Is change really possible? Absolutely! We testify from our own personal experience that we have experienced profound change in our sexual identity, behavior, interests and desires — change that has brought us great peace and satisfaction. (See About Us: Our Stories)
In sharing our experience, we are not necessarily suggesting that everyone can change. Nor are we saying that everyone should try to change. We are only sharing our own experience, about what was right for us and what worked for us. We have no desire to try to convince people who are happy living a gay life that they should be dissatisfied. If “gay” works for them, great. We are not suggesting that those who embrace and accept a gay identity and choose to live as homosexuals are sick, or wrong, or somehow “less than” others. They are as deserving of respect as we are.
Homosexuality just wasn’t right for us. It conflicted with our deeply held beliefs, our life goals, and our intrinsic sense of our true, authentic selves.
And so we pursued change — and ultimately found that by facing and addressing deep emotional wounds, fears and other root problems, our homosexual desires started to diminish and then to disappear, while heterosexual feelings began to emerge and increase. True, we found the journey was often difficult and frightening, but the destination has brought us immeasurable peace and joy. In fact, if there is one consistency in the scores of published testimonials by those who have succeeded at change, it is their universal claim that their lives are better now.
Author: leanderharding
Cathedral of All Saints, Albany
How Might Homosexuality Develop?
1) Our scenario starts with birth. The boy (for example) who one day may go on to struggle with homosexuality is born with certain features that are somewhat more common among homosexuals than in the population at large. Some of these traits might be inherited (genetic), while others might have been caused by the “intrauterine environment” (hormones). What this means is that a youngster without these traits will be somewhat less likely to become homosexual later than someone with them.
What are these traits? If we could identify them precisely, many of them would turn out to be gifts rather than “problems,” for example a “sensitive” disposition, a strong creative drive, a keen aesthetic sense. Some of these, such as greater sensitivity, could be related to – or even the same as – physiological traits that also cause trouble, such as a greater-than-average anxiety response to any given stimulus.
No one knows with certainty just what these heritable characteristics are; at present we only have hints. Were we free to study homosexuality properly (uninfluenced by political agendas) we would certainly soon clarify these factors – just as we are doing in less contentious areas. In any case, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that the behavior “homosexuality” is itself directly inherited.
Dr. Jeffery Satinover, How Might Homosexuality Develop?
Brian Cox On The Windsor Report
“I want to start a revolution in the Anglican Communion of conservatives, liberals and moderates who love Jesus, are willing to surrender to God and be transformed, and who are willing to pay the awful price of being reconcilers. It’s time to stand up and be counted. The Windsor Report is the shofar calling us to report for duty.”From an editorial in the current issue of the Living Church. Not currently up on their website.
The Rev. Brian Cox is an Episcopal Priest who is a trained mediator and has been active in a grass roots movement called The New Commandment Taskforce aiming to bring reconciliation to the Episcopal Church.
Family Therapist, Frank Pittman On Divorce
After 42 years of working with over 10,000 couples in various states of crisis, I can confirm that divorce has already become increasingly popular and is now considered not just normal but the expected and perhaps inevitable final chapter of marriage.Divorce is considered, by the media, by the TV and newspaper advice giving “experts,” and even by many of the professional therapists, particularly the youngest and least experienced ones, to be the treatment of choice for mild depression (”I’m just not happy,”) for unpleasantness (”I felt verbally abused”) and for sexual attractions to passing strangers or casual friends (”I must not be in love with my mate.”) All baby boomers are sure they deserve an ideal partner and when they discover they don’t have one they know they should be free at any moment to dump this imperfect one, put the kids in storage, and go back to the perfect partner collection for another try.
Frank Pittman, Response to “The Death of ‘Till Death Us Do Part’: Marriage in the 20th Century”
Fr. Kevin Holsapple, Advent Meditation
John said, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Left Behind
It is quite wrong to say that the rapture is scriptural, it is no such thing. There are no references to it, zero, nada in the Bible. The idea comes from a Latin translation of a verb, “snatch,” which the Vulgate uses a word with the root “rapt” to translate.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Kendall S. Harmon, The Challenge of the “Left Behind” Series, The Anglican Digest
Kendall Harmon On Advent
Does Advent in your parish serve as a season of anticipation for the second coming of Christ? It is to focus on preparing us for both comings, the first in Bethlehem and the second in glory, but Christmas preparation has gained huge precedence in the last century.
Summary of the Windsor Report
What follows is my summary of the Windsor Report. Thanks to T19 for putting this up when I first wrote it. I have now read the report three times and my appreciation for the work of the commission has grown with each reading. It is not the chastisement and punishment for which so many hoped, nor is it the vindication of the autonomy of national churches cherished by innovators. It is not a completely adequate theological analysis of the state of the Anglican Communion. It is a document that draws boundaries, makes challenges and clearly articulates the consequences of choices. It is an exercise in theologically informed church diplomacy. The Windsor Report is offered in such a way that it has the possibility of changing the terms of the discussion from a question of civil and ecclesiastical rights for a persecuted minority to the question of the meaning of communion and the proper theological criteria and ecclesiastical process for settling disputed issues. As I watch the responses to the Report, I believe I am seeing a new coalition emerging which includes many people who are variously minded on the gay agenda but don’t want to see their church further damaged by the controversy. It is at least possible that the necessity of responding to this report could allow new voices and new leadership to emerge in the Episcopal Church which while still sympathetic to the gay agenda would not wish to make same sex blessings a church defining or church dividing issue. This I take it is the position of Rowan Willams.
What Does The Science Say
The Rev. Dr. Paul Clayton, Patristics scholar and Northeast SEAD colleague on science and homosexuality Read the whole thing here [Editor’s note: this link is broken. We apologize for the inconvience.]
Homosexuality, The Church, and Truth And Justice For Children
The current debate in the church about homosexuality is often presented as an issue of justice. Clearly the church should be on the side of respect for individual civil rights and upholding the innate dignity of all human beings as made in the image of God. Often this discussion is focused solely on the rights of adults to free expression and to have equal access to the goods of society and to the goods of the church including the controversial issue of access to the sacramental rites of Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. In these discussions, the issue of the origins of same sex attraction is often bracketed. It is argued that it matters little whether same sex attraction comes from nature or nurture if homosexual orientation is experienced as a fixed and defining element of an individual’s identity. The justice issue that presents itself is how to treat this identity group with equity.
Continue reading “Homosexuality, The Church, and Truth And Justice For Children”
The Very Rev. Dr. Leander S. Harding 