When the first reports appeared concerning the report of the SCLM, I had asked for a list of the members of the committee. I must confess that I had assumed that the names would read like a list of the "regular suspects," those ecclesiastical troglodytes who have been a part of the right and even far right in this church. I expected that I could read the list and nod in self satisfied smugness about a group of people from whom nothing else could have been expected. Instead I see a list that includes the names of moderate to liberal church leaders. I see names of individuals who are known and respected for their support of the LGBT community and others who, if they are not actively engaged in the struggle for full inclusion, should probably be ashamed of themselves.
I do not think I have seen anything on this board written by the Commission members since the report first surfaced. It would be good to hear from members of SCLM who are, of course, our sisters and brothers.
Let me start the conversation with the obvious question: "WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING???"
In April of 1963, Martin Luther King. Jr. wrote a Letter from a Birmingham Jail. This letter was addressed to a group of that city's leading clergymen These eight men had published a statement suggesting that Dr. King's struggle in that city was "unwise and untimely"
These eight men, one of whom was and one of whom would be an Episcopal bishop suggested that patience was in order and that the new leadership of the city should be allowed to make things right.
Dr. King wrote "I know that Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." "For years I have heard the word wait. It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity, This 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never.' We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that 'justice too long delayed is justice denied.' "
Defenders of the status quo who are usually though sadly not exclusively, members of the privileged majority calls always call for patience The voices of the oppressed and marginalized, calling for justice, often go unheeded by those who would rather talk of harmony. As we watch legislatures across this nation rally around the flag of bigotry know as "The defense of marriage" the church should and must claim true moral leadership. The so called "religious argument" ageist the recognition of same sex marriages or the provision of domestic partnership benefits in a variety of settings must be countered by the strong and clear voice of the progressive church. Our continued silence is nothing g less than complicity.
Dr. King also wrote in that powerful letter:" ...the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo." "..the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century."
Toward the end of the letter he writes:" I hope the church will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no fear about the future."
King reminds the moderate clergy of Birmingham, those who would counsel that these things take time: "people of ill will have used time much more effectively than people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people."
The church cannot sacrifice justice on the altar of harmony. In this struggle for the full and equal rights for all of God's children in secular society as well as in the church let us lead rather than follow. I fear if we do not, we will simply be pushed out of the way.
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." --Groucho Marx
hank dwyer
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