ELCA EMBRACES AND RESTORES LGBTQ LUTHERANS

From the Rev. Dr. Cindi Love at The Huffington Post:

George Bernard Shaw once said, "Certainly all great truths begin as blasphemies." On April 11, 2010, those who identify as people of faith and as "non-heterosexual" were given particular cause to celebrate Shaw's wisdom: a most unlikely church has given a most unlikely people a gift of love and truth, and I cannot stop smiling.

After twenty-five years of deliberation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Church Council has abolished its anti-gay policies, effective immediately. Following from discussions at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly last summer, the ELCA will now allow people in same-sex relationships to serve as rostered leaders. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) human beings are no longer considered abominations but blessed church members with full standing. Same-sex partners and families can now fully participate in the ELCA Pension Plan.

Best of all, the ELCA is reinstating people who were removed from ministry positions because they were truthful and came out of the closet, as well as those who conducted holy unions for non-heterosexual couples. The ELCA has practiced restorative justice.

Lovely news, especially the restoration to their former ministries of those who were honest. May God bless the ELCA as the church moves forward to implement their policies of inclusion and justice.

H/T to Mapko at Amictus Sindone for the link.

SCAPEGOATING? I REPORT, YOU DECIDE

Last Saturday, I posted a link to a story in the Guardian about an article that would appear today in a German news magazine on the child abuse scandal in the pope's former archdiocese. The excerpts below are from Der Spiegel.

Catholic Church officials assigned full responsibility for the reassignment of a known pedophilic priest to retired vicar general Gerhard Gruber who served as deputy to Joseph Ratzinger when he was archbishop. Gruber is now challenging a Church statement that he "acted on his own authority," a claim he says was never discussed with him.
....

Gruber's friends say that the old man was only familiar with parts of the statement, that he was apparently being used as a scapegoat and that he was also under additional emotional pressure. To everyone's surprise, Gruber wrote an open letter in which he qualified the archdiocese's statement, writing that he did not sign any documents over which he had no influence. He also noted that he was "very upset" about the "manner in which the incidents were portrayed" by the archdiocese. "And the phrase 'acted on his own authority' also wasn't discussed with me," he wrote.

The archdiocese was unwilling to comment on the accusations, except to state it continued to believe that the former vicar general had acted on his own authority in the case of Peter H., and that he had admitted to having made mistakes. Gruber has gone on a trip to recuperate from "weeks that have been very stressful for me." His loyalty is greatly appreciated in Munich. Archbishop Reinhard Marx, Gruber writes, has sent him his best wishes and "expressed his appreciation for my 'participation'."

I report on the Guardian's report on Der Spiegel's report, and you decide.

ICELAND'S VOLCANO

Smoke billows from an erupting volcano which seems to be close to the top of the Eyjafjalla glacier on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik.



An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows flood caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010.



Melting ice caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010.

Pictures from Boston.com via Doug. The Globe has more pictures.

OKLAHOMA BOMBING - IN MEMORIAM

 

From the Buffalo News:

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told survivors and victims' relatives gathered Monday for a somber ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing that the city's spirit in the wake of the tragedy served as an example to the nation.

Napolitano also warned of the need for continued vigilance against terrorists when she spoke during the 90-minute memorial to the 168 lives lost in the destruction of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995. More than 600 others were injured in the blast, which at the time was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

Across Oklahoma City, people observed 168 seconds of silence to honor the dead.

Some dabbed away tears as the ceremony closed with family members reading a roll call of those who died.

"What defines us as a nation, as a people and as communities is not what we have suffered, but how we have risen above it, how we've overcome," Napolitano said.

 

Charlene Green hugs, left, hugs Constance Favorite, right, at the chair of Favorite's daughter, Lakesha Levy, in the Field of Chairs at the Oklahoma National Memorial, Monday April 19, 2010, the 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing.

 

Ila Clark, left, holds her husband Dale Clark, right, of Denham Springs, La., during the reading of the names of the 168 victims of the Oklahoma city bombing.... Dale Clark's sister Kimberly Clark was killed in the bombing.

Let us pray for healing for the injured in the bombing and for those who suffered psychological trauma.

All those who loved the victims who died in the bombing will never forget them. Let us pray for healing for their friends and family.

Let us pray, "Never again!"

Thanks to Counterlight for the reminder of the anniversary of the tragedy.

"THE CHURCH...AS A LIVING ORGANISM INCLUDING ALL WHO FOLLOW CHRIST"

Read Ormonde Plater's post at Through the Dust, titled, "A Church in Crisis":

In the early 1960s, as a young man estranged from the Episcopal Church, I followed with great interest the deliberations and decrees of Vatican II. What was especially appealing was the council's theological vision of the church, not as a massive institution with a conservative bureaucracy, but as the people of God, the body of Christ, a living organism including all who follow Christ. Largely as a result of that inspiration, I returned to the Episcopal Church in 1967, bringing my wife and children with me.

Read Ormonde's account of studying for the permanent diaconate in the Episcopal Church at Notre Dame Seminary, a Roman Catholic seminary in New Orleans, during the heady days when the windows opened by John XXIII were still letting in the breeze.

DERRICK GOES TO THE PROM WITH RICHARD

Derrick and Richard in their matching black tuxedos

A follow-up on the story of Derrick Martin who asked for and was given permission by the school authorities to take his boy friend to the prom. Unfortunately, Derrick's parents threw him out of the house when the publicity began. A friend's parents took him into their home.

From Macon.com:

Bleckley County High School senior Derrick Martin made history Saturday when he arrived at his high school prom on the arm of another boy.

He was the first in his hometown of Cochran — and perhaps in Georgia — to ask permission to take a same sex partner to prom and have his school allow it.

About 7:45 p.m., couples started to arrive at the high school in a line of stretch limos, a bus, a John Deere tractor and even carriage and buggy, and afterward walked through a crowd of parents and friends who snapped photos.

When Martin, 18, and his boyfriend Richard Goodman, also 18, stepped onto a makeshift “red carpet” and their names were announced, a few parents whispered but many in the crowd gave him a loud cheer. No one yelled out in protest.

“I wonder if they realize what they’ve done,” said Arturro Beeche, a San Francisco professor who flew into Georgia on Friday and drove Martin and Goodman to the prom. “Once it happens in small-town America, it will inspire so many,” he said.
....

The move had been met with some conflict, such as talk of a separate prom.
A few weeks back, a small group of students held an opposition rally in front of the town courthouse to protest. Martin’s parents also kicked him out of his home after the publicity.

But a rally in support of Martin was also held in a Macon park and supporters have donated more than $5,000 for college this fall.

Bleckley County High School in Cochran, Georgia, showed Itawamba High School in Fulton, Mississippi, the right way to do it. Fortunately, Constance McMillen's parents stood by her as her school, her classmates, and their parents failed her. There's no word in the story as to whether Derrick's parents have relented and invited him back home, so I presume they have not.

H/T to Jim Burroway at Box Turtle Bulletin for the link.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME...

An Alabama preacher said to his congregation, "Someone in this congregation has spread a rumour that I belong to the Ku Klux Klan. This is a horrible lie and one which a Christian community cannot tolerate. I am embarrassed and do not intend to accept this. Now, I want the party who did this to stand and ask forgiveness from God and this Christian Family."

No one moved. The preacher continued, "Do you have the nerve to face me and admit this is a falsehood? Remember, you will be forgiven and in your heart you will feel glory. Now stand and confess your transgression."

Again all was quiet..

Then slowly, a drop-dead gorgeous blonde with a body that would stop traffic rose from the third pew. Her head was bowed and her voice quivered as she spoke, "Reverend there has been a terrible misunderstanding. I never said you were a member of the Ku Klux Klan. I simply told a couple of my friends that you were a wizard under the sheets."

I know. The joke is quite naughty. Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!

I am not kidding. Lionel Deimel has gone and done it. He's created a whole line of clothing and other "NO ANGLICAN COVENANT" products. Check it OUT!

Pictured above is the value T-shirt for only $9.99.

Read all about how Lionel's online shop came to be.

H/T to Torey Lightcap at The Lead.

DESMOND TUTU SHOWS US HOW IT'S DONE

From the The Middletown Press:

With all the pageantry the Episcopal Church can muster, the Rev. Ian T. Douglas was consecrated Saturday the 15th bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut.

And the Episcopal Church can muster pageantry when it has a mind to.

Before numerous bishops laid their hands on Douglas, signifying the unbroken line of bishops stretching back to Jesus’ apostles, the candidate made the promise required of all bishops:

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I, Ian Theodore Douglas, chosen Bishop of the Church in Connecticut, solemnly declare that I do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.”
....

In his sermon, [Archbishop Desmund] Tutu spoke of how God requires Christians to love everyone, no matter who they are:

“All the poor, rich, white, black, Hispanics, all, all. Clever, not so clever, beautiful, not so beautiful … tea party, Democrat, Republican. This is radical, man. This is radical.

“Bin Laden, George Bush, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, gay, lesbian, so-called straight, all, all …”

He charged Douglas, “Please tell the children of God, each one of them is precious. … Each one of them is a member of God’s family in which there are no outsiders.”

There are no outsiders - love all, all. Beautiful words. The Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ.


H/T to MadPriest for the link, since "...there is nothing new under the sun".

FR. HANS KUNG'S LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Fr. Hans Kung in the Irish Times:

VENERABLE BISHOPS,

Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and I were the youngest theologians at the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. Now we are the oldest and the only ones still fully active. I have always understood my theological work as a service to the Roman Catholic Church. For this reason, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, I am making this appeal to you in an open letter. In doing so, I am motivated by my profound concern for our church, which now finds itself in the worst credibility crisis since the Reformation. Please excuse the form of an open letter; unfortunately, I have no other way of reaching you.

Kung lists the missed opportunities, the directions Benedict XVI could have taken and did not. He notes the regressive actions of the pope which moved the Roman Catholic Church away from the spirit of Vatican II.

I know that many of you are pained by this situation. In his anti-conciliar policy, the pope receives the full support of the Roman Curia. The Curia does its best to stifle criticism in the episcopate and in the church as a whole and to discredit critics with all the means at its disposal. With a return to pomp and spectacle catching the attention of the media, the reactionary forces in Rome have attempted to present us with a strong church fronted by an absolutistic “Vicar of Christ” who combines the church’s legislative, executive and judicial powers in his hands alone. But Benedict’s policy of restoration has failed. All of his spectacular appearances, demonstrative journeys and public statements have failed to influence the opinions of most Catholics on controversial issues. This is especially true regarding matters of sexual morality. Even the papal youth meetings, attended above all by conservative-charismatic groups, have failed to hold back the steady drain of those leaving the church or to attract more vocations to the priesthood.

You in particular, as bishops, have reason for deep sorrow: Tens of thousands of priests have resigned their office since the Second Vatican Council, for the most part because of the celibacy rule. Vocations to the priesthood, but also to religious orders, sisterhoods and lay brotherhoods are down – not just quantitatively but qualitatively. Resignation and frustration are spreading rapidly among both the clergy and the active laity. Many feel that they have been left in the lurch with their personal needs, and many are in deep distress over the state of the church. In many of your dioceses, it is the same story: increasingly empty churches, empty seminaries and empty rectories. In many countries, due to the lack of priests, more and more parishes are being merged, often against the will of their members, into ever larger “pastoral units,” in which the few surviving pastors are completely overtaxed. This is church reform in pretense rather than fact!

And now, on top of these many crises comes a scandal crying out to heaven – the revelation of the clerical abuse of thousands of children and adolescents, first in the United States, then in Ireland and now in Germany and other countries. And to make matters worse, the handling of these cases has given rise to an unprecedented leadership crisis and a collapse of trust in church leadership.

The letter is brilliant, and, in my opinion, demonstrates the words of a prophet. Fr. Kung lays out his suggestions for six steps to move forward to turn the dire situation around. The final step is for the pope to call an ecumenical council.

6. Call for a council: Just as the achievement of liturgical reform, religious freedom, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue required an ecumenical council, so now a council is needed to solve the dramatically escalating problems calling for reform. In the century before the Reformation, the Council of Constance decreed that councils should be held every five years. Yet the Roman Curia successfully managed to circumvent this ruling. There is no question that the Curia, fearing a limitation of its power, would do everything in its power to prevent a council coming together in the present situation. Thus it is up to you to push through the calling of a council or at least a representative assembly of bishops.

Kung notes what I consider to be the pope's slap in the face to Anglicans.

He refuses to put into effect the rapprochement with the Anglican Church, which was laid out in official ecumenical documents by the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, and has attempted instead to lure married Anglican clergy into the Roman Catholic Church by freeing them from the very rule of celibacy that has forced tens of thousands of Roman Catholic priests out of office.

Although I've quoted large chunks of the letter, I suggest that you read the entire missive. I hope the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, including the Bishop of Rome, read the letter and give serious consideration to the implementation of Kung's suggestions.