Kay Warren: Don't Stop Caring About AIDS

From a Christianity Today essay by Kay Warren, wife of Purpose-Driven Life author Rick Warren (hat tip to the Dallas Morning News religion blog):
If you're still not sure, reluctant to give your heart and your help to those with HIV and AIDS, take a look at Mark 1:40-42 (NIV). A leper, widely assumed to have secret, unconfessed sin, braved the crushing stigma and fear his illness created to find Jesus. So ashamed of his condition, he approached our Master on his knees, begging to be healed. Jesus could have turned his back on the man, shouted accusations at his sinful state, refused to even speak to him. Instead, the Bible says he was "filled with compassion." He reached out his hand, touched the man, and healed him.

This story never fails to instruct me, to move me. Jesus had the perfect opportunity to ask this man how he became ill, but he didn't. He just helped him. I don't think it's wild speculation to assume that the man's spiritual leprosy was healed that day as well. Jesus models for us how to approach people with the leprosy of our time — HIV and AIDS. As we care for their bodies, care for the orphans and vulnerable children left behind, care for the spiritual wounds that lie hidden deep in the soul, categories and numbers become people.

People Jesus loves. People Jesus died for. People who will never know there is a Savior unless our biblical worldview includes a willingness to ask the larger questions.

Click here to read the rest of the story.

"Let Me Worship As I Am"

This was published in Newsweek magazine's "My Turn" section last week:

The very word "Christian" makes me wish I'd had a Druid spiritual awakening. In today's lexicon, Christian is equated with fanatics who need God to be as human as can be: male, full of pride and hate, war-loving and with a voting record that can only be described as shortsighted. For me to have found the answer to my spiritual hunger in the teachings of Jesus was at best highly inconvenient.

But Christianity comforts and fills me, as any good soup should. On the day I took the soup, there was a coincidental visit from a bishop from New Hampshire who was in L.A. and wanted to come to mass at St. Thomas the Apostle. His name is Gene Robinson, and he is the first openly gay and partnered bishop elected to an Episcopal bishopric. He is a slight man in person, soft-spoken and grinning ear to ear. He is no crusader in the usual sense of the word, but is in his own way a Joan of Arc, although he more resembles David Sedaris in a miter. I found his presence at my reception ceremony to be a special postcard from my Savior, if you'll forgive my self-centeredness and cheesy metaphor. I know that there were hundreds of other people at mass that day, many others being received or confirmed or even baptized. The presence of Bishop Robinson meant something different to every person there. But faith is ultimately selfinvolved at times, and sacraments and life are meant to be windows to God's grace.

As my partner's Mormon mother would say, I have a testimony. I was created by God, who works through all of his creation, and I've been gay as a handbag since birth. I wanted to wear my sisters' chapel veils at 2, had a crush on Hoss from "Bonanza" at 4 and have always known that God loves me and Jesus has lessons for me. And I am called to be Episcopalian and part of the Catholic faith, sure as Joan of Arc was called to her mission, although I'm not in drag. And I have faith that I will stand in front of the altar of God and commit my life to the man I love, with smells and bells and without secrecy. It is right to stand before God as I am, and speak my own truth. And I am grateful to have a model of simple, elegant defiance in the bishop from New Hampshire who happened to come to mass at my church one day.

Hoss instead of "Little Joe?" Well, I suppose beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

Click here to read the rest of the essay.

Link of the Day: JuggleCat Faith & Policy

http://www.jugglecat.blogspot.com/

One person's opinion, observations, and prayers surrounding life as a catholic, the independent sacramental movement, today's American public policy, and generally the state of the human condition.

I am a forty-something year old single guy from Long Island, New York and I am a Deacon and Seminarian in the United American Catholic Church (an independent sacramental church). I currently am the Pastor for the Emmaus Catholic Community on Long Island. You can check out Emmaus by visiting www.emmauscatholic.org. I work for Catholic Charities here on Long Island as my secular job -- I coordinate the Special Needs Housing Program -- housing for people living with HIV & AIDS, mental illness and/or addiction. AND I sell electronics at a local retailer part-time. Yes, I'm a busy guy.

James Dobson: What Was He Thinking?

I just heard the news today that Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, has criticized Barack Obama for some statements that he made in a speech in 2006. He accuses Obama of distorting the Bible and pushing a "fruitcake interpretation" of the Constitution. The last time I looked, being a child psychologist doesn't qualify anybody to judge someone else's interpretation of the Bible or the Constitution!!

Not only that, but I think Dr. Dobson is suffering from the pot calling the kettle black. In February, Dr. Dobson said that if John McCain received the Republican nomination for president, he would choose not to vote for the first time in his life. Me thinks he protested a little too much.


So, what conclusion do I draw from all of this? Dr. Dobson is being hypocritical. On the one hand, John McCain isn't conservative enough to vote for. On the other hand, Obama isn't a choice for Dr. Dobson at all. Therefore, why even get involved in this election at all, if you aren't going to vote anyway? Hello? What's the point of criticizing any candidate? You've already made it clear you aren't voting.


The only reason I can see for Dr. Dobson to start in with this criticism is that maybe Focus is losing donations from his base, so he needs to stir the pot and get the conservatives freaked out about Obama so they start the donations rolling in again. What other explanation is there?

Okay, now I'm sounding cynical, but I'm so frustrated with this man talking about morals and values when he is acting so hypocritical. Sometimes I think God would just like to take some people and shake them to their very core until they realize it isn't all about them.

How Sad...

When I heard of comedian George Carlin's passing away yesterday, I didn't think much about it because I wasn't necessarily a big fan of his. His humor was often crude and vulger. I just didn't get it.


However, today I was listening to public radio and one of the shows had an interview from 2004 with George Carlin as a tribute to him. I listened to it on a whim and it made me sad. I was sad because Mr. Carlin espoused his views on the world and life in general and it appears he was very much someone who thought that God was a concept, rather than a real person. George talked about how he believed that everything in the universe comes from the same molecular structure and so trees, people, machines, are all the same in the scheme of things. He seemed to feel that God wasn't so much to be worshipped, but to be ridiculed. George Carlin did what so many folks do...He saw religion as the same as God. He obviously had been hurt by religious people in his life and it made him bitter towards God.


He didn't realize this truth. Religion is man made, but God is real! What Mr. Carlin didn't know is that God was there for him. He loved him so much. I hope that he found the truth in his last hours, but the thought that he might not have found Jesus is just so hard for me to handle.


George didn't know that Jesus could be there for him. All he had to do was ask. He didn't know that God could heal his hurts. The fact that God was there for him just wasn't in George's consciousness.


It's so sad indeed.

MySpace Friend of the Day: Christians With Depression

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=118228971&MyToken=a456eab0-8cde-488a-adac-e2b1ca61da8b

My name is Melissa, I am 26 years old, have been married for almost 8 years, and am an artist/decorator. What most people don't know is that I suffer from type II Manic Depression, and anxiety disorder (for me all that means is that I am depressed a lot more than I am manic). I have attempted to take my life twice in the past two years, experimented with different kinds of self-injury as a teenager, and still struggle with thoughts and tendencies of self harm.

All that being said, I am a Christian, I love the Lord with all my heart. I have been a believer for over 6 years now, and in the beginning of my walk with the Lord his love was all that consumed me... all I wanted was to serve Him with every moment, and please Him with my heart and my life. Then something changed, a lot changed, and I was diagnosed with clinical depression.

At times my faith has been used by Satan to confuse me more, my weaknesses have often caused me to feel like I'm putting Christ on that cross all over again, day after day, and I have felt completely helpless.

I became victim of an illness, and of a type of human frailty that is too easily judged by others. No one understood what I was going through, not even me. I felt abandoned and alone. I tried talking about it to my pastor and other spiritual mentors but none were able to offer any relief. There were a few who attempted to "help" by either trying to cast out demons or by suggesting that all I needed to do was "Ask the Lord to deliver me...", "Repent of my sins.", and "Trust in the Lord." Their intentions were noble, but as a sincere believer... lets just say that their suggestions were less than welcomed, after months of tormenting myself with those very things .

Depression creeps on slowly with most people, and mine was no different. It first noticeably showed up while I was on a mission trip in Venezuela with my husband. I was at the peak of my spiritual walk, daily attempting to learn what it was to surrender myself completely to God. Of coarse, at the time we believed it was spiritual warfare, and treated it as such until it became evident that something else was going on... Ironically, it is only now, three painful years later that I can honestly say that I think I am finally starting to get the whole surrender thing. This illness changed my life in so many ways. I became alienated from my loved ones and church family. My marriage was almost completely destroyed, most of my Christian friends vanished instantly, and I had no contact at all with my already estranged family. I could not work, or interact with people on a social level at all without becoming hysterical and even more isolated. I think one of the hardest things to come to terms with was the fact that I asked everyone around me for help through fellowship, and I did not get it. I was left alone everyday, every moment, with the bitter reality of what a hopeless mess and failure I was, and of how I was undeserving of others concern. I hated myself, and could see nothing worth preserving. All I wanted to was to be in the arms of my savior... and rest in knowing that I could not do any more damage, or be a burden to anyone else.

Though I could not sense or "feel" God in my despair, I know now that he truly held me in his arms and protected me from my own intentions in that time of complete darkness, as a father protects his child. I had no relationship with my real father at all, my husbands father was in denial that anything was even wrong with me, and my spiritual father/mentor had all but completely abandoned me. I absolutely cherish the complexing moment of despair and joy as I realized that the only father I had or needed was God himself. I pray you all have such an awakening.

♥ "Blessed be the Lord,who daily bears our burden, the God who is our salvation." Psalm 68:19 ♥

Feature on Bishop Gene Robinson

Here's an odd combination-a feature on the only ordained Episcopal gay bishop in GQ magazine. Yet, thanks to a link from PageOneQ, that's what we have here. It is the most in-depth piece I've seen on the Bishop, so I thought me readers would be interested.

Let God Love Gene Robinson from GQ magazine.

Celebrating the Right NOT to Marry

Not every gay or lesbian person who recently won the right to marry is running out to get a marriage license, but that doesn't mean they don't appreciate the right to do ss.

Here's an interesting take from the San Francisco Gay Examiner:
Hat tip to Freedom to Marry.

On Tuesday night, while gay couples across the state of California celebrated their hard-earned wedding nights, I dropped by my favorite bar in town: Truck. I thought that maybe the place would be empty, since any historic celebrations would probably take place closer to the Castro. But Truck was packed. Nobody talked about marriage.

Nobody talked about politics. The amiable and humpy owner/bartender, Paul Miller, served up as many gin and tonics as I could drink. And I chatted up a friendly young fellow who was capable of veering from stories about his outrageous past to a very smart assessment of Ian McEwan's novels.

The freedom to marry is important for two major reasons: first, because so many gay men and women want desperately to marry the people they love. And second, because those of us who choose not to marry are offered a genuine choice in the matter. (My friend Michael pointed out yet another benefit of the recent ruling by the state Supreme Court: no longer will guys be able to refer to their "husbands" unless the man in question is, in fact, a husband. The title no longer properly applies to that Craigslist hookup who's been stealing your towels for the past two weeks.)

You've probably already heard a few radical faerie types voice their concerns about "assimilation," as if gay marriage will inevitably absorb every gay person into the heterosexual Borg. But the threat of assimilation isn't meaningful unless it's a choice. I would much rather be "threatened" by the prospect of becoming a Stepford husband than be legally denied that nightmarish possibility in the first place.

So even though I don't want to participate in gay marriage at this point, I'm hardly threatened by it. If anything—judging by the Tuesday-night crowd at Truck—my life as a single gay guy in a big gay town has just been valorized a little bit more. Because frankly, it's more fun to be a gadabout when you know it's not the only legal option.

Link of the Day: Spiritual Fruits

http://www.spiritualfruits.com/

The Bible has long been used to defend racism and slavery, the subjugation of women, wars, and the outright slaughter of anyone who was different. The Ku Klux Klan, the reign of Hitler, the witch hunts, and the Crusades were all purported to be efforts in the name of Jesus Christ! What's more, they were vigorously supported, or even developed by, one or more major church groups. (See my Surprise! page for more about this.)

I am sickened that many churches are now using this same hypocrisy to target, abuse and harass gay people. Enough is enough!

They, and other fundamentalists, repeatedly claim that God hates gay people or expects them to "convert" to heterosexuality. This website was written to answer these claims through testimony, providing information, and inviting you to ask the Holy Spirit, not people, for the answer. It is here to provide resources for anyone struggling with this issue, regardless of your sexual orientation or gender identity.

Same Sex Marriages an Inspiration?

Here's another straight guy who just doesn't get it. Eric Zorn, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, just doesn't understand that the right-wing has explained how same-sex marriage has irrepairably damaged his and will eventually destroy society. Even worse, he says he and his presumptively straight wife are INSPIRED by them!

Nice to have you on my team Eric.

Does your marriage feel a little less special today, straight couples?

Does knowing that octogenarian lesbians Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon had a legal wedding this week in San Francisco diminish, in retrospect, your legal wedding? Does their bond profane yours?

Not at our house it doesn't. My wife and I simply feel inspired. Martin and Lyon have been a couple for 56 years—twice as long as we've been together—and we see them as role models, not harbingers of the decline of the family.

We celebrate their lifelong commitment and lasting love. We think the family could use a lot more of that and a lot less puritanical fretting about what name we put on the hopeful union of souls.

We're honored, even a little humbled, to share this institution with Martin and Lyon.

Since the comment function has been turned off on this post on the Tribune site, it's fair to assume that not everyone agreed with this view.

Click here to read the rest of the column.

Is Anglican Split Over Gay Ordination Growing?

It would appear so according to this excerpt from a New York Times article:

Once a decade, hundreds of bishops of the international Anglican Communion meet in Canterbury, England, for the Lambeth Conference.

This summer, in the most tangible demonstration yet of the church’s divide over homosexuality, more than a quarter of the invited bishops are expected to boycott the conference and attend a rival meeting for conservative Anglicans in Jerusalem, called the Global Anglican Future Conference.

Setting the tone for the meetings that begin next week, the conservatives released a strongly worded theological manifesto on Thursday, declaring that they see no possibility for reconciliation with the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada, which have accepted a gay bishop and same-sex unions.

The conservatives say that after years of emergency meetings and ultimatums, they have been “ignored,” “demonized” and “marginalized.” “There is no longer any hope, therefore, for a unified Communion,” the manifesto said.

The Anglican Communion is the third largest affiliation of Christian churches, with 77 million members. The Lambeth Conference is supposed to be one of the four “instruments of Communion” that bind the church together, and more than 800 bishops were invited by the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams. But the archbishops of Nigeria, Rwanda and Uganda announced they would boycott Lambeth, (which will be held from July 20 to August 2).

He is another denomination spending a LOT of time and energy focusing on their difference rather than their commonality.....

While Satan laughs.

Lots of New Resources

I've been gathering lots of websites with interesting and important information over the years to help me with the content for this blog. In wanting to make Straight, Not Narrow the most valuable resources possible, I decided to add them to the blog, over on the right hand side of each page under resources. There are several categories that I think you will find useful.

If you know of an additional resource that you think would be of interest to the readers here, please don't hesitate to e-mail me at straight_notnarrow@yahoo.com and I'll check it out.

Report on American Family Outing Visit to Saddleback Church

From Soulforce.org:

Eight of our families met with Saddleback ministers and staff for lunch and conversation. Saddleback staff shared their efforts to reduce hurtful language in their materials on gays and lesbians and their passion for HIV/AIDS prevention. However, they also explained that gay and lesbian people are welcome to attend but may not serve the church unless they commit to celibacy.

In an attempt to explain the harm that these kinds of policies can cause, members of The American Family Outing -- which included former Exodus spokesperson Darlene Bogle and born-again Christian transman Kimrey Kotchik -- shared their personal testimonies. Speaking as a straight married man, Bob Bednar asked the Saddleback group to imagine what it would be like to live without hope of intimacy, companionship, or the touch of a partner.

After the meeting, Bob shared this reflection: "Being there showed me in a powerful way exactly how brave my LGBT team members were to go into that kind of atmosphere and insist that church leaders recognize their pain and start to see it as their own pain, too. But the experience also showed me how far we have to go before churches will actually be able to 'own' that pain and take responsibility for the spiritual violence they perpetuate, sometimes without even knowing it. They see the pain, but they don't seem to understand that the pain doesn't come from being LGBT but from trying to reconcile being LGBT with a theology puts conditions on who people can be and who they can be with."

While it is difficult to know if our stories fell on receptive ears, we do know that the families of the American Family Outing brought their spirit of love and integrity to mega-churches where LGBT people are not yet affirmed. They also opened a larger conversation about LGBT people and the church in every community that we visited.

Click here to read the rest of the report from Soulforce, right below the stories of how three leaders of the orgainzation got legally married in California last week.

"Taking The Pulpit to Pride"

There has been much concern among the GLBT community and its allies in recent years about the positive impact Pride parades and festivals still had, and was it possible they did more harm to the public perception of GLBT people than good.

Here is an essay by Rev. Rebecca Voelkel, the Institute for Welcoming Resources and Faith Work director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force offering the view that these events are not only worth having, but they are an appropriate and effective place to celebrate one's faith.

For years now, I have donned my brightest T-shirt with my congregation’s logo, my shorts, my sensible shoes and my liturgical stole in preparation for my participation in the local Pride parade. Inevitably, the religious contingent is placed behind a local bar’s float that is playing fun, danceable music with beautiful men and women frolicking with obvious joy. When we approach, our a cappella singing of “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know,” or our chanting of “Two, Four, Six, Eight, God does not discriminate” seems to pale in comparison. But the joy and power of our presence is no less revolutionary.

It used to be, in the early history of Pride parades, that they would include the few faithful from the local Metropolitan Community Church and, perhaps, a smattering of courageous leaders from other religious traditions. This illustrated two important factors — the chasm between secular LGBT folk and religious ones, and the nascentness of the pro-LGBT religious movement. For many it was less safe to be religious in the LGBT movement than it was to be queer in religious circles. (And it was darn hard to be queer in religious circles.)

But we have seen a lot of change over the years. As I’ve participated in Pride parades in Seattle, Minneapolis, Hartford, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere, the religious contingent is larger every year. There are Pagans and Buddhists, Roman Catholics and Protestants, Jews, Muslims and Hindus. Recently, Affirmation, the pro-LGBT Mormon group, created a float that was a replica of a horse-drawn wagon. The proud gay men on top were clean-cut, dressed in period clothing and waving with joy to the crowd — a moment for them, that I can only imagine was a rare confluence of spiritual and sexual identities.

Although the chasm between the wider LGBT community and the religious pro-LGBT community still exists, it is smaller and there are many bridges being built to traverse it. And, although there yet remains a long way to go, much progress has been made within religious communities to change the homophobia, heterosexism and gender phobia. For example — many of the major LGBT organizations now have programs devoted to religious work. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, GLAAD, HRC and the National Black Justice Coalition have all recognized that advancing LGBT work means working with pro-LGBT movements within different religious bodies. And those pro-LGBT movements have done amazing things.

This widening and broadening within religious communities of the support for LGBT people is a critical part of our LGBT movement. In particular, almost all of the work that has been done in religious circles has involved large numbers of allies. For example, of the nearly 3 million members of welcoming and affirming Christian congregations, the vast majority of them are straight. This building the base of allies is a hugely important asset the religious movement brings to the larger LGBT movement.

Click here to read the rest of the article. It might help you take a different approach toward Pride this year.

Link of the Day: The Trevor Project

http://www.thetrevorproject.org/home1.aspx

The Trevor Helpline is the only national crisis and suicide prevention helpline for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth.

The Helpline is a free and confidential service that offers hope and someone to talk to, 24/7. Trained counselors listen and understand without judgment.

There is hope, there is help.

Be proud of who you are.

Here is a note about their upcoming fund raiser, a gala in New York City on June 30:

Direct from Town Hall, Tony Award®-winning actress and recording
artist, Idina Menzel, to perform new songs from her latest hit album, I Stand, at Trevor New York, the eighth annual New York City gala benefitting The Trevor Project.

Comic entertainer and author of Confessions of a Pretty Lady, Sandra Bernhard, to perform a comedy segment in the evening's program.

The evening will be hosted by actor Alec Mapa, host of Transamerican Love Story on the Logo network and a recurring character on Emmy® Award-winning television series, Ugly Betty.

Presenters at the event include:
· Lauren Collins (actress, Degrassi: The Next Generation)
· Gideon Glick (actor, Spring Awakening)
· Cheyenne Jackson (actor, Xanadu)
· Heather Matarazzo (actress, Welcome to the Dollhouse)
· Rosie Perez (actress, The Take)
· Adamo Ruggiero (actor, Degrassi: The Next Generation)
· More to be announced

Award-winning actor Alan Cumming and The N, the 24-hour network for and about teens, will also be honored at the gala. Cumming will receive The Trevor Hero Award, which honors an individual who, through his or her example, support, volunteerism and/or occupation, is an inspiration to gay and questioning youth. The N will receive The Trevor Commitment Award, which honors a company or organization that, through its policies, initiatives and other efforts, demonstrates a commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender causes and is a prominent, public example of corporate acceptance of individuals regardless of sexual orientation.

Thoughts on Same-Sex Marriage from an Anglican Vicar

This essay, which I post in it's entirety, is a transcript of a broadcast by UK Anglican Vicar Giles Fraser titled "Why the church should bless gay marriage." Thanks to new SNN reader Shirley for the link.

A few weeks ago, two Anglican clergymen celebrated their civil partnership at a service in a famous London church. Newspapers last weekend called it a gay wedding. A number of friends of mine were at the service and told of a happy and wonderful occasion. But there are those who have been deeply upset; people who would quote scripture to argue that it threatens the very fabric of marriage itself.

So what, then, is the Church of England's theology of marriage?

Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Book of Common Prayer was being put together, marriage was said to be for three purposes:

First, it was ordained for the procreation of children. Secondly, it was ordained for a remedy against sin, and to avoid fornication. Thirdly, it was ordained for the mutual society, help and comfort that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.

How do these three concerns relate to the prospect of gay marriage?

The third priority insists that marriage is designed to bring human beings into loving and supportive relationships. Surely no one can deny that homosexual men and women are in as much need of loving and supportive relationships as anybody else. And equally deserving of them too. This one seems pretty clear.

The second priority relates to the encouragement of monogamy. The Archbishop of Canterbury himself has rightly recognised that celibacy is a vocation to which many gay people are simply not called. Which is why, it strikes me, the church ought to be offering gay people a basis for monogamous relationships that are permanent, faithful and stable.

So that leaves the whole question of procreation. And clearly a gay couple cannot make babies biologically. But then neither can those who marry much later in life. Many couples, for a whole range of reasons, find they cannot conceive children – or, simply, don't choose to. Is marriage to be denied them? Of course not.

For these reasons – and also after contraception became fully accepted in the Church of England – the modern marriage service shifted the emphasis away from procreation. The weight in today's wedding liturgy is on the creation of loving and stable relationships. For me, this is something in which gay Christians have a perfect right to participate.

I know many people of goodwill are bound to disagree with me on this. But gay marriage isn't about culture wars or church politics; it's fundamentally about one person loving another. The fact that two gay men have proclaimed this love in the presence of God, before friends and family and in the context of prayerful reflection, is something I believe the church should welcome. It's not as if there's so much real love in the world that we can afford to be dismissive of what little we do find. Which is why my view is we ought to celebrate real love however and wherever we find it.

California Clergy React to Reality of Same-Sex Marriage

From the Houston Chronicle posting of a New York Times story:

Some clergy members in California spent Tuesday officiating at same-sex weddings made legal by a state Supreme Court ruling that took effect on Monday night. Others spent the day speaking out against same-sex marriage.

And there were those who spent the day in anguish, torn between the laws of their state and the laws of their church.

The Rev. Kimberly A. Willis said she had not decided what to do because she wanted to be able to minister to all of her congregants at Christ Church United Methodist, in Santa Rosa, about 10 percent of whom are gay. But if she officiates at a same-sex wedding, she could be charged with violating the United Methodists' Book of Discipline, put on trial and defrocked.
So Willis spent Sunday on the sidelines at a religious service in which several same-sex couples were celebrating their imminent marriages. Willis spied a gay couple in the front row who attend her church, and said she felt outraged that she could not join the other ministers leading the ceremony to bless them.

Willis said, "I can bless a car, and I have. I've been asked to bless animals, children, homes, bread, grape juice, but I can't bless a gay and lesbian couple. That's unreal to me."

The article goes into further depth on the turmoil within denominations, congregations, and individuals' consciences. You can read the rest of it here.

MySpace Friend of the Day: gaytheologian

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=35308874


i was unceremoniously expelled from the church of god theological seminary in cleveland, tn for failing miserably at ex-gay therapy. it was the best thing that ever happened to me.


i am a student the general theological seminary of the episcopal church in manhattan working on an master of divinity for the purpose of ordination to the priesthood.


i believe god's love is for all people. i believe the blood of jesus christ is sufficient for the atonement of sins. i believe god created me to be exactly who i am. i believe in the continual work of the holy spirit, divine healing, inner healing, deliverance, and all power in heaven and earth to be used for the propagation of the kingdom of god.


i am a wesleyan, armenian, open-futurist, gay affirming, husband-seeking christian man. i will continue to study for ministry even though doors have been consistently slammed in my face. right now i live by grace alone.


i had a career as an actor before going into ministry, and i toured with the 2001 godspell national tour (see itunes or amazon for my recording of "we beseech thee.")


i believe in civil disobedience. i believe in revolutionaries. i believe god can change the world through me and my community.

Why DOES Marriage Matter So Much to Gay People?

Matt Coles, director of the American Civil Liberties Union LGBT & AIDS Project, takes a crack at that question for The Advocate:

Discrimination requires a rationale. The rationale for treating gay people differently has always been that we were not capable of the kind of love and commitment that straight people share.

The fight over marriage puts the truth of that rationale squarely at issue. If the love we share and the commitments we make (which, as with straight people, vary widely) are not different, there is no rationale for excluding us from marriage. More critically, there is no rationale for excluding us from jobs, from parenting, even from the prom. A person's sexual orientation, as the Court said, will not be a legitimate reason to deny a person rights.

Who cares about that? Every gay person should. Everyone who has a gay friend or family member should. Every person who cares about the Constitution's promise of equal protection should.

That's an awfuly good answer. Click here to read the entire essay.

More on "The Tyrany of the Majority"

Fellow blogger David W. Shelton has addressed one of my favorite issues, the notion of the tyrany of the majority, where the right-wing falls back on claiming "the will of the people" to restrict the rights of minorities, such as GLBT people.

Quite simply, he (California Chief Justice Ronald George) said that the Constitution guarantees protection for vulnerable minorities. This in itself is a hotly debated point, especially in regard to immigrants and sexual orientation.

When the California decision was announced, conservatives immediately decried “activist judges” who “defied the people.” Well, this is exactly what was said when Justice Anthony Kennedy’s decision was handed down in the landmark Lawrence v Texas decision. that struck down all of the sodomy laws in the US. They were “activist judges” (interestingly, both Kennedy and George were appointed by Republicans).

Both men and their respective majorities in their courts knew a simple fact: Sometimes, the people are wrong. The people were wrong to separate blacks and whites in the South. The people were wrong to deny basic civil rights. The people were wrong to pass laws banning the private sex lives of adults, and they were wrong to pass a resolution in California to ban same-sex marriage.

I heard a phrase not too long ago that illustrated this better than anything: the Constitution is a way to protect against the Tyranny of the Majority. I’ll define this phrase: oppressive rule by majority, where the minority has little or no rights.

This is a phrase that isn’t used very often, but when it is used, it’s profound. Alexander Hamilton warned against allowing this kind of “majority rules no matter what” mindset, and was one of a few men who knew just what the dangers were of a pure democracy. In fact, the dangers of a tyrannical majority were so clear to our framers, that they designed our constitution for a republic, not a democracy.

That’s right. The United States of America is not a democracy. It never has been. It is, quite simply, a republic. It is, however, a republic which includes a great many democratic elements, which is why there’s such a balance.

David goes on to further substantiate how "the will of the people" is NOT the measuring stick that our political and judicial systems were designed to use in making decisions, and how courageous people like Justice George are critical to effecting significant social change, defending the rights of those who don't have the resources to defend themselves.

Click here to read the entire post on "Skipping to the Piccolo."

Link of the Day: Other Sheep

http://www.othersheep.org/

We believe that our sexuality – whatever our orientation – is a gift of God to be celebrated with dignity. Homosexuality is not a sin nor a sickness.

Other Sheep - Multicultural Ministries with Sexual Minorities is the only worldwide ecumenical Christian organization dedicated to empowering sexual minorities throughout the world with the Good News of God's unconditional love for all and salvation through God's Son, Jesus Christ. With other LGBT activists throughout the world, we recognize that ideological fundamentalism in various religions, especially Christianity, Judaism and Islam, constitutes the major obstacle to justice for our people. Consequently, within the International Lesbian and Gay Association, Other Sheep pioneered the establishment of the ILGA Working Party on Homophobia, Ideology and Religion.

Other Sheep is particularly, although not exclusively, directed to serving in geographical areas where information and organizations are still relatively scarce.

Other Sheep recently participated in the United Nations High Level Committee Meetings on HIV-AIDS:

Steve Parelli, in one-to-one conversations, introduced the ministry of Other Sheep to individuals attending the UN meeting and presented each with a complimentary copy of the book The Children Are Free: Reexamining the Biblical Evidence on Same-sex Relationships by Rev. Jeff Miner and John Tyler Connoley. (See photo of book cover at right.) 89 copies of the book were distributed. In a few cases an individual was given two copies.

Individuals from the following countries received copies: AFRICA: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Gabon, Nigeria, and Liberia; ASIA: China, Vietnam, and India; LATIN AMERICA: Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador and Argentina; and within the UNITED STATES, individuals from: California, Arizona, Connecticut, Virginia, Massachusetts and Illinois.

Tales of Day 1 of Same-Sex Marriage in California

From Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Jenny Pizer:

It's really here. We've imagined it, hoped for it, worked for it and encouraged each other along the way. Now here it is, and it's hard not to cry. It's wonderful.

Doreena and I met in law school and have been together for nearly 24 years. This morning we stood on the public lawn outside a city building in West Hollywood Park waiting for our marriage license. And we weren't the only ones. George Takei (Sulu from Star Trek) and his soon-to-be husband Brad Altman were first on line. Hundreds of couples — an ebullient group wearing finery of all kinds — lined up outside where there were festive white tents, balloons, cupcakes and flowers everywhere. The air sparkled with excited happiness.

It feels like a new day here. People are breathing more freely and sharing a joyous sense of hopeful possibilities.

For the first time, lesbian and gay people in California are fully equal under law. Our promises of love and mutual commitment for a lifetime will have the same legal protection and dignity as those of other loving couples. I don't know when I've felt such gratitude and joy.

Here is coverage from the San Francisco Chronicle:

So far, 2,303 same-sex couples have appointments to obtain a marriage license in the next 90 days in San Francisco. Nearly 1,800 of those couples will have their ceremony at City Hall, Hong said. She expects the rush of applicants for marriage licenses to level off over the next few weeks.

In Oakland on Monday night, Kenneth Latham and Keith Boadwee of Emeryville joined hands and looked into each other's eyes as they recited wedding vows to become the first same-sex couple married in Alameda County. They have been together 10 years and one month.

"We've been together so long we know what it means to be a couple," Boadwee said. "However, now that we have the legal protection, wherever we go throughout the state, people will recognize it."

This Associated Press report focuses on reactions of supporters and opponents. On this day, anyway, supporters appeared to be more numerous and vocal.

I'm sure I'll more throughout the week.

Celebrity Interview Supporting California Same-Sex Marriage

Lieutennant Sulu is getting married! George Takei, who came out as gay not long ago, will take advantage of the California Supreme Court ruling and legally marry his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman. The couple gave an interview to the CBS Early Show this morning:

Asked why it is important for them to have their relationship recognized as a legal marriage, Takei said, “Because it is a marriage. You know, they can find other names for it, but separate but equal just doesn’t cut it.”

In the couple's official announcement of their wedding plans on Takei's web site last month, the Star Trek star said that his heritage as a Japanese American has made him "keenly mindful of the subtle and not so subtle discrimination that the law can impose. During World War II, I grew up imprisoned behind the barbed wire fences of U.S. internment camps."

"Now, with the passage of time, we look back and see it as a shameful chapter of American history," Takei said of that time period. "With time, I know the opposition to same sex marriage, too, will be seen as an antique and discreditable part of our history."

Clearly, Takei gets it. Best wishes to the happy couple.

Here is a link to the video of the interview from PinkNews. There is a clip of Takei in his younger days on the original Star Trek tv show with his shirt off if that appeals to you :)

MySpace Friend of the Day: Obama Pride

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=345814191&MyToken=d91092b6-0ea3-428a-93c4-7dc0d099635d

Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee, has been focusing a strong outreach effort toward the GLBT community. The group "Obama Pride" had a strong presence at the Capital Pride event we participated in on Sunday, and they conducted a conference call with GLBT activists and bloggers a few days ago. The Senator will receive our votes in the general election, and if you want to consider supporting him there are plenty of resources on this MySpace page to help you make that decision.

Can Same-Sex Couples Teach Us How to Have a Healthy Marriage?

From the New York Times:

For insights into healthy marriages, social scientists are looking in an unexpected place.

A growing body of evidence shows that same-sex couples have a great deal to teach everyone else about marriage and relationships. Most studies show surprisingly few differences between committed gay couples and committed straight couples, but the differences that do emerge have shed light on the kinds of conflicts that can endanger heterosexual relationships.

The findings offer hope that some of the most vexing problems are not necessarily entrenched in deep-rooted biological differences between men and women. And that, in turn, offers hope that the problems can be solved.

Notably, same-sex relationships, whether between men or women, were far more egalitarian than heterosexual ones. In heterosexual couples, women did far more of the housework; men were more likely to have the financial responsibility; and men were more likely to initiate sex, while women were more likely to refuse it or to start a conversation about problems in the relationship. With same-sex couples, of course, none of these dichotomies were possible, and the partners tended to share the burdens far more equally.

While the gay and lesbian couples had about the same rate of conflict as the heterosexual ones, they appeared to have more relationship satisfaction, suggesting that the inequality of opposite-sex relationships can take a toll.

The irony of this just tickles me. Click here to read the entire story.

So Much for Being Unable to Commit

One of the tired old arguements fundamentalists make about the "sinful homosexual lifestyle" is about the perception that they frequently sleep around with different partners.

Not this couple, at least not over the last 55 years.

Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin fell in love at a time when lesbians risked being arrested, fired from their jobs and sent to electroshock treatment.

On Monday, more than a half-century after they became a couple, Lyon and Martin plan to become one of the first same-sex couples to legally exchange marriage vows in California.

"It was something you wanted to know, 'Is it really going to happen?' And now it's happened, and maybe it can continue to happen," Lyon said.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom plans to officiate at the private ceremony in his City Hall office before 50 invited guests. He picked Martin, 87, and Lyon, 84, for the front of the line in recognition of their long relationship and their status as pioneers of the gay rights movement.

Along with six other women, they founded a San Francisco social club for lesbians in 1955 called the Daughters of Bilitis. Under their leadership, it evolved into the nation's first lesbian advocacy organization. They have the FBI files to prove it.

Their ceremony Monday will, in fact, be a marriage do-over.

In February 2004, San Francisco's new mayor decided to challenge California's marriage laws by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. His advisers and gay rights activists knew right away which couple would put the most compelling human face on the issue: Martin and Lyon.

Back then, the couple planned to celebrate their 51st anniversary as live-in lovers on Valentine's Day. Because of their work with the Daughters, they also were icons in the gay community.

"Four years ago, when they agreed to be married, it was in equal parts to support the mayor and to support the idea that lesbians and gay people formed committed relationships and should have those relationships respected," says Kate Kendell, a close friend and executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

Click here to read the rest of this wonderful story.

MySpace Friend of the Day: POZ

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=186831585&MyToken=7f7b12de-ff20-45ac-a96d-4079e8a61e97

POZ is America's premier lifestyle, treatment and advocacy magazine and website for people living with--and those affected by--HIV and AIDS. It informs, inspires and empowers its readership that comprises 70% of the estimated 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. who are aware of their HIV status.

There is also a link to this interesting article from their website:

AIDS: Not a Heterosexual Disease?

AIDS should not be considered a global concern for heterosexuals outside sub-Saharan Africa, asserts the HIV/AIDS director for the World Health Organization (WHO), Kevin De Cock, according to London’s The Independent newspaper (independent.co.uk, 6/8). De Cock made the declaration despite a discouraging report that his own organization—along with UNAIDS and UNICEF—issued less than a week ago showing that while 3 million HIV-positive people worldwide were getting lifesaving antiretroviral treatment in 2007, 2.5 million others became infected.

“It is very unlikely there will be a heterosexual [HIV] epidemic in other countries,” De Cock told The Independent. “Ten years ago a lot of people were saying there would be a generalized epidemic in Asia—China was the big worry with its huge population. That doesn’t look likely. But we have to be careful.”

De Cock acknowledges that AIDS should remain at the forefront of public health concerns, along with other chronic diseases like malaria. He suggested that more prevention efforts should be focused on men who have sex with men (MSM).“

In the developing world, [prevention for MSMs] has been neglected,” he says. “It is astonishing how badly we have done with men who have sex with men. It is something that is going to have to be discussed much more rigorously.”

Not surprisingly, the comments following this article strongly object to this conclusion.

Link of the Day: Empire State Pride Agenda

http://www.prideagenda.org/pride/home.aspx

Another state with a lot of activity concerning same-sex marriage is New York. Governor Patterson's directive for state agencies to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages has resulted in a flurry of activity from the opposition. This is a good place to keep up with the latest, including the passage of a transgender non-discrimination bill by the state assembly.

More Progress Toward Equality Internationally

We've got two positive international news items to pass along this morning.

First, Norway adopted a gay marriage law:

Norway's parliament on Wednesday adopted a new marriage law that allows homosexuals to marry and adopt children and permits lesbians to be artificially inseminated.

After a heated debate, the members of parliament adopted the text by a vote of 84 to 41.

Norway thus became the sixth country in the world to grant homosexuals the right to marry on an equal footing with heterosexuals, according to Norwegian television TV2.

"This decision is of an importance comparable to universal suffrage and our law on parity," Labour Party rapporteur Gunn Karin Gjul said during the debate.

Then, Brazil's President calls homophobia a "perverse disease."

The president of Brazil has become the first nation leader to launch a conference with the sole purpose of promoting gay equality.

The First National Conference of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals was inaugurated by president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who called for a "time of reparation" in Brazil.

At last week's conference President Lula announced his support for gay rights, and stated he will "do all that is possible so that the criminalisation of homophobia and the civil union may be approved."

He also called homophobia "the most perverse disease impregnated in the human head."

Too bad there's an epidemic of that disease in the United States. We're working (slowly) on curing it.

Mass. Governor Patrick Advocates for Equality at Home Too

From Bay Windows (hat-tip to Freedom to Marry):

On June 14, 2007, the day that lawmakers finally voted down an anti-gay marriage amendment to the state constitution, Katherine Patrick stood outside the State House and looked up at her father. Gov. Deval Patrick was standing on the front steps, surrounded by a jubilant crowd of hundreds that mobbed the brick sidewalk and spilled halfway across Beacon Street. As they cheered the defeat of the amendment - an effort led by the governor, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Sal DiMasi - Katherine had never before felt more proud of her father.

"Because, of course, he didn’t know that I was gay then," the 18-year-old recalls. "So, for someone so publicly to fight for something that doesn’t even affect him was just like, ’That’s my dad,’ you know?" she says with a laugh. "That’s all I could think. I was very, very proud to be part of this family, and this state in general."

"As private of an issue as it is, we’ve sort of had to come to terms with the fact that we are a public family and there you give a part of yourself away," says Katherine. "And we also ... wanted people to know that it’s not only something that we accept, but it’s something that we’re very proud of. It’s a great aspect of our lives and there’s nothing about it that is shameful or that we would want to hide." Katherine recalls coming out to her parents as they prepared for a picnic by the pool at their home in the Berkshires. It was July 3, 2007 at around 2:30 p.m., she says.

"And I’ll always remember the first thing my dad did was, [he] wrapped me in a bear hug and said, ’Well, we love you no matter what,’" Katherine recalls. Diane Patrick moved in for a group hug. After a moment, Katherine, in what she describes as typical teen behavior, asked her hovering parents to step off. "I said, ’Okay, okay,’" she laughs. "I was like ... ’Okay, thanks.’"

Patrick is the first elected official in the country to win statewide office after having campaigned on support for marriage equality. He spent a significant amount of political capital on the defeat of the marriage amendment, meeting privately with more than a dozen wavering legislators, strategizing with legislative leaders and publicly discussing why he supported marriage equality and why he thought the amendment should be defeated. But he says that the notion that one of his daughters could be gay didn’t factor into his advocacy on the issue.

"I don’t think we thought about who they loved - more that they knew what love was and that they would have love in their lives," he explains. "You know, it’s interesting even just thinking about having this interview. Katherine and Diane and I and her aunt and Sarah were all talking about, you know, would we give an interview to announce one of our kids was straight? It’s just not about the public ... it’s just about making sure that they had the fullness of their personality and their humanity.

Check out that last sentence again, isn't that what life should be about for EVERYONE?

Click here to read the rest of the article.

"I Have No Interest In God"

That's what someone stated in a question posed to Billy Graham, and I'm sure something a fair share of our readers have said at one time of another. I present Rev. Graham's answer here for your consideration.

From the Christian Post:

Q: I want to make myself clear: I have no interest in God or religion, and I don't care who knows it. As far as I'm concerned, God doesn't exist, and this life is all there is. Don't even bother to write me back, because I'm not interested. - G.P.

A: To be frank, it sounds to me as if down inside you actually do know that God exists; otherwise, why would you be fighting so strenuously against Him and trying to keep Him out of your life? Or why would you even bother to write me?

After all, why fight against something (or Someone) that doesn't even exist (as you claim)? If you were really convinced God didn't exist, the logical thing for you to do would be to ignore Him. But you aren't ignoring Him - and the more you fight against God, the more you are in danger of persuading yourself that He actually does exist.

Have you ever honestly asked yourself why you don't believe in God? I'm sure you could list many "reasons" why you've rejected Him; most professed atheists can. But are they the real reason? I doubt it. I suspect the real reason you've rejected God is because you want to be free to run your own life - and you know that won't be possible once you admit God exists.

You may have rejected God - but He has not rejected you! He loves you and yearns for you to come to Him and discover the peace and hope that come from knowing Christ. Jesus was God in human flesh, and He came to show us what God is like. The Bible says, "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (Son), who is at the Father's side, has made him known" (John 1:18).

The New (and Final) Edition of the ICP is Online

From Ron Hudson:

Dear Friends of the International Carnival of Pozitivities:

It is with both joy and sadness that I am writing to announce the final edition of the ICP. After you receive this notice, I will delete the mailing list for the ICP from my files and you will no longer receive announcements about the project. I was placed on a new drug regimen about 2 months ago and have experienced a serious side effect to the new meds. I am no longer able to continue to maintain the project as a result.

Please know that it has been a joy to bring you the ICP for the past 2 years and that I wish I could continue the project into the future. However, my focus has to be on my own healing now. For those of you who have contributed or hosted the ICP, my heartfelt gratitude can hardly be expressed. For those who blog about HIV/AIDS and who fight to end the stigma of this disease, I urge you to continue your work. We are all in the fight of our lives.

Many, many thanks to Sokari at Blacklooks for hosting the final edition of the ICP at the following link:

http://www.blacklooks.org/2008/06/international_carnival_of_positives_-_final_edition.html

Please visit, read and leave your feedback for the host and the contributors in this, the last edition of the ICP.

I wish you all peace and health.

Safe Journeys!

Ron Hudson

Ron's situation is a jarring reminder that there is still not a cure for AIDS. Let's remember that and support effort to find that cure and eradicate this disease, one that is still a great challenge for those infected. Please join me in praying for Ron's health and return to normal activities ASAP.

Rick Warren Welcomes Gays to His Church--Oops, Never Mind

The story had started circulating that Rick Warren, the author of the wildly successful best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life" and pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, had invited a group of gay fathers to worship and meet with him on Fathers Day.

Here is one link to that story passed on by SNN reader Mark:

However, Rev. Warren issued this clarification, reported at the bottom of the story linked above:

Following news of the plan by gay fathers to attend Saddleback Church this coming Sunday, the church’s pastor, Rev. Rick Warren, has issued a statement clarifying the church’s role. “We did not invite this group, and I will not be meeting with them,” he said, adding that he had a previous commitment and would not be in church on Sunday.

The stern tone of this statement was very disappointing. It seems the Purpose Driven Life author sees no purpose in meeting with members of the GLBT faith community. What a shame and an opportunity lost.

How a Mind Can Be Changed

From the San Jose Mercury News:

If five years ago somebody had told Paul Kujawski, a Polish kid who grew up in this central Massachusetts mill town, that he'd vote to allow two men to marry, he would have laughed in their face.

But when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 2003 that gay men and lesbians could marry, state Rep. Paul Kujawski of Webster and the other 199 members of the Massachusetts legislature had to make the same decision California will face in November: Should a state constitution be rewritten not just to prevent gay marriages - but to potentially undo existing unions?

A kid who grew up over a family meat market that served the old-world Poles, French Canadians, Italians and Irish who made shoes and textiles in Webster's squat brick factory buildings, in a town where you grew up attending Mass under the steeples on the hillside, Kujawski knew exactly what to think:

Marriage was a man and a woman, a bride and a groom, an Adam and an Eve.

When a former baseball teammate asked Kujawski to meet with a group of people from his church who favored gay marriage, the legislator went only as a favor.

"You can talk to me until you're blue in the face, until hell freezes over," Kujawski said. "I'm not changing."

Kujawski wasn't much swayed by the rational, legalistic arguments for gay marriage. But then Debbie Grzyb and Sharon Murphy, two women sitting among the dozen people in the room who Kujawski hadn't even realized were a couple, told their story.

Middle-aged women who had lived closeted lives for the 24 years they had been together, Grzyb and Murphy married in 2004, and only came out to their families then. Feeling apprehensive about revealing their lives to someone who they believed would be hostile, they explained what marriage had meant to them.

"Our families started treating us as a real couple," Murphy said. "It was real; it wasn't make-believe anymore."

Close to the final constitutional vote, Kujawski invited himself to the couple's home. Grzyb, 50, and Murphy, 52, made him oatmeal and tollhouse cookies. He looked at their family photos, and saw the bird feeders and the neat gardens outside.

He came to a new understanding: Murphy and Grzyb weren't really different from other married couples, at least not in the ways that count.
"I understood," Kujawski said of the moment, "that in reality, what we were doing was allowing people to live their lives as they should."

He sighed. "In three years, I tried to put into its proper perspective how on Earth would (gay marriage) change my life. It didn't. I came to the reality of how many lives were enhanced by it, and you had to say to yourself that it would be wrong to take this privilege away."

His vote did cost him a few friends, however, and made his mother unhappy. To read more about the fallout and the stubborn refusal by some to accept this law in Massachusetts click here.

MySpace Friend of the Day: Faith Family Fairness Alliance

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=182234873

Faith Family Fairness Alliance (FFFA) is an interfaith group of individuals, clergy, religious leaders and faith communities dedicated to seeking full religious and legal equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people in Minnesota.

Link of the Day: Center for Progressive Christianity

http://www.tcpc.org/template/index.cfm

The mission of The Center for Progressive Christianity is:

» To reach out to those for whom organized religion has proved ineffectual, irrelevant, or repressive, as well as to those who have given up on or are unacquainted with it.
» To uphold evangelism as an agent of justice and peace.
» To give a strong voice both in the churches and the public arena to the advocates of progressive Christianity .
» To support those who embrace the search, not certainty.

Currently, we are working to fulfill our mission by:
» Creating open and welcoming communities of faith. We are developing strategies for evangelism that do not assume the absolute superiority of Christianity so that we do not contribute to the worlds tragic divisions.
» Reclaiming the symbols of our faith. We are finding effective means to be heard and to influence the behavior of the churches.
» Building an international network of progressive Christians. We are working with independent networks in other countries to provide support for people, especially the isolated, who hold to the principles that we believe are central to the Gospel.
» Being a constructive force for social and environmental justice and peace in the world. We are finding allies in the struggle to bring social and environmental justice and peace to all people, especially those who have been oppressed and powerless.

UN Announces 2008 Red Ribbon Award Winners

From Pink News:

UN agencies have announced the 25 winners of the Red Ribbon Award 2008.

The United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS announced the winners yesterday.

There were more than 550 nominations from 147 countries.

The award is designed to celebrate "Community Leadership and Action on AIDS," and to recognise the communities who have displayed courage, resilience and strength in providing support to those living with HIV.

Click here to read the award winners, organizations that span the globe.

An Anniversary For Equality in Canada

June 10th was the 5th anniversary of the landmark court ruling in Canada that paved the way for same-sex marriage now being legal all across the nation. In the Toronto Globe and Mail (hat-tip to Freedom to Marry), the lead attorney for the case reflects on the impact of that ruling.

Nobody expected that the judgment would have immediate effect. We argued for it – begged for it, truth be told – but between counsel felt that there was little prospect of an immediate remedy. That was the beauty of Halpern and the genius of Roy McMurtry, then the chief justice of Ontario. The judgment had immediate effect. Marriages proceeded. And everybody went on television and said “the genie is out of the bottle,” “the toothpaste is out of the tube,” “the horses are out of the barn” and, well, so it was. Just seven days after the judgment, the federal government announced that it would not appeal.

Nothing prepared us for the backlash and media saturation. For almost the entire summer of 2003, the newspapers were consumed by gay marriage, day after day of front-page stories, for weeks and weeks, tirades by those in opposition, threats by sociologists and “ethicists” about “the end of marriage” or “the rights of children to have a mother and a father,” and volumes of ranting and downright hateful letters to the editor. Few appeared to recognize that, at least legally and, well, practically, too, it seemed, the matter was decided.

It's estimated that about 15,000 gay or lesbian couples have been married in Canada since June 17, 2003. In Toronto, 4,650 licences had been issued to same-sex couples at the end of 2007, making up 6 per cent of the total issued in the period. Marriage rates have not declined. Divorce rates have not increased. The English language seems to have no problem accommodating the concept (in fact, several dictionaries have been amended). Nobody seems to be forcing churches to do things they don't want to do.

Other signs of the breakdown of the family, whatever that means anyhow, are not apparent. The opposing interest groups, including some big-spending American traditional family forces, have publicly announced their retreat. Of course, what that data doesn't show is that individual lives have changed. I have experienced and heard about my share of gay and lesbian weddings, all different and yet, often so similar. Again and again, couples speak of authenticity, and of greater feelings of citizenship and inclusion in families and communities. They tell of neighbours sewing their dresses, reuniting and acceptance with family members, the importance of the public declaration, the effect of the event on their relationships with others.

The wedding stories are poignant and astonishing. I continue to be awed. I don't want to leave the impression that discrimination has been eradicated, but things are just a little different. You can feel it in our cities. Not just on Church Street or Ste-Catherine, although you can feel it there, too. Yes, the pace of progress is slow, but today, on the fifth anniversary of Halpern, let's just celebrate that it worked. The Charter is not just some academic document.

Today, five years later, as the judgment continues to change lives here and internationally, I simply say: Indeed. How proud we all should be that the Canadian vision of equality and freedom has life and meaning. And wings.

Recognition of basic human rights for ALL people is indeed something to be proud of.

You can read the rest of the article here.

MySpace Friend of the Day: NextAid

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=54796606

NextAid is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization committed to developing and implementing innovative sustainable solutions to the challenges facing African children. NextAid's mission is to promote community-driven environmentally, economically and socially empowering responses to the AIDS orphan pandemic. NextAid collaborates with individuals, businesses and nonprofits to produce culturally rich awareness-raising projects and music events involving technology, the arts, public education, and volunteer opportunities. From mega-events like the Miami Music Conference and WIRED Magazine’s “NextFest” in Los Angeles to small club and music-related activities, NextAid channels the positive energy on the dance floor across the globe to Africa, thus providing opportunities for concerned individuals to make a tangible difference in the lives of African children in need. For more information on how to get involved, please visit http://nextaid.org/dosomething.htm

Link of the Day: Capital Pride (DC)

http://www.capitalpride.org/

June is Pride Month across the nation, and in Washington DC we are in the midst of Pride Week, culminating with the Pride Festival in the shadow of the U. S. Capitol this Sunday.

My church, Believers Covenant Fellowship, will have a booth at the festival, which runs from 11AM-6PM. The two of us will work the early shift up until around 1:30, and we would love it if you would come by and say hello. We can give you some information about our church, or just swap blogging stories. Either way, we hope to see you there. Brenda will be providing prophetic prayer counseling and would be happy to share it with you.

American Family Outing Update: Willow Creek Church

I am a big fan of Willow Creek Executive Pastor Bill Hybels' books and the writing of some of the other pastors in that church, so I was particularly hopeful that the American Family Outing visit to that church this past Sunday would go well. From these reports, it appears that it was positive.

The first report comes from the blog "Celebrating Diversity, where Julie Nemecek and her partner Joanne drove 500 miles to participate in this meeting.

We reviewed the non- violent, reconciliation principles of Jesus, Ghandi, and Martin Luther King, Jr, that define Soulforce’s approach. We shared our own stories and heard from former members of Willow Creek Church. We watched a 2006 teaching session by one of Willow Creek’s pastors. The Willow Creek teaching session was filled with much misinformation and false teaching. It helped us focus on our goals for the next day.

There was a gentle, wounded, but positive spirit among this group of Christians that came from all over the country to be together for this weekend. We clearly sensed the presence of Christ in our midst as we prayed together and heard more about each others’ faith journeys. Our four hours together helped make this diverse group a people a cohesive Body of Christ.

On Sunday we arrived at Willow Creek at 10 AM for a tour (at Willow Creek’s invitation). There were some non-Willow Creek protestors near the campus entrance proclaiming their “Christian” certainty of our destination in hell. Most of the group had a white top and we all wore name tags indentifying us as part of the American Family Outing. With the white shirts; nametags; presence of our mascot, Riley; and loving couples holding hands as we walked, we turned a few heads as we toured the massive, high-tech, church village.

At 11:15 AM we were ushered to reserved seats near the center front of the mezzanine section. The rock-star like stage had a 17-member worship team that led us into a meaningful time of worship. They had a VERY adequate sound system. The speaker for the day was a guest mega church pastor from Cincinnati. He had a powerful message about the importance of serving others as a way of expressing Jesus’ love. We wondered if this including LGBT “others” as well. The guest pastor referred to Willow Creek as “the most influential church in America” in part because of their regional churches and the many churches that are part of the Willow Creek Association.

After the service we were led to a private meeting room where we ate together (wonderful boxed lunches provided by the church) and talked casually around tables arranged in one large, open-in-the-middle, rectangle. There were 29 of us allowed at that meeting and 5 people from Willow Creek including their founding (and current) pastor, Bill Hybels.

Both sides shared their issues and concerns in a very gracious dialogue. The Willow Creek staff seemed genuinely taken back that our emphasis was on committed, monogamous, loving relationships and families . . . not sex.

As we looked for action steps at the end of over 2-hour meeting, we agreed to continue the dialogue. Bill Hybels also indicated that their church will continue to study to subject and that he would begin to speak out against the misinformation that some Christian groups publish. We then, stood, held hands, and prayed together.

There is much more detail about the specifics of that meeting in the link above.

Here is also a link to the Chicago Tribune coverage.

Members of the group that visited Willow Creek was optimistic after their meeting with the church's leaders, including senior pastor Bill Hybels. They were treated with respect and open ears, even if only limited common ground was reached, they said. "It was a good first step today," said Berry, 54.

Willow Creek was one of the first to welcome Soulforce, which is based in Lynchburg, Va., to worship and engage in dialogue with Hybels, church elders and staff, said Jeff Lutes, executive director of Soulforce.

"Bill Hybels is to be commended," Lutes said. "They were the first church that responded to our letters and to begin to have conversations with us and show willingness to meet face to face. By being willing to sit down at the table with us, they've demonstrated courage."

Survey Says Americans Nearly Evenly Divided on Homosexuality As a Sin

From the Christian Post:

Americans are nearly evenly divided on whether they believe homosexual behavior is a sin, a new survey showed.

While 48 percent of Americans agree it is a sin, 45 percent said they don't believe homosexuality is sinful, according to a LifeWay Research study, released Wednesday.

Although those who are religiously affiliated were more likely to call homosexual behavior sinful, the director of the research group cautions that there are still many believers who don't view the behavior as sin.
The study showed that 61 percent of Protestants believe homosexuality is sinful compared to 31 percent who don't. Among born-again, evangelical or fundamentalist Americans, 79 percent say it is sinful while 17 percent do not believe it is.

"Seventeen percent in that latter category may seem low compared to the others, but considering these people consider themselves born-again, evangelical, or fundamentalist, it reminds us of the need for clear biblical teaching on the issue in our community," said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, in the report.

Yes Mr. Stetzer, there is clearly a need for clear biblical teaching, since so many people in your survey still do not have the revelation that monogomous homosexual relationships are no more of a sin than your marriage or mine. Promiscuity is a sin that covers any and all sexual orientations.

We surely need to do a much better job of leading people to understand that biblical teaching.

MySpace Friend of the Day: Rebecca Juro

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=18961054

Direct from the page:

I'm a writer, activist, Internet radio talk show host...and oh yes, a lesbian of transsexual experience. If you really want to know all the dirt on me and my innermost thoughts, check out my blog. If you do listen to my show, the Becky Juro Show, which is live Tuesdays 7-9pm eastern on QMO (http://www.qmoradio.com) and the TransFM Radio Network (http://www.transfm.org), you'll find plenty of information about the show on my blog that you'll find nowhere else. A small white rectangle like this is no place to to do any more than just try to give you a taste of what I'm about, so if you really wanna know more, my blog is where you're going to find what you're looking for. All that said, I love making new friends and talking about stuff I think is cool with other people who feel the same way, and that's the big reason why I'm here. Nice ta meecha!

Link of the Day: The Gay Christian Network

http://www.gaychristian.net/community/index.php?

If there is a better online community for gay christians, GLBT people who are searching, or straight allies who want more insight into the gay community, I don't know of it.

I attended the GCN conference back in January and was struck by the passion and devotion toward Christ that many of the attendees I met demonstrated.

The community is one that can be both challenging and consoling, a safe place yet one where controversial issues can be discussed.

This is an online forum well worth checking out and participating in.

Congratualations to Bishop Eugene Robinson

The focal point of the rift in the Episcopal church over ordination of gays, Bishop Eugene Robinson entered into a civil union with his longtime partner last weekend.

From PageOneQ:

The openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop at the center of the Anglican church's global battle over homosexuality, has entered into a civil union with his longtime partner at a private ceremony.

About 120 guests gathered at St. Paul's Church in New Hampshire for Saturday's ceremony for Bishop Gene Robinson and his partner of more than 19 years, Mark Andrews. The event was kept private out of respect for next month's worldwide Anglican conference, Robinson's spokesman, Mike Barwell, said Sunday.

"It was absolutely joyful," Barwell said by telephone. "A lot of his supporters and friends were there, including many members of the gay and lesbian community."

Click here to read the rest of the story.

Reports from PFLAG Rally at "Love Won Out" Conference

The PFLAG National Blog has several video interviews with members who participated in their rally last weekend outside a Focus on the (Straight) Family "Love Won Out" conference.

There's not any sharp production style or graphics, just sincere, loving people telling their stories, ones much different than participants in the conference heard, and one much more grounded in reality.

Click here to watch the video.

MySpace Friend of the Day: Cross Left

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=91552159

CrossLeft is an organization that focuses on action to support Progressive Christian viewpoints. The page currently features a Petition for Peace directed to President Bush, a statement supporting the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (it's amazing to me we need one in this country, but that's a topic for another day), a petition for Fairness and Opportunity in the Gulf Coast in support of persons displace by Hurricane Katrina, and support of Religious Tolerance.

The page also features a Progressive Christian news feed, a discussion group for Progressive Christians, and over 4,500 friends.

Link of the Day: Equality California

http://www.eqca.org/site/pp.asp?c=kuLRJ9MRKrH&b=4026385

There is a lot going on in California's GLBT community these days, and Equality California is right there at the forefront of it.

Winning the state Supreme Court case overturning the state's same-sex marriage ban is only the start. They will be involved in helping gay and lesbian couples understand the impact of this ruling while concurrently mobilizing support against the ballot initiative that would put discrimination into the state constitution by prohibiting same-sex marriage.

The EUCA website is a good place to keep up with all of the news and initiatives surrounding this landmark case, as is their blog:
California Ripple Effect

Save Us From the Tyrany of the Majority

Right-wing operatives like to talk a lot about the "will of the people" these days, protecting us from "activist judges. Here are a couple of examples.

An excerpt from a Charles Colson column for the Christian Post regarding access to public restrooms for transgender people:

The American people are not asking for new bathroom laws. The truth is, this is an effort—by a small but radical minority—to use the force of law to punish anyone backward enough to believe there are only two sexes: male and female. The true goal behind the law is the radical remaking of our society—one in which faithful Christians, Muslims, and Jews will be punished for their beliefs.

This is taken from an American Family Association "Action Alert" calling for passage of the Federal Marriage Amendment that would write the prohibition of same-sex marriage into the U. S. Constitution:

Homosexual activists are determined to force homosexual marriage on America by using activist liberal judges, like those in Massachusetts and California. A Federal Marriage Amendment will finally put an end to activist judges tampering with the will of the people.

For people spouting off about the Bible, they sure are latching on to a very unbiblical concept.

What if Noah had listened to those around him who thought he was nuts while he was buidling the ark?

What if Moses had listened to the people complaining about lack of food and turned them around back to Egypt and into slavery?

When Jesus was tried by Pontius Pilate, he offered Him and Barabbas, a convicted murder, in front of crowd and allowed them to decide which one to set free. They chose Barabbas, not allowing an "activist judge" like Pilate could have been to have a chance to act on his conscience. So much for the "will of the people."

Jesus' ministry was all about going AGAINST the majority, bringing a message that transcended the will of the people and showing them the vastly more important will of His Father. An important part of that will is to show love to the poor, sick, and downtrodden minorities.

If right-wingers want to make a case, they need to be a lot less interested in poll numbers and put more effort into discerning the will of God, a God who loves people even if they don't agree with the right-wing agenda.

There is a Difference Between Leadership and Judgement

From the Washington Post:

Word spread like wildfire in Catholic circles: Douglas Kmiec, a staunch Republican, firm foe of abortion and veteran of the Reagan Justice Department, had been denied Communion.

His sin? Kmiec, a Catholic who can cite papal pronouncements with the facility of a theological scholar, shocked old friends and adversaries alike earlier this year by endorsing Barack Obama for president. For at least one priest, Kmiec's support for a pro-choice politician made him a willing participant in a grave moral evil.

Kmiec was denied Communion in April at a Mass for a group of Catholic business people he later addressed at dinner. The episode has not received wide attention outside the Catholic world, but it is the opening shot in an argument that could have a large impact on this year's presidential campaign: Is it legitimate for bishops and priests to deny Communion to those supporting candidates who favor abortion rights?

So now we have a person denied a sacrament from their faith because of their political views. I've been taught that a person should be a member in good standing of the church from which they receive communion (debatable, in my opinion, but still somewhat reasonable) and have their hearts right with God, not carrying unconfessed sin (which I strongly agree with).

With the latter, however, it is a decision an individual makes about the status of his relationship with God, not a litmus test about what politician he is supporting. Taking this a step further, wouldn't churches then be able to deny communion to those who support same-sex marriage?

How can a leader of a church determine who is worthy of receiving a sacrament? How can he look into someone's heart and determine where that person stands with the Lord? Of course, the answer is that only God can do that, which is why the rights of judgement are reserved for Him and Him alone. That's why someone ignorant litmus test like supporting the "wrong" politician is used to exercise authority that God did not give man in the first place.

When religous leaders move beyond leadership into judgement, are they doing God's work or have they moved over to the other side?

MySpace Friend of the Day: PFLAG National

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=342196485

The National PFLAG (Parents and Friens of Lesbians And Gays) page features links to all the key pages on their website, including their Straight For Equality program, along with updates on their current initiatives and pertinent news items.

Currently, they are promoting their new national advertising campaign for transgender rights and mobilizing support to fight the constitutional amendment in California that would overturn the court decision allowing same-sex marriage.

Link of the Day: Bilerico

http://www.bilerico.com/

This site began as a humble project focusing on GLBT issues in Indiana and has grown far beyond that into one of the premier GLBT news blogs in the world.

This blog covers the big issues like the presidential campaign and media coverage of the GLBT community, but it mixes in book reviews and the latest Ugly Bette update. There is a wide variety of contributors lending different voices to the site.

If you want to bookmark only a few GLBT related webpages, this should be one of them.

BCF is Holding a Homosexuality & the Bible Event

Believers Covenant Fellowship in McLean, VA will be holding a Homosexuality and the Bible seminar on June 14th from 10am to 3:30 pm. We will also be showing the new documentary entitled, "For The Bible Tells Me So". One of the families interviewed for the movie is Dick Gephardt's family, and this documentary has received much acclaim. You can check out the film's website for more information.

There will be a lunch provided between the seminar and movie. You can register at bcfregistration@aol.com to attend this seminar. We have capacity for 55 people, so please register early!

If you are gay, or love someone who is gay, or just want to understand more about what the Bible says (or doesn't say) about being gay, then this seminar is for you. Please join us.



You can e-mail me at straight_notnarrow@yahoo.com for more information.

A Few Upgrades For Your Blogging Enjoyment

If you are a regular visitor here, you've hopefully noticed some upgrades, and we have more to come.

We've added a poll question so we can be a bit more interactive.

There is now a guestbook with photos so when you visit, you can let us know who you are and where you are from. I hope you like the new picture of us, taken during BCFs Fall Renewal worship services last October.

We have added music for your listening enjoyment while you are reading the content on this blog. I have put together a group of uplifting songs and will be adding to them as time goes on.

We will also be starting two new daily features on Monday, the Link of the Day and MySpace Friend of the Day. We have a lot of interesting sites that have linked to us and that we interact with that we think are worthy of your time to check out. We want Straight, Not Narrow to be not just a place to read news and essays but also a resource for helpful and interesting information.

Speaking of MySpace, our page there is up to over 2,100 friends that are a wildly eclectic group. If you have a MySpace page, please ping us so we can add yours to our list. If not, I invite you to check it out and enjoy the diversity of resources we offer.

Reports From the American Family Outing Visit to Georgia

Here is an excerpt from the Southern Voice's report on the recent American Family Outing visit to Bishop Eddie Long's church, the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which is the largest church in Georgia:

After weeks of negotiation and anticipation, the gay Christian activist group Soulforce peacefully met June 1 with Bishop Eddie Long, the leader of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, the largest church in Georgia.

Long, who returned to the U.S. that morning after a weeklong trip to Dubai, met with Soulforce members after 17 hours of travel followed by an emotional sermon. Long made national headlines in 2004 when he led thousands of people through downtown Atlanta in a march protesting several issues, including gay marriage.

Soulforce met with Long for roughly 30 mintues after the 10:30 a.m. worship service. The meeting was closed to the press, but both New Birth and Soulforce representatives said it was a productive, civil and sometimes emotional conversation.

“From the respect of New Birth, I can tell you that they thought it was productive. They were happy to have them worship with them,” New Birth Spokesperson Dan Renee said.

Soulforce member Dr. Dionne Bates, an Atlanta area psychologist, attended the meeting with her partner Dr. Kathi Martin, a pastor at the First Metropolitan Community Church in Atlanta.

“Not only was [Long] open with regards to talks about homosexuality, he was able to say that there are some things that he does not know, and some things that he has to learn,” Bates said.

“One of the things that he expressed is that his name has really been bashed in the media as far as the gay and lesbian community,” Bates said. “What I would like to walk out of this meeting with is that people’s consciences are changed. We don’t want to go back, but we want to go forward.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Here is the official release from Soulforce regarding the visit.