In 1981, the Episcopal Church's Diocese of California responded to a time of injustice and violence by founding a ministry among the gay and lesbian community, seeking reconciliation between this community and the church. Known as the Parsonage, we commissioned lay "parsons" for ministries of pastoral care, produced a publication that was both literary journal and political newsletter, and occupied a storefront location on Castro Street in San Francisco, the very heart of the lesbian and gay community.

In the words of the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing, Bishop of California, the Parsonage "started with a bang, but the AIDS epidemic kept taking away so many, so many of our folks." So serious was this crisis that by September of 1994--after several valiant attempts to rejuvenate the effort--the ministry of The Parsonage finally ended. The mission of The Parsonage has, however, not been fulfilled. Gay and lesbian people are not in unity with each other and the church. Injustice and violence continue.

The need for specific ministries within the gay and lesbian population continues, in much the same way that there is call for ministries among ethnic, cultural, and language groups that have historically been alienated from the Episcopal Church. In fact, one might argue that the demand for population-specific ministries is only just emerging. Sadly, in the Episcopal Church and in the United States, there is no shortage of disaffected groups of people. These people find it difficult to separate the message of truth and love that we as church proclaim from the oppression that we still promulgate. In the words of Rowan Williams, Bishop of Monmouth in the Church in Wales, we need to "unscramble the language of dominance from the language of transcendence."

In the City and County of San Francisco, fewer than 17 per cent of the population identify themselves as "religious," and only a fraction of these attend church. If, in fact, it could be measured, we would probably find the situation even more drastic in the lesbian and gay community. The mission field is here, and the harvest is plentiful--but who will plant the seeds? At the same time, many Episcopal congregations remain ignorant of how they may be inadvertently unwelcoming of--even hostile to--gay and lesbian people. Even in the relatively progressive Diocese of California, we are far from unequivocal acceptance of all God's people. There is much to be done, and great reward to attain--but who will do the work? The wider church and the world outside the church also need to hear the voices of gay and lesbian people, especially since so many are ready and willing to speak from a perspective of hatred, fear, and oppression--but who is ready and able to speak?

Oasis/California, a ministry of gay men and lesbians, our families and our friends, is committed to serve Christ in the gay and lesbian community and gay liberation in the church and the world.

The purpose of Oasis/California is to promote reconciliation between the lesbian and gay community and the institutional Church. Oasis/California seeks to make our diocese a welcoming place for lesbians and gay men, and provide educational offerings within the congregations of the diocese to address the issues raised by the conjuncture of spirituality and sexuality. The mission of Oasis/California is spiritual empowerment of lesbians and gay men; evangelical outreach to the lesbian/gay community; witness through presence at gay and lesbian community events; pastoral care for lesbian and gay people; educational offerings to help congregations understand homosexuality and the present day experience of gay and lesbians Christians; advocacy work both within and beyond the institutional Church. In our work, we strive for the day when the godly love of lesbian and gay Christians may be honored by all our brothers and sisters in Christ and the dignity of every lesbian and gay individual is respected fully in our society. Toward this end, we are creating a network of Oasis congregations in the Diocese of California.

The network of Oasis congregations was founded in June 1989 by the Episcopal Diocese of Newark in response to the mission imperative of the Most Reverend Edmond Browning, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, who said, "It is our Christian duty to strive for justice and peace among all people and we have a special call to respect the dignity of every human being. The eventual result of the Oasis Congregations Program is a network of concerned congregations committed to justice for lesbians and gay men, knowledgeable about homophobia and heterosexism, and concerned about the particular spiritual concerns of lesbians and gay men, their families and friends.