Reconciling Ministries Network

Open Letter to Rick Warren

Dear Pastor Rick Warren,

I sent letters to you before and after the visit to Saddleback Church by presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain. I expressed the hope that you would use the event to challenge some of the over-the-top "guilt by association" and character assassination efforts that were being directed at Barack Obama by persons who share your conservative evangelical faith. I saw nor heard any evidence of your doing that.  

You have said that the only difference between yourself and James Dobson is that of "tone". (Wall Street Journal). I am not aware that you have challenged some of the criticisms that James Dobson has made of Barack Obama. Many of us thought that those criticisms were not only unfair, they revealed a less-than-honest attempt to create fear about an Obama  presidency. Despite the tonal differences between you and James Dobson, apparently the  "music" of Obama criticism that came from him, you have given consent to it through your silence. My hope is that you have spoken against some of the distortions that have been directed at Senator Obama, and I have missed them.

My response to your invitation to offer the invocation at the Inaugural is that it would have been far more appropriate if the invitation had been extended to Rev.Joseph Lowery. Those of us who sing the Hymn/Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing" sing these words; "We have come over a way that with tears has been watered; we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,..." Those words capture the journey of struggle my African ancestors my African American ancestors and I as a 75 year old southern born and raised black person have made. I know nothing about your history as either an advocate/ally or as an opponent of the racial justice struggle in this nation. I must say that some of your words of opposition and resistance to same gender marriage are not unlike the words of those who earlier opposed interracial marriage. The New York Times published a story about the resistance of some white voters to Barack Obama because of his race. One person was quoted as saying, "I  could not vote for Barack Obama because the Bible is against interracial marriage and Barack Obama is  the son of a black father and a white mother." What difference is there in your interpretation of Scripture and that of one who says "the Bible is against interracial marriage"? I am sure you can understand why, because of history, and this moment, I suggest the appropriateness of Rev. Joseph Lowery doing the invocation.

I write as an African American clergyman who is an ally/advocate of Gay rights in church and society. I share the pain and anger of my LGBT sisters and brothers and of those like myself who are their supporters as we are aware of your views about same gender loving persons. It is my hope that you and President-elect Obama, because of the invitation extended to you, will inadvertently be responsible for helping to focus new  attention on the foolishness of a democracy that denies some of its citizens an equal right to make a legal commitment to marriage because of their sexual orientation. A few years ago the conservative columnist David Brooks wrote and I paraphrase,  "Conservatives ought expect Gay persons to marry, rather than be limited to contingent relationships". The crises in our nation and the world, cry out for solution and healing.  The resistance to interracial marriage in the past is now made so foolish as we prepare for the presidency of Barack Obama. And the resistance to same gender marriage today illustrates the truism; "The more things change, the more they remain the same". In a nation and world where there is so much turmoil economically and violently, we are wasting so much time denying  some equal rights, while the world is being torn apart.

Pastor Warren, you know the Scripture that contains these words; "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." The inauguration of Barack Obama as the first President of African descent will bring "morning joy" to me and my wife, and to millions of other Americans of every racial, ethnic and cultural background. But many of us will weep as well because as we take a giant step forward in our national racial journey, we continue to deprive some of our citizens of equal access to the rights, privileges and responsibilities of marriage. May you in your God conversations thank God that the legal prisons that once restrained persons because of their  race, and their gender have been torn down. And may you receive a "calling" to participate in the tearing down of the legal prisons that today restrict persons because of their sexual orientation. Many of us will be praying with you and for you.

Rev.Gilbert H. Caldwell
Asbury Park, NJ
732/361-7979

An Open Letter to Our Oppressors

(Promoted at RMNblog.org)

In light of the passage of Proposition 8 with the denial and removal of rights for gay and lesbian couples, and the other anti-gay ballot measures recently passed, the inclusion of Rick Warren in the upcoming US presidential inauguration festivities, and recent anti-gay comments by the Pope (along with may many other previous anti-gay statements), I wish to write an open letter to my oppressors, many of them fellow Christians.

Dear Oppressors,

Yes, I hear you. I am not deaf to your messages. To the Holy Father in Rome, Reverend Rick Warren in California, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,  the many supporters of Prop 8, Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and so many others who publicly speak out against LGBT people and our rights, I hear you loud and clear. No matter how you sugarcoat it and wrap it up with smiles and scripture and say that you are nothing like the extremist, Fred Phelps, I hear your message loud and clear telling me that I am inferior and unwanted in your world. These are not your words, but all the same this is the message you communicate.

I hear you insist time and time again in multiple ways that heterosexuals are superior to gays and lesbians. Your marriages, your homes, your “lifestyles” are normal, but mine? Not so much. I hear you declare that I am not capable of producing anything good or beneficial other than some window treatments or a decent hair style. In essence I hear you say that I am worthless and the cause of untold woes and problems, the harbinger of even worst things to come.

Some of your best friends may be gay, and you may profess that you really love the homosexual, but all the while your words and aggressively anti-gay activism consistently serve to dehumanize me–to present me and my kind as oversexed, deformed animals.

You remain steadfast in your opposition to the full inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the church. You oppose, limit and even remove rights in order to keep us unequal and legally inferior. You spend exorbitant amounts of money and time telling lies about us while expending so little energy actually getting to know us. You deal with theories, not reality. And you are wrong, dead wrong.

You treat us as an inconvenient and unwanted Christmas gift that you desperately wish to exchange for something better. You belittle our love, our families, our faith, our morals, our very lives while all the time you claim to speak the truth in love. This is not love. This is fear. It is control and oppression, and it is the rejection of God’s gifts to the church, society and in some cases to your very families.

I know all about rejecting this gift. I did it for years as I repented daily of the same-sex attractions and gender differences I found inside me. I demonized my sexuality and believed no good could come of my gay orientation. I proceeded to return this gift as I bullied God for something else–I coveted my straight neighbor’s life believing the propaganda that his was the idealized norm to follow instead of trusting God for the life I had been given.

In the midst of all that I experienced grace and tenderness from God, extreme patience, kindness ultimately leading to a deeper repentance, one based in Light and reality, a repentance that recognizes that a gay orientation and gender differences came to me as an astonishing gift of power and beauty.

I confess I do not possess the same patience and understanding as God. Your words, your bully tactics, your unbridled and arrogant superiority sicken me. I struggle to love you or call you brother. Yet I remember the years that I persecuted myself and others, the dread of change that ruled my life and my narrow faith, and the need to contain everything in simple boxes with no unanswered questions or gray areas.

I may be a peace-loving Quaker and a Christian, but that doesn’t mean I am going to avoid confrontation or assume we can all just hold hands and overlook our differences. To do so would be to support your oppression and enable you to continue in it with my permission. I point out to you what you may be unwilling or unable to see. You stand as oppressors, bullies, abusers imposing your sexuality and religious views on others. Are your hearts evil and full of bad intentions? I cannot say. I do not speak of your hearts but of your actions and your words.

In spite of the opposition and the oppression, we will thrive. Transgender people, lesbians, bisexuals, and gays will have our families, our faith, our places in our communities. We will walk hand in hand with our partners without apology and without shame. We will enjoy our sexual lives as a expression of our love and as a conduit of pleasure–pure and simple. We will not go away or heed your flawed and uninformed message.

And perhaps one day you will come to your senses. Perhaps you will see with clearer eyes. Perhaps you too will repent of your bullying and the rejection of the gifts among you. Regardless, we will not back down, and we will continue to live our lives with dignity.

Peter Toscano
Blog

Mary & Reconciliation

By Leland Spencer

Mary had an important calling, and we remember and celebrate it during this season of Christmas. Mary was called to give birth to Christ--to bear the Christ in a world hungry and thirsty for Christ's presence.

Mary, I believe, is thus the Mother of the reconciling movement, for that is what the movement seeks to do. Our call is to give birth to Christ in every conversation, congregation, class, or campus where we do ministry. Our call is to give birth to Christ, even when the church says there is no room for us, even when we are pushed to the margin.

May God find us faithful as we approach the task--sometimes rewarding, sometimes challenging, sometiems exciting, sometimes painful--of giving birth to Christ in every opportunity.

We'll still have work to do!

By Ann Thompson Cook

I had an opportunity to attend a recent gathering to celebrate the fifth anniversary of one of my favorite organizations, the National Center for Transgender Equality.

From the beginning, NCTE’s brilliant and visionary founder, Mara Keisling, created a strategy of collaboration.  She was clear that the success of the movement for transgender equality would depend on creating a vibrant coalition of people who were unwilling to bargain away the rights of some in the interest of progress for others.

People told many of the kinds of stories that go with building a movement, such as the time that representatives from several national organizations sat in Senator Kennedy’s office and explained to him why they weren’t willing to walk away from transgender rights to attain lesbian and gay rights. And Mara sat in the back of the room in amazement, seeing that her voice wasn’t really needed.

Many stories from many different movement leaders. All inspiring. But for me, the most inspiring came from Mara. At the end of the evening, she wrapped up her remarks by saying something like this: 

We’re going to win this, our rights will come, but we must not stop there. 

We’ll still have work to do, because we’re not in this just to get our own rights. 

We’re in this to create a better world for everyone!

A Christmas Message

On December 2, 2008, Reconciling Ministries Network hosted an Advent Open House with the theme, "Gather Around the Manger". Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey, Dean of Students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary gave the message, something to think about and take with us for Christmas and the New Year.

Scripture:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...John 1:14

During the message, Dr. Lightsey offered a gift in the form of a quote from Toni Morrison's book Beloved.

In Beloved, the character Baby Suggs, described as an "an unchurched preacher" is speaking to a gathering of former slaves and free African Americans:

"Here," she said, "in this here place, we flesh; flesh that weeps, laughs; flesh that dances on bare feet in grass. Love it. Love it hard. Yonder ...  they do not love your flesh. They despise it. They don't love your eyes; they'd just as soon pick em out. No more do they love the skin on your back. Yonder they flay it. And O my people they do not love your hands. Those they only use, tie, bind, chop off and leave empty. Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face 'cause they don't love that either. You got to love it, you!...This is flesh I'm talking about here. Flesh that needs to be loved. (Beloved, p.88)

NYT Op-Ed: "Showdown On The Big Tent"...A Response

By Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell

The New York Times published an Op-Ed titled, "Showdown On The Big Tent".

To the Editor.

One of the "learnings" that has emerged from both the presidential primaries and the general election is that some white conservatives and liberals have a limited understanding and appreciation of the black church. The expressions of surprise and shock in response to the prophetic tradition of some of us in the black church as expressed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright,  formerly of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago once the Pastor and Church of the Obamas, revealed an unawareness of the distinctiveness of the black church. All of us have  the right to respond differently to the tone and content of sermons, but some conservatives in their responses to Rev. Wright and Trinity Church revealed a lack of appreciation of the black prophetic tradition, best expressed in the 20th century by Martin Luther King, Jr. who was nurtured and nourished by the black church.

Caitlan Flanagan and Benjamin Schwarz in their Op-Ed raised the question, "Can the left tolerate a struggle between blacks and gays?" Their article was a response to the vote in California to support a legal ban against same gender marriage contained within Proposition 8. The motivation for their article was their report, "7 in 10 blacks voted to support traditional marriage", because of "an enduring antipathy toward homosexuality". The black church they suggest, is the source of this antipathy.

Despite the fact that Flanagan and Schwarz write, "The attitude of white, liberal Hollywood toward African American churches has long been one of almost participatory respect". They reveal how shallow that respect is when they say the music of the black church is "smoking hot", with this limitation, ("although it makes reference to Jesus Christ as a personal savior").

But, the most disturbing sentence in the article is this: "Many gay activists have begun quietly to suggest that had Hillary Clinton been the Democratic nominee, Prop 8 would not have passed." Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have similar positions on same gender marriage. Obama formerly belonged to a church of a denomination (the United Church of Christ) that supports same gender unions and marriages, while Hillary Clinton belongs to a denomination (the United Methodist Church) that does not support either. But, if Hillary Clinton had been the nominee, Proposition would not have passed? Does this suggest that if Senator Clinton had been the Democratic nominee, blacks would have not voted? Or, all of the white supporters of Senator Clinton would have voted against Proposition 8, while black supporters would not?

I, as an African American clergyman who has been an active ally/advocate of gay rights in church and society am unapologetic for, nor ashamed of, my support that is shaped by my attempt to follow Jesus and my belief that all people have a right to Constitution-granted equality and access. But the content, tone and attitude of condescension expressed in the article is another illustration of the gap of understanding that exists between some white liberals and a people and their black church. The black church from pulpit to pew as it has worked for civil and human rights, has been a source of guidance and inspiration for all people whose humanity has been demeaned by legalized prej udice and bigotry. It would be tragic if some white liberals who are disappointed, hurt and angry about the support for  Proposition 8 as am I, would join white conservatives in their demonization of the black church and its members.

Flanagan and Schwarz suggest that the response to Proposition 8 has created a "Showdown in the Big Tent." Do they suggest they have the right and privilege to determine who belongs and/or  does not belong under the tent. James Baldwin asked of those who viewed racial integration as blacks integrating with whites; "Who wants to be integrated into a burning house?" I ask, "Why should black people want to be under any tent that is a liberal version of white maternal-paternal-ism?" The election of Barack Obama gives us the opportunity to create a "new" Big Tent. I say to those who say we cannot; "Yes We Can!"

Gilbert H. Caldwell

Devotion: Christmas is for the Just and the Unjust

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself…the scribe answered, ”this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.
(Mark 12:28-31, 33)

Jesus had many exchanges with the religious hierarchy and those who were trying to understand what Jesus was doing and who he was.  He was interrogated for eating with those whom others would ignore or avoid. So a scribe asked him a tough question, “Out of all the commandments, which the most important?”  Jesus answered calmly, without hesitation and explained the entire purpose of his ministry in those few words.

When asked the same question a rabbi answered “love your neighbor as yourself and all the rest is commentary.” This is so true; if you truly love your neighbor as yourself then the rest of the Bible can be fulfilled. 

As an ally in this movement, I am frequently asked by people about my sexual orientation.  People want to know why a straight person would put themselves in a position in which they can be possibly ridiculed and questioned.  I calmly answer and remind them of a people that may not be like everybody else in the church, but are God’s children all the same.  I speak about respect and demand that LGBTQ persons be recognized as our neighbors.   

Sometimes it is difficult to acknowledge our neighbors. Our neighbors don’t always look, act, or like the same things we do. They may challenge us to change how we do ministry because they see a gap between our words and our actions. This past General Conference I attended as one of the on-site volunteer coordinators. I witnessed an outpouring of love and compassion. I also witnessed moments of out-right hatefulness. I heard such statements as, “homosexuals are from Satan”.

Reconciling ministry is hard --  I must remember that the people who attacked us are also God’s children and my neighbors. Even in their anger and fear, they will not be turned away. How do we invite and hold all those who are hurting and live into grace; abundant grace that can diminish the harm of hatefulness and heal the Body of Christ?

This Christmas season remember that little baby who came into world not knowing his purpose, but who changed the world.   A tiny, maybe 6 lb. baby that arrived kicking and screaming, just like any other baby, but so different in many ways, pushed the boundaries of the day and still pushes today.  That baby didn’t know his neighbors or the world around him, but loved anyway and grew-up to be one who still challenges us to look around and see our neighbors.

Merry Christmas!

Candie ODell
Seminary Intern at Reconciling Ministries Network, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
California-Pacific Annual Conference

An Open Letter to President-elect Obama

Dear President-elect Obama: 
 
I have been one of your supporters from nearly the beginning. I was first impressed with your emphasis on changing the nature of public discourse and discussion so that different and diverse peoples could be heard and, hopefully, find ways to greater social harmony. As the campaign went on you sometimes had difficulty avoiding the hateful and vicious tactics of past campaigns, but I believe you succeeded.
 
Your selection of Pastor Rick Warren to offer an opening prayer at your inaugural gives me pause. I know that you are asking all of us to sit down together, to talk out our differences, and to at least honor each other’s humanity if we cannot come to agreement on certain issues. I have been committed to this kind of reconciliation for most of my adult life. However, I want you to know that I am unable to share a prayer with Pastor Warren.
 
The reason is simple. Including Pastor Warren in the inauguration is a political initiative, the kind of initiative that will be necessary if you are to bring the kind of change you promise to our public discourse. However, prayer is not public discourse or discussion.
 
If you had invited Pastor Warren to sit next to you at your inaugural I would have understood that you were trying to reach out to others. But inviting him to pray on your behalf and on behalf of the country trivializes the use of prayer at the event. Pastor Warren's prayers have never been inclusive of GLBT people. In fact, his teachings denigrate and deny our very creation, suggesting that GLBT folks are a danger to society and something less than human. Unfortunately, through television news and talk shows, your invitation has given him a much larger national audience for his message of bigotry and hatred.
 
It is worth pointing out that his tactics are the same as those used against every oppressed group in history. First, you create fear by identifying a group as a threat to family and society. Then you identify that group as the enemy, something to rally your followers around. The identification of enemies leads to fear. That is followed up with the judgment that your target group is something less than human. The hatred combined with the dehumanization gives license for violence and even murder.  
 
So tell me, how can I pray with a person who is responsible for encouraging violence and death among GLBT people? I don’t know how to do that without extreme resentment. I can and will pray for him, but not with him. Unfortunately, for many of us the opening of your inauguration will not be a hallmark of the reconciliation that you have promised to pursue.
 
Rev. Peter L. DeGroote
Pastor, The United Church
Washington, DC 
 

Can We?

By Dr. Pamela Lightsey

President-elect Barack Obama's decision to invite Pastor Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation is a hard pill to swallow.  I don't like it, I don't like it, I don't like it.

 His reasoning:

"It is important for Americans to come together.  Even though we may have disagreement over certain social issues."

Partly right.  Americans do disagree.  However, LGBTQ equality is not a social issue but a quality of life issue.  It is a justice issue that strikes at the core of who we are as Americans.  This is a disagreement that demands resolution...quickly. 

Warren has done good work in other areas such as global poverty, HIV/AIDS and global warming.  Nevertheless, if ever there was a case of a fountain spewing sweet and bitter water at the same time, Rick Warren is a classic example.  His public protest against LGBTQ rights as well as his homophobic utterances taint whatever good intentions he might proclaim.

As an African American, I have learned to shield my spirit from oppression.  My foreparents refused to listen to certain biblical texts used to keep them in bondage.  Unless Warren repents prior to his prayer, I shall question not only the "preacher" but the efficaciousness of his prayer. 

So what shall we do?  It is my hope that we can come together.  How about a new approach to the inaugural invocation?  Let's do change this way: Have Warren and an LGBTQ minister give a joint invocation.

How about that for progress "toward a more perfect union"?  Should we send this suggestion to the President-elect?

"Why Should I?"

By Kelli Busey

"Why Should I?"

This is the response I received from a religious leader after he read my scathing note critiquing his behavior, not content, during a recent transgender event and an invitation to continue the conversation.

I think it gave him the opportunity to slam the door shut.

Why should you care about the effect your actions are having on the gender variant?

By allowing your religion to lend credence to violence committed against gender variant people you are fueling the unbroken cycle of hate and condemning us to horrific deaths. By being the leader of a major religion you are amplifying this message in a way that none other could, that we are less than you.

What is your motivation? Not the little voices to be sure. Or could that be why you got so angry? Is that why when I attend church some pastors look at me with such fear?
Look at me with fear! My god man, it's not my physical stature for sure. No it only could be one thing.

The Truth.

The fear is that I expose our monetarily driven religions and the duplicity it nurtures by it's continuation of profiteering from the brutal transgender murders.

What is this social organization's Motivation? Make one or two million dollars a night and hand local churches and 501's their 1 for 5 payoffs. Whats the hurry to change anything? Everyone is fat and happy, right?

Except you. When I show up. And the nearly dead, and oh yeah, Jesus.

Cross posted from
planetransgender