On May 8, 2009 ⋅ 5 comments
5/8 “How do I tell the young woman who was baptized and grew up under our eyes, bravely came out at age 19, and still comes to church that she is not “qualified” to serve?” An elder in the San Francisco presbytery asked me this in response to a recent blog post about the defeat […]
On May 1, 2009 ⋅ One comment
5/1 In his story on our Presbyterian Church’s decision not to open ordination to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender faithful, Eric Gorski of the Associated Press summarized the present situation succinctly: “Efforts to allow gays and lesbians to serve as clergy in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have been defeated again, sealed by votes Saturday. But […]
On Apr 25, 2009 ⋅ 6 comments
4/25 So now we know the outcome of the presbytery vote on Amendment 08-B. Our church will not open ordination to GLBT Presbyterians this year. But as we say in Pittsburgh when the outcome is still in doubt, Elvis has not yet left the building!! A record number of presbyteries voted in favor of allowing […]
On Apr 24, 2009 ⋅ No comments
4/26 No matter what the outcome in the vote among Presbyterians to remove the fence keeping faithful GLBT people from consideration for ordained ministry, things will never be the same. The shift from exclusion in 2001 to acceptance in 2009 in 27 presbyteries (including places as surprising as west Texas and West Virginia) indicates a […]
On Apr 17, 2009 ⋅ No comments
4/17 With Holy Week and Easter written in the Book of Life, my church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), returns to voting on an amendment to our church constitution which, if passed, would open the way for faithful, gifted and called GLBT Presbyterians to be ordained. The results on Easter stand thus: 65 Yes, 82 No […]
On Apr 12, 2009 ⋅ No comments
4/10/09 We woke to snow on the ground the other day in my neck of the woods so avalanche comes to mind as we’ve watched both Vermont and the District of Columbia follow the good news of Iowa with civil recognition of GLBT relationships as marriage. The Vermont legislature overrode the Governor’s veto upholding the […]
On Apr 8, 2009 ⋅ No comments
4/8/09 Here’s a shout out for the Iowa Supreme Court which ruled that equal rights in Iowa requires that two men or two women who seek a marriage license have the same right to one as heterosexual couples and to the leaders of the Iowa legislature who immediately embraced this decision as good for Iowa! […]
On Apr 3, 2009 ⋅ No comments
4/3 I spoke a few days ago at the Six O’Clock Series, a monthly public lecture program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. I was excited to learn from the young man who greeted me when I arrived that there had been a lot of talk around the student union anticipating my topic: Marriage on Trial: […]
On Mar 27, 2009 ⋅ 4 comments
3/27 Of course I was disappointed and saddened that our community here in Pittsburgh voted No on Amendment 08-B, the proposal to revise the ordination requirements in a way that will open ordained office to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender faithful in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). That outcome is not what grieves and perplexes […]
On Mar 23, 2009 ⋅ One comment
3/23 Mike introduced himself to me several years ago as a Presbyterian and the father of a gay son. Just last week he represented his church at the Pittsburgh Presbytery meeting where the majority voted down Amendment 08-B, the revision of our church Constitution which would open the door to ordination of GLBT people in […]
