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It is My Joy to Introduce You to My Uncles

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

3/25

I got to know my uncle in my childhood when he would come to Pittsburgh from his home in California. He would arrive in the Fall with his friend, who my grandmother adored. Telling stories is an art form in my family so many October afternoons, year after year, were given to listening in as the adults swapped stories on my grandmother’s side porch or sitting room. My uncle and his friend would stay for some days before traveling in the East, enjoying the change of season. Nothing was said beyond how much my grandmother appreciated these opportunities to catch up with her oldest son and with his friend.

In college I began to connect the dots, putting together that my uncle was probably gay and his “friend” was his partner. Still, nothing was said, and this idea wasn’t something I could run by my family.

Then, in the mid-1990’s when I was middle aged, I was visiting with my aunt. She told me the story of her brother, my uncle: How his father had ridiculed him for being gay; How the family had twice sent him to a sanitarium in New England to be “cured” to no effect; How his effort to enlist in World War II had failed because he was gay; How a small inheritance allowed him to move to what, for this family, was the edge of the world, Southern California.

It was there that my uncle met his partner, years before I was born. They bought a house in 1955, which his partner still lives in to this day. My parents visited them a few times, but I did not go there until a few years ago. When I did, I came home with a large stack of family photographs, wedding pictures and framed Christmas card family pictures, saved over seven decades. My uncle’s partner still has the best recollection of family history of anyone in our senior generation. I am sure he heard about all these relatives over and over through the years.

My uncle grew up in a Presbyterian Church. He was a devout man but he did not go to church. Though the Crystal Cathedral was nearby, he was certain he would not be welcome and, sadly, he was probably right. So he would watch church on TV instead. His partner would slip in and out of Mass at the Catholic parish church, until he stopped doing that too. The church failed them both.

I confess to them and to the millions of LGBT people like them that we, the church, have sinned against you and against God who made you good.

My uncle suffered from what is common in my family: strokes. For most of the 1990’s he was bedridden. When his partner could no longer care for him at home, my uncle moved to a nursing home where his partner came to care for him and be with him every day. My uncle died at age 89 in 2000. He and his partner had been together 52 years.

I don’t share their names here today because I still am not sure they would associate themselves with being gay. I never talked with them about it. They were a couple committed to one another in a time where they faced severe stigma. And I know that they were for me the single most important thing to open my eyes to God’s full love for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. If truth is in order to goodness and the goodness of these men is proven by their fruits then they are good and worthy of full participation in the life of the church.

I am very grateful this perspective on God’s will for us was in place so early in my life.

If you say you do not know of any LGBT people, you can say it no more. It has been my joy to help you know a little about my uncles. And I encourage you to read through the great conversations I have been privileged to have with lovely LGBT Christians over the past two years. When we know LGBT people as Christ does, we will be with them as Christ is. And we will sin no more.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

How John 8:1-11 Informs My Faith

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT

3/18

What part of “Do not judge” is so difficult for us to understand and follow? It’s an important question for us all to reflect on.

Over and over in the New Testament we are told not to judge others. Jesus says it plainly in the Sermon on the Mount, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged (Matthew 7:1).”

And Jesus wonderfully shows us how to withhold our judgment in John 8:1-11. Just as this story of the woman taken in adultery is controversial as Scripture because it does not appear in the earliest manuscripts, it is also, perhaps, controversial in its point.

As Jesus is teaching, the powers that be bring a woman they claim was caught in the act of adultery. When they ask Jesus what He says to this, He just bends down to the ground and swirls his finger in the dust. Finally, as they continue to pester Him, Jesus exclaims, “Let any one among you who is without sin cast the first stone.” The accusers melt away, leaving just the woman and Jesus, writing again in the dust. When she confirms that no one has condemned her, Jesus says, “Nor do I. Go and sin no more.” Wow. That’s the way I want to be.

Jesus never even gets close to judging this woman. He does not assume that those who say she was taken in the very act of sinning against the seventh commandment are right about her. There is no evidence given that she committed the sin she is accused of. Jesus sends her forth exclaiming, “Sin no more.” He knows she is a sinner like everyone else, including her accusers.

In our time, the powers that be routinely bring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people before Jesus, claiming to have caught them in sin. Jesus’ response is still the challenge: Let the one without sin punish them. He makes no judgment one way or the other on the purported sin of LGBT people, sending us all out as He does the woman, “Go and sin no more.”

Jesus shows us in this story how God loves us and yet we find it so excruciatingly difficult to let go of judgment as Jesus does here. Paul clearly struggles to be like Jesus with regard to judgment. For example, Paul works hard to articulate himself in Romans Chapter 14. He finally confronts us with the question, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother or your sister (Romans 14:10)?” Why, indeed.

Yet, Paul has answered his own question at the start of this chapter when he refers to “quarreling over opinions (Romans 14:1).” That is always what we are doing — we are always just arguing about our interpretations of Scripture or our opinions of what God’s desires of us. And it really gets nasty when we conflate our opinion with God’s will. This is what the powers that be were doing with that poor woman, identifying their will with God’s will. This is what Jesus refused to do even though He could have done it, as God’s only begotten Son.

We are allowed to have our opinions and our interpretations of Scripture but we are not allowed to equate those with God’s judgment. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and therefore we have no business judging anyone.

I want to be like Jesus writing in the dust, challenging us to cast the first stone and sending us all away to sin no more without saying what that means for each of us. Only Jesus knows and He lovingly sends every one of us on our way. This is how the story of the woman taken in adultery informs my faith.

Do you join me in this?

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Conversation With Rev. Helene Loper, D.Min.

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:00:00 GMT

3/11/2011

Helene was born, raised, baptized, confirmed and seminary trained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). When she left the PCUSA, she did not do so willingly. Helene came out to herself as lesbian and faced a dilemma between staying in the PCUSA and answering God’s call to ordained service (G-6.0106b in the Book of Order created this conflict, and many are currently working toward a day when ordination in the PCUSA is open to all candidates regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity). With a deep respect for the covenant of community in the Presbyterian tradition, Dr. Loper chose to follow God’s calling and removed herself from the rolls of the PCUSA.

Helene was ordained in the Metropolitan Community Church and now serves as co-pastor with Rev. Susan Lowe, her partner, at God’s House, an independent congregation in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Rev. Lowe is also a full time addictions counselor.

In your mind, what are the Biblical foundations for LGBT inclusion in the church?

“Homosexuality” as an orientation was not defined until 1850 AD. What we discuss as orientation today cannot be understood as under consideration in Scripture at all.

In New Testament theology, I look to see what is said and I find a Biblical concern for mutual respect, love and faithfulness in covenanted commitments. Emotional, physical or spiritual abuse, or use of people for personal gain or pleasure is sin and that judgment applies to all relationships regardless of sexual orientation or any other thing.

The whole of Scripture teaches that we all have responsibility for the quality of all of our relationships.

Is there a prayer or meditation that helps you make it through trying times?

I was trying to hold together my marriage of fifteen years when my Committee on Preparation for Ministry would not recommend me for candidacy because they judged me to be a lesbian. In seminary at this time, I chose courses and papers that would help me think all this through. It was a difficult time as my personal spiritual journey of faith, love for God and identity came into conflict with the religious structures of the PC(USA).

I did a study of the Psalms and wrote a lament. Laments begin with a problem and end with faith and hope. It was all that I had to lean on as my faith community no longer was supportive and suggested that I was wrong about how I am called to use my gifts for ministry in the church.

I used my classes to process the situation and made decisions from my study of Scripture, theology and history. I realized that I needed a new tent, so to speak, for my journey of faith. Trying to hold on to a human institution is as much an idolatry as gold or ivory towers of status or some other earthly pleasures. As odd as it sounds, I chose faith in the Universal Church over a particular church.

Anytime I run into a text that is difficult, I use the same practices – pray, study and feel the Spirit of the scriptures as I try to discern what to do. Our times are not the first in which Christians have struggled with growing understanding that seems conflicted with the way things were said 2000 years or more ago. Love is the great commandment that guides this process of discernment.

How has your personal journey to support LGBT equality in the church strengthened or challenged your faith?

I really identify with Abraham and his sojourn of faith. What I see is that God gave Abraham a promise that he did not possess on this side of life but still he believed it. Abraham sojourned, living in many temporary places. I view church denominations as temporary dwellings in this life because we have not attained the unity of God’s full promise that will be in eternity.

When I was young, children were not allowed to take communion. I had a child’s understanding of the love of Christ and I could not understand this rule. In confirmation class when I was eleven, I wondered, “What would be different in taking the juice and bread?” When we studied the Apostles’ Creed about the Holy Spirit and the Church Universal, it clicked for me that joining the church was about becoming a full member, and fully expressing the gifts of the Spirit granted to us by God in the faith community. Thus the Abrahamic journey began for me as a child long before I was recognized as a full member of the church. Exclusion from the table later because of my orientation was not a new experience.

The challenge has been to not become cynical or judgmental of those who have not had this kind of faith journey. Again, love is the commandment I must obey.

What would you say to those Christians who have a different view on inclusion?

I return to the example of Abraham and his humility in relationship with others. I see that same humility in Acts 10 and 11 when Peter sees that God’s Spirit has fallen on the Gentiles. The embrace of the Gentiles is confirmed in the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. God chooses. I will trust God. And I hope that such faith can be an example of trust, hope and love for others. I recognize the fear of missing the truth that drives the desire for certainties as we all struggle with what we do not understand. I have been there myself on this very issue before I came out.

What can we do to foster dialogue and build bridges with people with different views on inclusion?

Eric Law, an Episcopal priest has developed a model for respectful dialogue. We don’t talk about ideologies; we talk about experience. Stories bring out our values and invite empathy for one another’s experience. Through this sharing we find the commonalities in our values. Much of the conflict around the issue of diverse orientations centers around a perception of differences in values. Even among heterosexuals expressions may differ. But our values are similar when it comes to commitment to an intimate covenanted relationship with a life companion and lover. It is in the respectful listening and telling of our stories that we hear our commonalities of experience and values. Ideological debates divide into winners and losers rather than uniting a community. The bridges found through respectful dialogue are our common values and experiences.

What is one of the defining moments in your life as a Christian?

In 2000 I attended the PCUSA General Assembly in Long Beach, CA with Soulforce, a non-violent Christian witness for LGBT equality. Being arrested at the doors of the church assembly embodied for me the pain and injustice I have experienced and solidified my commitment to speak to my Presbyterian tradition with love.

Do you have a story of a person who embodies Christ’s teachings?

Recently, I have been reviewing Ghandi: his commitment to non-violent change, preserving the dignity of his adversaries and seeking a new relationship with them that was more just and mutually respectful. Ghandi always spoke highly of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11), and lived them. He lived my ideal of what a Christian does.

Last Weekend Marked the Return of the Mainline Presbyterian

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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In churches across the country we sing together, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.”

However, the reality is that for the last 35 years, in my denomination — the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — and in other mainline denominations, we haven’t lived up to this beautiful affirmation of love for all. Instead of welcoming all the children to our churches, we often exclude those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It has made our promise that Jesus loves all the little children of the world a false one.

It’s no wonder why so many of our children have walked away from faith. The last 35 years have marked a decline of membership and vitality for the mainline churches, prompting many to ring the death knell on the mainline strand of American Protestant Christian tradition. In 1976, my presbytery in Pittsburgh was home to 144,000 Presbyterians. Today there are 35,000.

Many continue to seek remedies to this situation. Will this great ship that is the Mainline continue to head to the edge? Will it fall over into oblivion? What wind is needed to turn our sails around?

Watch with me now as this great ship turns toward life, Spirit, energy, vitality. Last weekend marked the moment for my church.

Saturday was the midpoint in the ratification of Amendment 10A, a revision of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) constitution that will open the way for LGBT Presbyterians to be ordained to church office. For the first time, the Yes’s are ahead of the No’s at this point. Some are certain it will pass — may it be so!

Like the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the work to open ordination to LGBT candidates in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is reminding us all what exactly the Gospel of Christ is and what it means for our lives.

Jesus’ message was assurance that God is love and that we are made in God’s image. To follow Jesus is to love God and to love our neighbor. Not only is our neighbor every person we meet. Jesus’ pointed story of the Good Samaritan in the gospel of John teaches that our neighbor is definitely the outcast like our LGBT friends, family, and colleagues to whom the church has done immeasurable harm.

The way in which these mainline denominations do this Gospel work of LGBT inclusion is also the same: conversation. In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) the advocates for passing Amendment 10A are engaged in church-wide phone calling to engage in a wide conversation about the place of LGBT people in the church and Presbyterian tradition. This is a conversation that has eluded us these last thirty-five years but is absolutely necessary for our spiritual health and wholeness. These same kinds of conversations — tailored to each particular tradition — are going on [e2]in all the mainline denominations.

When we embrace LGBT people, we reclaim the Gospel truth that Jesus loves us, everyone. Yes, that is everyone. As Jesus said, “When I am lifted up, I shall draw all people to myself.”

In these conversations, one by one, we are finding our voice again by reclaiming the Gospel of God’s love and sharing it with others. And through these conversations the Holy Spirit is filling our sails to turn us toward life.

When we get it right about LGBT equality in the church, the return of the Mainline takes shape. It is happening before our eyes in this vote in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and in the other denominations as we bring the Gospel truth of God’s eternal love in Christ into every congregation.

Watch this history being made, and then raise your voice for the Gospel, too. Together, we will return the Mainline to life, to love, to Gospel joy. We will bring truth to the promise that Jesus really does love all the little children, all the children of the world.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Christ Has No Body On Earth But Ours

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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Christ has no body on earth but ours;
Ours are the only hands which Christ can use to work,
Ours are the only feet with which Christ can go about the world,
Ours are the only eyes through which Christ’s compassion can shine forth upon a troubled world.
Christ has no body on earth now but ours.
Amen.

A Prayer Said by St. Teresa of Avila

This prayer began our time together last weekend at the More Light Presbyterians Board of Directors’ winter meeting and it continues to dwell in my mind and heart as an inspiring Truth. I left the board meeting refreshed, empowered, eager to be a part of Christ’s body on earth.

Today, I want to ponder upon three ways MLP is crucially Christ’s body in the world.

First, the mission of More Light Presbyterians (and comparable organizations in other Christian folds dedicated to full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians in the church) has been, is now and will be to shine forth Christ’s compassion on any troubled place.

Michael Adee shared a story he heard Bishop Gene Robinson tell that brought home the work that is ours. Bishop Robinson was sitting with a group of young gay men. None of these men had grown up in the church and yet they all were certain that they were sinful, an abomination and going to hell. The church taught them this and it contributed mightily to the trouble and suffering these men had experienced. Around the MLP board table, we all knew that our task is to remedy this grievous shame that blights the church and the world.

Second, right now More Light Presbyterians is very focused on helping the 173 presbyteries (regions) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approve Amendment 10A, a revision of PCUSA church law that opens the way for LGBT Presbyterians to ordained service in the church. The PCUSA national assembly, meeting last summer, recommended adoption of this amendment. The presbyteries are in a season of voting: a simple majority of 87 presbyteries is needed for passage.

Of course, there are other important aspects of full participation of LGBT people in the church — advocacy for LGBT civil rights, marriage equality, a stand against bullying, for example — but the fact is LGBT ordination has been the test of LGBT equality in the church since the 1970’s. The church has to get this right. We will continue to suffer as we all have for over 30 years until we fulfill the promise to our children that all God’s children have a place in the choir. Until we get this right we are hypocrites. Jesus has only our hands and feet to get this done now.

Third, Michael also reminded us of the words of Professor Cornell West: “Justice is what love looks like in public.” Yes. Following Jesus in the only purpose for my inner journey of prayer and meditation as well as my outer journey of seeking justice, “what love looks like in public.” Both of these aspects of my life are about loving God and loving neighbor as Jesus teaches us to do.

And love in public only gets done by our stepping up to be the hands, feet, eyes and ears of Christ. Justice was the cantus firmus of our conversation all weekend. And when you get right down to it, justice is what More Light Presbyterians is all about. For us, it was crystal clear: there is an immense amount of justice that needs to get done and there is no waiting around for someone else to do it. Christ has no body on earth now but ours.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Conversation With Mike and Janet Fazzini

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:00:00 GMT

2/18

Mike and Janet Fazzini have been married 35 years and have three children. They are active members of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church and of Pittsburgh Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Their son came out to them as gay when he was in college.

What is one of the defining moments in your life as a Christian?

Janet: A well-loved local minister — a closeted gay man — committed suicide. That’s when we went from being passive as Christians to becoming active. It was incredible that a man of such faith, with a wide circle of people who admired and loved him, who meant so much to so many, nevertheless could be so hidden and so threatened by the prospect of being outed. He had loving people all around him yet he could not be fully honest with them. We didn’t know him personally but it was a defining moment for us as Christian activists.

How has your personal journey to pro-LGBT activism in church and culture strengthened or challenged your faith?

Mike: I look at the three big values of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): peace, unity and purity. “Unity” challenges me to stay in the church even though I ask myself, “Does it serve me to stay where so many disagree with me or does it serve me to be with like-minded people somewhere else?”

I have chosen to stay in the PCUSA. Because of that I have gained much greater empathy for those who disagree with me. I ask myself, “What do they struggle so with? Is it something I can help with? Am I contributing to their struggle?”

Janet: I experienced a huge paradigm shift when I heard a friend in the church say that she is pro-gay because of Scripture, not in spite of it. This was a new idea that challenged me to approach the Bible in a fresh and open way.

In your mind, what are the Biblical foundations for LGBT inclusion in the church?

Mike: The first thing that comes to my mind are the baptismal promises to our children. The minister asks the congregation, “Do you promise to guide and nurture, by word and deed, with love and prayer, encouraging them to know and follow Christ and be faithful member of his church?” LGBT inclusion in the church follows directly from our saying “Yes” to this.

The other thing that comes to my mind is the Bible passage about nothing separating us from God. It is Romans 8, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

These are my big ones.

Is there a prayer or meditation that helps you make it through trying times?

Mike: “I am safe, I am safe, I am safe, I am safe.” I keep repeating that to myself.

Janet: Micah 6:8 comes to mind: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Do you have a story of a person who embodies Christ’s teachings?

Mike: Fred Rogers is my role model. His message that he loved the children just the way they are is Christ’s message.

Janet: Another Rogers comes to my mind — Jack Rogers. I was driving him to the airport and he was wondering out loud why he was doing this, traveling here and there across the country talking about his book, Jesus, the Bible and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church. He said a woman, a stranger, had come up to him during the tour. She related a story to him that showed him he was not just engaged in changing hearts and minds; he was engaged in a life-giving ministry. His effort was saving lives.

What can we do to foster dialogue and build bridges with people with different views on inclusion?

Janet: Education and getting to know one another spring to my mind. It is important that we get to know the spiritually active LGBT people in the church who are fighting for their lives. The church is so important to them that they risk all they are and all they have even though they could be in the closet or go elsewhere. We need to get to know them.

Mike: And straight allies need to have the courage to come out as allies. We need the strength to speak to every form of resistance we encounter.

What would you say to those Christians who have a different view on inclusion?

Mike: I always say judgment is easy when the effect of it on your life is zero. With regard to ordination, the effect of that judgment on the lives of LGBT Presbyterians who hear a call to ordained ministry is 100%. The standard we hold LGBT Presbyterians to is not the standard we hold ourselves to. It is crucial to me that a person has skin in the game.

I want us to recognize the imbalance of 95% of the people in the church having a say about the lives and church service of the 5% who are LGBT. I want to ask, “How can we presume that how we act on who we are is normal while how they act on who they are is not?”

What I see is use of the Bible to make LGBT people the outsiders.

Janet: A guest lecturer at our church recently responded to a question about how to deal with disagreement in the church by musing, “At least the deeply held view of the other should give you pause.”

I think it was Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “I would rather err on the side of love.” That is what I want to live by too.

The Christian Calling — Resistance and Love

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 06:00:00 GMT

2/11

For most of last week and through the weekend, I was in Minneapolis, Minnesota, attending “Creating Change,” the 23rd annual conference held by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce. Within the conference was an entire track of workshops and gatherings for people of faith called ‘Practice Spirit, Do Justice.’

I will be processing for a long while my amazing first experience of Creating Change. A few of the many highlights included listening to Frank Mugishu, a close colleague of David Kato in the fearless work of SMUG and leading a workshop on tools for people of faith who want to get going online. Amongst the panelists were Justin Lee, director of the Gay Christian Network, and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church, Bruce Reyes-Chow. I encourage you to read Bruce’s top 10 takeaways here.

It was at the opening plenary for ‘Practice Spirit, Doing Justice’ where I first heard a phrase that kept coming back to me through the rest of the week. The leaders spoke together several times a lovely litany that set the tone and priorities for our time together:

Together: Practicing Spirit, Doing Justice.
Lisa: Living amidst complex histories:
Sung: Heirlooms of love, legacies of oppression and violence.
Rebecca: Fearless in the face of death, disciplined in our dancing, our singing, our joy.
Sung: Tireless in our daring to build communities of resistance and love.
Lisa: Reveling in our created bodies, complex and liberated.

What caught my ear specifically was this phrase they repeated, “resistance and love.” I feel that these two ideas together exactly capture the paradoxical place LGBT Christians have occupied for years within the church.

In More Light Presbyterians, and within similar groups in other denominations, Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Christians have been holding together resistance and love since the 1970’s. Resistance to the insistence by some in the church that LGBT believers are “less than,” and love for the church home where Jesus promised eternal embrace.

This tension-filled situation has been a long and weary road and too much for many. At Creating Change, over and over, I met LGBT faithful who had been Presbyterian — whose faith had been planted and nurtured in the PCUSA — and who have gone elsewhere because the life of resistance and love was just too hard. When we look at the decline in members in our church, we need to remember this huge, grievous loss of energy, intelligence, imagination and love.

Right now, we are in the heart of the discernment season in the PCUSA over opening ordination to LGBT candidates, while many concerns like same-gender marriage, are still in discussion. For those whose lives are deeply impacted by these deliberations, the need to resist and love will continue, whatever happens in this current season.

And, in actuality, “resistance and love” may be the best description of life in the PCUSA for all of us, past, present and future.. There will always be some disagreement in the PCUSA that compels some to resist.

Of course, this is what Jesus did. He resisted the distortions of faith and society in His time and He did this with amazing love. I think of His resistance to the power of Rome even as He called Matthew, the tax collector, to follow Him and healed the centurion’s boy. And His loving friendship with Nicodemus or calling of Paul to ministry, even as He resisted the corruption of the religious leaders, comes to mind.

The crucial commitment to resistance and love is to follow Jesus. And we need to do this in a way that will keep everyone together in the church so that none feels so burdened by resistance that they need to break the bonds of love. These are my present thoughts about resistance and love. I am eager to hear yours.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Arlo Duba’s Forsaking of Smugness

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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I hope that the courageous statement on LGBT equality in the church by Rev. Dr. Arlo Duba in the January 24, 2011 issue of The Presbyterian Outlook is widely read and pondered upon. It has certainly provoked much reflection on my part.

For me, and perhaps for you as well, one of the many remarkable moments in Dr. Duba’s testimony is his admission near the beginning:

“I was so smug that I never explored God’s Word on the matter any further.”

And in the interview with Dr. Duba about the ad, he reflects more on this:

“I just never questioned that the church might have gotten it wrong.”

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) lives and dies by majority rule. Because we share the conviction that, “no one person knows the mind of God,” we know that decisions are best made by groups and getting things done requires majority rule. So, motions are made, debate ensues, the vote is taken, and the majority wins while the minority accepts the vote and works to revisit the matter another day.

At the same time, The Book of Order warns us, “Councils may err (G-1.0307).” Smugness – in the sense that Dr. Duba is using the word – gets to the heart of majority and minority life in the church. When there is smugness on the part of the majority, it disrespects the crucial on-going participation of the minority.

If Dr. Duba’s admission isn’t a wake up call for us all to look for ways to better respect the participation of the minority, I don’t know what is. It is time for us to confess our smugness with Arlo Duba and to pledge to stop with him.

As I see it, one instance of smugness in the church that continues to haunt the PCUSA came just before I was ordained. The GAPJC decision in the Kenyon Case, or Maxwell v Pittsburgh Presbytery, ruled that equality between men and women is an essential of Reformed faith and polity based on the creation of male and female in Genesis 1:27. The GAPJC asserted this as majority rule and required all officers of the church to join in ordaining women regardless of the minority view that read Scripture in a different way.

That smug dismissal of the dissenting minority has planted a suspicion deep in the hearts of those standing against LGBT equality. Many fear that when the day comes where pro-LGBT people are the majority, the smugness in the Kenyon case may translate to a smugness with regard to LGBT ordination. In other words, just as the minority was required to ordain women in the 1970’s, so these colleagues fear they will be required to ordain LGBT people, against their freedom of conscience.

We all need to examine our own hearts to find the smugness that lurks there and to turn it over to God. We each need to require this forswearing of smugness of ourselves and then reach out the hand of fellowship in Christ to everyone else in the church. And if we meet some who remain smug in their beliefs and morality, then we need to hold them to us in love even more firmly until they wake to this particular sin and to their need for us in the life of the church, just as we need them.

This spiritual commitment to forswear smugness will help to restore the comity between majority and minority and breathe Spirit-filled life back into the PCUSA.

For myself, I am following Arlo’s lead and forsaking smugness. I hope you join us.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

What to Watch for in the Southard Decision: What Kind of Church are We?

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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When I was a child in the 1950’s, my father delighted in telling a joke about the four approaches to the law in Europe:

In England, everything is permitted except that which is prohibited.
In Italy, everything is permitted including that which is prohibited.
In Germany, everything is prohibited except that which is permitted.
In the Soviet Union, everything is prohibited including that which is permitted.

It might have been a little advanced for me at the time, but I’ve always remembered his joke with fondness. As I reflect on it today, I see how relevant it is. Embedded in this story are polity differences that I see troubling the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) so deeply right now.

Next week, when we learn of the verdict in the appeal hearing for Rev. Jean Southard, the PCUSA could reach a new level of clarity on which approach to law we, in the church, are living under today. Rev. Southard is appealing her case to our church’s highest judicial level, the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission.

I see Rev. Southard as having acted in the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament with the assumption that the PCUSA is modeled after what my dad called the English approach to the law: Everything is permitted except that which is prohibited.

When Rev. Southard was asked by two of her faithful parishioners to officiate at their legal wedding, she looked at the rules. There was no mandated prohibition in The Book of Order or in the GA actions (1991 AI) or in the GAPJC decision known as Benton against ministers presiding at the marriage of two men or two women. Rev. Southard was free then to follow her conscience with respect to the love and commitment of the couple before her.

On the other hand, the Prosecuting Committee in the Southard case seems to me to reason from assumptions based on the German model for the law: Everything is prohibited except that which is permitted.

From this point of view, The Book of Order is presumed to be a set of rules and anything done outside those rules is prohibited. This position also relies upon their repeated contention that the definition of marriage in W-4.9001 is a prohibition.

Both of these assumptions raise large questions: Is The Directory for Worship a set of rules — especially given its historic source as an alternative to the rubrics (rules) for worship in the Catholic Church? And, can a definition be a rule? This second question is especially relevant, given words with more than one meaning such as the challenge posed by the word, “sanction,” which figures the 1991 AI and has two diametrically opposed meanings.

In my vision of the church, it’s clear that the English conception of law — that everything is permitted except what is prohibited — brings us closest to Jesus’ treatment of the law. The German approach — that everything is prohibited except that which is permitted — keeps tight control of the church in human hands, perhaps out of fear of where the Holy Spirit might blow or fear that we will actually be falling into the Italian model — everything is permitted including that which is prohibited. Unfortunately, these fears may drive us toward the Soviet approach to the law.

For a church community to be open to the Holy Spirit, it must have the wide latitude for fresh ideas and movement that is embedded in the so-called English approach.

Next week, the GAPJC has to decide between these seriously different models of the church. Let’s pray for their faithful discernment and watch for the outcome.

And for those of you who are not PCUSA polity wonks, tensions between these distinctions probably trouble your church as well. Which model to you feel best structures the body of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior? Why? I look forward to continuing this conversation with you.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

How Micah 6:8 Informs My Faith

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

I recently cited this beautiful verse in Micah in a piece for the Washington Post On Faith panel. I was struck by a commenter on that forum who criticized my interpretation of it and who definitely approached and drew lessons from this text very differently from my way.

Micah 6:8 is a summary of faithful living that I have returned to as a test for Christian behavior since my youth. It challenges both my personal choices and the direction taken by the groups I am part of like church and country. The “you” in Micah’s question can be singular or plural in our language and I apply it to both.

I like the way this verse gives focus to my effort to abide by Jesus’ great commandments: to love God and love my neighbor (Mk 12:28-34, Mt 22:34-40, Lk 10:25-28).

“To walk humbly with God” is one facet of loving God. One facet of walking humbly with God is to know what I am authorized to do and feel, and what actions and emotions better belong to God. For example, Jesus (Mt 7:10), Paul (Romans 7:1) and James (4:12) all warn us not to judge others. Judgment belongs to God. From this stems my own refusal to impose my judgment on others. I certainly have my opinions but humility demands that I leave judgment to God.

Humility before God also demands that I practice the serious ongoing spiritual discipline to love my neighbor by doing justice and loving kindness.

Both Biblical scholars and people in the pew recognize that God’s justice means watching out for the oppressed and poor — redressing the imbalances that come between people in this world. “Doing justice” for me is standing up for those who are considered by others as “less than.” I am obliged to do that and I want my church and my country to do justice in this way as well.

The Psalms are full of thanks for God’s loving kindness. When we love kindness we are living up to the idea that we as humans are made in the image of God. This requires me to be kind to all others as well as to cherish the kindness that I see in others. Kindness is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). So, for me, all who show kindness have been blessed by God, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people who are kind to others.

I suspect that the person who commented on my use of Micah 6:8 firmly disagrees with my interpretation here as well. However, agreement is not my goal when I share here my understanding of Micah 6:8. Loving, respectful interaction is the goal. So I appreciate that comment for its effort at engagement. I try to understand and to test my thought by his or her point of view. And I invite the same from you all. That’s living by Micah 6:8 as it informs my faith.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Conversation with Tony De La Rosa

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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Tony is Interim Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of New York City. He has served as an Elder and Clerk of Session at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA. He currently lives in Manhattan, but makes frequent visits home to Los Angeles to be with Michael, his partner of 3-1/2 years. He was a member of the Special Committee to Study Issues of Civil Union and Christian Marriage that reported to the 219th General Assembly last summer.

What is one of the defining moments in your life as a Christian?

There are several. The first is that my mother raised me to be a Presbyterian. My mother taught me to read by reading the Psalms.

A second one was a low point when I wondered about my place in the church, being both gay and a non-Anglo. A friend, Synod Executive Rafael Aragon, took me under his wing and taught me that I should not let anyone else define things for me and no one in the church should box me in, including other Latinos.

Third, Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas was a wonderful, healing place for me. The congregation there demonstrated great love and showed me there was a place in the church for me. I belonged.

I learned from them: Be who you are and live into that gift.

Is there a prayer or meditation that helps you make it through trying times?

I wouldn’t say there is anything formulaic but there is a sense in me that God is with me always, in both the best and the worst of times. God is accompanying me in this life and from that I draw strength.

I relish the place of facing hard questions. Come try to knock me off balance! It is an opportunity to shift the mode of engagement and to do some great education.

In your mind, what are the Biblical foundations for LGBT inclusion in the church?

The story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 is so rich for exegesis. Even though he is going back home after being excluded from worshipping in the Temple, he is still reading Scripture. After this experience of extraordinary exclusion comes a moment of extraordinary inclusion as Philip baptizes him. And African Christian tradition holds that the eunuch founds the Ethiopian Church, still active today.

How has your personal journey to Interim Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of New York City strengthened or challenged your faith?

So far, I have been struck by how little the issue of my sexuality is at all involved in my ministry here. People close to me are aware of my relationship with Michael and are supportive. Here in New York City, it is a non-issue. I haven’t had to confront any major problems related to LGBT inclusion. People here can raise concerns because there is a level playing field. So far I have not been drawn into any controversy. There are lots of other issues that draw on my skills, and sexuality simply has not come up.

This highly diverse presbytery has to face so many differences, and these key differences (culture, class, gender and race) are more central to how my faith has been strengthened and challenged — in a good sense. The key is to make the dialogue about these sensitive subjects safe for all participants. Skills in making difficult conversations safe are learned over time. For me, these skills came from growing up in a multi-cultural household, community and church.

We have to live a very multi-cultural reality and learn to be comfortable with different cultures dealing with things differently.

What would you say to those Christians who have a different view on inclusion?

I would encourage them to read Jeremy Rifkin’s recent book on Empathic Civilization or just watch the animation video on his RSA lecture on the subject.

You can have a different view from me. The question is what are you going to do with that different viewpoint?

I may disagree with you but I will not — indeed cannot — deem you unworthy in your view because I am a Christian. I love my neighbor as my self, and therefore I cannot ignore or dismiss you. Dialogue arises from the acceptance of the other as worthy regardless of our disagreement.

I trust that God will mediate the dialogue. I will not deny your personhood, because Scripture names that as the ultimate sin — denying the image of God in another.

What can we do to foster dialogue and build bridges with people with different views on inclusion?

We need to do a better job of diagnosis. People have qualms and questions, and those concerns are not denying our personhood as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. We err by thinking we need to match the degree of anger of those who do find us unworthy. That anger does not get us heard. We need to put that negative sentiment away and work to maintain our integrity.

As Kerry Patterson, et al. have discussed in their book, “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High,” we must begin to have crucial conversations that contribute to the pool of meaning in order to sustain any healthy organization. The Church is no different. We need to create the safe space for these sorts of exchange of perspectives. When dialogue is unsafe, we react with silence or violence, and neither of these fosters dialogue. It can only happen in safe space.

Marriage and Infertility

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

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Last fall, one of the frequently asked questions about marriage and gay and lesbian couples was posed during a discussion at Princeton Theological Seminary: If gay and lesbian couples can’t have children then how can they legitimately be married since the primary purpose of marriage is the bearing of children?

At the time, I replied that gay and lesbian couples are just infertile couples and I find God’s Grace in all the ways modern science offers infertile couples so that they may have children these days. A student added that adoption continues to be a good option as well. I was happy to receive that reminder. Afterward, another student came up and thanked me for my response to the question, saying that she had never thought about this challenge to same-gender marriage in this way.

Had there been more time that evening at Princeton, I would have shared another response: The heart of marriage in the protestant tradition is not procreation, but is the love and commitment between the partners.

In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) Book of Confessions, the two purposes for marriage are “to commit themselves to a mutually shared life, and to respond to each other in sensitive and lifelong concern (The Confession of 1967, 9.47).” These qualities of marriage stem from the Scriptural understanding of the loving, committed relationship between God and creation.

Society benefits by supporting couples in marriage who love and support each other, regardless of whether or not they have children. This applies to gay and lesbian couples just as much as it does for all other couples.

Society also benefits when loving committed couples provide a caring home for raising children, regardless of whether they are biologically related families or not. I was reminded of this when I read Melanie Thernstrom’s thought-provoking cover article in the New York Time’s Magazine about the long road she and her husband took to becoming parents despite infertility. It is perfectly possible for gay or lesbian couples to have very similar sagas to tell about the forming of their families.

Melanie Thernstrom and her spouse’s drive to raise children arises from the bedrock elements of marriage: their love for, and commitment to, each other. And this holds true for the gay and lesbian couples I know as well. They are earnest and excellent parents, not least because it has been a winding, rarely traveled road to have families for them all.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

New Year’s Resolutions a.k.a. Always Reforming

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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I am a great fan of New Year’s resolutions. As December turns into January, I find myself taking them pretty seriously, pondering what one or two resolutions I might make for the coming year. What is most important to me is choosing something that I can make into a habit, thereby improving my way of being in the world in some small way.

For example, one of the best resolutions I made some years back now was deciding to leave all quarters I receive in change in my car to use in parking meters. I was embarrassed by the steady stream of parking tickets I would pay through the course of a year because I didn’t have what I needed for the meter. When the solution came to me I wondered why it took me so long to get it.

In this run up to New Year’s I was struck by the correspondence between New Year’s resolutions and the distinguishing characteristic of my branch of Christianity, Reformed Protestantism.

Our very name, “Reformed,” derives from the Latin summary of our approach to the Christian life, “Reforma, semper reformanda,” commonly translated, “Reformed, always being reformed.”

A friend who is a Latin scholar recently commented to me that our usual English translation of this phrase actually loses one crucial grammatical nuance from the Latin: Because it’s an imperative mood, it’s actually a command, and better translated, “Reformed, must always be reformed.” No wonder I take so to heart the cultural tradition of New Year resolutions — it is actually something I must do.

So for this year, what New Year’s resolution could reform us more toward what God is yearning for us to be (and therefore what we must become)?

I resolve to do what I want my church to do: I will greet all I meet as a beloved child of God.

This is way more complicated than dropping quarters into a cup holder in my car, resolving to exercise, giving up sweets, or most of the other common resolutions I know people try or have tried myself in the past. It is also more important. It will become a habit because it is God’s will for me. Through this resolution, Christ is reforming me to reflect His loving kindness.

I cherish the gift my branch of Christian faith brings to the whole in our reminder that resolutions to reform ourselves are inspired by God and a necessary spiritual discipline for everyone, individual or group. And I love the way this understanding has crept into the fabric of our culture without our particularly knowing it.

We all join the Reformed stream of Christian faith when we make New Year’s resolutions, whether we know it or not.

May God bless all our resolutions this year. Happy New Year!

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Implications of the Christmas Incarnation

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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Tonight, during Christmas Eve worship services around the world, the mysterious heart of Jesus’ coming — the incarnation of God — will be placed before us in the reading of the first chapter of the Gospel of John, particularly this verse:

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

On Christmas, Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us. And being human was made new.

When the Word became flesh, all flesh was changed. This was the moment that Jesus transformed our sinfulness by entering into our sinful human state. This was the moment that made any distinction between clean and unclean among humankind meaningless for the rest of time. Jesus lived as we live; the human being is blessed from that moment on.

And this is not just theological abstraction limited to adult Sunday school curricula or seminary discussion groups. This has real implications in the world.

All flesh was changed by Jesus dwelling among us. The distinction is not whether we have been changed by this but whether we know or perceive the glory, full of grace and truth, that lives with us and in us. Paul called this knowing the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and he saw this knowledge come over completely unexpected people, the Gentiles.

This is another reason why I care so deeply about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) inclusion in the church — because the exact same thing holds true for them. LGBT people, like all people, have been changed by Jesus’ incarnation — God coming in the flesh.

And among LGBT people are those who know that this blessing of transformation in Christ has happened to them and to the whole world. These faithful Christians marvel at the manger scene every Christmas, bowing heads in thanks for the gift of God’s love for us and for all in Jesus becoming flesh. LGBT believers devote themselves to lives of service in the church and the world in response to the Incarnation and all it means to them.

This annual Christmas reminder of the Incarnation fortifies us to continue to broadcast in word and deed God’s Grace in Jesus with all its implications.

This Holy Night may you take in the blessing already there for you because of God with us, Immanuel, Jesus, the Christ child whose coming we mark tonight!

Peace,

Reverend Janet

The Brief Statement of Faith: Beyond Either/Or

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking with ministers and elders across the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) about Amendment 10-A. Voting on the amendment will continue through the next few months and, if ratified, 10-A would allow our congregations and presbyteries to ordain gay or lesbian elders and ministers they deem ready to serve in their communities.

Through these conversations, I’ve heard some thought provoking perspectives on why people are voting the way they choose. One Presbyterian said, “I know gays are good — one of my dearest friends is gay — but I will not vote for 10-A because I believe it could split the church.”

I’ve also heard from some that they feel the PCUSA’s current policies toward LGBT believers are already causing the church to lose members, such as LGBT Presbyterians who feel called by God to serve, but must switch denominations in order to do so honestly.

What can one say to this?

As I pondered these statements, I thought back to our history as a church and how this is far from the first time that the PCUSA has faced a sense among some that it’s “either them or me because the church can’t be both.”

Whether the concern was over mind or heart, or slavery or not, we have been down this road before. It breaks my heart to see it in the PCUSA today, but I find hope in remembering that eventually the church has come back together each time, most recently in 1983 after 124 years of division.

To mark that particular reunion, the PCUSA adopted the Brief Statement of Faith in 1991 as a confession we all together again embrace as our own. I love the Brief Statement of Faith and have come to see that it offers a wonderful response to those who fear schism today. Let’s explore together how that is so.

The Brief Statement of Faith begins, “In life and in death we belong to God.” And the conclusion comes around to this same idea with a reference to Romans 8: “With believers in every time and place, we rejoice that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Additionally, God “makes everyone equally in God’s image.”

These declarations are true for all Christians, period. It does not matter if we identify as conservative, liberal, LGBT, straight, male, female, young, old, etc, we can and must still see each other as made equal in God’s image and unified in the love of God for us all.

Jesus, “fully human, fully God,” proclaimed the reign of God by “eating with outcasts” and “forgiving.” Regardless, then, of how we might cast some out as beyond God’s love, we know by Jesus’ example that we are required to be with these others, as Jesus is, with all the intimacy of eating and forgiving.

And in the end, we can take heart that the Holy Spirit is, indeed, “everywhere the giver and renewer of life.” Just like LGBT Presbyterians I know, this is my experience: the Holy Spirit “sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor.” This inspiration is what brings LGBT people back to the church or keeps LGBT people here. And it is also the source of the choice every Presbyterian makes to stay in the PCUSA even when we sometimes struggle to find our common ground.

Perhaps it was also the Advent yearning for the coming of Christ that brought the Brief Statement of Faith so forcefully to my mind. At this time of year, in particular, we are all — every one of us — watching “for God’s new heaven and new earth, praying, ‘Come, Lord, Jesus.’”

I commend this confession to us all, especially those who fear schism: How about skipping the either/or and dwelling in the unity offered by The Brief Statement of Faith?

Peace,

Reverend Janet

How the Creation Stories in Genesis Inform My Faith

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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Recently my friend Thomas Waters cited Genesis 1:31 as a Biblical foundation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion in the church:

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”

For me, there is simply no exception to “everything,” both in these beautiful descriptions of God’s creations that we see in Genesis and in God’s creation that we see all around us in our own time. This is one of the reasons I work for full inclusion of LGBT people in the church. God has made them, and indeed, they are very good.

But Genesis doesn’t stop with God creating the world and declaring it good. In the second chapter, man, Adam, is created, then the garden for the man to live in. Genesis 2:18 continues the story:

“Then the Lord God said, ‘it is not good that the man should live alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’”

God has created us. And here, God recognizes a fundamental truth of being human: that human beings are meant to be in relationship with others — we are not meant to live alone. Jesus captured this in the commandment: “love your neighbor.”

I cannot recall one hermit in all of Scripture. If you think of one, please let me know. Of course, some, from Moses to Elijah to John and Jesus went off for a time alone. But Moses found a family when he settled in Midian. Elijah built a family with the widow and her son. John and Jesus both lived in a small community of friends called disciples.

Even the desert mothers and fathers in the first centuries after Christ lived in groups. At least, the wisdom of those who lived alone is lost to us now because it was others in the community who recorded the words and described the lives of these faithful people. Scripture and Christian experience reinforce that we are not meant to live alone.

The loving relationships and families forged by LGBT people are gifts to them from God because they, just like all humans, are not meant to live alone. And these families of choice that include friends, sometimes, and, more and more, children, are beautiful gifts from God to our communities. LGBT families such as Vikki and Deb, and Doug and Anthony enhance our neighborhoods and grace us all.

I know that this is my interpretation of the creation stories and that I answer to God in Christ for it. It informs my faith in a way that is harmonious with the God of love made known to me in Jesus, the Christ. Thank you for giving it your prayerful consideration.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

How You Can Help to Restore the Presbyterian Way

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 06:00:00 GMT

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Today, I received my copy of The Presbyterian Outlook in the mail which has on its back cover an advertisement from More Light Presbyterians that makes the heartfelt case for voting Yes on Amendment 10-A for our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

I think this ad is wonderful and striking. As a Samaritan, the woman at the well referenced above was considered unclean and heretical in her times, yet Jesus called her to ministry. Today, Amendment 10-A gives us the opportunity to follow Jesus’ example in our own times.

It is up to us to challenge the bias against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) faithful that is currently in our church and culture. We must affirm the calls from those who are gifted for ministry in our communities – just as Jesus did for the woman at the well.

We can do this in a variety of ways. Most important is for all of us to step up and talk to voting members in our Presbyterian communities. They need to hear from us about why we believe they should vote Yes on this important Amendment. Talk to your minister and elders or host a coffee hour or seminar at your church. Many useful and important resources to start these conversations are available here: http://www.amendment10a.org/p/campaign-resources.html

You can also get involved through cyberspace, by connecting with More Light Presbyterians, That All May Freely Serve, and Covenant Network. You can join these organizations, follow them on Twitter and Facebook, and share their resources – including the More Light Presbyterians ad – with your own network. Bruce Reyes-Chow also has a project going on his blog called “PresbyMEME” which I recently participated in. If you are in a Presbytery that is voting soon, please see his list of questions and help by adding your voice to the conversation.

Also, please consider writing a letter to the editor to the Presbyterian Outlook, Presbyterian Layman, Presbyweb, or even to your local paper. Our individual voices, taken together, have so much power to change hearts and minds.

You can also join the movement that is knitting rainbow scarves. If I can learn to knit, so can you! http://www.mlp.org/article.php/KnitTo10A

And finally, pray and hope that our church follows Jesus’ example and passes Amendment 10-A this year.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

I Give Thanks that It Gets Better

Rev. Janet Edwards — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:52:10 GMT

One of the elements of Thanksgiving that I hold dear is that it is celebrated, year in and year out, no matter what the circumstances surrounding the day may be. In the times of deepest distress in our country — I think of the Civil War or the Great Depression — Thanksgiving was celebrated. In times of progress and prosperity, like the rise of the middle class in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Thanksgiving was celebrated.

It can be argued persuasively, I think, that this has not been the most joyful or prosperous season for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) faithful community in the United States or across the world. We saw the spotlight turned to the rampant bullying of gay youth in our culture as we learned of the egregious death of Tyler Clementi and so many others. And the Ugandan parliament still has a bill before it, nurtured by American evangelicals, in which being gay is punishable by life imprisonment or death. Christian collusion in all of this compromises the Gospel of God’s love in Jesus Christ, crippling any Christian word to the world.

Still, in this setting, there is much for which we can give thanks.

In particular, in this season, I give thanks for The Trevor Project and the It Gets Better Project – which lifts up to LGBT youth that it will indeed get better. I am grateful to the inspiration that has caused so many to speak up in short videos about their experience that life got better and for their solidarity with LGBT people, not just youth. And I am grateful for all the people who have watched these videos.

I am grateful that there is no going back on this road to loving acceptance of God’s LGBT children. I am grateful that how to go has been clear since the Stonewall Uprising and more and more LGBT people have embraced Harvey Milk’s wisdom commending coming out as the best action we ourselves can take to end this prejudice.

I am grateful that the church is coming around to this understanding, however slowly. I am grateful for the Christians who no longer feel that silence is enough and are speaking up for Jesus’ promise that He draws all to Himself. And I am grateful that those who hold a different understanding of Scripture’s message or of God’s will are willing to listen to the faithful, heartfelt understanding of other Christians like me.

I give thanks that experience has taught me it gets better. For what do you give thanks?

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Conversation With Thomas Waters

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:50:55 GMT

Thomas Waters is a long time friend, an artist and an activist for LGBT rights. He blogs at thomascwaters.com, and has a podcast called A Queer Look at the Bible.

How has your personal journey to this moment strengthened or challenged your faith?

My journey has held both because what has challenged me has strengthened me. We experience crises in faith often because we are not taught that faith is hard. That the church has not been welcoming to me has forced me to reach a clarity about my faith, which is a good thing.

I feel sad that many people who leave the church in anger miss the value of facing up to the challenge to faith presented by the church. I respect their decisions, recognizing that every path we take has pros and cons.

Is there a prayer or meditation that helps you make it through trying times?

Yes, there are two. First the Serenity Prayer is a large part of my everyday.

Second, in the Buddhist tradition there are the Four Noble Truths. They offer me a powerful perspective:

1. Life is suffering.
2. The origin of suffering is attachment.
3. The cessation of suffering is attainable.
4. There is a path to that cessation of suffering.

What is one of the defining moments in your life as a Christian?

Two come to mind. A big one was when I was about 19 or 20 years old. I was on my own for the first time. There were a lot of fundamentalist Christians in my work place. One asked me to her church and I went with her for a while until I realized this church found dancing to be a sin. I was a dancer and dance gave me such great joy. I could not understand—it seemed ludicrous to me—to read the Bible in a legalistic way that would frown upon such joy.

The other time was when I was on the staff of the First Methodist Church as a lay preacher. I went to another local Methodist Church to preach and lead worship on Sunday. I was shocked by the Sunday School teacher before the service who taught such strict adherence to Old Testament law. I did preach and I was well received by the congregation. As I left the church, I was very aware that they would never accept me if they knew I was driving home to my boyfriend. I knew it just would not work for me in the church unless I could be totally out of the closet. and the Methodist denomination doesn’t allow that.

Do you have a story of a person who embodies Christ’s teachings?

My Great Aunt Miriam was married to Uncle Fred who was a very active alcoholic and died when I was pretty young. Aunt Miriam was a Lutheran and she took me to church several times. Later in life she was devoted to a small Baptist congregation. Her faith was very vital to her.

We never talked about my sexuality. I didn’t know how she would respond. I did not hide my life from her, though. Over the years, I brought boyfriends to holidays at her house, for example.

When she gave me a book by Malcolm Boyd, I didn’t read it because I feared it would be one of those that tells us to repent of our ways (I found out later this was not the case). And she gave me a King James Version Bible with lots of evangelical commentary in it (I still preach from this Bible).

When she died, everyone was surprised that she left all she had to her church or to me. This caused a rift in the family, and I was as shocked as anyone else. The story of exactly why she left me with an inheritance came out when I was talking with her lawyer. It seems that about two years before, when I had been in the hospital with pneumonia for about two weeks, my aunt thought I was suffering from AIDS. She thought this because the TV evangelists she watched had told her that all gay men have AIDS and pneumonia is the first symptom.

They were all wrong, I just had pneumonia. And even though that kind of inaccurate and harmful stereotyping from the church was part of my aunt’s awareness, she never stopped acting toward me from a place of unconditional love.

In your mind, what are the Biblical foundations for LGBT inclusion in the church?

There are several creation stories in Scripture and the first one, in Genesis 1:31, reports, “God saw everything that he had made, and, indeed, it was very good.” God looks at all and calls it all good. This reminds me of Matthew Fox’s idea of original blessing upon us all.

The other story is in the New Testament. Peter, who climbs up on his roof to pray while dinner is being prepared, falls asleep. While asleep he dreams that he sees all these unclean animals coming down from heaven on a large sheet. He is told by a voice to eat of them, even though that is against the rules Peter has always followed. When Peter voices this concern, the voice responds: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” Even when we are told directly, like this, to let go of dogma, it is very difficult to do.

What would you say to those Christians who have a different view on inclusion?

My response now is to remind us that the Bible was used in the past to say that the sun moves around the earth. As we discovered through our study of astronomy, this wasn’t true.

We are right now, infants in our understanding of genetics and human development. We are still far from the moment when we will look back and say, “Duh, we were all wrong.” However, we have had that moment before in other realms and I know we will have it at some point with regard to human sexuality.

It will be another moment when we realize that creation is bigger than we think it is.

What can we do to foster dialogue and build bridges with people with different views on inclusion?

We can be willing to have a conversation that is respectful of one another.

Have you seen the movie, “Out in the Silence”? I count Joe, the filmmaker, as a friend. He grew up in Oil City and when he married in Washington, D.C., he placed a wedding announcement in the Oil City newspaper. The paper printed some pretty strong letters condemning his marriage. At the same time, he received a letter from a mother with a gay son. This prompted him to return home and make this movie.

Over the period of a year, conversations with people, including a local pastor and his wife, lead to greater respect all around. Both Joe and the people he talks with change.

I have such deep respect for Joe’s willingness to be in open dialogue.

PresbyMEME: Why I am voting yes on Amendment 10a

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:35:56 GMT

11/12

Bruce Reyes-Chow, pastor of the Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco and Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from 2008 to 2010, has started a new project on his blog he calls “PresbyMEME: Why I am voting yes on Amendment 10a.”

In his blog post describing the project he writes:

“. . . taken with an understanding that the Spirit moves in many ways, it is my hope that these responses will help in the greater discernment of the mind of Christ and the will of God in the Presbyterian Church (USA).”

I thought this was a wonderful idea and wanted to contribute my voice to the conversation. Below are my responses to Bruce’s questions. If you favor Amendment 10-A, then add your thoughts, as well.

Also, if you’d like to read more on Bruce, you can read the recent conversation we had on my blog.

1. Name, City, State

Rev. Janet Edwards, Pittsburgh, PA

2. Twitter and Facebook profiles

http://twitter.com/RevJanetEdwards

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=506736236

3. Presbytery and 10-A voting date

Pittsburgh Presbytery, November 18, 2010

4. Reason ONE that you are voting "yes" on 10-A is...

In John 12:32 Jesus says, “When I am lifted up I will draw all people to myself,” and all means all. Paul speaks in Ephesians 4:5 of “one baptism.” Since 1997, G-6.0106b has put in place second class-membership for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members of the PCUSA, putting a “but” into Jesus’ “all.” Amendment 10-A will return our church to the Gospel embrace of all who declare their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord as full members of the faith community, eligible for all offices in the church.

5. Reason TWO that you are voting "yes" on 10-A is...

When G-6.0106b was placed in the Book of Order in 1997, one of the reasons given for it was that it would bring peace to the church. Thirteen years later there is no peace. Amendment 10-A draws on the faithful wisdom of our ancestors in the Adopting Act of 1729, as they sought peace in their time, to allow the majorities in presbyteries (hence our name Presbyterian Church) to determine the call, gifts, preparation and suitability of candidates for ministry. It is time for us to draw upon this wisdom of our polity.

6. Reason THREE that you are voting "yes" on 10-A is...

It is time for us to accept the wisdom of Gamaliel in Acts 5:39, “If it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” Our LGBT children will keep knocking at the door of the church to insist that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) embrace what we know with every fiber of our being: God made us, Christ loves us, the Holy Spirit fills us. Amendment 10-A will finally leave LGBT Presbyterians alone, as Gamaliel advises, to engage in the fullness of ministry. And the church will see and be blest by the fruit of this labor.

7, What are your greatest hopes for the 10-A debate that will take place on the floor of your Presbytery?

My greatest hope is that the commissioners will set aside our preconceptions and truly listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through those who share from their hearts before the vote. I hesitate to call it a debate because I want this to be a Pentecost moment where the Holy Spirit helps us all, in our own way of careful listening, see the Grace Christ yearns for us to embrace.

8. How would you respond to those that say that if we pass 10-A individuals and congregations will leave the PC(USA)?

I would respond to them with this: “It grieves my heart that you choose to hold one interpretation of Scripture more dear than finding our way to live together in the part of Christ’s body where God has placed us called the PC(USA). I acknowledge that my reading of Scripture, inspiring me to embrace LGBT people, is my faithful interpretation. I answer to God for it, knowing that it may not be God’s complete will and Word. I treasure as precious God’s word to you. I test my conclusions by what you say. I want you to stay with me and do the same.”

9. What should the Presbyterian Church focus on after Amendment 10-A passes?

The PC(USA) should focus on exactly what 10-A lifts up as central: “to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life.” As each believer is freed to do that we will discover the infinite variety of ways in God’s world to submit to Christ joyfully, depending on the talents God has given to each of us. We will be freed from the shackles of our strife and be able to focus on doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). What a joy it will be to focus together on that!

10. How does your understanding of Scripture frame your position on 10-A?

I see the centrality of Jesus and His teaching that loving God and neighbor are the great commandments. Loving God leads me humbly to judge LGBT people by the criteria Jesus commends to us, “You shall know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:16) All other judgment belongs to God alone. And loving my neighbor means that I stand with LGBT people who have been deeply hurt and whose lives have been blighted by words and actions of the church. This prayerful understanding of Scripture leads me to support Amendment 10-A.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

The Focus Beyond DADT

Rev. Janet Edwards — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 18:55:33 GMT

11/5

The mid-term elections are written in the Book of Life and now Congress will return for the lame duck session. The House has already passed the bill to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) and the Senate leadership has promised to pass it before the end of the year. If all goes well, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans will be able to serve openly and honestly in the armed forces by the start of next year.

In my eyes, the repeal of DADT is more than just allowing LGBT service members to serve openly. It’s an opportunity for the entire military community to get to know some of their own as who they truly are. After all, LGBT people have been serving our country in the military all along, just serving in silence about those they love.

In many ways, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is at the same juncture. Just as in the military, LGBT people have been a part of the church and serving as deacons, elders and ministers all along. Yet, the reality is that since the 1970’s, we have been living with a Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy when it comes to ordained office.

For Presbyterians to address our version of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, we must ensure that Amendment 10-A passes the presbyteries to become church law. It will assure that ordination rests upon assessment of the candidate’s call, gifts, preparation and suitability for the office. This will mean that in some presbyteries openly LGBT candidates can come forward and be honest about themselves without fear. What a healthy joy to fully embrace inclusion in our church!

When it comes to the efforts to end DADT in our culture, both in the military and in our church, there are many different kinds of people that are important to reach in the hopes to change our hearts and minds. Most important to me is our need to focus our prayers and concern on those straight people who do not want to believe, think, or know about the many LGBT people in their midst. I mean those who refuse to ask and don’t want you to tell. I know this will require a pastoral care and a pastoral response, the focus being on easing fears, and showing people clearly and confidently that life beyond DADT can work. And I believe it can.

In the PCUSA specifically, we need to focus on helping all to see the spiritual gifts of our LGBT faithful and the blessed consequences of those gifts inspiring us all. We need to let the light of LGBT Presbyterians shine so that all may see clearly God’s love at work through them in this next moment in our history.

I am confident that both the military and our church can end this bad policy and embrace the kindness and inclusion God demands of us.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

What is Christian Justice?

Rev. Janet Edwards — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 23:25:56 GMT

10/29

When I was a child in Sunday school, I was taught that “justice” was a quality of God’s kingdom manifest in acceptance and equality. As the years have passed I have become dismayed by how, both in the church and in our national discourse, this beautiful word has seemingly lost its meaning. Instead of representing acceptance, it seems to have slid more into the realms of vindictive revenge.

In light of a new survey that reveals how most Americans believe religion is fuelling negative views and bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, I was curious to answer the question: What is justice for Christians? After all, better understanding our Christian idea of justice could help us better understand whether or not the church’s judgment of LGBT people fits into that definition.

I found that in Scripture, justice is associated with vengeance, retribution, judgment and punishment as well as uprightness, blamelessness and righteousness. Both the Greek words, “dikaios” and “ekdikos,” their related derivatives, and the Hebrew words, carry these nuances.

This is most definitely different from my Sunday school memories. However, there are a couple of keys aspects of justice in Scripture that also stand out to me.

The first is that justice — from beginning to end in Scripture — belongs to God and all the nuances associated with justice also belong to God. Jesus makes this clear in the Gospel of John. He says, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (John 5:30) In other words, justice is God’s will active in the world. It belongs to God and not to us.

The second is that God’s justice in Scripture changes over time. In the early history it is squarely in the realm of vindictive retribution. However, as generations pass, God’s requirements for slaughter of women and children that are common in Judges and 1 Samuel are replaced by the prophetic promise that God stands with the people of Israel and Judah in the face of empires.

The special care for the widow, the orphan and the foreigner that comes to be required by God in the Old Testament is fully in place in the New Testament. Uniformly, justice becomes what Catholic teaching calls, “the preferential option of the poor,” in order to establish an equitable society in which power is shared rather than abused. In essence, justice becomes the acceptance and equality I learned about many years ago.

As I reflect on all this, it strikes me that maybe so many Americans believe religion is fuelling negative views and bullying of LGBT people because some of our churches are teaching a justice of judgment and punishment rather than a justice of equality and acceptance. It’s easy to see how these teachings might not include the idea that this kind of judgment belongs only with God.

I see elements of this in my own church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Because the church does not fully accept LGBT people it has deemed them unqualified for ordination and therefore they have no voice or vote on major decisions. This sets up an unequal — and unjust — dynamic within the church and the Biblical meaning of justice sustains the cry of LGBT Presbyterians for a place at the tables where decisions are made.

In the end it’s God’s just power that sustains the less powerful to meet the powerful in the church. God’s Spirit fuels the cry of LGBT Christians for equality and acceptance in both church and society. This is Christian justice and it is great news!

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Takeaways from “Believe Out Loud”

Rev. Janet Edwards — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 23:23:52 GMT

10/22

I’ve written before about what I believe it means to “Believe Out Loud.” Well, two weeks ago I was blessed to attend the Believe Out Loud Power Summit, hosted by the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce. This news clip from the conference gives you some sense of what was so transforming about these days in Orlando during which over three hundred LGBT Christians and Taskforce activists came to cherish one another:

While the memories and friendships from the summit will sustain me for a long, long time, there are a few crucial takeaways from the event that I want to share with you for your prayerful consideration.

First, from this moment onward, any line drawn between LGBT people working for equality in the world and LGBT believers working in faith communities will be history. Those dedicated to civil rights can be clear about their work being rooted deeply in the values received from their religious traditions — they can literally “believe out loud” if they choose to — and those who call for equality in the church can find friends, comfort, help and encouragement from our colleagues so hard at work in civil society.

And this harmony among us is so very important because there is so much work to be done. The ending of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the passage of the Employment Discrimination Act (ENDA) and the effort needed at both the state and federal levels on civil marriage need all of us going at maximum strength every day. Blending our church voice into the LGBT witness for justice is crucial to success in our country and in the world.

Second, we, LGBT Christians, will not stop until the church embraces us all. Our Believing Out Loud means serving in ordained office when God blesses us with the gifts to serve and calls us there. And in those denominations that do not recognize us, this means knocking at the door to open the rules to us for as long as it takes to get that done. It also means expecting the church to support and celebrate our marriages and our families as central aspects of our faithful discipleship.

Third, and finally, LGBT Christians will engage in ministry graciously. Because we believe with all our hearts that Jesus drew all people to Himself (John 12:32), we know that this includes Christians who disagree with us. Our hands are open and inviting to everyone to join in the Gospel message of God’s love in Christ. The Gospel is what we lifted up as we worshiped so joyously in Orlando. The Gospel is what we are called to proclaim to the world and we embrace all who will join in that proclamation with us.

This is what I took away from the Believe Out Loud Power Summit. I am so grateful to those who worked so hard bring us together.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Conversation with Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow

Rev. Janet Edwards — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 19:00:27 GMT

10/15

Bruce Reyes-Chow is pastor of the Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco and a blogger. He served as Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from 2008 to 2010. He recently spoke at the Proposition 8 verdict rally and march in his hometown and blogged about what the community can do about LGBT teen suicides.

What is one of the defining moments in your life as a Christian?

What comes to my mind is when I decided to get married at the age of 19. No one other than myself, Robin and God knew that this was the right thing to do. It was a moment in which I set aside communal wisdom. This helps me understand the marginalized who are outside the common thinking. It also helps me understand that God sometimes speaks to individuals in a way that others cannot hear.

Is there a prayer or meditation that helps you make it through trying times?

There are many quotes I use a lot but what has helped me longest is what my mother would call out as I left for school every day, “Make good choices!” This still resonates in my mind as I choose who I interact with and how I engage with other people.

How has your personal journey to being an LGBT ally strengthened or challenged your faith?

There was no unique journey for me. It was part of my upbringing in my family and in my church to have LGBT people around me. All along I was invited to see how people experienced the Christian community in a different way from what my experience was and to appreciate that other experience.

In your mind, what are the Biblical foundations for LGBT inclusion in the church?

LGBT inclusion is part of the fullness of human inclusion in God’s creation. It fits with the complexity of God’s greater story told in Scripture. I am informed by Jesus’ treatment of the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. I avoid verse-to-verse arguments that lose the larger vision of the themes, the stories and the beautiful nuance of Scripture.

What would you say to those Christians who have a different view on inclusion?

What I often say is this: I hope folks who disagree with me will trust that I am seeking to discern the same mind of Christ as they are. We are all searching for God as our lives unfold. In the midst of our differences, we share a conviction that our relationship is built on God and our faith in Christ. I acknowledge that God is playing a role in the other person’s life.

What can we do to foster dialogue and build bridges with people with different views on inclusion?

We can appreciate where people are coming from, which is different from agreeing with them. We can agree that a win/lose approach has proven that it is not helpful.

In the PCUSA, I say to my colleagues: Keep in mind, as you worry about people leaving the church, that loads of people have left the church because of our present policies. We have lost people the way we are. When we do not change, we lose people.

And I ask them: If the PCUSA does change and we open ordination to LGBT people, is ordination so central to your faith that you will leave the PCUSA? Is this so central to how we are to love Jesus and how Jesus loves us? Is this is a Cross issue, a measure of what is most important to our faith in Christ?

How ‘Love Your Neighbor’ Informs My Faith

Rev. Janet Edwards — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:00:48 GMT

10/8

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus speaks of this command in Matthew, Mark and Luke as joining “Love the Lord your God” at the heart of faithful living (Mt 22:39, Mk 12:31, Lk 10:27). Paul in Romans (13:9) and Galatians (5:14), as well as James (2:8), cites “Loving your neighbor” as the fulfilling of the law.

Paul, James, Matthew, Mark and Luke were all good Jews, and were familiar with their source in Scripture, Leviticus 19:18: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people; but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”

Of course, everything depends on how we interpret, or understand, this command to love our neighbor. I see two crucial elements to this rule that are required of me by Christ.

First, no matter how much I may be tempted to do so, I am not allowed to judge my neighbor.

The way Leviticus expresses this hits very close to home; I am never to “bear a grudge” against another. And Jesus is clear in the Sermon on the Mount about why this is so: “Judge not that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get (Matthew 7:1-2).”

The logic here is that judgment belongs to God. Period.

This applies to all my neighbors, including our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) neighbors. LGBT people stand before God just like everyone else. I am also not to judge those who disagree with me, including those who have taken action against me in the church. Like LGBT people, like me, and like all others, Jesus stands at their side at God’s judgment seat. We will all answer for the conduct of our lives but not to me. My job as a Christian is to love.

Which brings me to the second crucial element to this rule: I am to show mercy to all.

Jesus’ longest teaching on how we best live out the commandment to love our neighbor is the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37 where the Samaritan shows mercy to the man by the side of the road. This story is one reason I speak up about God’s love for LGBT people. Too many LGBT lives continue to be crippled and even ended in desperation by hatred toward them. LGBT people are in danger of ending up beaten by the side of the road, so to speak, all the time.

“And who proved to be neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” asks Jesus. I answer with the lawyer in Luke, “The one who showed mercy.” In Jesus’ stunning twist to drive His point home, it is not the priest or the Levite, but the Samaritan -- who at that time was shunned as unclean -- who proves to be the neighbor. Mercy is the heart of loving our neighbor.

This is one way Scripture informs my faith and inspires my actions in the world.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

The Essentials of Life in the Church

Rev. Janet Edwards — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:54:09 GMT

10/1

The Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission’s decision to uphold the vote of San Francisco Presbytery to ordain Lisa Larges is now written in the book of life. The decision is worth reading prayerfully in its entirety.

The decision, especially the opinion of those who dissented, prompted me to recall the summary of Reformed church life most of us in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) learn somewhere along the line:

“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty and in all things charity.”

Our ancestors forged this wisdom in order to end the slaughter across Europe of Christians by other Christians during the 16th and 17th centuries. It has served us well since then by holding the tension between God alone being the Lord of our individual conscience and our fellowship in the Body of Christ, the church.

However, the Dissenting Opinion in the case of Lisa Larges’ ordination exposed the weakest point in this Reformed foundation for church life — unity rests upon agreement on the essentials of our faith. And in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) right now, there is no agreement on the meaning of those things essential to our faith and our polity. This is causing unbearable pain for many Presbyterians — from every part of our fellowship--hindering our witness to Christ to the world and threatening our existence as a church.

Lisa Larges’ Statement of Departure from G-6.0106b affirms that the first essential of Reformed faith and polity is faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. I trust that all Presbyterians at least agree on this.

But what does it mean to have faith in Jesus? How exactly do we know Jesus and live out our faith in the world?

The Dissenting Opinion articulates one way. For Lisa Larges, for myself, and for many others, Jesus and Paul guide us along another way.

Jesus puts front and center loving God and loving neighbor. And Paul offers signs that indicate success in loving which he calls the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

The decision in Parnell v. the Presbytery of San Francisco does not go into these things because of another essential of the Presbyterian Church, in fact, the very reason we are called the Presbyterian Church. They rely upon our tradition that the presbytery has responsibility and authority to assess candidates for the office of Minister of Word and Sacrament. So the Synod PJC left that decision with the presbytery. And San Francisco clearly saw abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit and inspiring faith in Lisa Larges.

Unfortunately, it does not seem to me that those who wrote the Dissenting Opinion in this case agree regarding this essential either.

We have wandered in this wilderness of dissension over the meaning of the essentials of our faith and polity for so long. I continue to return to what is required by our tradition in all things — charity. I will start my walk in the PCUSA in this place each day. I will invite others to join me.

May God in Christ direct us so that the other essentials fall into place too.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

The Cruel Winds of Our Long Judicial Season

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:24:35 GMT

9/24

I have written on the stalwart prophetic ministry of Lisa Larges before and I write again now. This week, the Synod of the Pacific Permanent Judicial Commission gives judgment on Lisa’s presbytery, San Francisco Presbytery, which voted to ordain her as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.

It will be a great new season for our beloved Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) when Lisa just goes about her business as a pastor in our midst. May this decision hasten that day.

The winds of this long judicial season have been cruel to Lisa. They’ve also been cruel to the PCUSA -- threatening the very life of the church. They cannot end one second too soon.

One of the cruelties of this judicial season is that Lisa is never considered a party to these court proceedings even though they are about her and have immense consequences for her. The court case now and the ones in 1991 and 2009 were remedial challenges to Lisa’s presbytery for approving her for ordination. So it’s the presbytery speaking up in church court for its actions while Lisa sits in the back, listening to others argue about her as a person, a Christian and a servant of the church. How cruel to make any person an “It.”

The case against me was disciplinary. When the case was dismissed because the Investigating Committee filed their charges three days late, accusations were made again, initiating the process all over again. When the Presbytery Permanent Judicial Commission unanimously acquitted me on all charges, there was no appeal. We had all suffered uncertainty and discord for three long years. Even today, while relieved by the outcome, I am very aware of still being highly vulnerable and subject to accusations by my colleagues in ministry just for saying out loud what we all know — that LGBT couples shine with all the qualities we all recognize as marriage.

It is the accusing party’s right to bring charges, according to the rules. However, it is not kind. And it is not love in Christ.

Unlike the seasons in nature, we have control over this judicial season. Bringing charges against presbyteries and against people is a choice Presbyterians are making.

We can end this cruel season by choosing to behave differently. Revising the ordination standards to allow a presbytery to affirm the faith, gifts and call of other lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender candidates like Lisa Larges is one choice we all have before us. And when this happens, I trust we will experience the joyful grace given by God to us through the ministries of LGBT Presbyterians. We will enter a season of the love to which Christ calls us all.

And when we enter this new season, I imagine the church will recognize its cruelty and ask Lisa Larges to forgive us for our treating her as an “It” for decades. As the prophet she is, how will she respond? May the day come swiftly when we will find out.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Conversation with Rebecca Voelkel

Rev. Janet Edwards — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:10:16 GMT

9/17

Rebecca Voelkel is director of the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce’s faith program, the Institute for Welcoming Resources. She is a UCC pastor, theologian, activist and mom.

How has your personal journey to this calling and moment in life strengthened or challenged your faith?

My relationship with God and my faith are strengthened every day. My relationship with the institutional church is challenged every day by the way it so often gets it wrong.

What settles that paradox is one memorable encounter I had when I was young. I had the privilege of serving as a volunteer in El Salvador during their civil war and talking, in particular, with one mother whose five children had been killed. She witnessed the torture and killing of her son and showed me the way in which faith can be necessary for survival.

She said to me, “I know that, in the person of Jesus Christ, God knows what it is to be tortured to death. So I know my son was not alone. And I know that life is always more powerful than death. Just as God was with my son in death, so also God raised my son to new life. And God will do the same for me. So it does not matter what they do to me.”

Her power borne of courageous faith strengthens and challenges me every day to make similar choices.

What is one of the defining moments in your life as a Christian?

There is the moment I just described with the wise woman in El Salvador.

There was the healing process after date rape. And there was when I came out as lesbian. Both of these happened because I took her challenge and invitation to live my life in power and authenticity.

Do you have a story of a person who embodies Christ’s teachings?

What is so moving to me and what gives me energy for ministry is that there are countless people who, in small and large ways, are embodying Christ.

In your mind, what are the Biblical foundations for LGBT inclusion in the church?

What I see as central to the Bible is what Walter Wink calls its singular love ethic. Justice is God’s love distributed equally amongst all God’s creation. Throughout Scripture boundaries are busted “between us and them” in ever widening circles. Jesus’ ministry and the expansion of the early church in Acts is all about this kind of love.

What would you say to those Christians who have a different view on inclusion?

I make a distinction between the radicals where hatred is virulently dangerous (so that I kick the dust off my sandals and move on) and those who are seeking to walk with Jesus.

More often than not, I try to ask questions and hear their stories to get a sense of why they believe what they believe. Through mostly listening we can usually find a human connection by which we can hear and see each other. I am usually invited to share after I have listened.

What can we do to foster dialogue and build bridges with people with different views on inclusion?

At The Task Force’s IWR, we regularly do trainings on leading a welcoming process in churches (http://www.welcomingresources.org/). The first thing we teach is how to sit down to listen first and then share. People get talked at in so many arenas. One great resource is Building an Inclusive Church (which is also available for download at www.WelcomingResources.org)

P.S. If you are fired up about building an inclusive church, consider registering for the Believe Out Loud Power Summit organized by the Institute for Welcoming Resources for Oct. 9-11 in Orlando. Rebecca will be there. Peace, Janet

Our Labor Day Turn into the Hard Labor

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:04:49 GMT

9/10

Labor Day, for me, means the start of the new school year. The late summer days in September, with their slanting light and thin, spent warmth, still give me a sense of hope and anticipation for new areas of study and challenge.

As I reflect, I am grateful for this week’s rise in hopeful energy. The challenges before my church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), during this next year are large ones. And unlike the challenges that made my heart quicken when school started, these are serious concerns that weigh heavy on my spirit because they have real, lasting consequences for peoples’ lives.

Today, I bring one of these before you for your prayerful consideration: the ordination vote.

Between now and May, 2011, every presbytery in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) must vote on Overture 10-A, a revision of G-6.0106b in the Book of Order that would restore the standard for ordination to the historic standards of faith, gifts and calling. A “yes” will open ordination to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) candidates for ministry.

Since 1997, when this section of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Constitution was passed, there have been four opportunities to delete or revise it. In 2001 the overture to delete G-6.0106b lost by 35 presbyteries. In 2009, the revision overture lost by 9 presbyteries.

This progress gives me hope that the birth of a new day, one in which our LGBT faithful will be just like all other Presbyterians within the church, is near.

However, change takes hard work. When I gave birth, at a certain point I knew the baby was coming and I also knew that a good deal of hard labor was needed on my part to make that happen. In the PCUSA, as a community, we have been heading toward this birth for a long time and these years have had all the pain and weariness of a difficult labor.

Rev. Janie Spahr’s trial, earlier this month, was another labor pain. And in the months to come when we are reaching out to our fellow Presbyterians to vote “yes” on Overture 10-A, I expect there will be many others. Like a mother in the final throes of birth, we can be heartened all along the way by the promised outcome.

When this voting season concludes, may we have delivered the church into the new day we all know Christ has in store for us and for our next generation of faithful Presbyterians. Our LGBT deacons, elders and ministers will witness among us all to Jesus’ loving embrace. And the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will shine with Jesus’ love, transforming the world.

Peace,

Reverend Janet

Time to Drink Our Shame to the Dregs

Rev. Janet Edwards — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:38:52 GMT

9/3

Shame, like all feelings, is a prayer. Shame is a prayer that says, “I am bad in my innermost being; please, God, heal me.”

I was reminded of this last Friday as I read the Redwoods Presbytery Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) decision in the disciplinary case against Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr for presiding at the weddings of the beautiful lesbian and gay couples who testified on her behalf.

I love Janie Spahr and her long, faithful ministry to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the church — a ministry that offers everyone the same message of God’s all-embracing love. If you read the decision of the PJC, you would think they do, too.

Yet they convicted Dr. Spahr on three of four counts, including the violation of her ordination vows, failing miserably to embody the very values that they claim to admire in her.

Their decision also had the audacity to ask the married same-gender couples for “forgiveness for the harm that has been, and continues to be, done to them in the name of Jesus Christ,” as if they were not repeating that exact same harm in rebuking their pastor for presiding at their weddings.

I am ashamed of my church right now, at the failure of these Presbyterians to live by the logic of their own words. As our historic principles say, “Truth is in order to goodness.” If they see goodness in Janie’s ministry, as they say, goodness in the marriages of these couples, and goodness required in the Constitution of the PCUSA — all of which the PJC acknowledged — then rule for that truth. Yet they convicted Janie Spahr.

I am ashamed that this PJC could not see the hurt their decision inflamed. We hurt and demean lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and we do not know it.

We need God to heal us. Scott Clark, Janie’s legal defender, spoke of this in his closing statement when he referenced the healing on the Sabbath story in Mark 3 and suggested that the church is the man with the withered hand that needs to be healed. And our Moderator Cindy Bolbach said it clearly at the General Assembly in Minneapolis: the church is paralyzed — we all know it — and, like the friends in Mark 2, we need to get the church to Jesus to be healed.

The terribly sobering fact is that the church is the Body of Christ in the world. Because we are Jesus’ arms and legs in this world, it is crucial that we get this right in the church. God will heal us only through us, through our courage to do the right and truthful thing.

The PJC recognized that “in the reality in which we live today, marriage can be between same-gender as well as opposite gender persons, and we, as a church, need to be able to respond to this reality as Dr. Jane Spahr has done with faithfulness and compassion.” Yet they did not act upon that truth. They spoke with admiration of Dr. Spahr’s ministry and then ruled against it. And in doing so, like the priests in the story of Jesus healing on the Sabbath, they ruled against God’s gifts of healing and love.

Now it is up to each and every one of us to help heal the hurt inflicted with this conviction of Rev. Dr. Janie Spahr. And the first step toward that healing is to drink our shame to the dregs that our church would say, “No,” where Jesus says, “Yes.” Feel this shame with me, and join me in prayer that God use us to heal our church.

Peace,

Reverend Janet