Date: Fri, 12 Jun 1998 18:55:10 -0400 From: Chris Ambidge Subject: *Integrator* files for 1995 INTEGRATOR, the newsletter of Integrity/Toronto volume 95-2, issue date 1995 04 12 copyright 1995 Integrity/Toronto. The hard-copy version of this newsletter carries the ISSN 0843-574X Integrity/Toronto Box 873 Stn F Toronto ON Canada M4Y 2N9 ==Contents== [95-2-1] READY TO BE SURPRISED? / a sermon by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, preached to the March 95 meeting of world-wide Anglican primates. [95-2-2] IN A SPIRIT OF FAITHFUL SEEKING / excerpts from the pastoral letter issued by the primates after their meeting [95-2-3] HUMAN EXPERIENCE MUST BE HEARD / the Primates speak out for a multi- faceted approach to sexuality [95-2-4] LOVE ALWAYS TO BE TREASURED AND RESPECTED / Basil Cardinal Hume [95-2-5] HOMOPHOBIA, "not wanting THOSE people in OUR church" / John Gartshore [95-2-6] LIVING TOGETHER / Chris Ambidge [95-2-7] PREPARE THE WAY :PREPAREZ LE CHEMIN / General Synod 1995 [95-2-8] RENEWING INTEGRITY / a message from John Gartshore, Convener of Integrity/Toronto [95-2-9] OUT OF THE CLOSET, OUT OF THE TOMB / Integrity's annual retreat [95-2-10] INTELLECTUAL VALIUM IN VICTORIA / Mayne Ellis on the Victoria Essentials Essentials conference ====== [95-2-1] READY TO BE SURPRISED? >God gives us some "strange fellow-workers" says Tutu< >The following sermon was preached by the Most Rev Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town and Primate of South Africa, on Sunday 12 March 1995 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, during the meeting of world-wide Anglican Primates.< ---- I hope you won't feel like the little girl who asked her priest father, "Daddy, why do you always pray before you preach a sermon?" Daddy replied, "I'm asking God to help me preach a good sermon." And the little darling shot back, "And why doesn't he?" Isn't it noteworthy in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that Jesus does not give a straightforward answer to the question "Who is my neighbour?" Surely he could have provided a catalogue of those whom the scribe could then love as himself as the law required. He does not. Instead he tells a story. It is as if Jesus wanted among other things to point out that life is a bit more complex; it has too many ambivalences and ambiguities for it always to be possible to provide a straightforward and often simplistic answer. This is a great mercy because in times such as our own, times of transition and change when many familiar landmarks have shifted or disappeared and people are bewildered, then they hanker after unambiguous straightforward answers. Hence the growth of various kinds of fundamentalisms. We appear to be scared of diversity in ethnicity, in religious faiths, in political and ideological points of view and so on. People at such times find it hard to tolerate those who are different from them in appearance, in culture, etc, and so we have the so-called ethnic cleansing in former Yugoslavia, the genocide in Rwanda, and impatience with anything and anyone that suggests there might just be another perspective, another way of looking at the same thing, another answer worth exploring. There is a nostalgia for the security in the womb of a safe sameness and so shut out the stranger and alien, look for security in those who can provide answers that must be unassailable because no one is permitted to dissent, to question. There is a longing for the homogenous and an allergy against the different, the other. Now Jesus seems to say to the scribe, "Hey, life is more exhilarating as you try to work out the implications of your faith rather than living by rote, with ready made second-hand answers, fitting an unchanging paradigm to a shifting, changing, perplexing and yet fascinating world." Our faith, knowing that God is in charge, must make us ready to take risks, to be venturesome and innovative, yes, daring to walk where angels might fear to tread. The Samaritan did not know that the injured man was not perhaps a decoy leading him into a trap and yet he went. And you could say Jesus was saying God does choose some very odd people to be his fellow-workers. The Samaritan was not the orthodox establishment figure -- anything but. Jesus was also saying God's priorities are somewhat unusual. The priest and the Levite probably had legitimate reasons for not wanting to be contaminated with what might be a corpse. The law commanded against such contamination. We must not be too nasty to them. But Jesus was constantly trying to alert his hearers and followers to the fact that people mattered more than things, more than systems, even religious systems. He was forever scandalising the religious leaders of his day by his belief that meeting a human need took precedence of every other requirement of the law. He healed on the Sabbath, he and his disciples picked corn on the Sabbath because they were hungry; he could have healed a leper by his word and yet quite deliberately he broke a taboo, precedence of the law requiring that lepers should be ostracised, should be placed in quarantine. Let us go forth, then, as the followers of this Jesus, ready to celebrate life that can't be lived by rote. Let's luxuriate in its complexities, in its bewildering ambiguities, excited by the thrill of working out things for ourselves; let us celebrate our diversity opposing the new xenophobia that is abroad, knocking down the walls that would keep the stranger out. Let us go forth ready to be surprised by a God who gives us some strange fellow-workers -- just look at the Archbishop of Cape Town! -- to be ready to co-operate with such a God as we seek to follow His set of priorities to make our community, our society, our world more caring, more gentle, more compassionate - that we won't just pass by on the other side with those sleeping on the rough, the homeless, the drug addicts -- we will be like the students I met recently in Oxford who care for children with disabilities in a project called KEEN, or those who work with the Sisters of the Community of All Saints in the project Porch, or what is done in this very church, communicating the love and compassion of God; let us go forth to embrace and love and care for those whom some want to turn into lepers, people living with AIDS, let ours be inclusive communities, welcoming and embracing, refusing to exclude people on the basis of culture, ethnicity, faith, gender or sexual orientation; go forth to celebrate that we are indeed the rainbow people of God. ====== [95-2-2] IN A SPIRIT OF FAITHFUL SEEKING > Primates call churches to reflect on various forms of > sexual expression 1995, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, England Grace to you and Peace. We, the Primates and Moderators of the 36 Member Churches of the Anglican Communion, have assembled in Windsor, England, March 10-17, 1995. The Theme of our meeting has been leadership as your servants in the light of the Gospel. Advances in the ministry of reconciliation continue to open new areas of Christian calling and sacrifice. Our being together has strengthened our vision in Christ and renewed our desire to improve our structures, leadership and communication. In all our work we have been nourished by daily worship and guided study of the Scriptures. We have experienced anew the life-giving Word of God speaking to us of God's costly and gracious love in Jesus Christ. "We do not proclaim ourselves, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake." (II Corinthians 4:5) [The primates spoke of Lambeth 98, human rights and refugees, peace, problems in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa, and on poverty in paragraphs not reproduced here] Around the world serious questions relating to human sexuality are being faced by the Church. The traditional response to these questions is to affirm the moral precepts which have come down to us through the tradition of the Church. Nevertheless, we are conscious that within the Church itself there are those whose pattern of sexual expression is at variance with the received Christian moral tradition, but whose lives in other respects demonstrate the marks of genuine Christian character. The issues are deep and complex. They do not always admit of easy, instant answers. A careful process of reflecting on contemporary forms of behaviour in the light of the scriptures and the Christian moral tradition is required. We have to recognise that there are different understandings at present among Christians of equal commitment and faith. We invite every part of the Church to face the questions about sexuality with honesty and integrity, avoiding unnecessary confrontation and polarisation, in a spirit of faithful seeking to understand more clearly the will of God for our lives as Christians. We thank God for the witness and support of young people in the Communion. We encourage their continuing challenge of our complacency and we pledge them our willingness to listen to their deepest concerns. As leaders of the Communion we approach the end of the second millennium conscious of our Lord's admonition not to be afraid. Spiritual hunger is growing all the time. The Christian mission has never been more needed. We ask for your prayerful support as we return to our homes and work. We covenant with one another to be faithful in our ministries to the Church and to the world, upheld by the certainty that nothing shall separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus. ====== [95-2-3] HUMAN EXPERIENCE MUST BE HEARD >Primates speak out for multifaceted approach< "We reject homophobia in any form," Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury said at the press conference at the end of the Primates' meeting. "Homosexuals must be treated as people made in the image and likeness of God," he said, adding that sexuality issues must take into account human experience as well as biblical teaching. Archbishop Keith Rayner of Australia said that the church is "finding there are people whose lives show all the marks of Christian character and yet in some way are not conforming" to the traditional understanding of Christian sexuality. He said that scientific study and human experience had to be taken into account, "just as the church has had to modify its views on marriage and divorce in the light of human experience." ECUSA Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning added, "Before we can wrestle with the issue of practising homosexuals, we have to wrestle with the issue of same-sex unions." By addressing the possibility that two people could live in a life-long committed relationship, "that would say something about how we saw that lifestyle and about the holiness of that lifestyle," he said. ====== [95-2-4] LOVE ALWAYS TO BE TREASURED AND RESPECTED, SAYS CARDINAL > Basil Cardinal Hume of Westminster issued a statement last month > on homosexual love which was remarkable for its tolerance and its > acknowledgement of same-sex love. "Love between two persons, whether of the same sex or of a different sex, is to be treasured and respected," he said in a document which provided clarification of the Roman Catholic Church's position on homosexuality. The cardinal maintained the Church's previous teaching on intimate relationships, and that the relationships must be governed by God's laws. However, he also said that love between two people of the same sex is not bad, but positively good. "When two persons love, they experience in a limited manner in this world what will be their unending delight when one with God in the next. "To love another is in fact to reach out to God, who shares his lovableness with the one we love. To be loved is to receive a sign or share of God's unconditional love. To love another, whether of the same sex or of a different sex, is to have entered the area of the richest human experience." The Cardinal did not attempt to retract the church's teaching that some sexual acts are morally wrong, and pointed out that no-one had a "right" to such acts. However, all humans, gay and straight, have a fundamental human right to be treated by individuals and by society with dignity, respect and fairness. "Nothing in the Church's teaching can be said to support or sanction, even implicitly, the victimisation of homosexual men and women. Furthermore, 'homophobia' should have no place among Catholics." "Human love is precarious, for human nature is wounded and frail. Thus marriage and friendship will never be easy to handle. We shall often fail, but the ideal remains." ====== [95-2-5] HOMOPHOBIA, >Not wanting THOSE people in OUR church< by John Gartshore Many people who don't agree with our politics have startled us Integrity folk by declaring in ringing terms that they don't approve of homophobia. Of course, we are glad that such statements are made, but sometimes we wonder what is meant by the term. One such denunciation is in the "Montreal" statement of the >Essentials< movement: "Homophobia and all forms of sexual hypocrisy and abuse are evils against which Christians must ever be on their guard" (Section 14). The word >homophobia< may present difficulties to those of us with a classical education, but it was coined by a psychotherapist (Dr George Weinberg) in 1972, apparently without reference to Latin or Greek roots. His definition is "the dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals". That dread shows itself in various ways. The most obvious form is what I call >street homophobia<, which shows itself in physical violence or taunts (gay-bashing), or malicious stereotypes like the false connection between homosexuality and pederasty. Religious communities are not above this kind of thing -- hear the Anglicans (and others) who say, "We don't want >those< people in >our< church", making some baptisms null and void. I remember the bumper sticker I saw years ago on a car with Texas license plates: "Kill a queer for Christ." The small print said that this sticker was produced by Anita Bryant Industries, a group allied with a Christian denomination. I don't think groups in the Anglican Church of Canada would descend to advocating physical violence, but I don't notice the leaders of our -- or any other -- denomination denouncing death threats towards clergy at Sunday services. Death threats, however, were made before Lesbian and Gay Pride Day, 1994, for the Sunday service of Metropolitan Community Church. Anglican clergy in Canada simply don't know from their own experience how terrifying it is to live in that kind of jeopardy. Not having to worry aobut facing bullets, Anglicans bother their heads about scandal and discipline. One still wonders what motivates the thugs who make the death threats. I believe that it comes from the basic axiom in western society that says that everyone intuitively >knows< that homosexuality is wrong, so there's nothing more to be said about it. In the past few decades, people like me have questioned that idea, reporting from our own experience that there is more to romantic attraction than the standard male-female model. Some find that frightening. Many find it difficult to disguise their disgust at the notion that two men or two women might find an erotic relationship good. There is an outcry when the standard diet of heterosexual conquests on television is varied by a few gay romances. Disgust, however, is learned behaviour. One either actively UNlearns it, or else one turns to defences -- scripture, for instance -- with which to prove one's position. Bishop Parke-Taylor, in an excellent article in a report to the House of Bishops in 1978, stated "you can prove anything by scripture", and this has proved true. Both sides of the argument have produced biblical text after biblical text to prove their point, and there is no end to that. But what is the motivation for this desperate hunt for the convincing proof-text against homosexual intimacy? It is the same homophobia that sends the less civilized members of society out with baseball bats, air pistols, and ugly taunts, to "bash the fags" on the street. Is it all right for our opponents to prefer the weapon of scripture to the weapon of physical violence? The "dread of being in close quarters with homosexuals" has a sadder and more intense aspect -- one which people like me have had to deal with in our lives. The person who suspects that he or she may be homosexual or bisexual experiences that dread much more intimately than the thug with the baseball bat. It is the dread of one's very own nature which strikes a fatal blow at the person's self-worth. "What an awful person I am!" is the common complaint, and society's general homophobia confirms that opinion. This is the phobia that sends people off to "get cured" -- to get rid of the part of their own nature that they can't face. This is the phobia that accounts for the high number of teen suicides, especially when the low self-worth is confirmed by clergy with their proof-texts. Many of us, however, have found reassurance in God's love, shown spectacularly at Jesus' baptism, with the striking phrase addressed ultimately, I believe, to all humanity, "You are my beloved child. In you I am well pleased." We are enabled to look inward to discover, not the dreaded homosexual, but a Child of God with special characteristics not given to everyone. It is God's love for us that enables us to sing the old MCC hymn, "Praise the Lord! I'm not afraid any more." Isn't that how things are supposed to be? ====== [95-2-6] LIVING TOGETHER by Chris Ambidge I have long said that people of differing viewpoints in the Church must talk to each other, and indeed listen to each other, or we will end up with shouting matches and nothing more. I am pleased to say that I am involved in a small dialogue group, convened at Bishop Finlay's initiative. Three people from either side of the homosexuality-and-the-church discussion are meeting and talking about how we can all live together in the same church. Our conversations are at an early stage, but I'd like to mention two things said -- both by individuals on "the other side of the table" -- which I find encouraging. One person said "I don't want to be reduced to a comic book caricature", and I think all of us with three- dimensional beliefs which are all-too-easily pigeonholed can identify with that. Another said, "I love this church, and I want to help the church to be the church". While he was speaking for himself at that point, I think everyone in the room could have said the same thing. While our opinions differ, we are united in our love for Christ, and indeed for the Anglican Church. We want to explore ways we can all live together in our church. May God prosper our handiwork. ====== [95-2-7] PREPARE THE WAY / PREPAREZ LE CHEMIN General Synod 1995 will be at Carleton University in Ottawa on the first nine days of June this spring. Integrity will be there, as we have been at every General Synod since Fredericton 1983. We will have a display there, staffed by Integrity people from the Toronto and Vancouver chapters. There will probably be displays from people who have different views from ours on the matter of homosexuality at General Synod. This is all to the good, it is only by looking at them that problems are solved. Here is a direct quote from the material sent to displayers from Church House: "Our experience in recent years is that many Anglicans want to come to the Synod to share their perspectives and to meet members from across the country. We welcome this form of participation in the life of the Synod. We are also aware that people represent a wide variety of views about the Church, and we welcome this also. We do request that everyone respect the diversity that will be present, so that all may share the experience with honour and dignity. Synod is a wonderful gathering of many committed Christians; may our community be guided by prayer and respect, by God's gracious Spirit." Synod will particularly considering matters of sexuality in the evening of Whit Monday, June 5. Please hold General Synod and Integrity in your prayers, and particularly on that evening. The next issue of >Integrator<, which would normally be mailed the first week of June, will be a little delayed to contain a full report on Synod. ====== [95-2-8] RENEWING INTEGRITY >A Message from the Convener of Integrity/Toronto< by John Gartshore I wish to thank those members who attended the deferred Annual General Meeting on March 7th, for their confidence in electing me Convener. At the meeting, I announced the priorities which I want to implement, and those were accepted. >Integrator:< I believe that our newsletter is the most important thing we are doing these days, and I congratulate Chris and his staff for the excellent publication they regularly produce. [Ed: {blush} ] Chris keeps a watch on other chapters' newsletters and on the Internet for information which should be circulated. >Integrator< now goes to 380 people, including all the Canadian bishops. I have heard many compliments, and they are well earned. I am sure that Chris could do with more contributed articles. [Ed: definitely!] >General Synod '95:< Since the Fidelity and Essentials conferences, I am sure that those who oppose our agendas will be there in force, and it is important that we, along with people from other Canadian chapters, be there. I am constantly distressed by the war which is waged against Integrity in the United States by such groups as Episcopalians United, and I, for one, will not respond in a warlike mode if Canadian church politics descend to that level. I sometimes remind my American friends that their country was born in revolution and ours in loyalty, which perhaps reflects our different modes of transacting our affairs. I now label myself a gay >pacifist- activist<, and hope that I can make that attitude stick. >Diocesan Synod:< For several years now, we have had a presence at Diocesan Synod, where we talk with people and hand out pamphlets. I think we have done well at this, and propose that we continue. >Weekly Meetings:< Here is where I propose a radical change. For years, we have met almost every Wednesday evening at the Church of the Holy Trinity, usually for Eucharist. We have kept this as a safe space, where anyone who comes in will receive a welcome and be free to say what they need to, without fear of the political reprisal that we encounter in some parish churches. It has been an opportunity for many priests in turn to visit us. For some time, though, it has been the same half-dozen members who attend on Wednesdays, and I feel embarrassed at asking busy clergy to celebrate with us on that basis. I believe that the need for our weekly open door is now over, and am proposing to reduce our frequency to once a month. This will free up people time to allow us to meet elsewhere in the Diocese from time to time if a need is identified. Weekly meetings will continue until April 19th (Wednesday in Easter Week). The Executive has decided that from then, we will meet on the THIRD WEDNESDAY of every month. >Pride Week:< I think it is important for us to be visible on Pride Day, and let the world know that the Anglicans are alive and well, and I hope that our banners will continue to wave along with the other faith groups. I am not convinced that an information table on Pride Day is worth the expense and effort, but others may want to keep that going. We used to try to have an interfaith service -- worship for Christians and non-Christians together -- during Pride Week, but I don't think this has worked for a number of reasons, and I wouldn't spend effort at continuing it. The prayers and support of members and friends is requested. I expect the rest of 1995 to be an exciting and busy time for Integrity/Toronto. Love, John . ====== [95-2-9] OUT OF THE CLOSET, OUT OF THE TOMB As always, Integrity/Toronto's annual retreat will be led by Sr Thelma-Anne ssjd at St John's Convent in Willowdale. This year's retreat is "Out of the Closet, Out of the Tomb: Joy for the Children of God." The retreat will run from 7pm (just after supper) Friday April 28 to after lunch on Sunday April 30. These events are always wonderful, from T-A's addresses and the discussions that they kick off to the worship and quiet times together by way of the wine-and- cheese party with the sisters on Saturday night. This year we've decided to get organised, and Brian MacIntyre is acting as Retreat Registrar. If you're planning to go to the retreat, call Brian at 905 273 9860. The fees this year are $80 each, payable this year to Integrity/Toronto. Bursary assistance is available on the fee -- call Brian for details. ====== [95-2-10] > On February 25, over 600 persons attended an all-day conference at > Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria BC, titled *Focus on Essentials*. > Mayne Ellis had heard of the Essentials conferences, and had read > John Gartshore's report of the Toronto conference in the last issue > of *Integrator*. She heard speakers talking about evangelism and > sexual ethics. Here is her report: INTELLECTUAL VALIUM IN VICTORIA >Mayne Ellis was "Amang' ye takin' notes"< I'd heard about the original conference and read excerpts from the "Declaration", and went to listen and learn and talk with people to find out what they think about it all. I couldn't interview all of them in a day, even if they had stood still for it -- indeed, one man who recognised me picked up speed as he passed -- but many seemed to have come for the same reason I did. Others are already true believers. The experience of evangelism was strongly emphasised. The Rev John Cox, in a rambling discourse on the authority of scripture, proclaimed, "We need to go with the Bible in one hand, holding onto God with the other," which made me feel like a toddler. Observing that "the Bible is a fragile mirror -- if you drop it, it will break" and that "reason alone cannot help us comprehend scripture," Cox advised us to "apply" it in the "marketplace". "Fall in love with Jesus and see what He does," he urged, thus shifting even more of our job onto the shoulders of an already sadly overworked Redeemer. The Rev Dr Peter Moore, imported from Toronto for the occasion, carefully claimed the intellectual high ground with references to Origen, Oxford and Cambridge, eisegesis, antinomianism and neo- Marcionism, then shared with us his take on sexual ethics. He claims to be part of a "consensus" of scholars dismissing John Boswell's work as advocacy scholarship, thus setting himself in the same camp as Camille Paglia. (Who says sexual politics doesn't make strange bedfellows?) He trashed >Hearing Diverse Voices, Seeking Common Ground< as "manipulative, biased and fundamentally lacking in courage", partly because it did not include works that supported the conservative view. In fact, he said "We are engaged in a struggle for the mind of the Church" which the debate on homosexuality has heightened. Earlier, he had noted this debate has made "the Anglican >Via Media <... a road where theological clarity vanishes in a fog of contradictions." He then continued, "Let's be prepared to see a moral difference between a promiscuous, bar-hopping, disease-infecting gay man and a quiet pair of homosexuals...sharing a constructive role in their community." I waited for him to add, "One law for the ox and the lion is oppression," but he didn't. During the question period, one brave woman came out and requested Moore define "gay lifestyle" (He didn't do so). Another man, whom I couldn't help but like because he genuinely cares, asked, "How can we make homosexuals feel welcome in our church?" It's sad that these sincere people don't grasp that the intellectual Valium of Revs Cox and Moore is powerfully dis-evangelising. I should have stood up and said, "I'm already here. I stay for Christ's sake, and yours." === end of text === End of volume 95-2 of Integrator, the newsletter of Integrity/Toronto copyright 1995 Integrity/Toronto comments please to Chris Ambidge, Editor chris.ambidge@utoronto.ca OR Integrity/Toronto Box 873 Stn F Toronto ON Canada M4Y 2N9