Myth 5: We Can Accept Compromise...

My purpose in writing this series of essays has been to share with you my personal and critical process in thinking through, again, the need for deleting G-6.0106b from the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). I do not write on behalf of any progressive group. I recognize each of the organizations, supporting some positions more than others. Still, I persist in reiterating the need and responsibility we have for all progressive groups to be one family for justice as the Church of Jesus Christ – especially at this General Assembly. I hope this and my other pieces over the last three months have been helpful in your reflections and processes, as well.

As a gay man and an ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament, I know first-hand the struggle to navigate our system weighted heavily against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning Community (LGBT/Q²). As an openly gay candidate who refused to abide by G-6.0106b and was, nonetheless, ordained, I understand and accept the consequences of such moral decisions. I have been witness to the power of a presbytery refusing to accept unjust standards against others and me. I have been touched by the courage of a community to call me and initiate my ordination, saying to others who they were in the process. I have been part of what takes place when we step out of the way of the Spirit and join together – differences and all -- to practice our faith in worship, prayer, voice, and action. I have watched differences fade once they were rejected as obstacles to justice. I have seen more love and more light emerge. And, I know there is much more to do.

Aside from the difficulty we have had in joining together as one progressive group, what is it that makes anything other than the deletion of G-6.0106b a just recommendation to the committees and the plenary? Why not one galvanized presence? Aren’t we the best ones to offer such a call to action? I wonder even more what makes some groups willing to propose recommendations that involve more processes and litigation rather than simply eliminate the dividing line? I wonder how any of us can survive more violence against LGBT/Q² folks as an acceptable expense on the way to one day becoming truly inclusive.

I have always believed that if we could just find the singular strand that has been the coiled bondage around justice – that once removed -- Justice (the Holy Spirit) would flow freely and with real winds for change.

So what holds us back from coming together as one? Why continue to dodge the Spirit?

I’ve asked and attempted to address this before. Even now, I keep trying to hone in on the causative factor that separates us in our positions and degrees of (im)patience for change.

I’ve come to the conclusion that the real cause of the challenge to full inclusion is such anathema to the idea of being Christian that we refuse to or simply cannot see it. It is at the root of our church, systematic and pervasive. It is more than homophobia or gender bias. It is a sickening, pogramatic, and institutionally endorsed disdain and fear of folks who are LGBT/Q². It is so deeply ingrained in the institution of the PC(USA) that we accept G-6.0106b in our Book of Order and resist constitutional change with alternatives or dismissals. The fear and disdain toward the LGBT/Q² community are so matter-of-fact a part of the order of church business that they have become very nearly indiscernible from the institution, itself. If we are seeking reasons for the flight of many from religion and the irrelevancy of the church in the lives of the masses, I would start here as the primary source of the exodus. Folks outside the church often see our own bigotry more clearly than we do.

To be a church and to have laws on the books used to exclude LGBT/Q² folk as fully integrated families and members, refusing them equal access to the benefit and servanthood of membership and leadership within the church – says much that is unfaithful about us, I think.

It is a disease of fear that surrounds us. A sickness perpetuated by the institution. And whatever hope we have for changing this illness hinges on what we do in the next two weeks about G-6.0106b.

I’ve tried this, always with the same results. Try naming a reason for considering the prospect of keeping G-6.0106b in the Book of Order that isn’t fear-based in one way or another. If you think you find one, please send it to me: Email.

I have come to an assessment that the reason we have alternative proposals and overtures to offer this assembly is, in part, to address the different levels of fear. Are we trying to find an acceptable level of fear? Are we afraid of the consequences of embracing the Holy Spirit and placing everything at risk as a sign of our faith and trust? Are we committed to such a degree for those we have been called to set free?

We simply cannot be limited by fear.

Yet, we are, I think. We chart slower more involved paths: propose scrupling, differently worded amendments, test court cases, additional language to assuage the fear – alternatives so we don’t scare anyone away. We become a chorus of different voices with a tune no one can follow well; the same strategy, by the way, which is often used by some to undermine progress.

We know that the only real neutralizer to fear is Love (God).

• Not “We love you but hate your sin.”
• Not, “We love you, just give us more time to trust you.”
• Not, “We love you, so if you can find a way to make it through these hoops that no one else needs to get through, then we will ordain you.”

And certainly not, “We love you, and so does God,” for love that excludes can never be equated with the Love of God.

The courage of Love is the answer. That’s the best I can do. We are really engaged in an epic struggle between love and fear. Every tenet of our faith calls us not to worry and trust in God. Still, many resist.

Simply, the human and spiritual price is too high for this church to accept fear, unwittingly or otherwise demanding that our LGBT/Q² sisters and brothers live their lives in suffering, seated patiently at the table as a sign of faithfulness to God.

That’s not the table Jesus set. That’s the table Jesus overturned!

The choices: Fear (Sickness) or Love (Justice). Will this be the assembly that re-energizes the course of Love or builds up the walls of fear?

For me, anything other than the deletion of G-6.0106b is a step toward ensuring Fear’s dominance in the PC(USA). It is a sad day, indeed, every day that G-6.0106b is in our Book of Order.

How am I so sure? Well, it always comes down to this for me:

If we are able to look our LGBT/Q² sisters and brothers in the eyes, and from deep in our hearts say to them, “Just wait a while longer” or “G-6.0106b should remain because…” then we, too, have been dulled by fear. We have forgotten the price of being LGBT/Q² in this church. For me, once that memory is gone, anything goes.

So, once again, I pray for an act of the Spirit to bring all the progressive groups together at the General Assembly and with one voice call simply and clearly for the deletion of G-6.0106b, along with related guidance and interpretations that group people who are LGBT/Q² into the category of: “To be feared.”

I believe that the most important work in the history of the progressive movement for LGBT/Q² folk and this church will begin following a vote to change the constitution. We will need to organize and travel to every presbytery and church that will have us to show how we are ministers of Love and Hope and Healing. Let us finish this, so we can begin being mission to all.

Please, accept no compromise or other name for fear – even for the smallest of whiles. God bless you all in these and the times ahead.

Myth 4: It’s about “the Middle”

To the point: we often hear discussions about the success of constitutional change in our church relying on a favorable shift of “the middle,” those yet to decide or be vocal about their decision regarding ordination standards. The premise is that if enough of those “uncommitted” could find reason to support the removal of G-6.0106b, we would be able to make it happen. “Once we had the middle behind us, we’d be all set.”

All this sounds logical, plausible, and very practical, doesn’t it? And, in fact it is, with one exception. It hinges the success of eliminating the oppression and violence toward LGBT folk on persuading a “great mass of people” that such injustices are wrong. We already know exclusion is wrong. We already know marginalization of LGBT folk is wrong. We already know the terrible mire of weariness, resistance, and the imbalance of power that threatens the LGBT community and its supporters at every turn, as we seek justice. We know, too, the diversions that distract us from the real objective – God’s radical and generous equity. And so, we call forth and support individuals and organizations: to lead us through the myths and obstacles. These are the progressive organizations. Their work is critical, timely, and sacred, in every sense of the word. And, reaching out to others is a major part of their work.

Truly, I am committed to broad and comprehensive pastoral, educational, and personal efforts in helping others to know their sisters and brothers who are LGBT. I understand the changes that occur when we have the chance to touch and be touched by the hearts and minds of people we first encounter as different. I am dedicated to the goal that we embrace our shared baptism, without limitations on gender or sexual identity, and we find ways to work together as equal members of the Body of Christ. This is our work. These efforts, just as importanty, are foundational in the healing ministry that will need to follow the deletion of G-6.0106b. However, it is not the “middle’s” job to decide our course; it is our job to lead and inform. We cannot subjugate our calls to the political or geographical formation and opinions of groups.

Aligning our efforts to the potential support of this broad and undefined segment of the population is the same as suggesting that we just wait a while. There it is again. “Slow down. Wait a while. Give folks a chance to catch up on the issue and become comfortable with this idea.”

First, we are not issues, ideas, or objectified notions with which to become comfortable. We are living, breathing creations of God being discriminated against and diminished by a church that calls itself the Church of Jesus Christ. If that doesn’t give us pause then none of this is much going to matter.

Second, we are called to lead. We have to be out ahead of others who are not yet ready and show them what has to be done and ask for their support, not wait for them to say they are “ready.” The ultimate decisions are out of our control, anyway. The choices people make will be between themselves and the Holy Spirit. Our job is to inform and teach others why G-6.0106b has to be removed, instead of continuing to seek interpretations and rulings of authoritative interpretations that allow it to be scrupled. It just doesn’t make sense to do anything other than delete G-6.0106b, especially if you are a member of the community being oppressed in the life and polity of the PC(USA).

Really, who is the beneficiary of G-6.0106b remaining in the Book of Order, as an essential tenet or not? Why even offer an option to addressing it, other than removing it if we believe as we say we do that it needs to go? What could be the reasons? It’s not time? The middle is not ready? It will split the church or unsettle our unity?

Consider this: the last openly gay candidate that was examined, cleared to seek a call, called, and ordained as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament was in late 2005. Since then, according to Research Services at PC(USA), an estimated 850-900 individuals have been ordained to serve as Ministers of the Word and Sacrament. Progress?

One cannot help but make the leap that those opposing the ordination of LGBT individuals are feeling satisfied with such results, results guaranteed to be pretty much the same until G-6.0106b is removed. Even if the GAPJC's decision on scrupling were reversed, every LGBT candidate would be asked to go through another level of examination, another challenge, another test - keeping the welcoming of called sisters and brothers who are LGBT to a trickle not much better than now. Equity? Justice? Love?

We are better than this, and once more I repeat the call for the leaders of the progressive groups to step forward together, set aside any differences, and do what needs to be done together to delete G-6.0106b at this General Assembly. Our divisiveness works to the advantage of those who would like nothing to change. I love those who oppose us, but I think we have helped them enough. Tell those you know, “It’s time.”

Myth 3: Full Inclusion for LGBT Folk Will Produce Schism

Ray Bagnuolo, Minister of the Word and Sacrament
Gay Member of the LGBT Community Download File

If the unity of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is so fragile that the full inclusion of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons will wrench it apart, then maybe it is time for a restructuring. If welcoming our sisters and brothers is going to break us, we are already in serious need of repair.

What is more likely is that the full inclusion of LGBT folk threatens the power structure of the church rather than its theological integrity. Holding the line against full inclusion assures the continued dominance of those seen as “protectors” of the church, leaders whose authority is assured by their resistance to change in any meaningful way for our community and its allies. The full inclusion of LGBT members would likely reveal the true struggle in this church, which is resistance to the redistribution of power in any equitable and truly welcoming way.

The inclusion of our LGBT sisters and brothers has become the threatening fault line in the rhetoric, nurtured in the fear of what change will bring about. The decades-long delay against inclusion has become so mired in the language and practice of fear that we now believe that living into the fundamental principles of Christianity will actually destroy us. No, it will not destroy us, but it will eliminate the dysfunctional behavior of reducing others’ status to raise one’s own sense of importance and righteousness. Such a change will help to shift the church back to its dominant Christian mission of a radically welcoming and loving God, instead of a limited and exclusive institution.

Think about it for a moment. The PC(USA) may actually be known more for whom it refuses to welcome fully than for whom it fully embraces. It is, constitutionally, a resistance movement against God’s creation. In the long run, more than any decision, this aberration of call, misguided by fear and selfishness, will split and plunder the church.

What would it be like to have the constitutional barrier of G-6.0106b removed, along with other limiting AI’s, definitions, and interpretations? How many people, leaders, would suddenly be called upon to answer questions to their congregations and the world about gender identity, sexuality, differing views on Scripture, mission, past practices, and future outreach? What would it be like to suddenly be in such a situation? It would be wonderful! Finally, the fresh air of the Spirit would make it possible to be freed from the gender dominance and exclusive practices that we know in our hearts to be wrong.

It’s not time!
It will split the church!
It will tear apart our unity!

Do these responses sound Spirit-filled and faith-based? Or do they sound like the cry of those afraid of losing something; those holding on too tightly to what most of us believe should have been released long ago?

Today, the church’s fear of doing what is right produces violence and support for hate crimes against the communities we marginalize by our exclusion. The LGBT community continues to be pushed back in this church, and with each thrust away from the table, these actions reinforce the perception and responses of those who become more assured that LGBT people are less than. We embolden those who find encouragement for hatred toward LGBT folk each time we reaffirm LGBT persons are not fully welcome. Our witness to the world includes the message of discrimination, homophobia, and marginalization. How was this ever right before? How could it be right now?

There is little hope for us not to fracture as a church unless we clean house of these hurtful messages and practices

The recent ruling in favor of The Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr in which she was found not guilty of violating her ordination vows by “marrying same gender couples” summarizes the attitude toward LGBT folk from the institutional perspective of the church. Janie was found “not guilty” because the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission said that she could not be found guilty of something she could not do, that is marrying anyone other than a man and a woman. Clearly, the court reaffirmed that there is no place for the LGBT community in their eyes – based on the Constitution, except as limited, diminished, second-class citizens.

What does that say to our LGBT family? If this were a decision against you, what would you hear in the words and actions of the court and the Constitution upon which they based their decision? I think you would hear:

It’s not time!
It will split the church!
It will tear apart our unity!

Schism as the result of full inclusion for LGBT folk is a myth. It is a fear used to fund-raise by opponents and propel the status quo that benefits no one, not even those who hold the power now, for it has become an infection affecting all.

The church will not split as a result of opening its doors to the LGBT community. It will strengthen and grow in ways we could not even imagine. However, membership is not the reason to change the Constitution, nor is fear the reason to keep it flawed.

It is about Justice and Love. There can be no justice and love in this church until G-6.0106b is removed and all other references that limit participation and definition of membership for LGBT folk have been deleted or changed.

Fear and Schism are the twin myths that have become accepted remedies for maintaining the exclusion of LGBT folk from the church on a constitutional and institutional basis.

It’s time now!
It will prevent schism!
It will bring us together!

Once again, I call for all the progressive groups to come together for this General Assembly with one voice and embrace the call to cure this church of the twin soul-sicknesses of procrastination and homophobia.

Here’s what I believe we are called to do: Remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order, strike the Authoritative Interpretation of 1978/1993[1], change the language of marriage in the Directory for Worship, and correct the Heidelberg Catechism in our Confessions.

- Using LGBT folk to hedge and hold onto power? True.
- Schism if LGBT folk were welcomed fully? Just another myth.
- What are we waiting for? I have no idea.
[1] http://www.presbyweb.com/Documents/DefinitiveGuidance1978.htm

Myth 2: Timing is Everything

Not here. Not in terms of how we must always keep the voice of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) folk in front of the church, at all times, in the strongest of justice-loving ways, and in spite of any “odds” of changing the church at one point or another.

In our work, in our lives, we have only the present. The rest is in God’s hands. Time is important, if only as a reminder. A reminder of how long this difficult struggle has been taking place. A reminder that for nearly forty years our baptized sisters and brothers have been marginalized and rejected by this church, except in the most limited of ways. If you are LGBT you are only partially accepted in this church, which means you are not accepted at all.

Whatever time may be, it has not been something in our favor. It is a myth to suggest that time will change our situation for the better. If anything, “the waiting for the right time” has been an albatross hung around the neck of this Body of Christ; a yoke that bears the signature of all but Christian love. To delay in any way to set our face to the General Assembly with other than the full and unconditional inclusion of the LGBT community in our hearts and on our lips is to favor our own comfort at the expense of our sisters and brothers. That, my friends, goes against every Christian tenet and principle I have ever learned.

Honestly, I don’t get it. What is the reason for waiting? Are we not “done” yet?

There can be no silence when others who are oppressed and excluded are unable to speak for themselves. In that place of imposed silence, we who can speak have a sacred responsibility to do so, regardless of the outcome of any proposals. It is not the proposal or the possibility of its passage that frames this call, but the voice we have been given to speak: as one, together, unmistakably in concert, heart, and soul. The LGBT community and all others who are excluded from this church have to hear that they have not been forgotten. We need to continuously invite this church to join us in this God-given, fundamental call that we share for inclusion, justice, and love.

In the recent decision of the GAPJC regarding Janie Spahr and her marrying of same gender couples, the ruling stated:

“It is acknowledged by those who have heard this case at every level that Spahr has acted in light of her call and the church’s call to participate in a caring and compassionate ministry to persons who have been marginalized, who are faithful Christians, and who wish to be accepted in every way as full members of the body of Christ. In this, Spahr may consider herself to be acting in the role of a prophet to the church, while others would reject such a characterization. Prophecy contains risk and uncertainty both for those who would speak and for those who listen. The role of a prophet carries consequences.”

What we do carries consequences. It is not the outcome that carries consequences, but what we do now. Let us embrace the consequences of action and prophecy that embody faithfulness and justice, love and courage. These are not the products of time, but gifts of the Spirit. Such gifts are given us because we need them to do the right thing, which is always in the present.

Once again, I call for all the progressive groups to come together for this General Assembly with one voice and embrace the call to cure this church of the twin soul-sicknesses of procrastination and homophobia. What are we waiting for?

Here’s what I believe we are called to do: Remove G-6.0106b from the Book of Order, strike the Authoritative Interpretation of 1978/1993[1], change the language of marriage in the Directory for Worship, and correct the Heidelberg Catechism in our Confessions.

To say we are loved but it’s just not time, is to really say we are not loved, at all.

A better time for justice? Just another myth.

[1] http://www.presbyweb.com/Documents/DefinitiveGuidance1978.htm

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by Ray Bagnuolo, Gay and Minister of the Word and Sacrament
©2008 Ray Bagnuolo; Permission Granted for All Reprints

GAPJC Overturns Janie's Censure

This is an important ruling and a complicated one. It acknowledges the role of prophets, like Janie, in this church and world, but it also leaves us with much work to do. The Spirit released by this decision can only grow, as it becomes clear that the call one hears from God must always come first. From there, the Spirit, as it has here...will create ways for the rest to happen. Thank you to Janie, her family, attorneys, friends, and all those who have ever been willing to sacrifice and risk themselves for justice. Links for the ruling and to the PCUSA News Service can be found here. Peace.

Myth 1: We Threaten the Unity of the Church

Myth 1: We Threaten the Unity of the Church
by Ray Bagnuolo, Gay and Minister of the Word and Sacrament

The PC(USA) will not split over the inclusion of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) persons in the community of called individuals serving as Elders, Deacons, or Ministers of the Word and Sacrament.

Ever since the church’s beginning, LGBT people have served the church in ordained and non-ordained status. Today, along with those who are open about their gender and sexual identity, there are thousands serving in quiet ways; thousands who have never identified themselves as LGBT. These are called individuals who understand, too well, the consequences were they to “come out.” Clearly, their service has not caused the church to split. Quite the opposite, for decades these leaders have made the church a meaningful place for a great many seeking God. They have, in many ways, kept the church together.

We all recognize the importance of being open witnesses. We also acknowledge the important work of our LGBT community serving the church, without the freedom of fullness enjoyed by our heterosexual sisters and brothers. As a result, it is difficult to agree with those who suggest that our community is asking for protection or insulation in this struggle for justice. What is more reliable is the belief that our LGBT community depends on those who are able to insist publicly that this church change. What is clear is that this community depends on leaders to provide a voice for those unable to speak for themselves. Such a charge and call is not negotiable.

The presence or increase of LGBT people in ordained and leadership roles in this church is not a threat to its unity. What is a threat to the unity of this church is the misleading of its members. It is a misleading teaching that insists upon diminished status for the LGBT community, in order that the church remains “whole.” This great error is at the core of the threat to the unity of God’s church, not those of us who are LGBT. It is an error that has taken on a near-mythological status. And, there are other myths.

Another myth, for example, is that “…given enough time, we (LGBT people) will no longer be an ‘issue’ in the church. Given enough time, everyone will be used to the idea of our being around and there will no longer be any conflict. We will, in effect, ‘blend in.’” As is often true, myths are accompanied by a moral, in this case in the form of a caveat: “If the attempt proceeds to move change along ‘ahead of schedule’ it will cause great harm to the church, culminating in certain schism.” The potential danger of such thinking cannot be underestimated. Such a direction is built upon the foundation that marginalization, oppression, and exclusion – however temporary (going on forty years, now) – is a “livable condition” in order to achieve a greater good. And at the root of the problem lurks G-6.0106b, AI, and the discriminatory language of marriage. The resistance to removing such impediments must be to keep LGBT folk from serving this church fully, regardless of all protests to the contrary. What other reasons could there be that justify a diminished status in God’s church for any child of God?

Our LGBT community has been constitutionally relegated to a footnote in the history of PJC’s, assemblies, and annotations in the Book of Order. On one hand the injustice is swept away with the promise of a better future, and on the other, juxtaposed with a demand for willingness to accept continued dehumanization as an reasonable sacrifice for order and a false grasp on unity.

All the while, the power for change is in our hands. We must come together as progressive partners and stem the illness that is consuming the soul of the church. Our LGBT community is not the cause of this sickness; instead, it is we who are called to bring a healing and unity to the PC(USA) that really means something.

I continue to call on all progressive advocacy groups to publicly join together to lead us in change of the PC(USA) and a new realized commitment to justice with a unified and strategic presence at GA218.