Task Force, MCC and Harvard pay their respects

By ALEX VAUGHN

Photo: ‘Lost voice of the community, Rev. Peter J. Gomes Courtesy, http://epistleofjim.blogspot.com

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force mourns the death of the Rev. Peter J. Gomes, an openly gay Harvard minister, theologian and author, who died on Monday at the age of 68 due to complications from a stroke. Tributes poured in from many who believed he was an Accidental Gay Activist. Gomes was born in Boston and raised in Plymouth. He received a bachelor’s degree from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, and a divinity degree from Harvard. In 1979, Time magazine called him “one of the seven most distinguished preachers in America,” and in 1998 he was named Clergy of the Year by the organization Religion in American Life. Gomes described himself as a cultural conservative but stunned the Harvard community in 1991 when he said he was gay in response to harassment against gays on campus.

Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, Faith Work Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, paid tribute saying,

“In many Christian circles, when a person of faith passes, the pastor will speak of them by quoting Jesus, ‘well done, thou good and faithful servant.’ Sometimes this phrase is over used. But today, truer words were never spoken. Rev. Peter Gomes epitomized one who lived his life seeking to be a good and faithful servant — of the God he loved. “For those of us who are religious and affirm the dignity of all persons, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, Rev. Gomes was a light and a model. His passionate sermons, his incomparable work with the Scriptures and his visible love of God and God’s creation will be greatly missed.”

In a Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, she said, “In the passing of Rev. Peter Gomes, the world has lost a mind, a voice, an advocate, an artist of words rarely seen in this day and age. Rev. Gomes spoke eloquently and frequently in support of marriage equality in Massachusetts during that state’s fierce struggle to protect the right of same-sex couples to marry.”

She continued, “He came out as a gay man when it was scandalous for clergy of his position and caliber, of any caliber, to do so. And yet, he did so with a clarity and grace that provided theological shelter for many a young person struggling with their sexuality. At the time, he said, ‘I am a Christian who happens as well to be gay. … Those realities, which are irreconcilable to some, are reconciled in me by a loving God.’

Metropolitan Community Churches said in a statement, ‘The LGBT faith community, and all people of faith lost a powerful friend, ally and a voice for justice, in Rev. Peter Gomes, the gifted Pusey Minister of Memorial Church, the non-denominational center of Christian life at Harvard University.

Rev. Gomes was a popular teacher, mentor and sought after preacher, whose best seller, The Good Book; Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, took on fundamentalism, and examined topics like slavery, anti-Semitism and homosexuality. His humor, accessibility in his writing, endeared him even to those who disagreed with him. Dr. Gomes came out in 1991 at Harvard, and devoted the last two decades of his life to countering the Biblical misunderstandings that undergird homophobia. He reached audiences that many of us are not able to reach, with poise and confidence.

Dr. Gomes scholarship, leadership, and support for students will be greatly missed at Harvard, in Cambridge. Marvin Bagwell, a lay leader in MCC and Harvard graduate offers this personal tribute:

“He was such a contradiction in terms, a black Baptist preacher from a prominent almost Boston Brahmin family. Instead of fire and brimstone, Peter preached about love and justice. His sermons were works of art, enchanting, jewel like in their clarity and always inspiring and uplifting. I was in denial about my sexual identity. I certainly did not know about “gaydar” at that time, but I was oddly drawn to Peter. I suspected but could not speak the words about him or about myself. In the early 1990′s Peter came out. His announcement made the national newspapers. I was out by then, but his announcement shook me out of my subway seat and made me immensely and tearfully proud. I immediately dashed off a letter to tell him he and his sermons had saved my life. Harvard was not an easy place to be black and gay. Peter called himself a conservative Christian. For the betterment of us all and for himself, he outgrew the conservative part. God bless Peter Gomes.”