Tribute to the Reverend Peter Gomes
"I like to make words dance."
NBJC is mourning the loss of Reverend Peter Gomes, who died on February 28, 2011, after suffering a brain aneurysm and heart attack. He was 68. Born in 1942 of a Cape Verdean father and African American mother in Boston, Massachusetts, Reverend Gomes was a remarkable man who lived an exemplary life of service and devotion to justice for LGBT people.
Gomes was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1968 by the First Baptist Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts. He later became the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church at Harvard University. In 1991, Gomes publicly disclosed his sexuality but stated that he remained celibate. He is quoted stating, "I now have an unambiguous vocation—a mission—to address the religious causes and roots of homophobia. I will devote the rest of my life to addressing the ‘religious case’ against gays.” Gomes became one of America’s most distinguished preachers, who took “the life of the mind seriously.” Gomes will be remembered as a man who loved words and was well known for his mastery of language. As a scholar and a prolific writer, Gomes may be best known as the author of “The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart,” which catapulted dialogue on the Bible and homosexuality into the public realm on a profound level. Gomes stated the following in The Good Book:
"In the case of the Bible and homosexuality in contemporary American culture, the tragic dimensions of this biblically sanctioned prejudice among the most devout and sincere people of religious conviction are all the greater because no credible case against homosexuality can be made from the bible unless one chooses to read scripture in a way that simply sustains the existing prejudice against homosexuality and homosexuals."
These words didn’t just dance, they trounced with vigor against religious based homophobia and brought dignity and comfort to people struggling to reconcile their religious beliefs and sexuality.
In his over 40 years of dedicated service, Reverend Gomes has received 39 honorary degrees, written volumes of sermons and led the life of a public intellectual. Gomes was a conservative Republican for most of his life. He gave the benediction at the second inauguration of President Reagan and delivered the National Cathedral sermon at the inauguration of George Herbert Walker Bush. However, he became a Democrat in 2006 and helped to elect Deval Patrick as the Governor of Massachusetts.
Reverend Gomes will be missed by all who were touched by his brilliance and courage. His words will continue to dance and inspire theologians seeking to create Christian theology that is affirmative and inclusive of LGBT people.
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