Kansas Steps Backward, Bishops Cry Foul

As LGBT rights inch forwards around the country and many same-gender couples are finally able to dance at their own weddings, Kansas's step of choice for Valentine's Day week was a regressive moon-walk:

Kansas State Capitol
By Jim Emerson
Used by Creative Commons License

By a vote of 72-49, the Kansas House of Representatives empowered individuals, businesses and religious groups to refuse service to same-gender couples with impunity, if doing so would be "contrary to the sincerely held religious beliefs of the individual or religious entity regarding sex or gender."  The bill, which now moves to the senate, mentions not only retail business, but services such as adoption and counseling, as well as employment.  State employees are specifically protected by its language.

Interestingly, the measure does not specify whether one's objections need be "pro"or "con": theoretically, one can now choose to only employ or wait on LGBT people if called to do by one's faith.  It also does not specify by what means one is to determine the sexual orientation or gender identity of those against which one proposes to discriminate.

Kansas's two diocesan bishops issued a strongly-worded statement Friday that was sent to every member of the state Senate:

"This proposed legislation is reminiscent of the worst laws that permitted discrimination against people on the basis of color, sex or nation of origin. The intent of this bill is an affront to the beliefs of all Kansans who support equal treatment under the law for every human being," wrote the Right Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop of Kansas, and the Right Rev. Michael P. Milliken, Bishop of Western Kansas. "Kansas history is filled with examples of standing up for the expansion of rights – in our abolitionist, free state roots; as the first state in the country to elect a woman to a political office; and as a place identified with contributing to the end of school desegregation. We have a high calling to provide equality and equal opportunity to everyone."

 The bishops were quick to emphasize how their stance is in line with our church's core values:  "For Episcopalians, our faith is unequivocal. Our Baptismal Covenant asks, 'Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself? Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?' Promising to strive for justice and peace among all people and to respect the dignity of every human being requires us to be adamantly opposed to legislation that does none of these things," they wrote.  "Our biblically-based faith calls us to live out the command of Jesus Christ to love one another. You cannot love your fellow Kansans and deny them the rights that belong to everyone else."

Integrity's Kansas City chapter members were grateful for the support of their bishops.  "The acts of the Kansas legislature do not reflect the state of the Episcopal Church in Kansas. We will continue to stand for the dignity of every human being," stated Larry Bingham. "Eventually, 'we shall overcome'. Reason will prevail and recent advances in LGBT acceptance in the U. S. secular culture give me hope that the political value of this kind of hatred will be short-lived."

And, in the wake of widespread criticism of the bill, the Senate president Susan Wagle told the press that the majority of her colleagues will not vote for the bill. 

"Seeing a response such as our bishops gave is truly beautiful, a lift to the spirits of LGBT persons and our straight allies," said chapter convener Scott Schaefer.  "The fact that this bill gained any traction at all has refueled my purpose however, and hopefully motivated our spirits to remain active in sharing God's love to LGBT persons living in Kansas... to all people. 

"With the leadership of these bishops, we surely hear a call to ministry: sharing theology in a way that motivates love and diminishes fear, encourages a brave faith instead of exclusionary practices."

Christian Paolino is the Chair of Integrity's Stakeholders' Council and the Diocesan Organizer for Newark

Bishops' Forum on LGBT Inclusion in Kansas City

In June of this year, the Greater Kansas City Integrity chapter hosted a "Believe Out Loud" workshop. The Integrity members and other participants left that workshop all fired up about the opportunities that have been generated by the approval of same-sex blessings and the greater awareness of LGBT participation in our Episcopal parishes. We were introduced to evangelism techniques customized to reach out to a community that had been ignored and, worse yet, abused by Christian churches for a very long time.

The Right Rev. Martin Field, the Right Rev. Dean Wolfe

Although there were a few parishes in our two-state metropolitan area that had embraced the new reality and were celebrating blessings, the vast majority of our congregations were silent and slow to react. We spoke with the bishops of the two dioceses that cover the Kansas City area. The Right Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, D.D., of the Diocese of Kansas, and the Right Rev. Martin Field of the Diocese of West Missouri were supportive of our efforts and they agreed to sponsor a forum for clergy and lay leadership. They asked us to develop the agenda for this unique two bishop forum and we went to work.

We began by interviewing parish priests and asking them how Integrity could help them develop a welcoming environment for LGBT persons in their congregation. We told them about the techniques that we had experienced at the Believe Out Loud workshop. The members who had these conversations with the priests knew them well and were surprised by the apparent lack of interest in what we were offering.

Integrity Greater Kansas City Chapter Convener Scott Schaefer
with the Right Rev. Martin Field & the Right Rev. Dean Wolfe

The more that we probed in our preparation for the forum, we discovered that it was not a lack of interest – it was conscious foot dragging and a fear of adverse reactions in their congregations. We heard comments like, "My congregation is OK with this issue and we don’t need to do anything special." When asked how they might have prepared the parish for the approval of blessings by General Convention, the response was usually the same – "We didn’t need to do anything special." We were pretty sure that was not a valid assessment. After all, the states of Kansas and Missouri are not exactly hotbeds of liberalism. Both States adopted constitutional amendments banning anything other than traditional marriages.

Other priests were frank in saying that they did not want to stir up the sexuality debate and they feared the loss of valued parishioners, especially in the older generation. It was becoming clear to us that the parishes were not ready for our Believe Out Loud excitement. We needed to double back and deal with the anxiety among parish leadership over the topic of overt inclusion of LGBT persons. In other words, the passage of legislation by General Convention did not resolve the underlying issues.

The Right Rev. Martin Field, The Right Rev. Dean Wolfe

With this knowledge, we changed the theme of the forum and advertised it as an opportunity for clergy and lay leadership to have an open and honest conversation with their bishops and fellow leaders with respect to the opportunities and challenges arising from increased LGBT participation in their congregations. Apparently this struck a responsive chord and we were pleased to have an attendance of 65 persons representing 16 parishes. And this was on a Thursday night in early September – not prime time!

Bishop Field opened the forum with a reminder that the full inclusion of LGBT brothers and sisters was a "Gospel imperative" and that we as leaders in the Church needed to move forward on this initiative in the name of Christ. Bishop Wolfe, in his opening remarks, spoke about the "missed opportunity cost" that would be incurred if we were reluctant to take hold of this opportunity to make major strides in establishing our parishes as places that practice radical hospitality – especially in the context of the cultural conflicts that exist in our Midwest environment.

Following the encouraging remarks from the Bishops, the microphones were opened for brief responses from those in attendance. There next followed a very active small group discussion period among the attendees as they shared their individual parish experiences. The Forum closed with reports from the table discussions to the plenary session.

The Right Rev. Martin Field, The Right Rev. Dean Wolfe

The exchanges that occurred during this two-hour Forum were very encouraging. The participants were all supportive of the effort, but were also very frank and open in sharing their concerns. One of the conclusions stated during the discussions was that silence within the congregation cannot be taken as consensus. Bishop Wolfe suggested an analogy to our history with racism. In the 1940s and 1950s it was not uncommon for church members to openly engage in racist remarks and humor. It is difficult to comprehend now that some Episcopal congregations were openly opposed to civil rights initiatives. As the prevailing secular culture changed, the opponents of racial equality became silent but they did not go away; they merely went underground and racism is still with us today. Congregations need to be aware of this same tendency in today’s issues of sexuality and find creative ways to engage the silent members who still have unresolved concerns. However, we cannot let those silent concerns stand in the way of the opportunity that is before us.

Integrity, as a sponsor and participant in the forum, was able to express our desire to join with the individual parishes to give them whatever support and assistance we can to help them move forward with their desire to gather and incorporate new LGBT members. We are hopeful that the communication lines that have been established from this forum will give our chapter a new focus for our ministry in the Dioceses of Kansas and Missouri.
 
Larry J. Bingham is a member of the Greater Kansas City chapter of Integrity. He served as a Lay Deputy to seven consecutive General Conventions from 1994 through 2012. In 2012, he was a member of the Legislative Committee on Liturgy, Prayer Book and Church Music and served on the Subcommittee for Same-Sex Blessings. 

Photo credit: Melodie Woerman, Communications Officer for the Diocese of Kansas