* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                        MORE LIGHT UPDATE

                            Fall 2002

                       Volume 22, Number 6

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                           HIGHLIGHTS



                    The Best Adventure Around

           Affirmation, Dissent, Defiance, Conscience

              MLP Heroes; General Assembly Awards; 

    Videos; Three Sisters; On the Road; Boy Scouts; Archives



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

                          FULL CONTENTS

        (Items in Electronic Version only marked with *)



*CHANGES

OUR COVER: The Rainbow Sign and Sanctuary of Westminster Hills

               Presbyterian Church, Hayward, CA

OUR PHOTOS

ON THE ROAD WITH OUR NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZERS

     The Rev. Katie Morrison: From Mourning To Dancing

     Michael Adee, M.Div, Ph.D.: Embracing Others As Ourselves

MORE LESSONS IN PRESBYTERIAN POLITY

     San Joaquin's Appeal in Morrison Case Dismissed

THREE SISTERS Organizations Plan Strategy, Events, Advocacy

JOBS

EVENTS

FEATURE STORIES

     The Best Adventure Around, by Hal Porter

     Affirmation, Dissent, Defiance, Conscience

     Defiance Not a Constitutional Right, Clerk Says

     Statement of Affirmation and Dissent

     An Open Letter from Nauraushaun Church, Pearl River, NY

     Another Open Letter form South Church, Dobbs Ferry, NY

     A Pastor's Open Letter, by Stephen Van Kuiken

     Statement of Faith and Conscience by Donald E. Stroud

     *Gay Minister's Case Dismissed -- And Continued

     *On Seeking Reconciliation, from Baltimore Presbytery

MLP Heroes

     Charles Booker-Hirsch, A Prisoner for Christ

     Presbyterian pastors sentenced

     Gene Huff Gets David Sindt Award

     Norm Pott

The Three Sisters General Assembly Luncheon

A Church That Doesn't Just Preach Tolerance

*More Light Stories: Silver Spring Presbyterian Church

GREAT VIDEOS: More Light Lending Library Expands

*Seeking Justice for Presbyterian Boy Scouts, by Dave Rice

*New Venture to Preserve LGBT Religious History

TAMFS-Michigan Hires Evangelist: The Rev. Paul Peterson

*Sodom Revisited, by Dr. Richard Walenta

*YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS: Divine Insights of a YAYA Presyterian, by 

          Jennifer Rock

*Voice of a Seminarian, by Richard Lindsay, Yale Divinity School

*HOMELESS LGBT YOUTH: Rainbow Flags and Yellow Equal Signs, by 

          Glenn LeCarl

Taking Care to Prevent Burn Out, by R. Scott Boots

MLP OFFICERS

     MLP Board of Directors

     MLP National Liaisons

MASTHEAD (Publication Information)



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                 *We limit not the truth of God

                 To our poor reach of mind,

                 By notions of our day and sect,

                 Crude, partial and confined.



                 No, let a new and better hope

                 Within our hearts be stirred:

                 for God hath yet more light and truth

                 To break forth from the Word.*



-- Pastor John Robinson, sending the Pilgrims to the New World,   

1620; paraphrased by the hymnwriter George Rawson, 1807-1889.



                          SEXUAL ETHICS



      "More Light Presbyterians (MLP) envisions that 

      Christian sexual ethics marked by covenantal 

      fidelity shall be the standard for all 

      Presbyterians, irrespective of sexual orientation."

          -- MLP Board, September 1999.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



           For all ministers, elders, deacons, members

         and friends of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)



                    More Light Presbyterians

                 4737 County Road 101, PMB# 246

                    Minnetonka, MN 55345-2634



                        MORE LIGHT UPDATE

                    James D. Anderson, Editor

                           P.O. Box 38

                  New Brunswick, NJ  08903-0038

     732-249-1016, 732-932-7500 ex 8210 (Rutgers University)

              FAX 732-932-6916 (Rutgers University)

                Internet: JDA@mariner.rutgers.edu

                   (or JDA@scils.rutgers.edu)

                     Email Discussion List:

             MoreLightPresbyterians@yahoogroups.com

                    (To join, send email to:

        MoreLightPresbyterians-Subscribe@yahoogroups.com;

                    to leave, send email to:

       MoreLightPresbyterians-Unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com).



                MLP home page: www.mlp.org



     Masthead, with Publication Information at end of file.



    Note:  * is used to indicate italicized or boldface text.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



CHANGES



Please change board member Ralph Carter's telephone area code 

from 716 to 585.  His fax number (530-380-9722) is for faxes only 

(no voice mail!)



Add a new national liaison for The Spotlight, MLP's Quarterly 

Outreach Newsletter: Gail Rickey, 13114 Holston Hills, Houston, 

TX 77069, 281-440-0353, patrickey@aol.com



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



OUR COVER



Our cover features the Rainbow Sign and Sanctuary of Westminster 

Hills Presbyterian Church, Hayward, CA, the Rev. John Wichman, 

pastor.  The sign reads "Westminster Hills Presbyterians Church, 

**Where all may freely serve**."  Photo from Margaret Cooney 

Walton, Elder.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



OUR PHOTOS



Other photos have been contributed by Michael Adee, Katie 

Morrison, Janie Spahr, Jack Hartwein-Sanchez, and the MLP folks 

of College Hill Presbyterian Church, Tulsa, OK.



*Send us your photos -- especially photos of More Light 

Churches!* (We need physical photos, not digital!)



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



ON THE ROAD WITH OUR NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZERS



            On the Road With the Rev. Katie Morrison



                    From Mourning To Dancing



One of the highlights of the past year was working with *Lisa 

Larges* and a team of seminarians on the combined MLP, That All 

May Freely Serve (TAMFS), and the Shower of Stoles Project (SOSP) 

*worship service* at *General Assembly*.  Together, Lisa and I 

wanted to create a place in worship where some of the "nasties" 

that LGBT people hear from others in the church could be named.  

We sought to begin the service with a call to worship that named 

the reality that many in our movement face as they seek to 

respond to God's call to ministry.  With this goal in mind, I 

spent several months gathering statements, REAL LIVE, WORD FOR 

WORD statements that *seminarians* in PCUSA seminaries have heard 

from classmates, committees on preparation for ministry, 

committee liaisons, church session members, and pastors.  The 

following is a portion of the Call to Worship we compiled.  Read 

by over thirty-five volunteers including a large number of college 

students and seminarians who sat scattered throughout the 

sanctuary, each person stood from their location in the church 

and spoke these stinging phrases followed by a drumbeat.  Read 

for yourselves the words of our church spoken to our out LGBT 

seminarians and their supporters:



     - Why should we support you when you're never going to be 

     ordained?



     - The Peace, Unity, and Purity of the church is more 

     important.



     - I wish you hadn't told me.



     - *The voice of a partner of a seminarian:*  I feel as if 

     they have said, 'You can't be a part of the process because 

     you don't exist.



     - Radical, lesbian, feminist!



     - The plain reading of Scripture is clear -- that 

     homosexuality is sinful!



     - Why would you want to go through the agony of this 

     Presbyterian process?



     - Have you thought about the UCC (a more welcoming 

     denomination)?



     - Oh -- you're working with *children*.



     - It's just not natural.



     - We know; We love you -- but don't tell us.



     - People who want to ordain gays and lesbians are bending to 

     the pressure of culture.



     - Why move you to candidacy?



     - We love you, we just don't like some of your choices.



     - We have to have the courage to name sin.



     - There's always the UCC???



     - It's a good thing you aren't too gay.



     - Transgendered??? What is that?  They keep coming up with 

     new ones!



     - *To a heterosexual ally:*  You're too liberal!  Watch out 

     who you're seen with.



     - Why are you even doing this when you know you're not going 

     to be ordained?



     - We have to know -- are you going to be a pastor, or a 

     homosexual advocate?



     - LGBT ordination will hurt our Global Mission efforts.



     - Hang in there, the church really needs you, just be 

     patient, bear with us.



     - Gays and Lesbians choose to be the way they are and are 

     therefore choosing to go against Scripture.



     - My recommendation to you would be to keep that quiet.  You 

     don't want to risk not being able to serve a church.



     - Any plans for marriage?



     - We need to just move on -- we're tired of this issue -- we 

     need to get on with the work of the church.



     - You dating a man so you must be straight.



     - Why do you insist on staying here and ruining the church!



     - *ALL TOGETHER:*  Silence.



     - Since you're in the ordination process, we assume you're 

     not practicing.



     - Your beliefs are heresy!



     - When are you getting married (and by the way, why aren't 

     you married yet?)



     - This committee wants to be supportive of you -- are you 

     going to make this an issue here?



     - You're advocating positions that are against the polity of 

     the church.



     - This is our policy here:  don't ask, don't tell.  Do you 

     have a problem with that?



     - A marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman, 

     not what you're talking about.



     - So long as you aren't in a relationship you shouldn't have 

     a problem.



     - You can do ministry without being ordained.



     - Why are you putting the church through this?



     - You're wasting our scholarship money!



     - *The voice of a heterosexual classmate:* Even as a 

     straight person, I feel the need to be quiet about my 

     convictions in order to be ordained.



     - *An out seminarian after a meeting with the Committee for 

     Preparation for the Ministry (CPM):*  I just got asked more 

     questions by my CPM about my relationship than about my 

     theology or sense of call or vision for ministry.



     - You used to have so much promise.





                  In the midst of these voices,

          God still calls, and God is worthy of praise.

                Let us worship this awesome God!

               Praise God's Holy name, Hallelujah!





It was almost as though hearing those words made palpable the 

reality of this struggle.  Many expressed, both during the service 

and after, that this created an avenue for healing.  So often the 

most difficult aspect of this work and this struggle is the 

silence -- the lack of culpability in naming the damage that is 

being done across the church to LGBT persons, their friends, and 

their families.  Our call to worship was followed by the entire 

congregation joining in and singing Jane Parker Huber's Hymn, 

"Live Into Hope."  It felt so good to join our voices together in 

songs of hope and healing.  By the end of the service, we were 

dancing in the aisles!



Moving from the Midwest (the host of the 214th General Assembly 

this year), to the Southwest, homestead of Georgia O'Keeffe and 

the Presbyterian conference center now known as *Ghost Ranch-

Abiquiu* in New Mexico, I had the joy of taking my study leave.  

Taught by the brilliant and hilarious dynamic duo of *Johanna Bos* 

and *Sylvia Thorson Smith*, "The Ties that Bind: Issues of Intimacy 

in Bible and Tradition," was a wonderfully informative class.  

There was a large *Rochester, NY* contingent including *Virginia 

Davidson, Judith Foster, Janie Spahr, Dianna & Jim Tiefenthal, 

Bruce Billman, Carol Curtiss, and Robert Wolfe*.  It was such a 

rare opportunity to study together, a contrast to our usual 

testifying, GA-izing, strategizing and "working" together.  We 

enjoyed and participated in worship with *the Rev. Laird Stuart* of 

*Calvary Presbyterian Church* in *San Francisco* and *the Rev. Gilbert 

McKenzie* of *1st Presbyterian Church* in *Poughkeepsie, NY*.  While 

at Ghost Ranch, we did a lot of birthday celebrating.  *Janie* 

turned 60 on August 12th; *Johanna* turned 62 on the 18th; and 

*Virginia Davidson* turned 86 on the 28th of August.  *Michael Adee* 

baked the best chocolate cake ever and together we had a 

wonderful celebration of our wise women becoming wiser.  I 

overheard Virginia say to Janie who had just referred to herself 

as wise, "O, you're too young to be wise!"



In mid-August, I flew to *Los Angeles* to officiate at a wedding, 

my first as an officially ordained person. On Sunday August 18th, 

my parents *Meg and Steve Morrison* hosted a *"Morrison Patio 

Party"* at their house in *Pasadena, CA,* with thirty-three More 

Light supporters in attendance, some of whom are new supporters.  

We ate dinner together and I shared about some of the new and 

exciting outreach More Light Presbyterians is doing with Youth 

and Young Adults (*"YAYAs"*), with an emphasis on raising funds 

in support of our upcoming *van trip* in *South Carolina*.  It 

was a wonderful time to personally thank some of the living 

"saints" in my home congregation, *Pasadena Presbyterian Church* 

and in *San Gabriel Presbytery* who have been so supportive 

throughout my faith journey.



The staff of the *Three Sisters* (MLP, TAMFS, and SOSP) met the 

next day in *Denver, CO* for joint-work planning.  We were able 

to look ahead and start planning for events such as *General 

Assembly 2003* (May 24-31, 2003), the *Presbyterian Women's 

triennial conference* (July 9-13, 2003), and the ecumenical 

gathering of welcoming church organizations called *"Witness Our 

Welcome"* (August 14-17, 2003).  A highlight was having the 

chance to connect with former co-moderator *Laurene LaFontaine* 

at her home in Denver.



The upcoming year is already beginning to fill up with exciting 

new areas of outreach.  I look forward to sharing with you about 

our *"More Light Across South Carolina"* tour taking place the 

first week of November.  Along with *Brian Cave*, our volunteer 

youth and young adult outreach coordinator who is from South 

Carolina, *Mardee Rightmyer*, of *TAMFS-South*, *Carol Seaton* and 

*Micky Williams* of the *Shower of Stoles Project*, and *Susie 

Smith* of *North Anderson Community Church, S.C.*, we will be 

visiting several Presbyterian-related colleges and state 

universities in Charleston, Columbia, Clinton, Greenville, and 

Clemson.  If you are going to be in the area or know someone in 

the area who may be interested in attending a program, email me 

for more details (Katie@mlp.org).



Over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, we will be hosting our 

first ever *YAYAs of the Welcoming Church Movement/Young 

Progressive Presbyterians Retreat* in *New York City*.  If you know 

a youth or young adult (18-30something) who might be interested 

in learning more about this retreat and who is committed to being 

a part of creating a more welcoming Presbyterian Church, than 

please put them in contact with me or email us for more 

information.



Until next time, may God turn your mourning into dancing! --

Blessings from the Road, Katie Morrison.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                  On the Road with Michael Adee



                  Embracing Others As Ourselves



Episcopal priest Anne Hillman writes in *Life Prayers*:  "We are 

all on a journey together.  Look deep into yourself, into 

another.  Be gentle and nurture.  Listen.  As we experience and 

accept all that we really are, we grow in care.  We begin to 

embrace others as ourselves, and learn how to live as one among many."



In what has been called the first and second great commandments 

in the Gospel texts, Jesus instructed us to love God with all of 

our heart, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself.  

We are called to love our neighbor as ourself.  And, it is 

possible for us to love ourselves and others because of God's 

unconditional love for us.  And, then we can learn to live as one 

among many.



As I travel the country and the Presbyterian Church, as one of 

your national field organizers, it becomes profoundly and 

increasingly clear to me that people can be with and love others 

only when they have understood and embraced the love of God in 

their own lives first.  Otherwise, honestly it is just not 

possible.



In the past three months as I have traveled to *Houston, 

Galveston, Columbus, Cincinnati, New York City, Gallup, Silver 

Spring, Washington, D.C.* and *Denver* I have delighted in meeting 

people of faith who are comfortable in their own skin   They are 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual people who 

accept themselves as they really are, as Hillman says, and I would 

add, as God has made us.  They embrace others as themselves and 

must bask in God's love enough so that they can love their 

neighbors as they love and accept themselves.



At a beach house on Galveston Island, I joined the leadership of 

the *Houston MLP Chapter* for a retreat.  Using Anne Morrow 

Lindbergh's *Gift from the Sea* for some of our meditations and 

devotions, we found ourselves soaking up the good earth and sea 

around us.  Together we were finding ways to have the wind put 

back into our sails after the painful loss of the promise of 

Amendment A on ordination for our Church.  *Sara Jean Jackson* 

and *Gail Rickey* put the retreat together.  It was truly a 

spiritually enriching retreat.



Few churches understand and demonstrate hospitality better and 

with as much style as *A Community of Our Servant-Savior* in 

Houston.  *Susan Quinn Bryan*, pastor, and this church hosted the 

Houston MLP Chapter for a celebration and a special *More Light 

Weekend*.  I preached, served communion with Susan, and the day 

ended with a special piano dedication that *David Sloat*, Minister 

of Music, created with musicians from all over Houston.



It seemed quite providential that the *Rainbow Flag Banners* next 

to the "Welcome Presbyterians" Banners encircled the Columbus 

Convention Center at our *2002 General Assembly*.  It sure 

brought a boost to the hearts of those of us committed to and 

working toward a fully open, loving, welcoming and affirming 

Church for ALL of God's children (and not just heterosexuals).



Much has been already been reported about this year's General 

Assembly.  I spoke to 5 committees, set up our *Educational Booth* 

and staffed it each day, co-chaired the *National* Dinner with 

keynote *Urvashi Vaid*, and co-chaired the big new event (which 

became the hit of the assembly) our *National Luncheon*.  Keynoters 

*Susan Craig* and *Erin Swenson* brought down the house with their 

inspiring and informative program "More Light on Bisexuality and 

Transgender."



A quick trip to *Cincinnati* meant saying good bye to *Camilla 

Warrick*, a dear friend who became a sister to me in every way.  

Camilla and I served on Session together at *Mt. Auburn 

Presbyterian Church*.  She and her husband, *Paul Gibby*, helped 

lead and shape the more light work there.  Breast cancer took her 

life, but not her spirit.



The gracious invitation of *Jon Walton* for me to preach on *Gay 

Pride Sunday* at the *First Presbyterian Church* (FPC) in the 

*City of New York* became a more light day.  With the support of 

*Barbara Davis*, Church Educator, I also offered a program for the 

adult Christian Education time on pastoral care with a LGBT 

focus.  *Mieke Vandersall* of *Voices of Sophia* and a Union Seminary 

student was particularly helpful in the discussion.



And then an afternoon that I shall not soon, or ever, forget, I 

joined the FPC "cups of cold water brigade" as we gave out 

thousands of cups of cold water to Gay Pride marchers.  To 

literally be in the middle of the *NYC Gay Pride Parade* is an 

experience that I wish for everyone.  And, faces of those who 

gladly and gratefully received those cups of cold water from a 

"church group" are imprinted on my heart. Only Presbyterians 

could be that organized to put together such a water brigade 

operation.



While in New York City, I participated in "A Circle of More 

Light" which celebrated the genesis of the more light movement in 

the city at *West-Park Presbyterian Church* with *Bob Brashier*, 

pastor.  *Cliff Frasier* of *Presbyterian Welcome* moderated a panel 

of the earliest leaders of what would become the congregational 

more light focus for our movement.  I also met with Cliff and the 

leadership team of Pres Welcome.



*Patty Davison, Cindy Smith, Doug Calderwood, Ken Cuthbertson, 

Jeanne McGown* and I all piled into my 97 Ford Explorer (yes, six 

adults and I am not petite) and drove from Albuquerque to Gallup 

to meet with more-light-interested people at *Westminster 

Presbyterian Church, Gallup, NM*.  It was an extraordinary 

experience to listen to people who so want their church to be a 

place of welcome for LGBT people in the midst of a religiously-

conservative community.  They are taking their first steps and it 

was great to have this outreach team to go from our *Northern New 

Mexico MLP Chapter*.



*Vanessa* and *Natalie Griffin-Maiden* with *Currie Burris*, pastor, 

*Silver Spring Presbyterian Church*, Silver Spring, MD, worked with 

their More Light Committee for nearly a year to create and offer 

a *More Light Celebration Weekend*.  A new More Light liturgical 

banner was made for this celebration by women of the church.  I 

taught an adult Christian Education class on Homosexuality and 

the Bible with Chris and Vanessa that was the kick-off class for 

a fall series.  I preached, Currie led music with his guitar and 

a Ghanaian band played for the all-church picnic.   A truly 

mutlicultural congregation that is nearly half African and 

African-American, this congregation understands welcoming in all 

the ways thar*, TAMFS Staff, in Denver for a staff work 
retreat and preparation trip for GA 2003.   *Laurene Lafontaine*, 
former MLP Co-Moderator, hosted us and we had a wonderful time 
with her.  *Montview Presbyterian Church* offered us meeting space 
for our retreat and they will host the *National Worship Service* 
for GA 2003.

Katie and I are able to serve as your National Field Organizers 
because of your spiritual and financial support.  And, this 
summer you enabled me to make it to 9 cities in 6 states for more 
light work and outreach.  Thank you.

Because of you, person by person, heart by heart, church by 
church, more people are discovering how to love God, themselves 
and their neighbors.  And, they and we are learning how to live 
as one among many. -- With hope and grace, Michael.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

MORE LESSONS IN PRESBYTERIAN POLITY

There's nothing like a "pivotal" Presbyterian court decision to 
open windows to the nature of our polity -- how we try to live 
together even when we disagree! -- JDA

         San Joaquin's Appeal in Morrison Case Dismissed

           Redwoods Appeal in Lesbian ople are discovering how to love God, themselves 

and their neighbors.  And, they and we are learning how to live 

as one among many. -- With hope and grace, Michael.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



MORE LESSONS IN PRESBYTERIAN POLITY



There's nothing like a "pivotal" Presbyterian court decision to 

open windows to the nature of our polity -- how we try to live 

together even when we disagree! -- JDA



         San Joaquin's Appeal in Morrison Case Dismissed



           Redwoods Appeal in Lesbian Ordination Case

                       to be Heard November 1



                     by Jerry L. Van Marter

                    Presbyterian News Service



Louisville, 20 August 2002 -- In a pivotal court case on 

ordination standards in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the 

General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) has 

dismissed an appeal by the Presbytery of San Joaquin seeking to 

overturn decisions made by the Synod of the Pacific's court.



The case arose from Redwoods Presbytery's decision last October 

to permit the ordination of the Rev. Katie Morrison, a lesbian. 

Members of the presbytery asked for remedial action from the PJC 

of the Synod of the Pacific alleging that the presbytery 

"committed an irregularity" and sought a stay of the ordination. 

The synod PJC refused to grant a stay and Morrison was ordained 

later that month.



In November, San Joaquin, another presbytery in the same synod, 

filed a separate complaint with the General Assembly PJC 

asserting that the synod PJC had "abused its discretion" by not 

issuing the stay and also charged synod stated clerk the Rev. 

Donald I. MacInnes with "improper conduct" when he polled absent 

synod PJC members about the stay.



Subsequently, San Joaquin rescinded its complaint against 

MacInnes -- the senior synod stated clerk in the PCUSA in years 

of service -- though it inexplicably left it in its filing with 

the General Assembly PJC.



The Assembly's PJC ruled that though "San Joaquin clearly has an 

interest in holding the Synod accountable for the conduct of 

synod staff," the presbytery's decision to rescind the complaint 

against MacInnes means there is "no claim upon which relief can 

be granted."



The GA PJC also dismissed San Joaquin's complaint against the 

synod PJC because it was not a party to the original Redwoods 

members' complaint. "Our Rules of Discipline do not permit a 

person to seek remedial relief, as San Joaquin is attempting 

here, against a judicial commission based upon that commission's 

rulings in another case in which that person was not a party."



The PJC said that San Joaquin "could have moved to intervene" by 

joining the Redwoods members' complaint, but chose to file its 

own instead.



An appeal by several members of Redwoods Presbytery in the case 

is still pending before the General Assembly's PJC -- it is 

tentatively scheduled to be heard Nov. 1. But San Joaquin's is 

gone.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



   Three Sisters Organizations Plan Strategy, Events, Advocacy



                         By Lisa Larges

            From the TAMFS.org website, with thanks!





(August 28, 2002) -- Last week, national and regional staff 

members of the Three Sisters organizations (More Light 

Presbyterians, The Shower of Stoles Project, and That All May 

Freely Serve) met in Denver Colorado, host site for next year's 

General Assembly, for discussion, organizing, and strategizing. 

Together we explored clearer definitions for shared projects and 

better models for decision making and communication within the 

three organizations.



We coordinated plans for upcoming events, including activities at 

next year's General Assembly, the Presbyterian Women's Conference 

in 2003, and Witness Our Welcome 2003. We explored options for 

joint fund raising and shared ideas and strategies for building a 

more cohesive movement.



Proposals we drafted to bring before our boards included: van 

trips through key Presbyteries, creation of a legislative 

strategies team, development of a joint media strategy where 

appropriate, and recommendations for speakers for next years 

Three Sisters Dinner and Lunch at GA. Also in the works are plans 

for better coverage of the judicial cases involving LGBT 

Presbyterians and allies, and better support of those facing 

judicial action.



In the fall, the Three Sisters will take their second van trip of 

the year, this time targeting swing Presbyteries in the 

Northwest. In November Mardee Rightmyer of TAMFS-South, Katie 

Morrison and Brian Cave of MLP, and Carol Seaton and Mickie 

Williams of the Shower of Stoles will tour Presbyterian colleges 

and campus ministries in South Carolina. The Three Sisters staff 

committed themselves to do two more trips in 2003, probably 

through Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, northern Iowa and 

western Illinois, with other van trips to be planned on a 

regional basis.



Meeting in Denver gave us the opportunity to scout sites for 

Three Sister's events for next year's General Assembly and to 

start some solid advance planning for GA. We are extremely 

grateful to the staff and congregation of Montview Boulevard 

Presbyterian Church and to long time movement organizer Laurene 

Lafontaine for hosting us, feeding us, and coordinating our trip.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



JOBS



Be sure to check the www.mlp.org website for more up-to-date 

information and additional listings!





                   Volunteer Database Creator



      Project Coordinator Sought for MLP Resource Database



MLP seeks the talent of someone in a short-term project to create 

a database structure, including text and graphics, that will be 

used to organize and promote the 200+ video resources, books and 

study guides available from the MLP Lending Library.  If you feel 

God may be calling you to this project, please contact Ralph 

Carter, Rochester NY at rcarter@rpa.net, 585-271-7649. -- Thanks 

a bunch! Ralph.





                           Solo Pastor

                    Clarendon Presbyterian Church

               1305 N. Jackson St., Arlington, VA 22201

                  703-527-9513 (v), 703-524-4511 (f)



Clarendon Presbyterian Church is looking for a spiritual, 

compassionate person -- a lover of people who preaches and teaches 

out of life experiences; a believer in the power of prayer; 

someone friendly and patient, who is a good listener, yet has the 

determination and resolve to speak out on theological and social 

issues that may be controversial, either in church or at the 

Presbytery level; someone who has the self-confidence to accept 

disagreement or criticism of their positions; and a person who is 

comfortable with gay and lesbian members as well as traditional 

families and singles. Our solo pastor will also need to be a 

disciplined, organized self-starter, who can deal with a variety 

of administrative duties and guide volunteers in meeting the 

needs of our growing church. We need an intelligent, energetic 

person who leads out of love.



Description at www.pcusa.org: CIF #00397.AA0.



Contact: Ron Coldsmith, 9518 Miranda Ct., Fairfax, VA 22031, 703-

267-9636 (v), 703-524-4511 (f).



                          Head of Staff

                    First Presbyterian Church

             1140 Cowper Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303

       650-325-5659 (v), 650 494-6529 (f), pnc@fprespa.org



First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto California is seeking a 

pastor to preach, teach, and be a spiritual leader for a dynamic 

congregation of 300 near Stanford University. Seeking to follow 

Jesus Christ and gain the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we 

identify ourselves as a sanctuary, more light, peace and justice, 

and earth and spirit church. Inspired by the prophet Micah's 

challenge: to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our 

God, our Church is committed to a common vision of being a 

progressive, inclusive, and just community of faith.



Description at www.pcusa.org: CIF #00901.AA0



Contact: Don Fidler, 650 494-2965



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



EVENTS



November 7-9, 2002, Thursday-Saturday, the 2002 Covenant Network 

of Presbyterians Conference, "Confessing Christ Today -- Seeking 

Common Ground," Westminster Church, Minneapolis. Shirley Guthrie, 

Anna Case-Winters, John Wilkinson, four great preachers, our 

Moderator and Stated Clerk, interesting workshops, and the 

company of many hundreds of folks who remind you why you're a 

Presbyterian -- these are just some of the reasons you'll want to

be there! (415) 351-2196, (415) 351-2198 fax, 

pambyers@covenantnetwork.org, www.covenantnetwork.org



January 16-19, 2003, Thursday-Sunday, Intimacy and Ecstasy: A 

Retreat for Gay and Bisexual Christian Men, led by Chris Glaser 

and Terence J. Flynn. 6:30 p.m. Thurs. dinner through Sun. lunch. 

$315 ($160 registration deposit). Kirkridge Retreat and Study 

Center, 2495 Fox Gap Rd., Bangor, PA 18013-6028, 610-588-1793, 

fax 610-588-8510, www.kirkridge.org.



January 17-20, Friday-Monday, Announcing the first ever retreat 

for YAYAs! (Youth And Young Adults of the Welcoming Church 

Movement / Progressive Presbyterians, age 18-30 something), New 

York City. This will be a chance for us to hang-out, build 

relationships and networks of support, explore hopes and dreams 

for the PCUSA, engage in a local mission project together and 

maybe even catch a Broadway Show.  Don't miss out on this radical 

fun! Scholarships available. If you or someone you know may be 

interested in learning more about this retreat, please contact 

the Rev. Katie Morrison (katie@mlp.org).



May 24-31, 2003, Saturday-Saturday, General Assembly, Denver, Colorado.



August 14-17, 2003, Thursday-Sunday, WOW 2003: God's Deliverance 

Is for All: a gathering of sexually and gender diverse Christians 

from the U.S. and Canada, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

For more info., go to www.wow2k.org. Sign on to our email list 

at: info@wow2k.org in order to get occasional reports in the 

future.



September 11-14, 2003, Thursday-Sunday, Voices of Sophia 

Gathering: Racism,l Whiteness, and Resistance, Louisville, KY.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



FEATURE STORIES



                    The Best Adventure Around



             (Even After the Defeat of Amendment A)



                   Hal Porter, Pastor Emeritus

         Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, OH



        The More Light Presbyterians National Conference

                        "Live Into Hope"

          North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

                          May 26, 2002



                       Text:  Luke 4:16-30

    

Before I begin, my thoughts go back to last year's conference at 

Austin where I was asked to speak but a couple of surgeries 

prevented it.  I did send along my sermon, and Michael Adee 

delivered most of it for me.  But I am not sure he said what I 

had written about him -- that I know of no pastor who has more 

pastoral gifts than does Michael, but, because he is open and 

unrepentant about his sexuality, the Presbyterian Church has left 

him and his incredible gifts of ministry in the ditch and passed 

him by.  But, thank God, for the Board of More Light 

Presbyterians who have called him into ministry.  The same 

thankfulness must be said for Katie Morrison.  Let us acknowledge 

our gratitude for their gracious ministries.



This morning I want to do two things.  To reflect on various 

moods after the defeat of Amendment A -- and that was a tragic and 

significant setback -- and describe three personal adventures of 

faith.



Don Crail, Director of The Lazarus Project in Los Angeles, a 

Presbyterian ministry of reconciliation between the Church and 

LGBT persons (and he is present this morning), describes his mood 

well in an article shortly after Amendment A's defeat:



     "As it now stands, obedience to the *Book of Order* would 

     require for many Presbyterians the forfeiture of conscience 

     on an issue essential to their life as Christian persons.  

     If the statement that 'God alone is Lord of conscience' 

     applies only if one's conscience coincides with the current 

     majority in the denomination on this, then at least we have 

     a situation where our options are clear.  Either we can 

     leave the Presbyterian Church -- or else we can act in 

     obedience to our conscience and convictions, though that may 

     expose us, and our congregations, to judicial action and 

     punishment."



Don is a great guy, unpretentious, and, like most of us, seeks no 

martyrdom, only to continue our calling to work out in this world 

Jesus' prayer, "Thy reign come, O God, on earth as it is in 

Heaven."



Don, I know, like most of us, does not like to be in the place of 

saying its "either-or" time.  We are "both-and" people, seeking a 

"win-win" course, and are in it for the long haul.  But after 24 

years of seeking the equality of all members in the Presbyterian 

Church, we are surely wondering if it is not just that  -- either 

we live our consciences before God or bow down to the will of the 

majority in the Presbyterian Church.



I share his "either-or" question with you knowing that I am not 

one of the present victims of abuse in the Presbyterian Church, 

and neither is Don.  Indeed, we both are members of the straight 

privileged class in our church.  But all of us serve the same God 

who, from the foundation of the world, decided justice is 

indivisible.  And while it is essential that we heed the voice of 

the victims, and be instructed by the steps they would take in 

seeking the resolution of their mistreatment in the Presbyterian 

Church, we all are in this matter together -- for in Christ, there 

is neither straight nor gay.



But this Joshua moment, forcing the question, "Choose this day 

whom you will serve," again came home to me when I got a call 

from a member of Mt. Auburn Church in Cincinnati, from one of the 

victims, after he was present in the debate this past week when 

the Presbytery of Cincinnati formed another Administrative 

Commission to decide the fate of that church.  Mt. Auburn has 

openly declared since 1991 that it would not abide by any policy 

in the Presbyterian Church that would in any way demean 

homosexual persons or prevent them from enjoying God's good gifts 

of love, joy, and intimacy. Mt. Auburn's invitation was for LGBT 

persons to celebrate these gifts openly in that congregation and, 

if called, as ordained leadership in the church.  No second-class 

membership for those in that church.



The Presbytery knows from an earlier administrative commission 

that Mt. Auburn will not compromise on this.  But that 

Presbytery, under the pressure of other churches who believe that 

the defeat of Amendment A has finally settled the matter 

regarding homosexuality, decided for a new commission because, as 

the approved motion stated, Mt. Auburn threatens  "the peace, 

purity, and unity of the Presbytery of Cincinnati" -- so they say.



I don't how the matter will be resolved, but Mt. Auburn will not 

be moved, and both its Session and its Congregation have 

unanimously said so.



But the caller, a gay man, said, "Hal, I left that Presbytery 

meeting depressed, for I again realized I was being rejected by 

my own church.  I left the Roman Catholic Church for the same 

reasons, relieved to join Mt. Auburn as a welcoming place, but 

how can I now support and continue as a member of the 

Presbyterian Church?  Things said in the debate were terribly 

hurtful.  Oh, I can support Mt. Auburn as long as it holds fast, 

but I don't want to financially support the denomination, and I 

am even now questioning my financial support of the other More 

Light Churches."  His last concern stung me.



Oh, I gave him some counsel about how we are still part of a 

representative system that protects the rights of the minority, 

and how we must not let a temporary defeat put out the light of 

our understanding of the good news of Jesus Christ and the 

progress we have surely made.  I reminded him of the courageous 

faithful and risky witness of so many in the More Light Movement 

-- and believe me you have been just that -- but the despair was 

overwhelming in his heart and understandably so.



But I too am in this either-or mood of Joshua.  After over 

forty years in the ministry, of the several disciplinary cases 

now going forward in our church, there is one against me simply 

because I conduct marriage services of same-sex couples believing 

holy-union services are, in fact, half-way measures, a kind of 

separate but unequal service.  I say this even though I worked 

for them and I was grateful our denomination twice ruled in favor 

of them.  Even so, my accuser writes in his complaint that I have 

renounced "the jurisdiction of the Presbyterian Church," and for 

my Presbytery not to find that this is so would be "an egregious 

abandonment of" its duty.



Steve Van Kuiken, Mt. Auburn's very capable and present pastor, 

has had a disciplinary complaint filed against him, and his 

position is on the line.



But with these thoughts in mind, let me describe three personal 

adventures of faith.  And first, let me share a part of my own.



My spiritual journey outside of my loving family began early.  

Without prompting, I was baptized at age eight because I simply 

liked Jesus, and I joined the nearby Russian Baptist Church.  In 

the 11th grade I joined the rather imposing Presbyterian Church 

across from Michigan's capital -- but, I confess, a lot had to do 

with their church's basketball team.



But by then I was even more convinced that my most significant 

hero, divine witness, friend, prophet, ethical model, call him 

what you may, was the man, Jesus of Nazareth.  "Fairest Lord 

Jesus," indeed, was a song in my heart.  But even so, at that 

stage in my life, he did not give me much clarity to help me 

resolve my own vocational adventure in life.



I began college at Michigan State but it did not appear to me as 

significant or a real adventure -- simply something one did next.  

It was 20 minutes away, inexpensive, and I could stay home.  

Undirected in my studies, too often in the pool hall at the 

Student Union rather than the library, I left during my third 

year and rather carelessly decided to volunteer for the draft.  

The Korean War was winding down, so even this was not a 

compelling adventure.  I just knew I needed to leave home and, 

besides, I would get the G.I. Bill to help pay for the rest of my 

education -- if that ever was to be.



But I was more rewarded for this decision than I knew.  All 

during the sixteen weeks of basic infantry training I carried around a 

pocket-size New Testament which a chaplain had given me.  During 

every break in the training, wherever I was, I took it out and 

read it.  I memorized most of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.  What 

jumped out at me were the words that Martin Luther King, and 

Gandhi too, found inspiring.  And what made them so vivid was the 

contrast of Jesus' teaching with what I was being taught and 

trained to do as a soldier.



Nevertheless, I carried on like a leaf in a stream, until I broke 

my leg in a parachute jump, an accident I have always thanked God 

for.  So to make a long story shorter, this literal break in my 

military life led me from my assignment in the General's office 

to the Chaplain's office and I began to work as a chaplain's 

assistant in the several chapels on the base.



This gave me time to reflect, and I finally came to a decision, 

one that was a little surprising to my family, friends, and even 

myself.   What appeared to me as the best adventure around, I 

thought, and that was what I wanted -- adventure -- was the 

Christian ministry, and the most promising of bodies around to 

work in was the Presbyterian Church.



Compared to others, I liked its more liberal spirit, educational 

demands, social justice efforts, how well it stood up to the red-

baiting of Senator Joseph McCarthy and, finally, that its 

government was representatively democratic which would allow 

one's conscience to be more open to the Holy Spirit.  And so I 

enlisted.  Jesus and I, I thought, were on a roll.



And an adventure it was.  The Presbyterian Church still had many 

leaders, I thought, who were not only intelligent but gave a 

prophetic witness to working on earth what they clearly thought 

were Heavenly values.  I remember the strong stand of our 

denomination's then Stated Clerk, Eugene Carson Blake, who was 

arrested, the first such national church leader to be so, for 

bringing into a public swimming pool in Maryland a group of 

African-American children.  We were so touched by his civil 

rights action that we named our fourth child after him.  Blake's 

courage was a reminder that faith must speak to the powers that 

be or it is not faith at all.



But many positive, meaningful experiences came along.  One, of so 

many I could mention, came from the first church I served in Los 

Angeles.  It was a large church with two of us as pastors.  It 

was an all-white congregation, which was due, as I would soon 

realize, to the local realtors who were keeping our community 

that way.  Later we would confront and overcome these apartheid 

practices. The best button I wore then was, "Would you let your 

daughter marry a realtor?"



But it was there that an unforgettable event happened at the 

early worship service.  Just as we were gathering, a tall black 

woman, the first ever, came in and sat down in the second pew of 

that all-white congregation.



I immediately looked over to the other pastor and I knew he felt 

as anxious as I did, for no one ever sat that far forward at the 

early service.  It meant that during the whole hour this woman 

would have all the others behind her and seated several rows 

back.



We gave the call to worship and then the invocation, but our 

hearts were heavy.  And then an incredible kind of miracle 

happened.  Upon the Amen I anxiously looked up, and, with 

astonishment, watched as two couples in the back came forward and 

moved into the very same pew on both sides of the woman.



Many prayers were offered and answered in that moment, and I have 

always been moved by it, as was the congregation, for it went on 

to be a more joyous inclusive body.  It was also an early lesson 

for me.  Never sell the congregation short.  Always share your 

own struggles with them.  And together work with them on the 

adventure that faith always is.  Most are ready.  From this first 

congregation I learned much about inclusion.



I recall something else about Eugene Carson Blake.  He was a 

strong leader but also shared his own struggle.  He wrote, "In 

my youth I had a number of doubts about Christianity.  There were 

questions about the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection.  

There were questions about life after death and what happened to 

those who did not believe.  There were questions about free will 

and predestination.  But there was no question in my mind about 

the goodness of Jesus Christ.  There was no question but that the 

Christian message was good news."



    I went on for four decades in this pastoral adventure.  

I, too, had my own questions and failings as a minister, as did 

Blake, as do we all, but not about the Good News.  Of course, I 

kept changing in my theological awareness.  How necessary that is 

because theology is about God, and because it is, it must always 

be open-ended.  I realized that we each have a glimpse of God's 

goodness but none of us has the whole of it.



Realizing the truth of the hymn, "God's Spirit floweth free, high 

surging where it will," my venture moved me out of Neo-Orthodoxy, 

but with thankfulness to the Niebuhr brothers, out of 

Existentialism, but with gratitude for Paul Tillich, and onto 

Process Theology, with gratefulness for John Cobb and Alfred 

North Whitehead.



I was never sure, in detail, about what it was to preach reformed 

theology but I knew what "Ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda" 

meant to me -- the church reformed, always being reformed, under 

the unbounded love of God revealed so fully in the life and 

ministry of Jesus.



Jesus' vision of the Kingdom of God for this earth was my 

compelling vision and still is.  I changed, but the Good News 

only became more vivid -- as it is today.



Wonderfully, we have a very telling story, which is embodied in 

the text of this conference, of Jesus' own home-leaving and home-

coming.  Jesus, you remember, had left Mary, perhaps Joseph had 

already died, leaving also his four brothers and at least two 

sisters behind, and gone off to find himself.  At first he went 

off into the wilderness to struggle alone with God and the powers 

of evil and then went back on the streets, from town to town, to 

meet God more fully in the world.



His family had actually thought he was out of his mind and tried 

to persuade him otherwise.  But now, as our text records, he does 

return home to Nazareth.  And we read, "He went to the synagogue, 

as his custom was, on the Sabbath day."  That's an important line 

of scripture.  Go to church!



But we read next, since Jesus was asked to be a liturgist and to 

read the scriptures, he chooses his own text.  What will he 

choose?  Obviously, now early in his ministry, and also because 

he was in his hometown, he wanted to make clear to his neighbors 

what had compelled him to leave home and why he had taken on this 

new adventure of faith.  Oh, he knows that they will have some 

doubts about him.  They knew he was just a carpenter, just a 

peasant like most of them, just one of neighbors, and besides he 

hadn't gone to seminary and no authority had ordained him.



And sure enough, after he reads and comments on the text, they 

will not enjoy the brief sermon he gives. Indeed, they will be 

filled with wrath, murmuring to themselves, "Just who in the Hell 

does Jesus think he is?"



But, again, before this occurs, Jesus wants to lay out before 

them the divine manifesto he was willing to serve.  So, he 

reaches for Book of Isaiah and, momentarily finding the place, he 

reads:



     "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

     because God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.

     God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

     and recovery of sight to the blind,

     to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

     to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor ...."



And he abruptly stops in the middle of the last sentence, then 

sits down, but then adds from his pew, "Today this scripture has 

been fulfilled in your hearing."  Which clearly means to Jesus, 

"This is what I choose to be about; this is what I will serve.  

This is the adventure that is compelling for me."



Of course, this text from the Prophet Isaiah was well known to an 

oppressed people, and it describes the full fortune that will 

come to the faithful people of Israel.  It was good news to them, 

for they felt hopelessly in bondage as a people.



But notice that Jesus, in his selective use of Scripture, doesn't 

quote all of the passage.  In fact after reading, "To proclaim 

the year of the Lord's favor," he stops in the middle of that 

last sentence and does not read the rest, which is, "and the day 

of vengeance of our God."



Oh, if you read on in Isaiah, beyond this chapter, besides the 

wrath that is predicted here on Israel's enemies, you will read 

that Israel was also to have the wealth of the nations given to 

them.   The complete and literal message was one of vengeance and 

special reward.  One that would comfort the victims with victory 

but also reinforces retribution.



Those listening would relish the thought not only of God's 

intervention, but that those creeps who have burdened us will now 

be under our thumb.  (From an appreciated commentary, source 

forgotten.)



But Jesus would have none of that.  Jesus was compelled by a 

greater adventure than that useless passion of vengeance or to 

hope for the wrath of God.  Enabling the oppressed now to become 

the oppressors was not God's compassionate justice.  "Do the 

others in before they do you in" wasn't one of Jesus' beatitudes.



Of course, Jesus didn't believe everything in the scriptures, 

that it was totally inspired by grace, or is the inerrant word of 

God, so he wasn't about to affirm passages in the scriptures that 

he felt did not reflect the true character of God.  Nor should 

we.  It is interesting that one of the great themes in the Bible 

is to expose idolatry -- serving something in life less than God -- 

and then to sadly realize that is just what we have done with the 

Bible itself.



And, of course, the crowd doesn't like this, or the rest of what 

he went on to say, about how God is benevolently present in other 

nations, not just Israel.  Sadly, we are still debating if God 

only works through Christians.  His commentary made the 

congregation angry the same way it would make some angry in 

Israel today if someone announced Jerusalem should be the equally 

shared capital for Christians, Jews, and Islamic believers.



And so enraged, the members of his home congregation drove him to 

the edge of the town and were about to throw him off a cliff but 

he escaped -- for the moment.



Of course, Jesus was concerned for the oppressed, the 

disenfranchised, those in darkness, those in slavery and economic 

bondage and to bring relief to the poor.



He was totally opposed to those who were unjust, who would misuse 

others, especially in the name of God.   He would work for social 

justice and empower the people to become somebodies and not 

hopeless victims, to help them realize that they were all equally 

children of God, who indeed have God's favor and a rightful place 

around the banquet table of life, enabling them to become sons 

and daughters of God who would overcome evil with good -- not with 

vengeance or as agents of a wrathful God.



Recently, still seeking more light, I read the autobiography of 

John Dominic Crossan.  Crossan is a former Irish Priest who has 

become one of the most prominent scholars in today's quest for the 

historical Jesus, and I read all of his books.  In his 

autobiography, he tells of his own decision to leave home and 

join the monastic life. What he wanted was adventure, and joining 

the contemplative life of a monk in one of the foreign missionary 

groups in the Catholic Church appeared his best chance at it.  

This, he thought, would also help him see the world -- kind of 

like joining the Navy.



So he became a monk, he said, because he thought "God clearly had 

the best game in town."  And, he adds, it still is 50 years 

later, even though he no longer is a priest but a scholar and is 

married, which, itself, proved a remarkable adventure.



I don't know of anyone who has more thoughtfully and carefully 

studied the life of Jesus, seeking to discern what Jesus' 

original message was, than Crossan.  And his studies have made 

many of us even more excited about this man of Galilee, this 

Mediterranean Sage, as he calls Jesus, the one who most clearly, 

courageously, and revolutionarily served God's justice and 

compassion in this world.



The vision that Jesus had of God's reign for this earth is 

clearly for Crossan, and I hope for all of us gathered here, the 

best game in town, the best adventure around.



Crossan is one of the founders of the group called "The Jesus 

Seminar."



I have made my own condensed compilation of their findings 

regarding this man of Galilee:



     1. Jesus' primary ministry was confronting injustice.  He 

     bent or broke or opposed any law that was unfair or was not 

     equitable to all.



     2. He sought to enable the liberation of all who were 

     oppressed, sharing God's grace with them, and extending that 

     grace impartially to all human beings.



     3. He imitated God's compassion in his everyday behavior, 

     even with those persons with whom he disagreed or disliked.



     4. He sought to awaken all to God's direct and immediate 

     accessibility.  No special mediator needed. He didn't 

     believe he was God's favorite or that he was the only child 

     of God.



     5. He shared with all at the table of life.  He kept an open 

     table, breaking bread with all those who would, not just 

     with those who proclaimed themselves as authentic believers.  

     No one ever set a better table or was a more gracious host.



     6. He broke down every barrier raised to keep certain 

     persons outside of God's realm.



These six behaviors of Jesus, I believe, are why we are gathered 

here today.  And these are essential behaviors that must be found 

in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).



I know we each must speak and act for ourselves.  As a society of 

the friends of Jesus, we are all in similar but different 

situations.  We in this movement, of all people, believe in 

diversity, inclusion, and openness.  We seek to bind no one's 

conscience or convictions as we, together, seek to make our 

witness effective.  And even though we may be on a different 

stage of our same journey, we surely must support one another, as 

we are able.



Surely many of these essentials are found in the Presbyterian 

Church.  But clearly, our table is not completely open nor have 

we broken down every barrier raised to keep certain persons 

outside of God's realm.



We read in our constitution that "The congregation shall welcome 

all persons who respond in trust and obedience to God's grace in 

Jesus Christ and desire to become part of the membership and 

ministry of his Church.  No persons shall be denied membership 

because of race, ethnic origin, worldly condition, or any other 

reason not related to profession of faith" (G-5.0103).



All are welcome except LGBT persons.  Our teaching is they really 

are not God's intention for humanity. That they are unfit to part 

of God's family!



That is our scandal today, for it constitutes a rejection of 

Christ himself.



So I conclude, and say with so many others, it is way past time, 

Presbyterian Church, that we repent.  We have become an 

embarrassment to the name we bear, to the one who called us to 

minister with him to incarnate the Reign of God on earth as it is 

in Heaven.



We are not the servants of the Church, but of God and God's 

justice and compassion, which is inextricably one fabric called 

love.  So thought Jesus.  So thought we when we heeded his call.



We are to love our neighbor and it ought to be clear by now that 

we have not loved our non-heterosexual neighbors.  We have not.  

And there is nothing different about them being a neighbor than 

those who are heterosexual.  Nothing!  They are we.  And we are 

they.  No biblical interpretation can change it otherwise -- only 

authenticate it.



It has been the most absurd intellectual judgment of our church 

to categorically state that all homosexual behavior is 

intrinsically sinful, no matter how loving, just, or Christ-like 

it is. On this score it is good to remember what Martin Luther 

King said. "Never should Christians fail to realize they have a 

moral responsibility not to be stupid."



Our policy is just that -- stupid!  It is a tragedy, yes, and it 

is stupid!



We simply can no longer abet the culture of evil against them.  

And, let us be clear, the Presbyterian Church is a part of that 

worldly culture.  We need no middle ground on this.  It is an 

absolute imperative.  There can be no compromise.  No hiding 

behind "We love these persons but hate their sin," or now we must 

cave in because of the defeat of Amendment A.



I don't know how you are going to work this out -- but please 

don't walk out.  I do know we will prevail if we walk side by 

side with Jesus, or at least walk in his footsteps.



This is still the greatest adventure around and I thank you that 

I can be a part of it with you. -- Harold Gordon Porter.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



           Affirmation, Dissent, Defiance, Conscience



     Sorting it Out in Our Beloved But Dysfunctional Church



In the spirit of Hal Porter's stirring sermon, we share a 

variety of responses from congregations and individuals trying to 

find their way in a church claiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, 

yet still denying full hospitality to LGBT folk unless they deny 

their very selves and their relationships.  (That's what I mean 

by "dysfunctional"!) -- JDA.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



         Defiance Not a Constitutional Right, Clerk Says



  Kirkpatrick Says Presbyteries, Synods Must Enforce the Rules



                         by Alexa Smith

                    Presbyterian News Service



Louisville, KY, August 22, 2002 -- The stated clerk of the 

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has pointed out in letters to synod and 

presbytery stated clerks that the denomination's constitution 

"provides no right of defiance."



The Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick sent his letters on Aug. 21, just 

weeks after two PCUSA churches and two pastors said in open 

letters that they will not abide by a constitutional provision 

forbidding ordinations and marriages of gays and lesbians.  [Come 

on, Friend Alexa!  The constitution does *not* forbid ordinations 

of gays and lesbians.  It just refuses to recognize or honor our 

relationships and demands "chastity," whatever that means -- see 

the next story! -- JDA]



Kirkpatrick advised stated clerks of synods and presbyteries that 

the constitution does provide "the right of dissension."



He noted that the recent 214th General Assembly approved two 

overtures affirming that presbyteries and synods are charged with 

enforcing the constitution when non-compliance is an issue, and 

are obliged to work pastorally with defiant congregations.



Kirkpatrick told presbytery clerks that the denomination's Rules 

of Discipline must be taken "seriously," and said synods must 

initiate administrative reviews of cases involving "irregularity 

or delinquency" at the presbytery level.



He described the political climate in the church as 

"challenging," and said presbytery stated clerks are in an 

"especially difficult position." He asked synod clerks to "be 

generous" with personal and professional assistance, and noted 

that the staff of the Office of the General Assembly is available 

to help presbyteries discharge their responsibilities.



The first of the open letters was issued on July 25 by the Rev. 

Stephen Van Kuiken of Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church in 

Cincinnati, who wrote that he supports his congregation's 

decision to ordain and to marry gays and lesbians, has officiated 

at such ceremonies and intends to do so in the future.



The Mt. Auburn congregation has a long history of advocating the 

full inclusion of gays and lesbians in the life of the church.



Van Kuiken wrote that while the PCUSA historically has 

interpreted scripture broadly on issues such as evolution, 

divorce and women's roles, it has "locked into a narrow and 

literalistic interpretation regarding sexual orientation."



"The pervasive fear which results from this view ... is tearing 

down the body of Christ," he wrote. "So following our precious 

legacy of religious liberty, with care and concern for gay and 

lesbian members and their families, and out of devotion to God 

that I experience in Jesus, I must simply echo the words of 

Martin Luther: 'Here I stand; I can do no other.'"



A Cincinnati Presbytery committee is investigating charges that 

Van Kuiken and Mt. Auburn's former pastor, the Rev. Hal Porter, 

have performed same-sex marriages and ordained gay deacons and 

elders, thus failing to uphold their ordination vows.



Officials of two churches in the Presbytery of Hudson River 

subsequently issued similar statements, affirming Van Kuiken's 

stance and announcing their dissent from the controversial 

provision -- G-6.0106b -- of the PCUSA *Book of Order*, which 

requires of church officers "fidelity within the covenant of 

marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness." 

They are South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry, NY, a party to 

an earlier judicial case that ended in a decision that PCUSA 

churches may perform "unions" of same-sex couples, but may not 

call them marriages, and Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church, in 

Pearl River, NY.



The South Church letter was signed by the Rev. Joseph Gilmore, 

pastor; the Rev. Susan DeGeorge, associate pastor; and Dana 

Lichty, the clerk of session. It says the session will "continue 

to ordain the most qualified leaders for our congregation ... who 

are committed to any lifestyle or relationship that is loving, 

tender and just." It says the congregation's leadership also will 

urge its nominating committee not to inquire into the "private 

sexual lives" of candidates.



According to the Aug. 6 letter, South Church began ordaining gays 

and lesbians in 1992 and has conducted same-sex unions since 

1991. Congregational leaders said they intend to continue those 

practices.



The Nauraushaun Church's session and its pastor, the Rev. Jean 

A.F. Holmes, wrote in an open letter dated Aug. 11 that their 

congregation supports "faithful persons and churches who dissent 

against G-6.0106b."



"We have already announced our prayerful refusal to abide with 

this ungracious statement inserted into an otherwise faithful 

book," they wrote.



The letter expresses concern for Van Kuiken; the Rev. Don Stroud, 

an openly gay pastor in Baltimore Presbytery who has announced 

his intention not to comply; and the pastors and session of the 

Dobbs Ferry church.



"They do not stand alone," wrote the officials of the Nauraushaun 

church. "We stand with them. We believe the actions of Paul 

Jensen and others bringing charges within our denomination ... 

must be challenged and stopped."



Jensen is a Washington, DC-area attorney who has filed judicial 

cases against Stroud, Van Kuiken and 14 other Presbyterians.



An investigating committee named to look into charges that Stroud 

violated his ordination vows dismissed the case against him. 

Jensen is appealing that decision.



Kirkpatrick, acknowledging the expressions of unwillingness to 

comply, told the presbytery clerks that presbyteries have "the 

authority and responsibility to work pastorally with their 

churches and pastors" to maintain the covenant sealed by the 

PCUSA constitution.



Conceding that some constitutional provisions are "difficult" for 

some in the church, he said the constitution "protects the right 

of dissension, but provides no right of defiance."



In his letter to the synod clerks, Kirkpatrick said Presbyterian 

polity provides that presbyteries are to have the full support of 

synods. "It is your synod that provides the judicial review," he 

wrote. "It is your synod that has the authority and 

responsibility to undertake administrative review when the synod 

learns of an 'irregularity' or 'delinquency' on the part of one 

of your presbyteries. In a separate letter, I strongly urge all 

presbyteries to take seriously the requirements of the Rules of 

Discipline.



"The process must be honored if the integrity of the judicial 

system is to be maintained," he concluded.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



              Statement of Affirmation and Dissent



     This sample statement of affirmation and dissent has been 

     suggested by the Covenant Network of Presbyterians as a 

     means for congregations to affirm the many positive 

     statements in our church's constitution, while dissenting 

     from its contradictions. -- JDA.



We have watched our church debate for thirty years whether 

persons in gay/lesbian relationship may render ordained service. 

Our conscience now requires that we declare what our convictions 

on this matter are. In doing so, it is not our intention to add 

to or take away from anything in our *Book of Confessions* or 

*Form of Government*, but to share how we understand those 

things.



We affirm that Jesus Christ alone is head of the church[1], and 

that our *Confessions* and *Form of Government* are subordinate to 

his authority as the Scriptures bear witness to him[2]. We dissent 

from any effort to impose temporal understandings or 

institutional forms over the truth and imperatives of the Gospel.



We affirm that all persons are equal in the grace of Jesus 

Christ[3]. The Gospel requires openness and outreach to all who 

profess faith in Jesus Christ[4], as shown in Christ's fellowship 

with the outcast and "unclean"[5], and by the apostles' inclusion 

of Gentiles, women, foreigners, slaves, and others considered 

unworthy by the religious establishment[6]. We therefore affirm our 

obligation to extend membership solely and unreservedly on the 

basis of a profession of faith[7]. We dissent from any 

interpretation of our *Form of Government* that, while purporting 

to regulate only sexual conduct, would discriminate against and 

exclude gay and lesbian persons by insisting that they close off 

all possibility of fundamental human relationship in order to 

enjoy full rights of membership, including the right to vote and 

hold office.



We affirm that "God alone is Lord of the conscience"[8], and that 

we must act with the integrity of our convictions as we discern 

the leading of the Holy Spirit[9]. It is "the duty both of private 

Christians and societies to exercise mutual forbearance toward 

each other"[10]. We dissent from any efforts of a majority to "make 

laws to bind the conscience in virtue of its own authority"[11], or 

to impose dead legalisms that deny the grace on which we all 

depend[12].



We affirm the inalienable right of God's people to elect their 

officers[13], the responsibility of Sessions "to instruct, examine, 

ordain, install, and welcome into common ministry elders and 

deacons on their election by the congregation"[14], and of 

congregations and Presbyteries together to elect and establish 

pastoral relations[15]. We dissent from any interpretation of our 

*Form of Government* that goes beyond objective educational 

requirements to establish "litmus tests" for contested and non-

essential points of doctrine.



We affirm our obligation to welcome one another, acting as 

witnesses and agents of Christ's reconciling activity, trusting 

in God alone as the author and giver of life[16]. "Congregations, 

individuals, or groups of Christians who exclude, dominate, or 

patronize their fellow men [and women], however subtly, resist 

the Spirit of God and bring contempt on the faith which they 

profess"[17]. We therefore dissent from efforts to erect human 

boundaries of prejudice or difference in our decision-making as a 

church.



We affirm that we are "the church reformed, always reforming, 

according to the Word of God and the call of the Spirit"[18]. We 

dissent from any interpretation of our *Form of Government* that 

would make it harder to discern where the Spirit is trying to 

lead the church by categorically excluding persons in gay/lesbian 

relationship, silencing their voices in our councils and driving 

them away from our congregations[19].



We affirm that G-6.0106b, as one part of our Constitution, must 

be interpreted and applied in light of all of its provisions; and 

that provisions like those discussed above require that we adopt 

the most inclusive interpretation of G-6.0106b that is fair and 

reasonable[20]. We therefore dissent from claims that G-6.0106b 

prohibits ordained service by all persons in gay/lesbian 

relationship.



We believe that ordained service is open to all who claim the 

grace that makes us chaste, holy and pure in God's eyes[21], that 

"chastity" is required of all persons whether or not they are 

sexually active[22], and that vows of celibacy constitute 

"superstitious snares in which no Christian may entangle 

himself"[23].



We believe that repentance is a state of inward conviction about 

the wrongfulness of one's acts[24], and that persons affirming 

their sexual orientation as a good and natural part of God's 

creation, which can be responsibly acted on, have not "refused to 

repent" merely because they refuse to acquiesce in the views of a 

narrow majority to the contrary.



We will conduct all of our examinations of fitness for office 

with discretion, showing profound respect and pastoral care for 

all persons. We will honor each person's decision whether to 

"self-acknowledge" sexual practice, and we will not hold a 

refusal to discuss such matters against a candidate for 

leadership.



We will take the same care for context and degree in considering 

sexual practice that we do in assessing the many other things 

that may constitute "sin" under the Confessions. We condemn 

"unnatural lust"[25], but affirm that a homosexual orientation is 

"natural" to some, and that sexual sharing in a loving and 

faithful relationship is not the same as the uncontrolled, 

illicit, or obsessive sexual interest called "lust." We condemn 

"sodomy"[26], but believe that Scripture interprets the story of 

Sodom[27] not as a prohibition of loving and faithful same-sex 

behavior, but as a warning against rape, violence, injustice, 

oppression, cruelty, deceit, greed, and idolatry[28]. We condemn 

"homosexual perversion"[29], but believe that this no more 

encompasses all homosexual acts than "heterosexual perversion" 

encompasses all heterosexual acts.



We affirm the statement adopted by over half the Bible faculty of 

our Presbyterian seminaries, that:



     It is the gospel of Jesus that invites gay and lesbian 

     brothers and sisters to full communion in the church; it is 

     the Spirit of Jesus that calls and equips Christians for 

     ministry; and it is the justice of Jesus that calls us to 

     ensure that those who are invited, called, and equipped are 

     free to fulfill their ministries among us with the full 

     recognition and support of the church.



We affirm what thirty years of closely divided debate have made 

manifest -- that questions about ordained service by persons in 

gay/lesbian relationship are not "essential" to our faith. We 

believe that any attempts by a narrow majority to impose its 

views on all is an unconstitutional arrogation of power that 

cannot command obedience. We will follow Jesus Christ, as the 

Scriptures bear witness to him, in applying our Constitution so 

that none are excluded from the ordained service to which they 

may be called.



                           References



1. John 10:16, Col. 1.18; Bk. Conf. 3.16, 4.054, 5.131, 6.145. See 

also Matt. 23:8-10.



2. Bk. Conf. 3.18, 5.010-011, 5.014, 6.010, 8.04, 9.03; Bk. Order 

G-2.0200, G-2.0400-0500, G-14.0207, G-14.0405b.



3. Luke 13:29-30; Acts 10:1-11:18; Rom. 3:21-26, 9:25-26, 10:11-

13; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 2:11-22; Rev. 7:9-17.



4. E.g., Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Rom. 15:7; Rev. 22:17.



5. E.g., Matt. 9:10-13, 11:19, 21:28-45, 26:6-7; Mark 2:15-17, 

14:3; Luke 5:27-32, 7:34-50, 10:25-37, 11:37-52, 14:1-24, 15:1-

32, 19:1-10; John 4:5-42.



6. E.g., Acts 2:14-21, 8:26-40, 10:1-11:18, 13:44-52, 15:1-29, 

28:17-29; Gal. 2:1-14, 6:12-14.



7. Heb. 13:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:8-11; Bk. Order G-4.0403, G-5.0103, G-

5.0202. See also, e.g., Matt. 7:1-5, 13:24-30, 18:6-7, 18:21-35; 

Mark 9:38-42; Luke 6:37-42; 1 Cor. 1:10-13; Eph. 4:1-6 1 Pet. 

3:8; Jas. 4:11-12.



8. Bk. Conf. 6.109; Bk. Order G-1.0301, G-6.0108.



9. Jer. 31:31-34; Ps. 16:7; Acts 5:29; Rom. 2:12-16, 9:1, 14:1-23; 

1 Cor. 4:3-5, 7:22-23, 8:1-13; 2 Cor. 1:12; Heb. 8:8-13, 10:12-

17; Bk. Conf. 6.097-100.



10. Bk. Order G-1.0305.



11. Bk. Conf. 3.20, 5.013, 6.109, 6.174-175, 7.215, 8.20-21; Bk. 

Order G-1.0307.



12. E.g., Matt. 16:5-12; Acts 15:1-35; Gal. 2:3-14, 3:1-5, 5:1, 

6:12-13; Col. 2:16-23; 1 Tim. 4:1-5; Jas. 2:8-13.



13. Bk. Order G-1.0306, G-6.0102, G-6.0107, G-6.0302, G-7.0103, G-

14.0201, G-14.0204.



14. Bk. Order G-10.0102l, G-14.0205.



15. Bk. Order G-14.0501b, G-14.0402, G-14.0501g, G-14.0502c, G-

14.0503, G-14.0504, G-14.0507.



16. Rom. 15:7; 2 Cor. 5:16-20; Jas. 3:17-18; Bk. Conf. 3.16, 9.06-

07, 9.10, 9.20, 9.22, 9.31-33, 9.44, 10.2; Bk. Order G-3.0200, G-

3.0400, G-4.0203, G-4.0400, G-5.0103, G-9.0104.



17. Bk. Conf. 9.44.



18. Bk. Conf. 3.18, 3.20, 5.133, 6.054, 6.186, 9.03, 9.29, 10.4; 

Bk. Order G-2.0200, G-3.0401, G-4.0303, G-10.0102j, G-18.0101.



19. See Acts 5:33-39.



20. We are mindful that G-6.0106b, as our denomination's most 

recent definitive statement on point, overrules earlier 

exclusionary statements (including the 1978/79 "definitive 

guidance" and later statements based on that) by refusing to 

adopt the wording of those statements while speaking more 

flexibly to the same subject matter.



21. Heb. 3:1, 9:19-22; Bk. Conf. 4.108-109.



22. Bk. Conf. 4.108, 5.248.



23. Bk. Conf. 6.126, 7.249.



24. Bk. Conf. 4.081, 5.093-094, 6.081-082, 7.087, 7.186.



25. Bk. Conf. 7.249.



26. Id.



27. Gen. 19:1-26.



28. See, e.g., Deut. 29; Isa. 1, 3; Jer. 23; Lam. 4; Ezek. 16; 

Amos 4.



29. Bk. Conf. 4.087.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                   An Open Letter to the PCUSA

      from Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church, Pearl River, NY



As a matter of conscience and to support an open, loving, 

welcoming and affirming Church for all God's children, concerned 

individuals and sessions continue to address the injustice of the 

judicial charges that have been filed against nearly two dozen 

persons and churches regarding matters of ordination, holy unions 

and our Church's treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and 

transgender persons and our families.



Here is such a letter and statement from the Nauraushaun 

Presbyterian Church in Pearl River, New York.  I received the 

following letter on August 12. 2002. -- with hope and grace,

Michael J. Adee, M.Div., Ph.D., MLP National Field Organizer.



                   An open letter to the PCUSA



                     The Session and Pastor

                 Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church

                        51 Sickletown Rd.

                   Pearl River, NY 10965-2833



Dear Brothers and Sisters of the PCUSA,



The session and pastor of the Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church in 

Pearl River, NY, proclaim our support of faithful persons and 

churches who dissent against G-6.0106b. We have already 

announced our prayerful refusal to abide with this ungracious 

statement inserted into an otherwise faithful book. The 

failure of amendment 01-A is not the end of the story. We will 

continue to do all we can to remove G-6.0106b from our *Book of 

Order*.



We have a special concern for Rev. Steve Van Kuiken, Rev. Don 

Stroud and the session and pastors of South Church, Dobbs 

Ferry. They do not stand alone. We stand with them. We 

believe the actions of Paul Jensen, and others bringing charges 

within our denomination, to be acting contrary to the life and 

teachings of Jesus Christ. They must be challenged and 

stopped.



At this time in the history of civilization, when love and grace 

are in such great demand, we hear the call of Jesus Christ to be 

one of open hospitality, devoid of any discriminatory acts. 

Jesus, himself, never said a word about homosexuality and 

certainly did not give any focus to human sexuality at all. 

Jesus was much more likely to speak up about greed and 

hypocrisy.



We believe it is damaging to the very soul of our denomination to 

allow the exclusionary nature of G-6.0106b to have any place 

within our lives together.  It goes against the very grain of the 

Gospel message.



And so, with the love of Christ in our hearts and the rock of 

God's presence as our foundation, whether we agree on method or 

not, we agree with the intent of any person or church who cannot 

in clear conscience abide with G-6.0106b. -- Signed by the pastor 

and session of Nauraushaun Presbyterian Church: Rev. Jean A. F. 

Holmes, pastor; George Ellestad, clerk; Denise Ainsworth, Andy 

Andrews, Holly Beyar, Bob Chauvot, Liz Chauvot, Gil Holsapple, 

Martha Miller, Juli Schaefer, Steve Schiller, Mary Lee 

Wainwright, Jim Water.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



         Another Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church



In response to recent events, South Presbyterian Church in Dobbs Ferry,

New York has issued "Another Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church

(U.S.A.)."



August 6, 2002



     Another Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)



Stephen Van Kuiken's Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 

and recent events surrounding court cases striking out at 

Evangelist Don Stroud (That All May Freely Serve, Baltimore) and 

others have moved our Session and congregation to this response. 

No one should make the mistake of believing that these good and 

faithful servants are alone in their dissent and non-compliance 

with G6.0106b. We, too, stand beside them.



On October 23, 2000, the session of South Church notified the 

stated clerk of The Presbytery of Hudson River of our own dissent 

and the reasons for it. We said:



     - We will continue to ordain the most qualified leaders for 

     our congregation, selecting people who live by conscience 

     and seek the way of God, whether single, single again, or 

     who are committed to any life-style or relationship that is 

     loving, tender and just.



     - We will discourage our Church Nominating Committees from 

     inquiring into the private, sexual lives of any candidate.



     - We will celebrate the relationships between any two adults 

     who have chosen to be a home-place for each other and have 

     begun to build a relationship characterized by love, 

     tenderness, and justice. Such relationships are, one and 

     all, holy.



On March 8, 1992 we ordained elders and deacons including, for 

the first time, those who were self affirming, unrepentant, 

practicing homosexuals. There have been other ordinations since 

that time, and our boards currently include such individuals. 

Joseph Gilmore, Susan De George, and our Clerk of Session 

presided on these occasions for worship. Since 1991, our 

ministers have conducted services of worship joining lesbian and 

gay persons in same-sex unions, which are, in every important 

respect, marriages: two hearts declaring themselves home to each 

other, before God, with gratitude. The last such occasion was in 

June 2002; more are scheduled for the future.



All of these services are part of the pastoral ministry of South 

Church, offered to all of our members and friends. Our 

hospitality and these ministries are extended to the people of 

God, among whom we refuse to draw lines, create categories of 

acceptable and not acceptable, or treat violently in any other 

way. Because we follow Jesus in this way does not mean that we 

have renounced the jurisdiction of the church, nor set aside our 

ordination vows. It means that we are being faithful and obedient 

to God, as best we can, where and with whom we have found 

ourselves, and beside whom we are now living.



In our sanctuary, prominent banners fashioned by a gay man 

declare for all of us our belief that G6.0106b is as barbed wire 

around the hospitality of God. The Permanent Judicial 

Commission's ruling in Benton v. Hudson River began here in the 

sanctuary of South Church. We became a More Light Congregation in 

1984. That is, we have been practicing hospitality all the while. 

We are not perfect, but we are getting better.



At this moment, our charge rings more clearly than it has in the 

last thirty years. Eliminating G6.0106b from our work and worship 

is not a "death wish," as suggested by Parker T. Williamson in a 

recent article in *The Layman*. Rather it is a commitment to 

embrace the Spirit and Voice of faith that echoes from the great 

mystery of God. Three decades of corporate insistence that 

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) folk are somehow 

less of the human mystery than non-LGBT persons has produced 

enough deception and injury within the Body of Christ.



We cannot accept the notion that litigation is the only process 

that can change G6.0106b. Acceptance of that idea would mean that 

our tolerance for ongoing violence and injustice has reached 

unacceptable limits. It is our position that the refusal to 

follow G6.0106b and allow the inclusion of LGBT folk in the full 

work and worship of our church can be debated no more than one's 

God-given right to breathe. The courts and debates have been used 

by too many to harbor ongoing pain, while maintaining the status 

quo. We adamantly refuse to be complicit in such a strategy.



We urge all churches to state their support of those who have 

courageously taken the lead in this struggle and for those 

churches to affirm their refusal to practice G6.0106b and its 

cruel tenets. -- Peace to All, Joseph H. Gilmore, Senior 

Minister; Susan G. DeGeorge, Associate Minister; Dana D. Lichty, 

Clerk of Session; Members of Session: Raymond Bagnuolo, Ken 

Barton, Patricia Castimore, Doug Epstein, Kathryn Groth, Carol 

Hagglund, Glenn Johnson, Kris Kliemann, Bruce Platt, Kristi 

Stangeland, Cheryl Storti.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



   A Pastor's Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)



As you may know, in recent months there have been approximately 

twenty charges that have been filed against LGBT people, our 

heterosexual supporters, and against more light and/or welcoming 

and affirming churches.  Not all of these charges have been made 

public, and many of them were made known in the press prior to 

their delivery, which is a violation of our judicial process.  

Some of the charges have been dismissed and some are in process.



The following is an open letter to the PCUSA from the Rev. 

Stephen Van Kuiken, pastor, Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, 

Cincinnati, Ohio, and a heterosexual ally.  It is important to 

know that the Rev. Hal Porter, pastor emeritus, Mt. Auburn, also 

received charges against him.  An administrative commission is 

being put in place by the Presbytery of Cincinnati to visit Mt. 

Auburn in the near future.  Mt. Auburn is a long-time More Light 

Presbyterian Church that experienced judicial charges and an 

administrative commission in the early-1990s.



Please do keep Steve, Hal and Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church in 

your thoughts and prayers, and the other persons and churches 

that have experienced the spiritual violence of these judicial 

complaints.



To offer messages of support to Steve, Hal and Mt. Auburn 

Presbyterian Church, here are some options: fax (513) 281-7222; 

email to office@mtauburnpresby.org; phone (513) 281-5945; postal 

mail to 103 William Howard Taft Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45219. -- 

with hope and grace, Michael J. Adee, M.Div., Ph.D., MLP National 

Field Organizer.





July 25, 2002



       An Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)



Sisters and Brothers in Christ,



On March 14, 2002 Paul Rolf Jensen filed well-publicized 

accusations against me, and I feel compelled to respond.  Let me 

say at the outset that some of these accusations are absolutely 

correct:



I did endorse our Session's "Statement of Inclusive Marriage" 

(2/28/01) and "Statement of Dissent and Non-Compliance to G-

6.0106b" (2/27/02); I have participated in the ordination of 

elders and deacons who are self-affirming, "unrepentant 

practicing homosexuals" (4/14/02); and I have officiated (most 

recently, 10/13/01) and condoned (12/30/01) worship celebrations 

of same-sex unions that are, in every important respect, 

Christian marriages.



I do not believe, however, that I have renounced the jurisdiction 

of the church or violated my ordination vows.  Quite the 

contrary, my actions are in obedience to God.  I am a prisoner of 

conscience on this matter.  As an additional matter of conscience 

I must also be as open, honest and clear as possible about my 

actions.



Mt. Auburn's inclusive policies were among the very reasons why I 

accepted this congregation's call. Since then, my life has been 

deeply enriched.  This congregation is filled with beautiful, 

gentle souls -- black, brown and white, young and old, rich and 

poor, couples and singles, gay and straight.  It is a lively 

group full of imagination, love and intelligent, honest searching 

for God.  We have many precious children who have two mommies, 

two daddies or, like my family, one of each.  We are bound 

together in love and ministry, and as their Pastor, I cannot and 

will not forsake them.



I hold no ill will toward Mr. Jensen for filing the accusations, 

and I forgive him for publicizing them to the press.  It has been 

over four months since the accusations were filed, and I hope my 

Investigating Committee will move in a timely manner, since I 

cannot bear this process to go on indefinitely.



The problem lies not with Mr. Jensen but with our *Book of Order*, 

which makes such judicial actions inevitable.  The continued 

existence of G-6.0106b constitutes an injustice.  Its very 

presence is an oppressive and intolerable weight upon many.  The 

persistent threat of judicial action intimidates many 

progressives, gay and straight alike, into varying degrees of 

silence and secrecy.



We waited in vain for some measure of relief and a message of 

grace from the General Assembly, which decided to deal with this 

conflict by ignoring it.



Likewise, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission 

(GAPJC) decision in Benton v. Hudson River (5/22/00), which 

concludes that same-sex unions cannot be considered equivalent to 

marriage, is an open wound in our church.  It is simply cruel to 

offer celebration of a loving, caring and committed same-sex 

relationship but to prohibit sexual intimacy in that 

relationship.  If this is what W-4.9001 means, then its double 

standard inflicts an unacceptable suffering upon gay and lesbian 

persons and their families.



Why do I stay in this church?  Because I love it.  Historically, 

there has always been a progressive or liberal voice in the 

Presbyterian Church.  From the earlier New Side and New School 

struggles through the fundamentalist controversy in the 1920's, 

this wonderful tradition has maintained that "people of good 

characters and principles may differ."  Back when some 

conservatives tried to impose a narrow method of biblical 

interpretation upon the entire church, they were turned back by 

many faithful Presbyterians such as Henry Sloane Coffin and 

Charles Erdman.



Today, this traditionally moderate denomination uses broader 

methods of biblical interpretation on issues such as evolution, 

women's roles and divorce, but it is locked into a narrow and 

literalistic interpretation regarding sexual orientation.  The 

pervasive fear, which results from this view that forbears no 

others, is tearing down the body of Christ.



So following our precious legacy of religious liberty, with care 

and concern for gay and lesbian members and their families, and 

out of devotion to God that I experience in Jesus, I must simply 

echo the words of Martin Luther: "Here I stand, I can do no 

other." -- In Christ's Love, A. Stephen Van Kuiken

______________________________________________________________________



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



          Statement of Faith and Conscience in Refusal

                    to Comply with G-6.0106b



                    Rev. Mr. Donald E. Stroud

                       Baltimore, Maryland

                           16 May 2002



I cannot comply with G-6.0106b of the *Book of Order* because to do 

so, for me, can come only at the price of denying my faith in 

God's grace in Jesus Christ. My conscience will not allow me to 

do such a thing.



G-6.0106b makes God complicit in unjust oppressive violence that 

pits members of the Body of Christ, constituted as the 

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), one against the other and rends the 

peace, unity and purity of the Church.



The supporters of G-6.0106b unwittingly turn our *Form of 

Government* into a mechanism for the enforcement of a sacrificial 

system in order to maintain the sanctity of the system.



The preponderance of our polity seeks to order our life together 

according to the mandate of the inclusiveness of the Gospel of 

Jesus Christ. G-6.0106b is a departure from this historical 

movement in our polity. It has at its core the aim of sacrificing 

the self-worth, integrity, honesty and transparent truthfulness 

of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered members 

of the PCUSA as less than equally created in God's image and 

thus less than part of God's good graceful creation. By extension 

G-6.0106b entraps everyone else in this same unjust and 

oppressive sacrificial system. G-6.0106b entraps its supporters 

and all who are asked to give consent to the falsehood that God 

is part of this system requiring such sacrifice. G-6.0106b 

becomes the very opportunity for our disunity and lack of pure 

intentions and peace with God and with one another.



God is not in this "sacral" sacrificial system that we have 

constructed at the cost of oppressing and denigrating one 

another. God is not in G-6.0106b. G-6.0106b is not the Word of 

God to which we must give ultimate obedience and to which we 

strive faithfully to bring into conformity our life together in 

the Church.



My conscience is bound to the faith that "Jesus Christ is Lord" 

in whose grace God frees us from participation in unjust 

oppressive sacrificial systems.  God's grace in Jesus Christ 

exposes the lie, which is our sin, that God has anything to do 

with the injustice and oppression of the systems we create to 

exclude one another.



I cannot comply with G-6.0106b unless I deny my faith in Jesus 

Christ and forsake reliance upon God's grace alone. My conscience 

will not allow me to deny my faith that God desires that the 

grace of Jesus Christ alone make our life together sacred. It is 

from Jesus Christ's grace alone the gifts of peace, unity and 

purity shall flow.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



          Gay Minister's Case Dismissed -- And Continued



                    Complainant Seeks Review

             Accused Restates Defiance of G-6.0106b



                         by Alexa Smith

                    Presbyterian News Service



Louisville, KY, July 30, 2002. -- Shortly after an investigating 

committee in Baltimore Presbytery decided not to bring charges 

against an openly gay minister, both parties in the dispute took 

action to keep it alive.



Paul Jensen, the Washington, DC, lawyer who filed the complaint, 

asked the presbytery court to review the committee's decision.



The Rev. Don Stroud, the accused, announced publicly that, as a 

matter of faith and conscience, he cannot comply with a provision 

of the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).



Stroud was accused last September of "willfully and deliberately" 

violating his ordination vows and the constitutional clause (G-

6.0106b) that says unmarried clergy may not be sexually active. 

[This is *not* what it says.  It says they must be "chaste," as 

all Christians are called be be, whether married or not! -- JDA] 

He also was charged with heresy. He is employed by That All May 

Freely Serve (TAMFS), a group working to eliminate barriers to 

the full participation of gays and lesbians in PCUSA ministry.



The case against Stroud was among the first initiated by Jensen, 

who has made similar allegations against fifteen other 

Presbyterians around the country who he says are openly defying 

the PCUSA constitution. Most of the cases were filed during Holy 

Week in March.



In the other case filed earlier, an investigating committee in 

National Capitol Presbytery also decided against filing formal 

charges.



Shortly after the Baltimore committee's decision became public, 

Stroud -- who has waived his right of confidentiality -- issued a 

statement of refusal to comply with G-6.0106b, which he said 

violates the theological premise that it is by the "grace of 

Jesus Christ alone" that lives are bound together in the church.



Jensen had no comment on his request for review.



An investigating committee's decision is subject to review only 

on grounds of procedural irregularity.



The decision was made public in the stated clerk's report to the 

Baltimore Presbytery during its June 27 meeting, according to the 

Rev. Phil Sorensen, the presbytery executive.



Sorensen said there was no discussion of the committee's 

decision.



A presbytery is required to investigate any complaint filed 

within its jurisdiction. The investigating committee decides 

whether to file formal charges with the presbytery's permanent 

judicial commission (PJC).



In his statement, Stroud said: "I cannot comply with G-6.0106b 

of the *Book of Order* because to do so, for me, can come only at 

the price of denying my faith in God's grace in Jesus Christ. My 

conscience will not allow me to do such a thing."



In a section labeled, "My Personal Reactions to the Investigating 

Committee Report," he said that he is unwilling to engage in 

"works righteousness (celibacy) to earn God's favor."



"Is it an essential that I comply with an aberrant section of 

church polity that forces me to rely on anything except grace 

alone to be in full communion as a continuing member of 

presbytery?" he asked, continuing, "... I cannot but believe that 

the Presbytery of Baltimore in its own corporate conscience would 

ultimately decide otherwise."



Stroud, a member of the presbytery for three years, told the 

Presbyterian News Service that he is currently in a relationship.



The PJC has 90 days to respond to the request for a review.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



We conclude this section with counsel from Don Stroud's Presbytery:



             On Seeking Reconciliation in the Church



                  Adopted by the Council of the

             Presbytery of Baltimore, June 10, 2002

           as Amended by the Presbytery, June 27, 2002



After careful consideration of the many positions and 

perspectives regarding G-6.0106b during a day-long retreat on May 

2, 2002, and at several council meetings, the Council offers this 

statement to all who serve Jesus Christ within the bounds of our 

Presbytery as a first step toward providing a context for 

discussion and decision making.



Presbyterians have struggled with ordination standards since 

1978, and the recent defeat of Amendment 01-A raised the level of 

controversy. While there are congregations comfortable with G-

6.0106b and there are congregations whose consciences are deeply 

troubled by G-6.0106b, many other congregations do not consider 

the issue a high priority. We believe that most of us want to 

live together in a beloved community strongly committed to Jesus 

Christ.



In recent years, the controversy has often been framed around 

votes. Groups have worked hard to convince fellow Presbyterians 

of the rightness of their position in preparation for decisions 

at various levels of our judicatories. This has not helped us 

understand the history and hurts of those with whom we disagree. 

Now we need not only to be honest and articulate about our own 

positions, but also to truly hear each other, to hear each other 

clearly enough that we can paraphrase each other's reasoning.



We implore everyone to respond in a new way, to practice active 

listening and focus not on opposing positions in the controversy 

but on the great, central affirmation we share: Jesus is Lord! 

Each of us, whatever our position on G-6.0106b, has declared 

this. We believe this truth must overarch all issues. Only a 

focus on Jesus' Lordship will enable us to move together beyond 

conflict so that we can be about our urgent work of declaring 

God's love for the whole world.



We in no way belittle the pain and frustration felt by all in 

this controversy. Nor do we ask anyone to be less than fully 

honest in their position: statements of conscience must not be 

suppressed. We do not ask anyone to shift their position on the 

issue in the least.



We believe in and urge a policy of patience and mutual 

forbearance across the church. We seek a climate where we wait, 

without actions such as provocative dissent or judicial charges, 

while we study and share ideas, free of suspicion and battle 

among factions, to work through our differences. We recommend 

that disputes be solved through mediation and conciliation. 

Further, we will honor every session's compliance with G-6.0108b. 

(This last sentence was added by the presbytery.)



Together, especially in moments of dispute over scriptural 

interpretation, let us strive to preserve the peace, unity, and 

purity of the church whose manner is one of grace, hospitality, 

and cooperation and whose Lord is Jesus Christ.



                       Remaining Steadfast



     In addition, at the same presbytery meeting of June 27, 

     2002, the presbytery adopted the following motion with 

     overwhelming support, directing the Council, in considering 

     "possible next steps," to include consideration of the 

     following actions -- Don Stroud:



a. Remain steadfast in honoring its history of giving strong 

conscientious leadership to its constituent churches and to the 

PCUSA by its work to make the PCUSA just and fully inclusive 

of its GLBT members



b. Express its regret and strong dissent from the action of the 

majority of the PCUSA presbyteries to maintain the injustice of 

G-6.0106b in the *Book of Order* by their failure to ratify 

Amendment "A," commended by the 213th GA to the Church for its 

approval;



c. Support sessions and ordained officers who exercising their 

conscience must strongly dissent the presence of G-6.0106b in the 

*Book of Order*;



d. Support sessions and ordained officers who cannot in good 

conscience comply with G-6.0106b, in accordance with the clear 

language of G-6.0108b, which states that the determination of 

what is or is not essential to reformed faith and polity 

"ultimately becomes the responsibility of the governing body" in 

which officers serve;



e. Inform session and presbytery investigating committees and the 

Presbytery Permanent Judicial Commission that in the conduct of 

their business they shall be instructed by the following: 

Baltimore Presbytery, as a matter of conscience, shall not pursue 

any disciplinary or remedial complaints growing out of attempts 

to enforce the provisions of G-6.0106b.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                           MLP Heroes



                      Charles Booker-Hirsch,

                      A Prisoner for Christ



MLP Board member Charles Booker-Hirsch writes:



Friday afternoon, I learned of my minimum security prison 

placement and date to self-surrender, re: a ninety-day sentence 

for a mass nonviolent civil resistance at Ft. Benning last 

November.  As many of you know, over 10,000 of us gathered to 

protest the continued operation there of the school of terrorism 

once known as the U.S. Army School of the Americas [SOA], and 

over 100 of us trespassed onto the base by "crossing the line" in 

a solemn funeral procession.



Place:  Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McKean, Bradford, 

PA (Northwestern PA, 60-75 miles East of Erie and 360 miles from 

my home in Ann Arbor).



Date to Report:  Tuesday, Sept. 10.



My address and phone will be: Charles Booker-Hirsch #90961-020, 

FCI McKean, P.O. Box 5000, Bradford, PA 16701, 814-362-8900, fax: 

814-362-3287.



For more on the story about the "SOA 43" trial and our ongoing 

witness, see www.soaw.org and its many cross links from the home 

page, including wonderful photos from the trial itself.  A 

reprint of my June 9 op-ed piece in *The Ann Arbor News*, which has 

appeared as well as in national, Latin American and European 

publications, may be found at  

http://www.soaw.org/new/article.php?id=369.



Your thoughts & prayers these days for our five-year-old, Drew, 

are particularly coveted.  He is doing well with all this for the 

time being, offering his view to Amy and me that "Daddy is going 

away on vacation," and knowing that he will be seeing me from time 

to time. -- Grace & peace, Chuck, (The Rev.) Charles Booker-

Hirsch, Pastor, Northside Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, MI.



"For me, going to prison is not something I want to do -- the 

separation from my family -- but I know I'll come home.  But 

that's not true for thousands of people who disappear and are not 

heard from again." -- The Rev. Erik Johnson, Presbyterian pastor 

& co-defendant, Sentenced to six months and a $1000 fine for his 

nonviolent witness.



"We know that all things work together for good for those who 

love God." -- Romans 8:28.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Here's the story from the Presbyterian News Service:





                 Presbyterian pastors sentenced



                Peace protesters get prison terms

                  for trespassing on Army base



                         by Alexa Smith

                    Presbyterian News Service



Louisville, KY, July 16, 2002 -- Two Presbyterian ministers have 

been sentenced to serve time in a federal penitentiary for 

participating in a non-violent demonstration at a Georgia 

military base last November.



The Rev. Chuck Booker-Hirsch, 41, of Ann Arbor, MI, was sentenced 

to three months in prison and fined $500. The Rev. Erik Johnson, 

58, of Maryville, TN, got a six-month sentence and a $1,000 fine.



The sentences are to begin in six to eight weeks.



They were charged with trespassing after they entered Fort 

Benning, near Columbus, GA, during an annual demonstration 

against a combat training facility there long known as the School 

of the Americas, but now called the Western Hemisphere Institute 

for Security Cooperation (WHISC). The facility, which offers 

training to Latin American military officers, is accused of 

offering instruction in such techniques as extortion and torture.



Training manuals discovered in the early 1990s proved that 

allegation; since then, the government insists that the school's 

curriculum has been changed.



More than 10,000 people took part in the protest last Nov. 16-18, 

which marked the anniversary of the 1989 slaughter of six Jesuit 

priests in El Salvador. More than 100 entered federal property, 

inviting arrest. Forty-three were later indicted, and 37 were 

tried last week in Columbus.



Magistrate G. Mallon Faircloth of the U.S. District Court handed 

down three-to-six-month sentences for 29 protesters on July 12. 

One was found not guilty and seven were put on probation.



Booker-Hirsch was a first-time offender, a category that has not 

been prosecuted in the past.



"The penalties are severe ... when the maximum penalty is six 

months in prison and/or a $5,000 fine," said Booker-Hirsch, who 

added that activists are interpreting the decision to prosecute 

first-time offenders as an attempt to deter future protests. "I'm 

almost certain it will have a backlash effect," he said.



He added: "I am thankful that the prosecution brought the 37 of 

us together for this time of intense community-building and 

testimony-sharing."



Booker-Hirsch said the case dramatized the hypocrisy of the 

United States in making war on terrorism abroad while refusing to 

acknowledge its own involvement in terrorism. "It's the log-and-

speck analogy all over again," he said.



The prosecutor's office did not return calls from the 

Presbyterian News Service.



Both Presbyterian ministers are long-time activists for peace in 

Latin America and for aid to refugees in the United States who 

fled violence there.



Johnson told the judge that, when he became a baptized Christian, 

"the whole world became my family through faith in the One who is 

life," and that, during his 33 years as an ordained PCUSA 

minister, he has taught his parishioners to respect the "sanctity 

of all life" and to expose "injustices, in the hope of making 

them just."



"I have consistently advocated peacefully against violence and 

injustices on behalf of the sacred lives of the poor and 

oppressed in the human family, including my sisters and brothers 

in Latin America, whose lives have been brutalized and shortened 

by the violence directed toward them by graduates of the School 

of the Americas," he said. "These members of my extended family 

are not obscure and nameless. I see their faces in my heart."



Johnson said his congregation has extended "an outpouring of 

love" in support him and his family.



"I'm feeling very good about my choice," he said. "I'm living day 

by day with the knowledge that all of us ... have to give some 

account of ourselves and how we live non-violently in a massively 

violent world. That's both a comfort and challenge to me. ... The 

One I serve is a crucified Lord."



Johnson, co-chair of the Peacemaking Committee of the Presbytery 

of East Tennessee, is interim pastor of the Church of the Savior, 

a United Church of Christ congregation in Knoxville, TN.



Johnson said his time in jail will give him the opportunity to 

develop deeper spiritual habits and to reflect on alternative 

ways of living.



Booker-Hirsch is pastor of Northside Presbyterian Church in Ann 

Arbor. Several ministers in his presbytery have offered to fill 

his pulpit pro bono during his absence. His wife, Amy, is also a 

Disciples of Christ minister.



"Ninety days is a small expense to pay," said Booker-Hirsch, 

given the issues involved. "Our biggest concern is our five-year-

old, Drew, being away from his daddy that long."



He said that his indictment has prompted some acquaintances who 

had little knowledge of the school to begin raising some hard 

questions. "That's what we want," he said.



Defenders of the school argue that its curriculum no longer 

includes instruction in abusive practices and that each class 

includes a human rights component. But the School of the Americas 

Watch, the organization that stages the annual protest, contends 

that those changes are only cosmetic.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                Gene Huff Gets David Sindt Award



Long-time MLP board member and activist was the well-deserved 

recipient of the David Sindt Award (named for the founder of 

Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns) at General Assembly.



Gene reports as follows:



You may have noted that Gene Huff received the David Sindt Award 

at the GA last month; awarded in the name of one of our MLP 

founders in the sense that David was one of the first 

Presbyterians to come out in the church.  It was a great honor 

for Gene.  However he has noted that in the story in various 

places about the award to him it is said that it was in honor of 

his fifty years of working for an inclusive church.  Actually 

reference was made to his fifty years of ministry, but he has 

insisted that it is a bit of an overstatement to say he was 

working for inclusiveness in the church in an assertive way the 

whole time.



Gene has said, "I wish I could claim half a century of active 

work for inclusiveness, but I have to say, that is quite an 

overstatement.  My assertive work for the cause was really only 

during about the last 20 of those years.  In 1984 I took a course 

in Spirituality and Sexuality led by Janie Spahr.  That was a new 

birth for me as a straight ally and ten years later I began my 

service as a PLGC / MLP board member.  So note the correction 

please, and thanks to many of you for your good words."



So here is Gene's more accurate account of the award:



During the 214th General Assembly in Columbus, OH, June 15, Gene 

Huff was honored for his work in the inclusive church movement by 

being awarded the David Sindt Award. Sindt was the gay man whose 

courageous initiatives brought about the beginnings of what 

became the caucuses of educative and advocacy groups for the LGBT 

cause in the Presbyterian Church.  Gene had served five years on 

the national board of More Light Presbyterians and was 

responsible much of that time for chapter development around the 

church.  Along with Howard Warren he had organized an MLP chapter 

in Central Indiana in the 1990s. Gene has now completed fifty 

years of ministry in the church including time as a pastor and as 

a national staff person as well as service as executive presbyter

in both San Gabriel and Western Reserve Presbyteries.



And here is Gene's opening prayer for our G.A. dinner:



O Wildly Inclusive God, so full of grace and mercy

we feel you presence with us in this place;

     calling us and nurturing us to be your faithful people.

In a world of hurt, prejudice and confusion

we ask your blessing and guidance.



Be present to the whole church

      opening eyes, ears, hearts, and minds

to the hurt and suffering of so many

      due to the heartless decisions

      which block full hospitality in the life of the church.

Open the pathways of Christian ministry

      that indeed all may freely serve as you have clearly called them.



Empower us to be reconcilers, peacemakers

and good stewards of all the gifts with which you have blessed us.

You created us in love to rejoice in your creation.

You gave us sex with which to bless our loving.

You gave us life to share in making love happen.



We know you are still in the healing business

so we ask that you be with persons and families

who have suffered or continue to suffer

      from abandonment and loss,

from the effects of AIDS and all incurable diseases.



Bless us O God, your very special lavender people

      and their ever struggling straight allies

and teach us to love even those

      who live in fear of our very existence.

Keep us from the pride and prejudice

      which we find so troublesome in others;

teach us to reach out even to irrational  opponents

      and at least to try to minister to them in mercy

yet also in full honesty as to who we are.

Now bless us in this precious time together, through Christ

whom you sent to bring the reign of justice to the earth.  Amen



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                    Please Pray for our Gene!



Dear Friends



A gall bladder attack put long-time MLP member and wonderful 

friend back in the hospital in August.  Earlier this summer Gene 

and Joan got the wonderful news that the brain cancer that he had 

been diagnosed with earlier was in remission.  But due to his 

weakened immune system Gene suffered from this recent attack 

which leaves him in frail condition at Kaiser hospital in San 

Francisco.



Your continued prayers for both Joan and Gene are welcomed. -- 

Shalom Lisa Larges, TAMFS Regional Partnership Coordinator.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                            Norm Pott



Katie Morrison writes:



The following note just came to me.



"The Rev. Norm Pott, H.R. [honorably retired] died Sunday 

morning, September 1, 2002.  His family was with him.  ... Enid 

Pott, Norm's spouse, lives at 180 El Cerrito Ave., San Rafael, 

CA 94901-1911."



Norm was an incredible More Light supporter and in my memory has 

been the only moderatorial candidate to speak boldly and with 

full honesty about how the church is wrong in its exclusion of 

LGBT persons in the PCUSA during the election on the floor of GA.  

He was a true ally. -- The Rev. Katie Morrison, MLP National 

Field Organizer.



Hal Porter writes:



I was surprised and saddened to read on the pages of That All May 

Freely Serve that the Rev. Norm Pott died.  I did not know him 

well but I will never forget his courageous and forthright 

statement on the floor of the 1996 Assembly as a candidate for 

moderator. I remember it not only for the many concerns he so 

wisely addressed but especially for his unequivocal support for 

full inclusion of LGBT persons in the life of the church.  His 

integrity was evident in that he did not seek election at the 

expense of hiding his deepest convictions.  It may have cost him 

the election but he won our hearts.  It is good to know that 

Janie Spahr has been asked to participate in his memorial 

service. -- Hal Porter, Cincinnati.



Charles Booker-Hirsch writes:



I recall quite well the 214th GA in Albuquerque when Norm stood -

-  and I mean *stood*, all 6'8" of him -- for Moderator.  He 

concluded his prepared remarks with words of passion I will never 

forget:



"Throughout our denomination, I hear people asking the question, 

'Who is going to save the Church?'  Friends: the Church has 

already been saved!  Our task is simply to follow the Savior."



Thanks be to God for witnesses such as Norm Pott, who really 

seemed to understand in his heart the *Book of Order* phrase, "The 

Church is called to undertake [its] mission even at the risk of 

losing its life ..." (G-3.0400). -- Grace & peace, Chuck



And the Presbyterian News Service:



The Rev. Norman D. Pott, 70, died at his home on Sept. 1 of 

leukemia. A moderatorial candidate to the 1996 General Assembly, 

Pott served churches in Eugene, OR, and in Berkeley, Davis, San 

Rafael and St. Helena, CA.  ...  He was a graduate of Wheaton 

College, Princeton Seminary and the University of Edinburgh. He 

is survived by his wife, Enid, four adult children and three 

grandchildren. -- Jerry Van Marter.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



              The Three Sisters General Assembly Dinner



Here's the Presbyterian News Service story about our dinner (to 

be read with Gene Huff's modifications above!):



          Gay-Rights Dinner Speaker Voices Rage, Pride



                          by Midge Mack



Columbus, OH, June 15, 2002 -- Featured speaker Urvashi Vaid drew 

more than 240 GA participants to a June 15 dinner sponsored by 

Presbyterian groups that advocate for the rights of gay, lesbian, 

bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people.



Vaid, an attorney from India whose religion is Hinduism, said 

many social-justice organizations focus too narrowly on issues of 

specific interest to their members. She called for a new strategy 

of partnership between faith-based and secular justice-advocacy 

movements.



The annual event was sponsored by the "three sisters" of the LGBT 

movement: More Light Presbyterians, the Shower of Stoles Project, 

and That All May Freely Serve.



Vaid expressed rage at the curtailment of human rights she 

believes has been undertaken by the U.S. government since the 

terror attacks of last Sept. 11. She also expressed pride in the 

progress made in raising public consciousness about human 

sexuality in the past decade, and challenged her listeners to 

more cooperative action in fighting for full participation by 

LGBT people and groups in church and society.



"We need to strengthen our networks and create practical 

political partnerships that unite faith-based efforts with social 

justice efforts across society," she said. "There is deep 

commitment to justice of all kinds in the faith-based movements. 

We need to transform our vision, our courage and our commitment 

to a broader framework of action."



After leaders of the three sponsoring organizations reported on 

their groups' activities in the past year, two annual awards were 

presented. The David Sindt Award went to the Rev. Gene Huff, a 

pastor and former presbytery executive, in recognition of his 50 

years of tireless advocacy for a fully inclusive church. The 

award is named for a pastor who was a pioneer in the struggle for 

inclusiveness in the church.



Good Samaritan Church, of Pinellas Park, FL, is the 2002 

recipient of the Inclusive Church Award, presented by More Light 

Presbyterians. The church, one of the first redevelopment 

projects of the erstwhile Board of National Missions of the 

former UPCUSA, is now a federated Presbyterian and United Church 

of Christ (UCC) congregation. Since 1970, when Harold Brockus of 

UCC was called to reorganize the congregation, its mission has 

emphasized community ministry and justice advocacy. Good 

Samaritan has been a More Light congregation since 1993. It is 

one of two in Florida.



[Actually, there are three More Light Churches in the Presbytery of 

Tampa Bay!  There are four in Florida. -- JDA]



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



And here is a great story about Good Samaritan Church from the 

St. Petersburg Times, reprinted with our thanks and their 

permission:



           A Church That Doesn't Just Preach Tolerance



    A congregation that has always embraced those whom others

        would turn away has won an award for its stands.



               By Waveney Ann Moore, Times Staff Writer

            Copyright St. Petersburg Times, June 22, 2002



PINELLAS PARK -- Since its founding, Good Samaritan Church's 

sense of outreach has run counter to the safety of the status 

quo.



Organized as a Presbyterian church in 1912, for years it 

attracted mostly Baptists with nowhere else to worship.



In 1969, the all-white church opened its new education center to 

a Headstart program for mostly minority children.



In 1970, Good Samaritan became affiliated with the United Church 

of Christ while retaining its Presbyterian connection.



Over the years, Good Samaritan started a food ministry, 

established a counterculture center to provide drug and draft 

counseling to young people and opened the first Meals on Wheels 

center in Pinellas County. The church also started a fellowship 

group for first-generation Chinese-Americans, provided an outlet 

for white and black teenagers to help defuse tension during the 

early days of school desegregation, started a group for gay, 

lesbian and bisexual teenagers and helped found the county's 

first chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians 

and Gays).



In 1993, the church also took the controversial step of declaring 

itself an inclusive, welcoming body for sexual minorities. In 

recent months, Good Samaritan rallied in support of a new city 

ordinance to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual 

orientation in St. Petersburg.



Last Saturday, the church's efforts on behalf of sexual 

minorities were recognized by More Light Presbyterians. The 

national group works for "the full participation of lesbian, gay, 

bisexual and transgendered people of faith in the life, ministry 

and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)."



Said Marco Grimaldo, a national board member of More Light 

Presbyterians and an elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in 

Washington, D.C.: "This is a church with a powerful history that 

has taken great strides in recent years, and in particular this 

last year, toward reaching out among lesbian, gay, bisexual and 

transgendered people in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). And we're 

very proud of them."



Grimaldo praised Good Samaritan for educational efforts within 

the church and larger community and for its opposition to the 

Presbyterian Church's ban on the ordination of sexual minorities. 

He also commended Good Samaritan for including gay, lesbian, 

bisexual and transgendered members in its leadership.



Good Samaritan is believed to be one of only two churches 

affiliated with the More Light movement in Florida. The other is 

Faith Presbyterian in Dunedin.  [There are two others: John 

Calvin in Tampa and Riviera in Miami! -- JDA]



Last weekend eight representatives from the Pinellas Park church 

flew to Columbus, Ohio, where the Presbyterian Church was holding 

its 214th General Assembly, to accept More Light's Inclusive 

Church Award.



"We were very gratified to be recognized," said Wanda Gammel, 78, 

a church elder who lives at the Westminster Shores retirement 

community. "It was kind of an award for hard work, an uphill 

fight, with a lot of very unpleasant and unwelcome reaction."



Added Virginia Baxter, 83, also a church elder: "It's a 

vindication of all the battles we fought."



The congregation has not been in total agreement about the 

inclusion of sexual minorities, Mrs. Baxter said.



"Some of the members did not like it," she said. "Some of them 

left. Some of them stayed. Some of them just tolerate them."



The church's declaration of support for sexual minorities was the 

last straw for many, Mrs. Gammel said. "We lost a lot of members 

almost immediately, but the exodus continued for several years. 

People said, 'I'm fed up with this emphasis. There's too much 

attention being paid to gays. I can't do this.' ...  On the other 

hand, we've had a lot of people who are not gay choose our church 

because of that stand."



Good Samaritan, at 6085 Park Blvd., "has an interesting history," 

said its long-time pastor, the Rev. Harold M. Brockus. "It was 

always kind of committed to serving the community, but has always 

been kind of a stranger to the community it was serving."



Brockus, who is retiring this year, arrived at the church in 

1970. Before he accepted the post, Brockus said he told the 

congregation that he had to be sure that church members would 

accept his entire family, which included his adopted biracial 

baby daughter.



"This church never blinked about accepting my whole family," he 

said.



Brockus said he also was won over by the fact that the church had 

welcomed the Headstart program.



"It was very hard for white communities to accept Headstart and 

this church welcomed Headstart against the prevailing feeling of 

the community and that impressed me," he said.



The pastor said he would like his church to be recognized for all 

of its efforts, not simply those on behalf of sexual minorities.



"I've been here 32 years and we've been involved with the 

ministry of outcasts in many ways," he said. "We're not 

interested in being known as a one-issue church."



Nonetheless, that is the issue that has brought the church 

accolades from More Light Presbyterians. The group, though, "is 

not formally sanctioned" by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), said 

Jerry Van Marter, director of the Presbyterian News Service in 

Louisville, Ky.



"It is an advocate for the full inclusion of gay, lesbian, 

bisexual and transgendered Presbyterians in the life of the 

church, including their ordination as church elders, which is not 

currently denomination policy," Van Marter said. "We have a whole 

raft of special interest groups.  ... They are part of the family, 

but they're not official."



That's of little consequence to Good Samaritan members such as 

Tim Lewis, who traveled to Saturday's ceremony with his partner, 

the Rev. Ken Hamilton.



"I guess it just means to me that our efforts have been 

recognized and that we are not afraid to stand up for what we 

believe," he said of last weekend's award.



Mrs. Gammel, who described herself as someone who has always 

stood with the minority, said she did not understand the issues 

that concern sexual minorities until she heard Brockus preach a 

series of sermons on the subject a few years ago.



Advocacy for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people 

is a civil rights issue, she said.



"I was personally involved in the civil rights movement, in 

women's rights, all the people who were struggling. It seems to 

me just another part of that particular mind-set," she said.



She and other church members believe their efforts will not be in 

vain.



"Every social issue throughout the church has caused rancor, but 

has eventually turned out to be progressive," said Al Frymier, 

who also traveled to Ohio last week.



"I can't think of an issue that has been raised -- slavery, 

divorced ministers, remarriage, women in the pulpit -- all taken 

on as issues, but eventually the church sees the progressive 

way," he said.



"Obviously," said Lewis, "the more churches that take a stand, 

the more likely that the Presbyterian Church as a whole will 

listen."



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                        More Light Stories



                Silver Spring Presbyterian Church



                  Written for the newsletter of

   Silver Spring Presbyterian Church (SSPC), Silver Spring MD

                    by Vanessa Griffin-Maiden

                         July 12-14,2002



     A Bright New Day for Silver Spring Presbyterian Church



July 14th was a joyous day at Silver Spring Presbyterian Church 

as our congregation celebrated its More Light Pride Day and 

rededicated our church and personal commitment to work for 

justice in the Church for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and 

transgendered persons.



The celebration and picnic on Sunday capped a spirit-filled 

weekend of activities for the SSPC and for the Open Doors More 

Light group of the National Capitol Presbytery (NCP). Our guest 

worship leader and participant in all the weekend activities was 

Elder Michael Adee from Santa Fe NM.  Dr. Adee, one of the two 

National Field Coordinators for More Light Presbyterians, brought 

warmth and insight to every gathering.



The weekend started on Thursday with Michael's arrival at BWI 

airport. Bob Crossgrove and Wayne Sherwood, Takoma Park 

Presbyterian Church, met Michael at the airport and drove him to 

our home. That evening, Michael met with our pastor Currie Burris 

and me to discuss plans for the weekend and to refine the lesson 

plan for the adult Sunday school class.



On Friday evening, Currie and his wife Marsha hosted Michael at 

their house with an impromptu potluck for members of the Open 

Doors More Light group, a jovial evening with spirited 

discussions. Several SSPC members attended the potluck including 

Ruth Crossgrove, Marie Pace, and Carol Stockton, as well as Wayne 

Sherwood, Chip Rood and Linda Shafer from Takoma Park church.



On Saturday, Natalie and I picked up Michael and we drove to Irma 

and Bill Stockton's "farmhouse" for an afternoon potluck picnic 

and strategizing session with Open Doors. When we arrived, our 

first order of business was to help Irma get things together to 

allow her to return home to cope with her sister's illness that 

had taken a serious turn for the worse. (Her sister was in a 

hospital in Oregon.) About 2:00 p.m. the other guests began 

arriving (sixteen persons from over 6-7 different churches) and 

we spent a loving and joyous afternoon together. SSPC was well 

represented at the event, especially in light of the desire by 

most of our More Light committee members to attend the funeral 

for Luke Fon that was scheduled at the same time.



The highlight of the meeting was an update by Michael on the 

recent PCUSA General Assembly and the More Light annual meeting 

in Raleigh NC. Michael felt that the progressive element of the 

church had been reasonably successful at GA in staving off 

numerous onerous amendments and motions from the conservative 

delegates at the meeting. Michael pointed out that, while the 

General Assembly voted to move to biennial meetings to allow more 

time to work on amendments and avoid controversy, the More Light 

Presbyterians would continue to push for our justice issues at 

every opportunity. The picnic ended shortly after 6:00 p.m. with 

everyone pitching in to clean and straighten up the farmhouse. We 

are very grateful to Irma for hosting the meeting and for being 

far too concerned with our hospitality given her deep worries 

about her sister.



Sunday dawned gray and wet as DC had its first significant rain 

in almost three months. The More Light committee pushed on 

despite, or perhaps in celebration of, the "liquid sunshine". Jim 

and Julia Schaeffer arrived at the church very early to set up 

the fellowship hall and the grills for the More Light picnic, 

assisted by the SSPC Youth Group. At 9:00 the summer choir 

rehearsed the special music for the worship service; then 

everyone moved to Sunday school classes.



The Sunday school classes all focused on More Light issues. Elder 

Adee and Pastor Currie led a full adult class in a discussion of 

homosexuality and the Bible and the role culture plays in Bible 

interpretation. These discussions were designed to set the stage 

for the Fall Sunday school series focusing on "What the Bible 

Really says about Homosexuality". The class was overflowing and 

the discussion both lively and spirited.



Led by Jim Schaeffer and Greg Mayfield, the Teenage Sunday school 

classes was also well attended and included a surprise visit by 

the Baltimore Fire Department's Chaplain -- a gay man and a member 

of the Baltimore Metropolitan Community Church. He had come to 

SSPC to attend our services in solidarity with the More Light 

group but by providence wandered into the wrong Sunday school 

classroom. Julia Schaeffer and Charles Butler led a small 

children's Sunday school class focused on different types of 

families and teaching the kids not to spread rumors or tease 

other people because they are different.



The worship service began with the triumphant procession of the 

SSPC More Light Banner. I had the pleasure of being able to carry 

this wonderful banner so lovingly prepared by the Banner 

Committee into the sanctuary and to place it in a stand behind 

the pulpit. For those who haven't seen the banner it depicts an 

open Bible with a rainbow marking ribbon illuminated by a bright 

sun. The words on the banner say "God has yet 'more light' to 

break forth from his word". These, the departing words given by 

the Reverend John Robinson in 1620 to the pilgrims departing 

for the new world, have been adopted as the basis of the name for 

the More Light Presbyterians. Pastor Currie dedicated this 

glorious banner during the worship service by having the 

congregation state together our session's commitment to be an 

inclusive, More Light congregation.



There were so many wonderful moments during the worship service 

that it would be hard for me to name them all or to do them 

justice in words. I was honored to be the liturgist for the 

service representing the entire More Light committee. Music was, 

as always, such an important part of the service with Currie's 

leading us in a rousing rendition of "We are Marching in the 

Light of God" (a very appropriate opening for this important More 

Light service) and with the congregation moving with the first 

hymn, the "Bend Low". We also received blessed gifts of music 

including the summer choir's anthem, "We are Called", and Charles 

Butler's wonderful offertory solo.



The highlight of the service was the sermon given so graciously 

and lovingly by Elder Adee. His message was drawn from the two 

scripture lessons, the story of Jacob and Esau and Jesus' Parable 

of the Prodigal Son. He discussed the parable from the 

perspective of the father discussing the concept of home being a 

welcoming place, no matter what, and encouraging our Church to 

continue to be a welcoming place for all God's children including 

Gays and Lesbians. Michael's message, and the service in general, 

was a real blessing for our church. The sanctuary was overflowing 

and the spirit was truly moving amongst all of us, including a 

number of guests who came from other More Light Presbyterian 

churches as well as from other denominations.



What better way to follow up our spirit filled More Light worship 

service than with a gathering of all around food and fellowship. 

Thanks to the generous donations of food and service, including 

Jim, Adam, and John who stood out in the heat and humidity to 

cook the hamburgers and hot-dogs, the More Light Picnic was a 

tremendous success. The band was wonderful, the food plentiful 

and delicious, and the fellowship both warm and embracing. The 

picnic was a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.



I wish to thank all who helped put the weekend together. And 

thanks to all the many others who had a role in the success of 

the weekend, including the members of the Open Doors committee, 

the members of the choir, the worship committee, the Christian 

Education committee.



And thanks to all the members of the congregation who made a 

special point to be at the various activities and who helped us 

to celebrate our More Light Pride!



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



GREAT VIDEOS



               More Light Lending Library Expands



Hello good people!  I just wanted to let you know that the More 

Light Lending Library of books and videos continues to expand and 

is available for your use in chapter gatherings, Adult Education 

classes or Youth Fellowship. -- Ralph Carter.



To order, send an email to rcarter@rpa.net or call 585-271-7649, 

let me know the title(s) you wish to borrow, and when, for what 

event, with your mailing address and contact information.  Tax 

deductible donations to cover mailing expenses and maintenance of 

the lending library can be mailed with note, "Lending Library," 

to the following address: More Light Presbyterians, PMB 246, 4737 

County Road 101, Minnetonka, MN 55345-2634.



Here are some of our great videos:



Paragraph 175.  81 minutes.  Moving testimonies of the few gay 

survivors of the Nazi persecution camps of WW II.



The Laramie Project. 96 minutes.  Documentary of the brutal 1998 

murder of gay student, Matthew Shepard, in Laramie, Wyoming, and 

its effect on the community and the country.



The Teen Files: The Truth About Hate.  32 minutes.  Explores 

origins of hate through the eyes of teens, as they come face to 

face with their own racism, ethnic bigotry, religious hatred and 

sexual discrimination.  Encourages viewers to rethink issues of 

prejudice and eliminate hatred from their lives.



As If It Matters: Six Stories Beneath the Surface. 25 minutes.  

Youth wrote, directed and produced these stories of their 

everyday lives.  Deals with issues of homophobia, cultural 

acceptance, body image, relationships, and labels at one high 

school.



Both My Moms' Names Are Judy.  10 minutes.  Children of lesbians 

and gay men, ages 7-11, talk about how it feels to be teased and 

what they would like to see change.



Daddy and Papa.  60 minutes.  From surrogacy and interracial 

adoption, to the complexities of gay divorce, to the battle for 

full legal status as parents; a revealing look at some of the gay 

fathers who are breaking new ground in the changing landscape of 

the American family.



Silent Pioneers.  54 minutes.  Upbeat documentary about America's 

older lesbians and gay men.  Taps into the very personal nature 

of a less tolerant era.



De Colores:  Lesbian and Gay Latinos: Stories of Strength, Family 

and Love.  28 minutes.  English and Spanish.  Moving personal 

stories of how Latino families and communities are replacing deep 

roots of homophobia with deeper roots of love and tolerance.



Johnny Greyeyes.  76 minutes.  A Native American woman, Johnny, 

since the shooting of her father, has spent most of her life in 

prison.  There, she forms a new family and falls in love with her 

cellmate Lana.  With a release date near, she valiantly strives 

to keep her two worlds together.



All God's Children.  26 minutes.  How can one be Black and 

Christian and also celebrate the lives and loves of lesbian, gay 

and bisexual persons?  Personal testimonies with interviews with 

African-American leaders in religion, politics and society.



Big Eden. 117 minutes.  Henry returns home to a tiny town in the 

timberlands of Montana to care for his ailing grandfather.  As he 

confronts his feelings about being gay, the Big Eden residents 

defy the "small town" stereotype and quietly conspire to help him 

realize new possibilities for both friendship and romance.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



           Seeking Justice for Presbyterian Boy Scouts



Here's a draft overture for congregations who would like to seek 

justice and equity for Presbyterian Scouters!



   Possible Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Overture on Scouting



                          by Dave Rice



(PLEASE NOTE: This is a resolution the Presbyterian Church 

(U.S.A.) and its governing bodies should consider adopting.  The 

author urges you to rewrite it as you see fit before presenting 

it for adoption; certain clauses will not fit all governing bodies.  

Please send your comments to Dave Rice, 433 Garfield Drive, 

Petaluma, CA 94954-3818, 707-763-8378, .)



WHEREAS, Scripture says God created humankind in his own image 

(Genesis 1:26-27); and the Apostle Paul said that, as Christians, 

we are many members, but we are one body in Christ (Romans 12:4), 

and Jesus calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 

12:31), without being judgmental (Matthew 7:1-2), nor disparaging 

of others (Luke 18:9-14) [insert other scripture passages deemed 

appropriate]; and



WHEREAS, the 190th General Assembly (1978) declared, "The 

Christian community can neither condone nor participate in the 

widespread contempt for homosexual persons that prevails in our 

general culture.  Indeed, beyond this, it must do everything in 

its power to prevent society from continuing to hate, harass, and 

oppress them ....  There is no legal, social, or moral 

justification for denying homosexual persons access to the basic 

requirements of human social existence"; and



WHEREAS, the [name] Presbytery has declared [insert appropriate 

actions]; and



WHEREAS, [quote from individual church's More Light statement]; 

and



WHEREAS, Scouting is a great movement for youth, serving to 

build character, citizenship, leadership, and spiritual life 

through an active, adventurous program; and



WHEREAS, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has approximately 4000 

Scout units (Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, and Venturer 

crews), serving almost 150,000 youth, some of these units from 

the earliest days of Scouting in the United States; and



WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of America's Declaration of Religious 

Principle states that "the BSA recognizes the religious element 

in the training of the member, but it is absolutely nonsectarian 

in its attitude toward that religious training.  Its policy is 

that the home and the organization or group [church] with which 

the member is connected shall give definite attention to 

religious life" (BSA Bylaws, Article IX); and



WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of America has violated its Declaration 

of Religious Principle by:



     Denying the Unitarian Universalist Association the right to 

     teach its own Scouts its own beliefs regarding homosexuality 

     and atheism in preparing them for its own Religion in Life 

     award; and



     Forcing Open and Affirming United Church of Christ 

     congregations to to choose between keeping their Scout units 

     by denying their Open and Affirming beliefs, or being denied 

     charters for their Scout units because they apply their Open 

     and Affirming statement to all church programs, 

     organizations, and tenants, including their Scout units; and



WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of America overrides the decisions of 

churches and Scout unit (parent) committees when it forces gay 

Scout leaders and youth to leave Scouting; and



WHEREAS; the Boy Scouts of America violates its own Oath and Law, 

and causes Scout leaders and youth to violate them, wherein they 

state:



     Scout Oath: "... to do my duty to God ... by respecting and 

     defending the rights of others to practice their own 

     beliefs"



     " ... and morally straight ... your relationships with 

     others should be honest and open.  You should respect and 

     defend the rights of all people."



     Scout Law: "A Scout is trustworthy.  A Scout tells the 

     truth."



     "Loyal.  A Scout is true to his ... friends ...."



     "Helpful.  A Scout cares about other people."



     "Friendly.  A Scout is a friend to all.  He is a brother to 

     other Scouts. He offers friendship to people of all races 

     and nations, and respects them even if their beliefs and 

     customs are different from his own."



     "Courteous.  A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age 

     or position."



     "Kind.  He treats others as he wants to be treated."



     "Cheerful.  He tries to make others happy."



     "Reverent.  He respects the beliefs of others." and



WHEREAS, the Boy Scouts of America's Executive Board on February 

6, 2002 declared that:



"Conduct of both Scouts and Scouters must be in compliance with 

the Scout Oath and Law" and "membership is contingent upon one's 

willingness to accept the values and standards espoused by the 

Boy Scouts of America."



"Homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the traditional values 

espoused in the Scout Oath and Law and that an avowed homosexual 

could not serve as a role model for the values of the Oath and 

Law."



"BSA's values cannot be subject to 'local option' choices, but 

must be the same in every unit"; and



WHEREAS, declining membership in the Boy Scouts of America 

demonstrates that the BSA is moving toward a narrower program 

instead of an inclusive one that serves a broad cross-section of 

our diverse nation's beliefs; and



WHEREAS, dismissing free-thinking, agnostic, or atheist youth 

denies them any exposure to religion through Scouting; and



WHEREAS, discrimination by the Boy Scouts of America inherently 

teaches youth that discrimination against homosexuals, 

harassment, and even hostile acts are acceptable; and



WHEREAS, discrimination and dismissal by the Boy Scouts of 

America leads to depression and suicide by gay youth:



THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that [Presbyterian governing body]:



Urges individual churches to keep their present Scout units and 

seek to charter new units which are open to all without 

reservation; and



Urges individual churches to to make sure that their More Light 

statement applies to all church organizations, programs, and 

tenants, including their Scout units; and



Calls on the Boy Scouts of America to return to its historical 

stance of requiring all chartered organizations and Scout unit 

(parent) committees to choose their Scout leaders and the youth 

they will serve, according to their standards; and



Urges Presbyterian Scout leaders to assure their Scout youth that 

they can approach their leaders with their concerns without fear 

of retribution; and



Calls on the Boy Scouts of America to cease discriminating by 

excluding homosexual and free-thinking members; and



Calls on the Boy Scouts of America to assist people excluded by 

one Scout unit in joining another unit; and



Urges individual churches to take whatever actions are necessary 

to insure the continued operation of their inclusive Scout units; 

and



Urges Presbyterian Scout units to prepare statements that they 

will not discriminate against anyone, on the basis of, among 

other criteria, sexual orientation in their program; and



Commends the BSA's Youth Protection guidelines, urges continued 

training of Scout leaders in these guidelines, and urges all 

Presbyterian Scout units to comply fully.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



        New Venture to Preserve LGBT Religious History



Chicago Theological Seminary has launched a unique venture to 

coordinate the preservation of the historical records of lesbian, 

gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) religious movements. The 

LGBT Religious Archives Network is a resource center that assists 

LGBT religious organizations and leaders in retaining their 

historical records and personal papers. It also serves as a 

clearinghouse to provide information on the location and 

availability of LGBT religious collections for historians and 

other interested persons.



The LGBT Religious Archives Network is guided by an advisory 

committee comprised of prominent LGBT religious activists, 

archivists and historians. In addition to the Rev. Dr. Neil 

Gerdes and Dr. Kenneth Stone, faculty members at Chicago 

Theological Seminary, other Advisory Committee members include:





a. Dr. James Anderson, Professor of Library and Information 

Science at Rutgers University;



b. Dr. Joanne Carlson Brown, United Methodist historian;



c. Dr. Mary E. Hunt, Roman Catholic feminist theologian;



d. Rev. Dr. William R. Johnson, United Church of Christ 

activist;



e. Victor K. Jordan, archivist at The Riverside Church in New 

York City;



f. Dr. J. Gordon Melton, director of the Institute for the 

Study of American Religion;



g. Rev. Frank E. Robertson, Unitarian-Universalist archivist;



h. Dr. Kenneth Rowe, director of the Methodist Archives and 

History Center at Drew University;



i. James Waller, writer and journalist;



j. Dr. Melissa Wilcox, religious sociologist at the University 

of California at Santa Barbara; and



k. Frank Zerilli, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan 

Community Churches archivist.



"The initiation of this project is most timely," states LGBT 

Religious Archive Network Coordinator, Mark Bowman. "The 

religious movements for justice for LGBT persons have had major 

impact upon churches, synagogues and other religious institutions 

over the past several decades. Unfortunately, these movements 

have not done so well in preserving the stories and records of 

the pioneering individuals and groups who forged these movements. 

We intend to ensure that these leaders and groups are 

appropriately remembered, as well as provide a solid historical 

record that will enable future historians to recognize the full 

impact of these movements." Bowman is a long-time gay religious 

activist and organizer. Other staff include: Jack Slowriver, LGBT 

historian and activist; and Dr. James Carson, professional 

archivist active with Integrity (Episcopal LGBT group).



"The LGBT Religious Archives Network is an innovative approach to 

archives that can perhaps be best understood as a 'virtual 

archive'," notes Gerdes, Library Director at Chicago Theological 

Seminary and chair of the Network's Advisory Committee. "Our 

staff will work closely with LGBT religious leaders and groups to 

help them ensure that their records and papers are preserved in 

an appropriate repository and then make these records accessible 

to a wider audience through the use of electronic technology."



The LGBT Religious Archives Network welcomes the assistance of 

persons interested in supporting this critical, large-scale 

venture. Volunteers are needed to look into the collections of 

local LGBT archives and denominational archives to find records 

from LGBT religious movements and to assist with the organizing 

of records that are not yet placed in archives. The LGBT 

Religious Archives Network staff will provide support and 

guidance for volunteers. Interested persons can send an email to 

volunteer@lgbtran.org.



Initial funding for the LGBT Religious Archives Network has been 

provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, The 

Riverside Church Sharing Fund and the United Church of Christ 

Wider Church Ministries.



More information on the LGBT Religious Archives Network can be 

found on the web site: www.lgbtran.org.



Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS), affiliated with the United 

Church of Christ, was the first institution of higher learning 

founded in Chicago (1855) and has a long tradition of innovation 

and openness to cultural and religious diversity. The degree 

programs encourage academic excellence and free inquiry, and 

focus on leadership issues that foster cooperation between 

communities of faith and other community-based organizations 

working to transform lives and neighborhoods. CTS is home to a 

ten-year-old LGBT studies program and its faculty, students and 

staff include a relatively high percentage of openly gay, lesbian 

and bisexual persons. The seminary currently enrolls 235 students 

from more than 22 religious traditions.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                 TAMFS-Michigan Hires Evangelist

                         By Lisa Larges

             (Taken from tamfs.org with many thanks)



(August 28, 2002) -- That All May Freely Serve-Michigan is 

pleased to announce the call of the Rev. Paul Peterson to fill 

the new position of Minister of Outreach and Education effective 

September 15, 2002. Paul will move to Detroit from Montana where 

he serves as the General Presbyter of Yellowstone Presbytery and 

as Co-Pastor of two Presbyterian Churches. In his new position 

Rev. Peterson will be responsible for building a network of 

supportive congregations and individuals in Michigan 

Presbyteries, developing the TAMFS-Michigan organization, and 

fundraising to grow and sustain the work of TAMFS-Michigan.



One of several Presbyterian ministers who have had accusations 

filed against them by Paul Rolf Jensen, Paul Peterson has 

demonstrated his commitment and passion for working for the full 

inclusion of LGBT Presbyterians by working with the Session of 

the Anaconda Presbyterian Church in Montana in writing a 

Statement of Conscience, by requesting that the Yellowstone 

Presbytery determine whether his noncompliance to G-6.0106b is a 

departure from essential tenets of Reformed faith, and subsequent 

to the filing of allegations, requesting vindication from the 

Presbytery for his teaching and preaching that LGBT orientation 

presents no bar to full participation in the life and witness of 

the church.



The search committee and others from TAMFS-Michigan who met with 

Paul and reviewed his qualifications were deeply impressed by his 

strong gifts in fundraising, organizing, his commitment to social 

justice and social transformation, and his thorough and working 

knowledge of Presbyterian polity. A Michigan native, Paul has a 

head start on knowing something of the lay of the land in the 

Detroit Presbytery, and he presented the search committee with 

strong ideas for building our movement in the Michigan 

Presbyteries.



"We asked him to make a presentation to a mock Session meeting on 

considering becoming a more inclusive congregation," said Juliet 

Hafford, a member of the search committee, "and we were greatly 

impressed by the strength of his presentation, the clearness of 

his arguments, his knowledge of polity, and his ability to 

explain it. We believe his ability to communicate and his 

strengths as a self-starter and organizer will be just what 

TAMFS-Michigan needs at this stage."



The call of Paul Peterson marks the first time a TAMFS Region has 

hired a heterosexual ally to serve as regional staff. Paul is 

married to Rev. Teresa Peterson with whom he has served as Co-

Pastor. They have three children. "I don't care if people assume 

I'm gay because I work with TAMFS and speak out on these issues," 

said Peterson, "it's not important to me to identify my sexual 

orientation."



"We had a important discussion when TAMFS-Michigan sought our 

advice on hiring a straight candidate," said Mary Rees, Co-

Moderator of the National Liaison Board for That All May Freely 

Serve, "and we strongly agreed that while hiring an out LGBT 

candidate was an important factor, in the end, they should hire 

the best candidate for the position."



"By coming out as an ally and working with That All May Freely 

Serve, Paul is risking his future livelihood, his ordination and 

his standing," said Rev. Janie Spahr, Minister Director of That 

All May Freely Serve, "We thank him for modeling what it means to 

be an ally and we are excited to have his gifts and his witness. 

We know that with Paul TAMFS-Michigan will continue to create 

opportunities for LGBT folks to person the issue and transform 

our denomination."



Ordained since 1992, Paul has served as Minister of Word and 

Sacrament in churches in Wisconsin and Iowa before moving to 

Montana in 1996. Other church service includes working for the 

University of Dubuque Theological Seminary as the Associate 

Director of the Center for Theology and Land, and serving for a 

year as an exchange lecturer at Trinity Theological Seminary in 

Ghana, West Africa. In addition to working in the church, Paul 

worked on the national staff for Jimmy Carter's 1976 Presidential 

campaign, served as a political consultant for U.S. Senate and 

Congressional candidates and ran his own businesses including a 

pizzeria/delicatessen in Missouri, and a computer business in 

Montana. Paul has been a long time activist and organizer in the 

farm crisis and eco justice movements.



In a letter he wrote to the Yellowstone Presbytery last winter, 

Paul makes clear his passion for the mission of That All May 

Freely Serve:



"In seeking to be faithful to my ordination vows, I have come to 

the conclusion, through prayerful study of scripture and our 

confessions, that our denomination is turning its back to the 

word of God on the issue of human sexuality. Because our church 

refuses to repent of its sinfulness on this issue, it 

participates in the climate of hate and persecution against gays 

and lesbians that is so prevalent in our society. When people 

like Matthew Shepherd are tortured and beaten to death because of 

their sexual orientation, the PCUSA must bear the stain of 

blood on our hands. When a lesbian couple in Missoula barely 

escapes an arson murder attempt, we must acknowledge that our 

presbytery provides fuel for the fire of hatred. Our guilt arises 

because of legislative discrimination in the *Book of Order* that 

creates a caste of 'second-class' citizens in our church, and a 

misguided theology, no different from those that justified 

slavery and subordinated women, held by a narrow majority of our 

pastors and elders. As a denomination, we must repent."



As with the E-mail for the other TAMFS evangelists,  Rev. 

Peterson will use our "first-initial plus last-name" format for 

his address: PPeterson@tamfs.org.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                         Sodom Revisited



                     by Dr. Richard Walenta

                      Humanities Department

                   Windward Community College

                         Kaneohe, Hawaii



Homophobia is defined as a fear of homosexuals. As one friend 

said, "Scratch a homophobic and you will find a latent 

homosexual." As a male fear of one's own sexuality, homophobia 

may have some justification to the one perplexed, but it is not 

justifiable as a continued bias against gay men and women by 

writers in the Judeo-Christian tradition of Biblical 

interpretation.



In Jonathan Kirsch's retelling of the Sodom story in *The Harlot 

by the Side of the Road*, he refers to the messengers of God as 

objects of sexual appetite for the men of Sodom:



     "We know that they exert a certain carnal appeal to ordinary 

     human beings because the lusty men who gather outside Lot's 

     door prefer the two strangers to Lot's virgin daughters as 

     sexual play things" (Kirsch 521).



While this quote is purely the opinion of the author, this manner 

of interpretation reflects a common and significant judgment 

against homosexuals by the Judeo-Christian heterosexual 

community. In fact, the Western world has coined the word 

'Sodomy' to mean homosexual acts. What is the depravity so 

blatant that the God of Abraham willed to destroy every man, 

woman and child in the city? According to most interpretations of 

the Sodom story, the city was rife with wanton homosexual 

activity and all heterosexuals, with, for some unstated reason, 

the exception of Lot, were unsafe and at risk. The story is used 

to pronounce judgment on homosexuals and condemns homosexuality 

as the sin against God.



A good argument can be made to demonstrate that this faulty Biblical 

interpretation is inspired by bias and fear rather than by real 

understanding. There are three sound and obvious reasons to doubt 

this normative interpretation of the Sodom story. The first is the 

idea that males gang rape males. I cannot recall a single 

instance of this being reported anywhere at anytime. Secondly, 

one needs to examine the context of the story as written in 

Genesis 18 and 19. What were the writers thinking who put this 

story together? The Third reason must come from an examination of 

how the Jewish Corpus writers understood the story.



The first issue is gang buggering. I am amazed that people would 

interpret this story to mean that gangs of males wandered the 

streets of Sodom waiting for the opportunity to gang rape the 

first available males who entered their city. Do males gang rape 

males? There are abundant stories of males violating women. There 

are stories of males in confined circumstances like prisons being 

individually raped. There are stories where individuals are male-

raped to humiliate them. But, where in all of history, does one 

hear that males gang rape males? I have traveled in many unsafe 

places around the world and had moments of fear for my life. I 

could have been attacked, robbed or even murdered. But, never for 

one moment, was I ever afraid that a group of males would come in 

the night and want to bugger me because I was stranger in their 

midst. The idea is patently absurd.



The second reason that makes a sexual interpretation problematic 

is the nature and structure of the story as told in Genesis. 

While I make no claim to be a biblical scholar, a common sense 

examination is warranted. The eighteenth chapter of Genesis 

begins with Abraham sitting in front of his tent at the Oaks of 

Mamre. Three strangers come upon the scene. Abraham, out of great 

sensitivity, offers excessive hospitality to the strangers who 

turn out to be Gods, a common theme in ancient legends such as 

Philemon and Baucis. Abraham, the recipient of God's favor, 

lunching with God, has a discussion about the nature of justice, 

ending with an agreement on the standard of morality required for 

salvation of the city, ten just men. This is a *minyan*, the number 

of Jewish males needed to have a synagogue. The luncheon 

concluded with a blessing on the house of Abraham, the miracle 

story of the prophetic birth of Isaac.



The nineteenth chapter of Genesis begins with Lot sitting at the 

Gates of Sodom. There are unstated questions to be asked for 

which the story gives no answers. First, how did Lot, a nomadic 

shepherd, gain the trust of the city and admission to an ancient 

city-state? Part of the answer is that Lot's eldest daughters 

married Sodom men. But, if the Biblical record is true, what 

happened to his community of shepherds? If Lot was given half 

the flocks of Abraham, did he not also have a good portion of the 

herdsman of the clan? Second, Lot, himself a stranger in a 

foreign city, assumes an authority the circumstances do not seem 

to warrant. When Lot sees the strangers at the gate, he reacts 

just as Abraham does: both create a feast of hospitality. There 

is a certain parallelism here: what Abraham has done, Lot also 

does. Do not the authors of Genesis intend us to make a 

comparison between the character and manners of Abraham and of 

Lot? The outcome of the stories leaves us with clear comparisons. 

Abraham is a man of great character who argues with God, defines 

a parameter for ethical judgment and measures God's justice, 

while Lot ends up a failure, incestuously breeding with his own 

daughters to father all of the other tribes who are not the 

chosen Semites. Abraham is a generous, humble and forthright 

servant of God; Lot is ineffectual. Lot is the klutz whose own 

family does not respect him -- his wife and daughters do not take 

his advice, who muddles the situation in Sodom and ends up a drunk. 

The parallel beginnings indicate that the central theme of 

Genesis eighteen and nineteen is this contrast and comparison of 

Lot and Abraham.



Why then the implication with Sodom and homosexuality? The sense 

that the men of the city want to have intercourse with the angels 

is rather far-fetched. The emphasis comes from the word 'know.' 

The men wanted 'to know' who the strangers were. Because the word 

'to know' has a sexual connotation in the Bible, as in Adam knew 

Eve, translators have given the Sodom story a sexual context. 

There is another much more feasible explanation, which is that in 

a walled city, strangers are high-risk visitors. In the classic 

story *The Iliad*, the Greeks sneak into the city in a wooden horse. 

A walled city was to keep enemies out and friends safely inside. 

To find strangers in a walled city after dark was to invite 

disaster. Wouldn't the men of Sodom demand to 'know' who 

strangers were? And might not Lot, as a sign of assurance to the 

men of the city, offer his daughters. not for sexual purposes but 

as a guarantee for the security of the city? There is already in 

Genesis a conflict between the city dwelling agricultural people 

and the wandering pastoral nomads. The biblical understanding of 

God evolves as God's people, through their encounters with larger 

social communities, have need for a larger God. God is the same 

God, but the ability of the people to understand God's nature 

grows through the development of those who begin as a clan of 

shepherds and end as a nation state conquered by larger nations. 

The God depicted in the early chapters of Genesis is not 

necessarily human friendly. At this juncture in Genesis, God is 

totally committed to a pastoral lifestyle and denies any 

recognition of agricultural labor. The herders and farmers are 

not given equal status by the God who honors Abel's lamb and 

rejects Cain's grain. If an ex-nomad Sodomite shepherd had 

invited strangers in to the city for the night, the citizens 

would want to know who they were and by what right this new 

immigrant was keeping them in the city. Lot's act of invitation 

to strangers may be acceptable to tent dwellers but certainly 

would endanger those in a walled city.



Lastly and maybe most importantly, how did the other writers in 

the Hebrew corpus understand this story? It seems in the context 

of Biblical writing the authors feel free to assign to Sodom and 

Gomorrah whatever sin meets the necessity of their own particular 

issues. In no case does a writer in the Hebrew corpus indicate 

that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality. What was 

the sin or wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah as seen by the Hebrew 

writers? In the book of Deuteronomy, Sodom and Gomorrah are 

mentioned twice: in both cases the issue is not about sexuality 

but the peoples' relationship to their God, who is replaced by 

idols (Duet 29:23, 32:32). In the book of Isaiah, God's leadership 

is rejected and the people are insolent and prideful (Isaiah 

1:9, 3:9, 13:19).  In Jeremiah 23. Jerusalem's leadership is 

corrupt. as was that of Sodom and Gomorrah, and in chapters 49 

and 50, Edom and Babylon are admonished for destruction similar 

to that of Sodom and Gomorrah. Edom and Babylon are the political 

enemies of Judah; their sin is making war against God's chosen 

people. In Ezekial 16, Judah is depicted as whoring after other 

gods, but the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are depicted as pride 

and greed. Amos, the acid tongued prophet against Israel, states 

the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are the oppression of the poor and 

crushing the needy. In Zephaniah 2:9 the sins of Sodom and 

Gomorrah are false worship and compliance. There is one more 

Hebrew prophet who stands outside the Hebrew text who uses the 

Sodom and Gomorrah story to indicate the nature of human 

sinfulness. The prophet from Nazareth in Galilee said the sin of 

Sodom and Gomorrah was the lack of hospitality (Luke 10:8-12).



The persistence of writers in the Judeo-Christian tradition to 

see only an interpretation of the Biblical story in a manner 

which supports the condemnation of a minority contradicts a God 

who is a champion of the down-trodden and of those without moral 

representation. These writers, in the name of their God, demean 

and make to suffer man and woman who are created in their 

particular nature by that same God.



The story of Sodom in the Hebrew Bible has in our day become an 

avenue for institutional hatred against homosexuals. In this 

case, the hatred is a projection against a weaker group by a 

majority to protect themselves from self-examination of their 

personal fears. They fear those who are different, because they 

create a climate in which their own ideas, attitudes and 

securities are threatened. An example of an institutional hatred 

is the perpetuation of an idea, postulate, or concept that is not 

true, but presented as a universal truth, such as "The Jews 

killed Jesus." Jesus and his followers were Hebrews. Did his 

community kill him? Some Hebrews may have been involved in the 

conflict against him, but many supported him. It is absurd to say 

the Hebrews killed Jesus, yet Christians have perpetuated this 

myth for centuries. In our own lifetime, six million Jews were 

killed in the context of a Christian culture because of a 

unexamined idea. Religious people have a history of justifying 

institutional prejudice by an appeal to revelation as authority 

for behavior without examining the truth of their revealed ideas. 

Many Jews and Christians are guilty of homophobia, and use the 

Sodom story in Genesis as the justification for their prejudice.



(Richard Walenta lives in a community which cares for the 

chronically mentally ill and also runs a transitional housing 

program for the homeless in Hawaii. He have been an instructor in 

religion at Windward Community College in Hawaii for eighteen 

years. He is a retired Presbyterian minister.)



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YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS



              Divine Insights of a YAYA Presyterian

             (YAYA refers to a Youth or Young Adult

          of the More Light Church Welcoming Movement)



                   Renaming and Reclaiming MLP

        as the Rainbow Flag of my new faith in the Church

                        By Jennifer Rock

       Senior at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee



First, I should say that I am not officially a Presbyterian.  I 

have not considered myself a Christian since I have found the 

greatest welcome and safe space in the Unitarian Universalist 

Church. Yet, had I not been introduced to the ministries and 

outreach of More Light Presbyterians, I would not be where I am in 

my spiritual journey. I was first introduced to MLP at the 2001 

General Assembly in Louisville, Kentucky.  I saw people there who 

had been rejected from the Church because of their sexual 

orientation or their gender identity. While I left the Church 

before I came out, knowing that I could give myself one more 

reason for why Christianity was not right for me, I still felt 

indifferent towards the Church.



I saw something different with MLP. I saw people persevering 

through the discrimination and bigotry. I began to witness love 

and community. I connected with the messages of MLP. I found 

myself enjoying worship. I found myself revolutionizing my ideas 

about Christians. They aren't all bad, I thought.



So, after processing all that I had learned at the MLP National 

Conference, I began to see something new about myself, my 

spirituality, and my activism as a lesbian in my community. I 

decided to rename and reclaim the rainbow flag as a new symbol of 

my faith in the Church.



The red represents the life that I see in the ministries of MLP. 

Everything I have learned has given me a new outlook on what a 

Church community should be: life-giving. The orange represents 

healing. For me, it is spiritual healing from a discriminating 

and restricted religious past. The yellow represents community. I 

have found, in MLP, a sense of community and belonging that has 

been absent from my life. The green represents solace. Along with 

the love I feel from MLP, I feel a comfort with those that I have 

met. I have found family in MLP. The blue represents strength. 

And, while this is personal strength, I could not have gained it 

without the support of the MLP community. And last, the violet 

represents spirit. There is a lot to be said about the outreach 

and mission of MLP. It takes a lot of spirit and a lot of faith 

to stand up to a Church and say, "You're wrong!" I admire the 

spirit of MLP.



You are a symbol of my new faith in the Church, More Light 

Presbyterians. You are my amazing grace. Thank you.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



SEMINARIANS



                      Voice of a Seminarian



       An Out, Gay Seminarian Reflects On General Assembly

            By Richard Lindsay, Yale Divinity School



I was unexpectedly moved on Saturday night by the Moderator 

election at General Assembly in Columbus, OH.  After getting over 

my initial frightened reaction to the TV screens throughout the 

convention center, I started looking around at all the people 

gathered there.  I realized this was probably the largest crowd 

of Presbyterians I had ever been a part of.  They all seemed sort 

of nerdy and well behaved.  Everything was being done decently 

and in good order.  They were all deeply involved in their home 

congregations and concerned about the direction of their church.  

And I got a sense similar to the one I get when I go to gay pride 

events:  the sense that, for better or worse, these are my 

people.



Since GA, I've had more of a sense of ownership about this 

church.  After all, I was raised Presbyterian -- infant baptized 

and teenager confirmed.  My parents are Presbyterian; they met at 

a Presbyterian church.  Their parents were Presbyterian.  When 

those who oppose my full inclusion say I have no business pursing 

a call in this denomination, I must remind them, and myself, that 

I have as much of a right to be here as anyone else.  I am the 

kind of person this church produces:  a gay, liberal, pluralist 

believer who feels called to ministry.  I'm not saying I'll never 

leave the PCUSA, but this GA has made it a lot harder.  Because 

by the grace of God it's my church too.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



              Rainbow Flags and Yellow Equal Signs

              Don't Reflect Today's LGBT Community



                         by Glenn LeCarl



Our display of rainbow flags and yellow equal signs appears 

disingenuous these days.  Symbolizing inclusiveness and equality, 

they seem increasingly out of place representing a community 

which renders many unequal and that excludes whole segments of 

its population from the benefits of its growing wealth and 

influence.



Maybe we should adopt the GOP's elephant instead -- it would be a 

more fitting emblem of our community and leading community 

organizations as they stand today.  At least in so far as our 

treatment of homeless LGBT youth, we have perfected the very 

arrogance and indifference of the wealthy and powerful toward 

those who are poor and disenfranchised that many in our community 

attribute to the Republican Party.  We have abandoned our own 

most vulnerable youth -- not the hallmark of a community with its 

priorities in order.



The result is readily apparent: greatly disproportionate numbers 

of LGBT youth living and dying on America's streets.  Those who 

have not succumbed due to violence, disease or suicide face 

terrible choices, such as whether: to spend a night in a shelter, 

in which they risk being sexually assaulted or beaten; to sell 

their bodies for shelter or food; to forgo the use of a condom 

for a few extra bucks; or to "escape" their harsh reality with 

drugs and alcohol.  Instead of getting a helping hand up, they 

are more likely to be pushed to their knees.



Incredibly, this enormous suffering and loss of life has failed 

to move the heart -- or purse strings -- of our community.  

Though unable to control the hate, ignorance and intolerance that 

forces thousands of these kids from their homes and communities 

each year, we could make a huge difference in what happens to 

them from that point forward.  We could offer many safety, 

provide many with life-affirming choices and opportunities, and 

we could save many lives; though significantly, we do not.  Our 

efforts on their behalf are minor at best, our investment of 

resources meager.  Not surprisingly, services geared specifically 

toward helping them remain scarce.



Yet, our community's dearth of compassion and generosity toward 

homeless LGBT youth doesn't end there.  We have also largely 

failed to work with -- or agitate against, when necessary -- 

traditional service providers, funders and government agencies to 

ensure these kids safe access within our nation's existent 

shelter and youth services systems.  As a result, they lack even 

the most rudimentary safety net.



Our stubborn adherence to an education-only model for HIV/AIDS 

prevention further evidences our callous disregard for the crisis 

they face.  To kids in dire need of a hot meal or a safe place to 

sleep, we hand condoms and pamphlets.  Alone, these efforts and 

the funky ad campaigns that accompany them remain so much latex 

and hot air.



If truly serious about reducing the incidence of HIV and AIDS 

among these kids, we certainly must do more.  We must, in fact, 

broaden the whole paradigm for HIV/AIDS prevention.  Surviving on 

the street from day to day places LGBT youth in an 

extraordinarily vulnerable position with regard to HIV/AIDS, as 

well as other sexually transmitted diseases.  Unless we 

aggressively target homelessness, and the self-destructive 

behaviors so often associated with life on the street, we will 

continue to see infection rates soar.



Practicing safer sex, and taking care of oneself generally 

speaking, presupposes some degree of safety, stability and hope 

for the future -- all of which we have yet to offer our homeless 

youth.  Until we do, the potency of our chosen symbols will 

continue to erode with each passing year, and with each kid lost 

to the street.



What is required of us may be daunting, the work arduous.  But 

should we finally include their well-being high among our 

priorities, and make equal their consideration in allocating our 

vast resources, we may yet give them a fighting chance.  Perhaps 

too our leading advocacy organizations, like HRC and NGLTF, will 

find the heart to stop playing just ever-so-slightly naughty cops 

to the Log Cabin Republican's good cop and begin fighting for the 

lives of our homeless youth.



Only then will the rainbow flag and yellow equal sign -- not the 

elephant -- reflect our reality and our aspirations.



(Glenn LeCarl was raised Presbyterian in Union, NJ and now resides 

in Tallahassee, Florida with his life partner and can be reached 

at glennalecarl@aol.com.)



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                 Taking Care to Prevent Burn Out



                        by R. Scott Boots

                 Founder and Executive Director

            The Health Cares Exchange Initiative, Inc.

                     7100 N. Ashland Avenue

                        Chicago, IL 60626





Human service staff and volunteers give their resources, energy 

and skills to people in need or crisis -- but who cares for the 

caregivers?  When the Health Cares Exchange Initiative, Inc. 

(HCEI), an innovative educational public charity, held nationwide 

focus groups, both paid and non-paid caregivers revealed they do 

not feel as supported as they would like.  In response, HCEI 

developed dynamic capacity building and also stress management 

skills building seminars that have been presented nationwide.



Staff and volunteers who give their energy to those in need are 

at risk for emotional exhaustion and burnout, creating costly 

gaps in expertise and trainings.  Caregivers transfer their 

patience, guidance, humor, information and resources to people who 

are often living with fear, pain or crisis.  But it's possible to 

articulate who and what causes stress in our personal and 

professional lives and to respond in healthy ways.  Many causes 

of stress may be out of our control.  However we are in control of 

each of our own responses.



AIDS caregivers, for example, have traditionally dealt with 

stress and stigma.  Churches, friends, family and community 

resources often abandon persons living with HIV and AIDS, causing 

staff and volunteers to fill the gaps.  The introduction in 1997 

of the AIDS "drug cocktails" created a false security that the 

crisis was over.  And while it's wonderful that persons living 

with HIV and AIDS will mostly live longer and healthier, this 

changed paradigm can create much stress.  Now if your child or 

clients living with HIV or AIDS are also living with chronic 

pain, addiction or dementia you may witness their struggle for 

decades.



Burnout and mental health are still somewhat taboo topics, and 

care for the caregivers is becoming a very real issue in the face 

of nursing and teacher shortages.  Self-sacrificing caregivers 

are hesitant to ask for support when they feel stress because 

there are often no effective resources in place for them and also 

they don't want to reveal "weakness" to their supervisors.    

More and more, however, organizations are realizing that it's 

more affordable to invest in education and retention rather than 

pay the high cost of recruiting and training.



In 1992 HCEI was founded in Boston in response to the stressors 

facing AIDS caregivers.  HCEI's mission is to create supportive 

networks between diversely affected caregivers and then foster 

information and personnel exchanges between them.  The 

organization works to enhance community-based care, encourage 

collaboration and educate caregivers about burnout prevention.  

HCEI held the first-ever nationwide focus groups for both paid 

and non-paid AIDS caregivers and has developed an interactive 

stress management skills building seminar and also a capacity 

building seminar for urban and rural providers.    HCEI's initial 

focus was AIDS caregivers and has since expanded, working with a 

wide variety of caregivers and consumers.



Scott Boots, founder and executive director of HCEI, developed and 

facilitates these workshops which have been implemented from New 

York City to rural Kansas.



"Everybody responds to stress in different ways," Scott explains 

in his seminars.  "Not everybody needs to meditate, some people 

need to be very active when they experience stress."  HCEI stress 

management seminars include writing and relaxation exercises and 

include practical solutions to stress including:



-  Go for long quick walks in cemeteries and read the tombstones.   

Reading focuses your brain on just one thing, you get 

cardiovascular exercise and the location puts your issues into 

perspective.



-  Ask for help.  Caregivers are generally giving "in control" 

people who prefer to do things themselves rather than asking for 

help.  But we can't do it all ourselves, especially when there 

are people who would help us if we only articulate what we need 

and trust them to do their best.



-  Be silly.  It's a short life, what would happen if you went to 

work or the grocery store in your pajamas?



-  Keep lists and triage tasks.  Persons who keep lists accomplish 

40% more then those who don't.



For more information about ways you can work to celebrate and 

support caregivers in your community, please contact Scott Boots 

at HCEICares@aol.com , visit www.HCEI.org or call 617-499-7780.



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                    MORE LIGHT PRESBYTERIANS

                 4737 County Road 101, PMB# 246

                    Minnetonka, MN 55345-2634

                732-249-1016, http://www.mlp.org



                    NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZERS



Michael J. Adee, M.Div., Ph.D., 369 Montezuma Ave., PMB #447, 

Santa Fe, NM 87501-2626, 505-820-7082, fax 505-820-2540, 

MichaelAdee@aol.com



The Rev. Katie Morrison, 42 Fayette Street, Cambridge, MA 02139- 

1112, 617-547-5222 (office), fax 617-547-8222, katie@mlp.org



                          MLP OFFICERS



Officers are also MLP Board Members.  The dates following each 

name indicate the end of current board terms; an "I" indicates 

board members representing individual members; a "G" indicates 

board members representing governing body members.



CO-MODERATORS: Mitzi Henderson (2004-G), 16 Sunset Lane, Menlo 

Park, CA 94025-6732, 650-854-2598, fax 650-854-4177, 

mitzigh@aol.com; William H. Moss (Bill, 2004-I), 535 Steiner St., 

San Francisco, CA 94117, 415-864-0477, WHMoss@yahoo.com



RECORDING SECRETARY: Pat Rickey (2003-I), 13114 Holston Hills, 

Houston, TX 77069, 281-440-0353, 281-440-1902 fax, 

RickeyMLP@aol.com



COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY: Donna Riley (2005-G), 155 Prospect St., 

Northampton, MA 01060, 413-584-7935, dmriley@alumni.princeton.edu



TREASURER: Dick Lundy (2004-I), 5525 Timber Ln., Excelsior, MN 55331, 

952-470-0093, dlundy@mchsi.com





* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                     MLP Board of Directors



Charles Booker-Hirsch (2005-G), 601 Howley Court, Ann Arbor, MI  

48105-1613, 734-663-5503 work, 734-665-9006 home, 

morelight@comcast.net



Ralph Carter (2003-G), 111 Milburn St., Rochester, NY 14607-2918, 

585-271-7649, rcarter@rpa.net, faxes: 1-530-380-9722.



Marco Antonio Grimaldo (2003-I), 221 Ridgemede, #109, Baltimore, 

MD 21210, 202-669-2153, mgrimaldo@earthlink.net



Deborah Mullen (2004-I), 5050 South East End Ave. Apt 14C, 

Chicago IL 60615, 727-947-6271 DMullen@McCormick.edu



Eunice Poethig (2003-I), 1000 E. 53rd St., #613, Chicago, IL 

60615, 773-324-8624, ebpoethig@earthlink.net



Katie Ricks (2004-I), 212 Adair St. Apt. E-7, Decatur, GA 30030. 

(404) 377-9531, auntkatier@hotmail.com



Bear Ride (2005-G), 1680 N. Holliston Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104, 

626-398-9936, bears@usc.edu



Mike Smith (2005-I), 1211 West St., Grinnell IA 50112, 641-236-

7955, michael.d.smith@pcusa.org



Erin K. Swenson (2003-G), 1071 Delaware Ave. S.E., Atlanta, GA 

30316-2469, 404-627-4825, ErinSwen@aol.com



Lindsay T. Thompson (2005-I), 200 W. Mercer St., Suite 207, 

Seattle, WA 98119-3994, 206-285-4130 work, 206-328-3177 home, fax 

206-285-4610, tradelaw@thompson-law.com



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



                      MLP National Liaisons



MORE LIGHT UPDATE, James D. Anderson, Editor, P.O. Box 38, New 

Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038, 732-249-1016, 732-932-7500 ex 8210 

(Rutgers Univ.), FAX 732-932-6916 (Rutgers Univ.), 

JDA@scils.rutgers.edu



WEBSITE: Donna Riley, 155 Prospect St., 

Northampton, MA 01060, 413-584-7935, dmriley@alumni.princeton.edu



SPOTLIGHT (MLP's Quarterly Outreach Newsletter): Gail Rickey, 

editor, 13114 Holston Hills, Houston, TX 77069m 281-440-0353, 

patrickey@aol.com



MLP DATABASE: Dick Lundy, 5525 Timber Ln., Excelsior, MN 55331, 

952-470-0093, dlundy@mchsi.com



PRESBYNET: Bill Capel, 123-R W. Church St., Champaign, IL 61820-

3510, 217-355-9825 wk., 352-2298 h., Bill@Capel.com



CHAPTERS & LIAISONS: Michael J. Adee, 369 Montezuma Ave., PMB 

#447, Santa Fe, NM 87501-2626, 505-820-7082, fax 505-820-2540, 

MichaelAdee@aol.com



SEMINARY & CAMPUS GROUPS: The Rev. Katie Morrison, 42 Fayette 

Street, Cambridge, MA 02139- 1112, 617-547-5222 (office), fax 

617-547-8222, katie@mlp.org; Johanna Bos, Louisville Presbyterian 

Theological Seminary, 1044 Alta Visa Rd., Louisville, KY 40205-

1798, jbos@lpts.edu



STRATEGY: Bear Ride, 1680 N. Holliston Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104, 

626-398-9936, bears@usc.edu; Tony De La Rosa, 3016 Waverly Drive, 

#109, Los Angeles, CA  90039-4115, 323-664-2787 (home), 

tonydlr@ix.netcom.com



JUDICIAL ISSUES: Bear Ride, 1680 N. Holliston Ave., Pasadena, CA 

91104, 626-398-9936, bears@usc.edu; Tony De La Rosa, 3016 Waverly 

Drive, #109, Los Angeles, CA  90039-4115, 323-664-2787 (home), 

tonydlr@ix.netcom.com; Peter Oddleifson, c/o Harris, Beach and 

Wilcox, 130 E. Main St., Rochester, NY 14604, 716-232-4440 w., 

716-232-1573 fax.



PRISON MINISTRIES: Jud van Gorder, 915 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, 

CA 95060-3440, 831-423-3829, jvangorder@mindspring.com



SHOWER OF STOLES PROJECT: Martha G. Juillerat, Director, 57 Upton 

Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55405, 612-377-8792, StoleProj@aol.com, 

www.showerofstoles.com.



THAT ALL MAY FREELY SERVE: Jane Adams Spahr, P.O. Box 3707, San 

Rafael, CA 94912-3707, 415-457-8004, 415-454-2564 fax, 

JanieSpahr@tamfs.org, http://www.tamfs.org



BISEXUAL CONCERNS: The Rev. Susan Halcomb Craig, c/o United 

University Church, 817 W. 34th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007, 213-

748-0209 ext. 12, fax 213-748-5531, scraig@usc.edu



TRANSGENDER CONCERNS: Erin K. Swenson, 1071 Delaware Ave. S.E., 

Atlanta, GA 30316-2469, 404-627-4825, ErinSwen@aol.com



YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT CONCERNS: Brian Cave, BrianMLP@aol.com; 

The Rev. Katie Morrison, 42 Fayette Street, Cambridge, MA 02139- 

1112, 617-547-5222 (office), fax 617-547-8222, katie@mlp.org



NRLR (National Religious Leadership Roundtable): Marco Antonio 

Grimaldo, 221 Ridgemede, #109, Baltimore, MD 21210, 202-669-2153, 

mgrimaldo@earthlink.net



ILGA (International Lesbian & Gay Association): The Rev. Tom 

Hanks, Lavalle 376-2D, 1047 Buenos Aires, Argentina, 

thanks@thanks.wamani.apc.org



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MLP Presbytery Liaisons (See: www.mlp.org/liaison.html)



MLP Chapters (See: www.mlp.org/chapters.html)



MLP chapters provide an opportunity for local lesbian, gay, 

bisexual and transgender Presbyterians and their straight allies 

to come together regularly to carry out a variety of functions 

and tasks which are seen to be important and appropriate for a 

particular area.  Some are large; others are small.  Most meet 

monthly, some less often but are always on call for taking on 

strategic tasks.  All are able to provide strong personal support 

to their members for the individual journeys they travel at this 

point in their lives and in the life of the Presbyterian Church.  

Chapters themselves decide what specific tasks and roles they 

wish to take on, based on the stated mission of MLP.



For information about organizing a chapter, please refer to our 

brief statement called "Tips for Organizing a MLP Chapter."  It is 

found on our web page (http://www.mlp.org) or can be secured 

along with other advice from our national field organizer Michael 

Adee (369 Montezuma Ave., PMB #447, Santa Fe, NM 87501-2626, 505-

820-7082, fax 505-820-2540, MichaelAdee@aol.com).  Corrections 

and other changes in the chapter information listings should be 

sent to Michael.



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               MASTHEAD (Publication Information)



MORE LIGHT UPDATE, Volume 22, Number 6, Fall 2002.  

ISSN 0889-3985.  Published quarterly by More Light Presbyterians 

(for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns), an 

organization of Ministers, Elders, Deacons, Members, 

Congregations and other Governing Bodies of the Presbyterian 

Church (U.S.A.).  Elder James D. Anderson, Editor, P.O. Box 38, 

New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038, 732-249-1016, 732-932-7500 ex 8210 

(Rutgers University), fax 732-932-6916 (Rutgers University), 

Internet: JDA@mariner.rutgers.edu (or JDA@scils.rutgers.edu), 

DeWitt House 206, 185 College Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901.  

Printer: Ken Barta, Brunswick Typographic.  Mailer: Associated 

Mailing Services Inc.  Electronic version available via email.



Email Discussion List: MoreLightPresbyterians@yahoogroups.com (To 

join, send email to: MoreLightPresbyterians-

Subscribe@yahoogroups.com; to leave, send email to: 

MoreLightPresbyterians-Unubscribe@yahoogroups.com).



MLP home page: http://www.mlp.org



Send materials marked "For publication" to the editor.  

PUBLICATION DEADLINES: Mar. 1, June 1, Sept. 1, Dec. 1.  Most 

material appearing in MORE LIGHT UPDATE is placed in the public 

domain.  With the exception of individual articles that carry 

their own copyright notice, articles may be freely copied or 

reprinted.  We ask only that MORE LIGHT UPDATE be credited and 

its address be given for those who might wish to contact us.  

Suggested annual membership contribution to MLP: $50.00.  Annual 

subscription (included in membership) to MORE LIGHT UPDATE: 

$20.00.



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corrected version 9-28-2002.