brad@SU-ISL.ARPA (08/27/85)
I am a new user on the net, so please bear with me. I am a student at Stanford, and the Young Adults Coordinator at a local United Methodist Church. I have been reading this newsgroup this week for the first time, and I am hoping to enlist help and guidance from subscribers. I am not gay, but through close friends have become very interested in gay lifestyles and culture. One particular aspect that bothers me is the adversary relationship between institutional churches and the gay community. Alas, even the United Methodist Church at its last General Conference chose to take a much more conservative stand on gay ministers instead of the more Christian philosophy of inclusion. I will try not to be too philosophical here, or drag out religious discussion, but I am concerned that most non-gay Christians see homosexuality as a problem that needs to be corrected. Even the churches (except MCC and a few local congregations) that recognize gay members seem to do it under the constraints that homosexuality is (of course) a sin and that these poor sinners need to be converted (hogwash). I am currently working with the pastor at my local church to have the young adults group which I lead sponsor a series of film/discussion sessions aimed at opening the awareness of the local Christian community. I am looking for resources that I can use for such a series. I attended the San Jose premier of a film recently made by the MCC about its history and current activities. At that meeting I met Rev. Troy Perry, founder of MCC, and other members of the San Jose congregation. I got several suggestions at the reception for Rev. Perry: One member is a psychologist and sexologist, and offered to speak on the issues of sexuality, etc. and lead a discussion, answer questions, etc. Another woman there was a member of a 'reconciling' United Methodist congregation in the San Jose area who has done extensive scriptural research in dispelling myths about the Bible's stand on homosexuality. She comes with enthusiastic recommendations of many members of the San Jose MCC, and her affiliation with a Methodist congregration could be very enlightning to my own congregation. The minister of the local San Jose congregation offered to loan a copy of the MCC film, and to speak/lead discussion. There is a speaker's bureau associated with the Stanford student's group GLAS, and someone in that organization suggested a student speak on the coming out/religion considerations, etc. Please send or post any further ideas that might be applicable. If you think that this whole idea is silly, tell me that too. My personal goal is to increase the awareness of my local church to the point that they decide to become a reconciling congregation. It would be nice to change the entire United Methodist Church's stand, but that is a much bigger matter, and should probably be discussed in net.christian or something. send usmail to: brad clymer 511 Central Ave. #R Mountain Vw, CA 94043 e-mail to: brad@su-isl (I think... I'm not sure about how to use the mail system for anything not local to Stanford.)
asente@Cascade.ARPA (08/28/85)
In article <108@SU-ISL.ARPA> brad@SU-ISL.ARPA writes: [A great deal of interesting stuff about religions and gays] ... >Please send or post any further ideas that might be applicable. If you think >that this whole idea is silly, tell me that too. My personal goal is to >increase the awareness of my local church to the point that they decide to >become a reconciling congregation. It would be nice to change the entire >United Methodist Church's stand, but that is a much bigger matter, and should >probably be discussed in net.christian or something. > >send usmail to: brad clymer > 511 Central Ave. #R > Mountain Vw, CA 94043 > >e-mail to: brad@su-isl (I think... I'm not sure about how to use the > mail system for anything not local to Stanford.) If you want to send uucp mail to brad, the address would be (decvax, ihnp4,...)!decwrl!Glacier!brad@su-isl -paul asente
richw@ada-uts.UUCP (08/30/85)
GOOD JOB ! While you're at it, could you help out atheists, too? :-> -- Rich Wagner