Convention Report : 2006 BMC Convention

BMC Community Report

July 2006

Perhaps every generation feels the confusing pangs of hope and despair, yet it seems as though these times are particularly ripe with them. A cursory glance at the world scene is frightening as violence and chaos seep across the planet, frequently fueled by varieties of religious fundamentalism that are dangerous and destructive. The trends are disturbing whether they are economic, environmental, social or international.

In our own small corner of the world, as a queer organization, we also engage the powers and principalities, know the harshness of religious fundamentalism, and understand what a struggle it can be to maintain our dignity and good humor.

Yet in spite of the many challenges, I find myself oddly hopeful in a rather profound and well grounded sense.

Here’s some of what gives me hope:

• The queer community seems more confident and strong, less apologetic and wounded. We had our first phone call from a gay high school student, Brett, who called in part to offer his help to BMC. He told us that he knew more than 100 gay people and that almost everyone at his charter school identified as bi. Brett is part of a wonderful SCN congregation and is extremely comfortable with his identity. It’s a changing world. I think having individuals like Brett involved will have a tremendously positive effect upon BMC in terms of our strength, health and presence in the church and society. And I think we will see more of this in the coming years.
  
  
• The number of SCN communities has grown by more than a third in the past two years, a significant achievement. Our repertoire of resources continues to expand to meet new challenges and circumstances. I have met face to face with at least 100 pastors and/or congregational leaders. While I have not been especially impressed by the courage of most pastors, I do feel that the quality of pastoral care for lgbt people and our families is improving and maybe even improving significantly as pastors get better educated and as more families come out and demand better care.
  
  
• We have a new publication, Outspoken, that I think presents BMC with strength and dignity. Outspoken replaces two publications, Dialogue, which was predominately directed towards the church (our silent partner) and Connections, which was queer specific. Two things happened: we grew tired of the one sided conversation, and we realized that by keeping our community life separate from our interactions with the church, we were colluding with our own invisibility. There was a time when those things were vital, but we think that time is passing, and our new publication is an indicator of those changing times. Outspoken has a very talented editor in Randall Friesen and I think its reputation is going to grow and grow. That publication will come out three times a year.
  
  
• Oddly, denominational conversations give me hope. In the past year we have met with the heads of each denominational in conversations that have ranged from three to seven hours. While I do not look to denominational officials for leadership on lgbt justice, there does seem to be some lessening of the denial and disinterest that has characterized past relationships.
  
  
• We have expanded our ecumenical involvement. BMC has officially joined the Institute for Welcoming Resources, which is more or less the Welcoming World Council of Churches. The Ecumenical Welcoming Church Movement has grown over the past thirty years into 2,500 congregations with over 2 million members. There is so much energy moving throughout the denominations, and it is very exciting to be able to meet, plan, organize and dream with leaders from other welcoming programs. I learn so much and feel that great connection with something bigger than ourselves. That, in part, is how this Toronto Conference came to be. One of the new proposals on which we are working is for a community organizer or trainer to help increase the number of publicly affirming congregations. This would be a collaboration between BMC and the queer organizations from the Disciples, American Baptists, and Community of Christ denominations. The three year position would be funded by grants.
  
  
• We continue to work to make our presence felt at denominational events. We have been particularly visible at Church of the Brethren events. For the second year in a row we sponsored a public witness challenging our absence from the exhibit hall. Last year our witness drew about 150-200 and this year 250-300. New this year, we had five other organizations shut down their booths during the afternoon of the witness, cover their tables with black cloth, and post a statement of solidarity. Those groups were Womaen’s Caucus, Voices for an Open Spirit, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Juniata College and the University of La Verne. Something interesting is happening there. This willingness for groups to stand in solidarity seems right now to be limited to the COB. If you have ideas about how we can better collaborate with Mennonite organizations, I would be very interested in hearing about them. Mennonites tend to run behind the Confession of Faith or the perceived limits of church sponsorship.
  
  
• In addition, there are the usual activities and commitments of BMC. We are regularly sending out resource material, responding to questions and inquiries, and being a supportive presence to those who need us. I am very grateful for what I think is a strong board that is working well together and coming into its own. Board committees work hard to provide programs like the retreats, this conference (Shannon!), denominational activities and BMC gatherings. We have had some wonderful local fundraising events in Lancaster, Harrisonburg and Indianapolis. Rodney Harder painted a series of pieces for the Indy event, and has volunteered to do even more for an event in Fresno, California, with the Mennonite Brethren. I am very excited about this because we have not had very many connections with the MB and the time seems increasingly ripe. I cannot help but think that lgbt people and our families and friends suffer greatly in that system, so I think is a challenging but exciting frontier that could have implications on both sides of the border.
  
  
• I thoroughly enjoy the people with whom I work. I’m delighted that Katie has agreed to stay another year. We are very fortunate to have Paul Hawkins as our new development coordinator and I really appreciate his expertise and fundraising philosophy – I wasn’t really sure that we could replace Greg. Amy Short gives us a couple of hours every other week in the office, and it’s always fun to see her. We have a strong publications editor, a great board, and I think some of the finest people in the world as our constituents. I feel very fortunate to work as your staff member.

We have a lot of work to do so that lgbt kids growing up in Mennonite and Brethren families have a better quality of life than many of us experienced. Fortunately, we also have a lot of amazing people to share that work with us. The times are changing and I believe with all of my heart that the future is ours if we can just keep faith, hold fast to one another, and not relinquish the traits of audacity, courage, honesty, humor and hope that this outrageous community embodies.

I want to close with some lines from the movie, The Interpreter:

The gunfire around us makes it hard to hear.

But the human voice is different.
It can be heard over noises
          that bury everything else.

Even when it’s not shouting

Even if it’s just a whisper.

Even the lowest whisper can be
         heard – over armies –
         when it’s telling the truth.

-- The Interpreter (2005)

Carol Wise
July 2006