Monday, May 14, 2007

Monday, Monday ...

First off there's this Candorville du jour ...

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Oh ... NOW I get it! We're not supposed to take it PERSONALLY!
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Good news from the Diocese of Olympia where the Reverend Gregory Rickels was elected on the third ballot to be the next Bishop of Olympia. Austin's loss is Olympia's gain!
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Don't miss Winnie Varghese's great opinion piece on Episcopal Life Online "A slow advance."
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Quote: "... we do not support these shifts simply because General Convention has voted in the majority on our behalf. We believe in full equality under the law and in our churches for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people because it is right. I have no doubt it is a move towards making our churches more reflective of the justice already alive in God's dream for us. It is the right thing, even though it is making many uncomfortable. Our comfort with injustice does not negate its evil. "
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Fr. Jake is offering a Reconciliation Reality Check which has already garnered 129 comments ... do weigh in! Jake's asking some important questions -- ones that will be informing much of how we move forward in the days and weeks ahead -- and I'm glad to see them receiving so much attention.
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On the UK TimesOnline Ruth Gledhill is reporting on Lambeth Conference invitations. OK ... she's not exactly in my roloex under "reliable sources" but she did link to a new official Lambeth Conference Website which look worth bookmarking for future reference.
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And don't miss John Kirkley's blog "An Unfortunate Oversight?" -- here's the intro:
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Guess how many of the forty members of The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council are lesbian or gay?

The answer is eight.

Twenty percent of the elected leaders of the Church’s most important governing body in between General Conventions are lesbian and gay clergy and laity from around the country. This is reflective of the talent, dedication, and service that this small minority of the church’s membership offers to the whole. It is a testament to the esteem in which gay and lesbian Christians are held by our sisters and brothers.

Now, guess how many of these lesbian and gay leaders are serving on the Executive Council committee appointed to respond to the Communiqué from the Anglican Primates’ meeting in Tanzania?

The answer is zero. (Read it all here)
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Finally, titusonenine is linking to this blog for the text of the Episcopal Church ad placed in Saturday's NYTimes on the Op-Ed page. Thanks, Kendall! (Not many comments yet but methinks the titusoneniners won't think it near as swell as I did!)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Rev. Russell, also on Father Jakes blog is the following: Anglican Essentials Canada Threatens Schism
Dan points us to an article in the Toronto Star:
For conservative Canadian Anglicans, a rejection by their church of same-sex marriage blessings next month is no longer enough. They now want the clock turned back on how gays are ministered...

Well it looks like some people want to go backwards in time, I refuse to believe in anything, other, than the fact that God loves all of us. There are no mistakes in God's eyes, women are created equal, as well as persons of color, including straight, gay, bi, trans... And only God can judge, we are to be good servants of our Lord, not man.....

If anyone has any fear read Psalm 37 (do not fret). When we receive communion, we are sharing with our sisters and brothers. Communion is community. The hate has to end, so does the discrimnation of any kind, Jesus wants us to love one another and spread the message, share, peace and justice for all of God's children. So let's hear from everyone here...we can not stay silent.

All the glory and honor to God.

Anonymous said...

Rev. Susan Russell, thank you for turning me onto Fr. John's site. Informative and unfortunate regarding how many lesbian/gay sisters and brothers of mine our on Executive Council and the Governing body of the General Convention.

If anyone knows what I can do or what we can do as members of TEC, please do let me know, count me in, I am ready to write letters or whatever I can do. Someone lead me in the right direction, I did not come this far to give up.

Now I need to pray and stay focused, so we need to stick together as Women and Men of the LGBT community........Peace

Anonymous said...

I've been in a church that is pulling away from TEC because of the gay thing and has been on that track for 10 years. I've heard umteen people express themselves about it and I have yet to hear a single comment that could be interpreted as hateful. That whole line of rhetoric about "hate" is a lot of fakery and you know it.

Anonymous said...

If someone says that they hate either you or something that you do I don't blame you for taking it personally. But I've never heard anyone use the word "hate". Disapproval, yes. Regret, yes again. Misguided, even sinful are descriptions I've heard. But not hate. Thinking something is wrong doesn't mean that you hate either it or the person who does it.

Does it for you?

RonF