Tag Archives: Activism

Huge gay rights happenings in D.C.

Saturday and Sunday this week, the 11th and 12th of October, will see thousands of LGBT activists descend on our nation’s capital for the National Equality March sponsored by Equality Across America. Many religious LGBT advocacy groups will participate:

Integrity USA (Episcopal)

Dignity USA (Catholic)

More Light Presbyterians

Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, President Obama will address the 13th Annual National Dinner of the Human Rights Campaign.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

President Obama is not the first sitting President to attend an HRC Dinner: that honor goes to President Clinton in 1997.

And all of this comes together as the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes bill nears final passage.

Today [October 8] the U.S. House of Representatives passed the conference report for the FY 2010 Defense Authorization bill by a vote of 281 to 146, bringing critical hate crimes protections closer to becoming law than ever before. Earlier this week, the House voted down a last-ditch effort to eliminate the hate crimes language, through a procedural effort called a motion to instruct conferees.

The conference report now proceeds to the Senate for its final vote in Congress. In July, the Senate voted to attach the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act to the Defense Authorization measure and is expected to approve the conference report as early as next week. President Obama has repeatedly pledged to sign the bill when it reaches his desk.

Integrity USA, the Episcopal LGBT advocacy group, quotes this news report about the historic legislation:

WASHINGTON — A House vote Thursday put Congress on the verge of significantly expanding hate crimes law to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation. The legislation would bring major changes to law enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968.

“No American should ever have to suffer persecution or violence because of who they are, how they look or what they believe,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noting that hate crimes legislation has been on her agenda since she first entered Congress more than two decades ago.

Civil rights groups and their Democratic allies have come close to expanding the hate crimes bill several times in the past decade, but have always fallen short because of lack of House-Senate coordination or opposition from former President George W. Bush.

But this time, it appears that they may succeed. The legislation was attached to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill that the Senate could approve as early as next week. President Barack Obama has promised to sign it into law. The late Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was a longtime advocate of the hate crimes legislation.

The House vote on the defense bill was 281-146. Unlike usual defense bill votes, most of those in opposition — 131 out of the 146 — were Republicans objecting strenuously to inclusion of what they referred to as “thought crimes” legislation in a defense bill.

National Equality March

On October 10 and 11, Washington DC will witness thousands of LGBT persons and their allies marching “to demand equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.” The event is sponsored and organized by Equality Across America, “a network of decentralized organizers in every one of the 435 Congressional districts.”

Commondreams.org reports that the march has been endorsed by the National Organization of Women (NOW), which states:

No woman will have full equality until all women have full equality, and we must seize every opportunity to ensure equal rights under the law for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

Walking with Integrity, the blog of Integrity USA, the Episcopal LGBT advocacy group, announced that the The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force also endorses the march.

The popular blog of Pam Spaulding, Pam’s House Blend … always steamin’, contains a lengthy list of the full slate of activities.

On the other hand, Marc Ambinder reports in the Atlantic Monthly that the event is controversial—not with the religious right but–with others in the LGBT community:

But on Oct. 11, this conservative, measured progress will collide with the National Equality March, a hastily organized gathering of gay-rights supporters on the National Mall. The march, announced just 6 months ago by Harvey Milk protégé and AIDS quilt founder Cleve Jones — has garnered criticism in the gay blogosphere, slammed as a vanity project for Jones and a distraction from state-level gay marriage initiatives in Maine and Washington state. And D.C. advocates are asking why local organizers were not asked to the table so close to the city’s own marriage-rights battle.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the ELCA #ELCA & #CWA09

Not all Lutheran eyes are focused on the Core Convocation in Indiana this weekend.

For instance, Pretty Good Lutherans blog reports:

A whole lot of Lutherans will gather today in a Baptist church with ample seating in Detroit. The Rev. Stephen Marsh of the ELCA will walk in a pastor and walk out a bishop. His 2 p.m. installation ceremony is being led by ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson. Marsh, 54, was elected in May to a six-year term as bishop of the Southeast Michigan ELCA Synod. He’ll become the first African American bishop of the synod, which maintains an office in Detroit.

Lutherans Concerned North America, an LGBT advocacy group, meets in Chicago, and they issued the following press release:

The leadership of Lutherans Concerned/North America (LC/NA) is meeting this weekend at a retreat house in Chicago to celebrate the recent actions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) supporting committed same-gender relationships and allowing for the rostered service of ministers in such relationships and to plan immediate and long term strategies and actions to ensure that the new policies of inclusion are enacted in principle and in practice.

Emily Eastwood, Executive Director of Lutherans Concerned said, “After 35 years of witness and reconciling outreach LC/NA gives thanks to God and to the voting members of the ELCA for this historic transformation in the life of our church. It is as if the ELCA has finally come out about its LGBT members and ministers. As with any coming out, some members of the ELCA family are reacting with celebration, others with fear or anger, and some with silence. The church has voted for tolerance at the policy level and included congregational autonomy as the failsafe for those members of the family who need distance and time. As within our families, reconciliation requires intentionality, faithful witness, and relentless love in the face of difficult and painful circumstances. We rely on the witness of Jesus Himself as our guide. Building relationships across theological, ideological and affinity group lines is needed to sustain the church and the family. LC/NA is ready and willing to d
o our part.

“The ELCA having spoken in favor of full inclusion, our task for education and outreach is all the more important. We are working to increase the resources and assistance we can offer to congregations who want to expand their understanding of LGBT Lutherans as part of the church. Working at the intersection of oppressions, our intent is to aid the church’s spread of the Gospel and provision of care and services for those less fortunate than ourselves. Our prayers are lifted for everyone, celebrating or in distress, in this transforming and challenging time.

“The way forward for a fully inclusive ELCA is clear. The mission of the church has not changed. What has changed is that now the work of all faithful Lutherans towards the goals of the church can be recognized and honored. We may disagree on some points, but Lutherans are one about the message of Christ to be in service to others – it’s our hands doing God’s work. At last, it can truly be all our hands.”

Lutherans Concerned has advocated for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the life of the Lutheran church since 1974, and was part of the Goodsoil coalition that advocated at the churchwide assembly in August for the changes that were enacted.

The ELCA, in consultation with its Conference of Bishops, is developing the changes that need to be put in place to carry out the decision of the churchwide assembly. Those changes are expected to go before the ELCA Church Council for consideration and approval when it meets in November 2009. The Lutherans Concerned Board of Directors and Regional Coordinators will continue their meeting through the weekend.

While those at the Core Convocation debate leaving the ELCA, others are joining or returning. In San Francisco, the two congregations that were expelled from the ELCA in the ‘90s because they called gay clergy in committed relationships are now considering whether to return.

    Robert W. Byrne, a council member at St. Francis, said he joined that congregation because of its “historic principled stand within the institutional church (against the church’s) discrimination against clergy and seminarians in committed same-sex relationships. I truly believe that being Lutheran calls each of us to be reformers, whenever and wherever we see injustice — as (Martin) Luther himself did.”
     “I have always hoped for and voiced my support for eventual reunion with the ELCA,” Byrne said. “Others in this congregation hold different beliefs at present, and value the traditions and practices we were forced to create for ourselves over the past 20 years,” he said.
     Goldstein said the council at St. Francis planned a series of “cottage meetings” through September to hear from congregation members and build some consensus in advance of an Oct. 4 visit from the Rev. Nancy M. Feniuk Nelson, bishop’s associate, ELCA Sierra Pacific Synod, Oakland.

In response to natural disasters in Africa and South America, the ELCA Disaster Response, under the coordination of the ELCA global mission, provided funds in flood ravaged communities. It is missions such as these that will be harmed by the Core call to withhold funds from the ELCA.

The Lutheran Youth Organization of an ELCA synod recently sent a letter to the ELCA home offices regarding the passage of the sexuality statement and gay ordination and gay marriage proposals at the recent ELCA convention.

“We also have a variety of opinions, and we often disagree,” wrote the synod LYO board. “However, we stand united as an LYO board behind a slightly different message,” said the youth. “We strive daily to live out a faith of love, tolerance and understanding, even in the most trying of times, and especially when we disagree,” they said. “We believe most ardently in the gospel message of God’s loving grace and forgiveness, given freely for us all through Christ’s sacrifice. Please join us as we aspire to live love,” said the synod LYO board. “We understand that people have different opinions, and we as a board were very split in our opinions,” said Sarah Embley, synod LYO president, Trinity Lutheran Church, Mount Joy, Pa. “We think it is more important to look past our differences and keep the unity of the church and keep God in main view.”

Sometimes the grownups should listen to the kids.

Is there a Christian view toward health care reform?

What do Christians think of health care reform? Well, different things apparently, depending upon one’s brand of Christianity.

Does Blogger Kathy Escobar reflect the teachings of Jesus? In a recent post, Escobar states:

Jesus calls us to care for the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the rejected, the oppressed, the unprotected. what this means is we are supposed to give some of ours to help. we are supposed to make sacrifices that we don’t necessarily want to make but are willing to because Jesus reminds us of that life-here-on-earth-is-not-about-gathering-wealth-and-taking-care-of-only-our-own-needs. it’s about sacrificial love. it’s about taking care of others needs. it’s about seeing gaps and filling them. it’s about humbling ourselves for the sake of others. it’s about offering our coats, our food, our hands and our feet in a tangible way even when it costs us time & money & energy.

Seems pretty clear, and Austin Texas Presbyterian pastor Jim Rigby would agree, yet he throws up his arms in exasperation as he laments:

I can’t believe I am standing today in a Christian church defending the proposition that we should lessen the suffering of those who cannot afford health care in an economic system that often treats the poor as prey for the rich. I cannot believe there are Christians around this nation who are shouting that message down and waving guns in the air because they don’t want to hear it. But I learned along time ago that churches are strange places; charity is fine, but speaking of justice is heresy in many churches. The late Brazilian bishop Dom Hélder Câmara said it well: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist." Too often today in the United States, if you talk about helping the poor, they call you Christian, but if you actually try to do something to help the poor, they call you a socialist.

Roman Catholics have a long and admirable record of defending the poor. The latest policy statement from the United States Council of Bishops advocates for these points:

a truly universal health policy with respect for human life and dignity
access for all with a special concern for the poor and inclusion of legal immigrants
pursuing the common good and preserving pluralism including freedom of conscience and variety of options
restraining costs and applying them equitably across the spectrum of payers

Yet, the rigidity of many Bishops, priests, and lay persons in their opposition to abortion rights seems to be stronger than their advocacy for universal health care. Unless health care reform precludes coverage for abortions, many Catholics stand against a truly universal health policy with access for all. Ok, we get that many Catholics vehemently disagree with Roe v Wade, but it is the law of the land. Is the health care reform debate the proper platform to fight that battle? Should universal health care be sacrificed just to make a point?

On the other hand, many progressive Catholics are able to see the forest and not just the trees. The Consortium of Jesuit Bioethics Programs has issued a policy statement entitled “The Moral Case for Insuring the Uninsured”:

As health care ethicists, we believe providing universal access to health care is the right thing to do, and now is the right time to do it. Much like our commitment to providing universal access to K-12 education, the reasons for doing so are both pragmatic and moral. And these reasons are so compelling that they require us to do what it takes to overcome obstacles.

Each year, according to a report of the prestigious Institute of Medicine, approximately 18,000 Americans die prematurely because they lack health insurance. Persons who lack insurance typically do not seek medical care until their illnesses have progressed to the point when they can no longer be ignored. Then the illness is far more difficult (and expensive) to treat.

We believe that thinking about our values—values of justice, solidarity, and compassion—changes our perspective on health care reform. Currently, support among the public is wavering because of concerns about cost, funding mechanisms, and what is in it for the person who currently has private health insurance. From the point of view of our common values, the final concern is the most relevant. A just and
compassionate society is obligated to try to meet the basic needs of all members of the community—not every imaginable desire, but our most basic needs such as food, a foundational education, and basic health care.

Political leadership, if it is to be true moral leadership, must have the courage and will to push forward legislation that may not please everyone, but will give all persons access to an acceptable level of health care services. We become better people when we respond to the arbitrary and capricious threats to life and the pursuit of happiness that afflict our neighbor. And, of course, when we guarantee justice for our neighbor, we do so for ourselves and our families as well should disaster befall us.

My twenty five year old son has a full time job, but it does not provide health benefits. Last spring, he caught pneumonia and he resisted medical care because he couldn’t afford it; finally, he made a single visit to a local emergency room and antibiotics were prescribed. He recovered nicely, but he now faces a bill that is nearly ten percent of his net annual income for his single emergency room visit.

Hmm. For many, the issue is bankruptcy or ill health–which to choose?

The system is broke, folks, and it’s time to fix it. It’s the pragmatic, responsible thing to do. For some of us, it’s the Christian thing to do also.

New Orleans Resident Thanks ELCA Youth

I received a lengthy comment to an earlier post about the New Orleans ELCA youth gathering. I reprint the words of doctorj2u here.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the ELCA for holding their youth gathering in New Orleans. The biggest hurt to me from the storm was the sense of abandonment by a country I had loved with my whole heart. Unbelievable massive unending devastation, a populace doing its best to survive on an individual, family and community level.

Slowly small groups of volunteers began to appear. Groups of 10, 15 and twenty. Coming to help on their own dime out of the goodness of their heart and their outrage of injustice. But for every volunteer there was an American telling us we deserved the horror of Katrina, that we were stupid to live in our 300 year old city that had parts below sea level, that we were not “really” American.

It was April 2008 when I realized New Orleans would survive. Ever since then, though slow, the progress has been steady. And when I read that the ELCA was bringing 37,000 (!!!) to come and help the city I thought to myself THIS is what I was waiting for. THIS is what I thought would happen after Katrina and the levee breaks.

One speaker of your group said if one person worked 4 hours a day, 365 days a year, it would take him over 900 years to accomplish what your group did in a weekend. That is an AMAZING thought and you should be so proud of yourself, your volunteers and your church. 4 years after Katrina we are now at the halfway point to total recovery. The ELCA is part of that and I cannot thank you enough. It was a very good weekend for New Orleans. We are not forgotten.

THANK YOU!!!

Health care reform: stand up and be counted.

Public option? Blue dog Democrats? Mandates? Subsidies? Obama’s Waterloo?

Are you following all this? Do you care?

For a generation, the religious left has railed against the influence of the religious right on public policy. Has the left taken the separation of church and state arguments too literally? Shall we not allow our faith to inform our political judgments? Shall we allow the perplexing minutiae of complex legislation to cloud our moral judgment?

Hold on, it appears that there are voices from the left, crying from the wilderness. Steven Waldman, the editor of Beliefnet, suggests:

During Republican administrations, the religious right flexed its muscle around issues like abortion and judicial appointments.

As the religious left grew in importance during the election, it was unclear how they would attempt to exert their influence.

It looks like the first big test is health care. They were non-existent players in 1993; this time, they’re trying to have a big impact.

Jacqueline L Salmon, a Washington Post staff writer, adds:

In recent weeks, hundreds of clergy members and lay leaders have descended on the offices of members of Congress, urging lawmakers to enact health-care legislation this year. With face-to-face lobbying, sermons, prayer and advertising on Christian radio stations, the coalitions are pressing the idea that health care for everyone is a fundamental moral issue.

Maybe its ok, maybe we need to stand up and be counted, maybe we should allow our faith to influence our politics. To borrow an overused and trite expression, “What would Jesus Do?” Minister, lawyer, and author Oliver Thomas suggests (thanks to Pastor John Shuck for the quotes):

Mixing church and state might be inexcusable, but the influence of religion on our political views is inevitable. Accordingly, the First Amendment does not prohibit laws that reflect our religious values as long as those laws have a secular purpose and effect. So it is curious that, until recently, little has been written about the moral dimension of the health care debate. The focus has largely been on how to pay for insuring 46 million uninsured people in America and whether to provide a so-called public option. At last, religious leaders are stepping forward to explain what our Scriptures and religious traditions have to teach us about the most important domestic policy issue to come before the Congress in recent years.

The answer, it turns out, is a lot. Not directly, of course. Our Scriptures were written long before talk of deductibles, pre-existing conditions and single payers. But indirectly, the Christian, Hebrew and Muslim texts have much to say about the quality, availability and affordability of health care. …

Such "care" extends to health care. The legendary Jewish scholar and physician Maimonides listed health care first on his list of services that a city should offer its residents. …

Christians find similar teachings in the New Testament. One of Jesus’ most famous parables is about health care. A Samaritan traveler happens upon a seriously wounded man lying by the side of the road. The Samaritan attends to the man, dresses his wounds and pays a substantial sum for his care and recovery. Jesus ends the story by telling his hearers to "go and do likewise." …

For Muslims, the Holy Quran contains multiple admonitions to attend to the needy. …

Nevertheless, Cigna insurance executive turned whistle-blower Wendell Potter testified recently that the insurance industry fearing competition is engaged in a campaign to scare Americans away from any sort of public plan.

In truth, says Potter, America’s nearly half-century-old Medicare program has proved itself an efficient choice. Administrative costs of Medicare? Less than 5%. Of the private plans? Closer to 20%, according to Potter.

Jesus admonished his disciples to be as innocent as doves, but he also warned them to be "as wise as serpents." Let’s hope Congress can be the same.

As Thomas suggests, this is an issue for all people of faith, and The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism is clearly on board. The following video is of David Saperstein, “the most influential rabbi in America” according to some. The article from which this video is copied also references the speeches by “Dr. Sayyid Syeed, National Director of the Office of Interfaith Relations of the Islamic Society of North America; Sister Simone Campbell, Executive Director of NETWORK – A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; and Rev. James Forbes, President and Founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation of New York and Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church.”

A few weeks ago, a retired pastor in my church preached eloquently in favor of universal health care, but he also was sensitive to appearing to sound pro-Obama or pro-Democrat. Maybe that’s the hangup for some religious leaders – supporting a cause is one thing but a party is another. Yet, if the GOP continues to be the Party of NO! and the voice of the pharmaceuticals and the insurance companies, more concerned with scoring political points than solving a problem, this administration and the Congressional leadership appear to be the only ones listening, and they are the direction we should funnel our voices and our support.

Finally, if you want an incisive view of the complexities of the debate, check out the New York Times op-ed piece of Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. Krugman supports the Democratic plan in Congress and suggests the Blue Dog Democrats who are not yet on board jeopardize the basic structure of health care reform.

Stand up and be counted.

ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans

On July 22nd, 37,000 Lutheran youth and youth leaders descended on New Orleans for "Jesus Justice Jazz", the theme of the 2009 ELCA youth gathering, according to a news release from the ELCA.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” said Mayor Ray Nagin to some of the volunteers who spread out to 200 separate work venues the first day.

“You’re welcome!" the volunteers responded.

“God is good!" the mayor said.

"All the time!" the volunteers shouted.

On Friday evening, the Lutherans came together at the Superdome for the opening ceremony, as bursts of dancing, spotlights, and bass notes drove deep through the crowd. A speaker, covered with tattoos and piercings, spoke “about God accepting people where they are in spite of the mistakes they’ve made.”

“That was the message that distinguished Martin Luther nearly 500 years ago,” he said. "Thank God for grace."

"There are millions of Christians out there suffering because they don’t feel God loves them. They’re dying to know they’re loved."

The official website of the ELCA is chock full of pictures, videos, news releases, and more. Here is a list of links for slightly less official views from participants.

St Mark’s of West Des Moines, The Lutheran Magazine, Women of the ELCA, Our Saviour’s of Naperville, Lord of Life of Maple Grove, Spiritualevity from suburban Philly, Elim Lutheran of Duluth, Lutheran Church of the Master of Coeur d’Alene, and Our Saviour and St. Jacobus of NY.

Episcopal General Convention Recap

Here are various summations of the recently completed Episcopal General Convention. For anyone who missed it, the big news out of the convention was the overwhelming support for resolutions to allow LGBT persons in all levels of ministry, including the episcopate. This decision was made in the face of conservative resistance at home but especially abroad where the world Anglican communion has expressed strong opposition.

Susan Russell is a lesbian pastor at a parish in Pasadena, California and the president of Integrity USA, the primary LGBT friendly organization within the Episcopal Church. Her personal blog, An Inch at a Time, contains her own remembrances of the convention’s high points. My favorite among her offerings is the story of the 14 year old boy whose mother has known he was gay since he was 4. Mother and son attended the Integrity Eucharist together, and afterwards he confided his orientation to her, which she had known all along.

"I’ve known he was gay since he was about 4," she said, her eyes welling up. "And have been waiting for him to figure it out. The fact that he came to himself in the context of a celebration of the Eucharist — that he’s never going to have to wonder if his church or his family will love and accept him as he is — I just can’t thank you enough."

The official blog of Integrity contains a Monday morning list of news items about the convention.

Pastor Elizabeth Kaeton from New Jersey offers her own remembrances on her blog, Telling Secrets. In her Sunday post, she shared a personal moment reminiscent of the woman with the hemorrhage tugging at Jesus’ robe. One day, participants in the convention demonstrated solidarity with the mostly Hispanic hotel workers who labor without a contract. Pastor Kaeton plunged into the crowd offering an anointing and a blessing.

It didn’t take long before I was surrounded by people – men, women and children – who suddenly seemed to be everywhere: tugging at my blouse and pulling at my skirt. I cannot put into words what it felt like to have people call to me, "Madre, Madre. Unteme! Unteme!"

I could feel people pressing in on my back and sides. I hardly knew where to turn next, but I took my time, looking deep into the eyes of each person – adult women, men and little children – and anointed them, in my faulting Spanish: “En nombre de Dios, de Jesuchristo y de Espirito Santo”.

"Gracias a dios," they said softly, thankfully. Funny how that works. I anointed them, but I was the one who was blessed. And, transformed. And, will never be the same.

John Dart, the news editor of the Christian Century Magazine, offers his summary in the magazine’s blog, Theolog. His perspective is that of an interested observer rather than an insider, and he addresses the issue of possible conservative fallout with links to conservative Episcopal bloggers. One key point made by Dart and others quoted in his blog is that the operative word of the resolutions is “may” and not “must” thereby making the gay ordination decision a local option.

In an interesting twist, Michael Sean Winters writing in the blog of America: the National Catholic Weekly, suggests the problem for the Episcopalians is not their gay affirming resolution and its potential for schism but their democratic ecclesiology that does not have overweening institutional authority to decide for all.

But, for two thousand years, the impulse to keep together, to put ecclesiology at the top of our concern, to take the Lord’s command that all may be one very seriously and to set up structures that facilitate that unity, that impulse has stood us in good stead.

The blog post ends up less about the Episcopalians than a self congratulatory slap on the back for the authority of Rome. Yep, that’s Christendom needs, more 19th century infallible decision-making. Unity and uniformity are more important than justice.

Finally, the USA Today blog of Faith & Reason wonders, “What next” for the conservative congregations within the Episcopal communion, and for the shrinking mainline Protestant denominations.

See you soon at the ELCA convention in August.

Episcopal mid convention report

Roughly half way through the Episcopal convention, excitement and tension is building as the repeal of the 2006 moratorium on gay bishops moves forward. As part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the proposed change faces resistance from without as well as within. When conservatives within the Church of England raised the suggestion that a conservative, breakaway group in the US (ACNA) might receive official recognition, the presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church warned that such action would only promote schism, according to an article in the Washington Times.

ANAHEIM, Calif. | The presiding bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church warned the Church of England not to foment schism in America, responding to a threat made over the possibility that the U.S. church will start ordaining actively gay bishops.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said Sunday, in response to questions from The Washington Times, that calls by conservatives in the Church of England for recognition of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) over gay-related issues would wound her church, already split by the secession of conservative dioceses and congregations to form the ACNA.

She urged Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to remember the "pain of many Episcopalians in several places of being shut out of their traditional worship spaces, and the broken relationships, the damaged relationships between people who have gone and people who have stayed."

"Recognition of something like ACNA is unfortunately likely only to encourage" further secessions, she said, reminding the Church of England that "schism is not a Christian act."

The parliamentary procedure of the Episcopal convention posits a bicameral approach. On Sunday, The House of Deputies passed Resolution D025 (70-31 in the lay order and 74-35 in the clergy order). Among other things, the resolution provides: “Affirm that God has called and may call partnered gay and lesbian people to any ordained ministry,” according to Walking with Integrity, the official blog of Integrity USA. The measure must also be passed by the House of Bishops to become official.

In her personal blog (An Inch at a Time), the President of Integrity, Pastor Susan Russell, speaks to both optimism and pessimism as the convention waits on the Bishops. The excitement is also palpable on a couple of weekend postings on the Integrity Blog: We Could have Danced All Night offers a glowing report of the Friday night Eucharist of 1200 LGBT Episcopalians and the stirring sermon of Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris (the first woman bishop in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion). The Integrity Blog also offers a daily YouTube update.

Of course, there are many other items of business at the convention, and the blog of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation provides daily updates on issues pertaining to poverty and hunger.

From the “Website of Unknowing”

One of my favorite contemplative, spiritual blogs is The Website of Unknowing. The following “Quote for the Day” post reminds us that contemplation without action is selfish (faith without works?).

Contemplation in the age of Auschwitz and Dachau, Solovky and Karaganda is something darker and more fearsome than contemplation in the age of the Church Fathers. For that very reason, the urge to seek a path of spiritual light can be a subtle temptation to sin. It certainly is sin if it means a frank rejection of the burden of our age, an escape into unreality and spiritual illusion, so as not to share the misery of other men.

Thomas Merton, The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation