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The Newsletter of the Interfaith Working Group
December 1998
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Pastoral Letter from Rev. Paul Sherry
The Rev. Dr. Paul H. Sherry. president of the 1.4
million-member
United Church of Christ,
recently sent a 1,943-word
Pastoral Letter
to all of
the more than 6,000 congregations in the denomination.
Entitled "Now, No Condemnation, The Rights of Gay,
Lesbian, and Bisexual Persons in Society and their
Membership and Ministry in the Church," Rev. Dr.
Sherry sent the letter in order to "remind all of us
that the church is to be a place where all are welcomed,
where the gifts of all are recognized and received, and
where the rights of all are defended and promoted."
In the letter, Rev. Dr. Sherry summarizes discussions
about the role of gay, lesbian and bisexual people in
the church, and recent and ongoing physical, religious,
and political attacks against them; he reaffirms the
denomination's support for the civil rights of gay,
lesbian, and bisexual people, discussing that support
at lenght in a social, political, historical, and
theological context; he lists some "marvelous
surprises" experienced by the denomination in the
midst of internal and external conflict over
sexual orientation; and both in conclusion and
throughout the letter calls on the church to speak out
and be welcoming.
Some of the most powerful passages include his assertion
that "sometimes these anti-gay positions have been
justified by flawed scientific understandings of the
nature of homosexuality. Underlying many of these
convictions is the assumption, frequently untested,
that the Bible in general, and Christianity in
particular, teach that homosexuality is a sin;" the
reminder that "when so many in our society witness
to the conviction that it is possible to be deeply
faithful to the Bible, profoundly respectful of the
historic faith of the church and its sacraments, and
at the same time support the full inclusion and
participation of all God's children the membership
and ministry of the church. Likewise, there can be
no compromise that all persons in this society must
enjoy equal protection under the law;" and the
conclusion that "the church's concern for the rights
and dignity of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people is
not a break from our past of a departure from
Scripture, but is informed by our moments of
greatest fidelity to the prophetic voice of the Bible
and the Gospel's embrace for those who, with Christ,
have been despised."
Among the "marvelous surprises," Rev. Dr. Sherry
lists "the growth and vitality of many local churches
that have declared themselves open to and affirming
of the gifts of gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons;"
and "the gracious perseverence of the
United Church Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender Concerns
which, for twenty-six years,
has been a prophetic presence in our church,
clarifying concerns, challenging stereotypes, providing
leaders for every setting of the church's life,
gently and persistently changing hearts and minds,
providing a refuge for those who have suffered wounds
of prejudice and exclusion in church and society."
Chicago Response to Fred Phelps
Broadway United Methodist Church
in Chicago,
Rev. Greg Dell's congregation, was recently
targeted by the
Rev. Fred Phelps
for picketing. (Rev. Dell has been charged with
conducting a union ceremony.) Phelps was also
on national television and in national news
magazines for picketing the funeral of
Matthew Shepard.
Four hundred people attended an Interfaith
Service for Justice the night before Phelps was
to arrive in Chicago. Not only was attendance
at the Sunday service three times its normal level,
but 1500 people showed up to form a circle around
teh church to keep the dozen or so picketers from
interfering with the service. In a press conference
that followed, Rev. Dell concluded, "A final word
must be said about those would more politely express
intolerance in the form of religious doctrine or
practice or civil law. We must understand that
discriminatory policies provide a seed bed from
which the kungle of hate and hate crime grows. Because
we do not use the words or slogans of Rev. Phelps
or particpate directly in the murders of the
Matthew Shepards of our world does not relieve us
of the responsibility for seeing the connection
between polite intolerance and the violent expression
of hate and fear. None of us can be relieved simply
because Rev. Phelps leaves town or particular hate
filled criminals are apprehended. We must take the
responsibility for the building of what Dr. King
called "the beloved community."
Al-Fatiha
Thirty participants from thirteen nations attended
the First International Retreat for GLBT Muslims in
Boston. They later announced the formation of a new
organization:
Al-Fatiha,
which "will work together
with other organizations, gay and straight,
Muslim and non-Muslim, to address the social and
political issues facing GLBT Muslims around the world."
"The retreat has given us the opportunity to
come together as a community in a way that was
never possible before," said founder Faisal Alam.
"But the GLBT Muslim movement has only just begun.
Much of the prejudice and discrimination against
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in
Islamic societies is culture-based and does not
stem from Islam as a religion. We want to celebrate
our identity as GLBT people who are also believing
Muslims. The noble and fundamental principles of
respect, human dignity, tolerance, understanding,
and justice, in Islam have been ignored when dealing
with the issue of homosexuality and gender identity.
We hope to change all that--God willing."
Marriage News
Voters passed anti-marriage constitutional amendments
in Hawaii and Alaska by approximately 70% to 30%.
The Alaska amendment specifically limits marriage to
one man and one woman. The Hawaii amendment allows
the legislature to limit marriage to one man
and one woman without judicial oversight if they choose.
Various news sources say that the issue is far from
settled in Hawaii. Among issues yet to be resolved are
1) whether the legislature must pass another law
limiting marriage, or whether the bill passed before
the constitutional amendment will stand;
2) whether the legislature will pass a broad
Domestic Partnership plan as suggested by the Governor;
3) whether
the amendment has any effect at all on the original
question of whether the state is required to provide
the benefits of marriage to same-gender couples; and
4) whether the amendment could be overthrown on
the same grounds as Colorado's Amendment 2. The
Hawaii Supreme Court has given the Attorney General
thirty days to file briefs on whether the new
constitutional amendment has an effect on the
disposition of the State's appeal of the Baehr
case. Baehr's attorneys will have thirty days to
respond to the Attorney General, who will have ten days
after that for a counter-response.
The Vermont Supreme Court heard arguments in that
state's marriage case. Reports have indicated that
the Vermont Constitution cannot possibly be amended
before 2002. In California, the question of whether
the state will explicitly refuse to recognize the
marriages of same-gender couples will be on the
ballot in 2000.
More Anti-Gay Violence
Matthew Shepard received national attention but
anti-gay violence did not begin or end with his
murder. In early November, Leonord Vines of
Baltimore survived being beaten and shot six times
for walking down the street wearing a dress. His
case was only reported in the Baltimore Sun
and press releases from the
Free State Justice Campaign.
Letterhead Changes
Old First Reformed Church,
Philadelphia,
a United Church of Christ
congregation, has voted to be listed on the
letterhead.
Catholic League Weighs in on Tree Decoration
The
Catholic League
for Religious and Civil Rights
successfully presured the operators of the ice
rink in New York's Central Park into canceling a
Levi Strauss-sponsored event for December 1
(World AIDS Day), which was to feature a 35-foot
artificial pine tree adorned with condoms, which
the League's Will Donahue called "just a way to
stick it to Christians." In a
Philadelphia Inquirer story, Donahue cited
Levi Strauss's domestic partnership benefits and
AIDS-awareness support as proof of a "gay,
anti-Christian agenda." In a related story, the
Dallas Morning News reported that the company
has made a donation to the
Hetrick Martin Institute,
which provides care services to gay youth;
they also have established the
Dockers Khakis Youth United Against Bias Scholarships,
which will send young people to a
Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network
conference.
Shocker in Georgia
In 1986 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Georgia's
sodomy law (challenged by Michael Hardwick, arrested
in 1982 for concensual sex with another man in his
home). The law was successfully defended in federal
court by GA Attorney General Mike Bowers. Early this
year the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an
appeal by Robin Shahar, fired by Bowers for
participation in a Jewish religious ceremony
(a marriage to another woman), because it implied
a sexual relationship in violation of the sodomy
law. But on November 23, in a case involving a
married man and his 17 year old niece, the GA Supreme
Court overturned the GA sodomy laws 6-1 as a violation
of the right to privacy guaranteed in the Georgia
Constitution.
Catholic Bishops
The
U.S. Catholic Bishops
have proclaimed that
Catholic elected officials must follow church teaching
when voting on abortion, and that the church would
remind members whether the officials complied. THis
met with strong reaction in the media. Locally
the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story in which
local elected officials said the pronouncement would
not effect the way they vote, a piece by David
Boldt in which he worried about anti-Catholic
backlash, and numerous letters. The fuss
was mostly about the threat of elected officials
being ex-communicated (which is a purely
religious matter), rather than a church endorsing
candidates for public office (illegal for tax-exempt
organizations).
Archdiocese
spokesman Guy Ciarrocchi
said in the Inquirer and Daily News
that the Archdiocese will produce voter guides rating
mayoral and City Council candidates; past voter
guides have only included candidates in national
races.
IWG Supporters Published in Local Papers
Rev. Victoria Weinstein amd Rev. Alfred Krass
both had Matthew Shepard pieces in local papers.
Rev. Weinstein's piece,
"The Cold Bony Hand
of Injustice Touches Us All" was in the
Main Line Times and Rev. Krass's piece
"Matthew Shepard and the Case for Hate-Crime
Legislation" was in the Bucks County Courier
Times.
Southern Baptists
The members of
Wake Forest Baptist Church
in Winston Salem, NC, voted 90-33 to allow their
clergy to officiate at same-sex unions. According
to the Raleigh News and Observer, the chuch
will hold a service for two lesbian members.
The Baptist State Convention
expelled two congregations in 1992 for pro-gay policies.
Southern Baptists of Texas
held their first convention concurrent with the
Baptist General Convention of Texas.
According to the AP story,
one reason for the split was a belief that the
General Convention hasn't taken strong enough
stands against abortion and homosexuality.
The Georgia Baptist Convention
voted by show of hands to exclude any church
"which knowingly takes, or has taken, any action
to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior"
according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution
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