In the world of gay and lesbian publishing, you can often judge your success
by the number of death threats you have received. Author Keith Hartman says
since his book "Congregations in Conflict: The Battle Over Homosexuality"
(Rutgers University Press) hit stores, he has received a grand total of
zero, zip, zilch, nada, death threats.
"A friend of mine told me, 'your publisher should be shot, they
aren't doing their job,'" he laughed.
Hartman should be getting death threats by the ton. "Congregations
in Conflict" strikes at the very heart of the message that the religious
right doesn't want to get out. It depicts congregations, torn over the issue
of homosexuality, and how they prayerfully, thoughtfully and faithfully
approached, and solved the conflicts they faced. Granted, none of the congregations
had an easy time, many lost long time members who left on bad terms, but
they all grappled with a deep issue of faith and came out better congregations
and individuals for the journey.
It's those struggles that most impressed Hartman.
"You have people who really viscerally disagreed on an issue who
would normally be throwing rocks at each other. But nonetheless were bound
together in a community of faith and had to deal with each other and work
through this issue and arrive at common ground," he said.
Each story is moving in its own way. A Methodist minister taken to task
for participating in a gay pride parade, a Quaker meeting seeking God's
guidance on whether or not to perform a same sex union, two Baptist churches
removed from their denomination because of their acceptance of homosexual
members ... and ministers receiving death threats.
One of those threatened was Rev. Jim Lewis, the priest of St. John's
Episcopal Church in Charleston, West Virginia. In 1976, police guarded auditions
for the musical 1776 because Rev. Lewis was trying out for the part of Thomas
Jefferson.
"...the police were there to make sure that nothing happened
to [Lewis]. A couple of weeks earlier they'd been warned that a group of
fundamentalist Christians was planning to assassinate the priest or murder
his children."
Rev. Lewis' troubles began in 1974 when he supported the school board's
decision to adopt multicultural textbooks. Two years later he opened his
church to a group of homosexuals who needed a place to meet. Shortly thereafter,
a male couple asked him to perform a wedding ceremony. After much soul searching
and prayer Rev. Lewis came to a startling conclusion.
"'I have prayed over legislature, hot food at banquets, beauty
contests, athletic events, prayer breakfasts, new homes, and dozens of other
events ... I know some history which reminds me that the Church has blessed
certain wars and even christened battleships and troops marching off to
war.'
It occurred to Reverend Lewis that if he could bless an omelette, he
could certainly bless two people's love."
News of the marriage rocked the church, and brought threats on Rev. Lewis'
life ... and threats of his removal from the pulpit. Rev. Lewis' story has
a happy, if bittersweet, ending ... as do most of the stories in this book.
The Quakers in Durham, North Carolina faced a tough challenge in the
form of Don Markle. When the meeting was asked to decide whether or not
they would perform same-sex marriages, they tried to discern the will of
God, but found an immovable obstacle in Markle.
Markle came from a fundamentalist background and believed the
Bible to be the inerrant word of God. He had little tolerance for the process
Quakers use to arrive at "clearness" on an issue. Friends believe
that God is in everyone and that you must carefully listen to every person.
Quakers believe no one sees the whole truth, but individuals see only part
of the truth. By coming together, you see the whole picture.
Markle became the meeting's lone holdout over the issue and eventually
left the meeting.
They arrived at clearness on the issue of same sex marriage, but Hartman
observed, "For the Quakers it was a mission of failure. They like to
believe that diversity is their strength so they can incorporate divergent
points of view, but that is premised on the belief in the system itself
which Don lacked. Don believed an open mind was an invitation to sin so
he did not try to incorporate other ideas."
That seems to be the attitude of the mainstream church at large. New
ideas, new ways of seeing God's kingdom and welcoming others into it, are
taboo.
"You can compare this issue to how the churches reacted to slavery,"
Hartman said. "Some churches drug their heels. The Southern Baptist
denomination was largely formed as a way to come up with a religious defense
of slavery. On the other hand, the Quakers were running underground railroads
and were ahead on abolition. You're going to see that all over again. Denominations
will split over this issue, but they are all moving slowly in the direction
of more inclusion."