Reconciling Ministries Network

Other Sheep Kenya Travels to Kisumu

By Rev. John Makokha

Other Sheep Kenya held a one day workshop for clergy and laity drawn mostly from the Anglican Church at hotel Naselica in Kisumu, Kenya on July 18, 2009. The theme of the seminar was “Religion and Sexuality in our African Context.”  A total of 12 participants attended the seminar.

These seminars have been supported by the grant from Uhai- Eashri (East Africa Sexuality, Health Rights Initiative).

Rev. Michael Kimindu (Anglican/MCC clergy and Other Sheep East Africa Coordinator) facilitated the seminar on “Religion and Homophobia” and stated that the hate on same sex relationships is due to ignorance, intolerance, bigotry and fear.   Said Kimindu, “When the church promotes homophobia, it negates our call since salvation is for all" (Isaiah 56: 7-8).

Kimindu continued that the gospel is not about hate, isolation and exclusion, but it is about reconciliation, repentance and renewal.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female and there is neither heterosexual nor homosexual.”  He emphasized that we are all one in Christ.

Moreover, Kimindu recognized that there are thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons who believe God hates them because of their sexuality. Negative reaction without in-depth research or study of sexual orientation issues has made things worse. Church leaders have repeated the negative spiritual messages instead of what God teaches: love.

Kimindu suggests that “Our politicians and church leaders have used the weapon of homophobia to get votes into positions of power and influence and have continued to reinforce this negative message through inaction and failure to protect the rights of all.”

Rev. John Makokha (UMC minister and Other Sheep Kenya Coordinator) facilitated “African Culture and Sexuality” and stated that Africans do not like talking openly about issues of sex.  However, the traditional African dancing styles are full of sexy tones and styles.  The best example is Isukuti dance among the Luhyias and the Bukusu songs that are very sexy.  “Sex is sweet and it should be discussed openly without fear in both our communities and religious institutions. I would love to see a minister preaching a message and teaching about sexuality in the church”.

Makokha argued that we need to understand the cultural world of the bible before using clobber passages to condemn the LGBTQ in our society and religious institutions.  "Let us understand the historical and cultural context of these inspired biblical books and our diverse interpretations.  We are not living in the times of the Jewish Code of Holiness, but during the time of the grace and love of Christ”.

Makokha also stated that Other Sheep Kenya will peacefully spread the message of inclusiveness and love of Christ for the LGBTQ community in their respective faith institutions in Kenya.  Discrimination and isolation is sin. “We cannot win the total war on HIV/AIDS in Africa if we cannot holistically address the issues of LGBTQ through advocacy and affirmative action.”

There are certain African cultural practices that are very close to gayism. Among the Akamba and Luo in Kenya, when a woman is barren and her husband dies without having children, the widow will marry another woman and traditionally pay dowry. This relationship is referred to as “husband and wife.”  The “wife” will be free to get children from any man, but the children born are for the “widow/husband”. 

A participant gave an example of a female teacher whose body was still in the mortuary due to some legal tussle over her traditional burial place. She was a lesbian and got married to a man to please her family, society and the church.  However, she left the marriage since she lacked happiness and love from a same sex partner. She then found a same sex partner who was a lesbian and business lady.  When this woman died later on, she was living with her female spouse beforehand and the traditional customary law--and Kenyan law--does not recognize her as a spouse, and therefore she cannot be allowed to bury her.

Mrs. Anne Baraza (Riruta United Methodist Women President and Other Sheep Advisory Counselor) said that discrimination on the basis of race, tribe, religion and sexual orientation is unethical and unacceptable: “We have to learn tolerance for diversity in our religious institutions and society.”

Baraza is clear in her stance that pastors should know that they have an ethical and moral obligation to address gay and lesbian issues in an affirming manner. It is the responsibility of any counselor to take necessary steps to eliminate any forms of stigma and isolation since some youth have committed suicide due to their sexual orientation.

She said that many people think homosexuals need to be cured. This is not possible, since various international researches done by reputable organizations have shown that sexual orientation cannot be changed even through therapy.

Her work experience with Parents, Friends of Lesbian and Gays (PFLAG) shows that LGBTQ persons struggle to “come out” and mostly decide to live in the closet due to fear and stigma.  Even family members can be a nightmare to LGBTI persons, since they feel their family lineage can be stigmatized. Religious institutions have been on the forefront of propagating homophobia by using the weapon of clobber passages.

A female participant, a Counseling teacher in one of the schools in Kisumu, stated that the seminar was an eye-opener since teachers in Kenyan schools are ill-equipped to handle LGBTQ students. A male student came to her reporting a case of a colleague who was gay. She counseled the gay student and told him to pour cold water on his genitals whenever he felt an erection attracted to same-sex relationships.  She advised the gay student to make a difference by performing excellently in his academic work.  The gay student broke an academic record by scoring high grades. He joined one of the top national schools in Kenya. His career ambition is to be a neurosurgeon.

Peter Wanyama (Anglican, Other Sheep Kenya Treasurer) said that Other Sheep Kenya will continue contacting seminars on capacity building for the clergy and laity on issues of religion and LGBTI issues in Africa.  He requested that society, church and individuals stop oppression prejudice and hate crimes against LGBTI: “We need religious and social justice for all.”

When John Wesley Went Beyond His Bible

by Peter L. DeGroote

John Wesley had to go elsewhere when he could not use his Bible to oppose slavery. His response is a model for our own day when searching for ways to think about LGBT people in society and the church.

Wesley's active opposition to slavery and the slave trade developed late.  Despite signs of his concerns over slavery from his very early days, Wesley showed no focused anti-slavery effort until publication of his extended pamphlet Thoughts on Slavery in 1774, 17 years before his death at the age of 88. It became a perennial favorite of anti-slavery advocates for the next 30 years and went through 13 printings to include American editions and translations for European readers.

Wesley did not write it. Instead, Granville Sharp, an English anti-slavery advocate who understood Wesley’s skills in what today we call “mass communications,” urged him to edit the work of Anthony Benezet, an American Quaker, and others. Wesley’s abridgment put many of the anti-slavery arguments of the day into compact and readable form. Inevitably, he seasoned it with his own moral outrage.

Thoughts on Slavery rests on the 18th century philosophic concept of universal human rights which served as the foundation for the American, French, and many subsequent revolutions. At the time, the idea of universal human rights had not permeated social and legal thought or the Christian consciousness, nor had it become relevant to biblical interpretation. For example, Wesley’s earlier Notes on the New Testament (1754) has only one comment on slavery (1 Timothy 1:10).   Wesley was silent about all of the other biblical references to which we would turn to today to demonstrate the evil of slavery; he did not see the relevance (Examples: Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 7, Colossians 3, numerous Gospel passages, etc.).

Wesley did bring one theological understanding to the discussion: We are all created in the image of God. This fact of creation was in conflict with the traditional view that the Bible justified slavery as a natural condition in human society.  In resolving that conflict, Wesley became a leader in a new morality that would eventually lead to a new understanding of Scripture. 

It was not a matter of the biblical competence of this man of one book. It was the broader problem of not yet being able to draw biblical implications to a contemporary, moral problem. Religious leaders of the day understood biblical mandates and traditional religious practice to be in support of the legal and economic arguments supporting slavery. John Wesley found his own religious experience and moral instincts pushing beyond those common biblical understandings and traditional religious practices. 

Wesley’s willingness to reach out and incorporate the work of those advocating universal human rights at a time when the world around him opposed such ideas is a model that can be applied to many situations.  In particular, it relates to today's struggle for the rights of LGBT people in both church and society. There are certain moral imperatives derived from the fact of creation even when we unable or unwilling to see them in our Scripture at the moment.

  

___________
As the above is but the briefest of summaries, the following will help to fill out the story behind Wesley’s encounter with slavery.  

Jennings, Theodore W. Good News to the Poor, John Wesley’s Evangelical Economics. Nashville, Abingdon, 1990, P. 82ff.

Marquadt, Manfred. John Wesley’s Social Ethics. (Tranlators: Steely and Gunter.) Nashville: Abingdon, 1992. (Marquadt is a Professor of Systematic Theology at the Methodist Seminary in Reutlingen, Germany.)  P. 67ff.

A brief biographical summary of Wesley related to slavery can be found at http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/wesley.htm. Included is a bibliography and useful links to related sites.

For a copy of Wesley’s Thoughts on Slavery” go to:
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/thoughtsuponslavery.stm

John Wesley’s Notes on the New Testament can be found in many libraries and United Methodist churches. An electronic version is available at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/notes.i.i.html. Printed copies: Grand Rapids, Baker Books—Usually available through Cokesbury bookstores.

 

Thoughts on Pride

By Joey Heath

With it being around the time many gay prides are occurring, and having just attended my first real pride event, (or at least part of it) I thought I would offer some thoughts on the subject of pride. For those that don’t know, gay pride is for all LGBTQ people and allies.  It is a time to remember one of the first times the LGBTQ community stood up and said "Enough is enough.  We refuse to continue to be treated as second class citizens."  It is also a chance to come together as a community and celebrate the fact that--despite what many say and think about us--we are proud of who we are and will not apologize or hide in the closet.  One of the things that really intrigues me about pride is the sense of community I feel. I feel like it is a place where I belong and where people understand me. There is a sense of community in which I can be free to be who I truly am without the fear of judgment or condemnation. I used to feel this in church communities. I used to feel like no matter what I did, they would always be there for me and support me. Then I told them I was gay and everything changed.

So why is it I can walk into almost any LGBTQ community and feel like I belong when our only commonality is that we are attracted to the people of the same gender as ourselves, but when I walk into a church community with whom I have almost everything in common, I have to wonder if they will accept me for who I am?  Why do the least Christian people in the world sometimes act more like Jesus than real Bible believing Christians?  What does that say about us as Christians if we are unable to welcome and love all God’s children as He created them?  These are hard questions that may make some people feel on the defensive, but these questions are meant to challenge us to be better and be more like Christ.

You Can't Have One Without the Other

By Adrienne Trevathan

“I realized when I was falling asleep last night that I do believe in Jesus.  I just believe in God more.”

All of the time I spent in seminary didn’t prepare me to hear this from someone so close to me.  What do I say?  What do I say to show that I understand her struggle, or at least I understand it as much as I am able to?  I nodded empathetically, rendered speechless.

Was I too afraid that I would betray my own struggles, or was it more a fear of sounding judgmental?  I had no doubts God loved her, loves her and will love her.  I’ve told her on many occasions and tried to show her this love.

I am not worried about her salvation.  I don’t lie awake at night wondering about it.  God’s love permeates through every aspect of her life.  Her strength is unmatched.  Her prayer life is authentic.  Her testimony is powerful.

She has come to a deep spiritual understanding of God as her Higher Power; it is the name that she knows is true and good.  And yet, there is still much beneath the surface.  She isn’t quite sure sometimes if God actually loves her.  There are some days she’s convinced God doesn’t like her very much.

Orthodox Christianity affirms that Jesus Christ was God incarnate.  The power of God was the power of Jesus.  The love of God was the love of Jesus.

For many outside the church—the ones without whom our mission is rendered pointless—Jesus has nothing to do with God.  For these people, accepting Jesus means accepting guilt, shame and the “never enough” ness of a Christian life.   For others, Jesus is a breath of fresh air in a mundane life.  Jesus becomes a heroic figure who is available for people to “fall in love” with him.

What I have experienced about the love of Jesus—that historically, theologically cryptic Jesus—is that it always escapes our ability to explain him.  Libraries are filled with the imagined details of his life.  Scholars have gone to great efforts to understand his context, his ministry, and his meaning.  Seminaries across the world are full of inquisitive minds wanting to grasp a piece of the deity, sometimes for no other reason than to prove their claims to power.

What is the end result of such speculation?  What good does it do in a world of hurting people who don’t have time or interest in theological banter?

After three years of seminary, I have recently come to the conclusion that it is the responsibility of those of us involved in such theological banter (or, as a friend put it, “theological parlor games”) to recognize those who don’t necessarily “jive” with our assumed equations and do everything we can to love them as dearly as we can.

There are those surrounding our communities of faith who are bold enough to name the complexities that some of us would rather not think about.  There are those surrounding our community worshiping God by another name, and they should not be victims of “orthodox” patronization.

 As a United Methodist who is Native American and a young woman, my beliefs and ways of articulating God come from a particular education, time and cultural value system.  I did not choose to go to seminary; it chose me.  I did not choose to be born into a middle class family, but I was.  The extent that I can recognize my own context and yet critique others for sharing theirs is the extent to which I oppress my brothers and sisters.

 As a United Methodist, I believe that the Holy Spirit is big enough to call us all to difference so that we learn to walk together in beauty.  Consequently, I believe God calls us all to different theologies, different ways of naming, and different ways of understanding doctrine.

The next time my mother—beautiful, strong woman that she is—looks me in the eye and says something so wonderfully profound, I hope I will tell her how brave and precious she is in the eyes of God.  My seminary education and ministry is worth worth nothing without her.

Back in the Day

By Transgender Clergy Person

Becoming more active in the LGBTQ community, I realize I am often much older than others; older not necessarily in chronological age, but in transition age. Thirty-four years is a long time. It is longer than many of the people I meet in the community today have been alive. Someone once referred to me as a 'pioneer', which I guess is the truth. As one person recently said, "It's a different world than when you transitioned." In many ways this is true; in others, it seems little has changed. One change I especially appreciate and celebrate is the move towards transparency in life. "Back in the day" as they say, the particular medical team I worked with counseled me to live a post-transition life completely disconnected from the past. I was advised to fabricate 'facts' from early years if necessary, and closely guard who I shared my true story with in the future. I remember arguing there were things about this counsel that did not feel right. I asked one psychiatrist  how I could possibly have authentic relationships which such a large part of "me" left out? He responded saying it was no more an issue than the fact most people do not generally share their deepest 'secrets', even with spouses and close friends. 

As I reflect on this advice and all that has happened in the years since, I can say two things. First, I am certain that on some level this counsel was intended to be helpful, and even protective. On the other hand, this standard also protects society from the pressure to openly discuss gender identity and sexual orientation from anything other than a binary, polarized, and polarizing perspective [For further reading on this see, 'Omnigender' by Dr. Virginia Ramey Mollencott, Pilgrim Press]. From my vantage point today, in accepting the 'Harry Benjamin Standards of Care' that contained these guidelines, the medical community practiced a type of "Don't ask, don't tell" policy with its transgender clients. Such a policy ultimately fails and does harm while enforced, as people are encouraged to hide aspects of their authentic selves. It also allows society to continue unjust policies and practices towards LGBTQ people. If we do not exist, why do we need protection and equal rights? 

For the third time this week I have shared my story with friends or members of my congregation. Last evening I enjoyed a picnic dinner during which I shared my story with two more people. Each time I have risked this move into transparency, the results have been dramatic. Last night was another blessing as walls came down, pretense and facade fell away, and five individuals experienced genuine spiritual community together.

I am grateful for this particular change among those working with LGBTQ persons within medical and counseling communities. At the same time, I continue to grieve how the Church reinforces these out-dated standards in a futile attempt to protect itself from the very abundance of life it espouses. There are some things that must be left where they belong, "back in the day."

   

From "Open Hands" to "Open Doors"

By Peter L. DeGroote

It started well. The proposal for the publicity campaign was to be “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Hands.” Asserting that an openness to religious experience results in an openness in our thinking, which then leads to an openness in our behavior.

It was good, Wesleyan theology, and it was an organic metaphor equal to those of Paul. The clarity of its logic demonstrated the connections between the three stages while leaving us to meditate on how a change in one leads to changes in others.   

It may have started well, but as Wesley might have said, it ended in a shipwreck. The final result was “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.” What happened?  Bureaucracies are the same everywhere. Church agencies are like government agencies: they leak. The leaked details were a little fuzzy, but it seems that someone in the UMC bureaucracy noticed the magazine Open Hands, published by the Reconciling Congregation Program, the previous name of RMN.

This won't do! We need a substitute for “open hands!” The openness of our feelings to the Presence of God cannot lead to opening our minds to the acceptance of LGBT people and then to our reaching out our hands to welcome them! 

The decision was to replace “open hands” with “open doors,” thereby sabotaging purpose, clarity, and effectiveness.  Church doors were already open; the question was (and is) how people were treated once they got inside. “Open hands” dealt with human community, “open doors” with public access to a building (the corrupting influence of mixed metaphors!). 

The original theme of "open hands" would have been a gentle but effective challenge to the way local congregations greet, meet, and incorporate new and different people into their community. Instead, by substituting “open doors,” the theme became an after-the-fact theology of why nearly anyone could walk through our church doors, even if they are ignored. No longer a stimulus for change, the theme became a self-justifying explanation of the way things were. 

The rejection of “open hands” was also a rejection of Wesleyan tradition. The metaphor's origins lie in a verse from 2 Kings 10:15: "Is your heart as true to mine as mine is to yours? .... If it is, give me your hand" (NRSV).  Taken from a context of warfare, we might not use it in the same way today. However, it was the scripture for John Wesley’s seminal sermon The Catholic Spirit (Catholic meaning universal). The first line of that sermon states, "It is allowed even by those who do not pay this great debt that love is due to all mankind, the royal law."

It had already been determined that love was not due to those LGBT people who had already been invoking the Wesleyan tradition through the name of their magazine.  It then became "necessary" for the church--who was supposed to represent the Wesleyan tradition--to depart from it and to ingore what Wesley called "the royal law."  The result?  A hollow theme; a sound bite changing little.

Are you registered for convocation?

By Leland Spencer

I am excited that convocation is now less than two months away! Ever since I came home from the previous convocation in Nashville, TN, in the summer of 2007, I have been excited to return. I know convocation will be great, and you know how you can make it better? Yes, you. You can register and come to convo, too!

Here is an excerpt from a reflection I posted in a Facebook note after the 2007 convocation:

From the moment I arrived at Vanderbilt, I was welcomed. I was welcomed. All of me. Who I am, authentically. And the welcome was true and honest and complete and immediate. The church, alive and active and real! So, the experience was exciting, renewing, energizing, and wonderful. It was great to be among open-minded people. Simultaneously, though, these last few days were some of the hardest and most painful days of my life. While it felt great to be open and to share my story honestly in every conversation, I felt my own hurt again and again as I listened to other stories that are all too like mine. Somehow, knowing that other people face and live through the horrible pain of exclusion does not help--it really only intensifies my pain. My tear ducts have been overworked since Thursday. Overall, I am incredibly thankful I went and quite glad to have had this good experience.

I hope you'll consider coming, too. You can find details on the RMN website, www.rmnetwork.org.

Correcting God's Mistakes--A Sinful Pursuit

By Peter L. DeGroote

A number of years ago I was in a congregational discussion of recondition that included people from the Transforming congregation movement. They are convinced that LGBT folks can be transformed through the power of religion. Curious about how they could be so sure, I asked how they measured their success.

One has to understand that the transformational groups are largely concerned with gay men; they seem little concerned with those represented in the LBT portion of the acronym. That focus reveals their sexism, which is expressed in their definition. The measure of success is the accomplishment of a physically intimate relationship between a gay man and a woman.

That measure fails any test of reliability. The mechanics of sexual performance can be accomplished for purposes far removed from personal fulfillment or the pursuit of healthy relationships. Of particular importance, the measure ignores the woman’s views of the encounter, particularly her view of the thoughts or fantasies that may be necessary for the gay man to “prove himself.”  The woman is reduced to a mere functionary, the means by which a gay man can prove that he measures up to a peculiar definition of what it means to be a “real man.”

Such a standard reverses most religious thinking about relationships; that is, they best begin with the development of intimacy in other areas, physical intimacy being an outgrowth of an already developed relationship. That wisdom is frequently ignored but the consequences are minor compared to the urging of sexual intimacy with a woman simply to prove you are not gay.

Underneath this peculiar measure of success is an even more peculiar notion that LGBT folks are an incomplete act of creation, a mistake by God. Consequently, someone must step in and correct God’s error, for God certainly did not intend such a thing to happen. The arrogance of that notion is overwhelming.

It is not only arrogant, however; the notion is sinful. Jesus’ prime directive requires that we seek to live in harmony with God and God’s creation. We fail to honor and respect (love) God’s creation when we try to correct those parts we find inconvenient. Loving God involves honoring and respecting God’s creation.

Also, the transforming group’s measure of success is sinful. In the first place, it is sinful because it teaches a person to deny his own creation, to deny the creation that God has given him/her. Secondly, the measure is sinful because it transforms the value of women by placing them in a perverse situation that debases and dishonors their sacred worth.

A Poem After Open Communion at Pride

By Terri Stewart

After participating in open communion at PrideFest, Seattle

pink hair, ponytails
outrageous make-up
silicone breasts popping
the buttons of a polyester shirt
rainbow scarf waving in the air
a neon-green mini-skirt
revealing muscled legs
in tattered fishnets
with size 11 feet
in 6 inch heels
made in the image of God

brown hair, styled
like Clark Gable
lightly speckled face
from a long-ago shave
baggy Fitch shirt over a
naturally expanding chest
faded jeans worn at the hips
and a rainbow belt
with size 7 feet
in brown loafers
beloved child of God

the bread of life
given for you
to live a life as you were
made and created
loving as you were made to love
the cup of a new covenant
given for you
to create a space
to meet the one
who loves you
communion with God

June 29, 2009

Reflections on New York Pride

By Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell

1. A Gay Pride weekend is no different from a Black Pride weekend. James Brown addressed this in his song "I'm Black and I'm Proud" ("Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud").  Any community or group of persons that has and does experience demeaning, de-humanization, suppression and oppression because of who they are MUST for its own sanity and to avoid being rendered invisible, CELEBRATE! Ralph Ellison said it well in his book about race, Invisible Man: "I am invisible because people simply refuse to see me."  Persons or groups that live their lives in "closets" become accomplices to those who wish they did not exist.

2. There will be critiques of what some call "shocking" displays of sex and the sexual.  One must ask the question, "Is it because of the sex, or is it because the Gay community dares to express its own version of 'The Audacity of Hope' by going public with the fact the Divine has given us the gift of sexuality whether it is expressed activity or not?"  In a society that is ashamed and/or unwilling to admit that our parents "did it" to produce us, Gay Pride weekends make public, that some would deny, "We are sexual beings."  Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, "There is no there, there." Public affirmation that we exist and that our existence is the result of sexual activity lets the world know that in us, there is a there there.

3. Some religionists critique same gender sexual activity because they say "sex is meant only for a man and woman, because the purpose of sex is procreation and little more."  I am not a Biblical scholar, but each time I read Song of Solomon in the Hebrew Bible, I read little of procreation and I find words that affirm the magnificence of the human body and how bodies interact in ways that express affirmation of the God who created them.

4. The rainbow colors that dominate the visuals of Gay Pride weekends remind me of how natural rainbows are created: a mix of rain and sunshine.The pride that accompanies the displaying of those colors is a way of saying that the inner tears provoked and evoked in persons who are Gay because of rejection by family, friends, society, church, and sometimes by self, have met the sunshine of love, acceptance and affirmation.  Thus, a human rainbow has been created. Gibran is right about the mix of joy and sorrow.  The Gay community is a living expression and embodiment of the joy that comes from celebrating each other and celebrating self. Each of us is a "Rainbow" composed of a mix of tears and sun; but too often it is only those who have been oppressed and denied who understand that.