Report on Christian Consultation on BL
Submitted by Bach Julius on June 16 1999 at 22:52:40
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Last Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13, we held a "Christian Consultation on Boylove" in Montreal, Quebec. Its purposes were to promote understanding, reflection, and interaction between Christian BLers and non-BLers in a non-threatening environment, and to discuss how the church should relate to BLers. Heather and seven BLers from various parts of North America met for this event. It was a very small gathering, but it was a start. We were joined by three members of Bach's support group (who are not BLers) on Friday morning for a 2 hour discussion. One of the three was a pastor. The atmosphere was one of warmth and openness. One member of the support group explained to us that it was a real gift for Bach to trust him enough to be honest about who he was, and to invite him to share his journey. Several significant ideas were discussed regarding the importance of dialog between BLers and non-BLers and how that dialog can begin. The discussion was followed by a very special communion service led by the pastor who was present. In the afternoon, Julius, Bach, and Heather worked on a statement summarizing the morning meeting. The next day, it was presented to the rest of the BLers for approval. The final version of the statement is linked below. Please feel free to disseminate it to anyone you feel may benefit from it. On Saturday afternoon, we met with the Ganymede Collective, a local support group for BLers. On Sunday morning, most of us attended Catholic mass at St. Joseph's Oratory, then went sightseeing in the afternoon on Mount Royal. The weekend was productive and memorable. Hopefully many more such meetings can occur, and we can move toward a better understanding of BL by the Christian community. Discussion of the statement and ideas for future efforts are welcomed. Julius and Bach |