Description
Official records for the Southern California
Council on Religion and the Homophile for the years 1965-1968, including copies
of the articles of incorporation and by-laws; minutes of the pre-foundation
planning committee and of the Board of Trustees and general membership meetings
from June 1965 to August 1968; and several contemporary membership lists. The
collection also contains a notebook of the Rev. Ken Wahrenbrock, Secretary of
the organization, and manuscript materials from the papers of gay activist and
journalist Jim Kepner, a founder of the organization, who served as
Wahrenbrock's pro-tem and later succeeded him as Secretary. These include his
detailed handwritten notes of Board meetings for the years 1965-1972; a file on
the 4th North American Conference of Homophile Organizations (NACHO) in 1968,
to which Kepner served as a delegate; and a file of notes on the early history
of the organization and its parent, the Council on Religion and the Homosexual,
in San Francisco. The collection also contains a file of correspondence;
informational brochures; flyers and announcements of the organization's monthly
meetings and other activities; and copies of the nine issues of the
organization's newsletter,
Concern, published irregularly from 1966
through 1969.
Background
The Southern California Council on Religion and the Homophile (SCCRH)
traces its origins to a June 1, 1965, meeting of 20 individuals in the
Westchester YMCA called by the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, of San
Francisco, which had been founded in 1964. The purposes of SCCRH were "to open
the avenues of communication and understanding between churchmen and
homophiles; to investigate and implement ways for meeting the spiritual needs
and social responsibilities of homophiles; to encourage more satisfactory
climate of opinion within the community on broad matters of sex and morals;
[and] to seek just social treatment of the homophile community". The articles
of incorporation submitted to the California Secretary of State in April 1966
were signed by the Rev. Alexander Smith, director of the Downtown Service
Bureau of the Los Angeles Missionary Society of the Methodist Church; W. Dorr
Legg, of ONE Institute; the Rev. Kenneth Wahrenbrock, of the First Methodist
Church in Glendale; the Rev. Marjorie Likins; and the gay activist and
journalist Jim Kepner. The SCCRH provided an extensive program of monthly
lectures, discussion groups, and informal meetings of clergymen, church
members, and members of the GLBT community; retreats and conferences exploring
homosexuality and religion; "exposure education" for non-gay clergymen and
church members to learn about such aspects of GLBT culture as gay bars, clubs,
and organizations; assistance to churches developing policies relating to
homosexuality and religion and to homosexual law reform; and training for
counselors, teachers, clergymen, and others who counseled homosexuals. The
organization originally utilized the mailing address of the Rev. Smith's
Downtown Service Bureau; by 1970 it used the address of the Los Angeles Council
of Churches on West Adams Blvd.; and by February 1971 the Venice Blvd. address
of ONE Institute, of which both Legg and Kepner were officers.
Restrictions
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Availability
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.