* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
                                     MORE LIGHT UPDATE 
                                     July-August 2001 
                                    Volume 21, Number 6 
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
                                        HIGHLIGHTS 
              
             Inclusiveness, Racism, and White Denial. Amendment A. New More  
             Light Churches. Reaching Out to Prisoners. How Inclusive Are You?  
             How to Become a More Light Church. Detroit's Welcome. Commentary.  
             Book Reviews. Presbytery liaisons. General Assembly Highlights. 
              
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
                                       FULL CONTENTS 
              
             SEXUAL ETHICS 
             CHANGES 
             OUR COVER: Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia, with Luke  
                  Poethig, grandson of MLP Board Member Eunice Poethig 
             OUR NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZER: On the Road with Michael Adee 
             EVENTS 
             RESOURCES: More Light Update -- Now Indexed and Abstracted 
             SEMINARIANS: McCormick Considers Same-Sex Couple Equity 
             JOBS: Progressive Oregon Church Seeks Pastor / Head of Staff 
              
             GENERAL ASSEMBLY HIGHLIGHTS! 
                  The Middle Ground, the More Excellent Way, Freedom of  
                       Conscience, Forbearance and Tolerance Prevail: The  
                       Assembly Votes to Remove Ban on LGBT Ordination 
                  A note from Michael Adee, our national field organizer 
                  MLP/TAMFS statement to the press and to the church:  
                       Presbyterian General Assembly Lifts Ban on Ordination  
                       for LGBT Presbyterians 
                  Presbyterian News Service: Assembly sends out an amendment  
                       to delete G-6.0106b: Proposal to open the way for gay  
                       ordination passes with 60% approval 
                  Majority report from Assembly committee on Ordination  
                       Standards [IN ELECTRONIC UPDATE ONLY] 
                  Press conference offers reactions from two sides to  
                       ordination action [IN ELECTRONIC UPDATE ONLY] 
                  Comments from MLP'ers [IN ELECTRONIC UPDATE ONLY] 
                  The assembly gets off to a great start with the election of  
                       Jack Rogers as our moderator! -- Jack Rogers elected  
                       Moderator on first ballot [IN ELECTRONIC UPDATE ONLY] 
                  Our Three Sisters Dinner: The "three sisters" - working for  
                       justice in a more inclusive Church 
                  Assembly Rejects Proposal for Sexual Orientation Resources  
                       [IN ELECTRONIC UPDATE ONLY] 
              
             FEATURE STORIES 
                  Remembering WOW: Inclusiveness, Racism, and White Denial 
                  Amendment A: A Modest Commitment to Explicit Inclusiveness Preserved 
                  Re-Connecting Body and Spirit: A Great MLP Retreat! 
             MORE LIGHT CHURCHES 
                  New More Light Churches -- Rockville United Church,  
                       Maryland; Bethany Presbyterian Church, Spokane,  
                       Washington; Collenbrook United Church, Drexel Hill,  
                       Pennsylvania 
                  More Light Church Reaches Out to Prisoners 
                  A Decalogue for Writing to Inmates, by Jud van Gorder 
                  How Welcoming is Your Congregation? by Michael Adee 
                  Why and How to Become a More Light Presbyterian Church? 
                  Detroit's Welcome 
             MORE LIGHT ON 
                  Bisexuality 
             POEMS by Nancy E. James 
                  Remembering Richard & Still Walking 
                  Still Walking (for Richard) 
             COMMENTARY 
                  National Religious Leadership Roundtable on "Conversion" Therapy 
                  Alphabet Soup: One Big Mess, by John M. Titus [IN ELECTRONIC  
                       UPDATE ONLY] 
                  The Gospel Is for All Humanity, by Hal Porter 
                  So Full of Judgment and Condemnation, an open letter by  
                       David D. Cockcroft [IN ELECTRONIC UPDATE ONLY] 
                  A Presbyterian in a Gay Bath House 
             BOOKS 
                  Geoff Puterbaugh's The Crucifixion of Hyacinth 
                  Losing Matt Shepard, by Beth Loffreda [IN ELECTRONIC  
                       UPDATE ONLY] 
                  Beloved Testament, by E.J. DiStefano [IN ELECTRONIC  
                       UPDATE ONLY] 
                  Called OUT! Goes to a Second Printing 
             MLP OFFICERS 
                  MLP Board of Directors 
                  MLP National Liaisons 
             MLP PRESBYTERY LIAISONS 
             MLP CHAPTERS 
             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, 732-932-7501 (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 
              
             Alberto Aguilar 
              
             Brian Cave: delete address and phone. 
              
             Presby. Actup -- delete. 
              
             Presbytery Liaison: John Gregg, liaison from Milwaukee, has a new  
             email address: jgregg@wi.rr.com 
              
             MLP Board Member: Ralph Carter has a new phone number where he  
             can receive voicemail and faxes that will be sent to his email  
             inbox: 1-530-380-9722.  Call him at this number when you want to  
             be sure to reach him, and please send all future faxes there. 
              
             MLP Database Manager Dick Lundy: delete Dick's old email:  
             "dick_lundy@pcusa.org" 
              
             Revised Lake Erie Chapter Contacts: Robin Cuneo, P.O. Box 201,  
             Findley Lake, NY 14736, 716-769-7394, cuneo@cecomet.net; Rev.  
             Evon Lloyd McJunkin, 1721 W. 31st St., Erie, PA 16508, 814-864- 
             1920, evon@erie.net; Rev. Kate Irish Filer, 2816 Elmwood Ave.,  
             Erie, PA 16508, 814-676-4739, KIF1@juno.com 
              
             Board member changes: 
              
             2002 NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Gene Huff, Ralph Carter, Bear  
             Ride, Brian Cave & Tammy Lindahl. 
              
             Remove from Board roster: James D. Anderson. 
              
             Change "class years" to 2004 for Mitzi Henderson, Bill Moss, John  
             McNeese; and to 2002 for Tony De La Rosa. 
              
             Add the following new board members: 
              
             Katie Ricks (2004-I), 212 Adair St. Apt. E-7, Decatur, GA 30030.  
             (404) 377-9531, auntkatier@hotmail.com 
              
             Deborah Mullen (2004-I), 5050 South East End Ave. Apt 14C,  
             Chicago IL 60615, 727-947-6271, Mullen@McCormick.edu 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             OUR COVER 
              
             This month's cover features the "More Light" **Tabernacle United  
             Church** of Philadelphia.  Luke Poethig, grandson of MLP board  
             member Eunice Poethig, stands next to the TAB sign. 
              
             Other photos have been contributed by Bill Moss. 
              
             *Send us your photos -- especially photos of More Light  
             Churches!* 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             OUR NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZER 
              
                                        On the Road 
                                     with Michael Adee 
                               MLP National Field Organizer 
              
                         An Old 'Fuddy Duddy' With Us All the Way 
              
             As I travel our country and church, I am noticing profound and  
             remarkable changes within congregations, in presbyteries, on  
             seminary and college campuses.  People, younger and older, of  
             every human difference and condition, are enthusiastically and  
             unequivocally committed to an open, loving, welcoming church.   
             Last month, one Sunday morning after preaching a "more light"  
             sermon and greeting congregants after the service, one older  
             gentleman grasped my hand with a firm grip and told me, "I am 94  
             years old, I guess I am an old 'fuddy duddy,' and I am with you  
             all the way." 
              
             Congregations are thoughtfully seeking and discerning God's call  
             to living faithfully into the Gospel and deciding to become More  
             Light Presbyterian churches.  On April 29, Rockville United  
             Church, Rockville, MD, became the 106th More Light Presbyterian  
             Church.  The Rev. Kasey Kaseman is the pastor and community minister.   
             Rockville United Church is a federated church, both PCUSA and  
             UCC, so they are are now affiliated with More Light Presbyterians  
             and the Open and Affirming Program of the United Church of  
             Christ. 
              
             On May 20, the Rev. Chuck Houdeck and Sonnie Swenson hosted an  
             organizing meeting at the First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin  
             Park, CA, a More Light congregation, to create our newest More  
             Light Presbyterian Chapter, serving the Presbytery of San  
             Gabriel. 
              
             Faithful people, both clergy and lay, are coming together to work  
             for justice and to remove any barriers to the full welcome and  
             participation in the church for all of God's children.  At this  
             moment, there is a MLP presence, congregation, or chapter in 42  
             of the 50 states.     
              
             On Palm Sunday, I joined Sandy Winter and her congregation,  
             University Presbyterian Church, Tuscaloosa, AL, for their  
             "Celebration of More Light."  People from area congregations and  
             the university community participated in this historic  
             recognition of the first More Light church in Alabama.  The  
             building of a new campus ministry center is also part of UPC's  
             "breaking new ground."   
              
             Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY hosted the first  
             regional "Becoming the Welcoming Church" Conference.  Kathleen  
             Buckley, Don Stroud, Hal Porter, and I joined local leaders in  
             providing the program.  Highlights were a recognition of the  
             gifts and leadership of Kathleen Buckley, the Rev. Phil Siddons  
             declaring his intention to identify as a "More Light pastor," and  
             a wonderful visioning workshop facilitated by Peter McNally.   
              
             Ralph Carter and I went to Westminster Presbyterian Church,  
             Buffalo, NY, from Rochester.  It was an extraordinary Sunday that  
             included two worship services, an Adult Christian Education Class,  
             and a luncheon with the More Light group.  The Rev. Tom Yorty,  
             Sawrie Becker and Peter McNally provide exceptional "More light"  
             leadership at Westminster.     
              
             I was grateful to be home and able to join my church, First  
             Presbyterian, Santa Fe, NM, for our intergenerational retreat at  
             Ghost Ranch.  Etta and Harry Smith put together the program along  
             with Dick Avery and Don Marsh.  It was good to be with my church  
             family on retreat.   
              
             Sixth Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA, is 150 years old as a  
             congregation, and as part of their anniversary they also  
             celebrated their 4th year as a More Light church, May 18-20.   
             Maggie Ritchey and the Rev. John McCall, of Sixth, and Rob Boston, of  
             the Pittsburgh MLP Chapter, led a strong group of volunteers in  
             hosting this "Celebrating ALL God's Children Conference."  Martha  
             Juillerat, Director, the Shower of Stoles Project brought the  
             stoles and offered a keynote presentation about them. 
              
             Sally Gladwell and Jason Thomas, long-time MLP supporters first at  
             Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, OH and now at Sixth,  
             provided hospitality and leadership that helped to make this a  
             truly wonderful weekend.   
              
             "Open Minds, Open Hearts, Open Hands" was the theme and the  
             spirit of our annual National MLP Conference in Austin, May 25- 
             27.  Allison Thompson and Gerald Gafford, Co-Chairs of the local  
             host committee, created a team of terrific volunteers from  
             St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Austin, TX, a More Light  
             church.  Paula Rigling was our organizational goddess and she  
             kept all of us together. 
              
             Marilyn Nash was our worship consultant and worship leader who  
             created fully inclusive and inspiring services.  Anna Carter  
             Florence, Katie Morrison, and the Rev. Jim Rigby, host pastor, were  
             the preachers.  The Rev. Hal Porter sent us a paper entitled,  
             "Institutional Self-Preservation and Moral Clarity."  Jane  
             Carter, singer from Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, OH;  
             Curran Reichart, musical artist and UCC pastor, San Francisco,  
             CA; and Patrick Evans, Music Director, Wilmington, DL, provided  
             powerful and magical special music.  In addition to three worship  
             services and a banquet, 19 educational workshops, a special book  
             table and book signing were part of the program.   
              
             In addition to the worship and educational program, two  
             highlights included the announcement and commissioning of Katie  
             Morrison, as our second national field organizer and the  
             announcement of the new MLP/David A. Sindt Vision Fund Project to  
             provide grants for churches and MLP Chapters to do LGBT outreach  
             and ministry.  Check our website for this grant program and  
             application process. 
              
             Beth Bale, from the Triangle MLP Chapter and Church of the  
             Reconciliation, Chapel Hill, NC, received the "more light"  
             candle/torch at the end of the Conference, since they will host  
             next year's National MLP Conference, May 24-26, 2002.  Mark your  
             calendars now, save that date, and plan to be with your rainbow  
             family next year in North Carolina. 
              
             So as all of us continue to "seek to be and bring more light"  
             into our lives, our relationships, families and faith  
             communities, it is important to pause for a moment and reflect  
             upon what God is doing in our midst, in and through us.  The  
             evidence is clear as people, families, churches, and new chapters  
             join this movement of justice and love that declares God's love  
             and care for all of God children.  
              
             I delight in the call that Katie Morrison has answered in saying  
             "yes" to becoming a MLP national field organizer.  Katie brings  
             strong gifts and experience to this ministry.  She will join me  
             and all of us who are working together to make real God's welcome  
             to all.  Special thanks to all for your care, prayers, and  
             financial support through memberships and donations.  Your  
             partnership allows MLP to continue and expand our ministry and  
             outreach around the country. -- With hope and grace, Michael. 
              
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             EVENTS 
              
             July 14-21, 2001, Saturday-Saturday. Thornfield 29th Annual  
             Workshop on Sexuality. Thornfield Conference Center, Cazenovia,  
             NY. Designed for every person, regardless of profession, who  
             wishes to become more knowledgeable and comfortable with the  
             multiple aspects and expressions of human sexuality. Contact  
             Carol Dropp, Coordinator, P.O. Box 3158, Oakton, VA 22124,  
             www.sexualityworkshop.com, 703-532-3702. 
              
             August 9-12, 2001, Thursday-Sunday. "Your Silence Will Not  
             Protect You: Celebrating Spirit, Seeking Racial Justice," annual  
             conference of CLOUT: Christian Lesbians OUT, Christmount  
             Christian Assembly national conference center, near Asheville,  
             NC. For info. contact CLOUT, P.O. Box 5853, Athens, OH 45701,  
             740-448-6424, clout@seorf.ohiou.edu. 
              
             August 25, 2001, Saturday. Homophobia, Religion and Ideology:  
             International Lesbian & Gay Association (ILGA) Working Party Pre- 
             Conference Program (Tentative), 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m., Oakland, CA.   
             Led by the Rev. Dr. Tom Hanks, our MLP liaison in Latin America.   
             For more info., contact thanks@thanks.wamani.apc.org, tel/fax:  
             (54-11) 4314-5989 (Buenos Aires, Argentina). 
              
             November 1-3, 2001, Thursday-Saturday. Covenant Network  
             Conference: "The Church: Living Faithfully in the World,"  
             Pasadena, CA. 
              
             April 11-14, 2002, Thursday-Sunday. The Voices of Sophia National  
             Gathering, Louisville, Kentucky.  For more information or to  
             become a member, please visit the VOS website at  
             www.voicesofsophia.org. 
              
             May 24-26, 2002, Friday-Sunday.  More Light Presbyterians  
             Conference, Chapel Hill area, NC. 
              
             2003. WOW: Witness Our Welcome conference.  For more info., go to  
             www.wow2k.org. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             RESOURCES 
              
                       More Light Update --  Indexed and Abstracted 
              
             The *More Light Update* is now selectively indexed and abstracted  
             in *Gay & Lesbian Abstracts*, produced by NISC: National  
             Information Services Corporation, www.nisc.com. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             SEMINARIANS 
              
                        McCormick Considers Same-Sex Couple Equity 
              
             [It may be too late to respond to this request, but it's still  
             GREAT NEWS! -- JDA] 
              
             Hi, I'm Tanya Denley and I am moderator of Acts 10:15 the LGBT  
             group at McCormick Theological Seminary. I am writing to ask a  
             favor of McCormick alums and donors. At this time, there is a  
             task force made up of representatives of the Board of Trustees  
             who are looking into the possibility of revising the policy on  
             married student housing to include same-sex domestic partners,  
             which would allow same-sex domestic partners to live in married  
             student housing. This shift would also allow same-sex domestic  
             partners the same benefits that married couples receive already,  
             including access to the libraries. Due to the fact that we are  
             part of the University of Chicago health plan, same-sex domestic  
             partners are already covered under the health insurance. If you  
             are an alum or donor, or belong to a church that donates money, I  
             ask that you would voice your support to the chair of the  
             committee, Vince Thomas, at vthomas@gw.hamline.edu. Student input  
             has already been sought, but the task force also wants to hear  
             from donors and alum. They hope to make this decision in the next  
             month. If you have any further questions, please contact me. --  
             Peace Tanya, tdenley@juno.com 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             JOBS 
              
                                       MLP Job Bank 
                                     from www.mlp.org 
              
                             Add your listing to the job bank! 
              
             Because More Light Presbyterians' primary goal is to gain  
             acceptance for LGBT people in jobs in our denomination,  
             www.MLP.org maintains a list of job openings reported to us to be  
             open to LGBT candidates. Of course, More Light Presbyterians  
             cannot warrant the positions themselves, or even the information  
             about them. We claim only that this information is accurate to  
             the best of our knowledge and ability. 
              
                   PROGRESSIVE OREGON CHURCH SEEKS PASTOR/HEAD OF STAFF.  
              
             We are a 300-member More Light congregation in suburban Portland.  
             We seek a person of deep faith who is willing to explore and  
             question, a person who will challenge us while ministering to us  
             on our journey of faith. We are looking for someone with a  
             collegial management style who can nurture growth in our  
             increasingly diverse community; someone who has good  
             administrative, stewardship and leadership skills, preferably  
             with experience as head of staff; and who proclaims the good news  
             with love, intelligence, humor and integrity. Please see our CIF  
             on our website (www.southmin.com). Southminster Presbyterian  
             Church, 12250 SW Denney Rd., Beaverton, Oregon. Contact: Anna  
             Mohney, 503-617-9858, e-mail: amohney@home.com. Posted April 2001 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                GENERAL ASSEMBLY HIGHLIGHTS 
              
                        The Middle Ground, the More Excellent Way, 
                 Freedom of Conscience, Forbearance and Tolerance Prevail 
              
                    The Assembly Votes to Remove Ban on LGBT Ordination 
              
             Late in the afternoon of Friday, June 15, the 213th General  
             Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to delete  
             amendment B from the *Book of Order* and, if a majority of the  
             presbyteries agree during the coming year, to remove all related   
             authoritative interpretations.  Added to the *Book of Order*  
             would be the affirmation that for all candidates: 
              
                  "Their suitability to hold office is determined by the  
                  governing body where the examination for ordination or  
                  installation takes place, guided by scriptural and  
                  constitutional standards, under the authority and Lordship  
                  of Jesus Christ." 
              
             The final vote was 317 (60%) to 208 (39%).  Late in the evening,  
             an effort for reconsideration was defeated by 75%.  The afternoon  
             vote followed a long debate, with many parliamentary maneuvers,  
             including a minority report, various amendments, a substitute  
             motion, and two motions to refer the issue to the new "peace,  
             purity, and unity" task force.  Only one change to the majority  
             report from the Committee on Ordination Standards was approved,  
             asking that the moderator of the assembly send a pastoral letter  
             to all congregations and presbyteries. -- JDA. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                 A note from Michael Adee, 
                               our national field organizer: 
              
             MLP members, friends and allies: 
              
             This is a historic day in the life, ministry and witness of the  
             Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), for the Welcoming Church Movement, and  
             for the entire Christian realm worldwide. 
              
             The 213th General Assembly of our Church voted 60% to 39% in  
             favor of a constitutional amendment that removes the barriers to  
             the open service of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people  
             as deacons, elders, and ministers of the word and sacrament,  
             therefore restoring LGBT people to full membership and honoring  
             our baptism, faith, and calls to ministry. 
              
             This amendment deletes the anti-gay, unjust and discriminatory G- 
             6.0106b as well as rendering the 23-year old definitive guidance  
             of 1978 and the authoritative interpretation of 1993 of "no  
             further force and effect." 
              
             This constitutional amendment will be considered and voted upon  
             in our 173 presbyteries within the next year.  This measure must  
             be ratified by a simple majority of the presbyteries. 
              
             So, this is a day that gives hope to many that the Church can be  
             a welcoming place to all of God's children, regardless of human  
             difference. 
              
             Special thanks to all who made this historic moment possible.   
             Many people have gone before us and many persons, congregations,  
             and organizations have worked faithfully to realize this day.   
             And, it will take all of us working together to ensure the  
             passage of this amendment in our presbyteries. 
              
             In Louisville this evening, after the plenary session, about a  
             100 of us gathered for worship and prayer which has been our  
             custom each evening of the Assembly.  Singing, prayers, readings  
             from Scripture, poetry and quiet moments of communion, our being  
             the Church made for a fitting ending to this historic day. --  
             With hope and grace, Michael 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             Here is our joint MLP/TAMFS statement to the press and to the  
             church: 
              
                          Presbyterian General Assembly Lifts Ban 
                           on Ordination for LGBT Presbyterians 
              
             Louisville, KY, June 15, 2001 --  More Light Presbyterians, That  
             All May Freely Serve, and The Shower of Stoles Project join  
             together in giving thanks to God for this action of the General  
             Assembly that paves the way for the ordination of lesbian, gay,  
             bisexual and transgender Presbyterians.  "The church has returned  
             to its historic principles allowing local churches and  
             presbyteries to make decisions about ordination.  This is the  
             middle ground the church needed to move forward," said Elder,  
             Bill Moss, More Light Presbyterians Co-moderator. 
              
             Today's decision would change language in the *Book of Order* that  
             requires candidates for ministry to observe "fidelity in the  
             covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in  
             singleness" (G-6.0106b).  It would also do away  
             with the definitive guidance of the 1978 General Assembly that  
             "practicing, self-affirming homosexuals" are prohibited from  
             serving as ordained ministers, elders, or deacons. 
              
             "At last the church has taken a step toward justice for God's  
             lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," said Rev. Janie  
             Spahr. "We are looking forward so much to being in the  
             presbyteries so people can see us for who we are as people of  
             faith, to share our faith, to share our stories together, so that  
             all may freely serve." Janie Spahr is an ordained minister whose  
             call to serve the Downtown United Presbyterian Church in  
             Rochester, NY was denied in 1992 by the church's highest court,  
             because she is a lesbian. The church hired her instead as a  
             "lesbian evangelist," and director of That All May Freely Serve,  
             an organization working to employ gay, lesbian, bisexual, and  
             transgender people in ministries of outreach and education for a  
             more inclusive church. 
              
             Martha Juillerat, Director of the Shower of Stoles Project, said  
             that this decision impacts more lives than the Assembly  
             commissioners imagine. The Shower of Stoles Project is a  
             collection of over 800 stoles donated by lesbian, gay, bisexual  
             and transgender individuals called to serve in ordained  
             positions. About half of the stoles are from Presbyterians. "The  
             stoles bear powerful silent witness to the host of impassioned,  
             qualified, and faithful people knocking at the church's door, or  
             waiting silenced within the church for the day they can serve  
             openly," she said. 
              
             Today's decision must be ratified over the next year by a  
             majority of the denomination's local governing bodies known as  
             presbyteries. Together the groups look forward to the work ahead  
             of making the church a truly inclusive community, worshiping  
             Christ, and living out the gospel in the life of the church. --  
             Marco A. Grimaldo. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             Here is the story from Presbyterian News Service: 
              
                              Assembly sends out an amendment 
                                    to delete G-6.0106b 
              
                               Proposal to open the way for 
                          gay ordination passes with 60% approval 
              
                                    by Jerry Van Marter 
              
             Louisville, KY, June 15, 2001 -- By a vote of 317-208, the  
             213th General Assembly today voted to send measures to the 173  
             presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that would clear  
             the way for the ordination of sexually active gay and lesbian  
             Presbyterians and sexually active unmarried heterosexual  
             Presbyterians to church office. 
              
             If the sweeping measure -- proposed to the Assembly by its  
             Assembly Committee on Ordination Standards -- is ratified by a  
             majority of the presbyteries, G-6.0106b will be deleted from the  
             church its *Book of Order*. That provision, enacted into church law  
             in 1997 after it was approved by the 1996 Assembly, requires of  
             church officers "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between  
             a man and a woman or chastity in singleness." 
              
             An attempt to delete the measure the year after the presbyteries  
             ratified it by a vote of 97-74 was rejected by the presbyteries  
             by a vote of 114-57. 
              
             The Assembly also asked the presbyteries to add a sentence to G- 
             6.0106a stating that church officers' "suitability to hold  
             office is determined by the governing body where the examination  
             for ordination or installation takes place, guided by scriptural  
             and  constitutional standards, under the authority and Lordship  
             of Jesus Christ." 
              
             The Assembly also voted to render a 23-year-old "authoritative  
             interpretation" of the constitution -- adopted in 1978 and  
             reaffirmed in 1993 -- of "no further force or effect." The  
             church's Advisory Committee on the Constitution had stated that  
             both the church law and the authoritative interpretation must be  
             repealed in order to open the way for ordination of openly gay  
             and lesbian Presbyterians. 
              
             The Assembly action did just that -- if enough presbyteries  
             reverse the position they took  three years ago. The repeal of  
             the authoritative interpretation will not go into effect unless   
             the amendment to delete G-6.0106b is ratified. 
              
             The Presbyterian Coalition -- a group of anti-gay ordination  
             organizations formed in 1993 -- in a statement called the  
             Assembly's action "deeply distressing," adding "it is  
             unthinkable that a majority of Presbyterians favor the removal of  
             our ordination standards." 
              
             The Assembly completed action on the highly-controversial and  
             much-anticipated proposal in just over two hours. It rejected a  
             minority report signed by 14 members of the 60-member Ordination  
             Standards Committee that would have disapproved the measure and  
             instead sent a pastoral letter to the church stating its belief  
             that "prayer and study provide a more excellent way than endless  
             debates over legislation." 
              
             The Assembly also defeated a motion to refer the matter of  
             ordination standards to a task force it created earlier in the  
             week to explore theological issues -- including ordination  
             standards -- that have deeply divided the 2.5-million member  
             denomination in recent years. 
              
             It instructed Assembly moderator Jack Rogers to send a letter to  
             the 173 presbyteries and all 11,178 congregations "interpreting"  
             its decision to send out the proposed amendments and to vacate  
             the authoritative interpretation. 
              
             Elder Georgia Hooper-Peek of Hudson River Presbytery in New York,  
             which has been embroiled in several litigations in the church  
             courts over G-6.0106b, pleaded for passage of the measure, saying  
             it had cost her presbytery more than $50,000 in legal costs "and  
             untold costs in our hearts." 
              
             Elder Ted Mikels of Salem Presbytery in North Carolina, speaking  
             in opposition, said, "Twice in the last five years we've voted  
             on this and each time it tears the fabric of our presbytery. To  
             send this out again will create greater rancor and polarization.  
             We need prayer and study and dialogue, not more legislation." 
              
             The Rev. M. Paul Nelson of San Diego Presbytery agreed, calling  
             the proposal "an emotional bomb that will do great damage when it  
             is dropped on the presbyteries." 
              
             But former General Assembly moderator John Buchanan, a minister  
             member of Chicago Presbytery and co-founder of the Covenant  
             Network of Presbyterians, the largest pro-gay ordination group in  
             the PCUSA, said G-6.0106b has created "an absence of peace in  
             the church since 1996," producing "wrenching confrontations" each  
             year for the General Assembly. "The approval (of the proposal)  
             creates space to live and work together," he said. 
              
             Opponents of the measure appealed to what they called the clear  
             teaching of the Bible. The Rev. Robert Thornton of Abingdon  
             Presbytery in Virginia said "G-6.0106b represents standards of  
             scripture, our confessions and our tradition" that must be  
             preserved. "Someone will be hurt either way we vote," he added,  
             "but I'd rather err on the side of the word of God." 
              
             Elder Kristin Hock of Alaska Presbytery agreed. "We can only come  
             together when we have the mind of Christ. We need fervent prayer  
             and Bible study together." 
              
             But proponents countered that Presbyterians cannot possibly come  
             together if some are excluded. "How can we talk openly and  
             honestly while preserving legislation that prevents openness and  
             honesty," said Elder Kathryn Morgan of West Jersey Presbytery,  
             "and where some are kept away from the table?" 
              
             The presbyteries have until the next General Assembly convenes --  
             June 15, 2002, in Columbus, Ohio, to cast their votes on the  
             proposed amendments deleting G-6.0106b and adding the sentence to  
             G-6.0106a. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             Here is the actual text of the Majority Report from the Assembly  
             Committee on Ordination Standards. 
              
             Majority report from Assembly committee on Ordination Standards 
              
             That the overture be approved with amendment; and that this  
             action be the response to Overtures 00-13, 00-40, 00-48, 01-3,  
             01-6, 01-12, 01-19, 01-22, 01-27, 01-28, 01-29, 01-32. 
              
             Amend Overture 01-8 as follows: 
              
             1. Direct the Stated Clerk to send the following proposed  
             amendments to the presbyteries for their affirmative or negative  
             votes: 
              
             "a. Shall G-6.0106b be stricken. 
              
             "b. Shall G-6.0106a be amended by adding a new sentence to the  
             end of the paragraph to read as follows: 
              
             "Their suitability to hold office is determined by the governing  
             body where the examination for ordination or installation takes  
             place, guided by scriptural and constitutional standards, under  
             the authority and Lordship of Jesus Christ. 
              
             "2. Approve the following authoritative interpretation: 
              
             "Interpretive statements concerning ordained service by  
             homosexual persons by the 190th General Assembly (1978) of The  
             United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and  
             the 119th General Assembly (1979) of the Presbyterian Church in  
             the United States, and all subsequent denominational affirmations  
             thereof, shall be given no further force or effect; and Section  
             G-6.0106a of the Form of Government, together with the other  
             prerequisites for ordination expressly stated in our *Book of  
             Order*, hereby are affirmed as the sole and exclusive standards  
             for ordination by ordaining bodies acting in prayerful  
             discernment of the leading of Almighty God, pending the approval  
             of the related proposed amendment." 
              
             [Note: The text of G-6.0106b that the assembly committee is  
             asking to be deleted reads as follows: 
              
             "b. Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a  
             life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic  
             confessional standards of the church. Among these standards is  
             the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of  
             marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or chastity in  
             singleness. Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged  
             practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained  
             and/or installed as deacons, elders, or ministers of the Word and  
             Sacrament."] 
              
             A Pastoral Letter added: 
              
             During the debate, the General Assembly added a provision that  
             the moderator shall send a pastoral letter explaining the  
             rationale for this action to all congregations and presbyteries.  
             -- JDA. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                             Press conference offers reactions 
                            from two sides to ordination action 
              
                                       by Jane Hines 
                                 Presbyterian News Service 
              
             Louisville, KY, June 15, 2001. -- Following the vote by the 213th  
             General Assembly to send to presbyteries a recommendation to  
             remove G-60106B from the *Book of Order*, a press conference was  
             held to get reactions from representatives of groups involved in  
             the ordination debate. 
              
             First to speak were representatives of Presbyterians for Renewal  
             and the Presbyterian Coalition, both of which have opposed  
             ordination of gays and lesbians. 
              
             Nancy Maffett, elder commissioner from Colorado Springs, said,  
             "There is a great weariness in the church. I feel this will be  
             damaging to the Body and 
             its unity." 
              
             Matt Robbins from California, co-moderator of the Youth Advisory  
             Delegates at this Assembly, said, "I am disappointed with the  
             vote but I am pleased with the way YADs discussed it. I think  
             there was too much pressure to make everyone happy. I think the  
             decision was brought through our culture. It's hard enough to be  
             a young person trying to be faithful to Jesus. We need the church  
             to stand up and say there is truth in the Bible." 
              
             Joe Rightmyer, executive director of Presbyterians for Renewal,  
             said, "I am saddened by statements of unbelief in yesterday's  
             debate on salvation through Jesus Christ. It was not just a  
             difference of opinion. The question is not how we get to God but  
             to reaffirm how God comes to us." 
              
             Jerry Andrews, representing the Presbyterian Coalition, said the  
             vote was not unexpected. "There will be a better reflection of  
             reality in the presbytery votes," he added. 
              
             Russ Ritchel, Jr., a minister from Salem Presbytery in North  
             Carolina, said in response to a question about a possible split  
             in the denomination as a result of the vote, "There already is a  
             split in the church. It's like we're in a British comedy where we  
             are all handcuffed together. We are handcuffed together by our  
             property. How can we expect others to take us seriously when we  
             have not figured out a way to live together and affirm one  
             another?" 
              
             Rightmyer said he had talked to pastors with tears in their eyes  
             who say they don't know if they can keep their congregations  
             together. "How many will still be around to vote in the  
             presbyteries?" he asked. 
              
             During the second part of the press conference, representatives  
             of More Light Presbyterians, That All May Freely Serve and The  
             Shower of Stoles Project offered a different perspective. They  
             began with a statement by Bill Moss, co-moderator of More Light  
             Presbyterians and an openly gay elder at Old First Presbyterian  
             Church in San Francisco. It said: 
              
             "We join together in giving thanks to God for this action of the  
             General Assembly that paves the way for the ordination of  
             lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Presbyterians. Today the  
             church has returned to its historic principles of allowing local  
             churches and presbyteries to make decisions about ordination. "  
             The statement expressed gratitude to "everyone who worked in  
             their local churches, presbyteries and synods...to everyone who  
             prayed for us, wrote letters, spoke in public, signed covenants  
             of dissent or otherwise offered a witness to the working of the  
             Spirit." 
              
             In a media release, Martha Juillerat, director of the Shower of  
             Stoles project, said the decision impacts more lives than the  
             Assembly commissioners imagine. The Shower of Stoles Project is a  
             collection of over 800 stoles donated by lesbian, gay, bisexual  
             and transgender individuals called to serve in ordained  
             positions. About half of the stoles are from Presbyterians. "The  
             stoles bear powerful silent witness to the host of impassioned,  
             qualified, and faithful people knocking at the church's door, or  
             waiting silenced within the church for the day they can serve  
             openly," she said. 
              
             The group expressed opinions in the press conference about  
             divisions in the church and who has caused them. They said they  
             expect to go back to churches that are "overjoyed" at the  
             decision rather than dismayed. 
              
             Responding to a question about which group has the word of God,  
             Don Stroud, commissioner from Baltimore Presbytery, said, "No one  
             can box up and contain the Word of God. A legislative process can  
             never put God in a box." 
              
             213th General Assembly Moderator Jack Rogers spoke at the press  
             conference after the two groups had shared their views with  
             reporters. "The scriptures say 'Rejoice with those who rejoice  
             and weep with those who weep.' I am rejoicing that this group now  
             has hope and weep with those who sincerely believe the church has  
             done a wrong thing," he said. 
              
             "I have friends in both groups," he said. "What you've seen with  
             these two panels is what I've been experiencing as moderator. As  
             I have looked out at the commissioners I have come to believe  
             they represent the broad center of the Presbyterian Church. I  
             have seen other Assemblies when most commissioners came pre-set  
             for one position or another. These are regular folks who didn't  
             seem to come here pre-committed. Some said they'd changed their  
             minds since they came here." 
              
             "I don't doubt the sincerity of any of them," Rogers said. "Some  
             believe they are reading the Bible right and think the others  
             aren't." 
              
             "This Assembly has affirmed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour  
             every day. The thing that hurts deep in my soul is that almost  
             everybody feels like a victim in this situation. I hope in the  
             year to come we can address that. There are good people on all  
             sides looking at this differently. I am hopeful that the Task  
             Force, listening widely, can begin to address this," Rogers said. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             Comments from MLP'ers 
              
             (Culled from MLP email lists, but Anonymous here, because I  
             didn't have time to get permission for attribution! -- JDA) 
              
             I just listened to the webcast from Louisville, and have tears  
             streaming down my face.  It passed by  
             60%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
              
             God bless the many wonderful ally commissioners and advocates who  
             have worked and witnessed so hard to pass an overture repealing  
             G-6.0106b !!!!! 
              
             Could it really be that the liberation of GLBT people in our  
             church is upon us? 
              
             Thanks to the GA office for providing the webcast so we home- 
             stayers can sit on the edge of our seats as it happens (and  
             scream with joy). So cool! 
              
             With great thanksgiving, 
              
             Hopefully, I will have something to say about this later, but  
             right now I can't stop alternating crying and grinning. Michael 
              
             Yes, it did happen. Many tears and much rejoicing... 
              
             There was an audible breath in the hall after the vote. The winds  
             of the Spirit are blowing through the church, may it never be the  
             same! 
              
             But now we need to get back to work! 173 presbyteries!!! Yipes! 
              
             On a note related to the 60% vote, approximately 30 seconds  
             before the moderator asked the advisory delegates to register  
             their votes the heavens crashed with rolling thunder and the rain  
             poured down...cleaning the outside air and awaking all  
             commissioners for their duty.  It was surreal! John Rhodes 
              
             Dear folks who worked so hard to make this possible, 
              
             Bless you. Bless you. Bless you. This is so wonderful I  
             can hardly stand it! I feel like a party sitting here by  
             myself! I've been holding my breath (the better to pray with) for  
             so long, it's going to feel a little funny being able to  
             breathe for at least a little while.  My admiration for all  
             of you is boundless, and my prayers for continuing success  
             endless. 
              
             God is good, Robin Cuneo Co-moderator, MLP, Lake Erie Presbytery 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                          The assembly gets off to a great start 
                    with the election of Jack Rogers as our moderator! 
              
                       Jack Rogers elected Moderator on first ballot 
              
                                       by Jane Hines 
                                 Presbyterian News Service 
              
             Louisville, KY, June 9, 2001. -- From a group of what Stated Clerk  
             Clifton Kirkpatrick called "four wonderful candidates," Jack  
             Rogers was elected Moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the  
             Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) . He received 286 votes on the first  
             ballot -- 55 percent -- out of 524 votes cast by commissioners.  
             Elder Nancy Maffett received 125 votes; Peaks Presbytery  
             Executive M. Anderson Sale received 67 votes and Elder Sandra  
             Hawley received 46 votes. 
              
             Rogers, termed a "bridge builder," came recently from the  
             Presbytery of San Gabriel in California and from a heritage in  
             the Presbyterian Church of North America. He came from being a  
             teacher in two diverse seminaries, Fuller and San Francisco, to  
             share his experience in "compromising and finding creative ways  
             to move forward through the genius of the Presbyterian way" with  
             Presbyterians in the 21st century. 
              
             In her nominating speech for Rogers, Janet Arbesman, minister  
             commissioner from Grand Canyon Presbytery, called him a world  
             renowned scholar. 
              
             The new Moderator has attended 29 Presbyterian General  
             Assemblies. He said that he comes to the Assembly every year  
             because this is the only place he experiences the church in its  
             great diversity. As Moderator he wants to demonstrate and give to  
             others the same opportunities he has had to know the transforming  
             Gospel. He told commissioners that he wants to emphasize in this  
             denomination the importance of marriage and family life. He wants  
             to lead the church through the pain of what he called the current  
             "Presbyterian Civil War." "No one has all the truth", he said. He  
             believes that we can affirm that we are united in Christ and  
             learn to trust each other. 
              
             "Unity does not mean uniformity," he said. "There is room in this  
             body of Christ for all of us and in this Assembly we can find  
             that to be true." 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                 Our Three Sisters Dinner 
              
                             The "three sisters" - working for 
                            justice in a more inclusive Church 
                                       by Luca Negro 
                                 Presbyterian News Service 
              
             Louisville, KY, June 9, 2001. -- The "three sisters" are  
             struggling for a "more inclusive" church, and particularly for  
             the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender  
             believers in the life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),  
             including their access to ministry, barred by current ordination  
             standards ("fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a  
             man and a woman, or chastity in singleness"). 
              
             More than 400 people took part in the event -- almost one-sixth of  
             the participants in this 213rd General Assembly of the  
             Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Michael Adee, national field  
             organizer of More Light Presbyterians, stressed the recent  
             expansion of the movement, which now has member congregations or  
             chapters in 42 states, plus the District of Columbia. 
              
             Martha Juillerat, director of Shower of Stoles Project, shared  
             some of the personal stories lying behind this colorful  
             collection of liturgical stoles: stories of Christian  
             leaders barred from serving their faith communities because of  
             their sexual orientation. 
              
             "If the Church cannot employ us, we will employ ourselves," said  
             the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, director of That All May Freely Serve,  
             as she explained the organization's project to develop a network  
             of regional partnerships to employ openly lesbian/gay persons as  
             "evangelists," to spread the good news of God's love for  
             everyone. 
              
             Jimmy Creech presented the keynote address.  Creech is a former  
             United Methodist minister, who lost his job for performing two  
             "covenant ceremonies" for same-sex couples, thus violating the  
             laws of his church. "The church has no right to 'confer'  
             marriage," said Creech, "because it is the relationship that  
             generates it. The task of the church is to celebrate and support  
             the commitment of the spouses," be they "straight" or gay. Creech  
             sees no reason why a same-sex union should be called other than a  
             "marriage." The question of ordination of lesbians and gays for  
             Creech is similar to the recognition of same-sex unions. Of  
             course, "ordination is the right of the church, but it's only the  
             church's confirmation of God's call, it's not the call itself."  
             To require that a minister be heterosexual or chaste means "to  
             trivialize ordination." 
              
             At the end of the dinner, More Light Presbyterians presented  
             awards to individuals, congregations and groups for their  
             distinguished engagement for the full participation of gays,  
             lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons in the life of the  
             church: the Rev. Tricia Dykers-Koenig; who is strategy  
             coordinator of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, two  
             Kentucky congregations (Central Presbyterian in Louisville and  
             Central Presbyterian in Owensboro) and the More Light chapter at  
             the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                               Assembly Rejects Proposal for 
                               Sexual Orientation Resources 
              
                                      By Alexa Smith 
                                 Presbyterian News Service 
              
             Louisville, June 13 - Citing inconclusive evidence on the  
             effectiveness of 'transformational' therapies to change an  
             individual's sexual orientation, the 213th General Assembly opted  
             not to offer such resources to individuals struggling with their  
             sexual identity and other sexual practices. 
              
             The report came to the floor tonight from the Assembly Committee  
             on Christian Education and Publication. Seventy-five percent of  
             the commissioners took the committee's recommendation and voted  
             to affirm statements by previous General Assemblies questioning  
             whether conversion therapies produce lasting reversals in sexual  
             orientation, while simultaneously affirming that "God is able to  
             do far more abundantly than we could ask or think," and that God  
             wills us all to be a part of the "New Creation that is possible  
             in Jesus Christ." 
              
             Commissioners did vote to create a resource on sexual addictions  
             -- an aid that Congregational Ministries Division staffer the  
             Rev. Ed Craxton told the Assembly will cost approximately $12,000  
             to produce. 
              
             The overture to create transformational resources (01-41) came  
             from the Presbytery of San Joaquin (California).  But arguments  
             like the one leveled by Hudson River (New York) Presbytery Elder  
             Georgia Hooper-Peek, a psychologist, was the majority voice,  
             cautioning that many homosexuals who undergo such therapy "risk  
             accepting an additional burden of shame" that may create or  
             deepen psychological problems. 
              
             In other actions, commissioners approved Overture 01-18 from the  
             Presbytery of Baltimore, that adds the deadlines for General  
             Assembly business to the denomination's annual planning calendar. 
              
             Two commissioners' resolutions -- one supporting the Boy Scouts  
             of America and the other questioning whether the organization  
             excludes gays -- were referred back to the General Assembly  
             Council (GAC).  Although the GAC has renewed a covenant agreement  
             with the National Association of Presbyterian Scouters, an  
             independent group, a dialogue is already under way on these  
             matters. 
              
                    END OF G.A. HIGHLIGHTS!  MORE IN THE NEXT UPDATE!! 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             FEATURE STORIES  
              
                                      Remembering WOW 
              
                          Inclusiveness, Racism, and White Denial 
              
             *"... the biggest, most life-changing thing I learned at the WOW  
             conference had to do with racism and white denial. For the first  
             time in my life, I think I really began to understand how racism  
             has shaped how I am in the world as a white person."* 
              
              
                                       Seeing Trees 
              
                                  A Sermon by Chris Paige 
              
                                preached April 22, 2001 at 
              
                         Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia PA 
              
                             Text: Mark 8:22-26, Psalm 61:1-5 
              
             *"They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to Jesus  
             and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand  
             and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his  
             eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, 'Can you see  
             anything?' And the man looked up and said, 'I can see people, but  
             they look like trees, walking.' Then Jesus laid his hands on his  
             eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored,  
             and he saw everything clearly. Then Jesus sent him away to his  
             home, saying, 'Do not even go into the village'"* -- Mark 8:22-26. 
              
             This past August, I attended an event called Witness Our Welcome  
             or WOW 2000. It was a gathering of the "welcoming churches"  
             movement -- organized by several of the Protestant groups that  
             advocate for the inclusion of LGBT people in our churches -- More  
             Light Presbyterians and the Open and Affirming program of the  
             United Church of Christ (UCC) were two of the organizers, along  
             with the Methodists, the Mennonites, and several others. This was  
             the first event of its kind where we gathered across  
             denominational lines in this way. There were over 1000 people  
             attending the program which lasted several days. 
              
             Tabernacle supported me in going as a representative of this  
             church. In return, I agreed to bring back something about what I  
             learned and experienced there to share with this congregation.  
             That's part of why I'm here today. And when the council approved  
             the funding, I imagine that they expected me to come back and  
             talk about homophobia and heterosexism, or the state of the  
             movement. And I could do a warm, fuzzy pat-us-on-the-back sermon  
             about that -- we do have a lot to be proud of here. Or perhaps I  
             could do a more challenging, get you moving, there's work do,  
             let's fight the good fight sermon. And that would be worthwhile  
             also in its own way. 
              
             But it wouldn't be honest. Not because those themes weren't a  
             part of my experience. But because *the biggest, most life- 
             changing thing I learned at the WOW conference had to do with  
             racism and white denial. For the first time in my life, I think I  
             really began to understand how racism has shaped how I am in the  
             world as a white person.* 
              
             You see, I have a lot of experience talking about what it means  
             to be a woman and a lesbian and a queer in a sexually oppressive  
             culture. I've wrestled quite a bit with understanding my own  
             marginalization. But as a white person in a racist society, I  
             have almost no experience talking about what it means to be  
             white. That's something about being privileged that's really  
             different from being marginalized. By and large, I just don't  
             notice my privilege. That's part of the privilege -- the being  
             able to take my identity for granted without any self- 
             examination. 
              
             When I talk about being marginalized, it's empowering -- finding  
             my voice, standing up to be counted, coming out of the silence.  
             But when I talk about being privileged, it's unsettling and scary  
             in a very different way. It's one thing to say that I (or another  
             marginalized person) deserves better. It's somehow quite  
             different to talk about how I (or another person of privilege)  
             somehow deserves less. Or that we have a responsibility to  
             actively deal with our privilege. *Somehow liberation is just a  
             lot more romantic than accountability.* 
              
             In the last 30 years, the language of marginalization has  
             increasingly become a part of mainstream white American culture,  
             in ways that I suspect it hadn't been before. In places like  
             Tabernacle, we talk pretty comfortably about the disenfranchised,  
             the poor, the oppressed, prejudice, discrimination, stereotypes,  
             protests, press conferences, movements, civil rights, equality,  
             solidarity, and struggling for justice. There's quite an  
             extensive vocabulary of marginalization and liberation. 
              
             And for me, this vocabulary is like the village in the Gospel  
             story today. It's a place that's familiar -- where I have plenty  
             of reference points. I know pretty well how to get around. But  
             outside of my village, I'm like the blind man. When I begin to  
             reflect on white privilege instead of just racial oppression, I  
             lose my bearings quite quickly. I barely have any vocabulary to  
             work with. I mean, let's see, there's: privilege, responsibility,  
             accountability, guilt. 
              
             My concern for racial equality is still there. But all of a  
             sudden, I don't know where I am or how to find my way around any  
             more. I know almost nothing about how racism and white privilege  
             have affected and shaped my life, my story, my self image, my  
             view of the world. I just don't have the words or the  
             understanding. 
              
             Shifting my focus to my own white privilege instead of the racial  
             oppression of others definitely moves me into unfamiliar  
             territory. It's outside my normal village and someplace I would  
             never go on my own. But my experience at the WOW conference  
             helped me to make that shift -- out of the familiar and into the  
             wilderness where I have begun to find new vision. 
              
             On the opening night of the WOW conference, there was a racial  
             incident during an ice-breaker. It was an incident that most of  
             us -- most of us white folks, that is -- hardly noticed. No one  
             used the "N" word or any other racial slur. There was no coercive  
             racial segregation. And no physical violence. It was "just" the  
             silence of certain voices being ignored. 
              
             Now, I was vaguely aware of it when it happened. Mostly through a  
             sense of discomfort that something was a little out of whack. An  
             awareness of tension in the room. Tension that I couldn't quite  
             put my finger on. And that I didn't quite know how to name or  
             address. I noticed the tension, but it didn't rise into my  
             consciousness as something in need of follow-up in any way. 
              
             About 36 hours later, on the morning of the third day, a young  
             woman took the microphone. Apparently, she had lobbied the  
             organizers hard to get this 5 minutes to express her grief about  
             that first night and the conference so far -- and it had taken a  
             day and a half for them to fit her in. Squeezed her in. Into  
             those distracted minutes between breakfast and morning worship  
             when people are mingling and eating and waking up and arriving  
             late. 
              
             In those 5 minutes that she was given, she expressed her sense of  
             alienation. She talked about her pain and frustration in  
             attending the conference as one of a handful of people of color,  
             surrounded by a overwhelming majority of white people. And as she  
             expressed her experience, she was actively interrupted and  
             confronted by white people from the audience. 
              
             She proceeded to issue an invitation to further dialogue at a  
             caucus time later that day. But when she left the stage, she was  
             followed. By more white people. White people who wanted to argue  
             with her and confront her and defend themselves and assert their  
             innocence. And apparently many or most of the people of color  
             attending also followed her out of the main event space. People  
             of color, who -- I suspect -- didn't feel safe or supported or  
             heard by their white sisters and brothers in the "welcoming"  
             movement. 
              
             Of course, I didn't notice. I didn't notice them leave. You see,  
             I'd been one of the white people in the crowd clapping for her.  
             We gave her a standing ovation -- in appreciation of her courage,  
             I think. Or perhaps because we've been well trained that you clap  
             after seeing a good performance. 
              
             I think it might have been easier to react as if it were a  
             performance -- easier than it would be to sit in the emotional  
             tension and confusion of what had just happened. It would have  
             been harder to sit in the dissonance and the conflict -- the  
             conflict between our own self-understandings as good white  
             liberal church activists and this woman's bold assertion of a  
             deep racial divide between and among us. 
              
             So, after we clapped, I found my seat, finished the orange juice  
             I'd carried in from breakfast, tried to let go of the discomfort,  
             and directed my attention to the worship leader and the singing  
             of songs. I wanted to get back to the village where I knew my way  
             around. We sang nice multicultural songs with Hawaiian or Native  
             American words -- I can't remember which anymore, but it felt  
             good to be back in familiar territory and able to breath again,  
             leaving the wilderness of the tension and conflict behind. 
              
             I certainly didn't consciously think to myself "Oh good, the  
             people of color have left. Now I can relax and enjoy what I came  
             here for." But that is what happened. It was not my intention to  
             disregard or patronize or minimize this woman's sharing and the  
             experience she was offering for our consideration. But that is  
             what happened. 
              
             Later in the day, as I listened in the dialogue time that she had  
             invited us to -- as a relatively small group of us listened to  
             each other share their experience of the event so far, I learned  
             that many if not most of the people of color had left the room  
             after that early morning moment. Some had spent quite some time  
             in confrontation in the outer hallway, with the white folks who  
             were arguing with their experience -- while I was back in the  
             conference hall singing multicultural hymns and feeling  
             comfortable again. 
              
             And maybe some others went out and got coffee someplace where  
             they could talk freely, without white arguments, white defenses,  
             and white deflections -- probably while I was sitting in a  
             plenary session nodding my head that yes, we must fight not only  
             against heterosexism, but also against racism and other forms of  
             oppression. And maybe some went to their rooms to cry, or scream,  
             or to pack their bags to leave for home. Because I think that's  
             what I might have wanted to do in their place. 
              
             I don't actually know what they did while I sank back into the  
             oblivion of my white privilege. And I don't deserve to know. What  
             matters to me, is that I didn't notice. I couldn't see it.  
             Wouldn't see it. Somehow, I'd learned not to see it. And the  
             little bit that I did notice, I sat through in silence. I tried  
             hard to put it behind me. It was both a public silence and a  
             private silence, since I tried not to think about it, and I tried  
             not to feel about it. 
              
             An emotionally charged disconnect over race had occurred and been  
             publicly acknowledged. The acknowledgment of that experience had  
             been resisted, invalidated, patronized, and essentially sent from  
             the room. And I hardly noticed. Even though it was right there in  
             front of me. 
              
             I was like the blind man who couldn't see. Or maybe I could see  
             the people moving, but they seemed like trees, and I was  
             confused. My vision was just a little too blurry for me to make  
             out the details and recognize what was really happening. So I  
             remained quiet. I went on with the day's events without  
             questioning what I had experienced, why it felt awkward, or why I  
             had no framework for understanding it. I just went back to my  
             village, where things were familiar. 
              
             I was missing something -- only I didn't even know it. I didn't  
             know enough to go looking for Jesus -- to go looking for healing.  
             It took someone else's invitation for the process to begin. And  
             that healing process finally began when someone took my hand and  
             walked with me away from my village, away from my comfort zone,  
             and started pointing things out to me -- started pointing out the  
             hard realities all around me that I had learned to ignore. 
              
             And it was confusing. I saw people ... no trees ... O.K., there  
             were fuzzy trees ... trees that were walking like people! I'm  
             still not sure what all I'm seeing from day to day, but it's  
             uncomfortable and strange. I'm beginning to see my own white  
             privilege and a deep, deep racial divide. And it's really  
             unnerving to be this far from my village, and aware of such a  
             need for healing. 
              
             The hard thing about being white is that we just don't notice it.  
             My vocabulary for understanding privilege is finally starting to  
             grow. Although I have to admit, it's still something of a mess to  
             sort through. It includes words like: Silence, Denial, My best  
             intentions, Silence, Oblivious, Numb, Clinging to my innocence,  
             Silence, Disconnected, Resistance, Silence, Silence, Silence. 
              
             I'm beginning to see the things I've learned not to notice, and  
             to feel the things I've learned not to feel. Racism is an  
             integral part of my life, clouding and obscuring my vision on a  
             daily basis -- preventing me from seeing the world clearly. But  
             I've started a new journey. A new coming out journey. It's a  
             journey of breaking silences. Another journey of following Jesus  
             and relying on God's grace and my companions on the journey,  
             instead of my own wisdom as I seek healing and liberation. 
              
             I'd like to invite you to join me in this journey. In my opinion,  
             the biggest weakness of the LGBT welcoming movement today is the  
             dominance of white privilege within it. I'd like to invite this  
             congregation to become as well educated and outspoken about  
             racism as it is about heterosexism. 
              
             Racial tension is on the rise in this country. And we need to be  
             able to speak to that reality. I see the people, the fuzzy trees,  
             and they're moving all around us. They are moving in the national  
             elections, in Florida. In police violence in Cincinnati and a  
             variety of other cities. They are moving as close by as the Copy  
             Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where Tabernacle United  
             Church has a standing account. 
              
             We need to come out about racism. We need to find the words to  
             talk about it -- about how it looks in the 21st century and about  
             how it looks in our own lives. We need to talk openly and  
             vulnerably with one another, to talk honestly and lovingly with  
             each other. We need to look deep and hard at ourselves. 
              
             And if we do, it will change us. It will definitely take us out  
             of our comfort zones, but that's where Jesus is waiting for us.  
             May God give us the wisdom and courage to follow. -- Amen. 
              
             Chris Paige is an elder at Tabernacle United Church  
             (www.tabunited.org) in Philadelphia and Publisher of The Other  
             Side magazine (www.theotherside.org). 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                  A Modest Commitment to Explicit Inclusiveness Preserved 
              
                   Presbyteries Vote to Retain Non-Discrimination Clause 
              
                                     Amendment A Fails 
              
             The leadership of More Light Presbyterians (MLP) is pleased with  
             the decisions of a majority of presbyteries to vote down  
             Amendment A, which would have omitted the list of non- 
             discrimination categories for membership in the PCUSA. 
              
             Marco Grimaldo, an MLP board member and Presbyterian Elder said,  
             "as a Latino who grew up in the Spanish speaking Presbyterian  
             churches of South Texas, the words of welcome in the *Book of  
             Order* are extremely important. Our church still struggles with  
             bias and discrimination and I no more want to be excluded due to  
             my ethnicity than because of my sexuality." 
              
             This proposed amendment to the *Book of Order* came in response  
             to Overture 00-60 from the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area,  
             which sought to clarify confusion about the church's policy on  
             welcoming lesbian and gay people by adding the words "sexual  
             orientation" to the list of reasons for which persons would not  
             be denied membership. Though the overture came out of its  
             Assembly Committee with an overwhelming vote for approval  
             (37/8/4), a floor amendment that was ultimately approved by the  
             212th General Assembly instead amended G-5.0103 to delete the  
             entire non-discrimination list, which included language  
             prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, and  
             worldly condition. 
              
             MLP Co-Moderator Bill Moss said, "MLP supports the ongoing  
             efforts of the church to encourage diversity and to protect  
             against discrimination. This was a decision about justice, and  
             even if this section of the *Book of Order* does not include LGBT  
             people specifically, we are pleased that the integrity of the  
             passage has remained intact." 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                               Re-Connecting Body and Spirit 
              
                                   A Great MLP Retreat! 
                March 16-18, 2001, Dwight Mission, near Sallisaw, Oklahoma 
              
                           by Margaret Duncan and Barry Hensley 
              
             More Light Presbyterians and College Hill Presbyterian Church,  
             Tulsa, OK, sponsored an LGBT-specific retreat during Lent,  
             focused on spirituality, sexuality and building relationships to  
             last a lifetime.  The Rev. Laurene M. Lafontaine flew to Oklahoma  
             from Denver to lead the weekend, and eighteen individuals  
             attended from Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Bartlesville,  
             Oklahoma, and Dallas, Plano and Garland, Texas.  The event was  
             held at historic Dwight Mission, a Presbyterian camp and  
             conference facility built in 1829 as a school for the Cherokee  
             people during the "Trail of Tears." This backdrop of the church's  
             ministry with disenfranchised people on the frontier for nearly  
             200 years was a fitting stage for the weekend's activities. 
              
             The purpose of the weekend was to empower individuals who feel  
             marginalized by repressive church polity with the strength of the  
             Spirit in approaching matters of sexuality.  Re-connecting  
             spirituality with self as sexual beings is the first step toward  
             building identity within an inclusive faith community.   
             Opportunity for worship, discussion, recreation (including a  
             ropes challenge course), bonding and alliance-building helped  
             participants learn about themselves and each other, equipping  
             them with fundamentals necessary for building a church for  
             everyone. 
              
             Laurene Lafontaine's gifts for ministry shaped a spiritual  
             experience for everyone.  Comments from participants about her  
             leadership included, "Laurene is an incredible person -- so  
             authentic, real, honest, fun."  "She made me feel welcome the  
             minute I walked through the door." "She's perfect for this  
             topic."  "Great personality."  "Loved that woman, her topics and  
             her spirit -- Awesome!"  "She made everyone feel at ease." 
              
             Participants also enjoyed Dwight hospitality, including home  
             cooking and sharing meals with members of Eastern Oklahoma  
             Presbytery council, which met at Dwight during part of the  
             weekend.  With participants ranging from University of Tulsa  
             students to a public school teacher approaching early retirement,  
             the group developed a marvelous sense of community, including  
             individuals adjusting to recently coming out, and  those involved  
             in 20+-year-long relationships.  Having people from different  
             congregations, towns, states and different backgrounds encouraged  
             much discussion about our similarities and differences.  How  
             often do college students and soon-to-be-retirees bond over a  
             common topic?  It was important, particularly for those just  
             coming out, to be able to see how others in similar situations  
             handled similar problems.  It was encouraging to see that the  
             younger participants were among the most fearless.  One  
             University of Tulsa student organizes the LGBT community at that  
             very conservative school.  The retreat encouraged him to continue  
             to fight the good fight.  Overall, it was a wonderful bonding  
             experience, especially considering people came from different  
             congregations and faith traditions, different communities and  
             many even crossed state lines to come together into a cohesive  
             component of the Body of Christ. 
              
             Feedback from participants to those sponsoring the event  
             included, "Thank you."  "Loved it all."  "Great -- I wish everyone  
             had come."  "Thank you so much for sponsoring this event."  "Had  
             a blast!"  "Thank you very much for a wonderful weekend." 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             MORE LIGHT CHURCHES 
              
                                  New More Light Churches 
              
                                  Rockville United Church 
                                         Maryland 
              
             On April 29, 2001, Rockville United Church became the 106th More  
             Light Presbyterian Church.  The Rev. Kasey Kaseman is the pastor  
             and community minister. Rockville United Church is a federated  
             church, both PCUSA and UCC, so they are are now affiliated with  
             More Light Presbyterians and the Open and Affirming Program of  
             the United Church of Christ. 
              
             Send a note of congratulations or a letter from your  
             church's Session to:  The Rev. Mansfield M. Kaseman, Rockville  
             United CHurch, 355 Linthicum Street, Rockville, MD 20851; 301- 
             424-6733, www.rockvilleunitedchurch.org. 
              
             Here's a brief statement from Rockville United Church about their  
             congregation: 
              
             "The love of God is the root of our worship. The love of neighbor  
             is our compelling service. Rockville United Church (RUC) was  
             created June 25, 1967 from the merger of Faith United Church of  
             Christ and St. Andrew's United Presbyterian Church. From the  
             start, the congregation was deeply involved in ministry to the  
             local community, a tradition that continues today. Our pastor,  
             the Rev. Mansfield M. Kaseman, also serves as the Executive  
             Director of Community Ministries of Rockville, an interfaith  
             nonprofit agency providing advocacy, education, and direct  
             services to those in need. RUC is a vibrant community of faith  
             and love, with many opportunities for service and fellowship. We  
             strive to be a reconciling and caring congregation, dedicated to  
             justice for all, and fostering both our individual and collective  
             spiritual journeys." 
              
              
                                Bethany Presbyterian Church 
                                    Spokane, Washington 
              
             Bethany Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington, joined the  
             ranks of More Light Churches on February 4, 2001. 
              
             To send a message of welcome and congratulations, here is their  
             address: The Rev. Paul G. Rodkey, Bethany Presbyterian Church,  
             301 South Freya, Spokane, WA 99202-5055.   
              
             This congregation has a long history of social justice,  
             evangelism and mission.  They recently hosted a display of the  
             Shower of Stoles Project at their church for their presbytery and  
             community.   
              
             To have a display, large or small, of The Shower of Stoles  
             Project, for your church, MLP Chapter, Seminary Chapter, college  
             campus ministry, presbytery, youth retreat, etc. please contact  
             Martha Juillerat, Director, at StolProj@aol.com or 612-377-8792.  
             See their website at www.showerofstoles.com 
              
              
                                 Collenbrook United Church 
                                 Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 
              
             Collenbrook United Church is a union church that is both PCUSA  
             and United Church of Christ.  Rev. Charles Holt is the pastor and  
             their clerk of Session is Nancy E. Krody.  It began in 1975, a  
             union of Northminster Presbyterian Church and St. Paul's United  
             Church of Christ. 
              
             Collenbrook has been participating in a congregational study and  
             discernment process since the Fall of 1999, facilitated by  
             Pastor Holt and a More Light/Open and Affirming Task Force.  The  
             congregational affirmation to become a More Light and Open and  
             Affirming Congregation was made during a congregational meeting  
             on January 28, 2001. 
              
             Send congratulations and messages of welcome to: The Rev. Charles  
             Holt, Collenbrook United Church, 5290 Township Lane, Drexel Hill, PA  
             19026-4797. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                        More Light Church Reaches Out to Prisoners 
              
             More Light Presbyterians is happy to note the recognition of one  
             of our 106 governing body members.  Let's thank them for their  
             prophetic ministries, befriending those whom society continues to  
             marginalize.  Address your letters to:  Church of Gethsemane  
             Presbyterian, 1012 Eighth Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11215, 718-499-3419. 
              
             For more information on how your congregation can engage in this  
             important ministry, please contact the MLP prison ministries  
             liaison, Jud van Gorder, 915 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, CA  
             95060-3440, 831-423-3829, jvangorder@iopener.net -- Ralph Carter. 
              
              
                      Presbyterian Church Mines Prison for Prospects 
              
              Unique ministry helps inmates adjust to life outside the walls 
              
                                    by Evan Silverstein 
                                 Presbyterian News Service 
              
             Brooklyn, NY, 20 April 2001 -- When Josi Reyes was released from  
             New York's notorious Sing Sing Correctional Facility about 17  
             months ago, he needed a place to turn to for help. 
              
             The ex-convict, who had done time in various New York state  
             prisons over most of the previous decade, was looking for a  
             community where he could shed the stigma of being an ex-offender  
             and move forward with his life, personally and spiritually. 
              
             He found such a community at the Church of Gethsemane in  
             Brooklyn, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation that says it  
             is exploring "A New Model of Ministry." One-time prison inmates  
             account for much of the church's membership. 
              
             "They had their doors open," Reyes, 44, said about Gethsemane  
             church. "When you're coming out (of prison) and you're running  
             all kinds of ways, the speed of society in New York is  
             tremendous. When you come out you are in shock. Gethsemane church  
             welcomes you and talks to you and embraces you and says 'You are  
             our brother.'" 
              
             The Church of Gethsemane was started in 1986 by and for  
             prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families. The congregation also  
             includes a number of people who feel called to a ministry to the  
             poor. Gethsemane was a new-church development officially  
             chartered in 1989. The church started as a spin-off of a group  
             called Citizen Advocates for Justice, a service agency for women  
             prisoners and ex-offenders established by Gethsemane's founding  
             pastor, the Rev. Constance Baugh. 
              
             "They help you deal with the judgment that one faces coming out  
             of prison," said Reyes. "It has that supportive environment that  
             I come for." 
              
             Gethsemane's members have been recruited from jails, prisons,  
             halfway houses, community centers and the streets. The church is  
             the only home some members know. During its first 10 years, 47  
             prisoners became members of the church through correspondence  
             courses and visits. Active congregants now number more than 100. 
              
             Many of these worshipers recently got a chance to describe their  
             uncommon congregation to the Rev. Syngman Rhee, moderator of the  
             PCUSA's General Assembly. Rhee visited the Church of Gethsemane  
             earlier this month while accompanying a delegation of PCUSA staff  
             members through a whirlwind, three-state, four-day tour of  
             Presbyterian-related mission sites in the Northeast. 
              
             "I appreciated hearing about the unique ministry of this church,"  
             Rhee said, "particularly about the ministry they have (of  
             corresponding with people) in prison and helping the persons  
             coming out of prison. It is a very unique ministry." 
              
             The "Mission USA" tour started on April 2 and included stops in  
             New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. It was sponsored by the  
             denomination's National Ministries Division (NMD), which hopes it  
             will become an annual event on the moderator's schedule. The tour  
             program, now in its second year, takes in PCUSA-related mission  
             sites in different parts of the country. 
              
             Rhee and the rest of the delegation got a first-hand look at Sing  
             Sing prison in nearby Ossining, NY. Among those traveling with  
             Rhee were vice moderator Rebecca McElroy; the Rev. Curtis A.  
             Kearns Jr., director of NMD; Kearns' executive assistant, Pam  
             Green; and the Rev. Kathy Lancaster, associate for criminal  
             justice in NMD's social-justice program area. 
              
             "I rejoice that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has been related to  
             the Church of Gethsemane for so many years," Lancaster said. "It  
             was a delight to be on the premises there and see the real people  
             who live there and whose lives are changed through their  
             existence as a worshipping and advocacy community." 
              
             The delegation heard lots of stories about how the Church of  
             Gethsemane helps ex-convicts break down the judgmental walls  
             society often builds around them. All are welcome to join  
             Gethsemane church, Rhee's group was told during a dinner in  
             Gethsemane's basement. 
              
             "The essence of it is people who are in prison, who are leaving  
             prison, it's really to value the life experience they have had,"  
             said Mary-Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Gethsemane's director of  
             community life. "Usually they have to hide their experience -- if  
             there are circles, whether they be communities of faith or  
             whatever, that would hold it against them.  We value people for  
             their life experience and give them voice based on that  
             experience, and the fact that they are welcomed wholeheartedly  
             into the (Gethsemane) community." 
              
             Church members participate in a wide range of denominational and  
             interfaith activities in New York, presenting workshops on their  
             experiences as prisoners and as members of Gethsemane, visiting  
             and hosting other congregations, and volunteering in shelters,  
             hospitals and in programs of the JusticeWorks Community, the  
             church's social-outreach arm. A cornerstone of the JusticeWorks  
             program is the Interfaith Partnership for Criminal Justice in New  
             York City, which brings together religious and secular groups in  
             efforts to prompt positive change in the nation's criminal- 
             justice systems and policies. 
              
             "What we're really trying to do is bring more humanity and  
             rationality into current criminal justice policy," said  
             Fitzgerald, who also is executive director of JusticeWorks.  
             "Current policy simply militates against the poor and the racial- 
             ethic (person). Our whole public education and advocacy is to  
             mobilize citizens who will then bring pressure to bear on their  
             legislators to change criminal-justice policy and make it more  
             just and more humane." 
              
             Gethsemane is exploring alternatives to incarceration for mothers  
             convicted of non-violent crimes. JusticeWorks officials say 70  
             percent of women in prison are serving sentences for nonviolent  
             offenses. One of the organization's aims is to educate the public  
             on the practical and ethical consequences of resorting to mass  
             incarceration while ignoring social problems. Women are the  
             fastest-growing population in prisons, mainly because of  
             mandatory sentencing for drug violations. In 1980, about 10,000  
             women were serving time. Last year their number had grown to more  
             than 150,000. 
              
             In 1992, JusticeWorks organized a national grassroots organizing  
             campaign called "Mothers in Prison, Children in Crisis." The  
             program works to identify alternatives to prison for non-violent  
             female offenders with dependent children. 
              
             "I agree that sometimes you do need to lock people up," said Ray  
             Rios, 37, a former resident of Sing Sing. "However, you really  
             need to look at the by-product. If you lock somebody up for 25  
             years, but they come out with no skills for the real world, then  
             really you are just setting yourself up for failure." 
              
             The Church of Gethsemane helps offenders prepare for release from  
             prison by giving them information through a newsletter and  
             maintaining a letter-writing project. Since the early 1990s, more  
             than 50,000 prisoners have received Liberation Voices,  
             Gethsemane's Bible-based newsletter. Through "Project Connect"  
             the congregation maintains regular correspondence with about 40  
             members in prison. Inmates often apply to the church for letters  
             to the parole board, post-release referrals and legal assistance.  
             Prisoners become church members after completing a seven-part  
             correspondence course. 
              
             The letter-writing campaign injects a ray of hope into an  
             environment of despair, according to Gethsemane member Darryl  
             Carathers, a Queens resident who has served more than 15 years in  
             various New York prisons. 
              
             "Whenever I was feeling down and I wrote the church, they always  
             wrote me back letting me know that I wasn't alone with my  
             struggle," said Carathers, 38. "The letters were really  
             uplifting. Even if I didn't receive any mail from my family, the  
             church was there for me. They wrote letters for the parole board  
             for me. I was denied parole once. When I went back, they wrote  
             letters to the parole board for me again." 
              
             The congregation, which makes its home in Brooklyn's Park Slope  
             section, has shared its space for four years with a Jewish  
             congregation, Kolot Chayeinu, which means Voices of Our Lives, "a  
             developing, progressive Jewish congregation," according to Rabbi  
             Ellen Lippmann. 
              
             "I wanted my congregation to be affiliated with a place that says  
             'justice' on its sign," Lippmann said, referring to a  
             JusticeWorks sign in front of the church. "This is where I wanted  
             us to be." 
              
             The Church of Gethsemane is the place to be, according to Rios. 
              
             "It was really nice to meet the people you were writing ...  
             because you felt an extended community," said Rios, who exchanged  
             letters with Chibueze Okorie, Gethsemane's minister of  
             evangelism. "Especially when you were coming home, you needed  
             that feeling. After 10 years of not really having a community ...  
             coming here was really (rewarding). Everybody knows you. It's a  
             place where people know your name." 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                            A Decalogue for Writing to Inmates 
              
                               Suggestions by Jud van Gorder 
                             MLP Liaison for Prison Ministries 
              
             I. It may seem hard-hearted, but don't send money or give your  
             phone number, unless you know the inmate personally. He can only  
             call collect from jail or prison, and there will be many things  
             he wants from the institutional store. 
              
             II. The inmate's requests may sound reasonable, and it's hard for  
             you to know whether they're real or a con. If in doubt, politely  
             decline; stay in control of your response, and don't become co- 
             dependent or sentimental. 
              
             III. You may be asked to send a picture of yourself, so the  
             inmate can put a face to your letters. That's your choice; but  
             don't be surprised if it enhances his fixation on you as a sex  
             object. Try to understand his deprivation fantasies. 
              
             IV. You may feel repelled or overwhelmed by some things the  
             inmate wants from you now, or to provide him when he gets out;  
             remember, he may be abandoned by family and former friends, and  
             is desperate for some outside contact. 
              
             V. The inmate may focus on his zeal for religion -- because he's  
             figured out that will strengthen his appeal to you. Sure, he may  
             be using the church for his own needs; but welcome to the club!  
             Just take it with a grain of salt. 
              
             VI. With the explosive growth of incarceration, the inmate  
             population is more like your community's cross-section. So don't  
             write to a stereotype of someone deserving confinement; listen to  
             who your particular correspondent is. 
              
             VII. Forget allegations of "country-clubs" or claims of  
             "corrections"; the prison industry hides well its inhumane  
             warehouses from the public. Unless you've done time, don't tell  
             the inmate "I know just what it's like for you." 
              
             VIII. Of course you're curious what the inmate did to be  
             convicted, and how long he's in for. But in his society, it's  
             something you don't ask. If he wants you to know, he'll be more  
             specific. If he can't trust you yet, he may lie. 
                                     
             IX. To survive in prison, the inmate may have had to allow  
             himself to be raped, robbed, or beaten. False disciplinary  
             charges could be used to prolong his stay. So please don't  
             moralize about the virtues of being a "model prisoner." 
              
             X. You and the inmate share one basic resource: personal  
             integrity. So pay him the respect of encouraging his, and  
             expressing yours. It may be all you can do. Either one of you  
             could turn out the be the least of Christ's brethren. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                            How Welcoming is Your Congregation? 
              
                                    "Food for Thought" 
                           from MLP's National Field Organizer, 
                                Michael Adee, M.Div. Ph.D. 
              
             We are called to be Christ's church, to welcome the stranger, to  
             feed those who hunger. "We welcome everybody," says a church member.  
             "Of *course* we're welcoming." 
              
             The test of welcome, says a wise observer, is to ask those in  
             question -- children, persons who are divorced, persons  
             challenged with disabilities, persons from another country, ex- 
             convicts, those who are single, those who are of a different race  
             or ethnicity than the majority of your church members, those who  
             are gay or lesbian or bisexual or transgendered -- if they *feel*  
             welcome. 
              
             Meanwhile, here is a checklist to you to ponder. 
              
             1. Are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their  
             families and friends genuinely welcome in your congregation? If  
             so, how would they know that? If not, why not? Is your  
             congregation a "safe" place for people to be who they are, to  
             "come out" as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people?  
             Is your congregation "safe" and supportive for parents and  
             families of LGBT people? How skillful is your pastor and other  
             church professionals, as well as the congregation as a whole, in  
             offering appropriate pastoral care to LGBT people and their  
             families? 
              
             2. How are matters of sexuality (heterosexuality, bisexuality,  
             homosexuality) and gender identity dealt with in your  
             congregation? Within your Christian education program? What  
             developmentally appropriate educational materials are made  
             available to children, youth, young adults, and adults in your  
             church? How does your congregation respond to the claims of  
             "reparative therapy" or change therapy when it is discussed? 
              
             3. What are the possibilities for a common Christian sexual ethic  
             for all persons in your congregation to be developed? What  
             guidance on sexuality and relationships do you offer to couples - 
             - heterosexual and homosexual, married, partnered, not married,  
             and to singles? 
              
             4. The PCUSA has an existing law that restricts ordination for  
             deacons, elders, and clergy to heterosexually married persons in  
             absolutely faithful relationships and to single persons --   
             heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual who must live without  
             sexual intimacy. How does this law affect you? Your life as a  
             congregation? Your witness to visitors, inquirers and new  
             members? To your community? 
              
             5. The PCUSA has called *for* full and equal civil rights for LGBT  
             people in civil society and *against* discrimination aimed at LGBT  
             people in civil society. How does your congregation participate  
             in this work toward justice? 
              
             6. How do you and how does your congregation respond to  
             homophobia and heterosexism, prejudice and bigotry, within your  
             church, and in your community?  When racism or sexism are  
             addressed, are homophobia and heterosexism included within that  
             conversation, sermon, or teaching? If not, why not? What are the  
             connections between these attitudes and beliefs? 
              
             7. The church exists to bring "good news" and care to all  
             persons. How does your congregation demonstrate this to include  
             LGBT people and their families and friends? 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                  Why and How to Become a 
                              More Light Presbyterian Church? 
              
                                           Why? 
              
             For some this is a matter of being faithful to the Gospel; for  
             others it is a justice concern. For many it is a pastoral care  
             concern for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender adults, youth,  
             children, and their families and friends. For some this is a  
             moral and ethical issue; for others it is deeply personal. Many  
             say it is "just the right thing to do." Honoring our reformed  
             theology and tradition is the reason for many; for some it is a  
             theology of hospitality. 
              
             For a growing number of people, it is about restoring integrity  
             to our church's constitution and polity. For many it is knowing  
             that we are to be welcoming congregations, welcoming all persons  
             and allowing no barriers to membership and service that are not  
             essential to faith. A stand for inclusion and equality is the  
             motivation for many. 
              
             Each congregation, each session, pastor and church staff member  
             must discern their own paths and know with certainty "why" they  
             want and need to take this step of faith -- this stand toward  
             justice, this statement of inclusion and welcoming -- and this  
             alignment with others of similar heart, mind, and belief to offer  
             a genuine and clear welcome to gay, lesbian, bisexual and  
             transgender persons and their families and friends in the life,  
             ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 
              
              
                                           How? 
              
             Because of our polity, it is necessary for the Session of a  
             church to decide and recommend to a congregation that they become  
             known as a "More Light" Presbyterian Church and affiliate with  
             the national organization and network, More Light Presbyterians.  
             Clergy and staff should and can assist in the process of  
             discernment, education, decision, and proclamation. But, it is  
             the Session that makes the decision. 
              
             This decision is not to be brought to a congregational vote.  That  
             is not our polity. Moreover, it is not prudent to have  
             congregational members voting on one another -- this is about  
             persons and families within every congregation. 
              
             It is helpful for the entire congregation to be given the  
             opportunity to participate in a study and discernment process  
             that is appropriate to what is wanted and needed locally. For  
             example, a comprehensive study and discussion of human sexuality  
             that includes LGBT concerns; Biblical and theological study and  
             discussion from the Reformed perspective; specific discussions  
             and review of the *Book of Order*, the existing restrictions upon  
             the open service of LGBT persons and non-married heterosexuals as  
             deacons, elders, and clergy; and pastoral care concerns and needs  
             related to LGBT persons and their families, etc. 
              
             It is best that the study process be intentional and for a  
             specified period of time.  The recommendation from Session is  
             best to come after the open study and discernment process 
             within the congregation. 
              
             **To become a "More Light Presbyterian Church" a Session would  
             need to do the following:** 
              
             1. Affirm the Mission Statement of More Light Presbyterians. 
              
             "Following the risen Christ, and seeking to make the Church a  
             true community of hospitality, the mission of More Light  
             Presbyterians is to work for the full participation of lesbian,  
             gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith in the life,  
             ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 
              
             2. It is not necessary for a separate statement be created to  
             become a More Light Presbyterian Church although some Sessions  
             decide to write an additional statement beyond affirmation of the  
             MLP Mission Statement. 
              
             3. Send a letter of intentionally to MLP stating that your  
             congregation, through an action of Session, wants to become a  
             "More Light" Presbyterian Church: More Light Presbyterians, 4737  
             County Road 101 - PMB #246, Minnetonka, MN 55345-2634 
              
             4. Send membership payment of $100 annual dues (or whatever you  
             can afford) to the above address, check made payable to More  
             Light Presbyterians. 
              
             5. Consider budgeting mission donations to support the  
             comprehensive national work of MLP that includes educational  
             outreach to churches, presbyteries, Presbyterian colleges and  
             seminaries; legislative work in all presbyteries and at every  
             General Assembly; judicial support related to ecclesiastical  
             court cases; and special projects such as congregational nurture,  
             LGBT/Q youth at risk, the national field organizing work, and the  
             annual National MLP Conference. 
              
              
                                       What's Next? 
              
             Your church will be listed among the other More Light  
             Presbyterian Churches in MLP materials and our website. 
              
             Your church will give witness to a fully inclusive Gospel and a  
             standard of justice that will inspire other churches to do  
             likewise within your presbytery and around the country. 
              
             Join us by sending a group from your church to the Annual  
             National MLP Conference! 
              
             Your church will soon discover other areas of growth and ministry  
             that will strengthen and be informed by your decision to become a  
             "More Light" Presbyterian Church. 
              
              
                     Looking for resources, study materials and help? 
              
             Check out the MLP webpage -- www.mlp.org, or contact Michael J.  
             Adee, National Field Organizer, MLP, at 505-820-7082 or  
             MichaelAdee@aol.com 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                     Detroit's Welcome 
              
             We present the text (but not the graphics!) of a nicely designed  
             brochure prepared by Presbytery of Detroit Task Force --  
             Homosexuality & the Church (1 Oct. 2000). 
              
              
                                          TO ALL 
                                       LESBIAN, GAY, 
                             BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE: 
              
             Are you looking for a church home? 
              
             A place where you can grow in your faith? 
              
             A loving nurturing community? 
              
             Help in finding hope, meaning and purpose for your life? 
              
             Friends to share your spiritual journey? 
              
             Opportunities to use your gifts in Christ's service? 
              
              
                               The Presbyterian Church 
                                    Welcomes You. 
              
             The Presbyterian churches listed in this brochure welcome  
             lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people and all other  
             people, and affirm them as children of God. We encourage all to  
             participate with us in the work of the church to carry out  
             Christ's work of reconciliation. We believe in and practice  
             hospitality. We recognize that when any group is ostracized all  
             of humanity is damaged. We invite you to come and be a part of  
             the family of God. We respect and value all God's children. 
              
             "... love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all  
             your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the great and first  
             commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your  
             neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law  
             and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40). 
              
             To find out more about who Presbyterians are and what we believe,  
             please access the PCUSA web site: http://www.pcusa.org/ 
              
                        Michigan Presbyterian churches that welcome 
                           lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,  
                           and all other people (by city & zip): 
              
                                      Royal Oak 48067 
                            Point of Vision Presbyterian Church 
                                1318 S. Stephenson Highway 
                                      (248) 541-1596 
              
                                       Berkley 48072 
                              Greenfield Presbyterian Church 
                                   2312 Greenfield Road 
                                      (248) 544-1800 
              
                                     Southfield 48075 
                              Southfield Presbyterian Church 
                                   21575 W. Ten Mile Road 
                                      (248) 356-1430 
              
                                        Troy 48084 
                             Northminster Presbyterian Church 
                       3633 W. Big Beaver (between Adams & Coolidge) 
                                       (248) 644-5920 
              
                                      Ann Arbor 48104 
                                 First Presbyterian Church  
                                   1432 Washtenaw Avenue 
                                       (734) 682-4466 
                             http://www.firstpresbyterian.org 
              
                                      Ann Arbor 48105 
                               Northside Presbyterian Church 
                                       1679 Broadway 
                                      (734) 663-5503 
                               http://www.northsidepres.org/ 
              
                                       Detroit 48209 
                           Southwest United Presbyterian Church 
                                      7354 Whittaker 
                                      (313) 641-1144 
              
                                       Detroit 48214 
                           Jefferson Avenue Presbyterian Church 
                                   8625 Jefferson Avenue 
                                      (313) 822-3456 
              
                                       Detroit 48219 
                            Redford Avenue Presbyterian Church 
                                 22122 West McNichols Road 
                                      (313) 531-0327 
              
                                       Detroit 48227 
                                 Hope Presbyterian Church 
                                     15340 Meyers Road 
                                      (313) 861-2865 
              
                                       Detroit 48235 
                              Westminster Presbyterian Church 
                                       17567 Hubbell 
                                      (313) 341-2697 
              
                                 Grosse Pointe Farms 48236 
                               Grosse Pointe Memorial Church 
                                     16 Lakeshore Road 
                                      (313) 882-5330 
              
                                   West Bloomfield 48322 
                        Church of Our Savior Presbyterian (U.S.A.) 
                                    6655 Middlebelt Rd. 
                                      (248) 626-7606 
              
             To inquire about times of worship please call the particular  
             church. 
              
             "In gratitude to God, empowered by the spirit, 
                  we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks 
                  and to live holy and joyful lives, 
                  even as we watch for God's new heaven and new earth, 
                  praying, 'Come Lord Jesus.' 
              
             With believers in every time and place, 
                  we rejoice that nothing in life or in death 
                  can separate us from the love of God 
                  in Christ Jesus our Lord." -- From A Brief Statement of            
                                      Faith, Presbyterian church (U.S.A.) 
              
             The churches listed in this brochure are part of the Presbyterian  
             Church (U.S.A.), a distinctly confessional and connectional  
             church. We are part of the family of churches, which are Reformed  
             in theology and Presbyterian in our form of government.   
             Presbyterian Church government is distinguished by the  
             representation of elders -- lay men and women. These  
             congregations are all part of the Presbytery of Detroit, which  
             includes the communities of southeast Michigan. 
              
             This brochure grew out of an idea of our late friend and mentor,  
             the Rev. Jim Beates, and we dedicate it to honor his memory. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                 More Light on Bisexuality 
              
              
                                   What is bisexuality? 
              
             Bisexuality is the capacity for physical, romantic, and/or  
             emotional attraction to people of more than one gender. 
              
             Bisexuality: 
              
                  * Is a distinct sexual orientation like heterosexuality and  
                  homosexuality; 
              
                  * Is different from gender identity; 
              
                  * Is often misunderstood because of fear and misconceptions. 
              
             There are many myths that fuel the misunderstanding. They include  
             the suppositions that bisexuals are promiscuous; that bisexuals  
             have at least two different gendered partners simultaneously;  
             that bisexuals are "really gay or lesbian," or "really straight,"  
             or "half homo-sexual and half hetero-sexual." 
              
             These are neither true nor accurate. The reality is that bisexual  
             persons are simply bisexual. We are single, celibate, or in  
             committed relationships, just like people of all orientations. As  
             Christian bisexuals we believe biblical ethics call each person  
             to fidelity in relationship. 
              
             For more information see More Light on Sexual Ethics:  
             www.mlp.org/resources/MLonSexEth.html 
              
              
                                  Bi-blical Affirmations 
              
             The creation of "male and female" in God's image [Gen. 1.27] is  
             independent of sexual orientation. 
              
             Bi-theology affirms our God-likeness, and the claim that the  
             wideness of divine sexuality includes us. When God identifies as  
             "I AM WHO I AM" [Ex 3.14], this affirms for us the sacred nature  
             of God's call for each person to be faithful to the image of God  
             within, including our sexuality. This faithfulness to "be" who we  
             were created to be leads us to live lives "worthy of the calling  
             to which [we] have been called" [Eph 4.1ff]. 
              
             We believe that in Jesus' incarnation we have an example of a man  
             who loved and engaged in justice work for women and men that  
             consistently went beyond human-made boundaries and stereotypes. 
              
              
                                      Called Bi-Name 
              
             Many, but not all, bisexuals use the nickname bi; and many use  
             the word queer when including us in larger LGBT community. You  
             may have been taught that "queer" is a derogatory term. However,  
             it is being reclaimed by LGBT folks today. Please accept and use  
             whatever name your bisexual friends have chosen for themselves. 
              
             In developing programs, when using the name bisexual, please  
             define it and educate your audience because biphobia (the  
             irrational fear and/or hatred of bisexual persons) appears in  
             both heterosexual and queer communities. 
              
              
                                         Bi-Theory 
              
             Since the 1940s and Alfred Kinsey's work, scholars have  
             described a continuum of sexual orientations, with homosexuality  
             at one pole and heterosexuality at the other. Depending on the  
             expert, up to 40% of all persons fall between the two poles,  
             along the continuum. As James Nelson writes, "Though most of us  
             tend toward one or the other side, it is probable that the vast  
             majority of us are not exclusively heterosexual or homosexual"  
             (*Body Theology*, Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 66). 
              
              
                                     Blessed Bi-Spirit 
                              (from the book by the same name 
                                edited by Debra R. Kolodny) 
              
             As with many people on the margins, bisexuals bring some  
             distinctive gifts to the church. Some of these are: 
              
                  * the ability to build bridges between people; 
              
                  * a posture that invites moving beyond the constraints of  
                  western dualism; 
              
                  * a perspective that requires engagement with the "other"; 
              
                  * an embodied ability to affirm unity and embrace diversity; 
              
                  * an outlook that acknowledges the ambiguities of life; 
              
                  * an ability to integrate ideas, intellectual disciplines,  
                  and spiritual perspectives. 
              
              
                              How To Be a Supportive "Bi-Stander" 
              
                               (Language from *Bi-Spirit* foreword 
                                        by Mary E. Hunt) 
              
             * Don't forget to include us: say "lesbian, gay, bisexual,  
             transgender [or LGBT]," not "gays and lesbians." 
              
             * Listen to us: use whatever name your bisexual friends have  
             chosen for themselves. 
              
             * Talk to us: seek out bisexual persons, ask us your questions  
             and hear our stories. 
              
             * Include us: in programs, panels, writings, theological  
             discussions. 
              
             * Educate others: help teach definitions and concepts. Pastors  
             and counselors are especially important, and we all have more to  
             learn. 
              
             * Don't label us by the company we keep: a bisexual may have a  
             same-sex or opposite-sex partner, but is bisexual. 
              
              
                            For More Information on Bisexuality 
              
             www.binetusa.org -- A national organization with extensive  
             resources on bisexuality. The vision of BiNetUSA is "a world in  
             which gender and sexuality are celebrated in all their fluidity  
             and complexity, and our mission is to help create that world." 
              
             www.biresource.org -- The Bisexual Resource Center is a Boston- 
             based center that houses national resources on bisexuality. 
              
             http://www.glaad.org/org/projects/cultural/bi_visibility/index.html  
             -- As an organization committed to promoting fair, accurate and  
             inclusive representation as a means of challenging all forms of  
             discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity, GLAAD,  
             with the support of the bisexual community, has developed this  
             resource not only for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender  
             people, but for everyone interested in learning more about  
             bisexual issues. 
              
              
                                       A "Bi" Prayer 
              
                                  by Susan Halcomb Craig 
              
             There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or  
             free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one  
             in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3.26-28). 
              
             Spirit of Life, 
              
             We are your newest bridge people, 
             bisexual women and men in your kingdom, 
             at home in the middle 
             spanning opposing shores. 
             Our straight friends ask us to explain ourselves, 
             and our gay and lesbian friends question us 
             as if our place were no place. 
             We are pulled apart, disregarded, misunderstood. 
              
             We pray for your Spirit of Unity. 
             Help others leave their banks of fear 
             and join us in our place of oneness. 
             Bring healing from envy, denial, fear of difference, 
             and enable others to see us, eyes open to our beauty. 
              
             We pray for your gifts of love and understanding. 
             Help us love ourselves, and the connection we embody. 
             Neither gay nor straight, we are fully bisexual, 
             one in our beings and one in you. 
             Help us know and own and share our gifts 
             for your name's sake 
             and the wholeness of your creation. 
              
             We pray in your unity, 
             One in Christ Jesus, 
             Amen. 
              
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             POEMS 
              
                            Remembering Richard & Still Walking 
              
                                     by Nancy E. James 
              
             Nancy writes: The setting of "Remembering Richard" was First  
             Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, on a Sunday in January 1995.  I  
             was taking a January Term class in water-color painting at Ghost  
             Ranch, and one weekend I visited friends in Santa Fe and went to  
             church with them.  After worship there was a forum, "Dialogue on  
             Homosexuality, Part I," in answer to the PCUSA request for a  
             three-year study.  (I never had the opportunity to attend a  
             similar discussion in my home presbytery, Shenango in Western  
             Pennsylvania, and as far as I know, no study was done in any  
             church there.) 
              
             The following year I was an elder commissioner to the 1996  
             General Assembly in Albuquerque -- the G.A. of the Amendment B,  
             and the demonstration that followed that vote.  This is the  
             setting of the "1996" section of "Still Walking." 
              
             "Remembering Richard" was first published in the May 2001 issue  
             of *Friends Journal*.  It is reprinted here with the permission  
             of the author. 
              
              
             Remembering Richard 
              
             Microphone on a cord 
             passes from hand to hand 
             in church room too small 
             for this special forum ... 
              
             *To begin our dialogue, 
             a minute apiece to speak about 
             a gay or lesbian person you know.*    
              
             Visitor from another time zone, 
             I rummage in my mind for 
             students taught, acquaintances ... 
             someone I might mention 
             without tears. 
              
             Voices around the circle 
             utter bouquets for friends 
             or hang wreaths for the lost. 
             When the microphone 
             falls to my hand, 
             I pass it on, do not risk 
             drowning fragile words 
             half-formed within: 
             *my dearest college friend 
             died seven years ago ...* 
             my eyes barely harbor the flood 
             I did not realize till now 
             how strong. 
              
             Passing me by, the microphone 
             amplifies one old man's credo: 
             *just as in Christ there is no east or west, 
             in Christ there is no gay or straight.* 
             Into the groundswell of assent 
             falls the only word my mouth will dare: 
             *Amen*. 
              
             On the far side of the room someone says, 
             *the gay person I know best is myself.* 
             The microphone rounds to its starting point, 
             and still, silence bears me up -- 
             until the last to speak: 
             a young couple proud to name their child 
             *Michael* for their friend who died of AIDS. 
              
             And I, who have no child, 
             sign the name of my grief: 
             in spite of strangers ... 
             tears break at last 
             baptize my memory 
             and will never end. 
              
             (c) 2000 Nancy Esther James 
              
              
             Still Walking 
                                 (for Richard) 
              
             *Our life is the path of learning, 
             to wake up before we die* 
             -- Natalie Goldberg. 
              
              
             *1953* 
             October dusk: we climb 
             campus streets to hilltop view 
             washed pink by sun behind us. 
              
             Your monologue crackles 
             with jokes    my laughter 
             as you Regret 
             my sorority dance invitation 
              
             and I know    what I do not hear, 
             what you can not say nor I translate 
             into words    yet to be closeted 
             decades more. 
              
             I hear    not the closing of a door 
             but the prelude    of a friendship 
             alive    beyond all narrow ways. 
              
             *1987* 
             I am reading your last letter 
             red scrawl in Christmas card 
             telling me you will die -- 
             telling me one last time 
             I was your best memory of college, 
             you have always been    proud of me. 
              
             At church    after worship 
             I join a healing circle 
             prayers too late for you -- 
             in silence    tread my grief alone 
             these others    no companions 
             for my journey 
             toward loss foretold to fall 
             on a date    no one will tell me. 
              
             *1996* 
             Convention hall    huge as judgment: 
             church parliament of the ordained 
             sits to decree whom God may call. 
             The wheel of chance    has spun me here 
             allotted me a vote.     In loyalty 
             I have cast against    words that banish 
             your kindred    outside the Holiest -- 
             but the edict wins the day. 
              
             Now    a procession robed in rainbows 
             winds    like a wounded dragon 
             behind a cross    among its enemies. 
             I watch allies rise    leave their rank 
             swell the phalanx    join the rite. 
              
             Merely to stand    honor    observe 
             is not enough.     Through tears I move 
             take from some hand    a strip of cloth 
             token stole    white    soul of all colors 
             mark it with your name    my love 
              
             unknowingly    embark upon 
             a longer trek 
              
             *UNTIL NOW* 
             seeker    sworn to quest 
             a vision alien to me 
             perhaps 
             a clearer glimpse of you 
              
             I tread the path of learning 
             trace the dragon's footprints 
             in pursuit of whatever script or story 
             may speak to me    of other truth 
              
             The road winds    beyond my sight 
             but I have set my feet upon 
             a pilgrimage    toward greater light 
              
             still walking. 
              
             (c) 2000 Nancy Esther James 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             COMMENTARY 
              
                         National Religious Leadership Roundtable 
                                 on "Conversion" Therapy: 
              
                            Sexual Orientation Diversity is an 
                        Intentional and Sanctified Part of Creation 
              
             May 24, 2001 -- The National Religious Leadership Roundtable  
             (NRLR), representing leaders from 40 faith-based traditions,  
             released the following statement against so-called "conversion"  
             therapy. The controversial practice, disavowed by mental health  
             professionals, attempts to "convert" or "repair" the sexual  
             orientation of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. 
              
             The statement reads: 
              
             The National Religious Leadership Roundtable (NRLR) affirms that  
             gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) individuals are an intentional  
             and blessed part of Creation. Therapies to "convert" or "repair"  
             a person's orientation are misguided and should end. Such  
             therapies deny the inherent holiness of GLB people. 
              
              
                                      Spiritual Worth 
               
             Proponents of so-called conversion therapy rely on a premise  
             rejected by millions of individuals and entire denominations.  
             They declare that homosexuality and bisexuality are unhealthy and  
             that a good relationship with God requires a heterosexual  
             orientation. Among the many traditions that counter this  
             inaccurate assessment and uplift the presence of God in GLBT  
             people's loving relationships are:  
               
                  The United Methodist Church says, "Homosexuals no less than  
                  heterosexuals are persons of sacred worth..."  
              
                  The Episcopal Church says, "...Homosexual persons are  
                  children of God who have a full and equal claim with all  
                  others upon the love, acceptance and pastoral concerns and  
                  care of the Church."  
              
                  The Union of American Hebrew Congregations says, "In  
                  accordance with the teaching of Reform Judaism that all  
                  human beings are created *betzelem elohim*, (in the divine  
                  image), Reform Judaism has strongly condemned discrimination  
                  on the basis of sexual orientation." 
               
             We concur. We honor and hold sacred mutual loving relationships,  
             regardless of the gender or sexual orientation of the  
             participants. Therefore, we reject efforts to induce or shame  
             anyone into changing their sexual orientation since they are  
             devoid of spiritual grounding. 
               
              
                                    Is Change Possible? 
               
             Much of the debate about conversion therapy has centered on the  
             question of whether GLB people can become heterosexual. This  
             question is irrelevant. Sexual orientation is intrinsic, powerful  
             and sacred. As such it should be honored as a gift from God to be  
             celebrated, not a problem to be "fixed." In fact, research has  
             shown that trying to force change can cause serious harm.  
               
             Research has demonstrated that sexual orientation exists on a  
             spectrum from absolute homosexuality to absolute heterosexuality.  
             Some people live on the polar ends of that spectrum and are  
             likely to be immune to change. Others -- some studies say the  
             vast majority -- live between the poles. Those who embrace this  
             blessing often identify as bisexual. Those who live in this place  
             of possibility but aren't supported in its holiness may well be  
             those most vulnerable to "conversion" attempts. 
               
             As people of faith, we understand and rejoice in our knowing that  
             sex and gender cannot be reduced to biological "givens," but are  
             fluid social, cultural, and spiritual constructs that can change  
             in the lives of many (but not all) individuals and peoples over  
             time. We welcome the blessings and learnings conferred upon us by  
             this beautiful variety and complexity. 
               
              
                                  Political Implications 
               
             There are political implications of the research race to prove  
             whether one is born gay or can "change." A recent study claims a  
             high "success rate" of so-called conversion therapies and insists  
             that if anyone *can* "become heterosexual," then everyone *must*.  
             This false argument has been used to undermine non-discrimination  
             and hate crimes laws that cover lesbian, gay and bisexual people.  
               
             We offer an alternative view and suggest that an analogy between  
             sexual orientation and religion helps illuminate the spiritual  
             violence inherent in the thinking described above.  
              
             We are free and unfettered in our religious affiliations and must  
             be similarly so in our intimate and significant relationships.  
             Just as our right to religiously affiliate does not require that  
             our faith practice be biological or life-long, our sexual  
             orientation does not need to be biological or life-long. Those  
             who are called to love others of the same gender, whether as gay,  
             lesbian or bisexual, should be honored and protected, for these  
             are paths full of grace, integrity and loving kindness.  
              
             We have hope that those who fear the grace inherent in same-sex  
             loving can themselves seek change, and come to accept and  
             appreciate our blessing. 
               
             For all who believe that gay, lesbian and bisexual orientations  
             and transgender identities are sanctified, we ask that you join  
             us in creating welcoming and affirming beloved communities in all  
             faith traditions. Together we can ensure that our holy GLBT  
             brothers and sisters will never again feel the pain and  
             condemnation of the call to "convert." 
              
             The National Religious Leadership Roundtable members are leaders  
             of over 40 faith-based organizations including Muslim, Hindu,  
             Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Mormon, Black church, and other  
             religious and spiritual traditions. Together they work in  
             partnership with other justice-seeking groups to: amplify the  
             voice of pro-GLBT faith organizations in public discourse;  
             promote understanding of and respect for GLBT people within  
             society at large and in communities of faith; promote  
             understanding and respect within GLBT communities for a variety  
             of faith paths and for religious liberty; achieve commonly held  
             goals that promote equality, spirituality and justice. It is  
             convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and was  
             founded with Equal Partners in Faith. For more information, visit  
             www.ngltf.org/pi/nrlr. 
              
             [MLP is a member of the NRLR, represented by MLP Board Member  
             Marco Grimaldo.] 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                Alphabet Soup: One Big Mess 
              
                               A Commentary by John M. Titus 
                Elder, Waverly United Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA 
              
             March 27, 2001. -- For some strange reason I have found myself  
             singing the song by the Jackson Five, "ABC."  This song says that  
             "A, B, C" is simple as "one, two, three."  ABC also reminds me of  
             having a delicious warm bowl of vegetable soup, which is very  
             pleasing to the palate.  That is of course what Jimmy Stewart  
             says about Campbell's soup.  I have however recently found that   
             the alphabet is very unpleasing to the palate.  What I am  
             suggesting is that the continual introduction of amendments to  
             make changes in the *Book of Order* for the Presbyterian Church  
             (U.S.A.), have been damaging to the Church's mission. 
              
             Controversial issues have arisen in the Church and will continue  
             to arise.  This is not unique to just to the Presbyterian  
             denomination, but other denominations (e.g., United Methodists,  
             Lutheran, and Episcopalians) are also going through these  
             struggles. The amendments in the Presbyterian Church which have  
             recently created much noise are the infamous: Amendment "B,"  
             which pertained to chastity and fidelity;  Amendment "A," which  
             attempted to make changes to "Amendment B"; and the recently  
             defeated Amendment "O," which would have prohibited church  
             leaders in participating in same-sex union ceremonies [and also  
             the new Amendment A, also defeated, that would have deleted our  
             explicitly inclusive welcome from the *Book of Order*. -- JDA]. 
              
             Numerous amendments that have been proposed and will be proposed  
             place the unity of the Church of Jesus Christ at stake.  In this  
             commentary, I am not going to take a stance on the issues that  
             have been and will be before us in the denomination.  What is  
             happening in the Presbyterian denomination is that we are talking  
             around each other and putting so much effort into focusing on  
             these amendments that the mission of the Church seems to have been  
             forgotten. 
              
             By reflecting on last year's infamous presidential election, I am  
             reminded that there were billions of dollars that were raised for  
             these candidates.  What is even more appalling is that there are  
             still billions of people hungry in the world.  Imagine if this  
             money could have been used to feed the hungry. 
              
             God became incarnate in Jesus Christ to teach us "the Way," and  
             Jesus gave us the Gospel.  Walter Rauschenbusch, one of the  
             forefathers of the Social Gospel movement, gave us new insight  
             into the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Rauschenbusch's contribution to  
             the Church was that he felt Christians have a social  
             responsibility to work for the betterment of all humanity,  
             especially for those who are the most vulnerable.  We do not know  
             when the kingdom will come, or when the second coming of Christ  
             will occur, so we therefore need to respond to Jesus' teachings  
             and act on them today.  If we do not believe in the importance of  
             these teachings, we will trivialize the birth, life, death,  
             resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. 
              
             Much debate has occurred on these amendments which have drawn us  
             away from the message of Jesus.  Not only that, there has been a  
             vast amount of money given in favor and against passage of these  
             amendments.  This money could have been used to feed the hungry  
             and those in need. 
              
             These thoughts make me reflect on the reason why Paul wrote his  
             first letter to the city of Corinth.  During that time, the  
             Church was going through many challenges, where Christians were  
             suing other Christians.  Paul felt that Christians acting in this  
             manner would be drawn away from Christ.  I see this occurring  
             today in the Church, because if one person does not get his or  
             her way then he or she takes judicial or legislative action in  
             the Church's judicial commissions or governing bodies.  Paul also  
             wrote about the importance of  the Collection for the Church of  
             Jerusalem which was used to support the Church. Sometimes today  
             when a congregation (on either side of controversial issues)  
             disagrees with a decision that is made, they withhold their per  
             capita.  The effect that this has is that it hinders the  
             denomination because this money is needed for the Church to do  
             its work.  Money that goes to support either side on  
             controversial issues could be directed to the Collection to  
             support the mission of the Church. 
              
             The mission of the Church is to serve Jesus Christ, and the  
             Church should not be a religious organization which fights  
             amongst itself.  In a lecture entitled "Evangelical Theology in  
             the 19th Century," Karl Barth commented on some of the problems  
             with the evangelical liberal movement.  Barth argued that the  
             Church, during this time, was not Christ centered but rather  
             human centered.  Barth also believed that during this time, the  
             Gospel of Jesus had moved from the Gospel to a statement about  
             the Church and that people had lost sight of the sovereignty of  
             God (1).  It appears that today the Church is facing a similar  
             problem, because we look at the Church as an organization rather  
             than recognize that the Church's purpose is to serve God. 
              
             The fighting that is occurring in the denomination today has  
             become human centered and draws us away from God.  We are  
             brothers and sisters in Christ, and we come in "Union with  
             Christ."  Through hearing and preaching the gospel, participating  
             in the sacraments, and praying, we are invited to participate in  
             the life of the Church, which develops our "Union with Christ."   
             How can this current fighting in our denomination help develop  
             this personal relationship with Christ? 
              
             Since we are brothers and sisters in Christ, if one side who  
             supports an amendment wins the vote and the other side loses, we  
             have no winner.  In Christ there is no Greek or Jew, and there is  
             no winner or loser in a debate or vote, because of our personal  
             relationship with Jesus Christ.  We are all winners because of  
             Jesus Christ.  If we lose sight of this then we have a major  
             problem. 
              
             With regard to Amendments B, A, O, and any future amendments yet  
             to be seen, we need to have the opposite sides sit down and have  
             a serious discussion to resolve these issues.  We need to do this  
             not for our sanity but for the Church of Jesus Christ. 
              
             Is the root of our problem scriptural interpretation or something  
             deeper?  Interpretation of scripture has long been a discussion  
             throughout the Church's history.  Whenever I think of scriptural  
             interpretation, I often think of one of the early leaders of the  
             Church, Origen.  Origen is known as being one of the earliest  
             systematic theologians and was an early adopter of interpreting  
             scripture allegorically.  Origen believed that there are also  
             narratives in the divine scripture (the Bible), but there are  
             hidden treasures that are revealed to us through the work of the  
             Holy Spirit (2).  We, therefore, could have different insights to  
             what these treasurers are. 
              
             The Holy Spirit works in each of us in amazing ways, and the  
             Spirit continually changes and transforms us.  This deepens our  
             relationship with God and our "Union with Christ."  I do not  
             think that anyone can say that they know all the answers.  A  
             person may say that he or she knows some of the answers, but God  
             is the only one who knows the real answers.  We cannot make  
             statements with regard to governance of the Church and be one- 
             hundred percent sure that this is God's will.  We must be  
             therefore very careful when we start making judgments of other  
             people in the Church, whether they are liberal, conservative,  
             moderate, or somewhere in between. 
              
             I urge church leaders in the Presbyterian Church to let the Holy  
             Spirit guide them through the challenges that we are facing  
             today.  In order to faithfully serve the Church, I believe that  
             people who profess Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior  
             and have differing opinions in the Church need to discuss these  
             differences at length.  If this does not occur, then I feel we  
             run the risk of not doing the mission of the Church. 
              
             Let us sit down, talk, break bread, and have a pleasing bowl of  
             alphabet soup together.  By doing so, we will also be able to  
             serve Jesus Christ faithfully and feed others too. 
              
             References: 
              
             (1) Karl Barth, *The Humanity of God*, trans. by Thomas Wieser  
             (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1960) 27. 
              
             (2) Origen, *On First Principles*, trans. by Koetschau, (New  
             York: Harper and Row, 1966) 305-306. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                              The Gospel Is for All Humanity 
              
                                       by Hal Porter 
              
             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 gay and lesbian neighbors.  We have not.   
             And there is nothing different about them being a neighbor that  
             those who are heterosexual. Nothing.  They are we.  And we are  
             they.  No biblical interpretation can change it otherwise.  It  
             has been an absurd judgment to categorically state that  
             homosexual behavior is intrinsically sinful. The evidence is  
             other wise.  And for a denomination that believes we are called  
             to love God with all our mind, it is incredibly sad to find  
             ourselves in opposition to the psychiatric and medical  
             professionals who are seeking to remove the immoral and unhealthy  
             stigma that has been unfairly and too long associated with  
             homosexual orientation and behavior.  We can no longer abet the  
             culture of evil against them. 
              
             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."  Homosexuality is not a sin but a  
             natural biological variation of the human species as well as  
             throughout the animal world. As to behavior, we can have no  
             double standard, with regard to sexual orientation.  We cannot  
             impose on gays and lesbians burdens we refuse to bear, not that  
             is, if we are still compelled to walk at the side of Jesus or, at  
             least, follow in his footsteps. 
              
             [Harold (Hal) Porter is Pastor Emeritus, Mt. Auburn Presbyterian  
             Church, Cincinnati, OH.  This message was first printed in  
             *Monday Morning,* March 19, 2001.  Reprinted with the permission  
             of the author.] 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                           So Full of Judgment and Condemnation 
                                 An Open Letter of Concern 
              
             April 9, 2001 
              
             Rev. Dr. Zeb Bradford Long 
             Presbyterian-Reformed Ministries, International. 
             115 Richardson Blvd. 
             P.O. Box 429 
             Black Mountain, NC 28711-0429 
              
             Dear Dr. Long, 
              
             I received a communication from your office a month or two ago,  
             asking readers to pray for the unity of the PCUSA. Quite frankly,  
             I was surprised that I am on your mailing list. Inside were  
             arguments why Overture "O" should be passed. Of course, that is  
             now a moot question, since "0" has been defeated. I have not  
             replied until now as I have been meditating and praying about  
             what response I should make. 
              
             I was saddened to receive the letter and sorry that there are  
             people in our beloved Presbyterian Church who are so critical of  
             fellow Bible believing Christians and take a position so full  
             of judgment and condemnation. To take the position you espouse  
             tramples on the rights and beliefs of others, as if these persons  
             didn't matter. This causes me great pain. 
              
             I am a retired Presbyterian minister, having been ordained in  
             1956. I grew up in the church and felt the call to ministry. I am  
             a graduate of Princeton University and Union Seminary here in New  
             York. I have served three congregations in the New York area, the  
             last parish for 27 years. I was elected "Pastor Emeritus" of the  
             Riverdale Presbyterian Church here in the Bronx upon retirement.  
             I have been moderator of the Presbytery of New York City, and  
             national President of the Presbyterian Health, Education 
             and Welfare Association in the late 1970s. I have been on  
             ecumenical boards and am now President of one of the Divisions  
             of the United Nations Association.  In the course of time, with  
             little help from the hostile atmosphere in our denomination, I  
             declared that I am gay. I have known it subconsciously since  
             childhood and only felt comfortable as a clergy person stating my  
             orientation and who I am in my later years. The internal self- 
             revelation has been a liberating force and I now feel more in  
             tune with God, experiencing God's overwhelming grace through my  
             Savior, Jesus Christ. My friendships have deepened and I have  
             felt closer to other people. 
              
             I am now active in "That All May Freely Serve" founded by the  
             Rev. Janie Spahr and "More Light Presbyterians." I realize that  
             we will not truly be the Body of Christ until all are included.  
             Repentance is totally foreign to me in these matters.  
             Thanksgiving to God is the all-encompassing emotion I now share  
             with everyone. I offer prayers for those who are unable to  
             recognize Christ's love for all, including those who would deny  
             full service in the church for being open about who they are and  
             who they have been since birth. 
              
             I am fully convinced that eventually our church will recognize  
             that inclusion for all is the true manifestation of the Body of  
             Christ. In the meantime, it absolutely amazes that there are  
             groups in our church who feel they have the answer and are  
             speaking for God, rather than allowing Christ's Spirit to work  
             miracles among us and bring us together. Self-righteousness about  
             other's deeply embedded faith and holding a position that  
             curtails Christ's spirit are truly detrimental for the reign of  
             Christ in our world. I have great compassion for those who feel  
             they must be critical of other believers, and feel they have the  
             right to speak for God, which, of course, they don't, for it only  
             diminishes the impact of the Gospel. God ALONE is the judge. I'll  
             take my chances on that one. I pray for you each day. 
              
             Yours in Christ, (Rev.) David D. Cockcroft 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                            A Presbyterian in a Gay Bath House 
              
             *I have been reading a lot of trash ... on this same-sex union  
             debate.  People need to hear another perspective.  I wrote this  
             to help people hear that other side and to share my story.   
             However, for obvious reasons, I DO NOT want my name attached to  
             this.* 
              
              I was sitting in the steam room of a gay bath house when a weird  
             thought crossed my mind, "You know, I'm a Presbyterian!" And then  
             I was overcome by dread! 
              
             Most good Presbyterians have probably never experienced a gay  
             bath house.  It's a place where hundreds of gay men  
             assemble to wander around dark halls and rooms and a steam room  
             wearing nothing but towels seeking sex.  There is an atmosphere  
             of pure sexuality, but it also has an atmosphere of acceptance.   
             Everyone is equal wrapped only in a towel and seeking nothing but  
             sex.  Of course, the gym-toned bodies get a lot more attention,  
             but everyone is welcomed in this temple with its ritual of gay  
             sexuality. 
              
             I spent a lot of time in gay bath houses in my younger days  
             because it was one of the few places in my life where I could be  
             completely myself, comfortable in my sexuality in the way I  
             wanted to be without the incredible burden of rejection and guilt  
             imposed on me by my society, my family, and my church.  But my  
             partners had to be anonymous, and it had to be a secret,  
             completely disconnected from everything else in my life. 
              
             That's why I felt such dread sitting in that gay bath house  
             steam room when I realized that I was a Presbyterian.  It  
             didn't fit!  Why was this place of promiscuous sex the only  
             place that I could be accepted for who I really was?  Why was my  
             Presbyterian church the LAST place I could truly reveal myself? 
              
             But a few years ago, a miracle occurred in my life.   I found a  
             Presbyterian church that would accept me as a gay man without any  
             requirements that I become a heterosexual to fit in.  And in  
             that community, I met my soul mate and life partner, and we  
             eventually had our relationship blessed in that Presbyterian  
             community.  I found a way to unite the Presbyterian in me with  
             the gay man God made me to be.  That was indeed a miracle for  
             which I pray in joyous thanksgiving every day of my life! 
              
             Now, however, some good folks from the General Assembly are  
             saying that my church's blessing of my relationship was  
             wrong.  They want to forbid the possibility that this miracle  
             could ever occur in anyone else's life, and, I guess, to  
             deny that it happened in mine.  What am I supposed to do if my  
             church now cannot bless God's miracle of my loving, life- 
             giving relationship and the wholeness I've found sharing  
             that in church? 
              
             I guess I can go back to the bath house where I know I'll  
             be welcomed. If the Presbyterian Church decides to reject me and  
             my loving, covenantal life partner, we seem to have no other  
             option than the steam room at the gay bath house. 
              
             And that is truly a shame! -- A lifelong gay Presbyterian  
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             BOOKS 
              
             Geoff Puterbaugh's *The Crucifixion of Hyacinth: Jews,  
             Christians and Homosexuals from Classical Greece to Late  
             Antiquity.* (Preface by Wayne R. Dynes. San Jose: Authors Choice  
             Press, c2000. xvii, 177 p. ISBN 0-595-13057-7). Reviewed by Bob  
             Patenaude.  Reprinted, with thanks and permission, from the  
             *Lazarus Rising*, April 2001, the newsletter of the Lazarus  
             Project, West Hollywood Presbyterian Church. 
              
             Paper showered out when I took down my copy of the late John  
             Boswell's *Christianity, Social Tolerance and Homosexuality* in  
             preparation for this review.  I was reminded of the sensation  
             that book caused some 20 years ago: notes from a local study of  
             the book led by Don Hargis, an inscription to me from Boswell  
             when he came to town to give a series of Lazarus Project lectures  
             on ancient history.  Boswell changed the way lesbian and gay  
             Christians and their supporters (and a few non-supporters) viewed  
             the history of gay people in the church: perhaps gay people had  
             not always suffered so badly at the hands of the church.  What I  
             realized in reading Geoff Puterbaugh's "The Crucifixion of  
             Hyacinth" was that Boswell's popularity spawned a dissent among a  
             cadre of secular gay academics which persists to this day. 
              
             Plainly put, Puterbaugh feels that Boswell let the church off  
             far too lightly, even suggesting that Boswell, a Roman Catholic  
             convert, might have let faith color his views.  In a spare,  
             vigorous and often subtly funny presentation, Puterbaugh lays out  
             a case that places the rise of homophobia squarely at the feet of  
             the early Christian church patriarchs and of their Jewish  
             predecessors.  In 25 short chapters he first surveys the literary  
             and legal evidence of tolerance in the pagan worlds of Greece and  
             Rome, then turns to the roots of homophobia in Jewish history,  
             and then displays the antigay attitudes adopted by Hellenized  
             Jews and Christians of Alexandria and by the newly enfranchised  
             Christians in the waning years of Rome. 
              
             Boswell mentioned Greece only tangentially, but Puterbaugh  
             rightly sees Greece as a foundation stone of Western  
             civilization.  And in Greece he sees pederasty set deep into the  
             culture -- as disturbing as that fact is to us.  Later, Christians  
             were so enamored of Plato, in particular, that they  
             misrepresented his views, and even held (wrongly) that gay  
             citizens were discriminated against in Athenian society.  Rome  
             was a very different place, less idealistic, focused on power,  
             addicted to cruelty, yet there the outcome was much the same: a  
             centuries-long tolerance of gay life (but manifested as  
             "androphilia," the love of mature men.)  Here Boswell and  
             Puterbaugh tend to agree.  Earlier historians have had to grasp  
             at straws (e.g., a condemnation of the notoriously homosexual  
             emperor Elagabalus after his assassination) to find any strong  
             antigay bias in Roman life before the Christian emperor  
             Constantine. 
              
             "You shall not lie with a man as with a woman: that is an  
             abomination" (Lev. 18:22, NEB).  So Puterbaugh begins his  
             investigation of the Mosaic tradition.  "If there is a root of  
             violent sexual intolerance in the western world, we are looking  
             right at it," he writes.  "God hates homosexuals and wants you to  
             kill them."  He barely avoids a rant at this  
             point by locating a possible source of this bias: The Persians  
             who liberated the Jews from their captivity in Babylon were  
             virulently homophobic, and he believes that the Jews, in their  
             gratitude, adopted this prejudice.  He claims that the absurd  
             parts of Leviticus were always discarded by Christians, but that  
             the sexual code was kept intact, despite the Council of  
             Jerusalem's excusing Christians from such constraints. 
              
             Greeks conquered Palestine before the Romans did.  They placed  
             idols on the altar of the Temple of Jerusalem and forced Jews to  
             eat pork.  "The Jews loathed their new religion and they loathed  
             the Greeks ....  One gymnasium (where one trains in the nude)  
             would be the cause of a twenty-five year war between the two  
             cultures ....  It is not far off the mark to say that the two main  
             contributors to western thought missed each other entirely on  
             their first meeting: ships passed in the night." 
              
             The time of Jesus is addressed next.  Philo was a contemporary of  
             Paul living in the Greek metropolis of Alexandria and, like Paul,  
             a Hellenized Jew.  Philo launches into a tirade against "the  
             disease of effeminacy" he sees (but the author cannot see) in  
             Plato's Symposium.  Puterbaugh spends scant time with Jesus,  
             arguing that Jesus had "surprisingly little influence on the  
             development of Christian theology and doctrine."  Paul is given  
             similarly short shrift, probably because Paul is very familiar  
             ground indeed. 
              
             Things begin to fall apart.  In Alexandria a century later, the  
             influential but "unreliable and chaotic" author Clement makes a  
             fool of himself in trying to reconcile Greek and Christian  
             thought, wildly misquoting Moses ("Thou shall not fornicate, not  
             commit adultery, nor corrupt boys.")  His hubris was so great  
             that he was that rare saint to later lose his sainthood, yet "the  
             sexual policy of the modern Catholic church is indistinguishable  
             from the policy of 'the gentle Clement'" 
              
             In what is the most compelling part of the book, Puterbaugh  
             examines the often unexamined 4th-century Rome.  In 303-304 the  
             emperor Diocletian unleashed "the most violent persecution the  
             Christians had ever known." Fanaticism begat fanaticism.  A few  
             years later, the emperor Constantine established Christianity in  
             place of old religion and saw "the sexual code of the Christian  
             church written into the books of Roman law."  By 326 marriage  
             laws had become archly sex-negative, and by 342 Constantine's  
             sons had provided for shocking "exquisite penalties" -- "the  
             first law against homosexual behavior seen in the Mediterranean  
             world outside of Palestine."  By 390 "Roman people witnessed,  
             with horror, the public burning of male prostitutes."  Christians  
             also destroyed the Greek center of learning in Alexandria at  
             about this time. 
              
             We modern Christians may find it difficult to contemplate both  
             the persecution of gays and the loss of civilization at the hands  
             of early Christians.  Boswell was able, by extending his study  
             into the High Middle Ages, to see the restoration of  
             civilization, and coincidentally, of gay life to Europe.   
             Puterbaugh's book is an important companion and counterweight to  
             Boswell's.  There is room for both. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             *Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti- 
             Gay Murder*, by Beth Loffreda (Columbia University Press; 2000.  
             189 p.)  Reviewed by Craig Machado. 
              
             Beth Loffreda, a new member of the English department at the  
             University of Wyoming in Laramie, suddenly found herself in the  
             maelstrom of events surrounding the murder of gay college student  
             Matthew Shepard. Even though she had never met Shepard, as  
             faculty advisor to the LGBT group on campus, she soon got to know  
             a lot of people who knew Matt and were not only grief-stricken at  
             what had happened but scared and angry as well. They feared for  
             their own lives and were convinced that hate crimes bias laws  
             were needed, despite the popular folklore about Wyoming being a  
             quietly tolerant place to live. 
              
             Matt Shepard soon became an icon in the press: pictures of the  
             fence to which he was tied and beaten to death appeared in all  
             the national news magazines along with photos of the aggrieved,  
             tearful parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard; Congress and the  
             Whitehouse weighed in about the tragedy (but the former could not  
             pass a hate crimes bill including sexual orientation); gay and  
             lesbian rights organizations expressed outrage and sent staffers  
             to Laramie; Fred Phelps and his rag-tag band of gay haters  
             arrived for the trials of Henderson and McKinney to remind the  
             nation that queers deserve what they get; guest celebrities such  
             as Elton John and Peter, Paul and Mary flew in for "quickie"  
             fundraisers. In short, the murder became a flash point in  
             American culture, exposing once again the volatile cross currents  
             of sexual orientation, social class, intolerance, media hype,  
             religious bigotry and elected officials blandly intoning "all  
             crime is hate crime." 
              
             Ms. Loffreda does an admirable job of taking the reader back  
             through the events surrounding Shepard's murder; the book is not,  
             thankfully, an academic treatise, but rather a series of  
             thoughtful reflections based on the author's extensive interviews  
             with various people from Laramie including Matt's friends and  
             fellow students, local LGBT activists, the police who  
             investigated the crime and community members who tried to get the  
             Laramie city council to pass a meaningful hate crimes bill.  
              
             Rob Debree, in particular, the chief investigating officer for  
             the case, is portrayed as a kind, reflective man, someone who  
             freely admitted to his own homophobia and unexamined prejudices.  
             As the grim details of Matt's death pile up, DeBree awakens not  
             only to the horror of what was done to Matt, but also to the  
             reality of everyday discrimination LGBT people face. His  
             conversion into a staunch supporter of hate crimes legislation  
             (he would travel to Washington to testify for anti-bias laws) is  
             a poignant reminder in a small and very personal way (why  
             "personing" the LGBT issue can be so effective and humanizing) of  
             what happens to ordinary citizens who open their hearts and  
             minds-especially when tragedy forces an unexpected examination of  
             conscience. 
              
             In the end, one of the most valuable lessons that Loffreda gleams  
             from the Shepard tragedy as the city of Laramie tries multiple  
             times to pass a hate crimes bill (a watered down version  
             eventually passed) is that "you get political power by acting  
             like you have it." The real work, when the trials are done, the  
             cameras packed up, the protesters and sympathizers dispersed,  
             must now begin: how to change people's thinking on LGBT issues by  
             believing that you already have the power to do so and acting on  
             it every day. 
              
             The parallel between the citizens of Laramie and folks working  
             for change in the Presbyterian church (and other denominations)  
             couldn't be clearer. You stay and fight, you challenge, you build  
             supportive organizations, you move forward, acting on a vision of  
             justice and inclusiveness, knowing it will never be easy: 
              
             "If Matt bequeathed Laramie anything, he bequeathed us the  
             passion and necessity and freedom of dissent.  And as the town  
             continues to remember and forget, to speak the languages of  
             tolerance and admonition both, we should all of us hold that  
             inheritance close." 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                     Beloved Testament 
                                     by E.J. DiStefano 
              
             E.J., an associate member of MLP, has sent us a press release  
             about his new book.  Readers' comments can be found at  
             Amazon.com. -- JDA. 
              
                            Controversial Novel by Ex-Gay Basher 
                                 and Right Wing Politician 
              
             *Beloved Testament*, the controversial novel by E.J. DiStefano,  
             former GOP officeholder turned writer, social activist, and  
             gay/lesbian advocate, is now on bookshelves. The unpublished  
             manuscript obtained underground exposure, and was subsequently  
             protested by many conservative and religious groups. Due to the  
             controversy, publishing companies refused to take on the project.  
             Despite the uproar, however, *Beloved Testament* has garnered  
             numerous endorsements. In a recent review, Jim Anderson of *More  
             Light Update* wrote, "I hope you enjoy reading it ... I sure did!",  
             and William Carey, editor of *The Apostolic Voice* describes  
             *Beloved Testament* as "a wonderful story."  John Vondouris of  
             *Faith and Understanding* describes it as "a refreshing  
             perspective." 
              
             With *Beloved Testament*, DiStefano offers a daring interpretation  
             of the Gospels. "My objective with this novel is to promote the  
             belief that our homosexual brothers and sisters are entitled to  
             pursue an unfettered personal relationship with their God on  
             their own terms, as we all are" the author says, "regardless of  
             the misguided rhetoric put forth by the mainstream religious  
             community. I further hope to inspire readers to listen to the  
             dictates of their own hearts in matters of religious faith and  
             sexuality." 
              
             *Beloved Testament* can be purchased in paperback or eBook form,  
             and is available on Ingram Books distribution sites, such as  
             Amazon.com, and bn.com (Barnes&Noble). It can also be purchased  
             directly through 1st Books Library for the wholesale price at  
             www.1stBooks.com. 
              
             E.J. DiStefano is a former conservative politician and GOP  
             officeholder. He was a member of the Republican National  
             Committee, and was named The Republican Party's Young Republican  
             of the Year in 1993. In 1994, a family tragedy compelled  
             DiStefano to re-evaluate his personal and political beliefs. He  
             has since committed his life to writing, social activism, and  
             gay/lesbian advocacy.  DiStefano has had numerous writings  
             published on the topics of homosexuality and religion, including  
             his acclaimed essays, "Confessions of a Convert" and "Manifesto  
             to the Pharisees," which have been featured in *Whosoever*  
             magazine. In 1996, DiStefano won the Editor's Choice Award for  
             his piece entitled, "The Cross."  In 1997, while an ordained  
             Deacon in the Presbyterian Church, DiStefano converted to  
             Catholicism. He soon after began his studies as a Christian  
             Brother in the Catholic Church. During this time, DiStefano wrote  
             a series of letters to the Vatican protesting the Catholic  
             Church's position on homosexuality, and  subsequently left the  
             Order. In April 2000, DiStefano, now an ordained minister,  
             founded the Friends Of Saint Dismus Foundation. DiStefano is  
             available for interviews and group events. To schedule an  
             interview or event, please contact E.J. DiStefano directly by  
             email at ejauthor@aol.com, by phone at (302) 577-6445, ext. 14,  
             or by mail at P.O. Box 646, Hockessin, DE 19707-0646. If you wish  
             to obtain a review copy of Beloved Testament (order #:  
             8882807715), please call the 1st Books Promotions Dept. (above  
             telephone number). 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                        Called OUT! 
                                 Goes to a Second Printing 
              
             **Chi Rho Press reports:** We have received from our printer our  
             second printing of the very popular book, *Called OUT! The Voices  
             and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered  
             Presbyterians.* Compiled and edited by the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr,  
             Kathryn Poethig, Selisse Berry, and Melinda McLain, *Called OUT*  
             was our first anthology and contains essays by thirty-nine LGBT  
             people who are members (or former members) of the Presbyterian  
             Church. 
              
             It is divided into six sections, "The OUT-Stretched Hand of God,"  
             "OUT of Order," "OUT and Organizing," "OUT from the South," "The  
             Importance of Being OUT," and "OUT and Moved On." It also  
             contains a brief history of the movement for full inclusion of  
             LGBT people in the Presbyterian Church, a Brief Introduction to  
             "Presby-Speak," a Chronology by James D. Anderson, and a  
             Bibliography. 
              
             In addition to the editors, contributors include Lisa Bove,  
             Lawrence Reh, Rodger M. Wilson, Marvin Ellison, Daniel E. Smith,  
             Charlotte Sindt (writing about her late son David), Doug  
             Calderwood, Scott D. Anderson, Kathleen Buckley, Lisa Larges,  
             Chris Glaser, James D. Anderson, George Link, Dick Hasbany and  
             Craig Machado, Laurene Lafontaine, Howard B. Warren Jr., Winifred  
             Legerton, Will Smith, Jim Earhart, Georgeann Wilcoxson, Kathryn  
             Cartledge, Walter Jay Kleine Jr., Barbara Lynn Smith, Merrill  
             Proudfoot, Martha Juillerat and Tammy Lindahl, Charles Collins,  
             Lorna Shoemaker, Susan Leo, James Graves, Kathleen Morrison, Bill  
             Silver, Bet Hannon, Diana Vezmar-Bailey, and Sandy Brawders. 
              
             The second printing of *Called OUT* retails for $17.95 and can be  
             ordered from Chi Rho Press at Orders@ChiRhoPress.com, or by mail  
             to: P.O. Box 7864, Gaithersburg, MD 20898, 301-926-1208,  
             http://www.ChiRhoPress.com.  For the convenience of our friends  
             outside of the USA, we suggest ordering our books through  
             Amazon.com.  Our Canadian friends can order through our Canadian  
             distributor, MAP Enterprises, Mary Ann Pearson, Box 340, 54  
             Centre St., Odessa, ONT., Canada, K0H 2H0; e-mail:  
             mapenterprises@home.com; phone or fax: 1-613-386-5711; or toll  
             free (leave a message) 1-877-245-9569. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                 MORE LIGHT PRESBYTERIANS 
                              4737 County Road 101, PMB# 246 
                                 Minnetonka, MN 55345-2634 
                             732-249-1016, http://www.mlp.org 
              
             NATIONAL FIELD ORGANIZER, 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 
              
                                       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@excite.com 
              
             COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY: Donna Riley (2002-G), 318 East Capitol  
             St. N.E., #5, Washington, DC 20003, 202-547-7135,  
             dmriley@alumni.princeton.edu 
              
             RECORDING SECRETARY: Gene Huff (2002-I), 658  25th Ave., San  
             Francisco, CA 94121, 415-668-1145, genehuff@pacbell.net 
              
             TREASURER: John McNeese (2004-G), 1300 Brighton Ave, Oklahoma  
             City, OK 73120-1404, 405-848-7498, John3317@home.com 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                  MLP Board of Directors 
              
             Ralph Carter (2003-G), 111 Milburn St., Rochester, NY 14607-2918,  
             716-271-7649, rcarter@rpa.net, voicemail and faxes: 1-530-380- 
             9722.   
              
             Tony De La Rosa (2002-I), 4545 Bedilion St., Los Angeles, CA  
             90032-2001, 213-926-2787, tonydlr@ix.netcom.com 
              
             Marco Antonio Grimaldo (2003-I), 93 E. Main, #402, Newark, DE  
             19711, 202-607-7629, mgrimaldo@earthlink.net 
              
             Deborah Mullen (2004-I), 5050 South East End Ave. Apt 14C,  
             Chicago IL 60615, 727-947-6271 Mullen@McCormick.edu 
              
             Eunice Poethig (2003-I), 3606 Trail Ridge Rd., Louisville, KY  
             40241-6221, ebpoethig@unidial.com 
              
             Pat Rickey (2003-I) 13114 Holston Hills, Houston, TX  
             77069, 281-440-0353, 281-440-1902 fax, RickeyMLP@aol.com 
              
             Katie Ricks (2004-I), 212 Adair St. Apt. E-7, Decatur, GA 30030.  
             (404) 377-9531, auntkatier@hotmail.com 
              
             Bear Ride (2002-G), 1680 N. Holliston Ave., Pasadena, CA 91104,  
             626-398-9936, bears@usc.edu 
              
             Erin K. Swenson (2003-G) 1071 Delaware Ave. S.E., Atlanta, GA  
             30316-2469, 404-627-4825, ErinSwen@aol.com 
              
             Robin White (2002-I), 300  Birkwood Pl., Baltimore, MD 21218,  
             410-235-2429 home, 410-435-4330 work, RKayeWhite@aol.com 
              
             2002 NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Gene Huff, Ralph Carter, Bear  
             Ride, Brian Cave & Tammy Lindahl. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                   MLP National Liaisons 
              
             MORE LIGHT UPDATE, James D. Anderson, Editor, P.O. Box 38, New  
             Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038, 732-249-1016, 732-932-7501 (Rutgers  
             Univ.), FAX 732-932-6916 (Rutgers Univ.), JDA@scils.rutgers.edu 
              
             WEBSITE: Donna Riley, 318 East Capitol St. N.E., #5,  
             Washington, DC 20003, 202-547-7135, dmriley@alumni.princeton.edu 
              
             MLP DATABASE: Dick Lundy, 5525 Timber Ln., Excelsior, MN 55331,  
             952-470-0093, DLundy@Spacestar.net 
              
             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, M.Div., Ph.D., 369  
             Montezuma Ave., PMB #447, Santa Fe, NM 87501-2626, 505-820-7082,  
             fax 505-820-2540, MichaelAdee@aol.com 
              
             CHAPTER CONSULTANT: Gene Huff, 658  25th Ave., San Francisco, CA  
             94121, 415-668-1145, genehuff@pacbell.net 
              
             SEMINARY & CAMPUS GROUPS: Johanna Bos, Louisville Presbyterian  
             Theological Seminary, 1044 Alta Visa Rd., Louisville, KY 40205- 
             1798, jbos@lpts.edu 
              
             STRATEGY: Tricia Dykers Koenig, Covenant Network, 3967 Navahoe  
             Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44121, 216-658-1770, 216-658-0590  
             (fax), 216-381-0156 (home), triciadk@covenantnetwork.org 
              
             JUDICIAL ISSUES: Bear Ride, 1680 N. Holliston Ave., Pasadena, CA  
             91104, 626-398-9936, bears@usc.edu; Tony De La Rosa, 4545  
             Bedilion St., Los Angeles, CA 90032-2001, 213-926-2787,  
             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. 
              
             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. Kathleen Buckley, 2532 Rosendale Rd.,  
             Schenectady, NY 12309-1312, 518-382-5342; Skidmore College  
             chaplain 518-584-5000 ext 2271, email kbuckley@skidmore.edu;  
             Union College protestant chaplain, 518-388-6618,  
             buckleyk@gar.union.edu; 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, ClemsonBC74@aol.com 
              
             LATIN AMERICA: The Rev. Tom Hanks, Lavalle 376-2D, 1047 Buenos  
             Aires, Argentina, thanks@thanks.wamani.apc.org 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
             MLP PRESBYTERY LIAISONS 
              
             Arkansas: Greg Adams, 314 Steven, Little Rock AR 72205, 501-224- 
             4724, sgadams@Aristotle.net 
              
             Cascades: Janet Stang, 1244 Looking Glass Way, Central Point, OR  
             97502, 541-664-9189, stangp@transport.com 
              
             Charlotte: John Barry Mays, 1020 Arosa Ave. #5, Charlotte NC  
             28203, 704-358-8042, amayesd@worldnet.att.net 
              
             Cincinnati: Hal Porter, 4160 Paddock Rd., Cincinnati OH 45229,  
             513-861-5996, hgporter@hotmail.com 
              
             Denver: Laurene Lafontaine, 520 Grant St. #2, Denver CO 80209,  
             303-282-5573, lafden@uswest.net 
              
             Des Moines: Mike Smith, 1211 West St., Grinnell IA 50112, 641- 
             236-7955, michael.d.smith@pcusa.org 
              
             Detroit: John Lovegren & Dan Isenschmid, 269 McKinley Ave. Grosse  
             Pointe Farms MI 48236, 313-885-9047, pointetox@CompuServe.com 
              
             East Iowa: Robin and Rick Chambers, 907 Fifth Ave., Iowa City IA  
             52240, 319-354 2765, RChamb2912@aol.com 
              
             Heartland: Jeff Light, 4433 Campbell, Kansas City MO 64110, 816- 
             561-0555, jefflight@aol.com 
              
             Indian Nations: John McNeese, P. O. Box 54606, Oklahoma City OK  
             73120, 405-848-2819, John3317@home.com 
              
             Los Ranchos: Carolyn Ekstrand, 85 Tarocco, Irvine CA 92618, 949- 
             719-7286, burmese_cats@yahoo.com 
              
             Mid-Kentucky: Michael Purintun, 522 Belgravia Ct. Apt. 2,  
             Louisville KY 40208, 502-637-4734, michaelp@ctr.pcusa.org 
              
             Milwaukee: John Gregg, 3443 E. Waterford Ave., St. Francis WI  
             53235, 414-486-9939, jgregg@wi.rr.com 
              
             Missouri River Valley: Cleve Evans,3810 S. 13th St., #22, Omaha  
             NE 68107, 402-733-1360, cevans@scholars@bellevue.edu 
              
             National Capital: Jeanne MacKenzie, 725 3rd St. SW, Washington,  
             DC, 202-554-8281, jmackenzie@execware.com 
              
             New Hope: Jim Foster, 500 Meadow Run Dr., Chapel Hill NC 27514,  
             919-933-0498, j-efoster@mindspring.com 
              
             Newton: Laura Collins, 1 Wapalanne Rd., Branchville NJ 07826,  
             revlic@juno.com 
              
             New Brunswick: Jim Anderson, P. O. Box 38, New Brunswick NJ  
             08903, 732-249-1016, Jda@scils.rutgers.edu 
              
             New Castle: Patrick Evans, 91 E. Main St., #402, Newark, DE  
             19711, 302-266-9878, pevans@UDel.edu 
              
             New Covenant: Sara Jean Jackson, 4383 Fiesta Lane, Houston TX  
             77004, 713-748-4025, sjackson@netropolis.net 
              
             North Puget Sound: George Fuller, 5261 Dunbar St. Vancouver BC  
             V6N 1W1, Canada, 604-261-33417, loisf@interchange.ubc.ca 
              
             Northern Kansas: Tammy Rider, 3002 SW Randolph, Apt.A. Topeka KS  
             66611, 785-266-6695, TRider7140@aol.com 
              
             Northern New England: Ken Wolvington, 118 Shore Road, Burlington  
             VT 05401, 802-862-6605, kenwolv@prodigy.net 
              
             Pacific: Lisa Bove, 570 N. Irving Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90004,  
             323-465-5745, lbove@chla.usc.edu 
              
             San Gabriel: Charles R. Houdek, 1420 Santo Domingo Ave., Duarte  
             CA 91010, 626-303-5531, crh68@webtv.net 
              
             San Francisco: Gene Huff, 658 25th Ave. San Francisco CA 94121,  
             415-668-1145, genehuff@pacbell.net 
              
             San Jose: Marcia Ludwig, 6247 Shady Grove Dr., Cupertino CA  
             95014, 408-255-8467, church@fpcsj.org; Derrick Kikuchi, 29 Mar  
             Vista Ct., Daly City CA 94014-1414, 415-586-1416,  
             derrick@wkmn.com 
              
             Seattle:  Lindsay Thompson, 200 W. Mercer St. Suite 207, Seattle  
             WA 98119, 206-285-4130, tradelaw@thompson-law.com 
              
             Shenandoah: John E. Harris, 572 Atwood Drive, Gerrardstown WV  
             25420, 304-229-9227, john.harris1@ecunet.org 
              
             Southern Louisiana: Ellen Morgan, 2285 Cedardale, Baton Rouge LA  
             70808, 504-344-3930 
              
             Southern New England: Jack Hartwein-Sanchez, 149 Bramble Way,  
             Tiverton RI 02878, 401-624-6698, jackmlp@earthlink.net 
              
             Utica: Judith A. Westerhoff, 33 Mulberry St., Utica NY 13323,  
             315-853-6272, Br0adcloth@aol.com (first "o" is the number zero) 
              
             Western Kentucky: Michael Erwin, 426 St. Ann St., Owensboro KY  
             42303, 270-683-6836, pastor@centralpchurch.org 
              
             Winnebago: Dick Winslow, 111 E. Water St. #100, Appleton WI  
             54911, 414-731-0892, rwinslow@athenet.net 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                                       MLP Chapters 
              
             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. 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                               Seminary and Campus Chapters 
              
             LIAISON: Johanna Bos, Louisville Presbyterian Theological  
             Seminary, 1044 Alta Visa Rd., Louisville, KY 40205-1798,  
             jbos@lpts.edu 
              
             CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: Heyward / Boswell Society. Marilyn  
             Nash, 5757  South University Ave.,  Chicago, IL 60637,  
             mnash100@aol.com 
              
             COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: Imago Dei, Andrew Foster Connors,  
             404-377-2205, connors@mindspring.com; Katie Ricks, 404/377-9531,  
             AuntKatieR@hotmail.com, Columbia Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 520,  
             Decatur, GA  30031. 
              
             LOUISVILLE PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: Student Chapter.  
             Johanna Bos, 1044 Alta Vista Dr., Louisville, KY 40205, 502-8985- 
             3411, jbos@lpts.edu 
              
             McCORMICK THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: Acts 10:15, McCormick Theological  
             Seminary, Tanya Denley, 1047 E. Hyde Park Blvd., Basement,  
             Chicago, IL 60615, tdenley@juno.com; James Hicks, 1519 W.  
             Rosemont Ave. #2W, Chicago, IL 60660, 773-338-5278,  
             booyim@21stcentury.net 
              
             PRINCETON: BGLASS, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight  
             Seminarians, c/o Christine Gannon, SBN 430, Princeton Theological  
             Seminary, Box 5204, Princeton, NJ 08543, 609-497-9024,  
             CGannon104@aol.com. 
              
             SAN FRANCISCO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: SFTS More Light  
             Presbyterians.  Shelly Holle, 2 Kensington Rd., San Anselmo, CA  
             94960, 415-482-0283, SHolle@sfts.edu; Mary Davis, 563 St. Mary  
             Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95409, 707-537-1133, mrydavis@aol.com; Pam  
             Lupfer, 25 Richmond Rd., #303, San Anselmo, CA 94960, 415-457- 
             7906, loopslair@aol.com; Tim Shipe, timothyshipe@hotmail. 
              
             UNION-PSCE: Whosoever More Light Chapter, Union-PSCE, c/o Jason  
             B. Crawford, 3401 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227,  
             whosoeverunion_psce@yahoo.com. 
              
             MACPROTESTANTS AT MACALESTER COLLEGE: Macprotestants, Lucy  
             Forster-Smith, Chaplain, 1600 
             Grand Ave., St. Paul, MN 55105, 651-696-6298 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                              Presbytery & Regional Chapters 
              
                         Persons listed are moderators or contact 
                                 persons for each chapter. 
              
             BOSTON AND NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND: Ken Wolvington, 118 Shore Rd.,  
             Burlington, VT 05401-2658, 802-862-6605, ken.wolvington@pcusa.org 
              
             SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND: Jack Hartwein-Sanchez, 149 Bramble Way,  
             Tiverton, RI 02878, 401-624-6698. 
              
             NEW JERSEY: James D. Anderson, P.O. Box 38, New Brunswick, NJ  
             08903-0038, 732-249-1016, JDA@scils.rutgers.edu 
              
             MONMOUTH (NEW JERSEY): Linda Rogers, Toms River, NJ, 732-473- 
             9155, mail via More Light Presbyterians, P.O. Box 38, New  
             Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038. 
              
             GENESEE VALLEY: Kay Wroblewski, 74 Freemont Rd., Rochester, NY  
             14612, 716-663-6632; Ralph Carter, 111 Millburn St., Rochester,  
             NY 14607-2918, 716-271-7649, rcarter@rpa.net 
              
             NEW CASTLE PRESBYTERY (Delaware): Patrick Evans, 91 E. Main St.,  
             #402, Newark, DE 19711, 302-266-9878, pevans@UDel.edu 
              
             PITTSBURGH: Robert J. Boston, Moderator, P. O. Box 15784,  
             Pittsburgh, PA  15244, 412-795-0828. 
              
             LAKE ERIE: Robin Cuneo, P.O. Box 201, Findley Lake, NY 14736, 716- 
             769-7394, cuneo@cecomet.net; Rev. Evon Lloyd McJunkin, 1721 W.  
             31st St., Erie, PA 16508, 814-864-1920, evon@erie.net; Rev. Kate  
             Irish Filer, 2816 Elmwood Ave., Erie, PA 16508, 814-676-4739,  
             KIF1@juno.com 
              
             DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: "Open Doors," Dana vanBever, 3500 Russell  
             Road, Alexandria, VA 22305, 703-683-2644, jdvangreen@aol.com;  
             Jeanne MacKenzie, 725 3rd St., SW, Washington, DC 202-554-8281,  
             jmackenzie@execware.com 
              
             EASTERN VIRGINIA: Carol Bayma, 4937 Olive Grove Ln. Virginia  
             Beach, VA 23455-5218, 757-497-6584, Carol and Alice@gateway.net 
              
             TRIANGLE (NORTH CAROLINA): James R. Foster, 500 Meadow Run Dr.,  
             Chapel Hill, NC 27514-8022, 919-933-0498, j-efoster@mindspring.com;  
             Jack Cover, Chairperson, 919-933-0498. 
              
             CHARLOTTE: John Barry Mayes, 1020 Arosa Ave. #5, Charlotte, NC  
             28203 704-358-8042; Gwen and Cullen Ferguson, Chapter  
             Coordinators, www.gaycharlotte.com/morelight, mlpcharlotte- 
             owner@yahoogroups.com, amayesd@worldnet.att.net 
              
             NORTHERN OHIO: George Smith, 13349 Spruce Run Dr., Apt. 103,  
             North Royalton, OH  44133, 440-230-1301,  
             GeoEMSmith@aol.com; Carole R. Minor, 339 St. Leger Ave. Akron, OH   
             44305. 
              
             CENTRAL INDIANA: Howard Warren, Jr. 2807 Somerset Bay,  
             Indianapolis, IN 46240, 317-253-2377. 
              
             DETROIT / SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN: John Lovegren & Dan Isenschmid,  
             269 McKinley Ave, Grosse Pointe Farms,MI, 48236, 313-885-9047,  
             pointetox@cs.com 
              
             LAKE MICHIGAN PRESBYTERY: Rev. Janet Duggins, Westminster  
             Presbyterian Church, 1515 Helen Avenue, Portage, MI 49002 
               
             MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN: Dick Myers, 549 West Manor Circle, Bayside,  
             WI 53217- 1735; 414-228-7466, dmyers@execpc.com; John N. Gregg,  
             3443 E. Waterford Ave., St. Francis, WI 53235, 414-486-9939,  
             JGregg@aero.net 
              
             CENTRAL ARKANSAS: Greg Adams, 314 Steven, Little Rock, AR 72205,  
             501-224-4724, sgadams@Aristotle.net 
              
             LOUISIANA: Ellen Morgan, 2285 Cedardale, Baton Rouge, LA 70808,  
             504-344-3930. 
              
             OKLAHOMA: John McNeese, 1300 Brighton Ave, Oklahoma City, OK  
             73120-1404, 405-848-7498, John3317@home.com 
              
             GREATER HOUSTON: Lynn Johnson, 1625 Harold, Houston, TX 77006,  
             713-523-5222, tilj1@aol.com; Sara Jean Jackson, 4383 Fiest Lane,  
             Houston, TX 77004, 713-748-4025, sjackson@netropolis.net; Pat and  
             Gail Rickey, 13114 Holston Hills, Houston, TX 77069, 281-440- 
             0353, RickeyMLP@aol.com 
              
             GRACE PRESBYTERY (Dallas / Fort Worth, TX): Jean Martin, 1220  
             Brookside Dr., Hurst,TX 76053, 817-282-7449. 
              
             GRAND CANYON: Kimberly Murman, 303 E. Patrician Drive, Tempe, AZ  
             85282, 480-967-2767 kmurman@worldnet.att.net ; Rosemarie Wallace,  
             710 West Los Lagos Vista, Mesa AZ 85210, forster@asu.edu 
              
             NORTHERN NEW MEXICO (Santa Fe Presbytery): Jeanne and David  
             McGown, 2751 Via Caballero Del Sur, Santa Fe, NM 87505, 505-471- 
             7371. 
               
             LOS RANCHOS (ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA): Linda A. Malcor, P.O.  
             Box 749, Laguna Beach, CA  92652, 949-425-9979,  
             Legend@malcor.com. Our meetings are usually on the 2nd Saturday  
             of each month.  Check our webiste at  
             http://DRAGONLORDS.dragonfire.net/mlpoc.htm for details! 
              
             * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 
              
                            MASTHEAD (Publication Information) 
              
             MORE LIGHT UPDATE, Volume 21, Number 6, July-August 2001.   
             ISSN 0889-3985.  Published bimonthly 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, 732-932-7501 (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 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: 6 weeks prior to issue months.  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:  
             $18.00. 
              
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             corrected version 6-2-01