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The Press Enterprise - June 19, 2009
Open and Affirming
By: Carl Love, Staff Writer
10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, June 18, 2009
Lorian Dunlop moved to Murrieta five years ago with her family. Like so many, she was attracted by the lower housing prices.
Oh, and did I mention that she's gay, married and raising two daughters?
Now that that's out of the way, let's turn to something even more unconventional for these parts. She's found a church that voted unanimously to publicize that gay people are welcome, a process formally worded by the congregation as "open and affirming."
Yes, in an area that's been referred to as the Bible Belt of Southern California, Dunlop's house of worship, United Church of the Valley in Murrieta, is standing out like a nun in a strip club.
"Attending a church in this area where there are at least eight openly gay members, and six of them are lesbian parents with children, is astounding," she says.
Astounding, yes, but also consistent with the church's past, given that it hosts the regular meetings of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays at its community house in old town Murrieta.
Put it all together and you've got a congregation that's making quite the statement in a community that's to conservatives what San Francisco is to liberals.
Asked if she thought the area was tolerant of the gay lifestyle, Dunlop says, "Not anything even close to it. But we have found a small island in the midst of this intolerance, fear and hatred where we are accepted and loved and affirmed for the people we are, the family we are, and where our worship of God is every bit as acceptable as the worship of straight people."
The head of the congregation's church council, Larry Elwood, says gay and lesbian people have come to the 16-year-old church for years. "Now we are making a public statement about it, which is the thing to do."
There are about 120 members in the congregation, and Elwood concedes one or two might leave, contending it's unnecessary when gay and lesbian worshippers are welcome, so why publicize it. Then again, the day the church voted for the measure, 12 people joined. Perhaps that's why.
Challenging the area's conservative conventional wisdom is nothing new for the church. A peace vigil has been held since 2006 at 4 p.m. Fridays in front of its community house.
Craig Thorson, who worked on the church's position on gay people, concedes the congregation's newest views could be criticized.
"However, it might even open a dialogue with some people who stop in to ask why we would want such a thing," he notes.
Thorson, who is gay and joined the church in March, says, "It is easy for some churches to interpret some passages in the Bible as saying that gay is bad or gay is sin and to find it easy to condemn gay and lesbian individuals."
As a result, Thorson and Dunlop say they haven't always felt welcomed at every church. Now one local congregation has publicly stated they are.
Dunlop says her wife, Darcie, notes how bars used to be the only place acceptable for gays to meet socially. Now they can meet in a church, which, Dunlop says, "society used to consider antithetical to who we are."
"I'm deeply grateful to the United Church of the Valley for standing strong in the face of the discrimination and hatred so common in this area, and making a bold and active statement of affirmation of God's love and acceptance of people like me and my wife, and our family, and for boldly and actively making us welcome as members of this church."
Bold is definitely the operative word.
Reach Carl Love at carllove4@yahoo.com
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LDS leader pitches soft-sell approach in missionary work
By: JAMES CURRAN - Staff Writer
MURRIETA ---- Pleasantries and tips on bug repellent aside, it was time to get to the heart of the matter about missionary work Tuesday night.
"So, I'd like to ask you," said Larry Slusser, second counselor to the Temecula Stake president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Is there any plan to teach them about Jesus Christ?"
A small gathering from United Church of the Valley appeared uncomfortable at the suggestion. Members of the church in Murrieta were preparing for their first mission, and had made the unusual step of appealing to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ---- a faith that has a profoundly different approach to the life of Jesus, but is known for its worldwide humanitarian outreach ---- for help.
Members of United Church of the Valley leave Southwest County later this month on a trip to Nicaragua to build two houses for the impoverished.
As for proselytizing, some of the admittedly liberal bunch replied they thought that engaging the needy in a discussion of Christianity was abhorrent and pushy.
Slusser paused.
"I'd like to plant that seed (with you)," he said. "(Christianity) is life-changing, to give them peace of mind, direction ... ."
Slusser and two missionaries from LDS were summoned to a house-turned-community center on Washington Avenue that night to discuss how to have a successful mission. The event marked an admission from another local Christian leader ---- that differences of opinion regarding the life of Jesus should be shelved in order to serve the destitute.
Prior to the get-together, the Rev. Randy Leisey, pastor of United Church of the Valley, was more interested in good works. He had been curious about the Latter-day Saints' missionary work since he heard Gordon B. Hinckley, the church president who died earlier this year, give a speech at The Forum in Inglewood.
"He said 'You 77 million baby boomers, don't get a motor home. Go on mission,'" Leisey said. "I thought, 'Wow, wouldn't that change the world?'"
Leisey and Slusser referred to each other as friends during the meeting.
Slusser and the missionaries said that talking about Jesus to the people they are helping need not come off as a high-pressure sales pitch. Instead of swiftly presenting a Bible ---- or in LDS' case, a Book of Mormon ---- Slusser suggested being pen pals with the people they help, bringing videos to watch or holding prework devotionals.
After his talk, Slusser said he was glad that LDS has been recognized for effective missionary work. He also recognized that his church had more resources than the smaller United Church of the Valley and tailored the talk away from the LDS method.
Leisey said that some of his members were deeply concerned about coming off as pushy Bible-punchers. One woman lamented during the discussion that "Christians have gotten a lousy reputation ... for being self-righteous."
"The task of missionary work used to be to make them like you," Leisey said. "But if you get intellectual about it, you realize how egocentric that is. Our denomination and many denominations started rethinking what mission is all about ---- building relationships."
Leisey also said he learned something about LDS beyond the Book of Mormon.
"I had an assumption that as a younger church, they'd be beating people over the head with the Bible," he said. "But it's really about getting to know people by helping them out."
Slusser insisted that building housing for the poor, a noble endeavor, is only part of the purpose.
"The house is going to care for ... one or two generations," he said. "The faith affects many future generations."
Contact staff writer James Curran at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2627, or jcurran@californian.com.
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Thoughts on Immigration - Lynne Bradley
My Norwegian ancestry has always been a source of pride. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was born on Norwegian Independence Day and probably a lot to do with the fact that as a second/third generation Norwegian-American I am comfortably far enough separated from the travails and hardships of being an immigrant that I can appreciate the sacrifices and risks taken by my grandparents and great grandparents. As the family historian, I’ve tried to uncover information about why my ancestors chose to come to America, how they made the trip, how life was like for them and, indeed, who they were. I haven’t discovered as many answers as I’d like, but I do know that it took my farfar’s (dad’s father’s) family over three months by boat to get from the tiny dock alongside their postage-sized farm in Fresvik, Norway to the shores of the new world (it is likely that they came through Canada and, it is pretty certain that their arrival was not “legal”). I can also point with pride to their accomplishments after their arrival. Within four years of coming to America, my great grandfather was one of the founders of a Norwegian-American church. My ancestors were farm workers who rather quickly were able to expand their opportunities and find their own farm in Iowa. My grandfather opened a general store in Humboldt, Iowa. It was widely reported that his great success as a businessman was due not only to his kind nature but also to his ability to speak Norwegian and communicate with the immigrants who were continually arriving in the area.
Most of us probably have similar family stories for most of us have ancestors who came from somewhere else, making the hard decision to leave the familiar, even if impoverished or oppressed, for a life of greater opportunity, freedom and prosperity.
Our country has always prided itself in being a melting pot, welcoming “the huddled masses yearning to be free.” And, we are immeasurably richer as a country for the diversity and rich customs brought into the mix by each new arrival. To be sure, each new immigrant group that has arrived has endured hardships and tough times and, certainly, prejudice and suspicion. Yet, they have been the workers who built our railroads, who toiled in our steel mills and factories, who picked crops for wages no one else would accept, who cleaned our toilets, did our ironing and cooked our meals. And they still do!
And, so, it seems inconceivable that the current mood in our country (or, at least, of our politicians) is to put up fences and, as one vote-seeker is saying, make them “go back, get in line and come back the right way”. Clearly the issue is more complicated than a simple-minded one-sided view. The issues of national security and financial costs are real in today’s world (and, probably in past times as well). However, to expect that we can—or should—keep people out by building fences is shortsighted. And, to expect immigrants to come only when they have received legal permission is, at best, naïve.
Several years ago, I tried to help a Czech friend, who at the time was working in England, through the arduous process of applying for legal entrance to the US. He was, and is, a skilled, intelligent individual who would have made a fine contribution to our country. Despite the fact that he had already been offered a job, we spent several years, a fair amount of money and considerable time jumping through the hoops that were continuously presented. Finally, he gave up and settled in Germany. When his green card eventually arrived, it was too late. Closer to home, we have a Mexican-American friend, a US citizen, who spent several years and thousands of dollars trying to get legal papers for her son (they had traveled to Mexico for his birth because they could not afford the hospital costs here). Just this winter, after finally paying an immigration-savy (and expensive) lawyer, the son got his papers. I am quite sure that these are not isolated incidents.
And, so, I stand in solidarity with the immigrants of today (and yesterday) who work hard, contribute to our economy, enrich our communities and country and keep alive the American dream which many of us “old-timers” seem to have forgotten. To consider immigrants, and those including churches who help them, as felons is unconscionable. I will wave an American flag in honor of the country that my ancestors helped to forge. I will wave a Norwegian flag in honor of the rich heritage and sacrifices brought by my ancestors. And, I will wave the flags of today’s immigrants, legal and illegal, who enrich us by their presence.
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