10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JUNE 9, 1995

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Edgewater picnickers hear of Creation and the Contract

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ment: 'You shall not make for yourself an idol: you shall not bow down before a graven image and worship it.'

"Fundamentalism is a bastardization of Jewish and Christian faith," Geslin continued, "because when the Radical Right demands that the public schools teach 'creationism,' they are not talking about an 'imageless God.' It's the same with school prayer. The United Church of Christ is a Christian denomination, and yet, as a denomination, we publicly oppose school prayer.

"How can Christians be against prayer in the schools? Because we know that when the Republicans force children to pray in the public schools, it won't be UCC prayers they're reciting! No Mother-Father God; no God of the Rainbow, who created and loves us in all our diversity; no God of Exodus and Liberation, set us free to be who we really are!"

Rev. Dan Geslin blesses the elements during the service at Edgewater Park.

Liberation United Church of Christ held its annual "Worship in the Park" at Cleveland's Edgewater Park on Sunday, May 21. The service was followed by a church picnic. Special guest was Elizabeth Kelley, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 10th congressional district

During the service the chair of Liberation's peace and justice committee, Ken Barton, explained the geologic formation and current environmental status of Lake Erie and the North Coast. Barton works as the scientific support coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office in Cleveland.

"All the environmental protection laws of the past 25 years are now at risk," Barton explained. "The 'Contract With America' is threatening to destroy the environment with new legislation that will protect wealthy polluters. It's not only our civil rights that are at risk-it's the earth itself."

Pastor Dan Geslin preached on the creation story in Genesis. "The best way to approach Genesis is to ask: What primary questions were the ancient Hebrew tribespeople asking through these stories?" he said. "We live in political times when the Radical Right is pushing what they call 'creationism' in the schools. I am a Christian and I oppose that political perspective. Why? Because one of the cornerstones of our faith is the Second Command-

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Geslin concluded, "To worship God without image is to keep our mouths shut and listen, look, smell, taste, touch and feel. To worship the Spirit of Creation without dogmas and images is to live our lives always thrown a little bit off balance by the surprises, wonder and awe of a child's questions. If we live truly in touch with those ancient, primary questions-Where do we come from? Who are we now? Where do we go when we die?-we will be in right relationship with both creation and Creator. What is that right relationship? The simple understanding that we don't know everything that we, too, are creatures-sisters and brothers of the birds in this park and the fish in Lake Erie."

The United Church of Christ, which dates back to the Pilgrims in 1620, has been ordaining open lesbians and gay men since 1972. The first was the Rev. Bill Johnson, who now coordinates the UCC's nationwide AIDS ministries. The national UCC's threefold mission statement calls for "peace, justice, and the integrity of creation."

Liberation UCC regularly worships on Sundays mornings at 10:30 at the Hillel Foundation at Case Western Reserve University, near the corner of Euclid and Mayfield in Cleveland's University Circle.

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