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This article was published in the Adventist Review on April 15, 2010. (Responses to this article by Dave Ferguson, Director of Church Relations for SDA Kinship, and Stephen Eyer and Daneen Akers, Producers of Seventh-Gay Adventists, are below.)
Reaching OutOne Man Tells of His Lifelong Struggle with Homosexuality. By Wayne Blakely
(Click here to read the article online.)
Wayne Blakely, an account executive for an Ophthamology practice in Oregon, lives in Vancouver, Washington. Blakely was a speaker at the marriage, homosexuality and the church conference held at Andrews University October 15,-17, 2009. To read the Adventist Review news report click here. This article was published April 15, 2010. A response by SDA Kinship's Director of Church Relations, Dave Ferguson... Dear Review Editor, One thing that the article by Wayne Blakely makes very clear is that homosexuality is not a choice. While the factors which cause homosexuality cannot be completely determined, one thing is clear: it is not a choice. I think it is truly regrettable that Mr. Blakely has chosen to malign Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International. Kinship has for the last thirty years provided a support system for thousands of church members who have been disinherited by parents, condemned and often disfellowshiped by their congregations and made to feel that God has abandoned them. As a result many have become agnostic because they have been taught that the way the Church responds to them is the way that God does. In addition, thousands of parents have left the fellowship of the Adventist Church because they have been shunned by their congregations when it became known that they had a gay or lesbian child. Kinship has been the only remaining link many of these people have had to finding a God who loves them so much He gave His Son for their redemption. Dave Ferguson
Director of Church Relations
Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International A response by the Producers of Seventh-Gay Adventists, Stephen Eyer and Daneen Akers... Dear Editor, In “Reaching Out,” an article posted on the Review’s website on April 15, Wayne Blakely talks about what he terms his “lifelong struggle with homosexuality.” He makes reference to a documentary film we are producing.
Not only is Mr. Blakely incorrect in his assertions, but neither he nor anyone at the REVIEW attempted to contact us prior to publication to see if his interpretation of our intentions and motives was correct. In fact, after the Andrews conference on marriage and homosexuality, we corresponded with Mr. Blakely and told him that when we were next in the Pacific Northwest we’d like to talk to him and hear his perspective.
Our film is still in early production, but our goal is to tell the stories of several Adventists who also identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) with the hope of adding a dose of empathy and compassion to a conversation that often quickly becomes abstract and solely theological.
We believe that we all learn best through stories (we’re taking our cue from Jesus’s storytelling emphasis), so we’re following several LGBT Adventists as they struggle with the challenge of being both gay and Adventist—hence the film’s (working) title. Contrary to Mr. Blakely’s characterization of our subjects, the vast majority of gay Adventists we’ve interviewed love the Adventist church. For a variety of reasons, the Adventist church engenders great loyalty, even when some individuals have been mistreated solely because of their sexual orientation.
In order to present an accurate view of life in the Adventist church for gay individuals, we have always planned to include the voices of those who, like Mr. Blakely, feel that God calls them to a life of celibacy and self-denial. Our film would be quite incomplete without that perspective, and if either Mr. Blakely or the REVIEW had contacted us prior to publishing this article, we would have been happy to share that. As it is, we feel that our film and our intentions have been grossly misrepresented by the REVIEW and would ask the editorial staff to consider a correction or clarification.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Stephen Eyer & Daneen Akers
Producers
Seventh-Gay Adventists
San Francisco, CA
This article was published April 15, 2010.
Dear Review Editor,
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| Last Updated on Monday, 03 May 2010 11:12 |
