The New York Times reports that Rev. Peter J. Gomes Is Dead at 68.
Gomes was an ordained minister who is best known for his many books for general audiences articulating the case for liberal Christianity, including The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart. The significance of his writing in this respect is testified to by its inclusion in the definitive account of American liberal theology, Gary Dorrien's The Making of American Liberal Theology.
From the NYT:
He was a thundering black Baptist preacher and for much of his life a conservative Republican celebrity who wrote books about the Pilgrims, published volumes of sermons and presided at weddings and funerals of the rich and famous. He gave the benediction at President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration and delivered the National Cathedral sermon at the inauguration of Reagan’s successor, George Bush.
At Harvard, Mr. Gomes was the Plummer professor of Christian morals at the School of Divinity and the Pusey minister of Memorial Church, a nondenominational center of Christian life on campus. ... Then, in 1991, he appeared before an angry crowd of students, faculty members and administrators protesting homophobic articles in a conservative campus magazine whose distribution had led to a spate of harassment and slurs against gay men and lesbians on campus. Mr. Gomes, putting his reputation and career on the line, announced that he was “a Christian who happens as well to be gay.” ...
“I now have an unambiguous vocation — a mission — to address the religious causes and roots of homophobia,” he told The Washington Post months later. “I will devote the rest of my life to addressing the ‘religious case’ against gays.”
The Root reports that Black Church Leaders Ask Forgiveness from the LGBT Community
A rather unusual event recently took place in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Fort Washington, Md. Several ministers of black churches met with members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community -- and formally apologized for what the organizers described as the church's judgmental attitude toward individuals who experience same-sex attraction and their loved ones.
...
Faith leaders should not shy away from confronting issues that affect both the spiritual and material condition of their communities. The church should be a place where all people, especially those who are hurting and vulnerable, can come to experience God's love and grace. This should be true regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, political affiliation or sexual orientation. In the same sense, critics must understand that pastors have an obligation to maintain fidelity to both the letter and spirit of the Scriptures, even in the face of changing social mores and religious pluralism.
The tension between black churches' theological stances on homosexuality and their central principle of "whosoever will, let him come" is something that churches must address honestly and lovingly in moving forward.
For deeper analysis of the issues, I strongly recommend Kelly Brown Douglas's Sexuality and the Black Church.