Just news
Founder of San Francisco's Wedge Program, Christian Her an,
and author Lynda Madaras, to address teen AIDS issues
What's Happening to My Body? Books for
Boys and Girls and six other books,
IDS prevention educators Christian
including Womancare and Lynda Madaras
Heran and Lynda Madaras will be
Growing up Guide for Girls. Madaras most
present at a benefit for House of Light, an recently published Lynda Madaras Talks to
extended-care facility in North Portland, on Teens About AIDS: An Essential Guide for
February 27. The two educators will talk
Parents, Teachers, and Young People
about adolescents, HIV and AIDS and will
(Newmarket Press, 1988).
host a showing of the award-winning video
Madaras began teaching and writing
‘Teen AIDS in Focus.”
about health and parenting more than 15
Christian Heran, who lives in San
years ago and has been teaching sex
Francisco, is a founder of the Wedge
education and puberty education to teens and
Program, a unique and unprecedented
pre-teens for the past ten years.
approach in delivering AIDS education to
Madaras tells her young audiences “that
school age youth. Heran’s program brings
the future course of this epidemic will
school children face-to-face with specially
depend largely on the decisions their
trained PWAs to learn about the epidemic.
generation makes about sex and drugs" and
Heran and his Wedge Program have received
“that we’re all in this together.”
commendations from the City of San
The benefit will be held at the House of
Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School
Light, 597 N. Dckum, on February 27, at 7
District, the State of Utah, the US Secretary of pm. Admission is S5 for adults, $2 for ages
Health’s “American Volunteer Award,” the
18 and under, pre-schoolers free. For more
American Legion’s “Outstanding
information call 289-3370
Contribution to Youth” award, a special
citation from former US Surgeon General C.
Everett Koop and numerous other awards and
Christian Heran will also be plenary
citations.
session speaker during the Conference on
Heran, a former model who was the
AIDS/HIV Prevention Strategies for
Reaching High-risk Oregon Adolescents
original “Marlboro Man,” is an openly gay
sponsored by the Oregon Department of
man who visits schools and tells teens about
his own battle with AIDS. Diagnosed with the
Education Task Force on Out-of-school,
disease in 1986, Heran, 54, was told he had
School-age Youth to be held at the Valley
three years to live. In his appearances he
Conference Center in Beaverton. For
emphasizes the importance of self-esteem and
information on the conference call Jerry
self-respect.
Warren or Cheryl Eby at the Oregon
Lynda Madaras is the author of the two
Department of Education, (503) 378-8870.
BY
J A Y
A
B R O W N
clergy group in the diocese. One of the most
widely known openly gay priests in the
Episcopal gay,
country is a priest of the Diocese of Newark,
the Rev. L. Paul Woodrum, Integrity’s
lesbian clergy
National Treasurer.
“Since Integrity’s founding in 1974, scores
Increases annually of lesbian
and gay clergy nationwide have
publicly declared themselves, and hundreds
more have acknowledged their sexuality in
he ordination to the priesthood of the
less public ways because of fear of
Rev. Robert Williams by the Rt. Rev.
John S. Spong, Episcopal Bishop of Newark, homophobia in the Church,” said Fr.
has been widely misrepresented in the media. Woodnlm
— Integrity
Contrary to assertions by United Press
International, Reuters and others, Williams is
New legal director
neither the second open, non-celibate
homosexual person nor the first such gay man
to be ordained in the Episcopal Church.
takes reins at
Integrity, the nationwide ministry of and to
the lesbian and gay community in the
NGRA
Episcopal Church, applauds the ordination of
avid A. Bryan, former executive and
the Rev. Robert Williams on Saturday,
legal director of the Texas Human
December 16, at All Saints Church, Hoboken,
Rights Foundation, has moved into the top
New Jersey. Fr. Williams, 34, is a long-time
legal position as Legal Director of National
member of Integrity. He was a founder of
Gay
Rights
Advocates. NGRA is the nation’s
Integrity/Dallas, is now a member of the New
largest public-interest law firm protecting the
York chapter, and was an Integrity lobbyist at
rights
of lesbians and gay men.
the General Convention of the Episcopal
Bryan replaces former legal director,
Church in Detroit in 1988.
Leonard
Graff, who held the position for
Fr. Williams’s ordination was only the
seven-and-a-half years and is currently
latest in a long series of ordinations of self-
serving as interim executive director. Bryan
affirming, non-celibate lesbians and gays in
will direct the organization’s legal program
the Episcopal Church since 1977. In January
from NGRA’s San Francisco office.
of that year, the Rev. Ellen M. Barrett, an
The 34 year-old attorney graduated from
open lesbian and first co-president of
the Texas Tech University School of Law in
Integrity, was ordained a priest by the Bishop
1981 and practiced corporate law in Houston
of New York, the Rt. Rev. Paul Moore, Jr.
for five years. He joined the Texas Human
Ms. Barrett’s ordination engendered
Rights Foundation as a member of the Board
considerable controversy. Partly in reaction to
of Trustees in 1984.
it, in 1979, the Episcopal Church’s House of
While a trustee, Bryan contributed to the
Bishops approved a “sense of the House”
resolution that non-celibate lesbians and gays
litigation work challenging the Texas sodomy
statute. Bryan also worked on cases resulting
should not be ordained. That proscription was
in the recognition of lesbian and gay student
not binding on individual bishops and
organizations at Texas A & M and Texas
dioceses, however, and has been widely
ignored. Several leading bishops, including
Tech Universities. In 1984 and 1985, Bryan
Bishop Spong and the Most Rev. Edmond
was active in the Houston referendum
Browning, now Presiding Bishop of the
campaign to save a city ordinance prohibiting
Church, signed a statement opposing the 1979
employment discrimination on the basis of
action and stated that they would not be bound
sexual orientation.
by it.
Bryan assumed his position as head of the
The same month that the Rev. Ellen
Texas Human Rights Foundation in 1989. As
Barrett was ordained in New York with
legal director, he helped to prosecute a
widespread media coverage, the Rev. Susan
discrimination complaint against Midland
Bergmans, another open, non-celibate lesbian
National Life Insurance Company for AIDS
was ordained to the priesthood in San
zip code “redlining.” Bryan also helped
Francisco by the Bishop of California. Her
prosecute the Texas Human Rights
ordination received little media attention.
Foundation’s disciplinary complaint against
“Since 1977, on average at least five open,
Judge Jack Hampton of Dallas, who was
non-celibate lesbians or gays have been
publicly censured last November for anti-gay
ordained every year in dioceses from coast to
bias.
coast,” said Integrity’s President Kim Byham.
Founded in 1977 in San Francisco,
“Such ordinations have occurred in the
National Gay Rights Advocates fights for the
Dioceses of Michigan, Minnesota, New York,
rights of gay men, lesbians and, through the
Pennsylvania, California, Chicago, and
AIDS Civil Rights Project, persons with HIV
Western Massachusetts, among others.”
disease. NGRA aggressively pursues impact
While Fr. Williams is the first person in
litigation in employment and housing
the Diocese of Newark who declared himself
discrimination, family partnerships, reform of
to be a non-celibate gay at the time of his
sodomy laws, anti-gay violence, and first —
ordination, there is an active lesbian/gay
amendment rights.
^
T
D
BARBARA
G.
C L I N I C A L
ISAACS,
Ph.D.
P S Y C H O L O G I S T
2250 NW FLANDERS, SUITE 103 ■ PORTLAND, OREGON 97210
( 503 )
just out ▼ 1 2 V February 1990
248-0775