Diocesan Teams Begin Training to Lead Local Dialogue on Sexuality
Episcopal News Service. October 1, 1992 [92202]
Kay Collier-Slone, Editor of the Advocate, the newspaper of the Diocese of Lexington
When bishops and deputies to the Episcopal Church's 1991 General Convention called on all Episcopalians to begin a dialogue in local parishes on the subject of sexuality -- the resolution known as A104sa -- many observers wondered, "How will that happen?"
An answer to that question is beginning to take shape. The first of three seminars to train diocesan leaders, who will, in turn, train local parish leaders to lead the dialogue, brought 45 lay persons and 40 clergy from 37 dioceses to Washington, D.C., to begin the process.
"We are here for the purpose of finding a way to bring us together and to bring us to God, not to tear us apart," said the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, consultant to the National Steering Committee on Human Sexuality.
"We're not talking about winning and losing," Robinson insisted in remarks at the opening session of the seminar. "We're talking about dialogue; not debate -- but listening." He suggested that all participants in the dialogue on sexuality heed some folk wisdom he learned from his grandmother: "God gave us two ears and one mouth; he meant us to listen twice as much as we talk."
Participants at the seminar found many opportunities to listen. Two resources, Human Sexuality: A Christian Perspective, designed by Consultant Trainers Southwest in the Episcopal Church's Province VII, and an Episcopal edition of Human Sexuality and the Christian Faith, produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, provided participants with questions to get the dialogue started.
Both resources begin with Scripture as the primary source for ethical decision making. Yet, each emphasizes a creation-centered theology, rather than "the fall," as the defining event for humankind. Participants in the dialogue shared how Scripture affected their own viewpoints -- and how personal experience shapes the interpretation of Scriptures.
"What sexual mores have changed during your lifetime?" was one question that surfaced from the materials. "What and who affected your values and decisions around sexuality?" was another.
Throughout the seminar, leaders called on participants to "personalize" the subject -- not merely to consider issues in the abstract. "We are seeking the kind of community in our church where issues are not avoided, but are given faces," Robinson said.
Among diocesan representatives to the seminar were a physician, social workers, therapists, clergy, a military chaplain, a school teacher and a sexual abuse counselor. Two persons -- a man and a woman -- represented each diocese. Participants took turns serving as trainer and trainee.
At the conclusion of the seminar, participants agreed that the experience was valuable -- although it still needed some refinements. The Rev. Michael Hopkins of the Diocese of Washington expressed disappointment that the seminar was still "a dialogue about gay people, not a dialogue with gay people." He reported that several individuals claimed that they had never knowingly met a gay person. Others noted that the Episcopal resources omitted material on single adults.
Some had difficulty staying within the ground rule that they speak from their own experience, and instead, lapsed into generalities or gave advice. A few decided to limit their participation to observation of others, feeling unsafe to voice what they thought or felt. Yet, most agreed that, despite some oversights and room for improvement, the most important measure of success was that the dialogue had begun in earnest. "This was a real confirmation of the phrase 'trust the process,"' said the Rev. Anne Fowler of the Diocese of Massachusetts.
At the closing Eucharist, Robinson reminded participants that a dialogue on sexuality in the Christian community has the potential to mirror the kind of intimacy in the relationship with God in which "all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid." Vulnerability, he said, "has everything to do with our sexuality. In few places is love of self and love of neighbor more important."
The second training session for diocesan leaders will be held in Atchison, Kansas, October 2-4, and the final session will be held in Burlingame, California, October 24-26.