Let the Light Shine Forth. Last Sunday's
Washington Post, in
Church's Growing Flock Changes Heart of Texas, gave an
inspiring look at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, described as
"the largest predominantly gay church in the United States, and
possibly the world," with more than 3,500 members, "about half of
whom attend services on a typical Sunday morning." In what may be
the ultimate story of gay and lesbian assimilation,
It's a scene straight from Middle America: There is laughter all around and hugs and kisses, too, and after the offertory and communion and much greeting and good cheer, the faithful file happily out of church -- men holding hands with men and women holding hands with women.
But there's always shadow in the presence of light, and so,
wouldn't you just know it,
The Christian right and anti-gay groups have trained their ire on the church, picketing outside and occasionally infiltrating the sanctuary to shout slogans. "I'd call it a synagogue of Satan," said John Reyes, head of the Dallas office of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America. "It's a monstrosity."
Nevertheless,
as the church has tripled and quadrupled in size, the critics have been able to muster only a dozen or 20 protesters sporadically. The Cathedral of Hope, its services protected by a pair of uniformed police and a sprinkling of officers in plain clothes, has shrugged and moved on.
Funny that when gay activists disrupt the church services of
denominations viewed as homophobic, conservative pundits are quick
to condemn (and usually rightfully so, although some acts of
"bearing witness" by gays who are actual members of these churches
may be a different matter). But when religious right activists,
enraged by hate and zeal, disrupt gay church services, where's the
conservatives" outrage?
--Stephen H. Miller