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COMMUNITY
PROFILE:
PASTOR HIBBS TALKS ABOUT THE LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY
FELLOWSHIP
 by Jed
Ryan
Originally
from Ohio, Pastor G. Shane Hibbs is one of the newest members
of the Long Island GLBT community. Currently, he's also one
of the busiest. Founder of the Long
Island Community Fellowship (LICF), Pastor Hibbs moved to Long Island in December 2000
and discovered a need for a gay- and lesbian-friendly Protestant
Church. "Gay men and lesbians on Long Island have needs that
are not being met. The innate human 'need' is a spiritual
one-- a desire to search for something more," he stated. "To
say that there's a 'need' is an understatement." In addition
to seeing an absence of spiritual providers for the Long Island
GLBT community, Pastor Hibbs was also approached by the Metropolitan
Community Church (MCC) and asked about starting a Long Island
Church, offering him encouragement and inspiration. Long Island
Community Fellowship is now a full-fledged Church, and according
to Shane, "We have surpassed my expectations of attendance
and participation." On February 24th, 2002, LICF held its
opening Inaugural Services in Hicksville. The response was
described by Shane as "great" and "awesome" and enjoyed a
successful turnout. He added, via e-mail to the Long
Island Pride eGroup, "We enjoyed a wonderful worship,
prayer, communion, and fellowship." Currently, LICF is in
negotiations to obtain service space in another church in
Hicksville. In addition, Pastor Hibbs is also a Clinical Psychotherapist
with a thriving practice.
The relationship between the GLBT community and organized
religion has always been, to put it mildly, a volatile one.
Indeed, some members of our community may have negative-leaning
views toward organized religion which range from cynical all
the way to downright hostile. Many gay men and lesbians view
their possibly negative feelings toward religion not as a
personal choice, but rather simply a REACTION to the religious-based
intolerance and/or persecution of gays and lesbians throughout
history. Nevertheless, this volatile relationship has not
diminished the fact that many gay men and lesbians do believe
in God, seek spiritual fulfillment, and regularly attend places
of worship. Long Island is no exception. One of the important
challenges that our community faces as we enter 2002 is the
ability to separate the true teachings of God from the interpretations
of misguided and/or ignorant so-called "religious leaders,"
who abuse religious teaching to persecute gays and lesbians.
Sadly, this is often done for their own and/or a political
agenda.
So how did a tall, strapping guy from Ohio, who even spent
two years working as a Police Officer, find himself as a spiritual
leader on Long Island? Pastor Hibbs had always wanted to enter
the clergy. His father and grandfather were Pastors. It may
surprise some lay people to know that many holy men and women
have attended college. As an undergraduate, Shane's major
was Religious Studies and Psychology. He proceeded to attend
Seminary at the Methodist Theological School in Delaware,
Ohio, where he did Graduate Studies in Counseling and also
studied for the Ministry. For several years, Shane served
congregations of the Free Methodist Church (Not to be confused
with the United Methodist Church). Although Shane was not
out at that time, a big turning point came in 1997. He allowed
an openly gay man to attend services. While this alone didn't
make waves, the challenge for Shane came when the man asked
"Do you believe I'm going to Heaven or Hell?" Shane didn't
judge the man... and his lack of condemnation got back to
the Church's leader, who didn't like it. Describing himself
as "headstrong," Shane decided to take a stand and wouldn't
back down. Subsequently, he was asked to resign. Although
to this day, Pastor Hibbs does not believe the Church was
right in their views and/or actions, he does not judge the
Church. He calls their dismissal of him "an act of ignorance"
and only regrets that he was not able to change the system
from within. Although Shane's saga may seem shocking by the
standards of many New Yorkers in this day and age, he reminds
us that this took place in the Midwest, in a small rural setting
with a population of approximately 60,000. "Most of the population
are ex-farmers," he adds.
Shane decided to try things out on the east coast. After
moving to New York, Shane first found personal happiness
with Mark,
a medical student. The two have now been partners for almost
a year and a half. "New York is very fast-paced. The style
is different, the way people do things is different, and the
entertainment that people choose is different. I do miss Ohio
sometimes," he states. "One of the issues on Long Island is
that it's a New York City suburb, and it lives in the shadows
of the City. Long Island culture is different from New York
City culture, yet a lot of our resources go from Long Island
into Manhattan." Shane believes that one of the results is
that many of our Long Island activists become over-utilized
and overworked. "I commend everyone who gets involved."
Shane practices clinical psychotherapy, and he and his associates
come from holistic viewpoints. "I enjoy being a counselor.
It's fun. A lot of therapists feel that it's not necessary
to divulge their own sexuality. But allowing someone to know
that they are not alone is a big move forward. One of the
main thrusts of therapy is to reach out to gay men and lesbians
and to give them a safe haven." He does not integrate psychotherapy
with spiritual issues unless the client specifically requests
it. Shane speaks of his methods, "It's cognitive therapy for
the most part, and we integrate some existentialism. It's
a comprehensive approach. We don't just look at specific incidents.
We must look at the person as a whole-- vocation, education,
family history, what they do on a daily basis, and even nutrition.
Did you know,for instance, that a lack of B-complex vitamins
can cause depression?" Do gays and lesbians have different
needs than their straight counterparts? Shane responds, "Each
individual, gay or straight, is unique in his or her needs.
You can't label them as 'gay,' 'lesbian,' or 'straight' and
immediately know their needs. It's one part of the larger
picture... one part of their being as an individual." He adds
that while some issues like HIV and substance abuse come to
mind, these issues are not unique to the GLBT community. However,
Shane adds that we DO have specific issues of our own-- including
coming out, as well as a different developmental process.
"The dating experience in high school is different for a gay
man, for example. There's also a larger stress factor when
it comes to family issues, and there are different family
dynamics."
Currently, the Long island Community Fellowship is very closely
affiliated with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), an
all-inclusive, worldwide, gay-friendly Church, with our nearest
neighbor being at 466 W. 36th Street in Manhattan.. Complete
affiliation with MCC is the goal. Shane stated, via e-mail
to the Long Island Pride eGroup,
"(The LICF's) doctrine, belief, sacraments, and rites are
all in conjunction with MCC." Upon coming to Long Island,
Shane looked for a denomination that accepted gays and lesbians.
The Universalist Unitarians were mentioned, but each of their
Churches is independent. Metropolitan Community Church, which
was founded in 1968 by Reverend Troy D. Perry on the basis
that the GLBT community was deprived of its right to worship
God, was described by Shane as being "very supportive and
understanding of the need for Long Islanders to have their
own place of worship." Indeed, one of Shane's goals was to
assure that the Long Island Church would at least partially
have its own identity, and not just live in the shadows of
its larger, more established Manhattan affiliate. Since the
idea to affiliate, Pastor Hibbs has met many challenges, including
the aftermath of September 11th, funding challenges, and increasing
the Long Island GLBT community's awareness of his efforts.
In addition, MCC is undergoing some restructuring which will
affect funding as well as Church government. Pastor Hibbs
was invited to participate in MCC Conferences immediately,
and he regularly communicates with the MCC officials to ensure
a smooth transition to come. Reverend Perry himself is coming
to New York City and will be meeting with Shane to assist
in the legal work of setting up the Church, an event which
Shane describes as "a great honor."
In his spare time, Pastor G. Shane Hibbs enjoys spending time
with Mark. He's also a big sports fan. He welcomes everyone
to give him a call or e-mail to find out more about his endeavors,
particularly the next service for LICF. "I'm always looking
for people to be leaders in the community," he said in closing.
Also
see:
Community
Profile: Archbishop Bruce Simpson on His Life and His Future
with the Old Catholic Church
Photos
courtesy Pastor Hibbs
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