Gay Quaker – Quaker Theology

Contents:

• CATEGORY ARCHIV: GAY QUAKER
• REALIZG WHOLENS: REFLECTNS OM A GAY PALTIAN QUAKER
• JTIMORE MOMBI: “BEG GAY IS JT OK”
• GAY, BLACK, AND QUAKER: HISTORY CATCH UP WH BAYARD RT
• QUAKERS MARK 50 YEARS SCE GAY RIGHTS AFFIRMATN

CATEGORY ARCHIV: GAY QUAKER

“An act which exprs te affectn between two dividuals and giv pleasure to them both do not seem to to be sful by reason alone of the fact that is homosexual, ” the thors wrote. “Today, blacks are no longer the lm paper or the barometer of social change… The qutn of social change should be amed wh the most vulnerable group md: gay people. Evangelil Friends Church Southwt, a yearly meetg (members of Evangelil Friends Internatnal), stat s Fah and Practice that homosexualy (like any other sexual activy outsi of marriage) is “sful that rejects God’s plan.

The Friends General Conference, one of three major natnal associatns for Friends meetgs and church the Uned Stat, issued a statement fall 2004, “Mute on Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer Friends, ” emphasizg that LGBTQ people were wele their relig muny. It stat, “Our experience has been that our Gathergs and Central Commtee work have been immeasurably enriched over the years by the full participatn and Spir-guid learship of gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and queer Friends.

In January 2004, AFSC also affirmed s support for civil marriage equaly: “We mute our support for equal civil marriage rights for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people equal to those for heterosexuals.

REALIZG WHOLENS: REFLECTNS OM A GAY PALTIAN QUAKER

We are aware that many are llg for civil unns for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people and some people wish to rerve civil marriage for heterosexual upl alone. For example, 1974, the Illois Yearly Meetg approved a statement, lled a “Mute, ” argug for non-discrimatn laws to protect LGB people and llg for the removal of state sodomy laws: “Homosexual and bisexual people this society are subject to ser discrimatn many areas: employment, hog, medil re, fay life tn, parental rights and the right to worship. The Friends Uned Meetg, one of the three major associatns for Friends the Uned Stat, issued a policy statement 1988, “Mute 88-GB-52, ” llg for equal rights protectns for gay and lbian people: “We affirm the civil rights of all people to secular employment, hog, tn and health re whout regard to their sexual orientatn.

An act which (for example) exprs te affectn between two dividuals and giv pleasure to them both, do not seem to to be sful by reason alone of the fact that is homosexual. That same year, a landmark meetg between Methodist misters and gay activists anized as the Council on Relign and the Homosexual and requted that the Natnal Council of Church “make a statement along the l of that which was ma by the Quakers England.

JTIMORE MOMBI: “BEG GAY IS JT OK”

Wrten om the viewpots of the sexologist/social worker, the attorney/soclogist, and the theologian/person of fah, VOS appears to have been tend to serve as a pact, but full-service, handbook on “homosexualy. ” It nsists of a substantive troductn, a prentatn on “normal” vers “homosexual” velopment, an appeal for “a new moraly, ” a pragmatic gui for unselors, several heavy-duty appendic, and a quirky glossary.

GAY, BLACK, AND QUAKER: HISTORY CATCH UP WH BAYARD RT

The grand clarn lls of simplicy, peace, tegry, muny, and equaly articulated Leav of Grass provid enuragement for gay men, and some lbians, an era of almost unimagable opprsn. Though Edward Carpenter had beat me to , I was the first gay liberatnist my generatn to herald Whman as the dispensable spirual font need by Ameri’s gay liberatn movement. Although pletely unacknowledged by VOS, Whman and Carpenter offered persecuted gays a manifto of affirmatn bombastic enough to she a ray of hope to their “dark nfement.

The eleven thors add, “Many other groups have already regnised that the kd of moraly that clus a vehement and tegoril nmnatn of the homosexual is not Christian, for lacks passn for the dividual person and lacks unrstandg of the human problem.

It clared that love is to be found actn more than sentiment: is a maniftatn of the Spir behd all Creatn, found the character of homosexual and heterosexual alike. In my view, there are several ways to tly honor VOS, by buildg upon s foundatns: Firstly, we uld ce ntemporary gay activists as thkers, theologians, and thori their own right.

QUAKERS MARK 50 YEARS SCE GAY RIGHTS AFFIRMATN

Throughout the week, I wrtled wh this year’s theme of “Seekg Wholens, ” and wanted to reflect upon what the pursu of wholens means to me as a Quaker who is gay and Paltian. Friends om Zimbabwe spoke of the trma of experiencg state-sanctned homophobic vlence their untry, remdg of the anti-LGBT bigotry that is found the Uned Stat and around the globe. The school’s environment of tolerance and rpect, celebratn of diversy, and high standards of tn allowed me to thrive as an tellectually cur teenager who was g to terms wh his sexualy as a gay person.

In the Uned Stat, which has large numbers of unprogrammed meetgs, which tend to be theologilly and socially liberal, and programmed meetgs, which tend to be more theologilly and socially nservative (as well as nservative unprogrammed meetgs), the discsn of homosexualy has ocsnally been a paful one, lastg some s many years whout uny.

In New Zealand, the yearly meetg Te Hahi Tuhwiri affirmed a siarly tolerant stance as Atralia above, 1995, and rolved "to seek formal ways of regnizg a variety of mments, cludg gay and lbian partnerships. Quakers the Uned Kgdom are siarly acceptg; one of the first statements Quakerism regardg homosexualy was the ntroversial 1963 book Towards a Quaker View of Sex, published by a group of Brish Quakers, which affirmed that genr or sexual orientatn were unimportant a judgment of an timate relatnship and that the te crern was the prence of "selfls love.