By Erin Wathen, DisciplesWorld contributing writer
GILBERT, Ariz. (11/13/09) — In 2006, Arizona became the first state reject a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage. Over the next two years, however, backers of Proposition 102 (lesser known equal to California’s Proposition 8) raised over $7 million to amend the state’s constitution, banning gay marriage as other states had done.
With no coordinated effort from opposition groups in support of same-sex marriage, the ballot measure passed in 2008. Following the referendum, state legislature moved to further revoke domestic partner benefits already in place.
The shift in support came almost entirely from the religious community. Faith-based groups and individuals established both funding and language to ensure that future rights for same-sex couples would be denied, and existing rights revoked. The intensity with which they garnered support has left many mainline churches here wondering if another voice might emerge from a place of faith; a voice that speaks, not to the definition of marriage, but to humanity, created by God and called to loving relationships.
In response to that call, Chalice Christian Church in Gilbert, Arizona, speaks for equality. According to Jim Barton, lay leader, “We were doing a fantastic job of mission work…we’d settled refugee families, put water in the desert through Humane Borders, participated in Hunger No More...What we needed was a way to speak out for justice. That’s what Christ did, and it’s a part of what we need to be doing as church.”
Thus, Chalice Christian Justice Ministries (CCJM) was born. Led by Barton, the group discerned marriage equality as their first issue of concern, recognizing that few faith communities in the area speak out in favor of equal rights. On Oct. 24, CCJM hosted its first event, “Called to Equality.”
Award-winning author and theologian Rita Nakashima Brock opened with a lecture. Drawing from themes of her most recent work, Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire, Brock explored how understandings of human nature and salvation have changed over time. That evolution has left the church’s relationship with sexuality “fraught and difficult,” fueling many tensions that divide people of faith today.
The resulting challenge of the modern church is “how to reclaim the spiritual power of humanity in relation; to explore, as Christians, how we understand our role in the world, and in this life. We can’t have the Spirit without a profound commitment to community, compassion, and care.”
Robert Howard, biblical scholar and interim pastor of First Christian Church, Scottsdale, followed, addressing scripture commonly cited to oppose same-sex relationships. He noted that the Bible says many things about marriage. But in the New Testament, “Jesus moves the discussion from the legal to the human frame...Throughout scripture, God intends human thriving through interpersonal relationships.”
Illustrating how life-giving the church’s role in relationship can be, several members of Chalice shared their personal stories.
Clara Row grew up in Downey Avenue Christian Church, Indianapolis. She found love and acceptance there as a young woman in a same-sex relationship. However, when she wanted to marry her partner, the pastor couldn’t do the ceremony. “I never really thought that might be an issue, because I’d always been so accepted there…I’d always been told that, in the Disciples church, it comes down to the congregation. At Downey, its not that they had said no, we’re not going to do it. Its that they never got around to having the conversation, saying, do we want to make that step?”
Row knows many people fight for marriage equality because they have a loved one who’s affected. But as she sees it, “Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves.” She states that, from a Christian perspective, everyone is our brother or sister. People of faith are called to fight injustice on behalf of all, not just friends and family.
Dawn Delaney and Lisa Carson have been together for 11 years. As they discussed what they would share with the panel today, their 10-year-old daughter, Anna, overheard and said, “(gasp) You guys are lesbians?!” Their 12-year-old, Zach, responded, “duh.”
“Its not like we’ve hidden anything from her,” says Lisa. “She’s heard the word gay, she knew we were gay. But in school, lesbian is a bad word. She heard the word, and it scared her.”
“Yes,” Dawn says, “We’ve had lots of eye-openers with the two kids.” They are intentional in talking to their kids about the differences in all families, not just those with same-sex parents.
While their relationship has always been rooted in shared faith, they had given up on church years ago. Then a retired pastor told Dawn, “give the church a break. They’re just learning…but God’s not going to give up on you. Don’t give up on the church.”
They tried several churches over the next few years. While active in a Congregational church in Maine, they decided they wanted to get married. The church had been in discernment for four years, and had yet to make an open and affirming statement. However, when Dawn and Lisa approached the leaders of this “conservative, blue-haired” church about getting married there, the response was “a resounding yes.”
“We had a face, and names,” Dawn says. “It wasn’t the lesbians who wanted to get married. We’d built relationships. That’s really how we approached it.”
And that’s how churches like Chalice Christian approach it, as well. Chalice Pastor Linda Miller, said, “As Disciples, we place authority in the hands of congregations. Regarding much of our life as a church, this is a good plan.
“But issues of justice are broader and deeper than governance, requiring a greater voice than any one congregation can raise alone,” said Miller. “As a denomination we need to be… careful that we don’t hide behind congregational governance to excuse us from standing together against societal evils.
Miller continued: “The conflict over racial inequality was fresh and volatile 40 years ago; the clarity with which Disciples now acknowledge the sin of racism, our complicity in it, and our commitment to eradicating it has been emerging over the last decade. It would be unfortunate to wait that long in the conflict over marriage equality to clarify a position of justice for all.”