The Prodigal Sheep

Gay and Dissident Bishops Excluded From ’08 Meeting

The direction the Anglican communion is taking is saddening. Bishops whose appointment, actions or 'manner of life' are considered divisive or scandalous have been excluded from invitation to the 2008 Lambeth Conference. According to the NY Times,

The archbishop of Canterbury sent out more than 800 invitations yesterday to a once-a-decade global gathering of Anglican bishops. But he did not invite the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire and the bishop in Virginia who heads a conservative cluster of disaffected American churches affiliated with the archbishop of Nigeria. 

Openly gay bishop Gene Robinson might be at the center of this firestorm, but he is not the one responsible for sowing division and scandal in the worldwide Anglican communion. The responsibility for that lies squarely at the feet of Nigerian Archbishop Akinola and others bent on constraining the historical openness and unity of the Anglican communion by a new form of puritanical fundamentalism.

Bishop Robinson said he was extremely disappointed at his exclusion and asked in a statement, “At a time when the Anglican Communion is calling for a ‘listening process’ on the issue of homosexuality, how does it make sense to exclude gay and lesbian people from the discussion?”

The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, who has expressed liberal views on homosexuality in the past, has been determined to keep the communion intact. In his invitation letter, Archbishop Williams wrote, “I have to reserve the right to withhold or withdraw invitations from bishops whose appointment, actions or manner of life have caused exceptionally serious division or scandal within the communion.”

How sad that the opportunity to extend grace (to both Robinson and his fundamentalist detractors) has been squandered in favor of political expediency.

Thank God Rowan Williams' ability to extend invitations is limited to ecclesial gatherings. I wonder who would be invited or disinvited to the banquet table of Christ, if invitations were in such mortal hands? As far as I know, the only criteria to get onto that list is to be thirsty for the free gift of the water of life (Rev. 22:17).

I wonder who Jesus would discriminate against?

Posted by Mark Poole at 1:42 PM in Justice, MCC, Progressive Christianity, Queer
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Today we looked at HIV/AIDS as an ethical issue. My reflection today, however, is on the significance of the "AIDS years" both for MCC and for me personally.

The "AIDS years" in the US queer community and MCC were those years when the pandemic raged unchecked by life-extending treatments — that period of fifteen years from the beginning of the pandemic in 1981 to the advent of protease inhibitor treatments in 1996. One of the cities worst affected was San Francisco.

Rev. Jim Mitulski was pastor of MCC San Francisco from 1986 to 2001, during which time he officiated at over 500 funerals for those who died from AIDS-related illness. One part of Jim's story that struck me was his sense that God gathered MCC together in the 60s and 70s so that there would be a church for such a time as this. MCC (especially MCC-SF) became known both within the queer community and in ecumenical circles as the Church with AIDS.

Jim talked about the authenticity of worship and community experienced during those years. The church with AIDS was not an unjoyous place. It was "a community where it didn't matter what you looked like, in the midst of a community where appearance was everything."

In both The Samaritan's Imperative and The Church With AIDS, we read about the joyful and spirit-filled AIDS healing services, and how experiencing these moved ecumenical leaders to reflect on the meaning of the marks of the "true church" in a time of AIDS. What does it mean to be "one, holy, catholic and apostolic"? MCC embodied, and continues to embody, these marks in its witness, worship and community.

Continue reading "Wednesday reflection: The AIDS years" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 3:31 PM in Course Reflections, HIV/AIDS, MCC, Queer, Theology
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Today we talked about MCC being a queer church movement rather than merely welcoming or open and affirming (ONA).

This is a controversial topic and may rouse some suspicion within even some MCC congregations, who probably do see themselves as welcoming and not necessarily queer.

However, it seems to me that there are at least two key differentiators:

1. Individual local congregations (and in some denominations, conferences) may choose to become open and affirming. Which means of course that this is a choice that at some time in the future may be reversed. It is not an essential part of their church polity and is not universally recognized or supported at a denominational level.
   
2. Open and affirming congregations welcome, invite, accept or tolerate queer people in their midst and may even (in some polities) ordain them as clergy. This is not the same as understanding and practising church, doing theology and living Christian ministry from a distinctly queer perspective.
   

MCC is the only church movement that speaks consistently and always from and for the margins of heteronormative society. We are no more likely to fade away with the slow dawn of mainstream tolerance than are the black churches going to close any time soon.

There was also discussion about queering liturgy and preaching. As an exercise we broke into small groups to conceive of specifically queer rites of confirmation, laying on of hands and blessing. My group developed a laying on of hands liturgy specifically designed to invoke God's Spirit in the recongition of someone's coming out process.

With a minimum of time and resources, it was amazing to witness the liturgies that each group was able to devise. Each rite spoke powerfully to the experience of queer folk in their relationship with God and the community. This reinforced for me the power and importance of imagining and developing new transformative rites in and for the queer community.

The open communion practised in MCC is one such example of a transformative rite or sacrament. The occasional voluntary practice of rebaptism after coming out (as undergone by me at the age of 21) may be another. But we have only begun to touch the surface of how we might use liturgy in new transformative ways.

Posted by Mark Poole at 10:22 PM in Course Reflections, MCC, Progressive Christianity, Queer, Theology
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For our polity class we had to prepare a brief history of landmarks and milestones in the development of MCC.

The following chronology is by no means authoritative. It speaks only of dates and milestones, not of the spirit that animated and propelled our movement forward. It only touches on the deep suffering and loss that lies at the heart of our experience of grace as a community. And even in queer history, the story is often written by the "winners". This means that important minority stories may be undervalued or even forgotten. So I ask for forgiveness in advance...

• July 27, 1940 — Birth of Troy Perry in Tallahassee, FL. As a young man, Troy was a pastor in the (pentecostal) Church of God of Prophecy. After Troy was excommunicated by the church for being gay, he separated from his wife and moved to Los Angeles in 1963, where he came out as a gay man.
• October 6, 1968 — First MCC worship service held in Troy Perry’s living room in Huntington Park, CA, attended by 12 people. Rev. Perry’s sermon was entitled “Be True to You.” This took place one year prior to the NY Stonewall riots.
• 1968 to 1970 — MCC congregations started in nine US cities, leading to the convening in late 1970 of the first General Conference and the establishment of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC).
• July 1970 — 12 people established an MCC in Dallas, TX, which later became the Cathedral of Hope. Growing to a membership in 2006 of 3,500, the Cathedral of Hope (no longer part of MCC) is the world’s largest GLBTQ church.
  

Continue reading "A very brief history of MCC" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 11:45 PM in Course Reflections, MCC, Queer
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Another thing that occurred to me in reflecting on today's class was how MCC has played a part in the development of other streams in the LGBTQ social movement.

• Several other church groups and denominations found their roots in MCC, including Unity Fellowship Church (a predominantly black GLBT liberation-theology centered church with 14 congregations, started in 1985 by Carl Bean, an MCC-trained minister), International Christian Community Churches (an association of 13 evangelical churches started in 2002) and Cathedral of Hope in Dallas (the world's largest LGBT congregation, with 3,500 members, currently pursuing affiliation with the UCC).
  
• Beth Chayim Chadashim, the world's first LGBT Jewish congregation, was founded in LA in 1972 with support from Troy Perry and MCC.
• Many of the reconciling, affirming, welcoming etc groups within or aligned with traditional denominational movements have received inspiration, training, support or leadership at one time or another from MCC.
• Numerous AIDS and community service oriented organizations internationally were started as local MCC initiatives.
  

I think it is fair to say that the spiritual and social influence of MCC as a movement has touched hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives in one way or another. Often these connections are not acknowledged in the official and popular histories.

Another note — Wikipedia contains some brief, but excellent, articles on MCC and various MCC clergy and theologians. I was talking with another student in the class about the need to better document our history and theology. What better way to do this than in Wikipedia? I am considering getting involved as a contributor and doing some research to update existing articles and add more.

Posted by Mark Poole at 10:29 PM in Course Reflections, MCC, Progressive Christianity, Queer
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We began the course with a presentation today by Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson, MCC's new Moderator since Troy Perry's retirement last year. Nancy shared some of her story and discussed the history of MCC, touching on various subjects covered in more depth in her 1995 book, Our Tribe: Queer Folks, God, Jesus & the Bible.

Nancy credited Troy Perry's pentecostal roots, personal openness and early life experiences for much of the charismatic energy and positive buoyancy of the early MCC movement.

Because Troy and many of MCC's prominent leaders have hailed from evangelical or fundamentalist backgrounds, many not so well informed outsiders (including those within the LGBT movement) often mistakenly assume that MCC is a fundamentalist or evangelical church. Nothing could be further from the truth really.

Troy, from the very first church service, embodied and practiced an openness to the Spirit that transcended denominational, theological and liturgical categories. This openness has permeated the MCC movement in profound ways. For many of us, God's radical, inclusive love shattered the rigid categories we had built up in and around our lives. Yes, some of us are or were pentecostal, but not everybody who raises their hands in an MCC service is pentecostal. MCC has taught me and many others to respect and embrace diversity, not only in sexuality and gender expression but also around liturgy, theology, race, cultural background, ability, age, economic status, and so on.

Things are not always as they seem on the surface in MCC; we are truly a melting pot. It's kind of weird to hear the world's most liberal/progressive and theologically diverse Christian denomination referred to as "evangelical."

On this same point, Nancy repeated what I have heard Troy Perry also say — our movement is like a new book of Acts, a new Pentecost. As I reflect on this, it seems that this is true not just from the perspective of the excitement and energy and marginality of our movement. It's also true because there has been a great movement of Spirit (beginning in October 1968) that has made it possible for all of us to hear of the wondrous works of God in our own "language", in our own "various mother tongues" (Acts 2:8).

Continue reading "Monday reflection: MCC as a social movement" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 8:35 PM in Course Reflections, MCC, Progressive Christianity, Queer, Theology
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Somebody asked the question this week in an online forum about the appropriateness of allowing a church youth group to stage a drag show in the ‘sanctuary’. Apparently some people felt that the ‘sanctuary’ should be reserved for ‘sacred’ activities, and presumably drag does not quite make the grade.

To hear this concern expressed was interesting for me, to say the least. Those raising the objections to drag were members of a Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). MCC is an inclusive and predominantly GLBT denomination that, among its many celebrations, commemorates Pride and the Stonewall riots (the infamous night in 1969 when New York drag queens and trannies joined with gays and lesbians to fight back against centuries of oppression and silence).

The responses from forum participants were thoughtful and well informed. Some spoke of the universal and inclusive nature of the sacred and how the house of God should be open to all people for all kinds of events.

From a personal perspective it was interesting to see this question come up, given a related experience of my own last Sunday. I was making announcements at the start of our own worship service. Our church is holding a 'Prom' in a couple of weeks. One of our young adult leaders came up to the front to make a special announcement about the event — wearing drag. The idea was to promote ticket sales while getting people to think about how they might ‘dress up’ for the event.

Now this should not have been a shock to any in our congregation...

Continue reading "Spiritual trans/gression" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 1:32 PM in MCC, Progressive Christianity, Queer, Theology
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The American 'Family' Association claims on its website that it does not hate homosexuals:

Absolutely Not! The same Holy Bible that calls us to reject sin, calls us to love our neighbor. It is that love that motivates us to expose the misrepresentation of the radical homosexual agenda and stop its spread though our culture. AFA has sponsored several events reaching out to homosexuals and letting them know there is love and healing at the Cross of Christ.

The AFA, it its literature on the 'homosexual agenda,' preaches compassion and understanding toward the gay community, in one of its publications quoting Mona Riley of the predominantly exgay Church of the Open Door:

Riley sees a “hardness in the heart of the American church” toward people who have been involved in homosexual behavior. “We need to be trained in compassion,” she says. “We have judged this particular sin to be worse than every other, but I don’t see that in the Scriptures.”

How surprised the Rev. Mark Bidwell, pastor of the predominantly GLBT Metropolitan Community of Detroit must have been, then, to receive the following e-mail last month from an AFA supporter:

You fag loving BASTARDS, Pull your head out of your ass and any thing else you have up there and forget about this ass humping doughnut pumping fag and lesbo bull-shit.

Or this phone call from an AFA supporter named Steve:

There's a band named Queen - 4 men, but yet with a female title - why, because they're sodomites, they're effeminate. Freddie Mercury used to prance on stage saying: 'When I'm on stage I am a devil.' What did he die from Mark? He died from AIDS. Why? Because that is God's judgment on sin, exceeding sin. Sodomy... Sometimes the judgment of God comes in this life - doesn't wait until eternity that's why y'all are dying so rapidly from AIDS.

Hundreds of similar calls and e-mails came into the Detroit church as a result of the AFA's latest campaign against marriage equality, targeting Ford Motor Company as a sponsor of Motor City Pride. The campaign directed supporters to a page on the Pride website featuring a gay commitment ceremony and linking to the MCC pastor's e-mail address.

Rev. Bidwell's crime? Being a gay pastor of a Christian church that believes "the Gospel of Jesus Christ was, and is, meant for everyone." 

Once again, a self-styled 'Christian' organization shows its true colors in spite of all efforts to disguise its rhetoric as reasonable, God-centered truth. As Jesus said, good trees do not bring forth bitter fruit. Nor does the one who loves God hate his neighbor.

If there is a war on Christianity, it is the one being waged against it by the religious right in this country. Or, as one letter writer to the Washington Post put it last Friday, "it is the war waged by those who call themselves followers of Jesus while proving they are nothing of the kind."

Posted by Mark Poole at 11:32 PM in MCC, Queer, Religious Right
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I want to share the following sermon by Rev. Nancy Wilson, Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches. It contains reflections on MCC's participation in the recent Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches, and was delivered on March 6, 2006.

I believe this story is a wonderful example of how the Spirit of God is moving in ways that the mainstram media never reports and many in the religious right could not even begin to contemplate.

FYI, the 'open communion' Nancy rerfers to is the eucharistic sacrament of holy communion as celebrated in MCC and in many other inclusive church communities. We believe that the communion table is open to all through Christ's invitation and that none are to be excluded. This open and gracious invitation to God's table in our shared worship is still considered too radical by many Christian communities.

God, in your grace, transform our world

"When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was so longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

"Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk.’ But that you know that the Son of Humanity as authority on earth to forgive sins" — he said to the paralytic — "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet ad go home." And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

Continue reading "God, in your grace, transform our world" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 12:20 PM in Inspiration, MCC, Progressive Christianity
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I've been out of town the past ten days. Even with internet access there's always too much going on to be able to keep up with the blog.

First I was at the MCC Men in Ministry Conference in Atlanta. This was the first 'men's' conference I've ever been to, as well as my first conference on ministry in MCC. I went along without any particular expectations of what the experience would be like. As things turned out, it was a very moving and inspirational time for me. I met some wonderful leaders, renewed acquaintances, and had the opportunity once again to explore what ministry might mean for me in the context of my calling. I experienced a profound sense of mutual support, particularly in the small group workshops. I hope that I can bring that sense back with me into my everyday work and ministry.

Last week was an industry trade show in Kissimee, Florida. Early mornings and late nights, and having to present workshops for eight hours across Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather was sunny but I didn't get to experience it being stuck inside all day. My partner joined me and we're finally relaxing for a couple of days at a low budget 'resort' in Orlando. Even so, we'll probably need a break once we get back.

Back to regular programming after the 13th.

Posted by Mark Poole at 5:20 PM in MCC, Personal
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New Hope for Homeless LGBT Youth - Gay City News, NY:

Santa Claus came early to the homeless LGBT youth of New York City in more ways than one. On Christmas Eve, the Metropolitan Community Church of New York will celebrate an unexpected gift of $100,000 from an anonymous member to launch one of the first new 24-hour crisis shelters for homeless youth since the establishment of Covenant House, an institution not known to be gay-friendly, in 1972.

“We want to express our gratitude to people like our donor who are really stepping up to the plate,” said Reverend Pat Bumgardner, senior pastor of MCC/NY. “This is the heart of the gospel—caring for people in need. These kids are the future of our community and if we’re not helping them, who will?”

Continue reading "Living the story" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 10:13 PM in Inspiration, MCC
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I knew today was World AIDS Day. What I didn't realize was that the day began in 1986 as a joint faith initiative between the predominantly gay Metropolitan Community Churches and over 5000 other churches and faith communities. By 1988, the observance became an international event sponsored by the UN and WHO.

For so many reasons, there is growing complancency today about the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in both the GLBT and faith communities. Consider just a few reasons why we mustn't remain complacent:

• 20 million people have died from HIV/AIDS, and another 40 million people are living with the HIV virus today.

• 5 million people were newly infected with the HIV virus this year alone.

• Over 700,000 of those new cases were children under the age of 15.

• HIV and AIDS have left behind more than 14 million orphans, 12 million of them in Africa.

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 8% of the adult population carry the HIV virus.

• Only one in seven people with HIV/AIDS in developing countries will have access to life saving antiviral drugs.

• Most of the AIDS funding promised by the US and other western governments to the most needy countries has never been provided.
  

Continue reading "World AIDS Day 2005" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 9:02 PM in MCC, Queer
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I would not normally paste a press release in its entirety, but the entire statement bears reading and I can't find a copy yet on the MCC web-site.

(Los Angeles) -- One day after openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson criticized the Roman Catholic Church's stance on gay clergy as "vile," the Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), the world's largest predominantly gay Christian denomination, echoed the bishop's words and issued a challenge to Pope Benedict XVI.

The comments by the Reverend Nancy L. Wilson came as the Vatican prepares to issue "Instrumentum Laboris," a document that recommends a purge of seminaries of all gay men preparing for the priesthood. According to Vatican officials, the purge is designed to address the causes of priestly sexual abuse of minors.

Continue reading "MCC Challenges Roman Catholic Stance on Gay Clergy" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 5:23 PM in MCC, Queer, Religious Right
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I blogged recently about the eviction of MCC of Greater New Orleans by the Catholic Archdiocese. Now everything has been taken away by the hurricane:

As of today, 30 members of MCC of Greater New Orleans are still missing. We ask that you continue to pray for their safety and recovery.

Our pastors in the three impacted states are safe, but in very minimal living conditions due to their losses. Rev. Dexter's home in New Orleans is in one of the restricted areas and is uninhabitable. He has no car. Our church location in New Orleans is lost and this blow came on top of the forced eviction of these members less than two months ago by the archdiocese in New Orleans. This eviction was based on the opinion of the archdiocese that we favor “equal marriage for same sex couples.” There are also some very special needs for individuals living with HIV/AIDS who have been impacted by Hurricane Katrina, and we are working with agencies and individuals to ensure their care.

These are difficult times. But MCC has faced many such tragedies in its life of 37 years. The church in New Orleans was once burned by arsonists and members and clergy were killed. Twenty-one of our churches have been arsoned or firebombed. And more than 6000 of our members have died of HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the pandemic.

None of our losses can compare with the loss of the people in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- yet our experience with loss helps us in these times. We know how to get through these terrible days for God has promised us, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5). God gives strength to God's people; and blesses us with peace.

Please pray with us as we gather our resources and our strength for our continued ministry.

--Rev. Dr. Cindi Love, MCC Executive Director

MCC has set up a relief fund and a response team to help with the needs of MCC members and others in the GLBT community worst hit by the disaster. You can contribute or learn more here.

Posted by Mark Poole at 10:51 PM in MCC, Queer, Religious Right
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Last week the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater New Orleans was evicted from their home in the Project Lazarus hospice. The hospice is owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, which claims it decided to terminate the lease because of MCC's “teachings...on the issues of same-sex marriage” and blessing of same sex-unions.

“This particular group blesses gay unions, which we do not support,” the Rev. William Maestri, a spokesperson for the archdiocese told the Times Picayune newspaper. Maestri said that if the lease were continued it could create the impression that the Catholic church is either indifferent or in support of the teachings of the MCC.

Supporters of the Archdiocese's position went so far in at least one case as to question whether MCC is a Christian church at all:

Steve Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Association Center for Law and Policy, defended the archdiocese, saying that since the hospice Lazarus House is their private property, the “church was acting within its legal rights to terminate the arrangement” ...

Crampton was “struck” by MCC's “pretense of being a Christian denomination.” He added: “I would suggest that merely saying it does not make it so, and that in fact, it is nothing of the sort.”

Continue reading "Catholic Church objects to gay doctrine (not sex as previously thought)" »

Posted by Mark Poole at 10:48 PM in MCC, Queer, Religious Right
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Troy Perry Tribute Banquet

Bishop Gene Robinson with our Bill.

Me with Bishop Gene Robinson (one of my least photogenic moments!!)

Bob from Healing Spirit MCC of Rochester, MN.

Portrait of Rev. Elder Troy Perry, Founder of MCC, unveiled at the the banquet.

Posted by Mark Poole at 1:50 AM in MCC, Queer
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We're here in Calgary, Alberta for the Metropolitan Community Churches General Conference. I can't begin to describe how joyful and exciting it has been so far. Here are some pictures and a few words from the first day. More photos, video, etc can be found at the conference's virtual web site.

Thank God For Canada Rally, Friday 12:30pm

Praising God for bringing full marriage equality to all in Canada this week. All those Cannucks can't be wrong!

Bill and David from All God's Children MCC at the rally.

All God's Children MCC's Rev. Paul Eknes-Tucker at the rally.

Some of the crowd at the rally.

Another crowd shot from the rally.

Rev. Lee Carlton (right) at the rally.

Rev. Elder Troy Perry speaking about GLBT marriage equality at the rally. On the left is Troy's partner of 20 years, Philip DeBlieck, and on the right is Rev. Dr. Cindi Love, MCC Executive Director.

MCC delegates marching down Calgary's Stephens Ave after the rally.

Rev. Elder Troy Perry marching.

UFMCC rainbow flag bringing up the rear of the march.

More Friday pics to follow...

Posted by Mark Poole at 5:47 PM in MCC, Queer
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It's Pride weekend at last! Or what we gay Christians sometimes refer to as Pridetide.

The theme for All God's Children MCC this Pride is 'Marry Me. Equal Love. Equal Rights.' We have a 'Chapel of Love' set up as part of the Pride Festival. Church members are collecting thousands of signatures for a petition to Governor Pawlenty opposing Minnesota's proposed anti-marriage, anti-gay state constitutional amendment. And tomorrow morning is the official Pride Worship service, where Rev. Paul Eknes-Tucker will be preaching on the topic of marriage.

Equal marriage rights are important for me an my partner, Aaron. There are something like 1,200 rights and benefits provided to married couples in this state and federally, but none of them are available to committed gay couples like ourselves. This struggle is not about special rights for gays and lesbians, it's about our human and democratic rights to access to the same legal protections in marriage that our married straight friends take for granted every day.

Aaron and I plan to marry in October. For us, right now, it's a personal and spiritual commitment to one another and to the community before God, our friends and family. Which is what marriage ought to be. But without civil marriage to back up that commitment, we'll remain on less solid ground ground when it comes to protecting our relationship and everything we create in our lives together.

Defend marriage: Equal marriage rights for all!

Posted by Mark Poole at 10:46 PM in MCC, Marriage Equality, Personal, Queer
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