Date: Fri, 31 Mar 95 13:17:19 EST From: "James D. Anderson" MORE LIGHT UPDATE November 1994 Volume 15, Number 4 Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns James D. Anderson, Communications Secretary P.O. 38 New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0038 908/249-1016, 908/932-7501 (Rutgers University) FAX 908/932-6916 (Rutgers University) Internet: janderson@zodiac.rutgers.edu Note: * is used to indicate italicized or boldface text. CONTENTS World AIDS Day -- Thursday, December 1, 1994 A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith -- The Council Call AIDS: Challenging the Church -- An Interfaith AIDS Teach-In A Service of Witness to the Resurrection Ministry at Its Best Our Chapters PLGC Parades in Cleveland Salt Lake City Launches *Vistas* A Survey of Chapters, by Rob Cummings Outrageous Acts of Worship, Riotous Love and OUR Community by the Rev. Laurene M. Lafontaine Resources: Review of *Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe*, by John Boswell. New York: Villard Books, 1994. xxx, 412 p. $25.00. ISBN 0-679-43228-0. EVENTS Workshop on Sexual Diversity and Inclusiveness PLGC of Northern New England is sponsoring an educational workshop on Saturday, November 5, at the Holiday Inn in Concord, New Hampshire. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., the workshop will be facilitated by Heather Wishik, an independent consultant who conducts workshops on sexual orientation and identity issues and valuing diversity. The workshop is designed to: Provide resources for pastors and session members to aid local congregations in considering issues of sexual diversity and inclusiveness; Aid participants in gaining deeper understanding and answering questions or concerns about issues of sexuality and diversity; Help provide language with which to address these issues; and Assist participants in responding to the General AssemblyUs call for dialogue and study. Registration fee is $15, which includes luncheon. The registration deadline was October 15, so call Gary Ireland, PLGC Coordinator for Northern New England, to see if it is still possible to attend! -- 802/229-5438; 10 Winter St., Montpelier, VT 05602. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * World AIDS Day Thursday, December 1, 1994 On World AIDS Day, Thursday, December 1, 1994, the AIDS National Interfaith Network (ANIN) will sponsor a public ceremony to acknowledge and celebrate endorsements of "A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith: The Council Call." With your help, ANIN hopes to reach thousands of people of faith with this important message. We print "A Commitment on HIV/AIDS" as our lead story in this issue. It has been endorsed by the 206th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and many other faith groups and leaders. We invite PLGC chapters, congregations, presbyteries, synods, their agencies, and individuals to endorse it as well. Send your endorsement to: AIDS National Interfaith Network, 110 Maryland Ave. NE, Suite 504, Washington, DC 20002, 202/546-0807, FAX 202/546-5103. You should indicate whether yours is an individual or organizational endorsement. Also on World AIDS Day, Thursday, December 1, ANIN is calling upon all houses of worship to *ring their bells 14 times at 1:40 p.m. local time in recognition of the 14 years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.* Ringing of bells down through the ages has been symbolic of our nation's joy as well as grief during historic moments in our country's history. This simple prophetic act commemorates the grief of so many Americans who have lost their loved ones to this epidemic and is also performed in celebration of the outpouring of compassionate service by so many in support of people with AIDS. If your congregation will join others across the United States in the tolling of bells for World AIDS Day, please let ANIN know (see their address and telephone/FAX numbers above). In this issue, we prepare for World AIDS day by publishing two sermons by the Rev. Philip E. Henderson of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Lansing, Michigan, and by reprinting testimony of the Rev. Stuart D. Smith, Presbyterian pastor in Chicago, from the new magazine for folks touched by HIV/AIDS: *POZ*. Phil Henderson has taken medical disability leave from Westminster Church due to kidney cancer. He has "learned a lot from his friends with HIV/AIDS" as he too now faces living with a "time-bomb." He is currently serving as executive director for pastoral care and program development with the Mid-Michigan AIDS Interfaith Network, 300 W. Ottawa St., Lansing, MI 48933 (office at 228 N. Walnut), 517/424-4513, ext. 513. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith The Council Call [Box: A Commitment on HIV/AIDS by People of Faith, *The Council Call*, was written by the Council of National Religious AIDS Networks. The Council, a project of AIDS National Interfaith Network (ANIN), is composed of leaders of AIDS networks associated with specific national religious bodies. It is a voluntary association working together to support ANIN's mission, to foster better communication, and to enhance the dissemination of information from ANIN and/or other organizations to the individual members of the networks.] *We are members of different faith communities called by God to affirm a life of hope and healing in the midst of HIV/AIDS. The enormity of the pandemic itself has compelled us to join forces despite our differences of belief. Our traditions call us to embody and proclaim hope, and to celebrate life and healing in the midst of suffering. AIDS is an affliction of the whole human family, a condition in which we all participate. It is a scandal that many people suffer and grieve in secret. We seek hope amidst the moral and medical tragedies of this pandemic in order to pass on hope for generations to come. We recognize the fact that there have been barriers among us based on religion, race, class, age, nationality, physical ability, gender and sexual orientation which have generated fear, persecution and even violence. We call upon all sectors of our society, particularly our faith communities, to adopt as highest priority the confrontation of racism, classism, ageism, sexism, and homophobia. As long as one member of the human family is afflicted, we all suffer. In that spirit, we declare our response to the AIDS pandemic:* 1. *We are called to love:* God does not punish with sickness or disease but is present together with us as the source of our strength, courage and hope. The God of our understanding is, in fact, greater than AIDS. 2. *We are called to compassionate care:* We must assure that all who are affected by the pandemic (regardless of religion, race, class, age, nationality, physical ability, gender or sexual orientation) will have access to compassionate, non-judgmental care, respect, support and assistance. 3. *We are called to witness and do justice:* We are committed to transform public attitudes and policies, supporting the enforcement of all local and federal laws to protect the civil liberties of all persons with AIDS and other disabilities. We further commit to speak publicly about AIDS prevention and compassion for all people. 4. *We promote prevention:* Within the context of our respective faiths, we encourage accurate and comprehensive information for the public regarding HIV transmission and means of prevention. We vow to develop comprehensive AIDS prevention programs for our youth and adults. 5. *We acknowledge that we are a global community:* While the scourge of AIDS is devastating to the United States, it is much greater in magnitude in other parts of the world community. We recognize our responsibility to encourage AIDS education and prevention policies, especially in the global religious programs we support. 6. *We deplore the sins of intolerance and bigotry:* AIDS is not a "gay" disease. It affects men, women and children of all races. We reject the intolerance and bigotry that have caused many to deflect their energy, blame those infected, and become preoccupied with issues of sexuality, worthiness, class status, or chemical dependency. 7. *We challenge our society:* Because economic disparity and poverty are major contributing factors in the AIDS pandemic and barriers to prevention and treatment, we call upon all sectors of society to seek ways of eliminating poverty in a commitment to a future of hope and security. 8. *We are committed to action:* We will seek ways, individually and within our faith communities, to respond to the needs around us. [Portions of the text of this document were taken, with permission, from "The African American Clergy's Declaration of War on HIV/AIDS" (The Balm in Gilead Inc., 1994), and from "The Atlanta Declaration" (AIDS National Interfaith Network, 1989).] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * AIDS: Challenging the Church An Interfaith AIDS Teach-In Sunday, May 1, 1994 Memorial Christian Church Ann Arbor, Michigan Text: John 9 It was late Thursday afternoon a little over a year ago, the season of Lent. The lectionary passage was the 9th chapter of the Gospel according to John. I had been struggling with this passage for a while. When I first read it, it immediately occurred to me that with a little imagination, the man born blind could be a person infected with HIV/AIDS. The scenario of events, the reactions of family, neighbors, and religious folk would certainly be appropriate. The question, "Who sinned, this man, or his parents" was one I had heard numerous times before. Yes, I'll retell the story cast in a new context, the context of a person with HIV/AIDS. But it was not as simple as all that. Life seldom it, is it? The clergy staff of the church had mentioned AIDS in sermons a few times. We had remembered people in general with HIV/AIDS in our prayers from time to time. But this was different. For the last eight or nine months, the congregation had been torn asunder by a task force study as to whether or not we should become a part of the network of Presbyterian churches known as "More Light Churches," churches who commit themselves to welcoming all people including gay and lesbian folk and the ordination of gay and lesbian persons to the office of elder and deacon against the will of the General Assembly of the church. Petitions to stop the study process had been circulated by a group of members. Inquiries had been made of the Presbytery as to how to get rid of the minister. The Session shied away from taking responsibility for establishing the task force a year and a half earlier by an overwhelming vote -- secret ballot at that. Knowing that the issues facing the congregation were too complex for us to handle ourselves, I requested the Presbytery to send in an investigative commission. They were now fast at work, as their proper Presbyterian charge said, "to determine the nature of the dissension in this particular Body of Christ." Presbyterians do things decently and in order. It's the Holy Spirit that messes things up. And so in that context, I struggled with whether or not to do my sermon on AIDS. I entitled the sermon "Silence = Death." That ought to be interesting on our outdoor bulletin board at a major intersection in the heart of the city, I thought. I remembered John Mackay, former President of Princeton Seminary telling a graduating class, "Be fools for the Gospel, but don't be damn fools." I must admit, it is sometimes difficult for this old fool to tell the difference. With some fear and trembling, I gave the sermon to my secretary to type up in its final manuscript form. I was still struggling with whether or not to preach it. I had made certain that I had a variety of illustrations, both straight as well as gay folk, young and old with HIV/AIDS. I know full well the stereotype of AIDS being a "gay disease." Illustrations had come from the Presbyterian AIDS Network (PAN) resource from the General Assembly office in Louisville. If there was flak, I could always blame Louisville! That seems to be the rage these days. Just as I was going over the last page of the written manuscript, the phone rang. The voice on the other end of the line said, "My name is Randy. I have a terrible disease. I understand you are someone I can talk to." I went to my own office, picked up the phone and he continued, "I've been told that I'm in the last stages of AIDS. Can we talk?" We did, and I invited him to worship on Sunday. "The topic is on the church's ministry to and with persons affected by HIV/AIDS," I said. He later told me my telling him the sermon topic blew his mind. "What do you think your phone call did to me," I responded. Presbyterians do things decently and in order. It's the Holy Spirit that messes things up, that challenges us just when we least expect it, and when we need it! It was indeed Randy's call that infused me with a new resolve. It was that phone call that opened up a whole new dimension of life and ministry for me. It was that phone call that reminded me, again, of my own call to ministry to all of God's children in my baptism. As he walked along, Jesus saw a man who was infected with the virus. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he has AIDS?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might be revealed in him." "Who do we blame for the disease," the disciples asked. "We have to blame someone. Someone is responsible. Who is the guilty party so we can lay on them more guilt?" "Neither," said Jesus, "Neither." But someone must be guilty. If not the man or his parents, was it God who did this? No. No. It was not the man or his parents -- or the Holy One. In an imperfect world there are diseases. One of them is the HIV virus. And perhaps, in the midst of the challenge it brings, in the midst of the pain and suffering present, the healing presence of the Creator of all life can be found, can be present to those who have eyes to see and hearts of compassion to feel, and we can all be healed in our relationships to the Holy One and each other. Is that not the work of the Holy One, the incarnate ministry of Christ? "Mud in your eye," said Jesus as the earth and saliva, the Holy mess oozed down the man's face. "I send you to wash in the pool of Siloam." This business of ministry is messy, isn't it? This business of caring for sweaty, broken bodies racked with fever is outrageous. How many times Jim, Randy's partner, would change his diapers and wash that drained body those last few weeks of his life -- this did not even occur to me that day he called. The man went and washed. He and Jesus participated together in his healing. He came back and he could see -- with his eyes -- and with his new sense of worth as a child of God's grace and love. He knew he was a whole and worthy person. Jesus told him he was inside and out. Well, the neighbors couldn't take it. "Is this not the man with the virus?" "It is," he said, "and my life has been made whole. The person called Jesus, we did it together, he and I. He mixed the mud and I washed up for the great supper in which he invited me to share with a lot of other folks. I'm a whole person." As long as he was a needy person on their street corner, they could tolerate him. After all, they needed him too, to take care of their need for scapegoating and intolerance and phobias. The neighbors wanted a second opinion. They took him to the religious authorities. But they weren't interested in mud, or washing up, or wholeness or healing. There was a sign on their door, "No healing on the Sabbath." "If this man were from God, he would know that the Holy One does not heal on the Sabbath." Sabbath or no Sabbath, there were a few who entertained the thought that perhaps, just perhaps, there was something else happening. This decency and in order business can get quite messy when the spirit takes over. The religious authorities wanted a third opinion, the man's parents. "Does your son have the virus?" If they said "no" they would be lying. If they said "yes" they would be implicated. Something would be wrong with them. It would reflect on them as fit parents. What would the neighbors think? Well, we already know what they thought. And the church? The elders? They didn't even want to talk about it. "We are not open on the Sabbath for healing." Keep silent and maybe it will go away. But silence is death -- even for the church when it keeps silent. So his embarrassed parents took the easy way out. "Don't ask us, ask him. He's of age." A few years ago when he had "come out" to tell them about his disease, they had put him out of the house, to beg on the street corner, forced into taking social assistance. And if they admitted that their son had the virus and had become a whole person, a child of the Holy One's own love, compassion, and healing, the church would surely "out" them, too. So the religious authorities called to the man, "This Jesus who has healed you, he is a sinner because he heals on the Sabbath. You were born in sin, also. You have AIDS and you are trying to teach us. We cannot learn anything from you. The Holy One does not speak through anyone with the virus." And they drove him out of their house of worship, their citadel of faith. Jesus heard what had happened, and came back to care for the man. "I have come to be present with you. I have come to judge those who claim they are whole and do not have the virus, for indeed they do have the virus, a virus that only the grace of God's love can cure, the virus of hatred and bigotry and phobia." The church authorities said to him, "Surely, you don't mean us -- do you? Do you?" Five people walked out of the service before it was through that Sunday in Lent, and it wasn't to beat the Sunday crowd to Bill Knapps, either [a popular Lansing restaurant]. But Jesus was present, Randy found healing, and so did I because Jesus was there in that place and in Randy, and so did Edith, one of the pillars of the church who had never told anyone about her nephew who had died from AIDS. Randy became a part of a new members' class, then dropped out because of his worsening health. I continued to keep contact with him. In the early summer, I entered the hospital to deal with a reoccurring bout with cancer. At the end of the summer, I saw Randy in the hospital several times. He told me that he still wished to be baptized and become a member of the church, even a church that was ambivalent about what it means to live out its own baptism in the world. On a Sunday afternoon in early September after Randy returned home, his family, Jim his partner, a friend or two, an elder from the church and I gathered in his living room for a service to celebrate Randy's baptism and welcome him into the family of God. It was fitting that afterward we were all invited to stay for a sumptuous feast, a taste of that heavenly banquet to which Christ calls us all. Later in the month, at a meeting of the Session, the baptism was reported by the attending elder. A motion was made by another elder to censure us for an improper baptism because the elder who attended was not currently on the Session as the *Book of Order* of the Presbyterian Church prescribes. Presbyterians, I was reminded, do things decently and in order. It's the Spirit that turns our own obsession with order for the church into ardor for the things of the Spirit. Slowly, Randy's health deteriorated until the middle of December. I saw him periodically until it seemed that death was imminent. My visits increased. Sometimes I read the scriptures of hope that are dear to our faith. Other times, we prayed together. Often, we simply sat in silence and I held his hand before giving him a hug as I left. On the day before he died, we had a brief prayer service with his family around his bed giving thanks for his life among us and commending his spirit to the care of his heavenly Parent who first breathed life into him. His memorial service shortly before Christmas at the church was a witness to him as a person and to the Gospel's Good News of life beyond life even in death. We spoke of Randy as a gay man who had made great contributions to the community and enriched the life of those who knew him. We spoke of AIDS and prayed for those who suffer from the disease and from the bigotry of others, as well as for those who espouse that hatred. We sang from Rosalind Brown's AIDS awareness hymn, "Sing of God Who Came Among Us." Sing the joy of human friendship All whose lives have touched our own. Young and old, in past and present, Friends and loved ones we have known. Those whose lives enriched our living, those whose suffering caused us pain We who trust in God's salvation, know that we will meet again Sing with sadness of the suffering: Those who die unloved, unknown, Children dying are too early Orphans left to grieve alone. Sing to God, who sees the sparrow Falling to the stony ground. Names each name, and feels each sorrow. Holding all in love profound. Sing together all our stories: speak the names of special friends. Giving thanks that though we're parted Yet their memory never ends: Giving thanks that in God's story, Death is not the final word. Sing our hope in Christ our Savior Resurrection is assured. (Commissioned and copyrighted by Presbyterian AIDS Network, (c) 1993 for AIDS Awareness Sunday; sung to the tune *Nettleton*). Several weeks after Randy's memorial service, I received a note from a friend who is on the staff of the Lansing Area AIDS Network where I serve as a member of the board, and whose own faith over years had become dormant. "I would like to express my deep and sincere thanks to you," he wrote, "for helping me to regain my love for my faith. I must say this to you, because you have given to me and to many of the people from my community, a sense of hope and knowledge. Hope, that the promise Jesus made to the world included us. Knowledge that he did not die in vain . . . . During the memorial service for Randy, you struck a chord in me that had literally fallen silent for nearly a decade. I had given up on my Christian faith because of its pro-active exclusion of me and my gay brothers and sisters. I always believed that Jesus had come to minister to the poor, the sick, the prostitute, and homosexual. These people were among his friends and followers. The lepers (today's AIDS patients) were given his promise and cleansing -- his love and compassion . . . and his understanding. His modern day followers have lost his message. I realized five days before Christmas that his message is alive. It was a gift like none other I have ever received -- a gift of hope that Jesus' message lives . . . ." That is the message that challenges all of us who claim the name of Christ. That, my friends is the message that challenges you and me to respond as the body of Christ to all of us affected by HIV/AIDS. And indeed we all are. Thanks be to God. Philip E. Henderson Westminster Presbyterian Church Lansing, Michigan * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Service of Witness to the Resurrection Michael Allen Downey April 2, 1994 Texts: Romans 8:18-25, 32-39; John 14:1-6, 25-27; John 12:12-17; 13:21-26; 19:25b-27; 21:20-24 Telephone calls bearing difficult news have a habit of coming at the most inappropriate time, don't they? Often they come late at night or in the wee hours of the morning when you're trying to rest. Almost instinctively fear is pumped into us. If it's a wrong number we curse the party calling for waking us from a sound sleep to which we never quite return. If it's the news of a tragedy or a death we curse the darkness in our numbness, and sleep is still a lost cause. For me, last Sunday, the phone rang at a most inopportune time -- just before I was to join the great parade of Palm/Passion Sunday with Choir procession and all the shouts of "Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord." Do I answer it? It may be just a wrong number -- or perhaps someone wanting to know what time the service begins, or it could be ---- ---. It was the other phone call I dreaded to hear -- you know, the one that brought all of us to this place today. I did not answer it. As they say, the show must go on, the parade is ready, the spectators are in place, and the band played on. And so Jesus entered Jerusalem -- the Holy City -- without his cellular phone. Even if someone had tried to warn him of his impending death, he would not have heard it for the noise of the crowd. The disciples joined in the hoopla -- though they did not understand at first, we are told. Only after his resurrection did the words of the event hit them. The crowd had swelled because they had heard that Jesus through the power of the Holy One had raised Lazarus from the dead -- buried in his sister's garden four days. Lazarus, the one to whom Jesus had called, "Lazarus, come out. Come out of your closeted tomb and become the one you were created to be, created in love to be." Little did the disciples know the events that were to come, that in that noisy, boisterous, friendly crowd, there lurked the deadly virus of hate and prejudice and phobias for which there was no cure except one -- unconditional love from the Holy One to transform that plague of hatred into love. The parade continued, the Hosannas grew more intense, and the band played on. In the midst of the noisy shouts of "Hosanna" my mind recalled my first real conversation with Michael. It was by way of a phone call and then a time to get together. Unbeknownst to me, he and several other members of the Lansing Area AIDS Network Board of Directors had been wondering what the game plan was of this "clergy person" asked four months prior to serve on the Board. I understood their fear and hesitancy. "You blew my stereotype of a minister," he told me. "Thank God for small favors," I said. We talked about his HIV status, his coming surgery, that he had concern whether he would make it, that he wanted to be baptized into the faith of Jesus and the church, and that he had been to enough memorial services of friends who had died from AIDS, whom the pastor did not know nor especially cared about. He didn't want that to happen to him. A foxhole faith, someone might argue. Perhaps. But I am still absolutely amazed by the mystery of the presence of the life giving Holy One in the crunches of life. The care and prayers given for Michael by many friends and family and the presence of Jon Lacey, friend and Director of the HIV/AIDS project at Michigan State University, with Michael's mother, Bev, during the surgery, surrounded him with a renewed sense of love and worth. The Palm Sunday parade and the shouts of "Hosanna" continued, and the band played on. One evening a few day later, Jesus had a meal with his disciples -- not the passover -- at least for John. It was another meal -- a meal of love. During the meal, Jesus, knowing that he had come from the Holy One and was returning to the Holy One, got up from the table, took off his outer robe, tied a towel around himself, poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciple's feet and wipe them with the towel as a sign of his love for them and as a symbol of his servanthood, just as many a partner, family member, friend has done for the one they love dying from AIDS. But Jesus was troubled, "One of you will destroy me," he told them. Like small children caught with their hand in the cookie jar, each one said, "Who, me?" Then John tells us that one of Jesus' disciples -- the one whom Jesus loved -- was reclining next to him. The disciple Peter asked this disciple, whom Jesus loved, who would betray him, who would "out" him. "The disciple whom Jesus loved." Didn't Jesus love all of his disciples -- even the one who was to betray him? Yes, he did, even the one who was to "out" him. But who is this disciple whom Jesus especially loved -- whose head was on Jesus' breast? The disciple is never named. Some, according to William Barclay, have thought it was Lazarus, who had come out of his closeted tomb, for Jesus loved Lazarus. Others have thought that he was the rich young ruler who decided to cast his lot with Jesus. Jesus loved him, too. Some have thought that he was some unknown young disciple who was especially near and dear to Jesus. The general opinion is that it was none other than John, the author of the Gospel, himself. The important thing is that the place of highest honor, was kept for the most intimate friend. But what was this intimate friendship about -- between two men? Was it a gay or straight friendship? To even raise the question is, of course, an affront for some in these days. But, we are not told -- only that he was the disciple Jesus loved. Perhaps it is this: Jesus was setting a model for human love in all its fullest and grandest sense. And that model had its ultimate source in God's love for God's creatures which goes beyond the farthest bounds of our imagination. This love of one man for another is that same love Ruth had for Naomi and Jesus demonstrated in his love for the woman who poured on his feet the costly ointment as if preparing him for death. It was the pouring of God's love, all bound up with the passion of human love -- a love, however, which in the end would be betrayed also by one whom Jesus loved. It was this love affair in which the Holy One made a commitment to Michael in his baptism, in this very place and to which Michael made his own commitment of love to Christ as a disciple whom Jesus loved. And the parade continued. The crowd still shouted, the virus of hatred and bigotry grew stronger -- and the band played on, until it nailed Jesus to the cross. "If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me, before it hated you," he said. The voice of hatred and bigotry and phobia had their day -- those who had the power to curse and destroy did not have the power of love's cure, and above Jesus' head, on the cross, they placed a marker, "Faggot -- HIV/AIDS." The crowd which had cheered him on his way a few days earlier now jeered in derision -- and the band played on. Left standing near the cross were Jesus' mother and three other women who had been a part of his life. Standing with the women was another, the beloved disciple, the only one of the disciples who remained, for the others, those who said they would not desert him in his hour of death, had fled. Jesus looked out at his mother and said, "Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the beloved disciple, "Here is your mother," and from that hour the one whom Jesus loved took her into his own home. As William Barclay has written, "There is something infinitely moving in the fact that Jesus, in his agony on the cross, thought of the loneliness of his mother in the days ahead. He did not forget the simple things that lay near home. To the end, he was thinking more of the sorrow of others than his own pain and death." Around 2 or 3 o'clock last Sunday morning, so I'm told, approximately 7 to 8 hours before he died, family and friends were gathered around Michael at the foot of his hospital bed in his living room. Michael saw his mother lying on a couch, and in the midst of his pain and final moments of life, asked if she was comfortable. Even in his dying moments in a world where voices of hatred and bigotry combine to hurl cruel epitaphs at those they do not know or understand, he thought of others and their comfort. And so here we are, you and I on this Holy Saturday. The body of Jesus is in the closeted tomb. You and I have gathered to share our grief and our stories as we knew Michael. These stories will remain with us for a long time to come. In time, however, they like our grief will fade somewhat. But his story is our story also, and all our stories are a part of the one story of the Holy One's love for us all -- for we are all God's beloved children -- rich or poor, female or male, gay or straight, powerful or powerless, old or young, and all colors of the rainbow. Yet, even in the midst of our grief in this moment there is a hint of great joy to come. The sadness of this week, the destructive powers of this world -- the viruses that rack our human minds and bodies have been cured by the Holy One's love which calls us all out of our own closeted tombs to be transformed into a new body -- a new life where nothing in God's whole world can hurt us or separate us from the cure of God's love. After the resurrection when Jesus was having breakfast with his disciples along the Sea of Tiberus, the disciple Peter turned to Jesus and asked him what was going to happen to the beloved disciple. "Your job is to follow me, Peter," said Jesus. "If he lives to old age, what is that to you?" This says the gospel writer, is the disciple whom Jesus loved, who gave witness to the Christ -- and who could say, "I saw all these things and I know that they are true." Michael, in his life, like us, saw a glimpse of the mystery of the Holy One and of the life to come. Now he has realized the hope, "that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God." It is a hope now realized by Michael. It is a hope that you and I must settle down to wait for in patience. For Mike, the hope of that magnificent liberty, that great "coming out" to God's unbounded love has been realized fully and he dances to the new music of the Holy One's band which plays on and on for eternity. Thanks be to God. Philip E. Henderson Westminster Presbyterian Church Lansing, Michigan * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ministry at Its Best [Full-page picture of Stuart Smith, along with a statement of his about ministry with people with HIV/AIDS.] That picture and testimony on the opposite page is of Presbyterian minister and PLGC'er Stuart Smith. They come to us courtesy of *POZ*, a new magazine for people affected by HIV/AIDS. Its publisher and executive editor, Sean O'Brien Strub, writes in the first issue: "The fight against AIDS has been made of thousands of small steps forward and thousands of small steps backward. *POZ* intends to be one of the steps forward, to provide a better understanding of the disease and its impact on our society. *POZ* will cover AIDS from the eyes of everyone affected by the disease, including families, friends, neighbors, co-workers and caregivers of persons who are HIV positive. . . . Through *POZ*, we hope to shed light on the politics, people and practical issues involved with AIDS and, in the process, help people with AIDS lead longer and healthier lives. In my view, for a newly-diagnosed person with AIDS, information is a more important first step than any pill, potion or prayer." If you'd like to give *POZ* a try, write to *POZ*, P.O. Box 1279, Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10113-1279, or call 800/883- 2163, or FAX 212/675-8505, or email to pozmag@aol.com A one-year subscription (6 issues) costs $19.95. If you are HIV positive and can't afford a subscription, *POZ* will give you a free one. Stuart's picture is part of a feature called "Living Proof: Carolyn Jones' inspiring works in progress," showing several of Jones' striking photographs. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Our Chapters PLGC Parades in Cleveland Members and friends of Cleveland PLGC (Northern Ohio Chapter) marched in Cleveland's Gay Pride march this past June. A small but enthusiastic group representing our denomination began the parade, to be joined by others from the sidewalks along the parade route. The parade concluded with a Gay Pride Festival in the Square in downtown Cleveland. PLGC had a booth at the festival. The beautiful banner was made by one of our members -- Miles -- third from the left in the photograph. We are hoping that Miles will make a banner for national PLGC to use at national events. -- Rob Cummings. [photo of PLGC Cleveland banner and marchers] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Salt Lake City Launches Vistas *Vistas* is the impressive new newsletter from the Inter-Mountain West (Salt Lake City) Chapter of PLGC. The first issue has 8 pages, in the same format as *More Light Update*, along with several inserts. If you'd like to be on their mailing list to receive *Vistas*, with all its news and ideas for chapter activities, send a contribution (say $10) to the Rev. L. Dean Hay, Intermountain West PLGC, 412 E 3400 S #1, Salt Lake City, UT 84115. A Planning Questionnaire *Every PLGC chapter needs to plan, and needs the input of its members. We share a recent questionnaire sent out by the Intermountain West Chapter in Salt Lake City. Other chapters might like to use some of the questions for their own members.* If you hate questionnaires as much as I do, give me a call! I dislike "telephone canvassing" almost as much as questionnaires, but am happy to receive calls! And it is time to plan together for PLGC in the Intermountain Area. (Besides, I do not have phone numbers for more than a few on our list!) ___ I am happy to receive mailings; keep them coming. ___ I am willing to make a modest contribution towards expenses. ___ I would be willing to make calls to up to 6 persons who give me their phone number personally, which I would keep confidential (first name, no address). I would rank possible purposes for Presbyterians for Lesbian & Gay Concerns (PLGC) in Salt Like City as follows (1 = high, 5 = low) -- with several, perhaps, at the same level: ___ exchange of information regarding legal and social issues and strategies in Salt Lake City, Presbytery of Utah, the Church-at- Large. ___ study of Biblical and theological controversies, good books, articles, other resources -- including new denominational publications on dialogue. ___ advocacy opportunities such as a booth at next year's Gay Pride Day. ___ assistance for those "coming out" or struggling inwardly -- needing confidential sharing/support. ___ conversation with guests from other churches, community agencies, or Presbytery -- a raft of these who are ready to maintain confidentiality. ___ possible relationships with other religious groups in a loose coalition (interest has been expressed from several other denominational quarters). ___ awareness of low-key advocacy being undertaking by others in the group or community. ___ information on issues relating to families, children, teens and their needs locally (advocacy need not require open disclosure of personal orientation). ___ speaker's bureau for those open and interested in participating. ___ strictly social, minimal agenda, "getting acquainted" with others, including newcomers to the area (a great number of these!). ___ shared hospitality, meeting at various locations with different hosts/hostesses. ___ other: I have contacted the persons named on the back of this sheet and have their permission to add their names to the mailing list. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A Survey of Chapters Last Winter and Spring, Rob Cummings conducted a survey of our chapters. He writes: I've finally stopped and tabulated the survey data received from participating chapters. Response has been slow and dawn out. I've received: a few survey sheets completely filled out; long letters explaining their chapters; short notes explaining their chapters; chapter newsletters; newspaper clippings; pictures & diagrams; phone calls. As you can gather from the varying forms of information received, data compilation was not quick nor easy. I have, however, waded through all responses, formatting data from the survey sheets for statistical analysis. I hope this information is useful and interesting to all PLGC'ers. If you have any comments or questions concerning the results, please do not hesitate to contact me (Rob Cummings, P.O. Box 394, Jackson Center, PA 16133-0394). Something not apparent from these facts and figures is the hope and enthusiasm the respondents had for the future of our church. They seem to accept the three year dialogue, not as an obstacle, but as an opportunity. The results Active/inactive status: 70% are active, 15% are new or reorganizing, 15% are inactive. Meeting format: 67% hold business meetings, 89% have potluck dinners, 67% have programs, 55% have worship services, 78% have social and fellowship times. Chapter activities: 63% hold retreats, 50% have workshops, 85% have picnics, 50% work with More Light Churches, 38% help with the "More Light" process, 38% work with other denominations. Chapter membership: This is difficult because most don't have actual dues-paying members. Some chapters have mailing lists of 100-200 persons, but these include presbyteries, sessions, and other non-member groups. Meeting Attendance: High, 60 (for a special event), Average 18, Low 2-3 (one group of 2 or 3 meets occasionally but consider themselves an inactive chapter. But this group was quick to remember that where 2 or 3 are gathered together in God's name, God is in the midst of them!) Meeting Frequency: All active chapters meet monthly, with occasional skips and misses. Meeting Dates, Times, & Places: 1 or 2 meet in homes, but most meet in churches. Some change churches every 2 or 3 months for greater exposure and increased contact. Chapters meet almost every day of the week, but Saturday & Sunday are most popular, with greatest attendance. March participation: 63% participated in the 1993 National March on Washington; 88% participated in local marches; 13% in regional marches. Suggestions, Comments, Concerns (sent along with chapter surveys): High cost of mailings. Consider getting bulk mailing privilege or asking a local church to do the mailing. (One chapter/coordinator uses a local authorization based on national PLGC's bulk permit. Each mailing must consist of 200 identical pieces.) Invite executive presbyter and members of presbytery to dinner meeting. Ask churches to announce PLGC chapter meetings and programs in their church bulletins and newsletters, whether they endorse PLGC or not -- just to promote dialogue. Solicit support -- personal, anonymous, active, financial, and talents. Participate in or sponsor presbytery workshops. Make available pink triangles for commissioners and visitors at every presbytery meeting ("response has been tremendous"). Have a table at presbytery meetings with other special interest groups. Have pamphlets and information readily available. Advertise in gay newspapers. Ask gay newspapers to do articles on your group and its activities, or provide them with press releases; also on the More Light Churches Network, Janie Spahr's evangelism crusade, the Unity through Diversity program. Join forces with other groups to promote ongoing monthly articles about each denominational group. Advertise in the Gayellow Pages (its free -- just send a stamped self-addressed envelope for an entry form to Gayellow Pages, Renaissance House, Box 533 Village Station, New York, NY 10014- 0533.). Request ideas from your members and friends to increase interest/attendance/participation. Don't be afraid to have leaders (or to lead). Request ideas for fund raisers. Coordinate efforts for open dialogue. Announce political bills or measures up for consideration that would affect us locally or nationally. Invite a speaker from a seminary, on the bible and homosexuality, and similar topics. Increase ecumenical activity; attend other denominational groups, personally invite them to yours; organize joint picnic or potluck dinner. Promote unity with the More Light Churches Network, Janie Spahr and "That All May Freely Serve", Unity through Diversity, the General Assembly's open dialogue. Encourage clergy to use our words from the pulpit: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender. Send letters to be read at session and presbytery meetings. For greater exposure, rotate meetings from church to church every 2 or 3 months. Increase coverage or chapter news and activities in *More Light Update*. Solicit material and encourage chapter leaders to send it in. (You send it in, I'll get it into the *Update*! -- JDA). Push the dialogue: "I believe that without impetus from PLGC and More Light Churches, this dialogue simply will not occur. After all, those who hate and fear homosexual persons will work to see that this dialogue never happens. They have seen, or they suspect, that whenever Christians open their minds and hearts to the truthful witness of gay and lesbian Christians, the redeeming and reconciling love of God in Christ requires a complete re-examination of traditional approaches to these issues." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Outrageous Acts of Worship Riotous Love and OUR Community by the Rev. Laurene M. Lafontaine [Copyright (c) 1994, All rights reserved] We gathered for worship at 7 p.m., sun-burned and exhausted from a whole day of celebrating our gay, lesbian and bisexual Pridefest and Parade/March in Denver. PLGC had marched for the first time and had a booth at the festivities. My wonderful colleague the Rev. Paul Strom and I had chosen to kick off the Presbyterian Welcoming Fellowship on the evening of Pridefest. It was an incredible way to end Pride Weekend. We worshipped as an inclusive community, with all persons welcomed, accepted, honored and celebrated at God's Table. It was a powerful beginning and yet no one realized the outrageousness of our new inclusive gathering. Only a few weeks later, a couple of pastors in Denver Presbytery suddenly became "concerned" about this new gathering and demanded that the committee on Ministry and Presbytery Council investigate. There was a heightened concern that I was involved in this ministry, you know, as a lesbian -- as if the Presbytery didn't already know this bit of information since I came out publicly on the floor of Denver Presbytery at its May 1993 meeting, and it ended upon the front page of the local newspaper the next day. The Committee on Ministry did their work, investigated and found that the Presbyterian Welcoming Fellowship was an appropriate ministry, and that Paul and I were acting within the purview of active members in good standing within the Presbytery. The incredible irony is that the complaining pastors didn't attend one of our worship services, didn't call either Paul or myself to ask what we were doing and refused to sit down with us to discuss their concerns. So much for dialogue. The Presbyterian Welcoming Fellowship continues to meet every Sunday night at Capitol Heights Presbyterian Church, the Presbytery's only More light Church. Now that we have crossed the Committee on Ministry hurdle, we will increase our publicity within the Presbytery and the Denver Metro area. A small dedicated group meets for worship and the celebration of Communion. Such an outrageous act. I'm still not exactly sure why worship would be such a radical and scandalous act. I thought that we wanted people to attend worship, at least that's what they taught at Princeton Theological Seminary. I thought evangelism was a major priority for the PC(USA). Given the PC(USA)'s decreasing membership numbers, you would think others would be thrilled with more interested and active folks. Oh well, I guess that if there is Presby Lesby Clergy involved, it changes everything! So in the midst of the challenges and unending rumors about judicial processes, we gather for worship. We gather to pray for one another, our families and friends, our enemies, the church, and the much larger community of faith. It has been a painful and profound experience being at the Table and knowing that many, way too many churches continue to fence off God's Table from open and out gay, lesbian and bisexual people by their silence, subtle hostility and total indecency and disorder as Presbyterian Christians. So we will continue to worship and invite all persons to God's Table as celebrated and loved children of God. We will continue to experience and express the good news of the Gospel through this worshipping fellowship. We will be a Presbyterian welcoming fellowship along with the many Many Light churches across the country. What a novel idea! -- a welcoming fellowship. Too bad the rest of the denomination does not quite grasp the concept of Christ-like hospitality and love. It's been one of those summers. Definitely life changing. It's been a radically awakening time. Probably because the lesbigay justice movement has become much more personal. In the past six months, I have lost two friends. In April, a Whitworth College classmate of mine, Lisa Lee, committed suicide two weeks short of her 34th birthday. We graduated in 1982 and were reconnected four or five years ago here in Denver. At the funeral, there was no mention of Lisa being a lesbian. It was a painful reminder that internalized and legalized PC(USA) homophobic policy is killing not only gay, lesbian or bisexual youth, but a number of our post-teen friends as well. On July 31st, I lost my closest male friend to HIV -- the Rev. Marty L. McKelleb. He too died two weeks short of his 34th birthday. Marty was one of the bright lights at Princeton Theological Seminary. We had a group of very non-Princeton types with whom we spent our three years together. We studied, prayed, and had wild blend-offs -- pool parties in the middle of the Princeton quad (much to the chagrin of the Princeton administrative types), danced and had massive theological debates, among other things. In short, it was a group of friends who were committed to living life fully, and as humanly as possible, in such a repressed and oppressive environment. Marty had called me in mid-May to tell me that he was sick and had full-blown AIDS. I flew to Phoenix the next week and we had a week together. We talked about life -- he wanted people to know the truth about his life -- he was gay and had AIDS. We rehashed seminary days, memories and his immediate future. He thought he had a couple of years. I didn't think he would go so quickly. He had only been HIV+ three years. I was thankful for our week together. Marty was a great friend and was so well-respected and loved by so many people. I loved him dearly. Plus, he was the only man who could call me "Babe" and get away with it! As I stood at Marty's memorial service, trying to stop sobbing while singing "For All the Saints," the Stonewall March flashed through my mind. I recalled the moment we stood in silence at three p.m. in the middle of New York City remembering all those who had gone before us. There we stood, 750,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and heterosexual people remembering the saints. It was an intense silence -- you could feel it within your bones and soul for the three minutes, which felt like an eternity. The silence was then broken with screams of rage which rolled down the avenue. To experience that flash while singing "For All the Saints" empowered me to pull myself together and preach my homily. The painful irony is that Marty preached at my ordination service and here I was preaching at his memorial service. The service brought the lesbigay justice movement home in a new way. What happened twenty-five years ago at the Stonewall Inn in New York City was indeed a riot. The incredible thing about Stonewall was a group of individuals decided that they would no longer be harassed. They stood up and fought back for their dignity. It was riotous love that caused the Latino drag queens, bull dykes and others to fight back. Love does cause a riot at times, especially a love that dares to speak the truth. A riotous love says *Yes* to God and all that God has created and says *No* to anything that denies God's message of love and justice as manifested in the person of Jesus the Christ. Jesus lived out God's riotous love by challenging the religious and societal norms of injustice and the "so-nice" mean-spiritedness: "we love you, but we hate your sin." Jesus helped folks see that often the religious and societal definition of sin were just that and not God's. What happened at the memorial services of Lisa Lee and Marty McKelleb was the reality that this is about our community, this is about life and death and how we are to respond. These two deaths have changed the way I look at life, the PC(USA) and my call to ministry. Lest the Denver Presbytery complaining pastors think that my passion to follow God's call has lessened or weakened because of their harassment: *NOT!* I know in the deepest part of my soul and within my bones that this is life and death for the lesbigay community and I will continue to passionately follow my call. I trust that we are going to tell our truth as God's women and men, as lesbians, gay men and bisexual persons. We will worship and celebrate God's feast at the Table as honest and open people. We will continue to call the church and society to come to terms and repent from its sin of exclusion and rejection of part of God's family. For we are called to live out our lives through outrageous worship and riotous love, indeed for all the saints past and present. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Resources Review of *Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe*, by John Boswell. New York: Villard Books, 1994. xxx, 412 p. $25.00. ISBN 0-679- 43228-0. It is ironic that just as the Presbyterian Church is voing on whether to prohibit clergy from participating in the blessing of same-sex unions, John Boswell's newest book, *Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe*, has been published, spreading more light. In this thorough and scholarly text, Boswell traces the development of marriage -- the vocabulary used, the varieties of heterosexual and same-sex unions, their similarities and differences. In the chapter on Christianity, the new religion, Boswell traces the development of the marriage rite and states, "As an institution, Christianity remained overwhelmingly ambivalent about most forms of heterosexual marriage during the first millennium of its existence" (p. 111). The use of marriage for procreative purposes was ". . . for controlling sexuality both inside and outside marriage." This was soon strengthened by the influences of Roman civil law and rabbinic teaching, which were to become integral to Christian thought through the ages. Boswell discusses other innovations of the Christian community, including celibacy, fraternalization, and examples of paired saints. What is most amazing are the examples of ceremonies of same-sex unions in their original language that bear historical proof of the relationships. And also the evidence that such unions were performed in churches and under the leadership of clergy. Boswell says his task as an historian is to present these ceremonies, which he found in his research through the years. As society became more negative toward homosexuality through time, prohibitions against same-sex unions became fact. "As a result . . ., same sex unions became suspect as in some way legitimizing the sin that could not be named" (p. 263). Amazingly, and gracefully, ceremonies continued to survive and be performed over the years. People will no doubt ask whether these unions were the same as we consider modern unions? Boswell makes it clear that different periods in history have varied nuances for thinking of unions -- both same-sex and other-sex. What is most clear from the union ceremonies is that same-sex unions were based upon mutual love, while many of the heterosexual unions were based upon property rights, family alliances, doweries, etc. Hopefully they might lead to love later in the relationship. Boswell presents many questions and answers to popular lines of thought throughout his text. Boswell concludes by making this point: "Recognizing that many -- probably most -- earlier Western societies institutionalized some form of romantic same-sex union gives us a much more accurate view of the immense variety of human romantic relationships and social responses to them than does the prudish pretense that such 'unmentionable' things never happened" (p. 282). *Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe* is a good place to begin as people realize such unions have their roots in history and also within the church. -- Robert Brozina. From another review: "He [Boswell] has reclaimed a portion of the gay community's patrimony, and that is a substantial achievement. His history also challenges contemporary church practice with an implicit question: If you blessed these unions for hundreds of years, why not re-institute the practice now?" -- Jerry Bartram, former editor of the British Columbia Catholic newspaper, in the Toronto Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 13, 1994. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *