
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994                    TAG: 9406220448 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: B3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY MARK O'KEEFE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940622                                 LENGTH: NORFOLK

METHODISTS HEAR REPORTER WHO ATTENDED FEMALE GOD CONFERENCE

{LEAD} It has been seven months since Methodist and Presbyterian feminists gathered in Minneapolis to embrace a female personification of God called ``Sophia'' and reject the saving act of Christ.

The November conference, titled ``Re-Imagining,'' initiated shock waves in both major Protestant denominations.

{REST} On Tuesday, some ripples were felt in Norfolk, where 2,500 United Methodists met for the Virginia Annual Conference, which began Sunday and ends today at Scope.

No resolutions were proposed on the issue. There was no need. Bishop Thomas B. Stockton, head of the Virginia conference, had already denounced the conference as ``heresy'' and ``detrimental to the understanding of the Gospel.''

Nevertheless, more than 100 people packed a luncheon at the nearby Howard Johnson's hotel to hear from the reporter who broke the story. The event was sponsored by United Methodists for More Faithful Ministry, a conservative group.

Sue Cyre wrote about the conference for the Presbyterian Layman, a denominational publication with a circulation of 500,000.

Since then, The New York Times and other major newspapers have picked up on the story. In recent weeks, Cyre has appeared on ``Nightline'' and ``The MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour.''

Cyre, a candidate for ministry in the Presbyterian Church, isn't neutral and doesn't pretend to be.

In Norfolk, Cyre said the ``pagan worship'' practiced by the feminists comes at a ``pivotal moment in time'' when major Protestant denominations will have to choose between the god of the Bible and the goddesses the new thinkers see when they ``look in the mirror.''

``Theology matters,'' Cyre said. ``The issue for all denominations is, `What is truth?' ''

Cyre said the 2,000 people who attended the Minneapolis conference put red dots on their foreheads and bowed to each other in respect to the goddess inside each woman.

Sophia, conference speakers said, is a female personification of the divine mentioned in the Book of Proverbs. She can also be found in the wind, the sun and the trees.

This theology is subjective, redefining sin and salvation, Cyre said.

``Sin becomes denying your deep self,'' she said. ``Salvation becomes embracing your inner truth.''

Bodies become holy and lesbian sex is exalted, Cyre said. At the conference, one speaker called for ``lesbian, bisexual and transsexual women'' to join her onstage. The audience applauded as about 100 women responded.

Christ is rejected, Cyre said, citing a statement from the Rev. Delores Williams, one of the conference's leading teachers, who said, ``I don't think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff.''

The Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries paid the way for 46 top staff members to attend the Minneapolis conference.

But so far, Methodists have not protested by withholding contributions.

The Presbyterian Church U.S.A., which helped plan the Minneapolis conference, said it will likely lose $2.5 million in contributions from protesting congregations.

by CNB