From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Orlando Sentinel Letter Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 23:46:33 -0500 (EST) The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 9 congregations and religious organizations and 38 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. March 26, 1997 Orlando Sentinel 633 N. Orange Ave. Orlando, FL 32801 Dear Editors: Supporters of the Presbyterian Church USA's "Fidelity and Chastity Amendment" and other similar initiatives in other denominations consistently portray these debates as conflicts between morality and immorality; between those who stand up for what they believe and those who do not think the church "can maintain any standards of personal morality for its ordained leadership," as Dr. J. Howard Eddington recently asserted in your paper. This is, however, a complete mischaracterization of the disagreement. It is not over whether we should have standards, or whether we should enforce them, but over what the standards should be, and how we interpret the scriptures that guide our understanding. In most of these debates the most profound differences are over whether a moral system should make distinctions on the basis of gender, and whether the focus should be on appearance or on intent. It is difficult for anyone to make a rational decision on which system is best, if we cannot even agree on what the points of contention are. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/~iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.