
IUS students were invited to talk about current and controversial topics during the lunch hour in Meadow Lodge on Nov. 4.
Maria Accardi, assistant librarian and coordinator of library instruction, gave a presentation on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender spirituality. The event was sponsored by the IUS Safe Zone Committee.
Accardi told a story of an IUS student who came to her asking for research that proved being a member of the LGBT community is against God’s will.
Accardi said since she is a lesbian and also a member of the Episcopal Church, she was hurt and offended by the student’s request.
“He said, ‘I wasn’t trying to be rude. It’s just that I am a Christian,’” Accardi said. “I said, ‘Well, so am I.’”
Accardi said the student was confused how someone could be both a homosexual and a Christian. The purpose of Accardi’s lecture was to debunk the belief that being LGBT excludes a person from spirituality.
“Contrary to popular belief, a person can be both LGBT and spiritual because God is an equal-opportunity lover,” Accardi said.
Accardi listed different denominations and steps they were making to try and reform their religious practices to include LGBT people and reduce confrontation, judgment and discrimination in the church.
The United Church of Christ, for example, has started a campaign called “LGBT Ministries,” which welcomes people of all sexual orientations.
According to the United Church of Christ web page, “Jesus didn’t turn people away, and neither do we.”
Accardi also cited movements in the Episcopal Church of the USA, the Presbyterian Church of the USA, the Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, the Mormon Church and many others. She also listed other non-Christian religions and how LGBT people are accepted in those faiths.
Accardi said some of these congregations were created by LGBT people in a response to discrimination found within the church.
Accardi said she encourages students to read the Bible and see for themselves what it has to say about the lifestyle of an LGBT individual.
She also said students should take the text in its historical and literary context.
Accardi said when she studied the Bible this way, she found no condemnation of a committed and loving relationship between two adults of the same gender.
Jennifer Crompton, assistant director of Residence Life and chair of the Safe Zone Committee, said she agrees with Accardi.
“Taking things in context is probably the most important part when you are doing your own research,” Crompton said. “It’s a myth that members of the LGBT community don’t have any spirituality.
“The connection to God doesn’t go away just because someone in a church says they are an abomination,” Crompton said.
Crompton said the Safe Zone Committee exists to create places where LGBT students feel accepted and comfortable.
The committee has been on campus for seven years, training full-time staff and faculty who are willing to participate to know how to make students feel welcome.
The Safe Zone Committee will train staff and faculty in closed sessions, teaching them how to create what Crompton calls judgment-free zones.
Next spring, they will also have training sessions for students and student organizations interested in participating.
Those who pass the training get a Safe Zone sticker they can put on their office doors, letting students know they are welcomed and accepted.
Recently, the Safe Zone Committee has been hosting presentations and discussion sessions about certain hot topics in the LGBT community.
“As a committee, we decided we need to be a little more visible and educational,” Crompton said.
Accardi’s spirituality presentation is the second of four presentations planned for this academic year.
In February, Safe Zone is planning a discussion on transgender issues, and, in April, they are planning an audience-driven, hot-topics session where students can put questions in a box to be drawn and discussed.
“When you are in a population that is marginalized and oppressed, finding that inner peace is even more important,” Accardi said.
Accardi and Crompton both said the buck doesn’t stop there, and oppression is not the end of the story. Both cited the “It Gets Better” campaign, a website full of video messages from adult LGBT community members and “allies” — straight people who affirm LGBT rights.
These messages are directed to young, bullied LGBT children, offering them hope and trying to give them a positive outlook for the future.
The campaign exists to prevent depression or suicide, which has affected some members of the LGBT youth.
By MICHELE HOP
Staff
mhop@ius.edu