This is an electronic reproduction of The Voice of Integrity, the quarterly publication of Integrity, Inc., the lesbian and gay justice ministry of the Episcopal Church. All materials except those reproduced from other sources are copyrighted by Integrity, Inc. You may reproduce all original material herein if you state "Reproduced from the Winter, 1993 issue of The Voice of Integrity, the quarterly publication of Integrity, Inc., the lesbian and gay justice ministry of the Episcopal Church." Material may not appear exactly as published since some changes were made after the document was transferred to desk top publishing format. We encourage you to join Integrity. We encourage non- Episcopalians and non-lesgay persons to join. If you are a lesbian or gay Episcopalian and don't belong to Integrity, you're benefitting from all our work and we hope you'll strongly consider helping us by joining. Individual annual membership $25, Couple's annual membership $40, Low income/student/sr. citizen $10. Please mail check or money order to Integrity, Inc., P.O. Box 19561, Washington, DC 20036-0561. ********** TABLE OF CONTENTS Letters To The Editor The Archbishop of Canterbury And The Laity: Two Views The Tragedy Of Wally Frey Blessing Blow-up In Baltimore Integrity/Brooklyn Makes Sure Murderer Of A Member Gets Maximum Sentence Dialogue In Tennessee Bishop Haines Of Washington Faces Dissent At Home Dialogue In The Lion's Den Nun's Letters Have Pierced Prison Walls A Non-Blessing Disrupts Michigan Episcopal AIDS Coalition Focuses On Second Decade Of The Epidemic Claudia's Column Not Everything Is Getting Better: "The Living Church" in 1975 and 1992 Book Review: "Embracing The Chaos" Are We Too Radical Or Too Conservative?4 MCC Rejected By National Council: Episcopal Repercussions Statement Of The President and Board of Integrity, Inc. The Presiding Bishop Responds PB Writes To NCCCUSA Resolution For A Diocesan Convention Lesbian/Gay Religious Leaders Meet In Midst Of National Council of Churches A Prayer The Presbyterians Do It Again CD Review List Of Integrity Chapters and Chapters-In-Formation EURRR Needs Money Again Round Up The Usual Targets: Integrity and The PB Proposed Amendments To The Bylaws Of Integrity, Inc. & BALLOT President's Page Integrity Of The Desert Lights A Candle ******************** Winter 1993 *The Voice of Integrity* Volume 3, Number 1 Published by Integrity, Inc. P.O. Box 19561 Washington, D.C. 20036-0561 Telephone 718-720-3054 Bruce Garner, President Edgar Kim Byham, Publisher R. Scott Helsel, Editor Contributing Editors: Claudia Windal, Louie Crew Paul Woodrum Blair McFadden, Layout Dorothy Gunn, Production Editorial Office: 201-868-2485 PO Box 5202; NYC, NY 10185 Member Episcopal Communicators and Gay Lesbian Press Association copyright 1993 ******************** WANTED: EDUCATION RESOURCE COORDINATOR Integrity is looking for an individual to serve as Education Resource Coordinator for the National Board and for the chapters. This person would inventory, store and ship as needed the various educational resources which Integrity has available. This would not be a Board level position, but might involve attending certain Board meetings. It is anticipated that the role would evolve into developing additional educational materials and programs. For further information or to express interest in this position, please write to Bruce Garner, President - Integrity, Inc., P.O. Box 1151, Atlanta, GA 30301 (no phone calls, please). ******************** LETTERS TO THE EDITOR *Bishop Benitez Writes* October 13, 1992 The Editor "The Voice" Dear Editor, The [Fall] edition of your publication contained an article by Dr. Louie Crew, attributing to me in a conversation with Dean Walter H. Taylor of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, statements that I never made. I purportedly suggested to Dean Taylor that it was inappropriate for him to attend the Integrity meeting which took place in Houston during July. I can assure you that I never made any such statement, nor would I make any statement to Dean Taylor or to any of the clergy of the Diocese of Texas in such a way. I have far too much respect for each of them, and I expect each of them to decide such matters according to his or her conscience. On the contrary, when Dean Taylor informed me that he felt inclined to attend the conference, I said "Fine; that's fine by me," and we passed on to other matters. You may if you wish verify what I said with Dean Taylor. He knows that I fully respect his decision, as well as those of the several other clergy of the Diocese of Texas who chose to attend the meeting. Last spring I made the only statement I have made about the Integrity meeting, in a clear and open letter to the Diocese of Texas, which stated that I, as a matter of conscience, had decided not to participate, as I did not wish to support in any way the political goals of Integrity, with which I do not agree. I informed the Diocese that the Presiding Bishop had decided to attend and would be doing so and that I respected the decision that he made in conscience, even as I presume that he respected my decision not to attend. The media contacted me several times, trying to get me to say more on the subject, in a perverse way desiring me in some way to be critical of the Presiding Bishop. I declined to make any comment, other than referring them to the same statement that I made last spring. Once again, I will say that I never suggested to anyone else, clergy or lay, what they should do regarding their attendance or participation. Dr. Crew is an honorable man, and I cannot imagine that he would knowingly make a false statement or fabricate a conversation in which anyone was involved, so I can only presume that someone misled him, for whatever reason I cannot imagine. I would ask in the future, if he desires to put quotes around some statement which I supposedly made, that he please verify the truth of that statement with me or with someone who was present in the conversation. We have enough controversy in the Church today, indeed all we need, over the things that we actually are saying and doing, without someone fanning the flames of further controversy by reporting things that we have not said or done. Faithfully, Maurice M. Benitez, D.D. Bishop of Texas *Louie Crew Responds* Bishop Benitez has misread what I wrote. Of course he did not tell Dean Taylor to stay away from Integrity's national convention. He had no need to say so: his example spoke for him. I reported instead how Bishop Benitez complained when the Cathedral newsletter invited people to attend the Integrity convention: Dean Taylor explained to Bishop Benitez that he is the dean, not the editor or censor of the newsletter, which is put together by more than 20 groups in the cathedral. "I respect you as a man of conviction," he told Bishop Benitez, "and I hope that you will understand that I too act out of conviction. It is in that spirit, not to spite you, that I will go to the Integrity convention..." I am glad that Bishop Benitez respects Dean Taylor. I do too. At our convention, he greeted us not only as the dean but also "on behalf of the people and the clergy of this diocese." With Bishop Benitez conspicuous by his absence, everyone present understood the importance of this salutation. Charles Thobae, editor of the "Texas Episcopalian" from 1955-1980, concluded: "Benitez's action can only be construed as a snub -- an act of inhospitality, or in the modern exegetical sense, the sin of Sodom" ("The Houston Post," July 18). Dean Taylor's courage brings much too much good news to remain suppressed. I heard about it all over the patio after the Presiding Bishop's sermon. I doubt that Jesus called up the priest and the Levite before he told the story of the Good Samaritan. *LESGAYS or GAYLES* Dear Scott: I have noted with interest -- perhaps even a bit of amusement, the appearance within the Integrity dialect of English the word "lesgay." I presume it means "lesbian and gay" (or, perhaps, gay and lesbian?) I am intrigued by the use of "lesgay" rather than "gayles." The former is preferred if one adopts the principle, "Ladies before Gentlemen: -- except that many lesbians do not appear to view themselves as "Ladies." It appears to me that, otherwise, the latter has some advantages. It is more easily pronounced. The "sg" combination of the former is sort of difficult. It is even possible to pronounce "gayles" as a single syllable! And, it offers the possibility of an ultimate mutation to "gala," should the term develop wider usage than the Integrity dialect -- perhaps, even, in "The New York Times"! Faithfully, John L. Prather, PhD Yonkers, NY *Are Some Things Best Left In The Closet? Dear Scott, I'm not sure who makes the decision to publish the arrest stories of Episcopal clergy in The Voice, but I find the practice repugnant and certainly lacking in taste. Is there some prurient interest in this? Why do we need to note outings, be they voluntary or involuntary, by arrest or accusation or court decisions or suspension? Is the point to hold these persons up for censure or prayer or ridicule or what? Almost the whole inside cover of the last edition was the reporting of Kim Byham parading the sins of the clergy before us. To what end? Will we also begin to note the arrests of any member of the Episcopal Church? Then Kim's task will surely be overwhelming and ubiquitous. I am so sad for these clerics, that they must act out in such furtive and clandestine ways. And I am sad for our Church and society that they force men and women into heterosexual relationships for which they are ill-suited and which are unfulfilling and untruthful and perfidious. Yours truly, [the Rev.] Walter Sherman Cincinnati, OH *The Editor Replies* Wally is right, it has been tough lately for clergymen. After reporting only three incidents of involuntary clergy outings due to arrest or diagnosis in 1990 and 1991 combined, we reported a total of seven in 1992 (though in one instance we reported the event but not the priest's name.) Another appears in this issue. Of the seven we reported in 1992, four were Episcopal clergymen, one an Australian Anglican and the others a Lutheran and a Roman Catholic. We also pray for these men, both those who have used their closets as snipers' nests and those who have not. Although the Lutheran and Roman Catholic we reported on were stridently anti- gay, the Anglican clergy reported were not. That made the decision all the harder. We hope readers will pray for these clergymen. It is not our intention to hold them up for censure or ridicule. I doubt that many if any Integrity members would do so; we understand the pain too clearly. In no case have we nor would we be the first to report such a story. All the cases we report have appeared elsewhere in the media. We have either reprinted articles exactly as they have appeared elsewhere or have expanded the stories with pertinent information. We, for example, were the only publication anywhere which reported that the "affair" which led to the suspension of the Rev. Graham Pulkingham occurred before and not during the marriage of his lover, an important factor in weighing the claim of the lover's former wife that Pulkingham ruined her marriage. If stories of involuntary outings of Episcopal lay people or clergywomen are as prominently reported in the media as these stories of clergymen have been, we will report them as well. We printed these stories because they are news, news of interest to our readers. Our goal is to be the journal of record with respect to lesgay issues in the Episcopal Church, which means having the integrity to print the bad news as well as the good. Thanks for writing, Wally. We welcome the opportunity to explain our editorial policy. ******************** SERGIUS AND BACCHUS ICONS Ordering information is as follows: Ss Sergios and Bacchus Icon #S195 Mail order to: Saint Isaac of Syria Skete Route 1, Box 168 Spring Valley Road Boscobel, Wisconsin 53805 Cost is $11.00 and includes shipping and handling. Visa/Mastercard is accepted. ******************** *THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY AND THE LAITY: TWO VIEWS* *View I by James Solheim* Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey brought a powerful word of encouragement to laity of the Episcopal Church in his first public speech during a 12-day visit to the United States. Speaking to about 300 lay leaders at a consultation in Washington, D.C., sponsored by Trinity Parish of Wall Street, Carey said that "it is the lay members who are unquestionably those with the keenest perception of the needs of our world -- and they have insights which the clergy would do well to heed. They have countless opportunities to make Christ known in the world." Through the marvel of telecommunications, Carey's message was beamed by satellite to almost 6,000 Episcopalians gathered at 55 locations in 30 dioceses across the country. After his address, many participants asked questions to clarify the archbishop's position on the theme of the conference, "Values in Vocation: A Challenge for the Laity." Carey argued in his opening address that the church does not affirm the role of laity in the world and said that, once they cross the threshold of the parish, "lay people are given jobs or responsibilities that bear little resemblance to their undoubted gifts." That is tragic, Carey contended, because the church "loses out on the very resources God has provided for the church's well-being and growth." Yet Carey said the good news is that "lay people have been discovered," that "the church is waking up to the fact that its task is too big and too important to be left in the hands of the few -- especially the few whose training and experience is mismatched when set against many of the needs of today's world." Carey went on "to challenge a theology and a history which automatically assumes that the center of Christianity is the church rather than the world." He reminded his nationwide audience that "Christ came to bring us a kingdom, not a church," and that the church "has been and must always be a vehicle of mission to the world so that many may be initiated and come into the kingdom." Calling for a Copernican revolution that could include the "suspension of all normal church activities to enable a start from a wholly new perspective," Carey said that such a move would stimulate the church to look beyond survival as an institution to a role as "the church of Jesus Christ in his world." Such a radical rearrangement of the church's agenda means that the church would be concerned with helping its lay members in their "frontline" ministries in the world, he said. "If at the end of this radical rethinking, it is a more streamlined church that emerges, then I can promise you that such a church -- which has turned itself inside out -- will be a truly prophetic church," Carey added. The Archbishop called on lay leaders to "exercise a royal priesthood as Christians in the world," one that "takes our Christian humanity seriously," that takes the gifts of lay people seriously, but also takes prophetic witness seriously. "My conviction is that the church which is engaged with the world and its demands upon individuals and institutions will be able to support, encourage and equip not only those at the front line but also those who from time to time require first aid," Carey said. Empowering lay people for their ministry in the world will require a radical change in attitude, Carey continued, and an acceptance that "the local church and its structures must come second to the needs of those serving Christ in the world and the real needs of the communities in which we live." Responding to questions from Oregon, Texas, Illinois, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, Carey urged laity to "begin where you are." He told of reading in a parish bulletin that "the church is not bothered by change -- as long as it doesn't make any difference." Carey expressed his hopes that American laity would change the church and, through their unique ministry, also change the world. At a breakfast closing the conference, Carey stressed the partnership role of clergy and laity. Carey was joined by Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, who said that the key to lay ministry is "recovery of the power in the baptismal covenant." Browning said that the church makes a mistake "when it takes gifted laity and makes them clergy" because it denies the power of lay ministry in the world. In response to a question from Dr. Louie Crew, founder of the church's ministry with gay and lesbian Episcopalians, Carey admitted that he was still personally struggling with the church's attitude toward homosexuals. He said that he found some guidance in "the pattern of our Lord when he dealt with people on the fringe," noticing Christ's "ability to cross frontiers." Carey concluded that "the church of Jesus Christ is a church of blurred edges" and he looked forward to the day when "we can live with our differences." ----- James Solheim is the News Director for the "Episcopal News" Service, which provided this article. *View II by Louie Crew* The weekend after Labor Day, Bruce Garner, Kim Byham (Integrity's President and Director of Communication, respectively), and I attended as invited guests a Lay Leadership Conference in Washington, DC, featuring sessions with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Presiding Bishop; plus sessions led by lay persons Verna Dozier and Keith Miller. Trinity, Wall Street sponsored this conference and brought together some of the most famous lay Episcopalians, as they demonstrated in the Friday night telecast to 33 sites. When the ABC spoke, the cameras picked up people in the audience to illustrate many of his points. The ABC's main theme was the 'empowerment of the laity'; but unfortunately the only contact he had with the laity assembled was largely through canned questions. He won the biggest sigh of audible relief when he stressed that the Church must move beyond our divisions and 'issues.' That made me feel uncomfortable all the next day. I was pleased to have a private half hour as Ed and Louie in the PB's suite on Saturday afternoon, and in the early wrap-up with the ABC and the PB on Sunday morning, I did get to ask one question to the ABC in front of all assembled. I asked how I might help him as a lay priest college professor (his face lit up like a lamp) to ending the divisiveness that we both deplore (up the wattage again). "I speak as a one whose chief ministry is as a gay person in the lesbian and gay community," I said. His smile looked more like a cracked tile. "I am a Samaritan who wants not to be divisive as I tell about the amazing water given to me and my people by the first primate to visit. Please help me be a 'good' Samaritan." I pointed out that the PB himself [sitting right next to Dr. Carey] well understands the risks of people being turned into issues. He risked being called divisive when he visited Samaria this summer, to come deep into the heart of his native Texas to speak to us.... I pointed out that "Integrity has brought into or back into the Episcopal Church at least 20,000 persons, but that most people hear that as 'divisive,' not as good news. Even welcoming parishes often worry about whether they are getting 'too many.' I speak as a sinner saved by God's wondrous grace," I concluded. At least 15 people whom I did not know rushed to see me in the short time left afterwards to thank me for asking "the only good question of the entire weekend." Not surprisingly, most of these were women. Dr. and Mrs. Menninger were at my table and said not a mumbling word, nor did Dr. George Gallup at the next table. The ABC stumbled through his response and seemed aware that it wasn't playing well with anyone, and said that our church must be big enough for both of us while he takes time to study the issues.... I sat in pained silence. How can he learn if he fails to do his homework? His palace is flooded with sissies, yet they do not feel safe to come out to him. For four decades theologians have prepared the texts..... Holy Spirit, honey, can't you plow this ground a bit more. I'm even running out of seeds. ******************** *THE TRAGEDY OF WALLY FREY* *SEXUAL MISCONDUCT LEADS TO RESIGNATION* *OF VICE PRESIDENT OF HOUSE OF DEPUTIES* by James Solheim Bishop David B. Joslin of the Diocese of Central New York announced on October 5 the resignation from the ordained ministry of the Rev. Wallace A. Frey, a rector in the diocese who was elected vice president of the House of Deputies at the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix. In a letter to members of St. David's in DeWitt, which Frey served for 28 years, the bishop said that the action "was taken after it came to light that he has broken his ordination vows by being involved with sexual misconduct over a lengthy period of time with some male young adults and a teenager under his pastoral care." "I think the key issue is the violation of ordination vows and the breaking of pastoral trust," Joslin told reporters in Syracuse. "The critical thing was that we took action immediately." The diocesan standing committee officially "deposed" Frey following his resignation. At this point there are no formal charges pending in the case. In his letter to the parish, Joslin called attention to Frey's "extraordinary gifts" and his ministry at the local, diocesan and national levels of the church. "One of the spiritual challenges before us now is to help our minds and hearts learn how to acknowledge the present news in the context of his greatness," the bishop added. A deputy to the General Convention since 1970, Frey chaired the House of Deputies Committee on Ministry in Phoenix. He has chaired the Board for Theological Education and served as a member of the Executive Council, as vice-chair of the Standing Commission on World Mission and as trustee of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. *DIALOGUE ON SEXUALITY* Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning and Mrs. Pamela P. Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies, issued a statement expressing their distress. "Sexual abuse and the betrayal of pastoral trust cannot be tolerated within the clergy or among the lay leaders of the church," they said. Browning and Chinnis added that they "fully support" efforts by the diocese and the national church to "assist with the healing process for individual victims, for the congregation in which Mr. Frey served, and for him and his family." Frey, 55, is married and has two grown children. Chinnis said that it would be "an even deeper tragedy if this situation diverted our attention from the dialogue on sexuality at the local level mandated by General Convention." She said that "the church must press ahead with the process so that we can report to the 1994 General Convention in Indianapolis." Chinnis said that she did not expect that the news about Frey's resignation would have any significant impact on the process in the long run. "I know many of us were shaken by this news, but I don't believe it diminishes our need to confront all the complex issues surrounding sexuality." She said that she was confident that the church could "keep the larger picture in view" as it moved ahead with the dialogue. There are no canonical provisions for replacing a vice president of the House of Deputies. A successor to Frey will be elected at the 1994 General Convention in Indianapolis. ----- Anita Monsees, communications officer for the Diocese of Central New York, contributed to this article. *EXECUTIVE COUNCIL DEALS WITH `TRAGEDY IN THE FAMILY'* By James Solheim At its fall meeting in Melville, Long Island, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church took the entire opening plenary, November 10, to deal with what Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning called "a terrible tragedy in our community," the resignation of the Rev. Wallace Frey from the ministry because of sexual misconduct. *[Excerpts from the Presiding Bishops remarks to Council are reprinted elsewhere in this issue.]* Pamela Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies, said that she had been in touch with Frey and urged the council to "recognize and never forget all the marvelous gifts Wally Frey has given to this church of ours." Yet the church must make it clear that it cannot tolerate those who "misuse positions of trust and authority to engage in inappropriate sexual activities. Bishop Harold Hopkins of the Office of Pastoral Development said that while the problem is not new, "we now have ways of talking about these issues and how they can be dealt with." The issue, according to Hopkins, is not about clergy bashing or a new moralism but about "providing safe communities where people can come to be themselves, open and vulnerable -- especially with their clergy." The council broke into small groups, where they were able to deal with unresolved anger, feelings of betrayal and hopes for reconciliation. At the closing plenary, the council passed a resolution commending Bishop David Joslin of the Diocese of Central New York for his "sensitive pastoral leadership as he provided support for all involved in the tragedy" and for "creating a model for the church to follow where there have been allegations of clergy sexual misconduct and violations of the pastoral relationship." The resolution also recognized Frey's "contributions to our common life and commending him for his ongoing efforts to work toward recovery, rehabilitation and reconciliation." *MISCONDUCT CLAIMS ON THE RISE* The afternoon session brought more sobering news from Alan Blanchard of the Church Pension Group. A "precipitous" increase in claims for sexual misconduct has meant that insurance is paying out two dollars for every dollar collected in the last two years. Before 1983 there were no claims and there are already 31 this year. The escalation in claims is fueled by tremendous national interest and has meant that "cases are coming out of the woodwork," according to Blanchard. As a result, the Pension Group's board may not be able to provide unrestricted casualty coverage in the future. According to Blanchard, the board could decide that, beginning next July, it won't cover liabilities incurred through sexual misconduct without special riders, which coverage will be offered only for only those clergy who meet special conditions. *THE PRESIDING BISHOP REFLECTS ON THE TRAGEDY* *EXCERPTS FROM THE PRESIDING BISHOP'S ADDRESS TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, NOVEMBER 10, 1992* There has been a terrible tragedy in our community. I believe we would not be faithful to what it means to live in community were we simply to ignore this and go on as usual. Therefore, in consultation with Pam Chinnis, Don Nickerson and others I have decided that we will take some time at the beginning of this week together to do some sharing about Wally Frey. I want to do this not simply because of this individual, but because the particularities of this situation have in them some broader truths for us all. I want to place my remarks in the context of a quote from Donal Dorr in a marvelous book called "Spirituality and Justice." "The need for redemption is not confined to the world outside the church. The church's own institutional and community life is itself seriously marred by aberrations and distortions of the Kingdom values to which it is called to give witness. This is a source of embarrassment and shame -- but not of despair. For as Christians we believe that, though we are called to promote the Kingdom and witness to it, nevertheless the work is ultimately not ours but God's. Even our weakness and failure can be used by God: `For we know that in all things God works for good with those who love him.' (Romans 8:28)." "In all things God works for good with those who love him." My dear friends, I know that. You know that. We believe that. However...sometimes it is very difficult indeed to see just how God might work for good. The germ of good that will present itself is in deep disguise. I confess to you that the turns in the journey of Wally Frey present to me one of those times. *TIMES OF TESTING* The very sad story we are addressing this morning about Wally began to unfold for me during the meeting of the House of Bishops in Baltimore in mid-September when David Joslin, the bishop of Central New York, said that he needed some private time with me for a matter of some urgency. As we now know, David wanted to share with me the very tragic circumstances surrounding Wally Frey and his admission of sexual misconduct. As soon as David and I spoke, I knew we were in for some very heavy times. I also felt then, as I feel now, that these are testing times. I saw before us the potential for being called into our deepest sense of who we are as God's people. I also saw the risk of responding out of fear, or shame, and being less than who God would have us be. Pam and I have acted over these last months around this issue in an awareness that God is trying to work for good, and we are trying to be patient and faithful in that working out. You have heard the facts of the case, which can be stated rather simply. I repeat them now so we are all working from the same information. Wally Frey was involved in sexual misconduct with male young adults and also a teenager. The number known to Bishop Joslin is said to be fewer than 10 persons. These offenses took place over a lengthy period of time, and the persons involved were under Wally's pastoral care. He acknowledged this to Bishop Joslin. He subsequently resigned from his parish and was deposed from the priesthood. Bishop Joslin has handled this with fairness and the best good grace I can imagine with Wally and his family, with the victims, with the people of Wally's former parish and with the diocese. *A TIME OF HEALING* We are in a time of healing. It is the kind of healing that can only take place when a wound is completely uncovered and lanced -- rather than being allowed to fester. It is a time of healing, but we cannot gloss over the pain that has been, and the pain that will continue. I would share with you that Wally has recently completed three weeks of rehabilitation therapy at the McLean Institute in Massachusetts. Ahead lie the tasks of finding suitable employment, and his continued rehabilitation and recovery. In the parish where he served for 28 years, there is an ongoing struggle to come to grips with the situation. Sincere love and concern for Wally and Ginny are mixed with intense anger and feelings of trust betrayed. Parish leadership is working with Bishop Joslin and the diocesan staff to make plans for the future. The lay leaders running the annual stewardship drive are working hard against the odds. The victims and their families are engaged in a special spiritual challenge as they deal with their own injuries, their justifiable rage and the need to move to forgiveness without denying the reality of what has been done. Wally and his family, the parishioners and the victims and their families all need our prayers. May the redemption of which Donal Dorr spoke be experienced by all of them. These are not easy things to share, to talk about, for any of us. The first reason I think it is difficult is because we are talking about a human tragedy, a horrible tragedy in the life of someone who has sat at this table with us. Beyond that, it is difficult to talk about this because it is difficult to talk about anything having to do with sexual misconduct, and perhaps even more difficult for those who love our church to talk about clergy sexual misconduct, the abuse of power and a terrible misuse of the pastoral relationship. The fact that there was homosexuality involved in this case further complicates the matter. The issue of homosexuality is before our church right now, and I think it is fair to say that there is a great deal of energy all around it. I want to make a very strong point about this now. This particular case does involve homosexual behavior. But that is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about clergy sexual misconduct. That is what this case is all about. Sadly, priests of our church have also been deposed for sexual misconduct that was heterosexual in nature. We may be confident that had the victims in this case been female instead of male the offense would have been just as great and the church's disciplinary action would have been exactly the same. The reason I am making such a point is that members of the gay and lesbian community -- who are tired of being treated as issues anyway -- don't want their sexuality to be discussed in the same conversation with sexual misconduct and the abuse of the pastoral relationship. *THE SIGNS OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY* My dear friends, though it is true that the issue of sexual misconduct and an abuse of the pastoral relationship is something that we don't want to talk about, the particular tragedy of Wally Frey puts the issue squarely before us. First, because -- as I said -- he was one of our number. It is, of course, true that Wally's position as vice president of the House of Deputies gives the story a notoriety it would not otherwise have. I want to move now beyond the particulars to what seems to me to be the point for us to look at and struggle with together. It is my deep sense that how we live with issues of clergy sexual misconduct says a great deal about how we see ourselves as a Christian community. In dealing with a difficult issue, we have an opportunity to show forth the signs of Christian community. Perhaps, at best, we have an opportunity to give some glimpses of the Kingdom. The signs and glimpses are desperately needed by a society that seems without the guiding principles necessary for responsible decision making about sexual norms and behaviors, or for that matter, for responsible decision making about how we are to treat our fellow citizens. The moral discourse needed around the issues of sexuality is made difficult in a society that seems not to be possessed by love, but rather obsessed by sex. I believe that we, as a Christian community, have an opportunity and a responsibility to show the way. *WHOLENESS IN CHRIST* So, what then are the signs of Christian community? How do we see glimpses of the Kingdom? I believe we are living the values of the Kingdom when we truthfully look at what sin is all about, but don't forget what repentance means, or that it can be followed by redemption, and -- with God's grace -- forgiveness. Living in Christian community means that we understand the suffering that comes with unwellness, with a lack of wholeness. Living in Christian community means that we search, supporting one another, for wholeness in Christ. We do so acknowledging that the search is a lifelong task. My dear friends, with the work of those most closely involved and the prayers of many, I do believe we are working through this as God's people. We are viewing what has happened as a tragedy in the Body, not as a public relations crisis. We are also looking at it as a time to show forth, as a church, that "in all things God works for good with those who love him." All of the experience of my own life and ministry shows me that even our weakness, our failure, can be used by God. I call each of us and all of us to let this tragedy be used by God so that, even in this, God will work for good with us -- because we love him. *DR. CREW REFLECTS ON THE TRAGEDY* by Louie Crew This should never happen. Were a child of mine thus used, I would also want to ensure that the professional's peers took action to prevent this from happening again; and as a member of Diocesan Council in Newark, I have voted for stronger standards than some others prefer. I raise instead a different issue, one that cannot be resolved evenhandedly until several other factors are even. A female adolescent who sought out or consented to sex with a male adult would be treated as "normal" but "abused": society would consider that she had reached the age to consent by 16 and would hold her responsible unless force occurred after that age. Society feels males so vulnerable that their age to consent is 21 in many places, and even if they consent, in many places they are "consenting" to illegal behavior. That's what is referred to in Christopher Isherwood's phrase as "heterosexual dictatorship." We would lose some of our most respected priests and professors if we removed all those who at this moment post pictures in their offices of spouses whom they first met and fell in love with while those spouses were their students, ... and I for one don't want to drive out of my profession or my church those who have moved from infatuation with their students into life-long nurturing commitments with them. Given the dynamic by which most homosexual contact is driven to be clandestine, especially for the young, should we be surprised when many persons do not make fine distinctions about good and bad homosexual contact? Our church rarely makes such distinctions. Wally Frey and I are the same age, 55. He knew at ordination and before that society and the church would affirm his spiritual gifts only if he hid his homosexual identity. He married and begot two children. He obviously had pastoral talents or he would never have moved to the position of being elected vice-president of the House of Deputies. I tremble when I see many young gay people today move fiercely into the closet as they approach the awesome journey of answering clear vocations to ministry. I did not make the same choices, but I have not ever had a vocation to ministry with a collar. From that vantage, I tremble when I try to imagine the torment Wally must surely have faced in living with approval that never acknowledged who he is. I have taken abuse for three decades, fierce abuse. My male spouse of the last 19 years and I have had our house stoned, a cross burned in front of it; we have been driven from our home, denied jobs, mocked by clergy, denied the Peace, summoned for ecclesiastical discipline -- all for saying, "Jesus loves us, each a sinner, but a sinner redeemed by the grace of God." But I would rather take that abuse for 20, 30, 40 more years if need be, than to face the loneliness of never having been myself except in moments of quiet desperation with other immature adolescents. Right now our choices seem to have been much more blessed than poor Wally's. But only by God's grace to us in bringing us together and loving us through all the hate God's people have heaped on us -- not because of any merit we have that Wally lacks. If Wally could have "succeeded" as much as he did passing for straight, imagine what kind of whole and healthy gay male person he could be if he had ever been allowed to think of that option! ----- James Solheim is the News Director for "Episcopal News Service." The Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning will, God willing, be our Presiding Bishop through the end of 1997. Dr. Louie Crew is the founder of Integrity and an Associate Professor at Rutgers University. ******************** BLESSING BLOW-UP IN BALTIMORE by Kim Byham Controversy has been so intense surrounding the Episcopal blessing of a lesbian couple last summer in Baltimore that on October 28, the Rt. Rev. A. Theodore Eastman, Bishop of Maryland, wrote to every priest and Senior Warden under his jurisdiction, saying: "Because the Episcopal Church has made no official provision for the blessing of same-gender covenants, and because there is clearly no consensus locally or on the wider scene about the significance of these rites, I have directed the clergy of the Diocese of Maryland to refrain from such blessings." The ceremony that touched off months of heated theological debate about whether the Church should support same-sex couples was conducted on July 4 in Baltimore's Memorial Episcopal Church by the Rev. William W. Rich, who is a chaplain at Goucher College. Emphasizing that the ceremony he devised at the request of the women involved was not a wedding, Fr. Rich called it "the blessing of two people committed to each other." However, a local *ad hoc* lay group, Concerned Episcopalians, said, "In all respects, to any reasonable person, it looked and sounded like a wedding." Fr. Rich acknowledged sharp criticism by some clergy who believed the ceremony "mimicked" or "mocked" the marriage service. It included a procession up the aisle to organ music, was preceded the evening before by a rehearsal dinner and was followed by a reception in a Baltimore hotel. Issuing its own statement on October 29, the anti-gay group said Bishop Eastman's letter of the previous day was "a completely inadequate response to the scandal which occurred" and accused him of "evasiveness." Concerned Episcopalians said that his letter "makes it abundantly clear that [Bishop Eastman's] conception [of his] pastoral role as bishop ... is woefully flawed" and it called for Father Rich's removal "from the exercise of any priestly duties in this diocese." Fr. Rich told the "Baltimore Sun" that it was never his intention to stir up controversy. Although he still believes his pastoral concern for the women required him to perform such a ceremony and the church was the proper setting, he said he now realizes that a more private religious service in a home would have avoided needless wrangling. "Foment on the issue of same-gender marriages was part of the atmosphere within our church" when Fr. Rich first approached Bishop Eastman for advice, Concerned Episcopalians said in its statement, and the bishop "failed to take basic precautions to protect the use of consecrated space for unauthorized purposes and, in failing to do so, precipitated a scandal." Bishop Eastman recalled that Father Rich had asked him "about the possible blessing of a same-gender relationship" a full year before the July 4 ceremony. Both the bishop and the priest told the "Sun" that the ceremony that took place was at least partly the result of a misunderstanding. "I reminded him (in the summer of 1991)," Bishop Eastman said, "that the church makes no provision for such a rite, and said that the only authorized alternative would be the blessing of a home and those who dwell in it in "The Book of Occasional Services." Father Rich understood this to be a suggestion rather than a directive and, in consultation with the couple, eventually designed a special service to be held in the church as was their preference." The Rev. F. Lyman Farnham, Rector of the Memorial Church who was away at the time of the July service, authorized the use of the church for it and so informed his Vestry. The two women are active members of the parish. Father Rich described one as a friend of long standing. Neither is an Integrity member. Bishop Eastman told the "Sun" he was assured by the priest "that the liturgy in question was not in any sense intended to be a marriage as Christians understand that sacrament. It was meant to be a private event addressing personal, pastoral needs," the bishop added. "Neither the two women involved nor Fr. Rich desired to advance a cause or make a public statement of any kind." Although the controversy was widespread and of long-standing, it took considerable time to reach the media and the bulk of the diocese. For example, Brailsford Nixon, convener of Integrity/Baltimore, a large and vibrant chapter, was unaware that the event had occurred until she read about it in the newspapers several months later. The controversy among some elements in the diocese was so intense, however, that Bishop Eastman held two special clergy meetings on September 27 and October 20. Father Rich told the "Sun" that these closed meetings elicited "a wide variety of responses: the conservative, the liberal and those in the middle." The priest added, "All the letters and phone calls I have received have been supportive." Despite the ensuing specific and general discussions of samegender covenants, Bishop Eastman conceded, "We have just scratched the surface." He said his letter to the parishes is "the completion of the consultative process." It was approved unanimously by the Diocesan Council. "It is evident that there are strong convictions on all sides, a good deal of confusion about the meaning of non-sacramental blessings, and a desire among many to discuss the matter further," Bishop Eastman said in his letter. "What is happening here, of course, is being repeated in other dioceses of this church and in other denominations as well." Noting that several recent General Conventions of the Episcopal Church called upon all Episcopalians "to give life to the claim of homosexual persons upon the love, acceptance and pastoral care and concern of the church," the bishop promised that he would "continue to work with gays and lesbians and other members of the church to discern the mind of Christ as we seek for ways to strengthen the moral resolve and undergird the faithful commitments of all our people." ----- This article relied heavily on accounts by Frank P. L. Somerville in the "Baltimore Morning Sun." ******************** INTEGRITY/BROOKLYN MAKES SURE MURDERER OF A MEMBER GETS MAXIMUM SENTENCE by Kim Byham In what must be a first for an Integrity chapter, Integrity/Brooklyn played a pivotal role in the prosecution, conviction, and sentencing of the murderer of one its members. Integrity's contribution to the justice process was widely noted in the New York media. Philip Cooper, a graphic artist and poet, lived in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, a short ride from the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn Heights where Integrity meets. On November 5, 1991, Cooper was beaten and strangled to death in his apartment by Kevin Murray of Manhattan. Murray had previously been arrested 47 times and convicted 25 times on various charges. Initially the police were slow to react, and even after an arrest was made they declined to declare it a bias crime because both the victim and the assailant were believed to be gay. That was where Integrity/Brooklyn first became involved, working with Elizabeth Garro, the Brooklyn district attorney's liaison to the lesbian and gay community. "Integrity had pledged to monitor the progress of the Cooper case, and at least six people showed up in criminal court over the course of the three day trial," Garro told the local Brooklyn newspapers. After deliberating for over two hours on August 13, the jury found Murray guilty of second degree manslaughter with depraved indifference to life. The press reported: "Garro said there was relief and 'lots of tears' shared by friends and members of a local chapter of Integrity, a nation-wide gay rights group, when they learned the jury had found Kevin Murray guilty of killing Philip Cooper." "Every single person's life is valuable regardless of what society might say," said Seana Anderson, a founding member of Integrity/Brooklyn and close friend of Cooper. "The fact that it was not only manslaughter, but that it was with depraved indifference to human life, says you cannot do this." Garro told the press she thought a turning point came on the second day of the trial when a coroner testified Cooper was hit repeatedly before he died, not just three times as the defendant said earlier. Prosecutors and the medical examiner described a vicious, lengthy beating in which Cooper suffered bone and skull fractures, a broken nose and jaw, several broken ribs and a fractured neck. Prosecutors said Murray continued to beat Cooper relentlessly after he had crumpled to the ground. Although she was unsuccessful in getting the case reclassified as a bias incident, Garro said the crime had elements of bias. "The severity and violence of what he did to someone he only just met suggests there may have been bias. I don't think Mr. Murray was gay." Although he was expected to get the minimum sentence of 15 to 25 years, Murray was instead given the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Once again, Integrity was credited by the media with making the difference. "If this court ever in its life saw depravity, it was in this case," State Supreme Court Justice Gloria Goldstein said before sentencing on September 1, 1992. "In all its years, this court has never seen the extent of brutality that was demonstrated by the defendant." "New York Newsday" reported: "Members of the Brooklyn Heights chapter of Integrity filled the courtroom during the trial and sobbed as Goldstein handed down the stiff sentence." ******************** DIALOGUE IN TENNESSEE Integrity/Middle Tennessee was involved during the fall of 1992 in discussions of human sexuality throughout the Diocese of Tennessee, which covers the middle third of the state. At least three parishes in the diocese held dialogue programs: Christ Church, Nashville; Otey Parish, Sewanee; and Trinity Church, Clarksville. Christ Church held an eight-week series on Sunday mornings, addressing various aspects of human sexuality. This was followed by three Wednesday nights, which allowed for more in-depth discussion. Fred Ellis, Co-Convener of Integrity/Middle Tennessee, was on the planning group that worked with the Rector, the Rev. Tom Ward. The final Wednesday evening was devoted to the topic of homosexuality. Fred and four other Integrity members led a panel discussion, followed by a question and answer period. Otey Parish did a series of four Sunday mornings dealing with human sexuality, one of which dealt with homosexuality. Three of the chapters' board members led the adult Sunday School class in a discussion of this topic. In a follow-up letter, a member of the parish shared that the presentation had forced him to rethink opinions he had held on homosexuality for fifty years. It is encouraging to the chapter that parishes in the diocese are proceeding with the dialogue process while the diocese is simultaneously engaged in an exhaustive search process for a new bishop. ******************** 1993 Integrity Directory Available FREE to Members! In this issue of "The Voice" we include the names and addresses of all the Integrity chapters and chapters-in-formation. The 1993 Integrity Directory contains much additional information about the chapters: officers' names and phone numbers, meeting place and time, and date of certification. Also included is a complete list of Integrity, Inc. officers and committee members, their addresses and phone numbers. If you would like a copy, please send the form below (or a copy) to: Integrity Directory, P.O. Box 5202, New York, NY 10185-0043. Be sure to include your name and full address. Deadline for Requests: April 1, 1993 Sorry, absolutely no requests will be honored after this date! ******************** BISHOP HAINES OF WASHINGTON FACES DISSENT AT HOME by Laura Sessions Stepp, "Washington Post" Staff Writer When word leaked out that Washington's Episcopal bishop, Ronald H. Haines, was going to ordain a lesbian minister, one of Haines's key constituents worked the phone in the hope that others might change his mind. That constituent was his wife of 35 years, Mary Haines. As Episcopalians here prepare to elect Haines's assistant bishop tomorrow, another of his key constituents is campaigning for a candidate who opposes ordaining gay people. That constituent is his 24-year-old son, Josh. "All our family opposed the ordination" of Elizabeth Carl last year, Josh Haines said last week, "except maybe one." One of the six Haines children, another son, is gay. "We really gave Dad heat," Josh Haines said. "He listened to what we said, and we listened to what he said." Like the Haineses, the Episcopal Church is a family divided on the issue of homosexuality. Unlike most other Christian denominations -- which have rejected the ordination of gays or tabled the question -- Episcopalians are exercising their differences diocese by diocese, parish by parish. The resulting divisions tear at the lives of priests such as Carl, who is finishing her first year at the Church of the Epiphany near Metro Center, and congregations such as St. Patrick's, a Northwest Washington parish whose pastor has declared his sexual orientation after 13 years. "The Episcopal Church ordains more publicly than other churches, but we're paying a price for that kind of honesty," said James Solheim, news director for the Episcopal Church's national office. "Homosexuality is the most divisive issue since slavery, and I don't see any way out of it in the near future." Officially, the 2.4-million-member Episcopal Church discourages ordination of practicing homosexuals. But its canons are ambiguous enough that bishops have been performing such ordinations for years. Integrity, an Episcopalian gay-rights group, estimates that at least 50 priests known by their bishops to be gay have been ordained since 1977, more than in any other mainstream religious tradition. Meanwhile, parishioners who believe homosexual behavior defies scripture and destroys traditional family values are finding their own voice, and disagreements have erupted in a church that prizes decorum and compromise. The debate came to the Washington diocese -- 41,000 members in the District and Maryland -- last June. Carl, now 45, had graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1990, "chomping at the bit to get into a parish and preach," she said in an interview last week. She knew that her sexual orientation might prevent her ordination but, encouraged by priests in the diocese, did not hide it from the church committees that ultimately recommended her to Haines. Haines, then 55, wasn't sure what to do. When he left engineering and entered the priesthood in 1967, he did not believe homosexuals belonged in the priesthood. "It was a different world, and I was in a different place," he said. But in the years that followed, Haines raised a gay son and served on committees that considered candidates for the priesthood. "I saw ... the pain and the anguish that comes with secret-keeping," he said this week. Moreover, he had just been elected bishop of Washington, a racially and economically diverse jurisdiction where differences needed to be reconciled, in his opinion, rather than covered up. Haines said he prayed, reread church law and the Bible and concluded that a candidate's moral conduct was the important thing. "What I'm trying to look at is what is a wholesome example for the people of God," he said. "We've never fully defined it." He has said the fact that Carl had the same partner for many years weighed in her favor. The night before the ordination, Haines told his wife Mary what he was about to do. Mary Haines said she and Josh Haines then began talking to people on the telephone, urging them to pray for her husband. Homosexual behavior is "wrong, biblically speaking," Josh Haines said. The Bible says sex is appropriate only in marriage, and "if you have a society, you've got to have some rules," he said, particularly for clergy because they are role models. "I love my gay son just as much as I love my other kids," Mary Haines said. "We all belong in the church, but not necessarily in the ordained ministry." Bishop Haines said his gay son, who does not live in Washington, is aware that his sexuality has played a part in the controversy but prefers not to talk about it publicly. The church's presiding bishop, Edmond L. Browning, encouraged Haines to postpone the ordination until after the national church's convention last August. "But [Dad] said he had told [Carl] he would do it," Josh Haines said, adding that he respected his father for keeping his word and bringing the issue into the open. At the convention, several of Haines's colleagues recommended censuring him, a move that Mary Haines privately supported, according to her friends. The effort died when other bishops admitted that they had ordained gay clergy, "but the whole explosion hurt him," Josh Haines said. "There were hotheads on both sides." Diocesan leaders fielded complaints from parishioners. The Rev. Tracy Wilder, rector of Christ Church in Rockville, said several families left his church. St. Francis Church, a large parish in Potomac, withheld its annual contribution to the diocese, about $42,000. This spring, conservative Episcopalians placed the Rev. Ruth D. Urban of Troy, Pa., on the ballot for suffragan, or assistant bishop. At a candidates' forum last week, Urban said that homosexuals should be treated kindly, but that their behavior does not conform with the Genesis story of creation. God created "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve," she said. The audience applauded politely, except for a clergywoman sitting quietly in the back: Elizabeth Carl. She said afterward that she has had a "wonderful year" as associate rector at Epiphany but faces an uncertain future. Her sponsor at Epiphany, rector Edgar Romig, recently retired, and it is unclear whether a new rector will keep her on. Pam Chinnis, Epiphany's senior warden, the highest parish officer, said Carl has been accepted into the congregation with little fuss. Carl has a gentle pastoral style, Chinnis said, and preaches regularly. "She is not an advocate for any particular lifestyle," Chinnis said. Carl has shunned publicity. The Rev. Jim Steen, who told his congregation at St. Patrick's last fall that he is gay, has not. St. Patrick's, a 900-member parish in Northwest Washington's Foxhall neighborhood, was active in the '60s civil rights movement, championed the ordination of women, and in 1982 hired as an associate rector one of the diocese's first openly gay priests, the Rev. Jerry Anderson. But in February, several current and former parish officers told Steen that after 13 years as rector, it was time for him to leave. The parish was into its third year of deficit spending, they said, attendance was flat, and his domineering leadership was bothering members. Steen "had done all he could do," former warden Jane Battle said. "You can only tolerate going in the same direction for so long." A former St. Patrick's rector wrote to Steen, however, saying, "It is clear from the timing, the real problem is your sexual orientation." Steen agreed. Steen, a divorced father, had hidden his homosexuality for several years. Now he and his partner wanted to buy a house, and he was encouraged to be forthcoming by several parish officers, including David Beers, the senior warden and a lawyer who is counsel to Bishop Browning. Steen said it was good advice that backfired. Meanwhile, the parish has elected a new vestry that is largely supportive of Steen, but his critics have already taken their case to Haines. Haines said this week that he does not have the authority to move Steen summarily, and he has appointed a team of mediators in the hopes that Steen and St. Patrick's can be reconciled. Like Elizabeth Carl, Jim Steen faces an uncertain future if he leaves St. Patrick's. "Ironically, being in a committed relationship makes it more difficult," he said. Family fights often concern something unspoken, and at St. Patrick's, according to the new senior warden, Robert A. Andersen, Steen's critics are really concerned that newer members are assuming leadership roles. "It's really a question of power. The most dissident are old-timers indeed," he said. Andersen believes that if Steen stays, about 25 members may leave. ... Such disunity saddens Haines, who has held his own family together in their disagreement. "We've got to build community back and not exclude anyone," he said. "People talk about traditional values -- but whose values? I think the only values we can look at are the values of Jesus of Nazareth. You find Jesus going to folks on the fringe, who did not have a voice or any kind of power structure. I don't see Jesus drawing any kind of line in the sand and saying you must come in and you must stay out." ----- Copyright 1992 *The Washington Post*. This article appeared in the May 29, 1992 issue and is reprinted with permission. ******************** DIALOGUE IN THE LIONS' DEN by Fred Ellis On October 24, I served as Integrity's representative at a forum honoring the 75th Anniversary of "The Witness," the oldest and most eminent "left-wing, social-activist" publication in the Episcopal Church. What made the event remarkable was that it was held at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the epicenter of the Episcopal Church's "right-wing, evangelical" movement. The theme was the role of the Gospel and the authority of Scripture in Christian life. Following Morning Prayer, which included an inspiring homily by the Episcopal Church's leading lay theologian, Verna Dozier, there were five workshops. The two I attended were "The Authority of Scripture," led by Dozier, and "Sexuality, Feminism, and Faith," led by Mary Meader, a therapist completing her degree at Episcopal Divinity School (Trinity's polar opposite). The first was a moving experience with 80 of us sharing what the notion of "authority of Scripture" meant. Some said they had been hurt by the way this "authority" has been used, while others expressed belief in a literal reliance on Scripture. The second workshop focussed on feminism due to the interest of the group and time constraints. The day's highlight was an afternoon panel with an open question-and-answer session. Representing Trinity were its dean and president, Bishop William Frey, and the Rev. Mary Hays, assistant professor of pastoral theology and dean of students. "The Witness" was represented by Prof. Virginia Mollenkott, a prominent lesbian theologian, and the Rt. Rev. Chester Talton, Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles. The panel was moderated by Jeanie Wylie-Kellermann, editor and publisher of "The Witness." The panelists spoke with great passion and devastating honesty about how their theological positions had been formed. Major parts of the discussion centered on issues of sexuality and sexual orientation. Mollenkott decried the "us versus them" thinking and encouraged forum participants to "fight this duality, which is too often encouraged by churches." She asked the audience to understand her pain as someone who had been told by members of her church that the deepest, most meaningful and most sacred emotions in her life were evil. Hays described how the Holy Spirit had worked in her life, bringing her to Trinity as the only woman on the faculty, and her struggle with how she had been received. Bishop Talton related how his own spiritual journey, which has included many experiences of racial discrimination, led him to the conclusion that "God is engaged on the side of those who are locked out, those who are oppressed." Bishop Frey, who authored the unsuccessful anti-gay resolution at the 1991 General Convention, revealed that the Holy Spirit came into his life at a time when he had been expelled from Guatemala by the Guatemalan government while he was serving as bishop of that diocese, wrestling with a chemical addiction and attempting to hold together his marriage. After a friend helped him find a position as a college chaplain, the Holy Spirit intervened to heal him of his addictions and help him reach out to his family. I thank Dr. Mollenkott and Bishop Talton for the very positive comments and persuasive arguments they made on behalf of lesbian and gay people. Throughout the day there was dialogue between "*Witness* people" and "Trinity people." I had the opportunity to talk, one on one, with several Trinity students, and while we disagreed on a number of issues, we were able to talk and listen to each other. At the conclusion of the day, Wylie-Kellermann said that she was "delighted by the vitality of the day," and despite some tension and "excruciating moments when the divisions between us were raw," that she was "impressed by the commitment of the Trinity students and the seriousness with which they try to live out the Gospel." She added, however, that what struck her "most deeply was the need the students had for what I would call black- and-white answers." "It became clear to me, if not to some students, that members of both constituencies have deep and life-changing commitments to Scripture and to God," Wylie-Kellermann observed. "The actual divergence is not in the commitment but in the way each understands God's expectations." She concluded, "We met face to face, we spoke from our hearts, and we saw each other, if just for that moment, as children of God." That, to me, is what this period of dialogue is about. I truly believe that we must begin and end this journey at the point that we are all baptized into the one Lord, Jesus Christ, and through him brought to God. Each of us is joined together to make the whole work. Unless all of us, as children of God, work together, we shall surely all fail. ----- This article is derived in part from the report for the Episcopal News Service by David Willis, Editor of "The Chronicle," newspaper of the Diocese of Rochester. HOW OTHERS REACTED: The Rev. William R. Coats Writing in "The Voice" (Diocese of Newark), December, 1992: I expected fireworks; none occurred. The organizers were so nervous (the dean of Trinity had fasted), not knowing what to expect, they resorted to an old ploy: in the fear of the unknown exercise control. The conference was smothered by process. The conferees were to "listen to each other without judging." Whenever disagreement or argument threatened to break out, avoidance and diversion were employed. People stated their views but rarely exchanged comments. No one really grappled with the profound differences. Is it possible that what we share as Episcopalians is nothing more than terminal politeness? ... Perhaps for the organizers just getting through the day was victory enough. At any rate it was an ecclesiastical draw with neither side working up much of a sweat. Nan Cobbey Features Editor, writing in "Episcopal Life," December 1992: Each side listened and spoke from its heart but their fundamentally different views on everything from homosexuality to biblical interpretation caused, at times, a raw and awkward confrontation. Tensions built throughout the day and, at Trinity, continued afterward. "Reactions exploded Monday morning," according to graduate Julia Duin. "A student preached that the seminary's chapel has been made so spiritually toxic by the "Witness" conference that it should be reconsecrated." Frey, aware some students opposed his invitation to The Witness, responded that it had been, according to Duin. "That's blown way out of proportion," said Frey later. "We didn't have to reconsecrate anything. ...After the event several of us went and prayed through the buildings that the Spirit would continue to reign in the place." ******************** *INTEGRITY INSPIRES PRISON MINISTRY* NUN'S LETTERS HAVE PIERCED PRISON WALLS by Camilla Warrick There was too much to do that Christmas. First came the job of editing a religious journal. Next was all the international writing that had to be done. Then there was the matter of health. For years, Sister Evelyn Ancilla had been living in a kind of twilight zone, confined to a wheelchair by a rare vascular disease. Nobody had uttered a death sentence exactly, but physicians weren't promising her much time. When she sat down to her holiday correspondence, the list of 200 friends and relatives seemed plenty long. Almost formidable. She looked at a sheet of paper that had come in the mail from some organization [Integrity!] and shook her head. It contained the names of three inmates, strangers all of them, serving time in out-of-state jails. They were hungry for mail. Well, she would pray for them. She had no time to write. Then something happened. "It was as if I was hit over the head," she recalls. A voice, or something, admonished her with a single question: What good would she accomplish if she only wrote to those who wrote to her? Ancilla answered by digging out a 17th-century poem by Richard Lovelace, "Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage. ..." She copied it three times, signed it and sent it to those men in Georgia, Washington and Illinois. *What a Difference* That's how she learned what a difference one Christmas card can make. In a few weeks the list of inmates begging for correspondence had grown to six. The holiday rush was over, but now she had a broken right arm. "I can't type or write," she grumbled to herself in the infirmary. This time the voice came from the next bed. "You can if you make the effort," said another nun, in her final, agonizing bout with cancer. She confided that she'd long hoped their Episcopal community, the Society of the Transfiguration in Glendale, would do something for people in jail. Ancilla took a pen in her right hand and moved the paper with her left. With each clumsy word she launched the society's prison ministry. That was in 1975. Now Ancilla's newsletter goes to nearly 1,800 inmates all over the country. Her personal letters and care packages have sustained dozens. She has visited all kinds of penitentiaries. She has even called the head of the federal bureau of prisons on someone's behalf. The Rev. Maurice McCrackin, whose social justice activism has landed him in jail numerous times, says Ancilla has a remarkable effect on inmates. "I know of no one whose prison ministry is more wise, caring and courageous," he said. When Ancilla started the program she was in her mid-60s. For 25 years she'd been an educator and administrator in Hawaii. But illness forced retirement upon her in 1968. She was sent back to Cincinnati for constant medical attention. *Illness Doesn't Stop Her* Now she is 80. She's had innumerable surgeries and been close to death many times. But still she writes, oversees the newsletter and sends small checks to inmates to help them buy such things as shaving cream, soap and paper. She knows the details of many peoples' misdeeds. But she also knows about their spouses and children, their hopes, skills and hobbies. She believes she's been deceived twice. But a former con artist told her that's a great record. She doesn't worry about it. She does worry, however, about our nation's prison system. She says it is "corrupt, profitable and employs incompetent people." Those words sound bold. But so is she. Her newsletter deals with difficult subjects, such as the number of juveniles on death row who were abused by their parents, or the quality of legal services for inmates. Those familiar with her work speak first of her compassion. She is also a person of high standards trying to get inmates to live up to their best potential. "I don't believe in being pious," she said. "I don't try to convert. I don't say anything until someone asks for help. But you'd be surprised how many do." ----- This article first appeared in "THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER on" December 25, 1989. Camilla Warrick is an "Enquirer" columnist. ******************** A NON-BLESSING DISRUPTS MICHIGAN by Kim Byham A Detroit priest touched off a storm of angry reaction across the Diocese of Michigan last fall when he announced that he would help two women pledge their love to each. The service, at Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Detroit, took place in late October. The date was not made public because prior disclosure of the event had led to controversy. A month earlier, the Rector, the Rev. Ervin Brown, described what had happened to that point in a sermon: "On May 8, two women came to see me, expressing a desire for their church to celebrate and affirm the relationship they have shared the last 10 years. They had been to Bishop Wood, who knew I believed that the church should encourage and support monogamous, committed, life-long relationships for all people. "The Bishop was clear that what these two women were asking could be neither a marriage nor a blessing. But the Bishop did say that it would be appropriate if congregations, acknowledging the church's inability to bless same-sex unions, would pray for and promise support to same-sex couples who have committed themselves in fidelity to one another. "I agreed to officiate at such a liturgical affirmation for these two women. I have counseled with them on a number of occasions where I became even more convinced of their sincerity and fidelity to each other. "On August 24, the two women and I met with about 30 parishioners to carry out the Bishop's guideline that such liturgical action arise out of the corporate life of a parish. Many opinions were expressed that evening, largely in a spirit of love and concern. "Since then, someone invited to the meeting has felt called upon to share it with those in our diocese who have reason to strongly oppose such pastoral and liturgical action. Because it became so widely known beyond our parish, the date of the service was changed to avoid disruption. Also, the original service paraphrased from the Wedding Service was redone so it has more integrity for what it is meant to be: a pastoral and liturgical affirmation of the covenant of fidelity between two people. "I personally would like to be able to pronounce the church's blessing on such relationships, and I will continue to work within the proper channels to one day make it possible. I wouldn't be involved in this if I felt it was unbiblical or immoral. I believe that affirming such faithful relationships is both the most moral and truest biblical stance I can take. "That's how I see it and that's why I'm supportive of this liturgical affirmation. I don't ask that you agree with me, only that you listen to me and respect me for convictions honestly and faithfully arrived at. And I promise the same to you." The story actually began in 1990 when the Bishop of Michigan, the Rt. Rev. R. Stewart Wood, Jr., told his priests not to bless any lesgay couples while the diocese studied human sexuality. That study is not yet completed. The ceremony at Christ Church, however, did not violate Wood's order because it was not an Episcopal blessing. That meant Brown helped the two women make pledges of love and fidelity to one another, but he did not speak formal words of blessing. And he made it clear during the service that it was not a marriage. However, there was a blessing of the couple, given by the Rev. Jon Lacey, a Disciples of Christ minister. Bishop Wood said that he supported Brown's plan. "A congregation seeking to respond pastorally to its own people certainly need some freedom to do so," Wood said. "And there will be no confusion between this and a so-called marriage or a blessing. We are not trying to create some regular pattern or new service," Wood said. "This was an individual response to individuals." The service was designed by the couple with help from Brown. They pledged "life-long fidelity, forgiveness, compassion," and exchanged gold bands. Their brothers "stood up" for them. A reception followed and the couple left for a long-awaited "honeymoon." However, not everyone took the bishop's statements at face value. "To call this anything other than a blessing ... is playing a semantic game that underrates the intelligence of the average Episcopalian," said the Rev. Eugene Geromel of Swartz Creek. Geromel mailed hundreds of letters complaining about the service. Geromel also led a protest on October 17 at his and one other parish, inviting heterosexual married couples to renew their vows. October 17 was the date originally planned for the service at Christ Church. Others, however, applaud Brown's decision. "His action is theologically sound and deeply courageous," said the Rev. Rodney Reinhart, associate pastor of Emanual Episcopal Church in Detroit and chaplain of Integrity/Detroit. Reinhart was openly gay and living in a committed relationship when he was ordained a priest in 1986. Two dozen Episcopal priests from across the diocese declared their support for Brown and Wood in an October 8 letter. "They are making a courageous and compassionate contribution to our understanding of this church's ministry with homosexual persons," said the 350-word letter authored by the Rev. John Laycock, Rector of St. Columba's, Detroit. Other signers included the Rev. Canon Dexter Cheney, diocesan administrator; the Rev. Joseph Harmon of St. Matthew and St. Joseph, Detroit; the Rev. Harvey Guthrie of St. Andrew's, Ann Arbor; the Rev. Robert Neily of St. Michael's, Grosse Pointe Woods; the Rev. David Brower of Grace, Southgate, and the Rev. Harry Cook of St. Andrew's, Clawson. "I think it's time we said loudly and clearly that there are no second-class citizens in the church," said the Rev. Almus Thorp, Rector of Christ Church, Cranbrook, who also signed the letter. Thorp said he hopes someday Episcopal priests will feel free to bless such unions without fear of backlash. On October 4, parishioner Fred Motney, began a petition drive at Christ Church. During the Sunday service, Motney took his protest to the pulpit. "What he is proposing to do is hurting the church. He is taking advantage of the love we feel for him. I don't have anything against homosexuals. I'm just saying, don't do it in Christ Church." Motney complained that Brown had told the parishioners what he was going to do, rather than ask permission. In fact, Brown had consulted with the vestry about the ceremony and only one of fifteen members had objected. Brown said if he thought a majority of parishioners opposed him, he'd resign, "not out of anger" but out of integrity. That's not likely. Motney said that only 30 of more than 800 members had signed his petition. He thought many more would sign except they didn't was to cross the popular Brown. "No matter what he says, he's sanctifying a homosexual marriage, period," Motney said. Also on October 4, two protesters outside, neither of them parishioners, carried signs denouncing homosexuality. "Homosexuals are not welcome in heaven," said Michael Quinkert, a member of Redford Lutheran Church. "Read it in the scriptures." The Rev. Matthew Jones, a retired priest, said the ceremony "goes against all the churches in the city. God didn't make us like that," he said. I've got a wife and we've been together for almost 50 years. Now that's how it's supposed to be." *Interview with the Couple* "The service is my opportunity to thank God for her because she's an incredible blessing in my life," one of the women said in an interview with "The Detroit News" prior to the ceremony. "I'll go to any length to thank Him." The couple, ages 31 and 29, asked for anonymity to protect family and friends from being brought into the debate over same-sex unions. "We never intended for this to become such a public issue," the 31-year-said. "There's a need for society to debate the issue and resolve it. But it's hard to be the sounding board for everyone when you're talking about what, for us, is so sacred." They met ten years earlier as college students. One grew up a Baptist and the other a Catholic, but they had stopped any religious practice, because of the churches' homophobia. "But I missed going to church because it had been a big part of my life," the 31-year-old said. They eventually joined an Episcopalian parish because of a welcoming atmosphere. Then, in April, 1992, they visited the Bishop who suggested they visit Christ Church. "Erv Brown told us he was interested in what we wanted to do but that we were not to come in here just for the service and never darken the doorstep of the church again," the 29-year-old said. "He has a policy that if a couple is going to get married, they have to be active in the church. So we attended services all summer. And he made us go through his counseling sessions for engaged couples. He helped us think a lot of things through." "I thought, here's a person who is willing to take a lot of grief for us," the 31-year-old said. "We just don't see that a lot, especially in a church. That's one of the last bastions of legitimized discrimination against gays. It took guts to say what he did." ******************** EPISCOPAL AIDS COALITION FOCUSES ON SECOND DECADE OF THE EPIDEMIC by James Solheim In a four-day meeting marked by blunt language, deep anger and a persistent flow of tears and touch, nearly 500 Episcopalians "living, working and ministering" in the midst of the AIDS crisis gathered at a conference center near Washington, D.C., to assess the response to the first decade of the deadly disease. In a speech to the third annual meeting of the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition (NEAC) on "The Second Decade of AIDS," Dr. June Osborn, who chairs the National Commission on AIDS, warned, "If our nation's people don't respond soon, we will have lost a brief and unprecedented moment in human history when we not only could have saved lives and talent, but also could have validated our commitment to learning and to science." Osborn argued that since the causes were first isolated in the early 1980s, the scientific community has learned a great deal about the "frightening, deadly" disease. Unfortunately, the public has insisted on "the right to panic," creating an atmosphere in which scientific research is more difficult. Osborn said that "the collective response to AIDS was to stigmatize, to marginalize and to cordon off people ill with the new disease." "Throughout the epidemic we have had to struggle against a ferocious tendency to categorize, to lump people into groups, and to dismiss the individual tragedies by a kind of class-action denial," Osborn told a sober but sympathetic audience. Quoting from a section of the commission's report written by a young woman who later died from AIDS-related complications, Osborn said that "compassion will begin in the small towns in the quiet country throughout America when people understand that people living with AIDS and HIV are just like us -- because they are us." Many in the audience at the National 4-H Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, found abundant opportunities during the October 8-11 meeting to offer personal examples of the hostility they face daily as persons living with AIDS. In small groups, workshops and frequent worship services, they shared moving stories of pain and isolation but also stubborn determination. At a special awards luncheon NEAC honored those whose efforts provided hope for others -- Deborah Harmon Hines of Massachusetts and All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, which operates an AIDS service center. *JOINT COMMISSION HOLDS OPEN HEARING* In an open hearing of the church's Joint Commission on AIDS held in the context of the NEAC meeting, a man from Kentucky who said he is living on borrowed time blasted the government's "smokescreen" behind which it hides the true amount of money it is allocating for AIDS research. He said that the "murderous bureaucracy is killing many people," citing the high cost of medication as one example. Another participant told the story of how her dean sent out priests to be a "buddy" to those who are living with AIDS. "They all came back transformed," she said, devastated by the brokenness but tremendously impressed with the strength of the gay community in its caring ministry. Calling attention to General Convention resolutions, the Joint Commission urged dioceses to observe the November and January deadlines for completing work on nondiscrimination in all areas of the church and the preparation of resources for multicultural adult theological education and youth prevention education. While it commended the 20 or so dioceses and the many parishes and institutions that have adopted AIDS policies, the commission said, "We are concerned by the more than 90 dioceses that have not completed actions." It also called for a patron saint and a specially commissioned hymn to "reflect the effect HIV/AIDS has had on our society and church" and called upon church leaders and members to "expand and rededicate themselves to the initial call by the presiding bishop" to establish a "personal and pastoral relationship with people with HIV/AIDS." The church's consultant on the AIDS/HIV issue, the Rev. Rand Frew, paid tribute to the leadership of Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning, "who is not afraid to speak his convictions or to place himself on the line." Frew said that Browning's tenure "will be marked by a commitment to HIV/AIDS ministry and to all of us who are affected by the disease." While the Episcopal Church is often commended for its early response to the AIDS crisis, "we as Christians -- individually and through our institutions, both sacred and secular, must increase the volume of our voices in matters affecting public policy," said NEAC's president, Holly McAlpen. In arguing for a "coherent and comprehensive strategy," she said that "it's high time we Episcopalians raise our voices in these life-and-death debates." *A MARCH TO THE WHITE HOUSE* Those voices were raised dramatically as participants at the conference joined thousands in viewing the 24,000-panel NAMES Project quilt spread over 15 acres in the shadow of the Washington Monument, followed by a candlelight vigil and a march around the White House. While President George Bush was inside studying for the first televised presidential debate, angry demonstrators shouted "Shame, shame" outside the White House fence. A ribbon of candlelight stretched for blocks through downtown Washington streets as marchers moved toward the Lincoln Memorial to pay tribute to the thousands of Americans who have died of AIDS. Around the reflecting pool, an estimated 100,000 points of light shimmered off the water as music and feisty political speeches called for renewed determination to fight the AIDS pandemic, and to reject politicians who would not take up the battle. In one of the more tender moments, singer and actress Liza Minnelli implored the gathering to keep faith despite the darkness of the night and the AIDS crisis. Her voice quavering, Minnelli asked the crowd to join her in praying the Lord's Prayer. As candles burned low and the music and speeches came to an end, the thousands of foot soldiers in the war against AIDS drifted back into the night and into the continuing battles that would greet them as they returned to their own homes and cities. *ENEMY IS HATRED* In a sermon at the closing worship of the NEAC meeting, board member Jesse Milan reminded participants that the Christian calling to love should be the motivation behind our compassion, beyond our personal and political involvement in the issue. The young lawyer blasted those who cynically use "family values" to put down those who are suffering. "The enemy is hatred as much as violence," he said. In urging Christians to proclaim that "the age of AIDS has brought Christians into service of love," he also warned that, with 150,000 deaths, "the night is coming fast." Members of NEAC joined several thousand others at a packed Interfaith Healing Service at Washington National Cathedral at the end of the conference. All of the emotion of the weekend -- the anger, frustration and stubborn hope -- blended in what one speaker called the "overwhelming presence of love." "My immune system is severely compromised -- but my faith is not," the Rev. Larry Uhrig of Washington's Metropolitan Community Church said to loud applause. Calling the candlelight vigil an example of "coming together in strength when there is no justice," Dr. Mary Hunt, a feminist theologian from Maryland, decried the "scandalous response" of the government to the HIV/AIDS crisis. "Tell your love stories," she urged. "We need love stories to tide us over -- until justice comes. Love works where justice fears to tread. A ton of love will have to do until we get an ounce of justice," she concluded. ******************** CLAUDIA'S COLUMN "I know that it is difficult to wait for change. I know that it is painful.... At the same time, we are talking about a conversion of hearts, so that we may hear from one another and love one another as Christ loved us. We cannot expect this to happen too quickly." --+Edmond L. Browning As I write this, it seems appropriate to address the liturgical season of Advent even though it will be past when you read this. I've always enjoyed unraveling bits and pieces of the mystery of waiting and expectation. However, as I sat at a parish meeting this week, I overheard two women discussing the sermon topics of the rector: "I hope she has something new to say about Advent. I can't tolerate one more sermon focused on waiting and expectations!" Advent is a difficult time for many of us. The Church is focused on the coming of the Messiah and preparations for Christmas, while everything around us already looks and feels and sounds like Christmas. And it has since long before Halloween. Although waiting and expectation are traditional Advent models, I find myself a bit disturbed by them in that, for some, waiting in quiet expectation means to sit back, kick off our shoes, and relax as we await the coming of the Messiah. On the contrary, Advent means for me, as I hope it does for you, a call to action. We hear the words of John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness, "Repent for the dominion of heaven is at hand." John doesn't say: "casually put up your Christmas tree and outdoor decorations, find your gay apparel, then relax with hot cider and listen to Old English Christmas carols." Rather, he reminds us of the words of the Prophet Isaiah who said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness -- make ready the road by which the Chosen One is coming and the paths which must be traveled." Advent, my sisters and brothers, issues a call to each of us to be prophets. Like John the Baptist, we are to proclaim the Messiah and make the Good News known. The error perpetuated through history is that the coming of the Messiah was a one-shot event occurring nearly 2000 years ago. The reality is that God Incarnate lives here and now and is manifest to the world in and through us! In his book, "With Open Hands," Henry Nouwen addresses the role of prophets as he defines the role of Christians. He writes: You and I are (prophets) so long as we look forward to a new world ... so long as we constantly pose critical questions to the world in which we life ... so long as we emphasize the need for conversion both for ourselves and for the world ... so long as we in no way let ourselves become established in situations of seeming calm ... so long as we stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep telling ourselves a new world is yet to come. We are (prophets) when we believe that we have a role to play in the realization of the new (dominion) and when we urge everyone we meet with a holy unrest to make haste so that the promise might soon be fulfilled (p. 126). "... the voices of lesbians and gay men crying in the wilderness ... of every diocese and parish in the Episcopal Church ... make ready the way of the Chosen One." It is difficult and painful to wait for change. Let us wait as lesgay prophets and pose critical questions to the church and society: questions regarding value for all human life and how to end gay bashing; questions of justice and peace; questions aimed at legislated discrimination; questions regarding the openness of our church to all persons. You and I, as prophets, must emphasize a need for conversion, both for ourselves and for the world. We took the first step as we entered open and honest dialogue at General Convention, and as several of us addressed the Commission on Human Affairs and Bishop Browning in Houston. Let us continue that emphasis in our parishes, and diocese, calling for a change of heart in how we lesgay Christians are seen and treated. As prophets, you and I cannot be satisfied with the status quo. The formation of a Commission on Human Affairs and the study of human sexuality by the church is not enough. We cannot be satisfied until all lesbians and gay men know full membership in the church: until our relationships are acknowledged and blessed; until there are no questions of licensing us as lay readers and chalice bearers; until our sexuality is no longer a barrier to ordination; and until we can embrace our partners at the peace and introduce them in parish gatherings as someone other than our "roommates" or our "friends." You and I are prophets when we believe that we have a role to play in the realization of a new dominion: when we hold our heads up high and with pride, claim our lesgay identities; and when we proclaim that God became incarnate for all persons, regardless of age, sex, marital status, or sexual orientation. Advent, my sisters and brothers, is about waiting and expectation. This will only be painful if we sit on the sidelines, holding our breaths, certain that change is imminent. God Incarnate was an activist whose life and ministry were grounded in change, and hope, and love. And it is to lives as activist that you and I are called ... On the church's banks the prophet's cry announces that the Lord is nigh; Awake and hearken for they bring, Glad tidings of the Chosen One. Then cleansed be everyone from sin; prepare the way for God within, and let each one prepare the world Where God Incarnate will make a home. We are like John the Baptist; prophetic voices, called to announce Emmanuel. Let us move from passive waiting and expectation to actively challenging and questioning the world and the church announcing that a new world is yet to come; a world in which lesgay persons will be recognized and welcomed as full and contributing participants and a church in which "there will be no outcasts." ******************** NOT EVERYTHING IS GETTING BETTER: "THE LIVING CHURCH" IN 1975 AND 1992 *We Welcome a "Coming Out"* The Cathedral of St. James in Chicago and the Diocese of Chicago have received some criticism by concerned churchmen for allowing the first national convention of "Gay Episcopalians" to meet at the cathedral. We commend the church authorities for their decision and we commend the leaders and participants in that convention for the responsible, dignified, and constructive way in which they conducted their meeting. What is happening here is that homosexuals of both sexes who belong to the church are coming out of the closet and into the open. It is hard for us to understand how anybody seeing this can see in it anything but gain and good for the whole state of Christ's church. For as long as any group within the church is in any way concealed, hidden, and clandestine within the body there can be no true communication between it and the rest of the body. Christians who are homosexuals have complained, and with ample cause, that they have been terrorized into clandestinity by the rejection and condemnation of their fellow Christians. In recent years there has been a sudden and sharp reversal of the traditional pattern. One could identify a number of causes for this, but our concern is not with the etiology of the change. What churchpeople have to face now is the fact that what has been locked up in a dark basement closet is now on public display, for all to see. It has long been known that approximately 10 per cent of the human race consists of homosexually oriented persons. There has never been any reason to doubt that the church, being made up of human beings, has its 10 per cent. Today, these people who have always been in the church are coming out and saying to the rest of the church, "Here we are! And we shall no longer try to disguise or conceal our sexual orientation. We love the Lord and we believe in him and we belong to his body the church." Is it better or is it worse that they are coming out? To say that it is worse is to argue that it is better not to know something than to know it, better to have to deal with brothers and sisters in the dark than to deal with them in the light of day. The "straights" and the "gays" within the church have a vast amount of unfinished business between them to which both must address themselves openly, honestly, frankly, and lovingly. The whole question of what is morally right or wrong in anybody's sexual behavior must be faced by both groups within the church -- and together. That kind of togetherness in faithful facing up to the demands of the Gospel is not possible except when all participants are in every sense open and above-board. These "Gay Episcopalians" who have "come out" in this way have taken a step that needed to be taken before that togetherness could even begin, and for many of them it has been a personally dangerous or difficult or costly step. They should be welcomed in love by all other members of Christ. As for opening up the church to them for their worship and their meeting, we remember something Jesus said about his Father's house as a place of prayer for all people. It seems to be the right text for the Chicago case, if a proof-text is needed. ----- FROM "THE LIVING CHURCH"; August 31, 1975 *Authority Ignored Again* The recent blessing of the relationship of two men in Pasadena, Calif., is further evidence of the lack of authority in the Episcopal Church. Even though scripture speaks strongly against homosexual behavior, even though the Diocese of Los Angeles defeated a resolution affirming such blessings, and even though the Bishop of Los Angeles admits that the Episcopal Church cannot accept such a blessing, the unauthorized service took place. The Rev. George Regas, rector of All Saints' Church, where the service took place, officiated at the blessing, which the "Los Angeles Times" said included promises "to love, comfort and honor each other." The action taken by Fr. Regas is the latest incident in which a local church or diocese does as it pleases without regard for the rest of the church. Churches hold back funds, parishes leave the Episcopal Church for independent status, bishops ordain practicing homosexuals or cross diocesan lines to perform episcopal ministries without punishment. The main problem with the service in Pasadena is, of course, that it is contrary to the teaching of scripture. The teaching of Jesus and others about marriage is clear. That is, as the House of Bishops stated in 1977: "Heterosexual marriage is unanimously affirmed and homosexual activity is condemned." That same statement added: "The church therefore is right to confine its nuptial blessing exclusively to heterosexual marriage." When the church includes such a blessing as part of its corporate worship, it violates its own teaching. The chance of Fr. Regas being disciplined would seem to be remote. After all, his bishop, the Rt. Rev. Frederick Borsch, is on record as supporting such affirmations, even though he admits he can't grant permission for such events to take place. We deplore the blessing in Pasadena, and we hope the House of Bishops will deal seriously with the issue when it meets in closed session later this month. ----- FROM "THE LIVING CHURCH"; March 1, 1992 ******************** *BOOK REVIEW* "Embracing the Chaos" Edited by James Woodward; SPCK, London NW1 4DU; 1990; 117 pp. A Review by Loudene "Gil" Grady "Embracing the Chaos" is a collection of essays directed toward the Church's response to the AIDS crisis. The Foreword aptly describes the book's true focus when it states, "This is also a book that strives toward theology; a theology that is groping and tentative but nonetheless theology." Contributors include persons who are HIV positive, AIDS patients and theologians. The book opens with the editor's personal discourse on today's church and its pervasive attitudes that are self- protective and oppressive and serve to close out differences. In contrast, the writer points out, the base on which the Church is founded is a fundamental message of freedom and forgiveness. These themes continue throughout the writings. There is emphasis on Jesus as a guiding and living example that "God does not detest or shrink from the affliction of the afflicted, but comes alongside in tenderness and brotherhood." The reader is asked to examine the role of the Church in the light of its founding philosophy and the life of Jesus. Further, the reader is asked to look at the lives of persons with AIDS and what they teach. The church and those professing to follow Christ are asked to move closer to reality as it deals with life in the face of death. There is a need to recognize society's rejection of death and the suffering thus occasioned by fear. The book provokes thoughtful examination of the role of the Church at this time in history and calls for change. ******************** PENPALS For PWA's & Supporters NONPROFIT, CONFIDENTIAL, NATIONWIDE. Focus on needs and sensitivities, designed to build strong, joyous bonds. (Basic dues $3/six month - no one turned away for lack of funds) SASE brings info from PENPAL, P.O. Box 635 Chowchilla, CA 93610 ******************** OPINION ARE WE TOO RADICAL OR TOO CONSERVATIVE? by Kim Byham Where is Integrity on the political spectrum? Clearly, to the "average Episcopalian" (if there is such a person), Integrity is on the left wing of the church, perhaps defining the ultimate radical position. This conclusion is not based on what we've done as an organization, but simply because it is still radical to be out as lesbians and gay men. In the lesgay movement, however, we are generally considered conservative, in the rare times we are considered at all. Again, it's not because of anything we've done as an organization, but rather because we remain members of the institutional church which most lesbians and gay men justly view as an instrument of oppression. The specter of lesgay separatism is again upon us (as it was about ten years ago), as exemplified by Queer Nation. The theory goes that our own lesgay culture should not accommodate itself to that of the larger society. Obviously, if one holds this position, one cannot be a part of any non-lesgay-dominated institution, including the Episcopal Church. I suspect that the number of actual adherents to this position is tiny; far more homosexual persons are still completely in the closet, rarely socially interacting with the lesgay community. This is the ultimate "assimilationist" position -- to so subsume oneself in the dominant culture that one loses all sense of self. The vast majority of lesbians and gay men, at least those in Integrity, reject both these positions, savoring both times of interaction with non-lesgay persons and times when we can be apart. When Louie Crew announced the formation of Integrity in 1974, it was, by definition, a radical action; simply belonging to Integrity was a radical act. It no longer is. The same evolution has affected many organizations, *i.e.,* the NAACP. But, has Integrity become less radical in its agenda? For years Louie Crew was vilified within Integrity as too radical (from approximately 1981 to 1987). I was described far and wide, though primarily in the Southern Region, as a wild-eyed radical when I ran for president in 1986. In his book "Just As I am," the Rev. Robert Williams says "Ten years ago, most queer religious caucuses were *radical action* groups; today they have almost all sold out to the patriarchal power structures they were created to confront." The facts are completely contra Williams's assertions. In 1982, during General Convention in New Orleans, Integrity was denied the use of any parish in the city to hold a Eucharist. The "radical" members of Integrity proposed to hold a Eucharist on the steps of the Cathedral in protest. Integrity's leadership opposed the idea and it fizzled. Newly elected president Marcia Langford (1982-84) and her successor Bob Armstrong (1984-87) opposed this "radical action" which, I am entirely confident, would today receive the full endorsement of the organization. Integrity accomplished nothing at General Convention in 1982. I first met Robert Williams in 1987, a few months prior to my becoming national president. His first words to me were, "You're not as horrible as I had heard." Williams had been a strong supporter of Bob Armstrong in the 1986 election because he saw me as too radical. But a few months at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge had changed Williams, as he acknowledges in his book, and I had become acceptable. Today, Integrity, Louie and I are all, according to Robert Williams, "the gay equivalent of Uncle Toms." I would contend it is Williams whose perspective has changed. Certain personality types rewrite history to accommodate their own shifts in position. By his own admission, from the time he joined Integrity in 1981 until he left for EDS in 1986, "I went to Mass at both Episcopal and Roman Catholic churches several times a week and spent hours alone in churches, praying the Rosary, making the Stations of the Cross, or lighting candles before the statue of Mary. I began to resent my job because it cut into the time I could be attending Mass, reading and arguing theology, *or planning an Integrity liturgy*." (Note: not an Integrity demonstration.) He went to EDS not knowing it was "a leading center of feminist theology and a very gay positive environment." Incredibly, he says he had never even heard of Bishop Spong until 1987! This was scarcely a person who was on the left wing of Integrity. Integrity/Dallas (then Dallas-Ft. Worth), which he helped to found, was one of the most conservative chapters in the organization. It was certainly not "a radical action group" under Williams's leadership ten years ago, and even Bob Armstrong frequently referred to Integrity/Dallas as "our Mass and tea party chapter," but only out of their hearing. Homophobia played a significant role in getting Robert Williams ordained in his adopted diocese. Williams has said that prior to going to seminary, his primary spiritual community was Integrity/Dallas. Yet, when it came time for the Diocese of Newark to evaluate his candidacy, no effort was made to contact Integrity/Dallas, Integrity, Inc., or anyone in Integrity who knew Williams or knew about his history. I doubt seriously he would ever have been ordained if the Newark Commission on Ministry had asked lesbian and gay people who had known him for more than a year what kind of a priest they thought he would make. Robert Williams says, "the members of Integrity issued positive statements about the decision of the 1991 Episcopal General Convention to continue the status quo on the issues of same-sex marriage and gay ordinations -- a decision that outraged more radical queer activists." Who are these "radical queer activists"? I have never heard from any of them, nor, I believe, has anyone on the Board. The right wing of the Episcopal Church thinks Integrity accomplished a great deal, as their published statements attest. Clearly we stopped the Frey canon from being passed, which should have pleased "more radical queer activists" since it so displeased most "radical anti-queer activists." (When Integrity folks arrived at our hotel in Phoenix, the Daughters of the King were getting ready to leave. In the elevator, one of our members heard a Daughter say "Are the queers here yet?") Williams also says: Staging dramatic, powerful expressions of queer rage is what the various queer religious groups such as Dignity, Integrity, Affirmation, and Lutherans Concerned *ought* to be doing with their time and resources. The fact that these groups have failed to take such action, leaving it to a 'secular' group such as ACT UP, is a sad commentary on their spiritual bankruptcy. Ten years ago, most queer religious caucuses were radical action groups; today, they have almost sold out to the patriarchal power structures they were created to confront. When a bishop invites you to an elegant luncheon at the church headquarters, you are less likely to stage a noisy protest on the front lawn the next time he does something homophobic. Most of these organizations are so busy 'playing church' they have little energy for demanding justice. He adds a footnote: I am, however, happy to report the recent founding of an organization called Presbyterian ACT UP, which stages powerful 'actions' at Presbyterian Church events. I have also had some conversations with an energetic young man who wants to found a similar organization for the Episcopal Church. In England, a creative protest group called the Whores of Babylon, an affinity group of OutRage (similar to ACT UP), has begun utilizing techniques such as drag and street theater to protest Church of England homophobia. I pray other denominational caucuses in this country and elsewhere will get angry enough to follow suit. Williams follows this diatribe with a commendation of Holly Near's important lesgay protest song, "Singing For Our Lives." Ironically, Integrity sang this song with three hundred supporters in the lobby of the Phoenix convention center at General Convention in 1991. It was a moving and dramatic action, perhaps the most *radical action* that has happened at any General Convention since the African-American protests of 1967. But if one's touchstone is the Whores of Babylon's exorcism of the Church of England in front of Lambeth Palace, it was mild indeed. Although Williams is somewhat inclusive in his defamation of lesgay denominational caucuses, it is clear it is Integrity and Oasis (and -- although he doesn't name it because of a commendatory letter written by their board after his appearance on "The Donahue Show" -- the Parsonage) that are being attacked. None of the others have lunch with their bishops. The only group with Integrity's degree of engagement with the National Church is Presbyterians Concerned, which was an official church organization prior to the elimination of that designation. However, PLGC had little impact on their gay-bashing General Assembly last year in Baltimore. And Presbyterian ACT UP, to which Williams refers, scarcely exists; there are apparently only two members. It was formed to stage an event (not "actions") at the 1991 Presbyterian General Assembly if, as expected, the pro- lesgay report was rejected. Their protest, however, was in no way analogous to ACT UP demonstrations. It had the prior approval of the denomination's president! It was also *after the fact* and by definition had no impact on the voting. (It did, no doubt, move some hearts.) Integrity, on the other hand, held a remarkably similar demonstration at General Convention *before* the House of Deputies voted to kill the Frey canon and in favor of equal access to the ordination process. I wouldn't advise holding your breath waiting for the emergence of Episcopal ACT UP. The reference to the Bishop's luncheon invitation is, I believe, a thinly veiled reference to Louie Crew. After years of living as an outcast in the Episcopal Church, Louie moved to Newark in 1989 and for the first time experienced acceptance -- but it wasn't mere acceptance -- it was an appreciation of his talents and his commitment to Christ. For the first time he is on his Vestry and a member of Diocesan Council, and holds a myriad of other positions in the diocese. He won the Bishop's Certificate of Merit. He has been to Bishop Spong's house for dinner and the Bishop and Mrs. Spong have dined at Louie and Ernie's. And that's what prevented Louie from lying on the Bishop's lawn when Bishop Spong did "something homophobic," in this case inhibiting Robert Williams as a priest! Puleaze....! I am confident that no readers of "The Voice" will be taken in by this ridiculous claim. But what has our increasing acceptance *in some parts* of the Episcopal Church done? I am reminded of an encounter Integrity has had over the last year with a bishop whose name I will withhold. This bishop, based I believe on poor advice, had decided to undertake an extremely anti-lesgay and anti-PWA action. A small group of Integrity members met with him to suggest he should change his position. He was cordial, but was adamant in his position. Integrity decided not to go public about his proposed anti-gay action, but Integrity folk were amazed that the bishop didn't see the potential negative publicity as a problem. Several months later, another meeting was held but the bishop remained adamant in his position. Integrity then did what insiders do. It didn't lie on the bishop's lawn. Instead, letters were sent to various prominent Episcopalians describing what the bishop intended to do. When the diocese's largest contributor telephoned the bishop about it, he immediately backed down on his threat. Naturally, he did so in the Episcopal way, saying he had been misunderstood all along. Integrity won. Lesgays won. PWAs won. If this is the fruit of assimilation, Integrity needs more of it. Most of the readers of this article will be saying to themselves, "Why give Robert Williams so much attention? None of us agree with him anyway." That's true, and I suspect that "Just As I am" has not been a substantial seller as its audience is rather limited -- ACT UP Anglo-Catholics apparently. As a book, however, Williams's rantings will take on a certain life of their own and it is important that a full refutation be given. And I take seriously Williams's dedication: To the members of ACT UP and Queer Nation, whose courage and relentless passion for justice lead them, it seems to me, to follow more closely in the footsteps of Jesus the Christ than the members of Dignity, Integrity, The Oasis, and other assimilationist gay religious groups. Certainly non-Christians are often more Christ-like than many Christians. Certainly, too, Christians have an obligation to try to follow in Jesus's footsteps, impossible as that often is, and rejoice when non-Christians also follow that path. Most certainly, Integrity members have often behaved in non-Christ- like ways, but as Christians we think that action within the body of Christ has special meaning. Integrity's role is not only to be more Christ-like ourselves, but also to empower the Episcopal Church to be more Christ-like. Separatism is antithetical to Christianity and advocates of it can't have it both ways. So, where is Integrity on the political spectrum? We are radical insiders, or, looking at it another way, we are the body of Christ. ******************** METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCHES REJECTED BY NATIONAL COUNCIL: EPISCOPAL REPERCUSSIONS by Kim Byham Angry lesbian and gay Christians demonstrated on the floor of the National Council of the Churches of Christ, U.S.A. (NCCCUSA) meeting in Cleveland on November 12 after NCCCUSA's General Board rejected the application of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) for Observer status by a vote of 90 to 81. "It's easier to get into heaven than into the NCCCUSA," said the Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson of Los Angeles, Ecumenical Officer for UFMCC, who was invited to the dias to speak after the vote. "We have come to this point after 11 years of relationship with you," she continued. And now we have had to endure this experience of hearing you have a conversation about us, but not with us." The vote touched off an emotional demonstration by UFMCC members, as well as by members of gay and lesbian caucuses from denominations that already belong to the Council and from other non-member denominations. Leaders from these groups were meeting in Cleveland in conjunction with the NCCCUSA meeting. *[See related story on p. 23]* Protesters waved banners throughout the ballroom and twice filled the room with "Singing for Our Lives." After Elder Wilson completed her remarks, many lined up at floor microphones to recount their personal struggles against bigotry at the hands of the church. The vote came nine months after Orthodox churches resumed ties with the NCCCUSA after a 10-month split to protest liberal positions of the council and member denominations on homosexuality and other issues. The NCCCUSA has seven Orthodox and 25 Protestant member denominations representing 45 million Christians. Of the member communions, only the United Church of Christ officially permits ordination of lesbians and gay men. The vote was on approving the recommendation of the NCCCUSA's Membership Committee that no action be taken on UFMCC's application. After the meeting, Elder Wilson rejected the Membership Committee's additional recommendation that talks continue in some unspecified way between the council and UFMCC, saying there would be no point to such talks after the church had been so severely rebuffed. The decision was "one of the most painful decisions" in the 42-year history of the NCCCUSA, an official council summary of the meeting said. *AN ELEVEN YEAR PROCESS* The predominantly lesbian and gay UFMCC had applied for Observer status in May, 1992, following the termination of an eleven-year process of investigation and dialogue which followed UFMCC's application for NCCCUSA membership in 1981. [See Summary of History of NCCCUSA-UFMCC Relationships] The focus of the latest dialogue committee, under the leadership of Methodist Bishop William Boyd Grove of Albany, NY, was to establish means for bilateral dialogue between UFMCC and NCCCUSA member churches. In a survey in early 1992, however, the NCCCUSA Executive Committee found that only two churches were willing to undertake such dialogue with UFMCC and in May announced the disbanding of the committee. As a result, UFMCC leaders decided to file the application for Observer status. "Our ultimate goal is full membership in the NCCCUSA, but we are requesting observer status in order to acknowledge the limits imposed on our relationship by their homophobia," said Elder Wilson in May. It was wrongly assumed that Observer status would not be controversial. *OUTCOME PREDICTED* The Rev. Joan Campbell, the General Secretary of the NCCCUSA, meeting with the leaders of the lesgay caucuses and UFMCC two days before the vote said, "90% of those present (that's not a figure I can document) want to keep the dialogue open. Most are struggling with the issue." She didn't predict the outcome but suggested the UFMCC and the caucus members prepare for a negative vote. She said, "Try to keep dialogue open despite the 'No' vote." When asked whether, assuming a negative vote, it wouldn't be the responsibility of the NCCCUSA members to keep dialogue open, she said, with tears forming in her eyes, "You're stronger than they are." *OBSERVER STATUS* Observer status, which confers only the opportunity to attend meetings and speak with the chair's permission, as well as to serve on committees with that committee's permission, is held by Muslim and Jewish groups and by the Unitarian Universalist denomination, which ordains openly gay and lesbian persons and blesses same-sex unions. Threats of a pullout by Eastern Orthodox churches were largely responsible for the 1983 decision to table the UFMCC application. The primary opponents to granting Observer status on November 12 were the Orthodox, most of the historically African-American denominations and the Korean Presbyterian Church in the United States. NCCCUSA spokesman J. Martin Bailey said, "There were 12 [of a total of 32] denominations which, according to an informal poll in the corridors, said that if Observer status were granted they would be forced to leave the council." The Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, immediate past president of the NCCCUSA and Ecumenical Officer of the Orthodox Church in America, said after the vote: "Homosexual practice is sinful. There were certainly many who believed that [granting Observer status] could seem to imply an affirmation of homosexual practice." Elder Wilson emphasized that not all the blame should be laid at the feet of the Orthodox. "If the Orthodox were not members of the NCCCUSA, we'd be in the same place. There are various churches which want it to appear that the Orthodox are primarily responsible for UFMCC's exclusion." New Testament Professor Thomas Hoyt of Hartford, a delegate from the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, said during the debate that the issue was one of hospitality, a Biblical mandate, and that as an African-American he could not deny fellowship to the UFMCC. Bishop Grove stated that while the United Methodist Church has found homosexual practice to be incompatible with Christian teaching, "Observer status endorses nothing except a willingness to listen." During the discussion on the issue, the Rev. Paul Sherry of Cleveland, national president of the United Church of Christ, said he supported Observer status for UFMCC despite threats by some members to leave because "unity without integrity is no unity at all." Fr. Gabriel H.A. Abdelsayed of the Coptic Orthodox Church raised homophobia to international levels by expressing concerns about how Moslems in Egypt would react, suggesting retaliation against the Coptic Church was likely if the UFMCC were given Observer status. "What would happen within the various communions that are supporting UFMCC if the homosexuals within their denominations sought official recognition? I doubt they would be so receptive," he concluded. Herbert W. Chilstrum, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, was forthright. Lutherans, he said, were in midst of study on human sexuality to be completed in 1995. "There are 5.2 million different opinions in the ELC. [The ELC] needs time to think about this. We're not at the place the United Church of Christ is, but not at the place a lot of other churches here are at. A majority of our delegation would say they support dialogue. Maybe *in the future* we will tilt toward justice rather than unity." Bishop Melvin G. Talbert of the United Methodist Church, former chair of the Committee on Restructure of the NCCCUSA, commented, "No one threatened to leave over restructure. I am concerned that there is a veiled threat of leaving being passed around here. United Methodists are here to stay whether we differ on this issue or not. It's not even membership that's being discussed. We already have Observer groups that aren't Christians. I find it strange to think we would deny [UFMCC] welcome because I am welcome at [UFMCC's] altars while I am not welcome at the altars of some of the member communions." *EPISCOPAL DELEGATION OPPOSES UFMCC* Given its liberal image, it was surprising that the Episcopal Church was among those opposing inclusion of UFMCC. The Episcopal delegation, depleted because of the simultaneous meeting of the Executive Council on Long Island, voted 5 to 3 against UFMCC's application. It was the only one of the so-called "Mainline" denominations which voted against the request for inclusion. Following the vote, the United Methodist Church, the United Church of Christ and others filed a protest of the General Board action. Executive Council was scheduled for the same time as the NCCCUSA meeting, even though NCCCUSA has met the same week in November for 20 years. Thus six of fourteen places on the Episcopal delegation were unfilled. Missing were Presiding Bishop Browning and House of Deputies President Pam Chinnis. As Alda Morgan, the only member of the Episcopal delegation who wore one of the pink triangles distributed by the lesgay caucuses and supplied by the Parsonage [the same ones used at General Convention] said, "It would have been different had [Chinnis and Browning] been here." The Rev. William A. Norgren, Ecumenical Officer for the Episcopal Church, had not supplied a substitute for Chinnis nor for most of the missing delegates. Bishop Browning had a substitute but he was not present the day of the UFMCC vote. Norgren was the only representative from a "Mainline" denomination to speak in opposition to UFMCC's application, though he emphasized he was speaking only for himself. He said that he took his position because "the Episcopal Church is divided on this issue" and because "dialogue is underway in every diocese" of the Episcopal Church. Although he claimed to favor additional dialogue with UFMCC, he suggested no way that might be accomplished. Saying that before coming to Cleveland, he favored Observer status for UFMCC "in principal," Norgren said that after arriving he had "been made aware of various issues on all sides. Issues can't be addressed with fairness within this meeting." Asserting "[t]here must be careful follow-up on consultation within and between churches," he concluded by saying, "it can't be done in a short time. We have to face the issue with great seriousness." The last dialogue effort involving UFMCC ended in May after only two denominations indicated their willingness to enter into bilateral dialogue with the denomination. The Episcopal Church was "of course" not one of the two, Norgren reported proudly. The Episcopal delegation in Cleveland was comprised entirely of people who have never served on any decision-making bodies of the Church, such as Executive Council or the House of Deputies at General Convention. No bishops represented the Episcopal Church. Appointments to the NCCCUSA are made in a somewhat arcane way. Technically they are nominated by the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, appointed by the Presiding Bishop and approved by Executive Council. Norgren told Louie Crew on December 3 that, in fact, the Presiding Bishop isn't very interested in ecumenical issues and that Norgren actually makes the selections. Episcopal delegates opposing the inclusion of UFMCC suggested conflicting reasons. Dr. Timothy Sedgwick, a professor of Christian Ethics and Moral Theology at Seabury Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL, emphasized that he wanted to support the Membership Committee which recommended taking no action on UFMCC's request for Observer status. Mrs. Glennes Clifford of Oklahoma City allowed as how it was "alright" to have homosexuals in the Episcopal Church, but it was not alright for them to have a separate denomination. "Why don't they just become Episcopalians?" she asked. Both the Rev. J. Carlton Hayden, Associate Dean of the School of Theology of the University of the South, and Cheryl A. Parris, a woman without apparent ecumenical or other credentials save membership at Trinity, Wall Street, exhibited considerable misunderstanding about UFMCC. Norgren has held the $64,000 a year post as the Episcopal Church's chief ecumenical officer since 1981, and for eight years before that served in lesser positions in the office he now heads. In 1988 the Integrity National Board attempted to meet with Norgren during a day it spent at the Church Center. He was unavailable and while he sent a perfunctory response to a follow- up letter, he never made any effort before or since to dialogue with lesbians and gays in the Episcopal Church about ecumenical issues of concern to them. Had the entire Episcopal delegation voted in favor of Observer status for UFMCC, as did the United Church of Christ delegation, the vote would have been 86 to 85 in favor. Bilateral dialogue between the Orthodox and Episcopal Churches had resumed on October 15. The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese suspended the dialogue in June of 1991, which action was ratified by the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in America (SCOBA) last October. In an apparent reference to the ordination of Elizabeth Carl, an open lesbian, in Washington in 1991, the SCOBA last April said that "Orthodox clergy and laity are sometimes scandalized by the image of the Episcopal Church in the media and our association with this image." The Orthodox also cited the alleged Episcopal willingness to ordain openly lesgay persons as a reason for suspending their participation in the NCCCUSA. In 1982, the Episcopal Church gave $455,383 to the NCCCUSA for its various programs, including, ironically, $35,625 to the Prophetic Justice Unit. The total giving to the NCCCUSA is approximately equal to the 1992 giving to the National Church by the Diocese of Southern Ohio. *UFMCC RESPONDS TO THE VOTE* "The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches can't wait any longer for recognition by the National Council of Churches (USA)," said that church's statement issued after the vote. "Justice delayed has become justice denied. Today the NCCCUSA has reached an all-time low in its treatment of us. By not recognizing us today as observers, the NCCCUSA and its members have taken an unprecedented action to try to deny our very existence. "The NCCCUSA is trying to delay and avoid official relations with UFMCC simply because we are a Christian Church whose membership is primarily lesbian and gay. This is hypocrisy of the most lethal kind. Gay and lesbian people are dying -- from AIDS, from suicides, from gay-bashing. The NCCCUSA and its member communions are contributing to a climate of hatred and rejection of gay men and lesbians by their actions today. "NCCCUSA leaders have said that homosexuality is the most divisive church issue since slavery -- and they don't want to talk about it. "The NCCCUSA took its actions today in order to preserve the unity of their organization. The result is NOT Christian unity, but unholy and false unity. As United Methodist Bishop Roy Sano said nine years ago at an NCCCUSA Governing Board meeting, "If the NCCCUSA and its members reject the UFMCC, they may save their organization, but they are in danger of losing their souls." *RESOLUTION ON COLORADO* Somewhat surprisingly, the day after the UFMCC vote the NCCCUSA General Board reinforced its 1973 commitment to "civil rights without discrimination as to affectional or sexual preference" by passing a resolution condemning the approval of Amendment #2 to the Colorado State Constitution which "denies gay, lesbian and bisexual people any claim of discrimination." They further encouraged "the leaders of each member communion and their public policy and advocacy offices to work for civil rights for all people." *ANTI-GAYS WELCOMED* At the same meeting the NCCCUSA rejected the UFMCC it voted to seek better ties with Roman Catholic, Pentecostal and evangelical churches -- groups which strongly oppose equality for lesbians and gay men. To build ties with them, the General Board extended its ecumenical committee's work through 1995 and added five employees for relations with those groups. "We will be making much closer contact with them and inviting them to our meetings so we would have much closer relationships with them and a fuller understanding of each other," said NCCCUSA president, the Rev. Syngman Rhee. *FOLLOW-UP BY INTEGRITY* Following the meeting in Cleveland, Integrity swung into action. Integrity's communications director, Kim Byham, had been asked by the UFMCC and the caucus leaders to issue releases about the NCCCUSA meeting to the lesgay press. As word spread about the action of the Episcopal delegation, Integrity members from around the country began to take action. Integrity founder Louie Crew wrote Norgren and demanded a meeting. Following some pressure from above, Norgren invited Crew to his office at the Church Center on December 3. The visit, which lasted an hour and a half, was in the nature of the prophet Uriah's call for the repentance of Jehoiakim. Like Jehoiakim, Norgren adamantly denied any wrongdoing. "Some of my best friends are gay," he protested, perhaps too much. Norgren denied knowing of Integrity's interest in ecumenism. Crew mentioned a 1988 letter on the subject from the then president of Integrity. Norgren denied having seen it. (A week later he pulled it from his files.) Crew then inquired whether Norgren was a reader of this journal [copies are supplied to everyone at the Church Center requesting them] and Norgren said "No, there are too many things to read." Crew responded by asking how he could then assume Integrity was uninterested in ecumenism. Norgren's response was, "Well, I have seen it a few times." *[editor's note: of the last three years' issues, every one has contained ecumenical coverage.]* Norgren may be the only person at the Church Center who is unaware of Integrity's ecumenical interests. The subject of denominational lesgay caucuses' ecumenical involvement was the subject of a 1991 report of the NCCCUSA-UFMCC dialogue committee *[reprinted on p. 19]*. President Bruce Garner had called a special teleconference meeting of the Board of Integrity, Inc. for that same day. The Board's statement, adopted unanimously, is printed in its entirety on page 20. It calls for Norgren's resignation and the replacement of the other four delegates who opposed UFMCC. Byham wrote to the almost 500 clergy members of Integrity conveying the Board resolution and asked for their assistance. Press releases on the resolution went to the Diocesan press. On December 10, the Presiding Bishop's office issued letters in response to the Integrity Board's resolution *[reprinted on page 21]* and to NCCCUSA General Secretary Campbell, the latter also signed by Pam Chinnis *[reprinted on page 21]*. In both letters, the two highest ranking officers of the Episcopal Church say that had they been present at the NCCCUSA General Board meeting they would have spoken and voted for Observer status for UFMCC. Garner expressed his deep gratitude for their remarks. It remains for Integrity and its members to push for NCCCUSA delegates who are experienced in lesgay ministry to make sure that as the Presiding Bishop claims, the delegation will represent a "cross-section" of the church. ******************** Episcopal Delegates to the Governing Board of The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA The Rt. Rev. Craig Anderson Absent -- Substitute: Raymond Blanks The Most Rev. Edmond Browning Absent -- Substitute not present on day of vote 815 Second Avenue New York, NY 10017 Mrs. Pamela Chinnis Absent -- No Substitute 439 New Jersey Ave. SE Washington, DC 20003 *Mrs. Glennes Clifford 326 NW 15th St. Oklahoma City OK 73103 Ms. Sonia Francis Absent -- No Substitute 815 Second Avenue New York, NY 10017 The Rev. Abigail Hamilton Absent -- No Substitute P.O. Box 104 Morris Plains, NJ 07950 *The Rev. J. Carlton Hayden University of the South Sewanee, TN 37375 The Rev. H. Barnett Jackson, Jr. 3149 NW 24th St. Oklahoma City OK 73107 The Rev. Canon John E. Kitagawa 4 East University Parkway Baltimore, MD 21218 Dr. Alda M. Morgan 2451 Ridge Road Berkeley, CA 94709 *The Rev. William A. Norgren 815 Second Avenue New York, NY 10017 *Ms. Cheryl A. Parris 3351 Corsa Ave. Bronx, NY 10469 *Dr. Timothy F. Sedgwick 2135 Orrington Ave. Evanston, IL 60201 Ms. Ann Shire Absent -- No Substitute 1133 No. Main Allentown, PA 18104 * Opposed granting UFMCC Observer status ******************** SUMMARY OF HISTORY OF NCC-UFMCC RELATIONSHIPS The UFMCC has been in dialogue with the NCCCUSA for ten years. The following is a summary of the key events in that decade of relationship: - September, 1981: UFMCC applied for membership in the NCCCUSA. - March, 1982: The NCCCUSA Constituent Membership Committee met with UFMCC representatives in New York and voted unanimously 9-0 that UFMCC meets all "...the conditional requirements for membership in the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA." - May, 1982: At the Nashville, Tenn. meeting, the Governing Board tabled the vote on eligibility and referred the issue, by a vote of 88-77, to the Faith and Order Commission for study. The Commission organized a dialogue with UFMCC representatives in November-December, 1982. (GB.82.4170-4171) - May, 1983: The Faith and Order Commission reported to the NCCCUSA Governing Board and enumerated a number of questions to be addressed. The report made no recommendation concerning eligibility or membership. The UFMCC invited NCCCUSA Governing Board members to a worship service in San Francisco during its regular meeting. - November, 1983: The Governing Board voted to ~...postpone indefinitely" a vote on UFMCC eligibility for membership in the NCCCUSA. The parliamentarian determined that it would be up to the UFMCC to request that the issue be brought "off the table" at a future date. (GB.82.4338) - May, 1984: The NCCCUSA Governing Board Members began a three year process of "...study, conversation and dialogue" with the UFMCC in three areas: Biblical Interpretation of Homosexuality; the Science of Human Sexuality; and Ecclesiology. - November, 1987: The final report was presented to the Governing Board by the UFMCC/NCCCUSA Steering committee of the Consultations. The Governing Board voted: That a committee consisting of representatives from the NCC Governing Board appointed by the NCC President, and representatives of the UFMCC be appointed to recommend to the NCC Governing board at its May 1988 meeting a process whereby the NCC and the UFMCC can remain in study and conversation together. (G.B.87.4825) - May, 1988: On the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Dialogue named in 1987, the governing Board voted to establish a committee to give guidance to the work of council units in: conducting research in human sexuality; facilitating dialogue with the UFMCC in local and regional councils of churches; and if feasible to bring recommendations for bilateral and multilateral national dialogue. (G.B.5.88.10) From 1988 to May of 1990 the NCCCUSA, consumed by its restructure and personnel changes did not implement this action of the Governing Board. - May 1990: The UFMCC in correspondence to the President and General Secretary sought clarification of the status of the motion concerning UFMCC membership which was tabled in 1983 and the status of the committee authorized by the Governing Board in 1988. - November 1990: The NCC Officers, after reviewing minutes and parliamentary rule, reported to the General Board that no application from the UFMCC is now pending nor is there any further motion which is "tabled" still in abeyance. Adapting the 1987 action to the new structure of the NCCCUSA the General Board reaffirmed the action to establish a committee. (GB.11.90.150) - December 1990: The President acted to establish an NCC-UFMCC Dialogue Committee chaired by Bishop William Boyd Grove. ******************** Excerpts from the Interim Report of the NCC-UFMCC Dialogue Committee, November 13-15, 1991 *I. INTRODUCTION* The General Board acted in November 1990 to establish a Committee accountable to the General Board to pursue specific tasks and inquiry concerning the NCC-UFMCC relationship. Composed of General Board members and two representatives of the UFMCC, the NCC-UFMCC Dialogue Committee has met several times during the eleven months through conference calls as well as in face to face meetings. *II. COMMITTEE FINDINGS* A. *Member Communions*: Throughout the months of the Committee's work, both the religious and secular press heightened the awareness of the particular ways in which various member communions are struggling with issues related to human sexuality, participation of gay and lesbian persons within the laity and clergy of communions, grappling with divergent articulations of Biblical, theological and ethical approaches to questions of human sexuality and confronting issues of authority and discipline with regard to the conduct of laity and clergy alike. 1. *National Assemblies*: During the summer months of 1991 more than eight of the national gatherings of member communions debated issues [of sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular] within their assemblies and conferences. While it is difficult to generalize about the outcome of these deliberations a trend could be observed in which such national church bodies tended to act to reaffirm traditional stands and reject reports and recommendations which sought to alter traditional theological bases for assessing ethical behavior. Moreover, an undercurrent of continuing unrest could be observed. Recognizing the gravity of these issues for both individuals and institutions, national assemblies frequently authorized further study and acted to empanel committees and study processes which will endow future assemblies with mandates to consider the issues further. 2. *Denominational Caucuses*: Another index to the prominence of the issues surrounding homosexuality within the life of member communions is the extent to which specific special interest groups or caucuses have been constituted within the respective communions. Generally, but not always, these groups are referred to as gay and lesbian caucuses. Although ordinarily organized on a communion basis, some of the caucuses are organized to serve several communions. The Committee gathered data by way of an interview schedule which sought information concerning the nature, size, scope, organization and activities of each group as well as an understanding of the relationship of each organization to the governance of its respective communion. In analyzing this data the Committee noted that: - the prevalence of such organizations suggests the urgency, significance and universality of the questions regarding participation of gay and lesbian persons in the life, witness and ministry of member communions. There are some notable exceptions among communions, and several in which no such caucuses exists. - As is common among special interest groups and caucuses these groups are served by volunteer staff. Nearly all publish newsletters and sponsor an array of educational and advocacy activities. - These organizations generally (with only one exception) exist outside of official church structure and do not enjoy officially sanctioned status within the governance of their respective communions. Despite this, these groups seem to exert varying degrees of influence in an informal pattern within their respective communions. - Increasingly, these groups are in contact with each other across denominational lines. In recent years informal ecumenical gatherings of the leadership of these denominational caucuses have taken place and frequent informal contacts exist. In short, although the Committee's work relates specifically to the dialogue between the NCC and the UFMCC, data from the member communions suggests that a perhaps even more extensive dialogue concerning homosexuality is taking place *within* member communions through their interaction with their respective gay and lesbian caucuses. D. *Conclusions*: Even at this early stage there are indications within and among our member communions and within the Council itself that these issues hold unusual potential for division among us and therefore warrant immediate, careful and prayerful consideration. In light of the data above the Committee believes: 1) The NCC is confronted (along with its member communions and the society at large) with a set of perplexing issues that pose a fundamental challenge to the peace and unity of the Church. 2) Moreover, these issues run across the face of American Christianity as a great seismic fault which, with little or no warning may erupt disfiguring the familiar landscape. 3) The ecumenical context may, by God's grace, contribute a forum in which member communions may find new resources and energies for identifying and addressing these issues of great importance to the Church. If and how this ecumenical response is to be developed is a decision that belongs to the whole community. Whatever the outcome of that larger discussion, the Committee believes that it has identified and described some of the elements that provide the context for its work on the tasks mandated to it by the General Board. lt is the conviction of this Committee that the community as a whole will need to reflect together on the meaning of the context in which the Committee takes up its work and to evaluate with care the plans which the Committee has made in its role of service to the General Board. In serving that goal of common reflection it will be important for the community to counsel directly and candidly with one another and eschew the temptation to rely upon press accounts and secular analyses of their deliberations. ******************** STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF INTEGRITY, INC. December 3, 1992 We feel called to address issues raised by the November 12, 1992 vote of the delegation of the Episcopal Church to the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America (NCCCUSA) denying Observer status in that body to the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC). We affirm that the Episcopal Church's position regarding dialogue on issues of human sexuality is that set forth in resolutions adopted by the 1976, 1985, 1988 and 1991 General Conventions in which an overwhelming majority of the bishops and deputies affirmed the following points: 1) Because our society is undergoing a deep reexamination of attitudes about sexuality and intimacy, it is not surprising that this should be an arena where we are likely to find disagreement within the church. 2) While reaffirming the traditional teaching of the church on Christian sexual morality, there has nevertheless been a strong commitment to engage in dialogue with members whose experience has been at variance with traditional understandings. 3) It is understood that such dialogue should involve members of the lesbian and gay community within the Episcopal Church. 4) Such dialogue should be conducted in a non-judgmental manner, encouraging the free-flow of ideas and beliefs. Not all members of the church agree with this position and some are actively refusing to participate in dialogue. Nevertheless, short of action by the General Convention, encouragement and facilitation of dialogue with lesbian and gay male members of the Episcopal Church is the stated and authoritative goal of the church at this time. We are called to safeguard the integrity of the church. As the President and Board of Integrity, Inc.: We decry the action by the Ecumenical Officer of the Episcopal Church, the Rev. William Norgren, and other members of the Episcopal delegation who opposed Observer status for UFMCC, which, far from furthering dialogue on human sexuality, has set forth an ecumenical policy which is at odds with the teachings of this church. We dissociate ourselves from the action of the Ecumenical Officer of the Episcopal Church and the majority of the members of the Episcopal delegation present at the November 12 meeting of the NCCCUSA. We regret the hurt and confusion caused by the Episcopal delegation's vote for many members of the Episcopal Church, of the UFMCC, and of the several NCCCUSA member communions which supported UFMCC. We strongly urge the immediate resignation of the Rev. William Norgren as Ecumenical Officer of the Episcopal Church and his replacement as a delegate to the NCCCUSA. We urge the replacement of the following persons as delegates to the NCCCUSA: Mrs. Glennes Clifford, The Rev. J. Carlton Hayden, Ms. Cheryl A. Parris, and Dr. Timothy F. Sedgwick. We urge the appointment of persons with ecumenical experience who are active in lesgay ministries in the Episcopal Church as delegates to the NCCCUSA. We urge that the Presiding Bishop and his Council of Advice extend pastoral concern to the leadership and membership of the UFMCC with respect to the votes of the Episcopal delegation. We strongly urge the Episcopal delegation move for a reconsideration of the vote on Observer status at the next meeting of the General Board of the NCCCUSA, Accepting the challenge to be faithful, a challenge shared by all Christians, we call upon you to join us in recommitting ourselves to the unity of the church and to the mission of Christ, praying that we may grow in our knowledge of him who is "the way, the truth, and the life." President: Mr. E. Bruce Garner Secretary: Ms. Sue Thompson Treasurer: Mr. Timothy Caison Northeast Regional Vice President: Ms. Patricia O'Kane Southern Regional Vice President: Mr. Robert Rynearson Midwest Regional Vice President: Mr. Jeffrey Dey Western Regional Vice President: Mr. Don Stouder Director of Development: Ms. Dorothy Beattie Director of Communications: Mr. Edgar K. Byham ******************** THE PRESIDING BISHOP RESPONDS December 9, 1992 The President and Board Integrity, Inc. Dear Friends: I am writing in response to your statement of December 3. I affirm your belief that granting observer status to the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) would have been a positive action. I regret that the meeting of our Executive Council conflicted with the General Board meeting. Had I been present I would have taken a strong stand in support of granting observer status to UFMCC. I would have taken that stand for precisely the reason you set forth in your statement, that we as a church need to include gays and lesbians in our dialogue about human sexuality. It is my strongest belief that all must be invited to sit at the table so we may together work through the issues around sexuality that are before us as a church and a society. Throughout my ministry it has come ever clearer to me that we each have a piece of the truth and only by coming together and sharing our sense of how God calls us will we come to know the mind of Christ. In fact, it is this same understanding that undergirds our ecumenical efforts. I realize that my position on this puts me in opposition to several members of our delegation, including the Ecumenical Officer. Our delegations are not "instructed." Nor are they chosen because they hold particular views on issues before our church. They are chosen as a cross-section of persons in our church who are committed to working ecumenically. Though being in disagreement with some members of our delegation is not the most comfortable state of affairs neither is it negative, or unfamiliar. As you are acutely aware, we in the Episcopal Church do not march in lockstep! I believe it is for this reason that we have made the progress we have on some of the controversial issues we have wrestled with over the last decades. Because people are permitted to disagree, and varying points are honored, dialogue goes forward. I have spoken to Dr. Norgren and perfectly well understand his rationale for voting to support the committee recommendation to take no action at this time and consider means for further discussion. From Dr. Norgren's perspective as an ecumenical officer, safeguarding the ongoing life of the National Council such that its members may gather to debate another day is a priority. This was also the perspective that guided the Membership Committee. That is a perfectly proper, and perhaps necessary, perspective for one who bears the responsibility of an ecumenical officer. I respect Dr. Norgren's perspective, and I respect him and his ministry. It has been my observation that ecumenists look at progress in terms of centuries. If, as an ecumenist, one did not take the long view, the work of one's life would consist of one deep frustration after another at the tiny steps taken on a long journey. I am enclosing a letter that the President of the House of Deputies and I am sending to the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches as a means of recording our opinions on the granting of observer status to the UFMCC. I am sending this letter to you with the approval of Mrs. Chinnis and you may share it, and this letter, as you wish. I am also sending to Troy Perry, Moderator of the UFMCC, a copy of the letter to the General Secretary. I want to convey to each of you that the same spirit that informs my sense that the ecumenical perspective of Dr. Norgren and others in our delegation must be respected also lead me to respect and value your ministry around this issue. As I said to the Integrity gathering in Houston, this church very much needs your ministry and, particularly your work on behalf of our sisters and brothers who are lesbians and gays. I also want to let you all know that I am keenly aware of the hurt caused by the vote of the General Board. My pastoral activities are and will be guided by my knowledge of the pain that has been caused. This letter comes with my blessings and my prayers for you. Faithfully yours, Edmond L. Browning Presiding Bishop ******************** PB WRITES TO NCCCUSA December 9, 1992 The Rev. Joan Campbell General Secretary National Council of Churches of Christ 475 Riverside Drive New York, NY 10115-0050 Dear Joan: We are writing concerning the action of the General Board to support the recommendation of the Membership Committee with regard to the granting of observer status to the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC). We regret that the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, of which we are the presiding officers, met at the same time as the General Board and thus we were unable to attend the General Board meeting. We wish to register in a formal way that, had we been in attendance, we would have both spoken in favor and voted for the granting of observer status to the UFMCC. We take this action in an awareness that members of the delegation of the Episcopal Church supported the Membership Committee, and thus hold views contrary to our own. We uphold their right to their own views, which we honor and respect. It is because we believe that those with different views should sit at the table together and wrestle with the difficult issues that are before our church and our society that we pray further discussions with the UFMCC will continue in a productive manner. Faithfully yours, Edmond L. Browning Presiding Bishop Pamela P. Chinnis President, House of Deputies ******************** where there is hatred Let Us Sow Love Mark your calendar NOW for the Nineteenth Integrity National Convention July 15-18, 1993 San Diego, California Watch for details in the next edition of the Voice Integrity National Convention 1993 P.O. Box 34253 San Diego, CA 92163-0810 Robert Heylmun, Dean ******************** A RESOLUTION FOR DIOCESAN CONVENTION RESOLVED, that the ____ convention of the Diocese of _________ expresses its dismay and disapproval of the vote of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America (NCCCUSA) denying Observer status to the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC); and be it further RESOLVED, that this convention expresses its dismay and disapproval of the vote of the majority of the Episcopal Church delegation to the NCCCUSA opposing Observer status for the UFMCC; and be it further RESOLVED, that this convention expresses its support for full membership of UFMCC in the NCCCUSA; and be it further RESOLVED, that this convention sends greetings to the UFMCC and condolences on the occasion of the denial of Observer status; and be it further RESOLVED, that the Secretary send copies of this resolution to the Rev. Syngman Rhee, President, and the Rev. Joan Campbell, General Secretary, of the NCCCUSA; to the Most Rev. Edmond Browning, Presiding Bishop, and the Rev. William Norgren, Ecumenical Officer, of the Episcopal Church; and to the Rev. Elder Troy Perry, Moderator, and the Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, Ecumenical Officer, of the UFMCC. ******************** LESBIAN/GAY RELIGIOUS LEADERS MEET IN MIDST OF NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES by Kim Byham Representatives of most of the nation's lesbian/gay Christian caucuses and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) met in Cleveland from November 10 through 13 in conjunction with the meeting of the General Board of the National Council of Churches (NCC). More than 25 representatives of 13 organizations attended. The purpose of the meeting was twofold. The first was to share concerns among the various groups struggling for equal rights and rites within their respective denominations. The last such meeting was in 1989. The second purpose was to be present at the NCC both to support UFMCC's request for Observer status and to remind delegates of the presence of gay and lesbian members in their own denominations. *[A full exposition of what happened at the NCC General Board meeting is set forth in a separate release.]* A group of leaders from caucuses in the Disciples of Christ [GLAD], the Episcopal Church [Integrity], the Presbyterian Church [Presbyterians Concerned], and the United Church of Christ [UCCL/GC] joined UFMCC in calling the meeting. They were joined by representatives from Affirmation [United Methodists], American Baptists Concerned, Axios [Eastern Orthodox], the Bretheran- Mennonite Council, Christian Lesbians Out & Uniting Together, Friends for Lesbian/Gay Concerns, Seventh Day Adventist/Kinship International, and Unitarian Universalists Concerned. The meeting on Tuesday, November 10 was held at the national headquarters of the United Church of Christ in downtown Cleveland. Joining the group for lunch were NCC's President, the Rev. Syngman Rhee, and its General Secretary, the Rev. Joan Campbell. The candid exchange among the NCC and lesbian/gay representatives lasted about an hour and a half. Also addressing the meeting was the Rev. Paul Sherry, national president of the United Church of Christ. Greetings were received from the leader of the Disciples of Christ as well. The primary focus of the meeting was the NCC meeting and the appropriate response to a rejection of MCC's request for Observer status. The leadership group did, however, examine several other topics: Plans were established for the next meeting in November 1993, perhaps again in conjunction with the NCC General Board; It was agreed to explore a possible meeting in New York City in June 1994 with representatives of lesbian and gay religious organizations from around the world; It was agreed to sponsor a joint presence at the March on Washington in April 1993; The group expressed its outrage at the action of the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Presbyterian Church overturning the election of the Rev. Jane Spahr as pastor of the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY because she is openly lesbian. The group called for action against the State of Colorado as a result of passage of an initiative which would deny civil rights protection for lesbians and gay men and asked the NCC for assistance in the protest. ******************** A PRAYER Dear God, I met a young man a few days ago who does not know you like I do, and I was not able to convince him of your love. He is a student, here in San Diego for a seminar, and he saw our Integrity ad in the paper so he called. He wanted, he said, to speak to someone who could answer questions about his faith and how that relates to his homosexuality. We met and talked for several hours. He quoted me all the familiar passages of scripture used to deny us membership in your body. He told me how his Roman Catholic father and Baptist mother would never approve. He told me he dreamed of one day meeting a special guy that he could spend the rest of his life with, and how happy that might be for him if he didn't think you would punish him for it. I felt so much of his pain, and I wanted more than anything to share my story, my journey, my faith. I thought that if I told him how knowing you and believing in your love for me has changed my life it would change his, too. I wanted him to know that you walk with us, that you hold us, that you love us, especially because we are gay or lesbian. I had my work cut out for me. Years of spiritual oppression and abuse had taken their toll. He was afraid of you. He wanted to hide from you in a flurry of anger and denial. I just could not get him to open his heart. I'm not sure I knew how. I finally asked him to participate in a dialogue in his diocese (if it's even available), listen to the stories of his gay brothers and sister, and listen to his heart, since so often your spirit speaks to us there. God, please send your grace into his heart and help him to feel the love that comes through faith. Show him that he is truly a part of your body, a full and equal and complete member. Send your spirit to lead him to peace. I wish I had all the right words, all the right answers. So many of my sisters and brothers have run from you, frightened by a God they think is vengeful and ready to punish them. We in Integrity must share with them the good news they once knew but forgot; that the gospel is about love, not hate; inclusion, not discrimination and oppression; forgiveness, not judgment; life, not death. Teach me, Lord, teach all of us, how to bring our gay and lesbian family into your kingdom. Teach is all the right words and all the best answers. Amen. ----- This prayer is reprinted from the "Integrity/San Diego Newsletter," June 1992 ******************** THE PRESBYTERIANS DO IT AGAIN The Rev. Jane Adams Spahr will not be allowed to serve as co-pastor of Downtown United Presbyterian Church in Rochester, N.Y., the denomination's top national judicial body has ruled. In effect, an openly gay or lesbian, sexually active person cannot serve as a minister of any of the 11,500 Presbyterian churches in America. The ruling, issued after a 12-to-1 vote by the denomination's Permanent Judicial Commission, meeting in Dallas, overturned an earlier decision by a lower church court that supported Spahr's hiring. "This commission holds," it said in a 12-page decision, "that a self-affirmed practicing homosexual may not be invited to serve in a Presbyterian Church position which presumes ordination. However, this commission recognizes that a call may be approved for a person who is no longer engaged in a homosexual way of life." The commission was also unusually critical of the lower church court decision and of the approval by the Presbytery of Genesee Valley. "Had the Presbytery acted appropriately, this 'call' would not have been approved," it said. Under a 1978 declaration by the Presbyterian Church's equivalent of General Convention, the General Assembly, "the unrepentant homosexual" cannot be ordained. After the Rochester church hired called Spahr in November, 1991, the Genesee Presbytery approved the call by drawing a distinction between the ordination of gays and lesbians and the hiring of those already ordained. It therefore affirmed the decision of Downtown Presbyterian to call Spahr as its minister. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Northeast voted 9 to 1 to affirm an earlier approval by the Presbytery of Genesee Valley. The commission found the Presbytery of Genesee Valley's approval of Spahr as a co-pastor to be "irregular" and "contrary to the standards of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)." The decision was made Monday but not announced until today. The commission said in its decision that the Synod's decision erred when it: - "Failed to rule that the official policy of the Presbyterian Church precludes formal official actions affirming in ministry of word and sacrament one who is a self-acknowledged practicing homosexual person." "A presbytery is not free to exercise its own judgment contrary to our constitutional standards ... without jeopardizing the entire fabric of our Presbyterian system," the commission said. The one dissent on the high court came from W. Clark Chamberlain, a regional official of the church in Houston. In his dissent, he wrote: "In truth, the Church's problem is with overt behavior. The true sin here for Presbyterians is embarrassment. "We make an idol of gentility, of niceness. Since the principal figure in this case offends niceness, the majority -- while acknowledging her present good standing, her ministerial gifts and her acceptability both to her calling, congregation and presbytery -- finds that her call cannot be fulfilled. "The position of the majority is not consistent. If Jane Adams Spahr is a sinner, why is she not to be disciplined? If she is in good standing, why can her call not be fulfilled?" *Reaction at Downtown Presbyterian* Leaders of Downtown Presbyterian Church decried the decision. Virginia West Davidson, co-chair of the committee that selected Spahr, said, "It's a fear-filled response that seems to say if we allow this, the world's going to come apart." "We called her because she was the most qualified candidate to fill the position that was open and she also happened to be a lesbian and chose not to hide that," Davidson said. "I think there are people who will leave the Presbyterian church over this, because they no longer wish to be hurt or abused over the way God created them," said the Rev. Rosemary Mitchell, one of the three co-pastors of the congregation, wiping away tears as she spoke at a news conference. "The Presbyterian church hasn't heard the end of this issue. People are so angry and embarrassed, they want to do something." At a service on November 4, about 150 members spoke about how painful the decision was for them. "I feel very discriminated against at this point," said Liz Sinden, 29. "I'll be honest. I don't know if I can be part of this church." Another member, Kim Begandy, said she felt the same as when she left the Roman Catholic Church 13 years ago because she did not feel accepted there as a lesbian. Although she called the decision "very homophobic," she said she planned to remain a Presbyterian. "I have to stay and go from here because I have to believe in who I am," she said. "You have given me so much hope and faith in a church, that I thought I would never know," Spahr said in a taped statement from California shown to the congregation. During the 12-minute talk, several members cried. Mitchell said the congregation will continue efforts to change the church's constitution. "We will continue to fight within the system. This is our church, too. I grew up in this church." *The Hearing* The final chapter in the Jane Spahr controversy began October 30 in Irving, Texas. Lawyers representing both sides of the issue presented arguments before the Judicial Commission. "We are talking about conduct that is at conflict with the moral principles of the church," attorney Julius Poppinga told the hearing. Spahr didn't speak during the brief testimony period. James C. Moore, an attorney representing Spahr and the Rochester church, said, "At no time did Jesus Christ speak, criticize, condemn or otherwise address the subject of homosexuality." Jesus did admonish his followers "to love our fellow human beings, as we would be loved," Moore said. Poppinga, representing churches which opposed Spahr, countered, "Did Jesus say anything about drug abuse? Did Jesus say anything about child abuse? Did Jesus say anything about counterfeiting?" *Jane Spahr After the Decision* "It's a very sad day for the church," Ms. Spahr said from San Anselmo, Calif., where she has lived and worked while awaiting the judicial decision. Ms. Spahr, who was ordained in 1974, and announced that she was a lesbian four years later, is 50 years old and the mother of two sons from a former marriage. "I believe my sexuality is a gift from God," Spahr said in an interview with AP. "For any institution to encourage that a person lie, or that a person cannot say or be who they are, I am deeply troubled by the decision. "I know that I was to serve that church in the deepest part of my soul. Not being able to do that is not only unjust, but I believe against the will of God. That is against everything I ever learned about Jesus Christ or what it means to be a Christian." she said. "I believe that Christ says that everybody can sit at the table and that everybody has a right to be with Him." In an interview with "The New York Times," Spahr said, "How many people have already left the church because lesbian and gay people no longer feel welcome? There are hundreds and thousands of them and their families." Many, she said, are switching to the United Church of Christ, the only mainstream denomination to accept homosexual ministers, or the Metropolitan Community Church. Spahr, who is the executive director of the Spectrum Center for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns in San Anselmo, said that she intended to remain in the Presbyterian Church and continue to work for change. "I will continue to fight for justice, for the inclusion of all people, no matter what their orientation," the Rev. Jane Spahr said November 4 in an interview with AP. *Other Reaction* The Rev. John Fife, head of the General Assembly, said the day after the decision he had hoped the ruling would be different, but said he must accept it. Like the ordination of women, the gay-lesbian issue is something the church will grapple with for years to come. "We're just at the beginning of that process," said Fife, a pastor in Tucson, Ariz. Chris Glaser, author of three books on lesgay spirituality, said he was outraged. "I could not think of a worse blow that the judicial commission could deal to lesbian and gay Christians, and especially Presbyterians, " said Glaser, who lives in West Hollywood. "It says to us once again that the church does not want our gifts of ministry. It also says that the church ... refuses to honor its own determination to protect the rights of those gays and lesbians who were ordained prior to putting the ban on ordination in place." *Presbyterian Act Up* An Indianapolis minister, who is the founder of Presbyterian ACT UP! asked for a clarification of the ruling. The Rev. Howard Warren Jr., ministers at the Damien Center, which counsels people with HIV/AIDS and their families. He asked local and national church leaders to determine whether the internal decision will nullify his post. Warren addressed his concern in letters to the leaders of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and Presbytery of Whitewater Valley, the church's regional governing body in Indianapolis. In his letters, Warren asked for clarification and wrote that the decision against Spahr is "yet another example of the barbaric and savage treatment of at least 10 percent of God's creation and that it will go down in infamy along with the Roman Catholic inquisition, the Salem witch hunts and the Nazi concentration camps." ******************** *EPISCOPAL* *COMMUNICATORS* June 9, 1992 Bruce Garner, President Integrity, Inc. PO Box 19561 Washington, D.C. 20036-0561 Dear Bruce: This brings hearty congratulations to you and to the members of Integrity for the fine work being carried out by Scott Helsel and Kim Byham. During our meeting last week in Berkeley, "The Voice of Integrity" received two Polly Bond Awards of Merit: one for in- depth coverage of a current issue "Human Sexuality Issues at General Convention" and one for the headline "R.I.P. E.U.R.R.R." Nearly 500 entries in this year's overall competition were judged by professionals in the secular media. The awards are presented annually in memory of Polly Bond, a communicator from the Diocese of Ohio who before her death in 1978 was a vigorous champion of excellence in church communications. You can indeed be very proud of Scott and Kim for the high level of professionalism they continue to give to church communications! Sincerely, Mary Lee B. Simpson, Past President Episcopal Communicators *A self-supporting organization of persons with communications responsibilities in the Episcopal Church.* ******************** CD Review by Kim Byham By popular demand, I am inaugurating a regular review of compact discs featuring Anglican choral music. You may recall that I reviewed four CDs featuring British choirs singing "favourite" hymns in the Fall, 1990 issue. I did so with a great deal of trepidation because my only qualification is that I have a very extensive collection of such music, indeed choral music is almost the only kind of music I buy. At the end of 1990, I was reading a Christmas letter from one of our clergy members. He mentioned at the end of the letter that he was listening to certain recording as he wrote. I was listening to the same recording as I read his letter! Having visited in the homes of numerous Integrity members I have always been struck with the similarities of our libraries. I suspect the same pattern may be emerging with CDs. The problem, however, is that in many areas such recordings are not readily obtainable. The last time I reviewed four CDs, listed here in order of preference, though all were excellent: "Praise to the Lord: Favourite Hymns from St. Paul's Cathedral," with the St. Paul's Choir, the English Brass Ensemble and Christopher Dearnley on organ, directed by John Scott; Helios, CDH88036, 1989. "Holy, Holy, Holy: Favourite Hymns," Choir of King's College, Cambridge, directed by Stephen Ceobury, Argo, 414609-2, 1986. "The Hymns Album," Huddersfield Choral Society, directed by Owain Arwel Hughes, EMI CD-MFP6059, 1986. "Sing With Us 20 Favourite Hymns," The Choir and Congregation of the Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich, directed by Gordon St.John Clarke, Abbey, CDMVP826, 1983. Since that review I have obtained five more hymns albums, but not of the consistent quality of the first four. "Your Favourite Hymns," EMI, CDB7 52041 2, 1988. Note the lack of attribution to a single choir. That should have been a tip off that the music is not outstanding. Even worse is that 13 of the 20 hymns are done as solos. Two of the others are done as instrumentals by a band. In the remaining five, the choirs sing only as background to the soloists (the Skelmanthorpe Male Voice Choirs for 4, the Master Singers in 1). Avoid this CD, despite the inviting but unidentified picture of Bath Abbey on the cover. "Your Favourite Hymns, A Thousand Voices Sing the Finest Hymns of Praise," Massed Choirs from Mersyide sung at Liverpool Cathedral directed by Ian Tracey, Virgin, VC7 91209-2, 1992. You certainly get a lot of power with a thousand voices, but you also loose some subtleties. Since this is an interdenominational effort, the hymns include many evangelical "favourites," including "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers" (yes, I know it's in the Hymnal; it was sung at my confirmation in 1960 and I haven't heard it since). The recording begins and ends with "You'll Never Walk Alone," which I never thought was a hymn and I don't think Rogers and Hammerstein did either. Other than the three already listed and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (for the American market?), most of the remaining 17 hymns are traditional Anglican pieces done in a pleasing if not spectacular manner. Don't overlook that this is the only recording I've seen which includes that most ethnocentric English hymn, "And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time," which supports the myth that Jesus visited England during his earthly ministry. This CD seems to be widely available since it is a brand new release. "Favorite Hymns and Anthems," The Westminster Choir College Choir under the direction of Joseph Flummerfelt, Gothic, G409044, 1990. This is Scott's favorite, probably because they spell favorite "correctly" and because it was done in New Jersey. And he's not alone, it's always the popular pick when we have guests over. It is a marvelous album and while not Anglican, *per se*, most of the 20 hymns are in The Hymnal. Of all of the albums, this is the only one with one of my favorite hymns, "Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones." It also includes what I consider the quintessential "All People That on Earth do Dwell," the Vaughn Williams arrangement of the Old Hundredth Psalm Tune. It has the advantage of being easily obtained from Gothic at P.O. Box 1576, Tustin, CA 92681. "Amazing Grace, Hymns and Anthems of Great Faith," Carlo Churley on organ, Chamber Choir of Grand Rapids, Pro Arte, CDD417, 1988. This wasn't with the choral music. I discovered it on one of my rare forays into the organ section. Carlo Churley is one of the great living organists and this was understandably placed with his other, solely instrumental recordings. The 15 selections are quiet varied, but not surprisingly seem to have been selected because of the major organ component. The choir sounds like a miniature version of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Although the longest piece is what I consider the quintessentially English "Dear Lord and Father of Mankind," (it appears on four other cited CDs), it's done in a painfully slow and maudlin style. Most other pieces, however, are done with appropriate vigor. "Famous Hymns of Praise," Choir of St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh, Priory, PRCD376, 1991. This is my most recent purchase and was an instant favorite. Priory is undoubtedly the premier label in the field of English choral music and I doubt you'd be disappointed in any of their recordings. Like Anglicans everywhere in the diaspora, these Scottish ones favor traditional English hymns, 23 here, only three of which aren't in "The Hymnal 1982." The choir, which sounds very traditional, debunks the myth that the inclusion of girls' and women's voices diminishes the clarity and power of the sound. ******************** INTEGRITY CHAPTERS AND CHAPTERS-IN-FORMATION AS OF DECEMBER 1, 1992 Integrity/Albany Grace & Holy Innocents 498 Clinton Ave. Albany, NY 12206 Integrity/Atlanta P.O. Box 13603 Atlanta, GA 30324-0603 Integrity/Austin P.O. Box 4327 Austin, TX 78765-4327 Integrity/Baltimore Emmanuel Church 811 Cathedral St. Baltimore, MD 21201 *Integrity/Berkshire* P.O. Box 3191 Pittsfield, MA 01202-3191 *Integrity/Bethlehem* P.O. Box 5181 Bethlehem, PA 18015-5181 Integrity/Bloomington P.O. Box 3232 Bloomington, IN 47402-3232 Integrity/Brooklyn Church of St. Ann & Holy Trinity 122 Pierrepont St. Brooklyn, NY 11201 Integrity/Central Florida NO CURRENT ADDRESS Orlando, FL Integrity/Central Indiana P.O. Box 2191 Indianapolis, IN 46206 Integrity/Central Ohio P.O. Box 292625 Columbus, OH 43229 *Integrity/Central Vermont* c/o Christ Episcopal Church P.O. Box 737 Montpelier, VT 05601 Integrity/Charlotte P.O. Box 12204 Charlotte, NC 28220-2204 *Dignity-Integrity/Charlottesville* P.O. Box 3790 Charlottesville, VA 22903 Integrity/Chicago P.O. Box 2516 Chicago, IL 60690 Integrity/Colorado St. Barnabas Church 1280 Vine Street Denver, CO 80206 *Integrity/Columbia-Willamette* c/o AFSC 2249 East Burnside Portland, OR 97214 Integrity/Dallas P.O. Box 190351 Dallas, TX 75219-0351 Integrity of the Desert 4741-C E. Palm Canyon, Box 149 Palm Springs, CA 92264 Integrity/Detroit c/o Emmanuel Church 18320 John R St. Detroit, MI 48203 *Integrity/East Central Illinois* 1011 South Wright Street Champaign, IL 61820 Integrity/El Camino Real Church of the Good Shepherd 301 Corral de Tierra Salinas, CA 93908 Integrity/Greater Cincinnati 4905 Chalet Drive #11 Cincinnati, OH 45217-1445 Integrity/Houston P.O. Box 66008 Houston, TX 77266-6008 Integrity/Iowa P.O. Box 5225 Coralville, IA 52241 Integrity/Kansas City P.O. Box 414164 Kansas City, MO 64141 *Integrity/Kentuckiana* c/o St. George's Church 1201 S. 26th St. Louisville, KY 40210 Integrity-Dignity/Madison P.O. Box 730 Madison, WI 53701 Integrity/Memphis Calvary Church 102 North Second St. Memphis, TN 38103 Integrity/Middle Tennessee P.O. Box 121172 Nashville, TN 37212 Dignity-Integrity/Mid-Hudson P.O. Box 356 LaGrangeville, NY 12540-0356 Integrity/Mississippi P.O. Box 68314 Jackson, MS 39286-9998 Integrity/New Hampshire P.O. Box 412 Nashua, NH 03061 Integrity/New York P.O. Box 5202 New York, NY 10185-0043 Integrity/Northeast Ohio P.O. Box 0397 Oberlin, OH 44074-0397 Integrity/Northwest Pennsylvania P.O. Box 1782 Erie, PA 16507-0782 Dignity-Integrity/Oklahoma City P.O. Box 25473 Oklahoma City, OK 73125 Integrity/Philadelphia Holy Trinity Church 1904 Walnut St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 Dignity-Integrity/Phoenix P.O. Box 21091 Phoenix, AZ 85036 Integrity/Puget Sound P.O. Box 20663 Seattle, WA 98102 Integrity/Raleigh Church of the Good Shepherd P.O. Box 28024 Raleigh, NC 27611 Dignity-Integrity/Richmond Box 5207 Richmond, VA 23220 Dignity-Integrity/Rochester 17 S. Fitzhugh St. Rochester, NY 14614 Integrity/San Antonio P.O.Box 15006 San Antonio, TX 78212 Integrity/San Diego P.O. Box 34253 San Diego, CA 92163-0801 Integrity/San Francisco Bay Area 584 Castro St. Suite 400 San Francisco, CA 94114-2588 Integrity of the Sierra P.O. Box 110 San Andreas, CA 95249 *Integrity/Southeast Florida* P.O. Box 14583 North Palm Beach, FL 33408 Integrity/Southland P.O. Box 1896 Laguna Beach, CA 92652 *Integrity/Southwest Florida* St. Boniface Church 5615 Midnight Pass Road Sarasota, FL 34242-1721 Lutherans Concerned-Integrity/ Southwest Minnesotta 1418 State Street Marshall, MN 56258 Integrity/Triangle P.O. Box 3535 Durham, NC 27702-3535 Integrity/Tucson c/o Grace St. Paul's Church 2331 East Adams St. Tucson, AZ 85719 Dignity-Integrity/Tulsa P.O. Box 1271 Tulsa, OK 74101-1271 Integrity/Washington P.O. Box 19561 Washington,D.C. 20036-0561 *Integrity/Waterbury Area* St. John's Church 16 Church St. Waterbury, CT 06702 Integrity/Westchester P.O. Box 2038 White Plains,NY 10602-2038 Integrity/Western Massachusetts P.O. Box 5051 Springfield, MA 01101-5051 *Integrity/Western New York* Church of the Ascension 16 Linwood Ave. Buffalo, NY 14209 *Integrity/Western North Carolina* P.O. Box 15305 Asheville, NC 28813 Integrity/Adelaide P.O. Box 2 North Adelaide, SA 5006 AUSTRALIA Integrity/Brisbane P.O. Box 357 Stones Corner, QLD 4120 AUSTRALIA Integrity/Edmonton 102, 9747 106th St. Edmonton, ALB T5K 1B4 CANADA Integrity/Kingston P.O. Box 814 Kingston, ON K7L 4X6 CANADA Integrity/Toronto P.O. Box 873, Station "F" Toronto, ON. M4Y 2N9 CANADA Integrity/Vancouver P.O. Box 2797, Vancouver MPO Vancouver, BC V6B 3X2 CANADA ******************** EURRR NEEDS MONEY AGAIN ROUND UP THE USUAL TARGETS: INTEGRITY AND THE PB October 21, 1992 Dear Contributor, The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Edmond L. Browning, has embarrassed you. He has embarrassed our church. At the July convention of the pro-homosexual "Integrity" movement, he announced with a smile, "I'm going to give way to temptation. I wasn't going to say this, but I can't help it: This is the highest I've been in a long time." The Bishop counseled gay and lesbian Episcopalians and their advocates to "hang in" -- and thus hang on to the practice of their sin. No call to repentance, though this is what Scripture teaches. No call to faithfulness, though this is what Scripture teaches. No call to healing, though this is what Scripture teaches. Bishop Browning conveyed the blessing of the Episcopal Church -- *our* Church, *God's* Church -- upon the goals of the ironically named "Integrity" movement. My heart broke to hear him characterizing the Church's debate about homosexual practice as a battle for power -- This battle is not about power, but about *Truth*. Meanwhile, Integrity President Bruce Garner (whom Browning [sic] appointed to the Standing Commission on Human Affairs) urged convention-goers to tell their stories: "We're looking for ammunition," he said. "Bullets are real, and we need some." The Integrity Convention made it horribly clear: There *is* a battle going on in the Episcopal Church. This battle is very real, and our Presiding Bishop is fighting against the vast majority of rank-and-file Episcopalians like you and me. He is openly condoning sin under the cleverly worded banner of "inclusiveness." His commitment is clear and strong, but it is a commitment to a *half*-truth: the assurance of God's love without mention of God's demand for *holiness*. It's dreadful to consider what has become of the Church's 200-year legacy of faithfulness to Scripture. Never in two centuries has the Episcopal Church approved of the ordination of practicing homosexuals, nor blessed their unions. Why? Because Holy Scripture is crystal-clear on the issue: Homosexual practice is sin, an "abomination before the Lord!" There is no ambiguity on this subject. And there is no ambiguity about how you and I -- and the multitudes of faithful Episcopalians who love God and love the Church -must respond. This is the very reason why we established Episcopalians United 5 years ago -- to call the leadership of our Church to repentance, renewal, and reform. That is why I am writing to you. We need your help today -- to call the leadership of the Episcopal Church back to the truth of God's Word. We need your help today -- to mobilize "troops" -- yes, this is a battle for the Truth! -- troops to work for reform and renewal. We must develop and distribute "ammunition" -- teaching tools, learning tools, publications and videos and other materials, all the resources that caring people need in order to fight the good fight. WE MUST CALL, EVER MORE INSISTENTLY, UPON THE CHURCH'S LEADERSHIP TO BE ACCOUNTABLE TO ITS PEOPLE. How can it happen? Bishop Browning, pressing hard to guide the Church down the road to shame and apostasy, has the bloated bureaucracy of the Church -- and enormous financial resources, flowing from the offerings of good Episcopalians like you! We must resist the tide. Each of us must do what we can -- willing to make the sacrifices necessary for the sake of the truth. Yes, it is a battle. And yet we care about the homosexual. We care deeply. We long to see homosexuals enjoying the blessings of faithful living, rather than the curse of enslavement to their sin. That is why Episcopalians United has been so supportive of ministries like Regeneration, which work to set individuals free of homosexual practice in the name of Christ. We must call sin "sin." We must call truth "truth." WE MUST PROCLAIM THE MESSAGE OF REFORM AND RENEWAL FOR THE CHURCH. And to do that, we urgently need your financial help today. As you give generously today, you will make yourself a crucial part of Episcopalians United. We do need your help urgently. While many caring people have joined our ranks already, the challenge is enormous -- and operational funds for our continuing work are still critically short as I write you this letter. So please respond as generously as you can with a tax- deductible gift. With your help we will reach more people, mobilize more workers, create more tools. ... WITH YOU HELP TODAY, we will strike harder -- and fight more effectively ... to bring our vision for repentance, renewal, and reform into the realm of reality. Thank you in advance for what you will give today. And as you give, please pray for our Presiding Bishop. Pray that he will stand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen! Yours in Christ, The Rev. Todd H. Wetzel Executive Director P.S. We know we can have great impact. We saw the influence of our work at Kanuga, when the House of Bishops heard and responded with contrition and confession. *BRUCE GARNER RESPONDS* Dear Todd, I deplore exploitive journalism. I find it particularly abhorrent when quotations are taken completely out of the context in which the original words were spoken. The most recent EURRR fund raising letter quotes the Presiding Bishop as follows: "I'm going to give way to temptation. I wasn't going to say this, but I can't help it: This is the highest I've been in a long time!" Those words were in reference to two things. First, the pulpit from which he spoke is elevated about ten feet *above* the level of the pews in Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church. It is physically a high place in which to be standing. Secondly, the Eucharist the Presiding Bishop celebrated was a "high church" service. The procession alone contained several vergers, two thuribles, three processional crosses, and more than a dozen processional banners. Your quotations of the Presiding Bishop were indeed completely out of the context in which they were spoken. Why do you feel the need to pervert and distort a perfectly innocent statement made with humor at a joyful occasion for so many people. Are you really so in need of money that you would stoop so lowly? In case you wonder at the certainty of my description of the situation, I was present and heard every word. You also quoted me out of context. I did say "We're looking for ammunition. Bullets are real and we need some." The bullets and the ammunition are the stories of my sisters and brothers who have suffered at the hands of the church because of their sexual orientation. The stories are painful and they need to be heard by the members of this church of ours, this church of yours and mine. Yet again, you would pervert the pain of the children of God to raise money. How low will you stoop, Todd, just to raise money? You are so certain of what Holy Scripture says about homosexuality, yet I wonder if you have really read the words in their original context and in their original languages. As a priest, I would think you should have. If you are honest, you will admit that the words don't mean what you claim. While you are quoting, why don't you try the 25th chapter of Matthew's Gospel where we are told very clearly that what we do or fail to do for each other as fellow human beings, we have done or failed to do for God? Why don't you also try quoting the 7th Chapter of Matthew where Jesus is very clear that we are not to judge each other - lest we be held to the same manner of judgement we dole out. I think you are afraid to quote these sections of Holy Scripture, Todd, because you fear the consequences: You might be touched by the wonderful inclusiveness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You might have to admit that the Gospel does not exclude it includes. I think it is decidedly anti-Christian that you would pass judgement on upon and condemn millions of God's children without knowing a single bit of information about them except their sexual orientation. How often have you spoken to any of us? How often have you engaged us in true dialogue? How well do you know any of us? My hunch is that the answers to both questions will not have a positive ring to it. If you cared enough to learn, you would be astounded at the deep personal faith of gay and lesbian people. You would witness and again be astounded at the very strong personal relationships with Jesus Christ. I say astounded because it is truly a miracle of God that people who have been so abused by the church in the *name* of God would hold to such faith. My presumption is that they have learned, as have I, that God and the church don't always agree. In such disagreements, I choose to side with God. Todd, for every thump you give the Holy Scriptures, I could give an equal if not greater number of thumps that either disprove yours or point out the ways that *you* don't follow every word in the Bible literally. What good would that do for either of us except demonstrate who knows the minutiae of the Bible better? Why don't we put our energies into doing what our Saviour commanded by loving God with all our heart and soul and mind and by loving our neighbors as ourselves? I learned a long time ago that *all* have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. My sin is not that I am gay. My sin is my failure to serve God in all human creatures. My sin is failing to respect the dignity of every human being. Do we not share the same sin, Todd? Perhaps both our organizations could do better at serving the dominion of God if we spent less time judging and more time seeking the will of God. Yours for Integrity in Christ, Bruce Garner President Integrity, Inc. ******************** PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BYLAWS OF INTEGRITY, INC. Additions are shown in quotes, [Deletions are bracketed.] CHAPTER 1. MEMBERSHIP ARTICLE 2. ... DUES Section 2. Chapters. The establishment of dues for membership in Chapters of Integrity, Inc. shall be the prerogative of each Chapter. Chapter dues shall be in addition to those prescribed by the Board of Directors for National and Regional membership. "New" National members affiliated with Chapters shall pay the dues prescribed for Integrity, Inc., to their Chapters, which shall forward them to the Treasurer. CHAPTER 6. CHAPTERS. ARTICLE 17. ... MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS. Section 4. Financial Responsibility. Each Chapter shall assume responsibility for collecting and promptly forwarding the prescribed National dues of its "new" members to the Treasurer of Integrity, Inc. Reason for proposed changes: The Board at its Spring, 1992 meeting voted to shift all aspects of the renewal process to the national level effective January, 1993, which plan was reviewed at the national business meeting at the 1992 National Convention. These changes would conform the bylaws to the new process. CHAPTER 2. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. ARTICLE 8. ... ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS. Section 1. Terms of Office. The President, the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Regional Vice-Presidents shall take office on "October 1" [the last Sunday in June] of even-numbered years or immediately upon their election, whichever is later in the calendar year, and shall serve for two years or until their successors are elected. Reason for proposed change: This would prevent the possibility of new officers assuming office immediately prior to General Convention, a situation which has caused problems in the past. It would allow a slightly longer transition period, but would still come before the regular Fall Board meeting, eliminating "lame-duck" legislation. PROPOSED EFFECTIVE: June 15, 1993. ******************** MEMBERSHIP FORM INTEGRITY P.O. Box 19561, Washington, DC 20036 I want to share in Integrity's work for justice for lesbians and gay men. Please enter my membership as checked below and begin my subscription to Integrity's newsletter. [ ] Individual annual membership $25 [ ] Couple annual membership $40 [ ] Low income/student/sr. citizen $10 Mr./Ms/Miss Mrs./Rev./Dr. __________________________________________ Address _________________________________________________ City _________________________ State ___________________ Phone ________________________ Zip _____________________ Please mail with your check or money order to: INTEGRITY, INC., PO Box 19561, Washington, DC 20036-0561. All contributions taxdeductible to the extent permitted by law. ******************** PRESIDENT'S PAGE I am writing this column, like so many others, from an airplane. I am returning home from the most recent meeting of the Standing Commission on Human Affairs of the national church. It was a productive meeting. From what I am able to discern, my witness as a member of the lesgay community is proving of value. It is much more difficult to ignore us when we have a human face. (The Commission is not a group to try and ignore us anyway.) This Commission meeting was also a painful one for all of us. During the meeting we learned that the Vice President of the House of Deputies had renounced his orders as a priest. The reasons centered around sexual misconduct with several young men. From what I know of the situation, he had been living a life quite different from that which he revealed to the world. (I wonder how the issue would have been handled if the alleged misconduct had been between persons of the opposite sex -- I hope we would apply the same standards and the same penalties for all.) Part of the real sadness of these events is that the church has lost a true leader, one who knew and proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was also a leader who knew that there was room at God's table for all of us. Another part of the sadness of these events is the shattered lives. All of the participants were victims, no blame can be laid in one direction alone. The human lives involved will never be the same. But I pray that through the grace of God they will be restored to as much wholeness as possible. I will however assess some degree of fault. I will assess that fault against a society and a church that will not allow the children of God to be whom they were created to be, and not even allow them to *explore* the possibilities of who they are. I will assess that fault against a society and a church that forces human beings to live lives of deception and lies simply because that society and that church cannot deal with the people of God as God created them. We force human beings into molds that their lives were never designed to fit. We force them to construct facades that are "acceptable" to the majority. We require them to enter into relationships that are lies just to maintain a comfort level for those who cannot accept the fact that all God's children are *not* alike. The fruit of all this deception is and will continue to be broken relationships, ruined lives, shattered dreams, and sometimes even death. Nor should we be surprised when those living such deceptions restrict their sexual activity to isolated, desperate, moments. Where does it end? When do we call each other into accountability? When do we insist that *all* of us honor the absolute inclusivity of the Gospel? When do we, like Jesus, force the money lenders from the Temple and challenge those who cannot see the spirit of the law because they are blinded by the letter of the law? Our sexual orientation is not sin. Exploitation of other human beings is sin. The abuse of our brothers and sisters is sin. Rewarding people for being other than what they were created to be is sin. Claiming privilege to sit at the table of God is sin, when it is based on sexual orientation, or as Louie puts it so well: when it is based on genital correctness. We are all in the same lot. Heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, it does not matter which. We have *all* sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There are no exceptions in the church, in Integrity, in the Episcopal Synod, in EURRR, in society. There are no exceptions. It is through the singular grace of Jesus Christ that we are saved and forgiven. So what will we say to this? The cry goes up: How long, oh Lord? How long? What is our answer? Now is the time for the deception and lies to end. The mechanism and the resources rest with us. Again I ask: What will we do? My sisters and brothers -- what is your answer? ******************** Integrity of the Desert Lights a Candle Most people know Palm Springs, California as one of the resort capitals of the country and a popular vacation place for gay and lesbian tourists. It is also the home of a new Integrity chapter, Integrity of the Desert. There is a large permanent population of gay and lesbian people and a number attend the four Episcopal Churches in the Coachella Valley. In the late spring of 1992, Integrity of the Desert chapter began forming when Bruce McClelland, Bill Jones, the Reverend Woody Peabody, Canon Herbert Lazenby and others met with Donald Stouder, Vice President of the Western Region of Integrity, Inc. about the possibility of organizing a chapter in the Coachella Valley. What makes the Desert chapter unique is the welcome its members received from the Episcopal Churches and organizations which form the Riverside County Desert Mission Strategy Group, one of eight Mission Strategy Groups in the Diocese of San Diego. (Mission Strategy Groups are comparable to deaneries. The group includes clergy and lay members from each parish.) Local interest in a Desert Integrity chapter was discussion by the Mission Strategy Group at its May meeting. They passed a resolution which stated, "The presence of an Integrity chapter would be beneficial in the Coachella Valley." At its August 8 meeting, MSG Chair Canon Herbert Lazenby reported that Integrity of the Desert had met several times. He gave copies of its bylaws to the clergy. The following resolution passed. "As an ongoing way to facilitate dialogue in the spirit of (General Convention Resolution) A104sa, the Riverside County Desert Mission Strategy Group encourages parishes and missions of the Coachella Valley to make available meeting space to Integrity of the Desert." Bruce McClelland, Convener of the Desert chapter, was introduced at the September 16th MSG meeting. He thanked them for their support. McClelland then outlined the chapter's goals of service, education and fellowship. He announced there were 15 paid members and 10 prospective ones. Several serve on vestries or have other responsible positions at their churches. He noted some lapsed Episcopalians were returning to the fold through involvement with Desert Integrity. Today four Churches and a religious order host meetings of the chapter on a rotating basis. The installation of officers took place at the September meeting held at St. John's Episcopal Church, Indio, California. Bill Shanks is Treasurer, Steve Snider is Secretary, Bill Jones, board member-at-large, is credited with organizing the successful October AIDS Prayer Vigil. St. John's rector, Robert Crafts, led the evening worship. Service is high on the new Desert chapter's list of priorities. On a balmy night in October more than 250 people stood silently holding candles at the base of the famous El Mirador Tower on the grounds of Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. They were there at the invitation of Integrity of the Desert which called the gathering on October 11 to observe the Presiding Bishop's National Day of Prayer for persons living with AIDS and those who minister to them. There were prayers, scripture readings, hymns and musical solos during the brief service called "1000 Points of Light." The AIDS Assistance Fund (a desert group which provides food vouchers to needy persons with aids) received more than $1200 from a collection taken at the event. for further information contact: The Rev. Andrew Rank Riverside County Desert MSG 44-660 San Pablo Ave. Palm Desert, CA 92260 (619) 568-2200 ******************** CHALLWOOD STUDIO Victor Challenor Paul Woodrum Custom designed and made ... EUCHARISTIC VESTMENTS PREACHING GOWNS - STOLES ALBS - SURPLICES - TIPPETS 100 Lexington Ave., Suite 1-L, Brooklyn, NY 11238 Phone: 718-398-2877 [photo of vestments described below] CHALLWOOD STUDIO Gold silk worsted patronal vestments commission by St. Stephen's Episcopal, Jamaica, New York. ******************** BOARD ACTS ON CHAPTERS AT FALL MEETING The Board of Directors of Integrity, Inc. met at St. Hilda's convent in New York City, November 6-8. The Board addressed and handled routine business and correspondence, heard reports from the Regional Vice-Presidents (Midwest VP Jeff Dey was absent), approved the 1993 budget, renewed the Executive Secretary's contract for one year, and discontinued the planned experimentation with Integrity contact groups. Planning for Integrity's presence at the 1994 General Convention in Indianapolis was discussed. The Convener of the 1993 Integrity National Convention in San Diego told the Board about plans for the July 15-18 event. The next Board meeting will be held in San Diego immediately prior to the convention. The following chapters were certified: Integrity/Raleigh (NC), Integrity/Northwest Pennsylvania (Erie), and Integrity of the Desert (Palm Springs). Declared no longer active chapters were Integrity/Pittsburgh, Integrity/Hartford, and Integrity/Northwest Ohio. Dignity-Integrity/Wilmington had already closed and did not require Board action. Up for first reading to be declared inactive, with final action to be taken if required at the July Board meeting, were Integrity/Albany and Integrity/Central Indiana. Chapter-in-formation Integrity/Kentuckiana did not submit its application for a one-year extension and was given until December 31 to do so. Following the meeting, President Bruce Garner received Jeff Dey's resignation as Midwest VP due to job pressures and other commitments. The Board is receiving nominations and will appoint a new VP at or before the July Board meeting. ********************