Episcopal Cafe has the news from Lutheranland

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2 of 4 ELCA motions for full inclusion have passed:

The first: Asks the assembly whether, in principle, this church is committed to finding ways to allow congregations and synods that choose to do so to recognize, support and hold publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.

passed 77% to 23%

The second: Asks this church whether, in the future implementation of these commitments, it will make decisions so that all in this church bear the burdens of the other, and respect the bound consciences of all.

passed 619 yes to 402 no.

Episcopal Cafe commentary: "As one watches the debate on these resolutions, the prayer, the struggle and faithfulness of our sisters and brothers in Christ is both very apparent and very familiar. They are in recess for worship and lunch until 2 p.m.Central time. The debate will continue at that time."

Here are the wo resolutions still to be considered:

Asks the assembly whether, in principle, this church is committed to finding a way for people in such publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships to serve as professional leaders of this church.

Proposes the specifics of how this church can move toward change in a way that respects the bound consciences of all.

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Makes you want to consider moving to Maine!

As the state of Maine prepares for an expected November referendum on their new marriage equality law, television ads urging voters to uphold the law began airing this week.

This one-minute spot -- called “Together”-- features residents of the state who talk about “Maine ways” and “Maine values” of “fairness, respect for each other,” and “strong and healthy families,” which can be promoted through marriage equality.

Can't help but wonder how the Prop 8 battle might have ended differently if those running the Calfornia campaign had been likewise inspired.

A day in the life of my "chosen lifestyle"

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood and I'm still on vacation, so I thought it might be a good time to invite anyone who's interested into "a day in the life of that 'chosen lifestyle'" that has so many knickers in a twist.

So here goes:

Wake up to "The Today Show." Get to drink coffee in bed and find out more than I wanted to know about the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" and see the results of some doggie makeovers.

Hear on the national weather report that there were tornadoes spotted near Minneapolis and tell Louise someone will be blaming them on the ELCA movement forward on gay clergy. Eat some fruit and yogurt for breakfast.

Empty the dishwasher, put in a load of laundry and chase Juno around trying to put the ointment in her we're-not-sure-what-happened-but-she-has-some-kind-of-infection eye.

Next door neighbor tells me "All Saints is in the news again" -- waving the local paper. (It's the Health Care Reform story from yesterday.) "You go get'em!" (OK -- we will!)

Put wheelbarrow with flat tire in the back of the Volvo. Go to wash-it-yourself car wash and restore visibility through windshield to aforementioned Volvo. Go to local gas station and ask nice man to take a look at wheelbarrow tire. Find out that inner tube is "busted." Go to local hardware store. Wait while nice man replaces inner tube.

Back home. Fold one load of laundry. Put another in the dryer. Dig hoe and rake out of garage and clean out flower bed along front sidewalk for new planting planned for Friday. Trim hedges while I'm at it. Sweep up mess.

Shower. "Suit up." Head downtown to the California Endowment for a roundtable hosted by Maria Shriver's office on "the status of women in America." (We're the LGBT panel.)

[Fun Facts to Know and Tell About Women in America: The last national "status of women" report was commissioned (are you ready?) when John Fitzgerald Kennedy was president. No kidding!]

Hear on the radio on the way down the 110 that a Blackhawk helicopter crashed on a training exercise in Colorado. Break the law and call Jamie ON my cellphone WHILE driving to make sure he's OK. He's OK but four other soldiers aren't. "Don't worry, Mom -- I'm safer in my helicopter than you are talking on your phone on the freeway," says my son.

He has a point.

Hang up the phone and say prayers for the families of those in the helicopter accident.

Arrive at "women's roundtable" session. Grab some lunch off the buffet table. Have a great 90 minutes with some fabulous people. Hand out a bunch of my cards to those who say, "We've been looking for a church."

Head home via Orchard Hardware. Buy a garden hose to replace the one the dog (with infected eye) chewed up -- along with compost for aforementioned flower beds and various other household "stuff."

Unload car. Fold another load of laundry. Check email and find link to article about Minnesota Baptist who blames tornadoes on gay Lutherans. (Ya, shure, you betcha!)

Proof read curriculum project Louise is working on while she grills some supper. Curriculum is brilliant -- supper is yummy.

She goes back to write some more and I watch the Dodgers try to beat the Cubs. Download vacation pictures from Kentucky. Post some to my blog. Decide to write "a day in the life of my chosen lifestyle" blog. Russell Martin hits a grand slam and I scare the dogs (and send the cat under the bed) "woo hooing."

I'll make it til the end of the game. Chase the puppy around again to get more ointment in her eye before bed. Turn in and -- if I'm lucky -- get another chapter read in the Rebecca Wells novel I've got going before signing off for the night.

And that's all, folks. My "chosen lifestyle." Be afraid. Be very afraid.
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Postcard from Kentucky

If you're into things Anglican, skip this post. Just family photos of my trip last week to Kentucky.

"Mazel Tov" in Massachusetts!

Thanks to Titusonenine for the "heads up" on this one!

Cambridge Mayor to Marry Long-time Partner

[source link] On 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 30 at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Cambridge, Mayor E. Denise Simmons shall be marrying her longtime partner, Ms. Mattie B. Hayes, in a celebration of love, acceptance, and togetherness. The couple shares a passionate interest in advocacy and support work for children and families, and their wedding ceremony shall touch upon those themes. This is certainly a joyous milestone for the Cambridge Mayor and her family, which is to be expected of a loving union; however, this same-sex marriage is also important on a broader scale, as it seems indicative of a more accepting, more tolerant society.

The wedding will take place at the historic St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, which has predominantly been serving Cambridge’s African-American community for over 100 years, and is presided over by the Rev. Leslie K. Sterling. The wedding ceremony shall be conducted by Rev. Irene Monroe, who has cultivated a reputation as a progressive and nurturing spiritual leader, and who has conducted extensive outreach efforts to the GLBT community. The Reverend writes religion columns for In Newsweekly (the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender newspaper in New England), for The Advocate, and for The Witness, a progressive Episcopalian journal. Mayor Simmons is honored to have this progressive spiritual leader preside over her wedding, and to have the ceremony take place in such a historic and inclusive house of worship.

Mayor Simmons is also cognizant of the deeper societal implications of this marriage. As the nation’s first African-American, openly-lesbian mayor, she has already blazed a trail for anyone who seeks to assume a leadership role within their community. Moreover, the Mayor presides over a diverse city that consists of people from every racial, religious, economic, and cultural background, and she continues to work to bridge the divides between all her constituents. The Mayor appreciates that her city has made great progress in bringing people together, even within her lifetime.

“I believe this may be the very first African-American church to hold a same gender wedding, and that’s something that just wouldn’t have happened years ago,” says Mayor Simmons. “But times are changing, people are becoming more accepting of their fellow citizens, and we are slowly arriving at more of a ‘live-and-let-live’ kind of world.”

The Mayor adds, “It’s not an easy process, and there have certainly been some detours along the way, but I think all the kind words I’ve received about this ceremony suggest we’re living in a friendlier, more open society. Our society is definitely making progress.”

President holds national `call-in' on health care reform with religious leaders

By Janette Williams, Pasadena Star News Staff Writer

PASADENA - In a speech broadcast live Wednesday to All Saints Church and congregations nationwide, President Barack Obama called on people of faith to make their voices heard in the push for universal health care.

The "40 Minutes for Health Reform" call-in and audio Web cast drew more than 100 people to All Saints in an event notably lacking in protests or disruptions.

The president, whose remarks were punctuated by applause from the All Saints audience, struck some familiar notes on "affordable and accessible" health care.

But this time he urged people of different religious denominations to come together and "knock down ... the false witness" of opponents and the "extraordinary lies" circulating.

"It's time for any man or woman of faith ... to show the way," he said. "One thing we all share is the moral conviction that this goes to the heart of who we are as a people."

The president spoke of the "misinformation" circulating on health care proposals.

He cited "distortions" that had people wrongly believing illegal aliens would be covered when they are "specifically not," and false rumors that abortions would be funded. He also discredited the portrayal of voluntary counseling for the elderly on living wills or end-of-life wishes as "death panels" promoting euthanasia.

No one in America should be denied coverage because they are ill or have a pre-existing condition, Obama said, and no one should be "pushed to the edge of ruin" when insurance doesn't cover the cost of care.

The president spoke after Melody Barnes, head of his Domestic Policy Council, answered questions about the nuts and bolts of the health-care reform effort.

A handful of speakers told of personal problems with health care, and rabbis and pastors from around the county gave a round-up of what their congregations were doing to push the cause of universal health care

Among them, Jim Wallis of Sojourners: Christians for Justice and Peace, said there was "deep concern" among people of faith about the nature of the debate.

"The shouting, even hatred," he said. "We're in danger of losing the moral core of this debate."

A "steady moral drumbeat" must come from the faith community, he said, and a "clear call for truth-telling in this debate."

The Rev. Susan Russell of All Saints said the national project was to inform and encourage religious communities to "come together around the issue and step up and speak out" about the need for universal access to affordable health care.

Led by Faith in Public Life, the program is organized by, among others, the Episcopal Church, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Sojourners, the National Council of Churches in Christ and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good.

Tim Moffett, a former All Saints parishioner, said he hadn't been sure what to expect of the event.

"I expected the same old, same old," he said. "But it wasn't. I got more clear facts ... and now I want to keep the conversation going."

News from ELCA Assembly in Minnesota

Press Release:

ELCA Assembly Adopts 'Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust'

MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The 2009 Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) adopted "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" Aug. 19 with a vote of 676 (66.67 percent) to 338 (33.33 percent). The passing of the social statement on human sexuality required a two-thirds vote.
The churchwide assembly, the chief legislative authority of the ELCA, is meeting here Aug. 17-23 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. About 2,000 people are participating, including 1,045 ELC voting members. The theme for the biennial assembly is "God's work. Our hands."

Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust is the denomination's 10th social statement. Social statements assist Lutherans in their moral deliberation, govern the ELCA's institutional policies and guide the church's advocacy work. The statement addresses a spectrum of topics relevant to human sexuality from a Lutheran perspective.

More details to follow.
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Information about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found here

AP Report:

Lutherans move toward more open view on gays
By PATRICK CONDON (AP) – 1 hour ago

MINNEAPOLIS — Leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination have moved toward a more welcoming view of homosexuality.

Delegates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, meeting in Minneapolis, approved a "social statement on human sexuality" on Wednesday that acknowledges differing views on homosexuality among congregations. It says the ELCA is strong enough to accommodate such differences.

The vote on the statement is a prelude to a bigger vote Friday. That's when delegates will debate a proposal to allow individual ELCA congregations to hire people in committed same-sex relationships as clergy.

Critics of the statement and the proposed changes on hiring clergy say both ignore clear scriptural direction that homosexual behavior is a sin.