'.,As\- 26-0 ‘C.-Kl - __health 8: wellbeing FAITH MATTERS iii! THE mi CHRISTINE LESUE ecause my own soul is too Bfull of pain and rage to write sensibly in response to Matthew Shepard’s brutal beating zurd consequent death, I am passing this along to you. I found it com- forting arrd a source of hope in the midst of the darkness that sur- rounds me during this year’s armu- al observance of National Coming Out Day. The slogan so many of us have worn for so long, “Silence = Death” has never been more true. Mattlrew’s murder is a raw reminder of this as are the Chaplairfs thoughts that follow: “I saw on the news today that Matthew Shepard died. He was the 22 year old man from Wyoming who was beaten and tortured and left to die for no reason other than he was a homosexual. This tragic murder has raised a national debate again the kind of periodic soul- searching our society goes through whenever a crime of hate startles us into awareness. The burning of Black churches, the bombing of H EALTH ANA Health Care Organization POB 357 - 179 S. Winooski St. Burlington VT 05401 - _ . 864-2631/864-2632 wnland Center (Native American) POB 1358 Barre St. - Montpelier VT ., . 05601 - 229-0601 sbian Cancer Support group POB 5248 - Elmwood Ave. Burlington VT 05401 - 863-2437 ;_ (800)649-2437 1'th Star Holistic Health Care RR2 Box 3255 - Morrisville VT 05661 ' 888-2858 I Remedies NA Community Organization) 8 Williston - Brattleboro VT 05301 - 254-2972 State Women’s Network POB 3 - Cavendish VT 05142-0003 - 226-7807 - Margoc@mai|.tds.net - http://www.da rtmouth.edu/-hivnet/ org s/twsnt .htm| ept. of Health, e of Minority Health 108 Cherry St. - P08 70 - Burlington VT 05402 - 863-7273 ont Women’s Health Center 336 North Ave - Burlington VT 05401 - 863-1386 holics Anonymous Burlington, 658-4221- POB 5653, Burlington VT 05402 ‘ Sundays, 5pm, Christ Church Presbyterian, Redstone Camp., UVM. ‘ Thursdays, 7pm, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Cherry Street,658-4221. Concord, NH 603-357-4300 ‘ Wednesdays, 7:30pm, First Congregational Church, North Main and Washington St. ‘Saturdays at 7pm (call for location). Hanover; NH , ’ ‘ Thursdays at 6:30pm, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Womer_r'.,onIy. Keene,',‘" H (603)357-4300 58?‘ .755r!¥l3§DlT’51”§rsi?.-r't>l8¥§£"8§l%- ::a..9?'.§i3"a Faith MEITIBIS 8: Silellflfl MEITIGIS innocent people, the death of a shy young man from Wyoming: these events suddenly shake us out of complacency and remind us that fear, prejudice and rage are always the shadows just beyond the light of our reason. And so people sudden- ly start to speak out There are voic- es of outrage and grief. Voices of sorrow and demands to know why such a thing could happen. And predictably, there are also defensive voices: the Govemor of Wyoming trying to explain why his state has no laws to protect people from hate crimes and the leadership of what is called the Christian “right wing” trying to explain why their national ads against homosex- uality don’t influence people to commit such violence against gays and lesbians. In the days to come, these many voices will fill our media zmd the culttual conscious.-- ness it imprints umil we are once again lulled into the more familiar pattems of our lives, dozing off as a nation until the next tragedy rings the alarm of despair. As the chaplain for our own . community, I would like to invite us all to consider Matthew’s death in another way. Not through the ‘ Saturdays, 7-8:30pm Call for location. Manchester, NH * Sundays, 7:30pm, UU Church, 669 Union St. Nashua, NH — Mondays, 7:30pm, Nashua Unitarian Church. IVIAIDS SERVICES es Vermont (800) 882-2437 NH (300) 752-2437 NY State (800) 541-2437 MA (617) 522-4090 ME (800) 851-2437 National: (800)342-2437 National 'l'l'Y: (800) 243-7889 Teen Hotline: (800) 234-TEEN rp)n County AIDS Network Maureen 863-2437 ‘Community Awareness Project POB 608 - St. Johnsbury VT 05819 - 743-1149 §\p)mmunity Resource Network POB 2057 - Lebanon NH 03766 - (603) 448-2220/(800)816-2220 - acorn@va||ey.net Services for the Monadnock (300) 639-7903 ‘Coffee Clatch meetsTuesdays from 1-2:30pm at 25 Ftoxbury St, Keene rvices of Southwestern VT 108 Union Street #3 - Benninglon 05201 - Alice Mazur 447-8007 ‘Support group for persons infected nd affected by the HIV virus 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, 7pm lngton Area AIDS Project OB 1066 - Bennington VT 05201 - : 442-4481 or (800) 845-2437 leboro Area AIDS Project 3 POB 1486 '- 67 Main 81., 4th fl. - ' Brattleboro VT 05302 -254-8263 or i 254-4444 - sbe||@sover.net . I ‘Support group for PLWA, friends, and. families. Wednesdays 1-2pm 3 ‘Support/discussion group for gay/bi " men. 2nd and 4th Sundays 3-5pm clamor or denials, not through the shouts or cries of anger: but rather, through the silence of his death, the silence of that young man hanging on his cross of pain alone in the emptiness of a Wyoming night, the silence that ultimately killed him as surely as the beatings he endured. Silence killed Matthew Shepard. The silence of Christians (and Jews) who know that our scriptures on homosexuality are few and murky in interpretation and far outweighed by the words of a [teacher] whose only comment on human relationships was to call us to never judge but only to love. The silence of well meaning, educated people who pretend to have an enlightened view of homosexuality while quietly tolerating the abuse of gays and lesbians in their own com-‘ munities. The silence of our elected officials who have the authority to make changes but prefer to count votes. The silence of the majority of “straight” Americans who shift uncomfortably when confronted by the thought that gays and lesbians may be no different from them- selves, save for the fact that they are walking targets for bigotry, disre- spect, cheap humor, and apparently, ce ‘Support group for HlV+ Women Greenfield MA., ‘Mondays, 3:30-5:30pm. Call (413) 773-3333. _ prehensive Care Clinics ' Hotline: (800)763-2460 Brattleboro: 257-8860 Burlington: 656-4594 Rutland: 747-1831 St. Johnsbury: 748-7361 nklin County AIDS Network " Cricket 863-2437 I _ona| Assoc. for People with AIDS " #202 898-0414 IV nfonnation Network on W http://lNWW.dartmouth.edu/-hivnetl land County AIDS Network Mary Kathryn 775-5884 rjnont CARES Vermont.CARES @Gte.net POB 5248 - Burlington VT 05402 - 863-2437 or (800) 649-2437 PO Box 6033 - Rutland, VT 05601 - 775-5884 PO Box 275 - Montpelier VT 05601 - 229-4560 PO Box 503 - St. Johnsbury VT 05819 ° 748-9061 ‘Support groups for people living with HIV/AIDS in: — Washington County, Melanie 229-4560 — Rutland County, Mary Kathryn 775-5884 — Burlington, Michael 863-2437 ont Deaf AIDS Project POB 172 - Brattleboro VT 05302 - (300) 257-1123/ (TTY) (800) 253-0195/ fax 257-2013 ept. of Health AIDS Program 108 Cherry St. - POB 70 - Burlington 05402 - 863-7245 ont People Vlflth AIDS Coalition POB 11- Montpelier, VT 05601 - ' 229-5754 or (800) 69VTPWA ' . vtpwac@sover.net o http://www.sover.net/-vt wacl ington County AIDS etwork Melanie at 229-4560 of murder. Crimes of hate may live in shouts of rage, but they are born in silence. Here at Trinity, I hope we will all listen to that silence. Before we jump to decry Matthew’s sense- less death or before we seek to rationalize it with loud disclaimers: I hope we will just hear the silence. A young man’s heart has ceased to _ beat Hear the silence of that awful truth. It is the silence of death. It is the silence that descends on us like a shroud. At Trinity, as in Wyoming, we are men and women surrounded by the silence of our own fear. Ourfear of those who are different Our fear of being identified with the scape- goat. Our fear of taking an unpopu- lar position for the sake of those who can not stand alone. Our fear of social and religious change. Our fear comes in many fonns but it always comes silently. Awhispered joke. A glance to look away from the truth A quick shake of the head to deny any complicity in the pain of others. These silent acts of our own fear of homosexuality are acted out on this campus every day just as they are acted out every day in Wyoming. Through silence, we give ourselves permission to prac- tice what we pretend to abhor. With silence, we condemn scores of our neighbors to live in the shadows of hate. In silence, we observe the suf- fering of any group of people who have been declared expendable by our society. As a person of faith, I will listen, T ._ __n‘_____ _ _,___‘_, ____ _ _________,_ _ _,_ ,,_ _,___,_._,,___,,.,_,_,._...,... ..,._ ........~.. _ .—.—.. -..,-...._—.———-«--—-—-—~...._‘_‘ as we all will, to the many voices which will eulogize Matthew Shepard. I will carry that part of our 4 national shame on my shoulders. But I will also listen to the silence which speaks much more eloquent- ly still to the truth behind his death. I will listen and I will remember. And I will renew my resolve never to allow this silence to have the last word. Not for Matthew. Not for gay men or lesbian women Not for any person in our society of any color or condition who has been singled out for persecution. Not in my church. Not in my nation. Not in Wyoming. And not at Trinity College.” I thank this chaplain for the courage and resolve stated here. I am grateful for the expression of support May we all be as moved to give up our collusion with the silences in our lives that equal death Perhaps if we do, Matthew Shepard’s death will not have been utterly in vain V Rev. Christine Leslie, the first open- ly ordained lesbian in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), is founder and director of Triangle ll/Iinistries, a Center for Lesbian & Gay Spirituality near Burlington, VT She is available firr individual and couple counseling, commitment services, grief counseling, workshops and retreats. She specializes in the integration of sexual-identity with spiritual development. Call 802-860- 7l06 or email revcsl@aol.com. Visit Triangle Ministries’ web site at https//members.aol.com/revcsl. / BARRE-MONTPELIER Berlin Health Center 371-4342 RD #4, Box 1370 Montpelier, VT 05602 BENNINGTON 447-1191 140 Hospital Drive Bennington, VT 05201 BRATTLEBORO Comprehensive Care Clinic 257-8860 . Brattleboro Memorial Hospital 9 Belmont Avenue Brattleboro, VT 05301 BURLINGTON Community*Health Center 864-6309 : I I 617 Riverside Ave., Suite 200 Burlington, VT 05401 COLCHESTER Family Health 655-2055 311 Malletts Bay Avenue PO. Box 35 Colchester, VT 05446 DANVILLE Health Center, Inc. 684-2275 Box 185, Hill Street Danville, VT 05828 HAR DWICK Health Center 472-3300 High Street, PO. Box 535 Hardwick, VT 05843 - Designated HIV Provider, Anonymous Counseling, 8: Testing Sites in Vermont Bennington Family Practice Assoc. \ ISLAND POND Health Center 723-4300 Middle Street Island Pond, Vt. 05846 MIDDLEBURY Open Door Clinic 388-0137 PO Box 95 Middlebury, VT 05753 NEWPORT Northeast Kingdom Health Center 334-5008 30 Covent Street Newport, 05855 PUTNEY Thomas Hoskins, M.D. 387-5581 Main St., PO. Box 247 Putney, VT 05346 RUTLAND Comprehensive Care Clinic Rutland Regional Medical Center 747-1831 ST. ALBANS Robert Zelazo, M.D. 524-9553 2 Crest Road St. Albans, VT 05478 ST. JOHNSBURY Comprehensive Care Clinic 748-7476 ‘ Northeast Vermont Regional Hospital Hospital Drive ' St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 WINDSOR , Leahy Hitchcock Clinic T 674-21943 .=..-_