"For the Bible Tells Me So" --reviewed by Pattie Curtis

“Last week, I bought the gun. Yesterday, I wrote the note. Last night I saw your story on PBS and knowing that someday, somewhere, I might be able to go back into a church with my head held high. I dropped the gun in the river...”

When he read those words in the short email from a young gay man, PBS producer Dan Karslake, realized that he needed to create a film to “get the word out that God doesn’t hate gay and lesbian people; in fact, God loves them.” The result is For the Bible Tells Me So, a documentary film that explores the experiences of five families as they struggle to reconcile their Christian faith and accept their gay or lesbian children.

These five stories are told with tenderness and compassion. Deftly woven throughout are thoughtful commentaries by theologians on the historical teachings of the Church about homosexuality. As each family struggles to understand the references in the Bible that have long driven the conversation in the Church about homosexuality, the viewer is drawn in to their personal and powerful stories. This is a film about the overwhelming power of love to transform.

I had the privilege of meeting Dan Karslake as he was making this documentary. Throughout its production, Dan’s goal was to make a film that would move the discussion of religion and homosexuality beyond the polarizing and often stereotypical language which is too often used and has only the effect of diminishing any productive conversation. In this deeply moving film, he has succeeded. He has added a needed voice to the discussion of the place of homosexuality in the church.

The poignant stories told in this film draw the discussion of homosexuality from the abstract to the personal and concrete, giving faces and names to those who find themselves and their families caught in the ongoing debate and struggle within the church. These personal stories make this film a useful tool for any group wishing to have a meaningful and truthful conversation about the place of homosexuality in the church.

The Rev. Patricia Harris Curtis, Rector
St. John’s Episcopal Church
18 Jackson Street
Sylva, North Carolina 28779

A Copy of this film will be given to each parish choosing to use it in their own listening process.

Parish Dialogue, by Rob Field

Mosaic from Montecassino Abbey

When I came to St. Philip’s 10 years ago as rector, I quickly learned that we are a microcosm of the Episcopal Church as a whole. As I’m quick to remind folks here, the full spectrum of viewpoints is represented under our one roof.

This means that, after General Convention 2003 and the controversy over The Right Rev. Gene Robinson’s confirmation as Bishop of New Hampshire, we had a fairly urgent need for dialogue about “the issues.” My conviction was that we needed a structured forum of some sort, a safe place for self-described “traditionalists,” “progressives” and “centrists” to share with each other their beliefs about human sexuality and – perhaps – how they acquired them. After some anxious hand-wringing, I decided to organize a six-week event to promote this kind of dialogue.

Looking back, I can name a few things which I would do again under similar circumstances. I identified two men and two women in the parish I considered “bridge people” – folks with a track record of being slow to take sides or grind axes. They became the facilitators of the small groups, which were a central component of the dialogue. Then, I began to assemble articles, audio programs and videos which represented different sides of the issue. For every good argument made by a traditionalist, I looked for a counter-argument by a progressive and, if possible, a centrist. One of the best resources was a video curriculum produced by the Diocese of Atlanta. I don’t remember the title, but I do recall that it featured John Westerhoff. Of course, we had the usual ground rules for the small group discussions: speak only for yourself from personal experience, respect all members of the group, etc.

I was gratified that, at the end of the forum, the evaluations were uniformly positive. They indicated that a significant number of people had grown in their understanding of other people’s perspectives as well as their own. And, in the end, that’s exactly what I’d hoped our dialogue would accomplish. --The Rev. Rob Field