VOICE OF THE TURTLE Online

AWAB Presents Two Awards at the
ABC/USA Biennial in Denver, July 1-3

H. Darrell Lance was the recipient of the 2005 Randle R. Mixon Award for Christian Service. Darrell has been the editor of The InSpiriter since its beginning and he has help make it the outstanding publication that it is. Darrell is a biblical scholar who is a professor emeritus from Colgate Rochester Divinity School. Those of us who know Darrell also know of his love and gift for theater. We will miss Darrell's eloquence in print and voice when he retires as editor of TIS in 2006.

AWAB presented the first Barbra MacNair Award for Christian Witness to Barbra MacNair. Barbra was the editor of Voice of the Turtle for fourteen years. She served as co-chairperson of American Baptists Concerned, the predecessor to AWAB and the founding organization. Barbra working with others helped be a voice for LGBT people within the American Baptist family, many of whom couldn't be visible for themselves. Below, Barbra shares some of her thoughts about her time at the Biennial.

Reflections from an Old Turtle

Tears of joy came to my eyes as I listened to the roll call of the 57 AWAB churches at AWAB's business meeting held during the Biennial in Denver. I thought, "we've come a long, long way!"

When I started working as co-chair of ABConcerned in the early 1970's, one of my dreams was that someday, hopefully in my lifetime, there would be an openness to LGBT people in all our churches. We're not there yet, but we've come a long, long way.

In the beginning, I had high hopes that someday there would be an environment in which other lesbian women, especially those in professional ministry, would find that they could be out in the churches. The struggle was hard enough for women in ministry, and for lesbian women, the road seemed nearly impossible.

One reason I stayed in leadership as long as I did was because no other lesbian felt safe enough to take the position (and when I did step down from the position, it was a straight supporter, Peg rivers, who took my place).

And then AWAB was formed. Brenda Moulton stuck her neck out (think turtle!) for the cause. And now there are more and more gifted lesbian women stepping into leadership in this movement. ABConcerned (the lesbian and gay caucus of the ABC/USA) joined with AWAB to become a powerful force. There are now more than just a handful of individuals promoting the cause of acceptance and understanding of LGBT people in our churches. We've come a long long way.

In the "old days," we went from convention to convention on a shoestring budget never knowing when we walked out the door if we would be able to meet expenses. Thanks to generous supporters, however, we always did. As I listened to the AWAB financial report at AWAB's business meeting in Denver, I knew that we had come a long long way.

I feel blessed to have been a part of this important work.

Barbra MacNair
former co-chair, ABConcerned

The Rainbow Baptists Choir Sings

by Chris Boisvert

During the biennial, AWAB's Rainbow Choir sang hymns before each evening plenary session. People passing by the choir on their way to the evening's session had a variety of reactions. Some joined in the singing of hymns, some listened, others gave choir members scowling looks. The Choir is made up of all volunteers. People who have been to past biennials know where we usually sing and show up to join in. Others see us for the first time and sing with us.

A number of times at the biennial I heard people say that the choir singing was to "in their face". Now I can't see how singing hymns is an in the face activity, but apparently some people think that. The singing began at the San Jose Biennial in 1993 when American Baptists Concerned was barred from exhibit space within the main exhibit. We continue to sing as a way of expressing the fact that AWAB and other Baptists groups deemed as "unoffical" are still excluded from the biennials exhibit space. We also sing to remind people that LGBT people and their families are part of the Baptist family.

The Rainbow Choir was again lead by Rev. Gary Harris. We are very grateful for Gary's wonderful leadership. The choir is made up of men and women, LGBT and straight, young and not so young. People joining with the choir ranged in age from those too young to sing to those 70 plus. At times the choir was small in number, at our largest we numbered over one-hundred people.

About thirty people gathered at the LGBT and Allies Retreat in the Rockies in Boulder, CO, July 4-7. For me it was a time to get reacquainted with people I've know from past retreats, biennial meetings, and to get to know people who were at a retreat for the first time. We were a diverse group. There was a lesbian couple who run a group home in Wisconsin. Recent or soon to be seminary graduate from the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, straight couple from New Jersey who is deeply rooted in the LGBT rights movement, AWAB pastors, both gay and straight. What was lacking in the make up of those at the retreat is racial diversity. This is something that those of us in AWAB leadership are keenly aware. We have sought ways to broaden our diversity and continue to do so. We want diversity to be one of the major themes of the Joint Gathering of AWAB, the UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns and GLAD of the Disciples of Christ, taking place June 26-29, 2006 in Indianapolis, IN.

At the retreat Rev. Rick Mixon, interim pastor at First Baptist Church of Granville, OH, lead the retreat participants through some discussion and study base on the book Faith Beyond Resentment. Rev. Jacki Belile, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Chicago was worship leader. In worship we joined in the reading of scripture, singing of hymns and the sharing of our thoughts and prayers.

During our free time, some of us journeyed into Boulder to do shopping, into the near by mountains to do hiking and sightseeing. On the 4th of July, a number of us gathered at the campus stadium to partake in the fireworks display. Unlike larger gatherings, such as the one next year in Indianapolis, retreats are a more introspective and personal experience. I invite others who attended the retreat to share their thoughts in future issues of Voice of the Turtle Online.