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Ed Moran

Oral history interview conducted by Hillel Arnold

November 26, 2008

Call number: 2008.031.5.017

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0:03 - Rev. Knight's cultural interest in funerals, mourning, Memorial Day; Walt Whitman & Fort Greene play; creative community at church

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7:06 - Unique Thanksgiving service with congregants as historic characters; accepting of all sexual orientations starting in '79; Presbyterian hierarchy; community/social justice issues exploration; challenge from openly gay men to Presbytery

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14:49 - Research on church policy; committee that became "More Light" church movement; origin of name; outreach in other churches & society at large in late '70s; later coalition in '90s

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22:19 - Davidson's Presbytery committee for lesbian, gay concerns; Ordaining openly gay; reception of congregants; statement at church

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28:30 - Metropolitan Community Church & Korean congregation welcomed to Lafayette Ave.; some congregations' resist "More Light;" growing congregations setting out on their own; transition of Knight & attempt to rescind "More Light"

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36:06 - Movements of Religious Right's effect on church and uncertainty after Knight led to protest & vote for Rev. Dyson in early '90s

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43:59 - His less active time in church from '83-'89; church thrift shop in sanctuary cut down on worship there; Rev. Knight's long stay & his family investing in church; Rev. Davie as associate pastor; Knight's plan to retire

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51:54 - Signs of Knight's erratic behavior in last weeks as pastor; Knight's absence then hospitalized; discovery of blackmail attempt

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59:57 - Appearance of status quo while money was borrowed; confronting Knight & his resigning; Davie's help in rocky three-year transition; Moran new to Session in '89

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67:18 - Working to reaffirm More Light status, '90; threat to More Light triggered by memorial of passed gay & lesbian members; 4 interim pastors & church at crossroads

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Interview Description

Oral History Interview with Ed Moran
Edward "Ed" Moran was born in 1947 and raised in a small town of Pennsylvania. At age twenty in 1968, he sailed to Europe for a four-month tour of the continent. Moving to New York City later that year, he lived in Manhattan until 1974. After moving to Brooklyn, he joined a theatrical company that performed at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. In 1976, he formally became a member of the church. He became an Elder with the Session of the church a year later and, after less involvement in the church for much of the 1980s, he joined the Session again from 1989 to 1991. Writing for a living, Moran is recognized as the unofficial historian of Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church; knowledgeable about the church's mid-nineteenth century origin and subsequent decades, and equipped with first-hand observations of the 1970s through the 2000s.

In this second of three interviews, Edward "Ed" Moran begins with his recollections of Reverend George Knight and the creativity and sense of community that Moran enjoyed at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. He looks at the the social justice mission of the church through the lens of the More Light Presbyterians coalition that began at the church in 1979 with little difficulty. He examines how More Light was reaffirmed in the early 1990s with some challenges by those affected by a Religious Right ideology. Moran cites this same period as a time of upheaval in the church's functionality because of the Reverend Knight's personal troubles, his swift resignation, and an ensuing chaotic three-year period of four interim pastors. The details of that period were expected to be part of the follow-up oral history. While recording, Moran requested that some thoughts on Rev. Fred Davie be redacted. Two minutes late in the first hour have been cut. Interview conducted by Hillel Arnold.

The Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors series features a broad range of narrators. Most are not well-known public figures but are well-known to their neighbors. This ongoing, extensive series focuses on Brooklyn history and the experiences of these narrators document national and international history as well. The interviews include people from diverse backgrounds making observations or sharing recollections about the growth and condition of several neighborhoods within Brooklyn. Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, and Fort Greene were heavily represented as of 2017. The oldest narrator in this collection was born in 1927.

Citation

Moran, Edward, Oral history interview conducted by Hillel Arnold, November 26, 2008, Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors, 2008.031.5.017; Brooklyn Historical Society.

People

  • Dyson, David W.
  • Knight, George Litch
  • Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)
  • Moran, Edward
  • More Light Presbyterians

Topics

  • Amateur theater
  • Church controversies
  • Church management
  • Churches
  • Clergy
  • Gay rights
  • Presbyterian Church
  • Presbyterians
  • Religious institutions
  • Social justice

Places

  • Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
  • Fort Greene (New York, N.Y.)

Finding Aid

Voices of Brooklyn oral histories: Our neighbors