WHOSOEVER/ Reno OUT Jan 2008

WHOSOEVER

I am on plane coming back from four days in Washington, D.C. where I joined in a conference with my gay brothers and sisters at the annual Gay Christian Network Conference. I cried; I cried a lot. Not so much at the stories this year as I did last year. What I found myself crying at was just the sight of looking around the room during worship or during small group seminars and seeing the faces of men and women that call themselves by a title that some say is not possible—gay Christian. If you too struggle with the term, please go back and read some of my supporting columns in back issues or e-mail me and I will send you previous writings. You know…. I just don’t want to keep on defending my position on this one. You CAN be gay and Christian. I just want to move on from these conversations that many people get stuck in. Some in the Christian community will boldly declare you cannot have a same gender attraction and ever see the gates of Heaven. Some gays will just as strongly declare that God is hateful and too demanding to ever care about them. Both are wrong.

Remember the John 3:16 rainbow wigged guy at every sporting event in the 70’s and 80’s? Did you ever take the time to read that passage of scripture? It says “WHOSOEVER call on the name of Jesus Christ shall not perish, but have eternal life” Whosoever. No caveat, no conditions, no prerequisite. I was at a Holiday Inn in Alexandria with a bunch of “whosoevers” About 300 whosoevers. They love God, they sing to Him in worship, they talk about Him, they thank Him, they cry to Him for help, they run to Him for healings when others reject them, they read His Word, they follow Him , they need Him. And, they are gay. They are not excluded from the benefits of a relationship with God. They are beautiful people and they are my friends.

In my mind, it is no longer an issue to be argued about, although I know I will be having this conversation for years to come. The two words gay and Christian combine easily in my head. To me this is an issue of social justice. Do I care enough about the rights of my fellow humans to stand up for a group when I see that treatment is not equal? Yes, I do. While in D.C., I wanted to specifically visit the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. A friend said I would totally dig it, and she was right. I stared at the words carved in marble throughout the different outdoor rooms. Powerful words spoken by a man who clearly understood justice. Consider these two inscriptions:

“We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all citizens whatever their background and we must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred is a wedge designed to attack our civilization”

“In these days of difficulties, we Americans must and shall choose the path of social justice…the path of faith, the path of hope, the path of love toward our fellow man.”

Powerful words. And what do I as a Christian who follows the most radical social justice advocate of all time, Jesus, choose to do? I choose to try to be a voice for a group of people when sometimes their voice is negated. That is what I do think Jesus would do. It SHOULD be Christians at the forefront of EVERY social justice issue fighting for people who are not heard, whosoever they are. This is often not the case. We are very guilty of cutting your community out because you appear to not be adhering to a select five verses in the Bible translated with the word “homosexual”. Please, let me point to the many verses I do not adhere to. So, for me, it is not a purity contest. It really is about: am I willing to accept you, let you be you and stand up for you against any kind of attack? Yes, I am.

I sat for hours talking with people I met at the conference in Seattle last year; I have kept up with them on line throughout the year. I met so many new wonderful people. There were about 275 men and 25 women there; there were Catholics, Baptists, Evangelicals, Episcopalians, Greek Orthodox, Methodists, Presbyterians, Metropolitan Church of Christ, people that were out in their churches, people that were not out, couples, singles, old, young, Americans, Canadians, Brits, Australians, black, white, Hispanic and, everyone got along. I have never been in a more eclectic group and I have not seen such a diverse religious backgrounds group get along this well. The hotel staff said they had never had a more polite and tidy church group as guests. Yeah…go figure….275 tidy gay men? What a surprise.

I get to just be a different voice inviting you to the table where maybe you feel you have been shut out by prejudice. Many of you grew up in some church denomination and once you figured out you were gay, you may have felt you needed to choose between your orientation and God. You don’t have to choose. If you are a whosoever, the table is set for you too. There are a lot of churches that will make you feel uncomfortable when you walk in and declare yourself as gay, lesbian or trans. In the Reno area, go to www.jesuslightofthesoul.com and you will start the journey to or back to the loving God that never left you. He has a place for you at His table even if the church of your youth doesn’t. I do know that God cares about this injustice; He is raising up people who see “the path of faith, the path of hope, the path of love toward our fellow man.” It may take awhile, but it is coming. Come on you whosoever, there is a place set for you at God’s table and the banquet is starting. Whatever it is that you are longing for is at that table. Join me.

Kathy Baldock
kathybaldock@helloworld.com
January 6, 2008