From an MLP distribution list exchange.

At 10:20 AM 1/13/00 -0500, Someone wrote:
>
>I guess I wonder if we ought to ask ourselves if we will continue to watch
>people dribble away, or die while the church continues to blaspheme against
>us. Or will we begin to push for either special regional body
>(non-geographic presbytery) or a separate church.
>

Let me tell you the story of a little miracle that's been quietly taking place in an unlikely corner of the world.

At a time when most churches in our denomination are seeing an exodus, I happen to have landed in a church that is actually growing. We aren't quite sure why. The congregation is viewed as being hopelessly liberal in otherwise extremely conservative (and homophobic) Orange County, California. Yet we are seeing new members and baptisms in numbers that I've never seen in any Presbyterian church to which I've belonged. We have a strong youth program, a dynamic Health Ministries unit, an outspoken Peace and Justice Commission, a diligent environmental concerns group, a thriving older adult program and more. We suspect this growth as something to do with the facts that the congregation is extremely God-centered, serious about being inclusive, and actively picking up hard-working worshipers who don't like what they are hearing at other congregations in the region. (We have some members who are traveling almost an hour to get to us.)

This is the place where I landed, somewhat by serendipity, when I moved to Orange County from L.A.'s Westside last year. I was in total dread over the move. I was convinced that I had no chance of finding a congregation that would allow me to pursue my AIDS and gay rights activism. But I knew that Tony de la Rosa was a member of More Light, and I remembered him recommending St. Mark to my sister when she moved to this area several years before me. (My sister chose not to join St. Mark, preferring a non-denominational congregation.) Anyway, I searched for St. Mark on the Internet, found them, and point-blank asked the pastor what my reception would be within the congregation. I was welcomed with open arms. Stunned, I (and my immediate family) joined St. Mark as soon as I moved.

What has happened since has left me completely in awe of the power of God to work in our lives. There's an old adage about being in the right place at the right time . . . I joined in February. In March I was asked to be the liaison from More Light to Orange County and, with great trepidation, I accepted. I was still largely convinced that I was alone in my desire to act on my beliefs even though by this time I had meet a dozen or so other folks who clearly thought the same way as I did about the church's policy on homosexuality. In April I broached the idea of starting a More Light chapter, and he started to put me in touch with other members who might be supportive. I began talking extensively with our director of Health Ministries. At AIDS Walk OC in June the church had a tremendous turn out. Then in July we screened two of Janie Spahr's videos for a small group of interested parties. At the end of that meeting, we had enough people for a chapter Steering Group. The Steering Group started meeting and decided on a goal of a first meeting by November 13th. The St. Mark Session agreed to allow us to distribute information at the church and to have meeting space on the church campus. The National MLP list provided the names of subscribers (pretty much from Palmdale to the southern border of the state, so we had to do a bit of winnowing ), and we wound up with a mailing list of 38 names. We identified and contacted roughly a dozen allied organizations.

On November 13th we held our first meeting, as planned, and had twenty-four people in attendance, more than double what local PFLAG groups see when they start up. Since then, we have expanded chapter members to about thirty, allied organizations to almost 25, additional mailing list people to about another thirty, and identified forty publications and local institutions to be notified of events. Not bad for something that started with one person almost a year ago in an area that I really did not believe something like a More Light Chapter would ever get off the ground. Truly, God's hand must be working in all of this. I kept expecting road blocks that still haven't developed. We've enjoyed positive TV and newspaper coverage, as well as coverage in local glbt publications. I'm continually surprised at the number of people who come up to me and say that they are thrilled that something like our chapter is happening in Orange County. We're still braced for some sort of backlash, but there is no evidence of one materializing yet. St. Mark's pastor has even commented in surprise that all of the feedback he's received so far has been positive as well. Perhaps the proverbial second shoe will drop some day, but God will be standing by us then just as He is guiding us now.

I have a feeling as if we are riding the crest of a wave of people who are tired of remaining silent and who are being inspired by others who are finding the courage to stand up and speak out. Our young people, in particular, need to be shown that there is a place for them within the church, to be encouraged to stay and to stand up for what they believe in instead of going off to college and never coming back. We are having good success with an outreach to families with children in our chapter. We have child-friendly events as well as provide childcare during adult presentations. We also try to schedule our meetings at times when families can attend.

We concentrate on educational events, disseminating information, and supporting allied organizations. We have a lot of people who need to stay deeply in the closet because of the ordination issue in our Presbytery, and we do caution people at meetings that not everyone present is necessarily an ally. I do know of some people who stay away from our meetings precisely because of this issue. But the people who do show up are a good mix of gay and straight, young and not so young , singles and families, across the economic spectrum. I find that broad appeal to be very heartening, a sign that, as frustrating as our work might be, there really are a whole lot more folk out there who have simply been disapproving in silence and who are starting to find their voices as they realize that silence is not going to make this issue go away. The more people who stand up, the more people will stand up with us. As opponents realize that we are not going to go away, that we are instead growing, they will have to find a way to learn to live with us. Who knows? Perhaps someday they will change their minds as well. But, for now, working toward a goal of simply getting along strikes me as a far more Christian path than the path our church has been following, spiritually abusing members who do not happen to agree on a certain point of theology. At least in our little part of the wilderness, a swelling number of voices have started to concur.

So, take heart! Four years ago I, too, was terribly depressed and ready to leave. If I had, I'd never be sitting where I am now and doing what I thought could never be done. God works in mysterious ways and in His own time. But He can only make use of you if you are where He needs you when He needs you there, and right now He needs all of us in the Presbyterian Church (USA) !

Cheers,

Linda