The Oasis can refer to any of a series of diocesan ministries of the Episcopal Church to LGBT (

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

and transgender) persons. The first Oasis group was established in the Episcopal Diocese of Newark by bishop John Shelby Spong on June 21, 1989 at All Saints Church, Hoboken. Its first leader, The Rev. Robert Williams had been the first out gay man to be ordained to the priesthood. However, Williams and Spong clashed on theological and moral issues and he left the organization shortly thereafter, replaced by The Rev. David Norgard. At this time, making gay and lesbian people feel welcome in churches was the exception, rather than the rule. The Oasis provided a " safe space" for them to worship together, as well as social events, educational opportunities, etc., while also helping build acceptance in the rest of the church. By its seventh anniversary celebration, which was led by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Edmond Browning, nearly half of the diocese's congregations were supporting the work of The Oasis. In January of that year, a diocesan LGBT ministry in San Francisco which had operated as The Parsonage since 1981 was reorganized with the assistance of Norgard as Oasis/California. Similar ministries have also been founded in Michigan, Missouri, the Diocese of New Jersey, and the Diocese of Rochester in upstate New York. Since the formation of The Oasis, time the climate within the Episcopal Church has become much more welcoming. The Oasis ministries work alongside IntegrityUSA, a national organization which was founded by

Louie Crew Erman Louie Clay (né Erman Louie Crew Jr.) (1936–2019) was an American professor emeritus of English language, English at Rutgers University. He was best known for his long and increasingly successful campaign for the acceptance of gay and l ...

in 1974, in projects like Believe Out Loud, an ecumenical campaign to promote LGBT inclusion within mainline Protestant denominations.{{cite web, last=Niedzwiecki, first=Max, title=Believe Out Loud Episcopal Congregations, url=http://congregations.integrityusa.org/, accessdate=14 May 2012

References

Episcopal Church (United States) LGBT Christian organizations LGBT and Anglicanism

See also

External links

References