Subject: IWG Charleston WV Letter (another one)
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 1997 23:59:23 -0400 (EDT)

The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 10 congregations and religious
organizations and 45 clergy from 14 faiths and denominations. If you are in 
the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious 
organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths 
are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in 
other areas.

August 14, 1997

Charleston Gazette
1001 E. Virginia St.
Charleston, WV  25301

Dear Editors:

The Rev. David Pence is apparently unfamiliar with the
cherished American concept of religious liberty, which
leads naturally to religious diversity. There is no
legal requirement for a particular religion to profess
the deity of Jesus Christ or a belief in the Bible as
the inspired word of God.  Since Rev. Pence singled out
Unitarians, we would point out that Unitarianism has
been a legally recognized religion for over two-hundred
years;  First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia was
established in 1796.  Would Rev. Pence also object to
stories about Jewish, Moslem  or Buddhist  clergy on
the same grounds?

The United Church of Christ "embraces a theological
heritage that affirms the Bible as the authoritative
witness to the Word of God," and the Universal
Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches believes
both "in one triune God, omnipotent, omnipresent and
omniscient, of one substance and of three persons" and
"that the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God." 
Rev. Pence apparently also does not realize that both
denominations have openly gay clergy.

We fail to see how an article about a single gay
Unitarian pastor can be viewed as an insult to any one
religion, especially to the diverse group of people,
institutions and beliefs that make up "biblical
Christianity." As coordinators of the Interfaith
Working Group, which is composed of more than four
dozen religious organizations and clergy from fourteen
faiths and denominations, we are proof that differences
in belief need not be viewed as personal affronts or a
detriment to civility or cooperation.

Sincerely,
Barbara Purdom     Christopher Purdom
Interfaith Working Group Coordinators

-- 

Interfaith Working Group                Religious organizations, congregations
[email-masked]                      and clergy supporting gay rights,
http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/         reproductive freedom, and the 
215-235-3050                            separation of church and state.