Oasis California News Blog

Gays Step Up Efforts to Reverse Gay-as-Godless Stereotype

2009-07-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

A groundbreaking survey about the faith lives of gay Americans that the Barna Group put out last week got surprisingly little attention. In my latest God & Country column for U.S. News Weekly, I tied the Barna survey's fascinating portrait of gay religious life to the gay rights movement's recent efforts to ratchet up outreach and messaging. Much of the work is aimed at reversing the gay-as-Godless stereotype.

Here's the top:

Though he was raised in the United Methodist Church, Harry Knox knew he couldn't become a minister in his denomination because it doesn't ordain openly gay members. He enrolled in a seminary of the more liberal United Church of Christ but was eventually denied ordination anyway. "My whole career as an activist is an accidental ministry," says Knox, 48, who now works at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group. "I would rather be a local pastor."

Instead, since 2005, Knox has built HRC's "religion and faith program," which works to combat the stereotype of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community as antireligious. "For far too long, LGBT organizations did not put religious allies at the forefront of our efforts," Knox says. "That's a mistake we're making less often now."

Those religious allies may be more plentiful than most Americans think. A Barna Group survey out last week shows that most gay Americans lead pretty robust faith lives. While 72 percent of straight American adults describe their faith as "very important" in their lives, so do 60 percent of gays and lesbians. Almost as many, 58 percent, say they've made a personal and ongoing commitment to Jesus Christ.

And though they are much less likely than straights to share the beliefs of born-again Christians—which comes as no surprise, since most churches in the born-again tradition condemn homosexuality—the Barna survey found that 27 percent of gays do hold those beliefs. "Many in the Christian community assume there's this significant gap between heterosexuals and homosexuals in terms of faith beliefs and activities," says George Barna, the country's top pollster on religious issues, who supervised the survey. "While there are statistically significant differences, it's the narrow size of the gap that's most surprising."

The poll unleashed a torrent of hate mail, mostly from believers furious with Barna's conclusion: that many gays are Bible-believing Christians. But more and more gay rights organizations are joining HRC in stepping up efforts to highlight the faith beliefs of many gay Americans, largely through religious outreach programs. And some religious traditions and denominations are taking steps to welcome gay and lesbian members.

Gay rights activists say that the 2004 election, when voters in 11 states passed gay marriage bans that were heavily promoted through churches, was a wake-up call. To help counter the image of the gay marriage battle as a fight between gays and religious Americans, HRC, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and other national gay rights groups quickly hired religious outreach staff.

Read the full story here.

See Gays Step Up Efforts to Reverse Gay-as-Godless Stereotype

U.S. News & World Report

* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

Gay row minister to be inducted in Scotland

2009-07-03T13:42:00.001-07:00

The gay minister whose appointment sparked a furious debate in the Church of Scotland is set to be formally inducted in Aberdeen.

The Reverend Scott Rennie will be introduced to his congregation at a service at Queen's Cross Church.

Hundreds of ministers and thousands of Church of Scotland members signed an online petition opposing the move.

After arriving in Aberdeen, Mr Rennie said he was looking forward to serving God in the city.

The issue had gone to the General Assembly which narrowly voted in favour.

But there has been a two-year ban on the ordination of gay ministers and a special commission is considering the issue.

See

Gay row minister to be inducted

BBC News

Gay exorcism: 'Loose your grip, Lucifer

2009-07-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

he 16-year-old teenager in this disturbing video from the US was being subject to an exorcism ritual because he was held by his church elders to be 'possessed' by the demon of homosexuality. 'Rip it from his throat!' a woman yells. 'Come on, you homosexual demon! You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!' Msnbc has the full story. Gay rights groups have condemned the ritual, carried out by Manifested Glory Ministries, who have removed the video from their site. I found it at Slate in France and on YouTube. See Gay exorcism: 'Loose your grip, Lucifer!' Times Online Blogs

Britain is no longer a Christian nation, claims Church of England

2009-07-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

The Rt Rev Paul Richardson said declining church attendance and the rise in multiculturalism meant that "Christian Britain is dead".

He criticised his fellow bishops for failing to appreciate the scale of the crisis and warned that their inaction could seal the Church's fate.

As one of the Church's longest-serving bishops, the comments by the assistant Bishop of Newcastle are set to fuel the debate over its future.

The General Synod, the Church's parliament, will next month consider proposals to cut the number of bishops and senior clergy amid fears over the Church's finances.

Writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Bishop Richardson said: "Many bishops prefer to turn their heads, to carry on as if nothing has changed, rather than face the reality that Britain is no longer a Christian nation.

"Many of them think that we are still living in the 1950s – a period described by historians as representing a hey day for the established church."

He said that the Church had lost more than one in ten of its regular worshippers between 1996 and 2006, with a fall from more than one million to 880,000.

"At this rate it is hard to see the church surviving for more than 30 years though few of its leaders are prepared to face that possibility," said Bishop Richardson.

Nearly half of the population in England regard themselves as belonging to the Church of England, while seven in ten described themselves as Christian in the last census.

However, the Bishop said that the fall in church marriages and baptisms revealed that Britain was no longer a Christian nation.

See Britain is no longer a Christian nation, claims Church of England ...

Telegraph.co.uk

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New North American Anglican grouping won't last says gay bishop

2009-07-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

A new North American group claiming to embrace "traditional Anglican values" will not last long, the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop has predicted.

Bishop Gene Robinson, an openly homosexual man living openly with a partner, whose 2003 consecration as bishop of the diocese of New Hampshire created a backlash among traditional believers within the U.S., church, told Ecumenical News International he does not believe the new Anglican grouping has long-term viability.

"A church that does not ordain women or openly gay people - I don't see a future for that," Robinson told ENI after delivering a sermon on 28 June at the First Presbyterian Church in New York City during the city's annual gay pride festivities.

His response came after the June 22-25 assembly of the Anglican Church in North America, meeting in Dallas, Texas, formalised years of dissatisfaction with the Episcopal Church over policies that have included the ordination of women, permission to perform holy unions for same-sex couples and the consecration of an openly gay bishop.

Calling the week the foundation of a "hopeful future," Archbishop Robert Duncan, the former Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said of the new denomination, "We are reaching out to North America in particular, and the whole world with the transforming love of Jesus Christ."

The breakaway grouping claims 100 000 members in 700 U.S. and Canadian parishes. These include four U.S. dioceses that cut ties with the Episcopal Church: Pittsburgh; Fort Worth, Texas; San Joaquin, California; and Quincy, Illinois. It also includes a number of other groups that had formed in recent years, including groupings with missionary efforts in Kenya, Uganda and the Southern Cone of South America.

Duncan announced that two African Anglican provinces, those of Uganda and Nigeria, which are said to be the two largest Anglican provinces in the world, had formally recognised the new North America group.

Among those addressing the assembly, attended by some 700 clergy and laity, was the Rev. Rick Warren, an evangelical leader in the United States, and Metropolitan Jonah, himself a former Episcopalian and the new primate of the Orthodox Church in North America, who told those assembled: "I am seeking an ecumenical restoration by being here today. This is God's call to us."

The Episcopal Church and of the Anglican Church of Canada did not formally comment on the ACNA assembly, the Episcopal News Service reported, but a representative of a group of Episcopalians who are remaining with the established U.S. church noted there is still unresolved litigation between the break-away Anglicans and the U.S. Episcopal Church over such issues as church property.

"Despite the ACNA's grand words, the new organization is being built largely with assets belonging to the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. It is unclear what Christian moral principles can be invoked to justify this," said Kenneth Stiles, a Pittsburgh attorney and vice president of Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh.

Right Wing Hastens to Hold Up Gay Adoptive Dad, Alleged Pedophile, As Typical of All Gays

2009-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

Right Wing pundits on the right lost no time in seizing on the shocking case of a gay adoptive father who allegedly offered his five-year-old son as a sex object online.

Pointing to the case, which culminated in a June 26 arrest, a June 29 Christian News Wire article titled "Lombard Demonstrates Why Gays Should Not Be Able to Adopt" reported the broad outlines of the case, in which Duke University Center for Health Policy Associate Director Frank Lombard allegedly offered an undercover officer the sexual services of his young adopted son.

The article also used the case to decry, in equally broad terms, adoption by same-sex couples, taking the occasion to promote a purported study reportedly done by discredited researcher Paul Cameron.

Cameron, a long-time anti-gay activist and chairman of the Family Research Institute, was quoted in the article as saying, "The cant that ’gay parents are no more likely to molest’ is not based on evidence but liberal ideology."

Cameron, whose membership in the American Psychological Association was discontinued by the APA in 1983, and who was specifically cited in a 1984 resolution by the Nebraska Psychological Association that read, "[The NBA] formally disassociates itself from the representations and interpretations of scientific literature offered by Dr. Paul Cameron in his writings and public statements on sexuality," has, nonetheless, gone on to author a number of studies purporting to prove various claims about gays, including that they die younger than straights and that children reared by gay couples are "more apt to report sexual confusion... more apt to be socially disturbed... more apt to abuse substances... less apt to get married... more apt to have difficulty in attachment and loving relationships..." See Right Wing Hastens to Hold Up Gay Adoptive Dad, Alleged Pedophile ... EDGE Boston

Midstate PA Delegates support same-sex blessings

2009-07-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

Midstate Episcopalians last month expressed support for the creation of liturgies for the blessing of same-sex unions.

Delegates to the June 12-13 convention of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania at Bucknell University also voted in support of the church allowing the consecration of gay or lesbian bishops.

Diocesan spokesman David Shively said the measures were consistent with similar resolutions considered during previous years' conventions.

"In a sense, this was old business restated," he said.

"We have been far too distracted for far too long about something that's an important issue but not the only issue."

Clergy and lay delegates to the national convention are likely to consider the issues at a July 8-17 meeting in Anaheim, Calif.

Delegates include the Rev. Canon David Lovelace of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in York; Harry Snell III of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Spring Garden Township; and Jennifer Railing of Memorial Church of the Prince of Peace in Gettysburg.

The Episcopal Church has not authorized official liturgies for same-sex unions, but bishops in a number of dioceses allow them. The Diocese of Central Pennsylvania is not among those.

Bishop Nathan D. Baxter of the 24-county diocese has provided no guidance one way or another on same-sex blessings in the diocese.

The previous bishop, Michael W. Creighton, declined to authorize such rites because the church has not approved a liturgy for them, Shively said.

Delegates support same-sex blessings York Daily Record
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Executive Council asks for comment on current Anglican covenant draft

2009-07-02T14:09:00.001-07:00

he Episcopal Church's Executive Council has asked General Convention deputations and their bishops to study and comment on the latest draft of a proposed Anglican covenant.

In May, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) postponed an expected request that the Anglican Communion's 38 provinces consider adopting the Ridley Cambridge draft. The council said instead that it wanted the draft's Section 4, which contains a dispute-resolution process, to get more scrutiny and possibly be revised.

The Archbishop of Canterbury appointed a small working group to do that work. The members, all of whom served on the original Covenant Design Group, have solicited provincial responses by November 13, 2009. The working group will meet November 20-21 in London and report to the Standing Committee meeting December 15-18. The Standing Committee is a group of elected representatives of the ACC and the Primates Meeting.

A letter from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson and Rosalie Ballentine, the Executive Council member who chairs the council's task force on the Anglican covenant, asks that responses must be turned in by September 1. The task force and the council will use the comments to formulate a response during its October meeting.

"We believe that this work will best be accomplished in light of work and resolutions passed at the 2009 General Convention, so we are asking that deputations make their responses following convention," they wrote in the letter.

Deputations and their bishops are being asked to pay particular attention to the draft's fourth section, "along with other thoughts and reactions to the draft as a whole."

The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said in a May 28 letter to the communion's provinces that the ACC was concerned "that Section 4 of that text had not been subject to the same degree of consultation with the provinces as the other three sections had."

"Accordingly the ACC requested that the text be referred to the provinces asking that Section 4 of the text be considered by each province to identify issues of unclarity or ambiguity in the text," he wrote.

The 2006 General Convention asked (via Resolution A166) the Executive Council to follow the development process of an Anglican covenant. The council has noted repeatedly that following the development process and offering feedback on draft texts does not imply the Episcopal Church will bind itself to the covenant in its final version.

The task force facilitated the church’s response to both the Nassau and St. Andrew's drafts of the Anglican covenant. The response to the first draft is available here. The response to the second draft second draft is here.

To guide the requested diocesan study on the Ridley Cambridge draft, the council's task force has developed a four-question study guide.

It is available in English here and in Spanish here.

The letters from Jefferts Schori, Anderson and Ballentine, and from Kearon are also available via those links, as is the ACC resolution asking for more study and a link to the covenant text online.

-- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service.

Episcopalians return to Petaluma church

2009-07-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

Bells rang and heavy oak doors were opened wide Wednesday as an exiled Petaluma Episcopal congregation made an emotional return to the church it lost 2½ years ago in a dispute with a breakaway group that objected to gay ordination.

Where does your church stand on diversity education?

2009-07-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

ALAMEDA — Local leaders of the United Church of Christ are calling on their fellow pastors and ministers to support teaching diversity and multicultural education in public schools in response to the issue coming under fire when it was proposed here and in Castro Valley.

The local representatives are asking 900 delegates from across the country who are now attending the church's General Synod in Grand Rapids, Mich., to approve a resolution which backs diversity lessons, saying they reflect Jesus' command for people to love their neighbors.

"Children and youth are dying, literally dying, because they have not heard this message of hope," said the Rev. Dr. Arlene Nehring, senior minister at Eden United Church of Christ in Hayward.

Nehring and other local church leaders decided to propose the resolution after controversy erupted over Castro Valley High School's "Day of Diversity" program, as well as over the lesson plans within the Alameda Unified School District that aim to curb anti-gay teasing and bullying on the playground.

In Castro Valley, parents recently sued the district after they learned that lesbian minister Nehring was addressing students at the high school, while in Alameda the anti-bullying curriculum — which will be taught in kindergarten through fifth grade — sparked weeks of heated debate before it was approved last month.

"What I bemoan is the fact that the argument against it has been posed as, 'Your right to be infringes on my right to be,'" said the Rev. Laura Rose, a lesbian and senior pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Alameda.

Church delegates are expected to vote on the resolution Tuesday.

While it would not be binding on pastors and ministers if it passes, the resolution would still send a "word of encouragement" as congregations look at how gay issues are addressed in schools, the Ohio-based Rev. Michael Schuenemeyer said.

According to the resolution, "school districts have a mandate to keep their children safe from emotional and physical harm by providing lessons to address ways in which words like 'gay' are misused by children as early as kindergarten to tease, humiliate and bully fellow students."

The resolution also says that "Days of Diversity" help children reach their full potential "without fear or intimidation."

Among the resolution supporters is Teri Kennedy, a member of Rose's church in Alameda and a special-education teacher at Alameda High School.

"I want my son to learn that there are all kinds of families and that what's important is taking care of those we love," Kennedy said.

Formed in 1957, the United Church of Christ is a Protestant church with 1.2 million members. Its General Synod meets every two years.

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Church leaders asked to support diversity education San Jose Mercury News

LOS ANGELES: Dissident parish takes property fight to US Supreme Court

2009-07-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

A breakaway congregation in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has taken the fight to keep its property to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a statement released June 24 by St. James Anglican Church.

An attorney for the Newport Beach congregation said he will ask the nation's top court to overturn a January California Supreme Court decision that the property was held in trust for the mission and ministry of the Los Angeles diocese and the wider Episcopal Church.

"We will be arguing to the U.S. Supreme Court that the California Supreme Court's interpretation of state law has violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution," said Dr. John Eastman, who is dean of the Chapman University Law School and a former clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"The First Amendment says Congress shall pass no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Even though it says Congress, that Amendment has been interpreted as applicable to the states as well," Eastman said in the prepared release.

The petition asks the Supreme Court to decide whether, under the U.S. Constitution, certain religious denominations can disregard the normal rules of property ownership that apply to everyone else. A response from the court regarding the St. James petition can be expected as early as October 2009. A decision could be reached as early as mid-2010.

The full text of the petition may be found here.

John Shiner, chancellor for the Los Angeles diocese, told the Episcopal News Service, "We believe the opinions of the California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal resolved completely the issue involving property ownership, taking into account constitutional and other relevant arguments including an earlier decision on the subject by the U.S. Supreme Court."

A majority of St. James' members voted to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church and to realign with the Anglican Province of Uganda in August 2004, citing theological disagreements and the consecration of an openly gay Episcopal Church bishop. They sought to retain the Newport Beach property.

Leaders replaced the word "Episcopal" in their name and documents with "Anglican" although the Episcopal Church is a member church in the worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes 80 million people in 44 regional and national member churches in 160 countries.

A year after the disaffiliation, Orange County Superior Judge David C. Velasquez ruled the congregation owned the property. The California Court of Appeal reversed the lower court ruling in July 2007, deferring to church hierarchy regarding ownership of local church property. The state supreme court upheld the appellate court in January 2009.

Eastman said St. James will argue that the state supreme court's ruling also denies "the local church community their ability to organize and hold title to their own building and conduct their religious services in a manner they see fit," thereby violating their right to the free exercise of religion.

"Under longstanding law, no one can unilaterally impose a trust over someone else's property without their permission," Eastman said. "Yet, in the decision titled Episcopal Church Cases, the California Supreme Court ruled that certain denominations – those that claim to be a "superior religious body or general church" – can unilaterally impose a trust on the property of spiritually affiliated but separately incorporated local churches, resulting in the local church forfeiting its property if it ever chooses to leave the denomination."

Eastman said the constitutional issues involved affect all places of worship and spiritual centers. "Every local church, temple, synagogue, parish, spiritual center, congregation or religious group which owns its own property through a religious corporation, and has some affiliation with a larger religious group, is at risk of losing its own property under the California Supreme Court's ruling," he said.

-- The Rev. Pat McCaughan is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Provinces VII and VIII and the House of Bishops. She is based in Los Angeles.

BRAZIL: Theologian Jaci Corréia Maraschin dies at 79

2009-07-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

The Rev. Jaci Corréia Maraschin, an influential poet, theologian and priest in the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil (Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil, or IEAB), has died aged 79.

In a June 30 news release, the IEAB described Maraschin as an "ardent defender of liberty, inclusiveness, the ordination of women, and creativity in hymns and liturgy."

Maraschin's contribution to liturgical music, as author, composer, and translator, "is a valuable legacy not only for the IEAB but also many other churches in Brazil and beyond," the provincial news release said, noting that his latest project was to coordinate a revision of the IEAB's hymnal.

"It would be difficult to think of a priest, theology student, or lay leader in the IEAB who was not profoundly influenced by the Rev. Maraschin, whose motto was 'life goes only as far as liberty does.'"

Maraschin has served on several international commissions, including the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), on which he helped to draft the document Gift of Authority, signed by both churches.

Maraschin also assisted in the writing of The Anglican Communion and Homosexuality, a book intended to support the process of listening to gay and lesbian Anglicans.

"Jaci brought a depth of understanding to the traditions of the church catholic to the writing of Chapter 4 of the Anglican Communion and Homosexuality," the Rev. Canon Phil Groves, facilitator of the Anglican Communion Listening Process, told ENS. "His depth of knowledge allowed us to place the issue in the context of the developing traditions of the church, challenging us to be faithful to the faith once delivered to the saints in a rapidly changing world. His approach was rooted in the past, positive about the present and giving hope to the future."

In 1976, Maraschin was elected to serve on the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

During the early 1950s, Maraschin studied at General Theological Seminary in New York. When he returned to Brazil in 1956, he was put in charge of coordinating Christian education and began to teach at the Theological Seminary of Brazil, "ambitiously modernizing religious education and seeking to incorporate the diversity and richness of Brazilian culture," the provincial news release said.

Maraschin is survived by his wife Ana Dulce, daughters Ana Isabela and Rosa Maria, and four grandchildren. See BRAZIL: Theologian Jaci Corréia Maraschin dies at 79 Episcopal-Life

Jim McGreevey studying to become priest

2009-07-02T09:58:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what happened to Jim "I am a gay American" McGreevey?

McGreevey famously outed himself in resigning as governor of New Jersey in 2004, amid revelations that he had an affair with a man on his staff.

He now is in a "healthy, happy relationship" with a different man now, studying to become an Episcopal priest and volunteering at Exodus Ministries at the Church of Living Hope in East Harlem, New York, "which tries to help newly-released prisoners learn life skills and handle the significant challenges that ex-convicts face," according to a story by David Shankbone, a New York photographer and writer who befriended McGreevey while they attended the same church.

Shankbone wrote that McGreevey also "was a source of hope and friendship" for Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as governor of New York last year in the wake of revelations that he patronized a high-priced prostitution ring, and has offered advice to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who recently admitted to leaving the country to visit his Argentinian mistress without telling his family or staff where he was going.

See Jim McGreevey studying to become priest Seattle Post Intelligencer

Episcopal Leaders Prepare for Homosexuality Debates Christian Post

2009-07-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

Episcopal Church leaders are scheduled to meet in a private session next week with the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.

Members of the Episcopal House of Deputies are expected to address homosexuality issues and how LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) members are involved in The Episcopal Church during the meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, according to the Episcopal News Service.

The Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe of the Diocese of California told the denomination's news service that the meeting will be set in the context of the "Listening Process," in which Anglicans worldwide are encouraged to listen to gay and lesbian persons and all sides of the homosexuality debate.

The meeting is taking place the same week of the 76th General Convention, The Episcopal Church's triennial legislative meeting.

Leaders at this year's convention, which takes place July 8-17 in Anaheim, Calif., will be considering resolutions that would allow the consecration of openly gay bishops. Some dioceses, or regional bodies, have asked the General Convention to repeal or retract resolution B033, which was approved in 2006.

B033 calls for restraint in ordaining bishops "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church," mainly noncelibate homosexuals. It was passed amid calls by Anglican bishops overseas who were outraged after The Episcopal Church – the U.S. arm of Anglicanism – consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, in 2003.

The Diocese of Newark argues that B033 was never intended to be permanent and that it was only passed to prevent further fractioning of the global Anglican Communion.

Episcopal head Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, however, told the Episcopal News Service that the she doesn't think revisiting B033 will be helpful.

She said she'd rather focus on where they are now.

"Far more productive, I think, to have the hard conversations involved in claiming our current position and identity," said Jefferts Schori, who has expressed support for homosexual ordination as well as the blessing of same-sex unions.

The General Convention comes months after the Anglican Consultative Council, a decision-making body of bishops, clergy and laity, reaffirmed the moratoria on the consecration of partnered gay bishops and the authorization of public rites blessing same-sex unions.

The Archbishop of the West Indies, the Most Rev. Drexel Gomez, warned the U.S. church against rescinding resolution B033 this year. Any pro-gay action, he said, would "imperil" the future of the Anglican Communion.

In addition to homosexual ordination, the Episcopal General Convention will also be considering resolutions calling for the development of rites for blessing same-gender relationships. The Diocese of Massachusetts is further calling on the legislative body to amend references in the national church's canon laws on marriage from "a man and a woman" to "two adults."

See Episcopal Leaders Prepare for Homosexuality Debates Christian Post

Confirmed: God is slightly gay

2009-07-01T19:14:00.001-07:00

Just ask the animals. As soon as they stop having all that homosexual sex

By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

I am sitting here right now smiling just a little, fondly recalling that famously controversial children's book, the one about the gay penguins.

Remember? That positively adorable pair of them, at the Central Park Zoo, who had adopted an abandoned egg and then hatched it themselves and were raising the chick together as a couple, even though the chick was clearly not theirs -- though of course how penguins can actually tell whose kid is whose is still a question. Never mind that now.

The best part: the story was absolutely true. The book, "And Tango Makes Three," was beautiful and sweet and touching in all the right ways -- except, of course, for the fact that it was also totally evil.

For indeed, the penguins in question, named Roy and Silo, were both males. This meant they were clearly in some sort of ungodly, aberrant homosexual relationship, mocking natural laws and defying God's will that all creatures only cohabitate with the opposite sex and buy microfiber sofas from Pottery Barn and eat their meals in silent resentment and never have sex.

Worst of all, the book depicted this relationship, this "family," as perfectly OK, as no big deal, as even (shudder) normal. After all, Roy and Silo didn't seem to give much of a damn. Tango sure seemed happy, what with not being left for dead and all. As of this writing, the Central Park Zoo has yet to be swallowed into a gaping maw of sinful doom. Any minute now, I suppose.

I am right now amused at this because it turns out Roy and Silo were not really so much of an anomaly at all. Nor were they some sort of unholy freakshow, an immoral mistake in the eyes of a wrathful hetero God. Far from it. Turns out they were, in fact, far more the norm than many humans, even to this day, want to let on.

Behold, the ongoing, increasingly startling research: homosexual and bisexual behavior, it turns out, is rampant in the animal kingdom. And by rampant, I mean proving to be damn near universal, commonplace across all species everywhere, existing for myriad reasons ranging from pure survival and procreative influence, right on over to pure pleasure, co-parenting, giddy screeching multiple monkey orgasm, even love, and a few dozen other potential explanations science hasn't quite figured out yet. Imagine.

Are you thinking, why sure, everyone knows about those sex-crazed dolphins and those superslut bonobo monkeys and the few other godless creatures like them, the sea turtles and the weird sheep and such, creatures who obviously haven't read Leviticus. But that's about it, right? Most animals are devoutly hetero and straight and damn happy about it, right?

Wrong.

New research is revealing so many creatures and species that exhibit homosexual/bisexual behavior of some kind, scientists are now saying there are actually very few, if any, species in existence that don't exhibit it in some way. It's everywhere: Bison. Giraffes. Ducks. Hyenas. Lions and lambs, lizards and dragonflies, polecats and elephants. Hetero sex. Anal sex. Partner swapping. The works.

Let's flip that around. Here's the shocking new truism: In the wilds of nature, to not have some level of homosexual/bisexual behavior in a given species is turning out to be the exception, not the rule. Would you like to read that statement again? Aloud? Through a megaphone? To the Mormon and Catholic churches? And the rest of them, as well? Repeatedly?

Would you like to inform them that such behavior is definitely not, as so many hard-line Christian literalists want to believe, some sort of poison that snuck into God's perfect cake mix, nor is it all due to some sort of toxic chemical that leeched into the animal's water supply, suddenly causing all creatures to occasionally feel the urge wear glitter and listen to techno and work on their abs?

And so we extend the idea just a little bit. Because if homosexual/bisexual behavior is universal and by design, if gender mutability is actually deeply woven into the very fabric of nature itself, and if you understand that nature is merely another word for God, well, you can only surmise that God is, to put it mildly, much more than just a little bit gay. I mean, obviously.

But let's be fair. That's not exactly true. God is not really gay, per se. God is more... pansexual. Omnisexual. Gender neutral. Gender indeterminate. It would appear that God, this all-knowing and all-creating and all-seeing divine energy that infuses and empowers all things at all times everywhere, does not give a flying leather whip about gender.

Or rather, She very much does, but not in the simpleminded, hetero-only way 2,000 years of confused religious dogma would have us all believe.

God's motto: Look, life is a wicked inscrutable orgy of love and compassion and survival instinct, shot through with pain and longing and death and suffering and far, far too many arguments about who did or did not pay the goddamn mortgage.

Life on Earth is messy and bloody and constantly evolving and transmuting and guess what? So is sexuality, and love, and connection, and what it means to exist. And if you uptight, hairless bipeds don't soon acknowledge this in a very profound way, well, it ain't the damn penguins who will suffer for it. You feel me?

This, then, is what science appears to be trying to tell us, has been telling us, over and over again: Nature abides no narrow, simplistic interpretation of her ways. Nature will defy your childish fears and laughable behavioral laws at nearly every turn. God does not do shrill homophobia.

Of course, until very recently, science was also beaten with the stick of right-wing fear for many, many years, told to keep quiet about those damnable facts, or else. Homosexuality is a lifestyle! A choice! And you can be lured into it! Seduced by the evil rainbow! Just like those poor penguins! Right.

Let us be perfectly clear. Not every individual animal necessarily displays homosexual traits. But in every sexually active species on the planet, at least some of them do, for all sorts of reasons, and it's common and obvious and as normal as a warm spring rain falling on a pod of giddy bottlenose dolphins having group sex off the coast of Fiji.

And either humankind is part of nature and the wanton animal kingdom, a full participant in the messy inexplicable glories of the flesh and spirit and gender play, or we are the aberrant mistake, the ones who are lagging far behind the rest of the kingdom, sad and lost in the eyes of a very, very fluid and increasingly disappointed God.

A Message to the Archbishop of Canterbury

2009-07-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

Private meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at convention will address sexuality, ministry

2009-07-01T19:10:00.001-07:00

By Mary Frances Schjonberg, July 01, 2009

[Episcopal News Service] Eight members of the Episcopal Church's House of Deputies are scheduled meet privately with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at General Convention in a session that is intended in part to address lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in the church.

General Convention meets July 8-17 in Anaheim, California, and Williams will be present July 7-9.

The session is not an official convention meeting and thus there has been no announcement of the plans. However, when contacted by Episcopal News Service, the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe of the Diocese of California confirmed the details.

Barlowe said that he and the other deputies understood the meeting was to be brief and private, but that it was not a secret.

"It's not a summit or constituted in an official way," he said. "We don't expect to issue a communiqué or anything like that."

Instead, Barlowe said, he hopes the meeting will be a chance for dialogue and a chance for Williams to hear about the ministries of eight Episcopalians whose "significant fundamental characteristic" is "our deep love for the Episcopal Church within the Anglican Communion." The eight deputies' lives reflect the broad range of ministry of all Episcopalians, he said.

Barlowe set the meeting in the context of the communion-wide Listening Process, which is intended to hear all sides of the issues concerning human sexuality and the church.

Williams, Barlowe suggested, has not had a chance to hear about the broad range of ministry and leadership in which LGBT Episcopalians are involved.

There's a larger hope attached to the meeting, according to Barlowe.

"Anytime committed Christians come together, something remarkable happens," he said. "What comes to the fore is the commitment to be better bearers of the good news of Christ."

The chance to have such a meeting, he said, is typical of the way leadership in the Episcopal Church seeks ways to move the mission and ministry of the church forward by trying to form partnerships with "other passionate ministers such as Archbishop Rowan."

Barlowe, who has been a candidate in episcopal elections in the dioceses of California and Newark, said that he first raised the possibility of a meeting with the archbishop when the California deputation was discussing Anglican Communion issues. His colleagues encouraged him to pursue the idea and Barlowe says he sought the support of other LGBT deputies.

When he contacted Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori or House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson to ask for time with the archbishop, the request came with the backing of many of those deputies, he said.

Jefferts Schori and Anderson, along with their staffs, "graciously" agreed to ask Williams to meet with some deputies and Williams "graciously" agreed, Barlowe said.

Jefferts Schori's and Anderson's willingness to help bring about the meeting "is totally consistent with their leadership" of the church and their goal of fostering "serious and respectful conversation," he added.

The presiding officers did not appoint the deputies, Barlowe said. Instead, he was asked to put the group together. He said he consulted with others and sought deputies who reflected the range of geographic, age, and ministerial diversity of those people who supported the request for the meeting.

In addition to Barlowe, the deputies are:

Louie Crew, Diocese of Newark;
the Rev. Canon Lisa Gray, Diocese of Michigan;
the Rev. Tobias Haller BSG, Diocese of New York;
Joanne O'Donnell, Diocese of Los Angeles;
the Rev. Altagracia Perez, Diocese of Los Angeles;
Rebecca Snow, Diocese of Alaska; and
Michael Spencer, Diocese of Eastern Michigan.

The Rev. Eric H. F. Law, known for his work in multicultural leadership training, has been helping the deputies prepare for their meeting, according to Barlowe, and Law may attend the session with Williams.

Because they do not all know each other, Barlowe said, the group has been presenting to each other their "ministry biographies." He called that experience "emotionally powerful."

"Once again, I've been overwhelmed by just how committed the ministers of this church are," he said, adding that hearing the deputies' stories "made me incredibly thankful yet again for being part of the Episcopal Church."

-- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service.

Integrity's Marriage FAQs for General Convention 2009

2009-07-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

There are lots of resolutions about marriage equality--which approach does Integrity USA favor?

Integrity is committed to achieving full marriage equality for LGBT people. We recognize that the path to marriage equality may be longer than we would like.

Past General Convention resolutions have clearly established the Episcopal Church's support for civil marriage equality. We believe the Episcopal Church should proactively advocate for same-gender civil marriage. In those jurisdictions where civil marriage is not yet politically achievable, the Episcopal Church should support civil unions or domestic partnerships as an interim step toward marriage equality.

We believe the Episcopal Church must update its marriage rites and marriage canons to recognize same-gender marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships. As an interim measure, the Episcopal Church could adopt supplemental liturgical materials that can be used to bless committed, faithful, same-gender relationships that may or may not be legal recognized by the state.

As for what specific legislation we'll be supporting at General Convention in July, the answer is the same as the one above on B033: The legislation that will pass.

Don't we need do more theological work around blessing same-sex relationships?

Actually, what we need more of is attention to the theological work that has already been done around blessings same-sex relationships. Theological work is always a good thing--but to continue to hold hostage a percentage of the sacraments from a percentage of the baptized while we "do more" theology is both unjust and unnecessary. Or, as Michael Hopkins wrote in the 2002 Claiming the Blessing Theology Statement: "...is pastorally irresponsible and theologically unnecessary."

As Ed Bacon, the rector of All Saints Church in Pasadena famously said, "I'm so glad Mary didn't wait for the formulation of a Doctrine of the Incarnation before she said 'Yes' to God."

Why should the Episcopal Church take a stand on civil marriage equality?

The Episcopal Church has ALREADY taken a stand on civil marriage equality.

The explanation for Resolution A095 (passed at GC 2006), we said, "For at least thirty years, and even as debate about the role of gay and lesbian people within the Church has continued, successive General Conventions have recognized the equal claim of gay and lesbian persons to the civil rights enjoyed by all other persons. In 1994, General Convention (1994-D006) called on all levels of government to support legislation giving same-sex couples the same legal protections as non-same-sex married couples. In light of recent legislative actions in several states, and a proposed federal constitutional amendment, an affirmation of the Episcopal Church's support for equal rights is warranted.

Why do we need to update the marriage rites in the Book of Common Prayer? Why do we need to update the marriage canons?

There was a time when the ordination rites in the Book of Common Prayer and our canons on ordination needed to be updated to reflect the reality that those being ordained as deacons, priests and bishops in this church were no longer exclusively male. As we live into the pastoral reality that in many jurisdictions, parish members entering into civil marriage are no longer exclusively opposite sex couples, our rites need to be adjusted to reflect the reality in order to allow us to provide appropriate pastoral care for ALL members of the Episcopal Church.

Isn't the present approach--some bishops in some dioceses allowing blessings as a pastoral practice--good enough? Why not continue with "local option"?

Integrity believes that separate is inherently unequal and "allowing blessings as pastoral practice" rather than celebrating the full inclusion of the LGBT faithful in the Body of Christ falls short of our baptismal promises to strive for peace and justice and to respect the dignity of every human being. We are a people of "common prayer" and we are asking for rites for blessing that we hold in common with the whole church because we want live our lives in the center of the tradition we love and claim as our own--not on the fringes or in the closet.

Why do we need a supplemental liturgical rite for blessing same-gender relationships?

We recognize that the journey to full inclusion is a long one and we also believe that justice delayed is justice denied. Approving supplemental liturgical rites for blessings while the church continues to work through its theology of marriage will offer a pastoral step forward for those couples still waiting for the church's blessing for their already-blessed-by-God relationships. It will also send a signal that we ARE moving forward toward full inclusion – even when that movement is slower than we might like.

Is it time to "get a backbone"

2009-06-24T09:11:00.001-07:00

Last night Grace Cathedral in San Francisco played host to a forum on
"Politics, Religion and Discourse: A Conversation about Same-Sex
Marriage." Bishop Marc Andrus moderated a distinguished panel
including Bishop Gene Robinson, in town from New Hampshire; Joe Tuman,
a professor of Communications at San Francisco State; the Rev. Yvette
Flunder of City of Refuge United Church of Christ and Presiding Bishop
of The Fellowship, a multi-national, multi-denominational faith
grouping; the Rev. Lindi Ramsden who serves as Executive Director of
the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry in Sacarmento; and
Rabbi Douglas Kahn of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

<http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ga9VWddYFBA/SkGeD8zXt8I/AAAAAAAAFLY/MRa_2nYvwZs/s400/packed-house.jpg>
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The room was packed with eager and slightly anxious listeners.

Dr. Tuman led off with a very concise and useful overview of how a
California Supreme Court decision legalized same-sex marriage a year
ago, the campaign to outlaw it by way of Prop. 8 ensued, and the same
California Supreme Court upheld the vote last month. He emphasized
that despite upholding the new constitutional provision, the Court did
not back away from its finding that LGBT people still legally
constitute a "suspect class", forcing anyone choosing to discriminate
against us to be subject to "strict scrutiny," essentially a refutable
presumption of wrongdoing. That is, California law still protects gay
equality far more vigorously than it did before this sequence of
events.

Professor Tuman then offered his prescription for future efforts to
repeal Prop. 8: we must remember that "my opponent in this is not my
enemy." We are called to dialogue with a lot of skeptical people,
including often our own families. If we do this, we can win many over.

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Panelists offered their distinctive wisdom. The Rev. Flunder shared
some historical perspective, describing the flexibility that Black
churches under slavery had to adopt to create an ethics that responded
to their members' lack of control of their own lives. She trusted that
churches can likewise learn to respond to the novel social reality of
contemporary loving, responsible gay and lesbian partnerships.

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Bishop Robinson was his usual charming, but also bracing, self. He
attributes the recent success in winning same-sex civil marriage in
New Hampshire to inclusion of "unnecessary" but "reassuring" language
in the law promising that no religious body will have to "marry"
anyone against their beliefs. He looks forward to a time when the
Church gets out of the civil marriage business.

But further, Robinson urged the LGBT movement to "get a backbone." He
believes we need to understand more deeply that the movement for full
equality of all people is a long process. We stand today on the
shoulders of people who have been through these struggles before us;
others will come after and stand on the shoulders of the LGBT movement
we are now part of.

--
Posted By janinsanfran to Walking With Integrity
<http://walkingwithintegrity.blogspot.com/2009/06/its-time-to-get-backbone.html>
at 6/23/2009 11:30:00 PM

Gay Episcopalians to March

2009-06-23T22:27:00.001-07:00

While anti-gay rights pastors like Rev. Ken Hutcherson get tons of publicity, a big contingent of Episcopalians will be showing the flag and proclaiming their faith in this weekend's Sunday of Pride march in Seattle.

"In organizing these events, I wanted to reclaim Christianity from these people and remind the community, Christian and secular, that there are inclusive, welcoming and affirming voices in the church," said Blaire Notrica of the Commission for Emerging Mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia.

With the approval of Bishop Greg Rickel, the church contingent will be marching behind a banner proclaiming, "The Episcopal Church Welcomes You."

The "affirming voices" have already been lifted. A Pride Eucharist and Party drew more than 100 people to St. Mark's Cathedral on Monday.

The Diocese of Olympia has been out front in its inclusiveness.

In January, the diocese welcomed a visit from the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire and the first open, partnered gay to serve as a diocesan bishop in the church.

Bishop Robinson presided at services held in St. Mark's Cathedral and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, and lectured to a full house at Town Hall.

The issue of Robinson's elevation to the episcopate, approved by the 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, has caused deep divisions in the Protestant denomination.

See

Gay Episcopalians to March

Seattle Post Intelligencer

Sex and the Priestly: Father Cutie Renews Celibacy Debate

2009-06-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

t's hard out there for a pope these days. On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI launched what he is calling "The Year of Priests," exhorting Roman Catholics to spend the coming year honoring the sacrifice of their local pastors and directing priests to encourage each other so that they might, among other things, "be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities."

Overshadowing the Pope's declaration, however, was the news that earlier in the week Father Alberto Cutie — the Miami-based priest and television personality who left the Catholic church last month amid soap opera-worthy scandal — had married his girlfriend of two years. Also making waves was the publication of former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland's memoir detailing his life as a closeted gay man within the church and the loneliness that drove him to pursue a sexual relationship with another man. Weakland, who stepped down seven years ago when he turned 75, the age when priests typically submit letters of resignation that the Church may or may not accept, is the highest-ranking Catholic leader to publicly reveal his homosexuality.

Although both he and Cutie have insisted they do not want to be held up as poster boys for changing the Church's celibacy requirement, their stories have added new fuel to a long-simmering debate. The Catholic Church in the U.S. has a serious priest crisis — the number of men entering the priesthood has dropped by 60% over the past four decades and the current average age of active priests is 60. Many dioceses have been forced to close parishes or import foreign priests to deal with shortages. But advocates of celibacy reform say there is a better solution: ditch the 900-year-old church law prohibiting priests from marrying or being sexually active.

For the first thousand years of the Christian church, priests, bishops, and even popes could — and often did — marry. At least 39 popes were married men, and two were the sons of previous popes. The ideal of celibacy existed, but as a teaching from the Apostle Paul, not a church doctrine. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul argued simply that single men had fewer distractions from their godly work: "He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided."

See

Sex and the Priestly: Father Cutie Renews Celibacy Debate

TIME Site feed @ http://www.oasiscalifornia.org/news/atom.xml

Study: Gays not 'godless Christian bashers'

2009-06-22T17:22:00.001-07:00

This breaking news in from The Barna Group -- a chronicler of religious life and habits, particularly of the Christian variety: Gay folks' attitudes about spirituality aren't much different from straight folks. These and other "surprising insights" were in Barna's spiritual profile of gays released Monday. In it was a bit of a political heeding for gay-bashers:

"People who portray gay adults as godless, hedonistic, Christian bashers are not working with the facts," wrote George Barna Monday. "A substantial majority of gays cite their faith as a central facet of their life, consider themselves to be Christian, and claim to have some type of meaningful personal commitment to Jesus Christ active in their life today."

"It is interesting to see that most homosexuals, who have some history within the Christian Church, have rejected orthodox biblical teachings and principles -- but, in many cases, to nearly the same degree that the heterosexual Christian population has rejected those same teachings and principles," Barna said. "Although there are clearly some substantial differences in the religious beliefs and practices of the straight and gay populations, there may be less of a spiritual gap between straights and gays than many Americans would assume."

Now there will be some quibbling with a couple of Barna's assumptions. Like how Barna pegs the LGBT population at about 3 percent of the adult population. No, he doesn't believe in the 1-in-10 stat, but then again, LGBT population scholar Gary Gates says it's more like 5 percent, depending how you count.

That aside, the Barnanians found that "out of the 20 faith-oriented attributes examined in the Barna study, there were just a few in which there were no significant differences between the heterosexual and homosexual populations."

Hmm. "No significant differences between the heterosexual and homosexual"(s)? Does Donald Wildmon know about this?

One big diff, according to the study: "While seven out of every ten heterosexuals (71 percent) have an orthodox, biblical perception of God, just 43 percent of homosexuals do. In fact, an equal percentage possesses a pantheistic view about deity -- i.e., that 'God' refers to any of a variety of perspectives, such as personally achieving a state of higher consciousness or maximized personal potential, or that there are multiple gods that exist, or even that everyone is god."

Another diff: "Heterosexuals were twice as likely as homosexuals to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches."

And in the timeliness is next to godliness (OK, and cleanliness) dept: On Monday a crew of organizations supporting same sex marriage are launching their Get Engaged Tour of California -- a pump-priming tour of the state in advance of an expected 2010 ballot measure campaign expected later this year. We told you about it a while back. Faith leaders will be prominently featured on this tour, as opposed to last year's anti-Proposition 8 campaign, when they were largely invisible.

"Our faith-based values require us to love our neighbor as ourselves," said Pastor Samuel Chu, of California Faith for Equality. "Gay and lesbian people are our neighbors and they should be able to enjoy the dignity, respect and commitment that come with marriage."

Posted By: Joe Garofoli (Email) | June 22 2009 at 12:25 PM

See Study: Gays not 'godless Christian bashers' 5:12 PM

Churches using pulpit to preach positions on Prop 64

2009-06-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The discussion on the city's proposed gay rights ordinance continued Wednesday as church leaders preach their points from the pulpit.

Opponents and supporters are also using e-mails and radio appearances to sway support.

The Rev. Jerry Prevo with the Anchorage Baptist Temple sent an e-mail to his congregation canceling Wednesday night's church services to encourage people to attend a special Anchorage Assembly meeting.

"It's a threat to religious freedom here in the City of Anchorage," Prevo said. "It is reproving a life style that is not acceptable."

In the e-mail Prevo wrote, "It is diseased and deviant. Homosexuals are trying to force us to approve their lifestyle."

He says if the Assembly passes the gay rights ordinance his congregation will gather signatures to put it on the ballot. He says that's how it was defeated before.

"I don't think any of my positions have been overstated," said Prevo. "I think the city attorney overstated my position."

But Sarah Gavit, a minister at St. Mary's Episcopal Church disagrees. She says the gay community isn't asking for special rights but simply civil rights.

She says its not surprising that people are reading e-mails and listening to radio commentary on the issue, but claims opponents are getting caught up in language and using it to deflect the issue.

"Words have power," said Gavit. "And my concern is the ugly rhetoric that is coming out of some pulpits around town is inciting violence against the gay/lesbian community and that needs to stop."

The Anchorage Baptist Temple asked its congregation to come early and wear red to show the opposition to the ordinance.

Officials at other churches Channel 2 spoke with said their services will continue on as usual. They said people are free to go to the Assembly meeting but certainly not asked to go.

A handful of church leaders spoke out in support of the ordinance at the Assembly meetings.

See

Churches using pulpit to preach positions on Prop 64

KTUU - Site feed @ http://www.oasiscalifornia.org/news/atom.xml

Church closing marks trend ?

2009-06-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

It's easy to look at the shuttering of Christ Church in Watertown as a victory for traditionalist Episcopalians, who left the church to protest its embrace of gay clergy.

But in many ways the closing of the stately 245-year-old church points to a more pressing crisis: The waning membership of the Episcopal Church, one of the oldest religious denominations in the United States. Even without the controversy over the interpretation of scripture and a gay bishop, the church would have closed because of lack of funds, said the Rev. Stanley C. Kemmerer, priest in charge at Christ Church. "It was just a matter of time," he said.

Even before the split, Christ Church had fewer than 100 members. On Jan. 6, 2008, when it held its first service without the break-off members, only three worshipers were in the pews. In the six months since Kemmerer has been there, Sunday morning worship has inched up to between 20 to 30 members — an improvement but not nearly enough to sustain the church.

"That's what it was about — not enough bucks — not the gay issue," Kemmerer said.

Although the Episcopal Church, the American branch of the Anglican Communion, has been embroiled in a debate over interpretation of scripture, gay clergy and gay marriage, its biggest threat may come from the change in the culture itself.

To read the complete story see Friday's Republican-American or our electronic edition at http://republicanamerican.ct.newsmemory.com. See

Church closing marks trend

Waterbury Republican American Site feed @ http://www.oasiscalifornia.org/news/atom.xml

Nativity of St. John the Baptist, with Bishop Mark Holmerud and Father Tommy Dillon @ Wednesday, June 24, 7 PM

2009-06-22T10:11:00.001-07:00

Lutherans Concerned/San Francisco Bay Area is sponsoring a joint liturgy with our Episcopal brothers and sisters as we commemorate the prophetic voice in the wilderness that prepared the way for Christ. Bishop Mark Holmerud (Sierra Pacific ELCA Synod) is presiding and Father Tommy Dillon (rector of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, SF) is preaching. This liturgy is part of LC/SFBA's PRIDE celebration Nativity of St. John the Baptist, with Bishop Mark Holmerud and Father Tommy Dillon @ Wednesday, June 24, 7 PM
St. Mark's Lutheran Church, San Francisco

Oasis California News Blog

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Private meeting with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at convention will address sexuality, ministry

By Mary Frances Schjonberg, July 01, 2009

Integrity's Marriage FAQs for General Convention 2009

Is it time to "get a backbone"

Gay Episcopalians to March

Sex and the Priestly: Father Cutie Renews Celibacy Debate

Sex and the Priestly: Father Cutie Renews Celibacy Debate

Study: Gays not 'godless Christian bashers'

Churches using pulpit to preach positions on Prop 64

Churches using pulpit to preach positions on Prop 64

Church closing marks trend ?

Church closing marks trend

Nativity of St. John the Baptist, with Bishop Mark Holmerud and Father Tommy Dillon @ Wednesday, June 24, 7 PM