For months, our attention here in Pittsburgh has been given to one of the nation's most outspoken mongerers of Christo-intolerance, Episcopal Bishop Duncan. Even as Pittsburgh's Episcopal diocese moves increasingly to the conservative right with a threat to leave the Episcopal body and seek refuge in the worldwide Anglican union, there are voices in the wildnerness calling for justice -- biblically based justice.
Today's Post-Gazette delves into the interesting story of Dr. Harold T. Lewis, pastor of Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside. Dr. Lewis and his flock have stood up against the "uncharitable, misguided and wrong" conservatism of just about everyone else in the local Episcopal diocese.
"The thing that bothers me about the immutability [of the Bible] argument is that people point to the seven or eight verses that people like to point to that say that homosexuality is off the charts," he said. "But in the holiness codes, there are all kinds of statements and all kinds of justifications for putting people to death, like sassing your parents or not trimming your beard properly or wearing two kinds of cloth."
The church's views change, he said, citing divorce and race as examples. Interpretations by Europeans or wealthy scholars or the Roman Catholic Church are being challenged now by what Dr. Lewis calls, "the eyes of the oppressed." It's the same Bible, he says, but different eyes are now interpreting it.
In return for his stance on a social justice issue, Dr. Lewis has been booed at diocesan events and roundly criticized for legal battles over church properties. In the face of this hostility, he remains unwaveringly committed to actingin what he perceives to be most consistent with canon and justice, even if it puts him in direct opposition to his bishop.
A parallel article covers the return of Bishop Duncan from the recent bishopal conference in Africa.
Bishop Duncan led a delegation of the network to a meeting of church leaders in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, earlier this month where they successfully pushed for a church declaration setting a deadline of Sept. 30 for the American bishops to state unequivocally that they will not approve same-sex unions or consecrate any gays as bishops.
A lone voice of quiet dissent, Sue Boulden questioned the Bishop on his group's role in oppressing gays throughout the world.
"It seems to me the meeting has accomplished what the conservative movement wants to do, which is throw my people -- the gays and lesbians of the world -- under the bus again," Mrs. Boulden said.
The remark, which drew some gasps, received a quiet reply from Bishop Duncan that "orientation is not the issue. Activity is," and that he opposes the oppression of gays.
Boulden refers to recent legislation in Nigeria that would make any "activity" related to homosexuality illegal and punishable by imprisonment. Not just 'gay sex' mind you, but two gay people being in the same public place, distributing condoms, meetings of groups like PFLAG and so forth. For Bishop Duncan to parse activity from orientation with regard to this legislation is the height of hypocrisy, given his own press release accusing opponents of the legislation of being "colonialists."
Apparently, the individual rights of gays and lesbians in Nigeria shouldn't be subject to the same scrutiny as Nigerian Christians being persecuted by "Islamic extremists." Apparently, international standards of human rights only apply to people who deserve refuge.
Take heart, Pittsburgh, for in the face of the institutional sponsored oppression that is the local Episcopal church, two differents kinds of voices cry out -- voices like Ms. Boulden's who speak from the pews and voices like Dr. Lewis' from the pulpit. That's a mighty combination and one, I think, that will prove formidable as the church continues to wrestle these matters.
Andrew Anthos, a 72 year old Michigan gay man who was viciously beaten with a pipe outside his apartment, has died from his injuries. He survived for several days, paralyzed and barely able to breathe. Here's my post on the original attack.
This man was riding home from the public library on a public bus. You don't get more benign than that. Then he helps a wheel-chair bound person manage through the snow. Then he gets hit on the head with a pipe and left for dead by someone who thought he was gay.
That's what you get in a society that wants to keep an entire group of people in second-class status. When you say we don't deserve to be married, we don't deserve civil rights protections, we don't deserve respect and dignity and freedom ... you send a clear message to the maniac pipe-wielding idiots in society that we are fair game.
I'm looking forward to the Christian right wingers speaking out to condemn this act of violent hatred. I'm looking forward to the bus driver and the other riders helping to identify the murderer. I'm looking forward to a local church starting a fund to help the Anthos family. The gay community has already stepped up on that one so maybe the local churches can join that effort.
The Post-Gazette has a thoughtful piece on Dreams of Hope, a local drama troupe for LGBTQ teens and their allies. Their performance theme this year is "Gay Youth in Good Faith."
"One of the biggest themes is the personal issue of sin, of how something that is so natural and doesn't seem like a bad thing, can be seen as horrible and people reject them for it. That is a big issue that most of them are dealing with," said [founder]Ms. [Susan] Haugh.
One need only read back posts on this blog to verify that the intersection of faith and sexual orientation can be treacherous. It can also be uplifting and magnificent as our own local Reverend Janet Edwards has demonstrated.
The youth themselves have different experiences of faith -- in some cases, acceptance by their faith community while others have been cast out by their very own clergy-parents. What's cool about these young people is that they channel those individual experiences of faith into a constructive dialogue for the larger LGBTQ community.
What a great gift for those of who aren't so much youth any longer. These kids are creatively exploring these intersections of identity that perplex the hell out of most adults, particularly gay people of faith in non-affirming communities.
Kudos to Dreams of Hope for being a few steps ahead of the rest of us, but inviting us along for the journey.
One scene re-creates a bus ride two actors took during which another rider condemned them by reciting Bible verses.
"That really hurt me, because I believe in God," said Renee Ballard, 20, a pastor's daughter from the North Side, who was on the bus.
Ms Ballard said that when she came out as a lesbian, her relatives rejected her, asking how she could still call herself a Christian. But there has since been reconciliation, she said.
"I told them I believe in God and God is in my life no matter what I'm doing. God loves me, no matter what. My sister came and said that she would also love me, no matter what," she said.
We here at Lesbian Central are pleased that our good friend and all-around groovy middle aged white guy John McIntire wants to expand his repetoire of gay jokes beyond the phrase "butt fuck." He now seems hung up on kissing (lesbian kissing, Snickers eatin' men kissing, Ravenstahl's ass kissing ...) but that's movement in the right direction. We hope one day soon he'll be able to get through an entire broadcast without sexualizing lesbians for his own sordid pleasure. We doubt it, but one can always hope. :-)
Now for the real homo round up. Not the City of Pittsburgh Police on a Friday night in Schenley Park homo round up.
Check out Pam's House Blend on DOMA stances of the assorted Presidential candidates.
Why the statement "I support civil unions" is meaningless
All of this nonsense is why I've been saying that the Dem presidential candidates have an obligation to voters to define what they mean when they toss out "I support civil unions" as a salve to gays. Asking for clarity, commitment and well-thought-out answers on the matter is not flogging the issue. There is a morass of separate-but-unequal legislation being debated and amendments voted on "by the people" right now.
Meanwhile, the Anglican and Episcopal chuch struggles to find unity in the midst of turmoil over gay and female ordination among other social justice issues.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski told Ireland that homosexuality will lead to the destruction of the human race. However, he is willing to refrain from forcing people into therapy as long as they don't promote their orientation. The Irish were not impressed.
Two lesbians were arrested for a non-violent protest at the Focus on the Family headquarters. Big Daddy Dobson was not available for comment.
The US Air Force considered developing a "gay conversion" chemical weapon in the mid-nineties. Because apparently turning your opponents gay somehow makes them less effective in the battlefield.
And, finally a shout out to another homo-lovin comedian, Sarah Silverman who was quoted in Out thus:
"The people -- both the Republicans and the pussy Democrats -- that won't stand up for gay rights have made the idea of marriage ugly to me."
The City Paper's Melissa Meinzer offers us a peek into the world of Brent Dugan's flock after his tragic suicide, fueled in part by KDKA's planned story on his homosexual activities. To put it bluntly, a lot of people over there hate Marty Griffin for his role in this story and view him as completely responsible for Dugan's death.
What you don't read in the article is much reflection on the part of his congregation about Dugan's struggles with his homosexual identity. Outsiders like Pastor Janet Edwards reflect on the larger struggle of the Presbyterian Church with the issue, but this is what you get from his congregation:
After the first time [Jane] DeSimone and her husband met Dugan, she says, they briefly and privately discussed their impression that he might be gay. "Who cares?" she says with a shrug. "I definitely didn't care. I just dismissed it."
That strikes me as so sad. Not caring or dismissing sexual orientation is a far, far cry from accepting, embracing and affirming people with diverse sexual orientations.
Brent Dugan was on a collision course with disaster far before KDKA poked into some of his activities. He dedicated his life to a faith community which imposed conceptions of sexuality that did not fit his identity. Clearly,the fear of being labeled "gay" in a gay-dismissive environment can push someone to secret sexual behavior much like Ted Haggard.
Its an interesting comparison between Haggard preached in an environment that was much more openly hostile to gay people, yet he pops into rehab, declares himself cured and is back in the limelight. Dugan obviously struggled deeply with his sexual identity in a faith community that prefers to sidestep the issue if at all possible, yet sought a solution much more final that Haggard. Haggard compounded his sins with infidelity and drug abuse (not to mention hypocrisy in the pulpit). Dugan was an unmarried man whose relationships hurt only himself. No evidence of drug use and certainly no reports that he preached hate from his pulpit.
The problem is not the media's investigative journalism. Its not the risky behavior of individual pastors. The problem is the heteronormative culture that pervades mainstream Christianity, imposing a rigid sexual conformity on everyone in its wake.
While the anger and despair of Pastor Dugan's congregation is understandable, it would compound the tragedy of his death if they failed to examine this aspect. Perhaps blaming KDKA is part of the healing process (and certainly KDKA will capitulate on their demands), but if they stop at that point then Brent Dugan's life as a man of faith struggling with his sexuality is effectively dismissed once again.
Abuja) The National Assembly held public hearings Wednesday on a bill to ban gay marriage and criminalize virtually all forms of gay expression in Nigeria.
The bill lays down penalties of up to five years for anyone watching or reading material deemed to be pro-gay either in public or in their own homes, and even would forbids meetings between two gay people.
In part, the proposed bill reads:
``Any person who is involved in the registration of gay clubs, societies and organizations, sustenance, procession or meetings, publicity and public show of same sex amorous relationship directly or indirectly in public and in private is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a term of five years imprisonment.''
Backers of the legislation said gay acts, which are already illegal in Nigeria, run counter to cultural and religious mores in the deeply traditional West African country.
Officials expect a vote before April. Here's all of our posts on this issue.
Timing is everything because this week a conference of Anglican worldwide leaders meets to try and figure out what to do about all the furor over ordaining queers and women. Anglican leader Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria is a proponent of the Nigerian legislation AND breaking ties with the American Episcopal church.
And who is one his very biggest fans? Pittsburgh's own Bishop Duncan, a staunch proponent of the Archbishop. Duncan famously claims that opposition to the legislation is colonialist.
Discovery Institute is pleased to co-present with CityClub of Seattle and the Seattle World Affairs Council a luncheon featuring U.S. Senator John McCain.
The Discovery Institute is a right-wing think tank with a well established track record as a proponent/defendant of Intelligent Design.
Think Progress also notes that McCain has been for creationism and against it -- flip-flopperama. In 2005 he said that intelligent design should be taught in schools, but last year he stated that ID didn't belong in science classroom.
For those of us unable to to attend Senator McCain's pandering er, presentation there is comfort to be found in the fact that the Creation Museum, located near Cincinnati, will open in June 2007.
[W]e'll take guests on a journey through a visual presenation of the history of the world, based on the ?7C's of History": Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation. Throughout this family-friendly experience, guests will learn how to answer the attacks on the Bible?s authority in geology, biology, anthropolocy, cosmology, etc., and they will discover how science actually confirms biblical history.
