 |
eNewsletter 16 March 2003 |
Chi Rho Connection ************************* Contents:
1. "The Journey is Our Home:" Sharing Our Faith Journeys. The Late Rev. Howard Warren, A Tribute by Lawrence Reh -------------------------------------------------- This Issue's Quote: ***** Welcome once again to the Chi Rho Connection, the electronic newsletter of Chi Rho Press. Thank you for passing this Chi Rho Connection on to others. To join our list, send an e-mail message to
ChiRhoPress-subscribe@yahoo.com. Direct all other e-mail to Adam@ChiRhoPress.com. See the end of this eNewsletter for a complete list of e-mail addresses at ChiRhoPress.com. -------------------------------------------------- 1. "The Journey is Our Home:" Sharing Our Faith Journeys. -------------------------------------------------- 2. New Remainder Table on Web Site -------------------------------------------------- 3. "The Children Are Free" Is Now in Stock -------------------------------------------------- 4. Lenten Study Still Available -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- If you've received our Chi Rho Connection as a result of the good offices of someone passing it along to you (which we certainly encourage) and would like to receive it directly from us, please follow these directions: UNSUBSCRIBE: ChiRhoPress-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Copyright 2002, Chi Rho Press, Inc. ******************************************
Vol. IV, No. 5
16 March 2003
2. New Remainder Table on Web Site
3. "The Children Are Free"
4. Lenten Study Still Available
5. Sanctoral Cycle
6. Adam's Last Word:
We will receive not what we idly wish for but what we justly earn. Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service.
-- Earl Nightingale
Please visit our Web site at http://www.chirhopress.com to see our entire lines of books, handouts, tchochkas, and stained glass.
The Chi Rho Connection is pleased to continue its series in which people tell about their faith journeys, but in this issue we have a sad and special opportunity to publish a tribute to a remarkable, dear man. The Rev. Howard Warren died in Indianapolis Friday, March 14, 2003.
Howard was one of the contributors to "Called OUT! The Voices and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Presbyterians." Another contributorto "Called OUT" is Lawrence Reh, who has an amazing on-line ministry called First Light. You may join the excellent, informative, and Spirit-filled list-serve which Lawrence moderates with a gentle, loving, and pastoral hand by sending e-mail to FirstLight@yahoogroups.com. I am a member there and am consistently blessed by the First Light community of faith.
Like Lawrence Reh, Howard Warren was a Presbyterian. I got word of Howard's passing upon returning to the Press office from my secular job Friday as aresult of a post to the MCC LayLink list-serve (LayLink@yahoogroups.com) from Judy Dale. Judy is now a member of the UFMCC Board of Administration and has recently retired as Great Lakes District Coordinator. She is a valued friend and colleague. I sent her sad news of Howard's passing on to some list-serves, including First Light.
Lawrence responded with the following tribute, and I asked his permission to print it here as part of our "The Journey is Our Home" series. Lawrence was kind enough to grant us permission to reprint his words here.
Howard's is an amazing story of faith, and we hope you are blessed by this spiritual journey. Lawrence Reh writes,
+ + +
Thanks for forwarding the sad news of Howard Warren's death, Adam. We who knew Howard well have been figuratively sitting at his bedside all this week as his condition deteriorated, knowing it would not be long before his soul moved on.
Howard, ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) before homosexuality became a divisive cause (and while still closeted himself -- if it's possible for anyone to imagine Howard closeted), ministered under difficult circumstances the last 25 years of his life. Indiana is a hotbed of conservatism and fundamentalism, but once he acknowledged his own sexuality, Howard was one of the most extraordinarily "out" people I have ever known.
Because of his very visible and vocal activism within the denomination we shared, Howard earned the affectionate nickname of "God's Glorious Gadfly." He regularly attended the General Assemblies of the church (the national legislative and policy convocations held annually) dressed in brilliant colors which contrasted strikingly with his head of white hair. He could be recognized clear across a huge convention hall by the baseball cap he always sported, entirely covered in rainbow-colored sections of shiny sequins.
His ministry was truly comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable, and though many people (the ones who didn't know him personally) regarded him as a joke, he was truly beloved of a great many more, not least among them the many persons living and dying with HIV/AIDS who were served by the DamienCenter in Indianapolis, the headquarters of his pastoral counseling.
My favorite memory of Howard comes from the pivotal 208th General Assembly of 1996, which met in the arid climate of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The downtown convention center was picketed daily by a nut-brown and nearly naked gay man who carried signs protesting the denomination's failure to accept LGBT people as equal children of God. He struck me, in appearance and in message, as a modern-day John the Baptist, crying in the urban wilderness, calling God's people to repent of their arrogance and judgmentalism.
Because of his minimal dress in the desert heat, his long, untamed hair, his beard and his unpopular message, this man was shunned by nearly everyone -- including most of the LGBT people whose cause he was advocating. I was intrigued by his boldness and courage, and looking closely at him (as few people did -- averting one's gaze was a way of avoiding contact), it seemed evident to me that this was not a "street crazy" but a man of deep conviction and probably high intelligence. So I engaged him in conversation early one morning before the day's sessions opened.
He was an engineer -- a former engineer -- who had given up serving corporate masters and now lived in a small inherited adobe house on a very minimal income. As I suspected, his knowledge and insights, interests and skills were very broad, and one of those was producing and hosting a local-access cable TV show. After we talked a while about our individual reasons for being part of that General Assembly, me on the inside, him on the outside, he invited me to tell my story and advocate my point of view on that cable TV show -- and to bring as many others as I wished who shared my viewpoint.
You're wondering what this has to do with Howard Warren? Of all the vivid, passionate activists who attended that church Assembly, only Howard and my former seminary classmate, Chuck Booker-Hirsch, were willing to accompany me to the taping of the program, several nights later. Everyone else reacted with horror and disdain, sure that the merest association with his 'oddball' would indelibly taint their message. (Chuck, by the way, has gone on to civil disobedience each fall at the Ft. Benning, Georgia, "School of the Americas," also known as the U.S. training academy for Latin American terrorists and assassins.)
Chuck and I acquitted ourselves well enough, I suppose, in our taped conversation with Albuquerque's desert prophet, but it was Howard who did a brilliant turn in front of the cameras, speaking passionately of the pain and alienation visited upon LGBT people by the church's rejection, condemnation, and second-class (if any) status. I am proud to have a videotape of that program in the First Light Ministries library.
Chances are none of us made much of a difference during that week of interminable meetings and testimony -- I don't even know if the program onwhich we appeared had any kind of real audience. It was that General Assembly which produced the infamous "Amendment B," also known as the "fidelity and chastity" clause, purporting to apply strict moral standards to all candidates for Presbyterian ordination (deacons, elders, and pastors), though in fact, it has never been applied to anyone but lesbian and gay folk, for daring to have relationships that exist outside marriage. That clause still effects a deep division in the denomination, and remains the basis for scores of judicial charges against individuals and local churches which dare to defy it.
But Howard, blessed Howard, gave hope to a whole generation of faithful believers, helping them to know that they were beloved by God, if not by their church. I am proud to have my name linked with his as a contributor to "Called Out," still available from Chi Rho Press. I suspect Howard is even now pestering God with questions on why humans are so reluctant to do justice to each other.
+ + +
Many thanks to Lawrence Reh for his eloquent tribute. Howard Warren, may he rest in peace, and light perpetual shine upon him, as he was the embodiment of what he liked to call "God's wildly inclusive love."
From time to time, books are returned to us from bookstores or
distribution houses. Often these returned books are not able to be sold as "new" because the bookstore has put a price sticker on the back cover or the covers have been damaged in transit. As a result, we will now sell these slightly damaged books on our new Remainder Table at a significant saving to you.
This insides of the books on our Remainder Table are not damaged, just the covers. Most of the damage is slight. The books on our Remainder Table are 40% off the list price.
These five great books are available on our Remainder Table now:
Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse, by Dr. Rembert Truluck, remaindered at $14.95. That's a saving of $10.00 off the list price!
The Bible and Homosexuality by the Rev. Michael England, remaindered at $6.60. That's a saving of $4.35 off the list price!
From Wounded Hearts: Faiths Stories of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgendered People and Those Who Love Them, compiled and edited by Roberta Showalter Kreider. This first edition is no longer in print, but we have a few remaindered copies at $11.95. That's a saving of $8.00 off the original list price!
Come Home! Reclaiming Spirituality and Community as Gay Men and
Lesbians, by Chris Glaser, remaindered at $11.95. That's a saving of $8.00 off the list price!
Called OUT! The Voices and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Presbyterians, compiled and edited by the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, Kathryn Poethig, Selisse Berry, and Melinda V. McLain,
remaindered at $10.75. That's a savings of $7.20 off the list price!
All sales from the Remainder Table are subject to availability. No returns or refunds are permitted.
Visit the Remainder Table at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/remainders.html.
Published by Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, this small book is a positive and concise new look at what the Bible really says about homosexuality and same-sex relationships.
The book is divided into four chapters. The first is called "The Clobber Passages" which deals with the scripture in both the Hebrew and the Christian Testaments that have in the past been used to condemn homosexual people. The second chapter is "Finding Affirmation in Scripture," in which the authors explore same-sex love found in the Scriptures and positive role models for sexual minority people. The third chapter is about "How Jesus Applied Scripture" and deals Christ's take on the issues. The fourth chapter discusses at length "Relearning an Ancient Lesson," using stories of the early church in the Book of Acts to illuminate our struggle to understand God's will for us today. A "Final Word" is addressed "To Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual People."
This slim volume is an excellent resource for people who are struggling with their sexuality and spirituality and who have been taught that the Bible automatically condemns sexual minority people.
Here's what some reviewers have said. "If you're confused by all the misinformation about homosexuality and the Bible, read The Children Are Free. The authors have created a wonderful, timely, easy to read summary of the evidence that will inform and inspire your search. Let the Spirit of Truth set you free."
-- Rev. Dr. Mel White, co-founder of Soulforce, pastor professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and former writer for Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell.
"This book reaffirmed my belief in God and gave me a renewed sense of hope."
-- Justin Copeland, gay youth.
"It was refreshing to read this loving and supportive treatment. I can hardly wait to use this material in discussions with my Christian friends and neighbors."
-- Sue Hazer, mother of a lesbian daughter and member of PFLAG.
"This brand new book is one of the best yet for Christians who are struggling to find a pro-gay understanding of Scripture. Short, clear, and amazingly easy to read, this book does much more than offering loopholes or excuses with regards to the Bible. Instead, the authors combine careful research with a tremendous respect for God's Word, and they use humor, personal stories, and numerous Biblical examples to make their case. A must-read for anyone wanting to understand the Bible better!"
-- from www.gaychristian.net.
"Many books have argued that the Bible does not condemn same-sex relationships. In the vast majority of cases, however, the arguments sound like loopholes and excuses, not a sincere reading of Holy Scripture. (Sadly, this includes even the ever-popular What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality.)
"This book is remarkably different! The authors don't make excuses or water down the text; instead, they take the Bible seriously and treat it respectfully, allowing the Bible itself to provide the best evidence of their case. Meanwhile, this book is so short, simple, and easy to read that anyone can benefit from it.
"The Children Are Free is chock full of anecdotes and examples, making it a delight to read, even for people who don't normally read about the Bible. Those of us more familiar with the subject will appreciate the clarity of the authors' argument.
"Other, similar books made me think, 'Yeah, I guess I can see that,' but this one left me wondering, 'How could you come to any other conclusion?'"
-- from amazon.com, a reader from Raleigh, NC, USA
About the Authors:
Jeff Miner is the pastor of Jesus Metropolitan Community Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was raised in fundamentalist independent Baptist churches, and received his undergraduate degree from Bob Jones University. In college, Jeff felt called to the ministry, but deferred that calling while trying to come to terms with being gay. In the meantime, he attended Harvard Law School, graduating with honors in 1983. Several years later, after intensive study of the Bible and homosexuality, Jeff came to peace with beintg gay. Soon he discovered the Metropolitan Community Churches, a Christian denomination that has arisen out of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. There, Jeff realized he could fulfill his call to ministry. He completed his clergy training and was ordained in 1997.
Before his ordination, Jeff worked as an attorney for 13 years, last serving as Deputy Chief Council for a federal banking agency.
Jeff lives with his spouse, David Zier. They were joined in Holy Union on September 8, 1990, and live in Indianapolis.
John Tyler Connoley is the son of Wesleyan missionaries. He spent most of his childhood years in Zambia, Africa, and has lived in Korea, the Philippines, and all of the West Coast states.
He came out to himself in 1991, while attending Indiana Wesleyan University, and has since sought to live a life that integrates his deep faith in God with his sexuality. While working on The Children Are Free, Tyler completed his M.A. in Biblical studies at Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana.
He is married to Rob Connoley.
See and order this exciting new book on our Web site at http://www.chirhopress.com/products/gayandchristian.html#Miner
"For Another Flock" includes daily meditations for all the days of Lent and Holy Week, beginning with Ash Wednesday (which is March 5), and ending with Easter Sunday (April 20, 2003). Scripture readings are provided for every day in Lent and Holy Week followed by a reflection from a uniquely gay and Catholic point of view and a prayer.
Following the daily meditations is a seven-week Lenten Bible Study Guide. Seven Appendices conclude the book.
"For Another Flock: Rainbow Meditations and Study Guide for Lent" is spiral bound, 5 ½" x 8 ½", 104 pages, and sells for $10.95 each, $8.95 each for six or more copies, plus shipping and handling.
Mon. March 17, St. Patrick, (369-461). Bishop and
missionary of Ireland. This day is mostly known as a
celebration of Irish pride and culture, rather than a
remembrance of the historic Patrick. He was born into
a Christian family in late Roman Britain. At 16 he
was captured by Irish raiders and taken into slavery,
where his only consolation was his Christian faith.
Years later he escaped and returned to England, where
he eventually became a Bishop. He felt called back
to Ireland, and there was able to spread the Christian
faith by working through the tribal leaders. In our
own time, when Ireland is torn apart by anger and
hatred, it is good to remember that Patrick was himself
the victim of Irish injustice long before he became a
symbol of Irish pride.
Tues., March 18, Purim (Jewish). Festive celebration
of deliverance of Jewish community in Persia from
destruction. Features charity to poor, sharing food,
and parties.
Tues., March 18, Holi (Hindu). Spring festival
dedicated to the god of pleasure. Celebrated in a
colorful and boisterous manner. People shower each
other with colored water and smear red and green
powder on each other.
Wed., March 19, St. Joseph. Temporal father of Jesus.
Little is known about Joseph, apart from the Christmas
stories in Matthew and Luke. He is pictured as a
person of deep faith, open to mystical experiences,
who had great compassion. As a carpenter he is known
as the patron saint of working folk. His family home
was in Nazareth, where he taught Jesus his own trade.
At that point he disappears from the story. Since
Jesus had to arrange for someone to care for his
mother after his death, it is thought that Joseph had
died before the ministry of Jesus.
Fri., March 21, Spring (Vernal equinox). First Day
of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
Fri., March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach, (1685-1750).
Sacred musician. One of the greatest composers in
history, Bach devoted most of his creative energies
to sacred music. He was a devout Lutheran and had
a deep devotion to the Bible. In each manuscript
he began by writing the initials "J.J." (Jesu Juva,
"Help me, Jesus") or "I.N.J." (In Nomine Jesu, "In
the name of Jesus"), and ended with "S.D.G." (Solo
Deo Gloria, "To God alone the glory"). His chorales
have been compared to the stained glass windows of
a cathedral.
Mon., March 24, Oscar Romero (1917-1980). Archbishop
and martyr of El Salvador. Oscar Romero was selected
as Archbishop because he was a conservative who would
not challenge the power structure of the status quo.
As the violence of the death squads escalated he
experienced a personal transformation as the voice
of the poor and a fearless champion of justice. He
was unafraid to confront the political, military,
and even religious forces of oppression. The masses
of poor found in him a shepherd who loved them. He
was assassinated at the altar while saying Mass in
a hospital.
Tues., March 25, The Annunciation to the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Luke tells us the story (1:26-38) of
the visit of an angel to announce to a young Jewish
girl that she would bear the Anointed of God. The
Church, from its very beginning, has given Mary a
place of honor for her willingness to be the human
agent in the mystery of the Incarnation. Mary?s
response to what must have been a very frightening
message, "let it be to me according to your word,"
expresses the same faith Jesus taught us to have
when we pray "your will be done on earth as in
heaven." Her image as the Mother of God, or
theotokos ("God-bearer"), has been a major theme
in Christian art.
Wed., March 26, Richard Allen (1760-1831). Bishop
and Founder of African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Born a slave, Allen was sold to a Methodist farmer
and was converted. After purchasing his freedom
he felt called to preach. He felt the needs of
African-Americans were best suited by the message
of hope he heard in the Wesleyan movement. After
many years of struggle against white control of
black churches, in 1816 he organized the first
major black denomination, the African Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Thurs., March 27, Meister Eckhart, (1260-1329).
Dominican theologian and mystic. Eckhart's writings
were largely condemned in his lifetime, however he
is today seen as a prophet of modern spirituality.
He wrote in mystical and paradoxical terms of the
union of the soul with God, of a God-consciousness
that is attained only by emptying and detachment.
His thoughts show many similarities to Zen Buddhism.
He liked to say, "Do not cling to the symbols,
but get to the inner truth!"
Sun., March 30, Sister Thea Bowman, (1937-1990).
African-American Franciscan. Thea Bowman was born
in rural Mississippi. As a nun she worked to
integrate her Catholic faith and her identity as
an African-American woman. Being the only black
face in a white religious order she tended to
stand out! Rather than conforming to European
models, she was determined to express her black
cultural identity, but as a Catholic. She earned
a doctorate in English, and was known as a
spellbinding preacher. In her final struggle
with breast cancer, her prayer was "Lord, let
me live until I die."
*****
Order the full 2003 Liturgical Calendar and Lectionary, complete with the entire year's Sanctoral Cycle, at, http://www.chirhopress.com/products/devotionals.html#Park.
In any case, we Northern Hemisphere folks have the
first day of Spring looming before us later this
week. Our readers in the Southern Hemisphere are
saying good bye to summer, alas.
Garrison Keiller, on Prairie Home Companion, my
favorite radio program found on NPR (which I like
to call National Pretentious Radio) says that
Minnesota has only three seasons, Getting Over
Winter, Getter Ready for Winter, and Winter.
It sure feels like that here in the Washington DC
metropolitan area this year.
In any case, happy Spring! (If it actually arrives.)
*****
New additions to my life include a personal trainer
and a spiritual director. My personal trainer is
Den who operates the ominous-sounding Den-Fit company,
comes to my house every Sunday afternoon and have
given me all kinds of exercises, diet advice, and
support. If you live in the DC area and are looking
for a personal trainer, I really recommend this guy.
Just write me at Adam@ChiRhoPress.com and I will put
you in touch with him.
More about my Spiritual Director in our next edition
of the Connection.
*****
And we close, in honor of St. Patrick's Day on Monday,
March 17, (and my son Patrick's 23rd birthday on March
18), with a prayer of St. Patrick I received this
week over the internet.
St. Patrick's Prayer
This day I call to me:
God's strength to direct me,
God's power to sustain me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's vision to light me,
God's ear to my hearing,
God's word to my speaking,
God's hand to uphold me,
God's pathway before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's legions to save me.
Amen
*****
R. Adam DeBaugh, Director, Adam@ChiRhoPress.com.
******************************************
We are glad you are partners in ministry with us here at
Chi Rho Press. We are eager for your comments, your
suggestions, your assistance with selling our books,
and your own purchases! And of course, we covet your
prayers for this ministry.
---------------------------
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