God loves gays, and so does the Bitterroot PFLAG Chapter
Caitlin (l) and Terry Moran, leader of the Bitterroot/Hamilton PFLAG Chapter
I grew up “un-churched”, which is no small feat in Nampa, Idaho, where I came of age. My parents were both raised Christians, but did not like the judgment and hypocrisy that accompanied their experiences. They raised my brother and me to learn about the contributions of all the world’s religions and to decide for ourselves any spirituality we wanted to pursue.
As a queer person, many Christian churches seem like a rather hostile environment for folks like me, so it was a breath of fresh air when I heard about a PFLAG presentation by an Episcopal minister about God’s love of all his children, including the LGBTQ ones.
Rev. Steve Oreskovich of the Bitterroot Episcopal Churches said he sees himself first and foremost as a teacher, in no small part because the religious right has given Christians a bad name in the LGBTQ and allied communities. In that role, Rev. Oreskovich spoke about how the Bible has been misused to justify homophobia in society. About 60 people, including many PFLAG members and other straight allies, found inspiration at the lecture.
Oreskovich has been a minister for 39 years, mostly at Missoula’s Holy Spirit before “retiring” to serving Episcopal churches in Stevensville and Hamilton, south of Missoula in the Bitterroot Valley. Oreskovich’s lecture was part of the Bitterroot/Hamilton PFLAG chapter’s educational outreach, and the purpose was to explore God’s unconditional love and debunk the myth that homosexuality is inherently sinful.
“The Christian Church is sadly dysfunctional when it comes to talking about sex, especially at that critical junior high age,” Oreskovich said. “We’re taught that all sex in and of itself is bad, and that homosexuality is especially bad.”
This view of human sexuality can lead to a deep sense of shame among believers, leading them to cling to rigid ideas about gender roles and sexual relationships, not to mention causing family heartache when a child comes out as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Part of the reason for homophobic attitudes exist among some Christians has to do with “concordism” – treating scripture as metaphor for the contemporary world, such as the book of Genesis being a metaphor for evolution – as well as Biblical “literalism” – believing every word of scripture comes directly from the mouth of God.
Oreskovich advocates for reading the Bible through the lens of “contextual interpretation” – in order to understand the meaning of the text, you must understand the original context or situation in which it was written. As an example of this, Oreskovich cited the parable of the prodigal son. Much is made of the two sons in the story, but to Oreskovich, the point is importance of the father’s unconditional love for both sons. Scripture is about creating such “right relationships,” Oreskovich said, and unconditional love for your fellow humans is an admirable thing to strive for.
Oreskovich’s central message was one of acceptance and love toward the LGBTQ community and all our family, friends, and neighbors, as well as a call to less-inclusive denominations to examine the fear that lies at the heart of their prejudices.
PFLAG’s leader in the Bitterroot, Terry Moran, hopes to hold more lectures like this in the future, and encourages LGBTQ people and allies to attend PFLAG’s monthly meetings, the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal church in Hamilton, 300 S. 3rd St. For more information, call Terry at 363-7656 or email [email protected].
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