Arts & Entertainment
Witness
Arts & Entertainement
Witness
by Dann Hazel
Reviewed by Max Stroud
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The night before Thanksgiving, I sat in a pew in a black Baptist church in Philadelphia and listened as the congregation was called to witness.
For close to an hour, I was captivated by the ways people shared in the spoken word and in song stories of thankfulness.
It’s often struck me – not without a touch of irony – how similar the Christian tradition of witnessing and the GLBT community’s tradition of coming out are. I’ve attended more than one speakout where the tone of the speakers sharing details of coming out has brought me back to the days of church camp, when I listened to passionate tales of salvation by the light of the campfire. Sharing our stories plays an important role in the way we make meaning out of this world we inhabit – and in how we come to share that meaning-making with others.
In his recently released Witness, Dann Hazel combines these traditions from the religious and GLBT communities to explore the often tenuous ground inhabited by gays and lesbians who find themselves called to the Christian ministry.
The book begins with a meandering and chaotic look at the spectrum of religious and political issues that intersect with the lives of GLBT clergy in mainstream America. It offers a cursory introduction to biblical interpretations, the role of the religious right in shaping mainstream opinions, social justice issues faced by the GLBT community, and the degrees of acceptance and discrimination found in the official doctrines of various American denominations.
While Hazel’s attempt to encapsulate these issues into a cohesive overview in the first 30 pages is cumbersome and confusing at times, the witnessing that comes after it is well worth the initial wading through the first chapter.
Hazel interviewed a number of gay and lesbian clergy who inhabit a range of positions in relation to the church, from a completely closeted Catholic priest to an openly lesbian minister in the Metropolitan Community Church.
Within this spectrum, Hazel interviews clergy forced into “exile” from their denominations due to their refusal to remain silent or celibate, as well as those who choose to remain within the church and do what they can from the pulpit while hiding or denying themselves a social life.
The stories of the men and women interviewed in the book – including those of partners Christine Leslie and Martha Dyson of Burlington, VT – are a testament to their ongoing faith in a loving God and willingness to pursue a spiritual life in an unwelcoming, if not hostile, church environment. The tales of their spiritual journeys are interwoven with their coming out stories, creating a tapestry of struggle, affirmation, and personal acceptance bound together by a deep and abiding belief in love.
Even as these stories are inspiring, there are also voices missing. There is no mention in the book of race or class, but it appears to represent white, middle-class, gay and lesbian clergy. How do these experiences differ from that of a young gay black man with a dream of ordination? Do church organizations deal less tactfully with bisexual or transgender clergy? What is it like for a lesbian Korean to serve her congregation?
Witnessing is powerful because it relates an aspect of the human experience in a way that invites listeners to share in that story, to be affected by it, to begin to understand it. This is the power of Witness.