Asterisk

The United Methodist Church has a second trans pastor and his congregation couldn’t be happier. Rev. David Weekley of Epworth UMC in Portland, Oregon came out in his sermon yesterday after 27 years in the closet.

Standing behind his pulpit, Weekley began his usual worship service. About halfway through, he paused to share a personal message he called “My Book Report.” He told them that in 1984, just nine years after undergoing extensive sex-reassignment surgeries, he was ordained by the Methodist Church without telling anyone of his original gender at birth.

Following his story, the congregation, who had remained silent throughout his talk, broke into thunderous applause. Church members then proclaimed their support for their pastor.

“It doesn’t change him; he’s still Reverend David, and that’s what counts,” says congregation member Robbie Tsuboi, who has been attending Epworth since 1964. “I think it was a really, really positive reaction. From what I understand, it was 100 percent support within the church.”

Image by Pamplin Media Group

I can’t tell you how touched I am by the Epworth congregation. Their reaction is exactly what a Christian reaction to bravery and honesty should be.

“We at Epworth support him,” says congregation member Kazuko Hara, who has been attending Epworth’s services for more than 50 years. “I am supportive of him and will stand by him.”

“I think that they’re looking at his heart,” adds Kaau Ahina, who has been attending Epworth for three years. “They love him for who he is, and (his wife) Deborah.”

Following Sunday morning’s service, Weekley answered questions from the congregation about his decision and his life. One member asked: Was he relieved to have revealed the truth about his life? Weekley exhaled. “Extremely,” he answered. “Twenty-seven years is a long time,” he says. “I have a lot to say and now I can finally say it.”

Despite anticipating that some of his congregation would leave the church, Weekley actually heard that some members plan to become more involved following his disclosure on Sunday.

“I don’t think I anticipated that so much,” he says smiling.

Please read the rest of the article at the Portland Tribune website. There are a few inaccuracies in the article as to policies in the UMC regarding LGBT people, but that’s to be expected with the complex maze we’ve constructed.

Special thanks to Tribune writer Christine McFadden, not only for the story, but for getting the pronouns right. That’s usually a problem for trans people in the press, but from what I can tell she got it exactly right!

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM, of 2M4M fame) has (several months after they were legally obligated to do so) released their 2007 IRS form 990 (pdf). Justin McLachlan, who obtained the form, and others are going over it to find out why the release was (illegally) held up for so long. It’s been alleged that NOM receives substantial support from the Catholic Church and/or the Mormon Church, and we may finally learn if that’s true. There have also been seemingly credible allegations of money laundering.

While others are looking at the $189,000 in “consulting” fees paid in 2007 to Common Sense America, an organization headed by NOM President Brian Brown, I noticed another discrepancy.

National Organization for Marriage, 2007 form 990, page 15

In Section IV-B (above), NOM states that they performed no lobbying activity (“including any attempt to influence public opinion on a legislative matter”) in 2007. While that’s conceivable (they had just put up their shingle, after all), it’s factually incorrect. The Press Room of NOM’s own website shows that it’s not true.

On October 6, 2007 NOM republished a news article (screencap) about the group from MassLive.com. The article includes at least two germane points, saying “Brian S. Brown, director of the newly created National Organization for Marriage, of Princeton, N.J., which financed the billboard…” “The billboard is an effort to highlight Puppolo’s vote and educate the public”. That would be activities listed in section C, which NOM told the IRS they didn’t do.

On October 9, 2007, NOM republished a news article (screencap) from CBS3 in Springfield, Massachusetts about the same billboard.

On November 2, 2007, NOM published an mp3 of their then-recent radio ad. The following audio is taken from that post.

[mp3=http://blog.mattalgren.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/nom_radio_ad.mp3]

This would be activities listed in sections C and/or E, which NOM told the IRS they didn’t do. Note that the ad is paid for by NOM.

On November 29, 2007, NOM republished a news article (screencap) about their radio ad from NJ.com (link provided by NOM now dead). One germane quote from the article: “Brian Brown of Princeton, the executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, said, ‘If the bill doesn’t come up and legislators hear from their constituents, that’s also a success for us. We’re going straight to the public.’”

Keep in mind that I’m neither an attorney nor a tax accountant. I may just be chasing a wild goose, but it seems to my layman’s eye that something’s amiss.

Is there another section in which NOM reported expenditures for the billboard and the radio campaigns? If not, who paid for them, and why is it accounted for separately?

In an email late this morning, American Family Association (AFA) President Tim Wildmon announced “Truth for Youth” week, which inconveniently ends today. You can see the entire email here.

I take issue with this program for several reasons, including the McEvangelism, overt paternalism, and the notch-on-my-belt measurement of success, but what really drew my attention was this part:

“The Truth For Youth” consists of the entire New Testament in the God’s Word version, along with 100 pages of powerful full color comics that are packed with “absolute truths” regarding issues young people are faced with, such as: Evolution, Sexual Purity, Homosexuality, Abortion, Pornography, Drugs, Drunkenness, Peer Pressure, School Violence, Secular Rock Music, Sorcery and Witchcraft.

Ho boy. I can get past the sing-songy name and the “hip and with it” trade dress. That’s a mistake Christians have been making for decades. I can even get past the American flag on the cover of the Bible.

Ten years ago it would have been XTREME!!!

What I can’t get past, though, is the comics. Obviously their purpose is not to get the Bible (New Testament only) out there, but to get the 100 pages of their version of Christianity in a “hip and with it” format that will surely fool them! Worse still, the comics come before you even get to Matthew 1, according to publisher Tim Todd’s newsletter (screencap).

I took a look over at the Truth for Youth website, and they’ve got the comics up. It’s all pretty awful. I’ll spare you the running commentary, but suffice to say they don’t like “secular music” (they actually call it that) or evolution. Go over there to have a look. The pornography one is particularly horrid. Jack Chick has nothing on this Tim Todd fellow.

In the homosexuality comic they try to play the “both sides are bad” game. The whole story is set around dueling violent protests between what looks to be a basic white trash mob (that coincidentally looks NOTHING like church-goin’ folks) and angry dyke caricatures.

This allows them to distance themselves from the loudest anti-gays while pushing an ex-gay message that helpfully sounds like the middle ground. By the end, a little boy comes out and is quickly convinced that he shouldn’t be gay. The story ends with an ad for Exodus International.

And I guess that’s what bothers me the most. This program from the AFA isn’t about getting Bibles into the hands of kids or evangelism. It’s about using children to sneak a harmful and false message into public schools.

One quick image before I close up. This is, I’m not kidding, from their comic on the evils of peer pressure.

I mean, come on. Really.

It’s not unusual for LGBT-inclusive pastors to catch flak for their position; I daresay it happens more often than we know. We should always support these brave women and men of faith as they fight for our inclusion, but today I learned of a case that deserves special attention.

Rev. Kevin Young of Wesley Memorial UMC in Huntsville, Texas is under fire from some in his congregation. The college-age Sunday School class at his church recently decided to explicitly include LGBT people in their group. Though a vocal minority in the church have asked Rev. Young to overturn their decision, he is standing fast in support of inclusion.

You should know that this isn’t the first time Rev. Young has stood up for the inclusion of all in the UMC. Kevin Young took a major career risk last year in proposing Amendment One to the General Conference.

Following are excerpts from a letter by Dr. Jim Bankston (who spoke in favor of Amendment One), published by neighboring University UMC:

…it is not always easy to speak out, or to know what we can do as individuals within our denomination to promote the Christian message of God’s unequivocal love and grace.

Recently, we have been presented with an opportunity for action. The Rev. Kevin Young who, with his wife Laura co-chairs Breaking the Silence, is under attack by a small faction within his church who oppose his leadership in teaching and practicing the Gospel message that God loves all people. The attacks have been relentless and personal. The attackers have sought to stir up dissent within the congregation and have said that their goal is to get Rev. Young removed from their church. They have withdrawn their financial support leaving the church with a shortfall that now stands at about $35,000.

Each of us can take action and make a difference in the following ways:

• Send a note, a card, or other written demonstration of support and love for Kevin and Laura.
• If your finances permit, you can make a donation to Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church, Huntsville, to help the church overcome its deficit and continue to meet its apportionments and operating expenses. A donation of $50 or $100, or indeed, any amount, would be helpful and welcome. If 100 people each could make a donation of $500, the immediate financial crisis would be averted and the church would have an operating fund cushion to allow Rev. Young to focus on healing the schism within his congregation. Every contribution sends a message that you support inclusive clergy and the silent majority within their churches who also stand with them.

Let’s return the favor and support Rev. Young now. If you (like me) can’t make a financial donation, please send Rev. Young a message of encouragement. (See the University UMC post for contact information and instructions.)

Last night, 1LT Dan Choi announced a new event for October’s National Equality March. The official website has details about a memorial being held on October 10 for Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, the first servicemember to challenge the US military gay ban in 1975.

In 1975, before cell phones, iPods, the public Internet-and when Barack Obama was only 13-USAF TSgt Leonard Matlovich, winner of the Purple Heart and Bronze Star, outed himself to his commander to become the first servicemember to challenge the military’s ban on gays. He soon became a leader in the fight for LGBT equality in every facet of life before succumbing to AIDS in 1988. His coffin was born through the streets of the nation’s capital on a horse-drawn caisson, accompanied by an Air Force Honor Guard and mourners carrying both American and rainbow flags, to Congressional Cemetery where the year before he’d dedicated a planned memorial to Navy veteran Harvey Milk. There, he was laid to rest beneath a tombstone he’d designed as a memorial to all gay veterans, his epitaph resonating as powerfully today as then: “When I was in the military they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.” Our memorial service, featuring recently discharged gay veterans and movement leaders, is meant both to honor him and reinvigorate the ongoing battle against military inequality thirty-four years after his historic and courageous sacrifice.

On Saturday, October 10, 2:00 pm there will be a Leonard Matlovich Memorial Services at Congressional Cemetery.

You can take the Metro to this event. METRO Stations: Blue or Orange line to Potomac Ave or Stadium-Armory.

Veterans and active duty are encouraged to attend in uniform.