Ordination print Adams Elizabeth Going to Heaven: The Life and Election of Bishop Gene Robinson goingtoheaven.jpg Brooklyn, NY Soft Skull Press 2006 308 pp. 1-933368-22-5 Gene Robinson is the first openly gay bishop in Christendom and his election has set off a worldwide firestorm of reaction – in the words of The New Yorker, it “pos[es] the biggest crisis for Anglicanism since the Reformation, [bringing] the worldwide church to the edge of schism.” Robinson wore a bulletproof vest to his consecration and has been subjected to death threats for the past several years. One dissenting bishop went so far as to state “the Devil has entered the church.” In these pages, Elizabeth Adams seeks to understand the man and the circumstances that have provoked these disparate reactions. Based on extensive interviews with Bishop Robinson and the people around him, Going to Heaven depicts a man who is, as he puts it, “neither the angel nor the devil some would make me out to be.” Adams illuminates his early days as a Kentucky sharecropper’s son, living without running water until the age of ten; his struggle with his sexual orientation; his calling into the church; the tumultuous events surrounding his election and consecration; and now the potential disintegration of the church as the rhetoric from the evangelical wing of worldwide Anglicanism grows ever more heated and lawsuits are filed throughout the United States. In Going to Heaven, Elizabeth Adams offers a compelling story of challenges overcome by hard work, humor, and deep faith, but also a story of one man’s journey into his own “otherness” – and the emergence of a ministry that speaks to countless people who believe in a message, indeed a Gospel, of love and inclusion. It is an exquisitely rendered portrait of a man whom fate has thrust into the center of one of the defining social and political struggles of our time: the role of human sexuality within faith, and that of faith within our society. http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-933368-22-5 _blank print The Circle of Grace: Affirming the Ministries of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Christians Cleveland United Church Press 2000 Offers a set of nine Bible studies and devotional resources so that persons can rediscover the biblical basis for inclusion of all persons. http://www.unitedchurchpress.com/product_detail.taf?site_uid1=20&hallway_uid1=21&search_id=&catalog_uid1=996&link_type_uid1=&person_id=&u_currency_id=190&_UserReference=05013A8556EACEA94395FCAD _blank print Denman Rose Mary Let My People In: A Lesbian Minister Tells of Her Struggles To Live Openly and Maintain Her Ministry New York W.W. Morrow & Co. 1989 261 pp. 0688084702 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0688084702/qid=1133901271/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2047862-5702422?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 _blank print Glaser Chris Uncommon Calling: A Gay Christian's Struggle to Serve the Church Louisville Westminster John Knox Press 1996 227 pp. 0664256597 In this book, Chris Glaser describes his personal journey of coming out to his family, friends, church - and to himself. He tells the story of how the church reacted to his disclosure and his subsequent "uncommon" calling that led him to devote his professional life to reconciliation between the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community and the church. By openly and honestly telling his story, Glaser furthers his calling-demonstrating that lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals are not abstractions, but real people struggling to remain faithful. https://www.ppcbooks.com/Details.asp?BookID=0664256597 _blank print Hazel Dann Witness: Gay And Lesbian Clergy Report From The Front Louisville Westminster John Knox Press 1999 147 pp. 0664257879 Based on interviews with gay and lesbian clergy, the author constructs a mosaic depicting the ministry of gays and lesbians across the denominational spectrum. He poignantly describes the personal challenges they face in their efforts to do constructive work in theology in order to build faith communities where gay men and lesbians can flourish spiritually. https://www.ppcbooks.com/Details.asp?BookID=0664257879 _blank print Righter Walter C. A Pilgrim's Way: The Personal Story of the Episcopal Bishop Charged with Heresy for Ordaining a Gay Man Who Was In a Committed Relationship RighterAPW.jpg New York Alfred A. Knopf 1998 172 pp. 067945442X Walter C. Righter, former Episcopal Bishop of Iowa and assistant Bishop of the diocese of Newark, New Jersey, has a license plate on his Subaru Legacy that reads: "HRETIC." He is the second man in the American Episcopal Church's 208-year history to be charged with heresy, and he tells the full story of his much-hyped 1996 trial and acquittal in a memoir called A Pilgrim's Way. Righter's trial happened because he ordained an openly gay man as a deacon in 1990. In Righter's view, his trial was a microcosm of American Christians' anxiety about sexuality and contemporary gender roles, and it also addressed the question of whether ancient theological traditions should be changed by modern social trends. His arguments, in this regard, are lively and insightful, but the greatest value of A Pilgrim's Way is its intimate depiction of the internal politics of the Episcopal House of Bishops - where private meetings are sometimes electronically bugged, where personal tensions are expressed in theological debates, and where members seem only intermittently earnest about their sworn vocation to discern God's truth. - Michael Joseph Gross http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067945442X/qid=1133902133/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2047862-5702422?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 _blank print Rossiter Richard T. Out with a Passion: A United Methodist Pastor's Quest for Authenticity San Francisco Alamo Square Press 1999 123 pp. 1886360073 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1886360073/qid=1133902401/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-2047862-5702422?s=books&v=glance&n=283155 _blank print Simpson Archbishop Bruce J. The Gay Face of God gayface.jpg North Charleston, SC BookSurge Publishing 2004 258 pp. 1932657096 This is the story of a man born of an act of violence who grew up as a gay man to become an Archbishop in the Old Catholic Church in America. Archbishop Simpson’s theology and beliefs on the subject of the GLBT community and its place in the world and in particular the Church, flies in the face of most traditions and governmental positions. These positions and beliefs have been formed out of his unique experiences growing up in the military, police departments, brief connection with the Saudi Royal family, federal government and the Roman Catholic Church. http://www.booksurge.com/product.php3?bookID=GPUB01134-00001 _blank print Watkins Rev. Tommie L. Living Out Loud Miami Beach The Watkins Group 2005 Living Out Loud is a Black ordained Baptist minister's story of the discrimination he experienced from the United States Government and his own religious community because of his sexual orientation. Rev. Watkins' life shows by case and example that equality for "non-heterosexuals" is a civil rights/human rights issue. http://www.twgllc.biz/pages/lol.html _blank online editors God don't like Ugly October 7, 2005 hayes1005.htm _self online editors 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Harry Knox's Sermon at Chicago Theological Seminary - October 12, 2005 http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=HRC&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=29419 _blank online editors A Matter of Fairness and Prudence - Decision Reversed in the Stroud Appeal An Article about the Beth Stroud Appeal Decision by Kathryn Johnson, Executive Director, Methodist Federation for Social Action - May 2005 johnsonrestroud.htm _self online editors Appeals Committee Reverses Verdict in Stroud Case April 29, 2005 stroud042905.htm _self multimedia Paralagreco Joseph Call Me Malcolm: One Man's Struggle with faith, love and gender identity malcom.jpg New York filmworks, inc./United Church of Christ 2004 1:30 Call Me Malcolm is a documentary about a 27 year-old transgender seminary student, and his struggle with faith, love and gender identity. DVD http://www.callmemalcolm.com/ _blank multimedia Jamie A. Lee Dawn Mikkelson and THIS obedience thisobedience.gif Aquaries Media 2003 1:26 “THIS obedience” follows the Rev. Anita C. Hill and her congregation at St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church from their decision to commit "ecclesiastical disobedience" by ordaining Anita, through the decisions made at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. From the personal stories of those involved to high-stakes political maneuvering of a denomination, “THIS obedience” provides insight into an historic series of events that rocked the third largest Christian denomination in the United States. Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Central Standard Film Festival. DVD https://www.nationalfilmnetwork.com/store/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=268 _blank multimedia Sampliner David editors Turning Points: Stories of Life and Change in the Church Mixed Greens Media 0:57 Turning Points tells several true stories about Presbyterians struggling with the denomination's current ordination standards. It is a four-part video with a study guide suitable for use in adult education classes, pre-presbytery workshops, session meetings – wherever the church gathers for study and discernment of God's call to the church today. VHS/DVD http://covenantnetwork.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CNOP&Product_Code=TPoints&Category_Code=V _blank print Robinson Gene In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God eyeofthestorm.jpg New York Seabury Books 2008 192 pp. 1596270888

Gene Robinson is bishop of the tiny, rural Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, but he's at the center of a storm of controversy raging in the Episcopal Church and throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion involving homosexuality, the priesthood, and the future of the Communion. This book offers an honest, thoughtful portrait of Robinson, the faith that has informed his life, and the controversy that continues to rock his Church.

 http://www.churchpublishing.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Product&Productid=3286 _blank multimedia editors In a Time of Trial: The Story of Pastor Bradley Schmeling and St. John's Lutheran Church, Atlanta Georgia New Edition 2008 inatimeoftrial.gif St. John's Lutheran Church 0:59

In August of 2006, Bishop Warren of the Southeastern Synod filed formal charges with the ELCA against Pastor Schmeling because of his committed relationship with Rev. Darin Easler. The Discipline Hearing Committee was compelled by current policy officially removed from the clergy roster in July 2007.

This new version of the film takes us past Pastor Schmeling's removal and to the 2007 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, where his trial sparked LGBT pastors and their allies to come out in droves to push for policy change, urging the church to allow pastors in committed same-gender relationships to be rostered.

In this illuminating and moving documentary, hear first-hand from Pastor Bradley, members of St. John's, and participants in the trial, including former ELCA Presiding Bishop Herbert W. Chilstrom and Professor David Fredrickson.

 DVD http://infox.lcna.org/ _blank print Russell William D. editor Homosexual Saints: The Community of Christ Experience homosexualsaints.gif Ann Arbor John Whitmer Books 2008 276 pp. 1934901059 Members of Community of Christ (formerly the RLDS church) have polarized opinions concerning the status of their fellow members who are homosexual. The two major issues are priesthood ordination (in a predominantly lay church) and whether the church will marry and bless same-sex weddings. Homosexual Saints explores these issues with twenty-four narratives that explain the experience of gay and lesbian members of Community of Christ, as well as the experiences of their family members and supporters. The volume includes a detailed history of the status of homosexuals in the church since 1954, and a preface by celebrated Mormon historian D. Michael Quinn. http://www.johnwhitmerbooks.com/books/title_details.asp?title=6 _blank print Rogers Jack Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the Church Revised and Expanded jesusthebible2.jpg Louisville Westminster John Knox Press 2009 208 pp. 066423397X In this revised and expanded best seller, Rogers argues for equal rights in both the church and society for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people. He describes how he moved away from opposition to that support, charts the church’s history of using biblical passages to oppress marginalized groups, argues for a Christ-centered reading of Scripture, debunks stereotypes about gays and lesbians, and explores texts used most frequently against homosexuals and gay ordination. In this newly revised edition, he maps the recent progress of major U.S. denominations toward full equality for LGBT persons, adds a new chapter that examines how Scripture is best interpreted by Jesus’ redemptive life and ministry, and updates his own efforts and experiences. The book also includes a guide for group study or personal reflection. Jack Rogers is Professor of Theology Emeritus at San Francisco Theological Seminary and Moderator of the 213th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Bible-Homosexuality-Revised-Expanded/dp/066423397X _blank print Munday John S. Hate is the Sin: Putting Faces on the Debate over Human Sexuality hateisthesin.jpg New York Routledge 2008 160 pp. 0789036398

Arguments based in doctrine and scripture over the inclusion of homosexual people within Christian congregations and sacraments have done little to persuade the faithful on either side of this debate. Hate is the Sin: Putting Faces on the Debate over Human Sexuality approaches this divisive subject through portraits of the faith of gay and lesbian persons, presents both sides of the controversy, revealing how preformed opinions shape widely divergent interpretations of biblical and theological issues. Included are the true stories of Mary Albing, serving as a pastor while in a lesbian relationship; Jay Wiesner, whose congregation defied the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by ordaining and installing him in an Extraordinary Candidacy Project ceremony; David Glesne, who sought to heal relationships with gays and lesbians and yet deny them ordination and cohabitation; and other accounts of the ways that many congregations have struggled to welcome homosexual people and to realize the Christian message within their own churches. Hate is the Sin is an insightful and detailed account of this contemporary debate and required reading for any person hoping to understand Christianity and the spiritual lives of contemporary Christian people.

 http://www.routledge.com/books/Hate-is-the-Sin-isbn9780789036391 _blank multimedia Walton Pam editors Call to Witness Rev_Phyllis_Zillhart1_200w.jpg Mountain View, CA Pam Walton Productions 2000 59 Minutes Call to Witness focuses on three extraordinary people who are willing to put their lives on the line for what they believe in. The Lutheran pastors in Call to Witness and the congregations that support them want to open not only their pews but also their pulpits to all people, including gay men and lesbians. Call to Witness is an excellent discussion starter and makes an important contribution to any religious or lgbt studies curricula. A Discussion Guide is available for download. DVD & VHS http://www.pamwaltonproductions.com/call2witness.shtml _blank