Some people just know how to say it better. Read this letter, and if you want to sign a petition in support of the letter follow this link:
http://action.groundswell-movement.org/petitions/tell-espn-christian-does-not-equal-anti-gay?time=1367517592
Now here's the Letter:
Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and
Healing www.religiousinstitute.org
An Open Letter to Religious Leaders on Sexual and Gender
Diversity
As religious leaders, we affirm sexual and gender
diversity as gifts people offer to their congregations and communities. We
urgently call for faith-based approaches that embrace this diversity and
advocate justice.
Living in a time of rapid social change challenges us all to
create loving, respectful relationships and to honor the many ways that people
live and love. While most of usmay be accustomed to categorizing people as male
or female, heterosexual or homosexual, binary thinking fails to reflect the
full diversity of human experience
and the richness of creation. The courageous witness of
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT), along with a growing body
of social and scientific research, inspire us to affirm sexual and gender
diversity as a blessed part of life.
LAMENTATION
Too many religious institutions have failed to
embrace sexual and gender diversity. Some have mistakenly called homosexuality
sinful when the real issue is heterosexism or the unjust privileging of
heterosexuality. Heterosexism devalues gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
people, just as sexism and male privilege devalue women. Silence,
misinformation, and condemnation of differing sexual and gender identities have
created despair, destroyed relationships, and led to violence, suicide, and
even murder. Sexual and gender oppression can no longer be portrayed as
virtuous and morally defensible.
SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION
At the center of our traditions is the Biblical
mandate to love, do justice, seek equality, and act with compassion. The
richness of our sacred texts allows for a variety of interpretations, and there
is room for legitimate and respectful disagreement about the meaning of
specific passages. However, using the Bible to exclude or attack people violates
the very spirit of our traditions and is morally unconscionable. Sacred texts
provide moral wisdom and challenge, but some passages may also conflict with
contemporary ethical insights. As we move toward a more just society, we
approach our texts and traditions with fresh questions and new understandings.
For example, biblical texts that condone slavery, regard
women as property, forbid divorce, or equate disease with divine retribution
can no longer be regarded as authoritative. We honor instead those texts and
traditions that invite us to welcome the stranger, love our neighbor as
ourselves, and view all people as created in God’s image.
Even so, we cannot rely exclusively on scripture or
tradition for understanding sexual and gender diversity today. We must also pay
attention to the wisdom of excluded, often silenced people, as well as to
findings from the biological and social sciences. As religious leaders,
we have an obligation to create a world that embraces the diversity of God’s
creation. We urge religious leaders to:
• Educate themselves and their faith communities on the
diversity of human sexualities and gender identities through age-appropriate
sexuality education.
• Obtain training and support to address the pastoral needs
of congregants on issues related to sexual and gender diversity, such as the
birth of an intersexed child, the coming-out process of a youth or adult, or an
individual who is transitioning genders.
• Use the pulpit and public podium to acknowledge the
complex realities of personal experience, including family and relational
diversity, and to condemn discrimination and violence.
• Encourage their congregations to engage the formal welcoming
program of their denomination.
• Work within their denominations and multifaith
organizations for sexual justice and the full inclusion of LGBT persons,
including ordination, family recognition and rites of passage.
• Publicly advocate for the civil rights of LGBT persons,
including anti-discrimination laws, marriage equality, and access to health
care.
• Develop partnerships with community and national
organizations that promote justice and health for LGBT persons.
• Acknowledge and support religious leaders, individuals,
and communities who have, at great cost, embraced the diversity of sexualities
and gender identities.
IN CLOSING
There can be no turning back from the goal of the
full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in our
faith traditions and communities. We recognize that this work may challenge
beliefs and unsettle relationships, but it goes to the heart of our mission as
faith communities: to create the conditions so that each person can flourish.
Loving, just communities embrace everyone; they are strengthened when all people
are able to live fully and express their gender and sexuality with holiness and
integrity. We celebrate sexual and gender diversity as a blessing that enriches
all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The Open Letter was developed
at a colloquium of theologians sponsored by the Religious Institute on Sexual
Morality, Justice, and Healing. Participants included Rev. Steve Clapp,
Christian Community Inc.; Ann Thompson Cook, God Loves Each One Ministry; Rev.
Dr. Marvin M. Ellison, Bangor Theological Seminary; Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell,
Pennsylvania Council, Union for Reform Judaism; Rev. Dr. Horace L. Griffin,The
General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church; Rev. Debra W. Haffner,
Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing; Dr. Mary E. Hunt,
Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER); Rev. Dr. Jay Emerson
Johnson, Pacific School of Religion; Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad, Union
Theological Seminary; Dr. Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, William Paterson
University; Rev. Irene Monroe, Harvard Divinity School; Timothy Palmer,
Religious
Institute; Dr. Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College; Rev.
Michael D. Schuenemeyer, Wider Church Ministries, United Church of Christ; Rev.
Dr. William G. Sinkford, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
