Wooopppeeeee!!! Connecticut is next!

And then - NEW JERSEY!

For a long time, the buzz here has been that once California overturned the ban on same sex marriage, the Connecticut Supreme Court would follow and the next state after that to grant the constitutional right of marriage to same sex couples will be New Jersey.

Time has proven that Domestic Partnership is clearly not enough. Civil Union has proven to be a complicated legal disaster. And the two together have caused the kind of confusion only two attorneys trying to interpret the law can create.

One of my dear friends lost his beloved of 48 years last year. They had a domestic partnership. Their attorney (like ours) informed them that they didn't need to have a Civil Union; that for their purposes, their current legal arrangement was perfectly fine.

However, as the old saying goes in clerical circles, "Where there's a will, there's a relative." Yup, you guessed it. A relative of the deceased is now claiming rights to the inheritance because "civil union" canceled out "domestic partnership."

The case is being contested and may even go to trial because well, his attorney says it makes the case for an end to "separate but equal" and further promotes the argument for same sex marriage.

Meanwhile, my friend's grief is prolonged and his life remains unsettled.

Makes you wonder how history will report this time in our lives.

Congratulations, California! Make way for Connecticut! Here comes New Jersey!

Working for justice and equality, one state at a time.

NY Times
May 16, 2008
California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban
By ADAM LIPTAK

The California Supreme Court, striking down two state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman, ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The 4-to-3 decision, drawing on a ruling 60 years ago that struck down a state ban on interracial marriage, would make California the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages.

The decision, which becomes effective in 30 days unless the court grants a stay, was greeted with celebrations at San Francisco City Hall, where thousands of same-sex marriages were thrown out by the courts four years ago.

It was denounced by religious and conservative groups that promised to support an initiative proposed for the November ballot that would amend the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages and overturn the decision.

Same-sex marriage has been a highly contentious issue in presidential and Congressional elections, but it was not immediately clear what role the ruling would have this year. The Democratic and Republican candidates for president have all said they believe marriage should be between a man and a woman, but Republicans could use a surge in same-sex marriages in the most populous state to invigorate conservative voters.

Given the historic, cultural, symbolic and constitutional significance of marriage, Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote for the majority, the state cannot limit its availability to opposite-sex couples.

“In view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship,” Chief Justice George wrote, “the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples.”

Supporters of same-sex marriage called the ruling a milestone.

“This decision will give Americans the lived experience that ending exclusion from marriage helps families and harms no one,” said Evan Wolfson, executive director of Freedom to Marry, who noted that same-sex marriages were legal in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain.

Opponents said they expected the proposed ballot initiative, which has been submitted to election officials with more than one million signatures, to pass in November.

“The court was wrong from top to bottom on this one,” said Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage. “The court brushed aside the entire history and meaning of marriage in our tradition.”

About 110,000 same-sex couples live in California, according to census data. The state has a strong domestic partnership law that gives couples who register nearly all of the benefits and burdens of heterosexual marriage.

A majority of the justices said that was not enough.

The court left open the possibility that the Legislature could use a term other than “marriage” to denote state-sanctioned unions, so long as that term was used across the board for opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

The ban on same-sex marriage was based on a law enacted in 1977 and a statewide initiative approved by the voters in 2000, both defining marriage as limited to unions between a man and a woman. The question before the court was whether those laws violated provisions of the state’s Constitution protecting equality and fundamental rights.

Mathew D. Staver, a lawyer with Liberty Counsel, a public interest firm that defends traditional marriage, said it would ask the court to stay its decision until the November election, meaning that the decision could be overturned before becoming effective.

“It would only be logical” to grant a stay, Mr. Staver said, given the confusion that would arise if same-sex marriages were available for a few months.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, said in a statement that he respected the ruling and did not support a constitutional amendment to overturn it.

In a dissent, Justice Marvin R. Baxter said the majority should have deferred to the Legislature on whether to allow same-sex marriage, particularly given the increased legal protections for same-sex couples enacted in recent years.

“But a bare majority of this court,” Justice Baxter wrote, “not satisfied with the pace of democratic change, now abruptly forestalls that process and substitutes, by judicial fiat, its own social policy views for those expressed by the People themselves.”

Also dissenting, Justice Carol A. Corrigan wrote that her personal sympathies were with the plaintiffs challenging the bans on same-sex marriage. But Justice Corrigan said the courts should allow the political process to address the question.

“We should allow the significant achievements embodied in the domestic partnership statutes to continue to take root,” she wrote. “If there is to be a new understanding of the meaning of marriage in California, it should develop among the people of our state and find its expression at the ballot box.”

The Supreme Court was the first state high court to strike down a law barring interracial marriage, in a 1948 decision called Perez v. Sharp. The vote in Perez, like the one in Thursday’s decision, was 4 to 3. The United States Supreme Court did not follow suit until 1967.

At present, six of the seven justices on the California court, including all the dissenters, were appointed by Republican governors.

The decision was rooted in two rationales, and both drew on the Perez case.

The first was that marriage is a fundamental constitutional right.

“The right to marry,” Chief Justice George wrote, “represents the right of an individual to establish a legally recognized family with a person of one’s choice and, as such, is of fundamental significance both to society and to the individual.”

Chief Justice George conceded that “as an historical matter in this state marriage has always been restricted to a union between a man and a woman.” But “tradition alone,” he continued, does not justify the denial of a fundamental constitutional right. Bans on interracial marriage were, he wrote, sanctioned by the state for many years.

In a second rationale from the interracial case, the court struck down the laws banning same-sex marriage on equal protection grounds, also adopting a new standard of review in the process.

When courts weigh whether distinctions among people or groups violate the right to equal protection they generally require just a rational basis for the distinction, a relatively easy standard to meet. But when the discrimination is based on race, sex or religion, the courts generally require a more substantial justification.

Discrimination based on sexual orientation, the majority ruled on Thursday, also requires that sort of more rigorous justification. The court acknowledged that it was the first state high court to adopt the standard, strict scrutiny, in sexual orientation cases.

Lawyers for the state identified two interests to justify reserving the term marriage for heterosexual unions — tradition and the will of the majority. Chief Justice George said neither was sufficient.

Still, Chief Justice George took pains to emphasize the limits of the ruling. It does not require ministers, priests or rabbis to perform same-sex marriages, he said.

He added that the decision did “not affect the constitutional validity of the existing prohibitions against polygamy and the marriage of close relatives.”

Other state high courts to consider the question of same-sex marriage in recent years, including those in New York, New Jersey and Washington, have been closely divided but stopped short of striking down state laws forbidding it. A decision from the Connecticut Supreme Court is expected shortly.

EDS (My Alma Mater) Announces Honorary Degree Recipients

EPISCOPAL DIVINITY SCHOOL
99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 617-868-3450 x502
www.eds.edu ndavidge@eds.edu


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EDS ANNOUNCES HONORARY DEGREE RECIPIENTS
Hellen Wangusa, Anglican Observer to the United Nations,
Commencement Speaker

March 27, 2008, CAMBRIDGE, MA – Episcopal Divinity School announces its 2008 Commencement Ceremony on May 15, 2008 at the First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 2:00 pm. EDS will present honorary doctor of divinity degrees to five individuals for their social justice work: The Rt. Rev. John Chane, Kevin Johnson, Cynthia Shattuck, Katie Sherrod, and Hellen Wangusa. The Commencement address will be delivered by Hellen Wangusa, Anglican Observer to the United Nations. (For more information on Wangusa, see her biographical information at the end of this release.)

“The honorary degrees committee spends a great deal of time crafting a ‘class’ of honorary degree recipients each year that reflect the values of the school: justice, compassion, and reconciliation,” said The Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, Academic Dean. “We look not only to the church, and lay and ordained people who work for the church as candidates, but each year hope to also honor people who consistently ‘give back’ to their communities, as well as young and unsung advocates for justice. This year, each of the people we are honoring, in a number of ways, represents excellence in their fields and ministries of justice and peace locally as well as throughout the world.”

The Rt. Rev. John Chane, Bishop of Washington, is a peace maker who has traveled twice to Iran at the invitation of President Khatami, and has invited the Iranian leader to speak at the National Cathedral. He was recently appointed to serve on a Global Anglican Task Force investigating human rights violations in the Kingdom of Swaziland, Africa. Prior to attending Seminary, Bishop Chane worked as an urban community organizer in Boston’s South End, and Roxbury.

Kevin Johnson, retired NBA player with the Phoenix Suns, is a businessman and activist in Arizona and California. In his retirement (at age 36) he manages St. Hope Corporation, a non-profit community development corporation designed to expand economic, education, and social opportunities for inner city communities. He is the founder of St. Hope Academy in Sacramento, an after school program for inner city children. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Johnson has been a guest on the Oprah Winfrey program, discussing the plight of youth in America. Among his achievements is the revitalization of the Boys Choir of Harlem.

Cynthia Shattuck, lay woman and consulting editor for Church Publishing, is recognized for her role in giving voice to lost voices, publishing the works of authors such as Verna Dozier so their words are accessible to a wider audience. She is passionate about her work, and an entrepreneur in the religious press business. Shattuck co-edited The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer in 1996. The guide traces the many revisions that the Anglican Book of Common Prayer has undergone, and examines the various versions of the prayer book used in different countries. She serves on the board of the Anglican Theological Review, the Sewanee Theological Review, and is a founding member of Episcopal Publishing Ministries. Shattuck is also a member of the advisory board of Forward Movement Publications.

Katie Sherrod is a freelance writer and television producer based in Fort Worth, Texas, and a contributing editor to The Witness. She is an outspoken advocate for women’s reproductive rights, and for battered women. In 1972, she wrote a newspaper series on the crime of rape, which led to the formation of the Rape Crisis Task Force, now the Rape Crisis Center. Another series she wrote on battered women was the basis for the made-for-TV movie “Battered,” and caused the formation of Women’s Haven, a United Way sponsored shelter for battered women and their children. A pioneer among women journalists, she was the metropolitan editor of the Fort Worth Star, and was named one of Fort Worth’s Outstanding Women in 1988, and Texas Woman of the Year in 1989. In recent years she has been a spokesperson for LGBT inclusion and for the mainstream voice of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Fort Worth.

Hellen Wangusa is an Anglican lay woman, and since 2006, the Anglican Observer to the United Nations. Previous to her present position, she served as the United Nations’ Africa coordinator for the Millennium Development Goals. A native of Uganda, she worked as the National Women’s coordinator for the Anglican Church of Uganda and was responsible for developing national programs, fundraising, and managing a staff of 27. From 1997-2004, Wangusa was coordinator and one of the founding members of the African Women’s Economic Policy Network (AWEPON), a faith-based women’s organization in Africa that also coordinates the UN’s Millennium Campaign for Eastern Africa. On March 9, 2007, Wangusa was a keynote speaker at the TEAM (Toward Effective Anglican Mission) Conference in Boksburg, South Africa.

Additional Information about Hellen Wangusa:

Ms. Wangusa holds a Bachelor of Arts, Education Diploma, and a Master of Arts in Modern Letters. Her undergraduate studies were taken at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, where she worked as a teaching assistant, and later as a lecturer for the Literature Department. Wangusa is one of the founding members of Gender and Economic Research in Africa (GERA), and the Council for Economic Empowerment of Women in Africa (CEEWA). Along with AWEPON, she successfully reactivated two other organizations that had previously closed: The Joint Mother’s Union, and the Women’s Office in the Province of the Church of Uganda. In October, 2006, Wangusa accepted the call to be the next Anglican Observer at the United Nations, and officially took office on January 1, 2007. She is married with four children.

About Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School is a respected center of study and spiritual formation for lay and ordained leaders with a strong commitment to justice, compassion, and reconciliation. EDS, formed in 1974 with the merger of Philadelphia Divinity School (founded in 1857) and Episcopal Theological School (founded in 1867), offers doctor of ministry and master’s degrees, as well as certificates in theological studies. Located on an eight acre campus just a few blocks from Harvard Yard, EDS is a member of the Boston Theological Institute, a consortium of nine eminent theological schools, seminaries, and departments of religion.

Seminary Debt

SIM (Society for the Increase of the Ministry) reported in the autumn issue of their newsletter, The Call, that of the 42% of the class of 2008 reporting having debt, they estimate that they will graduate with an average MINIMUM indebtedness of $62,000.

By their own figures reported to SIM, their debt payments and debt service will come to about $12,000 per year against a medium income of $45,500 (26%).

SIM also reports that enrollments at our official seminaries continue to decrease. They report that the number of students in Master of Divinity Degree programs at Episcopal Seminaries has decreased 25% over the last three academic years.

(It should be noted, however, that seminaries are offering many different degrees, diplomas and certificates. SIM estimates that there are over 25 such academic credentials.)

Is it any wonder that today's seminarians who are in the ordination track are seeking more economical paths to education, training and formation? It's simply a matter of fiscal responsibility and good stewardship, which, I would think, we would want to encourage.

So, if your church has called a newly graduated seminarian, remember to be Very Generous at the Offertory at her/his Service of Ordination.

I'll close with a shameless pitch: Please do consider a contribution to SIM. I would not have been able to get through seminary without scholarships from them.

Society for the Increase of the Ministry
924 Farmington Avenue #100
West Hartford, CT 06107

Scripture according to Catz

From our friends at 'I Can Has Cheezburger'.

A few good priests

Over at HOB/D, I’ve been listening carefully to the discussion about EFM and seminary education and what makes a good priest. There has been much rich food for thought.

In the past week, I have lost three parishioners to cancer. There are three more who have a diagnosis of cancer who will probably take leave of their life on this earth within the next three to six months.

It’s a curious thing: in our Mutual Ministry Reviews, the one consistent place of high marks has been in pastoral care and leadership. Ironically, it’s the one place I often feel most inadequate.

Oh, not because of the quality of pastoral care I provide. That’s not it. It’s the balance of the pastoral care to the person and their families that must be balanced with all the administrative stuff that goes along with it, combined with the balance of the needs of my own heart and soul.

It’s a critically important balancing act which throws me off balance every time. I’ve gotten better over the past 22 years. I have developed check lists for myself and, more and more, I’m discovering that there are dedicated members of the laity who are eager to be trained to take on certain aspects of tending to pastoral, liturgical and administrative detail. It has helped enormously with my balancing act.

Still, there are things in life – the enterprise of being human, matters of the heart – which cannot be anticipated.

Allow me to give you a "slice of life" of a day in this particular priest's life.

Not long ago, I presided over the funeral of an 83 year old woman, a widow, who left six adult children to grieve her loss. It was an absolute nightmare. This family could win the award for “The Most Dysfunctional Family in the Universe.”

Two of the adult children are active alcoholics and came to the church reeking of vodka. The eldest sibling is from a previous marriage and the class differences alone were striking. Suddenly, there was a squabble among the siblings over the flowers. It was about 20 minutes before the start of the service.

I could see exactly where this was going, so I presented myself in the midst of them in the church foyer (before the entrance to the Narthex) and announced that I needed to see the family in the library. Now. Yes, 'now', now. This now. Right now. Yes, all the siblings. Yes, all of you. Now. Follow me, please.

We got into the library and for 5-7 minutes I gave them the “house rules,” firmly laying down expectations for behavior. I confronted the two who were drunk and sent them into the kitchen for some hot, strong coffee, after which they were to wash their face and hands, brush their teeth, comb their hair and proceed directly to the church where they were to quietly wait for the service to begin. I gave specific assignments to the four others and them ordered them into the church in 10 minutes.

They, to a person, stared at their shoes, mumbling or nodding their agreement. We said a prayer together and then they left the room.

We got through the rest of the service without incident, and it was a glorious celebration of their mother’s life, but that’s not exactly how I was taught to prepare myself spiritually for the careful attention to liturgical detail required of leadership. By the end of the reception, I was absolutely exhausted.

Still, there were administrative details to tend to, checking in with my staff, another pastoral call, supervision with my parochial supervisor (once a month, whether I think I need it or not), and, at 5:30, an appearance at a gala reception for the kick off to a community awareness campaign for Ovarian Cancer which will begin in September.

One of the founders of this movement is a member of my congregation who has been battling Ovarian Cancer for, as she will tell you, 10 years and 6 months. She was just told two weeks ago that “this is it.” The doctors have no more drugs in their arsenal. No experimental clinical drug trials she can be on. She has beat Ovarian Cancer, but the spread of other tumors to her lungs is too aggressive for them to stop.

Still, she’s fighting. When she made her entrance into the reception, she looked positively regal. The wig on her head may well have been her crown. The large, clumsy pressure boots she wore on both legs and feet might have been silver slippers. The two men on either arm might have been princes. The person wheeling the oxygen tank behind her might have been a lady in waiting, carrying the train of her cape.

She smiled at the rather large crowd, but when she saw me, she glowed. “There’s my priest,” I saw her lips move as she spoke to the two men at her arms, and began walking past her physicians and the director of research and toward me. I burst into tears – not exactly the image I have for the behavior a spiritual leader in that situation.

I could feel myself flush with embarrassment, but I couldn’t help myself. As she entered the room, the whole room simultaneously burst into applause and tears. She whispered in my ear, “It’s going to be okay. Our tears will make us strong.” Imagine!

No one prepared me for the emotional cost. No one teaches you about how you fall in love with your congregation, and how much it hurts when they die or are in pain or difficulty. I don’t know if any seminary can.

Indeed, my best ‘professors’ have been the people and families with whom I work who have taught me how to care for them. How to be fully present and transparent and emotionally honest with them so others can do that as well. How to tend to the enormous importance of self care (sometimes called ‘clergy wellness’ – a term which, for some reason unknown to me, is annoying).

I’m sure I don’t know how to be “a good parish priest”. Some days, I feel woefully inadequate to the task. I’m not certain there is one definition of “a good parish priest” – one ‘size fits all’ or even ‘most.’

I am deeply grateful for my seminary experience – 3 years residency in Cambridge (not the most expensive city in the world, but certainly not cheap) with six kids and a most beloved partner. I left those hallowed halls thousands of dollars in debt which took me over 10 years to pay off.

My first position paid so little I had to take a part time job in addition to it, just to make ends meet. My beloved also worked part time and managed the home front. Even so, we qualified for food stamps.

That, my friends, is not an unknown situation for many – especially women – today. That is, in my estimation, an obscenity for which the church should be deeply ashamed.

No one talks about how much families have to pay for seminary education. No one talks about the effect on the children. So, when COMs blithely say, "Oh, I think you need an additional year of Anglican Studies" with no companion offer to help them pay for it - OR, "You've had a lot of changes in the past 4 years. I think a year of therapy would be good for you" - without counting the additional cost of that therapy and, again, no way to help them pay for it, well, I go through the roof. It's institutional arrogance writ large.

Here’s what I know to be true:

The more I give away, the richer I become.

The more I empower and equip the laity for the ministry of the priesthood of all believers, the better priest I become.

That can’t be taught in seminary. Mentoring helps enormously – a huge flaw in our present system. Colleague groups and supervision have become essential.

But, without a vocation affirmed by the church and the grace of ordination accomplished by God’s will and the people’s consent, I simply could not get out of bed in the morning and face another day. I suspect I’d rather straighten jewelry at a department store or collect tolls on the NJ Turnpike.

Today is a new day – a day which the Lord has made. I awoke rejoicing and glad in it. And, I’ve put on my running shoes and pray with confidence that I will be able to keep up with everything God will put on my plate.

Is that an indication that I am a “good parish priest”? I’m sure I don’t know. And, while I can say that seminary AND EFM, AND mentoring, AND professional seminars and continuing education over the years AND my doctoral program have been an enormous asset to me and, I think, a benefit to the church, I only know that I am able to do what I do by grace alone.

Seriously!

Well, the Archbishop of Canterbury has written a Pentecost letter.

I'm trying to get my head wrapped around the ABC's request that every bishop come to Lambeth with a serious attitude about the Windsor Report in general and the development of an Anglican Covenant in particular.

The Windsor Report RECOMMENDATIONS have been broken more often by its supporters/proponents than its critics/opponents.

TEC did not make any promises we knew we couldn't keep. General Convention was force fed and agreed to B033; and while a few diocese have nominated GLBT candidates for bishop, thus far, we have kept our promise.

Gene Robinson, duly elected and consecrated bishop of NH, has not been invited to Lambeth.

The Primates of the Southern Cone, Nigeria and Uganda (and a few others I can't recall this very red hot second), have crossed borders with impunity in violation of the RECOMMENDATIONS of The Windsor Report.

So far, Canterbury has not only remained silent on these violations, the offending bishops have been invited to Lambeth.

I have not heard if the former TEC bishops who have been deposed have had their invitations rescinded by the ABC, but I tend to doubt it. And, two bishops whose dioceses have taken first steps to abandon the communion of TEC for another communion have announced their intention to honor their invitations and be present at Lambeth.

If the ABC is serious only about certain Windsor Report RECOMMENDATIONS, but not about others, why should anyone else take it seriously?

So, it comes as no surprise that there is little or no trust in this and many quadrants of the communion, especially for that which is proclaimed from Lambeth Palace.

When I have a family in counseling where trust has been jeopardized or damaged, I couldn't begin to imagine discussing any kind of 'covenant' until I am able to make an assessment of the nature and extent of the damage, find some strands of hope, and test out some strategies to begin to repair and rebuild trust.

To do otherwise is like unto suggesting to a couple whose marriage is in trouble that having a(nother) baby would solve their problems. Or, to a couple with profound differences that entering into a covenant of marriage would help them find common ground and live happily ever after.

Or, more pointedly, it would be like a doctor, listening to a patient complain of persistent pain prescribe morphine to treat the symptoms of the pain without doing any tests or assessments to treat the cause of the pain.

I honestly don't know if the eventual establishment of a Covenant would be a good or bad thing for the Anglican Communion. I certainly have my doubts. In any event, it is much, much too soon to tell. There is much too much preliminary ground work to be done.

If the ABC can't even invite an honestly gay bishop to a conference which has been "talking" about a "listening process" since 1988, while there will be in attendance closeted gay bishops, polygamous bishops, bishops who cross diocesan and provincial boundaries without regard for the Windsor RECOMMENDATIONS, bishops who are in open rebellion to the authority of their own Presiding Bishop because of her gender and "theology", and bishops who are, no doubt scoundrels of all sort and variety, how in the name of heaven can the ground be considered ready for the establishment of a Covenant?

Besides which, how can a Covenant be seriously discussed, much less seriously considered or entered into, with only 1/4 of the baptized orders of ministry (laity, deacons, priests, bishops) in attendance?

It's simply, seriously madness.

Pentecostal Sounds of Mother's Day

“Receive the Holy Spirit “(John 20:19-23)
The Day of Pentecost – May 11, 2008
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
(the Rev’d) Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

Pentecost. The celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The birthday of the church. It is a festive day in the liturgical cycle and in this moment in our lives
of faith.

Today is also Mother’s Day. A secular holiday, to be sure, but one born of the deeply religious and spiritual faith of Julia Ward Howe who called for the creation of this day in 1872 as the means for women to protest the carnage of the Civil War. The conception of this day was inspired by a passion for peace among all people – all nations – at all times.

Into this morning’s observance comes Jesus, preaching the gospel of forgiveness. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he is quoted as saying, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

I always find these strangely appropriate words for the Feast of Pentecost. Strange because these are the words spoken by a man who was betrayed by his own – who was scourged and mocked and tried by a court not of his peers.

These are the words of a man who suffered the humiliating death of a thief and a traitor: crucifixion. Crucifixion. A hideous and humiliating and monstrously painful death. And yet, listen to Him: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian message. It is the one necessary thing for there to be peace among people, among nations, and in the world. It is an impossible and often bitter pill to swallow.

So, I’m going to say it again: Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian message. It is not only, as our Calvinist-evangelical friends, like to remind us, about the forgiveness by God of our sins. Yes, it is this, but that’s an easy task for God; it is a much, much more difficult task for us to forgive ourselves.

Ultimately, it is about the forgiveness of the sins of others done unto us. And, even more impossibly, it is about the forgiveness of our sins done unto others which is impossible without the gift of the Resurrection of Jesus, the ultimate gift of Peace.

Let me tell you a Mother’s Day story that might help to explain this impossible mystery of the Holy Spirit for you.

As many of you have heard me say, my grandmother was a simple peasant girl, born in the rural area outside of Lisbon, the 15th child and only girl of 14 brothers. Hers was a hard life made impossible by the position of her status in life – the only daughter and youngest child of 14 sons and a man who was widowed in the prime of life.

She knew her lot in life and she did the impossible for a young woman of her age and time and status – she refused to accept it. Instead, she chose for herself an impossible path, a path beyond her imagining, a path of the fullest liberation of her human spirit which she believed with all her heart was what Jesus wanted for her.

My grandmother came to this country alone at age 14, with no money in her pocket and just the clothes on her back, a few possessions in her carpet luggage and the guitara left to her by her grandmother.

This is it. This is her guitara. I used to play it once, a long time ago. The strings are long gone. There are cracks in the wood and a piece of the backside is missing.
Still, it sings to me. The guitara has a unique sound – part mandolin, part violin. It always sounded to me like tears – like a woman crying. My grandmother’s guitara sings to me of the Spirit known to those at the moment of Pentecost.

I remember being in my grandmother’s parlor, sitting at her feet, listening to her sing fado. Now, you must understand how revolutionary a thing this was. Fado in Portuguese means ‘fate', and in this music, people experience things in the extremes.

When you’re in love, you’re very, very in love, When you’re sad, you are really, really miserable.

In fado, every emotion is very intense. It is bluesy and jazzy and folksy, but with all the high drama known to the upper echelons of operatic genius.

Fado is thought by many to be the music of colonialism, but in its purest essence, it is poetry. It came to Portugal via sailors sailing the triangle of Portugal, Africa and Brazil. They brought back African slaves who had a dance called fado which was then banned for being too erotic. So, they started singing.

Fado expresses what is called ‘saudade’ – when you cry for something. It is that cry that comes from the empty place in your soul, the place that has been emptied out by your tears and is yearning, longing, crying out to be filled again. That is saudade.

Originally, it belonged to the working classes, to a mix of people, races and cultures. In Coimbra, the location of one of the oldest university in Europe, Fado remains an art form forbidden for women to employ. Only men can sing it in its classical forms.

So, understand, please, that for my grandmother to sing fado, to sing of fate and destiny, the classical definition and sole propriety of men, was, well, something very near blasphemy. My grandfather could never stay in the room while she sang it, but I know he sat outside the open parlor window, listening to every single illegal note.

Still, she sang. She sang while she played her guitara which has a sound like tears, weeping to fill our longing souls with the sounds and vibrations that came from the middle of the middle of creation.

When I hear the sound of fado I hear the sound of the Holy Spirit. I hear the sound fate, the sound of the guitara, the sound of the words spoken by Jesus at the gift of the Holy Spirit: , “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Jesus was a man who had accepted his destiny and was offering forgiveness to all who could stand to take this precious gift.

Fado in Portuguese may mean fate, but it sounds to me more like the forgiveness that lies at the heart of the gospel and the experience of Pentecost. It is the submission to one’s destiny, a resignation, the mixture of yearning and sadness that is part of the complexity of forgiveness.

It is an impossible burden, this forgiveness, for us to bear alone. Which is why Jesus, in his great generosity, gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who will lead us to all Truth.

Some of us are sitting here, on this Mother’s Day, as mothers who are sorely in need of forgiveness. Others of us are sorely in need of forgiving our Mothers. It is a bittersweet fate, this call on this day.

The sound of the Holy Spirit on this Mother’s Day is, for us, the sound of the guitara, the sound of a woman weeping her fate – of having been betrayed, but still being asked to forgive. Of having been mistreated or misunderstood, and still being exonerated. Of having been abused, but still being asked to absolve. It is the sound of forgiveness and redemption, salvation and the peace of God which passes all human understanding.

My grandmother insisted that I have this guitara, the symbol of both her heritage and her freedom, as a gift to me when I left my home to be with Barbara and our children to make a new family.

It was, I am convinced, her way of forgiving me the blasphemy of what was to her as strange a new life as her new life in this country was to her fathers and brothers in Portugal This guitara is, for me, a sign and symbol of the radical forgiveness available to us in the Holy Spirit. For me, this guitara is an mage of Pentecost.

It is the gift of the fado – the acceptance of one’s vocation – sometimes known as one’s fate or destiny. It is the gift of the sound of a woman weeping the tears of forgiveness so that she might know acceptance and move on to follow the irresistible sound of life calling to life.

It is the pathway to the peace of God, which passes all understanding. It is the sound of the forgiveness asked of us by Jesus is his own personal lament, his own fado: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

For me, the Pentecostal spirit of Jesus is encapsulated in this fado entitled ‘Tell Me Why.” I remember my grandmother singing it, and delighted to once hear it sung by opera diva, Beverly Sills. I will make of it a Pentecost fado for you.

(Sung) Time has come for me to leave you.
Tis the moment for goodbye.
Ah my sweet, we have to part now.
Please brush your tears from those dear eyes.
We have shared so much together.

T'is not the end but a new start.
Ah, my dear, I’ll always love you.
You'll be forever in my heart.
Ah, my dear, I'll always love you.
You'll be forever in my heart.

Amen.

United Methodist General Conference: Got IRD?

Note: If you had any doubt about the activities of the IRD in mainline Protestant churches, doubt no more.

Still have questions? If you haven't already, check out Jim Naughton's classic piece, "Following the Money" here

Word from Winkler
Robert's Rules and holy conferencing

By Jim Winkler,
General Secretary,
General Board of Church & Society
United Methodist Church

General Conference, top policy-making body of The United Methodist Church, is over — and not a moment too soon. Ten straight days is simply too long. We have to find a way to dramatically shorten the conference. Exhaustion began to set in after a few days, although I was pleased about the positive attitude most people maintained throughout.

General Conference is a constant round of meetings, plenaries, legislative sessions and events. For me, personally, in spite of the fatigue created by 18-20 hour days I found the conference to be spiritually enriching. This was not only due to the uplifting worship experiences, but because I had the opportunity to fellowship with old friends, make new friends and deepen a number of relationships.

Most of the petitions placed before the conference by the General Board of Church & Society were adopted. Our directors and staff worked hard for more than a year and a half to produce policy statements on crucial social concerns for the delegates to consider. I believe the high quality of the board’s work was recognized by the fact the overwhelming majority of the petitions were accepted.

The General Conference adopted a strong statement calling for immediate withdrawal of U.S. and coalition forces from the tragic war in Iraq. A rally and press conference in support of the rights of immigrants were held, and General Conference passed a very good statement on behalf of immigration reform. Many other important social concerns were addressed including a call for a moratorium on the death penalty in Texas.

The manipulation of delegates, in particular those from Africa, was quite brazen. A letter from the “Reform and Renewal” coalition was distributed at the beginning of General Conference informing them free cell phones would be given to them. The same letter included voting suggestions for Judicial Council candidates.

A U.S. pastor and former missionary personally witnessed a coalition representative instruct Central Conference delegates to vote against the “Worldwide Nature of the Church” report. The same representative then took credit he did not deserve for obtaining funding for theological education in Africa.

I watched a staff person of the “Reform and Renewal” coalition sending text messages to African delegates during a legislative committee session. The activity was so blatant marshals requested the cell phone be put away.

Let’s be clear: Not only did certain organizations and individuals manipulate many African delegates, but many of those delegates willingly permitted themselves to be manipulated. They accepted gifts apparently without considering the ethical consequences. This is improper.

Once again, a reasonable compromise regarding human sexuality worked out painstakingly in committee was ignored by a minority of that legislative committee. This minority took an alternative report to the full General Conference, which adopted it.

Ironically, the General Conference refuses to admit that differences exist in the church concerning homosexuality. The proponents of that minority report insist it is necessary that the church denounce gay, lesbian and transgendered people. Eventually, I believe a younger generation will emerge at General Conference and will change our denomination’s stance.

A lot of focus was on the need for holy conferencing. I think that did help. It’s hard to have holy conferencing, though, when using Robert’s Rules of Order. Parliamentary procedure does not lend itself well to honest, Christian conversation.

Every four years, representatives from across our denomination gather to chart a course for the church. This year’s General Conference theme was “A Future with Hope.”

I believe in that future.

Date: 5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM
©2005-2008

A Special Mother's Day Treat: A Cris WIlliamson Retrospective

The Great Mad One wrote the other day and suggested that I develop a "Lesbian Grandmother's Day" Card.

I think that's positively brilliant. I'm going to work on that for next year.

For now, I'm sending this on as a gift to all lesbian and feminists "of a certain age" - especially those who are grandmothers. Many of our kids grew up listening to Cris Williamson.

This is a wonderful retrospective of her music and those 'bad old days' when singing "Song of the Soul" or listening to "Sweet Woman" was what kept us keeping on. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Mia!

Today is the nativity of our youngest daughter, Mia.

Born three weeks early on Mother's Day, she has been a joy to our hearts when she's not been a source of challenge to our expectations for her life.

It began with her birth. Ms. Conroy and I had a deal: If this child was born with dark hair, she would be named 'Maria" after my grandmother who had just died. If she was born with light hair, she would be named 'Hannah' because Ms. Conroy was very much into Biblical names, but this one held special magic for her because "Hannah" is a palindrome - a word (or sentence) that reads the same backwards or forwards. (Her favorite palendrome sentence is 'Women Understand Men; Few Men Understand Women'.)

Mia was born with a full head of jet black hair - which all fell out at age 6 weeks and grew back in sandy blond with glorious golden highlights.

She was also a peanut when she was born - six pounds two ounces - so we joked that she was too tiny even for the fullness of her name. She was baptized Maria, but soon became "Mia." Because she 'squeaked' before she ever really let out a good cry, her family name of endearment soon became "Mousie."

She began using single words at seven months old ("Mama"), and by the time she was nine months old, she was talking in full sentences ("I want Mama"), but she didn't walk until she was 18 months old. She didn't have to. As the youngest of six, with another six foster kids hanging about, all she had to do to get from here to there was to lift up her hands, twinkle her eyes, smile coyly and say, "Up!" Someone would be right there in half a heartbeat.

Once she started walking on her own, however, she always chose her own path. She was off to college at age 16 (Simon's Rock, College of Bard) and earned an Associate's Degree in Childhood Psychology at age 18 and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Bard and another in Childhood Psychology from Simon's Rock at age 20.

At age 25, she earned a Master's Degree in Elementary Education and an International Certificate as a Montessori Educator,but does not have her High School Diploma.

She is currently developing her artistic self through photography and acrylic paint and, most recently, through pottery. She's really good, and that's not just a mother's pride talking. Okay, so maybe just a little bit, but she's THAT good. Honest.

It's a joy to watch her continually open and unfold to deeper awarenesses of her self.

She is wise beyond her years and her humor tends to be just a tad offbeat but her giggle still comes from the middle of the middle of her middle wherein lies the deepest truths she knows about herself and the world and God.

Happy Birthday, Mousie. We love you. Whatever would we do without you in our lives?

Mother's Day for Peace

As you remember your mother tomorrow, remember also the Mother of this day, Julia Ward Howe in 1870, and work for peace.

My dear brother, Peter . . .

I have just read the article about your latest roar: "Anglican Church Bans Polygamy."

With this declaration, I believe you have finally earned the distinction of being the one Anglican primate, if not the one man on earth, who is "More Religious Than God."

Congratulations.

Which, of course, begs the question of whether or not God is religious. Or, is God spiritual? We know that Jesus had a particular disdain for the religion of his day, but his mother, Mary, certainly knew Torah and was a devoutly religious girl. And, the Holy Spirit, well, "blows where it wills."

Hmm . . . I don't know. It's a mystery to me.

I guess the point is that You are Religious. Very Religious. In fact, you claim to have a "prophetic call to a return to Biblical truth."

Whew! That's large, Peter. Huge, in fact. God bless you and good luck with that.

But, I wonder, Peter, if you've thought this thing through.

It's pretty clear that, even though you're not going to attend Lambeth (don't want to get cooties from those American bishops who laid hands on Gene Robinson), you want to remain scrupulously clear about your "prophetic call."

No poofters and no polygamists for you. Got it.

Except, we'll, I don't know how to tell you this. I mean, you haven't said that your word is infallible - Yet - but it is only a matter of time. Let me give it a go anyway.

Here's the thing: Being LGBT and being a polygamist are not the same thing. You're talking apples and spaghetti here, pal.

Being a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person is a sexual orientation that is a complex result of biology, psychology, sociology and cultural anthropology. It has to do with DNA and identity, intimacy and trust, as well as the I and thou, the 'Ubuntu' of being in community.

I wish I could explain it to you as simply as black and white, up and down, purity and sin, but the human enterprise has never fit into easy categories which can be labeled and safely boxed on the shelf.

Polygamy, on the other hand, is much more simple to define. I can get to the bottom line for you relatively quickly. It has to do with misogyny. Period.

Oh, wait. I will probably have to explain misogyny to you, won't I? It's not a word that translates well from my cultural experience to yours.

Misogyny means, simply, a hatred of women. Right. You don't hate women. Of course you don't. Why, you've even taken one as your wife. I know.

See, we're getting all tangled up in our cultural differences again.

In my culture, polygamy is wrong not just because of the scriptural warrants against it, but because, like slavery, it does not respect the dignity of the humanity of women. Women can't be "owned" like cattle or slaves - even by well meaning men who want to save her from certain poverty.

The Biblical Truth here, Peter, if you'll allow a mere woman to speak in such a bold manner, is pretty clear: We are to follow the example of Jesus who lived and died for the full liberation of the human spirit.

You can't follow the commandment of Jesus to "love one another as I have loved you" and then "own" another person.

That means that you can't ban polygamy without pledging to work to change the social system which brought it into being in the first place.

Furthermore, it is cruel in the main to ban polygamy without the Anglican Church in Nigeria putting into place some agency, some organization, to care for the "extra wives."

See? There are some things that cross cultural differences. It's not just about "Truth" - it's about Biblical truth with Biblical justice and Biblical mercy.

It's about understanding the "Truth" of the ancient texts and listening for the fluttering of the wings of the Holy Spirit as she moves over sacred words and reveals how they are to be applied for us in our time and in our day.

That's what generations of Christians have done throughout the ages, Peter. It's not an easy task - truth by blatant assertion is a much easier row to hoe - but I have no doubt that you are up to the work.

I'll miss seeing you in Canterbury, Peter. I remember talking with you there 10 years ago. Remember me? We were standing near one of the ATM machines on campus. Most of your brothers were simply giddy with the modern innovation of what one of them called The Magic Money Wall.

"Look," he said, "You put a plastic card in and money comes out! What an amazing country this is!" We all applauded and gave thanks and glory to God for inspiring the intellect of humankind.

I was the one you asked to define 'lesbian'. You were confused by the term because in your mind, 'intercourse' had a very clear definition involving the specific activity of the external genitalia of a man and a woman.

Not to worry. A former President of this country believed the same thing.

I'll never forget the look on your face as you earnestly asked me, "But, how can this be? How can there be a 'lesbian' when there is no penis?" you asked.

Ah, you've come a long way since then, haven't you baby?

Then again, maybe not so much.

Tell you what: I'll pray for you and you pray for me, and whoever gets to heaven first will make sure to put in a good word with the 'other' Big Pete. You know. The one who guards the Pearly Gates.

I'm sure he'll be very interested to know what his namesake was up to during time your on earth. And, I have no doubt that you'll delight to be able to tell him.

Blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

Doug helps us get ready

I OWE MY MOTHER


1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. 'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION. 'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. 'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC. 'Because I said so, thatʼs why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. 'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. 'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY 'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. 'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM. 'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA. 'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. 'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. 'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. 'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. 'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY. 'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION. 'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. 'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. 'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP. 'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR. 'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. 'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS. 'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS. 'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM. 'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE. 'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!'

Note: Of course, I never heard my mother say anything like this to me, and I certainly never said anything like this to any of our children.

No, my mother didn't teach me to lie. She taught me A Mother's Methodology of Family Survival:

Truth by blatant assertion.

Batter up!

Friday night, May 30th is St. Paul's (Chatham) Night at Newark Bears Stadium.

Our choir will sing the National Anthem and the Rector will throw out the first pitch. (Yes, way!)

Tickets are only $10 and proceeds benefit the Music Program at St. Paul's, Chatham. This promises to be a fun night for everyone - young and old, sports enthusiast or coach potato.

To reserve your seat, please call the church office: 973 635 8085.

"Root, root, root for the Home Team! If they don't win it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ball game."

Methodist Protest

Well, the Methodists have voted to uphold its exclusionary policies by a (relatively) narrow margin.

This is a video of the protest that was staged as a response to that vote.

I'm not a big fan of Methodist liturgical sensibilities, but I gotta tell ya, this is a very effective, emotional protest.

At the end of the clip, the moderator announces that twelve of their bishops had agreed to meet with twelve of the protesters to continue the dialogue and work toward reconciliation.

The music team features the leadership of the brilliant, fabulously talented Mark Miller, Professor of Liturgical Music at Drew and that amazing voice is DeLyn Celec, an M.Div graduate of Drew and a former student of mine.

Yup. You guessed it. Both gay. Indeed, DeLyn was just "discontinued" in the ordination process because she entered into a Civil Union last October.

I know. Ironies abound.

It was ever thus.

Lace Award - Susan Russell Tribute

Finally! And, not a minute too soon!

Our Susan, AKA, "The Evil Lesbian High Priestest of Bling" finally gets the recognition she obviously deserves.

A tip of the tiarra to our girl!

The Doctor Is In The House

The following is a slightly edited version of a post on HOB/D by Dr. Gordon Gritter, a board certified and distinguished psychiatrist and long-time deputy to General Convention (the names have been omitted to protect the guilty). Dr. Gritter and I have worked together on Committee #10, Urban and Social Concerns.

I found it a very helpful explanation of the hostile jeering that I sometimes read on HOB/D and, most frequently, in the posts and comment section of some of my ‘favorite’ neo-orthodox, evangelical, neo-Puritan Blogs.

I’ve often referred to them as “The Bullies.” Gordon’s post describes their behavior as “hostile jeering.”

Dr. Gritter also reminds me that the classic definition of depression has to do with suppressed or repressed anger. People who struggle with depression often display (you should excuse the expression) an undercurrent of hostility, sometimes manifested as bickering, sarcastic humor, hopelessness, rigid system of belief, suspicion of those in authority, high expectations and sharp, often unwarranted criticism of self and others.

This isn’t about ‘armchair psychology’. This is about trying to understand those who have such an intense need to demonize me and other LGBT people and our liberal and progressive allies.

There may yet be a way for me to comprehend the dynamic of evangelical zeal and the often intense hostility that characteristically accompanies any resistance to conformity to their beliefs. If I can understand it, perhaps there is a way that I can be more obedient to Jesus’ command to love my enemies.

For I have been persuaded that loving ones enemies is the only pathway to peace.

Here’s Dr. Gritter’s post, which he has generously given me permission to reproduce "anywhere you think it might help". Tell me what you think.

There are some on the HOB/D Listserv who seem to delight in hostile jeering. Their behavior on this list repeatedly earns them indignation and angry responses, which is then turned into more jeering.

Perhaps it is time to comment on the characteristics of hostile jeering.

1) It is a universal experience. All of us can readily recall such experience during childhood and sometimes later. The obvious intent of such behavior is to produce embarrassment, humiliation, and intimidation for the victim, and thus conformity, power, and status for those who jeer. It is often very effective, as we all know. We also know that it is often very abusive. Furthermore, although it often does produce behavioral conformity, it also produces anger and retaliation.

2) Hostile jeering is disapproved by parents and teachers because of its abusive and inflammatory characteristics. Thus, most of us, as adults, learn to avoid such behavior.

3) As can be readily recognized in current political campaigns, hostile jeering elicits observations such as: “Now it’s getting ugly !” There is widespread recognition that such ugliness produces no good results, and it distorts the necessary and appropriate processes.

4) Historically, it has long been known that hostile jeering can escalate into irrational individual and mob behavior, riots, and lynching. The Gospels and The Acts of the Apostles contain vivid examples. E.g.: Pilate, as a Roman administrator, was quite correct in recognizing that the crowd which was jeering at “The King of the Jews” could very easily get out of control, with disastrous results. Paul’s experience was similar, and so is ours up to today.

In our present situation in TEC and WWAC there is, of course, plenty of room for honest criticism and disagreement, but the jeering behavior toward Archbishop Williams, Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori, Bishop Robinson, and many of the rest of us, seems often inappropriate, offensive, and unacceptable on this list.

What kind of example are these Christian leaders setting for their own people? Is what we see here on HOB/D contributing to the appalling behavior of some people on the blogs, which is infinitely worse than that which appears on HOB/D?

Perhaps it is time for us to insist that hostile jeering is juvenile, insulting, unproductive, and unChristian. Always. Every time.

Someone give the Doctor an "AMEN!"

The Empire Strikes Barack

Brilliant satire from Jib Jab

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BARACK | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Allergies!

Mine are absolutely raging. My head feels like it is stuffed with cotton. My nose is dripping like a faucet. If I'm not careful, I just might scratch out my eyes.

I can't imagine what I would feel like without my allergy medicine.

Carry on, and pass the tissues, please.

Ascension Sunday

“ . . . and I have been glorified in them.” John 17:1-11
VII Easter – May 4, 2008
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
(the Rev’d) Elizabeth Kaeton, rector and pastor

One of my dearest friends in the whole world is Ed Bacon. Ed is the rector of The Episcopal Church of All Saints’ in Pasadena, CA, and, if there were records of such distinction, could easily and certifiably be one of the silliest priests in all of Western Christendom. He’s also deeply spiritual and one heck of a preacher.

Ed is affectionately known as “the Big White Guy.” He’s from Mississippi and, if that weren’t enough, he is a former Baptist preacher. So, you will not be surprised to hear me say that one of Ed’s favorite sayings, when something has inspired him, is to put his hands up in the air and say, “Oh Lord, I do believe I’m having a glory attack.” Or, at other times, he will simply yell, “Glory! Glory! Glory!”

The Hebrew word for glory is complex, there being more than 20 variations of definition or meaning. In John’s Gospel, when Jesus is talking about God having been glorified, he is clearly speaking about his crucifixion and resurrection – about an act of violence and injustice being redeemed and transformed into a vehicle of salvation. And here, on this Sunday after the Feast of the Ascension, we hear God being glorified in Jesus ascending into heaven.

An ancient theologian of the church was a man named Irenaeus, who was bishop of Lyons in the 177. One of his often quoted saying was this: “The glory of God is humankind fully human.” This is the way I prefer to consider the glory of God.

I like to think of the glory of God as the ascension of the human spirit in Christ Jesus. Like Christmas and Easter moments, there are ascension moments. These ascension moment can sometimes be seen in the revelation of a thought or an idea, the firing of a passion for justice, the employment of religious imagination. I believe this is what my friend Ed Bacon means when he talks bout having a glory attack.

For me, the glory of God also has to do with moments in time when we mere humans have our own moments of earthly ascension. These are often acts of simple kindness, breathtaking gentleness, and deep generosity and gratitude which are uncomplicated by expectation of reciprocity or reimbursement.

These acts are often anonymous that may never be spoken of and are rarely noted in historical texts. Yet, I do believe they are written deep in the heart and memory of God. These moments of ascension of the human spirit are God’s greatest glory.

Yesterday, Barbara and I were in Boston for the blessing of the marriage of two very dear friends of ours. Sheri Barden and Lois Johnson are two women who have lived together for 44 years. Yes. You heard me correctly. That was 44 years.

Lois is 78. Sheri is 69. Barbara and I first met them in 1977 when, as strangers, they took us into their home and offered us love and support and legal assistance as we entered into a crucifiyingly painful time of establishing ourselves as individuals and as a family.

They were legally married on March 27 in Boston where such marriage is legal. They are now able to enter into what some euphemistically call “the golden years” with a sense of peace of mind that, at least legally, everything they have worked hard for all their lives will be protected to the fullest extent of the law, just as it does for everyone else.

Like so many ordinary citizens, they don’t want anything special – just access to the same legal protection under the law as every other ordinary citizen enjoys.

But, being who they are, they wanted a bit more. The Civil Ceremony was important, of course, but they asked Barbara and I to come up to Boston and asked specifically for me to bless the covenant of their relationship. It was a very deep honor, one that I was delighted to have been able to perform.

There was a moment, however, that for me, was a moment wherein the glory of God was revealed in the ascension of our humanity. Sheri is Methodist and Lois is a Christian Scientist. While neither are especially religious, both are deeply spiritual. We held the service in the living room of our mutual friend, Penny – a devoutly religious and deeply spiritual Greek Orthodox who is actively engaged in her church, serving as Treasurer.

We chose that place because it is sacred ground for us all, being the place where Nancy, Penny’s partner of 32 years died 11 years ago of breast cancer. Nancy was also a devout Jew – my very own Jewish Godmother. Oh, the stories I could tell you about this unlikely couple of the Jewish Kevetch and the Greek Orthodox scholar. Another time.

It was just the five of us – two Episcopalians, a Methodist, a Christian Scientist, and a Greek Orthodox woman gathered around in front of the fireplace in an elegant old Queen Anne-style house in Jamaica Plane section of Boston.

After the scriptures were read, the vows taken, the rings blessed, and everyone lavishly sprinkled with Holy Water as well as tears of joy, it was Lois, the intellectual in the group, the Christian Scientist with the pristine logical mind, who began to weep and call out her abiding love and gratitude to all the saints who had led them to this moment.

She looked up to heaven and around the room and, as her voice cracked with emotion, thanked her parents for loving her unconditionally. She thanked her stoic Sweedish aunts who never spoke of their confusion over her choice in a life partner, but loved both she and Sheri anyway.

She thanked all those who had come before us, who had paved the way for justice to be served. She prayed for all those for whom justice is delayed and therefore, denied. And she prayed for those who will not live to see justice in their lives.

When she completed her prayer, there was an unmistakable glow in the room. As my friend Ed Bacon would say, we had just had just been swept up in glory attack. I found myself whispering, “Glory, glory, glory.”

You may have spent last Thursday without having given one thought to the Ascension of Jesus. You may have come into church this morning unaware that we are celebrating the Sunday after the Ascension. It’s not quite the red letter day it used to be on the Christian calendar. Never mind all that.

If you pay attention to your own life, however, you will discover your own ascension moments – times when you are surprised by the revelation of the glory of God in the ascension of the human spirit from things earthly to things heavenly. It is a moment of fulfillment, of justice, of supreme human kindness and generosity and gratitude, uncomplicated by a need or desire for reciprocity.

It is in those ascension moments that God is glorified in the Christ who lives in me and the Christ who lives in you. It is a moment when you might find yourself whispering, “Glory, glory, glory.” Because Irenaeus had it right, all those many centuries ago, “The glory of God is humankind fully human.” Amen.

Original Blessing

I’ve been in Boston this weekend to bless the civil marriage of my dear friends Sheri and Lois. They’ve been together 44 years.

Yes, you read that correctly. Forty-four years.

They were (finally) married by a friend who is a Justice of the Peace on the 27th of March in a civil ceremony in Boston where they have lived for the past 40 years in a lovely five story brownstone in the South End.

Lois is 78 years old. Sheri 69 years old. In many ways, both women are ageless because the love they share is timeless. It knows no bounds. It has endured all things, believed in all things, hoped in all things, rejoiced in all things,

I first met them in February of 1977. Ms. Conroy and I had left her two children in the care of her former husband and had taken my two children and “run away from home” to Maine. Two months later, the children were kidnapped by my former husband.

We were scared. No, make that terrified.

I know this is going to be hard for some of you of a certain age to understand or even believe, but I swear this is true:

In 1977, it was the rare women who could obtain a line of credit without a man – her husband or father – as a co-signer. Indeed, in 1981, when I spoke with my attorney about legally changing my last name, the law in Maine required that I have my former husband’s ‘permission’ – even though I had, at that point, been legally divorced from him for 4 years.

Furthermore, we didn’t know any other lesbian women. For all we knew, we were the only two in the entire world – at least, lesbian women who were like us.

We certainly knew that we were not what our nursing books described as lesbian women: aggressive, terminally angry, pathologically ill women with gender role confusion who were pathetic and perverted creatures in need of life-long psychiatric care – if not a prefrontal lobotomy.

The church didn’t paint a rosier picture or offer even a modicum of hope. We were sinners beyond the redemption of God, who offended the Sacred Heart of Jesus and committed an unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit.

So, there we were, two women alone in northern Maine who had just started low-paying jobs as nurses, abandoned by our families, desperately missing our children and even more desperately in need of affordable legal assistance. We were motherless children and mothers without children.

Perhaps now you understand the reason for our terror.

Into our lives came Sheri and Lois. I had found an advertisement in the back pages of an old Ms. Magazine for D.O.B. = Daughters of Bilitis. We had never heard of this organization, much less knew the location or significance of Bilitis. I only knew what it said in their advertisement: that it was an organization for lesbians. There was no phone number listed, just a P.O. Box in Boston.

I sat down and wrote a three page letter, pouring out my heart and soul, asking for advice and counsel - and help. Within two weeks, my phone rang. It was Sheri, inviting us to Boston to stay with her and her partner and to set us up with an appointment with a lawyer who was experienced in defending lesbian custody cases.

The next week, Ms. Conroy and I headed down to Boston to stay with a woman and her partner who said they were lesbians. We had never met any other lesbians. We had no idea what to expect. Our internalized homophobia only added to our terror.

Sheri and Lois opened their home and their hearts to us. They listened to our stories which broke their hearts and they wept with us. They understood our terror and helped us transform that energy to the courage and strength we needed to face the challenges ahead. They told us stories about other lesbian women who were beginning to fight the system and winning custody of their children.

They gave us hope. They introduced us to other lesbian women who became our role models. Their stories were profiles of courageous, brave, bold women whose beauty shone in their passion to end the oppression and prejudice they earned as women who dared to speak honestly and openly of their love for another women.

And, they loved us. They loved us as sisters of the same Spirit of Incarnate Love. They loved us as mothers of the same God of Creation. They loved us unconditionally, steadfastly, faithfully. Those whom they have helped over the years are legion.

The blessing they received from God for their love blessed them to be a blessing for others. So, to bless their civil marriage was simply to acknowledge what was already there – God’s unconditional, faithful, abiding love made manifest in their love for each other and their love and service to so many others of God’s creation.

In a sense, the service was a blessing of the original blessing of their love.

We gathered in the living room of our dear friend Penny whose partner of 32 years, Nancy, had died of breast cancer 11 years ago. It was sacred ground for all of us.

We read the story of Ruth and Naomi. Sheri and Lois read poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Rumi. Their vows, taken from the New Zealand Prayer Book, were these:

I take you to be my partner in life.
All that I have I offer you;
what you have to give I gladly receive;
wherever you go I will go.
You are my love.
God keep me true to you always
and you to me.

Together, we prayed: Jesus, do for Sheri and Lois as you did in Cana of Galilee. Take the old water, their busy individual lives and turn them into gospel wine. Amen.

It was all pretty simple and simply beautiful. We celebrated with a fabulous banquet of Indian food, and then feasted on homemade Greek pastries and hot tea. Soon, too soon, we had to get back into the car and head back home to New Jersey.

It's always amazing to me that there are those who find marriage between same sex couples a sign of cultural and moral decay and these services of blessing "a threat to the sanctity of marriage."

All I see is the exercise of a constitutional civil right and an acknowledgment of the discernment of God's presence in this relationship and covenant.

I give thanks this night for Sheri and Lois and ask you to say a wee prayer for them - for the gift of their love and the gift of love and hope and faith they have shared so lavishly with so many others.

"And now faith, hope and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."

"Impenetrability! That's what I say!"

Everyone who knows George Conger, an Episcopal Priest and religious journalist, knows that he is a man with a mission to assist the spread of the neo-orthodox gospel.

His writing, therefore, is hardly without a particular perspective and prejudice. I appreciate and respect that about George's work. His has been an important voice, one that has been listened to by many on both sides of the aisle.

Somewhere in the last few months Conger has crossed the line. He is clearly writing more and more from the fringe of the Religious Right. It was he who, after the last House of Bishop's meeting in which they formally deposed three bishops who had already left The Episcopal Church for greener 'orthodox' pastures and sheep, led the dubious claim that the canonical process was invalid because there was not a quorum.

I don't mind that. It's important to raise questions. Truth be told, the canons regarding the deposition of bishops in particular and many of the canons in general, need to be revisited and revised and clarified, especially with regard to the new technological advantages available to us.

Until such time as the canons are revised, it is business as usual: We rely, as we always have, on the Chancellor to interpret and the Presiding Bishop to apply the canons to the very best of their ability. (Please read again the statement from the Presiding Bishop.)

What I did mind was the shrillness of Conger's . . . "report". You can read it here. As my Grandmother would say, it has "tone." The article clearly plays to the confusing wording of the canons to try to gain political advantage.

Which, on the one had, made no sense. I mean, the deposed bishops themselves were not crying 'foul'. They all admitted that they had "walked away" from TEC.

No, there was clearly another agenda in Conger's writing. We began to see it unfold like a Spring flower that had mutated after a long, cold winter in the hard, frozen ground.

Just this week, the Presiding Bishop issued a statement about the process of the depositions of the bishops. You can read it below where I have posted it. It is her usual clear, level headed, non-anxious, self-differentiated, gracious writing - which drives the neo-orthodox right round the bend.

It's bad enough that she's a woman in authority. It's worse that she is the canonical authority over them. It makes 'em absolutely crazy that she is smarter than most of them, and without being either arrogant or condescending, is self-possessed, confident and does not rely on them to define her or the sacred work to which she has been called.

Conger was ready for her. Immediately after the release of her statement, this article appeared in TLC online.

It is a report about nothing except the specious speculation and posturing of the disgruntled.

There is a . . . "memo" . . .which has been prepared by . . . "an attorney" . . . which claims that Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori demonstrated a “willful violation of the canons, an intention to repeat the violations, and a pattern of concealment and lack of candor” in her handling of the cases of bishops Robert W. Duncan, John-David Schofield and William Cox, and that she “subverted” the “fundamental polity” of The Episcopal Church in the matter of the Diocese of San Joaquin."

The article ends with this: "The authors of the legal memorandum were not optimistic the current legal and political environment within the church would be conducive for a conviction. The Title IV committee could issue a presentment, it could decline to issue a presentment and “produce a rationale that is persuasive to most objective observers,” or it could “decline to issue a presentment on grounds that are not persuasive and serve only to discredit the Review Committee and the process as well as the respondent,” it said.

This third outcome is “highly likely,” the paper concluded, but it noted the effort should nonetheless be made to hold the institution “accountable.”

Right. "Holding the institution 'accountable'". That's what they're doing. Of course. There is no basis for this complaint except a pathetic need for some to reassert their testosterone levels and, as George H.W. Bush once said before a debate with Geraldine Ferraro, "Kick some butt tonight."

It's called bravado: 1 a: blustering swaggering conduct b: a pretense of bravery 2: the quality or state of being foolhardy

Actually, it's scurrilous! What the neo-orthodox, neo-puritan, evangelicals are hoping for is some kind of "traction" from this on the international front. It won't happen, of course, the real agenda of this action being painfully obvious to anyone who has eyes to see.

This is a pathetic attempt to set up a smoke screen to try and conceal their blatant disregard for the canons of this church and the hideous disrespect for the authority of "that woman" - the Most Rev'd Katharine Jefferts Schori.

The smoke will dissipate soon enough and no real damage will have been done to either our Presiding Bishop or The Episcopal Church.

What it will achieve, as is painfully obvious from the torrent of anger and hate left in the comment section of the neo-orthodox blogs, is to continue to whip up support in the ranks. So be it.

The only real damage is that which the neo-orthodox will bring upon themselves. I continually marvel at the variety of ways in which they can shoot themselves in their own feet and blame everyone else because they're limping.

Shame on you, George Conger. You're a better journalist than that. Shame on you, the editorial board of The Living Church, for actually running an article built on innuendo and speculation. This "news" has been constructed with so many holes shot through it that it begins to challenge the ethics of journalism.

Shame on all of you who participate in this charade who claim to be Christian.

But, I'll let Humpty Dumpty have the last word:

"I don't know what you mean by 'eggs,' "Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'"

"But `eggs' doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice objected.

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less.

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all."

Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again.

"They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs, they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That's what I say!"

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Kim Robey at the National Episcopal Church Center found this. She writes: This was a prayer that the Committee on the Status of Women felt it was important to have written and distributed widely across the church. Morehouse was going to print it in 7 languages and make it available throughout the church.

A Prayer for Lambeth 1998
By Avery Brooke

Lord Christ, when we think of the many Anglican Christians brought together for the Lambeth conference from all over the world, we are awed and grateful, and we pray your Holy Spirit will be with them in their prayers and conversations.

For the first time there are women who are Bishops at Lambeth. They come rejoicing that it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us that they be called to be priests and Bishops. But it is a lonely path, Jesus, and there is much opposition. We ask that you be with them in their joy and rejection. We also pray with and for all those who believe that having women priests and bishops is wrong. May we respect their hearts and minds and may all your servants know the goodness of your love, the glory of your healing grace and the tracing of your Spirit.

Compassionate Lord, this is not the only conflict and difficulty that will come before our leaders at Lambeth. We who should love each other often come close to hate. Jesus, help us to forgive each other as you forgive us and to work together for your Kingdom.

Amen.