As I write this, I’m spending my very first week in P-town, (a
shamefully belated first for a 37-year-old gay man), and yesterday, the
simple act of going to the beach became an epic of biblical proportions.
In order to get to the boiz beach past Herring Cove, I parked my bike off
the road with a few hundred others, hiked a few feet down a dune, then saw
a truly amazing sight—hundreds of gay men processing through a 3/4 mile
salt marsh, in water that starts out ankle-deep, then eventually
approaches the waist, forcing backpacks, sandals, and supplies to
shoulder-height or above. After wading the last 40 yards over rocks and
shells, we hiked up a steep dune, and then saw the waves crashing on the
beach—our own sacred space.
The sight of this procession of our tribe wading through the waters on
the way to their promised land conjured more than a few metaphors for me—the
children of Israel crossing the red sea (although with Cecil B. DeMille
and Moses, they stayed considerably drier than yesterday’s sojourners)—or
the African-American call to wade in the water, with the promise that God
would trouble it, in the process liberating anyone who happened to be
brave enough to take the plunge.
In the summer of 2003, the waters we wade through as a people have been
raging. The Supreme Court stirred things up in June with the landmark case
striking down sodomy laws; much of Canada has affirmed our legal right to
marry, with Massachusetts likely to follow. The Episcopalians have
confirmed the election of Gene Robinson, their first openly gay bishop;
and even as Dubya tried his tired "love the sinner but hate the
sin" crap last week, he found himself defending Condoleeza Rice by
pronouncing her to be "faaaabulous!" Makes one wonder if the
"Queer Eye" boys, who are an irresistible cultural force in
themselves have been making emergency side trips to 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue.
While this swirling may be exhilarating, there are other forces working
in reaction to our progress. The Pope thinks that when we adopt children,
we are inherently doing violence to them. Pat Robertson is praying for our
liberal Supremes to kick the bucket, because he and the rest of Pharaoh’s
army are panicked, as the waters are parting for us, and we begin to walk
on hallowed ground.
Other religious voices, however, are being raised in celebration for
these hard-fought victories.
From August 14-17, over 800 GLBTSQ and Z folks from all Christian
denominations will converge on Philadelphia for the Witness our Welcome
2003 conference, an international ecumenical queer gathering. There will
be two days of varied workshops on everything from transgender experience
to gay marriage and aging issues, as well as a plenary session on racism
within our community. The Hanover Street Presbyterian Church Choir with
members of the Rainbow Chorale of Delaware will kick off the first of five
plenary worship services, and evening entertainment will include an
African-American gospel concert, as well as Peterson Toscano’s one-man
show "Doin’ Time in the Homo No Mo Halfway House: How I Survived
the Ex-gay Movement."
There is still time to register for the conference, whether for the
full week, or for one or two days. Local folks who register to volunteer
to work three hours on any given day are allowed to attend the rest of
that day’s events free of charge. All information is available at
WOW2K.org. Join us as we work to energize progressive Christian
communities around the struggle for justice for GLBT people, and to take
back the voice of perceived authority from the religious right. Come sing,
dance, and wade in the water with us.
Patrick Evans is Associate Professor of Music at the University of
Delaware.
Back to Top of Page 