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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2005)
4 Just OUt'tune 17.2005 S sofas chairs ¿ressers rugs lighting art ARTiUL TURÎ1ITUR4 Nothing to be proud off E ditor : t’s that time of the year again—that Sunday afternoon when many churches and people of faith come together and march in Gay Pride. In rhe past, I welcomed this show of inclu sive attitudes as a positive Christian witness. This year, I’m not sure. In fact, I am struggling with a big ethical dilemma: Should I continue participating this year or instead he protesting? Is there really anything still to he proud of? Is it still countercultural and prophetic for us to march in the “Pride”? A true sign of maturity is in humility before God and compassion for all the fellow human beings, not in a self-congratu latory display of “pride” and selling our struggle for justice and freedom off to the corporate interests so they can co-opt the “Gay Pride” as a marketing gimmick. While our attentions were captured by the gay marriage licenses and the Measure 36, they also helped re-elect George W. Bush and gave more congressional seats to the far-right politi cians who are no friends of human rights or civil liberties. Yet, we have been happily oblivious to those life-or-death, freedom-or-prison issues like hunger, poverty, immigrants’ rights, unemploy ment and even genocide and torture. Even as our planet disintegrates into an orgy of greed, violence, raw power games and deaths, no voic es were raised from the rainbow pulpits against any of this. While the same-sex marriage adv<x:ates por trayed a sanitized picture of gay marriage, they also buried the authentic queemess into invisi bility. No one saw any picture of polyamorous households or genderqueer couples. Our attitudes toward the disadvantaged and disenfranchised have been usually tokenizing, hostile or even pretending nothing below us exists. For a number of times I have personally witnessed “progressive” gay Christians mistreat ing and acting contemptuously toward a few homeless people who stopped by at their church seeking help; shouldn’t we, instead of inviting them to the worship service, actively integrate them into the life and leadership of the church? So much for being “inclusive”! I believe the time has come for the queer Christians to stand up and grow up. It’s a sign of spiritual maturity to be able to see what others feel and how others may be adversely or posi tively affected by our own actions. What about the ex-spouses we left in the name of “finding freedom”? What about all the children who miss one of their parents as we happily “came out” as if our own desires are more important than the well-being of those who depend on us and are too young to care for themselves? What about addressing the grief all our parents must go through ? The time is ripe for reconciliation with those whom we hurt or wronged as a result of “comine To the I 503.230.2522 3630 SE Division St. CUSTOM FABRICS rtico HAMILTON ARMS CONDOMINIUMS 709 SW 16th Avenue • Portland Oregon 97205 Enjoy urban life! A great location at an affordable price. Walk to Downtown, the Pearl, and NW 23rd Avenue. Studios & 1 liedrooms 503.227.3617 $117,000 to $240,000 Sales Office Open Thursday — Monday 1 lam to 5pm • 1920 s Charm • New Appliances • Original Built-ins • filed Kitchens • Hardwood Floors • On the MAX Line ham i I tonarmscondos.com Quick Turnaround on Newsletters, Postcards, Pricelists, and all other printing needs full-service printing You Need a Vacation? Sorry we can't help, but we sure can print and mail. Tel 503.281.8688 • Fax 503.249.1440 • www.impress-usa.com Feel Better. out.” Unless we can do that, there really isn’t anything to be proud of. And unless we can grow up and see other people’s pains and oppres sions and be able to stand with them in faith and solidarity, we have nothing to be proud of. T he R ev . S r . S arah -A ndre a M orrigan St. Brigid Celtic Anabaptist Community of Portland Courage under ffire To the E ditor : hank you for your courage and willingness to open yourself to the inevitable knee-jerk criticism for your balanced report on Love Makes a Family [“Is Love Makes a Family Still Effective?” May 6]. As a parent, a former Love Makes a Family participant and a former hoard member, I applaud your decision for an open dis cussion on an organization that serves such a vital role in our community. To all of the readers who responded to protest, I challenge you to step forward with more than a small monetary donation to Love Makes a Family or acerbic comment to the edi tors of Just Out. Volunteer your time and energy as board members to allow the executive and staff leadership of Love Makes a Family to sepa rate itself from the board of directors. A non profit with key staff members (for example, the executive director and her spouse) serving on th ' board of directors is a recipe for disaster, par ticularly the types of problems reported with Love Makes a Family. Love Makes a Family needs an effective and independent board, and the willingness to accept change and new lead ership within the organization. With all of the discord during the past few months as gay, lesbian, transgender, queer and bisexual parents have faced an assault on their families because of the passage of Measure 36, who speaks for the children affected by this deci sion? With all of the funds allocated and all of the efforts of the families and volunteers with Love Makes a Family, 1 ask where are the resources for children in Portland, in Washing ton County and in Vancouver, Wash., to deal with this issue? If the leaders of Love Makes a Family are dedicating themselves to a quixotic and fratricidal assault on other leaders within the community, who is providing support to families? , Thank you again for having the courage to make the difficult decision to “air some dirty laundry” in public. Without the open discussion and changes needed, hundreds of families in the greater Portland area will continue to struggle without the support that could and should be offered by an effective family-centered organiza tion like Love Makes a Family. B ecca R edard Washington County ■ * < <nt mi timu Jean O'Leary, 1948-2005 esbian activist, former nun and Democratic Party leader Jean O’Leary died June 4 at the San Clemente, Calif., home of Lisa Phelps, her partner of 12 years, and surrounded by her fam ily and close friends. O’Leary^ who had been battling lung cancer for two years, was 57. O’Leary was an adv<x:ate for the rights of gays and lesbians, women and people with HIV/AIDS as well as a prominent Democratic Party activist. Over the course of a 35-year career, she ran several national gay rights groups, co-founded pioneering organizations, including Lesbian Feminist Liberation and L Don Valerio, MD Board Certified Internal Medicine Fanno Creek Clinic 2400 SW Vermont Portland (503) 452- National Coming Out Day, and worked to elect Democratic candidates. Bom March 4, 1948, in Kingston, N.Y., Jean Marie O’Leary grew up mostly in Ohio. She used the occasion of her high school graduation speech in 1966 to announce her entry into the Sisters of the Holy Humility convent. In a 1984 anthology, Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, O’Leary said she joined the convent because “there was no anti-war movement, no women’s movement, no gay movement in Ohio in 1966” and because she “wanted to do something spe cial, to have an impact on the world.”
