Christmas 2005 Newsletter on this page... New Executive Director Appointed Parelli and Ortiz Report their Mexico, Summer 2005, Trip Southern Cone (South America) Prepares for WCC Meeting in Brazil Empowering Clergy to Come Out Buenos Aires Report, Tom Hanks |
Other Sheep News Christmas 2005
We rejoice in the birth of our Savior. We rejoice in the gifts of God this year. We rejoice in the gifts of your prayers and support. Ex-"Ex-Gay" Executive Director Appointed Jose Ortiz (left) and Steve Parelli
now celebrating the organization's rebirth! In September the Other Sheep Board appointed Steve Parelli (52) as its new executive director, a position that had been vacant for several years in this then all-volunteer organization. Steve is a former Baptist pastor who went through "reparative" therapy but finally accepted his homosexuality. And to make the news even better, along with Steve comes his life partner, Jose Ortiz (39), also an ex-"ex-gay" (they met in an "ex-gay" program!) and a theologically-trained Afro-Puerto Rican of charismatic/Baptist upbringing who is now Other Sheep's coordinator for Africa, Asia and US Latinos (a significant expansion of Other Sheep's ministry). We praise God for their near- voluntarism (Steve is receiving only a small stipend pending efforts to develop a more solid financial base for the organization). Enclosed is the news release of this appointment.
Other Sheep office space, creating an executive director web site (www.othersheepexecsite. com), sending out news releases, and visiting area welcoming churches and lgbt organizations. Jose was constantly on line with seeking and hurting lgbt Christians from Africa and Asia. October and November moved us into the fast lane. We both attended the installation service of the Rev. Nancy Wilson as the new moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. In November I attended the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Creating Change Conference in Oakland, CA, which resulted in some very significant contacts. Coming together for the first time, Tom Hanks and I met at and attended the Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Valley Forge and the Society of Biblical Literature/American Association of Religion meetings in Philadelphia. Jose joined us for the weekend in Philly. And Nov. 30 - Dec. 4, I was in St. Louis for my first Other Sheep board meeting. A Summer of Surprises in Mexico for One Gay New York Couple Steve Parelli and Jose Ortiz
2005. However, a lawyer strongly advised against teaching without working papers. And then while looking for a gay church in Acapulco via the Internet, we met John Doner, Other Sheep's Latin America coordinator in Mexico City. We told him our ex-"ex-gay" experience and our interest in sharing our story. He set up meetings for us and stated that our timing was uncanny: the Catholic Church had just announced that Courage, the Roman Catholic Church's gay support ministry in the U. S. was coming to Mexico to impose celibacy on homosexuals, so reported the papers! So, we were going to Mexico and, as evangelical Christian college graduates with ministry experience, we would be responding with our ex-"ex- gay" story. In all, we spoke to nine different gatherings: five in Mexico City, two in Guadalajara, and two in Cuernavaca (including three of MCC's four congregations in Mexico and six other lgbt churches and support groups). We learned that Rev. Alfonso Leija, the MCC pastor in Cuernavaca, was planning to start a church in October in Acapulco (where we were living), so we offered to help. As interest built in hearing our story, our unexpected involvement with the media was a complete surprise. In Mexico City a gay journalist arranged four interviews, and our ex-"ex- gay" story was placed on the Internet (IPSnews.net) and published in La Jornada, a leading Mexico City newspaper. (You can view these articles on our Website at www. othersheepexecsite.com.) In Uruapan, a small city northwest of Mexico City, we were interviewed for La Jornada's Michoacan regional edition. The journalist told us that most gays there are closeted due to the fear of being totally rejected. In Cuernavaca we participated in that city's first-ever gay pride parade and participated on a panel discussion during "Sexual Diversity Week". We made a "splash" in their local papers, and Jose briefly spoke live on the radio as an ex-"ex-gay."
publicize the new gay church. We contacted the papers and TV reporters and handed out flyers in the Zocalo (town square) and at bars. Pastor Leija joined us on our final Saturday in Mexico, and with a TV camera, TV reporter and two radio reporters present, he publicly announced to Acapulco the coming gay church. Two days before flying back to the States, we watched the Acapulco TV news broadcast. Pastor Alfonso spoke clearly to all of Acapulco about the need for a church for lgbt people. How ironic. We had surfed the Web to find a gay church in Acapulco before our summer trip to Mexico. And there wasn't one. Now on TV, this two-guy chocolate-vanilla swirl (that's Steve and Jose) from New York City were being televised to Acapulco as supporters of Pastor Alfonso's aired comments. And to think our original plan for Acapulco was to teach English! Yes, God had something else in mind. All during our summer in Mexico we were sensing God's call to work with Other Sheep. John Doner and his life-partner, Pepe Hernandez, came to Acapulco during our final week in Mexico to speak more with us about the organization and to learn more about us. As a result, John recommended us to the Board, and we sought the position of Other Sheep's executive director. Other Sheep: Mexico's gift to us. Southern Cone Gay Groups Prepare for WCC Meeting in Brazil
Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay) met in September near Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Rev. Dr. Tom Hanks, OS founder, Elsa San Martín, founding member of the Fundación Otras Ovejas in Argentina, and OS Latin America coordinator John Doner represented Other Sheep. Primary purposes for the meeting were to provide support and encouragement to leaders isolated by vast distances and exchange of experiences and resources. The multiplication of lgbtt ministries in Brazil was particularly encouraging. One significant outcome was the beginning of planning for having an effective presence at the World Council of Churches meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil from Feb. 14-23, 2006. (See following article.) Other Sheep Prepares New Strategy for WCC in Brazil—and Beyond: Empowering Clergy to Come Out
number of closeted clergy in virtually every religious tradition, arguably the most urgent strategic need in the next decade (2006-2015) is for closeted clergy and religious leaders to come out, tell their story, but continue as faithful ministers. If during this decade, instead of more than 90% of gay clergy being closeted, we could see 90% come out and become publicly supportive of gay rights, the power and influence of reactionary fundamentalisms of all sorts would be decimated. Yet, at present, although a few individual clergy have come out— or have been outed—often losing their employment and support of family and friends, no organized effort exists to encourage them and provide the necessary network of support to make their coming out a positive experience, rather than a personal disaster. The admirable "Point Program," recently publicized with a TIME cover story, has provided university scholarships for some 50 young gays and lesbians rejected by their families (out of more than 5,000 applicants). Yet nothing exists to provide support and encouragement for the thousands of closeted clergy, who often face similar needs. The election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, with his homophobic policies opposing gay priests and seminarians, along with continued headlines throughout the world of clergy caught in pedophilia scandals, guarantees that this issue will be front-page news for the foreseeable future. However, if the result is to be positive, closeted clergy need to be offered an alternative to suffering in silence or exploding on front pages in scandals. Since our origin in 1992, in itself a positive response to the coming out experience of one of its founders, Other Sheep has sought to encourage closeted clergy to come out and speak out, as part of a pastoral ministry for sexual minorities that has involved the establishment of a worldwide network of resource centers. Now, however, with positive resources available in many languages through the internet, the time has come for a new emphasis, in collaboration with numerous national and denominational groups, to empower clergy to come out and speak out. In addition to recent dramatic developments in the Roman Catholic Church, in one country alone, through a very limited program of scholarships, stipends and reemployment, we have been able to help three Southern Baptist pastors and an ex-nun as they seek to transform their coming out experience from one of tragedy to one of positive ecclesiastical and political impact. Other Sheep Foundation, Buenos Aires - Tom Hanks
their coming out process, the Foundation has launched its website with space for making available on-line entire books of gay theology that we have already translated (www. fundotrasovejas.org.ar). The publishing house, Epifanía, has published 3000 copies in Spanish of gay theologian Chris Glaser's Meditations with Henri Nouwen (one of Latin America's most popular Catholic devotional writers), but the big fish that control the capitalist distribution system, in collaboration with Vatican-led opposition to sexual minorities, have made it difficult to distribute the book widely even within Argentina (only 300 have been sold to date). Hence the decision to make books available on-line before they are published, and thus free readers from the control and censorship of oppressive economic interests and religious prejudice. We are glad to report that so far both authors and publishers have recognized the need to resort to Internet publishing and forego any possible immediate income from their considerable investments. My commentaries on Hebrews and Romans are due to be published in a one-volume gay/queer commentary (SCM Press) next year. Longer commentaries on Romans and John are in the computer, awaiting final revisions. Now in Mexico to give a course on Psalms, my next project will be to get in publishable form years of teaching notes and hundreds of pages on that Christian favorite in the Hebrew Bible. We are growing and need to support our new Executive Director and pay the many expenses.
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| Other Sheep News Christmas 2005 From the Other Sheep Team – CHRISTMAS GREETINGS! We rejoice in the gifts of God this year. We rejoice in the gifts of your prayers and support. |