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"A
Call Denied -- A Call to Serve.
Stories of Two Heroic Women."
Forward
by: Chaplain (Colonel) Paul W.
Dodd, D.Min., U.S. Army (Ret)
Denny
Meyer has written a timely and
insightful account of the lives and
ministries of two American patriots and
pilgrims of faith. Rev. Dr. Sandy
Bochonok and Rev. Lea Brown served their
country with distinction as members of
the Armed Forces. Were it not for
the injustices imposed by "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell," these two women
in ministry would still be serving
American troops at home and abroad.
They have found prophetic and pastoral
voices in the Metropolitan Community
Church where they now serve pluralistic
and inclusive congregations, and where
their informed and gifted ministries
touch the lives of thousands. They
continue to reach out to their sisters
and brothers in uniform, and to the
military chaplaincies, through their
work with the Forum on Military
Chaplaincy, a network of LGBT affirming
lay people and former chaplains who
advocate for the repeal of "Don't
Ask, Don't Tell," and call for open
service for all qualified Americans.
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Profiles
in Patriotism
A CALL
TO SERVE
Sandra L. Bochonok By
Denny Meyer
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In
early September 2007 The Metropolitan Community
Church issued a Policy Statement affirming its
commitment to the repeal of the Don't Ask Don't
Tell policy and its ongoing support for LGBT
service members. For several years MCC has
offered its nationwide food pantries to the
partners and family members of LGBT troops
stationed overseas. For the full text of
the MCC statement, click here.
Among the signers and participants of the MCC
statement was former Navy Chaplain Sandra
Bochonok; whose story is featured below.
Sandra
Bochonok served in the United States Air Force
as a nurse from 1980-1983 leaving with the rank
of Captain. Later she served in the United
States Navy as a Chaplain from 1991-1996 leaving
with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. The
rather remarkable story of the Rev. Dr.
Bochonok, now an ordained minister in the
Metropolitan Community Church, is both
inspirational and symbolic of the type of
determination and commitment most valued by our
armed forces.
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Profiles
in Patriotism
Lea
Brown
A Calling Denied
By
Denny Meyer |
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Lea Brown was
a good Southern Baptist girl from the American Southwest.
Her father served in the US Air Force in World War II. Reared
in a loving home to be civically involved, she
attended Oklahoma Baptist University as a straight A
student. During her time
at OBU she felt a calling to ministry - specifically,
the ministry of the military
chaplaincy. From college she went right into
seminary and joined the Army Reserve where
she was commissioned as a Chaplain
Candidate (2nd Lt.).
This is the kind
of person our armed services seek, a pure soul of the
American soil.
While at
basic training at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey, alas, she became
clearly aware of another
part of who
she felt called to be, at the age of 23. Entering
the military, it seems in case after case, is the coming of
age experience that causes young people to realize their
sexual orientation. And in nearly all such cases it
takes a considerable period of introspection to clear the
confusion on what to do next. In
Lea's case, coming out to her church and denomination
would mean the end of her dreams to serve
as an Army chaplain.
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The
ENDA End Game
Barry
Winchell, the martyr of the movement to repeal Don't
Ask Don't Tell, was beaten to death in his sleep with
a baseball bat at Ft. Campbell in 1999 because his
killers thought he was "a faggot."
Official quick-march cadence calls during daily
exercise drills at the time indoctrinated running
recruits to believe that it was OK to "kill
faggots." But PFC Winchell wasn't gay; he
was in love with a transgender woman. What he
was didn't matter; it was their prejudiced perception
that provoked the murder. It is that constant
danger of being fired from our jobs or even being
murdered, because of who people might think we are,
that makes us all one and the same victims of
hate. On June 26th, 1963, President John F.
Kennedy told the besieged citizens of Berlin, "Ich
bin ein Berliner" (in the infamous interpreter's
error, in the local dialect, he'd said, "I
am a jelly doughnut." But, everyone
understood what he meant), that is, "I am one
with you." It is no joke to be
discriminated against by being fired from your job or
being killed because some ignorant asshole thinks that
you're some kind of "queer." It is for
that reason that over 300 LGBT and other civil rights
organizations, nationally, have insisted that the
Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA) must be fully
inclusive of protection for Transgender
Americans. We cannot any longer allow selective
discrimination to continue nor permit it by omission
in legislation. In
the works for years, ENDA has been in committee, for
the preceding few weeks, in preparation for a full
vote in the US House of Representatives. As
originally written, the bill was fairly comprehensive
in providing federal protection in employment for LGBT
Americans. Then pragmatists decided that the
only chance of passage would require the removal of
rights, in the bill, for Transgender Americans.
We must not forget that everyone involved means
well. Among the legislators and advocates
engaged in the struggle for our equal rights and
freedom, there are differing views on whether
incremental progress or solidarity on full inclusion
should be the priority. To read the policy
statements, regarding ENDA, of three leading
organizations engaged in the advocacy of the rights of
LGBT servicemembers and veterans, click on the links
below. Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network, American Veterans for Equal
Rights, Transgender American Veterans Association
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