At the WordFest gathering on Tuesday, September 6, Gilbert Rossing will be discussing and reading from his book, Dignity, Dogmatism, and Same-Sex Relationships: What Science and Scripture Teach Us. A retired Lutheran pastor (ELCA), Gib and his wife, Beth, began an unexpected journey of study and understanding when their oldest son came out to them that he was gay. Gib’s book is both a personal account of their struggle to understand and what they learned from their investigation of scripture and modern science.

 He writes: “In the beginning, I cared about information about homosexuality only to help me understand my gay son. But soon, I realized that I needed to reconcile understanding about my son with larger issues raised by traditional religious judgments about homosexuality.”

Gib served Lutheran parishes over a period of 30 years in Spokane, Portland, and in Texas. He has a Master of Theology degree from Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from Portland State University. After retirement from parish ministry, he was a computer software developer and database designer in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

 During the second hour, Daniel Iddings will read from his manuscript, Happily Depressed, for which he is currently seeking a publisher. Born and raised in Kelso, Dan moved to Seattle where he lived for 20 years. Suffering from severe bouts of depression, he lost his job, marriage and home, and became homeless, living out of the back of his pickup truck. With the support of family and friends, he got back on his feet and returned to Longview, where he wrote his book. Happily Depressed discusses how he recovered from major depression by discovering and implementing four key principles to building a happier life.

During the open mic time, Kelley Jacquez will be reading a poem that was recently accepted for publication.

The Brits doors open at 5:30, and the readings begin at 6:00.