The struggle continues
On May 19, the National Council of Churches
(NCC) Executive Coordinating Committee acted
to dismiss tiie NCC-Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches' (UFMCC)
Dialogue Committee. The committee’s work was
the most recent in a series of study processes on
gay and lesbian concerns that the Council has
undertaken with UFMCC since UFMCC applied
for membership in 1981. “We are angry but not
surprised at the dis­
missal of our com­
mittee, and I vow
that we will not go
away,” said Rev.
Elder Nancy Wil­
son, UFMCC
Chief Ecumenical
Officer. “UFMCC
will continue to be present at every meeting of the
NCC General Board.”
The following week, the Rev. Troy Perry,
founder and moderator of the 27,000 member
Christian denomination, requested official ob­
server status from the Council. NCC leaders now
describe homosexuality as "the most divisive
church issue since slavery.”
In 1982, the NCC Constituent Membership
Committee voted unanimously that UFMCC meets
all the membership requirements, but the final
vote on eligibility was tabled indefinitely and has
never been taken.
Integrity cunvention
Integrity, the lesbian and gay justice ministry
of the Episcopal Church, will hold its national
convention in Houston, July 9-12, 1992. The
Bishop of Texas, the R t Rev. Maurice M.
Benitez, will be out of town and unable to greet
the convention. Based on his long standing and
outspoken opposition to the ordination of openly
lesbian and gay candidates for the ministry and to
the blessing of same-sex unions, Bishop Benitez
was not expected to be welcoming.
The Integrity convention will draw about 300
persons from all over the United States, represent­ Women’s Goddess retreat
ing most of the 52 chapters in this country, and
Nancy Black and Oz will be bringing their
will be joined by Integrity members from Canada, Women’s Goddess Retreat weekend workshop to
Australia, and the United Kingdom.
the Northwest during July. The workshop will be
a “Journey into imagery and art, ritual, movement
and magick.” Using guided imagery, Black, a
Compromise on abortion
clinical therapist, will help participants get in
The nation’s largest Presbyterian organiza­ toudh with their "natural child within", and Oz
tion approved a compromise policy statement that
supports abortion rights but commits the denomi­
nation to reducing the “overwhelming number”
of abortions. Delegates to the 204th General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A.
paused in prayer before voting 434-121 to ap­
in my view
prove the statement, which seeks common ground
in the “strong Christian presumption” to protect
life. “The Presbyterian Church U.S.A. does not Christians are covering up
advocate abortion but instead acknowledges cir­
cumstances in a sinful world that may make their discomfort by
abortion the least objectionable of difficult op­
tions,” the church said. The stand is more equivo­
cal in its support of abortion rights than a 1983 changing the name of their
policy statement that divided the 2.8 million- Deity
member denomination with its strong abortion-
I agree with Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry of the
rights stand. While affirming the ability of women
to make moral choices regarding problem preg­ MCC when he says, “This church has nothing to
nancies, the assembly also declared “our denomi­ do with Goddess worship as I understand it...I do
nation and its member congregations must com­ not believe Goddess worship is consistent with
mit themselves to reduce the overwhelming num­ the Christian Church,” (published in the June ‘92
ber of situations in which women choose to abort.” issue of Just Out). Thank you. Rev. Perry, for
The policy recommendations include asking expressing your view. As a Witch and a Priestess
churches to consider offering alternatives to abor­ of the Goddess and God, I feel just as strongly as
tion, such as adoptive services and financial and you do that the Christian Church is not consistent
with Goddess worship, and I deeply resent Chris­
emotional support to pregnant women.
Delegates voted 395-165 to reject a minority tians trying to have our cake and eat it.
Take old Jehovah, that stem patriarch; take
committee report urging the church to declare that
abortion is sinful except in cases of rape, incest, Jesus, the rebel and conservative; dress them in
serious fetal deformity, or where the mother’s life drag and call them her! That doesn’t make them
female. The whole concept of Christianity re­
is threatened.
Associated Press volves around a male God and his male son,
around the concepts of sin and salvation and
redemption. To take Mary and insist that she is an
Compiled by Matthew Nelson, an ordained ancient Goddess and parade her around and wor­
minister of the United Church o f Christ. ship her ignores the fact that the Christian Mary,
mother of God, is not a Goddess and wasn’t given
will facilitate rituals to “find and celebrate the
Goddess within."
The Women’s Goddess Retreat will be in
Portland July 17-19 at Marylhust College. The
registration fee is $299 and includes room and
board. Contact Connie Carmichael at 775-8295.
The workshop moves to Seattle for the weekend
of July 24-26. Contact Myra Gamburg at (206)
488-4786.
a choice to bear or not. She is a woman and has
been consistently stripped of any power whatso­
ever by Christians.
When a Christian uses the word Goddess
while referring to God, I cringe. That word
doesn’t change Jehovah. Whether in his beard
and robes or dressed up in drag he still shakes his
finger and imposes impossible laws. I feel there
is something fundamentally dishonest about a
person, uncomfortable with the male God, stick­
ing to Christianity and covering up their discom­
fort by using the word “Goddess.”
Each religion has its own proportion of gays,
probably quite consistent with the proportion of
gays in that particular population. I notice that
most religions are represented in the Spirituality
section of Just Out. I know that gay people in the
Wiccan religion are about 2 in 20; about the same
as in the general population.
People have different spiritual needs. These
differing needs are served by a variety of different
churches, dogmas and faiths. Members of the
MCC need Christianity, the Bible, sin and salva­
tion, and God in the form of Jehovah and Christ.
If this is their need, they should have the guts to
accept the male God and his son. If they can’t
accept them, maybe they don’t belong in a Chris­
tian religion.
Kier Salmon
Take Advantage
of the Successful
Eastside Expert
W
Grant Park - $124,500
Recently Listed
S.E. Clinton Area 2 Bdrm
w/Den, Formal Living
Room, Dining Room, Full
Bsmt, Tuck Garage,
mechanically updated.
$67,000.
David Anderson
Sales Associate
SIAN W
Mt Tabor -$119,500
Mt. Tabor - Approx. 3500 sq.ft.
3 Bdrm+/3 Bath
Irvington
4 Bdrm/2Bath - $99,500
I am the Real Estate Specialist You Want, Call...
239 - 4040 .
WILEY
INC. REALTORS
3320 N.E. Sandy Blvd.
Portland, OR 97232