Urban Refuge

For those of you who don't follow Zen, the Sweeping Zen website is something of a central place to go for information about Zen and it's various teachers. In the last year or so, they have increasingly been involved in raising awareness of a few different controversies and problems in Zen.

In mid May, they covered this letter written by Rev Lawrence Grecco, of Open Sky Sangha in New York City. Rev Grecco is very critical of the Korean Taego Orders problems with ordaining (and thus ministering to) Gays, Lesbians, Queer, etc. 

Sweeping Zen reached out to the Taego Order and published a brief commentary on the reaction here.

I post these things out of a feeling that the LGBTQ community has allies here in this group. Afterall, combating the exclusion and isolation of anyone brings us all closer together and results in fewer walls to break down. I'm also feeling more and more that in many of the classic monastic and priestly orders the community at large has very little recourse in the face of injustice or wrongdoing except public pressure.