came out to a minister
Submitted by pedro on August 06 1999 at 18:25:30
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Hello everyone-- Some of you may remember that I recently came out to a minister in my local area. I was inspired to do this because of an article in the local newspaper about this parolled sex offender who'd come to town. You see, though some elements of the community panicked and were really unChristian in their response to this man, this minister, on the other hand, was very critical of the paranoia itself. He basically compared it to the old scarlet letter. So I figured, I've been looking for a minister to talk with about this (I came out to the minister at my own church, but he kinda freaked and can't deal with it--he pretends it doesn't exist), so I figured this guy was worth a shot. So I wrote him a letter saying I was like this ex-offender. I assumed that would convey the message that I was a ped becausethat's what the newspaper articles kept implying he was. But as it turns out, he was convicted for raping an adult woman. So, I had inadvertently come out as something quite different, and felt like I needed to set the record, well, "straight." Okay, so I write him again, this time making it very clear: "I'm sexually and emotionally attracted to boys." (This isn't the first time I've been unable to let well enough alone, as those who know me well can attest.) What REALLY helped with this was the statement drafted in Montreal by those of us who attended the Christian Boylove conference. I sent a copy of the "Beginning a Dialogue" along with my letter. He wrote back saying "there were many good points" in that, and that he'd be open to talking with me. So, I want to thank everyone else who attended that conference for making all of this possible, especially Julius and Heather who worked on it the most. In his response, he noted that I must be real apprehensive waiting for his reply; that I had taken a big chance in telling him. It was really nice that he understood this, and has promised to keep everything confidential. It was a big chance I took. But I guess I feel it's very important. I just wanted to let everyone else know such risks can be very much worth it. I think this is what it means to live truth. I often recall that in Hindi, love and truth are actually one word: satya. Praise God. --Pedro |