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Faithful gays prepare to counter an upcoming Portland conference that
considers homosexuality treatable and preventable
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Spiritual and political community members meet April 8 to prepare for Love Welcomes All
ortland’s progressive spiritual leaders
have begun to plan a grassroots response
to the Love Won Out anti-gay confer
ence scheduled for June 21 at New
Hope Community Church near
Clackamas Town Center.
“We are concerned clergy and people of faith
who are coming together to offer a different
voice to counter the misinformation and damage
that is being done to families and individuals
from many faith traditions,” says David Domack,
pastor of Rose City Park Presbyterian Church.
T ie local initiative, called Love Welcomes All,
will be held the same day, and organizers hope the
event will offer an affirming and inclusive alterna
tive for Christians struggling with their sexuality.
“Ours is a response to stop the spiritual abuse
of people by such programs as Love Won Out,”
explains Domack. “It concerns us when others
use untruth, fear and what we consider to he
misinformation to confuse and mislead people.”
The committee planning Love Welcomes
All was first convened earlier this year by Basic
Rights Oregon.
“The impact of anti-gay ministry and repara
tive therapy on people in our community is dev
astating,” says BRO executive director Roey
Thorpe, explaining the organizations involve
ment. “We work on social change with a variety
of different strategies, and we recognize that legis
lation is not the only way to create social change.”
The informal alliance now includes represen
tatives from Metropolitan Community Church,
Bridgeport and Ainsworth congregations of
United Church of Christ, First Unitarian, Sister-
Spirit, Interfaith Spiritual Center, Oregon Farm
Worker Ministry and the Community of Wel
coming Congregations. “We are individuals who
are here for the duration and not just the one-
day, big-splash event with presenters who don’t
have an investment with or for the people they
will be talking about,” notes Domack.
Although still in the planning stage, Love
Welcomes All will feature a keynote speaker
along with several breakout sessions addressing
topics of faith and sexual life. A concert of con
temporary Christian music by lesbian performer
Marsha Stevens will precede the conference.
“We hope that people will learn that repara
tive therapy, or conversion therapy, is based on
an understanding of sexuality that has been
rejected by all major health and mental health
associations,” remarks Domack. “Our hope and
prayer is that love will truly win out and that fear,
hatred and ignorance will one day disappear.”
New Hope Community Church agreed to
play host to the anti-gay conference because,
according to executive pastor David Boots, the
congregation believes in the ministry and values
of the event’s presenter, Focus on the Family.
P
“We believe the Bible speaks clearly to the
particular issue of homosexuality,” he says. “Our
church exists not only to encourage Christians
but to present Jesus Christ to pre-Christians as
well, in the hope that they will come to a saving
knowledge of Him. Perhaps that goal will be
accomplished through this conference as well.”
Organizers from Focus on the Family say atten
dance has increased 25 percent during the past six
years. Some locations have attracted as many as
1,000 participants, each paying $40-$50 to
attend. The seminars target queer and questioning
Christians, families and clergy with a message that
homosexuality is wrong and can be overcome
through a combination of faith and family.
“We want people to know that they don’t
have to be gay,” states the organization’s Web site.
“Homosexuality is preventable and treatable.”
Sessions typically promote the organization’s
theory that family dynamics, rather than biolo
gy, are the root of same-sex desires. Action steps
to confront gay-affirmative curricula in schools
are the topic of a public policy session, while a
multimedia presentation “reveals” the impact of
gay activism on Western culture.
Among the speakers has been "ex-gay” leader
and conference creator John Paulk, who has man
aged the ministry’s Homosexuality and Gender
Department since 1998. However, he announced
April 14 that he will resign his leadership role in
May and relocate to the Pacific Northwest. A
change of career, he says, will allow him to spend
more time with his "ex-lesbian” wife and three sons.
“My time at Focus on the Family has been
the most rewarding professional and ministry
experience of my life," Paulk said in a statement.
“I will always have a heart for men and women
struggling with homosexuality, but after working
16 years on this contentious issue, it’s time for
me to pursue other endeavors.”
Paulk was at the center of a scandal in 2000
when he was spotted at a Washington, D.C., gay
bar and subsequently removed as chairman of
Exodus International, the umbrella organization
for “ex-gay” ministries worldwide.
Although representatives say Paulk’s depar
ture will not affect future Love Won Out con
ferences, it was unclear whether he would still
speak at the Portland engagement. JT1
F o r m ore information
about the anti-gqy LOVE W ON
O u r conference, visit wvAv.lovewonout.com.
To learn more about the local LOVE WELCOMES
A l l response , con tact Basic Rights Oregon at
503-222-6I5J or roey@basicrifjhts.org. Organizers
also seek “ex-ex-gprys” willing to share their personal
experiences with reparative and conversion therapies.
Features Editor TIMOTHY K r a u s e can be reached
at mm@ijustout.com.
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