Emmanuel AME Church, Charleston, SC

Our Arms and Prayers Around Emmanuel AME Church, Charleston, South Carolina.

SCOTUS, Jim Anderson, James Dale & Now...

Editor's Note: In the days ahead, an historic decision on marriage from Supreme Court of the United States will be announced, that began with with courage and commitment of folks like these. I asked Jim if he would write up an intro to his own involvement with the Supreme Court as an advisor to Jim Dale and his challenge before the Supreme Court following his expulsion as a Boy Scout leader, because he was gay. Here is a link to a documentary of the struggle, which includes the two James', produced almost 40 years ago! (Plays better on some browsers than others.) See Jim's Bio here at LGBTRAN

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From Jim Anderson:

I was “out of the closet” at Rutgers when I arrived there as an assistant professor in 1977.  Later when I became a full professor, I was the only out gay man that anyone knew about (of course there were others, but they didn’t flaunt it like I did), so I reaped many benefits.  When we had homophobic strife on campus the president appointed me chair of his President’s Select Committee on Lesbian and Gay concerns. We produced a landmark report that was copied widely around the country.

When I became associate dean of our school, my main management principle was Jesus’ turn the other cheek and take the blame.  I found this to be the most effective way to get past controversies and begin to deal with them.  It never hurt me to take the blame!  My dean knew what I was doing and supported me all the way.  He left all the internal administration to me.

At the same time, I became the faculty advisor to LGBT students and the main LGBT organization.  I met many promising young LGBT students in this role, and one was James Dale, whom I believe was president of our LGBT group for two years.  It was during this time that he got kicked out of the Boy Scouts, after achieving Eagle Scout status and becoming an assistant Scout Master. There was no explanation, so I encouraged him to enquire.

As this drama, portrayed in the video, unfolded, I encouraged him to pursue it, but I did my best to tell him, do this only if you want to, NOT because I want you to.  But he was hot to trot.  So watch the video and enjoy.

Lots of the LGBT students came to me with relationship problems.  I always told them to take their partners as they are or leave them, but don’t try to change them.  They will change, but not the way you necessarily want them to.  I would use my Rafael as an example.  I have been trying to change him for 44 years, and he does change, but NOT according to my “plan.”

Hugs, Jim

Ratification's Challenge: The Good News

The recent ratification of Amendment 14F by greater than a 2/3 majority of presbyteries reflects a powerful statement by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and its members. Added to the the changes in ordination and marriage equality, this ratified revision of the description of marriage - erases the constitutional barriers to inclusion based on gender and sexual identity in the denomination.

It is almost a moment too great to contemplate. Forty years and lifetimes of prayer and sacrifice; decades of marginalization met with steadfast resistance; the resulting study of the bible and texts; the lifting up of God's glorious diversity in one another; and the refusal to let others define us: these reflect only part of the story of prophetic and courageous acts of justice and love by this denomination's members. We have truly made the way clear for the PC(USA) and others to follow in the evangelism that is now ours to share.

But we are not done.

Long before there existed any progressive movement or the advances that have been achieved, the treatment of our sisters and brothers who identified as queer -- was wrong, terribly wrong. And, recent legislation did not make us somehow, suddenly "right."

The changes we are witnessing have to be viewed as the acknowledgment that for years our and other communities of faith have been wrong, sinfully wrong in the way our sisters and brothers who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+ have been unwelcome. The charges of inhospitality carry a heavy price in the sacred texts, and our queer community has borne the brunt of exclusion and the residual violence - simply because others refused to see what the majority of folks have now come to know.

While one could make the argument that these changes and levels of acceptance and understanding take time, and they would be correct to do so -- I would counter that the levels of love and hospitality, supplanted by fear and judgment is where the original error exists, not in who God created us to be.

Our LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers have brought about more than a change in the constitution of the PC(USA), our sisters and brothers are bringing about a change in the way we love and accept one another. These forty years have been forty years of bringing the Good News to resounding levels that can now be heard by more people than ever before.

The question is: Is the church up to this new thing God is doing?

To be heard, institutions such as the PC(USA) cannot simply rely on legislative changes or practices to point to catharsis. Years of teachings and practices that have caused so much pain, suffering and contributed to the violence of so many -- have to be directly addressed at the highest of levels. It is such an acknowledgment of the wrongs and harms done as a result of the past positions of the denomination that first must be spoken -- before the new welcoming to those who have been shunned can be heard.

This ancient practice of amends and admission of wrongs done is now more critical than ever before. Any prospect for reconciliation that lay ahead will depend upon it, for this is the path that must be followed if we are to eliminate fear and judgment with love and hospitality.

It is a time to admit and acknowledge that the Love of God and one another has been renewed in ways by the Presbyterian Church (USA) that was long-lost and has now been found. A time to welcome, as never before!

Such an admission and invitation, spoken with courage and humility, will open our doors more widely than we could ever imagine. It will change the way the church and its teachings and practices have been misused to harm others for way too long.

This is what the ratification of 14F now challenges us to do.

And, my friends, this is the Good News. Good News for all.

~ Ray Bagnuolo

Loving you...so much

December 22, 2012

Dear Friends,

I heard one of the reporters say that the horrific loss of life at Sandy Hook Elementary School was the worst act of terror and violence we have experienced as a nation since 9/11. I don’t know how we measure such things, but I understood what the reporter meant. I understood because of the deep familiar feelings both evoked: shock, sorrow, grief, the inability to process any of it, and the desire, powerless as it initially feels, to help and change things – to hope we can change things. To believe it: we can change things.

Like everyone else, I’ve been struggling with being part of a society that could get to the point where this could happen. What have we done wrong? Where have we lost, whatever we have lost? And as a minister, I’ve been struggling to respond to the same questions and more that others have of us who serve. One answer that comes easily is that more violence and more guns is not the answer.

From there, not so easy…

I remember the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and remember thinking that could never happen again, only to lose Robert and Martin a short time later.

I remember thinking after the murder of Matthew Shepard that no one could ever condone violence or homophobia again.

I remember the chaining and dragging death of James Byrd, Jr., sure that we would wake up to the inhumanity of racism, segregation, discrimination. Surely, after his death things would change.

And, I could add more…so could any of us. The prayer and hope we have is that out of tragedy some great change of heart and nation and world will come. Something will come of the pain and sorrow to honor those who suffered. Who continue to suffer…

The lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School have dulled me. It is the way of mourning, which I feel from this distance – far from being able to imagine the grief of the families and the community of Newtown during these days and those to come. We all now carry the loss of the children and adults with us. Distance, geographical or otherwise cannot be a balm to assuage our own sorrow. As hard as it may be to “stay close” in whatever ways we may – it is our responsibility to do so, or these lives lost will become part of what we once hoped for. That loss has already happened for the families. Let it not happen to us as a nation.

For many of us, this is a time when we remember the birth of a child who would live into and suffer his own great violence. As with so many traditions, the message he carried of peace, hope, resurrection, and a loving God was a radical one and a message that others sought to expunge, protecting their own interests and power. We face some of those same interests and powers now; those who seek to quiet what needs to be done, letting the news cycle add these lives to those too many lost before. Arming and protecting ourselves so that love becomes a quaint idea in an ever more violent world – is not an answer.

For me, this Christmas, especially, is a reminder that Jesus died loving us, knowing that he was loved, and promising the same to all of humanity. It occurs to me that the children and the lives lost in Newtown died loving, as well, filled with their joys and laughter, loving their families because they were loved by their families and their God. There is peace in that truth.

From there, we will all have to search our hearts about what we will do. As part of those seeking welcoming and inclusion in our church and this world for sisters and brothers who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender – we know the violence and marginalization; we know the societal illnesses of others directed at us. We also know that our response has always been to love others, as difficult as that might be, to get to know one another, come together, and discover that what we share is greater than any of our differences. And it begins like that…

Whatever we may do to end the violence and change this society on broad local or national scales, whatever we may do to try and somehow honor the great loss of our family in Newtown and in countless other places, let us begin by loving each other. If there is reconciliation that has been put off – let it be embraced and healed. Let every prayer and act be an act of love and kindness. Even when we don’t get it right, the attempt itself is an act of love. From there, change will happen.

In our faith, we believe that God welcomes us home in the glory of true resurrection. We believe that all those who have left this world, however they have left this world, are embraced in Love and Joy and Wonder beyond our imaginings. They are now with the Child we remember at Christmas, helping us in a different way. A much needed way.

Let us ask God and them, in all the Love they are and all the ways we know God – to be with us and guide us this day and in all the days to come. We have much to do and we are not alone.

In this Spirit and embrace, with these thoughts, promises and more in our hearts, and loving you all...so very much,

Merry Christmas from us all.

Ray

Ray Bagnuolo, Minister Evangelist
That All May Freely Serve
1-877-TAMFS-64

Heaven Above or Hell Below? You say...

Jan Hus Presbyterian Church and Neighborhood House

September 23, 2012
(c)2012 Ray Bagnuolo

pdf file
Readings: Psalm 1; Mark 9:30-37

On the eve of Yom Kippur...

One to two million tons of debris. That is the amount of debris that remains churning in the Pacific Ocean following the tsunami that hit Japan nearly 16 months ago. As recently as this week, the fifth piece of debris, a four by four foot plastic floating bin from one of the power plants arrived on the shore of Oahu. The rest is heading toward the shores of California, Oregon, Washington, Canada, Alaska, and elsewhere.

The good news is that only 1 to 5 percent of it all will ever reach our shores – the not so good news is that that will still account for up to 10,000 tons of debris.

Twenty or so billion pounds.

Try stopping that. Try stopping the massive destruction of any tsunami hitting a populated area. Think about just how powerless we are to so that. Natural disasters are only disasters to we humans and our possessions. To nature, well, they are just natural events – such as a gentle rainfall. For Nature, well – it’s all part of her nature.

Still, we humans do try to prepare for such events, we do all we can to protect ourselves and possessions with state of the art prediction and warning systems and models, programs, and advances in everything from architecture to evacuation techniques. We not only seek to prepare for the future – but to predict when the future preparations will be needed ---

All so we can survive. Or, control our survival. Which is sort of like controlling nature. A bit of insanity, some might say.
It’s not unlike the “soft” insanity we engage to distort the deeper reality of the loss of human life, the names and lives of those lost and those who care about them –by shifting the conversation to plastic bins and the debris of the tsunami –away from the people and the pain. We don’t like pain. It has become – as it always becomes what we do to try and distance ourselves from the reality of our humanity and mortality – a “numbers thing”: this many lives lost, this many plants destroyed; this amount of radiation let loose into the air; this amount of “debris” heading toward our shores. Numbers and distance.

Out of mind and sight. These are now events, out of the headlines, and about people and places, cultures and continents different and at a distance from ours. It might as well be another world, at times.

Some of the writing for this morning’s comments took place in a bit of another world, in the Apple Store in NYC, in the early morning community of the faithful, a 24 hour bazaar of techies, tech users, and tech wonderers. I did have a reason to be there, although I do admit that I sometimes go there for no reason, at all.

This time, I needed to get some functions on my phone updated and it was taking a while for everything to download. So I had an hour or so to wait and decided to do a little writing for this morning’s comments. It may seem strange to think about an Apple Store as being a place to write. Actually, aside from the hundreds of people floating about and the music that is just loud enough to be heard but not cover the sounds of voices, and the tables with no chairs – but hundreds of computers available for use, aside from all this an more – the energy and excitement can make it a fascinating place from which to write.

There were hundred of people milling about, in anticipation of something – an answer to a question? a revelation of how to use something? a discovery that would make lives more predictable and ultimately protected?

The words you hear most often strung together are: “Will it do this?” “Can it do this?” “Will I be able to do this?”

Will I be able to live forever?!

If such a thing is possible, surely it is in this place, amidst the blue-shirted Apple Geniuses and staff who are all around, each as different as the people who came to shop or wander. Glistening, gleaming steel and chrome highlighted designs, centering around a staircase that itself "centers up" from the selling floor to the world above on 5th Avenue.

Is it heaven below the surface and hell above – or is it the other way around.

Is it Dante’s Inferno, the Hotel California, Utopia – or just another store. No, really, its’ not just another store. J

And there is a calmness in the place, almost like the eerie calm that follows a storm – without the debris. No one is standing in shock in the Apple store, surprise, possibility, potential – yes; shock, destruction, debris - no.

But the absorption, the intensity, the “connection” is unmistakable and of the same root. Whether on the shore watching one’s live go out to sea only to become debris on another shore ---

Or whether leaning over the vista of gleaming technology and power about to be placed in your hand –

Both stir the human longing to find answers to questions such as of “Why?” “When?” “How?”

The problem with the longing, seeking answers to the longing – is that the answers are not externally based on a hard drive, operating system, or database. They are intrinsic questions about us, not what we can manipulate. Those are there, too, but these are the deeper ones. These are the questions internally woven into our DNA – these are the questions demanded by the Love that created us all and insists that Love be heard. Insists that God and Love be heard in our lives to know who we are and what we are called to do. It’s the connection. Not the Internet.

As I looked around the store, And, in this diverse place I ask myself the question...

So, pastor, what are you supposed to do? "What am I supposed to do here, below what may be heaven or hell or above what might be heaven or hell, on either surface -- what am I supposed to do to let everyone know how miniscule and unimportant the shifts in tectonic places or operating systems are compared to God's love and presence in our lives and the hopefulness and importance of serving one another to really know who you are and what your relationship with God calls you to do?

And the next question is one that refers to the inherent hubris in such a question: Who am I to think that any of these people need me -- or who am I to think that I know what any of these people need in their lives -- when there are times when I am not even sure what I need in mine?

There are times when I really do admire the courage of the street preachers. You know the ones. On the soap box, standing up in subways, calling people to God to repent. I wonder, “Am I supposed to do something like that here?”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Apple and tech lovers one and all, may I have your attention please…”

Then I shake my head.

Isn’t all of this in some way arrogant? To think that somehow I know what others need? Isn’t a little out of sorts to think that I (or any of us) can be first in leading others to heaven, fullness, completion, satisfaction, riches, --

Isn’t it sort of like being among the disciples in this morning’s readings, arguing about who will be first because they were the best of the disciples? Who will be #1?

It seems the desire for being number one in the first century already had its roots before we though we created the ad campaign or Sinatra sang the phrase…

And isn’t the message, the simple, humble, “unself” elevating command, the secret of living a faithful life as it always has been, as Jesus responded to the disciples jockeying for position:

If you wish to be first, you must be last. For it is in service to others, caring for other’s needs that the true heart and faithfulness are achieved. Be like the children, welcome them in my name (in words or in the quietness and actions of your heart) and you welcome the one who sent me. Welcome them and you welcome God. This is the message, the way, the path…

No matter what, love others; serve others. Even when the best you can do is to refrain from saying anything, letting go, forgiving from a distance…or being unsure of what to do. Love. Serve. Be still. And know God is.

So much of the confusion stems from the past; after what I have done how can it really be different; how can I be right with Go; maybe it’s just easier to speed up my wireless download speeds and hope for the best…

All kidding aside. What am I supposed to do? How do I get over the mistakes I’ve made, the times I’ve come up short, not taken the actions I’ve needed to help others or myself, been confused about when love and tough love are or aren’t, used the words I wished I hadn’t or kept silent the words I wished I had spoken…weren’t said.

On this eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the year for our Jewish sisters and brothers, the day on which Jews see themselves as closest to God and the quintessence of their own souls. Let us do the same.

Let us also pray the prayer of Yom Kippur asking for forgiveness and purification, being cleansed of our sins – those things that distance us from God.

Let us be like little children, washed of all we never needed to know or carry, and somehow let us be content with acceptance – acceptance of our limitations and the unlimited presence of God’s love in our lives.

Let us have no need to orchestrate events, but remember who the great conductor is and follow; listen as directed from the ancient and opening prayer of the Torah - Shema Ysrael

Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One

And as instructed by Jesus when questioned about what was the most important commandment of all:

To love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might and to love one another as you love yourselves.

And in so doing, in so remembering, we will know the one who has sent us all…and there’s a good chance that heaven or hell, tsunami or technology will not dissuade us from loving and serving one another – and for that being enough. Really enough. Welcoming the teachings of Jesus, being childlike, and, in so doing, welcoming the One who created us all. Could it really be that simple? Could it be? Could it?

You say…

Janie Spahr and Others Disinvited...

Could you ever imagine Janie disinviting anyone? Me neither.

Here is the link to the article that tells the srory of Janie and other gay clergy being "disinvited" from an Advent vespers service at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro. Below is my letter to the reporter.

We have much work to do in healing and understanding. No amendment will change the heart. That's our work...

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2011/12/gay-clergy-disinvited-from-advent-services-at-castro-catholic-church/

 

Dear Cynthia,

 

Many thanks for your article on Janie Spahr and others being "disinvited" from Advent services, in particular vespers ar Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in the Castro.

 

I should first say that I am a long-time friend of Janie and was ordained in the PC(USA) as an openly gay person in 2005. For me and many others, Janie has been a guide and steadfast servant of the faith she holds dear; a faith that tirelessly calls her to welcome all. She would be the last person on earth to exclude the Archbishop from one of the services she was leading or a church of which she was a part. In fact, she would welcome him with open arms and an embrace. That's Janie. That's the difference.

 

The irony that the "disinvitation" by the Archbishop is referred to as reflective of and in harmony with the time of Advent and the theme for vespers is stunning and incomprhensible; that is unless the leadership is driven by an irrational fear and dislike of the LGBT Community (many of whom are members of Most Holy Redeemer). If we agree that hatred is an irrational dislike toward others - this borders much too close to a demonstration of the illness of those in power than the welcoming, hospitality, and love upon which the Christian faith is founded. And, the message to the community is sad and dangerous and filled with fear.

 

For it is true, that every time a member of the LGBT community, its friends and supporters is excluded, marginalized, or otherwise dismissed because they are gay, every time - those implementing such rulings, edicts, or practices become complicit in the violence toward the LGBT community, a violence now endorsed by a church's or church representative's hateful position. Just based on that alone, it would have been a much more prophetic and courageous decision to come together.

 

And, perhaps, the last of ironies is that the time of vespers at Most Holy Redeermer which now teeters on the theme of exclusion is, in fact, the poorest of reflection of Advent one could hope for.

 

Again, thank you for your reporting.

Sincerely,

Rev. Ray Bagnuolo, Minister PC(USA)

New York City

 

NYS Marriage Equality: The Spirit Smiles

On this day, when Marriage Equality has come to New York State, many people are celebrating the promise they never let go of or stopped working for – that one day in this state of all states – marriage would be available across gender identity.

In effect, in New York, by this change marriage has transcended even the best of marriage definitions from the sum total of all marriage practices in the bible. Marriage Equality acknowledges that marriage is more than just form. It underscores that neither laws nor oppression can stop the march through time of Love, that is God, coursing through all God’s human creation and equally present in the love between same gender loving couples as in different gender loving couples. Equality means that the differences separating such love have been removed. The truth is that the imposition of bygone restrictions should never have existed in the first place – and must continue to be removed wherever they exist. To do otherwise is to stand in opposition – not just to one another – but to God and God’s great and abundant love. In New York State, on this day, the Spirit is truly smiling (however it is the Spirit smiles!).

It's divided us for too long...

Friends,

I have always believed that it is G-6.0106b that has divided us. Not the people, not their hearts, not their voices - but G-6.0106b. I have always believed that had this amendment not been added to the Book of Order folk would not have been forced to galvanize around one side or the other. Had it not been added to the Book of Order the lives of people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender would not have become a litmus test for the faithfulness of an entire church. With the approaching ratification of Amendment 10-A, we have a chance to unify in a way that has been absent for decades.

With others, I have felt enormous sadness over the marginalization of people like me who were gay, or otherwise identified themselves as Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender. I have felt the hurt of allies, family, and friends who watched those they loved discriminated against in a church they loved as well. And with great heart and hope, I and so many others have been carried by the unceasing support and belief that our cause was faithful and our call was to stay the course.

Now, with ratification of 10-A imminent, we have an opportunity to unite - in our differences and our agreements. We have an opportunity to unite in the new missions ahead, trusting in God and the Holy Spirit to reveal a witness of healing and welcoming for all. A healing and welcoming that has been too long buried under the weight of G-6.0106b.

Having known the feeling of being pushed aside by the church, I know that there are others who may soon feel that the church they know and love has marginalized them with the ratification of 10-A. I would only pray and ask that we give each other a chance. The sisters and brothers who are members of the gay community have long worked for a fully inclusive church, not to push others away, but to draw us all in more closely. We are soon to be uniquely positioned to carry the Gospel to a world that needs us to step beyond our differences and give God the lead in this new way we are called.

This world that is broken in many ways needs us to step into the tension of inviting others to a spiritual home that welcomes all. That means we will first have to learn to welcome one another more intentionally. That celebration is the one that I pray for. That is celebration that awaits us. The ratification of 10-A is one more step toward a church that can really make a difference in ending our long-standing struggle and the start of the healing to which God calls us all.

Will this be easy. I suspect not. However, we are a church exceptionally practiced at embracing the challenges for which others seek faithful leadership. I believe God gave us this gift and challenge because of who we are, what is needed in this world, and our ability to see it through.

In the words of this morning's Gospel of John: (John 20:21): "Peace to you. Just as God has sent me, I send you."

Let us go forth together. It's been too long we've been apart in this way. I and others are ready to do all we can to move this healing and new unity in the PC(USA) and beyond. Please, let us hear from you and how we might be of help.

Ray Bagnuolo, Minister of Word and Sacrament

The Corrosive & Distorting Power of the Closet ~ by Karen Kavey

Dear Ray,

Thank you so much for your recent YouTube "It Gets Better!" video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy20WU1xzTI

Your words and those of all the participants who have stepped forward with such powerful witness and encouragement will help countless young people.

In honor of the project, I would like to write a bit about the corrosive and distorting power of the Closet.

As you know, the "Closet" is a metaphor used to describe how people hide important parts of themselves, typically their sexual orientation or gender identity. We know that many LGBT folks cannot be open; the world is just too unsafe for them right now. Families and friends of LGBT people can also find themselves in a kind of Closet, as they may fear that telling the truth will expose them and their loved ones to harm.

The Closet can protect people, but it also inflicts great harm on the world, as those within it are rendered silent and invisible. Individuals and communities may express hostility to LGBT people or indifference to homophobic prejudice because the Closet prevents them from seeing the pain that they cause. Others may even exploit the power of the Closet, knowing that their hostility will further drive LGBT people and their loved ones into silence.

Regardless of a particular person's motive, those who do not appreciate the corrosive power of the Closet fail to realize that it leaves us all with an incomplete and distorted view of our communities and the world.

The influence of the Closet on members of the church (both LGBT and straight people) has been particularly powerful.

The Closet has always impeded understanding in our faith community, replacing thoughtful study with a series of repetitious and divisive interactions. Ministers who have freed themselves or helped free others from the Closet and all those ministers who courageously dare to treat LGBT persons as equals face censure, lawsuits, and other forms of pressure. The message to those who remain in the Closet is painful and tragically clear: Stay where you are, silent and invisible.

Clarity, mutual understanding and the Closet simply do not go well together.

Certainly the power of the Closet is understood by those who use it strategically and by those who have felt its weight and burden, keeping them anxious and intimidated.

However, I think many Presbyterians are unaware of the magnitude of this power, given the Closet's silencing effect. And most importantly, it is not clearly understood that the power of the Closet is NOT a spiritual one.

It is a potent secular and cultural force, based on fear; it relies on the human need to survive and negotiate within one's world. All institutions that exclude LGBT people, both adults and teenagers, use the Closet as a tool.

And it is not a benign tool.

Insisting that some people feel shame and guilt for a core part of their identity and existence (much less for living and thriving on an equal footing) is - at its heart - an act of aggression.

This is true whether or not one acknowledges (or is aware of) this dynamic or whether its negative consequences are intentional or unintentional.

Teaching young people (be they heterosexual or LGBT) that there are two groups of humans - one group that is entitled to full equality and inclusion, and one group that is not - is especially damaging.

The outcome may even, as we have recently witnessed in these teenage suicides, be deadly.

For the Closet's existence is based on powerful manipulation; BUT it is also a means of control that is diminishing in the world at an increasingly rapid pace.

It is breaking apart in a seemingly sudden way. And as it fades, it releases its relentless grip on all of us: gay and straight, open or not, conservative or liberal or in-between.

For we have ALL been influenced by the Closet, as it has distorted our view of the world and of each other.

As the Closet crumbles, we will see how this change will affect our lives, our denomination and the lives of the younger generations who will, we hope, live in a world without it.

Those who have opposed equality within faith communities (and within the secular world) are perhaps beginning to realize that some of the "success" they have enjoyed historically may not have been due to the strength or accuracy of their ideas, but rather owes much to the Closet, which has left countless people silent, invisible, and afraid.

Elie Weisel has stated so clearly:
"Silence never helps the oppressed. Only the oppressor."

Understanding the basic fact that most people are heterosexual and some people are not will be a necessary part of the way forward. Without the distortion of the Closet, this fact is becoming more apparent with each passing day.

I agree that thirty years clearly is a long time for Presbyterians to study this reality and still be so baffled and at odds with each other.

The confusion has probably been compounded by the oft-repeated, defensive notion that "No one is being forced into the Closet around here! We don't know what you're talking about."

This is actually just another layer of the classic "Silent Contract" of a troubled relationship: "Don't 'name' what has actually been happening."

Because we know that whenever it IS safe, people (both LGBT folks and their families) are usually open. When LGBT people and their loved ones are intimidated into silence, it only adds insult to injury to pretend that no one is being manipulated.

In spite of all this, I remain optimistic! Thanks to you, and your courageous colleagues, the world will be a safer place for the upcoming generations. The "It Gets Better!" initiative is creative, life-affirming and generous.

Perhaps in some way it will help the church break free, recognize the Closet for what it is, and make it a relic of an ungracious and often cruel age, replacing age-old distortion with clarity and a spirit of openness.

Warm regards to all,

Many thanks,
Karen Ellen Kavey
Non-ruling Elder, PC(USA)
Confirmed May, 1958.

PCUSA: Yes on 10-A; A Vote for One Another

This post refers to upcoming votes in presbyteries on ratifying Amendment 10-A, which modifies the language of G-6.0106b, the amendment in the Book of Order mostly used to keep folk who are LGBT out of leadership roles. Bagnuolo, an openly gay ordained minister who refused to abide by G-6.0106b as a matter of conscience during his examination, talks about a vote for one another and the need to finally become the welcoming church we have long been called to be.

Sorry...the audio and video are a little out of synch. Trying to figure out why. I'll post just an audio file a little later. Thanks for bearing with me as I learn how to do these videos.

No Obstacles...

Jan Hus Presbyterian Church & Neighborhood House
New York City August 15, 2010
No Obstacles (Sermon Notes)
©2010 Ray Bagnuolo

If I were a fire and brimstone preacher these passages would rank right up there at the top of my list. Both readings exhale excoriation. In Luke, the frustration of Jesus and in Hebrews, the writer, Paul – maybe or maybe not – challenging early Christians to stay the course, regardless of the temporal conditions.
I’ll start with Luke, listening especially for Jesus’ frustration, almost anxiety in the difficulty he is having at getting his message across. Jesus’ words remind me of his actions on the day he overturned the tables in the temple.
The prophetic tirade that follows must have been especially aggravating since it was likely directed to those close to him, rather than a distant group of "moneychangers" - strangers, in the dusty poorly lit back of the temples.
These were likely people, many of whom we know by names, men and women who had been with him, probably finishing another one of their annoying arguments about who would be first when this new conquering kingdom of theirs is achieved; who among them was the most faithful (read favorite of Jesus); or even the criticism: Why has he not brought down fire and punishment upon these oppressors of the times, establishing himself once and for all?  More: