Big Ovation for Gay Men’s Chorus : Endorsement by Coffin Turns Snub of Colleague Into an Invitation

Several months ago, it seemed unlikely that the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles or its director would even perform at a national gathering of church people, much less earn a warm, enthusiastic response.

But the choir did perform this week and Jon Bailey, the director, called the reception “tremendously embracing.” The performance drew prolonged applause at a packed Claremont worship service from delegates of the Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship, Music and Other Arts.

The amicable scene was in marked contrast to what had happened last winter, when preacher-activist William Sloane Coffin Jr. threatened to cancel his appearance at the conference unless organizers halted their attempt to “disinvite” Bailey because of his leadership of the homosexual choir.

Bid Based on Credentials

Bailey had been invited to be a consultant for adult choirs at the five-day conference at Pomona College that ended Thursday. The invitation was based on his musical credentials as chairman of Pomona College’s music department and former music director at Pasadena Presbyterian Church.

“But soon after they found out I was also director of the Gay Men’s Chorus, basically I was disinvited,” Bailey said. “This kind of thing happens all the time, and at first I decided to do nothing about it.”

But then he resolved to ask Coffin, an old acquaintance who had also been invited to participate, for help in appealing the decision.

Contemporaries at Yale

The two men knew each other at Yale University when Coffin was chaplain and Bailey, a Yale Divinity School graduate, taught there. Coffin recently completed 12 years as pastor of New York’s prestigious Riverside Church and now heads a Washington-based group lobbying for reductions in the U.S. military budget.

Earlier this year, Coffin told fellowship leaders that he would not take part unless Bailey was retained, according to Bailey and others. In addition, Coffin “suggested that since he wanted to do a service focused on AIDS that the Gay Men’s Chorus be invited to sing,” Bailey said.

Officials of the 3,500-member fellowship, based in Atlanta, accepted Coffin’s suggestion. “Once the issue was resolved, I have felt nothing but warmth and interest in who we are and how we make music,” Bailey said.

Co-Sponsor Withdraws

The only discordant note came from the nondenominational Choristers Guild, which withdrew its customary co-sponsorship of the national conference.

The United Methodist Reporter, a Dallas-based weekly, said that correspondence between guild and fellowship officials showed that guild directors were willing to co-sponsor only if the Gay Men’s Chorus was not identified as such in printed programs or by word of mouth. The newspaper said some guild directors were concerned that its conference sponsorship would imply approval of homosexuality.

But fellowship leaders said no.

Accented in Program

In fact, the printed program for the 90-minute worship service Monday night highlighted the participation of the 10-year-old chorus and its connections with the Los Angeles religious community. The group rehearses at Hollywood and Wilshire United Methodist churches and this year sang at a Catholic service of consecration for AIDS ministers led by Archbishop Roger M. Mahony.

The 140-member chorus--appearing at half-strength because of vacations--sang five songs, including “Ave Maria.” After its closing song, the tuxedo-dressed chorus received a standing ovation from about 900 delegates and visitors in the Claremont United Church of Christ Congregational.

Reaction ‘Disgraceful’

Although Coffin declined to comment specifically on the controversy, he told a conference workshop that “homophobia” is “a thorn in the flesh of the United Methodist Church” and that the church in general “is behaving disgracefully” in reactions to homosexuals.

From the pulpit during the worship service, Coffin suggested--to much less applause than the chorus received--that both state and church should extend their official benefits and blessings to stable, loving gay and lesbian couples.

He declared that homosexual communities in major cities have taken the lead in providing resources and support to AIDS sufferers. Outside homosexual circles, “people have been acting out their fears based on misinformation,” Coffin said.

“God is warning us all again that the cost of ignoring truth is higher than the pain of seeing it,” he added.