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(More customer reviews)Although I've been enthusiastically participating in the Amazon Vine program over the past month, this book was ordered for me "the regular way" because my husband Ray knew I'd find it fascinating. After 52 years of marriage, he knows me pretty well, but even so, this is a total understatement.
Ray and I are an unusual couple in that although he is gay -- well, actually, bisexual --(I didn't know this until after we'd been married fourteen years), our relationship has endured, despite many changes and as a result of much struggle. However, if he'd been aware of other options, and had not been victimized as other GLBT people are by the oppressive bigotry of the "Mainline" churches, it is quite probable that his life would have taken a completely different path.
The point is, though, that shortly after he came out to me, and we resolved our major issues relating to our plans for the future, we left the Catholic Church in which we'd been married and had our children baptized, and joined Metropolitan Community Church. We found there complete acceptance for ourselves and our family, and although we were aware of the struggles going on in other denominations concerning acceptance of and justice for GLBT people, we were able to go on with our own lives calm and secure in the awareness of God's love.
This book, therefore, was an amazing eye-opener. Although I'm sure I had heard about the trial of Jimmy Creech, as well as the struggles in the various churches concerning the acceptance of gay men and lesbians as clergy candidates, I had no real clue how intense these things were. Nor did I have any awareness of the courageous efforts of a few heterosexuals to bring the true vision of Christ to life within their denominations. And indeed, since MCC churches regularly perform covenant blessings and holy unions for same-sex couples, I guess I thought the main arena for action on the issue of Gay Marriage was the secular, not the religious.
That is what makes "Adam's Gift" such a vital and important story. Jimmy Creech is, in my perception, an extremely rare gift to the struggle for gay civil rights, because he IS a straight man who is brave and honest enough to stand up to the pressure. During my over 30 years of connection with MCC, I can count on the fingers of one hand the male heterosexuals I've encountered who have had that kind of courage. More women, perhaps, are willing to join those ranks, but men -- especially men in positions of ecclesiastical authority -- typically are the most homophobic of all. Bless him for his willingness to join in this important and vital effort to restore the vision of Jesus to these atrophied religious organizations!
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