Aptly dubbed the WOW conference, this coming weekend's ecumenical conference of LBGT Christians and their allies is, Rev. Bill Johnson believes, recognition of the untold success story of growing tolerance for the LBGT community within in America's mainline Protestant denominations.
The Witness Our Welcome Conference ( WOW ) runs Aug. 3-6. The success of this movement is amazing especially because the animus homophobic and heterosexist individuals have toward the gay community is often based on an interpretation of religious precepts.
When the 1,000 expected WOW attendees gather in DeKalb, Ill., this weekend, Mark Bowman, conference executive director, said, "It will be the largest-ever diverse assembly of Christians."
On one hand the rapid growth of the Welcoming Church movement can be measured by the nine supporting Welcoming organizations for the conference. Those organizations are from Canadian and national denominations that include American Baptists, Lutherans, and Mennonites. Another measure of the magnitude of the movement are the 1,000 congregations in the U.S. and Canada who are Welcoming churches. Defined by their public declaration that they welcome persons of all sexual orientations, such public declarations are the result of a lengthy conversation by church congregations. The Welcoming designation, which is referred to in some denominations as More Light ( Presbyterians ) , Affirming ( Disciples of Christ ) , or Reconciling ( United Methodist ) is typically the result of a one- to four-year process.
"It's a sign of great hope that people are involved in the educational process," said Johnson.
Although the numbers of Welcoming congregations have grown, the scorecard for the national and regional governing bodies of each mainline Protestant denomination is decidedly mixed. This summer the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church ( U.S.A. ) by a thin margin approved a ban on same-sex marriages. The Methodists did the same but by a greater margin. The Episcopal Church General Convention recently approved a policy acknowledging there are long-term relationships outside of marriage that deserve prayer, encouragement, and pastoral support.
The PCJ, the highest court in the Presbyterian Church ( USA ) , decided that a gay man may be an ordination candidate. The Southeast Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America approved a Resolution calling for the recognition and blessing of same-sex relationships.
Within each denomination it is likely that the tug of war between progressives and conservatives around gender identity and sexual orientation issues are likely to become more contentious. Locally, complaints have been filed against Methodist Bishop C. Joseph Sprague for his support of gay issues. Ironically, this is the same Bishop who to his own public consternation filed charges against Rev. Gregory Dell for performing gay marriages.
Rev. Bill Johnson, the first openly gay person ever ordained, measures the progress the movement has gained by 345 United Church of Christ ( UCC ) congregations that designate themselves as "open and affirming."
Johnson, who for 18 years supported himself through work in the secular world, is the key author of his denomination's policy on gay issues. In 1971, upon his graduation from seminary in California, it took a year for the regional UCC authority to decide how to proceed with his ordination. Johnson still remembers the vote tally 62-34 in favor of his ordination. Currently, Johnson holds a national position in the denomination as a minister whose focus is AIDS/HIV and LBGT concerns.
On the leading edge of the Protestant denominations, the United Church of Christ has the most progressive policies.
Johnson said 30 years ago the number of religious gay activists could be counted on one hand and that he knew them all. The WOW conference will bring many of the leaders of the Welcoming movement together for the first time.
Although the conference is about the Christian experience, Johnson observed an unfolding openness about gay sexuality in progressive quarters of Judaism, Catholicism, and Islam. The depth of experience and leadership that will be at WOW makes it an event that won't be soon duplicated. It's been four years in the planning.
Open Hands, a quarterly magazine of the Welcoming movement, helped connect many of those who will be in attendance. Open Hands' editor, Chris Glaser, will be on a panel at the final plenary.
WOW will be a rare chance to see the Welcoming movement's activists in one place. The Rev. Irene Monroe, a theologian whose weekly column for a New England LBGT newspaper, "The Religion Thang" is one of the panelists scheduled for the closing plenary. Monroe is the head teaching fellow of the Rev. Peter Gomes, the openly gay African American Harvard University Chaplin whose The Good Book is a useful primer for those looking for a more informed reading of Biblical text. The Right Rev. Steven Charleston, an Episcopalian diocesan bishop of Alaska and Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma member, will preach at Saturday worship service, one of many scheduled. Charleston authored the Cambridge Accord, a document that invites Anglican bishops worldwide to speak out against the increased violence directed at LBGT people.
The Rev. Dr. Erin Swenson, the first known mainline Protestant clergy to undergo a gender transition while in ordained office, will participate in a panel discussion. Several participants are notables of the secular gay movement. Keith Boykin, a former Special Assistant to President Clinton, and Urvashi Vaid, director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute, are scheduled.
The youth tract of the conference will include an address by Christian de la Huerta, author of Coming Out Spiritually.
"It wasn't long ago that I was kneeling at the cross wondering if I was the only gay Christian youth out there," said Scott Mills, the Coordinator for the Youth Conference in pre-conference publicity.
Ultimately Johnson describes the conference as being a safe place where LBGT people and their families from various denominations can share their stories, share ideas, and to envision ways to show communities of faith that they are enriched by their LBGT families when they leave fear behind.
There is also a Friday evening picnic and concert featuring Nedra Johnson, marsha Stevens and Delores Berry & Friends.
See www.wow2K.org or call ( 800 ) 318-5581 for details.
Spahr at WOW
by Robert Schultz
"Oh my God to thank you God."
This is how the Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr describes her life journey. For Janie, as she insists that people call her, faith and her lesbian identity are one. "I've known since I was little that I've been called [ to the ministry ] . It's the same with being lesbian. Its just another gift that God gives you," said Spahr. Spahr will be the preacher at the closing worship service on Sunday, Aug. 6 at the WOW conference.
Spahr is an evangelist for That All May Freely Serve ( TAMFS ) . The TAMFS mission is to lead the Presbyterian Church ( USA ) dialogue about lesbians, bisexual, gays, and transgendered people. Spahr's ordination occurred before the Presbyterian Church ( USA ) USA adopted its 1978 standards on sexual conduct for church leaders. The current official Presbyterian policy on ordination is in flux.
TAMFS, established in 1993, is a mission project of Rochester, New York's Downtown United Presbyterian Church ( DUPC ) . In 1992, a decision by the highest judicial body, the General Assembly's Permanent Judicial Commission, set aside the call DUPC put out to Spahr to serve as pastor to the church only because she was a "self-affirming lesbian." In 1999 the General Assembly Council, one of the governing bodies of the denomination, by a single vote upheld the decision of its executive committee to allow Spahr to receive one of the annual Women of Faith Awards. The award is one of the top honors for women in the denomination.
Spahr was married with two kids when she arrived at Hazlewood Presbyterian ministry out of San Francisco Seminary. The congregation was racially mixed in a working-class Pittsburgh neighborhood in the shadow of the steel mills. Her mentor, an African-American seminary student, Wanda Graham Harris, worked in the community. It was the first time that women lead a congregation. Known as the checkerboard staff, Spahr said this period shaped her ministry.
Spahr, who has lived in California since that time, joyously recalled that period of her life. Wanda said to Janie, "Girl, I'm going to teach you some things. First, I'm going to teach you to pray because you white Presbyterians just preach from your neck up. I'm gong to teach you how to preach from your neck down."
Wanda told Janie to open her hands and pray as if, "You're going to receive something."
One of the lessons Janie learned at Hazlewood is how oppressive systems tell people to treat those who are different. Spahr says that she has learned to understand the connections between sexism, and racism. Spahr learned that systems of oppression use power to bring people down. Because of that experience, "A light went off inside of me and I've not been the same since," explained Spahr. "As a white queer I better be looking at racism because that's part of the work."
Spahr said that her lesson in praying was to abandon the written text favored by Presbyterians and to go to the heart. She said, "I felt so much inside of me when God talks to you." She quickly threw in the wry aside: "This isn't how you talk to Presbyterians." It was through this process that she accepted that her deepest affections were for women. "I'm lesbian because of God. That's a cool thing."
In the process, "I came home to myself. When I came home to myself I came to God." It was then that, "You know you are free," she said. Spahr is thankful for this because if she wasn't a lesbian, "I could have missed life and what life is all about."
When Spahr told Harris, "Wanda, I think I'm lesbian," Harris replied, "Well I know that."
Harris then asked, "Now what are you going to do for God?"
