Chinnis encourages Integrity Members to 'Sow Love'
Episcopal News Service. July 28, 1993 [93134]
Bob Williams, Editor of Episcopal News in the Diocese of Los Angeles.
House of Deputies President Pamela P. Chinnis urged the church and society to reject homophobia and embrace "common good," speaking in San Diego to the July 15-17 convention of Integrity, a 2,500-member, 70-chapter international organization of gay and lesbian Episcopalians.
Chinnis pledged personal vigilance for "the whole issue of gay and lesbian rights," speaking, she said, "as the mother of a gay son." Mentioning her son's sexual orientation for the first time publicly, Chinnis said she did so "with his permission."
Chinnis praised the contribution of Integrity members to the draft of a pastoral teaching on human sexuality, initiated in the House of Deputies at the 1991 General Convention (resolution A104). Bishops will receive the text in its preliminary form at their September meeting in Panama.
Chinnis, the first House of Deputies president to appear before a national Integrity gathering, noted that more openly gay and lesbian Episcopalians are being elected as deputies and said she would appoint them to legislative committees of the 1994 General Convention in Indianapolis next August.
Chinnis also applauded the Integrity convention theme, "Where there is hatred, let us sow love."
"If all of us could do that, we would be much healthier people moving a much healthier church along to a better place," Chinnis told the convention of 150 participants from 43 dioceses in the United States, Canada and Guam.
Integrity's national president, Bruce Gamer of Atlanta, voiced "profound gratitude" for Chinnis' message. "She accepts us as we are and brings great hope for the future."
Louie Crew, the founder of Integrity who has been elected a deputy to the next General Convention from the Diocese of Newark, concurred with Chinnis. "The church must move beyond divisions to address a broad range of issues," Crew said. "We've had dialogue," he added. "How many times are we going to have to talk before we do justice?"
The Integrity convention coincided with San Diego's gay pride weekend and with news of President Bill Clinton's compromise consideration of gays in the military.
The Christian experience is not a "don't ask, don't tell" matter, New Hampshire Bishop Douglas Theuner said in his sermon at the convention's Eucharist in St. Paul's Cathedral. Citing a current "sexual revolution" of global scope, Theuner said, "Almost every controversial issue before our church today is a sexual issue." He asked, "Can it be that God is doing something new and different in our world today?"
Theuner thanked Integrity members for "bearing the burden of bringing [sexual issues] to the attention of the church," stating that "the church needs to know...to heal...to listen. The church needs who you are."
Outside the cathedral eight members of a local religious order, the Community of Christian Family Ministry, stood at the curb distributing bookmarks. Co-facilitator Dennis Kelly said the group was present "to proclaim God's love...without condoning the homosexual lifestyle."
Meanwhile, the superiors of four Episcopal men's religious communities attended the convention to show "solidarity" with Integrity and the wider gay and lesbian community.
Integrity member Ben Scott from Orlando called the convention "a chance to experience the true heart and love of the Episcopal Church." He expressed "hope that Integrity continues to be a witness of Christ's inclusive love, and that in contrast to the anger and hate of the fundamentalist right, [that love] will show itself to be the future of the church."
"We need to make all of our decisions for inclusivity," Episcopal priest Linda Strohmier, Seattle-based chaplain to Integrity's Puget Sound chapter, said in a workshop focused on ministry development. She called upon Integrity to develop a more ethnically diverse membership to reflect the U.S. gay population.
In brief remarks, the Rev. Ted Karpf, recently named executive director of the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition based in Washington, D.C., reported on an upcoming White House meeting with the Clinton administration's new national AIDS policy coordinator Kristine Gebbie.
During a convention dinner, Brooke Bushong of New York received Integrity's Louie Crew Award for outstanding service to her chapter and the organization.
The San Diego meeting followed last year's Integrity convention in Houston, where Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning was keynote speaker. Next year, Integrity will gather at General Convention to mark the organization's 20th year.