NEWS STORY: Gay Christians Assess a Movement at a Crossroads

c. 2000 Religion News Service DEKALB, Ill. _ 2000 dawned as a year of promise and trepidation for gay and lesbian Christians as three prominent mainline Protestant denominations prepared to tackle the issue of gays in the church. For many, it was a landmark opportunity for greater acceptance and tolerance, while others feared conservatives might […]

c. 2000 Religion News Service

DEKALB, Ill. _ 2000 dawned as a year of promise and trepidation for gay and lesbian Christians as three prominent mainline Protestant denominations prepared to tackle the issue of gays in the church.

For many, it was a landmark opportunity for greater acceptance and tolerance, while others feared conservatives might try to push back the clock and remove any overtures toward gays and lesbians.


After three months of conventions, little has changed. Ironically, the greatest advances were made not by the Protestant churches but by Reform rabbis, who voted in March to allow the blessing of same-sex unions.

So as more than 1,000 gay Christians gathered here last weekend (Aug. 3-6) for the first-ever convention of their own, many seemed frustrated by a lack of progress and recognition as they took stock of 30 years of wins and losses.

But for others, there is a strong undercurrent of denominational defiance, a growing sense that denominations do not always speak for God, and that God does not necessarily speak through denominations.

“To hell with denominational rules,” said Brian Spolarich, a gay Presbyterian from Michigan. “We’re going to let God’s spirit break forth wherever it wants to.”

Thirty-one years after the Stonewall riots in New York City gave birth to the modern gay rights movement, many described the Witness Our Welcome 2000 conference as a sort of spiritual Stonewall moment.

It was the first time the gay-lesbian factions within a dozen or so Protestant churches had ever gotten together to worship, strategize and speak with one unified voice. For many, it was a kind of ecumenical coming-out party.

“This is the first time gay and lesbian people and their supporters have stood up and acted and said, `We’re not going to be studied anymore, we’re not going to be talked about anymore. We’re here to claim what is rightfully ours as children of God,”’ said Greg Egertson, a member of Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries.


In stirring worship and in small group sessions, the conference declared that gay Christians are Christians first and church members second. The idea is reflective of a larger trend in Christianity, where denominational labels and identity are increasingly less relevant.

Participants said while they will continue to work for change within the church structure, they will not wait for it to happen. “We’re not waiting for the church to accept us, or else we’d all be dead,” said the Rev. Janie Spahr, a fiery lesbian Presbyterian evangelist.

Instead, activists said they have waited long enough to assume their place as pastors, deacons and Sunday school teachers. By living honestly in individual congregations, they say they will eventually change the larger church.

While official rules may bar the blessing of same-sex unions and prohibit gay ordination, gays and lesbians say they have at least ignited a conversation and, according to Spahr, reached a “critical mass” which will eventually lead to action.

“It’s very clear to me that we’re moving toward a day of inclusion,” said the Rev. Jimmy Creech, a former Methodist pastor who was defrocked last year for officiating at a same-sex union ceremony. “This is a movement of God, not of people, and it can’t be stopped.”

Creech, who has become a poster boy of the gay rights movement, was a pastor for 29 years before being kicked out for violating church policy. His story and the stories of countless others reveal the uphill battle still faced by the gay Christian movement.


This summer, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Episcopal Church all voted to maintain their policies against homosexuality. Episcopalians took a modest step toward recognizing gay couples in a resolution that affirmed “lifelong committed relationships” other than marriage.

Next year, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterians will tackle the issue, but most agree it will be at least a decade or more before any major changes are made.

Like any grass-roots movement, there are strategic debates on the best ways to make progress. Some, like the Rev. Mel White, say gays and lesbians must leave churches that do not accept them. White led about 400 people to be arrested this summer in protests at the three conventions.

Others say gays and lesbians must work within the church and change attitudes one-by-one. Creech said it must be a combination of both, but gays and lesbians should be careful not to “worship” institutional structures.

“It’s very clear to me for us not to hold on to the institution, to the denomination, because that becomes idolatry,” Creech said. “We have to be ready to be open to whatever God is doing.”

Activists vowed to push the limits on church policy and, when necessary, openly defy church rules that they feel discriminate against gays and lesbians. Dozens of Methodist pastors have already promised to bless same-sex unions, and a Lutheran congregation in Kansas City, Mo., faces expulsion for calling a lesbian pastor.


More than anything, participants said their focus will be on their own spirituality, not the bureaucratic struggles in their churches.

“There’s a bigger question than what happens to our denominations,” said the Rev. Sarah Flynn, a transgendered Connecticut priest in the American Catholic Church of New England. “What’s at issue is what happens to our gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgendered community. There’s a struggle that needs to be fought, and I’m not sure the churches are the place to do it anymore.”

DEA END ECKSTROM

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