 w., 317-253-2377 h. Our 1998 Nominating Commiee Lisa Larges (Chairperson), 426 Fair Oaks, San Francisco, CA 94110, 415-648-0547, email: LLL@igc.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PRESBYTERIAN ALLY ORGANIZATIONS This is a list of other organizations working for a truly inclusive Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It's "under construction"! Please send me contact information and brief descriptions for any other organization that should be included. I encourage any group to send revisions! Thanks! Jim Anderson. Hesed (Hebrew: The Covenant of Steadfast Love) Hesed is an informal coalition of PC(USA) ordained and lay church leaders dedicated to the affirmation -- in obedience to Scripture and within the Reformed Tradition and Presbyterian polity -- of the inclusiveness of God's Grace and of the love of Jesus Church for all his followers. Virginia L. Lewis, Moderator/Webmistress, 600-B Hedgewood Dr., Georgetown, TX 78628, 512-863-1802, 512-863-1846 fax, email: lewisv@southwestern.edu, website: http://www.southwestern.edu/lewisv/Hesed/Hesed.html The Lazarus Project "A Ministry of Reconciliation," The Rev. Donn Crail, Director, West Hollywood Presbyterian Church, 7350 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90046. More Light Churches Network http://www.mlcn.org More Light Churches are Presbyterian congregations that welcome "all people into the church as full participating members, entitled to all 'the rights and privileges of the church' including ordination should they be elected to leadership positions, regardless of sexual orientation." Congregations and individuals that are working toward such inclusiveness are also part of the Network. MLCN Steering Committee: Virginia Davidson, co-moderator for advocacy, 173 Gibbs St., Rochester, NY 14605, 716-546-6661 h., email: virginia_davidson@pcusa.org Dick Lundy, co-moderator for administration, 5525 Timber Ln., Excelsior, MN 55331, 612-470-0093 h., email: dick_lundy@pcusa.org Joanne Sizoo, secretary/treasurer, 5901 Cleves Warsaw Pkwy., Cincinnati, OH 45233, 513-922-8764 h., email: joanne_sizoo@pcusa.org Harold G. Porter, outreach, Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, 103 Wm. H. Taft Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45219, 513-281-5945 w. Richard Sprott, conferences, 531 Valle Vista Ave., Oakland, CA 94610, 510-268-8603 h., email: richard.sprott@pcusa.org Chuck McLain, outreach, 932 E. 28th St., Oakland, CA 94610, 510-261-4696 h., 451-8639 fax, email: mcpresby@aol.com Sonnie Swentson, membership nurture, 775 W. Griswold Rd., Covina, CA 91722-3228, 818-915-4093 h., email: heysonnie@aol.com Ken Wolvington, communications, 118 Shore Rd., Burlington, VT 05401-2658, 802-862-6605 h., email: ken.wolvington@pcusa.org Cathy Blaser, development, 350 West 85th St., New York, NY 10024, 212-595-8976 h. And MLCN Partners The Rev. Dr. Johanna Bos, college/seminary chapters, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 1044 Alta Visa Rd., Louisville, KY 40205-1798, email: johanna.bos@pcusa.org Ralph Carter, resources, 111 Milburn St., Rochester, NY 14607- 2918, 716-271-7649, email: ralph.carter@pcusa.org Presbyterian AIDS Network (PAN) PAN is one of 10 networks of the Presbyterian Health Education & Welfare Association (PHEWA). PHEWA is a related ministry of the National Ministries Division, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). PHEWA provides resources to individuals, congregations, and middle governing bodies in the fields of social welfare and justice ministries. PHEWA also works to make the church more responsive to the needs of the excluded and suffering. Alice Davis and Phil Jamison, co-moderators; Bob Gillespie, treasurer; Marge Marsh, secretary; Daniel Kendrick, at large member to the Executive Committee and PHEWA board; James Hicks, Annie Long, Dora Carrera, Marco Grimaldo, Lorna Jean Miller, Howard Warren, leadership team members. Address: c/o PHEWA, Room 3041, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202-1396. Presbyterian Parents of Gays and Lesbians Caring for Each Other: A support group for parents. Jane C. Loflin, Director, P.O. Box 781-591, Dallas, TX 75378, 214-902-0987, 904-9695 fax Presbyterian Partnership of Conscience (P.P.C.) P.P.C., a partnership project of PLGC, the MLCN, That All May Freely Serve, the Witherspoon Society, Semper Reformanda, Voices of Sophia, the Stole Project, and friends, helps coordinate faithful action and statements of conscience and supports *pro bono* legal counsel in defense of individuals, congregations, and governing bodies targeted for judicial action in the courts of the church. Contact Bear Ride Scott, Coordinator, c/o United University Church, 817 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007, 213- 748-0209 ext. 13, PNet: Bear Scott Presbyterian Welcome "Inclusive Churches Working Together," Cliff Frasier, Coordinator, Jan Hus Church, 351 E. 74th St., New York, NY 10021, 212-288-6743. Semper Reformanda Semper Reformanda (Always Being Reformed) is a network of groups and individuals within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) formed to share information and develop support on current issues of liberation, justice, and the integrity of creation. We are called by God's spirit to renewed commitment to, understanding of, and witnessing for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, open to new expressions of our faith. We welcome those who are committed to compassion, mutual respect, and continuing reformation, moving toward shalom. Kenneth R. Smith, Moderator, 16240 N. Park Dr., #102, Southfield, MI 48075, 248-569-1223; June Ramage Rogers, Vice Moderator, P.O. Box 23, Hanover, IN 47243-0023, 812-866- 3334; John N. Gregg, Secretary/Communicator, 1018 S. 28th St., Milwaukee, WI 53215-1612, 414-385-0311, PNet: John Gregg; Mae Gautier, Treasurer, 4242 Elmwood Rd., Cleveland, OH 44121, 216- 691-9558. That All May Freely Serve (T.A.M.F.S.) T.A.M.F.S. focuses on a national effort to give voice to those disenfranchised by the Church's policies toward ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered persons and to educate others regarding biblical and theological connections supporting full inclusion. Contact the Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr, Lesbian Evangelist, P.O. Box 3707, San Rafael, CA 94912-3707, 415-457- 8004, 454-2564 fax, website: http://www.tamfs.org Send Contributions to: Downtown United Presbyterian Church, 121 N. Fitzhugh St., Rochester, NY 14614, 716-325-4000, -6023 fax. Voices of Sophia Voices of Sophia is a community of women and men in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that affirms feminist / womanist / mujerista theologies and seeks to be faithful to God's Spirit in our lives. We call the church to reclaim the fullness of God's image, embrace the diversity of the world, work for justice and inclusiveness in church and society, and celebrate the voices and gifts of women. Voices of Sophia sponsors national and regional gatherings, as well as an annual breakfast at General Assembly. Ecumenical partners are invited to join. Membership is $20/year and includes the newsletter *Illuminations*. Contact Voices of Sophia, 223 Choctaw Rd., Louisville, KY 40207. The Witherspoon Society The Witherspoon Society is a society of justice-seeking Presbyterians ... advocating for peace, justice, the integrity of creation, and the full inclusion of all God's people in church and society. The Rev. Dr. Eugene TeSelle, president, The Divinity School, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, 615-297-2629 h., 322- 2773 w., PNet: Eugene TeSelle The Rev. Robb Gwaltney, vice president, 5303 Indian Woods Dr., Louisville, KY 40207-2079, 502-895-2079, PNet: Robb Gwaltney The Rev. Jean Rodenbough, secretary/communicator, 313 S. Market St., Madison, NC 27025, 910-548-6158 h., PNet: Jean Rodenbough The Rev. Hank Bremer, treasurer, 4355 Kenyon Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90066, 310-397-6916 h., 435-1804 w., 495-2223 fax, email: 72066.543@compuserve.com The Rev. Chris Iosso, issues analyst, 191 Revolutionary Rd., Scarborough, NY 10510, 914-944-8070 h., 941-1142 w., PNet: Christian Iosso The Rev. Tom Heger, membership coordinator, P.O. Box 1359, Manchaca, TX 78652, 512-282-7586 h., -6200 w., PNet: Tom Heger Ray and Betty Kersting, membership secretaries, 305 Loma Arisco, Santa Fe, NM 87501, 505-982-4548, PNet: Ray and Betty Kersting The Rev. Doug King, newsletter editor, 7833 Somerset Cir., Woodbury, MN 55125-2334, 612-731-4885 h., PNet: Doug King * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MASTHEAD (Publication Information) MORE LIGHT UPDATE, Volume 18, Number 1, September-October 1997. ISSN 0889-3985. Published bi-monthly by Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns, an organization of Ministers, Elders, Deacons, and Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Elder James D. Anderson, Editor, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ 08903- 0038, 732-249-1016, 732-932-7501 (Rutgers University), fax 732- 932-6916 (Rutgers University), Internet: jda@mariner.rutgers.edu (or jda@scils.rutgers.edu), 4 Huntington St., Room 316, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1071. Editorial Associate: Lindsay Thompson; Printer: Ken Barta, Brunswick Typographic Inc.; Production Associate: Caridad de las Mercedes Catala. Electronic version available via email. PLGC-List: plgc-list@andrew.cmu.edu; to subscribe, send message to: plgc-list-request@andrew.cmu.edu PLGC home page: http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/~riley/PLGC.html Send materials marked "For publication" to the editor. PUBLICATION DEADLINES: 6 weeks prior to issue months. 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 (included in membership) to MORE LIGHT UPDATE: $12.00. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * corrected version 12-15-97