Subject: IWG NY Times Magazine - Support for Gay Rights
From: Interfaith Working Group <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 23:14:44 -0500 (EST)

The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 12 congregations and
organizations and 53 clergy from 15 religious traditions. 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.

February 10, 1998

Magazine
The New York Times
229 W. 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036

Dear Editors:

We were disturbed by Alan Wolfe's comments (February
8) regarding American suburbanites' attitudes about
sexual minorities.  If he is correct about the level
of support for sexual minorities in suburban areas,
then we have a long way to go as a society.  However,
we suspect that he may not have tried very hard to
find people who believe that heterosexual
relationships are not inherently superior to
homosexual relationships.  To do so he would only
have had to look among the rapidly-growing number of
religious institutions from many faith traditions
that accept sexual minorities as full and equal
members, ordain and hire gay clergy, and/or perform
union ceremonies for same-gender couples.  

Perhaps there is more support for gay rights in the
cities, but all of the sixty-five religious
organizations, congregations, and clergy affiliated
with our organiza-tion are committed to gay rights,
and over forty per cent are in suburban, small town,
and rural areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.   If
Mr. Wolfe took the time to search out progressive
congregations in the suburbs, he would find a number
of supporters of gay rights.

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.