Date: Sun, 28 Jun 98 19:48:50 EDT From: James Anderson Subject: July August MORE LIGHT UPDATE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MORE LIGHT UPDATE For all ministers, elders, deacons, members and friends of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) July-August 1998 Volume 18, Number 6 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 GENERAL ASSEMBLY: See special report at end of file! OUR COVER PHOTOS: A CONFESSION EVENTS: Sisterly Conversations '98 WORLD NEWS: World Council Confronts Homophobic in Zimbabwe RESOURCES: New Video about Kids' Attitudes CHAPTERS: Atlanta PLGC Surveys Congregations FEATURE STORIES Listening at the Level of the Bone: Reflections on Diversity by Lisa Leigh Larges Introduction: Not about Ordination Racism: Perhaps the Greatest Barrier, by Marco A. Grimaldo. Fearfully and Wonderfully: An Interview with Reggie Avant The Dance: An Interview with Deborah Rodriguez-Alvarez One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America: Book review by Larry Rood Resource List An Open Letter from African-American Leaders Reflections of a Person with AIDS, by Daniel L. Stoepker A Call to Covenant Community: Covenant Statement Excluded from Service: Gay Presbyterian Minister Quits After Being 'Outed,' by John Dart, Los Angeles Times SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT ON THE 210TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 210th General Assembly: No Sabbatical A Letter from Charlotte, from our Co-Moderators Jim's GA Journal, with Commentary, by Jim Anderson PLGC's Celebration Witnessing and Worshipping Lots of Booths in the Exhibition Hall Our Annual Meeting General Assembly Action Accountability for Special Organizations Amendment B: Authoritative Interpretation The Nature of the Unity We Seek in Our Diversity Fraudulent Confession Sexual Purity Tarred and Feathered New Co-Moderator for MLCN More Light Churches Conference: Support, Hope And Challenge OFFICERS AND CONTACTS (at end of file) PRESBYTERIAN ALLY ORGANIZATIONS (at end of file) MASTHEAD (publication information) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GENERAL ASSEMBLY Most of this *Update* was prepared before the 210th General Assembly, June 12-20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, but we saved the four center pages for General Assembly stories. See this special section in the middle of the *Update* (pages 11-14). [IN ELECTRONIC VERSION, AT END OF FILE, JUST BEFORE LISTS OF OFFICERS, COORDINATORS, AND ORGANIZATIONS.] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * OUR COVER Our cover features Katie Morrison's "A Vision of More Light." The original is a linoleum cut print with water color. It is available as a full-color poster for $15. To obtain one write Katie at 2340 LeConte Ave., Berkeley, CA 94709, or phone 510.649.1183. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PHOTOS: A CONFESSION 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 Andy Achsen, Jack Hartwein-Sanchez, Jose' and Dwayne, Fred Eckhardt and Jim Anderson, and Ed Towne. We regret that these wonderful pictures are NOT in the electronic version! In this special issue on diversity we hoped to feature photos of people of color -- members and friends of PLGC. We regret that we ended up with no photos of women of color. Please help us feature them in future issues. We included folks of Hispanic heritage under the broad rubric "people of color." Jim Anderson slipped in with his Cuban life partner Rafael! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * EVENTS Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center 2495 Fox Gap Rd., Bangor, PA 18013-9359, 610-588-1793 Welcoming pilgrims seeking solitude and community, rest and discernment, toward personal and social transformation, since 1942. The Rev. Cynthia Crowner (Presbyterian Church U.S.A.), Director. Sisterly Conversations '98: Current Concerns Among Lesbians of Faith, Sept. 18-20, 1998, led by Virginia Mollenkott. Will focus on surviving significant change, openness to diversity, spiritual practices that work for us, and much more. Call Kirkridge for information. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * WORLD NEWS World Council to Meet in Homophobic Atmosphere According to a Reuters report from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe (April 27), "A row has erupted over the participation of Zimbabwe's Gays and Lesbians Association (GALZ) at this year's World Council of Churches conference in Harare." President Robert Mugabe is world famous for his rabid homophobia, and church leaders are joining him. They are furious that the WCC has accepted GALZ as a participant at the December 1998 conference (sort of like PLGC participating at the edges of a PCUSA general assembly!) The head of the "Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe," is quoted saying, "We cry shame that it should be sanctioned by a body claiming to represent Christians. We roundly condemn such blatant perversion of the Christian faith." He has threatened a "Christian" boycott of the WCC conference if GALZ is not excluded (sound familiar?). In the previous week, Mugabe was quoted around the world as saying that gays and lesbians were worse than wild animals. The WCC has said that GALZ will not be attending the main assembly, but it has been registered as a participant in a concurrent meeting on human sexuality and sexual orientation. -- JDA. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * RESOURCES New Video about Kids' Attitudes It's Elementary: Talking about Gay Issues in School With moving footage shot in six schools across the U.S., this video takes viewers inside 1st-8th grade classrooms to find out what students have to say about a topic that often leaves adults tongue-tied. Intended to jump-start meaningful dialogue about gay and lesbian issues among parents, educators and other adults, the video makes clear how children are affected by anti-gay prejudice; how students feel about the anti-gay name-calling at their schools; what children who have gay family members want their teachers and classmates to know; what school is like for gay students; what questions kids have, and where their ideas come from. "Could become one of the most important films ever devoted to lesbian and gay issues" -- *San Francisco Examiner*. "Highly recommended for educators, parents and other adults" -- Starred Review, *Booklist*, American Library Association. For full pricing and ordering information, contact **New Day Films**, toll free at 1-888-367-9154 or by email at TMCNDY@aol.com. A copy of the 37-minute educational training version costs $75.00 for a single school, church or community group. -- Publisher's blurb. (We hope to have a church-based review of this video in an up- coming issue of the *Update*. -- JDA) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CHAPTERS Atlanta PLGC Surveys Congregations PLGC of Greater Atlanta has conducted a survey of all the clerks of session in our presbytery, asking them what their church had done to educate themselves on issues surrounding sexuality and the recent developments in the denomination. Although only around 10% of the presbytery responded (more than we expected), we did learn a few things. The results will be forwarded to the General Assembly and to the membership of PLGC, as soon as they get put into a presentable format. In general, we found: 1) There are pastors who open other people's mail and think that's OK. They even responded to the survey. The surveys were painstakingly addressed to "Clerk of Session." This is disconcerting if you are an elder or clerk of session. Several active elders in our presbytery are concerned that they were not presented with the survey as "correspondence" in their respective session meetings. 2) Sexuality has not been sufficiently discussed as mandated by the GA. The ninety-plus unanswered surveys imply this. The returned surveys verify this. One of the most troubling surveys was returned to us from First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. The session of First Church wrote a lengthy policy stating that they had no intention of discussing sexuality. Their policy goes on to condemn all who would discuss sexuality to the detriment of the unity of the church. They sent us a copy of their policy along with their survey. 3) There were commissioners to the Greater Atlanta Presbytery's vote on Amendment A that were uneducated on its content, history, and implications. Some of those commissioners are now asking their pastors why they were kept in the dark. The emerging pattern is clear. The ordained clergy of Greater Atlanta have historically voted in favor of inclusivity, while the uninformed elder commissioners have supplied the votes for Amendment B's passage and Amendment A's defeat. What would happen if everybody, not just the ordained clergy, knew the facts? Ponder that, and you will see why, in my opinion, PLGC's correspondence was hidden from so many clerks and their sessions. Pittsburg PLGC has reworked our survey and is going to send it out there. -- Victor Floyd, RUVIC@aol.com, Co-Moderator, Greater Atlanta Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, Synod of South Atlantic ("The length of one's title relates inversely to their importance." Southern Proverb) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FEATURE STORIES Listening at the Level of the Bone Reflections on Diversity by Lisa Leigh Larges Introduction: Not about Ordination It's Not About Ordination! It's not about ordination. In the frenetic and consuming work of passing this amendment or defeating that, we sometimes loose track of our larger purpose. Within that larger purpose the right to hold ordained office regardless of sexual orientation is a step toward the goal, it is not the goal itself. It's not about ordination. It is about a commitment to what the 1989 task force on human sexuality called a theology of "justice love." When the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) no longer restricts ordination to a particular sexual orientation, that will mark an important step in our larger mission. When the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) repents of its history of homophobia, that will be a sign that the church is beginning to embrace a theology of "justice love." It's not about ordination, nor is it about equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Presbyterians. For certain, working for that equality is the mission of PLGC, but that mission is but one part of a larger commitment to this justice love. It's not about ordination, it's not about equality for GLBT Presbyterians, it is about building a church for all God's people. After the defeat of amendment A, many within the PLGC / More Light community have recognized that the work for us now involves strengthening our organization at the grass roots level. A crucial part of that grass roots organizing will come through strengthening our coalitions with other organizations within the church that share a vision of justice love. A second and related crucial part of that grass roots organizing is a deepening of our commitment to being a racially diverse organization. This has absolutely nothing to do with so-called political correctness. It has to do with the life and health of PLGC / More Light, and the life and health of the Presbyterian Church. (Just when, I want to know, will the right stop bludgeoning progressive movements with the political correctness brand, and remember that the term was used first by the left to make fun of itself?) Lisa Begins to Rant! In all the hand-wringing over the steady decline in membership in the PCUSA, how often do we forthrightly admit that the PCUSA is loosing members because it is just plain boring. Maybe its final epitaph will read: "The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), bored to death." Even when our denomination finally responds to the tug of the Holy Spirit and reverses its increasingly rigid stance against ordination for GLBT Presbyterians, I for one have little enthusiasm for being a part of a church that permits the ordination to the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament a handful of mostly white "queers," and allows its local churches to go on quietly ordaining GLBT Elders and Deacons every now and again. I want to be a part of a church that is energetic and lively and thrives on a multiplicity of voices; a church that makes some noise! -- a church whose leaders look like they're leading us somewhere other than the grave; a church which challenges old models of leadership; a church that looks more like the passengers on the bus I ride in the morning, and less like the small midwestern town I was born in; a church which looks like it might be capable of having fun! Listening at the Level of the Bone PLGC is a mostly white organization in a largely white denomination. Consultants who make their living through helping organizations become more racially diverse know that there is no simple formula. For starters, a few of the issues we might begin to address include: making a place for GLBT people of color who choose to remain in some sense in the closet rather than risking the double jeopardy of being queer and of color in a church not enthusiastic about either; evaluating in what ways our definitions of what it means to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered are shaped by the white community and how flexible we can be in changing our own assumptions; and exploring new paradigms for leadership and power sharing. June Lorenzo, who serves on National Capital Presbytery's antiracism team has said that this commitment to diversity requires listening at the level of the bone. This deep listening demands setting aside all assumptions, expectations, agendas and all the rest. My challenge to all of us in the PLGC / More Light community is to make a commitment to find new and creative ways to engage in that bone-level listening. After all, what we are about is not the small task of wresting from the church the right that is duly ours to be ordained as called; what we are about is the work of calling the church into a new vision of justice love. Provided here is just a small sampling of articles and interviews from folks throughout the church. May it serve as a spark; may it spark our listening to the level of the bone, and may that listening change us. I would be delighted to continue this conversation. Send your comments and reflections to me; my phone, address, and email are listed at the end of the "Update" under "executive board." Acknowledgments: In putting this together I wish to thank: Carla Gorrell, Marco Grimaldo, and June Lorenzo of National Capital Presbytery's antiracism team; Toni De La Rosa, Michael Tsai, Reggie Avant, Deborah Rodriguez Alverez, Katie Morrison, Janie Spahr, Larry Rood, Lorna Shoemaker and Jim Anderson. "The Black Christ" is part of a larger piece in fabric by Catherine Kapikian, inspired by a poem of the same name by Countee Cullen. It is reprinted (unfortunately without the glory of its original color!) with permission with thanks to "The Center for the Arts and Religion" and to Carla Gorrell. Katie Morrison's "A Vision of More Light" (on the cover of this issue) is available as a full-color poster for $15; to obtain one write Katie at 2340 LeConte Ave., Berkeley CA 94709, or phone 510.649.1183. -- LLL (Lisa Leigh Larges. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Racism: Perhaps the Greatest Barrier by Marco A. Grimaldo. [Box: You can get the inside story on Marco Grimaldo by reading what his aunt has to say about him. See Lydia Hernandez's chapter "And so it Was" in *Called Out With: Stories of Solidarity in Support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons,* edited by Sylvia Thorson-Smith, Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, Norm Pott, William P. Thompson (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, c1997, p. 85-91. Marco A. Grimaldo is an elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. -- LLL.] In 1993, I began my service on the antiracism team for the National Capital Presbytery. I remember the first day we spent together as a team on retreat. One of my friends was trying to empathize with the feelings of oppression that people of color must feel as a result of racism. My friend recalled the pain that he felt when his family could not accept his being gay. This was difficult for many people in the group to accept. I can't say that I even accepted it then. Only now do I understand that my friend's acknowledgment of both the pain of homophobia and the pain of racism was a liberating act that did not require our acceptance. Jeff wasn't saying that oppression under homophobia is the same as oppression under racism. He said only that the pain felt the same. I have found that regularly in the "gay movement," we have used words like equality, justice, and liberation. These are powerful words, which I used to take at face value, but they only have real value in context. Equality to what? Justice in relation to what? Liberation from what? The "what" of course, depends on who is using the words. Allow me to illustrate: Imagine Dr. Martin Luther King at the height of the poor peoples campaign talking about equality. Equality in this case means somehow bridging the gap between rich and poor, the gap in education and the lack of voting rights. Equality meant dealing with hatred, insecurity, distrust and violence. I ask us then to question what "equality" means in the context of the gay movement. Gay leaders in the press would argue that it means equality in the workplace, in marriage and in the military. Some go further to include freedom from violence and hatred and the liberty to be ourselves in all aspects of public and private lives. I can't disagree with this. I do however argue that these descriptions are incomplete. Perhaps the final question in defining equality is to what extent people are willing to work for the equality of all people. To what extent is any community who feels the pain of oppression willing to concede their own complicity in perpetuating the pain and oppression of others? Thoughtful people now agree that racism is a function of economic and political power as much as it is a function of ignorance and hatred. The challenge then for men and women involved in the gay movement remains whether we acknowledge our complicity in a racist system that both economically and politically favors white European Americans over people of color. I have referred to the "gay movement" rather than the "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement," because I do not believe that the latter truly exists as yet and I would argue this is in part a result of our complicity in racism. The gay movement is historically white and male. The gay movement has had trouble accepting communities of color. I suggest this is because Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) people in communities of color have very little or nothing to loose. We don't hold political office, we are unlikely to hold positions of power in business, and as a result we have very little to hold us back in expressing who we are. This expression has often been embarrassing for the gay movement and this is evident most in political priorities that are so targeted toward appearing "normal." Participation in the military, marriage, political participation are all intended to show how much gays and lesbians are like everyone else. It is in this way that we see the effects of racism, which serve to imprison all of us whether we are white Europeans or people of color. As people of color who are GLBT, the ignorance and intolerance that perpetuate homophobia are compounded by the effects of racism. As Europeans, fully assimilated in the straight world, we are not fully free to be ourselves. We are limited by the limits we place on others for fear that we might not meet the expectations of the norm. Racism is perhaps the greatest barrier to the liberation of those involved in the gay movement. It also offers the greatest opportunity to live up to the ideals of equity, justice and liberation. May God bless us that we might be more faithful. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fearfully and Wonderfully An Interview with Reggie Avant Reggie Avant, who served as an associate pastor in the Bay Area, now works in restaurant management. We met over breakfast for this interview. The words on the page don't convey the striking way that Reggie speaks, which is at once gentle and passionate. In this transcript I've retained the questions to provide a context for Reggie's reflections. -- LLL. Q. Did you grow up in the church? I did, very much so. I had a very conservative, very fundamentalist home. Grew up from the age of 5 until about 12 in a Pentecostal church, Church of God in Christ. My home church is in Santa Anna, California, in the United Presbyterian Church -- a very big, very wealthy, very white Presbyterian Church. I had gotten involved there my last year in college. I did an internship there; enjoyed working with youth - - a group of high school guys. I went to Viola University -- a pretty conservative background. But I really liked the internship, really liked working with this group of guys. I stayed on as volunteer staff there and when my group of guys was in their last year of high school in '85, I really began to address the issue of my call to ministry. And I felt the Lord was really directing me to seminary. I chose to go to Gordon Conwell because I heard they had a really good community life, and community was going to be important to me being so far away from home. Q. It sounds like you never really left the church or questioned your faith or -- Not really, I maybe went through a time in Christian college where I questioned my faith. But much later, after I came out, I decided, whatever happens in my life, Lord, I will never turn away from you or the church again no matter what happens. So, when everything fell apart in my life, in '96, I didn't feel like I wanted to leave the church. In fact the church has always been a really strong connection for me and a positive place in my life, and I didn't want to leave that, so I stayed. Q. This is jumping ahead, but it sounds like you weren't willing to leave the church, but the church was willing to leave you. As I began to bring up the issue of sexuality, particularly my sexuality, and what that meant for me -- the church was the place for me, where I fit and where I belonged, ... [even] as I thought, "My gosh I have these gifts and the church is saying 'No, No!! You can be a member here, but you can't be ordained here because you're a gay man and the Bible says that you aren't fit to be ordained.'" So I felt like the church was leaving me very much so. Q. What was Gordon Conwell like? Gordon Conwell was more open than Viola. Q. I always thought that Gordon Conwell was a pretty white seminary. Pretty white actually. It began to change in the time I was there, they began to get more minorities on campus. And the minorities really began to speak out and make a place for ourselves. And we began to really say, "you know, you need to have more African-Americans here." Sadly enough I hear they have very few African-Americans now, but the time I was there was a really good time for that actually. I really enjoyed that part of Gordon Conwell. I felt like I very much had a community of color there. Q. Was that a time when you started getting involved in minority issues? It was actually. It was very much a start in creating a life. I was involved in student government -- I was vice-president for two years at Gordon Conwell --- and at that time I began to open up and look at some of those issues. For the most part I was raised pretty white, pretty middle class. The majority of my friends were white. I remember in college at Viola, they had a black student group, and I wouldn't get involved because I always thought that that was really negative. But when I went to Gordon Conwell, I thought, this is a positive thing, I need to get involved. So that's when I began to get really involved. Then, coming out here, for my last year at SFTS (San Francisco Theological Seminary) it really began to click. I took a class that Dr. George Cummings taught called "The thought of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X." Powerful class -- life changing for me. By far that was probably the biggest change for me as I began to look at that whole issue and what it was like. Suddenly all these blinders were taken off me. I could see it. And once I saw it, I couldn't go back. Q. Can you say more about that, what the specific ideas were that struck you. Seems to me as I deal with both these men, their whole point was to bring justice to an injustice place. They themselves had so much passion for justice. So I began to read about history and things like that. I couldn't help but think about my own life and how was benefiting from that whole community. As I look at King, here was this minister who really understood justice issues, and he reconciled both those things -- the spiritual aspect and the justice issue -- within himself. Those two things couldn't be separated. I began to ask myself the really tough questions: how was I involved in my own particular community. What about being African-American, what did that mean for me. So I began to define all that, and the class helped a lot. It was a very diverse class. We saw the video series "Eyes on the Prize." So that's what started it. Q. Tell me about the coming out strain of your life. I guess for me it's something I've always known deep down inside, like most of us. I remember, one of my biggest fears about going to Christian college was having to confront this issue. I thought, what if I went to some non-Christian college and met some guy. So Viola was very safe for me. For the most part it was safe in that sense. My sophomore year there was a guy who was kicked out because of his sexuality, and I remember being so afraid -- what if someone found out about me! I never really talked to anybody until my last year at Viola. I thought then that I really had to deal with this whole thing. I remember starting counseling at that time with one of their therapists, but very much at that time they thought it was wrong -- it was a sin. So they said I needed some healing from that. I began to work from that angle on it. I spent years on that. I read, read, read, read, read. I went to "Desert Stream" workshops. In mid-95-96 I began going to The Vineyard Church, which had a class called "living waters." That was a class to heal men and women of their homosexuality. I was going to that. Even at SFTS I'd go back and forth on this issue. It's right, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's right. I was just so afraid to -- you know, you hear all your life it's an abomination before God and you're going to be damned to hell. I spent so much time straddling the fence. Even when I got ordained .... I was seeing a woman back on the east coast and she came out for my ordination service and I think at that time I felt that I was going to change, and this miracle was going to happen. I asked that there be a miracle, that God would heal me. She and I broke up, and for a little while I began seeing a guy. But that didn't last long because I was so paranoid; I was terrified that the people at the church would find out. Then I started dating again. It was a woman. She was a gift from God, a miracle, I was going to beat this thing this time. Blah, blah blah blah blah. I told her, this was where I was, it was my past and I was seeking God's healing from this now. I think with being the pastor of a church I thought I had to beat this thing. She started coming to the church and started singing in the choir. We ended up getting engaged. At the end of holy week in '96 I began to really struggle with the relationship. I remember in "Living Waters" we read these different books about men and women who had been gay who had changed. For the first time I remember reading that and not believing -- not believing it was for me. What if this just is who I am, I thought. And for the first time I started questioning, and feeling guilty because I was questioning. I decided I needed to be honest with the woman I was engaged to. She in turn called the whole wedding off. Different church members started asking questions about where she was, and what was going on. She could only be sick for so long. So I announced to the church we had broken up. So that was the start of my coming out. Just a small start. After that break-up I became more and more depressed. I had a hard time getting up for work in the morning. I'd sit at my desk and I'd cry. At that point in time I was seeing another Christian therapist. I remember talking to a good friend from college, and he said, "Oh, you're still struggling with that?" And I felt so discouraged. I thought to myself, "You're right, I'm still struggling with this." I think it was at that point that I decided that I couldn't do it; that I needed somehow to end my own life. I began to think about how I could do that. In May of 1996, I did that, I tried to take my own life. I ended up being hospitalized for 10 days. It was there that I began to think, "What does all this mean?" They wouldn't release me, so I couldn't go to church that Sunday. It was in my face then, I couldn't run away anymore. I remember desperately trying to call some of the counselors at the vineyard. If I started intense therapy with them, maybe that would be the answer. But it was one of those things where the times didn't seem to be working out. And one day, as I was trying to schedule a time. The word that came to my mind was acceptance, and the words: "You are fearfully and wonderfully made." And I thought, "maybe I don't need to change. Maybe I'm fine just the way I am." I feel that that was God saying to me, "you are beautiful just the way you are. You tried to change all this time. You've tried to be something you're not." I realized that contrary to popular opinion, I didn't choose to be this way. Particularly for me, being African-American, then being a gay African-American -- that's two strikes against me-- so why would I choose .... Then I left the church in August of that year -- '96. I couldn't go back to pretending anymore. But it was really sad. I had come to love those people and know them. I married some of their children, buried spouses. Q. What did being a pastor mean to you? At that time being a pastor was really central to who I was. It was the whole acceptance thing -- I mean other's acceptance -- I spent so much time trying to fit in. When I came under care you had to take the MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory) and they had a question: "Have you had any homosexual thoughts." And I answered honestly, "yes." So they really scrutinized me. They insisted on counseling for me. So it had been a tough journey trying to get in, and I wanted to get in. But I didn't leave out of shame, I didn't leave because I had done something wrong. I needed to have integrity in leaving, and I felt, given the church's stance, I had to leave. I was out of work for 10 months. Q. Were there things at that time that helped you, I mean in particular, things that helped you hold on to your faith? I really give City of Refuge[1] a lot of credit. They began doing a Bible Study that summer on what the Bible said about homosexuality. The room would be packed every Tuesday night with people who really needed to hear what the pastor had to say. It's something when you walk into a church and right then you know Jesus Christ loves you . And it's not this "candy-assed" Gospel. Q. I'm wondering what your faith is like now? My faith is stronger. Now I can share all of my self with God. I'm not running, I'm not hiding anymore. Sure, it would be a lie if I didn't say that at times I still say to God, "Why is this my cross to bear, in a sense? What is it about being gay that you want me to be? What is the voice, the witness you want me to be?" But, do I know that God loves me very much? Absolutely! If I were to die today I know with all my heart that I would be in the arms of Jesus Christ. Now I look at the Bible very much differently than I did. I used to think about that passage that says, "Those who confess my name and believe in Jesus Christ shall be saved." I used to think that meant if you were really a Christian and that wasn't me. But now I think, "No, it doesn't say 'those who confess my name and believe in Jesus Christ who are not gay shall be saved.'" That isn't in the Bible. I would say that the two biggest passions in my life right now are being black and being gay. Q. What do you mean by that? Martin Luther King said that each individual should have in their life something worth dying for; that if they don't have anything in their life worth dying for, then they have to ask just what their life is about. Justice and equality for African-Americans - - justice and equality for people who are gay is something worth dying for to me. I've experienced loss the last two years: Friends who decided they didn't want to be a part of my life anymore; a couple -- I was their little girl's Godfather -- who decided they didn't want me to be their little girl's Godfather anymore. But to still have passion even after that loss is a sign of something. I can't go back to where I was ten years ago, or five years ago. It would be like death. At the same time, it's scary moving ahead because I don't know what God's going to require. Q. How do you feel about the Presbyterian Church at this point in your life? I like the Presbyterian Church. Even with its faults it's been a good place for me. I love the government of the Presbyterian Church because it holds people accountable. Q. Do you see yourself called to ministry again? Yes! I love what I'm doing now, I love working in the restaurant business, but I do see myself very much involved in some aspect of the church, whether that's full time or part time or as a lay person I'm not sure. Q. I remember on the phone you had said that you would be interested in talking because recently someone had made a comparison between racism and homophobia, and you had said that they weren't the same. I wanted to know what you meant by that. A white gay man can hide his gayness. An African-American gay man can hide his gayness too, but he can't hide the fact that he's a black man. It pushes me when I hear white gay and lesbian people compare the black civil rights struggle with the gay civil rights struggle, because they have benefited from racism, and continue to benefit from racism and prejudice. In the church, we don't really want to talk about these things, or admit these things. When I was coming out, very few gay men I know in the church reached out a hand to me. And I had to think, would that have been different if my hair had been blond, if my eyes were blue; would they have been more embracing, more inviting? I had to ask the question. Q. Do you think that there are cultural differences in the black community about what it means to be gay? It's an issue that's been in our community and in our churches for a long time. There hasn't necessarily been a name put to it like "gay." Particularly in our churches it hasn't been said. Do I think it's an issue that needs to be addressed? Absolutely. Q. Do you think there are differences in the black gay community from the white gay community about being gay? I'm sure there has to be. There are different cultures, it's a good question .... Q. I was thinking earlier about how when white gays and lesbians, who are used to white privilege, come out and suddenly have some of that privilege -- heterosexual privilege -- taken away, it's sometimes a shock. It's difficult for a black man or woman to come out. It's a risk. Again, I have to be honest and say that just being black is a factor; to add to that the fact that you're gay just changes everything. Q. Do you think the Presbyterian church has become more or less of a racist church in the years you've been a part of it. No. I think we're trying, and it's taken us until the 1990's to get this far, but I think we're trying. Q. Do you think that the focus on gay issues in the church has sapped energy from working on other issues such as diversity? No. In some ways it is easier to work on the black and white issue now. It's still a threat, but homosexuality and sexuality still has a lot of weird vibes for people. They are both issues of diversity. Again, I don't want to compare the gay rights struggle to the black civil rights struggle, but they are both issues of diversity. Q. What are you happiest about in your life right now? I love who I am. I don't have to hide or pretend anymore. I know that God loves me everyday. ______________________________ 1. City of Refuge, now a thriving United Church of Christ congregation, began as a ministry to people with HIV / AIDS. The congregation is predominantly African-American, and predominately gay / Lesbian. -- LLL. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Dance An Interview with Deborah Rodriguez-Alvarez In the endless round of panel discussions, adult education forums, question and answer periods that GLBT folk are called on to participate in, and of all the naive or ignorant questions asked, the one that gets most under my skin is the "bad influence" question. "What sort of example are you setting for our children ... ?" What galls me of course is the plain truth -- who could miss it - - that when the saints are called, we'll have more than our 10% filling in the ranks. Lately, when I'm asked the question about corrupting the youth, I've talked about my own experience of church. I don't know Deborah and her partner at all well, but I value their example -- an example of how to build a life on integrity and generosity and most of all on faith. -- LLL Over lunch one afternoon Deborah shared her faith journey: The Dance -- If I had to characterize my spiritual journey I would describe it as a dance between intellect and emotion. At times I've had to learn and study, to find an academic and intellectual framework from which to understand God and God's many manifestations. At other times the only way I could understand God is through my interaction with others, and with nature. At those times, that's how God speaks to me. I use the term "God" deliberately, rather than spirit or some other term. To me, God is neither male nor female, but God is personal. Catholic Church and early years I grew up Catholic, but my family stopped going to Catholic church when my parents divorced -- I was quite young, two and a half, or three -- when that happened. So, while my older sister had gone through 12 years of parochial school, I was the first of the children not to spend one day in Catholic school. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a West Indian neighborhood where we were the only Puerto Rican family. I went to public school. We stopped going to church on Sunday and so I didn't have a particularly religious upbringing. My memory of church and Mass were from when the church was still conducting Mass in Latin and we used to wear little doilies on our heads because we couldn't approach the church bareheaded. I grew up with my mother. Our father was very much a presence in our lives, but he didn't live at the house. A household that was very religious I grew up in a household where I had siblings that were very deeply religious -- very devout -- not necessarily Catholics, though they did become Catholic. They felt a very profound connection with God. It was not unusual to talk about having a conversation with God, and having it be a very real, tangible experience; and nobody would feel you were hallucinating or anything like that. I have five sisters and brothers. My brother who is three years older than me, started having visions, religious and spiritual visions when he was quite young. It was when he was about 11 years old. He was having these incredibly profound and intense religious experiences, and has had them throughout his entire adult life. I have a cousin in Puerto Rico who is a healer, and was (he doesn't do it anymore) very well-known as a healer. He had many people from around the world come to see him, including Olympic track runners and so on. He still has a garden he's planted that has many of the different plants from the Bible. He walks through the garden everyday, and the garden tells him what sections of the Bible -- chapter and verse -- he needs to read. Usually, if someone comes to him for guidance (sometimes they don't even call him, he calls them to say, "you need some guidance"), he will say "I was led in this direction, to this chapter and this verse," and discuss it. As I said, in my growing up years, I wasn't particularly religious at that point. I wasn't necessarily an atheist, I just didn't know whether God existed or didn't exist. I didn't have a sense of God being punishing, but I also didn't have a sense of God being forgiving. I had no sense of God. My spiritual journey begins I think my spiritual journey really began in college. And there was sort of a precursor to it prior to college, which was while I was at boarding school. I received a full scholarship to a school in Massachusetts that I went to, and I had never experienced the sense of isolation and disorientation as profound as when I went off to this boarding school. I realized that I was incredibly alone. It was the first time I understood that I needed a presence in my life that was bigger and stronger than my family. My family was now far away and I needed something that could help me deal with this sense of isolation and dislocation. That was probably the first time I understood that I needed God in my life. I left boarding school and I came back to Brooklyn and was so scared of the experience that I had had that I didn't want to deal with it at that point. I then got accepted to a small Quaker high school for my last two years. I really liked the way the Quakers did God. It wasn't threatening, it was very personal, there wasn't a hierarchy, they didn't tell me what to do or what not to do. But I still didn't feel I had God in my life at that point, but I thought that maybe God was accessible to me. That was what two years of Quaker school gave me -- some sense that God could be a part of my life. Then I went off to college and that sense of profound isolation and dislocation that I had experienced at boarding school came back. I did probably the thing that a lot of people do who are in search of a spiritual quest and unable to deal with it -- I drank to much -- as if to help fill that void. I really became quite ill. During that time I started getting really interested in religion. I began taking more and more religion classes, and going over to the divinity School. The only way I could hold on to some semblance of God was through study. It became an intellectual quest. It became a search to understand the oppressed, because I took a lot of Liberation Theology classes. I could understand religion in a political context. But what I wanted was to have some sense of God in my life. My life just didn't seem very worthwhile. Something happened. I can't tell you what it was -- I don't know even for myself how to describe it. One day -- and this was after many trials and tribulations -- I simply understood that God was in my life all along. It was one day, it was in the summer, 1983, I just knew God was in my life -- and that God was accessible to me if I was only willing to open myself up and make myself vulnerable. I woke up and I knew. I knew I had been placed on this earth to do some good and that if I continued to live my life the way I was living, I would be cheating God and everyone else from the purpose I was put on this earth for in the first place. That was a very radical experience for me. I became willing and open to looking at and exploring all kinds of things in my life that I had been prior to that too terrified to accept. I didn't go back to church right away, but I started praying, which I had never done before. Bringing the circle around I felt God's presence then. They were very very happy times for me. By that point I had gotten into recovery, and I was now graduating from college, which I didn't ever know if I would reach. I was graduating from an ivy league college, and I had also come out as a Lesbian. All at the same time. I don't think I could have gotten sober had I not realized that God was in my life all along, and that I was really blessed. I think having a sense of God's love and presence led me to recovery. Recovery led me to honesty; and honesty led me to the understanding that maybe I was a lesbian -- and that, to bring the circle back around, God's love and presence would make it okay, that I wasn't going to be judged, that I wasn't bad, and I really had nothing to be afraid of. There was more gentleness than trauma. I am sure some of my friends would argue the other way. When things started coming together, I didn't have to really struggle. I was afraid, but not particularly afraid, and to this day I have the sense that God is in my life. I never doubt-- no matter how difficult a time I go through -- I never doubt God's presence. Doing my life I graduated from college in 1984 and came to San Francisco the next year. I came out here with a partner, and that was a very good relationship, but we really grew apart, and after seven years we ended up going our separate ways. I didn't really worry about anything, I just did my life. I just wanted to feel like what it was to feel like everybody else. Finding the person I want to spend the rest of my life with Then, I really took a turn when I met my current partner, and decided that I had finally found the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. She is a person that is quite religious. She prays everyday; she reads the Bible everyday; she grew up in a household where she went to church regularly. Having a regular spiritual, or religious, practice was really very important to her. Over time it became important to me as well, especially as we began to plan our commitment ceremony. We needed a basis of a shared religious practice. Shopping for a church I had a very difficult time initially when we were looking for a church, because I felt that there was something fundamentally wrong about going to a church that wasn't a Catholic church. I had that in my mind. It came time to take communion I had a major crisis when we started visiting these churches and it came time to take communion. I had never done my first communion in Catholic church, but I believed that if you didn't do confession then you couldn't take communion, and in the Catholic church, if you're not Catholic, you can't take communion. So the first few times when we went to other churches and my partner would get up to go take communion, I would sit there in a total state of panic. I wouldn't know what to do, and I would refuse to go up there and take communion. Finally, I called one of the churches that we were going to ahead of time and asked them, would it be ok for a Catholic to take communion at their church. They said, oh, it was no problem. Then I called the archdiocese office, and I said, "I don't know if it's OK for me to take communion at another church." They said, "Well, are you a Catholic?" I said, "Well, I think so." I said, "I was Baptized but I never did first Holy Communion. So I don't know if I'm really a Catholic or not. But I've always thought of myself as a Catholic." And this person said, "Well, you know, we've really loosened up the rules, the Catholic church isn't as strict." He asked, "When was the last time you went to Catholic Church?" I said, "Well, 1964, and I've popped into Catholic churches periodically, and I have never taken communion whenever I have gone to church, because I haven't done confession prior to that." I said, "This is really important to my partner who would like for me to go up there as well, and I have not been able to do that." So the person on the other end of the phone said, "Well you know, if it isn't a Catholic Church you can go ahead and take communion now, and even at a Catholic Church, you don't have to say confession every time ... things have really gotten much better. So go ahead and try it and see what it's like, and why don't you try coming back to a Catholic church?" I did try attending a Catholic church. All churches have issues as to who can be admitted and who can not, who can administer sacraments and so on, but the Catholic Church had one too many strikes against it for me. Still, I have met priests and nuns who are some of the most extraordinary people, and some of the work of the Catholic missions is very valuable. There will always be a part of me that remains Catholic. When we were growing up and would have conversations about talking to spirits -- the spirits of our dead relatives, say -- there was room within the context of the Catholic church to have that kind of literal conversation and nobody thought you were crazy. It was just that you were having a conversation and the spirits and the saints were there to help you. So I really appreciate that about the Catholic church, it was very much imprinted. But to get back to the main story of my quest. I did take communion. I got a little bit nauseous. I really just had this sort of knee jerk reaction to it and felt ill at ease. But then I started praying about it. I've always believed in transubstantiation. I still do. I believe that that's a sacred moment. I believe that there is nothing more powerful or profound than taking Holy Communion. So I couldn't take in the body and blood of Christ if I had any doubts about the rightness of it. Going to Noe Valley Ministry We went to about fifteen churches, and ended up going to Noe Valley Ministry. We wanted a combination of different things. I wanted -- we both wanted -- a church that had some basis in Scripture, where you read the New and Old Testament, and had a commentary or sermon that was linked to that. I wanted a church where the message would be something I carried forth throughout my week. I wanted a church that had a sense of ritual. I wanted to have a church in which I could connect with people in forms of community, who I could also connect with an intellectual basis. Noe Valley Ministry actually brought all those things together. The first time we went to Noe Valley Ministry, Carl Smith, who was the minister at the time, was giving a sermon that was part of a three part series on the meaning of atonement. At the end of the service, we didn't know what he was talking about, so we went off to brunch afterwards, and we talked for maybe two and a half hours to try an understand what he had said. And we went back home and we looked up in the Bible the passages for the day. So we decided we had to go back for the rest of the series. We went back for part three. And there were many things about the church we didn't like. We didn't like the lack of diversity. My partner is African-American, we didn't like the fact that there were no people of color in the church. We came to the conclusion that no church was going to give us 100% of what we wanted. I'm Puerto Rican, my partner's African- American, we're lesbians .... Diversity was originally very high on our list of priorities, which was part of the reason we went to a number of black churches. We went to a Korean church. We went to a primarily Latino church. We went to a church that was primarily Filipino. It was very hard, and yet, what we were finding was that even though we were going to these incredibly diverse churches, we were leaving empty. So we went through this process as we went to more and more churches. We had to come to the conclusion that maybe diversity was going to go down a notch or two in our list of priorities; and that's ultimately what we ended up doing, when we finally settled on Noe Valley Ministry. It's not a very ethnically diverse church, but it is diverse in other ways. It is economically diverse. We have homeless people, we have people with mental illness, we have artists, we have a good mix of gay and straight, and a good age mix. It is religiously diverse too, we have a lot of people from different religious backgrounds. What we were able to do was to find a place where we were embraced, where we found community, and we found a church that at the end of the service on Sunday would leave us with enough to think about for the rest of the week. We were able to start building a religious practice together. My partner became a member a year before I did. I couldn't let go and become a Presbyterian. Actually what really helped was when Joan Huff, who is our interim pastor, came. She calls herself a Catholic/Presbyterian. We went to the classes to learn what it really meant to be a Presbyterian, and the history of the Reformed Church, and the different ways that Presbyterians practice or could practice. She was very much of a bridge for me. She made it possible for me to say, "Oh, I could become a Presbyterian. I could embrace this denomination and have it be a part of my life. And I could let go of the Catholic church in a way that felt healthy and still retain aspects of Catholicism in some part of me." And we've been going ever since. And getting more and more involved in the life of the church. One thing that I took from the new members classes about the Reformed Church was the importance of the role of the individual church in the community and in the context of the Presbyterian hierarchy. It's quite extraordinary that you can have ordained lay people, which is one of the things that really attracted us to the Presbyterian church -- the balance between those who have gone through seminary and those who haven't in making important decisions and having the trusteeship of the church in the community. I became a member not long before the passage of amendment B. That made it a sort of bittersweet experience. Even so, that has been counter-balanced by the love and acceptance I've felt for all of who I am at Noe Valley Ministry. I've become increasingly involved in the activities of the church, and I really feel a part of it. A new chapter in my spiritual life I feel like I'm about to embark on a great adventure, and I don't know what it will be. I don't know what it's going to look like. I just have an intuition, that God has been preparing me for a new chapter in my spiritual growth. I feel like it's starting this year. I feel as if ... I can't even describe it. It's more than intuition; it's a knowing that a path is being laid out for me. Maybe that path always was out there, but I've started taking the first steps on this path, and I don't know where it's going to take me, and I don't know what I'm going to have to do, and I don't have any sense of the trials and tribulations I'm going to have to go through, but I know it's there. I started having that sense this past fall. I was going through somewhat of a difficult time and I knew that it was part of a process. I had been feeling pretty disconnected from God, even though I always know God's in my life. I didn't have that personal connection with God that I find so important. Somewhere around the holidays it turned. That feeling of emptiness started dissipating and I knew that I was about to embark on something, and I have no idea what it is. I know it's going to demand things of me. I know it's getting back into Scripture in a somewhat academic way -- not necessarily going to school but reading again. I know it's going to demand increasing my participation in church. I know its going demand my finding new ways of doing good works so that my sense of doing good works becomes a predominate part of my life. I know it will demand applying what I have learned in my spiritual development to all aspects of my life, to work, and family, and friendships. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America Book review by Larry Rood *One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America*, by Keith Boykin (Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1996). Keith Boykin can write! *One More River to Cross* is both a candid, warm, real personal memoir and a report of current research and public policy on African-American g/l/b/t issues. The prose is engaging and the research is fascinating. Boykin was a Special Assistant to the President in Clinton's first administration and now is Executive Director of the National Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. Since coming out as a 25-year-old Harvard Law student, he has been all over the country and gives the reader a first hand report. He makes clear that the so-called "family values" coalition has as its targets blacks, Hispanics, women, and gays. "... they hope to divide these oppressed communities by convincing us that we have more to fear from each other than from a racist, xenophobic, misogynist, and heterosexist society." If blacks and gays are both oppressed, is the oppression the same? Well, yes, and no. By the time an African-American has arrived at work in the morning, she may well have confronted clear expressions of racism two or three times already. For gay and lesbian people, such an unpleasant journey to work is far less likely. We can choose when and where to be out. However, for the lesbian woman or gay man forced to "live a lie," the experience is disempowering, dishonest, and psychologically destructive. So, yes, there are clear differences, but both racism and heterosexism do fundamental damage to their victims. Because skin color is always visible and racism is omnipresent, many black lesbian women and gay men feel more comfortable among straight African-Americans than among white lesbians and gays. Soon after leaving the White House Boykin was invited to speak to a national gay organization. When he told them he had left the Administration and was writing a book on Black/Gay issues, and that this is what he would like to address, he was uninvited. The group didn't think Black/Gay issues were of sufficient interest to warrant their attention. There is indeed massive homophobia in African-American communities. However, in some recent surveys, there is evidence that this is less prevalent than in straight white America. The powerful tradition of the extended Black family means that individuals frequently are not "shut out" and isolated because of sexual orientation. However, they also aren't supposed to talk about it. There is considerable racism in the white gay community. Time after time he documents instances where white gay social gatherings, political groups, and individuals have shunned black individuals and issues. Frequently, white lesbians and gays do not feel called upon to enlist in the fight against racism. In fact, the causes are inseparably linked. Either we all have justice, or we don't. And unless white lesbians and gays can embrace racial justice as a critical issue, we will continue our fragmentation and weakness. We must forge and maintain active, working alliances. Throughout the book, he weaves his own memoirs, anecdotes from other black gay and lesbian leaders, and academics, to make an absolutely fascinating book. The reader discovers the beauty and truth of being Black and gay in America. It deserves all five stars. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Resource List This list is by no means comprehensive, but includes titles on racism and diversity, and anthologies from gay/lesbian communities of color. I invite you to add to it with your own recommendations and reviews; as space allows I'll list them in my bimonthly column in the *Update*. Send them to me by email at: LLL@igc.org or by post to 426 Fair Oaks, San Francisco CA 94110. Special thanks to Ralph Carter (the man to turn to for all your More Light Resource needs) and to Carla Gorrell and the National Capital Antiracism Team. The books and videos here are listed by title first for ease of use, though alphabetized by author. -- LLL. Books Dismantling Racism: the Continuing Challenge to White America, Joseph R. Barndt, Augsburg, 1991. Our Racist Legacy: Will the Church Resolve the Conflict, Church in the World Series, Volume 9, Ivan Beals, Cross Cultural Publications/Crossroads, 1997. Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, Derick Bell, Basic Books, 1992. Entiendes: Queer Readings, Hispanic Writings, Emile Bergmann, Paul Julias Smith, ed., Duke University Press, 1995. One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America, Keith Boykin, Anchor Books, 1996. Killing the White Man's Indian: Re-inventing Native-Americans at the End of the 20th Century, Fergus M. Bordewich, Doubleday, 1996. Impact of Racism on White Americans, Benjamin Bowser, Ray Hunt, Eds., Sage (Newberry Park CA), 1981. The rage of a Privileged Class, Ellis Cose, Harper Collins, 1993. Racial Healing, Harlon Dalton, Doubleday, 1995. Infected Christianity: A study of Modern Racism, Alan Davies, McGill Queens University Press, 1988. Purging Racism from Christianity: Freedom and Purpose Through Identity, Jefferson Edwards Jr., Zondervan, 1996. Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory, Lomena Phi Essed, Sage, 1991. Troubling Biblical Waters: Race, Class and Family, Caine Hope Felder, Orbis, 1989. Living With Racism: the Black Middle class Experience,, Joe R. Feagin, Beacon, 1994. Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paolo Freire, Continuum, 1970. Two Nations: Black and White, Separate, Hostile and Unequal, Andrew Hacker, Ballantine, 1992. White Awareness: Handbook for Antiracism Training, Judith H. Katz, University of Oklahoma Press, 1978. James Baldwin (Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians), Randall K. Kennan and Martin B. Duberman, Young Adult Series, Chelsea House Paperbacks, 1994. Savage Inequality, Jonathan Kozol, Harper 1991. James Baldwin, A Biography, David Leeing, Knopf, 1994. Talking Black: Lesbians of African and Asian Descent Speak Out, Valerie Mason-John, ed., Casell Wellington House, 1995. All God's Children, Stephen L. McKenzie, Westminster John Knox Press, 1997. Afrekete: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Writing, Catherine E. McKinley, L. Joyce Delany, ed., Doubleday, 1995. Out in the World: Gay and Lesbian Life from Buenos Aires to Bangkok, Neal Miller, Vintage, 1992. Does Your Mamma Know: An Anthology of Black Lesbian Coming Out Stories, Lisa C. Moore, RedBone Press, 1997. Latin American Male Homosexualities, Stephen O. Murray, University of New Mexico Press, 1995. Queerly Classed, Susan Raffo, ed. South End Press, 1997. A Lotus of Another Color: An Unfolding of the South Asian Gay and Lesbian Experience, Rakesh Ratti, Alyson Publications, 1993. Deliver Us From Evil: Resisting Racial and Gender Oppression, James Newton Poling, Fortress Press, 1996. New Leadership For Women and Men: Building an Inclusive Organization, Michael Sommons, Gower Publishing Company, 1996. America's Original Sin: A Study Guide on White Racism, New Expanded Edition, Sojourners; (Ordering information, Write To: Sojourner's Resource Center, Box 29272, Washington D.C.). Puritan Race Virtue, Vice and Values: 1629-1820: Original Calvinist True Believers Enduring Faith and Ethics Race Claims, Joseph R. Washington Jr., Peter Lang, 1988. Race and Religion in Early 19th Century America: 1800-1850: Constitution, Conscience and Calvinist Compromise, (Studies in American Religion), Joseph R. Washington, Edwin Mellen Press, 1978. Race Matters, Cornell West, Vintage Books, 1994. Roots of Violence, Cornell West, Basic Books, 1997. Videos. "All God's Children", 26 Min., Produced by Woman Vision, 1996, $29.95, plus $10 shipping; order through Transit Media Film Library: 1.800.343.5540. "Journey of the Heart", 58 min., John Ankele and Ann Macksoud, 1992, $39.95; order through Ecufilm: 810 12th Avenue South, Nashville TN 27203, 1.800.251.4091. "You Can't Do It Alone: Fighting Racism", (recommended for youth and young adults), Commission of Multicultural Ministries, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; order through Distribution Services: 1.800.328.4640. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *. An Open Letter from African-American Leaders This is the text of an ad placed in the *Presbyterian Outlook* on March 9, 1998 by a group of concerned African-American clergy and laity. It is up to our church sessions (and to each of us as individuals) to respond to this statement expressing our gratitude and support. Letters may be sent to the Rev. Howard A. Bryant, Sr., H.R. of Newark Presbytery (175 North Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205) and/or Dr. Spencer Gibbs, Excutive Presbyter, New York City Presbytery (475 Riverside Dr., Suite 240, New York, NJ 10115) and copied to Clifton Kirkpatrick, the Stated Clerk of the PCUSA General Assembly (100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 50202-1396). Our response is crucial at this time, not only to express our thanks for their support, but to pledge our continued support and collaboration on issues of racial justice in our denomination. One concrete suggestion for more light and inclusive churches is to begin actively working on the possibility of hosting a local conference in your area before June 1999 on "the nature of the unity we seek in our diversity." Typos are mine, I apologize in advance. -- Donna Riley. But if any are left, they are mine! -- JDA. An Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from a Group of Concerned African-American Clergy and Laity Dear Brothers and Sisters: The occasion for this letter is the present crisis in the life and witness of our church, threatening our understanding of the Reformed tradition with respect to membership and leadership standards, sexuality, and professional ethics. Rancor, name- calling, recrimination, and self-righteousness have so far marked the discussion of these questions among Presbyterians. Today these bitter responses, so contrary to the spirit and letter of Reformed theology and ethics, threaten to tear apart this church of which we, though unjustly treated, have been loyal and critical members since the founding of the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia 190 years ago. It is out of our own historic struggle against Christian prejudice and discrimination, and our distinctive experience of the providence of God through Jesus Christ, as Liberator, that we boldly make this urgent testimony of concern and challenge. Our Concern for Justice In this century many Reformed Christians, particularly in South Africa, Latin America, and several areas of the Third World, have made social justice for long-suffering racial/ethnic groups and women the highest priority of the Church's mission. In our own country Black Presbyterians, from the earliest decades of the 19th century to these closing years of the 20th, have led our church in justice action on behalf of people who have been objects of scorn, disenfranchisement, and marginalization in the church and society because of race, class, culture, gender and stigmas that some attach to anyone who diverges from what others consider the God-given norm. We find it a sad irony that some Presbyterians would adopt legalistic strategies of those who oppose the remedial measure of affirmative action, the reform of unjust criminal justice codes, and the development of a more compassionate system of public welfare. These Presbyterians, by using a strict and inflexible interpretation of biblical texts and the constitution of the Church, seek to establish a hierarchy of sins by which they can single out and exclude other sisters and brothers from participation as full members of our Church (Romans 3:21-23). The modern creeds and constitutions of the Reformed family of churches are open rather than closed interpretations of Scripture and tradition. They focus upon the grace and mercy of God through Christ. They discourage every form of extremism, calling upon each of us to accept, as Christ did, those who have been despised and cast out. They ask us to strive for mutual respect and harmony with those who may disagree with us, and to renounce personal defamation and humiliation as weapons of Christian debate. Our Concern for Love and Understanding Because God through Christ loves us, as unlovable as we are, we are bound to love others (I John 4:19), even those whose sincere ethical choices, opinions, and behavior may be different from our own. Whatever may have been the case in 16th century Geneva and Edinburgh, moderation and civility, not recrimination, are marks of the Reformed tradition today. More than ever before we understand our wrestling to be not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12) that are able to apply sanctions on behalf of or against both scientific knowledge and Christian moral judgments in ways with which previous generations did not have to deal. In the confusion of norms and values the greatest gift that each of us has to give or receive is love. The greatest expressions of love, as we know it in Christ, are empathy, compassion, understanding, and "standing with," as Christ did, those who are rejected by the scribes and Pharisees. African-American Presbyterians and other racial/ethnic groups in our church have suffered for years from the absence of such qualities and expressions of Christian agape. We know the pain of separation, disparagement, and discrimination. We cannot be neutral in the atmosphere of hostility which currently seems to focus on those whose opinions, actions, sexual orientations, or self- understandings may not be conventional or sanctioned by many. Love demands that we accept and respect each other in Christ, and set aside self-righteous scorn and ridicule, political wrangling, and ecclesiastical terrorism. Only so can we come to the table of sisterhood and brotherhood and strive for understanding and mutuality in order that our true mission, which is to proclaim and demonstrate the good news about Christ, may be advanced in our church and around the world. Our Concern for Unity John Calvin wrote: "The Lord has bound [hu]mankind together in a certain unity." That unity is modeled in the unity of the Church of Christ. That unity is also concrete and functional. An ecumenical statement, "Toward a Common Expression of Faith: A Black North American Perspective," issued by an ecumenical conference of African-American theologians on December 15, 1984, declared: Unity is frequently confused with "Anglo-conformity" -- strict adherence to premises and perspectives based upon the world view and ethos of the North Atlantic Community, with its history of racial oppression. Christian unity is, however, based upon the worship of a common Creator who is no respecter of persons ... whose commandment to break every yoke is not abrogated by the gracious justification of sinners [by Christ, but] the sharing of whose suffering and ordeal makes us truly one, though of many races and cultures. As African-American Presbyterians, we refuse to spiritualize Christian unity with pious words about how much "we love sinners, but hate their sin," and how much we accept those different from ourselves even as we effectively shut them out of fellowship, church offices, and ministries. We know what it is like to have our voice silenced in the congregations and courts of the church. In the dark days of 1904-1906, we were sacrificed in order that a false unity could be joined through the merger of the Cumberland branch and the Northern branch of American Presbyterianism. The latter acquiesced, over our protests, to racially segregated presbyteries and synods. Christian unity is more than a spiritual reality. It is also a concrete, visible, and ethical reality in which we demonstrate the unity of the Triune God by accommodation, incorporation, and loving adhesion in and to each other by divine grace, love and forgiveness (Romans 14:10-12). A Challenge to Sessions, Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assembly The time is late, but it is still possible, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to save our church from self-destruction and disunity as we enter the new century. We, therefore, challenge the 210th General Assembly (1998) to address the theological and ethical issues in the current crisis by providing for the convening of a special conference on "The Nature of the Unity We Seek in our Diversity," to be held within six months following the adjournment of the 120th General Assembly (1998). We further recommend that: (1) the conference include persons who represent the broad diversity and pluralism of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) at this point in time; (2) the discussion focus on an informed analysis of the modern history of ecclesiastical conflicts within the Reformed tradition and their resolution; the nature of and need for justice in church and society; the meaning of the love and grace of Jesus Christ in Reformed theology; and the values and contributions of our various diversities in light of the unity already given to us; and (3) the report from this conference, with accompanying documents, be prayerfully received by the 211th General Assembly (1999) as advisory and ministerial counsel for all members and congregations. We also call upon sessions, presbyteries, synods, and theological institutions to consider seriously undertaking similar conferences prior to the of the 211th General Assembly (1999). List of Signers in Support of the Presbyterian Unity Statement: Rev. Howard A. Bryant, Sr., H.R., Newark Presbytery, NJ; Dr. Spencer Gibbs, EP New York City Presbytery; Ms. Blanche Steele, Elder, Washington, DC; Dr. Reginald Hawkins, Pastor, Charlotte, NC; Ms. Ethelyn Hammond, Elder, Washington, DC; Dr. Raymond Worseley, Pastor, Charlotte, NC; Rev. Daniel Hennigan, Pastor, Charlotte, NC; Rev. Greg Busby, Pastor, Charlotte, NC; Willie E. Davis, Elder, Charlotte, NC; Rev. Dr. Cameron Byrd, President, Rainmaker Ministries, Inc., Washington, DC; Ms. Jacquelyn Moore, Elder, Washington, DC; Henry George, Elder, Washington, DC; Rev. Bryant George, Parish Associate, NY Ave. Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC; Rev. Roland Gordon, Pastor, San Francisco Presbytery; Rev. Claude Kilgore, H.R., San Francisco Presbytery; Dr. J. Oscar McCloud, Associate Pastor, New York, NY; Rev. James Reese, H.R., Cherry Hill, NJ; Rev. Dr. George Brooks, H.R., Phoenix, AZ; Rev. Dr. Curtis Jones, Baltimore Presbytery; Rev. Leon Fanniel, H.R., Pacific Presbytery; Dr. Thelma Adair, Presbytery of NY; Rev. Dr. Debra Mullen, Chicago, IL; Dr. Gayraud Wilmore, H.R., Greater Atlanta Presbytery; Mrs. Virginia Toliver Dowsing; Rev. Karen Brown, Baltimore Presbytery. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Reflections of a Person with AIDS by Daniel L. Stoepker Yesterday (May 17, 1998) I had the opportunity to share part of my story at the metro Detroit "15th International AIDS Candlelight Memorial and Mobilization" service. I am involved with the Detroit PLGC group and since our meeting is the third Sunday of every month at 5:00 p.m., the same date and time as the AIDS service, this was our May Meeting. I was ordained as an elder at Westminster Church of Detroit (A Church for All People), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), on November 16, 1997 and am chairperson of the marketing/publicity committee. I also teach Church School for 2nd and 3rd graders, and love it. I am on the Detroit Presbytery homosexuality task force and worked with Rev. Jim Beates to organize a five day weekend with Chris Glaser last spring. I am on the board of directors of AIDS Partnership Michigan, the first AIDS service organization in Michigan, and the advisory council of AIDS Interfaith Network (Detroit). I am currently 100 percent disabled because of AIDS but expect this will be changing soon. Reflections of a Person with AIDS 15th annual International AIDS Candlelight Memorial Service, May 17, 1998, Plymouth United Church of Christ, Detroit Good afternoon! My name is Dan Stoepker. I am a Christian, a father, an ordained Presbyterian Elder and a gay man with AIDS. I am a very "OUT" person about all of these and have the freedom of nothing to hide. I am a very involved person, and I like to think of myself as a bit of an activist, very outspoken about what I believe in. I am a survivor. All of this is why I jumped at the chance to share a little of my story with you in hopes that you will be encouraged and also have HOPE. I was diagnosed HIV+ in the summer of 1986, almost 12 years ago. The usual response to this is "12 years? And you're still alive?" Some people say it with their mouths, the rest say it with their eyes. In 1986 life expectancy for HIV/AIDS was 2-3 years. AZT was not even invented yet. I have always strived to live a healthy life style and I knew, with the help of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, I could beat those predictions. A couple weeks after I was tested, my partner and spouse, Brad Kosko also tested positive. At the time my children Jennifer and Jeremy were 11 and 10 years old and their mother, Barbie, also had a life threatening illness, advanced Multiple Sclerosis. So here are these two children, Wonderful and Marvelous, with both parents having short life expectancies. Well I decided if I could just make it till they graduated from High School they could make it on their own, but that was eight years away. I have been very blessed with a great group of doctors, nurses, receptionists, researchers, etc. at Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and Wayne State University Medical School, who love and care for me and are determined to not let this one get away. BUT ... more than this I have the most fabulous, giving, loving, caring, hugging, emphasis on hugging, supportive birth family on the face of the earth. Also gobs of friends who just won't quit and the super people at Westminster Church of Detroit, "a church for ALL people," my other families. I made it to 1991, the 5 year mark, and they said people might live 5 years. June 1992 daughter Jennifer graduated from High School. In January 1993 I ended up in the hospital for a week. My T-4 count had dropped below 200 so officially, I had AIDS. It turned out I had a mild case of asthma, I was fine and as healthy as ever. Could I keep it that way 18 more months, 'til Jer's graduation? Sadly in October 1993 Brad began a six month battle with one AIDS related illness after another. On April 6, 1994 he was reunited with his mother in Heaven. My immune system also had become quite impaired. On Friday April 29, 23 days after Brad's death I had a couple dizzy spells at work but recovered. That evening my sister Ruth, Jennifer and I went to a movie and then dinner to celebrate Ruth's birthday. I felt so ill at the restaurant that I was laying down in the booth. Jennifer had to drive home. I ended up in Harper Hospital, where they specialize in treating AIDS patients. Everything was double and spinning and I couldn't walk more the 2 steps without falling. No one knew what was wrong. I must have seen 40 doctors, sometimes 5 or 6 at a time, even doctors from John Hopkins in Cleveland. I know now they expected me to live 3 days, maybe 3 weeks. No one expected me to leave the hospital alive. But Jeremy's High School graduation was still six weeks away and remember that was my initial goal since 1986. I didn't know I was going to die. A biopsy revealed I had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the brain, brain cancer. Well ... my birth family, my friends and my Westminster family and praying people around the world decided I was not going to die! DMC started radiation therapy. Droves of people called and came to see me, sometimes I'd have eleven visitors at once. Because of my vision problems I asked everyone to sit at or below eye level and all on one side of the room. Imagine friends over the age of 60 sitting on the floor so they could visit. My brother Dave and family drove over from Kalamazoo on Saturday. I was thrilled, did they know I was dying? Brother Tim and family came too. Nephew Peter, age 5, asked me if I had AIDS. "Yes, I do Peter." His sister, Marta, age 7, "You're not going to die are you uncle Dan? Cuz we've lost too many uncles already" -- meaning Brad who they loved dearly. "No, Marta, I'm not going to die!" Ruth came almost every day and my parents came from out of town. Sadly I had to miss church the Sunday my Dad preached at Westminster, but I heard the tape. In three weeks I was out of the Hospital! ALIVE! and Barbie and I were both at Jeremy's graduation on June 10, 1994. We were both in wheelchairs but WE WERE THERE. This is where you say AMEN! THANK YOU JESUS!! The cancer is gone and I've recovered from most of its effects. I even was able to resume unlimited driving last July. Jennifer graduated from Alma College in 1996 and married the also wonderful Mike Jura that summer. Both are science teachers in small towns north of Cadillac. Jeremy had the opportunity to spend his junior year of college '96-97 in Scotland, but before he would decide to go he asked me to promise I would not die while he was gone. This was an especially difficult decision because I was still coping with my brain cancer recovery. Hesitantly and fearfully I sincerely promised. For those of you who are HIV negative you have 800-1200 T-4 cells per test unit of blood. These are the white blood cells that fight disease. My T-4 count had gone to my all-time low of 21 in October 1995. On September 18, 1996 Jeremy was to leave for Scotland at 7 o'clock that evening, but at 10 in the morning my research nurse called, my T-4 count was now the highest it had been in 4 years, it was 234! We screamed, and hugged and cried. The year in Scotland would be fabulous ..., and it was. And now, as of 15 days ago, Jeremy is a graduate of Hope College. After a year off from school and much working and studying for the M-CAT, he plans to enter Med-School next fall. Now they say we might live 10 years or longer, and with the new drugs we don't even think much about dying anymore. My T-4 count is 324 and my Viral Load is 35,000, which isn't horrible but could be better, but compared to 592,200 in August 1995, I shouldn't complain. These medications are helping us move toward a long term maintenance recovery and work better for some than others, but it's too soon for long term results. Unfortunately they are so expensive, $10 to $25,000 dollars a year. Many, even in the United States, cannot afford them. Fortunately when my prescription insurance ran out last year I was able to qualify for the government Drug Assistance Program. Someone was quoted in the *New York Times*, "If the cure for AIDS was one clean glass of water, most people in the world today would not have access to treatment." Estimates put the number of HIV+ people at 30 million world wide. Please encourage government officials and researchers and the people of America to increase their support. As I was flying back from Florida a few days ago a conversation with my seat-mate revolved around my having AIDS and my faith. This happened on the way down. Not much of a surprise, especially since I was finishing a book about the Sermon on the Mount and reading a magazine about AIDS. She asked if I had ever tried alternative therapies. I said, "does that include prayer?" She said "yes." I explained why prayer was a critical component to my being alive today. In closing I just want to say thank you to all of you for your prayers and for helping to pay for my medication. Isn't it good to know someone who benefits from your tax dollars? Quoted in the Gospel of John, chapter 15, verse 11, Jesus spoke in reference to His love for us, and I share His thought, "I tell you all this that my joy may be yours, and your joy may be complete." Thank you for helping to keep me alive and positively fabulous. And especially Praise to God, Jesus Christ our Savior and the Holy Spirit within us all. Amen. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Call to Covenant Community March 1998 Dear Friends, In the midst of this Lenten season, our hearts are heavy for our beloved church. Last year's General Assembly offered Amendment A to the church in a spirit of unity and compromise. The resultant debate and vote have demonstrated again our deep differences. We now find ourselves in a desert of anxiety over how to live together as one church. Many, we know, wish this debate had never been engaged. It may be that the arena in which the church chose to continue the discussion of ordination standards -- the constitutional amendment process -- was not the best venue. Clearly, however, the conversation must continue. Amendment A has been defeated; but questions of the meaning of discipleship and ordination, the role and use of Scripture and the confessions in our lives, and the face our church presents to a broken world are subjects with which our church is not yet finished. Acknowledging that a substantial majority of presbyteries voted against the Amendment, we nonetheless point out that almost half -- 46% as we write - of all the minister and elder commissioners in presbytery meetings voted for Amendment A. While we are grateful for the civility and respect shown in many presbyteries in the debate on Amendment A, we fear for the unity of the church when we hear threats of enforcement, or invitations simply to leave the church we love and have served faithfully. As pastors, we recognize the tremendous challenges these issues present to our congregations and officers. The impact of G- 6.0106b will be felt most strongly at the local level. We hear from all across the country deep pastoral concern about trying to live with a constitutional provision that would exclude so many longtime leaders from service in the church if rigidly applied and enforced. The Executive and National Committees of the Covenant Network have met to discuss the meaning of the vote's outcome, and to form a response to suggest to the many Presbyterians who supported Amendment A. The result of our prayerful consideration is the Call to Covenant Community. This Call to Covenant Community expresses a vision of a church that hopes to be, as our *Book of Order* says, "the provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity" (G- 3.0200). We believe God intends the church to be inclusive, to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ seriously, and to follow where the Holy Spirit leads. We are confident that in time God's church will come to reflect God's grace. Like all of you, as faithful Presbyterians we rejoice in our church's historic mission and witness. The Covenant Community we envision arises from the heart of that tradition, and is offered in that spirit. Please consider joining us in this effort to help our church move together into the future God holds for us, by signing the Call to Covenant Community as an individual or as a governing body of the church. And as we all proceed together on our journey, let us all pray for the healing of the Presbyterian Church (USA). In Christ's service, Robert W. Bohl,Pastor, Village Presbyterian Church, Prairie Village, KS & Moderator, 206th General Assembly; John M. Buchanan, Pastor, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL & Moderator, 208th General Assembly. A Call to Covenant Community As disciples of Jesus Christ and members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), in reliance on the promise of God's grace, we make the following affirmations about our faith and our church: We affirm faith in Jesus Christ who proclaimed the reign of God by preaching good news to the poor, binding up the broken-hearted and calling all to repent and believe the good news. It is Christ whose life and ministry forms and disciplines all we say and do. The church we seek to strengthen is built upon the hospitality of Jesus, who said, "Whoever comes to me I will not cast out." The good news of the gospel is that all -- those who are near and those who were far off -- are invited; all are members of the household and citizens of the realm of God. No one has a claim on this invitation and none of us becomes worthy, even by sincere effort to live according to God's will. Grateful for our own inclusion, we carry out the mission of the church to extend God's hospitality to a broken and fearful and lonely world. The people of God are called to be "light to the nations." As God's people, we have a commission rather than a privilege. We believe that the place of the church is in the world and for the world: living the good news, proclaiming grace, working with others for justice, freedom and peace. Thus Christian faith has an inevitable public and political dimension. Because we believe that God is at work in culture and community beyond the church, the church need not be afraid to look and listen for God's voice from outside its own sphere. The words of scripture provide life and nourishment; as the psalmist says, they are desirable, delicious, sweet. The Bible is the evidence of God's long, patient and persistent relationship with communities and persons of faith. It is the one true, reliable witness to God's self-giving in Jesus Christ. The process of discerning God's Word in the words of scripture depends on the faithful reading of the Bible by those who seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are committed to the ongoing task of finding in scripture God's call to live out the Christian life in our day and time. We embrace gifts of scholarship, research and dialogue as we seek to understand the Bible's relevance to the ever-changing needs of the world and to circumstances which scripture does not explicitly address. We seek the gift of unity among all who confess the name of Jesus Christ as Lord. Unity is Christ's prayer for those who would follow him, "so that the world might believe." We hope to maintain communion fellowship with all whose lives are guided by the Christian creeds and by the confessions of Reformed faith. We pledge to strengthen our ties to those who are at risk of being excluded by recent legislative actions of our church. We also want to live in unity with those whose views are different from ours. Because nothing in life or death can separate us from God's love, we pray that the issues before us will not separate us from one another. Covenant Statement Therefore we covenant together to: 1. welcome, in the name of Christ, all whom God calls into community and leadership in God's church; 2. reach out in solidarity and compassion to all who are wounded or excluded by recent legislative actions of our church; 3. continue to be faithful to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), supporting its mission in Christ's name to God's world; 4. reaffirm our denomination's historic understanding that "God alone is Lord of the conscience" (G-1.0301) both for ourselves and for those with whom we disagree; 5. trust sessions and presbyteries to ordain those called by God, through the voice of the church, who are "persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord" and whose "manner of life demonstrates the Christian gospel in the church and the world" (G-6.0106a); 6. seek pastoral and theological solutions to division in the church; 7. maintain dialogue, study, and prayer in the spirit of Christ with those with whom we differ, seeking to understand the deeper roots of our disagreements; 8. seek God's will for the Church through the presence of Christ, the study of scripture, the guidance of our historic confessions, and the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit; 9. encourage officers and governing bodies of the church to join us in this covenant. As we covenant together in Christ, we commit ourselves to encourage one another through prayer, counsel, and mutual support, through times of challenge, controversy, and hope. * * * We invite your affirmation of the Call to Covenant Community and its Covenant Statement. Please send a statement of your affirmation, with information about yourself, or, if you are a session or a congregation, an agency, or an organization or chapter of an organization, information about your group to: Covenant Network of Presbyterians Administrative Office c/o Calvary Presbyterian Church, 2515 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA 94115, 415-351-2196, fax 415-351-2198, www.covenantnetwork.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Excluded from Service We print this sad story of exclusion and denegration with thanks to and the permission of the *Los Angeles Times*. -- JDA 27 February 1998. This was in this morning's Los Angeles Times. It's important to know that the term "witchhunt" is neither too strong nor hyperbole in the PCUSA. -- HeySonnie (Sonnie Swenston) Gay Presbyterian Minister Quits After Being 'Outed' By JOHN DART, Times Staff Writer A popular clergyman recently found guilty of homosexual misconduct by a church court resigned Thursday from the Presbyterian Church, a denomination sharply divided over how to deal with gay ministers. Associate Pastor Joseph M. McGowan, in a letter this week to members of Chatsworth's St. Stephen Presbyterian Church, said he was quitting the ministry after "the most difficult year in my life" since a charge "relating to my being gay was brought against me" in March. McGowan said he had been "outed," but did not say by whom. Only two months earlier, about 300 of St. Stephen's 400 members had surprised McGowan with a $4,000 gift at a party to thank him for creative leadership during a two-year period when the church was without a senior pastor. McGowan, 39, joined St. Stephen's staff in 1989. "He was one of the best pastors I've met in some time," said the Rev. Dan Clark, pastor of North Hollywood Presbyterian Church. "My word to the fundamentalists is: 'You got what you wanted.'" Clark is a vocal opponent of what he called homophobic church- wide measures now close to shutting the door on gay and lesbian clergy in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the 3.6-million- member [i.e. 2.6 million!] denomination based in Louisville, Ky. A fidelity and chastity amendment to the denomination's constitution, adopted early last year, permitted charges to be brought against any unmarried minister not living a celibate life. But delegates to the Presbyterian General Assembly in June proposed a modified, alternative amendment that would seem to allow for monogamous gay unions. However, the Presbytery of San Fernando, based in Panorama City, voted 76-29 on Tuesday against the alternative amendment. And as of Thursday, the alternative amendment was losing 44-27 in nationwide voting by more than 170 presbyteries, or regional units -- a trend that observers said is likely to make the stricter fidelity and chastity requirements permanent. St. Stephen's Senior Pastor John F. Payne, in a letter to congregants, wrote that he disagreed with the local verdict against "our beloved Joe" and with current Presbyterian law pertaining to gay and lesbian clergy, but that he was helpless to protect McGowan. To allay rumors, Payne also wrote: "Joe was brought up on charges of sexual misconduct with a consenting adult who has no connection to either our congregation or our Presbytery," the regional body of San Fernando Valley-area Presbyterian churches. McGowan did not answer telephoned requests for comment. "Out of consideration to the congregation," Payne said Thursday, he would not comment further. Copies of Payne's and McGowan's letters were obtained by *The Times* from another source. The Rev. Gary Dennis, senior pastor of the large La Canada Presbyterian Church, said he has supported measures to tighten rules on clergy sex. "I don't see how you can ask members of congregations to be moral if you don't require pastors, elders and deacons to meet the same standards," said Dennis, adding that he believes most Presbyterians want to put an end to the decades-long debates over sexuality issues. Jan Sperry, a ranking official at the 31-church Presbytery of San Fernando, said it would be inappropriate for her to comment because "no action has been reported to the presbytery." In the intricate, closed-door process of dealing with allegations against Presbyterian ministers, always identified in documents and at hearings as "Clergy X" for privacy reasons, an investigating committee turns over any "chargeable offenses" to the presbytery's Permanent Judicial Commission. The local commission ruled against McGowan last month. Under Presbyterian law, "it is impossible for Joe to remain" an ordained minister in the denomination, Payne wrote. Two congregants, Vincent and Jan Dyer of Chatsworth, said they were "stunned beyond rational comprehension that the Permanent Judicial Commission continues to exist and promote beliefs that have their basis in medieval thought." In his letter to church members, McGowan said, "I have been challenged all my adult life to live with the fact that God created me with a sexual orientation that is different from most of yours." He noted that he never acted as an advocate for gay rights. "Being 'outed' and having this information about me come to light has been both a horrible experience and yet a very freeing experience," he said. Rather than wait for the church court to announce its judgment, he said he decided to remove himself from the Presbyterian ministry on Thursday. Formal presbytery action may not come until a March 24 meeting. "I will be exploring other denominations where I can use my gifts in ministry," McGowan wrote. One denomination that has accepted gay and lesbian clergy trained in other denominations is the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a worldwide gay-oriented denomination based in West Hollywood. Clark, the North Hollywood pastor, contended that two major issues are at stake: First, the potential suspicion surrounding unmarried ministers -- heterosexual or gay, widowed or divorced -- and second, the possibility for sexually straying married ministers to undergo therapy during suspension, then return to active ministry. That option, he said, was impossible for clergy found guilty of homosexual conduct. "The [Presbyterian] church is so rabidly homophobic," Clark said, "that it sees anything associated with homosexual behavior as completely evil and immoral." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MORE LIGHT UPDATE: Special Supplement on the 210th G.A. CONTENTS: 210th General Assembly: No Sabbatical A Letter from Charlotte, from our Co-Moderators Jim's GA Journal, with Commentary, by Jim Anderson PLGC's Celebration Witnessing and Worshipping Lots of Booths in the Exhibition Hall Our Annual Meeting General Assembly Action Accountability for Special Organizations Amendment B: Authoritative Interpretation The Nature of the Unity We Seek in Our Diversity Fraudulent Confession Sexual Purity Tarred and Feathered New Co-Moderator for MLCN More Light Churches Conference: Support, Hope And Challenge 210th General Assembly: No Sabbatical A Letter from Charlotte June 21, 1998 Dear PLGC Supporters, Greets from the 1998 General Assembly in Charlotte, North Carolina! As this 210th General Assembly concludes its work, we want to report to you on some of the highs and lows of the week. While the outcome of this Assembly is mixed, in general terms, our expectations were exceeded. First, the good news: **Our church is NOT going on sabbatical.** Despite the "Call for Sabbatical" issued by a variety of church leaders this spring, it is clear, thanks to *our* presence in Charlotte, that our church will not abandon the conversation around sexuality and ordination any time soon. The variety of sexuality-related issues before this Assembly -- including a proposal to delete "Amendment B" from the *Book of Order* (which was defeated by only five votes in committee) -- were all openly considered and acted upon. **Hate crimes against our community were deplored.** The Assembly adopted an important resolution which specifically condemns violence directed at our community within the larger society. **Discrimination on the basis of a person's membership in a class or category is now clearly banned.** Seeking to clarify some of the ambiguity around "Amendment B," the Assembly adopted by a significant majority this authoritative interpretation to the church's constitution: "Standing in the tradition of breaking down the barriers erected to exclude people based on their condition such as age, race, class, gender and sexual orientation, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) commits itself not to exclude anyone categorically in considering those called to ordained service in the church but to consider the lives and behaviors of candidates as individuals." We see this as a modest but important move to help our church focus on the unique personhood of each individual called to leadership in our church. This new constitutional interpretation ends the widespread practice of overtly discriminating against groups or classes of persons such as single people or members of our community for simply being gay or lesbian ... a small but important step in the right direction! **The major low points of this Assembly included attacks on women in our church* by replacing a highly respected female leader with a more conservative nominee, attempts at compromising our church's historic pro choice commitment, and proposals to de-fund the National Network of Presbyterian College Women. While some of the more draconian proposals were thwarted thanks to the able leadership of our PLGC strategists, it is clear that the Presbyterian right wing is growing in strength and sophistication in its ability to set the General Assembly's agenda. **One more high point of the 210th General Assembly**: PLGC voted unanimously at its Annual Meeting to merge with the More Light Churches Network. By January 1, we will become **MORE LIGHT PRESBYTERIANS**. We've raised $51,000 towards our $60,000 goal to hire a full time Executive Director in January, and we believe this merger will help us in the long term to be more effective in organizing the grassroots and keeping alive our vision of Christ's love for all at the national level. The PLGC and MLCN Boards of Directors will merge for a one-year transition period. During that time, we will consolidate and integrate our two organizations and develop a cohesive national strategy for future work. A new Board and set of bylaws will be sent to the members of PLGC and MLCN next spring for a vote. You'll hear more details about our merger plans later this fall. As we look to broadening our movement for an inclusive and just Presbyterian Church through **More Light Presbyterians**, we need your help now more than ever. We simply cannot give our beloved church over to those who would turn the clock back. Your prayers, your continued hard work, and your financial support for our efforts are critical as we make real the divine call "to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God." -- Faithfully Yours, Scott Anderson, Rev. Laurene Lafontaine, Co- Moderators. P.S. Your $50 tax-deductible gift to PLGC will help us meet our goal of staffing **More Light Presbyterians** by the first of the year!!! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jim's GA Journal, with Commentary by Jim Anderson PLGC's Celebration More Light Presbyterians gathered to celebrate the coming era of reconciliation Saturday night. We don't know exactly when that long-sought era will begin, but we know that God is yearning for it along with us and all marginalized peoples. We began our celebration right after the election of Douglas W. Oldenburg as moderator of the 210 General Assembly. Most of us felt he was the most supportive of the three candidates, so even though we were not particularly happy with some of his positions, or his call for a sabbatical on our issues, we were pleased with his election. I think he did a great job managing the parliamentary jockeying of the Assembly. Later in the week, he graciously welcomed our leaders to a private meeting where lines of communication were established. Our celebration featured rousing talks by two of our most influential and enduring leaders, the Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr, lesbian evangelist and leader of That All May Freely Serve, whose call to the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY, was thwarted by a high church court decision banning her, and all others like her, from installation to any ordained office, and Chris Glaser, long-time *Update* columnist, current editor of the ecumenical journal for welcoming congregations *Open Hands*, workshop leader and pastor who served on the original homosexuality task force and whose call to ordination has been ever since denied by the church. Later in the evening, these two champions received the PLGC Inclusive Church Award. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Witnessing and Worshipping Sunday morning, More Light Presbyterians were out in force to witness to an inclusive church, using home-made signs created by MLP folks the day before. Officials of the Charlotte Coliseum would have had a fit on Pentecost. They were quite strict in enforcing various ordinances governing "picketing," dictating exactly where we could stand (with no more than 10 people in each group and each group 15 feet apart). Rumor had it that they even wanted to arrest us, but we were protected by General Assembly staff who understand the nature of Christian witnessing. Later, after everyone relaxed a little, we were able to gather on the front steps of the coliseum to sing a few songs and hymns. Most worshipers were quite friendly in their greetings, and we got lots of press coverage, including a great picture in the Monday morning *Charlotte Observer.* Sunday afternoon we gathered for a special PLGC service of worship. We were blessed by some of the best music ever experienced at a PLGC worship. (Thanks, Victor Floyd, for that most moving solo, and Patrick Evans, for leading the opening music!) The Rev. Kathleen Buckley (PLGC's coordinator for bisexual concerns) and her partner Susan Kramer (former PLGC co- moderator) gave us a dialogue sermon exploring the meaning of our movement in our lives, emphasizing the different ways in that momentous events strike each of us. "It was different for me," was their refrain as each described in impact of each major victory or defeat of recent years. Co-moderator Scott Anderson dedicated our offering to funding our new full-time executive director, and generous worshipers provided nearly $4,000 for this effort. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Lots of Booths in the Exhibition Hall For the first time, PLGC got a double booth, so we had lots of room to display materials and welcome folks. But even better than that, we were surrounded by other More Light Presbyterians, with new booths for Presbyterian Parents of Lesbians and Gays and the Shower of Stoles, in addition to the More Light Churches Network. Of course our old friends, the Witherspoon Society, Voices of Sophia, Semper Reformanda, and others, were there too, but not in our immediate neighborhood as in previous years. Instead, we got to rub shoulders with the so-called ex-gay advocates One by One, the Presbyterian Lay Committee, Presbyterians Pro-Life, Presbyterians for Renewal, and similar groups who mostly just wish we would disappear (or shut up, or change!). Many thanks to the faithful volunteers who staffed the PLGC, MLCN, Shower of Stoles, and Parents booths. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our Annual Meeting Tuesday night, at our annual meeting, the major focus was a discussion of the proposed merger of PLGC and the More Light Churches Network to form More Light Presbyterians. The formal motions were approved unanimously. For convenience, PLGC will be dissolved at the end of the this year and the bylaws of the More Light Churches Network will be revised to reflect our new joint structure. The new board of 15 members will include 6 representatives of More Light congregations plus 9 members elected by the personal membership. During the transition period, the two existing boards will operate as a single board. Assets will be merged by the end of this year as well. The four co-moderators (Scott Anderson and Laurene Lafontaine for PLGC and Dick Lundy and Mitzi Henderson for MLCN) will serve as the transition steering team. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * General Assembly Action From Sunday evening through Tuesday evening, our volunteers were busy monitoring committees and offering testimony. On Wednesday, the assembly reconvened in plenary session to consider committee recommendations. Highlights were mentioned in our opening letter from Scott and Laurene. Here are some more details. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Accountability for Special Organizations For two years, a Special Committee on Relationships of Accountability has been working on a plan to re-establish formal relationships between the General Assembly and the plethora of special organizations, such as PLGC. The plan they came up with was supported by a wide spectrum of folks, including General Assembly stated clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick, but both the Committee on General Assembly Procedures and the full Assembly turned it down flat. So our informal relationships will continue. Opponents said it was too expensive, that it would open the church to legal liability (despite assurances from the chief church lawyer that this would not be the case), and that "bad" organizations would receive a "stamp of approval." Of course, which special organizations are "bad" depends on whom you ask, but PLGC and other inclusive groups were in the minds of many opponents. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Amendment B The only business directly related to Amendment B was the overture from the Presbyterian of Milwaukee advocating that Amendment B simply be deleted from the constitution. This proposal was defeated in the Committee on Church Orders and Ministry, but it got surprisingly strong support, with 21 in favor versus 26 against. Forty-two members of the committee voted to affirm (and the Assembly agreed) that "It is our hope that dialogue can, will, and must continue on this topic." This was the committee that then proceeded to craft the very important authoritative interpretation of Amendment B (G-6.0106) as well as G-4.0403, which addresses the church's commitment to inclusiveness and diversity. (The text of the interpretation was quoted in Scott and Laurene's letter above.) I regard this as the single most important act of this General Assembly -- of possibly major impact on our cause. Authoritative interpretations are binding on all governing bodies of the church. The phrase "such as" means that NO category may be used to exclude from consideration of individuals for ordained service, including such famous categories as "self-avowed practicing homosexual persons." Persons in all such categories must be considered on the basis of their "lives and behaviors ... as individuals," not as members of a group. It will be interesting to see how the church courts (the permanent judicial commissions) will interpret this authoritative interpretation. This authoritative interpretation just might become a very useful antidote, for the time being, against Amendment B witch hunts (which have already begun -- see the sad story of Joseph McGowan's "Exclusion from Service" on page 22 of this *Update*). To use my own situation as an example, I have been married to a wonderful man for 27 years, so I guess I have had lots of practice as a "self-avowed practicing homosexual." As we all know, the church refuses to honor this faithful and loving relationship and Amendment B insists that I am "single." But I don't mind using the church's language to claim "chastity" in my "singleness," based on the dictionary definition of that term: "1. not indulging in unlawful sexual activity; virtuous: said especially of women [!]. 2. not indecent; modest. 3. restrained and simple in style; not ornate; not extreme" -- *Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language*, College Edition, c1966. As to the Confessions, we know that there is no mention of homosexuality anywhere in the *Book of Confessions* except in the recent fraudulently translated version of the Heidelberg Catechism (see below!). In this context, according to this new authoritative interpretation, the fact that I fall in any particular category becomes immaterial. I cannot be barred from consideration because of my proud (self-avowed) membership in any category. The ordaining body must now take a look at me as an individual, and make their own judgment as to *my* qualifications, *my* life, and *my* behavior. It appears that the Presbyterian Forum, a group dedicated to the exclusion of lesbian and gay Presbyterians from ordained office, agrees with this interpretation. In their efforts to defeat the authoritative interpretation, they said in their GA briefing paper: "A 'new' authoritative interpretation supersedes and replaces all previous authoritative interpretations -- in short, it becomes the authoritative interpretation. Is this really intended to replace the 1993 Authoritative Interpretation? [The one that cemented the 1978 "definitive guidance" into concrete! - - JDA.] Passage of this "authoritative interpretation" means that "sexual orientation" may become a class that factors into the calculations on representation; in other words, a certain percentage of homosexually oriented individuals will be mandated for every committee. Is that the intention of the committee? **This authoritative interpretation would subvert what the church has already and consistently decided. The people in the church will think that the 210th General Assembly (1998) gutted G- 6.0106b without going to the Presbyteries. It WILL BE perceived that way no matter how we try to explain otherwise." So let us celebrate this authoritative interpretation and use it for all its worth! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Nature of the Unity We Seek in Our Diversity This same Committee on Church Orders and Ministers approved (and the Assembly concurred with) the call from African American leaders for a special conference on "The Nature of the Unity We Seek in the Our Diversity," to be convened within 6 months of the Assembly. See this call by our African American leaders on pages 17-18 of this *Update.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fraudulent Confession For the second year in a row, the Assembly refused to deal with a fraudulent translation of the Heidelberg Catechism. The translators of the version currently included in the PCUSA *Book of Confessions* inserted a reference to "homosexuality," when there was no such reference in the original German or Latin. (As we all know, this term wasn't even invented until the 19th century!) This is an important detail now that ordained officers must repent of all sins identified in the *Book of Confessions* according to Amendment B. For all the details, see the July-August 1997 *Update*, p. 14, and the January-February 1997 *Update*, p. 5-6. Both this year and last year, the Assembly committee voted in favor of dealing with this serious error, but the Assembly turned it down. We can't help but wonder about the sincerity of those who insist that ordained officers "lead a life ... in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church" (Amendment B), when they don't care about the accuracy of the PCUSA versions of these historic standards. I trust this issue will keep coming back to the assembly until it is fixed! The current translation was selected for our *Book of Confessions* in 1965. Princeton Seminary Professor Emeritus Ed Dowey, chair of the Special Committee that selected the translation, now acknowledges that both he and the committee as a whole were "guilty of negligence" -- "there should have been thorough editorial work on all the documents," but because of time pressures the committee settled for some brief spot-checking of the translation. The change to question 87 was not spotted. In Professor Dowey's words, he is "dumbfounded that such careful scholars as [Leonard J.] Trinterud, [George S.] Hendry, [James D.] Smart, et al., failed to discover the illicit change." [This paragraph is based on a briefing paper prepared for the assembly. -- JDA] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Sexual Purity Despite the call for a sexual sabbatical by several leaders, there was lots of talk about sex at the assembly. One example was two overtures calling for "families and congregations ... to communicate to our children and youth a clear message of sexual purity ...." The Assembly Committee on Health and Educational Issues agreed by only 2 votes (26 to 24). A minority report from the Committee raised strong questions about this "vague and undefined phrase," suggesting that it be replaced with "sexual responsibility." But the Assembly preferred "purity" over "responsibility" by the very close vote of 51% to 49% (the Youth Advisory Delegates voted 52% in favor of responsibility!). Subsequently, the Assembly approved this "purity" overture by a vote of 63%. (As an aside relating to this "vague and undefined phrase," "responsible sex" and "sexual responsibility" share a close relationship, but I'm not sure about the relationship between "sexual purity" and "pure sex"!) -- PS -- this aside is NOT going into the printed *Update*! -- JDA. In an earlier sex episode on the floor of the Assembly, the commissioners defeated by one single vote (!) efforts by a minority from the Assembly Committee on Christian Education and Curriculum Publishing to insert a hard-line preface into the guide for congregations and parents in the new *Human Sexuality Curriculum for Young Children*. The proposed preface was filled with quotes contrasting comments from the guide and statements from the Bible and the *Book of Confessions.* Here's just one example: From the *Guide to Congregations,* page 37: "Should teenagers have sexual intercourse before marriage? We believe it is best to postpone intercourse until marriage. If a teenage couple decides to have a sexual relationship, they have the responsibility to use effective contraception." From 1 Cor. 6:13: "The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tarred and Feathered The lowest point of the Assembly was a commissioners' resolution, submitted by only two commissioners, that tarred and feathered the National Network of Presbyterian College Women as pro-gay and anti-Christ. Here are some quotes from the resolution: "Whereas, the NNPCW curriculum (*Young Women Speak: Issues for Study by College Women*) ... teaches "that loving members of the same sex is neither more nor less moral nor [sic] sinful than loving members of the opposite sex" (p. 22); teaches that homosexual behavior is normal and natural (p. 22); advocates becoming involved in the work of Presbyterians for Lesbian and Gay Concerns [heaven forbid!], an organization that actively works to overturn the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (p. 24); advocates holding a Bible study on the issue of homosexuality using the study document, *Human Sexuality: Keeping Body and Soul Together* which was rejected by the 203rd General Assembly (1991) [but only as policy, NOT as a study document! -- JDA] (p. 24); ... intentionally demeans the policy of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) relative to the ordination of homosexuals (p. 49) .... [etc., etc.!]" Based on this diatribe, the Assembly voted to cut off funding and sponsorship immediately. This abrupt action galvanized members of the Network and their allies. Friday night just before final adjournment for the evening, at the invitation of the moderator of the Assembly, they had a short, dignified, peaceful witness, in which we gladly participated. We all held hands around the body of commissioners and sang a Network song, prefaced by eloquent testimony from a Network leader. The conservative vice-moderator of the Assembly was so touched by all this (and by subsequent testimony by several commissioners following the witness) that he moved to reconsider the earlier action, and, surprise, surprise, the Assembly agreed. The next morning, at the very last session of the Assembly, the commissioners voted to restore funding and refer the whole matter to a special committee. The debate was not kind or friendly! So, over all, the assembly was touch-and-go. But all things considered, I think the disciples of the inclusive Christ made a little headway, especially with the new Authoritative Interpretation. Let's use it for all its worth! -- Jim Anderson * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Co-Moderator for MLCN After many years of faithful and creative leadership, Virginia West Davidson has retired as Co-Moderator of the More Light Churches Network. The new Co-Moderator is Mitzi Henderson, 16 Sunset Lane, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6732, 650-854-2598, fax -4177, email MHenderson@pcusa.org Sonnie Swenston has also retired from her post on the MLCN leadership team. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * More Light Churches Conference Offered Support, Hope And Challenge We borrow this report, with thanks form the Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church (Chicago) *Update* for June 1998. The More Light Churches Conference was held at the McKinley Presbyterian Church in Champaign, Illinois on May 22-24. The atmosphere was a positive one of mutual support and a willingness to continue the struggle for justice in our denomination for lesbian and gay Presbyterians. The keynote speaker, Beverly Harrison, of Union Seminary in New York, noted that hope arises out of the bonds of friendship forged in the solidarity of the struggle for justice. The good news is that there are eight new More Light Churches in the last year since the 1997 conference, plus the addition of two Presbyterian fellowships, one college chapter and one church identifying itself as an inclusive church. Thus there are now 95 communities in the More Light Movement. The many attendees from non-more-light churches showed the great potential of yet more growth in this movement. The potentially disturbing news was that several big-name Presbyterians have met with Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick and have proposed that the denomination take a "sabbatical" from legislative and judicial actions concerning sexual orientation issues. However, amidst strong applause, one of the, leaders of the More Light Conference declared that the More Light movement would not go on sabbatical! After all, can justice go on sabbatical? Will God stop calling gay and lesbian persons to service? Yes, there was discouragement about the state of the church, but there was also agreement that progress is being made. For example, 46% of the commissioners across the country voted in favor of Amendment A, which is a huge shift in voting patterns from 20 years ago. We were reminded that it took 42 years to gain ordination for women and there are still 200 Presbyterian churches today that will not ordain women as officers. The conference leaders noted that a lot of resources in the More Light movement have been directed at bringing about change through General Assemblies. This top-down approach has not been particularly fruitful. The emphasis now is on more grassroots organizing and building coalitions from the bottom up throughout the denomination. The leaders of the More Light Churches Network (MLCN) and Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns (PLGC) have proposed a merger. The new organization would be known as "More Light Presbyterians," certainly a less unwieldy name than either of its Predecessors! The representatives of the MLCN at this conference voted unanimously to approve the merger. Now we await the vote of the membership of PLGC, which will meet at General Assembly in a few weeks. [PLGC joined the MLCN in unanimous support for the merger! -- JDA] One of the highlights of the Conference was the dedication of a new stained glass window at the McKinley Church in honor of gays and lesbians and their struggle for justice. In a future issue we hope to obtain a photo of this amazing window to share with you. [And so does the *More Light Update*!] Next year's conference will be in Oklahoma City! Mark your calendars now for May 21-23, 1999. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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: Scott_Anderson.parti@ecunet.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, 724-475-3285, email: robcum@toolcity.net TREASURER: Lew Myrick, Kitzmiller Rd., RR 1 Box 1049-A, Brodbecks, PA 17329-9713, 717-229-0547, LEMyrick@aol.com 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 LIAISON FOR 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): Lindsay (Lin) Thompson, P.O. Box 2631, Seattle, WA 98111-2631, 206-505-7878 wk, fax 206-505- 7880, LThomp6394@aol.com; Richard Gibson, 4700 228th St., SW, Mount Lake Terrace, WA 98043, 206-778-7227. 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; Rev. L. Dean Hay, 200 N. 15th St., #3, Murphysboro, IL 62966, phone 618-687-5203. 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, 716-663-6632. 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- 0362, 404-373-5830, JimEarhart@juno.com; Laurie Kraus, 5275 Sunset Dr., Miami, FL 33143, 305-666-8586 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND HAWAII: Tony De La Rosa -- see Exec. board. 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 55405, 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: Mitzi Henderson, co-moderator, 16 Sunset Lane, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6732, 650-854-2598, fax -4177, email MHenderson@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 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: rcarter@rpa.net 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 5, May-June 1998. 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), DeWitt House 206, 185 College Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901. 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 6-28-98