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Archive for March, 2013

Mar 27

Jeff Chu

Our Presence, Not Amicus Briefs, Change the World

“There is power in our presence,” writes Chinese American journalist Jeff Chu in the Washington Post. “So we keep making our appeals, not through amicus briefs or oral arguments but through our mundane lives.” Chu is the author of Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America.

Jeff Chu reminds us that it is our courageous and loving presence among our family, friends and communities of faith that really changes the world. This is especially true in the difficult places where LGBTQ people have not found acceptance yet. Our presence in our beloved communities undergirds the social change we seek. Read more

Mar 25

MLP ED Search Banner

MLP Executive Director Search

More Light Presbyterians is pleased and grateful to announce the formal launch of its national Executive Director Search. This search follows the successful completion of a broad Movement Study and much prayerful and strategic analysis by the MLP Board of Directors and key stakeholders.

The results of this important work have been incorporated into a comprehensive Recruitment Profile – including detailed Position Description and Candidate Specifications – which has now been approved by the Board and Search Committee for distribution. You will find a link to that Recruitment Profile below. Read more

Mar 24

Annanda Barclay

Sack Cloth & Ashes

Palm Sunday has come and we are still in Lent. A symbolic crying out for all that is broken in ourselves and the world. As the body of Christ, we the Church participate in the mourning together. We are united. One baptism, the consummation of the sacraments, serving God in Christ through the mission of the Church. Our souls weep and lament with deep reflection. In full confidence and understanding we know the resurrection has already wiped every tear from our eyes. No longer wallowing we have life anew, in abundance and joy there will be a time to rightfully shout and claim “Hallelujah!” Easter is such a time for it reminds us of our promise and salvation. The love of God through Christ has a strong presence on Easter Sunday. The Church is reminded that God is love and God calls us to love one another. Such is a force that creates unity enabling communities to be formed, strengthened and re-formed again. Read more

Mar 20

Portmans

The Courage to Come Out

“You must come out. Come out… to your parents… I know that it is hard and will hurt them but think about how they will hurt you in the voting booth! But once and for all, break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake. For their sake.” ~ Harvey Milk, “That’s What America Is.” Speech given on Gay Freedom Day (June 25, 1978) in San Francisco.

One of Harvey Milk’s central messages was the importance of coming out. Rob Portman, U.S. Senator from Ohio, changed his views about LGBTQ people after his son Will came out to him. Portman is a Republican legislator who voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage, and against adoption rights for same-sex couples in the District of Columbia. Read more

Mar 19

Women's History Month 2013

Presbyterian Women Changing History for LGBTQ People

Each time a girl opens a book and reads a womanless history, she learns she is worth less.
– Myra Pollack Sadker

March is Women’s History Month and The Advocate is celebrating ten women and persons of faith who have made an incredible difference for LGBTQ people. There are two Presbyterian women on the list, former MLP board member Rev. Dr. Erin Swenson and current MLP board member Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards. Read more

Mar 14

Rev. Bojangles Blanchard

Working for Marriage Equality in Kentucky

Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard is a student at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and a progressive Baptist minister. He is organizing a march/rally for marriage equality to the Kentucky State Capitol to coincide with the Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Proposition 8.

Rev. Blanchard and his partner Dominique James were arrested in January after refusing to leave a county clerk’s office that denied them a marriage license. Blanchard told police he had a “spiritual obligation” to stay. “If we don’t act, we are accomplices in our own discrimination. We have to resist.” Read more

Mar 12

Coy Mathis

Our Transgender Daughter Is Just Another Girl

Six-year-old Coy Mathis has been barred from using the girls’ bathrooms at Eagleside Elementary School in Fountain, CO because she is transgender. The district ordered her to use the boys’ bathrooms, a staff bathroom, or the nurse’s bathroom instead. The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) has filed a complaint with the Colorado Civil Rights Division because Colorado prohibits discrimination against transgender students in public schools. Read more

Mar 9

LGBTQ Family

Children Flourish in LGBTQ Families

“My moms have shown me and the world what a lasting, loving relationship can look like. And when I think of my own wedding, I can’t imagine two better role models to base a family around than my moms.” ~Brian Arsenault, Children’s Voices Amicus Brief: Proposition 8 & DOMA Cases

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), “Research has shown that the adjustment, development, and psychological well-being of children is unrelated to parental sexual orientation, and that the children of lesbian and gay parents are as likely as those of heterosexual parents to flourish.” A recent study by family experts at the University of Cambridge confirms this conclusion by the APA. In addition, the Williams Institute completed a study showing that as many as 6 million American children and adults have an LGBTQ parent. Read more

Mar 5

Bishop Marc Andrus

Christ Transforming Culture

At the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Marc Handley Andrus, bishop of the Diocese of California, 29 bishops across the Episcopal Church signed on to the amicus briefs filed with the Supreme Court last week to strike down DOMA (in Windsor) and Proposition 8 (in Perry). Collectively the bishops represent 23 out of the 24 dioceses in jurisdictions with marriage equality laws. Several groups within the Presbyterian Church (USA), including More Light Presbyterians, signed the same briefs. Read more

Mar 5

BuildingAnInclusiveChurchBanner

Building an Inclusive Church Training

Perhaps you are a leader (ruling or teaching elder) in a congregation which is considering becoming welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons. Perhaps you are committed deeply to helping other congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA) become more welcoming of LGBTQ folks. Either scenario means that this training will be very helpful to you in honing your skills and gaining more knowledge about how to help congregations through those tough conversations toward a more fully inclusive church. Read more

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