[MLPnews] MLPNews May 04, 2007
mlpnews at mylist.net
mlpnews at mylist.net
Fri May 4 14:39:32 PDT 2007
www.mlp.org
*
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 4
Issue 1
May 4th, 2007
*In this issue:*
* Save the Date: 2007 National More Light Conference August
31st - September 3rd
* "Liberating Love": More Light Sunday, June 3rd
* Good News in Kansas City, Good News for the Presbyterian
Church (USA)!
* Celebrating 30 Years of The Lazarus Project --- An
Extraordinary Chapter in the LGBT Equality Movement
* Palm Leaves and the God Who Understands
* Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards on Same-Sex Love, Marriage & the
Presbyterian Church (USA)
* Karen Thompson Finding a New Place to Answer Call
* New Complaint Filed Against Rev. Edwards in Pittsburgh
Same-Sex Marriage Case
* Michael Adee returns from Kilimanjaro climb
* Social Justice Internship Opportunity
* Marriage Matters. Freedom to Marry Week. Standing on the Side
of Love.
* More Light on the "solution elusive" question
* A new year, a new Journey... Epiphany & perspective - mountain
climbing in Africa
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
*"Liberating Love": More Light Sunday, June 3rd
his is the fourth year of the annual tradition of celebrating the
presence, faith and gifts that lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender persons, their parents and families bring to the life,
ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Online
sign-up is available now.
Liberating Love -- How does Love liberate us? What is liberating
about God's love for us, and for all the world? What is liberating
about being in love? What is liberating about our love for each
other as part of the Body of Christ and the realm of God on earth?
What actions are required of us to liberate Love in our lives,
churches, communities, nation and world? How is God calling us in
this time and place to liberate Love? How might God be calling you,
and all of us, to set God's Love free to do its life-giving,
life-saving work? These are questions and meditations we offer for
this More Light Sunday.
*Read more...
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=liberatinglove>and more...
<http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=mlsunday>
*Save The Date: 2007 National More Light Conference August 31st -
September 3rd
We are thrilled that North Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, GA
will be the host church and site of the National More Light
Conference in 2007.
North Decatur Presbyterian Church is a faith community committed to
both a theology and the practice of hospitality, peace and justice
extended to all God's children.
*Please save these dates: August 31 - September 3, 2007, Labor Day
weekend.*
Plan now to be part of this national gathering and celebration of
the welcoming and affirming movement in the Presbyterian Church
(USA) for persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Pre-conference and post-conference options in Atlanta include: The
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, The Carter Center and Presidential
Library, and the High Art Museum. text
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=mlpconf>
*
Good News in Kansas City, Good News for the Presbyterian Church (USA)!
/Central Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, affirms More Light
affiliation, ministry and witness as the only congregation in
Heartland Presbytery and Kansas City to presently do so./
The National Board of Directors of More Light Presbyterian joyfully
and gratefully announces that on February 20, 2007 the Session of
Central Presbyterian Church, Kansas City, Missouri, affirmed the
call to affiliate, minister and witness as a More Light Church. The
Session came to this decision at the same time it is looking forward
to celebrating its 150th anniversary as a congregation. Central
Presbyterian Church was chartered on May 27, 1857.
"We celebrate this decision and affirmation by Central Presbyterian
Church, Kansas City. Central is making history with its witness as
a More Light Presbyterian Church in Kansas City and Heartland
Presbytery. On behalf of the national network of More Light
Presbyterians and More Light Churches across the country, we welcome
Central Presbyterian Church, Kansas City into this national
community of hospitality within the Presbyterian Church (USA)," Bear
Ride and Kim Smith King, Co-Moderators, National MLP Board of
Directors.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070420164754831>*
Celebrating 30 Years of The Lazarus Project --- An Extraordinary
Chapter in the LGBT Equality Movement
On the evening of April 29, Lazarus Project Board Member, Sonnie
Swentson, served as Emcee of the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the
Lazarus Project hosted by Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Pasadena,
CA. Reflecting upon the Lazarus Projects' mission and history of
service, Sonnie quoted and expanded upon Henri Nouwens' belief in
the importance of the telling of our stories:
/"We have to trust that our stories deserve to be told. We may
discover that the better we tell our stories the better we will
want to live them." (Henri Nouwen). /
"So whether we tell our stories in written form or orally, we just
need to tell them and tell them--and to know that they are valid and
they are useful, and the telling of our stories is something that we
are supposed to do. This is one of the thing that Lazarus did so
well over the years, and something that we need to do ourselves, and
to find ways to encourage others to do as we go our separate ways."
(Sonnie Swentson)
The Lazarus Project was founded by the West Hollywood Presbyterian
Church, West Hollywood, CA, a More Light Church, in 1977 as "a
ministry of reconciliation rooted in the faith experience and
spiritual journeys of individuals who seek to empower lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and heterosexual persons to love one another
in the just and respectful way Christ taught us." Chris Glaser
served as its founding director from 1977 to 1987.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=Lazarus30>*
Palm Leaves and the God Who Understands
/A Holy Week reflection by MLP field organizer Michael Adee/
Growing up in southern Louisiana, palm branches were easy picking.
Palmetto grew wild all over the piney woods near our home. As a
young boy having been loved into faith within a small Presbyterian
church and by my parents, the ritual of waving these palm leaves was
a mystery to me. Palm leaves seemed out of place at church, and yet,
so at home in the woods.
Palm Sunday, a triumphal reception fit for a king and entry into
Jerusalem. It seems like a set-up. As I waved a palm branch this
morning at the United Church of Santa Fe, a part of me wanted to cry
out, "Watch out, Jesus. The story is not over."
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=holyweek>*
Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards on Same-Sex Love, Marriage & the Presbyterian
Church (USA)
The Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards, Minister of the Word and Sacrament in
the Presbyterian Church (USA), a minister-member and former
Moderator, Pittsburgh Presbytery, and a member of the National Board
of Directors for MLP, has received a second round of judicial
charges after the Pittsburgh Presbytery PJC dismissed the first
charges on November 15, 2006.
Whoever said that "lightning could not strike a second time" was not
thinking of a handful of anti-gay Presbyterians not willing to
accept the decision of the first PJC.
Instead of accepting the decision of the PJC, the response is to
judge a fellow Presbyterian minister a second time for simply
following her call to ministry by extending God's love and care to a
loving and faithful lesbian couple. Considering stewardship, imagine
the money and resources being used up once again because of this
anti-gay attack through a second round of charges that could have
been spent on mission?
The last time I saw Janet she was doing hurricane Katrina relief
work as part of our RainbowCorps mission service initiative with
First Presbyterian Church, New Orleans. She was singing hymns as she
was pulling down a ruined ceiling. This is kind of Christian and
minister who merits judicial charges within her own Church? God save
us from ourselves.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070327184610885>*
Karen Thompson Finding a New Place to Answer Call
/Gay Graduate of Austin Seminary Must Leave Denomination to pursue
ministry/
Karen Thompson said she is sad, but not bitter that the Presbyterian
Church is still struggling with sexuality issues in ordaining
ministers. God led her to the seminary, she says, though now she'll
be answering his call to serve elsewhere
Please join us in prayers of blessing for Karen Thompson, Austin
Theological Seminary graduate, who is leaving the Presbyterian
Church (USA) to follow God's call to serve as a pastor in another
denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church.
Central Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas held a special service of
Hope and Reconciliation yesterday as they said farewell to Karen
Thompson who had been under their care throughout her theological
studies at Austin Theological Seminary.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070313092456195>*
New Complaint Filed Against Rev. Edwards in Pittsburgh Same-Sex
Marriage Case
/14 accusers say Janet Edwards willfully defied ordination vows,
church law/
LOUISVILLE - A new complaint has been filed against the Rev. Janet
Edwards, the Presbyterian minister in Pittsburgh who last year was
taken to church court for marrying a lesbian couple, only to have
the charges dropped because the court found they were filed four
days late.
The Rev. James C. Yearsley, a Presbyterian minister who is currently
serving in Florida, filed a complaint against Edwards shortly after
she performed the marriage in June 2005, only to see the charges
against her dismissed on a technicality in November. Pittsburgh
Presbytery's Permanent Judicial Commission ruled that a special
investigating committee filed charges against Edwards after its
deadline for doing so.
But now a new case may be brought against Edwards, who has been an
activist for the full participation of gay and lesbian people in the
church.
Yearsley announced last month that he has submitted a new grievance
against Edwards that alleges she acted in "willful and deliberate
defiance" of her ordination vows and of the constitution of the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070304111902336>*
Michael Adee returns from Kilimanjaro climb
/Reflections from Kilimanjaro ...the Roof of Africa -- Ain't No
Mountain High Enough/
Step by step, hour by hour, mile by mile, day by day we made our
journey starting in a rain forest to the climbing of the face of a
glacier. Kilimanjaro, the Roof of Africa. Words fall short of the
feelings in my heart and soul in these days following my recent
benefit climb for LGBT equality of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
When I set my heart and mind on the goal of returning to Africa and
climbing Kilimanjaro, I began intense training. When I decided to
make this a Benefit Climb for LGBT Equality in addition to a
personal challenge, I chose a stretch goal of $19,340 to match the
elevation of Kilimanjaro at its Summit, 19,340 feet. I am deeply
grateful to all of you who have offered donations and moral support.
It is not too late to give to this campaign. I am deeply moved by
the outpouring of generosity and good will in the response to this
Kilimanjaro Benefit Climb.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070226065059671>*
Social Justice Internship Opportunity
/Apply the values of your progressive faith to changing the world/
One-year position (with the possibility of an additional year) for
Social Justice Intern at Jan Hus Presbyterian Church involves
outreach work with homeless clients, an advocacy network made up of
neighborhood churches working on affordable housing, assistance with
Global Concern Program on different initiatives designed to support
a more equitable, peaceful and healthy world. The intern also
participates in the worship and community life of a progressive
congregation ranked in 2001 as one of the country's "most effective
Protestant congregations" by the Lilly Foundation. Social Justice
Intern will attend worship at twice a month and/or according to need
and will assist the Social Justice Committee in conveying to the
congregation the work being done.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070221064837110>*
Marriage Matters. Freedom to Marry Week. Standing on the Side of Love.
Marriage matters . Marriage matters to families, in the Church and
in a civil society founded upon democratic principles.
"One lesson of the civil rights movement of yesterday andd the
ongoing civil rights movement of today is that the simplest of
ordinary accts taking a seat on a bus or a lunch counter,
registering to vote, applying for a marriage license can have
extraordinary ramifications. It can change our woorld, change the
way we act and think." Julian Bond, The longtime civil rights leader
and NAACP chairman addressed the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
in Miami, November 4, 2006
*Marriage matters.* The meaning of marriage for the couples
themselves, families and equal rights in a civil society founded on
democratic principles matters. What contributions could Christian
faith, Christian teaching, the Bible and the Church make to enrich
the understanding of marriage?
*Love matters.* Instead of fighting over the gender of the person's
partner, our Church and American society could be having the more
important conversation, what does it mean to be in a good
relationship? What would a good relationship, a "good marriage" look
like? What should we be teaching younger or older persons about
love, sexuality, marriage and how to be a family?
If people really believed in marriage, they would want it for /all
/couples who love each other.
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070215055536144>*
More Light on the "solution elusive" question
The article in the Feb. 5 Atlanta Journal-Constitution by reporter
John Blake, "Solution elusive as churches weary of gay clergy
debate,"
<http://www.ajc.com/news/content/living/faithandvalues/stories/2007/02/04/0205churchbattle.html>
offers several key insights into the opportunity before both the
Church and society in how each chooses to respond to lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender persons and our families.
Blake begins his article and places the question, and I believe the
opportunity for understanding, perspective and acceptance where it
belongs -- in a local church, or I would add within a family or
community. How should a local church, family or community respond to
one of its own daughters or sons, no matter the human difference?
What is the proper Christian response? And, to the question the Rev.
Kim Smith King, pastor, North Decatur Presbyterian Church and
Co-Moderator, More Light Presbyterians, offers in the article below,
what did or would Jesus say?
The observation Blake offers that churches are weary of the gay
clergy debate I believe is fueled by those few, and getting fewer,
loud and squeaky anti-gay wheels who seem by their statements and
actions obsessed by homosexuality. And, their obsession keeps them
on the defensive --- trying to defend God, the Bible, church and
society from gay people and our families. Prejudice and
discrimination are a waste of energy, poor stewardship for
Christians and sadly, they hurt everyone in their path.
Just who are these "dangerous" gay people and their families?
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070206093631490>*
A new year, a new Journey... Epiphany & perspective - mountain
climbing in Africa
Happy New Year. My hope and prayer is that this new year will be one
filled with peace of heart and mind for each of you and those you
love. And, may our prayers for peace in the world become reality.
In a few days, we will mark and celebrate the mystery and wonder of
Epiphany on January 6. As you know, this tradition is often referred
to as the Epiphany of the Lord. It is associated with the visit of
the Wise Men from the East, or the Three Kings as often displayed in
church Christmas pageants. Isaiah 60: 1- 6 and Matthew 2: 1- 12 are
the Biblical texts.
Epiphany.... a sudden realization, a comprehension of the essence or
meaning of something. Epiphany, an understanding, a revelation with
an ancient root in the word "phos" or "Light."
*Read more... <http://www.mlp.org/article.php?story=20070103085955503>*
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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