ju s t o u t ▼ S e p te m b e r 5 , 1 9 9 7 ▼ 13
local news
Conference controversy
A gay and lesbian Christian conference gets the boot from a Bend churchy stirring conflict and fracturing a congregation
by Inga Sorensen
t’s a safe bet Patty Campbell-Schmitt, co
minister of the Bend-based First Presbyte
rian Church, will think twice before taking
a sabbatical again.
“I was shocked when I heard what was
happening,” says Campbell-Schmitt, 48, who
along with her co-minister husband, Tom, were
savoring a little downtime this summer when they
caught wind of an ensuing brouhaha involving
their congregation of 600.
The issue? The church, which had been the
slated venue for a September conference de
signed in part to “help gay people heal from their
bad experiences” with Christianity, nixed the
plan due to the protests of a handful of
congregants.
“Not only is this ironic, it’s been extremely
hurtful,” says Dorothy Leman, who serves on the
board of Beyond the Closet, a Bend-based educa
tion and advocacy group that works for the civil
rights of sexual minorities in central Oregon.
Beyond the Closet is also a leading co-sponsor
of the Sept. 12-13 conference, entitled Coming
Out, Coming Home: A Place fo r Lesbians and
Gays in the Christian Faith Community.
The gathering, constructed as an opportunity
for “compassionate listening, not debate,” seeks
to “educate straight lay people and clergy...about
gay issues around Christianity” as well as “help
gay and straight people build church families that
consciously and genuinely welcome gays and
lesbians.”
Planners say the conference is specifically
Christian-oriented (as opposed to interfaith) be
cause "Oregon’s Measure 9 and 13 campaigns
show that the 'religious’ ideas used to condemn
and isolate gay people have been overwhelm
ingly ‘Christian.’”
“This conference is trying to let gay and les
bian people know they have a place in the Chris
tian faith community,” Leman says. ‘Then this
happens and essentially confirms all their fears
and skepticism.”
According to Leman, everything appeared to
be on track. Conference organizers followed all
“official channels” in asking to use the First
Presbyterian facility. This spring, Beyond the
Closet obtained event co-sponsorship from the
board of Ecumenical Ministries of Central Or
egon, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays, and other groups, then went to the
church’s Christian Concerns and Action Com
mittee to petition to rent the building for the
conference.
The matter was referred to First Presbyterian’s I
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>Feb. 5,1998 .............................. .Australia
(10 days) $3975 ppdo
>June 4,1998 ....................... Trans Atlantic
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The Rev. Mel White
local governing body—the Session—which voted
to house the conference.
Leman says while the rental contract had not
been signed, Beyond the Closet interpreted the
affirmative vote as a verbal contract, and created
brochures and other outreach materials citing
First Presbyterian as the gathering’s location.
A month later, new members of the Session
voiced additional concern about the conference
and an additional vote was taken.
They, too, backed renting the facility—but
this time asked that any event publicity include a
disclaimer distinguishing the views and goals of
the conference from those of the church.
Leman says six couples in First Presbyterian’s
congregation then began voicing “strong opposi
tion” to the conference.
She says an informational congregational
meeting was held Aug. 3, during which the major
ity of those present seemed to support housing the
event. No matter—Leman says the following
day, the Session switched its previous positions
and denied the conference access to the church
facility.
'This is a heart-breaking incident. We need to
call [attention] to the homophobia present here,
while remaining thankful to our supporters at
First Presbyterian, and compassionate to those
Session members who let fear of polarization
The church,
which had been
the slated
venue for a
September
conference
designed in
part to “help
gay people heal
from their bad
experiences ”
with Christian
ity, nixed the
plan due to the
protests of a
handful of
congregants.
sway their vote,” says Beyond the Closet board
member Catherine Finney. “Their fear of conflict
and fracture is particularly interesting to me. No
movement against oppression...has occurred in
the absence of conflict. Spiritual conflict is what
can turn our hearts towards justice. I wish that all
of the church elders had been courageous enough
to see that.”
The Campbell-Schmitts, meanwhile, were
away on sabbatical as the controversy began
bubbling. In fact, Patty Campbell-Schmitt says
she thought the conference (at First Presbyterian)
was a go.
When she learned the road was getting rocky,
she was “shocked,” largely because of the
congregation’s past associations with gay and
lesbian issues.
According to Campbell-Schmitt, First Pres
byterian officially opposed the anti-gay ballot
measures 9 and 13 in 1992 and 1994, respectively.
She also says the church is the site of local
PFLAG meetings. Additionally, First Presbyte
rian held a six-week discussion group a few years
back on homosexuality and the church.
“So we didn’t see [the conference] as a big
deal...but I guess we underestimated the reactions
of some people,” she tells Just Out.
Campbell-Schmitt says it appears a “small but
vocal—and persuasive—group” of congregants
opposed the conference being held at the church
facility.
“It was very unsettling to hear their concerns
because they were bringing up stereotypes that the
Oregon Citizens Alliance had always pushed—
pedophilia and that type of thing,” she says. “I
think we’re continuing to experience the fallout
from the OCA campaigns.”
Campbell-Schmitt also suggests had she and
her husband been accessible early on, the out
come may have been different.
“Perhaps better communication could have
been fostered,” she says.
The controversy, meanwhile, has tom the con
gregation, which includes outspoken PFLAG par
ents.
“Many people are hurt,” she says, “but I think
there have been positives out of all this. As you
can imagine, there has been lots and lots of discus
sion within the congregation over this issue.”
She also anticipates more First Presbyterian
Church members will attend the conference than
initially thought as a direct consequence of the
controversy.
(Ironically, those who have announced they are
leaving the congregation in light of the incident—
as many as a dozen, Campbell-Schmitt says—are
those who advocated booting the conference.)
Event organizers, meanwhile, are moving
ahead with the gathering, which features, among
others, the Rev. Mel White, author and former
speechwriter for Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell,
Nancy Wilson, senior pastor of the Metropolitan
Community Church in Los Angeles, Otis Charles,
retired Episcopal bishop of Utah and current di
rector of the Episcopal Diocese of California’s
gay and lesbian ministry, and Bernard Turner,
retired pastor of the First Baptist Church in
McMinnville. Turner is a straight pastor of a rural
Oregon church who gradually grew to see the
responsibility of Christian churches to welcome
gay and lesbian people.
According to Leman, the conference will be
held at the Bend-based Spiritual Awareness Cen
ter, whose administrators offered the facility to
the conference immediately upon learning of the
Session’s action.
Coming Out, Coming Home: A Place for
Lesbians and Gays in the Christian Faith
Community will be held at the Spiritual
Awareness Center, 157 NW Franklin St. in
Bend on Sept. 12-13. Cost is $25. For more
information, call Beyond the Closet at
(541)317-8966.
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