"Facing Truth of Being a Gay Christian"

First, sorry the site went a couple of days without being updated. I had my gallbladder removed on Thursday and I'm just beginning to get my legs back under me.

More importantly, Pastor David Shelton of the Christian Community Church of Clarksville, TN was featured in an article published in Clarksville's local newspaper, The Leaf Chronicle. Titled "Facing Truth of Being a Gay Christian," Pastor Shelton talks about that topic in some depth:

Shelton says people can "get away from trying to fix their gay identity, or absolve their gay identity, and be the child of God they were meant to be."

Through his writing and his church, Shelton hopes to show people who have been harmed by the Christian church that they can return to their faith and find love and welcome.

"I want to serve the people who have been hurt, wounded, crushed," he says. "I want to minister to the walking wounded — that's a hard thing to do. A lot of people, when they have arrows sticking out of their backs, they don't want to talk about God."

He offers a message of God's grace, hope and love with no expectation for how people will react to it.

"This is the path I'm taking. I invite people to join me. The good news is Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. And he was resurrected, which is what we celebrate on Easter," Shelton says. "The grace of God is for everybody. That's my mission. That's my message."

It's a wonderful message indeed, one which Pastor Shelton wrote about at some length in his book, "The Rainbow Kingdom: Christianity and the Homosexual Reconciled," which I reviewed here a while back.

David also let me know that this article has spurred quite a discussion over at the site Topix.net. There are, as you would unfortunately expect, some nasty comments is a discussion that had 543 posts to it as I write this, so check it out only if you have the stomach for it.

African-American Gays Often Shunned at Historically Black Colleges

We often look to our institutions of higher learning to be on the cutting endge of social change, but according to this Associated Press story, one thing has been very slow in changing at America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)---GLBT students aren't particularly welcome.

At numerous black colleges students say outdated rules and homophobia block them from forming the gay campus voice common at majority white institutions.

According to the report, a cause-and-effect of this is likely many of these institutions having been founded by religious institutions and African-American churches' (often passionate) opposition to homosexuality.

It's kind of hard to be out on campus and still be successful," said Vincent Allen Jr., head of Safe Space at Atlanta's Morehouse College. "As an out gay man, if I wanted to pledge, that door is pretty much shut to me. That's just the way it is."

This report draws a comparision between some of the major HBCUs in Virginia and large universities like Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia regarding their acceptance of GLBT students and organizations. The HBCU's do not stack up very well.

I have written before that I believe GLBT activists need to find their own voice in the 21st century and not try to piggy-back onto the African-American civil rights struggles of the 1960's, but I still find it ironic that the HBCUs appear to be a stronghold against rights for GLBT students, even more so because of their ties to religious organizations.

Hopefully giving that situation some national attention will help enbarass leaders at those schools to reevaluate their policies and consider making ALL students feel welcome.

Feature on Ex-Gay Therapy...In Glamour Magazine?

I never pictured Glamour Magazine being a source for this blog, but there is a big-time story featured in the latest issue that certainly pertains to the scope of what I cover here.

Christine Bakke, who recently co-founded the community "Beyond Ex-Gay," was featured in a story titled "They tried to cure me of being gay." Christine talks about the influence Love In Action, the ex-gay group sponsored by Focus on the (Straight) Family had on her parents, and how her mother told her that, since she was a lesbian, they would not be able to spend eternity in heaven together.

Gee, I wonder why she suffered depression and had problems with alcohol?

Christine tried to force herself to live a straight lifestyle, but had a awakening when she saw Peterson Toscano perform his show "Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House," where he talked about his ex-gay experiences. Toscano is the other co-founder of the "Beyond Ex-Gay" community.

This is an interesting story that is far from over, but the new chapter Christine is writing is heading in a much happier direction.

I'm proud that Christine's blog, Rising Up Whole, links back to Straight, Not Narrow. After reading the Glamour article, you might be interested in visiting her site and keeping up with her journey.

Visit The 10th Edition of the Interntional Carnival of Pozitives

As always, I'm pleased to point readers toward the latest edition of the International Carnival of Pozitives. In case you haven't heard of this before, the ICP was founded by Ron Hudson, an HIV positive man, "for people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. This includes every human being on the planet Earth.”

My wife Pastor Brenda has known a disturbing number of people durning her ministry work in the GLBT community that have lost their battle with AIDS. Ron has worked to put together a collection of stories that emphasize surviving, even thriving, with HIV.

I'm proud to say I'll be hosting an edition here at Straight, Not Narrow, probably this summer. I encourage you to take some time to check out edition #10.

GSA Clubs "A Haven From Hurt"

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

When a student in Cara Cerise's ceramics class at Salt Lake City's Highland High School told her he had a solution to the gay marriage issue, she was ready to listen.

"Just kill everyone who's gay," she remembers the classmate saying.

Shocked, Cara started to cry. The daughter of a gay man, the teenager knew she needed to find a safe haven at school where she would not be judged.

It was through the school's gay-straight alliance (GSA), now melded into Highland's social-justice club, that Cara found a home.

Despite this and stories like it that are described in detail within the article, the Utah state legislature recently voted to add restrictions like requiring parental permission for students to join school-affiliated clubs. It was generally understood that this was an effort to undermine the ability of GLBT students to participate in GSAs since they would have to tell their parents what club they were joining.

Hal Newman, an openly gay history teacher at Hunter High, believes the mere existence of a GSA has the power to change the way people think. "Just by being, we raise consciousness," he said.

Of course, that's what religious conservatives don't want.

Several students have told him that without the club, they would have contemplated suicide.

For some students, the adult suspicion of GSAs can be explained by the age gap between politicians and teenagers today. They're criticizing something that's totally unfamiliar.

"I just don't think they understand what the club is all about, because they didn't have that when they were in high school," said Cara, the Highland student. "Things have changed."

True enough, and they continue to change despite efforts of anti-gay activists to turn back the clocks and keep GLBT students cowering in their closets.

Other Sheep Seeks Donors to Sponsor LGBT Trip to Kenya

I received this from Steve Parelli, the Executive Director of the organization Other Sheep. Their mission statement is "Other Sheep is the only worldwide ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to empowering sexual minorities throughout the world with the Good News of God's unconditional love for all and salvation through God's Son, Jesus Christ."

Steve forwarded this press release regarding their upcoming trip to Nairobi, Kenya. Please consider supporting their efforts.


Emmanuel Kamau (known as "Aunty Ivy" throughout Africa) has invited Steve Parelli and Jose Ortiz of Other Sheep to come to Nairobi, Kenya, this summer (July and August 2007) to conduct "safe space" groups that will focus on instruction and discussion on issues and interests pertaining to homosexuality.

Emmanuel Kamau is Founder (1997) and Director of Ishtar MSM (men who have sex with men), an organization that works among gay men for HIV and AIDS education and prevention. He has served on UN and state advisory councils and is an international speaker. He recently became interested in Other Sheep through contact with Other Sheep's New York City committee that works to distribute throughout Africa the book The Children Are Free: Reexaming the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships, co-authored by Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley.

Kamau, while visiting family in the United States, traveled to New York City in March of 2007 and for eleven days resided in the home of Steve Parelli and Jose Ortiz during which time he met twice with the NYC Other Sheep committee to discuss and plan for Other Sheep's 2007 summer work in Nairobi with Ishtar MSM.

Steve Parelli, Executive Director of Other Sheep, and Jose Ortiz his partner of nine years and Other Sheep Coordinator for Africa, will conduct the Nairobi "safe space" groups. A curriculum will be used that will emphasize homosexuality as it relates to religion, society, family members, the social sciences and psychology, and human rights. Targeted participants will be the LGBT community, their parents and friends, and any interested party. Three different locations will be chosen in Nairobi for weekly meeting places in order to reach a wider range of people within the city. Each "safe place" class will run for four weeks. Kamau, Parelli and Ortiz will use the time between classes to meet and connect with individuals. It is hoped that a permanent pro-active group will grow out of these meetings and will continue to meet on a regular basis creating fellowship and addressing the areas of need particular to the group and the region.

Other Sheep is currently seeking donors to help with costs. Financial gifts can be sent to Other Sheep, c/o Gordon I. Herzog, Co-Chairperson, Board of Directors, 16768 Old Jamestown Rd. Florissant, MO 63034. Other Sheep is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt organization. Donors will receive a receipt for their contributions. Questions can be directed to Steve Parelli at sparelli2002@yahoo.com.

Here's a direct link with more information about this project:
http://www.othersheepexecsite.com/Kenya_Project_2007_Donor_Page.html

Tolerance Would Be a Start

I'm encouraged that columns like this seem to be appearing more often in the mainstream media. No new ground here, but I believe this piece in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is worth reading nonetheless for the way the writer, O. Ricardo Pimentel, approaches the subject:

Parents sued a Massachusetts school district after, in one case, class material that included a gay family came home and, in another case, after a teacher read from a book about two gay princes.

Given their resistance to having their children exposed to such notions, it's inescapable that what the suing parents are really saying is gays are bad. And because the parents cited their religion, that gays are against God's law. Which are all ways of saying, "You disgust me so much that I need to shelter my school-age children from even knowing you exist until I get a chance first to convince them that you are disordered."

Yes, this is the stuff tolerance is made of.

Or maybe they will, in what they perceive to be a burst of magnanimity, tell their children to hate the sin but love the sinner. The message in that for gays? Submit (change so that there are no more of you left); go away; just keep it to yourself (hide who you are and what you, yuck, do).

Yes, this is what people tell people they love.

This poppycock might be cloaked in the fine raiment of religious freedom or choice, but the folks who utter it are judging one group of people who, near as I and compelling research can tell, were made by the same God they believe in. In other words, not created by their social environments but by whatever occurs in that wondrous process when humans are created.

The courts ruled against the parents that brought suit, which of course resulted in charges of the court system furthering the infamous "homosexual agenda," which is what the right wing usually says when courts choose upholding the U. S. Constitution rather than their bigotry.

You've got to love a writer who uses the word "poppycock," but I wish Mr. Pimentel had not focused on the word "tolerance." Sure, that would be a major improvement over the attitudes he derides in his column, but is that the end goal we're seeking with the GLBT community? Should I walk up to the gay and lesbian members of my church next Sunday, hug them, and say, "I tolerate you." I know at least with a couple of them, I'd better plan on ducking if I pulled something like that.

Tolerance is an incremental step, much like civil unions are in the issue of same-sex marriage, but acceptance of GLBT people as full-fledged members of society needs to be the end result. A bad rash, you can tolerate. Traffic at rush hour, you can tolerate. Gay and lesbian people should be accepted.
Why? Because they're people and God made them.

Thanks to PageOneQ for the tip.

Hope: The Message of Easter

When I looked out at our congregation during this morning's church service as I prepared to read one of the scripture passages, I knew there were some people sitting there who desperately needed to hear the message of Easter--the message of hope.

I worship a God who came to earth in human form, allowed Himself to die a brutal death, then arose from the dead all to be the beacon of hope toward eternal life and eternal peace with Him once our time in the flesh was done.

He permitted His earthly body to be killed to show us what He was willing to endure for us, to show us how much He loved us. He then conquered death by rolling back the stone from his burial tomb and raising from the dead to show us how powerful faith in Him truly was.

I write this tonight, as I do most of my work here, to the GLBT community, especially those of you who have little or no hope of a better life awaiting you, either here on earth or in heaven. Part of that is probably because you've had it hammered in your head to where it saturates your psyche that you don't deserve God's love because you are a homosexual. You've probably been lectured to, possibly by your own family, how God hates gays and lesbians and the only path to heaven is to pray to Him to change your very nature.

That's God filtered through what they've been taught and/or their own prejudices. Unfortunately, that really tells you more about the person delivering that message than it does about God.

Apostle Dale, as he so often does, nailed it during his message this morning. He knows that people run across the Believers Covenant Fellowship website and see his smiling face on the home page. They know nothing about him, but sometimes they try to learn by asking others without making direct contact with him. It's tough to get a clear understanding of who someone is if you don't establish direct contact with them.

You see, that's what those who spread the message of hate toward homosexuals don't want GLBT people to do. They want gay and lesbian people to accept that God is as THEY say He is. Regardless of how authoratative they sound, how many years they may have spent in seminary, and how many verses of the Bible they quote to make their point, it is still THEIR point.

We all need to understand God by asking God who He is. We need to get into his word, the Bible, for ourselves. I regard the Bible as the roadmap to God, the pathway to understanding and receiving salvation and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Don't shake you head and say that He won't listen to you. Don't assume he won't communicate with you in some way. I know I don't hear his voice but I reach points of clarity and understanding when I seek him out. He will do the same for you. He wants to reach out and love you just as you are. I've seen first hand at my church when God has taken GLBT people from the depths of despair and given them love and hope.

Don't take my word for it. Seek God for yourself. If you don't know where to start, e-mail me at straight_notnarrow@yahoo.com or seek out Apostle Dale as bcfemail@aol.com. We can point you in the right direction, regardless of if you are straight, gay, lesbian, and no matter what type of sins you may have committed, so you can join us in walking with God.

Your peace and eternal happiness is not determined by any preacher, parent, spouse, family member, or friend. It's solely between you and God. He's reaching out for you right now. All you need to do is reach back.

God bless you on this Easter Sunday.

Another Anti-Bullying Battleground

Shouldn't governments do everything possible to insure that public schools are a safe place for ALL students? There are, to me at least, a surprising number of legislators who disagree, and it just makes my hair hurt.

One of the major issues being debated these days across the United States that affects the GLBT community is bullying in schools. Michigan has turned into a battleground state for that issue, and it's a battle GLBT students are in serious danger of losing.

The bill under consideration lists several specific areas for which students may not be harassed, one of them being homosexuality. From the Detroit Free Press article:

Opposition largely exists because the measure would prohibit bullying based on a victim’s sexual orientation — along with a number of other characteristics such as height, weight, religion and race.

Michigan law shouldn’t formally recognize homosexual behavior, conservatives say, nor should gays get special protection. Republicans favor a broad ban against all bullying in schools.

"Formally recognize homosexual behavior?" What are they doing, forming their own government and seeking diplomatic relations? Not recognizing GLBT students will keep them in their place, these conservatives are probably hoping--the closet.

Gay rights groups and others respond that the bills don’t single out any group and say listing why students may be harassed would keep schools from ignoring certain types of intimidation.

A law would send a strong message that bullying must be taken seriously, says Kevin Epling of East Lansing, whose 14-year-old son, Matt, killed himself in 2002 after being smeared with raw eggs and syrup during a hazing incident.

“This isn’t a political issue. This is a very simple issue of right and wrong,” Epling said. “Our kids should not have to be going to school and fearing for their own safety.”

If the measure is enacted, it would be the first time state law separates gays and lesbians into a protected class, according to the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan.“Public school officials have a legal duty not to put children at risk by in any way legitimizing or encouraging homosexual behavior,” said Gary Glenn, the group’s president.

I wonder if Mr. Glenn has spoken to Mr. Epling. Perhaps Mr. Glenn should visit Matt Epling's grave and consider how legitimate Matt's life was.

GLBT Equality Advocates Need to Focus on the "Grays"

So what does that mean? It is a term used in this report on The Huffington Post. Writer Geoffrey R. Stone analyzes a new survey by The Third Way Culture Project that reveals "a general national warming trend on issues relating to gays and lesbians." More from that story:

The Third Way report found that heterosexual Americans fall into roughly three equal size categories when it comes to gay issues. The "pro-gay polars" strongly support equal rights for gays and lesbians and do not attach any moral value to sexual orientation. Most of these individuals have come to this view over time and believe that the transformation in their thinking reflects significant insight, understanding, and personal growth. The "anti-gay polars" believe that being gay is "unnatural and against God." They tend to view gays as "societal outlaws." Although they generally oppose violence and bigotry directed against gays, they fear that extending equal rights to gays and lesbians would "put America on a dangerously wrong path." The third group, the "grays," are conflicted. They are torn between their desire to be tolerant, fair, and respectful of individual liberty and their lingering discomfort with homosexuality. The "grays" tend to accept that sexual orientation is not simply a matter of choosing a lifestyle, but they worry that "society is moving too fast."

The Third Way report concluded that those who want to move public opinion along the path toward greater acceptance of equal rights for gays and lesbians should focus particularly on the "grays" and should emphasize three points: (1) Legal protections for same-sex relationships address a real, not a made up problem. (Interestingly, a majority of Americans (56% v. 39%) do not believe that same-sex couples lack significant legal protections.) (2) The legal recognition of same-sex relationships does not undermine the institution of marriage. (Perhaps ironically, at a time when fewer and fewer Americans are marrying, there is a concern that the legal recognition of same-sex relationships could be the death knell for the institution of marriage.) (3) The legal recognition of same-sex relationships represents progress for the nation. (Although 70% of Americans believe the United States will legalize civil unions within a decade, almost half of all Americans worry that this is not progress. They are concerned that greater acceptance of gays and lesbians could cause the erosion of moral standards and damage to children raised in such families.) These are all serious political concerns that merit a serious response.

In the end, the goal, in my view, should be to enlighten all Americans to understand that the legal recognition of equal rights for gays and lesbians is an appropriate extension of the American ideal of equality and the proper next stage in the nation's long and admirable struggle to provide equal treatment to all persons, regardless of race, religion, gender, national origin, disability, and now sexual orientation.

In political elections, the target audience for campaigners is usually the undecided voter. Regarding GLBT issues, a primary target audience for advocates needs to be the "grays." I hope some of them drop by and read this blog.

Go Ahead and Teach the Bible in Schools--Carefully

I read the controversial Time magazine article, "The Case For Teaching The Bible," and finally decided to throw in my two cents here since it could be a hot button issue for some of this blog's readers.

Back in the dark ages , the 1970's, when I went to high school and there actually was effective separation of church and state, my school offered classes titled, "The Bible as Literature." I regret not taking them then, but friends I spoke to didn't feel like they were being taught religion. They went through the text as they would books like Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations," (I'd love to have the month of my life back we spent studying that novel in English lit) going through and discussing writing styles and weaving the various stories together. It was an elective so nobody was forced to take it, and I never heard a complaint about those classes except the difficulty of the text and the demands of the teacher.

Not having kids, I've lost touch to some extent regarding school cirriculums, but I gather classes like that have been phased out over the years. I believe that, if taught within the perameters I recall from my high school days, this could be an interesting and challenging elective class. No student should be required to study the bible, and controversial issues like the time frame of creation and biblical views on homosexuality should be avoided. There is plenty of value to study in the Bible without addressing specific religious doctrine. It would be difficult to achieve this balance, but not impossible.

I would suggest going one better. I believe schools should offen classes in the Koran. If I were still a student, I'd be at the front of the line to sign up for it. I'm not Muslim nor do I have any interest in converting, but I would like to understand what that religion is truly about. I don't trust talking heads on television or biased radio talk show hosts to tell me if the Muslim faith is by its very nature dangerous. I think it would only benefit young people to study the book as it is written and draw their own conclusions.

Sadly, I think this is the last thing the Religious Right wants people, especially young ones, to do and will do everything they can to discourage it. If people like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and James Dobson come out and support Bible teaching in schools, I will be instinctively distrustful because I believe they would only support something that would suit their agenda of preaching hate and exclusion in God's name. They don't want people approaching the Bible with open minds, and they most certainly would not accept any teaching of the Koran that did not totally demonize Muslims.

I'm all for open, unbiased education--the best weapon to use against radical, conservative right-wing zealots.

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" John 8:32

New Community for Ex-Gays

My fellow blogger Peterson Toscano has teamed up with Christine Bakke to start a new community for ex-gays, "Beoynd Ex-Gay." This from their website:

We believe that ex-gay experiences cause more harm than good. Certain people who currently identify as ex-gay say they are content as such. We don’t seek to invalidate their experience. For us such a lifestyle was not possible or healthy.

Not that it was all bad: Some of us received positive help through our ex-gay experiences. We grew to understand our sexuality better and in some cases even overcame life-controlling problems.

There's not anger or hatred there, just open hearts and open arms for others that they want to help either avoid the pain that they've endured or walk them through it and facilitate the healing process.

If you have gone through therapy with the goal of "curing" your same-sex attraction or are currently "struggling" with it, I highly recommend you hook up with these folks.

Peterson will also be appearing on the Tyra Banks show that will be brodcast on April 12--check it out.

Gay Youth: GLBT Ambassadors

That's the conclusion of this article from The Advocate.

Young people, some barely in their teens, are becoming the gay rights movement's newest ambassadors at statehouses from Olympia, Wash., to Montpelier, Vt. Their advocacy, unheard of as recently as a decade ago, reflects the slowly growing acceptance that is emboldening gays and lesbians to come out of the closet while they are coming of age.

Veteran activists credit the political participation of gay youths, their straight friends, and children of same-sex parents with a string of recent legislative victories, including last month's passage of an anti-bullying bill that provides specific protections for gay and lesbian students in Iowa.

One of the greatest challenges of being a young man or woman is figuring out what you believe in. Of course, a person is going to be much more effective with that if they understand and accept who they truly are. After all, can we really be effective advocates for any issue if we don't believe in ourselves?

The Right Wing Homophobes Lose One

This is an excerpt from a column written by Joe Murray for a publication in Philadelphia, The Evening Bulletin writtin in response to General Pace's recent "homosexuality is immoral" comments:

If troop safety is AFA's (American Family Association)primary concern, and not fear-mongering, why hasn't AFA demanded Bush bring these soldiers home? Does it really think the "political situation" of gays in the military presents a greater harm to soldiers than the bullets flying in Baghdad or are other motives being subtly conveyed to an America populace who are already fearful, thanks to past action alerts, of the "homosexual agenda?"

Conservative groups had an opportunity to bring a sense of Christian compassion to this debate, but opted instead to scare supporters into believing homosexuals were trying to raise the rainbow flag over the Pentagon. This is not political activism based upon Christian principle; it is fear mongering based on the politics of man.

Good stuff, and it gets better. Pace used to work for the AFA and was one of their propaganda writers. Over at Pam's House Blend, Pam Spaulding interviewed Murray about his change of heart. I recommend reading the entire interview, but here are a couple of highlights:

After adopting the AFA party line for some time, something in the back of my head kept tearing away at my conscience. How could AFA, an earthly organization, declare the divine intention of the God and condemn the souls of homosexuals? How was it that men could make the declaration of who was getting into Heaven and who was getting the one-way ticket to Hades?

That being said, the issue of gay rights has been weighing heavy on my mind for quite some time. The gay issue is a human issue, and thus I strongly believe that it must be approached with concern and compassion. Furthermore, the individuals engaging in the debate must recognized that behind the theories there are real life human beings that are made in the image of the Creator.

Gays and lesbians are "real life human beings made in the image of the Creator?" Boy, having a former employee say that must really grind the cookies of the AFA leadership.

Good.

Gaining Strength From Accepting Who You Are

This article from the New York Times does a wonderful job in showing how gay youngsters are coming to terms with their sexual identity and benefiting from it. The article also relates how parents are also doing a much better job than they used to in dealing with it.

Dan Woog, a writer and longtime soccer coach at Staples High in Westport, helped found OutSpoken in 1993. He says for the first 10 years, the typical member was 17 to 22 years old. “They’d come in saying: ‘I’m gay. My life is over,’ ” Mr. Woog says. “One literally hyperventilated walking through the door.”

But in recent years, he says, the kids are 14 to 17 and more confident. “They say: ‘Hi, I’m gay. How do I meet people?’ ”

For the first 10 years, Mr. Woog never saw a parent; meetings were from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, so members could get out of the house without arousing suspicion. Now, he says, parents often bring the child to the first meeting.

He believes teenagers are coming out sooner because the Internet makes them feel less isolated and they’re seeing positive role models in the media.

This article details the process of a teenager named Zach O'Connor and his family as they walked together through the process of Zach coming out. The thing that strikes me the most about this is all of the "unlearning" that Zach won't have to go through. Since I've been involved with the GLBT community, I've seen many horror stories of how people coming out in their 20's. 30's and 40's have to learn a brand new set of social skills. If you've been brought up to act one way, it is an uphill battle to develop an entirely new lifestyle.

Fortunately, it appears more young men and women are avoiding that these days.

Anglican Head Wants Churces to be "Safe Place" for GLBT People

From The Christian Post:

The Church is challenged to show that it is truly a safe place for people to be honest and where they may be confident that they will have their human dignity respected, said the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams spoke just after the Anglican Communion made available an interim report on churches' commitment to listen to the experience of homosexual people.

"The commitments of the Communion are not only to certain theological positions on the question of sexual ethics but also to a manifest and credible respect for the proper liberties of homosexual people," Williams stated.

"There are contexts where it is difficult to find a safe place for gay and lesbian people to speak about their lives openly," said the Anglican leader. "There are contexts where people assume the debate is over. The report shows that listening is possible, but also that there is a great deal still to be done. The work continues, but we have a solid start here."

"I share the concerns expressed about situations where the Church is seen to be underwriting social or legal attitudes which threaten these proper liberties [of homosexual people]," stated Williams. "It is impossible to read this [interim] report without being aware that in many places – including Western countries with supposedly ‘liberal’ attitudes – hate crimes against homosexual people have increased in recent years and have taken horrifying and disturbing forms."

Treating GLBT people like, well, people, is an important fundamental step toward not tolerating them but completely accepting them as full and equal partners in God's kingdom. It sounds like Archbishop Williams gets that, but the U. S. branch of the Anglicans, the Episcopal Church, is still under a September 30 deadline to respond to a moratorium on consecrating homosexuals and blessing same-sex unions.

I'll be keeping an eye on that situation as it develops.

UK Prime Minister Takes Strong Stand for LGBT Rights

United Kingdom Prime Minister Tony Blair recently delivered the keynote address at a dinner for Stonewall, the UK's biggest gay rights organization - making Blair what is believed to be the first time a national leader has addressed an LGBT civil rights group while still in office.

Blair told the guests at London's ritzy Dorchester Hotel that one of his proudest accomplishments has been in enacting a national LGBT civil rights law and the passage of Britain's partnership unions law that gives gay couples all of the rights of marriage, although not the name.

"[By] taking a stand on this issue and by removing a piece of prejudice and discrimination, and by enabling people to stand proud as what they are, it has had an impact that I think is far more profound on the way the country thinks about itself."

Although joined at the hip with U. S. President Bush concerning the efforts in the Iraq war, Blair has taken a divergent path from Bush on gay rights since Bush has pushed for a Constitutional amendment making same-sex marriage illegal and is opposing a hate crime bill currently under consideration in Congress.

Kudos to Prime Minister Blair for bringing some civility back to Western civilization.

More Opportunities For GLBT People in the Jewish Faith

From an Associated Press report via the Washington Post:

The seminary considered the flagship institution of Conservative Judaism said Monday it will start accepting gay and lesbian applicants, after scholars who guide the movement lifted the ban on gay ordination.

The Conservative branch holds the middle ground in American Judaism, adhering to tradition while allowing some change for modern circumstances.

The larger and more liberal Reform Jewish movement, as well as the smaller Reconstructionist wing, allow gays to become rabbis; the Orthodox branch bars gays and women from ordination.

In December, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards voted to allow the seminaries to decide on their own whether to admit openly gay students. However, their decision also left leeway for synagogues to reject gay and lesbian clergy if the congregations believe that same-sex relationships violate Scripture.

There is more detail within the article I've linke to. Kudos to these Jewish leaders who have taken an important step forward for GLBT equality.

Rising From Humble Beginnings to the "World's Largest Gay Church"

The Washington Post ran a recent Reuters report about the Cathederal of Hope, a gay-affirming church in Dallas, Texas (how deliciously ironic is that location?) that claims to be the world's biggest gay church. Recently affiliating itself with the gay-friendly United Church of Christ, the Cathederal of Hope has 3,500 members and a worship center that can seat up to 900 people.

Jo Hudson, the senior pastor and rector of the church, estimates up to 90% of the membership is GLBT.

You can click here to visit the Cathederal of Hope website. It sounds like their message directly ties in with their name.

There Are Traeoffs for Black Pastors Who Accept GLBT People

Accoring to this report in the New York Times, Rev. Dennis Mereith of Tabernacle Baptist Church began preaching about acceptance of gay men and lesbians and promptly lost 300 of the 1,100 members of his church. Rev. Oliver White, senior minister of Grace Community Church, lost nearly his entire 70 person membership after he supported same-sex marriage in their denomination, the United Church of Christ. Attendance at Victory Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia fell from 6,000 a week to 3,000 after Rev. Kenneth L. Samuel began preaching acceptance of GLBT people.

It is no coincidence that both of these churches have congregations primarily made up of African-Americans.

“The church has to come to a point when it has to embrace all the people Jesus embraced, and that means the people in the margins,” Dr. Samuel said. “It really bothered my congregation when I said that as people of color who have been ostracized, marginalized, how can we turn around now and oppress other people?”

Speaking for the other side:

“It is one of several factors that are taking away the interest in traditional marriage in the African-American community,” said Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr., the president of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, a black conservative Christian group.

I recommend checking out the entire article to read about those black preachers who are courageous enough to stand up for equality inclusive of ALL people.