Subject: IWG Fort Worth Letter
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 23:04:16 -0400 (EDT)

The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 10 congregations and religious
organizations and 39 clergy from 13 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.

May 20, 1997

Fort Worth Star Telegram
PO Box 1870
Fort Worth, TX  76101

Dear Editor:

We were somewhat confused by Mark Sadler's May 18
letter in which he referred to "the Christian church"
as a monolithic entity with doctrines, declarations,
teachings, and theology regarding sexual orientation. 
There are in fact many different branches of
Christianity, all with substantially different opinions
on many issues, most of which were formed over
disagreements concerning theology and polity that few
people even remember now.  

In recent years there has been a major debate in many
denominations over our understanding of sexual
orientation, the scriptures which have traditionally
been interpreted as addressing sexual issues, and how
each denomination should best respond to the larger
society's anxiety over this issue. There have been a
wide range of responses, including fighting against
civil rights for sexual minorities, banning sexual
minorities from the church, "converting" everyone to
heterosexuality, encouraging chastity, bickering,
ignoring the issue, quietly accepting sexual
minorities, and championing the oppressed.  All of
these diverse responses are based on some combination
of personal experience, personal prejudice, scriptural
interpretation, and our basic understanding of what we
believe God calls us to do.

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.