June 26, 2007
Dear Sylvia,
Thank you for introducing yourself to me. I appreciate any opportunity to
engage with my Presbyterian sisters so that together we may come to know and
demonstrate the full body of the church through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In response to your questions about the General Assembly Council’s work
through Racial Ethnic Young Women Together (REYWT):
1. Why did your office encourage your Presbyterian sisters in Christ to
attend this [‘Let’s Talk about Sex”] conference that, clearly, did not
uphold our denomination’s policy on biblical standards of sexuality?
Racial Ethnic Young Women Together (REYWT) is a ministry with and for racial
ethnic young women that works to build a network of leaders that reflect the
diversity of today’s Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Our members are single
and married; Hispanic and Latina, Asian, Middle Eastern, Native American,
Black and African American, Bi-racial and Multi-racial. Each of these young
women of color is a person of faith seeking to articulate her beliefs and
identify her unique call to a Christian vocation that utilizes her unique
God given gifts.
One way that we support that goal is to provide scholarships to help defray
the cost of attending conferences and events that relate to the interests of
young adults, women and racial ethnic people. By doing so, we are helping to
give young women the knowledge, tools, and skills that they need to be
successful leaders in the church.
In REYWT, we support leadership development, in part, through the exchange
of ideas and perspectives. This willingness to listen to others also
provides opportunities for REYWT members to share PC(USA) standards and
beliefs so that they may be more fully understood by others.
‘Let’s Talk about Sex” was a conference presented by the Women of Color
Reproductive Health Collective, a national organization that has identified
as its focus better lives for women, healthier families, and sustainable
communities. The conference’s particular purpose was to be a forum for
education, awareness, and dialogue about issues regarding sexuality in
communities of women of color.
We believe that sharing information about this conference with REYWT members
is within our ministry goals and is not in conflict with our denomination’s
policy on Biblical standards of sexuality which is fidelity in marriage and
chastity in singleness.
You may have noted that there are several other conferences listed on our
Calendar/Events page:
39th Annual National Black Presbyterian Caucus Convention
Ecumenical Multicultural Gathering (Spirit of Wholeness: A Racial Ethnic
Multicultural Event)
19th Annual Trip to Korea for Christian College Students
After God’s Own Heart: A Gathering for Young Adult Clergy
REYWT Retreat Loving Ourselves: Discovering Our Identity and Exploring Our
Place
In providing information about a wide array of conferences and events, we
are offering young Presbyterian women an opportunity to self-select
activities that meet their interests, as they also strive to live
faithfully, develop as leaders, and experience the larger church.
2) How much money was used from PC(USA) funds to provide scholarships to
young women to attend this conference?
No one contacted our office to receive a scholarship to attend this event.
Therefore, no money has been spent.
I understand that you will share my responses on the Voices of Orthodox
Women Web site and ask that it is posted in its entirety. My hope is that my
responses are helpful to you and provide an opportunity for more
Presbyterians to know about REYWT.
Thank you again for introducing yourself to me and to REYWT. I look forward
to continued opportunities where we may engage one another for the sake of
Christian friendship and exchanging information and ideas about the
ministries to which each of us is called.
Peace and blessings,
Bridgett A. Green
Associate, Racial Ethnic Young Women Together
General Assembly Council, PC(USA)
[Sylvia Dooling sent the following in response to the above]
June 27, 2007
Dear Bridgett,
Thank you for your timely response to my questions. It was encouraging to
learn more about this particular group of young women, and your office’s
work to help its members become leaders in our church. That however
notwithstanding, VOW still believes that it was a mistake for your office to
encourage these young women to attend a purely secular conference on human
sexuality, and to offer scholarships to an event designed to promote values
and practices that are clearly inimical to those of our church.[1]
You state in your letter, ‘sharing information about this conference is
within our ministry goals and is not in conflict with our denomination’s
policy on Biblical standards of sexuality which is fidelity in marriage and
chastity in singleness.” We respectfully disagree. In the first place, you
did far more that merely ‘share information.” You promoted the conference,
encouraged our young women to attend, and offered scholarships to any who
would. In the second place, workshops designed to address issues such as
‘controversial perspectives regarding feminine and queer self-gratification
as well as present a brief sex-toy segment and open discussion about the
impact of the sexual liberation of previous generations of women of color,”
are hardly congruent with our church’s standards.
That a secular organization would promote themes such as this is no
surprise. However, that a ministry of our church not only supported them,
but offered mission money to pay for scholarships, is even though no one may
have taken you up on your offer. Not only is this poor stewardship in a time
of declining income, it is one more example of our church’s inability and/or
failure to differentiate itself and its work from that of a university .
We have been told that this is a new day in Louisville. But decisions such
as this one tend to undermine our confidence in those assertions. May the
future be different, and may we find ways to support what should be a common
ministry.
In Christ,
Sylvia Dooling
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[1] The sponsoring organization was SisterSongWomen of Color Reproductive
Health Collective (http://www.sistersong.net ). SisterSong is an
organization promoting ‘reproductive justice” for women of color. From May
31 June 2, they offered a conference entitled, ‘Let’s Talk about Sex.” The
conference offered some seventy-five workshops, many concerned with
political/health issues connected to sex and sexuality. Some workshops had
to do with safety issues for ‘sex work.” Some offered ways to affirm the
lifestyles of LGBT persons including sexual techniques.
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