A Personal Reflection from Rachel Swan


The news came in on an already favorite day, St. Patrick's Day. We could now
call her Bishop Elect Mary Glasspool.

Let me start by saying I am not a cradle Episcopalian. As a matter of fact,
I came to the Episcopal Church the Monday after Easter in 2003, just 3
months before the 9000+ people making up the General Convention of the
Episcopal Church would descend into Minneapolis. I am from Minnesota--born
and raised--so its perhaps without much shock to you that my immediate faith
background was Lutheran. My recent past with the ELCA at that point was a
bit, well rocky; so much so that I had sworn off the idea that I could ever
be a part of the Body of Christ again. I had sworn off being a part of an
institution that preached about God's love, then after worship, glad handing
the exiting congregation, would refer to my partner as the wrong gender (he,
his and him) and refuse to reach out and shake our hands. No thank you God,
I'll pass on that version of love.

Its been said that God has quite a sense of humor--and my journey back to
the church, the faith, is no exception to this saying. Never say never,
right?

So it was that God would call me back into ministry, this time working for
the Episcopal church. Who were these people, and what did they believe about
people like me? Would I be stopped from working with young people as I had
been stopped before? What would happen if they found out I was in a
relationship with a person of the same gender as me?

In late July 2003 the lens of the whole religious world came into focus on
my little town, looking at what the Spirit was doing amongst the gathered in
Minneapolis. CNN, CBS, all the big networks were covering the story: would
an openly homosexual man be elected Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire?
We learned at the end of those hot summer days that yes, yes he would. I had
come a ways since feeling like modern day leper in God's church.

This week I have spent a lot of time thinking about what it felt like in
2003--newly Episcopalian. I have wondered about all those people hearing
this news, and finding themselves in the story of Bishop Elect Glasspool.
Women who are not allowed to serve at the altar in their own faith
traditions, LGBT people who have only known being called sin and sickness,
not love and gift. I think about all of the upcoming Mary and Gene's--those
who are called to serve in God's church, in ways we have not yet to begin to
imagine. Who is hearing this news and thinking to themselves "perhaps I can
too?" Only God knows.

Some call what has been happening a fracture. I agree. It has been a
breaking open, an irreversible crack. A further breaking open in the Body of
Christ that perhaps when Jesus said take this, all of you, perhaps all truly
does mean ALL. I believe we still have a ways to go, however I cannot ignore
this clear and visible sign of God's wild, messy, unsuspecting, outcast
including, upside-down inclusive love, faith and trust in people like Bishop
Robinson, Bishop Elect Glasspool, and even someone like me.

This week I remembered again God's crazy sense of humor whispered to me that
day in 2003, and again this week, THY will be done, on earth as it is in
heaven. Amen.

Rachel Swan is a volunteer for IntegrityUSA and was a member of the
communications team for General Convention in Anaheim California. She and
her partner live in Minneapolis, MN. Rachel can be found blogging at The
Sweet Bi and Bi <http://sweetbiandbi.wordpress.com/>  and The Swandive
<http://swandive.typepad.com/> .





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<http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ptJ0oU-4zmI/S7qMd4PUK5I/AAAAAAAACRo/b93fxx5NIsc/s
1600/social+justice.jpg>
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ptJ0oU-4zmI/S7qMd4PUK5I/AAAAAAAACRo/b93fxx5NIsc/s3
20/social+justice.jpg


There is a new PSA
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6aUtizKqKw&feature=player_embedded>  out on
You Tube today. It's in response to conservative tv commentator Glenn Beck
who called on Christians to leave their churches if they hear preaching
about social or economic justice, saying they were code words for Communism
and Nazism.


This PSA was produced by New <http://www.socialjusticechristian.com/>  Name
Pictures, a growing, faith-based community of filmmakers, musicians and
other artists, creating transformative films. They are committed to using
modern and accessible technology.

The producers are asking Integrity's help to send this PSA out virally.
Please pass it along to all those you know who share this message.





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Presbyterians Again "Spahr" over Gay Marriage

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

March 30, 2010



Rev. Janie Spahr will go on trial before the church for performing a legal
marriage in California.



"Here we are again."



That was Rev. Janie Spahr's reaction as the Presbyterian Church (USA) lodged
new charges against her for performing same-sex marriages. Spahr has been in
this hot seat before. She's been in and out of trouble for presiding over
ceremonies for same-sex couples since 2006. The worst punishment she has
received was a rebuke in 2008. "the lightest possible punishment."



Church authorities decided that since the marriages were "not marriages, she
did not violate the church's constitution."



This time, things are a little different. The 16 same-sex marriages she's
accused of presiding over in the new charges were legal since they were
performed "during the five-month period in 2008 when same-sex marriage was
legal in California."



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/sexandgender/2412/presbyterians_again
_%E2%80%9Cspahr%E2%80%9D_over_gay_marriage



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Religious groups discuss ending AIDS stigma

by Mike Corder

Associated Press

Wednesday Mar 24, 2010



Religious groups from around the globe discussed Tuesday how to help the
global fight against AIDS by preventing victims becoming outcasts from
society.



Canon Gideon Byamugisha, an Anglican priest from Uganda, said the way his
church treated him after he discovered he had HIV should set an example for
the rest of the world.



"They reacted with support and understanding," he said in a telephone
interview. "There were sections who were annoyed and disappointed I was HIV
positive, but a big number opted to give me the love, care and support I
needed."



Byamugisha lost his first wife to AIDS and has since remarried to a woman
with HIV. He told church officials in 1992 that he had HIV and was one of
the first African clerics to reveal he had the disease.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=103767>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=103767



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Bishops' theology committee publishes draft report on same-gender
relationships


By Mary Frances Schjonberg, March 24, 2010

[Episcopal News Service] Published at 07:20 p.m. EDT, this story updates an
earlier version to add comments from the meeting's news conference.

The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops, concluding its six-day retreat
meeting at Camp Allen <http://www.campallen.org/>  in Navasota, Texas, has
posted a draft of the long-awaited 95-page report titled "Same-Sex
Relationships in the Life of the Church
<http://www.collegeforbishops.org/assets/1145/ss_document_final.pdf> " on
the College for Bishops' website here
<http://www.collegeforbishops.org/resources> .

"For a generation and more the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican
Communion have been engaged in a challenging conversation about sexual
ethics, especially regarding same-sex relationships in the life of the
church," Theology Committee Chair and Alabama Bishop Henry Parsley wrote in
the report's preface. "The hope of this work is that serious engagement in
theological reflection across differences will build new bridges of
understanding."

The rest of the article is here:
http://ecusa.anglican.org/79901_121098_ENG_HTM.htm





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Africa:  Sexuality Discourses - Between Patriachy, Pornography and Pleasure



Kavinya Makau and Zawadi Nyong'o



1 April 2010



Mention sex in most places on the African continent and you are likely to be
met with questioning glances. Most quietly wonder 'What is this person up
to?' Venture into speaking about controversial sexual rights and you are
likely to cause a furore. The most common reaction will ostensibly focus on
their immoral or un-African nature. You will be lucky to leave the
conversation unscathed, physically or otherwise.



Yet, our African reality suggests that if we are to deal effectively with
the HIV/AIDS pandemic on the African continent, we must consider the
tapestry of human sexuality and sexual rights issues, whether we consider
them vile or not.



The 4th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights, which took place in
Addis Ababa in February 2010, provided an opportunity to debate diverse
issues such as gender and masculinities and how they have contributed to
undermining efforts to combat the HIV/AIDS in Africa.



As conference participant Julius Kaggwa noted, 'Sexuality is an integral
part of the human experience. Whether we like it or not, sex occurs 125
million times a day! It is therefore at the core of who we are as human
beings. This is where human rights come in. Every human being has a right to
enjoy their sexual health.' The article below highlights some of the
critical issues under discussion.



The rest of the article is here:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201004010955.html



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Further Evils of Uganda's "Anti-Homosexuality Law"

For Immediate Release, Thursday, April 8, 2010

By Affirmation Co-spokesperson Tim Tennant-Jayne

Affirmation has already commented about the proposed law in Uganda known as
the "Anti-Homosexuality Law" or Bill Number 18.  As initially proposed, this
law would punish lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons in
Uganda with lifetime jail sentences and or death.  Even a friend, family
member, or clergy person who knows a queer person and does not report them,
could receive lengthy jail time.

However, it is important to realize that this proposed law does not stand
alone.  It comes out of homophobic conversations and ideas.  Several media
sources have noted that only a few months prior to the introduction of
Uganda Bill Number 18, some American Christian evangelists visited Uganda to
spread more of their hatred and homophobic teachings.  And while several
United Methodist leaders have openly spoken against this law, our own Book
of Discipline offers support to it.  As long our doctrine includes the
phrase, "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian
teaching," we as a denomination are offering support and philosophical
underpinnings to such laws.

In addition, legislators in other countries are noticing Uganda's proposed
law.  They are watching to see how the debates go and what the final outcome
is.  Many are considering developing their own very draconian laws in their
countries.  Included in this number are legislators from the United States.

Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer Concerns continues to call for the removal of this very hateful and
inaccurate language.  While we fully support open discussion and the
expression of a wide range of opinions, we also hope that United Methodists
will express themselves in a very caring and loving attitude.  Our
denomination must find ways to disagree and yet still be in a relationship
of love with one another.  Our denominational leaders may all speak against
the anti-homosexual laws like that currently before the Parliament in
Uganda.  General Conference may even pass resolutions decrying persecution
and hatred of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Inter-sex, Queer persons,
and those Allies who know them.  But as long as our Discipline contains this
phrase, "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian
teaching," The United Methodist Church is effectively supportive of such
proposals.

-30-

As an independent voice of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer
people, Affirmation radically reclaims the compassionate and transforming
gospel of Jesus Christ by relentlessly pursuing full inclusion in the Church
as we journey with the Spirit in creating God's beloved community.

Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and
Queer Concerns is an activist, all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization
with no official ties to The United Methodist Church.

How to Contact Us:
umaffirmation_at_yahoo.com
  <http://www.umaffirm.org/> http://www.umaffirm.org

Past Affirmation press releases are available at:
<http://group.yahoo.com/group/UMAffirmation_PressRelease/messages>
http://group.yahoo.com/group/UMAffirmation_PressRelease/messages

To receive our press releases, send a blank email to:
UMAffirmation_PressRelease-subscribe_at_yahoogroups.com

To subscribe to our news service, UMCalledOut, send a blank email to:
UMCalledOut-subscribe_at_yahoogroups.com





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"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

For Immediate Release, Thursday April 8, 2010

By Affirmation Co-spokesperson Tim Tennant-Jayne

The mainstream media has had quite a number of articles and editorials
lately about the United States military policy commonly referred to as Don't
Ask Don't Tell, or DADT.  Technically, this is supposed to mean that
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people don't talk about their
personal lives and officials won't ask about them.  Yet in reality, DADT is
what the military uses to prohibit LGBT persons from serving in the U. S.
armed forces.  Or to remove them, once officials discover a person's secret.
This results in fewer job and career options for Queer folk, in highly
skilled individuals forced to lie about their true selves to live out their
calling, and in thousands of dollars lost training individuals who are then
not allowed to serve their country.  This is an issue that many alternative
media sources serving Queer folk have frequently discussed and reported on
for years.

Finally, after a change of leadership in Washington, D. C., it looks like
there may actually be a realistic opportunity to revoke DADT.  President
Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to remove it.  In his recent State of
the Union address he called on the leadership of the United States to repeal
this law.  The Pentagon has discussed this.  Congress has begun the process
of holding hearings about it.

Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer Concerns is very pleased to see these developments.  We hope that the
leadership of this country will come to its senses and repeal DADT.  While
this is not a directly church related law, we are encouraged by the removal
of any and all anti-queer legislation.

Ideally, the Church, and specifically The United Methodist Church, should be
at the forefront of social justice in our society.  Yet unfortunately, that
is not often the case.  Civil society gave women the vote decades before the
church allowed women to serve as clergy.  The Methodist Episcopal Church
chose to fracture into several denominations rather than integrate racially.
And even after re-forming into The Methodist Church, decided to continue
segregating the Central Conference.  Hopefully, Congress will repeal DADT
and one more form of legal discrimination will end.  Ideally The United
Methodist Church will recognize the wisdom of this decision and soon follow
secular society's lead.

-30-

As an independent voice of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer
people, Affirmation radically reclaims the compassionate and transforming
gospel of Jesus Christ by relentlessly pursuing full inclusion in the Church
as we journey with the Spirit in creating God's beloved community.

Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and
Queer Concerns is an activist, all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization
with no official ties to The United Methodist Church.

How to Contact Us:
umaffirmation_at_yahoo.com
  <http://www.umaffirm.org/> http://www.umaffirm.org

Past Affirmation press releases are available at:
<http://group.yahoo.com/group/UMAffirmation_PressRelease/messages>
http://group.yahoo.com/group/UMAffirmation_PressRelease/messages

To receive our press releases, send a blank email to:
UMAffirmation_PressRelease-subscribe_at_yahoogroups.com

To subscribe to our news service, UMCalledOut, send a blank email to:
UMCalledOut-subscribe_at_yahoogroups.com





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Curing Homophobia is the Real Problem

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

April 9, 2010



State legislators in California seek to repeal law requiring scientific
research into "causes and cures of homosexuality."



Sixty years ago, the California legislature passed a law tasking the state's
Department of Mental Hygiene to "conduct and cause to be conducted
scientific research into the causes and cures of sexual deviation, including
deviations conducive to sex crimes against children, and the causes and
cures of homosexuality, and methods of identifying potential sex offenders."



Now, one state legislator has vowed to get the law repealed because the
section on homosexuality was obviously "shoe horned" into a law that had its
origins in a sexual assault case that had nothing to do with homosexuality.
In an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, state legislator Bonnie Lowenthal said
the law was based on the case of six-year-old Linda Joyce Glucoft, who was
raped and murdered in 1949 by the grandfather of a friend. Even though the
admitted killer was not a homosexual, Lowenthal writes that homosexuality
got swept up in the law:



In 1950, homosexuality remained, officially, a mental disorder. So when the
Legislature promised funding for a study into the causes and cures of sexual
deviance, it was, tragically, natural to add homosexuality to the list.



Lowenthal's bill has made it out of committee, but, according to the San
Francisco Chronicle, several assemblymen abstained, "including Danny
Gilmore, R-Hanford (Kings County) and Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada
Flintridge (Los Angeles County). Portantino expressed concern that the parts
dealing with sex offenders would be stricken by the proposed law."



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/2443/curing_homophobia_is_the_real_pr
oblem



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Called Out has a history of covering news from a variety of perspectives.
Please keep in mind that this piece does not represent the official view of
Affirmation:  United Methodist.



This press release comes from the Institute for Religion and Democracy.



March 17, 2010
Contact:  <mailto:kseda@...> Kristen Seda 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639
cell



PRESS RELEASE



Episcopal Church Approves Lesbian Bishop



"Glasspool's election is the next step in the Episcopal Church's
liberalizing trajectory."
-Jeff Walton, Director of IRD's Anglican Action Program



Washington, DC-A controversial candidate for bishop in the U.S. Episcopal
Church has received the necessary approval, according to the Episcopal
Diocese of Los Angeles. Following her December election, the Rev. Canon Mary
Glasspool of Baltimore needed to obtain consent from a majority of bishops
and diocesan standing committees.

Glasspool will become the first partnered openly lesbian bishop in the
worldwide Anglican Communion if she is installed as scheduled on May 15.

After the partnered openly homosexual Gene Robinson was installed as
Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, bodies of the worldwide Anglican
Communion warned the Episcopal Church not to repeat the action. It observed
a moratorium on consecration of non-celibate homosexual bishops for a time,
but lifted the moratorium at last year's General Convention.

Jeff Walton, Director of IRD's Anglican Action Program, commented:

"Glasspool's election is unfortunate because she has unapologetically taken
sexual expression outside of the God-ordained boundary of Holy Matrimony. In
the view of the wider Anglican Communion, this practice makes her
unqualified to serve in the role of a bishop.

"Glasspool's election is the next step in the Episcopal Church's
liberalizing trajectory. After revoking a moratorium on the consecration of
non-celibate homosexual bishops during its July General Convention, the
denomination made clear that it was going to proceed on this route, despite
protests from other Anglicans.

"Consent to Glasspool's election by the Episcopal Church shows how little
the U.S.-based denomination cares about what other parts of the global
Anglican Communion believe.

"The majority of the Episcopal Church is increasingly practicing a separate
faith than what most worldwide Anglicans practice.

"Glasspool's election and consecration comes at the same time as the
Episcopal Church reports steep declines in attendance. Interestingly, the
traditionalist Anglican Church in North America (AC-NA) has added 100 new
congregations since July."




<http://www.theird.org/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fwww.theird.org%2f&srci
d=3184&srctid=1&erid=666241> www.TheIRD.org

###



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Female Reverend to Head Soulforce
by Kilian Melloy
Monday Apr 12, 2010



GLBT advocacy group Soulforce is set to gain a new Executive Director, Rev.
Dr. Cindi Love, who will assume her new position as of April 22.

Soulforce was founded in 1998 by the Rev. Mel White. A
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_white> Wikipedia article on White recounts
that he spent three decades as a force in the evangelical movement,
ghost-writing speeches for the likes of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, two
infamously anti-gay evangelical leaders. However, following a series of
attempts to "convert" to heterosexuality--including electroshock and even
exorcism--White finally came out as gay in 1994, the year he wrote his
memoir Stranger At the Gat: To Be Gay and Christian in America.

Soulforce is meant to engage anti-gay leaders and institutions in dialogue,
and to advocate for the GLBT community in the face of religious and
political persecution. To that end, Soulforce conducts "Equality Rides,"
annual tours in which activists are bussed to universities and colleges with
anti-gay policies. In some instances, the so-called Equality Riders are
greeted amicably and allowed to meet with students and administrators; in
other cases, they are arrested for trespassing if they so much as set foot
on the campus. One of the tenets of the Equality Ride is that those who
participate are willing to engage in non-violent civil disobedience.



The rest of the story is here:
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104474>
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104474



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Please note that Affirmation does not agree with the view of the Roman
Catholic Church.




Vatican: Gays to Blame for Pedophile Priest Scandal
by Brad Haynes
Associated Press
Tuesday Apr 13, 2010

The Vatican's second-highest authority says the sex scandals haunting the
Roman Catholic Church are linked to homosexuality and not celibacy among
priests.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, made the
comments during a news conference Monday in Chile, where one of the church's
highest-profile pedophile cases involves a priest having sex with young
girls.

"Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no
relation between celibacy and pedophilia. But many others have demonstrated,
I have been told recently, that there is a relation between homosexuality
and pedophilia. That is true," said Bertone. "That is the problem."

His comments drew angry reactions from Chile's gay rights advocates.



The rest of the article is here:
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104486>
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104486



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Even after death, abuse against gays continues
by Rukmini Callimachi
Associated Press
Monday Apr 12, 2010

Even death cannot stop the violence against gays in this corner of the world
any more.

Madieye Diallo's body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the
mob descended on the weedy cemetery with shovels. They yanked out the
corpse, spit on its torso, dragged it away and dumped it in front of the
home of his elderly parents.

The scene of May 2, 2009 was filmed on a cell phone and the video sold at
the market. It passed from phone to phone, sowing panic among gay men who
say they now feel like hunted animals.

"I locked myself inside my room and didn't come out for days," says a
31-year-old gay friend of Diallo's who is ill with HIV. "I'm afraid of what
will happen to me after I die. Will my parents be able to bury me?"



The rest of the story is here:
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104452>
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104452



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GLSEN's 'Day of Silence' Generates Plenty of Noise

by Kilian Melloy

Wednesday Apr 14, 2010



This year's annual "Day of Silence," a day when students vow to remain quiet
as a means of drawing attention to the voicelessness of GLBT youth, is
generating plenty of noise in advance of its April 16 date, with anti-gay
groups slamming the wordless protest as "disruptive" and encouraging parents
to pull their kids out of school for the day if the school allows students
not to speak.



"Hundreds of thousands of students at thousands of middle schools, high
schools and colleges will participate in GLSEN's 15th annual Day of Silence
on Friday by taking some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to
anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) name-calling, bullying
and harassment," reads an April 13 press release issued by the Gay, Lesbian,
Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a safe schools advocacy group that
focuses on the needs and experiences of GLBT youth.



"Students from more than 6,000 middle and high schools already have
registered as participants at www.dayofsilence.org for the student-created
and student-led event sponsored nationally by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and
Straight Education Network," the release continued. "Students typically
participate by remaining silent throughout the school day, unless asked to
speak in class. The event is designed to illustrate the silencing effect of
anti-LGBT bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be
LGBT."



Anti-gay group The Illinois Family Institute posted a "DOS Walkout" page at
which they quoted the ACLU, which outlined what students participating in
the Day of Silence could do to exercise their rights of free (non) speech.
"You DO have a right to participate in Day of Silence and other expressions
of your opinion at a public school during non-instructional time: the breaks
between classes, before and after the school day, lunchtime, and any other
free times during your day. If your principal or a teacher tells you
otherwise, you should contact our office or the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network," the quoted text reads. "You do NOT have a right to
remain silent during class time if a teacher asks you to speak."



The rest of the story is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104564>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104564







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Religious Right Loudly Protests LGBT 'Day of Silence'

By Candace Chellew-Hodge

April 15, 2010



How do you oppose an effort to call attention to harassment?



Students from more than 6,000 schools across the country will observe a vow
of silence on April 16 as they take part in the 15th annual "Day of Silence"
to bring attention to the ongoing harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender students.



Let the harassment from the religious right begin:



     "I think that we shouldn't be exploiting public education for this,"
said Laurie Higgins, director of school advocacy for the Illinois Family
Institute. "There are better ways to use taxpayer money. We send our kids
there to learn the subject matter, not . to be unwillingly exposed to
political protest during instructional time."



     "Obviously this is intended to make an impact on the educational
environment - otherwise they wouldn't be doing it at school," said Bryan
Fischer, director of issues analysis at the American Family Institute. "The
only impact it could possibly have would be to interfere with class."



Higgins and Fischer are urging parents to keep their kids home on Friday to
protest the Day of Silence. One wonders what kind of lesson this teaches the
children of those parents who keep them at home. They probably learn that
they can shirk their responsibility to education when it suits them to avoid
the unpleasantness of having an LGBT student, or one of their allies, NOT
speak with them about how their bigotry hurts them.



The rest of the story is here:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/sexandgender/2467/religious_right_lou
dly_protests_lgbt_%E2%80%98day_of_silence%E2%80%99









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God Hates ...? New doc battles bigotry with animation and humor

by Joseph Erbentraut

EDGE Contributor

Thursday Apr 15, 2010



When Chicago-based filmmaker Ky Dickens set about creating Fish Out of
Water, a film addressing the way in which interpretation of Biblical text is
so often used to condemn gay and lesbian relationships, she wanted to
approach the somewhat sobering topic from a fresher, somewhat unconventional
angle than the typical documentary.



And so, much of the film uses animated scenes - reenacting some of Dickens'
own experiences coming out, as well as Biblical passages - to accompany
interviews with faith leaders and LGBT persons from around the country.
Dickens' creation sheds new light on a seemingly age-old debate of
homosexuality vs. religion, offering both the queer community and its
religious allies the ammo they need to confront the hurtful and
politically-damaging misconceptions.



The rest of the story is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=entertainment&sc=movies&sc2=featur
es&sc3=&id=104601> &sc=movies&sc2=features&sc3=&id=104601







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Affirmation:  United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer Concerns has worked for full inclusion in the United Methodist Church
since 1975.





Religious groups counsel, advocate on behalf of LGBT faithful

by Joseph Erbentraut

EDGE Contributor

Thursday Apr 15, 2010



Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone's assertion homosexuality within the priesthood
caused the current sex-abuse scandal underscores the long-standing tensions
between religious organizations and LGBT activists.



As the dialogue over marriage for same-sex couples remains largely framed by
religious-based arguments, it should come as no surprise many LGBT people
have abandoned faith all together. But an increasing number of groups have
emerged to offer support, educational and social opportunities to LGBT
people.



Activist Jay Michaelson founded Nehirim (which means "Lights") in 2004 as an
opportunity for LGBT Jews to "celebrate being queer and Jewish as a blessing
and not a predicament." Though originally only a small retreat, the group
has blossomed into a nationwide grassroots network. And Rabbi Aaron Katz
held the first service of a new LGBT-geared monthly group at the Beth David
Congregation in Miami last month.



Nehirim's Southeast retreat in Atlanta in November will be the first such
gathering for the organization, which has previously focused its programming
on the East and West Coasts. Michaelson, who grew up in Tampa, told EDGE
this recent expansion has brought his organization to a new level; one he
hopes will allow the group's message of acceptance and celebration to reach
more people.



"[Nehirim's] been really life changing for me and I believe a lot of other
people who have helped build this community," he said. "It's been really
empowering to not let either the bigots or cowards define what our religion
is for us. We've gone ahead and created the kind of community we've always
wanted."



The rest of the story is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104573>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104573



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Vatican tries to quell uproar over gay comment

By FRANCES D'EMILIO (AP)

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican on Wednesday tried to defuse growing anger over
remarks by the pope's top aide that the problem behind the pedophile priest
scandals is homosexuality and not the church's celibacy requirement.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's secretary of state, outraged gay
advocacy groups, politicians and even the French government with his remarks
Monday in Chile.

"Many psychologists and psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no
relation between celibacy and pedophilia," the Italian cardinal said. "But
many others have demonstrated, I have been told recently, that there is a
relation between homosexuality and pedophilia. That is true. That is the
problem."

Responding to reporters' questions, Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico
Lombardi contended that Bertone was not talking about pedophilia in society
at large, nor making any medical or psychological assertions. Rather,
Bertone was "evidently" referring to statistics, recently supplied by the
Holy See's own prosecutor handling sex abuse allegations against clergy,
Lombardi said in a written statement.

Lombardi cited some of the statistics, from a March interview in a Catholic
newspaper with Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican's abuse prosecutor.

The rest of the article is here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hggnlQywnPHpJsDQ5qXObaW_KW
XAD9F2UE0O0







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National Day of Prayer 'Unconstitutional' According to Judge

By Lauri Lebo

April 15, 2010



Citizens are still free to pray on their own.



Church and state watchdogs are celebrating a federal court decision today
that ruled the congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer proclamations
unconstitutional.



In her ruling today, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of the Western
District of Wisconsin wrote that the purpose of the federal law:



     is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently
religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this
instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to
individual conscience."



     Congress established the day in 1952. Since 1988, the first Thursday in
May presidents have traditionally issued proclamations asking Americans to
pray. The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison-based group of
atheists and agnostics, filed suit arguing the day constituted an
establishment of religion and violated the First Amendment.



The rest of the story is here:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/churchstate/2471/national_day_of_pray
er_%E2%80%98unconstitutional%E2%80%99_according_to_judge_













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Bombshell from Christian Music Star: 'I'm Gay'

by Kilian Melloy

Friday Apr 16, 2010



Grammy-nominated Christian recording artist Jennifer Knapp dropped out of
the music scene for seven years--only to resurface with a new album and a
new message. Knapp announced that she is a lesbian--and still very much a
person of faith.



An April 16 CNN story about Knapp noted that there had been rumors about
Knapp's sexuality in circulation already, but even so, the star's bombshell
sent shockwaves through the Christian community, where many find it
difficult to reconcile homosexuality and deep, abiding faith because of
Biblical passages interpreted as condemning people with an innate romantic
and sexual attraction to others of the same gender.



That was a view articulated by Rev. DL Foster, of the Christian Movement
Watch Web site, who told CNN that, "For a person to try and combine [being
gay and being a Christian music artist] is not biblically correct, and I
would hope that the church would reject such music because it does not
represent us." Adherents of what is called CCM--Christian Contemporary
Music--say that the genre should draw from and reflect Biblical tradition,
making the views set forth in the Bible accessible to today's audience and
relevant to contemporary issues.



Added Foster, "To me, it doesn't matter if you are openly gay or closeted
gay, sin is still sin."



The rest of the story is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104654>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104654







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Affirmation:  United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer Concerns has two press releases regarding the Ugandan Bill 18
(discussed in the following article).  They can be found here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UMAffirmation_PressRelease/message/22  and
here:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UMAffirmation_PressRelease/message/25





Homophobia Inhibits Fight Against AIDS Spread in Africa

by Kilian Melloy

Friday Apr 16, 2010



Homophobia in Africa stymies efforts to stem the rising tide of HIV
infection--and the situation is only getting worse.



An April 12 article at the website for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS
Research's The MSM Initiative, reported on the escalating anti-gay fervor in
some African nations. The site's name, MSM, refers to "Men who have sex with
men," an acknowledgement that many males who may be at risk of infection via
sexual contact with others of the same gender identify themselves as
heterosexual and are married. In American jargon, men who identify as
heterosexual but who seek other men for sex are said to be on the "down
low." But men on the down low often neglect to get tested for HIV, partly
due to a stigma around HIV. The unfortunate result is that untested, HIV+
individuals can unknowingly expose others to the virus. Moreover, not
getting tested means that HIV+ individuals do not get treated--and early
treatment is key in preserving the health and the lives of people living
with HIV.



But efforts to educate and reach out to the public about fact-based matters
of sexual health can get activists in trouble. The MSM article reported on
several instances of anti-gay mob violence and official persecution faced by
those seeking to inform and educate the public, including clinic workers in
Kenya who were attacked, beaten, and doused with kerosene; efforts to set
the men alight were not successful.



In Malawi, the article noted, an activist was arrested for possession of
health material related to sexuality and HIV because authorities viewed it
as "pornographic." Other arrests reportedly targeted supporters of two
Malawi gay men who were imprisoned after hosting a party to celebrate their
engagement to be married; the wedding would have not have been legal, since
in Malawi marriage equality is against the law, but the celebration alone
resulted in "indecency" charges under laws that are used to persecute gays.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104653>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104653







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January 15, 2010



Coming Home

A Gay Christian Speaks to Fundamentalists



Jonathan Odell



Last year I got a call from an administrator at a Midwestern seminary with a
reputation for its "take no prisoners" conservative theology. He had
permission to conduct a series of seminars on hot-button issues like
abortion, stem-cell research, and gay marriage. His plan was to bring in a
succession of speakers, one to take the pro side of an issue, followed by a
second to present the opposing view.



I took a deep breath. I knew what was coming next. "We want you to take the
pro side on homosexuality," he said.



"Yippee," I thought. "I get to argue for Satan." So I asked him, "Why me?"
Why me indeed.... Several years earlier I had given a reading on the same
campus. It was from my novel. But I hadn't come out as gay then, only as a
Baptist. Years before, I made the decision that the only time I should feel
obligated to reveal my sexual orientation was when there was something
positive in it for me-like a quick way to get rid of a Jehovah's Witness. I
don't owe anyone that information, especially someone with the scriptural
dexterity to bless me in one breath and to condemn me to hell in the next.

Advertisement



"Actually," the caller said, "I had heard you were gay before you showed
up." He told me that when the dean found out I was coming, he had done his
best to cancel my reading. I had not known at the time that my gay presence
was sufficient to cause a scandal. What would happen if I were to actually
talk about it?



The rest of the article is here:  http://commonwealmagazine.org/coming-home







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This press release comes from The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common
Good


New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good applauds President Obama's
Hospital Visitation Policy


Leading
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Cwfvk5M30%2BE2K6%2B0e
WAkCw2jWgIDn5JN>  Evangelicals today are pleased with President Obama's
signing of a memorandum ensuring hospital visitation rights for widows and
widowers, members of religious orders, gays, lesbians, and persons who, in
the words of the document, were previously "unable to be there for the
person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is
incapacitated."

"It is not only a policy that reflects the compassion of the American
people, but it is an across-the-board guarantee to people of all faiths and
traditions to have access to their loved ones in times of grave emergency
and distress," Richard Cizik, President of the New Evangelical Partnership
for the Common Good (NEP), commented today. "To have access to loved ones in
all conditions of life is something Evangelicals see as compassionate and
just."

Rev. Steven Martin, Executive Director of the NEP remarked, "I simply cannot
understand how some Evangelicals would want to keep people separated from
their loved ones at life's most difficult and trying moments. Far from
undermining traditional family structures, this rule simply allows Americans
to be more compassionate. This is a matter of fairness and basic human
decency."

"Many people know someone who has experienced the loneliness and desperation
of being unable to visit a loved one in a time of need," said Dr. David
Gushee, NEP Chair. "We are pleased that the President is sensitive to this
need and has responded to it."

###

Download the President's memorandum here.
<http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Gd2ZXhhye98D8EwN8fdmt
qIxVptdO1%2B3>









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Civility Only Works When Everybody Stays In The Same Room

By Daniel Schultz

April 19, 2010





This "covenant for civility," signed by over 100 "faith leaders" and
publicized by Jim Wallis and Sojourners, practically begs for a contrarian
response devoid of all ruth and sugar. From the smarmy (not to mention
insider-y) centrism of the subtitle ("Come, let us reason together," a
misapplication of Isaiah if there ever was one), to the
more-in-sadness-than-in-anger ahistorical fretting about what has happened
to American political discourse, the project fairly cries out for a sound
thumping by the very contemptuous churls it seeks to corral.



Fortunately, while it is true generally that I refuse to go along with any
attempt to transcend the partisanship of, well, partisan politics, in this
case somebody has done my dirty work for me:



     Dr. George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God,
asked that his name be removed from "A Covenant for Civility," which was
released in March.



     "I do not want my name or the Assemblies of God to be associated with
persons who claim to be in the Body of Christ yet reject the moral teachings
of Scripture," Wood told freelance writer and conservative Christian blogger
John Lanagan.



     Lanagan expects others to follow suit.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/blog/2479/civility_only_works_when_everybo
dy_stays_in_the_same_room







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Apologies, all.  Day job and a computer crash have slowed things down a bit.
We'll try to get caught up over the next few days.



Rev. Dr. Cindi Love

Posted: April 19, 2010 02:23 PM





The Lutheran Church Embraces the LGBTQ Community!

What's Your Reaction:



George Bernard Shaw once said, "Certainly all great truths begin as
blasphemies." On April 11, 2010, those who identify as people of faith and
as "non-heterosexual" were given particular cause to celebrate Shaw's
wisdom: a most unlikely church has given a most unlikely people a gift of
love and truth, and I cannot stop smiling.



After twenty-five years of deliberation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) Church Council has abolished its anti-gay policies, effective
immediately. Following from discussions at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly last
summer, the ELCA will now allow people in same-sex relationships to serve as
rostered leaders. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)
human beings are no longer considered abominations but blessed church
members with full standing. Same-sex partners and families can now fully
participate in the ELCA Pension Plan.



Best of all, the ELCA is reinstating people who were removed from ministry
positions because they were truthful and came out of the closet, as well as
those who conducted holy unions for non-heterosexual couples. The ELCA has
practiced restorative justice.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-dr-cindi-love/the-lutheran-church-embra_b_
543142.html







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Day of Silence sees wide participation

by Hannah Clay Wareham

Bay Windows

Saturday Apr 24, 2010





The 2010 National Day of Silence, hosted by the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight
Education Network (GLSEN), was held on Friday, April 16. The thousands of
students who participate refuse to speak throughout the day in order to
bring attention to the bullying and harassment that many LGBT students face.



"The Task Force salutes each and every student keeping silent today to
advocate for schools that are free of bullying and harassment," Task Force
executive director Rea Carey said. "We know that young people risk their
safety every day in order to attend schools that provide cover to and ignore
the bullies who can make their lives living hell while adults look the other
way. Adults must act to stop the epidemic of school harassment that
diminishes the safety of all, but particularly leaves young lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender people isolated, afraid and desperate."



According to GLSEN, at least 7,400 middle and high schools across the nation
participated in the Day of Silence. Dominique Walker, sister of the late
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, told GLSEN that she kept silent on April 16 in
honor of her brother, who took his own life at the age of 11 after enduring
relentless anti-gay bullying at school. "I'm participating in the Day of
Silence because it's very important to realize the silence and pain many
students bear," Walker said. "Bullying and harassment in school is a huge
problem that needs to be stopped, and by keeping silent we can feel the
agony of many students."



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104863>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104863







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Lou Engle's 'The Call Uganda' Rallies Support For Anti-Homosexuality Bill

By Michael Wilkerson

May 4, 2010



Under fire from LGBT rights activists, the American anti-gay crusader
claimed he didn't know about the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill, even as he
organized an event decrying homosexuality in Uganda. A report from Sunday's
rally in Kampala shows that despite Engle's denials of support, other
speakers were calling for the bill's passage.

TheCall rally in Uganda. Photo: Michael Wilkerson.



Kampala, Uganda - As the car carrying American evangelist Lou Engle gained
distance from the stage, exiting the grass sports field for the airport, the
revival meeting organized by Engle's The Call kicked into high gear in
support of Uganda's anti-homosexuality bill.



"The bill will be passed into law without any debate," boomed James Nsaba
Buturo, Uganda's Minister for Ethics and Integrity, and a well-known backer
of the bill, drawing cheers from the audience while Engle's vehicle was
still in view.



"We must tell the whole world that Uganda will not accept that nonsense that
says homosexuality is a human right," Buturo added to the crowd of several
hundred people. "It is an abomination."



Though Buturo's remarks are an unsurprising representation of sentiments in
Uganda's evangelical community, there was doubt whether this event would see
them laid out so explicitly. In the days leading up to the prayer rally on
Sunday May 2 in Kampala, Engle (who has led US prayer rallies calling for
spiritual warfare against "Antichrist legislation" such as same-sex
marriage) defended himself and his organization TheCall against criticism by
gay rights groups in the United States and Uganda. Critics accused Engle's
event of being the next in a series of American evangelical efforts to
persecute homosexuals in Uganda and feared that Sunday's gathering would
help rally attendees behind the proposed legislation.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/2531/lou_engle%E2%80%99s_%E2%80%98
the_call_uganda%E2%80%99_rallies_support_for_anti-homosexuality_bill_







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Media Contacts:

Pedro Julio Serrano, Communications Manager, National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force

646.358.1479 (office), 787.602.5954 (cell), pserrano@...

Ann Craig, Director of Religion Faith and Values, GLAAD

213.703.1365, craig@...

National faith leaders hold vigil in D.C. to challenge Kansas City
evangelist headed to Uganda with anti-gay message

  WASHINGTON, April 27 - The Bishops and Elders Council of the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force convened this week in Washington, D.C., to support
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Christian
traditions.  In response to a call to action from LGBT leaders in Uganda,
they held a noontime vigil, Tuesday, April 27, at the National City
Christian Church, to support Ugandan lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people who are facing increasing persecution.

Ugandan LGBT people have experienced threats and violence while their
national Parliament considers a proposed "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" which
would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment or even death.
Political and religious leaders across the globe have condemned the proposed
legislation but it remains under consideration.

Into this volatile situation, Lou Engle, a Kansas City evangelist is
planning a stadium evangelism rally in Uganda.  Engle has a track record of
referring to gay people as having demons and preaching a message of God's
wrath.

Last week, leaders of Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) issued an action
alert which asked leaders in the United States "to take action to ensure
that Lou Engle and his associates do not set foot in Uganda..the
inflammatory preaching of Lou Engle and his associates is likely to incite
further violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex
(LGBTI) people in Uganda."

Bishop Yvette Flunder, Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship, said, "Christians
are called to share a message of love and inclusion, not fear and rejection.
Lou Engle is stuck in old-fashioned judgmentalism when the true call is to
love our neighbors-whether in Kansas, Washington, D.C. or Uganda."

Rev. Roland Stringfellow, United Church of Christ minister said, "It is
wrong and dangerous to dehumanize anyone by saying they are demon possessed.
Lou Engle needs to preach God's love and acceptance, not God's wrath and
vengeance."

"Increasingly, Christians in the United States are accepting their lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender family members.  It is wrong for US
evangelists to now go to Uganda and ask them to reject and condemn their own
family members-their church members-their neighbors-because of who they love
or their gender identity," said Rev. Nancy L. Wilson, Moderator,
Metropolitan Community Churches.

"The Bishops and Elders Council is made up of leaders in over twenty
communions and networks that represent over five million Christians who
support the core values of our faith-love of God and neighbor-including
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," said Rev. Rebecca Voelkel,
Faith Work Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Harry Knox, Director of Religion and Faith for the Human Rights Campaign
said, "The whole world needs to see another face of Christianity from the
United States.  We need to say loudly and clearly that persecution of LGBT
people in Uganda is wrong.  In Malawi, in Brazil, in Iran, in Eastern
Europe, in Jamaica, in the USA and the whole world, when sexual orientation
and gender identity are used to imprison, execute or persecute people, it
must stop.  As people of faith, we can come to no other conclusion."



###









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Apologies for the lateness in getting this item out.  Sometimes a day job
just has to come first.





U.S. Preacher to Headline Anti-Gay Rally at Uganda Sports Stadium

by Kilian Melloy

Friday Apr 23, 2010



The introduction of Uganda's anti-gay bill, which prescribes death for gay
men who have repeated sexual encounters with other men--or HIV+ gays who
have even one same-sex encounter--was preceded by a visit by three U.S.
anti-gay evangelicals to the African nation. Now, another anti-gay American
preacher is set to lead a day-long rally in Uganda, blaming gays for natural
disasters and promoting violence against them.



Uganda's anti-gay bill was sponsored by David Bahati, a little-known
politician who became famous overnight for authoring the legislation, which
has sparked international protests. steepens penalties against gays and
provides stiff punishments against those who decline to report gays to the
police.



There is some evidence that the bill was prompted in part by claims made by
American anti-gay evangelicals who visited Uganda March of 2009, and
presented what they called the "Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals'
Agenda." Their talks contained assorted claims about gays and the "dangers"
that gays pose to society, reported the New York Times in a Jan. 3 article.



The conference was put together by the Ugandan group the Family Life
Network, which purports to uphold "traditional family values." The speakers
included anti-gay writer and missionary Scott Lively--author of a book that
purports to tell parents how to "gay-proof" their offspring--and Don
Schmierer, a board member of Exodus international, an organization dedicated
to the idea that gays can be "cured" through prayer and counseling.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104947>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=104947









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Hawaii lawmakers OK civil unions, send bill to gov

by Mark Niesse

Associated Press

Friday Apr 30, 2010



Hawaii is a step closer to joining a small group of other states in allowing
same-sex civil unions.



In a move that still needs the governor's signature to become law, the House
of Representatives Thursday night approved a measure that has drawn some of
the state's biggest protest rallies.



Republican Gov. Linda Lingle hasn't said whether she'll reject it or sign it
into law but her office said later that she will carefully review the bill.



The House voted 31-20 in favor of the legislation, which had been stalled
but was unexpectedly revived on the last day of this year's legislative
session. The Senate passed it in January.



The rest of the article is here:
http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news
<http://www.edgeonthenet.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=105194>
&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=105194







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