[MLPnews] MLPnews April 22, 2006

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*
MLP News

*
....working for the full inclusion of LGBT people of faith
in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

	

Volume 3
Issue 5
  Apr. 22, 2006



 

 

 


In this issue:

    - More Light Sunday signups roll in from around the country
    - Pride season begins - More Light supporters in Albany Pride
    - MLP announces 2006 David Sindt, Church of the year, and Chapter of
    the year awards
    - Field report from Princeton Theological Seminary
    - Day of Silence, The Alliance & More Light at Hastings College,
    Nebraska
    - A new More Light church: Oaklands Presbyterian, Laurel, Maryland
    - Former PCUSA moderator Jack Rogers' pro-LGBT book released
    - Deb Price on Jack Rogers and his new book
    - Church of the Pilgrims earns badge of honor: picketed by anti-gay
    protesters
    - Back to the 1970's: Pittsburgh Presbytery rejects efforts to
    remove homophobic language
    - Stage five, six, or seven? A refresher on Bill Moyer's stages of
    social change

**
*More Light Sunday signups roll in from around the country*

To date we've received nearly two dozen church signups for More Light 
Sunday <http://www.mlp.org/morelightsunday> participation this year, 
putting us well on track to break last year's record participation 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20050626180411122> of 36 churches. 
Signups have flowed in from all over the country, including churches in 
South Carolina, Minnesota, Florida, Oregon, New Mexico, Minnesota, 
Arizona, Alaska, and many more.

If your church hasn't previously acknowledged More Light Sunday in a 
special way, this is the year to do it. To sign up your church to 
participate in More Light Sunday, head over to our our signup page 
<http://www.mlp.org/morelightsunday/action.html> and take a look at the 
free resources that we have available to make it easy.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=2006041904554189>*



*Pride season begins - More Light supporters in Albany Pride*

/We received this note from More Light supporter Susan Haney at First 
Albany <http://www.firstpresalbany.org/index.html> about some of the 
grass roots activity that our More Light churches have planned within 
their presbytery. Thanks to Susan for this local-area report./

On June 11th our congregation and the other two More Light churches in 
Albany Presbytery, First United Presbyterian Church in Troy 
<http://www.unitedprestroy.org/> and Presbyterian-New England 
Congreational Church <http://www.timesunion.com/communities/pnec/> in 
Saratoga Springs, participated in the Pride Parade in Albany which 
begins in Washington Park located across the street from our church. In 
fact we march right by our church on the route! We typically have a 
float and signs identifying our congregations as welcoming and 
inclusive. We have had a tremendous positive response to our 
participation in this annual event with people cheering us as we march 
along and thanking us for our openness.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060419050824251>*



*MLP announces 2006 David Sindt, Church of the year, and Chapter of the 
year awards*

More Light Presbyterians is proud to announce the recipients of three 
awards, which will be formally presented to the honorees at this year's 
More Light Presbyterians National Celebration Dinner at Presbyterian 
General Assembly in Birmingham.  MLP will honor the Rev. Dr. Erin 
Swenson with the *David Sindt Award* for her outstanding witness in the 
movement for LGBT equality within and beyond the PCUSA.  The recipient 
of the *More Light Church of the Year Award* is the University 
Presbyterian Church <http://bama.ua.edu/%7Eupsa/intro.html> of 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  MLP will also honor our friends at More Light 
Presbyterians - Middle Tennessee with the *Chapter of the Year* award.
*Read more...
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060329181436775>*


*Field report from Princeton Theological Seminary*

/Our field organizer Michael Adee sends us this report from Princeton, 
New Jersey./

Greetings from Princeton Theological Seminary and their annual BGLASS 
Week. BGLASS is the LGBT and straight supportive student ministry on 
campus. The BGLASS student advisory board chose the title "Generosity of 
Spirit" as this year's awareness, educational theme. This theme is 
printed on the bold green 2006 BGLASS T-shirts that are symbols of 
solidarity and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender 
students, faculty and staff on campus.

I have the privilege of supporting BGLASS week and participating in the 
educational events by teaching a workshop on Sexual Ethics from a 
Christian perspective and preaching in chapel. Programming for the week 
began with Dr. Robert Dykstra, professor of pastoral theology, offering 
a "Pastoral Care and the LGBT Community." The students offered an 
meditative opening worship service that included the ancient church 
ritual of foot cleansing as a reminder that we are to be in care and 
service to one another. *
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=2006032920405633>Read more... 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=2006032920405633>
*



*Day of Silence, The Alliance & More Light at Hastings College, Nebraska*

/From our field organizer Michael Adee/

Hello from Hastings, Nebraska and one of our Presbyterian colleges, 
Hastings College <http://www.hastings.edu>. I am serving this week as 
the educator, chapel preacher and guest lecturer with The Alliance for 
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Equality on campus.  The Alliance 
is the student-led organization with faculty and staff support that 
offers education, awareness and solidarity events and experiences on 
campus to provide safety for and understanding of LGBT persons and their 
families. The Alliance is similar to other "Gay-Straight Alliances" on 
college and high school campuses.
*Read more...* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060415195056211>

*

**A new More Light church: Oaklands Presbyterian, Laurel, Maryland*

*Good News! Oaklands Presbyterian Church, Laurel, Maryland affiliates as 
a More Light Presbyterian Church*

The National MLP Board of Directors officially welcomes Oaklands 
Presbyterian Church <http://home.att.net/%7Eoaklands-pres/>, Laurel, 
Maryland into the national network of More Light Presbyterian churches. 
In a recent vote after a discernment, study and decision process, its 
Session decided to affiliate, identify and witness as a More Light 
Presbyterian Church by embracing the mission of More Light Presbyterians.*
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060330102447351>Read more... 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060330102447351>*



*Former PCUSA moderator Jack Rogers' pro-LGBT book released*

Jack Rogers, Professor of Theology Emeritus at San Francisco Theological 
Seminary and a former moderator of the PCUSA, has written a new book 
titled /Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality: Explode the Myths, Heal the 
Church/ <https://www.ppcbooks.com/Details.asp?BookID=0664229395>. While 
a variety of books analyzing and refuting the use of a small number of 
anti-LGBT "clobber texts" have been published over the years, the new 
book is somewhat more unique in that Rogers self-identifies as an 
evangelical, and quite publicly notes that he's changed his opinion from 
anti-equality to pro-equality over the years. Below is an extract from 
Presbyterian Publishing Corporation's blurb about the book 
<https://www.ppcbooks.com/Details.asp?BookID=0664229395>.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060402161952855>*



*Deb Price on Jack Rogers and his new book*
/
(From our field organizer Michael Adee)/

Jack Rogers, former PCUSA Moderator, seminary professor, scholar and 
Minister of the Word and Sacrament, was interviewed recently by Deb 
Price, columnist at the Detroit News. Deb ofter writes about LGBT 
persons and our families, issues of faith and equality.  I encourage you 
to share this email and Deb's column 
<http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006604170326> within 
your own network. I also encourage you to secure a copy of Jack's new 
book and consider how you might use it in a youth or adult Christian 
Education class or series at your local church, or in a book study, etc.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=2006042011274058>*



*Church of the Pilgrims earns badge of honor: picketed by anti-gay 
protesters*

When Mohandas Gandhi noted that "first they ignore you, then they laugh 
at you, then they fight you, then you win", he forgot to insert into 
that list "then they picket you with anti-gay banners on Easter Sunday". 
We're pleased to note that Church of the Pilgrims 
<http://www.churchofthepilgrims.org> in Washington DC, a More Light 
church, recently joined the select ranks of churches picketed for their 
pro-LGBT stance. It takes a significant level of pro-LGBT visibility to 
be targeted by these sorts of groups, so congratulations to Church of 
the Pilgrims!
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060420083720949>*



*Back to the 1970's: Pittsburgh Presbytery rejects efforts to remove 
homophobic language*

On April 20, Pittsburgh Presbytery voted 135-84 to refuse to concur with 
the Cincinnati overture 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060114131841577> which would 
delete seven strongly anti-gay statements from a 1978 Presbyterian 
position paper, "Homosexuality and the Church". Extracts from a 
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article 
<http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06111/683922-85.stm> about the vote 
appear below.

Although the results weren't surprising -- given that Pittsburgh is the 
Presbytery that recently gave us the "un-tenet-able" overture 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060310160234760> which would 
create 980 new Presbyterian Essential Tenets 
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060205160110780> in its attempt 
to go after gay people -- the good news is that the Presbytery's voting 
trends clearly show positive motion for equality, with a shift of about 
5% since 2001. More importantly, simply by bringing this issue before 
the Presbytery for discussion, the LGBT-supportive churches that 
proposed the concurrence have won a victory for justice and equality.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060421112455716>*



*Stage five, six, or seven? A refresher on Bill Moyer's stages of social 
change** *
* <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060314000253337>*

Pace e Bene <http://www.paceebene.org>, a nonviolence teaching 
organization based in Oakland, California, has published an online 
article 
<http://paceebene.org/pace/the-eight-stages-of-successful-social-movements> 
that overviews social change theorist Bill Moyer's stages of successful 
social movements.  Moyer's material serves as a timely reminder that 
true social change usually doesn't come quickly or easily, and that the 
path to success is paved with both difficulties and occasional false 
leads. Which stage is the Presbyterian LGBT equality movement at, and 
which stage do you feel like you're at? Opinions will be mixed, but here 
are some indicators that Moyer suggests are representative of some of 
the later stages...*
Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20060420110220143>*


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