To quote songwriter Holly Near’s telling song “I Aint Afraid,” she said it best regarding what the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and its One in Spirit program were trying to get across as a message:

I ain’t afraid of your Yahweh,

I ain’t afraid of your Allah,

I ain’t afraid of your Jesus,

I’m afraid of what you do in the name of your God

This charmingly relaxed erudite speaker gave a powerful one hour length talk and followed with a book signing of his latest release Jesus For The Non Religious: Recovering the Divine at the Heart of the Human published by Harper Collins Publishers. Having written 20 books, Spong caught the world of theology by its tail and felt, enough is enough! “How people killed people in the name of God is repulsive to me,” he said. In an up front and “tell it like it is” manner, he proclaimed groundbreaking declarations on human sexuality through the eyes of theology in his best selling books like Living in Sin? A Bishop Rethinks Human Sexuality in 1988; Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture in 1991 and his more recent release The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible’s Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love in 2005.

Spong will travel through 20 states on his present book tour and internationally over four continents by the end of 2007. Not bad for a retired 75 year old. Spong feels passionate about the true message of Jesus Christ’s teachings and that all people who choose to worship Christianity should be welcomed. He finds it curious that the only time Jesus is put in the media is based out of an angry reaction. He feels we need to seek to understand the sources of religious anger and that the GLBT Community, a chief recipient of religious anger, is the very community that forced him to rethink his religious beliefs.

Suffice it to say that Spong summarizes his present lecture as, he said, “Confessions of an ex-homophobe because I’m the child of the Evangelical Episcopal Southern Church.” In his upbringing and through his church, he said he was taught that women were by nature inferior to men. It was also quite proper in his church to hate other religions, especially Jews. Gay people were thought of as a complete abomination, and if you were somewhat liberal, you thought of them as mentally ill, he said. He elaborated about his Church’s beliefs about gay people, “Gays were morally defective people that needed to be converted or you were to bash them or kill them.”

In 1976, Bishop Spong at the age of 44, relocated from his Southern upbringing to life in New York as an Episcopal Bishop in downtown Manhattan. He had previously never met an openly gay man or woman at that point. Even back in the 1970s, the big apple was home to a wide cultural acceptance of gay people, a deep genuine acceptance of their sexual orientation, Spong remembered. He also felt that in meeting other bishops that what stood out about a bishop in general was, he said, “they either grow or they swell.”

Spong’s first weeks as an Episcopal bishop were met by meeting an openly gay priest whom was involved in a committed 14 year relationship. Unenlightened and sadly misinformed back then, Spong said, “I believed a hidden wife in the closet was the best choice for this gay priest.” Spong has learned much since those days, having talked to psychologists to investigate the cause and root of homosexuality and over time firmly feels that a gay lifestyle is perfectly acceptable in the eyes of God. Why do Christian Churches teach that homosexuality is wrong? “Prejudice and ignorance distorts a person’s mind,” Spong suggests. If you feel that way towards gay people, “your faith is simply window dressing over your prejudism,” he said.

Bishop Spong addressed six specific points he wants people of faith to start believing about the issues of homosexuality:

1. Homosexuality is perfectly normal. Spong shudders to think how ludicrous it is to think otherwise. “We did this to left handed people [years ago], forcing them to become right handed.
2. People do not choose their sexual orientation; they only awaken to it. Spong remarked as a straight man that he didn’t find the opposite sex attractive. He, as an adolescent became awaken to discovery. “Suddenly, girls did not seem obnoxious. Now I started combing my hair and wearing deodorant,” he discovered.
3. Nobody can cause a person to become homosexual or heterosexual. “Blaming parents is off-the-wall ignorance,” said Spong. He also offered, “Gay people soon chose to live far away from homophobic parents and seldom visit them.” The worst is when parents disown their gay children, where a birth certificate is ripped to shreds by the parents.
4. GLBT percentage of people seems to be consistent because it’s a normal variation in the human condition.
5. Gay conditions can even be detected with animals.
6. GLBT people are not from the plant Krypton. They are our sons and daughters, our close friends, sometimes even our mother and our father.

The Church is a strange institution that’s not always honest, concluded Spong. “I had to overcome the religion of my childhood to become a practicing clergyman. Christianity seems to have the need to have a victim,” said Spong. Jews, heretics, witches, scientists, people of color, women and now gays, every generation in the church has its victims. We always have to pass that victimization on to another. We need to get over that guilt message that you are so evil that Jesus had to die on the cross for you.

Spong concluded his address by thanking the GLBT Community, “I’ve risked my career, my life and my safety to continue to eradicate homophobia.”

This past Lenten season at St. Joan’s we examine dangerous stories in our liturgy. Spong eloquently writes in his latest book Jesus for the Non-Religious the following passage:

“I have sought to understand Jesus as a boundary-breaker, as one who calls people to step outside the circles of their security systems. His was a life that recognized the reality that fear stifles humanity, builds protective walls, creates defining prejudices and erects religious systems designed to give security to chronically frightened people. To walk the Christ path is to be empowered to step outside and beyond these various human security systems. It is to walk beyond all religious forms that bind our humanity in order to enter the religion-less world of a new humanity. It is to seek divinity not externally but as the deepest dimension of what it means to be human. It is to enter divinity only when we become free to give ourselves away. It is no longer to speculate about who or what God is but to act out what God means. It is to look to the fullness of Jesus’ humanity and to see in that the presence of the divine. “God was in Christ” is not a doctrine that leads to the theories of incarnation and trinity; it is an acclamation of a presence that leads to wholeness, a new creation, a new humanity and a new manner of living.”

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Michael Reinbold, SJA resident web reporter, freelances as a writer and does banquet catering at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel. A passionate believer in SJA's mission of social justice, low Christology and collaborative ministry, Michael also participates as a mass reader, SJA Choir member and Team Oz Red Ribbon rider. With an extensive background in theater, photography, fundraising, social activism and as an arts council panelist, he relishes all aspects of the arts, staying fit and inspiring social growth and witty exchanges.

The Twin Cities Gay Mens Chorus, under the leadership of Artistic Director Dr. Stan Hill, presented two concert performances the evenings of March 30 & 31 at the Ted Mann Concert Hall and faith based communities offered workshops Saturday afternoon (3/31) as part of Faces of Faith: A Passion for Inclusion. Six workshops were presented in two 90 minute sessions. The following information comes from the itinerary of Faces of Faith program. From Rejection to Inclusion- Moderator C.K. Clauser, Director of Lay Ministries, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church: Seeking a faith-based community should not be a painful experience. For many, however, the search for meaning and purpose has led to rejection and struggle. This workshop explores the courage demonstrated by individuals who defy authority, define theology and defend their right to love faithfully, in community with others. Participants: Joleen McCammon, student of the Circle of the Phoenix; Dr. Steve Burns, PhD; Donald Bazzini, Partner of a Minister; Bob and Sue McDonald, St. Joan of Arc Parents Alex Ledbetter, Chorus Member, Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus Faces of Leadership- Moderator Ora Jane Rhine: Members of the GLBT community believe “many are called and many are chosen!” This workshop provides an opportunity for openly gay clergy and their congregational leaders to discuss how they made their way to inclusion and acceptance. Participants: Brenda Froisland, Director of Youth and Family Ministries, Bethel Evangelical; Lutheran Church The Rev. Jay Weisner, Pastor, Bethany Lutheran Church; The Rev. Jeff Sartain, Minister of Parish Life, Plymouth Congregational Church; Phebe Haugen, Plymouth Congregational Church Lay Member Faces of Faith: The Conversation Continues- Moderator The Reverend Paul Nancarrow, Rector St. George’s Episcopal Church: Join with others in a thoughtful discussion on Spong’s theology and key address. Participants: The Rev. Dr. Christine Smith, Professor of Preaching, United Theological Seminary Of the Twin Cities; The Rev. Dr. Kendyl Gibbons, First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis Responding to the Conservative Message - Moderator The Rev. Laurie Crelly, Chair, Faith Family Fairness Alliance: What do you say when someone says all lesbians are going to hell and gay men are evil? How do you respond to the damning rhetoric in the laws of Leviticus and the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans? This workshop provides a broad overview of the theologies that condemn us, and a new response to those who attempt to justify hate with scripture. Participants: Barbara Satin, Interim Director, Welcoming Resources; Dr. Paul Capetz, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, United Theology Seminary of the Twin Cities; The Rev. Amy deLong, Executive Director, Kairos CoMotion All Are Invited!: Success Stories - Moderator Stephanie Meredith; It’s not all doom and gloom out here! Many of us have found our way to communities where our gifts are celebrated and our beliefs flourish. This workshop introduces you to individuals who are part of strong, helpful communities in which all are welcome Participants: Kathy Itzin, Director of Elementary Religious Education, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church; Julie Madden, Director of Pastoral Ministry/Social Outreach, St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church; The Rev. Paul Eknes-Tucker, Pastor, All God’s Children Metropolitan Community Church; The Rev. Richard Andersen, Interim Pastor, St. Paul Reformation Lutheran Church, Wingspan Ministry; Sandra and John Fox, Members, Mayflower Congregational Church Risking Justice- Moderator The Rev. Bruce Robbins: Sometimes the only path is a rocky one. Hear the stories of faith-based communities who have taken great risks to advocate for the full inclusion of GLBT members in their communities. Particpants: The Rev. Don Portwood, Pastor, Lyndale United Church of Christ; The Rev. Paula Lehman, Minster for Education and Family Life, Plymouth Congregational Church; Rusty Nelson, Plymouth Congregational Lay Member; The Rev. Victoria Safford, Pastor, White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church