Stroud trial underway
First word from the trial of Rev. Beth Stroud is that her defense will be unable to challenge the Discipline's ban on gay clergy:
The presiding judge in the church trial of a Methodist minister who declared she is a lesbian in a committed relationship ruled Wednesday that the cleric's defense could not call witnesses who would challenge the denomination's ban on sexually active gay clergy.
The decision by Joseph Yeakel, the retired bishop of Washington, D.C., will make it harder for the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud to mount a successful defense. Stroud said after the ruling that, "to win a verdict would be an extraordinary work of the Holy Spirit. I don't expect that."
Yeakel issued his decision in a private session on the opening day of the trial, which included selection of 13 jurors from regional clergy.
Prosecuting attorneys said they had argued that technical and constitutional questions about the ban should be raised before the church's highest court or its legislative body, not at trial.
And that's as it should be. It isn't the law of the church that's on trial, but a minister who has confessed to breaking that law. Her complaint, to the extent she has one, is with the General Conference and her fellow Methodists.
The United Methodist News Service says that jury selection began, with a pool of 66 being winnowed down to 13. Fourteen decided not to serve because they didn't support the Discipline's ban. As promised, members of Soulforce were there to protest:
As the proceedings began this morning, protesters with the Soulforce organization held signs outside. One sign said, "Open Your Hearts, Minds & Doors to God’s Lesbian Gay, Bisexual & Transgender People."
"What we are doing here is calling attention to the hypocrisy of the United Methodist Church's slogan of 'Open Hearts. Open Minds. Open Doors,' said Laura Montgomery Rutt, Soulforce communications coordinator. "It is not true. When you kick people out of the church for telling the truth about who they are, (that) is also hypocrisy. The church needs to open its heart, its mind and its doors to God's lesbian, gay and transgender people."
Because of the general weakness of their position, Soulforce is required to exaggerate, distort, and mislead at every turn. The quote from Rutt is a good example. No one is going to be "kicked out of the church" as a result of this trial. Rev. Stroud has even been promised a job by her current congregation if she has her ordination credentials lifted. But the victimization mindset has to be constantly reassured that there is indeed a martyrdom of sorts going on.
In fact, the hearts, minds, and doors of Methodist churches are wide open for GLBT people, who are called to faith in Christ, repentence for sin, and holiness of life just like everyone else. The difference is that folks like Soulforce keep telling them they don't have to turn from habitual sin, and holiness and homosexuality are a splendid fit. The people who are hurt by such an approach are GLBT people themselves, sad to say.
By the way, here's the "excellent photo opportunity" Soulforce was trumpeting yesterday:
Athanasius on 12.01.04 @ 11:54 PM EST [link]
Broadcast giants thumb noses at UCC
A short while back I had some uncomplimentary things to say about the United Church of Christ's new ad campaign that implicitly trashes other churches in the name of boosting the UCC's market share. But that doesn't mean I thought the broadcast networks should refuse to air it:
The CBS and NBC television networks are refusing to run a 30-second television ad from the United Church of Christ because its all-inclusive welcome has been deemed "too controversial."
The ad, part of the denomination's new, broad identity campaign set to begin airing nationwide on Dec. 1, states that--like Jesus--the United Church of Christ seeks to welcome all people, regardless of ability, age, race, economic circumstance or sexual orientation.
According to a written explanation from CBS, the United Church of Christ is being denied network access because its ad implies acceptance of gay and lesbian couples--among other minority constituencies--and is, therefore, too "controversial."
"Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations," reads an explanation from CBS, "and the fact the Executive Branch has recently proposed a Constitutional Amendment to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, this spot is unacceptable for broadcast on the [CBS and UPN] networks."
Apparently, NBC has rejected the spot for similar reasons.
Negotiations between network officials and the church's representatives broke down today (Nov. 30), on the day before the ad campaign was set to begin airing nationwide on a combination of broadcast and cable networks. The ad has been accepted and will air on a number of networks, including ABC Family, AMC, BET, Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, History, Nick@Nite, TBS, TNT, Travel and TV Land, among others.
The debut 30-second commercial features two muscle-bound "bouncers" standing guard outside a symbolic, picturesque church and selecting which persons are permitted to attend Sunday services. Written text interrupts the scene, announcing, "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we." A narrator then proclaims the United Church of Christ's commitment to Jesus' extravagant welcome: "No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." (The ad can be viewed online at www.stillspeaking.com)
"We find it disturbing that the networks in question seem to have no problem exploiting gay persons through mindless comedies or titillating dramas, but when it comes to a church's loving welcome of committed gay couples, that's where they draw the line," says the Rev. Robert Chase, director of the UCC's communication ministry.
"The consolidation of TV network ownership into the hands of a few executives today puts freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression in jeopardy," says former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani, currently managing director of the UCC's Office of Communication. "By refusing to air the United Church of Christ's paid commercial, CBS and NBC are stifling religious expression. They are denying the communities they serve a suitable access to differing ideas and expressions."
Given that CBS and NBC are normally in the forefront of those pushing gay rights (NBC is the network of Will and Grace, after all), this strikes me as bizarre. Unless, that is, the phrase, "Because this commercial touches on the exclusion of gay couples and other minority groups by other individuals and organizations" is a way of saying that they recognized what I did as soon as I saw the ad: it's not just an ad for the UCC, it's also a slam at other churches. Of course, the reference to the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment is a total non sequiter, so there's no telling what this is really about. I've written to CBS to ask about their statement (I'd like to see the whole thing, not just what the UCC put in their release), and I'll let you know if I get a response.
UPDATE: According to CNN-Money, as of 2:35 this afternoon CBS and NBC had not returned calls about this matter. Nor has CBS replied to my inquiry (like they'd talk to me and not CNN, ha ha).
UPDATE: CNN-Money has updated their story, adding this from CBS:
A CBS spokesman confirmed that the ad was banned, but would not comment directly about the above statement.
"It was against our policy of accepting advocacy advertising," said the spokesman.
UPDATE: A bit more leaks out, this time from NBC, which apparently agrees with me about this ad:
An NBC spokeswoman said the problem with the ad was not its depiction of same sex couples at church, but its implication that other religions are not open to all people.
I still think they should have run the ad, but at least they recognized it for what it is.
Athanasius on 12.01.04 @ 05:15 AM EST [link]
"Activists" flock to Stroud trial
Soulforce, a gay rights advocacy group, has announced that it will be out in force (pardon the pun) at the trial of the Rev. Beth Stroud tomorrow. According to their press release:
On December 1-3, 2004, Rev. Beth Stroud will be facing a trial in the United Methodist Church, not for what she did, but for who she is.
Propagandistic spin. There is no prohibition on persons of homosexual orientation serving as United Methodist ministers. She has been charged specifically with engaging in behavior that is contrary to the Book of Discipline. Details, details....
Rev. Stroud is a minister at First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) and is being tried because she is an "out" lesbian in a committed relationship. The trial is taking place in Eastern Pennsylvania, at Camp Innabah near Pottstown, PA.
Over the past thirty years, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church has established policies and adopted church laws that discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, denying them opportunity to be ordained clergy and to celebrate loving committed relationships in holy unions.
It's interesting to me that folks like Soulforce cannot conceive of being anything other than sexually active. To them it is somehow violative of the nature of GLBT people to expect them to not engage in behavior that Scripture condemns as sinful.
"The laws of The United Methodist Church are such that gay people who lie about who they are and who they love are welcome to serve the Church by answering God's call to ministry. However, if they tell the truth, the Church puts them on trial and prosecutes them for being honest," said Rev. Jimmy Creech, Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Soulforce, Inc. "The trial is an act of violence against the essential dignity and integrity of gay people. It is the height of hypocrisy to punish people for telling the truth."
So, if a murderer comes forward and confesses to the crime, is it "the height of hypocrisy to punish people for telling the truth"? Telling the truth is a virtue, but it is not the only virtue, and by itself doesn't justify anything else. The actions of those who want to engage in prohibited behavior must be justified on their own. The prosecution, of course, is not for being honest, but for confessing to a violation of disciplinary standards. If you don't like those standards, go to the United Church of Christ, or continue to try to change them, or take your medicine when you violate them. But don't whine about how your being prosecuted for telling the truth, when that isn't what it's about.
Soulforce defines spiritual violence as "the misuse of religion to sanction the condemnation and rejection of any of God's children." The Soulforce mission states it is "committed to ending spiritual violence perpetuated by religious policies and teachings." Soulforce will be carrying "stop signs" that say "Stop Spiritual Violence" as well as other signs and banners, and vigiling in cooperation with FUMCOG, Reconciling Ministries Network, and the Methodist Federation for Social Action.
I love their definition of "spiritual violence." It essentially says that no ethical standard based on religious teaching can be used to make any judgment about the rightness or wrongness of any action, or at the very least that no individual can be held to account for their actions based on those judgments. Soulforce, however, doesn't hesitate to label those who take a contrary view of homosexual behavior as "oppressors" who are waging "holy war" against gays.
Oh, there's one other thing about this press release that I thought amusing. Religion News Service, for whatever reason, left this appendage on the release when they posted it on their site:
MEDIA: This is an excellent photo opportunity, as well as a controversial story. For interviews, contact...
...followed by a name and phone number. A bunch of people carrying "Stop Spiritual Violence" signs will be an excellent photo op. I'll be checking around to see how many media outlets take their self-important advice.
Athanasius on 12.01.04 @ 12:00 AM EST [">link]
