Is there room in the PC(USA) for those of differing orientations?
Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner
... The hushed question that we are cautious to articulate is whether the church will be able to give bearings to and accommodate those of differing orientations. Will you and I and those who differ from you and me be able to find our way home from the landmark of our church? Is there room in our church for those of differing orientations, particularly differing sexual orientations?... Varying degrees of theological distance occur in the church, when the stranger or intruder or enemy is considered in a figure-ground relationship with the host theology. This phenomena can be dis-orienting. When I encounter someone who is resistant to my position on an emotionally-laden topic, I ask myself silently the question Dr. Letty Russell taught me to ask: What is at stake here? What would the individual have to lose if he/she saw the issue from my vantage point? This exercise and the insight that can ensue has often assisted me, not in agreement with, but in compassion for “the stranger”... Read the whole essay.
