Three Re-Imagining Presbyterians tell their stories, but not the rest of the story
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, June 23, 2003
MINNEAPOLIS – Three Presbyterians who were involved in two major controversies in the Presbyterian Church (USA) told “their stories” during the 10th anniversary celebration-conclusion of the Re-Imagining God movement in Minneapolis June 19-21.
But they didn’t tell the rest of the story.
Specifically, they did not mention the uproar from the pulpits and pews and reprimands by two of the denomination’s general assemblies.
Mary Ann LundyThe three Presbyterians are Mary Ann Lundy, formerly the denomination’s staff leader of the Women’s Program Area; Manley Olson, a current General Assembly Council member; and Eily Marlowe, a lesbian activist who is the associate chaplain at Macalester College.
Lundy, who says she is writing a book about Re-Imagining, provided only an anecdote that was related to her case when she was “fired up” – that is, dismissed by the denomination to hook up with a parachute provided by the World Council of Churches.
“My brother was a trustee in a church in Philadelphia,” said Lundy, a heroine and martyr in the Re-Imagining cause. “He was a kind of big wig. He went to this meeting where the pastor said, ‘This awful thing has happened in the Presbyterian church. There was also a woman involved in it.’ My brother said, ‘What is your source for this awful thing? Who is this woman. Your source must have been The Presbyterian Layman. This is not an organ of the church.'”
Subsquently, Lundy said, her brother reminded the pastor that “the woman” he had referred to was his sister. And, she added, he resigned as a church trustee – implying that he was defending her honor and the honor of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
“And my brother is the one who always told me not to make so much noise,” Lundy said.
Lundy left out the rest of the story. The World Council of Churches was the primary sponsor of the 1993 Re-Imagining God gathering. The WCC ran short of money for the event and asked the PCUSA for help. Lundy assisted in diverting $66,000 in Bicentennial Fund money to the feminist event. More than 20 PCUSA national staff members participated.
After The Presbyterian Layman reported what happened at the 1993 gathering, there was a backlash in the pews. The denomination lost millions of dollars in expected contributions. In 1994, the General Assembly, trying to repair the damage, declared that the Re-Imagining movement was “beyond the bounds of the Christian faith.”
Lundy was dismissed. Her boss, James Brown, executive director of the General Assembly Council, hired a public relations firm to try to repair the damage. A subsequent General Assembly voted against his bid for re-election.
Olson and Marlowe both partially described their involvement in what became an adjournment-eve vote by the 210th General Assembly (1998) to close down a feminist campus organization known as the National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW).
Manley OlsonOne of a handful of men involved in the leadership of the Re-Imagining movement, Olson describes himself as “just one of the ladies.” He recalled that the singing of This Little Light of Mine – often considered the theme song of the gay-lesbian movement – during the 10th anniversary event brought to mind the 1998 General Assembly.
“When they started playing This Little Light of Mine, I started weeping, literally. I went through an experience several years ago when I was involved in a Presbyterian college women’s group” – the NNPCW.
After commissioners to the 210th General Assembly, voted at the last evening meeting, to close down NNPCW because of its aberrant theology and emphasis on and advocacy of lesbian relations, Olson recalled that the college women staged a tearful demonstration to plead their case. That demonstration, which was orchestrated with the help of the denomination’s staff and then-Moderator Doug Oldenberg, included holding lighted candles and singing This Little Light of Mine.
After the demonstration, James Mead, vice moderator of the assembly, made a motion to reconsider the assembly’s termination of NNPCW. Mead’s motion passed, opening the door to late-night caucuses between gay/lesbian activists and moderates to forge a compromise.
“Some of us of us – Eily and I – spent most of the night, crafting the report” for the commissioners to consider on the final day of the 210th General Assembly.
The commissioners voted for the compromise, giving the Presbyterian college women a second chance and establishing a task force to review the organization and report back to the 212th General Assembly. The 212th General Assembly approved the task force’s proposal, which included discontinuing use and dissemination of its published material. That material included Sophia-worship rituals and advocacy of lesbian relationships. The reauthorization of the NNPCW also required theological oversight and a three-year probation.
In response to a backlash against the denomination’s leaders for allowing the NNPCW to conduct a demonstration against the commissioners’ original decision, the 211th General Assembly approved a policy that prohibits such demonstrations on the floor of the General Assembly.
Marlowe’s story about the incident also left out the aftermath and emphasized the bonding that occurred for feminists. She claimed that some conservatives were “naming us demonic, the prodigal daughters who won’t repent. It was some of the most ostracized that came to our cause – the crones and a handful of lesbians. Our struggle to maintain the intregrity of our faith had been carried on the broad shoulders of women, as well as the very broad shoulders of our beautiful god Sophia.”
Formerly a staff member of That All May Freely Serve, a group that seeks repeal of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s constitutional prohibition against the ordination of practicing homosexuals, Marlowe said she is currently seeking ordination.
Whether she succeeds or not will determine “whether mine is a story of resurrection or one of rage.”