wfn.org | Retired United Methodist pastor leads PFLAG

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Oct. 28, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York     {631}

NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.

By United Methodist News Service

When the Rev. Paul Beeman and his wife, Betty, organized a chapter of
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in Olympia,
Wash., they did so for a very simple reason.

"We'd like the world to be equally safe for our gay and for our straight
children," the retired United Methodist pastor said.

In September, Beeman, 70, was named national president of PFLAG, a
secular organization, and is one of two clergy members on its board of
directors. He was a pastor and district superintendent in the United
Methodist Pacific-Northwest Annual (regional) Conference for 40 years
and also served in public relations in the Dakotas and Seattle area.

PFLAG's Washington, D.C., office has a professional staff of 15.
Nationally, there are about 425 local chapters and 15 volunteer regional
directors. Paid membership is 80,000 to 85,000, with a constituency of
"probably three times our membership," Beeman said. 

Beeman thinks his religious perspective is important. "There is so much
misinformation, prejudice and hostility that's being spread in the name
of Christianity, that it seemed important for a voice out of the church
to work toward equality and justice and a true understanding of gay
persons and issues," he told United Methodist News Service in an Oct. 26
telephone interview.
 
Part of that understanding, in Beeman's opinion, is that homosexuality
is not a choice. In his own family, both a son and a daughter who has
two children of her own were initially reluctant to accept their
homosexuality. Two other sons are "straight," he added.

One of PFLAG's goals is to encourage parents, family and friends "to be
open about standing" with gays and lesbians.

"We know that society will be transformed if and when all gays and all
of their families are totally open and honest about who they are,"
Beeman said. "The United Methodist Church would be changed in a year if
every family member of a gay was suddenly out and willing to say 'our
kids are fine just the way they are.' "

But he acknowledged the prejudice of so many religious people "who don't
know and don't understand our children."

Another of PFLAG's goals is to make schools and churches a "safe place"
for the statistical 6 to 10 percent of children who are or will become
homosexual. Beeman attended an Oct. 15 White House conference on "School
Safety: Causes and Prevention of Youth Violence" and chatted briefly
with Hilary Rodham Clinton about the organization's fears for the safety
of lesbians, gays and bisexuals in schools.

In response to the fatal beating of Matthew Shepard, a gay college
student in Wyoming who died Oct. 12, Beeman has called upon the
Christian Coalition and related organizations to stop their national
advertising campaign portraying gays and lesbians as abnormal and
sinful. He also urged other communities of faith, including United
Methodists, to stop using "hatred-inducing" statements, such as
declaring homosexuality to be "incompatible with Christian teaching."

Hate crime legislation is needed, and Americans also must examine their
own fears and prejudices, he said. 

"A recent poll discovers that all sorts of people in all levels of
society may engage in gay bashing," Beeman said. "If any persons tend to
think of gays as less than fully human, they feel empowered to strike
out against them."  Retired United Methodist pastor leads PFLAG

Oct. 28, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York     {631}

NOTE: A photograph is available with this story.

By United Methodist News Service

When the Rev. Paul Beeman and his wife, Betty, organized a chapter of
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in Olympia,
Wash., they did so for a very simple reason.

"We'd like the world to be equally safe for our gay and for our straight
children," the retired United Methodist pastor said.

In September, Beeman, 70, was named national president of PFLAG, a
secular organization, and is one of two clergy members on its board of
directors. He was a pastor and district superintendent in the United
Methodist Pacific-Northwest Annual (regional) Conference for 40 years
and also served in public relations in the Dakotas and Seattle area.

PFLAG's Washington, D.C., office has a professional staff of 15.
Nationally, there are about 425 local chapters and 15 volunteer regional
directors. Paid membership is 80,000 to 85,000, with a constituency of
"probably three times our membership," Beeman said. 

Beeman thinks his religious perspective is important. "There is so much
misinformation, prejudice and hostility that's being spread in the name
of Christianity, that it seemed important for a voice out of the church
to work toward equality and justice and a true understanding of gay
persons and issues," he told United Methodist News Service in an Oct. 26
telephone interview.
 
Part of that understanding, in Beeman's opinion, is that homosexuality
is not a choice. In his own family, both a son and a daughter who has
two children of her own were initially reluctant to accept their
homosexuality. Two other sons are "straight," he added.

One of PFLAG's goals is to encourage parents, family and friends "to be
open about standing" with gays and lesbians.

"We know that society will be transformed if and when all gays and all
of their families are totally open and honest about who they are,"
Beeman said. "The United Methodist Church would be changed in a year if
every family member of a gay was suddenly out and willing to say 'our
kids are fine just the way they are.' "

But he acknowledged the prejudice of so many religious people "who don't
know and don't understand our children."

Another of PFLAG's goals is to make schools and churches a "safe place"
for the statistical 6 to 10 percent of children who are or will become
homosexual. Beeman attended an Oct. 15 White House conference on "School
Safety: Causes and Prevention of Youth Violence" and chatted briefly
with Hilary Rodham Clinton about the organization's fears for the safety
of lesbians, gays and bisexuals in schools.

In response to the fatal beating of Matthew Shepard, a gay college
student in Wyoming who died Oct. 12, Beeman has called upon the
Christian Coalition and related organizations to stop their national
advertising campaign portraying gays and lesbians as abnormal and
sinful. He also urged other communities of faith, including United
Methodists, to stop using "hatred-inducing" statements, such as
declaring homosexuality to be "incompatible with Christian teaching."

Hate crime legislation is needed, and Americans also must examine their
own fears and prejudices, he said. 

"A recent poll discovers that all sorts of people in all levels of
society may engage in gay bashing," Beeman said. "If any persons tend to
think of gays as less than fully human, they feel empowered to strike
out against them."  United Methodist News Service

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