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Moscow tackles homosexuality and religion
Whether the love between two people can be an abomination, whether the separation between gay life and Christianity is too wide to cross and whether the Bible is an excuse to hate are issues all Christians
must consider.
These questions were adressed at the film, “For the Bible Tells Me So,” followed by a panel discussion at the Kenworthy Theatre Tuesday. A National Coming Out Day event, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/ Questioning Association office of the University of Idaho Women’s Center hosted the event.
Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian American families, including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, “For The Bible Tells Me So” portrays how people of faith handle the realization of having raised a gay child. The film has gained a lot of attention and awards and provokes strong emotions in many viewers. For this, boxes of tissues were provided.
“It’s always a great movie to watch,” said PJ Berger, Male-Identified Co-Chair of the University of Idaho Gay-Straight Alliance. “Being religious myself, it helps me solidify that the church is there for us,”
“Not everyone is quite there yet but it will be.”
After the screening, five ministers from Moscow and Pullman formed the panel and welcomed questions and comments from the audience.
“We want to assure everyone that we are allies with you all, and that’s true from which ever perspective,” said Dean Stewart, Pastor of the Emmanuel Lutheran Church. “We are here to be allies for people who want to be open and talk about things that are extremely important to all of us.”
The five ministers represented a community of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-accepting churches.
“That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other ministers in the area that are also GLBT friendly,” said Rebecca Rod, program adviser for the Women’s Center. It does mean that I intentionally did not open this (event) up to folks I know aren’t GLBT friendly because I’m concerned about my friends and students. I want people to feel that they are in a safe environment to explore these ideas.”
The safety of homosexuals in the community has been an especially important topic this past week, in response to recent anonymous threats made against a gay UI student.
“I’m moved every time I see (the film),” Chip Laird said. “It’s poignant how religion has hurt people.”
Laird represented the Community Congregational United Church of Christ in Pullman, a Protestant denomination that ordains gay and lesbian people, which he called their “claim to fame.”
“I have not served in a church that was not open to gay and lesbian people, which I sometimes take for granted,” he said. “I know it’s not the norm.”
Rev. Stewart, a very spiritual man, is also the proud father of a gay son.
“Lots of churches are in the process of asking one another, ‘What does it mean to be reconciled in this faith so that all people are honored and respected?’” he said. “It creates tension because our differences make people uncomfortable. But our differences make us interesting and we have so much to learn from one another.”
Rev. Gail Stearns, of the Pullman Presbyterian Church said Presbyterian churches still have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Stearns said the church has lost its way in that it no longer pays attention to the experience of the people that are hurt by the church.
“We have a huge amount to learn from people who have been hurt by the church,” she said “That’s the place where we need to start listening.”
Episcopalian minister Robin Biffle said Gene Robinson wasn’t the first gay bishop to be ordained and consecrated. He was the first one who acknowledged it.
“The crime, the offense for some of the church was not that he was gay but that he spoke,” Biffle said. “I think what we learn is the sin of the hidden, the sin of silence, the sin of the lie.”
“Sodom and Gomorrah” and “Leviticus 18” are two Bible passages used as a weapon against homosexuality. The film explored what it actually says and does not say. Quoting a passage and movie line, Biffle said, “‘I will not bear false witness’ and that’s what people are being asked to do when they’re being asked to hide who they are.”
Rev. Kayle Rice from the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse said what needs to change is the way churches deal with ‘–isms.’
“GLBTQ, gender, classism, ageism, racism — we shouldn’t separate these -isms and should look at them as a whole, as a community,” she said, “and address these issues and be welcoming.”
Rod spoke in favor of the Unitarian church where she and her partner exchanged rings and where she was rekindled with religion.
“Growing up I had to turn away from God in order to find love,” she said.
Laird said his church first ordained a gay man in 1972.
“It’s not the churches where the answers are going to come from,” he said. “The answer is going to come from the people not in church right now. I changed because I had a friend that was gay and had to rethink my faith.”
Tara Malmquist, Female-Identified Co-Chair of the GSA, said she was disappointed to see a rather small
student representation.
“Some of the biggest groups on campus are Christian groups,” she said. “I would have liked to see them step out of their comfort zones and represent. I challenge them to do that in the future.”
More information about the film can be found
at www.forthebibletellsmeso.org.
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