Reconciling Ministries Network

Impartial, Compassionate God of All Lives

2009-11-08T05:00:00-06:00

Adrienne Trevathan

Tune: St. Denio (same as "Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise")

Impartial, compassionate God of all lives,
In Christ you have shown us your love actualized,
Incarnate and weak in the arms of the poor,
Destroying all systems that keep closed the door.

Unholy, unjustified fear we incite,
When we shun our neighbors yet cling to our rights.
Your children still wander the streets left in pain,
We pass laws against them to prove our disdain.

Creator of beauty, we stand not in pride,
We do not assume you will stay on our side.
For yours is the sacred, untarnished by sin,
A refuge for outcasts that all may come in.

Our hope is your freedom for both great and small,
To strive for perfection and know all means all.
We challenge and question each law without grace,
Affirming the image of Christ on each face.

All honor we give you, O help us to see,
Your children are worthy to claim victory.
And so let our actions flow out of our praise,
To seek transformation, your kindom to raise.

The Cause of so much Pain...

2009-11-06T05:00:00-06:00

By Joey Heath

This is a part of a conversation I have been having with friend who happens to believe that homosexuality is against God's will. After I wrote it to him I felt like it was something worth sharing with other cause I realized I had just poured my heart out to him. I would also like to note that out of respect for him these are only my words and nothing he has said.

For me I am simply told to be celibate and alone because I know I will never be attracted to women. I'm told because of that fact, I must turn my sexuality off. That is why I see it as so different. You are not being told to turn your sexuality off just channel it to a proper place. There is no option like that for me. I tried to turn it off and many people I know have as well, spending years trying to do just that only to meet with defeat. It cant be that they didn't try hard enough or believe enough because I know people who have done some really crazy things, I'm talking extreme measures, in the name of turning it off. Do you know what the result was? For me it was that so much of my life became consumed with staying focused on not allowing my attraction that it took over. My focus was not on God anymore and I saw it happening but felt powerless to do anything because I felt to only other option to fighting my "sinful desires" was to let them roam free. All this led to was depression and separation from God. I was a mild case. I have heard of so much worse, things like people attempting to cut off their own genitals because they felt like that was the source. Where is God in this pain that is experienced by so many of God's children? Since when was being obedient to God so painful all you want to do is die because you don't feel like you have the strength to even lean on Christ? Why would God allow such suffering in God's people who are only trying to be obedient?

Those are questions that are tough to answer. Those questions are why I do what I do and why I want to be a minister, so that I can help easy the pain and suffering of others. God is love not pain and suffering. I didn't originally intend to write this much but I hope it helps you see why i am so passionate about this. It has never been about my own sexuality. I would give it up in a heartbeat if I felt that was God's will. For me it is about the pain and suffering I see that I know God has called me to ease, and use that to bring hope and joy back to the LGBTQ people of faith and those who have wandered from their faith.

Maine and a Personal Concern About Heterosexism

2009-11-05T08:54:44-06:00

By Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell

The Vote by a Majority of the Voters in Maine to prohibit Same Gender Marriage when "connected" to the 30 other states that have done something comparable, now means that 31 states have aligned themselves with the hetereosexist legislation of the United Methodist Church re; homosexuality and same gender couples.

A PERSONAL CONCERN ABOUT HETEROSEXISM

Whenever I encounter persons or institutions that in conversation or action, express attitudes of pre-judgment, prejudice, bias and bigotry toward homosexuality and homosexual persons, I wonder if I am in the presence also of unacknowledged and/or unresolved racism?

I do that because as an African American, I have experienced racism face-to-face and I know that despite the differences between the history and reality of racist and heterosexist words and actions, there are within each, threads of similarity.

But, there is a more personal reason. I realize that even though I have experienced racism first hand, that does not mean I have adequately dealt with the bits and pieces of racism within me. And, more importantly, I know that despite my years of activism to confront and conquer racism, I have not exorcised from my being, residuals of sexism, classism and anti-Semitism. The task of confronting the residuals of the above "isms" within ourselves and others, requires persistent and consistent prayer, reflection and action.

A perusal of our United Methodist Book of Discipline suggests that directly/indirectly we have addressed the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism, and classism, but despite our language of the "sacred worth" of all persons, (including homosexuals), our negative assessment of "the practice of homosexuality" and the punishment imposed upon those who acknowledge that they do, reveals our heterosexism.

The vote in Maine when linked with similar actions in other states, ought suggest that the United Methodist Church ought begin now to prayerfully plan and act to reform and transform our current heterosexist words and legislation. The United Methodist Church in the 21st century has an opportunity to say that no longer will our legislation give direction, aid and comfort to Americans who believe that a vote of the majority has the right to limit the rights of those who are numerical minorities. When we do that, we will offer a "gift" to the USA that will not be forgotten!

The "Music" of Noah's Curse May Be Over, but the "Melody" Lingers On

2009-11-04T09:44:18-06:00

Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell

One of the joys as well as challenges of "downsizing" as one attempts to settle into what will probably be his/her last home is to re-discover books that have been forgotten. "It" was in one of the boxes that had been set aside to be opened at a later date. When it was time to open that box, "It" peered out at me. "It" was NOAH'S CURSE, The Biblical Justification of American Slavery, Stephen R. Haynes, Oxford University Press, 2002.

Of course, finding the book prompted me to revisit those words in Genesis 9:24-27 that served as the Biblical justification for slavery and racial segregation: "When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him (Telling his brothers of Noah's nakedness) he said, 'Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.' He also said, 'Blessed by the Lord my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave. May God make space for Japheth, and let him live in the tents of Shem: and let Canaan be his slave.'"

Stephen R. Haynes in the Preface utilizes the thoughts in Ham and Japheth in America; The Mythic World of Whites in the Antebellum South, by Thomas V. Peterson to write; "Peterson defines myths as shared cultural symbols that uphold a social order. According to this definition, the story of Noah and his sons functioned mythically in the Old South inasmuch as the characters and actions it narrated symbolized Southern cultural beliefs, institutions and attitudes, successfully bringing together whites' racial stereotypes, political theories, religious beliefs and economic realities."

I suggest the melody of Noah's Curse has lingered because we have seen how First Timothy 2: 11,12 was and still is being used by some to deny ordination to women. And, Romans 1: 26, 27 is used by the United Methodist Church to say in our Book of Discipline, "The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching." (The Nurturing Community, 161 F, "Human Sexuality").

Who among us is able to explain how/why the use of the First Timothy passage to once deny women ordination in the Methodist Church and Romans 1 to deny ordination to same gender loving persons who affirm their relationship/commitment, does what "Noah's Curse" did to justify slavery and racial segregation?

And, how and for whom does Romans 1 symbolize, "cultural beliefs, institutions and attitudes that bring together (sexual) stereotypes, political theories, religious beliefs and economic realities"?

If we could determine who among us has the need to make of the Romans 1 passage a Pauline Curse" to deny same gender loving persons a place of equality in the UMC, we might "turn a corner" that we should have turned years ago. Our failure to learn from our history of mis-use of Biblical passages is being passed on from generation to generation.

Why do I care so much? I care because having known mistreatment by the Church because of my race, I have been impatient with the mistreatment my Church has imposed on persons because of their gender and/or their sexual orientation. And, I do not want our 5 year old grand daughter who attends a United Methodist Church every Sunday with her parents, to grow up in a denomination that seems to need some group to "curse", year after year after year.

Opposing Homophobia and Heterosexism Resolution (#2043, 2008 BOR)

2009-11-03T16:05:10-06:00

WHEREAS, homophobia is the discrimination of people perceived to be non-heterosexual, regardless of the victim’s actual sexual orientation or sexual identity; and,

WHEREAS, heterosexism is a self-justifying system of homophobia that:

1) perpetuates stereotypical categories of what is essentially “masculine” and what is essentially “feminine,”

2) provides a privileged status for people who identify as culturally defined heterosexuals, and

3) discriminates against persons who, regardless of their sexual orientation or sexual identity, do not appear to fit within the particular category defined as appropriate for their gender; and,

WHEREAS, actions rooted in homophobia and heterosexism, including violence, threats, ridicule, humiliation, discrimination, isolation, and rejection, is damaging to persons of all sexual orientations and identities,

WHEREAS, homophobia and heterosexism are manifestations of sexism in general in that they foster stereotypes based on arbitrary distinctions of gender categories,

WHEREAS, the United Methodist Church is committed to the eradication of sexism (#48, 2004 Book of Resolutions),

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The United Methodist Church strengthen its advocacy of the eradication of sexism by opposing all forms of violence or discrimination based on gender, gender identity, sexual practice or sexual orientation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Board of Church and Society provide resources and materials aimed at educating members of the local churches about the reality, issues, and effects of homophobia and heterosexism and the need for Christian witness against these facets of marginalization.

Adopted by the 2008 General Conference

This link takes you to the General Board of Church and Society Website and resources for combating homophobia and heterosexism. http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/c.frLJK2PKLqF/b.5473163/k.911A/Homophobia_and_Heterosexism.htm

Take a look and continue the struggle to make the world a better place for all people!

Fear

2009-10-30T18:48:40-05:00

By Egeria

Today I shared a meal with two UMC preachers who are trying to navigate riptides of fear within their congregations. They had disagreed with each other about voting for the "All Means All" amendment, and they both disagree with me about what I see as a positive roll for Reconciling United Methodists advocating for full inclusion of LGBTQ persons. Both have welcomed gay and lesbian couples and baptized their children; both hear from members who fear this will lead to lots of gay couples joining (Read that as "too many.") Our meal was a first effort to discuss our visions of local churches and the global UMC in a small, friendly, but disagreeing group.

What came up repeatedly was the fear that some congregants feel toward people who are different: immigrants, ex-offenders, LGBT, students, poor people, people of other races, people wearing rainbow stoles. Some members might acknowledge that churches must care for such people but say "I can't talk to them" or "I won't feel at home here if there are too many of them." These two pastors wanted to address the fears expressed by these members. At the same time, both pastors held a vision of the church as being for all people, with a message that is needed just as much by people who see themselves as the in crowd as by those who want to hear a clear welcome.

Now, this sort of fear can work in the other direction too. I have felt out of place in groups where everyone appeared to be considerably more prosperous than I am. I have been the only white woman at some black church services, where the other worshipers have been extremely gracious; but I have also heard from a black friend whom I first met in such a situation that she had felt suspicious toward me at first. At the RMN Convocation a non-Methodist gay activist asked his gay friends "What are all these straight people doing here?"

We have been told "Fear not." How do we do that?

A Memoir on the Day Hate Crime Legislation was Signed

2009-10-28T15:25:24-05:00

By Peter L. DeGroote

I am sitting in an office at Foundry United Methodist Church. Six blocks down the road, President Obama is signing legislation adding sexual orientation and gender identity to our hate crimes laws. It has been 30 years since passage of the original hate crimes law (1979) and 13 years since the last failed attempt at amendment. (This amendments includes protection based on gender and for those with disabilities and adds resources to help local governments investigate hate crimes.)

The original law came as part of the civil rights tide that washed over this country during the 60’s and 70’s. That was when we began to understand our oppression was also a denial of our civil rights.

People began to come out. The public reaction often seemed like a game of whack-a-mole. Whenever someone decided to live a more authentic life by being honest about his or her sexual identity there were many around ready to knock them back into silence and conformity. That included family and police. Law enforcement was an openly hostile institution just as capable of rendering violence as others.

I joined Foundry in 1980, a year after passage of the original hate crimes legislation. During the early years of that decade little footprints were painted on the sidewalks of the DuPont Circle neighborhood in which Foundry is located. They marked the spot where gay men had been physically attacked and, in a few cases, murdered.

The violence had a profound impact on the entire neighborhood. It is one reason Foundry is a Reconciling Congregation and why most of the nearby churches have an open and welcoming attitude toward LGBT folks. Being a witness to violence, or knowing someone who has been beaten or killed, or realizing that such an act occurred just down the street calls up human capacities of compassion as well as questions about what it is we mean by justice.

During this time some of us who were members of Foundry began a bible study program that, after several years, launched a congregational discussion that ultimately led to Foundry’s becoming a Reconciling Congregation. Later, as clergy I had the privilege of being appointed to Foundry for a couple of years, one of which included the 10-year anniversary of the passage of the Reconciling resolution.

By then discussions had gone much further. The language of gay/lesbian was gone. The initials had grown to LGBTI. The term sexual preference, suggesting that we make a choice in our affectional ties/attractions was finally abandoned. In its place was sexual orientation. Gender identity emerged as term describing personal characteristics that many of us had to learn about—and many of us are still learning.

Along with all of those developments was emergence of the clear understanding that those tools by which we were being oppressed had to do with civil rights. In addition to hate crimes protection, we seek rights to military service, protection from discrimination in housing and employment, and marriage equality.

Civil rights are the product of the civil society, os which the church is only a member. The UM Church, claims it is committed to upholding the civil rights of all people to include LGBT people. We’ll get the civil rights, then we’ll see what the church does.

Now, as a retired pastor, I am once more sitting here in the DuPont Circle neighborhood, in an office at Foundry, assisting in an interim way, only for a few weeks. On this fateful day I should celebrate but I feel strangely quiet. Maybe that will change tomorrow evening when we all go down the road just a little to Asbury United Methodist Church where DC clergy in support of the proposed marriage equality law in Washington have called us to join in Soulful Voices for Marriage Equality—a Faith Celebration.

The beat goes on!

Open Letter to Bishop Wandabula About Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

2009-10-26T10:59:27-05:00

Dear Bishop Wandabula,

Warm greetings in the name of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to you in view of the Ugandan Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009 that proposes death penalty for homosexuals. I am requesting for your voice and position on this matter. I know you are respectable and influential religious leader in Uganda. You are also doing a tremendous job for the expansion of the gospel of Christ not only in Uganda but the entire East Africa Annual Conference. I have heard some of your preaching about social justice, peace, non-discrimination and reconciliation. I wish these adjectives could also apply to wonderful LGBTI persons in your loving country, Uganda.

As the influential bishop of the East Africa annual conference you cannot look on and watch your own parliament of Uganda enact harsh laws against homosexuals who are also the children of God. I am begging you in the name of God to advise your government to stop this inhumane bill from becoming law.

This bill will make life unbearable for LGBTI persons in Uganda who are our brothers, sisters, friends and flock. You are aware God’s love does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of sexual orientation.

It would be interesting to know from your perspectives on the following questions;

Do you support the discrimination, segregation, stigmatization, repression and the killing of homosexuals as a solution to homosexuality in Uganda?
Do you support the Ugandan Anti-homosexuality Bill 2009 that proposes death penalty for homosexuals?
What is the position of East Africa Annual Conference on the Ugandan Anti-homosexuality bill 2009?
What do you propose for the LGBTI allies who “promote homosexuality” in Uganda and the larger East Africa Annual Conference (Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Southern Sudan)?

I wish you could influence other influential Christian leaders in Uganda using your central office about the negative implications of this bill.

Thank you for your possible timely intervention to help our suffering brothers and sisters in Uganda.

Peace and Justice,

Rev.John Makokha,
Other Sheep Country Coordinator-Kenya/Riruta UMC Minister

October 11, 2009: A Message for the Church

2009-10-19T10:51:37-05:00

By Peter L. DeGroote

I didn’t need Time magazine to know that the National March for Equality on September 11, 2009 was a youth movement.

Time estimated 200,000 participants. A veteran of earlier gay rights marches, my estimate was a little higher. I also estimated that 80% of the people were under age 35. Of that total, roughly 80% were under 30. Of that total, roughly 50% were under 25. Whatever the exact numbers, young people were in an overwhelming majority.

The March demonstrated once again how communications technology has altered the task of organizing for political and social causes. There was a time when the young had to work their way into the structures of the established leadership organizations before coming into their own. That is no longer true.

To Illustrate: Originally the national organizations representing LGBT folks were less than enthusiastic about the March only to come around as it gained momentum. Also, it was reported that the cost for the March was one-fifth of the cost of the last big national gay rights march and that does not count the additional savings realized as a result of not involving the staffs and mailing lists of the national organizations. Unlike earlier generations, these young folks did not need the existing organizations to control of their program, increase their influence, and finance their movement. Instead, they employed the Internet and many of its social networking tools.

The Message: The March for Equality on October 11, 2009 clearly demonstrated that those established institutions purporting to be leaders need to do some catching up if they are to be relevant to young folks.

This conclusion is not restricted to secular organizations. In most churches young people are already an overwhelming minority. Attitudes toward LGBT people differ as you go down the generations. Many straight young folks today have grown up with openly LGBT friends and are likely to say that “if you don’t want my friends you don’t want me.”

LGBT folks no longer stand alone and that influence has altered the agenda. The once rather timid call for inclusion has been transformed into a robust demand for the civil rights of all, including LGBT folks. The rights most demanded during the March were for service in the military, equal treatment under the law by way of hate crimes legislation, and same-sex marriage. (Interestingly, the Discipline of the UM Church does support the civil rights of all, including LGBT people.)

The competitive disadvantage faced by most churches for the interest of young people is represented by the photo below from the website www.FaithInAmerica.com. During the march there were some banners of support from religious groups. However, it was difficult to look anywhere without seeing the posters you can see below calling to End the Harm from Religious-based Bigotry and Prejudice.

The use of the word “faith” is significant. This March for Equality was framed as a call to live out our faith in the proposition that all people are created equal. That principle is in complete harmony with the teachings of Jesus. Who in their right minds would suggest that the church should not support that principle? Unfortunately, young people are hearing too many church folks willing to do just that.

The message for churches is the same: The March for Equality on October 11, 2009 clearly demonstrated that those established institutions purporting to be leaders need to do some catching up if they are to be relevant to young folks.

The "gay agenda"

2009-10-19T09:22:11-05:00

By Joey Heath

Since the march on DC I have been watching the coverage the weekend got. The hate-crimes bill is also set to pass Congress and so after ten years of struggle it will become law. I keep seeing a phrase pop up here and there around the conservatives view of the weekend. I keep hearing the word gay agenda. I know I have written on this before and so have many others. In some ways I feel like I'm beating a dead horse by saying “What gay agenda???” but here are my thoughts on the subject.

I have heard it said that the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) rights movement is not a civil rights movement and that is really just some “gay agenda” to get special rights. People claim that no one is oppressing LGBTQ people so this must not be about civil rights. I heard it recently said that no one is forcing LGBTQ people to sit at the back of the bus or to go to segregated schools. They are right in saying this. The oppression that LGBTQ people are facing is different from that of the 1960's civil rights movement but that does not make the LGBTQ oppression any less real. The truth is that LGBTQ oppression is alive and well and preventing countless numbers of individuals from living the dream that so many dream of as small children.

So here is the real gay agenda, the real reason we struggle for equal rights. Are you ready?

It's about not having to hide the fact that the person we go home to after a long day of work is a person of the same gender, hiding this because we fear losing our jobs by being fired or forced to resign. It is about having protection from losing that house we go home to simply because our landlord doesn't want to rent to LGBTQ people. It's about being able to start a family with kids that may not be biologically ours but we will provide the much needed love and care just as if they were. It's about not having to fear walking down the street with our loved ones for fear of personal injury. It's about being able to officially declare our love for one another and have it recognized in the same way our heterosexual counterparts are recognized for their love. It's about not having to watch every move we make in public life for fear of the backlash of people finding out about our private lives. It is about being able to serve and protect the country and values we hold dear. It is about being able to openly move through society as the people we really are. I guess you could say it is simply about being seen and treated as an equal.

So there you have it. That is the infamous “gay agenda”. Now that we all know what is going on, how are we going to move forward? Are we going to work for hope or hate? It's your choice. I choose hope and a world where no one needs to live in fear. Now it's your turn to choose.