FABulous!!
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Worship Space
TAMFS National Conference
Bagnuolo
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As Janie would say…..it was a fabulous gathering - the annual TAMFS meeting
held at the Stony Point Conference Center in New York on April 4th through
7th, 2002.
I had mixed emotions about going, only because I had been away from
home too much the past few months. How could I justify to myself (and my
cat) leaving again?! But finally by Friday midday, and with encouragement
from a close friend who had gone the day before, I realized I had to go.
It wasn't that far away, and what did I have to lose?
By the time I arrived late afternoon, I KNEW it was the right decision.
Seeing so many friends, seeing so many new faces, feeling the warmth of
togetherness, feeling the spirit of inclusivity all around gives one a
sense of euphoria and happiness. So many gathered to sing and praise God's
inclusive love!
The group sessions during the day included networking, moving forward
in light of the defeat of 01-A, political strategizing, to name a few.
It was important to regroup, to focus our energies on the next steps of
our struggle. However those sessions were not the highlights of the gathering
for me. It was the worship services Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday
morning – phenomenal, thought-provoking and filled with the Holy Spirit.
It was Paula Larke's performance of music and words, of diatribes and mental
memorabilia, so hilarious and joyful. It was Saturday night's play Love
According to Luc, about a young Presbyterian seminarian who discovers
she's a lesbian, touching us poignantly and realistically through music
and laughter.
No regrets. Glad I went. It was worth it. Friends, music, worship, fellowship,
singing God's praise, laughter, joy, networking, sunshine, good food, good
vibes. It was all there. One comes home revived by the experience.
So let us go forth renewed by the spirit of God's inclusive love. Until
we meet again.
Pat Wales
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Wilton and New Haven Youth Groups Meet Brian Cave
On April 12th, youth from the Wilton Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian
Church of New Haven gathered for a special time with Brian Cave, sponsored
by Presbyterian Promise.
Youngsters from the two churches, were joined by Elaine Shields of Wilton
church and Presbyterian Promise, Angela Rowley of St. Matthew's Episcopal
church, the New Haven church's Christian Educator, Sue Balakrishnan, Sunday
School teacher and Elder Roger Cole, and Co-Pastor Maria LaSala. They gathered
together at the Wilton church to meet each other and Brian
Cave. Brian, an openly gay member of the Presbyterian Church USA, was invited
to talk a bit about being gay and being faithful in the church.
After a supper of pizza, Brian and the gang got to know one another
by sharing five things that were interesting about themselves. Sitting
around the table was a left-handed person, right handed people, only children,
a hearing impaired person, two seniors in high school, a sound engineer,
one non swimmer, two horseback riders, a chemist, soccer players and lacrosse
players ... and all were Presbyterians!
Then Brian, a member of the Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in New York
City, shared his "coming out" story – the story of Brian's self acknowledgment
of himself as a gay man, and also as a faithful Christian called to minister
in the Presbyterian Church USA. Brian told about the conversations he had
with God about whether or not he was gay, the hurt he experienced as he
struggled with his sexuality, the strength he found in people who were
members of the Presbyterian Church, and the joy he knows now as a child
of God, created to be a homosexual, committed to living a life of faith.
Around the table, the youngsters sat and listened to this sometimes
sad, sometimes funny, always believable story. They asked questions and
shared stories from their own lives. They talked about how kids get stereotyped,
how the language used to describe gay and lesbian people can sometimes
be hurtful, how they struggle with what they think the Bible says about
homosexuality.
The evening was full of new discoveries and old truths. All the youngsters
and their adult companions agreed that another event should be held so
that more young people can get together to talk about this issue facing
the church.
Thanks to the Wilton Church for providing the space for our gathering
and for providing the delicious treats. Thanks to Brian Cave for coming
up from Manhattan to spend a Friday evening with us. Thanks to Presbyterian
Promise for providing the financial support for the evening.
Maria LaSala
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Now What?
Proposed amendment 01-A has been voted down by 126 of 173 presbyteries
(even though perhaps 40% of the presbytery commissioners voted for it).
Short of the extremely unexpected, we will be living with 'b' (that's G-6.0106b)
for some time. What's much less clear is how we can live with it and what
we should do about it.
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Preparing his congregation for a study of what it means to be the church
in relation to our gay and lesbian family members, a pastor reported attending
a PFLAG meeting where, "Through their stories it became clearer to me that
the one place in all of society that was the cause for the most pain and
suffering, prejudice, misinformation, and frankly hatred, was the church."
The Presbyterian Coalition has issued a Strategic Vision endorsing the
Confessing Church Movement, committing to a "drastic" restructuring of
our denomination eliminating the voice and vote of specialized clergy,
allowing churches which don't agree to leave with their property and affirming
"the right of all Sessions to withhold/redirect their per capita assessment."
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The Mount Auburn Presbyterian church in Cincinnati has declared its practice
and intention to ordain and install GLBT officers and to marry same sex
couples. Other churches have made similar statements of conscience and
of dissent.
Very understandable resentment and anger abounds. Some call us to live
in the ambiguity which results from rejecting a portion of the Book
of Order, the contract under which we live as Presbyterians. Others
commend exploring the ambiguity and uncertainty of the judicial interpretation
of that Book.
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The May 8 issue of The Presbyterian Outlook contains a meditation
by Moderator Jack Rogers on Lincoln's Second Inaugural address. "People
of good will on both sides must resist those who wish to set aside the
Constitution and to destroy the church as we know it in order to put a
church of their own creation in its place." Rogers urges both those who
believe in full rights for gay and lesbian Presbyterians and those who
support the Confessing Church movement to exercise restraint.
In such a charged atmosphere, caution may well be in order. It is exceedingly
difficult to speak knowing that some will take offense no matter what you
say. Much worse is saying something that delays justice.
No one is obliged to remain a Presbyterian. We become Presbyterians
by a free act of conscience and retain the right to leave, recognizing
that in leaving we may be giving up on something very important. In individual
cases, surely, leaving has been and will continue to be necessary for personal
and spiritual well-being.
But there are good reasons to stay:
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For many of us, the Presbyterian Church is our (often adoptive) family.
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Where else will we find a better opportunity to proclaim God's justice
and love in Jesus Christ?
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There is hope!
1. Family System
Through all the oceans of ink spilled in this debate I've seen little about
family systems. At its simplest, Family Systems Theory is the recognition
that individual health is dependent on the health of the individual's family.
It is closely related to the Biblical
understanding of shalom: an individual can not be at peace (faring well)
unless the whole community is faring well. We love our neighbors as a command
from God, but also because it is the best course for ourselves. The theory
has implications for our situation as a church.
The PC USA is a family. Admittedly it is a very large one, and fragmented
in many different ways. Still it is a family, complete with an annual reunion
and many regional gatherings. The PC USA also has many of the classic dysfunctional
family structures. There's the great big triangle between the right, left
and center with each group alternately blaming and cajoling the others,
hoping to gain advantage by playing them off against each other.
There is a high degree of cut off between various parts of our family.
As the Rev. Jerry Andrews, of Chicago and then the Presbyterian Coalition's
chair, commented in a November 2000 PC USA News report, "... I do think
we've drifted apart for a whole generation. ... We've gone to different
seminaries, read different books. We read 'The Book' differently. We talk
to ourselves and we think we're 'the church.' We need to be remembering
that we are colleagues in ministry ... and we need to know the truth about
each others' beliefs." Like most dysfunctional systems, we have our undefined
issue(s). We can't even make up our minds what we are fighting over. Is
it human spirituality, Biblical interpretation, polity, morality or sex?
One major therapeutic tool of family systems is reconnecting with family.
Go back, review the history, then talk to our parents in the faith and
see what formed them. Why did they grow and develop as they did? This is
not easy work. It often means asking people about things they are determined
never to remember. It often means facing our own truths. But it can produce
change and even healing.
As I understand it, the present PCUSA fight is fueled by the resentments
of generations of unresolved conflicts. That's why we keep rehashing issues
like Biblical literalism. That's why we doubt each other's intentions when
we say "only!" (That's as in Jesus is the ONLY way.) That's even why we
feel compelled/are called to go to our different seminaries and read our
different books. That's why the evangelicals feel their faith is compromised
when someone else wants to use different language – why they want to compel
other people to use the 'right' language. And maybe even why 'we' others
are so unable to work with the evangelicals.
The OP's – the other Presbyterians regardless of which side we're on
– have suffered under the stings of numerous perceived losses and 'unnecessary'
battles for obvious forms of justice. Re-imagining, Reproductive rights,
feminist theology, Angela Davis, the anti-Vietnam-War movement, civil rights,
women's ordination, the reimagining of divorce, Biblical Interpretation,
Abolition/Civil War. The list of battles could go on, back at least to
the struggles between the Scots and the Brits. Some occurred in the context
of the traumas of two world wars and national depression. In our flailing
around we have hurt each other deeply and often. The lesson of family systems
theory is both we and our family will be healed sooner if we refuse to
let go of each other, if we stay connected. To use religious language,
if we stay in communion.
2. Opportunity
But isn't it a lot simpler? God has called gay and lesbian people. Why
are we Presbyterians defying God? Let's just live as God is leading us
to live! How? Where?
Each extreme has been creating and defending its islands of relative
purity for several generations. While the latest battle seemingly went
to the reactionary evangelicals, they still fear a 'progressive tide' carrying
all before it. They have retreated to the seeming safety of an almost private
faith language. On the other hand, our eloquent statements have yet to
prove persuasive. Only when in this 'big tent' church all are free to serve
will we have let in more light.
There is little hospitality in isolation. That, perhaps, is the genius
of Presbyterian polity. When we join, we acknowledge there is greater faithfulness
in being part of a community than in the freedom of our individual consciences.
[G-1.0301 - 2] When we become officers, we turn that commitment into a
'contract.' [G-14.0207 e] With all its injustice and imperfections, we
accept the church community as better than living in isolation.
Some compromise is essential to integrity. How else do we confirm our
faith except through the acceptance of others? We who have grown in Presbyterianism
need Presbyterians to say our faith and our selves are welcome. That is
why we need to remain committed to evangelizing the church. It is the opportunity
before us. There are many ways to approach this work. Let us celebrate
the diversity. But let us also note what works and what is less successful.
Above all, let us refrain from attacking those whose love we need in the
midst of our frustration at all the delay. For me, smiles are more persuasive
than argument.
3. Hope
On April 14th the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission released
its ruling in the case of Wier vs. Fort Lauderdale: Second. The summary
includes:
Specificity of Pleading: When a complaint alleges violation
of a constitutional standard ... such allegations must assert factual allegations
of how, when, where, and under what circumstances the person was self-acknowledging
a practice which the Confessions call a sin.
Self-acknowledgment: The plain language of the Constitution
clearly states that disqualified persons must have self-acknowledged the
proscribed sin. Self-acknowledgment may come in many forms. In whatever
form it may take, self-acknowledgment must be plain, palpable, and obvious
and details of this must be alleged in the complaint.
Examination of Candidates for Ordination and/or Installation:
The ordaining and installing governing body is in the best position to
determine whether self-acknowledgment is plain, palpable, and obvious,
based on its knowledge of the life and character of the candidate. If the
governing body has reasonable cause for inquiry based on its knowledge
of the life and character of the candidate, it has the positive obligation
to make due inquiry and uphold all the standards for ordination and installation.
This may not even be the 'half a cookie' I've heard it called. But by excluding
innuendo and judgment by category gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,
as well as single, divorced and many other 'groups' of people receive protection
and face improved opportunity. However partially and slowly, the system
can work.
Wier is not the full and gracious welcome the church needs to extend.
Its full implications will only appear over the course of time. But it
appears there is increased space for building peace. As even a few more
gay and lesbian people begin to serve more openly, the message of compassion,
of acceptance, of shalom can spread. And in that proclamation of justice
and love we may have hope.
Ralph Jones
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Dick Hasbany
and Barbara Hager
At TAMFS National
Conference
Bagnuolo
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Film
QUESTIONING FAITH: Confessions Of A Seminarian documents the dramatic
quest of filmmaker Macky Alston, a gay minister-in-training who is thrown
into a crisis of faith when a close friend and fellow student dies of AIDS.
Working as a hospital chaplain, he encounters an extraordinary group of
people with tragic but inspirational stories.
In these troubled times, what's a young preacher to preach? After experiencing
life at its most devastating, is it possible to believe in God? Why does
one person find religion in the midst of chaos, while another loses it?
Debuting Thursday, June 27 (6:30-8:00 p.m. ET), the Cinemax Reel Life
documentary Questioning Faith: Confessions of a Seminarian begins with
the untimely death of Alston's seminary classmate Alan Rankin, challenging
everything he was raised to believe about a loving and all-powerful god.
Over the course of the film, he studies with cutting-edge theologians,
works as a hospital chaplain, and talks to people wrestling with similar
questions.
Traveling from Memphis to Maine, Alston encounters such individuals
as:
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Muslim Jamilla Abdul-Rahman, who, during brain surgery, saw angels who
told her she would live and her children would not have to fend for themselves.
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Liza Gottlieb, a straight-talking atheist and grandmother of Alston's life
partner, who lived through the Russian Revolution and believes that anyone
who believes in a supreme being is delusional.
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Seminary doorman Hugo Hamburger, an Orthodox Jew whose faith was tested
when he lost his entire family at Dachau.
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Rev. Annie Ruth Powell, an African-American pastor and chaplain at Alston's
theological school, who has lived with cancer for 15 years. She believes
that each experience of suffering is another opportunity to connect with
troubled people in her congregation.
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Hazel Rankin, the mother of Alston's friend Alan, who died of AIDS. Her
Southern Baptist church and family are uncomfortable with the subject.
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Teenager Ahtoy Wonpat-Borja, who discovered herself through Buddhism after
her father's recent suicide.
At stake for Alston is whether or not he has the faith to be a minister
– but for everyone, the challenge is to weather the worst life has to offer,
support each other regardless of belief, and affirm life in the face of
tragedy.
Press Release
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