decomber 18. 1998 « J u s t o u t 2 1
KEEPING +HE
fAI+H
Continued from page 19
you are, help me.’ Somehow that shifted my
consciousness. I began to see that there are
other ways to live.”
Their life today reflects that. Schooled in
New Thought spirituality, Chaney and Moffett
lead a congregation at The God Connection in
Beaverton. “We’re very lightly traditional,” says
Chaney, explaining their church. “We allow
people to make [God] who they need him to be.
We don’t believe in literal hell. We believe the
essence of all people is good, not evil. We use
the Bible, but we root it metaphysically.”
The congregation, which began meeting
with 15 people in Chaney and Moffett’s Beaver
ton living room in 1992, has since evolved to 75
members—still in need of a permanent venue—
of mostly lesbians and gay men with a few het
erosexuals, including one straight board mem
ber.
“It was for a long time a lot of lesbians,” says
Chaney. “We used to go out and fish for gay
men.”
Chaney describes their typical parishioners
as having one basic commonality: “All of them
seem to have a passion for understanding God as
God works in their lives. They all want to find
out how to better live their lives using principles
most people would apply to God. They’re risk-
takers. They’re willing to try this stuff. They’ve
got to let go of egos, old beliefs.”
Moffett echoes that sentiment, adding that
the most important message she tries to convey
is that “there’s some time that we have to reach
out in our lives because we can’t do it by our
selves.”
While Moffett is referring to God, it’s seems
unlikely that Moffett and Chaney could do
what they do without each other, either.
Says Moffett, “I have passion for God, a pas
sion for church and passion for Casey—she’s a
hot tamale.”
‘ I’ M S E A R C H I N G ,
I’ M O P E N ,
I’ M H O P E F U L ’
S
till a young man, 24-year-old Alex
Villarreal combines his spirituality
and sexuality in a way that defies con
ituality and sexuality. And while he’s not
expecting wholesale acceptance or understand
ing any time soon, he’d apparently settle for a
little respect.
“One day,” Villarreal says with a note of opti
mism, “Christians and gays...can still eat at the
same table and pass the bread of respect. Respect
is so crucial. It’s important we show respect to
each other as humans.”
More somberly, Villarreal’s steadfast visage
lowers for a moment to reveal pain: “I’m search
ing. I’m open. I’m hopeful that I’ll finally get
over the nightmare of what I believe and hold so
dear conflicting with what I believe to he natur
al—being attracted to the male gender.”
vention.
“I am a Christian,” Villarreal declares. “I read
his word. I pray. However, I’m truthfully attract
ed to men and I’m not ashamed of it.” But
there’s one catch: “He says homosexuals will not
enter the kingdom of heaven,
and that scares me.”
While Villarreal insists, “I’m
open to a deep relationship with
another man,” the compromise is
that the relationship will have to
be platonic.
His position leaves him vul
nerable to criticism from both his
religious peers and his gay peers.
It’s a situation he’s aware of and
resents. He seems suspicious of
both, saying, “There isn’t enough
understanding on the church’s
part or the gay community’s.”
On one hand, Villarreal no
longer attends church services
because of what he perceives as
hypocrisy: “They preach peace,
but show no tolerance. Rather
than showing tolerance, they
show anger.” On the other, gay
acquaintances have labeled him
“confused” and confronted him
with pointed questions like, “You
believe I’m going to hell?”
That some Christian denomi
nations affirm homosexuality
doesn’t hold water with Villar Alex Villarreal
real. “I don’t think you can take
bits and pieces,” he says. “If you take the Bible,
you need to take everything.”
He adds, “I would say...[Christians practic
ing homosexuality] are not coming from what
‘the word’ says”—hut he diplomatically offers
that such a faith is one’s prerogative. “It’s not for
me to stand in their way,” he concludes.
Despite his precarious position, Villarreal
holds tightly to both his particular brand of spir
thrown out when they were discovered as gays
or lesbians. They believed for many years that
God hated them and that their prayers would
not be answered. Here they can reclaim their
spiritual journey, and there’s a hunger to do that
across the country.”
Cole’s church even has a dozen or so hetero
sexual members, one of whom sits on its hoard
of directors.
ne
similarity
“What they get out of it is a community
between a queer unlike others, where there’s not a dogma that
church and a makes demands of you,” he says. “Plus, we’re
queer bar is hard to miss.
socially and politically active, and I think peo
“The most difficult thing ple appreciate that.”
is for a person to walk in the
Perhaps for true spiritual healing to occur,
door,” says Roy Cole, pastor one of the symptoms might be that it would no
of Metropolitan Community longer matter whether you’re queer or not.
Church of Portland, a con
“Yes,” Cole says. “It’s our goal that someday
gregation that is a member we’ll simply he a church. Hopefully, the lines of
of the queer community’s demarcation will cease.”
answer to mainstream reli
But for now Cole and his congregants are
gion. (The Universal Fel busy providing space and support for queers with
lowship of Metropolitan spiritual and communal inclinations. MCC not
Community Churches has only offers worship services, hut provides space
300 venues in 14 countries.) for a range of queer
"I’ve heard stories about
12-step programs,
people driving around the office facilities for the
church three or four times Portland Gay Men’s
on a Sunday morning, afraid Chorus and an active
to come in, and then coming AIDS
ministry,
back the next week and sit which includes a food
ting in the hack pew so they pantry.
can make a quick getaway,”
“Our biggest chal
he explains.
lenge is to keep up
But once inside, Cole with the growth,” he
says, most people find some says proudly. “As a
thing everybody could prob congregation, it’s a
ably use.
wonderful challenge
“People find that there’s to have.”
‘T h e r e ’ s a
HEALING
COMMUNITY
HERE’
O
The Rev. Berdell Moffett (left) and the Rev. Casey Chaney 1
a healing community here,” he says. “There’s
great healing in being in a group of 200 people
where you’re not the minority, where people are
sharing a spiritual journey similar to your own.”
Cole’s own journey no doubt lends strength
to his congregation. After coming out, he was
forced to resign from his position with the
Church of God. He’s been with Portland’s MCC
since 1994, when the church had 56 members.
It now has 200, which Cole considers a remark
able, though not unusual, growth spurt.
“As human beings, we carry within us an
innate spirituality that seeks to he nourished and
nurtured,” he says. “Many people at MCC have
some sort of church background and were