MLP celebrates with Washington State as it is poised to become the seventh marriage equality state. The Washington State Senate voted by 28 to 21 tonight to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry beginning this summer.

From the New York Times:

Washington appeared almost certain to become the seventh state to allow same-sex marriage after the state Senate voted late Wednesday for a measure that would allow gay and lesbian couples to marry beginning this summer.

Supporters had considered the Senate to be the more challenging chamber in which to pass the bill, but it was approved easily, by a vote of 28 to 21, after less than 90 minutes of debate. The measure now moves to the House, where it has wide support and could be voted on as soon as next week. Gov. Christine Gregoire has urged the bill’s approval. The governor is a Democrat, and both legislative chambers are controlled by Democrats.

“Regardless of how you vote on this bill, an invitation will be in the mail,” Senator Ed Murray of Seattle, the prime sponsor in the Senate, said in his final remarks before the vote. Mr. Murray, who is gay, has noted many times publically that he and his longtime partner hope to marry in their home state.

The measure, echoing one passed in New York last June, includes language assuring religious groups that they would not be required to marry gay couples or allow them to marry in their facilities. Washington would join New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Iowa as states where same-sex couples can marry. Washington, D.C., also allows same-sex marriage.

Read full story at the New York Times.

See Also:

• Marriage Equality: A Conservative Proposal

As MLP works to end discrimination against LGBT persons and their families in both church and society, we understand that LGBT families are disproportionately impacted by economic inequality. We give thanks for Rev. Brian Merritt, pastor at Palisades Presbyterian Church, a More Light church for his work with Occupy Faith DC and the People's Prayer Breakfast. We are also grateful that Church of the Pilgrims, a More Light church in Washington, DC is hosting this event.
 
The People's Prayer Breakfast will focus on the suffering created by economic inequality while "The Family" conducts its annual invitation-only, $650-a-plate National Prayer Breakfast. "The Family" is known to be anti-gay by opposing fairness and equality for LGBT persons in our country and overseas.

The People's Prayer Breakfast's motto, "Enough for Everyone!" rings true to the majority of Americans according to a new report on economic inequalities in America released by the University of California at Santa Cruz. Researchers found that Americans are more egalitarian than we typically think, and are very concerned with unequal wealth distribution. A majority of Americans claim that a more ideal wealth distribution would be one in which the top 20 percent owned between 30 and 40 percent of the privately held wealth, which is a far cry from the 85 percent that the top 20 percent actually own.

In what many have criticized as a leaderless revolution, religious leaders and communities of faith offer an established leadership structure to Occupy. The leaders and organizers of the People's Prayer Breakfast hope to expand this model outside of Washington, D.C., similar to how the National Prayer Breakfast has expanded to dozens of cities nationwide. Rev. Brian Merritt, one of the founding members of Occupy Faith DC is participating in the alternative prayer breakfast, "because prayer is a sacred act that connects us to something greater than ourselves and moves us to action in transforming the world." Rev. Merritt, a Pastor in the Palisades Community Church will join dozens of other national faith leaders in declaring that, "prayer is not about bringing people into access to powerful people and giving the wealthy assurance that they should remain untroubled by those who hunger, cry, struggle and are left out by their actions."

The full article is available at the Huffington Post.

Here is the invitation to the People's Prayer Breakfast:

Occupy Faith DC invites you to the
People’s Prayer Breakfast
Thursday February 2, 2012
7:30am to 9:30am
Church of the Pilgrims
2201 P St NW Washington, DC 20037

MLP celebrates the ordination of Rev. Paul Mowry at Sausalito Presbyterian Church on Sunday, the congregation's first openly gay pastor. Mowry is also one of the first openly gay pastors to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) after the passage of 10-A. "This was an issue that Presbyterians had been debating openly and honestly for the last 30 years," Mowry said in an interview with the Marin Independent Journal. "It's just amazing that the church voted to change its constitution while I was in the process of being called. The timing has baffled everyone I know." 

On Sunday, Mowry's long-held dream came true, as the Sausalito Presbyterian Church ordained the Pittsburgh native as its newest pastor, the first openly gay pastor in the church's history.

For the ministers and parishioners of the hillside church, the arrival of Mowry — a highly-regarded graduate of New York's Union Theological Seminary — was cause for celebration.

"Paul preached here as part of his interview, and when I heard him, I thought 'I hope they call him. I hope they don't let him get away,' " said the Rev. Daniel Christian, pastor of St. Luke Presbyterian Church in San Rafael, who took part in Sunday's event. "I'm really happy that he's here."

"I've always been the person who was most likely to get into a conversation with someone who was trying to understand their place in the universe," said Mowry, who recently moved to Sausalito with his partner and their 5-year-old daughter...

"My father, grandfather and great-grandfather were Presbyterian ministers. I still have some of the handwritten sermons my great-great-grandfather wrote in the 1790s," Mowry said. "I'm proud of all the denominations that have moved forward on this issue, but I guess I've always felt bonded to the Presbyterians."

Spurred by his friends, his partner and his mother, Mowry decided to take the risk of entering the seminary, knowing there was little chance he would ever be ordained as a Presbyterian minister.

But last year, a majority of the Presbyterian Church in the United States voted to permit the ordination of partnered homosexuals.

"This was an issue that Presbyterians had been debating openly and honestly for the last 30 years," Mowry said. "It's just amazing that the church voted to change its constitution while I was in the process of being called. The timing has baffled everyone I know."

Mowry said he was overjoyed by the church's decision, though he recognizes that it has led to some dissension within the church's membership.

"The church is at its best when it creates an environment in which people can see each other's humanity," Mowry said. "If the church is doing its job, it's pulling together people from all walks of life, with different points of view — so of course there are going to be theological differences. The work of Christ is to bring everybody together not in unanimity, but in unity. We don't have to agree on anything except that we love God, and believe that we have been called together."

Although he is one of the first openly gay Presbyterians to be ordained as a minister, Mowry said the response he has received from others within the church has been almost universally positive.

Read the full story at the Marin Independent Journal.

See Also:

• Another Openly Gay Presbyterian Ordination

Live Free or Die, a new film by Macky Alston and Sandra Itkoff about Bishop Gene Robinson, won the Special Jury Prize for US documentary films at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah today. Here is a moving clip from the film where Robinson speaks at First Presbyterian Church in New York on the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Before handing out cups of water in the pride parade, Bishop Robinson says, "This cup of water is about justice...To a lot of people across this great nation, what is happening out there this afternoon is a total nightmare. I'm here to tell you that it is no nightmare. It is God's dream coming true before your very eyes."

Gene's Sermon on Gay Pride Day ALL (5m20s) from Auburn Seminary on Vimeo.

Here is a partial transcript from the clip at First Presbyterian Church in New York:

"...it is a very holy thing that you do when you offer that cup of water. You are representing the community of Christians, and Jews, and Muslims who are 95% the source of all the oppression we LGBT people have experienced in our lives. And so when you offer a cup of water bearing the name of Christ as it says in our gospel today, you are the oppressor offering a cup of water to the oppressed. They get it. They get the act of compassion. My question is, do you get it? Do you realize the important thing that you do by giving a cup of water to those people out there who have been hurt by us, and continue to be hurt by us?...

This cup of water is about justice. We are not yet at a place in this country where we believe the full and equal rights of gay and lesbian people are a matter of justice. We're not there yet. It is not enough to pull the people out of a raging stream who are drowning. We have to walk back up stream and find out who is throwing them in the first place. It is not right what our churches and synagogues and mosques have done to us. As had been done to others before us. And it will take an act of commitment on your part to undo it. And be willing to pay a price. We have never made progress either in our religious institutions or in the culture unless someone has been willing to pay a price. It is that tough systemic work, both within our religious communities and in the culture that we must be committed to changing. And those of you who are heterosexual, we need you desperately. I think God is calling you to understand this as an issue of justice. To a lot of people across this great nation, what is happening out there this afternoon is a total nightmare. I'm here to tell you that it is no nightmare. It is God's dream coming true before your very eyes."

In another clip, Bishop Robinson is heckled because he is gay at a service during the Anglican Lambeth conference.

A list of screenings is available at the Love Free or Die website.

We're grateful for the passionate and clear commitment of Benjamin Todd Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP to LGBT and marriage equality. The NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. In 2008, at age 35, he became the youngest person to serve as its chief executive.  Jealous offered the opening keynote address at Creating Change last night.  Creating Change is the National Conference on LGBT equality and this is the 24th annual conference produced by NGLTF.  Among the packed ballroom of over 2000+ activists last night to hear Jealous speak was our Executive Director and Field Organizer, Michael Adee.

From the Washington Post:

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said Thursday the civil rights group supports legislation in Maryland to extend rights to transgender residents.

Jealous spoke at a national conference on rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, the 24th national conference on LGBT equality.

“This striving for inclusion is not new,” Jealous told a crowded convention room at the Baltimore Hilton.

Under Jealous, the Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People launched an equality task force for the LGBT community.

Here is an excerpt of Benjamin Jealous' remarks at Creating Change 2012.

MLP is committed to marriage equality for persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities or other human differences. We are thankful that the Washington state Legislature now has enough votes to pass a marriage equality bill. Scores of same-sex marriage supporters told their stories at hearings on Monday and Senator Mary Haugen, citing very strong Christian beliefs, announced that she would support the measure.

"My partner and I always knew this day would come, but frankly we didn’t expect it in our lifetime," said Nathan Sobers, MLP Board Member and resident of Washington. "We are overjoyed that the place where we live, work and love has decided that separate but equal is not equal; that domestic partnerships are not enough, even when all of the rights are the same.  Words matter and it is so gratifying that our Governor and state legislators understand that."

From the Advocate:

Washington now has enough votes to pass a marriage equality bill in the state Senate, following a state senator’s announcement of her support today after hours of public hearings regarding the measure.

Mary Margaret Haugen became the 25th member of the state senate, and the last vote needed to pass the bill, after scores of same-sex marriage supporters told their stories in the state capital for more than two hours.

The bill, first brought up by Washington governor Christine Gregoire, is expected to easily pass in the House but was one vote short of passage in the Senate until Haugen announced her support this afternoon.

Haugen, a Democrat, cited her "very strong Christian beliefs" as part of the reason she supports marriage equality.

"Only one being in this world is omniscient, and it's not me," she said in a statement. "Personally I have always said when I accepted the Lord, I became more tolerant of others. I stopped judging people and try to live by the Golden Rule. This is part of my decision. I do not believe it is my role to judge others, regardless of my personal beliefs."

Here is the full text of Senate Bill 6239.

Senator Mary Haugen issued a statement about her support for marriage equality in Washington.

“I have very strong Christian beliefs, and personally I have always said when I accepted the Lord, I became more tolerant of others. I stopped judging people and try to live by the Golden Rule. This is part of my decision. I do not believe it is my role to judge others, regardless of my personal beliefs. It’s not always easy to do that. For me personally, I have always believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. That is what I believe, to this day.

“But this issue isn’t about just what I believe. It’s about respecting others, including people who may believe differently than I. It’s about whether everyone has the same opportunities for love and companionship and family and security that I have enjoyed.

“For as long as I have been alive, living in my country has been about having the freedom to live according to our own personal and religious beliefs, and having people respect that freedom.

“Not everyone will agree with my position. I understand and respect that. I also trust that people will remember that we need to respect each other’s beliefs. All of us enjoy the benefits of being Americans, but none of us holds a monopoly on what it means to be an American. Ours is truly a big tent, and while the tent may grow and shrink according to the political winds of the day, it should never shrink when it comes to our rights as individuals.

“Do I respect people who feel differently? Do I not feel they should have the right to do as they want? My beliefs dictate who I am and how I live, but I don’t see where my believing marriage is between a man and a woman gives me the right to decide that for everyone else.

See Also:

• Gay marriage bill a go in Washington state: 25th vote comes through, The LA Times
• Washington Legislature has the votes to legalize gay marriage as Sen. Haugen declares support, The Washington Post
  

Welcoming Church Sunday is an annual tradition observed the last Sunday of January by a growing number of Christian denominations. It is a celebration of the gifts of LGBT persons in the life, ministry and witness of the Church. This year's observance is dedicated to the life, memory and legacy of David Kato.
 
David Kato was a prominent LGBT activist working for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Sadly, he was murdered in his home on January 26, 2011. David was murdered after he won a landmark lawsuit against the Rolling Stone tabloid in Uganda. With the "Kill the Gays" bill threatening, it had published David's picture with the caption "hang them." An Anglican Bishop and ally with the LGBT community in Uganda, Bishop Senyonjo's photo appeared with the same caption. Bishop Senyonjo faithfully continues his ministry with the LGBT community and his advocacy.
 
There are Presbyterians in over 100 nations around the world including Uganda. We invite your church, campus ministry or seminary community to observe Welcoming Church Sunday on January 29 and to remember the late David Kato with this following ritual and prayer.

Ritual:

Lighting of a candle to honor David’s life.

Prayer:

Leader:  O God, we light this candle {today/this evening} in memory of our brother, David Kato.You know, O God, he was faithful to your vision of a world at peace with its own diversity.You know, too, the price he paid for that faithfulness. Help us, who are now charged with carrying on that vision, to have the courage of conviction and stamina and grace it takes to live each and every day in a way that brings a little more justice, a little more kindness, a little more acceptance to this earth and its peoples. Help us now, as we pray, to rededicate ourselves to that singular call. For the sake of LGBT children and adults everywhere,

Congregation: We promise to strive to act justly with every word we speak, every thought we think, and every deed we do.

Leader: For the sake of our oppressors and those who harm us,

Congregation: We promise to striveto love tenderly and set a Christ-like example for all to follow.

Leader: For all our sakes, and for the coming of peace to this earth.

Congregation: We promise to seek to walk humbly with you, O God, all the days of our lives.

Leader: May God bless us to be faithful to the longings of our hearts this day. In Jesus' name. Amen

The Law, Gender & Sexuality Research Project at the Makerere University School of Law in Uganda is putting together a book on the life, work and legacy of David Kato. The project was founded by Dr. Sylvia R. Tamale who recently published the pro-LGBT African Sexualities: A Reader with Pambazuka Press.

David Kato has been remembered by African writers and academics, African poets and African bloggers.

It’s been years since the incident, but Bishop Gene Robinson’s heart still races when he sees it on film.

Robinson, the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop, was preaching at a church in London when a man in the audience stood and began yelling at him. The heckler waved a motorcycle helmet in his hand as he ranted. Robinson silently wondered if he was hiding a gun or a bomb beneath it.

Ultimately, the man was escorted from the church, but the moment reminded everyone, including Robinson, of the risk he is taking in taking a stand.

It’s one of many moments — some suspenseful, some inspiring, some heartbreaking — captured in “Love Free or Die,” a documentary about Robinson and the rift within the church after his election as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. The film will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday, and Robinson will be in Utah next week, talking about the movie and meeting with local clergy.

“As far as we’ve come in terms of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, we still have a long way to go, particularly in the central part of the country,” Robinson told The Salt Lake Tribune this week. “If my story can help a young boy or girl in their teens believe they can have a wonderful and productive life and family, then it’s worth my putting up with a film crew following me around for two years in order to comfort and inspire them.”

The film follows Robinson as the church grapples with how to handle LGBT issues. Robinson’s election brought to a head divisions between liberal and conservative members of both the Episcopal Church in the United States and the worldwide body of which it is a part, the Anglican Communion.

Read the full story at the Salt Like Tribune.

Filmmakers Director Macky Alston and Producer Sandra Itkoff describe the film in more detail at www.lovefreeordiemovie.com.

LOVE FREE OR DIE is about a man whose two defining passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Gene Robinson is the first openly gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir, and he has lived with death threats every day since.

LOVE FREE OR DIE follows Robinson from small-town churches in the New Hampshire North Country to Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to London’s Lambeth Palace, as he calls for all to stand for equality – inspiring bishops, priests and ordinary folk to come out from the shadows and change history.

There are several videos about the film at the website.

See Also:

• Meet the 2012 Sundance Filmmakers #17: Macky Alston, "Love Free Or Die", Indiewire
• Ten Hot Sundance Documentaries to Watch, Wall Street Journal
  
• Openly Gay Man is Made Bishop, New York Times

We're grateful for conversations that lead our Church to ministry now to a hurting world and to the future. A group of 6 church leaders from diverse backgrounds and life experiences met recently with Moderator Cindy Bolbach and Vice-Moderator Landon Whisitt in Louisville. An open letter and a video expressing hope for the Presbyterian Church (USA) resulted from this meeting. We commend both the letter and the video to you. Please share this with your church, presbytery, campus ministry or seminary community.
 
The open letter includes a message to those gathering in Orlando who are considering leaving the PCUSA because of ordination equality and the New Form of Government.
 
From their letter:

We know that those contemplating the possibility of leaving are bathing the decision in prayer, and are genuinely seeking to discern God’s will in this.

However, we believe with all our hearts that perception is not reality, that the PC(USA) has not left its moorings, its commitment to proclaim the living Word of God – Jesus Christ – as revealed in the written word of God, holy Scripture. We do believe that the varying parties differ not over their belief in the Gospel but over how to apply its words of grace in particular ways.

To read the Open Letter:

http://www.pcusa.org/news/2012/1/12/eight-leaders-urge-congregations-rethink-leaving-p/

Watch the video "Hope for the PC(USA)":

Today, January 16th is the 26th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We join all Americans and the world in celebrating the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We also remember and honor the partnership, leadership and legacy of Coretta Scott King as well.
 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a federal holiday and a national day of service. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act which encourages citizens to offer a day of service as volunteer in their local community on this day.

As More Light Presbyterians, we are indebted to the extraordinary civil rights work that Dr. and Mrs. King did that changed our nation and world. As Christians and Presbyterians we are called to lives of service. We are grateful for the service offered by churches in communities across our country.   
 
On the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King, April 4, 2008, then Senator now President Barack Obama said: "Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice. It bends towards justice, but here is the thing: it does not bend on its own. It bends because each of us in our own ways put our hand on that arc and we bend it in the direction of justice."
 
A remarkable bending of that arc of the moral universe in our lives and Church is the passage of Amendment 10-A last year that opens the way for qualified LGBT Presbyterians to serve in ministry. We give thanks to God for all who prayed and worked to end discrimination in our Church and to create equality for LGBT persons and their families.
 
Akilah Boldern-Monifa whose parents worked with Dr. King in Alabama shares what this day means to her. In her blog she says, "I am a 54-year-old lesbian of African descent who grew up in Huntsville, Ala. My parents strategized and marched with King. I learned about civil disobedience and protests from them when I was 4 years old.
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akilah-boldenmonifa/mlk-day_b_1205849.html

We encourage all Presbyterians to reflect upon the life, teachings and example of Dr. King and the inspiration this can bring to the justice-work before us in the Church and world.
 
with hope and for justice,
Michael
 
Michael J. Adee, M.Div., Ph.D., Executive Director & Field Organizer
More Light Presbyterians
www.mlp.org