Slated for Feb. 23 - 24 in Cambridge, Mass.

This news release comes to us from the Institute for Progressive Christianity

The Institute for Progressive Christianity's Winter symposium will be held at the First Church (UCC) in Cambridge, Mass. on February 23rd through the 24th. The conference engages the question of fundamentalism in the light of the 2006 elections. The conference will feature discussions on the history of Christian Progressivism, on Jesus' Call to Peacemaking and grassroots organizing for progressive action.

The Institute will demonstrate that fundamentalism can be positively confronted with a progressive evangelical witness that is coherent, convicted, intelligent, and passionate. This demonstration will occur in the context of a panel conversation on gay marriage. Because the IPC's writings on gay marriage are grounded squarely within the biblical witness, they present a clear and direct challenge to fundamentalist opponents of gay rights as it engages them within a discourse they claim to value. Such a witness is more likely to effectively engage fundamentalists within their own frame of reference. The Institute will present a set of papers on gay marriage grounded in the evangelical Christian language system. The panelists will include: three members of the IPC academic coordination committee; a member of the Episcopal Clergy from the Diocese of Massachusetts, who has been involved with the inclusion movement in that Diocese; and Justin Lee, executive director of gaychristian.net, a gay evangelical Christian online community. The focus of the conversation will be on how to engage in moral discussions on gay marriage and what lessons, especially spiritual lessons, can be gathered from our experiences in conversations we have already participated in.

The primary paper addresses the issue of gay marriage from a place of spiritual affirmation rather than a defensive stance of avoiding condemnation. By integrating the concept of gay marriage into Christian theology, the Institute unveils a strategy of dialogue which demonstrates that one can faithfully honor gay people and their relationships within the bounds of the biblical witness. Indeed, one discovers that God offers the wider Church a variety of rich spiritual insights that can be gleaned from contemplating gay marriage through a spiritual lens.