We distributed a press release from GLAAD yesterday with the subject line: “GC 2012 GLAAD Press Release Sierra Leone Bishop calls for Unity with LGBT United Methodists.”

GLAAD needs to pull back this press release because they fear a line in the press release could be dangerous for the quoted bishop.

Please do not distribute this press release by email, and please remove it from any web sites you may have placed it on.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

On inclusivity

‘The church needs all of us — with no exceptions.’
—Amory Peck (Pacific Northwest)

Amory Peck of Bellingham, Wash., added a surprise about her role in the Laity Address at General Conference last week. She was one of three persons who delivered the address. At a press conference following, one of the other speakers, Betty Spiwe Katiyo of Zimbabwe, pointed out that she was the first Central Conference member to deliver the address. Peck then added her surprise: Peck believes she may be the first openly practicing lesbian to deliver the Laity Address.

The rest of the article is here:
http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=frLJK2PKLqF&b=8075293&ct=11735819

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR – COMMON WITNESS COALITION

Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Concerns

Black Methodists for Church Renewal

Methodist Federation for Social Action

Native American International Caucus of United Methodists

National Association of Asian American United Methodists

Reconciling Ministries Network

http://www.generalconference2012.org/

April 29, 2012

Media Contact:    

Rachel Harvey, Reconciling Ministries Network,  773-501-0574     rachel@...

Reconciling Communities Exceed 500 on the 40^th Anniversary of “Incompatibility” Policy for LGBT People

United Methodists Organize to Change the Policy

On the 40^th anniversary of the policy that states that “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”, the number of United Methodist communities to publically state their welcome of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities has passed an important milestone. Reconciling communities, those who have made an explicit welcome of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, now number over 500. The anniversary and the milestone both occurred while The United Methodist Church meets in General Conference to debate the inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the church.

Both Madras United Methodist Church of Madras, Oregon, and Aldersgate United Methodist Church of Chapel Hill, NC approved statements that specifically name a welcome of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. These statements were received by the staff of Reconciling Ministries Network during the first week of The United Methodist General Conference.

To date, 502 Churches, Sunday School classes, campus ministries, and annual conference groups have strengthened the Reconciling Ministries Network through their witness for a fully inclusive church.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church had been using reconciling language for many years, but had never submitted the language to Reconciling Ministries Network until now. “We had been living it out, but not been very public for years,” said Lyn Koehnline, a member of the congregation, “The proposed North Carolina constitutional amendment banning marriage equality prompted the church to be more public about its welcome.”

“Reaching 500 Reconciling Communities during both General Conference and the 40^th anniversary of the ‘incompatible’ language is a significant sign,” said Rachel Harvey, Associate Executive Director of Reconciling Ministries Network. “Clearly, there is growing desire among United Methodists to provide ministry to all of God’s children. We continue to pray that The United Methodist Church will recognize that the harmful policies of exclusion that have burdened the church for 40 years need to be eliminated.”

As soon as the 500 milestone was reached, it was exceeded. Even while General Conference continues, more reconciling statements are coming in. Two more Reconciling Communities have already been added, Grace United Methodist Church of Lake Bluff, Ill. and Stone Village Church in Columbus, Ohio.

The United Methodist Church is meeting in General Conference April 24-May 4. Reconciling Ministries Network is working in coalition with several organizations to permit ministry to remove barriers to LGBT people. The Book of Discipline is considered official law and doctrine for the United Methodist Church. The General Conference is held every four years, and this is the only time when changes can be made to the Book of Discipline.

About Reconciling Ministries Network

Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) is a growing movement of United Methodist individuals, congregations, campus ministries, and other groups working for the full participation of all people in The United Methodist Church. The organization takes its name from 2 Corinthians 5:1, “All this is from God who has reconciled us to God through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”

More information is at: http://www.rmnetwork.org/

###

Ross Murray
Director of Religion, Faith & Values
GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
104 W. 29th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001
(646) 871-8040 | fax: (212) 629-3325 | Murray@...
www.glaad.org |  www.facebook.com/glaad |  www.twitter.com/glaad

God Bless You

by Laurie Haller

April 28, 2012

At the end of worship last night we were asked to lay hands on and offer prayers of healing for one another.  With my seat mate I asked for prayers for all those in our world who are experiencing disappointment, despair, oppression, and hurt.  I was thinking especially of the personal privilege granted during the evening plenary to Mark Miller, a gay man and delegate.  Miller expressed deep pain resulting from small group holy conferencing the day before.  During dialogue around homosexuality, several people experienced rejection, shame, and even bullying by others.  After Miller invited delegates to stand who have loved ones, family, and friends who are homosexuals, Bishops Robert Hayes offered a beautiful prayer.

The rest of the article is here:

http://um-insight.net/blogs/laurie-haller/god-bless-you/

United Methodist General Conference (GC2012): “You’re out of order”

May 2nd, 2012 Obie Holmen

This early put down of speaker Mark Miller served as prelude to the begrudging welcome  GC2012 has thus far extended to gays and their allies.  Miller, an openly gay delegate from New Jersey, had been allowed to address the plenary session in response to the derisive treatment received by some gays during the holy conferencing sessions devoted to human sexuality.

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=3542

United Methodist General Conference (GC2012): Remembering the Sacramento 68

May 1st, 2012 Obie Holmen

Yesterday, April 30th, I arrived at the site of the UMC General Conference (GC2012).  I checked out the Tampa convention hall but then spent my time at the  Tabernacle, home of the Coalition of a handful of progressive groups.  I visited with half a dozen friends of the Wisconsin contingent and also leaders of the Reconciling Ministries Network that I visited at the Chicago headquarters recently.

Over lunch, I participated in a discussion of civil disobedience, the intentional violation of church rules as a means to “push the envelope”.  In particular, we discussed the thousand or so UMC clergy who have signed a pledge to perform a “covenant ceremony”, a blessing of a same-gender couple, if asked to do so.  It is clear that such ceremonies are widespread now, but quiet—a de facto Methodist version of don’t ask, don’t tell.  Would many of the thousand signatories do so publicly, as a group, as a statement?

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=3538

MEDIA ADVISORY

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR – COMMON WITNESS COALITION

Affirmation: United Methodists for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Concerns

Black Methodists for Church Renewal

Methodist Federation for Social Action

Native American International Caucus of United Methodists

National Association of Asian American United Methodists

Reconciling Ministries Network

United Methodist Association of Ministers with Disabilities

http://www.generalconference2012.org/

May 2, 2012

Media Contact:    

Ann Craig, Coalition Media Coordinator, (917) 280-2968, craignewyork@... 

Steve Clunn, Coalition Coordinator (518) 878-6737 steve@...

Altar For All - Celebrating Marriage: Witnessing God’s Inclusive Love

United Methodist Clergy Rally to Support for Marriage Equality

TAMPA – United Methodists from across the United States will gather to affirm their support for marriage equality. The event will celebrate clergy who affirm they will offer the Church’s blessing to all couples. Currently, the United Methodist Church prohibits clergy from performing weddings and recognizing same-gender couples. Friday’s rally will thank the more than 1,200 United Methodists who have already pledged to fulfill their ordination vows to minister to all people and issue a call for more United Methodists to pledge to support marriage equality. Organizers hope to double the number of United Methodists who have pledged to support all couples.

Who:     Love Your Neighbor Campaign – A common witness for the moral equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender United Methodists

Where: Coalition Tabernacle: Intersection of Channelside and Franklin Streets, Tampa, FL

When: Friday, May 4, 2012 – Press interviews at 12:30 PM, Stage event and photo ops at 1:00 PM

Ross Murray
Director of Religion, Faith & Values
GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)
104 W. 29th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10001
(646) 871-8040 | fax: (212) 629-3325 | Murray@...
www.glaad.org |  www.facebook.com/glaad |  www.twitter.com/glaad

Morgan Guyton

Biblical and Inclusive: Methodism Wrestles with Homosexuality

May 1, 2012

Advocates of changing the UMC's stances against homosexuality protest the retention of the church's 40-year-old stances.

“No scripture can mean that God is not love and that His mercy is not over all His works.” This statement, from John Wesley’s sermon “Free Grace,” forms the foundation for how many United Methodist pastors like me were trained to interpret the Bible. We are burdened with understanding and explaining how God’s mercy and love are at stake in everything He tells us to do in the Bible. Methodists who follow our Wesleyan heritage cannot say with Dan Savage that “parts of the Bible are bullshit,” but neither can we settle for shallow, decontextualized applications of scripture that aren’t understood and appropriated as expressions of God’s mercy. Sadly, the debate over homosexuality at the United Methodist General Conference has devolved into a shouting match of sound-bytes rather than thoughtful conversation about Biblical interpretation. The question that no one seems to accept the challenge of answering is how the prohibition of homosexuality expresses God’s love and mercy.

The rest of the article is here:

http://um-insight.net/blogs/morgan-guyton/biblical-and-inclusive/

United Methodist Church Divided On God's Unconditional Love

For the last seven days, and through this Friday, the United Methodist Church (UMC) has been holding its big quadrennial General Conference in Tampa, Florida to talk about new legislation in the Church, decide what problems we need to focus on, and what basic tenets need to be updated, introduced, or deleted from the Book Of Discipline (BOD), the Church’s Constitution.

http://blog.mattalgren.com/2012/05/united-methodist-church-divided-on-gods-unconditional-love/

United Methodist General Conference (GC2012): the wind bloweth where it listeth

May 3rd, 2012 Obie Holmen

Jack Tuell knew the law before he learned the gospel.

Following law school and two years of legal practice, he entered seminary and became an ordained Methodist clergyman.  He would eventually become a bishop, and he delivered the episcopal address at General Conference 1988, and he served as President of the Council of Bishops in 1989-90.  But, because of his prior legal training, he would also be asked to provide legal assistance to the church from time to time.  The first instance was when he was asked to draft a resolution that would prohibit gay clergy, and the infamous “self-avowed, practicing” language of General Conference 1984 was the result of his input.

Between the first and second Jimmy Creech trials of the late nineties (acquitted in the first, defrocked in the second), Pastor Greg Dell of Broadway UMC in Chicago performed a covenant ceremony for two of his parishioners.   Broadway had an estimated 40% gay membership, and Pastor Dell believed his pastoral responsibilities to his congregants outweighed restrictive denominational policies.

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=3548

Altar For All - Celebrating Marriage: Witnessing God’s Inclusive Love

United Methodist Clergy Rally to Support for Marriage Equality

TAMPA – United Methodists from across the United States will gather to affirm their support for marriage equality. The event will celebrate clergy who affirm they will offer the Church’s blessing to all couples. Currently, the United Methodist Church prohibits clergy from performing weddings and recognizing same-gender couples. Friday’s rally will thank the more than 1,200 United Methodists who have already pledged to fulfill their ordination vows to minister to all people and issue a call for more United Methodists to pledge to support marriage equality. Organizers hope to double the number of United Methodists who have pledged to support all couples.

Who:     Love Your Neighbor Campaign – A common witness for the moral equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender United Methodists

Where: Coalition Tabernacle: Intersection of Channelside and Franklin Streets, Tampa, FL

When: Friday, May 4, 2012 – Lunch served at noon, event at 1:00 PM

Bishops Negotiate with LGBT Protesters

By the Rev. Jay Voorhees and the Rev. Kathy Noble

May 3, 2012

TAMPA, Fla. (UMNS) — In a surprise move this morning after protesters on human sexuality moved into the bar of the conference, Indiana Bishop Michael J.  Coyner ordered the 2012 General Conference into an early lunch recess and announced that under the direction of the conference secretary, the Rev. L. Fitzgerald “Gere” Reist II, the plenary hall would be cleared and that the May 3 afternoon session of United Methodist General Conference would be open to delegates only.

After an emergency consultation among representatives of the Council of Bishops, the secretarial staff and Commission on General Conference, Kansas Bishop Scott Jones stated, “As the presiding bishop for the afternoon session, I’ve decided that the afternoon session will be open in accordance with rule 3.3.” That rule gives the presiding officer of the General Conference discretion to recess the conference and reconvene it with attendance limited to “delegates, authorized personnel and authorized guests.”

The rest of the article is here:

http://um-insight.net/articles/bishops-negotiate-with-lgbt-protesters/

What Have We Done?!?

By: Amy Lippoldt On 5/1/2012

Once the word got out at General Conference this morning that removal of “security of appointment” for elders passed the plenary floor vote on a consent calendar, the twitter feed #gc2012 blew up with questions, concerns and incredulous comments.

I want to take a moment to explain some of what we accomplished in the Ministry and Higher Ed legislative committee, and why I think this historic change is not as scary as it might first seem.

http://um-insight.net/articles/what-have-we-done%3F!%3F

Abandoned by My Church

It's an old joke, but true nonetheless: Be careful what virtue you ask of God, because you will surely be placed in life situations where you will have to practice it! So it has been with me, and others of my acquaintance, this week at General Conference.

In my case, the spiritual challenge before me has been to refrain from cynicism, despair and "snark" about The United Methodist Church. I have seen too much of the ugly underbelly of the institution over the past quarter of a century, and staring too long at darkness can impede one's vision of light.

Moreover, during those 24 years, many people – I would venture to say as many as hundreds – of United Methodists who have been injured by the institution have turned to me to bare their wounds and share their stories. My empathy for their collective plight has left me with scars of my own, making for a very jaundiced view of the workings of the church.

The rest of the article is here:

http://um-insight.net/blogs/views-from-a-ridge/abandoned-by-my-church

May 3 wrap: Gay rights protest closes morning session

By Joey Butler*

Thursday, May 3, 2012 | TAMPA, Fla. (UMNS)

What the May 3 mid-morning session of General Conference 2012 lacked in productivity, it made up for in drama.

After attempts to change language regarding The United Methodist Church’s stance on homosexuality failed, dozens of protestors, led by Common Witness Coalition, a gay-rights group, gathered on the plenary floor after the break, singing “What Does the Lord Require of You?”

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=8054757&ct=11740597&notoc=1

Pain marks homosexuality discussion

TAMPA, Fla. (UMNS)–At the end of an emotional legislative session around homosexuality, supporters of full inclusion moved from the outskirts of the plenary to the center and stayed there for more than five hours.

Tears flowed as supporters of full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people grieved the vote that would leave the words “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching” in The United Methodist Church’s lawbook.

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.gc2012conversations.com/2012/05/03/pain-marks-homosexuality-discussion/

A Note to The United Methodist Church

Friday, May 4th, 2012 9:08 am

Oh, Church!

Church into which I was born; Church whose baptismal waters sealed me as God’s own; Church where I was confirmed; Church that taught me about the unbounded love of Christ; Church that recognized my call into ministry before I did, you taught me how to pray. You gave me a love for the Gospel and ways to proclaim that truth. You persisted in protecting me during times in my life that were most unsafe. You carried me when my legs were too weak to walk. You affirmed my ministry as a lay person and brought me to the cusp of ordination.

The rest of the article is here:

http://mfsaweb.org/?p=6572

Our apologies.  We got behind before General Conference, then GC sucked all of the oxygen out of the room.  Now we’re recovering from GC.

On a side note, Affirmation recently got an email addressing us as church leaders (I corrected the sender,) upbraiding us for supporting marriage equality.  I asked if the sender supported the Biblical standard of marriage as defined in Deuteronomy 21:15-17.  I haven’t heard back.

Leonard Pitts Jr.: The Bible and homosexuality -- an eye-opening speech

Sometimes, people hide inside the Bible.

That is, they use the Christian holy book as authority and excuse for biases that have nothing to do with God. They did this when women sought to vote and when African-Americans sought freedom.

They are doing it now, as gay men and lesbians seek the right to be married.

The rest of the article is here:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/sns-201205011730--tms--lpittsctnwl-a20120502may02,0,2688955.column

California presbytery defies church, backs minister in gay weddings

Northern California Presbyterian governing body makes history by rejecting church's official denunciation of minister who performed same-sex marriages.

By Maria L. La Ganga, Los Angeles Times

May 16, 2012

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. — Days after President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, the Presbyterian Church's Northern California governing body refused to rebuke a retired minister for marrying gays and lesbians when it was legal in California.

The Presbytery of the Redwoods, which governs churches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, voted 74 to 18 Tuesday to reject the church's official denunciation and instead support the Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, who had been found guilty by an ecclesiastical court of violating the Presbyterian Constitution and her ordination vows for marrying 16 same-sex couples.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0516-minister-rebuke-20120516,0,1095731.story

Why the United Methodist Church Canceled Votes on Same-Sex Marriage, Gay Clergy

by Daniel Burke 05-08-2012 | 6:06am

United Methodists concluded their General Conference last Friday (May 4) without voting on gay clergy or same-sex marriage, a surprising end to a disappointing week for gay activists.

Last Thursday, the nearly 1,000 delegates gathered in Tampa, Fla., soundly rejected two motions that would have amended the United Methodist Church's book of doctrine and rules, which calls the practice of homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." After those votes, protesters flooded the convention floor, briefly shutting down the conference.

Conference planners, evangelical leaders and gay and lesbian advocates met later on Thursday and determined that there was little use in holding additional contentious debates on homosexuality, according to several sources. Proposals to ordain gay clergy and bless same-sex unions held little chance of passing, the parties agreed, and so were pushed to the back of the agenda, essentially assuring that they would not be debated.

http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/05/08/why-united-methodist-church-canceled-votes-same-sex-marriage-gay-clergy

Church decides to keep anti-gay policy
SIDEBAR: Local Methodists not heeding vote, by Kate Sosin
by Chuck Colbert, Keen News Service
2012-05-09

Delegates to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church refused to remove from the denomination's law-book language, which states the church "does not condone the practice of homosexuality" and considers it "incompatible with Christian teaching."

However, a progressive coalition of pro-LGBT advocates and allies—despite their pain—is pushing for church reform and renewal.

"We are holding onto hope through resistance," said the Rev. Lois McCullen Parr, pastor of Chicago's Broadway United Methodist Church.

She was referring to several examples of push back.

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Church-decides-to-keep-anti-gay-policy/37630.html

Queer Methodist Doings

09 May 2012

Becky Garrison: A Gallup poll released on May 20, 2011 states that for the first time a majority (53%) of Americans believes same-sex marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. Also, an April, 2012 survey by the Pew Research Center showed that for the first time there is as much strong support as strong opposition to gay marriage – 22 percent each.

Despite this shift toward marriage equality in the broader U.S. culture, during its quadrennial General Conference that ended on May 4, 2012, the United Methodist Church (UMC) voted 39% to 61% against changing long-contested language in the church’s Book of Discipline that calls homosexuality “incompatible with Christian teaching.” In addition, they defeated a petition that would acknowledge that faithful United Methodists disagree on the role of LGBT people in the church.

http://therevealer.org/archives/11259

Methodists keep stance against gay marriage

BY DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

While President Obama's support for gay marriage propelled homosexuality onto the front pages this week, local members of the United Methodist Church continue to deal with their denomination's recent decision reaffirming its stance that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."

United Methodists who favor gay marriage and the ordination of gay clergy spent four years strategizing and organizing for the April 24-May 4 General Conference in Tampa, but the nearly 1,000 delegates who set church policy decided not to revise the Book of Discipline's wording on homosexuality. Delegates also rejected efforts to include statements saying they disagree on the issue.

The United Methodist Church, with 7.8 million U.S. members, is the largest mainline Protestant body in the United States and the only one that has not endorsed same-sex marriage and the ordination of gay clergy.

http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2012/05/12/Methodists-keep-stance-against-gay-marriage.html

GC 2012: Looking Back

May 15, 2012

Okay, following a surreal April (Korea, a week on the road in-state, two weeks at GC in Tampa) I took a week off to reflect, reconsider, and to hack my way through a rotten chest cold.  Now I am back to review what the heck happened at General Conference — at least from my point of view. 

Anyone who reads my blog knows I wasn’t overly surprised at what happened.  I was a little surprised that Plan UMC went through as easily as it did from the floor, and I made a commitment to work with whatever happened, but there was no surprise or shock when judicial council ruled it out of order. The original three weren’t in order — why should a hybrid of the three be any different. I was one voice among hundreds trying to raise questions and concerns before GC, and they were summarily ignored. This could not have gone another way.

http://um-insight.net/blogs/dan-r-dick/gc-2012%3A-looking-back/index.html

Safety in Numbness

May 2, 2012

Young people, especially those who support LGBT inclusion, have been routinely dismissed by General Conference delegates.

Okay, here’s an idea.  We keep paying lip service to our commitment to young leadership and the need to attract and receive more young people into the church.  So, for the remainder of General Conference I propose we take two votes on major issues: first, we take the vote of all delegates 40 years of age and under; second, we take the vote of the remainder of the delegates.  Of course, we would use the combined total for our decisions, but we would have a comparison to see where the heart, soul and mind of our young adults are in relation to the older church (that significantly outnumbers them). 

http://um-insight.net/blogs/dan-r-dick/safety-in-numbness/

Again, we apologize.� Post GC exhaustion, major project at our day jobs, family illnesses left us a bit winded.� We’re starting to get our breath back.

United Methodist Pastor Preaches for Gay Equality Within

Willow Grove United Methodist Church pastor, the Rev. Cynthia Skripak, discusses her sermon on why the United Methodist Church should allow openly gay clergy and members.

By Mischa Arnosky

May 25, 2012

Earlier this month, during the church service of Willow Grove United Methodist Church, the Rev. Cynthia Skripak stood behind the pulpit and talked about heartbreak.

http://abington.patch.com/articles/united-methodist-pastor-preaches-for-gay-equality-in-church-d76d822f

May 3, 2012� 1:35PM

Methodists Vote to Keep Homosexuality “Incompatible”

Post by Candace Chellew-Hodge

The United Methodist Church voted today to keep intact its section in the Book of Discipline that call homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching" and sanctions only heterosexual marriage. New wording would have removed those passages.

The vote came after a debate that became contentious when one African delegate compared homosexuality to bestiality and declared that God would not create humans as gay or lesbian.

During the vote, supporters of the petition to change the Book of Discipline stood at the edges of the convention floor, or the "bar" as the church calls it. As the debate continued, many delegates moved from their seats to join the members on the margins to show their solidarity. In the end the petition failed to pass.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/candacechellew-hodge/5945/methodists_vote_to_keep_homosexuality_%E2%80%9Cincompatible%E2%80%9D

Methodists Vote to Keep Stand on Homosexuality

Associated Press

Friday May 4, 2012

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - After an emotional debate, Methodists at a national legislative meeting Thursday upheld the denomination’s policy that same-sex relationships are "incompatible with Christian teaching.’"

Delegates at the General Conference voted by about 60 percent to 40 percent against softening the language on homosexuality in their Book of Discipline, which contains church laws and doctrine. The meeting is held once every four years, which means the policy won’t come up for a conference vote again until 2016.

Advocates for gay and lesbian Methodists gathered in the convention hall wearing rainbow stoles and protested the vote by singing and interrupting the meeting. Some cried when the vote tally was announced. Methodist leaders briefly shut down business in response to the protest.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?132678

GC2012: General Conference Wrap-up

By Rich Peck*

May 5, 2012 | TAMPA, Fla. (UMNS)

United Methodists from five continents addressed a wide range of challenging issues, including church structure and human sexuality, and engaged in an Act of Repentance toward indigenous people during their 10-day legislative gathering.

Meeting in the Tampa Convention Center, steps away from the waters of Tampa Bay, the 988 delegates recalled through worship, song and sermon the healing and transforming ministry of Jesus beside the Sea of Galilee.

http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=8057055&ct=11742349

General Conference ignores Wesley’s “do no harm” rule

May 7, 2012

“The derogatory rules and restrictions in the Book of Discipline are immoral and unjust and no longer deserve our loyalty and obedience. Thus the time has come for those of us who are faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to do what is required of us….The time has come to join in an act of Biblical obedience. I call on the more than 1,100 clergy [who have signed marriage initiatives] to stand firm in their resolve to perform marriages for same-sex couples and to do so in the course of their normal pastoral duties, thus defying the laws that prohibit them from doing so….The time for talking is over. It’s time for us to act in defiance of unjust words of immoral and derogatory discrimination and laws that are doing harm to our GLBT sisters and brothers.”

http://www.mindny.org/2012/05/general-conference/?utm_source=Methodists+in+New+Directions+List&utm_campaign=4a9f02bfd9-News_from_MIND5_7_2012&utm_medium=email

Wrong, Stupid and Evil — the United Methodist Position on Homosexuality

May 8, 2012

I’m not exactly sure why I hoped that General Conference would have a change of heart this year and, after ten times getting it wrong, finally come around to the Jesus side on the issue of homosexuality in the church. After all, every four years since 1972 without exception we’ve heard the same refrain from our elected denominational leaders — “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”

So why did I get my hopes up and think this year might be different?

For one thing, it’s clear our country and culture have come a long way in 40 years.

http://blog.firstchurchseattle.org/wrong-stupid-and-evil-the-united-methodist-position-on-homosexuality/

Amid division, only one view can hold us together

By the Rev. Rob Renfroe

United Methodists have reaffirmed 2000 years of Christian teaching regarding sexuality.  This is the same view held by the most rapidly growing parts of the church today.  And it is the only view that will hold The United Methodist Church together.

Our view on sexuality is a compassionate, biblical and beautifully nuanced statement.  It affirms the worth of every person, declares sexuality to be a gracious gift of God, protects the rights of those who might be mistreated because of their sexuality, and states what the Bible affirms – not all sexual practices, heterosexual or homosexual, are acceptable in the sight of God.

Unfortunately, this view doesn’t fare well in an overly sexualized, decadent Western culture that prizes individual happiness and cares little for biblical holiness.  Our society teaches us from the youngest of ages that sex is our right, that an active sex life is essential for being a whole and healthy person, and that the Bible is unable to speak to our modern way of life.

http://www.gc2012conversations.com/2012/05/09/amid-division-only-one-view-can-hold-us-together/

Conference stirs heartache, hope for future

By the Rev. Gil Caldwell*

At the end of the closing worship service at General Conference 2012, these words from one of the songs jumped out at me: “All of us have sailed on the rivers of heartache.”

I believe that many if not all of the delegates left the General Conference with “heartache” because of their concern for someone else, or because of their own inner pain resulting from disappointment because of their sense of incompleteness regarding what had transpired in Tampa, Fla.

I “attended” General Conference, even though I remained in my home in Asbury Park, N.J. Thanks to United Methodist Communications/United Methodist News Service, I had my first experience of live streaming, and through the screen of my laptop computer, I was present for all of the plenary sessions.

http://www.gc2012conversations.com/2012/05/09/conference-stirs-heartache-hope-for-future/

A Post-Mortem on GC 2012

Robert Hoshibata is Bishop of the Portland Area of The United Methodist Church and presides over the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference.

This is my post mortem for General Conference 2012. I had to take a week to let everything settle in my soul. Kind of like a mourning period, I guess. There are many thoughts swirling in my head and heart. I may write several blog entries. But for now, here’s my thinking:

http://www.umoi.org/blogs/detail/115

Living the Connection: let’s deal with our woundedness

May 15th, 2012

Bishop Minerva G. Carca�o is resident bishop of the Phoenix area of The United Methodist Church and provides leadership to The Desert Southwest Conference.

On the last day of General Conference 2012 I went by the information booth. I was on my way to my last official responsibility and I wanted to make sure I knew where I needed to go. Our wonderfully kind United Methodist volunteers from the Florida Conference were there serving us all with their smiles and extraordinary hospitality.

http://desertconnection.org/2012/05/15/living-the-connection-lets-deal-with-our-woundedness/

Why the United Methodist Church Canceled Votes on Same-Sex Marriage, Gay Clergy

by Daniel Burke 05-08-2012 | 6:06am

United Methodists concluded their General Conference last Friday (May 4) without voting on gay clergy or same-sex marriage, a surprising end to a disappointing week for gay activists.

Last Thursday, the nearly 1,000 delegates gathered in Tampa, Fla., soundly rejected two motions that would have amended the United Methodist Church's book of doctrine and rules, which calls the practice of homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching." After those votes, protesters flooded the convention floor, briefly shutting down the conference.

http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/05/08/why-united-methodist-church-canceled-votes-same-sex-marriage-gay-clergy

New GLAD Guidebook Helps Attorneys Better Represent Transgender Clients

by Peter Cassels

EDGE Contributor

Sunday May 6, 2012

America’s legal system is fraught with danger for transgender people because of ignorance and misunderstanding of their issues. But a prominent LGBT legal advocacy organization has now produced a first-of-its-kind guidebook to help attorneys and their trans clients navigate the rocky shoals of family court.

Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders has published "Transgender Family Law: A Guide to Effective Advocacy" for attorneys who would like to represent trans clients, but believe they don’t have the background to do so.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?132681

May 7, 2012  2:57PM

Quiverfull Mom Stands By Trans Partner

Post by Katie Toth

It’s not often that you hear a happy-ending to a story about being raised in a fundamentalist Christian home and coming to the realization that your husband is transgender. That’s probably why Melissa Reyenga’s blog has been getting so much buzz.

In what reads like a modern-day fairy tale, Reyenga says she first grew up homeschooled in the Quiverfull movement, and married her spouse before even dating—they’d only had a brief, parent-supervised courtship. After years of marriage, Reyenga says, her husband at the time finally told her that he was transgender and identified as a woman. Instead of urging him back into the closet, she told him to be the person he wanted to be.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/sexandgender/5946/quiverfull_mom_stands_by_trans_partner_

NY Considers Transgender Anti-Discrimination Bill

Associated Press

Monday May 7, 2012

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A year after New York lawmakers legalized gay marriage, the next civil rights debate in Albany takes on discrimination against transgender New Yorkers.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?132751 

Argentina Makes Sex-Reassignment Surgery a Legal Right

by Michael Warren

Associated Press

Thursday May 10, 2012

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Adults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans under a gender rights law approved Wednesday.

The measure also gives people the right to specify how their gender is listed at the civil registry when their physical characteristics don’t match how they see themselves.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?132866  

Argentina approves gender identity law

by Stephen Gray
10 May 2012, 10:30am

The law gives trans citizens the right to change their officially-recorded gender without medical or judicial approval

Having become the first country in South America to allow gay couples to marry, Argentina has passed a bill giving transgender citizens the right to have their gender recognised in law.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/10/argentina-approves-gender-identity-law/

It’s sad when concentration camp language comes from a pulpit.  It’s even sadder when the congregation shouts encouragement to the pastor.

You can find the video on YouTube by searching on “Charles Worley”.  It runs for 2:05, and right now has over 1 million views.

May 22, 2012  3:23PM

NC Pastor Says Gays Should Be “Penned Up With a Fence”

Post by Anthea Butler

The recent vote in North Carolina opposing Same Sex marriage has unleashed a stream of invectives from fundamentalist pastors hoping to one-up each other on their homophobia. None, however, could outdo the most recent contestant to the fray, Pastor Charles Worley, who said that lesbians and gays should be “penned up with a fence, and food dropped down to them. In a couple of years, they would die, because they can’t reproduce.”

Meanwhile, don't bother to look up the church’s website. Thankfully, the web designer removed the church’s webpage from their servers in retaliation for Worley's hate filled sermon.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/antheabutler/6008/nc_pastor_says_gays_should_be_%E2%80%9Cpenned_up_with_a_fence%E2%80%9D/

May 25, 2012 9:26AM

"Tonight I Am Ashamed to be a Baptist"

Post by Sarah Posner

Those are the words of Bill Leonard, professor at Wake Forest University Divinity School, writing at the Associated Baptist Press about Pastor Charles Worley's despicable hate sermon about gays and lesbians.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/sarahposner/6014/%22tonight_i_am_ashamed_to_be_a_baptist

Thursday, May 24, 2012 Can I Get a Witness?

A Baptist shame

After years of living through Baptist controversies I determined to address issues -- not individuals -- in public debates. I’ve kept that covenant for two decades. But not tonight.

By Bill Leonard

Tonight I am ashamed to be a Baptist. Born into Baptist “cradle role” in the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Texas, and baptized on profession of faith in that congregation when I was 8 years old, I’ve been a born-again Baptist for over five decades.

I grew up in churches associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, but as a child often went with my grandmother to the Fundamental Baptist Church in Decatur with its neon anchor out front flashing “Jesus Saves” 24/7.

My grandmother was a grace-filled member of that Independent Baptist congregation that drew a straight line from themselves to Jesus’ baptism in the river Jordan and to 20^th century fundamentalism -- inerrant Bible, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection and literal second coming.

http://www.abpnews.com/opinion/item/7444-a-baptist-shame

Forked-Tongue Theology

by Rev. WILLIAM E. ALBERTS

Religious organizations are adept at practicing forked tongue theology—which is the art of using code words to deny and disguise and resolve the contradiction between their professed beliefs and their behavior.  A classic example of this common institutional practice is the recent ruling against homosexuality of The United Methodist Church’s General Conference, the Church’s top lawmaking body.  The theme of the General Conference’s April 14- May 4 meeting was, “Make Disciples of Jesus Christ to Transform the World.”  Sadly, The United Methodist Church continued to demonstrate its longstanding inability to transform itself, as a majority of some 1000 General Conference delegates, 61 to 39 percent, voted once again to maintain The Church’s doctrinal belief that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.” (“Methodists Keep Stricture on Homosexuality,” By Laurie Goodstein, The New York Times, May 4, 2012)

http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/05/11/forked-tongue-theology/#.T61zRzEOkVg.facebook

NC’s Gay Marriage Ban: “It’s Going to Hurt the Church”

Jay Bakker goes home to North Carolina to lend his voice to the opposition

By Nicole Greenfield

Nicole Greenfield is a journalist and writer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her most recent longterm reporting project explored the intersection among religion, politics, and LGBT rights in Argentina. For more, visit her website.

[Religion Dispatches Editor’s Note: North Carolina voters passed Amendment 1 on Tuesday, May 8.]

“My parents always taught me that love was the trump card. And they always told me that Jesus loved you no matter who you are or what you did,” Jay Bakker told a group gathered in Durham, North Carolina a couple weeks ago. Bakker, pastor of the Brooklyn-based Revolution NYC, had traveled south to his home state—the state that, decades ago, witnessed firsthand the rise, and then the fall, of his televangelist parents’ PTL ministry—to speak out against a ballot initiative up for vote tomorrow.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/5957/nc%E2%80%99s_amendment_1%3A_%E2%80%9Cit%E2%80%99s_going_to_hurt_the_church%E2%80%9D

May 8, 2012  10:05PM

Killing Love in North Carolina

Post by Candace Chellew-Hodge

Congratulations, North Carolina. You have become the 33rd state to write discrimination into your constitution, ensuring that gay men and lesbian women cannot enter into this esteemed institution you call marriage. You have guaranteed that two men or two women cannot protect their relationship with the force of secular law. You have ensured that two men or two women cannot protect their children by forming a contract between themselves and their government designating each other as the guardian of the children they are raising together.

Congratulations, North Carolina. Welcome to the 16th century.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/candacechellew-hodge/5962/killing_love_in_north_carolina

May 8, 2012 10:44PM

Did North Carolinians Vote Against their Own Beliefs?

Post by Peter Montgomery

The most dispiriting number to come out of North Carolina today was the huge margin of victory for a constitutional amendment that, as Candace has noted, will not only forbid same-sex couples from getting married, but will strip couples of any legal protections that might have been offered through domestic partnerships or civil unions.

The broad wording of the amendment is more evidence that anti-gay advocates are lying when they say they’re only concerned about “protecting” marriage. They deliberately and maliciously have gone far beyond that to punish same-sex couples and their families and deny them equal rights as citizens.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/petermontgomery/5964/did_north_carolinians_vote_against_their_own_beliefs

Same Bible, Different Verdict On Gay Marriage

by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Listen to the Story

Morning Edition

While liberal Christians argue the Bible should be interpreted as society changes, conservatives argue for a more literal reading, leading to differences in belief about God and homosexuality.

May 11, 2012

When President Obama announced he now supports same-sex marriage, he cited his Christian faith.

"The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the Golden Rule, you know — treat others the way you would want to be treated," he said in his interview with ABC News.

Many other people cited their religion to disagree, raising the question: How can people read the same Bible and come to opposite conclusions about same-sex relationships?

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/11/152466134/same-bible-different-verdict-on-gay-marriage?sc=17&f=1001

May 11, 2012  11:53AM

NPR Gives a Free Pass to Biblical Literalists

Post by Peter Laarman

Dear NPR,

As an early riser I am a fairly faithful Morning Edition listener. I am also an ordained minister who has been engaged in one way or another with the great “Bible & homosexuality” controversy for far longer than I care to remember.

This morning I heard the tease for Barbara Bradley Hagerty’s story and thought, “Aha.. .this should be good: people who read the Bible come to different verdicts on homosexuality. It’s time that non-specialists, people who just assume the Bible is all on one side, knew about this.”

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/5977/npr_gives_a_free_pass_to_biblical_literalists

Obama’s Gay Marriage Support Shocks Black Church

By Anthea Butler

Anthea Butler is a Contributing Editor to Religion Dispatches. Her forthcoming book, "The Gospel According To Sarah: How Sarah Palin's and her Tea Party Angels are Galvanizing the Religious Right" will be out in 2012. 

President Obama’s support of same-sex marriage has rocked America’s black church community. From Prof. Michael Dyson to prosperity preacher Rev. Jamal Bryant, the pulpits and the pews are weighing in, and the responses are shaping up to be an interesting crossroads for the relationship between the president and African-American churches in the 2012 election.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/sexandgender/5978/obama%E2%80%99s_gay_marriage_support_shocks_black_church

Traditional Marriage: One Man, Many Women, Some Girls, Some Slaves

By Jay Michaelson

[Called Out Editor’s Note:  Our favorite Biblical Definition of Marriage is Deuteronomy 21:15-17.  What’s yours?]

Jay Michaelson, a Religion Dispatches associate editor and founder of Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture & Spirituality, writes regularly for the Forward and Tikkun. He is completing his Ph.D. in Jewish Thought at Hebrew University and his most recent book is God vs. Gay?: The Religious Case for Equality (Beacon, 2011).

Well, it’s been quite a whirlwind week for same-sex marriage, from North Carolina to Obama to Colorado—and, of course, to the many outraged conservatives concerned with preserving traditional marriage, i.e., the time-honored sacred bond between one man and one woman. Why, just last week, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council said that marriage has meant just that for over five thousand years.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/sexandgender/5989/traditional_marriage%3A_one_man%2C_many_women%2C_some_girls%2C_some_slaves

Presbyterian Churches Ignore SF Minister’s Censure

Associated Press

Wednesday May 16, 2012

SAN ANSELMO, Calif. (AP) - Representatives of dozens of West Coast Presbyterian churches are defying their denomination’s highest court by refusing to censure a retired minister who married same-sex couples in 2008.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133119

Maine Churches Raising Money to Fight Gay Marriage

by Clarke Canfield

Associated Press

Friday May 25, 2012

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Scores of Maine churches will pass the collection plate a second time at Sunday services on Father’s Day to kick off a fundraising campaign for the lead opposition group to November’s ballot question asking voters to legalize same-sex marriages.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133476

Rabbi Jonathan Romain chastises religious opponents of equal marriage

by Edmund Broch
31 May 2012, 11:58pm

Rabbi Romain supports an inclusive education, and said that people cannot 'pick and mix' principles from scriptures

A leading Rabbi has said that those who oppose marriage equality on religious grounds are taking a ‘pick and mix’ approach to the scriptures, and might as well support stoning children or slavery.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/31/rabbi-jonathan-romain-chastises-religious-opponents-of-equal-marriage/

This post does go on a bit.  There’s been a lot of news regarding marriage and civil law recently.  There will be another post tomorrow with more marriage news.

North Carolina Voters Approve Marriage Amendment

by Emery P. Dalesio and Martha Waggoner

Associated Press

Tuesday May 8, 2012

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina voters approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman, making it the 30th state to adopt such a ban.

With 35 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday, unofficial returns showed the amendment passing with about 58 percent of the vote to 42 percent against.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?132824

May 9, 2012 7:22PM

The Obama Same-Sex Marriage Statement:
A Religious Analysis

Post by Jay Michaelson

I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.

President Obama’s historic statement on same-sex marriage was 122 words long, and “God” was not one of them. Nevertheless, it was an important religious statement that merits our attention—not just because it’s a slap in the face to the so-called Christian Right (neither Christian nor Right, as some of my progressive Christian friends like to say) but because of its own positive values.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/jaymichaelson/5970/the_obama_same-sex_marriage_statement%3A_a_religious_analysis_

Marriage equality ‘could make Scotland a progressive beacon’ following Queen’s Speech, campaign says

by Stephen Gray
9 May 2012, 5:08pm

Scottish equality advocates say the country could become a 'progressive beacon'

With equal marriage laws absent from the Westminster government’s legislative agenda for the coming year, Scottish campaigners say Holyrood is in a position to become a ‘beacon’ of equality by introducing the laws first.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/09/marriage-equality-could-make-scotland-a-progressive-beacon-following-queens-speech-campaign-says/

Gov.: RI Recognizing Out-of-State Gay Marriages

by Erika Niedowski

Associated Press

Monday May 14, 2012

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island’s governor on Monday declared that the state will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual ones when it comes to health insurance and a slew of other benefits.

The order signed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee in a Statehouse ceremony directs state agencies to recognize marriages performed out of state as legal and treat same-sex married couples the same as heterosexual ones.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133055

For Some, Same-Sex Marriage Is Not Politics, It’s Personal

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Conservative Republicans like Dick Cheney, with his daughter Mary Cheney, center, and her partner, Heather Poe, have had their views altered by the people in their lives.

By HELENE COOPER and JEREMY W. PETERS

Published: May 15, 2012

WASHINGTON — Some of their best friends turned out to be gay.

Or a daughter (Dick Cheney). Or a close pal (Jon M. Huntsman Jr.). Or a couple seated close by (the Maryland lawmaker Wade Kach).

President Obama’s embrace of same-sex marriage rights last week instantly touched off speculation about the possible political implications, but that misses a more nuanced point. Like so many other Americans in recent years, politicians are less influenced by party, faith or color on the question of favoring greater legal protections for gays, both liberals and conservatives say.

Instead, it’s more personal.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/us/politics/for-some-same-sex-marriage-is-not-politics-its-personal.html?_r=4&ref=us

GOP Kills Civil Unions in Colorado Special Session

by Ivan Moreno and Kristen Wyatt

Associated Press

Tuesday May 15, 2012

DENVER (AP) - Gay couples who watched as Colorado lawmakers rejected a civil unions measure are taking comfort in the bill sponsor’s mantra: It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when civil unions become law.

The most emotional issue - some call it divisive - at the Legislature came to an end late Monday in front of hundreds of observers at the Capitol. It was the second time within a week the bill failed. The first was after a Republican filibuster, the second during a special session.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133064

France’s New Leader Hollande Has Tough To-Do List: Legalizing Gay Marriage

Associated Press

Tuesday May 15, 2012

PARIS (AP) - Francois Hollande campaigned for the French presidency with some pretty radical promises. But his carefully worded agenda and his political record suggest as president he’s likely to revert to the moderate consensus-building that has characterized his career.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133067

Rhode Island to Recognize States’ Same-Sex Marriages

by Joe Siegel

EDGE New England Editor

Tuesday May 15, 2012

The State of Rhode Island will now officially recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states as the result of an Executive Order signed Monday, May 14, by Governor Lincoln Chafee (I).

The news was greeted with thunderous cheers and applause from marriage equality activists and supporters at a packed State House press conference.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133086

Female pastor sees gay marriage issue as civil-rights fight

By Margery Eagan
Tuesday, May 15, 2012 - Updated 3 weeks ago

The Rev. LaTrelle Miller Easterling is unusual for many reasons. Among them: She’s the first female pastor in the 190-year history of the South End’s United Union Methodist church. She’s also a zealous advocate for gay marriage in a city, and nation, where black ministers oppose it with equal zeal.

Last year Easterling even signed a pledge, in defiance of Methodist policy, to marry gay couples. When she performs such a ceremony — she’s not yet been asked — she risks not only her job but her very ordination.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view/20220515female_pastor_sees_gay_marriage_issueas_civil-rights_fight/

Md. Court: Gay Divorce OK While Gay Marriage Isn’t

by Brian Witte

Associated Press

Monday May 21, 2012

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland’s highest court ruled Friday that same-sex couples can divorce in the state even though Maryland does not yet permit same-sex marriages.

The Court of Appeals ruled 7-0 that couples who have a valid marriage from another state can divorce in Maryland. The case involved two women who were married in California and denied a divorce in 2010 by a Maryland judge.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133294

NAACP Chief: Marriage Equality is a Civil Right

by Brian Witte

Associated Press

Tuesday May 22, 2012

BALTIMORE (AP) - NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said Monday he hopes the group’s resolution supporting same-sex marriage will encourage blacks to support marriage equality as a civil right if the question is put to voters on the ballot in Maryland or other states.

The civil rights group’s resolution was significant, as only 39 percent of blacks favor gay marriage, compared with 47 percent of white Americans, according to a Pew poll conducted in April. Much of the opposition stems from churches, which have long been important institutions in the black community.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133344

Malawi’s President Vows to Repeal Gay Ban

Associated Press

Friday May 18, 2012

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) - Malawi’s new president has announced she will repeal her southern African country’s ban on homosexual acts.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133227

NAACP Supports Same-Sex Marriage As Civil Right

by The Associated Press

May 19, 2012

The NAACP passed a resolution Saturday endorsing same-sex marriage as a civil right and opposing any efforts "to codify discrimination or hatred into the law."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's board voted at a leadership retreat in Miami to back a resolution supporting marriage equality, calling the position consistent with the equal protection provision of the U.S. Constitution.

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/19/153108710/naacp-supprts-same-sex-marriage-as-civil-right?sc=17&f=1001

Guyana Activists Call for Repeal of Sodomy Law

Associated Press

Tuesday May 22, 2012

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) - Gay rights activists in Guyana are calling for the South American nation to repeal cross-dressing and sodomy laws.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133341

Zimbabwe rejects gay rights, says gay people will be imprisoned

by Edmund Broch
21 May 2012, 8:44pm

After meeting with the UN human rights chief, the justice minister of Zimbabwe vowed not to recognise any gay rights, and also rejected all allegations that the country harbours state-sponsored violence.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/21/zimbabwe-rejects-gay-rights-says-gay-people-will-be-imprisoned/

Zimbabwe’s President Dismisses Gay Rights

by Gillian Gotora

Associated Press

Friday May 25, 2012

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) - Zimbabwe’s president said Thursday that homosexuality doesn’t belong in Zimbabwe and it violates women’s rights by denying the union of men and women needed to bear children.

Robert Mugabe, 88, speaking at a women’s HIV/Aids and gender rights conference in Harare, said the "gay world" goes against nature.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133473

NY Court Rules Calling Someone Gay Isn’t Slander

by Michael Gormley

Associated Press

Friday Jun 1, 2012

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A court says it’s no longer slander in New York to falsely call someone gay.

A mid-level appeals court on Thursday wiped out decades of rulings, including its own, to say that society no longer treats false comments that someone is gay, lesbian or bisexual as defamation. Without defamation, there is no longer slander, the court ruled.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133718

Lack of Interest Cancels ’Ex-Gay’ Exodus International’s Conference

by Jason St. Amand

Web Producer / Staff Writer

Monday May 7, 2012

The major "ex-gay" group Exodus International has canceled its "Love Won Out" conference due to a lack of interest and money, Ex-Gay Watch reported.

The online newsletter points out that the organization, which believes gay men and women can change their sexual orientation through conversion therapy, does not have as many people interested in the group as it has in the past. Exodus’ last conference barely brought in 400 people but during its peak, the group had nearly 1,000 individuals at its events.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?132702

’Ex-Gay’ Researcher Apologizes for Study of Gay Therapy

by Malcolm Ritter

Associated Press

Monday May 21, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) - A prominent retired psychiatrist is apologizing to the gay community for a decade-old study that concluded some gay people can go straight through what’s called reparative therapy.

Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, formerly of Columbia University, now says he no longer believes his work showed that.

For the study, Spitzer had interviewed 200 people who’d claimed some degree of change. The "fatal flaw" is that there is no way to judge the credibility of their accounts, Spitzer says in a letter he submitted last month to a journal that published his work in 2003.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133293

May 29, 2012 1:03PM

Mormons Prepare to March in LGBT Pride Parades Nationwide

Post by Joanna Brooks

This year, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—including active and observant Mormons—will march in at least seven LGBT Pride parades across the country.

From Seattle, Washington, to Washington D.C., New York, Portland, Boise, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City, members of three different Mormon contingents—Mormons Building Bridges, Mormons for Marriage Equality, and Affirmation: Gay and Lesbian Mormons—will walk during the month of June.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/joannabrooks/6018/mormons_prepare_to_march_in_lgbt_pride_parades_nationwide

California senate approves ban on ‘gay cure’ therapy for minors

by Stephen Gray
31 May 2012, 11:09am

The Californian state senate last night approved a bill to ban the use of so-called conversion therapies on minors which attempt to alter their sexual orientation.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/31/california-senate-approves-ban-on-gay-cure-therapy-for-minors/

May 30, 2012 6:08PM

Homophobic Viral Video of Four-Year-Old From Same Town as Teen Suicide

Post by Peter Montgomery

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/petermontgomery/6022/homophobic_viral_video_of_four-year-old_from_same_town_as_teen_suicide

Fighting the Christian Right’s War Against Anti-Bullying Programs

by Peter Cassels

EDGE Contributor

Monday Jun 4, 2012

The biggest bullies in the schoolyard may be certain Christian organizations on the right that expend a great deal of their time energy and fund-raising doing everything they can to make sure LGBT students don’t receive the protections of anti-bullying laws.

Their tactic is to encompass spreading information that many others see as outright lies, citing bogus statistics, and lobbying lawmakers in statehouses and the U.S. Capitol. They contend that anti-bullying legislation and programs single out gay students, according to experts EDGE interviewed.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133786

Over 300 Mormons Join Utah Gay Pride Parade

Associated Press

Monday Jun 4, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - More than 300 Mormon church members who are not gay drew shouts of approval and tears from spectators while marching in the Utah Gay Pride Parade in downtown Salt Lake City.

The Mormons say they sought to send a message of love to Utah’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community by joining the annual parade Sunday. Their participation marked the first time such a large group of Mormons took part in the parade, organizers said.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133806

Ontario passes pro-gay anti-bullying bill despite opposition from Catholic Church

by Edmund Broch
6 June 2012, 9:00pm

The Bill passed yesterday mandates that students, even in Catholic schools, be allowed to form Gay-Straight Alliances to counter bullying

The Canadian province of Ontario has passed a wide-ranging anti-bullying bill which mandates that students be allowed to form Gay-Straight Alliances in schools, including those run by the Catholic Church.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/06/06/ontario-passes-pro-gay-anti-bullying-bill-despite-opposition-from-catholic-church/

We’re getting caught up on marriage articles.  We should be caught up tomorrow.

Judge: Anti-Gay Marriage Law is Unconstitutional

Associated Press

Friday May 25, 2012

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A second federal judge in California has struck down a law denying benefits to partners in a gay marriage.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133491

Conservatives Lining up to Support Gay Marriage

by Jason St. Amand

Web Producer / Staff Writer

Friday May 25, 2012

One of the most conservative newspapers in the country recently posted an op-ed endorsing marriage equality and encouraging Republicans to support the issue as well, saying, "gay marriage is actually a very conservative value."

The Washington Times guest editorial column, written by Catherine Poe, includes a memo by Jan R. van Lohuizen - President George W. Bush’s pollster. The letter is intended for Republican leaders and candidates and says, "As people [Republicans] who promote personal responsibility, family values, commitment and stability, and emphasize freedom and limited government we have to recognize that freedom means freedom for everyone. This includes the freedom to decide how you live and to enter into relationships of your choosing, the freedom to live without excessive interference of the regulatory force of government."

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133453

Jeb Bush calls equal marriage ‘a distraction’

by Edmund Broch
25 May 2012, 7:57pm

On a three day visit to Taiwan, the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, has said that equal marriage was ‘a distraction’ in the current presidential campaign, and it was economy that was the most important.

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/05/25/jeb-bush-calls-equal-marriage-a-distraction/

Md. Gay Marriage Foes Submit Repeal Effort Signatures

Associated Press

Wednesday May 30, 2012

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Opponents of Maryland’s same-sex marriage law have delivered more than twice the number of signatures needed to put a referendum on the law on November’s ballot.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133625

ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Ill. Gay Marriage Ban

by Sophia Tareen

Associated Press

Thursday May 31, 2012

CHICAGO (AP) - Building on the momentum of President Barack Obama’s recent support of gay marriage, two major civil rights groups in his home state filed lawsuits Wednesday in hopes of legalizing same-sex marriage in Illinois.

The two lawsuits - brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the New York-based Lambda Legal - represent 25 couples statewide. Both challenge a state law that defines marriage as between a man and woman, arguing that the Illinois Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry under due process and equality clauses.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133661

May 31, 2012 1:42PM

Court Agrees: Fed Gov Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

Post by Peter Montgomery

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Federal Appeals Court for the First District today ruled that the section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that prevents the federal government from recognizing legally married same-sex couples, and denies couples access to things like Social Security survivor benefits, is unconstitutional. Lambda Legal called the ruling “another nail in DOMA’s coffin.”

The court upheld a similar ruling at the district court level; the appeals court also stayed its ruling pending action by the Supreme Court.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/petermontgomery/6030/court_agrees%3A_fed_gov_must_recognize_same-sex_marriages

Defense Of Marriage Act Is Unconstitutional, Federal Court Rules

May 31, 2012

by Mark Memmott

"A federal appeals court Thursday declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court," The Associated Press reports from Boston.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/05/31/154061941/defense-of-marriage-act-is-unconstitutional-federal-court-rules?sc=17&f=1001

Boston Appeals Court Finds DOMA Unconstitutional

Associated Press

Thursday May 31, 2012

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against married same-sex couples by denying them federal benefits.

The law was passed in 1996 at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133679

Minnesota United Methodist conference opposes state ‘marriage amendment’

June 1, 2012

Victoria Rebeck

Minnesota United Methodists have expressed opposition to the proposed “marriage amendment” to the Minnesota state constitution.

The motion prevailed in written ballot, 400 to 169.

Meeting in annual session in Saint Cloud, Minn., May 30-June 1, session members approved a resolution sent by a group of churches against the proposal that only a union of one man and one woman shall be recognized as marriage in Minnesota. The proposal will appear on the November ballot.

https://minnesotaumc.org/news/minnesota-united-methodist-conference-opposes-state-marriage-amendment/

Defense of Marriage Act Heads to US Supreme Court

by Denise Lavoie

Associated Press

Friday Jun 1, 2012

BOSTON (AP) - A battle over a federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman appears headed for the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled Thursday that denying benefits to married gay couples is unconstitutional.

In a unanimous decision, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the 1996 law deprives gay couples of the rights and privileges granted to heterosexual couples.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133720

Gay Married Couples Look to High Court on Benefits

by Denise Lavoie

Associated Press

Friday Jun 1, 2012

BOSTON (AP) - Fresh from a favorable ruling by a federal appeals court, Dorene Bowe-Shulman can’t wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether same-sex married couples should get the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples.

"I really look forward to the next step," said Bowe-Shulman, one of 17 people from Massachusetts who sued to challenge the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133723

Minnesota United Methodist conference opposes marriage amendment

Posted by: Rose French Updated: June 1, 2012 - 11:43 AM

Minnesota United Methodists on Friday went on record against changing the state Constitution to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

A total of 569 members voted on a resolution in opposition to the amendment at the group’s annual assembly in St. Cloud. The amendment — which would effectively ban gay marriage in Minnesota — is on the election ballot Nov. 6.

http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/156351865.html

May 31, 2012 1:42PM

Court Agrees: Fed Gov Must Recognize Same-Sex Marriages

Post by Peter Montgomery

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Federal Appeals Court for the First District today ruled that the section of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that prevents the federal government from recognizing legally married same-sex couples, and denies couples access to things like Social Security survivor benefits, is unconstitutional. Lambda Legal called the ruling “another nail in DOMA’s coffin.”

The court upheld a similar ruling at the district court level; the appeals court also stayed its ruling pending action by the Supreme Court.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/petermontgomery/6030/court_agrees%3A_fed_gov_must_recognize_same-sex_marriages

Calif. Church’s N.C. Billboard Apologizes for Recent Anti-Marriage Vote

by Jason St. Amand

Web Producer / Staff Writer

Monday Jun 4, 2012

A church based in California set up a billboard in Charlotte, N.C., in order to apologize to the state’s gay community after voters approved a constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex couples from getting married, the New York Daily News reported.

"Missiongathering Christian Church is sorry for the narrow-minded, judgmental, deceptive, manipulative actions of those who denied rights and equality to so many in the name of God," the sign reads.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133754

Gay Bishop Backs Same-Sex Marriage in Maine

by Clarke Canfield

Associated Press

Tuesday Jun 5, 2012

PORTLAND, Maine-Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, married his longtime partner on New Year’s Day 2010 -- the day same-sex marriage became legal in his home state of New Hampshire.

Robinson hopes Maine voters follow in its neighbor’s footsteps and legalize same-sex marriage in a ballot proposal in November. Robinson is coming to Maine on behalf of the campaign seeking to legalize gay marriage, appearing at three screenings of a film about his life and his struggles to be accepted within the Anglican church.

http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?133865