Buckeye United Methodists Embrace Gays and Lesbians, Buck Homophobic Church Practices
Central's Bold Electronic Billboard (photo courtesy of the Toledo Blade)
Toledo, Ohio – “…We Believe Being Gay is a Gift From God.” So reads the electronic billboard posted by Central United Methodist Church of Toledo. According to Box Turtle Bulletin, Central lit up the massive billboard on April 25, and hopes to collect enough money to keep it displaying its message of inclusion to the city for next month, as well. The sign is stirring up a range of responses throughout Toledo, from delight to outright hostility. Ohioans have expressed concern that the billboard will be vandalized by anti-gay partisans who disapprove of a Christian church proclaiming that LGBTQ people are fully loved and accepted by God and the church. Central UMC, a member of the United Methodist Reconciling Ministries Network, is not about to back down on something they see as fundamental to the faith of Christians. The campaign is, in the words of the church’s web site, “a prophetic call to the Church to get out of the business of marginalizing gay and lesbian persons from the Church, and to welcome them as full members.” Being Gay is a Gift From God, they say, is a simple declaration “intended to be a gift to those who have experienced hurt and discrimination because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. The Church seeks nothing less than the healing of the world, and Central UMC wants to offer words and acts of healing to those hurt and marginalized.” Illuminating the sign at the corner of two busy metropolitan streets, Sylvania Avenue and Monroe Street, was the official launch of Central’s effort to change the conversation concerning gays and lesbians in faith communities. In addition to the electronic sign, the church has developed a whole line of products to support their campaign, available for purchased online, such as bumper stickers, campaign buttons, ball caps, coffee mugs, and full color posters. A speakers bureau is listed on the web site, with encouragement to contact the church to secure speakers for events and interest groups. For the next month,classes are planned on the so-called “clobber passages,” texts from the Bible adversaries have used to marginalize and browbeat LGBTQ people. The congregation, pastored currently by the Rev. Bill Barnard, a 20-year resident of Toledo, was founded in 1896, and has been a champion for LGBTQ human rights since the late 1970s. Central is a racially-diverse, multi-orientational church with a significant outreach on the issue of economic justice. Worship space and offices of the congregation are housed in the facilities of Collingwood Presbyterian Church in a newly remodeled and updated building. Their mission statement reads, in part, “We seek to reflect the diversity of God’s creation, which means that we invite all persons – regardless of their age, race, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation – to participate fully in the spiritual journey of Christ’s faith community.” What a refreshingly odd thing it is when a Christian church actually emulates Jesus Christ! The Unfinished Lives Project Team congratulates Central UMC.
Transgender Protection Passes in Dallas County!
Rafael McDonnell celebrates the passage of full Transgender protections for Dallas County Employees on the steps of the County Administration Building. Dr. Stephen Sprinkle of Brite Divinity School is to his right. (c.d. kirven photo)
Dallas, Texas – By a vote of 3 to 2, the Dallas County Commissioners Court passed employment protection for Transgender people who work for the county. After a five-week struggle, both sexual orientation AND gender identity and expression are now protected classes under the law for the county’s approximately 7,000 workers. According to the Dallas Voice, the vote of 3 in favor of Court Order 21, and 2 opposed fell along party lines, with Democrats Judge Clay Jenkins, John Wiley Price, and Dr. Elba Garcia in the majority, and Republicans Maurine Dickey and Mike Cantrell in the minority.
Though the Commissioners Court voted to include sexual orientation as a protected class in March of this year, advocates in the LGBTQ community called for a fully inclusive protection statute in the county, specifically naming gender expression and gender identity. Rumors swirled for the last two weeks, because what seemed to many as an obvious move on the part of county commissioners was thrown into doubt when open opposition on the political and religious right wing began to be voiced. As late as this morning, LGBTQ leaders were warned that there would be vocal opposition to the inclusion of Transgender people in the statute, and to expect it to get “loud and nasty.” The courtroom braced for a strong debate, as citizens took up every seat, and many stood along the walls, waiting for the main event of the agenda, Court Order 21. Speakers rose to the podium for a full half hour, the amount of time allocated by the court for speakers to any issue. The commissioners extended the time to accommodate all who had registered in advance to speak to the issue. Not a single speaker spoke in opposition to the proposal. Speeches in favor of the passage of Court Order 21 were clear, well-reasoned, respectful, and firm, all calling for justice to be done and equality to be extended to everyone in Dallas County. Ms. Rebecca Solomon, Banking Officer for Bank of America in Dallas, appealed to the business sense of the court, reminding them of the many Fortune 500 companies in Dallas County that have full gender expression and gender identity protections in their Human Resources regulations. She said, “As a transgender person, I have vowed never to work in an environment in which my economic security is at risk because of who I am. Dallas County needs to catch up with the rest of the country.” Attorney Cece Cox, Executive Director of the Resource Center of Dallas, reminded the court that the issue before them was one of workplace fairness, and should not be swayed by beliefs that disapproved of classes of people. Jesse Garcia, longtime Latino gay leader in the city and county, spoke out passionately for justice to be done, and for full inclusion of Transgender people under the law. African American lesbian leader, c.d. kirven, invoked the years of struggle LGBTQ people have endured in this country and in North Texas, saying that it was time for the “war” on people of difference in this culture to be over. Patti Fink of the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance (DGLA), said that it was time for the commissioners to exercise leadership on this issue, and vote for equality. Dr. Stephen Sprinkle of Brite Divinity School, Theologian-in-Residence of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, concluded the speeches of the day, arguing that progressive religious communities fully supported equality, justice, and inclusion for all, and stated, “God created all, male and female, in the image and likeness of the divine. My interpretation of the book of Genesis on this matter suggests that Transgender people are at the heart of God’s love and God’s will, and are fully included when God pronounces the whole of creation ‘very good’ at the conclusion of the divine work.” He continued, “I look forward to the honorable members of this court doing the right thing, the just thing, and voting ‘Yes’ on Court Order 21.”
As dozens of Transgender men and women held their breath, Commissioners Dickey and Cantrell announced their intentions to vote ‘No’ on the proposal. Dr. Elba Garcia said she was voting in favor of full inclusion, calling it an act of “justice,” and a step toward catching up with the rest of the world. John Wiley Price, citing medical advice he had sought out, agreed with Dr. Garcia that this vote was about doing the right thing. He called the question, and Judge Clay Jenkins counted the votes necessary to make Transgender protections a reality for the many gender variant people who serve the county. A roar of approval rose from the crowd in the courtroom, and the celebration continued outside on the steps of the Dallas County Administration Building. Rafael McDonnell, who tirelessly worked for passage of the court order, exuded joy as he thanked all the supporters and the county commissioners who made today’s victory for equality a reality. The vote will have impact across Texas and the nation, given the leading position the Lone Star State holds in size and reputation as a conservative bastion. Dallas County is now ranked the ninth most populous county in the United States at over 2,400,000 people. It now joins Texas municipalities such as Dallas city, El Paso, Austin, and Houston in full protection for both sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression for employees.
Second Man ID’ed in Austin’s Lesbian-Related Double Murder
Norma Hurtado (l), and Maria Hurtado, daughter and mother, slain on Monday.
Austin, Texas – Austin police have identified a second man involved in Monday night’s double murder of a lesbian athlete and her mother in Southeast Austin. KXAN reports that authorities made the announcement on Wednesday, and are currently trying to decide the role this second suspect played in the brutal shooting of the two women by José Alfonso Aviles, disgruntled father of the lesbian’s teenaged girlfriend. Both Norma Hurtado and Maria Hurtado, 24 and 57 respectively, died in the attack. Aviles was infuriated about the same-sex dating relationship his daughter had with Ms. Hurtado, and had threatened both Ms. Hurtado and her family with harm prior to the double homicide. As police reconstructed the killing, Aviles and the second suspect drove to the Hurtado home on Monday evening, knocked on the door of the residence, and as Ms. Hurtado and her mother answered the door, Aviles allegedly opened fire. Both suspects then fled into the night. At the time of the attack, Ms. Aviles, daughter of her lover’s assailant, was in the back of the Hurtado residence and heard the shots fired. She discovered the bodies on the floor, and called 911. Both daughter and mother were pronounced dead at the scene. José Aviles fled to the San Antonio area where U.S. Marshals arrested him on Tuesday. He has been charged with capital murder, and is being held in the Bexar County Jail without bond. We Are Austin reports that friends gathered at the Hurtado home Tuesday evening to comfort each other and to remember the slain women. Norma Hurtado was a renowned soccer player in the Millennium League, and was considered one of its best players. On Thursday, April 21, a Community Candlelight Vigil in memory of the slain women is planned at the offices of OutYouth, 909 East 49 1/2 Street in Austin, beginning at 8 p.m. The public is encouraged to attend. Speaking on behalf of the faith communities of Austin, Rev. Karen Thompson, senior pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Austin, decried the attack prompted by a father’s anger at the lesbian relationship between Ms.Hurtado and Ms. Aviles. “It is always, always heartbreaking when ignorance and hatred lead to this kind of violence,” she said. “But today, on this Thursday of Holy Week, the heartbreak and sadness are multiplied by a terrible irony. As our GLBTQ brothers and sisters gather together to mourn two more senseless deaths, Christians all over the world will be gathering to observe Maundy Thursday. Maundy Thursday, the day on which our tradition holds that Jesus had a last supper with his disciples and gave them a new mandate, ‘A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.'”
Lesbian Lover and Mom Shot Dead by Girlfriend’s Enraged Father
Lesbian murder victim, Norma Hurtado
Austin, Texas – A lesbian and her mother were gunned down in Southeast Austin Monday evening by a teenager’s father, furious over his daughter’s queer relationship. Norma Hurtado, 24, and her mother, Maria Hurtado, 57, were shot to death in their home, while Norma’s 18-year-old lover, the gunman’s daughter, was in the back of the house. José Alfonso Aviles, 45, and an unidentified second man, allegedly knocked on the door of the Austin residence in the 7100 block of Dixie Drive, and when the Hurtados answered the door, Aviles opened fire. Witnesses told police they saw two men flee the scene in a Nissan. Both Norma and Maria were killed in the hail of bullets. Aviles was apprehended in the St. Hedwig section of San Antonio on Tuesday where he surrendered to officers of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force. An investigation of a green Nissan turned up a pistol thought to be the murder weapon. Aviles has been charged with capital murder and is being held in the Bexar County Jail without bond. Details of the murder are slowly coming to light as the investigation proceeds. Norma Hurtado and the Aviles girl (whose name is not being released ostensibly because of her age) had been in a dating relationship for several months, much to the chagrin of Aviles. According to an arrest affidavit made available to KVUE News, witnesses testified to police that Aviles had threatened Norma Hurtado and her family over the lesbian relationship. Lt. Gena Davis of the Austin Police Department told KVUE, “We do know that the father had threatened harm toward Norma previously. This has been a dispute between these two individuals and subsequently we have suffered a horrific act of violence in our community.”
The Dallas Voice broke the story in North Texas. The Austin Police have not classified this case as a hate crime. Reporter John Wright opined that though Austin has a lesbian District Attorney, she is unlikely to pursue a hate crime angle in the double homicide. Although Texas has a hate crime statute on the books that lists “sexual preference” as a protected class, it offers no sentence enhancement in cases of capital murder. Texas is notorious for leaving its gay/lesbian hate crimes law uninvoked in seemingly obvious cases of homophobia such as this one. Texas D.A.’s reason that the hate crimes law raises the bar of proof, burdening a prosecutor who is likely going for the death penalty anyway. An attempt is being made to tamp down the story, reminiscent of other LGBTQ hate crimes investigations where the authorities want to minimize the sexual orientation motive for a murder that otherwise bears all the classic marks of an anti-lesbian honor killing. Your News Now (YNN) reports APD’s Lt. Davis as saying, “This was a very isolated incident. There is no fear to the community.” Austin, long considered “safe” for LGBTQ people, has in recent months experienced a spate of anti-gay and lesbian violence, including attacks on gay softball players and on gay community leaders outside popular gay bars. The nature of murder aimed at lesbians and gay men by straight killers may seem “isolated” as the police wish to portray it, but the brutality, rage, and callousness of the crimes bespeak a message to the whole LGBTQ community of Travis County and Central Texas. The Unfinished Lives Project Team would be very surprised if lesbians and gay men in Austin are buying the line the APD is trying to sell them. Austin is no longer safe and secure for its LGBTQ population.
“Unfinished Lives” Book Tour Rolls Through North Carolina
Stephen Sprinkle signs "Unfinished Lives" book at Barton College, Wilson, North Carolina (Keith Tew photograph)
Raleigh, North Carolina – The Unfinished Lives Book Tour is visiting cities, churches, and campuses throughout the Old North State, and buzz is growing on the book wherever it goes. Dr. Sprinkle commenced at the home of the Reverends Phil Jones and Cathy Cralle-Jones in Cary on April 9, where a packed house heard the story of how Unfinished Lives came to be. “I survived an anti-gay hate crime threat myself in 2000,” Dr. Sprinkle told the gathering of well-wishers for the book. “That near-brush with physical violence just because I was gay set me on the journey to learn as much as I could about other stories of hate crimes victims in the United States,” he said. Representatives of St. Paul’s Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Hillyer Memorial Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Cary, Hopewell United Methodist Church in Sampson County, and the Graduate School at North Carolina State University engaged Dr. Sprinkle in a lively Q & A on hate crimes in America. On Sunday, April 10, Dr. Sprinkle preached for the 9 and 11 a.m. services at St. Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church in Wilmington, an LGBTQ-predominant congregation founded after the brutal 1990 disembowelment slaying of lesbian carpenter, Talana Quay Kreeger, “Talana with the wild, blonde hair.” No church in the city would allow Kreeger’s funeral because of the negativity toward her homosexuality, though she was the innocent victim of a horrendous hate crime. Coastal Carolina queer folk vowed never to depend on a straight Christian congregation again to allow a funeral for one of their own. Local visionary activist, social worker Tab Ballis, introduced Dr. Lou Buttino, head of the UNC-Wilmington Film Studies Department, and announced that “The Park View Project” documenting the murder of Talana Kreeger, would be seen to completion by the eminent filmmaker. Reverend John A. McLaughlin, pastor of St. Jude’s, welcomed Dr. Sprinkle on behalf of the city of Wilmington. In the afternoon, representatives of St. Jude’s and First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Wilmington, and Winterville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) joined Dr. Sprinkle for a book signing at Two Sisters Bookery in the historic Cape Fear Riverfront Cotton Exchange. On Monday, April 11, Dr. Sprinkle spoke at the NC State University GLBT Center “Lunch and Learn” event, and signed copies of his book. Center Director Justine Hollingshead and Emeritus Professor Bill Swallow hosted Dr. Sprinkle at State, where members of the Wolfpack Football Team were in attendance for the talk. This was Dr. Sprinkle’s second appearance at the NC State GLBT Center. In the afternoon, Dr. Sprinkle and Rev. Phil Jones went to Wilson to deliver a lecture and sign books at Barton College. Dr. Sprinkle was hosted by Dr. Joe Jones, and greeted by members of the Religion and Philosophy, Sociology, Social Work, and English faculties of the college. He spoke on “Honor and Educate: How the Community of the Dead Shapes LGBTQ Community.” Students, faculty, and staff asked many probing and pertinent questions about the nature of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and the linkage with religious intolerance. On Tuesday, April 12, Rev. Jones and Dr. Sprinkle traveled to Duke University Divinity School in Durham for a book signing sponsored by Cokesbury Bookstore. Dr. Stanley Hauerwas, renowned theological ethicist, called “America’s best theologian” by Time Magazine, attended, and got his copy of Unfinished Lives. “These stories need to be gotten out there,” Dr. Hauerwas said. He presented Dr. Sprinkle with a signed copy of his 2005 book, Cross-Shattered Christ: Meditations on the Seven Last Words. Later in the afternoon, the tour went to the LGBTQ Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where Dr. Sprinkle and Rev. Jones were greeted by Terry Phoenix, Center Director. A topic of discussion was the April 4 torture attack on gay UNC student Quinn Matney, who claimed he was branded by a super-hot metal instrument while being held down by his assailant. “Here is a taste of hell for you, you fucking faggot!”, the UNC student said his attacker shouted while torturing him, as reported to the Daily Tarheel. Before departing Chapel Hill, Dr. Sprinkle introduced his book to Dr. Rick Edens and Dr. Jill Edens, co-pastors at the 800-member United Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ. Dr. Sprinkle plans to contact RDU leaders on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion and Faith Program on Wednesday, before returning to Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth. The book tour is making friends and news everywhere it goes. A four-session series on the book is planned for Houston during Pride Month, in June, and a six city national tour in the Fall. Stay tuned for more on Unfinished Lives!
“It Gets Better” Makes Us All Stronger! A Special Comment by Dr. Stephen Sprinkle
Dr. Stephen Sprinkle and Dan Savage (Unfinished Lives Project Director, Dr.Sprinkle, was an early contributor to the "It Gets Better Project").
When Dan Savage and Terry Miller conceived of the “It Gets Better Project,” the goal they had was a hundred videos. Now there are over 10,000 of them, and the videos have been viewed over 40,000,000 times to date—and growing! Dan has said that had there been 20 videos online, and one life saved, it would have been worth it. We know now that many, many teenage lives have been given new hope, and also that young lives by the hundreds have been saved by this visionary project. As the Jewish Talmud teaches, “Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5; Babylonian Talmud Tractate Sanhedrin 37a). The IGB Project, and now the New York Times bestselling book by the same name has already saved a galaxy of worlds by this rabbinic measure.
But the IGB project and book have gone one better than this, if such a thing might be possible. Dan, Terry, and the worldwide host of contributors to this positive effort have changed the world irrevocably, queer and straight alike. Here are two of the ways I see.
First, the “coming out story,” a staple of LGBTQ life, has been transformed into a declaration of how the queer community is overcoming shame, persecution, and victimhood—and coming on strong. For two generations since Stonewall, the coming out story has been a way LGBTQ people shared their struggles and established solidarity with each other. Most of these stories were accounts of struggle, hurt, and survival. Queer folk got to see they were not alone and isolated—we heard the battles others fought, and compared scars—and that was powerful for all parties, because these stories allowed us to see that there were others like us in this difficult world—that we resisted and lived on into a new life together, no longer alone. But IGB went a crucial step further: as thousands of us were empowered to speak directly to queer teenagers with a positive message of hope and power, “It really does get better, and this is how it got better for us,” we got to overhear ourselves rehearsing stories of strength and success—not just repetitions of woe and endurance. IGB powered up the queer community to tell the whole world how we are defeating opposition in fine style thousands of different ways everyday. The message is, “We are no one’s patsies anymore, thank you! And we are ready and able to make things improve for ourselves and our teens every day, until it gets better for all of us!” IGB changed the coming out story into the overcoming stories of a powerful queer people who will never settle for victimhood again. In my religious tradition, as a queer Baptist preacher, that makes me want to shout, Hallelujah!
Second, IGB empowered our straight allies to come out strong, too. From President Obama to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. From Prime Minister David Cameron to Lutheran Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. From moms and pops, school teachers who taught us, and straight employers who hired us. Our allies joined the queer community to make the message of zero tolerance for school bullying perfectly queer. I know the term “queer” rankles some genteel sentiments, but to see the way our straight allies have taken the term and wrapped themselves in it for our sakes should dispel the last reservations we have about the word and about how the LGBTQ movement for human rights and equal dignity will grow and eventually prevail. Straight queer allies by the hundreds of thousands are rising up against bullying, het privilege, and the culture of violence that imperils not only gender non-conforming youth, but all youth everywhere. By ourselves, LGBTQ people are not numerous enough to change the het world. But IGB shows youth and adults in our LGBTQ communities—out or closeted—that growing numbers of queerly empowered straight allies are joining us to transform the world we all share. This is no panacea, of course. My generation may not live to see it, especially in the churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques where old prejudices linger with desperate power. But even there, straight allies are queering religion with us. When the annals of these years are written, I believe the IGB Project will feature prominently in the story of how all us queers, LGBTQ and straight, overcame together. Like the Black Gospel refrain goes, “Over! Over! My soul looks back and wonders how I got over!”
So, Dan and Terry, and the tens of thousands who have rallied to the cause of a safer world for youth to grow up in, a salute to you! The children will rise up to call you “blessed.” And so does this mighty queer Baptist preacher from Texas, too! ~ Stephen V. Sprinkle, Brite Divinity School, and Unfinished Lives Project Director
Unfinished Lives Book Debuts in DC and Dallas
Interfaith Peace Chapel on the Campus of Cathedral of Hope, Dallas, Texas
Washington DC – Unfinished Lives: Reviving the Memories of LGBTQ Hate Crimes Victims, made its debut at the annual meeting of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy this past Friday. Dr. Stephen Sprinkle will kick off a series of book signing events nationally, beginning with a lecture, panel discussion, book signing and reception at the Interfaith Peace Chapel on the campus of the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas, next Sunday, March 27. The Cathedral of Hope, a congregation of the United Church of Christ, is the world’s largest LGBTQ-predominant faith community. Members of the Forum on the Military Chaplaincy, meeting at the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, received the book with enthusiasm. Dr. Sprinkle was a guest at the 19th Annual Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Dinner, held at the National Building Museum on F Street. A stellar gathering of LGBTQ heroes and their allies celebrated the Repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and honored two mothers of gay servicemembers who were murdered because of their sexual orientation. Dorothy Hajdys-Clausen of Chicago Heights, Illinois, the mother of slain sailor Allen R. Schindler, and Pat Kuteles of Kansas City, Missouri, mother of murdered soldier Barry Winchell, were given a standing ovation. A chapter on Schindler, “Hell to Pay on the Belleau Wood,” is in Unfinished Lives, and Winchell has been featured in this blog repeatedly. A panel discussion is planned for the March 27th book signing event at the Interfaith Peace Chapel in response to a short lecture by Dr. Sprinkle. Dr. Keri Day, Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics and Director of Brite Divinity School’s Black Church Studies Program, Pastor Alex Byrd of Living Faith Covenant Church of Dallas, and Colonel Paul Dodd, U.S. Army Chaplain (Ret) of Austin will be on the panel. The event is scheduled from 3:30 until 5:30 pm. Dr. Sprinkle will be signing his book following the 9 am and the 11 am services at the Cathedral that morning in the Sources of Hope Bookstore. Cathedral of Hope is located at 5910 Cedar Springs Road in Dallas. For more information about the book signings on Sunday, March 27, contact Sue Schrader at sschrader@cathedralofhope.com, or Brian Parman at bparman@cathedralofhope.com.
Suspect 3rd Century Women Put to Death in Arena: Ancient Hate Crime?
Carthage, North Africa Province – Roman authorities ordered the public execution of a young Roman noblewoman and a female slave in the arena of Carthage on this date, March 7, 203 CE (Common Era). Vibia Perpetua, 22, a young mother, and Felicitas, a slave of like age who was also a young mother, both North African Christians, joined their male counterparts as victims in what legitimately might be called a state-sanctioned hate crime for refusing to swear allegiance to the Emperor, Septimius Severus. Suspicion about the sexual orientation of the women has swirled around the story for centuries. Was the tie that bound these young women together faith alone, or was it something more? Perpetua, one of the first Christian women in history to author an account of her own life, wrote a “Prison Diary” that was edited after her execution by an anonymous narrator who opens with an short introduction and closes with what appears to be an eye-witness account of the life-and-death drama that took place in the amphitheater of Carthage. Nothing explicit is written concerning the possible desire of the two young women for each other in the account, entitled “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity.” But the lasting impression among gays and lesbians for the last two hundred years is that these North African Christian women were bound to each other with a mutuality that seems particularly “woman-centered” even for the outlawed early Christian communities of the late second and early third centuries, not to mention the strictly hierarchical and socially stratified world of the Roman provinces. Perpetua had given birth to a baby shortly before her condemnation, and Felicity who joined her in prison gave birth right on the eve of the execution. The motherhood of the women has been used to counter the suspicion of lesbianism or bisexuality, but as Yale gay historian John Boswell writes, “A young woman’s marriage in second- or third-century Rome did not necessarily indicate anything about the direction of her affections.” Others have argued that the Christian mission of the women made them comrades in martyrdom as they died for their faith, in refutation of any suggestion of lesbian affection between them. Mary Rose D’Angelo refuses this objection in her famous essay on women partners in the New Testament: “In the early Christian pairs, it is the women’s participation in the Christian mission that takes the foreground. But that should not obscure the recognition that their commitment to the mission can also be seen as the commitment to each other.” The witness-narrator of the execution watched as a crazed, wild heifer, especially chosen for its gender to shame the young women, was unleashed to gore them. The mad cow tossed Perpetua, ripping her dress. The cow then crushed Felicity to the ground before losing interest in the victims. There was nothing un-Roman about a young noblewoman reaching out her hand to help a slave up, as the narrator reports Perpetua does. But then something most un-Roman takes place. The Latin text (20.7) reads: Et ambae pariter steterunt, “And they both stood there together.” It is not only that these young women stood together, but that they did so when they were not expected to do so. Carolyn Osiek, the New Testament scholar from Brite Divinity School, writes of this dramatic moment: “But perhaps the author knew more than we suspect and was telling of a solidarity that had grown between the two women of unequal social status, who stood together as equals facing death.” In this moment of surprise, the curtain of nearly two thousand years is parted for an instant. Elizabeth Castelli writes that there are “moments of slippage, spaces where the self-evidency of gender conventions and relationships for which they were foundational might have been thought otherwise.” This surprising moment is one of them, when a coating of eroticism thinly glosses over two standing together, social unequals, equally facing death side-by-side. Perpetua and Felicity stand at the head of a long line of transgressive women who suffered gender hatred, suspect because of sexual outlaw status. At the very heart of Christian witness, two young women whose affection for each other was forged in a Roman prison hold onto love in the face of state-sanctioned hate crime. For this, we honor them.
Houston Churches Break Cycle of Gay Hate: “Bring Your Gay Teen to Church Sunday,” Feb. 20
Houston, Texas – When school bullying drove 13-year-old Asher Brown to take his own life on September 23, the horror and despair of so many LGBTQ youth was laid bare for Houston to see. LGBTQ teen suicide, a crisis for any society, hit leaders of Houston’s gay-affirming religious communities particularly hard. Now, the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Voice report that 22 area churches are doing their part to break the cycle of religion-based negativity toward homosexuality by inaugurating “Bring Your Gay Teen to Church Sunday” this week. On Sunday, February 20, churches from a broad range of traditions make it public that their doors and fellowships are fully open and affirming of LGBTQ youth, their families, and loved ones. The connection with the suicide of young Asher Brown is important, since at the time public rallies and memorials in his memory were taking place, the visual absence of churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques was telling. Surely hundreds of people from faith communities attended these public memorial events, but there was no organized presence on the part of religious communities–a glaring absence that communicated a message of neglect or disapproval that concerned religious leaders are eager to dispel. The Houston Chronicle details grim statistics about how religion is perceived to reinforce LGBTQ youth attitudes of alienation from faith communities. The Chronicle reports that a recent survey by the Public Research Institute showed that less than 20 percent of Americans believe faith communities do a “good job” on the issues of homosexuality and gender expression. Almost half of those surveyed said that the religious message on the topic was “negative,” and fully 40 percent said that the intolerant attitudes of religious communities contributed “a lot” to the disapproval and condemnation of LGBTQ people in this country. The most damning statistic associated with these issues referred to teen LGBTQ suicides: two out of three Americans in the survey said that religion contributed heavily to increasing rates of suicide among gender non-confroming, queer, and gay youth. Robert P. Jones, executive officer of the Public Research Institute, underlined the long history of anti-LGBTQ messages coming from America’s houses of faith: “Religious Americans historically have had negative attitudes about gays and lesbians.” In response to the crisis of teen despair in public and private schools in the metro area, the Houston Clergy Council devised “Bring Your Gay Teen to Church Sunday” as a means of getting out the word that God and the faith community do not hate, reject, or despise LGBTQ youth–quite to the contrary, these affirming churches welcome gender non-conforming people and their families every day. The masthead of the Facebook page announcing the project reads, “Is your teenager Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, a Questioning (GLBTQ) teen? Bring your teen to one of these affirming churches, and rest assured we won’t try to ‘fix’ them. We think they are awesome just the way they are!” The list of churches is impressive, including historic mainline denominations (Episcopal, United Church of Christ, Lutheran, and United Methodist), non-denominational communities, the Society of Friends (Quakers), Unitarians and Universalists, and the largest Metropolitan Community Church in the world. There is even a lone courageous Baptist church with an open and affirming stance. The struggle with religious intolerance and hate speech from pulpits in Houston and around the nation will go on for a long time. Thousands of congregations in the Houston metro area deny the acceptability of homosexuality and gender non-conformity, declaring queer youth sinful or worse. But a cadre of deeply committed faith leaders and their communities are determined to get out the word in America’s fourth largest city that sexual minority youth are acceptable to God, and most certainly to them. “Bring Your Gay Teen to Church Sunday” is tomorrow, February 20.
About
If you are a first-time visitor to the Unfinished Lives Project website, we invite you to read A Welcome Message introducing you to our project. We are truly grateful for your visit.
The Unfinished Lives Project website is a place of public discourse which remembers and honors LGBTQ hate crime victims, while also revealing the reality of unseen violence perpetrated against people whose only “offense” is their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation. LGBTQ people in the United States are suffering a slow-rolling decimation of terror and murder all across the country. Every locale and demographic of society are affected: First Nations, Anglo, Black, Latino and Latina, South and Southeast Asian, Transgender, Bisexuals, Gay men, Lesbians, disabled, young, and mature. Homophobia has a long, crooked arm, and it is reaching out to snatch the life away from women and men whose tragic stories are under-reported to begin with, and whose memories are swiftly forgotten.
The horror of these killings transcends the shock and bereavement of loved ones and friends. These are not typical homicides; they are not killings for money or drugs, incidents of domestic strife, or crimes of passion. The vicious nature of hate crimes against LGBTQ persons is extremely brutal, grotesquely violent, and egregiously hateful.
Each murder serves the LGBTQ population as a sobering warning about the actual level of danger in our communities. The message these killings send is that freedom and open life for LGBTQ people is a cruel dream. Every time we remember one of these victims, however, the intentions of their killers are frustrated. To remember these women and men is to begin the process of changing the culture that killed them.
Our Project Director
Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle (Keith Tew photo).
Stephen V. Sprinkle is Director of Field Education and Supervised Ministry, and Professor of Practical Theology at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, a post he has held since 1994. An ordained Baptist minister, he is the first open and out Gay scholar in the history of the Divinity School, and the first open and out LGBTQ person to be tenured there. Read More…
Recent Social Justice Advocacy Activity By Dr. Sprinkle
Summer 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle responded to the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Raid on the Rainbow Lounge, Fort Worth’s newest gay bar, on June 28, 2009, the exact 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Dr. Sprinkle was invited to speak at three protest events sponsored by Queer LiberAction of Dallas. Here, he is keynoting the Rainbow Lounge Protest at the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 12, 2009. Read More…
Contact Us
Communicate with the Unfinished Lives project team:
info@unfinishedlivesblog.com
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Schedule a Presentation
Dr. Sprinkle will gladly present his acclaimed presentation to your organization. To arrange an Unfinished Lives presentation for your organization or group, please contact us.
Dr. Sprinkle has given his Unfinished Lives presentation to these and other community groups and organizations. Read More…
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Where are our readers?
Publisher: Steve Sprinkle (Project Director)
Steve Sprinkle
Unfinished Lives: Remembering LGBT Hate Crime VictimsBrite Divinity School/Texas Christian UniversityFort Worth TXprofessor, minister, author, blogger, LGBTQ advocate
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April 14, 2011 Posted by unfinishedlives | African Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, anti-LGBT hate crime murder, California, FBI, gay bashing, gay men, gender identity/expression, Gender Variant Youth, harassment, Hate Crimes, hate crimes prevention, hate speech, Heterosexism and homophobia, Human Rights Campaign, Kobe Bryant, Lesbian women, National Basketball Association (NBA), Perpetrators of Hate Crime, Queer, religious hate speech, religious intolerance, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, Special Comments, transgender persons, transphobia | African Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, anti-LGBT hate crime murder, California, gay men, Gender Variant Youth, Hate Crimes, hate crimes prevention, hate speech, Heterosexism and homophobia, Human Rights Campaign, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, Lesbians, perpetrators, religious hate speech, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, Special Comment, transgender persons, transphobia | Comments Off on Kobe Bryant Fined $100K For Anti-Gay Slur: A Special Comment