Race, sexuality and the church.I thoroughly enjoyed your issue on Race and Religion. It was engaging, enlightening, and at times disturbing. I could comment on all of the wonderful articles, but the struggle within the Episcopal Church Episcopal Church, Anglican church of the United States. Its separate existence as an American ecclesiastical body with its own episcopate began in 1789. Doctrine and Organization is the most personal for me. I am a life-long Episcopalian and also an African-American lesbian. What is utterly nonsensical to me is the national and international alliance between African and African-American church leaders and their white conservative counterparts. I join the sentiment of many of the commentators quoted in your article that this alliance represents a dangerous and severely short-sighted one for Africans and African Americans. I had the fortune of growing up in an African-American Episcopal congregation that never preached hatred or homophobia homophobia Psychology An irrationally negative attitude toward those with homosexual orientation, or toward becoming homosexual. See Closet, Gay-bashing, Heterosexism. Cf Gay, Homosexual, Phobia. from the pulpit. Located in an inner city, it had (and still has) much larger problems to address. The congregation was too busy instilling in·still also in·stil tr.v. in·stilled, in·still·ing, in·stills also in·stils 1. To introduce by gradual, persistent efforts; implant: "Morality . . . discipline and moral values (not the politicized type that masquerades as morality today) in its children and rebuilding the infrastructure of its surrounding community. I have since moved away, but have often visited the church (sometimes with a partner, who is always welcomed) and am thrilled to see the progress the church has made in rebuilding the community. I am sure that many other African-American Episcopalians share my positive experience with the church. What we also undoubtedly share is the absence of our white counterparts in our neighborhoods or in our struggle to rebuild our communities and address their most pressing issues, e.g. AIDS, poverty, fractured families. What African and African-American priests overlook is that when this red herring Red Herring A preliminary registration statement that must be filed with the SEC describing a new issue of stock (IPO) and the prospects of the issuing company. Notes: issue of sexuality has exhausted itself, they will emerge from the aftermath to find two things suddenly missing--their white, conservative "allies" and many of their most talented congregants sacrificed for the elusive quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the power in the church. Ultimately, they should ask themselves which loss is more devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. to their communities--the loss of this fleeting alliance with white conservatives or the loss of their family/community members (many of whom are gay) who have been dedicated throughout to the uplifting of African and African-American communities? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sheila R. Foster New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , New York |
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