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From the
Executive Director
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The
Council of The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB) met
October 28-30, 2006, in Madison, Wisconsin, for a Strategic Planning
Retreat. To say that we picked up momentum for our ministries of inclusion
would be an understatement. We’re pretty much moving full speed ahead!
I
hope you’ll be as excited as we are about our plans for 2006. We’re calling
this initiative,
“Expanding the Welcoming
Church”
Twelve-Stop Tour.
Many of our AWAB pastors have already expressed great interest and energy
for this
Twelve-Stop Tour.
We envision the following twelve outcomes:
-
12
community-building events throughout the United States
-
12 prospective new
member congregations
-
144 new individual
members (including 24 people of color & 24 youths) ($50 x 144 = $7,200
-
12 local chapters
-
12 major donors
($10,000 x 12 = $120,000)
-
12 local
coordinators (clergy or lay leaders)
-coordinate local chapter (12 individual members)
-coordinate local participation in regional & national events
-
12 “welcoming
church” stories for The InSpiriter (winter 2007 issue)
-
12 new individual
and/or congregational ministries of inclusion
-
12 appeals for
Progressive Baptist partners (preparation for a Progressive Baptist
National Conference)
-
12 new resources
(for instruction, worship, advocacy, etc.)
-
12 prospective new
council members
-
12 media blitzes (to
increase visibility and name recognition for AWAB)
Our
council has already gotten the word out regarding the following possible
itinerary (notice the “baker’s dozen” – one extra):
-
February – Ohio and
NY, NY
-
March – San
Francisco Bay Area
-
April – FL/GA/TN
-
May – DC
-
June – Chicago, IL
and IN/KY (National Gathering)
-
July – MA/ME
-
August – Upper
Midwest (WI/MN)
-
September – Seattle,
WA
-
October – Austin, TX
/ Houston, TX
-
November – NJ/PA
-
December – NC
Yes, this is an ambitious schedule, but this in a time of tremendous
opportunity for expanding ministries of the full inclusion of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender People in the life of Baptist congregations! We
hope to “make hay while the sun shines!” Please contact me with your
suggestions for planning these twelve regional AWAB gatherings in 2006!
Lovingly,
Rev. Ken Pennings
Executive Director, The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
ken@wabaptists.org, (608) 255-2155
Dr.
Stephen Jones Receives HRC Equality Award
The Human Rights Campaign is
the nation’s largest LGBT organization, and the HRC, at its Pacific
Northwest Dinner on September 17, 2005, presented the HRC Equality Award,
the highest award given in any year, to Dr. Stephen D. Jones, for his work
as co-founder and co-convener of the Religious Coalition for Equality, for
his work as President of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, for his
pastoral ministry at one of the city’s leading Welcoming and Affirming
Congregations, and for his advocacy on behalf of sexual minorities
throughout his career. Jones serves as Coordinating Pastor of Seattle First
Baptist Church, a member of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming
Baptists!.
Two
AWAB Congregations Welcomed Into the Rochester/Genesee Region of the ABC/USA
From Steve Hammond, Peace Community Church, Oberlin, Ohio:
Dear AWAB Sisters and Brothers,
If
you haven't heard the wonderful news already, I wanted to let you know that
Peace Community Church was received into the American Baptist Churches of
the Rochester/Genesee Region on November 6 (along with our sister AWAB
congregation the Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Buffalo NY). It was,
indeed, a joyous event in the life of our congregation and marks a new
chapter in our life. We have moved from an Association that could not accept
and celebrate our mission and ministry, to a Region that has generously
welcomed us to its table. This is a wonderful feeling, particularly given
the past nine months where there has been a move in our now former
Association to remove and/or punish us for our decision to become an AWAB
congregation.
Throughout this ordeal, we have made it clear that our decision to join AWAB
was one led and inspired by the Holy Spirit, and we were not about to turn
from God's leading. It is a shame that our former Association was unable to
trust our congregation's understanding of its mission and ministry. Though
we regret the break in our relationship with our former Association, we have
no regrets about joining AWAB. Like the ABCRGR, AWAB is a wonderful family
whose wisdom and faithfulness and love gives us strength. We are glad to be
partners in the Gospel of Jesus Christ with each of you.
Some of you have made it to the other side of the struggle, like we just
have. Others of you are in the midst of it. We will continue to pray for the
mission and ministry we are all about as we seek to live out the call to
follow Jesus Christ in our own congregations and our own lives.
Difficult and Painful Experience at Mid-American Baptist
Churches Regional Meeting
Reported by Doug Donley,
Pastor – University Baptist Church (AWAB), Minneapolis, MN
The Annual Gathering of the
Mid-American Baptist Churches in Harlan, Iowa was a difficult and painful
experience. The events of the weekend did not live up to the title of the
program "Building up the Body of Christ".
There were fine workshops
led by our own Don Dresser on the situation in Nicaragua. I attended a
workshop on the concerted efforts we do on behalf of those displaced and
traumatized by
Hurricane Katrina. But by
far, the focal point was the votes on who would lead our region in the
future and how we would deal with gay men and lesbians in our midst
(bisexual and transgender folk aren't even on the radar screen). The Board
of Region Ministries proposed a resolution to continue dialogue on issues of
human sexuality in general and homosexuality in particular. Included in this
resolution was a recommendation to not recognize the ordinations of openly
gay and lesbian people at this time.
At most Regional meetings
there are maybe 100 voting delegates. This time, there were over 200, most
of whom had never attended any regional function. The resolution was amended
to add the sentence, "We affirm the 1992 American Baptist Resolution which
states, "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian
teaching." They also amended the resolution to take out the words "at this
time" regarding the denial of recognition of gay and lesbian pastors. This
amendment was passed by a vote of 151-51-2. Another amendment was offered
to recognize Lynn Welton’s and Ross Aalgaard’s ordinations, since they had
followed all of the rules in place at the time. This amendment was defeated
37-159-7. The final resolution was passed by a vote of 143-53-2 (the text is
reprinted below).
Jean Lubke, Jim Moravek,
Don Dresser and others made articulate, impassioned pleas. Jean Lubke's
powerful statement equating gay and lesbian folk to previous discrimination
against African Americans and women was shouted down repeatedly before the
President of the Region intervened. The exclusionist group also presented
their own slate of officers who were easily voted into office, above those
selected by the Nominating Committee who worked heard to get a balance of
gender, experience, location, clergy/lay, rural/urban, even theological
perspective. The urban folk were voted out in favor of rural folk. All of
the women were voted out of office except one, including Nadean Bishop. The
moderates to progressives were voted out in favor of largely white male
pastors. It was a sad day. As I left the church, one person said to me,
"Shame on you for bringing this in to my church."
It felt abusive. I feel
angry, sad, frustrated and ashamed of the ways my sisters and brothers acted
on Saturday. I felt shunned and I felt that our church's ministry was
marginalized in the minds of many. I had the opportunity to speak with one
of the pastors who led the rally against the GLBT community after the vote.
I told him that he now has a responsibility to set the tone as one of
inclusion and respect going forward. I told him the ball is in his court to
make this organization truly Christian and just. More than one of us
wondered what would happen if we got this many delegates to address issues
of poverty.
We now need to decide what
we will do in the aftermath of these decisions. We need to never forsake our
GLBT sisters and brothers. We need to always look to Jesus for inspiration
for our ministry. We need to continue the long-term hard work of
reconciliation. We need to make sure that all of this does not become our
only focus. There is so much ministry to do. Please pray for our region and
for all of those bruised and bleeding as a result of the actions by the
majority of the delegates at the meeting in Harlan.
Here's the text of the
amended resolution passed by the Region in Harlan, Iowa, on October 22:
Whereas the 1992 resolution
on homosexuality is held in tension with the 1993 American Baptist
Resolution Calling for Dialogue on Human Sexuality.
Whereas we as Mid-American
Baptist Church's recognize that we are not of one mind in matters pertaining
to human sexuality.
Whereas there is a wide
spectrum of Biblical and theological views represented within our region and
within our churches.
Whereas many churches may
want the opportunity to continue to dialogue as called for in the 1993
American Baptist Resolution calling for Dialogue on Human Sexuality.
Therefore we as
Mid-American Baptist Churches affirm the 1992 Resolution on homosexuality,
"Homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching" call upon
individuals and churches to stay open to dialogue and to continue to
implement the 1993 American Baptist Resolution Calling for Dialogue on Human
Sexuality. Therefore we will not recognize the ordinations of openly gay and
lesbian persons.
West
Virginia Baptists Reject Proposal to Split from ABC/USA
By Associated Press,
October 19, 2005
CLARKSBURG, WV. -- West
Virginia Baptists voted Wednesday to reject a proposal to split from the
American Baptist Churches-USA over its stance on homosexuality.
The proposal failed on a
391-325 vote at the West Virginia Baptist Convention's annual meeting, said
the Rev. David Carrico, the convention's executive minister. He opposed the
resolution.
"I see (the vote) as a
message that the homosexual issue deserves careful and continued
consideration. It is a deep concern for our denomination," Carrico said.
Jay Wolfe, chairman of West
Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth, which introduced the resolution, said
the group objects to what it sees as a more moderate stance on homosexuality
taken by American Baptist leaders.
The group's resolution said
the ordination of practicing homosexuals and the affirmation of the
homosexual lifestyle by some Baptist churches is contrary to biblical
teaching.
Carrico said the West
Virginia convention addressed homosexuality in 1991 when delegates voted for
a resolution that said homosexuality is not acceptable for Christians.
American Baptist churches have the same policy, he said.
Baptist churches in the
Pacific Southwest announced plans earlier this year to break from the
American Baptist Churches-USA over issues involving gays.
American Baptist
Churches-USA has 1.5 million members in 5,800 congregations.
Report
on the Ninth Annual Lesbian and Gay Baptists Retreat, Austin, Texas
By Retreat Coordinator and
AWAB Council Member, Bill Cox
“One highlight of the 9th Annual Gay and Lesbian
Baptist Retreat,
Austin,
Texas (hosted by AWAB’s University Baptist Church, Austin, TX) was
hearing a testimony from
Paul Dodd at the Friday night service. He is involved in Soulfource and is
a UBC member who was assaulted in September. The assault is being
investigated as a hate crime. The play Deep in the Heart was read on
Saturday, and it was very moving! I hope that the players or someone else
can perform it again in the future. It dealt with a couple's 50th wedding
anniversary and the homecoming of their lesbian (prior married with a
daughter of her own) daughter. The play was based on an actual family who
came to watch the play. We followed the play with lunch and a discussion
about how the family dealt with each other over the family business, and the
actual family members also participated. It was very moving!
There was a buzz about AWAB and the Joint National Gathering: “Tapestry”
June 26-29, 2006. Many of the attendees hope that somehow AWAB can be a
part of a 10th annual retreat next year, keeping in mind that AWAB is also
participating in the Indianapolis event. “
Beth
Stroud Denied a Call to Ordained Leadership in the United Methodist Church
An
Open Letter to United Methodist Congregations:
Grace and peace to you from the Reconciling Ministries Network
Like many of you, we find ourselves grieving for our church and yearning for
a sacred reminder of God's dependable love and grace. Pain, alienation, and
anger are being felt in response to the recent decisions made by the
Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church. Know that you are not alone
in your feelings. Know, as well, that we are surrounded by a great cloud of
witnesses who remind us of God's Spirit, alive within us.
The Judicial Council responded to two situations that set disturbing
precedents. In one situation, it reversed an appellate court decision,
ultimately resulting in the denial of Beth Stroud's call to ordained
leadership in the United Methodist Church. Beth's deep integrity and her
gifts for ministry were affirmed through all of her church trials. Yet, she
has been denied her ordination based solely on her openness about living in
a committed and faithful partnership with another woman. In the other
decision, the Judicial Council supported a local pastor who denied
membership in a United Methodist Church to someone because a gay person
would not promise to live a life of celibacy. For the pastor, this signaled
that the man was "unrepentant."
These events are calling us to rediscover the depth of our faithfulness to
be a sanctuary for all of God's people. Around the nation, people in the
United Methodist Church are awakening, arising, and reaffirming our common
commitment to open hearts, open minds, and open doors. There is a new
urgency for local churches to be unwavering in their commitment to the full
inclusion of all persons in the United Methodist Church, as signaled through
our baptism and membership vows. We are mindful that there are persons this
day who do not feel that they have a sanctuary to call home. Every local
United Methodist Church needs to boldly proclaim that we are a place where
all are welcome!
Now is the time for churches that have always been active as welcoming
sanctuaries to remain faithful and true to the gospel. Likewise, now is the
time for churches that have been silent or quiet to find their voice and to
join in this struggle for the soul of our church. We invite you to join us
in three specific ways.
First, continue to pray for the saints of our faith who stand with courage,
integrity, and strength. Let us remember Beth Stroud and Chris Paige, their
families and friends, and the First United Methodist Church of Germantown,
Pennsylvania in our prayers. Let us remember as well all of those who have
been denied ordination in the past, who have left ordained ministry because
they were not welcomed, and all who currently live as ordained leaders in
ways that are less than whole.
In prayer, let us remember those who have left the church or who feel as if
they can no longer remain in the church, those who have no church to call
home, those who struggle everyday to find a way to live and be at peace with
the church. Let us remember all of the Reconciling Congregations among us
and their ministries of welcome, as well as all of those churches that
express the open call of the gospel. Let us be in prayer for those who seek
sanctuary, hoping to experience the grace of a living God.
Second, we encourage you to continue to be a local United Methodist church
that proclaims the grace of God and that welcomes all into its sanctuary.
The Bishops have clearly spoken and empowered churches to be open and
affirming. We encourage you to draw upon the resources of Scripture,
tradition, reason and experience to live out the gospel in your place. Take
extra steps this day to ensure that people feel welcomed to your sanctuary
and community.
Third, we invite you to actively witness to the gospel by standing boldly in
solidarity with those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, their
families and their friends. Join the Reconciling Ministries efforts, keep
updated through our website (www.rmnetwork.org),
and remain allies with those who are working to express God's grace to all.
We will actively work to change the Church structures and to address the
ambivalent attitudes expressed through our church's polity and practice. In
particular, the language of incompatibility must be eradicated. Take stands
where you can and make bold decisions with faith.
We are United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities
making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!! We
remain in one another's prayers as we work to live out the gospel.
On behalf of the Reconciling Ministries Network Board,
Troy Plummer, Executive Director
Sue Laurie, Outreach Coordinator
Jeff Spelman, Board Chair
Joretta Marshall, Board Chair-elect
Maine Voters Reject
Anti-gay Ballot Initiative
Much-needed victory for the national movement' National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force praises stellar grassroots organizing campaign; contributed more
than $170,000 to fuel the fight
PORTLAND, Maine, Nov. 8 -- Voters in Maine today defeated a ballot
initiative seeking to repeal the state's new law protecting lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from discrimination. With 35 percent
of the precincts reporting, 57 percent had voted against the measure, with
43 percent in favor of it. Twice before, in 1998 and in 2000, voters
rejected similar nondiscrimination laws by narrow margins.
Maine is the 17th state to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation and the 7th to protect transgender people from discrimination.
"Today's win proves that dogged, grassroots organizing can overcome the lies
and smears of anti-gay zealots and the profound unfairness of having
minority rights put up for a popular vote," said Matt Foreman, executive
director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "After the marriage
amendment losses we've experienced over the last 12
months, this is a much-needed victory for our national movement -- it proves
we can win statewide contests. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
American is deeply indebted to the staff and volunteers of Maine Won't
Discriminate, and to the people of Maine for embracing fairness and
rejecting bigotry."
The
Task Force made significant investments to identify pro-LGBT voters and
defend the anti-discrimination law, including cash grants of $169,500 over
the last two years (including $94,500 to Maine Won't Discriminate), sending
seasoned staff who took key roles in the campaign, and operating phone banks
in New York and Washington D.C. (This work is detailed below.)
"The Task Force has been an integral part of our efforts to keep this law on
the books from the beginning. They provided critical organizing expertise
and generous financial
support," said Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for Maine Won't
Discriminate. "With
their help, we grew the campaign's volunteer capacity, which was the fuel
that brought us to victory on Election Day."
Margin Proves the Value of Voter Identification & Get-Out-The-Vote Work:
Because the last two contests in Maine were so close (the measure in 2000
lost by less than 5,000 votes, voter identification and get-out-the-vote
work was considered crucial.
Starting in 2003, Equality Maine began an ambitious program to identify
pro-LGBT voters through door-to-door canvassing in Portland. This work has
been funded by three
successive $25,000 Community Impact Fund grants from the Task Force.That
effort resulted in more than 8,000 new pro-LGBT identifications, which were
made available to the Maine Won't Discriminate campaign. In turn, the
campaign focused on these voters and others identified from previous
campaigns and identification work, encouraging them to vote early. This
clearly paid off: more people voted early than in any prior off-year
election in the state's history, and appears to have provided the margin of
victory.
Campaign by Repeal Proponents Called "Reprehensible:"
The
Task Force called the tactics of the proponents of the repeal effort,
including the Christian Civic League of Maine and the Coalition for
Marriage, "reprehensible." Written Materials claimed the nondiscrimination
law meant that "a pedophile cannot be barred from a job as a public school
teacher." Television and radio ads asked voters to repeal the law to keep it
from "from forever changing the innocence of our children" and to "protect
your right to protect your children."
"These overt attempts to link gay people with child abuse are disgusting,
reprehensible and immoral," Foreman said. "While we are gratified the people
of Maine rejected them,
these kinds of smears cause long-lasting damage. If Michael Heath or Paul
Madore had one shred of decency, they would beg for forgiveness, but they do
not." (Heath and Madore were leaders of the campaign to repeal the law and
longtime Maine anti-LGBT activists.)
The
Task Force's investments in Maine included:
-
$75,000 in grants to
Equality Maine to identify pro-LGBT voters.
-
$94,500 in cash
contributions to Maine Won't Discriminate to fight the repeal effort.
-
Sending seasoned
staff to work on the campaign, some of whom took key roles in volunteer
recruitment and the GOTV campaign.
-
Intensive training
of more than two dozen Maine activists.
-
Operating 19
phone-bank sessions from New York and Washington, D.C., involving 198
volunteers and live contacts with 3,656 pro-LGBT voters in Maine.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Roberta Sklar, 917.704.6358 (cell)
rsklar@theTaskForce.org
Texas
Voters Approve Anti-marriage Constitutional Amendment
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force denounces continuing campaign of putting
minority rights up for popular vote
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 -- As expected, Texas
voters today approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage
and any other form of legal recognition for same-sex couples. With the vote,
Texas became the 18th state to adopt an anti-marriage constitutional
amendment in the last seven years. With 47 percent of precincts reporting,
76 percent had voted in favor of the amendment, and 24 percent against it,
greater than the 70 percent to 30 percent average of the other state votes.
Statement by Matt Foreman, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force
"All that today's results show is that it is profoundly wrong and profoundly
un-American to put the rights of a small minority of Americans up for a
popular vote. This is not democracy; this is tyranny of the majority. No one
would tolerate this being done to any other minority, but it's still open
season on gay people.
"Like every campaign in the past, the tactics of our opponents have been
reprehensible and distinctly un-Christian. Texans for Marriage, for example,
centered its message on the claim that marriage equality for gay people
would 'hurt children' when, in fact, there is nothing anywhere to
substantiate that slanderous assertion. Instead, the truth is that this
amendment will hurt tens of thousands of Texas families and their children.
"We at the Task Force are extremely proud of the television ads we produced
for the Texas fight that showed couples and their families talking from the
heart about why marriage matters. Many other good things came out of the
campaign, including recruiting new volunteers and winning new allies. Our
community, its infrastructure and its relationships with other causes and
communities are stronger now than when the campaign started, and that's the
most important thing. We thank No Nonsense in November, its campaign manager
Glen Maxey, Rev. William Lawson and our many friends and supporters in the
Houston area for their hard work.
"We're in this for the long haul, and even our most ardent opponents
recognize that it's not a question of whether we will win equality, but
when. Tomorrow, the fight resumes."
What the Task Force did in Texas:
*
Created and ran in the Houston market a groundbreaking series of television
commercials that presented real people talking about why marriage matters.
The ads, which can be viewed at
www.theTaskForce.org/media/epress.cfm , spotlighted couples and families
speaking poignantly about what marriage means to them -- and how the lack of
equal access to marriage hurts them, their families and society. The Task
Force spent $225,000 to develop the commercials, which garnered both
statewide and nationwide media attention, including a lead story on the
National Report page of The New York Times.
* Organized an intensive training in Houston focusing on building campaign
skills among people of color, including door-to-door canvassing on marriage
in African-American
neighborhoods.
* With members of Texas' Hispanic community, releasing in Houston (on Nov.
1) a national study on Hispanic same-sex couple households that found that
marriage inequality specifically hurts Hispanic same-sex families. Three of
the top 10 metropolitan areas with the highest number of Hispanic same-sex
households are in Texas. The study received widespread media attention in
Texas and nationally. [Available at
www.thetaskforce.org/media/release.cfm?releaseID=885
MEDIA CONTACT: Roberta Sklar, 917.704.6358 (cell)
rsklar@thetaskforce.org
Wisconsin’s Proposed
Anti-Marriage Amendment
The Capital Times, Madison, Wisconsin, Oct. 11, 2005
Marriage Ban Is All About Exclusion, Guest op-ed, Anne Enke
The deeper exclusionary principles behind the proposed anti-gay amendment to
the Wisconsin Constitution are becoming increasingly clear. This presents an
opportunity for people to think beyond questions of gay marriage and
domestic partnership and to coalesce around the values of democratic
citizenship against those who would exclude minorities from basic civil
rights.
The proposed amendment is not simply about "gay marriage"; its proponents
explicitly echo white supremacist notions of civic leadership and belonging.
For example, Julaine Appling, executive director of the Family Research
Institute of Wisconsin, recently told Isthmus: "I think we are being
extremely tolerant. We let (gays) live wherever they want, unlike with the
African-Americans before the civil rights movement." Just who is this "we"?
Appling has since clarified her meaning in a letter to Isthmus: "My response
about being 'tolerant' of homosexuals was in direct response to a question
about whether today's marriage issue is analogous to the civil rights
movement of the 1960s, when we were truly intolerant of people of a
different race."
"We" apparently are not of a "different" race, sexuality or religion for
that matter. This "we" is at the heart of the so-called "culture wars."
The term "culture wars" has a long history in the United States and Europe,
and it is no coincidence that those in favor of legislating discrimination
against GLBT people and people of color have repeatedly invoked it in their
campaigns. In specific reference to gays, Justice Antonin Scalia first used
the term in its original German, "Kulturkampf," in his dissenting opinion on
Colorado Amendment 2 (Romer v. Evans) in 1992. Amendment 2 sought to repeal
statewide ordinances that prohibited discrimination on the basis of
"homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation" and would have prohibited any
future nondiscrimination ordinances, even making it illegal for anyone to
campaign against discrimination.
The Supreme Court ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional, with the
majority concluding, "Amendment 2 classifies homosexuals ... in order to
make them unequal to everyone else." Scalia opened his dissenting opinion
with this line: "The court has mistaken a Kulturkampf for a fit of spite."
Kulturkampf translates as culture conflict or culture war, but it has a very
precise historical meaning in German. It came into use during the late 19th
and early 20th centuries when Germans debated whether or not Catholics and
Jews were real Germans: Were Jews and Catholics part of society or a threat
to it? Should they be participants in society, or removed from it?
As history has shown, these questions may be answered to further democratic
inclusion or to support fascist supremacy.
To those who believed that homosexuals did not belong in society,
legislating discrimination against GLBT people was simply democracy at work:
As Scalia argued, "the public" and "tolerant citizens" needed protection
from excessively powerful GLBT people.
Pat Buchanan also used the term Kulturkampf in his 1992 presidential
campaign, translating it into English as if to mask its historic roots in
exclusion, hatred and violence against Jews and Catholics. Since that time,
fundamentalists in this country have freely tossed about the term "culture
wars," and over and over it echoes its foundation in fascist conceptions of
citizenship.
Like the white supremacists who imposed Jim Crow laws after the Civil War
and like those who have resisted civil rights, there are those who continue
to assume that U.S. citizenry ("we") is composed of people who are not
"different" - not of a "different" race, not of a "different"
sexuality, and not of a "different" religion.
As in the German Kulturkampf, the issue in the proposed amendment to the
Wisconsin Constitution goes far beyond whether or not GLBT people are
excluded from the privileges of marriage and domestic partnership.
The issue is whether or not the people of the United States will allow the
"not-different" to decide who shall enjoy the rights of citizenship and who
shall be excluded from them.
Anne Enke teaches in the women studies program and the department of history
at UW-Madison. E-mail: aenke@wisc.edu
http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion//index.php?ntid=57217&ntpid=11
Sermon By Harry Knox, Director of Religion and Faith Program
Human Rights Campaign Foundation
Harry’s recent sermon at Chicago Theological Seminary:
http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Religion4&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=23&ContentID=21843
Harry
Knox, Director of Religion and Faith Program, Human Rights Campaign
Foundation, 1640 Rhode Island Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036, 202.572.8948,
harry.knox@hrc.org
Ken
Sehested Recommends New Book: Exile or Embrace? Congregations Discerning
Their Response to Lesbian and Gay Christians
Mahan
Siler, a member of Circle of Mercy Church, Ashville, NC, has a new book out
that will be of interest: "Exile or Embrace? Congregations Discerning Their
Response to Lesbian and Gay Christians" (Pilgrim Press).
Mahan is the retired pastor of AWAB’s Pullen Memorial Baptist in Raleigh,
N.C., which went through a very public controversy when two of its members
asked Mahan to do their union service. That began a congregation-wide
discernment process, more than a little bad publicity, the departure of a
number of long-term members and expulsion of the congregation from one of
its denominational affiliations.
The book has two particular strengths. The first is the very human and
personal tone of a pastor experiencing the pathos and the joy of this
tumultuous journey. (Two-thirds of the book are excerpted from the journal
Mahan kept during the period.) Instead of simply issuing an edict, he worked
diligently to involve the entire congregation in the decision-making
process. The second strength: In the latter part of the book Mahan offers
hard-won pastoral wisdom for congregations considering such matters. --Ken
Sehested, Co-pastor, Circle of Mercy Congregation,
Asheville,
NC
John Shelby Spong Recommends New Book:
Born Gay
A new book co-authored by Dr. Qazi Rahman, a lecturer in psychobiology at
the University of East London and Dr. Glenn Wilson, a member of the faculty
of the University of London, has just been published in the United Kingdom.
It was reviewed in The Guardian, one of the United Kingdom's four major
daily newspapers last month. Entitled, "Born Gay," this book lays out in a
quite public way the consensus today of both the scientific and the medical
communities in their attempt to understand homosexuality.
In a nutshell, these authors state the widely accepted conclusions that
homosexuality is not something "that can be caught, like 'flu'," it cannot
be "learned from people who make it look really cool and fun like those
chaps on 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' and it has nothing to do with
smothering mothers and distant fathers." All of that, they assert, has now
fallen by the wayside. Those ideas are now completely dismissed in
intellectual circles.
Drs. Rahman and Wilson write: "It is quite clear now that homosexuality in
gay men and lesbians is caused by biological factors." This conclusion, they
assert, is "so widely accepted" in academic circles that many colleagues
asked why they had bothered to write this book at all. "They tell us," they
said in the Guardian interview, "that all we are doing is pointing out what
everyone already knows." Everyone, that is, who is not homophobic and
therefore not open to the data that so deeply and significantly challenges
this ancient, deeply held emotional prejudice.
I welcome this book precisely because it is not written for the academic
world of science and medicine, where this issue is no longer debated.
Rather, it is written specifically for those people who still operate out of
an uninformed definition of homosexuality as either a sickness or a deviant,
sinful, unnatural and depraved choice. More importantly, it is written for
those who somehow think that this issue was settled when the Book of
Leviticus was written in the sixth century before the Common Era or by St.
Paul, who wrote between 50 and 64 C.E. It is written to resource the
churches of the world that are increasingly seen as the bastions of an
undying homophobia, which causes them to be at war over an issue that
outside those churches has largely been settled. It is written to place in
the clear relief of its own ongoing ignorance the embarrassing rhetoric that
still emanates from people like Benedict XVI, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell
and their passionate acolytes of the Religious Right in America. Negative
words also come from Christian leaders in the third world who try to cover
their obviously uninformed opinions with the charge of racism when those
opinions are rejected as simply ignorant. The evidence is so clear.
Homosexuality, just like heterosexuality, is morally neutral. Both can be
lived out in holiness or in degradation. Both are 'givens' not 'chosens.'
The only "sin" of homosexual people is that they are born with a sexual
orientation different from the majority. (More)
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The book, Born Gay! is available at
www.Amazon.com.
Calendar of Events
Ken
Pennings’ Speaking Engagement:
February 19, 2006,
10 am…Ken Pennings will be preaching at
Woodside Church
(ABC/UCC), 1509 E. Court St.,
Flint,
MI 48503-6202
(810-767-4911,
info@woodsidechurch.net). Dialogue Discussion with Ken 11:15 am.
AWAB’s Big
Event for 2006:
June 26-29,
2006…Tapestry: Live, Laugh, Love & Lead -
Joint National GLBT-Allies Gathering, sponsored by AWAB, UCC Coalition, and
GLAD (Disciples of Christ), at University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN.
Check the AWAB website,
www.wabaptists.org for updated information on the gathering. There will
be time for discussion and worship led by each of the convening groups.
Brian Dixon and Kevin Rose are AWAB's representatives on the planning
committee.
Regional
AWAB Gatherings:
February 24-26,
2006…Northeast (NY, CT, MA, ME, NH, VT, RI, PA) regional gathering for
AWAB churches and individuals at Madison Avenue Baptist Church
in NYC. If you are interested in attending and/or if you have thoughts, or
can help in the planning, please email Susan Sparks, Associate Pastor
at Madison Ave Baptist Church suegrace1@aol.com.
August
2006…Contact Rev. Dr. JoAnne Juett (pastor of First Baptist Church [ABC],
Eau Claire, WI), if you would like to help in the planning of a
Wisconsin/Minnesota AWAB Regional Gathering to be held in Eau Claire, WI (JoAnne
Juett,
715-832-0642,
jcjuett@sbcglobal.net).
First
Baptist Church, Granville, Ohio, Seeks a Full-time Pastor
First
Baptist Church, Granville, Ohio, a small, active Welcoming & Affirming
congregation, seeks a full-time pastor steeped in social justice. We welcome
applicants from any denomination who value substance over style and
questions over answers. For more information, see our website:
www.firstbaptistgranville.org Contact: Reverend Alan Newton, Executive
Minister, American Baptist Churches of the Rochester-Genesee Region, 1100
S.Goodman St., Rochester, NY 14620.
Phone:
585-340-9520.
Email:
anewton@crcds.edu
New Mailing Address & Phone Number
Please note that the Association has a new mailing address and phone number:
AWAB, P. O. Box 259257, Madison, WI 53725, 608-255-2155
Associational
is a periodic e-newsletter of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming
Baptists, a network of 57 churches and hundreds of individuals who have
joined together to advocate for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender persons within Baptist communities of faith. Please forward
this e-newsletter to interested friends. To subscribe, send an e-mail to
subscribe@wabaptists.org
with
SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. To be removed from this list, send an e-mail
to
unsubscribe@wabaptists.org
with
REMOVE in the subject line. To read back issues of Associational, go to:
www.wabaptists.org/associational.htm.
To
learn more about the Association, go to:
www.wabaptists.org.
The
Peace of Christ be with you. |
