[MLPnews] MLP News July 20, 2007

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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 4 
      Issue 2 
        July 20, 2007
     


In this issue:

·         Keynote Speakers Announced for National Welcoming & Affirming Presbyterian Conference, Aug 31-Sep 2, Atlanta

·         Woodland Presbyterian Church, Nashville affirms More Light ministry, affiliation & witness!

·         Kilimanjaro Benefit Climb Exceeds Goal of $19,340 for LGBT Equality

·         More Light Presbyterians Decry Schmeling Decision & Stand in Solidarity

·         Stonewall Riots, June 27, 1969 birth LGBT Equality Movement in USA

·         Presbyterians with Pride celebrate & march in Washington DC

·         Princeton Theology Professor Comes Out for Same-Sex Marriage in the Church and in Society

·         Transgender Education Forum, Chapel Hill NC

·         The end of "don't ask, don't tell"?

·         GA PJC Decision Upholds Ban on Gays, Implications for Marriage Equality

·         Ten Ways To Make a Difference in your Church or Presbytery

·         Being the Beloved Community in Waltham


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Keynote Speakers Announced for National Welcoming & Affirming Presbyterian Conference, Aug 31-Sep 2, Atlanta

The Rev. Dr. Jack Rogers, Moderator of the 213th General Assembly, Presbyterian minister, Professor Emeritus of Theology at San Francisco Theological Seminary & Fuller Theological Seminary, and author of the best-selling JESUS, THE BIBLE & HOMOSEXUALITY, EXPLODE THE MYTHS, HEAL THE CHURCH. Jack is traveling the country & world with this book tour.

We are thrilled and grateful to announce that Erin Swenson and Jack Rogers will serve as two of our keynote speakers at your National More Light Presbyterians Conference. Erin and Jack will also offer thought-provoking educational workshops. Register Now!
Read more... 


Woodland Presbyterian Church, Nashville affirms More Light ministry, affiliation & witness!

The National Board of Directors of More Light Presbyterians joyfully and gratefully announces that the Session of Woodland Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee has recently voted to affiliate, minister and witness as a More Light Presbyterian Church.  

Woodland Presbyterian Church joins its sister congregation across town, Second Presbyterian Church, Nashville, as the second More Light Presbyterian Church in Nashville.  The first welcoming and affirming Presbyterian group in the state of Tennessee, the More Light Presbyterians Chapter in Middle Tennessee was co-founded by Trice Gibbons and Stacy Rector.
Read more...


Kilimanjaro Benefit Climb Exceeds Goal of $19,340 for LGBT Equality

The results are in!  Because of you ---and so many generous donors and supporters, Michael Adee's Benefit Climb of Mount Kilimanjaro for LGBT Equality entitled, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough!" exceeded his goal of $19,340.  

To date, over $20,000 has been given which illustrates the generosity of the network of More Light Presbyterians.

The fundraising goal set to match the elevation of Mount Kilimanjaro's Summit at 19,340 feet was an extraordinary personal goal for Michael.   As the National Board of Directors for More Light Presbyterians we are deeply grateful that Michael generously chose to designate MLP as the beneficiary of his extraordinary expedition's vision to climb the world's tallest free standing mountain as a Benefit for LGBT Equality.
Read more...


More Light Presbyterians Decry Schmeling Decision & Stand in Solidarity

We are deeply disappointed by the recent decisions of The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Committee on Appeals to deny the appeal of Pastor Bradley Schmeling and to remove him immediately from the clergy roster of his denomination.

We stand in solidarity with the vision of full participation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and their families in the life, ministry and witness of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and our sisters and brothers of Lutherans Concerned North America who are faithfully laboring to make that vision a reality within the ELCA, one of the denominations with whom the Presbyterian Church (USA) is in communion.  
Read more...


Stonewall Riots, June 27, 1969 birth LGBT Equality Movement in USA

This day in history, June 27, 1969, was a watershed moment in the life of the LGBT Equality Movement in the United States and beyond our borders.

On Friday evening, June 27, 1969, the New York City tactical police force raided a popular Greenwich Village gay bar, the Stonewall Inn. Raids were not unusual in 1969; in fact, they were conducted regularly without much resistance. However, that night the street erupted into violent protest as the crowds in the bar fought back. The backlash and several nights of protest that followed have come to be known as the Stonewall Riots. 
Read more...


Presbyterians with Pride celebrate & march in Washington DC 

In the evening of June 9 more than 50 representatives of More Light congregations in National Capital Presbytery marched together in the 2007 Capital Pride Parade.  The marchers assembled on the steps of the Church of the Pilgrims, a DC More Light congregation at the corner of 22nd and P St., NW.  Conveniently, the Pride Parade kicks off at that corner. 

Before the Parade, Open Doors, the DC-area More Light chapter, and the Church of the Pilgrims also co-sponsored an opening reception for a new art show in Pilgrims' gallery.  Titled "Through the Window: Insights into the Spirituality of AIDS," the show uses salvaged windows, collage, and the artist's reflections on the spiritual insights of people living with HIV/AIDS.  
Read more...


Princeton Theology Professor Comes Out for Same-Sex Marriage in the Church and in Society

A Time to Embrace: Same Gender Relationships in Religion, Law, and Politics. William Stacey Johnson, J.D., Ph.D.  Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2006.

William Stacy Johnson, J.D., Ph.D.  Arthur M. Adams Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ, and Minister of the Word and Sacrament, Presbyterian Church (USA)  http://www.ptsem.edu/

Special thanks to Bruce Hahne and Hal Porter for commending this book and the teachings within it by the Rev. Dr. William Stacy Johnson, Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary and member of the PCUSA's Peace Unity & Purity Theological Task Force.  

Johnson raises the right questions for Christians and citizens regarding the spiritual and ethical choices before our Church and society in terms of whether we will fully embrace or continue to exclude lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, same-gender loving people, or not.  This is a remarkably timely and helpful book for Christians and citizens ready to go beyond sound bytes, wedge politics and irresponsible use of the Bible, ethics, science and law.
Read more...


Transgender Education Forum, Chapel Hill NC

For those in the Southeast, particularly the Carolinas, make plans now to participate in this Transgender Education Forum in Chapel Hill, NC, sponsored by Church of the Reconciliation, Chapel Hill, NC, a welcoming and affirming More Light Presbyterian Church..

Please forward this invitation to those you know in the Southeast.  Last fall, I wrote an article "Pink or Blue?" about transgender persons and matters with a call for churches to make this part of their education, ministry and church family.  A reprint of that essay follows the newspaper article from The Chapel Hill News below.

Special thanks to John Thompson, Mark Davidson, Katie Ricks and the More Light Committee of Church of the Reconciliation for bringing Erin Swenson and Raja Rayees to Chapel Hill for this special weekend.  It is great to see Presbyterian Churches offer education and a caring, Christian response to transgender persons and their families.  I encourage other churches to be inspired by this model. 
Read more...


The end of "don't ask, don't tell"?


Since G-6.0106b became church law, and arguably since 1978, the rule for lesbian, gay and bisexual clergy has officially been "Marry someone of the opposite sex, or remain single (and chaste)."

Unofficially, this has meant, "don't ask, don't tell."

However, a string of events since the 2006 General Assembly will likely change that. And there may be a gift in it. 

Presbyterians traditionally don't like to ask one another about sexual practices. In committee and presbytery meetings, we tend to talk around the subject with euphemisms like "the issue," avoiding even the words "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender." Because LGBT Presbyterians are in fact ministers, and more continue to become Inquirers and Candidates every year, there have been two ways of navigating the conflict: to come out, or not to say anything.
Read more...


GA PJC Decision Upholds Ban on Gays, Implications for Marriage Equality

Hello from Boston, Massachusetts, the state where same-sex marriage is legal.  Other states offer civil unions, of course.  Yesterday, I met with a group of caring Presbyterian pastors who are working to end discrimination against LGBT people and their families in our Church... and who are working to maintain equal, civil marriage rights for same-sex couples in their own state.  

The GA PJC decision saying that a Presbytery or church cannot take into account or respect faithful, loving same-sex relationships and commitments when considering qualifications of candidates for ministry flies directly into the face of Massachusetts state law, and the growing number of states who are seeking to end discrimination against same-sex couples when it comes to civil marriage matters and choices.  Moral, ethical and legal questions arise from this ruling.
Read more...


Ten Ways To Make a Difference in your Church or Presbytery

Our field organizer Michael Adee recently compiled this list of 10 ways that local More Light movement supporters can make a difference for LGBT equality, right where you are.

1. Pray for open hearts & minds to the Spirit of God at work in your church and presbytery beginning with your own.

2. Embrace all persons as children of God created in the image of God and of sacred worth including yourself.

3. Seek out and join companions who are committed to ending discrimination, offering sanctuary and creating equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons & their families.

4. Nurture a theology, ethic and practice of hospitality within your church family and presbytery.
Read more...


Being the Beloved Community in Waltham

Greetings of grace and peace to you from Boston.

I had the privilege of sharing worship and preaching at First Presbyterian Church, Waltham, Massachusetts, a More Light Church. This church family includes God's rainbow of creation of New Englanders, immigrants from Laos, a delightful group of children and their parents, transgender and intersex members. When I shared my faith journey of being loved into faith by a small Presbyterian church in Louisiana, I asked if there were any other Southerners in worship on Sunday, several raised their hand.
Read more...




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