According to "The Lead" at the Episcopal Café the Diocese of Quincy voted to leave the Episcopal Church and was welcomed into the Diocese of the Southern Cone. A link to the resolution may be found at their site.
And here's the big surprise! The portion of the Diocese of Pittsburgh that voted to leave the Episcopal Church elected Robert Duncan as their bishop.
And the pièce de résistance!
The entire diocese [Quincy] was invited to a party in Argentina this evening to celebrate the anniversary of Archbishop Venable's enthronement.
Friday, November 7, 2008
"Discrimination Grieves The Heart of God"
From Susan Russell, President of Integrity USA:
November 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Integrity is deeply disappointed that anti-LGBT marriage bans passed in Florida and Arizona, and that in Arkansas voters voted to bar all unmarried people, LGBT or straight, from adopting children or serving as foster parents. And while ballots are still being counted in California and results are not yet clear, what is clear is that we have miles to go in this great country of ours before liberty and justice for all is not just a pledge but a reality.
"We believe discrimination against any member of the human family grieves the heart of God,' said Integrity President Susan Russell. "And, here in California, we are deeply saddened that the multi-million dollar campaign of fear, disinformation and division waged by Proposition 8 supporters worked to convince so many voters to choose bigotry over equality."
"While many voters came to believe this discriminatory initiative was about school curriculum and tax exempt status for churches, the reality is that this proposition attempts to totally undo one of the fundamental purposes of our constitution: to protect the rights of minorities from the kind of campaign of lies and distortions we have witnessed here in California."
Nevertheless, Integrity is committed to continuing to work with our interfaith partners toward the day when "liberty and justice for all" in this nation really means "all." We are convinced that in the end, the fundamental fairness of the American people will prevail and we will continue to work, strive, pray, preach and advocate for that day when LGBT families will no longer be "strangers at the gate" but full and equal citizens in this great nation of ours.
"At the same time, we will continue our efforts within the Episcopal Church and our witness to the wider Anglican Communion on behalf of the LGBT faithful. Even as we commit ourselves to continue to offer our witness to end discrimination in the civil arena, we are looking ahead to our 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Integrity and will redouble our efforts to work for the full inclusion of all the baptized in all the sacraments of our church as we pray for God's strength and guidance in the struggle toward wholeness for the whole human family."
(The Reverend) Susan Russell, President
November 7, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Integrity is deeply disappointed that anti-LGBT marriage bans passed in Florida and Arizona, and that in Arkansas voters voted to bar all unmarried people, LGBT or straight, from adopting children or serving as foster parents. And while ballots are still being counted in California and results are not yet clear, what is clear is that we have miles to go in this great country of ours before liberty and justice for all is not just a pledge but a reality.
"We believe discrimination against any member of the human family grieves the heart of God,' said Integrity President Susan Russell. "And, here in California, we are deeply saddened that the multi-million dollar campaign of fear, disinformation and division waged by Proposition 8 supporters worked to convince so many voters to choose bigotry over equality."
"While many voters came to believe this discriminatory initiative was about school curriculum and tax exempt status for churches, the reality is that this proposition attempts to totally undo one of the fundamental purposes of our constitution: to protect the rights of minorities from the kind of campaign of lies and distortions we have witnessed here in California."
Nevertheless, Integrity is committed to continuing to work with our interfaith partners toward the day when "liberty and justice for all" in this nation really means "all." We are convinced that in the end, the fundamental fairness of the American people will prevail and we will continue to work, strive, pray, preach and advocate for that day when LGBT families will no longer be "strangers at the gate" but full and equal citizens in this great nation of ours.
"At the same time, we will continue our efforts within the Episcopal Church and our witness to the wider Anglican Communion on behalf of the LGBT faithful. Even as we commit ourselves to continue to offer our witness to end discrimination in the civil arena, we are looking ahead to our 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Integrity and will redouble our efforts to work for the full inclusion of all the baptized in all the sacraments of our church as we pray for God's strength and guidance in the struggle toward wholeness for the whole human family."
(The Reverend) Susan Russell, President
It Broke Our Hearts, But It Did Not End Our Fight
From Human Rights Campaign:
You can't take this away from me: Proposition 8 broke our hearts, but it did not end our fight.
Like many in our movement, I found myself in Southern California last weekend. There, I had the opportunity to speak with a man who said that Proposition 8 completely changed the way he saw his own neighborhood. Every "Yes on 8" sign was a slap. For this man, for me, for the 18,000 couples who married in California, to LGBT people and the people who love us, its passage was worse than a slap in the face. It was nothing short of heartbreaking.
But it is not the end. Fifty-two percent of the voters of California voted to deny us our equality on Tuesday, but they did not vote our families or the power of our love out of existence; they did not vote us away.
As free and equal human beings, we were born with the right to equal families. The courts did not give us this right—they simply recognized it. And although California has ceased to grant us marriage licenses, our rights are not subject to anyone's approval. We will keep fighting for them. They are as real and as enduring as the love that moves us to form families in the first place. There are many roads to marriage equality, and no single roadblock will prevent us from ultimately getting there.
And yet there is no denying, as we pick ourselves up after losing this most recent, hard-fought battle, that we've been injured, many of us by neighbors who claim to respect us.
By the same token, we know that we are moving in the right direction. In 2000, California voters passed Proposition 22 by a margin of 61.4% to 38.6%. On Tuesday, fully 48% of Californians rejected Proposition 8. It wasn't enough, but it was a massive shift. Nationally, although two other anti-marriage ballot measures won, Connecticut defeated an effort to hold a constitutional convention ending marriage, New York's state legislature gained the seats necessary to consider a marriage law, and FMA architect Marilyn Musgrave lost her seat in Congress. We also elected a president who supports protecting the entire community from discrimination and who opposes discriminatory amendments.
Yet on Proposition 8 we lost at the ballot box, and I think that says something about this middle place where we find ourselves at this moment. In 2003, twelve states still had sodomy laws on the books, and only one state had civil unions. Four years ago, marriage was used to rile up a right-wing base, and we were branded as a bigger threat than terrorism. In 2008, most people know that we are not a threat. Proposition 8 did not result from a popular groundswell of opposition to our rights, but was the work of a small core of people who fought to get it on the ballot. The anti-LGBT message didn't rally people to the polls, but unfortunately when people got to the polls, too many of them had no problem with hurting us. Faced with an economy in turmoil and two wars, most Californians didn't choose the culture war. But faced with the question—brought to them by a small cadre of anti-LGBT hardliners – of whether our families should be treated differently from theirs, too many said yes.
But even before we do the hard work of deconstructing this campaign and readying for the future, it's clear to me that our continuing mandate is to show our neighbors who we are.
Justice Lewis Powell was the swing vote in Bowers, the case that upheld Georgia's sodomy law and that was reversed by Lawrence v. Texas five years ago. When Bowers was pending, Powell told one of his clerks "I don't believe I've ever met a homosexual." Ironically, that clerk was gay, and had never come out to the Justice. A decade later, Powell admitted his vote to uphold Georgia's sodomy law was a mistake.
Everything we've learned points to one simple fact: people who know us are more likely to support our equality.
In recent years, I've been delivering this positive message: tell your story. Share who you are. And in fact, as our families become more familiar, support for us increases. But make no mistake: I do not think we have to audition for equality. Rather, I believe that each and every one of us who has been hurt by this hateful ballot measure, and each and every one of us who is still fighting to be equal, has to confront the neighbors who hurt us. We have to say to the man with the Yes on 8 sign—you disrespected my humanity, and I am not giving you a pass. I am not giving you a pass for explaining that you tolerate me, while at the same time denying that my family has a right to exist. I do not give you permission to say you have me as a "gay friend" when you cast a vote against my family, and my rights.
Wherever you are, tell a neighbor what the California Supreme Court so wisely affirmed: that you are equal, you are human, and that being denied equality harms you materially. Although I, like our whole community, am shaken by Prop 8's passage, I am not yet ready to believe that anyone who knows us as human beings and understands what is at stake would consciously vote to harm us.
This is not over. In California, our legal rights have been lost, but our human rights endure, and we will continue to fight for them.
Warmly,
Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign
I fall with Joe on the side of hope and continuing the fight.
You can't take this away from me: Proposition 8 broke our hearts, but it did not end our fight.
Like many in our movement, I found myself in Southern California last weekend. There, I had the opportunity to speak with a man who said that Proposition 8 completely changed the way he saw his own neighborhood. Every "Yes on 8" sign was a slap. For this man, for me, for the 18,000 couples who married in California, to LGBT people and the people who love us, its passage was worse than a slap in the face. It was nothing short of heartbreaking.
But it is not the end. Fifty-two percent of the voters of California voted to deny us our equality on Tuesday, but they did not vote our families or the power of our love out of existence; they did not vote us away.
As free and equal human beings, we were born with the right to equal families. The courts did not give us this right—they simply recognized it. And although California has ceased to grant us marriage licenses, our rights are not subject to anyone's approval. We will keep fighting for them. They are as real and as enduring as the love that moves us to form families in the first place. There are many roads to marriage equality, and no single roadblock will prevent us from ultimately getting there.
And yet there is no denying, as we pick ourselves up after losing this most recent, hard-fought battle, that we've been injured, many of us by neighbors who claim to respect us.
By the same token, we know that we are moving in the right direction. In 2000, California voters passed Proposition 22 by a margin of 61.4% to 38.6%. On Tuesday, fully 48% of Californians rejected Proposition 8. It wasn't enough, but it was a massive shift. Nationally, although two other anti-marriage ballot measures won, Connecticut defeated an effort to hold a constitutional convention ending marriage, New York's state legislature gained the seats necessary to consider a marriage law, and FMA architect Marilyn Musgrave lost her seat in Congress. We also elected a president who supports protecting the entire community from discrimination and who opposes discriminatory amendments.
Yet on Proposition 8 we lost at the ballot box, and I think that says something about this middle place where we find ourselves at this moment. In 2003, twelve states still had sodomy laws on the books, and only one state had civil unions. Four years ago, marriage was used to rile up a right-wing base, and we were branded as a bigger threat than terrorism. In 2008, most people know that we are not a threat. Proposition 8 did not result from a popular groundswell of opposition to our rights, but was the work of a small core of people who fought to get it on the ballot. The anti-LGBT message didn't rally people to the polls, but unfortunately when people got to the polls, too many of them had no problem with hurting us. Faced with an economy in turmoil and two wars, most Californians didn't choose the culture war. But faced with the question—brought to them by a small cadre of anti-LGBT hardliners – of whether our families should be treated differently from theirs, too many said yes.
But even before we do the hard work of deconstructing this campaign and readying for the future, it's clear to me that our continuing mandate is to show our neighbors who we are.
Justice Lewis Powell was the swing vote in Bowers, the case that upheld Georgia's sodomy law and that was reversed by Lawrence v. Texas five years ago. When Bowers was pending, Powell told one of his clerks "I don't believe I've ever met a homosexual." Ironically, that clerk was gay, and had never come out to the Justice. A decade later, Powell admitted his vote to uphold Georgia's sodomy law was a mistake.
Everything we've learned points to one simple fact: people who know us are more likely to support our equality.
In recent years, I've been delivering this positive message: tell your story. Share who you are. And in fact, as our families become more familiar, support for us increases. But make no mistake: I do not think we have to audition for equality. Rather, I believe that each and every one of us who has been hurt by this hateful ballot measure, and each and every one of us who is still fighting to be equal, has to confront the neighbors who hurt us. We have to say to the man with the Yes on 8 sign—you disrespected my humanity, and I am not giving you a pass. I am not giving you a pass for explaining that you tolerate me, while at the same time denying that my family has a right to exist. I do not give you permission to say you have me as a "gay friend" when you cast a vote against my family, and my rights.
Wherever you are, tell a neighbor what the California Supreme Court so wisely affirmed: that you are equal, you are human, and that being denied equality harms you materially. Although I, like our whole community, am shaken by Prop 8's passage, I am not yet ready to believe that anyone who knows us as human beings and understands what is at stake would consciously vote to harm us.
This is not over. In California, our legal rights have been lost, but our human rights endure, and we will continue to fight for them.
Warmly,
Joe Solmonese
President, Human Rights Campaign
I fall with Joe on the side of hope and continuing the fight.
Even More On Gene and Barack
From Ruth Gledhill's blog on the meetings between Bishop Gene and President-elect Obama:
Bishop Gene said: 'One of the things Barack and I did talk about when we were together was just the experience of being first and the danger of that and we talked about being demonised by one side and, I don't know if the word is angelicised, by the other. Expectations are laid on you both negative and positive and neither are true. And the importance of remaining centred and grounded in the middle of that so that you don't begin to believe either your negative press or your positive press.'
Bishop Gene said: 'One of the things Barack and I did talk about when we were together was just the experience of being first and the danger of that and we talked about being demonised by one side and, I don't know if the word is angelicised, by the other. Expectations are laid on you both negative and positive and neither are true. And the importance of remaining centred and grounded in the middle of that so that you don't begin to believe either your negative press or your positive press.'
Thursday, November 6, 2008
YES WE DID!
As I said to the sender, "Thanks Doug. It's a beauty. It's going up, my friend."
This poster will replace the "Vote for Obama" poster on my sidebar.
More On Gene and Barack From Ruth
More background on Ruth Gledhill's blog to the article to which Fr David Heron linked:
[Bishop Gene]: 'I was actually sought out by his campaign. He had quite an extraordinary outreach to the religious community. By that I mean all religious communities. And through those contacts I had the opportunity to speak to him. And I must say I don't know if it is an expression here in England or not but he is the genuine article. I think he is exactly who he says he is. And I serve on the church pension fund board at the national level and I serve with someone who has been his friend since Barack was in college and says what you see is exactly who he has been for as long as I've known him.
'He is impressive, he's smart, he is an amazing listener. For someone who's called on to speak all the time when he asks you a question it is not for show, he is actually wanting to know what you think and listens, or at least gives you that impression. I think we've had eight years of someone who has listened to almost no-one. So the thought of having a president who gathers the best people around him and then listens to what they have to say to him, especially the things he doesn't want to hear I think he will be open to, that is very refreshing. So I'm absolutely delighted about him.
'To see the tears in the eyes of African-Americans, it's just been a profoundly, I would say religious, experience, very exciting.'
I asked him how they greeted each other.
Bishop Robinson said: 'The first words out of his mouth were, 'Well you're certainly causing a lot of trouble!' My response to him was, 'Well that makes two of us!'
Read the whole post. Ruth includes a link to a tape of the interview, if you care to listen.
Bishop Gene was in London to receive the "Hero of the Year" award from Stonewall.
Thanks to Canada Tim for the link. The English-speaking foreigners are taking over my blog.
[Bishop Gene]: 'I was actually sought out by his campaign. He had quite an extraordinary outreach to the religious community. By that I mean all religious communities. And through those contacts I had the opportunity to speak to him. And I must say I don't know if it is an expression here in England or not but he is the genuine article. I think he is exactly who he says he is. And I serve on the church pension fund board at the national level and I serve with someone who has been his friend since Barack was in college and says what you see is exactly who he has been for as long as I've known him.
'He is impressive, he's smart, he is an amazing listener. For someone who's called on to speak all the time when he asks you a question it is not for show, he is actually wanting to know what you think and listens, or at least gives you that impression. I think we've had eight years of someone who has listened to almost no-one. So the thought of having a president who gathers the best people around him and then listens to what they have to say to him, especially the things he doesn't want to hear I think he will be open to, that is very refreshing. So I'm absolutely delighted about him.
'To see the tears in the eyes of African-Americans, it's just been a profoundly, I would say religious, experience, very exciting.'
I asked him how they greeted each other.
Bishop Robinson said: 'The first words out of his mouth were, 'Well you're certainly causing a lot of trouble!' My response to him was, 'Well that makes two of us!'
Read the whole post. Ruth includes a link to a tape of the interview, if you care to listen.
Bishop Gene was in London to receive the "Hero of the Year" award from Stonewall.
Thanks to Canada Tim for the link. The English-speaking foreigners are taking over my blog.
Scooped By An Englishman!
Father David Heron, a priest from England, scooped me on a story about an advisor to OUR president-elect. The article was in an English newspaper, which helps relieve my embarrassment just a little, but not much. The news will delight many of you as much as it delighted me. Go see and read.
Alice Walker's Open Letter To Barack Obama
Please read Elizabeth's post quoting Alice Walker's letter to Barack Obama at Telling Secrets. Here's a taste, but do read the whole letter. It's great.
A good model of how to 'work with the enemy' internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader.
All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.
Amen, and amen, and amen!
A good model of how to 'work with the enemy' internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader.
All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies.
Amen, and amen, and amen!
A Word From Roseann
From the comments at Roseann's blog, Being Peace:
Being Peace said...
Thank you Mimi. Your love and prayers are great gifts to me.
Love to you and our new President! Roseann
Roseann, it's wonderful to hear from you. My prayers continue for your speedy and uneventful recovery.
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Roseann the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Book of Common Prayer] p. 458
Update from Suzanne:
Afternoon Mimi,
Roseann has a post on her blog. She has been moved from the ICU and sounds as if she is raring to go.
Sue
Thanks be to God! Yes, I can see Roseann raring to go. That is Roseann. Thanks, Sue.
Being Peace said...
Thank you Mimi. Your love and prayers are great gifts to me.
Love to you and our new President! Roseann
Roseann, it's wonderful to hear from you. My prayers continue for your speedy and uneventful recovery.
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Roseann the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Book of Common Prayer] p. 458
Update from Suzanne:
Afternoon Mimi,
Roseann has a post on her blog. She has been moved from the ICU and sounds as if she is raring to go.
Sue
Thanks be to God! Yes, I can see Roseann raring to go. That is Roseann. Thanks, Sue.
If Obama Governs As He Campaigned....
From the Washington Post:
For a candidate who began as a novice on the national stage, Obama proved remarkably steady, anchored and unruffled. Those personal attributes, if they are indicative of presidential character, could provide the ballast that any administration needs when turbulence hits -- as it did at various times during the campaign. His temperament as a candidate suggests a president not given to highs and lows, and his campaign foreshadows a White House more orderly than those of the two most recent Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
When others doubted his candidacy in the summer and fall of 2007, Obama stayed true to the course he and his advisers had set at the start of the campaign. When he suffered setbacks at the hands of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in this year's primaries, he made readjustments without rancor and kept moving forward. When the financial markets cratered in September, and Sen. John McCain scurried in different directions in response, the measured reaction by Obama and his campaign helped persuade doubters about his fitness to be president.
I've heard much talk that Obama is untested and inexperienced, however, I believe that the masterful manner in which he ran his campaign, during which he was tested rather severely, both during the primaries and during the campaign, actually may be a rather good predictor of how he will govern. I hope that it is, because as time passed, I was more and more impressed with him each day.
If a president goes into office as an agent of change, it is helpful if that person can inspire us and move us by his words and his manner of speaking. Obama is a gifted man, and I hope he will live up to the trust we have placed in him.
He will take office with the good will and good wishes of the majority in the country, but also with the ill will and even hatred of a minority. I pray that those of good will and even those of ill will may give him a chance to demonstrate what he will do as president and not to over-expect about what he can accomplish in the short term. The Bush maladministration leaves us with a terrible mess to clean up, and the fix will not be quick or easy. I pray for the patience of the citizenry and the press in the early days of the Obama administration. Obama administration - that has a fine ring to it, doesn't it? I hope that I may retire "maladministration".
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Book of Common Prayer] page 824
For a candidate who began as a novice on the national stage, Obama proved remarkably steady, anchored and unruffled. Those personal attributes, if they are indicative of presidential character, could provide the ballast that any administration needs when turbulence hits -- as it did at various times during the campaign. His temperament as a candidate suggests a president not given to highs and lows, and his campaign foreshadows a White House more orderly than those of the two most recent Democratic presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
When others doubted his candidacy in the summer and fall of 2007, Obama stayed true to the course he and his advisers had set at the start of the campaign. When he suffered setbacks at the hands of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in this year's primaries, he made readjustments without rancor and kept moving forward. When the financial markets cratered in September, and Sen. John McCain scurried in different directions in response, the measured reaction by Obama and his campaign helped persuade doubters about his fitness to be president.
I've heard much talk that Obama is untested and inexperienced, however, I believe that the masterful manner in which he ran his campaign, during which he was tested rather severely, both during the primaries and during the campaign, actually may be a rather good predictor of how he will govern. I hope that it is, because as time passed, I was more and more impressed with him each day.
If a president goes into office as an agent of change, it is helpful if that person can inspire us and move us by his words and his manner of speaking. Obama is a gifted man, and I hope he will live up to the trust we have placed in him.
He will take office with the good will and good wishes of the majority in the country, but also with the ill will and even hatred of a minority. I pray that those of good will and even those of ill will may give him a chance to demonstrate what he will do as president and not to over-expect about what he can accomplish in the short term. The Bush maladministration leaves us with a terrible mess to clean up, and the fix will not be quick or easy. I pray for the patience of the citizenry and the press in the early days of the Obama administration. Obama administration - that has a fine ring to it, doesn't it? I hope that I may retire "maladministration".
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart and especially the hearts of the people of this land, that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; that our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[Book of Common Prayer] page 824
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