CLEVELAND GAY MINISTRY

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A dozen young people sit huddled in a circle. A 20 year old college student with long blonde hair begins to talk about the trouble he expects telling his parents he is gay. A dark-haired girl in blue Jeans comments her parents accepted her completely when she confessed cently she was a Lesbian. Others speak up as attention moves around the circle from person to person. And so it goes at one of three weekly Consciousness-raising groups led by Rev. Bob Hamilton of the newlyfounded Gay Community Ministry.

Rev. Bob began this unique ministry early in January, 1972, when he joined with a group of Kent State students to form the Kent Gay Liberation Front. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Yale University Divinity School and an ordained United Presbyterian minister, Rev. Bob had previously directed a coffee housecounseling program for teenagers with drug problems in Akron.

"I had agonized for some time," he confesses, "about what my involvement in gay liberation should be--whether simply as a member, a political leader, or as a counselor and minister. I finally decided to do what I had been doing among the drug crowd, only to work primarily with gays, in terms of sensitivity training, group sessions, and counseling.

Support of the new Kent GLF quickly led to broader involvement in gay liberation for the blonde, 26 year old minister. Early in February, he faced reporters and T.V. cameras in a

Cleveland apartment to announce, along with Tony Rogers and Sandy Bloch, the formation of a Gay Activists Alliance in Cleveland. "This was a real turning point for me, he says. "It was the first time I had been photographed and quoted as a Presbyterian minister fully in support of gay liberation and in solidarity with gay people. It was frightening at first, but also deeply satisfying to have taken a stand and stuck to it.

Rev. Bob soon began regular consciousness-raising sessions and a coffee house at Kent. Permission was given to hold regular Tuesday night coffee house consciousness-raising sessions at the UCF House at Kent State. Assisted by an Akron drug counselor Rev. Bob has offered a weekly gathering during the Spring that has attracted well over 150 different people, with several groups as large as thirty one evening. The coffee house offers a real alternative to the gay bar-dance routine and a relaxed, informal gathering place for Kent, Akron, and Youngston people.

Brice Juring the Spring, Rev. Bob has offered intensive sensitivity training week-ends for gay people. The Saturday and Sunday "retreats" focus on personal growth and group interaction. Bob leads the groups with an instructor at Akron University. Both have had extensive training and supervision in Sensitivity Training. Other week-ends and on-going monthly meetings will be scheduled by the Gay Community Ministry.

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As an ordained minister, Rev. Hamilton has related his work to the campus ministries at Oberlin, where he also leads C-R groups and counsels, at Kent State, Cleveland State, and Case Western Reserve. Often the reaction is one of shock and opposition. "A lot of ministers simply aren't ready to deal with this issue, he remarks. "We need to confront them with the presence of gay students on their campus and their need to adequately relate to this large minority group. Most are scared to death to even consider the gay population." Hence, Rev. Bob has brought a ber of church people and ministers to contact with the gay horenent and has discussed homosexuality and religion with a number of religious groups and gatherings. "The change of attitudes is difficult to measure, and working with up-tight people is often discouraging. But I've seen a large number of people whose minds have been opened up and I see an increasing number of doctors and ministers ready to support a ministry such as mine.

The show of support on the part of professional people has been most striking in relation to Hamilton's Metropolitan Ministry on Sexuality. This is the planned non-profit cor poration that will support financially the Gay Community Ministry, as well as sponsor a variety of sex education programs. Over 25 ministers, doctors, and social service professionals are supporting this organization and meeting regularly to formulate plans for the future and to raise funds for the ministry. The Metropolitan Ministry on Sexuality would relate directly to a proposed National Sex Forum in Akron that would offer regular twoday intensive multi-media presentations regarding the whole gamut of sexuality.

"There are two main objectives of the ministry," remarks Rev. 3ob. "First, we're trying to provide sound counseling for gay people, individually and in groups, at a variety of locations, such as the Free Clinic in Cleveland, on various campuses, and in Akron. Second, we want to educate the community not only about gay life life, but also regarding human sexuality in general.

Rev. Bob concludes, "the number of areas our ministry can get into are overwhelming. We're planning a forum on Homosexuality and religion for Cleveland area churches in mid-May and find more counselees and people.

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