August 14, 2000
Gay agenda not advanced this summer
___DEKALB, Ill. (RNS)--2000 dawned as a year of promise and trepidation for gay and lesbian Christians as three prominent mainline Protestant denominations prepared to tackle the issue of gays in the church.
___For many, it was a landmark opportunity for greater acceptance and tolerance, while others feared conservatives might try to push back the clock and remove any overtures toward gays and lesbians.
___After three months of conventions, little has changed. Ironically, the greatest advances were made not by the Protestant churches but by Reform rabbis, who voted to allow the blessing of same-sex unions.
___So as more than 1,000 gay Christians gathered in Illinois Aug. 3-6 for the first-ever religious convention of their own, many seemed frustrated by a lack of progress and recognition as they took stock of 30 years of wins and losses.
___But for others, there is a strong undercurrent of denominational defiance, a growing sense that denominations do not always speak for God and that God does not necessarily speak through denominations.
___Thirty-one years after the Stonewall riots in New York City gave birth to the modern gay-rights movement, many described the Witness Our Welcome 2000 conference as a sort of spiritual Stonewall moment.
___It was the first time the gay-lesbian factions within a dozen or so Protestant churches had ever gotten together to worship, strategize and speak with one unified voice. For many, it was a kind of ecumenical coming-out party.
___"This is the first time gay and lesbian people and their supporters have stood up and acted and said, 'We're not going to be studied anymore, we're not going to be talked about anymore. We're here to claim what is rightfully ours as children of God,"' said Greg Egertson, a member of Lutheran Lesbian and Gay Ministries.
___Participants said while they will continue to work for change within the church structure, they will not wait for it to happen. Instead, activists said they have waited long enough to assume their place as pastors, deacons and Sunday School teachers. By living honestly in individual congregations, they will eventually change the larger church, they said.
___This summer, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Episcopal Church all voted to maintain their policies against homosexuality. Episcopalians took a modest step toward recognizing gay couples in a resolution that affirmed "lifelong committed relationships."
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