Gay Priest: An Inner Journey

This is a mellower Boyd than has been familiar to readers who have variously applauded or condemned his books, from Are You Running with Me, Jesus?, about radical politics and religion, to Take Off the Masks, the 1976 statement of his homosexuality. Here the Anglican priest, whose current ministry is to the gay community of Santa Monica, Calif., provides information about his backgroundHollywood show biz; theological training at Berkeley, Oxford and New York City; international church assignments; his first parish, in Indianapolis; civil rights activismalong with homilies, inspirational poetry, cultural, political and sexual observations. Like a pointillist dabbing on fragments of color, Boyd renders his vision through seemingly disunified pigments that only gradually emerge as of a piece, as sustained thought, about love and homosexuality, the theology of liberation, his own Christian ecumenism. Much of the rubric is pedestrian if deeply felt, with little to jar any sensibility, although the book's title could raise some eyebrows. (October 20