Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from the collective writings of Gilbert Deschamps, Paul Chirumbolo, Claire Ferrar, and Malidoma Somé

Traditionally, a person's sexual orientation brought gifts of vision and understanding. Two-spirited people were considered to have a great gift of vision that went beyond others' abilities. Because of their nature, it was believed the two-spirited ones could understand and help solve problems that both women and men have individually or between each other. They possessed the ability to see an issue from both perceptions. Two-Spirited people were not only considered normal, but a vital and much needed part of the natural world and of the community as a whole.

182 native tribes spread throughout North America recognized the two-spirit individual, and in at least 168 of their languages still spoken today, the terms for two-spirit people continue to be found.
Multi-gendered adults at Mescalero [an Apache Tribe] are usually presumed to be people of power. Because they have both maleness and femaleness totally entwined in one body, they are known to be able to 'see' with the eyes of both proper men and proper women. They are often called upon to be healers, or mediators, or interpreters of dreams. Or they are expected to become singers or others whose lives are devoted to the welfare of the group. If they do extraordinary things in any aspect of life, it is assumed that they have the license and power to do so and, therefore, are not questioned.

The queer person is looked at primarily as a "gatekeeper." The Earth is looked at, from a tribal perspective, as a very, very delicate machine or consciousness, with high vibrational points, of which certain people must be guardians in order for the tribe to keep its continuity with the gods and with the spirits that dwell there, the spirits of this world and spirits of the other worlds. Any person who is at this link between this world and the other world experiences a state of vibrational consciousness which is far higher, and far different, from the one that a normal person would experience. This is what makes queer people queer. They are not of this world. They come from the Otherworld, and they were sent here to keep the gates open to the Otherworld.

SECOND LESSON

The first lesson is from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4, verses 26 through 32

Jesus said, "The realm of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, the sower does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, the harvester goes in with the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Jesus also said, "With what can we compare the realm of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

This Week's Sermon

Date: June 14, 2009—Pride Sunday

Title: How Beautiful

Message Delivered By: Rev. Joe Mc Murray

There are many signs that a church is a healthy church and doing well. One such sign is that the leaders of the different programs and ministries of the church have learned to get along, despite the differences they may have. Good church leadership is leadership that has its own ideas and is not just a rubber stamp of the Pastor or the BOD. You want to have diversity in church leadership—including diversity of ideas and perspectives.

But there are times when communications can break down and some people get their feelings hurt. Often, when this happens, they move away from open communication and begin transmitting subtle, and eventually not so subtle messages about those feelings.

I heard such a tale about a pastor who had a run in with the accompanist at her church. For the longest time, they stopped communicating, though no one in the church knew that they had differences. This actually went on quietly for many years.

Suddenly the friction became more obvious and was beginning to be noticed by the congregation. Finally, one Sunday, the pastor preached an eloquent sermon on commitment to the church and how people should all dedicate themselves to the service of God.

But after the sermon, the sermon response hymn that the accompanist chose was, “I Shall Not Be Moved.”

The Pastor chose not to engage, and let the incident go. However, the following week, the pastor preached on tithing and how people should gladly give to the work of the church.

The sermon response chosen after the Pastor spoke was, “Jesus Paid It All.”

Well the Pastor felt her hands were tied, and did not want to draw more attention to the conflict, so she said nothing, despite the fact that she knew people in the church had begun whispering about the problem.

So the next week, the pastor preached on the sin of gossip and that people should watch their tongues and what they say. And the sermon response chosen by the accompanist was, “I Love to Tell the Story.”

The pastor was becoming very disgusted with the situation, and the following Sunday, as she ended her sermon, she told the congregation she did not do well with conflict, and was thinking of leaving the church. The sermon response hymn was, “Oh, Why Not Tonight?”

Finally, the pastor realized the position she was in, she found the situation untenable, and announced the following Sunday that she would, in fact, resign. The Pastor, in her farewell sermon, said, “It was Jesus that brought me to you. And it is Jesus that is taking me away.”

That Sunday, the sermon response was, “Oh, What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Now Frank and I get along great, don’t we Frank? We don’t have such issues, do we Frank?

Now you know why we decided it was best for Frank NOT to choose the hymns every Sunday.
_____________________________________________________________

Will you pray with me? God, today we celebrate, more than any other day, all the parts of who we are. We know that we are a beautiful people—individually and collectively—you made us as we are. Help us always to perfect the gifts you have given us, to use those gifts wisely and justly, and to appreciate the gifts of others, even when they appear to be in conflict with our own. And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen.
_____________________________________________________________

Imagine a world where one’s sexual orientation would determine their status and notoriety—not because of outrageous behavior or an astounding ability to balance on six-inch heels while wearing a 135-lb. sequined gown and an 18-inch rhinestone tiara—but because of their overall artistry, their creativity in making music, dance, drama and design.

Imagine a world where one’s sexual orientation would cause them to be sought out—not for criticism, ridicule or violence—but because of their ability to bear empathy and witness to human discomfort, their power o heal physical aches and pains or provide relief to emotional and psychological distress.

Imagine a world where because of one’s sexual orientation, a community might be a safer place, because issues of trust, faith and safety would not exist—not with the gatekeepers on watch—those who were entrusted with keeping the peace and repairing the suffering of the world.

Imagine what a world that could be—a world where each person’s gifts would be maximized to the fullest; where people, regardless of who they are, where they come from or how they express their love for each other, would embrace one another’s gifts and create the room and space for those gifts to be nurtured and developed.

Key West has proved that such a world can exist. And it’s because we subscribe to a guiding principle that it takes the entire tribe, the entire village for any community or people to reach their full potential. I call it a “guiding” principle, because even here in Key West, it is a goal that is not yet complete.

In each of our lives, we have what we call our “profession” – and then, for many of us, the rest of our lives is “what we really do.” What we do for a living is not the totality of who we are as individuals. Our creativity, though we may employ some of it in the workplace, is probably more prominent at home or when we spend time with friends or helping people we care about.

For example, the term “retiree” in Key West can mean many things. Some can’t retirees can’t ever really afford to retire. Officially, they’re retired, but practically, they are not. Some who perhaps can afford to retire and actually “stay” retired choose another path—because they are called to act on other things, to stay involved in other ways, usually to the benefit of someone other than themselves.

So why am I bringing this up on Pride Day? Because contrary to what some people believe, Pride Day is not just a LGBT celebration. Pride Day is for all of us.

We exist as one community. We cannot so easily be divided into subsections of men/women, gay/straight, elderly/young, fun/not so fun.

God scattered us, like seeds on the ground. We’re all different, and yet were extraordinarily alike. And the miracle of life happened. We were given a little nurturing over here, a little tender care over there, we got through some stormy weather on occasion, but we survived the torrent to tell the story of another day. Somehow we made it.

And now we are here. We are here, and we are beautiful—unique, quirky, eccentric, odd, queer, unpredictable—well, yes, maybe all those things and more—but we are still beautiful.

Part of our problem is that we don’t assert ourselves—not as we should. Perhaps we do so occasionally as we really for equal rights or against unfair treatment. And that’s a good thing. But for as pushy as we are as queer people (and that term includes all of us who are here), we have been pretty milquetoast. As I said, on some issues, we have asserted ourselves, and that’s a good thing.

But part of our problem has been that we have not demanded that people take us as we are—all of us—as we are. Part of the problem is that we have capitulated. In order to assimilate as part of the whole, we’ve been asked to sacrifice parts of ourselves and hide them away—you know, like “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” What childish nonsense! You may as well ask us to cut off a limb—and some of us have been compelled to do it, sometimes for very compelling reasons, but we have still done it.

There are actually still people who ask the question of gay male couples: which of you is the “girl” and which of you is the “boy?” How naïve can you be? I mean the obvious answer to that question is: Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don’t!

Part of the problem is that we have bought into the hatred and loathing and deprecation, and made it our own self-hatred, self-loathing and self-deprecation. We have bought into a cultures and religions that hold us to a different standard of loving, not because they don’t get it, but because they feel guilty because they refuse to get it.

We are told that because of seven little mistranslated sentences from a chapter in a book written thousands of years ago, we are an abomination. This is the same book in the bible, by the way, that also says you must be put to death if you trim your sideburns, enjoy a bowl of conch chowder, or consume 3-day old leftovers (and if you don’t believe me, read Leviticus 19:27, 11:10, and 19:5 respectively).

Why do we tolerate this nonsense? I’d say, let’s go start our own church, but we already did that, didn’t we? And look at this church? Who are we as a church?

If you’re gay and you know it, clap your hands! If you’re straight and you know it, clap your hands! Try as they might, they cannot divide us!

I suppose we could start our own country, but Key West already did that, too.

Yes, many of us are different, and thank God for the differences between us. God help us if we all live and love and co-exist in the same way. We’d be bored to tears.

The beauty of it is that this is how God created us to be. You can strip the pink and purple out of the rainbow, but it then ceases to be a rainbow.

It is fear that keeps us suspended in mid-air, when it is long since time we landed into the full identities of who we are.

Maryann Williamson said it best in her book, A Return to Love:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Our presence automatically liberates others! What a great honor that is.

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, what you do for a living, how you choose to love your neighbor, or what you do with your spare time. Use it, give it, appreciate it, love it, share it, put it on display, cultivate it, multiply it – this is what God expects from us.

We are the return on God’s investment—and how beautiful we are!

Amen.