Our Own, January 1985

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COMMUNITY PRESS VOLUME 9 .:..:..:NU::......M..:.=..B_ER_3 _________J_ AN_U_A_RY_1_98
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5
Number of VirginiaAIOS Cases R-eaches 70
Seventy cases of Arns· in which
the onset of symptoms occurred in
Virginia have been reported as
of December 21, 1984. Casey
Riley, director of the Venereal
Disease Control Program for the
Virginia Department of Health,
said that thirty of these 70
AIDS patients have died. Riley
said that an additional 37
people in Virginia were diagnos­ed
with AIDS, but experienced
the onset of their symptoms out­side
the state.
The number of new AIDS cases
reported annually in Virginia has
steadily increased. Of the 70
cases reported, six were reported
in 1982, 25 in 1983, and 39 in
1984. Riley said twelve new ,
cases were reported in the state
between October 10, 1984 when the
Virginia Depar.tment of Heal th
issued it's last statistical
report of AIDS cases, and Decem­ber
21, 1984.
According to Dr. Hartin Cader
of the Virginia Department of
Health, the 70 reported cases of
AIDS included seven cases in Nor­folk
and Virginia Beach, three in
Richmond, two in Charlottesville,
and one each in Newport News and
Danville. As of October 10, 1984,
67% of Virginia's AIDS cases were
reported in northern Virginia,
which includes Arlington, Falls
Church, Alexandria, and Fairfax
and Loudon counties.
Data released October 10, 1984
by the Virginia Department ·of
Health on characteristics of Vir­ginia
AIDS patients are similar
to national data on AIDS patients.
Sixty-two percent of Virginia's
AIDS patients had pneurnocystis
carinii pneumonia as their pri­mary
disease. Ninety-six percent
of Virginia's AIDS patients have
been male, 82% have been homo­sexual
or bisexual, and 80% have
been Caucasian. Almost half of
Virginia's AIDS patients have
been 30 to 39 years old. Five
AIDS patients were intravenous
drug users, and two contracted
the disease after blood trans­fusions.
Riley said he has seen "n·o
indication of indigenous trans­mission
of (AIDS in Virginia)."
Based on conversations with AIDS
patients and their physicians,
Riley said he thought the major-·
ity of Virginia's AIDS pa'tients
had numerous sexual contacts
outside the state and ·did not
contract the disease in Virginia.
Baptists Revoke
Scott's Ordination
by Keith Maranger
James R. Cole, pastor of the
Calvary Baptist church in Bel
Air, Maryland, said his church
voted December 16 to revoke the
ordination of Brian Scott", an
openly gay Southern Baptist mi~­ister.
Cole said 115 church members
voted at the 500-member church's
monthly business meeting, which
attracted three or four times
the number of people who usually
attend those meetings. Cole said
112 voted to revoke Scott's ordi­nation,
two voted against the
revocation, and one abstained.
According to Cole, -115 church
members also voted unanimously
to remove Scott's name from the
church's membership rolls.
Brian Scott, director of the
Gay-Lesbian Christian Fellowship
(GLCF), based in Waldorf, MD,
founded GLCF in· March 1982 after
his ordination as a minister at
Calvary Baptist Church in Janua­ry
1981.
The Reverend Cole said a letter
identifying Scott as GLCF direc­tor
was found in 1982 at Calvary
Baptist Church and shown to the
church's ordination council. The
council then contacted Scott, who
defended his beliefs as a gay
Southern Baptist minister at an
October 1982 meeting, according
to a GI-OF press release. Scott
said that in November 1982 the
ordination council sent him a
letter that asked him to return
his ordination papers, which he
has refused to do.
The Rev. Cole, who has been
Calvary Baptist Church's pastor
for nine months, said he first
learned of Scott's ministry to
gays in May or June of 1984. He
said he did not contact Scott
until October 1984, after he
read a local Maryland newspaper
which described Scott as an open­ly
gay Southern Baptist minister.
Cole said he told Scott in No­vember
1984 that he would bless
Scott's ministry to gays· if ::
Scott would say that he were a
"non-practicing homosexual" and
teach others "in accordance with
traditional Baptist faith," that
practicing homosexuality is a
sin.
Cole said that Scott's ordina­tion
was revoked because he is
"teaching what is diametrically
opposed to the teachings of the
(Southern Baptist) church." He
added that "if you can teach
that homosexuality is not a sin
because you have a natural in­clination
(to it), you can teach
that pathological lying and al­coholism
are not wrong ... We do
not have a license to twist and
distort things in the Bible be­cause
we feel a certain way."
Cole said that the laws of the
Old Testament exist because "God
loves us. He set certain restric­tions
for our own safety and
good ... God created sex for pro­creation."
Cole added that pro­miscuous
sex is just as "wrong
and dangerous" as homosexuality,
and that the "AIDS situation" is
an "illustration" of the dangers
of homosexuality. .
Cole said that Calvary Baptist
Church will notify the clerks of
court in Maryland that Brian
Scott's- ordination has been re­voked.
Cole added he anticipates
that the Maryland courts will
accept the revocation, which
would prevent Scott from perform­ing
legal marriages.
Scott told "Our Own" he spoke
to a deacon at Calvary Baptist
Church who claimed that corres­pondence
to Cole from a Baptist
official led to Cole's first
letter in October 1984, demand~
ing the return of his ordination
papers.
Scott told "Our Own" tha.t he
is still a "Reverend" and a
"Southern Baptist who has been
called to a ministry that in­cludes
gays." Scott. said he will
continue to preach, administer
sacraments, counsel others, and
preside at retreats.
Roanoke Will Have
Gay Billboard
The Roanoke Valley chapter of
the Virginia Gay Alliance (VGA)
has signed a contract with Lamar
Advertising Company for a bill­board
in Roanoke that will say
"Gay? It's OK to talk about it,"
according to Gerry Jennings,
chapter recorder. Jennings said
he expects the billboard to go
up in January near the corner of
Franklin Road and Brandon Ave.
in Southwest Roanoke.
Jennings said the billboard
will feature the logo of the
· Roanoke Valley chapter of VGA
and a phone number which, if
dialed, will give a recorded
message. The content and length
of the message has not yet been
decided, said Jennings.
Jennings said the Roanoke Val­ley
chapter of the VGA has funds
to use the billboard for one
month. He said the chapter hopes
to raise money for additional
months at a January 26 wine and
cheese party, which will include
an auction of donated goods and
services. The party will begin
at 8pm at 825 Marshall Ave., SW,
in Roanoke.