In heaven together

A great afternoon and evening. The GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) of University of Michigan, Dearborn sponsored Bishop Gene Robinson to come and talk. He was then the guest at a reception in honor of Ruth Ellis Center (thanks to the GSA for doing that!). I went as a REC volunteer and the staff made sure there were other volunteers at the Center to cover for me as today is my usual day to be there.

During the talk I was a bit surprised by a policeman who hung around. Later, when he left with Robinson, I realized the policeman was probably part of Robinson's bodyguard.

I didn't take notes of what Robinson said, so you're stuck with what I can remember. Some highlights:

During the Q&A session a Fundie challenged Robinson for perverting the Gospel. I'm sure he has had lots of practice being kind to his opponents and did so again. He thanked her and politely explained why he disagreed. The very next question was from someone with "proof" that St. Paul was gay. To this Robinson said we must be careful about reading into the Bible what isn't actually there. Jonathan and David may make a great gay couple but the Bible doesn't say they actually had sex. A couple questions later was about how he handles his opponents. He said he keeps in mind "We're going to be in Heaven together." The opponent may be surprised Robinson is there, too. Even so, he is responsible for his actions now. Robinson understands now why Jesus was silent before his accusers at his trial. When people are hurling insults at you it is very easy to respond in kind. It is much better to be silent with the understanding the hate stops with me.

The reception had some very good food (and some of the Ruth Ellis kids took advantage of it). Towards the end of the eating time one of the UM-D servers came to Laura, the Executive Director of the Center. The server said that many times at the end of functions there is lots of food left over. The university can't use it again and the servers can't take it home. They've come up with a system that the servers take turns getting the leftovers to a favorite charity. This server wondered if Laura and REC would be her charity. Laura, of course, jumped at the chance and worked out how the server would contact the program director (sitting across the table) when food became available. I may be serving UM-D leftovers when I'm in the kitchen.

I talked to Robinson afterward and asked him what drives the Fundies. He said that over the last year or so he has concluded that there are two widely different views of humanity.

One is from the liberal church and focuses on the creation story in which God declares everything to be good. Christianity is liberating, calling us to bring out the best in ourselves and each other.

The other view, from the conservative church, focuses on the Fall of Man, when Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden. Humans are so thoroughly corrupted that the church must clamp a tight lid on all deviant behavior. Allow even a tiny bit loose and the whole cesspool comes bursting out. Humans would be nothing better than wild animals, destroying all of civilization, without the firm control of the church. Robinson added that those people do not look happy. I agree it does explain a lot about the Fundie mindset.

Because the reception was in honor of the Ruth Ellis Center there were many of our brochures on the tables. Even though they aren't new, I hadn't seen one before. I was surprised a picture of me is on the front! It was the same one that appeared in Between the Lines 15 months ago of me and Laura and the Center's president of the board accepting a check from Metro Health Foundation.